7/15 WWE Raw Results: Keller’s report on Brock Lesnar celebrating Universal Title win after Money in the Bank cash-in

KELLER’S WWE RAW REPORT
JULY 15, 2019
UNIONDALE, N.Y. AT NASSAU COLISEUM
AIRED ON USA NETWORK

Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

[HOUR ONE]

-They opened with a shot of the crowd as Cole said it’s the longest-running weekly episodic show in TV history.

-Brock Lesnar came out to his music wearing his newly won Universal Title belt with Paul Heyman smiling by his side. Lesnar listened to the belt as if it was a boom box. Graves said the WWE Universe learned last night to trust Paul Heyman who delivered a spoiler. They went to highlights of the finish of the match including Baron Corbin giving Becky Lynch his finisher and then Brock cashing in and pinning Seth Rollins after an F5. Back live, Lesnar’s music faded and Heyman proudly introduced Lesnar. He said he told people the truth and they’d rather he told them a lie. He then said, “We told you so.” He repeated that he told them what would happen and it did. He told the fans to boo themselves for not listening, don’t boo him. Heyman said no one in the back listened to him when he said that Seth would not be defending the title at Summerslam and they better line up an opponent for Lesnar instead. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I the one that has all the stroke around here right now,” he said. He said he has decided how they will determine who faces Lesnar at Summerslam. Heyman said The Conquerer is not the easiest to negotiate with because Lesnar does what he wants to do. He said they’re going to have a cross-branded top ten all-star battle royal tonight. He said that winner can make history by losing to Lesnar at Summerslam.

He pointed at the big screen and showed each of the ten in the match: Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Big E, Cesaro, Braun Strowman, Rey Mysterio, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Bobby Lashley, and Roman Reigns. (Braun and Reigns got the biggest pops, and as usual the Reigns pop was higher pitched indicating the kids and women were the primary demo that popped.) He taunted Seth by saying Seth went from Becky’s stud to being emasculated. He closed with: “In this universe, you’re are all Brock’s bitches.”

(Keller’s Analysis: Heels gloating about big wins is a huge heat-generator that pro wrestling bookers and wrestlers sometimes don’t emphasize enough. It really motivates fans to want to see the babyface get a win back or have a bigger name babyface step up to humble the heel. This was a great example of setting that up. I’m not crazy about Heyman acknowledging he has stroke behind the scenes since obviously there’s no kayfabe world where a manager of a champion should be Executive Director of the show. The battle royal tease will hold viewers, but it’s a dumb way to decide who decides to enter a one-on-one match against Lesnar, plus Sami Zayn, Rey Mysterio, and Cesaro are hardly World Title Level wrestlers right now given their recent win-loss records.)

-The announcers hyped a fatal four-way with Alexa Bliss, Natalya, Carmella, and Naomi for the no. 1 contendership for Becky Lynch’s Raw Title. Also, Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe later.

-Ricochet’s ring entrance began. [c]

(1) THE USOS & RICOCHET vs. ROBERT ROODE & THE REVIVAL – Two out of Three Falls

The Uso said they have some unfinished business with “the Little Rascals.” They made it seem like they were joining the match without prior notice. The bell rang, and Dash started against Jimmy, who superkicked him. Ricochet then tagged in and hit Dash with his Recoil and then a standing shooting star press for the quick first fall win.

FIRST FALL WINNERS: Ricochet & Usos in under a minute.

The Revival regrouped at ringside as Roode yelled at them from inside the ring. Ricochet and Roode battled next. Jimmy rallied, but Dash blind-tagged in and gave Jimmy a face-first slam for the pin.

SECOND FALL WINNERS: Revival & Roode in 7:00.

(Keller’s Analysis: This is so stupid. Just to put it bluntly. The only time wrestlers lose this quickly to such minor move sequences is in two-out-of-three falls matches, the only reason they’re doing three fall matches is because they don’t want to cut away from action anymore during commercial breaks. It’s just so jarring and fake. In the NHL, more goals are scored in overtime per minute than in regulation because they cut the skaters down from five to three per team, so there’s a reason built in for more goals occurring quicker. There is not explanation at all for it happening in the matches.) [c]

After the break, after a Jey Uso dive onto Wilder, Roode tried to blindside Ricochet with a Roode Awakening, but Ricochet blocked it and downed Roode before hitting his 630 for the win.

THIRD FALL WINNERS: Ricochet & Usos in 11:00 total.

