HEYDORN’S WWE RAW REPORT 8/13: Alt Perspective coverage of the live show including final hype for Summerslam, Bliss vs. Moon, and more

HEYDORN’S WWE RAW REPORT
AUGUST 13, 2018
GREENSBORO, NC
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK

Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

[HOUR ONE]

-The go-home show for Summerslam kicked off Ronda Rousey and a massive pop from the Greensboro audience. As she made her way to the ring, the announce team introduced themselves and Renee Young for the first time ever. In the ring and with the microphone Rousey paused before speaking as the audience chanted her name. From there, Rousey looked emotional and addressed the loss of Jim Neidhart. She said that any loss is tough but that the loss of a father is the hardest. She talked about fathers being pillars of strength and that fathers teach their children to be pillars of strength themselves in their address. Ronda then said that we all loved Nattie to which the crowd responded with a “Nattie” chant.

Heydorn’s Analysis: This certainly felt real for Rousey and she seemed genuine with her words. That said, for as genuine as it was, it was a bit out of left field. 

Rousey then switched gears to Alexa Bliss and said that Bliss had cheated many times to beat Nattie. Rousey said that on Sunday that would end and that she would beat Bliss to become the Raw Women’s Champion at Summerslam. At that point, Rousey introduced Ember Moon, who she said would beat Bliss in their match tonight. Moon got a nice pop and hugged Rousey in the ring before Alexa Bliss walked out. As she made her entrance, Bliss told Rousey to make all the friends she wants because she’ll need them. She said that was sick and tired of people doubting her and that she’s a five time champion. She then told Ronda that Summerslam wouldn’t be her crowning moment and that she is sick of her “dumb look” each and every week. Bliss also said that she’s sick of Kurt Angle not protecting her and allowing Rousey to run rough shot every week. From there, Bliss said that she spoke to Constable Corbin who suggested that she hire her own security. This got massive boos from the audience and as they walked out, she told Rousey not to try anything.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Rousey and Bliss were both in their element during this part of the segment. Rousey was short and sweet in her goals for Summerslam and Bliss was the classic heel lining up excuses for her shortcomings. Her usage of Baron Corbin was effective as well and got loads of heat as planned. Well done all around. 

Bliss then walked to the ring with Alicia Fox and her security detail surrounding her. When Bliss got into the ring, the security team separated her from Rousey. This prompted Rousey to leave Moon alone in the ring and Bliss capitalized by attacking Moon form behind. Seeing this, Rousey ran back into the ring, but was blocked from getting to Bliss. In classic Rousey fashion, she decimated the entire security detail and Alicia Fox in an effort to get to Bliss. As Rousey took out those players, Bliss rolled out of the ring to avoid a confrontation. The show then went to break as Michael Cole hyped Bliss vs. Moon upon the show’s return. (c)

Heydorn’s Analysis: Good stuff. Rousey is most natural and most effective in a physical capacity. Her throwing around male security guards like beanie babies really came off well and further planted her as the dominant force in the women’s division. Bliss still needs to find her credibility against that dominance, but that could be on the horizon here shortly. Just like the early part of the segment though, this worked well and the crowd ate it up.  

(1) ALEXA BLISS w/ Alicia Fox vs. EMBER MOON w/ Ronda Rousey

Out of the commercial break, the match was already underway with Bliss fully in control of the match. She locked in an arm lock submission before Moon escaped to lock in her own submission hold. From there, the show went to a split screen for a Summerslam ad hyping Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns. Back in the ring, Moon still had control of the match and attempted the first pinfall of the match. Bliss kicked out at two and right after, Moon kept up the momentum by tossing Alexa around the ringside area. She then tossed Bliss back into the ring before locking in a sleeper hold.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Very slow start thus far. Bliss vs. Moon is a top tier match in the women’s division. That said, it being pigeon holed between two commercial breaks really put the breaks on it out of the gate. 

