This week is the last Raw before SummerSlam on Sunday, however, it may also be the last Raw we see taking a position in the Performance Center.
WWE has demonstrated that long-term entries will be made at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, which WWE has begun calling ThunderDome.
Management mocked a King Mysterio appearance before his son Dominik’s game with Seth Rollins at SummerSlam. Did the teacher of 619 come to see his son or to dissuade him?
We also saw more Raw Underground this week when Shane McMahon continued with his wrestling club and Shawn Michaels made a special appearance.
Let’s take a look at everything that happened on Raw.
The same old introduction to Raw had some graphic upheavals this week before we went live to the arena for Drew McIntyre access and a summary of the segment between Ric Flair and Randy Orton last week.
The Scottish psychopath explained how The Viper had taken Flair last week and how it hurt to see Orton attack a guy who enjoyed him as a son.
The disorders continued as the graphics and videos appeared on the screen. We then moved on to a behind-the-scenes plan of Retribution destroying one of the production trucks until one of the team members was forced to turn off the power.
We came here to see several superstars communicate about Retribution when McIntyre stepped forward and said they had to deal with Retribution. Rollins joined the verbal exchange and said he would be the one to run the costumes.
Back in the ring, MVP issued a warning to Retribution. He even tried to blame Apollo Crews and discussed how the band had performed at the time he and Crews had started fighting.
Grade: D
An analysis
The situation of Retribution worsens from week to week, and WWE turned out that we decided to pressure it for some reason.
Random chaos only works if there is an underlying goal, however, the control has done nothing to tell us what that purpose might be because they probably don’t yet know where it’s headed.
The behind-the-scenes interaction between McIntyre and Rollins smart during the first 25 minutes of itArray Raw did not involve any struggles and many arguments that led to nothing. This is not the way to start with the home screen before SummerSlam.
We came back from a break to see this game already underway. Shelton Benjamin cornered Crews and cornered him by a few hands directly.
The champion tried to return, but Benjamin folded it with a DDT out of nowhere for a nearby fall. R-Truth walked through the middle of the ring while trying Akira Tozawa and his ninjas.
The distraction allowed Crews to wrap Benjamin up for the victory. MVP and Bobby Lashley pounced before Ricochet, Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali made the rescue. It took the three men for Lashley to break his entire nelson.
The event came this far and Benjamin controlled to nail it to regain the championship 24/7.
Quality: C-
An analysis
Advertisers were supposed to raise that if Crews won the fight, The Hurt Business would be kicked out of the ring on their U.S. behalf. In opposition to the MVP at SummerSlam.
Benjamin and Crews may have had a wonderful game, but the way it was booked didn’t give them much time to work. MVP challenged Crews to locate two partners for a six-player game later in the series.
The only smart thing that came out of that was that Benjamin regained the name 24/7 and the option of a better fit at some point.
Demi Burnett of Bachelor in Paradise returned this week in a behind-the-scenes statement with Angel Garza and Ivar who allowed the two wrestlers to have a game.
Surprisingly, Garza took it immediately and kept the big guy on the floor for a while. What I didn’t know was that Angelo Dawkins was talking backstage in Burnett.
Ivar returned temporarily and ran to Garza from one corner to another. Andrade provided a small distraction for his spouse to hit a brutal dropkick for the pin.
Dawkins and Burnett gave the impression on the big screen of mocking the challengers. They alluded to a video that was playing, but not to anything shown on the screen.
After the break, we saw an image of something like Zelina Vega poisoning Montez Ford’s drink.
Quality: C
An analysis
It was a short but decent fit that made Garza strong before his name matched The Idol opposite The Street Profits.
Dawkins laughed at Garza after the game, but ended a little abruptly. This total segment has been precipitated.
When the video was released after the break, Ford rushed to attack Andrade and Garza. The video didn’t result in anything, however, he’s very concerned about Vega’s manager.
This attack began when WWE returned to the behind-the-scenes segment ring with The Street Profits, Vega, Garza and Andrade.
