A tag match is set for tonight’s Extreme Rules go-home edition of Raw.
Finn Balor will be teaming with Bobby Roode against Baron Corbin & Elias on the show. WWE posted video of an interview with Corbin this afternoon where, in storyline, he explained that he used his influence as the “Constable of Raw” to make the match. Corbin insulted Balor and said he hopes Balor is still able to make it to Extreme Rules after tonight’s match.
Balor and Corbin will be facing each other at Extreme Rules on Sunday. Roode and Elias don’t have matches announced for the pay-per-view, and tonight will be the first time Roode has been on Raw since June 18.
Tonight’s episode is taking place at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. It should feature the continuation of Bayley and Sasha Banks’ angle where they attended counseling with Dr. Shelby last week, along with the final build to Raw’s matches for Extreme Rules.
The Big Takeaway: Chad Gable got the victory against Mike Kanellis, who is now winless since November, and Bobby Roode enjoyed his show debut with a six-man tag match that was on the good side of wacky.
**********
Chad Gable defeated Mike Kanellis (5:14)
Another week for Chad Gable on Main Event and another week where it feels like he may be directionless. The same could certainly be said for his opponent, Mike Kanellis, who seems to be treading water when he should be main eventing on Raw. For the latter, it feels like the curse of not coming in via NXT is the issue.
They worked very well together here in the time that they had. They were smooth, paced things nicely, and sold well for each other. In another universe, this could easily be a program that could deliver fantastic matches.
Gable got a near fall on Kanellis, but he hit a modified slam on Gable before grabbing a near fall of his own. Kanellis superkicked Gable and clotheslined him in the corner, but Gable was able to regain his senses and managed to duck under and German suplex Kanellis for the win.
Bobby Roode & Breezango defeated Curt Hawkins & The Ascension (4:29)
It’s been a few weeks since Curt Hawkins’ “streaking” was last on Main Event. The loss here took him up to 0-205 in what now seems to be a gimmick that has lost any momentum that it ever had, but what a pleasure it was to see him in action here against Roode.
Roode brought some legitimacy and relevance to this match and would have been well within his rights to be wondering what he had done to deserve being put in the same breath, let alone match, as his partners and opponents. Roode was easily the star of the match and took much of the high spots.
Roode was enjoying every bit of this — he was all smiles with his partners throughout and, just before the finish, Fandango slid in and gave Roode his policeman’s hat and Roode finished the match wearing it.
The finish saw Viktor break up a pinfall attempt by Roode on Hawkins, then Konnor sent Breeze to the outside — with Roode following up with a clothesline to dump Konnor. Roode nailed Hawkins with a spinebuster before hitting the Glorious DDT for the win.
Two fatal four-way matches and a face-to-face segment have been announced for next week’s go-home edition of Raw.
The four-ways will feature all of Raw’s participants in the Money in the Bank ladder matches. Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and Bobby Roode will face off in one of them, with Sasha Banks, Ember Moon, Alexa Bliss, and Natalya set for the other.
For the women’s match, WWE is questioning whether Bliss and Natalya will be able to compete after suffering storyline leg injuries. Bliss bailed on a six-woman tag tonight, leaving Banks & Moon on their own against The Riott Squad until Bayley tried to sub in for her.
Natalya’s storyline knee injury happened right before Nia Jax hit a Samoan drop to defeat her. Both Jax and Ronda Rousey checked on Natalya following the match, then argued as they tried to console her in the back. Jax insisted that she’s Natalya’s friend just as much as Rousey is.
Jax and Rousey will be involved in next week’s face-to-face segment as part of the final build for Rousey challenging for Jax’s Raw Women’s Championship at Money in the Bank.
Strowman defeated Roode tonight, and Balor beat Owens by disqualification when Owens wouldn’t stop stomping on him in the corner. Owens got a ladder out after the match and hesitated when going for a frog splash off it. Balor closed the show by hitting Owens with a Coup de Grace from the ladder.
A number of matches have been announced for next week’s Raw.
As a result of what happened at the start of Raw tonight, Kevin Owens will square off against Finn Balor. Owens shoved Balor right as he was going for the finish in a match against Braun Strowman, causing him to win by DQ. Owens then laid him out with a ladder before being chased away by Strowman.
