Tonight on RAW: WWE has 5 weeks to build up to the first RAW-exclusive PPV (oddly, the short-handed SD only has 3 weeks till its first show), with no clear cut slam dunks for headlining matches...

Obviously, Finn Balor defending his new Universal Title against Seth Rollins might be sensible, except that Balor suffered a shoulder injury last night... Balor was able to pop back in a dislocation himself, but an MRI revealed damage to his labrum, which will require a follow up exam after the inflammation has gone down to determine if/what kind of surgery may be required... best case scenario, a few weeks of rest, and he's good to go... worst case, 9 months on the shelf... cross your fingers, people.... if Balor can't go, might I suggest Sami Zayn, who won his death feud over Owens, and then promptly disappeared from all top level stories? I know I would accept Rollins vs. Zayn as a replacement....

And also obvious, Brock Lesnar was designed to be the bad ass rockstar coming out of SummerSlam, but he did so at the expense of Randall Orton's dim little skull bleeding out, but Randy's over on SD.... Lesnar also F-5'd Shane McMahon, which is actually quite an enticiing proposition, but again, if you respect the brand split, the earliest we do anything about either of those two things is Survivor Series... Lesnar may just show up tonight so Heyman can do some talking, and then go into hibernation again...

Ergo, for as much as WWE's treating it like a demotion, Roman Reigns' quest for the US Title just might be RAW's top storyline.... by weaseling out of the match happening last night, it will be easy to keep it going till Clash of the Champions...

New Day vs. Anderson & Gallows is also nicely positioned to continue, as A&G; are owed a match in which Jon Stewart doesn't interfere, while the New Day will gladly oblige now that Big E is back....

Charlotte is the new Women's Champ, but Sasha will be due an obligatory rematch.... the only question is: why is Sasha suddenly missing from booking sheets for almost a month? Some say honeymoon, others say injury, still others say wellness violation..... with Paige already on a 30 day vacation of her own, it could very easily be time for Bayley to show up, and to stick around, this time...

I'm guessing JeriKO vs. Enzo/Cass will continue, with the facetiousness and hubris of Jericho and Owens ultimately leading to an Enzo/Cass victory, and a Jericho vs. Owens feud.... Sheamus and Cesaro are in the midst of a Best of 7 Series; Sheamus won Round 1, and presumably, the 2nd match will be tonight.... The Backlund/DYoung vs. Titus thing is still ongoing.... and the Dudleys are teasing retirement tonight (it's been exactly 1 year since their return), but I'd expect a twist, with Bubba getting a chance to replicate his singles success from TNA on the WWE stage...

And oh yeah: there will be Strowman...

That is all. End communication....

The flOOr is yours, OO Nation. Don't wait till after 11pm to post, either. Pre-show previewing and prognosticating is certainly welcome. So discuss, debate, and rate!

[Edited on 8-22-2016 by OORick]

I had admittedly had a few pops by the time Reigns-Rusev happened last night but wasn't that basically supposed to be a double-turn? Rusev gets injured, Reigns keeps beating the crap out of him (to the point he even came back out to continue the beating)...is there something I'm missing? I'm kinda surprised I haven't seen more discussion about it here.

You heard it here first - Heel Reigns tonight!

Mick Foley JUST Tweeted:

https://twitter.com/realmickfoley/status/767861610119569410

Due to his injury, @StephMcMahon and I jointly accept @FinnBalor relinquishing of the @WWE Universal Championship. #Raw


Maybe Bret had a point about Rollins.

Nobody cares that Rusev was manfully defending his Lady Wife, or that Reigns douched all over their wedding party. The wedding party itself was a heel thing, Rusev is a jerky heel, and Reigns ain't no nice guy, nor is he pretending to be.

He kicked Rusev's teeth in because Rusev jumped him before the match and hit him with steps. I read that as less Reigns being an evil heel and more Reigns just wanting to start a wrestling feud and Rusev taking things to brawl town, where Reigns > Rusev.

Not-to-be-Fucksed-With Roman Reigns is the best Roman Reigns, and I do not mind him remaining an angry, vicious tweener.

quote:

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Originally posted by Foxcalibur
Nobody cares that Rusev was manfully defending his Lady Wife, or that Reigns douched all over their wedding party. The wedding party itself was a heel thing, Rusev is a jerky heel, and Reigns ain't no nice guy, nor is he pretending to be.

