Tag: Raw

Possible AJ Lee return teased on WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

AJ Lee’s long-awaited WWE return could be happening as soon as this Friday.

At WWE’s Clash in Paris PLE, Becky Lynch helped her husband Seth Rollins retain the World Heavyweight Championship in a fatal four-way match. She low blowed CM Punk in the process, which led to speculation that we could see AJ Lee return and help her husband Punk even the odds against Rollins and Lynch.

It still hasn’t been confirmed that Lee is coming back to WWE — or if she’ll be competing in the ring when she does — but today’s Raw episode included a tease that Lee could appear on SmackDown in Chicago this Friday night. After being taunted and slapped by Lynch in a promo segment, Punk warned Lynch that she is going to regret putting her hands on him. Punk then all but confirmed that he’ll be showing up on SmackDown in his hometown of Chicago.

There were multiple chants for Lee during the Punk-Lynch promo battle. At one point, Lynch responded to the fans: “Classic, always chanting for a dope that doesn’t work here.”

An in-ring comeback would be Lee’s first match since 2015. She was a popular star and champion for WWE during the 2010s. Since retiring, she’s published a memoir as well as working as a screenwriter in Hollywood. Lee (AJ Mendez) did have a wrestling role from 2021-2023, when she was part of the Women of Wrestling promotion as an executive producer and commentator.

The husband-wife duo of Rollins and Lynch are both champions at the moment with Rollins holding the World Heavyweight Championship and Lynch holding the Women’s Intercontinental Championship.

Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois is hosting this week’s SmackDown, with an appearance by John Cena also set for the episode. It will be Cena’s final appearance in Chicago before he retires from the ring.

The full Punk-Lynch segment from Raw can be watched below:

WWE Raw lineup: Two new matches added

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Two new matches have been added to the card for today’s WWE Raw in Paris, France.

Following Clash in Paris, WWE is back at Paris La Defense Arena this afternoon for the final stop on its European tour. It was already known that an Intercontinental Championship bout between Dominik Mysterio and AJ Styles would be taking place on the episode. Now, two more matches have been confirmed.

The Kabuki Warriors will team up against Judgment Day’s Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez. Plus, there will be a six-man tag match pitting New Day and their new ally Grayson Waller against The War Raiders & Penta.

Today’s show has a special start time of 2 p.m. Eastern, streaming live on Netflix worldwide. Here is everything that has been announced:

WWE Raw (Monday, September 1) —

  • Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio defends against AJ Styles
  • The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) vs. Judgment Day (Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez)
  • The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) & Grayson Waller vs. War Raiders (Erik & Ivar) & Penta
  • We’ll get an update on Roman Reigns following the stretcher angle at Clash in Paris
  • There will be an update on the vacant Women’s World Championship

Kelly Osbourne reacts to ‘disrespectful’ WWE Raw mention of her late father

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Kelly Osbourne wasn’t a fan of her late father’s name being used by Becky Lynch to get heat on WWE Raw this week.

Monday’s Raw episode took place from Birmingham, England — the hometown of recently departed metal icon Ozzy Osbourne. During her promo on the show, Lynch mentioned Ozzy’s name as she was insulting the city.

“The only good thing that came out of here died a month ago,” Lynch said. “But in fairness to Ozzy Osbourne, he had the good sense to move to LA — a proper city. Because if I lived in Birmingham, I’d die too.”

While the insult was more aimed toward the city of Birmingham than Ozzy Osbourne himself, his daughter Kelly took exception to Lynch’s words and is unhappy with WWE for allowing them to be said. Kelly reacted to the promo in a post to her Instagram stories.

“You are a disrespectful dirtbag!,” she wrote to Lynch. “Birmingham would not piss on you if you were on fire. #birminghamforever shame on the WWE for allowing such things to be said about my father and his home!!!”

Ozzy Osbourne — who was a celebrity member of the WWE Hall of Fame — passed away at 76 years old on July 22 shortly after Birmingham hosted his final performance. The Black Sabbath frontman’s history with WWE dates back to appearing at WrestleMania II in the 1980s.

Lynch’s promo was part of the build to her upcoming Women’s Intercontinental Championship defense against Nikki Bella, which will take place this Sunday at WWE Clash in Paris.

Intercontinental title to be defended on WWE Raw next week

Posted on by Joseph Currier

An Intercontinental Championship rematch will take place when WWE Raw comes to Paris next week.

It’s been announced that the September 1 episode of Raw will feature Dominik Mysterio defending his Intercontinental title against AJ Styles. The show is being held at Paris La Defense Arena one day after the venue hosts WWE Clash in Paris.

At SummerSlam, Dominik retained the IC title over Styles by using some trickery. He loosened his boot so that his foot would easily slip out when Styles applied a Calf Crusher. Dominik then won after striking Styles with his boot and hitting a frog splash.

Their feud has continued in the following weeks, with Styles defeating Judgment Day member Finn Balor on Raw this afternoon. Judgment Day went to Raw General Manager Adam Pearce later in the show wanting something done about Styles — and he responded by booking next week’s title match.

Dominik has now been Intercontinental Champion for more than four months after winning the belt this April at WrestleMania 41.

Raw has a special start time of 2 p.m. Eastern next week streaming live on Netflix. It’s the final stop on WWE’s European tour before the promotion returns to the United States.

WWE Raw (Monday, September 1) —

  • Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio defends against AJ Styles
  • We’ll find out more information on how the next Women’s World Champion will be determined
  • Fallout from Clash in Paris

WWE gives update on vacant Women’s World Championship

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE plans on crowning a new Women’s World Champion soon — but it won’t be happening at Clash in Paris.

Stephanie Vaquer had been scheduled to challenge Naomi at the August 31 PLE in France. That match is off, though, with Naomi vacating the Women’s World Championship last week due to her pregnancy. WWE gave an update on the situation during a backstage segment that took place on today’s Raw episode. It was announced that Vaquer will still be getting a match for the title. Her opponent will be revealed next week, along with a date for when the title match will be taking place.

“Paris cannot happen,” Raw General Manager Adam Pearce told Vaquer. “But you will have your championship match. I already have an opponent in mind. I just need a week to finalize some details. Give me a week, I’ll let you know who you’re facing and when the championship match is.”

Vaquer said she’s disappointed she won’t be wrestling at Clash in Paris but understands the situation. She had earned the title shot by winning a battle royal last month at WWE Evolution.

Whether IYO SKY is still owed a shot at the title remains to be seen. She was supposed to challenge Naomi for the Women’s World Championship on the August 11 episode of Raw before it was announced that Naomi was not cleared to compete.

It was during last week’s show that Naomi officially confirmed that she and Jimmy Uso are expecting. Naomi promised to return as soon as possible and come after the Women’s World Championship again.

WWE Raw live results: Clash in Paris go-home show

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: August 25, 2025
Location: bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham, UK 

The Big Takeaway —

LA Knight lost to Bron Breakker in the main event. Jey Uso laid out CM Punk and Knight as the show ended, with Seth Rollins looking on in amusement. Rollins defends the World Championship against Knight, Punk and Jey this Sunday at Clash in Paris. 

There will not be a match for the vacant Women’s World Championship on Sunday, but instead, Becky Lynch will defend the Women’s Intercontinental Championship against Nikki Bella. 

Raw in Paris next week begins at 2 pm ET/11 am PT. 

**********

Show Recap — 

LA Knight, Rhea Ripley, and Nikki Bella arrived at the building in Birmingham. 

There is only one level of stands in this arena, so the stage is smaller than usual, but the arena is completely packed. 

Roman Reigns opens Raw

The crowd anxiously chanted “OTC” and sang Reigns’ name before he even got to the ring. The singing continued in the same cadence as usual after his music cut. They followed with a different song and more “OTC” chants before Reigns finally spoke 10 minutes into the show. 

Reigns had big plans for tonight, for the rest of this year, and next year. But he had to be honest with himself. The fans acknowledged him, but there was something he had to acknowledge. The fans were loud as always, like old times, but Reigns was not the same guy he used to be. The fans chanted, “Yes, you are.” 

Reigns responded, “Maybe I can be.” Cody Rhodes predicted it a year and a half ago. (There was a smattering of boos upon hearing Rhodes’ name, and Reigns responded, “Interesting.”) Reigns said Seth Rollins and The Vision followed through on everything Rhodes said. They took everything from him. The crowd chanted, “F—k you, Rollins,” and Reigns felt the same way. 

Reigns didn’t have what he used to have. He didn’t have a Bloodline. After the crowd chanted, “Yeet,” Reigns said he was proud of Jey Uso. People complained about Jey being in the title match instead of him, but Jey was the one who scored the pinfall in their match. He deserved to be in the title match (instead of him). 

The Vision took his Bloodline, his wiseman, and his titles. They ran out of things to take, so they had to find something else. He was about to bring up Bronson Reed, but Paul Heyman interrupted with Reed. 

Heyman said it’s been five years since Brock Lesnar’s wiseman joined Reigns. They changed the entire industry together. Reigns was all alone now, but Heyman missed him. Heyman loved him five years ago and loved him now. 

The fans sang Reigns’ name, so Heyman instead sang Reed’s name to the same tune. He tried to lead the fans, but they sang for Reigns’ instead. Heyman said the fans disrespected him, but they weren’t tough enough to live in Manchester or rich enough to live in London. 

Heyman did not want to disrespect Reigns. But what Reigns needed was tough love. Heyman wasn’t man enough to beat the tough love into him, but Reed was. 

Reigns called Heyman a dumbass because Heyman would kiss his ass after he kicked Reed’s ass. 

Reed gave Reigns a history lesson. He said Reigns’ tribe from Samoa is civilized, but Reed’s isn’t. Reed’s tribe was exiled to Australia. Reigns’ tattoos were all paid for, but Reed’s were earned. Reed was the Samoan that Reigns’ dad and uncle warned him about, and he was about to find out why. 

Reigns responded, “Hold up, this guy’s Samoan? That means your ass belongs to me.” The crowd popped for that. Reigns invited him to the ring to return his shoes, apologize to the fans, and acknowledge him. (The fans chanted, “Give his shoes back.”) 

