The July 22, 2019 episode of WWE RAW aired live from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. In addition to the takeaways below, Bray Wyatt put Mick Foley to sleep with the Mandible Claw during tonight’s show.
Here are 7 takeaways from this week’s episode of RAW:
John Cena Joked About The Usos Getting Arrested
John Cena kicked off the RAW Reunion show to a great reaction from the crowd. Cena pointed out that Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, DX, and Stone Cold will be here tonight. John said WWE is his home and he didn’t want to miss this.
The Usos interrupted and asked Cena to drop some rhymes with them. John pointed out The Usos getting arrested in his rap and Jimmy & Jey laughed. Rikishi joined the party and came down to the ring.
Rikishi told Cena that he cannot let him leave “fast and furious” without busting a move. They were about to dance when the RAW Tag Team Champions interrupted with D-Von Dudley. The Usos then battled The Revival as Cena, Rikishi, and D-Von were ringside. Booker T joined commentary for the match.
D-Von and Rikishi got in each other’s face outside the ring and Scott Dawson got distracted by it. Dawson then turned around into a Superkick and Jey followed it up with a Frog Splash off the top rope for the pinfall victory.
Drew McIntyre Attacked Cedric Alexander
Drew McIntyre was set to face Cedric Alexander tonight on RAW but the match never started. On last week’s show, Cedric defeated McIntyre.
Drew attacked Alexander during his entrance tonight and launched him into the ring apron. Alexander battled back and hit a Moonsault off the second rope. McIntyre launched Alexander into the ring post and hit him with several punches to the face.
Drew slammed Cedric into the barricade and followed it up with an Alabama Slam onto the ring apron. McIntyre then marched up the entrance ramp as the crowd booed.
Samoa Joe Lost Again
Samoa Joe cut a promo to start off the second hour of RAW. Joe ranted about the WWE Universe being addicted to nostalgia and called tonight’s show embarrassing. Joe insulted The Usos and Rikishi and Roman Reigns interrupted. Reigns’ entrance took several minutes for some reason and he finally joined Samoa Joe in the ring.
Roman told Joe not to insult his family and Joe went for a cheap shot. Reigns blocked it and sent Joe to the corner of the ring. Samoa Joe raked Roman’s eyes and knocked him out of the ring. Joe sent Reigns into the barricade before rolling him into the ring.
Reigns battled back with a Superman Punch that knocked Joe to the outside. Reigns challenged Joe to a match and he eventually accepted as RAW went to a commercial break.
Joe controlled the match early and leveled Roman with a shoulder tackle. Joe sent Roman to the outside and hit him with a Suicide Dive. Reigns connected with a Dropkick and brought Joe back into the ring.
Reigns geared up in the corner and went for the Superman Punch but Joe countered into an Atomic Drop. Joe followed that up with a Senton and went for the cover but Reigns kicked out at two. Samoa Joe locked in the Coquina Clutch but Reigns was able to escape. Roman then hit the Spear for the pinfall victory.
It has become impossible to take Samoa Joe seriously. I think he is one of the better wrestlers on WWE’s roster, but they continue to make him look weak on television. I hope that this doesn’t lead to another match between these two at SummerSlam.
Seth Rollins Vowed To Defeat Brock Lesnar At SummerSlam
Seth Rollins joined Miz TV tonight on RAW. Rollins won a Battle Royal last week to become the #1 contender for the Universal Championship. He will face Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam for the title.
Rollins claimed that it will be the biggest match of his life at SummerSlam. Seth called Brock Lesnar a “Seth Rollins wannabe” and Paul Heyman interrupted from backstage. Heyman told Rollins to stop bitching about Lesnar cashing in at Extreme Rules because Seth did the same four years ago at WrestleMania.
Heyman came down to the entrance ramp and Rollins demanded that he come down to the ring. Rollins said that he will give Heyman 5-seconds before he comes up the ramp and hits him with the Stomp. Heyman ran backstage as Rollins smirked in the ring. Seth said that Brock Lesnar is just a man and any man can lose.
There is no buzz around the Universal Championship match at SummerSlam. The crowd was painfully silent during Rollins’ promo tonight. It didn’t help that is happened to be a terrible promo as well. Rollins saying “any man can lose” doesn’t get me hyped for the match. I was already sick of this feud before Rollins won the Battle Royal last week. I’d like to at least see something new and exciting in terms of a storyline. Everyone has already seen Rollins conquer The Beast, I don’t understand how I am supposed to be excited to see it again in three weeks.
DX & The Kliq Saved Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins faced United States Champion AJ Styles to begin the final hour of this week’s RAW. Gallows and Anderson were in AJ’s corner for the match and Jerry Lawler was on commentary.
Styles and Rollins traded chops in the middle of the ring to start the match. Seth rook control but Karl Anderson hopped on the apron to distract him. AJ knocked Seth off the apron and The OC surrounded him.
Degeneration X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) interrupted and came down the entrance ramp. Anderson and Gallows quickly interfered and the match ended in a DQ. Michaels and Triple H got into the ring as The OC threw up the too sweet sign. DX told The OC to suck it and a brawl broke out. Michaels and Triple H knocked The OC out of the ring.
AJ, Anderson, and Gallows grabbed steel chairs and hopped up on the apron. Road Dogg, X-Pac, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash interrupted and made their way down to the ring. The OC retreated as Road Dogg handed Seth Rollins the microphone. Rollins stated “OC, if you are not down with that, we’ve got two words for ya” and the crowd chanted “suck it!”.
Becky Lynch & Natalya Brawled During A Moment Of Bliss
RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch was the guest on A Moment of Bliss tonight. Natalya interrupted before Alexa and Nikki Cross could ask a question. Bliss rolled footage of Natalya and Lynch trading insults last week on RAW.
Alexa said that Natalya let Becky get under her skin. Natalya claimed that Lynch doesn’t show her enough respect. Becky blasted Natalya for trying to train Ronda Rousey to help her win at WrestleMania. Lynch vowed to embarrass Natalya in her home country at SummerSlam. A brawl then broke out and WWE officials quickly broke it up as the crowd chanted “let them fight!”.
Natalya was interviewed backstage and said that Becky Lynch has made this personal. Natalya stated that she was going to teach Becky a lesson at SummerSlam and take the RAW Women’s Championship from her.
I’d rather just see Becky Lynch and Natalya cut a promo together rather than have a pointless Moment of Bliss segment every week. Miz TV also seems like a waste of time at this point. Bliss and Nikki Cross added nothing to this promo.
Stone Cold Closed The Show
Ric Flair and the rest of the legends came to the entrance ramp at the end of the show.
Hulk Hogan joined the party and said that it was great to be here to celebrate the RAW Reunion in his hometown. Hogan thanked the Hulkamaniacs in the crowd before Stone Cold’s music hit.
Austin brought a cooler of Broken Skull IPA in the ring and toasted the crowd before chugging a couple of them. Stone Cold said that everyone on the stage was his family and told the crowd that they were family as well.
Stone Cold added that he spent the day with Hulk Hogan and did a podcast with him. Austin said that he stayed up all night listening to Ric Flair’s stories and then ordered some room service. He added that he went back down to the bar to spend more time with the legends. Austin invited everyone down to the ring to share some beers and thanked the crowd to close the show.
There were some entertaining moments during the RAW Reunion, but overall the show was a bit underwhelming. It was great to see the stars from the past tonight, I just think I would have enjoyed the show more if it wasn’t in the middle of the build for SummerSlam.
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