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. 

Opinion: NXT Class of 2016 - Part 2 - Carmella, Corey Graves, Dana Brooke and Enzo & Cass

Part 1 - Alexa Bliss, American Alpha, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin and Bayley

Carmella – Debuted 26th July

Probably the most surprising of all the draft call ups this year was Carmella, especially since she was bought up as a solo act and didn’t reunite with Enzo and Cass. People were worried she was too green, too inexperienced, and too new to make an impact. But in reality, she’s been so much more than many could have ever anticipated and has shone a lot brighter on the main roster than she did in NXT.

Debuting as an attractive but ultimately bland babyface didn’t really suit her but after attacking Nikka Bella and battling with her she has become a much more interesting member of the Smackdown women’s division. She’s made herself so easy to hate and has made enemies of everyone around her, plus, her new storyline with James Ellsworth could be absolutely golden, I can’t wait to see how they run with those two.

So I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Carmella on the main roster, she’s not been a diamond but she’s been far more than I previously anticipated; if she keeps improving at her current rate she will likely have a place in WWE for some time. Oh, and her triangle head scissors finisher, that’s boss, I love it.

Rating: B-

Corey Graves – Debuted 25th July

Throwing in a curveball here! I couldn’t go through the NXT call-ups for the year without giving a nod to the always-excellent Corey Graves. Poor guy had to retire due to a series of concussion issues but overcame that to become one of the finest commentators in the sport today. 

Since moving to Raw he has been brilliant. Rather than spouting nonsense as many colour commentators are guilty of, he adds so much to the product, and perhaps most of all, his insults to Byron Saxton are continually brutal, following in the vein of JBL before him. Furthermore, anyone who can make Michael Cole less insufferable is a friend of mine.
Hopefully WWE go all in with their commentary team and make a super commentator stable of Corey and Mauro, they could be just like JR and Lawler way back when. Don’t deprive me of this heavenly mixture Vince!

Rating: A

Dana Brooke – Debuted 9th May

Ah Dana Brooke, you promised so much; in 2015 you were my most improved wrestler as you reduced you overacting, got smoother in the ring and showed a real understanding of exactly what makes your character great. So what happened? Why did the wheel fall off when your partnership with Emma came to a disappointing and abrupt end?

Pairing Dana with Charlotte felt like something that could have benefitted both parties but neither has gained much from the partnership as Dana has looked like a mug taking pinfalls for Charlotte and Charlotte has proven time and time again that she can do it on her own, so why does she need Dana by her side? It just doesn’t make sense to me and I wish they would reunite Brooke with Emma whenever the time comes for the Australian star’s much-teased return. 

Also, I have to mention the series of horrendous errors she makes in succession. There was the foot on the ropes incident against Bayley, her being sloppy when delivering moves and sometimes just screwing up spots completely, to the point where she looks a shadow of the wrestler she was looking to become in NXT. I would imagine she might have a second stint in NXT next year in order to get her back on the road to success.

Rating: D

Enzo Amore and Big Cass – Debuted 4th April 

The night after WrestleMania, Enzo and Cass made a huge statement on Raw and were quickly hailed as one of the must-see acts on the roster, as fans around the world screamed their schtick along with them in a crescendo of sound and joy. They’ve kept it up too, in Enzo’s time injury Cass stepped up to the plate and even though they’ve had some odd feuds to navigate they have made the best of everything and certainly produced some memorable moments.

Feuds with the Dudley Boyz, New Day, The Club, Rusev and even JeriKO have moulded a very strong first year for the pair, with their highlights certainly being Enzo’s creative promos rather than the actual matches themselves. Unfortunately, whilst they’re still a great pair, their popularity has wavered as they have begun to suffer from the old saying ‘too much of a good thing,’ it happened to New Day somewhat and will probably become more prominent for them, I’m still a huge fan though.

Prediction time: Enzo and Cass will amicably split in 2017, with Cass balancing on the fringes of the main event whilst Enzo enters largely comedy against lower midcarders, or perhaps even transitions to a managerial role given his 10/10 mic skills but 4/10 ring work. All in all, I can’t see them managing a much better year than this one as they transitioned smoothly to the red brand.

