An Advocate on the chopping block? The American Airlines arena was home to this week’s Monday Night Raw on 7/30/18 and it started out hot.
Roman Reigns starts by stating his intentions for Summerslam and he informs the live audience of his plans to make Brock Lesnar his five letter word that describes a female dog. He wants to leave with the Universal Title and before he can finish, “The Advocate” for his the champion, Paul Heyman, is out and he says that Lesnar will come to the ring tonight, if he feels like it.
Seth Rollins will see singles action tonight against Drew Mcintyre, and Ronda Rousey is back from her suspension, she’ll be in Natalya’s corner for her match against Alicia Fox.
“Constable” Baron Corbin defeats Finn Balor by pin fall with the End Of Days.
These two get the crowd fired up early as they put on a decent opening match. It seems that whether Balor wins or loses, he always has the crowd. They should take note of that and get him involved in a championship program, and soon.
Corbin comes away with the victory after Balor misses with the Coup De Grace. These two have been trading wins, and it seems to keep them both above the water, but with no definitive endgame. Corbin assaulted Balor after the match, and perhaps we’ll see a blow-off match at Summerslam with Balor getting the victory.
Raw GM, Kurt Angle, runs into Paul Heyman backstage and if Heyman doesn’t get Lesnar to the ring, his contract will be terminated. The Universal Champion was shown talking to the Advocate earlier and he stated he “doesn’t watch the product” and he tosses Heyman’s phone when Paul tries to hand him the live feed. Ouch.
Alicia Fox defeats Natalya via pin fall with a big boot.
A distraction from the Women’s champion, Alexa Bliss, allowed Fox to score the pinfall and it sets up Rousey’s raw in-ring debut for next week. She and Natalya will team up against the heel tandem. That should be fun. It’s great to see Foxxy back, she’s always been a good hand and a great deal of fun to watch.
We walk with Elias after the break as he and Bobby Lashley appear to be headed towards a program at Summerslam. Elias asked Lashley to sing along and the duo performed a heinous version of “Rockin’ Robin” before Elias attacked Lashley. Lashley recovered and sent Elias into retreat mode after an assault of his own.
Kevin Owens offers “Constable” Corbin a cold drink and a towel backstage. A fine gesture from the former Universal Champion, but Owens has ulterior motivates. He doesn’t want Lesnar in the ring tonight because it might allow Braun Strowman to cash in his money in the bank before KO has a chance to take it from him. Corbin says that he doesn’t sympathize with Owens and it is what it is.
Jinder Mahal defeats Braun Strowman via count-out.
They are trying to do everything they can with Mahal to keep him relevant. Strowman was distracted by Owens on the outside, as KO stole the money in the bank briefcase and tried to escape as Strowman gave chase. Owens tossed it to Sunil Singh who was flattened by Strowman, but not before the count-out occurred. Mahal flees and Strowman raises his hands in the air. The crowd approves.
“Constable” Corbin hands Kurt Angle his cell phone backstage and Stephanie McMahon apparently tells Kurt Angle something he doesn’t want to hear in reference to the Lesnar and Heyman fiasco.
Mojo Rawley is picking on the enhancement talent backstage before Bobby Roode confronts him and a scuffle ensues. This will likely lead to a kickoff show match at Summerslam as has been rumored.
Apollo Crews defeats Akam by pin fall with a rollup.
Seeing a members of the Authors of Pain in singles action was strange enough, but a surprise victory from Crews allows them to engage in a future tag team program to keep both teams fresh in the eyes of the fans. We’ll surely see O’Neil and Rezar next week if the cards fall in line.
Seth Rollins defeats Drew McIntyre via DQ after interference from Dolph Ziggler.
This was turning into an outstanding contest, something seemingly synonymous with both men before the IC Champ interfered following a superkick by Rollins. Either we are leading towards a triple threat match at Summerslam, or some form of a specialty contest. Rollins has easily been the best hand on Raw this year and he continues to wow audiences across the country and world with his brand of in-ring performances.
The very same can be said of McIntyre, this might be a main event feud for the Universal Title in months or years to come. It’s great to see Dolph Ziggler involved in the championship picture as well as the current IC Champ. There are three very talented athletes vying for stardom right here and right now.
Roman Reigns is backstage and is confronted by Kurt Angle who bars him from ringside for the alleged Lesnar appearance later tonight, per Stephanie McMahon. I’m sure he’ll stay away.
The Revival defeat the Deleters of Worlds via pin fall after a shatter machine on Bray Wyatt.
The current Raw tag team champions, The B-team, were out for a promo which was interrupted by the former champs. “Top Guys” came to the ring and made their intentions for the gold known after they bested Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley last month.
It led to a match and we saw “Top Guys” come away with the victory after a hard fought match and we saw the champs taunting them after their victory. I smell a triple threat title match at Summerslam.
Seth Rollins is cutting a promo backstage before Mcintyre and Ziggler leave him flattened on the ground after an assault.
Bayley and Sasha Banks defeat the Riott Squad via pin fall after a backstabber/Bayley-To-Belly suplex combo.
The former friends, now turned besties once again, come away with a victory after showcasing their ability to work as a team against Liv Morgan and Sarah Morgan. The finish was very cool as Banks hit the backstabber she normally utilizes as the setup to the Banks Statement. Bayley hit her suplex and that’s she wrote. Liv and Morgan are working as feeders seemingly until Ruby Riott returns from injury.
We’ll see if the Banks/Bayley split ultimately happens or if it’s being shelved. I’d love that match at “Evolution” to be honest.
Paul Heyman pleads and begs for Lesnar to head to the ring as the Universal Champion is reading a sportsman’s magazine, perhaps the best moment of the show. Heyman says if he won’t come out for the fans, do it for him as a friend. Lesnar reminds Heyman that they aren’t friends, and that Paul’s been leeching off his success for a time now.
We come back from the final commercial break and Kurt Angle and “Constable” Corbin are in the ring. Heyman comes out and says that Kurt shouldn’t fire him, but he should take his vengeance out on Brock for his refusal to come out. Angle prepares to terminate Heyman who has seized Angle’s leg, pleading for his job.
The beast’s music hits and Heyman has a grinch-like smile set upon his face. Lesnar confronts Angle and asks if he has a problem before delivering a vicious F-5 to the Raw GM. Corbin exits stage left and then Lesnar seizes Heyman by the throat, forcing him to the mat as Heyman pleads for his life. Lesnar snaps up the Universal title, heading to the back as the seeds of discourse have been sewn.
Will we see Heyman turn on Lesnar, aligning with Roman Reigns at Summerslam? Or will it be the end of Lesnar and Heyman in the fed as their contracts come to an end? Summerslam is three weeks away and we’re well on the road to it!