He kicked Rusev's teeth in because Rusev jumped him before the match and hit him with steps. I read that as less Reigns being an evil heel and more Reigns just wanting to start a wrestling feud and Rusev taking things to brawl town, where Reigns > Rusev.

Not-to-be-Fucksed-With Roman Reigns is the best Roman Reigns, and I do not mind him remaining an angry, vicious tweener.

---

I can't believe they're going to manage to have their cake and eat it too. Balor makes history by winning a World Title in his ppv debut and kicking off the lineage of a new belt in a major way. And now they can hand it over to the proven draw in Rollins and not have to deal with the setbacks that would have come by rapidly pushing somebody straight to the top.

With their new Top face out of the picture, they have to thrown in a Brock match for COCs now right? Keep the stuff with Shane on standby, burn through the series with Sheamus, and do Brock vs Cesaro.

Man, this sucks. I hope it's nothing bad, and just a precaution in regards to Balor.

I think the easiest fix to this is just to go full-out Glorious with things.

Seth Rollins had better watch it ... first he injures Sting's neck so bad he had to retire, and now he injures Balor and puts him out of action for 6-9 months. Just ask Mr. Kennedy what that does for your WWE career.

[Edited on 8-23-2016 by LoveMuscle]

N�, tank you, boyo.

quote:

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Originally posted by royberto
It's funny how in many of the anti-Reigns group, they ignore the part where Rusev was a dick to the fans first during the wedding segment and that Rusev attacked Roman first at SummerSlam. I guess those two things hurt the narrative flow if you include them, so they don't.

I agree with your entire post.

---

Maybe it's just me, but it feels like WWE has had a crazy spike in the past however many years in people winning titles and being injured in the match so they have to give up the belt or being injured not long after the fact and also either giving up or losing the belt.

http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2016-08-22/article/wwe-universal-champion-finn-balor-injured-at-summerslam

It's official, gents. That sucks the longest, hardest, and rawest of dicks. Can we please retire that goddamn Turnbuckle Bomb already? We can't have the very safe but cool-looking curbstomp because it looks scary, but the obviously unsafe buckle-bomb is okie-doke?

Poor Finnegan Balor. Here's hoping he comes back soon.

Jeri-KO both come out for the title, see each other, and motion it should be one of them to get the belt. That's just amazing.

So, its Enzo, Cass, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Chris Jericho, Sammi Zayn and Roman Reigns.

Enzo and Cass - still tag team wrestlers so they aren't going to win.

Jericho - he's leaving for Fozzie soon isn't he?

Zayn - he'd be an even riskier pick that Balor was.

Reigns - he's got business with Rusev doesn't he? This won't fix his problem if they push him on everyone again.

Kevin Owens - The one I would really like to win but I don't see the faces that could realistically face him. More Owens/Zayn?

Rollins - Capt injury will likely win.

I think WWE needs to drive a stake through the Universal Title and then burn it or something, because it may or may not be cursed, if Zayn ended up hurting himself during that match. Either that, or Rollins himself is cursed with some kind of aura that makes the chances of injury rise for himself and anyone around him.

I see that there are only 7 announced for this little tourney. Maybe Samoa Joe at the 8th entrant? Can't imagine that they would throw Brock in there. A new title needs someone around to actually defend it. Anyone else from NXT that could come right up and be believable contender?

Oh, never mind....it's Neville...Hooray?

RIP Titus push...my god that was horrible.

OK Titus just proved he peaked pre suspension. That was turrible.

I am unable to watch the show. What happened with Titus?

The most I can recall from subjecting the segment to Background Noise Mode was he spent most of his promo tripping over his own words and such. It wasn't his finest moment, I'd say.

Yeah, Titus was pretty brutal on the mic, there. He had one or two moments where he looked like he was about to maybe fix things, but then he'd trip up again.

Ah. Yeeeeeah, Titus O'Neil is one of those dudes with a really limited upside. He's got okay Charisma and a Good Look (tm) but not a lot of skills on the stick or between the ropes. His suspension for playfully jostling Vince was unjust, but they're just not gonna make Fetch happen with ol' Titus.

