Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 9.26.16

Csonka’s WWE CLASH OF CHAMPIONS II – ELECTRIC BOOGALOO Review 9.26.16

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– US Title Match: Champion Roman Reigns vs. Rusev went to a double countout @ 25:40 [**½]
– Raw Tag Team Title Match: Champions New Day defeated Anderson and Gallows @ 11:03 via pin [**½]
– Bayley defeated Anna Fields @ 2:04 via pin [NR]
– Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann defeated Lince Dorado and Drew Gulak @ 8:25 via pin [**¾]
– Sheamus and Cesaro defeated Jimmy & Johnny BootsNtights @ 3:33 via pin [NR]
– Non-Title Match: Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins defeated Tony Nese @ 8:50 via pin [***]
– Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens defeated Enzo and Cass @ 16:37 via pin [**½]

US Title Match: Champion Roman Reigns vs. Rusev: Color me completely shocked and pleased that we’re breaking format and starting with a match. Poor Rusev got the old “already in the ring” entrance. They started slow, as Rusev looked to ground Reigns early. Both men did a lot of ground work early, working a completely different match style wise than the night before, which I appreciate. Rusev hit the backdrop suplex, and then started to work on the lower back of Reigns. Reigns then fired up with rights and corner clotheslines, and then tried for the single arm powerbomb, but the back gave out and Rusev sent him to the floor. We went to the break. Post beak, Rusev worked the heat, working a bear hug to continue his focus on the back. Reigns managed to power out, but ate a dropkick right away. Rusev tossed Reigns around with some suplexes and then laid in some ground and pound. It’s all Rusev here as he continues to beat down Reigns and then grounds him with a waist lock. Reigns again powers out and hits a clothesline. He then fired up with some rights, clotheslines followed and Reigns was finally getting in some sustained offense. The big boot followed and the crowd is finally getting into this. Rusev countered the superman punch and both men spilled to the floor and are down. We go to another commercial break. Post break, and Rusev got a cover for 2 as he took control back on Reigns. Rusev then looked for a superplex, but Reigns head butted Rusev to the mat. He then followed wit a clothesline off the ropes and both men were down. The Samoan drop connected for Reigns, and that got a near fall. Reigns tried for a powerbomb but Rusev escaped. They traded rights, and Rusev hit a spin kick for a near fall. Rusev with head butts to the gut of Reigns, and a cover got 2. He then headed up top, but reigns cut him off and sent him to the floor. Reigns followed and tosses him back in, but ate a head kick and Rusev covered for the near fall. Reigns countered the superkick, Rusev avoided the superman punch and then they went back and forth, with Rusev planting Reigns with a superkick for a good near fall. Rusev is frustrated now, and calls for the accolade but Reigns blocks it and hits the superman punch for a near fall. Reigns fires up, but Lana distracts him. That fails and Reigns sends Rusev to the floor and follows, connecting with the drive by. They then brawled into the crowd and we get a countout. Ok, the good news was that we started with something other than the usual promo, which I appreciated. I also felt that the match was solid, with smart and focused work. And then after asking you to invest over 25-minutes, they went for the double countout. That’s all well and good, but if you’re going to do that finish to set up the next match, you have these guys work an intense 8-12 minute sprint, filled with violence and intensity, and then do the double countout. Not what they did here. You have a limited time to get people invested and to want to stay with the show instead of the debate this wasn’t the optimal way to do that.

– They continued to brawl post match, coming back to ringside. Rusev then hit Reigns with a chair several times and then back in the ring, Reigns hit the spear. He teases using the chair, but sat down and posed with the US Title. Reigns then used the chair to hit Rusev, because he could.

Mick Foley Talks Sheamus and Cesaro: Foley spoke about the Sheamus vs. Cesaro match from the Clash, and explained that it was ended due to a medical stoppage. He says that technically the series ended in a draw, and called out Sheamus and Cesaro. Sheamus cut off Foley right away and said that the man who was physically dominant would get a title shot. Sheamus and Cesaro were both not happy about the situation, and agreed that they beat the hell out of each other, and Sheamus feels that he was physically dominant. Cesaro says that he was ready to keep fighting while Sheamus took the walk of shame. Sheamus says four people dragged him out and he wanted to fight. They argued over who was better and tougher and both demanded their opportunity Foley then said that Sheamus was right, and that so was Cesaro. Foley says they brought out the best in each other and cannot name a winner. So they both get championship opportunities, the same opportunity, they will get a tag team title shot. They argued over it, and Foley says that if they want it that they will face the winners of the New Day vs. Anderson and gallows tag title match. Ugh, I hate that I was right about that. That feels like a way to get out of the series without giving us an actual winner, which is disappointing and feels like they wasted a lot of time with the matches, and building to the old tag team that can’t get along deal. We’ll see how it plays out, because these two guys are great and COULD be a fun tag team, but that felt completely uninspired and like a waste of time after nine singles matches between these guys. Why build the tag teams we have when we can do this?

