Tag: damian priest

WWE Raw live results: United States title match, Edge appears

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: February 28, 2022
Location: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH

The Big Takeaway —

AJ Styles will be Edge’s WrestleMania opponent. Edge turned heel in the segment, giving Styles a con-chair-to.

Finn Bálor will (likely) be Damian Priest’s WrestleMania opponent. Priest turned heel in the segment, giving Bálor a Razor’s Edge onto the announce table.

Read more below. 

Show Recap —

Raw kicked off with a new intro video.

Kevin Owens entered wearing a cowboy hat (sideways) and he introduced his best friend Seth Rollins.

The announcers ran down tonight’s card.

KO Show with guests Alpha Academy

Owens said he and Rollins had yet to get a spot on WrestleMania and they’d be the biggest stars in history to miss the show. Rollins said they have one more chance to get on and that was by winning the tag team titles.

Owens said people were wrong if they thought his disdain for Texas would distract him from winning the tag titles. Not even Texas legends like JBL and Shawn Michaels could distract him. He angrily stomped on his cowboy hat. Rollins reminded him that they were not in Texas tonight and he introduced their guests, Alpha Academy.

Owens said they had Otis’ chair re-enforced. Chad Gable thanked them for inviting them on the show. Owens noted how weird it sounded anytime Gable said “thank you.” Gable didn’t think so. Gable noticed he’s been hearing a lot of asses making a lot of ass-umptions about the tag titles.

Gable put over his intelligence and insulted Ohio State University which got a ton of heat (the crowd was oddly quiet for everything right up until that). Gable said it was ridiculous that Owens and Rollins got themselves added to the title match and they were so obsessed about their WrestleMania spot that it was pathetic.

Gable said Owens and Rollins have each had their chances at Mania but it was time for himself and Otis to get their first opportunities. Gable told them to shoosh so Owens told him to shush and they yelled “shoosh” and “shush” back and forth until Owens gave Gable a stunner.

Seth Rollins & Kevin Owens defeated Raw Tag Team Champions Alpha Academy in a non-title match (approx. 12:45)

Owens made a hot tag and gave Gable a frog splash off the apron to the outside but Otis ran him over. (This started during a break and they went to another break after about four minutes of wrestling.)

Gable worked over Owens until Owens hit an enziguri. Rollins tagged in and hit a slingblade, springboard knee and falcon arrow for two. Owens tagged himself in, superkicked Gable and hit a pumphandle neckbreaker but Otis broke up the cover. Otis gave Owens a Vader Bomb and Gable followed with a moonsault but Rollins broke up the cover.

Rollins took out Otis with a dive and gave Gable a buckle bomb. Owens followed with a stunner and Rollins finished him off with a curb stomp for the pinfall win.

Fun match and the crowd was into Rollins and Owens as babyfaces.

******** 

There was an Omos video package followed by an interview. Omos mentioned all of the teams he has dominated over the past year as well as AJ Styles. He said T-Bar was his biggest opponent to date and he was going to dominate.

Omos defeated T-Bar (0:39)

Omos attacked T-Bar during his entrance and dragged him into the ring. The referee at least waited until T-Bar (barely) got to his feet before starting the match. Omos turned him around with a clothesline before hitting a tree slam for the pinfall win. 

******** 

Nikki ASH and Doudrop did a promo about their upcoming six-woman tag match. Nikki called herself a hero and Doudrop said she was just fine being a villain. Becky Lynch showed up and said she was happy to team with Doudrop despite their recent issues because they were both willing to do whatever it took to win. (Nikki put her hand out for a fist bump but her partners already left.) 

After a break, Liv Morgan asked Rhea Ripley what their strategy should be. Ripley responded, “brutality.” Bianca Belair entered the frame and told them to let her have Lynch when she enters the match. Belair and Morgan offered a fist bump to Ripley who reluctantly accepted.

Six-woman tag team match: Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan defeated Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, Doudrop & Nikki ASH (12:18)

Lynch wanted to face Belair to start the match but, of course, she bailed when Belair entered. Belair and Ripley gave Doudrop a double vertical suplex before Morgan wiped out all three opponents with a dive.

[SECOND HOUR]

Belair and Lynch actually did have an exchange following a break. Belair went for a suplex but Lynch reversed into a cradle for two. Lynch followed with a thrust kick before yanking Belair by her braid and driving her head/shoulder into the post. Lynch followed with a diving leg drop for two.

Lynch, Doudrop and Nikki traded tags and worked over Belair. Lynch specifically used Belair’s hair to her advantage until Belair tagged in Ripley. Ripley was all over Lynch and tried a pin but Doudrop broke up the cover. Nikki tagged herself but Belair gave her a Glam Slam variation.

