Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 7.15.19

Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 7.15.19

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Two Out of Three Falls Match: Ricochet & The Usos vs. Robert Roode & The Revival @ 10:30 via 2-1 [***]
– The Viking Raiders vs. Jimmy & Johnny Boots & Tights @ 1:20 via destruction [NR]
– Cedric Alexander defeated Drew McIntyre @ 3:20 via pin [***]
– Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor @ 1:25 via pin [NR]
– Zack Ryder defeated Mike Kanellis @ 0:03 via pin [NR]
– The Club defeated Lucha House Party @ 10:10 via pin [**¾]
– #1 Contender’s Elimination Match: Natalya won @ 25:35 via submission [DUD]
– #1 Contender’s Battle Royal: Seth Rollins won @ 7:55 [***]

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The Smartest Man in Wrestling Stands Around Collecting a Check While Paul Talks: Heyman gloats about Brock’s win and gives us a big “I told you so.” He told us last week, told us last night, and Brock cashed in and won the title. He told everyone in WWE that Rollins wouldn’t be defending at Summerslam, but no one listened. He has all of the stroke around here, and he’s determined who will face Brock. Brock isn’t easy to negotiate with and fights who he wants to fight, and tonight’s all star battle royal winner gets to face and be conquered by Brock at Summerslam. The competitors are Baron Corbin, Braun Strowman, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Cesaro, Big E, Roman Reigns, Lashley, Sami Zayn, & Seth Rollins. Heyman then mocks Rollins for losing last night, and says you risk your manhood when you face Brock. If anyone has the chance to face Brock, you’ll lose everything, because in this universe, you’re all Brock’s bitches. Good opening segment with Heyman getting to gloat and setting up Brock’s Summerslam match.

Two Out of Three Falls Match: Ricochet & The Usos vs. Robert Roode & The Revival: Jey hits a superkick, Ricochet hits a code breaker and pins Dawson @ 0:25. Roode attacks and beats down Ricochet, follows with chops and Ricochet battles back with a head scissors and dropkick for 2. Jey tags in and follows with kicks but runs into a spinebuster for 2. Dash tags in and he follows with uppercuts, chops and then chokes him out. Jey fires back, but is cut off with a slam but misses an elbow drop. Jimmy tags in and runs wild. The Samoan drop follows, blind tag and Dawson hits the flapjack for the pin @ 3:45. Post break and Dawson maintains control on Jimmy and hits elbow drops and covers for 2. The Revival follow with double teams, and the cover gets 2. Dash follows with an abdominal stretch, Jimmy escapes and looks for a tag but gets cut off as Dawson tags in. Ricochet and Roode tag in and Ricochet runs wild, takes out Dawson and Jey follows with a tope. Ricochet then cradles Roode, hits the recoil and follows with the 630 for the win. Ricochet & The Usos vs. Robert Roode & The Revival @ 10:30 via 2-1 [***] This was a good and fun tag match, with a good post match angle to continue Styles vs. Ricochet.

– The Club arrives and Ricochet & The Usos run wild and clear the ring, but Styles and the Good Brothers isolate Ricochet and hit magic killer.

Better not take your eyes off @AJStylesOrg! pic.twitter.com/wtjzVcz2TV

— TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) July 16, 2019

The Viking Raiders vs. Jimmy & Johnny Boots & Tights: The Raiders control at the bell, following with double teams and general destruction. Ivar pulls up Jonny at 2, tags in Erik and more double teams follow. Thor’s hammer finishes it. The Viking Raiders vs. Jimmy & Johnny Boots & Tights @ 1:20 via destruction [NR] Death and Destruction.

– We get highlights of Taker & Reigns vs. Drew & Shane from Extreme Rules.

– Earlier today, various stars made fun of Drew McIntyre. Drew is upset with Cedric for last week, and Drew will dismember & humble him tonight. Cedric says the joke will be on Drew.

Drew McIntyre vs. Cedric Alexander: Drew attacks right away, laying in chops but Alexander fights back with the back handspring kick and a tope. Back in and Drew follows with an overhead toss into the buckles. Drew follows with chops, another toss, and then a dump suplex for 2. More chops from Drew but Alexander fights off the suplex, back elbow, and then follows with a dropkick as Drew flies back in at him. The back handspring elbow is cut off, Drew follows with strikes but Alexander cradles him off the inverted Alabama slam for the win. Cedric Alexander defeated Drew McIntyre @ 3:20 via pin [***] This was short, but a complete blast with Cedric picking up a huge win to make up for last week’s poor angle.

– Balor comments on losing the IC Title last night, and tonight, he will go through Samoa Joe to get back to his title. Joe disputes this plan and says he will hand Balor another loss.

