Reviews

TJR: The WWE Raw Deal 07/27/20 Review

By John Canton • Published 28th July 2020

Welcome to the WWE Raw Deal review right here on TJRWrestling. We are still in the process of rebuilding TJRWrestling with a new-look website that will hopefully be ready by the end of the week. When it’s here, you’ll know. Thanks for supporting us through this transition.

From the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, this is the Raw Deal for episode #1418 of Monday Night Raw. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. Please visit TJRWrestling.net daily for our regular updates on the wrestling business featuring WWE news coverage, insightful columns from our team along with reviews about wrestling’s past and present. Let’s roll.

The Raw intro video aired to begin the show. This show was taped last Monday after last week’s Raw.

The WWE developmental wrestlers were in the crowd as usual. The announce team of Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Samoa Joe did a rundown of the matches coming up.

Let’s Hear from Randy Orton

Randy Orton walked to the ring for a promo in his wrestling gear that includes a vest. They showed highlights of Orton beating Big Show in an Unsanctioned Match in the main event of Raw last week. Orton won clean with his second RKO of the match. After the match, Orton hit The Punt after the match to take out Show like Orton took out Edge and Christian in the past. It took about three minutes to get through this.

Orton said for 20 years in WWE he has been called different names like the Apex Predator, The Viper and Legend Killer. Orton talked about being the youngest World Champion in WWE history and going on to win it 12 more times. (That’s 13 overall including the WWE Title 9 times and the World Title 4 times). Orton talked being part of some groups like Evolution, Legacy and The Authority. Orton said that Rock and Austin can’t hold a candle to his legacy, his consistency, his accomplishments and his title reigns. (They are much bigger draws than him, though. I added that part.) Orton bragged about how he can do what he wants when he wants.

Orton said something is missing. He said that he desires to become WWE Champion…again. Orton said that now he has to bring Drew McIntyre into the conversation. Orton spoke about how Drew was once called the Chosen One, but then he chose to get his ass fired. Orton said that Drew came back, he started in NXT – he showed ambition and hustle. Orton spoke about how Drew had his respect when he beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania in quick fashion to become the WWE Champion.  Orton said that now Drew has a problem because he has what Randy wants. Orton said he can take things from people that he wants to take. Orton said he wants a WWE World Championship match at SummerSlam. Orton warned McIntyre that he’ll never see the RKO coming. Orton left.

Analysis: A very good promo from Orton as he made his intentions clear that he was going after McIntyre. That was expected since it has been rumored as the SummerSlam main event match when we found out that Brock Lesnar wasn’t going to be back for SummerSlam. Orton facing McIntyre makes sense since they have been kept apart, so when they have the match it’s going to feel fresh.

With Orton walking to the back, Nia Jax made her entrance.

Nia Jax said that she woke up this morning wanting to be Raw Women’s Champion. Jax said that the last time she had a championship match against Asuka, she was screwed by a certain referee and when she went for a rematch, Charlotte Flair tried to butt in line and she noted nobody has seen Charlotte since then. Jax said that she knows Asuka has a title match tonight but…here comes Shayna Baszler.

Baszler joined Jax in the ring to tell Jax that nobody gives a damn what she wants. Jax punched Baszler and threw her to the mat. Baszler came back with kicks and punches with referees running out to the ring to break up the fight.

Analysis: Sometimes referees are slow to break up fights and other times they are fast to break them up. This was one of those times when they were fast to do it.

(Commercial)

The Street Profits duo of Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins were in the ring for a promo. Congrats to Dawkins on recently becoming a father for the first time. Ford and Dawkins said there was one thing they must do, so they decided to do some ring announcing.

The Viking Raiders duo of Erik and Ivar were introduced first. All four guys were wearing Viking Profits t-shirts. Ricochet and Cedric Alexander were next with Ford doing a great job of getting fired up for the introduction. The heel team of Andrade and Angel Garza were next with manager Zelina Vega. Garza got married this past weekend.

Andrade and Garza attacked their opponents as the match was about to begin. They argued with Street Profits at ringside. They went to break there.

(Commercial)

Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) vs. Cedric Alexander & Ricochet vs. Andrade & Angel Garza (w/Zelina Vega)

The winners face the Raw Tag Team Champions, the Street Profits.

