Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: , , ,


WWE Raw Report – The Aleister Black Heel Turn is in Full Swing

WWE Monday Night Raw is well underway with the path to Clash of Champions mapped out: three matches tonight, with the winner going onto a triple threat later, with the winner of that facing Drew McIntyre. Keith Lee has already defeated Dolph Ziggler in one of those matches. But what about the other Raw belts?

The official logo for WWE Monday Night Raw. Credit: WWE.
The official logo for WWE Monday Night Raw. Credit: WWE.

WWE Raw Report for August 31st, 2020 Part 2

When we left off in the last part of this report, Asuka and Mickie James had just cleared the ring of Natalya and Lana after a promo. That's the kind of thing that can often turn into a match after the break because WWE (the fictional organization depicted on TV) never books matches in advance. They just have everyone show up and hope exactly enough disagreements to fill a three-hour show will spontaneously break out.

But, not yet. First, we're treated to a Connor's Cure commercial. How can I put this nicely and remain as respectful as possible to all of the people out there who have been affected by cancer? Everyone fast forwards through these parts. Let me just use the words of one Stephanie McMahon: "Philanthropy is the future of marketing."

Then Tom Phillips, a man who I'm pretty sure finds some kind of sick, sadistic, sexual pleasure in making us watch video clips of things we already saw. He plays us a video recap of last week's Raw Underground, in which Bobby Lashley and Hurt Business beat everyone up.

Backstage, The Viking Raiders are hanging out with Cedric Alexander, and Demi Burnett walks up. Why have they given this person a WWE contract? Demi congratulates Cedric on standing up for himself and not joining Hurt Business. Then she kisses Ivar on the cheek. After they all walk away, Angel Garza walks out of the shadows with a rose.

Now, in the ring, there is indeed a match going on. Lana and Mickie James are in the ring. Natalya is at ringside. Asuka is on commentary.

Lana vs. Mickie James

  • Apparently (in kayfabe), this match was happening since the last commercials, but WWE just didn't bother showing it — sounds about right.
  • Only about 10% of what Asuka says on commentary is in English, but it is ten times better than the regular Raw commentary team.
  • Mickie, bless her heart, does her best to get an acceptable match out of Lana.
  • She wins with a Chick Kick.

Asuka seems down with a match against Mickie James at Clash of Champions. Mickie deserves that, but it will never happen.

Tom Phillips is like, sure, all this in-ring action and talk of the future is great, but can I interest you in a clip of something you already saw a week ago? Without waiting for an answer, he plays one of the KO Show last week. Backstage, Charly Caruso is waiting for Aleister Black to get answers as to why he attacked Kevin Owens next week. But Randy Orton emerges from Black's dressing room instead. Intrigue! And commercials.

Sarah Shreiber interviews the Iiconics. They're facing Riott Squad later tonight to decide who will get a tag team title shot. But the loser has to disband. Peyton Royce and Billie Kay talk about their long friendship and everything they've sacrificed for their careers. The only constant in their lives has been each other. They won't let Riott Squad destroy everything they've built. They're gonna get that title shot and win, and it will be Iiconic.

Randy Orton comes to the ring. He will be facing Kevin Owens tonight, and since he's lost two big matches in a row, it looks like Kevin Owens is gonna have to eat a pin so Orton can get some heat back. Presumably, Aleister Black will interfere.

Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens – Raw Main Event Qualifying Match

  • He interferes earlier than expected before Owens makes it to the ring.
  • He hits Black Mass on Owens and then tosses him in the ring. The ref tells Owens he can't compete, but Owens insists he ring the bell. The ref says, "okay, I gotta do it." What? Why? Is this in the rulebook?
  • Orton hits an RKO in like two seconds and wins.

Tom Phillips is totally outraged. Samoa Joe argues this is totally fair. To punish his insolence, Phillips plays us a recap video of what we literally just saw. Anyway, Orton is going on to the triple threat later tonight.

Charly Caruso interviews the Mysterio family backstage. She asks Rey how he feels about Dominik taking his place in the match against Seth tonight. Mysterio has brought his daughter Aalyah with him. Now that Dominik has a contract, it's time for Aalyah to get one. Mysterio says he was excited about that potential title match, but his loss is his son's gain. Dominik says he has a 619 with the name Monday Night Messiah written all over it. I hate to nitpick, but Monday Night Messiah is either a nickname or a title. Seth Rollins is the name. Family hug. Raw commercial break.

During the commercials,

KFC sponsors a recap of the Apollo Crews vs. Bobby Lashley match at Payback. Lashley won the Intercontinental Championship. Crews will face Shelton Benjamin in Raw Underground tonight. But Benjamin is in the ring right now with MVP.

VIP Lounge – Shelton Benjamin

MVP talks up Benjamin. He says Hurt Business is better than everyone. He notes this is the first VIP Lounge in the Thunderdome. He's not TIna Turner, but the Hurt Business runs Barter Town, and they don't need the Master Blaster because they have Bobby Lashley. Isn't making these references just enhancing a future lawsuit from Warner Bros over the Thunderdome name?

Lashley comes out. MVP talks about all the young men he's known who've made foolish mistakes. Crews is no different. He disrespected MVP because he had a little success. In life, there are three definites: death, taxes, and Lashley. Lashley says he did what he said he'd do at Payback. Afterward, Crews acted very unsportsmanlike and tried to get payback by attacking Hurt Business. Lashley says he'll get him back.

Benjamin says since Crews wants to act like a little punk, he'll beat him like a little punk in Raw Underground. But MVP says they have to focus on a six-man tag match against Viking Raiders and Cedric Alexander. Cedric comes out with a mic. MVP meets him on the stage and asks if he wants to join Hurt Business. Cedric says no. The Viking Raiders attack Hurt Business from behind. They run in the ring and toss out the furniture. Raw goes to commercials. And at about 1100 words, so ends this page of the Raw report. See you on page three, shortly.


Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!

Jude TerrorAbout Jude Terror

A prophecy once said that in the comic book industry's darkest days, a hero would come to lead the people through a plague of overpriced floppies, incentive variant covers, #1 issue reboots, and super-mega-crossover events. Sadly, that prophecy was wrong. Oh, Jude Terror was right. For ten years. About everything. But nobody listened. And so, Jude Terror has moved on to a more important mission: turning Bleeding Cool into a pro wrestling dirt sheet!
twitteremailwebsite
Comments will load 20 seconds after page. Click here to load them now.