WWE Raw – July 29, 2019 (Review)

WWE Raw – July 29, 2019 (Review)

Just two weeks removed from SummerSlam – WWE’s second (or possibly third) largest show of the year – much of the community chitter-chatter has diverted from its regular week-to-week offerings. The mumbling around wrestling circles was not about the creative doldrums of Raw, nor the tonal inconsistency of SmackDown Live, brought about by the hurriedly introduced – and almost as quickly dropped – Wild Card Rule.

Instead, wrestling fans around the world donned their most impressive spectacles, brought their abacuses out of storage, and set about analysing WWE’s financial wellbeing. Because concurrent with the release of the company’s disappointing Q2 Financial Reports this past week, seemingly pealing the curtain back on a dire commercial situation, comes the rise of almost unprecedented competition.

For the first time in almost two decades, WWE will be forced to fend off rivalry from a noisy neighbour from the South. Founded in Jacksonville but rampaging across the rest of the nation, AEW has positioned itself as the babyface promotion taking on the heelish corporate giant. A corporate giant that is seemingly at its most vulnerable in thirty years.

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And here’s why none of that matters.

Make no mistake, WWE’s financials were disappointing – perhaps even concerning. Numbers were down across the board. Merchandise, live attendance, revenue, operating income… all either dropped year-on-year or came in below expectations. It’s troubling, but – and this is critical – completely irrelevant in the larger framework.

Because while one or two People’s Eyebrows may have been raised at the report of a 5% revenue drop, or a 6% reduction in Network subscribers, the company remains on track to post at least $1 billion in gross income.

You know who isn’t earning a billion Dollars this year? Any other wrestling promotion. Quite possibly all other wrestling companies combined.

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So while we were pondering the future existence of WWE, they were drowning in a pool of Saudi cash like Scrooge McDuck. While the wrestling community was openly questioning the company’s direction, Fox was preparing to drive a string of money trucks to Stamford. And in a week when many were casting a lustful eye towards the rowdy lads in Jacksonville, the rest of the world was instead enamoured with Alexa Bliss’ new tattoos. We simply can’t help ourselves.

So if you think that this financial malaise might trigger a panicked change in Raw’s weekly output, I wish I shared your admirable optimism. We, after all, thought the same when Vince Mcmahon proudly anointed us as the authority. And when AEW was founded. And when Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff were named Executive Directors of Raw and SmackDown Live respectively.

Let’s get to the review.


The Best of Raw

Running the Gauntlet… Again

I can’t remember a time in which WWE has put on as many gauntlet matches as they have in the past 9 months. This time, five competitors were given the opportunity to “run the gauntlet” for a shot at AJ Styles’ Unites States Championship.

The match kicked off with Rey Mysterio – who last month relinquished the belt due to injury – and Cesaro. After a truly outstanding encounter, both men found themselves on the top rope. Rey managed to manoeuvre the exchange into a top rope bulldog, leading into the 619 and splash for the win.

This brought out Sami Zayn, who initially jumped a worn down Mysterio. Rey, however, quickly turned the tables, entangling Zayn in a devastating roll-up to secure the elimination. The ineptitude of Sami Zayn continues.

Next up was Andrade, who predictably put on another good showing with the diminutive Mysterio. Ultimately though, fatigue and the superior opponent were just too much for Rey, as Andrade landed the Hammerlock DDT to progress.

The final match in the gauntlet pitted Andrade against… Ricochet? Here’s where the layout of the match lost me. Why would Ricochet – the valiant babyface – come out last to face a tired heel? Psychologically it just didn’t make sense. The babyface is meant to overcome the odds, not benefit from them.

That obvious critique aside though, this marked an excellent phase on Raw. One that – with Ricochet defeating Andrade – solidified an exciting prospect at SummerSlam. AJ Styles versus Ricochet is a bout all but guaranteed to thrill.

California Love

The OC defeated The Usos, in a three-way match also involving The Revival, to become the new Raw Tag Team Champions.

Backstage, AJ Styles was readying a feast befitting of newly crowned title holders. Whatever budget remained after the Raw Reunion last week was clearly blown here, as there were tacos, some sort of salad and way too much champagne to ever be considered safe for human consumption.

