Monday Night Raw was live last night in Miami, Florida. With SummerSlam drawing near, battle lines have been drawn leading to the biggest event of the Summer.

   Before beginning, my condolences go out to the families of Frederick Seawright better known as, Brickhouse Brown, Nikolai Volkoff, and Brian Christopher Lawler better known as Grand Master Sexay who passed away this past Sunday.

   Raw kicks off with the number one contender for the Universal Championship Roman Reigns. Brock Lesnar is actually in the building but will show up in the arena when he felt like it. Roman calls out Brock but gets Paul Heyman.

   Paul Heyman “spoils” that Brock will leave SummerSlam and go to the UFC and become a two sport athlete. Roman rebutted that he will send Brock to UFC as “Roman’s B****.”

Finn Balor v. Constable Baron Corbin

   The ongoing rivalry between Finn Balor and the appointed Constable of Monday Night Raw Baron Corbin continues in this contest.

   Finn seemed to have the match in control, however one slight misstep ends in an End of Days by Baron and the win for the Constable.

   After the match, Baron beat down Finn leaving him a heap and Baron standing tall.

Natalya v. Alicia Fox

   The attention for this match-up is more on what is outside the ring. In Alicia’s corner is the Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss. In the corner of Natalya is the returning Ronda Rousey. This is setting up the match between Ronda and Alexa for the Raw Women’s Championship at SummerSlam

   Alicia Fox picked up the victory after hitting a big kick to Natalya. After the match, Ronda began her pursuit of Alexa but was attacked by Alicia. Setting up Ronda’s Monday Night Raw debut next week against Alicia Fox.

Elias Promotes His Documentary on the WWE Network

   This week, Elias has time to play his music without getting interrupted before he could start. What a past few weeks for Elias, he had an top selling album “Walk with Elias”and now has a documentary on the WWE Network that aired after Raw.

   Elias went on to mock the city of Miami and then The Rock. Before Elias could play a song, outcame Bobby Lashley. They exchange words for a bit and broke out into a brawl. 

   Not knocking Elias, but this seems as a huge step down for Bobby Lashley. Bobby was gaining lots of momentum and with the loss last week, all that momentum is gone. He goes to being a huge rivalry with Roman Reigns and even beating him at Extreme Rules is right back where he is when he feuded with Sami Zayn.

Braun Strowman v. Jinder Mahal

   Braun Strowman has the cards stacked against him at SummerSlam because if he loses in any way shape or form, he will lose his Money in the Bank contact. In his match with Jinder, it showed that when Kevin Owens came out to distract the big man.

   After Kevin grabbed hold of the briefcase, he ran around the ring leading Braun to be counted out. If that happens at SummerSlam, Kevin wins the Money in the Bank Briefcase.

Apollo Crews v. Akem

   In a short match, Apollo sneaked and stole the match-up with a roll up on Akem for the upset victory.

Seth Rollins v. Drew McIntyre

   In a highly competitive match between two of the best on the Raw roster, Seth had to show why he will do everything in his power to win back the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam.

   However, Seth has to deal with the numbers game. Just as Seth closed in on the victory, Dolph and Drew attacked Seth. They also would do the same later in the night. Seth has to stay focused at SummerSlam but always having a look over his shoulder knowing Drew is there in the waits.

The Deleters of Worlds (Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt) v. The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder)

   Before the match, the Raw Tag Team Champions, The B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel) came out to celebrate their successful title defense last week. The Deleters of Worlds came out to send a message to The B-Team. However, The Revival came down to put their name out there on why they deserve a shot at the Raw Tag Team Championships.

   A match was made then and there. These teams showed why they deserve a shot at the Tag Team Championships. The Revival picked up the victory really showing that they deserve a shot at The B-Team.

Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) v. Bayley & Sasha Banks

   The best friends are on the same page again. They pick up yet another victory beating the Riott Squad in this short matchup. Are things looking up for Sasha & Bayley?

Paul Heyman Tries to Talk to Brock Lesnar

   All throughout the night, Paul Heyman attempted to connect to Brock to show up in the arena. Kurt Angle gave him the ultimatum that if Brock does not show up in the ring, than Heyman’s contract will be terminated.

   Paul begged and pleaded all night to try to get Brock to come out. Even getting Roman escorted out from the arena. However, it seemed nothing was going to get Brock to come out to the ring. Brock’s attitude against the WWE and even Paul Heyman is gaining arrogance and aggression every week he is not on Raw.

   When the time came, there was no Brock. Kurt gets fed up with the excuses calling Brock Lesnar the worst Universal Champion of all time. Paul Heyman begs for his job until Brock Lesnar finally shows up in the ring.

   Brock Lesnar shows up in the ring and F-5’s Kurt Angle. He then focuses his attention to Paul Heyman and shows him his possible future with the laid out Kurt Angle. Is the partnership over between Paul and Brock?

Conclusion

   Raw was not a spectacular show, but for the purpose of setting up SummerSlam it made it a decent show. The main event storyline is actually intriguing and showing the badass attitudes of both Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.

   Also, the Ronda Rousey, Alexa Bliss feud is gaining momentum to be a great match at SummerSlam. The Bobby Lashley situation is a huge step down, but hopefully he can show his dominance sometime in the near future.

David Jacobus
Reporter