Eventually, Bliss escaped the hold and almost took momentum back, but was immediatley clocked with an enziguri by Moon which sent her out of the ring. From there, the show went to commercial break. (c)

Out of the break, had regained full control of the match. She nailed Moon with her moonsault knee strike before locking in yet another sleeper hold. As this happened, Rousey rallied the audience to get behind Moon and Moon responded by escaping the hold with a chin breaker. Right after, Bliss retaliated back with a clothesline and followed that with another sleeper hold. Once again, Moon escaped and followed by rolling up Bliss for a two count pin attempt. Right out of the pin, Bliss nailed Moon with a strike and made a cover of her own, but Moon kicked out at two. After the pin attempt, Bliss slapped Ember Moon and told her to stay down. This fired up Moon who proceeded to strike Bliss in every direction before connecting with a tornado vertical suplex. As that happened, Alicia Fox attempted to interfere, but Rousey stopped her. After throwing Fox around for a bit, Bliss rolled to the outside and crushed Rousey in the back before throwing her into the guard rail. Bliss then rolled into the ring, but was met by a chest breaker from Moon. Ember then climbed the ropes and hit the Eclipse. Moon then went for the cover, but it was stopped by Fox. This prompted the match to be called a DQ.

WINNER: Moon via disqualification

-After the match, Moon was beat down by Bliss and Fox, but was saved by Ronda. Rousey beat Fox up with multiple judo throws before Fox rolled out of the ring to a hiding Alexa Bliss. (c)

Heydorn’s Analysis: The match picked up pace and intensity after the last commercial break within it. Moon and Alexa had some great chemistry too. That said, the purpose of this match was to drive interest in Bliss vs. Rousey on Sunday. Overall, it did that. Rousey looked like the star that she is and Bliss was the conniving chicken heel champion. Further, Bliss did get some physical shots in on Rousey. It didn’t do loads of damage, but was enough and she had more credibility coming out than she had going in. Win-win across the board and this feud is in a good place heading into the showdown on Sunday.  

-After the commercial break, a recap video aired of Brock Lesnar’s Raw appearance from two weeks ago. Then, the announce team aired the Paul Heyman/Renee Young interview from last week. In addition to the original interview, the announce team aired the WWE.com bonus content.

Heydorn’s Analysis: That bonus content was the most interesting piece of business from last week. Smart move to air it to a bigger audience tonight. That piece gives the match added intrigue that it desperately needs given the reaction that could be awaiting Lesnar and Reigns in Brooklyn. 

-When the videos ended, Kurt Angle told Baron Corbin that he didn’t appreciate him going behind his back to Stephanie McMahon. Corbin said that he didn’t need Angle’s approval and went to the ring. From there, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre confronted Angle and asked why Seth Rollins hadn’t arrived yet. Angle explained that he had travel issues and then told both men to wait for Rollins elsewhere.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Alright, it bothers me that Corbin seemingly has more power than Kurt Angle. Anyone else? Eye roll. 

-Baron Corbin’s music then hit and the Constable walked to the ring to a chorus of boos from the crowd. The show then went to break. (c)

(2) BARON CORBIN vs. TYLER BREEZE

As the show returned from commercial break, Breeze made his entrance and Corey Graves praised Corbin for fighting a week before his Summerslam match. Cole then said that Corbin arranged for him and Balor to have matches tonight with Corbin deciding the opponent in each. From there, the match began and Corbin quickly got the upper hand with a clotheslines. He then locked in a shoulder submission as the announce team debated the merits of Corbin as Constable. Back in the ring, Breeze battled back and knocked Corbin out of the ring. Breeze then worked to capitalize, but Corbin countered and slammed Breeze into the guardrail. Corbin then rolled Breeze back into the ring and pounded on him with stomps and strikes. He then locked in a submission hold before Breeze escaped and knocked Corbin out of the ring again. He then attempted to sling shot himself onto Corbin, but missed when Corbin moved out of the way. With both men on the outside, Breeze connected with a step-up enziguri. Eventually, both men battled back into the ring before Corbin connected with a massive Deep Six. He then made the cover for the 1,2,3 win.