Ricochet and Alexander worked together with a double kick to the head of Ivar and a dropkick that led to Erik getting the tag. Andrade and Garza were on the floor because they refused to get in the match. Ricochet and Cedric hit a double elbow on Garza. Ivar with a body slam on Andrade on the floor and then Erik slammed Ivar on Andrade on the floor. That was fun. More double teaming from Cedric and Ricochet. Ivar with a springboard clothesline on Garza. Ricochet kicked Ivar out of the ring, so Erik got mad at Ricochet. Andrade held Erik leading to Ricochet getting in some punches. Andrade with a running knee on Erik, Ricochet with a corner splash and Andrade pulled Ricochet off to break up a pin. Andrade stomped on Ricochet, Ivar back up and Ivar hit an Exploder Suplex on Andrade across the ring. Ivar with a powerslam followed by a running cross body splash that Ford called the Love Splash. Ivar took down Andrade, but then Garza with a kick and Erik back into the ring with a belly to belly suplex. Erik with a double knee attack that sent Garza into the turnbuckle and that led to a break.

(Commercial)

The pace of the match slowed down as they returned from break with Andrade working over Erik. When Erik broke free, Ricochet tagged in and was on fire with a springboard clothesline off the top followed by a standing moonsault for a two count. Cedric tagged in, superkick, Ivar with a clothesline, Andrade with a big elbow and Erik with a big knee (with slap) to the face of Andrade. Erik ran the ropes, right into a kick from Garza. There were four guys brawling on the floor, so Ivar went up top and jumped onto his own partner Erik along with Alexander and Ricochet. Back in the ring, Garza hit the Wing Clipper on Alexander and that led to the pinfall win after 12 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Andrade and Angel Garza

The win means that the Street Profits will defend the Raw Tag Team Titles against Andrade and Angel Garza at SummerSlam on August 23.

Analysis: ***1/4 This was pretty good with a lot of action. It was chaotic at times because I lost track of who the legal man was at a few different moments, but I was entertained by it. I thought the finish was set up very well with Andrade and Garza being smart enough to avoid the big splash by Ivar, which led to Garza hitting his finisher to win. I think the right team got the win here since they were the only heels in the match. Raw is lacking in heel teams, so it makes sense for Vega’s team to get the win.

Post match, Andrade and Garza got in the Street Profits face and knocked them down. The heels Andrade and Garza got away before the Street Profits could go after them.

Analysis: I think it’s very possible that Andrade and Garza win the titles at SummerSlam.

Nia Jax was shown talking to referee John Cone backstage because Jax is up next.

This Wednesday on NXT: Finn Balor vs. Timothy Thatcher vs. Dexter Lumis and Karrion Kross playing mind games with NXT Champion Keith Lee.

(Commercial)

Nia Jax entered first for her match and Shayna Baszler is the opponent based off their interaction earlier in the show.

Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler

They were brawling as soon as they got in the ring, Jax dumped Baszler out of the ring and Baszler kicked Jax in the head. Jax sent Baszler into the plexiglass repeatedly and then the referee counted them out. The match was over in about one minute.

Match result: Double Countout

Analysis: No point in rating that. It was just a quick match end in countout to have neither woman lose.

There were some security/indy wrestlers that tried to break it up, but they were beaten up. There was also Producer Pat Buck that went into the ring to try to break it up, Jax shoved Buck (called a “WWE Official” more than once) into Baszler and kicked him out of the ring. Baszler tried to get back in the ring for more, but Jax knocked Baszler down again.

Analysis: It was believable for a brawl because both women have a reputation for being tough, so it was pretty easy for them to make it look like they hated eachother. A heel vs. heel rivalry doesn’t always work, but it works for them.

A video package aired showing Seth Rollins taking out Rey Mysterio’s right eye at Extreme Rules.

There was a backstage scene with a camera zooming in on Seth’s right eye. When it zoomed out, Murphy was with Rollins with Murphy mentioning Dominik was going to be there. Rollins encouraged his buddy Murphy that the greater good will move forward.

(Commercial)

They showed Ruby Riott and Bianca Belair in the backstage area with Mark Henry talking to them. We couldn’t hear the conversation.

