WWE Raw – July 20, 2020 (Review)

Before we get to Raw this week – what in the name of all things holy did we witness on Sunday?

I knew The Horror Show at Extreme Rules, based on name alone, was destined to be bonkers. I had a feeling it might be a disappointment. But not even I could’ve predicted just how woeful it would ultimately become.

If you haven’t seen it yet… well, lucky you. But if you desperately want to find out what all the hype is about, feel free to give it a watch. Or alternatively read through our real-time updates. I know which one I’d recommend.

Let the chaos begin.

Welcome to #WWERaw, where @RandyOrton will battle @WWETheBigShow in an #UnsanctionedMatch later tonight! pic.twitter.com/LB6WwSU9RG

— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020

Now, naturally, there are loyal WWE fans trying to retrofit a narrative structure around the mind-numbing nonsense involving swamps, Braun attacking himself with a shovel and Alexa Bliss as Sister Abigail. But the truth is this: everything the performers were responsible for was largely good, while everything creative contributed was plain abysmal.

To that point, the matches were mostly solid affairs for the most part. The travesty came in the finishes. Here’s a quick run-through of how every contest on the card was won. Kofi went through a table, Nikki was pinned, MVP declared himself the winner (and United States Champion), Mysterio lost an eye, Bayley stole a referee’s shirt and counted the three herself, Dolph was pinned, and Braun got tossed in a swamp.

Does ANY of that sound remotely good?

So once again Raw was tasked with picking up the pieces after a torrid pay-per-view, this time with little on the card to entice. After weeks of teasing, Randy Orton was due to finally clash with Big Show in an Unsanctioned Match. Seth Rollins was scheduled to fight Aleister Black. And, in a late addition, Bayley would take on Kairi Sane. With that card, it looked for all money like the women would again be tasked with carrying the show.

But as usual, there was only one way to find out. Let’s get to the review.

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The Best of Raw

A Welcome Return!

MVP, flanked by Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin, took to the ring to run down Apollo Crews, Ricochet and Cedric Alexander. The latter pair he flippantly referred to as “dumb & dumber”.

This brought out the high-flying duo, whose first order of business was to tell MVP that Dumb & Dumber was relevant in 2006, back when MVP’s career was relevant. It’s a small criticism, but that movie was 12-years-old by 2006 – it certainly wasn’t relevant even then. More to the point, I don’t think we should be devoting any time in 2020 to discussing movies released in the mid-90s!

Regardless, Alexander and Ricochet introduced their third man to take on MVP and his cronies – who are now called ‘The Hurt Business’. Mustafa Ali is back!

This GIF will live forever.#WWERaw @AliWWE pic.twitter.com/eFQUC64pvy

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 21, 2020

What followed was a fun, high-paced six-man tag match. The Hurt Business had the better of Alexander and Ricochet. But once Ali was able to tag in, he ran wild, clearing the ring. After dealing with Bobbly Lashley, Ali hit the 450 Splash to pin MVP. In the process, he presumably set up a feud with the self-crowned US Champion… and I’m more than fine with that. But only if he wins.

Orton Makes Us Believe Again

I’ve said a million times how tedious Randy Orton is. A million times I’ve sworn never to get invested in his antics. And a million times ‘The Viper’ has lured me back in.

This week on Raw, Randy was again in the boiler room cutting a promo about how fleeting friendships can be in this business. He once counted Edge, Christian and Big Show amongst his friends. But now he has taken them out one-by-one – and he has enjoyed doing it.

#TheViper @RandyOrton vows to END @WWETheBigShow's career tonight. #UnsanctionedMatch #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/Wd9bcuu8pZ

— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020

Big Show was the last target on his list and he was about to take him out too. It was intense, it was believable and it felt ominous for Show.

Moments later, Christian was interviewed by video call. He spoke about his health in the wake of getting booted in the head by Randy Orton last month. Christian claimed he still hadn’t recovered and may never do so. All of this served to further promote the danger and violence of the night’s main event.

Big Show’s promo was significantly less effective. The big man waffled on about how long he had known Randy and how it’s impossible to change one’s nature. Whether he was recounting the pair’s shared history or acknowledging that last night’s match might mark the end of his career, he did it in such a droning, dispassionate voice.

A Champion Defeated

Bayley squared off against Kairi Sane in a match every bit as entertaining as you might expect. Bayley has been on fire in recent months as the smug, self-important heel. And Kairi Sane has upped her game even further in the two weeks since her return.

With that said, I don’t think anyone truly expected Kairi to get the win over the SmackDown Women’s Champion. Despite having Bayley in trouble at certain points, the result always felt inevitable.

There's a 🦈 lurking backstage.#WWERaw @QoSBaszler pic.twitter.com/zG0LIvUJzL

— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020

That was until Shayna Baszler was shown backstage, keeping a keen eye on proceedings. She expressed her frustrations to Charly Caruso at not being booked on Raw and didn’t believe that any of these women deserved the spotlight over her.

Cutting back to the action, Kairi Sane hit an Insane Elbow, but Bayley somehow stretched a foot onto the bottom rope to escape the pin. Moments later, she returned the favour by hitting a massive elbow drop on Sane. But Kairi kicked out!

