If there was ever a time when the old saying of "if you've seen one Raw episode, you've seen them all" might be most applicable, it was very likely Monday night.  WWE largely kept things in neutral on the overall road to Extreme Rules on Sunday, July 15 by repeating a number of storylines, results and matches that were not only just seen a week ago but in some cases have been on full repeat for weeks. 

With the exception of a new Braun Strowman strength stunt in the main event involving a portable toilet that drew mixed reviews, Monday's episode produced plenty of deja vu from current feuds involving Roman Reigns-Bobby Lashley, Deleters of Worlds-B-Team and Mojo Rawley-No Way Jose, just to name a few.  

While all was not lost over this three-plus hour episode which featured a small handful of entertaining developments, including what Monday's booking of Reigns means for the future, Raw largely failed to redeem the overall investment of time. 

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A rough night for Roman Reigns

The "Big Dog" opened Raw by blaming "worst tag team partner of all-time" Bobby Lashley for last week's loss to The Revival. Out came Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre to criticize Reigns for trying too hard to play the hero and making everything about him. Reigns jumped them but was quickly overwhelmed by the numbers game. Out came Seth Rollins to make the save and even the sides. Backstage shortly after, Rollins pushed Kurt Angle for a tag team match and the Raw general manager agreed for next week. Reigns wanted it now, however, and Angle eventually agreed as long as Reigns joined Lashley to face The Revival. Lashley interrupted Reigns in the locker room to call him a "heat starter" who nobody likes and threatened him to leave his ego at the door.  

Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins def. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre via disqualification: All four competitors sold out to make this a fun match with pay-per-view intensity. Rollins cleaned house following a hot tag and hit a suicide dive on McIntyre outside as Reigns hit a drive-by on Ziggler. But Rollins could only get two after a huge frogsplash off the top rope on Ziggler. The match then reset to build toward a hot tag to Reigns that was constantly teased. The tag would never come, however, as The Revival ran in to pull him off the apron and attack. Inside the ring, Ziggler and McIntyre hit their Claymore/Zig-Zag tandem finisher on Rollins and The Revival did the same with Shatter Machine on Reigns.  

Roman Reigns & Bobby Lashley def. The Revival via disqualification: A worn-down Reigns was constantly double-teamed by Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson. But when it came time to tag in Lashley, Reigns refused. The Revival earned a DQ loss by constantly stomping Reigns in tandem despite the referee's warning while Lashley, who was annoyed with Reigns, walked away to leave his teammate behind. The Revival then hit Shatter Machine once more as the crowd chanted "one more time!" After the match, Angle told Reigns he booked a match against Lashley for Extreme Rules. Lashley later told Renee Young that Reigns "got exactly what he asked for." 

Considering how bad Lashley's recent feud with Sami Zayn was presented, this angle opposite Reigns feels like a complete 180. That doesn't necessarily mean it's beyond reproach, however. As much as there is to like about the feud's intensity and the angle that Reigns might be his own worst enemy due to his ego, WWE couldn't help itself from essentially repeating everything that already happened one week ago. If the burial of Reigns' character leads to something redeemable like a heel turn, hindsight may look at Monday's events differently. But it's hard to have any confidence that it's a direction WWE has the vision or lack of stubbornness to actually try. The same can be said for the hope that The Revival's role in all of this is anything more than simply acting as a pawn. Grade: C+

Braun Strowman lays waste to Kevin Owens 

KO's night began by illegally parking outside the back door of the arena and refusing to give the valet his keys after Strowman destroyed his rental car last week. Owens ordered Angle to do something about "crazy" Strowman and suggested suspension, firing or therapy. Instead, Angle booked a main event match between them. Owens spent the rest of the evening alternating between begging Angle to call off the match and trying to overcome his fears by practicing relaxation breathing with Jinder Mahal and Sunil Singh.  

