10 Thoughts On… WWE Monday Night Raw 08.17.2015
2) Randy Orton & Cesaro v. Kevin Owens & Sheamus: I expect a lot out of these four and while the match wasn’t horrible it wasn’t great. A few cool moments of Cesaro uppercutting Sheamus who came off the top rope was especially satisfying but, given the talent, I was wasn’t super impressed.
3) Roman Reigns v. Luke Harper: Watching this match was quite enjoyable, especially when you have Dean Ambrose on commentary and two great competitors in the ring this was a high point of the night. Reigns and Harper had a great match and, with Reign’s comeback victory over Harper it was a good win for the faces heading into Summerslam. The bromance between Reigns and Ambrose just makes this matchup more fun and like they’ve said, they’re brothers but would Wyatt do anything for Harper? I have a feeling we’ll find out true loyalties on Sunday.
4) Becky Lynch v. Tamina: Becky’s win over Tamina reinforced her importance on her team for Sunday but Tamina was rough in the ring. Not the best match, especially given the time restriction.
5) Mark Henry v. Rusev: The match itself wasn’t the exciting part. I mean, two powerhouses should be more thrilling but it just wasn’t. With Lana on commentary I know I wasn’t the only one waiting for something to happen and it did. With Dolph Ziggler returning to action and both Ziggler and Lana delivering kicks to their rivals faces it was after the match that was exciting. With the Rusev v. Ziggler match announced for Summerslam I’m ready to see what happens there more than I ever was to see Mark Henry and Rusev lock up.
6) Ryback v. The Miz: Bigshow stayed out of the match but was on commentary while his two opponents, including the returning Ryback, battled in the ring. Letting Miz be steamrolled was a bad corporate choice and having the Big Show not even consider getting into the ring makes him look like a coward.Not great booking, even if it was nice to see Ryback return.
7) John Cena / Seth Rollins Contract Signing: Like most contract signings there was trash talk. Unlike most contract signings the babyface was allowed to walk the heel line with curse words and with bringing up a sore topic, in this case Ric Flair’s record. We all knew a time would come when Flair’s record would be match and broken but Cena has a point. Cena doing it, instead of Triple H, probably does to some extent bother Triple H (the character and the man behind the character.) This new tension added heat for the match on Sunday and probably reminded a few people of what else is on the line.
8) Prime Time Players & Lucha Dragons v. The New Day & Los Matadores: With such a tight time limit it wasn’t fair. This match was disappointing, not due to the talent’s fault but due to bad booking again.
9) Sasha Banks v. Nikki Bella: You’d think the NXT Women’s Champion and the WWE Diva’s Champion would have a better match…while we did see Sasha show some skill the time limit and her win via distraction took away from her credibility. Although, seeing Nikki lose made for an interesting moment, with her loss now, when will she next be pinned? And will it be for the title?
10) Brock Lesnar’s “Homecoming”: Having attended the University of Minnesota Brock received a huge ovation when he came to the ring. Paul Heyman was amazing, as usual. The sudden appearence of the Undertaker was a surprise but not welcome by the local fans who booed his attack on Lesnar. Seeing Lesnar left on his back as the Undertaker walked away made me wonder though; if Undertaker wins at SummerSlam will that be his last match?
About Brittney Soban