WINNER: Corbin via pinfall

Heydorn’s Analysis: Man, that Deep Six move is quite the finish. Nothing special as far as the match went and was pretty much a squash from start to finish. That said, it did the trick in painting Corbin as an entitled heel. He plays that role better and better each week too. 

-After the match, Corbin got on the microphone and said that that was just a taste of what he would do to Finn Balor at Summerslam. From there, he introduced Balor’s opponent for tonight, Jinder Mahal. Mahal walked out with Sunill Singh and was welcomed in the ring by Corbin. Baron then said Balor would face another opponent as well in a handicap match and laughed as he did so. Corbin then introduced Kevin Owens. (c)

Heydorn’s Analysis: More heat for Corbin here and I’m for it. At this point, the Balor/Corbin feud is built on basically nothing anyway. Corbin having the chance to add heat in any way is a step in the right direction right now with minimal time left to build the match. Well done for what it was. 

-Out of the break, Baron Corbin introduced Finn Balor and called him the “little engine that can’t.” Balor made his full entrance before Kurt Angle’s music hit. Angle walked out to loud cheers before confronting Corbin. He said that he couldn’t cancel the match that Corbin made, but he could certainly change it. From there, he made the match a tag team match and introduced Braun Strowman as Balor’s tag team partner.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Massive reaction for Strowman. A reaction like that has to stick in Vince McMahon’s head when he compares it with the reaction Roman Reigns gets right? We’ll see on Sunday.

(3) JINDER MAHAL & KEVIN OWENS vs. FINN BALOR & BRAUN STROWMAN

The match began with Mahal getting the upper hand on Balor. He locked in a side head lock on before nailing Finn with a shoulder tackle.

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[HOUR TWO]

From there, Mahal attempted a second tackle, but it was countered by Balor who connected with a dropkick instead. Balor’s momentum was short lived as he got pushed into his opponent’s corner. After that happened, Owens tagged into the match and continued to beat on Finn with various strikes. At that point, Mahal and Owens took turns beating on Finn by tagging back and forth into the match. Eventually, Balor made the tag to Strowman out of nowhere. This prompted Owens to run and tag Mahal before diving into the crowd to hide. Strowman hit the ring and decimated Mahal with kicks and slams. From there, the audience chanted “get these hands” as Strowman connected with two running splashes on Mahal in the corner. This prompted Owens to return to the ringside area. He watched Mahal get beat up and double teamed by Balor and Strowman before Braun officially made the tag to Balor. Balor hit the ring and attempted a pin on Mahal but, but Jinder kicked out at two. Out of the pin, Mahal rolled out of the ring and as he did, Balor attempted his over the top rope suicide dive. As he hit the ropes, Owens tripped him up. Seeing this Strowman ran at Owens and chased him toward Mahal. With Owens and Mahal side by side, Balor connected with his dive on both me as the show went to break. (c)

Heydorn’s Analysis: A standard A to B match at this point, but the crowd is hot for it. With Balor and Strowman over as much as they are as babyfaces, the audience really wants to see them win this match. The facial expressions of Kevin Owens are helping drive that interest from the crowd. Good stuff so far. 

After the break, Kevin Owens and Jinder Mahal fully controlled the match and were laying a beating on Finn Balor. Owens locked in a reverse chin lock on Balor as the screen split again for an NXT TakeOver commercial. Back in the ring, Jinder Mahal tagged in to the match and had his own submission fully locked in on Balor. The audience cheered for Balor to escape and he obliged but couldn’t quite make the tag. From there, Balor knocked Mahal out of the ring, but still couldn’t make the tag to Strowman. As Mahal rolled in, Kevin Owens made the blind tag into the match and again prevented Balor from making the tag. Finally, Balor hit the Sling Blade on Owens before making the hot tag to Strowman. As Strowman entered, he destroyed everyone in sight and shoulder tackled Sunill Singh into Kevin Owens. In the end, Strowman hit his Power Slam on Jinder Mahal for the 1,2,3 win.