Belair went for a handspring move but Lynch yanked her out of the ring. Morgan hit Lynch with a suicide dive. Everyone traded moves until Belair had Nikki pinned but Lynch broke up the cover, again going for the braid.

Belair responded by whipping Lynch repeatedly with her braid until Lynch bailed. Lynch backed up the ramp really selling it hard. (I’m not sure how they did it but the first braid shot, in particular, sounded like a shot with a kendo stick.) Lynch had visible bruises on her abdomen.

Nikki tried a rollup as Belair watched Lynch but Belair kicked out and hit KOD for the pinfall win.

******** 

Tommaso Ciampa defeated Robert Roode (w/Dolph Ziggler) (2:42)

Ciampa kneed Ziggler off the apron before beating Roode with a schoolboy.

After the match, Roode attacked Ciampa from behind and Ziggler followed with a superkick. Ziggler grabbed a mic and issued a warning to Ciampa (and Bron Breakker) ahead of their tag match tomorrow on NXT. 

Ciampa had new music. 

********

Mixed tag team match: 24/7 Champion Dana Brooke & Reggie defeated Tamina & Akira Tozawa (1:42)

Reggie pinned Tozawa with a flipping senton.

Brooke gave Reggie a big kiss after the match. Byron Saxton was very excited.

Tozawa wanted a kiss from Tamina again and this time she gave it to him. Tozawa acted love-struck.

********

Kevin Patrick interviewed the Street Profits. Montez Ford said if they beat RK-Bro tonight, they’d find themselves next in line for the titles. Angelo Dawkins referred to Seth Rollins as Doctor Eggman. 

The announcers gave us a non-update regarding the Madison Square Garden show. They said Bobby Lashley was still in concussion protocol and if he’s unable to compete on Saturday, Brock Lesnar will still defend the WWE title.

********

Rey and Dominik entered and issued a warning to Miz and Logan Paul. Miz entered to recap his entire career before boasting about joining forces with Paul last week. He called that a career highlight. Miz noticed a few cheers last week and wondered if he was finally getting the respect he deserved. The crowd chanted “you suck.” Miz talked forever before calling himself awesome.

Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander defeated Rey & Dominik Mysterio (4:27)

Dominik posted Benjamin but Miz grabbed him by the foot as he tried entering the ring. Rey chased Miz off but the distraction allowed Benjamin to roll-up Dominik for the pinfall win.

Shelton Benjamin and Rey Mysterio first wrestled each other on TV 19 years ago in 2003 when Team Angle (Benjamin and Charlie Haas) beat Rey and Billy Kidman on Smackdown.

******** 

Riddle told Randy Orton he was colouring in his colouring book and trying to stay within the lines to stay focused. He hasn’t been able to focus since last week and wasn’t sure if it was because he got stomped or because he put the high in Ohio. Orton thought he seemed just fine and even referred to Riddle as his friend. Orton was ready to kick ass. Riddle was happy and they were on the same page.

[THIRD HOUR]

They aired a clip from Smackdown of Naomi and Sasha Banks saying they would win the tag titles.

Queen Zelina told Carmella that she watched her reality show and said all they talk about was sex. Carmella said if Zelina thought that was something, just wait to see what happens when they retain their titles at WrestleMania. She planned “celebrating” with her fiancé in the ring.

(I don’t think they ever actually referred to Corey Graves by his name.)

********

The Street Profits defeated Randy Orton & Riddle (8:36)

Something went wrong here.

After a break, Riddle wiped out Dawkins before Ford hit Orton with a frog splash. Ford took his time to make a cover as Orton slowly rolled toward the rope. Orton tried to get his foot on the rope as Ford made the cover but he couldn’t reach and the referee counted three.

(Dawkins tried “preventing” Orton from getting his foot on the rope but he didn’t really need to because of what happened.)

You see the referee and wrestlers checking on Orton while going along with the result. Orton was grabbing his shoulder after the splash so maybe he got hurt.

********

Owens and Rollins did a quick interview where Owens insulted Dallas again. 

Veer is coming. 

********

Austin Theory was with Vince McMahon in his office and he spoke about McMahon going on Pat McAfee’s show. Theory said it would be McMahon’s first sit-down interview in 20 years and the last time he did one, he slapped the papers out of the interviewer’s hands. Theory wondered what if something like that happened here and offered to be there with McMahon (as protection). McMahon said it wasn’t that kind of interview.

********

I wish I timed it but Finn Bálor was in the ring forever before his match started. Bálor entered, they went to break, aired the Veer video, aired a Smackdown recap, Damian Priest entered, went to break again, and aired the McMahon/Theory segment.