Jericho and Owens have been too good together. It feels too soon to break them up. Owens setting up the "IT!" Then taking the guy's pocket square? The guy is the master of the little things.

Bayley!!!

quote:

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Originally posted by bigfatgoalie
Jericho and Owens have been too good together. It feels too soon to break them up. Owens setting up the "IT!" Then taking the guy's pocket square? The guy is the master of the little things.

---

So Enzo doesn't get a shot at the title?

If Balor is out 4-6 months, the 4 months has him back at the end of December... 5 months is Royal Rumble. Hopefully we get a Balor Rumble win...

Boo that fella!

Brood Steenburgen's opponent's interests guarantee him a WWE contract and Vince's support, I'd guess.

Johnny Knock(edDafuq)out "likes big...sweaty....men...."

even Byron was like "WTF??"

I agree with everything Sheamus said aboot NY just short of him forgetting the "nuke the site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure" tagline.

Did...did Boom Townrats opponent just say he likes hot, sweaty men?

ETA: OMD's got the right idea. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Edited on 8-23-2016 by janerd75]

There's something about Braun Strowman's face that makes me think he looks like former Toronto mayor Rob Ford. I can't stop laughing at the thought of Rob Ford being Braun Strowman.

"Broken Matt" chant please, NYC.

quote:

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Originally posted by Slade
There's something about Braun Strowman's face that makes me think he looks like former Toronto mayor Rob Ford. I can't stop laughing at the thought of Rob Ford being Braun Strowman.

---

quote:

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Originally posted by Slade
There's something about Braun Strowman's face that makes me think he looks like former Toronto mayor Rob Ford. I can't stop laughing at the thought of Rob Ford being Braun Strowman.

---

IS IT TIME FOR THE SHINING STARS TO FINALLY ESTABLISH THEMSELVES AND FIND SUCCESS?!?!?!?! I'm going to make a wild guess and say yes.

Edit: I actually didn't expect that to segue into a Club thing. I almost believed Primo and Epico were going to get into a feud that might've helped add some more meaning to their continued employment. Oh well!

[Edited on 8-23-2016 by Il Palazzo]

Quick edit! 👆👆👆👆👆

Gallows and Anderson should get a nice run with the belts. Possibly leading to TLC at Mania against New Day and Enzo/Cass.

[Edited on 8-23-2016 by bigfatgoalie]

At least Roman's eye didn't hold him back! Unlike some people.



Now I very much want someone to throw a thing of pudding and/or fish guts at Reigns.

Roman in the four way hurts the Jeri-KO storyline, hurts Rusev, and did nothing for the fans in Brooklyn. So it looks like the reaction to an Indy darling getting hurt is put the strap on Roman.

Noice. Had me going for a bit and I thought they'd actually go with a 3 heel to 1 face 4-Way. Still, Owens and Jericho are an amazing duo and I'd glad they didn't sow any seeds of discontent when CJ lost. And it's nice to see the Unfuckening of Roman continue. At this point, I wouldn't mind him shoving Barf Lestard's big square cro-mag head up his corn fed ass.

I kinda doubt they'll put the belt on Owens, but holy shit would JeriKO be even more fun and awesome if Owens was champ and Jericho begrudgingly had to accept it.

Also, not that I ever want to see anyone legit injured, but it would be funny if whoever won the Universal title next week got injured and had to vacate the belt on RAW the next week. Then Vince could come out and say "fuck it, this belt just obviously isn't meant to be" and the WWE Universal title could be retired after three weeks of existence.

Harambe photo poster dancing to "New. Day Rocks" rocked.

So in the long term, this makes Finn look damn mythic right? Wins the Big one in his ppv debut(beating the de facto top face to earn the opportunity and then beating the top heel to win the match), becoming the inagural Champion of this particular Title, and then vacates it which will lead to a major return against the future Paper Champion.If this was Hogan, people would believe it's a fake ass injury because this would make him look so strong.

Hell, you could even work it in with the Demon, the transformation pushes his body too much and kayfabe wise it's partly responsible for him having to vacate the Title. That's why he doesn't use it so much.

That really sucks for Finn Balor. I'm sure his return in 6 months is going to blow the roof off the place. Hopefully, it will be at the Royal Rumble.

