Raw recap & reactions: Howdy-do

Uncle Howdy and his immortals are here, Money in the Bank qualifiers pop off, and Drew Mcintyre does the unthinkable on this week’s Monday Night Raw.

Walking Through the Darkness

After teasing us for months, Uncle Howdy and his possibly psychotic crew debuted. Proper debut, as the Brits might say.

They didn’t get any in-ring action, but WWE presented them as a horrifying force. Seriously, they decimated everyone in gorilla, which included Chad Gable. Chad was the only notable wrestler victimized, which elicits several questions. As far as starts go, it’s a good one. But the devil is in the details.

This group is honoring Bray Wyatt’s legacy. That’s an admirable cause and I hope they succeed on that end. Part of that is what WWE does with them after this. When you lay waste to that many people, it’s gotta mean something. It can’t just happen and then reset next week like a 1980s sitcom. They showed bloodstains and residue; making that count goes a long way in telling us who this group is, why they exist, and what they want. Ultimately, they can’t book this group the way they booked The Fiend.

This is a big test for Triple H, too. He who shall not be named handled everything the last time WWE tried something like this. If it’s not already clear, I wasn’t on board with all of his choices. I’m not saying I’ll like or love every choice Haitch makes either, but I’ll take consistency. Sometimes, it felt like Bray’s ideas were too big for what WWE could or wanted to do at the time. Everything about the product, to this point, is more or less based in real life. No spooky characters like the Undertaker, no magic, no stories about people surviving house fires then coming back as a long lost sibling. I don’t know how they creatively insert this group into this current structure, but I want to see if it’s possible. They don’t seem magical, but like I said, they’re certainly violent psychos. As a horror fanatic, I like the idea of a bunch of Michael Myers’ running around causing havoc just because it’s Monday.

They passed the first test, although I know this isn’t everyone’s brand of Vodka. Now it’s up to everyone involved to make everything else after this moment count because it’s even more important than the first impression.

B-Sides

All Bad

I wanted Drew Mcintyre spitting fire and brimstone on Raw. I wanted him to make his actions after Clash at the Castle look like a day at Chuck E. Cheese’s compared to his Monday night rampage. But that’s not what we got. In fact, there’s possibly more potential in what he did than what I wanted:

Drew quit. He walked out, it looked “real” enough and he shut down his social media accounts. To be continued.

Money

IYO SKY? Come on down! You just qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match. How’d she do it? Well, she survived a triple threat match with Kiana James and Selina Vega. But that’s only part of the story.

Liv Morgan, wearing Dirty Dom’s missing vest, showed up ringside and distracted Zelina. That took Ms. Vega’s eye off the prize, which gave IYO the perfect chance to finish off Kiana with an Over the Moonsault.

Zelina had all the momentum prior to that moment, so they really established that Liv cost the LWO member her big moment. How does she react to that? On the other side, this is a nice way at paying off IYO’s rage since losing in the Queen of the Ring tournament. I don’t think that story is finished yet, not by a long shot as Steve Austin might say, but I’m more interested in what happens if she loses the Money in the Bank match. Does she flip on her Damage CTRL crew? IYO’s issue is the losing, something she made very clear to her crew later in the show when they dropped a match to Kayden Carter & Katana Chance. I kinda want to see what happens if she “changes Damage CTRL.” New members? No group at all? What I’m saying is, let’s all pray that Dakota Kai & Kari Sane keep losing.

As for Kiana, she keeps getting better. She’ll get her time but right now, she’s earning her stripes. They need to give her more character on the main roster though because outside of a few moments with Adam Pearce, there’s nothing to her at the moment. Putting on dope matches will get her halfway there, but we need the character too.

Movin’ Cool

And the Liv story continues! Here I was, ready to talk about Dragon Lee vs. Carlito for all the obvious reasons, and out came Liv during the third act. Still rocking Dom’s vest, she approached Dom and JD McDonagh. Dom demanded she give back the vest while she got close enough to know what that man ate for dinner. Then out came Zelina looking for revenge. A brawl erupted between LWO and Judgment Day, with Rey Mysterio getting a couple licks in on his prodigal son. JD broke away, interfered in the match, and helped Carlito get the W.

