The Lucha House Party which consists of Kalisto, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik made their debut as a group tonight on Raw. The team of Dorado and Kalisto defeated the Revival, with Kalisto scoring the win with the Salida del Sol on Scott Dawson. Announcers never explained why Lucha House Party were on Raw or what their status is on 205 Live.
This isn’t the first time that 205 Live talent have found a spot on the Raw roster. General Manager Drake Maverick has been managing the Authors of Pain since September, while Lio Rush has been managing Bobby Lashley. Both still appear on 205 Live regularly.
All three members of the Lucha House Party were part of the inaugural 205 Live roster when the show started back in the fall of 2016. Kalisto has also been part of the main roster in the past, winning the United States championship on two occasions.
With the addition of a Cruiserweight Championship match, the card for the Greatest Royal Rumble has been finalized.
Cedric Alexander defending his title against Kalisto became the last match to be announced for the show. Kalisto won a gauntlet match on this week’s 205 Live to earn the title shot, coming in as the final entrant and eliminating Drew Gulak. TJP, Mustafa Ali, and Tony Nese were the three other wrestlers who participated in the gauntlet.
WWE also officially confirmed Rey Mysterio, Mark Henry, The Great Khali, Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens for the 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match. All of those names had been advertised for the show prior to this announcement.
Henry was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year and hasn’t wrestled since the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33. Khali’s last appearance for the company came when he helped Jinder Mahal defeat Randy Orton at Battleground 2017.
The Greatest Royal Rumble streams live on the WWE Network from King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at noon Eastern time on Friday. There will also be a one-hour pre-show before the main card starts.
Here’s the full lineup for the event:
50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Shinsuke Nakamura
John Cena vs. Triple H
The Undertaker vs. Rusev in a casket match
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against The Miz, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe in a ladder match
United States Champion Jeff Hardy defending against Jinder Mahal
Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. Cesaro & Sheamus for the vacant Raw Tag Team titles
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers defending against The Usos
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander defending against Kalisto
The Big Takeaway: Raw rehash and WrestleMania build dominated the show this week. It otherwise saw The Revival steal a win against Titus Worldwide in the opener and a six-man cruiserweight tag match that ran at under two minutes in the main event.
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The Revival defeated Titus Worldwide (w/ Dana Brooke) (5:50)
Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder continued their build towards their appearance in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania with a win over Titus Worldwide. Vic Joseph put over on commentary again and again how they always know where the other is and what a successful team they have been of late, leading us to wonder how they will function in an every-man-for-themselves matchup.
Due to their cult following on the NXT roster, The Revival still get a strong crowd reaction when they come out — and that was especially apparent this week on Main Event. Apollo and Dawson started things off in the ring together in a match that was 50-50 throughout.
Titus O’Neil eventually got the heat and bulldozed both Wilder and Dawson, but Wilder managed to get them into a strong position when he blind tagged in so that The Revival were able to double team O’Neil and set up the Shatter Machine for the win.
Kalisto, Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik defeated Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari & Jack Gallagher (1:46)
Last week on Main Event, top billing was given to six-man cruiserweight tag action, but it was frustratingly short with the finish coming at just after two minutes of action. In what was almost a rematch of last week’s match, with TJP substituted for Gallagher, this one was even shorter with Kalisto sealing the victory for the luchador team.
The highlight of the match was when Metalik stood on the apron and ducked his head under the top rope, ushering Dorado to use him to propel him over the top rope. Dorado ran up and launched himself off Metalik’s shoulders to the outside, striking both Daivari and Gallagher onto the floor.
Over on 205 Live, the offerings this week were extremely strong, with Nese and Mark Andrews putting on a really quality singles match. Nese came up short there, just as he did here, when Kalisto nailed him with an enzuigiri and followed it up with the Salida del Sol for the victory.