Reed turned him down, so Reigns left the ring. They met at the aisle and brawled into the ring. Security got between them, so Reed broke through and squished everyone in the corner. Reed went up for a Tsunami as officials tried to stop him, but Reigns popped up and gave him a Superman punch. Reigns went after Reed again outside the ring, but they were held back by security as they went to break. 

The show was 27 minutes old by the time the opening segment ended. 

*******

Like last week, Finn BĂĄlor couldn’t find Dominik Mysterio backstage, but at that moment, he bumped into Dom speaking to El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser). BĂĄlor asked him what was up. Dom said not to worry about it and he’d join them later. 

Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh (w/Finn BĂĄlor)

BĂĄlor was tossed from ringside early in the match. The fans seemed disappointed as this was a very rare occasion where the fans actually booed the referee for tossing a heel from ringside. 

McDonagh took control as they went to break 90 seconds into the match, and Dragon Lee made his comeback the moment they returned. Dragon Lee hit a snap German suplex and poisonrana, but McDonagh hit a Spanish fly for two. Lee followed later with a great-looking Liger bomb for a nearfall. 

The Netflix feed lagged, and the action happened in slow motion. It was fixed as they got to the finish. 

Dom tried to interfere, but AJ Styles ran out to attack him and chase him off. (Corey Graves called Styles hater of the year for once again travelling overseas just to attack someone.) Dragon Lee hit Operation Dragon for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Dragon Lee defeated JD McDonagh (8:42) 

Not including NXT, this was Dragon Lee’s first win on TV since April, and his first singles win since November 2024. 

********

LA Knight interview

Jackie Redmond interviewed LA Knight. He wondered if CM Punk maybe put him through the table on purpose last week. Even if it was an accident, Punk shrugged his shoulders and left. Knight agreed with Punk that they should have worked together against Rollins, but Punk created an environment where that could no longer happen. 

Knight knew Punk was hungry, but they were all hungry. Knight would make sure everyone else went to bed hungry because he would win the title in Paris. He found it very convenient that he was the only one from the four-way that had a match tonight. Knight planned on smacking Bron Breakker back to factory settings.

******** 

There was a Rusev video package. 

Judgment Day met backstage. Raquel Rodriguez stopped an argument between Dom and BĂĄlor. Dom said BĂĄlor has known Styles the longest and suggested he deal with him tonight. BĂĄlor got in Dom’s face and said he’d talk to Adam Pearce and deal with Styles. After he left, Rodriguez told Roxanne Perez to be ready for her match tonight. 

Styles vs. BĂĄlor was made official during the next match. 

********

Penta vs. Kofi Kingston (w/Xavier Woods & Grayson Waller)

The New Day continue to wear all-black as they continue to mourn their tag title loss. Woods wore a black neck brace and had a black cane. 

Penta set up for a flip dive early in the match, but Kingston sprinted away up the aisle as they went to break. Kingston took control during the break and gave Penta a back body drop onto the announce table. It took Penta a full nine seconds to make it back to the ring. 

As Penta made his comeback, Michael Cole said it would be embarrassing if New Day lost to him for a second straight week. Graves wondered what he meant, and Cole said it was because New Day talked so much trash. 

They traded moves, which led to Penta going for a Canadian Destroyer, but Kingston countered it with a back body drop. Kingston followed with a fameasser for two. Penta botched a potential rana off the ropes, so he hit a superplex to bring Kingston down instead. 

Penta followed with a Penta driver, but Kingston kicked out. (Graves said this may have been the first time someone kicked out of this move, and reminded us that Kingston was a former world champion.) 

Penta kicked Waller in the face, and his papers went flying, before hitting Kingston and Woods with a flip dive. Penta went to the ropes for a Destroyer attempt, but was distracted by Waller (who didn’t technically do anything). 

Kingston tripped Penta off the ropes and hit Trouble in Paradise for the pinfall win. The crowd groaned at the finish. 

Match result: Kofi Kingston defeated Penta (10:21)

******** 

Iyo Sky approached Rhea Ripley backstage. She thanked her for having her back last week. She respected Ripley, but Asuka and Kairi Sane were her family. They didn’t like that Ripley got in her business, so they should probably keep their distance for a while. 

At this moment, Asuka and Sane appeared in the background and watched the rest of this transpire. Ripley understood Sky’s sentiment. Ripley was about to leave, but Sky pulled her back for a hug. The hug caused Asuka to storm off in the background. 

(I get what they’re doing, but this was overly dramatic.) 

******** 

There was a video package of Naomi’s announcement. 

Pearce informed Stephanie Vaquer that she was still the number one contender, but her match was not happening in Paris. Pearce asked her to give him a week to find her an opponent. Vaquer was disappointed she wouldn’t be wrestling in Paris, but said she’d be ready when Pearce found her opponent. 

******** 

Becky Lynch and Nikki Bella segment

Lynch entered first. Like she did on Smackdown, Lynch played babyface for a brief moment before quickly turning on the crowd. She called Birmingham a dump, just like Nikki Bella. They advertised this as Bella calling out Lynch, but Lynch didn’t plan on getting called out like a dog by anyone. 

Nikki entered. She said if Lynch wasn’t a dog, then she should stop acting like a bitch. Nikki suggested Lynch give her a title shot. 

Lynch said she wasn’t about to give out title shots, especially to broke-neck Barbie. Nikki said she kicked her ass last week. And thanks to her blazing a trail, Lynch had a page to write history on. 

Lynch credited Nikki and her better twin for blazing that trail and bringing in a new audience, but frankly, she just didn’t care. Lynch never wanted to respect Nikki—she wanted to replace her, and she’s done a pretty good job doing so. 

Nikki said Lynch was afraid to face her. Lynch was once Charlotte Flair’s little sidekick. Lynch said she was no one’s shadow. She was the greatest of all time, even Sports Illustrated thought so. Nikki didn’t care what SI thought. She cared what the people thought—the people who made Lynch. Lynch came off as desperate, and everyone could see it. 

The crowd tried chanting “Becky’s desperate,” but she cut them off. Lynch knew the fans were trying to take over. She called it classic British behaviour and wondered if 800 years of oppressing the Irish wasn’t enough for them. 

Nikki wondered if The Man lost her balls. Lynch assured her by saying, “I have balls. I have balls.” Nikki said Lynch was cheap and another c-word—a coward. Lynch thought she meant the other c-word. 

Lynch agreed to a match in Paris because she wouldn’t wrestle in Birmingham. The only good thing to come out of Birmingham died a month ago. At least Ozzy Osbourne had the sense to move to LA first. 

Nikki knew why Lynch was so mad. No matter how hard she tried, her name would never be as big as Bella. Nikki said she would win the title in Paris. 

Lynch went for a cheap shot, but Nikki decked her. Lynch bailed before Nikki could hit her finisher.

(This was one of those segments where the heel was much more entertaining than the babyface, who, in this case, just isn’t that interesting. Nikki accused Lynch of using cheap insults, but Nikki was the one who called her a bitch, insinuated she was a c-word, and accused her of not having balls. It would also be nice if they didn’t feel the need to tell us Nikki blazed a trail every chance they get.) 

********

CM Punk interview 

Redmond interviewed CM Punk. He said he didn’t put Knight through the table, but he also didn’t care that Knight fell through a table because he was a clumsy idiot. 

Punk wasn’t just hungry—he was obsessed with holding the title. It was ripped from him by Rollins. Punk warned all three of his opponents that he would cripple them if he had to and walk out of Paris as champion. He finished his promo by saying his name in the same cadence as “L.A. Knight.” 

********

There was a Sheamus video package. He said Rusev’s return was a superstar return that no one wanted or asked for. Rusev lost his love for the game. He was passionless, speaking from a darkened room, and acting like a bully. Rusev was cringe. But Sheamus noticed that Rusev had woken up in their recent battles and won back his respect. Sheamus wanted the old Rusev back, and they would have a banger in Paris. 

********

Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez (w/Raquel Rodriguez) 

The fans sang Ripley’s name in the tune of We Will Rock You. Perez got a lot in this match. A distraction by Rodriguez allowed Perez to take over with a suicide dive. She worked over Ripley’s leg during a break and spiked her with a DDT after the break. 

Another distraction allowed Perez to bring Ripley off the top with a hurricanrana. Perez followed with a double knee drop for two. Ripley followed with a Razor’s Edge and a running kick for two. Ripley knocked down Rodriguez, blocked a Pop Rox, and hit Rip-tide for the pinfall win. 

— Rodriguez attacked Ripley after the match. Ripley fought her off, but an assist by Perez allowed the heels to take her down. 

Sky ran out to make the save and sent Rodriguez out of the ring with a missile dropkick. Ripley hugged Sky as they smiled over the heels. 

Match result: Rhea Ripley defeated Roxanne Perez (10:39) 

********

Seth Rollins psyched up his buddies backstage as the fans sang his song. 

Sky checked on Ripley backstage. As soon as Ripley left, an angry Asuka confronted Sky as Sane held her back. Asuka told Sky to stop talking to Ripley. Asuka left. Sky asked Sane to trust her. A very sad Kairi Sane told Sky she was sorry, and she left. 

(I guess there was no specific reason for Ripley to get involved here, but she would’ve been close by to stand up for Sky when Asuka confronted her, but because she was off-screen, that meant she actually vanished.) 

********

AJ Styles vs. Finn BĂĄlor

This was their fifth-ever singles match. The crowd gave a polite applause as the match began. They wrestled back and forth for a few minutes until BĂĄlor dropkicked Styles off the apron. Styles maintained control through a break. 

Styles blocked a crossbody and hit a backbreaker, followed by a fireman’s carry neckbreaker for two. BĂĄlor responded with a slingblade and dropkick into the corner. Styles avoided a Coup de Grace, and a series of counters led to a Styles Clash for a decisive pinfall win. 

Match result: AJ Styles defeated Finn BĂĄlor (8:05) 

There was nothing wrong with it, but this was as standard a match between these two men as you will ever see. 

******* 

Jey Uso and Roman Reigns segment 

Jey Uso was all wound up as he met with Reigns backstage. Reigns warned him to never trust Punk. Reigns also wondered why Jey was so uptight. He told him to stop helping people. He’s helped enough. He’s helped Reigns, their family, the locker room and the company. It was time for Jey to do it for himself. It wasn’t about being one of the boys or making friends. It was about cashing in on the moments and locking in a legacy. Reigns said that was his perspective—it was up to Jey to be Jey. They shook hands. 