WINNER: Strowman and Balor via pinfall

Heydorn’s Analysis: The build to Strowman’s hot tag into the match was perfect. The crowd popped huge and that element of the match was the foundation for the entire thing. That said, Strowman vs. Owens still needs to happen on Sunday. Right now, Owens has absolutely zero credibility against Braun and there is no reason to think he as a chance at Summerslam. So, for as over as Strowman is and for as hot as the match was tonight, the match on Sunday is missing a massive ingredient that wasn’t addressed on tonight’s go-home show. 

-After the match, Braun Strowman ran after Kevin Owens to the backstage area and as he did, Baron Corbin dropped Balor with the End Of Days.

Heydorn’s Analysis: See my thoughts above regarding Balor and Corbin. Why not do this I suppose. The more heat at this point, the better. 

-When the segment was over, Kurt Angle left Stephanie a message and was confronted by Ziggler and McIntyre once again. They bragged about beating up Rollins last week and said that they want to see the contract ahead of the signing later in the night. Dolph then teased Angle for spelling his name wrong before walking off with Drew. (c)

Heydorn’s Analysis: Ugh, buffoon Kurt Angle just isn’t a good look for him or the authority figure on the show.  

-Out of the break, a local musician (Ricky) was introduced. He said that his favorite musical act was Elias. Elias then introduced himself and sat on his stool in the middle of the ramp. He addressed “Ricky” and told him that there is only one Elias in the world. Elias then shilled some WWE Shop Elias products and asked if Ricky was a big enough fan to do so. Elias then asked if Ricky would show him how much of a fan he is and beat Bobby Lashley. From there, Elias ran down his accomplishments and promoted his concert on Saturday night in New York. He then did his usual Walk With Elias calls before cuing up his song for the night. As he did, he made fun of Greensboro, but couldn’t even start the song officially because he was interuppted by Bobby Lashley.

Heydorn’s Analysis: That entire thing was disconnected at best. Ricky didn’t introduce himself properly which made it hard for Elias to save the segment’s narrative. The shilling of products and trolling of the crowd continues to put a glass ceiling on what Elias can do. He can connect fully in either the heel or babyface direction. Straddling the line of both prevents him from progressing further and growing into a draw for one specific side of the coin. 

Lashley walked to the ring and looked at Ricky. He said that he needed to get a new gimmick because the WWE already had a bad guitar player on their roster. Lashley then said “let’s do this” and walked to his corner. As he did, Roberts smashed a guitar on his back and Lashley no-sold it completley. Lashley then crushed Roberts with a one handed spinebuster before walking off.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Lashley must roll his eyes when he reads these segments he’s slated for right? It’s just goofy cornball stuff which is confusing because Lashley has thrived and performed better when given a serious sports-like story.

-After the segment, The B Team was shown backstage. Dallas was calculating odds and said that their chances of retaining the titles were lower than usual. Axel responded by saying that the odds are always stacked against them, but that he should re-run the numbers. Axel said that math didn’t get them to where they were, teamwork did. They then yelled “B Team” and walked out of the locker room. After they did, Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt entered the arena to a nice reaction from the audience. (c)

(4) MATT HARDY & BRAY WYATT vs. THE REVIVAL vs. THE B TEAM – Raw Tag Team Championship

Out of the break, The Revival and The B Team made their entrance as a recap video aired of last week’s events in the tag team division. With all three teams in the ring, official introduction were made for the championship match. After the intros, the match began. Wyatt and Hardy took control of the match early, but that momentum was quickly squashed by The Revival. Dawson clotheslined Hardy and tagged in his partner before the show went to break again. (c)

Out of the break, Hardy made a tag to Bray Wyatt. Wyatt splashed Dawson in the corner before planting both Revival members and Bo Dallas with a slam into the mat. As he attempted the slam onto Axel, Axel countered. After the counter, Dash rolled Wyatt up for a two count pin. From there, pandemonium ensued and all three teams battled around the ringside area. Hardy climbed to the top rope for but was halted by Dawson. Hardy then suplexed Dawson from the top rope onto the other members of the match on the outside of the ring.

