Watry’s WWE Raw Reunion Review 07.22.19

This is my instant review to the much hyped WWE RAW Reunion show. As usual, I will be doing this in the Good, Bad, and Ugly format.

WWE Raw Reunion: 07.22.19

The Good: The Opening Segment – John Cena opening up was perfect. While the rumors all week had said he would NOT be there, I thought he would show up. With the show being in Tampa Bay, Florida, it made sense, and I said as such on the 411 Foresight Wrestling Podcast. He is the top star from the past 17 years without a doubt. He kinda had to be there. Let him take the first flight back to whatever movie set he is filming at. No harm, no foul. The stuff with The Usos and Rikishi was fun but nothing that will be remembered in a week. Great start with Cena though.

The Ugly: Hulk Hogan/Jimmy Hart Tease – What was this? A threat of The Hulkster beating up a legend? Felt out of place. I know it was done to show Hulk Hogan in the building, but Cena has already stated that, as well as all the commercials in the last seven days. Meh.

The Bad: The Usos VS The Revival – Booker T showing up for commentary was a nice way to use him. Same with D-Von coming out with The Revival. I had wondered how all these legends were going to get television time. Had to be a mess writing this Raw episode, truth be told. A total mess. The reason this is getting a BAD mark is because Rikishi didn’t use the awesome Too Cool theme. Come on! Oh, and this felt kinda pointless. Fair or unfair, this entire show had been built around the reunion of stars from yesteryear. We have seen this tag bout a million times in 2019. Nothing new or a blast from the past whatsoever. Not even a table breaking with D-Von ringside.

The Good: Santino Marella, Torrie Wilson, Alicia Fox, Kaitlyn, The Cobra, Dana Brooke, Santina Marella, and Drew McIntyre – Dumb fun. Whatever, I like the Santino style of comedy. Plus, The Stud Drew McIntyre bashing the legends may be a bit of foreshadowing…

The Good: 24/7 Nonsense – Drake Maverick beat R-Truth for the 24/7 Title! He is finally going to consummate the marriage with Renee. Finally! Lucky dude. The Godfather showing up to dance at the end was random but again, WWE has to find a spot for all these names in the next three hours somehow. A guilty pleasure of mine while watching current WWE is all this 24/7 goofiness. I am sure this will continue throughout the evening.

The Good: Drew McIntyre Destroys Cedric Alexander – I predicted this would happen on last week’s edition of the 411 Foresight Wrestling Podcast. The Stud has to get going pretty soon. I assumed 2019 would be his year.

The Good: NEW 24/7 CHAMPION! – The Boogeyman placed worms in the suitcase of Drake Maverick…and that allowed Pat Patterson to win the 24/7 Title. Hey, the dude is a former Hardcore Champion. Remember the lovely Attitude Era? Again, this is the portion of the show where the audience will be divided. Some love it, some hate it. If the YouTube hits keep racking up, can you blame them for all the segments? Who will be next? Gerald Brisco? Re-live their epic King of the Ring 2000 feud?

The Bad: The Viking Raiders VS Zack Ryder/Curt Hawkins – Not even the return of Christian and Lilian Garcia made me care. This is the problem with these big hyped up shows with a million legends appearing. Nobody cares about this pointless tag team match. Sorry if that offends anybody, but it is me being honest. We all know it. As soon as the bell rang, the Tamp crowd took a nap and counted down the seconds until the next big surprise showed up afterwards. Can’t really blame. I will choose a legend cameo any day of the week over seeing The Viking Raiders vs. Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins.

The Good: Raw Party – Maria Kanellis yells at Mike Kanellis, while he is just trying to chat with Eve and Eric Bischoff. Dang. Or should I say Ron Simmons’ non-PG catchphrase instead? Funny. Met Ron once before a Monday Night Raw taping. He was literally just walking around the Bradley Center near the merchandise stands and concession area. Caught me off guard but still got a picture! I think I saw Jillian Hall in the background. No duet with Elias?

