7 Ups And 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (July 24)
Tensions fray between former brothers as the women steal the show.
WWE had a lot of ground to cover on last night's Raw. The previous week's promise of Kurt Angle's big announcement and Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe created a rare sense of intrigue around the brand, drawing Raw's highest rating since April. Jason Jordan was unveiled as Angle's son, and the number one contender's match finished in chaos, but could WWE produce a successful follow-up? Yes, for the most part.
This was a perfectly enjoyable episode of Raw. The Universal Title situation was handled at the top of the show, and we now know who'll face Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Bayley and Sasha Banks produced some great action in their own number one contender's bout, and while the Jordan/Angle storyline wasn't handled perfectly, JJ's first singles match suggests he'll be fine as a solo act.
The entire roster was well represented throughout, and with further developments in the tag, women's, and cruiserweight divisions, Raw looks to be in a solid position ahead of the year's second biggest pay-per-view. Whether or not it's enough to continue the recent ratings spike remains to be seen, but WWE are at least putting the effort in.
Let's look at what drove Raw forward on the road to SummerSlam, and what held it back...
Downs…
4. Squashing Emma
Last night’s Raw took a diversion through Squash Match City, with three one-sided shellackings on the card. Nia Jax vs. Emma was the second of those, and came about when the latter irritated Kurt Angle by saying she planned on dating Jason Jordan for attention earlier in the evening, and while the match effectively put Nia over, it’s disappointing to see Emma used in such a way.
She’ll never be as big as Sasha Banks (or Bayley at her peak), but the Australian grappler is one of the women’s division’s most underrated performers. She can match anyone between the ropes and her charisma is on point, but she’s never been given a real chance, and the squash exemplifies her lowly status within the company.
Emma’s angle with Dana Brooke was kyboshed without word, and she has been used to do nothing but eat pinfalls in recent weeks. With WWE set to unveil their Q2 financials on Friday, there’s a strong chance they’re cooling her down ahead of a release. A shame, but not entirely surprising.