Endings can be painful. Whether it’s a job you enjoyed, a valuable relationship or a move away from a familiar home, the end can often be a sad moment to stomach. But endings also bring finality – a measure of closure that allows the grieving process to begin, opening the door to further (hopefully greater) opportunities. Raw – and WWE in general – could do with a few more endings.
Much has been made of Raw’s tendency to suddenly drop storylines from one week to the next without explanation. While that certainly presents a problem with the product, it’s an entirely separate discussion. What irks me this week is something quite different. And that is the equally annoying habit of dragging feuds on unnecessarily.
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Consider for a moment some of the frustrations experienced with the top of WWE’s card of late. Seth Rollins and Baron Corbin feel like they’ve been entangled for months, unable to move onto new, more appropriate feuds. But why are these two still going at it? Seth decisively beat Corbin at Super ShowDown, because the latter let himself get distracted by bickering with the referee. The already dubiously arranged rematch at Stomping Grounds was again won by the Universal Champion, despite the challenger having the advantage of hand-picking a special guest official. And still – despite all that – the feud continues. Why?
Similarly, Becky Lynch and Lacey Evans are still brawling despite the Raw Women’s Champion having dispatched of Evans twice in the past month. And Kofi, having only recently moved on from a tiresome program with Dolph Ziggler, appears to be locked in a regular series of matchups with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
Did @BaronCorbinWWE & @LaceyEvansWWE REALLY just call out @WWERollins & @BeckyLynchWWE for a match at #ExtremeRules?! #RAW pic.twitter.com/nMxFohfS3d
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 25, 2019
That’s just to name a few such examples. These stalling feuds continuously produce lacklustre matches and badly hamper the product overall. Moreover they have a dampening effect on the people involved. There can be no doubt that the excitement around Kofi, Seth and Becky has been significantly cooled off by having the trio trapped in their respective never-ending programs. Often overlooked though are their challengers, who have also suffered from being overexposed in this fashion. Nobody benefits from stagnancy, by having the status quo maintained for months at a time.
As this week’s Raw rolled around, with little in the way of promises of a new dawn, I propose a resolution. As we enter the second half of 2019, let us close a few more chapters. Let us say goodbye to the drains of the past and begin the healing process together. In short, let’s have a few more endings.
Also, let’s get to the review.
The Best of Raw
A Championship of Pure Gold
When the 24/7 Title was introduced a little over a month ago, I predicted that WWE would forget about it within four weeks. Well, five weeks later and not only is the championship still heavily featured, but it’s one of the best things on Raw.
The 24/7 rule was temporarily suspended this week to allow a paranoid R-Truth to appear on MizTV. They recapped Truth’s ambush at Drake Maverick’s wedding to reclaim the belt he lost last week. This brought out a visibly distraught Maverick, who lamented that he hadn’t yet even consummated his marriage. Truth – hearing that the marriage was “constipated” – responded by prescribing a high dose of fibre.
Look into his eyes.
@WWEMaverick just wants to win back the love of his life…the #247Title! #RAW #MizTV pic.twitter.com/wJpx4wDEQd
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 25, 2019
A few more humorous lines later and a match was set for the 24/7 Title, during which Miz confirmed no one would be allowed to interfere. R-Truth won the bout in a few seconds, which brought out the usual assortment of under-carders. After a brief scrap, the 24/7 Champion scampered off with Carmella in tow.
A crestfallen Drake Maverick was interviewed after the match, but with nothing to say, he meekly crept back up the ramp. It was a unexpectedly emotional moment in an otherwise entirely meaningless title feud.
AJ Tries to Reawaken Some Passion
An agitated AJ Styles stumbled upon Gallows & Anderson in No Way José’s conga line and tried to convince them to be more serious. They, however, were less than receptive to the advice and, in the match against the Viking Raiders that followed, were resoundingly beaten.
Can't a couple of #GoodBrothers enjoy a good conga line?#RAW @AJStylesOrg @LukeGallowsWWE @KarlAndersonWWE pic.twitter.com/S3MW5DxtwE
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 25, 2019
Then later in the evening, when the pair came out to assist Styles in the main event, they were sent to the back by their former leader.
