wrestling / TV Reports
Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 6.22.15
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MONDAY NIGHT RAW 6.22.15
OFFICIAL RESULTS
~ Kane defeated Dean Ambrose @ 11:25 via pin [**½]
~ Non-Title Match: Champions The Prime Time Players defeated The Ascension @ 4:05 via pin [**]
~ Sheamus defeated Roman Reigns @ 16:43 via countout [***]
~ Neville defeated Kofi Kingston @ 4:27 via pin [**½]
~ King Barrett defeated Zack Ryder @ 3:17 via pin [*½]
~ The Bellas defeated Naomi and Tamina @ 3:47 via pin [½*]
~ Non-Title Match: Champion Ryback defeated Mark Henry @ 6:25 via pin [*½]
~ Dolph Ziggler defeated Adam Rose @ 2:59 via pin [NR]
Here Comes The Pain: Heyman and Brock came to the ring, and we got a video package of the carnage from Lesnar’s last Raw appearance. Brock Lesnar destroying fools is always a good thing. Heyman explained that Lesnar is able to return if be publicly apologizes to Michael Cole for his actions. Lesnar shook hands with a shocked JBL, and then Cole looked scared shitless. He shook Cole’s hand, gave him a NOOGIE and then told him he was sorry. Amazing. With the apology in place, Heyman focused on Lesnar’s desire to destroy Rollins and win his title back. Heyman was as awesome as always here selling the beating that Lesnar would be unleashing on Battleground. While I am sick and tired of every show starting with a promo, this was really good, which shouldn’t shock anyone. While the scene was similar, changing up the players made a world of difference. Some may have hated the apology, thinking that Lesnar was “humbled.” But the apologies came off more as threats as JBL looked as if he was going to shit himself. It was fun. Now we can debate using another Lesnar appearance to largely do nothing, but he has the best job in the world.
Dean Ambrose vs. Kane: Ambrose controlled early, but Kane cut him off and slammed him to the steps. They went through the commercial break, and Kane was in control when we came back. Kane worked an uninspired heat segment, and they lost the crowd until Ambrose started to make his comeback. The heat wasn’t bad really it just felt like “WWE Heat Segment #3,” in other words nothing new. Ambrose ran wild and looked to have the match won, until Rollins’ music hit. Ambrose hit a dive, and as he looked to finish off Kane got distracted and was chokeslammed off the top allowing Kane to win. This was fine, but nothing special. The underlying story here is more interesting. Did Rollins help Kane to get him back on his side as he goes into war with Lesnar? Or Did Rollins get involved to help Kane win to show Kane that HE was the one that needed help. Kane doesn’t need to be winning matches against Dean Ambrose in 2015, but it wasn’t clean so it is a bit more acceptable. I figure we get the match again at Battleground. Raw distraction finish #1.
* Post break, Rollins kisses Kane’s ass a bit, noting that when they work together that they are unstoppable. Rollins “wants to get the band back together”. Kane sees through this and knows this is all about Rollins having to defend against Lesnar. Rollins offered Kane a handshake and he blew him off.
* We get highlights from MITB and Wyatt costing Reigns the match.
Non-Title Match: Champions The Prime Time Players vs. The Ascension: The Prime time Players will rematch New Day at Battleground. The Ascension got the jobber entrance. Outside of being shoehorned into the Elimination Chamber, The Ascension has been relegated to Main Event and Superstars. Too much offense for The Ascension in my opinion, Darren Young got a good hot tag, it all broke down and Young took out Viktor with the gutcheck for the win. Perfectly fine TV match overall with the champions winning clean and gaining more momentum as they head into the PPV. New Day watched on in the back and ate snacks.
* End hour one.
Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus: This match was made following Smackdown, where Sheamus pinned Reigns following a distraction from Bray Wyatt. Reigns was not in a good mood, and took the fight to Sheamus right away. Sheamus managed to stun Reigns off the ropes to get control of the match and worked him over. They worked through the commercial, Reigns started to make a comeback but Sheamus cut off the apron dropkick, which was a nice changeup. Sheamus worked over Reigns on the floor and then hit multiple back breakers for a near fall. This led to Sheamus working the cloverleaf, but Reigns escaping. They brawled to the floor, and as Reigns got control Bray appeared on the big screen having a little tea party, making it sound as if he has Reigns’ daughter with him. This caused Reigns to rush to the back, allowing Sheamus to win via countout. It was then revealed that Wyatt was talking to an empty rocking chair. We’ll assume that Sheamus won via countout, even though there was no official announcement. Outside of the bland WWE mandated “heat segment,” they had a good and hard-hitting match. The crowd was in and out of it, likely because they were waiting for Wyatt to get involved in some form. Also, all of the Wyatt stuff simply runs together for me; it all feels the same. The finish felt a bit bland, but this was a case where neither man should have lost, so I’m ok with it.
