Spoilers follow for the July 7th episode of Raw.
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Last Monday night's Raw was one of the best in a while, and it's probably impossible to top it. However, there's always hope. You never know what's going to happen with WWE programming, and that's one of the main things I like about watching it. Something could always surprise you. I mean, Raw almost always has rematches of the important matches from Smackdown, so that should mean we'll get AJ Lee vs. Eva Marie #2. Or, we should, assuming WWE really is about doing what's "best for business."
Raw opens with a flashback to last week's main event, followed by Roman Reigns coming out to the ring. He's not in a match right now; he's going to cut a promo. I'm still surprised how over Reigns is, considering he's mediocre on the mic and less than stellar in the ring. Whatever. Reigns actually does a bit of improv, playing off the crowd, which is good. He hypes the main event at Battleground. TheDemonKane comes out to the top of the ramp. Reigns calls Kane "Triple H's lapdog," and then something else which isn't very PG. Kane walks down the ramp, Reigns and Kane brawl for a while, and -- hey, remember when Kane was destroying Daniel Bryan? That feels like so long ago. Kane gets the upper hand before officials try to break up the fight. Kane chokeslams one of them before more come out to separate them. Reigns beats up a couple of them, because that makes him look strong. Eventually they stop trying to attack each other. We're building to a match, right? Probably.
Luke Harper and Erick Rowan vs. The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso)
We've seen this match what feels like three or four times now, and it never seemed to me like this match had a chance to top the PPV bout. As it turns out, it couldn't do that. This match started out slow. Really, really slow. After the commercial break, it picked up and got good. The pace increased, the near-falls began ... well, happening, and there were some big spots involving everyone. It's rare that a match gets both "CM Punk" chants and "This is awesome" chants, but this match did. Luke Harper wins with a clothesline, although Michael Cole points out afterward that he might have pinned the wrong Uso. If that wasn't intentional, should Cole really be pointing out a flaw?
Match Rating: ***1/2
Kane, Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins have a "we've got each other's backs" promo. Except then they don't. Orton doesn't like Rollins, and Kane doesn't like Orton. Hooray.
Nikki Bella vs. Alicia Fox
Both competitors are forced to have one hand tied behind their back. Because that leads to good matches. Oh, wait, no it doesn't.
The match never happens. Nikki gets tied up, and then Alicia beats her up. Alicia then prances around the ring and does her "crazy" act. She sprays Nikki with some sort of liquid. Honestly, I didn't even pay attention to if it was soda, beer, or an energy drink. It doesn't matter. Then she does more of her "crazy" thing. The segment abruptly cuts to Cole and Lawler promoting Cena vs. Rollins tonight.
Match Rating: N/A
Rusev (with Lana) vs. Rob Van Dam
Lana cuts a brief pro-Russia promo -- but not an anti-Canada one, somehow -- before Rob Van Dam comes out. He and Rusev put on Rusev's longest and probably best match so far, even though the outcome was never in doubt. Rob Van Dam gets in some of his signature offense, Rusev uses his power moves, and RVD winds up tapping out to The Accolade.
Match Rating: **
Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton
A Smackdown rematch, because, as I said earlier, if something important happens on Smackdown, you can bet we're going to get to see it on Raw, too.
Ambrose and Orton wrestle a physical and relatively technical match. It's a bit slow, but that's less of a problem when you're watching performers this good. Orton spends most of the match working over Ambrose's shoulder, because that's a thing that happens now. Like the earlier good match, it gets better as it goes along and eventually became very physical. Surprisingly, Orton wins clean after countering that rebound clothesline into an RKO. This could have been main event material, but we got it early. Solid match.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Cena is interviewed by Renee Young. Reigns interrupts. Yawn.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler
Fandango is on commentary. Why? Because Ziggler and Summer Rae are now an item, and Fandango cares about this. Fandango's whispering commentary is awful. Ziggler and Del Rio work hard for most of the match before the poor finish, which comes when Fandango starts dancing on the commentary table, distracts Ziggler, and Del Rio picks up the win after kicking Ziggler kind of hard. Fandango then does more dancing on the table.
Match Rating: **1/2
A Stardust and Goldust promo is next. It's so weird. It's so great.
Jerry Lawler then introduces Bret "The Hitman" Hart, because we're at a televised show in Canada and that's kind of the thing that has to happen. Hart praises the fans. Damien Sandow then comes out dressed as Hart. Because ... he's Sandow, I guess. Wouldn't it be awesome if that pipebomb he dropped months ago went somewhere?
Sandow insults Canada and Hart. Hart hits him. Sheamus comes out, hugs, Hart, and then starts a match with Sandow -- during the commercial break. Because "USE THE WWE APP, GUYS."