It’s Mickie James’ first game in months, and got off to a good start by getting rid of Natalya with a press from Thesz. The deer queen had Lana in her corner, but that didn’t stop James from dominating the first few minutes.
Rollins interrupted the game and asked Joe to reveal to him how he knew Mysterio would be there tonight. This diverted everyone from the action in the ring.
Natalya ended up winning by count thanks to a distraction from Lana.
Grade: D
An analysis
It’s James’ first game in several months, and WWE not only didn’t let it win, but also made this match the basis of a verbal exchange between Rollins and Joe.
All badly executed and ended raw’s disastrous first hour. James and Natalya deserved better.
Bayley and Sasha Banks did a promotion explaining how the two will beat Asuka at SummerSlam. Shayna Baszler came out and said that no matter who wins on Sunday, she has the next chance.
Asuka and The Boss for their teams. Baszler saw Nia Jax in the crowd and went to confront her. Jax hit a piece of the plexiglass barrier before several officials descended.
The queen of swords and Jax fought in the back while Asuka controlled to keep Baylay and Banks at bay in the ring. We returned from a break to see the Empress of Tomorrow in defense.
The Boss almost won with a meteorite before using The Role Model to contain the offensive attack. Asuka was locked in the bench when Baszler ran to save and continue the game.
Baszler eventually won for his team by forcing Bayley to enroll in Kirifuda Clutch.
Quality: B
An analysis
It’s the most productive thing that’s happened in the series so far. They had enough time to paint a smart game and tell two more stories at once.
The dispute between Baszler and Jax began when Asuka’s script for both titles took the stage.
Asuka and Baszler form an attractive combination. They’re two of the toughest women on the list, and if they could make a team, they’d be almost unstoppable.
The action in this setting forged and the punchline made the queen of swords bigger than she has in months.
Billie Kay originally planned to face Ruby Riott this week, but said her shoulder wasn’t feeling well and introduced Peyton Royce as his replacement. This seemed to amaze Royce, but she did not look annoyed.
Riott approached Royce after the bell and shot him in a STO state. She obviously angered and eliminated her frustrations for the Australian superstar.
Liv Morgan and Kay watched from the edge of the ring as their teammates continued to fight. Royce hit with a huge knee on the head to tip the attack in his favor. He ended up pushing Riott towards Morgan before hitting his punch for the win.
Grade: C
An analysis
WWE has several other disputes in the women’s department right now, and that underlined how deep the list is right now.
It wasn’t a long game, but it allowed both women to have a few moments to shine. It was a bit of a see of Kay proposing Royce as an adversary, just as Banks and Bayley did to each other, but WWE never hesitated to reuse its own concepts before, so why start now?
Iiconics are underestimated, and watching them chain together a series of victories is a welcome replacement in their reserve, even if it has to be at the expense of two other women who want their own momentum.
Rey and Dominik Mysterio left for Rey to simply communicate with his son about his next game with Rollins at SummerSlam.
He said to see his own son suffer more than what happened to him in Extreme Rules. He said not being able to protect his son filled him with more anger than he’d ever felt before.
The captain of 619 would be on the corner of Dom on Sunday to see his son beat Rollins in a street fight. Dom would be ready.
Monday night’s Messiah gave the impression on the big screen and rebuked Rey for endangering his own son. He and Murphy headed to the ring, but the Mysterio had a plan. While Rey was distracting them, Dom attacked them with some kendo sticks.
This led the Mysterio to The Messiah, as he did at Dom last week. Murphy stored it before Rey and Dom could cause serious damage.
Category B
An analysis
Rey is a legend who knows how to make a moving promotion. Dom still has a lot of paintings to do, but running with his father makes everything a little more real.
Rollins has played more in heels in recent months than in his first villain race following the breakup of The Shield. Some of his promotions were strange, but this made him look good.
Watching Dom take a small measure of revenge a week from SummerSlam gives the impression that Rollins may end up winning at the end.
Before the game, MVP is shown talking to Cedric Alexander. He seemed to get a little into Alexander’s head when he wondered why Crews hadn’t chosen him as his spouse tonight.