Although this angle (and the intervening tag match) were nothing to write home about, at least it was a coherent storyline. And God knows Raw could do with a few more of those.
The Best Combo in the World
Kofi Kingston once again took advantage of the Wild Card Rule to show up on Raw. Or maybe he was invited – who knows what the rules are?
The WWE Champion looked primed to be interviewed by Charley Caruso, only for Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to interrupt proceedings. They quickly excused “Not Renee” and started asking the hard-hitting questions. Questions like “Why are you here?”, “Who do you think you are?” and my personal favourite “Why don’t you just get the hell out of here… *flips to next cue card*… man?”
We're about to have ourselves a little impromptu @SamiZayn & @FightOwensFight SHOW with @TrueKofi!
Sorry, @CharlyOnTV… #RAW pic.twitter.com/YNJnYPwb8K
— WWE (@WWE) June 25, 2019
Tensions rose as Zayn once again harkened back to Kofi needing to rely on Xavier Woods to defeat Dolph Ziggler at Super ShowDown, whole Kofi maintained that he could beat anyone anywhere without outside help. And so, to prove his point, he challenged Sami to match.
A decent match followed, which Kofi won via rollup. Immediately after the bout, KO issued a challenge to the WWE Champion. Again, a largely passable contest ended with a Kingston victory by count-out. The matches were slightly underwhelming – and the results were hugely damaging to KO and Zayn – but I really enjoyed the build. It was slim pickings this week.
A New Challenger Emerges
Kofi’s program with Ziggler has left the WWE Champion feeling largely unspectacular. And after comfortably beating both KO and Zayn in consecutive bouts on Raw, the question became: “Who would his next challenger be?”
Enter Samoa Joe.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzHbFxyBzea/
The terrifying former U.S. Champion absolutely demolished Kingston as he made his way up the ramp, in the process setting up a fairly tasty feud. Joe is the rare case of someone who remains largely unaffected by losses, and so still feels like a real menace even on the back of his defeat to Ricochet at Stomping Grounds.
Moreover, Kofi desperately needs a legitimate threat to his title after the lacklustre Ziggler feud. This feels like the right move from WWE.
Main Event That Delivers
The main event of the night saw the advertised match of AJ Styles vs. Ricochet. As you might expect, these two guys put on a pretty good show. In a clear departure from the methodical, plodding wrestling we’d been served all night, this match injected some much-appreciated speed and athleticism.
Start chanting… 👏👏 👏👏👏#RAW @KingRicochet @AJStylesOrg pic.twitter.com/ngmUfZaoCH
— WWE (@WWE) June 25, 2019
After several minutes of continuous flips, Ricochet missed a 630 Splash, giving Styles the opportunity he needed to land the Phenomenal Forearm for the win. The ‘Phenomenal One’ then raised the defeated Ricochet’s hand, while the commentary team put him over as potentially being the next challenger to the U.S. Champion’s crown. I could watch it again.
The Worst of Raw
The “Man’s man” and the “Best Backup on the Planet”
Seth and Becky kicked off Raw by having a lovey-dovey pow-wow, in which they took turns patting one another on the back for being super good-looking and awesome at wrestling. A puppy-eyed Seth called Lynch “the best backup in the world” in reference to her intervention in Sunday’s main event. Becky giddily cooed that it “pays to be The Man’s man”. This overly soppy exchange felt like it had been ripped directly from a teen drama in the late 1990s.
🎵 Can you feel the love tonight?
The peace the evening brings… 🎵#RAW @WWERollins @BeckyLynchWWE pic.twitter.com/zGdUca1U80— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 25, 2019
I actually found myself relieved when Lacey Evans and Baron Corbin blindsided the champs from behind. Or, at least I was, until Seth and Becky fought off their foes, forcing Evans and Corbin to pick up microphones. The heels rushed through some awkward dialogue about Becky making sandwiches for her boyfriend and Lacey getting her hands on Rollins.
