WWE Raw – May 27th 2019: Results & Review
Welcome to this week’s Monday Night Raw review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and this wasn’t very good. Yeah, this show sucks. Also, I checked into the Google audience reviews of Raw and they piss all over this McMahon family variety show $#!@. Okay, let’s see if you guys will like any of this.
Match #1: Shane McMahon def. Lance Anoa’i
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Shane McMahon’s victories over The Miz were as much mental as they were physical — more so, if we’re being honest — so it’s no surprise that “The Best in the World” would attempt to replicate his strategy against Roman Reigns. With no ringside father to torment, however, McMahon insulted The Big Dog’s heritage by beating up a cousin of Reigns, Lance Anoa’i. The match, ostensibly sanctioned as an exercise in respect, turned out to be a bit more competitive than expected despite Drew McIntyre savaging Lance around the outside of the ring. Lance’s resistance didn’t just earn him one triangle from Shane that ended the match, but a second after the bout concluded, all the better to make an example of Reigns’ dynasty and heritage. Alas for Shane, the display brought out The Big Dog, and if not for a last-second assist by McIntyre, Shane-O-Mac would have been downed in short order by a Spear. Even though Shane escaped the arena by the skin of his teeth, he finds himself in a position unfamiliar to him, both as a McMahon and “The Best in the World”: A disadvantage.
My Opinion: 1 out of 5 – This was a lousy brawl that had some potential, but it never becameany-thing worth watching.
Match #2: Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch & Nikki Cross def. WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The IIconics
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The IIconics’ reign as WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions has been delightfully petty outside of the ring and somewhat touch-and-go within it, as the Australian beauties have struggled against nearly every opponent they’ve faced since winning the titles at WrestleMania. That was a grim before they raised the ire of Becky Lynch and it didn’t improve this week when the Raw Women’s Champion teamed with Nikki Cross to hand Peyton & Billie their second consecutive loss following a Six-Woman Tag Team bout on last week’s show. Despite having been insulted by The IIconics last week, Lynch ceded the bulk of the match to Cross, who is fast coming into her own after several weeks of being a “utility player,” as Corey Graves described her. That said, The IIconics still exploited her relative inexperience, and The Man was more than happy to bat cleanup, pinning Peyton Royce with her new Manhandle Slam finisher while Cross tended to Billie Kay. Even the post-match presence of Lacey Evans wasn’t quite enough to ruin Becky’s victory lap — though it certainly came close, at least until Nikki pulled Becky away from her rival’s pageant walk and back into the limelight.
My Opinion: 2 out of 5 – This was a decent match that didn’t do much for anyone.
Match #3: Ricochet def. Cesaro
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The first reaction out of most people’s mouths after Ricochet and Cesaro’s barn-burner last week was mostly along the lines of, “So when’s the rematch?” They didn’t have to wait long: The two locked up for the second time this week, and the result did not disappoint — except, perhaps, for the Cesaro Section, who saw The Swiss Cyborg narrowly fall to his foe in an astounding display of top-tier athleticism. Recapping each reversal and feat of strength in this match would take up too much real estate, suffice it to say that a reversal train of a hurricanrana into a powerbomb into a Canadian Destroyer only got two and wasn’t even the most amazing thing that happened in the match. That would be the deciding moments, when Cesaro, slumped against the ropes, found himself surprised by Ricochet, who fought through a still-injured midsection to handstand his way up the apron, perch atop Cesaro’s shoulders, hip-switch his way into a hurricanrana and spike his opponent into the mat for the win. So … best of three?
My Opinion: 3 out of 5 – This was good. Why not have more of this? Why can’t there be more wrestling on this damn show? Did you know that Mike Mignola hated the first two Hellboy movies? That’s why they made that new one with David Harbour. Yeah, I’m not kidding you. That’s why we never got Hellboy 3, because Mike Mignola wouldn’t allow it. Anyway, I hope we get Ricochet/Cesaro 3, because these guys have good matches with each other.
