Monday Night Raw comes to us live tonight inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas!
Falls Count Anywhere
Tonight, Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley square off in a falls count anywhere match. In weeks prior, we’ve seen these two compete in tug of war, an arm wrestling contest, and even seen them go one on one at Super Showdown.
Both men have seemingly lost almost every bit of momentum they once had and need a big performance to turn that around. This might be that performance.
Strowman & Lashley have been going back and forth, weathering away from 50/50 booking (shout out to my podcast) and don’t seem to have anywhere to go. Strowman use to be a highlight of Raw and now he’s barely on the show. Lashley hasn’t lived up to the hype since signing back either.
Somehow, these two need to get back on track and this could be the match to make it happen. If they’re given time, there’s a good chance they can get it done.
New Day vs Viking Raiders
For the first time ever, the New Day will take on the Viking Raiders tonight. These are two of the best tag teams in the world and I can only assume it’s almost impossible for them to have a bad match with one another.
Somehow, Samoa Joe will tie into this. Kofi needs to have his head on a swivel tonight during the match, whether he’s competing or not. Joe choked Kofi out last week, leaving him gasping for air on the ramp. The two will face each other for the WWE championship at Extreme Rules, and Joe wants to soften Kofi up before we get there.
This seems to be Paul Heyman’s first big match booked tonight after taking over Monday Night Raw this past week. Putting two of the best teams in the world in the same ring alongside the WWE championship rivalry, it doesn’t get much bigger.
This is a great opportunity for Viking Raiders to shine and show the world what they can really do.
AJ Styles & Ricochet
AJ Styles defeated United States champion Ricochet last week in a great Raw main event. These are two of the most innovative superstars WWE has right now and fans want nothing else but to see more.
Because Styles defeated the U.S. champion, it’s 100% likely that he will get a shot at the championship in the near future. Whether that be tonight, which is technically the 4th of July episode of Monday Night Raw, or at Extreme Rules, it’s going to happen and I can’t wait.
The Deadman & The Big Dog
Last week, The Undertaker shocked fans as he made his surprise return to Raw, helping Roman Reigns fend off Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre. This came only two weeks removed from his less than impressive match with Goldberg at Super Showdown. No one expected the Deadman to return so soon, especially on the same side as Reigns.
Reigns & Taker have history dating back to 2016. The pair squared off in the main event of WrestleMania 33, where Reigns ended up picking up the victory. He’s the second, and last person to defeat the Undertaker at the showcase of the immortals.
It is interesting to know why Taker is in Reigns corner after what happened between them. There’s history, no doubt, but Taker needs to explain his actions. Tonight is a great chance to have him come out and explain himself. He’s not advertised for Monday Night Raw tonight but there’s always a chance he’ll be there. Especially now that he’s in a major story line with full time workers.
Something About.. Kryptonite?
Last week, Lacey Evans said, “even Superman has his kryptonite” and I threw up in my mouth. It was a horrible line and incredibly scripted, but, it gives us our theme for tonight’s main segment.
Lacey Evans & Baron Corbin will face off against Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch at Extreme Rules, in a winner take all inter gender match. It seems as though the pair are going to try and get in Rollins’ head tonight. They know what his “kryptonite” is and it’s Becky Lynch. Expect them to go after her while Rollins’ isn’t around, or something to that effect.
For me, this rivalry for everyone involved should have ended at Stomping Grounds. Corbin has lost to Rollins twice, and Evans has lost to Lynch three times. What happened to no rematches? Fans don’t want to see the same stars do the same thing for three months at a time. Switch it up, there are so many wrestlers in the back that don’t get a chance because the booking is so repetitive. The WWE title is a perfect example. Kofi has had several different story lines involving different people since he won at ‘Mania.
While this story will go on for at least a few more weeks, the future of Raw looks bright.
Overall
This is a huge night for WWE. Two days after Fyter Fest as well as New Japan coming to the same arena this weekend that WWE is at tonight, they need to put on a great show. With Paul Heyman on top of Raw and Eric Bischoff writing SmackDown, WWE is in a better position now than ever to silence all of this competition talks and once again take over as the best wrestling show on the planet.
