WWE Raw Recap, Grades & Opinion: July 15, 2019

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Evan Gomes
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WWE Raw Recap: July 15, 2019

A.K.A. The One With The Fiend

Brock Lesnar is back and he holds the big red belt. Yes, coming out of Extreme Rules we are back in a Brock Era. He cashed in Sunday night against Seth Rollins, and is supposed to show up on this Raw. Who will be his Summerslam challenger? Also tonight, more Extreme Rules fallout. Who will be next up for United States Champion A.J. Styles and The Club? Will Bray Wyatt and his puppet friends make more appearances? Is “The Man” Becky Lynch finally done with Lacey Evans? Let’s find out together.

Results:

  • Ricochet & The Usos def. Robert Roode & The Revival 2-1 in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match
  • Viking Raiders def. Local Competitors
  • Cedric Alexander def. Drew McIntyre
  • Samoa Joe def. Finn Balor
  • Zack Ryder def. Mike Kanellis
  • The Club (A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) def. Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado)
  • Natalya def. Alexa Bliss, Naomi & Carmella in an Elimination Match to become the Number One Contender for the Raw Women’s Championship at Summerslam
  • R-Truth def. Drake Maverick to win the 24/7 Championship
  • Seth Rollins wins a 10 man Battle Royale to become the Number One Contender for the Universal Championship at Summerslam
    • Lashley eliminated Cesaro
    • Strowman eliminated Lashley
    • Zayn eliminated Big E
    • Orton eliminated Zayn
    • Corbin eliminated Mysterio
    • Rollins eliminated Corbin
    • Seth Rollins eliminated Reigns & Strowman
    • Rollins eliminated Orton

Match of the Night: Seth Rollins wins a 10 man Battle Royale to become the Number One Contender for the Universal Championship at Summerslam

What a collection of talent in this match. They called it a top ten, all-star, battle royale and they weren’t wrong. Some of the more exciting potential challengers were eliminated early on. The crowd was hot for guys like Cesaro and Big E to get a chance. The action was fast-paced, and everyone got a chance to shine. Well, except for Sami Zayn who really didn’t have much to do.

Three Thoughts:

We’ve Let Him In

Bray Wyatt is back and he’s the scariest he’s ever been. Wyatt targeted Finn Balor, turning out the lights and hitting him with a Sister Abigail. It was presented in a way different than in his past. When he appeared as The Fiend, Wyatt seemed in control and very intimidating.

This is a great start for Wyatt. While a feud with Balor wouldn’t be the most fresh (they did feud, almost having a Demon Balor-Sister Abigail match, remember) it could be a good start. The flickering of the lights, the long pose, it all made Wyatt look like an immediate threat. Horror villain Wyatt is a great evolution of his cult leader past.

New Directions, Old Directions

Wyatt and Balor look destined to clash, but they aren’t the only ones to find new dancing partners. Both the Raw Women’s and Universal Championships have their next challengers. Becky Lynch’s next test will be against her friend Natalya. While Nattie may not be the most exciting choice, she is a fresh face for “The Man” to take on. Their promo exchange was heated, and it will be interesting to see WWE heat Natalya up for a title shot in Canada at Summerslam. WWE may even lean into Lynch being the heel for the program.

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Meanwhile, Seth Rollins has the first shot at Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship. This feud could go sour, quick. Some wrestling fans were salivating at some of the new challengers who could become made men by dethroning Lesnar at Summerslam. Instead we will get the same build for Summerslam that we had for Wrestlemania. Rollins is a talented performer, but it may be too much for him to carry another main event feud with Lesnar being absent from television.

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Consistency is Key

Something that WWE misses in the week-to-week booking of their shows sometimes is their consistency. Superstars have issues one week and forget the next. Plotlines go unresolved forever. This show was a good example of logical characters doing things that make sense.

Drew McIntyre is still embarrassed he was upstaged by a janitor last week, so he wants to take on Cedric Alexander. R-Truth continued to stalk Drake Maverick. Ricochet was jumped by The Club earlier in the night, so he returned the favor later on. There was consistency from last week and Extreme Rules to this week. Fans want to see long term development and story, not just moments. The last two weeks have been good building blocks for WWE.

Grade: A-

As I mentioned earlier, consistency was the key. Raw can sometimes drag, but not this week. The only parts that felt down were the women’s four way match and the finish to the battle royale. Otherwise, the show was stacked with good moments. Bray Wyatt returned as the Fiend to a huge ovation. Drake Maverick continued to be comedy gold with the 24/7 Title. The rest of the show never dragged, and was an enjoyable watch overall.

One More Thing:

Drake Maverick lost the 24/7 Title, but did bless us with this image.

– Evan Gomes is the Managing Editor of Pro Wrestling for Full Press Coverage. Like and follow on and Facebook.

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