Smackdown August 9th 2016

Smackdown 

After the fallout of Smackdown last week with the Wyatts standing tall, would Dolph and Dean retaliate? 

The Wyatt Family

Bray Wyatt came out to start the show flanked by Wyatt Family member Erick Rowan. Bray told everyone that he didn't fall to Dolph because Dolph cheated, and basically Bray played victim throughout his little speech. He was just beginning to say he's a God when Dean Ambrose's music hit. Dean accused Bray of acting like a big baby, to which Bray told him to get in the ring. Dean told him he would but he's not that dumb to walk right in to a 2 on 1 fight. Then Dolph Ziggler came out.

Dolph walked with purpose and walked right past Dean Ambrose and jumped in to the ring right at the two Wyatts. Dean reluctantly jumped in to help Dolph as he was being overpowered in the 2 on 1 scenario. They battled it out until Bray had Dean in position for Sister Abigail. Dolph sets up to Superkick Bray but Bray moves Dean's head in the way and Dolph accidentally hits Dean. Dolph then hit Erick Rowan with another Superkick but turned around right in to a Sister Abigail from Bray, leaving the Wyatts standing tall. It was then announced backstage that Dolph and Dean would take on the Wyatts and this is pretty classic where the champion and the contender have a common enemy and team up even though they'll soon be fighting each other. It's not bad but it's kind of over used. 

American Alpha defeated Mikey O'Shea and Mike Vega

This was a squash match in American Alpha's favour but before the match even started three tag teams came out and surrounded the ring. The Ascension, The Hype Bros, and The Vaudevillains. After American Alpha won, all three tag teams jumped in the ring with American Alpha and a brawl ensued. The last tag team standing was American Alpha and I'm not sure what the point of this was but if I were to guess I'd say that maybe there will be a Fatal 4 Way tag team match for the new Smackdown Tag Team Championships? That'd be kind of cool.

Becky Lynch vs Eva Marie

Just like last week, this match never started. Eva's excuse this time was a wadrobe malfunction so she had to go backstage to fix it, cancelling the match. Becky was extremely frustrated because she wanted a fight and told anyone to come out and fight her. Then Alexa Bliss came out and told Becky to be careful what she wishes for, because she just might get it.

Alexa Bliss defeated Becky Lynch

Alexa Bliss answered Becky Lynch's challenge and pulled off a win when during the match Eva Marie's music hit and the voice said she was now ready to compete. Eva Marie came out and this distracted Becky allowing Alexa Bliss to set Becky up for the Sparkle Splash. She then hit it on Becky and pinned her for the win. This solidifies Eva Marie as a heel and despite it being a bit of a sketchy win it gives Alexa some credibility having pinned Becky Lynch. 

Randy Orton defeated Alberto Del Rio by Disqualification 

It was obvious from the beginning that Orton would win, and surely enough after the match spilled outside the ring, Del Rio took a chair to the Viper disqualifying himself giving Orton the win. However his assault raged on until they were both back in the ring and Del Rio would just about strike Randy with the chair again when he took an RKO #OuttaNowhere leaving Randy Orton standing tall. I didn't see much purpose to this match though other than maybe solidifying Randy's wild cardness. 

Rhyno defeated Heath Slater 

In a match where if Heath won he'd get a Smackdown Live contract...he lost. Very disappointed about that because Heath Slater is very entertaining but at least this way he'll probably still appear on both shows until SOMEONE gives him a contract. 

Carmella defeated Natalya

During her entrance Carmella was talking about how last week Natalya attacked her. As she was talking Natalya ran up from behind her, but Carmella turned around just in time to get the first hit in. Their brawl went in to the ring where the match started and ended shortly after in a surprising result with Carmella making Natalya tap out to a form of Triangle Chokehold. I didn't expect Carmella to go over Natalya clean, I guess Natalya is finally losing her push...yay.

Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose defeated Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan

The match itself was just okay. It ended once Dolph Superkicked Erick Rowan and pinned him for the win however after the referee held Dolph and Deans hands up in victory, Dean quickly turned on Dolph once again and hit him with Dirty Deeds. Dean's message was clear but also kind of heelish. A small part of me thinks Dean might turn heel. Guess we'll have to wait and see. 

Star Of The Night: Alexa Bliss' Successful In-Ring Debut

I'm very happy that Alexa Bliss went over despite the dodgy finish, and I hope this means big things for Bliss on Smackdown Live. It'd be great if she could win the Smackdown Womens Championship if they ever make one. 