Hawkins’ never-ending losing streak continued here with another loss to Goldust, whose partnership with Mandy Rose has given him a new lease of life. After a lot of comedy early on, Hawkins took control when he waffled Goldust on the apron to send him outside. He followed him and nailed him with a stiff clothesline and they teased a count out finish. Goldust rolled back into the ring at 9.75.
Hawkins took over the match, slowing things down with a rear chinlock until Goldust got some separation with a spinebuster. He got the heat with clotheslines, a running bulldog, and a scoop slam. Hawkins wriggled out of the first attempt, but Goldust kicked him in the gut and hit the Final Cut for the win.
The loss took Hawkins to 0-171 but was a good win for Goldust in preparation for his Mixed Match Challenge bout with Mandy Rose against Jimmy Uso & Naomi on Tuesday night.
Kalisto defeated Ariya Daivari (7:31)
Speaking of losing streaks, Daivari currently finds himself on one of his own. Without a win since August in all competitions, the loss here to Kalisto took him to 0-28.
Daivari disrespected Kalisto early on but soon looked the fool. After mocking Kalisto’s “lucha” chant and even laying across the top turnbuckle, Kalisto hit him with a kick to the side of the head and then shot at him with a suicide dive outside.
After the break, the pace had slowed with Daivari using his heel moveset to keep Kalisto from using his speed and agility. This led to a near fall when Daivari absolutely nailed Kalisto with a spinebuster, but Kalisto just managed to get his shoulder up. Daivari tried to pull off Kalisto’s mask, but it didn’t lead anywhere.
Having put up a good fight and putting on a decent match, Kalisto finished Daivari off by planting him with a rana and the Salida del Sol for the win.
The Big Takeaway: Curt Hawkins added yet another loss to his streak, this time against Goldust, and Gran Metalik & Kalisto defeated TJP & Jack Gallagher in under three minutes.
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Goldust defeated Curt Hawkins (4:29)
And so it continues. Curt Hawkins went 0-164 here, is now 0-165, and following Main Event went on to have a backstage segment after Raw where the Brooklyn Brawler told him not to give up and to believe in himself. We may be going somewhere with this streak, but exactly where is not yet clear.
Goldust took the win out of nothing, really. The match was back and forth, with Hawkins looking the more likely of the two to come out on top. They did a lot of comedy early on, with Hawkins even laying down in the middle of the ring asking to be pinned. Of course, it was a ruse.
The finish started when Hawkins used a side Russian leg sweep and slapped on a rest hold. When Goldust worked his way out, he dropped to his knees, struck Hawkins, and rolled him up for the win. Hawkins was in disbelief.
Gran Metalik & Kalisto defeated TJP & Jack Gallagher (2:43)
They didn’t give this one long at all in front of this expectant pre-Raw 25th anniversary show crowd. Metalik has had TJP’s number over the last few weeks on 205 Live, and the same was true here as the pair started things off together.
After taking two arm whips, TJP hobbled as quickly as he could to make the tag to Gallagher. Gallagher slowed things down, crotching Metalik on the top turnbuckle as we went to a break.
We returned to both men down, and they went straight to the hot tag and the finish. Kalisto took care of Gallagher, tossing him over the top rope and hitting him with a springboard seated senton. And Metalik finished off TJP with a rope-walk elbow drop and the Metalik Driver in the middle of the ring.
Kalisto was back in the ring before Raw went on the air last night and got a win against Tony Nese on Main Event. Abigail Rodriguez, Kalisto’s wife, had posted on her social media accounts last week that Kalisto needed stitches and had an MRI done due to the water bottle being thrown at him. The bottle, which wasn’t empty, bounced off the ground and hit him in the mouth.
In the other match on this week’s Main Event, The Revival were in action against Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews. Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson got the win in Dawson’s second week since returning from tearing his bicep in August.
Kalisto appears to have been injured when a fan threw a water bottle at him on Tuesday’s episode of 205 Live.
