goldberg-raw-ziggler.jpg
WWE

Just six days removed from the so-called "biggest party of the summer," Monday's go-home episode of WWE Raw featured no shortage of big swerves and reveals entering Sunday's SummerSlam pay-per-view. The question now becomes which of those decisions add to the must-see factor of the company's second-biggest card of the year and which ones take away from the event. Per usual for pro wrestling fans and critics alike, beauty often lies in the eye of the beholder.  

But despite a few misses throughout Monday's three-hour broadcast, Raw continued to show an ambitious trend in terms of storytelling, pacing and top shelf in-ring action which is nothing short of encouraging. Let's take a closer look at what went down from Pittsburgh on Monday night.   

Subscribe to our podcast -- State of Combat with Brian Campbell and check out our WWE SummerSlam preview at the 1:02:32 timestamp in the embed below.

Roman Reigns mystery attacker ... attacks

Samoa Joe opened Raw by standing on the announce table and interrupting the show's theme song to defiantly declare he had nothing to do with the attack on Reigns from last week's episode of SmackDown. Later, Joe entered the ring and threatened to shut down Raw if he wasn't given an apology from Reigns. After being given word Reigns had arrived, Joe verbally accosted him in the parking lot. Reigns dove back into his car just as a second vehicle slammed into the side before driving away. Joe frantically called for help and demanded that Reigns stay down before Triple H stepped in to make sure Reigns was unharmed.  

This is how you build suspense and a legitimate must-see feel to a non-title Reigns storyline heading into SummerSlam. Consider it a well-executed move for WWE to make it seem Joe was the suspect last week only to remove him as one in such dramatic fashion. While the dream of hardcore fans that his mystery attacker be former cruiserweight champion Buddy Murphy (who was seen lingering back stage after last week's attack on Reigns) probably isn't likely, the chance that this turns out to be Daniel Bryan very much is a possibility. Talk about a match worth getting fired up about should a reveal on Tuesday's go-home episode of SmackDown take place. This rematch of their 2015 Fastlane main event (a rare meeting of face versus face) would be star-studded enough to carry on well past SummerSlam and become a major angle on the blue brand's initial move to Fox in October. Grade: A- 

Brock Lesnar beats down Seth Rollins (again)

Paul Heyman joined Lesnar to cut an in-ring promo on the violent manner in which his client destroyed Rollins last week. Out came a limping Rollins with a chair as Heyman screamed "it's not worth it" at him. Lesnar intercepted Rollins' attack and continuously stomped on his efforts to get back up and keep fighting. Lesnar closed with a pair of F5's and walked out but Rollins refused medical help. He grabbed the mic and openly asked himself if it all was worth it. "For me, the answers is yes because this is all I am, every second of every day. This is all I've ever wanted. This is all I've got. I'll be at SummerSlam and I'll beat Brock Lesnar. I guarantee it." 

While there was certainly some ambition shown here in the words that were written for Rollins, he's just simply not effective as a babyface looking to draw sympathy and respect for his unrelenting toughness. Rollins' delivery was neither inspiring nor believable as he looked more than an actor in a bad movie trying to make sense of the dialogue. Grade: C- 

The Miz tricks Dolph Ziggler ahead of SummerSlam 

The show closed with a contract signing on MizTV which was attended by Shawn Michaels. Ziggler cut a great promo on both saying, "I'm the best thing to happen to pro wrestling since you lost your smile and you lost your balls." But Ziggler failed to read the fine print before signing and The Miz revealed that Ziggler's real opponent for Sunday would be someone who doesn't have many SummerSlam moments yet. Out came Goldberg to huge cheers. He signed the contract and said, "Dolph Ziggler, guess what son? You're next." As Ziggler escaped, he walked into Sweet Chin Music from HBK on the ramp.