Let’s Hear from Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins was in a suit with his buddy Murphy by his side. Rollins said that at Extreme Rules he defeated Rey Mysterio and then last week on Raw, he defeated Aleister Black. Rollins said he should be in a great mood, but he is not because Dominik Mysterio is there to confront Rollins and the crowd cheered that. Rollins said that every time the greater good takes two steps forward, they are forced to take a step backward and the ugliness is that somebody seems to get hurt. Rollins note that Kevin Owens broke his ankle, you know what happened to Rey Mysterio in the Eye for an Eye match and Aleister Black injured his arm last week. Rollins said he didn’t want to be the person that hurts people – it’s not who he is. Rollins said that the last time Dominik went to Raw to jump him, Seth was attacked from behind and things got more violent than he wanted.

Rollins said he didn’t want there to be violence. Rollins said he had a soft spot in his heart with the Mysterio family. Rollins called out Dominik to come to the ring calmly, face to face, man to man and talk this out.

Dominik made his entrance alone wearing a Rey Mysterio shirt. Rollins told Dominik to come to the ring and Murphy even held open the ropes for Dominik, who slowly got into the ring with Rollins. Rollins said he understood why Dominik wanted to be at Raw and Seth knows Rey has gotten better, but he knows Dominik has some things on his mind. Rollins said he is there for Dominik and if you need any guidance or help, Seth extended his arms to him.

Dominik did a double leg takedown on Rollins and then threw punches on him. Murphy saved Rollins and the heels had a 2 on 1 attack as they sent Dominik out of the ring. Rollins and Murphy whipped Dominik into the barricade. Rollins and Murphy continued the attack around the ring. They whipped Dominik back first into the edge of the announce table. Aleister Black showed up to try to save Dominik, but he had a taped up right arm and couldn’t do much. Rollins whipped Black into the plexiglass to take him out. Murphy with a rising knee to the face of Black. Rollins hit The Stomp on Black on the floor. One referee John Cone finally showed up to try to stop it.

Rollins stared at the steps and he told Murphy he knows what he has to do. Rollins asked Murphy if he is in this for real and Rollins slapped Murphy in the face. Murphy grabbed Black and he shoved Black’s right eye into the edge of the steel steps. There were referees and a WWE medical guy that was likely an indy wrestler that checked on Black. Dominik came back with a kendo stick. Dominik attacked Murphy repeatedly and Dominik hit Rollins with the kendo stick as well, but Rollins managed to get away. Referees kept Dominik back with Dominik doing a nice job of having an intense look on his face.

Analysis: Good fire shown by Dominik. Rollins is great in this heel role. Murphy taking out Black continues that rivalry while Black has to sell the eye along with the arm. I have a complaint about this too. About 10 seconds into Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler brawling, referees broke it up. Meanwhile, nobody helped Dominik from a 2 on 1 until about 2 minutes later when Aleister Black showed up. A little more consistency would be nice. It feels like they might be setting up Dominik’s first WWE match against Rollins at SummerSlam. Maybe Rey is in his son’s corner for that match or they could do Rey/Dominik vs. Rollins/Murphy as well.

Mustafa Ali was shown warming up backstage with Truth mentioned he’s on the MVP Lounge and Ali said the VIP Lounge hosted by MVP. R-Truth walked up to him to ask if he’s focused on the 24/7 Title (held by Shelton Benjamin), but Ali said he’s facing Bobby Lashley tonight. Truth said okay, but he’s watching him and called him “Mufasa.” Close enough. Lion King was a great movie.

(Commercial)

There was a video showing highlights of Mustafa Ali in his Raw return last week where he got a win in a tag team match.

MVP’s VIP Lounge

Montel Vontavious Porter was in the ring with his buddies Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin. MVP had the US Title even though he wasn’t the champion while Benjamin was the 24/7 Champion. MVP called out Mustafa Ali while saying that he didn’t know the guy, but Ali returned last week on Raw.

MVP said he wanted Ali to experience a little bit of the good life because it’s where made men congregate and you can make good decisions. MVP mentioned they were the Hurt Business. Ali noted that they put the Hurt Business out of business last week on Raw. Ali said that he is happy that he is back, he is on Raw and he has the opportunity to climb the ladder and become a champion…a real champion. MVP said a real champion like him, the real US Champion? MVP said that Ali is a talented individual. MVP told Ali he had to make the right decisions.

