Match Ratings, Podcast Notes For WWE Raw 8/13/18 From Sean Ross Sapp

Ember Moon (w/ Ronda Rousey) defeated Alexa Bliss (w/ Alicia Fox) via DQ
5.25/10

• Ronda Rousey comes out and breaks the news that Natalya’s father, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart has passed away. She credits Natalya with always being there for her, and says that she’ll beat Alexa Bliss this Sunday and become Raw Women’s Champion to a huge pop.
• Alexa Bliss and Alicia Fox are out to cut a promo, and Alexa Bliss hilariously makes fun of Ronda Rousey’s mean mug. She thinks Rousey should be banned from the building like Roman Reigns was.
• Alexa has hired private security at the recommendation of Constable Corbin. Rousey beats up three of them with head kicks, punches and throws. She also throws Alicia Fox. She’s going to need some better footwork.
• “Why is Alicia Fox dressed like kale?”- Corey Graves.
• It feels flat out rare to see Alexa Bliss wrestling on Monday Night Raw. I think she’s had seven singles matches on Raw since November. 
• This match has no heat. 
• Michael Cole calls moves wrong with regularity. I know some of it is just accidental, but it happens so much that some of it isn’t. A jawbreaker isn’t a neckbreaker. I’m sure he knows this. 
• Ember Moon kind of comically fires up, and hits her nice spinning corner suplex. Ronda takes out Fox, but Alexa throws Rousey into the barricade. All of these spots ended up looking good. 
• Moon lands a nice tilt-a-whirl gutbuster and the Eclipse, but Alicia Fox breaks up the pin….as Alexa kicks out. It’s a DQ, and she gets thrown around by Rousey.
• Almost any decent match that sees an Eclipse will get the extra 0.25 from me.

Constable Corbin defeated Tyler Breeze
5.5/10

• Contstable Corbin has arranged for matches for he and Balor tonight.
• Tyler Breeze gets some nice offense, but quickly gets sent into the barricade.
• Back outside the ring, Breeze avoids a back suplex with a flip and kicks Corbin.
• Corbin catches Breeze with a Deep Six and wins. I LOVE this being used as a finish tonight, even though he could have easily done an awesome End of Days. Establish those other signature moves!

Braun Strowman & Finn Balor defeated Jinder Mahal & Kevin Owens (w/Sunil Singh)
5.75/10

• Corbin brings out Kevin Owens and Jinder Mahal for a handicap match against Finn Balor, and Sunil Singh is ringside as well. Kurt Angle stops Corbin at the top of the ramp. He announces Strowman will team with Balor.
• Strowman is so goddamn over. 
• This match was a lot of nothing until Braun Strowman got tagged in to a giant pop. Strowman runs over Mahal and throws Balor onto him. 
• Balor flips over the top rope onto Owens and Mahal before the commercial break. Back from the break, Strowman gets another tag, powerslams Mahal and wins. He’s a big time star and gets a giant ovation in his home state.
• I’m still not down with Buddy Boy Braun making nice with babyfaces all the time. This match got pushed over the top from a normal, run of the mill pointless tag team match because of the awesome crowd.
• Strowman chases Owens, and Constable Corbin hits Finn Balor with an End of Days.

WALK WITH RICKY ROBERTS

• There’s some indy guy with a guitar who idolizes Elias, named Ricky Roberts. Elias comes out and shills his new wristbands and touts his accomplishments.
• Lashley comes out and clowns Roberts, and no-sells a guitar shot. Lashley follows up by hitting one of the goddamndest high angle spinebusters you’ll ever see.
• Elias is still super over. WWE says he sold out MSG three times this year. Petty.

WWE Raw Tag Team Championships
B-Team (c) defeated Deleter of Worlds and The Revival
6/10

• Renee Young calls moves as “OH” all the time. A true product of Michael Cole.
• Hart Attack from the Revival! A nice tribute to Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart. They follow up with an assisted leg drop.
• Bray Wyatt does a URANAGE PARTY. Dash Wilder even went for a suicide dive that Wyatt caught and slammed him on the apron.
• Matt Hardy lands a superplex to the outside on Dawson through the pile!
• The Revival avoid a double Sister Abigail and Shatter Machine Bray! 
• Axel steals the pin!
• They try to celebrate with Roman Reigns backstage. Later, we find out the B-Team faces the Revival at the Summerslam Kickoff show.

DOCTOR PEPPER

• Roman Reigns cuts a promo and says he wants to leave WWE better than he found it, and that means he’s getting rid of Brock Lesnar.
• Paul Heyman comes out and takes New Day’s line, and puts over the Usos. He calls Reigns the future of WWE
• Heyman offers his insight to help out Roman Reigns, which gets a big crowd reaction. That’s the prime opportunity to get Reigns over the way they want, it seems.
• Reigns says he was taught to swim with sharks, and the ones that are drowning are most dangerous. Heyman speaks in Samoan to Reigns. Well, then.
• Heyman pepper sprays Reigns. Brock Lesnar’s music hits and Reigns is blinded. Lesnar attacks and chokes out Reigns. He comes back and hits an F5 too.
• WWE setting up a spear to guillotine choke spot for this Sunday. Textbook MMA. You go for a double leg takedown or tackle and leave your head outside, you get choked out.

Bobby Roode & Titus Worldwide (w/ Dana Brooke) defeated Mojo Rawley & Authors of Pain

• No entrances and some shitty offense from Authors of Pain.
• Bobby Roode pins Mojo Rawley with a Glorious DDT. 
• Wow, this is really pointless. 

Ruby Riott (w/ Riott Squad) defeated Sasha Banks (w/ Bayley)
5.75/10 

• Ruby is the most tan member of Riott Squad.
• Some nice chain wrestling early, into the Banks Statement, but Riott gets to the ropes.
• Cole throws to a commercial, but there’s no commercial to throw to. Sasha’s hand is stuck in the stairs, and Riott kicks the stairs. 
• Banks gets her hand stomped out of a backslide attempt. Clever spot. Cole even uses the same throw to commercial. Wow.
• Sasha Banks comes back and counters Riott’s hand attacks with an arm drag off the top rope and takes out Sarah Logan with a suicide dive. Banks sold the hand while in midair.
• Liv Morgan yanks Sasha off the apron, and Bayley beats her up. Sasha gets kicked and rolled up for the pin off the distraction. 
• I need 20 minutes of these two. It would have hit 6/10 territory if they got time. 

AMBROSE RETURNS!

• We see Kurt Angle throughout the night being teased by Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre.
• Ziggler isn’t happy that there’s a clause in the contract that says Rollins can have someone in his corner Sunday. Rollins is “late” because of travel issues from China.
• Why do they have to sign the contract in public to make the match official? That’s dumb.
• Ziggler says Rollins isn’t here and it’s time to call it. Angle calls Rollins out to no avail.
• Drew McIntyre says they respect Rollins, because he works hard every week
• Ziggler says “you see” four times in this promo. They talk for a really long time. Jesus Christ. 
• Rollins comes out and says he wasn’t dealing with travel issues. Someone else was. 
• DEAN AMBROSE is back, with beard and buzzed head. They beat up Ziggler and McIntyre.