With Money in the Bank a week past, WWE is now officially focused on setting up the next big event. SummerSlam will be on July 30.
Roman Reigns will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.
Bobby Lashley will defend his U.S. title against Theory, while The Usos defend the Undisputed Tag Team Championships against The Street Profits. Monday’s episode addressed various feuds and more.
Looking back at how WWE handled the red brand
Rey Mysterio vs Finn Balor
Raw opens with Lesnar coming out to a warm welcome. He thanked the crowd before talking about his upcoming match against Roman Reigns in what only took a couple of minutes. Paul Heyman interrupts on this night while Lesnar is delivering his promo.
After a long exchange, the Beast comes out to taunt Theory before Gable and Gable appeared for an attack. The bad ended when Lesnar hit Otis with an F-5
This match ended on a high note when Lesnar picked up Otis. The rest of the match was predictable and could have been better.
Rey Mysterio took on Finn Balor this week, in a rematch from last week, where Rey won through a technicality by using Eddie Guerrero’s signature chair trick.
Damian Priest coaxed Dominik to join the Bullet Club before the match, but it was unsuccessful. After the break, Rey Mysterio and Domingo Balor sent Priest and Aro away from the ring.
The match was already taking place when we returned, so the live crowd got a few more minutes of action. As was expected, Rey and Balor had an entertaining exchange. However, there were times when it felt like they slowed down more than needed.
Jason Todd quickly and easily overtakes Rey with The Coup de Grace.
Winner: Finn Balor
Bianca Belair vs. Carmella
Before the match between Bianca Belair and Carmella took place, Becky entered from the apron to watch it.
Belair picked Mella up and put her in the corner right away to establish her dominance. She slammed The Princess of Staten Island’s head into the announce table right in front of Lynch as the show went to a break.
The match continued to go as most spectators would have predicted. Mella would get in a few successful offences, and then Belair would mount a reaction and establish her physical superiority again.
Despite a few awkward moments, this match was mostly enjoyable. It wasn’t a pay-per-view-level bout, but it showcased the strengths of both women.
At the end of a long (and, really, really boring) Big Time Belmarque match, Mella Kane uses a Knock Out Drop to successfully win over her champion and her title.
Winner: Carmella
The Miz and Ciampa vs AJ Styles and Ezekiel
Miz had his guest, AJ Styles this week on “Miz TV”, and did not let him say two words. The A-Lister spent most of the interview talking about Logan Paul in front of Ciampa, who left the ring.
The former NXT champion, The Miz, was brought in to help fight against the former tag team champion, but Ezekiel held his own and managed to tag Styles, his partner.
The heels controlled most of the match until The Phenomenal One tagged in and started attacking his rival, Styles. With no legal competitor, the match ended as a DQ because Ciampa refused to stop attacking Styles when The Miz was standing on the outside of the ring
The match was unremarkable in that it didn’t make a ton of people want to remember it. The DQ finish right after a count-out is going to rub some people the wrong way.
“Winners: Styles and Zeke” by DQ
Alexa Bliss and Asuka vs Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H.
A tag match occurred in the women’s division this week between Asuka and Alexa Bliss, taking them on Doudrop and Nikki.
The Empress recovered in the second half of the game, but Nikki and Doudrop’s defense was able to keep her away from the ball.
After Asuka tagged back in, she regained the upper hand. The Goddess scored with a DDT to her tag team partner.
This match was short and simple. The result did not come as a big surprise, but it didn’t give us a lot to sink our teeth into either.
Winners: Asuka and Alexa Bliss
The Usos and Omos vs Truth and the Profits
The WWE continued with the singles matches between The Usos and Street Profits this week when Angelo Dawkins took on Jimmy Uso. As usual, Montez Ford and Jey were at ringside.
R-Truth ended up coming out to offer his services as both a tag team’s counselor and a potential referee for the SummerSlam tag title bout between The Usos and The Profits. The Usos threatened Truth, but MVP and Omos came down before anything could happen. Omos and The Usos attacked Truth before the break to set up a six-man tag match.
The match had the expected six on six action you would expect with The Usos, Profits, Truth and Omos. Some of the matches segments were good while some were disorganized.
While Dawkins was winning for his team in the grudge match, Omos took him down with a pin to tie the score. This would mean he could become King of the Ring referee.
Winner: Omos and The Usos
Seth Rollins and Theory vs. Bobby Lashley and Riddle
The main event saw Theory team up with Seth Rollins to take on Riddle and Bobby Lashley in a tag team match.
In the first commercial break, Ziggler wore a suit and tie and his music played. The show continued with Theory taking control of Riddle as soon as the opening bell sounded, following it up with a series of hard left hands. It took tagging out Lashley for the babyfaces to take over for a spell before Nature Boy Crooked King JBL’s music hit and he walked to the ring in wrestling attire.
The Showoff watched as The Visionary and Mr. MITB kept the match going for as long as they could, but he eventually made the hot tag to The All Mighty.
Despite their physical limitations, the four men in this match never lost their ability to have a fight. This wrestling bout had no shortage of excitement and drama, as Ziggler prevented Theory from cheating, and Riddle won with the RKO.
Bobby Lashley gives the lowdown on Riddle
