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WWE RAW PRIMER 5/6: Rogue Dog, The Bank is open, Clashing of the Styles, The Razor’s edge, Mysterio’s U.S. title pursuit, The Lady and the Man continues

By Frank Peteani, PWTorch contributor

May 6, 2019

Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns (art credit Joel Teach © PWTorch)
SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER
MAY 6, 2019
CINCINNATI, OH. AT THE US BANK ARENA
AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00PM EST
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

Arena and Items Advertised by WWE

WWE Raw returns to the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. After appearing just under a year ago in July of 2018. The arena opened in 1975 and was originally called Riverfront Coliseum due to its proximity to Riverfront Stadium, the previous home of the Cincinnati Reds. WWE has been a frequent tenant going back to 1989 where shows like Superstars of Wrestling, Wrestling Challenge, and even an episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event were recorded. WCW even snuck in with a few episodes of Nitro and Souled Out in 2000.

Here’s what’s advertised for tonight’s show:

Matches & Segments

Roman Reigns says he will appear on Monday Night Raw this week despite WWE’s official response that he won’t

Storyline Follow-Up:

  • All about the mon-aay
  • Clashing styles
  • You shave my back
  • Mysterio-us ways
  • A Lady in a Man’s world

Bad Dog! Go Back to Smackdown!

Good boy? Not likely.

In an odd turn of events, Roman Reigns said he would be appearing on Raw via his Twitter account on Saturday morning. WWE promptly responded saying he would not be appearing due to his obligations on Smackdown. Reigns responded on Sunday. Here are the tweets:

https://twitter.com/WWERomanReigns/status/1125087160527458305?s=20

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1125143161469325313?s=20

By the looks of things, he will appear on Raw.

Frank’s Analysis: I don’t understand the “unfinished business.” On WWE’s end they obviously want spike a rating after an alarming 1.6 last week. Their method is to have their top star go rogue and show up on show in which he’s not invited for what purpose, we don’t know. The good will with Reigns is gone for all intents and purposes and thus his “going rogue” isn’t as exciting as, for example, if Stone Cold or the Rock did it back in the day. The other issue is this Superstar Shakeup has gone for weeks on end and to have Reigns already appear on Raw further plays into the sloppiness WWE has shown.

Money in the Bank Participants

Last week in the opening segment, Alexa Bliss hosted her periodic “A Moment of Bliss” segment where she would announce the participants in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match coming up in less than two weeks at the aforementioned PPV in Hartford, CT. Those participants turned out to be Braun Strowman, Ricochet, Baron Corbin, and Drew McIntyre.

Strowman won last year’s offering while Corbin won in 2017. Neither cashed in their contracts successfully.

As we likely suspected some trash talking lead to a tag team match where Strowman & Ricochet defeated Corbin & McIntyre. The wrinkle is the fact that McIntyre punched Corbin after Corbin tagged himself in. McIntyre didn’t like that and walked out after the punch. Corbin would get treated to Strowman’s powerslam and Ricochet’s shooting star press to get pinned.

The journey towards Money in the Bank continues.

Frank’s Analysis: Ricochet lost his match in the previous week to Robert Roode, whom WWE advertised to follow up on his new character but didn’t. Corbin lost his #1 contender’s match to A.J. Styles in the previous week. Cesaro defeated Cedric Alexander the week before and was advertised last week but didn’t appear. McIntyre hasn’t won a match since defeating Dean Ambrose before WrestleMania and has lost several matches since December.

A.J. Styles “Clash” with the Beast Slayer

In last week’s closing segment, we got a previously unadvertised contract signing between A.J. Styles and the Universal Champion Seth Rollins in advance of their championship match at Money in the Bank.

The two went back and forth exchanging their catchphrases talking about the house A.J. Styles built and how Seth will burn it down and build it back up, blah blah blah. Seth talked proudly about beating Brock Lesnar (despite kicking him in the business) and that’s why he’s the Universal Champion (well duh, the title was on the line in that match). In the end, both men signed the contract followed by your garden variety brawl après la signature (French for after signing). The brawl ended when Styles hit his signature Phenomenal Forearm and put him through the table.

Tonight, the journey continues towards their championship match.

Frank’s Analysis: Anything is on the table for the next few weeks from video packages to a tag team match where they have tension to sitting guest commentary for each other’s matches.

The Grooming of the Revival

Last week, the Usos defeated the Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) as they made their return to Raw from Smackdown in the CONTINUED Superstar Shakeup. After the match, they showed a previously recorded video in which they catch the Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) in the shower, in towels, where Dash is shaving Scott’s back. They figured out the Usos were filming them and were none too pleased.

That was cue for the Revival to come out and talk about their privacy being invaded (if they were so upset, why didn’t they attack them before the match with the Brothers). They talked about having a match later on with Raw Tag Team Champions Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins, one they would go on to lose.

