What You Missed From RAW Last Night

It’s hard to tell if last night’s RAW was great because of WWE‘s creative performance or the white hot Toronto crowd. But in reality, who cares? Let’s call it fun and move forward.

With SummerSlam 2 only weeks away, WWE is forced to enhance plots, evolve characters, and add stakes to their stories. For my memory, I can’t remember the last time WWE has been so effective. Last night’s 3-hour show zoomed by and felt like a dainty 2 hours and 45 minutes!

All of the sudden, the march to SummerSlam feels like the road to WrestleMania. Sure there were a couple segments that drug their heels, but we’ll call that pacing. From here to Summerslam, consider RAW can’t miss TV.

Because RAW was so enchanting last night, this edition of What You Missed will be a little extended. With so much fodder to cover, we need to get moving. So here it goes: What You Missed From RAW Last Night

Brock Lesnar Still Works Here

Watching Brock Lesnar destroy things is becoming an American pastime. He’s so good at dismantling hordes of people that WWE should consider making it a weekly segment. 

I think WWE fans forget about the sheer power and magnetic appeal of Lesnar – part of that is because of he’s rarely around. But in his part-time era, he always delivers in his matches. Sure Brock may go to UFC, but at his core, Lesnar is an entertainer. 

 

Last night, WWE and Lesnar reminded us that he is a special commodity. Regardless of the rumors, consider him the favorite at SummerSlam. 

Jason Jordan’s Dance With the Dark Side

In a previous squash match, Jason Jordan was particularly vicious. Last night, Jordan was a killer. 

Jordan was assigned local Frenchman, Pepe Le Pew for dinner. Despite chants of “Let’s go, Jobber!” Le Pew was disposed of emphatically. Jordan’s facial expressions and lack of interest in his competitor’s well being signaled that a heel turn is coming. 

The message here is that Jordan is not the smiling, quiet guy we see when he’s around his father, Kurt Angle. When the bell rings, he’s an assassin. Give this one room to breathe, because Jordan may be special. 

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Oh, man.

It feels like WWE has been waiting to tell this exact story for 3 years. It’s been perfectly executed and the poignant notes of the story have the WWE Universe ready to collapse with pleasure. 

Maybe it was Toronto’s nuclear crowd, but the moment when Dean finally submitted his Shield fist into the circle of trust was dynamite. If Seth reciprocated the fist bump, we would have turned to goo. 

But he didn’t.

I would have bet life he was going to. But WWE is showing Dali Lama like patience with this story and it’s going to pay huge dividends. Both guys are more over than they have ever been. Ever.

 

 

I mean, the crowd chanted for Ambrose during Rollins’ match. They even gave Ambrose the Cena chant! When all of this is done, it will be Ambrose, not Rollins who becomes the main eventer. 

The moment these guys finally pledge their loyalty to one another will be nothing short of immaculate. It’s going to be an image that creates an era. Is this hyperbole? I don’t care because this is wrestling at its best. 

Titus Worldwide Will Get Over

There’s something lovable about this trio. In their backstage segment, Apollo Crews, Akira Tozawa, and Titus O’Neil were simply charming. It’s hard to guess this stable’s ceiling, but if Tozawa beats Neville at SummerSlam then this group could be on their way.

There’s a lot of interesting possibilities here. Why can’t Crews and Tozawa be a tag team? It’s still early in their run, but these guys may have the right magic fairy dust about them. 

Bayley May Never Come Back

Bayley was oddly bad last night. I mean, she’s usually pretty clunky on the microphone, but something about her interview was strange. 

The injured, uber baby face seemed to have broken character with the cantankerous Toronto crowd, going out of her way to prod them. After her snide, she was relentlessly booed. Without hesitation, Corey Graves came to her defense by asking us to dismiss the Toronto audience. But what he should have done was apologize for Bayley. 

Bayley’s 2017 has been nothing short of awful. With her bad promos, lifeless matches, and inclination to lull the crowd to sleep, Bayley may have proven that WWE is not for her. 

In all seriousness, she may be better off in the independents. 

 

Braun Strowman: Human Highlight Reel

Every time Braun Strowman has a match in WWE, something special happens. Maybe my criteria for “special” is minimal, but rocketing a rolling chair into a human from 30 ft away is pretty remarkable. 

His program with Reigns has been near perfect and we’ll look back one day and see it as a feud that “made” him. While we shouldn’t think he’ll leave SummerSlam as Universal Champion, we can still expect a few phenomenal feats of human strengths.

 

Braun Strowman is one of the best things to happen to WWE in quite some time. And, he’s only just begun.