By Jason Powell
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WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from New Orleans, Louisiana at Smoothie King Center
[Q1] The McMahon family and the wrestlers stood on the stage as Lilian Garcia asked fans to join them in a moment of silence for the victims and families of the Orlando shootings. There was a large “We Stand With Orlando” graphic on the stage and the fans were respectful…
Michael Cole, JBL, and Byron Saxton checked in on commentary and hyped the Ambrose Asylum segment with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, and the John Cena and AJ Styles contract signing for Money in the Bank…
New Day made their entrance while the broadcast team reminded viewers that they can lose the tag titles without being pinned at MITB. Big E and Xavier Woods mocked Kofi Kingston for wearing the new Steph Curry shoes. They made a bunch of old man jokes at Kingston’s expense.
Enzo Amore and Big Cass interrupted New Day and did their pre-match mic work while heading to the ring. They joined New Day in the ring. Cass said they have their first shot at the tag titles on Sunday. He said they are going to Vegas, going all in, and walking out with the tag titles.
Cass told New Day they are cool with everything New Day has been doing including the “massagers for her pleasure that you’ve got sticking out of your forehead.” Cass said if they are teaming up tonight, then he had one question for Kingston, and then asked Kingston if he was serious with his old man shoes.
Cass asked Woods if Francesca is his girl, then told him that she was with Enzo last night and he had his lips all over her. Enzo spoke about taking Francesca out on Bourbon Street. Woods approached Enzo and said, “I’m the only one who blows my girl.” Enzo and Woods had a staredown. Kingston got between them and said the time had come for a battle of wits between the teams.
The Vaudevillains made their entrance and Simon Gotch referred to the wrestlers in the ring as being in “the children section.” Aiden English sang about being the greatest team in WWE. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson walked onto the stage. “All of you, shut up,” Gallows said. Anderson said playtime is over. Gallows said it will be easier to take the tag titles than even scoring a touchdown on the Saints football team. Cass called the heels SAWFT along with help from New Day and the fans. Cole hyped the eight-man tag for after the break…
Powell’s POV: New Day, Big Cass, and Enzo was over with the crowd. Believe it or not, the shoe debate is topical, but I can’t help but question the idea of talking about Steph Curry an hour before the NBA Finals game will air as Raw competition. It was lighthearted and silly fun, which isn’t such a bad idea coming off the moment of silence that started the show. The Vaudevillains were fine as foils. I’m not a fan of Anderson and Gallows getting involved at the end. The cheap heat shot at the local sports team felt beneath them, and I would rather see them be completely no nonsense and simply show up and start the match.
[Q2] [C] 1. Enzo Amore, Big Cass, Big E, and Kofi Kingston (w/Xavier Woods) vs. Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, and The Vaudevillains in an eight-man tag. The match was joined in progress and the babyfaces worked over Gotch in their corner briefly. Enzo ended up selling in the heel corner. Cass took the tag and worked over the heels by himself. He went for a big boot on English, but Gotch pulled him to the floor. Kingston tagged in and dove onto the Vaudevillains heading into the break… [C]
[Q3] The heels isolated Big E coming out of the break. Kofi took a hot tag and worked over Anderson, and they did a closeup of his shoes. Kingston went up top and performed a cross body and went for a pin that Gotch broke up. It was rapid fire spot time with Cass knocking Gotch off the apron with a kick, E perfomring a suplex on English, Gallows taking out E, etc. Gallows returned to the ring and joined Anderson in hitting their finisher on Kingston for the win…
Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, and The Vaudevillains beat Enzo Amore, Big Cass, Big E, and Kofi Kingston in 13:20.
Footage aired of The Shield’s debut, then Cole hyped the Ambrose Asylum segment… [C]
Powell’s POV: It was logical to have the heel group go over on Raw, and especially wise to have Anderson and Gallows get the win for their team. I’m not reading too much into it as far as the four-way at MITB goes. For what it’s worth, Cole told viewers that it seems like it’s only a matter of time before Anderson and Gallows win the tag titles.
