It really happened, you guys.
Bayley Dos Straps and now five-time Raw women’s champion Two Beltz Banks, baby!
Banks came out with the Raw female title, which was a bit odd because you would have thought how powerful Stephanie McMahon is, she would have ordered Sasha to give up the title. But calling Stephanie a bully for doing this game was a great touch.
What a match was this. Just before it started, Kairi Sane chased Bayley down the ramp and behind the scenes so she wouldn’t try to interfere. At first Sasha tried to beat Guerrero herself by throwing the titles in the ring so that the referee had his back turned and claimed that Asuka hit her with the Raw title. However, she was not fooled and Sasha Roundhouse kicked her for it.
They built a real bonfire. Sasha had some good kicks, Asuka discovered a damn Codebreaker, a German supplement, Sasha made the frog splash. Later in the game, Bayley appeared on the trunk and was attacking Kairi. Asuka was in a real situation and stayed on Sasha, but when Kairi screamed at Asuka in pain, she limped down the ramp to help her friend. Asuka was discounted and Sasha won. Bayley ran out and celebrated with Sasha. In the back, Asuka came out of a training room where Kairi was being cared for and was very excited, which was probably the official cancellation of Kairi Sane in WWE. It was real and without pun, crude.
The ending was certainly controversial. I do think they ruled out Kairi well, but Asuka just leaving the game was weird. It was the classic stupid babyface syndrome, but in a way it also worked because Asuka has a true love for Kairi that has been documented on the show. Personally, I am willing to let it go because it fits in a certain sense, and I also really wanted to see the models go with all the gold.
How did you feel about it?
Dominik plus kendo stick
Occasionally a segment appears that captivates me.
This was a segment that made you feel the feelings you should have felt as a viewer based on the fantastic performance of the people involved telling the story perfectly. And I didn’t realize that of all the segments featuring the Monday Night Messiah, the one involving a non-WWE wrestler would do the job.
Seth came out and said he beat Rey Mysterio and Aleister Black, but he didn’t, because Dominik came to Raw. It seems that every time the greater good takes two steps forward, someone stands in its way and is forced to step back. He invited Dominik to come out face to face.
Dom came out and was embarrassed, but Seth was very comforting and calm for Dominik to get into the ring. Seth spread his arms for a hug and Dom attacked him. Murphy and Seth attacked again, and threw him onto the bulletin board, but Aleister Black managed to save. However, it did not do much.
Here is the first excellent part of this segment. Seth yelled and slapped Murphy and said he knew what to do. Murphy, with a scared look in her eyes, said “Me?” After the slap, Murphy fired and pushed Aleister’s eye straight to the step. He went around the other side of the ring for more, and then came the second excellent in this segment.
Dominik Mysterio invited us all to a little baseball as baseball is in crisis right now. He turned toward the fence with a kendo stick to Murphy and Seth. It was very violent and vicious. Dom stood up to finish this and I was salivating for more.
Salivating! Dominik Mysterio had one of the best babyface fires I have seen this year. I want a match between him and Seth at SummerSlam. As for Murphy, there were some very interesting stories with him here. Some excellent nuances are happening, where Murphy almost doubts his role as Seth’s disciple. Maybe he is starting to get out of Seth’s trick? Perhaps a civil war is brewing for the common good?
Give me what i want
Motivated Randy Orton is a delight, folks.
He started the show and said that Rock and Stone Cold cannot hold a candle for his longevity or accomplishments, dropping his old stables. And this morning he woke up and decided he wanted a WWE Championship match at SummerSlam.
He then dressed Drew McIntyre and said that his list of accomplishments is even shorter than everyone else’s, but that he respects Drew for working on his job after he was fired. McIntyre has what he wants. And you will take it with an RKO that you will never see coming.
McIntyre later addressed Orton’s comments and accepted the match at SummerSlam. He said he hopes Orton thinks he’s underdog so he can kick his butt like he did Brock at WrestleMania. He may not see the RKO coming, but Orton will see the Claymore. After McIntyre won in his main event game against Ziggler, Orton did his thing. He lifted the WWE title to close the show as McIntyre was almost motionless on the mat.
What a great opening promotion. Orton is at the top of his game right now and consistently a big part of the show. 100% deserve a title fight after their fantastic 2020 so far. Drew also did a very good job, because Drew is the best Drew. When they are serious, he is consistently excellent at the microphone. I am excited for SummerSlam.
50-50 reserve strikes again
To finish off the highlights, comes a low biiiig.
The match between Bobby Lashley and Mustafa Ali was pretty good, but it would be negligent not to recognize how much I HATE booking 50-50. Mustafa Ali returned after a long break, and WWE put him on Raw, and welcomed a hero last week. It also covered MVP.
So why would WWE book a match between these two men this week, when they should know that neither of them should be losing? They should know what. However, here we are.
It’s so disappointing that WWE reserved Ali in this bout, instead of, say, Shelton Benjamin in an untitled fight. We have seen it many times. It was an easy decision to protect both Ali and Lashley, and they returned to the current state.
The rest
Andrade and Angel Garza def. Viking Raiders, Ricochet and Cedric Alexander – Andrade and Garza thought they were going to get away with it while Vikings and Fly Boys (yes, let’s do this now) fought in the ring. Both teams recovered them and each worked individually. Ric received a nasty kick set by Ced to Andrade. Andrade and Ric teamed up to get Erik out of the way. Ric was caught in an attack once it was done. Ric hit a trampoline platform and a shooting star in Garza, and Ivar went to the top and almost killed everyone except Garza, who took advantage and covered Cedric.
It was pretty obvious that Andrade and Garza were winning this one. A part of me thought that maybe they would do Raiders again and continue that Infinite War between them, but WWE did the right thing. I also like that they continue to gel and have no lack of communication. Will that happen at SummerSlam, or will they become champions? I wait one more week before reaching any conclusions.
Drew McIntyre def. Dolph Ziggler – We had another Extreme Rules match between these two men. Drew put Dolph through the barricade and Drew won with Claymore kicking Dolph against a table. I am very happy that this is over.
Welcome to the land of double counting – Jax felt the need to let us know that his previous title opportunities were in the hands of other people, namely Charlotte Flair, who had not been seen recently. (Appeared by someone in the crowd yelling “He’s hiding!”) Jax demanded a Raw female title fight and Shayna Baszler came out, and she confronted Jax and said she doesn’t care what she wants. A fight ensued and no match came out.
A little later they had a match. Well, they had a fight that went to a double count. They then destroyed all the officials who came out and tried to separate them. So I’m not sure why that couldn’t have been just in the opening segment, but it was a fight anyway. Shayna guarding the big bad monster Nia should be the end game.
Murphy def. Humberto Carrillo – This was a fast high-flying match that I couldn’t see much due to transmission issues. They’ve fought before, so we practically know what to expect from them.
Raw was mostly great, with some moments that weren’t great. I loved everything about the Banks / Asuka match, the Seth / Murphy / Dominik segment, the Orton promotion and the tag team triple threat. Mustafa Ali’s reservation is something I really didn’t like. Let him win! Don’t book a game that both men shouldn’t lose. SummerSlam is close and we are seeing some of what Raw will present. I like it so far!
Grade b
What were your thoughts, Cagesiders?
