HEYDORN’S WWE RAW RECEIPT 10/3: Riddle and Rollins take things too far in final Extreme Rules hype

This week’s episode of WWE Raw has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.

-Oh, you know. A decent enough opening from segment from The Judgement Day. I’m higher on this than most seem to be at this point, but as long as it stays where it is on the card, I maintain the opinion. At this point, the sum of the parts is greater than everyone individually and when that happens, to me, you have something.

-A.J. Styles and Rey Mysterio having an altercation after the match was an interesting twist. I think we’re heading down a path of Rey’s relationships crumbling around him as he deals with Dominik. So, no. Styles isn’t joining The Judgement Day anytime soon.

-I’ll take a mini angle for Mustafa Ali if it gets him on camera. The guy has incredible upside if he’s used properly and honestly, they found a road to that potential. The “never give up and never quit” narrative is perfect for him and he played it well this week opposite Bobby Lashley. Will we see follow-up? I’m not holding my breath.

-Lashley getting attacked by Seth Rollins worked well on multiple levels. First, it’s top stars chasing the only singles title on Raw and that elevates that particular championship. Second, it gave the show a legit reason to go to break when they did ahead of the face to face they were promoting between Rollins and Riddle. Third, now Paul Levesque has a big match on deck for next week’s show. Thumbs up.

-Sami Zayn = untouchable. The guy continues to deliver in whatever situation he’s put in. He’s a very valuable commodity at this point.

-Solo Sikoa got a nice victory over Angelo Dawkins even though it was helped along by The Bloodline. They continue to weave the story in an out of Zayn/Jey, Zayn/Jimmy, Jimmy/Jey, Sikoa/Zayn, and Sikoa/Jey. Is potential turmoil in The Bloodline on deck? Sidebar. Solo Sikoa has been tremendous since his call to the main roster. He has a presence about him that will help take him a long way.

-Matt Riddle should not be predicting murder ahead of a major match. The line holds zero value because obviously he won’t deliver. The face to face segment was a fine final chapter in the build to the match, but walked the line closer than I would have. The low blows and backstage reality stuff is overplayed at this point and doesn’t really help Rollins or Riddle get their characters over in a more impactful way.

-Well, the positive spin on Candice LeRae losing to Dakota Kai is that Kai and Damage CNTRL needed a win with a big match at Extreme Rules looming. The negative spin? LeRae doing jobs already?

-Yeah, Otis got the win over Johnny Gargano, but it was clearly to further the larger storyline between Austin Theory and Gargano. The show wasn’t jammed packed with weird finishes and it made a lot of sense here.

-Did Chad Gable really hit Braun Strowman with his rolling German suplex? My goodness. A great spot, but The Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, and other big men are likely furrowing their brow at Strowman agreeing to taking that offense.

-Bianca Belair and Bayley had a segment that moved their feud in a positive direction, but they still lack chemistry. It’s tough to buy what they are selling and though this segment was effective, it didn’t fix that core issue.

-Solid promo from Edge. He’s great in the pre-tape environment and shows emotions really well.

-A bit of a clunky match between Alexa Bliss and Iyo Sky, but since the idea was to grab the shot of Damage CNTRL sitting tall on the ladders as the show faded to black, it didn’t need to be more than it was. It seemed like the women were stalling to fill time, which slowed momentum of the segment, but they got to where they needed to go.

-Overall, a fine, but not newsworthy go-home edition of WWE Raw ahead of Extreme Rules.

CATCH-UP: 10/3 WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW RESULTS: Keller’s report on Rey & Styles vs. Judgment Day, Riddle-Seth face-to-face, Gable vs. Braun, Bayley-Belair contract signing