 The Miz and Logan Paul Brawled; Theory Confronted The BloodlineMiz and Paul already being shown brawling in the ring as soon as the show opened was really refreshing. You don't see that often in WWE, so it immediately sent the message that things are going to start changing slowly but surely creatively. The rest of this segment with Paul Heyman addressing Brock Lesnar ahead of SummerSlam and Roman Reigns berating Theory was fantastic. Reigns' line about Theory's "daddy" being gone was especially excellent and the crowd was hot for all of it. Drew McIntyre def. Theory by Disqualification; McIntyre and United States Champion Bobby Lashley def. Theory and SheamusMcIntyre vs. Theory was random, but it obviously only existed to set up the subsequent tag team match. It's such a tired trope in WWE that I wish would go away now that Vince McMahon isn't in charge of Creative anymore. The matches themselves were solid and furthered the feuds involved, but I wasn't a fan of the formulaic nature of it all. Dolph Ziggler once again cost Theory the win, and although it's already gotten old, I assume they're waiting until after SummerSlam to officially kick off that program. The Mysterios def. The Judgment DayRey cut a promo beforehand celebrating 20 years in WWE and you could tell he was speaking from the heart. WWE didn't go all out for it like they did with Randy Orton and John Cena's recent 20-year celebrations, but it was still well done and I enjoyed his heartfelt promo. The Mysterios' match with Finn Balor and Damian Priest had nice energy and enjoyable action. The Mysterios winning on such an important occasion was the right call, and the return of Rhea Ripley backstage afterward attacking The Mysterios was a pleasant surprise. Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch BrawledHonestly, we've heard so much from Belair and Lynch that I didn't have an issue with their promos being kept short and sweet before they started brawling. I mean, what more can they say that they haven't already? The brawl itself wasn't anything out of the ordinary and wasn't the strongest push for their SummerSlam match, but oh well. I'm looking forward to their upcoming encounter, but I'm ready for this rivalry to finally be over. Alexa Bliss def. DoudropIt's painfully apparent that this company has had zero clue what to do with Bliss since she returned to TV a few months ago. Will that change with Triple H now at the helm? Time will tell. I'd like to think so since she's a bigger star than the way she's been booked, but on the bright side, she's won a majority of her matches. There wasn't much to this at all as it felt like filler. Can we please break up Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. or at the very least repackage them and ditch the dumb names? The Miz and Ciampa Attacked Logan Paul on Impaulsive TVPaul is definitely a performer, but there's no arguing that he's an natural heel. He's so miscast as a babyface and I don't see it working long-term. Hell, it's not working now, but there was no way they were going to reverse the roles so close to SummerSlam. This segment largely sucked and all the talk about testicles was stupid, but Maryse showing up was a cool surprise and Paul being laid out by Miz and Ciampa before he likely wins at SummerSlam made sense. AJ Styles and Dolph Ziggler def. Alpha AcademyStyles and Ziggler work well as partners and this was a well-wrestled affair, but as we enter this HHH regime, I hope they do the makeshift tag team stuff a little less. Alpha Academy are a terrific team and shouldn't be done dirty like this. Speaking of "dirty," where the hell is Robert Roode? Styles and Ziggler are clearly in a holding pattern until after SummerSlam so Ziggler can feud with Theory, but I have no idea what's next for Styles. The Bloodline (Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos) def. Riddle and The Street ProfitsWe haven't seen The Bloodline compete as a trio since WrestleMania Backlash in May, and Reigns hasn't been in action on Raw since September I believe. Thus, this was a treat of a main event in Madison Square Garden on the go-home show before SummerSlam, even if they didn't really pick up the pace until down the stretch. It was a pretty basic six-man tag team match on the whole, but it made for a quality main event. Post-match, Seth Rollins attacked Riddle, but only after crossing paths with Reigns on the ramp. That match is going to be a hell of an attraction if they decide to run it back at the right time. Overall ShowThis was officially the first show with Triple H in creative control. Not much was drastically different, mind you, but I did pick up on some small things that were done differently. They can really kick things into a higher gear next week when SummerSlam is over and done with. I maintain that significant creative change in this company will long-term as opposed to immediate, but I am optimistic. This was an entertaining edition of Raw in my opinion, especially by recent Raw standards.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
May 2025
|
RSS Feed