Bayley and Sasha were the real start to Raw, as the show really started with their presence in the ring.
Bayley said they are changing the game one show at a time because they never sleep and when you are a one-of-a-kind talent in the generation, they all haunt you. They will take control of WWE when they win all the titles. Asuka came out and laughed when Sasha was called Two Belt Banks and said that Bayley is not ready for Asuka. Bayley said that Sasha is going to humiliate her and that she is ready for anyone and anything, so she asks what Asuka has for her. Asuka takes out Kairi Sane!
Sasha and Bayley continued to demonstrate why they are the workhorses of this company right now. And once again, Bayley put Sasha in a difficult situation. Okay, yeah, Sasha did it to Bayley last week, but it had been incredibly one-sided up until that point.
Sasha and Kairi were put in a clinic, and when Sasha had the potential to lose like Kairi had in a Boston crab, Bayley interfered and caused a DQ. Asuka attacked them and went outside, and Kairi shook off the turnbuckle and pulled out the role models.
Later Asuka and Bayley had their own game, and it was just as good! Nikki Cross was commenting and it was an absolute delight. But when Sasha and Bayley irritated her, security pulled her out of the ring. Bayley was in control choking Asuka on the ropes, Asuka returned with a hip attack that sent Bayley to the ground. Bayley was able to go back inside, picked up a bottle of water, and threw it at Asuka’s face. Suddenly Nikki appeared behind the plexiglass and distracted Bayley and Sasha, Asuka pushed Bayley inside and locked it. Sasha tried to interfere, but Kairi went through it and Asuka won.
I loved everything about Kabuki Warriors and Role Models tonight. They were the highlights of the show when they were on screen. I don’t know if Sasha is going to beat Asuka on Sunday, but I do know that if she doesn’t win, it’s most likely because of Bayley. And that only makes me laugh with joy. I am very interested in this.
Talk more, Claymore
Dolph started the show and demanded to know what stipulation Dolph chose for Extreme Rules. Dolph came out and said that his stipulation … is a secret! Drew has experience leaving people behind, and Heath Slater comes out! Heath discussed their story together and said that when Drew was fired in 2014, Heath called him and dined with him the entire time, but he hasn’t heard from Drew in months. He wants what they owe him, and that’s a game. Drew said he didn’t want to fight him, but Heath slapped him in the face and got his game.
If anyone thought this segment turned Drew McIntyre into a heel, you are very wrong. What he actually did was remind many of us of a person we left behind at some point in our lives. That person was tall and dry after they supported us. Nor was it done with bad intentions.
I felt that. Once they got back from the break, it got weird. I don’t understand what Heath’s point was in a match at all. He lost in less than 20 seconds and then Drew had to help him when Dolph stepped into the ring to scold him for losing. Why did Dolph care? I should have been elated that Heath lost because if he won, he would be in line for a title shot, you know, the true form of WWE.
All of that was so we could get to Heath and Drew by doing a little 3MB meeting and hugging her.
So the question arises, why even reserve all that? A more creative way of doing things would have been for Heath to make the same great promotional announcement for Drew, Drew was going to get a hug and an apology, Heath doesn’t accept and leaves, but then attacks Drew with Dolph. Heath is aligned with Dolph, and at Extreme Rules, he is in Dolph’s corner. Suddenly, just as Dolph is about to win, Heath is revealed and revealed to have always been on Drew’s side and they made a plan to screw Dolph. Dolph loses, and we have that 3MB meeting to close the pay per event. In this way, no one looks stupid, and Heath is not humiliated.
Easy peasy! Now, I’m still not excited about Drew and Dolph on Sunday, and they had to humiliate Heath in the process.
Eye for an eye
During the KO show, Owens presented Seth with a gift to commemorate their epic Wrestlemania match together: the WWE Shop Owens shirt he wore at the match. Seth didn’t care and wanted to address Rey Mysterio. He will challenge Rey to a match at Extreme Rules. He told Owens that he should choose to fight him because he has been fighting so hard and so hard that he must be tired and maybe need a purpose. Rey and Dominick went out and Rey said he accepts the challenge, and Owens said he will fight in place of Aleister tonight. The winning team must choose the stipulation for their match, and Seth accepted.
