After a wild SummerSlam saw the crowning of three new champions, WWE Monday Night Raw came to us live from Las Vegas. An action-packed night would feature the official coronation of new WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. But a main event featuring two former brothers would tear the house down and vault itself into the Match of the Year conversation.
With a new logo unveiled, Raw was full of new graphics and music, the show had a fresh new feel. Let’s take a look at what went down on Raw.
The Conquerer is Here to Stay
Triple H and Stephanie make their out to the ring as it is officially time to coronate Brock Lesnar. Triple H calls last night possibly the greatest SummerSlam of all time, and it will go down in history. Looking into the future, Triple H wants show the Universe the symbol of the future, the brand new WWE World Heavyweight title (so we’re officially going with one belt, farewell big gold belt).
Lesnar’s music hits and out come the Champ and his advocate Paul Heyman. Heyman then begins to deliver what is quite possibly his greatest promo ever.
“Ladies and gentleman, my name is Paul Heyman, and I am the one behind the one, who conquered the one, who thought he was the one, to beat the one in 21-1.”
Just an all-time intro there from Heyman. Paul goes on to say that Lesnar didn’t just beat or victimize Cena, but Lesnar conquered the title holder. Heyman let’s it be known that he is the advocate for the brand new, undisputed, WWE Heavyweight Champion of the World, BA-ROOOOCK LES-NAAAAR.
Heyman announces that Cena is not in the building as “Thank You Lesnar!” chants break out in the crowd. Heyman says that he has never seen a superstar take a beating like John Cena did at the hands of his client Brock Lesnar.
“Not just any superstar, the superstar, the top superstar of a generation. The Rock’s run on top lasted three, three and a half years? Stone Cold Steve Austin’s reign on top lasted four, four and a half years?” Heyman said. “There’s been one constant in the WWE, one virtually guaranteed main eventer at every Wrestlemania, one MAN in the WWE the past 10 years, and that man has been John Cena.”
“Give credit where credit is due,” Heyman continued. “I could never understand why so many people love John Cena so much… but now I understand why. When John Cena says never give up, John Cena means never give up.”
“John Cena, you earned my respect and my admiration to the point where if I had time on my hands, I’d love to make you a Paul Heyman guy.”
Very strong words from Heyman praising Cena. Unfortunately, his client Brock Lesnar does not share his opinions. Heyman tells us that in Brock Lesnar’s universe, John Cena walked into the ring a hero and left a martyr.
Heyman really gets going here, naming all of the things that have died at the hands of Brock Lesnar. The Undertaker’s streak. The Undertaker’s career died at the hands of Brock Lesnar. The Cenation died and was conquered by Brock Lesnar. Heyman then gives us a lesson in what he calls “Brock-anomics” which is a very simple concept.
“Eat, sleep, suplex, repeat. Suplex, repeat. Suplex, repeat. Suplex, repeat.” Heyman said. “Eat, sleep, F5, repeat. Eat, sleep, victimize, repeat. Eat, sleep, CONQUER JOHN CENA.”
Powerful stuff here from Heyman really putting Lesnar over. The entire promo was absolutely incredible.
The Authority Wipes Out Dean Ambrose
Backstage we see Renee Young with Seth Rollins who is gloating about his win over Ambrose last night. Rollins says that not only is he the future WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but he is the future of the entire WWE. Suddenly a bucket of ice water is poured on his head, and Rollins turns around to see Ambrose. Dean immediately delivers the funniest moment of the night when he gives Rollins a dead serious look in the eyes and reminds Seth it’s all for charity.
This of course ignites a backstage brawl that is quickly separated. Rollins rushes into Triple H’s office and says that the Authority has to take care of Ambrose once and for all. The COO agrees and says Rollins and Ambrose will fight tonight in a match that will be decided by the WWE Universe. The fans would vote between a No Holds Barred match, a Fall Count Anywhere match, and a No Disqualification match.
It took months to get these guys in the ring one on one, and now we get it two nights in a row?! YES! YES! YES!
The fans voted, and Rollins and Ambrose would be competing in a Falls Count Anywhere match for the night’s main event. This is going to be amazing.
The two explode immediately following the opening bell. Rollins takes the early advantage on Ambrose, trash-talking his former brother and slapping him in the face before Ambrose snaps and delivers a massive double drop-kick that sends Rollins flying out of the ring.
Things quickly move to the outside as Ambrose tosses Mr. Money in the Bank over the railing and into the crowd.
The two continue to battle up to the stage, exchanging blows atop the ramp. Ambrose attempts a suplex onto the steel before Rollins counters into a powerbomb attempt that Ambrose counters into an actual suplex for a near-fall. The lunatic continues to stalk Rollins as Seth keeps trying to escape. The two make it back into the ring and the toys come out as Ambrose brings a chair into the squared circle begins to dismantle Rollins with it. A flying elbow-drop with the chair off of the top turnbuckle follows a bodyslam onto the chair for another near-fall.
