A new set! A new logo! A new opening video package! A new piece of entrance music! A new announcer! A new kind of in-ring interview! A New Era – for realsies. This is the 25th July edition of WWE RAW…in about 4 minutes.
WWE RAW RE-DEBUTS!
WWE Raw was really good from the opening frame. Shinedown’s Enemies is a much better theme than Tonight Is the Night, the opening video package hit the ground running – even though there was a worryingly long shot of Braun Strowman – and the new Raw graphics straddle old and new remarkably well. I don’t even mind Triple H’s secret Illuminati code.
With the announcers now by the entrance ramp, WCW Nitro style, WWE Raw’s two authority figures opened the show…and then were never seen again. They got Cesaro’s memo then. Stepha-Mick…no, that’s not very good. McFoley?
MickMcMahon? Let’s go with Stepha-Mick – announced two fatal four way matches for tonight, with the winners facing each other to earn a match against Seth Rollins at Summerslam for the newly created WWE Universal Championship.
Yes, that’s a convoluted way of picking a number one contender; and yes, the name ‘Universal Championship’ makes me want to hurt myself – but these are positive steps, and it creates an exciting narrative for the rest of the show.
FINN BALOR BEAT KEVIN OWENS & CESARO & RUSEV
The first Fatal Fourway match made a star of Finn Balor in one entrance. He got over the moment he popped his leather jacket collar.
The match itself was really strong, with Owens and Rusev working together as the highlight. At one point, when Rusev went to cover Cesaro, Owens broke it up saying: ‘Dude, I’m right here!’
Finn Balor eventually picked up the win, pinning Rusev after the Coup De Grace.
ROMAN REIGNS BEAT CHRIS JERICHO & SHEAMUS & SAMI ZAYN
Although Sami Zayn can’t have a bad match at the moment, this fatal fourway wasn’t quite as good as the first. The end sequence was a bit off, with a single superman punch each taking Sheamus and Sami Zayn out for a good few minutes while Roman pinned Chris Jericho. Maybe the punch was enhanced?
Reigns’ll face Finn Balor in WWE Raw’s main event. Who’s the company going to get behind…? But first, here’s the other stuff that happened…
NIA JAX DEBUT
We got a squash match! The other person didn’t even get a name – like a henchman in a James Bond film. This is the best possible use of Nia Jax, the short match protecting her clunkier wrestling ability.
NEW DAY TAG TITLE CELEBRATION
To celebrate 337 days of their WWE World Tag Team Championship reign, New Day made a member of the audience an honorary member. The honour went to a rather obvious plant called Sonny Boy. Galanderson interrupted, laying out the New Day to presumably set up the next title feud.
It’s a shame that Gallows and Anderson have been booked like lackys since their debut. They should’ve beaten up Sonny Boy too, to build up their dominating bully heel characters again.
NEVILLE BEAT CURTIS AXEL
Neville’s evil twin – N-EVIL – returned in his place from injury! That, or Neville’s grown a beard. The crowd were dead for everything but Neville’s finish. He’ll be in limbo until the cruiserweight division kicks off.
BRAUN STROWMAN BEAT JAMES ELSWORTH
Another squash match! They did this great bit where Byron Saxton interviewed ‘local competitor’ James Elsworth in the ring before the match. They made me care about James Elsworth, and, in turn, made me emotionally invested in a Braun Strowman singles match. When you book people to their strengths, you can get them over.
ENZO & CASS BEAT SHINING STARS
Enzo and Cass beat the Shining Stars after R-Truth distracted Epico walking through the ring playing Pokemon Go. This is probably the start of a Shining Stars/Golden Truth feud.
And now, the main event…
To see what Oli thought of Finn Balor vs Roman Reigns, the WWE Women’s Title match, and this episode of WWE Raw as a whole, watch the video above!