Another match for the show has Nia Jax taking on Ronda Rousey’s friend Natalya. Jax mocked Rousey tonight by easily deflecting armbar attempts against a supposed Judo champion. The two had a staredown after the segment.
Braun Strowman will also battle Bobby Roode on next week’s show after he left both him and Owens, his original target of the evening, laying with powerslams. There will also be a battle royal next week featuring the B Team (Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas) where the winners get a future Raw tag team title shot against Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt.
Raw next week will be at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Three more participants qualified for a chance to win a Money in the Bank briefcase tonight on Raw.
Bobby Roode and Kevin Owens advanced tonight, earning spots in the men’s match. Roode defeated No Way Jose and Baron Corbin. Owens’ road was not as straightforward, as he wasn’t even originally in his triple threat match. But when Jinder Mahal was taken out by Roman Reigns, Raw General Manager Kurt Angle had to put someone else into the match. Stephanie McMahon called him and instructed him to add in Owens, so he obliged.
Meanwhile, Alexa Bliss earned a spot in the women’s Money iun the Bank match, defeating Bayley and Mickie James in a triple threat match when she pinned Bayley with a DDT.
Bobby Roode and Kevin Owens join Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, The Miz and Rusev in the men’s match, while Bliss joins Charlotte Flair and Ember Moon in the women’s match. Tomorrow’s qualifying match on SmackDown has The New Day vs. The Bar, with the winners getting to choose one of their tag team partners as a participant in the Money in the Bank men’s match.
Two Money in the Bank qualifiers have been added to the lineup for tonight’s Raw in London.
Both are triple threat matches, with Bobby Roode facing Baron Corbin and No Way Jose, and Alexa Bliss taking on Bayley and Mickie James.
Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, The Miz, and Rusev have gotten spots in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match thus far, with Ember Moon and Charlotte Flair qualifying on the women’s side. There will be eight wrestlers in each ladder match on the June 17th pay-per-view.
Tonight’s Raw is being taped in advance at the O2 Arena, and WWE will return to the venue for tomorrow’s SmackDown tapings. Seth Rollins defending his Intercontinental Championship against Kevin Owens is also set for tonight.
Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega debuting on the show and The New Day vs. Cesaro & Sheamus, where one member of the winning team will qualify for the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match, are advertised for this week’s SmackDown.
The first night of the 2018 Superstar Shakeup was a busy one.
Tonight ended with 19 wrestlers having joined the Raw roster, with Bobby Roode, Baron Corbin, The Ascension, Mike Kanellis, and Chad Gable as the latest names to move over from SmackDown. Roode teamed with Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman & Finn Balor against The Miz, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in the main event. A video package highlighted Corbin’s arrival, but The Ascension, Kanellis, and Gable were announced online.
The Miz was the only person announced as going to SmackDown tonight. More additions for the show will be revealed as the Shakeup continues tomorrow.
Here’s the full list of wrestlers who made the switch to Raw:
Jinder Mahal (with Sunil Singh)
The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan)
Team Awe-ska won the mixed tag team tournament after defeating the Robe Warriors in the finals. The Asuka winning streak also remains alive.
Asuka & The Miz against Charlotte Flair & Bobby Roose was about more than just Mixed Match Challenge. Asuka and Charlotte were on opposing sides days ahead of their singles title match at WrestleMania.
The winning streak of Asuka continued as momemtum builds heading into the Smackdown Women’s Championship showdown on Sunday. In arguably one of the best matches of the tournament, the highlight was Asuka and Charlotte squaring off in the ring before their title match.
The charity represented by Team Aweska — Rescue Dogs Rock — gets $100,000 for their team winning the tournament. All other charities involved in Mixed Match Challenge each get $10,000.
As the show opened, the announce team strongly encouraged the audience to interact on social media. Carmella & Big E were also shown interacting in the comments section.