Finn Bálor defeated Damian Priest to win the United States Championship (11:01)

Bálor hit a flip dive and they went to break (they did the same thing earlier when Ford gave Riddle a flip dive).

They had a pretty good strike exchange but Bálor missed a Coup de Grace and Priest followed with a clothesline. Bálor followed with a rollup for two and Priest came back with a sit-out chokeslam for a nearfall.

Bálor reversed a Reckoning into a headlock elbow drop, hit a shotgun dropkick and Coup de Grace for the pinfall win. Bálor is the new champ. Crowd got into it and they popped for the win.

After the match, Priest grabbed a mic and said the fans carried Bálor to a win. Priest said the fans never gave him that respect despite all of his success. Priest told Bálor he planned on winning the title back and the crowd’s motivation wouldn’t be enough. Bálor got in Priest’s face and Priest decked him.

Priest chucked Bálor out of the ring and gave him a Razor’s Edge onto the announce table (which didn’t break). The crowd booed and Priest said, “Yeah, I am the bad guy, that’s right.”

I liked this. 

******** 

Edge segment 

Edge said it was time to see who it was going to be. He begged someone to step up. Nobody came out and Edge wondered, “what’s happened to this place?”

AJ Styles entered. Edge smiled.

Styles told Edge, “I accept.” Edge was thrilled. He noted that he’s wanted this match for a long time and so has Styles. Edge wanted the bulldog Styles, not the guy playing Omos’ bitch. Styles was caught off guard by that remark.

Edge offered a handshake and decked Styles before he could accept. Edge hammered away but Styles fought back. Edge avoided a Phenomenal forearm and kicked Styles in the nuts.

Edge mounted Styles and hammered away as the crowd booed.

Edge grabbed two chairs and set up for a con-chair-to. Edge put the second chair down and reconsidered before grabbing it and smashing Styles’ head. 

(When this started, I thought maybe Edge was just being a dick to fire up Styles, but this was almost certainly a heel turn — meaning they did two big heel turns in back-to-back segments.) 

United States Championship match set for next week’s WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A WWE United States Championship match between Damian Priest and Finn Balor is set for next week’s Raw.

The match was made after champion Damian Priest issued a challenge following a victory over Shelton Benjamin. He told the crowd that it was WrestleMania season, and while he had faced many people of Benjamin’s caliber, he now wanted to face someone that was a world title level competitor. That was when Balor arrived and accepted the challenge for next week.

Balor had resurfaced earlier that night on Raw, teaming with Tommaso Ciampa to take on the team of Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. The team was successful, giving Ciampa momentum ahead of NXT on Tuesday where he will face Ziggler for the number one contendership for the NXT title.

Priest successfully retained the United States Championship on the February 14 edition of Raw, where he defeated AJ Styles. Priest had lost to Styles in a contender’s match the previous week.

Raw next week will be held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Brock Lesnar appearance, United States title match announced for WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A United States Championship match, along with the return of Brock Lesnar, is set for next week’s Raw.

Damian Priest will defend the United States Championship against AJ Styles, while Brock Lesnar is set to appear on Raw ahead of his match at the Elimination Chamber on February 19, where he will get a shot at becoming WWE Champion once again.

Priest and Styles had a match on tonight’s Raw, with Styles getting the win with the Phenomenal Forearm. After the match, Priest did not look happy, signaling that he may soon turn to his “Damian” persona.

Lesnar last appeared on Raw confronting Lashley, who defeated Lesnar at Royal Rumble after interference from Roman Reigns. Lesnar had demanded that he face Lashley now for the title, but Lashley balked at the idea and left. Adam Pearce then announced that Lesnar would be added to the Elimination Chamber match for later this month.

Also announced for Raw next week is an RK-Broga party, with RK-Bro celebrating their Academic Challenge win. As a result of the win, they will get a future title shot against Alpha Academy for the Raw Tag Team titles.

Damian Priest, AJ Styles declare for WWE Royal Rumble

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Update —

AJ Styles has also declared that he’s entering this year’s men’s Royal Rumble match:

Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, Austin Theory, “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville, Sheamus, Damian Priest, and Styles are the first nine participants to be confirmed for the match.

**********

United States Champion Damian Priest is the latest wrestler to declare for the 2022 Royal Rumble.

Priest posted a video today announcing that he’ll be in this year’s men’s Royal Rumble match:

Priest said he made an immediate impact when he debuted in the 2021 Royal Rumble, and the way he’ll upstage that is by winning the Rumble this year. Priest said he’ll still be United States Champion after WrestleMania — the only question is what other title he’ll be holding too: the WWE Championship or the Universal Championship.

At SummerSlam last August, Priest defeated Sheamus to win the United States title. Priest retained the title against Dolph Ziggler on Raw last week.