This was good.

********

Bayley video, Judgment Day segment

There was another Bayley video where she could hear her inner voice(s), and we, the audience, can hear it too. It started with the younger, upbeat version of Bayley talking to her, before the heel version interrupted. The two voices argued until the real Bayley told them to stop. 

Backstage, a concerned Lyra Valkyria asked Pearce if they had checked on Bayley or if there was an update on her medical state. He said he has called her, but there’s no official status. He promised an update.  

The male members of Judgment Day confronted Pearce about Styles. Dom wanted things to end with Styles. Pearce agreed, so he put Dom in a match against Styles next week on Raw in Paris for the Intercontinental champion. Dom wasn’t happy, and he referred to Pearce as Charles Xavier. 

BĂĄlor was selling in the background after just wrestling, but he looked up and smiled when Pearce made the announcement. That was funny. 

********

Official card for Clash in Paris: 

  • Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed 
  • Sheamus vs. Rusev – Good Ol’ Fashioned Donnybrook Match (no DQ, no countout) 
  • John Cena vs. Logan Paul 
  • Becky Lynch (c) vs. Nikki Bella for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship 
  • Seth Rollins (c) vs. CM Punk vs. Jey Uso vs. LA Knight for the World Heavyweight Championship 

*******

As Bron Breakker walked through the back, Reigns suddenly shoved him into an equipment box. Reed tried to get involved, so Reigns knocked him down with a Superman punch. Reigns was taken away by security. Pearce told Breakker he still had a match, and Breakker wasn’t pleased.

Knight jumped in next to attack Breakker and dragged him out to the stage. 

LA Knight vs. Bron Breakker (w/Paul Heyman)

Knight continued to beat up Bron before the match began and attacked him around ringside. They entered the ring, and the match started. Despite Knight attacking Bron for a good five minutes (and after Reigns blindsided him earlier), Bron made his own comeback and took control. 

After a break, Bron gave Knight a Frankensteiner. Knight slipped out of a press slam and hit a DDT. Knight made his comeback and hit a neckbreaker. Bron cut him off and went for a running spear or tackle, but Knight booted him. With Bron standing on the top, Knight leaped to the top and brought him down with a superplex. Knight followed with a flying elbow drop. 

Rollins’ music hit, and he ran down to ringside. Knight chased him around ringside like an idiot and ran into a spear by Bron. The crowd chanted for Punk, but he did not show. 

Bron followed with a spear in the ring for the pinfall win. 

— Rollins and Bron attacked Knight, but Jey Uso made the save. Jey hit Rollins with a superkick and turned his attention to Bron, but Rollins grabbed him and hit a Pedigree. 

Punk finally entered to his music. They cut the song, but the fans sang it anyway as Punk posted Bron. Punk attacked Rollins, but Bron pulled Rollins out of the ring to safety. (The crowd chanted, “Seth’s a p—sy,” which was censored.) 

Punk helped Jey to his feet, but Knight confronted Punk. Jey tried to settle them down, but Knight brushed him off. Punk and Knight traded fists until Punk shoved Knight into Jey. 

Punk grabbed Knight for a GTS, but Knight slipped out and stumbled toward Jey, who laid him out with a superkick. Jey stood next to Punk—then laid out Punk with a superkick, too. Rollins was amused by this. 

Rollins looked on confidently as Jey Yeeted with the crowd as the show ended. 

Match result: Bron Breakker defeated LA Knight (13:45)

Knight came across so poorly here. Breakker was blinded by both Reigns and Knight, allowing Knight to have complete control of the match. Breakker came back anyway and basically won clean because Knight was too stupid to focus on the match. I don’t think Breakker should be losing, but beating Knight this close to the title match was not a good idea either, especially in this manner. 

Jey at least got to shine at the end, but I’m not sure any of this would make you feel like Rollins is losing the belt on Sunday.

WOR: WWE/ESPN, TripleMania, G-1, RAW, Naomi, Lawlor

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including Tom Lawlor, Naomi’s pregnancy, WWE and ESPN, TripleMania, the G-1, Chris Jericho’s future, ratings, the RAW report, some mailbag questions and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: Tom Lawlor undergoing hip replacement on Tuesday, Naomi & Jimmy Uso announce pregnancy
2:53: WWE could put September PLE on ESPN
6:00: Mexico notes on Triplemania numbers, CMLL, Worlds Collide
21:21: AAA Triplemania rundown
37:29: Konosuke Takeshita wins the G1 Finals, upcoming NJPW cards, Stardom notes
47:32: Chris Jericho future speculation
51:53: Ratings, Dana White gives long odds for Jon Jones fighting on the White House card
57:16: WWE Raw recap
1:12:15: Q&A

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WWE Raw live results: Naomi addresses her status

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: August 18, 2025
Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA 

The Big Takeaway —

Naomi is expecting a child with Jimmy Uso and relinquished her World Championship. The segment turned her into a big babyface, so we’ll see what happens when she returns. She made it clear that she’s coming back as soon as she can to recapture the title. 

Raw’s streak of inconclusive main events ended as Jey Uso beat Bron Breakker in an Extreme Rules match, which included a lot of interference. 

It wasn’t announced, but Roman Reigns appears to be facing Bronson Reed at Clash in Paris. 

Next week’s Raw in Birmingham airs at 3 pm ET/12 pm PT.

**********

Show Recap — 

Jey Uso and Naomi were shown arriving (separately) after a recap of last week’s Raw. 

The Vision opens Raw

They advertised that The Vision would appear on Raw and, in fact, the four men who are on Raw most weeks entered to kick off the show. 

Seth Rollins wore a floral-patterned shirt and pants. The fans sang his song, the heel group was cheered, and people loudly barked for Bron Breakker. 

They also cheered for Paul Heyman, who said he was God in this city (Philadelphia). The city would build him a statue, but he was far too humble to accept the credit he deserved for everything he’s done in front of and behind the camera. “Bluntly—I am the GOAT.” 

Heyman said the ring was filled with GOATs. He put over Breakker and Bronson Reed in the same manner he always does. Reed continues to carry Roman Reigns’ shoes with him, so the crowd chanted, “OTC.” Heyman put over Rollins next and said he’s beaten Reigns twice. The crowd sang his song again. 

Rollins was about to speak, but Jey Uso entered through the crowd. Jey remained in the crowd to cut his promo. (He pointed the microphone at a few young fans who all said, “Yeet.”) Jey was tired of The Vision. He called Breakker a puppy dog who would have to deal with him tonight. 

Rollins egged on Breakker by claiming Jey said things about Breakker and his family that he never actually did. Rollins claimed Jey said he was a better and stronger athlete than Breakker, and claimed Jey thought his family was stupid. I guess Breakker believed him because he wanted to go after Jey right now, but Rollins stopped him. (Jey seemed unbothered by all of this.) 

Heyman said that in a bingo hall not so far away, men used to settle their differences in the ring in a particular type of match. He was about to proclaim the match in the name of Sandman, New Jack, Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, and The Dudley Boyz, but Jey cut him off and offered the match instead: extreme rules. 

(When Heyman said Dreamer’s name, he called him the “late, great Tommy Dreamer.” He went on to say that he knew Dreamer wasn’t dead but added, “he should be.”)

This was the usual opening segment to build to the main event, with some ECW references in Philly thrown in to make it feel different. 

********

Asuka apologized to Iyo Sky backstage for shoving her last week. Kairi Sane and Asuka offered to be at ringside for her match, but Sky politely turned them down. They were all happy and on the same page. 

IYO SKY vs. Raquel Rodriguez (w/Roxanne Perez)

Sky was about to go for a dive, but was tripped by Perez from outside the ring (with the ref distracted). Rodriguez used the distraction to boot Sky. Rodriguez took over the moment they went to break, and Sky came back the moment they returned after dodging an elbow drop. 

Sky hit a missile dropkick, and the crowd cheered when she did her pose. Sky went for a bullet train, but Rodriguez caught her and hit a Samoan drop, followed by a corkscrew elbow drop for two. Rodriguez avoided a moonsault and turned Sky inside out with a clothesline for two. 

Sky wiped out Perez with a suicide dive and went for one on Rodriguez, but Rodriguez caught her and rolled through to her feet. Rodriguez lawn-darted Sky onto the ring apron and went for a Tejana Bomb in the ring, but Sky countered out of it and hit the bullet train. Sky followed with a moonsault for the pinfall win. 

— Perez and Rodriguez attacked Sky after the match, but Rhea Ripley (not Asuka and Sane) ran out to make the save. Sky quickly joined in, and they worked together to get rid of Rodriguez. 

Match result: IYO SKY defeated Raquel Rodriguez (11:00) 

This wound up being pretty good, particularly the portion following the commercial break. 

********

Jackie Redmond interviewed LA Knight. Before he could say much, CM Punk interrupted. Punk said Redmond could leave, but Knight told her to stay. Punk thought Knight didn’t like him, but Knight said it wasn’t personal. Punk kept stepping into his business. 

Punk thought they should stay on the same page against Rollins’ crew, but Knight wasn’t interested after Punk attacked him last week. Knight was focused on walking out of Paris as the world champion. 

********

The New Day cut a generic heel promo during a break. Kofi Kingston said the 76ers were losers, and Xavier Woods said Penta owed him money for his hat. 

They aired highlights of TriplemanĂ­a and said it was the most viewed edition in history, with 4.3 million views in the first 24 hours. They did not mention that it aired on YouTube. 

Asuka and Sane approached Ripley and Sky backstage. Asuka didn’t appreciate Ripley stepping in to help Sky instead of them. Asuka and Ripley got into a shouting match until Sky yelled at them even louder to stop. Sky kept shouting as she left and could be heard off-screen as Asuka and Ripley stared at each other. Asuka left, Ripley was annoyed, and Sane looked disappointed at this turn of events. 

********

Xavier Woods (w/Kofi Kingston & Grayson Waller) vs. Penta 

The heel took control 90 seconds into the match, which meant it was time for a break. During the break, Michael Cole said Woods tracked down Petey Williams to find out how to counter Penta’s Canadian Destroyer. (Although, Cole said Woods asked Williams about his Canadian Destroyer to counter Penta’s Mexican Destroyer.) 

