The Big Takeaway: Vince McMahon took one look at a 7-footer the day after WrestleMania. Six weeks later, even without one singles match, he main evented Raw. That’s the position that Big Cass found himself in against Chris Jericho, though the match itself didn’t happen and Cass was only a bit player in the final segment. Show had a solid angle between Roman Reigns and A.J. Styles. Match of the night was Sami Zayn vs. The Miz.
Chris Jericho came out for the Highlight Reel.
He claimed Dean Ambrose was supposed to be his guest tonight, but after Jericho attacked him with Mitch the Plant last week, Ambrose suffered whiplish, vertigo and a bulging disc. Jericho said Ambrose may not be in the WWE for a long, long time. Jericho uncovered the remains of Mitch the Potted Plant, which got a “Mitch” chant. Let the record show a root from the dirt resting on a stool is more over than the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Jericho said Mitch and Ambrose had a lot in common. They both came to the WWE to entertain people, but both underestimated the tsunami known as Chris Jericho. Now, like Mitch, Ambrose is a shattered mess of dust and bones waiting for someone to put him back together again. Jericho showed tweets from fans exressing sorrow over Mitch’s death. Jericho took credit for putting Ambrose in a St. Louis hospital, and claimed Mitch had more charisma than Ambrose. Jericho could glue Mitch together, glue it back together, sell it to a flea market for $12 and it would still be worth more than Ambrose. Jericho said he understands why fans relate to Ambrose, because Ambrose was a loser and a slob just like the fans.
Jericho proclaimed himself the Hailey’s Comet of the WWE, because talent like him comes around once every 76 years. He invited fans to drink in the Gift of Jericho and posed.
Big Cass came out without Enzo Amore. Cass said if this was the Gift of Jericho, he better have a receipt because he wanted his money back. Cass said Jericho was one of the greatest of all time, but Jericho didn’t understand this was the new era. Cass said the phrase “We have arrived” wasn’t a cry for attention, it was a warning. Cass said “I have arrived” and Jericho better get out of his way or he would run through Jericho. Jericho said Cass should run to the hospiital and check on his buddy “Enzo Annoying.” Jericho claimed he heard Enzo was staying at the same hospital as Ambrose. Too bad the New Day showed Amore checking out of the hospital last week. Cass challenged him to a fight.
Jericho reminded Cass he was the best in the world at what he does. Cass said he was 7 feet tall and the crowd added in “And you can’t teach that.” Jericho didn’t the usual heel routine of walking off. Cass gave him the “Sawft” catchphrase. Jericho jumped on the apron, but Cass gave him the big boot to the floor. Michael Cole and Byron Saxton couldn’t stop talking about how Cass was 7-feet tall. It looks like they’re putting the wheels in motion already for Cass to become a singles star, which is par for the Vince McMahon-owned course.
– Jericho walked up to Stephanie McMahon for our weekly emasculation of talent. Jericho said Shane McMahon was responsible for the new era of Raw, and he and Stephanie could help destroy it. Stephanie was a babyface this time, ordering Jericho to face Cass in the main event, then ordering him never to put a wedge between her and her brother. Like there wasn’t a wedge between them already. Are we supposed to forget Stephanie’s interviews she cut on Shane leading up to the WrestleMania match, as well as the match itself?
Baron Corbin did an inset promo saying he wasn’t part of the New Era, he was only out for himself.
Baron Corbin defeated Dolph Ziggler (8:32)
Corbin won with the End of Days. Earlier, Dolph Ziggler kicked out of the Deep 6. Ziggler got a near fall with a Famouser in a good match.
– Charlotte and Ric Flair walked up to Shane McMahon. Flair congratulated Shane for his match at WrestleMania and claimed Shane’s top of the cage elbow against Undertaker was the greatest move he had ever seen. Imagine if Shane had actually hit the move. Charlotte asked Shane to reverse Stephanie’s decision to ban Flair from ringside at Extreme Rules. Not only did Shane not reverse the decision, but said Flair was banned from ringside tonight.
– A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, now known as “The Club,” did an interview with Jojo. Styles brought up being power bombed by Roman Reigns onto the table last week. Styles said the Club is officially back together again tonight, but made it clear he would defeat Reigns on his own at Extreme Rules.
