Instant Reaction - WWE Raw 6/30
By Benjamin Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist

Overall Score - 7.5

Much like the post-WrestleMania 30 Raw, tonight's program felt like the beginning of something new. Returns, surprises, and title changes were the theme of Raw, providing a bevy of momentum to get WWE through Summerslam. The question now, as it was on April 7, is whether or not WWE builds off that momentum instead of letting it slowly wane and fade away. The latter was what happened to the product following WrestleMania; between a main event scene in flux and a Creative team that refused to create genuinely interesting and complex stories for the mid-card and Divas division, excitement in the company's weekly programming has been steadily decreasing. Tonight's show once again used the power of shock and awe to win back interest from fans, but without capitalizing on it the product will lose all momentum before October. Again. Like it does every year.

However, taking Monday's Raw at face value shows it as a highly entertaining three-hour broadcast with solid wrestling, newsworthy tidbits and a better pacing than typical episodes, with the more "surprising" return segments filling the third hour to successfully maintain audience interest. There even happened to be a modicum of development in the mid-card, as Fandango and Dolph Ziggler (regrettably) apparently began a feud and Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter began a crusade against Rusev and Lana. But, will anything develop from here? Time will tell.

The Good:

- Q3-4: Speaking of Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter's imminent face turns, I have to say that I'm all for it. Swagger and Colter were treading water on the heel side of the roster, and a patriotic group mixed with a twinge of humor could definitely be something that the crowd can get behind. As it stands, Swagger's "We the People" catch phrase has taken off, and the duo make a perfect foil for the increasingly over Rusev. A clean loss to Rusev could derail face Swagger's ascension up the card, but that isn't a matter of concern at this point. What's important is that tonight's interaction between the Russians and Americans was very well done.

- Q4-5: The six-man tag match was arguably the strongest match of the show, despite facing a bit of competition from both Rollins-RVD earlier in the night. All six men worked very well together, which shouldn't come as a surprise given Bray Wyatt's constant improvement and the classic the Usos had with the other Wyatt Family members at Money in the Bank. The Wyatts regained momentum following a hard streak of losses at the pay-per-view, and their apparent dominance here set themselves up well...

- Q9: ... for the return of one Chris Jericho. The entire portion of the show revolving around Jericho's return was executed perfectly, with The Miz returning as a red herring to make Y2J's entrance that much more surprising. The near-immediate interruption of Jericho by the Wyatt Family was exactly what the lead singer of Fozzy needed as well. Jericho's 2013 run could be classed as underwhelming due to a lack of direction. Why was he there? All he did in 2013 was put over Fandango and eventually fade away after losing to half of the mid-card. An instant feud with the Wyatts gives Jericho a purpose and allows him to perform his greatest hits without feeling stale or outdated (see: Van Dam, Rob).

- Q11: A.J. Lee's return, and subsequent title win, was a hot-shotted angle that I got a great kick out of. Paige was utterly wasted as Divas Champion, and A.J. regaining the belt the same way she lost it allows the two of them to essentially restart their feud and have it be executed the right way. Paige gets another chance to establish her character and A.J. is now able to find a new identity after her "crazy chick" persona became stale towards the end of 2013.

- Q12: While the main event tag team match didn't set the world on fire, Seth Rollins's near cash-in was a great tease on a night of surprises. His feud with Dean Ambrose has escalated perfectly, with Ambrose getting more and more of the crowd behind him while Rollins continues to weasel his way out of direct confrontations with the man. These two should tear the house down whenever they do end up locking horns in a singles match on pay-per-view.

The Bad:

- Dolph Ziggler mired in the bottom of the card as Summer Rae's new play-thing is an insult to one of the best wrestlers in the company.

- Why again was Roman Reigns put in the main event of Battleground by his nemesis, Triple H?

- The "Gold Stars" of Stardust and Goldust have beaten Rybaxel too many times for me to count. What's the point?

- Matches end on the WWE App now. Who knew that was the only way Kofi Kingston was allowed to win anything?

The Ugly:

- Adam Rose's character is officially dead after his "commercial" with Santino. Dead, dead, dead.

Any questions or comments? Message me on Twitter @BTuckertorch!

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