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Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 7.18.16

July 18, 2016 | Posted by Larry Csonka
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Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 7.18.16  

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MONDAY NIGHT RAW 7.18.16

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Cesaro and Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho @ 13:08 via pin [***]
– Darren Young defeated Alberto Del Rio @ 2:24 via pin [NR]
– The Wyatts and The Club defeated New Day, Enzo, Cass and Cena @ 19:06 via [***]
– Baron Corbin defeated Sin Cara @ 1:15 via pin [NR]
– Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte and Dana Brooke @ 2:20 via DQ [NR]
– Rusev and Sheamus defeated Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler @ 3:45 via pin [**]
WWE Title Match: Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins went to a DRAW @ 24:14 [***]


And the GMs Are…: Shane and Stephanie kicked off the show, they bantered back and forth about testicles and lady balls as well as the draft. Stephanie announced that they are starting a cruiserweight division and that it will be exclusive to Raw. They have time to fill and it makes sense… but I am afraid that it won’t get used as well as it could on the “big show,” due to Vince’s history of being high on something and then losing interest quickly. I hope I am wrong. Stephanie then announced Mick Foley as her Raw GM. Foley is in great shape, he’s been hitting the DDP Yoga and that is great for him. Foley compares this to the Attitude Era and Monday Night wars, and says he had to be part of this. Shane then announced Daniel Bryan as the Smackdown GM. The crowd was very happy to see Foley, but went insane for Bryan. Bryan gave a great promo about getting the chance to come back, and the crowd loved having him back. It was good promo work along with some good dogs at Stephanie, playing into the crowd so well. He then rallied he fans and said with their help that they can beat Raw every week; because they beat the authority before and will do it again. I am not a fan of adding more authority figures, but Foley and Bryan will be refreshing a compared to the McMahons at the very least. Also, it really feels as if Smackdown is getting the shaft early here. Raw gets the first pick, the get more picks, and they get the cruiserweights. Smackdown moves to Tuesday and goes live… and that’s it. Bryan was easily the star of the segment, the crowd felt as if they were genuinely happy to see him there, and he played off of them very well.

Cesaro and Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho: Solid back and forth early, with Zayn controlling until Owens distracted him. That allowed the heels to take over, and Owens to tag in and get in cheap shots on Zayn as we went to a commercial break. Post break, Owens scored with a cheap shot on Zayn and then posed for the camera, because he is a great man. Zayn would fight off the heels and get the hot tag to Cesaro. He ran wild with uppercuts on both Jericho and Owens, and scored a near fall on Jericho after the springboard uppercut. Tags to Owens and Zayn, they beat the hell out of each other and really added to the intensity of the match. Zayn started to roll a bit, blind tag by Jericho stopped that but Cesaro tagged in and hit the swing until Owens broke it up. Zayn managed a roll up on Jericho and got the win. They worked their way into a good match, which isn’t a surprise, but it started slow. Zayn getting the win was the right call.

– Bryan talked with roster members backstage, and then bantered back and forth with Stephanie.

– Miz and Maryse are on commentary.

Darren Young vs. Alberto Del Rio: Del Rio posted Young almost right away and then worked the arm. Young made a comeback, Miz distracted him but it took too long and Del Rio had the pin, but the ref did not see it. Young then got a roll up after sending Del Rio into Miz and scored the win. The work was ok for the time given, a bit too rushed (which it shouldn’t be on a three hour show) and actually works into the story I was discussing in last week’s Smackdown review. I hated how he won his match on Raw to get a title shot, but they could do something really good with it. Basically the story being told is that Young felt like a failure and got a life coach, and in his big return won without winning, which Miz mocked. They need to layer this with various levels of accomplishments to tell the story of his new rise; they could start at the PPV, he loses to Miz after looking strong and running wild, but Miz cheats to win. Then you rebuild him with some TV wins, where he looks more impressive and dominating while he chases Miz. IF, and this is important, IF the crowd reacts well to him, you can then do the title change later as the culmination of the redemption of Young, and he actually becoming great (again). In theory, it’s a good story, but they need to actually take the time to tell that story. Young getting another fluke style win, but over coming Miz’s shenanigans plays into the story well enough. He won, he did better, but he still isn’t quite there yet.