Penta made a comeback and wiped out Woods and Waller with a dive. Woods responded later with a reverse vertical suplex for two. The crowd was deathly silent as Penta countered Woods’ Honor Roll with a Penta Driver. 

Penta didn’t immediately go for a cover, and Woods managed to roll to the ropes. This allowed Kingston to put Woods’ foot on the bottom rope to break up the cover, so Penta wiped out Kingston and Waller with a flip dive. (I like that Waller did nothing at ringside besides get laid out by two dives.) 

Woods tried to steal a win with a small package, but Penta kicked out and hit a Canadian Destroyer for the pinfall win. 

Kingston and Waller entered the ring to go after Penta, but he bailed. 

Match result: Penta defeated Xavier Woods (9:48) 

Congrats to Penta, who moves to one win above .500 in 2025. 

********

They showed Dominik Mysterio getting pinned by El Hijo del Vikingo at TriplemanĂ­a thanks to AJ Styles. (They played loud music over the crowd’s reaction to Vikingo winning.) 

After the show, Dom called Styles an “old bat” for costing him the title and said he would beat Vikingo at Worlds Collide on September 12th. (Rey showed up to mock Dom for losing.) 

Non-title match: World Tag Team Champions Finn BĂĄlor & JD McDonagh (w/Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio) vs. Dragon Lee & Mr. Iguana

Mr. Iguana got a modest reaction. Dragon Lee was in control for a couple of minutes before tagging him in. There were light cheers when he tagged in, but BĂĄlor immediately cut him off. The crowd sang Dom’s name as BĂĄlor had the heat. Dragon Lee and Mr. Iguana wiped out BĂĄlor and McDonagh with dives ahead of a break. 

This slowed down during a break. When they returned, McDonagh hit Dragon Lee with a poisonrana, but Lee quickly responded with a Liger bomb. Mr. Iguana made a hot tag, and his offence included using his puppet, “La Yesca,” which didn’t get much of a reaction. Dragon Lee tagged himself in, and McDonagh wiped out Mr. Iguana with an Asai moonsault. 

BĂĄlor hit Dragon Lee with a slingblade, but Lee came back with a superkick. McDonagh distracted the referee as Dom grabbed Lee by the leg. This allowed BĂĄlor to hit Lee with a dropkick and Coup de Grace for the pinfall win. 

— Judgment Day put the boots to the babyfaces post-match. Dom cleared the announce table but was attacked by Vikingo. 

Vikingo attacked McDonagh in the ring, but Dom attacked Vikingo from behind with his AAA Mega Championship belt. Judgment Day aided Dom, who hit Vikingo with a frog splash. 

Match result: Finn BĂĄlor & JD McDonagh defeated Dragon Lee & Mr. Iguana (9:52)

Dragon Lee looked good here, but there was only so much he could do. Mr. Iguana didn’t do much, but they definitely wanted you to know he has a puppet. Neither Mr. Iguana nor Vikingo got significant reactions. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be used on WWE programming, but the crowd isn’t with them yet. 

*******

Redmond interviewed Becky Lynch and asked why she attacked Natalya last week. Lynch claimed we saw the best of Maxxine Durpi thanks to her, and she was only defending herself when Natalya shoved her. Lynch said Natalya has been wrestling in different promotions to prove herself, but Natalya didn’t belong in the ring with her. Lynch welcomed her back to the big time. 

*******

There was a follow-up to that Bayley interview last week. She’s talking to herself now. She has a split personality like Two-Face, and her inner voice was constantly calling her a loser. Of course, we can hear it too, which doesn’t make any sense. 

This was stupid. 

******** 

Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Natalya (w/Maxxine Dupri & Akira Tozawa)

We got normal WWE Natalya in this match. Lynch posted Natalya, and they went to break 90 seconds into this title match. They tried to play it up like Natalya had a shoulder injury. The ref checked on her, but Lynch went after and worked over her arm through the break. 

Lynch applied an armbar when they returned. Natalya eventually fought out and hit a powerbomb. Natalya sold her arm before going for a Sharpshooter. Lynch avoided it, but Natalya hit a discus clothesline for two. 

Dupri checked on Natalya, so Lynch booted Dupri and hit Tozawa with a baseball slide as he checked on her. This led to Natalya applying a cradle, which was probably meant to get a reaction since it came off a distraction, but it didn’t. Lynch kicked out and applied a Disarmer for the submission win. 

— Lynch decked Natalya and Dupri after the match. She put Dupri on a Disarmer until Nikki Bella ran out to make the save. Nikki laid her out with a “Rack Attack 2.0.” 

Match result: Becky Lynch defeated Natalya to retain the Women’s Intercontinental Championship (7:51) 

A standard WWE match with a crowd as quiet as you’ll ever hear. 

*******

They announced a “special edition” of Stephanie McMahon’s podcast with Naomi (who Stephanie called “Trinity”) and Jimmy Uso. They aired a clip but cut away before Jimmy could make an announcement. 

Naomi is up next. 

********

Redmond tried to interview Sheamus, but they were interrupted by Rusev. The two men were about to brawl, but officials broke it up. A furious Adam Pearce said they would settle things in a good old-fashioned donnybrook. 

Vic Joseph interviewed Trick Williams during a break, but they were interrupted by Je’Von Evans. Trick left and said he’d see him tomorrow. Evans plugged the match on tomorrow’s NXT. 

Punk approached Jey Uso and offered to have his back tonight. Once again, this did not go the way Punk hoped. Jey wanted to do this on his own and was focused on Paris. They shook hands. 

******** 

Naomi’s announcement 

Naomi entered with her world championship. She was emotional and asked the fans to turn to the screen. They aired the announcement on Stephanie’s podcast. Jimmy announced they were having a baby, and the crowd popped huge. Stephanie wanted to hear it from Naomi, so Naomi confirmed she was pregnant. 

Back in the ring, Pearce congratulated Naomi and said they were all happy for her. The fans cheered. 

Naomi looked angry as she turned her attention to Pearce. She said this wasn’t her first time relinquishing a title. She handed it back the first time, but this time, “I ain’t handing you shit.” Her hormones were jumping like a disco, so she told Pearce to get to steppin’ and get out of her ring. He left. She encouraged the fans to sing the goodbye song at him, so they did. She thanked them. 

Naomi said the women in the back should be thanking one person. Some fans chanted for Jimmy Uso, and she smiled because that’s who she meant. If it wasn’t for Big Jim, she would’ve walked them all like a dog. But thanks to Big Jim and Netflix and chill, that wasn’t happening. The fans chanted, “You deserve it,” and she was happy to hear it. 

Naomi exclaimed: “On the bright side, I guess the Bloodline continues, baby!” (Some fans decided to chant, “OTC.” Some much smarter fans chanted, “Baby Uso.”) 

Naomi placed the belt down in the ring. She told the heffers in the back they had just over nine months to get ready. She would do whatever it took to get her title back, even if that meant doing it while breastfeeding her baby. She advised them to proceed with caution. 

The crowd cheered as she waved goodbye.

(This was great, and of course, turned Naomi into a big babyface.) 

********

Next week on Raw in Birmingham, UK (start time 3 pm ET/12 pm PT)

  • Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez 
  • Kofi Kingston vs. Penta 

******** 

Backstage, Judgment Day weren’t sure where Dom was, but they bumped into him while he spoke to El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser). Dom told BĂĄlor he just wanted to ensure Judgment Day always stayed on top. 

BĂĄlor acted like he was fine with this, but was clearly caught off guard. (BĂĄlor has been the one pulling the strings for weeks, but this was the first time he seemed like he wasn’t in control of things.) 

******** 

Extreme Rules match: Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker (w/Paul Heyman)

Jey wore a bandana like New Jack and carried a shopping cart full of weapons to ringside. Early in the match, Jey clotheslined Bron over the top, and Bron landed right on top of the cart, which didn’t look fun. Bron stayed down for a while until blocking Jey’s dive attempt by hitting him with a steel chair. (Before this, Jey tossed chairs into the ring one at a time as the fans yelled “Yeet.”) 

Bron cut off Jey’s comeback attempt and dropped him gut-first onto the top edge of two steel chairs. Bron did his usual leaping clothesline off the apron, but used a trash can this time to send Jey over the announce desk. During a break, Jey gave Bron a back body drop through the thin piece of cardboard that covers the announce desk. 

Bron hit a Frankensteiner and went for a super spear, but Jey cut him off with a spear of his own for a nearfall. Jey hit him repeatedly with a steel chair before hitting another spear. Jey hit an Uso splash, seemingly for the win, but Bronson Reed pulled the referee out of the ring. 

Reed attacked Jey as Cole said this was all legal. You could question why Reed wasn’t out there from the beginning, but to answer that question, Knight ran out to even the odds. Rollins ran out through the crowd to attack Knight. Rollins laid out Jey with a pedigree, and Punk entered next. 

Rollins slipped in the ring to escape Punk, but wound up getting attacked by both Knight and Punk. Punk set up Rollins for a GTS, but Rollins slipped out and shoved Punk into Knight. Knight fell off the apron and crashed through a table. Punk shrugged his shoulders and chased Rollins through the crowd. 

Bron set up a table in the corner, but Jey superkicked him onto the table. Jey went to the top, but Reed shoved him off. The crowd chanted for Roman Reigns, knowing he was advertised for the show. Sure enough, as Bron set up for a super spear, Reigns’ music hit. 

Bron hesitated while he watched the stage. Reigns didn’t show, so Bron went for the spear, but Reigns appeared at ringside and cut him off with a spear. Reigns also speared Reed. 

Jey superkicked Bron onto the table and hit an Uso splash for the pinfall win. The crowd was happy. 

— As Jey posed for the crowd, Reigns told Reed he would see him in Paris. Reed was on board.

Match result: Jey Uso defeated Bron Breakker in an Extreme Rules match (20:26) 

This was basically a WWE main event match in a nutshell. Pretty good action, tons of interference, stars interrupting to their music. The crowd ate it up, and they were way, way, way more into this than anything else on the show, aside from Naomi’s announcement.

