By Jason Powell
WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Boston, Massachusetts at TD Garden
[Q1] Raw opened with a recap of last week’s Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose developments… Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Booker T were on commentary…
Cole welcomed viewers to Raw and then Dean Ambrose made his entrance. Once in the ring, Ambrose called for his music to be cut. He paced around the ring and then stopped and said people are wondering what’s going on with him and Rollins, and he’s wondering the same thing himself. Ambrose called out Rollins.
Seth Rollins made his entrance. Ambrose said he’s tired of playing games. Rollins accused Ambrose of playing games of his own. Rollins said Ambrose claims he can’t trust Rollins, yet looking in his eyes he knows he is lying. Rollins said he and Ambrose “could run this place” if they teamed up again.
Rollins said he was done playing games if Ambrose was ready to let bygones be bygones. Rollins stuck his fist out. The crowd erupted with Yes! chants. Ambrose turned opposite Rollins and leaned on the ropes for a moment, then turned back. “You have got to be kidding me,” Ambrose said. The crowd booed. Ambrose said he was made to look like a fool last week.
Rollins said he understands Ambrose can’t trust him because he can’t even trust himself. Rollins said maybe it was a stupid idea, then added maybe it was not. Rollins said that whether they fight against or with one another, there’s no one who can touch them. Rollins was about to leave and said he was done playing games, but Ambrose stopped him.
Ambrose put his fist out. The fans roared again. Rollins looked at it, looked at his own fist, and then walked away. Ambrose spun him around. They pushed and shoved each other. Ambrose tackled Rollins and they traded punches on the mat. Cole said it seemed like this had to happen. Ambrose got to his feet first and asked what Seth’s problem was. Rollins jumped up and went after Ambrose again. They tumbled to ringside.
Sheamus and Cesaro’s music played and they ran to ringside and tossed Ambrose over the barricade. The Raw tag champs ran Rollins into the barricade and then worked him over inside the ring. Ambrose ran back in and tried to fight them off, but he was quickly outnumbered. Suddenly, Rollins leapt over Cesaro and Ambrose and attacked Sheamus. Rollins and Ambrose eventually cleared the heels from the ring.
[Q2] Ambrose put his fist out and pulled it back. Rollins did the same. Finally, Ambrose and Rollins put their fists together and the crowd roared and chanted Yes! again. Kurt Angle’s music played and he came out. The music stopped, but the crowd kept chanting “You suck” while Angle announced Sheamus and Cesaro vs. Rollins and Ambrose for the Raw Tag Titles at SummerSlam…
Cole hyped Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman appearing in the same ring, and Graves hyped Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax for the SummerSlam title shot as coming up after the break… [C]
Powell’s POV: My favorite storyline on WWE television played out in a fun and satisfying manner. I applaud the creative approach in that they really showed discipline by waiting as long as they did to have Rollins and Ambrose finally get on the same page. I wish they had done more with Rollins and Roman Reigns before they teamed, but the story with Rollins and Ambrose was top notch and they have mega momentum heading into SummerSlam. By the way, a big shout out to my friends at MyFantasyLeague.com, which is the home for all of my fantasy football leagues. Whether your league is basic or ultra complicated when it comes to scoring, there’s an excellent chance that the MFL gang can accommodate your needs.
The broadcast team discussed the Ric Flair medical situation. Cole said Flair underwent successful surgery but added that he is not out of the woods yet. Graves said he hopes the dirtiest player in the game has more tricks left up his sleeve. Booker recalled Flair telling him that he was passing the torch to him when Booker won the championship…
1. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax for a Raw Women’s Championship shot at SummerSlam. There was what can best be described as a lifeguard chair sitting at ringside. Alexa Bliss made her entrance and took her seat on the chair. Graves said it was her throne. Jax knocked Banks down near the ropes during the opening seconds and they went to break. [C]
[Q3] Jax continued to dominate the match coming out of the break. Jax performed multiple Samoa drops. Graves said that was it because you don’t survive two of those moves, but Banks rolled to ringside before Jax could cover her. Graves pointed out that Jax could win by count-out. Jax threw Sasha back inside the ring. Cole credited Jax with good strategy by assuming she believed Sasha would have beat the count. Jax remained on the offensive heading into a break. [C]
Sasha went for a sunset flip powerbomb, but Jax held onto the ropes. Banks tripped her up and then did the double knee fall and covered Jax for a two count. Jax came back with a big boot. Jax went to pick up Sasha, who put her in the Bank Statement. Jax reached for the ropes, but Sasha blocked her hand with her leg. Jax powered out, but Banks turned it into a tornado DDT and reapplied the hold for the win…
Sasha Banks defeated Nia Jax in 14:50 to earn a Raw Women’s Championship match at SummerSlam.