Raw Tag Team Title Match: Champions New Day w/Woods vs. Anderson and Gallows: JIP with New Day in control, hitting the corner stampede. Gallows made the save on Anderson and then beat down Kofi and Big E on the floor. Anderson then destroyed Kofi with a running boot, and then got the near fall. Anderson and Gallows took the heat, with Gallows hitting a chokeslam for a near fall to send us to the commercial break. Post break, Anderson continued the heat and kept cutting off Kofi from getting a tag. Anderson hit the Liger bomb, which got a near fall. Kofi slowly fought back and got the tag to Big E. He tossed fools around, it broke down and Big E posted himself and Anderson scored a near fall. Big E then hit his spear through the ropes and drove Anderson to the floor. New Day hit midnight hour and Gallows made the save. Kofi send Big E to the floor, and Anderson then rolled to the floor. Kofi went for a dive, but Gallows pulled him to the floor and slammed him to the steps. Anderson hit a neck breaker off the top, the magic killer followed but Kofi made the save. Kofi is busted open here, BADLY, hits the trouble in a paradise on Anderson and New Day retains. Anderson and Gallows are done, they lost again and they lost cleanly this time. The good news for them is that if they hurry they can get back to Japan for the World Tag League. Pretty good match overall, but it was hard to care due to the fact that we have seen the match so many times with the same outcome almost every time.

– We see video of Stephanie meeting with Triple H after the PPV last night.

– Seth Rollins hurt his ribs at the Clash and is not medically cleared to compete tonight.

– Sheamus and Cesaro argue backstage, and Foley arrives. Foley says that he, Hayes and Anderson all believed in them at the Clash and that they stole the show. He can’t make them face off for an 8th time because he can’t lose either of them. He puts them over big, and feels by putting them together they can change the face of tag team wrestling. He asks them to trust him to see if it can work. This would have been much better as part of the in ring earlier to give us some motivation to his decision.

Bayley vs. Anna Fields: Jane the jobber attacks early and chokes out Bayley in the ropes. Not even kidding, the jobber took control and worked the heat on Bayley for the first minute. Bayley finally fought back, ran through her offense and hit the Bayley to belly for the win. This was supposed to be a rehab win for Bayley, but instead of her coming out and hitting her stuff and looking good, she went 50-50 with an enhancement talent. That’s not how squash matches should work.

– Post match, Bayley was asked about her loss at the Clash. She put over Sasha and Charlotte, but said they hadn’t seen the last of her and that she won’t be happy until she’s hugging the women’s title.

– Foley meets with Stephanie about her actions with the Clash, noting her convenient timing sending out the ref and her meeting with Triple H after the show. She of course ran him down for checking on Sheamus and Cesaro and said that he didn’t do his job so she had to. Mick then apologized for being out of line as Stephanie continued to reprimand him for buying into the conspiracy theories. That’s the Stephanie we all know and love, she had those ball clipping shears sharpened up nicely. This would have worked better if Foley would have defended himself more, not running her down, but explaining his passion and why he does what he does, because he cares about the job, Instead, he got to play the scared child, busted for having his hand in the cookie jar.

Thanks @SashaBanksWWE & @itsBayleyWWE for your kindness after loss of my manhood at hands of @StephMcMahon on #Raw pic.twitter.com/8UlYPBDiF9

— Mick Foley (@RealMickFoley) September 27, 2016

– We get a pre-match promo from Alexander and Swann, and then video packages for Gulak and Dorado.

Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann vs. Lince Dorado and Drew Gulak: We have the purple ropes and special cruiserweight ring mat. They also did the pre-match handshake, I like that they are going back to the CWC presentation to try and make this feel different. Swann and Dorado faced in the CWC, and started off here. They did the back and forth sequence into the standoff. Dorado then took control, Alexander in and broke things up; Dorado tosses Swann onto the Gulak and Alexander on the floor. Dorado then hit a moonsault onto the pile as we went to a commercial break. Post break, Gulak was working the heat on Swann, grounding him and working the chinlock. Dorado then tagged in, missed the corner dropkick and Swann fought him off and got the tag to Alexander. He got to run wild, hitting the back handspring kick and then the corner kick. Alexander looked great and brought good energy. Lumbar check to Dorado, Gulak cuts him off and plants him with a Saito suplex, Swann in now, landed a sweet spin kick and then rolled up Gulak for the win. This was far from great, but I think they did good things here. The presentation going back to the CWC was the right call, and it did make it feel different and more special. It felt as if they know they m3ssed up last week. One thing though is that for these shorter matches they need to not have the commercial, because a match like this had a super fun beginning and a good end, but when they came back from the break it was cold and they had to work really hard to bring the crowd back. I did appreciate the change in presentation though.