-After the match, during the Usos and Ricochet celebration, A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows came out and mouthed off. Ricochet dove onto them and the Usos joined in. They brawled at ringside. The Usos superkicked Ricochet off the ring apron, then delivered super kicks to Anderson and Gallows next. Roode yanked Jimmy out of the ring and threw him into the ringside barricade. The Revival then gave Jey a Shatter Machine. Ricochet returned to the ring and springboarded him onto Roode and the Revival. Then Styles caught Ricochet by surprise with a Phenomenal Forearm. Styles stood over Ricochet and trash-talked him, then shoved the U.S. Title belt in his face as his music played again.

-Backstage the Viking Raiders were shown with red lighting behind them. They cartoonisly rubbed their beard and grunted  and breathed heavily. [c]

(2) THE VIKING RAIDERS vs. VINNIE BRUENER & JACKSON JAMES

A soundbite aired with the Raiders before the match. They destroyed their jobber opponents from the start. They lifted Bruener’s shoulders up at the two count and went after his partner. They went back to Bruener and finished him with their Viking Experience finisher.

WINNERS: Raiders in 1:00.

(Keller’s Analysis: I like these squash matches, especially for an act like the Raiders who get to show off their power moves and brutality against smaller jobbers as a way to build interest in seeing better wrestlers try to put up a better fight.)

-Cole bragged that WWE Extreme Rules was the top trend on Twitter on Sunday night. They went to a 90 second video package on the Undertaker & Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre tag match.

-Back live, they went to the announcers on camera. They said Drew had an especially tough week and earlier in the day wrestlers had some fun at his expense. For no apparent reason a camera was following Drew backstage when he heard a lot of noise in a back room. He barged in and asked if everyone was having a great time. He said they’re all jokes. He got in Cedric Alexander’s face. He said he tried to “pull a fast one” last week. Cedric said he saw an opportunity and it wasn’t a joke. (He lost!) Drew said he promised to pay him back for sticking his nose in his business. He said he will dismember and disembowel him. He said he was joking because that was illegal, but he would humble him and “completely eviscerate you.” (Is eviscerating legal, but dismembering isn’t?). Cedric leaned in and said the joke will be on him. [c]

(3) DREW MCINTYRE vs. CEDRIC ALEXANDER

Drew dominated at the start and didn’t let up. Cole called it an “all-out assault.” Drew went for an inverted Alabama Slam, but Cedric rolled through and scored the pin. Cole called it a “massive upset.” They zoomed in on Drew soaking up the shocking loss.

WINNER: Cerdric in 3:00.

(Keller’s Analysis: Why not do that finish last week, if your’e going to do it, and do it on Shane instead of Drew? That’s the finish that would have worked last week with either Drew or Shane, although Shane losing by fluke and throwing a fit would have been a great set-up for him to be in a rage at Extreme Rules and just overshoot on his offensive badly at the start as a result.)

-They shifted to a clip of Shinsuke Nakamura pinning Finn Balor to win the IC Title. He said he lost, but he doesn’t dwell on the past. Instead, he looks for a way to move forward. He said he wants his title back. He said tonight Joe stands in his way. He said he will find a way to keep moving forward.

-A promo aired with Joe who asked Balor what he plans to do to him. He said what is really going to happen is he’s going to walk out there and he will be waiting to hand him yet another loss. (Says the guy who lost to Kofi Kingston).

-Joe’s ring entrance took place. [c]

-They replayed Heyman’s announcement about the battle royal later to close out the first hour.

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[HOUR TWO]

-Charly Caruso interviewed Roman Reigns, asking how he will carry the momentum from last night’s win into the battle royal. He said this is his week from the ESPY’s to the movie premiere with The Rock to whipping everybody’s ass last night. He said the only way he can finish this week strong is by dominating tonight, winning the battle royal, and taking back his Universal Title at Summerslam. (That’s a lot to fit into this week, and some might say simply impossible since Summerslam isn’t until next month.)

(4) SAMOA JOE vs. FINN BALOR

A graphic on the screen plugged the Raw Reunion next week featuring a photo of Steve Austin. Joe overpowered Balor early. Two minutes in, Balor came back with a headlock, but Joe leveraged him down with a crucifix for the three count.

WINNER: Joe in under 3:00.

