WWE RAW
Episode 1263
(watch the replay on the WWE Network)
#RAW
Original Air Date: August 7, 2017
Event Date: August 7, 2107 (aired live)
City: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Venue: Air Canada Centre
Commentary: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Jojo
Intro Video
“Enemies” by Shinedown
Ring Area
Already in the ring, The Miz (along with Maryse, Bo Dallas, and Curtis Axel) is not in a good mood. RAW won’t start until he gets what he wants, and he wants “Kurt Angle’s illegitimate son” Jason Jordan to come to the ring. Kurt Angle comes out instead and informs Miz that Jordan will not be a guest on Miz TV. Instead, Angle has booked a new guest: Brock Lesnar.
After making his way to the ring alongside the Universal Champ, Paul Heyman begins to introduce Lesnar when Miz interrupts. Miz talks about Lesnar’s upcoming title defense at Summer Slam and how he thinks Lesnar is guaranteed to lose the title. Miz, for one, will be happy to see Lesnar and Heyman leave WWE after losing the title.
Heyman asks Miz if he and Maryse ever roleplay, because Heyman wants to roleplay. He names Miz, Dallas, and Axel as Lesnar’s three opponents and unleashes The Beast on them in a preview of the title match. Lesnar easily takes down all three men and hits each of them with an F5. Lesnar and Heyman then calmly leave the ring area.
Match 1
Seth Rollins vs Sheamus (RAW Tag Champ) w/ Cesaro (RAW Tag Champ)
(referee: Rod Zapata)
Result: Sheamus wins via pinfall with a schoolboy after a distraction from Cesaro
Time: 5:05 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
A pretty good match. They worked well together, but the match was kind of short and was geared towards making a plot point in the ongoing Rollins/Ambrose story.
Ring Area
Rollins attacks Sheamus and Cesaro after the match, but he is quickly overwhelmed. As the tag champs beat up Rollins they repeatedly look up towards the ramp, wondering if Dean Ambrose will show up. He doesn’t.
Backstage
Rollins walks through the back and comes upon Dean Ambrose. Ambrose says “I told you so,” but Rollins calls him a “big jerk.” Frustrated, Rollins asks what he has to do to prove that he’s not the same person who broke up The Shield.
Backstage
Angle asks one of the medical staff if Curtis Axel can compete tonight. He can’t. Angle looks around and finds some local talent hanging out in the back. Angle tells the local talent that he will be facing Jason Jordan right now.
Match 2
Jason Jordan vs Jean-Pierre Goulet
(referee: Chad Patton)
Result: Jason Jordan wins via pinfall after a push-up neckbreaker
Time: 1:21
Match Thoughts
This was a squash, but I thought it was strange how they did this match. The crowd seemed to recognize Goulet and were cheering him the entire time. This match showed Jordan’s (obvious) power, but it also got him booed.
Ring Area
Sporting a sling and a subdued expression on her face, Bayley heads to the ring. Charly Caruso asks her about the injury she suffered against Nia Jax last week. Bayley explains why she continued her match against Jax even though she got injured part way through the match. She didn’t think anyone would take her seriously as a threat if she didn’t beat Jax, but her decision to continue the match probably made her injury worse.
Match 3
Triple Threat Match
Sasha Banks vs Alicia Fox vs Emma
(referee: John Cone; guest commentary: Alexa Bliss; special stipulation: the winner will compete in a number one contender match for the RAW women’s Title)
Result: Sasha Banks forces Emma to submit to the Bank Statement
Time: 4:45
Match Thoughts
Good match. I liked how each one of the competitors had a good amount of time when they were in control. There were some extended one-on-one segments, but I think as a while this worked as a nice triple threat.
Backstage
Renee Young asks Braun Strowman how important his match tonight against Roman Reigns is. He ignores the question and just says that he likes to beat up Roman Reigns.
Ring Area
Enzo Amore heads to the ring and introduces Big Show. Big Show heads to the ring and says that Big Cass needs to learn some respect. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows interrupt and come out to the stage. They challenge Show and Amore. Amore points out that Gallows and Anderson look like Dr. Evil and Mini Me (respectively) before accepting the Good Brothers’ challenge.
Match 4
Enzo Amore & Big Show vs Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows
(referee: Darrick Moore)
Result: Karl Anderson pins Enzo Amore after a running dropkick
Time: 3:36 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
There wasn’t a whole lot to this match. Big Show never got tagged in, and it was all about Enzo getting beat up and Cass showing up part way through the match for a big distraction. Anderson and Gallows looked good, but they didn’t have much of an opportunity to shine here. This segment was mostly about Enzo, Show, and Cass.
