WWE Raw
This was the final night of four straight WWE shows in Chicago. It feels strange for Raw to have ended this loop, and especially with SmackDown having started it, but it’s a routine for us to get used to with SD now live on Friday nights on FOX. Anyway, the fall-out of Survivor Series for the red brand was less about storyline progression and more about the Monday night team losing almost all of the inter-brand battles. Would this be addressed?
Seth Rollins “Town Hall Meeting”
The answer was “yes”, as Raw did what SmackDown should have done when the blue brand was destroyed at last year’s Survivor Series. Seth Rollins, the “locker room leader”, had the entire Raw roster around the ring to basically discuss why their show was easily beaten 24 hours earlier. Rollins acknowledged “CM Punk!” chants by noting how he has tried to call him out, but so far with no response, which is either a clever way to acknowledge the unavoidable reaction, or the first hint of a genuine future match between the two (I’d bet on the former, for now anyway). The subtitle to this segment was basically “about last night” as Rollins chastised his fellow Raw stars for underperforming so much, albeit with a mindset that nudged him close to the heel spectrum, especially when he told Rey Mysterio he and his “stupid kid” failed in beating Brock Lesnar. Rollins’ comments irked his Raw compadres, and they all ended up leaving him behind (Randy Orton doing a rude hand gesture on the way out was hilarious), all except for Kevin Owens. Seth suggested that KO wanted to be him but he never could; Owens responded with a Stunner to the crowd’s approval. Several weeks of continuous boos have led WWE to begin pulling the trigger on a full-on Rollins heel turn, and better still, they have used his real-life role as a WWE front-line supporter as part of his character. Backstage, Seth then challenged KO to a match later tonight, which was accepted.
Bobby Lashley vs. Titus O’Neil
Before this bout began, footage aired of Rusev arriving at the Allstate Arena earlier in the day, only to be served with a restraining order. Ultimately, the Bulgarian Brute ignored it: interrupting this bout after about two minutes (which must have disappointed Titus in his first Raw match in ages), Rusev ran in and pummelled Bobby all the way up the aisle. As he planned to slam him through the announcer’s table, security finally intervened and handcuffed him. But he wasn’t finished, as he nudged Lashley off the stage through a different table, and then knocked a steel structure off the ramp onto him, forcing him to be stretchered out. Lana was aghast, and Rusev was maniacally pleased. The plot continues in a storyline that I’ve enjoyed right from the start, even if other fans have not.
AOP vs. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins
Having pummelled Ryder and Hawkins backstage last week, Akam and Rezar were finally back in action on Raw, making them the sixth or seventh act to return to Monday night combat in the last few weeks. They made quick work of the sort-of New Yorkers, and then they left, but their night was not over, not by a long shot.
Andrade vs. Akira Tozawa
This was a fairly short match, with Andrade picking up a comprehensive and clean win via the Hammerlock DDT. Andrade collecting plenty of victories lately, along with Seth Rollins endorsing him last week, suggests that he’s in line for a big push fairly soon, but Tozawa must have been disheartened that his recent return to Raw and a Survivor Series Kick-Off Show appearance led to what was essentially a squash loss. Where’s Titus Worldwide when you need them? (Actually, O’Neil was back here, so maybe there’s hope for Akira.)
Matt Hardy vs. Buddy Murphy
Speaking of someone resurfacing, Matt Hardy made a shock return here to battle Buddy Murphy, who Aleister Black had chastised beforehand after Buddy knocked on his door last week, noting how he was clearly looking for a fight. This was a pretty good bout; it wasn’t given a great deal of time, but there were some nice near-falls. Hardy as now an occasionally-active veteran seemed to be here for one reason, and that came true as he put over the younger Murphy, but only after tasting three vicious knees to the head (though it was actually Buddy who was bleeding from the mouth afterwards). Post-match, Buddy called out Aleister Black, and the master of the Black Mass answered the call, only for the cowardly Murphy to back off. A match is inevitable, but not for a little while, it seems.
Next up, we were supposed to see AJ Styles defend the United States Championship against Humberto Carrillo. Instead, The OC waylaid Carrillo as he came down the aisle, drilling him with a Magic Killer on the steel stairs. The crafty AJ thought he had got away with it, only to be continuously interrupted by Ricochet, Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre and finally Rey Mysterio, all of whom suggested that they face Styles for the gold. That Styles simply said “no” to Ricochet and Randy on the grounds of having previously defeated them, to then feign an injury when Drew challenged him, was fantastic. The eventual upshot was that Ricochet suggested a four-way with the winner challenging AJ for the prize, and with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson surprisingly saying that it was a good idea.