-Afterward, Joe attacked Balor with a Coquina Clutch, but Balor made a comeback and did a double stomp and then a Coup de Gras. Balor’s music played and he encouraged cheers from the fans. Then the music came to a stop and odd noises rang out reminiscent of Bray Wyatt. The lights went out, and when they came back on, Bray in the clown mask gave Balor the Sister Abigail fans. He stood mid-ring with his arms extended. Graves said he will terrorize WWE. Fans chanted “Holy shit.”

(Keller’s Analysis: It almost seems like they’re giving Balor a losing streak in order to tempt him into turning to the dark side and joining Styles, Anderson, and Gallows. I was beginning to wonder when they were going to get around to Bray Wyatt’s next chapter since he seemed to be losing momentum after a few weeks.) [c]

-In a hotel lobby, Drake Maverick and his wife checked in. Drake registered as “Mr. & Mrs. 24/7 Champion.” Drake said he had to use that name because if said Mr. & Mrs. Maverick, everyone would know they were there. He said this is a fancy hotel and perfect for consummating their marriage. His wife asked for the best room and the best Champaign. He paid in cash. Six hundred, plus two hundred as a tip. R-Truth peeked from behind the wall, then walked in with a referee. He asked if there was a registered guest under the name Hornswoggle. “Lower-case h, o-r-n-swoggle.” He said he’s a short guy with a funny accent. He tried to bribe the desk agent with a dollar.

(Keller’s Analysis: I’m glad we know how R-Truth thinks Hornswoggle’s name is spelled.)

-Backstage the Street Profits were watching on a monitor. They talked about Drake being a virgin who is nervous about consummating the marriage. Then they shifted to yelling about the top contenders fighting for a Raw Title match. They agreed that Nikki is intense. Dawkins got a dreamy look. Dawkins picked Big E to win the battle royal later. Montez Ford picked Rollins. Then they sang. There was no crowd reaction.

-They showed Zack Ryder in the ring and he was introduced. Ryder gets a chance to wrestle on Raw because they’re in Long Island. Then they went backstage and Maria said she would wrestle instead of Mike Bennett. She said even pregnant she has a better chance to defend the honor of their unborn baby than he does. She walked past him and toward the ring. She tried to explain to the ref what was happening. Mike ran out and said he got it.

(5) ZACK RYDER vs. MIKE KANELLIS

Ryder landed a quick Rough Rider for the win.

WINNER: Ryder in 8 seconds.

-Afterward Maria said he should’ve let her wrestle. “Our… no… my unborn child had a better chance in that match tonight than you,” she said.

(Keller’s Analysis: I hope they have a plan in mind for this, because it feels sorta pointless otherwise to just emasculate Mike like this week after week.)

-Graves plugged the four-way contenders match with elimination rules. Cole plugged the ten-man battle royal.

-Backstage they showed Styles, Gallows, and Anderson chatting. [c]

-A Smackdown commercial aired hyping that Shane McMahon would be hosting a Town Hall letting the roster speak their mind.

(6) A.J. STYLES & KARL ANDERSON & LUKE GALLOWS vs. LUCHA HOUSE PARTY

Ricochet snuck to ringside and yanked Styles off the ring apron and attacked him. Several referees ran out and pulled him off. They cut to a break. [c]

The match was, you guessed it, “reset and restarted.” They didn’t use that term anymore, though. Cole said the referees restored order. The action was actually joined in progress, though, so at least they didn’t ring the bell or have the wrestlers separated during the whole commercial. The heel trio dominated after the break until Styles put Kalisto away with a Calf Crusher. Styles didn’t release after the break. Graves said Kalisto could get badly hurt and someone needed to step in and stop it. Styles eventually let go. Graves said Styles could be unstoppable with his “restored aggression.”

WINNERS: Styles & Anderson & Gallows in about 10:00.

(Keller’s Analysis: They’re not going soft on Styles being a heel now. There’d have been more sympathy on LHP if they did anything with them that made them out to be human beings and not just novelty acts getting tossed around all the time.)

-Cole threw to a video recap of the Brock win over Seth last night.

-The unnamed blond woman whom Seth calls “Sarah” interviewed Seth Rollins backstage. (It’s Sarah Schreiber, but they never mention her name!) Seth had a serious demeanor, the body language a babyface ex-champion should have after losing a title, not to mention seeing his girlfriend attacked. He said Brock doesn’t deserve that title. He said he’s hurt, but also possessed. He said Becky Lynch is one of the toughest human beings he’s ever met “and she is going to be okay.” He said he doesn’t know if she’ll show up tonight, that’s up to her, but Baron Corbin found out first-hand what happens when you push him too far. He said that’s a small taste of what will happen to anyone who gets in his way tonight. He said he will fight anyone until he fights Brock and beats Brock.

