RAW REVIEW: HEEL TURNS, FACE TURNS, AND RE-TURNS

Just six days away from Bad Blood, Monday Night Raw emanated from the wrestling hotspot that is…Evansville, Indiana. In what was surely the most exciting thing to happen in Evansville in the past 212 years, fans were treated to one of the best episodes of Monday Night Raw in recent memory.

 

The episode began with Jey Uso in the concourse, flanked by fans who are yeeting and arm waving behind him. Uso makes his way to the ring through the fans and it’s obvious that WWE is really pushing this “people’s champion” narrative with him, and it’s working. Once in the ring, it took Uso a minute to get his promo really going. I can't say for certain, given his glasses, but it seems like the awkward start was due to Jey trying to hold back his emotions. 14 years is a long time to wait for a singles title so it makes sense. Jey is simply expressing gratitude to the fans and his family (his mom specifically) when Bron Breakker comes out to…show Jey some respect? A little strange, but it seems like we are seeing the beginnings of a Breakker babyface turn. 

 

REY MYSTERIO VS. XAVIER WOODS

 

The Xavier Woods heel turn continues to slowly fester, and if I were a betting man, I’d say it will likely culminate at the New Day’s 10 year anniversary celebration. This was a short, fairly sloppy match that ended when Woods “accidentally” took off Mysterio’s mask. When Rey went to put the mask back on, Woods was able to get a roll up victory. To Xavier’s credit, the mask removal did look to be accidental, but that didn't stop him from taking advantage of the situation either. We see you, Woods. 

 

Backstage, Kofi congratulates Xavier, but has to ask him about the mask situation. Woods seems genuine in his denial, and Kofi chooses to accept it. Kofi lets Xavier know that Jey Uso offered him an IC title shot, but Kofi told Jey to offer it to Woods instead. Xavier is happy about it for right now, but you can’t help but wonder if there’s going to be some resentment when he doesn’t win. 

 

LYRA VALKYRIA VS ZOEY STARK

 

Prior to the match, Sonya Deville cornered Lyra Valkyria in the locker room and intimidated her by reminding her that Zoey Stark is going to have Sonya and Shayna in her corner, while Lyra will be all alone, since Natalya and Zelina are out of action this week. That ominous warning came true as Lyra eventually fell to the numbers game, and when she seemed to have Zoey beat, Sonya and Shayna distracted the ref long enough for Zoey to recover and hit Valkyria with the C-360 and picked up the win. 

 

Zoey is an interesting character. She has incredible in-ring prowess (her backbreaker in this match was a thing of beauty), but for whatever reason, she hasn’t found the elusive “it factor” that connects her to the crowd. 

 

After the match, Pure Fusion Collective went for the 3-on-1 beat down when Kayden Carter and Katana Chance rushed to the ring to save Lyra and the crowd…didn't care at all. This is another case of very talented women who just don’t seem to connect to the crowd. 

 

SOMEONE’S DYING AT HELL IN A CELL

 

Next, we get a face to face meeting with CM Punk and Drew McIntyre. It seems pretty crazy that they shipped the Hell in a Cell ring all the way to Evansville just for a 7 minute promo, but the visual was pretty cool. Inside the cell, McIntyre is wearing an all black tux. He says it’s out of respect, but not for Punk, it’s out of respect for Punk’s wife who is going to have to feed him, bathe him, and eventually leave him after Drew is done with him. “The hate within me dies with you in this cell.”

 

Punk responds “You have turned me into the fictitious boogeyman that my harshest critics accuse of me of being. Because that's what I need to be in order to send you back to Scotland in a box!” There’s been so many references to death and killing each other that I wouldn’t be totally surprised if something happens at Bad Blood to make us think a person has actually died. It seems like a very taboo subject, especially with how conscious WWE is about marketing and sponsorships. A move like this would surely turn a lot of people off, but we’ve been getting these references every week. To not get some kind of payoff seems like a mistake. 

 

LWO VS JUDGMENT DAY

 

Anybody who has watched wrestling for longer than 10 minutes could tell you how this match was going to go. Judgment day has two huge matches coming up at Bad Blood, and the LWO has been floundering at the bottom of the card pretty much since their arrival. The Judgment Day gets the win after another “distraction from outside interference” moment (the second on the show in as many matches). The only real takeaway from this match is that Dragon Lee is a star in the making, and has more charisma than every other person in that match.

