25th Jun2019

WWE Raw – June 24th 2019: Results & Review

by Nathan Favel

2018-raw-logo

Welcome to this week’s Monday Night Raw review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have a fabulous main event between AJ Styles and Ricochet. Hey. That’s a real wrestling match. Who would have thought that a wrestling match would ever do well on a wrestling show?

Match #1: The Usos & The New Day def. Raw Tag Team Champions The Revival & SmackDown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan (8-Man Tag Team Elimination Match)

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

It was a rough night to be a Tag Team Champion on Monday, as the Raw and SmackDown titleholders teamed together for the first time and were each defeated in a non-title Elimination Match that extended one rivalry and, perhaps, teased the first notes of a new one. The first to go were Daniel Bryan & Rowan, the SmackDown Tag Team Champions who suffered the ignominy of disrespect from The Revival and an early exit from them as well when Dash Wilder clobbered Bryan with a European uppercut as payback for some incidental friendly fire earlier in the match. The cheap-shot freed up The New Day’s Xavier Woods to pin The Beard, the “Top Guys” ousted New Day with a Shatter Machine to Woods and the match was down to two. The Usos prevailed thanks largely to the same kind of adaptability and creativity that is usually The Revival’s calling card. When Scott Dawson teed up Jey Uso for a Power Plex, Jimmy secretly tagged in on his brother, thwarted Wilder’s ascent across the way and administered the Frog Splash portion of the move to Dawson. Using Wilder as a springboard to execute the move added insult to injury and served as a warning to the cocky Raw Tag Team Champions: This ain’t over just yet.

My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – This was like watching the new “Lion King” commercial, in that it only got good when James Earl Jones talked. This match had some Jones moments when Bryan was kicking ass, but this match just never got booked in any-one else’s favor beyond just hitting moves and getting out of the other guy’s way. Well, I guess that’s all I’ve got for this match.

Match #2: R-Truth def. Drake Maverick – 24/7 Championship Match

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

For one brief, shining moment, Drake Maverick was on top of the world. He had his bride, his best man (shouts to EC3, whose solo cup at the wedding matched his suit) and his white whale, the 24/7 Championship. Then, R-Truth crashed the ceremony, and now Maverick’s got no 24/7 Championship and, if Twitter is to be believed, no wife. (EC3, presumably, still lingers.) As a matter of fact, he still doesn’t have the 24/7 Championship, despite a Hail Mary on Raw that led to an unprecedented development: The first-ever, fall-to-a-finish match for the 24/7 Title. Maverick made his move during a “Miz TV” interview with Truth and Carmella, and thanks to an enticing stipulation from management banning the typical 24/7 mob from ringside, Truth accepted the 205 Live General Manager’s challenge. He also pinned Maverick in about five seconds and narrowly evaded the mob’s pursuit yet again, despite suffering a clobbering Neutralizer from Cedric Alexander. Maverick, meanwhile, was bereft and speechless in the ring, having failed to win back “the love of his life” — that’s the title, for those keeping score. Alas, after one taste of the white dress, he’ll settle for being the bridesmaid — if not a divorcé.

My Opinion: 0 out of 5 – I feel really bad about pissing all over these matches, but when they suck, they suck $#!@ like it’s going out of style.

Match #3: Roman Reigns vs Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre – Handicap Match

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Every time Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre have gotten the best of Roman Reigns, they did it because the odds weren’t even. Raw seemed like it was going to be more of the same when they reconfigured the planned Handicap Match into an anything-goes free-for-all where no tags were needed. The Big Dog had been subjected to a Spear from Shane and a Claymore from McIntyre, but Shane’s attempt at a final Coast-to-Coast was thwarted when the gong echoed throughout the arena, the lights dimmed and The Undertaker appeared in the ring, coming to the unlikely aid of the man who once defeated him at WrestleMania and put him out of action for a year. The Phenom singlehandedly dispatched a petrified McIntyre and Shane, sparing The Big Dog from further humiliation before making his exit. Of course, the specifics of Undertaker’s arrival and motivations have yet to be revealed, but if the enemy of your enemy is your friend, Roman Reigns may have just made one of the best friends he’s ever had.

