LA Knight in Danger with Seth Rollins Feud, WWE's Expired Gimmick, More Raw Fallout
The August 4 edition of Raw on Netflix followed up a wild SummerSlam with multiple title matches in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
After Seth Rollins shockingly dethroned CM Punk on Saturday to become the new world heavyweight champion, LA Knight stepped up to challenge The Visionary.
CM Punk appeared at the end of the main event to attack Rollins, causing a disqualification. Even with Roman Reigns arriving late as well, The Visionary stood tall over everyone.
Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss successfully defended the Women's Tag Team Championships against Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez again.
Nikki Bella stepped up to women's intercontinental champion Becky Lynch, calling her shot for a future title match before The Man caught her with a cheap shot.
Dominik Mysterio defeated Dragon Lee thanks to the interference of three El Grande Americanos.
While WWE was slow to develop the next big stories coming out of SummerSlam, it was a wild night for the company, delivering memorable moments throughout.
LA Knight Has Been Booked Into a Make-or-Break Spot on Raw
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Leading into Saturday Night's Main Event on July 12, LA Knight's feud with Seth Rollins was heating up, allowing him a safe opportunity to work with a top heel outside the title picture.
One major swerve later, and The Megastar is fighting for the World Heavyweight Championship, with CM Punk and Roman Reigns breathing down his neck.
This feud with Rollins is hardly safe anymore, especially since fans have been given multiple major names to take his place at any time.
Knight needs to contend with Punk and Reigns to get a serious shot at dethroning The Visionary.
Of the three, he needs this spotlight most and would benefit most from dethroning Rollins, but is WWE confident enough in his ability to run with the top men's championship on Raw?
Knight will need to be on his A-game consistently from here on out, especially after becoming an afterthought in the buildup to SummerSlam.
One slip puts him at the back of the line and more likely to lose to Dominik Mysterio in a bid for the Intercontinental Championship than hold a world title.
WWE Has Jumped the Shark with El Grande Americano
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WWE has changed the direction of El Grande Americano multiple times. He started out as an ill-timed political joke before becoming a fun, faster-paced persona for Chad Gable.
With Gable's recent unfortunate shoulder injury, the gimmick has passed onto Ludwig Kaiser, who has set the stage for the luchador to multiply.
There are now three El Grande Americanos, played by Kaiser, Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate.
This has turned a simple gimmick into a new Doink The Clown, creating an army of masked characters with limited character to differentiate them.
This could all just lead to the three men unmasking, but with Gable out for the foreseeable future, that throws away an entire gimmick that he should have been allowed to finish performing.
Kaiser, Dunne and Bate deserve regular TV time but with a gimmick that actually suits them.
Gable deserved a chance to finish his story when he returned rather than it becoming a running gag with multiple stars that look ill-suited for the gimmick.
Wrong Time for Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Bella
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Becky Lynch put Lyra Valkyria behind her at SummerSlam, setting the stage for her to work with anyone she wants going into the fall.
The Women's Intercontinental Championship was supposed to be a title built to buoy the women's midcard, highlighting underused talent.
Instead, Nikki Bella has taken the next shot at The Man, setting up a feud that could well lead to a title change as a final send-off reign for Nikki.
This story does not benefit the women's division, especially since so many stars like Kairi Sane, Roxanne Perez, Ivy Nile and others could have used the time to work with Lynch more.
WWE did set up a match next week between Lynch and Maxxine Dupri that could help launch the latter back on TV, but it is overshadowed by the veteran battle on the horizon.
Nikki was in a better spot after last week, working with the rising talent of the women's division and helping put her spotlight on them for the future.
This pivot likely indicates Liv Morgan will need more time to return before her feud with Nikki can resume, but there were others who could have benefited from working with both veterans in the meantime.
WWE Rushing Into Title Matches as It Enters Slow Season
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Just two days after defeating Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez to win the Women's Tag Team Championships, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss defended against them on Raw.
This booking was reminiscent of WrestleMania where The Judgment Day took their rematch right after losing the gold.
However, there was no story twist on the horizon to justify that booking, leading to a rushed rematch that added nothing to the women's tag division's prestige.
The Judgment Day is immediately out of the title picture, and no tag teams have stepped up otherwise in the meantime, leaving WWE to scramble to create new challengers in the coming weeks.
Naomi vs. Iyo Sky was announced for next week for the Women's World Championship with a couple backstage segments to sell it over any in-ring interaction.
WWE also booked a surprise World Heavyweight Championship main event, only to end the match in disqualification due to interference.
This booking serves to sell that anything can happen on Raw but does not benefit actually building suspense.
WWE could have gotten weeks of intrigue out of announcing Rollins vs. Knight for the future. Instead, it was made into a spectacle that led to a familiar scene of the heels standing tall to end Raw.
In the same company delivering payoffs at too slow a speed, it makes no sense for WWE to rush these title matches over using them as selling points for future shows.
Lack of CM Punk a Bizarre Choice After SummerSlam Shocker
5 of 5CM Punk's big moment and agonizing failure was the highlight of Night 1 of SummerSlam, yet the only follow-up was the last couple minutes of Raw.
Even in the opening promo by Seth Rollins, he made The Best in the World feel more like a footnote, turning his attention to LA Knight.
Rollins vs. Punk remains the hot angle right now in WWE. Delaying it for too long would be a mistake. This should be the primary angle for Raw in the fall.
Leave LA Knight and even Roman Reigns to continue the chase for longer while Punk gets the first crack at the new champion.
Whatever WWE decides to do with this angle, giving Punk mic time would have benefited the show.
There is no better time to let Punk to tell fans all that he is feeling in the wake of that fresh SummerSlam loss.
Even by next week, some of that emotion will have worn off, and Punk will be left to deliver a fairly familiar retort to Rollins as he has in the past.
