After a haphazardly put together WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, WWE Raw followed the same rulebook but was somehow even less inspiring.
After a controversial ending to WWE Hell in a Cell left the WWE Universe spinning and raving, WWE Raw decided to spend the first two and a half hours pretending it didn’t happen. While some aspects of the event were discussed, Seth Rollins and The Fiend weren’t mentioned by name until nearly 80% of the show was over.
The show itself had a few bright spots, but none that could make up for the dullness with which the night was presented or the show’s most terrible decisions. Things started off terribly, with a recap of the ending of last week’s WWE Raw involving Rusev, Bobby Lashley, and Lana.
When things finally got to the arena, Rusev was somehow already in the ring and brawling with Randy Orton and Baron Corbin. Rusev got the upper hand just in time to look up at the screen and see Bobby Lashley.
Lashley explained that he was in Rusev’s robe, in Rusev’s bedroom, and quickly disrobed and slid into Rusev’s bed. Lana quickly joined him, removing her bra while barely covered by the blanket. Lana also dropped a few comments about her and Rusev’s “joint accounts” not being joint anymore, implying she’d taken all the money.
They shut off the lights, and the screen went black. Back in the ring, Rusev fumed and turned his anger to Randy Orton and Baron Corbin, quickly demolishing them at ringside. It was a terrible start to an ultimately disappointing night.
Despite the lack of effort seemingly placed in the planning and execution of WWE Raw this week, there were some real gems. Lacey Evans and Natalya put on a very solid Last Woman Standing Match that ultimately saw Natalya send Evans crashing off the stage through a table with a big powerbomb.
The Viking Raiders took on Raw Tag Team Champions RooDolph aka Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode in a non-title match which turned into a solid contest. Viking Raiders picked up a strong win, which was later confirmed to have earned them a title shot next week on WWE Raw.
The entire night was littered with random backstage segments and promos that seemed to offer little to no substance at best. Even the good ones, like Aleister Black doing his usual “pick a fight with me” schtick, didn’t pack much punch.
The Bollywood Boyz, who are somehow still called The Singh Brothers, came to the ring to represent 205 Live and picked a fight with Aleister Black. Amazingly, for the first time since he arrived on the main roster in February, WWE nailed the timing on Aleister Black’s entrance. Aleister absolutely dominated The Singh Brothers, ultimately decapitating each with Black Mass and picking up a victory heading into the upcoming WWE Draft.
Street Profits executed one of their least inspired backstage segments to date, attempting to hype up the WWE Draft and Tyson Fury. Speaking of Fury, the “Undefeated Lineal Heavyweight Boxing Champion” as he was called far too many times throughout the night, he did a brief interview backstage demanding an apology from Braun Strowman for what happened on SmackDown.
Rey Mysterio was interviewed backstage and delivered one of the night’s better promos, talking about Brock Lesnar’s attack on him and even revealing that Cain Velasquez is Dominik’s godfather. It was good, but could easily get lost in the mess of the night.
We were treated to another fun tag team match, but one that meant even less somehow. The OC, all three of them, made their way to the ring to face off with Lucha House Party. While these six put on an entertaining match, it seemed to have the importance of a house show opener.
The definite highlight of the night came during MizTV. The Miz was hosting Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair. The two bickered back and forth as expected before being interrupted by their opponents for the night, new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The Kabuki Warriors.
After some confident and amused exclamations in Japanese from Asuka and Kairi Sane, Becky Lynch called for the fight and the brawl ensued. The show went to commercial, and the tag team match was underway by the time they got back.
Asuka, Kairi Sane, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair are all fantastic in-ring performers. That showed as the two teams put on a really fantastic match with several momentum shifts throughout.
Of course, things ended not unlike they did last night. While the referee was checking on a downed Charlotte, Becky locked the Disarmher on Kairi Sane. With the referee still distracted, Asuka slid into the ring and sprayed the green mist right into the eyes of Lynch. It allowed Kairi to roll the champion up and secure the win for The Kabuki Warriors.
After the match, Sane and Asuka turned their attention to Charlotte Flair. As they pounced while Lynch was out of the equation, it didn’t take long for former champions Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss to make the save. They hit the ring and ended things, standing tall over the team that took their titles only 24 hours before.
