WWE Raw Review: Results, Analysis, and Grades for October 3

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Follow along with our review of Monday’s episode of WWE Raw.

With Hell In A Cell just less than four weeks away the story lines and potential matches for the RAW brand’s next pay per view are beginning to take shape.  The biggest story right now on RAW is the one surrounding The Universal Championship.  Seth Rollins has been chomping at the bit to get his hands on champion, Kevin Owens, going as far as blatantly disobeying General Manager Mick Foley’s order to try and get after KO.  Will Rollins succeed in getting some revenge on the “Prize Fighter”?  Will he defy Foley again?  Will Owens be ready for whatever Rollins has in store?

Another segment scheduled for tonight is Chris Jericho’s highlight reel.  After calling out Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson for some reason on last week’s RAW, the two actors from Netflix’s “The Ranch” will be meeting with the six-time World champion to discuss his recent comments about them.  I’m still not exactly sure what these two guys have to do with wrestling but hey, I’m sure whatever they do will top last week’s episode of RAW.

There are some things to keep an eye on as well.  Will the new team of Cesaro and Sheamus put their differences aside and set their sights on the pursuit of the tag team championship?  What directions will both the Women’s title and Cruiserweight go in?  All will be on display as RAW airs live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Credit: WWE.com

Roman Reigns Promo

Reigns entered the Staples Center to his normal chorus of boos and started to talk about his family’s heritage until Lana cut him off. After a short argument Rusev came out and the men brawled once again.  The fight ended with a Reigns superman punch and Roman challenged Rusev to Hell in a Cell match in 4 weeks.

Two weeks in a row, RAW started off with a feud that not many fans are into.  However, a Hell in a Cell match might not be too bad.  It’ll be interesting to see if the two can generate any more heat into a pretty stagnant feud moving forward.

Credit: WWE.com

Brian Kendrick vs TJ Perkins

Result: Kendrick defeats Perkins by submission.

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

Kendricks and Perkins had a quick yet effective match.  TJ looked good early but Kendrick used his new found heel ability to ground the match.   After a few reversals Kendrick forced the tap with a bulldog choke.

The match rating could’ve been higher if the two had more time to work, they had two segments to get their match in so there was never a chance to really get going.  Kendrick pulling out a clean win over the new champion is a questionable decision but it makes Brian look like a legit contender to eventually take the belt.

On another note, the crowd went ballistic when Perkins tapped.  Kendrick is by far the most over Cruiserweight on the roster and Perkins suddenly seems to have lost any steam he once had after winning the Cruiserweight Classic.

 Seth Rollins Promo

Rollins sat down with Michael Cole earlier in the night and The Architect took Kevin Owens, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon to task.  He vowed to “end the Kevin Owens show”.

WWE.com

Braun Strowman vs Chase Silver

Result: Strowman defeats Silver by pinfall.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Local wrestler Silver began things with an impassioned speech to Byron Saxton about having a dream that he “beat Braun Strowman down”.  That was probably the most entertaining moment of the match as Strowman squashed his opponent and finished him with a running power slam.

Saxton interviewed Strowman after the bout and the big man tore down Mick Foley for not getting him any real opponents which is a very valid point.  The prospect of Strowman stepping up in competition is about the only reason the segment got any stars whatsoever.

Sasha Banks and Bayley Backstage

Two of the 4 horsewomen meet up backstage and they talk about the importance of two women wrestling in the main event of RAW. Banks vowed to make history as a two-time champion and Bayley pledged her full support.

Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho Promo

Owens took the mic first and ran down Seth Rollins, calling him a “stupid idiot”.  Once Jericho got talking, the fans got their own “stupid idiot” chant.  Owens asks Jericho to referee a potential rematch with Rollins down the line but Y2J had a different idea: he wants JeriKO to go after the RAW tag titles which brought New Day out. It didn’t take long for all 3 champions to make Jericho’s list.  The back and forth ended with a match being made between the 2 teams for later on.

