6 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw (17 July - Review)
Several SummerSlam challenges issued and accepted on good, not great episode.
The Raw roller coaster rolled into a very hot Atlanta Monday night, with an electric crowd elevating the program more than it had any right to be.
As we’ve seen during the past several months, Raw put together several winning segments and matches, and it also delivered some truly baffling moments where you had to wonder if the same people were writing this show and approving content. It’s like a variety hour with a bunch of different, unaffiliated acts. Some are great, some decently entertaining, others are gong-worthy.
Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, the Judgment Day and Alpha Academy continue to bring strong performances, with their contributions making Raw a joy to watch. Unfortunately, Raw is a three-hour mish-mesh of stuff, so we also got some Vince-isms creeping in, Tommaso Ciampa being inserted into a role Ricochet had a couple weeks ago, a tag title getting passed around like a joint, and a Hall-of-Famer’s disappointing performance.
On the plus side, the potential SummerSlam card from the Raw side looks entertaining and could steal the show. Some of the build is really good (Rhodes/Brock Lesnar), and most of the matches should deliver on the night.
But for this week, Raw trended good more often than not, and we’ll take that.
Let’s get to it…