Bad Bunny and Shane McMahon returned to WWE at the Royal Rumble event as surprise entrants in the men’s Royal Rumble match.
Both made their first WWE appearances since last year’s WrestleMania 37 event at the Rumble. Bunny entered the match 27th, while McMahon entered 28th.
McMahon was also the 28th elimination in the match, which was won by Brock Lesnar. Bunny was the 26th elimination in the bout. Both were thrown out by Lesnar, who last eliminated the returning Drew McIntyre to win the Rumble.
Before being eliminated, Bad Bunny threw Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler out of the Rumble, while McMahon eliminated Kevin Owens.
WWE released Bad Bunny merchandise for the show describing his return as “one night only.”
Bunny held the 24/7 Championship for 28 days during his prior WWE tenure.
Lesnar has yet to declare which title he will challenge for at WrestleMania, but after Universal Champion Roman Reigns cost Lesnar the WWE title earlier in the show, Reigns vs. Lesnar appears to be the WrestleMania direction for the Rumble winner.
Tonight’s SmackDown features the fallout from Hell in a Cell and a Roman Reigns victory celebration.
On SmackDown last week, Reigns defeated Rey Mysterio in a Hell in a Cell match to retain the Universal Championship. Tonight, Reigns holds a victory celebration to commemorate his win over Mysterio.
Earlier in the night last Friday, Jimmy Uso aligned with Reigns and promised to have his back in the Hell in a Cell match. Reigns didn’t want his help but admitted that he needs Jey Uso. Jimmy said that he hadn’t heard from Jey all week after he stormed off on the previous SmackDown.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair & Cesaro take on Bayley & Seth Rollins in a mixed tag team match tonight. Belair defeated Bayley in their Hell in a Cell match at Hell in a Cell, while Rollins got a win over Cesaro.
SmackDown’s build to Money in the Bank will also kick off with Apollo Crews facing Big E in a qualifying match tonight. Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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They recapped the Roman Reigns vs. Rey Mysterio Hell in a Cell match from last week.
Reigns and Paul Heyman were in his dressing room. Heyman noted that Reigns injured Dominik and Rey Mysterio, but they’re acknowledging him from their hospital beds.
Jimmy Uso approached Reigns. He told Reigns that he talked to Jey Uso. Jey told him that he’s not coming back. Reigns was furious that Jey’s not coming to work after everything he did for him.
Jimmy told him that he would have Reigns back. Reigns laughed at the idea of Jimmy being his right-hand man. Jimmy promised that he could do what Jey did for him. Reigns told him to prove it.
Michael Cole and Pat McAfee recapped the SmackDown Women’s Championship match from Hell in a Cell.
Bianca Belair Segment
Bianca Beliar made her way to the ring. She noted that they go back on the road in three weeks. Belair admitted that she couldn’t stop celebrating her win at Hell in a Cell. She enjoys looking at her reflection in the belt but not because she’s vain.
Belair’s proud of the girl she sees in the reflection of the belt. Belair said she overcame Bayley the bully and ended by saying Ding Dong the witch is dead.
Seth Rollins’s music interrupted, and he made his way to the ring. He was happy to join Belair and celebrate their wins from Sunday. Rollins claimed he overcame the odds, but she didn’t.
Rollins claimed Belair had a fluke victory. He noted he dominated Cesaro but Belair just barely beat Bayley. He pretended to celebrate and asked for a high five and said to throw it up like the Kliq. Rollins noted they have to high five now because Bayley is going to beat her up.
Bayley’s music hit, and she walked to the ring. She mocked Belair and told Rollins not to waste his breath. Bayley said it doesn’t matter what she does; she’ll always be Bianca Bel-loser.
Belair heard enough and knocked her down. Rollins tried to get in between them, but it gave Bayley the chance to attack Belair. She beat her down until Cesaro run down. After that, all four started brawling in the ring until it was only Cesaro and Bayley.
Bayley yelled at Cesaro. Suddenly, Belair ran in, and Cesaro assisted her in giving Bayley a dropkick.
The faces had the early advantage until Rollins took over on Cesaro. He slowed the pace down with a chin lock. Cesaro fought back with uppercuts, but Rollins countered with a kick to the back.
Rollins attempted a suplex, but Cesaro countered. Then, Rolins slipped out the back and tried to give Cesaro a back suplex. Instead, Cesaro landed on his feet and tagged Belair.
