Last night’s Clash in Italy event saw World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns topple Jacob Fatu in Tribal Combat to retain his title.
As a result of his loss on Sunday, Fatu will have to acknowledge Roman Reigns as the Tribal Chief at the Acknowledgement Ceremony on Monday.
Additionally, the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments will begin. Announced already is the men’s quarterfinal four-way with Penta vs. Oba Femi vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Carmelo Hayes.
Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee are also set to face Ethan Page and Rusev in tag team action.
The full lineup for today’s show:
- Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker
- Will Jacob Fatu acknowledge World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns during Acknowledgement Ceremony?
- King of the Ring tournament begins with Penta vs. Oba Femi vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Carmelo Hayes
- Queen of the Ring tournament begins
- Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. Ethan Page & Rusev
Our live coverage begins at 2 p.m. Eastern time.
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– Following the WWE opening signature, we were welcomed live to the broadcast by Michael Cole, who then tossed to a recap of last night’s Clash in Italy PLE.
– As the recap ended, we got the arrival of World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns, flanked by Jey and Jimmy Uso.
The Tribal Chief kicks off Raw
The Turin crowd cheered the arrival of the self-styled OTC, fresh off a Tribal Combat victory last night at this same venue. Commentary discussed whether or not Jacob Fatu would adhere to the Tribal Combat rules and acknowledge Reigns as his Tribal Chief, as well as the M.F.T.s staring down the World Champion at the conclusion of Clash in Italy.
Once Reigns and the Bloodline arrived to the ring and the music died down, the Italian crowd serenaded them with many a chant.
Reigns said he had been waiting for this for a long time, because there was no day quite like Acknowledgement Day. Jey Uso demanded that Jacob Fatu show up this instant because he was late for the ceremony. That cued Fatu himself showing up and taking his time to get to the ring.
Reigns demanded that Fatu get to the acknowledgment already, but Fatu approached Jey Uso and stared him down before Reigns reminded him. Fatu approached Reigns knew what he was getting into when entering Tribal Combat, both what would happen if he won and if he had lost. Fatu acknowledged that he took a loss to Reigns last night and he was a man of his word.
“Last night, I lost to my Tribal Chief… but I didn’t lose to your punk ass, Jey,” said Fatu.
Fatu said he was going to keep it 100 by stating that he acknowedged Roman Reigns. He then kneeled and extended a hand as Reigns took it. “You don’t understand this right now, Jacob, but I love you,” said Reigns.
Jimmy Uso said that this was a warning shot to the locker room that they were the twos, and that the Bloodline were the ones. Everyone in the ring threw up the Ones to the sky as the segment ended.
I don’t think you have to look far to get my thoughts on all of this, namely the fact that WWE going back to the Bloodline well, no matter how illogical it may seem, is starting to turn into their version of WCW milking the nWo cow until it ran dry. This stuff with Roman getting the band back together, so to speak, and the teases of them facing off against the M.F.T..s does not interest me at all. The very confusing heel/face dynamic with Reigns and his family does not help matters at all, either. The crowd cheers Reigns as a conquering hero, but very little has changed with him character-wise, and now he’s back to square one as the gaslighting, bullying Tribal Chief character, but with more aura farming.
Just a total mess, is what I’m getting at here. A rough start for tonight’s show.
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– We learned that an encore presentation of Original El Grande Americano vs. El Grande Americano from Noches de los Grandes on Saturday night would be shown immediately after Raw on Netflix.
King of the Ring First Round Fatal Four-Way: Penta vs. Oba Femi vs. Solo Sikoa (w/ Talla Tonga) vs. Carmelo Hayes
As Femi made his entrance, his four opponents went at him inside the ring, but all got taken down before Femi struck his pose bathed in the light.
Once the bell rang, Sikoa, Hayes, and Penta all tried to team up against Femi, to no avail. Running uppercuts to Hayes and Penta on opposite corners, but Sikoa intercepted him. The right hand from Femi sent Sikoa out of the ring. Meanwhile, Penta and Hayes fought inside the ring. Penta Driver attempt countered by Hayes, who turned it into the no-look fadeaway legdrop soon after. Near-fall as Penta kicked out.
Penta’s superkick was met in kind with a Hayes superkick, but the leaping springboard clothesline was intercepted by a Penta superkick. Outside the ring, Talla Tonga stared down Femi, who went back in the ring and hit Hayes and Penta with a chokeslam. We took a break with Femi in command of this match.
