WWE: Monday Night RAW was LIVE from The Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO on 4/24/17!
The startling ring crash spot, and the replay of such, lead us into this week’s Raw. That spot has certainly been used before, but add in the ref bump and the two behemoths in the ring and you had all the makings of something great for live fans in attendance and a visual spectacle for those of us watching at home.
Break The Walls Down! Chris Jericho, clad in all the finer things, heads to the ring, list in hand, for what may perhaps be his last night in a WWE ring for months to come. He’s headed for a rematch for the US Title with Kevin Owens this coming Sunday, but he’s also set to hit the road with his band Fozzy. The Kansas City faithful are as loyal to the treasured veteran as they are to their beloved BBQ and Royals baseball franchise. Jericho makes ominous references to this perhaps being his final Raw, but only in the sense that he’ll head to Smackdown after besting the “mutton-head” Kevin Owens. He plays to the “friends of Jericho” who “cheer him on, maaan” and they do just that. He is bringing a very special guest, a sexy beast, to his final highlight reel, himself! It’s time to “chat him up, maaan”. He makes a “Payback” reference and then mocks it as he trashes Owens, calling himself the seed of Grumpy Cat and the Hunchback of Notre Dame. He’s set to put Owens on the list, but he is interrupted by The Miz, and the lovely Maryse, who is wearing a gorgeous dress. Miz talks about he and Maryse being the “it” couple and Jericho points to him and says he’s going to get “it”. Miz tells us “The Highlight Reel” has been officially counseled and it’s been replaced by MizTV. He orders the little people to remove all of Jericho’s props and they do just that, flipping the set quicker than a hiccup. Miz calls the Jeritron 6000 a TV and Jericho corrects him. Miz tries to introduce the segment and “The Lunatic Fringe”, the IC Champ, Dean Ambrose, interrupts him. He heads to the ring and hypes the crowd by stomping on the ring steps. He agrees with Jericho on Miz being a “stupid idiot” and the crowd chants along. Ambrose gives some baseball hand signals to the little people and now we have the “Ambrose Asylum” and the guests, Jericho, Miz, and Maryse. They are booed and Ambrose says guests aren’t booed on his show but they go again and he says they’ll go with it. Ambrose says that Jericho destroyed his potted plant “Mitch”, and he says he destroyed Jericho’s fifteen thousand dollar jacket and Jericho says he stills owes him that money. Dean says he lost it at the Blackjack table and he gives Jericho a suit jacket with a string of Christmas lights and invites him to “try it on, maaaan”. That was funny. Miz isn’t having it. He mocks the jacket, saying it comes from an IC Champ that’s a slacker and a bum. Miz is here to save the show from this sort of mediocrity. Ambrose does have a gift for the Miz, Dirty Deeds on the shag carpet! I actually got to type that out for the Scrum Sports and I couldn’t be happier. Jericho asks Maryse if she knows what happens when you’re married to the Miz? She’s added to the list! We head to a break after a fun opening segment. After the break, “Broken” Matt Hardy will see Sheamus in singles action before their tag title match this Sunday. Delightful!
Matt Hardy defeats Sheamus via pinfall with a Twist of Fate. I’m always so impressed watching Sheamus in the ring. He’s not always the flashiest guy in the world, but he’s darn consistent. We saw so many of the “Broken” Matt staples and I believe once they clear up this nonsense with Anthem and Impact Wrestling, we’ll see the gimmick in full form. These two veterans had a great matchup to open the show and the crowd was into it. Hardy hit a Twist of Fate and to the surprise of many including Scrum writer, Gene Selassie, we didn’t see the traditional fifty/fifty booking nonsense we’re used too as the Hardyz both got singles victories heading into this coming Sunday’s title match. Sheamus is frantic at the end of the contest blaming Jeff on the outside for the loss. Cesaro tries to calm down Sheamus, who offers Hardy a friendly hand. Hardy reluctantly accepts it and Jeff does the same with Cesaro as we see some sportsmanship before the big match Sunday.