Ali said that he thinks for himself, he always has and he always will. MVP noted that Ali faces the CEO of the Hurt Business, Bobby Lashley. MVP said that Apollo Crews went down this path, he thought like Ali and now he’s at home sitting on the couch watching them having this conversation. MVP said that Ali can party like a rock star with them or be on the couch like Crews. MVP told Ali he can be a champion or a chump. Ali told MVP “no” and said he didn’t care what the proposal is. That’s when R-Truth went into the ring and he tackled Benjamin out of the ring. Truth covered Benjamin on the floor for a two count, then Truth ran away and went to the back.

Analysis: This was okay because it gave Ali a chance to cut a promo talking about his career and how he’s a man that stands up for himself rather than somebody that was going to work with the Hurt business. It was fine in getting across that point. Truth failing to win the title was a bit strange, but then it was funny watching him run away after he failed.

(Commercial)

This Friday on Smackdown: AJ Styles defends the IC Title against Gran Metalik and Bayley defends the SD Women’s Title against Nikki Cross again. I expect both champions to retain.

Mustafa Ali vs. Bobby Lashley (w/MVP and Shelton Benjamin)

Lashley tossed Ali across the ring followed by a running shoulder tackle, followed by elbows and punches. Lashley sent Ali into the ropes leading to a toss into the air leading to a rough landing for Ali. Lashley worked over Ali against the turnbuckle and put his foot on the throat. Lashley hit a delayed vertical suplex. Akira Tozawa showed up at ringside for a rollup on Benjamin for a two count. Benjamin threw Tozawa into the barricade. Three ninjas showed up, so they were knocked down by MVP, Benjamin and Lashley. Bobby put a ninja on his shoulders and drove him into the ring post. Ali came back with a suicide dive to the back of Lashley that sent Bobby face first into the plexiglass. They went to break.

(Commercial)

The match returned with Lashley remaining in control with forearms to the face. Ali tried to get some momentum going with a springboard attack, but Lashley hit him with a forearm that sent Ali to the floor. Lashley whipped Ali face first into the ring post with Ali selling that with a great bump. Lashley slapped on a nerve hold and then he hit an elevated flatliner for a two count. That’s a cool looking move that would work well as a finisher. Lashley picked up Ali, but then Ali got in a punch and Ali landed on his feet when Lashley tried for a Dominator attempt. Ali with a boot to the face followed by a Satellite DDT off the ropes. Ali jumped off the top, Lashley moved and Lashley got a hold of him with the Full Nelson for the submission win after 11 minutes.

Winner by submission: Bobby Lashley

Analysis: *** I liked the story of this match, but I was hoping for a better finish. It was a match where Lashley was in control for 90% of it and normally when that happens, the guy taking the beating comes back to win. Instead, Ali lost and lost the momentum he had last week. Ali’s selling is so awesome like when he was sent into the ring post and sold it in a great way. Lashley also sold that Satellite DDT really well. I didn’t expect Lashley to win when he did, but the result of the match isn’t that shocking. The guess here is that Ali beats Shelton Benjamin next week to get a win back because that’s how WWE tends to book these things.

Dolph Ziggler was backstage standing by a ring and Charly Caruso showed up for an interview. Ziggler spoke about beating Drew McIntyre. Do you think anybody watching this thought he might win? I don’t think so.

(Commercial)

A video package aired to set up the Raw Women’s Championship match.

Sasha Banks and Bayley walked out for a promo with all of their titles. Sasha complained about Stephanie McMahon setting up this match. Bayley once again talked about how she had to be the referee at Extreme Rules and counted 1, 2, 3 for Banks to get the win. Banks said they would go on to hold the championship gold, make history and change the game and Bayley said that they did. Bayley said that Banks will tap out Asuka, the Empress of Nothing.

Asuka made her entrance (without the Raw Women’s Championship even though she’s the champion) and Kairi Sane was with her. Sane chased Bayley out of the ring and they went running to the back, which led to a break.

(Commercial)

The competitors stood in the ring for the championship introductions from Mike Rome. Banks was still holding the title even though she was not the champion.

Raw Women’s Championship: Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

The title can change on pinfall, submission, countout, disqualification or if anybody interferes.

