WWE Monday Night RAW #1252 (22nd May 2017) Review

On 22nd May, WWE aired the 1252nd episode of Monday Night RAW live from Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns getting Teddy Longed into Wyatt & Samoa Joe vs. Reigns & Seth Rollins and Matt Hardy taking on Sheamus with the opportunity to choose the RAW Tag Team Championship match stipulation for Extreme Rules on the line, as well as appearances from The Miz, Kurt Angle, WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose, Paul Heyman and Sasha Banks. But was it any good? Let's take a look.

• The show began with a recap of Kurt Angle making a Fatal Five-Way bout with Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt and Finn Balor for Extreme Rules. 

Reigns def. Wyatt via Disqualification 

After a cool moment of Bray Wyatt's signature effect breaking through the recap package and moving straight into Wyatt's entrance at the Van Andel Arena, Wyatt provided our first promo of the night. You can always rely on Bray to bring complete commitment and tonnes of energy to his work on the mic, so it makes sense to utilise him at the top of the show to grab the live crowd and draw the home audience in. I could give or take the content of the promo, which saw Wyatt addressing Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, claiming that the crowd were slaves of the beast and it was Wyatt who would set them free. A Wyatt v Lesnar programme has potential and I guess all five Fatal Five-Way competitors have to set something up with Lesnar "in case they win" at Extreme Rules, but without Lesnar present it's difficult to get particularly into anyone's words at the moment. When Wyatt shifted onto old rival Roman Reigns things got more interesting and the word painting more vivid with Bray professing "What is one silly little yard mean to a man who owns the world?". Reigns quickly answered Wyatt's words and after a short dialogue, RAW General Manager Kurt Angle arrived to book the match to happen next.

The bout didn't last long at all, before Samoa Joe attacked Reigns leading to the disqualification. The few minutes of wrestling was relatively stereotypical fare for the two, featuring plenty of clubbering and big lad strikes. The five minute bout could very well have been a portion of any match the two had during their feud during the second half of 2015 and as someone who enjoyed their matches, I appreciated watching these two chuck each other about for a little while. The DQ finish with Joe walking down the ramp and then locking Reigns in the Coquina Clutch was a little lame, but we've got a Five Way to push so was to be expected. To push the unpredictability (and ironically in quite a predicable fashion) Joe also locked Wyatt in his submission. The crowd was pretty hot for Seth Rollins making the save and getting into it with Joe and we close with Rollins and Reigns looking awkward with each other in the ring as Joe and Wyatt retreated. 

• Kurt Angle did a delayed Teddy Long, telling Reigns and Rollins backstage that they'd face Wyatt & Joe later on tonight in a TAG TEAM MATCH, before putting Elias Samson in a match with Dean Ambrose after The Drifter did some drifting.

• Akira Tozawa picked up a swift victory of Ariya Daivari with a stunning diving senton. They did strange thing of having Michael Cole interview The Brian Kendrick mid-match, with Kendrick staying backstage instead of joining the commentary team.

• Alicia Fox and Noam Dar interrupted Sasha Banks during an interview with Charly Caruso.

Samson def. Ambrose via Disqualification 

After Elias Samson had manged to get a decent bit of heat with his guitar playing hipster act, his debut match with WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose was a tepid affair. Samson controlled most the match, with brawling offence and wear-down holds, leaving very little to get excited about. A knee on the apron and Ambrose diving off the top rope into a jumping knee from Samson were the highlights and even those didn't look particularly impressive. The bouts strongest assets were Ambrose's selling, as he looked good when scrapping from underneath against the newcomer, as well as part of The Miz's commentary when he wasn't getting verbally bumped into by Michael Cole. This was the second high profile bout in a row with a DQ finish as Miz came down to the ring after an awkward Lunatic Lariat spot and put the boots to Samson. I'm not behind the gimmick for Miz v Ambrose at Extreme Rules, which will see Ambrose lose the title if he's DQ, so seeing them build it like this (especially after the early DQ) made me groan. It terms of quality this wasn't a great debut match from Samson, but he was booked strong, dominating the Intercontinental Champion and then jumping him from behind post-match.

• Big Cass found Enzo Amore unconscious backstage, before Kurt Angle promised that he'd "get to the bottom of this" as Amore was carried away by paramedic. 

Heyman Confronted Balor 

Moments before Finn Balor's bout with Karl Anderson, Balor found himself face to face with Paul Heyman in a curious segment. Heyman initially interrupted a promo from Balor, by listing the four other members of the Extreme Rules main event and listing the ways in which Brock Lesnar would make them his victim. It was a deliberately placed promo as Heyman slowly walked to the ring, whilst Balor stood listening inside it, holding the interest because I couldn't work out exactly where it was heading or why it was happening. That was until Heyman began to heavily put over Balor and I mean put over as Paul laid it on thick calling Balor "the best in-ring talent in WWE today". It was certainly an interesting way of putting Balor over and having Heyman push him as the only potential threat to Lesnar's title will do the Irishmen no harm. The live crowd seemed to lap it up, especially at any mentions of the "Balor Club", but for me the segment felt a little ham-fisted as it hit us over the head with it's aims and more or less signposted that Finn won't be winning at Extreme Rules.