WOR: UFC deal, Hogan, Kross, WWE vs. AEW, RAW

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about as we discuss the new UFC deal, ESPN and FOX also doing a bundle merger, updates on Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan and Karrion Kross, more WWE vs. AEW head-to-head battles, TripleMania, ratings, RAW report with some horrible finishes, and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:
Start: TKO signs new Paramount deal for UFC
17:48: Hulk Hogan’s birthday, WWE’s version of history vs. reality
25:17: Bret Hart unhappy about SummerSlam incident, Karrion Kross update
30:04: WWE adding Cena vs. Lesnar PLE same day as AEW All Out, AEW going head-to-head with NXT in October
38:29: AAA Triplemania lineup
45:02: Ratings
46:16: Naomi not medically cleared to compete, Raw recap

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WWE Raw live results: CM Punk appears in Quebec City

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: August 11, 2025
Location: Centre Videotron in Quebec City, QC 

The Big Takeaway —

Raw’s main event ended in a DQ/no contest for the fourth week in a row when Seth Rollins attacked CM Punk. The result led to Adam Pearce announcing that Rollins would defend his world title at Clash in Paris in a four-way against Punk, LA Knight and Jey Uso. 

Sami Zayn might have been in the title picture, but he failed to beat Rusev after Solo Sikoa and the MFTs interrupted that match—also leading to a DQ. 

Naomi did not appear, and there was no update on her status. Iyo Sky lost to Roxanne Perez after some failed assistance from Asuka and Kairi Sane. Asuka appears to be turning sooner rather than later.

**********

Show Recap — 

There was a long, dramatic recap of last week’s Raw. 

Michael Cole informed the live and TV audience that Naomi was not medically cleared to compete and, therefore, would not be defending her title tonight. 

CM Punk and LA Knight segment

Quebec City is red-hot, and CM Punk entered to a big ovation. 

Punk said the fans made it hard for him to stay angry, but he was angry because he should be standing there representing them as champion. He wasn’t, though, because he had a Seth Rollins problem. Rollins was a visionary who couldn’t see what was right in front of his face. He was trying to be CM Punk, but was failing miserably. 

Punk climbed to the top of the mountain at SummerSlam and became the champion for the first time in 12 years “in this company.” He couldn’t help but feel he let the fans down because he wasn’t the champion anymore. However, if he was obsessed about becoming champ before, he was even more possessed now. 

Punk knew to hate the game and not the player. He’s cashed in Money in the Bank multiple times before, but boy, did he hate Rollins. Rollins pretended to be Punk and pretended to be injured so he could cash in when the time was right. Punk promised to regain the title. Rollins wouldn’t have to pretend to be injured because Punk would break his legs. 

LA Knight interrupted to a big reaction. They shook hands. Knight said Punk was robbed at SummerSlam and deserved to have his rematch. (Punk responded, “Yeah!”) However, Knight had his title match against Rollins last week, and Punk couldn’t help but get involved and get him disqualified. Wrong place, wrong time. 

Knight said he didn’t have a problem with Punk and would like to keep it that way. If Punk wanted Rollins, he should do it on his own time. Punk could get his rematch—after Knight got his. 

Punk said Knight should be thanking him. Knight wasn’t about to become champion after getting his head stomped in. Punk called himself the number one contender and told Knight to get behind him in line. 

Knight recalled Punk saying there were levels to this, and Punk was not on his level. Knight wanted a favour from Punk. Knight suggested he take the title from Rollins first, then Punk could be his first successful title defence. 

Punk called himself the best in the world. They seemed to be spinning their wheels at this point and repeating themselves when Paul Heyman interrupted with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed (carrying two pairs of Roman Reigns’ shoes around his neck). 

Heyman spoke a couple of words in French before admitting that’s all the French he knew. The crowd yelled obscenities at him in French. Heyman advised Knight not to do any favours for Punk. 

Heyman rambled until Punk cut him off and invited the Bron-Brons into the ring. Heyman was on board and agreed: Punk and Knight against Breakker and Reed tonight. 

Knight didn’t initially accept (likely because he wanted Rollins instead), but Punk cut him off and said they accepted. Knight made it clear Punk didn’t speak for him, but he accepted. (They argued as the segment ended.) 

When it seemed like the segment was done, Breakker made his way down the aisle but was held back by Reed. Bron told Punk, “You’re 47! What are you gonna do?” and added, “You’re both 100 years old combined!” Reed and Heyman convinced Breakker to back off.

(This segment was ok. Punk and Knight are both good speakers, but their interaction felt forced. Punk’s initial promo wasn’t his best, either. After all their talking, the highlight of the segment was Breakker at the very end.) 

********

Dominik entered the Judgment Day clubhouse with El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser). Raquel Rodriguez didn’t like him being there. Finn Bálor pulled Dom aside and reiterated that they didn’t really want him there. Dom said it was cool because Americano was joining him at Triplemanía. Bálor was on board because Americano could help Dom bring the AAA Mega Championship to the Judgment Day. 

The announcers plugged TriplemanĂ­a during entrances for the next match. 

AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio & El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser)

Dragon Lee wiped out Americano with a dive before the match began, and they gave the babyfaces the edge until they went to break, when the heels took over. Lee made a hot tag after the break, but the heels got the advantage again. This led to a second break just nine minutes into the match. (Dom wrestled for a few moments while wearing a mask.) 

Americano ripped at Lee’s mask during a break and actually exposed a decent amount of his face. The match slowed until it was time to return from break, when Lee hit Americano with a double foot stomp. Dom yanked Styles off the apron to prevent a tag, but Styles chased him around ringside and tackled him over the barricade. 

Styles made a hot tag and hit Americano with a fireman’s carry neckbreaker, but Dom broke up a cover. Lee monkey flipped Dom into a Styles Clash, which was a cool spot. However, Americano shoved Lee off the top rope, so Styles gave him a reverse DDT. 

Americano tried placing a steel plate under his mask, but Styles hit an enziguri. The plate dropped into the hands of Dom, who put his mask on and placed the plate inside. As Styles came off the rope, Dom headbutted him, and Americano caught Styles in a schoolboy for the pinfall win. 

Match result: El Grande Americano & Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio defeated AJ Styles & Dragon Lee (16:38) 

********

Earlier today, Sami Zayn (wearing a Quebec Remparts jersey) asked Adam Pearce if he had decided on a world title match at Clash in Paris. Zayn desperately wanted the match. Pearce said he couldn’t make any promises. He told Zayn to focus on Rusev, then they could talk about it. 

Sheamus entered. Pearce didn’t want him going after Rusev again. Sheamus wasn’t about to listen to Pearce, but Zayn asked him sincerely to stay out of it. Sheamus agreed, but said he would go after Rusev the second their match was over. 

*******

Iyo Sky lamented to Pearce about not getting a title match (now that Naomi is hurt). Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez showed up to mock her. Sky said she came to Quebec to fight, so she challenged Perez. Pearce made it official. 

There was a graphic highlighting some wrestlers who came out of Quebec: Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, The Quebecers, Pat Patterson, Stan Stasiak, Rick Martel, and more.

******** 

Sami Zayn vs. Rusev

They took turns posing for the Quebec fans as the match began, and you can guess the reactions. Zayn hit an Arabian press to the outside, and the crowd popped, but Rusev cut him off with a uranage. During a break, the crowd yelled obscenities at Rusev. He posed again for the crowd and got way more heat this time, the most he’s received since returning. 

Zayn made a comeback after the break and hit a tornado DDT as the fans rose to their feet. Zayn went for a Helluva Kick, but Rusev cut him off with a Machka Kick for two. Zayn avoided an Accolade and applied a schoolboy for two. Rusev avoided an exploder and hit Zayn with ten beats of the BodhrĂĄn (to piss off Sheamus). 

Rusev stalled for too long, so Zayn hit an exploder in the corner. The camera zoomed way in on Zayn as he set up for a Helluva Kick, so you knew something was happening. 

Zayn was pulled out of the ring by Solo Sikoa’s MFTs for the disqualification. Tala Tonga booted Zayn as officials ran down to chase them away. The crowd booed this, of course. 

— The booing didn’t last long, because Sheamus appeared through the crowd and hit Rusev with a knee strike. Sheamus tossed a security guard over the announce desk. Sheamus and Rusev brawled through the crowd as the segment ended. 

During a break, Zayn got to his feet and went to the stage as the crowd chanted, “OlĂŠ.” 

(There was a funny, perhaps unplanned moment, where the security guard that Sheamus assaulted was in visible pain between Cole and Corey Graves at the announce desk.) 

Match result: Sami Zayn defeated Rusev via disqualification (9:49)

This was good enough while it lasted, thanks mostly to the crowd. They would’ve exploded if Zayn got a simple win here, but alas, they went with this finish instead. Cole mentioned that Zayn might’ve gotten closer to a title match with a win.  

********

After a break, Sikoa and his crew were kicked out of the arena. Pearce was pissed as he spoke with Nick Aldis on the phone. A referee interrupted to tell Pearce that they had separated Sheamus and Rusev. Pearce screamed at him to go make sure. 

The New Day and Grayson Waller approached Pearce next to complain about Penta. Pearce was steaming and put Xavier Woods in a match against Penta next week. 

*******

There was a video package for Bronson Reed, where he spoke about Reigns. He planned on adding to his shoe collection until Reigns acknowledged him as his Tribal Thief. 

Asuka and Kairi Sane offered to be at ringside for Sky’s upcoming match. Sky appreciated it, but she’s beaten Perez before, so she declined. They all embraced, but Asuka seemed put off slightly by Sky turning them down. 

IYO SKY vs. Roxanne Perez (w/Raquel Rodriguez)

Sky was in complete control and wiped out both Perez and Rodriguez with a suicide dive. It was weird because Perez just popped up and attacked Sky from behind to get the heat. Perhaps Sky was only supposed to hit Rodriguez on the dive, but she definitely got them both. I guess Perez knew they were going to break, and it was time to get heat. 

Sky made her comeback after the break, hitting strikes, a dropkick, enziguri, a missile dropkick, and bullet train (running double knee strike in the corner) for a nearfall. 

Perez knocked Sky off the top rope and brought her down with a hurricanrana. Perez clonked Sky with a knee drop (and you could hear the impact) for two. The referee was distracted by Rodriguez, so Perez poked Sky in the eyes and hit a shining wizard for two. Perez put Sky in a crossface, but Sky eventually slipped out and hit a backbreaker for two. 