Asuka with a running knee to the face for a two count. Banks with a boot to the face, but then Asuka took her down with an armbar on the right arm. Banks got out of that, Asuka charged and Banks wrenched the left leg against the middle ropes. Banks connected with a Backstabber for a two count. Banks slapped on a single leg crab with Joe pointing out that Banks is the best counter wrestler in the women’s division. Asuka kicked Banks out of the ring, so Banks grabbed her Women’s Tag Team Title and the Raw Women’s Title. Banks tried to use the two titles to fool the referee and Banks tossed the title to Asuka, but referee Chad Patton said he saw the whole thing, so he was not fooled. Asuka kicked Banks in the head to knock her out of the ring.

(Commercial)

The match returned with Asuka hitting a dropkick to the left leg and she wrenched the left leg leading to a two count. Banks continued attacking the left knee with a kick and Banks stretched the leg against the bottom rope. Asuka came back with a palm thrust to the ropes and then a rising knee to the face. Banks avoided a hip attack followed by another attack on the left knee as Banks drove the left knee into the apron for a two count. Banks with the meteora double knee attack for two. Banks slapped on the single leg crab submission on the left knee of Asuka again. Banks with punches to the leg, then she ran the ropes and Asuka hit an elbow to the head. Asuka took down Banks with a kneebar submission, which turned into an Ankle Lock submission. Banks managed to send Asuka face first into the middle turnbuckle. Banks wit the double knees on Asuka against the turnbuckle. Banks jumped off the turnbuckle and Asuka blocked it with a double knee attack to the face. Good spot even though Banks was clearly jumping off the ropes with nothing. The move led to both women down for an eight count. They exchanged holds, Banks to the turnbuckle and Asuka kicked the back of the leg. Asuka with a German Suplex followed by the running hip attack for a two count. Asuka set up Banks on the turnbuckle, Banks with a headbutt to knock her down and Banks hit a Frog Splash off the top for a two count. Banks slapped on the Bank Statement submission, Asuka managed to roll out of it and Banks sent Asuka out of the ring. Banks left the ring, Asuka with forearms and Banks slammed Asuka’s leg off the top of the announce table. The count was on Asuka, who was favoring the left leg and Asuka ran back into the ring before the ten count. Asuka was selling the left leg injury a lot in the ring. Banks did one of her promos, Asuka got a rollup for two and Banks slapped on the Bank Statement submission again. Asuka got out of it by going after the left leg and slapping on an Ankle Lock. Asuka blocked herself from going into the turnbuckle and Asuka hit a missile dropkick. They showed Bayley beating up Kairi Sane in the backstage area by sending her into a garage door. Asuka hit a German Suplex on Banks in the ring. Asuka was about to go for the Asuka Lock, but then she was looking at what was going on with Sane, who screamed out for Asuka. Asuka left the ring to go check on Sane, so the referee was counting. The referee counted 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9 and 10. Sasha Banks won by countout and she was the new Raw Women’s Champion as well based on the stipulations. The match went about 18 minutes.

Winner by countout AND NEW Raw Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks

Analysis: ***1/2 It was a competitive match that was smartly worked with each woman selling body parts. Banks was great working on the knee while Asuka kept on coming back for more. Cheap finish for sure, but a very good match before that. I said cheap finish, not bad. I think if a heel wins a title by countout while the face was in control of the match it’s very cheap and it gets heat. It doesn’t make it bad. Getting heat isn’t a bad thing. I admit I thought Asuka was going to win to retain her title and I had some confidence in that prediction, but I was wrong there. It’s nothing against Banks, who I like. I just felt like Asuka would hold onto the title.

As the referee’s count got to ten, Asuka was shown arriving at where Sane was and Bayley ran away.

Bayley ran out to the ring to celebrate with Banks and they celebrated with their four titles.

Analysis: There is a logical issue with this that WWE chooses to ignore. Sasha Banks is not even a Raw superstar since she’s on Smackdown, but the WWE brand split is very loose. I know Banks can be on Raw as a Women’s Tag Team Champion right now, but if they were to lose the Tag Team Titles then what? Banks would still be Raw Women’s Champion. It’s something they could try to explain and instead, they choose to ignore. No doubt Banks and Bayley have been entertaining, so it’s cool with me. I just think they could explain things better or at least attempt to explain them.

(Commercial)

They replayed the ending of the Raw Women’s Championship match.

Charly Caruso was outside the Doctor/Trainer room saying that Kairi Sane was getting checked on by a doctor. Sasha Banks and Bayley showed up with their titles to gloat about their victory. Asuka walked out of the room, Charly asked for any word on Kairi and Asuka ranted in Japanese.

