Working Man’s WWE TV Review: 7/19/20 – 7/25/20

RAW (7/20/20)

I’m still not into much on Monday Night RAW, besides Bayley and Sasha Banks‘ whose whole thing is that they are above all this.

Is it even worth mentioning the blatant attempt at a “response” to ratings? The lead-in segments to promote what’s coming after commercial for nearly every match or promo, the announcement of matches for next week. It’s like WWE’s panic switch is doing completely normal things they’ve utilized in the past, and I can’t say that kind of thing is what’s needed to turn this ship around – it’s just base level stuff.

There’s good bits here that keep me watching but they are wrapped in what still feels like a horror show, a psychological thriller of some kind. Black/Rollins was a good match, Benjamin with MVP is a good move, the Mustafa Ali return is a good move, and the 6-man was good – really good actually.

Montez Ford is just good in general even if his Tag Titles match with Andrade & Angel Garza did not move me otherwise.

But also – lol, a Big Show video. And Randy Orton vs. Big Show in the main event with build-up promos and whatnot.

Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott and Peyton Royce are all stars but RAW isn’t doing them any favors.

Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler is still going, huh.

The bright shining highlight of the show was a completely unexpected Kairi Sane vs. Bayley match, unexpected in that it wasn’t announced and it got a ton of time and Kairi actually won. Not unexpected in that it ruled. It was way too dramatic for a match with nobody there. Kairi’s counter of the Bayley to Belly is up there with Eddie’s of the Rock Bottom.

Rating: 2/10

NXT (7/22/20)

NXT had a few good matches this week. The North American Title is vacated too.

Since it’s vacated, we’ve got some Triple Threat Matches coming up to see who goes onto a Ladder Match at TakeOver. Bronson Reed was the first to advance, beating Johnny Gargano and Roderick Strong in a real fun and well laid out 3-way. Since NXT runs so many singles matches weekly on TV, it’s almost like it isn’t enough for one vet to put a young guy over – you need two, and you need a Triple Threat. This is NXT.

Having Reed squashed by Karrion Kross twice in a row to prepare him for this was a weird thing to do, but here we are. Reed impressed while Gargano and Strong did extra cool stuff together, like Strong is the only man Gargano trusts with his life. The slingshot DDT countered with a backbreaker was wild.

Dexter Lumis is one of the best wrestlers in NXT just because he works like his character and so all his matches have a built-in realism to them that stands out. There was a chain of moves he did here that was so impressive – Thesz press, punches, and a clothesline in the corner before Killian Dain was even in place for it before a bulldog that totally made sense. He and Killian had a fine brawl.

Breezango, working in Mountie gear, had a pitch perfect 4-minute tag team match with Ever-Rise.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Oney Lorcan Part 2 delivered as much as the one at the Bash, maybe more. They’re just stretching and chopping each other! I loved the simple finish, as Oney trapped Thatcher’s arm and kept trying to work him into something until Thatcher just caught him with a rollup for 3. These boys don’t need kickouts.

Swerve Scott and Mercedes Martinez are getting that call to Character Development Island, good for them.

Karrion Kross vs. Dominik Dijakovic in the main event was alright, decent action from two tall NXT guys that didn’t rely on dives or whatever. The STORYTELLING at the end was actually really good, with Keith Lee coming to ringside to try and help his buddy out, only for Dijakovic to refuse and go down on his own. Everybody played their role great.

Rating: 5/10

MAIN EVENT (7/22/20)

With guys like Ricochet, Cedric and Shelton finally on RAW a little bit, this show has new faces. Bianca Belair squashed Jessi Kamea, while Humberto Carrillo got Riddick Moss back in ring shape before losing to him for the second week in a row.

Rating: 2/10

NXT UK (7/23/20)

This was a Greatest Hits episode, of which nothing was really a Greatest Hit. I’m sure everyone’s proud of their work but we’re talking two and a half stars max. At some point I should just start listing out the matchlists and that’s it.

Mark Andrews threw to him against Fabian Aichner from 12/5/18, Piper Niven threw to her against Jinny from 11/28/19, and Dave Mastiff threw to him against Eddie Dennis from 12/12/18. All of these guys, especially Andrews and Aichner, broke out with a massive amount of potential but stalled in their advancement as NXT UK struggled to click.

Xia Brookside and Saxon Huxley turned in promos too, and I’m not sure either was reading the room.

Rating: 2/10

SMACKDOWN (7/24/20)

Crap show outside of a random cool 4-Way Match in the middle and the very possibility of Big E getting a singles push. I thought Alexa Bliss vs. Nikki Cross was kind of good too, with Alexa back to working mean stiff heel.

The 4-way was Gran Metalik vs. Lince Dorado vs. Drew Gulak vs. Shorty G, four guys who never seem to stay around too long. They did their best and had a fun match before Metalik randomly won to get a shot at AJ Styles. I’m into it. If nothing is happening, do weird shit.

Can Bray Wyatt just stop?

The Bar Fight sucked and was boring.

Rating: 2/10

205 LIVE (7/24/20)

Not a bad show, but who beyond the most devoted among us would enjoy it?

Drake Maverick is literally working aggressive boring heel now, like he’s gone from Sally Field’s Oscar speech to 205 Live Brian Kendrick.

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch/Mansoor vs. Ever-Rise & Tehuti Miles closed the show strong. There’s fun in seeing some fresh names here – you’ve been watching everybody else do the same dance forever, why not see some hungry young guys do it?

Rating: 3/10

What Made the WWE Move This Week?

Best Match: Kairi Sane vs. Bayley on RAW

Best Promo: Kofi Kingston and Big E talk a singles run

Best Angle: Mustafa Ali returns on RAW

Who made this worth it?: Mustafa Ali, MVP, Timothy Thatcher, Dexter Lumis, Bayley, Gran Metalik

Notable Trends: MVP is Awesome, Drew McIntyre’s Title Reign is Boring, Bayley and Sasha Carry Wrestling, WWF’s Jeff Hardy Story is Really Bad