The latest Bob Backlund and Darren Young segment aired. Young asked Backlund how he saves so much money. Backlund said he was wearing his only pair of clothes. Young said he’d tried to cut back on expenses. Backlund asked him what he thought about wearing a bowtie…
Backstage, Stephanie McMahon was on the phone when Shane McMahon arrived and took issue with her saying he was on vacation last week. Shane said it was for personal reasons just like he can’t make Raw a couple weeks from now. He told her she could take Smackdown and he would take Raw. She didn’t like it. He offered to take Smackdown and said she could take Raw. Stephanie asked why she doesn’t just take both. Shane said it was the same old Steph.
Corporate Kane showed up and offered his services. “But you’re psychotic,” Stephanie told him. Kane handed Stephanie his resume and a letter of recommendation from Undertaker. Steph asked Shane to handle it and then left the room. Shane asked what some of Kane’s ideas were…
Powell’s POV: So Stephanie and Shane want to run opposite brands, yet they are also interviewing people for the jobs they want?
Backstage, Zack Ryder was talking with three unidentified men when Sheamus showed up and took offense to Ryder talking about Apollo Crews blindsiding him. Sheamus said he would be the one laughing after their Raw match, and also spoke about his MITB opponent Crews. Ryder said hi to Crews. Sheamus turned around, and then Ryder split. Sheamus asked the three men if they thought it was funny…
A Shield moment aired with the trio attacking Evolution. Saxton hyped the Ambrose Asylum segment…
[Q4] [C] A Los Matadores vignette aired. They still love Puerto Rico…
Titus O’Neil was making his entrance for a match when Rusev jumped him from behind. Lana walked onto the stage and held the U.S. Championship while Rusev worked over O’Neil by running him into side of the entrance ramp. Rusev put O’Neil in the Accolade on the ramp. Several referees ran out and he eventually released the hold only to apply it again briefly…
Powell’s POV: Titus O’Neil has terrible luck on the Raw stage.
Another Shield video aired, this time with Seth Rollins turning on Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. Cole said the Ambrose Asylum was up next… [C] They hyped Triple H’s tweet with the replica title belt they will be presenting to the Pittsburgh Penguins for winning the Stanley Cup…
Dean Ambrose headed to the ring where his Asylum “set” was waiting. He said the show was back by popular demand, then sold Money in the Bank by saying it was like having another WrestleMania. He hyped the MITB match that he is in and then two matches that could easily be top matches at WrestleMania. Ambrose asked various questions and said they would be answered on Sunday.
[Q5] Ambrose introduced Seth Rollins as the scum of the earth. Reigns was introduced second and was booed loudly. The broadcast team played up the idea that Rollins never lost the title. JBL said it’s not Reigns’ fault, but he could remove the asterisk by defeating Rollins on Sunday. Reigns and Ambrose shook hands once they were in the ring together.
Ambrose looked at both men and repeatedly before finally saying, “This is great, huh? This is fun.” Ambrose asked Rollins how his knee is doing. “Have you not watched my special on the WWE Network,” Rollins said. He added that it is 100 percent ready to go. Ambrose asked if Seth’s face hurt. “Because it’s killing me,” Ambrose cracked. Reigns laughed.
Ambrose asked how The Big Easy has been treating Reigns. He said pretty good. There were loud boos and some high pitched cheers. Ambrose asked Rollins if he had any 75 cent margaritas. Rollins wasn’t amused. Ambrose told him to relax and not be such a party pooper. The was actually a party pooper chant.
Rollins said they did have some pretty good times. He spoke about WrestleMania in New Orleans and how they took out the New Age Outlaws and Kane. He recalled flying into London in a helicopter and taking on Daniel Bryan and Kane. He also recalled finding Ambrose unconscious by a dumpster.
Rollins said the best times he had in the ring was with the two of them. He brought up the six-man tag at Elimination Chamber and called it legendary. Rollins spoke about working against Evolution and said Batista owes them a big favor because now he’s a movie star. There was a brief “Boo-tista” chant.