Sheamus and Cesaro vs. Jimmy & Johnny BootsNtights: Sheamus and Cesaro didn’t get along right away as Sheamus cut off Cesaro’s entrance. Sheamus had refused to tag in, so Cesaro slapped him in the back. They beat on these poor men, playing a game of anything you can do I can do better as Cesaro tagged himself in, because the beatings will continue until morale improves. The crowd chanted for the jobbers, who got in some offense working the injured arm of Cesaro. More than anything Cesaro was annoyed and tossed one of them to the floor. Sheamus hit a brogue kick on both opponents, he and Cesaro had words and Cesaro then scored the pin. Again, Sheamus and Cesaro may end up being a great and fun team; I just hate how we got here. I enjoyed their interaction here.

– We get a TJ Perkins video package.

– Tom Stupid Idiot Phillips interviews TJ Perkins. Perkins says that this is a dream come true; he is about to compete on Raw as the Cruiserweight Champion. The Brian Kendrick arrived and asks if it feels good having your dream come true while taking what belongs to Kendrick. Kendrick says that Perkins owes him that title and for his career. Kendrick says to enjoy his debut because they will meet again in the ring.

Charlotte Addresses The WWE Universe: Charlotte and Dana Brooke make their way to the ring. Charlotte says Clash of Champions was her night proving that she’s the queen of the WWE. She puts over Sasha and Bayley as great, but says she walks the walk and that is the difference between them. She says a new competitor arrives each month and the fans think that someone will defeat Charlotte, but then Charlotte wins and disappoints the fans that hoped for that. She’s not huggable or an Internet darling, she’s the face of the division. Sasha then arrives and says that Charlotte may have won, but the title is still hers. Charlotte refutes this claim, as Sasha says that Charlotte beat Bayley and she is entitled to her one on one rematch. The crowd was into the possible match, but Charlotte calls Sasha a legend in her own mind and says that Sasha did earn her shot… next week. Charlotte says that says is she didn’t give Banks her title shot she’d cry to Foley. She appreciates that Sasha keeps trying and coming back for more after she’s been beaten so many times, and promises to win next week. Sasha promised to take the title back, slaps Charlotte and then locks in the banks statement on Dana. Charlotte tried to stop her, but Sasha made her own save and cleared the ring. That was actually a really good promo segment from both ladies, mush better than in previous outings. They could drop the silly names (Queen Charles/Sasha Wanks) because their material was good and focused, and the delivery was strong. Plus they set up a match for next week, which is appreciated.

– Seth Rollins is spotted backstage.

– After the commercial, Foley meets with Rollins. Rollins plans to ruin the Highlight Reel, but Foley says that this is not the time and that he’s not medically cleared. Rollins saw Stephanie and Triple H meeting last night, and says that Foley’s lips are moving but all he hears are Stephanie’s words.

– TJ Perkins defends against The Brian Kendrick next week.

– We get a video package for Tony Nese.

Non-Title Match: Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins vs. Tony Nese: We again get the CWC style presentation here. Nese tried to use his power advantage early, but Perkins used his speed and got the knee bar, but Nese made the ropes. They went to the floor, did some great counters and then Nese hit the Sasuke special, and that led to a near fall. We then got a commercial break. Post match, Perkins tried to make a comeback with an octopus hold, but Nese again used his power game to escape. Nese hit the corner clothesline, but Perkins scored with the RANA and then a spin kick. The crowd chanted for CM Punk… Perkins then hit the neck breaker, and then the chicken wing into the gut buster for a near fall. Rolling suplexes by Perkins followed, he went up top but Nese cut him off and looked for a superplex but Perkins fought him off and went for a tornado DDT. Nese dead lifted him onto the ropes and hit the running knee strike for a near fall. Perkins countered the pump handle driver, hit the wrecking ball dropkick and then got the knee bar for the win as the crowd chanted for Randy Savage. Seriously. Good match between these two, despite the crowd opting to entertain themselves with random chants. Perkins gets his Raw debut, wins and we have a title match set for next week. Again, I appreciated the presentation change for the match.