Rating: B+

The concluding part of our look at the NXT Class of 2016 will be released tomorrow at 6.30 GMT, and will highlight the exploits of Finn Balor, Mojo Rawley, Nia Jax, Sami Zayn and The Vaudevillains.

Words - Thomas Brady

Images - Thomas Brady

Editor - James Marston

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TV Review: WWE Monday Night RAW #1216 - Roman Reigns v Kevin Owens 2

Aired - 12th September 2016

In the penultimate episode before Clash of Champions, Monday Night RAW featured a marquee bout between Roman Reigns and Universal Champion Kevin Owens, in which Reigns could earn a title match at the supercard, as well as Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of Tag Team Champions The New Day having a SummerSlam rematch with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson as the two teams looked to put last week's "Old Day" segment behind them. Would RAW continue to build momentum with just two weeks until their first PPV in ten years?

The main event was a lengthy second encounter between Universal Champion Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns, as they had a rematch from an October 2015 episode of Thursday Night Smackdown, but this time with a little more on the line. Reigns had an opportunity to slot into the Universal title bout at Clash of Champions alongside Seth Rollins, if he could get a win over the champ. With so much on the line and a handful of different storylines involved, it was inevitable that the match would have a few shenanigans, as the company continued to build a card for a show that is now only 13 days away. The first twist in the tale would see Seth Rollins charge down the entrance ramp to attack an Owens who had only moments earlier thrown Reigns into the steel steps. The run in got a nice pop and Rollins got a good beatdown in on The Prizefighter. It would have been a disappointing conclusion to the battle, so luckily General Manager Mick Foley was out to restart the bout. That wasn't before Foley had verbally assaulted Rollins for the attack and after the pair had been involved in a handful of backstage segments earlier on, it will be intriguing to see exactly where they'll go with that. 

Outside of the storyline development, Owens and Reigns had a damn good match, combining their bruising styles to create a diverse and stimulating encounter. Watching K.O. control a match is usually good fun and this was no different, as he was constantly chatting away either to himself, Reigns or the audience, whilst his application of simple moves like chinlocks are kept entertaining by his verbals and superior utilsation of said moves. It felt like there was a purpose behind every motion, whether that was inflict damage on Reigns or just annoy the crowd a little bit and that makes all the difference when you're going over twenty minutes on live TV. There were a few similarities to the match that AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose had the night before, mostly in how the bouts were structured, as Owens dominated the contest and got a high number of near falls, but seemed unable to put his opponent away on his own. 

The finish would see the return of United States Champion "The Bulgarian Brute" Rusev to our screens after a few weeks off, as he appeared at ringside to cause a distraction that would result in Owens getting the win with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. A cute bit of booking as Rusev had been away just long enough that it felt like a bit of a surprise and got a decent pop, whilst not having the US Champ get physically involved meant that Owens got at least some of the rub that a victory over Reigns presents. Owens will also have a chance to brag about the victory on next week's go home episode. The show would conclude with Rusev decimating Reigns with the Accolade and having to prized away by a couple of referees. Of course, there's plenty of unfinished business between Reigns and Rusev, after their scheduled SummerSlam contest never began and whilst their feud hasn't quite reached the levels it could have, it probably still deserves a PPV match. With an extra bit of build next week, Reigns and Rusev should be able to have a strong semi-main or upper midcard battle on 25th September.

Tag Team Champions The New Day managed to bury last week's terrible Old Day segment, with some humorous banter, leading into a SummerSlam rematch with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston facing Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. Woods, Kingston and Big E didn't mess around as they ripped into the horrible piece of television from last week, talking about what the audience could have done instead during it's time on screen. Comparing Gallows and Anderson's skit to having put the audiences time "into a dumpster fire" was pretty accurate. It was really the only way that RAW could have got past the shambles of last week, because continuing in the same direction clearly wasn't going to do anyone any favours. Gallows and Anderson brought a much more serious edge to their reply and it suited their demeanours a hell of a lot better. Let's hope that we never see anything from the pair even resembling what we saw last week ever again. 

