This week’s Raw was live from Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Coming right after a very underwhelming Raw, this week’s Raw more than made up for it.
With John Cena's much expected return turning out to be nothing more than pure beatdown, courtesy of AJ Styles' reunion with his brothers from Japan, WWE universe was seeking answers from Styles regarding his actions. The fans were also eager to see how John Cena is going to respond to that beatdown.
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But the preshow had one more juicier information to share. The preshow panel revealed that there were rumours that a former GM of SmackDown was backstage. This created much expectation on the part of fans they started speculating whether the identity of the person who will run SmackDown will be revealed tonight. With all these huge questions hanging around we stepped into this week’s edition of Raw.
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MITB participants segment
This week’s Raw kickstarted with Dean Ambrose making his way to the ring. But, the catch was that the remaining participants for the MITB were already in the ring – on top of a ladder each.
Owens took the center stage soon and started plugging in the match at MITB PPV. Soon, everyone started saying the bit-except for Dean Ambrose. Dean Ambrose looked keen on getting to the fight that will eventually break out. And it did break out after a good banter between the Superstars.
But, before anything could be determined, WWE pulled of another surprise in the form of Teddy Long. The former GM of SmackDown made his bid for running SmackDown and bumbled with it. Stephanie came out and informed that she will not be making that decision tonight and let people know that Shane was absent too.
She did however make some matches for the night. She dismissed Teddy Long and pitted all the six superstars present against one another and then proceeded to walk off the ramp with Teddy Long’s music.
Cesaro vs Jericho
The match was a short one, but the two stars present in the match made it memorable. Jericho’s vily veteran instincts made it look like the match would end with Swiss Superman lying down on his back.
But an incredible counter from Cesaro changed the course of the match and sent Jericho swinging 15 times. Cesaro immediately locked in a Sharpshooter to gain the victory. The real point to note is that these two superstars created a memorable bout in a short amount of time.
Be it Jericho delivering a Codebreaker to counter Cesaro’s Springboard Uppercut or Cesaro delivering an incredible Superflex, everything about this match left fans mouthwatering. The crowd was vocal enough to voice their approval too.
Rusev vs Jack Swagger
It as heartening to see WWE give a little consideration to Jack Swagger. WWE didn’t let Swagger lose totally in his home state, they only made him give Rusev a countout victory.
After a vicious collision right in front of the announce table, Rusev pushed Swagger on Titus, who was sitting in commentary, and made it to the ring to beat the ten count. Swagger was unfortunately unable to. But, the babyfaces ended standing tall as the segment got over.
WWE is cleverly building the heat upon Rusev. Lana’s mere presence alone helped him much needed heat as he walked away once more from a confrontation with Titus. Titus looks to be getting some push from WWE and it would be best for him to use it in a wise manner.
John Cena AJ Styles confrontation
WWE didn’t wait long to bring in their big guns. John Cena emerged to a good pop and played to the crowd a little before calling out the phenomenal one.
The heated war of words between Cena and Styles was very personal and it established a legitimate heat on Styles. Styles revealed what went down last week was all planned and he didn’t respect John Cena’s wrestling abilities. Cena responded back with some of his own and soon things started getting personal.
The Club decided to attack Cena, but the unexpected arrival of New Day spoiled their plan. The Club walked away leaving the babyfaces to close the segment. But the real taking away point of the segment is the animosity between Cena and Styles. Styles accused Cena of burying talent and Cena called Styles a failure and desperate man.
The Vaudevillains vs Enzo and Cass
This was all about Enzo and Cass. Enzo took care of the mic bit and Cass took care of the pummeling bit. Yes, it was pummeling.
Short while into the match, The Vaudevillains tried to take out Enzo once more. On seeing this, Big Cass snapped and pummeled The Vaudevillains into obscurity. Cass didn’t even care about losing the match. He just went on to beat Aiden English in the corner without bothering to respect the referee’s count. Big Cass came out very strong in this segment.
Backstage Segment: Teddy Long lobbies for the GM post
Teddy Long interrupts Stephanie and gives an idea to make the tag team division hot. He proposes a Fatal 4 Way match for the WWE World Tag Team Championship featuring, Enzo and Cass, The Vaudevillains, Gallows and Anderson and The New Day. Stephanie instead asks how he got into the building. He replies by taking a dollar bill out.
Stephanie asks him to leave and later calls the marketing to let them know about the Fatal 4 Way match. She showed the return of her heel persona a bit by taking credit for the idea.
Alberto Del Rio vs Samy Zayn
This match was also a short affair. But the match established why Alberto Del Rio is relevant in the MITB match.
Del Rio controlled most of the match and Sami tried to counter Del Rio often. But Del Rio grounded Sami time and time again with some perfectly timed moves. The end bit was marvelous as both Zayn and Del Rio tried to get the upper hand in the corner.
Another one of Del Rio’s perfectly timed moves leaves Zayn in a precarious position in the corner. Del Rio finished the match off with a double stomp. This victory has helped Del Rio's floundering career and has ben well booked against a perfect opponent.
Dean Ambrose vs Kevin Owens
Another one of Ambrose-Owens classic. Though we have seen this pair go at each other many times, the match still felt refreshing. The reason was that the match involved mostly counters.
The chemistry between the two is really good and they worked off each other in a good manner. This time the match was filled with counters with each Superstar trying to one-up the other by countering the moves normally performed. Ambrose gets the win this time.
After the match Ambrose tries to climb the ladder and retrieve the briefcase, but Owens sends him crashing into the ropes. Owens yells that it is his and leaves the ring.
Charlotte addresses her actions
This segment was targeted to make Dana and Charlotte better heels than they are now and establish their chemistry.
Charlotte tries to explain her actions but Nattie and Becky interrupt her. Natalya advises Dana to be careful around Charlotte and says that she would backstab her. Charlotte refuses and Becky pitches in her views of Charlotte too.
Dana then looks like she is having a change of heart, but she suckers in Natalya and Becky. Charlotte and Dana lay a beatdown on Becky and Natalya and stand tall to end the segment
Tyler Breeze vs R-Truth
The match was booked to prolong Teddie’s recurring antics and so there wasn’t much to it. In fact, the match lasted about 2 minutes.
Teddy orders the match to be restarted after it ends so soon, that too in his traditional tag match. But, Teddy is unofficially in the building. So, the securities arrive to escort him outside. Teddy makes a final bid to the fans before he is escorted out.
On the way out, Teddy meets Stephanie who informs him that she is not going to let someone as incompetent as him run SmackDown. She then informs him that it will be her who will be running SmackDown and not Shane, as he doesn't have the proper experience.
The Club vs The New Day
Before the match even starts, the two teams go at each other. The Club soon dismantles New Day and the brawl ends with Styles delivering a Styles Clash on the floor.
This causes the New Day to fight The Club in a 3 on 2 handicap match. Though New Day were on fire earlier, The Club soon ends the match using the numbers game. The post match beatdown is broken up by John Cena.
But, John himself gets caught in the numbers game. Styles pummels at him once more, but the New Day come to John’s rescue. The trio fend off the club and stand tall to end the segment.