The bottle was thrown at Kalisto while he was laying outside the ring after he had teamed with Gran Metalik against Jack Gallagher & Brian Kendrick. The faces won by disqualification, with Gallagher & Kendrick continuing to attack them after the match. As Gallagher & Kendrick were walking away, the camera cut to a shot of a bottle, which wasn’t empty, bouncing off the ground and hitting Kalisto in the mouth.
Abigail Rodriguez, Kalisto’s wife, posted an update yesterday which revealed that Kalisto needed stitches, had an MRI done, and suffered a possible fracture. Rodriguez didn’t reveal any specifics about the potential fracture.
“The way you assaulted my husband was disgusting to say the least,” Rodriguez wrote. “Your actions caused harm and medical intervention was needed. Second, I am in disbelief with those that think it’s ok to ridicule (poke fun of) someone who lives their life to entertain others. If it was you in the situation, you wouldn’t be laughing now would you?! What a way to spend our holidays! Stitches, MRI, and possible fracture, we don’t know.”
Kalisto has yet to comment on the incident. Rodriguez’s post includes a fairly brutal picture of his lip after the injuries that were caused.
Kalisto was shown backstage hyping up his birthday, with him saying that he’ll beat Drew Gulak tonight. Gulak and Enzo Amore were backstage next to Kalisto’s cake, and Amore told Gulak to beat Kalisto and roll in dough.
Amore apparently bought the cake for Kalisto and snuck a taste before slapping Gulak’s hand for doing the same. Amore’s faction is now called the Zo Train, and Mustafa Ali will face Zo Train member Ariya Daivari later in the night.
Jack Gallagher and Brian Kendrick walked down to face Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann. Gallagher cut an intense promo on them for being ignorant. Swann hyped up Alexander as being from Charlotte and got a nice reaction.
Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann defeated Brian Kendrick & Jack Gallagher in a tornado tag match
This was a tornado tag match, so it ended up being pretty chaotic. Nigel McGuinness had a great line about the Alexander School of Chiropracty handing out free Lumbar Checks tonight. Alexander and Kendrick brawled near the announce table, then Gallagher dropkicked Alexander over the table.
Swann kicked out at two in the ring and Gallagher landed a sick kick to the head. They destroyed Swann in the corner after sending Alexander back out to the announce table. The heels used dual submissions on the faces — with Kendrick locking on the Captain’s Hook on Alexander while Gallagher had a Fujiwara armbar on Swann.
Swann prevented a tap from Alexander, so the heels locked on a Fujiwara armbar/Captain’s Hook combo on him before Alexander made a save. Kendrick had Alexander pinned in the corner and a Gallagher dropkick set up a Sliced Bread for two.
Swann kicked away at Gallagher before hitting a double famouser on the heels for two. Swann and Kendrick fought up top, where the heels sent him off with a double hip toss for a near fall. Alexander got the tag and hit a big spinning elbow but ate a dropkick to the leg.
Gallagher went for the corner dropkick, but Swann connected with a spin kick and then a suicide DDT. The neutralizer kick and Lumbar Check hit on Kendrick and the faces won it.
Mustafa Ali defeated Ariya Daivari
Daivari came down and put over Amore, saying there’s no value in Kalisto being champion — but Amore being champ ensures more cash and fame. Ali cut an unfunny promo about Daivari having his head too far up Amore’s butt and talked about wanting to make 205 Live better — which made the crowd turn on him.
Ali flipped around a bit to start things off and a blind crossbody got two for him. He went for a springboard, but Daivari shoved him off and to the floor. Daivari kicked away mid-ring to continue to ground Ali. Ali landed a series of forearms but ate a bulldog for two.
Daivari flew off the second rope for a flying elbow but missed. Ali then hit a pair of axe handles and flips, but Daivari put him down with a falling inverted DDT before hitting a frog splash for two. Daivari went for a fireman’s carry slam but ended up eating elbows. Ali went up for the inverted 450 and hit it to win.
Kalisto stretched before his match and birthday party, with Akira Tozawa wishing him luck.
