Raw Review, 8/13

IN-RING SEGMENT: RONDA ROUSEY, EMBER MOON, ALICIA FOX, & ALEXA BLISS

Nice surprise to start the show with Ronda Rousey. Kind words from her to her friend Natalya, and this will give Alexa a ton of nuclear heat when she inevitably interrupts this segment. I’m really surprised they didn’t have a ten-bell salute or at least an “in memory” screen.

It’s really great to see that Alexa is not getting the “cool heel” cheers anymore. Her character is better for it, and so is Ronda. She brings out her on personal security which gets her even more heat. I really REALLY want to see Ronda take these guys down.

I got my wish. I love that she took out three and the fourth ran. That was hilarious and awesome. Great start.

Segment Rating: Seven This Is Your Lifes

 

EMBER MOON W/RONDA ROUSEY VS. ALEXA BLISS W/ALICIA FOX

Ember has been one one of my favorite wrestlers since I saw her debut at Takeover Brooklyn II. She was hugely over in NXT but hasn’t quite clicked with the main roster crowd yet. Pairing her with a heel as hated as Alexa is at the moment and putting Ronda in her corner was a great decision with Natalya unable to be there tonight. It should help Ember a lot and you can hear the crowd chanting her name.

I can’t help but notice Alicia Fox dancing around in the background. She is such an underrated performer. She looks ridiculous and crazy, and that is exactly the character she is supposed to be playing.

I don’t see Ember winning this match, at least by any method other than DQ, because they likely wouldn’t give her any claim to a title opportunity at this point. I definitely see her as a champion at some point. For anyone who never watched her in NXT, the only reaosn she wasn’t never the NXT Women’s Champion is because Asuka was there at the same time. They had an epic rivalry, one of the best I’ve ever seen, even if Ember never was able to get the win. It looked for a second like I might be wrong about Ember not getting a clean win, but Alicia Fox proved me right. Hot crowd and good action for this opening match, with Rousey getting the more attention than the women in the ring.

Match Rating: Seven Gold Medals

 

Dolph with his hair down looks like he should be in The Brood.

 

CONSTABLE BARON CORBIN VS. TYLER BREEZE

Corbin has handpicked opponents for himself and Balor tonight. I’d wager money that Balor will be wrestling Braun Strowman. Breeze was a legit contender for the NXT Championship, and now he’s a joke opponent for Baron Corbin. Unfortunate. The “Let’s go Corbin” chants were completely drowned out by “Corbin sucks” chants. Breeze gets two or three brief moments of offense, but Corbin doesn’t even need his finisher to win the match. It was smart booking to have the heel use his power wisely. That makes it a good match.

Match Rating: Six Gold Medals

 

HANDICAP MATCH: FINN BALOR VS. JINDER MAHAL & KEVIN OWENS

So I’d lose that money I bet on Finn’s opponent being Strowman, and this may be even smarter. Kurt Angle appears to probably add Braun to the match.

 

FINN BALOR & BRAUN STROWMAN VS. JINDER MAHAL & KEVIN OWENS

I miss not knowing what’s gonna happen before it happens. Angle wisely does not want Finn Balor maimed heading into Summerslam. He does not have the same qualms about Jinder, Owens, or Samir Singh.

The best part about any tag match involving Strowman is when he gets a hot tag. This one is no different, as we get to see him murder Kevin Owens and Samir Singh in one shot. He quickly follows this up by destroying Jinder and getting the pin. Balor looks pretty beaten down after this match, and Kevin Owens soon will be if Braun catches him. Corbin ambushes Balor with End of Days after the match.

Match Rating: Six Gold Medals

 

BOBBY LASHLEY VS. RICKY ROBERTS

This local jobber talks about Elias being his idol before Elias comes out then I dunno I zoned out between then and Lashley’s entrance. Roberts smashes his guitar over Lashley’s back, and Lashley no-sells it before hitting a spinebuster. Nice.

Booking Rating: Three Dustys

 

TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP TRIPLE THREAT MATCH: THE DELETERS OF WORLDS VS. THE REVIVAL VS. THE B-TEAM (c)

What the fuck is this?! Why are there only two guys in the ring?!?!? I guess I should have known better, that they wouldn’t do it tornado style, but I am really god damn disappointed. There’s nothing special about this match now, except that there’s two additional people to break up pins and submissions. Cole at one point says “triple threat rules”, but if that’s the case, why the hell are they tagging in and out?

So let me get this straight: it’s triple threat rules, so these guys can’t be counted out or disqualified. Knowing that, four of the six guys are going to stand on the apron, patiently waiting their turn to be tagged? HOW STUPID DO THEY THINK WE ARE? This is horribly booked and it was a terrible match. What I thought would be the match of the night ended up being complete shit.

Match Rating: Zero

 

IN-RING SEGMENT: ROMAN REIGNS & PAUL HEYMAN

I have to wonder if Roman would sell his soul to Heyman. Then again, at that point he’d just become another “cool heel” and there’d be nothing special about him. Heyman speaks to Reigns in Samoan then pepper sprays him as we prepare for Lesnar’s music to hit.

Of course it happens, and Roman is pretty fucked. No mincing words: everyone who cheered this is a fucking asshole who cares nothing for the business. I really hope that when Roman wins at SummerSlam they all swear off WWE forever, because it will be so much better off and the shows will be a million times better.

I still think there’s a chance Roman turns at SummerSlam, which I think would be a mistake. With a good crowd, this would have been a terrific segment to get heat on Lesnar. That’s not WWE’s fault, so it’s still a great segment.

Booking Rating: Seven Dustys

 

SIX MAN TAG TEAM MATCH: BOBBY ROODE & TITUS WORLDWIDE VS. MOJO RAWLEY AND THE AUTHORS OF PAIN

For a six man tag match, this was really short and shitty. What was the point? Stop having tag team matches of any kind involving six guys tonight.

Match Rating: One Gold Medal

 

SASHA BANKS W/BAYLEY VS. RUBY RIOTT W/LIV MORGAN & SARAH LOGAN

Lots of action outside the ring in this match and a hot crowd make it really fun. Ruby gets a roll-up win on Sasha after a decently long and entertaining match.

Match Rating: Six Gold Medals

 

Dean Ambrose will be in Seth Rollins’ corner. Mark it.

 

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH CONTRACT SIGNING

Huge pop when Kurt says he wants Roman to kick Brock’s ass. There is hope. Awesome promo by Ziggler as we wait for Rollins to show up with Ambrose. Guaranteed.

I love/hate being right. With that hair cut he actually looks like an escaped lunatic. Whaet a pop. I can’t wait for that match.

Ziggler Heel Promo Rating: Seven Roddy Pipers

Segment Rating: Nine This Is Your Lifes

 

Overall Show Rating: Six Gold Medals