Rollins said the best time he ever had was when he took a chair and put it in Reigns’s back. He also brought up stealing Roman’s moment and becoming the first member of The Shield to win the championship. Ambrose tried to keep it cordial and asked Reigns what they can expect on Sunday. “The big dog walks in as champ, the big dog walks out as champ,” Reigns replied.
Ambrose asked Rollins about his claim that he’s the rightful champion. “Did he ever beat me for that championship,” Rollins said. Reigns said that if Rollins is the rightful champion, then why does he have the title belt. Rollins said Reigns got the title because his knee caved from carrying the company for the better part of last year. Rollins said Reigns earned it while he was away and recalled that Reigns beat Ambrose and then Triple H.
“You earned it, big man, but one thing you haven’t done is beat me,” Rollins said. “You know why? Because you can’t beat me. Because I am better than you. Because I am two steps ahead of you every step of the way.” Rollins said he had to hold Roman’s hand in The Shield, and said he never would have won the title had he not been hurt. Rollins said he would take back the title he never lost “on my own.”
Ambrose asked if that meant there wouldn’t be J&J Security, The Authority, or Corporate Kane. Roman said Rollins screwed him on his own, and broke up The Shield on his own. Reigns said they had Seth’s back and questioned whether he did it for greed, the limelight, or to be famous. Roman said that if Rollins wants the spotlight, he’ll get it on Sunday. Roman said they will call him “the guy” on Sunday “because I beat you.”
Reigns and Rollins glared at one another while Ambrose asked which one of them would walk out with the title. “Or what if I win the Money in the Bank contract and whether it’s your or whether it’s you, I cash in that same night and I walk out the WWE World Heavyweight Champion?” Ambrose’s music played.
[Q6] Rollins shoved Ambrose into Reigns, which knocked Roman to ringside. Ambrose went after Rollins, and Reigns ended up giving Rollins a Superman Punch. Ambrose suddenly dropped Reigns with Dirty Deeds and then looked up at the MITB briefcase that was hanging above the ring…
A backstage shot aired of John Cena talking with Shane McMahon. The broadcast team hyped Charlotte vs. Paige for later in the show… [C] An ad aired for next week’s AJ Styles appearance on the Stone Cold Podcast that will follow Raw…
Powell’s POV: It’s good to see Ambrose finally teasing the possibility of winning MITB and cashing in the same night. I would have also teased the possibility that he could turn the main event into a Triple Threat involving all three former Shield members. I like the Dirty Deeds on Reigns as it could come in handy if they do intend to have Ambrose win MITB. I’ve been saying for a while that they could have Ambrose win and split the championship between Reigns and Rollins. At that point, the question is whether Ambrose would cash in on Reigns or Rollins, and this segment would play into that mystery.
Backstage, Stephanie told Ambrose he must be proud for making his talkshow segment all about himself. She booked him in the main event against Chris Jericho, which drew a flat crowd reaction. Can you blame them? Stephanie told Ambrose that hatred can be a good thing, but you have to know how to use it…
2. WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte (w/Dana Brooke) vs. Paige. Becky Lynch and Natalya sat in on commentary. Charlotte ended up at ringside and fell right in front of Lynch and Natalya, who mocked her. Brooke told them not to talk to Charlotte, then rolled Charlotte back inside the ring. Paige hit the Rampaige on Charlotte and pinned her…
Paige defeated Charlotte in a non-title match in 2:25.
Powell’s POV: The broadcast team completely missed the point of the finish, which is that Dana was essentially responsible because she rolled Charlotte into the ring and it cost her. The call was very strange as it was all about the tag match at MITB and not nearly enough about the finish or the fact that Paige beat the women’s champion.
Renee Young interviewed Cesaro backstage. Sami Zayn crashed the interview and Cesaro took offense and called it “typical Sami.” He accused Zayn of acting like a child. Zayn said they have been friends for a long time and Cesaro doesn’t get to talk down to him like that because they are equals. Cesaro said he’s been in WWE for four years, while Zayn has been in WWE for four months. He said Zayn still has a lot to prove and he should start tonight… [C]
Powell’s POV: If the idea was to make both men come off poorly, then mission accomplished.