Amore entered for the birthday party. The crowd chanted “Enzo Amore” and he told them thanks, he already knows his name. Amore said he’s spent a great deal of money on this party to truly celebrate Kalisto. Amore mentioned that they got him a great gift — a beating from Gulak, who asked “How are you doing?” before Amore told him to never do that again.
Amore said the cake is quality — it’ll be good until Thanksgiving if you freeze it at the right temperature and Kalisto can eat it as he lives in misery after he loses at Survivor Series.
Kalisto defeated Drew Gulak
Gulak controlled the wrist to start. Kalisto turned the tables on him quickly, but Gulak chopped away on the ropes. Gulak teased tossing Kalisto into the cake, but Kalisto fought it off. Gulak beat him up for a while, so the crowd sang “Happy Birthday.”
Gulak locked on a Romero Special and went for a dive off the bottom rope. Kalisto turned that into a basement rana for two. Amore gave Kalisto a cheap shot and Gulak sang “Happy Birthday” angrily before the Salida Del Sol hit and Kalisto got a quick win.
Amore destroyed Kalisto after the match until he fought back and got a “we want cake” chant. He went to throw Amore into the cake, but Gulak made the save.
McGuinness and Vic Joseph talked about Sunday’s pay-per-view and the two-hour pre-show. Backstage, Amore was upset and Kalisto rammed his face into the cake. They delivered the heel being smashed into the cake — but didn’t do it in front of the fans. Well, that was a bit underwhelming.
Two matches are set for next week’s episode of SmackDown and a Cruiserweight title match has been confirmed for Survivor Series.
WWE announced on last night’s SmackDown that Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable would be challenging for The Usos’ Tag Team titles and Rusev would be facing AJ Styles in a Survivor Series qualifying match next Tuesday.
Benjamin & Gable became number one contenders when they defeated Breezango, The Hype Bros, and The Ascension in a fatal four-way match last month. The winner of Rusev vs. Styles will become the final member of SmackDown’s men’s division Survivor Series team, joining Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode & Shinsuke Nakamura.
Whichever team holds the SmackDown tag titles will face Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose in a non-title match at Survivor Series on November 19th.
On 205 Live last night, it was also announced that Enzo Amore would be defending his Cruiserweight Championship against Kalisto at the pay-per-view. That will be Survivor Series’ only title match since all of Raw’s champions are facing SmackDown’s champions in non-title bouts at the show.
The show started off with a recap of Enzo Amore beating Kalisto for the Cruiserweight Championship at TLC by using a thumb to the eye and then hitting Eat Defeat.
Rich Swann came down for a tag team match with Cedric Alexander, but their win from TLC was showcased before their opponents entered. Alexander and Swann were in matching black and green gear, which was a great touch. Noam Dar and Tony Nese provided the competition for them tonight.
Rich Swann & Cedric Alexander defeated Tony Nese & Noam Dar
Nese posed, but Alexander grabbed him and flipped around to get an edge. A big dropkick sent Nese down so Alexander could pose to mock him. Alexander tagged Swann in, leading to a suplex/rolling thunder double team getting two for the babyface duo. Dar ate a dropkick, but Nese was still legal and bowled Swann over.
Dar came in legally and snapmared Swann into the ropes before attacking the knee, then Nese came in to attack with a tree of woe. Nese did the ab crunch kicks before Dar tagged in and did them poorly, so Nese told him how to do them properly and came back in.
Swann hit the knockout kick, but Dar pulled Swann off the cover and tagged himself in. Alexander got a hot tag and ran wild with a big elbow and the handspring enzuigiri kick hit for a near fall.
Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher came down and briefly distracted Alexander, giving Dar the chance to get a front choke. Swann superkicked him to make a save and dove to take out Nese on the floor. The Lumbar Check hit on Dar and ended it — so Swann and Alexander have now won two straight matches.
