By: Keila Cash
Hello everyone and welcome to another installment of The Raw Exposé. Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw emanated from the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Circle City has been the epicenter of many memorable moments in WWE over the past few years. The Shield made their debut in Indy almost five years ago. Their subsequent demise took place in the same building three years ago. Are we in store for another Shield moment that will shock the wrestling world to its core? The answer to that question can be found throughout this blog. Without further ado, let’s dissect tonight’s show in no particular order.
· After weeks of speculation, The Shield finally reunited as Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins joined forces to take out The Miz and his band of Merry Men as they kicked off the show in epic fashion.
· Miz held the second annual Mizzie Awards and gave out several cheap trophies to celebrate the destruction of Roman Reigns. The Mizzie Award for Perseverance went to Curtis Axel while Sheamus and Cesaro shared Best Supporting Actor honors.
· Meanwhile, Miz gave himself an award for being the new Top Dog in WWE because he did something that John Cena, The Undertaker, and Brock Lesnar have failed to do: Get rid of Reigns.
· Reigns had something to say about that as he came out to reassure fans that he was alive and well. He was done with the small talk and wanted to get down to business.
· Miz dared Reigns to bring out Rollins and Ambrose to make the rumored Shield Reunion a reality. The Big Dog did just that as his brothers joined him for battle. They circled the ring and took the fight to the heels as Reigns quickly got rid of Axel by slamming him into the steel steps.
· Rollins and Ambrose hit Sheamus and Cesaro with their finishers before Reigns nailed them a pair of Superman Punches. Miz was looking on at ringside as he tried to plan his escape. The Shield chased him in the ring as Reigns knocked him out with a Superman Punch before Ambrose dropped Miz with Dirty Deeds for good measure.
· Realizing that Miz was down for the count, The Shield grabbed him and delivered their signature Triple PowerBomb to seal their reunion. They did their signature fist bump as the opening segment came to an end.
· This was a hot way to start the show. The fans popped for The Shield reunion as they laid waste to Miz and his makeshift Miztourage. It was a beautiful moment that peaked at the perfect time since next week is the go-home show for TLC. One can only presume that The Shield vs. The Miz, Cesaro, and Sheamus will headline the show in a Tables, Ladders, and Chair’s match.
(Editor’s Note: Kurt Angle made the match official during a backstage segment with The Miz.)
· Jason Jordan defeated Karl Anderson with the Elevated Neckbreaker in a solid match. This was a nice bounce-back win for Jordan after he and Matt Hardy lost to Gallows and Anderson last week. Jordan is still not getting over with the crowd because no one believes that he’s Kurt Angle’s long lost son. Throw in Booker T dissing him on commentary for getting preferential treatment due to his DNA and we have the ingredients for a babyface push that is life support.
· Elias defeated Apollo Crews with the Drift Away in an okay match. I can safely say that Elias is a better musician than Titus O’Neil based on O’Neil’s piss poor banjo strumming and singing. It was pitiful.
· Enzo Amore had a bone to pick with Kurt Angle after Angle added Kalisto to the Cruiserweight Division during the main event segment last week. Angle came out and stated that he signed Kalisto prior to signing off on Enzo’s No Contact Clause.
· Enzo accused Angle of hustling him and demanded some respect for being the realest champ in the room. Angle agreed and booked Enzo in a Cruiserweight Championship match against Kalisto later tonight. Enzo was hesitant, but he agreed to the bout under one condition: He wanted the match to take place in the main event spot. Angle shook Enzo’s hand to seal the deal.
· However, Angle raised the stakes by shelving Enzo’s No Contact clause and making his title defense a Lumberjack Match featuring the entire Cruiserweight Division. Enzo’s big mouth got him in trouble. Surprise, surprise.
· This was a good segment that continued to illustrate the douchebag tendencies of Enzo while Angle added an authoritative voice to the proceedings. Plus, Enzo didn’t overstay his on the mic which was refreshing to see for a change. The fans are starting to be more vocal when it comes to booing him outright, but he still gets cheered for saying his catchphrase. Until WWE removes the grey area, Enzo’s heel turn will continue to feel half-assed at best.
· Braun Strowman defeated Matt Hardy with the Running Powerslam in a solid match. Hardy had the fans thinking that the improbable could happen when he nailed Strowman with a Tornado DDT followed by the Twist of Fate for a near fall that ended at the count of one.
· From there, Strowman dropped him with a pair of chokeslams before hitting his finisher for the win. After the match was over, Strowman carried Hardy over his shoulder and headed up the ramp when The Shield stopped him in his tracks.
· Strowman charged after Roman Reigns, but Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose came to his rescue as they grabbed Strowman which allowed Reigns to nail him with sick Spear on the main stage.
· The Hounds of Justice weren’t finished with the Monster Among Men as they Triple PowerBombed him through the announce table to cap off a crazy segment.
· Strowman getting destroyed makes sense and one can only assume they he will be added to the TLC match as the fourth man on Miz’s team. Just a hunch.
