Monday Night Raw Review - July 23, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon Announced the First Ever All-Women's Pay-Per-View

Everyone figured this was coming as soon as this segment was announced for Raw, but I loved how it came across like a big deal and it was well-received by the live crowd. Vince McMahon's presence in the ring was appreciated even if he didn't say much. I'm sure Triple H and especially Stephanie will take credit for creating the first-ever all-women's pay-per-view, but at least it's a cool historic happening and I'm looking forward to it going down in late October.

Raw Tag Team Champions The B-Team def. "Woken" Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt

I can't say I was particularly impressed by the initial outing between The B-Team and Hardy and Wyatt at Extreme Rules, but this was a slight improvement. The in-ring action was perfectly fine, but I'm still confused by which tandem we're supposed to be cheering for. That was made extra unclear afterward when following another fluke victory from The B-Team, Hardy and Wyatt laid them out, yet the commentators didn't react as if they had turned heel. I really just want this rivalry to be over.

Sasha Banks and Bayley def. Samantha Simon and Karen Lundy

I can't believe months and months were wasted of Banks and Bayley teasing tension and Bayley going so far as to destroy Banks in an amazing beatdown only for them to make up and go back to being best friends. Their love for each other is so over-the-top that it has to be a swerve with Banks ultimately turning on Bayley, right? In that case, here's hoping Banks drops the hammer soon so the build can begin for their rumored match at SummerSlam.

Kevin Owens Interrupted Braun Strowman

Strowman is still super over with the audience, but this was one of his most forgettable promos to date, largely because everything he said sounded so scripted and phony. In all honesty, his promo was pointless until Owens interrupted him, and the fire he showed on the mic was great. I would have been fine if the segment ended there, but then more time was wasted with Strowman roughing up Jinder Mahal and Sunil Singh for no apparent reason.

Mickie James def. Natalya

Natalya is Ronda Rousey's sidekick, and James serves that same role for Alexa Bliss, so I guess that was the reasoning behind this bout. Otherwise, I can't think of another reason why it needed to happen. While it was a decent match and I was happy James scored a rare singles win, it was too short to be anything of importance. For those wondering, Rousey was nowhere to be seen on Raw this week.

Titus Worldwide Attacked The Authors of Pain

I'm all for Authors of Pain getting more television time, but this was a brutal, brutal segment. There's no denying Titus O'Neil is an outstanding person in real life, but incorporating that into his on-air character feels forced and doesn't remotely fit with what they're going for in this feud with Authors of Pain. Plus, Authors of Pain struggled a ton on the mic here and would have benefited from someone such as Paul Ellering doing the talking for them.

Mojo Rawley def. Tyler Breeze

No, you weren't watching a rerun of Raw (despite how much it might have felt like you were). Rather, we were told that Breeze requested a rematch with Rawley from last week. For what reason, I have no clue. Obviously, it ended the same way their last match did with Rawley winning in quick and decisive fashion. Bobby Roode's promo mid-match was weak because being a heel is his strong suit, not a lame babyface. In other news, water is wet.

Finn Balor def. Drew McIntyre by Disqualification; Seth Rollins and Balor def. Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler and McIntyre

Balor and McIntyre going at it in a one-on-one environment was fresh and I enjoyed their encounter for as long as it lasted. It was on the shorter side, but it was a nice preview of what to expect from them if they ever feud in the future. Rollins making the save for Balor after Ziggler interfered was logical and the subsequent tag team match was very entertaining. Rollins pinning Ziggler not only protected McIntyre but also set up another Intercontinental Championship clash between Rollins and Ziggler at SummerSlam. I would throw Balor into that mix as well, but it looks like he might be busy with Baron Corbin (sadly).

Ember Moon def. Liv Morgan

If you're keeping track at home, Moon beat Morgan back-to-back weeks before losing to Sarah Logan last week. This week, Moon defeated Morgan again, so I'm not exactly sure why anyone should care. Thankfully, it was a fairly basic bout, but almost everyone in attendance sat on their hands for it. On the bright side, Moon bounced back after suffering her first loss in singles competition, but this felt like filler more than anything else.

Elias Performed

The running gag throughout the night was that Elias attempted to perform songs from his new album that was released today (yes, that is indeed a real thing) and was interrupted every time. He had his chance here, but he was cut off prematurely by Bobby Lashley's entrance. If you haven't listened to any of the songs from the album yet, you aren't missing much, but good for Elias on all of his success (?), regardless.

Roman Reigns def. Bobby Lashley in a Universal Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

It's unfortunate that the outcome to this match was never once in doubt because it might have been a bit more interesting if it wasn't. Nevertheless, this was along the same lines as their match that exceeded expectations at Extreme Rules in that both men had strong showings and the crowd was invested in the action. They even bought into a few of the nearfalls for Lashley, which was pleasantly surprising. But alas, we are getting Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the Universal title again at SummerSlam, and there is nothing we can do about it. Ugh.

Overall Show

Much like most editions of Raw lately, this show is worth watching solely for the opening and closing segments. The tag team match with Rollins, Balor, Ziggler and McIntyre halfway through the night was fun, but that was about it. Once again, everything else in the middle was just kind of there. There was plenty of focus on the Evolution event in October, so this was technically a newsworthy episode between that and the "new" No. 1 contender to the Universal Championship at SummerSlam being named, but as an overall package, this show bored me to tears.