WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • WRR
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact

Columnist Corner

Monday Night Raw Review - August 3, 2015

8/4/2015

0 Comments

 
PictureWWE Superstars celebrate the life of Roddy Piper.
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

WWE Paid Tribute to Roddy Piper

I feels like just yesterday we had the tribute to the late, great Dusty Rhodes at the start of Raw, and losing a legend never gets any easier. As one of the most revolutionary and trailblazing performers this business has ever seen, it's a big blow to the industry for him to pass on, but WWE always done a tremendous job paying tribute to the late legends and Piper was no exception. The video package as well as the ten bell salute were extremely well done and I'd be lying if I said they didn't bring a tear to my eye. Rest in peace, Hot Rod!


WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins def. Neville

Rollins' promo gloating about breaking John Cena's nose last week was gloriously over-the-top, which is exactly why it was perfect. I could have done without the fans chanting "Thank You Rollins!", though. That seemed a little unnecessary. The title unification match at SummerSlam is a lose-lose situation in my opinion, but it's without question a major addition to the SummerSlam card. All the El Tortio talk had my guard up for a Heath Slater-like competitor accepting the open challenge, but Neville coming out instead was a pleasant surprise. He and Rollins put together a fantastic match where the action was excellent and the fans were buying in to all the near-falls, especially down the stretch. In an interesting note, this was the first official WWE Championship match on Raw since the first Raw of 2013. While I would have appreciated WWE advertising it in advance, it added a special feel to the show by kicking it off on a hot note.

Picture
The New Day and The Ascension def. The Lucha Dragons and Los Matadores

Our SmackDown rematch of the week came in the form of this match. It was fun while it lasted and they were given decent time, but I personally found the match they had last week to be better. Worse yet, none of these mutli-team matches are doing anything to get me excited about a potential tag team title match at SummerSlam; they should be more focused on building feuds featuring these teams. If nothing else, The New Day was overdue a big win and it helped them regain some of their lost momentum.


Charlotte and Becky Lynch def. The Bella Twins

I don't know what the general consensus was among the fans, but I personally didn't mind the Submission Sorority name for Paige's trio. I'm not a fan of the faction wars, mind you, but I thought that name was pretty clever. I won't sour on it as long as Michael Cole doesn't try to push it on us as much as possible whenever they're wrestling. The match was good and an effective job of showcasing the skills of Charlotte and Lynch. You had to know Charlotte was going to beat Nikki to win for her team, planting the seeds for a title match at SummerSlam.


The Miz Hosted 'Miz TV' with Kevin Owens and Cesaro

Owens acting as phony as Miz early on by saying he's always liked him was hilarious. He's lost so frequently recently that I can see why the casual viewer wouldn't take what he's saying seriously. Thankfully, he's such a talented talker that he held the crowd's attention and he and Cesaro had an enjoyable back-and-forth on the mic. I really like that this feud was given some promo time so their apparent SummerSlam match will feel more meaningful.


Rusev def. Mark Henry

Remember how huge their match at Night of Champions was built up last year? They even closed out Raw at one point! Now it's been reduced to nothing more than a squash match for Rusev. That's more a reflection of how poorly they're using Henry right now than Rusev, who isn't doing that much better. I'm not suggesting they put him in a top-tier storyline again, but why bother keeping him around if all he's going to do is lose inconsequential matches?


King Barrett def. Zack Ryder

It's unfortunately gotten to the point where I actually buy in to Barrett's opponents beating him because he's fallen so far that it's become possible. Thankfully, WWE didn't attempt to "swerve" us in that respect and Barrett went over as he should have, but not without giving up quite a bit of offense first. It appears they still don't have the slightest clue how to use him, which is a massive shame.


Paul Heyman Addressed The Undertaker

It's amazing how Brock Lensar simply standing in the ring and not saying a single word can add to the presence of a promo. I could have done without the multiple recaps (which I honestly skipped over while watching on DVR), but Heyman's subsequent promo was strong in selling people on just how epic the encounter between Lesnar and Undertaker will be. I would have gone one step further by having someone interrupt and let Lesnar brutalize him just to make the most of his time on the show, but what we got was great on its own.


Paige def. Naomi

I was surprised to see Paige in action so late in the show when she was set to appear on Stone Cold's podcast immediately afterward, but that might have been the point. Plus, they might have wanted the crowd hotter for the previous women's match which was better anyway, but Paige and Naomi had nothing less than an average match per usual. She's benefiting from being paired with Sasha Banks, but Naomi has lost too many matches for fans to take her as a legitimate threat.


Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton def. Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Sheamus

While this didn't initially feel like a blockbuster bout worthy of occurring in the main event slot, it definitely exceeded expectations and entertained me on the whole. All six competitors worked well together and while it started out slow, they picked up the pace down the stretch and built to a fun final few minutes. It was a simple progress of the Ambrose/Reigns/Wyatt Family feud, but I really wish they'd blow off the tired rivalry between Orton and Sheamus which seems to be never-ending.


Overall Show


Can anyone remember the last time we had three consecutive editions of Raw that ranged from good to great? I sure can't. After a noteworthy post-Battleground show and a thoroughly entertaining episode last week, this week's show once again left me optimistic about the SummerSlam card that is slowly shaping up. The Piper tribute, WWE title match and Lesnar's appearance were among the highlights, but the main event, the women's matches and 'Miz TV' were all enjoyable as well.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

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


    Archives

    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

©2023 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • WRR
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact