wrestling / TV Reports
Winfree’s WWE RAW Review 7.26.21
Loading...Hey there everyone, Winfree tagging in for Acero this week but he should be back next week. Last week Keith Lee returned and got squashed by Bobby Lashley to set up Goldberg’s return. Because there’s a big PPV coming up so of course here’s Goldberg, any guesses on just how many colors of the rainbow his face will turn during that match at Summerslam? My inclination is all of them personally. Also Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal are still feuding, so that’s something. A bigger question is about Charlotte, because we’re supposed to be asking “where’s Charlotte?” whenever she’s not on screen, in the wake of Nikki ASH capturing the RAW women’s title last week via the Money in the Bank briefcase. Anyway, let’s see what WWE has in store for us this week.
A recap of Nikki’s title win plays, then commentary welcomes us to T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. And here’s Nikki ASH to kick off the show. She gets a mic after arriving in the ring, she’s always wanted to do the intro to the show apparently and gives us a “Welcome to Monday Night RAW”. She’s happy we’re all here together and is proud to be standing here as champion. This still feels like a dream, and a “you deserve it” chant interrupts her for a bit. She’s aware that her dream is now real, in the past she didn’t have the confidence when reaching for the stars and fear of failure held her back. Eventually she realized failure isn’t a big deal, she’s still herself. When she puts on her superhero outfit it reminds her and hopefully everyone else that you can overcome all of the odds with enough belief in yourself. We can all almost be superheroes. Charlotte Flair is here to interrupt the motivational poster speech Nikki was giving. Charlotte gets a mic, and says Nikki’s had a nice fairy tale going but Nikki being champion is a disgrace. Someone dressing up like this is supposed to represent this company? In Charlotte’s book you have to work for a title to be a champion, and she’s here to add star power and perspective to this ring. Before this almost idiot (that word play doesn’t work) let’s take a look at what really happened last week. Charlotte says Rhea acted like a spoiled teenager last week and lashed out, which was the only reason Nikki won last week. It’s not like Charlotte to complain, but she wasn’t even on her feet when that match started last week, and Nikki could only steal her title that way. Charlotte wants a rematch at Summerslam and she’ll make Nikki bow down to the real champion. All this injustice though, it’s not Nikki’s fault, it’s the fault of the fans. For months the fans have cheered everyone of Charlotte’s misfortunes, she continues for a bit but here’s Rhea Ripley to disrupt things. Ripley has a mic, she dismisses Charlotte’s claims of jealousy and mocks Charlotte’s latest title reign being just one day long. She brings up Charlotte getting herself intentionally disqualified last week, and things she should get the title shot at Summerslam. Nikki doesn’t think either of them can beat her at Summerslam, the women’s division is ready to change and Nikki will be leading that change. Charlotte has had enough of Nikki’s knockoff superhero crap, she and Ripley bicker over who gets the next shot but here’s Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville to make a tag team match I assume. Pearce and Sonya say the only fair thing is to make a triple threat match for the title at Summerslam. Charlotte calls this ridiculous, calls Nikki a fluke and Ripley undeserving, and she wants a match tonight for the title. Nikki accepts, Pearce confirms it, Ripley laughs at both of them and looks to leave but Charlotte jumps her. Nikki drop kicks Charlotte out of the ring and poses with the belt. If you’ve seen one revolving door promo you’ve seen them all, and that’s doubly true of Charlotte promos. This was tedious.
A video promo from Damien Priest airs, he calls Sheamus a coward and bully not a champion, then tells Sheamus to find a set and step into the ring with him. That match between Sheamus and Priest will be up after this commercial break.
Sheamus is still rocking the face mask for his nose as we come back to air. Here’s Priest for the match.
Match #1 – US Title Contenders Match: Sheamus vs. Damien Priest
They tie up and hit a corner, then break clean. Sheamus eggs Priest on and gets a side headlock takeover. Back up and Sheamus drops Priest with a shoulder block. Priest with an arm drag. Some knees from Sheamus and he starts laying in forearms to the back. Priest fights back with strikes of his own to the body and head. A kick from Priest then a jumping back elbow drops Sheamus and he clotheslines clotheslines Sheamus out of the ring. Some kicks from Priest, but Sheamus catches him trying a tornado kick and hits a back suplex onto the ring apron. That sends us to commercial break.
Sheamus is working the back with clubbing blows as we come back, then Priest with a clothesline off the ropes to drop both men. Priest fires up with striking flurries, then he hits a spinning heel kick that knocks the mask off of Sheamus. Sheamus with a double kick to a charging Priest then he heads up top. Priest catches Sheamus up top, and hits the sit out chokeslam for a near fall. Priest sets for Reckoning but Sheamus counters into a slightly awkward Alabama Slam for a very close near fall. Sheamus wants the Cloverleaf, but Priest breaks his grip and lands kicks to the chest, enabling Dunn Mode for the broadcast. More kicks from Priest as they’re on their feet, but Sheamus comes off the ropes with a jumping knee strike for a great near fall. Priest to the apron, Sheamus wants the clubbering blows but Priest fights free, kicks Sheamus in the nose then hits Reckoning to win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Damien Priest won
Rating: 2.5 stars
A nice teaser of what these two can do, Sheamus continues to be an absolute workhorse. Sheamus complains that his nose has been rebroken, it pretty clearly hasn’t, and demands a doctor as we head to break.
We come back to Styles and Omos being in the ring for their title defense up next.
Match #2 – RAW Tag Team Title Match: (c) AJ Styles and Omos vs. Viking Raiders (Ivar and Erik)
Erik and AJ get us started. Flying knees from Erik then he tags in Ivar. Some quick tags from Erik and Ivar, they knock Omos off the apron then Erik dives onto him but Omos wont go down. Erik tags back in, they hit Thor’s Hammer on AJ but Omos pulls Erik out of the ring and tosses him around. Ivar tries to help his partner, but Omos just tosses him into the seated Erik and stands tall as we head to break.
We come back to Omos twisting the head of Erik. AJ tags back in and starts working a chin lock. Erik fights back with body shots, AJ goes for a flurry but Erik clobbers him with a right hand and both men are down. Ivar tags in and runs wild on AJ with his usual flurry. AJ avoid s a corner rush, hits a right from the apron then wants the Phenomenal Forearm but Ivar cartwheels away then floors AJ with a clothesline. AJ with a super kick to a charging Ivar, then a tornado DDT for a near fall. Ivar tries to stop AJ tagging out, he tries a back suplex but AJ flips out and then gets squashed in the corner. A double team series of knees then Ivar heads out to distract Omos as Erik lands another knee then nearly pins AJ. Omos kicks Ivar away and into the barricade. AJ hits the Pele kick and tags out. Omos with a scoop slam to Erik. Ivar in illegally but runs into a boot then gets tossed out of the ring. More corner offense from Omos to Erik. Chokebomb from Omos, but AJ wants in and gets tagged. AJ tries the springboard 450, he hits hit and we’re done.
OFFICIAL RESULT: AJ Styles and Omos retained the Tag Team titles
Rating: 2.5 stars
Borderline 3 stars but the commercial break ruined the flow of the match. Omos is still green, but he’s not nearly as stiff as he used to be. AJ Styles continues to be awesome.
Commentary reminds us of what happened at Money in the Bank between McIntyre and Jinder Mahal and Jinder’s goons. That dovetails to last week when Drew absolutely murdered one of the goons with a chair. They can’t help but cut on each blow even after a week to potentially save us that seizure. Anyway here’s Drew McIntyre, he’ll have a match with Veer after this commercial break.
We come back to Drew hanging out in the ring as Veer makes his way to the ring. Wait, Jinder has a mic. He calls Drew despicable and he’s disgusted by the fans cheering Shanky getting mauled, but he’s giving Drew a chance to apologize. Drew wont apologize, so Jinder introduces his personal attorney. They’re going to sue Drew, he demands another apology, Drew gets a mic and tells Jinder to shut up. Thanks Drew. Drew takes a second to consider apologizing, the crowd doesn’t think so, and Drew knows he’s got a bit of an anger problem but he’ll take the crowds advice. He asks if he should apologize and buy dinner for Jinder and company, or if he should say screw the lawyer and beat Veer within an inch of his life. The crowd want the latter. Drew prompts a “Drew’s gonna kill you” chant from the crowd at Jinder as we get the match to start.
Match #3: Drew McIntyre vs. Veer w/ Jinder Mahal
They tie up and break, then we get the test of strength before Drew goes after the arm. Veer lands a right and a scoop slam. Side headlock from Veer, but Drew is able to shoot him off and shoulder block him down then hit his own scoop slam. Veer lands a left, Drew is offended and starts laying in strikes in the corner. Jinder has a chair and bangs it on the ring to distract Drew, which allows Veer to land a big boot and take over. Mounted strikes from Veer, then a running body block. Veer starts working a cravat, sends Drew into a corner but Drew comes out with a series of clotheslines. Some over head belly to belly throws from Drew then a jumping neckbreaker. Veer gets the chair from Jinder, but turns into a Claymore with the chair and that will cause a ref stoppage for a Disqualification.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Veer won via disqualification
Rating: 1.5 stars
Not great, but Veer got to show off a bit of his athleticism and Drew is still solid.
There’s some confusion about who actually won as Drew’s music played and he was announced as the winner by DQ but logically Drew was the one who “used” the chair and should be DQ’d. Drew grabs the lawyer post match, sends him into the ring for a 3, 2, 1, Claymore.
We get a recap of last week when Eva Marie was in Alexa’s Playground. Eva and Doudrop are at gorilla warming up for their tag team match. They head to the ring for that match, post break they’ll get a contenders match against Natalya and Tamina, if they can win tonight they’ll get a title match at some point in the future.
We come back to Eva and Doudrop hanging out in the ring before the champs make their entrance.
Match #3 – Tag Team Match: Natalya and Tamina vs. Eva Marie and Doudrop
Eva and Natalya start us off. Eva runs away from the match, then tags Doudrop. Natalya gets a rear waistlock, then side headlock but gets shoulder blocked down by Doudrop. Doudrop with a roll up, Natalya reverses it and they stand off. Doudrop shoulder blocks Natalya, and Natalya heads out of the ring limping after tagging in Tamina. I wonder if Natalya got hurt, yeah you can see the medic jogging over to her. Tamina gets a side headlock, tries a Samoan Drop but that wont work and that allows Doudrop to hit a low crossbody. Eva tags in gets the cover for a 2 count. A video of Alexa’s dolly mocking the Eva-lution with the Lilly-lution to play off of Eva’s return promos. That allows Tamina to hit a super kick and pin to win as Natalya is helped to the back by the medic.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Natalya and Tamina won
Rating: .5 stars
More angle than anything, and the injury to Natalya looked to be legit so I’m dropping this a bit lower than I would otherwise.
Post break we’ll get a match between Keith Lee and Karrion Kross. I’m not sure how they’ll make both guys look like chumps but I’m sure they’ll find a way.
We come back to a reminder that Nikki and Charlotte will wrestle later tonight. You know, in case you weren’t wondering “where’s Charlotte?” like you’re supposed to. Kross starts making his way to the ring for our next match. Here’s Keith Lee as well, both got full entrances so this match is either going long through commercial or less than 5 minutes. My guess would be the latter.
Match #4: Karrion Kross vs. Keith Lee
They tie up, Kross tries an exploder suplex but Lee is too big. They trade strikes, then Lee hits a belly to belly suplex. A shoulder block from Lee then he clotheslines Kross out of the ring. Lee out of the ring, but Kross is able to slam him into the ring apron then then ring post. Kross hits the exploder suplex on the floor as we head to break. Well, I was wrong then.
We come back to Kross working over Lee in the corner. Kross starts stomping on the hand of Lee. Lee starts fighting back with body blows but eats a DDT from Kross for a near fall. Kross sets for the Kross-jacket choke, Lee is able to hand fight and break the grip then toss him off. Kross with a forearm, Lee then floors him with a clothesline. A striking flurry from Lee and a headbutt, then a Pounce connects. Lee gathers energy from the crowd for a Spirit Bomb, but Kross evades it and hits the Saito suplex. Kross sets for the running elbow to the back of the head, he lands it then locks up the Kross-jacket and Lee tries to fight him off but eventually has to tap.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Karrion Kross won
Rating: 2 stars
Perfectly adequate match, but boy did the crowd not care at all. Which will happen when you don’t do anything to get either participant over.
Another recap of Nikki’s title win follows. Nikki is in the back and Sarah is here to talk to her. Her confidence has grown and she’s not afraid to fail, this has worked in her favor and tonight even if she loses no one can take this feeling from her. She wants the kids to know that the hardest of challenges are worth fighting for. OK, that doesn’t make sense. Tonight she’ll go out with her super positivity and she’ll be defending the title at Summerslam Rhea Ripley walks up, she respects the unconditional belief Nikki has, but Ripley believes she’ll walk out of Sumemrslam with the belt. No one actually talks like that, but OK. But she does hope that Nikki beats Charlotte tonight.
Mace and T-Bar are here, because of course they are. They’ll be in action against Mustafa Ali and Mansoor after this break.
Post break Mace and T-Bar discuss the food chain and how Ali and Mansoor are small morsels to feed them. Here’s Mansoor and Ali to head to the ring. Ali tries to get Mansoor to ignore the fans as they walk down.
Match #4 – Tag Team Match: Mace and T-Bar vs. Mustafa Ali and Mansoor
Ali and T-Bar start us off. Some quick offense from Ali but T-Bar clocks him with a spinning big boot and they take over. Mace tags in and they abuse Ali for a bit while mocking his inability to tag out. High elevation Black Hole slam from Mace and Mansoor has to save the match. T-Bar tags in, boots Mansoor off the ring then they double team Ali with kicks. Ali avoids a second spinning kick from T-Bar and hits a wheel kick. Both men tag out and Mansoor runs wild on Mace for a bit, Mansoor hits a reverse DDT and T-Bar has to save the match by kicking Mansoor out of the ring. T-Bar menaces Mansoor, but Ali dives onto him with a diving tornado DDT, Mansoor calls that awesome as Ali warns him about watching his back. Mace kicks Ali off the apron, tries to chokeslam Mansoor but Mansoor counters into a Victory Roll to get the win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Mustafa Ali and Mansoor won
Rating: 1.5 stars
A bit spotty, but the odd couple pairing of Mansoor and Ali actually has some chemistry personality wise.
After this break Bobby Lashley will answer the challenge of Goldberg. I kind of hope he says no, just because it would be funny.
We come back to the gold lightning of Bobby Lashley hitting the entrance area. Here’s Lashley in his ring gear along with MVP. MVP has a mic, he wants us to stand give respect to Lashley. They don’t really, MVP thinks it’s because Lashley’s dominance is on par with Tom Brady’s and the crowd must be feeling annoyed still. But cheap heat aside, let’s talk about Goldberg coming out and disrespecting the WWE champion last week. He can see why people are excited, but the question is if Lashley thinks Goldberg is next. Lashley wont even dignify Goldberg’s challenge with a response, but this is his ring and he wont be disrespected by anyone. That prompts Cedric Alexander of all people. Cedric has a mic and talks on his way to the ring. He wants to talk about disrespect, like how Lashley tossed him out of The Hurt Business earlier this year. Cedric wondered why for a long time, but now he knows it’s because Lashley knows Cedric is the better man and he wants a title shot. Well here’s Shelton Benjamin, who asks Cedric if Cedric knows how annoying his voice is. In fairness, it is really grating. Benjamin isn’t here to cry about The Hurt Business, that’s over, he’s here to give Lashley a real challenge. Cedric and Benjamin bicker, and MVP puts them both in their place as they’re not on the agenda. Lashley grabs the mic and says he’ll take them both on at the same time, then demands a ref.
