WWE closed out their Australian loop in Perth for Monday Night RAW following Saturday’s Crown Jewel: Perth PLE. RAW, like Crown Jewel, had an early start time of 7 am ET with the fallout of the show revolving around RAW’s strongest force, The Vision, and their hugely successful night defeating the company’s top two faces: Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, respectively.
SETH ROLLINS ROLLS OUT THE AWARD SHOW ‘THANK YOUs’
Like a Hollywood starlet accepting their Oscar on stage, Seth Rollins took turns personally thanking each member of The Vision as he opened RAW with the WWE heavyweight championship draped over his shoulder while his recently won ‘Crown Jewel Championship’ belt strapped around his waist. And, like that same Hollywood starlet, he eventually had to be ‘played off stage’ as the fans began chanting CM Punk.
Rollins said he ‘chose the men in the ring,’ and they chose him, but only after shouting about how he did not need them in the first place. It felt like he lost the script for a moment as he screamed viscerally at the fans how Roman ‘needed’ The Shield and The Bloodline to succeed while Cody leaned on ‘Monday Night Rollins’ to take down Roman.
It was a layered promo that continues this ‘breaking point’ narrative on ‘The Innovator’ that ‘hit’ for fans online and media alike during the Cody program. That said, and following such a huge win, the ‘casual fan’ tuned in off the heat of Crown Jewel might have been better served by a more plot-driven opening promo.
Instead, they used another ‘before the main event’ segment between Seth and Heyman to sell the idea of ‘something big’ on the horizon. Seth said he could not be sure if it would be several months or over a year from now, but he hinted at something bigger to come before claiming ‘no one can knock him off his mountain top.’
MAIN EVENT: CM PUNK vs. JEY USO VS LA KNIGHT—#1 Contenders for Heavyweight Title
The match was masterfully booked, and the producer of the match deserves a special nod. They kept Punk out of the match early, allowing for Jey and Knight to really shine. However, the entire storyline is based around a CM Punk win, and he did that—specifically pinning Jey Uso.
This match will have a multi-pronged effect, with Punk and Rollins continuing their feud, while Jey’s loss is certain to draw Roman’s attention and place the blame on Jimmy.
Seth’s music hit during the post-match celebration, and The Vision surrounded Punk after Breakker nailed Jey with a spear. The Vision eventually struck Punk and struck hard, with Reed even landing his Tsunami finisher that usually puts you on the IL. It seemed like everything was going to end the way RAW does, especially this year, with The Vision on top.
Then, Breakker turned on Seth and hit him with a spear, to the shock of Heyman. Breakker turned to Reed, asking him to ‘make the call,’ and Reed responded by delivering a Tsunami to Rollins in a SHOCK END to RAW. They forced Heyman to raise their hands as Rollins lay beaten.
DOMINIK MYSTERIO(c) vs. PENTA—Intercontinental Championship
GM Adam Pearce booked the match last week, as Dom has done his best to defend his IC title as little as possible. After being chased down by Rusev for weeks, narrowly escaping with his IC title against the ‘Bulgarian Brute,’ Dom was forced to get even more creative against one-half of the “Lucha Bros.”
Dom was so over in front of this crowd, and if Perth serves as a gauge for WWE in terms of future directions, then Dom is headed towards a massive stardom.
The match was amazing, and it sure was smart of someone in WWE not to put it on Saturday’s PLE card, because it would have taken steam from Cena-Styles and the ‘champ V champ’ storylines—it was that good. Dom did the Penta ‘strut’ and he easily kept up with Penta while the fans ate out of his hands.
The finish was even better when Dom brilliantly placed a decoy foreign object in the middle of the ring in the form of one of his title belts— in plain sight for the ref. The ref saw the belt and, as expected, took his sweet time getting it out of the ring, and during that distraction, Dom hit Penta in the gut with the hammer, which caused him to fall perfectly in place for the 619.
However, Dom took it a step further by placing the timekeeper’s hammer in his boot before delivering the 619 for the 1-2-3 to retain his IC title. It was a brilliant bit of cheating, and if Dom is never going to look like Eddie Guerrero (few should even attempt), then he has to be more clever than Latino Heat, finding creative ways to ‘get the job done.’
Dom is not in the clear with Rusev securing a shot against the winner of tonight’s match— something he made clear to Penta moments before the match.
RHEA RIPLEY vs. KAIRI SANE
Sane found out about her match with Rhea moments before her entrance, as Auska told her she had booked it on her behalf after she brought shame on Auska for losing on Saturday to both Rhea and Iyo Sky. This entire program has been amazing, but Auska is the true powerhouse behind its deep and emotional ties to the fans.
Their segment started with Sane still suffering from Stockholm Syndrome as Auska dished out the verbal abuse, but fans audibly gasped when Auska slapped sweetheart Sane (it did well in garnering the intended emotions from fans).
Rhea’s home-country love contrasted very well with Auska’s heel persona, both working at an elite level. However, the in-ring chemistry between Rhea and Sane is off the charts as the power moves and high spots from each contrast very well.
In the end, Rhea picked up the win, but it seems like the feud will continue because during the post-match, Rhea attempted to get revenge on Auska, but the utterly confused Sane used a kendo stick to bail Auska out of a bad situation.
JIMMY USO vs. BRONSON REED
Before the match, Jey and Jimmy had their weekly beef-sesh, and this time it ended with Jey not saying what he wanted to say— he wants to do things ‘by himself.’ What was different about Jey this week was that he even seemed upset with Roman, calling him selfish and suggesting it might be time to stop sticking their necks out for him.
Jimmy, who sold his injured ribs, took the loss against Reed in this match after being hit with a Tsunami Splash. But when Reed and Breakker began the post-match beatdown, and it was clear that many more Tsunamis were in his immediate future, Jey came down to make the reluctant save. He took several shots for his good deed but eventually cleared the ring and made the save for his brother.
Other Tidbits
- Lyra Valkyrie and Bayley defeated The Judgement Day in tag action. Lyra had to slap the fire into Bayley this week, but maybe she has gained control over the two-headed Bayley monster.
- UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena were in the building ahead of their Australian UFC title defenses later this year.
- It was announced that Dom will defend his IC title next week against Rusev, while The Judgement Day will defend their tag titles against AJ Styles and Dragon Lee.
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