Rollins finally gets an offensive in, throwing Ambrose head first into the steel chair that Dean had propped up in the corner, and suddenly Rollins is in control as we head to commercial following a near-fall.
We come back from break and see a replay of Rollins nailing Ambrose with a kendo stick. Rollins in the ring now beating his former brother down with the kendo still, talking trash the entire time. It really is amazing that Rollins ended up the awesome heel and Ambrose of all people ended up being the most likable member of the Shield trio.
Rollins gets a near-fall with a huge kick to the head of Ambrose and immediately heads outside to grab a chair but misses and eats a huge tornado DDT from Ambrose for yet another near-fall. Both men attempt a cross-body and the huge collision knocks them both down before they begin to exchange blows from their knees. These young guys really know how to put on a show and tell a great story in the ring, it’s incredible to watch.
Now its Ambrose’s turn to go to work with the kendo stick. Ambrose really is awesome in the ring, using weapons in some very unconventional ways. Ambrose heads outside and toses at least six or seven chairs into the ring after…
!!! DEAN AMBROSE CRAZY EYES ALERT !!!
With all of the chairs piled in the center of the ring, Ambrose looks for a top-rope suplex on Rollins who counters and delivers an UNBELIEVABLE seated powerbomb onto the pile of chairs AND SOMEHOW AMBROSE KICKS OUT!
Somehow, these two are topping their match from SummerSlam.
Corporate Kane makes his way ringside and now things are looking really bad for Ambrose. Rollins tells Kane that he’s got it and goes outside to grab a table, much to the delight of the crowd. Rollins sets up the table but Ambrose is able to counter, heading up top and SENDING ROLLINS THROUGH THE TABLE WITH A TOP ROPE SUPLEX! THIS IS INCREDIBLE!
Kane tries to interfere but Ambrose takes them bot out before hitting a suicide dive through the ropes on Rollins and Kane. Rollins tries to counter but Ambrose hits a HUGE CLOTHESLINE and follows it up with Dirty Deeds before Kane interferes and again prevents Ambrose from winning. Now Kane is beating Ambrose but Dean counters and suddenly the Lunatic has the advantage.
Ambrose again focuses his attention on Rollins as the crowd chants “THIS IS AWESOME!” which just might be the understatement of the year at this point. Ambrose sets Rollins up on the announce table looking for Dirty Deeds but Kane grabs him and chokeslams Ambrose onto the announce table. And Rollins hits Ambrose with a Curb Stomp onto the table before Kane unveils cinderblocks ringside. This is about to get ugly.
Kane lays Ambrose’s head on top of the cinder blocks and Rollins delivers an absolutely vicious Curb Stomp that sends Ambrose’s head crashing through the cement blocks stacked on top of each other.
EMT’s rush out to stretcher Ambrose out as Rollins and Kane smirk at what they’ve done.
This was the Match of the Year folks, there is no doubt about it. Seriously, I need Rollins and Ambrose fighting on every single WWE telecast for the next year or so. Thanks.
A Family Divided
Daniel Bryan’s music hits to kick off Raw and naturally, the crowd goes absolutely insane. Camera cues to the ramp and out comes… Stephanie McMahon. Steph is doing the “YES!” chant and wearing a shirt that says “Steph Steph Steph” mocking Bryan’s signature “Yes! Yes! Yes!” shirt.
McMahon recaps what went down at SummerSlam and says that the biggest loser of the night was her opponent Brie Bella. Steph says that Brie learned first-hand that you do not mess with the Authority because the Authority always wins. And of course if you want to relive her incredible victory you can check it out on the WWE Network for just $9.99!
Steph welcomes out Nikki to explain why she turned on her twin sister. Nikki makes her way out and explains that from the minute the duo set foot in WWE it was supposed to be the Bellas against the world, but Brie is too selfish and manipulative. Nikki says she has plenty of examples of how Brie has mistreated her, but now she stands on her own, and she won’t say she lost a sister because she never had one to begin with.
This of course brings out Brie (after an awkward silence where Nikki and Steph just stood waiting for Brie), who makes her way down to the ring and tries to reason with her sister for an answer. Brie says Nikki destroyed her family, but she forgives her, which apparently was the wrong thing to say because it causes Nikki to snap. Nikki slaps Brie across the face and tells her she will never forgive her as Brie leaves the ring crying.
Get used to this feud people, it’s not going anywhere.
Ziggler Survives.. Barely
Backstage we see Ric Flair congratulating Dolph Ziggler on his huge win last night and tells him that he is on a roll. Miz interrupts them both and says that not only is Ziggler unworthy of holding the Intercontinental title, but the A-lister is going to take it back from him tonight. This leads to Ziggler telling Miz he’s not an A-lister, just an A-hole. Flair “WOO’s” approvingly and we are told the two will have a SummerSlam rematch.
A bad sign for the #PUSHZIGGLER! movement, Dolph makes his way out first and the challenger comes out second. Doubts are starting to creep into my mind, oh God they’re going to take the belt off Dolph after one night aren’t they?
