10 Things You May Have Missed From Last Night's WWE Raw (Jun 18)
Alexa finds pain, Jinder finds peace.
WWE followed up a topsy-turvy Money In The Bank pay-per-view with their strongest episode of Raw in weeks.
Though the three-hour marathon wasn't without its problems, it was bookended by quality, as Ronda Rousey kicked things off with an awesome rampage through Women's Champion Alexa Bliss and Kurt Angle, and a 'Constable' Corbin/Kevin Owens combo met Finn Bálor and Braun Strowman in the main event.
Dolph Ziggler took Seth Rollins' Intercontinental Championship in an excellent opening bout, Sasha Banks and Bayley's relationship exploded for what feels like the seventh or eighth time, and even Jinder Mahal showed signs of genuine character development. If WWE are to avoid their annual summer slump, this was a good start. They've already laid plenty of groundwork for Extreme Rules (15 July), and although the company often struggle to maintain forward momentum, at least they didn't follow MITB with a clanger.
Easter eggs and hidden gems were slightly harder to come by than usual. This will happen from time to time, as WWE's modern product isn't exactly laced with subtly. Regardless, we've unearthed more than a few relevant points from Raw's bloated runtime. Let's sift through them...
10. Ronda Lesnar
Raw peaked with its first segment, as Ronda Rousey blitzed the ring, destroying not only new Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, but also General Manager Kurt Angle, earning her a 30-day suspension.
Boatloads of fans, critics, and other observers have already compared this to one of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's Attitude Era assaults. This is an easy line to draw, but Ronda's rampage was more akin to her fellow former UFC Champion Brock Lesnar's the night after WrestleMania 31.
Like 'The Beast,' 'Rowdy' was undone by an unexpected Money In The Bank cash in. Lesnar dealt with Seth Rollins' sudden injection into the 'Mania main event by trashing everything and everyone he could get his hands on at ringside, including the announce team and a cameraman, leading to an indefinite suspension. The only staff member that Rousey hurt was Angle, but her flip-out was a near direct recreation of Lesnar's otherwise.
There's no shame in this, as along with Ronda's surprisingly strong match with Nia Jax, the angle was totally effective in making Rousey look like 'The Baddest Woman On The Planet.'