– It’s been really cool to see Nese and Gulak on Raw.

– We get a Pedro Morales video package for Hispanic Heritage Month.

– Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson will be at Raw next week to confront Chris Jericho.

– Kevin Owens will be on ESPN this week.

Chris Jericho Welcomes The Longest Reigning WWE Universal Champion And His Best Friend Kevin Owens To The Highlight Reel: Jericho had his list with him and demanded quiet because this will be the most anticipated Highlight Reel ever. He runs down Kutcher and Masterson, and says he will add them the list and they won’t like… it. He puts a cameraman and Rollins on the list. He mocks Rollins for getting hurt again, while he has been around for 17-years and has never been injured. He then introduces his best friend, Kevin Owens. Owens says he loves the set, and then Jericho praised Owens for his win at the Clash. Owens ran down Ambrose, and Jericho said he was still owed $17,000 from Ambrose. Owens said he proved himself last night and that he should have been the #1 draft pick because he is the main event and he is the man. He beat Rollins and put him on the injured list. Rollins was the man, the man that injured John Cena, Sting and Finn Balor. Last night Owens took out the most dangerous man in WWE, and now he is the most dangerous man in WWE. Rollins then arrived and security held him back. Foley was out to stop him as Owens mocked Rollins and told him to redesign, rebuild and reclaim his couch. Enzo and Cass then appeared with special mics. Enzo did his usual mic work, as Jericho said they were just fine until they interrupted. Jericho them put them on the list. Owens spell checked for Jericho. Enzo asked if Jericho was Santa, and Jericho said he might be and may sit on his lap. This led to Enzo and Cass mocking Jericho for his mistake, and Jericho refuted that he said that. Jericho and Owens said they would punch them n the face, but they don’t have a match tonight. Cass then said that Foley made the match tonight, and that is next. It makes sense that Enzo and Cass want revenge from their PPV loss, but I wonder if they dropped the program with the Shining Stars since it was rumored for the Clash and never took place.

Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens vs. Enzo and Cass: Jericho very carefully removed his scarf and handed it to Owens, who then tossed it over his shoulder because he didn’t give a fuck. These two need a buddy movie. Enzo and Jericho started, Enzo got the early advantage and Jericho ran to Owens for the tag. Enzo and Cass took control tossing Jericho and Owens to the floor, leading to Cass press slamming Enzo onto JeriKO on the floor. Back in, Jericho and Owens tried to work over Cass, but they failed and both ate side slams. Cass went for the big boot, but Jericho low bridged him and Cass fell to the floor. Owens attacked as we went to commercial. Post break, Owens worked the heat on Cass, who quickly hit a belly to back suplex. Cass got the tag to Enzo, who got to run wild on Jericho. Enzo did his wacky dance, went up top and dabbed and hit a high cross for 2. Owens distracted Enzo, allowing Jericho to send him to the apron, where Owens held him and Jericho hit the springboard dropkick.

Are @FightOwensFight & @IAmJericho potentially reaching @trishstratuscom/@AmyDumas levels of "besties"? #RAW pic.twitter.com/tzq6qCKVry

— WWE (@WWE) September 27, 2016

OWENS MOCKED THE ENZO DANCE AGAIN before tagging in and working over Enzo. Solid heat here, highlighted by Jericho and Owens mocking Enzo as they beat on him. Jericho set Enzo up top, Enzo fought him off but jumped off into a dropkick. Owens tagged in, hit the slam and senton, which got 2. Jericho slapped around Enzo, and continually cut him off. Jericho went for the lionsault and ate knees, Enzo then got the hot tag and Cass cleaned house. Sack of shit slam to Owens, corner splash followed and then catches Jericho with a big boot as Jericho came off the ropes. The catatonic to Jericho followed, and then missed the corner splash on Owens, who hit a superkick. Cass hit the big boot to cut off the cannonball, they were going for the rocket launcher but Jericho slapped Cass to stop that. Cass booted Jericho to the floor, Enzo hit the DDG on Owens for 2. Owens then decapitated Enzo with the lariat and then powerbombed him for the win. You hate to see Enzo and Cass lose here, because they feel as if they have lost a ton of momentum, but after last week’s main event Owens needed to win here. Enzo and Cass were certainly competitive, but they need to steamroll the Shining Stars and start to get back on track.

– Jericho and Owens celebrate to close the show.

– Next week…
* Charlotte defends against Sasha Banks
* TJ Perkins defends against The Brian Kendrick

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Mama says these my magic shoes. Mama said they would take me anywhere…”