RAW Review: June 27th

Hello! It's now a matter of weeks until everything goes a bit mental in the Wrestling world. By my reckoning we've got three more RAWs until the Brand Split comes into effect. That's obviously going to shake up the whole landscape of WWE, and with potential returns and debuts really give the product some new energy. Then of course less than a week before the split, we've got the Cruiserweight Classic starting on the Network. Basically, I'm not going to be getting much sleep from Mid-July onwards. Talking of not getting much sleep, I was of course up until 4am last night in the hope of seeing a good RAW. If only I had some way to look back through RAW and write my thoughts down where it could be read by other people.

Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, John Cena Opening Segment
This was probably the most interesting opening segment in a while, in the sense that everyone was interested to see how they'd address the Roman Reigns problem. This is one of the times that you have to give credit to WWE, because they just went out there and (without being completely direct about it) told us what had happened with Roman.

I had to laugh at Rollins acting like what he was about to say about Roman was a "shoot" because he "wasn't supposed to talk about it" but they had Roman's apology tweet ready for the big screen. That was probably all we'll get when talking directly about the Reigns stuff for the next month now, but at least they addressed it- because now they don't have to talk about it for the next month.

The other promos were decent, I'm not sure if I really like AJ's clearly oversized jacket though. It just looks a bit goofy to me. The jacket is a good idea, but at least make it a bit more "fitted". The stuff with making the two "qualifying" matches with Cena and Styles was a good angle in the sense that it took the spotlight off of the dynamic between Rollins, Ambrose and the "empty chair at the table" and overall I thought this was a decent segment.

Sasha Banks & Paige v Charlotte & Dana Brooke
This was just a really standard (average) Womens Tag, and that's all that can really be said about it. Dana tapping to Sasha was perhaps the most obvious finish in wrestling history, but that's a good thing. While sometimes a "swerve" is good, most of the time in wrestling if it's "predictable" it's because it makes sense.

Titus O'Neil v Rusev
This is the first time in a while I've all but screamed "YOU STUPID FUCKERS" at my TV as a result of a RAW segment. Feel free to tweet me if I'm wrong, but the angle with these two unless I'm mistaken is Titus wants to kill Rusev because he made fun of his kids and was a general dick to them at Money in the Bank. Correct?

So, in this literal blood feud- when after last week Titus couldn't even wait for the bell to ring to start attacking Rusev what was the finish for this match? Titus and Rusev were brawling on the outside, and Titus decided he would rather win by COUNT-OUT than continue to beat on Rusev. Why? Maybe Titus isn't such a nice dad after all. We all know Titus isn't going to beat Rusev for the title, and he's not even to the level where he can actually pin him. However, why they couldn't have Titus just beat the shit out of Rusev with a chair until he agreed to a PPV rematch is beyond me. Instead, Titus is going to use his COUNT-OUT victory to get a Title rematch.

Stephanie McMahon & Korporate Kane welcome Miz & Maryse back
I'm happy to see Miz back, I will say that. This segment was a fairly standard segment, although we didn't get any "fire" related jokes out of Kane. So maybe the writer who came up with all of them a few weeks ago was off sick this week. As soon as Korporate Kane suggested that Miz should be in a Title match tonight I knew where the angle was going, as you'll see if you go back far enough on my Twitter timeline. I suppose that was good, because judging from some of the reactions to what did actually happen later on- people really had their hopes up.

Seth Rollins v John Cena
This match reminded me of all of the John Cena US Open Challenge matches we were getting around this time last year. It was a really good match, between two really good workers- and nothing more. It was about on par, perhaps a little below their match at Night of Champions last year. The one thing that does have to be said is that I was quite surprised we actually had the AA and it not being the finish of the match. After the spot with Rollins getting his foot on the rope after the AA, when we had Cena get distracted before being hit by the Pedigree I did think Cena was going to kick out. So that did surprise me a bit, but overall it was a good match with quite a predictable finish.

I'd also say Cena looked a bit "off" in the match. There were a few moments where I started to think Cena was actually hurt and wasn't selling because he just seemed to be moving and acting weird. Lets just hope it was just Cena doing a really good job of selling.

Enzo & Big Cass v Jobber #1 & Jobber #2/Social Outcasts return
I had to laugh at us getting an old school jobber squash the likes of which we only see in NXT nowadays when they were in Florida. The match wasn't anything really, but it was never going to be something.

Then we had the return of the Social Outcasts, and they were hard! This feud has the potential to be quite fun, and crucially it keeps Enzo and Cass on TV with something to do heading into the Draft, which was my point with Baron Corbin last week. So basically now I've said this, don't expect to see Enzo & Cass on TV next week.

Special Olympics Segment w/ Big Show
This is the second part of the show after the Titus stuff where I started to get really annoyed. It wasn't the segment, the segment was fine. However, after the Enzo & Cass/Social Outcasts stuff they went to an Ad break. They came back and had this segment which was probably about 3 Minutes in length and then went straight to another Ad break. That pissed me off. We had 8 minutes of Adverts either side of a 3 minute segment that served no purpose to furthering any storylines.

Summer Rae v Becky Lynch
Coming back from the Adverts, we had Summer Rae in the last stages of her Entrance, Becky did her Entrance, went straight over to Natalya- they started brawling for all of 30 seconds and then when that was over it was STRAIGHT BACK TO MORE ADVERTS. By my reckoning we had about 5 Minutes of TV time and 12-13 Minutes of Adverts around this stage of the show. That is an actual joke.

On a more positive note, SUMMER RAE DIDN'T LOSE! NEXT STEP, MAIN-EVENTING WRESTLEMANIA! IT'S SUMMERTIME!

The Highlight Reel w/ Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
I actually loved this segment. It's been so long since we had a proper fiery Babyface promo that wasn't primarily stupid, that the Promo from Sami was just great. As I said, the fiery Babyface promo has almost become a lost art in WWE- so when it's done well it's just amazing. This feud has been built perfectly to the crescendo at Battleground- and I'm just really looking forward to the match and the continued build over the next month.

I said this last week, but now the match has been made it's worth repeating. This match is perfectly positioned by having the blow-off at Battleground. People will have been talking Summerslam, as I was- but this match wouldn't have gotten nearly the same amount of time if they did it at Summerslam. This match will be positioned third behind Cena/Styles and the Shield Triple Threat at Battleground. Especially with the Draft likely separating them, they can have their "last match", we'll have a spot with them in the Rumble every year and then it's "until the next time" with these two.

Kane v The Miz- IC Title
I will say, "Demon" Kane coming out when some people were probably expecting Balor after his tweet last night isn't a coincidence. As I said earlier on in the Review, I called Miz wrestling Kane when we had the Backstage Segment at the time- but it's one of the times where I wish I was wrong.

This match would've been the perfect opportunity to debut an NXT guy. Whether it's Balor, Nakamura, Joe or any of the others likely to be called-up for the Draft. My choice would've been Nakamura, because they need to establish the fact that Nakamura's a big fucking deal to the "casual" fan as soon as he arrives to avoid him being written off as a weird Japanese guy to them. So having him debut in-front of a Florida crowd would've been perfect.

Instead we got a match that nobody cared about, and given the finish most likely a feud that nobody cares about. Which is a shame, because Miz has been putting in some really good work this year when he's been put in with guys who are better than him in the ring.

The little backstage segment with Maryse saying how she was acting was funny though, and Miz talking about how she should win an Emmy and all that stuff. I can only assume Maryse gets best Actress as "Broken" Matt Hardy gets best Actor.

Apollo Crews & Cesaro v Alberto Del Rio & Sheamus
I actually ended up liking this match. It's one of the matches where my interest and general appreciation levels can vary so much depending on the mood that the show's put me in up to the point of the match starting. The Miz match didn't do much for me, but the show didn't really feel like it was dragging too much last night- and as a result I was in a decent enough mood to appreciate this match.

It was a decent tag match on the whole. They're presumably going to run with Del Rio as a Babyface after the reaction he got at Money in the Bank heading into the Draft where Babyfaces at a decent level will be in short supply. The one thing I do wish had happened in this match was instead of Del Rio slapping Sheamus for the tag and then hitting him with an Enzuigiri, just have the Enzuigiri be the Tag. That would've been so much better to me, although granted I'm not sure if it does in fact count as a legal tag.

Dean Ambrose Backstage Promo
This was basically the Backstage Promo you've come to expect from Ambrose. A bit wacky, a bit funny but him always being able to get the point across. I do have to laugh at some people talking about how Stephanie making fun of Ambrose is weird because he's the "cleanest" member of the Shield Triple Threat after Roman's suspension and Rollins' small matter of cheating on his fiancé with a Nazi. SHE'S BEING A HEEL!

New Day & The Wyatts Promo Segment
This segment was the best thing on the show last night, and it wasn't even really close. From the moment they cut to New Day backstage doing the "we're here" thing this segment was just instantly great. New Day have pretty much been treading water for a while now, so the fact they've now gotten something that they can sink their teeth into again is welcome both by me- but also New Day. The Wyatts, and obviously Bray in particularly are always compelling characters when they've got a purpose- so giving Bray an actual purpose for his Promos just instantly makes them better.

I'm not sure where the angle's going with Xavier to be honest. I'm loving the fact that in Xavier and his reactions to The Wyatts we're actually getting a bit of a fear factor reestablished with them. So in that respect, you'd have to assume they'll do something with Xavier to cost New Day the Tag Titles. However, I really don't want New Day to break up- but the only "out" they've got is Xavier teasing turning on Kofi and Big E and then just going "nah" resulting in The Wyatts losing which'd kill the "fear factor" that they're trying to build.

So basically, while I'm loving this feud and the segments involving these two factions- there's not really a perfect outcome for this feud in my eyes.

