The go-home Raw for Payback kicked off and not so shockingly Shane McMahon was back to running things on Raw. The crowd was still hot for him and after he went about giving his typical lines, he was interrupted by his little sister and we officially got the start to what seems to be a big feud heading towards SummerSlam.
This show also came on the heels of the news that one of the greatest performers of all time, Chyna, passed away last week. It remained to be seen how WWE was set to honor her contributions.
Here are the 5 points to note from this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw -
Chyna
The woman who was for long a woman who must not be named in the WWE had her very name heard around the world last week after her untimely death.
WWE put an ‘in memoriam’ title card for Chyna before Monday Night Raw. This was not accompanied by a video package or any other visual material like they’ve done for other performers who’ve been instrumental in WWE’s success.
This may have been subject to a lot of debate since WWE has generally steered clear of recognizing much of her work prior to her death and ignoring most of her pleas to make amends and put her in the Hall of Fame.
But but but, after a match between Natalya and Emma, they finally aired a video package with some of the highlights of her career, evocative photographs and most of the tweets by performers who worked with her.
Knowing how a lot of decisions in WWE programming are made on the spur of the moment, it’s not far-fetched to say that they were sitting on the montage for a while until they decided to play it.
In a hypersexualized era, sure, Chyna did not escape being sexualized but she brought a new narrative for women in the masculine world of wrestling. She wasn’t frail and petite or eye candy but could actually beat down male performers without giving two cents about them being men. She was a towering figure, an anomaly during the Attitude Era and easily the coolest, most spectacular part of the original DX. Rest in Power.
Power struggle kicks off
Stephanie McMahon returned to RAW and as much as the people’s support for Shane has helped him in running the show for 4 consecutive nights, the younger McMahon tried to, in her own way, pander to the crowd by bring to the fore the fact that she was born in Hartford and she was amongst “her people”.
This did not last long and the point of this segment was to announce that Vince McMahon will decide at payback who’s ultimately going to control Monday Night Raw. And since we all know the rumors, we’re moving towards the end of The Authority gimmick and a feud between Triple H and Shane McMahon may soon kick off.
Gallows and Anderson debut
The Usos got a chance to avenge the attack on them by Anderson and Gallows this week on Raw and obviously being the latter’s first match, they won. They tried to attack the Usos further after winning the match but Reigns made his first appearance of the night which led to Anderson and Gallows running away.
We later saw them backstage trying to reason with AJ Styles that what they did to Reigns and his cousins was only fair. Styles still seemed like he had no knowledge of what they’re upto but knowing this that they’ll always remain friends.
After the main event, these two tried to attack Reigns again but Styles intervened and asked them to stop before being hit with a Superman Punch by Reigns. That made his friends return to the ring to lay out Reigns and just when the champion looked like he’ll overcome the odds again, Styles hit him with a forearm to end the night.
Tag Team Tournament
The New Day shared the ring with Enzo and Cass and TheVaudevillains in a segment out there to promote the number one contender match for the tag team titles at Payback. All these performers showcased that they can be great on the microphone when given the opportunity. And what will be great is their interaction with The New Day on the road to the next PPV.
But given how popular Enzo and Cass have been we can assume that, finally, New Day may have another team who can match them on the popularity scale. Or maybe even surpass them. The Realest Guys shtick is really catching on.
Other feuds
The Intercontinental Champion made his way out with his wife and the segment moved aong just fine given how good Miz is on the mic and how much of a great character he actually is.
He may be the most consistent heel in the business who’s booed no matter. Then Cesaro walked out and while his promo was awkward at times, what hurt this segment a bit was how dull the crowd was. It wasn’t one of the most rabid crowds WWE has
Jericho and Ambrose also continued their feud. Their segment was hilarious in parts but it all led to Ambrose being locked in the Walls of Jericho on the announcer’s table.
