WWE RAW Coverage: There’s No Replays in Wrestling

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. What just happened on RAW? Who’s the Champion? Seth Rollins or Dean Ambrose? That was like the equivalent of the series finale of “The Sopranos.” Why end the show like that? It was just plain confusing and deflating.

That was how you felt if you didn’t have the WWE Network.

If you did, you know that the main event this week on RAW ended in a draw.

Regardless, with just a few days before Battleground, this was a wasted opportunity.

It certainly didn’t start that way, though. With Mick Foley and Daniel Bryan announced as the RAW and Smackdown General Managers and the announcement of the return of the Cruiserweight Division to RAW, the WWE appears ready to take both shows to another level. With Battleground this weekend, a beefy card and the draft on Smackdown, this week’s RAW could have been more memorable, but many of the matches seemed to be thrown together and last-minute Battleground snacks. Regardless, it was still a wild way to start off a new chapter in the WWE.

Matches:

Sami Zayn and Antonio Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho: Lots of offense, but this match was a snoozer overall, Zayn got the Rollup win after he countered a Rollup from Jericho.

Darren Young w/Bob Backlund vs. Alberto Del Rio: After The Miz’s interference backfired on him, Young got the win with the Bridging Rollup in a huge win before Battleground.

12-Man Tag: WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day: Kofi Kingston, Big E. Langston and Xavier Woods and John Cena, Colin Cassady and Enzo Amore vs. The Wyatt Family: Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan and The Club: AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson: This was a war with plenty of offense and major egos as The Club and The Family had issues getting along. In spite of the offense, it was apparent that this match was dragging. After a Signature Maneuver Palooza, The Wyatt’s and New Day took the fight outside and Styles got the win with the Styles Clash after Amore accidentally Clotheslined Cena.

Baron Corbin vs. Sin Cara: Corbin got the quick win with The End of Days and continued the beating before Kalisto made the save. Corbin beat on him too.

Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch vs. WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair and Dana Brooke: The match got thrown out after Natalya Neidhart interfered and took out Lynch. After that, Flair took out Banks with the Natural Selection.

United States Champion Rusev w/Lana and Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler and Zack Ryder: After Ryder was disposed of on the outside, Rusev got the submission win with The Accolade on Ziggler.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins: A solid match, but one that was far from game-changing. Like many of the matches tonight, it seemed to plod in pace. Ambrose did get bonus marks for the Fisherman Suplex and Cutter variations which spice up his moveset. Rollins nearly won with the Powerbomb variation on the apron and the Frog Splash, but Ambrose kicked out. Rollins then hit his Flying Knee, but he missed the Frog Splash. After the two traded strikes, Rollins hit the Pele and Turnbuckle Powerbomb, Ambrose hit the Dirty Deeds, but Rollins had his legs on the ropes. With Rollins on the outside, Ambrose prepared to put him through the announce table, but Rollins escaped. Once back in the ring, Ambrose went for the Elbow, but Rollins hit the Pedigree, to only see Ambrose kick out. Rollins went for the Pedigree again, but Ambrose hit his Clothesline before the referee was pushed into the turnbuckle. Rollins then hit a Superplex and the referee counted to three, but no one knew who the referee counted for. Before the referee could announce who won the match, Stephanie McMahon announced Rollins was the Champion.

After the show ended on the WWE Network, the referee asked to see a replay and it was there that he announced that both Ambrose and Rollins had their shoulders down, thus allowing Ambrose to retain his title. Nevertheless, Rollins beat on Ambrose and took the title before Ambrose hit the Dirty Deeds and took it back.