The road to Money in the Bank rolled through another episode of Raw Monday, as the Superstars of WWE’s flagship show jockeyed for position ahead of the June 17 pay-per-view.
Braun Strowman picked up a big win, Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens dominated the first hour, and Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax signed the contract for their upcoming title bout to round out a show that was often entertaining but also terribly bloated.
Sometimes less is more, a lesson WWE Creative must learn as it continues to toy and tinker with the show’s three-hour format.
Find out everything that went down on the jam-packed episode with this recap of the May 21 broadcast.
Kurt Angle Kicks Off Raw
Raw general manager Kurt Angle kicked off the show and ran down the night’s slate, including the contract signing between Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax and the latest qualifying bout for the women’s Money in the Bank match.
The return of Stephanie McMahon, though, cut him off.
The Billion Dollar Princess said Angle could be an even greater leader if he just listened to her guidance.
Roman Reigns interrupted the proceedings, much to the dismay of McMahon. He accused Vince McMahon of playing favorites, mentioning Brock Lesnar by name. Stephanie denied that she plays favorites. She stood up to Reigns and reminded him that he lost his Money in the Bank qualifier.
Before the promo could drag on any longer, Kevin Owens interrupted and led the fans in a chant of “thank you, Roman,” playing on Reigns eliminating Jinder Mahal from the Money in the Bank qualifier a week ago.
Owens was braggadocios and building momentum for himself…when he rested his forearm on Stephanie’s shoulder, angering her enough to book a match between Reigns and Owens to start immediately.
Grade
B-
Analysis
Oh, look, another episode of Raw that starts with a promo that ends in the announcement of a match.
Stephanie suggesting she does not play favorites when Owens literally called her a week ago and got exactly what he wanted was a fun bit of hypocrisy and fit right in with her character.
With that said, Raw would probably be an infinitely better show if it broke free from the monotonous formula it has settled into over the last decade or so.
Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens
The product of the opening segment, Reigns vs. Owens began the in-ring portion of the show.
Owens overcame a focused and furious Reigns early and wore him down, grounding him and cutting off his momentum.
Reigns mounted a comeback, unloading on Owens with a series of corner clotheslines. The action broke down on the outside, culminating with a spear on the arena floor.
Jinder Mahal interfered, beating down Reigns. Owens joined in on the assault, leading to Seth Rollins hitting the squared circle and making the save for his former Shield teammate.
Result
Reigns defeated Owens via disqualification
Grade
B+
Analysis
Reigns and Owens have strong in-ring chemistry—something we saw in late 2016, early 2017—and this was no exception. The non-finish was necessary, as Reigns cannot keep losing matches and Owens certainly cannot afford a loss either, particularly in the midst of a renewed push.
A strong way to kick off the in-ring portion of the show, even if it was a second consecutive setup segment.
A tag team match between these four is inevitable.
Reigns and Rollins vs. Mahal and Owens
The already-beaten-down Reigns found himself on the receiving end of a double-team attack at the hands of The Modern Day Maharaja and The Prizefighter.
The heels isolated Reigns as the crowd’s anticipation for Rollins’ entry into the match grew to a fever pitch.
The intercontinental champion finally exploded into the ring and took the fight to his opponents.
Mahal momentarily slowed him with a Khallas attempt, only to have his finisher countered with an enzuigiri from Rollins.
The action broke down and Reigns flattened Mahal with a Samoan Drop. Sunil Singh attempted to interfere, drawing The Big Dog’s attention away from the match and allowing Owens to deliver a superkick. The former universal champion attempted a big Pop-up Powerbomb, but Rollins escaped.
Owens evaded one Blackout from The Architect but ate another, giving the babyfaces the victory.
A vengeful Mahal entered the ring after the bell, beat both victors down with a steel chair and talked trash to close out the segment.
Result
Reigns and Rollins defeated Owens and Mahal
Grade
B+
Analysis
So much for maintaining Owens’ momentum.
Mahal needed to be protected, especially as Reigns’ next pay-per-view opponent, but it feels like Owens has more upward momentum at this point than The Modern Day Maharaja.
Wasting his momentum just to put Rollins and Reigns over feels like a creative misstep that could haunt the writing team in a few weeks when it again attempts to present Owens as a legitimate main event star.
A guy who cannot beat Reigns or Rollins at this point is doomed to be presented as a step below the measuring sticks on Monday nights.
Sami Zayn Invites the Lashley Sisters to Raw
Hellbent on exposing Bobby Lashley for the fraud he apparently is, Sami Zayn invited Lashley’s sisters to the squared circle for a special in-ring promo segment.
The “sisters” were men dressed as women, and the joke was met with silence, the revelation not at all impressing the fans.
Zayn asked each of the sisters about their troublesome life with brother Bobby, and they responded, but the fans were largely quiet.
Lashley interrupted and laughed the whole thing off, mockingly calling Zayn a great friend.
The imposters eventually joined Zayn for a four-on-one beatdown of Lashley, but the former amateur wrestler used his strength to escape and pummel them. He stood tall as Zayn retreated up the ramp.
Grade
D-
Analysis
The single redeeming quality of this segment? Sami Zayn’s mic work.
As a heel, Zayn has been so much fun, a revelation. He is loudmouthed, unlikable and smarmy. You cannot help but want to see him shut up. Just giving him mic time would have helped make Lashley more likable, but instead, WWE Creative opted to go this route, booking a poor excuse at terrible humor, and the result was a feud somehow worse off than it was prior to the show.
Lashley continues to flounder early in his return, through no fault of…