The match starts and the Champ is in control early before Miz gets a cheap shot in the corner. Both men exchange side-headlocks, things begin to pick up before Dolph lands awkwardly on his knee and Miz immediately takes advantage of the tweaked left knee. (Oh man this is really happening, they are going to embarrass Ziggler again.)
We come back and Ziggler is basically fighting on one leg and he gets a near fall on the Miz with a DDT that hurt Ziggler’s knee more than it hurt the Miz. The crowd chants Ziggler as the Champ tries to make a push but Miz locks in the Figure Four and Ziggler fights for his life trying not to tap as pressure is put on his injured knee. Ziggler fights and claws and drags himself to the ropes to finally break the hold.
Ziggler rolls out of the ring and can barely stand as he tries to fight Miz despite the handicap. Suddenly Dolph is on the attack before the competitors hit heads and Ziggler goes flying off the ring. The ref hits a 10-count on Ziggler and the Miz is your winner, but still Intercontinental Champion… DOLPH ZIGGLER!
This causes Miz to snap as he goes outside of the ring and begins to unload on Ziggler. Miz rolls Ziggler back into the ring but Ziggler surprises him with a Zig Zag and the Champ gets the last laugh.
The dream lives on for another week. #PUSHZIGGLER!
Other Highlights:
Rollins-Ambrose-Reigns SummerSlam Documentary
WWE ran a promo during Raw for a mini-documentary following Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose in the lead-up to SummerSlam that will air on the WWE Network. This looks like it is going to be awesome.
Stardust & Goldust Out-Crazy the Uso’s
Stardust and Goldust finally made their way onto WWE television in match with the Tag Team Champion Usos. The match was short and pretty uninteresting as Stardust gets the roll-up win before the Uso’s had a chance to hit any of their high-flying spots. I guess this Stardust/Goldust thing is happening so there’s that. Let’s just move on.
World’s Biggest Tag Match
The first match of the night featured four giants as Harper & Rowan took on Big Show and Mark Henry. The bout was as physical as you’d expect with both teams taking turns pounding on each other before Big Show delivered two knock out punches to Harper and then Rowan, who at a World’s Strongest Slam from Mark Henry for the 1-2-3. Looks like Show and Henry are WWE’s newest unbeatable tag team.
Bray Wyatt and Chris Jericho Continue to Feud
The feud between Jericho and Wyatt seems to be heading for a round three as both man cut promos on their rival. Jericho said that he has never faced an opponent like Wyatt, and that his upside-down Spider Walk is the most terrifying thing he’s ever seen in a WWE ring, but he knows that Wyatt is dead inside so he’s okay with losing at SummerSlam. Wyatt says that Jericho will never be able to comprehend what Wyatt is, and that he is the new face of salvation. Time for a rubber match.
Reigns Bests Orton.. Again
Roman Reigns and Randy Orton faced off again as part of a six-man tag match. It was surprising to see the two as nothing more than filler on Raw, but Reigns’ team of Sheamus and RVD bested the Orton/Rybaxel trio. Afterwards Orton bumped into Flair and threatened to show Ric why they call him the Legend Killer if he didn’t stop trying to give him advice. Evil Orton is the best Orton.
Mark Henry Enters the Cold War
Lana and Rusev to gloat about their win at SummerSlam against Jack Swagger before being interrupted by American Olympian Mark Henry. Henry says he’s never had a problem with anyone’s beliefs, country or flag, except the “two jackasses” in front of him. Henry says seeing the Russian flag raised in his country made him sick to his stomach. Henry promises Rusev a personal guided tour into the Hall of Pain. The two giants stare each other down before a Rusev sucker punch ignites a brawl that ends in a massive World’s Strongest Slam to Rusev as Lana looks on shocked. Huge “USA!” chants break out as Henry delivers a big splash to Rusev. This is a feud I can get behind.
AJ Gets Some Revenge on Paige
Another feud that looks like it is going to continue is the battle between AJ and new Divas Champ Paige. The Champ took to the ring to face Natalya, before a skipping AJ began to circle the ring and distract Paige. Natalya hit the quick roll-up for the surprising win, and AJ got the satisfaction of one-upping her new rival. Here’s hoping their next match gets more than five minutes on the pay-per-view card.
Jack Swagger Loses Again
Jack Swagger hit the ring with the disappointment of losing his Flag match to Rusev and losing his manager Zeb Colter to injury at SummerSlam. Unfortunately for Swagger, he would again come up short, losing to Cesaro in a match between former partners. Cesaro picked up his first win in what feels like months. We were then treated to an inspiring speech from Bo Dallas himself.
This is your weekly reminder to BO-LIEVE!
With four weeks remaining until Night of Champions, WWE has plenty of time to build up more storylines as we head into the company’s next pay-per-view. As always, remember to Bo-lieve and #PUSHZIGGLER!
