Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 05.07.18

Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 05.07.18

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– MITB Qualifier: Braun Strowman defeated Kevin Owens @ 13:37 via pin [***]
– Baron Corbin, & The Revival defeated No Way Jose, Titus, & Apollo @ 5:05 via pin [**]
– MITB Qualifier: Ember Moon defeated Ruby Riott & Sasha Banks @ 10:45 via pin [***½]
– Jinder Mahal defeated Chad Gable @ 4:15 via pin [**]
– Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler defeated Rhyno & Heath Slater @ 2:35 via pin [NR]
– Bobby Roode defeated Elias @ 10:33 via pin [**]
– IC Title Open Challenge Match: Champion Seth Rollins defeated Mojo Rawley @ 11:00 via pin [**½]
– Non-Title Match: Champions Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt defeated Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel @ 2:45 via pin [NR]
– MITB Qualifier: Finn Balor defeated Sami Zayn & Roman Reigns @ 15:25 via pin [***]

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– We get highlights from last night’s WWE Backlash PPV.

Kurt Angle Talks: He announces the build to MITB, that there will be TWO co-branded MITB matches, one for men and one for women. He also announces tonight’s qualifying matches. BRAUN arrives. BRAUN tells a story about being a kid, and being excluded from a tree house club, resulting in him knocking the whole damn tree down. Basically, BRAUN wants in MITB (why isn’t he asking for a title shot?). Kevin Owens now arrives and despite losing in a shit match last night, he wants a chance to be in the match. He justifies this by claiming that BRAUN & Lashley pinned the wrong man at backlash. Owens says BRAUN should go and sit in the corer for being a very bad monster. Angle books Owens vs. BRAUN in a MITB qualifier. This was a fine opening segment to kick off the build to MITB, although BRAUN not wanting a universal title shot made absolutely no sense considering the role he’s been on.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/993645098880684033

MITB Qualifier: Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens: They brawl at the bell as Braun shoves Kevin into the ref. Braun take over, beating down Kevin with ease. Kevin fires back heads up top, and is knocked to the floor. Braun chases, but Kevin hits a tornado DDT on the floor. Braun beats the count, and Kevin attacks. Braun cuts him off but as expected, posts himself, and rolls to the floor. Post break, and Kevin has things grounded. Braun fights back and chokeslams him. Kevin escapes the powerslam, and attacks the knee of Braun. The senton follows for 2. Braun cuts off the cannonball, hits a big boot and posts himself again. Kevin hits the superkick and frog splash for 2. Kevin hits another superkick, but Braun counters the pop up powerbomb. To the floor they go and Braun just runs him over. He does it again. Back in and Kevin runs. Braun follows and runs Kevin over once again; great sell by Kevin on those. The powerslam follows and Braun wins. Braun Strowman defeated Kevin Owens @ 13:37 via pin [***] This was a good opening match, with Kevin getting believable heat spots before falling to the monster.

– Reigns is interviewed backstage. He says he’s the uncrowned champion and claims he’s being screwed over by backstage politics. But in the ring, he silences the haters. He’s pissed off and will win his MITB qualifier tonight.

– We get interview clips from Bayley, & The Fashion Police, on the MITB match.

– Goldust meets with Kurt Angle. He wants a chance to qualify for the MITB match. Mahal arrives and complains about Reigns and not getting a MITB qualifying shot. Angle reminds him that he’s a loser. Mahal faces Gable again tonight.

Baron Corbin, & The Revival vs. No Way Jose, Titus, & Apollo: Titus & Apollo work over Dash with double teams and Dawson then tags in. Apollo hits dropkicks and a standing moonsault. He Revival cuts him off and the heels triple team him on the floor. Corbin tags in and continues the control. Dawson in and he takes control, covering for 2. Corbin tags in and Apollo cuts him off and tags in Jose. Jose runs wild on the heels, and the Finlay roll gets 2. It breaks down and Corbin dumps Apollo. Jose hits the pop up punch, but catches him with end of days for the win. Baron Corbin, & The Revival defeated No Way Jose, Titus, & Apollo @ 5:05 via pin [**] This was an ok little tag match, completely inoffensive.

– On Smackdown we get Miz vs. Hardy, Bryan vs. Rusev, & Charlotte vs. Peyton in MITB qualifiers.