Slotting into the semi-main event, the match was a much better version of the contest that they had at SummerSlam, as it didn't include Jon Stewart and featured a much more satisfying conclusion. Kingston and Woods obviously bring a different dynamic to what we see regularly from Big E and Kingston and this was played upon well, with an early face shine from the highflyers, before Anderson and Gallows would dominate Kingston. It was some of the strongest in-ring work that Gallows and Anderson have done since jumping ship from New Japan Pro Wrestling, as they worked a style that suits them, cutting off the ring and just beating the shit into Kingston for a bit. They're two tough mean dudes and it was nice to see them presented like that! Woods hot tag sequence was another highlight as he continued to show why he's one of the more underrated in-ring talents that the company has right now, with a flurry of action that included near falls off the Honor Roll and a tightrope elbow drop. Anderson and Gallows picked up the win with The Magic Killer, to set them up for their Clash of Champions title bout, putting to rest the disappointing SummerSlam match and the hammy skits that we've seen over the last few months.

The evening began with an exciting in-ring segment that would see General Manager Mick Foley eventually book Bayley, Sasha Banks and Dana Brooke in a Triple Threat match, where the winner would get a shot at Charlotte's Women's Championship on 25th September. There was a lot going on here, with a number of moving parts and different character relationships, that managed to give the division some real depth, whilst Foley was able to keep a nice thread through the middle of things in his GM role. Whilst Banks and Bayley were putting their cases forward for getting a title shot, Charlotte was given the best material here as she got to look like a real dick with some brutal words for protege Brooke, whilst also getting the opportunity to not just insult Bayley and Banks but also try to drive a wedge between the pair. Whilst The Nature Girl's delivery wasn't always as good as it could have been and she stumbled on some odd dialogue about "WWE Camp", when given the chance she hit the right notes and hit them well. Without Charlotte upping the energy, the eventual booking of the triple threat and Brooke returning a slap to her (potentially former) mentor, wouldn't have had half the impact they did and would have got nowhere as strong a reaction from the crowd. 

The fifth match of Cesaro and "The Celtic Warrior" Sheamus' Best of Seven Series may have been the best match of the series so far, thanks to the depth of story that the pair had to dip into. With the benefit of four previous matches, that have been heavily based on psychology anyway, the European grapplers added in call-backs to the finishes of most of those matches, building some quality near falls that had the crowd more involved than we've seen before. With the story continuing to revolve around Cesaro's injured back (that occurred in Match 2 during SummerSlam), we got to see a real selling master class from the Swiss Superman as he grabbed hold of the injury at every opportunity, including when hitting a diving crossbody! The bout would conclude with a series of near falls for Sheamus, after Cesaro had been unable to perform the giant swing correctly, only for King of Swing to take the series to 3-2 as he pinned Sheamus with his feet on the ropes. It was a divergent ending, that showed just how desperate Cesaro was to keep himself in the running. Judging on what we've seen from the pair so far, I'd expect this finish to play a big part in the final two matches.  

Sasha Banks earned herself a shot at Charlotte's Women's Championship at Clash of Champions, as she defeated Bayley and Dana Brooke in the first match on the show. With Bayley and Banks being booked to stay apart from each other, this meant that Brooke had a real chance to elevate herself with a strong performance. She handled herself well throughout, involved mostly with Bayley, but also showing some nice aggression during the ad break as she tripped Banks on the apron and threw her into the barricade. The final stretch that involved all three women was well done, with a series of strong spots, like Banks going for the double knees on both opponents and well-worked near falls including Bayley kicking Banks in the head moments before Brooke was about to tap to the Bridging Crossface and The Boss' last second save after Brooke had been nailed with a Bayley to Belly suplex. The conclusion appeared to be setting up a Triple Threat match for 25th September, as it looked like the former NXT Women's Champions had each other's shoulder pinned to the mat, although it was strangely ignored by the commentary.

"Y2J" Chris Jericho and Sami Zayn somehow managed to build a fierce feud, in around ten minutes as The Underdog From The Underground guested on an edition of The Highlight Reel. Jericho's character development has been a real joy to watch over the last six months or so and he continued to do great work here, easily manipulating the crowd into chanting "Ole" for Zayn and also seeming to get heat for just being around a microphone. Whilst the argument between the two had a lot to do with Universal Champion Kevin Owens (which can only uplift Owens and his title run), as the pair went back and forth about their opinions of the Prizefighter, it was when Zayn began to discuss how Y2J had inspired him when coming into the business that the fledgling rivalry began to take on a life of it's own. Zayn calling Jericho nothing more than "Kevin Owens' bitch" edged the segment nearer to it's crescendo, as The Man of 1004 Holds suckered Zayn in with the pretense of showing him a text from Owens, only to twat him in the face with his mobile phone and pull out a cheeky Codebreaker. We've seen Jericho and Zayn tangle on TV in April and July this year, but a rematch at Clash of Champions with more bite behind it should be their best effort yet. 