Belair ran wild on Bayley and hit a standing moonsault for a close near fall. Bayley rolled to the floor, but Belair chased after her. Bayley dropped Belair on the barricade and then pushed her into the ring post.
Back from the break, Bayley was firmly in control as she worked over Belair’s injured shoulder. Belair fought back and tagged Cesaro. Cesaro ran wild and rocked Rollins with an uppercut at ringside. He slammed Rollins’ head in the apron and followed up with a flying crossbody for near fall.
Cesaro gave Rollins the giant swing and went for the sharpshooter, but Bayley distracted him. Rollins used a small package for a near fall. Bayley jumped at Cesaro, but he caught her.
Rollins then hit Cesaro in the face. Rollins followed up with a forearm to the back of the head, but Belair broke up the pin attempt. Belair then knocked Rollins to the floor, and Cesaro hit an uppercut.
Bayley rolled up Belair for a near fall. Belair fought back and went for the KOD. Rollins ran in and bumped into Belair, and knocked her over. Bayley then hit a running knee and the rose plant for the win.
Jimmy Uso approached Paul Heyman as he walked out of Roman Reigns’ dressing room in the back. Jimmy asked Heyman how does he prove to Reigns that he should be the right-hand man.
Heyman told him to win a match tonight and prove that he can be main event Jimmy. Heyman said he could get a match for Jimmy, but he has to win.
The Coronation of King Shinsuke Nakamura
They recapped Nakamura defeating King Corbin to win the crown.
They set the ring up with a black carpet, a throne, and a crown. Rick Boogs introduced Nakamura and placed the crown on his head.
Pat McAfee couldn’t hide his excitement. He’s good on commentary and a highlight the last few weeks.
Boogs introduced Nakamura as the new King of SmackDown. Nakamura and Boogs then rocked out and danced.
In the back, Kayla Braxton tried to interview Corbin, who was watching on the monitor. She called him King but then corrected herself and called him Baron Corbin. Corbin started to cry and couldn’t speak. He walked off and said, what’s the point.
This ended up being hilarious but for all the wrong reasons. Corbin did a terrible job pretending to cry.
In the back, Seth Rollins entered Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville’s office. Rollins was happy and joking around but then became serious. He demanded a shot at the Universal Championship. Pearce and Deville admitted that he deserved a title shot, but they were not ready to decide.
They recapped Otis destroying The Street Profits.
Money in the Bank Qualifier: Big E defeated Apollo Crews (w/Commandar Azeez) (12:38)
This was a good match.
Big E had the early advantage and scored a near fall. Crews kicked Big E in the face, but he responded with a clothesline for a two-count. They fought on the apron until Crews hit a death valley driver.
Back from the break, Crews hit a standing dropkick for a near fall. Big E then missed a charge in the corner, and Crews hit a suplex for a two-count. Crews mocked Big E and kicked him.
Big E went for the uranage. Crews countered and hit three rolling German suplexes for a near fall. Big recovered and locked on the stretch muffler submission. Azeez helped Crews get to the ropes to break the hold.
Crews fired back and climbed to the top rope. Big E cut him off, and they traded shots. Crews knocked him down and hit a frog splash for a near fall. He followed up with a German suplex for another two-count.
Crews ran out Big E at ringside but got caught with a uranage. Azeez pushed Big E into the barricade and went for the Nigerian Nail, but the referee caught him. The referee then kicked Azeez out of the arena.
In the ring, Crews rolled up Big E for a near fall. Big E recovered and hit the Big Ending for the win. As a result, Big E qualifies for the MITB match.
They recapped Azeez injuring Kevin Owens last week.
In the back, Kayla Braxton interviewed Sami Zayn. He celebrated beating Owens at Hell in a Cell. Braxton then informed him that he faces Owens in a Money in the Bank qualifier next week. Zayn was furious and walked off.
They announced Jimmy Uso vs. Dolph Ziggler for later tonight.
Sami Zayn approached Adam Pearce and yelled at him. He feels Pearce should just give him the contract. Zayn doesn’t think it’s fair since he beat Owens at Hell in a Cell. Pearce announced their match next week is also a last man standing match.
Sonya Deville Reveals The First Competitor In The Women’s Money In The Bank Match
Deville wasted no time and introduced the first entrant in the Money in the Bank match Carmella. They piped in fake boos, and Carmella mocked the boos. She noted that she’s also the most beautiful woman in the WWE. She demanded Deville do the introduction again, but Liv Morgan interrupted.
