Monday Night RAW in Detroit began in the same fashion as last Friday’s SmackDown, with a stage filled with the roster and un-rostered alike, all with the same purpose of honoring the late Terry Bollea, also known as Hulk Hogan, after his passing was reported on Thursday. Hogan’s (71) untimely death has, understandably, swept the headlines and narratives ahead of this weekend’s SummerSlam. In attendance for tonight’s memorial were, notably, Eric Bischoff and Hogan’s son Nick, among others.
There are many instances of sudden deaths derailing ‘the show’ and audibles being called to better adjust for the moment, and that is the current mode for WWE, as they will likely honor Hogan at SummerSlam in New Jersey. Still, the show must go on, especially when it’s the ‘go-home’ show for a major PLE.
Tonight’s RAW was hosted in the same arena as this weekend’s Claressa Shields fight —a winning effort against Lani Daniels —the Little Caesars Arena, with plenty of storyline in need of narrative ahead of the summer’s “WrestleMania.”
Jey Uso—Not So Wise, Man
Jey Uso kicked off RAW but did not utter a single YEET before Paul Heyman cut him off. This feud has felt stitched together for some time, but the current predicament for the Rollins-less show still speaks volumes about where the company sees the four men involved in this weekend’s tag match.
Jey and his cousin Roman Reigns will take on what’s left of the nameless Rollins faction (can you believe they never received a name?) in Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed (The Brons Bros is literally better than nothing). Heyman reminded Jey that he had been in this position before, but he was with the best crew in the locker room at the time, whereas now he finds himself facing off against them.
Heyman also harped on Reigns’ decision to make Solo the de facto successor to the role of chief. None of it seemed to rattle Jey as he harped on the ‘blood line’ that still runs through him. No showing from OTC prevented this from reaching the heights it needed, and Heyman is almost too good on the mic, making the young guys around him seem less meaningful and gimmicky by comparison.
Jey Uso vs. Bronson Reed
Oddly enough, both men are technically former members/allies of The Bloodline (different iterations, but still), yet they have never been on the same side of anything during Reed’s short and destructive time on the roster.
The match was all set up for a Breakker interference and subsequent Roman save. After dispatching of Breakker, Roman attempted to get Reed on his back but failed, having to switch courses by throwing Reed into the turnbuckle to dispose of him—look for the big climax in this weekend’s match where Roman gets the “Big Boy” on his back to a massive pop.
Roman and Jey stood tall at the end of the night, but they pushed it too far by going to the outside to soften up their SummerSlam opponents. That is when Breakker cut Roman in half with a spear, while Reed just stopped Jey in his tracks. Corey Graves claimed that ‘this must be the plan,’ though it is difficult to see the logic in that. More likely, the sheer power and energy of this new force was able to overcome the ‘broken and beaten’ version of Roman (who was never as good until he was with Heyman, who is now with the opps).
Breakker continued the onslaught until Reed dropped a Tsunami on Roman, and that is when Breakker began screaming at Roman that this is his ring, his cameraman, his show. Roman has been seen beaten to close a show before, but never has the image been conceivable of both Jey and Roman being speared through the time-keeper’s barrier together at the same time, and yet, that is precisely how the show closed.
This was the promotional go-home angle this feud needed, and there is a ton of momentum on the side of “Heyman’s Bronny Boys” (we will call them that until WWE gives us a name).
CM Punk Needs The HW Title; Does The HW Title Need CM Punk?
Punk and Gunther battled it out, promo style, to put the finishing touches on their program for the heavyweight title match scheduled to main event on Night 1 of SummerSlam. It was very good, but it is doubtful that the casual fan was able to keep up with some of the ‘inside baseball’ that went into this feud.
Still, Punk was able to elicit a face’s response to the idea of his ‘chase for the gold.’ He said he did not “want to be” the heavyweight champion, but rather, he “needed” to be the heavyweight champion. Aside from one toneless comment on ‘understanding addiction’ despite being famously straight-edge, this was almost a perfect “face” promo for a beloved character chasing the title. Punk, who has been noticeably quiet on Hogan’s passing and, is understandable considering he has been critical of him in on-air promos following the Hulkster being booed on RAW’s debut on Netflix earlier this year.
