The September 9th, 2019 episode of WWE RAW aired live from Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Stone Cold Hit AJ Styles With The Stunner
Stone Cold Steve Austin moderated the contract signing between Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins to start this week’s RAW. Rollins will defend the Universal Championship against Strowman this Sunday at Clash of Champions. Rollins and Strowman are also the RAW Tag Team Champions and will put the titles on the line against Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler at the PPV.
Austin said that he was happy to back on RAW and told a story about The Undertaker knocking him out once in the Garden. Strowman made his way down to the ring and tried to shake Austin’s hand but he declined. Stone Cold turned away and introduced Universal Champion Seth Rollins. Stone Cold did wind up shaking Strowman’s hand later in the segment.
Seth told Strowman that nobody is stabbing anyone in the back during the tag team title match and claimed that he is the best wrestler on the planet. The crowd booed at that comment and broke out in a “CM Punk!” chant and then transitioned to an “AJ Styles!” chant. Strowman told Rollins that he likes being tag champions but is going to love being Universal Champion. Braun Strowman quoted Austin and said that he was going to open up a can of whoop-ass on Rollins at Clash of Champions.
Styles, Gallows, and Anderson interrupted and did a terrible Stone Cold impression as Austin laughed. Styles wondered if anyone really cared about Steve Austin anymore and the crowd chanted “yes!”. AJ got the “what?” treatment from the crowd and he told them to shut up. Styles told Austin to sit this one out because it has nothing to do with him and has everything to do with Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman.
The crowd started chanting again and Stone Cold pointed out that there are about 18,000 people calling AJ Styles an asshole. Styles hopped up on the apron and told Austin that he has become an asshole in his old age. The OC got into the ring and Styles called Austin an old fart. The audience started chanting “soccer mom!” at Styles as Austin moved the table out of the way.
Rollins and Strowman attacked The OC and beat them down. Rollins went for the Stomp but Styles got out of the way. AJ launched Rollins out of the ring as Austin snuck up behind him. Stone Cold flipped AJ the bird and hit him with the Stunner as the crowd went crazy.
The bickering between AJ Styles and Stone Cold was awesome during this segment. It was so entertaining that one could easily forget that a contract signing for the Universal Championship match between Rollins and Strowman.
The Viking Raiders Saved Cedric Alexander
Cedric Alexander battled AJ Styles immediately after the open segment and started off the match in control. Alexander hit AJ with a Dropkick to the face and went for the cover but the United States Champion was able to kick out at two.
Alexander sent AJ flying out of the ring and then flipped onto him. Back in the ring, AJ battled back and slammed Alexander to the canvas as RAW went to a commercial break. When RAW returned, AJ connected with a kick and focused his attack on Cedric’s injured left shoulder.
Gallows and Anderson rushed the ring and attacked Alexander from behind. The Viking Raiders ran down to the ring for the save and planted Karl Anderson with the Viking Experience.
The OC versus Viking Raiders sounds like a great feud going forward. It would have been nice to have these two teams properly built up and once of them as champions heading into the PPV.
Charlotte Pinned The SmackDown Women’s Champion Heading Into The PPV
RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch teamed up with Charlotte Flair to face SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley and Sasha Banks tonight on RAW.
The match started out with a brawl outside the ring. Becky connected with an Exploder Suplex and then rolled Banks into the ring. Bayley attacked Becky from behind and Charlotte brought a chair into the ring. Banks and Bayley retreated to the outside as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, Becky drove Bayley to the corner and stomped her to the canvas. Lynch bounced Bayley’s face off the turnbuckle and sent her to the outside. Back in the ring, Becky and Flair took turns beating Bayley down as Banks pleaded for a tag on the apron.
Becky booted Banks off the apron but turned around into a Neckbreaker from Bayley. Banks and Flair tagged in. Flair locked in the Figure Four and bridged into the Figure Eight. Becky went for the Dis-Arm-Her but Bayley threw Lynch on top of Charlotte to break the hold. Sasha then connected with a Meteora on Charlotte as RAW went to a break.
