By: Keila Cash
Hello everyone and welcome to another installment of The Raw Exposé. Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw emanated from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. This is WWE’s fourth televised event in LA this year. Considering the fact that the company tends to go all out every time they run a show in La La Land, this should be an above average night in terms of in-ring action and storyline progression.
However, running the same market multiple times can ruin a good thing. Did the E avoid this doomsday scenario by delivering the goods in Tinsel Town? The answer to that question can be found throughout this blog. Without further ado, let’s dissect tonight’s show in no particular order.
· Raw kicked off with Kurt Angle announcing Sheamus and Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose for the Raw Tag Team Championship and Roman Reigns defending the Intercontinental Title against {Insert Wrestle Here}, but Jason Jordan came out to interrupt.
· Jordan wanted a shot at Reigns’ IC Title. The crowd booed him before adding a “Delete” chant for good measure.
· Roman Reigns made his way to the ring and turned down Jordan’s challenge because he wanted to defend his title against Samoa Joe. Reigns offered Jordan a piece of advice by suggesting that he step up like a man instead of whining to his dad in order to get ahead.
· Jordan scoffed at Reigns’ comment and claimed that Reigns hasn’t earned anything in his career because upper management anointed him as their designated poster boy.
· Reigns checked Jordan by going over his resume over the past seven years. He earned his spot and implored Jordan to do the same as both men went face-to-face with Angle playing the role of mediator.
· Samoa Joe appeared on the main stage and gave Reigns five seconds to cancel their IC Title match or suffer the consequences.
· Jordan tried to cut a tough guy promo on Joe, but it was more yelp the bite. Reigns told Jordan to stay in his lane as he focused his attention on Joe.
· Feeling disrespected, Jordan dropped Reigns with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex as Angle looked on in shock.
· Reigns gathered his bearings and accepted Jordan’s challenge which took place after the commercial break.
· This was a good way to start the show. Jason Jordan trying to be a badass on the mic was a total fail. The delivery was bad and his acting was even worse. Jordan’s turning heel, he needs to get a firm grasp on his character in order to pull it off.
· Being a whiner suits him perfectly, but he needs to balance out the anger in a believable way in order to be taken seriously instead of getting laughed out of the building. Jordan’s presumed turn is in its early stages which gives the creative team time to work out the kinks until they are ready to pull the trigger. Here’s hoping Jordan and the Powers That Be comes up with a persona that generates heat for all the right reasons because he has potential to get over based on his in-ring skills alone.
· Roman Reigns successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship when he pinned Jason Jordan with the Spear in a very good match. This was the epitome of a match having a strong beginning, middle, and end as Reigns dominated the action early on only for Jordan to turn the tables after the commercial break.
· The highlight of the match was Jordan catching Reigns in midair and slamming him against the steel steps. Following another commercial break, Reigns was back on offense as he locked Jordan in a Half Boston Crab which targeted his injured left knee.
· Jordan tried to grab the bottom rope, but Reigns kept pulling him to the center of the ring. Jordan countered out of the hold and pinned Reigns for a near fall. Reigns recovered and nailed Jordan with the Superman Punch. He tried to finish Jordan with the Spear, but Jordan countered with a knee to the face followed by a pair of Northern Lights Suplexes. There was a great piece of storytelling with Jordan pinning Reigns with his injured leg hanging off the canvas because it hurt too much to plant it for the three count.
· Jordan went on the attack but ate a Spear for his efforts as Reigns retained the IC Title.
· After the match was over, Samoa Joe made his way to the ring to pick the bones as he and Reigns got into a small scuffle before Joe locked in the Coquina Clutch. Jordan broke the hold by suplexing Joe but got rewarded with a Superman Punch from Reigns despite his good deed.
· Backstage, Jordan confronted Kurt Angle and demanded a match against Samoa Joe. Angle checked his son and told him to chill out because he doesn’t want to give people the impression that he’s playing favorites. He told Jordan that his request was under consideration and ordered him to get out of his office.
· Joe barged into Angle’s office and slammed Jordan against the wall to accept his challenge as Angle checked on his son.
· Jordan playing on Angle’s emotions gives him deniable plausibility because he keeps getting his ass kicked on a regular basis. Jordan’s presumed heel turn is working in that respect.
· Paige defeated Sasha Banks with the Ram-Paige in a decent match. Paige and Sasha worked hard, but their match lacked crowd heat until the last three minutes. It just didn’t click for some reason. Paige is still knocking off the ring rust and it showed because her offense was sloppy in spots.
· Her attempt to powerbomb Sasha from the second rope almost ended in disaster because the execution was botched which caused Sasha to hit the canvas in a sick way.
· Fortunately, The Boss was okay as she got up and traded right hands with Paige before locking her in the Bank Statement. Paige pulled herself near the ropes and broke the hold as Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose checked on her at ringside.
· Mickie James and Bayley intervened on Sasha’s behalf but got their asses kicked by Deville and Rose which led to the finish moments later.
· After the match was over, Absolution triple teamed Sasha as the segment ended with the heels standing tall on the main stage.
· Absolution continues to impress, but they have to click as a unit between the ropes in order to get over. The fact that Paige’s first match in a year didn’t click with the LA crowd is a not an encouraging sign, to say the least. Let’s hoping this is a blip on the radar because Paige is a well-rounded performer who should have no problem getting over if she’s booked properly.
· Does Nia Jax have a thing for Enzo Amore? That came out of nowhere…
· Fatal Four Way #2 featuring Cedric Alexander, Drew Gulak, Tony Nese, and Mustafa Ali ended with Gulak pinning Ali after Alexander did the grunt work when he nailed his friend with the Lumbar Check. Gulak will face Rich Swann next week to determine the number one contender for Enzo Amore’s Cruiserweight Championship.
· The match was fine, but it was nothing more than a glorified spot fest that generated minimal cheers at best. That’s the general rule of thumb when it comes to cruiserweight matches unless the layout bucks the trend. It happens on occasion, but it doesn’t matter when the wrestlers lack well-developed personalities which prevent the crowd from connecting with them on an emotional level.
· Elias got destroyed by Braun Strowman in quick and decisive fashion. Here endeth the recap.
· Kane appeared on the titantron and announced that he will face Strowman in a match next week. Their physical confrontations have been hit or miss, but we shall see how WWE plans to accentuate their strengths while hiding their weaknesses at the same time.
· Asuka defeated Alicia Fox with an armbar in a quick match, but Fox suffered a bigger loss when Paige kissed their friendship goodbye as Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose left her lying in the ring.
· They had the opportunity to do the same thing to Asuka, but Paige gave her a pass for the second week in a row. Is Absolution biding their time to strike or are they afraid that Asuka will destroy them without breaking a sweat? Hmm…
· Finn Bàlor defeated Bo Dallas with the Coup De Grace in a decent match. Seeing Dallas dominate the action tested my suspension of disbelief, but Bàlor pulled out the win which was refreshing to see. However, the haphazard booking is doing him no favors when it comes to getting OVER. I wonder who should take the blame for that. Vince *cough* McMahon *cough”.
· The official debut of “Woken” Matt Hardy was splendid. Hardy using the Seven Deities to interrupt Bray Wyatt’s promo was great. His cackling laugh at the end had me rolling in the best possible way. This was by far the hottest thing on the show so far and it’s not even close.
· Sheamus and Cesaro retained the Raw Tag Team Titles when Sheamus nailed Dean Ambrose with the Brogue Kick and pulled Cesaro on top of Ambrose for the pin. The match was restarted after Sheamus intentionally got disqualified for beating up Seth Rollins mercilessly which caused the referee to end the match.
· Kurt Angle came out and restarted the match under No DQ rules which allowed Samoa Joe to interfere as he attacked Rollins and Ambrose in the ring.
· Roman Reigns ran down to the ring to make the save, but the distraction gave The Bar enough time to take advantage which led to the aforementioned finish.
· Raw went off the air with The Shield recovering in the ring while Sheamus, Cesaro, and Joe escaped through the crowd.
· This was a great match, but the overbooked finish was a bit much. This was the best thing on the show outside of the Woken Brilliance of Matt Hardy. The action was on point as Rollins and Ambrose played the babyfaces in peril until they made their respective comebacks. Cesaro and Sheamus did a great job isolating the faces from making the hot tag as they laid them out with their smash mouth offense.
· The near falls had the crowd on their edge of their seats as the match hit its crescendo prior to the bullshit finish. Angle made things right, but the BS ending couldn’t be avoided. Despite the outcome, it makes sense from a storyline standpoint.
· Samoa Joe stuck his nose in Roman Reigns’ business which should lead to a six-man tag featuring The Shield vs. The Bar and Joe next week in Cleveland, Ohio. WWE has put on some of their best shows at The Quicken Loans Arena over the past couple of years. Here’s hoping that hot streak remains intact as the company takes over the USA Network primetime lineup next week.
· Overall, I thought tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw was middling at best until the main event. The show started off strong with Roman Reigns defending the Intercontinental Championship against Jason Jordan. Things took a nosedive during the second hour with the surprisingly lackluster match between Paige and Sasha Banks. The Fatal Four Way featuring the Cruiserweights was fine, but it didn’t set the world on fire.
· The third hour was a snooze fest until “Woken” Matt Hardy woke up the crowd. Outside of the final segment, this was a so-so show which shouldn’t be the case because WWE goes out of their way to put on a big show in Los Angeles.
· As I mentioned last week, the company has run the LA market FOUR times this year which can lead to an oversaturation of their product. It appears that lull hit the crowd tonight because they were sleepy for most of the show. The show ended on a strong note despite the screwy finish, but it would behoove the E to limit their dates on the west coast next year.
· The Staples Center is set to host NXT Takeover, Survivor Series, Raw, and SmackDown Live next November. Outside of a live broadcast during WrestleMania season, WWE should stay out of LA until then. It will make their live shows feel more special and prevent further burnout and low attendance from their Cali fan base.
· On a more positive note, WWE has two matches announced for next week with Rich Swann facing Drew Gulak to determine the number one contender for the Cruiserweight Championship while Kane and Braun Strowman finally settle their score in the ring. For real this time. I think…
· Meanwhile, The Shield will probably challenge Sheamus, Cesaro, and Samoa Joe to a match in order to exact revenge for what happened during the Raw Tag Team Championship match. Jason Jordan is the wild card because he has a bone to pick with Reigns and Joe after both men punked him out earlier tonight. Will Kurt Angle’s long lost son continue to manipulate his father in order to get what he wants? I guess we shall find out next week as Raw emanates from The Q in Cleveland. It should be a hot show. 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 a brand new installment of The SmackDown Files. See you later, boys and girls!
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