Balor def. Anderson 

If Heyman's promo was all about pushing Finn Balor, this bout was the physical continuation of that promo. The bout wasn't exactly a squash, as Anderson looked competitive and got a decent near fall off a Spinebuster, but it was clear that with The Club not really doing anything at the moment that this bout was all about making Balor look great. In that aim alone the bout did it's job, as the final flurry with Finn nailing a tope conhilo onto Anderson and Luke Gallows, a slingblade, running front dropkick and Coup de Grace, made Balor look like a world beater, especially because Anderson had previously been presented so strongly. The rest of the bout featured a couple of slick back and forth sequences that showed the pairs familiarity (alongside their BULLET CLUB days, they've also had a run together on the recent European tour) and I got the feeling that under different circumstances Balor and Anderson could've put together something special. There's a parallels to be drawn between this bout and how The Club's mini-feud with Roman Reigns back in February was handled, with this style of match being much more effective in making someone look exceptional, as opposed to the Two-on-One Handicap bouts with DQ endings that the Big Dog got.

Banks def. Fox

It appeared that Sasha Banks had the difficulty set to "Easy" as she managed to defeat Alicia Fox using a signature move in minutes. The match was going fine up until the point Banks won with her diving double knee drop with Fox trapped in the turnbuckle, with The Boss opening things off hot as she locked in the Banks Statement. Noam Dar providing the distraction for Fox to take control looked like it could drive the rest of the bout and we might finally get to see these women go longer than three minutes, but then it was done. The post-match angle with Banks slapping Dar before Fox attacked her rival, finishing up with an Ax Kick would've felt cooler if we hadn't already seen the pair wrestle sub-three minute bouts three weeks in a row on TV. Fox and Dar kissing over a broken Banks (who sold the Ax Kick like a gun-shot) was a nice moment and with the right treatment, there's potential for Fox and Dar to get over huge as more than just a cult thing.

• Kalisto and Apollo Crews had an awkward chat backstage, before Titus O'Neil turned up and booked a match between the two, because he has those powers now.

• Goldust cut a funky promo about lights and gold, after his attack on R-Truth last week, although some of the impact was lessened by WWE having Goldie's theme playing throughout the whole thing. 

• Alexa Bliss continued her hot streak of promos during an interview with Charly Caruso, refusing to feel bad for her Kendo Stick attack to Bayley a week earlier, seemingly relishing in describing the moment.

• A replay of Roman Reigns attacking Braun Strowman two weeks ago, supposedly to keep Strowman in the fans minds until he returns. 

• Kalisto defeated Apollo Crews after Crews' got distracted by Titus O'Neil hamming it up at ringside. The bout did very little for anyone, as The Titus Brand thing continues to feel directionless, although the finish was sweet as Kalisto was able to hit Salida del Sol from a seated position.

Matt Hardy def. Sheamus to choose the stipulation for the RAW Tag Team Title Match at Extreme Rules

After taking a while to get going, Matt Hardy's victory over Sheamus became a decent TV bout, as The Hardy Boyz remained undefeated since their return. The two seemed to struggle to finding their footing early doors, looking to be half a step or so off the pace needed, but were received well, most likely because this was Hardy's first bout in Grand Rapids for seven years. The pair built a simple story of Hardy looking to hit the Twist of Fate multiple times, only for Sheamus to escape, meaning that when Sheamus walked into the move after being distracted by Jeff Hardy jumping off the apron onto Cesaro, it was satisfying for the viewer at home and got a big reaction from the crowd. Whether having The Hardy Boyz almost constantly getting one over Sheamus & Cesaro has been a questionable choice, but if the Extreme Rules bout is handled correctly then it could pay off. Talking of that match, Matt chose a Steel Cage bout for the PPV, which Sheamus & Cesaro sold like it was the end of the world. These four men in a cage has a lot of potential, for both storytelling and highspots, with memories of the Hardyz stepping into the cage with Edge & Christian (Unforgiven 2000) and the Dudley Boyz (Survivor Series 2001) coming to mind.

• ICYMI - The conclusion of Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns was replayed. 

Aries def. Nese 

On it's own, Austin Aries victory over Tony Nese wasn't much, nothing technically wrong, but not a whole lot to show about either. However, when taken as part of the wider story being told between Aries and Cruiserweight Champion Neville, it featured some nice narrative advancement, which can be few and far between when a rivalry has gone as deep as this one. The story of the bout with Aries looking to overcome the knee injury inflicted by Neville last week, initially struggling to lock in the Last Chancery, didn't get fleshed out too much, but it did what it needed to do and laid some building blocks for the Submission match between Aries and the champion at Extreme Rules. I got a kick out of the finish with Aries quickly transitioning from a guillotine choke into a Last Chancery, as after Nese lasted for sometime in the choke, he tapped almost immediately in the chancery. Neville jumping Nese post-match and locking in the Rings of Saturn added more fuel to the fire, as both champion and challenger continued to build momentum towards their blow off match. 