Also, Xavier doing the Luke Harper "YEAH, YEAH, YEAH" thing on the Entrance was just amazing. It was a bit of a shame we didn't get Strowman doing the clap again though.

Dean Ambrose v AJ Styles
As soon as The Club interfered in Cena's match with Rollins and Rollins won, the finish for this match was obvious to anyone with a brain. The match was really good for what it was, but you could tell from the crowd that they knew nothing big would happen until we had The Club and Cena show up. When they did show up, the finish was decent I thought, and AJ's sell for Dirty Deeds was really good. This was basically just a solid Main Event between two really good wrestlers that ended with a predictable finish. But going back to the point I made in the Review for the first match (it's almost like I plan these sort of things) predictable is good 95% of the time.

Overall I thought this was quite a solid RAW I thought. Basically everything on the show had a point to it, and despite some segments like the Titus one being stupid- the good segments outweighed the stupid ones tonight. You do get the feeling that despite some good segments that the product's a bit in limbo at the moment with the Brand Split, and that's because it is. All we can really hope for is what we got tonight in respect to generally solid segments and feud progression on all major fronts.

Thanks for reading as always, as I've said a few times now- we're just weeks away from the Brand Split now- and with it will come Smackdown Reviews on Wednesday. I'm debating as to whether I want to do a join NXT/CWC Review for Thursday as well, so if you'd be interested or think it'd be too much let me know on Twitter. Thanks again for reading, and would you look at that- I got through the entire RAW Review without mentioning Brexit or England going out to Iceland. TAKE NOTES JBL. TAKE FUCKING NOTES.

RAW Review: June 20th

Hello! We're officially in the era of "The Dude", and as of last night we're officially building up to the Brand Split in about a Months time on Smackdown. In short, there's a lot to be positive about at the moment in WWE. That's a very rare thing, looking through Reddit, Twitter etc. this is probably the most happy I've seen Wrestling Fans since Bryan's win at Wrestlemania 30. Isn't it amazing to see positivity surrounding the WWE? Everyone's finally realised they need to FEEEEEEEEELLLLLL THE POWAAHHHHHH!

Anyway back on to last night, I was actually really interested to see what would happen. On the one hand, there's the Battleground PPV coming up in around about 5 Weeks time. However, before we even get to that- there's the Brand Split 4 weeks today. That means to me that while there's going to be feud progression with the main storylines, beyond that there's going to be a lot of filler and a lot of treading water with the Midcard and the Undercard. Because to be blunt, I doubt WWE have plans for what brand people are going to end up on beyond the "top guys". With all that said, let's talk get right into last nights episode.

Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns Promo Segment
Before this, we had the little bit with Ambrose "forgetting" the WWE Title in his Taxi- and I groaned. I'm not Ambrose's biggest fan, especially when it comes to his in-ring stuff and his move-set. However, where Ambrose shines is when he's on the mic. When Ambrose got the Title I thought he'd be given a bit more leeway, and be able to get away from all of the "I'm so wacky" type things they've saddled him with for a while now and move more into just being a really "intense" character. So that wasn't exactly a good start.

Ambrose's in-ring Promo was decent, without being anything more I thought. The crowd didn't exactly help though, because it was one of the more schizophrenic and just weird crowds I can remember in recent times. Roman's stuff was alright as well, and I did like the fact they had Ambrose put over how he would've cashed in on Roman as well. Rollins came out and was again decent and it all built up to the announcement of the #1 Contenders match between Rollins and Roman. Good stuff.

Also, to the people chanting "You can't wrestle" at Roman- you're stupid. There's a lot wrong with Roman Reigns at the moment, but his wrestling ability is very low down on that list. It's just amazing to me that it's even become a "thing" to chant that at Roman. So yeah, if you chant that you're stupid- you stupid idiot.

Sami Zayn v Kevin Owens
The one thing I was surprised about with this match was the fact we actually got a finish. It's literally impossible for these two to have a bad match with each other, so the finish is really all there is to talk about. I know it was a roll-up, but it was still an actual finish- so it was one step further than I thought they were going to go.

Given the fact WWE are seemingly keen on building up the Battleground PPV as a big deal, it honestly wouldn't surprise me if these two have their blow-off match and it's billed as "last time ever" because they'd have been drafted to different brands earlier in the week. I actually wouldn't mind that as well, because the chances of Owens/Zayn getting a lot of time and in general being pushed as a massive match would be a lot higher for Battleground than Summerslam.

The post-match fighting was a fun little bit, and it was extra funny to me- because aside from them both taking a big bump at the end it was exactly what I wanted these two to do at the Rumble.

People Power returns to RAW
For a one-off comedy segment, I loved this. Laurinaitis is just so perfect for the role they have him play on TV. Without a doubt the highlight of this segment was Shane listing off the "qualities" the new Smackdown GM needed and he says "There's not going to be any Corporate Yes-Men" to which Big Johnny says "I agree". It was just a bit of light relief that I liked and we moved on. Perfect comedy segment.

Enzo & Big Cass v The Vaudevillains
I was actually surprised at just how short and one-sided this match was. I thought they might have done the Enzo spot where he's thrown under the ropes again or something. But instead it was literally just a two minute (if that) squash match. Things are not looking good for the Vaudevillains. Also, they've now named Enzo & Big Cass' finish the "Badaboomshakalaka". Really. What was wrong with the Missile/Rocket Launcher? You can't tell me they suddenly don't want references to "Missiles" on WWE Television because we've had "Missile Dropkicks" for basically forever. That annoyed me.

AJ Styles, Gallows & Anderson "apologise" to John Cena
I loved this segment. It's similar to Batista in a way- although not to the same level, in that when he returned, that you just question why they came in as Babyfaces when you see how great they are as Heels. AJ's Promo was great last night, and considering that's always considering his "weak" point- that's a very good sign for AJ's future. The insincere apologies and AJ just basically coming off as a dick was just so well played off it was great. I know that's shocking, the AJ Styles/John Cena segment was in fact great.

I'm not sure what the dynamic will be when Balor debuts, because he'll be involved with AJ in some way. But I just hope that whatever happens they keep AJ as a Heel when Balor comes up. Because now we're getting Heel AJ, I don't want anything except Heel AJ.

John Cena v Karl Anderson
This wasn't anything, and it wasn't meant to be anything. It did annoy me a tiny bit that this match was basically the same as the Enzo & Cass/Vaudevillains match in just how much of a squash it was. Sometimes when they do these types of finishes they leave a bit of doubt in terms of whether in this case Cena would've won. There was absolutely no doubt, John Cena was about to beat Anderson in like 2 minutes without Anderson even landing a punch.

I was expecting a run-in, I won't lie. I thought we'd get a New Day run-in or something- but I'm actually more interested in the dynamic of Cena & The Club over the next month because of the lack of a run-in than I probably would've been had we gotten a run-in. So basically, I'm just looking forward to how this feud continues to unfold over the next month.

Natalya attacks Becky Lynch Backstage
I've been relatively "down" on Natalya lately, as anyone who's been reading these Reviews will be aware. This "attack" did absolutely nothing to change my mind about her. Becky did a really good Promo about everyone turning on her, and then Natalya hit her from behind- and using her one voice tone she said something to the effect of "I'm doing things for myself now". It was the literal definition of "meh". I understand why people may like Natalya, because she's the best in-ring worker in the whole company. However, she's got the personality and screen presence of a spoon.

Baron Corbin v Zack Ryder
You know what the middle part of this Episode reminded me of for the most part? NXT. You just had a sequence of squash matches with the sole goal being to build the winners up. There was the Enzo & Cass match, Cena's match and this one. It was just another squash match, where I was surprised Ryder got in as much as he did to be honest. Corbin's one of the guys that is relevant to the point I made at the start of this Review. They don't have a fucking clue if he's going to be on RAW or Smackdown in a Months time, so they're booking him accordingly. I'm fine with Corbin squashing guys for the next month, but if they don't have an angle for him Post-Split I will be disappointed.

Wyatt Family Vignette
This was actually a really cool vignette. It was really well put together, and was a montage of sorts of all of the vignettes we've had prior. I thought this was a really good way to hype up their return, if they would've started them a few weeks ago. I may be doing WWE a disservice in assuming this, but I doubt they actually knew when they were going to put Bray back on TV until Sunday Night. So we missed out on a chance to really hype their return up with vignettes and promos, which is a large part of what makes The Wyatts so good.

Charlotte v Paige- Womens Title
As of writing this, the Ratings aren't out yet. With the Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins Main Event, you got the feeling that they were really trying to pop a big rating last night. That's relevant to this match, because this match was the 3rd Hour lead-in which is usually reserved for a "big" feud. While I'm not saying a Womens Title match is irrelevant, it was Charlotte against a Paige who's barely been on TV lately. The match was fine, the one obvious fault was Dana somehow managing to fuck up putting Charlotte's foot either under or on the bottom rope. I don't even know how that's possible to be honest.

I said on Twitter when I saw the match was actually happening, don't be surprised to see Nikki or Sasha after the match. Sasha Banks came out, the crowd popped for it- that's all good stuff. The one thing I do have to say, crowds have been chanting "We Want Sasha" during most of the Womens matches. You've got Sasha now, so actually give a fuck when she wrestles. Because there's not really been much in the way of reactions to Sasha's matches I've felt for most of her run.

Bray Wyatt's "We're Here" Vignette
This was just weird. We had the whole thing with Bray saying "*insert city name*, we're here", there was a big pop from the crowd for it aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand Adverts. It was just such an odd place to show it, to the point where I'm convinced they actually accidentally pressed the button to air it at the wrong time.

