WWE Raw – August 31, 2020 (Review)

Alright, I’m just gonna say what we’re all thinking. Nia Jax should be Raw Women’s Champion.

Don’t leave, hear me out!

Anyone who watched Payback on Sunday will already know that Nia won the Women’s Tag Team Titles alongside Shayna Baszler. Admittedly the match was a bit of a letdown (albeit with an awesome finish) and that much of the lethargy could be attributed to Jax. She was a slow, lumbering presence, often struggling to match her coworkers’ pace and precision.

But despite her poor showing, I don’t think the tag straps are lofty enough for ‘The Irresistible Force’. Because as one half of the women’s tag team champions, Jax will be expected to appear on all three of the company’s weekly programmes. And respectfully, I don’t know if I’ll survive that.

TONIGHT, these 3️⃣ matches lead to one HUGE #TripleThreat Match with #WWEClash implications! #WWERaw

🔴 @FightOwensFight vs. @RandyOrton

🔴 @RealKeithLee vs. @HEELZiggler

🔴@35_Dominik (with @reymysterio unable to compete) vs. @WWERollins pic.twitter.com/h2QmsWm4Kc

— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2020

Let’s be clear, I don’t get any enjoyment out of criticising Nia Jax. I’m sure she’s a lovely person and fully commits herself to her craft as a professional. So, this isn’t a personal slight, nor is it intended to hurt feelings. But I just don’t like Jax’s wrestling, it’s not for me.

WWE, on the other hand, appear to love Nia and seem intent on pushing her into the main event. My argument then is just do it already. Make her the Raw Women’s Champion. Give her a lengthy reign with the belt. Have her fight Asuka and Shayna Baszler and Bianca Belair.

That way everyone gets what they want. WWE gets to push Nia to the moon. And I only have to see her on Monday nights. Don’t ever say I’m not solutions oriented.

Let’s get to the review.

---

The Best of Raw

Beat The Man to Meet The Man

With Clash of Champions less than a month away, Raw was faced with the need to decide the next challenger to Drew McIntyre’s WWE Championship. Because, as we were repeatedly reminded of last night and will undoubtedly continue to be until September 27th, Clash of Champions is the one night a year when every title is on the line.

The solution to the problem was enjoyable in its simplicity. Three sets of singles match were scheduled to take place, with the winner of each moving on to a triple threat later in the night. The winner of that match would be crowned the number one contender. In an ideal world, the singles matches and resultant triple threat would be spread out over a couple of weeks, giving rivalries space to breathe. But it’s hard to complain about this rather enticing layout.

Wow. @WWEAleister was not done with @FightOwensFight yet. #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/RqUmO1Z5cp

— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2020

Fast forwarding to the matches concerned, Keith Lee quickly dispatched of Dolph Ziggler, further cementing his rise up the Monday night ranks. After another vicious attack by Aleister Black, Kevin Owens was at the mercy of Randy Orton – who appeared to have struck a deal with the Dutchman immediately prior to the match.

Ahead of his qualifier against Dominik Mysterio, Seth Rollins absolutely tore into Murphy for costing him his match on Sunday. As far as castigations go, this was about as brutal as they come. So Seth banished his follower until Murphy decided what kind of disciple he wanted to be.

Building on their two matches over recent weeks, Seth and Dominik had another phenomenal contest, which throttled ahead at breakneck speed. After their most competitive outing yet, Seth again picked up the win, before Stomping Dominik a second time for giggles. With three solid singles matches in the books, we move ahead to a tantalising triple threat: Rollins vs. Orton vs. Keith Lee.

Hurt Business Looking for a Fourth

The Hurt Business unveiled sharp new merch and the recently won United States Championship, which was on display around Bobby Lashley’s waist. MVP delivered another great promo praising his group’s success and criticising Cedric Alexander for not hopping on board.

This brought out Alexander, who again turned down an offer to join the Hurt Business, before revealing that his presence was all a distraction. Playing off a segment from Raw Underground that I had almost forgotten, the Viking Raiders appeared behind Lashley and Shelton Benjamin.

We've got ourselves some #6ManTag action NEXT as @CedricAlexander @Erik_WWE & @Ivar_WWE unite to try and take down The #HurtBusiness @fightbobby @The305MVP & @Sheltyb803! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/d4fuxNngOE

— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2020

This led to a decent six-man tag, with Alexander picking up the win by rolling up MVP. Lashley and Benjamin moved to attack Alexander after the bell, but MVP held them back, furthering that interesting dynamic. MVP clearly hasn’t abandoned his recruitment of Alexander and it remains intriguing to see where this goes.

Of course, WWE still gonna WWE. So MVP jumped Cedric backstage, rendering the earlier reticence a bit confounding.

