Ace Trumpets
I rewrote the headline for this recap a few times. I thought about dedicating it to Bron Breakker’s MVP performance in the gauntlet match. The man wrestled for about a half hour and looked incredible while doing it. They truly made Bron look like the biggest deal on the planet, but that started even before the match:
Paul Heyman put him over while they teased a future bout with him and GUNTHER. And that’s not the first time that’s happened either.
Then I thought about focusing on CM Punk. He was the last entrant and faced Bron after Bronson Reed made sure Jey Uso took an L. I do question why Bronson interfered late in the match between Bron and Punk if there’s no DQ in the Gauntlet Match, but I forgave that because there’s a lot of story to write about with Punk getting another shot at a championship. Plus, this was the only men’s match on a night all about the women. I even thought about writing about that!
Then Roman Reigns’ music hit once Bronson & Bron beatdown a hobbled Jey and an exhausted Punk. The crowd erupted.
I’m not feeling the “OTC 1” moniker. And yes, WWE is calling it “OTC 1” ignoring the redundancy of being “original” and “one.” That said, the product just feels different when Roman is around. This is setting up the tag match at SummerSlam, which will probably put Roman & Jey against Bron & Bronson. It won’t be as satisfying without Seth Rollins, but it will have to do. The Oracle had no update on Seth’s health but stated the MITB briefcase stays with him. Interesting, right?
Back to Roman. He’s still leery about Punk, as their interaction showed, but he’s always got his family’s back and he wants to make Paul E’s life miserable. Will he though?
If the industry trades are correct, Street Fighter films in August. That means Roman’s time back is short. It’s hard writing someone off after a win, so there’s a good chance the New Jersey crowd doesn’t leave Metlife Stadium happy. If, like me, they root for the Giants, they’re used to it. I’m looking forward to how they handle Roman’s next departure, especially in light of everything happening with Seth. The men’s division is so top heavy that when those pieces are missing, it creates a huge vacuum. Who will fill it?
That’s a question for another day and someone else. As of now, I’m happy Roman provided a spark, even if that flame burns for only a short time.
B-Sides
M.T.B.T.T.F.
It’s no coincidence that Raw was the women’s division for most of the episode. Evolution impressed me and felt like a more effective show than anything else the territory produced last weekend. And no diss to the tag match or Nikki Bella and Chelsea Green, but the match of the night was Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria. This was a two out of three falls match for a date with Becky Lynch at SummerSlam. And coming off Evolution, both women came to the ring with heightened emotions. Bayley, regardless of what happened hours ago, still believed Lyra wasn’t ready for Becky.
Well, ready or not, here she comes (if “Ready or Not” is playing in your head right now, we’re forever friends).
There’s a rhythm to best of bouts that this match hit perfectly. The first act usually involves a quick pin. Well, Bayley took care of that when she caught Lyra by surprise a few minutes into the bout.
The second act is when things get trickier. Here’s where it looked like Lyra might get swept. They worked in some psychology that allowed for some character development on Bayley’s behalf. Lyra hurt her back after Baylay launched her into a turnbuckle with the power of the Hulk throwing a car into a neighboring state. Bayley looked like a woman unsure how to proceed when Lyra screamed in all that agony. Should she take advantage and target that injury? Should she have a little mercy on someone she considered a friend?
That confusion lasted all of 5 seconds as Bayley got up and launched herself off the ropes with an attack right on Lyra’s back. And it was mostly the Bayley show there as she tapped into all that aggression from her heel run and that she’s bathed in for the last few weeks. She constantly went to the biggest target on Lyra’s body because that’s how much the championship and defeating Becky meant to her.
To Lyra’s credit, it meant just as much to her because she wouldn’t stay down. Even when it looked like she was out of it, she pulled a rabbit out of her hat, like this:
That’s what a second act in a match like this should do: Put someone in so much jeopardy that it looks like they have no shot only for them to gut it out. Even without Bayley injuring her knee, the match put Lyra in a position to win because of her heart. Lyra’s early bouts on the main roster revolved around her making a way out of no way. She often snatched victory from defeat’s massive jaws and lived to fight another day. This was emblematic of that and foreshadowing to how she’s ultimately win. Without making a big deal out of it, this match incorporated just enough of Lyra’s history to reward an avid viewer. Or the person who recaps them for a graps website.
The last act, sudden death as it were, was less about the physical toll and more about the mental. Bayley hit a Belly to Bayley and Lyra kicked out. She put more damage on Lyra’s back and head with a Sunset Flip on the outside of the ring that pinned Lyra’s skull to the steel steps. She followed that with a top rope elbow to Lyra’s back. All that led to the final moments where Lyra refused to tap out to Bayley’s cross face, used Becky’s momentum against her when the former hugger used the rope for leverage, and turned it into Nightwing.
Shotout to Becky for showing up in Hogan colors. It’s the subtle things. Even when they’re loudly red and yellow.
But I digress. This match delivered from top to bottom. It had emotion, mind games, physicality, and two people who got more desperate as the match continued. Does Bayley let sleeping dogs lie now that Lyra beat her fair and square? That’s the question heading into SummerSlam.
As always, the women remain the most compelling part of WWE programming.
P.O.V.
The other big development in the women’s division was Naomi. The new women’s World Heavyweight champ rejected the hero’s welcome beautifully. She basically said if you weren’t riding with her then, don’t ride with her now. I’m glad she talked her ish.
Naomi’s whole persona is a wild card, which is exactly how she summed up why she went after IYO SKY instead of Tiffany Stratton. In one promo, she quickly explained why she’s done with Jade Cargill and Bianca, why she got tired of being on SmackDown, and why everyone on Raw needs to proceed with caution. Because of course she did.
Things got interesting as they quickly set up a triple threat with IYO, Rhea Ripley, and Naomi.
I can’t say I’m a fan of Naomi using the tired joke about not understanding IYO. I have no problem with heels doing heel things, but can we at least let the dastardly deeds not feel so dusty? But hey, that’s me.
I hope they didn’t give Naomi the title just to lose it in a couple weeks. But the build to this should be a lot of fun.
Album Cuts
- Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez kept the good times rolling with a win over the Kabuki Warriors. Let’s be clear, this match wasn’t about them being better than Kairi Sane & Asuka. It was about them being better at breaking the rules. The Kabuki Warriors not once but twice almost defended their Evolution loss. But Dirty Dom distracted the ref both times, with the first being the most egregious since it followed Kairi nailing an Insane Elbow on Roxy. The second and final time just took Asuka’s attention away long enough to lose sight of her opponent and fall victim to Roxy’s schoolboy pin. I don’t know if Raquel was late or right on time, but she put some extra weight on Roxanne’s back to keep Asuka down. Solid opening match that thawed more of the ice between the tag champs and made Dom useful.
- Nikki Bella defeated Chelsea Green and got a partner. After Nikki put down Chelsea with Rack Attack 2.0, Chelsea’s security went wild on her. Guess who came to her rescue? La Primera! Stephanie Vaquer and Nikki is an interesting tandem. Nikki gets the rub from Stephanie’s white hot light, while Stephanie gets someone who can do a lot of the talking.
Excellent Raw. Ninety percent was all about the women, and they used their time wisely. SummerSlam is falling into place with several choice matches in that division. Then we followed that with a fun Gauntlet Match that put the spotlight on Bron. He delivered, of course, and clearly has next. Then they ended the show with Roman Reigns blowing the roof off the arena. All hail the chief.
What say you, Cagesiders?