After he relinquished the belt, it kind of took the air out of the rest of the show. The tournament announcement felt really underwhelming. Then you get the inclusion of Roman Reigns, which not only gave you the feeling of "here we go again", but they stick him in the Main Event match! If he ultimately wins the title, which I don't think he will, then just get the gun out

I truly do think they'll be smart and put the belt on Rollins. Which they honestly should've done in the first place. I'm not sure Finn is quite as over with the fanbase as a whole as he is with NXT-watching hardcore fans, and Rollins is a reliably excellent performer. Hopefully Rusev will cost Reigns the semifinals so they can continue the first feud in literally years where Reigns has been booked correctly.

I'm not sure there's really much instant upside for Finn when he returns. He had one month and one PPV match (that the crowd shat all over because herp derp red belt) in which to get over, and it's not like his pops were ever deafening. Even for the almighty Daemond. If he comes back in time for 'Mania season and gets an impressive Rumble win, they can rebuild him back fast. Otherwise, he needs more time to cook.

I'm seriously not sure how getting injured during his very first title match is a good thing for Finn Balor or makes him "mythic." Mythically unlucky, maybe. Like, WWE is super awesome about trusting upcoming talents who appear to be made out of glass. See Zane, Sami or Barret, Wade.

http://pwinsider.com/article/104253/dudley-boyz-depart-wwe.html?p=1

quote:

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The Dudley Boyz' farewell tonight on Raw was a legitimate one as Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley officially departed the company tonight and are once again free agents, PWInsider.com has confirmed.

PWInsider.com reported several weeks ago that the team had come to terms for a new deal with the company. Sources indicate that while that was correct, the new deals had not yet been officially executed and at some point over the last seven days, WWE and the Dudleys amicably agreed to part ways and that the team would finish out on Raw, dropping the teased split of the team that had been built over the last several weeks.

The angle with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson laying out the Dudleys was designed to put some heel heat on The Club for ruining The Dudleys' farewell as well as leave a door open for a storyline if at some point the two sides decide to do business again.

We are told that when the farewell segment was over and Bubba Ray and D-Von returned to the locker room, the entire Raw roster as well as all of WWE management, including the McMahons, were waiting for them to give them a standing ovation and to greet them.

What the Dudleys' next move will be remains unclear as of this writing. The team returned last year to WWE, appearing for the company for the first time since June 2005. They had a run with WWE Tag Team champions New Day but of late, had not been in a featured position. The planned split appeared to be poised to set up Bubba Ray Dudley for a singles run.

Prior to their 2015 WWE return, the team had split up during their time in TNA, which led to Bubba Ray getting the biggest singles push of his career under his "Bully Ray" moniker, including a run with the TNA championship.

The pair operate the Team 3D Wrestling Academy outside of Orlando, Florida.

---

Hard to see how you can blame that injury on Finn though, right?

(The outside the ring Buckle Bomb is the move that WWE should have banned, not the Curb Stomp!)

I like your scenario of coming back at the Rumble, building up to something at Wrestlemania though.

quote:

---

Originally posted by KP13
Hard to see how you can blame that injury on Finn though, right?

(The outside the ring Buckle Bomb is the move that WWE should have banned, not the Curb Stomp!)

I like your scenario of coming back at the Rumble, building up to something at Wrestlemania though.

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Please note that:

1) I wasn't blaming Rollins for it at all

2) I'm a Balor mark

3) I don't think he's got an "Injury History Problem" at all, and routinely does moves that could easily be described as 'risky'!

quote:

---

Originally posted by anglefan85
If that's true, that's kinda bullshit for the Dudleys to not have gotten a better sendoff.