This year’s Royal Rumble is taking place at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis on Saturday, January 29. Here’s the updated list of participants for the Royal Rumble matches:

Men’s Royal Rumble match —

  • Angelo Dawkins
  • Montez Ford
  • Rey Mysterio
  • Dominik Mysterio
  • Austin Theory
  • Johnny Knoxville
  • Sheamus
  • United States Champion Damian Priest
  • AJ Styles

Women’s Royal Rumble match —

  • Rhea Ripley
  • Nikki A.S.H.
  • Nikki Bella
  • Brie Bella
  • Shotzi
  • Natalya
  • Michelle McCool
  • Dana Brooke
  • Carmella
  • Zelina Vega
  • Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James
  • Tamina
  • Kelly Kelly
  • Aliyah
  • Summer Rae
  • Naomi
  • Shayna Baszler
  • Lita
  • SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair

Four matches added to next week’s WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A United States Championship match, among other matches, are set for the final Raw of 2021.

Damian Priest will defend the United States title against Dolph Ziggler. The two had a match on tonight’s Raw, with Ziggler winning by count out after Priest attacked Ziggler’s partner, Robert Roode, on the outside. Priest went after Ziggler, but Ziggler fled, leaving Priest to lay out Roode again for good measure.

Additionally, Austin Theory will meet Finn Balor in a rematch from tonight’s Raw. Theory met with Vince McMahon after he jumped Balor backstage, as he had defeated Theory earlier in the show. McMahon said he liked what Theory did, but reminded him that he liked to fire people, especially before the holidays.

AJ Styles and Omos, former tag team partners, will meet in a singles match. Omos attacked Styles after they lost a match to the Mysterios. Omos told Styles that the next time they meet, it will be in a match. Randy Orton is also set to face Otis in a singles match. Orton defeated Chad Gable on tonight’s show and tried to lay out Otis after the match, but Otis blocked the RKO on three different occasions.

Also scheduled for the show is the finals of the RK-Bronament, where The Mysterios will face The Street Profits. The finals were set to take place on December 14, but were delayed by two weeks.

United States title open challenge added to WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The United States title will be on the line on tonight’s episode of Raw.

United States Champion Damian Priest posted a tweet ahead of tonight’s Raw announcing that he’ll be issuing an open challenge for his title on the show. The episode is taking place at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.

Last week, Priest retained his United States title against Apollo Crews. After Commander Azeez was ejected from ringside for getting involved, Priest got the win by hitting the South of Heaven chokeslam and The Reckoning on Crews.

Priest issued an open challenge on Raw two weeks ago and defeated Sami Zayn.

Priest has held the United States title since winning it from Sheamus at SummerSlam this August.

Here’s the updated lineup for tonight’s Raw:

  • Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defends against Liv Morgan
  • Non-title steel cage match: WWE Champion Big E vs. Kevin Owens
  • Miz TV with Edge
  • United States Champion Damian Priest will issue an open challenge

Two title matches announced for WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A pair of title matches are set for tonight’s episode of Raw.

WWE has announced that the United States Championship and Raw Tag Team titles will both be on the line on Raw tonight. Damian Priest will defend his United States title against Apollo Crews, while Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode will challenge RK-Bro (Randy Orton & Riddle) for the Raw Tag Team titles.

Priest and RK-Bro have both held their respective titles since SummerSlam. Priest won the United States Championship from Sheamus at that pay-per-view. RK-Bro won the Raw Tag Team titles from AJ Styles & Omos.

It appeared that Crews was going to answer Priest’s United States title open challenge last week. Crews interrupted Priest on the show but then declined to face him. Crews said he would decimate Priest when they do face off. Crews said he’ll show the entire world that Priest isn’t fit to be United States Champion.

Priest instead retained the United States title against Sami Zayn last Monday.

While dressed up like Orton, Riddle defeated Ziggler in a singles match last week.

Tonight’s Raw is taking place at the UBS Arena in Long Island, New York. Here’s the updated card for the show:

  • Non-title match: WWE Champion Big E vs. Kevin Owens
  • Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor
  • Edge returns
  • United States Champion Damian Priest defends against Apollo Crews
  • Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro defend against Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode

Priest vs. Nakamura set for WWE Survivor Series pre-show

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has revealed which match will be taking place on tonight’s Survivor Series pre-show.

Ahead of tonight’s pay-per-view, WWE announced that Damian Priest vs. Shinsuke Nakamura will be the pre-show match for Survivor Series. It’s a non-title match pitting the United States Champion (Priest) against the Intercontinental Champion (Nakamura).

Priest is a member of the Raw roster, while Nakamura is on SmackDown.

Priest vs. Nakamura is one of four champion vs. champion matches set for Survivor Series. WWE Champion Big E vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, and Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos will also take place on the show.