Sasha connected with Double Knees and went for the cover but Flair kicked out at two. Lynch hit Charlotte with a couple of chops but Charlotte battled back and tagged Lynch back in. Becky hit a Clothesline off the second rope and then planted Banks with an Exploder Suplex.
Becky went for the Dis-Arm-Her but Banks broke it up with a Backstabber. Lynch hit a double Dropkick off the top rope and followed it up with a Leg Drop to Bayley. Flair tagged in and hit a Moonsault off the top rope but Banks broke up the cover. Becky locked in the Dis-Arm-Her on the outside but Bayley broke it up. Bayley hit Lynch with a Bayley to Belly and then delivered a German Suplex to Flair outside the ring.
Back in the ring, Bayley climbed to the top rope and went for an Elbow Drop but Flair got her knees up. Charlotte planted Bayley with Natural Selection for the pinfall victory. Bayley will defend the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Flair this Sunday night. Lynch will defend the RAW Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks at the PPV as well.
Baron Corbin Advanced To The Finals Of The King Of The Ring Tournament
Samoa Joe, Baron Corbin, and Ricochet battled in the semifinals of the King of the Ring Tournament. Ricochet dominated early as RAW went to a commercial break. When RAW returned, Samoa Joe slammed Corbin to the mat and hit him with a Senton.
Joe then planted Ricochet with a Powerslam for a two count. Corbin knocked Joe out of the ring and hit Ricochet with a big boot. Corbin went for a Chokeslam but Ricochet countered into a roll-up for a near fall.
Samoa Joe locked in the Coquina Clutch but Ricochet broke it up. Back in the ring, Ricochet went for the 630 but Joe got out of the way. Ricochet escaped and connected with the Recoil. Ricochet hit the 630 but Corbin dragged him out of the ring and sent him into the barricade. Corbin then pinned Joe to advance to the finals of the tournament.
Cedric Alexander Pinned The United States Champion
The OC, Dolph Ziggler, and Bobby Roode faced Rollins, Strowman, Alexander, and the Viking Raiders tonight in a 10-man tag team match. The Viking Raiders took turns beating down Dolph Ziggler to start things off. A brawl then broke out and Strowman planted Dolph with a Chokeslam as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, Cedric Alexander was trapped in the corner as Robert Roode applied a Chin Lock. Rollins and Anderson tagged in and Seth hit him with the Slingblade. Seth followed it up with the Falcon Arrow and went for the cover but Roode broke it up.
Another brawl broke out and Styles hit Ivar with a Phenomenal Forearm. Rollins Superkicked AJ as Strowman leveled Gallows with a shoulder tackle outside the ring. Strowman planted Anderson with the Running Powerslam and went for the cover but Roode and Ziggler broke it up by shoving Rollins on top of him. Strowman started yelling at Rollins that he had the match won as RAW went to another commercial break.
Back from the break, Rollins was trapped in the ring as Anderson beat him down in the corner. Anderson locked in a Headlock in the middle of the ring but Seth broke free with a Jawbreaker. Anderson responded with a Spinebuster and went for the pin but Rollins kicked out at two.
Roode tagged in and Rollins greeted him with a Blockbuster off the second rope. Dolph tagged in and Seth hit him with a Buckle Bomb. Styles and Strowman tagged in and Braun hit a couple of shoulder tackles. Ivar took everyone out with a Cannonball off the top rope as Alexander tagged in.
Cedric planted AJ with the Lumbar Check for the pinfall victory. Stone Cold came down to the ring and drank some beers with the winning team to close this week’s episode of RAW.
Overall, this week’s episode of RAW was an entertaining show. I thought the tag team match between Becky Lynch, Charlotte, Banks, and Bayley was great and the best part of the night. Rey Mysterio and Gran Metalik also had a good match tonight. I’m assuming that Styles versus Cedric Alexander for the United States Championship will be announced for Clash of Champions soon. While tonight’s show was entertaining, I still think that the build for the PPV has sucked. There are too many matches on the card that I’m not all that invested in. Stone Cold showing up doesn’t solve any of WWE’s issues. It just reminded me of WWE’s inability to build new stars or get the audience to connect on that level to anyone on the current roster.