Asuka & The Miz defeated Charlotte Flair & Bobby Roode to win the tournament
Miz pinned Bobby thanks to an assist by Asuka. Bobby had Miz set up for a Glorious DDT when Asuka rushed into the ring to kick Bobby. That continued a theme throughout the tournament of Asuka making the save as Miz almost cost her the winning streak. Ironically, Miz then delivered the Skull Crushing Finale to score the deciding pinfall in winning the tourney.
The men started the match, which let anticipation build before Charlotte and Asuka squared off in the ring. Miz was begging to start only to regret it. After some walking and talking, Miz got the short end of an exchange. Asuka gladly tagged in to face off with Charlotte. They had a collar-and-elbow lock up go to a stalemate even after they spilled out to the floor. After the staredown, they got tagged out.
Miz mocked Flair only to quickly get mowed down by Roode. That led to a hot tag. Asuka ran wild with a flurry of kicks, followed by a near fall after a PK. Charlotte cut off Asuka with chops, and climbed to the top rope for a moonsault. The announcers sold it like the streak was over, but Asuka kicked out of a pinning attempt. Charlotte and Asuka traded more near falls before a double down.
Several times during the match, Miz taunted Flair as he worked over Bobby’s leg. Nonetheless, Bobby still hit a flying clothesline even while selling his leg. Miz later went back to working the leg. When Miz signaled for the figure four leglock, Charlotte rushed into the ring to break up the hold and apply the figure four on Miz.
Miz kicked out of another near fall in the closing moments. Bobby signaled for his finisher, but Asuka kicked him him the back. That allowed Miz to counter with his finisher for the pin.
Renee Young did a post-match interview with the winners. In a total babyface promo, Miz said this was the best week of his life with the birth of his child. Miz went on to put over all the charities involved — especially Rescue Dogs Rock. Miz vowed to retain the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania. Asuka chimed in to say she would win the women’s championship. The winners then closed the show with their “Awe-ska” catchphrase.
The finals are set for the mixed tag team tournament with the last semifinal match taking place on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. Becky Lynch subbed for Charlotte Flair to team with Bobby Roode as they defeated Sasha Banks & Finn Balor.
Charlotte & Bobby now advance to meet Asuka & The Miz in the finals next week. The tournament final has Charlotte and Asuka in the ring against each other on opposing sides just days ahead of their match at WrestleMania for the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
Charlotte Flair missed the semifinal match after undergoing minor dental surgery last week. Becky Lynch won a fan vote over Lana and Carmella to became the replacement for the match. Even though Becky scored the deciding pinfall for her team, the substitution is only temporary as Charlotte will once again team next week with Bobby Roode.
Balor & Banks won a fan poll of their own last week, with them getting 40 percent of the vote and earning their way back into the tournament. Last week’s edition of Mixed Match Challenge also saw Asuka & Miz advance to the finals after Asuka tapped out Alexa Bliss.
Becky Lynch & Bobby Roode defeated Sasha Banks & Finn Balor
Becky pinned Sasha with an inside cradle to win the match. Sasha & Finn were running wild in the closing moments when Becky cradled Sasha.
Though Bobby and Finn started the match, the story revolved more around the women. They were having a friendly competition until things got heated. An argument quickly turned into a slugfest.
When the men were tagged back in, Bobby began to work over Finn — building towards a hot tag. Sasha and Becky traded near falls. Becky gave Sasha a superplex that led into a double down. Finn ran wild after a hot tag. Becky made the save to break up Finn’s pinning attempt. Bobby executed a blockbuster for a near fall. Finn fired up and tagged Sasha.
Sasha jumped off the top rope to drop double knees on Becky. After knocking Bobby out of the ring, Sasha followed with a dive through the ropes on Bobby. Finn then dropicked Bobby into the barricade. With victory for her team seemingly near, Sasha rolled back into the ring only to get caught in a cradle by Becky for the pinfall.
Kurt Angle got a hometown pop when he came out on stage after the match. He plugged the finals next week before he put over the charities involved in Mixed Match Challenge.
Next Tuesday either Girl Up or Rescue Dogs Rock will gain $100,000. Charlotte Flair & Bobby Roode against Asuka & The Miz determines the winning charity. All other charities represented in the tournament will each receive $10,000.