The Wyatts & New Day Segment
I loved this segment. It's something completely different for both factions, which is especially good as far as New Day are concerned. I actually said I wanted The Wyatts in the Tag Title picture on Twitter earlier on in the night, although I did say I'd wait until Harper's back. So I'm largely happy with this new dynamic we've got between the two groups. The one really interesting point, or "happening" in the segment was Xavier seemingly being entranced by Bray. I don't know what's going to happen, whether it be Bray "possessing" Xavier or something weird like that- but I'm looking forward to finding out.

Also, in what was without a doubt the highlight of the night. Braun Strowman doing the "New Day clap" to Bray saying "New... Day Falls" was just absolutely amazing.

Rusev & Titus O'Neil Brawl
On the one hand, I'm happy they actually had Titus take issue with Rusev taking the piss out of kids- because that's something most people would want to kill someone for. However, it's Titus O'Neil for fuck sake. I just can't bring myself to care about him- and given the fact Titus had a relatively poor showing from a performance perspective on Sunday I thought it was going to end up being a "one and done" between these two.

Miz & Maryse "Movie Set" Promo
This was funny to me for two reasons. The first being the "stage hand", who may be a proper stage hand for the Film came up to Miz with the plate of food and said "Hey, Mike". The second being the Dog Maryse was holding looking increasingly startled as Miz started going in on the guy because HE WANTED QUAIL DAMMIT!

Shane McMahon & Chris Jericho Backstage Segment
This was one of those segments that we'll be seeing a lot of in the next few weeks, of them basically explaining how the Draft is going to work to the crowd without outright putting up a list of the rules. Jericho continued his run of basically just having a lot of fun in this current run. Good segment.

Seth Rollins v Roman Reigns- #1 Contender Match
I wasn't expecting a decisive finish in this match, but then again I wasn't expecting one in the Owens/Zayn match- which now I think of it may have had a decisive finish for exactly that reason. The match was basically the same as the one on Sunday, everything that went on in the ring was solid- but it just still felt a bit flat to me. It's weird considering the dynamic of Roman and Seth, but they just haven't quite clicked from an in-ring perspective to me. It would probably help if they had defined Heel & Babyface roles though. The finish was as expected, Michael Cole fucked up- which is always great and we're getting the long awaited Shield Triple Threat at Battleground.

This brings me onto a point I've seen raised on Reddit especially today. People being a bit annoyed that the Shield Triple Threat is happening at a "B PPV". There are definite "B PPV's" and it's obvious from the booking and calibre of matches. I'm not entirely sure WWE see Battleground as one. Last year we had Brock Lesnar in the Main Event and an Undertaker return at Battleground.

We may not get a decisive finish at Battleground to set-up a rematch of the Triple Threat at Summerslam, or if we do get one it's because there's something that'll likely be bigger for all three guys at Summerslam. It seems as though WWE are basically just trying to deliver on "Dream Matches" for every PPV at the moment, which I for one won't complain about.

Overall this RAW was decent I thought. There wasn't necessarily an "outstanding" segment on the show, but basically everything on the show had a point to it. Which as I said at the start, given the likely uncertainty for 75% of the Roster and where their future lies is all I can ask for.

Thanks for reading as always, remember that with the Brand Split there'll be Smackdown Reviews on here starting with the Smackdown where they actually do the Split in about a month's time. So hopefully you'll be here for those when they start, and all of the RAW Reviews in the meantime. Thanks again for reading, hopefully you have a good week- and remember PEOPLE POWER!

BONUS SECTION- Roman Reigns Suspended
I would be doing a whole other Post for this, but realistically there's not actually much to talk about. Obviously it's newsworthy in the sense that it's Roman Reigns being suspended for a Wellness Violation, but the WWE have actually done a really good job of limiting the damage of the suspension.

It's all hypothetical, but in my opinion- WWE knew about the Wellness Violation before Sunday's PPV. I'm not necessarily saying they took the Title off of him entirely because of that, but it will have obviously played a part. Then we get to last night and them doing the angle for the Triple Threat at Battleground, which Roman's not going even going to miss thanks to the fact Battleground's 5 weeks away. So we get the angle for that, Triple Threat's set-up and they announce Roman's suspension today.

There'll be a lot of talk in the next few days about this without a doubt, but this'll be the only time I properly talk about it. Because to blunt, what I've said is all that really needs to be said. We'll get Rollins and Ambrose carrying the feud for the next month, Roman comes in after the suspension for the PPV- and I just hope to god that they don't put the Title on Roman once he's served his suspension. So yeah, thanks for reading again. Nobody can ever say Wrestling's boring eh?

Money in the Bank Review

Hello! Well, last night ended up being a bit mental didn't it? Since I was talking about it in my Predictions, I'll start off by saying that no this wasn't in fact the "best Money in the Bank ever". There's two better ones just off the top of my head, the one where Punk won the Title and of course the obvious one that happened in Appleton. With that said, I actually felt satisfied by a PPV for the first time in quite a few months once last night went off the air. Anyway, there's a lot to talk about- because we had 10 bloody matches last night- so I'm just going to start.

Pre-Show: Golden Truth v Fabreeze
Some people will be burying this match, and I completely understand why. However, I'm actually not going to bury this match. Yes, the gimmick of the match was completely stupid without a doubt- but at least they had something. Comparing this to the other Pre-Show match, this one actually had a bit of build, and an actual story that was being told in the match. My thing is, especially with the upcoming Brand Split- they need to start giving the Undercard some actual angles because the Undercard is going to become a key part of the show once they've done the split. So while it was a completely ridiculous match, at least it was a completely ridiculous match that had a story behind it.

Pre-Show: The Lucha Dragons v The Dudleys
I only saw about half of this match. The reason being my WWE Network decided it just didn't want to function properly. What I did see was a pretty standard RAW match, which I get the feeling was what the actual match was. The Lucha Dragons won, and I'm not at all interested in seeing if these two teams continue to feud.

New Day v The Vaudevillains v The Club v Enzo & Big Cass- Tag Title Match
I actually had quite high hopes for this match. So, when what actually happened in this match happened- I thought it was just going to be "one of those nights". Which would've been ironic given they were billing this as the "best Money in the Bank ever".

I'm not even just talking about the obvious botch with the finish where Big E had Karl Anderson up for the Big Ending for about 30 seconds while Gallows just stood there looking at him. Those WWE game glitches are actually real! I'm assuming Big Cass missed his cue on that spot by the way, so hopefully he doesn't get any heat off the back of it. There was actually quite a few spots throughout the match, where if you were really watching you could see people looking lost, people out of position etc. Basically, in-terms of expectations vs the reality of the match we got- this was a complete let down. Also, that whole 3-Count with Enzo thing wasn't a 3-Count and I've got no idea why people thought it was a 3-Count. That was one of the times that there wasn't actually a botch.

There's still some decent stuff coming off the back of it though. Given the albeit botched finish, I'm assuming it'll be New Day and The Club for Battleground- which I'm all for and in the Pre-Match stuff we had New Day in complete burial mode for the first time in a while and them calling out Omega & the Young Bucks. That wasn't even the best bit though, they name-dropped The Elite- and they actually managed to make Cole say it. Cole may watch New Japan and know about it, but I'm hoping for the sake of the joke that he doesn't. That ended up being the highlight of the entire segment.

Also, Big E- STOP DOING THAT FUCKING DIVE SPOT. YOU WILL DIE.

Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho & Alberto Del Rio Backstage Promo
Jericho's great, Owens is great, Del Rio is... not great, but he's still decent.

Baron Corbin v Dolph Ziggler
Looking at profightdb, Corbin and Ziggler have now wrestled each other 7 times. One of them is a Dark Match, and two of them ended up being a DQ or a Count-Out. So basically this was the 4th time these two have wrestled to a proper conclusion. Which actually surprises me, because it felt like it's the 100th. I'm just bored of this pairing, and that's not necessarily a criticism of either guy. The match, despite the "boring" chants was solid. It went too long, and I think they probably gave these two more time than they were perhaps expecting to rib Ziggler- because he probably just wanted to be backstage watching the Basketball for the whole night.

Charlotte & Dana Brooke v Becky Lynch & Natalya
The match was just "meh". I think it was at this point I was having a discussion with someone on Twitter about the card, and basically how it was structured. They knew there was a section of people who were going to be watching the Basketball and/or Game of Thrones. So they basically booked around it. They got all of the "meh" matches out of the way while the 1st Half was on, put Cena/AJ on while it was Half-Time and then did the Main Event after it had finished.

Natalya's turn is the obvious talking point from the segment. I'm just really not interested in it. We've seen Nattie as a Heel before, we know what we're going to get- it's not suddenly going to make her watchable. It's good that we've got another angle in the Womens Division as we approach the Brand Split, but that's pretty much the only positive I can see from it. Who wrestles Charlotte next will be quite interesting as well. I'm still not ruling out Nikki.

Apollo Crews v Sheamus
As predicted, Apollo won with a roll-up- in what was a fairly solid match. I would be saying I'm happy Sheamus didn't attack him straight after the roll-up to "get his heat back", but I get the feeling that's what we're going to see tonight on RAW.

AJ Styles v John Cena
I said it in my Predictions, so it's only right I talk about it here. This wasn't a Match of the Year contender. However, I still believe that without a shadow of a doubt these two will have 1 if not 2 contenders before this feud is done. Cena needs to shake off his ring-rust, which was fairly evident last night. I'm not sure how many, if any House Shows he's been working- but that'll likely be where he needs to do it.

Basically, now that Cena's got his first match back out of the way- I'm expecting to see him in 6-Man Tags with New Day against AJ, Gallows and Anderson. However, this was still a really good match. I made the point on Twitter last night about a third of the way in, the story in this match was simply "AJ can out-wrestle Cena". That was it, and it blew my mind that they did it. They even had Michael Cole putting over how great AJ was doing against Cena.

