By: Keila Cash
Hello everyone and welcome to another installment of The Raw Exposé. Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw emanated from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. Beach Ball Mania is behind us as Sasha Banks tries to successfully defend the Raw Women’s Championship for the first time against Alexa Bliss. Did The Boss end another streak or was she in store for more heartbreak? The answer to that question can be found throughout this blog. Without further ado, let’s dissect tonight’s show in no particular order.
· The Miz wanted Kurt Angle to put some respect on his name after being shunned over the past several weeks. Angle agreed and announced that Miz will defend the Intercontinental Championship at No Mercy.
· The Disrespected One would also face the winner of a fifteen-man Battle in an IC Title match next week as the opening segment came to an end.
· This was a fine way to start the show. The obligatory 20-minute talking segment was cut in half which is a positive in my book. Getting straight to the point is better than hearing long-winded promos that circle the drain unless the underlining message makes sense.
· Jeff Hardy won the fifteen-man Battle Royal and will face The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship next week. It was a good match that featured nice bursts of wrestling action throughout.
· Finn Bálor, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows joined forces to eliminate The Big Show which signaled a callback from their days in the Bullet Club during their tenure in New Japan. Before they could do the Too Sweet salute, Elias attacked Bálor from behind which ruined the moment.
· Bálor recovered and laid out Elias and Jeff Hardy until Bray Wyatt appeared out of nowhere and tossed Bálor over the top rope. It was a clever way to forward the Wyatt-Bálor feud, but their matches haven’t set the world on fire which mutes my enthusiasm heading into next month’s PPV.
· The distraction allowed Jason Jordan to eliminate Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel which elicited the biggest reaction of the match so far. Jordan followed things up by eliminating Elias, but Jeff Hardy came through in the clutch and tossed Jordan over the top rope to win the whole shebang.
· Jeff Hardy has a chance to win the Intercontinental Title and re-assert himself in the upper mid-card scene. We shall see if Miz can match Jeff’s unorthodox style come next week.
· Enzo Amore defeated Noam Dar with a variation of Eat Defeat in his debut match in the Cruiserweight Division. Dar outclassed Enzo in the ring, but the Certified G outsmarted him when it counted most. The match was fine, but Enzo’s star power can only go so far when it comes to improving the presentation of the Cruiserweight Division on Raw and 205 Live.
· Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar came out to sing the praises of Braun Strowman and give credit where its due after Strowman monster handled Lesnar at SummerSlam and Raw last week. Despite his amazing feats of strength, Heyman warned the Monster Among Men that Lesnar is not the type of man to duck competition. The Beast will hunt down his prey and devour him for dinner.
· As Heyman was about to make a declarative statement on behalf of his client, Lesnar grabbed the mic and said the following: “Suplex City, Bitch!” And with that, Lesnar dropped the mic and headed backstage as the segment came to an end.
· This was an effective way to add tension between Lesnar and Strowman leading up to their Universal Championship match at No Mercy next month. WWE played it smart by letting Lesnar have the last word for a change. Strowman’s response should be interesting, to say the least.
· Cesaro defeated Seth Rollins with a roll-up in a good match. Cesaro dominated the action early on with a couple of gut wrench suplexes and a series of European Uppercuts. Rollins regained control down the stretch as he laid Cesaro out with a Slingblade followed by the Blockbuster from the top rope and Buckle Bomb in the corner.
· Sensing that his partner was in trouble, Sheamus tried to provide the distraction only for Dean Ambrose to attack him at ringside. The diversion worked as Cesaro nailed Rollins with an Uppercut for the win.
· After the match was over, Sheamus announced that he was scheduled to face Ambrose in a match which spilled over into the commercial break.
· Dean Ambrose defeated Sheamus with Dirty Deeds thanks to an assist from Seth Rollins. Cesaro tried to cause a distraction at ringside, but Rollins cut him off at the past. The action spilled over into the ring as Rollins nailed Sheamus with a flying knee while the referee was busy preventing Cesaro from interfering in the match.
· Rollins laid out Cesaro with a suicide dive which led to the aforementioned finish.
· This is a classic case of 50/50 booking, but it makes sense because Cesaro and Sheamus are in line for a rematch for the Raw Tag Team Championship. Plus, both matches told a nice story of how each team was willing to win by any means necessary. A little cheating does a body good from time to time. Within reason, of course…
· Who fucked up Emma’s theme music? It sounds terrible…
· Emma defeated Mickie James with a roll-up in a quick match. Afterward, she got on the mic and proclaimed that she started the Women’s Revolution. Oh, joy…
· The real John Cena showed up and went off on Roman Reigns in an epic promo exchange to kick off the third hour of Raw. Cena claimed that Reigns was scared to fight him which caused Reigns to make his way down to the ring and stated that he was too unbothered to face Cena after retiring The Undertaker at WrestleMania.
· Cena clapped back by saying that Reigns was nothing more than a cheap ass corporate John Cena bootleg who could never replace the real thing. Even though the fans boo and cheer him, at least the real recognized real.
· Reigns stated that the fans boo Cena not because they want him to turn heel, but because he sucks. Reigns lost his train of thought for a moment which gave Cena ample ammo to fire an off the cuff remark about Reigns’ inability to cut a decent promo.
· Reigns refocused and tore into Cena for being a fake ass bitch who turned into a part time fake ass bitch. He would not allow someone to take food off his table by flying in on his private jet from his hosting gig on the Today show to wrestling on Raw when it’s convenient for him. He refused to be buried by Cena and wasn’t going to lower himself by facing someone who couldn’t “see” him.