Survivor Series is being held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The pre-show begins at 7 p.m. Eastern time, with the main card starting at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Here’s the updated card for the show:

  • Non-title match: WWE Champion Big E vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns
  • Non-title match: Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair
  • Non-title match: Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro (Randy Orton & Riddle) vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso)
  • Women’s five-on-five elimination match: Team Raw (Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Carmella & Zelina Vega) vs. Team SmackDown (Sasha Banks, Shayna Baszler, Shotzi, Natalya & Toni Storm)
  • Men’s five-on-five elimination match: Team Raw (Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley & Austin Theory) vs. Team SmackDown (Drew McIntyre, Jeff Hardy, Xavier Woods, Baron Corbin & Sheamus)
  • 25-man battle royal (Ricochet, T-Bar, Mansoor, Cesaro, Montez Ford, Angelo Dawkins, Erik, Ivar, R-Truth, Drew Gulak, AJ Styles, Omos, Sami Zayn, Humberto, Angel, Apollo Crews, Commander Azeez, Otis, Chad Gable, Shelton Benjamin, Cedric Alexander, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Jinder Mahal, and Shanky)
  • Non-title match: United States Champion Damian Priest vs. Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura (pre-show)

Priest vs. Nakamura added to WWE Survivor Series

Posted on by Joseph Currier

All of Survivor Series’ champion vs. champion matches are now official.

WWE has announced that a non-title match between United States Champion Damian Priest and Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura will take place at Survivor Series this Sunday. The pay-per-view is being held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Four non-title matches at Survivor Series will pit champions from Raw and SmackDown against each other. In addition to Priest vs. Nakamura, those matches are: WWE Champion Big E vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, and Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos.

The updated Survivor Series card is listed below:

  • Non-title match: WWE Champion Big E vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns
  • Non-title match: Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair
  • Non-title match: Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro (Randy Orton & Riddle) vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso)
  • Non-title match: United States Champion Damian Priest vs. Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura
  • Women’s five-on-five elimination match: Team Raw (Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Carmella & Zelina Vega) vs. Team SmackDown (Sasha Banks, Shayna Baszler, Shotzi, Natalya, and a partner)
  • Men’s five-on-five elimination match: Team Raw (Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley & Austin Theory) vs. Team SmackDown (Drew McIntyre, Jeff Hardy, Xavier Woods, Baron Corbin, and a partner)

US title match, Charlotte Flair open challenge added to WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A pair of title matches have been added to tonight’s post-Extreme Rules edition of Raw.

United States Champion Damian Priest will defend his title against Sheamus in a no disqualifications and no countouts match on Raw tonight. WWE has also announced that Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair will issue an open challenge for her title on tonight’s episode.

Priest retained the United States title by defeating Sheamus and Jeff Hardy in a triple threat match at Extreme Rules last night. After Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick on Hardy, Priest rolled up Sheamus to get the win.

Charlotte defeated Alexa Bliss at Extreme Rules to retain the Raw Women’s Championship. Charlotte pinned Bliss after hitting Natural Selection.

Charlotte tore apart Bliss’ doll Lilly after their title match. Bliss cried and freaked out over what Charlotte did to Lilly.

Tonight’s Raw is taking place at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. A WWE Championship match will kick off the episode, with Big E defending the title against Bobby Lashley. Big E cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Lashley two weeks ago to become WWE Champion.

Jeff Hardy added to United States title match at WWE Extreme Rules

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The United States Championship match at Extreme Rules is now a triple threat.

United States Champion Damian Priest will defend his title against Sheamus and Jeff Hardy in a triple threat match at Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Hardy got added to the match by defeating Sheamus on Raw tonight.

Hardy hit the Twist of Fate and went for a Swanton Bomb during tonight’s match, but Sheamus got his knees up. But when Sheamus went for White Noise, Hardy slipped out and pinned Sheamus to get the win.

Priest was on commentary for Sheamus vs. Hardy.  Following the match, a brawl between Priest and Sheamus was broken up by officials. The brawl began when Sheamus got in Priest’s face and shoved him.

Priest won the United States title from Sheamus at SummerSlam last month. On Raw last week, Priest retained the title against Hardy after Hardy answered his open challenge.

Sheamus became the number one contender to Priest’s title by defeating Drew McIntyre on Raw two weeks ago.

Extreme Rules is taking place at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Here’s the updated card for the pay-per-view:

  • Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against “The Demon” Finn Balor in an extreme rules match
  • SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defends against Bianca Belair
  • United States Champion Damian Priest defends against Sheamus and Jeff Hardy in a triple threat match
  • Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defends against Alexa Bliss
  • SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defend against The Street Profits
  • Liv Morgan vs. Carmella

Jeff Hardy to challenge for United States title on WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Damian Priest’s open challenge for tonight’s episode of Raw has been answered.

