WWE RAW Rebound (09/20/21): RAW SuperShow
In 2011, after a nine-year run, WWE ended the brand split between RAW and SmackDown and essentially made RAW a SuperShow and SmackDown a forgotten show for five years. “RAW SuperShow” was even the name WWE gave RAW until the 1000th episode in the summer of 2012 to show fans the brand split was officially over.
While it wasn’t to that extreme, the Sept. 20, 2012 edition of RAW was a SuperShow. Headlined by new WWE Champion Big E and SmackDown’s Universal Champion Roman Reigns, RAW was fast-paced, fun, and storylines mattered (what a concept, WWE!)
I’m just going to get it out of the way now: Raleigh, NC hosted the RAW of the year in 2021!
How? Let’s get right to the action!
Big E Celebrates Being WWE Champion
New Day opened up RAW with Big E once again using his microphone pre entrance to introduce us to a new and improved New Day. E would cut a promo thanking the WWE Universe for chanting for New Day all these years. Whether the crowds chanted, “NEW DAY ROCKS” or “NEW DAY SUCKS”, the reaction was always loud, and E will never forget those reactions, just like he’ll never forget the reaction Fort Worth, TX gave him when he climbed the ladder at Money in the Bank and retrieved the briefcase, nor will he forget the reaction Boston, MASS, gave him last week when he finally became World Champion.
Out came the “Bloodline” to LOUD boos. Just like they did on SmackDown Friday night, E and Reigns held their championships up in the air, and RAW cut to commercial with the big six-man tag match pending.
What I loved about E’s opening promo is Kofi Kingston or Xavier Woods didn’t say a word. They were just there to support their friend. They didn’t get involved in his business, and it’s exactly what E and Woods did when Kingston was champion. I loved the way WWE respected E enough to give him his own spotlight.
Roman Reigns and The Usos (W/ Paul Heyman) Defeat The New Day
In a match-of-the-year candidate, these six superstars THREW DOWN! We’ve seen New Day and the Usos go at it many times over the last half-decade over the blue brand’s Tag Titles, but this was different. Not only was the “Head of the Table” involved, but this is a new Usos and a new New Day (pun-intended). They’ve evolved so much from the last time they squared off that now this ever-lasting rivalry got taken up a notch.
All six men physically beat the crap out of each other. E and Reigns even went toe-to-toe, and E got the upperhand on Reigns in a Survivor Series preview! Towards the end of the matchup, with E, Kingston and the Usos on the outside, Bobby Lashley came down to the ring and wreaked havoc, taking out every man in sight, including Spearing E through the barricade!
The distraction of Lashley taking out his brothers forced Woods to not pay attention as the legal man in the ring, and he felt a Spear from the Universal Champion.
One… Two… Three. The “Bloodline” win in an absolute BANGER!
But, Lashley wasn’t through destroying people! He slipped into the ring and delivered a thunderous clothesline to the “Tribal Chief” as RAW headed to break.
Setting up the Main Event
Back from the break, and we see the “All Mighty” storming into Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville’s office. Lashley said he still runs RAW, and he’s pissed E is feuding with Reigns when he’s walking around with his title. Lashley warned management he was going to send the “Head of the Table” back to Fridays and take the WWE Title from E. Pearce and Deville told Lashley to calm down, and they were figuring out the situation.
The new WWE Champion didn’t give them a choice when he marched in about 15 minutes later and told them he wanted to face both Lashley and Reigns in the same later in the night!
Towards the bottom of the hour, the “Special Counsel” to the “Tribal Chief” got into a screaming match with Pearce and Deville when they made the match official. I thought both Pearce and Deville did a great job taking control of Heyman and Reigns by making Reigns compete twice in one night. Reigns doesn’t run WWE. Management does, and management did a hell of a job at giving us two main events on RAW and both came across naturally, which I love.