Despite my Star Of The Night, Smackdown in my opinion wasn't as good as Raw this week. Stay tuned to see if they can turn it around and

Until next time,

Devon Wizard

Raw August 8th 2016

Raw

With Summerslam just two weeks away this episode of Raw was one of the last before the event meaning matches were to be made.

Enzo and Cass 

Raw kicked off with Enzo and Cass coming out and Enzo complaining how last week Jericho interrupted his flirt sesh with Sasha Banks. Enzo began to roast Chris Jericho and after he finished, who else would come out but Chris Jericho himself. Jericho said the only reason Enzo is still around is because when his mouth makes a mess Big Cass comes to clean it up. Jericho then noted that at least Cass had Enzo's back, but now Jericho had someone watching his back too. That's when Kevin Owens' music hit.

JeriKO, which is an awesome team, went down to the ring and Jericho claimed they had each others backs through thick and thin. Owens then said he would hurt Big Cass, Chris joined in but then Cass challenged Jericho to a match but despite looking right at Cass, Jericho claimed he was talking to Enzo. So the two were in a match but first off YES! I love Jericho and Owens together! Their chemistry is undeniable and they're super entertaining.

Chris Jericho defeated Enzo Amore by Disqualification 

During the match Kevin Owens interfered by grabbing at Enzo's ankle. This distraction allowed Jericho to hit the Code Breaker on Enzo, however Big Cass didn't like how this was going so he hopped in the ring and gave Jericho a Big Boot, disqualifying Enzo and giving Jericho the win. Cass picked up the mic and challenged JeriKO to a match at Summerslam and they accepted which is awesome! This is a match I'm really excited for especially for JeriKO. I hope Owens and Jericho win in their debut together as a legitimate team. 

Braun Strowman defeated Jorel Nelson

For the third week in a row Braun Strowman was on the winning end of another squash match and it's kind of getting old. Like okay we gotcha, he's a spooky dude, now put him in a feud or in a match where the opponent gets one form of offense in at least.

Darren Young defeated Titus O'Neil

After the controversy that went down last week between these two, they were involved in a rematch. However this time when Bob Backlund wasn't looking, Darren Young rolled Titus up and pulled at his tights for leverage to win, just like Titus did last week. This is starting to intrigue me since Bob Backlund is all about no cheating and also since Darren and Titus are former partners. Although a lot of people may disagree I kind of like this mini feud. 

Seth Rollins Promo

Seth Rollins came out claiming he wanted to talk about Finn Balor, and how Balor means Demon King. Seth explained how no one thinks he can conquer the Demon, but he conquered the Beast, he conquered the Face That Runs The Place, he conquered the Roman Empire, and come Summerslam he will conquer Finn Balor. It was then confirmed that next week on Raw Seth Rollins would be calling out the Demon which will be interesting to see whether they'll show the Demon or wait until Summerslam to reveal him to fans who hadn't seen the Demon in NXT. 

Cesaro defeated Sheamus 

In a rematch from last weeks Monday Night Raw, the referee ended up getting in between the two and got knocked in the head by Sheamus. When Sheamus rolled up Cesaro the ref didn't count due to his head injury. Sheamus then clearly showing his frustration went to yell at the ref, but in the process got rolled up by Cesaro who pinned Sheamus for the win. The two actually put on a good performance and I'm glad that Cesaro won so no complaints. 

Neville and Sin Cara defeated The Dudley Boyz

I believe this was Sin Cara's debut on Raw since the brand split and after Neville hit the Red Arrow on D-Von, the two high flyers picked up the win but honestly this seemed like a filler match that was made on the Raw Pre-Show, because that's what it was.

Rusev and Lana's Celebration Of Love

Rusev and Lana came out to share with us some of their photos from their wedding. They were just beginning to insult America when Roman Reigns came out. Roman noticed that Rusev didn't have a best man and offered to make him a toast as his best man. After Rusev declined Roman then challenged Rusev to a match at Summerslam for the US Title. Rusev declined again and the two got in a brawl ending with Roman hitting Rusev in to Lana who got faceplanted in to the cake. 

Backstage Rusev was furious and demanded that Mick Foley punish Roman, however Foley just made it official that at Summerslam Rusev would face off against Roman Reigns for the United States Championship. I like Rusev more although I have to say Roman is growing on me a bit...just a bit.

