Raw: Big Time Bust

Pat and Cole Announce A Battle Royal 

Mattered ***.5

Pat and Cole made a monumental announcement- a women's battle royal featuring the majority of the roster to determine a new champion. This electrifying start to Raw promises a fresh face in the championship scene. This segment made it easy to want to stay tuned for this game-changing event. 

Jey USO and Damian Meet Eye To Eye

Mattetered: ***.5

This was a good showing for Damian and Jey. This was their first rival interaction, and it set a good tone. Damian Priest pretended like they were friends at first. Damian acted proud to face him before claiming that Jey was being fed to him and that he would just be the first in a line of people that Damian beat. Damian was very condescending to Jey, but Jey wasn't having it. 

Jey ripped Damian apart by saying that if Jey was just a tag team guy, what did that make him for being in Judgement Day? Then he said he was only the leader of Judgment Day because Rhea got hurt. The crowd was going crazy for Jey's impassioned delivery and cutting lines. JD McDonough tried to stop the bleeding by attacking Jey, but Jey ducked him and hit Damian with a superkick. Neither are great promos, but they put forth a good effort here that set up a good storyline for Backlash. Can Damian do it again, or will he flop as champion? Will Jey ever be able to win the big one, or is he just a tag team guy? I can't wait to find out. 

DIY vs. The Awesome Truth World Tag Team Title Match

Mattered ***

This was a good match. Awesome Truth shocked the world and defeated DIY. DIY was firing on all cylinders, but the Awesome Truth was to stay in it long enough to turn the tide and win the match. I'm glad the Awesome Truth is getting to have an actual tag title reign, but it's a tough loss for DIY, who just missed their second opportunity to win championships.

Santos Signs Up for A Judgment Day Temp Job 

Mattered *** 

Dominik is injured, so he enlists Santos to take his spot in his tag match with JD. Judgment Day is not a fan of the decision but has no choice but to go through it. However, that's just what's happening on the surface. Under the surface, Dominik is hanging with Legado more and more, and he may defect to their faction, especially now that Rhea is gone. This is a story WWE has been telling ever since he went to SmackDown by himself. I like this storyline; it has potential. 

NEW DAY Confronts Gunther 

Mattered ***

I wasn't a huge fan of this segment. Gunther gave a speech about his loss, praising his accomplishments, making no excuses, and saying he was turning his sights on the King of the Ring, which will be happening in Saudi Arabia. The defending King of the Ring, Xavier Woods, came out, and they traded insults. Gunther called Xavier a joke, and Xavier made fun of Gunther for losing his title. The segment ended with New challenging Imperium to a tag match after Gunther declared this was beneath him. I have to agree with Xavier that facing Imperium again was tired, but this segment did set important things in motion. We have our first King of the Ring rivalry set. 

NEW Day vs. Imperium 

Mattered ***

This match barely mattered. Both teams are really talented and put on a good match together, but we have seen them so many times that it's hard to get excited about competition between them. New Day won the match, so Xavier struck first in his rivalry with Gunther. Gunther walked away, disgusted with his team. 

Ludwig Turns On Vinci 

Mattered ***.5

This was a very good turn. I figured Ludwig would turn on Vinci when the camera showed them lingering, but even then, Ludwig did little things to fake the turn multiple times before he actually pulled the trigger. Ludwig destroyed Vinci and even shattered his arm against the steps. Then, to top off everything, Gunther praised Ludwig for what he did—this single-handedly reinvigorated Imperium. I'm also glad to see Vinci is going solo because he's so good in the ring. 

Andrade Puts Judgment Day on Notice

Mattered ***

I didn't care about Andrade's match last week with Dominik because the feud was dead. However, WWE laid the groundwork to begin making it enjoyable. Andrade had a video package explaining that he didn't turn on Dom cause he was never loyal in the first place. Judgment Day wanted him to do their dirty work, but he refused to be their goon. This makes a ton of sense, and positioning Andrade against the entire Judgment Day will be an entertaining use of both parties. 

Sheamus and Drew Tell the Hard Truths 

Mattered ****

This was the most entertaining part of Raw up to this point. First, Drew came out for a promo, and if you have been paying attention, you know Drew's promos are must-sees. He's been a dragon lately; all he does is spit fire. This week, he told the crowd that CM Punk hated them, and the only person he hated more was himself. He also got the crowd to agree they french kissed their cousins, which was hilarious. 

However, Then Sheamus came out and leveled with Sheamus, basically saying that Drew got everything he wanted, but he let his obsession with CM Punk cost him everything, which was his fault. 

Drew didn't appreciate Sheamus as much as the crowd did. He actually made fat jokes about him, saying he had burger after burger. I appreciate WWE including this because Sheamus was being torn apart online for gaining a little weight; it's nice to see WWE responding to the audience in real-time. However, Drew didn't bring this up to be a jerk. He brought it up to say that he defended him in the back and that even if Sheamus didn't care what people were saying, Drew did care about what people were saying about his friend. Excellent parallel by Drew, who is saying you should care about what everyone is doing to me as my friend. Sheamus is basically saying I do care, which is why I'm trying to point you in the right direction. The segment ended with Drew saying he'd watch Sheamus' back, but he said it like he was telling Sheamus to watch his own back. Adding Sheamus to Drew's story has deepened the complexity and made things even more compelling. 

Sheamus vs. Nakamura 

Mattered: ****

If there was any question about whether or not Sheamus was fully back, I think he answered that question when he hit White Noise off the top rope on Nakamura. Yikes! This is one of the best Nakamura matches I've seen in a while. It felt like he raised his game for Sheamus. It wasn't just a copy-and-paste match. Nakamura did a giant knee on Sheamus's head on the barricade. It was brutal. Also, Nakamura took a huge knee and got back up, and Sheamus took a Kinshasa and still kicked out. Also, Sheamus dodged Nakamura's left-footed kick. 

This is significant because I don't remember ever seeing anyone do that. Normally, everyone throws a step-up kick to the side of the head to create distance, but Nakamura throws the first leg that everyone would normally throw as a windup and uses it as his main kick. Nobody is ever ready because they are waiting on the other leg. But Sheamus was ready and dodged both legs. I appreciate that Sheamus did his homework. Sheamus was able to put Nakamura away with a Brogue Kick out of nowhere. 

Sheamus remains undefeated and is carving out a role for himself on Raw. He reminds me of Bray Wyatt in 2015, who would just show up in the 9-10-hour slot and destroy people in entertaining matches. Sheamus could be that constant spot on the Raw card. 

Tough Time To Be Sami Zayn

Mattered ***

Sami can't catch a break. One minute, he is waiting to see Gable's explanation of why he attacked him last week, and the next, he is being blasted by his next opponent, Bronson Reed. I appreciate Bronson's initiative in getting Sami to take him seriously. Sami and Reed should be a great match. Also, this little attack was a good way to continue Sami's IC storyline in the background. 

Gable Apologzes to Absolutely No One

Mattered ***.5

Gable was supposed to explain himself after what he did last week. He said it was Sami's fault for not leaving him alone. Gable was crying in the corner, but Sami put the title in front of him and tried to shake his hand. Gable still lifted his hand, but then Sami celebrated with his wife in Gable's face, and Gable snapped. 

Gable then berated his team and called them losers that he wasted his time on, just like he wasted his time with Sami. He says that from now on, the group is focused on getting him that title. Alpha Academy seemed demoralized, but they went along. I love this turn by Gable. I believe his character can pull off anything, and I want to see what happens when he gets serious. Maybe he could even finish what he started in 2019 and Win King of the Ring.

Ricochet and Dom

Didn't Matter **

Dom confronted Ricochet backstage, and they talked about what they would have done to each other if Dominik had been in the match. The segment was largely a filler until the very end when Liv Morgan came face to face with Dom, and it was clear she had been watching. The stare was engaging. It was intense; I couldn't tell if they were going to fight or kiss.

Ricochet & Andrade vs. Santos & JD 

Mattered***

This match was solid. The highlight was when Ricochet was thrown off the top rope on top of JD. The interesting part of this match was the end when Andrade won the match. Then, Damian Priest came out and cleared house and told the Judgment Day that he didn't need them; they needed him. Interesting leadership strategy; let's see how it plays out. 

Nia Interview

Didn't Matter *

Nia had a backstage promo about how she was the only monster in the Battle Royal, and it was bad. I hate to say this because Nia has been very good on the mic and in the ring since her return, but this promo was bad. I think it's because Nia herself probably didn't like it. Also, it was a filler promo. 

Zoey Stark 

Mattered **

Zoey Stark bragged about all the people she beat, and the list was truly impressive. This was a much-needed reminder that she is a serious competitor. 

Candice, Indi, Liv, Nia, Maxine, and Becky 

Mattered ***.3

Candice and Indi were interviewed about cheating in their matches, and Candice cut off the interview. We heard a huge fight between Nia and Liv, and we cut over to them screaming at each other and being separated by security. Then Becky took the mic from the interviewer and started guiding us through the back and hyping up the match before briefly stopping in front of Maxine Dupri and telling her to make sure she showed everyone why this shouldn't be her last title opportunity. This was a good lead-up to the main event that showed the women's roster's passion for the World title. 

Women's World Title Battle Royal: Big Time Bust  

Mattered***.5

The Battle Royal was very entertaining. Maxine stood out early by eliminating Indi and Candice and even standing up to Nia Jax before being overpowered and eliminated. Still, Maxine increased her stock big time. Nia Jax was the MVP of this match. She probably fought the most people and had the most brutal elimination when she picked up Ivy Nile by her legs and dumped her out like trash. Ivy hit the ring apron and then the floor hard. 

Nia wasn't done either. She also chokeslammed Piper into the table on top of Becky, but the table didn't break. So she picked up Piper for a Samoan drop and slammed her on top of Becky, and the table still didn't break. Finally, the table broke when she powerbombed Becky through it. Still, I respect Nia putting the team on her back, calling an audible, and lifting Piper all the way up for a Samoan drop. 

Eventually, it came down to just Nia and Liv, and then Becky returned to the ring even after being put through a table. Becky and Liv got Nia out together with an impressive sequence of moves, but Nia didn't go down easy. She even suplexed them both simultaneously, but they eventually got her. Then it was just Liv and Becky. Everything was all lined up. Liv was on her revenge tour and Becky was the one who said Liv would one day be champion. Becky is the person who cheated Liv out of the title two years ago. It was all going right, and then Becky won. 

It was a terrible decision that ruined the end of Raw. Becky ran to the crowd to try and hype everyone up, and they still didn't seem excited. My wife is a casual without a horse in the race, but the women's main event drew her in. Even she wondered why the winner just ended up being one of the usual suspects instead of someone new and exciting. Becky over Liv was a horrible choice. Maybe it will pay off with Liv winning on a bigger stage, but for tonight, it was horrible. Tone-deaf moments like this can hurt Becky as well. I hope this can end up like her Big Time Becks run, where she actually helped a lot of women, but right now, it's a big-time bust.

Final Grade 7/10 C-

It's clear that this show was a stopgap between now and the draft. The show planned to keep storylines going and give us one or two moments to keep us satisfied. I think the Women's Rumble was supposed to keep everyone happy and make this mostly alright show a success. However, the decision to put the title on Becky because she is the most established star instead of Liv or even Nia hurt this fragile show. So, it just gets a passing grade. It was fine, nothing special.