She mocked Carmella and noted that she beat her in a match. Morgan believes she deserves to be in the match more than Carmella. They ended up getting into a brawl.
Deville made a match between Morgan and Carmella for right now. She told Morgan to prove that she deserves to be in the Money in the Bank ladder match. She noted Carmella’s still in the match even if she loses.
Liv Morgan defeated Carmella (3:14)
They had a fine match. They kept it short, but it still dragged at times.
The match started during the commercial break. Deville sat at ringside to watch the match.
They showed Natalya and Tamina watching in the back. Carmella demanded Cole tell everyone how beautiful she is and McAfree noted he thought Cole’s isn’t supposed to be biased.
Carmella had the early advantage and hit a superkick in the corner. Carmella yelled at Morgan and slapped her in the face. Morgan fired up and hit the oblivion for a close near fall.
Morgan ended up on the top rope, and Carmella caught her with a superkick. Then, Carmella went for the head scissors, but Morgan rolled through for the win.
In the back, Kayla Braxton interviewed Jimmy Uso. He promised to win and dedicated the match to his brother Jey at home.
Jimmy Uso defeated Dolph Ziggler (w/Robert Roode) (9:36)
Uso and Ziggler had a good match.
Uso used a shoulder tackle and enziguri for an early near fall. Ziggler took over and hit a standing dropkick for a two-count. Ziggler slowed the pace down with a chin lock.
Uso fought back and sent Ziggler to the floor. He followed up with a suicide dive but hit Roode instead.
Ziggler took advantage and gave Uso a brutal-looking zig-zag on the stairs.
Back from the break, Jimmy fought back and hit a Samoan drop for a near fall. Uso missed a superkick, and Ziggler hit a zig zag for a two-count. Uso went for a powerbomb, but Ziggler rolled through for a near fall. Uso recovered and suddenly hit a superkick for the win.
Uso went backstage to celebrate with Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman. However, Reigns didn’t react to Uso and walked to the ring. Uso tried to follow, but Heyman stopped him.
Roman Reigns Segment
This was a great segment featuring an awesome promo from Paul Heyman and Edge’s surprise return.
Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman made their way to the ring.
They recapped Reigns destroying Dominik and Rey Mysterio. They piped in loud “Roman sucks” chants.
Heyman noted that Reigns destroyed everyone on the roster. He said the Fiend got frightened, Strowman got slaughtered, Owens got K.O.’d, and Edge and Bryan got stacked and shipped off.
Heyman pointed out that Bryan was man enough to return but got shipped back out. Heyman said that Cesaro got clobbered, and The Mysterio’s got launched literally, figuratively, and metaphorically to hell.
Heyman said that in less than a year, Reigns wiped out the entire division. He has to change course and do something that’s never happened on network TV before. Heyman noted they have no choice because there’s no one left.
Reigns took the mic and was about to speak.
Suddenly, Edge’s music hit, and he made his surprise return. Reigns and Heyman were shocked. Edge ran to the ring and brawled with Reigns around ringside. Edge then slammed Reigns head into the announce table.
Reigns fought back and hit the superman punch. Reigns grabbed a chair, but Edge hit a spear. Edge got a second chair, but Jimmy Uso ran down for the save.
Edge fought back and threw Uso into the stairs. He then speared Uso through the barricade.
Reigns and Heyman took the opportunity to run off.
Edge looked into the camera and yelled for Reigns. Edge posed in the ring to end SmackDown.
Next Week: In a Money in the Bank qualifier, Kevin Owens takes on Sami Zayn in last man standing match.
WWE has revealed the stipulation for Braun Strowman and Shane McMahon’s match at WrestleMania 37.
Strowman vs. Shane at WrestleMania 37 will now be a steel cage match. The match will be part of the card for WrestleMania 37 night one on Saturday, April 10. WrestleMania 37 is a two-night event that’s taking place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
When Shane accepted Strowman’s WrestleMania challenged last week, he told Strowman that he’d give him any match that he wanted. Strowman then announced on tonight’s Raw that he’ll be facing Shane in a steel cage match at WrestleMania. Strowman said he chose the steel cage stipulation so that Shane’s lackeys Elias and Jaxson Ryker won’t be able to get involved in the match.
A match between Strowman and Shane had originally been set for Fastlane earlier this month, but Shane got out of facing Strowman by claiming that he suffered a knee injury in training. Strowman instead defeated Elias at Fastlane. He also defeated Elias on Raw last week.