The Shining Stars seemed to have finally found their niche in a feud with Big Cass and Enzo Amore and whilst Amore's schtick continues to become even more poop based, the short bout between he and Epico was a decent watch. I've become a real mark for Epico's Trileda sequence, just because it's a damn cool twist on the three amigos, that probably doesn't belong in a mid-card tag feud in WWE! It was only a brief match, but the two lads in the ring and the two lads on the outside packed a lot into it, with both Amore and Epico hitting dives to the outside and Cass nailing a big boot on Primo in a fun section. The finish continued what's been an lightly entertaining feud so far, as Primo would aid Epico in victory by pulling Amore's legs from underneath him on a suplex attempt and holding them down from the outside to give his cousin his first television singles win since beating Evan Bourne on a December 2011 episode of Superstars. (Obviously not including his run as the surprisingly more successful Fernando).

Jinder Mahal debuted a new gimmick as he is now apparently "The Man Who Comes in Peace". To be honest, I'm not quite sure what that actually means, as his promo didn't really explain it all that well. He said "Namaste" and talked about his time off from WWE as the crowd lulled into a light sleep. Things weren't helped by Jack Swagger coming out as Mahal's opponent. I've got nothing against either guy in particular, it's just that neither excites me, especially at this point in their careers. I wanted to stay focused on the action, but there really wasn't that much to stay focused on. It was Jinder Mahal v Jack Swagger. Some moves happened. The crowd chanted USA. Some more moves happened. The crowd stopped chanting and went for a piss and probably missed Mahal picking up his first victory since beating Heath Slater for his RAW contract.

Nia Jax would get her biggest showcase since moving to RAW, as she decimated former Divas Champion Alicia Fox. The annihilation didn't result in a victory though, as this was all about showcasing the power of Jax, as destroyed Fox on the outside of the ring, in a revenge attack for a backstage outburst last week, throwing her opponent in the ring post and the barricade. The match evolved into more of an angle as Jax drove Fox through the barricade and into the timekeepers area, in one of the most impressive moments that the Women's division has produced in a long time. This is a spot that's usually reserved for big PPV matches and almost exclusively used by the male competitors, so it was a truly shocking moment to see Jax pull it out here. It made the Hawaii born performer look like a beast and built on the foundation that has been created with the various squash bouts that she's had since debuting. 

Best of the Rest 

• Moments prior to the main event, Kevin Owens gave Seth Rollins a verbal dressing down, whilst bragging about his new buddy Triple H, leading to Mick Foley warning Rollins to not get involved in Owens bout with Roman Reigns.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.08/10

This was the strongest Monday Night RAW episode since the post Battleground show, that saw Finn Balor earn a shot at the Universal title. The main event was a more than solid encounter, that easily could have headlined a PPV, had there not been all the shenanigans that you'd expect from a television main event! There were a couple of good matches elsewhere on the show as well with The Club v The New Day, the Women's Championship #1 Contenders Triple Threat and Cesaro v Sheamus all having their merits. Perhaps one of the biggest positives was that the Titus O'Neil and Darren Young feud was kept off the show!

Outside of the matches, Sami Zayn's appearance on The Highlight Reel was probably the best thing on the show, with Chris Jericho continuing his rich vein of form. The opening segment with Mick Foley, Charlotte, Dana Brooke, Sasha Banks and Bayley was also a decent watch.

Whilst there remains a couple of nagging issues, the only major segment that I actively disliked this week was the Jinder Mahal and Jack Swagger match, mainly because I don't think Mahal's gimmick is very well defined or different enough from what he was doing previously to warrant the switch, and also because it was a Jinder Mahal vs Jack Swagger match! 

With one episode left before Clash of Champions, and just four matches currently announced for the show, I'd expect next week's episode to struggle to match the quality on display here as we may see a bit of a scramble to get the rest of the line up in place.