Ahead of tonight’s Raw, WWE uploaded a video with Priest announcing that Hardy has accepted his United States Championship open challenge for the show. Priest said he admires and respects Hardy, and he will be honored to defend the U.S. title against him. Priest said he hopes Hardy brings his best. But Priest said that — as much as he admires and respects him — Hardy’s best won’t be enough.

Priest won the United States Championship from Sheamus at SummerSlam last month. Priest will defend the title against Sheamus at Extreme Rules on Sunday, September 26.

Sheamus defeated Drew McIntyre on Raw last week to get the U.S. title shot at Extreme Rules.

Hardy was one of the wrestlers chasing after Reggie’s 24/7 title on Raw last week.

The TD Garden in Boston is hosting tonight’s Raw. Here’s the updated lineup for the episode:

  • WWE Champion Bobby Lashley defends against Randy Orton (Big E tweeted earlier today that he intends on cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase tonight and becoming WWE Champion)
  • Non-title match: Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Shayna Baszler
  • United States Champion Damian Priest defends against Jeff Hardy
  • Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Mustafa Ali & Mansoor vs. AJ Styles, Omos, Mace & T-Bar
  • Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya

United States title match added to WWE Extreme Rules

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Former United States Champion Sheamus is getting a shot to reclaim the title.

Sheamus will challenge for Damian Priest’s United States Championship at Extreme Rules on Sunday, September 26. Sheamus became the number one contender to Priest’s title by defeating Drew McIntyre on Raw tonight.

McIntyre went to hit a Claymore on Sheamus near the conclusion of the number one contender’s match, but Sheamus reversed it into a roll-up. Sheamus held on to McIntyre’s tights for extra leverage as he pinned him to get the win.

During the number one contender’s match, McIntyre took off the protective mask that Sheamus has been wearing since breaking his nose this May. McIntyre hit Sheamus with the mask after the match and then laid him out with a Claymore.

Priest defeated Sheamus at SummerSlam last month to win the United States title. On Raw last week, Priest retained the title against McIntyre and Sheamus in a triple threat match.

Extreme Rules is being held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Here’s the updated card for the pay-per-view:

  • SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defends against Bianca Belair
  • WWE Champion Bobby Lashley defends against Randy Orton
  • United States Champion Damian Priest defends against Sheamus

WWE Raw video highlights: Two title matches

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

The United States Championship and Raw Tag Team titles were both on the line last night.

After becoming champions at SummerSlam, Damian Priest and RK-Bro each made their first televised title defenses on last night’s episode of Raw. Priest retained against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in a triple threat match. Randy Orton & Riddle retained by defeating WWE Champion Bobby Lashley & MVP.

Priest pinned McIntyre after hitting The Reckoning. Following the match, McIntyre showed respect to Priest by shaking hands with him.

In the main event, Riddle got the win for RK-Bro after hitting the Floating Bro on MVP. Lashley dropped Riddle with a spear after the match and tried to put him in the Hurt Lock, but Orton laid out Lashley with an RKO.

AJ Styles and Omos were on commentary for the Raw Tag Team title match. They tried to get involved but were fought off by Riddle and Orton.

The Raw Women’s Champion was also in action last night as Charlotte Flair lost to Nia Jax in a non-title match.

More coverage from last night —

WWE Raw video highlights —

Damian Priest issues open challenge, two title matches set for later

Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler

The Viking Raiders vs. Jinder Mahal & Veer

Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus for the United States title

Goldberg isn’t coming for the WWE Championship — he’s coming for Bobby Lashley’s soul

R-Truth and Akira Tozawa can’t fool Reggie

Eva Marie unable to compete after being attacked by Doudrop

Humberto Carrillo vs. Karrion Kross

Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax

John Morrison vs. Omos

Xavier Woods vs. AJ Styles

RK-Bro vs. Bobby Lashley & MVP for the Raw Tag Team titles

Raw fallout: Damian Priest reacts to his title defense, being shown respect by McIntyre

Raw fallout: Doudrop says Eva Marie got what was coming to her

Raw fallout: There isn’t a single person that Karrion Kross can’t knock out or submit

Raw Talk: Nia Jax, Sheamus, and Viking Raiders interviews

WWE Raw live results: United States title open challenge

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: August 30, 2021
Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK 

The Big Takeaway — 

Raw was highlighted by an excellent triple threat match that saw Damian Priest retain his US title over Drew McIntyre and Sheamus — by pinning McIntyre. 

Unfortunately, the most memorable thing about tonight’s show will end up being the exceptionally bad match between Nia Jax and Charlotte Flair. 

