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RAW Recap: End of the S-A-W-F-T Era, Braun Strowman returns

Published

6 years ago

June 20, 2017

The Big Takeaway

The culprit behind the sneak attacks was revealed as Big Cass played a hoax on his buddy Enzo Amore and turned heel after cutting the best promo of his career. Samoa Joe put Roman Reigns to sleep with a little distraction that was caused by the returning Brawn Strowman. Strowman laid Reigns out after the match and challenged “The Big Dog” to an Ambulance Match at Great Balls of Fire. Brock Lesnar returns next week on Raw.

WWE Monday Night Raw Results

Roman Reigns Big SummerSlam Announcement

Reigns came out and said Bray Wyatt, Finn Balor, Dean Ambrose or Strowman who he took out of action couldn’t beat Reigns in a one-on-one match. Reigns talked about retiring the Undertaker at WrestleMania. Reigns said it doesn’t matter who wins between Lesnar or Joe as he will challenge the winner to a Universal Championship match at SummerSlam because he makes the rules. Joe came out and said his name wasn’t mentioned because Reigns never beat him. Joe and Reigns went back-and-forth over Joe’s first name “Samoa” which led to a brawl. Joe delivered a headbutt and tossed Reigns into the barricade then attempted to apply the Coquina Clutch but Reigns countered with a Superman Punch.

A good opening segment as both Joe and Reigns were great on the mic

After the break, WWE announced that Kurt Angle made a match between Joe and Reigns for tonight.

Matt and Jeff Hardy def. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows

Anderson and Gallows got the heat on Matt but made the hot tag to Jeff who delivered the Whisper in the Wind to both Anderson and Gallows. Gallows and Anderson recovered and delivered the Boot of Doom but Matt kicked out. Matt made a comeback and delivered the Twist of Fate as Jeff made the blind tag. Jeff delivered the Swanton Bomb to Gallows for the win.

A good back-and-forth match and the crowd was into the match

Goldust Promo

Goldust cut another old school promo and next week he invited R-Truth to his next motion picture “The Shattered Truth”

In-Ring: Elias Samson and Finn Balor

Samson was in the ring and asked the WWE Universe “Who wants to walk with Elias?” He told a story about his father giving him a guitar and then asked the crowd to be silent as Balor came out. Samson carried the guitar over his shoulder and had a short staredown before leaving.

Finn Balor def. Bo Dallas

During his time off Raw, Dallas changed his look as he grew out his hair and beard. Dallas attacked Balor before the bell rang and then tossed Balor into the barricade and delivered a stiff knee after the match started. Balor recovered and delivered a running kick from the apron. Balor then delivered the sling blade, a running dropkick and the Coup De Grace for the win.

A short match to showcase Balor’s skills in the ring.

After the match, Michael Cole transitioned to the new WWE 2K18 commercial. Graves was preoccupied and looked like Angled called him to the back.

WWE 2K18 Commercial

WWE aired a commercial for WWE 2K18 which shows Seth Rollins destroying historic WWE artifacts. (Guessing this is the story mode for the game)

Backstage: Kurt Angle, Corey Graves, Enzo Amore & Big Cass

Graves approached Angle backstage and knew Angle didn’t have a good Fathers Day because he received the same text Angle got. Big Cass and Enzo Amore walked in. Angle asked Enzo why did he send out a tweet to Conor McGregor? Enzo said he’s stepped over bigger guys than “Connie Mac” Big Cass doesn’t care about the tweet but wants to know who jumped them over the past weeks. Angle vowed to find the perpetrator by the end of tonight.

In-Ring: Seth Rollins promoting WWE 2K18

Rollins came out to a pretty good reaction and said he’s been playing video games since childhood and was honoured to be on the cover. Rollins then cut a passionate promo about the WWE Universe giving him a second chance and saying the WWE 2K18 cover wasn’t his but the WWE fans cover. Wyatt appeared on the TitanTron and cut another spooky promo. Rollins and Wyatt went back-and-forth. Wyatt came out to the ring and as the lights turned on Rollins delivered a Plancha as the segment ended.

Rollins was great and is a babyface the WWE Universe can get behind

Graves returned back to the announcers desk and praised Angle as the GM.

Backstage: Charly Caruso interviewed Finn Balor

Balor said Extreme Rules didn’t go as plan but will one day win the Universal Title. Balor was about to put over the Joe-Reigns match but was attacked from behind by Samson.

Akira Tozawa def. TJP

Titus O’Neil came out and played the role of the ring announcer as he introduced both Tozawa and TJP after Jojo introduced them. O’Neil was also playing the role of cheerleader as there was little reaction from the crowd. Neville came out and said he wasn’t here to commentate but to watch the match. TJP went for the Detonation Kick but Tozawa escaped, delivered a roundhouse kick and followed it up with a senton splash for the win.

