Monday Night RAW at MSG, which aired last night on the USA Network, may have been one of the best complete episodes of WWE’s flagship show in a long, long time.
Over the past few years I’ve said certain episodes of RAW have been “the best of the year” — but in reality these pale in comparison to this week. And for good reason. Some of those shows were “good” shows amongst a sea of lousy shows like earlier this year. Some of them have tremendous moments that shine bright like a diamond, but in hindsight are littered with bad matches, angles, and promos.
Monday Night RAW at MSG was an undeniable show. From start to finish fans were treated to an excellent in-ring show that was complemented by simple, logical storytelling, strong promos, hype videos, and shock of shocks, long-term booking (seemingly a dirty word in WWE for a long time). New stars were put over, strong. Nostalgia was used properly, and effectively. Despite some 50/50 booking, wrestlers looked strong, even in defeat. They made the return to MSG a big deal, something they don’t often do.
Now this might be a bit of hyperbole, but honestly this felt like the most “Paul Heyman show” of his tenure as head of RAW. It had the same vibe, structure, and pacing of one of his excellent early era Smackdown shows.
Let’s break down Monday Night RAW at MSG…
Steve Austin & The Proper Use of a Legend: The rumor and innuendo surrounding RAW at MSG was that up until recently, tickets were not selling well at all. So, after one of a return at RAW Reunion, the WWE pulled the trigger and brought Stone Cold back to The Garden for the first time in 20 years (or so). The pop he got, as expected, monstrous. His promo was not as strong as RAW Reunion, but he also wasn’t there to put himself over, and pop the crowd. He was there to place heightened importance on Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins at Clash of Champions. And he absolutely did it. First, his “distrust” in Strowman by not shaking his hand was a nice complement to the storyline of “Can Seth really trust Braun?” Austin also put over Rollins, who I think desperately needs it in this feud because people love Braun way more than Seth.
Then there was the end of Monday Night RAW at MSG. While they were tight on time and didn’t let the moment of Cedric pinning AJ breathe (it happens), Austin coming out and anointing Seth, Braun, and most importantly Cedric, and The Viking Raiders with some Stone Cold IPAs was massively important. He told the crowd, who eat up everything he serves like Sunday Brunch, that these were the guys. He endorses them. They’re the ones you should be cheering for.
And that is how you use the legends. Yes, they help sell the house. Yes, they help increase ratings. But ultimately, they need to be used to get current talent over. They need to use their credibility to promote younger, yet-to-be established talent, or current, hot talent. Austin did this, and he did it very effectively.
AJ Styles Best Work: In a move that shocked no one, AJ Styles and The O.C. came out and interrupted the contract signing between Braun and Seth. What happened next was surprising. AJ Styles cut an absolutely hilarious yet blistering promo on Steve Austin — calling him both an asshole and an old fart. He even did an impression of Austin. Now, if you know anything about O.C. members Gallows and Anderson, they do insanely good Steve Austin impressions. AJ isn’t known for his comedy, but man he more than held his own here. He got the crowd fired up, he ate a Stunner (to a huge pop), and then proceeded two put over Cedric Alexander twice in one night. AJ Styles, in my mind, is one of the best to ever do it in the ring, but tonight he may have done his best promo and veteran leadership work to date in WWE.
The Women Prove They Are the Main Event: The 10 man tag was a lot of fun, but Sasha & Bayley vs. Charlotte & Becky was the main event of the night. Should it come to the surprise of anyone that four of the best women’s wrestlers in the world today put on a killer match? Nope. However, what is surprising/refreshing/awesome is that we’ve seen these four tangle so many times over the years, and yet they keep the feuds and the matches fresh, exciting, and the crowd is into it. This is a testament to these four women and just how great they all are.
The Main Event…The Little Things: You know what was the most enjoyable thing about the main event? It was an ongoing storyline that built throughout the show. It included three guys (Cedric/War Machine) who have not sniffed the main event picture, and it made those three guys. It also added a little bit of credibility to the new team of Ziggler and Roode, something definitely needed heading into this weekend’s PPV. But it was the post-match that spoke volumes. Watching Cedric look way of Steve Austin when he entered the ring was a nice touch. Having War Machine/Viking Raiders ready to fight Austin (with clenched fists) was a nice touch. Then to see the elation, the surprise, the genuine emotion of being handed the beers by Austin really drove home the importance of the moment.
Lucha Things: The cynic might saw Gran Metalik vs. Rey Mysterio was done as WWE saying “We can do lucha better than AAA, pal.” (AAA was running MSG this weekend but poor ticket sales have lead it to the smaller, adjacent Hulu Theater). But in reality this was just a really, really fun match. Metalik got to do the most he has in a singles match (in this high of a profile) since the Cruiserweight Classic. Rey looked better than he has than in most of 2019. Go seek this one out.
King of the Ring Semi Finals: The outcome was inevitable. Baron Corbin was winning this one. He’s going to be King of the Ring. But what WWE did was produced a hard hitting, high flying, fast paced match that saw Corbin, who fans see as “beneath” Ricochet and Samoa Joe in terms of in-ring ability, steal the win. Joe and Ricochet did a lot of the heavy lifting here, and that’s what made Corbin’s win that much more “maddening” to the audience. How dare he steal this win? Well, he’s a heel, that’s what he does.
Lacey vs. Natalya: The weakest match and moment on the show. Not a knock on the match, but given everything else on this show there’s no way this match could top any of it. Of the matches these two have had, this was the best of the bunch. Lacey looked better than she has in her WWE run so far, Natalya is the consummate pro.
Firefly Funhouse: We didn’t get to see Bray tangle with Steve Austin. That’s a bummer. But, we did get foreshadowing of Bray getting involve with Seth and Braun. To quote Scorpio Sky — put that right in my veins.
Roman Reigns is Pure Class: Closing out this review it cannot be stated enough how awesome it is that WWE dedicates a month to Connor’s Cure. It’s truly awesome. You can knock WWE for a lot of things, and some justifiably so (cough..Saudi Arabia) but, you can never for one second knock them for this charity. It’s wonderful. Roman Reigns as this year’s ambassador (last year was Big Show) is an amazing choice. Obviously we know his health situation, but just the warmth, honesty, and heart he has in his voice when doing the voice-overs, and when introducing the kids is wonderful. Roman has always come off as a good dude, but this really solidified him as a truly class act in WWE, and an absolute role model for children.
