It’s been a wild day and not in the best way. So, let’s hope Raw lifts up a bit.
Claire’s blog is still the place to be.
Let’s talk about Raw!
Stillmatic
WWE has celebrated John Cena this week. The party resembled a good journey down the path of memory, with several segments dedicated to the doctorate in Thuganomics, including different fighters referring to their story or words to their promotions. It was a nice touch that showed how influential Peacemaker is in the rooms that WWE superstars roam a certain week.
The ceremony culminated with Dinner addressing the thousands of attendees and the millions who watched at home. The only reason I put it here is because it was great, because Dinner is always on the mic, and the boy’s shadow plans everything the WWE does. Then, now and forever.
Cena spoke from the heart, thanked the fans for keeping it real with him and begged them to always keep it real with everyone. If they like something, let them know. If they hate something, let them know. The relationship he maintains with the fans made him a better man, a better husband and a better professional. There are very few people in the whole struggle who always seem genuine. Eddie Kingston is one of them, Jon Moxley is another. But that’s something Cena has in store. No matter the time, whatever the situation, it always makes the public believe. That’s the most important aspect of this thing of ours, so a lot of people in the WWE should take notes.
Cena also gave some news: he plans to fight again. And it won’t be just for “one more match”. He doesn’t know when, the world needs a lot of peace right now, but it will happen. Cena interacted with Theroy early in the show, giving Creedence the rumor that these trailers should be tango in August. Maybe this is Cena’s next appearance. Maybe it’s not.
Whenever we see him again, be sure to love the guy who really gave it his all to this business and his fans.
Extra curricular
Picture Me Rollin ‘
WWE is telling a good story with Becky Lynch. Becky’s downfall since losing to WrestleMania has taken her to dark places. Fun places too, but mostly dark. This week, Becky has faced five more women for last place in the women’s Money in the Bank match. Would she tremble? Would it destroy competition?
The answer, in short, is yes. I liked Becky’s aggressiveness in starting the match. She went after everyone in her path, doing what was in her power as a woman on a mission. Xia Li? He fixed it. Nikki ASH? He sent her shortly after fixing Xia. Clearly the star of the match, Becky also increased the game of the others. Specifically Doudrop. If anyone else dominated as much as Becky, it was Doudrop. He dominated everyone whenever the action went out of the ring, and eliminated Shayna Baszler and Tamina back together.
That always belonged to Becky and Doudrop. Becky, in vain, tried the Manhandle Slam a couple of times. It wasn’t until Doudrop finally made a mistake that Becky took advantage of someone else’s madness instead of making her own.
Doudrop promoted Becky to the top tensor, lost her position and fell victim to the Manhandle Slam.
Becky goes to Money in the Bank.
A good main event showing the great Becky and Doudrop together, and a good chapter for Becky’s “comeback” story.
One more chance
Battle Royales are a disaster, so don’t look for a one-on-one summary here. I’ll talk about the Final Four. Riddle, AJ Styles, Nakamura and Miz. Now, the idea here is for the winner to get a spot in the Money in the Bank match. Great, it makes sense. The caveat here is that one of these men can’t challenge the big WWE Championship as long as Roman Reigns has the belt.
And yet Riddle won. The audience welcomed it and it was a great ending between him and Miz, but I think it’s the wrong cat for this place. Give it to someone without this stipulation because it increases the suspense in the Money in the Bank party. Maybe the WWE surprises me and Brock Lesnar defeats Roman … maybe. But the odds of that are pretty slim according to recent history. That is, in my opinion, this is a person in this party who has no chance against this briefcase on July 2, 2022.
OPP
Street Profits are in your head. Even after Angelo Dawkins ’win over Jimmy Uso last week, they’re not entirely convinced they have what it takes to defeat The Usos. I really like this angle. Despite their list of accomplishments, which John Cena laid out so usefully, they are shocked when it comes to Jimmy and Jey. That means another solo victory over a Bloodline member meant more than “another victory.” With all this in mind, we have Montez Ford vs. The Man Formerly Known with Main Event Jey Use.
Look, there are only so many ways to tell you that these two make a good match. It was great? No. But it was good because The Profits and The Uses work well together in any setup. The best part was the ending, where Dawkins made sure his partner had a good chance of going to the pay window, eliminating Jimmy before he sank the works. Montez, in another ridiculous display, almost touched the briefcases above the ring with a Frog Splash.
madness.
Montez took the W, which probably means there is a loss in his future. Right? I’m not so sure. Uses are the Detroit Pistons to the Chicago Bulls of Profits. Every little win counts, so maybe it’s the beginning of the end for Roman’s cousins.
Balls and my word
During that Battle Royale, Miz cost AJ Styles the typical Miz way. The coward faked an injury and waited until the perfect time to eliminate Styles. That’s why during a segment of Miz’s interview, AJ rushed into the ring as a kid to Toys R ’Us in 1993 for Power Rangers.
What followed was a solid fight that ended the minute Miz came out. Perfect for his character, Miz left the match without hesitation, giving the victory to AJ.
And I’m fine with that. AJ and Miz is not something you explode in a random place on a random Monday night. There is more history here and it deserves a bigger stage. AJ needs a challenge and chasing Miz for a few weeks until SummerSlam sounds like the right obstacle.
Too? Corey Graves has good authority that Miz has giant balls.
Really great
The “face to face” segment of Carmella and Bianca Belair this week has left me pretty bored. Bianca said Mella was talented but insecure. The EST says Mella is too focused on her appearance to realize her potential. Okay … there’s a bit of truth. But again, the match is in a few days, so adding that part of the story right now is debatable. Mella arrived in the ring dressed as a Bob Fosse support dancer, explaining how anything is less insecure. She is smart. And that’s why she’s going to beat Bianca, etc., etc., you know how that goes.
Then Carmella faced off as if out of the ring, only to kick the champion everyone saw coming. Including Bianca, who not only grabbed the kick, but kept looking around the corner of her eye.
The whole segment was a little too predictable with no real immediacy. Meh.
I challenge you
Before her match, Liv Morgan told Alexa Bliss that she will not only win Money in the Bank in Las Vegas, but will win it this week. Alexa basically said “no.”
Well, Alexa was wrong. This was a fun match between two tag teammates who realize that every woman is on her own when the big championship is in play. Liv reversed Alexa’s DDT and hit the W with a quick raise. Nothing but respect between the ladies after the match, friendly competition and all this jazz. But we’ll see if they maintain that civility when the briefcase is in play.
Can I Live?
Bobby Lashley dealt with the perpetual villains of the WWE, Alpha Academy. Otis and Chad Gable faced Lashley in a handicap match with Theory playing off a special referee. The match existed to get more heat in Theory, which I’m not sure is necessary at the moment. But hey, Chad hit the Hurt Lock and Theory fled after firing several times at his opponent in Money in the Bank.
Waiting patiently
Interview with Cody Rhodes! Doctors tell him nine months of recovery! Congratulations to Seth Rollins if he wins! It thrilled everyone at the Money in the Bank party! Back to rehab!
Raw wasn’t exactly worthy of coming home this week, but it wasn’t horrible either. Celebrating the Dinner was a big touch, and the Raw part of the Money in the Bank card is finally over. The biggest hit? There is no match between Elrod, Elias and Ezekiel against Kevin Owens. It is sinful to deprive ourselves of this.
Grade: B-
This is my note and I am tied to it. Your turn.