WWE Raw – June 24, 2019 (Review)

The Worst of Raw

The “Man’s man” and the “Best Backup on the Planet”

Seth and Becky kicked off Raw by having a lovey-dovey pow-wow, in which they took turns patting one another on the back for being super good-looking and awesome at wrestling. A puppy-eyed Seth called Lynch “the best backup in the world” in reference to her intervention in Sunday’s main event. Becky giddily cooed that it “pays to be The Man’s man”. This overly soppy exchange felt like it had been ripped directly from a teen drama in the late 1990s.

🎵 Can you feel the love tonight?
The peace the evening brings… 🎵#RAW @WWERollins @BeckyLynchWWE pic.twitter.com/zGdUca1U80

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 25, 2019

I actually found myself relieved when Lacey Evans and Baron Corbin blindsided the champs from behind. Or, at least I was, until Seth and Becky fought off their foes, forcing Evans and Corbin to pick up microphones. The heels rushed through some awkward dialogue about Becky making sandwiches for her boyfriend and Lacey getting her hands on Rollins.

Even worse, this all served to only steer the never-ending feud even further towards the obvious cliff we’d all hoped Raw would be able to avoid: a mixed tag match at Extreme Rules, with the added stipulation that if Corbin and Evans lose, they’re done as challengers to Seth and Becky “forever”. But if the challengers win, then they’ll claim both champions’ belts.

WINNERS TAKE ALL?!@BaronCorbinWWE & @LaceyEvansWWE are coming for EVERYTHING that @WWERollins & @BeckyLynchWWE hold sacred, and they want to take it at #ExtremeRules! #RAW pic.twitter.com/LscZL1iMPA

— WWE (@WWE) June 25, 2019

I don’t often say this, but honestly… who cares about any of this?

More Gimmick Matches

Viewers of last weeks’ Raw and SmackDown may have been somewhat befuddled by the many elimination and 2-out-of-3 fall matches on offer. Considering the stipulation is so rarely used, even in pay-per-view events, it was weird to see several such contests in the same week.

Reports soon emerged that the odd stipulation was a product of a directive by Vince McMahon, who had grown tired of seeing matches play out during commercial breaks. Well, Raw this week showed no sign of abandoning the trend, as The Revival and Bryan & Rowan teamed up to take on The Usos and The New Day in an 8-man elimination tag match, in terms of which if one member of a duo was pinned, that entire team was eliminated.

JUST LIKE THAT, we're down to TWO teams after #TheNewDay eliminates @WWEDanielBryan & @ERICKROWAN, and #TheRevival take out @XavierWoodsPhD & @WWEBigE! #RAW pic.twitter.com/ka4SIuuNpN

— WWE (@WWE) June 25, 2019

After an uncharatceristically scrappy start, a miscommunication between Bryan and Scott Dawson led to Xavier Woods pinning the SmackDown tag team champion. Within seconds thereafter, The Revival pinned The New Day member to even the odds. Annnnnd… cut to commercial.

As Raw returned from the break, the bell rang for the final fall. After a fairly decent exchange, Jimmy Uso launched himself off Dash Wilder to hit an inventive splash on Scott Dawson to secure victory. While the match wasn’t necessarily bad (it wasn’t much of anything really), I have no idea why both sets of tag champions needed to be so resoundingly beaten on the same night. It once again makes them look like chumps.

‘The Deadman’ Rises

Shane and Drew McIntyre were in the process of beating up Roman Reigns in your bog-standard 2-on-1 handicap match. It was nothing particularly exciting, yet nevertheless served to adequately progress this feud between the ‘Big Dog’ and the boss’ son. In other words, it was logical. It made sense.

Then The Undertaker showed up.

THE PHENOM IS HERE.

The #Undertaker delivers a CHOKESLAM to @shanemcmahon! #RAW pic.twitter.com/T2Q4n00I1t

— WWE (@WWE) June 25, 2019

Okay. But… why? Why would ‘The Phenom’ involve himself in this storyline? Beyond having had WrestleMania matches with both men in recent years, there’s little in way of coherent reasoning for this to happen. Does The Undertaker want to be The Best in the World? Is he upset that Shane overlooked him when assembling his axis of goobers?

Whatever the reason, I’m not sure I want to see ‘The Deadman’ compete in another match in 2019. Not after that debacle against Goldberg at Super ShowDown. Not if it means that Shane is now involved in three separate feuds – against Miz, Roman Reigns and now The Undertaker.

A later announcement confirmed that Extreme Rules will see Undertaker & Roman Reigns take on Shane and McIntyre in a tag match. I have a feeling that tickets are still available.

Tug of War

Full disclosure, I placed this in the worst category before I’d even seen the segment. But then again, it was a tug of war between Braun Stroman and Bobby Lashley, so I felt that was a safe bet.

Footage taken from earlier in the day showed Braun pulling an 18-wheel truck. Apparently it was heavier than the combined weight of every person in the state of Washington… or some similar nonsense that Michael Cole was spouting.

Have we mentioned @BraunStrowman's a M O N S T E R? #RAW pic.twitter.com/L743xewqLn

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) June 25, 2019

A few segments later, Lashley responded by attempting to pull a telephone pole out of the ground. The rope he was using snapped – presumably from the sheer force of sports entertainment!

The point of all this was to convince us that both men were evenly matched in sheer animalistic sweatiness, as they entered the ring for what was billed as a hellacious contest. But then Braun easily won, and Bobby beat him up with the rope for a bit.

As bad as their arm wrestling contest was a few weeks ago, this segment was somehow even worse. It was the kind of unparalleled garbage that almost made me long for the days when Alexa Bliss was setting up rivalries based on social media posts. Almost.

A Divided Locker Room

Natalya and Naomi confronted Nikki Cross over her friendship with Alexa Bliss, trying to convince the Scotswoman that Bliss was manipulating her. Then Alexa – who had apparently been standing just outside of frame – showed up and it all kicked off.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzHd8KkhtBE/

I’m guessing this exchange won’t make the video package that Stephanie McMahon shows investors when she proudly prattles on about the “Women’s Evolution”.

EC3 Wins Championship Gold!

I know I praised the 24/7 Title goofiness of earlier in the night. But that was before an impromptu match between Mojo Rawley and Heath Slater was interrupted by R-Truth and the merry band of misfits that routinely follow him around.

Well, @MojoRawleyWWE and @HeathSlaterOMRB WERE set for singles action, but #247Title MAYHEM has begun! #RAW pic.twitter.com/XtdbZnyf8L

— WWE (@WWE) June 25, 2019

A series of finishers and rollups meant that the title changed hands on no less than four occasions before R-Truth reclaimed the gold. Even EC3 got to hold the title for a hot second. He was involved in a 5-star match last year.

Nothing here showcased the creativity or imitation that has come to define the 24/7 Championship. As a means to fill five minutes of airtime, I would’ve preferred to see Rawley vs. Slater. At least that might’ve elevated somebody.

No Bray Wyatt

Last week it seemed that Bray was primed to reappear on Raw following a long layoff. The final Firefly Fun House had aired and Bray’s transformation into the ‘Fiend’ was seemingly complete. Except he didn’t show up.

Not only did Bray not re-debut on the show, but Raw also lost its most compelling component. The Firefly Fun House skits were widely considered the best aspect of Raw in recent weeks, and without the two-minute segments, the show felt surprisingly lacking.

While I appreciated the subtle nods to the character throughout the broadcast, Bray’s absence made me worry that perhaps WWE doesn’t know what to do with him. Hopefully – for all our sakes – that turns out not to be the case.

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