All Content - James Marston

Banner Credit - Kai Stellar

TV Review: WWE Monday Night RAW #1215 - Sami Zayn v Kevin Owens 6

Aired - 5th September 2016

After #1214 had seen Kevin Owens win the vacant Universal Championship, #1215 would feature the newly minted champion going up against his fiercest rival, Sami Zayn, in the main event. After producing a number of WWE classics over the last two years, could Owens and Zayn create another masterpiece and kick start the era of The Kevin Owens Show?

I don't think that Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn could ever have a bad match, actually I don't think that they are capable of doing anything less than very good bout together. Using a number of motifs from their previous outings, Zayn fought well from underneath, getting a number of near falls, whilst Owens came across as a dick as he repeatedly went to hit Zayn with an apron powerbomb. The match was full of the smooth reversals that you'd expect from two familiar opponents, whilst still having the impact of two guys who hate each other's guts. The finish called back to Zayn's match with Seth Rollins two weeks earlier, as The Underdog from the Underground would hurt his ankle as he went for the wristlock springboard tornado DDT, and after had been able to hit a nasty looking half and half suplex on the floor he was unable to get across the ring quick enough to hit the Helluva Kick, allowing Owens to nail a superkick and powerbomb to get the win and take their WWE series to 3-2. A brilliant piece of booking to have Owens first match as champion against Zayn, as it guaranteed a very good main event, whilst also allowing Owens to pick up a win over the man that most recently defeated him. At the close of the show, Owens would end up having a stare down with Roman Reigns, with General Manager Mick Foley booking a match between the two for #1216 with the possibility of The Juggernaut joining the title bout at Clash of Champions with a victory. It's definitely worth noting that the final image as RAW went off the air was Reigns standing on the turnbuckle, as seen above.

After the shocking events of last week, Seth Rollins would get an opportunity to take out his frustrations on Kevin Owen's Jeri-KO tag team partner, Chris Jericho. This lead to the second TV bout between the two being the match of the night, driven by the fire of The Architect as he batter Jericho around the ringside area on numerous occasions, whilst the level-headed Y2J was able to take control between the ropes, using anything opportunity that Rollins left open for him, including using the referee to hit a triangle dropkick! As Rollins continues his babyface turn, Jericho was a clever opponent to place him with, as he's been doing some of the best heel work of his career recently and his style clashes with Rollins' in all the right ways. After Rollins had hit a slingblade and a blockbuster, the pair put on some slick sequences, with near falls dotted throughout, that made for an exciting final third. Jericho catching Rollins springboard flying knee and turning it into the Walls of Jericho was a particular highlight, as was a sequence that saw The Architect block a superplex, then miss a Frog Splash before Y2J hit a Lionsault. If the lead up had been enthralling the finish picked things up a notch, as Jericho kept up with the man 15 years his younger in a swift back and forth sequence that saw Rollins get the emphatic win with a Pedigree.  

Bayley continued to shine on the big stage as she defeated Women's Champion Charlotte in a smashing opening match. The pair produced a simple narrative, that they performed well and kept the crowd hooked throughout a number of near falls. Bayley had appeared to injure her right knee when trying to hit her running baseball dropkick, under the bottom turnbuckle, and like a shark who smells blood, the Nature Girl went straight for the leg on the outside. The leg injury would used to create a number of hope spots, as Bayley would appear to be about to make a comeback, either for the leg to give out or Charlotte to manage to hit the target with another vicious move. One of my favourite moments was Bayley managing to block a Figure 8 attempt, only for the champ to lock in a single leg Boston crab. Each of these little moments meant that when Bayley went for a school-boy pin out of nowhere, the crowd popped big, but they'd pop even bigger when Bayley kicked out of a roll up and sent Charlotte in Dana Brooke at ringside and even bigger when Bayley hit a Bayley to Belly to get the win! It was star performance from Bayley, her selling was perfect throughout every moment, getting across the pain and making that victory seem even more impressive. A Women's title match at Clash of Champions is surely coming her way!


