A Room with a Review: Raw 06/08/20

It’s the last Raw before Backlash. Let’s see if the WWE can avoid any before heading into the weekend.

• Asuka is leading off the show against Charlotte Flair, but they are interrupted by the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, Sasha Banks and Bayley Dos Straps. They’re in their wrestling gear, so I smell a Teddy Long special. The IIconics also join the party to plug their upcoming title match at Backlash. As expected, the segment breaks down, everybody starts fighting, and we go to commercial.

• After the break, it’s what nobody could have predicted – a Triple Threat tag team match between The IIconics, Sasha and Bayley, and Asuka and Charlotte. I’m pretty sure this match will end with the line “The IIconics have pinned the Tag Team Champions”. Asuka and Charlotte are supposed to be a team, but they squabble a bit, with Flair teasing a tag but never letting the Raw Women’s Champion in. The Empress is finally able to tag herself in and she makes Billie Kay tap with the Asuka Lock. Charlotte lays out her erstwhile tag partner after the match and it looks like they are still going to have a match later on tonight. So I guess it will be “Charlotte Flair has pinned the Raw Women’s Champion” instead. 

• After a recap of last week’s Seth Rollins/Rey Mysterio related antics, the Monday Night Messiah comes down and takes Byron Saxton’s spot at the commentary desk so he can be part of the interview with Rey Rey. The prognosis looks good for Mysterio’s eye and he’s ready to whoop on Rollins. Seth invites Rey and his son Dominik to come talk next week. Suddenly, a wild Aleister Black appears and levels Rollins, hitting him hard enough to open a portal into the Commercial Zone.

• Back from the break and it’s Black and Humberto Carillo vs. Murphy and Plain Vanilla-Ass Austin Theory. I want to complain about these guys fighting again but they’re so good together (yes, even PV-AAT). The match is hard and fast (insert your own joke here) with Black pinning Murphy after a sick flying knee. Rey Mysterio’s music hits and Rollins walks out wearing one of Rey Rey’s masks. While the good guys are distracted, the Disciples jump them from behind. Rollins stomps Black and poses with the mask.

• Next up is the return of Christian and the Peep Show. His guest is some guy named Edge. I guess they know each other or something. Christian drags the hell out of Edge, saying that he’s running on fumes and can’t handle the pressure of “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever™”. Edge does not like it and gets in Christian’s face. The host of the Peep Show smiles; he was just trying to get his boy fired up. Randy Orton shows up on the TitanTron and says that Edge’s comeback is over.

• Charly Caruso is backstage with MVP when R-Truth wanders in. MVP says Truth is a joke and Lashley puts him in the full nelson. Rude.

• Time for the Street Profits and the Viking Raiders to settle things once and for all with a decathlon. Each team gets to pick five events and … you know what? I’m just going to link the clip.

• It’s a Triple Threat match to determine who will face Apollo Crews at Backlash – Andrade w/ Zelina Vega vs Angel Garza (also w/ Zelina Vega) vs Kevin Owens. It’s basically a handicap match with KO as the underdog. During a commercial, Andrade and Garza bicker and they knock down Vega in the process. Owens hits Garza with a Stunner, but Andrade takes him out and pins Garza. 

• Sarah Schreiber is backstage with Charlotte Flair. She’s going to be wrestling her third match in 24 hours. Asuka comes dancing in, then slaps the molars out of Flair’s mouth.

• The Viking Raiders are backstage and they invite Drew McIntyre to join the Raid. Drew says he might, but he has somewhere to be at the moment.

• Next is the VIP Lounge, hosted by MVP. He was about to introduce Bobby Lashley, but Drew McIntyre makes his way to the ring. He tells MVP to get ready for a Claymore, but Lashley sneaks into the ring. Drew sees him, though, and talks some smack before Lashley and MVP start laying into him. The Viking Raiders come out, as do the Street Profits. 

• After a commercial break, it’s the Raiders vs MVP and Lashley. Drew and the Profits are still ringside, so I’m sure this will end peacefully. Lashley and MVP win and Lashley decides to slap the full nelson on Ivar. The Street Profits try to help but it takes a Claymore to break the hold and chase Bobby from the ring. 

• It’s main event time as Asuka and Charlotte Flair finally face off. Sasha and Bayley come out again and I start to wonder if they accidentally just started the show from the beginning again. It looks like they will be joining the commentary team for this one. For some reason, the IIconics pop up behind the plexiglass on the other side of the ring. Charlotte goes for the spear, but Asuka gets a knee up in a painful-looking spot. Unsurprisingly, a wonderful wrestling match is ruined when Nia Jax comes to the ring. Asuka knocks her off the ring with a hip attack, but this distraction allows Charlotte to hit a big boot and pick up the victory. Nia Jax ends the show with a Samoan drop on Asuka. 

It was a solid show and the wrestling was good, though the ending with Nia was kind of meh. Somebody pointed out on Twitter, though, that the women have main evented SmackDown, NXT TakeOver, and Raw in a four-night span. That’s pretty great and I hope the trend continues.

How’d you feel about this show? Let me know in the comment section below.

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