The Raw GM, Kurt Angle, clad in a fresh suit, is backstage on the phone promoting tonight’s “Dumpster Match” between Braun Strowman and Kalisto. Miz hangs up the phone and Kurt chastises him. Kurt says he didn’t even book MizTV and Miz asks if Kurt’s gonna let them get away with it. He says problems are solved in the ring and he tells Miz to go find a partner for tag team action later against Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose. Maryse yells at Kurt in French and he says back atcha!
They head to a break and give us a promo for tomorrow’s Smackdown. I recommend that you enjoy Nathan’s coverage of the show as it’ll apparently start off with my favorite wrestler in the world, Shinsuke Nakamura! That is a must watch moment for sure!
Austin Aries and Jack Gallagher defeat Neville and TJ Perkins via pinfall after a Discus Fivearm by Aries on Perkins. That’s two really good matches tonight. As expected, this was a high flying hard hitting affair involving four guys who really know how to get after it. I really like the team of TJP and Neville as it makes for two good heels working together now as TJP seems like a natural heel. What a great way to hype the Cruiserweight title match for Payback as I am really looking forward to seeing Aries and Neville get after it again. Aries seems like the right choice to take the strap, but there is no way I am taking the belt off Neville anytime soon. He’s done incredible work as it relates to putting eyes on the division and keeping the title seems like a fair reward for that. Having said that, I certainly wouldn’t be upset seeing Aries wearing the strap and keeping his business with Neville going. Time will tell how that story plays out.
Kalisto defeats Braun Strowman in a Dumpster Match. Holy crap, Kalisto’s new mask and music are awesome. I hope this means the underutilized, but mega-talented young star is going to get a push despite this contest with Strowman. Kalisto took a marvelous bump as Strowman launched him across the entire ring from a vertical suplex hold. Braun then went to work on Kalisto, punishing him with power offense. They teased a spot where Kalisto nearly powered Braun over the ropes into the dumpster. This was anything but a classic squash match as they gave Kalisto some very potent offense and gave the crowd their money’s worth again with this contest. From a wrestling perspective, this has been a fine show and one I’ve very much enjoyed thus far. And in what might be considered the upset of the year, Kalisto takes advantage of a Strowman mistake to use Braun’s momentum against him, sending him into the dumpster! Strowman decimated Kalisto after the match, still looking strong. Many will be upset by this, but if it means that they are pushing a new star, especially a very talented one, I’m all for it. It doesn’t hurt Braun, unless he loses to Roman again this coming weekend, but what an impressive way to reintroduce Kalisto to Raw fans. Strowman places Kalisto in the dumpster and he wheels it up the ramp, and in a segment that seems like an ode to Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie, Kalisto is sent off the top of the ramp, crashing to the ground below! Adam Pearce, Fit Finlay and Jamie Noble couldn’t stop him and the young talented is destroyed to end the segment. A great win for Kalisto and a darn impressive response by Braun. Kudos!
We see Kalisto being helped from the dumpster, loaded onto a stretcher, and taken away to a local medical facility via ambulance. Kalisto had a bruised shoulder and cuts on his elbow, meaning that bump actually hurt the young star and kudos to him for taking that. I can’t even imagine how that would feel. We get a video package hyping the return of Roman Reigns immediately following the somber segment.
We jump cut to another promo from “The New Face Of Fear” Bray Wyatt as he speaks about the “House Of Horrors” match for the WWE Title with Randy Orton this coming Sunday. Bray cuts a promo as only he can, talking about a descent into madness and the match between an eternal prison for Orton’s mind and soul. The man really is a wordsmith and he needs to be pushed to the mountain top again on Raw. He is so incredibly unique. I expect him to lose to Orton, but hopefully he and Finn will get involved in a feud that draws both money and ratings for those who appreciate what both men do for the product.
