WWE Raw Match Ratings, Podcast Notes From Sean Ross Sapp For 7/9/18

Opening Segment

• WWE doubling down on turdy Reigns promo lines in the opening segment.
• They run into each other backstage, and says if Reigns goes out to the ring, it better be to call Lashley out.
• Reigns does just that. Why didn’t Reigns just fight Lashley backstage?
• Kurt Angle (w/ Baron Corbin) comes out and tells them not to fight, that they need to save it for the PAPE.
•  Reigns and Lashley both saying “piss off Kurt” and slug it out. Immediately all the jobbers in the locker room come out and pull them apart.
• This is a hot segment, then completely silent, then hot.
• Shew doggy that clothesline outside from Lashley. 
• Kurt Angle should be like “get AOP out heeeeeeeeeeeeere” and that’s finally what calms everyone down. They don’t want deaded.
• They keep going back at each other. This was a really well done segment. Made me want to watch their Extreme Rules match a lot more.
• Backstage later in the night, Bobby Lashley says he doesn’t have any respect for Reigns, but he likes that he’ll fight.
• Reigns claims he wanted to get under Lashley’s skin and it worked out.
• No mention of Brock Lesnar. 

Nia Jax & Natalya defeated Mickie James & Alexa Bliss
5.25/10
Producer: Fit Finlay

• Alexa Bliss and Mickie James cut a really dumb promo backstage about the mayhem they’ll cause.
• Mickie’s flappy pants are back. She eats a Hart Attack from Nia and Natalya.  
• After getting worked over, a hot Boston crowd goes wild when Natalya tags Nia. She bulldozes everyone. Nia is wearing her Celtics green tonight.
• Nia wins with a HULKBUSTER Leg Drop, and gets attacked with a kendo stick by Alexa Bliss.
• Nia turns the tides and breaks the kendo stick over her knee. She cuts a generic promo backstage.
• Despite the 5.25/10 rating, the crowd was hot for this. There’s a lot of variation in my ratings historically speaking because how long into the show, how good the crowd is, or how burned out I might be from watching “meaningless tag matches” as Kurt Angle puts it.

Kevin and Kurt

• We see a Braun/KO video recap.
• Owens says he has a doctor’s note saying he can’t compete tonight, so he’s going to hang out in Angle’s office where he’s safe.
• Owens is spraying Lysol because it smells in the office. Kurt says it’s left over portapotty from last week.
• Angle books Owens and Strowman in a cage match at Extreme Rules. Strowman sprays Owens and says he reeks of fear. 

Mojo Rawley defeated No Way Jose
5.25/10
Producer: Arn Anderson

• Rawley hits the POUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCE. PERIOD. It gets a two.
• This is a squash match, but No Way Jose keeps kicking out. It’s more to show off Mojo’s athleticism than anything else. A big clothesline from both guys hit, but neither gets the win.
• Mojo hits an AlabamaSlam, but he’s too busy looking menacing to pin Jose’s shoulders.

FRIENDSHIP COUNSELING

•  Bayley says she’s supported Sasha since her time in NXT.
• We see another clip, but there’s no audio.

Bo Dallas (w/ Curtis Axel) defeated Matt Hardy (w/ Bray Wyatt)
5.75/10
Producer: D-Von Dudley

• Oh…..more B-Team impersonating Deleter of Worlds…………..cooooooooooool.
• This goes on way too long, both backstage and in the ring. Deleter of Worlds appear on screen and CREEP B-TEAM OUT!
• The Revival are watching backstage.
• Matt Hardy suplexes Bo outside. He then Enzo’s Dallas on the second rope.
• Matt Hardy is beating the living shit out of Bo Dallas. He connects with a couple of Side Effect inside the ring after coming up short on one outside. 
• Matt Hardy gets hit with an Au Revoir and pinned. Sure wish I could look up the name of Bo Dallas’ finish on @Wikipedia, but a couple of turd logs think it was a good idea to remove that section
• The lights go out for some reason and Deleter of Worlds attack.

Ember Moon defeated Liv Morgan (w/ Sarah Logan)
5/10
Producers: Fit Finlay & Scott Armstrong

• Riott Squad (sans Ruby) tears up a Tyler Breeze shirt. Cool.
• This is an Ember Moon showcase, and she wins yet again.
• There were times Ember was easily distracted in this match. She won, but that doesn’t make her as a character look that great.
• We didn’t need this match again. We need something creative.

Constable Corbin & Elias defeated Bobby Roode & Finn Balor
6/10
Producer: Jamie Noble

• Bobby Roode and Finn Balor blow smoke up each other’s asses backstage during an interview with Renee Young.
• Elias performs. He says that he’s working on his new album, and sings a great heel song. He claims that Tom Brady told him to pretend to like Boston.
• Constable Corbin has Elias play “Itsy Bitsy Balor.” Intentionally bad, and Elias patronizes him. 
• Elias cracks Roode with a knee. Roode needs a full time tag team. I don’t know what he can offer as a singles now. 
• Balor gets beaten up and Roode conjures up a nice pop for his hot tag. He’s welcomed by a Corbin chokeslam-backbreaker. Corbin is the highlight of this match thus far. 
• This wasn’t bad, it was actually pretty good, but when the Raw GM is telling people that matches like this are meaningless on Twitter a day before, you tune out until the End of Days.

If Drew loses, he’s banned from ringside at Extreme Rules
Drew McIntyre (w/ Dolph Ziggler) defeated Seth Rollins
7.5/10
Producer: Tyson Kidd

• Jinder Mahal encourages Seth Rollins to not burn it down backstage. If it keeps Jinder Mahal from wrestling, whatever.
• Rollins comes out to the ring and says that he hates having to call himself a former champion and hypes his Extreme Rules title match.
• Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre interrupt, and Ziggler says they should talk more about how good he is.
• The crowd gets on Ziggler when he fumbles over his words. 
• Ziggler says racking up wins is the point of an Iron Man Match, and he racked up 121 wins at Kent State. Rollins asks if Drew helped him win all of those. 
• They try to attack Rollins, but he gets out. Angle tells Ziggler and Drew if Rollins wins tonight, McIntyre is banned from ringside Sunday.
• THE MATCH: Rollins has his DX gear on. There’s a lot of nothing in the first several minutes, and then a clothesline for Drew.
• Drew catches a suicide dive and turns it into a tilt-a-whirl slam on the apron.
• We come back from commercial and McIntyre gets a big belly-to-belly suplex.
• Reverse STO, Slingblade and suicide dives for Rollins. His Blockbuster is a thing of beauty. 
• McIntyre’s reverse Alabamaslam gets sympathy for Rollins in the form of “Burn it Down” chants. It doesn’t really matter, because Drew deadlift powerbombs Rollins.
• McIntyre gets hung up in the ropes but plays possum and Earplexes Rollins off the top rope. Rollins comes with a superkick for two though.
• Kiss of Glasow headbutt lands for two, but Rollins Buckle Bomb, superkick and a body press gets two for him!
• Rollins Curb Stomps Ziggler but eats a Claymore!