RAW Review (August 12 2019)
Summerslam is now in the books! Now it's time to kick off the road to Clash of Champions as we got a whole month to prepare for the event. Hopefully, this show provides new challengers or even contenders for the current title holders on the brand. Let's take a look at what went down!
Show open with the new Universal cChampion Seth Rollins. He cuts a promo talking about slaying the beast once again last night at Summerslam. He gets a little emotional too as be thanks the fans for getting behind him more than ever. He's then interrupted by The O.C. as they claim they wanted to congrats him for his big title win. AJ then states that he has more to prove in WWE, so he challenges Seth to a match for later in the night. Rollins rebuttals by saying that he doesn't respect AJ anymore, then he officially accepts his challenge!
WWE announced during a commercial break that next week, they're bringing back the King of the Ring tournament! As history shows, their past few KOTR winners have been made to look like jokes, including Sheamus and Wade Barrett. Hopefully this tournament will mean something or else it'll be a complete waste.
Show open with the new Universal cChampion Seth Rollins. He cuts a promo talking about slaying the beast once again last night at Summerslam. He gets a little emotional too as be thanks the fans for getting behind him more than ever. He's then interrupted by The O.C. as they claim they wanted to congrats him for his big title win. AJ then states that he has more to prove in WWE, so he challenges Seth to a match for later in the night. Rollins rebuttals by saying that he doesn't respect AJ anymore, then he officially accepts his challenge!
WWE announced during a commercial break that next week, they're bringing back the King of the Ring tournament! As history shows, their past few KOTR winners have been made to look like jokes, including Sheamus and Wade Barrett. Hopefully this tournament will mean something or else it'll be a complete waste.
Samoa Joe Vs. Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn ran his mouth about Samoa Joe backstage so Joe challenged him to a match. The match itself was quick as Joe beats down Zayn then applies the Coquina Clutch for the submission win! Afterwards, Joe grabs the microphone and tells the audience that he forgives Roman Reigns for accusing him of the backstage incidents, but does NOT forgive the fans for believing in the lies. This proved that Joe helped Reigns last week out of kindness, but is still the mean SOB that he's always been.
The Miz Vs. Dolph Ziggler
Dolph came out in street clothes while clutching his chest, claiming that he's still suffering the effects of being Speared multiple times by Goldberg at Summerslam. He then claims that he wouldn't be able to compete but soon as Miz turns around, Dolph launches at him! He beats him down and then suddenly feels better enough to compete in the match. The match itself was fine as Dolph had Miz down for a bit. Miz fought back and even got the fans behind him big time here. Miz then applies the Figure 4 Leg Lock for the win! Afterwards, Miz is walking away as Ziggler grabs a microphone and starts talking shit by calling Miz a coward and etc. Miz comes back into the ring and puts an end to Ziggler with the Skull Crushing Finale.
Elias arrives next as he planned to redeem his performance from Summerslam when he was Speared by Edge. He barely gets to sing though as he's interrupted by Ricochet. The two of them were set to square off in a match after a commercial break.
Elias arrives next as he planned to redeem his performance from Summerslam when he was Speared by Edge. He barely gets to sing though as he's interrupted by Ricochet. The two of them were set to square off in a match after a commercial break.
Ricochet Vs. Elias
This was a fine match for what it was. Ricochet had the upper hand throughout the match and this was clearly upsetting Elias. Elias grabbed his guitar but wasn't able to use it as Ricochet side kicked him in the head. As Elias tried to reach for his guitar in the corner, Ricochet comes off the top rope and hits a Sunset Flip for the win!
Andrade Vs. Rey Mysterio
As usual, these guys had a very good match. Andrade scores the first fall by rolling up Mysterio and pinning him with his foot on the ropes for leverage as Zelina Vega held his foot to assist him. Mysterio came back with the big spot of hitting a Hurricanrana to Andrade while he was on the apron and they both land on the floor! Mysterio then attempts to hit a Slingshot Canadian Destroyer but it was botched and Andrade landed right on his head, which looked nasty. Match goes on for a bit then Mysterio hits the 619 and attempts to follow up with a Frog Splash, but Andrade got his knees up. Andrade then tops it off with the Hammerlock DDT and scores the second and final fall!
Next we have a special interview as Michael Cole talks to Stone Cold Steve Austin via satellite! Steve Austin talks about how impressed he was with Seth Rollins for his performance at Summerslam. He then goes on to promote his new show on USA titled, "Straight Up Steve Austin". Not much else to it other than it was great seeing the Texas Rattlesnake!
Next we have a special interview as Michael Cole talks to Stone Cold Steve Austin via satellite! Steve Austin talks about how impressed he was with Seth Rollins for his performance at Summerslam. He then goes on to promote his new show on USA titled, "Straight Up Steve Austin". Not much else to it other than it was great seeing the Texas Rattlesnake!