Back from the ad break as Hayes and Penta exchanged chops in the ring, while Sikoa stepped inside and hit both men with a clothesline. During the break, Sikoa disposed of Femi by throwing him into the steel steps, which allowed him to briefly gain control. However, Femi stepped inside and hit Sikoa with a clothesline. A superkick by Sikoa was followed by a First 48 from Hayes, as Femi missed with a running shoulder attack. Outside the ring, Sikoa and Talla Tonga threw Femi into the ringpost, followed by a rough-looking running big boot that barely sent Femi over the barricade. Tope con hilo by Penta on Sikoa, but Hayes got him with the Fosbury Flop. In the ring, it was non-stop action as Sikoa missed with the Samoan Spike and got hit with Hayes’ Dirty Diana. Penta with the Penta Driver on Hayes. One, two… Sikoa broke it up in time.
Inside the ring, Sikoa noticed Oba Femi rising from the barricade, as the big man took out Talla with a big boot. Back suplex over the announce table to Talla as he then sent Sikoa across the ring. Femi then finished it off with Fall from Grace on Sikoa for the three.
After the match, Femi took the mic and said that Brock Lesnar questioned him whether he could take an ass-whooping. Femi said that after taking an ass-kicking and seven F5s, he took Lesnar’s best shot and was still standing. He promised to win the King of the Ring as he then noted that it was 1-1 in his series with Lesnar. “I’ll see you, down the line,” said Femi.
Oba Femi def. Solo Sikoa, Carmelo Hayes, & Penta via pinfall to advance to the King of the Ring Semifinals
I didn’t like the decision of Femi dropping the rematch with Lesnar last night at Clash in Italy, but I think WWE did as well as they could to make sure Femi’s credibility wasn’t completely shot with this match tonight. He looked very dominant here and it helped him quickly recover after last night. Whether or not Femi will win King of the Ring is honestly up in the air, especially as the allure of a rubber match between him and Lesnar at SummerSlam in Minneapolis could be too strong to ignore for Triple H.
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– We got a recap of Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker’s history as the two will face off in the Raw main event later tonight.
– Sol Ruca was seen walking to the ring. Meanwhile, Maxxine was once again chatting with Austin Theory in the background. We’d be hearing from Ruca coming up next.
Sol Ruca celebrates her Women’s Intercontinental Title win
The new Women’s Intercontinental Champion was introduced to a great ovation from the Turin crowd. As Ruca entered the ring, she took the mic as Cathy Kelley got ready to ask her the questions.
Ruca was congratulated on her win last night as she was asked that if she thought if she’d be standing as a champion just a month after joining the Raw roster.
Ruca said that she believed that she could be a champion, but most importantly, all the fans believed that she could do it. From the bottom of her heart, Ruca offered a simple “grazie” for the support. The Turin crowd erupted in cheers. Ruca gave props to Becky Lynch, stating that she gave her a chance to test herself against the very best, and she proved Lynch wrong. And it wasn’t just her saying it, everyone was saying it.
Ruca said that we deserved a fighting champion, and that’s exactly what she would be. Ruca said that people might be ready to underestimate her, but at the end of it all, anyone who steps up to her, they’ll hear the same thing that we heard last night: Sol Ruca is your Women’s Intercontinental Champion.
Pretty standard promo from Ruca to establish her title reign. We’ll see if she’s able to turn the recent criticisms her main roster tenure on Raw has gotten so far around in due time.
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– We got after-show footage of Cody Rhodes running into Roman Reigns from last night, as the two shared a tense staredown. Elsewhere, Reigns gave Jey Uso orders to win the King of the Ring and potentially take “the other one” (i.e. Cody Rhodes’ Undisputed WWE Championship) at SummerSlam. As Jey left, Reigns pulled Jimmy Uso aside and told him that Jey needed to do this alone.
Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. “All Ego” Ethan Page & Rusev
Page and Dragon got this match going as the latter ducked the former’s attempts at grapples. Rusev tagged in and took a chop from Dragon, which didn’t do much. Rusev fired himself up and proceeded to stomp away at Dragon in the corner. This was followed by a foot choke along the bottom ropes on a defenseless Dragon. Page re-entered the match and kept punching at Dragon. The powerbomb attempt by Page was reversed by a hurricanrana into the corner. Over-the-top wrecking ball dropkick on Page by Dragon, followed by a running dropkick for the near-fall. Page got sent into the ropes as Rusev tagged in. The unaware Dragon Lee nearly got ambushed by Rusev, but he rolled him up for pin attempt. Rusev had to kick out at two-here as he and Dragon stared each other down. To a loud ovation, Mysterio wasabout to tag in, but Page took him down from the apron. Rusev got wind of this and grabbed Dragon for a spinning slam as we took a timeout.