Match #4: Baron Corbin def. Braun Strowman, The Miz and Bobby Lashley to earn a Universal Championship Match against Seth Rollins at WWE Super ShowDown (Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match)
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Baron Corbin pulled off what may have been his greatest trick yet in a career that is fast becoming full of them when he ambushed a beaten-down AJ Styles, took the Fatal 4-Way Elimination berth The Phenomenal One’s injury forced him to abdicate and then won it, earning himself a Universal Championship Match at WWE Super ShowDown. The man is good at what he does. Less fortunate (and less happy) were Braun Strowman, The Miz and especially Bobby Lashley, all of whom were vying for the personal and professional validation that comes with challenging for the Universal Title. The All Mighty went out on a limb by re-forming his on-and-off alliance with Corbin to devastating effect, though he focused on his Super ShowDown foe Strowman instead of the victory and ended up brawling into the backstage area with The Monster Among Men. With the match effectively down to two, The Miz, who had been a house on fire all night, unloaded on Corbin with running knees to the corner but unwittingly sprinted headlong into a decisive End of Days that handed Corbin the victory. So, to recap: Baron Corbin took out his rival, won a match he wasn’t scheduled to be in and might be Universal Champion in 12 days. He might not be your favorite son, but with those results, maybe he should be.
My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – This was as dull as grey paint smacked on a hippo’s ass. This had the time necessary to rock, but it just jived a little bit and fell asleep while on the job. Baron shouldn’t be anywhere near a title shot, so he won. Damn it.
Match #5: (Main Event) Universal Champion Seth Rollins def. Sami Zayn
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
It’s been a roller-coaster of a night for Seth Rollins, and the best thing you can say about The Beastslayer’s evening was that it ended on an up note. Facing Sami Zayn, Rollins fought through a hellacious effort by The Critic of the Critics to cement himself as Monday Night Raw’s pre-eminent workhorse/standard-bearer, drawing yet another parallel between himself and Brock Lesnar in the process. While Rollins was gritting it out in the ring, battling through a legitimately impressive performance by the former NXT Champion, Mr. Beast in the Bank was conspicuous by his absence, visible only in brief cutaways to his private locker room, where he watched the match with contract in hand and a blank stare on his face. The idea that The Conqueror could rear his head at any moment did seem to lodge itself uncomfortably in Rollins’ head, and a Figure-Four Leglock from Zayn did considerable damage to his surgically-repaired knee. But The Beastslayer still caught Zayn with a Stomp as he slid through the ropes, only stopping to scream “This is my life!” — perhaps more at Lesnar than Zayn — before administering a second one for the win. The victory appeared to give The Kingslayer no peace. He visibly asked himself where Lesnar was as the camera lingered over the post-match scene, and while uncertainty turned to joy in Raw’s closing moments as The Beast failed to appear, the feeling may be unsustainable. As good a night as it was, Lesnar has a full year to make his move. There’s plenty of time left.
My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was an excellent main event that had everything that the rest of the show practically didn’t, which is good wrestling. These two went all over the place on the canvas and made the most of their twenty minutes out in front of the people. This was great stuff from two great wrestlers.
News Of The Night:
- Brock Lesnar didn’t announce who was going to be the champion he would use his Money In The Bank contract on.
- Rey Mysterio will relinquish the United States Title, next week.
- Sami Zayn did a fan Q&A segment called “The Electric Chair”, where he mentioned All Elite Wrestling, which got a good reaction.
- Bray Wyatt did another weird vignette where he did some Exorcist stuff during a game of limbo, which was funny, but a waste of time.
- R-Truth almost had an actual match for the 24/7 Title, but it never got past just a few roll-ups.
- Shane McMahon cut a good promo about being better than Roman Reigns.
- Dolph Ziggler cut a great promo about respecting, yet needing to destroy Kofi Kingston so he can win the WWE World Title at Super Show-Down.
Final Verdict: 1.5/5
Apart from the main event and the Ricochet/Cesaro match, this show sucked. It took them an hour to have their first match. That’s about as bad as it gets. You’d think that All Elite Wrestling’s presence would light a fire under Vince’s ass, but that hasn’t happened, yet.