Braun Strowman def. Kevin Owens via countout: The match never got past the introductions as Owens freaked out and ran backstage after the opening bell. When he reached his car, however, he couldn't find his keys. KO decided to hide in a nearby portable toilet, which Strowman eventually found when the smell got his attention as he walked by. After tricking Owens into revealing he was inside by speaking in a fake voice, Strowman wrapped the door closed with duct tape. He then grabbed the ropes attached to it and dragged it from the loading dock, through the backstage area and onto the stage in the arena. With a running start, Strowman pushed the portable toilet onto the floor below. An injured Owens came out covered in what appeared to be blue paint.  

Let's file this one under "decent idea, horrible execution." Not only has WWE's preference to showcase Strowman's background as a competitive tough guy in lieu of actually writing compelling storylines long become a crutch, watching him drag a toilet hundreds of feet quickly got old. Only making matters worse was that the payoff was simply Owens falling from a 5-foot perch. While KO deserves credit for stretching the angle over the course of the entire show thanks to his acting chops, this one was a comical mess for all the wrong reasons. Grade: D

What else happened on Raw? 

  • Curtis Axel def. Matt Hardy via pinfall: A real-life car accident involving Bray Wyatt left Hardy solo to deal with the B-Team. The match began after a backstage promo in which Axel and Bo Dallas revived their imitation of the Deleters of Worlds, complete with a peculiar rendition of "He's got the whole world in his hands." The finish to the two-segment match came when Hardy missed a running splash into the corner following a distraction from Dallas. Axel then hit his neck breaker finisher for the 1-2-3 in another rehash of recent events.  
  • Sasha Banks, Bayley attend counseling: During a series of pre-taped segments, the former best friends found out at the same time they were set up to attend counseling together. Who was their counselor? Yes, the same Dr. Shelby who once helped Kane and Daniel Bryan (and featured a Team Hell No photo in his office). Shelby revealed the "seven tenets of friendship" and encouraged both women to follow him into the "friend zone" and perform "honesty theater" by doing impressions of each other. Predictably, it led to arguing between them, which Shelby could only halt by screaming "enough!" 
  • The Authors of Pain def. Titus Worldwide via pinfall: Dominant booking continued for Rezar and Akam in their second week back following an unexplained absence from Raw. Despite the increased level of competition, his one was nearly identical to last week's squash match. AoP hit Crews with their Last Chapter finisher to end matters.  
  • Finn Balor refuses Baron Corbin's apology request: After showing footage of Balor turning on him last week during their tag team match, Constable Corbin ordered him to come out and apologize. Twice Balor refused, choosing instead to insult Corbin's vest and haircut. "I was hand-picked by Stephanie McMahon for a reason, to help guys like you," Corbin said. "So suck up your pride and give me the respect I deserve." After Balor called him a stooge, Corbin floored him with a right hand. Balor later countered with a sling blade and baseball slide dropkick but Corbin escaped as Balor climbed the top rope.  
  • Ember Moon def. Liv Morgan via pinfall: A knee injury suffered a recent live event left Ruby Riott absent from Morgan's side. Moon was impressive in this brief match, getting a near fall on a lionsault before finishing off Morgan late after hitting an Eclipse.  
  • Mojo Rawley attacks No Way Jose again: In almost an exact replay of last week, Rawley refused a rematch with Jose by citing the exact same reasons. Rawley then ducked a Jose attack and laid him out before exiting the ring and violently assaulting a conga line member. "You want a rematch," Rawley yelled at Jose, "I got your rematch." He then hit Jose with a stiff uranage onto the ring apron.
  • Ronda Rousey to appear at Extreme Rules: After a long video segment recapping Rousey's 30-day Raw suspension and attack on Alexa Bliss, portions of a pre-taped WWE.com interview with Renee Young were shown. Rousey said she's excited for the upcoming Alexa Bliss-Nia Jax PPV match because "even though I'm suspended from Raw, I'm not suspended from Extreme Rules." Rousey said she will buy a front-row ticket.  
  • Nia Jax def. Mickie James via pinfall: Jax cut a pre-match promo saying she thought she was done with Bliss when she defeated her at WrestleMania and declares the feud will end with Rousey in attendance at Extreme Rules. She also welcomed Natalya by her side to counteract against Bliss at ringside. Natalya prevented Bliss from climbing the apron late which set up Jax hitting a Samoan drop for the win.