WWE Raw, September 5th - Reading between the lines of each segment

On what was a decent episode of Monday Night Raw (despite plenty of filler matches), the build up to WWE Clash of Champions was the main goal of the creative team, announcing three matches for the pay-per-view (with one potentially being altered).

Would The Kevin Owens Show be interrupted? Would Cesaro be able to beat Sheamus despite his injured back? What was Roman Reigns position on the show? This was all answered on this week’s show, as I read between the lines of each segment.

#1 KO’s celebration with Stephanie and Foley (and Rollins):

Main Point- Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins begins.

This was a great way to open the show, with the brash Owens turning on the crowd by saying their chants of ‘you deserve it’ were to deflect the attention towards them during Owen’s moment. A brilliant promo, Owens was made to look like a star with the over the top celebration.

Seth Rollins involvement was also outstanding, with an angry rant at Stephanie and an attack on Owens planting the first seeds of a face turn. The announcement of Owens vs Rollins at Clash of Champions was certainly expected but was great nonetheless.

#2 Bayley vs Charlotte:

Main Point- Bayley is poised to challenge for the Women’s championship in the near future.

A solid match between these two, but it felt like they were holding something back, which is expected as they are most likely saving their best for a future bout. Bayley picking up the win was a feel-good moment that should lead to a title match sometime in the next two months. Also, don’t be surprised if Charlotte and Dana Brooke are split up, as once again Brooke cost Charlotte a match inadvertently.

#3 Seth Rollins vs Chris Jericho:

Main Point: Seth Rollins worked as a face in this match against the heel Jericho. A sign of things to come? I think so.

A great match that the crowd were invested in once the pace picked up, Rollins didn’t feel out of place as the angry, screwed over babyface seeking revenge. The pedigree used by Rollins to beat Jericho was put over by the commentators as a message to Triple H, signalling that Rollins had not forgotten about The Game even though he had Owens and Jericho to deal with.

#4 Cesaro vs Sheamus- Match 3 of 7:

Main Point: A Cesaro comeback in this Best of 7 Series is imminent, as he is now one loss away from losing the entire series.

A decent match once again between these two, but this was always going to be focused more on emphasising the heart of Cesaro and his willingness to fight on despite being injured. The storytelling from an in-ring standpoint was strong, and now that Cesaro is 0-3 it gives WWE the chance to tell the always entertaining story of an underdog comeback.

#5 Enzo and Cass vs the Shining Stars, New Day and Gallows and Anderson Promo Segment:

Main Point for Both:

Enzo and Cass seem directionless at the moment. Let’s hope WWE elevate them to the tag title scene soon.

This was possibly the worst segment of this entire feud so far. Gallows and Anderson have officially been turned into a comedy duo, and it is awful.

The promo from Enzo and Cass, as usual, was very enjoyable. The match looked like it would be the usual squash win for Enzo and Cass, which would have been better than what we got. Instead, the Shining Stars won. Yes, the Shining Stars, possibly the most irrelevant tag team in the whole division including Smackdown, beat one of if not the most popular tag team in the division. Normally, I wouldn’t have a problem with Enzo and Cass putting over a team in need of a win. But, seriously, what is this win going to do for the Shining Stars? Sadly, the answer is absolutely nothing.

Where do I even begin with this segment? Firstly, The Old Day? Really? These jokes being provided to Gallows and Anderson sound like they are coming straight from Vince McMahon’s extremely strange sense of humour, and a heel tag team trying to be comedic doesn’t make all that much sense anyway. Despite the horrible misuse of Gallows and Anderson, I thought the New Day could save this segment. Boy, was I wrong. This feud hasn’t clicked at all and has been based on testicles, bad puns and ringpostitis. This segment was just another awful reminder that WWE Creative might be donning a ‘new era’, but when it comes to the tag division, it’s the same old garbage.

#6 Darren Young vs Jinder Mahal, Braun Strowman vs Sin Cara:

No Main Points this time around.

They really need to end this feud. Neither man is benefiting, and even though Young got a slightly better reaction from the WWE fans this week, it still doesn’t make this rivalry any more interesting. The involvement of Backlund is baffling, and I think they can still salvage Young and O’Neill if they move both men on to something better.

This did nothing to help either man. Another awful segment, with Braun Strowman not showing many improvements in the ring, and Sin Cara not being nearly as weak as he should have looked to portray Strowman as a monster. Another baffling bit of booking from the creative team.

#7 Sasha Banks’ Bad News:

Main Point: I was really expecting the worst here. The way that Banks was presented made it seem like her injuries were worse than first thought.

This was another confusing segment, with booking not helping anyone. Why was Bank’s promo made to seem like she was emotional about some ‘bad news’? It turned out, when Dana Brooke interrupted her, that Sasha was fine and would challenge Charlotte at Clash of Champions. This made no sense, as the main focus of the promo was on how far the women’s division had come and how far Banks had come as an individual.

I was convinced that Sasha was going to say that she was going to be out for longer than expected. But, no, she is perfectly fine and is taking Bayley’s rumoured spot in the Women’s title match at Clash of Champions? This promo was a confusing one, and Banks’ return to the title chase could have been presented much more effectively than this.

#8 Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn, Roman Reigns Confrontation:

Main Point: Seth Rollins came out and saved Reigns after Raw went off the air. I think he is officially a babyface now. Also, Reigns vs Owens announced for next week’s Raw. If Reigns wins, the Clash of Champions Universal Title Match becomes Rollins vs Owens vs Reigns in a triple threat.

This was a splendid match that renewed the bitter rivalry of Zayn vs Owens for one night only (hopefully). A well-told story of the underdog in Zayn not getting the recognition he deserves, while Owens the cocky champion, being showered with celebration earlier in the night. A match between these two competitors will never be anything less than stellar, and the finish where Zayn’s ankle injury was played up as the way Owens was able to capitalise helped protect Sami from a clean, momentum-stalling loss. But then, WWE had to shoot themselves in the foot.

Now, for you Roman Reigns fans out there, this was a great finish to Raw in which Reigns cemented himself back in the main event picture. For everyone else, however, this was another attempt of WWE shoving Reigns down our throats. Now, I understand that Reigns is deserving of another shot at the title after being screwed like Rollins last week, but would anyone have complained if we saw him resume his rivalry with Rusev? It is a negative as WWE could have further developed the Rollins-Owens rivalry by having Seth come out instead. Hate to say it, but this Raw finished with frustration for many fans (not you Reigns fans, though).