Monday Night Raw Review - August 6, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Roman Reigns def. Baron Corbin

I understand why Kurt Angle runs down Brock Lesnar every chance he gets (because he shows up on Raw so rarely), but it doesn't exactly make a ton of sense considering Roman Reigns will likely beat Brock for the belt at SummerSlam, so how much will that actually mean if Angle keeps calls him "the worst Universal Champion ever"? As for the match, it was way longer than it needed to be. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was terrible, but I largely found the bout to be boring, especially considering the outcome was never in doubt. Finn Balor exacted some revenge on Corbin afterward, but it didn't make me care about their feud any more than I did before.

Bobby Roode def. Mojo Rawley

Rawley does absolutely nothing for me in the ring, while Roode couldn't be any more flat as a face. Therefore, this was a forgettable affair. I fully expected Rawley to go over given how he has stacked up several victories in recent weeks, but that wasn't the case and honestly I'm confused why. Don't get me wrong, I think Roode is a better all-around performer than Rawley by a country mile, but a loss could have sent Roode over the edge and been the catalyst to turn him heel, whereas him winning doesn't accomplish anything.

Bobby Lashley Attacked Elias

This was along the same lines as the segment these two were a part last week where Lashley played along with Elias' shtick before getting serious and laying him out. I was surprised the crowd was behind Lashley as much as they were here instead of siding with Elias, but then again, this was more of a pro-babyface audience than usual. I guess this succeeded in furthering their feud, but truth be told, I couldn't care less about this program.

Rezar def. Titus O'Neil

You had to know this was coming after Apollo Crews defeated Akam in fluky fashion on last week's show. This feud was lifeless to begin with, but I doubt fans have any interest in seeing these two teams trade wins in singles competition because nobody benefits from it because 50/50 booking is damaging. I'd be shocked if Titus Worldwide vs. The Authors of Pain ends up on the SummerSlam Kickoff show.

Braun Strowman Crashed The Kevin Owens Show with Kevin Owens and Jinder Mahal; Strowman def. Mahal by Disqualification

I wasn't thrilled to hear Mahal would be appearing on The Kevin Owens Show, but at least Owens did most of the talking and made it worthwhile. It was really just a set-up for the subsequent Strowman vs. Mahal rematch, though, and that was another match that served no purpose. Yes, they sent the message that Strowman could lose by disqualification at SummerSlam and thus lose his Money in the Bank briefcase, but the angle wasn't well-executed and felt like a waste of time.

Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre def. Seth Rollins in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match

Reigns chose to team with Rollins, but Constable Corbin informed him that Reigns wrestling another match would put the SummerSlam main event in jeopardy, so Rollins was forced to go at it alone. He fared fairly well for himself and it was a fun match while it lasted, but it didn't solve the problem that Rollins posed in the first place that he can't overcome the odds when it's just him against Ziggler and McIntyre. By the way, the commentators did specifically mention Dean Ambrose at one point, so perhaps his return to TV isn't too far off.

Raw Tag Team Champions The B-Team vs. The Revival Ended in a No Contest (Non-title)

I still don't have the slightest clue whether The B-Team are supposed to be babyfaces or not, but it didn't matter anyway since this thing was short-lived. Halfway through the match, "Woken" Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt interfered and attacked both tandems. Next week, they'll collide in a Triple Threat for the Raw Tag Team Championship. Here's hoping that's where The Revival finally become champions (but I'm not holding my breath).

Renee Young Interviewed Paul Heyman

Holy hell, this was an absolutely brilliant performance from Heyman. He's done this before where he'll go all out for an angle by looking completely disheveled and he totally captured that vibe here with by not shaving and his eyes being bloodshot. He was also emotional about Lesnar not talking to him over the past week (it came across like a bad breakup). We'll see if this is ultimately a ruse or not, but I get the sense that isn't what will happen. I'm intrigued, but not intrigued enough to care about Lesnar vs. Reigns again.

The Riott Squad def. Sasha Banks and Bayley

Banks and Bayley are in full buddy-buddy mode by this point and don't appear to be teasing tension any time soon. Their latest encounter with The Riott Squad was an improvement over last week's as the second half was solid. As previously noted, I'm not a fan of 50/50 booking with the heels winning this time, but Ruby Riott returning is excellent. Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan were just two warm bodies on the roster without her around for the one month she was gone for.

Ronda Rousey def. Alicia Fox

Needless to say, this was less of a match and more of an angle with Alexa Bliss playing up Fox's past accomplishments beforehand, JoJo giving the in-ring introductions, and Bliss interfering throughout. Despite that, Rousey prevailed in dominant fashion as she should have. I don't blame them for putting this in the main event slot because of how big of a deal it was, but at least they added a few extra elements to fill the time, including the post-match interview. Rousey looked like a badass coming out of this and has momentum on her side as her Raw Women's Championship clash with Bliss quickly approaches.

Overall Show

Aside from the stuff with Rousey and Heyman stuff, this was a very lethargic and dull edition of Raw. Almost everything put me to sleep and wasn't effective in making me look forward to SummerSlam in the slightest. I hate to sound like a broken record, but it's the same stuff week after week with Raw and none of it is compelling whatsoever. They have to know these episodes are dreadful, right? Right?! If nothing else, SmackDown Live is a much better and easier show to digest on Tuesday nights compared to this crap.