Even worse, this all served to only steer the never-ending feud even further towards the obvious cliff we’d all hoped Raw would be able to avoid: a mixed tag match at Extreme Rules, with the added stipulation that if Corbin and Evans lose, they’re done as challengers to Seth and Becky “forever”. But if the challengers win, then they’ll claim both champions’ belts.
WINNERS TAKE ALL?!@BaronCorbinWWE & @LaceyEvansWWE are coming for EVERYTHING that @WWERollins & @BeckyLynchWWE hold sacred, and they want to take it at #ExtremeRules! #RAW pic.twitter.com/LscZL1iMPA
— WWE (@WWE) June 25, 2019
I don’t often say this, but honestly… who cares about any of this?
More Gimmick Matches
Viewers of last weeks’ Raw and SmackDown may have been somewhat befuddled by the many elimination and 2-out-of-3 fall matches on offer. Considering the stipulation is so rarely used, even in pay-per-view events, it was weird to see several such contests in the same week.
Reports soon emerged that the odd stipulation was a product of a directive by Vince McMahon, who had grown tired of seeing matches play out during commercial breaks. Well, Raw this week showed no sign of abandoning the trend, as The Revival and Bryan & Rowan teamed up to take on The Usos and The New Day in an 8-man elimination tag match, in terms of which if one member of a duo was pinned, that entire team was eliminated.
JUST LIKE THAT, we're down to TWO teams after #TheNewDay eliminates @WWEDanielBryan & @ERICKROWAN, and #TheRevival take out @XavierWoodsPhD & @WWEBigE! #RAW pic.twitter.com/ka4SIuuNpN
— WWE (@WWE) June 25, 2019
After an uncharatceristically scrappy start, a miscommunication between Bryan and Scott Dawson led to Xavier Woods pinning the SmackDown tag team champion. Within seconds thereafter, The Revival pinned The New Day member to even the odds. Annnnnd… cut to commercial.
As Raw returned from the break, the bell rang for the final fall. After a fairly decent exchange, Jimmy Uso launched himself off Dash Wilder to hit an inventive splash on Scott Dawson to secure victory. While the match wasn’t necessarily bad (it wasn’t much of anything really), I have no idea why both sets of tag champions needed to be so resoundingly beaten on the same night. It once again makes them look like chumps.
‘The Deadman’ Rises
Shane and Drew McIntyre were in the process of beating up Roman Reigns in your bog-standard 2-on-1 handicap match. It was nothing particularly exciting, yet nevertheless served to adequately progress this feud between the ‘Big Dog’ and the boss’ son. In other words, it was logical. It made sense.
Then The Undertaker showed up.
THE PHENOM IS HERE.
The #Undertaker delivers a CHOKESLAM to @shanemcmahon! #RAW pic.twitter.com/T2Q4n00I1t
— WWE (@WWE) June 25, 2019
Okay. But… why? Why would ‘The Phenom’ involve himself in this storyline? Beyond having had WrestleMania matches with both men in recent years, there’s little in way of coherent reasoning for this to happen. Does The Undertaker want to be The Best in the World? Is he upset that Shane overlooked him when assembling his axis of goobers?
Whatever the reason, I’m not sure I want to see ‘The Deadman’ compete in another match in 2019. Not after that debacle against Goldberg at Super ShowDown. Not if it means that Shane is now involved in three separate feuds – against Miz, Roman Reigns and now The Undertaker.
A later announcement confirmed that Extreme Rules will see Undertaker & Roman Reigns take on Shane and McIntyre in a tag match. I have a feeling that tickets are still available.
Tug of War
Full disclosure, I placed this in the worst category before I’d even seen the segment. But then again, it was a tug of war between Braun Stroman and Bobby Lashley, so I felt that was a safe bet.
Footage taken from earlier in the day showed Braun pulling an 18-wheel truck. Apparently it was heavier than the combined weight of every person in the state of Washington… or some similar nonsense that Michael Cole was spouting.