 

CHAD GABLE VS KOFI KINGSTON

 

The Alpha Academy seems to have finally moved on from the Wyatt Sick6 and are now harassing the New Day during their downward spiral. This match just added more fuel to the fire, as Kofi seemed to have the match well in hand. He whipped Gable into the ropes, preparing to hit a Trouble In Paradise on Gable, but Woods grabbed Gable’s legs on the rebound, forcing him to trip, but also forcing Kofi to miss his move. Woods is visibly upset that his plan backfired, and Gable gives a condescending smile toward Woods as he hits Kingston with a Chaos Theory for the win. 

 

This was an honest enough mistake by Xavier, and I believe he was truly trying to help Kofi in the match, except for the fact the “trip the leg” tactic is such a steadfast heel move, not a face move. Your goal may have been to honestly help your partner, but that was a dishonest move through and through. Your heel stripes are showing, Woods, and we can all see them. 

 

A CODED MESSAGE FROM THE WYATT SICK6

 

Next, the Wyatt Sick6 return with another vignette. Their feud with Gable is seemingly over, but their new target remains a mystery, as vague threats of “do not force our hand” and “the reckoning is here” flash on the screen. We get a new QR code, which takes us to a WWE page with two links. One is the link to a YouTube video of their debut several months ago, and the other links us to an audio Morse code message.

 

Fortunately, the BCP+ staff is fluent in Morse code, thanks to that weekend “outdated forms of communication” boot camp that Rob made us all go to this summer. It seemed dumb at the time, but now we are all grateful. Thanks Rob! Here’s hoping the next message comes to us in smoke signals or pig latin so we can continue to show off those skills. 

 

The message says “Brother, do not be so distracted by the beast that you miss the serpent in the weeds.” Unless Jake Roberts is coming back, I have no idea what that means. 

 

SAMI FINALLY GETS HIS MATCH

 

Following that, Gunther heads to the ring. It is revealed that Ilja Dragonuv will be on the shelf for 6-9 months due to an injury he sustained vs Gunther at a house show this weekend. Gunther says “Life as a champion is fantastic, except for dealing with Sami Zayn’s annoying requests.”

 

Sami comes out to interrupt. “You’re scared to face me because I'm the only one who has beaten you.” Gunther agrees. “Yes, I am scared, but not of facing you, I’m scared of damaging my reputation. Losing to you was the biggest embarrassment of my career.” 

 

After Sami makes a few cracks about Gunther’s dad (who i now desperately want to meet. Personally I think they should cast Dolph Lundgren in the role), Gunther gives Sami a beat down, but Sami ultimately got what he wanted, as Gunther grants him his title match, and we are going to see that next week on Raw. The squeaky wheel gets the grease once more!

 

AWESOME TRUTH VS AUTHORS OF PAIN

 

While we were all waiting for the Xavier Woods heel turn, we completely forgot about the Miz. How could we forget about the Miz?!? Early on in their match, the Miz received a hot tag from R-Truth, but instead of starting the big comeback, he delivered a big boot to R-Truth and then left the ring. The AOP then delivered a big scary move to R-Truth, and the ref counted the pin for some reason, despite the fact that it should have been a countout loss on the Miz. But hey, this is wrestling, so who cares about the details? 

 

BRAUN STROWMAN VS BRONSON REED IN A LAST MONSTER STANDING MATCH

 

It’s like a Last Man Standing match, but they’re not men, they’re monsters. Get it? Ha…Ha? 

 

Last Man (or monster) Standing matches are always kind of a slog to get through. Big moments followed by a minute of rest. Rinse and repeat ‘til the end. This match was no different, save for one huge exception. The high spots were great (Death valley driver through tables, Braun Strowman doing a flying cross body onto Reed and about 20 security guards, a superplex that made the ring collapse), but this was a 20 minute match that had about 7 minutes of action.

 

However, it was all worth it because ultimately Braun Strowman won after Seth FREAKING Rollins returned and hit a curb stomp on Bronson Reed, and Strowman’s record in Last Man/Monster Standing matches improved to 5-0. More importantly, Seth Rollins is back and it looks like they’re going to give him an actual program with Reed. Yay! 

 

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

 

This was a stellar episode of Raw, with lots of big moments that will be moving stories forward for the next several weeks. It wasn’t that long ago that “go home” shows for a PLE were all talk, and seriously lackluster in action. Now, they are almost like mini PLE’s themselves, which is a great way to utilize the shows since modern PLE’s have far fewer matches than they used to. Pay off some storylines on the week before, and pay off others at the event. Brilliant! As someone who used to never buy a ticket to go-home shows, this has completely changed my opinion of them, and I will definitely be going to the next go-home show that happens in Detroit.