WWE Raw Recap, Grades & Opinion: September 2, 2019

WWE Raw Recap: September 2, 2019

A.K.A. The One With Heel Bayley & Hungry McMahon

Results:

• Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman def. The O.C.
• Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler def. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins
• Lacey Evans def. Natalya
• Baron Corbin def. Cedric Alexander to advance in the King of the Ring Tournament
• Viking Raiders def. Local Talents
• Samoa Joe & Ricochet go to a no-contest in their King of the Ring Tournament match
• Miz def. Cesaro
• Becky Lynch & Bayley def. Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss by disqualification when Sasha Banks interfered.

Match of the Night: Baron Corbin def Cedric Alexander to advance in the King of the Ring Tournament

I don’t remember the last time Baron Corbin had a match of the night contender. He and Alexander put on a great back and forth affair that could have gone either way. Alexander looked to have it won a couple of times. In the end it was an End of Days from Corbin that moved him on to the next round.

Three Thoughts:

No More Hugs!?

We knew it was coming, but now it’s official. Becky Lynch is going to defend her championship against Sasha Banks at Clash of Champions. The two went back and forth on the mic and Banks was asked about her best friend Bayley tagging with her enemy Lynch. Banks came across cool and calculating in all of her promos.

In the main event, Bayley & Lynch were working over Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. Banks had come out to watch, and eventually interfered causing the DQ. She laid into Lynch with a steel chair before Bayley ripped it from her hand. Then the unthinkable happened:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!@itsBayleyWWE & @SashaBanksWWE's friendship just may be stronger than ever! 😬😬😬 #RAW pic.twitter.com/3hTG5Vhy2l

— WWE (@WWE) September 3, 2019

No more hugger for Bayley. She turned heel and re-aligned herself with a heel boss. This does shake up the women’s division and gives us tons of questions. It may be surprising, and you may not like it, but we now have a heel Bayley.

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King Corbin?

Baron Corbin looks like a legitimate threat to win the King of the Ring tournament. He had a competitive match against Cedric Alexander and looked great in the win. Yes, he did have some help to get the win thanks to the O.C. Earlier in the night, Alexander was interviewed backstage and was attacked by Gallows & Anderson for no reason.

#TheOC is officially out of control.@AJStylesOrg, @KarlAndersonWWE, and @LukeGallowsWWE just mercilessly attacked @CedricAlexander backstage at #RAW!!! pic.twitter.com/q3GacQXKEs

— WWE (@WWE) September 3, 2019

The other semi-final ended in controversy. Both Ricochet & Samoa Joe had their shoulders down and the other covered for a three count. After a very confusing end of the match, John Cone let us know later in the night that instead of a double elimination, both men would advance. We’re getting a triple threat match on the Raw side next week.

YOU HEARD RIGHT.

BOTH @KingRicochet and @SamoaJoe will advance to join @BaronCorbinWWE in a #TripleThreat Match in the #KingOfTheRing SEMIFINALS! #RAW pic.twitter.com/4HL8YPZ0Ke

— WWE (@WWE) September 3, 2019

Corbin now moves on to a Raw finals against both Samoa Joe & Ricochet. Alexander is freed up for something new, maybe a United States Championship match against Styles? Still, Corbin looks like a real threat to win the whole tournament. 

Rollins? Strowman? Who Cares! More Fiend!

Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman can’t get along as tag team champs and future opponents. Not a real big shocker, as WWE has gone to this well before. The champs were beat down by The O.C., Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode early in the night. Since their contract signing was interrupted this week, it’ll be redone next week with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin moderating it.

Later in the show, we had another exquisite episode of Firefly Funhouse. Wyatt made reference to reports that he’s next in line for a title shot at Hell in a Cell. After how good this segment was (and all his segments have been) I think a Fiend Championship reign isn’t too far away.

Grade: B-

A show that was saved by a couple key moments. Bayley turning heel was a shocking moment, and the Firefly Funhouse was great. The Universal Championship feud felt ice cold this week, and the bad ending of Ricochet-Joe was a real downer. A mixed bag for sure, but at least we got this gif of Styles getting hit in the face with a table.

LMAO I'm dying laughing at how Strowman launched the table at AJ Styles 😂 look how he fell #RAW pic.twitter.com/nVIF42lRjD

— WWE 4 LIFE 🤼‍♂️ (@WWENews_Account) September 3, 2019

One More Thing: 

The line of the night came from the two men who were pretty much murdered by the Viking Raiders. They called the Viking Raiders a couple of “Baltimorons”. Then this happened:

SIR! @Erik_WWE pic.twitter.com/0woakOQAs0

— TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) September 3, 2019

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