Our WWE Raw results for tonight include Xavier Woods battling Penta, World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, and the Vision addressing the WWE Universe, Women’s World Champion Naomi addressing her future, Natalya challenging Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental title, the Vision’s Bron Breakker clashing with Jey Uso, and Raquel Rodriguez taking on IYO SKY. Here’s our review and grades for tonight’s show, live from the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
WWE Raw Card:
- Xavier Woods vs. Penta
- Women’s World Champion Naomi to address her future
- The Vision addresses the WWE Universe
- Women’s Intercontinental Title Match: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Natalya
- Bron Breakker vs. Jey Uso
- Raquel Rodriguez vs. IYO SKY
WWE Raw Results:
The Vision has Arrived
World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, Bronson Reed, Bron Breakker, and Paul Heyman are in the ring. Heyman says, humbly, in Philadelphia, he is god. Heyman puts over the rest of the group; Breakker is the future and taught Roman Reigns to fear the Spear. Reed is the owner of the Shoelafala and master of the Shoenami, and the person who put Reigns down to the point that he couldn’t get up. As the crowd boos, Heyman introduces Rollins as the man who pinned Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania twice. Jey Uso interrupts before Rollins can speak. Jey stays in the crowd and lets a few of the kids in the crowd yeet into the mic. Uso says he’s tired of hearing Rollins and Co. talk. Jey says he’s up next.
The crowd is silent as Jey calls Breakker a puppy that he’s going to take out tonight. Rollins hypes Breakker to murder Jey tonight. Breakker tries to go after Jey, but Reed and Rollins hold him back. Heyman asks Jey if he really wants to do this here. Heyman invokes the names of Sandman, New Jack, Rob Van Dam, Sabu, and the late great Tommy Dreamer. The crowd is confused. Heyman quips that he knows Dreamer isn’t dead, but he should be (belly laugh). Breakker asks Heyman if Dreamer is really still alive. Jey cuts Heyman off and says if Heyman wants the match against Breakker to be an Extreme Rules match, Yeet!
Grade: C+
Heyman was entertaining tonight. This writer was happy that Jey cut Rollins off (Rollins promos are more hit than miss), but Jey was all over the place here. Not Jey’s best promo by a long shot. Heyman’s quip about Dreamer was hilarious and saved an otherwise blah segment.
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Backstage, Asuka apologizes to IYO SKY for what happened last week. SKY says it’s ok. Asuka and Sane offer to help SKY tonight. SKY says she has to do this on her own.
Raquel Rodriguez w/Roxanne Perez vs. IYO SKY
Rodriguez tosses SKY all over the ring. SKY flips to avoid Rodriguez and lands a dropkick that sends Rodriguez out of the ring. Before SKY can land a dive, Perez distracts her. Rodriguez floors SKY with a nasty big boot. Rodriguez misses a corkscrew elbow. Top rope dropkick by SKY. SKY tries a bullet train attack, but Rodriguez counters and lands her corkscrew elbow. SKY tries a springboard. Rodriguez catches SKY. SKY rolls through and lands a double stomp. SKY misses her moonsault, but lands on her feet.
Clothesline by Rodriguez. SKY kicks out. Rodriguez charges in and eats a boot from SKY. SKY lands a diving tornado DDT. Rodriguez rolls out. SKY sets up a dive, but instead of diving at Rodriguez, SKY takes out Perez! SKY tries a dive on Rodriguez, Rodriguez rolls through, and lawn darts SKY into the ring post. Rodriguez sends SKY back into the ring. SKY counters Rodriguez’s powerbomb into a rana that sends Rodriguez into the turnbuckle. Bullet train attack by SKY. SKY crushes Rodriguez with the Over the Moonsault for the win.
Winner- IYO SKY
After the match, Perez attacks SKY. Rhea Ripley hits the ring and makes the save.
Grade: B
What a fun match. Ever since Kevin Nash gave Rodriguez a bit of constructive criticism, Rodriguez has been on fire. Granted, she is in there with SKY, so it’s hard to have a bad match. If Rodriguez keeps this up, she is making a case for a run with one of the singles titles. The Ripley run-in seemed a bit tacked on, but Ripley has to be on the show, so this isn’t the worst way to make that happen.
Backstage, Ripley is talking to SKY. Sane and Asuka walk in. Asuka asks SKY why Ripley can help her, but the Kabuki Warriors can’t. Ripley says she got involved because they left SKY high and dry. Asuka reminds Ripley that SKY asked them to stay back. Ripley and Asuka argue. SKY screams in frustration and storms off. Asuka tells Ripley to stay out of their business.
