Rate Raw 07/11/2016

[Jacob Fox]

Please rate Raw on a scale of 0 to 10 and leave your thoughts below!

Spoiler: Raw Results

Battle Royal

The show opened with a battle royal in which the winner would face Miz for the Intercontinental Championship at Battleground. Darren Young won the battle royal when Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin eliminated each other. Bob Backlund came in to celebrate and actually lifted Darren Young up in his arms. The crowd then began chanting for the new number one contender for the IC title.

Backstage

Shane and Stephanie McMahon were pondering why Vince McMahon would be showing up on Raw tonight. They wondered if he was going to be there to hire or fire someone. Seth Rollins then showed up and said he had some exclusive Roman Reigns footage to show in regards to the controversy. He announced his answer to the Ambrose Asylum, the Rollins Report.

Afterwards, Zach Ryder approached Rusev and challenged him for the US title. He was blindsided by Sheamus who said that Ryder and he have a match coming up next

Sheamus vs Zach Ryder

Sheamus defeated Ryder by pinfall in short work after a brogue kick. Rusev then came into the ring and attacked Ryder. Rusev put Ryder into the fallback accolade and screamed over and over again that he accepted Ryder's challenge for the US Title.

Breezango vs the Lucha Dragons

Breezango defeated the Lucha Dragons when Tyler Breeze pinned Kalisto.

The Rollins Report

Seth Rollins played a video of him asking questions and using old clips of Roman Reigns to answer his questions. He asked questions and had Roman Reigns admit that he did not deserve to be in the Shield Triple Threat and that hearing Dean Ambrose's name makes him puke.

Dean Ambrose came to the ring after the segment was over and the two traded barbs for a while. Rollins then said that the point of the Battleground triple threat will be to decide who was he best member of the Shield. Dean Ambrose countered with a long and erratic rant that he didn't care who the match was with as no one will beat him for the title. Rollins then seemed to agree for a championship match tonight, but then said no, not until next week. Then Rollins left the ring.

After the break it was confirmed that Dean Ambrose will defend the WWE Championship vs Seth Rollins next week on Raw.

Kevin Owens vs Cesaro with Sami Zayn on commentary

Kevin Owens did not come out for his match because he claimed having Sami Zayn at ringside was an unsafe work environment. Stephanie then demanded that Sami be removed. Zayn refused to be removed as Shane McMahon had given him permission to be there. As the referees came to remove Sami Zayn, he went along with them. As he went up the ramp, Zayn and Owens traded punches for a few moments. KO then ran to the ring as Sami left.

The camera cut to Vince McMahon's arrival where he announced he would be naming the new commissioner of Smackdown live.

KO beat Cesaro by pinfall and then was attacked by Sami Zayn while KO was gloating. KO was thrown into the ring where Cesaro grabbed him and put him in the Cesaro Swing.

Heath Slater vs Titus O'Neil

Titus O'Neil defeated Heath Slater by pinfall after hitting Clash of the Titus.

Backstage

Sasha Banks talked about how everyone she is in contact with wants her to beat up Dana Brooke.

The New Day visit the Wyatts

This was a short film that showed the New Day appear at the Wyatt's place only for an all out brawl to break out between them. Xavier Woods tried to hide at one point until Bray almost hit him with a pickax. The brawl then resumed only to show Bray Wyatt dump Xavier's lifeless body on the ground before his minions took down Big E and Kofi. After throwing Xavier into a car, Bray began busting the windows to the car crying, "Where's your power of positivity now?"

But Xavier had disappeared, only to attack Bray from behind. All six men were about to square off until many more lights showed up in the background and Bray Wyatt said, "Follow the buzzards" and the film ended.

The Club vs Enzo and Cass

The match was thrown out when AJ Styles interferred and attacked Cass. Then, all three members of the Club converged on Enzo. Suddenly, John Cena (who was not supposed to be in the arena) came to the ring to help Enzo. Cass got back into the ring and the three of them took the Club out.

