Wrestling’s 4Rs: The Right, Wrong and Ridiculous of WWE Raw

How the 4Rs of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R’s. The column will run TWO-THREE times a week. We will group our feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and needs discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come. This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a “mark” column, nor a “smark” column, our goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. We will not apologize for our opinions, they are as they are, whether positive or negative.

---

Raw 7.12516:
QUICK MATCH RESULTS:
– Fatal Four-Way The WWE Universal Championship Qualifying Match: Finn Balor defeated Cesaro, Rusev and Kevin Owens @ 20:28 via pin
– Nia Jax defeated Britt Baker @ 1:20 via pin
– Fatal Four-Way The WWE Universal Championship Qualifying Match: Roman Reigns defeated Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn and Sheamus @ 17:21 via pin
– Neville defeated Curtis Axel @ 3:30 via pin [*½]
– Women’s Title Match: Sasha Banks defeated Champion Charlotte @ 16:55 via submission
– Braun Strowman defeated James Ellsworth @ 1:10 via pin
– Pokemon Go defeated The Shining Stars @ 1:54 via pin
– For the Right to Face Seth Rollins at Summerslam For The WWE Universal Championship: Finn Balor defeated Roman Reigns @ 13:56 via pin

THE Right:
It’s Monday Night Raw, but not as you know it: The first Raw of a genuinely brand new era began with two authority figures in the ring talking. This should not have boded well at all, but actually it turned into a surprisingly tight and effective segment. Stephanie McMahon kicked things off by berating Roman Reigns for a while, insisting that he cost Raw the WWE Championship at Battleground. In the eyes of Steph, Roman is neither a good guy or a bad guy- he’s just a loser. This was the first stage of what I presume is going to be a prolonged penitence ritual for Reigns after his Adderal suspension. It starts with Stephanie dressing him down in the middle of the ring, and presumably ends with him pacing around the ring lashing himself with a whip for three hours. Perversely, it might be just what Roman’s career needed; his main problem has never been his wrestling ability (he’s had so many great matches over the last two years), it’s the air of smug invulnerability about him that makes him so difficult to like. Positioning him as a bit of a fuck up, a bit of a downtrodden loser, might actually turn him into a sympathetic figure. I hope that’s how it goes at least; I’m as big a supporter of Reigns as you’ll find and really want him to become a long term main event presence, but for now even I could do with a break from him in main events. Anyway, after Steph had finished with her constructive criticisms, Mick Foley took over to book a few matches for the rest of the evening. There would be a mini tournament to crown Raw’s new top champion, with the winners of two fatal four way qualifiers meeting in a singles match in the main event, and the winner of that going on to face Seth Rollins at Summerslam for what has been christened the ‘WWE Universal Championship.’ For what it’s worth, I think that’s an awful name, it sounds like a dumb joke parody of the WWE World Championship, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it. Also on the cards- Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks for the WWE Women’s Championship! So, in the space of under ten minutes, four massively significant matches had been made for the show, and there was absolutely no authority bickering aside from Steph’s brief tirade against Reigns. If Foley and Stephanie are going to be featured regularly on TV, this is how it should be done- Foley says the name of the town they’re in for a cheap pop and makes cool wrestling bouts, Stephanie utilises her excellent promo skills without becoming as change-the-channel obnoxious and insecure as she’s been in the past. As a segment this wasn’t a game change in and of itself, but if it had set the tone for what Raw will be like going forward I’ll be very happy indeed.

Finn Balor vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens vs. Rusev: A really interesting combination of wrestlers for the first Universal Championship qualifier, and they came together well for a fun, exciting match. Kevin Owens’ personality shone through- I love the barely contained glee on his face when he figures out a new way to be a dick to someone, like when he flashed Finn Balor a sarcastic ‘too sweet’ sign after shoulder blocking him. His interactions with Rusev when they formed a impromptu tag team were also great, instructing him to “do that flip” (by which he meant the standing somersault senton he often busts out) and then reacting to the Bulgarian Brute gesticulating wildly around the ring by deadpanning “I don’t know what that means.” Cesaro also had a super showing, rampaging around the ring with his ever exciting uppercut train and putting on a terrific sequence with Rusev towards the end- the Sharpshooter blocked, the Accolade countered into a bridging pin, a thrust kick from Rusev shrugged off, before a lariat from Superman knocked the air out of both men. As it happened, Finn Balor probably had the least impressive performance, although I’m not the biggest fan of him anyway so maybe other people disagree. He had some cool spots here and there but, for someone who is so charming outside the ring, I find him kind of cold in the way he goes about his business between the ropes. I’d have preferred it if Shinsuke Nakamura had been drafted and picked up the victory here, but I get that Finn’s been in NXT for ages and it was time to try something with him, and it was good to see WWE being bold and giving him a massive victory straight off the bat. A very good, energetic four way with tons of interesting things happening, and one that helped to set up a very intriguing main event…