Bliss def. James

A quick victory for Bliss here, in front of a crowd that didn't seem all that interested in what the ladies had to offer. The pair killed the audience from the beginning doing a weird exchange of waist locks that was utterly unconvincing. From then until the finish there was very little to get into, with James' characterisation being all over the place. A forearm and a snap DDT got Bliss the win in the best action of the match. The post-match angle did manage to rouse the crowd as Bayley came out to make the save after Bliss nailed James with a kendo stick. Bayley still being unable to get any revenge on the attack from Bliss last week is a nice thread for the women to pull through to their Kendo Stick on a Pole match at Extreme Rules. I'm still not sure why it has to be on a pole, but it is.

Wyatt & Joe def. Rollins & Reigns 

After a lacklustre show, the main event provided a much needed boost as four top tier talents put on a bloody good tag bout to close the show. The foursome stuck to your basic tag team structure, with a Rollins face shine, Reigns slotting into the Big Dog in peril role, with Wyatt and Joe grounding him and being big bruising bastards, into a wicked hot tag sequence to Rollins, before some miscommunication allowed Joe to lock in the Coquina Clutch and send the Kingslayer to sleep. There was nothing groundbreaking, but all four guys knew what story they were telling and told it bloody well. The narrative of The Destroyers of Worlds (my new cute name for Joe & Wyatt) being able to put their differences aside and work as a team, whilst Reigns and Rollins competed as two separate entities was made clear from the start as Rollins refused to let Reigns start the match to scrap with Wyatt, whilst the heels attacking as a pack was the start of all their periods of dominance. 

The finish riffed off the bouts story, with Joe dodging a Superman Punch leading to Reigns clattering into Rollins and whilst the former WWE Tag Team Champions argued, Wyatt pulled Reigns to the outside, with Joe stalking Rollins before locking in the victory clinching Coquina Clutch. It wasn't clever or flashy, it was just the logical conclusion. The victory gives Joe & Wyatt some momentum that they needed heading into Extreme Rules, whilst Reigns and Rollins have their miscommunication and mutual dislike as a get out clause for the loss. It'll be interesting to see if Wyatt and Joe's partnership is used in the Five-Way as the two joining forces to kick some arse for a bit, before throwing bombs at each other, has the potential to drive such a match. The show closed with Kurt Angle watching at an angle and interruption from Finn Balor resulting in Balor getting a triple threat with Joe and Wyatt next week, as well as a Reigns v Rollins match getting booked. Can't complain with those two bouts on the go-home show for Extreme Rules! 

Finally... 

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.31/10 

There seems to be a lot going on RAW at the moment, but the majority of it isn't getting the time to breath and that was the main problem with this episode for me. The opening segment, Matt Hardy v Sheamus and the main event were the only portions of the show that grabbed me and it's not surprise that these were the three longest segments on the episode. Both Women's matches were poor, with both feeling rushed, whilst Elias Samson v Dean Ambrose didn't do a whole lot for me either. Almost every story that isn't the Extreme Rules main event feels samey, under supported and has a general feel that there's a lack of effort, mainly from creative but from some of the talent also. The Braun Strowman injury has obviously caused issues with creative plans and cannibalising two feuds in Balor v Wyatt and Joe v Rollins to give Reigns something to do (despite those segments being the strongest on the show) has left RAW lacking depth as the post-WrestleMania holding pattern has well and truly taken hold.

Opinion: Cody and BULLET CLUB - Who Could Benefit More From This Partnership?

Bullet Club members are becoming as common as NWO guys were back in the nineties as this weekend we were treated to our (not including associates such as Jeff Jarrett) 17th inductee, ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes. 

The former WWE star was revealed in a wonderful video package at the World Tag League final on Saturday and suddenly the wrestling world is once again humming to the sounds of Cody Rhodes and the Bullet Club. 

Usually I would be weighing up whether this pairing would be a good idea or not. However, this just screams success for both parties and should give both Rhodes and Bullet Club a real jump start heading into the new year. 

But who will have the better of it, will Bullet Club gain more by being associated with Cody’s huge independent name or will Rhodes be better off having paired with New Japan’s notorious faction?

Firstly, let’s look at the Son of a Son of a Plumber, the Star that left them in the Dust, the Dashing one, Cody Rhodes. Back in May he caused a real stir as he departed the rough seas of the number one wrestling company in the world and headed towards calmer, clearer waters of the independent scene, TNA, ROH and now, NJPW. 

I’ve always been a big fan of Cody. He has always had an interesting gimmick and successfully stayed relevant since making his debut in WWE; be it Legacy or Dashing or Masked, hell, even Stardust was entertaining at first. He’s a great worker too but his interesting personas and commitment to each role has always kept him interesting in the eyes of the fans.

This, to me at least, is what Cody has been missing slightly on the independent scene thus far, a solid gimmick that he can run with in order to tell great stories as he is often has in the past. As we know, a fantastic tale can turn a good match into a great match, just look at Ziggler v Miz this year, it’s been unreal stuff.

By joining Bullet Club he can represent them wherever he goes, adding a story to each individual match, more of a meaning to feud with different wrestlers and ultimately giving him a character to express himself within. He will still be the guy who broke the mould and left WWE, and will still be the son of the legendary Dusty Rhodes, but he will also be Bullet Club’s exciting new chapter.