Strowman and Shane’s storyline has been built around Shane calling Strowman stupid. That continued on Raw tonight, with Shane revealing Strowman’s fifth grade report card with all D grades. Strowman then defeated Ryker on tonight’s show. After the match, Shane ran away when Strowman went after him. Elias hit a knee strike on Strowman, then Shane and Elias double-teamed Strowman until he fought them off.
Here are the updated cards for WrestleMania 37:
WrestleMania 37 night one (Saturday, April 10) —
SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks defends against Bianca Belair
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley defends against Drew McIntyre
Bad Bunny vs. The Miz
Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) defend against AJ Styles & Omos
Steel cage match: Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon
Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro
WrestleMania 37 night two (Sunday, April 11) —
Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Edge and Daniel Bryan in a triple threat match
Raw Women’s Champion Asuka defends against Rhea Ripley
“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
Intercontinental Champion Big E defends against Apollo Crews
United States Champion Riddle defends against Sheamus
After not happening at Fastlane, a new date has been set for Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon.
WWE has announced that Strowman vs. Shane will take place at WrestleMania 37. The match was confirmed after a challenge that was issued on Raw tonight.
Strowman defeated Elias on tonight’s Raw. Shane tried to hit Strowman with a crutch after the match, but it didn’t faze Strowman. Despite claiming to have a knee injury, Shane then ran away from Strowman. Strowman got on the microphone and challenged Shane to face him one-on-one at WrestleMania. Shane accepted the challenge and said he’ll give Strowman any match that he wants. Shane said he’s going to win — because Strowman is stupid.
A stipulation for Strowman vs. Shane has yet to be announced.
Strowman also defeated Elias at Fastlane on Sunday night. Strowman vs. Shane had originally been announced for the pay-per-view, but there was an angle where Shane got out of the match by claiming that he suffered a knee injury in training. Shane had also agreed to face Strowman on Raw last week, but Shane stalled and the match never got started. Shane hit Strowman with a cameraman’s camera, gave Strowman an elbow drop through the announce table, and poured buckets of slime on him.
Throughout their feud, Shane has mocked Strowman for being stupid. Their feud began after Strowman wasn’t included in last month’s Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship.
WrestleMania 37 is a two-night event that’s taking place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11. WWE hasn’t revealed which night Strowman vs. Shane will be taking place on. Here’s the updated lineup for the event:
WrestleMania 37 night one —
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley defends against Drew McIntyre
SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks defends against Bianca Belair
Bad Bunny vs. The Miz
WrestleMania 37 night two —
Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Edge (Dave Meltzer has reported that Daniel Bryan will be added to this match, making it Reigns vs. Edge vs. Bryan in a triple threat match for the Universal Championship)
Raw Women’s Champion Asuka defends against Rhea Ripley
“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
Night yet to be announced —
Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) defend against AJ Styles & Omos
Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon
Hulk Hogan and Titus O’Neil will be the hosts of WrestleMania 37.
Elias replaced Shane McMahon for his match against Braun Strowman tonight at Fastlane.
During the pre-show, it was announced that Shane McMahon had suffered a leg injury while training for tonight’s match. After he left the trainer’s room in a backstage segment on pay-per-view, he ran into Elias and Jaxson Ryker. Elias told Shane that he wanted to hold a concert at WrestleMania. This led to a situation later in the pay-per-view where Elias started to perform in front of Shane McMahon. Shane then told Elias he would be facing Strowman in his place. Strowman then arrived as Shane left.
The match didn’t last long, as Strowman pinned Elias with a running powerslam.
Shane McMahon and Elias have been feuding for the last month, with the story being that Shane is bullying Strowman by calling him stupid. In a confrontation during Raw last week, Shane attacked Strowman with a television camera, then took out two buckets of slime and poured it on Strowman.
At Fastlane this Sunday, Shane McMahon will have his first official match since 2019.
WWE has announced that Braun Strowman vs. Shane will take place at this Sunday’s Fastlane pay-per-view. Strowman wasn’t included in last month’s WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match and has been feuding with Shane since then. Shane has mocked Strowman and called him stupid in recent weeks.
On Raw last week, Strowman demanded an apology from Shane. Strowman and WWE authority figure Adam Pearce had lost a Raw Tag Team title match the previous week after Shane urged Strowman to tag Pearce in. Shane initially apologized to Strowman but said nothing else. Later in the show, Strowman went looking for Shane after Shane mocked him. Strowman thought that Shane sped away in a car, but it was revealed that Shane never got into it.