Backstage, Charlotte told Dana that she cost her the match and failed her. Charlotte said there is no room for failure at the top. Charlotte said that in exchange for her friendship, Brooke gets to be part of her legacy. She said they have some work to do, and Dana agreed…
[Q7] 3. Sheamus vs. Zack Ryder. They ended up at ringside and Ryder ran Sheamus’s head into the post. Back inside the ring, Ryder caught him with the Broski Boot and a top rope elbow for a two count that the live crowd didn’t really buy into. Sheamus came back with a Brogue Kick for the win. After the match, Sheamus put the boots to Ryder. Apollo Crews ran out and attacked Sheamus, who eventually fled over the barricade at ringside and ran away through the crowd…
Sheamus defeated Zack Ryder in 1:50.
Cole said they would be looking at some of the best MITB moments. Footage aired of Kane winning the MITB contract and cashing in on Rey Mysterio to win the title 50 minutes later…
Powell’s POV: I’m not sold on the Charlotte and Dana pairing. Dana came off as an obnoxious alpha during her initial appearances, and she was in no way sympathetic when Charlotte was scolding her. I like the idea of showing MITB moments from the past. If nothing else, it shows Raw viewers a nice look at the carnage that exists at the end of an MITB match.
Backstage, Shane was talking with Kane when Kevin Owens entered the picture and asked if Stephanie was around. He ended up telling Shane and Kane that he didn’t want to start trouble, but Alberto Del Rio only showed up 20 minutes ago. ADR entered the picture and was pissed off, claiming that Owens called airport security and had him delayed for five hours.
Kane spoke about how conflict in the workplace can destroy morale. He suggested the two of them face the Lucha Dragons in a team building exercise/tag match. Kane suggested that if the Dragons win, they would replace Owens and ADR in the MITB match. Shane went went it. Shane excused Owens, then told Kane the match will be a barnburner…
[Q8] 4. Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro. Cole also spoke about their classic NXT match. Cesaro caught a springboarding Zayn with an uppercut that knocked him to ringside heading into the break. [C] JBL spoke about how MITB will be the biggest match of the careers of both men. Cole said the winner has cashed in successfully 14 out of 16 times. He noted that Edge cashed in successfully twice and became a Hall of Famer. Late in the match, Zayn looked like he was going for a sunset flip and instead performed a powerbomb and got the pin…
Sami Zayn beat Cesaro in 8:10.
Saxton hyped the Cena and Styles contract signing…
Powell’s POV: A very cool finish and good hype the broadcast team for MITB. Does this mean Cesaro will beat Zayn on Smackdown?
A sponsored WWE technology commercial aired. It focussed on the new motherboard and showed inside the production truck, and how they are no IT based…
Michael Cole stood in the ring in front of the contract signing table and eventually introduced John Cena.
[Q9] Cena delivered a promo stating that MITB might as well by WrestleMania. He hyped the MITB match, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, and his own match. He said that for 15 years, people have asked “what if” regarding him and Styles. Cena said he loves WWE, but for some reason the decision makers told Styles that he didn’t belong in WWE.
Cena said he has great respect for Styles because that didn’t respect him. “If you look around the world from PWG to Ring of Honor to New Japan, there’s one name that is synonymous with excellence and that’s AJ Styles,” Cena said. Cena spoke about about how he has won 15 champions in WWE, and Styles has won more than 15 championships in the same amount of time.
Cena said Styles has been regarded as the single greatest star to never get a chance in WWE. Cena credited Shane McMahon and the new era for opening the door for Styles. Cena called their match “history making” and said it’s a history making contract signing.
Cena said the spoke to Shane earlier and they were going to handle the contract signing different. He told Cole to step aside, then called for AJ Styles to join him. Styles made his entrance and joined Cena in the ring. They let the crowd duel with their chants.
