Monday Night RAW 6/29 marks the road to Extreme Rules. Given the uncertain atmosphere, WWE managed to put on a better display than the past few weeks of confusing and discombobulated show layouts.
Special attention went to the major storyline feuds, and this time around, WWE managed to stay the course.
The show began with a dual contact signing for men and women’s championship matches. Brawling from the get-go, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, Sasha Banks and Asuka. This inevitably went south, leading to a mixed tag team bout as the night’s main event.
Dolph and McIntyre didn’t get much time to slap a feud together, maybe Extreme Rules won’t be a one-off, and Ziggler gets to chase the championship a bit longer.
Prior to a tag team match, Angel Garza tries to put the moves on female ref, Jessika Carr. He fails.
Dear WWE, given the whole speak-out movement taking place, was this a wise idea? Was it? Geezuz, you guys like to push the boundaries of what you can get away with. However, Big Show arrives to say he’s going on next to confront Randy Orton. However, Andrade and Garza would then interrupt Big Show, and, at the behest of Ric Flair, tried to attack, only for the Viking Raiders to run in to save Show, and start the intended match…
…Which didn’t go that long as Andrade and Garza defeated the Viking Raiders. Some tension between them, but still got the job done. Raiders on a bit of a downward spiral. Pretty good match, but should have been left on its own to shine without the presence of Big Show and Ric Flair.
Are we making retirement tours now?
R-Truth defeated Akira Tozawa for the 24/7 Championship. Meh. Rapper vs. Ninja. I can find that on YouTube.
Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy defeated Aliester Black and Humberto Carrillo
Prior to the match, Rollins asks Rey Mysterio for forgiveness for what he will do at Extreme Rules. Rollins, in his pompus, holier-than-thou attitude talks with love and compassion, but really has sinister plans. From a live-feed on the Titantron, Rey asks his son, Dominick for forgiveness, promising a world of hurt, and “and eye for an eye” when he clashes with Rollins. Black and Carrillo use an opportunity to challenge the Monday Night Messiah. While brave, the pair ultimately fall to Rollins and Murphy, in a really good match. Really good.
Rollins and his “I’m holier-than-thou” persona is great. He’s so versatile with new creative characters, and once again, it worked for this segment. I will also say, this has been some of the best promos Rey has cut ever since becoming WWE World Champion back by WrestleMania 19. Rey and Rollins are working well and this has been a top feud to watch.
Peyton Royce defeated Ruby Riott. Meh, fast match, not much to show other than Ruby’s effort to go solo are failing. Royce’s finisher looked sick. I was almost impressed.
The Big Show defeated Andrade and Angel Garza
This. Was. Stupid.
Pointless. Just ass-backwards storytelling. You just had Andrade and Garza, at the blessing of Ric Flair, go after Big Show, and then defeat the Viking Raiders, only to come back, and completely turn on each other in what was an utterly worthless squash.
Forget what I said earlier about WWE putting on a show which made sense. This show has stopped making sense.
MVP defeated Apolo Crews
Well, this one was interesting. Wrestling-wise not bad, MVP still able to hold his own. It was with the help of Lashley, contributing to the story here, is how MVP gets the win. This was all about Crews being ungrateful to MVP and turning down his offer multiple times. MVP gets mad, gets revenge. The post-match attack is stopped by Ricochet.
Bobby Lashley defeated Ricochet
Lashley is broadcast as a beast unhinged. Who needs Brock Lesnar? This is the benefit to having a smart mouthpiece. MVP does the talk, Lashley does the work. While at times I don’t care for Lashley, his new direction and character growth has been worth the watch. Ricochet gets mauled in the end, but is briefly saved by Cedric Alexander, who also is locked into the Full-Nelson.
Chris Masters must be watching.
I wonder if Shelton Benjamin will be added to the mix again. Really would like to see him on TV more. I hope his one-time appearance with MVP wasn’t just a one-time.
Sasha Banks & Dolph Ziggler defeated Asuka & Drew McIntyre
Spotlighting the women was the right move. It seems very uncertain where the Ziggler/McIntyre feud is going. During the match, Ziggler presented himself as outclassed, and some funny moments where Banks was saving him. That was good stuff. Ziggler spent a lot of time cheerleading too, leading to Banks and Bayley (at ringside) often eye-rolling and berating poor Ziggles. Having Asuka take the pinfall made sense, although I’m not a fan of her losing again. I’m hoping Asuka retains, although the storyline with having Banks and Bayley as Women’s Tag Team Champions plus singles champions could get very intriguing.
I don’t see Ziggler defeating McIntyre at Extreme Rules, or at all, but I would like to see the feud go longer than three weeks.