Heydorn’s Analysis: For someone that has some back and hip issues, that’s a pretty big bump to take. Sure, it was a fun spot to be certain, but also out of nowhere and not connected with the pace and story of the match. Fun, but unneeded. 

After the big move, each man in the match struggled to get to his feet. Wyatt and Dawson were the first to get up and they battled back into the ring. The Revival then connected with the Shatter Machine on Bray Wyatt. With Curtis Axel as a legal man though, he tossed Dawson off of Wyatt and covered him himself for the 1,2,3 win.

WINNER: B Team via pinfall

Heydorn’s Analysis: Boy, compare this match to the tag team match on SmackDown last week and its easy to see a massive disparity in talent. With Raw being a three hour show it would behoove WWE to build a viable tag division. They don’t seem to agree though and this match is a perfect example of that. 

-After the match, Roman Reigns was shown walking backstage ahead of his segment to address “the biggest match of his career.” He was stopped by a celebrating B Team who he laughed off. (c)

Heydorn’s Analysis: So Reigns is about to address the biggest match of his career and you have him encounter and laugh off a comedy tag team on his way to do so? Got it.

-Out of the break, Ziggler and McIntyre confronted Angle again and Angle asked them if the contract worked for them. Ziggler addressed the fact that he didn’t like a part of the contract that said Rollins was allowed a person in his corner. Angle said he could take it out, but that Dolph wouldn’t have Drew in his corner either. Dolph agreed to keep it in and then walked off.

[HOUR THREE]

-From there, Roman Reigns’s music hit as Cole called him The Big Dog. The audience was mixed as usual for Reigns and as he made his (slow) walk, Cole called his upcoming match at Summerslam the biggest of his career.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Walk faster Roman. That alone will take some of the arrogance out of you. 

When Reigns got in the ring, he grabbed a microphone and paced around as the crowd cheered and booed. Each time Reigns paused, the boos got even louder. Finally, he uttered the words “leave this place, better than I found it.” He said he tells himself that every day in his position and that he wouldn’t be able to accomplish that goal with Brock Lesnar around. Reigns said he is tired of everything about Brock Lesnar and that it all ends on Sunday. He said he’ll take back his Universal Championship and send Lesnar to UFC with his head up Dana White’s ass.

Heydorn’s Analysis: He’s off to a good start. Short and to the point is the sweet spot for Roman Reigns promos. He hit that sweet spot here and was intense in doing so. 

This prompted Paul Heyman to hit the ring. He did his usual introduction and then quoted the New Day before walking to the ring. He then complimented Roman Reigns which prompted Reigns to smile him off. Heyman then entered the ring and told Reigns that this week was his week. He said why wait until Sunday to make history when he could make history tonight. Heyman then offered to tell Roman all of Brock Lesnar’s secrets. Heyman said that with him in his corner at Summerslam, the spoiler would be Roman Reigns becoming the Universal Champion.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Heyman sure is convincing. That could be his best skill. When he talks, you listen and believe what he’s saying. It really is a special ability. 

Roman Reigns then responded by saying he knows everything he needs to know and that he beat Brock Lesnar in Saudi Arabia. Reigns then said he would have won quicker if it wasn’t for Paul Heyman. Paul Heyman owned that mistake, but said that he sees the future as well. He said in the future he sees Roman Reigns side by side with Paul Heyman. Heyman then did his full introduction with Roman Reigns instead of Brock Lesnar. As he did this, Reigns shrugged it off and the audience had mixed reactions to the idea. Reigns told Heyman that he’s trying, but it isn’t good enough. Reigns said he was groomed for this business at a very young age. He said that his father taught him how to swim with sharks and that Heyman was a shark not worth saving.