Damien Sandow vs. Sheamus
Sandow is really talented in the ring, and he needs to be allowed to do that instead of being dressed as random characters each week. Somehow, he actually puts up a good fight against Sheamus, despite losing in one move the last week. Sandow gets in most of the offense, but Sheamus hits a few signatures and then hits a Brogue Kick for the win. This wasn't a good match, but it wasn't a complete waste, either, which was good.
Match Rating: **
Renee Young interviews The Miz backstage, which has Miz read a fan letter. Miz's acting is awful. That doesn't bode well for The Marine 4.
Chris Jericho vs. The Miz
The Miz functions as a warmup match for Jericho, although Jericho doesn't really look like he needs it. He's in good form here. The Miz is ... well, he's The Miz. It's kind of funny to see Miz try to protect his face -- his "movie star" gimmick means that he needs his face to be beautiful -- but it doesn't make Miz great as a wrestler. He's fine, and he works well in the lower midcard, but he's not on Jericho's level. Jericho wins after hitting Miz's face and locking in The Walls of Jericho. Jericho looked a little gassed after the match, but not during, which was good.
Match Rating: **1/2
Bray Wyatt appears on the stage afterward and taunts Jericho. It's a good promo. Wyatt is great on the mic and if he's focused he can do really good work. Jericho winds up interrupting him and says he'll come beat up Wyatt. But then Harper and Rowan magically appear behind Wyatt. Nobody really thought that we'd get Wyatt/Jericho tonight, right?
The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi) vs. Paige and AJ Lee
So, we're doing "mutual respect" right now between AJ and Paige, but hopefully Paige will do a full heel turn soon. Paige announces AJ to the ring, and it's just weird. They quieted AJ's music while she did that, and that's never cool. Cameron and Naomi continue their "feud," by having Cameron refuse to tag in when Naomi wants her to. Cameron eventually tags herself in, only to eat a Paige Turner and pick up the loss. AJ was in the match for about a minute and a half, hit a hurricanrana, and then tagged out. The match wasn't sloppy or anything, but it also wasn't entertaining. It should have been AJ and Eva squaring off for a second time.
Match Rating: **
Cameron and Naomi have a catfight after the match. I have a feeling we're only going to really find out about this feud when Total Divas airs. I'm not sure if it would be season 3 or 4, but that's probably when this feud will really start to make "sense," as it's probably all done just for the "reality" show. Fine.
Cesaro (with Paul Heyman) vs. Kofi Kingston
Paul Heyman does his Paul Heyman thing, but Cesaro cuts him off. Cesaro says the Montreal audience doesn't even speak French; they speak Quebecois. He taunts them in French. Then Kofi Kingston comes out. Hopefully the match doesn't end during a commercial break this week.
Cesaro brutally beats up Kofi for most of the match. Kofi gets in a bit of offense, but not very much. There's a fun reversal section, a couple of shows of strength from Cesaro ... and then Kofi gets another roll up victory before being beaten up by Cesaro after the match. Again. But this time, Big E comes out for the save. What a step down for Cesaro.
Match Rating: *1/2
Seth Rollins and John Cena have a conversation backstage. It's not engaging television.
El Torito (with Diego) vs. Bo Dallas
It's nice to see Dallas showing a bit of a mean streak, as I think that's going to be essential to his character, but this is a joke match that doesn't deserve time on Raw. Dallas wins after hitting about two moves. Torito got in lots of offense but none of it seemed particularly impactful.
Match Rating: *
John Cena vs. Seth Rollins
Cena and Rollins have a solid match, much like Orton and Ambrose had earlier. Actually, it was the same in a lot of ways. Orton and Ambrose's was better, though. Still, it was fun to see what Rollins and Cena could do when given some time to work together. They don't get a true finish, though, as Kane and Orton come out to attack Cena. Roman Reigns comes out for the save, but Rollins knocks him and Cena out with the briefcase. Ambrose stops him and apparently that's going to be a weekly thing. Rollins and Ambrose brawl to the back. Cena wakes up and gets off an AA on Orton, Reigns spears Kane. Cena and Reigns have a bit of a moment in the ring. Reigns raises Cena's hand, Cena does the same, and Reigns is really starting to look like a main eventer, I have to say.
The Good: Orton vs. Ambrose. Harper/Rowan vs. Usos. Stardust/Goldust promo. Wyatt promo.
The Bad: Torito vs. Dallas. Bella vs. Fox. Fandango's commentary. Cesaro vs. Kingston.
Match of the Night: Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton.