It obviously got a bit more even as the match progressed, and we had the Ref bump and The Club stuff (which was the one thing I didn't want to see for fuck sake) for the finish. I actually thought this was quite a smart angle in hindsight. They wanted us to feel robbed of a proper finish, to make us want to see the Rematch even more. That's not speculation, they basically had JBL being the "voice of the people" in that respect.

So basically, good match- but the rematch(es) should be even better. This could still have a serious case for Match of the Night though.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match
I've learned not to compare any of the "modern" Money in the Bank Ladder matches to some of the "original" ones. Basically, the Wrestlers have either gotten a lot smarter, or they're not being paid enough to do the stupid shit that made the early Money in the Bank's so great. Instead, I'll just compare it to last years- and this match was just infinitely better.

Cesaro looked absolutely amazing last night, and things like the spot where he jumped off the Ladder onto the Middle Rope and did a Springboard Uppercut were just completely ridiculous. Del Rio was weirdly really over last night, so good for him and he definitely reciprocated with his performance. It was by far the best Del Rio's looked since he returned. So I just want to see more of this Del Rio basically, because it's between him and Cesaro for the "MVP" of the whole match. We got the Owens and Zayn spots that will keep the feud going for a little while yet. I don't know how they're going to fuck each other over at Battleground, so I guess we'll have to wait and see. Jericho actually took a bit of a back seat I thought, the only spot I can remember involving Jericho was Cesaro swinging him into a Ladder.

The finish was actually really good, however contrived the build-up to it was- with the ring being clear for Del Rio and instead of him deciding he wanted to win he just went "you know what, I'll set up for a Ladder spot". Owens taunting Sami while he was laid out on the Ladder is where the stuff about them being too distracted by each other to succeed thing comes in. Had Owens not spent those 10-15 seconds taunting Sami, it was implied- at least to me that Owens would've won given the fact he was at the top of the Ladder before Ambrose even started climbing. Then Ambrose won, the right man won Money in the Bank. Which after last year meant this match was already ahead.

Rusev v Titus O'Neil- US Title
I just found this hilarious. They were airing Adverts with Titus all about being the nice dad that he is. It was on Fathers Day, and then they just had Titus tap-out to the Accolade. THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE HIM PASS OUT! HE TAPPED OUT! Then we had Rusev, being the amazing person that he is, go to the outside and taunt Titus' kids who were in the front row. I loved this, HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Seth Rollins v Roman Reigns- WWE Title
This was a good match. It wasn't extraordinary, and the two matches Roman had with AJ were better in my opinion. Roman was working as the Heel for this match, and he plays it off so well. Which makes the fact he's not going to turn any time soon even more frustrating. Added into the fact that Roman was working as the Heel, and Seth just wasn't really over as a Babyface- because he was booked as the fucking Heel for the build meant it was a bit flat to me.

However, despite the match being a bit flat- the finish was just absolutely amazing. Seth countered a Spear into a Pedigree, Roman kicked out, Seth then just got him up for another one, hit it and then pinned him clean in the middle of the ring. Roman Reigns lost clean. Seth Rollins showed that he can beat Roman Reigns clean in the middle of the ring and became the new WWE Champion. Roman Reigns still hasn't beaten Seth Rollins.

Dean Ambrose v Seth Rollins- WWE Title
When I say Rollins became WWE Champion, he was Champion for all of about 2 Minutes. I liked the thing with Ambrose coming up behind Rollins and clocking him with the Briefcase, just to protect Rollins that little bit more- if he wasn't already completely made by having Rollins beat Roman clean. Ambrose hit the Dirty Deeds and won the WWE Title. MICHAEL COLE'S BEING REPLACED BY A FISH TANK TONIGHT! REJOICE!

The thing with PPV's, and shows in general is that when they end strongly people leave satisfied when a show may have been mediocre. The show wasn't mediocre, but the way the show was booked was designed so the big impact matches/segments/moments had the biggest impact possible- so in that respect fair play to the WWE. In also has to be said, that for the first time in a quite a few weeks- I'm genuinely excited for a RAW and to see how it all plays out. Despite the fact that these next few weeks of RAW are likely to be the WWE just treading water for the most part before the Brand Split. I'm also hoping for/expecting a Bray Wyatt return tonight, and it'll be interesting to see where he fits in on the show.

Thanks for reading as always, as I said- I'm genuinely looking forward to RAW for the first time in a while. Whether I'm actually happy with the show, you'll have to wait and see in my RAW Review tomorrow. Thanks again for reading, hopefully you're tagging along on Twitter tonight to see how they treat Ambrose, Roman and Seth- as well as everyone else. Roman Reigns actually lost clean. He lost clean.

Money in the Bank Predictions

Hello! Are you lot ready to watch the best Money in the Bank PPV ever?! Well, all you have to do is get the WWE Network for 9.99, go onto the menu, go to the 2011 PPV's and watch Money in the Bank! In all seriousness, I do wonder why they're outright billing this as the best Money in the Bank in history, especially given their tendencies to fuck pretty much everything up. But, I'll happily eat my words if this does in fact turn out to be the best Money in the Bank ever- because I'll be ridiculously happy as a result of having watched it. This show does have some serious potential as well, especially with the two main events of Styles/Cena and Reigns/Rollins. So, basically while I think it's incredibly unlikely- it's not a complete impossibility that this does in fact become the "best Money in the Bank ever".

This PPV has had one of the weirdest builds in recent memory, because the card was shaping up pretty nicely I thought- and it had a good balance to it. Then, completely out of nowhere we've gone from 7 Matches on the card to 10- with to put into context this years Mania had 12 and it was a 6 Hour show that went over time. So god knows how much time the majority of the matches on the card tonight are actually going to get. Anyway, there's 10 bloody matches to predict- so I'm just going to start.

Pre-Show: The Dudleys v The Lucha Dragons
I legitimately have absolutely no clue about this match. I don't know if they've done a build of sorts for this on Main Event and/or Superstars- but on RAW and even Smackdown, I legitimately don't think there's been a single segment to build this match. I'm going to predict The Dudleys, but let's be honest- who actually gives a fuck?
Winner: The Dudleys

Pre-Show: Golden Truth v Fabreeze
This match has at least had a build. I'm predicting that Golden Truth will finally get their first win as a team, but I could genuinely see Fabreeze beating them again- because the gimmick for Golden Truth seems to be they just keep losing. I will condition this Golden Truth win on The Dudleys beating the Lucha Dragons. If the Lucha Dragons win, then I'm 99% certain that Fabreeze will win- because I can't see a scenario where the outcomes aren't a Heel/Babyface split on the Pre-Show. I'd actually prefer that to be honest, mainly because I like Fabreeze a helluva lot more than Golden Truth.
Winner: Golden Truth

The Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Moving onto the main card now, and one of the "big ones" in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Let's just get the Fantasy booking out of the way early, if I was in charge and assuming Bray's ready to return this is what I'd do as I said two weeks ago.

"A Babyface is climbing a Ladder and is about to win, Bray's screen effect hits and the lights go out. The Family push whomever the Babyface about to win is off the Ladder with them being under the Ring the whole time. Bray makes his Entrance with the Lantern, gets in the ring, climbs the Ladder, opens the Briefcase, takes the Contract out and lights it on fire. He then walks out with all of the MITB guys strategically being laid out on the outside (after a big dive spot) so Bray walks out, with a pile of prone bodies laid out- with someone's literal chance of being a WWE Champion burning away in his hand."

The Odds have significantly changed since I first checked them, but the fact Dean Ambrose wasn't in fact favourite when I first checked them blew my mind. To me, Ambrose winning the Briefcase is literally the only "right" option this year. People can make arguments for Jericho and Owens, and I'd probably end up supporting some of them under the right set of circumstances. However, with the other two thirds of the Shield currently in the Title picture and likely to be in and around it for a while- Ambrose winning is just the right option.

As I said, the other two guys I'd support winning would be Jericho and Owens. Owens because he's, well Owens- and Jericho because he's just absolutely fucking amazing. However, I can't see Owens winning- and going back to the fact he was favourite with the bookies instead of Ambrose when I first checked it's baffling to me. I've said this so many times now, Zayn and Owens are going to just keep fucking each other out of great opportunities until Summerslam when they have their blow-off match. That leaves us with the Gift of Jericho as the only other contender, drink it in maaaaaaan.

I'm saying all of this, and it'll end up with Del Rio winning like Sheamus last year- but unlike Sheamus, Del Rio doesn't have a film coming out anytime soon. I still maintain to this day that Sheamus was only going to be cashing in and having the Title around this time of year while he's plugging Ninja Turtles before almost every Main-Eventer got hurt at the same time. Anyway, Ambrose or my Fantasy Booking with Bray please.
Winner: Dean Ambrose

Charlotte & Dana Brooke v Natalya & Becky Lynch
Bryan Alvarez has said there'll be a "surprise" in this match. Granted, Alvarez isn't the most reliable of sources sometimes- but it's worth talking about the potential "surprise" because if nothing else it means I can avoid talking about the match. I'm sure when people saw the "surprise", most people immediately jumped to Sasha Banks. That's the one I'm sure most people are expecting, and it's the one I want.

However, with the thing about Daniel Bryan supposedly teaching Nikki a new finisher- and checking her Twitter (after unfollowing them months ago) Nikki's been out of her Neck brace for a few months now I'm going to predict a return of Nikki Bella *shudders*. Because what this new Womens Division needs in its infancy is for Nikki Bella to return as a Babyface and go after Charlotte. To be honest, I think I'd actually take her return if it meant no more Natalya. Say what you want about Nikki, but at least she has some charisma. Anyway, I'm basically predicting Charlotte and Dana to win with shenanigans, beat Nattie and Becky up after and a Nikki run-in.