The Good: The OC – I guess we are going with The OC for AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson. Fine. I can live with that, even if it does remind me of the old television show my sister used to watch non-stop.

The Good: 24/7 Title Changes – Called it. Gerald Brisco! That slimey, slimey stooge always up to no good. Where is the Mean Street Posse when you need them? Oh wait. Nope, Kelly Kelly won it off him in seconds. Congrats! Did he have a heart attack or something? Geez, maybe go check on him. R-Truth has to end with the title, right? Or is it Drake for the key to Renee’s heart?

The Bad: Samoa Joe Promo Segment – Samoa Joe was going OFF on the RAW Reunion concept. I love it. The only issue is that every single other heel was saying the exact same thing. Cheap heat to talk about legends stealing the spotlight, blah blah blah. Been there, heard that. A tired complaint. Not just from fans but the talent on air too. The material sucked, but Joe was able to pull it off like always. He is that good. Roman Reigns came out, talked about family, and this led to expectations for The Rock to come out. Instead, it was for a match after the commercial break. Ehhhhh, okay? WWE really should end Smackdown Live shows on Monday night. I can personally tell you every time they ran in Wisconsin I chose staying home to watch Raw. With this Wildcard Rule kinda, sorta in effect and Reigns on Raw most of the time, it just seals the deal. No more live events on Mondays. Just end them.

The Good: Roman Reigns VS Samoa Joe – I am being nice here. This match meant nothing and will probably lead to nothing. Another win for Reigns. Another loss for Joe. All that teasing for The Rock and nothing. I didn’t think he would shoe up anyways, but that was clearly the tease all along with the ‘family’ discussion.

The Good: Miz TV – Sooooo The Miz promoted his own reality television show? What a self centered piece of trash plugging his own. I was just saying that last week on the 411 Foresight Wrestling Podcast and in my column. Anyways, Seth Rollins was his guest, which brought out Paul Heyman. Strong back and forth promo between the two. I liked it. Solid build to Summerslam in August.

The Good: Sami Zayn Promo – Hey, there is yet another heel complaining about the legends showing up. Yawn. What saved this for me was Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio showing up. Always a treat to see them still walking around in decent shape after all their health issues. Oh, and more Jillian Hall is much appreciated. Thanks WWE. Zayn versus Mysterio should be interesting.

The Bad: 24/7 Junk – My BOLD predictions column from January had Melina listed as an unexpected name to return to the company so yeah. Another point for me. Awesome to see her go from a local show in Wisconsin earlier this year to Raw Reunion on USA Network. Props. Candice Michelle won the title from Kelly Kelly, thanks to referee Melina. Okay, cute. Oh, and then Alundra Blayze made Candice Michelle tap out to win the title…and then deliver a promo full of verbal screw-ups. No way this went off as planned. Yikes. Bad segment for the usually fun 24/7 Championship. Just don’t throw that belt in the trash. Moving on!

The Good: Sami Zayn VS Rey Mysterio – The Coach was on commentary. I liked his original heel run as an authority figure better than his recent comeback to the announcer’s desk. Rob Van Dam, Sgt, Slaughter, The Hurricane, and Kurt Angle came out to distract Zayn giving Mr. 619 the easy victory. Sweet shout out to his buddy RVD on the splash. That was cool. I have a couple of thoughts on the RVD appearance but will save that for the podcast!

The Good: Street Profits – I disagree with the fact that the Street Profits are even on Raw in the first place. Regardless, this was pretty entertaining. Eye drops after hanging with RVD? Of course. Mark Henry having champagne in the bathroom? Sure.

The Good: 24/7 Shenanigans – Called it. Again. Blayze was going to pull a Madusa and trash the 24/7 Title! How dare she disrespect such a coveted prize. Luckily, The Million Dollar Man saved us all. One payday later…and another new champ. This is getting a tad bit tired but still fun. Better have a big payoff. An even bigger payoff than Ted DiBiase can dream of. Yes, puns intended.