Dana Brooke defeats Alicia Fox via pinfall with a Michinoku Driver. Well, the streak of quality matches had to come to an end. Alicia and Dana was what it was and served to fill it’s purpose as a time filler. Emma made an appearance at ringside, probably to introduce a potential feud with her former protege, which she will surely carry. Dana seems very likable, but she still needs a lot of work. She promptly defeats Foxxy for the victory and she locks eyes with Emma. It was what it was. Emma hugs Dana after the match, congratulating her and Dana seems taken aback. I want Emma heavily involved in the title picture and hopefully she defeats Dana promptly and moves into contention. They promote the Payback card after the match as we get ready for Sunday.
Samoa Joe, Gallows and Anderson are backstage and they’ll be teaming up against Seth Rollins, Enzo Amore and Big Cass later tonight. They talk about taking care of business and the “Good Brothers” talk about knowing Samoa Joe for years. They call Enzo and Cass “nerds” and “butt-nuggets”, which wins the week. Joe says he will break Rollins at Payback for crimes committed against Triple H, if he even makes it that far. He says he shredded one ligament, tonight, he’ll do the rest. That match is next actually! Cool!
Seth Rollins/Finn Balor/Big Cass defeat Samoa Joe/Gallows and Anderson via pinfall with a six man tag match after a Short Arm Knee Strike from Rollins to Anderson. In one of the greatest heel spots in modern memory, the “Good Brothers” and Joe attacked Enzo and Cass from the crowd towards the end of their introductory shctick. You know that had to incite the crowd and Enzo was destroyed with a Magic Killer on the floor. Cass was assaulted in the crowd by Joe, but after Rollins made his entrance, Cass joined the fray and they fought off the heels before the break while medical technicians tended to Enzo. With Enzo unable to compete, Kurt Angle makes his presence felt by introducing a new partner, the “Real Rock N Rolla” Finn Balor! The first ever Universal champion will compete against his former good brothers and what a match we had! Balor looked great, as did Joe. I tell you what, nobody throws hands like Gallows. He dished out Soup-bones that were reminiscent of “Booger Red” himself, the Undertaker. Put them ham-hocks in a pot of greens and we got a Sunday dinner. Unreal. Go watch that dude throw hands. Cass hits a monstrous boot that sends Gallows over the top and after he spills out himself, Rollins hits a topei suicida onto Joe and Anderson. Rollins debuts his new finisher that he’s been using at the house shows, teasing a pedigree, but delivering a high impact knee to the face on Anderson to win the match for his team. Balor hit a beautiful delayed dropkick on the outside himself. The finisher is basically the Rainmaker setup with a knee strike. A short arm knee strike if you will. Good stuff.
Alexa Bliss comes out after the break and cuts a great heel promo, even mocking the infamous “what” chant which we can still blame Steve Austin and “Captain Charisma” Christian for. It was all a result of a missed phonecall and lengthy message during Austin’s travel from city to city. Alexa makes an emphatic statement about beating Bayley and taking the title and the champ is out. She takes issue with Bliss taking subtle shots at her. She says she’s no fool, and she’s not just talk, Bayley says she works hard every single day to live the dream and hang onto the championship. Alexa mocks Bayley’s child-like character and she even makes fun of the fact that Bayley probably hasn’t even kissed a boy. That’s cold blooded and savage. Sasha Banks takes issue with Alexa’s trash talk and she heads to the ring to backup her best friend. Bliss doesn’t even let her talk before she mocks the Sasha/Bayley sideshow. She asks Bayley if Sasha leaves love notes in the lunch she packs for Bayley! Hah! Bliss is a solid promo. Sasha says that not only is Bayley gonna show her up, she’s gonna shut her up. Sasha says she’s gonna do the same tonight. Sasha asks the crowd if they want Sasha to shut her up? Bliss says that’s cute, but unlike her, she has a title match Sunday. Alexa says she doesn’t feel safe in the ring with an unhinged Sasha Banks, but Sasha’s had enough and she flattens Bliss. They will have a match and that will take place right after the break!
Sasha Banks defeats Alexa Bliss via countout. The two incredible talents mix it up for a few minutes, but after Sasha gets the upper hand, Alexa decides to make her exit and she’ll live to fight another day, knowing her title match is Sunday. Bayley comes out after Alexa makes her exit and she has words with Bliss, but Alexa cheap-shots her and leaves her lying on the ramp before making a hasty exit. Excited for Bliss and Bayley Sunday.
