6 Ups & 5 Downs For WWE Raw (7 July - Results & Review)

3. Just Another Opening Promo

Whenever WWE has a main event-level heel stable, they almost always feel compelled to slot the group in to kickoff Raw with a 15-minute promo… even if they have nothing of substance to say.

For the lucky fans watching Monday night, that meant Seth Rollins and his still-unnamed heel faction (though “Seth Riders” is just too perfect) made their way to the ring to blather for the full 15, playing the role of the movie villains who tell the hero (and the audience) exactly what they’re planning to do in excruciating detail.

Bron Breakker started things with a promo that will get some praise later, but it was only the first salvo. Bronson Reed then rambled about how he managed to beat enough respect into Seth Rollins via six Tsunamis that Seth put him into his group and shared his vision, so Reed was going to do the same to Jey Uso. Does that mean he’s going to follow Uso around yeeting with the fans?

Then it was Paul Heyman’s turn to invoke the name of Roman Reigns and remind fans that the OTC was MIA, and he surely won’t return in time for SummerSlam. And finally, Rollins mercifully welcomed everyone to Raw and left, sparing fans a 10-minute soliloquy on top of all of that.

Breakker’s unhinged rant saved this segment, but it was still a good chunk of programming eaten up for a heel stable that would get three matches and a couple of backstage segments throughout the show. This was not an economical use of the opening segment.