Joining the team built by the man formerly known as Prince Devitt means Cody also arrives in New Japan as a huge deal. Yes, he was already known around the globe from WWE, but throwing him into one of the leading groups makes Japanese fans stand up and pay attention to him; he’s not arriving as another guy who has been in WWE, he’s arriving in one of the hottest heel factions on the planet, giving him instant momentum.

Finally, he will get something for his personal gain too. He faces Juice Robinson at Wrestle Kingdom but then he will surely move onto one of the names on his list, Katsuyori Shibata. These matches should allow Cody to show exactly what he is made of and could be the best fights he has had since he departed the WWE. I for one, am greatly looking forward to him acing these two and more; hopefully we get to see him collide with Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Hiroki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and many, many more during his current New Japan tenure.

So how about BULLET CLUB? What do they, as a faction, gain from adding Cody Rhodes to their ranks?

Well firstly, I feel it is pretty safe to say that Cody is the most exciting of the recent additions to the squad; Adam Cole, Hangman Page and Tanga Roa are all building themselves up slowly under the Bullet Club umbrella but none of their reveals shook up New Japan quite like Rhodes. The video package reveal was something special, the stubbing out of the cigar on the Wrestle Kingdom logo was exciting and Omega telling us they ‘broke the bank’ to get Rhodes presents him as a truly sought after superstar.

Being a former WWE star obviously carries a whole heap of weight behind him already and as a result he feels like he a ready-made main eventer, despite only being in the company 5 minutes. And this is exactly what BULLET CLUB have been missing this year!

Sure you have Kenny Omega, who may be the most successful leader of them all given his G1 victory and his incoming Tokyo Dome headline spot versus Kazuchika Okada. But this year they lost AJ Styles and Karl Anderson who were both previous leaders, Bad Luck Fale is far from the force he once was in the land of Japan and they added the frankly laughable Bone Soldier (formerly Captain New Japan) just a few weeks back.

Rhodes can arrive, instantly raise the prestige of the faction again and easily establish himself as a co-leader, similarly to how Anderson acted under Styles and Devitt. This position has been unsuccessfully fulfilled since January following Omega’s promotion and, whilst Tama Tonga has stepped up another gear this autumn and Cole has been bought in, Rhodes truly feels like a higher level than those two; whether he will remain at this level remains to be seen but I’m confident in the man, the faction and the booking.

Last of all, being a heavyweight, he’s another guy who can represent BULLET CLUB at the highest level in NJPW and I wouldn’t be surprise if he adds to the notoriety of the group by competing in the New Japan Cup and even the G1 Climax in 2017. Furthermore, based on his list, he will likely come face-to-face with the aforementioned Shibata sometime soon, maybe even taking the fan favourite’s NEVER Openweight title back to the ever growing BULLET CLUB trophy case.

So, whilst Cody will gain a lot of bonuses to his independent career by joining the mighty BULLET CLUB I feel that, despite both being big winners, the club themselves are to gain the most fruits from this relationship. Other than obviously freshening up a stable that many fans think may be growing increasingly stale, BULLET CLUB will benefit massively by having a former WWE Tag Team and Intercontinental Champion in their ranks. He will bring leadership, he will bring drama and he will likely bring titles too; all of this, I’m sure you’ll agree, can only be considered a good thing. 

I am so, so excited to see Cody break the Japanese scene in half and you too can follow the goodness, starting with Wrestle Kingdom 11 which takes place from the world-famous Tokyo Dome on January 4th 2017 on New Japan World. You’d be mad to miss it!

Words and Images - Thomas Brady

Editing - James Marston 

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TV Review: Monday Night RAW #1204 (James Marston)

It was the night after Money in the Bank, WWE had a brand new World Heavyweight Champion in the shape of Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles had something to prove after his controversial victory over John Cena and the Money in the Bank ladder match competitors were all looking to get back in the hunt...with the WWE Draft looming just over 4 weeks away, what direction would WWE take in the first Monday Night RAW of the Summer...and would it be any good? Let's start with the big stuff, eh? 

Book-ending the show, we had the fallout of Dean Ambrose's Money in the Bank briefcase cash-in on Seth Rollins, who had himself taken the title from Roman Reigns, on the PPV the night before. The opening segment saw both Reigns and Rollins interrupt Ambrose's address to stake claim to being Ambrose's first title defense opponent. I thought all three men put in top quality performances on the microphone with Ambrose's promo style being completely different from anyone else on the programme, making him standout as the champion even more. Reigns interaction with the crowd seemed was particularly interesting as he told them to "Shut up", I suppose with Ambrose now holding the title we'll get to see Reigns push the heel side of his character even more. Rollins, of course, was his usual self, owning every second he was on screen with a passionate promo against both Reigns and Ambrose. 

Shane McMahon booked Reigns vs. Rollins are the main event with the opportunity to face Ambrose on 24th July at Battleground in Washington, D.C.. The match was pretty much a compressed version of the pairs match on PPV the night before, being quick to move into a back and forth format, with both men getting some strong near falls. It lacked the detailed start that had been used for the PPV bout, but with the crowd being much more mixed in Phoenix, it perhaps didn't need to work so hard. It wasn't the best match that the pair could have done, but still saw the work hard and produce a solid television main event. 