Kendrick and Gallagher said they aren’t here to hurt them — they are impressed by Alexander and his cruelty. He has a lot of potential — but can’t live up to it if he’s carrying Rich Swann on his back. Gallagher said that he was fighting for approval too, but the people don’t matter and neither does Swann. Wolves shouldn’t concern themselves with the sheep, because as cruel men, they can rise above them.
Gallagher said that he’ll give Alexander a week, because if he doesn’t make the right choice, Swann is next and will be victimized next week.
Drew Gulak walked backstage before coming out for a match
Gulak was out and said he believes in a better 205 Live and he is upset over his PowerPoint presentation being taken away at TLC. Gulak noted that due to the fans chanting Akira Tozawa’s “Ha!” at home tonight, he is canceling all of the matches. So to fill time, he will show all of the slides of his PowerPoint presentation!
Gulak only got through slide one before Gran Metalik interrupted. How very rude of him! Gulak told him to stay on the ground, but I bet Metalik will violate that rule too.
Drew Gulak defeated Gran Metalik
Metalik grounded him with a headscissors before Gulak escaped and got locked in an arm wringer. Gulak applied a headlock alongside an “Austin Aries” chant. Metalik hit a rana and, as a form of a flip, Gulak was angered greatly. A springboard missile dropkick then hit for Metalik, and Gulak went outside and ate a ropewalk moonsault.
Gulak grounded him with a kneeling chinbar before turning it into a hammerlock. Metalik superkicked Gulak and hit an inverted slingblade to send him down. Metalik hit the ropewalk splash. They went back and forth on cradles for two before a super rana hit and got a near fall for Metalik.
Gulak avoided the Metalik Driver and locked on the body-trapping dragon sleeper to win it. Gulak went to take the knee out from Metalik, but Tozawa returned and sent Gulak packing.
Kalisto cut a promo and said he’ll win tonight. Ariya Daivari entered and did Amore’s promo since he still can’t talk. Amore opted to do wacky dances, which he’s good at, before wrestling — which he isn’t quite as good at. Daivari did the best promo work of his career playing the role of Amore.
Nigel McGuinness talked about Kalisto’s young life and how his parents came to America as immigrants and lived in the attic of a friend’s house in a neighborhood full of violence. Wow, he actually made it very easy to care about a babyface and it only took 30 seconds.
Kalisto defeated WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore by DQ
Kalisto started things off quickly and sent Amore outside. Amore tried to escape after being thrown in, but Kalisto stomped on his fingers. Kalisto went for corner mount punches, but Amore sent him outside. This got a pair of high-numbered counts, but Kalisto made it back in both times before Amore kicked him down.
Amore teased a superplex off the top to the floor but opted to send him down ribs-first on the top turnbuckle. Amore went for Eat Defeat on the apron, but Kalisto turned it into the windmill driver on the apron! Well, that was pretty crazy. This got a nine count on the floor and resulted in a “lucha” chant.
Amore went for the DDG until Kalisto hit a high kick. Amore ate a tornado DDT, but he then kicked the referee into the ropes to crotch Kalisto for a DQ. Kalisto charged after him and beat him down, but Amore got the mic and said he’s still Cruiserweight Champion — how you doin’?
Just a couple of days after losing the Cruiserweight Championship, Kalisto will get his rematch on tonight’s episode of 205 Live.
That was announced during Raw last night, with Kalisto saying that he was invoking his rematch clause against Enzo Amore. To further set up the match, Kalisto pinned Amore in a 10-man tag on Raw after hitting the Salida del Sol.
Amore regained the Cruiserweight title by defeating Kalisto with help from a thumb to the eye at TLC on Sunday. Kalisto had won the championship from Amore in a lumberjack match on Raw just two weeks ago, which was a decision that was made when plans were changed due to Neville wanting to leave the company.
Before 205 Live, tonight’s SmackDown will feature the continuation of the angle where the SmackDown roster invaded Raw last night. Shane McMahon addressing how Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have acted over the last couple of weeks, AJ Styles vs. Sunil Singh, Baron Corbin vs. Sin Cara, and The Usos & The New Day vs. Rusev, Aiden English, Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable in an eight-man tag match are also advertised for the show.