These Are His Ninjas

Akira Tozawa was stopped on his way into the arena. The parking attendant asked him to state his business, to which Tozawa cooly responded that he was Akira Tozawa and “these are my ninjas”. I laughed, the absurdity of the line was just so perfectly delivered.

Anyway, the entire scene turned out to be a ruse, with the attendant being a referee in disguise. I have no idea how or when referees were co-opted into this nonsense, but I don’t particularly care.

GOTCHA.#WWERaw @RonKillings pic.twitter.com/0UtGVi4V5w

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 1, 2020

R-Truth snuck up behind Tozawa and pinned him to become the new 24/7 Champion. This was a particularly entertaining entry in the 24/7 saga.

A Triple Threat for the Top Prize

The main event saw the mouthwatering triple threat take centre stage. But when a quick glance at the clock revealed less than fifteen minutes left in the broadcast, I was suddenly hit by the worry that we may be getting shenanigans. Thankfully I was wrong.

Randy immediately scooted out of the ring, which angered Seth greatly. Apparently he and Randy had struck a deal that they would work together to take out Lee, but Orton was in no mood to honour that promise. This was a great opening moment, highlighting Seth’s cowardice, Orton’s duplicity and Lee’s physical dominance. It in particular made the NXT call-up look like a beast.

Eventually the heels did align to eliminate Lee, slamming him on an announce desk before ramming him into the stairs. But you can never trust a Viper and soon Orton turned on Seth. This triggered an exciting phase between the pair, which was suddenly ended when Keith Lee arose from the ashes.

https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1300628799009234944

He reversed an attempted Stomp into the Spirit Bomb. But just at that moment, Orton slithered back in. He delivered an RKO to Lee and pinned Seth for the win. As much as we would’ve loved to have seen Keith Lee advance to face Drew McIntyre, it makes far more sense for Randy to get another crack given the personal animosity he shares with the WWE Champion. And at least there’s a reason for him to get that opportunity now.

---

The Worst of Raw

Longwinded Explanations

Randy Orton tried to explain why he thrice booted McIntyre in the head last week. It supposedly had something to do with Drew offering him a rematch for the belt out of pity. And Randy hates being pitied.

He’s also apparently entitled and resented having to jump through hoops to get another shot. So, who knows what he wants? Orton was unhappy when Drew offered him a simple rematch last week… and is unhappy now when he’s forced to earn it.

A work of art. 🤨#WWERaw @RandyOrton pic.twitter.com/IpageOfG7A

— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2020

Randy prattled on about his love of booting people in the noggin, sealing the point by flashing up a photoshopped image of all of his victims in the hospital ward. The ‘Legend Killer’ laughed, I sighed loudly. This was such juvenile garbage.

Because we hadn’t already heard enough talking, Keith Lee was out next to speak at length about how he beat Randy at Payback and suggested the win may entitle him to a crack at McIntyre. This was agonisingly slow! Eventually Dolph Ziggler jumped Lee and we FINALLY got to some wrestling.

Dysfunctional Champions

Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler continued their bickering, this time arguing over who did the most to win the titles on Sunday. Because people love watching other people passive-aggressively snipe at one another. It’s famously why all those couples going through divorce are so much fun to be around.

We see nothing but DOMINANT champs.#WWERaw @WWEAsuka @NiaJaxWWE @QoSBaszler pic.twitter.com/eQ5dFw44iL

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 1, 2020

Thankfully Asuka cut them off and danced for a bit. I have no idea what this segment was and am already dreading the rest of this reign.

Asuka is Ready for the Midcard

Asuka was in the ring to announce a challenger to her Raw Women’s Championship at Clash of Champions. I appreciate that people have been incredibly high on the champ’s run this year, but the yelling, constant laughter and dancing just don’t appeal to me. Although I’ll freely concede she’s one of the best wrestlers in the world.

https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1300594697438670849

Anyway, I digress. Asuka was interrupted by – of all people on the roster – Mickie James and later, Lana and Natalya. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mickie James. She’s great. But she’s done nothing since her return from injury to warrant a title shot, outside of maybe beating Natalya once.

Speaking of, if James has no claim to a title shot, what on Earth are Lana and Nattie thinking?! This badly exposed how poorly the roster has been built beyond Asuka and Sasha Banks. The Champion said she was ready for all of them, before a minor brawl broke out. After the break, Mickie beat Lana in about two minutes.

The Unshakable Bachelorette

Demi Burnett was backstage flirting with Ivar again this week.

I hate her. I hate her so damn much.