Kairi tweeted about her WWE memories because she is leaving (or has already left) to live in Japan with her husband. They got married back in February. Her WWE contract expired.

Best wishes to Kairi Sane. Awesome performer. She’ll be missed.

They showed a video package of the late, great Regis Philbin, who passed away on Sunday. He was 88 years old. The reason he was mentioned here is because he had a lot of WWE related guests on his talk show and he was part of WrestleMania 7 as well. They extend their condolences to his family, friends and fans. Me too. He truly was one of the greatest. Rest in peace, Regis.

Murphy vs. Humberto Carrillo

Carrillo was aggressive early on including a springboard kick and Murphy was sent out of the ring. Carrillo with a suicide dive to send Murphy into the barricade. Murphy ended up getting some offense by shoving Murphy into the barricade two times. Murphy sent Carrillo back into the ring with a kick to the back for two. Murphy with a knee, but then Carrillo went up top and Murphy tripped him up there to crotch Carrillo on the top. Murphy charged, but Carrillo hit him with a superkick. They were both down for a few seconds, then they got back up and exchanged strikes. Carrillo with a spinning kick to the head. Murphy sent Carrillo to the apron, Carrillo with a kick to the head and Carrillo hit a missile dropkick to the back of the neck for a two count. Murphy rolled out to the apron, Carrillo with a pump kick and Murphy hit a forearm to the ribs. Carrillo went up top, he jumped off with nothing, Murphy with a knee to the face and Murphy hit the Murphy’s Law for the pinfall win after six minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Murphy

Analysis: **3/4 A hard-hitting match with Murphy picking up a win that was needed for him since he is a guy that tends to lose matches, especially when he tags with Rollins. Carrillo hasn’t had much of a push for a long time now. I liked the finish with the knee and Murphy’s Law leading to the win. I don’t see either guy getting pushed that much as a singles wrestler any time soon. It’s just a simple match to put over Murphy.

Drew McIntyre was shown talking to Mark Henry in the backstage area.

(Commercial)

The guests on Raw Talk on WWE Network were Nia Jax, Andrade, Angel Garza, Zelina Vega and Shelton Benjamin.

Drew McIntyre entered with the WWE Championship around his waist. McIntyre said before he gets to his match, he has to address the comments made by Randy Orton. McIntyre said it’s official: Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. McIntyre said that Randy’s on fire right now, he’s firing on all cylinders and he is the biggest threat to Drew’s championship. Drew said he knows that everybody thinks that Drew is the underdog and he hopes that is what Randy is thinking. Drew said to please underestimate him because that’s what Brock Lesnar did and Drew kicked his ass in five minutes. Drew said that he knows the RKO is coming outta nowhere while adding that the Claymore will be right in front of him. Drew moved on from that.

Analysis: There’s the official SummerSlam main event. It’s fine with me. There might be a title change too. I don’t have an official prediction yet.

Dolph Ziggler made his entrance (happy 40th birthday, which was not mentioned by the announcers) asking what the stipulation is McIntyre said that it can be Extreme Rules for Ziggler again, but this time Drew can do it too. That means it’s an Extreme Rules Match for both. Drew slapped Ziggler hard in the face leading to a break.

(Commercial)

Extreme Rules Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler

This is not for McIntyre’s WWE Title.

Ziggler left the ring, he grabbed a chair, McIntyre went after him and Ziggler hit him with a superkick. Ziggler sent McIntyre into the barricade as well as ring post. McIntyre came back with an elbow to the head followed by a hard chop and McIntyre sent Ziggler into the post. McIntyre launched Ziggler into the plexiglass and that broke some of the plexiglass that was on the barricade.  McIntyre beat on Ziggler with a kendo stick to the back and McIntyre sent Ziggler back first into the plexiglass. McIntyre put the kendo stick in Ziggler’s mouth followed by Drew shoving Dolph face first into the ring post. That looked rough, but it’s all about selling. McIntyre sent Ziggler into the ring, which led to McIntyre throwing five steel chairs into the ring. McIntyre also brought a table into the ring. McIntyre with a hard chop to the chest. McIntyre with a steel chair to the back of Ziggler, but then Ziggler came back with a right handed, low blow uppercut punch with Drew going down slowly. Ziggler got some revenge as he put the kendo stick in Drew’s mouth. Ziggler hit McIntyre with a kendo stick to the back followed by more attacking with the kendo stick across the eyes. Ziggler sent McIntyre back first into the plexiglass like Drew did earlier. McIntyre grabbed the kendo stick with a shot to the ribs, but Ziggler hit a kick to the knee. McIntyre put Ziggler onto the apron, Ziggler ran off and McIntyre caught him, which led to McIntyre tackling Ziggler through the barricade. A big spot there as they went to break with about nine minutes left in the show.