We started things off with a recap of Monday night’s confrontation with Enzo Amore and Kurt Angle, along with Amore’s match with Kalisto and eventual title loss. Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness then introduced the show and hyped up the TJP vs. Rich Swann two-out-of-three falls match.
Renee Young was mid-ring and introduced Kalisto. He said he’s the first luchador to hold the Cruiserweight title and he’ll do it in Eddie Guerrero’s honor. That brought Amore and Ariya Daivari out, and Amore told Kalisto he isn’t here to crash his party. Amore called himself the godfather of the division and said the loserweights are his sons — and disappointing ones at that.
Amore said that Kalisto is a bit like Eddie Guerrero — he had to lie, cheat, and steal to get the title. Amore said that he put the title around high-end brands like Versace because he’s got tons of money, but there won’t be any money in the division with Kalisto on top. Daivari jumped Kalisto and a brawl erupted before Mustafa Ali came down to make the save. I smell a tag match, playa.
Rich Swann came down to the ring to face TJP. Swann told TJP that he gave him this match — but it will end their friendship.
Rich Swann defeated TJP in a two-out-of-three falls match
Swann dove onto TJP to start things off quickly. TJP recovered and tossed him into a barricade. TJP threw Swann into the ring and went for the kneebar — but Swann turned it into a cradle to score the first fall. It was then announced that Kalisto & Ali would face Amore & Daivari in the main event.
TJP landed a slick dropkick as the second fall began before taunting a bit and locking on a chinlock. He transitioned it into a straightjacket choke and locked on a cloverleaf, but Swann escaped. Swann went for a Tiger Driver, but TJP turned it into a DDT and cradled him for two. Swann was able to hit the Tiger Driver for a two count of his own.
Swann went for a standing frog splash, but TJP turned it into a cradle for two. TJP sent him outside with an awkward landing before dropkicking the knee. A big spin kick hit for Swann, with it getting a close near fall. TJP locked on the kneebar, but Swann escaped. Swann hit a rolling thunder and landed a Phoenix Splash to end it with a clean sweep. Well, that was surprising.
Amore cut a promo on Ali before Drew Gulak came in and asked them to pay attention to his PowerPoint presentations. Gulak said he can’t stand to see Kalisto as champion — he dresses like a goof! Gulak may not agree with Amore’s bombastic personality, but he too is woke! Amore asked what on earth just occurred, and the correct answer is “greatness” courtesy of Drew Gulak. Gulak said he’ll show what he means against Tozawa.
Tozawa entered to face Gulak, but Gulak jumped him before the match. Gulak tossed him into the tron and used his “no chants” board as a weapon by ramming it into Tozawa’s throat.
McGuinness called the attack nasty, leading to Joseph transitioning into talking about the previous attack of Cedric Alexander by Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher. Alexander was interviewed about his divide and conquer tactics from last week, with him saying that he has an edge and knows who he is. He then rattled off about a thousand unrelated statements to end this.
Kalisto and Ali came out for the main event first, then Amore skipped down and told Kalisto to find a good surgeon because they’re going to destroy his nose. Amore did his “S-A-W-F-T” bit as McGuinness said that he hopes he’ll learn to spell “soft” properly.
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Kalisto & Mustafa Ali defeated Enzo Amore & Ariya Daivari
Ali slugged away at Amore, but Daivari knocked him off the apron with a boot. Amore punted Ali’s ribs and tagged in Daivari to run his knee into the gut before a reverse bear hug. McGuinness then sang a song from Aladdin and Amore ate a big kick.
The faces sent Amore and Daivari outside for a double dive to gain a big edge, then Daivari ate the Salida Del Sol to end it. Amore dragged Daivari out before Kalisto did his “lucha” chant.