The finish was a fairly obvious one, as both men ended up getting counted out after brawling around ringside. There was a nice element where Rollins managed to get back in the ring, only for Reigns to pull him back and therefore meaning the referee had to restart his count, that added a little extra drama to the rather basic finish. Shane McMahon would come out, but in a cute little twist Ambrose revealed that he'd face both men at Battleground. To be honest, I'm pretty sure everyone was expecting them to go for the Shield triple threat and it really could've been booked at the beginning of the show and allowed something a bit fresher to take place here. Unless Reigns and Rollins were going to have a match at least on the level of their PPV encounter, then I personally would've just booked the three way at the start of the show. 

In the semi-main slot, we had the continuation of John Cena and The Club's rivalry. The talking part of the segment was top class, with AJ Styles opening things by asking Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson to apologise to him for interfering in his match the night before. The segment had a rather different tone, that I'm finding hard to describe. Styles looked like a dick, so did Gallows and Anderson, because they all looked like they playing out somekind of inside joke. This continued when Styles called out Cena so that Gallows & Anderson could apologise to him. This lead to a brilliant exchange between Cena and Styles, with The Cenation Leader coming out all guns blazing, claiming that Styles was "not as good as you think you are". Styles would fire back some bombs of his own, with both men showing a real passion and drive, with a real feel of the two having an issue with each other.

Styles offering Cena a match with any member of The Club, only to back out of a potential rematch, was another nice touch, it managed to add another level to feud and build more anticipation for a potential rematch. Cena's match with Karl Anderson was then perhaps disappointingly short, as any followers of Anderson's work in NJPW or ROH would surely know that Anderson would be more than capable of having a brilliant television bout with Cena, if given the chance. However, in terms of advancing the storyline, the Club running into the bout as soon as Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment, destroying Cena with a Magic Killer and a Styles Clash, was probably much more beneficial heading in a Styles vs. Cena rematch. Personally, I'd like to see Anderson and Gallows presented a bit stronger than they currently are, as they are coming across as Styles' lackeys, which might mean that we don't get to see them reach their full potential in WWE. 

Rounding off the top portion of the card, we had Paige challenging unsuccessfully for Charlotte's WWE Women's Championship. This was a much more satisfying match than they had on last week's show and arguably a better match than the Women's tag bout that was chosen for PPV the night earlier. There was a lovely thread through the bout with Paige getting numerous near falls, which all got strong reactions from the Phoenix crowd, thanks to Paige being seen as something of an underdog. The finish built up the relationship between Charlotte and Dana Brooke, as it was Brooke's involvement that would allow Charlotte to hit Natural Selection and secure the victory. Having been kept away from the Women's title picture since WrestleMania, it was great to see Sasha Banks return to the top table after the match, with a feud between Charlotte and Sasha having the potential to reignite the division, if handled properly.

Coming out of multi-man bouts at Extreme Rules and Money in the Bank, we saw a focus returned to Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens feud, with the pair facing off in the opening match. A fun, well-paced clash here, with both men bringing plenty of intensity to a fairly short bout, by their standards. It could have been easy for the duo to sit back here, after a brutal Money in the Bank ladder match the night before, but it felt like both men wanted to give as much as they could within the time constraints, as they both pulled out big moves, including a lovely half and half suplex from Zayn as part of the best sequence of action of the match. Zayn picking up his first victory over Owens in WWE (and only his 2nd ever) was needed to drive the storyline, with the flash manner of the win bringing a little bit extra to any future rematch. The pull apart brawl has been a little overdone recently, so I wasn't too into the stuff the duo did after the match. 

A short straight-forward tag match between Enzo and Cass and The Vaudevillains would settle their feud this week, with Enzo and Cass coming out victorious in a matter of minutes. It was very short and almost felt like an enhancement match, rather than a feud ender, as Enzo had a short face-in-peril stint, before making the hot tag and Cass cleaning house before picking up the victory. Nothing wrong here, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more emphasis on this match. Enzo and Cass looked great, but it was a real shame to see a strong and over team like the Vaudevillains end up getting pushed aside very quickly.

The return of the Wyatt Family was heavily hyped on the RAW Pre-Show, and after a couple of teasers throughout the main show, we'd eventually get to here Bray Wyatt cut a fairly solid promo. Things would take a turn however when the group were interrupted by The New Day. At first I got pretty excited about the prospect of a feud between the two groups, but then I began to worry if their two very different styles would be able to connect. In the ring, there's potential to have a fun match in a six man (even more so if Luke Harper get's back in the mix) but the promos could end up being too much of a good thing. Unless Wyatt can come up with an answer for The New Day's comical style, we may see something similar to his feud with John Cena a few years ago, where part of the mystique and uniqueness of the Family is taken away.

