WhiteTail Wrestling

RAW tonight is from the Capital One Arena in Washington DC. In the ring we have the Bloodline awaiting the Usos tag title defense which will open the show. We then see footage from backstage as the Bloodline destroy Elias who is one half of their opponents. After the Usos cut a promo Riddle comes out although his tag team partner is no longer able to compete tonight he has found someone who hates the Bloodline as much as he does. That man is Kevin Owens we will have a tag title match to kick off RAW.

Owens starts on fire destroying his opponents to the delight of the crowd. Riddle also gets his share of attacks in early before some dastardly heel tactics allow the Usos to take back control over the match. The match is very good with first one side in control and then the other with Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa on the outside allows looking like dangerous allies for the Usos and in the end they make the difference an intervention from Zayn allows the Usos to double team Riddle and defend their titles. A 505 day reign will continue. After the match Owens comes into the ring to prevent an attack on Riddle chasing the Bloodline out to the back but Solo Sikoa is still there and he dismantles Riddle forcing EMT’s to take Riddle out on a stretcher with a neck brace. Looks like Riddle will be written off TV for at least a few weeks.

The next will be a RAW Women’s Championship number 1 contender triple threat qualifying match. Bayley comes to the ring first before Becky Lynch walks to the ring from the crowd. Lynch who will be in the second triple threat match later tonight has a promo battle which was decently good and shows both women off as two of the leaders of the Women’s division on Monday night’s. Rhea Ripley comes to the ring for the match staring off with Lynch these two will also clearly face off again in the future. The final competitor will be Asuka the Empress of Tomorrow.

This was an excellent ***1/2(Recommended) match with each woman given the chance to shine with numerous pinfall and submission attempts but each time it looked like the match was over the third competitor was there to prevent the fall. The match came to an end when Ripley who at that stage was in the ring with Asuka went to the outside to try and take Bayley out of the match but Bayley avoids the attack a running senton of the steps putting Ripley out of the match long enough for Bayley to get back in the ring and defeat Asuka. Ripley who is furious after the defeat takes out the fallen Asuka with the riptide.

We get a Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley segment with Rollins goading Lashley into attacking prior to their match next week which will be a number one contender’s match for the United States Championship. Both men brawl which then leads to security and backstage producers to try and break up the fight Lashley tries to spear Rollins but Rollins pushes a producer into the raging charge of Lashley ending the segment and achieving his goal of antagonizing his opponent. Austin Theory is backstage with Mustafa Ali leading to a match next where Theory defends his US title against Ali.

This match is bad it was boring early and there was a botch when Ali attempted to make a comeback. The match ends in a DQ when Dolph Ziggler attacks Theory. Ali is angry with Ziggler for causing the DQ and ruining his chance at the title but the argument just causes them both to be beaten up by Theory. Theory is clearly getting a push but he wasn’t very impressive here and to make matters worse both Ziggler and Ali were made to look like complete Geeks.

A JBL poker tournament has been taking place throughout RAW which has been entertaining and resulted in a few arguments. The tournament completely melts away into nothing after Baron Corbin is accused of cheating by AJ Styles and his OC teammates. AJ Styles will team with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson against Baron Corbin and the Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis).

Baron Corbin is accompanied to the ring by JBL who heads to the commentary desk for this match. This match was very good although it felt a little long with the highlight of the match being a short burst of exciting action towards the end with each team trying fervently to win the match with the OC picking up the win when Gallows and Anderson hit the magic killer on Gable.

Another match that resulted due to poker was Dominik Mysterio vs Akira Tozawa. Tozawa got all the offence in a 3 minute match but missed a top rope senton allowing Dominik to win with the frog splash. Dominik and the Judgement Day are about to attack Tozawa but Street Profits run out to make the save.

Now time for the main event which will decide who will meet Bayley next week in a match that will determine the number 1 contender for Bianca Belair’s RAW Women’s championship. Becky Lynch who had confronted Bayley earlier in the night will take on Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross in a triple threat match. This was very good with some good action as all three competitors got a chance to show their stuff although I felt the match felt a little long for the action that was presented. Lynch was in a strong position to win the match but she was attacked by Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai of Bayley’s group Damage Control this provided a golden opportunity for Alexa Bliss who was able to pick up the win to end the show as Cross was already down in the ring.

A really enjoyable episode of RAW with some good matches and moments and without some of the nonsense that RAW was known for in the Vince McMahon days. No terrible matches and not an extra long feeling show like some episodes particularly when like I did you don’t watch the show live and without the ads.

Wrestler Points

Bayley – 6

Not only did Bayley win in the best match on the card she was involved in the highlight of the show non wrestling wise in a segment with Becky Lynch.

Rhea Ripley – 5

Ripley performed very well in the triple threat match and had a face off with Becky Lynch she made the mistake that allowed Bayley to win the match but she got her heat back destroying Asuka in the aftermath.

The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) – 4

The tag champs defended their titles in a very good match which got the show off to a quality start. With the other members of the bloodline they continue to be a focus on both Monday and Friday nights.

Becky Lynch – 4

Lynch was involved in a good segment with Bayley with the rivalry between the two costing her in the main event as Bayley’s group cost her a match that she had one.

Alexa Bliss – 4

Bliss earned a match with Bayley next week after Lynch was taken out of the main event defeating with Cross after the twisted bliss. Bliss who has not won the Women’s championship for some time could have an opportunity to win some gold if she can defeat Bayley next week.

Asuka – 4

Asuka performed very well in her match but she took the fall and was then attacked by Ripley after the match being treated like the third person in the match.

Kevin Owens – 3

KO teamed up with Riddle in the opener but couldn’t get the win against the Usos with Riddle pinned. Owens is going to be facing off against the Bloodline for some time to come.

Matt Riddle – 2

Riddle was good in the opener but was defeated and then destroyed by Solo Sikoa after the match.

Solo Sikoa – 2

Sikoa played his enforcer role in the Bloodline taking out both Elias and then Matt Riddle.

The Good Brothers (Gallows & Anderson) – 2

The OC won their trios match with the Good Brothers getting the win on Gable.

Nikki Cross – 2

Cross performed pretty well in the main event but was the one to take the fall.

Sami Zayn – 1

Subtle interference from Zayn allowed the Usos to retain their titles in the opener.

Seth Rollins – 1

Rollins was involved in a decent segment with Lashley provoking the almighty one into a tussle.

Bobby Lashley – 1

Lashley was provoked into an altercation with Rollins.

Austin Theory – 1

While Theory wasn’t particularly impressive in his match against Ali he came out on top in the segment against both Ali and Dolph Ziggler.

AJ Styles – 1

Styles helped his team members in the OC pick up a victory in a trios match.

Baron Corbin – 1

Corbin played his role well in a trios match although his team was defeated.

Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis) – 1

Solid performance particularly from Gable even in defeat.

Damage Control (Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai) – 1

Took out Becky Lynch in the main event preventing the Man from winning and setting up a Bayley vs Alexa Bliss match for next week.

Promotion Points

WWE

1 excellent match – 3

2 very good matches – 4

Total – 7