UPDATE: @demi_burnett is still all about @Ivar_WWE. #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/dXL3MLyU2b

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 1, 2020

As someone who doesn’t keep up with all Bachelor related events, I should not know who this woman is. And yet, here we are – with her being featured on Raw for five weeks running, with no real storyline purpose. As Ivar moved away, Angel Garza stepped ominously from the shadows.

The End of an Iconic Duo

Out of the blue it was announced that The IIconics would be facing Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan with a shot at the Women’s Tag Team Championships on the line. Nothing surprising there. But then the announcement continued that the losing team would be forced to disband! Why? Why is this suddenly a thing?

This weird twist came out of nowhere and forced Raw to air a single vignettes highlighting what great friends Billie Kay and Peyton Royce are. Apparently the Riott Squad have no bond to speak of. Either that or it was so patently obvious that The IIconics were losing that there was no need to even mention Riott and Morgan’s relationship. It was a bizarre, totally unnecessary turn of events.

The match was much the same as what we’ve seen from the teams in recent weeks. Which is to say it was pretty good. In spite of the stakes involved, the women weren’t given any additional time. So, after a series of attempted rollups, Ruby pinned Billie Kay to secure a shot at Baszler and Jax… but also leave the Aussies weeping in the ring. What a weird sequence.

Teach us how to say goodbye.#WWERaw @BillieKayWWE @PeytonRoyceWWE pic.twitter.com/e198SBAB1m

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 1, 2020

The IIconics were always best as a pair – and now that they’re split, I’m concerned that Kay and Royce may slowly fade into obscurity. In any event, so much more could’ve been done to exploit the break-up.

A Trip into the Underground

There were more unrelated shenanigans in the arena basement this week, although this time with noticeably more women around the mat. Raw Underground may be extending its membership.

But while it was fun to see Titus O’Neill beat up a lad and Riddick Moss deck people, the question remains: what is the point of this? How does the underground portion connect with the rest of the show? And why are people competing in it – what’s on the line for them?

Here. We. Go.@WWEApollo meets @Sheltyb803 in #RawUnderground … NEXT! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/SpEbYwnbvz

— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2020

Raw tried to add some significance this week by having Apollo Crews face Shelton Benjamin in the arena. But that quickly morphed into the Hurt Business just flattening Crews, Ricochet and Alexander. Later The IIconics were chilling in the basement for no reason, when Royce shoved Kay into the ring to be obliterated by Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke. So much for being best friends.

The Never-ending Feud

The Street Profits continued to make light of the fact that Zelina Vega apparently poisoned Montez Ford last month. At the time we were led to believe that it was potentially serious, but it’s rapidly devolved into the Profits making fun of Vega’s height.

What’s worse is that they were again booked to face Andrade and Garza this week. This feud has been running for almost two months and I believe the Mexican pairing have one singles win to their names. Which begs the question why we’re still doing this. The Street Profits keep winning and yet the feud keeps going. It’s like a tragically unfunny Groundhog Day.

Of course, Garza was accompanied by Demi Burnett because this entire scene wasn’t already annoying enough. It completely ignored that she was flirting with Ivar earlier in the night.

RETRIBUTION is back and wreaking HAVOC. #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/Q9k8tVomq3

— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2020

Then the lights started to flicker and the referee instantly bolted like he just remembered he’d left the oven on. RETRIBUTION showed up and flattened everyone, including Zelina Vega, while Garza hurried Burnett to safety. After a few seconds, RETRIBUTION ran away with no-one chasing them. Every aspect of this group – from their identities, to their modus operandi to their ultimate goal – is unclear and frankly uninteresting.

---

Overall Rating for the Show (From best to worst: RAWsome, Cor, AvRAWge, Poor and RAWful)

It appears my fears over Keith Lee’s run on Raw was unfounded, as the big lad again steamrolled the competition this week. He emerged victorious from a series of solid singles bouts, before before being screwed in an excellent triple threat to close the show. So while Lee hasn’t yet become the next challenger to the WWE Championship, you feel it’s only a matter of time.

#RETRIBUTION is still in the building … and @AngelGarzaWwe just TOOK OFF?!#WWERaw @demi_burnett pic.twitter.com/pMMVyYWRFq

— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2020

Sadly, Raw didn’t have much to offer outside of the main event frame. There was some cause for optimism around the Hurt Business and Akira Tozawa got involved in some funny ninja nonsense. But the rest of the show was marked by boring promos, repetitive feuds and sudden, unexplained swerves. Like The IIconics suddenly being forced to split for no reason!

So a show with nothing of any real moment and one which will quickly be forgotten. As such, this week’s Raw is AvRAWge.

Share your thoughts on Raw with us on Twitter and stay tuned to Wrestletalk to keep up-to-date on all the latest wrestling news.

• review
• RAW
• August 31 2020
• wwe

Share this article with friends