Sky hit an Asai moonsault to take out both Perez and Rodriguez. Sky went for a moonsault in the ring, but Perez got her knees up. At least that was the plan. Sky didn’t land in position, so she landed knees-first on Perez anyway. They both stayed down. 

As Rodriguez distracted the ref again, Asuka and Sane ran down to go after Perez. Perez escaped, and Sky almost hit her friends by mistake. Perez shoved Sky into Asuka/Sane and rolled her up while holding the tights for the pinfall win. 

Sky was upset as she looked down at her friends at ringside. 

Match result: Roxanne Perez defeated IYO SKY (15:39)

This was a very good match until the clunky finish. The crowd was into Sky.

********

Jackie Redmond interviewed Jey Uso. He said it hurt him to miss Raw last week and hurt him to see what happened to Reigns. He missed Raw because he had family business to take care of. Jey put Rollins and the Brons on notice. 

Knight interrupted. He noted people thought Jey was conspicuous by his absence last week. (He claimed this is what people thought, but not him.) Knight told him that the line started behind him regarding the world title. Jey offered to put Knight at the back of the line. Jey welcomed him to Raw. 

********

Byron Saxton interviewed Penta during a break. He said Woods’ hat looked better on him, and New Day sucks. 

An upset Iyo Sky confronted Asuka in the back as Sane tried to settle them down. Sky blamed Asuka for the loss. Asuka shoved Sky and took off. Sky was shocked. Sane was upset, but she followed Asuka. 

******** 

Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Maxxine Dupri (w/Natalya & Akira Tozawa)

Lynch mocked Dupri and told her to get out of her ring. Dupri acted like she might, but gave Lynch an arm drag. Lynch took over anyway and hit multiple suplexes, but Dupri countered a Man-handle slam into a stunner. 

Dupri applied an ankle lock, but Lynch rolled out of it. That led to Dupri doing an oddly timed cartwheel before booting Lynch in the corner. Dupri hit a flying crossbody for two. Dupri hit a spin kick, although it didn’t look good. 

They traded cradles, and Lynch tried stealing a win by grabbing the bottom rope, but the referee caught her. Lynch applied a Disarmer moments later, and Dupri quickly tapped out. 

— Lynch booted Natalya as she checked on Dupri after the match. 

Match result: Becky Lynch defeated Maxxine Dupri to retain the Women’s Intercontinental Championship (5:38)

Dupri has improved, but this was nothing. 

*******

Seth Rollins met with his crew backstage. He was in a good mood because he thought he’d have to deal with Punk and Knight tonight, but they had to deal with the Brons instead. (Not sure why they can’t go after Rollins, too. People run into each other backstage all the time.) 

Rollins figured his job was done, so he left for his personal jet. (He doesn’t hang with the Brons outside of this show because he said he would see them next week, but would see Heyman on the jet.) 

********

New Day cut a promo with Waller on the stage. Kofi Kingston claimed Quebec wasn’t really Canada, and Woods (wearing a tiny hat this week) said he would beat Penta next week. 

Bayley segment 

There was a video feature on Bayley, who seems to be having an existential crisis. I thought this was really good until the very end. 

She said she’s been doing this a long time. She wanted more but felt less. She felt nothing. She was called a role model before she ever called herself one. She wanted to be that person people looked up to. But now she was here—by herself. Everything that led up to now has gotten her nowhere. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt proud of herself. It was her own fault. 

The camera went out of focus, and she acted like she had a headache. The screen went black, and you could hear her heel cackle. 

(I think they should have aired this same feature without the last part. They want to tease a heel turn, but laid on it on too thick with that bit.) 

— Redmond interviewed Lyra Valkyria about the video. Valkyria hoped Bayley was ok. She had no idea what was going on with Bayley and said she wouldn’t have known because Bayley shut her out. Valkyria was struggling with how to react to this, but she said Bayley was the reason she couldn’t challenge for the IC title anymore. Valkyria said this wasn’t her fault, and Bayley was on her own. 

********

Stephanie Vaquer approached Sky backstage. She said, “You’re not the only one who was promised a title match.” She left. 

Rhea Ripley approached Sky next. Ripley got a huge pop. Ripley tried reasoning with Sky and asked if she could trust Asuka and Sane. Sky didn’t want to hear that and told her to stay out of it. (Ripley was being sincere and seemed upset that Sky was upset.) 

********

CM Punk & LA Knight vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed (w/Paul Heyman) 

The babyfaces were in control until the Brons used a distraction to take over during a break. Knight came back after the break, but Breakker knocked him over the announce desk with a leaping clothesline off the apron to lead to the second break nine minutes into the match. (I refer to this pattern dismissively every week, but the match has been enjoyable so far with the teams doing simple heel and babyface stuff to work the crowd.) 

Knight began crawling for a hot tag as Breakker stalked around the ring to go after Punk. Punk saw it coming, so Breakker backed off, but that meant Knight couldn’t make a tag. The Brons gave Knight a Steinerizer, but Punk broke up the cover. 

Punk made the hot tag and hit Breakker with a boot, clothesline, leg lariat, vertical suplex, and lifting knee strikes. Reed was about to go after Punk, but Knight intercepted him with a baseball slide. 

Punk hit Breakker with a flying (falling) elbow drop as the crowd got to their feet. Punk called for GTS, but of course, Rollins attacked him for the DQ.  

— The heels attacked until Jey Uso entered to his music. He attacked Breakker in the aisle with a chair. Rollins bailed before Reed swatted the chair away from Jey. Jey fought him off anyway and knocked him out of the ring with the chair. Jey stood tall with Punk and Knight in the ring. 

Pearce entered. He told Rollins he would have to defend the world title at Clash in Paris against Jey Uso, Knight and Punk in a fatal four-way. Rollins was not happy. 

Punk was so happy he celebrated by shaking the ropes like Ultimate Warrior. Knight was less enthused and argued with Punk. Knight shoved Punk, so Punk tackled him. They brawled until Jey pulled Knight off Punk, so Knight gave Jey a back elbow. (Jey did not try to retaliate.) 

Punk set up Knight for GTS, but was speared by Breakker. Rollins and his crew beat up the stupid babyfaces. Breakker ran around the ring and speared Knight. Reed gave Jey a DVD and Tsunami. Rollins stomped Knight as he re-entered the ring, and stomped Jey. 

The Brons held down Punk as Rollins taunted him. Rollins stomped Punk and held his title belt up high. 

Match result: CM Punk & LA Knight defeated Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed via disqualification (16:22) 

This was the fourth Raw show in a row where the main event ended in a DQ or no contest. The last Raw show to end with a decisive winner was July 14th, when Punk won the gauntlet match. 

The babyfaces looked like idiots getting beaten up by Rollins and friends.

Roman Reigns confirmed for upcoming WWE appearance

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Roman Reigns was left laying at the end of Raw earlier this week, but it won’t be long until he makes his next WWE appearance.

It’s been confirmed that Reigns will appear on the Monday, August 18 episode of Raw in Philadelphia. The Wells Fargo Center sent out an announcement on social media today revealing the news.

Reigns & Jey Uso defeated Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker in a tag match at SummerSlam last weekend. It didn’t take long for The Vision to get their revenge, though, with Seth Rollins, Reed & Breakker demolishing Reigns, CM Punk & LA Knight at the end of Monday’s post-SummerSlam edition of Raw.

The angle led to speculation that Reigns was being written off to go film his role in the upcoming live-action “Street Fighter” movie, where he will be playing the character Akuma. But PWInsider reports that Reigns is not slated to begin filming until September. He is scheduled to be on set from September 2 through September 26.

Next Monday (August 11), WWE will be in Quebec City, Canada for Raw. Reigns is not advertised for that show.

WOL: Lance on Brock, Raw after SummerSlam, news!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm returns with tons to talk about including the return of Brock Lesnar and an aspect that hasn’t been talked about much, the RAW after SummerSlam, G-1 update, all of the news and more. A packed show as always so check it out~!

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WWE Raw live results: The aftermath from SummerSlam

Posted on by Jeff Moss

After a newsworthy weekend at WWE SummerSlam that included the return of Brock Lesnar, WWE returns with the fallout edition of Raw from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

New WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins will appear after cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase and defeating CM Punk who had just defeated Gunther to win the title. Raw GW Adam Pearce isn’t thrilled with Rollins faking his injury and will have a “stiff conversation” with the new champion.

After defeating rival Lyra Valkyria to retain the WWE Women’s Intercontinental title, Becky Lynch will be in Brooklyn to address her adoring fans.

The next chapter in the hard-hitting rivalry between Sheamus and Rusev will unfold with another match.

New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss will be on hand after their title win this past Saturday over Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez.

Our live coverage begins at 8 PM Eastern.

**********

Here we are, friends. After a… complicated, SummerSlam, WWE is back on the air with Monday Night Raw.

Let me address the diverticulitis-riddled elephant in the room right away. This is a recap column, so I’ll be sticking to the show. There are aspects and opinions of SummerSlam that I’m sure you’ve read a whole bunch about and ones that I feel very conflicted about. But, we’re gonna leave that to the pundits tonight and try to have some fun and focus on the show and the storylines coming out of Metlife Stadium. The rest will still be there Tuesday morning.

So with that said, it’s Monday and like my sushi dinner, it’s RAW!

-The show kicked off with a SummerSlam highlight reel, bringing everyone up to speed with the all the winners and losers of the event along with the headlines the show made. Then, the traditional Wrestlers Arriving To Work montage aired, showing Alexa Bliss, Charlotte and Naomi arriving to the venue.

-Then we were kindly asked to BURN IT DOWN as the newly crowned World Heavyweight Champion, and Talking Heads-style suit enthusiast Seth Rollins his way to the ring, entourage in tow. The Oracle, Paul Heyman (at least I think that’s what he said his name was) addressed the crowd first.

Heyman bigged up Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed before slagging Roman Reigns and CM Punk as has-beens. He then introduced the reigning, defending, undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, Seth “Freakin'” Rollins!

Seth took the mic and said “Shame on you, Brooklyn.” He said shame on everyone who didn’t believe in him and taunted him with chants of “OTC.” He told the crowd to never doubt him again. He told the locker room, shame on them for trying to stop his cash-in and hold him back.