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Last Monday night's Raw was one of the best in a while, and it's probably impossible to top it. However, there's always hope. You never know what's going to happen with WWE programming, and that's one of the main things I like about watching it. Something could always surprise you. I mean, Raw almost always has rematches of the important matches from Smackdown, so that should mean we'll get AJ Lee vs. Eva Marie #2. Or, we should, assuming WWE really is about doing what's "best for business."
Raw opens with a flashback to last week's main event, followed by Roman Reigns coming out to the ring. He's not in a match right now; he's going to cut a promo. I'm still surprised how over Reigns is, considering he's mediocre on the mic and less than stellar in the ring. Whatever. Reigns actually does a bit of improv, playing off the crowd, which is good. He hypes the main event at Battleground. TheDemonKane comes out to the top of the ramp. Reigns calls Kane "Triple H's lapdog," and then something else which isn't very PG. Kane walks down the ramp, Reigns and Kane brawl for a while, and -- hey, remember when Kane was destroying Daniel Bryan? That feels like so long ago. Kane gets the upper hand before officials try to break up the fight. Kane chokeslams one of them before more come out to separate them. Reigns beats up a couple of them, because that makes him look strong. Eventually they stop trying to attack each other. We're building to a match, right? Probably.
Luke Harper and Erick Rowan vs. The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso)
We've seen this match what feels like three or four times now, and it never seemed to me like this match had a chance to top the PPV bout. As it turns out, it couldn't do that. This match started out slow. Really, really slow. After the commercial break, it picked up and got good. The pace increased, the near-falls began ... well, happening, and there were some big spots involving everyone. It's rare that a match gets both "CM Punk" chants and "This is awesome" chants, but this match did. Luke Harper wins with a clothesline, although Michael Cole points out afterward that he might have pinned the wrong Uso. If that wasn't intentional, should Cole really be pointing out a flaw?
Match Rating: ***1/2
Kane, Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins have a "we've got each other's backs" promo. Except then they don't. Orton doesn't like Rollins, and Kane doesn't like Orton. Hooray.
Nikki Bella vs. Alicia Fox
Both competitors are forced to have one hand tied behind their back. Because that leads to good matches. Oh, wait, no it doesn't.
The match never happens. Nikki gets tied up, and then Alicia beats her up. Alicia then prances around the ring and does her "crazy" act. She sprays Nikki with some sort of liquid. Honestly, I didn't even pay attention to if it was soda, beer, or an energy drink. It doesn't matter. Then she does more of her "crazy" thing. The segment abruptly cuts to Cole and Lawler promoting Cena vs. Rollins tonight.
Match Rating: N/A
Rusev (with Lana) vs. Rob Van Dam
Lana cuts a brief pro-Russia promo -- but not an anti-Canada one, somehow -- before Rob Van Dam comes out. He and Rusev put on Rusev's longest and probably best match so far, even though the outcome was never in doubt. Rob Van Dam gets in some of his signature offense, Rusev uses his power moves, and RVD winds up tapping out to The Accolade.
Match Rating: **
Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton
A Smackdown rematch, because, as I said earlier, if something important happens on Smackdown, you can bet we're going to get to see it on Raw, too.
Ambrose and Orton wrestle a physical and relatively technical match. It's a bit slow, but that's less of a problem when you're watching performers this good. Orton spends most of the match working over Ambrose's shoulder, because that's a thing that happens now. Like the earlier good match, it gets better as it goes along and eventually became very physical. Surprisingly, Orton wins clean after countering that rebound clothesline into an RKO. This could have been main event material, but we got it early. Solid match.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Cena is interviewed by Renee Young. Reigns interrupts. Yawn.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler
Fandango is on commentary. Why? Because Ziggler and Summer Rae are now an item, and Fandango cares about this. Fandango's whispering commentary is awful. Ziggler and Del Rio work hard for most of the match before the poor finish, which comes when Fandango starts dancing on the commentary table, distracts Ziggler, and Del Rio picks up the win after kicking Ziggler kind of hard. Fandango then does more dancing on the table.
Match Rating: **1/2
A Stardust and Goldust promo is next. It's so weird. It's so great.
Jerry Lawler then introduces Bret "The Hitman" Hart, because we're at a televised show in Canada and that's kind of the thing that has to happen. Hart praises the fans. Damien Sandow then comes out dressed as Hart. Because ... he's Sandow, I guess. Wouldn't it be awesome if that pipebomb he dropped months ago went somewhere?
Sandow insults Canada and Hart. Hart hits him. Sheamus comes out, hugs, Hart, and then starts a match with Sandow -- during the commercial break. Because "USE THE WWE APP, GUYS."
