Welcome once again to the RAW RECAP presented by THE REVELLEUTION!
Last week saw a major comeback after a decade when on Smackdown, the former Divas Champion and trailblazer AJ Lee returned. Backing up her real-life husband CM Punk against another wrestling power couple in Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch. With Lee advertised for this week’s Raw, will see get to hear another ‘Pipe Bombshell’ and how will Lynch and crew respond? And who will emerge the winner when Lyna Valkyria takes on Raquel Rodriguez? Let’s get into it and find out…
This week’s ‘Arrived Earlier Today’ videos had an enraged BECKY LYNCH with Seth Rollins, shoving the camera away.
In a backstage segment, all too casually, GM Adam Pearce informed IYO SKY and then NIKKI BELLA when she showed up that the advertised World title match contract signing between Sky and Stephanie Vaquer had been cancelled. The match itself for WrestlePalooza was, for the moment, still on. After Pearce left, Bella was putting over the match but ASUKA with KAIRI SANE yet again interrupted and got between Bella and Sky. This time Bella didn’t put up with it and told Asuka she will respect her, to which Asuka threatened to beat the respect out of her tonight. The challenge was accepted, and Asuka yelled at Sane to follow her when Sane seemed to try and say “I’m so sorry” to her friend.
AJ Lee would get a hype video of Divas Era highlights.
Singles Match
RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ w/h ROXANNE PEREZ defeated LYRA VALKYRIA
The match kicked off with a collar-and-elbow that saw Valkyria being planted face first. Valkyria would use her quickness to evade and got in a couple of thigh kicks but got caught and swung around with a Front Choke. Things got a little scrappy as Rodriguez did the same capture spot but Valkyria fell back, so she got muscled up and tossed into a corner to take an Elbow strike. After a whip, Valkyria tried vaulting back but the attempt to capture her on the shoulders slipped so Rodriguez applied a go-behind. Valkyria fought out with Back Elbows and tried for a Crucifix but Rodriguez’s power blocked. It led to a Front Guillotine but Rodriguez countered with a Suplex attempt. Valkyria escaped, hit a couple Shoulder Checks before a Crossbody attempt was captured, escaped from, and an Arm Drag off the ropes finally took Rodriguez down.
An Enzigiri sent Rodriguez out for Valkyria’s Dropkick through the ropes. Back inside, Valkyria tried for a Crossbody off the top rope but it was caught as Rodriguez hit Knee Strikes then a Fallaway Slam. Rodriguez pulled Valkyria against the ring post, working over the back with a stretch, then the Vader Bomb Elbow onto the back twice for a near fall. After a commercial break, Valkyria would escape a Backbreaker hold with a Sunset Flip for a two count but Rodriguez would turn it into a modified Boston Crab. Valkyria escaped it with a counter Choke grip.
Another scrappy moment when Rodriguez tossed Valkyria up but the women seemed to have different ideas for the counter as Valkyria more just fell back, barely hitting a Codebreaker of sorts but Rodriguez sold it anyway. Valkyria rallied with a trio of running Forearm shots, then her flurry of kicks and strikes, before she ducked a Clothesline and hit a Spinning Wheel Kick. Another scrappy move as Valkyria hit a Wheelbarrow into a sitout but didn’t actually capture Rodriguez’s head for any proper move, but it was sold regardless. A spike Tornado DDT got a near fall for Valkyria. She tried for another and it was countered into the Tully Suplex for a two count.
Rodriguez used a Dominator grip to slam Valkyria into the top turnbuckle and set her up on top. In a great spot, Valkyria blocked a Superplex and did a Sunset Flip Powerbomb, briefly blocked by Rodriguez’s power but Valkyria vaulted herself back up into the air for momentum to drive Rodriguez down and get a near fall. Valkyria struggled to get Rodriguez up for Nightwing and got distracted by Perez on the apron. Perez would hop down but moments later got wiped out by Valkyria’s Dropkick through the ropes. Once again, things got scrappy when a Hurricanrana attempt by Valkyria was blocked, turning into an awkward roll-through and a European Clutch pin for a near fall by Valkyria.
Valkyria hit a Glimmering Warlock and went up top, thinking her Legdrop. She tried to kick at Rodriguez when she got up, but she captured the leg and hauled Valkyria off the ropes straight into a Tijana Bomb for the pinfall victory. A relatively clean win (brief distraction aside) for the heel.
AJ LEE returned to Raw for the first time in over a decade for an in-ring promo. Wearing the Women’s Intercontinental Championship that she ‘stole’ from Becky Lynch after her return to Smackdown last week. Showered with Welcome Back chants from the crowd before Lee joked about Millennial parents being very excited and called herself “Your favourite wrestler’s favourite wrestler”. Lee said ten years ago she ‘retired’ and thought she’d accomplished everything and went on a journey to accomplish goals. Along with a mental health journey and got the crowd popping and chanting for Therapy. “The fight is worth is and you are worth it!”
Then Lee remarked that she had been doing well until she watched Raw and her mood and expression changed when she brought up Becky Lynch. Joking that she became a best-selling author first and objected to Lynch ‘motorboating’ her husband. Becky Lynch would interrupt and went right on the verbal attack about Lee’s ‘stank-ass husband’ and called the fans stupid. Complaining about Lee wearing her title and getting in her Sports Illustrated lines. Lee joked about how she forgot about wearing the title.