Roman Reigns Defeats Bobby Lashley and Big E
So we get to the main event, and these three absolutely KILLED IT! It was hard-hitting, physical, exciting and unpredictable. The match started with E making his entrance last and going right after Lashley for Spearing him earlier in the night with Reigns watching, which I thought was a perfect way to build it.
E would hit Reigns with the Big Ending TWICE but both times Lashley broke up the pin (It really made E — and the Big Ending — look strong). Lashley would deliver a Spear and a Spinebuster to E through the announce table, but E would keep fighting. There was also a nice spot where Lashley lifted up Reigns and suplexed him straight on his head, showing his power.
The ending came when Lashley Speared E out of the ring, but Reigns would catch Lashley with his own Spear and walk away victorious in another match-of-the-year candidate (there’s been a lot of those recently!). The crowd was VERY into this match and gave E LOUD cheers, and Reigns LOUD boos.
All three men looked AMAZING in this contest, and I liked how Reigns and Lashley didn’t forget their history from 2018, albeit a lackluster feud. The “All Mighty” looked like an animal, the new WWE Champion looks like the next great babyface of the company, and the “Tribal Chief” looked like, well…
I’ve never tweeted a truer tweet than that one (shameless plug, by the way!). Roman Reigns is truly that video game final boss you can never beat. While he looks vulnerable, he survives, and he knows he’s untouchable. It’s going to take someone VERY SPECIAL to knock this man off, and when he does, it’s going to be a BIG moment.
SmackDown’s top dog heads to Extreme Rules to take on a “Demon” in an Extreme Rules Match. RAW’s new kingpin still has the “All Mighty” to deal with. E and Reigns will square off again at Survivor Series (and who knows, it may very well be a “Bloodline” vs New Day matchup), but E acted and looked like a WWE Champion last night, and he stood mono y mono with the most dominant champion in recent history. May he have a long reign!
Randy Orton (W/ Riddle) Defeats A.J. Styles
So yes, Orton and Styles wrestled again. I know, I know, they always wrestle each other, but their chemistry is so good, isn’t it?! Styles’ colossus got kicked out after nabbing Orton’s legs. Towards the end of the contest, Styles would go for a Phenomenal Forearm on the “Apex Predator”, but Styles stopped, knowing the “Viper” was going to try to catch him with an RKO. They pointed fingers at each other before Orton beat Styles to the punch and went vintage Orton on the “Phenomenal One”, hitting the draping DDT, and the three most destructive letters in sports entertainment for the win.
I’m in the #FightForever camp with Styles and Orton. I’ll never get sick of seeing these guys compete in the squared circle, and every time they pull out new moves to get the crowd hyped, like a Lionsault from Styles. The crowd was split down the middle, showing you how many people still love Styles, even though he’s a heel.
Charlotte Enters Alexa’s Playground
Alexa Bliss kicked off the 10:00 p.m. Eastern hour by welcoming us to her playground! Outcame the RAW Women’s Champion. Bliss and Lily were upset the “Queen” didn’t bring Charly with her, so Bliss did!
Then, things got interesting when Flair told Bliss what we’ve all been thinking: WE MISS “GODDESS” BLISS! Flair told Bliss she doesn’t respect this version of Bliss, and that Bliss went from winning championships to playing with dolls, and no one cares about her anymore (which isn’t totally true Flair!). Bliss — getting defensive — said after Extreme Rules, no matter what she’ll have a friend in Lily, and she’s not consumed by championships like Flair is. Winning the title doesn’t matter to Bliss, but the title is all Flair has.
That’s when Flair took out Bliss and ripped the head off of Charly! As she went to do the same to Lily, Bliss stopped her, knocked her out of the ring and saved her doll.
So this RAW Women’s Championship match went from dolls, to Flair trying to save Bliss’ career, to back to dolls. Interesting. I’ve seen a lot of internet chatter that Bliss is walking out of her hometown with the gold. I’ll save my prediction for my Extreme Rules Preview and Predictions article later in the week.