Following on from their average match at Money in the Bank, Titus O'Neil and Rusev were scheduled to have a rematch on the show. What we got however was finally a glimpse at what O'Neil is capable of when he dips into his mean streak and really has a reason to go after someone. After a disappointing promo on the Pre-Show, I thought O'Neil really stepped up his game here, with a powerful interview with Renee Young, followed up by beating the snot into the United States Champion. I'm hoping we get to see these two really begin to tap into this side of their game, as I think if they're given a reason for the characters to hate each other, it might bring out a much better match than we saw on Sunday.

Finally...ATPW Scale Rating - 5.7/10

A slightly improved effort on last week's show, with two strong talking segments being the highlight. The three way Shield opener had a lot of intrigue heading in and managed to live up to it's billing, whilst the three quality performances were joined by AJ Styles and John Cena's efforts later in the show. The match quality on the show wasn't great, but there was nothing that was anywhere near being a bad match. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens probably had the match of the night, as Rollins and Reigns' main event felt more like treading water and filling time until the triple threat could be announced for Battleground. 

TV Review: WWE Monday Night RAW #1198 (The Club vs. Reigns & The Usos)

On 9th May 2016, WWE aired the 1198th episode of Monday Night RAW, live from the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, on the USA Network. 8 days removed from Payback 2016, WWE World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, now going by The Club, clashed with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns and The Usos in an Elimination Tag Team bout, Sami Zayn got a chance to earn a spot in a WWE Intercontinental Championship match at Extreme Rules 2016, as he went one on one with WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz and Big Cass interrupted an edition of Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel...but was it any good? Let's take a look! 

monday night raw #1198 match card

Match 1 – Men's Singles – Dolph Ziggler vs. 2016 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Winner Baron Corbin 

Match 2 – Men's Singles – R-Truth with Tyler Breeze vs. Fandango with Goldust

Match 3 – Women's Singles – WWE Women's Champion Charlotte vs. Paige (Ric Flair is banned from ringside)

Match 4 – Men's Singles – Sami Zayn vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz with Maryse (If Zayn wins he is added to the WWE Intercontinental Championship match at Extreme Rules 2016)

Match 5 – Sin Cara with WWE United States Champion Kalisto vs. WWE United States Championship #1 Contender Rusev with “The Ravishing Russian” Lana

Match 6 – Men's Tag Team Elimination - Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson & WWE World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender AJ Styles vs. The Usos & WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns

Match 7 – Men's Singles – Zack Ryder vs. Kevin Owens (If Ryder wins he'll replace Owens in the WWE Intercontinental Championship match at Extreme Rules 2016)

Match 8 – Men's Tag Team – WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day: Big E & Kofi Kingston with Xavier Woods vs. The Dudley Boyz: Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley

Commentary: John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Michael Cole, Bryon Saxton & Natalya (Charlotte vs. Paige only)

Theme(s) - "The Night (2014 Remix)" by CFO$/Kromestatik and "Denial" by We Are Harlot

fast-forward...A recap of last week's main event with Roman Reigns and The Usos facing AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson with the aftermath...

cass interrupts the return of jericho's highlight reel

Just six weeks after his Monday Night RAW debut, Big Cass was part of the opening segment, alongside former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Chris Jericho. It was a big moment for the 29 year old from New York and he did himself proud holding his own with the veteran main event star. "Y2J", of course, gave Cass a brilliant lead in, boasting about injuring Dean Ambrose on Monday Night RAW #1197 and continuing to run-down "The Lunatic Fringe" for apparently having less charisma than Mitch the Potted Plant (RIP), before ripping on the Nebraska crowd. Honestly, this was some of Jericho's best work this year, that worked perfectly towards Cass' interruption whilst also adding fire to "Y2J"'s feud with Ambrose. The segment closing with Cass getting the better of Jericho both verbally and then physically, instantly shifted "The Big Bambino" into a new role whilst Enzo Amore recovers from his concussion. 

fast-forward...Chris Jericho went to Stephanie McMahon to complain about Colin Cassady and ended up being booked in a match with him later on...

corbin defeats ziggler

I've had my criticisms of Baron Corbin in the past, but he's accounted for himself very well since arriving on Monday Night RAW #1193. Dolph Ziggler has provided a quality first programme for the Kansas City native over their six week feud, with this match seemingly being the culmination of that as Corbin went over clean with an End of Days after initially sending Ziggler face first into the top turnbuckle. A lively crowd helped make a neatly booked contest, that saw lots of near falls for "The Show-Off" but mostly dominance from "The Lone Wolf". Credit to Ziggler for working his arse off to make Corbin look as good as he possibly could have. His posting for Deep Six in stands out as particularly impressive. Whilst this felt like a natural end to this feud, perhaps we'll see the duo go at it one more time at Extreme Rules 2016 on 22nd May with some kind of gimmick in place. 

fast-forward...WWE Women's Champion Charlotte and Ric Flair visited Shane McMahon to get him to overturn Stephanie McMahon's decision to ban Flair from ringside during Charlotte's match with Natalya at Extreme Rules 2016, only for McMahon to ban Flair from Charlotte's match with Paige later tonight...Jo-Jo interviewed AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, with Styles telling us that The Club is back together...R-Truth pinned Fandango with bare antics from Goldust and Tyler Breeze at ringside...Stephanie and Shane McMahon are about to make a Triple Threat match at Extreme Rules 2016 with The Miz defending his WWE Intercontinental Championship against Cesaro and Kevin Owens, but Sami Zayn interrupts and talks himself into a match with Miz later on, if Zayn wins he joins the match...