Heydorn’s Analysis: “I’ve been groomed for this business from a very young age.” Ugh, just tone deaf. This type of entitlement is what turns people off of Reigns. Why bring it back into the fold ahead of the biggest match of his career. Nonsensical. 

In response, Heyman addressed Reigns’s father and said he heard him teach him something back in the day as they traveled together. Heyman then utter words in Samoan before handing Reigns a piece of paper. As he did, Heyman told Reigns to read it and give him his answer on Sunday at Summerslam. From there, Reigns opened the paper to read it and was sprayed in the face with pepper spray. Then, Brock Lesnar hit the ring and assaulted a blinded Roman Reigns. Lesnar decimated Reigns with knee strikes and stared him down as he did. Lesnar then locked in a triangle choke which caused Roman to pass out. Lesnar then left the ring as the announcers called it a cowardly attack. From there, after walking up the ramp, Lesnar turned around and attacked Reigns again with an F-5. As he did this, the audience chanted one more time. (c)

Heydorn’s Analysis: Overall, this worked though it had some missteps within it. Reigns was solid at the beginning, but as he spent more time out there, his arrogance and unlikable qualities became more apparent and were hard to hide. The lines about him being groomed for the business were simply not necessary. Further, Lesnar going back for the second attack on Reigns was counter productive as it gave the “vocal minority” a chance to chant on more time. Lesnar got his point across and told the story of the cowardly attack in the first beat down. The second wasn’t needed as it left the door open for misdirected engagement toward Lesnar and Reigns. That said, the segment tied up various arms of the Lesnar/Reigns story. Heyman wavering and wooing Reigns played out for what it was and Lesnar got as much heat as he could with Reigns as his opponent. If a proper babyface was slotted where Reigns is, it would have been more impactful. With the players involved it was as much of a win as could be expected.

(5) TITUS WORLDWIDE & BOBBY ROODE vs. MOJO RAWLEY & AOP

The match was short with a longer commercial for Rousey/Bliss at Summerslam in the split screen than their match itself. In the end, Roode won with the Glorious DDT.

WINNER: Roode and Titus Worldwide

Heydorn’s Analysis: Pretty shocking to see AOP in this spot on a show with such a depleted tag division. Who did they anger backstage?

-After the match Roman Reigns was shown getting tended to by the medical staff. (c)

-Out of the commercial break, Cole and the announce team cued a memorial video for Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart.

Heydorn’s Analysis: A beautiful tribute. Well done. 

-When the video ended, the announce team ran down the Summerslam matches ahead of Sunday’s big show. When they were finished, Michael Cole cued up a recap video of the events earlier in the night between Ronda Rousey and Alexa Bliss.

(6) SASHA BANKS w/ Bayley vs. Ruby Riott

After the video finished, Sasha Banks hit the ring with Bayley at her side. Cole hyped their newly founded Boss and Hug Connection tag team as the show went to commercial break. (c)

Out of the break, Ruby Riott and the Riott Squad cut a selfie promo. She said Banks and Bayley made up and reconnected while she was out. She then asked if they would be able to withstand a riot. From there, the match began with Riott getting the upper hand out of the gate. Quickly Banks changed her fortunes and rolled Riott up, but only managed a two count. Out of the pin, Banks locked in an arm bar submission to keep momentum in the match. Eventually, the battle rolled to the outside of the ring and Riott kicked the hand of Banks as it was propped up against the steel steps. After, she rolled Banks back into the ring and continued the beat down with stiff kicks to Banks’s chest and legs.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Banks and Riott have some nice chemistry together. Down the road, this could be a marketable women’s championship level program. 

Banks attempted a few comebacks, but each time they were squashed by Riott’s calculated offense. With her own arm bar locked in, the show went to commercial break. (c)

Out of the break, Banks was still down on the mat and in a Riott submission hold. Again, Banks attempted to fight back, but stopped due to the aggressiveness of Riott. In the end, Banks took out Sarah Logan with a suicide dive through the ropes and then was attacked by Liv Morgan. From there, Bayley fought Morgan off, but Riott rolled Banks up for the 1,2,3 win while holding the tights.