I'd actually find this hilarious if they ended up booing Nikki's run-in because they wanted Sasha.
Winner: Charlotte & Dana Brooke

Apollo Crews v Sheamus
I'm not so much expecting as hoping to god that Crews wins this match. I'm expecting Crews to win with a roll-up, and then possibly Sheamus attacking him after said roll-up to ensure that nobody gets over from this match. If this was still on the Pre-Show I'd be predicting Crews no problem, but with it being on the main show now it opens up the chances of a Heel win- and given how Crews has been booked since his call-up it genuinely wouldn't surprise me if they had Sheamus win this.
Winner: Apollo Crews

Baron Corbin v Dolph Ziggler
God I'm sick of predicting this match in these Monthly Predictions. Corbin wins, and let's all hope that we finally get the end of this horrendous feud.
Winner: Baron Corbin

Rusev v Titus O'Neil- US Title Match
After what was happening around this time last year, with the Primetime Players beating New Day for the Tag Titles because Titus is a nice dad- the fact this PPV takes place on Fathers Day means you honestly can't rule out a Titus win in this match. As hideous as the fact is, it is a fact. I'm just hoping to every god that it doesn't become a reality though, and Rusev machka's Titus. Bonus points if Titus' kids are in the front row and are watching as Titus gets killed by the Accolade. I could also see a Darren Young run-in if Rusev keeps attacking Titus after the match is over.
Winner: Rusev

New Day v The Club v The Vaudevillains v Enzo & Big Cass- Tag Title Match
I'd be genuinely happy if any of these 4 teams won tonight, yes even the Vaudevillains. With there not being another PPV before they do the RAW & Smackdown Draft, if New Day are going to be split up- they're losing the Tag Titles tonight. So that's one thing to have in the back of your mind when the outcome of this match is known. The only team that I can see taking the Tag Titles off New Day is The Club, and I wouldn't be against that for obvious reasons- but I think the New Day will hold onto the Tag Titles for a little while yet.

However, I can also see a scenario where The Club win the Tag Titles and AJ beats Cena to properly establish them as a dominant force. It's unlikely, but not impossible.
Winner: New Day

AJ Styles v John Cena
Speaking of AJ beating Cena, here we are with this match- which legitimately feels like the Main Event of the show. This match actually feels like a really big deal, and the crowd have reciprocated with the entire build for this match, from the moment AJ's music hit on Cena's first night back.

The vast majority of people are predicting an AJ win, with the usual Cena formula of him losing the first match and going on to win the following two and winning the feud in mind. However, the third match of this feud is at Summerslam, and with me possible reading too much into it- I think AJ is actually going to win this feud.

2015 Summerslam: Cena loses the US Title to Seth Rollins
2014 Summerslam: Cena gets murdered by Brock
2013 Summerslam: Cena loses clean to Daniel Bryan
2012 Summerslam: Punk beats Cena & Big Show
2011 Summerslam: Punk beats Cena to become the Undisputed WWE Champion

In short, Summerslam has turned into the one event that WWE aren't afraid to have Cena lose at. As a result, this is why I think AJ is winning the feud. It's with all of that said combined with this being Cena's first match back, which is why I'm saying Cena winning tonight is a real possibility. If they flipped the usual Cena formula on its head, and had Cena win tonight and have Cena actually being chased rather than do the chasing for Battleground I'd absolutely love it. Especially with the Draft coming up before Battleground, there's a very realistic chance Cena and AJ are the two top guys on Smackdown and this turns into a Title feud.

I do still think it's more likely AJ wins tonight, Cena gets his win back at Battleground and then its up in the air about who wins at Summerslam- but I wish it wasn't. The one thing I don't want in this match is Club interference, I'd honestly rather Cena wins clean than we get Club interference that completely nullifies the point of the segment on Monday. I doubt I'll be happy in that respect after the match, especially if AJ is winning- but in all honesty I'm just really looking forward to this match. This match has the genuine potential to be the Match of the Year, at least in WWE- so I'm just going to let it all unfold.
Winner: AJ Styles (although I want it to be Cena)

Roman Reigns v Seth Rollins- WWE Title Match
I think we all know Roman's winning. The manner in which he wins will tell us a lot about where they're going with both guys heading into Summerslam. My preferred, and most likely option in my opinion is Triple H interfering in this match to either cost Rollins the Title or just destroy both guys because he wants his Title rematch. I'm not sure what the chances of Triple H wrestling at Battleground would be, but considering they had Brock on the card last year (and an Undertaker return) I'd say it's not a complete impossibility. My ideal scenario would be Triple H costing Rollins tonight, Rollins costing Triple H at Battleground (or a Triple Threat at Battleground so Triple H doesn't have to do "too much") and then we get the proper Rollins/Triple H match at Summerslam.

The next option on the list is to have an Ambrose cash-in, Triple Threat, flashbacks to Mania with Seth and Ambrose "steals" the Title from Roman. That could actually work with Summerslam and a potential Rollins/Triple H match in mind, and I definitely wouldn't be against it- it's just not my preferred option. The third option, and in what is by far the most unlikely- they spend the whole match having Roman target Seth's knee, have Roman win clean but they've done a double turn in  the process. I would absolutely love it if this did actually happen, but I think there's more chance of me beating anyone clean, or really just beating anyone.

I've said all of this, and much like the AJ matches Roman will just turn around and beat Seth clean in Vince's continued quest to see if the amount of outrage generated can power Titan Tower for a whole month until the next clean win for Roman. I'm probably putting too much faith in WWE in that respect but I don't think it'll happen.

Much in the way of Triple H headlining the biggest Mania ever, I think Triple H being the one standing tall to end the "best Money in the Bank ever"- especially with the ill-feeling between Punk and Triple H is the most likely option. I've probably put too much thought into it by going down that route- but you never know really. Anyway, Roman retains and Triple H interferes.
Winner: Roman Reigns

As I said at the start, this PPV has some serious potential on the card. There's three matches, possibly four matches in AJ/Cena, Reigns/Rollins, The MITB match & the Tag Title match that could be on a Match of the Year contenders list come December. It's with that in mind I say, tonight could be one of the greatest examples ever of the WWE having all of the talent to succeed but being completely incompetent when it comes to how to book them. As always though, I'm hoping for the best and I'm full of praise for the "best Money in the Bank ever" in my Review tomorrow.

Thanks for reading as always, as just mentioned the Money in the Bank Review will be out tomorrow so hopefully you'll be back here tomorrow for it. Before that, if you're watching the PPV live you can tag along on Twitter with me. Thanks again for reading, I know I've made a lot of jokes about it, but I've got an open mind. Tonight could in fact be the best Money in the Bank PPV ever- and if it is I'll be over the moon, because it's got a really high bar to surpass.

RAW Review: June 13th

Hello! We're officially less than a week away from the WWE billed "Best Money in the Bank ever" now. I do wonder how the whole "Best Money in the Bank ever" thing will work as a tag line. For example, if it isn't the best ever- would I be able to get my money back if I'd bought the actual PPV? These are the questions that need answering. Anyway, with the "Best Money in the Bank ever" fast approaching, last night was the go-home show for it. I've learned never to have any expectations on RAW, and I get the feeling my no expectations of RAW will be lowered into minuses after the Brand Split.

Anyway, there's quite a few things to talk about- so I'll just jump right into it.

New Day, Enzo & Big Cass, The Vaudevillains & The Club Opening Segment
This Opening Segment, after last week was another just weird and wacky one. We had Xavier and Big E burying Kofi's Shoes, in a situation where I've got no idea if it was an "in joke", a joke I'm supposed to know- or they just didn't like his shoes. So if you could tweet me if I've missed something, feel free to tell me. Then Enzo and Cass came out, and they spent probably a good 2-2 and a half minutes basically saying Enzo had sex with Francesca II- building to the line from Xavier "Nobody blows my girl but me". This all happened guys. Then The Vaudevillains carried on their new gimmick of interrupting something that'd be fun, Gallows & Anderson came out and said some things- of which I can't remember and then they cut to an Ad Break.

New Day & Enzo and Cass v The Vaudevillains & The Club- 8-Man Tag
This match had the potential to be really, really fun. What did it in for me, was the fact they started the match during an Ad Break- and then I reckon about 5 Minutes later, there was another fucking Ad Break. It just took me completely out of the match, and it actually makes me slightly wary of the Brand Split and the potential for even more Adverts to fill time after the split. The actual match was still decent though, and there's nothing in the match that you could call "bad". It just ended up being quite "meh".

Make Darren Great Again Vignette
Okay, I hate these vignettes. We all know that D-Young's just going to have an underwhelming 3 week TV run, with possibly a PPV Pre-Show match depending on when he re-debuts before he's off TV again. However, Backlund's "this is my only shirt" line was the first time one of these vignettes has actually made me laugh, or provoked any sort of reaction out of me. So, with that in mind this wasn't a complete waste.

Shane, Stephanie & Korporate Kane Backstage
This segment was funny to me for two reasons, the first being the mental image of The Undertaker writing Kane a letter of recommendation. The second wasn't anything to do with the actual segment, but you just knew the writer for this segment was stood off to the side so proud of himself for writing all of the fire related jokes for Kane. Well done, kid. You did good.

Zack Ryder & Sheamus Backstage
The one thing I'm surprised about in this segment is the fact they didn't bring up the truly epic, 6* WWE Title match these two had a few years ago. This was the twice in a lifetime match we actually wanted to see, and they didn't even build it up with that in mind.