Three times in an hour, WWE made someone look stupid. Can’t we get to where we want to go in a more creative way? First it was Dolph and Heath, now KO. What was the point of a KO show for a silly Owens prank promotion and making him Mysterio’s main partner? Have Seth come out and play preacher, Rey and Dom come out like they did, then Owens is shocked and sees what happened in the back and wants to punish Seth and Murphy. This is too easy sometimes! How do I come up with these things and aren’t people paid?
The game went well, and actually had a very good ending. Aleister came out and Seth begged him to hit him so he could win and choose the stipulation. While Seth and the referee were distracted by it, Dom, to pay Seth for raking his eyes earlier, raked Murphy’s eyes and that allowed Rey to pin Murphy and choose the stipulation. That stipulation? One … eye per match? I can’t say I disagree with Rey’s reasoning, but why risk having your other eye gouged out? There are a dozen stipulations you can choose to make sure you do serious damage to your opponent. I don’t see this ending well for Rey, unless there’s a lot of interference.
The rest
New red, white and blue – Good good good. MVP and Lashley came out after saying they would discuss the future of the United States title. MVP said the Apollo Crews light was glowing but had been turned off. He is full of youthful exuberance and is considered invincible, but no one is invincible when it comes to Bobby Lashley’s Nelson Nelson. Having defeated Apollo, he already considered himself the new US champion and unveiled a new US title!
Ricochet and Cedric came out and said Apollo will be back soon and that it is time to end the fantasy of the American MVP title. So naturally that means a tag team match! Ricochet was shaken as usual, and sold his butt as usual. When Cedric entered, he took out Lashley so he could target the MVP and almost won it with a tornado DDT, but Lashley got the tag and threw Cedric the victory. Lashley locked Full Nelson in a courtesy for Cedric’s problems and Ricochet managed to save.
I’m digging RicoRic defending Apollo Crews. It’s not often that people who show themselves as friends on TV help each other out during games or defend their friends’ honor, and it’s great to see that WWE gave them the spot on TV for the past few weeks. Losing … I’m not a big fan of that. I am excited to see what happens between MVP and Apollo on Sunday. I hope to see RicoRic in Apolo’s corner to maintain continuity. You can’t leave anyone alone with Lashley stalking the ring.
RKO, Andrade and Angel Garza def. Big Show and the Viking Raiders – There was silly nonsense behind the scenes between the faces where Big Show had to overwhelm the Raiders by weakly slicing them. Randy said he respected Garza and Andrade for also being third generation fighters. In the game, what was really cool was Orton with Garza. Heron and Andrade argued again, and Orton had none of that. While Andrade was the legal man, Orton grabbed Garza by the neck and told him to stick his head out of his ass. Very leader like. Show got the hot tag and was about to strangle Andrade and Orton attempted an RKO, but Show stepped aside, Erik and Orton entered and while Andrade blocked the Viking Experience, Orton hit Erik with an RKO to win.
Really cool match between the six men. Orton is doing his best work right now, and the way he approached Andrade and Garza, respecting them as a third generation like him, made me want to see a Legacy 2.0 among them for a while. I didn’t give a shit about faces in this match, as I don’t care about Show, and the Viking Raiders have been reduced to nothing after that ridiculous dispute with the Street Profits. I mean, the benefits of the street have also been reduced to nothing, so … whatever.
Billie Kay def. Ruby Riott – This match literally did nothing for Ruby in defeat. In fact, nothing WWE has been up to lately with her is for her benefit. A former Riott Squad member is fired, and they mishandle the other two. What will it take for Ruby and Liv to get groomed and taken seriously? If you need to know who is the best individual fighter among the IIconics, look no further. It’s Peyton. Sorry Billie.
Raw had ups and downs, but most of the games delivered. The weakest points were some of the segments between parties. Dolph ruined the opening segment and the match for me, simply being utter nonsense. I really would have liked to see more of serious Heath Slater in WWE. Ruby’s handling and Liv’s foul is very frustrating. The label scene is pretty absent on Raw. Other than that, Orton, Garza, Andrade were a fun couple that I want more of, and I’m really interested to see how MVP and Apollo and the role models in Extreme Rules for the raw side of things.
Grade: C +
What were your thoughts, Cagesiders?