MITB Qualifier: Ember Moon vs. Ruby Riott vs. Sasha Banks: Morgan & Logan are at ringside. They all brawl at the bell as Ruby bails to the floor. Moon and Banks work some fun back and forth until Ruby pulls Banks to the floor and attacks Moon. Banks back in but Ruby cuts her off. Moon fires away with kicks and a flatliner for 2. Logan distracts Moon allowing Ruby to attack. Ruby then grounds Moon, and then lays the boots to her. Banks finally returns but Ruby taker her and Moon out, covering both for 2. Ruby dumps Banks, and continues to pick up near falls on Moon. She again grounds things, covering for 2. Moon cuts her off with a jawbreaker as Banks returns Moon hits a high cross for 2. Moon takes control, dumping Ruby and Banks wipes out the Riott Squad with a dive. Moon & Ruby follow with dives, and Moon picks up a near fall on Ruby. Moon up top, but Logan cuts her off. Banks cuts off Ruby and they battle up top. RANA by Ruby, but Banks rolls through as Morgan &Logan attack. Bayley arrives and makes the save. Banks back in and gets a roll up for 2. Moon flies in with the eclipse and pins Ruby to advance. Ember Moon defeated Ruby Riott & Sasha Banks @ 10:45 via pin [***½] This was a very good and fun match, with all three looking good, and they also continued the Bayley & Banks vs. Riott Squad dynamic along the way.

– Moon comments on earning a spot in MITB. She doesn’t feel like an underdog and is constantly proving people wrong. She will rise to win the briefcase.

– We get an exclusive interview with Lashley. Lashley we get highlights from his amateur-wrestling career. Renee interviews him, discussing his return and his life outside of WWE. Lashley says he has a blessed family and is lucky. He jokes about his sisters and how they treated him poorly. He loves his life and id happy to be back with WWE. He then says hello to his sisters and tells them he loves them.

– Sami meets with Kevin, talking conspiracies against them. They argue about their issues at Backlash. Kevin then reluctantly says he’ll have his back tonight.

Jinder Mahal vs. Chad Gable: Mahal previously lost to Gable. Gable hits the rolling kick right away, picks up the pace and gets a takedown. Gable looks to wrestlefuck him, but Mahal sends him to the floor and follows. Mahal works him over and rolls him back in and covers for 2. Mahal works a bear hug, Gable escapes, but gets slammed to the buckles. Mahal locks on the abdominal stretch, Gable escapes and lays in uppercuts. The Suzuki-like hanging arm bar in the ropes follows. Gable hits the moonsault press for 2. Mahal cuts him off with a running knee strike. But Gable cradles him for 2. Mahal stuns him off the ropes and hits a big boot. The khallas follows and Mahal wins. Jinder Mahal defeated Chad Gable @ 4:15 via pin [**] This was ok, Mahal may have won, but Gable was the one that looked good.

– Post match, Mahal beats down Gable to stand tall.

– Alexa Bliss & The Ascension comment on MITB.

– Angle meets with Zack Ryder, who wants in MITB. Mahal arrives and tells Angle that he wants in tonight’s MITB qualifier. Angle declines.

Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler vs. Rhyno & Heath Slater: Drew McIntyre looks fucking massive. Ziggler & Rhyno start things off. Rhyno takes control, Slater in and so is McIntyre. He quickly cuts off Slater. He and Ziggler work double teams. They take out Rhyno, and the claymore zigzag combo finishes things. Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler defeated Rhyno & Heath Slater @ 2:35 via pin [NR] SQUASH

– Elias arrives. He complains about being interrupted at Backlash, promises to take care of Roode, and go onto win MITB. Roode of course interrupts.

Bobby Roode vs. Elias: Elias attacks at the bell and they brawl. Roode then hits the top rope clothesline. The enziguri follows and Elias rolls to the floor. Post break, and Elias takes control with a backdrop. The toss slam follows for 2. Elias now works a cross face, Roode escapes and hits a spinebuster for 2; Elias quickly cuts him off with a back breaker and covers for 2. Elias hits a powerbomb for 2. Elias looks to attack the throat like last week; Roode fights him off as they trade strikes. Roode counters drift away into the glorious DDT to get his win back. Bobby Roode defeated Elias @ 10:33 via pin [**] This was ok and solidly worked, but there was absolutely no energy to it at all. Roode still badly needs to be a heel, he’s beyond bland as a babyface.

