WWE Raw – July 15th 2019: Results & Review
Welcome to this week’s review of Monday Night Raw, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have what I heard is supposed to be the official debut of Paul Heyman as the booker. Brock Lesnar is Universal Champion once again, so this show should address who will challenge him for the title at Summerslam. Okay, here we go.
Match #1: Ricochet and The Usos def. Robert Roode and The Revival – 2 Out Of 3 Falls Six Man Tag Match
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Ricochet might have lost the United States Championship to AJ Styles last night, but The Club aren’t quite done with the former champion. Looking to add insult to injury for the young Superstar, Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson ambushed Ricochet at the conclusion of a 2-out-of-3 Falls Six-Man Tag Team Match in which Ricochet & The Usos teamed up to defeat The Revival & Robert Roode. For The Usos, who lost their Raw Tag Team Title bid to Dash & Dawson last night, the victory is a welcome gust of wind in their sails that may yet again carry them to the “Top Guys’” doorstop. But the win proved to be little balm for Ricochet, who found himself sized up by The Club moments after he scored the decisive fall of the match against Roode. Ricochet came out swinging, darting into Styles with a suicide dive that instigated an all-out brawl among all nine Superstars. Ultimately, however, it was Styles who got the last word, downing Ricochet with a Phenomenal Forearm and feeding his foe into a Magic Killer from Gallows & Anderson. Ironically, Ricochet had seemed to be taking his loss in stride before The Club came calling, but he clearly won’t be afforded the luxury of a positive outlook. The beatings will continue until his morale doesn’t just fall, but ceases to exist altogether.
My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – This was good while it lasted, but it didn’t last long enough to make a lasting impression. It was nice to see Ricochet win, but seeing Roode lose, again, kinda broke my heart. In any case, at least they all got on TV.
Match #2: The Viking Raiders def. Vinny Gruner & Jackson James
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
At this point, local tag teams who agree to be on Raw might as well just feed themselves into the meat grinder and be done with it, because The Viking Raiders have been racking up homebred hopefuls for several weeks and didn’t hesitate to add another duo to their collection on Raw. Vinny Gruner & Jackson James served mainly as playthings for Erik & Ivar’s unique offense, with the final Viking Experience acting as more of a mercy blow than anything else. And with bodies piling up in The Viking Raiders’ wake, it’s looking more and more like this savage, unpredictable duo simply can’t be stopped. They can only be fed.
My Opinion: 1.5 out of 5 – They did some moves and grunted and it was over.
Match #3: Cedric Alexander def. Drew McIntyre
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
On paper, Cedric Alexander is the perfect rebound opponent for a reeling Drew McIntyre: One night after being embarrassed by The Undertaker & Roman Reigns, what better pickings are there for the former NXT Champion than the man who almost humiliated him the previous week on Raw? The size and power difference seemed to make this one a foregone conclusion, but unfortunately for McIntyre, the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion came ready to play. Despite suffering a series of power maneuvers from McIntyre, Cedric slowly picked the Scot apart with high-flying offense before sealing the match with a roll-up reversal of McIntyre’s reverse Alabama Slam. And just minutes after McIntyre promised to tear Alexander limb from limb, he’s left with more questions than answers, while Cedric is looking like the one who opponents underestimate at their peril.
My Opinion: 2 out of 5 – I think this went two minutes. What a waste of two great wrestlers. It was nice seeing Cedric win, but it did nothing for Drew.
Match #4: Samoa Joe def. Finn Bálor
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Samoa Joe and Finn Bálor both lost at Extreme Rules, so a comeback win was crucial for the two former champions looking to regain their footing — and, in Bálor’s case, the Intercontinental Championship — in time for SummerSlam. But only Joe was able to channel his frustration into a victory, and Finn found himself in a world of trouble he didn’t quite see coming. While the Irishman got some bragging rights by landing a Coup de Grâce on Joe during a scrap in the wake of his loss, his moment was cut short when his music ground to a halt and the lights cut out in the arena. The sounds of a scuffle could be heard in the darkness, and when the lights came back up, they revealed Bray Wyatt in his horrifying Fiend mask and duster, with a limp Bálor in position for Sister Abigail. The former WWE Champion planted his foe mercilessly into the mat before making his exit, and that Intercontinental Title is looking farther away by the second — though that’s probably the least of Finn Bálor’s problems right about now.
My Opinion: 2 out of 5 – I can’t believe these two had a lousy match, but length and booking made it happen.
Match #5: Zack Ryder def. Mike Kanellis
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Theoretically, father-to-be Mike Kanellis should be the happiest man in the world. Unfortunately, he’s married to Maria Kanellis, who seems dead set on unmanning her husband by berating him, insulting him and openly questioning the parentage of her child. There could be an argument that this is all some kind of motivational technique, but the overwhelmed Kanellis found himself defeated by Zack Ryder in a matter of seconds following a backstage argument with Maria where she deemed him too inept to compete and tried to battle The Ultimate Broski in his stead. Then again, given the relish with which Maria insulted Mike after the match, this may have been the result she wanted all along.
My Opinion: 2 out of 5 – Well, Zack got to appear on TV and win a match, so that’s cool. Also, this was far too shor…you get it.