Sasha Banks defeated Dana Brooke 

The stipulation for this match was if Dana won, the match at Summerslam would be a 2 on 1 handicap, but if Sasha won Dana would be banned from ringside for her match at Summerslam. After some miscommunication between Dana and Charlotte, Charlotte hit Dana Brooke allowing Sasha Banks to hit her signature double knees to the gut from the top rope and pin Dana for the win. I'm glad she won so that the match can be one on one because this sketchy BS she always pulls with Dana is rattling me now that it's being pulled against Sasha. 

Luke Gallows defeated Kofi Kingston

First off it's confirmed that at Summerslam The New Day will defend the Tag Team Championships against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Now for the match, Luke Gallows won after doing what he would do in the Boot Of Doom without Karl Anderson, after Anderson distracted Kingston but this match was waaaaaay too short. The tag team champion should be stronger and should last longer in a match than a minute. Kofi looked too weak and this could lead to The New Day's downfall. 

Mick Foley and Daniel Bryan

Mick Foley invited Daniel Bryan out to apologize for Brock Lesnar attacking Randy Orton, and likewise as Daniel apologized for Ortons attack on Lesnar but both apologies had malicious meanings. A clip was then shown where Daniel Bryan was making fun of the Universal Championship. That's when Rusev came out. Rusev began saying that Raw doesn't need another championship because they have a champion, himself. Then Cesaro came out and told Foley that he has proved two weeks in a row he's worthy of a title shot and asked if Foley would keep his promise of giving him a title match. After some peer pressure from both Daniel and Cesaro, Mick agreed and that match would happen right now. 

Rusev(c) defeated Cesaro to retain the United States Championship

This was quite a good match, and it got to a point where Cesaro had Rusev deep in the Sharpshooter when all of a sudden Sheamus jumped up on the apron from out of nowhere. Cesaro jumped up and knocked Sheamus off, but turned around right in to a Superkick from Rusev, but he kicked out at 2! Cesaro then reversed the Accolade and shoved Rusev in to the referee, who was dealing with Sheamus. Cesaro then hit the Gotch Neutralizer and pinned Rusev but by the time the ref started counting Rusev had recovered enough to kick out. Rusev then thumbed Cesaro in the eye who fell to the edge of the ring. Cesaro took a kick from Sheamus who was still outside the ring, and turned around in to another Superkick from Rusev who pinned Cesaro for the win. 

This was a crazy and complex finish to an above average match for sure, but after the match as Rusev was leaving, Roman Reigns came out of nowhere Spearing the United States Champion. The Big Dog stood tall at the end of the show and I'm kind of hoping they make the match at Summerslam a Triple Threat with Cesaro but...they probably won't. 

Star Of The Night: JeriKO

This is literally my dream tag team come true. Every time Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens are together it's entertaining, their personalities just click and I absolutely love the idea of JeriKO being a long time thing. 

A lot of things happened on Raw this week, but more to happen next week with Seth Rollins calling out the Demon, stay tuned.

Until next time,

Devon Wizard

Top 10 WWE Matches Of 2016 (so far) PART 2

My Top 10 WWE Matches of 2016 so far

If you haven't already seen PART 1 of this post, click here to see the first part and just in case you've seen it but forget, I will not be including NXT matches on this list. Now in the last part we covered numbers 10-6, so let's kick it off with number 5.

5. Roman Reigns(c) vs Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship - Money In The Bank

Winner: Seth Rollins

This pay per view was widely regarded as the best Money In The Bank pay per view of all time and that was largely because of it's Wrestlemania main even worthy main event, Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins. So this match came with a lot of hype and I don't think it disappointed. There was a lot of action and some really good spots and innovation, specifically when Seth Rollins reversed the Spear in to a Pedigree. Not only was it a good match but I really liked that Seth Rollins went over clean. Another aspect that made this exciting was after the match when Dean Ambrose cashed in the Money In The Bank the same night he won it to win the title from Rollins. 

4. Charlotte(c) vs Sasha Banks for the Womens Championship - Raw 7/25/16

Winner: Sasha Banks

On the first episode of Raw in the New Era, Sasha Banks found herself in a Womens Championship match due to her and Bayley beating the Womens Champ and her protege the night before at Battleground. This was an instant classic of a match in my opinion, the quality of wrestling from these two women was outstanding and the story telling was also good, especially right before the match ended when Charlotte yelled at Sasha "You...will never beat me...EVER!" Great match, these two are some of the best womens wrestlers in the world.