paige defeats charlotte 

Fun little match here, with Paige and Charlotte putting on a physical encounter that would eventually descend into shenanigans. However, Natalya on commentary was not a great idea. It's not that she struggles to speak like Kalisto did last week, but she just says really cringy things and her interaction with the other commentators just makes me feel queasy. It's like your Auntie trying to get involved in the newest playground craze. Add to that Michael Cole constantly reminding us that Charlotte's match with Natalya would be "The Figure 8 vs. The Sharpshooter" and you had a near unbearable soundscape. Luckily, the crowd aided things, popping nicely for near falls like a well-performed superplex from Paige and lifting the whole affair. Of course with Ric Flair "banned" from ringside, her decided to come out anyway after Natalya stood up from her position on commentary, cue a big pop for Shane McMahon coming out to eject him and Paige sneaking a roll-up victory. I'm really not sure about the finish, as not only did it cut an enjoyable match short, but I don't know what it really offered in terms of narrative for the upcoming Charlotte vs. Natalya title match. Other than a way of getting Shane O'Mac out into the arena for a big pop, I'm not sure what it offered the storyline going forward.

fast-forward...Recap of Chris Jericho and Colin Cassady's segment from the opening of the show...

zayn defeats miz to earn a space in the wwe intercontinental championship match at extreme rules 2016

A fairly simple match here with a straight-forward layout, but completely watchable even with a result that was sign-posted more than Alton Towers. Basically, you had Sami Zayn getting numerous near-falls from roll-ups, dropkicks and what have you, whilst The Miz cheated to remain in control with help from wife and valet Maryse. Hardly an original concept, but the two characters made it work, because they are both so watertight and get the correct reactions with the crowd. I've mentioned the crowd a lot so far, but they really were that good, not in a "Hey, let's chant entertaining stuff" kind of way, but more in a way of giving the performers the reactions they were after. Sami Zayn was perhaps one of the most over characters of the whole show, getting big reactions for each near fall, as the crowd clearly want to see him get his shot. The match built nicely to the finish with Miz getting frustrated and arguing with referee John Cone, before running into an Exploder Suplex, which of course lead to a Helluva Kick and a pinfall victory for Zayn. Not a match that set the world alight, but a technically sound one, with a satisfying closing section that gave "The Underdog from the Underground" a sound reason for being in a match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, having suffered a loss to Kevin Owens 8 days earlier. 

fast-forward...Dana Brooke made her Monday Night RAW debut and attacked Becky Lynch during an interview with Renee Young, with Emma providing the distraction...Darren Young is with Bob Backlund now, apparently, yeah...The New Day, Sasha Banks and Dolph Ziggler sold pizza...Kevin Owens interrupted Zack Ryder talking to Shane McMahon, with Shane O'Mac booking Owens vs. Ryder for later on...Tom Philips interviewed Roman Reigns and The Usos in the locker room with Reigns saying that he'd eliminate Styles from their tag team match later on...

cara defeats rusev

Yup, a week after becoming #1 Contender to the United States Championship Rusev was losing to Sin Cara in less than four minutes. I completely get the idea of having Cara win here, as a way of showing that Kalisto could potentially upset the bigger man, but I'm not sure that WWE went the right way about showing that. The match itself was fairly entertaining, Rusev and Cara worked quite well together with a nice power and speed type deal with The Bulgarian Brute acting as a solid base for some of Cara's more flippy shit. However, with Rusev winning a battle royal to become Number One Contender, I think this week's episode of Monday Night RAW should have gone about showing him win in singles action, looking dominant and walking over an opponent. This outcome would have been much more suited to next week's go-home show for Payback 2016. However, having Kalisto have to interfere, nailing Rusev with a enziguiri after Lana had distracted the referee on the other side of the ring, before a roll-up from Cara got the win, hardly did Kalisto any favours. All we know is that Kalisto might be able to beat Rusev with some outside interference and the interference hardly made the current WWE United States Champion the most likeable chap either.

reigns and the usos defeat the club via disqualification 

Good solid action here, but just not enough of it. It took just over 9 minutes for the elimination tag team match to be down to just WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns and his number one contender AJ Styles. 9 minutes for both Usos, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows to all have their shoulder pinned to the mat. I suppose it could have came off as chaotic and energetic, but I don't think it did, with each elimination I felt a little bit disappointed that that wrestler had gone. The eliminations should have felt satisfying, they should been built to, you just can't do that with having a man pinned every couple of minutes. Gallows being pinned with a Superman Punch stands as the best example of just how rushed this contest was. I did like the booking of having Styles and Reigns as the final two, it gave the audience a nice preview of what we might see at Extreme Rules 2016. The pair scrapping to the outside was a nice touch, emphasing the eponymous stipulation of their upcoming bout. I have to admit to being a little disappointing at seeing Gallows and Anderson return to cause the disqualification finish, but I'm sure that was exactly how I supposed to feel, considering it made me want to see more.

