Universal Champion Brock Lesnar kicked off this week’s episode of RAW and came down to the ring with Paul Heyman. Heyman took several shots at Samoa Joe and called him the one Samoan in the wrestling business that hasn’t really accomplished that much. Heyman stated that Samoa Joe’s greatest accomplishment in his career was applying the Coquina Clutch to him last week. Heyman claimed that Samoa Joe is a punk and will never be able to get Lesnar in the Coquina Clutch.
Samoa Joe stormed the ring and attacked Lesnar. Joe and Lesnar started brawling and RAW GM Kurt Angle called out security. Lesnar took out all the security guards and Angle waved all the Superstars from the back to come out. The Superstars came down to the ring and seperated Lesnar and Joe. Samoa Joe was able to connect to Lesnar’s face that knocked him to the mat. Lesnar got up and once again attacked Joe on the entrance ramp. The two were separated again by WWE Superstars as the crowd chanted “this is awesome!”.
Reaction: Heyman cut a decent promo here, but the brawl between Joe and Lesnar is what made this segment great. It is just an awesome sight to see Lesnar and Joe face-to-face. The crowd is already into this feud and it should lead to an energetic atmosphere at Great Balls of Fire. This match has that “big match feel” and I really hope it lives up to the hype.
Elias Samson performed another song in the ring that insulted the crowd in attendance. Samson asked the crowd “who wants to walk with Elias?” and the crowd booed. During the song, Samson also poked fun at Ambrose and Dean interrupted him before he could finish performing.
Dean Ambrose vs Elias Samson
The crowd chanted “Ambrose!” as the two Superstars locked up to start the match. Ambrose connected with an elbow and Samson rolled out of the ring as RAW went to a commercial break. When RAW returned, Samson was in control of the match and beatdown Ambrose in the corner.
Samson locked Ambrose in a Chin Lock for a couple of minutes. Chants of “you can’t wrestle” and “you can’t sing” broke out as Ambrose finally fought out of the hold. Ambrose and Samson traded chops. Ambrose got the upper-hand and planted Samson with a Fisherman’s Suplex for a two count.
Samson booted Ambrose in the face but was quickly knocked out of the ring by Ambrose. Dean connected with a Suicide Dive onto Samson outside the ring and knocked him into the barricade. The action returned to the ring and Ambrose climbed the turnbuckle. Samson met him up there and connected with a couple right hands.
Ambrose headbutted Samson of the turnbuckle and The Miz sprinted to the ring. Miz got up on the ring apron and distracted Ambrose. Samson tried to capatilize on the distraction with a roll-up but Ambrose kicked out at two. Dean then leveled Samson with a Lunatic Lariat and exited the ring.
Ambrose stalked Miz outside the ring and then slammed him into the barricade. Ambrose then argued with Maryse as the referee was counting. Ambrose tried to get back into the ring but Samson jumped on top of him. Samson then planted Ambrose with the Swinging Neckbreaker for the victory.
Winner: Elias Samson
Reaction: The ending to this match seemed very disoriented. When Ambrose got back into the ring, he had to pause motionless on the mat for a second because Samson wasn’t ready to jump onto him. It felt like Ambrose was outside the ring arguing with Maryse and chasing around The Miz for an eternity. It just didn’t come off well at all. Having said that, I do find Elias Samson entertaining. His performances before matches get a great negative reaction from the crowd.
Goldust cut a promo on R-Truth in another vignette.
The Miz and RAW GM Kurt Angle had an argument backstage. The Miz suggested that Angle fire or suspend Dean Ambrose. Angle then told Miz that if he had an issue with Ambrose, he should handle it himself. During this promo, The Miz also said that Angle should spend more time focusing on RAW than his personal problems. Angle asked Miz what he knew about his personal problems, but Miz didn’t answer the question.
Noam Dar was on Facetime with Alicia Fox. Cedric Alexander showed up and said that he was done with Dar and Fox. Dar and Alexander will fight next on RAW.
Cedric Alexander vs Noam Dar
Noam Dar came down to the ring with Alicia Fox still on Facetime. The two argued and Fox was also shown on the jumbotron. Dar finally put down the phone and the match started. Alexander hit the Lumbar Check right away for the victory.
Winner: Cedric Alexander
Reaction: This was absolutely horrible. I felt embarrassed and uncomfortable for everyone involved in this.
Bray Wyatt came down to the ring and cut a promo on Seth Rollins. Wyatt threatened Rollins and stated that if he takes his name in vein, he will fall. Wyatt bragged about costing Rollins his match last week against Samoa Joe. Rollins came down to the ring and once again called Wyatt a false prophet.
