Monday Night RAW Recap

LAST WEEK ON MONDAY NIGHT RAW

Kurt Kicked off the Show with the First Aspect of the Superstar Shakeup

Kurt announced the superstar shakeup but was interrupted before he could finish. Interrupted by the first pick of the shakeup...Jinder Mahal. An underwhelming pick for the superstar shakeup but of course he came out in true villain fashion.
Making demands and bitching. He claims he wants the same treatment Brock Lesnar has received.

Angle made it clear that attitudes like this won't fly on Monday Night Raw. He then gave Mahal his first match on RAW as the US Champ. Jeff Hardy vs Jinder Mahal. Jinder ended up losing making Jeff Hardy the new US Champion. All it took was a Twist of Fate and a Swanton Bomb for Jeff to become a grand slam champion.

Sasha and Bayley almost had a Moment Until...

Started out to be a good match between the two new rivals. Sasha had the Bank Statement locked in and Bayley either would have eventually passed out or tapped. But the weak ass Riott Squad was drafted to RAW and decided to do their typical song and dance. Attack in a pack mentality and assert their pseudo dominance. They went after both Sasha and Bayley taking them out. Which announced their switch to RAW. As annoying as they were on SDLive I can just about imagine what they'll be like on RAW.

AOP has their Debut Match 

For the second time, it was AOP vs Rhyno & Slater. This time there was a little bit fight in Rhyno and Slater but it still wasn't enough to defeat AOP. They are the next dominate group to look out for.

Semi-Finals of the Tag Team Eliminator: The Revival vs Woken Matt & Bray Wyatt
Stipulation: The Winner will face The Bar at the Greatest Royal Rumble for RAW Tag Team Championship

Well, The Revival put on a good match. They fought hard against Matt and Bray but ultimately team woken bested the tag team. Honestly I...just let's just say its a decent match.

Ember Moon has her RAW debut vs Mickie James

Ember Moon had her debut match on RAW in a match against Mickie James. The newly crowned RAW women's champ was there and the former champ was supposed to be there but she declined. Claiming Nia was a bully and she didn't want to risk her opportunity to face the champ again at Backlash. So she stayed in the back where she was "safe". Ember put on an amazing performance. I really like her heel or face. I like her she's just awesome and her finisher is in my top 5 hands down an awesome finisher! Ember Moon defeated Mickie James.

Natalya makes her RAW debut and Faces Mandy Rose. 

Natalya defeated Mandy Rose and got attacked. And then Ronda Rousey to aid the former champ.

The Miz announced the newest addition to RAW Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

The Miz had a segment where he was set to announce another new RAW "superstar". And it was Kevin and Sami. The GM came out oblivious to the fact that the Commissioner had signed them. And was embarrassed because the Miz and Kevin and Sami were notified but not him. But Kurt had a trick up his sleeve. The Miz had no idea that he was traded for another SDLive superstar and wouldn't know until the end of the night who they traded for. The Miz and the Miz alone was going to the RAW brand. The MizTourage Axel and Dallas are staying on RAW. It was his final match on the RAW brand. He was headed back to SDLive to set up a potential battle and I for one am here for it bish. The match was set up Ten Man Tag Team Match: Kevin Owens Sami Zayn The Miz & MizTourage vs Braun Strowman Bobby Lashley Finn Balor Seth Rollins & Bobby Roode. A match the Miz and his team ultimately lost.

Samoa Joe & Roman Reigns have another Encounter

Once again Roman had a single segment to talk. Then, Samoa Joe, This fool Samoa Joe put together a powerpoint presentation and everything! LMAO, I can't.