They’ve gone all-in with Amore as a heel here, with him insulting Daivari after and also yelling at the ref throughout the match. Amore still feels like the true top act, while Kalisto feels like a bigger star than he did before — but he doesn’t have the tools to even carry this version of the cruiserweight division. Comparing him to Eddie Guerrero regularly, and even mentioning Rey Mysterio while he’s out there, won’t help him in the slightest.
Enzo Amore’s issues with Kalisto started the show off strong, and Kalisto began his run on 205 Live with a strong outing against Ariya Daivari.
Drew Gulak’s PowerPoint presentation continued, much to the dismay of Akira Tozawa and Mustafa Ali. Ali blatantly disregarded the new “no flipping” edict, while Tozawa violated the “no chants” rule. Cedric Alexander got a more serious edge by attacking Brian Kendrick, while Kendrick’s ally Jack Gallagher battled against Alexander in the main event.
Show Recap —
Enzo Amore’s promo from Raw was recapped, then we saw the debut of Kalisto in the division. Surprisingly, they didn’t even try to add in a crowd reaction to it. Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness hyped up Kalisto vs. Ariya Daivari and Cedric Alexander vs. Jack Gallagher.
Kalisto is back to his “lucha lucha” theme and McGuinness compared him to Rey Mysterio Jr. Kalisto said the cruiserweights are the hardest workers, leading to Amore coming down. Amore buried his outfit for being horrible, saying he’d be ashamed to donate it to the Salvation Army — but he’s a good guy, so he’d still do it.
Kalisto showed Amore cheating to win the title to further the idea that the important things for the division happen on shows that aren’t this. Amore said that he’ll give Kalisto his due — he went toe-to-toe with Braun Strowman, but he left in the trash and hasn’t done anything since losing the US title. Amore hyped up Daivari and apologized for insulting him last night.
Kalisto defeated Ariya Daivari
Daivari slugged away to start things off, but Kalisto sent him out with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Daivari punched away more in the corner, but Kalisto hit the corkscrew crossbody and his snap rana for two.
Daivari countered the Salida del Sol and landed a frog splash for two. Kalisto then countered a pickup off the mat and ended it with the Salida del Sol. We got a replay of the frog splash — and it was pretty outstanding.
A replay aired of Jack Gallagher’s heel turn and his beating of Cedric Alexander last week, then Drew Gulak walked backstage to prepare to face Mustafa Ali. Gulak’s revamped news magazine-style theme is just perfect for this act.
Gulak talked about his Drewtopia and how Akira Tozawa ruined everyone’s chance to see the remainder of his 269 proposals — and if anyone missed his prior proposals, you can watch him on demand. Gulak got a “Yes” chant for the PowerPoint presentation and showed his new slide — no flipping.
Ali’s theme interrupted slide number nine, to the dismay of McGuinness. Tozawa further interrupted with a chair and his war cry.
Mustafa Ali defeated Drew Gulak
Gulak was kicked off to the floor before Tozawa did his war cry on the mic. Gulak marched around ringside with his “no chants” sign to further remind everyone that he is fantastic. Ali did a backflip and waved “Hi” to Gulak. Ali did a spinning rana that went a bit awry, but a crossbody off the top got two.
Gulak turned a tornado DDT into a slingshot knee strike for two. Gulak got a nerve hold, but Tozawa’s chant distracted him — so he turned it into a seated straightjacket choke. Ali hit a pop-up dropkick and a flying neckbreaker for two.
Ali ate a suplex into the buckle and Gulak set up something in the corner, but Tozawa’s chant distracted him and he did a charge into the corner that missed. The 054 then ended it for Ali. McGuinness demanded that this loss be stricken from the record due to the flips.
Dasha Fuentes talked to Brian Kendrick, who said that Gallagher is busy thinking of ways to torture Alexander. Kendrick said that he feels bad for being part of the mob that was against Amore, and he should have been there for him because he too had a locker room against him once. Kendrick said he stands by Amore now, then Alexander jumped him and attacked his left leg.
