By: Keila Cash
Hello everyone and welcome to another installment of The Raw Exposé. Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw emanated from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. I want to use this space to remember the lives lost on 9/11 16 years ago and offer my thoughts and prayers to everyone dealing with Hurricane (now Tropical Depression Irma) as she battered the Southeastern United States this past weekend. The images and stories are harrowing and I hope the rebuilding process can heal some of the wounds this storm has left in its wake. Godspeed to you all.
On a lighter note, let’s brighten the mood by dissecting the craziness that went down on tonight’s show. Enjoy! J
· After Roman Reigns accused John Cena of losing a step after it took him twenty minutes to beat Jason Jordan last week, Reigns encountered the same situation as he grinded out a tough win against Jordan in a very good match to kick off the show.
· Reigns roughed up Jordan early on by delivering some stiff punches to the face until Jordan countered with a series of beautiful suplexes. Jordan almost made Reigns tap out twice when he locked in the Crossface, but Reigns managed to grab the bottom rope both times.
· Jordan showed off his freakish strength by dropping Reigns with his signature back-to-back Northern Lights Suplexes for a near fall. Jordan went for his running charge, but the Big Dog moved out of the way which caused Jordan to slam into the ring post. The Big Dog took advantage by hitting Jordan with The Drive by, Superman Punch, and Spear for the win.
· After the match was over, Reigns shook Jordan’s hand and praised him for pushing him to the limit. Jordan has had two impressive showings against the two biggest stars in WWE. His stock has risen a bit, but he’s still stuck in no man’s land because no one believes that he’s Kurt Angle’s long lost son. It’s a heat killer that will stunt his growth as a performer if the creative team doesn’t add dimensions to his personality. Here’s hoping Jordan’s recent losing skid results in him growing a thicker skin instead of smiling his way through life.
· John Cena came out to gloat about Reigns failing to beat Jordan in quick and decisive fashion. Reigns retorted by stating that he has had more great matches in two years than Cena has had in his whole career. Cena acknowledged that Reigns has gifts that any wrestler would love to possess However, his arrogance prevents him from reaching true superstar status.
· Reigns has never experienced true failure in his career. Cena vowed to change that at No Mercy in a couple of weeks. Cena was about to leave when Reigns told Cena to get his bitch ass back in the ring.
· Reigns claimed that Cena was riding the wave of his success because WWE business has never been better. The company is making more money than ever before. Tickets are moving at a brisk pace which means that Cena needs WWE more than WWE needs Cena. The E is Cena’s ticket to Hollywood. If he needed a hookup, Reigns knew a guy who could help. That was a very sly and shady reference to The Rock.
· Instead of Cena going on a long spiel in order to destroy Reigns on the mic. He let this parting shot do the trick: “At No Mercy, consider me like a drug a test homes, you ain’t getting past me.” And with that, Cena dropped the mic and headed backstage while Reigns smirked in the ring.
· This was another good talking segment, but I had a hard time taking Reigns’ promo seriously because it was filled with lies. The notion that Cena has had no great matches in his career is a complete load of bullshit. Reigns being a revenue driver is true, but he left out some important facts.
· For those in the know, Cena is still the top merchandise mover in WWE. Also, he moves numbers when it comes to house shows and appearing on Raw and SmackDown Live on a regular basis. Without him, things take a tumble on the money and ratings front. Therefore, Reigns’ promo didn’t pass the sniff test in terms of believability.
· Cena kept things short and sweet by stating the facts. Playing into Reigns’ drug test failure was a great dig to wrap up the segment. Here’s hoping their verbal shots have a bit more bite during the go-home show next week because this was their “worse” exchange so far.
· Sasha Banks defeated Emma by making her tap out to the Bank Statement in a solid match. Emma got in a lot of offense, but the outcome was never in doubt.
· Paul Heyman kicked off the second hour of Raw by asking Braun Strowman if he was better than 2002 Brock Lesnar. Heyman admitted that Strowman was more powerful than Lesnar, but he wondered if Strowman could notch a signature win under his belt by beating John Cena later tonight. In The Beast’s quest towards world domination, he defeated the likes of The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam, and The Undertaker. Until Strowman piles up a similar resume, he’s not in Lesnar’s league.
· Heyman challenged the Monster Among Men to fight his client. Strowman accepted and the fight was on. Lesnar dropped Strowman with a German Suplex, but Strowman popped back up which stunned Lesnar. Strowman laid him out with a chokeslam followed by the Running Powerslam as Heyman looked on in shock at ringside.
· Strowman grabbed the Universal Championship and raised it high in the air as he placed his foot on Lesnar’s chest. He laid the belt in the same spot moments later and patted it three times to signal the pin count before leaving the ring.