Styles boasted that he has turned Cena’s world upside down over the last few weeks. Styles said people are still talking about what he did to him. Styles said he’s going to do it again at MITB. He said he would run circles around Cena and would tell him, “You can’t see me because you can’t beat me.” Styles asked where he signs.
Cena said it’s up to Styles. He said there’s one contract for Cena vs. Styles that guarantees it’s a singles match, and the other is for Cena vs. The Club. Cena said he would give his all in a fight against The Club, but Styles would win and guarantee his spot “as the captain of the Bitch Club.” Cena made his pitch for the singles match and got the fans to chant for both men. Cena said they would finally get their answer to “what if?”.
Styles said Cena doesn’t think he can beat him. Styles said they could talk about what ifs. He asked what would have happened if he had arrived 15 years ago. He said Cena wouldn’t be a 15-time champion, nor would have have won the Royal Rumble twice or be in crappy movies. Styles said he would have all those accolades. “I would be the face that runs this place,” Styles said.
“Enough,” Cena yelled. “Your club isn’t full of bullets, it’s just full of bull.” Cena said Styles is whining “just like every indy dude before you.” He said Styles is too stupid to knuckle up and do it now. Cena told Styles to sign it and prove him wrong. He said that if Styles signed for the handicap match, then they would put him back on the bullet train for Japan because “apparently you left your balls over there.”
Styles picked up the pen and hesitated, but eventually signed for the singles match. Cena also signed it. Styles said Cena is going to find out quickly that he’s not every other independent guy “with your Kmart shopping ass.” Styles said maybe Cena will get the message, “Your time is up, my time is now.” Styles music played while Cole said there will be no Club on Sunday and the match is now one-on-one…
Powell’s POV: Strong final hype for the match with Cena putting over Styles rather than reminding viewers of his character’s losses and lack of a signature win in WWE. It continues to make me laugh that WWE will mention ROH, NJPW, and PWG, yet they won’t mention TNA, which Styles is most identified with. The gap is so great between WWE and TNA in terms of business that you wouldn’t think they would be so hung up on it. And while it was nice to hear those companies get some attention, it’s worth noting that it sounded like ten fans in the building were excited by those mentions.
[Q10] [C] Footage aired of Daniel Bryan winning MITB… Cole hyped the MITB event…
5. Alberto Del Rio and Kevin Owens vs. The Lucha Dragons for two spots in the Money in the Bank match. ADR tied up Kalisto in the ropes and punched him repeatedly. Owens barked at him, saying they would lose by DQ and be out of MITB. ADR made a hard tag to Owens. A short time later, Owens teased leaving before returning to the ring. Owens and ADR bickered and were dropkicked and cleared from the ring by the Dragons. [C]
The bickering between ADR and Owens continued, and Kalisto gave ADR a shot that knocked him into Owens. Kalisto hit his finisher and ADR rolled to ringside while Owens recovered and shouted encouragement at Del Rio before picking him up and rolling him back inside the ring. Kalisto made the hot tag to Sin Cara, who performed a Swanton and covered Del Rio only to have Owens break the pin. Owens dragged ADR to their corner and tagged himself into the match.
[Q11] Sin Cara worked over Owens. Kalisto tried to dive onto ADR on the floor, but ADR shoved him into the barricade. Sin Cara got a good near fall, but Owens came back with his Popup Powerbomb for the win. After the match, Del Rio superkicked a kneeling Owens…
Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio beat The Lucha Dragons in 8:35 to keep their spots in the Money in the Bank match.
The broadcast team hyped WWE Network and MITB… Cole noted that The Miz will not be at MITB because he is filming a movie. They played a clip of The Miz delivering a promo from the set of The Marine 5: Battleground. He had an assistant give him a coffee and complained that it was too cold. He told the man to get him another coffee and asked who is awesome. “Um, you are?” the man replied…
Powell’s POV: You had to know ADR and Owens were going to win the match, but I still like the idea of putting their spots on the line in a tag match. It gave a nothing match a hook and furthered the tension between two MITB entrants. Meanwhile, the Miz clip was rather pointless and unimaginative.