Epico & Primo Vignette
I'm too lazy, and there's too much Football on for me to even attempt this. But, if someone could please workout who has a worse Match to Vignette Ratio out of Epico & Primo and Golden Truth it'd be much appreciated.

Rusev attacks Titus O'Neil
Another question to put out there. With Rusev attacking Titus they're presumably going to do an injury type angle on Sunday. So, if someone can answer when- if ever there's been a scenario where someone has wrestled two different people, on two consecutive PPV's with an injury angle in both that'd be much appreciated.

The Ambrose Asylum w/ Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins
To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Seth Rollins was absolutely fucking amazing in this segment. Ambrose actually ruined the middle part of this segment for me, because Seth had just done an absolutely amazing, intense promo and then Ambrose just cut-in doing his usual "lunatic" stuff and it kind of ruined the atmosphere to me. With that said, everyone played their part- and this was still one of the best segments on the show without a shadow of a doubt.

I'm not sure what to make of Ambrose laying out both guys in the WWE Title match on the go-home show for a PPV though. I know it was a sort of "brawl" type thing where anyone could've ended up on top- but it wasn't anyone, it was Ambrose. Someone who's not even in the fucking match. It was just a really weird decision after everything they've done in the build, having Rollins sell hasn't been one of them- and then they just give it away on the go-home show.

I'd also like to point out, this was the segment that was the 2nd Hour lead-in- and we had 1 Match at this point. Especially with that 1 Match probably having as much time spent during an Ad Break as actually being shown- it's a wonder to me why this RAW felt like it was dragging.

Stephanie & Dean Ambrose Backstage Segment
More Talking! This was just quite a "meh", "standard" setting up a match segment. I would say Stephanie's line about hatred is going to lead to him turning on Roman- but I've been burned too many times on that front.

Paige v Charlotte
We finally had another match! The problem of course being, the match was completely fucking ruined by the charisma vacuum that is Natalya on commentary talking about her fucking Cats. The funny thing about this match, and just the feud in general is the fact that if Sasha had replaced Natalya in the feud after the last PPV it would actually be quite an interesting one to me. But, as it is- I just have zero interest, and most other people reflect that by the fact the Tag Match is on the Pre-Show.

On top of that, regardless of how it happened- Paige now has a Pinfall victory over the Womens Champion. Will she get a Title shot at Battleground? Of course she fucking won't. Especially with the fact we've got a meaningless Tag Match on the fucking Pre-Show with Charlotte, Dana, Becky & Nattie, why they couldn't do a singles match on RAW to build it up is completely beyond me. Looking back over this RAW, the more I realise just how stupid it all was.

Cesaro & Sami Zayn Backstage Promo
I loved Cesaro just being a bit of a dick in this segment. Especially with the Brand Split coming up meaning there'll be a shortage of top heels on both shows, I really wouldn't mind Cesaro turning soon. The segment was fine, and it did a good job of giving even a slight reason as to why the audience should be interested in the Zayn/Cesaro match beyond the fact it's Zayn/Cesaro.

Charlotte & Dana Brooke Backstage Promo
I don't know why they're teasing Dana turning on Charlotte literally 3 weeks after she aligned with her. I can't see them taking away Charlotte's "heater", especially while she still has the Title- so these type of segments are completely pointless to me. They could always do the whole "turn on, but they haven't actually turned" type angle- but considering they did that with AJ and The Club within the last month I really hope they don't.

Sheamus v Zack Ryder
There's a lot of talk from the WWE about Styles/Cena and Rollins/Reigns being "Wrestlemania Main Event worthy". See, those would be a much bigger deal if they didn't give us a match that topped both of them on RAW on the go-home show. In all seriousness though, this was a fairly standard squash match, Crews looked good during his run-in and I just hope to god that Crews wins on Sunday.

After Breaking Ground: Reloaded I'm officially back on the Apollo Crews bandwagon. Funny that, isn't it? On Breaking Ground they showed him as just a really nice guy with genuine emotions and a love for the business- and now I like him and want to see him succeed. I know that's such an "out there" concept to the WWE Writers, but if any of them are reading this- firstly do my Bray Wyatt idea on Sunday please. Second, just make someone genuinely likeable come across like that on TV. It's the easiest thing in the world.

Kane, Shane, Kevin Owens & Alberto Del Rio Backstage Promo
They really got their moneys worth for the Backstage Sets last night. This was quite a funny one I'll give them that, and it's doubly funny if you picture Del Rio travelling and being stopped while just wearing his Wrestling gear. Which isn't really out there considering the fact I don't think we've seen him in anything else since he came back last October.

Sami Zayn v Cesaro
I said it on Twitter before the match happened, and I'll echo what I said here. It was literally impossible for WWE to fuck this match up. The match was shockingly really good, and both Zayn and Cesaro are in fact really good workers. The only real thing of note is the fact Sami did his whole "celebrating after hitting a big move" thing, and he actually did in with the move he performed for once. I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing the move that was the finish for the match. The only question now is whether they could somehow work out how to do it at the top of a Ladder.

AJ Styles & John Cena Contract Signing
In something that'll surprise absolutely nobody, the AJ Styles/John Cena segment was in fact the best on the show... again. The segment was really good again, although that'll surprise absolutely nobody really. My one issue with the segment, is the fact it was all based around what Contract AJ would sign. The one with The Club and the one where he'd "go it alone".

There's always a chance they don't do the usual Cena formula of him losing the 1st match and getting his wins back and winning the feud in the next two PPV's. But, if AJ's winning on Sunday I can't see him doing it without The Club- which'll make the whole point of this segment redundant. They could not go that route because it's Cena's first match back of course, and I think it'd actually be more interesting if they did it that way- because as we all know Cena's Summerslam record where the 3rd match is likely to take place is horrendous. Plus all of the "Cena buried AJ" comments after Sunday would be hilarious to me.

Also, I really want this feud to just keep going and going- almost entirely because I want to see how many ways Cena can think up of dancing around outright saying "Bullet Club".

Kevin Owens & Alberto Del Rio v The Lucha Dragons
If you want to talk about burials, look no further than this match. The Lucha Dragons were fighting against two people who were fighting amongst themselves, hit both of their finishers and still lost. That is what you call a burial. Owens was great, to the surprise of absolutely nobody- and he ended up getting the win. My only real issue with this match, is the fact the stipulation was if Owens & Del Rio lost they'd be replaced in the MITB match by Kalisto and Sin Cara. Nobody actually thought that'd happen, which meant Kalisto and Sin Cara hitting their finishers completely redundant.

Miz "Movie Set" Promo
I still wish we'd have the 24/7 rule in progress for these things.

Kevin Owens, Alberto Del Rio & Stephanie Backstage Promo
It's getting tedious just having to type out "Backstage Promo" at this stage, let alone having to watch all of them.

Shane & Stephanie Backstage Promo
Would you look at that? It's a Backstage Promo.

Dean Ambrose v Chris Jericho
Dean Ambrose (and Jericho) LITERALLY have 5 possible opponents that they can be wrestling between now and Money in the Bank. So the fact they've done Ambrose/Jericho twice in less than a week is beyond stupid. The match was fine, I would've said the same for the Cesaro/Zayn match in that it's a match that WWE couldn't fuck up- but we saw at Extreme Rules that they actually could.

The stuff with Del Rio, Zayn, Owens and Cesaro filling the various ringside jobs was fun at least. Although I bet Del Rio was gutted that he couldn't even wear Triple H's blazer. The Post-Match stuff was fun, and Jericho standing tall to end the show was a decent end to the show I thought.

There was nothing outright "bad" on the show. So in that respect it was quite a solid go-home show. However, it was tedious just writing out how many Backstage Segments there were for this Review- and especially with me being quite tired last night this show did nothing to hold my attention with the exception of a few segments. To be blunt, I was bored. I ended up checking the Copa America score(s) on more than one occasion and checking  the Odds for Bets I was going to put on for the Euros games today.

Thanks for reading as always, with a PPV weekend comes the Predictions and Review on Sunday and Monday so hopefully you'll be back here for those. I've got reasonably high expectations for Money in the Bank, although if my memory of last year is right I was saying the same for last year. In short, don't underestimate WWE's ability to massively fuck something up. Thanks again for reading, hopefully you have a good week- and let's hope for a good PPV on Sunday.

NXT Takeover: The End Review

Hello! Well, wasn't last night a fun one? I had reasonably high expectations for last night, as I'm sure most people did- but even with my expectations I had a feeling that last night would be a bit weird. For the simple fact of its name being "The End". I saw a lot of speculation about what "The End" means, most of it hilarious. The main theory I saw some people working with was it being "The End" of NXT, at least as we currently know it. The reason I loved this theory so much, was the fact they'd already booked the Barclays Centre for Takeover: Brooklyn 2 Electric Boogaloo this August. I think they've even got it booked for next year as well.

So what does "The End" actually mean? Well, firstly it's the end to the Joe/Balor feud. That's what I always saw the name as being, because it's a simple fact. They've been feuding for over half a year now, so I think the end of the feud is a big deal. Now going into more speculative territory, I hope it's the end of Takeover's at Full Sail.

I'm not one of the people who bashes the Full Sail crowd, they're absolutely great for the most part. They can get almost any gimmick over if they attach themselves to it. No Way Jose being the latest example of a gimmick that would completely flop outside of Full Sail. However, and this was my main issue with last night- NXT in its current form has out-grown Full Sail. Especially for Takeover's. I was watching NXT when they were giving Free Tickets away to Full Sail students, and I'm watching it now- and it's clear they've just outgrown Full Sail. I'm not suggesting taking the TV Tapings away from Full Sail, but the Takeover's need to be in bigger arenas. I think those in charge know that as well, given the fact last night was only the second Takeover they've had at Full Sail in basically a year. Especially with the Takeover model of only doing 4 a Year, they can definitely afford to do them in bigger arenas- and I hope that's what they're going to do now.