Rollins called Wyatt a coward and dared Bray to prove him wrong. Bray laughed and called Rollins arrogant. Wyatt stated that when he looks at Rollins, all he sees is a man that is beneath him. The lights went out in the arena and Bray Wyatt appeared on the jumbotron. Wyatt told Rollins to “run” and the segment ended.
Reaction: The crowd was pretty much silent during this promo. There were a few “JoJo” chants but mostly people just sat there. I think both Rollins and Wyatt are very talented, but I just don’t care about this feud at all.
The following video was shown to promote John Cena returning to SmackDown Live on July 4th. In the video, John Cena is referred to as a “free agent”.
Apollo Crews vs Kalisto
Titus O’Neil accompanied Crews to the ring. Akira Tozawa was in the front row watching the match. O’Neil is trying to recruit him to the Titus Brand.
Crews hit a Powerbomb for the victory and Tozawa cheered from the front row. O’neil then grabbed Tozawa in the front row and brought him in the ring. Crews and O’Neil then raised his hand and took a selfie with him.
Winner: Apollo Crews
Rhyno and Slater were shown eating cheese and crackers backstage. The Miz showed up and asked Heath Slater to join his entourage. Slater then said he wanted a shot at the Intercontinental Championship. The Miz said he would get a shot at his title some day if he joined him. Rhyno then told Miz to go find a tag partner because he wants a tag match tonight. Rhyno then sprayed a ridiculous amount of cheese onto his crackers as Slater stared at Miz’s Intercontinental Championship.
Alexa Bliss came down to the ring to cut a promo. Bliss was quickly interrupted by Nia Jax. Nia made her way to the ring and got right in Alexa’s face. Bliss said that their RAW Women’s Championship match was ruined ruined last week by Dana Brooke and Mickie James. Mickie and Dana interrupted and came down to the ring.
Mickie and Dana poked holes in Alexa’s story and reminded Nia that Alexa tried to turn everyone against her last week. Emma then interrupted and joined the party. Emma stated that she was back to take her rightful place at the top of the women’s division. Sasha Banks then came down to the ring and the crowd chanted “Sasha!”.
Banks said that all Bliss wants to do is come down to the ring and talk. Banks then hit Bliss with the microphone and a brawl broke out as RAW went to a commercial break.
Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax & Emma vs Sasha Banks, Mickie James & Dana Brooke
Bliss beatdown Dana Brooke to start off the match. Emma then entered the match and continued to beat the hell out of Dana Brooke. Eventually, Dana was able to tag in Sasha Banks. Sasha attacked Emma but was knocked to the mat by an elbow to the face. Emma tried to tag in Alexa Bliss but Alexa left the ring and walked up the entrance ramp. Nia Jax charged at Mickie but missed and fell out of the ring. Mickie then climbed to the top turnbuckle and leaped onto Nia Jax outside the ring. Back in the ring, Sasha applied the Bank Statement for the victory.
Winners: Sasha Banks, Mickie James & Dana Brooke
Corey Graves sat down with Bayley in a pre-taped interview. Bayley said that she was in the WWE to put smiles on faces and not bruises on backs in reference to getting dismantled in the Kendo Stick on a Pole match at Extreme Rules. Bayley said that she is not going to change who she is. Graves asked what the future holds for Bayley and Bayley stated that she wants to be the best. Bayley said that she wants to recapture the RAW Women’s Championship. The interview then ended with Bayley hugging Corey Graves.
Reaction: WWE has done the impossible and has made Bayley completely unlikable. It is remarkable how terrible of a job they have done with Bayley’s character on the main roster. I wouldn’t be surprised if she starts getting booed on a regular basis.
Heath Slater & Rhyno vs The Miz & The Bear
The bear that Miz hit with a Skull Crushing Finale turned out to be Miz’s partner. Slater and Rhyno beatdown Miz for several minutes. The Bear then tagged himself in and got in Slater’s face. Heath tried to rip of the head of the costume and The Bear pawed Slater in the face. The Bear then applied a Bear Hug to Slater and Rhyno got into the ring and broke it up.
The Bear then tagged in Miz and rolled out of the ring. The Miz then attacked The Bear and slammed him into the barricade. Miz removed the head of the costume and it wasn’t Dean Ambrose. Back in the ring, another Bear got in the ring and hit the Dirty Deeds onto Slater. Ambrose then charged at Miz and Miz bumped into Maryse on the ring apron. Ambrose then planted Miz with a Dirty Deeds and dragged Slater on top of him for the victory.
After the match, Ambrose then put the bear head on The Miz and left the ring.
