WWE Raw – June 10, 2019 (Review)

The Best of Raw

Reboot of a Stumbling Franchise

Lars Sullivan squashed each member of Lucha House Party in the match we frankly should have seen at Super ShowDown.

While the elimination contest was nothing exciting, I hope this quick destruction acts as a soft reboot of Lars’ trajectory on Raw. The ‘Freak’, like so many, was really damaged by the nonsense that happened last Friday. Hopefully this utter squash closes the chapter on his Lucha House Party shambles and allows him to move on to better things.

THIS marks two eliminations ALREADY for @LarsSWWE… #RAW pic.twitter.com/w8Ek9jSRA3

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 11, 2019

So it gets a provisional upvote for now. But if he faces LHP again next week… I will crush it.

Six-Man Tag Action!

While the path to this match was hot garbage (see below), the contest itself was fairly entertaining. The team of Miz, Ricochet and Braun Strowman took on Samoa Joe, Bobby Lashley and Cesaro. The ‘Swiss Superman’ and Ricochet have proven good chemistry and everyone else more than held their own here.

The high-paced contest was brought to a close when Miz reversed an attempted Neutralizer into the Skull-Crushing Finale, allowing Ricochet to land the 1580. (The commentators called it a 630, but I’m convinced Ricochet spins more than that.)

NEVER ceases to amaze…#RAW @KingRicochet pic.twitter.com/TuXaSiJPrA

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 11, 2019

It’s worth pointing out too that the final move landed right on Cesaro’s thigh or knee, causing the Swiss brawler to clutch his leg in pain. It’s unclear whether this was a legitimate injury or simply an opportunistic bit of selling by the veteran. Hopefully it’s merely the latter, as latest reports seem to suggest.

A Match So Nice, We Got It Twice

Following the six-man bout was another tag match… this time one with 100% more women.

Bayley and Becky took on Alexa Bliss and Lacey Evans in a clash pitting champions against their Stomping Grounds challengers. The quartet worked well together, slowly getting the heat on Becky, in so doing building the anticipation for a hot tag to home-town hero, Bayley.

A little reminder as to why @itsBayleyWWE is THE #SDLive #WomensChampion! #RAW pic.twitter.com/o6qayFJbPK

— WWE (@WWE) June 11, 2019

When that tag eventually came, both Bayley and the San Jose crowd ran wild! That is until she ran into a Women’s Right. Becky had suffered the same fate on the outside moments earlier thanks to some inadvertent interference from Nikki Cross. Lacey then rolled into the ring after a dubious blind tag, nailed Bayley again and pinned the SmackDown Women’s Champ.

It was a messy end to a good match, and it hurt Bayley significantly. But that damage was hopefully outweighed by the benefit that Lacey received.

The 24/7 Championship gets stuck in an Elevator

R-Truth and Carmella were chased into an elevator by the usual band of undercard talent. This somehow caused the elevator to get stuck, trapping the occupants inside with no referee to count a potential pin.

Did the #247Champion @RonKillings just get stuck in elevator…with ALL of these people?!#RAW @CedricAlexander @WWEMaverick @therealec3 @HeathSlaterOMRB @CarmellaWWE pic.twitter.com/qKvnCV9AiV

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 11, 2019

Fortunately we were able to keep track of what was going on in the compartment curtesy of a well-placed camera. Although this raised the obvious question as to why, knowing that they were trapped, no one tried to rescue them. Also, why EC3 has returned to his celebrated ‘mute’ character? The man just gives zero f’s at this point, and honestly who can blame him.

Brushing those concerns aside, you’re probably wondering why this qualifies as a good moment on Raw. Was it the hilarious banter? The potential feuds? The silly games? No, it was R-Truth calling Drake Maverick “Hornswoggle”. I laughed.

IIconic Champions

The IIconics faced a tough title challenge from “San Jose’s Finest”, Lisa Lace and Aleyah Mia. As the name might suggest, these two ladies were simply local enhancement talent designed to make the Aussie duo look good.