Xavier Woods w/Kofi Kingston and Grayson Waller vs. Penta
Penta is in control early. After a distraction from Kingston, Woods manages to suplex Penta on the ring apron. After the break, Woods works over Penta, mocking him every chance he gets. Penta fires up and lands a flurry. Penta lands a dive. Woods walks into a Penta Driver. Kingston puts Woods’ foot on the bottom rope. Penta leaps off Woods’ back and takes out Kingston and Waller with a senton. Mexican Destroyer by Penta. Penta pins Woods.
Winner- Penta
Grade: C+
This was a fine TV match, but it’s hard not to think about both Penta and New Day treading water right now. New Day had so much momentum after they kicked that no good Big E out of the group. So far, they have done a whole lot of nothing since then. Yes, they had a tag title reign, but it was a dud. New Day could be utilized exponentially better. The crowd is still quite into Penta, but homie has just been completing side quests since debuting. Side note: props to Penta for making the destroyer a finish again. There is no way anyone should kick out of a flipping piledriver. Getting dropped on your head should never be a transition move. It’s nonsensical.
World Tag Team Championship Match: The Judgement Day (c) w/Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee and Mr. Igauna w/La Yesca
Lee and McDonagh trade strikes. Bálor tags in and eats a dropkick from Lee. Mr. Igauna tags in and eats a clothesline. Bálor lands a powerslam. Mr. Igauna tries to crawl to the corner, but Bálor stops him. The crowd is hot for Mr. Igauna. Mr. Igauna and Lee clear the ring and land stereo dives. After the break, Lee surprises McDonagh with a Liger Bomb.
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Lee manages to tag in Mr. Igauna, who uses La Yesca as a weapon to take out Bálor and McDonagh. Bálor reverses Destino into a final cut. Mr. Igauna breaks up the pin. Asai moonsault by McDonagh. Bálor catches Lee with a slingblade. Bálor charges in and eats a superkick from Lee. McDonagh distracts the referee while Dominik gets involved. Bálor surprises Lee with the Woo dropkick, followed by the Coup de Gras for the win.
Winners and STILL World Tag Team Champions, The Judgement Day!
After the match, Dominik, Bálor, and McDonagh attack Lee and Mr. Igauna. AAA Mega Champion Vikingo appears and makes the save. Dominik blasts Vikingo in the back of the head with the Mega Championship. Frog Splash by Dominik to Vikingo.
Grade: C+
This match needed more Mr. Igauna. Yes, I’m serious. The crowd was hot for Mr. Igauna, and they didn’t do a good job of capitalizing on that, other than saving him from eating the pin. Who did Dragon Lee piss off? When was the last time he won a match? This would have been a good candidate for a DQ finish, leading to a series of matches between both teams and ultimately culminating in Worlds Collide.
Women’s Intercontinental Title Match: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Natalya
Lynch and Natalya trade submission attempts. Lynch traps Natalya in a triangle. Natalya counters with a powerbomb to break the hold. Natalya is favoring her injured arm. Lynch walks into a series of strikes. Natalya tries to lock in the Sharpshooter. Lynch kicks Natalya away. Discus lariat by Natalya. Lynch rolls out on the apron and stuns Natalya on the top rope. Maxxine Dupri checks on Natalya. Lynch boots Dupri in the face, and baseball slides Tozawa. Lynch grabs Natalya’s injured arm and locks in the Disarmher. Natalya taps out.
Winner and STILL Women’s Intercontinental Champion, Becky Lynch
Grade: C+
The match was ok, but the fact that they used Natalya getting dominated to help push the Nikki Bella/Lynch feud is enough to make this writer turn his desk over. This is not the best use of Natalya, who has done a good job of reinventing herself outside of WWE, but it hasn’t translated to WWE on any level. Nikki Bella stood tall here, because, of course, she did.
Proceed with Caution!
Raw GM Adam Pearce is in the ring. Pearce introduces the Women’s World Champion, Naomi. Naomi walks to the ring, holding up the championship. Pearce gives the champ the floor. The crowd chants for Naomi as she tries to collect herself. Naomi says this is hard to say, so she asks the crowd to take a look at the ‘tron. On the ‘tron, a clip from Stephanie McMahon‘s podcast. Jimmy Uso announces that there is a baby on board. Naomi and Jimmy are having their first child. The crowd cheers. Pearce congratulates Naomi and tells her that he is happy for her. Naomi’s expression changes.