The brackets for the tournament leading to the finals next Tuesday:
The triple threat match for the United States title at WrestleMania has now been turned into a fatal four way.
Rusev was added to the United States title match tonight on SmackDown after he pinned champion Randy Orton during a tag team match pitting Rusev (who subbed for a apparently injured Sunil Singh) and Jinder Mahal against Bobby Roode and Orton. After the match, Mahal met Rusev backstage and thanked him for picking up the win. Rusev mentioned since that he just pinned the United States champion, he should be in the title match at WrestleMania. Jinder Mahal said he’d get him tickets instead.
Announcers later said that SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan added Rusev to the match at WrestleMania.
Roode, Mahal and Orton have been feuding with one another for the last couple of months, with Roode pinning Mahal in the finals of a tournament to win the title. Orton defeated Roode last month at Fastlane to win the championship for the first time.
Randy Orton will have not one, but two challengers for this year’s WrestleMania.
WWE announced this afternoon that Randy Orton will defend his newly won United States championship against both Jinder Mahal and Bobby Roode in a triple threat match at WrestleMania 34 on April 8. The trio have been feuding for the last month, with an angle originally centered around the SmackDown top ten list. Randy Orton faced then champion Bobby Roode at Fastlane, where he defeated Roode to win the United States championship for the first time in his career.
Two nights later on SmackDown, Orton came to the ring and said that the only list that mattered was being on the Grand Slam champions list. Roode came out and said that he would regain the title at WrestleMania and it would be glorious. Mahal then followed, and after congratulating Orton on his win had a match with Roode, which he won. After the match, Orton came back to the ring and planted Mahal with the RKO.
Charlotte Flair teamed with Bobby Roode to advance in the Mixed Match Challenge as the first round concluded in Phoenix, Arizona.
The “Robe Warriors” defeated the team of Nia Jax & Apollo in advancing to the next round of the tournament. Following the match was the first time an angle took place on the show when Nia turned on Titus Worldwide after her team lost.
Charlotte & Bobby move on to the quarterfinals where they meet Rusev & Lana in three weeks time. The quarterfinals begin next week with Sasha Banks & Finn Balor against Asuka & The Miz. Technically every team still has a chance to advance until week eleven in the tournament since a fan vote can save one team by adding them to a semifinal match.
Besides the novelty of a mixed tag team tournament, the series has a philanthropic aspect with each team choosing a charity to represent. Charlotte & Roode are supporting Girl Up as their charity, while Jax & Crews are representing Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The winners of the tournament will receive a $100,000 donation to their charity, though $10,000 will also be donated to every other team’s charity.
The show opened with Michael Cole claiming the Mixed Match Challenge was the “most interactive show in the world.” Well, there is a comments section. A team from the tournament is usually trolling in the thread. This week that team was Naomi & Jimmy Uso.
Viewers could also leave emoji responses during the show. Corey Graves even demonstrated this on the air. Cole might have a point with his previous claim. I remain skeptical.
Mashing up their entrances, Charlotte & Bobby went together like peanut butter and jelly. They both complimented each other — complete with matching robes. Thus, they are called the Robe Warriors.
Nia Jax & Apollo seemed to get along — but Nia and Titus Worldwide not so much. Titus O’Neil and Dana Brooke accompanied Nia & Apollo to the ring — and Nia bickered with them from the start.
Charlotte Flair & Bobby Roode defeated Nia Jax & Apollo
Bobby Roode pinned Apollo to win the match. Like most matches in the tournament, there was plenty of gaga. That began when Bobby Roode did a strut. Charlotte was having none of that. She proceeded to demonstrate the proper way to strut. Bobby kept doing his best Ric Flair, and Bobby’s “woo” needed work. Charlotte noted that in a running joke.
Dana Brooke interfered by tripping Charlotte, which allowed Nia to strike. Nia nevertheless scolded Dana for interfering — yelling “stay out of my business!” Nia soon found herself dropkicked out of the ring. Charlotte did the “glorious” pose.
“Not bad,” Bobby Roode remarked.