Match #5 – Handicap Match: Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander vs. Bobby Lashley
Lashley runs over both men, tosses Cedric out of the ring then rams his head off the ring post from a fireman’s carry position. Back in the ring Benjamin lays in strikes but Lashley cuts him off. Cedric grabs the leg of Lashley to stall him out, Benjamin lands a knee to the face then Cedric hits a tornado DDT but when they both pile on Lashley they only get a 2 count. Lashley plants Cedric with a spinebuster then Spears Benjamin out of his boots. A Jackhammer to Benjamin follows, then a Dominator dropping Cedric on top of Benjamin then he pins both of them at the same time.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Bobby Lashley won
Rating: Pattypan. . . SQUASH
Well, that’ll end Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin for a few months. Needs to be said though, Roman’s double pin and WrestleMania was better.
Post match Lashley poses as MVP trash talks the fans.
In the back Miz is on his phone. Here’s John Morrison, Morrison is ready for his match and he’s very wet. OK then. AJ Styles and Omos walk up, he doesn’t know what they’re on about but it’s a free country. He’s got something important to himself and Omos he’d like to discuss with them. Omos plays body guard to the conversation as the other three confer behind his back.
To the ring, and here’s Riddle. After this break he’ll take on John Morrison.
Back from break and here’s John Morrison making his way to the ring. Oh God, they’re actually trying to get Morrison called “America’s Moist Wanted”. Just, just kill me.
Match #6: Riddle vs. John Morrison w/ The Miz
Riddle and Morrison trade roll ups, Riddle wins up rolling for a kneebar. Morrison slips free, Riddle with a sunset flip then transitions to an ankle lock. Morrison rolls free and avoids some punches. Knees from Morrison, Riddle flips out of the corner and hits a suplex for a near fall. Kicks from Morrison in the corner, but he runs into a springboard kick from Morrison. A bit of a Fisherman’s suplex from Riddle then Miz sprays Riddle with the drip stick. Morrison with a roll up for 2, Riddle hits him with a jumping knee then punts Miz from the apron and mocks him as we head to break.
Riddle is laying in strikes as we come back, then he hits the spinning Pele kick. Exploder from Riddle, Morrison heads out of the ring. Riddle punts Morrison from the apron then a Floating Bro from the second rope to take out Morrison. AJ Styles and Omos are here, walking slowly towards the ring. Morrison avoids an RKO and lays in knees then kicks. Jumping calf kick from Morrison then a Shining Wizard for a 2 count. Riddle out of a suplex and hits a jumping knee, then a powerbomb and another knee strike to the seated Morrison and gets a near fall. Riddle up top, but he’s distracted by Omos, and AJ gets his scooter and hands it to Omos. Omos breaks the scooter handle, Riddle screams “why” as Morrison catches him in a spinning crucifix powerbomb then hits Starship Pain to win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: John Morrison won
Rating: 2.5 stars
Decent match, sadly hampered by turning into an angle at the end.
AJ heads to the ring post match and lays in stomps to Riddle. Omos slowly heads into the ring to supervise, AJ hits the Styles Clash and stands tall.
We get a recap of last week when Nia Jax headbutted Reginald, and Reginald winning the 24/7 title right after. R-Truth is here to sing his entrance song. After this commercial break he’ll get a title shot against Reginald.