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It’s refreshing to see a stable actually receive a push in this era of WWE. I hope they keep the faith in The OC for at least a little while longer.

A Beast Returns

Seth Rollins took on Dolph Ziggler in apparent retaliation for the latter’s heinous act of disrespect towards Shawn Michaels last week. What really seemed to set Rollins off was when Ziggler came out to Michaels’ music. I had no idea he held Shawn in such high regard… they must have comparable bank accounts.

Regardless of flimsy premise though, the match itself was really good. The issue has never been either man’s ability as much as it’s been their questionable character work. So this template worked to perfectly showcase their strengths.

Rollins appeared to have the match in hand when, out of nowhere, Brock Lesnar’s music hit and the sweaty giant proceeded to march down to the ring. ‘The Beast’ then absolutely decimated poor old Seth, delivering F5 after F5, first against the ring post and then – rather viciously – onto an upright steel chair.

That was only the beginning of Seth’s ordeal however, as Lesnar intercepted the ambulance transporting him to a “local medical facility”. The Universal Champion dragged his SummerSlam challenger out of the back of the vehicle and F5’d him on the stretcher. Are not even our emergency vehicles safe anymore?

This was exactly the kind of angle that reminds one of how dominant and merciless Lesnar is, while re-establishing Rollins as the underdog determined to overcome the stacked odds. Essentially it’s exactly the same story we were being told leading into WrestleMania 35. Hopefully they nail the landing this time.


The Worst of Raw

New Championship, New Era

Raw started with a video package equating the longstanding legacy of the WWE Championship with the “new era” introduced by the 24/7 Championship.

I understand that this was intended to be a tongue-in-cheek reflection on the comedic aspect of the 24/7 Title (as highlighted by the Laurel and Hardy-esque soundtrack), but it just felt uncomfortable placing it side-by-side with the company’s top prize. In any context, this just cheapened the perception of the WWE Championship.

In any event, the video package was used to introduce the first match of the night. A convoluted, “first time ever” 24/7 defence, in which the team of R-Truth and Carmella defended the belt against Drake Maverick and his wife, Renee. Complicating matters further was the ragtag “mosh pit” of tag teams surrounding the ring – apparently barred from interfering until after the final bell. So much for the 24/7 rule.

Anyway, the men wrestled, the women had one roll-around and the “mosh pit” stood patiently around ringside. Around a minute in, R-Truth hit an inverted suplex for the surprise pin. The sound of the bell spurred everyone around ringside to jump R-Truth in a massive dog-pile. The referee counted to three and… MIKE KANELLIS… emerged with the title.

He then hid from his pursuers (and his wife) in a locker room. When Mike appeared reluctant to let Maria into the room with him, she threatened to kick him “in his vagina”. This triggered a massive crowd pop – 2019 everybody!

What a complete disaster.

First Ever Pregnant Champion

Mike Kanellis was overjoyed to share his 24/7 Title victory with his wife. Maria, however, responded by – per usual – completely emasculating her husband, before demanding that he lie down so that she could pin him.

Mike, with little protest, obeyed his worse half, thereby crowing WWE’s first ever pregnant champion. Maria then went on a victory lap around the backstage area, with everyone too scared of a possible lawsuit to confront her. That is, until she came face-to-face with a seething Braun Strowman. Where is that going?

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Also worth mentioning is that Maria proudly claimed that by winning the belt, she would ensure that at least one of her unborn child’s parents were champions. So I guess this “Mike isn’t the father” narrative is still a thing then. Hooray!

I can’t believe I wasted so much time describing this horror of a segment.

Frustrating Tropes

At various points throughout Raw, the broadcast was interrupted to replay packages highlighting some of the more palatable moments from Raw Reunion last week. These were usually followed by a recap of Dolph Ziggler’s attack on Shawn Michaels last Tuesday night. I understand that every show is potentially someone’s first, but these prolonged video packages only serve to kill any momentum the show happens to generate. Also, who benefits from reliving Raw Reunion – a show that has virtually no continuity in the main storyline?