Lynch would take off her sunglasses and showed off a blackeye (likely a makeup job) and Lee jokingly apologised for the shot. Lee dared Lynch to come get her title back but Lynch just levelled more insults and ironically said: “What kind of man hides behind a woman?”. Lynch tried to use her and her husband’s plans against Lee by bringing out Seth Rollins to confront Lee. Rollins demanded Lee hand back the title but Lee had a better idea and threatened to give Lynch another black eye if she came in. Lee challenged for a tag match – CM Punk and AJ Lee against Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins.
Rollins tried to threaten Lee and got into the ring, but Lee now used the tactics that Lynch used against her husband against Rollins, stepping in the way to block Rollins getting his wife’s title. It worked to distract as CM Punk came out and went to attack his rival but Rollins fled from a GTS attempt. An enraged Rollins accepted the challenge, much to Lynch’s outrage before Lee tossed the IC title out of the ring to Lynch. Punk and Lee celebrated with a hug in the ring while the heels raged on the outside.
BAYLEY had a new split personality video. At the start, for a clear visual, she turned her head to one side and remarked like her evil Role Model era that people in the past that she hurt deserved before. Before she turned the other way and spoke like her Hugger self that she hoped people would forgive her. She began hearing those voices of her past eras again as her wicked side taunted her and told her to get over Valkyria. The Hugger side told her to talk to Valkyria and the video ended with a rather eerie statement that she would “Make things right”.
Singles Match
NIKKI BELLA versus ASUKA w/h KAIRI SANE
Bella would get in some pin holds early for barely a count of one before she took a counter kick to the arm. Bella would counter a pin attempt with a sit down of her own for a near fall. A couple of Shoulder Checks didn’t send Asuka down and when she tried to use misdirection, Bella was ready for it and ran the ropes to hit a Dropkick. A charge out of a corner by Bella only led to being hit by Asuka’s Pop-up Knee, much to Sane’s delight on the outside. Bella was kicked at the ropes then choked, but Asuka going for an Emperess Impact only hit the ropes before a Nikkisawa Elbow hit then a Spinebuster for a near fall.
Asuka bailed to the floor and deliberately like a heel used Sane as a human shield before hitting Bella with a cheap shot Head Kick. Celebrating with a visablely torn Sane afterwards. After a commerical break, Asuka hit a Release German Suplex but a Missile Dropkick from the middle rope missed when Bella dodged. Bella went House on Fire with Clotheslines then a Dropkick, a Corner Clothesline and then her Disaster Kick for a near fall. Things got scrappy when Bella sandbagged a roll-through into a Sunset Flip, kicking out at one but got hit with a Head Kick that seemed to have some extra stank to it. Asuka hit a flurry of strikes, finished with a Buzzsaw Kick for a near fall.
Asuka went for the Asuka Lock but Bella escaped, only to take a Head Kick. Bella countered a second Asuka Lock into a clutch pin for a near fall, then hit a Waterwheel Slam for a two count. Asuka escaped a Rack Attack, both women ducked kicks but Asuka hit a Head Kick to Bella. Asuka hit a sort of Emperess Impact then locked on the Asuka Lock to get the win.
For next week on Raw, a face-to-face confrontation between AJ Lee and CM Punk against Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins was announced. Also, Lyra Valkyria will face-off against Roxanne Perez one-on-one.
In The Judgement Day’s clubhouse, Finn Balor heaped praise on the women and said Perez would get to the same thing that Rodriguez did. However, there was tension between Balor and Dominik Mysterio and it caused Mysterio to storm out after he complained about his allies being banned from ringside last week. Perez quickly took the chance to ‘try and talk to him’ and hurried after Mysterio.
Backstage, Nikki Bella headed backstage and got confronted by Asuka with Sane, and Bella was ready for round two and shoved Asuka away. However, RHEA RIPLEY showed up to back up Bella, asking if there was a problem but Asuka didn’t back down, calling her and Bella two problems. Asuka showed her true colours, calling herself the top woman in the WWE and Ripley called her out on that. Asuka dismissed it in her native tongue and stormed off, demanding that Sane follow her.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
When I’m wrong, I’m wrong and I called it wrong last week thinking the WWE was going to swerve us. AJ Lee is finally back and it’s great to see it. We can only hope she can still deliver on a high level, especially going against Becky Lynch who is still in her prime. It’s a dream match in the making and I’m looking forward to the aftermath following the WrestlePalooza tag match.
In terms of the matches, two bouts that should have been good on paper turned out to be duds. The Asuka-Bella match really exposed Bella as not being on the same active level as the current full-time roster. She was really out of sorts towards the end and Asuka had to resort to multiple Head Kicks to get things through to the end. Bella might be better served in the tag scene with someone helping to carry her. Valkyria meanwhile, aside from the nice Powerbomb spot, had a very bad night and seemed very off time, and there was no fault on the part of Rodriguez either. Bouts like that can alter your career path but we’ll see if Valkyria can bounce back next week or if it will be more of the same. Lastly, it was a very odd decision to cancel the contract signing last minute between Vaquer and Sky. There might be more to this if perhaps Vaquer is injured but unless that’s the case, then there’s no reasonable excuse to treat the upcoming Women’s World title match so badly with such lazy and limited booking and hype. The women deserve a lot better than this.
That’s your lot for this week! Be sure to stop by in seven days’ time for the next edition of the RAW RECAP! See you then!