R-Truth defeated Fandango (2:11)
R-Truth won with the Truth Detector. The deal is Goldust and Fandango have formed a tag team called “Goldango.” Tyler Breeze and Truth responded by forming a team called “The Gorgeous Truth” in an attempt for Goldust and Truth to make each other jealous. Just before the finish, Fandango pushed Truth into Breeze, who didn’t look happy with Truth despite his partner winning. Announcers were so bored with the match, JBL mentioned Ozzy Osbourne’s hair stylist. Michael Cole acted like he had no idea what he was talking about and asked how Sharon would react to that, apparently oblivious to reports that Ozzy and Sharon have split.
– Kevin Owens, the Miz and Cesaro were backstage with Stephanie and Shane. Stephanie spoke up and said they would face each other for Miz’s Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules. Miz objected because he could lose his championship without getting pinned. Stephanie said no one asked him what he thought. Sami Zayn walked in and objected, saying he deserves an opportunity. Zayn challenged Miz to a match tonight, and if Zayn wins, then the Extreme Rules match becomes a four-way.
Shane and Stephanie were fine with it, despite Miz’s objections. Stephanie then dismissed everyone. Stephanie and Shane then had a moment of togetherness, complimenting each other over how they handled the situation. I hope the babyface outsmarts the Authority before the payoff of this Stephanie-Shane angle. Otherwise, Shane is going to look some kind of bad when Stephanie inevitably turns on him.
Paige defeated Charlotte (C) in a nontitle match (7:42)
Overloaded booking at the finish. Charlotte tried to cradle Paige with her feet on the rope. Natalya jumped on the apron. Flair, despite being barred from ringside, ran out. Paige was distracted. This brought out Shane, who had a team of officials bring Flair to the back. With all of this going on, Paige pinned Charlotte with a schoolgirl cradle. Charlotte looked distraught that she may not be able to beat Natalya at Extreme Rules without her father at ringside.
Sami Zayn defeated the Miz (C) in a nontitle match
A great performance by Zayn, who won with the Helluva Kick. Miz worked over Zayn’s right knee, and the crowd was right behind up, particularly after Miz put on the Figure Four. Miz tried to get the pin on a rollup using the ropes, but the referee caught him. Zayn made his comeback with the Blue Thunder Bomb. A very good match. Zayn is now in the fatal four-way for the I-C title at Extreme Rules.
– Becky Lynch was asked by Renee Young about Emma thumbing her in the eye last week. Emma claimed it was accidental. Lynch said it was on purpose. Emma walked up and said it was just like Lynch to blame her loss on other people. Then Dana Brooke, making her Raw debut, snuck up on Lynch and jumped her from behind. Emma and Brooke talked about being a team on NXT and talked about beating up Lynch just like it was the old days. Brooke teased giving Lynch another cheap shot, but held up.
– Darren Young did a vignette said life is what you make it, and said he needed a person in his life to guide him. Bob Backlund popped up on a split-screen. Young asked him to be his life coach. Backlund said he would be Young’s wrestling coach. Young said he didn’t need a wrestling coach, he needed a life coach. Backlund interrupted him and said he’s never been a life coach before, but the first thing Young needs to understand is “Wrestling is Life.” Then came a onscreen promo lifted directly from Donald Trump’s campaign, entitled “Making Darren Young great again.”
– Xavier Woods hosted an episode of “Up Up Down Down,” featuring Ziggler. It was a product placement for Pizza Hut. Big E. took two slices, leaving Ziggler empty handed, which is a metaphor for his year so far.
– Zack Ryder told Shane the ladder match at WrestleMania was proof he belonged in the WWE. Owens walked in and accused Shane of handing Zayn a chance at the Intercontinental Championship, and said Shane was getting in a habit of handing title shots to people who are undeserving. Ryder mentioned he beat Owens at WrestleMania. Owens correctly mentioned that Ryder didn’t beat him. Ryder brought up being in the Fatal Fourway match at Extreme Rules. Shane ordered Owens would face Ryder in a match tonight, and if Owens lost, he would lose his spot in the Fourway at Extreme Rules.
– Reigns and the Usos were hanging out backstage. Reigns said tonight was about beating the Club and representing the Family (the name for their team) to the fullest in an elimination match. Reigns said they would eliminate Anderson and Gallows as a team, but Reigns would take care of Styles by himself.
Sin Cara defeated Rusev (3:45)
Sin Cara won after another distraction finish. Rusev got out of the way of a senton and hit a thrust kick. He called for the Accolade, but Kalisto jumped on the apron. For some reason, Lana jumped on the apron, as well. Rusev got distracted by all this and Cara pinned him with a schoolboy cradle for the same finish we saw in Charlotte’s match. Kalisto did a Facebook interview. It was like he was reading from the Crash Davis school of interviews. He might as well have said “I just want to give it my best shot and good lord willing, it will work out. I’m just happy to be here.” In fact, that wasn’t far from what he did say.