3. AJ Styles vs John Cena - Money In The Bank

Winner: AJ Styles

AJ Styles is one of the best in the world as well is John Cena, and they proved it in this match. In what was likely the match of the night AJ Styles beat John Cena in a show of talent and it was magnificent. I liked that AJ Styles won as well, but the only thing I would've changed is if AJ Styles would have won clean, because as you know he won at Money In The Bank with the help of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Other than that this was awesome. 

2. Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens - Battleground

Winner: Sami Zayn

In my mind I could've picked this one, or their match at Payback that Kevin Owens won because they were both so good. These two arguably have the best chemistry together and they're not afraid to take risks and innovate moves. Some of the stuff these two pull off literally makes you just stare and think about it for a bit and that's amazing. I'm really hoping they have a rubber match at Summerslam, maybe with some sort of stipulation, but either way I know they'll steal the show.

1. The Miz(c) vs Cesaro vs Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship - Extreme Rules

Winner: The Miz

This Fatal 4 Way match in my opinion was the best match of the year. A lot of you may disagree but I thought this was such an exciting match. It was fast paced, it included 4 great performers, and it had a lot of innovative and jaw dropping spots. This match had me with no idea who was going to win and when. it was that unpredictable and that exciting and for that reason this is my favourite match of 2016 so far.

Hope you enjoyed my list! Check back soon for more posts!

Until next time,

Devon Wizard 

NXT August 3rd 2016

NXT

With the return of Hideo Itami and the debut of Bobby Roode set, it looked like it was going to be a good episode of NXT.

Hideo Itami defeated Sean Maluta

In his return Hideo Itami faced off against and beat CWC Competitor Sean Maluta. He pinned Maluta after hitting the Running Knee for a successful return. I've never personally seen Hideo Itami before and this wasn't a great match but I's sure he's good, maybe he just needs a better opponent. 

Mojo Rawley Attacked

During a match between Mojo Rawley and some jobber Samoa Joe got involved and attacked both competitors. He then got on the mic and told the NXT Universe that this attack was to show William Regal that if Regal picked who he faced, Joe would pick who he wants to rampage on. As he was talking Mojo Rawley came back and attacked Samoa Joe back, however his dominance was short lived because when he was on his way up the ramp Joe again attacked him from behind, ending his assault with a lot of yelling at Rega;, and putting Mojo in the Kokieda Clutch. This was so out of nowhere and it makes sense for Joe but I thought it was weird that Mojo got involved at all considering he isn't even supposed to be on NXT anymore. 

Asuka defeated Aliyah

Bayley was out at the commentary table for this match but Asuka after she made her entrance grabbed a chair and put it right next to the ring, pointing at Bayley. Bayley walked over and knocked the chair over. Asuka won by making Aliyah tap to the Asuka Lock while all the time Bayley was just standing and watching. Asuka and Bayley had a stand off in the ring after and holy the tension felt so high and this feels like a big match. There's a contract signing for their match at Takeover Brooklyn next week and we can likely expect there to be some sort of attack, probably from Asuka. 

Bobby Roode Debut

Bobby Roode made his debut on NXT and established himself as a heel which is good for me as I am a fan of heels. I don't know much about Bobby Roode but his debut was highly anticipated so hopefully when he gets in the ring it'll be worth the wait.

The Revival defeated TM61

The Revival had a relatively easy time defeating TM61 after Scott Dawson hit a DDT on Shane Thorn to pick up the victory. After the match though Johnny Gargano and Tomasa Ciampa came out and began to aggravate The Revival, and as The Revival claimed they were leaving, they took a shot at Gargano and Ciampa who easily took control of The Revival and pinned one of them as a formality. I think this match between the two teams will happen at Takeover Brooklyn and I'm really excited because both teams have proven that they're very talented and it should be a good match.

Star Of The Night: Asuka vs Bayley

We finally saw some fire from Bayley when she knocked over that chair and this rivalry is starting to have some depth. Before this I'm not sure there was much fire between the two of them but I think after this, and hopefully after their contract signing next week they'll have more to fight for than just the title.

This was overall a pretty good episode of NXT with nothing too too great but at least it wasn't a bunch of Squash Matches like last week.

Until next time,

Devon Wizard

Smackdown August 2nd 2016

Smackdown

There was some great promo work from big stars on Smackdown tonight, so let's get in to it.

Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler 

Dean Ambrose came out and requested that he get to know a bit more about Dolph Ziggler, so then Dolph Ziggler came out to talk. Dolph said that Dean and him are a lot alike, but Dean disagreed saying that the biggest difference between them two is that Dolph just wastes his time complaining and that at Summerslam Dolph will steal the show, and lose.

Dolph countered by telling Ambrose "I'm the man who's going to walk in to Summerslam, burn Brooklyn to the ground, beat your ass and become champion because I am that damn good." Before leaving Dean tells Dolph that his biggest problem is he's not as good as he thinks he is. As Dean leaves the lights go out, and when they come back Bray Wyatt is delivering Sister Abigail to Dolph Ziggler. He then goes on the mic and offers Dolph a match in which if Dolph loses,Bray Wyatt wuld become the number one contender. It ended after that but this was a great segment and great promo work. If anything it maybe went a little long but it was really good. 

After that backstage Dolph tells Daniel and Shane that he has to have the match with Bray to prove everyone wrong and show everyone that he deserves to be the number one contender. That would be set as the main event. 

Apollo Crews defeats Baron Corbin and Kalisto to become the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship

After a simple roll up on Kalisto from Apollo Crews, Crews won in a lack luster match to become the number one contender and would face The Miz at Summerslam for the Intercontinental Championship. After the match as Apollo was leaving, Corbin began a beat down on Kalisto. Apollo ran back to save Kalisto and backed Corbin in to a corner, only to take a Skull Crushing Finale from The Miz. The Miz however forgot about Baron Corbin who delivered End Of Days to the champ. I didn't like this because neither the champion nor the challenger stood tall at the end, just the irrelevant Baron Corbin. 

Becky Lynch vs Eva Marie

After Becky made her entrance, Eva Marie did the same but before the match could start, Eva's Smackdown debut was interrupted by a supposed hurt calf. She called the trainer over and claimed she couldn't compete, so the match was cancelled. Didn't like this because it was kind of a huge waste of time. Then after there was an interview with Carmella that was interrupted by Natalya and they fought about who's better or something. I don't know I kind of zone out when Natalya is on the screen.

American Alpha defeated The Vaudevillains

In the main roster debut of American Alpha they defeated the Vaudevillains who have now become jobbers, by Jason Jordan first hitting the Corner Spear on Aiden English then tagging in Chad Gable to perform Red Amplitude to pin English for the win. It was a solid debut from American Alpha but the crowd didn't seem to react as much as I thought they would, maybe American Alpha aren't as popular as I thought. 

AJ Styles

AJ Styles came out and said he had a message for John Cena, and then John Cena came out literally seconds in to AJ's promo. AJ basically then asked Cena why the hell he's still here, to which  Cena went on a long talk/yell about how he's here for love and to preach Hustle Loyalty and Respect, yenno the classic Cena BS. AJ replied by saying that's the answer he expected and that's the Cena he knows and loves, it's also the Cena that never backs down from a challenge. Styles then challenged Cena 1 on 1 at Summerslam with "no Club and no excuses." Cena accepted. I'm looking forward to this match a lot, this feud I think is awesome and I know that John Cena will probably win but hopefully AJ ends up winning clean. I especially liked what AJ said at the end of the promo; "The best part will be the following Tuesday on Smackdown when you admit that I'm better than you. If you don't, you're a liar. If you do, you're a loser. Either way I win."

Fandango vs Randy Orton

Durng the match as Orton was setting up for an RKO on Fandango, Brock Lesnar appeared from within the crowd. Orton stared him down before delivering an RKO to Fandango, but Lesnar quickly jumped in the ring and gave Orton an F5. The security then escorted him out and this feud is really heating up which makes this match feel really important. Hopefully it lives up to its expectations. 

Carmella

As Carmella was on her way down to the ring to face whoever, Natalya attacked her from behind and put the Sharpshooter on her. But seriously what is with Natalya always attacking people out of the damn blue? 

Dolph Ziggler defeated Bray Wyatt

After Dolph smashed Bray's head in to the exposed steel turnbuckle he hit him with the Superkick to hold on to his spot as the number one contender. However after when Dolph was having a stare down with Dean who was still at the commentary table, Dolph was attacked by Erick Rowan. Dean then got involved but was taken out as well.The show ended with the Wyatts standing tall which I'm like why? Why'd they attack Dolph or Dean in the first place?