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As we transitioned back to regular viewing, the Viking Raiders were shown standing in a plume of smoke with only their silhouettes visible. Corey Graves spouted some nonsense about how they are “the harbingers of unholy brutality“. This sort of goofy language reflects poorly on the awesome duo, making them seem cartoonish rather than legitimate domineering wrestlers.

They then – for the third week in a row? – squashed a pair of jobbers. The wheels keep spinning.

The Street Profits

Because it’s always the damn Street Profits.

They provided a brief summary of everything we’d seen so far last night, intimated that Dawkins might have impregnated Maria Kanellis and then had a little powwow with Seth Rollins. None of this was the least bit fun or exciting.

If they aren’t going to wrestle, for the love of God just keep them on NXT.

‘The Man’ Retains

Becky picked up a victory over Alexa Bliss, curtesy of a (kayfabe) injured ankle. This merely acted as an excuse to get Becky in the ring with Nikki Cross though, who leapt to the aid of her “best friend”. Predictably, the second match went similarly to the first as Lynch very quickly dispensed of Cross while a tearful Bliss looked on from ringside.

Turns out, it was all a ruse. (I know: shocking!) In the immediate aftermath, a celebrating Becky was jumped by Bliss, before an opportunistic Natalya joined the fray. She locked a vulnerable Becky in the Sharpshooter, in theory presenting her as a viable threat ahead of her title challenge at SummerSlam.

In a backstage interview, Natalya then issued – and retracted – a challenge to convert the pay-per-view encounter into a submission match. Apparently Natalya didn’t think Lynch is “man enough” to accept the challenge, so she wouldn’t even bother. HAVE I SLIPPED INTO THE MIRRORVERSE?

This segment felt like an exceptionally disjointed effort at building something ahead of SummerSlam. So much was attempted to be squashed into the same ten minutes – with Bliss picking up an injury, Cross solidifying her allegiance to her mentor and the Natalya blindside to end – that the entire thing just felt like a mishmash of ideas. None of them particularly effective.

Samoan Summit

The pre-announced, ridiculously-named Samoan Summit closed the night.

As expected whenever Roman and Samoa Joe are in the ring together, there was to be little diplomacy and much punching. And the Somalian Syndicate was no different.

Joe invited Roman to the ring for a good old-fashioned fight and Reigns quickly accepted. However, before the Sicilian Scrimmage could get going, Drew McIntyre ambushed Reigns.

This attack brought out Cedric Alexander – who lest we forget, has “outsmarted” McIntyre in recent weeks. In case there wasn’t already enough beef involved, The OC and The Usos also joined the fray. Eventually the babyfaces emerged from the ruckus to stand tall, defending their “yard”.

Michael Cole did his best to sell this as unrivalled chaos, but truthfully I found it a little boring. How many large-scale brawls have we seen in recent years? Diminishing returns are sadly very much in effect in 2019. It pains me to say it, but the Brock Lesnar / Seth Rollins angle should have closed the show.


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

Call me a curmudgeon, but I’m quickly tiring of the 24/7 nonsense. It turns out that when you expand the scope of the title picture beyond R-Truth and Drake Maverick, the Championship shenanigans quickly lose their appeal.

Even worse is when the trash heap that is the Mike and Maria debacle starts to contaminate other storylines on Raw. I can barely tolerate it in a vacuum. I certainly can’t stomach it when they start claiming titles, or when the Street Profits titillate us with the possibility that one of them may be the father of Maria’s unborn child.

But scrub aside those minor turds and you’ll find something resembling a diamond underneath.

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Brock Lesnar had an impactful return to TV, absolutely wrecking Seth Rollins’ hopes and dreams in the process. The OC were crowned the new Raw Tag Team Champions following a pulsating three-way tag match. And, in my personal highlight of the show, Ricochet earned the right to face AJ Styles at SummerSlam by winning an excellent gauntlet match. (Although I wish he hadn’t been the last entrant.)

So, taking all that into account, the lasting impression of last night’s Raw were largely positive. If this is a sign of things to come under Paul Heyman’s guidance, then colour me hopeful.

Last night’s Raw was Cor.

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5 years ago by Nicholas Holicki

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