Post break and here’s Reginald in a suit, who hits a trampoline so he can jump over the top rope from the floor.
Match #7 – 24/7 Title Match: (c) Reginald vs. R-Truth
Truth still has his mic plugged in as the match starts. He asks for the belt back, but Reginald avoids his attack attempts. Truth from behind, Reginald slips out of his jacket then goes back to avoiding Truth’s offense. Truth tosses the jacket at him, it gets caught on Reginald’s face but he’s still able to avoid Truth. Reginald with the front flip senton into a pin to retain the title.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Reginald won
Rating: DUD
If the comedy worked for you you’ll enjoy this, It didn’t work for me and so it didn’t enjoy it.
The geeks show up and chase him but Reginald flips over them and then back flips up the entrance ramp.
At gorilla Charlotte gets interviewed, she reiterates that the only reason she lost to Nikki was because of Rhea Ripley’s interference. She’s sick and tired of this division being run down by almost superstars. If it wasn’t for Charlotte there wouldn’t be a women’s division right now, and she’s going to prove her dominance tonight. That prompts Charlotte’s entrance and she saunters to the ring. Her match with Nikki will be up after this break.
Post break Charlotte is in the ring. Here’s Nikki for the main event.
Match #8: Nikki ASH vs. Charlotte Flair
Charlotte is not amused by Nikki’s antics. Nikki tries to up the energy, but runs into a clothesline. Charlotte lays in chops in the corner, then slaps Nikki in the face. Charlotte tries to remove Nikki’s mask, then eventually tosses Nikki out of the ring and mocks her. She also mocks the fans for cheering for Nikki. Nikki back in the ring and gets stomped on. Charlotte lays in some forearms then a back elbow. Nikki tries to land some forearms, Charlotte mostly no sells her and then clubs her back down. Some elbows from Nikki, Charlotte shoves her off and then tosses her down to the mat. Nikki with some more strikes, Charlotte spins her into the corner and lays in strikes of her own. More stomps from Charlotte, then she tries a suplex but Nikki counters with a small package for 2, then a schoolboy roll up for another 2. Nikki with a satellite headscissors takedown, Charlotte out of the ring and Nikki hits a drop kick between the ropes. Charlotte recovers and tosses Nikki over the announce table then poses in the ring as we head to break.
We come back to Charlotte stretching the arms of Nikki around the ring post. Fall away slam from Charlotte gets a near fall. Charlotte gets a chin lock and starts killing time. Nikki fights up to her feet and elbows her way out of the hold, then gets slammed down to the mat. Nikki avoids a baseball slide then kicks Charlotte from the apron. A crossbody from the apron drops Charlotte. Nikki avoids a kick over the ropes, hangs up the leg of Charlotte then gets an Oklahoma Roll for 2. Nikki with more roll ups, then a running bulldog for a near fall. Charlotte hits some chops to slow down that momentum. Nikki is set on the top rope, but she kicks Charlotte a few times then hits a tornado DDT. Nikki up top, hits the crossbody but Charlotte rolls through into the cover and pins Nikki.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Charlotte won
Rating: 2.5 stars
Decent match, but Charlotte’s matches all kind of run together and that finish was kind of lifeless. Post match Charlotte mocks Nikki, then gets an interview. She wants to know why she’s being congratulated, what did anyone expect? They call Charlotte the Opportunity for a reason, demands Nikki look at her, and tells her that no one is in her league. She gives the mic back to the interviewer. Nikki gets the mic, and she knows she lost just now but she proved she almost could have won and she still has the confidence that she can beat Charlotte. Next week she wants a rematch. Charlotte says she can beat Nikki any week, and accepts for next week, then hits a cheap shot elbow and big boot to lay out Nikki. Charlotte drags Nikki out of the ring and mocks her then chops her down. Back into the ring and Charlotte with another running boot to stand tall to end the show.
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