* After the break we see Reigns searching for Wyatt. He discovers Wyatt’s secret room, with a recording playing and a serial killer style anti-shrine to Reigns.
* We get a recap of the opening promo.
* Rollins tried to make up with J&J, he kissed their ass a bit and like Kane, they walked away. Hopefully we’re not going for “Authority fake out remix #32.”
Neville vs. Kofi Kingston: This plays off of last week’s six-man on Raw, and also the Neville singles match on Smackdown. Neville was working with the PTP and they evened the odds on Smackdown to allow Neville to defeat Woods. Neville was able to avoid Big E and Woods early, but they were enough of a distraction to allow Kofi to take control. Woods stole a camera from a photographer ringside and took shots of Kofi on offense. Neville fought back and took Kofi to the floor, but the PTP again made the save. The ref threw them out, and Kofi slammed Neville to the apron as Woods and Big E talked glorious amounts of trash. This led to them getting tossed. Kofi argued with the ref, ate a kick to the head and Neville hit red arrow for the win. Overall they accomplished a few things. Neville’s relationship with the PTP continues to grow, they add some heat to the tag title match and this also continues the narrative that New Day wins when they have the advantage, but when all the odds are even, they can’t pull off the win. That is all well and good, but what I absolutely hate is that Neville’s matches are only about the red arrow now. There is little to no substance as far as the work goes in his matches, which is a shame.
* We see Kevin Owens try to save Raw last week by powerbombing Machine Gun Kelly off of the stage.
* The July 4th event from Japan on the WWE Network now has a 5:30 AM ET start. It’s going to be a LONG day.
King Barrett vs. Zack Ryder: R-Truth cut a wacky promo pre-match, in his “King” costume. Barrett crotched Ryder and laid him out with the bull hammer to get the win. This was largely done the right way. Barrett needed a win, Ryder is barely used and doing nothing and is the perfect guy to take the loss. The only criticisms are that the crowd didn’t care (due to the booking of both guys really) and that Ryder took too much of the match. Barrett should have ran through him quicker, because he needs the rehab due to the booking damaging him to the point that he may be beyond repair.
* End hour two.
John Cena Talks: Cena discussed how important the title was to him, and that it could be his downfall. He praised Kevin Owens as a wrestler, but felt that his actions made him a shitty human being. Cena discussed the challenge of Owens, noting that it was a fight he may not be able to win. He could say no, and remain champion; but if he did that he wouldn’t be a true champion and that Owens would be right about him. He vowed to fight. This led to Owens appearing. Owens said that he gave no fucks about what others said; he beat Cena once and left him laying the last time they fought. Owens only cares about collecting titles, and wants the US Title to make it a symbol of his excellence. Owens played off of Cena’s need for approval, said he’d play the evil foreigner for him and spoke in French. Cena then spoke in French and Chinese in reply to prove that the fans didn’t care about that shit, and then closed by saying he would give Owens a fight at Battleground and his kick his ass, he accepts the challenge. This was great stuff again from these guys as they continue to click perfectly in the ring and in their promo segments. This feud continues to be great.
* Rollins met with Stephanie and HHH, and was worried about J&J and Kane. He spilled some bullshit about wanting them to be a big happy family. Stephanie asked if he considered an apology, Rollins thought she meant for them to apologize. HHH said that Rollins was scared, and he should be, but a smart man always has a plan B and a backup plan. Basically HHH told him to go and apologize. So we’re going to do another “apology” segment on this show? Rollins was afraid that Brock would show up. I would be as well.
* We get highlights of last week’s Diva Drama.
The Bella Twins w/Alicia Fox vs. Naomi and Tamina: Fox was with the Bellas, playing off of her helping Brie on last week’s Smackdown. The crowd was mostly dead for this, since both pairs were heels here. They reacted a bit for Nikki’s hot tag, which again makes no sense since they are the uber heels in the entire thing. Nikki then made her own comeback, tossed Tamina into the rear view and then hit her finish on Naomi to score the win. I have absolutely no clue what that was supposed to be. The match was all over the place and Tamina looked lost at times; there are no defined heels or faces, and Nikki making a super babyface comeback all on her own to win clean makes this entire segment a giant bumblefuck. Also, where was the advancement for the Paige angle, which is supposed to be the whole purpose and their only real angle? Naomi and Tamina losing fair and square does nothing to advance the narrative here. Blow up the entire division and start new.