My Opinion: 0.5 out of 5 – This was a mess that ended as it became a travesty. There was nothing here to talk about, other than The Undertaker attacking Shane/Drew to protect Roman.

Match #4: Braun Strowman def. Bobby Lashley (Tug of War)

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

If there’s one thing to take away from Braun Strowman’s tests of strength against Bobby Lashley, it’s that The Monster Among Men is undoubtedly the stronger Superstar, but Lashley may yet prove to be the smarter. In a near echo of their titanic arm-wrestling match a few weeks ago, Strowman upstaged Lashley in yet another contest — this time, a Tug of War — only for The All Mighty to get the last word when he used the rope as an implement against Strowman, threading it across The Monster Among Men’s eyes and cranking back. Lashley didn’t stop there, charging Strowman from behind into the barricade and leaving with his pride intact. Strowman, meanwhile, was left to stew at ringside, having mistakenly thought the key to victory lay in the muscles in his arms and not the one in his head.

My Opinion: 0 out of 5 – Is there a sign on my head that says dip-$#!@? Why are there so many bad matches on Raw tonight?

Match #5: The Viking Raiders def. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Give Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson this: When they want to make a point, they try to make a big point. In their second consecutive week of trying to convince AJ Styles that they’ve still got the goods, the former Raw Tag Team Champions squared up with none other than The Viking Raiders — a team with far less accolades than The Good Brothers’ previous opponents The Usos, but one whose aggressiveness more than makes up for it. Unfortunately for Gallows & Anderson, it was almost the exact same story as last week, with the former champions controlling the action until a last-minute comeback completely threw them off their game. Erik & Ivar finished the brawl with a rather incredible display of athleticism, culminating in a Viking Experience to Anderson that left the losers fuming, the victors celebrating and AJ Styles shaking his head behind the curtain. Again.

My Opinion: 2 out of 5 – Why does War Machine have such a stupid name? Viking Raiders? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Why is the Bullet Club stuck pretending they’re not the Bullet Club? Why are these guys booked to only go a few minutes? Oh, the match was nothing compared to what these guys are capable of.

Match #6: R-Truth, Heath Slater, Cedric Alexander and EC3 all won the 24/7 Championship

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

You win some, you lose some has never been more true than the planned match between Mojo Rawley and Heath Slater, which quickly turned into a roller-coaster ride for The One-Man Band when R-Truth led his pursuers back to the ring, leading to five 24/7 Championship changes within the span of a few minutes — beginning with Slater himself, who rolled up Truth to win the title before the bell could win against Mojo Rawley. Truth quickly won the title back, only to suffer a Lumbar Check from Cedric Alexander to relieve him of the title; the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion was ambushed by EC3 on the outside in a maneuver that made The Top One Percent the champion … at least until Carmella snatched the title out of his hands, allowing Truth to roll EC3 up and win the title back yet again. Like we said, you win some, you lose some … except for R-Truth, who just wins and wins and wins again.

My Opinion: 0 out of 5 – %&?! it. At least these guys all got on TV.

Match #7: WWE Champion Kofi Kingston def. Sami Zayn

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

For a while, Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship reign had the feel of a magic-carpet ride; something that was too good to be true but too good to last. Nice guys finish last, right? But then a funny thing happened: He kept defending the title and winning. And winning. And winning. And winning. He even won tonight too, against Sami Zayn.

My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – As usual, this match got stopped sort of its true potential in favor of just getting to the next thing. That being said, the action was good while it lasted.

Match #8: WWE Champion Kofi Kingston def. Kevin Owens

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Not only did a depleted Kofi allow himself to be goaded into a match with Owens after pinning a very game Zayn, he had to resort to a count-out victory over KO after planting him with an SOS on the ramp.

My Opinion: 1 out of 5 – This was just the same as the previous match. Great potential was vastly wasted in favor of getting to the next thing.