– John Cena will be Coach’s guest on SportsCenter tomorrow night.

Comedy Hour:John Cena made his way to the ring and said he was all fired up for Raw and for this big week, with the New GMs and the draft tomorrow night. He hyped Battleground and introduced Enzo and Cass. They did their usual deal, and then ran down the Club. Enzo especially ran down Gallows for being ugly, AJ for having a soccer mom’s haircut and Anderson for being generic. Hilarity ensued, Cena played out of touch old man, not fully understanding what was happening. The Club interrupted and said that they have real chemistry. They plan to beat up Cena, Enzo, Cass and the New Day tonight. New Day interrupted, and the Club mocked woods for being afraid of the Wyatts, but Woods sad that they survived and would defeat the Wyatts at Battleground. Woods then did the “how you doin” gimmick and named off Pokemon. This is the definition of a filler segment, they just keep going and dropping in their lines, and now The Wyatts are here. It felt like Vince said, “hey, tonight doesn’t really matter due to the draft, can you guys go kill 14-minutes” and they did. There were some laughs to be sure, but it felt so long and would have been better off as a shorter segment. I did find out of touch with the kids John Cena funny though.

New Day, Enzo, Cass and Cena vs. The Wyatts and The Club: We were JIP with the Club and Wyatts having some issues, as they were tagging themselves in and throwing dirty looks at each other. We got spots with the power guys, and then Enzo tagged in and anted to fight Strowman. Strowman tossed him around, and Cass tagged in and they had the big man stare down. It then broke down into everyone brawling, bodies pilling to the floor and then Cass and Strowman battling. Kofi with the blond tag, Strowman was supposed to catch the high cross but dropped Kofi; he scooped him back up and then slammed him to the mat as we took a break. Post break, the heels took the heat on Cena. The Club and Wyatts still did some arguing, but were able to control Cena, including AJ hitting the ushigoroshi to cut off Cena as he tried for a tag. 12-minutes in they went to another commercial break, it was fine but felt as if they were really trying to fill the time with the match. Post break, Cass got the hot tag and ran wild on AJ. It broke down into the signature move buffet, and giving us the first real energy of the match, which had been just fine until then. Woods fired up and actually got some offense in on Bray, seemingly over coming his fears. New Day and the Wyatts fought to the back; Enzo then accidentally clotheslined Cena as SAWFT as fucking possible, allowing Styles to hit the clash on Enzo to pick up the win. Overall it was a good match that served the purpose to sell the two six-man tags, and to also reinforce the fact that the Club are a unit and that it gives them an advantage going into the PPV. It easily accomplished its goal, and I did appreciate the effort in building the heat for the PPV matches.

– We get a video of Seth Rollins from earlier in the day walking in the empty arena and discussing how he used Reigns and Ambrose as pawns to win the WWE Title. Rollins was a complete dick, disusing how he used his former friends and that he was always the man, it was his design. This was a very pleasant change from the usual backstage or in ring promo segment, and is something that they should use more often. The pre-produced segments have the advantage of allowing you to do multiple takes, but it also breaks up the show and I appreciate thins like that.

– FaBreeze meets with Foley and try to dance with him. Shane arrives and wonders why he is working with Stephanie, and then claims he heard that Stephanie hired him so that she can manipulate him. Mick calls her vindictive and controlling, but also says she has passion and drive, and that’s why he took the job.

Sin Cara vs. Baron Corbin: They did some quick back and forth, Cara hit a suicide dive but then ate end of days and that was that Post match Corbin beat up Cara, Kalisto tried to make the save and also got his ass beat. Yeah, the cruiserweights will be just fine on Raw… I mean, come on, what else are we supposed to think there? It’s like they couldn’t wait to say, “LOL, let’s crush some of those little cruiserweights to put them in their place.” And there is why I have a lack of faith. Never change Vince.

Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte and Dana Brooke: They are still teasing Sasha’s partner for the PPV, it can’t be Lynch because she faces Natalya at the PPV. Lynch worked over Brooke to begin, hitting a series of leg drops for a near fall. Banks then tagged in, Natalya attacked Lynch and Banks and we got a DQ. Natalya left, leaving Charlotte and Brooke to beat down Banks. Obviously not much of a match, but it was a solid beat down segment to sell the ladies matches on the PPV.

– Dean cuts a promo on the old school Shield cam, promising to keep the title.

Rusev and Sheamus vs. Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler: Rusev and Sheamus controlled early, beating down Ryder both in the ring and on the floor and taking the heat almost immediately. Sheamus and Ruder did a double down spot and Ziggler finally got the tag at about three minutes in. He ran wild on Rusev, getting a fameasser for the near fall. Sheamus and Ryder fought to the floor, Rusev connected with the superkick and accolade to pick up the win. The match was solid, and the champion winning (and more importantly Ryder not losing) worked.

– After some video packages, Bryan and Foley met backstage. Bryan wanted to have friendly competition, and then made jokes. They both admitted that they scored wives that are out of their leagues. They agreed that they will fight for their brand.

– Stephanie, Foley, Shane and Bryan are all at ringside.

WWE Title Match: Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins: They worked back and forth to an energetic crowd early. Ambrose took control as the action spilled to the floor, and we took a commercial break. Post break, Rollins had control and was working over Ambrose. Rollins worked a solid heat here, mixing up the pace at times and giving Ambrose good hope spots. They both went for the cross body and collided for the double down, which led to Ambrose making a comeback and hitting a fisherman’s buster for a near fall. After trading near falls and counters, Ambrose scored with a neck breaker for another near fall. This really feels as if it ids missing something, it’s not bad, but lacks that special vibe the main event should have. The crowd started off hot and has seemingly lost interest as this went on. They battled to the floor, where Rollins hit a running powerbomb to the barricade, and then hit the high fly flow in the ring for a near fall as they went to commercial again. Post break, Ambrose countered the buckle bomb and they went into a series of finisher teases. Rollins hit the knee strike, but again missed the high fly flow. The crowd has gotten back into this at the very least. After trading strikes and kicks, Rollins hit the buckle bomb but Ambrose bounced out and hit dirty deeds for the near fall. This led to things going to the floor, and v dismantling the Spanish announce table. Rollins escaped, back in the ring and Rollins countered the elbow and hit the pedigree for a near fall, which got a great reaction. Ambrose countered another pedigree and then decapitated Rollins with the jawbreaker lariat. AND THEN WE GOT THE REF BUMP. This led to the double pin superplex spot for the “controversial” finish. Shit, if you’re doing that finish, the ref bump was NOT needed.

The Raw GMs thought Rollins won, while the Smackdown side thought Ambrose won. Stephanie then announced that Rollins was the winner and now champion. BUT ON THE NETWORK, it was ruled a draw and that Ambrose was still the champion. The match was rather uninspired early, with them working a largely uninteresting match and losing the crowd for a bit. They got it back, and overall had a good match, but it unfortunately only topped out at good. The finish didn’t really do any favors, in my opinion, to the overall match and felt like they were really forcing the controversy. Worse over, the finish was being called all night on Twitter and they went with exactly what everyone thought. I wouldn’t be surprised if Stephanie plays the Bischoff role and anointed Rollins her personal champion after drafting him first tomorrow.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

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“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia.”

6.0
The final score: review Average
The 411
Tonight’s show was pretty much what I expected, it was fine. They did some things to add to the PPV build, they announced the GMs, and then they were basically in a holding pattern until the draft tomorrow. It wasn’t a bad show by any means, just a predictable show that you really did not need to invest three hours into. If you want to cherry pick, go ahead and watch Foley and Bryan’s return, Cesaro and Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, the 12-man tag and the main event.
legend

article topics :

RAW, Tremendous Tirades, WWE, Larry Csonka