Match Ratings For WWE Raw 7/27/20 From Sean Ross Sapp

Orton’s next target

• A Randy Orton video airs and he makes his way to the ring.
• He says he’s always done exactly what he wanted to do and that’s never going to change, but he’s missing something. He wants to become WWE Champion again.
• Orton notes that Drew McIntyre was around ten years ago when Orton was on top, but he had his head so far up his ass, that Drew got himself fired.
• Randy Orton challenges Drew McIntyre to a WWE Championship match at Summerslam. He says that Drew will never see his RKO coming.

Shayna and Nia

• Nia Jax meets Orton on the ramp, and says she’s in the same boat and wants to be WWE Raw Women’s Champion.
• She says she got screwed out of the title the last time she faced Asuka. I think she got more screwed by not showing up on WWE TV after writing off Charlotte Flair.
• Shayna Baszler comes out and says nobody cares what she say, and the two brawl. Hey, cool! I’m down for this.
• It’s different, and not a title match, so I like it. Then I realize they’re burning through it on TV.
• Well, they don’t burn through much of it. They brawl to a double countout. But they never do a first time at a PPV. Besides my point of bitching, this was good.
• Please make Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax the Peter Griffin vs. The Chicken angle I’ve always wanted. They fight everywhere.

Top Contender Match
Angel Garza & Andrade (w/ Zelina) defeated Cedric Alexander & Ricochet and Viking Raiders
6/10

• Street Profits do in-ring introductions.
• I like early on that all the teams are like “forget the rules.” There are none besides legal men.
• Viking Raiders do a great assisted German Suplex.
• We come back from the break to see everyone going 110 MPH. The action is crazy here. The strikes are really crisp.
• Ivar does a somerault senton onto the pile.
• Wing Clipper on Cedric gets it done.
• This was way, way too short. Within the scope of the show, you have to see this, though.

THE GREATER GOOD

• Rollins asks if Murphy is there with him tonight, and Murphy confirms.
• Rollins calls out Dominick. The latter hesitates, but comes out.
• He gets jumped. What a dummy! Dom sells pretty well.
• Rollins says it’s not his fault and Dom asked for it.
• Aleister Black tries to make the save, but he gets jumped, too. He has a cast on.
• Rollins tells Murphy to take care of this. Black has embarrassed him time and time again. Murphy takes out Black’s eye on the stairs.
• Vince just REALLY wanted pirates and eye patches on WWE TV this year huh?
• Dom comes back with a kendo stick and wails away on the heels and they run off.

Bobby Lashley (w/ The Hurt Business) defeated Ali
6.25/10

• R-Truth says he has his eyes on “Mufasa” Ali.
• MVP brings Ali on the show, and they take shots at each other.
• MVP makes a proposal to Ali and says otherwise, he can be like Apollo Crews and sit on the couch.
• R-Truth tries to win the 24/7 Title, unsuccessfully.
• Lashley is dominating Ali. Very one sided.
• Tozawa’s ninjas come out and Lashley FREAKING KILLS ONE on the ringpost with a manual F5 on the ringpost. We’re gonna call it the BivensBuster, whether it was him or not.
• Ali fights back briefly, but gets sent into the ringpost. I haven’t seen anyone since Bret Hart use a ring post better than Bobby Lashley.
• Lashley does his best elevated Flatliner ever, in large part due to Ali.
• There was a great sequence into the finish. Ali fights back with a Tornado DDT, but misses his finish and gets submitted with a Full Nelson.

WWE Raw Women’s Championship
Can Win The Title By DQ Or Countout
Sasha Banks defeated Asuka (c) to become Raw Women’s Champion
7/10

• Bayley is out with Sasha. Banks says Asuka is jealous of her and Bayley.
• Kairi Sane runs off Bayley.
• Banks does a Backstabber out of the ropes.
• Apparently Sasha Banks forgot that she can get counted out. Instead, she tries to get Asuka DQ’d, but the ref sees it.
• Asuka head kicks Sasha before the break. When we come back, Sasha is working over the leg.
• Banks does an incredible frog splash, but doesn’t get the win.
• Outside the ring, Sasha drops the leg of Asuka across the desk to try to get a countout win.
• Banks Statement by Banks, into an Ankle Lock. Asuka is distracted by Bayley beating Kairi senseless backstage.
• Asuka goes out to help Kairi Sane, and gets counted out!!
• Another fuck finish, but another outstanding match.
• Bayley and Sasha are celebrating backstage.
• Asuka is emotional and tearful and livid.

Other Happenings

• We see a Regis Philbin tribute video.

Buddy Murphy defeated Humberto Carrillo
5.75/10

• Where the hell was Humberto earlier? No explanation, and that kind of already takes me out of this. No consistency.
• They knock the shit out of each other with stiff strikes.
• Carrillo has a really good missile dropkick.
• Murphy’s gear is a choice. He looks like he’s going on a snowboarding vacation.
• Murphy catches Humberto off the top rope with a knee and does Murphy’s Law for the win.
• If this had consistent story, I’d have liked it a bunch more. Good match though.

WWE Championship
Extreme Rules
Drew McIntyre (c) defeated Dolph Ziggler
5.5/10

• Drew is on board with the Summerslam title match with Orton and cuts a promo on him.
• He tells Ziggler their match is Extreme Rules.
• Chairs, canes and plexiglass — Ziggler gets beaten up until a ballshot.
• Drew comes back and ECW Gores Ziggler through a barricade before the break.
• Coming back, Ziggler does a nice FameAsser.
• Ziggler counters a Claymore with the Zig Zag.
• Claymore through a table gets the win.
• Ziggler has now lost seven WWE Title matches dating back to December 2016. He’s lost ten straight world title matches in total, going back to 2013.
• RKO out of nowhere!

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!