Welcome to the Raw Review for July 24, 2017. For both this and Smackdown, I will go over what the big talking points were, pick the match of the night, and look ahead to the next show.
Talking Points
Championship Match is Set
It might not be surprising, but it sure is going to be exciting. Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman, and Brock Lesner will face off at Summerslam for the Universal Championship. This is going to be a hard hitting affair, full of huge power moves. High flying and tactical wrestling can take the night off. The only problem is how much heat the three challengers have. These guys want to kill each other. This puts Lesnar, and the title, as an after thought. Brock should make his presence felt in the weeks before the pay-per-view. If he is unavailable, his advocate should take the mike and remind the WWE Universe how dangerous the Beast is.
Bad vs. Bad
I wrote last week about how rare babyface vs. babyface matches are, but equally as rare is heel vs. heel. The Revival versus Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson was one of those rare matches. This was a hard hitting match, with Gallows and Anderson being in control for most of it. It’s always fun to see who the crowd decides to get behind. If they don’t, you can have a very long match. Thankfully, the crowd was chanting for a tag team not even in the match. The Hardy’s answered the call, having some measure of revenge against The Revival for last week. This shows that that feud is not over, but in this writer’s opinion, it needs to be…BROKEN.
Believe Again
I was one of those fans who hated when the Shield broke up. There was just something about those three wrestlers that clicked. I felt that there was still a lot they could do. In the main event, we got a mini reunion, as Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins took on Miz and the Miztourage. The match was hot, full of near falls, hard hitting moves, and the sight of Ambrose and Rollins flying through the ropes. The chemistry is there, as all great tag teams have. Where they go from here is full of possibilities. Will Ambrose turn on Rollins.? Will the entire band get back together? The answers will prove to be very interesting.
Match of the Night
Bayley vs. Sasha Banks ( Bayley wins by pin fall)
Sometimes, two opponents can fight each other so much that a classic comes about just because of the familiarity. Bayley and Sasha Banks are these types, and their match could have headlined Raw, or a Pay-Per-View. Bayley looked more focused, her loss to Alexia Bliss making her more serious and striking. Banks looked like a star, her Five Star Splash a highlight of this match. While Bayley now looks to Bliss, Banks might be reevaluating their friendship. There are no friends when a championship is in the mix.
Conclusion
This was a good show, full of crowd pleasing moments and matches. Jason Jordan is now wrestling like Angle. I like this story line, but WWE needs to slow it down a bit. Nia Jax continues to dominate, which makes one wonder why she’s not in the title hunt. A big main event comes next week, with a Triple Threat Match between Reigns, Samoa Joe, And Strowman. Having all his competitors in one place, Lesnar might decide that it is a good time to strike.
