WWE RAW
Episode 1255
#RAW
Original Air Date: June 12, 2017
Aired Live
City: Lafayette, LA
Venue: Cajundome
Commentary: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Jojo
Video
Last Monday, Samoa Joe gave Paul Heyman a message to send to Lesnar.
Ring Area
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman head to the ring. Heyman does not appear happy. He gets on the mic and says he is here tonight to “unleash the beast.” He talks about what Samoa Joe did to him last week. Joe put his hands on Brock Lesnar’s guy, so now Lesnar has a problem with Joe.
Heyman thought that Samoa Joe could be the one man to challenge The Beast, but he’s not. He says that Joe is the one Samoan in the wrestling business that the other Samoans want nothing to do with. He calls Joe a mutt and a dog. He says there’s no way Joe can put Lesnar in the Coquina Clutch. WIth that, Samoa Joe comes out and heads to the ring.
Joe gets face to face with Lesnar before a brawl breaks out. Kurt Angle runs out with a bunch of security guards to break up the fight, but Lesnar and Joe take them all out. Joe and Lesnar continue their brawl as Angle calls the wrestlers out of the locker room to break them up. Eventually Joe and Lesnar are separated.
** I like the segment a lot, but I’m not thrilled with Heyman calling Joe a “mutt.” It sounds too much like Scott Steiner calling Joe a “half breed” years ago, and that’s not a good thing. **
Ring Area
In the ring, Elias Samson sings a song about Louisiana being a laughing stock.
Match 1
Elias Samson vs Dean Ambrose
(referee: Rod Zapata)
Result: Elias Samson wins via pinfall with a rolling cutter
Time: 8:20 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
A pretty good match. Ambrose and Samson looked good against each other. There were some shenanigans late in the match when The Miz and Maryse came out to the ring to cause some distractions. It worked fine for the story, though this match wasn’t particularly exciting or memorable.
Backstage
Goldust says that R-Truth was jealous and he never understood him. He wonders if the reason R-Truth never understood is because Goldust made him feel uncomfortable. Regardless, “The Golden Age” is back.
Backstage
Kurt Angle is furious at The Miz for his actions in the previous match. The Miz suggests that it’s Angle’s fault that Ambrose attacked him last week because Angle was away taking care of his own personal problems. Angle says he’s going to do nothing about Ambrose. If Miz doesn’t like it, then Miz is going to have to do something himself.
Video
A promo package for Cedric Alexander.
Backstage
Cedric Alexander tells Noam Dar again that he’s done fighting him. Dar happens to be talking to Alicia Fox on the phone, and she tells Alexander she hopes Dar kicks him in the face tonight.
Match 2
Cedric Alexander vs Noam Dar
(referee: Darrick Moore)
Result: Cedric Alexander wins via pinfall after a lumbar check
Time: 0:08
Match Thoughts
This was purely a comedy match, and it was pretty entertaining. Dar was still on the phone with Fox as he went to the ring. She wouldn’t let Dar hang up the phone, so he was completely distracted when the match started which led to a very quick finish.
Video
A promo package for Roman Reigns.
Backstage
Bray Wyatt says the world is ending, and he is the only one who can save us. Also, he’s here.
Ring Area
Bray Wyatt heads to the ring. Those who deny Wyatt will be judged, and he who dares blaspheme his name will be punished. Seth Rollins will be punished. Rollins lives in a glass house, but one dose of Wyatt’s truth brought it all crashing down. Rollins will learn that if you take his name in vain, then you will fall. Seth Rollins then heads to the ring.
Rollins seems amused that he can get under Wyatt’s skin with just a few words. He says he was only speaking the truth when he called Wyatt a false prophet. He goes on to call Wyatt a coward. He dares Wyatt to prove him wrong.
Wyatt says Rollins’ pride will be his downfall. Rollins claims to be “the man,” but Wyatt sees someone who is beneath him. He tells Rollins that he doesn’t want this fight. The lights in the arena then go out, and Wyatt appears on the tron. He says Rollins might have found the will to slay a king, but a god lives forever. He tells Rollins to run.
Backstage
Charly Caruso welcomes the Hardy Boyz. The Hardys say they have a daunting task in their tag title rematch tonight, but they will prevail. Cesaro and Sheamus claim to be “the bar,” but the Hardys will break the bar.
Match 3
Kalisto vs Apollo Crews w/ Titus O’Neil
(referee: John Cone; in the front row: Akira Tozawa)
Result: Apollo Crews wins via pinfall after a spinout powerbomb
Time: 2:17
Match Thoughts
This was very short, but it was fine. These guys work well together at this point, but this match was really just a way to get a quick win for The Titus Brand to further the Tozawa story.
Backstage
The Miz approaches Heath Slater and Rhyno. Miz invites Slater to join his entourage. Slater says he’s always wanted to be Intercontinental Champ, so the Miz promises Slater a title match “someday” if he joins. Rhyno says Slater already has a partner. Rhyno also tells Miz he better go find one for himself because he’s challenging Miz to a tag match tonight.
Ring Area
Alexa Bliss heads to the ring. She complains about having to defend her title against Nia Jax last week rather than having a celebration after beating Bayley at Extreme Rules. It’s not long before Nia Jax comes out and heads to the ring.
Jax reminds Bliss that she promised Jax a title match. Bliss says she wanted a great match last week, but it was ruined by Mickie James and Dana Brooke. James and Brooke head to the ring.
James says that Bliss has a long way to go before she reaches James’ level. Brooke says Bliss told them that they all have a “Nia Jax problem.” Jax isn’t happy about that, but Bliss tries to shift the focus back to James and Brooke. Emma then heads to the ring.
Emma tells Bliss she’s ready to take her place at the top of the RAW women’s division. Sasha Banks joins the group.
