WWE Raw Recap (5th June 2017)


We start with Bray Wyatt saying that he will take revenge on all of the other 4 competitors from last night's fatal 5-way. Reigns interrupts to tell him who's yard it is and we have our first match of the night. 

Bray Wyatt vs Roman Reigns - This was a good, but not great, match that was given a really long time for TV opener. Reigns won (shocker) with the superman punch/spear combination. Once again Bray says he will do something and then he just doesn't. He is a bit of a fibber is Bray. Decent enough way to start the show with only a short promo before a match.

Enzo & Cass are doing an interview about the attacks on Enzo. Cass says he finds it insulting that people are accusing him of the attacks and that he has Enzo's back. Including in tonight's match against Anderson & Gallows.

Alexa Bliss is talking with Kurt Angle backstage. Alexa says she is done with Bayley and wants to do a This Is Your Life segment on herself. Angle tells her that there is no way that is happening as last week's segment was one of the worst in history. It was. He reminds her that she owes Nia Jax a title match and books it for tonight.

Elias Sampson is here to play another song but Ambrose isn't in the mood for that nonsense and attacks him. He then calls out Miz, demanding his title rematch. Miz appears on the big screen to say that he is going to have a title celebration tonight, as is de rigueur these days. Sampson then leaves Ambrose laying with a neckbreaker.

Ambrose is demanding his title rematch from Angle but he tells him to take the night off and orders him to leave the building. I bet he doesn't.

Samoa Joe is out to talk about Brock Lesnar. He says that he does not fear Brock, in fact he is envious of him. He wants what he has so he will take it. Paul Heyman comes out and puts Joe over big time. He says that Samoa Joe is the worst case scenario for Lesnar as even if he wins he won't leave the way he went in. Heyman tells Joe that if he wants Lesnar, he's got him and they shake hands. As Heyman goes to leave Joe backs him in to the corner and tells him in the calmest, most calculated way possible that something bad is going to happen to him, 'I'm going to wrap my arm around your throat and you're going to feel it tighten'. He then puts him in the Coquina Clutch and tells him to take the message to Brock. The crowd chants 'We want Brock' and Joe grabs the mic and says 'So do I'. This was absolutely fucking brilliant. Samoa Joe came across as a legitimate threat to Lesnar and the cadence of his voice when he threatened Heyman was incredibly intimidating. This was easily one of the best segments this year. 

Angle reprimands Joe for his actions. Joe doesn't give a shit. Rollins wants Joe so Angle books it.

Sheamus & Cesaro vs Heath Slater & Rhyno - The champs win in short order, as they should. After the match Shesaro say that they don't just set the bar, they are the bar.

TJP and Neville are talking. TJP wants a title match and Neville tells him that if he beats Mustafa Ali he'll talk to Angle.

TJP vs Mustafa Ali - This was a short, dominant victory for TJP. They could have used somebody less impressive than Ali for this. Following the match Neville tells TJP that he won't be getting the title shot. TJP suggests that they both talk to Angle but Neville just attacks him because he's not on the Neville level. He then tells him that he will get his title shot on 205 Live. Luckily there is zero chance TJP wins that.

Goldust cuts another movie based promo.

Alexa Bliss tries to turn all of the other women against Nia Jax but they aren't buying in to that shit.

Kurt Angle and Corey Graves talk backstage again. We are no closer to finding out what is going on. As expected, Ambrose sneaks back in to the arena.

Kalisto vs Titus O'Neil - This was a short match which is always nice when Titus is in the ring. Kalisto picks up the win with a handful of trunks. The opposite of last week.

Cass has been attacked backstage. At least that is how it appears. He won't be able to compete tonight.

Next up we have the IC Title Comeback Celebration for the Miz. The crowd chants 'you deserve it' but Miz tells them to fuck off. Miz tells Maryse that he really likes what she has done with celebration, even the dancing bear. She tells him that she didn't hire the dancing bear so Miz attacks it and hits the Skull Crushing Finale. The bear is not Dean Ambrose though. A suspiciously human sized box is then delivered to ringside. Miz thinks he is one step ahead and hits it with a chair and drops some elbows on it. Maryse is pissed at him though as it was a present from her, a grandfather clock. She leaves and Miz blames it on Ambrose, challenging him to meet him face to face. It turns out Ambrose was the cameraman all along. He hits Miz with the most protected finisher in wrestling, Dirty Deeds, and walks off with the Miz's champagne. This was a fun segment. Miz and Maryse are usually great so this isn't unexpected.

Anderson & Gallows vs Enzo & Big Show - Enzo gets beaten up for 30 seconds before getting the tepid tag to Show who destroyed Anderson & Gallows before aiding Enzo in getting the win. This lasted under 2 minutes. At this stage Anderson & Gallows are nothing, just 2 people to fill out the show with. 

Backstage Cass suggests that Show has been sneaking around attacking them but Show rightly says that he is too big to be sneaking up on anyone. 

R-Truth cuts another promo on Goldust, this time referencing A Few Good Men.

Alexa Bliss runs down the women's roster, claiming she deserves better. 

Alexa Bliss vs Nia Jax (Raw Women's Title) - Mickie James and Dana Brooke make their way to ringside for this. Alexa slaps Nia but realises that was a terrible idea. Jax gets the upper hand but Bliss rolls to the floor and attacks James & Brooke. They fight back which leads to a DQ win for Bliss. Jax lays out James & Brooke but Bliss escapes. Sneaky heel 101.

Paul Heyman is receiving treatment backstage when he gets a phone call from Lesnar. Heyman tells him to show up to Raw next week to make Joe fear him by unleashing the beast.

Samoa Joe vs Seth Rollins - Main event time. Much like the opener this was a good match that was given plenty of time but never hit it's stride to be anything better than that. Rollins had taken control when Bray Wyatt did his lights out thing but he wasn't there. It was enough to distract Rollins though and allow Joe to pick up the win with the Coquina Clutch. 

Thoughts

The opening and closing matches were both good they aren't anything to really go out of your way to watch. The Samoa Joe/Paul Heyman segment is absolutely something you should go out of your way to watch though. It's tremendous. The Miz segment was fun but the rest was highly forgettable.

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