Strowman then challenged Shane to a match on tonight’s Raw. Shane continued to make fun of Strowman and accepted the challenge. But the match never got underway after Shane stalled and Strowman went after him. Strowman went to hit a charge on Shane, but Shane grabbed a cameraman’s camera and used it to hit Strowman. Shane gave Strowman an elbow drop from the top rope through the announce table. Shane then poured buckets of green slime on Strowman.
WWE is also promoting that Alexa Bliss vs. Randy Orton will take place at Fastlane. Bliss said on Raw tonight that if Orton wants Bliss out of his life so badly, he’s going to have to take her out of it. Bliss said Orton will have the chance at Fastlane. Bliss asked him if he’s going to take it. Orton responded later on tonight’s Raw and said kicking Bliss out of his life is exactly what he’s going to do at Fastlane.
Bliss has been tormenting Orton since he defeated “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in their Firefly Inferno match at December’s TLC PPV.
Here’s the updated card for Fastlane:
Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Daniel Bryan (Edge and Jey Uso are facing each other on SmackDown this Friday to determine the special guest enforcer for the match)
Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus
Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler defend against SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair
Intercontinental Champion Big E defends against Apollo Crews
Originally, Meltzer reported that the fight club concept was put on hold for two weeks due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak among NXT talent and concerns that some of the extras used were possibly exposed.
Even though most, if not all, of the talent who were affected are back, the format didn’t fit with the recent draft episode. There are also still concerns about the competitors and extras potentially spreading the virus to the Raw crew so they are trying to keep all three brands separated as much as possible.
WWE introduced Underground on the August 3rd Raw, hosted by Shane McMahon. It was presented as a fight club where wrestlers would fight each other in a “no holds barred” format. There was never a reason given for its creation other than that McMahon wanted to see it happen.
Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, Ivar, Titus O’Neil, Riddick Moss, Marina Shafir, and Dabba-Kato are among those who appeared as part of Raw Underground.
WWE has added two matches with Clash of Champions implications to Monday’s go-home episode of Raw.
In a rematch from this week’s Raw, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre will face Keith Lee in a non-title match on Monday’s go-home show. The match again has a stipulation where if Lee defeats McIntyre and Randy Orton isn’t able to wrestle at the pay-per-view, Lee will take Orton’s place and challenge for McIntyre’s title in an ambulance match at Clash of Champions.
On the September 7 episode of Raw, there was an angle where Orton was taken out by ambulance after being given three Claymores by McIntyre throughout the show. McIntyre was getting revenge for Orton previously laying him out with three RKOs. The ambulance match stipulation for their Clash of Champions title match was announced this week.
McIntyre vs. Lee on this week’s Raw ended in a no contest when it was interrupted by RETRIBUTION. The Hurt Business then came out and brawled with RETRIBUTION. McIntyre and Lee hit flip dives onto the pile outside of the ring to close the show.
WWE has also announced that Seth Rollins & Murphy, Dominik Mysterio & Humberto Carrillo, and Andrade & Angel Garza will face off in a number one contender’s triple threat tag match on Monday’s Raw. The winning team will challenge The Street Profits for the Raw Tag Team titles at Clash of Champions.
Monday’s Raw will also feature Braun Strowman and Dabba-Kato facing off in Raw Underground.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including RAW from Monday, the new invading group, the goofy FIGHT CLUB, everything that didn’t make sense which was almost everything, plus your feedback and more. A PACKED SHOW AS ALWAYS SO CHECK IT OUT~!
As always, the show is up live and free daily on Sports Byline USA Radio and twitch.tv/f4wvideo!
A new concept referred to as the brainchild of Shane McMahon was introduced on last night’s episode of Raw.
Shane introduced Raw Underground on last night’s show, a backstage “fight club” that highlighted Dabba-Kato (NXT’s Babatunde), Erik of The Viking Raiders, Dolph Ziggler, and The Hurt Business. WWE wrote that “Raw Underground will serve as a battleground for WWE’s toughest fighters to prove themselves with few, if any rules “
It was hyped going into last night’s Raw that a new faction would arrive. WWE noted that the group would be out to cause chaos and shake up the organization’s structure. The members of the faction weren’t revealed, but five masked figures were shown setting fire to a generator and were responsible for technical problems and other issues during the show.
In a nod to underground fight clubs, Shane McMahon returned to WWE Raw Monday and introduced a new concept to the show called Raw Underground.