After the match, Bliss smirked from her chair as Sasha celebrated in the ring and then stared her down from the middle rope. Alexa responded by holding up her title belt…
Kurt Angle was shown watching the match on a backstage monitor. He was excited about the Bliss vs. Banks match. He called in Matt and Jeff Hardy and spoke about how they won’t be able to get their hands on The Revival due to Scott Dawson’s injury. Matt said it was unfortunate. Matt said they always have a “delightful” time at SummerSlam.
The Miz, Maryse, Bo Dallas, and Curtis Axel entered the picture. Miz asked Angle what he was going to do to make up for unleashing Brock Lesnar on him. Angle said nothing, which made the Hardys laugh. Angle booked Axel in a match against Jason Jordan. Miz accused Angle of abusing his power and said it ends tonight when Axel takes out his son. A referee interrupted the conversation to inform Angle that there was a problem with Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt…
Powell’s POV: The Banks and Jax match was very entertaining even though the outcome felt fairly predictable. It was hard to imagine Banks losing in her hometown. Okay, so WWE likes to have their babyface talent lose in their hometown, so I guess it was more about expecting a standard heel champion vs. babyface challenger match. Still, predictable isn’t always a bad thing.
[Q4] [C] Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt were trading punches backstage when Angle, referees, and producers pulled them apart. Angle told them to wait until SummerSlam. They got loose and fought again. Angle said SummerSlam was coming early and they would have their match tonight…
Elias Samson sat in the ring and did his pre-match guitar bit. He took a shot at Fenway Park by calling it a dump and said it inspired him to write a song about the fans. It was the usual bit with him heeling on the fans and the city. R-Truth interrupted with his entrance song. Elias attacked Truth from behind and put him down with his Drift Away finisher…
The broadcast team discussed upcoming events. A shark cage was lowered from the rafters. Cole hyped that Big Cass would appear after the break… [C]
Powell’s POV: Apparently, Elias is back to being Elias Samson based on how many times Cole mentioned his last name. However, the male ring announcer (I mistakenly listed JoJo serving in that role earlier) only called him Elias, so we’ll see what happens. Anyway, the angle was quick painless, and put some good heat on Elias. Meanwhile, WWE has moved both the cruiserweight championship and the Wyatt vs. Balor match from SummerSlam to Raw. Sunday rematches are possible, but I wonder if they finally realized they had too many matches booked even for a six-hour show.
Big Cass came to the ring to bad entrance music and delivered a promo while standing in front of the shark cage. Well, he tried to. The crowd booed and Cass stopped to let them.
[Q5] Cass started up and the crowd booed again, so he stopped again. Rinse and repeat. Cass told the crowd he would stay there all night if they didn’t stop. He finally spoke over them by talking about how it would be Big Show vs. Big Cass in the Big Apple. The crowd continued to boo. Cass said he’s the man and it matters when he talks.
Cass spoke about how Enzo Amore needs someone to have his back and for someone to go to bat for him when he pisses off people backstage nearly every day. Cass questioned if Show needs Enzo to stay relevant. Cass mocked the crowd for not getting the Enzo jokes and laughing anyway. Cass said he’s the new seven footer on the block. He said Show can’t beat him without Enzo, but Enzo will be locked in the shark cage. Cass said he will prove he’s the best big man today.
Enzo Amore’s entrance music interrupted Cass. “Just when you think you get rid of the wart, it keeps coming back,” Graves said regarding Enzo. Amore delivered his pre-match routine. Enzo mocked Enzo for not being able to get his first line out. Enzo said he was acting like a man who had been knocked out two weeks in a row.
Cass said Enzo is always the funny guy. Enzo danced on the ramp. Cass invited him to come to the ring and talk to his face. Enzo asked if Cass was still seeing stars. Enzo said it was rhetorical because Cass was looking at him, so he was seeing a star. Enzo introduced Big Show, and they headed to ringside.
