Wrestling
Sean Raw Sapp (5/7): Raw Podcast Notes, Ratings, More
Opening segment
- Dean Ambrose says that he's been named acting GM of Raw. It'd be hilarious if next week it was revealed he lied about the whole thing. Miz says he's co-acting GM.
- Great crowd in England. Grass is green.
- Braun Strowman comes out and calls Reigns "The Big Dog." Ah shit.
- Kalisto wants Strowman, for some reason. Oh.
- I hope "The World's Bravest Tiny Little Man" is a nickname they have to repeat.
- Ambrose makes Finn Balor vs. Miz up next.
Finn Balor defeated Miz (w/ Maryse)
4/10
- Kick kick kick kick kick kick kick.
- Yeah, a front dropkick on the floor. THAT makes sense.
- Miz got sloppy with a neckbreaker.
- 13 televised kicks. 5 front drop and 2 side drop kicks by the count of one of our readers.
- The viewer is conditioned to think that bumping hurts. Finn Balor bumps himself all night.
- Finn Balor is going to need a better tan, or else his leg will be beet red after every match.
- Miz pushed Balor into the ref, and as acting GM demanded a DQ. Ambrose came out and said "NAH" and banned Maryse.
- Balor won with the Coup De Grace.
- My inability to enjoy Finn Balor matches is kind of a bummer.
Backstage crappenings
- Alexa Bliss is so great, and Nia Jax is so not. This really put that on display.
- Samoa Joe is one of the worst "YOU SEE" offenders in wrestling. He cuts a pretty good promo here, though. I would fire any camera man who did this bad of a job, though.
- Golden Truth's backstage segment was great, and the type of thing we need more of.
Alexa Bliss (w/ Nia Jax) defeated Mickie James (w/ Bayley)
3.5/10
- Bayley got a great reaction from the London crowd. She looked like the star she could be, and wasn't even in the match.
- Mickie James is the type of person you want Alexa working with to get better.
- The DDT/STO reversal was really awkward.
- This was a rough match.
- Mickie gets squished by Nia Jax.
Braun Strowman vs. Kalisto
- Strowman, one armed, beats the shiznit out of Kalisto.
- Reigns comes out to thunderous boos. He attacks Strowman's injury. This is the Reigns I want to see.
- Michael Cole is great here, too.
- The Monster Among Men retreats from The Big Dog. That was a real line. Nooooooo.
Tag Team Turmoil
Cesaro and Sheamus win
5.75/10
- Good reaction for Enzo and Cass. They also found attractive women chanting for the duo, so that's cool I guess.
- Big Cass gets more aggressive than I've ever seen him, which is promising.
- Cesaro stomps Enzo about 200 times, but Enzo doesn't have anywhere to sell.
- Enzo taps out to a Sharpshooter.
- Sheamus and Cesaro attack Heath Slater and Rhyno before getting to the ring.
- They dispose of these two easily.
- Gallows and Anderson are next, and Anderson has a really cool step up boot in the corner.
- Hooray for people watching TV right!
- Cesaro suplexed Gallows, and wow.
- There's a cool spot where everyone gets taken out.
- Sheamus Brogue Kicked Gallows for the win
- The only team that I think ends up a little hurt here is Gallows and Anderson.
- Goldust sells an injured knee better than anyone I've seen in main event programs lately.
- Cesaro and Sheamus win after a 28 minute run.
- They attack Golden Truth, but The Hardy Boyz run them off.
- Cole is mad, but how are Sheamus and Cesaro cowards? They just beat four teams over a half-hour.
Seth Rollins defeated Samoa Joe via DQ
6/10
- Joe and Rollins start off fast and violent.
- This is a good battle, and Rollins has sold the leg a lot more convincingly than in previous matches.
- Rollins eats exposed turnbuckle and Joe gets DQ'd
- Solid match. Nothing special. Looks like they're headed for another PPV bout.
- A Coquina Clutch is applied after the bell.
TJP defeated Jack Gallagher
4/10
- I loved the false finish of the immediate headbutt.
- TJP wins and continues to confuse the division, which is kind of cool.
- TJP attacks Gallagher after the bell. Aries makes the save.
- This is like four straight matches that we've seen an attack after the bell
Sasha Banks defeated Alicia Fox
4.5/10
- Alicia and Sasha Banks really go at it.
- Alicia Fox's bridge is awesome off of a Northern Lights Suplex.
- Nothing says anger like a good ol' rear chinlock.
- Sasha reversing the backbreaker was nice. SCOUTED. Likewise Alicia with the double knees.
- Sasha hits a good set of double knees off the second rope, but the pin was trash. Alicia's shoulder was up. I hope it leads to an angle.
- I'd love to see a longer match between those two.
Bray Wyatt defeated Dean Ambrose
5.5/10
- Bray Wyatt lands a nice suplex to the floor.
- It definitely doesn't seem like it's been a year or two since these guys were in a feud.
- This is a much better match than I expected between the two.
- Miz blasts Ambrose with the IC title. A normally hot London crowd doesn't care much for the turdy show they saw.
- Wyatt wins.
- Miz attacks Ambrose for the fifth post-match beatdown of the night. Aight then.
- A pretty terrible Raw all in all.