Frustrated, Bayley moved for the Bayley-to-Belly, however Sane manoeuvred herself behind the champion and rolled her up for the three-count! And Kairi pulled off the shock win over the SmackDown Women’s Champ!

Get you a friend like @WWEAsuka.

@KairiSaneWWE just PINNED #SmackDown #WomensChampion @itsBayleyWWE on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/9NdmM2yiPD

— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020

There have been persistent rumours that Sane was leaving the company, but this result doesn’t square with those whispers. With luck, Kairi is staying with WWE and getting a crack at Bayley’s belt in the coming weeks. This was an awesome match either way.

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The Worst of Raw

Seth Promises the “Greater Good”, But Delivers More of the Same

If there was one redeeming factor of the frankly insufferable forced eye removal, it was that the feud between Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio was coming to an end. I mean, how could it possibly continue after a coloured pingpong b- I mean, Rey’s eyeball – was removed from its socket?

Where there’s a will, there’s a way it seems.

You created me. Every moment has led us to this one. #TheGreaterGood https://t.co/DG3byasSrJ

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) July 21, 2020

Seth kicked off Raw with a boring exposition about how sickening it had felt to extract Mysterio’s eye. But Seth wasn’t there to ask for forgiveness. Apparently his transition from WrestleMania hero to weak-stomached ocular removal expert was our fault. We made him the ‘Monday Night Messiah’. No word on if the fans were also responsible for his shift to Monday Night Rambler though.

Rollins then announced that with Rey out of the picture, there was nothing in the way of the greater good. I still have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about. What “greater good”? All he does every week is blather on monotonously. How is that the greater good?

Seth Finds His Next Victim

Whatever the case, Aleister Black interrupted and we got the advertised match with Rollins. This was naturally pretty good, with Seth running out the victor following interference from Murphy. But I’m just so tired of this never-ending Seth / Murphy / Rey / Dominik / Carrillo / Kevin Owens / Aleister Black dynamic. It’s become the new mid-card vortex.

When IS enough enough, @WWERollins?! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/vGIuFEU9AS

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 21, 2020

After the bell, Seth and Murphy continued to batter Black, targeting his arm. While pummelling Black, Seth repeatedly claimed “it doesn’t need to be this way“. I strongly agree.

MVP’s Group Adds More Gold

For no reason whatsoever, Ron Simmons was backstage offering words of advice to MVP and Bobby Lashley. He magically disappeared without finding out if his words were absorbed however, and R-Truth fortuitously strolled up. It was almost as if this was scripted.

Truth exchanged a few words with the pair, which turned out to all be a ruse. Shelton Benjamin blindsided Truth and pinned him to win the 24/7 Title. MVP and Lashley then invited him to the ring with them. I had totally forgotten that Benjamin was a part of this group.

It’s not immediately clear why MVP & company would go to these lengths to win the 24/7 Championship as opposed to a more prestigious title, like say… literally any other title. It’s hard to be taken seriously when you’re executing elaborate schemes to win a joke belt.

Belair’s Disappearing Act

Bianca Belair was backstage explaining the notion behind ‘The EST’ to Sarah Schreiber. She was interrupted by Peyton Royce, who had some choice words for the woman who defeated The IIconics in tag action last week. This prompted Belair’s partner, Ruby Riott, to enter the frame.

Peyton got into a verbal spar with her as well and soon we were promised a singles match between Peyton and Ruby, with Bianca Belair nowhere to be seen. A direct rematch of three weeks ago is the literal definition of stagnation. Plus this does nothing to advance Belair as a true star on Raw.

SHE'S BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN.

@RubyRiottWWE scores an emotional win over @PeytonRoyceWWE on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/qa0vQlAZXy

— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020

Royce spent much of the match yelling at Ruby that Liv Morgan didn’t like her and wasn’t her friend. This was rather juvenile and felt like a man’s interpretation of what women would feud over.

A few minutes later, Riott pinned Royce in a reversal of their first encounter. Back to square one for everybody!

The Vegaboys Are Stuck in Neutral

Charly Caruso again accused Andrade and Angel Garza of being dysfunctional – an accusation Zelina Vega vehemently disputed. Didn’t we live through this exact conversation last week?

Apparently the Vegaboys were scheduled to challenge the Street Profits for the Raw Tag Team Titles. This was the first I heard of it. Andrade and Garza vowed to walk out with the gold and were jumped by the champions.

This was all rather boring fare, and didn’t exactly cast the babyface champions in a great light.

The expressions say it all.

VICTORY for The #StreetProfits @AngeloDawkins & @MontezFordWWE on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/Rp7dQuchGQ

— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020

As for the match itself, it was a good showcase, especially for Montez Ford, whose charisma and insane athleticism remain incredible. After a competitive outing, Ford hit a Frog Splash to retain the titles.

But as good as the match was, the question must be asked: what was the point of all this? Andrade & Garza seem to win and lose arbitrarily. They’ll be crowned number one contenders one week, only to lose the next. Nothing feels particularly gripping and no characters are being developed.