Show climbed on the apron and Cass backed behind the shark cage while Enzo taunted from the floor. Enzo climbed onto the apron and Cass took him out. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows entered the ring and went after Show. Big Show recovered and set up for a double chokeslam, but Cass put Show down and the heel trio put the boots to him.
The heels placed a belt around Show’s right hand and held in in place while Cass slammed the shark cage on it. Two referees entered the ring. Finally, a few referees ran out and Show sold his injury while Cass gloated. Cole questioned what would happen to the Show vs. Cass match at SummerSlam…
Powell’s POV: Well, there’s an angle I didn’t see coming. Hopefully this means they intend to do more with Gallows and Anderson. My guess is that the Hardys join Show in a six-man tag match against Cass, Gallows, and Anderson with Enzo still in the shark cage because, well, I don’t know why he’s in the shark cage.
The broadcast team narrated footage of the Last Man Standing match that main evented last week’s show. They hyped the Lesnar, Reigns, Joe, and Strowman segment, Balor vs. Wyatt, and the WWE Cruiserweight match for later in the show…
[Q6] [C] 2. Neville vs. Akira Tozawa (w/Titus O’Neil) for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Ring announcer Greg Hamilton delivered introductions off-camera while the wrestlers stood in the ring. Tozawa went on the offensive and Neville rolled to ringside to avoid him heading into a break. [C]
Neville took offensive control during the break. Tozawa came back and performed a suicide dive at 7:10. Tozawa followed up with a second suicide dive and then rolled Neville inside the ring and covered him for a two count.
Tozawa went up top for his senton finisher, but Neville cut him off and ended up performing a superplex. Tozawa came back with an enzuigiri. Tozawa went up top, but Neville cut him off again. Neville used the ref as a shield briefly and then went for the Rings of Saturn. Tozawa countered into a pin for a two count.
Neville regrouped and went for a Red Arrow, but Tozawa avoided it. Tozawa went up top and performed his top rope senton and pinned Neville.. After the match, Apollo Crews ran out and celebrated with Tozawa and Titus. They put Tozawa on Titus’s shoulders and paraded him around the inside of the ring…
Akira Tozawa defeated Neville in 11:20 to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
Powell’s POV: Graves positioned this as a Buster Douglas-like upset (his win over Mike Tyson). That felt like it was a bit much. I realize that Neville has been the longtime champion, but I never got the feeling that they wanted Tozawa to be an underdog, nor do I think it’s a good idea to make him seem like a flukey champion. At any rate, it was a good match even though it remains hard to really invest in anything they do with the cruiserweights due to how poorly the division has been featured.
Graves hyped the NXT Takeover event for Saturday night. Booker hyped the two-hour Kickoff Show for SummerSlam. Cole hyped the four-hour SummerSlam event and the top matches. Graves hyped Balor vs. Wyatt was up next…
The broadcast team recapped the Big Cass, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson attack on Big Show…
Backstage, a trainer told Show his hand was broken. Show told the trainer not to touch hm. Enzo tried to tell him he could forget about the SummerSlam match, but Show wasn’t having it…
The broadcast team recapped Sasha Banks earning the Raw Women’s Championship match at SummerSlam…
Backstage, Emma was on her phone and venting to Mickie James about not getting a title shot even though she started the women’s revolution. Mickie accused her of rewriting her own history.
[Q8] Mickie said that instead of complaining on social media, she should put her phone down and step in the ring with a six-time women’s champion. Emma accepted the challenge…
Bray Wyatt made his entrance heading into the break… [C] Finn Balor made his entrance…
3. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt. The broadcast team raved about the greatness of Balor’s entrance and how it needs to be seen in person. Cole hyped it as the first ever match between Balor and Wyatt. Balor caught Wyatt with a kick from the apron heading into a break. [C] Wyatt caught Balor with a clothesline.
[Q9] Wyatt punched Balor, who dropped him with an overhead kick. Wyatt came back with a running cross body block for a two count at 9:00. Wyatt avoided a running dropkick and performed a senton for a two count. Balor avoided Sister Abigail and performed a double stomp. Wyatt rolled to the floor. Balor followed and performed a running dropkick against the barricade. Wyatt crotched Balor on the ropes and then performed Sister Abigail and pinned him clean…
Bray Wyatt pinned Finn Balor in 11:40.