Gallagher entered in his full suit and tie while Alexander came down to the ring with a purpose.
Jack Gallagher defeated Cedric Alexander by DQ
Alexander started things off with intense forearm strikes to the jaw before Gallagher attacked and went to work on the mat. A quick takedown got two before Gallagher hit a series of round kicks to the stomach in the corner. He furthered the destruction on the mat and undid his jacket, but Alexander sent him out and dove onto him on the floor.
Gallagher ate a nasty forearm and tossed Alexander into the barricade. Gallagher went under the apron and jumped Alexander before undoing his tie. He grabbed William III, but Alexander stood on it and cracked him over the back to give Gallagher the win by DQ.
Alexander tossed Gallagher around the timekeeper’s area before tossing him into the announce table, with McGuinness telling Joseph to run for his life. Alexander kept beating Gallagher down before Kendrick limped down to help his friend.
The Big Takeaway: Kalisto grabbed a win against Rhyno in the opener, then Gran Metalik lost his second straight match on Main Event, this week losing out to Tony Nese.
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Kalisto defeated Rhyno (5:38)
A series of rarities kick off the show this week: a rare babyface vs. babyface match saw an unlikely fist-bump of appreciation between the two on the bell here. Moreover, this is Kalisto’s first appearance on this show in almost exactly a year — it was June 26th last year when he last performed on Main Event, beating Viktor in singles competition.
This was as you would expect for a giant vs. luchador match. Kalisto tried to unsteady the enormous frame of Rhyno, who pinged Kalisto around the ring like a rag doll. Occasionally, Kalisto would catch Rhyno, as he does a couple of minutes in with a hurricanrana. Rhyno is so stunned that he rolls outside and takes a walk.
Rhyno then works over Kalisto’s lower back, sending him from pillar to post, playing the heel by mocking his “lucha” arm chant. Kalisto immediately gets payback, though, as he nails Rhyno with a spike rana for two. Rhyno fights back with a second rope suplex, but Kalisto has enough to kick out.
The finish sees Kalisto dodge Rhyno’s charge so that he can tuck around the back and nail him with the Salida Del Sol for the win. This got pretty good in the last few minutes.
Tony Nese defeated Gran Metalik (3:20)
In a short match here, Gran Metalik once again lost after a reasonable amount of dominance. He rolls out of the way from Nese’s attempt at a top rope senton in the early going and dumps Nese outside. He then uses a top rope springboard senton onto the matting outside as we head to a break.
Metalik has the heat as we return. He nails Nese with a running bulldog and follows it up with a rope-walk missile dropkick. He goes up top and hits an elbow drop, but Nese kicks out at two.
Metalik looks to finish it with the Metalik Driver, but Nese ducks out of the way and uses the ropes to break the hold. He German suplexes Metalik into the turnbuckle and then finishes him with a running knee strike in the corner. This was fine, but it was quick.
Rounding out the card for tonight’s pay-per-view, WWE added Kalisto vs. Apollo Crews to the Extreme Rules pre-show this afternoon.
Kalisto defeated Crews on Raw two weeks ago in a match that was part of a storyline where Kalisto was disappointed in Crews for being involved with the Titus Brand. Titus O’Neil then got a win over Kalisto on last week’s Raw by holding onto Kalisto’s tights while pinning him.
Both Kalisto and Crews arrived on Raw as part of the roster shakeup in April.
There are now seven matches set for tonight’s PPV. The lineup is:
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe vs. Bray Wyatt in an Extreme Rules fatal five-way number one contender’s match
Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defending against Bayley in a kendo stick on a pole match
Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose defending against The Miz (Ambrose will lose his title if he gets disqualified)
Raw Tag Team Champions The Hardys defending against Cesaro & Sheamus in a steel cage match
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville defending against Austin Aries in a submission match
Sasha Banks & Rich Swann vs. Alicia Fox & Noam Dar in a mixed tag team match