(Commercial)

They got back in the ring with Ziggler kicking the ropes into the groin, but McIntyre was on fire with a clothesline. McIntyre with two belly to belly suplex across the ring. McIntyre went up top and hit a clothesline on Ziggler with McIntyre doing a kip up to get back to his feet. Ziggler got out of a DDT attempt and hit a Fameasser, but then Ziggler was down selling so he was unable to cover. They went to the turnbuckle with McIntyre hitting a superplex off the top. That got a lot of height. McIntyre charged, but Ziggler hit a Zig Zag for a two count for his best nearfall of the match. They timed that very well. Ziggler got back up wit ha steel chair, but then McIntyre met him with a Claymore Kick that sent Ziggler into the table that was propped up against the turnbuckle. The match went about 15 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Drew McIntyre

Analysis: ***1/2 It was a very good match just like their PPV match eight days earlier. I liked that match a little bit more because of the story of Drew overcoming the rules disadvantage. They did some creative things here, nice use of weapons and cool spots like that Zig Zag counter by Ziggler that got a two count. The Claymore Kick by McIntyre is one of the best finishes in the company because people don’t get up from it and you know when it hits, that’s a win for Drew. I like how Drew continues to look dominant in every match while also giving plenty of offense for his opponent. It’s just nice to see a babyface champion booked this way where they aren’t losing non-title matches and instead, it’s victory after victory.

Post match, Drew McIntyre celebrated with the WWE Championship. Like a dumbass, McIntyre held up the WWE Championship in the center of the ring and that’s when Randy Orton showed up with the RKO outta nowhere. I think everybody saw that coming except Drew. Orton got his hands on the WWE Title and put hit around his waist while standing over McIntyre. Orton held up the WWE Title to end the show.

Analysis: I think everybody saw that coming except Drew. Title change? Perhaps. Not sure yet. I certainly wouldn’t mind it, but I like how Drew has been booked as champion. There’s nearly one month until the match, so there’s plenty of time for predictions. It’s a case of two guys on a hot streak going into a WWE Title match at a major show at SummerSlam. It’s how it should be.

Three Stars of the Show

  1. Kairi Sane – Since it’s her WWE farewell, I’ll give her the top spot. She will be missed.
  2. Drew McIntyre/Dolph Ziggler
  3. Sasha Banks/Asuka

The Scoreboard

7 out of 10

Last week: 7

2020 Average: 6.46

Final Thoughts

I thought it was a pretty good Raw just like last week. This was one of those weeks with a lot of heel wins and heels looking dominant on this show. That’s something that happens once in a while because WWE decides they need to crank up the heat. I liked the angle with Seth Rollins and Murphy injuring Aleister Black while Dominik Mysterio did very well in terms of looking believable in fighting back. Maybe it leads to Dominik’s first WWE match against Rollins at SummerSlam. Just throwing that out there. We saw wins by a lot of heels, but at least Drew McIntyre won in the main event to continue his hot streak. Then again even after that finish, Randy Orton hit Drew with the predictable RKO out of nowhere. McIntyre vs. Orton at SummerSlam is a fresh match that feels like a big deal too.

I was surprised by Sasha Banks winning the Raw Women’s Title and the manner in which she won (a countout title change) was very cheap, but it will get heat on Banks as a heel champion. I think the Banks/Asuka match was very good along with McIntyre beating Ziggler. I want to wish Kairi Sane all the best in her post-WWE career as she moves back to Japan with her husband. She tweeted her farewell, which I included in the review. Best wishes to her!

It felt like an easy show to watch this week. There are still some key people missing, but they were able to put on an entertaining show.

The next WWE pay-per-view is SummerSlam on August 23. Here’s what we know so far:

WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton

Raw Tag Team Championships: Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) (c) vs. Andrade and Angel Garza

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Thanks for reading.

John Canton

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter: @johnreport

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