While the reason for its creation was never explained other than it was something McMahon “wanted to see”, it’s simply two men fighting with “no holds barred” in a wrestling ring with no ropes until the fight is stopped which was usually after a few seconds. The ring was surrounded by masked people yelling and banging on the mat. There were also dancing women to help give it atmosphere.
It was positioned as somewhere backstage at the Performance Center with limited access available. McMahon acted as emcee and to implore the referee to stop the fights which featured the same quick camera cuts and shaky movement as in nearly every other WWE match.
There were several “fights”, all of which took place in the final hour:
Dabba-Kato beat up an unnamed man in a few seconds and then beat up another man who jumped in, also within a few seconds. Dabba-Kato is Babatunde Aiyegbusi, a Polish-born, 32-year-old former football player who has been in developmental since April 2016. He has appeared on the main roster once before as a participant in the 2018 Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia.
The second fight featured Erik of the Viking Raiders against another unknown man. There was some bad looking ground and pound, a few suplexes, and a running knee strike that ended the fight quickly.
The final fight featured Dolph Ziggler against another unnamed person, using amateur wrestling to work into a rear naked choke.
After the Ziggler fight, MVP, Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin walked in and MVP said they were the new management of Raw Underground until further notice. Lashley then got in the ring and quickly dispatched a challenger. MVP said he wanted some action and beat up another man they pulled in from ringside.
That led to former Raw announcer and NXT trainee Dio Maddin challenging Benjamin and quickly getting beaten up. The three men then beat up everyone at ringside, leading to McMahon eventually making his way back in and saying the three men were invited back anytime and couldn’t wait to see what happened next week as Raw came to a close.
Raw Underground, an unsanctioned fight club hosted by Shane McMahon was introduced. It was invaded by The Hurt Business after just one hour of existence.
The new faction that was teased was only shown in “security cam footage” and implicated in various production glitches.
Dominik Mysterio challenged Seth Rollins to a match at SummerSlam and beat up Rollins and Murphy 1-on-2 in a great segment. Rollins accepted the challenge.
Show recap —
Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Samoa Joe opened the show. They hyped SummerSlam and advertised a Randy Orton/Drew McIntyre segment for later.
The lights flickered and the announcers played it off as if nothing happened.
Apollo Crews entered for the opener and the lights went in an out again. Phillips blamed it on bad weather in the area. This was clearly part of a show-long angle.
MVP cut a promo before the title match. He said he’s the real US champ and after the referee counts to three tonight, Crews can go back to sitting in catering with Cedric Alexander and Ricochet.
United States Championship match: Apollo Crews defeated MVP (w/Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin)
They said that Crews had been out with a neck injury, so MVP attacked the neck in a good brawl. The pace was slow but MVP’s strikes looked good.
They locked up. Crews got a takedown but MVP pulled guard. Crews got a near fall. The lights flickered again. Crews went to work on MVP’s left arm. Lashley and Benjamin pulled MVP to the floor to protect him. Crews hit a tope con giro before a commercial break. The lights flickered yet again.
MVP had Crews in a cravate after the break. They showed a replay of Lashley tripping Crews on the apron during the break which allowed MVP to take control of the match. MVP used a suplex for a two count.
MVP missed a yakuza kick in the corner. Crews hit a crossbody off the second rope as the tide turned in his favor. Crews got a near fall off a spinebuster.
Crews no-sold a German suplex and hit the toss powerbomb for the pin to retain the title.
**********
Lashley jumped into the ring after the three count but Crews escaped and made his way backstage.
Charly Caruso interviewed Crews backstage after the match. He put over Lashley’s strength and said his full nelson is the reason he was home for weeks watching MVP proclaim himself the United States Champion.
Crews said he was going to hang the old championship in his kids’ room so they could have their dad’s first title. He said the belt that MVP had made looked good on his shoulder.
MVP grabbed a mic at ringside. He said that these were unsafe working conditions with the lights flickering. He said he doesn’t care about Crews’s wife or kids, he cares about his rematch and he wants it at SummerSlam.
**********
A menacing figure was shown standing outside a locker room backstage. Phillips said that “something is going down” tonight and it’s the brainchild of Shane McMahon.
A Bayley and Sasha Banks promo was advertised as coming up next.
**********
Sarah Schreiber interviewed Bayley and Banks. Sarah asked if they had plans to defend any of their titles at SummerSlam. Bayley said that Schreiber was boring and threw to a video package that Bayley and Banks had prepared.
