WWE Raw: Grading tonight's show (July 1st 2019)
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since last week’s edition of Monday Night Raw.
Primarily, it was the shock announcement that Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff will become the Executive Directors of Raw and Smackdown respectively.
That’s certainly one way to shake up the current product, but how long will it take to see if these changes actually lead to better content?
While it was reported that Heyman and Bischoff will not transition into their new roles immediately, it’s safe to assume that they may have an input on this week’s shows and there was a sense of intrigue as to how their fresh approaches will be implemented.
Elsewhere, there was the small matter of The Undertaker’s return last week. Would there be any explanation as to why he saved Roman Reigns from Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre’s attack?
Let’s take a look at how these factors played out on tonight’s Raw by running down the show and assigning each individual segment its own grade.
#1. Start with a bang
First up on tonight’s Raw was the ‘Falls Count Anywhere’ match between Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley.
While the pair’s previous encounters such the arm-wrestling and tug-of-war contests have left much to be desired, this was a fantastic segment to open up the show.
Far from the usual in-ring promo, this started Raw off with a bang, quite literally, as the two men brawled up to the stage and Braun charged Lashley through the stage, exploding all of the electrical equipment behind the screen.
Everybody played their parts perfectly - from the production crew to the commentary team. Corey Graves needs a special mention here as he exclaimed “Holy S***!” while reacting to the scene, which perfectly helped sell the chaos of the situation.
This segment had Paul Heyman’s fingerprints all over it and may have been a symbolic image to portray a new beginning for Monday Night Raw under his leadership.
Grade: A+