Brock Lesnar has a contract ‘snag’. Seth Rollins has yet another fantastic match! And the Bayley and Sasha Banks storyline finally seems to be going somewhere!
Brock Lesnar’s Contract Snag
After a graphic remembering the recently passed Big Van Vader, Kurt Angle’s usual opening recap was made infinitely better by Constable Corbin being a big heel.
But you can’t even mention Brock Lesnar’s name these days without a wild Roman Reigns appearing to complain he’s the Uncrowned Universal Champion. Bobby Lashley interrupted for some fun worked shoot insults, with Reigns insulting Bobby for leaving a decade ago, and Lashley pointing out maybe Brock isn’t showing up because he’s sick of facing Roman Reigns. Tell me about it.
Sticking with Lesnar’s record-breaking run of no-shows, though, Angle then revealed there’s a “snag” in Brock’s contract – meaning the multi-man No. 1 contenders match at Extreme Rules has been scrapped. The Wrestling Observer has speculated this could be because of Lesnar’s real-life contract negotiations, which only has one WWE match remaining, and he could announce his UFC return this week.
The Revival beat Roman Reigns & Bobby Lashley
One contrived grievance later, Reigns and Lashley found themselves teaming against The Revival for the second week in a row. The finish neatly played on Bobby’s blind tag last Monday, and the confusion caused Reigns to lose via roll-up. But, most importantly, Lashley’s getting actual crowd reactions again after his terrible feud with Sami Zayn.
Curtis Axel beat Woken Matt Hardy
After duelling TitanTron promos, Curtis Axel beat Matt Hardy in a nothing 30 second match. Of all the tag team action on this episode, this one is the weakest… and it’s for the titles. Speaking of teams…
Authors Of Pain Beat Rich & Rex Gibson
…call of the search. I found the tag division. Yeah, they were just backstage beating up crew members. After weeks of Main Events – WWE’s undercard show, not actually closing PPVs – the Authors of Pain made their first Raw appearance since April. They destroyed two Christmas elf jobbers and then they were chased off by Titus Worldwide. Nobody should be chased off by Titus Worldwide. They’re lame, and AOP are enormous slabs of meat that should destroy them too.
Natalya beat Alexa Bliss
What will Mickie James be this week? She’s a heel again! After her and Alexa Bliss recapped Ronda Rousey getting suspended for 30 days, their promo was interrupted by – quote – ‘Ronda Rousey’s friend and training partner’ Natalya. She’s got a match against Bliss, and she hasn’t come alone: because Nia Jax is here to smile about losing her title the previous week.
Natalya tapped out Bliss in a nothing match, but this was more about filling for Ronda’s eventual return. The crowd were chanting for Rousey like crazy. She’s over when she’s not even there.
Riott Squad beat Ember Moon, Sasha Banks & Bayley
For reasons never adequately explained, Kurt Angle insisted Bayley and Sasha Banks must team together against the Riott Squad despite their own feuding – making Sasha a very grumpy Banks! After ruining a Jinder Mahal photoshoot – which Jinder took like a creepy Vulcan – the Riott Squad beat Banks, Bayley and Ember Moon in a fun match.
As soon as Sasha was pinned, though, Bayley rushed into the ring to attack her former bestie. The crowd went crazy for Bayley finally snapping at Banks, both women connecting with the audience. This is very promising. Hopefully it’ll be an actual program now. And to further Raw’s hottest new feud, Kurt Angle revealed next week Bayley will be …entering counselling.
No Way Jose vs Mojo Rawley
Remember that happy Mojo Rawley who was having fun with Special Olympics athletes earlier in the show? Here he is being really mean to a guy called Todd dressed as a cheeseburger. Mojo vs Todd is money. Mojo vs No Way Jose, however, I couldn’t care less about.
Braun Strowman & Kevin Owens beat Finn Balor & Baron Corbin
Because Kurt is terrible at his job, Braun Strowman booked a tag match with him and Kevin Owens vs Finn Balor and Baron Corbin. Apparently Strowman felt bad about throwing Owens off a ladder at Money in the Bank and wanted to make it up to him. It was a cute dynamic, with Strowman treating KO like the second-coming of Nicholas, encouraging him to do the Strowman charge spot on the outside.
After Corbin and Balor imploded and brawled to a countout loss, though, Braun chased Owens around the arena and then flipped his car over. Classic Strowman.
Seth Rollins beat Dolph Ziggler (DQ)
Raw still had 25 minutes left when Jojo finished the main event’s introductions – that’s almost half an hour of Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler wrestling! And the two delivered, having a fantastic IC title rematch, which levelled up after the second commercial break when Drew McIntyre was sent to the back. It made you think Seth might actually win back the belt. 10 minutes of great near-falls later, though , McIntyre pulled the referee out when Rollins had it won to give Ziggler the DQ loss. Reigns ran down to equal the odds in a smart finish that keeps the belt on Dolph, but Seth loses nothing. Oooh Showstealer!
This was a really fun episode, with Sasha Banks and Bayley really connecting with the crowd and a brilliant main event. This week’s Raw is Cor.
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