It's Superstar Shakeup (aka draft) time!!
Stephanie McMahon opened the show to hype tonight being the superstar shakeup. Shane McMahon comes down and he makes sure to show photos of him embarassing The Miz and his father from the past few months which leads to the first ~shake up~ of the night as The Miz makes his Raw return attacking Shane from behind and holy shit I'm not even gonna hide how much I love this feud. It feels so *not* PG Era if that makes sense. Like the Mania match felt like we teleported back to the late 90's/early 2000's and now they're brawling on Raw and Miz stares Shane down from the ring with blood pouring out of the top of his head. Time for Shane-O and Miz to carry Raw with this badass feud.
1) Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, Ricochet & Aleister Black vs. The Revival & The Viking Experience
So, they decided to call the War Raiders up and change their name to... The Viking Experience. I'm sure you've already seen my bitching on Twitter about this along with pretty much everyone else, but I can't believe they changed the current NXT Tag Team Title holders names in the midst of such a great run. I can only imagine this was a Vince decision mid-day when they decided to call them up. None the less, despite the cringy name changes, this absolutely ruled. You could tell WWE wanted to showcase the tag division with Ricochet & Black also being announced as exclusive members of the Raw roster and they gave them a good 10-15 minutes to work and it was great. Everyone looked strong and the Viking Experience picked up a pin on the tag champs, Hawkins & Ryder.
Match rating - ***
2) Finn Balor vs. Andrade (w/ Zelina Vega)
Second Raw debut of the night as Andrade makes the switch from Smackdown. Just like with the 8 man tag before it, they get an ample amount of time to work so this was good. There were some cool exchanges like Andrade going for a moonsault, Balor moving, Andrade landing on his feet and going for a standing moonsault only for Balor to put his knees up. Andrade puts in a solid showing and gets a big win over the Intercontinental Champion. Very fun stuff.
Match rating - ***
CEDRIC ALEXANDER IS COMING TO RAW
Elias is here. Last week, The Undertaker whooped his ass. This week, REY MYSTERIO INTERRUPTS HIM. Mysterio is making the move from Smackdown which I'm stoked about so we can hopefully continue the Mysterio/Andrade feud here at some point? Well, that is if Lars Sullivan didn't kill Rey in his post-segment attack. I'm already bored of that dude.
LATER TONIGHT:
- Becky Lynch vs. Ruby Riott
- Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns & ??? vs. Bobby Lashley, Baron Corbin, & Drew McIntyre
(God I'm sick of the Lashley/McIntyre/Corbin trio)
3) Bobby Roode & Chad Gable vs. The Usos
We get a Roode/Gable promo before The Usos answer their open challenge to any team from any brand. Now I see why The Usos dropped the titles to the Hardy's last week on Smackdown. This didn't go long. Roode & Gable worked over the Usos for a little then the brothers came back and got a quick win. Simple enough.
Match rating - **
Alexa Bliss interviews Sami Zayn who gets an insane reaction only to work his hometown with his newly adopted heel persona.
Braun Strowman destroys EC3 with a chokeslam off the stage/through the stage. ALRIGHT DEN.
4) Becky Lynch vs. Ruby Riott
Okay soooo Becky gets a great reaction, but this was whatever. Becky wins obviously and is confronted by Natalya post-match.
Match rating - *1/2
Natalya is in her home land and calls herself the best there is, best there was, and oooooof. She shouldn't have done that. Big boos from the crowd. She lets Becky know she's coming for the title, but Lacey Evans interrupts and we finally get to see her in action!
5) Natalya vs. Lacey Evans - #1 Contender's for Women's Title Match
Alright I strangely like Lacey Evans. Her finish is this badass step up moonsault and her accent/persona RULES. Plus, she kept us from having to watch Natalya get another title shot so fuck yeah. Evans/Lynch is the next direction for the Women's Title(s) - lets gooooo.
Match rating - **
6) Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, & AJ Styles vs. Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, & Baron Corbin
AJ Styles is the surprise partner for Rollins & Reigns and I will forever mark out for AJ so this was dope. These Shield-style six man tags are always a blast and have been a staple since 2013 and that's exactly what this was. Everyone gets their shit in, hot final few minutes, not too short, not too long, just right. AJ gets the pinfall after a flying forearm on Bobby Lashley. I was really hoping for an AJ heel turn to target Rollins and the title and a possible reunion with Gallows & Anderson, but I'll settle for the simple babyface celebration that we got. I'm sure we will get the Styles heel turn to challenge Rollins sooner or later, they probably just wanna save it til after tomorrow so there's still suspense over Rollins possibly going to Smackdown.
Match rating - ***
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