Match #9: Alexa Bliss def. Naomi

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

The Devil works hard, but Alexa Bliss works harder, earning a victory over Naomi one night after a disappointing turn at WWE Stomping Grounds.

My Opinion: 2 out of 5 – The broken record has struck again, because I’ve got the same complaint here as with both of the Kofi Kingston matches.

Match #10: Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross def. Naomi & Natalya

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Nikki, distraught over kinda-sorta costing Bliss the SmackDown Women’s Title at Stomping Grounds, was looking for any way to get back into The Goddess’ good graces. And while she balked at joining in on a post-match beatdown of Naomi after the former SmackDown Women’s Champion been beaten by Bliss, Nikki more than proved her worth in a subsequent tag team match. In fact, she had Naomi’s partner Natalya on the edge of defeat when Bliss tagged in without Nikki’s knowledge, seizing the pinfall for herself after Cross had administered a textbook swinging neckbreaker. And while Nikki seemed a little confused over what had happened, a replay of the match’s conclusion brought a tentative smile to her face: After all, Alexa won. And that’s what Nikki wanted. Right?

My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – This was going pretty well, especially when Cross and Natalya were in there together. Sadly, they ended it just as it was getting good.

Match #11: (Main Event) AJ Styles def. United States Champion Ricochet

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

A little time off seems to have done AJ Styles some good. In his first match back after a brief injury, The Phenomenal One knocked off the red-hot, freshly-crowned United States Champion, Ricochet, in a match that was so highly anticipated and competitive Styles actually stopped when Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson threatened to interfere and wouldn’t restart until they left. The good brothers obeyed and the action began, but for all Ricochet threw at Styles — and he threw a lot, including many maneuvers that defy physical description and mental comprehension — The Phenomenal One was simply too stubborn to lose. Styles dodged Ricochet’s home-run swing of a 630 and blasted his foe with a hard right, setting up a match-ending Phenomenal Forearm that handed him the win. Styles, ever gracious, raised Ricochet’s hand in respect after the match; left unspoken was the fact that this win may well put AJ in line for an opportunity sooner rather than later. The champion would do well to be ready for that: He’s used to standing higher than everybody else; if nothing else, Raw showed that he won’t get any rest at the peak before someone shows up to shove him off.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was the one thing on the show that felt like it delivered what it should have. These guys went all over the place in a smart, visceral melee that never extended either wrestler beyond their abilities (which are considerable), but still challenged them. Do I sound like I know what I’m talking about? As good as Ricochet was, AJ was that much better. There wasn’t anything bad to say about this match, other than the restart nonsense that just got in the way. Why couldn’t you just give these guys a half hour of time to do this and really give the people a show? Screw it. This was a gem amongst the mud and it still sparkled the whole way through.

News Of The Night:

  1. Undertaker and Roman Reigns fight Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon at Extreme Rules.
  2. Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch will be fighting Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans at Extreme Rules in a Winner Takes All Match for both the WWE Universal Heavy-Weight Title and the Raw Women’s Title, with Baron and Lacey losing all opportunities to wrestle the current champions if they lose.
  3. Samoa Joe attacked Kofi Kingston to, likely, establish a feud for the WWE World HeavyWeight Title.
  4. Nikki Cross is being set up as Alexa Bliss’s secret weapon so she can win matches easily.
  5. Drake Maverick may be turning heel, if his line about the 24/7 Title being his “true love” is going to be followed up on logically.
  6. R-Truth is riding the line between/tweener/face/heel/psychopath with his paranoia about being the defending 24/7 Champion.
  7. A feud is being teased between Gallows/Anderson and AJ Styles.
  8. AJ Styles may be the next (face) challenger to Ricochet’s US Title.
  9. Braun Strowman was the latest person to pull a semi-truck in the WWE, thanks to a video taken of him doing so from earlier today.

Final Verdict: 1.5/5

Well, there was AJ Styles and Ricochet to enjoy, so just skip to the main event. This could have been the best Raw of the year, but it was squandered in favor of moving on to the next thing at lightning-speed.

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