· Quick side note: The WWE Marketing Department whipped up brand new Shield T-Shirts in record time. It’s as if they knew ahead of time that a reunion was imminent. Hmm…
· Mickie James and Alexa Bliss had another entertaining exchange as Bliss continued to poke fun at James’ age. James wasn’t having it and asked Bliss to get her biscuit butt in the ring. That phrase caught fire with the crowd as they chanted it at Bliss nonstop. Bliss pretended to charge down to the ring only to walk away.
· James chased her down and threw her in the ring. She was about to nailed Little Miss Bliss with the Mick Kick, but the Champ rolled out of the ring to avoid getting punked out for the third week in a row.
· Their match for the Raw Women’s Championship should be good if both ladies have enough time to shine in the ring.
· Kurt Angle booked Sasha Banks, Bayley, Alicia Fox, Dana Brooke, and Emma in a Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match with the winner earning the right to get killed by face Asuka at TLC in two weeks. What a prize…
· The Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher defeated Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali when Kendrick pinned Ali with Sliced Bread #2. The match was fine, but the crowd was dead for the most part.
· And just like that, Braun Strowman is The Miz’s fourth man at TLC after Miz took Ambrose’s comment about The Shield fighting four or more men at once seriously. To quote Jim Ross, “Business has just picked up.”
· So Bray Wyatt's master plan is to act like someone from the Witness Protection Program in order to scare Finn Bálor? To quote Cameron from Total Divas: "Boy Bye!" Wyatt using a voice distorter was even more insulting. I’m surprised Bálor didn’t laugh his ass off during this stupid segment. Talk about a steaming pile of horseshit. The sooner this feud ends, the better.
· Emma defeated Sasha Banks with a roll-up and has earned the right to get killed by will move on to face Asuka at TLC in a couple of weeks. The Fatal 5-Way Elimination match featuring Sasha Banks, Bayley, Alicia Fox, Dana Brooke, and Emma was very sloppy in spots. Things got better down the stretch, but it was hard to watch early on. Here’s hoping Asuka’s debut elevates the women’s division to new heights because it’s been in a state of stagnation since the end of WrestleMania season.
· The next chapter of the Roman Reigns-Braun Strowman saga will take place inside a steel cage next week. Considering the fact that Hell in a Cell took place last night, WWE is overdoing it a bit by having another match contested inside a steel structure for the third time in eight days. Reigns and Strowman will probably have another great match, but the cage gimmick feels a bit trite at this point.
· Kalisto defeated Enzo Amore to become the NEW Cruiserweight Champion when he pinned him with a Salina Del Sol from the top rope.
· The title bout was pretty blasé until Kalisto dropped Enzo with Superplex which sent both men crashing unto the cruiserweights at ringside which popped the fans something fierce. It was a great spot that kept them hooked for the rest of the match.
· Both men managed to get back in the ring as Kalisto tried to hit his finisher. Enzo blocked it and hit his variation of Eat Defeat only for Mustafa Ali to break up the pin by pulling Enzo out of the ring.
· Enzo and Ali exchanged words which resulted in Enzo laying Ali out with a clothesline. He got back in the ring to finish off Kalisto, but it was too late as Kalisto had him in position to hit the SDS for the win moments later.
· This marks the third consecutive week that the Cruiserweight Division has been spotlighted in the main event. It’s a bold move by WWE, but the division has been damaged due to poor booking and lack of character development which can’t be repaired overnight. Enzo provided a much-needed spark, but his wrestling leaves a lot be desired which stunts the division’s growth long-term. Kalisto is a very good wrestler, but he’s not the answer unless he’s handled properly.
· The entire concept of 205 Live needs to be revamped from the roots up. From the show being shifted from a live to taped format to moving the entire crew to Full Sail University in order to get a fair shot in front of a more passionate fan base, there are ways to save this niche product from falling into the abyss. Will the company right the ship or will it take 10 years to get things right a la the Women’s Revolution? We shall see.
· Overall, I thought tonight’s episode of Raw was middling at best. If it wasn’t for The Shield reunion and the carnage that followed, this show would’ve been a chore to get through. The in-ring action left a lot to be desired which made matters worse in terms of excitement.
· The TLC PPV is starting to take shape, but the card is paper thin with five matches announced for the show so far. It appears that WWE is not going to overwhelm fans with gimmick-based stipulations such as the “legendary” Chairs, Tables, or STAIRS matches from years past. They still have a week to go, but the creative team has shown amazing restraint so far.
· The go-home show in Portland, Oregon should be good as Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman face off inside a steel cage. It’s safe to assume that Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, The Miz, Sheamus, and Cesaro will get involved down the stretch. Once TLC is in the books, the march towards Survivor Series begins. Let’s hope the Road to Houston is filled with twists and turns for all the right reasons. Fingers crossed!
On that note, this wraps up another edition of The Raw Exposé. I hope you enjoyed it and I will be back tomorrow night with a brand new installment of the SmackDown Files. See you later, boys and girls!
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