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* So everyone bitching about Lesnar and Rollins legit hurts somebody again? Whoops.
* Kinda fitting that the title everyone shits on gets shit right out of the gate with an immediate forfeiture.
* So we're basically going to restart the whole process of a few weeks ago over again?
* Game changer, Cole? More like boo changer. Loudest boos of this parade for Roman.
* If they're booking injuries into Rollins matches now, that's a great piece of storytelling.
* So the guy who didn't come out at the start is facing a guy who did. Gee, I wonder if Kevin Owens will win? How sloppy is that, WWE? We all know Jericho isn't going to win the title, but you brought him out... why couldn't you bring Neville out, too?
* Neville can do a Phoenix Splash from the MIDDLE rope? That's sick.
* Neville can do like 5 moves that would be finishers for other wrestlers. Why doesn't this guy get more run?
* The Booty-O's Slogan still makes me laugh.
* Booty chatter?
* Titus O'Neill has been given a shit promo and is executing it less than stellarly. I feel for you, buddy.
* So another "indefinite" suspension for Brock Lesnar? Way to be forthcoming, Steph. WTF was the point of that segment?
* Whoops! Someone pushed the button early on Rusev's intro. Sloppy night all the way around. Is the production team burned out?
* Rusev, another guy who wasn't brought out earlier. Gee, wonder if he'll win when 2 heels have already advanced?
* I wish Enzo or Cass had seen that dude in the front row right behind them with the "SAWFT" sign and pointed to it as they spelled it out .
* Gee, I wonder if it'll be Jericho or Reigns in the finale?
* KO stole the pocket square. JeriKO is awesome.
* Charlotte stumbled a little like Titus did but covered it up better.
* Holy shit that's a big Hugger Section.
* Be funny if anyone in the ring told Dana, "That's how you do the chant."
* Wow, Bayley has quite the social media following.
* I like Bayley, and I like the idea of they Bayley-to-belly, but she's gotta do something extra with it to make it a convincing finisher. Make it a 3 Amigos, or perch the opponent in the corner, or maybe use it as a setup move for, and I really did just think of this, a Bayley Flop! Ultimate Warrior Splash off the ropes! Which would be perfect for her character!
* Did that dude really just say he likes big sweaty men on national TV? Boy, when he sees his buddies at work tomorrow...
* HA! That was great!!!!! When Strowman demanded a second count the ref pointed out that a shoulder was up and waited for it to come down before he started the count. Give that man a raise! New Awesome Ref!
* Y'know, I don't think Bubba Ray will ever be able to be far from WWE. He's too good at what he does to not be a top road agent. I mean, you can tell how Kevin Owens modeled himself after Bubba.
* Primo and Epico have found their characters here. "I'm sorry for whoever has to sit next to your sorry asses?" That was fantastic! Oh, and they pass the torch in spectacular fashion. Well done, G&A.;
* Oh, like there's any drama here for Vince's favorite pet. Despite the feverish Y2J chants.
* Geez, nobody except Byron Saxton wants Roman Reigns to win this.
* Literally, they go to the wide shot to see the fans cheering and I saw like 4 people clapping. Unreal they keep giving this guy shot after shot as a face even though no one wants him to win. Because REACTION!!!!

Regarding the Balor injury, fault is on everyone. A barricade bomb is a stupid unsafe idea to begin with, so whoever booked it is a moron. Rollins released Balor too soon, so Balor had to extend his arm to reach the barricade to cover it up which is how he got hurt, and too far to the left, so Balor hit the curved part of the barricade, not the straight part where the move could've been more easily absorbed. Balor tried to, but did not make a good adjustment mid-air, although he's least culpable here with only a split-second to react. Unfortunate move and should be banned now from future use, especially with a guy like Rollins who's too small to be using a power move like that anyway.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Foxcalibur
I'm seriously not sure how getting injured during his very first title match is a good thing for Finn Balor or makes him "mythic." Mythically unlucky, maybe. Like, WWE is super awesome about trusting upcoming talents who appear to be made out of glass. See Zane, Sami or Barret, Wade.

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Hey Lord and Master Rick maybe you could post a brief summary review and grade in these these threads if you don't want to be doing your full Recaps anymore...?

Feeling a bit burnt out by WWE too. An average show though highlighted by a great crowd, Zayns selling of his ankle 'injury' and how it logically led to the finish of his match, a super over Bayley and of course by JerriKO who are just awesome in every segment they're in. Also, all the best Dudley's!

Face Reigns is soooooooo boring. I wish the guys that boo him would just remain silent as loud booing isn't going to get the fed to change things up obviously (see: Cena)

Also with ending Stings career, obliterating Cenas' nasal cavity and now putting Balor on the shelf for 6 months I think Brett was right re Rollins. Sadly.

[Edited on 8-26-2016 by Dean Devastation]

[Edited on 8-26-2016 by Dean Devastation]