6 Ups And 8 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (July 1)

3. Kicking Off With Fireworks

Bobby Lashley Braun Strowman
WWE.com

WWE has done better in recent weeks with starting Raw with something other than a 15-minute interview segment. Monday, we got literal fireworks.

The show opened with Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley squaring off in a falls count anywhere match, with the two hosses aggressively beating on each other in the ring and ringside area. The fight spilled to the arena and up to the stage, where Braun drove Lashley through the LED board, triggering a huge explosion from behind the stage.

From there, the match ended as both men had to be stretchered out of the arena. It was a gimmick to draw the crowd in early, but it worked well, with fans amped by the hoopla.

Sure, the matchup itself is one we’ve seen a bunch, but after an arm-wrestling contest and tug-of-war, this was a welcome change, and nice kickoff.

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Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.