Home News WWE Monday Night Raw Reaction 7/18/2016

WWE Monday Night Raw Reaction 7/18/2016

Robert Lentini
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WWE Monday Night Raw Reaction 7/18/2016

This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw kicked off with both Stephanie and Shane McMahon in the ring to announce their new general managers. Stephanie announced that Mick Foley is the new GM of Monday Night Raw. Mick Foley compared the new era in the WWE to the Monday Night Wars between WCW and WWE back in the day. Foley stated that he will bring that same competitiveness today in the battle between Raw and Smackdown. Shane McMahon then announced that Daniel Bryan will be the new GM of Smackdown. Bryan came out to a thunderous applause and an arena wide “Yes!” chant. Daniel Bryan said that he overcame all the obstacles as an underdog and that Smackdown will do the same. Stephanie McMahon then poked fun at Shane who was sweating bullets and Shane responded by stating that Stephanie had to marry a WWE Superstar to remain relevant. The segment ended with with Shane and Bryan doing the “Yes!” chant in the ring. During this segment it was also announced that a Cruiserweight division will be added exclusively to Monday Night Raw.

Reaction: It had been rumored that Daniel Bryan would be the new Smackdown GM and I’m very happy that rumor turned out to be true. I thought it was quite surprising that Stephanie McMahon selected Mick Foley as the Raw GM, I figured it would have been somebody the crowd hated. Both Bryan and Foley are entertaining and I don’t see why anyone would be disappointed in either choice for GM.

Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho vs Sami Zayn & Cesaro

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Jericho and Cesaro started off this match. Cesaro had the momentum early on but everything changed when he tagged Sami Zayn in. Zayn was getting beatdown by both Jericho and Owens for a substantial period of time but was able to battle back and tag in Cesaro. Owens and Jericho then fell victim to the Uppercut Train by Cesaro. It came down to Jericho and Zayn in the ring. Jericho rolled up Sami Zayn and thought he had the victory, but Zayn kicked out at 2. Zayn then rolled up Jericho for the pinfall victory. Jericho was completely shocked that he had lost the match and even raised his hand as if he had won.

Reaction: Owens and Zayn did their throwing punches at the same time thing again, but I’m more interested in what happens after Battleground. Zayn and Owens will surely have a great match this Sunday, I just cannot wait to see what the future holds for both of them. The same could be said for Cesaro, who hasn’t been placed in an interesting storyline recently.

Darren Young vs Alberto Del Rio

The Miz and Maryse were on commentary for this match. This was a quick back and forth match with Darren Young getting the roll-up victory after the Miz’s plan to distract him backfired.

John Cena, Enzo and Cass take turns dissing the Club. Enzo Amore had himself one hell of a promo here, it was just punchline after punchline. The Club then comes out and Karl Anderson started talking about his hot Asian wife again. The New Day then joins the fun and starts making fun of the Club as well. Xavier Woods then mentioned that he is a level 21 trainer in Pokemon Go and began to list off all of the Pokemon in the game while the crowd chanted “how you doin’?” after each one. The Wyatts then interrupted and headed towards the ring, cuing a commercial break.

Reaction: I loved this promo. John Cena was essentially playing the old man shouting “get off my lawn!” the entire time because he had no idea what anyone was talking about. I’m also impressed that Xavier Woods is a level 21 trainer in Pokemon Go, I’m only at level 15 and that is with the game freezing every 10 seconds.

12 Man Tag Team Match: John Cena, Enzo Amore, Big Cass & the New Day vs the Club & the Wyatt Family

The match started off with total chaos. Big Cass and Brawn Strowman had a face off and exchanged a couple of massive shots. Big Cass hit Strowman with a couple of huge kicks but Strowman stayed on his feed. Cass was winding up for another big kick, but Kofi tagged himself and launched onto Strowman off the top rope. Strowman awkwardly caught Kofi and slammed him to the mat. There was a commercial break and Raw returned with Cena facing off with Bray Wyatt. Cena went for the Five Knuckle Shuffle but Bray Wyatt popped up Excorsism-style and shocked Cena so much he fell down. Strowman and then Erick Rowan then dominated Cena. AJ Styles then entered the match and continued to dominate Cena. Karl Anderson then got tagged in and continued to beatdown Cena. Luke Gallows was then tagged in and you guessed it, continued to dominate Cena. Gallows went for a Splash on Cena, but finally John was able to roll out of the way and Gallows belly-flopped to the mat. However, after Raw returned from a commercial break, Cena was once again being dominated by Bray Wyatt. Cena then jumped across the ring and tagged Big Cass. All hell broke loose and culminated with Xavier Woods flipping onto the Wyatt Family outside the ring. The Wyatts and the New Day then fought all the way out of the match and to the backstage area. Enzo went to hit Styles, but accidentally hit Cena. Styles then hit the Styles Clash on Enzo for the pinfall victory.