-They went back to the announcers who threw to a highlights of Bray Wyatt attacking Balor earlier.

-Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross walked out to Bliss’s music. Cole plugged that WWE heads back to MSG for Raw and Smackdown TV events on Sept. 9 and 10. That’ll be fun. MSG always has a different look and feel to it compared to all other venues they run. Naomi’s ring entrance then took place. After Carmella’s ring entrance, Becky came out. She walked gingerly and held up her title belt. [c]

(7) NAOMI vs. NATALYA vs. ALEXA BLISS (w/Nikki Cross) vs. CARMELLA – Fatal Four-way Elimination Match for a Summerslam Raw Title match

Bliss threw a kick and a chop to Natalya and Naommi. Carmella rolled up Naomi. Natalya kicked Carmella out of the ring. Naomi and Natalya squared off as Bliss regrouped at ringside with Nikki. Becky sat at ringside and watched. They showed her reacting to early action. Carmella entered and threw Natalya out of the ring, then turned to Naomi. Carmella supposedly head scissored and spun Natalya around, although it looked more like Natalya was the one spinning Carmella around. Carmella got cocky and did her moonwalk. Renee said now is not the time for showboating. Naomi stood and went for a Rear View, but Carmella ducked and landed a sidekick to the face. Then she kicked Natalya in the chin. Bliss snuck into the ring and rolled up Carmella for a three count.

ELIMINATION #1: Carmella via Bliss in 3:00.

Bliss went for a quick roll-up on Naomi, but the ref was out of position. Naomi kicked away at Bliss as Nikki winced at ringside. They (shock!) cut to a break mid-match a couple minutes later with Bliss and Naomi down in the ring. [c]

Back live, the three women were circling each other, but it wasn’t necessarily a “reset and restart.” Natalya tried to suplex Naomi at ringside, but Naomi blocked it and then hit a blockbuster off the ringside steps. She sat at ringside and looked satisfied with herself as Renee said now is the time to move quickly. Bliss hit Naomi from behind and threw her into the ring. Back in the ring she scored a soft two count. Bliss settled into a chinlock on Naomi. Bliss fended off Natalya, but then Naomi gave her a sitout full nelson. She leveraged Bliss’s shoulders down for a near fall. Naomi then hit a legdrop for a two count at 11:00. Natalya returned and clotheslined Naomi for a two count. She settled into a sleeper on the mat.

[HOUR THREE]

Natalya put Naomi in the surfboard, but then Bliss snuck into the ring again and crawled under Naomi and covered Natalya for a near fall. That was clever. Natalya gave Naomi a dragon whip, but Naomi fired back with a step up round kick. Bliss knocked Naomi off balance on the top rope. Natalya then lifted her off and spun her around and landed a sitout powerbomb. Bliss ran in and tried to steal the pin. Natalya kicked out. Bliss struck Natalya with an elbow to the head. Natalya rolled out of the ring. Bliss then went after Naomi and kicked her a few times, then settled into a chinlock. Bliss settled into another chinlock. Fans had enough of the mat holds and began a “This is awful!” chant at 16:0. Bliss threw Natalya into Naomi. Natalya fired up and punched away at Bliss in the corner, but Bliss sent Natalya head-first into the turnbuckle. Some boos rang out. Bliss yelled down at Becky. Naomi tripped Bliss running the ropes and then kicked a charging Natalya. She then sunset flipped Natalya, but Natalya rolled through and leveraged Naomi’s shoulders down.

ELIMINATON #2: Naomi in 17:00. [c]

Unlike between the first and second falls, they stopped the match during the break and rang the bell to start the third fall after the break. Bliss dropped to the floor to avoid a fight. Nikki got on the mic and told the fans to start cheering for her friend Bliss or else shut up. She tried to get an “Alexa!” chant going. Graves pointed out you can tell fans to shut up while also expecting them to start an “Alexa!” chant. The fans chanted “You suck!” instead. Graves said, “I can’t believe the crowd turned on Natalya like this.” Funny. Bliss took over on Natalya. Fans booed when Natalya kicked out, seemingly wanting the match to be over. They chanted “Let’s Go Cena! / Cena sucks!” Then they chanted “Goldberg!” When Natalya made a comeback, Bliss bailed out again. Natalya mistakenly clotheslined Nikki when Bliss ducked at ringside. Bliss threw Natalya into the ring, but Natalya surprised her with a mid-ring sharpshooter and Bliss tapped out.

