The night following the surprisingly enjoyable WWE Stomping Grounds PPV, Monday Night Raw in many eyes could have upset the fans around the world like it usually does. But instead, the show was rather enjoyable in certain cases. Of course, having no Firefly Fun House segment is preposterous, but Abby The Witch did make a cameo so Bray Wyatt may be near. Let’s dig into a rather enjoyable show, here are the Raw highlights!
Raw Highlights (6/24/19)
Raw Highlights: Lacey Evans and Baron Corbin
A unique matchup was announced for Extreme Rules in July as Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch will take on Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans in a Mixed Tag Team match, one that will be winner take all for the winner. After losing twice each, Corbin and Evans have realized their only chance may be together. If they lose, however, they will have no chance to face the two champions ever again. Praise that stipulation.
Raw Highlights: Undertaker makes a Shocking Return
As most fans were (probably) clamoring for, the WWE gave us a handicap match as Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon faced Roman Reigns. It may be shocking, but with Drew and Shane not having to tag in, there was no chance for “The Big Dog” to win this one. McIntyre would hit a Claymore on Reigns which would have certainly be enough, but Shane McMahon was not finished. Drew would hold up Reigns as Shane would deliver a Spear while mimicking him. Another Claymore would be laid on to the already destroyed Reigns which would have been the point of victory. Shane, the great guy he is, wanted to hit the Coast 2 Coast to put the nail on the coffin (coffin… get it?).
As Shane prepared for his jump, the gong would hit, and the lights would go out. The lights would come back with Undertaker standing in the middle of the ring. He would take out both Shane and McIntyre, finally giving Roman some much-needed backup. It would then be announced that the Undertaker would team with “The Big Dog” at Extreme Rules to face the duo of Shane and McIntyre. A real surprise no one expected, which is nice to see in wrestling today.
#AndNEW: 24/7 Craze with 5 New Champions
Earlier in the night, R-Truth would respectfully defend his 24/7 Championship against former champion Drake Maverick. In a quick victory, Truth would take off with Carmella as it had seemed as though he was gone for the night. We would have a planned match between Heath Slater and Mojo Rawley. This is when R-Truth would come back on the scene, high fiving fans on the outside of the ring. Then the locker room would empty and chase the champion. Heath Slater would manage to hit Truth would a neckbreaker and become the new 24/7 Champion. Slater would try to fight everyone off, allowing Truth to roll him back up and become an 8-time 24/7 Champion.
Truth was a little mixed up still from earlier, as former Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander would roll into the ring and hit a springboard kick on Truth to win the 24/7 Championship for the first time in his career. Cedric would be on his way out by avoiding all he could before EC3 would grab his head and drive him into the ground. He would manage to win the 24/7 Championship and it felt perfect all around. As he celebrated, he would head for the back, but Carmella would steal the title. Leaving EC3 turned around and allowing Truth to pin EC3 for his 9th 24/7 Championship reign. A crazy night, but continuously enjoyable.
Raw MVP: “The One and Only” vs “The Phenomenal One”
This new plan of not having matches go on during commercials was perfection for Raw. The main event was between the returning AJ Styles and the new United States Champion, Ricochet. After the restart due to the Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson coming out to the ring, this was all action. The young champion in Ricochet spent much of the match impressing the veteran Styles, seemingly upsetting Styles for much of the match.
As the match neared its close, Ricochet continuously did anything he could to try and keep the former WWE Champion down. “The One and Only” would get to the point of going for the 630 Splash, but Styles would roll out of the way. He would then manage to hit a thunderous Phenomenal Forearm on Ricochet to pin the new champion. What was able to be appreciated was the action between these two. The respect shown at the end of the match, and the fact that these two are far from over. Ricochet’s first main roster main event was one to write home about.
Plenty of good moments on Monday Night Raw that was capped off by a phenomenal main event. In case you missed it yesterday, I exemplified the misused talent on Raw and how they can help the product. Some of those names were in a tad more featured role, which is good to see. Make sure to check back later as well, as the SmackDown LIVE underutilized list is even longer. And of course, the usual SmackDown LIVE Rundown tomorrow as well.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