Star Of The Night: Promos from AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, John Cena, and Dean Ambrose

These four top stars of Smackdown tonight proved they're not just good in the ring, but they're excellent on the mic too. Their promos were awesome and make their matches seem that much more important.

This was a pretty good episode of Smackdown, I think Smackdown had Raw beat this week in my opinion. Let me know yours in the comments or on twitter @devon_wizard

Until next time,

Devon Wizard

Raw August 1st 2016

Raw

Leeeeeetts get riiiiiiight...in to the Raw...review.

Sasha Banks 

The show kicked off when Sasha Banks' music hit and the Boss came out holding her new Womens Championship which is where it belongs. Right before she began speaking it was announced that at Summerslam Sasha Banks would defend her newly won Womens Championship against Charlotte. Sasha briefly spoke about how last year on Summerslam weekend her and Bayley stole the show at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. She didn't talk too much longer before Charlotte's music interrupted her.

The two bickered at each other where Charlotte accused Sasha of being a one night stand champion but Sasha fired back saying that Charlotte would't be here if it weren't for a one night stand...damn. That's when Chris Jericho's music hit. Chris Jericho was standing up for Charlotte when Enzo and Cass' music hit, but only Enzo came out and he awkwardly flirted with Sasha. You can probably see where this is going.

After some more bickering Mick Foley came out and announced the first mixed gender tag match of the New Era, which I think is pretty cool though it kind of felt really forced it was still cool to see a match that hadn't happened in a long time.

Charlotte and Chris Jericho defeated Sasha Banks and Enzo Amore

So this was kind of interesting, and although we couldn't expect the men to fight the women it was new and exciting and that's the main goal right now. The match ended when Sasha Banks was distracted by both Dana Brooke, and then Chris Jericho. Due to these distractions Charlotte was able to hit Natural Selection for the win. The match was nothing special but original nonetheless. After the match Jericho hit Enzo with a Code Breaker, who was then forced to flee after Cass came out to help his partner. This didn't further anything for Enzo and Cass but as you'll see in Jericho's case later, it might've done something for him.

Braun Strowman defeated another jobber

In WWE's attempt to make Braun Strowman look like a fire breathing axe wielding dragon instead of a human being, they put him against jobbers or local talent and have him decimate them. That I don't think is the way to go about it. Personally if you want to build him up you have to at least put him up against established stars or jobbers/local talent that don't look like dandelions compared to him.

Hall Of Pain Re-Opening

In a backstage segment between Mick Foley, Stephanie McMahon and Mark Henry, Mark suggests that he re-opens the Hall Of Pain and fights tonight for a chance at a belt. After a bit of arguing between Steph and Mark, Mick Foley steps up and says that tonight Mark Henry would be fighting Rusev for the United States Championship. So not sure if it's just me but does anyone actually want to see Mark Henry with a championship or fight for that matter? Yeah me neither. 

The Shining Stars defeated The Golden Truth

This was kind of stupid. So the way they lost was when Goldust went to tag R-Truth in, but Truth was caught up in playing Pokemon Go allowing Primo to roll up Goldust giving the Shining Stars a win. I don't like this Pokemon Go thing with The Golden Truth so...yeah it's dumb.

Finn Balor

Finn Balor came out and talked less than a minute about how he was the 5th overall draft pick but was quickly interrupted by his opponent at Summerslam; Seth Rollins. Seth recounted how he was the first NXT Champion and the first overall draft pick. Finn told Seth he'll be the first Universal Champion and unlike Seth, he had earned his spot at Summerslam. After a while of back and forth Seth took a swing at Finn who blocked and hit back, ending the segment. 

Rusev defeated Mark Henry to retain the United States Championship

After his backstage segment Mark Henry got his United States Championship which he lost clean because again, no one wants to see Mark Henry. However after the match Rusev goes on a bit of a rant which was answered by who I thought would be someone really cool and a returner or something but no...it was Roman Reigns. They stared down and got in a fight, ending with Roman Reigns Superman Punching Rusev. I don't mind if this turns in to a feud but I think if it does, to my dismay Roman Reigns would win.

Titus O'Neil defeated Darren Young

The two former Prime Time Players went head to head and Titus picked up the win after rolling up Darren Young and pulling at his tights for leverage. When Bob Backlund accused Titus of cheating backstage Titus threatened to knock him out, right before Darren Young knocked down Titus. This is a match that is um, something that I don't look forward to. I'm thinking maybe this will end up being a Kickoff Show match or something.