THEY are the FUTURE, and the future IS…#RAW @BillieKayWWE @PeytonRoyceWWE pic.twitter.com/nF8AAueT04

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 11, 2019

And it worked. The match barely lasted a minute, as you’d expect, with Billie Kay picking up the pin for the title holders. This is exactly what the IIconics should have been doing since their unlikely victory at WrestleMania. Hosting weekly open challenges against a team of local jobbers affords the champs a chance to get heat by running down the host city’s sports team(s), before picking up an easy victory over regional competition.

I sincerely hope they keep this up.

Hawkins and Ryder Defend

In their first title defence since claiming the tag team belts in early April, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder faced the Usos and the Revival in Triple Threat action. Of course, if wins and losses mattered, perhaps the Viking Raiders would’ve earned a spot in this match, having beaten Ryder and Hawkins just a few weeks ago. But this is WWE, so disabuse your mind of that logic.

The match was fun however, aided by the inherent chaos that a triple threats bring. Jey Uso landed a flurry of superkicks on anything with a pulse, before Scott Dawson capitalised by throwing Uso from the ring and pinning Ryder.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByjYR0jhl6j/

The crowning of the Revival brings an end to an utterly pointless two-month title run. WWE clearly never had the faintest idea what they wanted to do with Hawkins and Ryder post-Mania, and placing the belts back on the Revival feels like an admission that a mistake was made. If nothing else, hopefully new champs can revitalise a flailing division.

Hopefully.

Absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. We went from complete afterthoughts to the @WWE #Raw Tag Team Champions. @ZackRyder & I aren’t done yet. Never. Defeated. 🤘🏻

— Brian Myers (@Myers_Wrestling) June 11, 2019

The Fun House Secrets

Mercy the Buzzard and Rambling Rabbit got into a bit of a disagreement on this week’s Firefly Fun House, which was only resolved once Bray Wyatt threatened to summon “The Fiend”. (I wonder if his powers work similarly to Shane McMahon’s ability to summon mid-card henchmen.)

Thinking he was alone, Rambling Rabbit pondered revealing “what’s really going on in the Fun House”, suggesting that it may be more than just a harmless children’s show. Before he could utter another word though, Bray’s ‘HURT’ glove clamped down on Rabbit’s mouth. He then proceeded to absolutely flatten the poor Fun House puppet with a brightly decorated sledgehammer, marking the second time that Rambling Rabbit has been brutally murdered in the weekly segment. He’s officially the Kenny of Raw.

Naturally we couldn’t have our fun for too long though, as the first voice we heard after the clip was Michael Cole’s clueless: “what was that?” Yip, he’s still the worst.

Seth vs Owens

The main event was an excellent TV showcase between two of WWE’s best. KO targeted the weakened ribs early but was unable to put the champ away. Seth, on the other hand, looked to gain the upper hand, but was repeatedly thwarted by Sami Zayn – who had been appointed the “ringside official” (whatever that is).

Putting your hands on an official?

That's a disqualification VICTORY for @FightOwensFight on #RAW! #RollinsvsKO pic.twitter.com/aOyY4GIITV

— WWE (@WWE) June 11, 2019

Eventually getting fed up with the constant interference, Seth grabbed Zayn by the collar, inviting the DQ. This of course only served to infuriate Rollins even further and he repeatedly laid into Sami with a steel chair before hitting him with The Stomp.

Baron Corbin had come out to watch the fight unfold and was treated to a front-row seat to this savagery. Raw is evidently trying to position Seth as entirely remorseless, ready to doll out punishment to whomever crosses him. I’m not convinced this is the best way to present your valiant champion, as demolishing someone with a chair for interfering in your match seems a tad disproportionate. But I’m willing to see where this character development takes us.

WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME, @SamiZayn!#RAW #RollinsvsKO @WWERollins pic.twitter.com/4Pmw9Xya7r

— WWE (@WWE) June 11, 2019

All in all, a solid way to end the night.

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