At the close of the contest we got perhaps the most interesting exchange of the entire show. After Reigns had managed to dispatch of Gallows and Anderson with a pair of well-placed spears, Styles would have another opportunity to show his "true colours", as it were. In a superb tease, "The Phenomenal One" would position Reigns for a Styles Clash with a steel chair conspicuously placed beneath him. The move was held just long enough for the imagery to run through each and every fans mind, before "The Big Dog" would scramble to safety. The main event segment would close with some brilliant drama, as Styles and Reigns would stare each other down, tossing each other the steel chair to see just who would blink first. A last flurry of excitement came as Styles jumped from the apron and attempted a Phenomenal Forearm as Reigns went to pick up the chair, only for "The Guy" to quickly step aside and Styles to scramble to the outside. Despite the disappointing match, the aftermath was a terrific watch, that hopefully left every viewer wanting to see more and chomping at the bit to see Styles and Reigns tear it up again at Extreme Rules 2016 on 22nd May.

fast-forward...Replay of Styles, Gallows & Anderson vs. Reigns & The Usos...

owens defeats ryder to keep his place in the wwe intercontinental championship match at extreme rules 2016

Another fun bout here, that was completely made by it's stipulation. Zack Ryder's WWE Intercontinental Championship reign might not have lasted long, but it has allowed him to step up into an important role over the last few weeks, he's become jobber to the stars. A win over Ryder now means so much more, because the crowd are once again invested in him as a performer and character. We saw it last week in the United States Championship #1 Contender's Battle Royal and it was on display again here as he attempted to earn himself an WWE Intercontinental Championship match. Lot's of near falls for Ryder, almost mirroring the Miz vs. Zayn bout from earlier, however this would be no fairytale as despite getting the better of Owens for most of the match, Ryder succumbed to a Pop-Up Powerbomb after just four minutes. WWE has started using little stipulations like this over the last few weeks for some of the undercard bouts (with the WWE Tag Team Championship tournament being the biggest example) and it keeps things so much more interesting, giving you a reason to stick around. Hopefully they'll keep this sort of thing up and use it more often.

dudley boyz defeats new day

The New Day's promo was once again the highlight of their screen time on Monday Night RAW. Confusion on how to say The Vaudevillains, getting the crowd to "hail" the Booty-o and a joke about historical racism, this promo had it all. The match with The Dudley Boyz didn't really do much for me with not even time for either team to really hit their stride and at times a lack of direction. It felt very much like both teams were waiting for something, which of course would be The Vaudevillains, who turned up to attack Xavier Woods at ringside leading to D-Von Dudley pinning Kofi Kingston after a big lariat. The #1 Contenders then hit Kingston with a Whirling Dervish before legging it. A decent way of furthering the issue between the two teams, but having the third champion end up being pinned on the same show really doesn't sit too well with me and shows a lack creativity on the whole from the booking staff.

ambrose destroys jericho's jacket

Part of me was disappointing at not getting to see Big Cass in the closing match of Monday Night RAW, the rest of me was jizzing my pants at the incredible visual of Dean Ambrose attacking Chris Jericho with the only light coming from "Y2J"'s Justin Bieber jacket. It was beautiful. Even Michael Cole struggling to pretend he didn't know what was going on, it was marvelous. Ambrose destroying Jericho's jacket in the middle of the ring seemed very 1990's, but worked well because Jericho sold it like it was the end of the world and made it seem like a big deal. Big Cass getting physical and stopping Jericho from leaving meant that his involvement was entirely lost either. A different end to the show in a segment that had less than eight minutes television time, but one that despite it's retro call-backs, felt rather fresh in it's presentation. 

fast-forward...Stephanie and Shane McMahon chatted about the loss of Jericho's jacket and seemed to be getting on rather well...Jericho continued to shout at Ambrose for destroying his light-up jacket...

finally...

atpw scale rating - 4.75/10

A lot of really good stuff, let down by lazy booking and a little too much filler. The main event between The Club and The Usos & Roman Reigns is the best example, as the match was rushed, but the aftermath was dramatic and built the anticipation for the upcoming WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Extreme Rules 2016. In other marquee segments, Sami Zayn and The Miz put together a solid bout with a reason to watch and Big Cass looked comfortable stepping up to Chris Jericho's level to open the show. Jericho and Cass were involved in the highlight of the undercard (weird thing to say for the final segment) with Dean Ambrose's attack on Jericho providing some top notch visuals and taking their feud up another level. The multiple champions suffering pinfall loses, following distractions or outside interference, stands out as particularly weak booking and watered down Sami Zayn's achievement and begs the question that if Zayn earned a title match by the defeating the champion, why wouldn't Paige or The Dudley Boyz get the same treatment? Throw into the mix the United States Championship #1 Contender losing as well and you have to wonder why nobody flagged this up before the show began?

With next week's show being the final edition before Extreme Rules 2016, WWE will need to pick up their game and produce a tighter booked show, focusing on the positives mentioned above and emphasising them.