The arena show began with a red-hot in-ring celebration for the new Universal Champion Kevin Owens, presented by Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and General Manager Mick Foley, interrupted by Seth Rollins. The interactions between the four was enthralling television, that jolted around like a dodgem car as it headed toward Foley booking a title match between The Prizefighter and The Architect for the 25th September supercard, Clash of Champions. Owens was supremely good as he looked every inch of the top guy his belt suggest that he is, turning on Kansas City's "You Deserve It" chants, claiming they were trying to steal the spotlight from him and also claiming that he had the match "98% won" and Triple H only helped to do what was right! He's great about being a dick. Rollins bought the passion of a babyface, but his verbiage suggests he hasn't quite turned yet, as he seemed to using some heely hypocritical phrases when complaining about Owens relationship with Triple H. The crowd went nuts when the two had a bit of a scrap and that probably should have been it as the bickering between McMahon and Foley over whether Rollins was suspended or not was a bit awkward and unnecessary. Still this was an exciting start to the show and kick-started a new feud that will only get better over the next three episode's before Clash of Champions!

I feel like the less said about The Club (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) segment with Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) and their retired counterparts from the future The Old Day the better. Seriously, I just want to forget that it even happened. *takes deep breath* So, basically The Club continued their retirement gimmick, as they talked about attacking The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley) two weeks earlier and then introduced The Old Day, who were apparently from the future where they live in The Club's Retirement Home. Whilst there were some cool touches on the entrance, like a slower version of the New Day's theme, the crowd gave Gallows & Anderson complete indifference throughout and all the jokes were lame. Just when you thought The New Day would save the day, they began talking about what would happen if they touched their "older selves". How am I supposed to react to that? Not every sci-fi trope works in wrestling. The segment would conclude with E, Kingston & Woods taking out the Old Day after The Club had scarpered. 

Also in the tag team division, The Shining Stars (Epico and Primo) picked up a surprise victory over Big Cass and Enzo Amore in a lively encounter. Things began with Cass & Amore interrupting Epico and Primo and doing a weird skit about being in labour, because it was Labour Day in the US, which wasn't funny at all. Cass just about made it work with a bizarre breathing routine thing that kept the crowd involved. The match was much better than I was expecting it to be, as Epico and Primo were finally given a bit of time to show off what they could, which included Epico hitting the Trileda [belly to back suplex, german suplex and a brainbuster in quick succession] as Amore worked the face in peril role. Cass' polished hot tag routine would run into the shock finish as after Primo had thwarted a Badaboom Shaka Laka attempt, Epico was able to roll-up Amore to pick up the victory. I enjoyed seeing a different tag team getting a spotlight to show what they could provide Monday Night's and after being held back by their gimmick it looks like The Shining Stars might finally be ready to cash in on their potential.

Cesaro and "The Celtic Warrior" Sheamus's Best of Seven Series had already reached Match Three and with Sheamus already 2-0 up, the drama was beginning to build between the pair. I'm a sucker for storytelling and especially continuity, so having the bout revolve around the back that Cesaro had injured in the previous match after being sent back first into the ring post, made me a very happy man. The Swiss Superman made the moment, as after an initial face-shine with plenty of uppercuts, he took a back bodydrop and had to roll out of the ring because of the pain. Clasping his back and grimacing as he tried to fight off his foe was marvelous stuff, whilst being unable to fully push Sheamus into the air with his regular uppercut, because of the back was even better. The narrative would conclude with The Celtic Warrior hitting a series of Irish Curse Backbreakers with more venom than they've had behind them in years, before a Brogue Kick would take him to 3-0 in the Series. The duo are scheduled to have Match 4 of the Series on 7th September in London at a house show and if there first three matches have been anything to go by, the duo will thrive in an environment with less restrictions and the heightened theatre.

Sasha Banks proved that she was worth more than her weight in gold, as she put on a mesmerising performance on the microphone, despite what the lame Kansas City audience would've had you believe. The segment had been pushed as being Banks' time to deliver some bad news and it followed all your usual tropes of a retirement speech, calling back to Daniel Bryan's emotional "farewell" in February. It felt real, an element that is so important but often lacking from modern day WWE and was easy to build an emotional connection towards, not just because of it sharing tropes with previous speech, but also the stories that Banks chose to tell and the reality behind them. Luckily for us, Banks wasn't out to retire however and after Dana Brooke had headed to the ring, interrupting Sasha as she mentioned she had received some bad news from her Doctor, in an attempt to send Banks away "on her terms", proving she spent way too much time with The Club last week, the former Team B.A.D. member quickly got the better of Charlotte's protege making her tap to the Banks Statement. The segment ended with Banks revealing that the bad news was for Charlotte, as she would taking back the Women's title when the pair met at Clash of Champions.