SQUASH MATCHES: I still feel there’s real value in the squash match, and was pleased to see two of them on this week’s Raw- hopefully they’ll become a fixture going forward, deployed sporadically but effectively, one or two a show. Nia Jax mauled poor old Brit Baker, and while none of her offence looked particularly impressive, her sheer physical presence and power will make her an intriguing addition to the Women’s division, and hopefully lead to some great Sting-Vader matches down the line. Later in the night, Braun Strowman demolished a man who keeps getting sand kicked in his face at the beach. Byron Saxton actually had a quick interview with the pencil neck geek before the match, which was actually kind of neat, especially when the optimistic James Ellsworth expressed his charming belief he could win the match. He didn’t. He really didn’t.

Sami Zayn vs. Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho: This was a notch below the other fatal four way, mostly because of some noticeably slow and hesitant spots in the early stages. Still, things picked up nicely down the finishing stretch, and there were some really nice sequences here and there. It’s worth noting, since this month has been the worst of his career to date, that Roman Reigns was involved in pretty much all the match’s best moments, from clattering into Jericho and Sheamus simultaneously with the Drive-By to exchanging his Splash Mountain Powerbomb with Sami Zayn’s Blue Thunder, to the exciting stretch right at the end where he just smashed everyone with Superman punches. It would make me very happy indeed, now that he doesn’t appear to be the overwhelming, incessant focus of the booking anymore, if everyone could realise that Roman Reigns is a really fantastic pro wrestler already and is only going to get even better as his career progresses. John Cena wasn’t this good at this stage. Having said that, Reigns clearly isn’t going to be fading into the midcard abyss or anything, as he picked up an emphatic victory here with a Spear to Jericho. The main thing I took away from this match was that I need to see Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn in a lengthy singles match, preferably with Double R as a bullying heel. In its own right this was an enjoyable enough outing though, and I’m not saying no to Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor!

Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks: I don’t even know where to start with this one. Basically, this was simultaneously the bees knees andthe cat’s pyjamas. I loved the no nonsense start to the match with Sasha going straight for the back stabber and pursuing the Bank Statement, putting Charlotte on the back foot right from the get go. I loved the nasty double knees off the ring apron with which Sasha obliterated the champion, and the way Charlotte roared back by simply kicking Banks really hard into the barricade. I perhaps loved most of all Sasha’s beautifully observed Eddie Guerrero tribute, tossing the Women’s Championship to Dana Brooke and then collapsing to the floor as if she’d been hit. Her idolisation of Eddie is just so lovely because he was maybe the greatest wrestler to ever grace a WWE ring, and now maybe the greatest women’s wrestler to ever grace a WWE ring is espousing his greatness and incorporating his mannerisms, but never too often, always to the benefit of her matches, always so sincere and heartfelt. Anyway, here are some more things I loved. I loved Sasha’s suicide dive that folded her body in half so violently that it looked like it might have actually been a suicide. I loved Charlotte’s attempt to one-up her with a gorgeous moonsault from the top turnbuckle to the floor. I LOVED Charlotte trying to apply the Figure-8 and the desperation pouring from Banks’ body as she fired off these wild slaps in an attempt to hold the champion off, and juuuust about managing to do so. I think that was the point where it really, really hit me that this was something real special. THE PASSION! And then Sasha locks in the Bank Statement, and it really seems like we’re getting a title change, but there’s one final twist as Charlotte flings a leg under the bottom rope. Unfazed, Sasha nails the Back Stabber, transitions back into the Bank Statement, and becomes the second ever WWE Women’s Champion! How richly deserved! What a treasure Sasha is, a superb pro wrestler whose love for the business shines through everything she does. The crowd chanting “YOU DESERVE IT!” as she allowed herself a little mid-ring weep as a celebration was maybe the best thing we’ll see on Raw this year, and it rounded off maybe the best match we’ll see on Raw this year. I liked it every inch as much as the superb Zayn-Owens battle from Battleground; both bouts featured WARRIORS just hurling everything at each other, bringing the coolest, nastiest shit out of their locker, fighting and fighting until one of them could fight no more, and both bouts were charged with emotion and a real, tangible zeal for doing pro wrestling. And why not? Pro wrestling’s the best thing in the world.

Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns: I’m surprised all the handsome in the ring in this one didn’t cause everyone’s eyeballs to melt with pleasure. Anyway, this was another good match in a Raw chock full of them, and also ensured the show concluded with a very pleasant surprise. The match was mostly about Balor peppering Reigns with strikes while the Big Dog just swatted him aside, which is always a good basis for a match, and it had some great individual moments, although I was kind of tired by the finishing stretch, having had more than my fair share of drama and great wrestling across the rest of the show. Yes, my primary complaint about this episode was that it was TOO GOOD. Still, the very final moments of the match were undeniably captivating, as Balor countered the Spear with a Slingblade and hurriedly capitalised with the Coup De Grace for a colossal upset! As I said earlier, there are wrestlers I’d rather see get this mega push than Balor, but I do like Finn well enough and love the sheer ballsiness of what they’re doing with him, so complaining would be very petty indeed. It really does feel like he might win a top championship at Summerslam, which is quite the thing to say when a fortnight ago he was still stuck on NXT. Regardless, the future’s super bright for him- his agility and glittering C.V will ensure he receives every chance from the knowledgeable, vocal adult males, and more casual fans should enjoy the Demon gimmick and his affable personality and, seriously, his attractive facial features. A hugely optimistic way to end a show that was simply dripping with it!

puRgatoRy:
Neville vs. Curtis Axel: Neville, it turns out, is still super fluid and springy. It was a comfortable victory for him against Curtis Axel in his return match; he impressed with a nice standing shooting star press, a deadlift German suplex (!), and the perpetually dazzling Red Arrow. Curtis Axel is doing a ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ gimmick, which I thought was a horrible nickname until I realized it’s an actual thing in American Football…

Enzo & Cass vs. The Shining Stars: This was a functional tag match, although it was perhaps the only part of the show that didn’t seem to serve any obvious purpose, other than to allow Goldust and R-Truth to invade the ring and continue a not especially funny running joke about Pokemon Go. Still, that interference was immediately followed by Cass demolishing a Colon with a big boot for the victory, so it didn’t exactly stick in the throat or anything I also liked the pre-match banter, in which Enzo and Cass welcomed the new era of Raw in by listing various things they enjoyed Raw, with the Shining Stars interjecting to claim the only ‘raw’ thing of interest is “the raw beauty of the Caribbean.” It was a pretty funny and goofy line!

THE wRong:
A fundamentally flawed New Day segment: I don’t know about the New Day, man. I mean, in patches they’re really, really funny, and they’re all clearly good wrestlers and nice guys, and Big E’s Twitter account remains the best in all pro wrestling. But it’s also worth noting that many of their segments are no good at all. It’s definitely become more of a problem since they turned face, as heels they were pretty consistently excellent, but on this week’s Raw they decided to induct a member of the crowd as an honorary member of the New Day, and they picked this guy out of the crowd whose name was ‘Sonny Boy…’ and that was the joke. They just repeated ‘Sonny Boy’ for a couple of minutes until Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows came out to wreck them and presumably set up a title change at Summerslam, which wouldn’t be unwelcome. I’m delighted that Kofi, Xavier and Big E, having been handed a completely lame gimmick, turned it into one of the best things in pro wrestling, but it’s not one of the best things in pro wrestling any more and it hasn’t been in a while…

THE Ridiculous:
NOTHING

The 1105th edition is over…

8.9

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

I've been writing this column for three years now, and the only episode I remember being as this one was the post Wrestlemania 30 edition. Perhaps. Make no mistake though, this was the best edition of Raw in years, just so fresh and brimming with great wrestling, an episode unafraid to make bold promises about the future. Three hours is too long for a wrestling show and even on a program as well constructed as this one there was still a bit of filler and a cringy misfire in the New Day segment, but those are relatively minor nitpicks all things considered. Let's glue this episode to our eyeballs, and refuse to allow WWE to back off from here. Raw really could be this great most weeks...