· This was another great segment. Paul Heyman was the perfect hype man that asked the right questions about Strowman’s badassery, but Strowman continues to make him eat crow by putting The Beast on his ass at every turn. Their match at No Mercy for the Universal Title should be a classic if everything goes according to plan.
· Bray Wyatt defeated Goldust with Sister Abigail in a decent match. Goldust had a nice showing, but the outcome was never in doubt. See Emma vs. Sasha Banks as a prime example.
· However, things took a dark turn when Wyatt wiped away Goldust’s face paint which was perceived as a sign of sacrilege amongst fans. Wyatt wanted to prove that Goldust was just a man without special abilities when Finn Bálor ran down to the ring to make the save.
· Wyatt drawing legit heel heat for a change was refreshing to see, but I still don’t care about his match against Bálor at No Mercy next Sunday.
· Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows vs. Sheamus and Cesaro never got underway because Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins brawled with their No Mercy opponents until Anderson and Gallows turned things into a six-way brawl. Tensions are boiling over in the tag team division.
· Asuka is coming to Monday Night Raw. Something Wicked This Way Comes in the best possible way.
· Elias defeated Kalisto with a Swinging Neckbreaker in an okay match. It went a bit too long despite the inevitability of Kalisto losing clean.
· John Cena defeated Braun Strowman via disqualification after Strowman dropped him with a Running Powerslam on the steel steps. The match was fine, but it was a one-sided affair with Cena getting his ass kicked for 95% of the match.
· It was a great showcase for Strowman while protecting Cena at the same time because he didn’t eat the pin. Hopefully, this match will be revisited in the future because I feel that both men can do more if the booking gives them more freedom to go all out in the ring.
· Congrats to The Miz and Maryse on becoming first-time parents in the very near future. Miz’s quip on being there for his baby unlike Kurt Angle was great.
· Miz TV was very newsworthy as Miz read Enzo Amore for filth regarding his behind the scenes antics as of late. The burn was so epic that Enzo couldn’t even clap back with a good response that would win the crowd over. They were surprisingly pro-Miz because he spoke the absolute truth. This might be the moment when Enzo’s star faded to dust because Miz demolished him on the mic and came off like a total babyface.
· Enzo challenged Miz to a match which pretty much breaks the 205 Live rule of Cruiserweights not wrestling against heavyweights, but I digress.
· Enzo Amore defeated The Miz via disqualification after The Miztourage attacked him at ringside. Both men traded insults on the mic while their match was in progress. The action was pretty bland, but the crowd was still pro Miz for the most part. I don’t think that was the intended effect, but it suited him well.
· Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & The Hardy Boyz defeated Sheamus, Cesaro Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows when Ambrose nailed Anderson with Dirty Deeds for the win. The match was solid as Ambrose played the babyface in peril throughout. There was a slight hiccup when Matt Hardy came into the ring to break up a pin attempt after Ambrose kicked out at two. Corey Graves did an excellent job covering for Matt by saying the referee saw him out of the corner of his eye which resulted in the pin being broken up. It was a bit far-fetched, but it was better than saying nothing at all.
· Things got back on track when Ambrose made the hot tag to Rollins which quickened the pace of the match. Sensing trouble, Sheamus and Cesaro bailed on Anderson and Gallows during the closing moments of the match which led to the aforementioned finish. The show ended with the babyfaces standing tall while Graves proclaimed that he was heading to Sin City in the most enthusiastic way possible.
· This was a fine way to end the show. The crowd wasn’t super-hot, but they popped for the key spots which ended things on a high note. The Raw Tag Team Championship match should be a good one if both teams bring something fresh to the table. Based on what happened tonight, don’t be surprised to see Anderson and Gallows play a role in the finish. Just saying…
· Overall, I thought tonight’s episode of Raw was middling at best. The in-ring action was so-so with the exception of the opening match between Roman Reigns and Jason Jordan and the Eight-Man Tag Team match that closed the show.
· Braun Strowman dominating Brock Lesnar was fun, but the latest Roman Reigns-John Cena promo exchange left a lot to be desired. With next week’s go-home show taking place in San Jose, the double main event for No Mercy need to be on equal footing. Here’s hoping the creative team gets the job done.
· The rest of the No Mercy Card looks good. It was wise of WWE to plan out the PPV well in advance. However, they failed to do the same thing for Raw this week. The return of Monday Night Football should’ve given the company added incentive to load up tonight’s show. Instead, they relied on social media to generate buzz which can be hit or miss at best. With SmackDown Live having a loaded show tomorrow night, it would’ve been nice to see that same synergy on the red brand. It’s a missed opportunity that might result in SD Live beating their red counterpart in the ratings this week. If that’s the case, Go, Blue Brand, Go!
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 a brand new installment of The SmackDown Files. See you later, boys and girls!
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