WINNER: Riott via pinfall

Heydorn’s Analysis: It was what it was? I like thinking about what a full on Riott vs. Banks feud could look like. This was just the tip of the iceberg on so many levels. 

-After the match, Kurt Angle was shown backstage with Baron Corbin. Angle asked a stagehand if Rollins arrived and the stagehand said no. From there, Corbin yelled at Angle and told him he couldn’t wait any longer. (c)

Out of the commercial break, Kurt Angle’s music was in the ring. Out of the gate, he addressed the attack on Roman Reigns and said that Roman would still be able to compete on Sunday at Summerslam. From there, he said that he wanted Roman Reigns to kick Brock Lesnar’s ass and that he wanted Roman to bring the Universal Title back to Monday Night Raw where it belongs.

Heydorn’s Analysis:

Angle was then interuppted by Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre.

[OVERRUN]

As they walked to the ring, Ziggler told Angle to hurry it up. Angle said that he was about to introduce them but Ziggler doubted his good intentions. From there, Ziggler asked if he had a match on Sunday. Kurt then tried to introduce Seth Rollins, but the Rollins entrance music never played. Ziggler told Angle to call it and Drew surmised that Rollins was purposely not at Raw to avoid another beating from him and Dolph. Ziggler then said that Rollins quit because he couldn’t beat him. Drew and Dolph then said they respected Seth Rollins and that he was a main reason they teamed up. Ziggler said Seth pushed himself too hard for the fans and called the audience fickle. He then said that the audience will turn their back on Seth eventually just like they did for him. Ziggler then asked the fans where they were during his hard times. Ziggler finished by saying he didn’t care about any of the fans and then asked to sign the contract to officially make the match a Seth Rollins forfeit. After, Ziggler signed the contract and handed it back to Kurt Angle as Burn it Down blared throughout the arena to a huge pop.

Heydorn’s Analysis: That’s a solid promo by Ziggler and coming from me, means a lot. He didn’t yell to much and told the audience why the match is important to him and why he wants to be champion. With the heel undertones inside of it, it came off really well and set the table perfectly for whatever Rollins has up his sleeve here. (Ambrose)

Rollins walked out alone and said he was at the arena for a while but wanted Ziggler to sign the contract so he couldn’t back out. He said he was dealing with travel issues, but not his own travel issues. He then addressed the contract clause that was addressed earlier. Rollins said that since Ziggler was going to have the Scottish Psychopath in his corner, he thought he should have a lunatic in his own. From there, Dean Ambrose’s music hit and Ambrose walked out to the ramp to an enormous reaction from the crowd. Both him and Rollins looked at each other before running to the ring to brawl with Ziggler and McIntyre. Eventually, Rollins and Ambrose cleared the ring and Ambrose handed the contract for Rollins to sign as the show went off the air.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Massive pop for Ambrose and a really fun segment to end the show. Rollins and Ambrose did their thing and Dean’s return would always generate a great reaction. That said, Dolph and Drew did some work on that microphone. This match is lined up to steal the show Sunday night. 

FINAL THOUGHTS: Not a bad night for WWE by any means. For the most part, each Summerslam match from Raw was featured in some capacity and many of those matches got some nice juice going into Sunday. Rousey/Bliss, Ziggler/Rollins, and even Corbin/Balor got more serious and are in a better position now than they were before the show started tonight. The elephant in the room is Reigns/Lesnar. At this point, nothing will ever cause Roman Reigns to be universally liked outside of a heel run. With that said, what they did tonight got the best reaction and put the match in the best position possible for Sunday. Now, it will be what it will be. Probably not good and we’re sure to dodge beach balls, but tonight was as close to a win as WWE was going to get in the Roman Reigns department.

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NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS REPORT: HEYDORN’S WWE RAW REPORT 7/30: Alt Perspective coverage of the live show including Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar returning, Rollins vs. McIntyre, and more