SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
MORE ATTEMPTS AT GETTING ROMAN THE RUB FROM SETH…
Recap: After a recap package and an announcement that Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley would have a rematch against the Revival, the show began with Roman Reigns in the ring. He mentioned that despite their talent, he never thought he would ever say that he had lost to the Revival. He then said he wasn’t there to make excuses, but immediately followed that statement by blaming the loss on having the “worst tag partner of all time” in Bobby Lashley.
Roman ranted for a while about disliking Lashley, and emphasized over and over that he was the top guy on Raw. He was interrupted by Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntire. Dolph stated that Roman makes everything about himself, and Drew then promised payback for Roman interfering last week. The two attacked Roman. Seth Rollins made the save.
Backstage, Roman and Seth asked for a match against Dolph and Drew. Kurt Angle agreed to set the match for next week. Roman demanded the match be moved up to this week. Kurt reluctantly agreed, meaning Roman would have two matches tonight.
Later backstage, Seth mentioned to Roman that he would be facing Dolph Ziggler in a 30 Minute Ironman Match at Extreme Rules for the Intercontinental Title. Seth then left as Bobby Lashley entered. Lashley asked Roman to put his ego aside and focus on their match with the Revival. Roman blew Lashley off.
The first tag match was exciting and the crowd was into it. Seth drew the most cheers, but they did seem to rub off on Roman. The match ended in disqualification due to interference from the Revival.
Evaluation: Roman’s opening promo, which revolved around yelling about how he was a top guy, was essentially the same heel promo that Dolph Ziggler used to cut in the pre-McIntire era. I can’t understand why anyone would think that promo would help get him over. They seemed to be working against the positive reaction they’re attempting to transfer from Seth to Roman.
Considering the Revival won last week, it would’ve made sense to at least let them use the win to look like a strong tag team. Raw’s tag division is a bunch of comedy teams, leaving no one to legitimately challenge Authors of Pain as a serious team. The Revival could’ve come out of last week looking strong, especially if during Roman’s promo he said something about how a top tag team can take out two top singles competitors that aren’t perfectly in sync. Instead, while he did mention they were talented, he basically buried them by saying it was unimaginable to him that they could’ve won last week.
Forecast: Considering Roman’s own promos cut against any positive reaction that may rub off from Seth, I wouldn’t expect much success in his getting over.
Based on the chemistry between Seth and Dolph, I would expect their match to be the match of the night at Extreme Rules.
REIGNS VS. LASHLEY IS SET…
Recap: After the aforementioned interactions between Reigns and Lashley, Roman had his second match of the night, tagging with Lashley against the Revival. During the match, despite Reigns being beaten up and gassed from his earlier match, he ignored Lashley’s pleas to be tagged in.
The Revival exploited Regins’ stubbornness, beating him down for most of the match.
The match ended in disqualification as both Dash and Dawson double teamed Reigns past the referee’s count. Lashley, frustrated by Reigns’ earlier refusal to tag him in, declined to make the save for his partner.
After the match, Roman approached Kurt backstage and demanded a match with Lashley at the pay per view. Angle said that Lashley had already asked for the match as well, and it was set.
Evaluation: Again Reigns came off as an egomaniacal jerk by refusing to tag in Lashley. Lashley was entirely reasonable to Reigns all night long, and came across as the more sympathetic of the two.
Forecast: This angle has been written horribly if the goal is to get Roman over. I expect the crowd at Extreme Rules to treat Lashley as the face and Roman as the heel.
MORE DESTRUCTION FROM BRAUN…
Recap: Kevin Owens arrived to the arena late. He parked his car and refused to give the valet his keys. Strangely, he wore a Baron Corbin hoodie.
Later backstage, he confronted Kurt Angle and asked that Braun be sent to counseling, suspended, or fired. Angle declined, stating that on Raw things are settled in the ring, and set a match between Owens and Braun.
Before the match, Owens was interviewed as he learned relaxation techniques from Jinder Mahal. He said he wasn’t afraid of Braun, and that he had faced him so many times that he now knew his every move.
In the main event, Owens left the ring and was counted out. He attempted to leave the arena, but realized he had forgotten his car keys. He instead hid in a port-a-potty.
Braun realized Owens was in the port-a-potty, and dragged it into the arena and onto the stage. He then dropped it off the stage in front of the crowd.
Evaluation: Owens made a good point about Braun not being sent to therapy like Bayley and Sasha. Kurt Angle didn’t even attempt to address the disparity.
Overall, this was the typical Braun destruction we see in most of his angles.
Forecast: With the count-out finish, I would expect Braun to face Kevin Owens at Extreme Rules.
RANDOM THOUGHTS…
The Bayley-Sasha therapy segments were not goof. The goofy music added a comedy feel, but neither Sasha or Bayley have comedic aspects to their characters. At least the Team Hell No photo on Dr Shelby’s wall was a nice touch….
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – RAW 6/25: Extreme Rules Main Event Canceled, Bayley Turns Heel(?), A Weird Night for Braun
Roman Reigns is being bungled at every level excluding the possibility that they want him positioned as an egomaniacal ‘Tweener. Unless the plan here is to have him go hard heel vs Lashley all tonight did was highlight that Reigns is an ego-centric jerk who buys his own hype. Lashley is coming off as the more sympathetic, more reasonable character. And if anything the dichotomy of the reactions from fans between Reigns and Rollins rather than giving any rub to Reigns is showing how badly his character has been mishandled.
They are also one-noting Braun in a very odd way since at this time he has no real reason for this ongoing beef with K.O.