Ali and Benjamin begin with a fundamental exchange of catches and counterattacks. Smart guys controlled speed from the start with quick tags, but as soon as Lashley came in, he eliminated everyone on the opposing team.
Ali was the first to be eliminated when The All Mighty hit a Dominator by the pin. Benjamin controlled to score some other elimination with Paydirt in Ricochet, leaving Crews alone in front of 3 opponents.
The U.S. champion temporarily eliminated Benjamin with an electric bomb. As he left the ramp, Alexander arrived and rolled it to win the name 24/7.
After a publicity break, MVP and Lashley were in charge. They kept the champion surprised as they entered and left, but Crews could still hit MVP with his powerbomb signature to get a moment of elimination before Lashley pulled him away with a spear.
Quality: B
An analysis
The first few minutes of this attack made The Hurt Business the top dominant trio in WWE. Then everything was worse for the organization as Benjamin temporarily removed and lost his name 24/7 in the area for a minute.
If this setting was designed to give Crews the look of a strong champion, it worked. Beating two talented superstars before getting caught in Lashley prevented The Hurt Business from suffering too much while maintaining Crews’ momentum.
It’s a laughing game, but it would have been great to see Ali and Ricochet attack a little more before being eliminated. That’s the only primary criticism.
Erik of the Viking Raiders demolished a guy in this week’s first Raw Underground segment. Dolph Ziggler rated his victory at 4/10, which led Erik to call him.
This is the first time we’ve noticed two established former champions fighting in this new format. Showoff tried to use his amateur wrestling to bring down the power plant early, but Erik planted it by blow.
Ziggler controlled to block a sleeping plug and used an inch in his eyes for a secure victory. Ivar came out of nowhere and knocked Ziggler down from the level of a spectator organization.
Later in the series, Arturo Ruas and Riddick Moss had a physical match that ended with the two men who fought with other people around the ring. There is no definitive winner.
Marina Shafir defeated another woman in a quick match before Jax gave the impression and took her to Jessamyn Duke. Baszler looked at her, but Jax left before anything happened.
Quality: B
An analysis
It’s been the most productive week for Raw Underground so far. The fights were more convincing and the segments were used for other scenarios that exist outside the framework of the wrestling club.
This concept is still new, so it will take time to develop it, but if WWE continues to use it like this, it will be one of Raw’s main strengths in the future.
Having Duke and Shafir enrolled in Baszler on Raw is an exciting opportunity. They have raw Underground device support and give Baszler law enforcement to help him assert his dominance over the division.
Jovial Ford was looking for blood when he attacked Andrade as soon as the bell rang. He sent El Idolo out of the ring and swooped to get him out.
Andrade on the controls, but Bianca Belair getting rid of Vega on the edge of the ring distracted him enough for Ford to make him roll down the pin.
Quality: C-
An analysis
A confrontation with two athletes like Andrade and Ford can borrow the show, but that might not take place if it was only booked for 3 minutes.
This situation includes what can be simply an attempt at murder in many courtrooms. WWE treats it like any other fight, and that’s a mistake. We want to see Ford, Dawkins and Belair show much more anger over selling this show.
The last night saw Shawn Michaels come out to communicate what happened last week between Randy Orton and Ric Flair.
The Heartbreak Kid brought The Nature Boy as a pioneer and said Orton didn’t appreciate what it was like to have Flair as a mentor.
While looking to get out of the ring, Viper hit him with an RKO out of nowhere and followed him with a kick before McIntyre drove him away.
Orton tried to return when the champion turned his back on him, but the Scottish psychopath saw him coming and hit him all over the ring. He checked Michaels again, and this gave Orton a chance to hit the RKO to finish the show.
Category B
An analysis
The Legend Killer moves again. Orton attacking Michaels was predictable, but it was a smart way to finish the show.
Orton hasn’t been so damaging in years, and it will be unexpected to see WWE capitalize on its momentum by winning the WWE name on Sunday.
With WWE to force a link between McIntyre and those legends aside, this dispute has grown a lot in recent weeks with fake bookings and memorable promotions.