Now for "The End" that I think a lot of people are anticipating. With the RAW/Smackdown Draft about a month away, the "top tier" of NXT guys I'd say are almost definitely being called up. So that's Balor, Joe, Nakamura, American Alpha, Bayley and quite a few other "TV Ready" guys they've got down in the Performance Centre. The real "last stand" of all these NXT guys will be Takeover: Brooklyn, where I'd expect all of the names I've just mentioned except Balor to appear and work a double shift that weekend. After Takeover: Brooklyn, I'm expecting a new wave of Performance Centre bred talent to be pushed on NXT TV- combined with the star power of people like seemingly Roode, likely Austin Aries and a few more. Added onto that with a new wave of Indy guys coming in, with Tommy End signed and people like Moose, Roderick Strong, Adam Cole- and then some of the Cruiserweight Series guys like Zack Sabre Jr probably being at the top of the "list".

Right then, last night may have been "The End" of many things- but this is only the start of the Review so let's get into it.

Andrade "Cien" Almas v Tye Dillinger
In order of people most over on the show, it went Shinsuke Nakamura, American Alpha, Tye Dillinger. If Dillinger's not called up in the Draft, and I'm in two minds about whether I'd want that or not- he could very well be one of the top guys of the "new" NXT. He's just absolutely great, and the crowd know how great he is. In short, Tye really is a Perfect 10- and I hope he gets the booking to match that fact ASAP.

The match was actually really good. Almas' debut reminded me a lot of Apollo Crews'- and not because they were both against Dillinger. They both looked absolutely great in the ring, but you just know that the character isn't quite there yet. More so in Almas' case, I didn't really like his Entrance Music, the weird Godfather Hat was just bizarre and I've got no idea why he was wearing the tearaway White Trousers. So in short, Almas needs work. That's why he's in Developmental. I don't doubt he'll be a star though, his athletic and in-ring ability combined with WWE's need to have a top Hispanic Babyface means he'll probably be called up before 2017.

The Revival v American Alpha- NXT Tag Titles
It was funny actually, I tweeted about a third of the way into the match that Alpha were looking so good that they must be losing- or something along those lines. What do you know, they did. It's fairly obvious where American Alpha are heading now with the Draft just around the corner, and I'm all for it. Jordan and Gable are absolute mega-stars, without a doubt in my mind. These two looked absolutely fucking amazing last night. The match was all kinds of great. We had everything from the traditional "creative hot tag stop" from Dash and Dawson, to sequences that would give Vader a coronary and so much more.

I'm happy that The Revival won, because they've improved so much in the last 6 or so Months- but crucially they can still improve a lot more. I also think Scott Dawson is one of the more respected guys down in NXT now- so having him around with all of the new guys after the mass call-up will be a big plus. In short, this match was absolutely great- and I can't wait to see where both teams go next.

We then of course had where one, or both teams may be going next debut. The "Authors of Pain" debuted with Paul fucking Ellering managing them. I don't have really high hopes for them as a team yet, but given time and if they put the work in and all that stuff they could be a really cool team. With the size of both guys, they could be perfect for the Main Roster- so it's really just a case of them working their arses off to get better in the ring.

Shinsuke Nakamura v Austin Aries
I said this on Twitter last night, and I'll go into more detail here. I wanted Austin Aries to win last night, without a doubt in my mind. For a number of reasons, of which I shall discuss. Firstly, who needed the win more? Austin Aries has just turned Heel and he's not really been fully accepted by the crowd yet, a win- even if it was a cheap one would've done everything for Aries. He could show up at the Tapings with the most smug look on his face and the crowd would absolutely fucking hate him. In short, the win would've made Aries last night.

Then we get onto what this match meant for the Title picture. It was a #1 Contender Match in all but name given the build. Nakamura is without a doubt in my mind getting called up, Aries on the other hand may not. Nakamura, Joe & Balor are the three top NXT guys who will be thrown straight into big angles when they get called up. Aries may not be called up, and having him as NXT Champion post mass call-up feuding with Itami, Roode, Eric Young etc. would hardly be a bad move.

Lastly, you have to ask if a loss would have hurt Nakamura? Absolutely not. Especially if it was a cheap one, Nakamura would still be just golden. You can't tell me that the crowd would suddenly stop caring about Nakamura because Aries heel'd his way to victory last night. So yeah, outcome wise I was a bit disappointed.

The match was really good. I saw a few people saying how "it wasn't Nakamura/Zayn". I mean, is that even a criticism? Saying it wasn't as good as a match that has a 99% chance of being the Match of the Year in WWE- with at this stage AJ/Cena being the only one I can see getting close is hardly a bad thing.

They structured the match really weirdly, I will admit that. I'm not sure what Aries has done to his Ribs, but I'm assuming the fact he took about 85% of the match had something to do with Aries not being 100%. The one thing I won't hear is people calling this match boring because Aries kept Nakamura on the apron for a large chunk of the match. Aries was being an actual Heel. That's such a foreign concept in modern WWE it's astounding. I think that's why I've grown to like The Miz so much. I thought Aries had killed himself on that dive spot just before the finish, Nakamura got the win and we're presumably getting Nakamura/Joe for the Title in Brooklyn.

Asuka v Nia Jax- NXT Womens Title
This was another match where I thought we could get the "American Alpha" booking, in regard to giving the Title to someone who's likely to still be in Developmental after the Draft in Nia Jax. Although I'll admit there's not an urgent need for new Women, especially if as I've seen rumoured they're going to remain specific to one brand with Tag Teams on the other.

I've also seen some people talking about Nia Jax being called up, which is a mixed bag for me. Last night was by far Nia's best showing so far, but she still has a long way to go to be Main Roster ready. But, at the same time she probably doesn't have that far to go in some eyes- because she could probably spend the first 3 or so Months of her Main Roster squashing people and not even selling. If they went that route and had Nia still working on her performance I wouldn't be that against it I will admit. My thing with Nia is, she does still have a long way to go- but she's really grown into her role as the "big" character and she knows how to play that off well in the ring as we saw last night. So basically, keep her in NXT for now.

As already said, the match was Nia's best so far- and it was a better match than Bayley/Nia in my opinion. Although that's probably not that much of an "out there" statement because Asuka's probably a better worker than Bayley. Asuka and Nia played off each other really well, and the finish with Asuka just kicking Nia's head off was great I thought.

Bobby Roode spotted Backstage
I'm assuming that the Tapings for NXT are tonight, although I don't actually know. In any case, it'll be interesting to see what Roode's role is in said Tapings. He's actually an interesting one, because if he's down in NXT after the big call-up I'd be surprised because of all of the TNA guys they've brought in Roode is probably the most "WWE" ready in my opinion. However, the fact he's only just coming in now would suggest he will be in NXT- when before this segment I thought if he hadn't shown up he would've been a surprise in the Draft.

Samoa Joe v Finn Balor- Steel Cage Match for the NXT Title
Taking away from the fact that the Cage was (understandably) tiny, which was a bit distracting for me- I thought this match was really good. The Cage being small is probably a good thing given the finish of the match actually, but half of the drama of Cage matches nowadays is the "climb and catch" aspect of it- which is sort of taken away when you can probably reach the top of the Cage without even having to really climb.

In that respect, I wish Joe and Balor had just done away with the whole trying to climb out of the Cage stuff- but as far as how the match was structured that was my only real issue. These two have wrestled each other enough times, and are good enough workers to have a good match regardless of circumstance- so adding in all of the stuff surrounding the match basically guaranteed it'd be good- and it didn't disappoint. The Super Musclebuster looked great, and it was a worthy finish to finally beat "The Demon" down in NXT in what is likely to be Balor & The Demon's last match.

We didn't have one absolutely amazing, 6 Star, Match of the Millennium match last night. What we did get was a card top to bottom that was absolutely stacked talent-wise and every match delivered. As I already said at the start, my only real issue with last night was the fact that it just felt too small to me.

The next set of NXT TV Tapings will be interesting- but not nearly as big as the ones will be Post-Brooklyn. I'm intrigued to see what they do with Bobby Roode, but apart from that I think everything else is almost set in stone as far as big angles go. We'll be getting Nakamura/Joe, Asuka/Bayley and Alpha/Revival as the three Title feuds. It would be interesting if they had Aries and Roode cross paths actually given their history. Anyway, that's all to be seen at a later date.

Thanks for reading as always, hopefully you enjoyed this Review and will be here for the RAW Review next Tuesday. If you haven't already, I'd recommend reading my RAW Review from this week as we edge closer to Money in the Bank which is of course next week. That means on top of the usual RAW Review, you'll be getting the Predictions and Review of Money in the Bank next week so hopefully you stay tuned for those. Thanks again for reading, if you're watching the Euros let's hope it's a good one.

What's left to say other than, the end. See what I did there?

RAW Review: June 6th

Hello! That's right, it's another RAW Review. After last week's fairly "meh" Episode, I has reasonably high hopes for this week. We had the fall-out from the Cena/AJ stuff, MITB Match build, Roman and Rollins- and a few more things that had the potential to really deliver. But for now, let's just say my expectation was misplaced. I will preface this Review by saying I was ridiculously tired last night, staying up for Copa America games has not been my brightest idea. So, although I don't think I am, when I talk about a lack of energy/engagement during the second half of the show that may be to blame. Anyway, let's jump into the Review.

