WWE Monday Night Raw was live last night in Richmond, Virginia. The dynamic towards Money in the Bank seemed to draw some excitement and anticipation for the show.

   Raw kicked off with Braun Strowman declaring that not only will he win the Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match and become “Mr. Money in the Bank” but he will also declare himself as, “Monster in the Bank.”

Finn Balor v. Braun Strowman

   Finn Balor comes out and steps up to Braun by slapping him in the face and having a match. Like last week, the portrayal between the speed of Balor and the large size of Braun made this match another exciting match.

   As Finn seemed to be closing in on a huge upset over the “Monster” Braun, Kevin Owens who came out to do guest commentary, rushed the ring, knocking Finn off the top rope causing the disqualification.

   Strowman shows his displeasure by hurling a ladder towards Owens on the ramp as Owens ran away and towards the exit.

Seth Rollins v. Jinder Mahal (Intercontinental Championship)

   Before the contest, Elias tried to put on a show for the Richmond crowd. only to be booed by them. This continued until Seth Rollins comes out and canceled Elias’s show.

   In yet another hardfought defense by the Intercontinental Champion, Seth had to fight through the outside interference from Sunil Singh and the underhand tactics of Jinder. The outside interference and tactics became too much for Seth as seeked revenge on Mahal by hitting him with a steel chair awarding the win to Jinder by disqualification.

   After the match as Seth was standing on the announce table celebrating his revenge, Elias returned out to the stage and hit Seth with his guitar, knocking Seth to the arena floor.

Nia Jax v. Local Talent

   Raw Women’s Champion Nia Jax had a message to prove. With Ronda Rousey having a front row seat doing guest commentary, Nia portrayed what she is going to to do to Ronda at Money in the Bank. Nia won easily and had a face to face with Ronda.

   The dynamic has switched on Nia because a month ago, she was the victim conquering her bully winning the Raw Women’s Championship from Alexa Bliss. Now, she seems to be the bully by using the local talent as a demonstration of Money in the Bank.

Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy v. The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor)

   Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy handley beat The Ascension. There is an underlying problem on Monday Night Raw and it is their undeveloped tag team division.

   This is portrayed in the segment later that night with the B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel) BBQ Memorial Day celebration. They brought out the entire tag team division except the Tag Team Champions Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt.

   After a comical food fight, it was announced that there will be a battle royal to determine new number one contenders for the Raw Tag Team division. However, the problem with this is that no one are convincing contenders for the Tag Team Championships. The tag division is weak at this moment with lack of writing to develop the division.

Bobby Roode v. Kevin Owens

   After his plan to run away from Braun Strowman and leave the arena came crashing down by General Manager Kurt Angle, Kevin Owens was placed to face Bobby Roode. After a solid match between the two competitors, Owens countered an attempt for rollup pin by Roode for the pin and the win.

   After the match, out comes Braun. He chases down Kevin trapping him with nowhere to run. Braun beats down Kevin and eventually Bobby. The momentum for Braun is through the roof. Who will stop the “Monster Among Men?”

Sami Zayn apologizes to Bobby Lashley

   Sami Zayn came out to apologize to the audience and Bobby Lashley because of the segment last week. Bobby took the apology with a grain of salt and beat up Sami creating a match between the two at Money in the Bank.

Drew McIntyre v. Chad Gable

   Drew McIntyre defeated Chad Gable with the Claymore Kick. In a match similar to last week with Dolph Ziggler, Chad is unable to defeat the numbers game of Dolph and Drew. Which leads to the question, can Chad seek and find help against the two? Maybe a reunion with his former partner Jason Jordan?

7 Women Gauntlet Match (Last Chance Qualifying Match for Women’s Money in the Bank)

   They drove the excitement of gauntlet matches because of who can last the longest and who wants the last spot the most. The match had a great story dynamic, however, it was solid at best.

   The gauntlet began with Bayley and Liv Morgan. Bayley hit the Bayley to Belly for a quick win over Liv. She then followed that up with another quick win over Sarah Logan. However, Bayley’s momentum over the Riott Squad ended as she lost to Ruby Riott.

   Ruby would go on to eliminate Dana Brooke and hometown girl Mickie James. It came down to only herself and Sasha Banks.

   In a competitive last contest, Sasha was able to hit the Bank Statement for the submission. Sasha became the last entrant into the Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match.

   Overall, Raw was a decent show. The pieces to Money in the Bank are coming together quite nicely. There are still questions and concerns regarding Money in the Bank. Hopefully, the build to the pay per view draws the attention to show the importance of what Money in the Bank brings.

David Jacobus
Intern