#1 Contender’s Fatal Four Way Match
Randy Orton vs. Ricochet vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Rey Mysterio
This was given several segments and all four brought their A-game to a frenetic and unpredictable contest. To me, the best spot was a very simple one which summed up how wrestling doesn’t need to be about seventeen finishers and “This is awesome!” chants: at one point, McIntyre and Orton brought the match to a halt as they exchanged stiff knife-edge chops, and after Drew nearly split Randy’s pectoral region open with one such strike, The Viper responded with a Roddy Piper-style thumb to the eyes. Basic but effective, and it got a great reaction to boot. There’s something to think about. As for the rest of the match, it was hard to call a winner, especially with AJ and The OC getting involved (Gallows and Anderson dragged Orton out of the ring as he was on the verge of winning). In the end, it was Rey who claimed the pinfall, and so he would be facing Styles right here, right now, for the gold. AJ looked pleased as he assumed Rey was still weak after Survivors, and so he was easy pickings, right?
WWE United States Championship Match
AJ Styles (C) vs. Rey Mysterio
Well, if you’ve been watching wrestling for a while, you should know that AJ’s presumed optimism would be a swerve (bro), even after Styles dominated much of the match by focusing on Rey’s knee (hardly a bad strategy, since Mysterio has literally had knee issues for decades). As true babyfaces do, though, Rey fought back valiantly and scored several close near-falls before the referee took a tumble. In the confusion, The OC ran in once more to attack Mysterio, only for Randy Orton to run in on Rey’s behalf. After Mysterio caught Styles with a 619, Orton struck with an RKO, allowing Rey to hit a big splash, by which point the referee was finally awake again, and Rey pinned AJ to win the US Title! He celebrated afterwards with Dominic, completing a several-month journey from rock bottom (Rey being on the verge of retirement) to him winning a major prize once again.
Backstage, Kevin Owens criticised Seth Rollins for his failed attempt at motivating the Raw troops, and even called him a “pr–k” before vowing to beat him later on. Just as a reminder: if you believe the internet, WWE is too invested in being PG to make any further headway.
Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka
Earlier on, Charlotte noted how Asuka was still resentful over The Queen ending her undefeated streak at WrestleMania 34, and also her SmackDown Women’s Championship reign back in March, hence The Empress Of Tomorrow spewing green mist into her eyes the previous night. The two have real chemistry, and it proved to be the case again here as they put on another strong match. Kairi Sane was ultimately the difference-maker, though: Charlotte had chased The Pirate Princess into the crowd, but Sane returned to distract the referee, which allowed Asuka to mist Flair once again. The three-count was a formality, and it gave Asuka her first victory over Charlotte in a singles bout, though I question the official looking after Charlotte afterwards, with her face full of green liquid, and not realising that Asuka had cheated. Charlotte is not finished with The Kabuki Warriors, and it’s probable that she will have Becky Lynch by her side to punish the Women’s Tag Team Champions (Lynch didn’t appear on Raw all night).
Erick Rowan vs. Kyle Roberts
In another Erick Rowan squash match, the man with the bald head and the straggly ginger beard destroyed another rookie, who made the crucial mistake of trying to peer into Rowan’s package (wait that sounded wrong, let me try again … “Rowan’s mystery bag”, there that’s better). Rowan easily won as his slow dominance of local faces continues. Still no word on what might be in the bag, but perhaps we’ll find out when he targets a superstar of name value in the coming weeks (hopefully it isn’t Randy Orton, given his history with bags).
Speaking of The Viper, an upset AJ Styles only managed to say the words “Randy Orton” in a promo alongside The OC, which is sad since I was hoping for Rey and AJ to battle again for the US gold. Also, Lana claimed that Rusev should be fired for what he did to Bobby Lashley, but that she’ll be okay.
Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens
In the main event, we had Rollins, who was a borderline tweener with a nod to the heel spectrum, who was booed enough that Chicago fans didn’t even chant “Burn It Down!” in great numbers as he came out. Owens, in contrast, was greeted with great fanfare, and though it’s too early to say that he’s the new top babyface on Raw, fans certainly treated him as if he was. The two had a very good back-and-forth match: only the most biased Seth-haters can say that he can’t go in the ring. Owens eventually struck with a Stunner, only for AOP to come back out and, after intimating that they would attack both men, they pummelled Owens (though KO did initiate contact with a slap). Owens won by DQ, but he hardly looked like the victor. Seth implied that he wanted to fight Akam and Rezar himself, but they walked away, which hints at a possible hidden alliance between Rollins and AOP. Seth then callously struck Owens with two Stomps as fans booed to end the show, with Seth stating that he was trying to make Raw a better place, albeit from a misguided perspective.
I really enjoyed this edition of WWE Raw. The big news was Seth Rollins completing around 80% of a heel turn, which not only refreshes him after more than three years as a babyface, but it also plays into the fans booing him for weeks on end (the reasons for them turning on Rollins might be ridiculous to explain to a non-fan but that’s besides the point), and I love how he is being positioned as a villain who thinks he is doing what’s best for Raw, its wrestlers and WWE as a whole, which plays off the over-the-top reaction to him trying to stick up for the company against major criticism over recent months. Rey winning the US Title was a feel-good moment, and there were several entertaining matches as well as effective storyline progression. Raw may be lacking in star power and general interest right now, but for those paying attention, it’s actually a very good time to follow the red side, especially since we aren’t too far away from beginning the path towards WrestleMania 36.