RAW Acquired Several Superstars in the Shakeup

Kevin Owens
Sami Zayn
Breezango (Fashion Police)
Riott Squad
Natalya
Dolph Ziggler
Drew McIntyre (NXT)
Baron Corbin
Bobby Roode
AOP (NXT)
Ember Moon (NXT)
Bobby Lashley
Ronda Rousey
No Way Jose (NXT)

This Week on Monday Night RAW

Bruno Sammartino

Rest EASY King. He was honored at the beginning of the show with a bell salute. One of the greatest champions if not the greatest champion of all time in this sport. Much love to the family and I know is resting easy now. His legacy will live on forever!

Booker T has returned to the announcer's table. Jonathan Coachman may be taking Booker's spot on pay per view commentary.

The resident Talking Walrus had a segment with his mute meathead Brock Lesnar spewing the same shit he always does. Same song and dance over and over again. But Roman Reigns came out right at the end to shut down the Paul Heyman.

Reigns came out and made it clear that he was coming back with the Universal Title. No fighting no bravado just all TRUTH (one can only hope).

Matches

Men's Division: Bobby Roode vs Elias
Winner: Elias

Long match. As much as I like Bobby Roode this match was boring to me. Elias didn't give much and Bobby did the best he could. It just seemed like they needed a filler so they put these two together in this match. Anywho, Elias picked up the win with a roll up.

Tag Team Division: Bray Wyatt & Woken Matt vs Ascension
Winner: Bray Wyatt & Woken Matt

Decent match. Finally saw some spunk out of the Ascension. They have fallen so far from grace that I thought it would be difficult for them to come back. However, after tonight's battle with Light and Dark, I see potential in them. Now they lost this match to Light and Dark. But it was a good match for all the competitors.

Tag Team Division: The Show vs Titus Worldwide
Winner: The Show

This was an impressive show of dominance. I loved this match because I'm enamored with Drew McIntyre. I mean...how can you not be! He's gorgeous and OMG I love him. He will NEVER do anything wrong in my eyes. Besides, having him team with Ziggler is an amazing tag team. They are tv gold together. I live for it.

Men's Division: Jinder Mahal vs Chad Gable
Winner: Chad Gable

For the most part, Jinder controlled this match. From the ambush in the beginning to the horrendous knee he gave to Chad Gable. It was bad. But I have to give to Sol Glo he put on a good show. Goodness, that left a nasty taste in my mouth. Anyway, he got too cocky and ended up losing on a roll-up. Chad Gable picked up his first win in singles competition on RAW. Whereas Jinder has accumulated 2 losses now.

Men's Division Tag Team Match: Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley vs Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Winner: Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley

The match was expected to be pure dominance from this behemoth team and for the most part, it was. But they isolated Bobby and kept him away from his partner. Which gave Kevin and Sami a bit of an edge. Kevin attacked Braun twice to keep him out and Bobby isolated. Great strategy but it just didn't work long. Bobby created some separation and got the tag.

Men's Division: No Way Jose vs Baron Corbin
Winner: No Match

Baron Corbin came out to fight but he wasn't fighting Jose. At least not face to face. Baron felt he was beneath him and then walked out. Pretending to not want to wrestle he waits until Jose decides not to be apart of the BS.

Men's Division Tag Team Match: Finn Balor & Seth Rollins vs Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas (MizTourage)
Winner: Finn Balor & Seth Rollins

As unnecessary as this match was. It was still cool. Balor and Rollins play well with each other they just do. I think in this instance I want to see Balor turn and they have a true rivalry. A dark demon king and all! I want to see it! Dallas and Axel did their best but, I didn't expect to see them do anything other than what they did, JOB.

Women's Division: Ten Women Tag Team Match Sasha Banks Bayley Nia Jax Ember Moon & Natalya vs Riott Squad Alexa Bliss & Mickie James
Winner: Riott Squad Alexa Bliss & Mickie James via DQ

The match got wreckless at the end. Natalya had the match won. Putting Mickie in the sharpshooter.  But baby man woman Sara Logan hit Natalya with a chop block allowing Mickie to escape. If didn't hurt Natalya she really sold it like it did. Realizing she needed a tag. She tagged out with Bayley but was kicked out of the ring by Mickie. It looked bad. Natalya is not having an easy go on RAW. The match broke out in chaos with Nia taking out everyone and once again Mickie attacks Nattie. This brought out Ronda Rousey.