ELIMINATION #3: Bliss.

WINNER: Natalya in 23:00 to earn a match against Becky Lynch at Summerslam.

(Keller’s Analysis: The crowd turned on that match. It was ambitious to schedule it for nearly 23 minutes, and those chinlocks and other mat holds tested the patience of the fans.)

-Caruso interviewed Natalya mid-ring afterward. Natalya was emotional. “First off, Lexy sucks,” she said. Then she said you never know what can happen over the course of a year. She said it’s a dream come true to face her old friend Becky in her home country of Canada. Becky didn’t seem impressed. She said, “The Man has something to say.” She entered the ring as fans chanted “Becky! Becky!” She congratulated Natalya. She said she likes her, but if she thinks she’s meeting her friend at Summerslam when she comes for her title, she’s in for a shock. She said she better step up or else she will wipe the floor with her in her home country. Becky said her career needs something, and she’s it. She said she does a lot better than in war than she does in love. Natalya fired back. “Well, you must not be a very good lover then, bitch.” Oooh’s from the crowd. “Becky, you want a war, you got a war. I’m going to rip that greasy orange mop off your head and I’m going to pull the horse shoe out of your ass and kick the living hell out of you.” They had a staredown and fans cheered. Graves said he loved that.

(Keller’s Analysis: That was fun. An in-ring promo that was about two prideful fighters talking trash over a big prize fight. I like it. It can be that simple sometimes. A lot of the time, in fact.)

-Backstage Orton said he has some unfinished business with Lesnar. He said he doesn’t carry a chip on his shoulder, but he does “carry enough venom to slay The Beast with the three most destructive letters in sports entertainment, the R-K-O.”

-The Miz walked onto the stage. Cole said Dolph Ziggler has asked to be his guest on Miz TV. [c]

-Miz TV: Miz introduced Ziggler. Ziggler said he wanted to know if the rumors were true that Miz once wanted to prove he was better than everyone and outwork them, but now he’s happy being a company yes-man who reads off a teleprompter. Miz asked if he’s trying to get rise out of him or is he jealous. Ziggler said he’s not jealous. He asked if it was worth it for Miz to kiss so much ass and not be on the PPV last night. Miz said he’d rather not be on the PPV than lose to Kevin Owens in 17 seconds. “That was bad, that was Goldberg bad,” Ziggler said. He said Miz has become everything he hates. “You’re a walking gimmick logo t-shirt,” he said. He he’s wearing a Long Island t-shirt, but he’s not even from Long Island or even Hollywood, he’s from Cleveland. He said he’s become everything that is wrong with this business because all he cares about is fortune and fame, “just like your wife.” Miz jumped Ziggler. Ziggler rolled out of the ring two seconds later. Miz called for him to come back to the ring and say it again.

-They showed Drake lighting candles in his hotel room and tossing rose pedals on their hotel bed. “I pay for subscriptions for stuff like this,” Graves excitedly said. “This is going to be fantastic.” [c]

-They showed a postcard shot of Long Island.

-A replay aired of Bray Wyatt’s attack on Balor and the “Holy shit!” chant.

-Drake Maverick took off his robe and revealed that he was wearing nothing but the 24/7 Title belt. “Daddy’s ready for love!” he said. He leaned back in the bed. His wake asked if he was serious. Room service knocked. Drake said he’s ready to go now and got upset with the delay. He tried to retain his, er, excitement with some deep breaths and concentration. He invited her into the bed. She then was about to take off her robe, but the hotel worker didn’t leave. He revealed he was a WWE referee. Drake panicked and began looking under the bed. Truth came out under the food cart and rolled up Drake for a two count. Truth then tackled Drake on the bed and scored a three count. Truth stripped Drake of his belt and revealed his white briefs. Drake covered up and chased after Truth as Drake’s wife screamed.

-Back live, Renee said that’s next-level humiliating. Graves said Truth utilized the small package to win. Renee laughed. Cole shifted to the Reigns situation, dropping The Rock’s name again. They aired highlights of the ESPYs and then showed Reigns warming up backstage. [c]

-They hyped the Raw Reunion next week with clips of Ric Flair.