The effectiveness of this swerve really comes down to how hard you pop for the 52-year-old Goldberg likely getting one more big moment in the spotlight just months removed from his disastrous Saudi Arabia match with The Undertaker. The Pittsburgh crowd, in this case, loved it. But the reality is this booking is nothing short of lazy. Jamming Goldberg into this storyline makes no sense whatsoever. Seeing him win a three-minute squash match on Sunday will make even less. Not only did WWE drop the ball here big by not booking a Michaels-Ziggler program that fans have wanted forever, pushing Ziggler into such a stooge heel role (one typically reserved for someone like Baron Corbin) feels off mostly because hard-core fans love Ziggler and actually agree with his character's whining about being passed over. Goldberg-Ziggler has no build and makes no sense. But it's the tease of bringing back Michaels into something big that is most unforgivable. Grade: D+ 

What else happened on Raw? 

  • Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair def. Trish Stratus & Natalya via disqualification after Natalya refused to break her sharpshooter despite Lynch reaching the ropes. The finish came about after the tense marriage between Lynch and Flair blew up when Flair took a cheap shot at her opponent from behind and left the match. A distracted and befuddled Lynch was blindsided by Natalya's finisher, which was only released after Stratus broke the move and was shoved into the corner by a sadistic Natalya. Later on, Lynch and Natalya cut separate promos on each other during backstage interviews. 
  • Andrade def. Rey Mysterio via pinfall thanks to cheap shot from Zelina Vega while the referee's back was turned. While Mysterio's storyline attempt to gain retribution for his mask being ripped off last week came up short, the duo teamed up to produce an instant classic of a television match. The big spots and dramatic near falls were legitimate pay-per-view quality. Andrade landed a power bomb late but was unable to remove Mysterio's mask. As the referee scolded him, Vega hit a stunner onto the ropes before Andrade hit his Hammerlock DDT finisher for the pin. 
  • The 24/7 title changed hands twice during Maria Kanellis' OBGYN visit. Inside the examination room, Mike Kanellis laid on top of his wife while a WWE referee dressed as a doctor counted the pin. Less than one minute later as he celebrated inside the waiting room, Kanellis was rolled up from behind by R-Truth, who was dressed as an old woman, to secure his 11th reign as champion.
  • The Viking Raiders def. Jay Alexander & Eric Abraham via pinfall in yet another squash match against local enhancement talent for Erik and Ivar. 
  • Drew McIntyre and Cedric Alexander wrestled to a no contest thanks to interference from The Fiend. McIntyre attacked Alexander on the ramp before the match started and just as their brawl continued on the floor, the lights went out. Bray Wyatt's dark new persona appeared amid flashing lights to attack guest referee Kurt Angle and apply the mandible claw. The Fiend's reveal was made extra special by the effort put in to preview the match, which included Angle partying backstage with The Street Profits until McIntyre walked in to taunt Angle and deliver a stern warning.
  • The O.C. def. The New Day & Ricochet via pinfall in a six-man tag team match thanks to a late referee distraction by Styles. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson combined to hit their Magic Killer on Xavier Woods for the 1-2-3 in a match that was booked during a commercial break after Styles forced the instant disqualification on an O.C.-New Day match by attack Wood and Big E. The beatdown summoned a run-in from Ricochet to even the sides. Gallows wore face paint for the first time in WWE, something he did regularly in Japan.
  • Women's Tag Team Championship -- Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross def. The Kabuki Warriors (via pinfall), The Iconics (c) and Fire & Desire in a fatal four-way elimination match to win the titles: With this title likely missing the cut for Sunday's PPV, the eight women involved let it all hang out in a fantastic match. Mandy Rose pinned Peyton Royce early to raise the suspense before she taped out to the Asuka Lock to set up the final pairing. Both Kairi Sane and Asuka made sure the in-ring quality of the match improved greatly from there until the finish, which saw Cross distract Sane from delivering her top-rope finisher before trapping Asuka in the ring apron. Bliss floored Sane with a right hand before landing Twisted Bliss for the pin to end a fun piece of business.