10 Big Talking Points From WWE Raw (July 11)

Vince makes decisions!

mcmahons raw
WWE.com

With less than two weeks until Battleground and just over one week until the WWE roster is split in the draft, Raw was built upon the return of Vince McMahon. It was implied in promotional material that McMahon would decide who would run Smackdown as a unique brand, and the Chairman (mostly) delivered on that promise.

The other main focuses of the show were the two top feuds in the company - namely, Dean Ambrose versus Seth Rollins and John Cena versus AJ Styles. Ambrose delivered one of his best promos ever, dressing down Rollins while detailing everything he'd gone through to become champion. Ultimately, a title match between the two was made for next week. Meanwhile Cena, who had been announced as absent from Raw, made a surprise appearance, saving Enzo Amore from a Club beatdown following a tag team match.

The wrestling was strong, as well, with lengthy Kevin Owens versus Cesaro and Sasha Banks versus Dana Brooke bouts as the show's standout encounters. Those matches - as well as the aforementioned Ambrose/Rollins and Cena/Club segments - were enough to merit a thumbs-up for the program, despite some other very questionable decisions.

Here are 10 big talking points from July 11's WWE Raw:

10. Way To Build A Challenger

mcmahons raw
WWE.com

Raw opened with a battle royal meant to crown a new number one contender to The Miz's Intercontinental Championship. As The Miz did commentary at ringside, a host of superstars battled for the right to challenge him, and it came down to four men: Apollo Crews, Darren Young, Baron Corbin, and Dolph Ziggler.

Corbin tossed Ziggler out of the ring, then Crews headed for Corbin. "The Lone Wolf" intercepted him and tossed Crews over the ropes, but Crews pulled Corbin with him. Both men went over the top rope to the floor, and Darren Young won by default.

Given that the company has spent months building up Darren Young and his association with Bob Backlund and that this was Young's first live TV appearance since his repackaging, it would have made sense to actually put him over - especially since he won the match! Instead, somebody thought it would be a good idea to have Young claim victory without actually beating anybody.

Needless to say, that made for an inauspicious return for the star and a pretty lame starting point on his path to the IC Title.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013