The Good: Seth Rollins VS AJ Styles – Jerry Lawler on commentary here. Great pause before shaking hands with Michael Cole. Those two did have some VERY good promos before their high profile WrestleMania 27 clash. The match was nothing really. A shame too because this could have tore the house down. It seemed this was simply a set up for The Club to face off against DX. Yes, Triple H and Shawn Michaels came out to aid Seth Rollins. Battle of the t-shirt sales. This led to Road Dogg, X-Pac, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash to slowly make their way to the ring as well. No Diesel or Razor Ramon. BOO! The OC up against the OGs. Big spotlight for Rollins here. I liked it, even though I understand people are sick of seeing the DX thing over and over.

The Good: 24/7 Title Change – Drake Maverick defeated Ted DiBiase to win the 24/7 Championship. I mean, it was inside the limo, so none of us could see it. Still, I heard a three count. Maybe he will get to consummate his marriage to Renee after all?

The Good: Mick Foley Attacked By Bray Wyatt – Hey, Mark Henry backstage! I remember years ago I wrote that he was for sure a future WWE Hall of Famer and got ripped for it. I mean, RIPPED! Called a troll, called a tool, called a bum, called an idiot just trying to stir the pot, etc. All that good stuff. Now he is in the WWE Hall of Fame. Imagine that. Either way, this segment was all about Mick Foley teasing a 24/7 Championship run and showing off his favorite Raw moment of all-time. Obviously the big WWE Title win over The Rock. UNTIL THE FIEND APPEARED! Freakin’ creepy Bray Wyatt with the mandible claw on Mick Foley! Unreal. Excellent use of a legend. That is how it’s done.

The Ugly: Natalya Does Anything – I don’t care if Summerslam is in Canada. I don’t care if she follows me on Twitter. You can’t tell me she is the best option for Becky Lynch at one of the biggest pay-per-view events of the year. Seriously, this is the RAW Womens’ Title feud. Remember my Ronda Rousey column? Yeah, Rousey has need to return. Becky has gone from main eventing WM35 to THIS. The Moment of Bliss interview segment never got started. Just a means to an end. We need to get back to the Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross story also. That was the best thing going a few weeks ago and is now stuck in neutral.

The Good: 24/7 Title Finale – Oh my! R-Truth pins Drake Maverick to win back the 24/7 Title and then leaves with Renee! Drake’s wife is now in a limo with R-Truth, while Drake is left in the parking lot as Carmella watches on. Very confusing and very intriguing where WWE takes this. Could go in a million different directions if you ask me. I am a sucker for this drama.

The Good: Braun Smash – Braun Strowman wrecked a dude, and I didn’t blink. That was one heck of a performance. Ouch. Corey Graves stole the spotlight with his commentary goof, so I am sure that is all fans will talk about. Yay? Filler match but entertaining enough.

The Good: Toast To Raw – Party’s over grandpa. No Brock Lesnar this time. The whole set up reminded me of the Hulkster Birthday Party from years back. Just Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, and everybody else celebrating Raw. Going in, I predicted a stunner-fest with Kevin Owens. Instead we got an extended promo from Stone Cold Steve Austin. He apparently recorded a podcast with Hogan and had a good time. Also drank a whole bunch of drinks with his fellow legends. Heartfelt speech honestly. A beer bash to follow is the perfect ending. Heck yeah!

SUMMARY: I enjoyed it. The Rob Van Dam appearance was unexpected and interesting for a few reasons. The rest of the lesser cameos were either there for pointless one offs and/or the 24/7 Championship. Stone Cold, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, DX, John Cena and the bigger names did absolutely nothing long-term. Short-term, I am sure WWE got a ratings pop on USA Network, and Tampa got a fun nostalgia show. Fine by me. Good show.