Back from the break as Dragon sent Rusev over the top rope to the outside and Ethan Page had to stop him with a leglock. The tag to Rusev, who stomped Dragon and slapped Mysterio in the corner, which allowed the ref to be distracted as Rusev and Page stomped on Dragon. Rusev threw Dragon into the corner, but that allowed Dragon to hit Page with a forearm. Rusev’s attempt to play defense was stopped as a superkick floored his foe. As both Rusev and Dragon Lee were down, they headed to their respective corners and made the tag. Mysterio stormed in with an enzuigiri on page, followed by the senton and a springboard press. One, two…. Page kicked out.
Big boot by Page stunned Mysterio as Rusev stepped into the ring and found himself sent out of the ring by a Mysterio hurricanrana. Page tripped up and placed in position for the 619. Rusev grabbed at Mysterio’s leg to stop it. Page sent Mysterio into Dragon Lee, as the roll-up was kicked out at two by the veteran. Mysterio’s hurricanrana was turned into a Boston Crab, but Dragon broke it up. Dragon sent Rusev into Page with a hurricanrana as flew into the Bulgarian with a tope suicida. In the ring, Mysterio connected with 619 and the splash to pick up the win.
Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee def. Rusev & Ethan Page via pinfall
Fun, relatively low-stakes match. I’m amazed that Mysterio still moves as fluid as he does even at the age he’s at right now.
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– Adam Pearce spoke with Penta, who had a match set up with him and Rey Mysterio for next week. LA Knight then confronted Pearce, upset about the recent Bloodline love-in, and stating that Pearce was playing favorites with Roman Reigns and his family. Knight took note of Pearce putting up the ones and stating it made him sick.
– A highlight reel of the Noche de los Grandes Mask vs. Mask match was shown ahead of the actual match itself being shown in its entirety tonight after Raw on Netflix. An odd choice. We then got a recap of what happened afterwards and the “Original” El Grande Americano unmasking as Chad Gable.
Queen of the Ring First Round Fatal Four-Way: IYO SKY vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia vs. Lash Legend
Roxy, SKY, and Giulia went after Legend right away as we kicked off. Giulia was caught by Legend, but a SKY dropkick took her down. Perez struck SKY from behind and battered her with punches, but soon found himself hit with strikes. SKY got sent out of the ring by Perez, as Legend came back in the ring and took her out. Guillotine by Giulia on Legend, but she was placed on the top turnbuckle. Legend held SKY and Perez, but a dropkick fromt he top rope by Giulia took everyone down. We took a commercial break as Giulia hit a back suplex on SKY.
Back from the commercial as Giulia and Perez drove Legend into the steel steps, as the former hit a dropkick on the stunned Legend. Perez and Giulia apparently had an alliance, but the former instead sent the latter onto the commentary table. In the ring, Perez was hit with a shotgun dropkick by SKY, who began to stir as the pace picked up. Another dropkick from SKY as Giulia joined the fray. Double missile dropkick by SKY was followed by her signature taunt. Perez and Giulia were trapped in the corner as SKY barreled into the both of them with the Bullet Train. Legend snuck up but got hit with the double stomp from SKY. Arrivederci Knee to Legend, but Perez broke up the count. Perez then got Giulia and SKY with a double DDT.
In the corner, Perez’s Pop Rox attempt was stopped by SKY as she headed up top looking for the Over the Moonsault. Giulia interecepted her and had the double underhook. Perez recovered and joined the fray. This led to Legend recovering and getting both Giulia and Perez with a double powerbomb. Lash Extension on both Giulia and Perez, but SKY stomped to break the count. SKY then picked up the victory with the Over the Moonsault on Giulia.
IYO SKY def. Giulia, Lash Legend & Roxanne Perez via pinfall to advance to the Queen of the Ring Semifinals
This was a solid match that I think had the wrong winner. I think it would’ve been nice for Giulia to pull off the surprise upset win here.
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– Maxxine Dupri was a bit upset with Adam Pearce for being left out of the Queen of the Ring bracket. Pearce said when an opening came up, Dupri would be informed. After Pearce left, Otis pointed out that Dupri was talking a lot with Austin Theory, reminding her that Theory was bad news. Dupri stated taht she knew what she was doing.
– We got a video about Danhausen and the New York Knicks, who are playing in the NBA Finals this week against the San Antonio Spurs, perhaps due to Danhausen uncursing them.
– Cathy Kelley interviewed Bayley & Lyra Valkyria backstage. The interview was interrupted when Valkyria took notice of Sol Ruca walking. She pointed out how the stipulation of no longer being challenged for the Women’s Intercontinental Title no longer applied as she called her shot against Ruca, much to the confusion of Bayley.
