Monday Night RAW - 01/06/2020
- LDR
- Jun 2, 2020
- 8 min read
This week's wrestling opened, as always, with Monday Night RAW. The show promised new United States Champion Apollo Crews defending his belt against an opponent of his choosing, Nia Jax taking on Kairi Sane ahead of her RAW Women's Championship match at Backlash and Seth Rollins hosting Rey Mysterio's retirement ceremony. What hit the spot for the red brand this week and what missed the mark? Read on to find out what went down.
Source: wwe.com
Seth Rollins Opens the Show
The Monday Night Messiah came down to the ring with his disciples Murphy and Austin Theory to address what had happened recently with Rey Mysterio. It was announced last week that Mysterio would be retiring on this week's show and Rollins took it upon himself to oversee the ceremony. Seth claimed that Mysterio would not be able to call time on his legendary career, so The Messiah had made it happen for him. He showed a video package with some of Mysterio's career highlights which ended by showing Rollins' assault. He also showed his attempted repeat on Humberto Carrillo and how he commanded Alesiter Black - the man he would be facing later on in the show - to stand and do nothing. Rollins claimed that, once Mysterio had hung up his boots, he would be happy to induct the luchador into the WWE Hall of Fame, all with a sarcastic smirk on his face. Aleister Black had heard enough, charging the ring and taking the fight to The Messiah, sending Rollins, Murphy and Theory into retreat. Rollins has hit his career high in terms of promo work recently and his character change since turning on Kevin Owens has refreshed him to the point that it would not be unwelcome for him to rejoin the title picture on a more permanent basis.
Source: wwe.com
Aleister Black v Seth Rollins
As the show returned from the break, Black and Rollins got to it in the ring for the night's first match. Black showed a lot of fire, going hard at Rollins from the start but the disciples at ringside made their presence known, with plenty of distractions to swing things in Rollins' favour. As the two traded near falls and big moves, Rollins tried to hit a frog splash that was countered by Black getting his knees up. The action spilled to the outside and it looked as though Theory and Murphy were going to jump Black before Humberto Carrillo's music hit and he sprinted to ringside with a steel chair in hand. As the action returned to the inside, it looked as though Rollins was going to pick up the win with a sneaky pin, but the goings on at ringside distracted him and Black managed to put The Messiah down with a roll up of his own for the win. As soon as the bell rang, Rollins and his boys started putting the boots to Black and cut off Carrillo as he attempted another save. Murphy and Theory held Black down and made him watch as Rollins stomped Carrillo's head into the mat and then kept him in place as Rollins did the same to him. This was a big win for Black but was overshadowed by what happened after the fact. Black and Rollins go well together in the ring and more matches between them will be good - as well as helping Aleister Black to raise his profile - and will help establish both on the brink of the main event scene.
Source: wwe.com
Apollo Crews Defends His United States Championship
The newly crowned US champ had previously announced he would handpick an opponent to defend his championship against and did so here with Kevin Owens being the man he wanted to face. Owens hit the ring and told Crews that while he deserved a title shot and had more than earned it, he wouldn't accept the challenge based off of pity due to Angel Garza's attack on the Prize Fighter last week. Crews responded by saying the his challenge was based purely on respect and Owens accepted, saying Garza could wait. The two shared a back and forth encounter with Owens going close early on but everything ground to a halt when it looked as though Owens may have kicked Crews low. As it happened, Crews was playing possum and managed to take control, brawling with Owens and taking the fight to the outside. As they returned to the ring, they exchanged close calls and Owens went to the top, looking for a senton. Crews got his knees up to counter but, while both men were down, Garza and former United States Champion Andrade jumped them both and brought the match to an end.
Source: wwe.com
Kevin Owens & Apollo Crews v Andrade & Angel Garza
After the break, Owens and Crews had paired up to take on Zelina Vega's men. After Garza's attack on KO's knee last week, the heels focused their attack on the same area to gain the upper hand. As Andrade took control, Owens managed to tag out and Crews went in all guns blazing. Garza attacked Owens, taking out his knee again on the outside, but in the ring Crews managed to hoist Andrade up for the sit out powerbomb and claim the win. These two matches were too short to achieve anything. Protecting Owens and Crews by not having either of them lose defeats the point of having the match in the first place. Choose someone further down the pecking order and have Apollo go over clean in a competitive match. This booking made the heels look weak, as they couldn't take down opponents who had been fighting each other and then been beaten down before the tag match started. KO didn't gain anything from either bout. The only developments here were keeping Apollo looking strong and keeping the Garza/Owens angle running.
Source: wwe.com
The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders Go Bowling
I won't spend much time on this, as it was just a rehash of what has gone on in these "Anything You Can Do..." segments for the past month with a different set dressing. The Raiders dominated, The Profits were terrible and then suddenly they weren't, but The Viking Raiders took the win to tie the series at 2-2. The same jokes were rehashed, with turkey legs being found in random places and a female employee letting the group off of their shenanigans because Ivar is cute. This was no different to the other pieces and these two teams need to get in the ring ASAP if WWE can't find a way to mix up these vignettes.