Jericho and Ambrose have a great backstage segment where Ambrose asks Jericho to take him off the list. Jericho says he still owes him fifteen thousand bucks and he powerbombed him into a bunch of thumbtacks during the “Ambrose Asylum” match. Ambrose says he’s not sorry and he’d do it again. Jericho is happy with his jacket and he tells Dean what happens when you buy Jericho a nice jacket? You UN-MAKE the list! Ambrose is super happy and he heads off as Jericho has a sinister expression set upin his face and he clicks the pen. He adds Ambrose back to the list! Hah! Classic!
We find out after the break that we’ll have Finn Balor as the guest on MizTV during the Payback pre-show. We’ll also see Enzo Amore and Big Cass competing against “The Good Brothers” Gallows and Anderson. I’m cool with that. Miz is still looking for a partner and he strikes out with Curtis Axel, Rhyno and Heath Slater. They promote “Marine 5” and I couldn’t care less. I’m sure there are those who will, but “La La Land” comes out tomorrow and that’s a terrific film. Now if Heath Slater or The Miz was in that, I’d have seen it.
Apollo Crews defeats Curt Hawkins via pinfall with the Spinout Powerbomb. Curt Hawkins is in the ring and we’re going to “Face The Facts” now. Apparently, the “star factory” is ready to make another name. He issues an open challenge and we get Apollo Crews. The young talent is out to a mild reaction. It’s such a shame. He’s so incredible talented with no discernible gimmick. Do they even realize he’s from the hometown of Jake “The Snake” Roberts? Why not book him as a quality heel or give him something besides a welcoming smile. Crews is way too talented to be so poorly written and used. He makes short work of Hawkins, and he puts him away after Hawkins gets in a smattering of offense. The crowd actually chants for Crews at one point. There are those who actually cheer for Hawkins as well! That’s just funny. Graves and Booker T. discuss Crews crashing through the glass ceiling and Booker is critical of Crews just saying he’s gonna work harder and stay in the gym. He tells him to make an impact and I agree with the Hall Of Famer.
We see words from Roman Reigns from wwe.com where Roman talked about losing his brother, Rosey of Three Minute Warning and he sidekick of “Hurricane” Gregory Helms. Roman says the last few weeks have been very taxing as he lost his only brother and was battered by Strowman at that. Our hearts do go out to Roman and his family as they grieve their loss and many will be excited to see Roman back in action this Sunday against Braun Strowman. We get a great video package highlighting their feud up to this point. We then ready for the main event.
Austin Aries is chatting up Kurt Angle about a twist on 205 live’s main event tomorrow. Kurt sounds intrigued and Aries hands him a snack. Kurt takes the banana and he sees Miz and Maryse. He asks Miz if he’s found a partner and Miz says his partner found him. He hear that dandy drifter as Elias Samson plays his way into the segment. Kurt goes wild eyed and Miz says not him! They head to a break and we’ll find out who it is when we get back.
Bray Wyatt/The Miz and Chris Jericho/Dean Ambrose is ruled a no contest. Miz introduces his partner and whomever it is, they don’t show up. Miz tries to say he’s gonna get everything sorted out and he wants the match cancelled. Miz is going to be subjected to a fair deal of brutality at the hands of Jericho ad Ambrose in a handicap match. Ambrose and Jericho do indeed put in work on the former world champion as they head to the first break. We come back and Miz is holding his own against the two ring generals, but he eventually falls victim to the two on one assault. Ambrose takes him over to the announce table as Miz tries to escape, but just as Ambrose prepares to issue the Dirty Deeds, we get the quick cut and Bray Wyatt appears! Ambrose is issued a Sister Abigail into the video wall. Miz and Wyatt drag Jericho to the ring, the match having been tossed out at this point. Wyatt hits a Sister Abigail on Jericho and then he does the same to Miz, kneeling with his arms outstretched as the show ends. That’s exactly how you bring in a former world champion. Don’t ruin it. Push him to the moon. He darn sure deserves it.
