The smoke is finally settling in, the stars are aligning in place, and the build towards SummerSlam has been kicked into high gear after last night’s Raw in Miami. It was a show full of news and angles clearly pointing towards the company’s second biggest show of the year behind WrestleMania, great promo work from the usual suspects, and an emergence of one who can be an excellent manager in the days heading forward. Oh yeah, and we also got a Flo-Rida performance that I put on mute.
And with that, let’s run down the Three Points of Raw plus a few bonuses.
1. The Beast Is Back, The Streak Has Been Killed, and Cena Is Next
It was a foregone conclusion that Brock Lesnar was going to challenge (and win) the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. Right after he broke The Streak at WrestleMania and defeated The Undertaker, the only direction he could go is up and it put him next in line as the next challenger for the title. The story of it is that The Authority, led by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, were apprehensive giving him a title shot due to their past history and thwarting their plans. However with Plan A (Orton) and Plan B (Rollins) neutralized by Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose respectively, Hunter had no choice but to give Paul Heyman what he wanted. Heyman then cut an amazing promo declaring that Cena will no longer escape the beating he’s going to get at SummerSlam and that Brock will conquer it all.
This will be the third time Cena and Lesnar will face each other in a big match situation, as John is filling the void Bryan left with his injury. Looking back at their Extreme Rules match in 2012, it was one of the worst booking decisions WWE has done in a long time. It was a match that made Lesnar into a killer, but the lost damn near crushed his credibility following another major loss at WrestleMania 29 to Triple H. This is a rehab of sorts for Brock after ending The Streak and legitimizing him again and defeating Cena will be the icing on the cake. If they would have done it all over again and got to this point, I would have said otherwise.
2. Stephanie Going To Jail and The Divas Are Getting Shine
Another big match that was penned for SummerSlam is the Divas Grudge match of the year between Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella. Ever since Brie quit for her man at Payback, Stephanie has made a conscious effort to take it out on her sister Nikki. Week after week, Nikki got her ass kicked in a number of Handicap matches and Steph would egg on that it is because of Brie abandoning her that she’s in this position. Brie appeared on Raw tonight as a fan in attendance, confronted Stephanie by calling her a bitch a few times, and Steph retaliated by slapping her in the face.
That moment only build for an excellent segment involving a couple of investigators arresting Stephanie for battery and her mannerisms were incredible. She went from denial to anger to confusion and then suddenly rich white girl hysteria, drenched in tears and begging to be free. Hunter himself was A-1 with his performance throughout the segment trying to bribe the cops out and later leaving his wife at jail to announce the challenger for the title.
All of it is leading to is Stephanie having to reinstate Brie in order to have the charges drop and grant her a match at SummerSlam. There’s also seeds being planted for Nikki turning heel on Brie and that can possibly happen during that match.
Segueing to heel turns, Paige finally joined the dark side after destroying AJ Lee and tossing her over the announce table. It was months in the making but I’m glad that Paige is getting a second wind here to show what she can do as the Anti-Diva. It’s a generational Diva feud of sorts too with AJ and Paige leading the fort right now as Naomi and Cameron continues to beef and Summer Rae & Layla form their new version of Laycool.
3. A Doctor, A Pastor, and Man With Dreads: What Do They All Have In Common?
In the most memorable moment on the show for me was the possible reformation of The Nation Of Domination. After Big E & Kofi Kingston lost a tag match to Rybaxel, a newly-repackaged Xavier Woods came out in a suit and glasses proclaiming that it was time to gain focus and taking back what they deserve, piquing interest in the minds of Big E and Kingston. I found this to be incredibly great and there’s potential in Xavier’s new character as the educated, Malcolm X-esque revolutionary managing a number of disgruntled black workers who’s tired of being held back. Plus I’m glad that Kofi is getting a character change of sorts as he’s been the same dude for 10 years now.
There’s a number of ways they can go about it, from a focus of having educated men of color fighting for what is theirs and incorporating David Otunga as an attorney and having Mark Henry as a Higher Power. I’m all for it though the jury is still out and there’s more to be revealed in the next week or so. Just think of the possibilities of taking The Usos out for being ‘Culture Vultures’, verbally slamming John Cena, and calling Byron Saxton an Uncle Tom. The quality is endless.
Bonus:
- Rusev and Lana can be as good as done in the coming weeks. Ever since the promo at Battleground referencing (yet not referencing) the MH17 incident, the heat has rained down on them from all media outlets who like to be selective when it comes to pro wrestling. I was really into the act as it generates great heat, but now it can possibly get watered down and all mentions of Vladimir Putin will cease to exist. If I was Vince at the mindstate he’s in, I wouldn’t give a fuck and let it keep rolling.