Over the last few weeks, the main thing that's been making me tear my hair out while watching RAW has been the Prime Time Players explode storyline. The storyline had about as much momentum as a clamped car when it began and somehow it's managed to go backwards. This week Darren Young would go over Jinder Mahal, after Titus O'Neil had tried to get involved. Young even managed to make the transition into his finish clunky as he fumbled around before hitting the Gutcheck double knee gutbuster. Things were made almost unbearable by O'Neil on commentary only having one thing to say about Young and his life coach, Bob Backlund, "When was Darren great in the first place?". It was boring a few weeks ago, it's pain inducing now and with no heel heat it's clearly not working. Young would brawl with O'Neil after the contest and the number of people who gave a fuck decreased even further.

Best of the Rest 

• Sin Cara put up some fight against Braun Strowman, but eventually lost by countout after being dragged under the bottom rope and straight into the barricade
• A backstage segment with Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley opened the show as an emotional McMahon promised Foley that she had nothing to do with Triple H's involvement in last week's main event.
• Ann Esposito got in the most offence of anyone against Nia Jax so far, but Jax still proved she's not like most girls with a quick victory with a powerslam. It would appear that Jax is moving into a feud with Alicia Fox, who was presented as a close friend of Esposito. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.83/10

If we forget that The Old Day skit and the Titus O'Neil and Darren Young feud exists, then this was a cracking episode of Monday Night RAW. With those two things, as well as lacklustre crowd, then it's still closer to good than it is average. 

Whilst not having Triple H appear on the show seemed like miscue, there were three good matches at the top of the card, with Owens v Zayn, Jericho v Rollins and Bayley v Charlotte all scrapping it out to become match of the night, as well as a strong storytelling bout in Cesaro and Sheamus' Best of Seven Series on the undercard as well! Add to that a red-hot opening segment as Owens celebrated his title, as well as the Sasha Banks promo and you've got over an hour of good to great wrestling television! (RAW's run-time is around two and a quarter hours without ad-breaks) 

With Roman Reigns v Kevin Owens already booked for next week and number of other storylines only just beginning, it looks like we should be in for an entertaining three weeks as we head towards Clash of Champions. That's if we can put up with The Primetime Players scrapping for that long! 

Words - James Marston

Banner - Kai Stellar

TV Review: WWE NXT #189 (Emma vs. Asuka)

On 23rd March 2016, WWE aired the 189th episode of NXT, having previously taped the event on 27th January 2016 at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, USA. The show featured the #1 Contender to the WWE NXT Women's Championship Asuka facing off against Emma...but was it any good? Let's find out!

nxt #189 match card

Match 1 - Singles - Elias Samson vs. Johnny Gargano

Match 2 - Singles - Rich Swann vs. WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor

Match 3 - Singles - Alexa Bliss w/Blake & Murphy vs. Sarah Dobson

Match 4 - Singles - Emma w/Dana Brooke vs. Asuka

johnny gargano defeats elias samson

This was the first time that I've ever seen anything in Elias Samson, as he worked a decent little match opposite EVOLVE Tag Team Champion Johnny Gargano. The moment that really made me sit up a take notice was Gargano attempting to come diving through the ropes back into the ring, only to be struck in the face with a big ol' knee from Samson. The spot was well timed by both men and came off looking great on TV. Whilst it seemed more like an element to progress the storyline than anything else, it was pretty cool to see Gargano come out with the victory and adds an element of unpredictability to the NXT product, with Gargano still to sign a full-time WWE contract. Samson impressed me even more after the bout as his destruction of made him look like a vicious beast. A feud with Apollo Crews, who came out to stop Samson's attack on Gargano, could do wonders for both performers who find themselves without places on Takeover: Dallas. 