Sasha Banks vs Dana Brooke

Sasha Banks defeated Dana Brooke when Brooke tapped out to the bank statement. Charlotte was at ringside but did not get involved.

After the match, Charlotte cut a short promo about the fact that Sasha Banks was only lucky and did not deserve a title shot. She then proposed that if Banks could beat Brooke again on Smackdown then maybe she would be worthy of an eventual title match.

Vince McMahon

Vince McMahon came to the ring and met Shane and Stephanie and criticized them for getting along when he wanted them to be more cut throat. Stephanie then went on a tangent attacking Shane, while Shane went on to brag about his accolades. He made the case that he represented change.

Vince then announced that Shane would be the commissioner of Smackdown but would be relieved of his duties at Raw. He then named Stephanie as the commissioner of Raw. He then told them that they had until next week to name a GM for each show.

Stephanie then told Shane that she and Raw would bury Shane and Smackdown. Shane then criticized Stephanie and said "Game on." Stephanie then smacked Shane who then kissed her on the cheek. Steph's heel then gave out on her and she almost tripped on the way out.

 

[Solidus1]

The Rollins Report sounds funny, checking out highlights tomorrow.

 

[Jacob Fox]

I gave it a six. I might have given it a seven if not for that god awful and anticlimactic ending.

I liked:

Battle Royal ** This was nothing special but a battle royal is always fun on some level.

Breezango vs the Lucha Dragons ** A decent filler match, but nothing to jump up and down about.

The Rollins Report This whole segment was gold. I loved the edited interview. I loved the Ambrose and Rollins confrontation and I loved that we get a title match next week.

Kevin Owens vs Cesaro *** Match of the night easily. Good storytelling with Sami Zayn beforehand and a solid match... was good to finally see KO in the swing... if we have seen it before, I don't recall it.

The Club vs Enzo and Cass **1/2 A nice solid tag team match even with the DQ ending. I even liked Cena's appearance at the end.

Sasha Banks vs Dana Brooke **1/2 Decent woman's match on Raw.


I didn't like:

Sheamus vs Zach Ryder * Kinda dumb to squash a guy RIGHT before giving him a title match.

Heath Slater vs Titus O'Neil * Boring

The New Day visit the Wyatts This was beyond awful.

The anti climactic ending to Vince's announcement. The fact that we have been waiting and led to believe that there would be someone other than Shane or Steph running the show but given nothing but Shane running Smackdown and Steph running Raw really irritated me. And then that they would announce GMs for each show but not until next week. I dunno. They seriously dropped the ball here. A good show ended with a crappy segment like that.

 

[Jacob Fox]

The Rollins Report sounds funny, checking out highlights tomorrow.

Probably the best part of a decent show, IMO. Hope you enjoy it

 

[¡Tranquilo!]

Caught Raw at the Fabreeze/Lucha Dragons match so...

The Good:

I'm turning into a Tyler Breeze/ Fandango mark. Who knew they'd be this entertaining together.

The Rollins report was funny still don't understand why Seth is a heel still. If he wins the title next Monday,which I highly doubt, I would mark the hell out.

Owens/Zayn segments are just fun and I found it awesome that Owens went backstage during his entrance just to get Sami from ring side...it's those small details that make Owens a great heel. He and Miz are the last true heels.

Sasha banks with another good promo tonight. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this like one of the first Women's backstage interviews to not be interrupted at all? Crazy. Her match later in the night with Dana wasn't half bad either.

Anytime the Club's on TV it's a good thing...at least when they aren't being jobbed out.

The meh:

WWE's Final Deletion or...The Final New Day or...whatever you wanna call it wasn't a bad rip off, it wasn't a good rip off...it was A rip off. You know what made Final Deletion enjoyable? It didn't take itself seriously at all. Tonight's segment was literally just a brawl in some dirt and a few car bumps. They could've at least tried something a little different to kill the Brother Nero chants. They could've made it a little mini horror movie. But I guess for what it's trying to be it's ok.