It would be impossible to cram all the hilarity that these 5 managed to throw in in such a somewhat short amount of time but just know that this was comedic gold.  These are 5 of the funniest guys in the company and when together are going to entertain and they did in a huge way tonight.  Jericho’s “list” is yet another ingenious routine from the future hall of famer.  Let’s see if Rollins and/or Cesaro/Sheamus involve themselves later on.

Speaking of which, Cesaro and Sheamus are shown pulling up to the Staples Center in a full on argument.

Sami Zayn vs Titus O’Neil

Result: Zayn wins via pinfall.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

A somewhat fresh matchup between Zayn and Titus was a quick one.  After showing a vignette of O’Neil introducing his “Titus Brand” the two went to work in a quick, but hard hitting match.  Titus had some early success but Zayn would be too much.  He got the 3 count after an exploder suplex and The Helluva Kick.

Not exactly sure the point of this match as far as the future holds but it was nice to see Zayn getting a clean cut pin.  The guy is one of the most talented in-ring workers on the roster and it’s nice to see him win a match that he’s supposed to win.  Hopefully somewhere down the line, we’ll get to see him rekindle his feud with Kevin Owens and if it’s sooner rather than later, it might be for the Universal Championship.

As for Titus, I’m as confused as anyone.  Introducing his “Titus Brand” and then subsequently getting spanked by Zayn immediately destroys what ever that angle is supposed to be.  But that’s pretty much been the story with the talented O’Neill for awhile now.

Cesaro and Sheamus Backstage

Their argument from earlier continued on as Sheamus blamed Cesaro for why they were late.  Mick Foley interrupts the duo.  Out of frustration Foley goes off on both men and demands they get out there and perform.

Gallows and Anderson vs The Golden Truth

Result: Gallows and Anderson win by pinfall.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Before the match a promo is shown with Gallows and Anderson talking about how there would be no more joking around and they would be all business moving forward, a welcome idea.  The match was pretty formulaic with the baby faces starting hot, the heels beating them up a bit, only for a hot tag to Truth bring thwarted with The Magic Killer.  Gallows and Anderson hit Goldust with the same move post-match for good measure.

Its great to see Gallows and Anderson get back on track.  The two are simply one of the best tag teams on earth and deserve to be at or near the tag title scene at all times.  It was also nice to see they’re vicious side again.  At this moment they have no clear direction but if they keep this type of destruction they’ll figure back into the tag title picture soon.

JeriKO Backstage With Kutcher and Masterson

After Jericho butchered both of their names and added them to the list, Masterson made some hilarious comments including the fact that Jericho lost to Fandango at Wrestlemania.  The two actors told the team that they’ll be at ringside for their match with New Day.  That was actually really hilarious.  This is good as Jericho has ever been.

Enzo And Cass Address Breast Cancer

The Realest Guys In The Room were in the ring with 3 breast cancer survivors and they spoke about WWE’s relationship with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  The 3 women were given WWE Championship belts, pretty slick looking ones, at that.

This was a really classy, special thing for the WWE to do and they couldn’t have picked 2 better guys to present the belts.  Enzo and Cass are two of the most popular guys going right now and they did an outstanding job with a very real subject.  A really classy gesture from the WWE.

JeriKO vs The New Day

Result: The New Day win by pinfall.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Kutcher and Masterson are on commentary for this non-title match.  With Kofi nursing an injury, it’s Woods and Big E in the ring.  All 4 men had their moments as Owens and Y2J controlled the match but both New Day members had hot tags.  Seth Rollins came out to watch which got Owens hot and bothered.  Jericho had Woods in The Walls and Rollins came to the ring distracting Chris long enough for New Day to hit the Midnight Hour for the win.  Post-match, Rollins Pedigreed a prone Jericho while Owens just watched.