finn balor defeats rich swann

Someone with a big place on the Takeover: Dallas card is NXT Champion Finn Balor who put on an impressive display against former Dragon Gate star, Rich Swann. Whilst taken on it's own merit the match wasn't anything all too special, as part of the build up to Takeover: Dallas it was an enjoyable piece of storytelling that allowed Balor to look every inch of the star that he is. This was a much more focused Balor to what we've seen before as he controlled the pace of the bout, in a similar way to what he did against Apollo Crews on NXT #182. The frills off the bout were left to Swann who pulled out a number of cool looking moves during a well-paced comeback sequence. I'm expecting to see a lot more of Swann in the second half of 2016. Balor looked comfortable in his victory, hitting a Coup de Grace and a Bloody Sunday to close the deal, as he continues to show just how ready he is for Takeover: Dallas in 9 days time. A simple piece of booking, but executed perfectly.

fast-forward...Rich Brennan interviews Emma and Dana Brooke with Emma cutting a strong promo on her main event match with Asuka “She may be the Empress of Tomorrow, but she's not going to get passed today”...A look at Shinsuke Nakamura including his debut on NXT #188...

alexa bliss defeats sarah dobson

I struggled to get into this one, because there didn't seem to be a whole lot of reason behind it. Alexa Bliss isn't on the Takeover: Dallas card, which is just 9 days away and isn't really in any storylines, so having he go over Indy performer Sarah Dobson (better known as Crazy Mary Dobson) in an extended squash felt a bit pointless. It didn't help proceedings that Sarah's only offence off the match, a diving crossbody, ended up looking horrible as she came off way too high, crashing her knee into Alexa's face. There was no real storyline progression for anyone, unless you count Blake and Murphy helping out Alexa to get the win, I suppose. Sparkle Splash closed things off in a run of the mill squash.

fast-forward...Samoa Joe attacked Bull Dempsey and Danny Burch before either could start their match, sending a message to Finn Balor...Brilliant sit-down interview with American Alpha that covers a lot ground and builds wonderfully to their tag team title bout in 9 days...

asuka defeats emma

One thing that majorly surprised me about this match was just how dead Full Sail University was for it. For me, they ended up sucking a lot of the energy out of the bout, as a lot of the crowd just didn't seem interested. Whenever Emma was in control they'd just go silent. They didn't seem to bothered in getting behind Asuka and I'm really not sure why. Maybe they were tired after a long taping? Maybe the bout was poorly placed within the taping schedule? I can't figure it out, because I know the exact same match got a great reaction inside the SSE Arena in December. Whatever it was it definitely effected my enjoyment of the bout as a home viewer. 

Luckily, the two women deliver a quality television main event and while I don't think it quite stands up to the level of their previous bout at Takeover: London, it was clear that this contest had a completely different aim. That aim being making Asuka look like a boss before her NXT Women's Championship match with Bayley in 9 days time. After some strong heel work from Emma and Dana Brooke to start things off, the bout really got going with a terrific back and forth strike sequence that built up and built up and built up. Whilst the bout was clearly designed as a showcase for Asuka, there was still a nice near fall thrown in their for Emma, who used a school boy roll-up with her feet on the ropes, where the referee almost counted three but saw the feet on the ropes and thought better of it. This lead to one of my favourite moments of the contest when Emma was arguing with the referee, whilst Asuka silently stalked her, with the moment being brilliantly captured by the camera team. Of course, the Empress of Tomorrow would eventually pick up the victory, as Emma tapped out to the Asuka Lock, ending her warm-up for Takeover: Dallas looking like a beast.

finally...

atpw scale rating - 5.1/10

Whilst this wasn't a "great" show in and of itself, it did feel like a show that will make the upcoming Takeover: Dallas a more satisfying watch. The main event delivered a rock solid television main event, that set up Asuka for her biggest match in the WWE in just 9 days time.

Finn Balor and Rich Swann's contest was the highlight of the undercard, whilst Elias Samson had his strongest performance to date with Johnny Gargano, before a new feud developed with Apollo Crews. It was a shame that Alexa Bliss' bout with Sarah Dobson felt a little bit needless and was pretty sloppy in it's execution, as it ended up letting down what was a cracking hour of television otherwise. 

With next week's show landing just 2 days before Takeover: Dallas, it'll be interesting to see what direction the show takes. Alex Riley vs. Apollo Crews and Samoa Joe vs. Bull Dempsey were announced this week and we'll have all the coverage heading into Takeover: Dallas in the same place next week, don't miss it.