After the match, Wyatt performed another Sister Abigail. The Wyatt video flashed. Wyatt had a bucket in his hand. With Balor down in the corner, Wyatt poured a red blood-like substance on Balor, who rolled around the ring while Wyatt laughed in the corner…
Powell’s POV: A decent match. Will they give us a rematch at SummerSlam or was this it? If we get the rematch, was the post match angle designed to bring out Balor’s Demon persona on Sunday? Will they attempt to pass off the red paint covered canvas as art and sell it eBay? If they really are trimming matches from the card, here’s hoping we see Randy Orton vs. Rusev on Smackdown tomorrow night on Smackdown.
The broadcast team recapped the Wyatt and Balor post match angle. Cole said it was an “acidic liquid of some sort.” Graves said it was more symbolic than anything else. The broadcast team also recapped the Ambrose, Rollins, Sheamus, and Cesaro angle…
[Q10] 4. Mickie James vs. Emma. Neither woman’s entrance was televised. Mickie kipped up at one point and looked to the crowd for approval. Sadly, few fans reacted. Emma came back and stood on the hair of James while pulling her arms up. Emma suplexed James for a two count. Mickie came back with a kick in the corner, but Emma pulled her down from the ropes quickly and got another two count. Mickie came back with a nice kick and got the three count…
Mickie James pinned Emma in 4:10.
Powell’s POV: Congratulations to Mickie for winning the battle of the two most underutilized women in WWE.
Cole set up a sponsored trailer of the movie “The Hitman’s Bodyguard.” They video featured plenty of WWE clips involving reluctant tag team partners… The Miz, Maryse, Axel, and Dallas were shown walking backstage… An ad for Smackdown hyped Jinder Mahal vs. John Cena in a non-title match…
Backstage, Balor exited Angle’s office and was still covered in the red substance. Charly Caruso asked what the meeting was all about. Balor said he got his rematch for SummerSlam. He said Wyatt has his demons, and on Sunday he’d find out that Balor has his demons too…
Powell’s POV: The crowd popped for the Demon persona tease. I’m happy they made an attempt to heat this up enough for the Balor character to be driven to bringing out the Demon persona rather than simply appear as the Demon because it’s a big show.
[Q11] 5. Intercontinental Champion The Miz (w/Maryse, Curt Axel, Bo Dallas) vs. Jason Jordan in a non-title match. Jordan threw a nice dropkick during the opening minute while Cole ran through Jordan’s college studies list. Jordan caught Miz with a shoulder in the corner and set up for his finisher, but Axel and Dallas ran in for the DQ.
Jason Jordan beat The Miz by DQ in 1:30.
After the match, Matt and Jeff Hardy ran out for the save and cleared the heels from the ring. Jeff performed Poetry in Motion on Miz, then Jordan performed a nice suplex on Miz… [C]
6. Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, and Jason Jordan vs. The Miz (w/Maryse), Curtis Axel, and Bo Dallas. Cole said Angle made the match, which was joined in progress, during the break. Miz put the boots to Jordan heading into a break over four minutes into the match. [C]
[Q12] The heels isolated Matt Hardy in their corner for a stretch. Miz cut off Matt from making a tag and then knocked Jordan off the apron with a cheap shot. Matt clotheslined Miz and then tagged his brother while Miz tagged in Dallas. Bo avoided a Twist of Fate. Jeff kicked Miz and Axel with kicks under the ropes and then performed a Whisper in the Wind for a two count. All the wrestlers end up in the ring. Jordan took out two opponents with suplexes, then Matt hit a Twist of Fate on Dallas, and Jeff followed up with a Swanton Bomb for the win…
Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, and Jason Jordan beat The Miz, Curtis Axel, and Bo Dallas in 14:30 of television time.
Powell’s POV: A nice six-man tag match. It didn’t really feel necessary given that the babyface trio dominated the heels coming out of the Miz vs. Jordan match, but the live crowd was up for seeing the Hardys and got hot for the finish.
Cole praised Angle for putting together a great Raw show. Graves announced The Demon version of Finn Balor will face Bray Wyatt at SummerSlam. Cole hyped the Lesnar, Reigns, Strowman, and Joe segment for after the break… [C]
Akira Tozawa’s championship celebration was announced for WWE 205 Live. Graves also noted that Neville had invoked his rematch clause for SummerSlam…
Powell’s POV: So much for WWE scaling back on the match count for Sunday’s show. Both of the SummerSlam matches that took place early on Raw have resulted in rematches at SummerSlam.