Ring Area
After the match, Big Cass attacks Big Show at ringside. Amore attacks Cass, but Cass slams him into the barricade. Cass ends up chasing Enzo, and Show catches Cass with a knockout punch when he comes around the corner of the ring.
Ring Area
Finn Balor heads to the ring. He says that Bray Wyatt gives him the creeps. He says Wyatt is more concerned with having people fear him than with winning or losing, but Finn has a solution for fear: you kick it in the face. Whatever Wyatt wants to start with Balor, Balor will finish it.
The lights go out and Wyatt appears in the ring, but Balor is already on the turnbuckles. Wyatt tries to attack, but Balor avoids everything. Balor starts an attack of his own when the lights go out again. Wyatt disappears before reappearing on the tron. He tells Balor to “run.”
** I’m liking the content of this feud better than Wyatt vs Orton. Hopefully they won’t attempt the goofy gimmicks here. Disappearing and reappearing is enough, and it works well. In the end though, they just need to fight. **
Match 5
Cesaro (RAW Tag Champ) w/ Sheamus (RAW Tag Champ) vs Dean Ambrose
(referee: Chad Patton)
Result: Dean Ambrose wins via pinfall with a schoolboy
Time: 16:17 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Great match! It was kind of a beating, but Cesaro was pulling off some great moves and doing some nice variations of moves he always uses. The mostly one-sided nature of the match also built on Ambrose’s ability to survive incredible odds. And all of this was done with very minimal interference from Sheamus. This is definitely a match worthy of repeated viewings.
Ring Area
Sheamus and Cesaro begin to attack Ambrose after the match, but Set Rollins quickly runs to the ring to make the save. After Cesaro and Sheamus leave, Ambrose gets up and slowly holds out his fist for Rollins. Rollins looks at Ambrose, shakes his head, and walks away.
Backstage
Titus, Apollo Crews, and Akira Tozawa are excited about Tozawa’s chances at winning the Cruiserweight Title at Summer Slam. Neville walks up and wonders if Tozawa will make it to Summer Slam. After crushing Ariya Daivari’s dreams, Neville thinks it’s risky to face Daivari once again tonight.
Match 6
Ariya Daivari vs Akira Tozawa w/ Titus O’Neil
(referee: Rod Zapata; guest commentary: Titus O’Neil)
Result: Akira Tozawa wins via pinfall after a diving senton
Time: 3:50
Match Thoughts
A good match, though with the buildup Neville and Daivari gave this one I expected a little more from Daivari. This was a decent warm-up for Tozawa though.
Backstage
Renee Young welcomes Roman Reigns. Reigns doesn’t watch Miz TV, and he doesn’t care what Lesnar does. He’s also going to win again tonight. Summer Slam won’t be any different.
Match 7
Triple Threat Match
Mickie James vs Dana Brooke vs Nia Jax
(referee: Darrick Moore; guest commentary: Alexa Bliss; watching in the back: Sasha Banks; special stipulation: the winner will compete in a number one contender match for the RAW women’s Title)
Result: Nia Jax pins Dana Brooke after a running leg drop
Time: 3:02
Match Thoughts
This was okay. Nia hit a good running clothesline, and I liked the finishing sequence.
Backstage
Goldust says absence makes the heart grow fonder. He’ll also be watching Summer Slam.
** This promo felt like a bit of a dig at not being on TV, but maybe I’m just reading too much into it. **
Backstage
Big Cass wants Big Show in a match at Summer Slam. Kurt Angle agrees. Cass doesn’t want Enzo Amore to interfere though. Angle suggests that Amore be suspended in shark cage. Cass likes the idea.
Match 8
Last Man Standing Match
Braun Strowman vs Roman Reigns
(referee: John Cone)
Result: Braun Strowman wins after Samoa Joe takes Roman Reigns down with a Coquina Clutch
Time: 18:25 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
This was good, though it felt a lot like their ambulance match. It was two big guys beating on each other. It was fine, but there didn’t seem to be any specific moment that really stood out as spectacular (despite Cole and some random guy in the front row attempting to oversell things like a spear and Strowman throwing a chair).
Show Impressions
I liked that they gave time to two of tonight’s matches to develop into something good (Ambrose/Cesaro and Strowman/Reigns). I also like the idea behind the Women’s number one contender setup, though it kind of ended up being a predictable and often-seen result. Overall I think this show was better than last week, and it’s a good show leading up to Summer Slam.
Match of the Night
Cesaro vs Dean Ambrose
This was by far the best match of the night. I think the finish is something that they use too much in the WWE (they’ve even used it in this story which I pointed out last week), but the finish didn’t really detract from the match. Both guys were great in this one, and Cesaro once again proved that, if he were given the chance, he could make any singles title exciting every single week.