What was the point of Kutcher and Masterson?  Some of their commentary stuff with Corey Graves was funny but it really had no point.  The idea of Rollins driving a wedge between JeriKO is a good one but this is a World Title feud and therefore needs a heck of a lot more build.  Let’s see if the Owens/Rollins feud gets a little more heated in the weeks leading to Hell In A Cell.

Charlotte Promo

Charlotte downplayed her rivalry with Sasha and talks up her own genetics.  A quick response from Charlotte but an outstanding one.  She has really become one of he best talkers in the company, male or female.

Seth Rollins and Stephanie Backstage

Stephanie angrily approached Rollins about his injury and why he shouldn’t have just interfered.  Steph reminds him that he’s alone now for the first time in WWE and can’t function by himself.  Rollins threatens to “burn RAW to the ground” if he doesn’t get his rematch with Owens.

Rich Swann vs Tony Nese

Result: Nese wins via pinfall.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

This match had fireworks written all over it and the 2 Cruiserweights didn’t disappoint.  They matched move for move in spectacular fashion and it was Nese pulling off a mild upset.  The finish was a bit clunky but didn’t diminish a solid tilt from Nese and Swann.

Nese is a freak of nature.  It’s not often that you see a guy with that type of physique exhibit that type of high flying ability and a ridiculous striking acumen.  He may be a bit of style over substance but his ability is clear as the Staples Center repeatedly popped for him.  He has a very bright future.

This loss did nothing to hurt Swann who has his own cult following and this could be a nice, secondary Cruiserweight feud if the company is interested in that.  Any time you match two guys together who are this good, the result is academic.  It would be nice to see what they could go together with more time.

Cesaro & Sheamus vs Raul White & Mark Carradine

Result: Cesaro & Sheamus win by pinfall.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Facing 2 random local guys, this match was academic for The Celtic Warrior and The Swiss Superman.  However, watching these two bruisers smashing into their opponents is always fun.  The two superstars argued throughout the match until Sheamus finished things with a Brogue Kick.

This team has loads of potential.  Although very early in their partnership, everything is just working for the duo.  Their hatred towards each other is entertaining, their in-ring is unsurprisingly good, and their chemistry is noticeable.  They remind be a lot of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit from the mid-2000’s. This has a title reign written all over it.

For all the smack I talk about WWE’s booking decisions, they hit this one on the head.  Two guys who are too good to stay on the mid-card spent a month beating the life out of each other only to draw even now are tagging together.  Smart, simple booking.  If only it was always this easy.

Charlotte/Sasha Banks Video Package

A highlight reel breaks down the feud between the main event combatants.  It’s a breath of fresh air to see the WWE hyping up this main event so much.  These girls deserve all of it and more.

Charlott and Dana run into Bayley backstage and after some smack talk, Bayley ends up roughing up Dana who appears hurt.

RAW Women’s Championship MatchCharlotte (c) vs Sasha Banks

Result: Sasha Banks defeats Charlotte by submission to win the RAW Women’s Championship.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Charlotte did in fact, come out alone.  Banks started out hot but Charlotte went right back to work on Sasha’s back.  It was all Charlotte early but Sasha had her moments.  Again, Banks’ back seemed to be the key story in this bout.  Charlotte was dominant but in the end, it was the Bank Statement that saw the belt change hands once again.

This was a terrific match, one very worthy of the main event.  Now as good as Banks was and how great of a moment her second title win was, Charlotte proved very clearly why she is the best female wrestler on either brand’s roster.  She was vicious, dramatic, and a clear ring general.  She also stepped up her arsenal with an insane, top rope, full twisting moonsault to the floor.  At this point, I would not be shocked if she won as many women’s titles as her Dad won men’s titles.  Simply brilliant stuff from Charlotte.

All that should take nothing away from Banks who was brilliant tonight too.  She sold the back injury like a pro and seemed to be completely out of the match before locking on her submission.  The idea of the two trading the belt back and forth makes sense considering how much how even they are was talked about repeatedly.  The RAW Women’s division has a ridiculously good future.

A much better episode compared to last week.  What did you all think?

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