Sasha Gets Some Bad News

Banks and Bayley took to the ring to gloat as they believed themselves to be ‘Bayley Dos Straps’ and ‘Two Beltz Banks’ following the events of Extreme Rules. The fact that no formal announcement regarding the fate of the Raw Women’s Championship has been made in the 24 hours since that scandalous finish on Sunday demonstrates what a rinky-dink promotion WWE is sometimes. Surely there is some authority figure who can step in to restore some sanity?

SHE HAS SPOKEN.@StephMcMahon rules that @WWEAsuka and @SashaBanksWWE will compete for the #WWERaw #WomensTitle NEXT WEEK … and Sasha can lose by pinfall, submission, countout, disqualification, or even if anyone 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴. pic.twitter.com/qHn0P83ilI

— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020

I should really be more careful what I wish for. Because, after Asuka and Kairi Sane came out, it was Stephanie McMahon – the saviour of women’s wrestling – who appeared on the screen. She announced that Banks had not defeated Asuka, but neither had the Japanese star beaten Sasha.

So next week we’ll get a follow-up singles match between the pair, with the Raw Women’s Title hanging in the balance. And should Bayley interfere, then Asuka would immediately be declared the winner.

This made Banks and Bayley look rather concerned, but I was thrilled by the prospect of seeing another match between Sasha and Asuka. I just wish it didn’t come about in this contrived, frustrating way.

Equally annoying is that until that title decider, Sasha Banks seemingly gets to hold onto the Raw Women’s Championship. If the result was invalidated, then why has the belt changed hands? I swear, this company can be so damn incompetent.

Drew Is Ready to Move On… To Ziggler

Drew McIntyre was up next to announce that he was looking ahead to SummerSlam and a worthy opponent to his WWE Championship. So, of course, out came Dolph Ziggler.

WHY? Why do you hate us, WWE?

Ziggler acknowledged that he had enjoyed every advantage at Extreme Rules. He had picked the stipulation, he had stacked the deck against McIntyre and he had made it almost impossible to lose. But lose he did, so why did he deserve a rematch for the Title? Well, apparently because he saw a look in Drew’s eyes.

One more chance?#WWERaw @HEELZiggler @DMcIntyreWWE pic.twitter.com/l2H11L8AWq

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 21, 2020

Despite having “the look” (whatever that means), Drew was not inclined to give Dolph another shot. That was until Dolph gave Drew the chance to pick the stipulation for their rematch. Suddenly McIntyre was thrilled to have the match, which is supposedly happening next week. This was lazy.

Dolph wanted to know the stipulation, but Drew said he hadn’t decided yet. Even if he had, he wouldn’t reveal it to Ziggler. So we’re basically getting a rematch weighted in favour of the Champion, mere days after he crushed Ziggler in a match heavily advantaging the challenger. Does no-one in Raw’s writers’ room ever ask why things happen?

Weeeelll! Well It’s The Big Disappointment!

Big Show did not exactly bounce to the ring. The ‘World’s Largest Athlete’ looked decidedly reduced physically, much as he has in recent years. It can’t be easy being seven feet tall and 400-plus pounds for several decades.

https://twitter.com/WWEUniverse/status/1285407399453560832

But that aside, I was strangely looking forward to this train wreck. Very little reason was given why this was an Unsanctioned Match, nor was there any noticeable difference to any other match on Raw. Unsanctioned matches are meant to be so brutal, so contaminated with bad blood, that the promotion can’t in good conscience sanction it for their show. But on Raw, that just meant that people got to cheat. The crowd was still there, a referee was in the ring and we got all the pageantry of a regular contest.

The first incidence of shenanigans were when Andrade and Garza ran out to attack Big Show. Apparently they’re still upset over being beaten up by the giant weeks ago. The Vegaboys were soon run off by The Viking Raiders, awaking another dormant rivalry.

Randy went for the punt but was intercepted by a massive choke slam. Big Show went through a table and Orton hit an RKO, but Show kicked out. So Randy hit him with a chair, DDT’d him off the middle rope and landed another RKO for the win.

He told you. He told all of you.#WWERaw #UnsanctionedMatch @RandyOrton pic.twitter.com/wrFEOHFr31

— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020

Then Orton punted him in the head for good measure, while some brave soul in the audience called for him to “take his eye out“. That one line was easily the best thing about this lame main event, which was entirely undeserving of calling itself an Unsanctioned Match.

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

Had the main event been halfway decent, then I would have been tempted to give Raw a passing grade this week. There were some solid moments scattered throughout the show, ranging from Mustafa Ali’s triumphant return to Randy Orton’s promo work to the women once again carrying Monday nights.

But the dismal main event ultimately proved to be just another dire segment on an overwhelmingly torrid show. The main issue was that many of the acts, from Seth Rollins to the Vegaboys, appear to be stuck in neutral following the events of Extreme Rules. Added to that, the re-emergence of Baszler and Belair – two highlights from last week – were largely ignored this.

Plus, it goes without saying but Big Show should not be the featured act on Raw in 2020. All things considered, Raw was Poor again this week.

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

• July 20 2020
• review
• RAW
• wwe

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