Winners: Heath Slater & Rhyno
Reaction: The only reason that I can come up with for this show being this bad is that WWE realized that they were going up against Game 5 of the NBA Finals and decided to take a week off. Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe kicked off the show and that aired before Game 5 began. The show was pretty much over right there. The rest of tonight’s show has been a waste of everyone’s time.
https://twitter.com/HEEL_TEM/status/874447767984373760
Rich Swann vs Neville
Swann danced his way to the ring and Neville attacked him before the match started. Neville slammed him into the barricade and brought him back into the ring. Neville then applied the Rings of Saturn for a bit and the referee finally got him to release the hold.
Neville then grabbed a microphone and said “Austin Aries, TJP and now Richard Swann… get out of my ring!” and then booted Swann out of the ring. Neville then told Akira Tozawa to tread carefully or Neville will force him to bow before the King of the Cruiserweights.
Big Cass was shown backstage laying on the ground and was apparently attacked again. The Revival was shown walking behind Cass. Gallows and Anderson then cut a promo making fun of Cass in the ring.
Enzo & Cass vs Gallows & Anderson
Cass said he wanted to be in the match, even though he was attacked backstage. Cass beatdown Anderson to start out the match but was still feeling the effects of the backstage attack. Cass planted Anderson with a Side Slam and then connected with an Empire Elbow.
Enzo was then tagged in and he was booted in the face by Anderson. Cass was struggling to get back to his feet outside the ring. Enzo wanted to tag him but Cass was still on the floor outside the ring. Gallows and Anderson then hit the Magic Killer for the victory.
After the match, Gallows and Anderson went for another Magic Killer on Enzo but the Big Show came out to make the save. Gallows and Anderson retreated as Big Show helped Enzo up. Cass then angrily looked on as Big Show raised Enzo’s hand.
Winners: Gallows & Anderson
Reaction: Unless you are a massive Enzo & Cass fan, I don’t understand how you’d still care about who is attacking them. The storyline is moving incredibly slow and has become boring.
R-Truth responded to Goldust’s vignette with another vignette of his own.
Enzo thanked Big Show backstage for helping him out. Enzo then asked if it was Big Show that attacked Cass earlier. Big Show got angry, but realized Enzo was just asking because Cass was pissed off. Big Show said that he had one word to describe Big Cass, s-a-w-f-t.
Samoa Joe was interviewed backstage. Joe said that he will lock Lesnar in the Coquina Clutch and become the new Universal Champion at Great Balls of Fire in four weeks.
Roman Reigns will have an announcement regarding SummerSlam next week.
RAW Tag Team Championship 2 out of 3 Falls Match: Sheamus & Cesaro vs The Hardy Boyz
Matt and Jeff controlled the match early. Cesaro was launched out of the ring. Sheamus connected with a quick Brogue Kick on Jeff Hardy in the corner and scored the first victory as RAW went to a commercial break. When RAW returned, Sheamus hit a Backbreaker on Jeff Hardy for a two count.
Cesaro and Matt Hardy were tagged in and traded punches in the ring. Matt slammed Cesaro’s head off the turnbuckle several times and then connected with an elbow. Matt then hit a Tornado DDT off the second rope for a two count. Matt connected with the Twist of Fate on Cesaro for the second fall.
Cesaro connected with an uppercut and knocked Matt to the mat. Sheamus was tagged in and he immediately connected with a knee to Matt’s face. Cesaro was then tagged in and locked Matt in the Sharpshooter. Matt reached the ropes and then Clotheslined Cesaro to the mat.
Jeff Hardy and Sheamus were tagged in and hit an Atomic Drop and followed it up with a Dropkick to Sheamus’ face. Cesaro slammed Matt Hardy into the barricade outside the ring. Back in the ring, Sheamus charged at Jeff but he moved and Sheamus slammed into the ring post. Jeff then hit the Swanton Bomb but Cesaro dragged Sheamus out of the ring to break up the pinfall.
Jeff leaped onto Cesaro outside the ring. Matt then got back to his feet and was once again slammed into the barricade. The official then counted everyone out and the match ended in a double countout. The brawl continued after the match and Jeff Hardy leaped onto Cesaro and Sheamus outside the ring. RAW went off the air with The Hardy Boyz standing tall in the ring as Sheamus & Cesaro raised the titles on the entrance ramp.
Reaction: A lame finish to a match was the perfect choice to wrap up this terrible episode of RAW. The confrontation between Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar was the only entertaining thing that happened on tonight’s show. I would have been absolutely pissed if I was one of the people in the crowd that paid money to go to the show tonight. If you missed this week’s episode of RAW, consider yourself lucky. The Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar promo will be up on YouTube tonight. Check it out there and save yourself three hours.
What did you think of this week’s episode of RAW? Let us know in the comments below.