Source: wwe.com
Nikki Cross v Billie Kay
There has been some tension between The IIconics and the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross recently. The IIconics beat the champs down last week but lost a championship match a few weeks ago, so there were scores to settle all round here. Kay is probably the weakest in-ring talent of the four involved in this storyline, so keeping this one short was wise. Her character work as an annoying, petulant heel is great though and having her screech at the ref after a close 2-count from a big boot played that up. Nikki tried to fight back, but Billie Kay eventually took the win and continued to build a strong case for her team to get another crack at Bliss and Cross' belts.
Source: wwe.com
Rey Mysterio Provides His Own Update
After Seth Rollins told the world that Rey Mysterio would be retiring, Rey had his own words for Seth and the rest of the WWE Universe on a video call from his home. Rey was fired up and damned Rollins for what had happened. He told us he wasn't sure when - or even if - he would be cleared to return but that Seth was responsible and damned him again. Rey's son Dominick joined him and had strong words of his own, staring down the camera after his father had walked off, ominously telling Rollins "An eye for an eye". This has left us in an interesting position, with Rey's status unclear and Dominick looking like he may take up the reigns for the Mysterio family. It has seemed a long time coming that Dominick would step into a WWE ring and this could be a good way to introduce him. Seth will guide him well through matches and he will be able to team with his dad upon his return.
Source: wwe.com
Nia Jax v Kairi Sane
Nia cut a promo in the ring ahead of this match, claiming that she was the victim in the situation between herself and Asuka. She claimed that Asuka and her Kabuki Warrior team mate Kairi Sane had been ganging up on her and that she had attacked them to defend herself. Kairi charged into the match, hitting hard and fast to try and take down her bigger foe. It wasn't long, however, until Jax took control, slamming Kairi into the ring apron face first and then launching her face first towards the steel steps. She then rolled her smaller opponent into the ring, hitting a leg drop and pinning Sane for the win. After the bell, Jax stared at Sane but Asuka got to the ring before anything could happen. Nia had a reputation of being a dangerous worker before her injury lay off - most infamously breaking Becky Lynch's nose, causing her to miss her hugely anticipated bout against Ronda Rousey - and that was evident again here. Sane was slumped in a ball after the match and it would be a miracle if she hasn't got any lasting injuries - she was bleeding by the end of it.
Source: wwe.com
Asuka v Charlotte Flair
A short promo aired from Randy Orton, claiming that Edge was mad because, while Edge had put everything he had into his career, Orton had been dominant even when he was coasting. Following this, NXT Women's Champion Charlotte Flair made her way to the ring and cut a promo on the NXT and Performance Centre trainees. She put herself above the people surrounding her and also put over her upcoming match with Io Shirai and Rhea Ripley at TakeOver: In Your House. RAW Women's Champion Asuka was put down with a focused assault to the knee while Charlotte reminded her of all the shows she had lost to The Queen on. Asuka showed some fire, fighting back with throws, strikes and submission attempts but Charlotte was on good form and managed to hold her own in this champion versus champion match. As Asuka looked to be taking control, her own music played across the system and Nia Jax came out decked in Asuka's facepaint and mask. The distraction was enough to get the RAW champion counted out and, once the bell had rung, Nia ran straight through her. Charlotte has been all over WWE programming recently and her willingness to be on any and all shows she is asked to will have endeared her even more to WWE officials, but I personally hope she will stick to one brand (maybe two if she still holds the NXT Championship) once all of this blows over. This match was one of the best from either woman in recent memory and one of the best in the women's division for a while. Jax getting involved, while continuing to build the story, was unnecessary after what had already happened on this show.
Source: wwe.com
Drew McIntyre v MVP
After seeing MVP and Drew McIntyre in different backstage scenarios, we made it to the main event where Bobby Lashley's latest associate going up against the WWE Champion after they have butted heads recently. Lashley joined his friend in the ring before the match started but was shocked when Lana also made her way to the ring. Drew took control easily, as MVP was outmatched, but Lashley provided enough of a distraction for MVP to send the champ into the ringpost. He managed to hit a big boot in the corner to put Drew down but only got a 2-count from that. The Sexy Scot fought back after that, landing some big shots to put MVP in perfect position for a Claymore. As McIntyre counted down, Lashley pulled MVP out of the ring to save him but both men ended up on the receiving end as Drew flew over the top rope onto the pair. He took MVP back inside and managed to connect with a CLaymore this time, getting the victory. As the champ got back to his feet, Lashley snuck up behind him and locked in the Full Nelson submission hold, with the challenger looking in complete control as the show went off the air.
What did you think of this week's show? Will Bobby Lashley be able to take the WWE Championship from Drew McIntyre? Is Nia Jax a danger in the ring? What is next for Rey Mysterio and his son Dominick? Let us know what you think and this and anything else down below!
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