RAW Review- September 9th
6 days away for Clash of Champions and for the first time in a whole decade, RAW emulates from Madison Square Garden! This show was looking kind of packed on paper and I'm pretty sure fans were looking forward to this edition of RAW. Let's not waste any more time and get straight to the recap!
The show kicked off with WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin as he moderates the contract signing between Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins for their Universal Championship match at Clash of Champions. Both Strowman and Rollins come out and take small jabs at each other while signing the contract to confirm their title match. The O.C. interrupts them and AJ Styles cuts a promo mainly talking trash to Steve Austin. Rollins then leaps onto Styles then a brawl breaks out with Strowman taking out Gallows and Anderson while Styles throws Rollins out of the ring. Styles showboats, but doesn't realize that Stone Cold was behind him. Once he turns around, Austin gives him the Stone Cold Stunner!! It was great to see Stone Cold but I got one question: was it really necessary to have Austin here for this segment?
The show kicked off with WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin as he moderates the contract signing between Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins for their Universal Championship match at Clash of Champions. Both Strowman and Rollins come out and take small jabs at each other while signing the contract to confirm their title match. The O.C. interrupts them and AJ Styles cuts a promo mainly talking trash to Steve Austin. Rollins then leaps onto Styles then a brawl breaks out with Strowman taking out Gallows and Anderson while Styles throws Rollins out of the ring. Styles showboats, but doesn't realize that Stone Cold was behind him. Once he turns around, Austin gives him the Stone Cold Stunner!! It was great to see Stone Cold but I got one question: was it really necessary to have Austin here for this segment?
Cedric Alexander Vs. AJ Styles
This was a basic match but wasn't expecting too much honestly. Cedric looked good as usual as he showed a bit of a aggressive side against Styles. This match didn't go on for too long as Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson interferes by attacking Cedric, resulting in a DQ finish. They attack Cedric for a bit until The Viking Raiders come to the rescue as they take out Gallows and Anderson! Cedric takes out Styles with a Dropkick and this leaves himself in the ring with the Viking Raiders, standing tall!
Bayley & Sasha Banks Vs. Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch
This was a very good Tag match! Both teams did very well as they brought quality action to the mix along with good storytelling. Becky of course had her intentions on Sasha while Bayley focused on Charlotte. Charlotte I must say was on fire in this match as she proved why people shouldn't sleep on her for this upcoming title match against Bayley at Clash of Champions. Speaking of which, it came down to Charlotte and Bayley as Charlotte hits the Natural Selection to pick up the win for her team! Again this was a good Tag match and this added some hype to both Women's Championship Matches this Sunday at Clash of Champions.
Rey Mysterio Vs. Gran Metalik
Now to be honest, I didn't think this was a great match but it was good for what it was. Gran Metalik was a good opponent for Mysterio though as these two showed the WWE audience a glimpse of what Lucha Linbrae is all about. Metalik had some offense in this match, but Mysterio was the main MVP of this match. Mysterio hits the 619 then a Frog Splash on Metalik for the win! Afterwards, the two showed respect for one another. Again I didn't think this was a great match but I did enjoy it for what it was.
Samoa Joe Vs. Ricochet Vs. Baron Corbin (King Of The Ring; Semi-Finals)
Good Triple Threat Match here as these three guys did their absolute best in this matchup. Ricochet was the MVP as not only he performed some crazy moves, but he bumped around like a madman! Corbin I must say was impressive again as he looked like a powerhouse. Samoa Joe was a beast as he always is. There were multiple cool spots here especially one where Samoa Joe locked in the Coquina Clutch on Corbin outside of the ring and as Joe has the hold locked in on the ground, Ricochet hops off the apron and performs a Shooting Star Press onto both men! Action spills back into the ring as Joe and Ricochet battle more. Joe locks in the Coquina Clutch again but Ricochet gets out of it and knocks Joe down. Ricochet then executes the 630 Splash but before he could go for the pin, Corbin pulls him out and throws him over the barricade. Corbin then steals the pin and wins, advancing to the finals!
Natalya Vs. Lacey Evans
I actually thought this match wasn't too bad. I will say Corey Graves' commentary was very entertaining, especially when he was bickering with Renee Young. Natayla showed more of an aggressive side as she was looking for retribution after losing to Lacey last week. Lacey had her moments but Natayla gained control for the remainder of the match. Natayla applies the Sharpshooter for the win!
New edition of The Firefly Funhouse next! This time, Bray Wyatt and his crew alert themselves that a stranger had appeared on RAW and that stranger was Stone Cold Steve Austin. That's when the crew starts freaking out shouting, "STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!" Bray gets pissed and hushed everyone up, then he starts talking about Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins as he still awaits for Hell in a Cell. He states that Braun and Seth were strangers before becoming friends. He ends this by stating that friends forgive, but The Fiend never forgets......
New edition of The Firefly Funhouse next! This time, Bray Wyatt and his crew alert themselves that a stranger had appeared on RAW and that stranger was Stone Cold Steve Austin. That's when the crew starts freaking out shouting, "STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!" Bray gets pissed and hushed everyone up, then he starts talking about Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins as he still awaits for Hell in a Cell. He states that Braun and Seth were strangers before becoming friends. He ends this by stating that friends forgive, but The Fiend never forgets......
Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Viking Raiders & Cedric Alexander Vs. The O.C, AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode (10 Man Tag)
I honestly didn't care for this match, but it was alright. Action didn't really pick up until the very end where everyone started brawling with one another. Ivar did a very impressive Senton Dive off the top rope onto his opponents outside of the ring while Cedric makes the bling tag before hand. AJ Styles attempts the Phenomenal Forearm on Cedric but he catches him and executes the Lumbar Check and pins him, picking up the win for his team! Immediately afterwards, Steve Austin comes back out and celebrates with the winning team by toasting with every single one of them to close out the show!
Show Rating: 7.7/10
Show Rating: 7.7/10