The three matches they advertised last week did not happen. The Miz was not on the show, so newly turned babyface John Morrison got squashed by Omos.

Show Recap — 

Damian Priest entered to a good reaction. He spoke about winning the United States championship and received a “you deserve it” chant. He wanted to respect the US title the way past champions did, including Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy and John Cena. Priest didn’t want to be like Bobby Lashley, who ran away from a challenge last week. 

Priest issued an open challenge and awaited a challenger. Sheamus entered. He wanted to knock the smile off Priest’s face and take his title back. 

Drew McIntyre interrupted. He would love to see Priest beat up Sheamus for the 500th time but it was probably time for something new. McIntyre noted that he has never won the US title and challenged Priest to a match tonight. Sheamus was pissed. 

Lashley and MVP interrupted. They were booed and greeted with “Goldberg” chants. MVP said they dealt with Goldberg already and there was no reason for Lashley to issue an open challenge for his belt because he’s already beaten everybody. MVP suggested Lashley beat Priest and become a double champion. 

Randy Orton and Riddle interrupted (to Orton’s music). They received a big reaction. Orton said MVP sucks and Lashley was a greedy son of a bitch. Riddle wondered how you would even hold two belts. He audibly struggled with the idea until Orton stopped him from talking. 

Lashley said he did want two belts, but it didn’t have to be the US title. Lashley wanted the tag titles. Riddle challenged Lashley and MVP to an open challenge. Orton told him that’s not really how open challenges work. MVP accepted. 

Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville entered. Pearce made a US title triple match with Priest against Sheamus and McIntyre. Deville made the tag title match official as well. 

********

If there wasn’t enough talking already, Rhea Ripley grabbed the mic to introduce Nikki ASH (who didn’t get much of a reaction). Nia Jax also grabbed the mic and threatened to flatten both Ripley and Nikki before doing the same to Charlotte Flair later tonight. 

Rhea Ripley (w/Nikki A.S.H.) defeated Shayna Baszler (w/Nia Jax) (10:30) 

Baszler completely dominated for the first seven minutes (which went through a break). Ripley got to her knees and dared Baszler to come after her. Ripley mounted her comeback from there, hitting a dropkick and Northern Lights suplex for two. Baszler tried applying an armbar but Ripley blocked it and got a rope break. 

Baszler applied the Kirifuda Clutch for a moment but Ripley quickly countered it. At that moment, Jax ran over Nikki and gave her a Samoan drop outside the ring (Ripley and Baszler basically stopped wrestling as this happened). Ripley was distracted so Baszler tried rolling her up but Ripley reversed into a rollup of her own for the pinfall win. 

Jax laid out Ripley with a Samoan drop after the match. The crowd liked Ripley and Jax was booed for laying her out. 

********

The Viking Raiders did a quick backstage promo. The raid is on. 

The Viking Raiders defeated Jinder Mahal & Veer (w/Shanky) (4:48) 

As Erik made his comeback, Ivar wiped out Veer and Shanky with a senton off the apron. Mahal tried attacking from behind but they gave him the Viking Experience for the pinfall win. 

********

McIntyre was shown getting ready in the back. 

Triple threat match: Damian Priest defeated Drew McIntyre and Sheamus to retain the United States Championship (21:29)

McIntyre and Priest worked together to take out Sheamus. Priest sent him over the barricade into the timekeeper’s area. McIntyre and Priest were left standing as they went to break two minutes into the match. 

[Second hour] 

After the break, Sheamus was back and nailed Priest with a flying clothesline for two. Sheamus also sent McIntyre into the ring post. Priest fought back but Sheamus cut him off with a backbreaker. Sheamus clubbed Priest’s chest and posed until McIntyre went after him with overhead suplexes and a neckbreaker. 

Sheamus avoided a charge and McIntyre went into the post again. Priest knocked down Sheamus with a spinning heel kick. Priest hit McIntyre with a series of strikes but McIntyre booted him and knocked him out of the ring. 

McIntyre followed with a big flip dive to wipe out both opponents. He followed that with a Michinoku Driver on Priest for a nearfall. This led to another big spot where Sheamus hung McIntyre upside down on the turnbuckles and set up Priest for a superplex, but McIntyre sat up and sent them both down with a big suplex. 

After a break, McIntyre and Sheamus traded strikes until Sheamus hit an Alabama Slam for two. Sheamus applied a Cloverleaf but Priest kicked him in the head and hit a chokeslam but McIntyre broke up the cover. Priest set up McIntyre for the Reckoning but Sheamus Brogue kicked him. Priest fell out of the ring so Sheamus couldn’t make a cover. 