The Bad:

Really Vince? You had to waste everyones time with a segment to announce old news? Ok.

Seriously am I the only one bothered by Big Cass on the microphone?! He talks so fucking slow and awkwardly it makes me cringe everytime. I don't remember him sounding like that in NXT in fact he was more natural in NXT. Either the larger crowds make him nervous or someone in the back is making him deepen his voice when he speaks. If the latter is true fire that person pls. The fact that he's allegedly being geared for a big-time singles run makes me really worried if he is going to continue sounding the way he does now.

So you're telling me you couldn't have put another Women's match in place of Slader and O'neil? That would've been the better use of time IMO.



All in all not a completely shit show, nice recovery from last week I'll say 7/10.

 

[Jeremy]

I'll give it a 5/10. The Rollins Report + Seth & Dean's promos were pretty good. Owens and Cesaro usually always put on good matches. Sasha vs Dana wasn't too bad either. Not much else from this show I was really interested in though.

 

[Roadster]

Rather boring. There wasn't a good segment on the show, worth watching.

 

[Kill Steen Kill]

6. Had some good moments but there were lots of boring, unnecessary things.

 

[alexb]

Just finished watching RAW a few moments ago and in all fairness, it was a massive improvement compared to last week's debacle so off the bat I'm giving it a 7/10 which could have easily been an 8/10 if not for some meaningless moments that nobody really gave a fuck about...

So the show started off with a Battle Royal which would determine a number one contender for the IC title at Battleground and I'm pretty sure that as soon as the camera got a first shot of Backlund on ringside, nine out of ten people figured out the winner already and indeed, Darren Young did end up remaining the last man standing. Funnily enough, I don't recall him even eliminating anyone in the process but at the end of the day, I'm glad we're finally past the awful promos that dragged in what felt like forever these past months. If there's anything negative one could point out, it's probably the fact that we never got to see an introduction of Darren Young to begin with or at least us viewers at home. Nevertheless, I liked how this played out and looking forward to see how things go from here...

WWE giving a mention to Brock Lesnar's big UFC win was a nice touch, obviously hyping the upcoming match with Orton at Summerslam, though one could probably argue that this may not have been the case had Brock lost. Regardless, it was the right thing to do and on another note, I must say I personally have some reservations as far as the match at Summerslam goes or, to put it better, some concerns in regards to Orton's health and the possible risks in putting him against this specific opponent on his first match back in almost a year but that's talk for another day and time.

Sheamus vs. Ryder: nobody cares. As far as Rusev is concerned, off the bat I see no possible Ryder come out a winner at Battleground so hopefully, once this is done, I hope they start giving Rusev some more legit opponents. We know he's a monster and all, time to prove it against some legit guys, don't you think?

Breezango vs Lucha Dragons: who gives a shit?

The Rollins Report I found quite funny as well as entertaining, however what was more entertaining was the promo that followed with him and Dean Ambrose. That, people, was gold and frankly, the best I've seen from both these guys in a long time...

Anything involving KO will always be fun and last night was no exception. The finish was interesting for a change, with the use of another move other then the usual powerbomb and while on this topic, I still hope WWE will announce some kind of stipulation for the match at Battleground.

Heath Slater vs Titus O'neal: next....

Then came the Wyatts vs. New Day thing, which many feel was a cheep copy of what we recently viewed on TNA with the Final Deletion. Personally, copy or not I enjoyed it so really don't care.

The whole Cena/AJ feud with Enzo and Cass now involved I keep digging by the minute and really looking forward to Battleground for this one...

And finally, Vince and the big announcement...

