WWE RAW Recap, July 24: A medley of No. 1 contenders

Alexa Bliss and Brock Lesnar get their Summerslam opponents while Elias Samson and Finn Balor put on a nine-star match.

Angle Makes a Match

General Manager Kurt Angle had quite the busy week before RAW went on the air; not only did he finally introduce the world to his new son Jason Jordan, but he had to figure out what to do for the main event of SummerSlam.

Last week, Samoa Joe fought Roman Reigns for a chance to fight the Beast Incarnate, but Braun Strowman wasn’t having any of it — and why would he? He’s the only one of the three who actually won his match at Great Balls of Fire, as he mentioned on RAW. Strowman took both of these guys out during their match, and this week, while Kurt Angle was about to make his decision on who would face Lesnar for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam, all three men vying for that spot came to the ring to face Angle.

Let’s not forget Kurt Angle is a g-d d-mn American Hero, and has never backed down from a confrontation. That’s not to say he doesn’t also know how to be a diplomatic leader, as he reminded us he is as he named all three men in the ring as Brock Lesnar’s SummerSlam opponent.

The main event of that show will now be a Fatal Four Way match between Brock Lesnar, Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, and (my pick to win) Braun Strowman. We even got a taste of what’s to come as Strowman beat the hell out of Joe and Roman to bring the segment to a close, which some may see as a bad sign for Strowman, but not me. I’m even working on a cover song to Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin'” where I change the words to “Keep Strowman, Strowman, Strowman, Strowman.” It’ll be at least as big of a hit as the original.

Bliss Gets Bayley

Sasha Banks and Bayley are known to put on instantly classic matches, and their No. 1 contender match was no exception. While my ideal RAW  Women’s Championship match involves Nia Jax, it looks like we’re going to have to wait at least a little while longer for her to fulfill her prophecy of beating the hell out of Alexa Bliss.

It will be the ending of the Banks/Bayley match that we all look back on and remember, as Banks hit a Frog Splash on Bayley, but her momentum forced her to roll underneath Bayley for the three-count. RAW’s huggable hero now goes on to face Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam for the title. Let’s just hope this doesn’t lead to a This is Your Life sequel. We need that about as bad as we need Jason Jordan pretending to be Kurt Angle’s son.

Odd Pairings

Dean Ambrose seemed a bit apprehensive in teaming up with Seth Rollins, his former Shield brethren, and who can blame him? As much as Ambrose hates the Miz — and has been feuding with him since what feels like six years — it’s arguable that the Miz has never done anything as wrong as what Rollins did to Ambrose and Roman Reigns a few years back by turning on them.

Even though the Miztourage outnumbered Rollins and Ambrose, it didn’t seem like they had a true disadvantage. Given the fact that two of the three guys in Miztourage are Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel, that last statement may seem redundant.

The match itself was pretty entertaining, and I can’t lie that I was pretty excited seeing Ambrose and Rollins do battle on the same side again, but you haven’t been paying attention if you actually thought Ambrose would return Rollins’ Shield gesture after the match. I don’t know where this story is headed as far as Rollins’ involvement, but anything to shake up the monotony of a stale, moldy Ambrose/Miz feud is welcome. Well, anything except dude’s in bear costumes.

Next: 15 WWE Superstars who could take on White Walkers

Highlight Reel

• If you don’t want to walk with Elias after seeing him pull this match against Finn Balor out of his butt (sure, he had a little assistance from Bray Wyatt, but doesn’t everyone eventually?), then I don’t know why you watch WWE. Samson and Balor put on the match of the night, one that lasted through two commercial segments, and ended with Samson’s hand raised. Even though Wyatt looks like he’d actually have a couple of Samson songs on his iPod, I don’t think that was the reason he came out and introduced Balor to Sister Abagail. If Wyatt and Balor do fight at ‘Slam, let’s hope Balor packs the Demon in his suitcase.
• There’s not many things more sad and awkward than watching Enzo trying to get revenge on his former best friend, and constantly failing at it. It’s like watching the Bills play the Patriots twice each year: you know it’s going to be a blowout, but like a car wreck, you can’t look away.
• It didn’t take long for Nia Jax to pin Emma, but she made the most out of her short time in the ring. One day, Nia will rule the entire WWE, just as Braun Strowman is attempting to now. Seeing Jax — and Strowman alike — get tossed jobber after jobber after last year’s brand split, and watching them both become champions is something that I am in the long haul for.
• Titus O’Neil did his best to keep his newest client, Akira Tozawa, healthy, but I don’t think Tozawa appreciates the lengths O’Neil is willing to go to, including throwing in the towel on his client’s behalf last week, and even cancelling his rematch against Arya Davairi this week. Tozawa didn’t accept O’Neil’s actions, and headed to the ring for a fight, even without any opponent lined up. Neville answered Tozawa’s call, taking him out with some assistance from Arya Daivari. Daivari even gave Neville a hellacious clothesline, putting Neville in a position we rarely see him in — on his back.
• Jason Jordan’s RAW debut went as well as he could have wanted, which is the opposite of how I believe this storyline should go. Wouldn’t it be great if Kurt Angle’s biological son had lost to Curt Hawkins, and went on a massive losing streak? They could have went in so many directions with this, and it could have led to Kurt Angle trying to do a roster/son swap: Jason Jordan for Chad Gable straight up. This won’t happen, unfortunately, as Jordan picked up the win with relative ease, which is exactly what you’d expect from the heir to the Angle throne.
• The Revival defeated the Club in a battle of the “Which one is which?” tag teams, and while this brought Dash & Dawson closer to getting a chance at Sheamus and Cesaro’s RAW Tag Team Championships, they still have to get by the Hardy Boyz. Matt & Jeff even tried assisting the Club in this one with a distraction, but the Revival are just too sweet (get it?). The Tag Team Division is currently in disarray, which means that it will probably be featured at SummerSlam in some sort of an eight man match with the titles on the line, because that’s exactly what we don’t want to see.