McIntyre gave Sheamus a Future Shock DDT and went for the Claymore Kick but Sheamus caught him with a knee strike for a close nearfall. Sheamus hit a White Noise off the middle rope but McIntyre kicked out (as Priest also dove in to break it up). 

McIntyre knocked Sheamus out of the ring with a Claymore. McIntyre and Priest had an exchange that led to Priest hitting Reckoning for the pinfall win. Priest pins McIntyre. 

McIntyre shook hands with Priest after the match. 

Excellent match and a big win for Priest. 

********

(The announcers said we’d get footage of Goldberg after a break. The live crowd only saw “Goldberg up next” on the screen so they cheered thinking he’d be there live.) 

They showed footage of Goldberg telling a cameraperson that he needed surgery on his knee. He was pissed about what Lashley did to his son. He wasn’t coming back for the WWE championship, he was coming for Lashley’s soul and planned on ripping it from his chest. 

******** 

Reginald was at yet another park. Truth was behind him playing with Akira Tozawa in a dog costume. Reginald saw them and managed to escape. 

WWE congratulated themselves on having 25 million followers on Instagram. 

******** 

Eva Marie vs. Doudrop 

The match didn’t happen. Marie deliberately had her back turned as Doudrop made her entrance so Doudrop attacked her from behind, beat her up and laid her out. Doudrop pinned her and counted to three herself. The referee told Mike Rome to announce that Marie was now unable to compete tonight. Doudrop grabbed the mic and announced herself as the winner. 

(This might read like Doudrop is a heel but she isn’t.) 

******** 

Sarah Schreiber interviewed Charlotte Flair about Nia Jax. Charlotte wasn’t worried about Jax. 

******** 

Karrion Kross defeated Humberto Carrillo (4:16) 

This was a four-minute match that felt way longer. Carrillo mounted a brief comeback but Kross gave him a Saito suplex and put him in the Kross Jacket for the submission win. 

Kross wore his dumb outfit again. The crowd’s been hot but they did not care about this at all. 

******** 

Jax told Schrieber that she was going to crush anyone that comes in her way. She wanted to shove Charlotte’s imaginary crown up her royal behind. 

[Third hour] 

Riddle and Orton discussed their match in the back. Riddle listed all of his skills and went on long enough that Orton just walked away. 

********

Nia Jax defeated Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair in a non-title match (13:43) 

They fought back-and-forth until Charlotte hit a dive which led to break. Jax hit an ugly-looking spinebuster before the break and an even worse-looking backdrop after the break. Charlotte tried a moonsault but Jax got her knees up (sort of). Jax hit a Samoan Drop but missed a leg drop. 

They began shoving each other and maybe got mixed up on what they wanted to do next. (Or they were pissed at each other.) Jax eventually hit a hard chokebomb for the pinfall win. This was a mess. 

******** 

John Morrison told Omos he was supposed to have a match against the Miz but he went back to Hollywood. Morrison wanted to impress his acting coach so he challenged Omos to a match. Omos said, “sucks to be you” and walked off. Morrison responded, “Yeah, I guess it does.” 

Omos (w/AJ Styles) defeated John Morrison (2:03)  

Morrison flew around trying to avoid Omos but Omos knocked him down with a clothesline and won with a tree slam. 

AJ Styles (w/Omos) defeated Xavier Woods (7:11) 

Styles won clean, making Woods tap out to the Calf Crusher. (Woods was crawling to the ropes and almost got there but tapped out, which was a bit odd.) 

They had a pretty good match but the crowd wasn’t that into it, probably after being brought down by the previous two matches.

******** 

AJ Styles joined commentary for the next match. He seemed surprised to learn that it was a title match and buried MVP as a partner for Lashley. 

Riddle & Randy Orton defeated WWE Champion Bobby Lashley & MVP to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships (11:55) 

Riddle wiped out MVP and Lashley with a dive which led to break. Despite that, the heels worked over Riddle following the break. 

Orton made the hot tag and hit MVP with clotheslines, punches in the corner, and a powerslam. Orton set up for the RKO but decided to give Lashley a draping DDT instead. MVP booted Orton and sent him into the post. 

Lashley tagged in and worked over Orton until Riddle tagged himself in. Riddle hit (missed) a Pelé kick, ripcord knee strike and floating bro but MVP broke up the cover by stomping on Riddle’s foot. 

Lashley went after Orton on the outside but Orton shoved him into the post. Omos put his hands on Orton but Riddle saved him by dropkicking Omos. Styles went after Orton but Orton dropped him on the announce table. 

Riddle gave MVP the floating bro for the pinfall win. Crowd popped for the win. 

As Riddle celebrated, Lashley speared him. Lashley was about to do more but Orton gave him an RKO. Orton stood with Riddle as the show ended.