Jericho, Ambrose, Cesaro, Zayn, Owens & Del Rio Opening Segment
Without a doubt in my mind RAW went off a cliff, at a point I shall discuss later last night. However, for me this was one of the best Opening Segments we've had in a while. It's probably just my sense of humour, but I just love it when Wrestling's a bit self-aware and just wacky. The stuff that built up to Jericho saying "I'm from Winnipeg, you idiot" to Jericho being even more like a child than usual, all the way up to Teddy Long coming out and purposely "booking" every match other than a Tag Team Match and making fun of when he fucked that announcement up on Smackdown a few years back. In short, this segment without a doubt "wasn't for everyone" but I'm one of the people who appreciated it for what it was and just absolutely loved it.

Also, if anyone from Appleton can confirm Jericho won a MITB there- it'd be much appreciated.

Cesaro v Chris Jericho
The thing that we did get off the back of the Opening Segment was three matches that were basically guaranteed to be good. Say what you want about any of the 6 guys, but all of them can work a really good match. As a result, it's not even worth saying "this was a good match" for any of them- because to me it's a given. Cesaro and Jericho, as Jericho does with basically everyone just seem to "click" for me. The only thing actually noteworthy is the fact Cesaro actually won with a Sharpshooter. It may have been given a boost because it was a Canadian it was being done on. Because Jericho's from Winnipeg, you idiot.

Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns Video Packages
There's no point dividing the Reviews for these two segments, because they were basically the same. Both guys, in a sit-down interview format basically narrating their careers and saying they'll be WWE Champion after Money in the Bank.

The Video Packages were well produced, but my problem with it was just the simple fact that I could see through the reasoning behind it. I said last week that the WWE were doing a good job of booking Rollins as a Heel, by literally having Rollins do nothing that can be cheered. Whatever Rollins says or does to Roman he's going to get cheered. It's the same as the build for Mania, Roman isn't getting the desired reaction from the crowd- so they just write him off for 3 (?) Weeks.

I like Roman, and I don't say nearly as much bad stuff about him as most people I see on Twitter, Reddit etc. but he's becoming a detriment to the show now. If your "guy" is having to be written off, or almost completely kept off a show for fear of the reaction he'll get- surely even the most stupid of people can see there's a problem. Vince McMahon is not stupid, despite what some people may say. I think he's just got this weird mindset of thinking Roman will work out and I've seen it with some Football owners in England, the more people protest- the more stubborn Vince gets and the more he digs in.

Roman is not getting the John Cena reaction. It's almost identical, in-terms of who is reacting and how they react. But the thing with Cena is, especially now- that the "Cena Sucks" stuff has turned into the new Angle "You Suck" stuff. The crowd know Cena doesn't in fact suck, but it's basically become part of Cena's Character and is part of the attraction of John Cena because he's fully embraced them. Roman on the other hand has Commentators explaining how the Post-Mania Crowd is just "wacky" and is basically fighting the crowd.

Rusev v Jack Swagger
This was match was weird, for the simple fact that they actually protected Jack Swagger. Jack Swagger. I don't know if they're adding Swagger into the US Title mix to have Rusev kill two people at Money in the Bank. I wouldn't be against it, but it's just weird to see who's in the hunt for the US Title at the moment. We've got bonafide jobbers in the US Title hunt, while the IC Title isn't even on TV at present-  the Brand Split is just over a Month away. Friendly reminder.

John Cena & AJ Styles Promo Segment
This was great. This was by far and a way the best segment last night. It was by far and a way the best TV segment we've had in many previous nights. I just absolutely loved this segment, and I would assume the general consensus from the unwashed masses is the same. The best bit is, both of them know exactly who they're "appealing" to. I talked about this with Miz a few weeks back, both guys are so comfortable within the skin of their characters- that it just adds an element of believability to everything they do. Then adding into AJ talking about Cena "burying" people and all of that stuff, it's been done before- and it'll be done again but it's still a good line for a cheap smark pop. In short, this segment was just great. If you haven't watched it, watch it. If you have watched it, watch it again.

Also, quick shout-out to Sky for deciding that just as this segment got good was the time to do an Update for my Sky Box. Thanks for that Sky, I'm so happy I pay you way too much when I basically only watch about 5 Channels.

Enzo & Big Cass v The Vaudevillains
Firstly, I've seen some people complaining/making an issue of the whole "concussion" angle. There is literally no difference from it to a million other injury angles. On this show, we had Cesaro with his (STILL!!!) taped up shoulder and in under two weeks we're hopefully going to have Roman try and absolutely destroy Seth's knee. There is no difference. The fact is, Enzo's concussion was a freak accident and the chances of it happening again under identical circumstances are slim. So why not use it? Especially with The Vaudevillains needing their heat back after losing to New Day, this was a perfect way to do it. Vaudevillains looked like despicable Heels and Cass looked like a monster. Job done.

Stephanie McMahon & Teddy Long Backstage Segment
My thing with this segment was, it did exactly what it was meant to do. They had Teddy there, so they might as well have had more fun with it. Stephanie did the Heel thing of passing off someone else's idea as her own. Again, this segment did its intended job.

Alberto Del Rio v Sami Zayn
I'm not putting much into Zayn losing. When I saw these three matches made, and it might be because I've got it on my mind with it being this time of year. I saw these matches as a "Pre-Season Friendly". The results didn't really matter, because what they're building up to is entirely different and it's more to do with feeling people out and their styles etc. I'm putting way too much thought into it with that, but that's how I'm excusing Del Rio beating Sami in this match.

Dean Ambrose v Kevin Owens
This was the weakest of the three Money in the Bank matches, for the simple fact that the energy in the arena had completely evaporated by this point it was almost stupid. That's the one problem I have with this RAW actually. In the 1st Hour (and 5 Minutes) we had literally every big star that was going to make an appearance appear. We had all of the MITB Guys, Cena, Styles & The Club and New Day. They all used up all of their first pops in basically the 1st Hour. That was stupid.

The stuff with the Ladder and Ambrose slowly climbing the Ladder after, combined with the rumour of Bray's return was done on purpose. I'm absolutely convinced of that fact. However, the fact they didn't and Bray's return is imminent gives me a reason to bring up this idea for Bray I had that won't happen, some people would think it's stupid, but I'm doing it anyway. Especially after I saw that WWE are hiring Writers, it's my time to shine.

My idea, and I actually thought of this a few years ago. I'm hoping Bray returns as a Babyface, but you never know.

A Babyface is climbing a Ladder and is about to win, Bray's screen effect hits and the lights go out. The Family push whomever the Babyface about to win is off the Ladder with them being under the Ring the whole time. Bray makes his Entrance with the Lantern, gets in the ring, climbs the Ladder, opens the Briefcase, takes the Contract out and lights it on fire. He then walks out with all of the MITB guys strategically being laid out on the outside (after a big dive spot) so Bray walks out, with a pile of prone bodies laid out- with someone's literal chance of being a WWE Champion burning away in his hand.

I just thought that'd be cool, and especially with the Brand Split and the likely World Heavyweight Championship coming back- combined with a Bray return coinciding with Money in the Bank means if it was going to happen it would be this year. It won't, but I thought I'd bring it up. We get a cool visual, a built-in feud for Bray on return against an Upper-Midcard guy and MITB isn't used as a gimmick this year- to give it some breathing time before we likely go back to two from next year onwards.

Darren Young Vignette
I don't know where these vignettes are going, I don't really care. I did make the point that all Darren needs is two televised matches to have had a better re-debut than Epico & Primo last night. So that's something.

Natalya, Becky Lynch, Dana Brooke & Charlotte Segment
I'm officially sick of Natalya. I like her, and I'm sure she's a lovely person- but she's officially reached grating on-screen character territory in my book. I'm just sick of her, she's been in this feud with Charlotte for basically 3 Months now- and nothing has happened. I thought when they did the attack on Nattie and Becky we'd be getting an injury angle with Nattie to write her off and have Sasha fill her role in this feud- but I don't think we were that lucky.

Sasha needs to win the Title at Summerslam, we've only got Money in the Bank & Battleground before that. Money in the Bank can be a Tag Match, Battleground a Becky/Sasha #1 Contender Match and they either have Sasha win or do a Double DQ for a Triple Threat. Either way, Sasha needs to be in the Title picture for Summerslam. So get Nattie out of the feud ASAP.

R-Truth v Tyler Breeze
Ugh.

The Club v New Day
This match had the potential to be something really good. But on seemingly the theme of this RAW, you'd look at it and go "It's alright". But that's the extent of the praise you can give it.

Xavier looked absolutely amazing Pre-Match, and I'm happy that he's taken on more of a Wrestling role over the last Month or so. The Xavier being taken out stuff was a good way of giving them an "Out" when it comes to The Club winning, and it was a perfectly acceptable, fun 3-on-2 Handicap Match with 5 very capable workers. I just wanted something extra, and I may have looked back on this match more favourably if the Crowd had a pulse for it- but as it is I'm not.

As I said right at the start of this Review, it may be me projecting my own exhaustion onto the product. But, to me this RAW completely went off a cliff at around the halfway point. As I've said above, it had a lot to do with literally every top star appearing in the first Hour. But even then, after the Cena/Styles segment it was like the show just went "well, we're not topping this so we may as well not try". Don't confuse me saying that with saying it was a "bad" RAW. Because it wasn't. It had bad segments, as every RAW does- but on the whole it was pretty average with a couple of really good segments. But, I just want more.

Thanks for reading as always, hopefully you have a good week. We've got Takeover on Wednesday, which will hopefully- actually we know it'll be better than RAW, Money in the Bank, Payback, Battleground and Wrestlemania. So hopefully you're back here on Thursday for the first Takeover Review Post-Mania. Then we're back here again this time next wee for the Go-Home Show to Money in the Bank. Thanks again for reading, and let's all try and book a Holiday to Appleton this year.