– Reigns says that this is his week and he will win tonight’s battle royal.

Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe: They lockup, working to the ropes and Joe grounds the action. Balor battles back, grounds things and Joe then cradles him for the win. Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor @ 1:25 via pin [NR] Joe gets a needed rebound win that was completely forgotten once Balor got his heat back, and then that was forgotten once Bray re-debuted, which was fine since that seemed to be the main goal here with Balor reportedly about to take time off.

– Joe then beats his ass post match, but Balor fights back and hits John Woooooooo and the top rope double stomp. The lights go out and when they come back on, Bray Wyatt as the fiend lays out Balor with Sister Abigail.

– Drake and hiss wife check into a hotel, registering under “Mr. & Mrs. 24/7 Champion.” R-Truth lurks in the background with a ref and asks if Hornswoggle is registered at the hotel. Truth bribes the hotel clerk with $1 as the Street Profits watch on. They mock Drake for not consummating his marriage yet. They then hype the women’s #1 contender’s match and the #1 contender’s battle royal. Dawkins wants Big E to win, while Ford picks Rollins.

– Maria meets with Mike and calls him a loser and says she’s taking his match. Mike then says he got it.

Zack Ryder vs. Mike Kanellis: Rough Ryder, pin. Zack Ryder defeated Mike Kanellis @ 0:03 via pin [NR] Buried 6000 feet under; happy for Ryder though.

– Maria completely buries him again post match.

The Club vs. Lucha House Party: Styles and Metalik begin, a match I need now. Styles takes control, tags in Anderson and he lays the boots to Metalik. Metalik fires back, hits the reverse sling blade and a missile dropkick for 2. Anderson cuts him off and tags in Gallows, who follows with strikes. Metalik fires back, but Gallows just beats him down and follows with a head butt. Anderson back in as the Club maintains control until Ricochet attacks Styles and everyone brawls on the floor. Adam Pearce and referees take Ricochet away. Post break for the convoluted reset and Styles dropkicks Dorado. Gallows back in and follows with strikes. Anderson tags in and continues to control, covering for 2. Dorado battles back, hits the golden rewind and tags in Kalisto. He’s fired up and runs wild, hits the rolling kick and covers for 2. The RANA follows, and the luchas follow with dives. Back in and Kalisto flies into a spinebuster from Anderson. Gallows in and the boot of doom connects. Styles gets the calf crusher and Kalisto taps. The Club defeated Lucha House Party @ 10:10 via pin [**¾] The match was pretty good, and I liked the Ricochet attack, but the convoluted commercial break bullshit derailed momentum.

– Seth is a sad panda over losing the Universal title, and still hates Brock. He puts over Becky’s toughness, and says Corbin found out what happens when you get in his way. He will fight anyone and beat anyone to get back to Brock and his championship.

– Becky arrives to watch the next match.

#1 Contender’s Elimination Match: Naomi vs. Carmella vs. Natalya vs. Alexa Bliss: Naomi and Natalya work into some back and forth as Carmella sneaks in off of the double down and covers for 2. She keeps going for covers, screams a lot, and dumps Natalya as Bliss chills on the floor. Naomi cuts her off but Carmella follows with a head scissors for 2. Natalya back in and Carmella hits a head scissors. The broncobuster follows, superkick on Naomi and one for Natalya as Bliss cradles and eliminates Carmella. Naomi attacks, and covers for 2. She hits a slam, dropkicks Natalya and follows with kicks on Bliss. The cover gets 2. Bliss fires back as Natalya naps on the floor. Bliss hits a clothesline and covers for 2. She follows with kicks, slaps her and they work into a double down. Post break and the remaining three face off and Naomi cradles Natalya for 2. Bliss powders as Naomi hits a blockbuster on the floor on Natalya. Bliss attacks, and back in covers for 2. Bliss grounds the action, follows with knee strikes and then kicks. Naomi battles back with the full nelson bomb for 2. The leg drop gets 2. Naomi hits a bulldog to the buckles, and Natalya lays her out with a lariat for 2. She grounds things, and works a Romero special but Bliss slides in and covers Natalya for 2. Naomi lays in kicks on Natalya, follows with a kick and Bliss cuts off the moonsault and Natalya hits a powerbomb for 2. Bliss then cradles Natalya for 2. Bliss lays the boots to Naomi, and grounds things. Bliss slams her to the buckles, and fucking grounds the action again as this continues to go on as time stands still. We get this is awful chants. Bliss runs Naomi into Natalya but Natalya fires up and then gets cut off. Naomi trips up Bliss, kicks Natalya but Natalya cradles Naomi for the pin @ 17:15. Post break and Nikki gets the mic and yells at the crowd. Bliss attacks, slams Natalya down and hits the moonsault knees for 2. Natalya fights back, but Bliss powders. Natalya accidentally takes out Nikki, and then taps Bliss to the sharpshooter. Natalya won @ 25:35 via submission [DUD] This was shit, the work as poor, it went waaaaaaaaaaaay too long and the generally out was lazy. Simply horrible stuff here. I am all for the women getting time when it is performers that can deliver, these were not those women. Maybe booking a match between four women who basically never win was a poor idea? This aged me 10-years, I am now 52.

