Match Ratings For WWE Raw 7/20/20 From Sean Ross Sapp

Seth Rollins (w/ Buddy Murphy) defeated Aleister Black
5.5/10

• Seth Rollins comes out and says what he did last night will stay with him forever and he’ll never forget it. He tries to deflect blame, which brings out Aleister Black.
• Black yells at Rollins and attacks him before their match.
• They get into it, and it’s good. Black’s strikes are as crisp as ever.
• Rollins misses the Stomp and eats a Black Mass.
• This match will either be a DQ, or a Black loss. Neither are great
• We go through a commercial and both guys trade kicks.
• A Stomp hits and Rollins pins Black.
• Over a year. Over a year of not losing straight up singles matches done for Aleister Black. No mention of it.
• Stupid. Ridiculous. A waste.
• Murphy and Rollins attack Aleister Black and break his hand. Him being off TV is probably better for him than what they’ve done over the last month.
• Rollins Stomps Black’s hand.

24/7 Championship
Shelton Benjamin defeated R-Truth to become champion

• GODDAMN FAAROOQ is talking to MVP and Bobby Lashley about “another way.”
• R-Truth says MVP is walking around with a replica.
• They ask Truth to walk to the ring with them, but it’s a setup to get Shelton the title.

Mustafa Ali, Cedric Alexander & Ricochet defeated The Hurt Business
6/10

• Who is penning these elementary school promos? These are MISERABLE.
• Ricochet and Cedric Alexander come out and say they have a third partner, it’s Mustafa Ali.
• Tell us Mustafa Ali’s Smackdown contract expired and he signed with Raw. Thanks.
• Those promos were so bad it’s hard for me to even get into this match with six awesome competitors.
• Lashley is feeling special again, which is good.
• Ricochet gets isolated and beat down in this very long match.
• Ali gets the hot tag and does an insane suicide dive on Lashley.
• Ali wins with a 450 splash on MVP.

Ruby Riott defeated Peyton Royce
5/10

• Bianca Belair cuts a good promo to remind us what the EST of WWE is, because she’s not been on TV in months.
• WWE has the laziEST booking, and that’s why they left Bianca Belair off TV for months.
• Peyton Royce and Ruby Riott show up and interrupt the promo, Billie Kay isn’t there tonight.
• Peyton applies her version of the Tarantula and screams at Ruby that she’s a loser. Why she yelling? Everyone can hear her already.
• There’s a wild looking jumping kick from Royce.
• A missed dive leads to a Riott Kick.
• Ruby has that “I CAN’T BELIEVE I WON A MATCH” look on her face.

Street Profits defeated Angel Garza & Andrade (w/ Zelina)
6/10

• Street Profits interrupt an interview and attack Angel Garza and Andrade.
• I love Angel Garza using a stockade. Bad ass.
• Montez is going about 100 MPH tonight and looks great doing it. Leapfrog, dropkick, flip up and tope con hilo. Unreal.
• There’s an awkward Andrade back body drop suplex, but I guess it’s effective.
• Angelo does a great series of T-Bone suplexes.
• Montez Ford with one of the best frog splashes in wrestling history. He went 180 and got insane height. That was unbelievable.
• Also, why wasn’t that a title match? Like, why make the stakes less?
• After that, everyone else on the roster gotta put away their frog splashes for a while. Just let Montez keep it after that. Unbelievable.
• Zelina is going off on Andrade and Garza for losing.

Kairi Sane (w/ Asuka) defeated Bayley (w/ Sasha Banks)
6.75/10

• Sasha Banks says Asuka was actually handed the Raw Women’s Championship, but she earned it.
• There was no official around, so Bayley counted the pin for her!
• The Kabuki Warriors interrupt, but then Stephanie McMahon interrupts. Sasha Banks vs. Asuka next week for the title. You can lose via pinfall, countout, DQ.
• Kairi vs. Bayley next. Kairi is going to be missed.
• Kairi Sane does a rope hung stomp. I’m not much on rope hung moves, but it looked neat.
• Shayna Baszler is watching and she’s mad about not getting matches.
• Kairi is going through her greatest hits with her sliding elbow and neckbreaker.
• Bayley hangs Kairi with a short arm hold.
• Goddamn Del Rio stomp spot. At least Kairi does a great spinning backfist and Insane Elbow.
• Bayley gets her foot on the ropes.
• Bayley does the Bayley to Back and Flying Elbow, but Kairi rolls her up for the win!!
• This would be a lot higher, but it’s really hard for me to get behind a match where someone has to hold themselves on the ropes to wait for a move multiple times.
• I’m going to miss Kairi.

This must continue.

• Drew McIntyre says Ziggler almost got him, but almost is the story of Dolph’s career.
• Drew McIntyre’s “worthy challengers” so far have been Big Show coming off an absence, Rollins off of a Mania loss, Ziggler for…showing up…and Ziggler coming off of a loss. They tried with Lashley.
• Ziggler wants a re-match, Drew says no and headbutts him.
• Ziggler begs him and says Drew can choose the stipulation, time and place.

Unsanctioned Match
Randy Orton defeated Big Show
6.5/10

• Randy Orton talks about defining moments and says he’s making his now, and he loves killing legends.
• We get a Big Show tribute video.
• No Ric Flair here because his wife has COVID.
• Christian is interviewed via Skype about the dangers of Randy Orton. I can barely hear him. He whispers.
• Big Show remembers teaming with Orton back in the day. There’s a HAMMER AND CHISEL reference.
• Show chops and spears Orton HEAVY.
• Garza and Andrade help out Orton. Viking Raiders make the save.
• We come back to Big Show chokeslamming Orton for two.
• Big Show misses a punch, and misses a Vader Bomb through the table.
• I probably wouldn’t have had Big Show kick out of an RKO, but they did.
• Orton beats Show with a chair and hits a draping DDT.
• Randy Orton is probably at his best he’s ever been, and that’s saying something.
• Orton punts the shit out of Big Show. Later, bro

Rating Guide
10- Perfect, 9- MOTY Territory, 8- Excellent, 7- Great, 6- Good, 5- Average to above average, 4- Slightly below average, 3 or below: Poor

Each match starts at a 5 and slides up and down based on entertainment, execution, time, environment, reaction and stakes. The ratings are in no way an indication of a “star rating,” which is a completely different system. A standard, non-offensive “TV match” lands at a 5. The gap between 5.75-6 is generally the largest, with anything reaching 6 being recommended viewing.
These are opinions, and incredibly inconsistent ones that may change upon a second viewing, or sitting on the match for a period of time. Don’t take them too seriously, and have (and share) your own!