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pu7pl3:
WWE RAW REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS


Raw's Acknowledgement of the Tribal Chief
One thing I love about comic books is when characters who squared off long ago do so again in a completely different context. Spider-Man and the Green Goblin fought each other more times than I can count. But if Spidey pulls out that black suit and let his dark side run wild because he’s pushed to the edge? I’m in.
Sure, we’ve seen New Day x The Uso’s battle it out so many times over the past decade. But have we seen it with these iterations of either team with Big E as WWE Champion and this version of Roman Reigns standing shoulder to shoulder with his cousins? I think not.
But why did it open the show? My spidey sense immediately tingled because there’s no way WWE gives us this hyped six-man tag to open the show and leave us nothing to look forward to in the main event.
Enter the All Mighty former WWE Champion Bobby Lashley.
Lashley destroyed everyone in and outside of the ring during the match, including Reigns after he secured the win for the Bloodline. Weird that apparently the referee was cool with an outside man blatantly interfering in the match but, okay, sure.
As a result, Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville granted everyone’s wish and gave us a triple threat match between the two current champions and the former champ. Each man felt disrespected by the other and went into the match with their own agendas.
Big E wants all of the static with Bobby Lashley. Roman wants Big E—the initial line stepper—but will happily take some smoke from Lashley.
THIS. IS. AWESOME.
This was big boy wrestling at its finest. It wasn’t pretty and “finesse” felt like a four letter word. Reigns went for quick covers to end this thing as soon as possible and get back to Friday nights. It was a great way to establish Lashley and Big E as formidable challengers to a man who is WWE’s Dr. Doom at this point. If there are two cats in WWE who can manhandle the Tribal Chief, it’s Lashley and Large Langston.
After trading body blows, suplexes, superplexes, spears and superman punches, the match hit another gear when E gave Roman the Big Ending. In that moment, that was the game, set, and match. But Lashley broke it up and then attempted to break the WWE Champion by slamming him through the commentary table. Lashley and Roman tangoed for a bit, but neither of them got the job done because the WWE Champion came to just in time to breakup a pinfall.
From that point, it was all E. He eventually put Roman in another Big Ending and right before the ref threw his hand down to the mat for a third time, in came Lashley with a little sweet chair music.
He wailed on Big E for what felt like five minutes. Continuing the story from last week, Bobby’s greed got the better of him and he didn’t know when to stop. Reigns took advantage, hit him with a spear, and walked out of Raw with the win and his pride intact.
This was the best match and best story of the night. Big E looks like he belongs and came out of the match in a much stronger position than going into it. Lashley loses nothing by taking the L the way he did, and Reigns looks...well, like he always looks.
Lashley and Big E is the thing now and the champ will get his revenge. But, there’s compelling stories to tell with Lashley and Roman or Roman and E in the future.
And just like the Spider-Man fighting the Green Goblin as a college student avenging the death of his fiancé, or a working adult trying to battle for the soul of his best friend, we now have new context for each configuration.


They Didn’t Make it About Dolls...
There’s an interesting story beat WWE is doing here: Charlotte Flair wants the old Alexa Bliss back. She’s not interested in this new version. Charlotte, playing armchair psychiatrist, says Alexa is broken and using the tricks as a facade. The champ wants to “beat the sense” back into her. Alexa, a smart woman, gave as good as she got. She poked at Charlotte’s lack of identity when she’s not the champ (true), the fact her character is defined by having a title (also true), and how her “woo” chant plays into her lack of identity.
Alexa said it without saying: Charlotte has a lot more to lose than she does this Sunday. If Alexa loses, she still has her doll and other things to define her. If Charlotte loses? Well, yeah, she’s still got that “woo” to fall back on.
Just when it looked like they were going to make this all about dolls, they turned it into a psychological story about one woman who is completely comfortable in her own skin and another who is only comfortable when said skin is wrapped in gold.
I want to see Charlotte lose because I’m aching to see the answer to Alexa’s question. Meanwhile, the specter of Chucky looms closer and closer.
Consider this your warning.


The Winners, and New...
The very emotional moment when Super Brutality dedicated their match to children suffering from pediatric cancer. Maybe there were faking the emotion, maybe they weren’t. But I’m a sap so it tugged at my heart strings.
We now return to your regularly scheduled Women’s Tag Title match....that lasted less than 10 minutes. Obviously Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley were going to win. Seriously, they dedicated their match to CHILDREN. Not just children, but children with pediatric cancer.
Super Brutality gets their moment in the sun while Shotzi & Tegan Nox wait in the wings. By WWE logic, they were more deserving of a title shot than Nikki and Rhea since they own multiple W’s over the former tag champs. Me thinks they have a bone to pick and the new champs will hear all about it in the future.
But today, it’s all about the kids.


The rest
AJ is the Weakest Link
Randy and AJ wrote another chapter to their longstanding feud and this particular story of the former Raw tag champs wanting their belts back. Pardon the pun, but the match was phenomenal.
Two cats who know each other all-too well, and that familiarity showed itself a lot, but none better than the final sequence. AJ pump faked the Phenomenal Forearm knowing Randy planned to counter with an RKO.
Sadly, it wasn’t enough because as the story keeps telling us, AJ sans Omos can’t get the job done. The big man got sent to the back early in the match and without his personal colossus to save him or neutralize Riddle, AJ took the L.
I’m not sure if we’re building to a rematch for the tag titles or a breakup of Omos and AJ once the big man realizes he’s carrying the load. But WWE has options.

Jeff Hardy Punches His Ticket
Late in this match, Jeff Hardy went for a Swanton to pin Sheamus and earn a spot into Sunday’s United States Championship match. Sheamus blocked it causing Jeff to bounce off of Sheamus’s knees. Seriously, the man bounced. It looked painful, and thankfully the match was over shortly after that. Hardy is the added wrinkle to this dance between Damian Priest and the Irishman, so who knows how it goes this Sunday.
What I do know is that Jeff needs to soak in an ice bath between now and Sunday because he’s going to feel like utter crap. I wanted a clever simile here and I apologize for not delivering.

Respect on Her Name
Doudrop x Eva Marie, against my will, aren’t done yet. Eva says girls like Doudrop, who aren’t put together, can never beat a woman like Eva. Corey called Eva WWE’s Muhammad Ali which is several bridges too far. Thankfully, he acknowledged that.
Once Eva stopped running, Doudrop made it academic and pinned her...again. I don’t know what they’re doing with Eva at this point, or get why we’re still doing this.
To quote one of my favorite Chappelle Show sketches, wrap it up, B.

Meh Friends, Better Enemies
Shayna Baszler really doesn’t like Nia Jax. Thankfully, the match was quick, fast, and over in a hurry. The true juice was after the bell when Shayna tried to end her former partner’s career. Give Nia props for going for next year’s Emmy because she went all in on the begging and pleading here.

Shayna looked conflicted about potentially breaking Nia’s arm, but hey, can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs. Once again, not sure what we’re doing here and it’s probably not really over yet either.

Illegal Handsome
Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo, two cousins, beat the snot out of Mansoor & Mustafa Ali. The cousins are here to climb the ranks while the guys who took the L are nowhere near the same page.

24-7 Champion Stuff Happened
I know this is some people’s cup of tea, but It's getting boring, Reggie makes Drake and co. look foolish again. It takes up valuable time and just ain’t doing it for me.

This was an average episode of Raw. Stories progressed, but there was barely enough match time for several and we’re still getting stuff like Doudrop x Eva Marie for reasons unbeknownst to me. The opening and closing matches were on point, and the Raw Women’s Championship match got a lot more interesting. That, plus Randy x AJ doing their thing saved the show for me.

Grade: C+

ValeeLove:
Watch this if you have the time. This is great stuff.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgFeGjfUY3k

What a time to be a fan eh?

pu7pl3:
I doubt it, I know what I watched


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAvkx3xhaxU

pu7pl3:
where did you hear this? Throw more light on it please

pu7pl3:
Bruh, it baffles me tbh...I know this is Vince cos paid writers can't be coming up with these kind of mind boggling decisions
I don't vent tire I'm weak

vickydevoka:
Oga men are naturally useless

samistry:
Dave is kinda partisan towards wwe. I stopped depending on his ratings and rate matches myself.

Nezzjnr:
It's very hard to switch sides ooo


There's something unique about WWE... Maybe I'm just used to them

Nezzjnr:
That Punk hasn't gotten to the level of Cena and The Rock

pu7pl3:
I'm quite disappointed, he should have done a clean sweep of the 5 labours...this win solidifies MJF as a dastardly annoying heel tho which might be a better option in the long run

pu7pl3:
Kross provoked Joe when he choked Joe out and added salt to the injury when he took out Regal

samistry:
Not everyone can hold dual championships :By the way ValeeLove, are you going to be giving us AEW rampage updates on a regular? [

pu7pl3:
Valeelove when is Nevile Vs Andrade?

pu7pl3:
WWE NXT REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS


NXT’s Present x NXT’s Future
This was a weird episode of NXT. For a go-home show, it lacked urgency. The show merrily meandered down the stream minus a couple segments. Samoa Joe and Karrion Kross’ confrontation was one of those segments.
Joe came to the ring and did what he does best, which is be dope on the microphone. Joe’s strength is his believability. No matter the situation, I hang on every word and trust everything that comes out of his mouth is truth. Samoa Joe is the living embodiment of keeping it 100. So when he says he isn’t here for talking since he’s here to give Kross all of that action, I can only nod my head in agreement.
Kross came to the ring—sans Scarlett as the crowd really wanted us to know—and reframed the narrative of their rivalry. For him, this isn’t about Joe, Kross, or even the NXT Championship. Their match at TakeOver 36 is about the future of NXT. Intriguing idea, but rather than elaborate, Kross calls security to the ring and the thing we knew would happen happened.
Joe and Kross did their best to literally bring down the house, breaking up parts of the Capitol Wrestling Center as they fought through barricades and chain links. It’s almost as if NXT is telling us not even the arena is big enough to contain the hatred these two cats feel towards each other.
While I wanted more from Kross about “the future of NXT,” the brawl sufficed to keep the story simple. Not to mention it was the most exciting thing on the show so, hooray for that.


Indi CC’d Every Guy She Used to See See ‘Round Town
I said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m a sap. A hopeless romantic infatuated with a good love story. While Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis isn’t always my cup of tea—still wonder what she sees in the man—how NXT defines their bond is pretty damn poetic. Indi chose to defy “mom” and “dad” one more time when she joined forces with her man to take on Robert Stone and Jesse Kamea.
If I can keep it real for a moment, it didn’t matter who they were in the ring with. This “match” showcased these two are more in sync than Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez. Indi does that creepy thing on her knees like him, she responds to his emotionless stares that Beth Phoenix says are filled with love, and she summons the strength of Hercules and Xena when they lock eyes.
Dexter Lumis is her boo thang, through and through.
Once they made quick work of Stone and Kamea with a dual Silence finishers inside and outside the ring, Indi did what any woman in love with a psychopath would do on her birthday: she popped the question.
While I’m no expert on engagement rings, I’m pretty sure she didn’t go to Jared for that. Shame on Mr. Lumis for making Indi spend her money on a ring for him on her birthday.
Step up, Dexter.
Anyway, Johnny Gargano and Candice LaRae will surely want Indi to not do this, reconsider, and read some literature on the subject of marrying crazy people. Will they speak or forever hold their peace? It’s wrestling, so my money is on the former. Look for them to break-up the wedding—because it’s a wrestling wedding—setting up the inevitable mixed tag match between two parents, their surrogate daughter, and her dead-eyed fiancé.
I do hope there’s cake.


How You Like Me Now?
NXT combined two stories in its main event. We got the payoff to weeks of back and forth between MSK and Imperium mixed with Ilja Dragunov and WALTER’s apparent disgust for each other. It was obvious the tales would intertwine when Dragunov called WALTER everything but a child of God earlier in the night and the NXT UK champ no-showed.
If Dragunov wanted his attention, he needed to snatch it rather than ask for it. “Shockingly,” Ilja showed up during the main event to distract WALTER and Imperium, while providing an opening big enough for MSK to mount a serious comeback and prove their toughness.
The NXT Tag champs keep proving their worth while all contenders we thought were worthy to dethrone them show they can’t outlast the champs when it counts.
How was the match, you ask? Pretty damn dope, actually. Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel wanted to punish Nash Carter & Wes Lee.
And punish they did.
They set out to prove their worth as pro wrestling’s saviors with no time for the high-flying antics of MSK. Anytime Carter or Lee look cleared for takeoff, Aichner or Barthel grounded them with what I can only describe as “severe quickness.” I present exhibits A-Z:
And then there’s Dragunov, who suffered the wrath of a pissed off WALTER. Seriously, putting his name in all caps fits in this context. The champ unloaded a furious anger on his TakeOver 36 opponent, repaying him in kind for last week’s embarrassment. WALTER started the night concerned with brethren performing well enough to reclaim the NXT Tag Team Championships. With that dream deferred for now, the big man looks like his sights are aimed squarely on Ilja
From everything presented thus far, it’s clear their match or Joe x Kross will win the superlative for “most violent of the night” this Sunday. As fans, we win either way. Isn’t that the most important part?


The rest
Ilja Dragunov x Roderick Strong
Strong was supposed to fight Kushida tonight for the Cruiserweight Championship. Fate intervened and said “nah.” In lieu of the title match, Malcolm Bivens issued an open challenge to anyone in the back. Dragunov, wanting to get his mojo back after taking the L last week, accepts.
These two cats beat each other’s ass. Dragunov’s insane power and tenacity were the stars of the show, as he just refused to let up. Strong relied on the Diamond Mine for an advantage or two and it worked to a degree, but not enough to get the W. Two weeks ago, Strong’s crew got him over the finish line but tonight, they could barely eek him over it, much less pull him.
Even a bloody Dragunov leaking like a running faucet was too strong for the man with the matching last name. A good opening match that setup a plot thread carried through to the main event.

Culture x The Culture
Hit Row marched to the ring and let Legado del Fantasma know the beef is now fully-cooked filet mignon after yanking out Isaiah Swerve’s grill. Again, Santos Escobar put his hands in another person’s mouth and yanked something out. That’s serious beef for a host of reasons, starting with Escobar’s trife disregard of hygiene.
But I digress.
Swerve fell for the actual oldest trick in the book when Escobar called him to the parking lot in hopes that they could settle their differences one on one, like men. Swerve apparently doesn’t watch wrestling or any other form of entertainment since he *gasp* walked into a trap. Hit Row came to his aide, issued a beat down to all three members of Legado del Fantasma, and Swerve got his grill back.
This feud feels like its doing the running man rather than running, man. We’re getting a six-man tag match next week which is cool, I guess, but we’re just delaying the inevitable North American Championship match between Escobar and Swerve. And if the beef is as cooked as Swerve says, why aren’t we getting that match yet?
Raquel Gonzalez x Dakota Kai Face to Face...Digitally!
The NXT Women’s Champion and her former best friend talked a bunch of crap to each other to get us excited for this weekend’s bout.

Meh.
Look, I’m down for the match, but like a lot of this episode, it added nothing new to what we already know. A go-home show should add another layer to the story, not repeat the same beats. These two didn’t do anything different than last week. Raquel thinks Dakota is envious and a snake. Dakota thinks Raquel is too big for her britches and ungrateful. Raquel promises to whoop ass at all costs. Dakota says Raquel is dreaming. Raquel calls Dakota a sidekick. Dakota fumes.
Meh.

Cameron Grimes x Josh Briggs
The match was fine. LA Knight paid Briggs to make mincemeat of Grimes before their match this weekend. Clearly he didn’t pay him enough because Grimes handled Briggs with ease. The fact he did it in a butler outfit makes the feat even more impressive.
LA Knight, who not only made a dumb investment and lost a bet to Ted Dibiase, did the post-match beatdown and sent Grimes to the nurse’s office. This led to a nice moment later that, much to my surprise, actually moved the story forward! Cameron finally realized he’s nobody’s butler and is, in fact, a true champion. Dibiase going into “disappointed Dad” mode apparently was all the motivation Grimes needed to find himself and get in the right mindset for his Million Dollar Championship match.
It’s not Shakespeare but it worked for me.

Grade: B-
NXT’s floor is pretty damn high. This was still a good show but I gotta dock points for the lack of excitement in a go home show before their biggest event of the summer. Barely anything moved forward and more seemed set up for next week rather than this weekend.
There’s always good on Tuesday nights, but much like Dexter Lumis, NXT needs to do better when a celebration is around the corner.
What say you?

pu7pl3:
I'm not disputing the fact that they are doing absolutely remarkable, they are awesome..I'm just saying that the saturation would get to them soon enough too and they would definitely start doing boring WWE stuff too...the storylines they have planned for 1yr is a slippery slope cos there is no way they can see the future and write in new wrestlers they haven't signed yet

pu7pl3:
don't read toomuch meaning into that one

Did Andrade win?

pu7pl3:
After all the moral support

Who was giving Kenny moral support?

pu7pl3:
They know how to book cos they just started and they don't have half as much employees as WWE yet...just wait

pu7pl3:
don't read toomuch meaning into that one

Did Andrade win?