The May 20th, 2019 episode of WWE RAW aired live from the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. It was the first episode of RAW following WWE Money in the Bank 2019. In addition to the takeaways below, it was announced that Roman Reigns will face Shane McMahon at WWE Super Show-Down.
Here are 6 takeaways from this week’s show:
Seth Rollins & Kofi Kingston Confronted Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman kicked off this week’s show. Brock Lesnar won last night’s men’s Money in the Bank match, without having ever been announced as a participant.
The crowd booed Lesnar and Heyman out of the building, but Brock had a giant grin on his face the whole time. Heyman stated that Kofi and Seth should be paranoid because Brock Lesnar could cash in whenever he wants.
Universal Champion Seth Rollins interrupted and marched down to the ring. Seth stated that he is out here trying to be a champion that inspires people. Rollins challenged Brock to cash in the briefcase right now.
Heyman told Rollins that Lesnar will cash in whenever he feels like. Heyman then joked that Rollins should know what waiting feels like since he waited around for 7-hours at WrestleMania for his girlfriend to main event WrestleMania. Paul then added that Brock might want to cash in on Kofi Kingston.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston joined the party and came down to the ring. Kofi shouted “wild card!” to no reaction from the crowd and apologized to Rollins for interrupting him. Kofi said that he was out here trying to establish his legacy as WWE Champion and challenged Lesnar to a match.
Heyman pointed out that Rollins and Kingston were both auditioning to have a main event match with Brock Lesnar. Paul noted that is because Brock Lesnar is a box office attraction. Heyman finished the promo that Brock Lesnar will be around tonight and could cash in at any moment.
Braun Strowman Buried Sami Zayn
Braun Strowman was set to face Sami Zayn tonight. Braun chased Sami backstage and started beating him down. Bobby Lashley stared at Strowman and Braun told him that he will deal with him at Super Show-Down.
Strowman carried Sami down the entrance ramp but Zayn was able to escape and shoved Braun into the ring post. The match officially started and Braun hit him with a Clothesline.
Braun followed that up with a shoulder tackle outside the ring and then rolled Sami back inside. Strowman then hit the Running Powerslam for the pinfall victory.
Zayn cut a few great promos, but WWE is already back to treating him like a joke. It is honestly impossible to care about Strowman at this point, so this was pointless.
Cesaro Picked Up An Impressive Victory
Cesaro squared off against Ricochet tonight on RAW. Cesaro came down to the ring with new theme music and dominated the match early. Ricochet battled back and connected with a Moonsault off the ring apron.
Ricochet then flipped onto Cesaro on the outside of the ring as the crowd chanted “this is awesome!”. Cesaro leveled Ricochet with an uppercut and followed it up with a Backbreaker. Cesaro then hit the Neutralizer for the pinfall victory.
I’ve been waiting for Cesaro to get a push since he arrived in WWE. He is an unbelievably talented in-ring performer. I was pumped when he was briefly paired with Heyman, and thought he was finally going to get the singles run he deserved. I’d like to think that WWE has finally decided to start building him up again, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Alexa Bliss Drank Coffee
Alexa Bliss told Nikki Cross that she was disappointed in her for losing the women’s Money in the Bank match. Bliss then welcomed Becky Lynch as her guest on A Moment of Bliss.
Bliss kept getting distracted because Nikki Cross was apparently too close to her. Alexa finally asked Becky how it felt to no longer be Becky 2 Belts. The IIconics interrupted and bragged about still having their Women’s Tag Team Championships.
Becky stated that she defended her titles last night more than The IIconics have since becoming the Women’s Tag Team Champions. Lacey Evans joined the party and claimed that she was the reason Becky lost her SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Lynch noted that Evans tapped out last night and added that she can now slap Lacey around full-time on RAW. Becky wanted a fight and Nikki agreed to be her partner. Lynch then told Alexa to join the team, stand there and look pretty as The Man takes care of the rest.
Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, and Nikki Cross battled The IIconics, and Lacey Evans. Becky Lynch dominated early and tagged in Nikki Cross. Nikki connected with a Crossbody on Royce for a near fall as Alexa Bliss drank her coffee outside the ring. Lynch got back in and connected with a Leg Drop off the second rope on Billie Kay for the pinfall victory.
The only thing I enjoyed about this was Becky Lynch mocking The IIconics and their lackluster run with the titles so far. Billie Kay of The IIconics was also the superstar pinned tonight, which just makes the titles even more irrelevant.
Mick Foley Introduced The 24/7 Title
Mick Foley came down to the ring as the crowd chanted his name. Foley stated that there has been something missing on Monday nights. Foley got into the ring and asked for a drumroll.
Foley then announced the 24/7 Title and pointed out that it will obviously be defended any place and any time. Foley added that the title is open to anyone in WWE, including RAW, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK.
Mick exited the ring and called for the bell. A bunch of Superstars brawled on the entrance ramp and then Anderson and Gallows fought over the titles in the ring. Drake Maverick tried to sneak into the ring but Titus O’Neil sent him flying to the outside. Titus O’Neil grabbed the title and was crowned the first 24/7 Champion. Robert Roode then rolled up Titus from behind to win the title. R-Truth later won the title in the parking lot.
WWE barely gives a damn about half of their titles, so this will likely be a miserable failure. It is an interesting concept and was entertaining for a bit during the Attitude Era. It just seems like this is going to be a watered down version of the Hardcore Title and won’t last too long.
Brock Lesnar Will Announce Who He Wants To Face Next Week
Universal Champion Seth Rollins and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston battled Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley in the main event of this week’s RAW.
Kofi and Seth isolated Lashley in the ring to start off the match. Kingston connected with the Boom Drop and followed it up with a Crossbody for a near fall. Corbin knocked Rollins off the apron and demanded a tag. Corbin and Lashley launched Rollins and Kingston into the barricade as RAW went to a break.
When RAW returned, Corbin and Lashley were still in control. Corbin and Lashley buried Rollins under chairs next to the announce table and then beat down Kofi in the ring. Seth got back in the action and connected with a knee to Corbin’s face.
Rollins set up for The Stomp but Lashley dragged him to the outside. Kingston sent Corbin and Lashley out of the ring and Seth hit them with a Suicide Dive. Kofi followed that up with a Splash off the top and brought Corbin back in the ring. Kingston caught Corbin with the Trouble in Paradise for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Lashley hit Seth and Kofi with a Spear. Brock Lesnar’s music hit and he made his way down the entrance ramp. Lesnar slowly walked around the ring as Kofi and Seth watched along.
Lesnar handed Heyman the briefcase and hopped on the apron. Brock hopped down and laughed as Heyman told him that he was in their heads. Heyman added that they will be back next week on RAW and tell the world who he wants to face.
Lesnar will likely announce next week that he is going to cash in at Super Show-Down and face either Rollins or Kingston. It was quite obvious that he wasn’t going to cash in tonight, so I don’t know how anyone could have been shocked by this. In the end, we were just left with Bobby Lashley and Baron Corbin in the main event of RAW. I couldn’t think of a better way to end another terrible show.
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