Nia Jax defeated a jobber

So again Nia Jax, kind of like Braun Strowman, have destroyed jobbers two weeks in a row in an attempt to make them both look like huge forces, but they don't get any credibility if no one knows who they're beating so...not good.

The New Day defeated Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

Gallows and Anderson requested that one member of the New Day be banned from ringside, that member would be Xavier Woods. The New Day won after Anderson was distracted with Too Sweet and Big E rolled him up for the win. Gallows and Anderson destroyed the New Day after the match, even Xavier Woods who came to help his comrades. It was later reported on WWE.com that Big E suffered an injury. This might mean Big E may not compete which also could mean that The New Day could lose the tag team champinonships in the near future, possibly to Gallows and Anderson

Cesaro defeated Sheamus

In a match that we may have seen a hundred times Cesaro reversed a swinging back breaker in to a Gotch Neutralizer out of nowhere. After the match they brawled and as they were being escorted out the arena who would be seen in the ring? Heath Slater and the returning Jinder Mahal. They appeared to be aligned in a tag team called 2MB, until Mick Foley came out.

Jinder Mahal defeated Heath Slater

Mick suggested that the two fight against each other and the winner would get a contract for the Raw roster. Heath argued saying they could never fight each other while behind him Jinder Mahal prepared and the bell rang. When Heath turned around Mahal hit him with a Big Boot and pinned him for the win. Jinder Mahal is a legend and actually can't wait to see what they're going to do with him, which is hopefully something good because I really like him.

Chris Jericho

Jericho ridiculed Enzo in a backstage interview for Cass having his back. He said he also had someone to watch his back though, however it was obviously a fake name. Kevin Owens then appeared and told Chris not to worry because he had his back. This may be the most exciting thing on the show for me because I love these two together so a tag team or something with the both of them would be awesome.

Seth Rollins defeated Sami Zayn

After probably the match of the night Seth Rollins side stepped the Heluva Kick, allowing an opening for him to hit the Pedigree and beat Sami Zayn clean for the win, kind of burying him but at the same time they can't really have a qualifier for the Universal Championship look weak so.

Brock Lesnar

Paul Heyman cut a promo with The Beast Incarnate himself beside him. He got to a point where he spoke about how everyone says Randy is always one RKO away from victory. Paul Heyman then noted that Randy Orton will never get close to hitting an RKO on Brock Lesnar. Right as he said that Randy Orton came out of nowhere hitting an RKO on Brock Lesnar. He escaped through the crowd and that's how the show ended. This is a match up that is starting to have some depth and I'm getting in to it.

Star Of The Night: Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens

The possibility that Jericho and Owens might work together is fantastic. Their chemistry they have together brings a lot of humour and entertainment and as a lot of other people do, I love it.

This was an okay episode of Raw but I was thinking I could do a separate article every week where I compare Smackdown and Raw. Let me know what you think in the comments or on twitter @devon_wizard

Until next time,

Devon Wizard

Alberto Del Rio and Jinder Mahal

Some News On Current WWE Superstar Alberto Del Rio and Former WWE Superstar Jinder Mahal

This news is courtesy of Brandon Hodge on Youtube, check him out he posts really great and informative content.

Alberto Del Rio

Alberto Del Rio signed a contract with the WWE back in October. It was a year long contract that is coming to an end in the next couple months however, if Del Rio wants he may get out of the contract one month early in September. He has said that he does not like his position in the WWE right now, probably because he's in the lower mid card. I hope Alberto Del Rio signs with them again in October and hopefully they'll use him in more meaningful story lines if he does. However if he doesn't leave in September he'll probably be gone once his contract expires in October.

Jinder Mahal

There have been reports that Jinder Mahal will be returning to the WWE with the Raw roster and it looks like it will be tonight. On his wikipedia page it says that Mahal resigned with WWE July 27th, and is expected to make his return on the August 1st edition of Raw. I guess we'll wait and see if this post proves to be accurate but I personally would like to see Jinder Mahal back since the last time he was in WWE he was in that 3MB thing with Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre. Basically he was a jobber. Which sucked because I liked him and thought he had potential, maybe they'll do something cool with him if he happens to return tonight.

That's been the news, hope you enjoyed and

Until next time,

Devon Wizard