Kurt Angle stood in the ring for the final segment and introduced Brock Lesnar, who was accompanied by Paul Heyman. Cole noted that Lesnar and Heyman are not happy about the four-way rules because the champion doesn’t have to be involved in the finish. Heyman stood in the ring and introduced Lesnar.
[Overrun] Heyman said that if you put Lesnar in the same ring as the challengers then you could have all the security you want and add 10,000 more, but all hell would break loose. Heyman said Lesnar’s bad mood is justified. Heyman recalled his father telling him that just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean the whole world is not against you.
Heyman said there was a conspiracy theory that resulted in Lesnar being in the ring with the three top challengers. He played up the idea of the trio taking out Lesnar and then one of them escaping “like a thief in the night” with the Universal Championship. “I’m a fan,” Heyman said. “And as a fan, Mr. Angle, that concept sucks.”
Heyman spoke about someone beating Lesnar in a singles match scenario and how fans could then point that person as being their guy and the rightful Universal Champion. Heyman said it sure as hell wouldn’t be Samoa Joe. He said it sure as hell wouldn’t be Strowman. “Don’t get me wrong, Braun Strowman has all the tools to be champion, he’s a monster among men, but in the horror film that happens this Sunday at SummerSlam, beast slays monster.”
Heyman turned the focus to Reigns, who was booed loudly. Heyman said Reigns is the man who retired Undertaker and he claims it’s his yard. He said Roman’s yard is in Lesnar’s house and rent is due at SummerSlam. Heyman said he never makes predictions, he only makes spoilers.
Heyman said one of two things will happen on Sunday. One, the conspiracy is successful and Lesnar is ripped off of the title and then he and Lesnar leave WWE. He said if that happens, you might as well “lock up this beast in a cage.” Two, Lesnar beats the challengers and shows that Heyman has actually undersold the greatness of Lesnar. Heyman addressed the crowd as the jury and said that’s his case for them buying WWE Network to see SummerSlam.
Samoa Joe made his entrance and the fans chanted “Joe” repeatedly. Once in the ring, Joe said he would alleviate some of Heyman’s fear. Joe told Lesnar that he doesn’t fear him. He said he’s coming for Lesnar and will rip the title out of his hands after he puts him to sleep in the middle of the ring.
Strowman made his entrance. “In case you didn’t know, I’m always the last man standing,” Strowman said once in the ring. “Ask Roman Reigns.” Joe took exception to that, saying it had nothing to do with Strowman, as Reigns was “stomping you around the building until I arrived.” Joe said Strowman is merely the man who barely stood up while he put Reigns down.
Reigns made his entrance to boos. Joe entered the ring and immediately speared Joe. Strowman spun Reigns around and power slammed him. Lesnar stood confidently in the corner. Strowman turned and looked at Lesnar out of the corner of his eye, then just as they were about to go at it, security, who had been at ringside, rushed the ring to keep them apart. Lesnar broke free, but not long enough to get to Strowman. Braun did the same.
Strowman and Lesnar started beating the hell out of the security guards. Angle was at ringside and called for reinforcements. A bunch of wrestlers ran out and kept Lesnar and Strowman apart. Lesnar broke free and got some shots in. Strowman returned the favor. “How do you contain them on Sunday?” Cole asked. “You don’t!”…
Powell’s POV: Not the hottest closing segment, but it was wise to keep the big men apart. I’m especially happy that they spotlighted Lesnar and Strowman, as that’s the big money showdown that the fans seem most excited by. It will be very interesting to see just how much they do together on Sunday, as I could see them having shorts spurts and being mostly kept away from one another if they want to save them for a singles match, perhaps even at WrestleMania.
Overall, this was a strong go-home show for SummerSlam. They lost some momentum during the third hour, but the hook of seeing the big four in the ring was strong and WWE seemed to wager on that being enough to keep viewers around. The opening segment was great and there was some very good hype for SummerSlam throughout the night. Join Zack Zimmerman for live coverage of the NXT Takeover special on Saturday, and join me for WWE SummerSlam coverage on Sunday. Dot Net Members will hear exclusive audio reviews of both shows. I will be back later tonight with a member exclusive audio review of Raw, and on Tuesday with my WWE Raw Hit List. Thanks for watching along with me, and be sure to join us for SummerSlam weekend coverage.
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