– Roode wants a chance to get into MITB.

– Seth Rollins arrives. He’s all fired up and praises Miz for taking him to the limit at Backlash. He’s proud to be the IC champion. But Miz taught him to be a proper champion, and to be nothing like the Miz; he wants to be a fighting champion. He plans to make the IC title THE tile on Raw. He’s issuing an open challenge. Mojo Rawley accepts, and says that this is a Raw debut he deserves. The crowd chants for Ryder as Mojo says he’ll take the IC title and go onto win MITB. Mojo says this is Monday Night Rawley.

Champion Seth Rollins vs. Mojo Rawley: Rollins hits a dropkick, and then dumps Mojo. He misses a plancha, allowing Mojo to attack with tackles. Post break, and Mojo has things grounded. Rollins fires back, but Mojo cuts him off, slamming him to the buckles, and covering for 2. Mojo talks a lot, shoving Rollins around. Rollins fires back with chops, and hits the flatliner to the buckles. The enziguri follows and Rollins dumps him. The suicide dive follows and then another. Back in and the blockbuster gets 2. Rollins follows with forearms, but runs into a spinebuster for 2. Rollins counters into a roll up for 2. The superkick follows for 2. Rollins fires up, but Mojo cuts him off with a flapjack for 2. Mojo hits a tackle and eats a superkick and ripcord knee and double stomp. That’s that. Champion Seth Rollins defeated Mojo Rawley @ 11:00 via pin [**½] This was an overall solid match, but for as good as Rollins is, even he struggled to get something solid out of Mojo. I dig Rollins doing open challenges every week.

Champions Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel: Wyatt & Matt work double teams on Axel, covering for 2. Dallas & Axel quickly fight back with double teams and take control, working over Matt. Matt hits a side effect, and tags in Wyatt. Wyatt runs wild on Axel and the urange follows. The double team sister Abigail finishes things,. Champions Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt defeated Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel @ 2:45 via pin [NR] SQUASH

– Raw & Smackdown are in London next week. Booker T is back on Raw next week.

MITB Qualifier: Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn vs. Roman Reigns: Reigns takes out Sami and then Balor. Balor fires back with a dropkick, but Reigns takes him out and then takes Sami to the floor. Post break, and Balor dropkicks Reigns. Sami back in and rolls up Balor for 2. Reigns cuts him off and then works over Balor. The big boot takes Sami to the floor. Sami and Balor surround Reigns and attack. They beat him down and the crowd loves it. They dump Reigns and follow him to the floor and brawl into the crowd. Reigns starts to fight them off, but Sami hits a helluva, sending Reigns into the tech area. Balor then hits a double stomp off of the hockey boards onto Reigns. Sami & Balor brawl back to ringside and into the ring; Sami hits the blue thunder bomb for 2. They trade strikes and Balor connects with a PELE for the double down. Reigns is enjoying nappy time here as Balor picks up the pace and hits the final cut for 2. Sami dumps Balor, who sells his leg on the fall. Balor quickly fires back with sling blade. They brawl at ringside, and Reigns is back and flies over the barricade, attacking Sami. The drive by follows but Balor slams Reigns to he steps. Back in and Balor hits an enziguri, but Sami hits a corner XPLODER. Reigns cuts off the helluva with a superman punch. Balor hits sling blade, John Wooooo, but Reigns avoids the double stomp and hits the superman punch. It breaks down as Mahal distracts Reigns, and Balor hits the double stomp on Sami for the win. Finn Balor defeated Sami Zayn & Roman Reigns @ 15:25 via pin [***] This was an overall good main event, with some fun interactions, but never felt as if it hit that next level to feel any more than good. Balor winning felt like the right call here.

– It’s unlikely unless Reigns gets in another way, but I’d be down for Rollins beating Brock for the title and then being screwed by a MITB cash in by Reigns, going full circle, and Reigns finally going heel.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

~GLORIOUS~

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

Tonight’s episode of WWE Raw was a solid show, featuring some fallout from Backlash, the start of the build to Money in the Bank 2018, some good wrestling, and setting the stage for the few weeks. It was easily more enjoyable than Backlash.