One week removed from Extreme Rules, we are a happy bunch. While Raw was hitting record lows as recently as last week, Samoa Joe has been elevated to the main event spot and that seems to be doing wonders for the product.
An old rivalry between two former colleagues also heated up outside the ring, whereas Jim Ross expressed his desire to call a dream match in the near future, very soon. All that and more, in this edition of SKFabe.
#1 Huge boost in viewership for Raw, unfortunately not SmackDown
The Raw ratings have seen a steady decline since Wrestlemania, with the Memorial Day edition of Raw scoring the second lowest ratings in history. Thankfully, Samoa Joe became the number 1 contender for the Universal Championship at Extreme Rules, and thanks to some chilling interplay between him and Paul Heyman, the ratings increased by 15% this week.
The overall viewership averaged 2.994 million viewers and while 352,000 fans tuned out during the last hour, it was still a massive comeback. See, WWE, a bit of effort goes a long way!
SmackDown’s viewership was down as compared to the previous week, with 2.349 million viewers tuning in as opposed to 2.35 million a week ago. A minor decline, but a disappointing one for such a solid show.
#2 Jim Ross praised Alexa Bliss, expressed inner desire to return for Joe vs. Lesnar
Jim Ross seems like a man who’s happy with the current WWE product. JR said that he had endorsed the Lesnar vs. Joe match some time ago and that even if it was a one time clash, Samoa Joe would come out of the clash looking good.
Moreover, he added that the promo battles between Joe and Heyman would be priceless (and he was right, considering what we saw this Monday night). He added that it would be an announcer's dream to call a match of this potential. We do hope he gets to call the match at hand.
He also compared Alexa Bliss to the original Nature Boy, Buddy Rogers, and said she oozed charisma. The undersized blonde attracted eyeballs as soon as she stepped out of the curtain, according to Good Ol’ JR. He even defended the Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss match, and said that the women were hindered by the kendo stick stipulation.
#3 Sasha Banks commented on upcoming PPV, WWE reacted
There was something strange about the name ‘Great Balls of Fire’ from the moment it was first announced. Even the current roster reacted with shock when the name was first announced on the official website, with Sasha Banks actually agreeing with a fan who compared the logo of the event to parts of the male anatomy, recently.
Thankfully, WWE took note of this and changed the logo of the said pay-per-view to the image pictured on the right. Good thinking, Vince!
#4 Mark Andrews attacked at Download Festival, UK
While we all know Mark Andrews as a high-flying member of the WWE United Kingdom roster, what not many are aware of is the fact that he plays bass for the band Junior, in addition to his wrestling duties. While on stage with his band, Pete Dunne attacked Mark Andrews ahead of their match.
Andrews made a comeback, jumping off stage and flattening the United Kingdom champion before the live crowd, going on to cut a promo too. We must admit that the United Kingdom roster is truly quite awesome.
#5 Emma returned to the ring, once again
In a recent edition of SKFabe, we had reported how Emma had been injured during the recent European tour. Fortunately, it seems like the injury was a minor one, considering she made a comeback to the ring recently, at a live event in Mississippi.
After missing action for a month, she will be a welcome addition to the depleted Raw Women's roster. Sadly, she took the fall in her comeback match, tapping out to the Banks Statement.
#6 Cornette offered Russo $5000 for a fight, Russo responded
Jim Cornette and Vince Russo have hated each other for almost twenty years now. Two old timers, hailing from two different schools of thought, have never seen eye to eye about a variety of topics.
This week, their rivalry took a turn for the worse, as Jim Cornette offered Russo $5000 for a legitimate fight. Russo responded in kind, with a sarcastic video on his own YouTube channel. As ridiculous as their rivalry is, it's certainly more entertaining than most professional wrestling programs.
#7 King Maxel welcomed a new brother
Matt Hardy posted this tweet recently, welcoming his second child into the world:
He does not have much time to celebrate as The Hardyz take on Sheamus and Cesaro for the Raw Tag Team Championships this week. Maybe Vanguard 1 can take Matt’s place and team up with Jeff to secure the big win?
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