Have we mentioned @BraunStrowman's a M O N S T E R? #RAW pic.twitter.com/L743xewqLn
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 25, 2019
A few segments later, Lashley responded by attempting to pull a telephone pole out of the ground. The rope he was using snapped – presumably from the sheer force of sports entertainment!
The point of all this was to convince us that both men were evenly matched in sheer animalistic sweatiness, as they entered the ring for what was billed as a hellacious contest. But then Braun easily won, and Bobby beat him up with the rope for a bit.
As bad as their arm wrestling contest was a few weeks ago, this segment was somehow even worse. It was the kind of unparalleled garbage that almost made me long for the days when Alexa Bliss was setting up rivalries based on social media posts. Almost.
A Divided Locker Room
Natalya and Naomi confronted Nikki Cross over her friendship with Alexa Bliss, trying to convince the Scotswoman that Bliss was manipulating her. Then Alexa – who had apparently been standing just outside of frame – showed up and it all kicked off.
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I’m guessing this exchange won’t make the video package that Stephanie McMahon shows investors when she proudly prattles on about the “Women’s Evolution”.
EC3 Wins Championship Gold!
I know I praised the 24/7 Title goofiness of earlier in the night. But that was before an impromptu match between Mojo Rawley and Heath Slater was interrupted by R-Truth and the merry band of misfits that routinely follow him around.
Well, @MojoRawleyWWE and @HeathSlaterOMRB WERE set for singles action, but #247Title MAYHEM has begun! #RAW pic.twitter.com/XtdbZnyf8L
— WWE (@WWE) June 25, 2019
A series of finishers and rollups meant that the title changed hands on no less than four occasions before R-Truth reclaimed the gold. Even EC3 got to hold the title for a hot second. He was involved in a 5-star match last year.
Nothing here showcased the creativity or imitation that has come to define the 24/7 Championship. As a means to fill five minutes of airtime, I would’ve preferred to see Rawley vs. Slater. At least that might’ve elevated somebody.
No Bray Wyatt
Last week it seemed that Bray was primed to reappear on Raw following a long layoff. The final Firefly Fun House had aired and Bray’s transformation into the ‘Fiend’ was seemingly complete. Except he didn’t show up.
Not only did Bray not re-debut on the show, but Raw also lost its most compelling component. The Firefly Fun House skits were widely considered the best aspect of Raw in recent weeks, and without the two-minute segments, the show felt surprisingly lacking.
While I appreciated the subtle nods to the character throughout the broadcast, Bray’s absence made me worry that perhaps WWE doesn’t know what to do with him. Hopefully – for all our sakes – that turns out not to be the case.
Overall Rating for the Show (From best to worst: RawSome, Cor, AvRAWge, Poor and RawFul)
For the most part, this felt like another Raw in which dozens of ideas were thrown against a wall to see which stuck. Regular storytelling mechanics were too often discarded in favour of meaningless elimination tag matches, tugs of war and women bickering over which of them are better friends.
Most appalling of all though is the main event scene. Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch have rapidly become the most annoying people on Earth, akin to those obnoxious friends who get together and then immediately feel entitled to dish out relationship advice to everybody. Worse still is the fact that this nauseating union only serves to set up a mixed tag encounter against Lacey Evans and Baron Corbin at Extreme Rules.
IT'S OFFICIAL: @WWERollins & @BeckyLynchWWE will defend BOTH the #UniversalChampionship AND #RAW #WomensChampionship in a #MixedTag Match against @BaronCorbinWWE & @LaceyEvansWWE! #WinnersTakeAll pic.twitter.com/uB7MWOSoU7
— WWE (@WWE) June 25, 2019
As soon as that match was set up at the top of the show, there was no redeeming Raw. Not the fun 24/7 Title segment, not the exciting main event, not even the return of The Undertaker! Caught in the wake of this scattershot nonsense are sadly some very talented performers. The tag champs were harmed, Braun and Lashley looked ridiculous and Nikki Cross is made out to be a total moron.
In case I haven’t entirely sold you on how diabolical this show was – there was also no Firefly Fun House this week.
With that in mind, Raw this week – and in particular its main event scene – was RawFul.
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