Drew McIntyre Vs. Cedric Alexander
Really good match here! The more these two get in the ring together, the more they work well together. Cedric looked good as he showed some awesome skills and agility. Drew looked like a beast as usual but Cedric had his number for half of the match. Cedric even hits Drew with the Spanish Fly off the top rope for a near fall! Drew bounces back but as he was about to hit the Alabama Slam, Cedric reversed it into a pin and that was a near fall as well. The two then bounces off the ropes and Drew hits an epic Claymore Kick, literally flipping Cedric upside down, and pins him for the win!
Robert Roode Vs. No Way Jose
This was basically a match for Roode to have in his hometown of Toronto. It was cool to see him compete here too don't get me wrong though. Roode quickly lays waste to Jose as he hits him with the Glorious DDT for the win.
The Revival Vs. Lucha House Party
This was a nothing match as it was designed for some 24/7 nonsense. 24/7 Champion R-Truth and Carmella run out as they're being chased by fellow superstars. When they get to the ring, Truth gets laid out with a Shatter Machine by the Revival and they cover Truth to become co-champions! Kalisto comes in and hits the Salida Del Sol on Dawson and Wilder takes him out. Truth then covers Dawson and becomes 24/7 Champion once again! Truth and Carmella then bails while being chased yet again. They recover backstage when suddenly Elias appears from behind with his guitar and nails Truth in the back then covers him, becoming the new 24/7 Champion!
Natayla shows up next but comes out with her left arm in a sling. She states that she suffered a shoulder injury and will be taking time off, but will be back to battle Becky Lynch again. She then starts talking about her late father, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, as yesterday marked one full year since he's passing. She's then interrupted by the return of The Boss, Sasha Banks!! Sasha gives Natayla a hug then as she was about to grab a mic, she turns around and wallops Natayla, turning heel! Now when Sasha came out, she sported her vintage purple hair. Once she hit Natayla, she took what turned out to be her purple wig off and is now sporting blue hair. She beats the crap out of Nattie then Becky Lynch comes out to make the save, but was unsuccessful. Sasha beats her down too but this time uses a steel chair and completely annihilates her! Sasha leaves both women laying and walks off like a legit boss! Loved this return and hopefully this will be the start of a great fued between The Boss and The Man.
Natayla shows up next but comes out with her left arm in a sling. She states that she suffered a shoulder injury and will be taking time off, but will be back to battle Becky Lynch again. She then starts talking about her late father, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, as yesterday marked one full year since he's passing. She's then interrupted by the return of The Boss, Sasha Banks!! Sasha gives Natayla a hug then as she was about to grab a mic, she turns around and wallops Natayla, turning heel! Now when Sasha came out, she sported her vintage purple hair. Once she hit Natayla, she took what turned out to be her purple wig off and is now sporting blue hair. She beats the crap out of Nattie then Becky Lynch comes out to make the save, but was unsuccessful. Sasha beats her down too but this time uses a steel chair and completely annihilates her! Sasha leaves both women laying and walks off like a legit boss! Loved this return and hopefully this will be the start of a great fued between The Boss and The Man.
The Viking Raiders Vs. Local Competitors
The Raiders continue to look dominant in another squash match. They nail one of their opponents with the Viking Experience for the win.
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross (C) Vs. The Kabuki Warriors (WWE Women Tag Team Championships)
This was a decent match but nothing too special. The back and forth action was good but nothing more, nothing less. Sane attempted to hit the Insane Elbow Drop on Nikki but she rolled out of the way, so Kairi decided to dive onto her at ringside with a flying Crossbody! She finally hits the Insane Elbow Drop in the ring but Alexa broke up the pin at the last second. Asuka attempts to hit a Roundhouse Kick but Alexa ducked and she kicked the ring post instead. Alexa then tags back in as Nikki hits Kairi with the Swinging Neckbreaker then Alexa hits the Twisted Bliss for the win for her team! Alexa and Nikki retained the tag titles as expected because at this point, Asuka and Kairi Sane aren't winning the titles anytime soon.
Seth Rollins Vs. AJ Styles
Good main event here. The match wasn't too special but for the wrestling itself made it a good match. Gallows and Anderson attempted to get involved, but the referee had them ejected from ringside. Instead of leaving, they hop in the ring and attack Rollins, ending the match in a DQ. Ricochet comes out to make the save and I swear I thought we were about to see another tag match, but that didn't happen thankfully as Ricochet gets beaten down too. As AJ teases doing an Avalanche Styles Clash to Rollins, Braun Strowman comes out to make to save! He takes out the O.C. to even the odds and has the fans on their feet! As the celebration kicks in, Braun grabs the Universal Championship and hands it to Rollins while Rollins looks at him like he has his doubts about him for some reason. Maybe this will lead to a Universal title program between the two?
Show Rating: 7.4/10
Show Rating: 7.4/10