Many argue that we basically got nothing new since everyone pretty much knew that Stephanie and Shane would end up running one of two shows respectively, however I feel there's a lot more to it. For one, they were named commisioners and still need to appoint general managers per Vince's orders which makes the whole situation a lot more interesting and then we had the competition factor, which certainly adds a lot of spice. As Vince put it, they can go as far as breaking the law if they have to (as long as they don't get caught, that is), they could basically try to destroy one another in order to succeed so, indeed, let the (WAR?) games begin.

Back to the GM thing, one would assume that as far Stephanie is concerned, there's really only one logical choice, her husband Triple H. Now, as logical as this may sound a) I find it too obvious, b) we've seen this Authority angle for way too long and c) wouldn't this be kind of a demotion for Hunter? I mean, he's the COO already, right? Am I thinking too much into it? Bottom line, as mich as HHH appears to be the only logical choice, I have a feeling that we will get surprised. If not, well, meh....

As for Shane, he certainly has more options but if WWE really want to start Smackdown Live with a bang, I can't think of a better name than Daniel Bryan. Can you imagine the pop, the crowd reaction, the buzz if our beloved DB were to return, even as an authority figure? Don't know about you guys, but who else is there that could create such a splash? Other options? Kurt Angle is another one that could generate a massive reaction and probably the second best choice that I could think of...

 

[Leo C]

I have been telling you all that Backlund's the man for years and that bringing him back was the solution. I WAS RIGHT!

 

[Roadster]

I marked the fuck out for Grandpa Bob when he picked up and carried Darren Young around. He is a freak.

 

[Stopspot]

The New Day, Wyatt Family fight scene was a legitimately well put together, well produced and well shot scene. But people are going to keep comparing it to the final deletion and miss the point of the segment.

 

[InSaNe]

The anti climactic ending to Vince's announcement. The fact that we have been waiting and led to believe that there would be someone other than Shane or Steph running the show but given nothing but Shane running Smackdown and Steph running Raw really irritated me. And then that they would announce GMs for each show but not until next week. I dunno. They seriously dropped the ball here. A good show ended with a crappy segment like that.

Look, at least we're getting a WWF vibe goin' on here. Both will have oversight from Steph/Shane. In WWF's heyday, it was one commissioner controlling both GM's. We did have GM's in those days, they just weren't ya know, on-screen. Now that WWE is a global phenomenon, they can do pretty much what the fuck they want.

The fact that we were led to believe that new General Managers would be here, it's safe to say we'll see them at Raw Live/Smackdown Live.

 

[InSaNe]

Many argue that we basically got nothing new since everyone pretty much knew that Stephanie and Shane would end up running one of two shows respectively, however I feel there's a lot more to it. For one, they were named commisioners and still need to appoint general managers per Vince's orders which makes the whole situation a lot more interesting and then we had the competition factor, which certainly adds a lot of spice. As Vince put it, they can go as far as breaking the law if they have to (as long as they don't get caught, that is), they could basically try to destroy one another in order to succeed so, indeed, let the (WAR?) games begin.

RE: "Breaking the Law" is a snide shot at anything related to the whole Reigns controversy. Vince buried the controversy with that single quote.

The whole "WAR games" thing is Vince's way of saying, "TNA, come at me." Vince wanted to bring back the spark that was WWF/WWE vs WCW or ECW. They have the storyline set: Raw Live vs Smackdown Live. There's a reason why they're trying to put both shows next to each other - with NXT on Wednesday (if I remember correctly?) It's to overwelm the competition so much the viewers forget about anything else. Raw Live, Smackdown Live, CWC, NXT, I mean they have everything locked diown to a tee. Now, all they gotta do is integrate everything to a tee.

As for both being commissioners, I think it was Vince's compromise to the whole "brother vs sister" rivalry goin on here.

Back to the GM thing, one would assume that as far Stephanie is concerned, there's really only one logical choice, her husband Triple H. Now, as logical as this may sound a) I find it too obvious, b) we've seen this Authority angle for way too long and c) wouldn't this be kind of a demotion for Hunter? I mean, he's the COO already, right? Am I thinking too much into it? Bottom line, as mich as HHH appears to be the only logical choice, I have a feeling that we will get surprised. If not, well, meh....