This whole thing was really well done. The match itself worked, but tying in the drama really made it sing. And thankfully, it all made sense and played into something larger.

See My Vest

I’m talking about this because I love the story and I don’t get many chances to reference one of my favorite Simpsons songs. If you read this far down, you know Liv snatched Dom’s vest. So it was fantastic watching him search for the vest, then find Liv leaning against a wall.

This is just dope. Liv is doing great work here, and everyone around Dom, including Damian, is also putting in work. Damian’s exasperated tone with Liv, then calling her loco? Beautiful. I have nothing intelligent to add here but some things don’t need all of that. This is pure entertainment that keeps entertaining me on the regular.

The only thing that would make it better was if Dom’s vest was made from real gorilla chest.

Terms and Conditions

Bron Breakker impresses me every week. And this is coming from someone who watched his whole NXT career unfold. Before I gas Bron to high heaven, let’s step back a bit.

Sami Zayn hit the ring earlier and told everyone that he’s reluctantly moving on from Alpha Academy. He’s ready for a new challenger, no matter who steps up. Bron stepped up, followed by Sheamus. Sheamus still wants the Intercontinental championship, while Bron felt incredibly disrespected that Sheamus interrupted him and ignored him. Sami, smartly, suggested those two face each other. The tension was palpable between Bron and Sheamus, which started weeks ago when Bron showed up on Raw. Putting a shot at a championship on the line only made that animosity fiercer. And it showed itself during the match.

This was, for the first half, a slugfest that favored Sheamus. They worked a moderate pace, with Bron showing he’s more than high impact offense. Everything flipped when Bron tossed Sheamus out the ring, then followed up with a clothesline onto the announcer table from the ring apron. Like I said before, Bron is a true genetic freak (holla if you hear him). The intensity turned up from that point, with one botch that came from, once again, WWE’s ropes. Bron slipped going for a top rope Frankensteiner. Neither man was hurt, luckily, but it’s been a wild few days for these ropes.

But let’s get to the finish. Sheamus looked ready to deliver the crushing blow but Ludwig Kaiser showed up, Sheamus won by DQ, and then this happened:

Insane. Absolutely insane. Through the chaos, Sami told Bron that he can get a title shot any time he wants one. And I’m really looking forward to it. In fact, I think they pull the trigger and give Bron the championship. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part.

I liked the match before the interruptions but didn’t love it. Not quite the banger Sheamus likes but I think if they ever dance again, it gets there. They worked a pace that foretold something else coming, and sure enough, it did. Ludwig going Sheamus is logical, but I wonder if/when he sets his sights on Bron. Or does he not want that static?

Singles

• Seth Rollins is back! We only got one segment with him, but he talked himself into a World Heavyweight championship match at Money in the Bank. Actually, he didn’t really need to convince Damian; the champ offered the match because he wants to defeat Seth at full strength and one-on-one. This is about proving something to himself and the doubters as much as it’s about defeating Seth.
• Jey Uso gets a well-deserved spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match. I mean, how can he not get in this match? He defeated Rey Mysterio and Finn Balor in a triple threat match, and that’s even with Judgment Day interference. Braun Strowman showed up pick on Judgement Day again and chase them off. My question is this: Who in that group, besides Damian, can realistically go toe-to-toe with Braun?
• Speaking of Braun, he tangoed with Chad Gable during the first match as part of giving Chad any opponent coming off his loss at Clash at the Castle. This was less of a match and more about further tearing apart Alpha Academy. Chad loss, because duh, and Otis finally ripped off his Alpha Academy shirt and got physical with his coach. I really wanted more here and I was initially bummed Otis didn’t punish Chad more. But the backstage segment with Otis packing his bags and telling Chad he quits sold me on everything. This hurts Otis; he truly loves this cat and doesn’t want to hurt him. He’s disappointed more than angry.

Raw started strong and ended with a hook. Every match moved the ball forward, every action felt meaningful, and we finally have some new toys to play with as it relates to Uncle Howdy and friends. I don’t really have any complaints here, which is exactly the way I like my Monday nights.

How do you feel about the new group, Cagesiders? Do you believe Triple H will handle them well? Sound off!