Here is the excerpt from WWE.com’s preview regarding the Revival:

Okay, so the headline shouldn’t have been that The Revival shave each other’s backs in the shower, but the mildly embarrassing footage obtained by The Usos was still enough to unman the “Top Guys” when all was said and done. The Usos now have a psychological edge in this young rivalry, and in order to catch up to their rivals, the former Raw Tag Team Champions have to either develop thicker skin or finish out their business between the ropes in a way they couldn’t this past week against Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins in what was otherwise a very impressive performance. In other words, this could be the beginning of a whole new Revival or the first humiliation of many. The choice is up to them.

Here’s Scott Dawson on Twitter, who oddly changed his Twitter picture to a still shot of the back-shaving segment. Also, a few tweets from Dash Wilder’s account:

https://twitter.com/ScottDawsonWWE/status/1124304935548485635?s=20

https://twitter.com/DashWilderWWE/status/1124452404030783488?s=20

Frank’s Analysis: From WWE’s excerpt it looks like they’re trying to humiliate them, but the Revival doesn’t seem to be intimidated. I guess they’re trying to own it and show they’ll do whatever’s asked of them, no matter how ridiculous it may be. They could be thinking “you want us to do a back-shaving segment? Fine, we’ll run with it and make good of it.” Who knows, but it’s still overall silly. Good for the Revival though.

Rey Mysterio and his U.S. Championship Pursuit

Rey Mysterio and U.S. Champion Samoa Joe have been on the dance floor since before WrestleMania in regard to the U.S. title. At WrestleMania, Joe defeated Mysterio in a one-minute virtual squash match to retain the championship. In reality, Mysterio was reportedly dealing with an injury and could not complete in a full match.

The ever-continuing Superstar Shakeup has moved Mysterio and Joe to Raw. Both were involved in a triple threat match two weeks ago for the purpose of determining a #1 contender to the Universal Championship. They lost to A.J. Styles. Last week, Mysterio defeated Joe in a previously unadvertised non-title match after which he was congratulated by his son Dominick. Dominick has appeared on a frequent basis on WWE TV as of late.

As of this writing, WWE is not specific as to what is next for this situation, but they are obviously advertising follow-up for tonight. Oddly enough, Mysterio has never held the U.S. Championship even during his tenure in WCW.

Frank’s Analysis: It’s damaging for Joe to keep losing matches, but what can you do as WWE seems to be in the habit of having champions lose in non-title situations. There’s not much to add here other than we’re likely headed for another championship match. I wouldn’t be surprised either if the title is on the line tonight.

The Lady and the Man Continues

Last week, Raw & Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and Lacey Evans continued their build towards their match for the Raw title at Money in the Bank. Charly Caruso interviewed Becky in the ring. Becky talked about defying odds, main eventing WrestleMania, and how Ronda Rousey had been unbeaten until she beat her in that main event. She said all she knew how to do was fight, and that’s why she’s defending both belts at WrestleMania. Charly did remind her of Lacey’s attack on her the previous week with two Women’s Rights. This segment is worth a rewatch, and thus here’s WWE’s YouTube clip:

As you can see, Lacey would not sit quietly and came out to interrupt the interview. She said she was done talking and went after Becky. They were separated by WWE officials after a brief brawl. The build towards Money in the Bank continues tonight. We can’t have a week without a little Twitter trash talk:

Frank’s Analysis: In an otherwise boring episode of Raw, this was a highlight. Becky said a lot of things you want to hear from your champion and adding to it on social media is a big boost. Lacey has come off as a credible threat, and you believe there’s a chance she can beat Becky. While you kind of want to see her in a match prior to MITB, it’s almost better that they haven’t done so.

Items Not Advertised for Follow-Up

Bobby Lashley defeated the Miz in a match set up via Lashley’s appearance on MizTV. After the match, Lashley and Shane McMahon attacked the Miz.

The Viking Raiders defeated Lucha House Party.

Naomi defeated Alexa Bliss when Alexa had issues with her shoes. The match was set up on A Moment of Bliss where Alexa announced the Raw women taking part in their Money in the Bank ladder match, which included herself. The other women are Naomi, Natalya, and Dana Brooke.

We got the second episode of the Firefly Fun House. Bray Wyatt painted a picture of a burning house. It reminded me of when Randy Orton burned down Wyatt’s cabin in 2017.

Start Time & Matches Advertised on the Arena Website

The U.S. Bank Arena’s website advertises a start time of 7:30 p.m with doors opening at 6:00 p.m. They advertise the same six-man tag match it feels like every arena has advertised lately featuring Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman & A.J. Styles vs. Baron Corbin & Bobby Lashley & Drew McIntyre.

Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Questions and discussion are welcome. Thank you for reading!

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