I disagree, because it would look like she's favoring or using favoritism to Trips. COO is way above commissioner, so he can do whatever he damn pleases. He doesn't need the GM job, really. I would chose someone new if I were Steph. To create something fresh.

As for Shane, he certainly has more options but if WWE really want to start Smackdown Live with a bang, I can't think of a better name than Daniel Bryan. Can you imagine the pop, the crowd reaction, the buzz if our beloved DB were to return, even as an authority figure? Don't know about you guys, but who else is there that could create such a splash? Other options? Kurt Angle is another one that could generate a massive reaction and probably the second best choice that I could think of...

That. Would. Blow things up. Yeah. Daniel Bryan as GM? Go bananas.

However, a big surprise would be Kurt Angle, or ....Eric Bishoff.

 

[Prince Bálor]

The show was OK, but had some really boring parts. 5/10

Positives:
- The Battle Royal was an OK opener. DY's win was was meh, the dude did nothing, although I appreciate them adding someone new to the mix. Backlund marking out post-match was hilarious.

- Breezango vs Lucha Booties was a decent little filler.

- The Rollins Report was good. Both guys cut good promos, especially Ambrose. It was probably his best promo since the one he cut post-Shield break-up. He definitely came off like a top guy and put some real emotion into it.

- KO vs Cesaro was good and MOTN. The pre-match and post-match stuff were good, too. I also loved how they emphasized Cesaro getting hit with a Neckbreaker on the knee and then the surprise finish saw KO win with an Argentine Neckbreaker targeting Cesaro's neck.

- Diggin' The Club's "Beat up John Cena" shtick. Also, the match against Enzo & Cass was solid and the DQ finish was smart for a change. Neither team can afford a loss before the PPV.

Negatives:
- Sheamus vs Ryder. So, Ryder defeated Sheamus this past week on SmackDown in just a little bit over 2 minutes, so it's only fair that Sheamus does the same the following week. That makes a ton of sense to have the guy lose prior to the PPV. But, for all we know, the reverse booking psychology might be saying that Ryder will pull off an upset at Battleground. Although, I ain't getting my hopes up.

- Titus vs Slater was boring.

- The Wyatts/New Day stuff was meh, although the idea of doing stuff outside of arena is appreciated. I'm not comparing it to TNA's Final Deletion, 'cause I wasn't expecting to see Señor Wyatt, drones, holograms, fireworks, or some dilapidated objects, since this feud's got a much more serious tone than Final Deletion... But, damn son, WTF is up with that ending? The Wyatts have an advantage over The New Day since the fight was in their own compound, and they just let them go? I know it's supposed to be a psychological warfare, but it was just underwhelming to me.

- Sasha vs Dana was boring.

- The closing segment with Vinnie Mac, Steph and Shane-O Mac. What a time-wasting segment and in the end, the announcement was pretty predictable.

Sooo, no more Chief Operating Officers, but now we're going to have Commissioners and General Managers? Eh. Tbh, I can live with Steph and Shane running things, but I thought we were gonna get rid of these authority figures who are there on a weekly basis. That shtick's been overplayed, man. Thought we'd be seeing Steph and Shane only occasionally, when the big things had to be announced/resolved.

In terms of GMs, I think we can eliminate any of the cameos from the last few weeks: Teddy Long, Kane, Big Johnny and Vickie. A heel is probably going to be in charge for RAW, so I guess that leaves HHH, Y2J (I can see Vinnie picking Y2J if Steph can't make a decision, these two could be bickering throughout the year which would lead to Steph firing Y2J since he's leaving again in 2017) or hell, maybe even Bischoff. As for SD, I guess Shane could pick Angle (you never know), Foley, SCSA, or a dark horse like Booker T or Corey Graves, because why not.