Raw recap & reactions: Bron barks and bites

King and Queen of the Ring semifinals, Otis seemingly makes a choice, and Bron Breakker makes his Raw debut.

It’s Murda

A little inside baseball: This spot isn’t necessarily meant for the show’s main hook. The top spot in these recaps is reserved for the thing that catches our attention. For me, that usually means the thing I can write about at least semi-intelligently while hopefully relaying my interest or excitement. So this isn’t the spot for the semifinal matches for the tournaments, nor the Fatal 4 Way or anything happening with Drew McIntyre.

This week’s opening salvo is all about Bron Breakker.

For those who don’t watch NXT or read our related coverage, I’m a fan. He carried NXT during the 2.0 phase, developed his personality once he became a heel, and became one of the most entertaining aspects of the territory. I truly miss the guy on the show because I don’t see him as much on Raw where the pond isn’t so small, which makes him less of a big fish. That changed this week as WWE delivered on several teases. We knew Bron wasn’t happy about missing the King of the Ring tournament. He repeatedly voiced his displeasure with Adam Pearce similarly to how he did with Shawn Michaels when the Heartbreak Kid’s moves rubbed Bron the wrong way. He also took plenty of umbrage with not getting matches on Raw despite his NXT pedigree. So when they booked Bron against Kale Dixon, a cat usually released to NXT Level Up, I smelled a squash. What I didn’t detect was something better than just a blowout victory.

Bron got to the ring and muttered his unhappiness. Incensed that he’s not a part of the tournament, he went for the jugular immediately. It was at that moment that Kale folded like the vegetable sharing his name. Bron speared him almost out of his shoes, and then this happened:

And then this:

NXT ran a similar angle involving Bron, steel steps, and someone’s head, but this worked better for me given the stakes. While Kale Dixon’s name rings practically no bells in my head, I genuinely felt the for the guy. At the same time, I loved seeing Bron on the warpath. Even more, I loved the follow up moments:

Followed by this:

Bron wrecking everyone is the best Bron. Making him do that while proving a larger point while creating conflict between he and Adam only sweetens it. Did he attack Ricochet just because or was he salty about Ric getting a spot in the tournament? It really doesn’t matter. What does matter is how they play his match with Ricochet, which I’m assuming is happening. Bron is all about wreaking havoc right now, so don’t give me a regular match. He needs to treat Ricochet with the same disdain he showed Kale. Bron isn’t about getting wins right now so much as he just wants to watch the world burn. That’s a fun character to watch. Even more so when he moves like Bron with that much power.

In one night, WWE made Bron of the most interesting people on Raw. That’s pretty incredible.

B-Sides

Last Time That I Checc’d

I thought Sami’s opening promo that sketched out the triple threat’s main contours. Even figured maybe the story was the fact that we got a match between Chad Gable and Sami a few days before King and Queen of the Ring. But we got some dramatic points during the match that not only affect the Alpha Academy story, but potentially the upcoming triple threat for the Intercontinental championship.

Before the match, Chad ran down his whole crew as per usual. He called them all disappointments for various reasons, but saved most of his ire for Otis. And that makes sense given the way Chad slapped that man the last time Raw was a thing. We got three intervals during the match where Alpha Academy got their chance at redemption.

First, Sami hang prone over the middle rope right in front of Maxxine Dupri. Would she slap him behind the ref’s back? Would she punch him multiple times? Would she grab the belt and do it? Nah, she did neither. She thought about it but couldn’t follow through. That got under Chad’s skin but the match continued.

Then it was Akira Tozawa’s turn. He too got Sami in a compromising position but did nothing about it. Chad got so irate that he kicked them both to the back. Well, not literally, but you get the point.

That left one person: the number one guy. Otis refused to put boots to Sami after Chad threw the champ out the ring and right at Otis’ feet. Chad became incensed, then smacked Otis again. But this one echoed. I’m nowhere near Raw’s host city and I felt it.

Yeah, then that happened. That possibly tilts things in Chad’s favor for the upcoming championship match. But is it permanent? We almost got an explanation after the match, but the backstage area just hates peace. That’s a good move though; we don’t need Otis’ explanation yet. He’s clearly torn between his love for Chad and what he knows is right. And he’s loyal to a guy who took him under his wing when no one else wanted him. He seemed reluctant, so will Sami be the one who talks some sense into him? The big man apologized to Sami later in the show, and had a heart-to-heart with Sami, a man who knows a thing or two about being manipulated.

Really liked this opening segment that hooked me more into this saga, and the follow up.