Damien Sandow vs. Sheamus
Sandow is really talented in the ring, and he needs to be allowed to do that instead of being dressed as random characters each week. Somehow, he actually puts up a good fight against Sheamus, despite losing in one move the last week. Sandow gets in most of the offense, but Sheamus hits a few signatures and then hits a Brogue Kick for the win. This wasn't a good match, but it wasn't a complete waste, either, which was good.
Match Rating: **
Renee Young interviews The Miz backstage, which has Miz read a fan letter. Miz's acting is awful. That doesn't bode well for The Marine 4.
Chris Jericho vs. The Miz
The Miz functions as a warmup match for Jericho, although Jericho doesn't really look like he needs it. He's in good form here. The Miz is ... well, he's The Miz. It's kind of funny to see Miz try to protect his face -- his "movie star" gimmick means that he needs his face to be beautiful -- but it doesn't make Miz great as a wrestler. He's fine, and he works well in the lower midcard, but he's not on Jericho's level. Jericho wins after hitting Miz's face and locking in The Walls of Jericho. Jericho looked a little gassed after the match, but not during, which was good.
Match Rating: **1/2
Bray Wyatt appears on the stage afterward and taunts Jericho. It's a good promo. Wyatt is great on the mic and if he's focused he can do really good work. Jericho winds up interrupting him and says he'll come beat up Wyatt. But then Harper and Rowan magically appear behind Wyatt. Nobody really thought that we'd get Wyatt/Jericho tonight, right?
The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi) vs. Paige and AJ Lee
So, we're doing "mutual respect" right now between AJ and Paige, but hopefully Paige will do a full heel turn soon. Paige announces AJ to the ring, and it's just weird. They quieted AJ's music while she did that, and that's never cool. Cameron and Naomi continue their "feud," by having Cameron refuse to tag in when Naomi wants her to. Cameron eventually tags herself in, only to eat a Paige Turner and pick up the loss. AJ was in the match for about a minute and a half, hit a hurricanrana, and then tagged out. The match wasn't sloppy or anything, but it also wasn't entertaining. It should have been AJ and Eva squaring off for a second time.
Match Rating: **
Cameron and Naomi have a catfight after the match. I have a feeling we're only going to really find out about this feud when Total Divas airs. I'm not sure if it would be season 3 or 4, but that's probably when this feud will really start to make "sense," as it's probably all done just for the "reality" show. Fine.
Cesaro (with Paul Heyman) vs. Kofi Kingston
Paul Heyman does his Paul Heyman thing, but Cesaro cuts him off. Cesaro says the Montreal audience doesn't even speak French; they speak Quebecois. He taunts them in French. Then Kofi Kingston comes out. Hopefully the match doesn't end during a commercial break this week.
Cesaro brutally beats up Kofi for most of the match. Kofi gets in a bit of offense, but not very much. There's a fun reversal section, a couple of shows of strength from Cesaro ... and then Kofi gets another roll up victory before being beaten up by Cesaro after the match. Again. But this time, Big E comes out for the save. What a step down for Cesaro.
Match Rating: *1/2
Seth Rollins and John Cena have a conversation backstage. It's not engaging television.
El Torito (with Diego) vs. Bo Dallas
It's nice to see Dallas showing a bit of a mean streak, as I think that's going to be essential to his character, but this is a joke match that doesn't deserve time on Raw. Dallas wins after hitting about two moves. Torito got in lots of offense but none of it seemed particularly impactful.
Match Rating: *
John Cena vs. Seth Rollins
Cena and Rollins have a solid match, much like Orton and Ambrose had earlier. Actually, it was the same in a lot of ways. Orton and Ambrose's was better, though. Still, it was fun to see what Rollins and Cena could do when given some time to work together. They don't get a true finish, though, as Kane and Orton come out to attack Cena. Roman Reigns comes out for the save, but Rollins knocks him and Cena out with the briefcase. Ambrose stops him and apparently that's going to be a weekly thing. Rollins and Ambrose brawl to the back. Cena wakes up and gets off an AA on Orton, Reigns spears Kane. Cena and Reigns have a bit of a moment in the ring. Reigns raises Cena's hand, Cena does the same, and Reigns is really starting to look like a main eventer, I have to say.
The Good: Orton vs. Ambrose. Harper/Rowan vs. Usos. Stardust/Goldust promo. Wyatt promo.
The Bad: Torito vs. Dallas. Bella vs. Fox. Fandango's commentary. Cesaro vs. Kingston.
Match of the Night: Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton.
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
If you wish to be notified whenever I post something new, please join this <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/2-50-Reviews>user group.
For an archive of all my previous WWE reviews, please go <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.846764-Marters-WWE-Reviews-Archive>here.
Talk to me on the Twitter, <url=https://twitter.com/martertweet>@martertweet.