– Natalya & Becky promo time. Becky likes her, but they won’t be friends when they face off and that Natalya better step up. Natalya really needs her, and she does better in war than in love. Natalya says she must not be a very good lover, bitch. Natalya says she’ll rip her hair out and pull the horseshoe out of her ass. Ooooooooooooh Nattie said swears.

– Orton cuts a promo on the battle royal and has unfinished business with Brock.

MIZ TV: Ziggler is the guest. Miz will do his best to make people care about him. Ziggler says he has problems and asks about the rumors about the Miz. He mocks Miz for being a company yes man. Ziggler says he’s not jealous, but says Miz is just happy to be here and not about proving people wrong. He mocks Miz for not being on last night’s PPV so Miz mocks him for losing to Owens in 17-seconds. Ziggler says Miz is a walking gimmick now. Ziggler says Miz is everything he hated and everything wrong with the business. He mocks Maryse and Miz attacks, as Ziggler powders. Well that was not good and a whole load of nothing likely leading to a feud I have zero interest in. Where are all the people telling me not to worry and that Miz will finally get one up on Shane?

– Drake is about to consummate his marriage, and prepares the bed for action. Post break and Drake strips down to just his championship. The ref delivers room service, Truth appears and sneaks out from under the room service cart and pins Drake on the bed to win the title back. Drake chases after him naked as his wife screams.

Oh. Wow. #Raw @WWEMaverick pic.twitter.com/xaXUZSvO20

— WWE (@WWE) July 16, 2019

– We see Reigns winning his ESPY.

– Brock & Paul arrive to watch the match.

#1 Contender’s Battle Royal: Baron Corbin, Braun Strowman, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Cesaro, Big E, Roman Reigns, Lashley, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins: They brawl at the bell and Corbin chokeslams Rollins. Braun and Lashley brawl and then Corbin joins in and helps Lashley. Cesaro runs wild with uppercuts on everything that moves, hits the swing on Rey, and almost eliminates him. Cesaro then attacks Big E but Lashley eliminates Cesaro. Rey attacks and hits a missile dropkick and Braun eliminates Lashley. He and Big E come face to face and Big E hits the big ending and then walks into an RKO. Sami tosses Big E, BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! RKO for Sami, the 619 follows and Sami gets tossed. RKO on Reigns. It breaks down, Corbin tosses Rey and Braun attacks, drive by from Reigns, Rollins tosses Corbin Braun attacks, runs wild on Reign and Rollins and Reigns accidentally spears Rollins. Reigns grabs Braun and Rollins dumps them both. Orton is still in, sneaks in and almost dumps Rollins. They trade strikes, draping DDT by Orton and he talks shit to Brock, poses, and sets for an RKO but Rollins cuts him of, hits blackout and dumps him for the win. Seth Rollins won @ 7:55 [***] I hate most battle royals and find the vast majority lazy and boring, but this was good stuff overall, although I was really hoping for someone fresh to challenge for the title. The post match was also well done.

– Heyman says that Rollins will be beaten, victimized, and conquered at Summerslam. Rollins tells him to shut up, and tells Brock that he will fight anyone to get to him and did. Summerslam will look like Mania when he stomps him into the mat and wins back the title.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 36. On the show, the good brother, Steve Cook, joins 411’s Larry Csonka and the guys will review another really good weekend of wrestling as they breakdown this weekend’s WWE Extreme Rules & AEW Fight For The Fallen events. The show is approximately 91-minutes long.

* Intro
* AEW Fight For The Fallen Review: 2:50
* WWE Extreme Rules Review: 45:00

You can subscribe and listen to the 411 on Wrestling Podcast via the above player on Transistor, or on the following platforms:

* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

4.8

The final score: review Poor

The 411

I liked hour one, and felt it was good overall. Hour two was a bit of a sloppy slog with only the Bray re-debut and Ricochet attacking Styles stuff coming off as anything good. It went off a cliff with the horrible and overly long women’s match. Miz TV was bad (not even Miz can make me care about Ziggler right now). The 24/7 stuff was really entertaining, and the closing battle royal was good. Overall, the best thing they did was lock in two title matches for Summerslam, but this wasn’t a good show coming off of a strong Extreme Rules PPV.