Ronda was trying to get Nattie up, then Mickie attacked Ronda. She screamed, "You don't belong here." This, of course, enraged the new star. Rousey went on the attack quickly. She made light work of the 6-time former women's champion. This cost Nattie's team the win but Rousey is consistently making a splash. I hope they allow her to have a match on RAW against Mickie next week.

In OTHER News

A Moment of Bliss 

This is getting out of hand. I mean seriously? Girl, you know you muthafucking TRIED IT! So after everything you've done. Let's run it down:

Calling Becky Lynch a Chuckie Doll
Calling Mickie James Old
Making Fun of Bayley (This is Your Life Segment)
Calling Nia a 300lb Shrek
Then in this segment alone, you accused her of assaulting a homeless lady and eating your burrito bowl.

So who's the bully? Girl you need to have several seats. Listen I know that Alexa is small and Nia is big we can clearly see that. There is no need for the bullying storyline. Its annoying and it isn't doing Nia any favors.
Nia can be a face be dominating and still be champion. She can do that and garner fans and become an even bigger superstar. I don't like how they make the champs become docile, meek, "I Rise Above", the hate people. When in reality people don't do that. You can be a hero and still be a bad ass is all I'm saying.

Baron Corbin Ambused No Way Jose

Instead of wrestling Jose, Baron opted out. He said Jose wasn't serious and he wanted real competition, not a novelty item. He left with a pun and was gone. Or so you guys thought. You could see this setup from the beginning. Clearly, he was playing him. Anyway, Jose decided to not let Baron steal his shine took Baron's walkout in stride and continued to conga up the ramp. Baron attacks from behind and according to Corey and Booker T makes a statement. I disagree. Baron didn't need to do that. I know he's a heel but he could've made that same dominance message by going through with the match rather than taking the easy way out. I premier my villains to physically menacing dominant and upfront. Similar to Mark Henry and Samoa Joe (on occasion). 

Bo & Curtis Need a Dad, I Mean Leader. 

Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel recently lost their leader the Miz to SDLive. So they decided to search for a new one. Looking to Rollins, Balor, but they ended up empty-handed. This new search only lead to a match: Balor and Rollins vs The MizTourage. I want this to be the final time we see them team together against the MizTourage. I'm so over it.

Samoa Joe's Message to Roman

Once again Joe was making sure Roman knew he was going to lose Friday at the Greatest Royal Rumble. And he let it be known that once that was over he would have to deal with him at Backlash. Same shit, different Monday. 

The Sami/Kevin Show Premiere

No one has been able to live up to or even come close to Rowdy Pipers show except for Jericho & The Miz. So show is an annoying fail. Even Rowdy asked questions worth hearing the answer to. So does Miz and Jericho. These goons are so wrapped up in themselves and how they got over they are just annoying. You just left an environment where there was no one on your side. You were fired for your over the top antics and now here you are starting right where you left off insulting the GM mainly because you've got PeePeePants McMahon in your back pocket. Nonetheless, it's not a good look for you. I mean you should show some respect to the authority but that's not the Sami/Kevin way. smdh.

After hurling countless insults toward Kurt. Kurt got fed up. He reminded them that they both would be in the ring with people they've wronged Shane, himself, Jericho, Bryan and countless others on both rosters who just don't care for the Owens/Zayn train. And then he dropped the hammer. Kevin and Sami would be taking on Lashley and Strowman in a tag match. Well looks like your mouth wrote a check that your ass can't cash!

Final Thoughts

RAW was entertaining. Let's see how everything plays out after the Greatest Royal Rumble this coming Friday. (BTW this has already happened so check out my review link is here GRR)

So Until Next Time Folks

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