A few substance-free promos from Ricochet and Apollo Crews led to a fun, although meaningless, match between the two agile friends. They’re great in-ring performers, but it was clear this entire night was devoid of purpose.
At approximately 10:42 ET, WWE finally chose to address the two-ton elephant in the room. They looked back at the horrendous Hell in a Cell match between Seth Rollins and The Fiend.
Rather than attempting to clarify anything, the video package simply showed glimpses of what happened, ultimately choosing not to identify whether the match was ruled a disqualification or “match stoppage” as was identified on WWE.com. Then, without missing a beat, they shifted gears and never mentioned it again throughout the show.
There wasn’t much left to do anyways, as the “main event” saw Tyson Fury introduced by Jerry Lawler. It was a depressing, albeit ironically fitting, way to close things out.
Braun Strowman quickly made his way to the ring, and what followed was a poorly-acted and over-scripted war of words. Well, the phrase war of words really gives it too much credit. They sort of just talked and were trying to look imposing while doing so.
That quickly broke down, and Fury shoved Strowman. We then got several minutes of constant chaos. Security hit the ring to pull apart Tyson Fury and Braun Strowman, only for each man to demolish everyone holding them back and go back towards each other.
This happened way too many times, and it never felt like it had the sense of urgency or tinge of reality you’d want from a moment like that. It eventually took the locker room to keep them apart, and Strowman gave up and walked away.
Braun Strowman was interviewed backstage, where he said he was disrespected by Fury and wouldn’t apologize. That was the end of it. That’s right, that’s all.
That’s everything. Every last horrendously uninspiring second of it. Just pretend this episode of WWE Raw didn’t actually happen, much like WWE pretended their disastrous ending to Hell in a Cell didn’t happen.
Overall Show Grade: F, Despite a few highlights, the entire show felt deflated and meaningless. WWE was utterly disinterested in this show, and you probably would be too.
WWE Raw Quick Results and Recap
Rusev brawled with Randy Orton and Baron Corbin at ringside, but Bobby Lashley appeared on the screen wearing Rusev’s robe. He removed it and got into Rusev’s bed, inviting in Lana. Rusev got angry and attacked Orton and Corbin. (Grade: F-)
More from Raw
- WWE Raw Predictions: Seth Rollins Will BURY Jey Uso
- Three feuds for CM Punk on WWE Monday Night Raw
- Three candidates to take the Women’s World Championship from Rhea Ripley
- WWE Raw Predictions: LA Knight Will Return The Favor To Cody Rhodes
- Why Drew McIntyre turned heel during WWE Monday Night Raw
Natalya def. Lacey Evans in a Last Woman Standing Match (Grade: B+)
Aleister Black cut an intense promo asking someone to pick a fight with him. (Grade: B)
Street Profits backstage segment hyped the WWE Draft and Tyson Fury’s impending appearance on Raw. (Grade: C)
Tyson Fury was interviewed and demanded an apology from Braun Strowman for his actions on SmackDown. (Grade: D)
The Viking Raiders def. Bobby Roode & Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match (Grade: B)
In the second promo, Aleister Black is now in his gear and says he’ll go to the ring to get a fight. (Grade: B)
Aleister Black def. The Singh Brothers (Grade: B+)
Rey Mysterio was interviewed backstage about Brock Lesnar attacking him, and he revealed that Cain Velasquez is Dominik’s Godfather. (Grade: B)
The OC (Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and AJ Styles) def. Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Sin Cara, and Lince Dorado) (Grade: B+)
The Miz hosts MizTV with guests Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Bickering between them is interrupted by Kabuki Warriors, who cut a promo from the ramp in Japanese. (Grade: A)
The Kabuki Warriors def. Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair (Grade: A)
After the match, Asuka and Sane attacked Charlotte. Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss made the save, taking down Kabuki Warriors and clearing the ring. (Grade: A)
Apollo Crews, The Viking Raiders, and Ricochet all cut decent but uninteresting promos. (Grade: B-)
Ricochet def. Apollo Crews (Grade: B-)
Tyson Fury and Braun Strowman tried to make it look like they wanted to fight each other, and didn’t really succeed. (Grade: F-)