Baby Uso on Board
Naomi sarcastically quips that she bets Pearce is happy for her. This isn’t the first time she has had to relinquish a championship. Naomi proclaims that this time, she isn’t relinquishing sh*t. That’s an exact quote. Naomi screams that her hormones are jumping all over the place, and she advises Pearce to get the hell out of her ring. The crowd and Naomi sing the “Goodbye” song as Pearce walks away. Naomi exclaims that the women’s locker room has one person to thank for this, and that’s Big Jim. Naomi was going to dog walk every woman in the back, but Big Jim likes to Netflix and chill.
On the bright side, the Bloodline continues, baby! The crowd chants, “baby Uso,” as Naomi lays her championship down in the middle of the ring. Naomi says she is going to leave her title here. The crowd cheers as Naomi notes that she is going to give the heffers in the back nine months and some change to do whatever they want with her championship. Even if she has to come breastfeeding with her baby in her arms, she will. Whomever has her championship, Naomi advises them to proceed with caution.
Grade: A+
Congratulations to Naomi and Jimmy Uso. Naomi went out like only she could. What a promo.
Extreme Rules Match: Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker w/Paul Heyman
Jey comes to the ring pushing a shopping cart full of weapons, a la the Hardcore Legend New Jack. Breakker and Jey circle each other. Breakker beats down Jey in the corner. Jey sends Breakker over the top. Breakker lands on the shopping cart. Jey lands a dive. Breakker is favoring his knee. After the break, Breakker is working over Jey. There are chairs, kendo sticks, and trash cans all over the ring. Breakker sets up a chair in the corner. Jey reverses Breakker’s whip and sends Breakker into the chair. Breakker gets floored after a series of punches from Jey. Jey calls for a hip attack. Breakker almost decapitates Jey with a Steinerline. The bridge of Jey’s nose is bleeding. Breakker drops Jey gut first on two chairs.
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Breakker dives off the apron and hits Jey with a trash can. After the break, Breakker sends Jey flying with a Breakkinstiener. Jey kicks at two. Breakker pulls down his straps and sets up a super Spear. Jey counters with a Spear of his own! Breakker kicks out! Jey unloads on Breakker with a chair. Breakker stumbles into another Spear! Uso Splash by Jey! Bronson Reed hops the barricade and pulls the referee out of the ring, removing his shoe in the process (lol). Reed flattens Jey and hits a DVD. LA Knight hits the ring and attacks Reed. Rollins hops the barricade and clobbers Knight from behind. Rollins launches Knight into the barricade and drops Jey with a Pedigree. As Rollins tries to get the referee back into the ring, CM Punk’s music hits.
Punk runs down to the ring. Rollins rolls back in. Knight and Punk pummel Rollins. Punk picks up Rollins for a GTS. Rollins escapes and pushes Punk into Knight, knocking him off the apron through a table. Breakker sets up a table in the ring. Jey superkicks Breakker onto the table. Reed knocks Jey off the top to the floor. Breakker rolls out and sets up a Super Spear. Before Breakker can run, Roman Reigns’ music hits. Breakker says Reigns ain’t coming and charges around the ring to Spear Jey. Reigns appears out of nowhere and Spears Breakker outside the ring. Reed eats a Superman Punch. Jey puts Breakker through a table with a Uso Splash for the win.
Winner- Jey Uso
After the match, Reigns tells Reed he will see him at Clash in Paris.
Grade: B-
Breakker and Jey have had entertaining matches over the past year or so. Tonight didn’t buck that trend, but the Extreme Rules stipulation meant that this one was destined to be an overbooked mess. At one point, this writer thought the ghost of Tommy Dreamer would do a run-in. We get it. All of these people are feuding with each other. WWE’s shows don’t all have to end with a big screwey finish. This is getting very old, very quick.
WWE Raw Review:
We are inching closer to Clash in Paris, which isn’t historically a significant event. The build has shown us that WWE hasn’t changed its tactic for booking their foreign PLES; big matches with no definitive resolutions. It’s a placeholder PLE that’s getting a placeholder build. Every week, the show receives the same criticism: overbooked matches with unsatisfactory finishes detract from the solid in-ring action. Couple that with long opening promos and the stars not exactly lighting the mic on fire (slowly turns and looks at Rollins and Jey). For as amazing as the show looks with its new production, it’s falling into the same tropes of the Vince McMahon era. Something needs to give, and it needs to give soon.
Rating: C
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