2. Dean Ambrose & Randy Orton v. The New Day: This was a good way to start the in-ring action. Orton and Ambrose worked well until they started trying to one-up each other and prove they are better/ the leader of the pair going into Hell In A Cell. Ambrose stopped Big E from getting in Orton’s way but then Orton was shoved into Ambrose, the temporary confusion allowing Kingston to roll-up Orton for the win. I wonder what this means for the team of Orton and Ambrose going into the pay-per-view but, me wondering that is exactly what WWE wants. I guess they accomplished something.
3. Naomi v. Nikki Bella: While she wasn’t in the match Sasha Banks was getting the Chicago crowd’s love as they chanted “We want Sasha!” We can see cracks forming in Team B.A.D as the jealousy over Banks’ popularity begins to show. Nikki picked up the win while Sasha, trying to do her part, took Brie down on the outside. I foresee another team break-up soon but I wonder when we will FINALLY see the break-up of Team Bella.
4. U.S. Championship Open Challenge, John Cena (c) v. Dolph Ziggler: Unlike last week when Ziggler was taken out backstage by The New Day before he could challenge Cena, Ziggler hit the ring to cheers. Probably the best match of the night it was great to see these two return to their chemistry as a great match took place. I, for one, am tired of Cena always pulling out the win over others, especially after Ziggler hit his finisher and many other outstanding moves for the win. If Cena could just be billed as a normal person who doesn’t win ALL THE FREAKING TIME, maybe the crowd wouldn’t be tired of him. Usually I’m a Cena supporter (to a degree) but now, even for me, it’s getting old.
5. The Dudley Boyz v. The Ascension: I’m still glad the Dudley Boyz are back but I’m also not a fan of pointless matches. This was a pointless match. The Dudley Boyz picked up the win but this match did nothing for either team’s current story-line. Like I said, pointless.
6. Cesaro & Neville v. King Barrett & Sheamus: Again, another pointless match that did nothing for any story-line. I’m a fan of all of these men and to see them suffer under bad booking was just appalling to me. If WWE could actually put some effort into planning that’d be nice.
7. Roman Reigns v. Braun Strowman: This wasn’t a terrible match but it wasn’t very good. Strowman is still new to the ring, aside from powering his way through a match. You can’t power your way through a singles match against another powerhouse. They did alright, Reigns getting the count-out victory was a good way to take Strowman down a bit without deflating his “unbeatable” booking. Seeing Reigns slap Wyatt also added to their rivalry going into Hell In A Cell. Finally, some story-line was factored in again!
8. Ryback v. Rusev: Another pretty pointless match. Ryback won, making him look good at least. Incorporating the news that the real-life couple of Rusev & Lana are engaged could have been done better. While it was interesting to see Summer go from “marry me Ru-Ru” to calling him “whipped” was good. Still, this could have gone down at a better time / added something to the dying story-line somewhere. It didn’t but at least, for now, it looks like the story-line is over.
9. Kalisto v. Kevin Owens: Owens has been steam-rolling people lately and Kalisto was the most recent one. Owens looked dominant while Kalisto was jobbed out. The match wasn’t terrible, given the different styles but it could have been better.
10. Becky Lynch & Charlotte v. Brie Bella & Alicia Fox: The Diva’s were taken down a bit as they were given next to know time and the focus was outside the ring on the brewing rivalry between Paige & Natalya. While I’m happy to see Natalya back and getting some attention it shouldn’t detract from the rest of the division.
11. Lumberjack Match, (Demon) Kane v. Seth Rollins: Corporate Kane was told he couldn’t wrestle Seth Rollins by Triple H & Stephanie McMahon. That didn’t stop Demon Kane from (predictably) showing up for the match. Rollins tried to run, the lumberjacks fought among each other and Kane chokeslammed multiple people before delivering the tombstone to Rollins for the win.
All-in-all not my favorite Raw, not by a long shot. A lot of stars suffered from bad booking/ bad creative planning tonight. It wasn’t what I wanted to see going into a pay per view.