Backstage, Kevin Owens complained to Stephanie that he did all the work in his tag match and said his spot never should have been in jeopardy. Stephanie agreed. Owens complained that Zayn was on commentary for the main event. Stephanie wasn’t happy that Shane approved it, and said Owens could also sit in on commentary. ADR showed up and said he wanted to be on commentary too. Stephanie made him special guest timekeeper…
The broadcast team set up a recap of the Ambrose Asylum segment… The broadcast team hyped the WWE Championship match for MITB…
Backstage, Stephanie said Shane brought back the Ambrose Asylum. Shane asked what kind of power trip she is on, noting that she put Owens on commentary and ADR as the timekeeper after he put Zayn on commentary. Shane made Cesaro the guest ring announcer. They continued to squabble and Stephanie said Kane would be the worst choice to be Smackdown GM.
Shane said it’s obvious that Demon Kane comes with Corporate Kane. Kane entered the picture and Kane said they are looking for someone with more stability. He asked if he was getting the job and they both told him no. Kane asked if this is about the car battery and testicles thing. Shane said no and it didn’t help.
Shane told Stephanie that Kane is not fit to run Smackdown, but neither is she. He said they would keep co-running Raw, but he is running Smackdown. Stephanie laughed and then Shane told her to have a good night…
Powell’s POV: The Shane and Stephanie bickering just came out of nowhere. They must have a direction for the GM roles in mind and it requires them to be bitching at one another. I’d be surprised if what Shane said holds up.
[Q12] Cesaro served as the guest ring announcer and said Jericho now resides in “Stupid, Idiotville”… [C] Saxton announced Ambrose, Zayn, and Cesaro vs. Owens, Del Rio, and Jericho in a six-man tag for Smackdown… Cesaro introduced Ambrose as looking like he just rolled out of bed… Cole announced that Chris Jericho will appear on ESPNews on Tuesday to help count down the greatest MITB matches of all-time…
6. Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho. Owens and Zayn were on commentary, and Del Rio was the guest commentator. There were ladders set up in the entrance area. The match was as much about what was happening with everyone at ringside as it was the two guys who were actually wrestling. Owens was deliciously sarcastic on commentary. Jericho performed a springboard dropkick that knocked Ambrose to the floor.
Owens stood up and mocked Ambrose. Zayn stood up and teased going after Owens, then Del Rio and Cesaro got in the mix. Owens could be heard telling Del Rio, who picked up a chair, that he needs a hammer to ring the bell, not a chair. [C] Ambrose went for his top rope elbow, but Jericho countered into the Walls of Jericho. Ambrose crawled and reached the ropes.
[Overrun] Jericho performed a Lionsault for a two count. Owens boasted that he taught Jericho that move in addition to how to lean back on the Walls of Jericho. Ambrose came back with a clothesline. He caught Jericho with his top rope elbow for a two count. Later, Jericho caught Ambrose going for the teetering clothesline and went for the Codebreaker, but Ambrose caught him and then put him away with Dirty Deeds.
Dean Ambrose beat Chris Jericho in 12:05.
After the match, Owens attacked Ambrose. Zayn went after Owens. ADR performed the Backstabber on Zayn. Cesaro attacked Del Rio and ended up fighting with him at ringside. Owens brought a chair to ringside only to have Ambrose kick it at Owens. Zayn went up top and flipped onto everyone other than Jericho, who brought a ladder inside the ring and set up it.
Jericho climbed the ladder while the broadcast team said this could happen on Sunday. Jericho took the MITB briefcase down and smiled, then took a seat on top of the ladder. Jericho’s music played while he celebrated with the MITB briefcase on top of the ladder to close the show…
Powell’s POV: An entertaining main event segment thanks in large part to the comedic commentary of Kevin Owens. The brawl afterward was fine and the overall segment left me looking forward to the match. In fact, Raw succeeded as a go-home show in terms of giving strong final hype to the top three matches at Money in the Bank. I will have more to say in the All Access audio review of Raw coming up later tonight. Thanks for watching along with me.
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