Monster for Music

JD McDonagh warned Braun Strowman to stay out of Judgment Day business the last time Raw came to us live. Yeah, well, about that.

Finn Balor & JD got their shots at the Tag Team champs this week, with R-Truth promising Miz that “Andre the Giant” had their backs. As Miz pointed out, that’s a little difficult given Andre’s deceased nature. Turns out, Truth just thinks all big men look alike.

During the tail end of this fine tag match that built it self around the big spots from Truth, Carlito showed up. He interfered on Judgment Day’s behalf, which signaled Braun. The very large man evened the odds for the champs, and JD took the pin for his team. It’s wild taking an Attitude Adjustment from anyone not named John Cena and losing. But hey, that’s where we are with crash test dummy JD.

I wonder if this is setting up a championship match between Braun and Damian Priest. The World Heavyweight champ can’t be thrilled about Braun poking his nose into Judgment Day business, especially with gold at stake. Not to mention, he doesn’t have much to do right now but bark orders and look sideways at Carlito. I’m not a betting man but if I were, I’d say Braun is Damian’s next challenger. I mean, seriously, does anyone think JD will handle that guy? There’s also some slight static brewing between Damian and Finn that has my attention. Finn first noted that he hoped he and Damian went against Awesome Truth. Then Damian blew him off when Finn tried talking to him post Braun embarrassing their crew.

On Bended Knee

The Fatal 4 Way tag match for a shot at the Women’s Tag Team champs threw me off a bit. It started chaotic, with Kayden Carter & Katana Chance, Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark, Damage CTRL, and Ivy Nile & Maxxine Dupri just warring with each other. I preferred this if only because it makes for a more exciting match featuring eight people. While I understand the appeal that comes when someone from another team tags in at an in opportune time, and we got that here a few times at important junctures, I just like violence. Sue me.

After the match’s first commercial, the ref restored order. Chaos broke out again and even inside all that, they told a story about Maxxine. That only made sense, given what happened earlier with Alpha Academy. She keeps improving and getting spotlights to show said improvement, but it became clear this moment existed to further tear her down. And that’s the stuff about the match I dig. While I expected Damage CTRL to win given Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill’s history with Dakota KAI & Kari Sane, that’s not what happened.

Kayden & Katana became a non factor, along with Ivy. That left Maxxine by her lonesome with Shayna & Zoey. They hit a very cool combo finisher, which involved tossing Maxxine overhead and into a big knee across the jaw.

Maxxine’s horrible night continued, Damage CTRL walked away 0-2, and we caught the new number one contenders conspiring backstage with a returning Sonya Deville. Good stuff all around in a match that didn't overstay its welcome.

Semi Automatic Full Rap Metal Jacket

• IYO SKY and Lyra Valkyria wrestled my favorite match of this whole tournament so far. They got a lot of time and essentially wrestled a chess match. It was all about who was just one step ahead of their opponent, if even for a few seconds. I haven’t posted clips of these matches but this one made me rethink that.

Watch this match. It’s just solid wrestling that shows Lyra’s talents and why they’re positioning her so strongly within the division. She got a pep talk from Becky Lynch before the match, which led directly into this W.

• They fooled me. I really thought Jey Uso was beating GUNTHER here. But they did give him a serious out, which is kinda necessary given Jey’s position on the Raw pecking order. GUNTHER injured Jey’s right arm early and it just got worse as the match continued. It got so bad that Jey wrestled with one hand for most of the runtime. That’s just not getting it done against the Ring General on any night, but especially with a crown on the line. Solid ending to a very well executed three hours.

Singles

• Speaking of Becky, her promo duel with Liv entertained me. Liv, while still not strong on the mic, showed improvement and sounded better. Having a character who has more to say than “watch me” suits her well. Even her heel logic sounded down right logical. Why should she help Becky if Damage CTRL wants Becky but not her? How does that make her chicken? That’s not her fight. However, ducking Becky’s opportunity to fight this week does make her a coward. But she’s a heel and that’s the job.
• Xavier is healed! But he’s now he has Karrion Kross in his ear, just like Karrion did with Kofi last week. What’s the move here?
• Drew showed up for a brief promo aimed squarely at Damian. No CM Punk mentions at all. That’s curious, right?

Raw was efficient and entertaining this week. With only two King and Queen of the Ring matches, they devoted the bulk of the time to advancing stories and shorter matches, which left the tournament matches more time. That, along with Bron’s bad behavior, illustrated the tournament’s importance. No complaints at all this week.

What say you, Cagesiders?