Next Monday on Raw (Paris, France)
- King of the Ring First Round Fatal Four-Way: Seth Rollins vs. Ricky Saints vs. Je’von Evans VS. Talla Tonga
- Queen of the Ring First Round Fatal Four-Way: Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Chelsea Green
– Roxanne Peres was upset about her loss earlier as Liv Morgan talked about her and Dominik Mysterio’s King and Queen of the Ring chances, apparently not caring about everyone else in the process.
Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker (w/ Paul Heyman)
As the Turin crowd sang Rollins’ theme, this main event got underway with a staredown. That was before Rollins was forced into the corner by Breakker. The former World Champion responded by punching away at Breakker, but he was thrown for the German suplex. Rollins responded with a Slingblade, followed by the clothesline. Rollins kept the momentum going with a pair of suicide dives. On the third attempt, Breakker caught him and sent him over the barricade and into asome people sitting at rinsgide as the feed headed to commercial.
The Raw main event returned from break as Breakker grabbed Rollins by the chin and mocked him. He paid for that with open hand strikes from Rollins that sent him into the corner. Breakker answered with another German suplex, that forced Rollins out of the ring. At ringside, Breakker drove a knee into the gut of Rollins before he threw him in the ringpost. Breakker then launched himself for a high flying elbow to the face of Rollins. Breakker then smashed Rollins’ face repeatedly on the face of the Italian commentary table before he rearranged the furniture. Rollins was sent back in the ring afterwards, but Breakker caught him and got lifted in the military press position. Rollins countered it into a reverse neckbreaker. Rollins hit Breakker with a series of clotheslines that finally kept Breakker down. The knee to the jaw by Rollins as he headed to the apron and launched himself for the springboard swanton. One, two… no!
Rollins went to the top rope with Breakker still trying to recover. Breakker cut off Rollins and punched him at the top rope. This led to the Frankensteiner on Rollins, but that wasn’t enough to put this one away. Breakker had Rollins dead to rights next to the commentary table, but the dive was intercepted with a clothesline as we took another commercial break on the sports-style replay of that previous spot.
Back from the break as Breakker punched at Rollins in the corner, but he got lifted in position for a sitout powerbomb. Another kickout by Breakker. The action spilled out of the ring yet again as Rollins pulled the steel steps and put Breakker on the steps. Rollins ascended the steps, but took too long as it allowed Breakker to push him into the post. In the ring, Breakker’s ascent to the top rope was intercepted by Rollins, who hit the superplex and Falcon Arrow on the rollthrough. Again, Breakker managed to kick out. Rollins hit Breakker with the superkick. The Curb Stomp, but Breakker got him with the pop-up Spear. Rollins rolled out of the ring as Breakker confronted him and placed him on the announce table. Breakker looked for a Spear from the Italian announce table, but Rollins reversed it into a Pedigree through the English commentary table.
Rollins hit another Pedigree on Breakker but that still wasn’t enough to put Breakker away. Rollins again had Breakker in position for the Stomp, but Austin Theory tried to interfere. He got sent over the top rope as Breakker missed with the Spear. The Stomp from Rollins, no, as Theory got him with the Tag Team Title belt. Montez Ford ran in and leapt over the turnbuckle to take out Theory, but a Spear from Breakker.
In the ring, Breakker got Rollins iwth the Spear, but that wasn’t enough as Rollins kicked out. Rollins with the Stomp, but Paul Heyman put the foot of Breakker on the bottom rope’s. Heyman kept taunting Rollins, which got the Vision’s former leader’s attention. Rollins got in Heyman’s face as Breakker looked to hit Rollins with the “Super” Spear. Rollins got out of the way, which caused him to hit Heyman with the Spear instead. Meanwhile, Rollins had the World Tag Titles around his waist, which worked out in his favour as it acted as a shield when Breakker got him with the Spear, which would make Bret Hart proud. One final Stomp, and Rollins got the win here.
Post-match, Rollins took note of Montez Ford at ringside and seemed to show appreciation for his assistance as he celebrated the win to end Raw, as commentary tossed to the Noche de los Grandes Mask vs. Mask match encore.
Seth Rollins def. Bron Breakker via pinfall
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I was surprised by how much this main event entertained me. The closing moments actually worked out well and Rollins pulling a page out of Bret Hart’s playbook to counteract Breakker’s stomp was well done. The two fatal four-way matches were also enjoyable, too.
This was an alright edition of Raw, but the Bloodline stuff being reruns from 2023 with a lot more “aura farming” is just not compelling in 2026, and it highlights a major weakness of Triple H’s booking approach. Yesterday, he claimed that the WWE landscape had changed post-Clash in Italy. The problem with that statement is that the landscape that changed certainly wasn’t for the better, and the reheated leftovers of the Bloodline certainly won’t be moving the needle as it did three years ago.