The video put over their plan to take out Kairi Sane last week as “sheer brilliance.” Asuka interrupted the video with a promo and said that revenge will be sweet.
Bayley and Banks were upset that Asuka interrupted their video and began cutting a promo on the production staff.
Shayna Baszler entered and said that she had a problem with Banks snaking her way to the Raw Women’s title. Baszler laid out Banks with a right hand.
**********
Kevin Owens was shown walking backstage. The Iiconics told him that they heard he was hosting the KO Show next. They said they thought they would be great guests.
Owens said they would, but not tonight. He said he plans these things out and already has his guest. He told them to drink some water.
**********
The KO Show —
Owens said that lots of things are going on tonight including the return of Shane McMahon, but he’s not here to talk about that. His microphone went in and out.
Owens introduced his guest, Ruby Riott. Owens said that she has been on a run of bad luck since she came back. Riott said that she has only had one singles win since February and it came against Peyton Royce last week.
Riott said that she’s been dealing with “toxic, sad broads” like the Iiconics her whole life, but she’s finally put Peyton and Billie’s “Iiconic bullsh*t” behind her. The curse word was bleeped.
Riott said that the only thing that could have made her win over Peyton sweeter was if Liv Morgan had been there to celebrate with her. Owens called out Morgan.
Riott said when she returned from injury she came back to a WWE she didn’t recognize and she took it out on Liv. She put over their matching tattoos and asked for a chance to let the Riott Squad run wild again.
The Iiconics entered. They made fun of Morgan and Riott. They said they’re Iiconic. Morgan said that she and Riott might not be friends like Billie and Peyton but no one starts a riot like they can.
Kay and Royce slapped Owens. Owens asked Riott and Morgan for help. Riott and Morgan attacked and a tag match was set for the next segment.
Everyone did their best with the material they were given but the payoff is a reunion of the Riott Squad.
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A production assistant approached the mystery locker room. The tall bodyguard stared him down and he left. The announcers again said that Shane McMahon is behind whatever is happening tonight.
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Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan defeated Billie Kay & Peyton Royce
Kevin Owens joined the commentary desk for this match.
Kay and Royce used neckbreakers in working over Riott. Morgan got a hot tag. She hit clotheslines on Royce. Kay tagged in and got rolled up for the pin.
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Kay and Royce attacked Morgan immediately after the bell. Riott saved. Riott and Morgan hit a double STO on Kay and left together, so the Riott Squad rides again.
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The announcers threw to Charly who reported on a trunk being overturned backstage and “a loud noise” backstage. She said that there are rumors that this has to do with the flickering lights and production issues tonight.
MVP approached and told Charly that he couldn’t believe that she was reporting on a trunk falling over. Me neither, dude.
Charly told MVP that Crews had accepted his challenge for SummerSlam.
Benjamin entered and told MVP that someone had stolen his 24/7 title. MVP and Benjamin left and MVP promised to teach whoever stole the title that you don’t mess with The Hurt Business.
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Second hour —
McIntyre came to the ring for a promo.
McIntyre reminded us that Orton said he was better than Steve Austin and The Rock last week. He said that he and Orton were the same in a lot of ways. At some point in both of their lives Vince McMahon had earmarked them for greatness.
McIntyre said the difference was that Orton was a second generation guy who had been handed opportunities because of it. He said that people had cleaned up the literal crap (LOL) that Orton had left behind and Orton should have been fired way more times that Drew was.
Orton entered with Ric Flair. He said he told Drew last week that he respected him but that wasn’t enough for Drew. Orton said that Drew was right, he should have been fired long ago but he wasn’t, because he is the real chosen one.
Orton challenged Drew to come up with one original insult about him.
Drew said he was going to shoot with Randy. He said that he watched The Undertaker documentary and said that Orton was the most interesting part. He said that Undertaker reached down and pulled Orton up to his level because he loved this business.
Drew said that Orton had never pulled anyone up to his level in that way. Drew said he needed someone to pull him up ten years ago when he was self-destructing and making mistakes as his life crumbled.
Drew said that Randy was “a selfish prick” and Drew had “a stack of receipts” to hand out at SummerSlam from guys on the roster now and in the past.
There was good conviction and delivery in both promos here, but Orton came off as the more likable guy while Drew came off as a guy whining.
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Nia Jax was shown talking to “WWE official Pat Buck” backstage. We’ll here from Jax next.
