Braun intimidates his way into a Money in the Bank qualifying match against Kevin Owens. Extremely entertaining segment, with both guys showing offf their mic skills. For Kurt being involved in the segment, it automatically gets 10 Gold Medals.
MITB QUALIFIER: BRAUN STROWMAN VS. KEVIN OWENS
Strowman dominated this one until Owens hit the DDT on the outside. I don’t like that they continually tease Owens getting counted out. Every move Strowman hits looks like it takes years off Owens’ life, yet Braun is selling more than Owens it. That doesn’t make any sense. Owens shows no signs of being decimated by this giant brick shithouse, but every time Braun gets hit with a move he stays down. That’s poor booking. Braun hitting those shoulder blocks on the outside and power slamming people is always entertaining, but the selling one wasn’t logical, and the match suffered because of it.
Rating: Three Gold Medals
TITUS O’NEIL, APOLLO CREWS, & NO WAY JOSE VS. BARON CORBIN & THE REVIVAL
The focus of this match was Baron Corbin, as it should be. The Revival are extremely talented but they have no direction right now. No Way Jose is Dominican Adam Rose without a bunny. Titus and Apollo are both extremely talented but are stuck in a gimmick that nobody cares about. Baron is a future world champion in the making, and he should be getting even more opportunities to shine on Raw. The match itself was lame and boring as hell.
Rating: Two Gold Medals
MITB QUALIFIER: SASHA BANKS VS. RUBY RIOTT VS. EMBER MOON
The wrestling in this match is terrific. My problem is this: there’s no disqualifications in a triple threat match. Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan are at ring side. Ember Moon and Sasha Banks are out there alone. Why are they not getting involved in the match right from the start? They eventually get in there to help Ruby but I don’t know why it took so long. That was an awesome match with an awesome finish, sort of a double eclipse. Ember in the ladder match is gonna be great.
Rating: Seven Gold Medals
JINDER MAHAL VS. CHAD GABLE
Gable is so quick and athletic. Jinder’s matches usually bore me, and this one started out that way, but it was a treat to see Chad pick up the pace and turn it into a pretty fun match. Jinder gets the win but I was more entertained than I thought I would be. I really hope Chad gets so big opportunities, I think he’d make a good IC title contender. Jinder certainly knows how to get heat. I think people resent the hell out of him for his WWE Championship run, and as a heel that works in his favor.
Rating: Five Gold Medals
HEATH SLATER & RHYNO VS. DREW MCINTYRE & DOLPH ZIGGLER
This is a perfect match-up based on Drew and Dolph’s recent attitudes. Slater and Rhyno are very entertaining and have fun, and that’s exactly why Drew and Dolph have said they’re fed up with. That Claymore/Zig Zag combo finisher is awesome. I just realized all three members of 3MB are now on Raw, and two of them were in this match.
Rating: Four Gold Medals
BOBBY ROODE VS. ELIAS
The “Glorious One” interrupts another concert. I’m rarely entertained by Bobby Roode’s matches. Usually I like Elias’ matches more than I liked this one. I did like the back breaker he hit. It’s not that the wrestling was bad, I think I just have zero interest in this feud. They probably deserve better from me, but again, I just didn’t care about this match. I’m also pretty tired of him saying “Glorious” as a face.
Rating: Three Gold Medals
IC TITLE MATCH: MOJO RAWLEY VS. SETH ROLLINS
I really like Mojo. He’s so intense and it makes for a powerful heel-style offense that just looks damn painful. A perfect style to try to slow down and ground Rollins. As we see in this match though, you can only slow Rollins down for so long. This is a pretty awesome match and could be a huge stepping stone for Mojo, even with a loss, showing that he hang right with maybe the best performer on Raw. This one might be match of the night.
Rating: Eight Gold Medals
BO DALLAS & CURTIS AXEL VS. DELETER OF WORLDS
I absolutely love the back and forth between Corey Graves and Michael Cole when it comes to the woken/broken universe, and tonight was their best work. Cole’s ignorance and disdain for it all is hilarious. I think tonight might have been the first ever on-air reference to Bray and Bo being brothers. Quick match seemingly to just entertain the crowd and get all these guys on the show. It gets extra points for the commentary.
Rating: Five Gold Medals
MITB QUALIFIER: FINN BALOR VS. ROMAN REIGNS VS. SAMI ZAYN
Earlier in the night Roman said he was pissed, and he wrestled like it. I like that this one went out into the crowd, these triple threat matches should highlight the no-disqualification feature of the match. It’s really fun to watch Finn and Sami and their fast-paced styles going at it. Both of them are so good and technically sound, everything is so crisp and looks really good. Finn and Sami would be a main event match for me. Roman comes back and ruins the party by beating the shit out of Sami. Well, Jinder was talking shit about Roman all night, and he ended up costing him this match. Why, WHY do they think that feud could possibly work?? The crowd mostly detests both of them. It reeks of them trying to force Roman as a face, but instead I think all they’re going to get is boos and “you both suck” chants. Excellent match, but the Jinder interference is setting everyone up for disappointment. Glad to see that Finn is going to be in the match, and I’m hoping Sami gets into it somehow as well.
Rating: Seven Gold Medals
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