So Windham Rotunda, aka, Bray Wyatt, and Ric Flair have been released by WWE. I must confess that I am not terribly sad about either man being let go. I was not a fan of The Fiend character. And I hope that Ric rests a little despite wrestling being in his blood. Let the shockwaves continue while I catch up on wrestling. Now, on to the last Raw of July 2021.
The evening opens with the new Women's Champion Nikki Cross in the ring armed with a mic. Yes, I am still calling her Cross. While I am a fan of Nikki, I am not a fan of her new name.
During her encouraging monologue, she gets interrupted by Charlotte Flair. The former champ claims that the gold was stolen from her and vows to take back the belt at SummerSlam. The queen's soapbox rant gets halted by another former women's champ, Rhea Ripley. Rhea thinks she should have the title opportunity at SummerSlam. DeVille and Pearce intrude on the jaw jacking and officially make a triple threat championship match at SummerSlam. But before that can happen, Nikki accepts a match against Charlotte later in the evening.
When the match between these two female athletes takes place, I watched for the obvious outcome of the current champ retaining her gold but that didn't happen. The perceived underdog champion loses to Flair via a pin. Jaw jacking after the match ends with a rematch scheduled for next week.
The first match of the evening is between Damien Priest and Sheamus. This is a United States Championship Contenders match. Priest focused on the face of the title holder and Sheamus focused on the lower back of his opponent. A kick to the face would allow for the mask to finally come off of Sheamus. Priest hits the reckoning and picks up the win. Sheamus screams that his nose has been rebroken and wants a doctor. I am so loving this storyline. Priest is a future champ and he will take the gold from Sheamus. The fella recently became engaged and will need time off for the wedding and a honeymoon. Remember how Seth Rollins went on paternity leave?
A tag team championship match is next. The Viking Raiders go up against AJ Styles and Omos. Out of the gate, Erik flattens AJ with a pair of knees. The quick tags in and out by the challengers is an effective strategy. The current champs are an odd couple of a team but are gelling more and more. Omos is a man that can easily block out the sun. After he softens Eric up, he tags in his partner. Styles executes an impressive 450 to retain the titles.
Vengeance is the flavor of the next bout between Drew McIntyre and Veer. Before Veer can make his way to the squared circle, Jinder, flanked by Veer and a "lawyer", runs his mouth and offers McIntyre the opportunity to apologize for his actions last week against Shanky. Drew's response, "Screw the lawyer and I'm going to beat Veer within an inch of his life,".
As Drew is unleashing fury on Veer, Mahal is on the outside slamming a steel chair on the apron of the ring. It is enough of a distraction to turn things in the favor of Veer. Impressive skills by the challenger with ruthless rights and lefts followed by a vertical elbow drop. The former champ does ultimately turn things around but for a moment. Mahal gives Veer a steel chair and McIntyre claymores the foreign object into the face of Veer. And by disqualification, the former champ picks up the win.
Veer and Jinder slowly back up the ramp, This leaves the attorney down at ringside. Drew throws him into the ring and proceeds to Claymore the lawyer after Stone Cold saluting him.
A main event promo is next regarding Goldberg's challenge to Bobby Lashley. Thought Bill was going to make an appearance but instead the champ is interrupted by Cedric Alexander. Why hasn't he been released? And why is his ring gear black and lavender accented with white fur and a headband? Is he the new Velveteen Dream? Shelton Benjamin cancels Alexander's rant. Both offer Lashley a challenge. Bobby decides to take both of them on in an immediate handicap match. The champ dominates and retains.
Matt Riddle is up next against John Morrison. This is a light hearted feud. Also, I must confess that every time someone says "moist", I get a tangible wet willy feeling. The best part was when Matt drop kicks The Miz on the outside causing him to fall back onto the floor like an upside down turtle. True to character, Riddle playfully mocks. After commercial break, The Miz is again right side up in his wheelchair and the Original Bro is off his game because of the appearance from AJ and Omos walking the ramp to ringside. Omos breaks the handle of Riddle's scooter over his leg like a twig. This allows for John Morrison to hit Starship Pain and pick up the win.
I will continue to catch up on wrestling while indulging in my personal routine of re-watching every past SummerSlam. I do this with every pay-per-view event because often the color commentators will reference back to past matches and then I would make a note to go back and watch. Now, I just prep beforehand.
#BringBackBraun
No comments:
Post a Comment