Jeff Hardy Defeats Sheamus in №1 Contender’s Match for United States Championship
The “Charismatic Enigma” and the “Celtic Warrior” renewed their rivalry from last year in a physical bout. The “Archer of Infamy” put over both superstars on commentary. Sheamus took off his mask early on in the contest, and Hardy punched him in the nose for real it looked like because Sheamus’ nose legitimately started bleeding again.
The “Fella” survived a splash from the top rope. Off of a Twist of Fate, Hardy went for the Swanton Bomb, and it almost connected, but Sheamus got his knees up, and Hardy bounced off them like a basketball. Somehow, Hardy survived a brutal pump knee strike from the “Celtic Warrior” and was able to roll him up for the victory. The win by Hardy allows him to enter the United States Championship match in Columbus on Sunday.
Afterwards, Hardy left the scene to celebrate as Priest and Sheamus brawled all over ringside. I predicted the triple threat last week after Sheamus Brogue Kicked both Hardy and the champ following that great match, and these three could steal the show at Extreme Rules. Three underappreciated wrestlers with good chemistry is a formula for success when talking about underrated Pay-Per-View matches.
Super Brutality Defeats Tamina and Natalya to Become new Women’s Tag Team Champions
Before the match, Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley cut an emotional promo where they dedicated their tag team title match to kids fighting pediatric cancer and encouraged fans to donate to Connor’s Cure. Both superstars understandably had tears down their eyes, and it made for a nice moment when Ripley would deliver Riptide to Tamina on the outside, allowing Nikki to roll up Natalya for the win. The match lasted under five minutes.
I’ve been very critical of this team if you’ve been following my RAW Rebounds. I never understood why Ripley never got upset at Nikki for costing her the RAW Women’s Championship the night after Money in the Bank AND at SummerSlam. There’s no going back now though; they are the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions after Natalya and Tamina had a nice reign, and now let’s see what they do with the straps.
Shayna Baszler Breaks Nia Jax’s Arm
Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax FINALLY faced off after months of nearly breaking up, and the result was a street fight-like brawl that ended with the “Queen of Spades” forcing the “Irresistible Force” to tap to the Kirifuda Clutch”. After the match, Baszler took Jax to the outside and stomped Jaxs’ arm into the steel steps twice! For the first time in a long time, Baszler looked like a badass, and Jax wins an Emmy for “Best WWE Acting Job of 2021”! See for yourself:
Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo Defeat Mustafa Ali and Mansoor
Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza realized they could get more accomplished as a team rather than opponents. The result was the two cousins ABSOLUTELY DESTROYING the make-shift team of Mansoor and Mustafa Ali. For two guys that don’t get much TV time, Garza and Carrillo looked like they belonged in the RAW Tag Team Title picture already.
Their chemistry was on point, and their finisher was sweet (Carrillo held down Ali in a neckbreaker submission while Garza kicked him right in the face)!. A few weeks ago I said RAW didn’t have any other tag teams besides Styles and Omos to challenge RK-BRO. This team of Garza and Carrillo might be onto something.
Reggie Escapes Drake Maverick’s 24/7 Title Plan
Drake Maverick worked with Drew Gulak, Akira Tozawa and R-Truth to finally get the 24/7 Title off of Reggie. How did it go?! See for yourself!
DouDrop Defeats Eva Marie
DouDrop squashes Eva Marie again. That’s all I have to write about this. No other words necessary.
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When WWE tries, they still put on the best professional wrestling (or sports entertainment) show on the planet. I can’t give this show an A+ because I didn’t care at all for the DouDrop-Eva Marie match, or how quickly the Women’s Tag Team Title match was. Besides that, this show was SPECT-TAC-ULAR! I barely looked at the Monday Night game.
GRADE: A
NOTE: I won’t be covering next Monday’s RAW due to the Eagles-Cowboys Monday Night game (Go birds!). The next RAW I will cover is the 10/04/21 episode from Nashville. It will be Day 2 of the 2021 WWE Draft, so we will see on that night how RAW will look over the next year.