– The final Shining Stars of the Caribbean vignette arrive. They will arrive next week to remind us that, somehow, Primo and Epico have jobs and Damien Sandow doesn’t.
The Family defeated The Club in an elimination match (11:39)
Styles was disqualified after Anderson hit Reigns with a chair outside the ring. The Club got the man advantage when Anderson pinned Jey Uso with a schoolboy cradle at 2:38. Jimmy Uso evened things up at 4:42 by pinning Anderson with a small package. Styles pinned Jey Uso during a commercial break with the Phenomenal Firearm. Reigns made it a 1-on-1 match with Styles when he pinned Gallows at 9:17.
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The Usos ran down after the DQ and jumped Anderson and Gallows, who threw the Usos out of the ring. Reigns recovered to give Anderson and Gallows spears. This led to a terrific staredown between Reigns and Styles that was so solid, it had portions of the crowd chanting for Reigns. Reigns had a chair as he gazed at Styles, who was standing on the apron ready to deliver the Phenomenal Forearm. Reigns said he didn’t need to chair to beat up Styles and tossed it aside. Styles threw the chair back at him.
When Reigns picked it up, Styles did a springboard, but Reigns picked up the chair, so Styles rolled out of the ring. Styles reminded Reigns the chair would be fair game when they meet at Extreme Rules. This was very well laid out. Of all the times not to have Reigns in the main event segment, it came during his best angle of the year.
Kevin Owens defeated Zack Ryder (4:03)
Owens won with the Pop-Up Power Bomb. Ryder’s biggest spot was hitting the Randy Savage Elbow for a near fall. Owens retains his spot for the I-C title fourway at Extreme Rules
– Cass did an interview with Young. More scripted crap that this company just can’t drag themselves away from. Cass dedicated the match to Amore.
– Former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. did a promo for the new show “First Impressions,” then started chanting for the New Day. This led to New Day coming out. The Vaudevillains did an insert promo saying they would take the tag team championships from New Day at Extreme Rules. New Day did a promo where they were confused about the Vaudevillains name, they held up a giant Booty-O, and got the crowd to chant “All hail to Booty-Ohhh.” Big E. said the Vaudevillains were from a by-gone era, an era that wasn’t very good for people like us: people who used smart phones. It led to them getting the crowd to chant “New Day Rocks.”
The Dudley Boyz defeated the New Day (C) in a nontitle match (5:08)
Aiden English and Simon Gotch ran down to jump Woods, leading to Big E. getting involved. In the midst of all this, Devon Dudley pinned Kofi Kingston with a short-armed clothesline. Postmatch, the Vaudevillains gave Kingston the Whirling Dervish.
The main event match between Jericho-Cass, which was promoted for two hours, never got going.
Cass made his ring entrance. Jericho was in the midst of his entrance when, just as his jacket started to lite up in the dark, someone could be seen jumping him. That person put on Jericho’s jacket, it lit up, then the mystery figure got in the ring. It was Ambrose, who started to tear up the jacket. Jericho ran down and put the fists to Ambrose. Jericho was incensed his jacket was destroyed and started to leave, but Cass blocked his path and threw him in the ring. Ambrose gave Jericho Dirty Deeds, then pulled out a pair of scissors and tore the jacket into shreds. Some of the bulbs and fuses that light the jacket starting blowing, which made for an interesting visual. Jericho was left screaming at Ambrose about how his $15,000 jacket was ruined.
Shane and Stephanie watched this scene from backstage. They each complimented the other about how good a job they had done throughout the night. Stephanie suggested their next step should be an episode of “Ride Along,” but Shane didn’t think they were ready for that. Shane said goodnight. As Shane walked away, Stephanie looked at the framed photo of Shane as a toddler with Vince McMahon before they went to his first wrestling show in Worcester, Mass. She had a blank look on her face, then she vaguely grinned.
SUMMARY:
The main programs of Reigns-Styles and Jericho-Ambrose were built very well tonight. This was an interesting show in terms of hour structure and how it relates to ratings. Putting Cass in the main event slot is just Vince’s theory of relying on the big guys when the chips are down. It’s too early to be breaking up the Enzo & Cass tag team, and clearly the company thought building Cass for the main event was a better idea than actually having him wrestle in it. Unfortunately, the words “New era” have now entered the dreaded WWE lexicon of staged terms that come off as lame, joining such hits as “Diva Revolution,” “WWE Universe” and “WWE Superstar.” And it’s only going to grow over time.