Banks tells Bliss that being a champ means that you have to prove it day in and day out. Bliss just wants to throw a party for herself, so she decides to show Bliss how a boss throws a party. Banks elbows Bliss in the face starting a brawl with all the women in the ring.
Match 4
Sasha Banks & Mickie James & Dana Brooke vs Emma & Nia Jax & Alexa Bliss (RAW Women’s Champ)
(referee: Shawn Bennett)
Result: Sasha Banks forces Emma to submit to the Bank Statement
Time: 3:33 (joined in progress)
Match Thoughts
This was okay, but it was really just an excuse to have Alexa Bliss abandon her team to give her more heat with all the women in the division.
Video
A promo package for Finn Balor.
Backstage
Earlier today, Corey Graves sat down with Bayley to talk about her loss at Extreme Rules. Bayley says she’s not here to inflict pain, she’s here to put smiles on faces. She can only be herself and she won’t change that. Her goals haven’t changed. She wants to be the champ once again.
Match 5
Heath Slater & Rhyno vs The Miz (IC Champ) w/ Maryse & a bear
(referee: Rod Zapata)
Result: Heath Slater pins The Miz after Dirty Deeds from Dean Ambrose
Time: 6:29
Match Thoughts
This was another pure comedy match, and I don’t think this one worked as well as the earlier cruiserweight match. It was super obvious what was going on the entire time and just wasn’t that funny to me. The bear was another ruse from Ambrose, but there’s so much that took place here that doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Video
Clips of the Hardy Boyz returning to the WWE at Wrestlemania and of their feud with Cesaro and Sheamus.
Ring Area
Neville is already in the ring when Rich Swann comes out for a match. Swann dances down to and in the ring, but Neville attacks him from behind before the match can begin. Neville puts Swann in the Rings of Saturn before grabbing a mic. Neville pushes Swann out of the ring and says it feels good to be king. He wonders how many more pretenders he has to obliterate before he gets the respect he deserves. He mentions a tweet he read from Titus O’Neil about Akira Tozawa, but he tells Tozawa to tread carefully.
Backstage
Charly Caruso welcomes Sheamus and Cesaro. Cesaro says he’s been studying his opponents by reading their old book “Exist to Inspire.” Sheamus says they’re working on a book of their own, “Exist to Retire.”
Backstage
Big Cass has been attacked again. The Revival can be seen walking away in the background when Enzo arrives to check on Cass. Cass is hurt, but he still wants to go through with their match tonight.
Ring Area
Gallows and Anderson laugh, saying that if Cass didn’t want to fight he didn’t have to hit himself in the head.
Match 6
Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows vs Enzo Amore & Big Cass
(referee: John Cone)
Result: Karl Anderson pins Enzo Amore after Magic Killer
Time: 2:29
Match Thoughts
Not much of a match. Cass started, but he could barely stand. After he tagged in Enzo, Cass stayed on the floor for the rest of the match while Enzo got beat up. This is another match that didn’t make a ton of sense. Where were the doctors to stop Cass? Why did Enzo let Cass start? Why didn’t the ref stop the match when it was obvious Cass was injured? I understand what they were doing here, but they could have done the same thing without skipping over logic.
Ring Area
After the match, Anderson and Gallows go to hit Enzo with another Magic Killer, but Big Show heads down to the ring to make the save. Show helps Enzo up and hugs him, but Cass doesn’t like what he sees.
Backstage
R-Truth doesn’t forgive and he doesn’t forget. He gets even. He also quotes movies.
Backstage
Enzo walks up to Big Show and thanks him for helping him again. Enzo then begins to ask Show if he attacked Cass earlier since Cass is a big guy and supposedly got taken out with one blow. Show gets angry at first, but then realizes it’s probably Cass who put Enzo up to it. Show tells Enzo that his partner is “sawft.”
Backstage
Mike Rome asks Joe if his strategy has changed after tonight’s confrontation with Lesnar. Joe says it hasn’t. This has never been about words, it’s about actions.
Match 7
Two out of Three Falls RAW Tag Team Title Match
The Hardy Boyz vs Cesaro & Sheamus (RAW Tag Champs)
(referee: Shawn Bennett)
Result: Cesaro and Sheamus retain the title after going 1-1-1 with the Hardy Boyz in three falls
Fall 1: Sheamus pins Jeff Hardy after a Brogue Kick in the corner (1:06)
Fall 2: Matt Hardy pins Cesaro after a Twist of Fate (5:19)
Fall 3: the match ends in a double count out (10:54)
Time: 10:54
Match Thoughts
This was a good match, but it always annoys me when there are falls that would never occur in a full length, normal title match. The first two falls of this match felt undeserved and unexciting by both sides. They just need to give them more time for a match like this. If it’s two or three falls, it should be two or three times longer than a normal match (most of the time).
I also think they needed a better reason to utilize this type of match. There was no reason, just like there was no good reason for Matt to pick a cage match at Extreme Rules. I don’t like it when they throw around gimmick matches just for the sake of having gimmick matches. The match types should mean something and have a specific reason in the feud.
Show Impressions
I was mostly entertained by this show, but looking back, it doesn’t seem like a lot actually happened. There were some good parts, like the confrontation between Joe and Lesnar to start the show and Noam Dar talking to Alicia Fox during his match, but there were also things that just didn’t work too well for me, like The Miz tag match. Also, wrestling seemed like a distant afterthought on this show which is rarely a good thing.
Match of the Night
The Hardy Boyz vs Cesaro & Sheamus
This match and the Samson/Ambrose match were the only ones that felt like actual wrestling matches. Everything else was too short, too much about comedy, or too focused on story lines as the expense of action. Even so, I liked this match alright, despite my many complaints and the feeling that 2-out-of-3 falls was a wasted gimmick here.