Rollins reminded everyone that he always has a Plan B and the only ones who knew about this one (presumably his faked injury) were his wife and his Oracle. Rollins now has “absolute power” and this is the beginning of his Vision.

Suddenly, LA Knight appeared and made his way to the ring, mic in hand. Knight congratulated Rollins on his title win and said he wasn’t looking for a fight. He just had some questions. Knight pointed out that Rollins already had the MITB briefcase, so he didn’t need to fake an injury. Knight said that the only reason Rollins faked an injury was to get out of taking a beating by him at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

So, Knight said that since he was the last one to beat Rollins, so he should be the next one to beat him. Right here, right now. Rollins declined the challenge and went to leave the ring, but suddenly it was Adam Pierce’s turn to talk.

Pierce was pretty mad that Rollins had lied to everyone about his injury, so he made the match. Tonight, on RAW, in Brooklyn, Seth Rollins will defend his World Heavyweight Title against LA Knight. The icing on the cake was that Pierce also banned Breakker and Reed from ringside.

-Backstage, the Judgement Day was walking around and ran into the LWO. Domminck Mysterio claimed that he is the king of the Lucha Libres. Dragon Lee took exception to that and challenged him to a match. Dom accepted and the LWO left, clearing the way for AJ Styles to show up. He told Dom he didn’t appreciate the tricks at SummerSlam and he’s still coming for the Intercontinental Title.

Rusev vs Sheamus

With all that out of the way, Rusev stomped his way to the ring to take on Sheamus in the latest of their series of bangers. This was a very exciting development for the former League of Nations members and the crowd alike.

Also, the cast of the Netflix show Wednesday were shown in the crowd. SYNERGY. Joe Budden was also there.

Sheamus ran straight to the ring and into the flying fists of Rusev as the match began. The two traded punches until Sheamus laid out Rusev with a big lariat. Sheamus sent Rusev over the top rope, but when he followed Rusev got the drop on him and sent him into the barrier.

Back in the ring, Rusev hit a big suplex and drove Sheamus into the mat. The two went back to punch-based strategies and hammered on each other from the mat to the top turnbuckle. Sheamus got Rusev up on his shoulders and hit a White Noise from the top turnbuckle.

During the commercial break, Rusev fought back and took control of the match, setting a sleeper on Sheamus. He followed that up with some kicks to the chest. Sheamus asked for more, seemingly nourished by Rusev’s hatred. He leapt up and hit an Irish Curse backbreaker on Rusev.

Sheamus went for a Brogue Kick, but Rusev ducked it and Sheamus kicked the ropes. Rusev bonked his head off the ringpost, sending him to the outside. Rusev went after Sheamus, but Sheamus caught him and slammed him on the announce table. Rusev responded by sending Sheamus into the steel steps. Rusev then dragged him onto the barricade, chopping Sheamus. The crowd didn’t like it, but Sheamus reversed it, and began pounding on Rusev.

Then, the referee remembered that he was supposed to be doing something and counted both men out.

Match Result: Rusev vs Sheamus went to a no-contest double countout.

After the match, the two continued brawling at ringside. Security flooded the area but as always were woefully bad at their jobs and Sheamus and Rusev continued fighting as the scene switched to pre-taped footage of the New Day back stage in some truly ridiculous hats. I mean, who wants to watch the brawl, right? Hats!!!

Any way, Grayson Waller joined them, promising to get New Day a rematch for their lost titles. He stomped over to Adam Pierce who was chatting with Penta. Pierce, in a foul mood after Waller called him “baldy”, made a match: Penta vs Grayson Waller and since that was all taped earlier, that match happened now!

Penta vs Grayson Waller

The match kicked off with Waller reluctant to engage with Penta. When they did get things going, Waller shimmied out of a waistlock and the two traded headlocks. Penta deked out Waller by slowing things down and then bursting into a headscissor that sent Waller out of the ring.

Suddenly, the Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, The New Day, came out complete with hats. That caused enough of a distraction for Waller to take over, sending Penta onto the announce table. Corey Graves invited the New Day to join the commentary team and Kingston called out Micheal Cole for talking trash about them.

In the ring, a match was happening, and Penta got a two-count off of a rollup. Kingston said that the New Day were taking Waller under their wing. Penta took Waller under his open hand and chopped him in the corner. The New Day discussed their grieving process while Waller held Penta in a modified headlock.

Back from commercial, Waller delivered some high knees to Penta, but Penta fought back with a bulldog and backbreaker. He then stomped Waller in the corner, until Waller delivered a hard left to the face resulting in a two-count. Waller climbed the second rope to drop an elbow, but Penta dodged it and delivered a superkick. Waller came back with a high knee and the two wrapped each other up in a double lariat.

Penta hit a superkick and a big Mexican Destroyer and pinned Waller getting the victory and giving New Day one more thing to mourn.

Match Result: Penta defeated Grayson Waller

New Day climbed into the ring and Kingston got in the face of Penta. Penta sent Kingston and Woods packing, then threw Woods comically large hat at them before flying over the top rope and taking both men out.

-Next, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair were shown taking a walk in the back, but they were interrupted by Sheamus and Rusev who were apparently still fighting. The Security team chased after them as Sheamus through Rusev into a stack of clanky pipes. Again, no one really wanted to see them brawl, so a clip from Flair’s episode of Unreal on Netflix aired instead.

-Back out front, WWE Women’s World Champion Naomi came out to address the crowd. She ran down New Jersey, saying that she assumed Brooklyn would be better. But, in fact, it’s worse. Too much trash and construction in Brooklyn for Naomi. She said the crowd deserved to move to Florida, which frankly is a pretty mean thing to say.

Naomi said that next on her list was “Stephanie Velcro” but the show then came back from commercial, cutting Naomi off entirely for a recap of the aftermath of the John Cena vs Cody Rhodes match. So we can assume that Naomi was talking about Stephanie Vaquer and I guess she wants to fight her?

-As if none of that ever happened, the show came back and Micheal Cole said that he asked Triple H and Nick Khan about when they decided to bring back Brock Lesnar. They also said that John Cena would be on Smackdown to address Lesnar’s return. Then they tee’d up the Rollins vs Knight match later to come.

Is someone asleep at the switch tonight? The last 15 minutes were complete gibberish. And I’m a man who enjoys a good amount of gibberish.

-WWE Women’s World Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss came down to the ring next to address the crowd. Flair thanked the crowd for her first “you deserve it” chant and admitted that it felt good to do something as a “we.” Bliss urged her to admit they were friends, but Flair stopped short. The two debated how many times each has bean a champion until Judgement Day’s music hit.

Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez stomped down to the ring and said no one cares about friendship because the only thing that matters is bringing gold back to Judgement Day. Roxanne said “we know we don’t get a rematch but we didn’t come down here to not take those titles back.” Flair responded by saying they could have a rematch right here, right now.

Suddenly, Ol’ Baldy, Adam Pierce came out and said that the match would start right here, right now. Which was what Flair just said, but glad to have confirmation.

WWE Women’s World Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez

Now, according to my little countdown in the corner of the Netflix screen, the introductions were done and the match started during a commercial break. The bell rang with a minute left in the countdown, with Bliss and Rodriguez facing off to get things started.

Back from commercial, Bliss was on Rodriguez’ back and was quickly thrown off. She dragged Bliss to the corner and tagged in Perez. A much more even match, Bliss and Perez fought in and out of the corners with Bliss delivering a headscissors to Perez before tagging in Flair.

Flair knocked Perez back to her corner where Rodriguez tagged in. She sent Flair to the mat with a shoulder and bounced her head off the top turnbuckle. Rodriguez isolated Flair in the corner and tagged in Perez. Flair dodged her and Rodriguez held Flair’s ankle so Perez could dive between the ropes and send her to the outside.

Back in the ring, Perez stomped a proverbial mudhole in Flair before tagging in Rodriguez. Flair fought back, tagging in Bliss. The two delivered stereo bulldogs and Bliss and Rodriguez fought with Bliss sending the taller woman to the floor. She tried a cannonball, but Rodriguez caught her and slammed Bliss on the barricade.

Into commercial, in a Diva’s Era throwback, Rodriguez held Bliss’ hair and forced Flair to watch as she beat her up. Perez tagged in and choked Bliss with the ring rope. Bliss tried to get a tag to Flair, but Perez cut her off. Rodriguez and Perez took turns throwing Bliss around and Rodriguez snuck an elbow to Flair’s head in the corner.

Back from commercial, Bliss tried again to get the hot tag to Flair, but Rodriguez cut her off. Bliss hit a DDT and finally got the Tag, bringing Flair in off the top rope to take out Perez and Rodriguez. Flair hit a lariat on Rodriguez and used Perez as a weapon, throwing her at her prone partner.

Flair went up for a moonsault and landed it on both, but only got a two count on Rodriguez. Perez caused a distraction so Rodriguez could deliver a big boot to Flair. Perez charged Flair in the corner, but Flair was able to dodge and send Perez into the turnbuckle. They both climbed to the top rope and Perez hit a hurricanrana. Rodriguez tagged in for a hurricane elbow but Bliss broke up the count.

Flair sent Perez out and hit a big boot to send Rodriguez out of the ring too. Bliss tagged in and intercepted Perez for a Sister Abigail. Perez went down and Bliss got the pin, retaining the titles for her and Flair.

Match Result: Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair defeated Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez

-Backstage, IYO SKY and the Kabuki Warriors were hanging out, doing stuff they do, when IYO was approached by Rhea Ripley. Ripley said that she knows IYO asked for a one-on-one rematch against Naomi. Rhea said that she wants IYO to win so that she can beat her for the title. IYO grabbed her arm and lovingly said that she was never going to beat her. The two smiled and that was it.

WWE Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio vs Dragon Lee

Mysterio came down to the ring and the show went to commercial.

Back from break, Micheal Cole said that next year’s SummerSlam in Minneapolis is sure to be “fire” which aged me about 7 years.

Then, Backstage, Bayley went looking for Lyra Valkyria. Bayley tried to apologize for costing her the Intercontinental title at SummerSlam. Valkyria said that Bayle should just stay the hell ouf her life.

Then, the bell rang and the match was on. Lee wasted no time in sending Mysterio to the outside, dragging him back in and pummeling him in the corner. Lee chopped him in the corner, but Mysterio racked Lee’s throat on the ropes, sending him outside.

