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The July 9 edition of WWE Raw was an improved show compared to last week’s dud and added some intrigue to the Extreme Rules pay-per-view on Sunday.
Last night’s WWE Raw wasn’t a great show, but it was pretty solid as a whole and while needing to add intrigue for the brand’s upcoming matches at Extreme Rules, it did that pretty well.
The red brand’s angles and storylines heading into this Sunday are gaining more traction right at the perfect time. With that being said, let’s take a look at five key takeaways from the July 9 edition of WWE Raw.
5. Newer Serious Side Of The Deleters Of Worlds Could Spell Doom For The B-Team
Sometimes the unlikeliest of tag team partners can just click and create a successful tag team out of nowhere. The same thing happened when former rivals Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt got on the same page at WrestleMania 34 and have since captured the Raw Tag Team Championship.
The Deleters Of Worlds have been tag team champions for nearly three months, but they have not had an abundance of challengers for their titles. That all changed when The B-Team came around and now Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas will challenge Hardy and Wyatt for the Raw Tag Team Championship at Extreme Rules.
In recent weeks, Axel and Dallas have impersonated Hardy and Wyatt on a weekly basis. It amused them for a while, but last night saw a more serious side of the tag team champions that were sick of being impersonated, in particular, Woken Matt. He had a much more intense side that Dallas felt the brunt of in one-on-one action, but it wouldn’t be enough to get the win.
Thanks to some distraction from the outside, Dallas was able to pick up a big win over Woken Matt just six days before the Raw Tag Team Championship match. Hardy and Wyatt did get a measure of revenge, however, and hit the ring to let Axel and Dallas have a taste of what they can expect at Extreme Rules. This newfound serious side from The Deleters Of Worlds could be the determining factor in their match at Extreme Rules.
The B-Team has been a pleasant surprise so far, but it might have met its match with a newer serious side from the Woken Warriors.
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4. Bobby Roode Needs A Heel Turn
It wasn’t long ago that Bobby Roode was a top heel in NXT and one of the most anticipated NXT call-ups in the WWE. And when he made his main roster debut on the SmackDown brand, fans were excited to see what he could do in the big leagues.
However, he had an up and down stint on the blue brand and despite capturing the United States Championship, he just never quite clicked. A move to Raw in the superstar shakeup seemed like a bad move for his career given how he had struggled to find traction on Tuesday nights. But the company went in that direction and that’s where things stand today.
Roode’s direction has been non-existent on Monday nights, but last night saw him briefly thrown in another feud when he teamed with Finn Balor to battle Constable Baron Corbin and Elias. Balor and Corbin will battle it out at Extreme Rules, but Roode doesn’t have any plans for the pay-per-view. He had a solid performance in the tag team match last night, but in predictable fashion, The Glorious One took the pin and lost the match.
It feels like the WWE is at a crossroads with Roode and that something has to happen to give his character a much-needed boost. That boost needs to come in the form of a heel turn. Roode just felt out of place in the tag team match last night and the current stale, direction-lacking babyface he is right now is a bad place to be creatively.
One sure-fire way to make Roode glorious again would be a much-needed turn to the dark side that brought him so much success in NXT.
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3. Steel Cage Match Adds Needed Extreme Stipulation To Extreme Rules
Kevin Owens has had a rough 2018 character wise no matter which brand he has been on. It started with his beef with SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon and now it has developed into fear of The Monster Among Men and Mr. Monster in the Bank on Raw.
Braun Strowman is Universal Championship bound after winning the Money in the Bank briefcase last month, but in the meantime, his time has been put to better use by making Owens’ life miserable after KO got on his bad side in the buildup towards Money In The Bank. Week after week, Strowman has found new ways to torture KO, including carrying him in a porta potty and shoulder tackling it off the stage last week.
Last night saw Owens hang out in GM Kurt Angle’s office to try and stay away from Strowman. But eventually, Owens’ worst nightmare came true when Angle brought Strowman in the room. KO was nervous, to say the least, but Angle told him he wouldn’t have to worry about Strowman tonight, he would save that until Extreme Rules where the two will compete in a steel cage match.
That steel cage match adds a lot to the Extreme Rules card that really only has one extreme stipulation involved. Many fans have been critical that the show doesn’t feature enough extreme elements, so this match adds a fan favorite stipulation to the card that is bound to result in a memorable match.
KO has been getting Strowman’s hands for quite some time now, but those instances should pale in comparison to what The Monster Among Men can do to him inside a steel cage.
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2. Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler At Extreme Rules Has Match Of The Year Potential
Match of the year and Seth Rollins just go hand in hand and feel nature together these days. The Architect has had several match of the year candidates so far in his incredible 2018, but another opportunity will present itself at Extreme Rules with the Intercontinental Championship on the line.
Rollins was an excellent Intercontinental Champion, but a slip up a few weeks ago to Dolph Ziggler saw his reign come to an end. But in the weeks that have followed, Rollins has made his intentions clear and he wants to regain his title. He will have the chance in a 30-minute Iron Man match at Extreme Rules to dethrone Ziggler, but last night saw this situation escalate even farther with tensions rising.
The Architect was interrupted by Ziggler and his ally Drew McIntyre and both sides had stellar showings on the mic. And Rollins’ words struck a chord with McIntyre, who then challenged Rollins to a match later in the night. The match would turn out very well, as expected, with both men putting forth a stellar performance.
But if Rollins would win the match, McIntyre would be banned from ringside during the Intercontinental Championship match at Extreme Rules. However, the numbers game caught up to Rollins and McIntyre got the win. Last night only helped back up the notion that Rollins vs. Ziggler at Extreme Rules could end up being a strong match of the year candidate given the talent both men possess.
Ziggler is used to showing off, but his showing off on Sunday coupled with The Architect could lead to a match to remember for a long time.
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1. Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley Feud Gets Needed Boost
No superstar on Raw has been in a more precarious situation over the past few months than Roman Reigns. The Big Dog seemed like the sure-fire heir apparent to Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship, however after two straight setbacks in April, Reigns is without the title and Lesnar is aiming at a UFC return.
Reigns has been in unbeneficial feud after unbeneficial feud over the past couple months and up until last night, it seemed like he was in the midst of another one with Bobby Lashley. Nothing the WWE has put Reigns in lately has actually helped his character out, so fans were not excited to see a Reigns vs. Lashley match at Extreme Rules.
The feud had been nothing more than egos clashing, but last night saw the feud get a kick in the pants that it needed. The Big Dog opened up the show by obliging to Lashley’s request that he call him out. The two then brawled with each other to the point where countless superstars in the back had to try and separate them. Lashley got the better of Reigns during the beginning stages, but Reigns would get the last laugh.
With Lashley being held by some 20 superstars on the outside, Reigns hit everybody with a huge dive over the top rope to the outside. The segment added a lot to the feud that really needed something big and despite this being done many times before, it was still good to see happen here. That should help the pending match at Extreme Rules quite a lot.
Next: WWE Raw Review For July 9 Show
The Big Dog and The Dominator will settle their differences on Sunday, but last night was crucial for the feud to finally get going.