Something not so good, Charlotte and Nia ran through some spots with several hiccups. After another distraction by Titus Worldwide at ringside, Nia shoved Charlotte off the apron to the floor. Nia got in Dana’s face and yelled at her for interfering again. Apollo tried to play peacemaker. The argument allowed Charlotte to gain the advantage on a distracted Nia.
Charlotte went after a knee, and soon applied a figure four leglock. Nia escaped to set up a hot tag. The pace quickened.
As they went home, Bobby countered a standing moonsault by Apollo. At the same time, Charlotte did a moonsault off the top rope on to Nia. Bobby then delivered the Glorious DDT for the pinfall.
Renee Young interviewed the winners. Charlotte gave a “woo” and Bobby tried to do the same with mixed results. The running joke cotinued.
Following the post-match interview, Nia Jax cut a promo on Titus Worldwide. Apollo bent down to assist in giving Titus a classic schoolboy when Nia shoved Titus. Nia blocked a punch from Dana, and then she executed a Samoan Drop on Dana. While Nia clearly turned on Titus Worldwide, Apollo’s future with the group remained in question as the show closed.
As Nia stormed off, the announcers plugged her match this Sunday against Asuka. Not only was Asuka mentioned at that point in the show, she and Miz earlier had cut a promo hyping their match next week. Their opponents also cut a promo building towards Sasha Banks & Finn Balor against Asuka & The Miz when the quarterfinals begin next Tuesday.
A match with WWE Championship implications and a United States title match are set for SmackDown next week.
In a backstage segment with Daniel Bryan tonight, it was announced that Kevin Owens would be facing Sami Zayn in a number one contender’s match next Tuesday. The winner will go on to challenge for AJ Styles’ title at Fastlane on March 11th.
Styles retained against Owens & Zayn in a handicap match at the Royal Rumble, but the storyline coming out of it was that Styles pinned Owens when Owens wasn’t the legal man. Owens and Zayn lobbied for a rematch, but Bryan made them face each other instead.
There was dissension between Owens & Zayn as they took on Styles & Shinsuke Nakamura in the main event this week. Zayn closed the show by doing an interview were he said their friendship isn’t over, but Owens has gotten his own opportunities and now is Zayn’s time.
Fastlane is SmackDown’s final pay-per-view before WrestleMania and will take place at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Before Nakamura won the Royal Rumble, the venue had been advertising that Styles would be defending against Nakamura, Owens, Zayn, and Randy Orton in a fatal five-way. Fastlane will likely be the last time the WWE title is on the line before WrestleMania.
Also on next week’s show, Bobby Roode will be defending his United States Championship against Rusev. That was set up when Rusev defeated Kofi Kingston, Jinder Mahal, and Zack Ryder in a fatal four-way match tonight.
On the pre-show, there will be a United States Championship open challenge issued by Bobby Roode. Roode won the title by defeating Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, and Jinder Mahal in a tournament after the storyline where Dolph Ziggler walked out and voluntarily gave up the championship in December.
Two tag team matches are also set for the pre-show. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson will team against The Revival, and Kalisto, Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado will face Drew Gulak, TJP & Jack Gallagher.
Television host Maria Menounos, who fairly regularly makes appearances for WWE and has wrestled in a few matches in the past, revealed that she will be the guest ring announcer for the women’s Royal Rumble.
Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Ric Flair, and Madusa will be guests on the pre-show panel. The pre-show begins at 5 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday before the main card kicks off at 7 p.m.
Bobby Roode became the new United States Champion on SmackDown last night.
Despite the championship match originally being advertised for the Royal Rumble (and then briefly being announced for next Tuesday), both the semifinals and finals took place this week. Those matches took up most of the show, with Roode beating Mojo Rawley and Jinder Mahal defeating Xavier Woods to advance.
The Singh Brothers attacked Roode after his first match, but he challenged Mahal to face him later in the night. Daniel Bryan made that official despite Mahal declining the offer, The Singh Brothers were barred from ringside for the main event, and Roode countered the Khallas into a Glorious DDT to win the US title.
There was only one other match on SmackDown, which was The Riott Squad facing Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch & Naomi in a six-woman tag. The Usos appeared in a backstage segment despite Jey’s DWI arrest from over the weekend.