· Cena commended Reigns for cutting a decent promo for the first time in five years. Cena found it comical that Reigns blamed him for everything. Cena noted that he is not out to bury anyone. In fact, he hasn’t main evented WrestleMania in five years and was the opening match at SummerSlam last Sunday.
· Cena took things one step further by stating that he elevated the United States Championship two years ago which ushered in the debuts of Kevin Owens and AJ Styles. When Reigns won the US Title, it was a demotion due to a Wellness Policy violation. The reason Cena is a free agent is that Reigns sucks at his job. Therefore, he has to play the cleanup man because no one has been able to take his place in fifteen years.
· Most importantly, Cena can do more as a part-timer than Reigns will ever do as a full-timer. Incensed, Reigns signed his name on the dotted line to make the match official before flipping over the table.
· Both men were ready to go at it when Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows volunteered to put the nerds in their place. Kurt Angle booked Cena and Reigns in a tag team match against Anderson and Gallows which took place after the commercial break.
· This was an outstanding segment from top to bottom. Roman Reigns cut the best promo of his career, but John Cena still carved him up like a Thanksgiving Day Turkey as he read him for filth.
· Cena was present, passionate, and relentless as he threw shade for 40 days and 40 nights. As I mentioned last week, I wasn’t a fan of Cena feeding into the Beach Ball Frenzy in Brooklyn. However, he more than redeemed himself tonight as he cut another money promo that was spot on. He had the crowd eating out of his hand as he put Reigns in his place.
· Reigns had a nice showing and delivered the best mic work of his career despite Cena crapping over his inability to cut a decent promo. He manned up and landed some jabs on Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, & Respect. Reigns should be unleashed more often because a fire was lit under his ass tonight. Here’s hoping there is more to come leading up to their epic match at No Mercy next month.
· John Cena and Roman Reigns defeated Anderson and Gallows when Reigns nailed Anderson with a Spear for the win. The match was fine, but it served as a backdrop to forward tension between Cena and Reigns. It’s reminiscent of Cena and Shawn Michaels becoming reluctant tag partners leading up to their WWE Title match at WrestleMania 23 ten years ago. Here’s hoping history repeats itself with Reigns playing the role of Michaels in name only.
· Elias serenaded the Memphis crowd with a beautiful ballad until he was interrupted by Jerry Lawler. Lawler introduced Pelvis Wesley (Heath Slater) from Southpaw Regional Wrestling to counter Elias’ terrible singing. To say his plan backfired would be an understatement.
· Alexa Bliss defeated Sasha Banks with a DDT to become the new Raw Women’s Champion in a good main event match. Banks controlled the pace early on until Bliss slammed her back-first against the barricade before ramming her against the ring apron during the commercial break.
· Banks willed herself back in the match as she locked in the Bank Statement only for Bliss to break the hold. Bliss laid out Banks with a Superplex from the top rope, but she was unable to make the cover. Banks went for the Bank Statement again, but Bliss countered with her finisher for the win.
· Banks is now 0-4 when it comes to successfully defending the Raw Women’s Title. That is not a good streak to hang one’s hat on. It makes The Boss look weak and gives Bayley a run for her money when it comes to being the worst booked woman in WWE. It’s sad but true.
· After the match was over, Nia Jax made her way to the ring to congratulate Bliss on her victory. Jax laid out Banks with a running avalanche to add insult to injury before hoisting Bliss on her shoulder.
· As expected, the other shoe dropped when Jax dropped Bliss with an Electric Chair which popped the crowd something fierce. Jax grabbed the title belt and raised it high in the air as she inserted herself in the championship picture as Raw went off the air.
· Rumors of Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss feuding over the Raw Women’s Title have been running rampant in recent months. It appears WWE is ready to pull the trigger and decided to use Sasha Banks as a stopgap in order push things in that direction.
· Jax and Bliss are not the best wrestlers in the world, but I am sure they can pull off a solid match if it’s laid out properly. It should be interesting to see Jax as a babyface. The fans view her as a badass when she is destroying her opponents under the right circumstances. We shall see if they embrace her as a woman who should be feared and revered on the big stage.
· Overall, I thought tonight’s episode of Raw was solid. The in-ring action ranged from decent to very good, but the show will be best remembered for the excellent John Cena-Roman Reigns verbal confrontation that kicked off their feud heading into the No Mercy PPV next month. Cena showed why he is the best promo in the business while Reigns held his own and earned some brownie points amongst his fiercest critics.
· After a disappointing start last week, WWE has landed the one-two punch when it comes to booking the best double main event in recent memory with Cena vs. Reigns anchoring Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship. The company is locked and loaded heading into football season which is a nice change of pace.
· The mid-card scene lacks the same sizzle and spice, but they should hold their own with rematches ranging from Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose vs. Sheamus and Cesaro for the Raw Tag Team Titles to another round of Finn Bálor vs. Bray Wyatt. Something tells me the former is more appetizing than the latter.
· No Mercy is turning into a must-see show. It’s a B-PPV that is quickly approaching Grade A territory. The creative team reset the chess board and damn near hit check mate with four weeks to spare. However, there is more work to be done in order to push things over the top. With Labor Day taking place next Monday, now is not the time to ease the foot off the pedal. Let’s hope the Powers That Be continues to up the ante because things are on the come up in the best possible way. Fingers crossed!
On
that note, this wraps up another edition of The Raw Exposé. I hope you enjoyed
it and I will be back tomorrow night with another installment of The SmackDown
Files. See you later, boys and girls!
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