Non-Title Match: Champion Ryback vs. Mark Henry: Big Show was out for commentary. Big Show was cheering on Henry, which was odd. The brawled to the floor and then worked through a commercial. They came back from commercial, more cheerleading from Big Show as Ryback made a comeback and finished Henry with the top rope splash. It was rough, but at least Ryback won and feels as if he has some momentum as champion. Big Show yelled at Henry for losing and then left after teasing the KO shot.
* They hype tomorrow’s debut on Tough Enough.
* JoJo interviews Ryback about his match at Battleground. Ryback joked about the splash he used, and then said he can lose the title without being pinned, but is here to take on all comers. He then told a story about his parent coming together after 15-years to watch him defend the title. THE BIG GUY will take on all comers, and is here to stay. Show arrived and promised to expose him and mocked him. They then brawled backstage, with Ryback getting the better of the giant.
* Sheamus faces Dolph Ziggler on Smackdown this week.
Adam Rose w/Rosa vs. Dolph Ziggler w/Lana: Rose cut a promo about he and Rosa knowing what love is, and discussed unveiling a masterpiece. He and Rosa made out. Rusev and his crutches watched on from backstage as Rose took control of the match. He tried to work a sleeper; Ziggler escaped and made his comeback but then Rose took control back and hit a spinebuster for a near fall. Ziggler then caught Rose coming off the top with a superkick to score the win. This was complete filler and another rehab win for Ziggler. Ziggler then unleashed the power bun of Lana and then made out as Rusev threw a fit backstage and then fell down because he threw his crutches. Summer Rae appeared and handed him his crutches.
* J&J and Kane talked with Stephanie and Triple H, as Noble said that he was like Yoda from Star Wars. Triple H and Stephanie discussed the pressure that Rollins is under, and said that Kane could understand that. They asked that they hear Rollins out.
Main Event Talking Time: Rollins said he would be the bigger man and admit that he was wrong. He called out J&J and Kane to the ring so that he could apologize. Rollins promised that this had nothing to do with Lesnar, but about family. He praised J&J, noting that he looked up to them and that they have always been there for him. He apologized to them both. He then said he did bad things to Kane and need to apologize to him the most. Rollins got the Bieber chants, and claimed Kane was a like a fine wine and gets better with age. He even claimed that Kane was his favorite WWE superstar of all time. Rollins basically begged for them to come back, and said he apologized and just wants them to take him back. The crowd really didn’t care until BROCK’S MUSIC hit and he came to the ring. Lesnar circled the ring, almost stalking his prey. It’s a fact that Brock Lesnar can smell fear. Team Authority looked to prepare for battle as Lesnar hopped to the apron, and then they bailed on Rollins. BUT IT WAS A TRAP, they retuned and Lesnar kicked the shit out of all three of them. He and Rollins, SUPLEXES for Rollins followed. The crowd loved this. Kane saved Rollins from the F5 and hit the chokeslam. Unfortunately for Kane this just pissed off Lesnar, who suplexed him. Rollins and Kane eventually worked together to beat down Lesnar, and worked over his knee on the steel post. Kane also used a chair to try and take out the beast. Noble got hurt during this, because EMTs were out and attending to him and Mercury returned to the ring to aid in the beat down of Lesnar. Rollins then hit a shitty looking pedigree to stand tall over Lesnar. One thing here I noticed was that Heyman was oddly ineffective. Usually he does such a good job selling the setting and yelling to Lesnar, but he almost seemed bored as he stood at ringside. Also, this felt like such a replay of previous angles where the Authority teased breaking up or staying apart, only for them to come back together again, I feel as if I have watched this several times. I know that the beat down of Lesnar comes off as questionable, using the numbers game to beat down Lesnar and doing an injury angle isn’t the worst thing to do, but Lesnar isn’t the typical babyface and I don’t feel it worked for him. This really didn’t do anything for me, because if it’s one thing I do not need to see in 2015 is KANE beating down and hitting finishes on Brock Lesnar.
* End scene.
* Thanks for reading.
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”