After the match O’Neil raised the hands of Tozawa. Neville stood on the announcer table and cut a promo on Tozawa. O’Neil then cut a promo on Neville and saying Neville will feel the “Power of Tozawa”

Backstage: R-Truth Promo

R-Truth cut another promo saying next week Goldust was going to get got.

Backstage: Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel and The Miz

Bo Dallas was feeling gloomy after his loss to Balor as Axel tried to cheer him up. Miz walked in and said they were action stars in the Marine 5 but are comedy relief on Raw. Miz asked them to join his entourage.

Backstage: Charly Caruso interviewed Samoa Joe

Joe showed footage of his debut match on Raw, when he defeated Reigns with the uranage. Joe said he’s gonna teach Reigns that his name is Samoa Joe.

Samoa Joe def. Roman Reigns via Submission

Highlights included Reigns delivering the Drive By on the floor and charged up for the Superman Punch but Joe countered with a big boot and a running senton. Reigns delivered a Superman Punch but Joe kicked out. Joe battled back and delivered a uranage but Reigns kicked out. Joe went to apply the Coquina Clutch but Reigns countered with a Spear but Joe got his foot on the bottom rope for a great response from the WWE Universe. Reigns was setting up for another Spear but the sound of an ambulance was buzzing and backing up into the arena. Strowman bursted out of the ambulance and roared as the WWE Universe cheered loudly. Reigns was in shock as Joe applied the Coquina Clutch as Reigns passed out.

A very good back-and-forth match as both Joe and Reigns work really well together. After the match Strowman came out and delivered a reverse chokeslam to Reigns as the WWE Universe cheered. Strowman then challenged Reigns to an Ambulance Match at Great Balls of Fire.

Miz TV with Maryse

Miz came out and praised his wife and then called Maryse out. There were two bears in the ring holding up signs saying “Please forgive me” and “I’m saying.” Miz offered Maryse champagne and apologized for smashing the grandfather clock. Miz continued on with his promo as Dean Ambrose came out. Miz used stood behind his wife as the champagne accidentally spilled on Maryse. Mayrse slapped Miz and then walked away in tears. Ambrose then clotheslined Miz over the top rope. Ambrose was then jumped from behind by the two bears as Axel and Dallas were in disguise. Miz returned and delivered the Skull Crushing Finale.

It’s a comedic storyline for the Intercontinental title. Not a fan of this feud.

Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus defeated Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews. Non-title match

A short match as Cesaro delivered an uppercut to Crews from the floor with the referee distracted. Sheamus and Cesaro delivered a double White Noise and pinned Crews.

Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe Video Package

WWE showed photos from Pro Wrestling Illustrated as Joe as the Ring of Honor Champion (but no footage from Impact Wrestling) This package was terrific and the build for the match has been terrific. WWE announced that Lesnar will be on Raw next week.

Nia Jax def. Sasha Banks by DQ

Alexa Bliss came out for commentary but was interrupted by Emma who chased Bliss to the ring. Bliss hid behind Jax but then Jax placed Bliss in front of Emma. Emma swung for the fences but Bliss moved as Emma struck Jax as the referee called for the bell.

After the match the heels attacked Banks. Mickie James and Dana Brooke to make the save but Jax over powered everyone. Bayley came out to a good reaction and delivered a stiff running kick to Emma. Bayley, Brooke and James delivered a triple dropkick and sent Jax to the floor. The booking of Bayley was great tonight.

In-Ring: Kurt Angle, Big Cass, Enzo Amore, The Revival and Big Show

Angle came out to a great reaction and introduced Amore and Cass who delivered their catchphrases and hyped up the crowd. Angle then brought out The Revival and the Big Show. Angle questioned Big Show if he attacked Enzo and Cass? Cass and Big Show went back and forth. Show said Angle doesn’t trust him and said he will be better used on SmackDown Live and left. Scott Dawson said the The Revival isn’t here to win a popularity contest and said they were innocent. Angle agreed that the Revival were innocent and left. Graves then spoke and was about to show some backstage footage. But Cass interrupted and went back-and-forth with Graves. Graves finally showed the footage as Cass was playing possum on Enzo.

Cass admitted that he attacked Enzo by saying “You’re damn right I did it.” (I’m not going to go over the whole promo but WWE fans should watch it as Cass cut the best promo of his career. Enzo facial reactions were awesome throughout the promo)

After the promo Cass delivered the big boot to Enzo and taunted his buddy by saying “You can’t teach that” as Cass left.

Overall:

I enjoyed this week’s episode of Raw as the break up angle between Big Cass and Enzo was awesome. The build for the Lesnar for Joe has been terrific and Braun Strowman is back.

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