Sean Raw Sapp (5/7): Raw Podcast Notes, Ratings, More

Opening segment

• Dean Ambrose says that he's been named acting GM of Raw. It'd be hilarious if next week it was revealed he lied about the whole thing. Miz says he's co-acting GM.
• Great crowd in England. Grass is green.
• Braun Strowman comes out and calls Reigns "The Big Dog." Ah shit. 
• Kalisto wants Strowman, for some reason. Oh.
• I hope "The World's Bravest Tiny Little Man" is a nickname they have to repeat.
• Ambrose makes Finn Balor vs. Miz up next. 

Related Article

Moose And Nic Nemeth's Final Face-To-Face, Shelley And Sabin's Last Stand, Mark Briscoe Wins | TNA x ROH Fight Size

Finn Balor defeated Miz (w/ Maryse)
4/10

• Kick kick kick kick kick kick kick.
• Yeah, a front dropkick on the floor. THAT makes sense. 
• Miz got sloppy with a neckbreaker.
• 13 televised kicks. 5 front drop and 2 side drop kicks by the count of one of our readers.
• The viewer is conditioned to think that bumping hurts. Finn Balor bumps himself all night.
• Finn Balor is going to need a better tan, or else his leg will be beet red after every match.
• Miz pushed Balor into the ref, and as acting GM demanded a DQ. Ambrose came out and said "NAH" and banned Maryse.
• Balor won with the Coup De Grace.
• My inability to enjoy Finn Balor matches is kind of a bummer. 

Backstage crappenings

• Alexa Bliss is so great, and Nia Jax is so not. This really put that on display.
• Samoa Joe is one of the worst "YOU SEE" offenders in wrestling. He cuts a pretty good promo here, though. I would fire any camera man who did this bad of a job, though.
• Golden Truth's backstage segment was great, and the type of thing we need more of.

Alexa Bliss (w/ Nia Jax) defeated Mickie James (w/ Bayley)

3.5/10

• Bayley got a great reaction from the London crowd. She looked like the star she could be, and wasn't even in the match.
• Mickie James is the type of person you want Alexa working with to get better.
• The DDT/STO reversal was really awkward. 
• This was a rough match.
• Mickie gets squished by Nia Jax.

Braun Strowman vs. Kalisto

• Strowman, one armed, beats the shiznit out of Kalisto.
• Reigns comes out to thunderous boos. He attacks Strowman's injury. This is the Reigns I want to see.
• Michael Cole is great here, too.
• The Monster Among Men retreats from The Big Dog. That was a real line. Nooooooo.

Tag Team Turmoil
Cesaro and Sheamus win

5.75/10

• Good reaction for Enzo and Cass. They also found attractive women chanting for the duo, so that's cool I guess. 
• Big Cass gets more aggressive than I've ever seen him, which is promising. 
• Cesaro stomps Enzo about 200 times, but Enzo doesn't have anywhere to sell. 
• Enzo taps out to a Sharpshooter.
• Sheamus and Cesaro attack Heath Slater and Rhyno before getting to the ring.
• They dispose of these two easily.
• Gallows and Anderson are next, and Anderson has a really cool step up boot in the corner.
• Hooray for people watching TV right!
• Cesaro suplexed Gallows, and wow. 
• There's a cool spot where everyone gets taken out. 
• Sheamus Brogue Kicked Gallows for the win
• The only team that I think ends up a little hurt here is Gallows and Anderson. 
• Goldust sells an injured knee better than anyone I've seen in main event programs lately.
• Cesaro and Sheamus win after a 28 minute run.
• They attack Golden Truth, but The Hardy Boyz run them off.
• Cole is mad, but how are Sheamus and Cesaro cowards? They just beat four teams over a half-hour.

Seth Rollins defeated Samoa Joe via DQ
6/10

• Joe and Rollins start off fast and violent.
• This is a good battle, and Rollins has sold the leg a lot more convincingly than in previous matches.
• Rollins eats exposed turnbuckle and Joe gets DQ'd
• Solid match. Nothing special. Looks like they're headed for another PPV bout.
• A Coquina Clutch is applied after the bell.

TJP defeated Jack Gallagher

4/10

• I loved the false finish of the immediate headbutt.
• TJP wins and continues to confuse the division, which is kind of cool.
• TJP attacks Gallagher after the bell. Aries makes the save.
• This is like four straight matches that we've seen an attack after the bell

Sasha Banks defeated Alicia Fox
4.5/10

• Alicia and Sasha Banks really go at it.
• Alicia Fox's bridge is awesome off of a Northern Lights Suplex.
• Nothing says anger like a good ol' rear chinlock.
• Sasha reversing the backbreaker was nice. SCOUTED. Likewise Alicia with the double knees. 
• Sasha hits a good set of double knees off the second rope, but the pin was trash. Alicia's shoulder was up. I hope it leads to an angle. 
• I'd love to see a longer match between those two. 

Bray Wyatt defeated Dean Ambrose 

5.5/10

• Bray Wyatt lands a nice suplex to the floor.
• It definitely doesn't seem like it's been a year or two since these guys were in a feud. 
• This is a much better match than I expected between the two.
• Miz blasts Ambrose with the IC title. A normally hot London crowd doesn't care much for the turdy show they saw. 
• Wyatt wins.
• Miz attacks Ambrose for the fifth post-match beatdown of the night. Aight then. 
• A pretty terrible Raw all in all.