WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact
Picture

Monday Night Raw Review - August 24, 2015

8/25/2015

0 Comments

 
PictureJohn Cena confronts Jon Stewart.
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Paul Heyman Addressed The Undertaker's Controversial SummerSlam Win; Brock Lesnar Attacked Bo Dallas

Even if you hated the finish to the SummerSlam main event, you have to admit that much like when Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania streak ended, the best thing to come out of it was the Heyman promo the night after. There really aren't any words to describe it that I haven't used before, so I'll just keep it simple by saying Heyman hit a home run. The crowd was hot for the challenge for a rematch with 'Taker, but you had to know he wasn't going to accept. I love how they did what I wanted them to weeks ago by having Lesnar get physical with someone that can take the beating instead of just standing there, and Dallas took that annihilation like a champ. A refreshing change of pace to open Raw.


The New Day def. The Lucha Dragons (Non-title)

Brooklyn loves their New Day, but despite their awesome promo before the bout, they managed to elicit a few boos after insulting the city. It leaves me wondering whether that will continue in other cities or if it's only in the "smarky" crowds. The match was fun while it lasted, but The Lucha Dragons need to be established more because they can't be taken seriously as a threat to the titles as of now. But the big moment came afterward when The Dudley Boyz shocked the world by making their long awaited return to WWE! What an f'n moment! I've been waiting for this forever and they couldn't have picked a better city to do it in than Brooklyn. The tag team scene just got ten times more interesting.

PictureThe Dudley Boyz make their grand return to WWE!
Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose def. Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper by Disqualification

Between this match and their encounter from SummerSlam, I don't know which I enjoyed more, but they were both pretty good. Ambrose and Reigns, no matter how much the crowd despises the latter, really work great together as a team and Wyatt and Harper have an untouchable chemistry about them as well. I thought it was odd they were doing yet a rematch less than 24 hours after the pay-per-view, but the non-finish made sense of it. I love the addition of a new Wyatt Family member and how it's someone we've never seen before. I recognize him from his days as a Rosebud, but that's about it. He fits the role perfectly and hopefully it helps the group get some of their heat back.


The Miz Hosted 'Miz TV' with Team PCB

I've been saying for a while now that this "Divas Revolution" needs more mic time in order to mean something, but I think I regret saying that now. Be careful what you wish for, I guess. The women aren't the issue; it's whoever is scripting their awful promos. Team PCB came off as unlikable during their talking segment and I found it hilarious when Paige said they wouldn't back down to any man yet they shut up when Miz told them to. Team Bella wasn't much better, and who can possibly boo them when they act like babyfaces every other week? This "Divas Revolution" is quickly backfiring.


Team Bella def. Team PCB

It's great the women are getting more time for their matches, but when the crowd attempts to hijack a match with chants, that shouldn't be seen as a sign that the "Divas Revolution" is going well. I don't blame the crowd (except for the ever-annoying "We Are Awesome" chant) as much as I do the writing team for not giving us reason to care about the match. The trading of wins doesn't help anyone and putting the heels over here doesn't establish a new No. 1 contender to the Divas Championship which is what this revolution should be all about.


Stardust Attacked King Barrett

Uhm, okay then. I was hoping they'd become a permanent team, but apparently not. Stardust is fine on his own and I get that Stardust would be mad about Barrett taking the pin at SummerSlam, but that alliance was extremely short-lived and Barrett is back to being a jobber it seems. As for the furthering of the feud between Neville and Stardust, it was decent but forgettable and I'm sure it left the crowd confused.


Jon Stewart Explained His Actions

For all the crap I give WWE's Creative Team, I absolutely love the logic of Stewart saying he was a wrestling fan and therefore he didn't want to see Ric Flair's record broken so he cost Cena the win at SummerSlam. I don't know how far out in advance they thought of that, but it was brilliant. The exchange between Stewart and Cena was very entertaining and major props to Stewart for taking the Attitude Adjustment bump. It was cool to see Flair get involved, but he hardly did anything. What purpose did he serve exactly?


Randy Orton, Cesaro, Intercontinental Champion Ryback and Dolph Ziggler def. Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Big Show and Rusev

I enjoy a good ol' multi-man tag team match every now and then, but when we just saw something similar days earlier on SmackDown, it doesn't feel as special. It was a solid match that ate up a chunk of TV time, but it was essentially Creative's way of telling viewers, "We have no idea what's next for any of these men, so in the meantime, here's this match." Perhaps my favorite part was when Big Show got teamed up by everyone afterward, faces and heels alike. I have no idea what that was supposed to entail, but it's hard to complain about seeing Show get decimated.


Sting Crashed WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins' Statue Ceremony

When John Cena was taken out in handcuffs right before this segment, it was a tell-tale sign someone was going to interrupt, and Sting was the first choice for many (myself included). It boggled my mind that WWE hadn't done anything with him since WrestleMania, but him vs. Rollins for the WWE title is a huge get for Night of Champions. Plus, Rollins can defend the U.S. title against John Cena that same night since all belts must be defended. The crowd popped huge for Sting and it closed off the night on a high note after the SummerSlam conclusion left fans disgruntled.


Overall Show

I can't call this a perfect show after the second hour featuring the lousy Divas segment fell flat, but everything else was excellent. You had a hot opening with Lesnar and Heyman, the return of The Dudley Boyz, the debut of a new Wyatt Family member, a solid eight-man tag and the returns of Flair and Sting. If that isn't a great show, I don't know what is. I'm hesitant to say we're in for an exciting fall because WWE always disappoints after SummerSlam, so time will tell. Even still, I really enjoyed this episode and would certainly call it the best Raw of 2015 to date.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Interviews
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    NXT PLEs
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    Slammy Awards
    SNME
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    The World Is A Vampire
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Network Specials
    WWE PLEs
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2025 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact