WWE Monday Night RAW #1257 Review (26th June 2017)

This week's Monday Night RAW came from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California and featured a Women's Championship #1 Contender's Gauntlet match with Sasha Banks, Bayley, Mickie James, Dana Brooke, Emma and Nia Jax, The Hardy Boyz teaming with Finn Balor against Elias Samson and Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus and Enzo Amore calling out Big Cass for attacking him last week as well as Intercontinental Champion The Miz and his Miztourage, Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe. But was it any good? Let's take a look.

Strowman chucked Reigns in an Ambulance

This segment was made for a GIF of one big guy throwing another big guy off a stage and into an Ambulance. That's pretty much all this eight minute slice was as Roman Reigns cut a promo about being attacked by Braun Strowman last week, then Strowman turned up in ambulance (leading inevitable Scott Steiner references on the ever-imaginative world of Twitter) and then as Reigns tried to take the action to Strowman he failed miserably and ending up leaving the back of the ambulance. The crowd was hot for it, it was entertaining and created a memorable and GIF-friendly moment. Hardly a classic, but it did what it was intended to do and did it well.

Hardy Boyz & Balor def. Tag Team Champions Cesaro, Sheamus & Samson

Our opening contest was a solid and simple six man tag, that finished hot with a couple of dives to the outside, before Finn Balor pinned Cesaro after a Coup de Grace. The match followed your usual six man structure with Balor and then Jeff Hardy taking on the face in peril role and Cesaro, Sheamus & Elias Samson working well as the bruising heels in control. This fairly basic, but otherwise enjoyable six man (the crowd absolutely loved it) was pretty much ruined when some guy joined the commentary desk and got interviewed by Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Tom Phillips on commentary. The bloke talked about a couple of movies he's in and apparently he was in the new Transformer film, but I had no idea who he was and he essentially just made the match feel even more inconsequential than it was. 

• A Goldust promo about stage fright, ahead of his match with R-Truth next, like most of these promos the direction and performance is nice but there's nothing particular catching about the content.

• Goldust came out with his own personal cameraman wearing a gold suit and beat the shit out of R-Truth. There was no match. 

• Samoa Joe interrupted a Paul Heyman interview and it was fucking great.

The Worst Segment of the Year Happened 

Who the fuck are the Ball Family? These three dickwads turned up on Miz TV to advertise some horrible looking t-shirts and the family's Dad went on a mad one, running around the ring and generally making the Miz look stupid for not kicking him in his great balls of fire. I'm not sure what it was supposed to be or how this was supposed to get people interested in anything, but it was horrible. Arguably worse than This is Your Life because it had literally no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Apparently one of the kids said the N-word as well and thankfully WWE just played Dean Ambrose music when they realised things had gone down hill quickly than greased up fat guy. 

The Miztourage def. Ambrose, Rhyno & Slater

Six man tags, we all love six man tags. Honestly, I was still trying to get over the previous segment to pay much attention to what was going on here, but I did see Bo Dallas got a roll-up victory on Rhyno. Everything else was pretty basic stuff and with having already seen a six man tag as the shows only other match to this point it was difficult to get excited about. But, The Miztourag  won, which is a good thing I suppose and makes sense with them being the unit in the match as opposed to the hodge-podge team of Dean Ambrose, Heath Slater and Rhyno. 

Cass turned on Enzo...again. 

This was another weirdly put together segment, that included a great, heart-felt promo from Enzo Amore, but also showed that WWE wasn't 100% all-in, lacking the little touches that could have elevated both guys heading into their programme. Stuff like having Cass enter to the same music as Enzo and then using the same gimmick microphone made this segment feel like an afterthought, when both guys had clearly put a lot of work into it. Having Cass apologise and Enzo accept the apology, ended making Amore look like he was missing a couple of his marbles, but we're all used to our babyfaces being stupid af so why stop now. Cass obviously attacked his pal on the entrance ramp and managed to get a decent bit of heat from it, but this segment could have and should have been so much better, with just a little bit more attention to detail. 

Rollins def. Hawkins 

Seth Rollins picked up a swift victory over Curt Hawkins, pulling out all of his big hitters before winning with his ripchord knee situation.  Hawkins is pretty good in his job as "warm body" and his quick "star-maker" promo prior to each match makes the beatings he takes more entertaining than a win over a local competitor. Bray Wyatt's big face popped up on the screen post-match and he said some words about being a God and announced that the two would face off on 9th July in Dallas, Texas. Wyatt has been coasting since his WWE title programme with Randy Orton, I used to be captivated by promos, but now I find myself zoning out because the content is way too [Insert Name Here] and struggles to break it's formula. 

Joe ambushes Lesnar 

The trope-heavy build towards Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire continued as Joe jumped Lesnar from behind on the ramp and attempted to choke him out with the Coquina Clutch. NXT has shown over it's run that sometimes the simplest wrestling cliches are the best things to building rivalries and creating interest and that's exactly what we've seen between Joe and Lesnar so far. Joe's been built up as a credible threat to Lesnar's Universal Championship, which means even if he doesn't topple the Beast Incarnate (which let's face it he isn't going to do), he'll be in a much better place than where he was before and whoever manages to take the title from Lesnar will benefit even more. I mean, again, the babyfaces looked completely stupid, as anyone and his dog could have seen what was coming as Paul Heyman introduced his client, but that's by the by. 

• Neville def. Lince Dorado in a purple ropes match, with Akira Tozawa looking to scrap with him after the match. Titus O'Neil stopped the fight and announced the two would face off at Great Balls of Fire in a pretty awful promo. 

• Paul Heyman cut a magnificent promo when interviewed by Dasha Fuentes, telling us why we should get behind Brock Lesnar, why Samoa Joe was a threat and why we should want to see them fight, all in an entertaining and captivating two minutes of screen time. 

• Women's Champion Alexa Bliss tried to kiss up to Nia Jax as their weird, will-they, won't-they saga continued, ahead of the Number One Contender's Gauntlet match.

Jax def. Bayley, James, Brooke and Emma, Banks def. Jax in a Gauntlet Match to become #1 Contender to the Women's Championship

It was cool to see the Women end the show this week and taken as an overall piece of storytelling, this was a strong near half hour of television. Yeah it had it's problems, like Nia Jax beating Bayley WAY too quickly in the first match for my liking, but we got a match that managed to build one contender up as a monster heel who is more of less unstoppable under regular circumstances, whilst also giving us a Number One contender who found a way to beat the unbeatable, with the caveat being it came after the unbeatable had already wrestled the rest of the women's division. Jax is brilliant in her role and deserves a tonne of credit for taking her look and making herself feel like a believe bad ass. The hip attacks with her opponents on the ropes and pushing Brooke to the mat as she attempted a cartwheel elbow were great examples. She's clearly being helped by the booking (pinning Bayley, Mickie James, Dana Brooke and Emma in speedy fashion!) and could still be more polished inside the ring, but she's more than capable of creating a story-based match that gets the fans invested when called upon. I also think she's got more potential as an ass-kicking babyface, due to her overtly likeable persona off-screen (see the new episode of Ride Along) 

The way Banks won the match made her feel like a credible contender, she didn't get a cheap win, she made Jax tap out to a version of the Banks Statement. She found a way to defeat the Woman who ploughed through the rest of the division, thus we're left with one challenger for Alexa Bliss at the next PPV and another being positioned as a new potential top female heel. It was exactly how the match should have gone. Kurt Angle coming out to celebrate with Banks was a little weird, but Women's Champion Alexa Bliss' appearance made much more sense. We've seen issues between the pair before, but this set the two up for their match in just under two weeks well with Banks landing a dropkick and ending the show posing with the Women's strap. I'm not sure where this leaves the rest of the Women's division, but with only one week of RAW to fill before the six-week build to SummerSlam begins I'm sure they'll find something for Nia to do until then. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.49/10 

The episode managed to finish strong with the Lesnar/Joe segment and then the Women's Gauntlet (with purple ropes in between) but there's no mistaking that this show featured one of the worst segments in television history and a lot of treading water. The two six men matches were fine, but both ruined by terrible celebrity appearances, Rollins and Wyatt haven't quite found what their feud is supposed to be (other than some time filler for both men) and despite strong performances from both Enzo Amore and Big Cass I found their segment lacked the attention to detail (from a booking and presentation stand point) that it deserved to feel like a fitting conclusion to their mystery angle. On the whole, I feel like the show managed to do it's broad strokes well, Reigns chucked Strowman into an Ambulance, Cass took out Enzo again, Joe choked out Lesnar, Jax dominated but Banks earned a title shot, but more often than not lacked the precision that should make being a long-time viewer of the product a satisfying experience. 

WWE Monday Night RAW #1254 Review (5th June 2017)

On 5th June, WWE aired the 1254th episode of Monday Night RAW live from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on the USA Network. The show featured Roman Reigns facing Bray Wyatt, new #1 Contender Samoa Joe against Seth Rollins and a confrontation between Joe and Paul Heyman, the advocate for Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, as well as appearances from Intercontinental Champion The Miz, RAW Tag Team Champions Sheamus & Cesaro, The Big Show, Dean Ambrose and Mickie James. But was it any good? Let's take a look.

*Times in brackets are screen time, rather than match length.

• ICYMI - Highlights of Samoa Joe becoming Number One Contender to the WWE Universal Championship at Extreme Rules, with a victory over Finn Balor, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt.

Reigns def. Wyatt (23:25)

Before our massive opening contest, we got to hear from both men, starting with a typically madcap promo from Bray Wyatt. The Eater of Worlds continued his rhetoric about needing to "slay the beast" and quickly skimming over being unable to get the win on 4th June claiming that "I am still every bit of the God that I have always been". I'm not sure whether the Wyatt character is actually aware of Brock Lesnar or whether he genuinely believes there is an actual beast running about with the Universal title (although that would probably better explain why we haven't seen the belt since WrestleMania). A section where Wyatt listed his opponents from Sunday and called them "guilty" got a good reaction, with each of the four getting loud pops from Wilkes-Barre, with Roman Reigns' being just that bit louder. The crowd was superb when The Big Dog made his entrance, a mixture of love and hate for Roman, who just stood there and let it happen, whilst Wyatt leaned against the ropes and soaked in the atmosphere. "The big dogs not gonna wait, he's ready to be sentenced right now" was all Reigns needed to say and one uppercut later we were into our opener. 

I always enjoy watching Reigns and Wyatt scrap it out with each other. Their 2015 feud provided us with two underrated PPV matches, as they two tore strips off each other and this bout was just as physical as the two went across two adverts breaks. The two have tangible chemistry and with similar brawling styles, they produced some hard-hitting action that held it's lengthy TV time and got a positive reaction from the Mohegan Sun Arena. After both attempting signature moves early on, the two used the heat from the crowd to take their time after the break wit Wyatt controlling the match with headlocks and subduing Reigns' hope spots with a DDT and later by sending the Big Dog into the post. Out of the second break, Reigns made his fiery comeback to a loud mixed reaction, building into Wyatt doing his spider walk moments after Reigns had pumped his fist up to signal as Superman Punch was incoming. With Michael Cole claiming that Wyatt was "thwacked out of his mind" the two headed home with Reigns gathering momentum and Wyatt looking for space. A clean win for Roman after hitting a superman punch and spear, leaves Wyatt with just one win out of four singles matches since jumping to RAW, but as we've seen time and time again from the Eater of Worlds losses rarely affect him or his popularity. Reigns is being heavily protected for the showdown with Brock Lesnar at some point (most likely WrestleMania) and if you couldn't tell from the crowd reactions he's already one of the top full-time guys on the roster. 

• Backstage - Charly Caruso interviewed Enzo & Cass, with Amore chatting up Caruso and Cass promising to keep watching Enzo's back after the multiple attacks as of late...the mystery deepens.

• ICYMI - At Extreme Rules, Alexa Bliss defeated Bayley in a Kendo Stick on a Pole match to retain the RAW Women's Championship. 

• Backstage - After Alexa Bliss told Kurt Angle she was ready to move on from Bayley, Ange shot down her demands for a "Alexa Bliss - This is My Life" segment, calling last week's This is Your Life for Bayley one of the worst segments in the history of RAW and booking Bliss to defend her Women's Championship against Nia Jax later on. 

• In-Ring - Elias Samson treated us to a song about a falling leaf or something, getting some good heat before Dean Ambrose interrupted and hit him with the microphone. A short promo from The Lunatic Fringe demanding an Intercontinental Championship rematch was cut short by The Miz appearing on the big screen, leading to Samson jumping Ambrose and ending the segment with his swinging neckbreaker. 

• Backstage - Kurt Angle told an irate Dean Ambrose to take the night off, after promising he'll get his Intercontinental title rematch soon. 

Heyman Confronted Joe (12:59)

A sublime piece of television as Samoa Joe took his place as Brock Lesnar's first opponent since WrestleMania, creating an issue with the Beast Incarnate right from the off after choking out his advocate Paul Heyman in the middle of the ring. The moments before the attack were fascinating as both dropped their mics with the only sound coming from the camera mic, as the Samoan Submission Machine backed Heyman into the corner, told him exactly what he was going to do to him and then did it. The stylistic choice with the microphones gave the TV presentation an uncomfortable, voyeuristic quality, made Joe look like a force to be reckoned with. When the segment concluded with the crowd chanting "We Want Brock" you know that the work had been done right. The best thing about the conclusion was that the segment didn't really need it. Both Joe and Heyman had cut excellent promos beforehand with the Samoan listing the various things that he wanted to take from Brock, making the Universal title feel like it means something by listing it at the top of his list, before Paul came out to a huge pop, called Joe Lesnar's "worst case scenario" before closing with "It's my job at Great Balls of Fire to make sure that Brock Lesnar is your worst case scenario". Promos that tell stories are the best promos and if you weren't super hyped to see Lesnar v Joe on 9th July, it would've been pretty much impossible not to be by the end of this slice of pure gold. 

• ICYMI - Samoa Joe just choked out Paul Heyman! 

• Backstage - After Kurt Angle berated Samoa Joe for his attack on Paul Heyman, Seth Rollins turned up, got into Joe's face and Angle booked the two in a match for later. 

Sheamus & Cesaro def. Slater & Rhyno (6:53)

After winning the RAW Tag titles from the Hardy Boyz at Extreme Rules, Sheamus & Cesaro picked up a dominant victory over former SmackDown Tag Team Champions Heath Slater & Rhyno to solidify their title win. There was very little too this match, with a couple of heel distraction tactics from Sheamus & Cesaro, before Slater walked into a Brogue Kick. It's a shame that Slater & Rhyno have found themselves in this position as they were super over for a good few months on SmackDown, but with Enzo & Cass as the only other babyface tag team on the roster, I guess it had to be these lads who were used to make Cesaro & Sheamus look dominant. After months of coming off as second best to the Hardy Boyz at every turn and then a questionable nature of their title win, the new champs really needed something to make them look like a force to be reckoned with and this match worked. The promo from the winners after the match didn't do much for me and I'm not sure the "We don't raise the bar, we are the bar" catchphrase is as good as someone clearly thinks it is. 

• Backstage - TJP asked Cruiserweight Champion Neville when he'd get the title shot he was promised, with Neville claiming if TJP beat Mustafa Ali next he'd speak to Kurt Angle about getting him a match for the strap.

TJP def. Ali (6:02)

Another short match here as TJP tripped Mustafa Ali on the top rope as the latter went for his Imploding 450 splash and the Cruiserweight Classic winner sealed the deal with a Detonation Kick. The match had very little to talk about, with a dead crowd sitting in silence, watching some technically solid wrestling at pace, but with very little reason to give a shit about either guy. The post-match angle was much more interesting however with Neville turning on TJP when the Fil-Am Flash wanted to go to Kurt Angle himself about getting a Cruiserweight title shot. The Geordie played his role well, attempting to worm his way out of his promise by telling TJP he wasn't a "miracle worker", despite TJP having only lost former #1 Contender Austin Aries since April and picking up victories over Aries, Gentleman Jack Gallagher, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik in that time! The timing of the turn within the segment was spot on and the vicious nature of Neville's attack hit home, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for another face run from the Los Angeles native so soon after turning. The segment closed with Neville giving TJP his wish, announcing he'll defend the title on this week's 205 Live. Side note - TJP shitting himself when Neville's pyro went off was brilliant. 

• Vignette - Another Goldust promo with Goldie sitting in his director chair and quoting movies, although there's no interruption from R-Truth this week. 

• Backstage - Alexa Bliss attempted to convince Sasha Banks (who left early), Mickie James and Dana Brooke that the Women's division had a "Nia Jax problem", with the babyfaces brushing off Bliss' attempt. 

• Arena - Kurt Angle interrupted the commentary team on camera, asking to talk to Corey Graves...the mystery deepens

• Match - Kalisto picked up a quick victory over Titus O'Neil (with Apollo Crews) reversing a pin with a handful of tights, whilst Akira Tozawa watched backstage. 

• Backstage - Big Cass was found passed out backstage, with one of Enzo Amore's gold chains near him, with the referees telling Enzo to get a new partner for his match later...the mystery deepens.            

Ambrose Crashed Miz's Intercontinental Championship Comeback Tour Kickoff (10:38)

What a joyous treat this segment was, chock-full over-the-top silliness. We've seen these celebration segments time and time again, but this breathed some fresh air into the trope as Miz carried the scene as his paranoia regarding Ambrose escalated as things went on. The Awesome One quickly shut down the "You deserve it" chants (seriously? Why would you chant that? If you enjoy the Miz's work you should be booing the crap out of him) and then came the confusion about who booked the dancing bear (not a real bear) in the corner of the ring. Miz murdered the bear with a Skull Crushing Finale, thinking it to be Ambrose, only for it to be revealed as just some bloke. The second "near fall" came when a giant box was wheeled to the ring, with Miz going nuts on it with a steel chair and then hilariously dropping elbows on the box. Maryse played her reaction perfectly as she tried to get Miz to stop, because it was a present from her, leading into Miz pulling out the top of a grandfather clock to a the biggest pop a clock has ever received on WWE television. With Maryse gone and Miz losing his mind and calling out Ambrose, we got the slow reveal that the Lunatic Fringe had been the camera man all along with a superb shot of Miz watching the tron with his back to Ambrose as he removed his disguise with the look of realisation on Miz's facing telling the entire story, before taking Dirty Deeds. The segment was almost a farce in it's design with Miz's becoming a weird version of Basil Fawlty, I'm not sure who that makes Ambrose but it sure did make for an entertaining and creative piece of television. 

Amore & Show def. Gallows & Anderson (8:11)

By far the worst segment of the episode, as former RAW Tag Team Champions Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson fell to the make-shift team of Enzo Amore & The Big Show (in his first appearance since breaking the ring with Braun Strowman on #1247) in two minutes. Before the match, there was a cringey as fuck as Amore did his schtick despite partner Big Cass being laid out in the lockeroom moments earlier and also having supposedly been attacked two weeks in a row and then we got Show doing a Cass impression. Honestly, it was terrible and made me feel physical pain. I'm not sure what Show doing a shitty New York accent was supposed to do for anyone, but it certainly happened. Even more so having Show plough through both Gallows and Anderson did nothing for anyone in the long run and knocked the Club duo further down the totem pole as they essentially acted as enhancement talent for a team that will probably never tag again. With only five currently active tag teams (Sheamus & Cesaro, Enzo & Cass, The Club, The Hardy Boyz and Slater & Rhyno) treating one of those teams and especially one that has proved popular, like this is reckless and irresponsible. The fact that Slater & Rhyno also lost in a similarly short amount time highlights just how little the RAW brand seems to care about building a competitive tag team division.

• Backstage - Big Cass accused The Big Show of being the one who attack him and Enzo over the last few weeks...the mystery deepens. 

• Backstage - R-Truth's reply to Goldust, including quoting A Few Good Men and Pulp Fixxion as the intense quote-fest continued.

Bliss def. Jax via Disqualification to retain RAW Women's Championship (6:42)

This was an extremely weirdly booked match, that the crowd sat through without even a mild reaction to anything going on. You had two heels in the ring and two babyfaces on the outside in Mickie James and Dana Brooke, yet it felt like James and Brooke were playing meddling heels on the outside, whilst Alexa Bliss came across as an underdog face when taking a battering from Nia Jax. You can't blame Wilkes-Barre for not reacting to this as with two heels in the match, who are they supposed to cheer for? With little build to the match and without Jax having a singles match on RAW since early April, this felt thrown together and seemed to lack any thought on the reactions that each of the talent should be trying to receive. The performances of James and Brooke, jumping Bliss and causing the disqualification and then later attempting a two on one beat down on the champion (for very little reason when you look back at the backstage segment) were completely off the mark and whilst they weren't helped by the booking they both came across as smarmy and irritating as they intruded in a match they had no business in. Jax destroying them both was probably the best thing about the segment, merely because I'd got so frustrated with Mickie and Dana's character portrayal that I got a kick out of seeing Nia squash them both with Samoan drops. 

• Backstage -  Whilst being checked over by the doctor, Paul Heyman received a phone call from Brock Lesnar, with Heyman telling the Universal Champion that next week would be time to instil some fear into Samoa Joe and that next week, they would "unleash the beast". 

Joe def. Rollins (16:46)

Another good television match here as Samoa Joe and Seth Rollins continued their feud that's been rolling since before WrestleMania. The match was probably a couple of notches below the Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt opener, mainly because the crowd was knackered by this point and was nowhere near as hot as they were for the Reigns/Wyatt match or Joe's promo earlier, this probably wasn't helped by the quality of the last two in-ring segments. The wrestling content though was solid, taking on different direction from their Payback match in April, moving away from Rollins' knee injury and being more of a straight up wrestling match. Whilst the feud has boiled under after shifting to the Extreme Rules five-way, the two got across their dislike with Joe taking control by throwing his towel in Rollins face, before the Kingslayer moments later knocked Joe down with a version of the Lou Thesz press and hammered away with punches. Whilst we saw early on that the two could produce slick reversal sequence with Rollins turning a powerbomb into a rana, most of the match could be split into two parts, Joe's domination and Rollins comeback.

Seth's comeback was superb stuff, coming shortly after a hope spot that ended with a crisp snap scoop powerslam, as Rollins gained some space with an enziguiri out of some back and forth strikes and then the Architect unleashed a barrage of offence. Rollins went nuts hitting a suicide dive by the announce table, then a slingblade in the ring, another suicide dive towards the entrance ramp, a blockbuster, another suicide dive on the side opposite the hard cam and then a diving clothesline for a two count. The momentum building up through the suicide dives was a lot of fun to witness and perhaps a recognisable comeback sequence that has been lacking from Rollins' babyface run. If his suicide dives were a little bit more convincing or impactful, I could potentially see this sequence having a similar effect for Rollins as Daniel Bryan had when he locked in his sequence during his time in Team Hell No. Seth got a series of near falls off a Falcon Arrow and a roll up before hitting Avada Kedavra, before climbing to the top rope for a frog splash. This lead into the finish with Bray Wyatt's signature flashing across the screen and as Rollins looked out for the Eater of World's, Joe locked Seth in the Coquina Clutch and claimed the victory. An interesting angle to close the show with, as Joe ended up looking great standing alone in the ring, despite the cheap victory and it leaves some questions still to be answered. Why did Wyatt decide to get involved in the match? Is he aligned with Joe still? How will Rollins react to Wyatt costing him his chance at putting the feud with Joe to bed? It's brilliant to leave us wanting to know what's happening and I'm actually looking forward to seeing how this develops next week.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.22/10 

This was the best episode of RAW for a few weeks (at least since I started doing weekly reviews again) with a couple of great segments and a handful of very good matches also. Paul Heyman's confrontation with Samoa Joe was gold, The Miz's farcical act with Dean Ambrose was wonderfully, whilst the opener with Roman Reigns against Bray Wyatt and the closer with Joe vs. Seth Rollins were both favourable TV bouts. It was a shame that outside of those matches a lot of the other bouts felt underdeveloped and lacked the time most needed. I really didn't enjoy Big Show with Enzo Amore and the RAW Women's title match seemed liked no one knew what kind of reaction they should be aiming for. Those segments ended up pulling down the rating this week, as well as the number of short backstage skits, replays and hype packages. 

With Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe the only match scheduled for 9th July's Great Balls of Fire, the next few week's should hopefully, at the very least, keep this kind of quality up as we head closer to the PPV. 

TV Review: WWE Monday Night RAW #1214 - Roman Reigns v Kevin Owens v Seth Rollins v Big Cass

It was a big week for the red brand, as they featured a four way dance for the Universal Championship that was vacated by Finn Balor on #1213. With an interesting mixture of wrestlers battling for the title, as Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins and Big Cass entered the main event, would Monday Night RAW produce a classic on the final episode of August? 

Before I get into the meat and potatoes of the Universal Championship match, lets begin by talking about the shocking conclusion and the return of Triple H. The former 9 time World Champion came seemingly out of nowhere to level Roman Reigns with a Pedigree on the outside when the Big Dog was on a roll, allowed Seth Rollins to get the elimination, before turning on The Architect with Pedigree and handing Kevin Owens the Universal Championship. I'm split on whether I actually liked the finish or not. Part of me enjoyed the surprise of The Game's return and the crowd reaction it garnered, then another part of me felt like it was another case of Triple H being put over ahead of everyone else. I think we'll have to wait til next week to see how it plays out, but there is no escaping the fact that two of the three eliminations came at the hands of a 47 year old Cerebral Assassin who hasn't been seen for over four months. Keeping things positive, it should be a good way of moving Owens up into that full-time main event slot, depending on how the story plays out over the next couple of weeks heading towards Clash of Champions.

Having considered the finish, the rest of the match was a lot less controversial, featuring some good stuff for sure. Despite being the first guy eliminated I felt like Big Cass' stock was raised considerably just by taking part, lasting a respectable twelve minutes against three guys with much more top level experience and taking a lot of offense before being pinned by Owens. The Babe Ruth of Beatdowns held his own in exchanges with Reigns and indeed seemed to have the upper hand on The Guy in the majority of their throwdowns. The Cactus Big Boot that Cass used to finish off their initial transaction was sweet, plus having him continue to be able to dodge Reigns' Superman Punch was a nice addition that opens up a potential clash for future supercards. The only man to not be basically eliminated by Triple H, Cass ended up taking a Superman Punch from Reigns as The Big Bambino looked to put Rollins away with The East River Crossing, before taking Avada Kedavra from The Man and Bullfrog Splash from Owens to crash out of the match. It was performance that instantly put Cass up a level and whilst he's clearly a long way from being as rounded as Rollins, Owens or even Reigns, if he remains fit and is booked right over the next couple of years, there is no doubt that The Don of Parmesan will be holding one of the companies top belts sooner rather than later. 

The rest of the contest had the Houston crowd hooked, as they popped for pretty much anything that happened and reacted with the over-used "This is Awesome" chant. In between Cass' elimination and Triple H's appearance, the highlight for me was a scrap between Reigns and Rollins that saw a particularly smooth series of reversals, that would culminate in The Aerialist nailing a falcon arrow for a strong near fall. The familiarity of the pair would be continue to be part of the story, with Reigns blocking a springboard high knee with a Superman punch, before the 2 time World Champion was able to block a Spear from Reigns. The pair have had numerous matches of the last two years, including a pair of bouts in Mexico over the past weekend and the fluidity created across those matches, helped to build a strong spine for this Four Way Dance. 

The biggest bout outside the main event was a six person tag, with Tag Team Champions The New Day [Big E & Kofi Kingston] teamed up with Bayley to battle The Club's Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson and their new found pal, Dana Brooke. I liked the idea of combining the Women's and Tag Team storylines as it meant that everyone got more screentime than if the two storylines had been split into separate segments and I felt like all six people involved in the match, as well as Xavier Woods in the New Day and Bayley's corner and Charlotte on commentary took the opportunity and ran with it. The bout merged the multiple gimmicks in an entertaining way, including Bayley joining all of New Day for a funky dance heading into a break. The build towards the finishing stretch was done very well, with Gallows pulling Big E off the apron to deny Kingston a hot tag, before a tag to Bayley produced a cool exchange between her and Brooke, before a Fosbury Flop style dive from Kingston onto Anderson and a Bayley to Belly allowed the babyface trio to pick the victory. 

In the second match of their Best of Seven Series, Sheamus and Cesaro continued their strong vein of form with another good collision as the tension between the two continues to build well. Having to have seven matches back to back, after already having two matches on RAW weeks before the series began, means that the duo are continually challenged to be creative and put on different types of matches and make sure that the audience know that they're going to see something new every time they sit down to watch one of these Best of Seven Series matches. Whilst Sheamus and Cesaro always bring a strong brawling style, the pair brought a different level of story-telling to this contest as The Swiss Superman was always one step ahead of The Celtic Warrior, with Sheamus kept to mostly flash pin attempts, including trying to win with his feet on the ropes towards the end of the bout. This would be flipped on it's head in the closing moments, as Sheamus sent Cesaro head over heels into the bulky ringpost, before locking in a Cloverleaf to earn a submission victory and go 2-0 up in the series. As things begin to warm up, I'm expecting this series to only get better and the storytelling to get richer. 

It was clear to see that Chris Jericho and Neville had had a house show run together over the weekend, as they put on a very smooth encounter in the shows opening match. Somewhat surprisingly it took the bout a few minutes to find it's feet, but once it did the pair produced some quality in-ring action, that presented a fun clash between the high-flying expert and the crafty veteran. Y2J was using all the old tricks to get the advantage, including hiding behind the referee before an eye rake, whilst The Man That Gravity Forgot had plenty in his bag of tricks also, including a beautiful Asai moonsault. Jericho being able to dodge Red Arrow multiple times also builds the potential for a rematch and protects the former NXT Champion despite the eventual submission loss. The final two sequences were great examples of what the pair could do together. Firstly, Jericho rolled through a German suplex attempt into a Walls of Jericho, that Neville reversed into a small package for a cracking false finish before Neville would go for a rana, after Y2J had escaped another Red Arrow, which Jericho would hold onto and eventually lock in a Liontamer to pick up the win. There's more that could be done between Jericho and Neville, I'm hoping that Owens winning the Universal Championship will free up Jericho to move into a proper feud with the Geordie. 

8 days after SummerSlam, Paul Heyman made his return to our screens in an odd segment with Commissioner Stephanie McMahon. Heyman and McMahon are two entertaining characters, that have a good amount of chemistry, which makes sure that whenever the pair share the screen, that you'll probably want to watch to see exactly what's going to happen. However, this time around, I'm not sure what actually happened. I feel like maybe I missed something, because to be honest, this felt like an unnecessary ten minutes of TV time, that didn't set up anything and didn't resolve anything either. Heyman came out, tried to pay Brock Lesnar's fine in $1 dollar bills, they then talked for a bit, Heyman begged McMahon to accept his apology, McMahon accepted and quickly left, leaving Heyman laughing in the ring. Both seemed to be heels, both came across as a bit dickish and I was left wondering if we'd ever get to see this go anywhere or if it was just a way to try to cash in on some of the controversy caused by Lesnar without actually having to pay Lesnar to be there. 

The only other lengthy talking segment on the show was Corey Graves hosting a chat between the four main event talents at the top of the show. There was some good stuff here as they looked to add a bit of depth to upcoming Four way dance and get the viewers to tune into the action at the end of the show. Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins had some banter, with Rollins initially donating his speaking time to Owens, whilst The Prizefighter compared the set-up to that of a group therapy session. Both men played their moment well, coming across as two guys jostling for each other's support in the match, whilst having a hint of animosity behind what they had to say. Big Cass also got some time to show what he can do on his own, having some decent back and forth with Owens regarding their recent feud, whilst also taking a jab at Rollins' penis size. Never forget those dick pics people, never forget. The segment concluded in fairly predictable fashion with Roman Reigns having fuck all to say and everyone brawling about.

Titus O'Neil and Darren Young continued their feud this week and still no one gave a single fuck. There was little get excited about again here, with the one big spot of the match, that saw O'Neil finally take control by lobbing Young over the top rope resulted in a ringside camera getting broken. I lost interest for a time, because The Real Deal just kept saying "You Owe Me" for reasons that weren't really explained and it would have been kind to have described any of the action as "average". The finish would see Young get a crucifix roll up victory after O'Neil got too involved with the referee. O'Neil would attack Bob Backlund before delivering Clash of the Titus to confirm that the misery will continue for a while long at least. The Prime Time Players were better together and they weren't that great to begin with.

Best of the Rest

• Sami Zayn returned to winning ways with a quick victory over Jinder Mahal following an Exploder Suplex and Helluva Kick 
• Nia Jax picked up her fourth victory in a row with a win over some lass called Hyan. 
• Braun Strowman extended his undefeated streak to over two month's with a victory over Americo [NWA's Barrett Brown] 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.03/10 

Topping last week's episode to become the best episode since the post-Battleground episode, this was an in-ring action heavy edition of Monday Night RAW. The main event was an epic, that will probably split opinion due to how much you enjoyed the finish, but either way it was a quality outing that did a lot for various competitors, whilst presenting one of the most shocking finishes to Monday Night RAW in quite some time. Outside of the main event, the three biggest matches on the show (New Day & Bayley v The Club & Brooke, Cesaro v Sheamus, Neville v Jericho) all delivered good wrestling and were entertaining in various ways. Only two in-ring talking segments is a never going to be a bad thing either, it's a shame that the Paul Heyman and Stephanie McMahon segment felt much more like a time filler than anything else. 

If only the continuation of Titus O'Neil and Darren Young's feud hadn't been featured on the show, then you'd probably have had the best episode since the brand split right here! 

All content - James Marston

Banner Credit - Kai Stellar

TV Review: WWE Monday Night RAW #1211 - Enzo Amore v Chris Jericho

With guest appearances from Puff Daddy and Smackdown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan, a United States Championship bout and two matches confirmed for SummerSlam, this week's episode had to be an improvement on last week's below average show..right? 

Like last week's show, the main event came at the top of the show, as Chris Jericho picked up a disqualification victory over Enzo Amore. Before we'd get to the match, there was an interesting promo segment, where Enzo and Big Cass would be interrupted by Jericho and his new tag partner, Kevin Owens. There were parts of this that worked brilliantly for me, but there was also part of it that felt a little dated. Amore spent a bit too much time talking about Sasha Banks at the beginning, whilst Cass comparing Owens and Jericho to Bert & Ernie felt way too cheap and not something that should be happening on TV in 2016. However, the main bulk of this was extremely entertaining with plenty of comedy brought to it by all involved, but with just enough animosity to make the audience want to see the fight. Jericho managed to steal the segment in my eyes, with some smashing deadpan delivery as he continues to develop his current persona. 

The match wasn't the smoothest of contests, with Amore and Jericho still trying find a groove inside the ring, but the crowd was into the action, helped by Cass at ringside. I don't mean to say that the bout was sloppy, but it definitely could've been a bit tighter. There were a couple of sweet moments like Amore skinning the cat after Jericho tried to chuck him out of the ring and a strong "near fall" when "Y2J" had the Walls of Jericho locked in a for an extended period of time. The finish was a good build towards announcing a tag match at SummerSlam, but as far as ending the match, it wasn't particularly satisfying and probably could've been booked a bit better. After Amore was distracted by Owens and Cass arguing on the outside, Jericho had the win with the Codebreaker, only for Cass to interfere and nail a big boot for the DQ. Byron Saxton kept yelling that Cass had "no choice" which didn't make a whole lot of sense. As a piece of the puzzle this was match worked well, on it's own it was a fairly average TV bout.

At first, I was a little confused as to why Mick Foley inviting Daniel Bryan to RAW was the segment that was chosen to main event the show and in a way I still am. Yes, it would lead to a United States Championship clash, but it wasn't a particularly comfortable segue and featured two competitors who had already been showcased earlier in the show in Rusev and Cesaro. There was a little talk about the incidents with Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar on last week's RAW and Smackdown Live, as well as some chat about Bryan's comments regarding the Universal Championship on Talking Smack, which was all pretty entertaining, with the relationship between the two being established, but at times lacked direction. It felt like the segment was announced before creative had an idea of what they wanted to do with it and tried their best to colour between the lines. 

Somehow the Foley and Bryan segment would segue into an unannounced US title bout, where Rusev would retain over Cesaro. Despite it being oddly put together, Rusev and Cesaro ended up having the best match on the show. Both of these guys has seemingly began to found their niche since the brand split and their European styles suit each other so well, that I'm surprised that they haven't been given a full programme opposite each other yet. In what was a simplistically put together contest, the duo told a cool story and told it well, with Rusev sending Cesaro's injured shoulder into the ringpost after The Swiss Superman's thrilling face shine that kicked off the match. The finish continued two programmes for SummerSlam, as Sheamus interfered, eventually aiding Rusev in victory after hitting a Brogue Kick from the outside, before Rusev's victory was dampened by a spear from Roman Reigns at ringside. A good television contest, that had a number of strong near falls, a lively crowd and advanced to storylines for the next PPV.  

Rusev was without Lana for the main event match as his wife had been covered in cake. A lengthy talking segment, but one that made good use of that time, in my opinion. The majority of the duration was taking up by a promo from Rusev, that acted as a celebration of their wedding. It was a little weird that they didn't do this last week, but hey ho. The Bulgarian Brute's speech did seem to go on for an age, he just kept talking and talking and talking and then showed some pictures of the wedding and talked a bit more. I'm not even quite what he said, but it was glorious. The crowd reacted to everything Rusev had to say and poured a load of heat on the segment, whilst Rusev added a load of little touches that kept me entertained. He also wore just a waistcoat on his torso, which amused me no end. 

The segment built up to the point where the audience was desperate for Rusev to shut up and then outcame Roman Reigns. Some will malign this as another way of "trying to get Reigns over" and see that as a negative, but Reigns got seemingly positive reaction and held himself well throughout. The Guy's attitude during the promo was relaxed and just the right side of jokey, as he looked to raise a toast to the happy couple. As things continued to escalate, Reigns threw a number of insults at his rival, including accusing him of being shit in bed, which Rusev played well before erupting. The segment was only going to end one way and it was Lana who'd end up going face first into the cake, which could have felt like a throwaway moment, but The Ravishing Russian's reaction actually managed to bring an extra edge to the fledgling feud. The visual of Lana screaming covered in pink cake in a bright white wedding dress, whilst Rusev tried to through pieces of cake at Reigns will be stuck in the memory of many for some time. 

Before his impromptu US title match, Cesaro picked up a victory over Sheamus in a good rematch from #1210. They upped their game from last week, in their 13th TV bout, approaching things from a different angle and having a back and forth brawl that was lively from opening bell. A section where both would come up with reversals for each other's signature moves was potentially the strongest sequence of the entire show, with a real pace and purpose to it, that also showcased the pairs familiarity with each other after having so many matches of the last few years. Similarly to a lot of contests on the show, I felt the finish didn't live up to the rest of the match, as the ref bump felt contrived and after the commentary team pushing the idea that Mick Foley wanted a dominating performance, Cesaro winning with a roll up didn't quite seem to fit the bill. However, if it's leading to the duo getting an opportunity to have a match on a bigger scale at SummerSlam, as the end of the show would indicate, then I'm all for it.

In an okay, why's this happening kind of moment, Sin Cara would come out as Neville's mystery partner to face The Dudley Boyz, after a segment from the Pre-Show had set-up the match. I'm not sure what creative were trying to do here, by having Neville have an unannounced partner and then for it to be Sin Cara. When Sami Zayn wasn't on the show at all, it was only going to feel like a let down. The match was perfectly fine, being your regular run of the mill tag match, done well, with Cara and especially Neville bringing an extra bit of flair. Having The Dudley Boyz lose clean to a make shift tag team, seems like a complete waste of their history and talent in the business, especially if WWE aren't planning on making Neville and Cara a regular tag team going forward. 

Shuffled down the card, we had a long solo promo from Seth Rollins about SummerSlam opponent Finn Balor, which at times saw The Architect delivering his lines with a real belief behind them and at other times saw him get a tad lost. He's a strong promo guy, but tends to rely on the crowd reacting the way he wants them to, so when they completely no sold him saying that being called Finn Balor was like Rollins being called Rambo Apocalypse, he appeared to take a minute or two to recover and find his pace. When he began to pick up momentum talking about feeling disrespected by Balor accusing him of not working for a title shot and building himself up as a myth or legend, it was engrossing television as it wasn't played like hyperbole, it was played like that was what the character genuinely believed to be true. WWE has slowly began to create tension between Rollins and Balor and managed to add to that here and in later pre-recorded vignette with Balor. 

Women's Champion Sasha Banks managed to get Dana Brooke banned from ringside for her SummerSlam match with Charlotte, by defeating her challenger's protege in a simple match in the Women's division. At under three minutes long it was difficult for the ladies to do much at all in the ring, so the bout boiled down to Charlotte accidentally slapping Brooke and Banks picking up a swift win with the diving double knee drop in the corner. A solid addition to the storyline, but the match never felt as important as it should have, being oddly pushed aside for other segments. The match being incorrectly announced as a submission match by Jo Jo was not a great start, either.

Best of the Rest

• Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman featured in a special promo for SummerSlam, talking about the history between Lesnar and Orton.
• Luke Gallows picked up a squash victory of Kofi Kingston, before Xavier Woods was able to stop The Club from squashing Kingston's balls into the ringpost. 
• Braun Strowman continued his undefeated streak with sub minute victory over some guy called Jorel Clark. 
• Darren Young got a roll up victory over Titus O'Neil with a hand-full of trunks in a reverse of a match the pair had on #1210.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.61/10 

An improvement on last week's show with Jericho v Amore, Rusev v Cesaro, Reigns interrupting Reigns' celebration and Sheamus v Cesaro all being good slice of television wrestling, even though each had their own individual faults. I think that's the main theme of the show this week, that whilst nothing was perfect or even close, I found something to enjoy in pretty much all of the main sections of the show and feel like further matches and segment will be more enjoyable because of this show taking place. Whilst the structure of the show was weird and WWE still seem to be trying to find out the best way to present the 3 hour show after the format change, it drove multiple storylines towards SummerSlam and tried out a number of different ideas. 

All content by James Marston

Opinion: Squad Goals (Sean Taylor-Richardson)

Before we talk wrestling, indulge me in some football speak. The key element in the modern game, according to all of the learned pundits on television and twitter, is to build a competitive and balanced squad. Unfortunately my team, Arsenal, failed to assemble such a collective and consequently did not have the legs to last the season. Performing well in fits and starts and overly reliant on our weaker performers, we stuttered to second place, behind the astonishing Leicester City.

I’ve often thought my Arsenal fandom marries well with my WWE obsession: I’ve loved both since the age of 12; my wife tolerates but understands neither; and they both tend to promise me more than they can consistently deliver. As Arsenal’s title push was derailed between January to March, almost simultaneously WWE’s Wrestlemania card was stripped of momentum as the roster deficiencies were laid bare for all to see. I couldn’t help but note another connection between my dueling passions: neither organisation has built a squad to last the course and meet their fan’s lofty expectations.

Now, Arsenal can head into the transfer window and fix these issues (Arsenal fans can insert their own sarcastic remark here) but let’s get back to wrestling. What would a perfect squad look like for a wrestling organisation? What compliment of performers would be required to appeal to a broad fan base across a whole year of intense competition? What mix of talent could handle both the pressures of a grandiose Wrestlemania and the challenges of a Superstars taping on a cold Tuesday night in Tulsa? If the unlikely happens and, stay with me here, Shane and Steph do fall out and begin feuding, splitting the roster in two for the next round of Raw vs Smackdown, then we may see some serious squad building, WWE style. Where I to be assisting in the assembly of such a roster, this would be the spine I’d be looking to create.

The Main Eventer: John Cena

John is still the man that ticks the most boxes: promo, wrestling ability, experience, look, crossover appeal. He has the work ethic and the respect of the locker room so if you want to build your brand around someone, quite simply this is the guy to start with.

The Big Heel: Kevin Owens

Maybe he is too funny to be a true heel right now but I get the sense that if WWE pulled the trigger and put KO in the main events, his witty repertoire would be replaced with outright badassery. Just as a football team needs two centre backs who can complement one another, a wrestling roster needs a top face and heel who can make the magic happen. Cena and Owens have done so before and they will do again.

The All Rounder: Seth Rollins

Injuries happen and plans change. That’s where the all-rounder comes in to his own. A role once perfected by Edge, Rollins, his New Era successor, could be that guy as he can perform any number of roles: face or heel, hound of justice or corporate schmuck, high flying sympathetic challenger or beatable champ. If crisis hits, Rollins is the safe pair of hands a brand manager can rely on. A must for any roster.

The Women: Sasha Banks and Charlotte

If you’re building a woman’s division in 2016, these are the MVP drafts. Just as Cena and Owens could be the recurring feud in the male ranks, Sasha vs Charlotte could be the staple match of this brand’s women’s scene. Paige has a quirky, unique style and Becky is adorable as the underdog but the upside of Miss Banks and Miss Flair is too strong to ignore: talented already but with scope to grow further. Character wise they are vastly different, opening up electric opportunities for any programme, whilst the flexibility they offer in regard to who can play heel or face only adds to their versatility.

The Veteran: Chris Jericho

A lot of options here: Brock Lesnar and Undertaker are box office superstars but I’d be looking for a veteran who can offer more in terms of dates and aiding character development. Brock might pop a crowd but how much could a young guy learn being viciously pummelled for 15 minutes? That makes Chris Jericho the obvious choice for this slot. Able to play a variety of roles and mesh with performers of different styles, he would be a guaranteed good match on the card and a positive learning experience for the younger worker. We’re often told there are not enough “good hands” left in the business so hold on to those that we have.

The character wrestler: Bray Wyatt

There is so much untapped potential for Bray that it would be a crime to omit him. His inclusion would add colour to the roster, with his promos, narrative arcs and angles being totally unique to a show in which variety is king. He also offers the prospect of a stable which is a required booking trope for any wrestling group. Some might go for Undertaker and, as was aforementioned, experience is great but more than a smattering of youth is needed to keep things fresh.

The Underdog: Sami Zayn

The following views do not represent ATPW: A friend of mine once commented that Sami Zayn shouldn’t be likeable as he is “ginger, a hipster, dances like an idiot and looks like Seth Rogen who hasn’t been funny in years”. A little harsh perhaps (Bad Neighbours was okay) but when pressed, said friend admitted he still did like Zayn, adding that he just “didn’t know why”. Innate and inexplicable likeability is always a good trait in an underdog babyface and, for my money, Zayn has delivered NXT’s two most emotive moments: his title win against Neville and his recent send off in Dallas. So I’d pick him. And his hat.

One for the kids: Kalisto

Kids love masked wrestlers. Case in point: as I attended a family event last week, I was greeted at the door by an excited, sugar high 9 year old who proudly declared he had a new Sin Cara mask. Ignoring the fact that this anecdote represents that my first social interaction at this fairly formal occasion was to talk wrestling with a child, it also proves my point masterfully. Kids love a fella in a mask even if adults are non-plussed. It looks cool, sells merch and it doesn’t matter if you switch the performer underneath it: they won’t know, they’re just kids! So my brand needed a masked wrestler and I picked Kalisto, the superior of the Lucha Dragons.

The Comedy act: The New Day

New Day Rock: fact. Funny equals money: opinion. But is the opinion shifting? The New Day supposedly moved the most merchandise during Wrestlemania weekend and at last month’s Raw taping in London, I was overwhelmed by the colourful sea of their shirts that spilled from the bars and restaurants. As well as popularity, a comedy act helps vary the tone of the show, providing something for everyone and ensuring entertainment is always at a premium. Whilst some see it as belittling to wrestling (and if overdone, it can be) many serious works have added laughs to keep audiences guessing. Think Fight Club were brutal bare knuckle scenes are counterbalanced by moments of farce or Shakespeare’s classic Macbeth where the murder of King Duncan was followed by a servant taking a piss and telling sex jokes. Now imagine Raw: Sami Zayn and Kalisto have been caught in a barbed wire bear trap and everyone is crying. But here come the New Day with some cereal and video game jokes. We’re all laughing now. Job done.

The Slow Burner: Big Cass

Big Cass has been turning heads lately. Better delivery of promos, more intensity in his work and remember: he’s got something you can’t teach. He seems a sure thing right now and whilst sure things in wrestling don’t always pan out, I wouldn’t want to let Cass slip away. There’s gold in them 7 foot hills. And to bring the Arsenal connection back into play: he and Giroud share the best chant in all of sports.

The Commentary Team: Mauro Ranallo and Corey Graves

Commentary needs an overhaul: Cole and JBL are at the point I’d let them leave on a free transfer. Mauro and Corey seems a dream ticket: fresh and untainted, they would offer a classic face/ heel combo with a deluge of factual details and relevant pop culture references (JBL’s grasp of modern culture is so poor that referencing George Clooney as the guy all of the kids like is some sort of pyrrhic victory for him). Mauro could specialise in Japanese context, Corey could uncover the indie scene and should Byron Saxton join the team, they could jostle him with more humour and warmth than those bitter old boys on Raw.

Obviously I’d need more bodies in the mix and, having established the core of my roster with the above picks, I’d love to add the likes of A.J Styles, Becky Lynch, Finn Balor and Baron Corbin to broaden the stylistic qualities of the collective. But for now, with transfer windows upon us and squad overhauls in the sporting world afoot, ask yourself this: if you were drafting a roster within the world of WWE, who would you move heaven and earth for? Answers in the comments below…