-Big E’s ring entrance took place first. Then Sami, Seth, Lashley, Rey, Corbin, Reigns, Cesaro, Orton, and Strowman. Then Lesnar’s music played and he came out with Heyman to watch. He had a chair with him. [c]

(8) CROSS-BRANDED ALL-STAR TEN-MAN BATTLE ROYAL FOR UNIVERSAL TITLE MATCH AT SUMMERSLAM

Cesaro held court early with a barrage of uppercuts to a bunch of wrestlers, which according to “predictable battle royal booking” meant he would be first out. He was. Lashley eliminated him as he was going for a Cesaro Swing on Big E. Lashley pressed him over the top rope. Rey then gave Lashley a 619 and then a springboard dropkick. Braun then tossed Lashley out. Big E and Braun had a mid-ring staredown. Big E looked little. Braun shoulder checked Big E down hard, then set up a running slam, but Big E slipped out and gave Braun a Big Ending. Orton gave Big E an RKO. Sami then tossed him out. Fans were mad. Sami gloated. Graves said he’d warn Sami, but this will be fun to watch. Orton gave Sami an RKO as soon as he turned around. Rey hit Sami with a 619 and then Orton eliminated Sami.

Reigns spun Orton around, but Orton gave Reigns an RKO. Rey went after Orton, then he gave Reigns a 619. Reigns gave Orton a Superman Punch. Orton fell through the ropes. Corbin then threw Rey over the top rope to eliminate him. Braun finally stood as Seth eyed Corbin. Reigns looked on. Reigns, Seth, and Braun worked together against Corbin. Reigns gave Corbin a Drive By as Braun held him. Seth then kicked Corbin and threw him over the top rope. “That had to feel good,” said Cole.

It was down to Seth, Braun, and Reigns. They showed Lesnar and Heyman watching. Braun gave corner splashes to Seth and Reigns, but Reigns came back with a spear, but Braun moved and Reigns hit Seth instead. Braun grabbed Reigns by his throat and then threw him over the top rope, but Reigns held on and tried to muscle Braun over the top from the ring apron. Seth eliminated Braun and Reigns at once. Braun technically hit first. Seth celebrated and clutched his ribs. Orton entered and threw Seth over the top, but Seth held on. They exchanged punches. Orton dragged Seth and DDT’d him from the second rope. Orton looked over at Lesnar and Heyman. Heyman threw some words back at him. Seth recovered and delivered a Stomp and then threw Orton over the top to the floor. Cole said Seth has a chance at redemption at Summerslam.

WINNER: Seth to earn a rematch against Lesnar at Summerslam in 10:00.

(Keller’s Analysis: That was a really well booked battle royal, if not quite rushed. Lots of interesting exchanges including some wrestlers hitting signature moves on other wrestlers for the first time.)

-Afterward, Heyman said he’d like to announce Seth as the winner properly. He said the winner of the battle royal and new no. 1 contender “and the man who now gets to go to Summerslam and be beaten, victimized, and conquered – Seth Freakin’ Rollins.” Seth responded, “Paul, for once in your life, shut the hell up.” He said he’s been a conduit for long enough. He asked Paul to step aside so he could talk directly to Lesnar. He said he is a man possessed and he will fight anyone until he got to fight him and beat him. He promised at Summerslam he will stomp his head into the mat and stand over him as the reigning, defending, undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion. Seth’s music played and Lesnar laughed at him and turned to leave. Then Brock returned to the ring with his chair and teased entering the ring, but didn’t. Then the show ended.

(Keller’s Analysis: A good spirited promo from Seth.)

FINAL THOUGHTS:Raw was okay, I suppose. A lot of needlessly messy detail work. If you resign yourself to the absurdity of the 24/7 Title situation, Truth and Drake are doing a really good job in their roles. Not sure why Seth had to earn a rematch when he lost by fluke to the MITB cash-in, but in the end it was the right guy winning, and now it’s perceived he earned it for sure. Although, why did Heyman get to decide who Lesnar’s challenger would be determined? The moved along at a brisk pace except for the oddly long women’s four-way that lost the crowd. There’s some puzzling things going on that will take time to fully judge. It sure doesn’t look like Drew is on his way to an Undertaker feud, losing this week to Cedric.