Match #6: The Club def. The Lucha House Party
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
If there was any doubt The Club was going to do things right this time around, they certainly put it to rest on this week’s Raw when they won their first Six-Man Tag Team Match since their reunion, overwhelming The Lucha House Party and nearly crippling Kalisto with a match-ending Calf Crusher that AJ Styles refused to release. With that being said, their win wasn’t exactly seamless, thanks to an appearance from Ricochet in the middle of the match that briefly threw the bout into chaos. Ricochet’s interference, where he repaid The Club’s earlier ambush by attacking Styles, clearly weighed on The Phenomenal One for the remainder of the match; he competed with a little extra fire, and even his torturous submission on The King of Flight seemed to stand as a message. But Styles feeling the need to reply in such a fashion is also a statement of sorts about Ricochet, and the manner in which he finally decided to repay his weeks of cheap shots at the hands of Styles. It may well end up being that anything AJ Styles can do, Ricochet can do, too — perhaps even better.
My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – This was well-wrestled, but nobody cared about anything in here until AJ took over and got mean.
Match #7: Natalya def. Naomi, Alexa Bliss and Carmella to earn a Raw Women’s Title Match against Becky Lynch at SummerSlam (Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match)
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Your SummerSlam match for the Raw Women’s Championship will be Becky Lynch vs. Natalya, and it’s shaping up to be a very, very personal affair. That’s somewhat surprising for a match involving Natalya — The Hart Dungeon graduate is about as respectful as it gets — but The Man did more than enough to bring out The Queen of Harts’ inner trash-talker, confronting the former SmackDown Women’s Champion moments after she won the Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match that sent her to SummerSlam. Natalya had certainly shown her in-ring bonafides before she went face-to-face with Becky, eliminating Naomi and Alexa Bliss en route to victory (Alexa eliminated Carmella to score the first ouster of the match).
My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – A nearly half an hour match that was just too slow and dull to impress, but the right woman won.
Match #8: R-Truth def. Drake Maverick to become the new 24/7 Champion
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
A night of pleasure turned to pain for Drake Maverick when R-Truth struck, reclaiming the 24/7 Championship moments before Maverick was set to complete the long-awaited consummation of his marriage to Renee Michelle. In and of itself, that’s about the most demoralizing conceivable end to Maverick’s second reign, but the fashion in which Truth relieved Maverick of the title was a brutal twist of the knife all its own: With the referee disguised as the room service attendant at the Mavericks’ hotel, Truth smuggled himself into their room underneath a champagne tray, emerging to crossbody Drake on top of the rose petal-covered bed to score the pinfall. Truth took the title and bounced, leaving Maverick to frantically chase after the love of his life and leave his beautiful wife behind.
My Opinion: 0 out of 5 – One of the worst segments in wrestling history (and not for a lack of trying), this “match” was set up as a live sex video from Drake’s honeymoon. They tried this with Jamie Noble, Nidia, Billy Gunn and Torrie Wilson in 2003 I believe, as well as Edge and Lita’s Live Sex Show from 2006. If I want to watch porn, I’ve got many other options besides the WWE. The context for this match was embarrassing and the match was just as bad.
Match #9: (Main Event) Seth Rollins won a Cross Branded All Star Top 10 Battle Royal to earn a Universal Title Match with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Say this for Seth Rollins: He doesn’t stay down for long. In a lightning-quick rebound from his Extreme Rules loss — and in an odd mirror to the Royal Rumble win that netted him a Universal Title bout at WrestleMania — The Architect won a Battle Royal comprising 10 Superstars across both Raw and SmackDown LIVE, setting himself up for another crack at slaying The Beast. That’s not to say he didn’t have competition, as Rollins’ nine opponents certainly gave as good as they got: Cesaro ran through the field with the Uppercut Express; Randy Orton dished out RKOs to anything that moves, Big E managed to get Braun Strowman up for a Big Ending before Sami Zayn scored an upset elimination, and Baron Corbin found himself ousted by Rollins, Strowman and Roman Reigns after unceremoniously tossing Rey Mysterio.
Rollins suffered an errant Spear by Reigns in the final stretch of the match, but recovered quickly enough to eliminate both The Big Dog and Strowman, who were in a deadlock on the apron. Orton, however, had been biding his time after being sent through the ropes, and made his move on the unsuspecting Rollins the second his defenses were down. Rollins recovered again, administering a Stomp to The Apex Predator and tossing him over the ropes to win the match and send himself to SummerSlam, where Lesnar lies in wait.
My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – Cesaro looked great here, but the rest of these guys were stuck playing the waiting game for their turn to get over. No one did badly here, but the finish never felt in question, even when it was. Seth will do well in the re-match, but if he and Brock don’t get twenty or so minute to wrestle, they won’t be able to pair off again for a while (bad taste in every-one’s mouth).
News Of The Night:
- Paul Heyman had a good night with promos.
- Bray Wyatt returned to attack Finn Balor.
- Dolph Ziggler cut a good promo to re-activate his feud with The Miz.
- The Raw Reunion special happens next week with numerous top draws of the past appearing.
Final Verdict: 2/5
If Paul Heyman hadn’t been on TV, I would not have known he was even there (bad start for a new booker).