Reaction: This match was wildly entertaining and was a great way to get fans excited for both the Wyatt/New Day and the Club/Enzo, Cena & Cass matches at Battleground in 6 days.

Seth Rollins is shown walking around in the empty Providence arena before Raw. Rollins claimed that his knee caved from the pressure of carrying the WWE and that Roman Reigns rose to become champion. Rollins then once again pointed out that Reigns was suspended and stated that when Reigns returns at Battleground, he wont be the same. Rollins walked down some stairs in the arena and claimed that he used to walk down those stairs with both Ambrose and Reigns. Rollins claimed that every once in a while, he wanted to push them in the back and watch them stumble down the stairs. Finally, Rollins reached the ring and stated that he will once again become champion because he is the man.

Shane McMahon and Mick Foley had an interesting encounter backstage. Shane stated that one of the reasons that Stephanie hired Mick was because she could easily manipulate him. Foley disregarded Shane’s comments and sarcastically thanked Shane for looking out for him.

Baron Corbin vs Sin Cara 

Total squash match. Corbin hit the End of Days for the victory within a couple of minutes. After the match, Corbin continued the assault on Sin Cara. This prompted Kalisto to come out and make the save. Corbin retreated once Kalisto got to the ring. However, as Kalisto was checking on his tag partner Sin Cara, Corbin returned to the ring and laid out Kalisto.

Sasha Banks & Becky Lynch vs Dana Brooke & Charlotte

Charlotte was supposed to start off this match but immediately tagged in Dana Brooke in order to avoid a confrontation with Sasha Banks. Becky Lynch and Banks then dominated Dana Brooke. However, the match ended with Natalya interfering and attacking Becky Lynch. Charlotte and Dana Brooke then beatdown Banks in the middle of the ring. Charlotte hit the Natural Selection on Banks and then celebrated with Dana Brooke in the ring.

Dean Amrose then cut a backstage promo similar to the classic Shield promos from a couple of years ago. Essentially, he just stated that after tonight and Battleground he still will be WWE Champion.

Rusev & Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler & Zack Ryder

Before the match, Michael Cole referred to Zack Ryder as an “upstart” as if he just joined the company. Sheamus dominated the beginning of the match, despite the crowd loudly chanting “You look stupid!” at him. Rusev was screaming for a tag but Sheamus ignored him. Finally, Sheamus tagged in Rusev, whom was promptly greeted with a flurry of offense from Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler’s momentum was short lived and he ultimately tapped out to the Accolade applied by Rusev.

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Daniel Bryan and Mick Foley ran into each other backstage and had an entertaining exchange. Foley pointed out how much the two had in common, the most prominent being that they both overcame the odds. This segment ended with Foley saying “may the best brand win” and Daniel Bryan nodding in agreement.

WWE Championship Match: Dean Ambrose (c) vs Seth Rollins

Shane McMahon, Daniel Bryan, Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley were ringside for this match. Dean Ambrose was destroying Seth Rollins in the beginning of this match. However, after Raw returned from a commercial break it was Rollins that had control of the match. During the match, Bryon Saxton pointed out to JBL that this could be their last broadcast together due to the draft being tomorrow night.

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Seth Rollins Powerbombed Dean Ambrose onto the barricade outside the ring and then rolled Ambrose back into the ring. Rollins followed this up with a massive Frog Splash off of the top rope, but Ambrose was able to kick out at the last second.

Seth Rollins went for another Powerbomb, but this time into the turnbuckle but this time Ambrose countered with a Hurricanrana. Rollins recovered and beatdown Ambrose once again. Rollins then went for another Frog Splash, but this time Ambrose rolled out of the way. Seth Rollins once again recaptured the momentum and Powerbombed Ambrose into the turnbuckle, but Ambrose bounced off the rope and hit Dirty Deeds out of nowhere. Ambrose went for the pinfall, but Rollins got his foot on the bottom rope just before the referees hand hit the mat for the third time. Ambrose went for a Double Axe Handle off the top rope, but Rollins kicked him in the stomach and then hit a Pedigree. Ambrose kicked out at two and followed it up with a Clothesline shortly after. Rollins hit a Superplex on Ambrose off of the top rope which turned into both competitors rolling each other up at the same time. The referee counted to three but it wasn’t clear who won the match. Stephanie McMahon declared Seth Rollins as the winner. The show ended with Rollins celebrating with the WWE Championship, but after the match it was announced that Ambrose was still the WWE Champion. This may have been a way to introduce two title belts heading into the draft.

Reaction: Overall, this was a very good Raw. I thought the 12 man tag team match was the highlight of the show. The ending was pretty confusing, but I’m sure it will all be cleared up tomorrow night on Smackdown.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw? Let us know in the comments below.

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