Mysterio chopped Lee against the ring apron (the choppiest part of the ring!) and sent him back in. Mysterio called for a 619, but Lee dropped out and laid some quick kicks into Mysterio’s face. Mysterio then hit a DDT on the ring apron (the DDT-est part of the ring) as the show went to commercial.

During the break, Mysterio mugged for the crowd and threw punches at Lee on the mat. He then tried to tie the ribbons from Lee’s mask to the bottom rope. His real father never taught him how to tie knots though, so Mysterio abandoned the effort for a headlock instead. Lee fought back, but Mysterio hit a Michinoku Driver as the break ended.

Lee fought back, hitting a dragon kick in the corner. Lee removed his elbow pad to try for a cover, but only got a two-count. Mysterio tried walking the ropes, but Lee countered with a sit-out powerbomb. Mysterio set Lee on the top rope, but slipped, giving Lee the chance to stomp him.

Suddenly, Grande Americano appeared. Then, ANOTHER Grande Americano appeared. Then a THIRD Grande Americano. That was enough of a distraction for Mysterio to get a shot from behind in on Lee and pick up the pin and victory.

Match Result: Dominik Mysterio defeated Dragon Lee

After the match, AJ Styles came out to beat up Mysterio, but Mysterio bolted and Lee and Styles shook hands in the ring, exchanging “can you believe that guy?” looks.

-Backstage, Sami Zayn was interviewed about his match against Karrion Cross at SummerSlam. Zayn rejected a steel pipe in the match, but admitted wanting to use it. In the end though, it’s just not who he is. Zayn wants to be a world champion and he wants to do it right.

Suddenly, Sheamus and Rusev appeared, still brawling and still not being stopped by security. Zayn got caught up in the middle, but WWE said who cares? and switched to footage of Becky Lynch entering the building.

I know that this is supposed to be a funny running bit with Sheamus and Rusev, but really all it’s doing is showing that WWE has terrible security. Also, wouldn’t we, the viewers, be interested in the never ending brawl? Just sayin’.

-Back from break and an inconsequential interview by Byron Saxon of the Judgement Day, Method Man was shown in the audience. This was by far the high part of the episode for me. Dave East was also there along with Da’Vinchii and Adam Blackstone. I am not cool enough to know who the last two are, but they looked nice.

-Becky Lynch’s music hit and the Women’s Intercontinental Champion made her way to the ring in the track suit version of her husband’s suit. Lynch grabbed a mic and said that she plans on being champion for a very long time, much to Lyra Valkyria’s dismay. Suddenly, the music of one Nikki Bella hit and the Hall of Famer made her way to the ring.

Bella said that she was able to take a step away from WWE because stars like Lynch could hold things together. But Lynch became a disappointment to Bella. She’s not the leader she had hoped Lynch would grow into. The two traded jabs about their IMDB listings, with Lynch mocking Bella for having her role cut from Happy Gilmore 2. Now streaming on Netflix. SYNERGY.

Bella called Lynch a liar just like her husband and said she sees right through her. Lynch turned that around into a shot about Bella and John Cena’s failed relationship, which was quite clever if I do say so. Bella said that this isn’t Lynch’s era, so she should put the Intercontinental title on the line in a match against her.

Lynch said that the reason she and Bella never went one on one was– and then she sucker punched her in the face and ran for the ring.

-Backstage, Byron Saxon interviewed Women’s World Champion, Naomi. He asked her how she feels about her SummerSlam win, and she said “great.” She also mentioned that next week on RAW, she would defend against IYO SKY. Stephanie Vaquer wandered by and said that she would beat Naomi or SKY in Paris. Even though no one asked her.

-Next in BREAKING NEWS, Cole announced that GUNTHER would be out of action indefinitely because of a nose injury suffered at SummerSlam.

Also, that Cody Rhodes would be on Smackdown this Friday. Which is good, because that’s kinda his job.

Also, Also, as a result of the never ending brawl, Rusev and Sami Zayn will go one-on-one. I guess Zayn blamed Rusev more than Sheamus.

-Back from break, Backy Lynch was confronted backstage by Natalya. She was real mad about the way Lynch treated Bella and challenged her to a match. Lynch accepted, but not to face Natalya. She said that Maxxine Dupri, who was also there, could have the match and then walked away.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs LA Knight

Alicia Taylor gave everyone their official intros and the Main Event of the evening was on. Knight laid out Rollins with a right hand off the bell and stomped him into the corner. Rollins swung back and Knight caught him with a suplex followed by a neckbreaker.

Rollins charged Knight who sent him over the top rope to the outside. Rollins staggered away, using Heyman as a human shield to lure Knight outside. Knight slid through the ring and bounced Rollins head off the announce table. Rollins responded by sending Knight into the barricade, hitting a big stomp to the back of Knights head.

Off to commercial, and in the ring Rollins stomped Knight and called for Heyman to hand him the belt. Rollins posed with it and then whipped Knight into the turnbuckles. Knight tried to climb out, but Rollins caught him and sent his face back into the turnbuckle. Rollins hung up Knight with the second rope as the show ticked back out of break.

Rollins chopped Knight in the corner, but that seemed to ignite his second wind and Knight fought back and backdropped Rollins in the middle of the ring. Rollins tried going up top,but Knight raced up there too and hit a superplex for a two count.

The two got to their feet and traded punches until Knight laid out Rollins with a lariat followed by a side Russian leg sweep and a neckbreaker. It wasn’t enough to put Rollins down though and he hit a jawbreaker. Knight didn’t get phased though and hit a powerslam and an elbow.

Rollins tried a buckle bomb, but Knight reversed it into a Death Valley Driver. The two men lay in the ring, exhausted. Knight got to his feet first, looking to put Rollins away. Rollins played possum and tried. a curb stomp and a pedigree, but missed both allowing Knight to hit a DDT.

Knight hit his top rope elbow and Rollins bailed out of the ring. Knight sent him into the announce table with a baseball slide. He bounced Rollins’ head off the table and went to pick him up, but Rollins headbutted Knight right in the junk with a low blow. He then tossed Knight into the post and punched him repeatedly before tearing up some of the ringside padding.

Rollins sent Knight into the ringpost again for good measure then dragged him over to the exposed concrete, setting him up for a stomp. But out of the crowd came a wild CM Punk who jumped Rollins and started pounding on him. The ref signalled a DQ and Rollins tried to leave, but Punk followed until Bron Breakker showed up and speared him. Bronson Reed arrived and took out Knight in the ring.

Match Result: LA Knight defeated Seth Rollins via DQ

Breakker speared Knight for good measure and Rollins hit a stomp on Punk, leaving them lying. Reed, Breakker and Rollins exited the ring while Paul Heyman jawed at ringside. The credits appeared and the show seemed over when suddenly…

Roman Reigns’ music hit and the OTC came down and cleaned house, taking out Breakker and Reed. Rollins stood in the ring as Reigns stalked towards him, but bailed as soon as he hit the ring. Breakker tried to get Reigns from behind, but he was intercepted, leaving Reigns open to attack from Reed and a stomp from Rollins.

The three men gave the same treatment to Reigns that they did Knight and Punk, ending with a definitive spear from Breakker and Tsunami from Reed from TWO corners. Adam Pierce hit the ring with various producers (presumably because security was still chasing Rusev and Sheamus around) to break up the beatdown.

The show ended with Rollins and crew standing tall.

Well, that was weird. Not necessarily bad, but definitely a weird show. Maybe I’m just not used to the way WWE produces weekly TV any more, but it felt so fractured. Interviews in the middle of match intros in the middle of commercials. Recaps in the middle of promos in the middle of recaps. It felt like a lot. That said, the action in the ring was fun and most of the stories continued logically from SummerSlam. We’ll get the rest on Friday on Smackdown, so look forward to that.

Thanks for hanging out!

New announcements made for WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has made a couple of announcements for tonight’s SummerSlam fallout edition of Raw.

Raw is taking place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York tonight. It’s been announced that Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss will be on the show, making their first appearance as Women’s Tag Team Champions.

The frenemies team of Charlotte & Bliss won the women’s tag belts from Judgment Day (Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez) at night one of SummerSlam. Charlotte & Bliss are members of the SmackDown roster but can appear on either brand since they’re the women’s tag champs.

Also announced for tonight is an appearance by Becky Lynch, who is still the Women’s Intercontinental Champion after retaining against Lyra Valkyria at SummerSlam night two. An accidental assist from Bayley — who was trying to help Valkyria — led to Lynch winning.

As a stipulation of her loss, Valkyria is unable to challenge for the Women’s Intercontinental title again while Lynch is champion. We’ll see if a new challenger emerges tonight.

Plus, new World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins will appear following his successful Money in the Bank cash-in at SummerSlam. After faking a knee injury for weeks, Rollins reemerged to take the World Heavyweight title from CM Punk just minutes after Punk won the belt from Gunther.

Rollins was a guest on the Rich Eisen Show today, claiming that he fooled the entire world with his knee injury ruse. Raw General Manager Adam Pearce said he plans to have a “very stiff” conversation with Rollins about the phony injury.

Here is the updated lineup for tonight’s episode:

WWE Raw (Monday, August 4) —

  • New World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins appears
  • Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch appears
  • New Women’s Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss appear
  • Sheamus vs. Rusev

WWE announces new Raw & SmackDown show dates

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has announced three new show dates ahead of tickets going on sale this week.

The new dates range from September 19-26 and include two SmackDown episodes and one Raw. Tickets for each event will go on sale to the general public this Friday (August 8) at 10 a.m. local time. Full information can be seen below:

  • Friday, September 19: WWE SmackDown at Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio
  • Monday, September 22: WWE Raw at Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana
  • Friday, September 26: WWE SmackDown at Kia Center in Orlando, Florida

A ticket pre-sale will begin on Ticketmaster this Wednesday (August 6) at 10 a.m. local time with “WWETIX” as the access code.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton, United States Champion Solo Sikoa, Women’s Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, Randy Orton, and LA Knight are among the advertised talent for the two SmackDown episodes.

The Raw episode lists World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, Women’s World Champion Naomi, Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio, Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch, Jey Uso, Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, and Penta as appearing.

WWE also recently announced 11 show dates for September-November, including that John Cena will make his final appearance in Chicago at SmackDown on September 5.