But, in a way, Punk paid the ultimate tribute to Hogan’s legacy (in the ring) with his promo. The ‘Immortal One’s’ name was nowhere to be found in his promo, and there were zero ‘easter eggs’ that could be recalled on Hogan, yet the essence of a face chasing the (typically foreign) heel champion will always connect to an audience that grew up on the Hulkster. It did not go a long way of putting over the champion or the match, but Punk delivered what was needed before the match on Saturday.
AJ Styles, Kyri Sane & Auska vs. Dominik Mysterio, Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez
The overuse of ‘multi-man tag matches’ has been a problematic topic on the ‘message boards’ as of late, and this wouldn’t even be the only one on tonight’s card. What made it unique was that WWE went with a 6-man mixed tag match, a stipulation reserved for special circumstances and celebrity bookings these days. It was terrifically executed and should be an example to the decision makers in the back that the talent can mix it up intra-division (again, under the right circumstances).
It was Dom’s first match since returning from “injury,” so the multi-tag angle was at least rational.
Seeing AJ and Sane team up for a high-flying assault on the Judgment Day dorks, men and women alike, was amazing to see and impressive to watch. It did not do anything by way of hyping the IC title match between Dom(c) and Styles, but it did work to push Perez and Mysterio closer to each other than any segment thus far.
The faces picked up the win, but Dom’s place in the current Morgan-less Judgment Day faction remains delicate and interesting. If Morgan can make a (non-contact) appearance this weekend, then settling Dom’s allegiance would certainly pop a crowd regardless of his choice.
SIDENOTE: Waiting until Liv is healed only to run the “boy is mine” narrative where she plays the “Rhea part” to Perez’s position as the ‘new Liv’ in Dom’s life IS NOT THE MOVE.
More To Gain From Morgan??
Later in the night, Finn Balor gave a pep talk to tonight’s losers, telling them, “Chin up, it ain’t the end of the world.” He reminded them that factions have come and gone, but they have all the titles despite ditching Rhea and Priest. His intentional pairing of Dom and Perez is strategic because Liv Morgan’s presence in TJD has been a more domineering one than he likely expected.
Notably, Dom’s defense against AJ is scheduled for Night 2 while Perez and Raquel defend their titles on Night 1. Aside from Liv’s appearance, this storyline needs a bridge badly.
The Judgement Day(c) vs LWO
Balor and JD defeated LWO with the help of Grande El Americano(s). In a match that was 95% banger and 5% hilarious comedy angle, El Grande Americano came out to interfere with LWO’s title shot but was stopped by Dragon Lee. But moments later, another El Grande Americano came out to interfere—he was like a foot shorter than Ludwig Kaiser (the man who replaced Chad Gable under the mask).
The tag champs defended successfully, but they are without a match on either night of SummerSlam. Yet, it is very likely that they will play a big part on one or both nights this weekend.
Other Tidbits/In-Ring Action
- Waller continues to find himself in this new, Austin Theory-less, era of his career. Still, he does not feel quite ready for a full singles push with a constant pursuit of New Day. The ‘greatest tag team ever’ has floundered a bit since losing their tag titles, but they apparently have not hit rock bottom since they have been reluctant to include Waller. He challenged Sheamus to singles action, and The New Day was nowhere to be found. Rusev, however, did make his presence known after Sheamus defeated Waller. Rusev, who lost to Sheamus for the first time in his career recently, came out to cane the ‘Celtic Warrior’ before slapping the “Cobra Clutch” to close out the segment.
- There were several top athletes in the building tonight, like the UFC’s former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and Detroit Lions’ RB Jahmyr Gibbs (who once reportedly contacted HHH to compete in WWE).
- Lyra and Becky closed out their program ahead of their women’s IC match at SummerSlam. It was like the others in many ways, but what was interesting was a dejected Bayley in a backstage interview a few segments later. She was at a loss, in shock after realizing she missed Mania, only to now miss out on SummerSlam. She is in a prime position for a reboot, and after Naomi’s success, they could really utilize her potential position. The fear, however, is that she will just interfere with this match between Becky and Lyra.
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