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Owens was backstage with Riott and Morgan. Flair approached and asked for a word with him.
Flair told Owens that everyone was high on him but he was concerned that Owens was looking out for others too much. Owens said he heard what Ric was saying but he was trying to take a different path and help out people, like Randy could if he cared.
Ric said maybe if Owens was more like Randy he’d be the one getting a title match at SummerSlam.
Ric said Owens needed to listen to his advice. Owens said he’ll show Ric how much fight he has when he faces Orton next week.
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Jax was in the ring with Buck. She showed a replay of her attacking Buck last week.
Jax said there are millions of people that look up to her and she wanted to make up for her attack.
She challenged Buck to a match. Buck said he was only in the ring because he was told there was an apology coming. Jax called him a ginger and made fun of his size.
Buck said that after her unsanctioned actions against an official last week, Jax is suspended indefinitely without pay.
Jax attacked Buck and kicked him out of the ring.
I’m not sure what all of this is about or leading to.
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R-Truth ran to the ring with the 24/7 title. He was chased by a group of ninjas and Benjamin. The 24/7 title match is set for next.
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24/7 Championship match: Akira Tozawa defeated Shelton Benjamin (w/The Hurt Business) & R-Truth to win the title
Tozawa rolled outside while Benjamin went after Truth. Tozawa climbed back in and rolled Benjamin up for a near fall. Benjamin hit a powerbomb on Tozawa.
Benjamin hit Paydirt on Truth. A ninja jumped in and went after Benjamin. Benjamin, MVP and Lashley brawled with the ninjas on the floor.
Tozawa hit Truth with a senton and pinned him to win the title. A nothing segment.
**********
We got our first peek at the big Shane angle.
Shane was backstage in a Fight Club-type atmosphere. He said he’s back with something new and he’ll see us for Raw Underground tonight at 10.
Two guys were grappling in a ring with no ropes in the background.
This is a historic night.
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The announcers showed a recap of last week’s Dominik Mysterio/Seth Rollins angle.
Sarah interviewed Dominik. She said the biggest question she gets from the WWE Universe is why Dominik keeps coming to Raw given the danger.
Dominik said that people probably think he’s crazy, and they’ll really think he’s crazy when he challenges Rollins to a match at SummerSlam.
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They replayed Baszler laying out Banks earlier. Apparently a match between the two has been signed and it’s next.
Sasha Banks & Shayna Baszler went to a no-contest
Banks slapped Baszler twice. Baszler used a waistlock takedown and hit a series of kicks. Baszler used a crucifix for a two count. Baszler used an armbar but Banks rolled to the ropes. Bayley took Baszler which allowed Banks to take control of the match.
Banks hit a crossbody off the second rope but Baszler rolled through on landing and hit a backbreaker. Baszler went for a Kirifuda Clutch but Banks escaped. Banks used the Bank Statement but Baszler escaped. They traded high kicks.
Asuka ran in and attacked Bayley and for some reason the bell rang. What a nonsensical finish.
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Charly was in the ring with Asuka after a commercial. They replayed the finish of the Raw Women’s title match from last week.
Charly asked Asuka for an update on Kairi Sane. Asuka said Kairi is okay but she’s not here. She said Bayley, Sasha and her are here and she wants a rematch with Sasha at SummerSlam.
Baszler was still in the ring. She said she doesn’t want to fight Asuka yet. Baszler said she’s rooting for Asuka to get the title back and she can’t wait to dismember her and take the title from her.
Banks and Bayley came back out. Banks said Asuka can have her rematch if she beats Bayley next week. Bayley has repeatedly done this to Banks throughout her title reign so this makes sense.
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Angel Garza was with Demi Burnett from The Bachelor backstage. Garza got Demi’s phone number and gave her a rose.
Andrade and Zelina Vega entered the scene. Vega said she knows who Demi is and she doesn’t belong here. She said Garza and Andrade have business to attend to.
**********
Shane was shown in his wacky underground fight club. There were dancers. This looks hilariously bad.
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After a break, Shane welcomed us to “Raw Underground, where there are very little rules, lots of excitement, carnage, chaos and quite frankly, lots of things that I personally would like to see.”
Shane introduced Dabba-Kato for a fight. He did not introduce his opponent.
Dabba-Kato won two quick brawls via ref stoppage. There were a dizzying number of camera cuts in these short, worked fights.
Shane said that Raw Underground will be right back.
The Raw announcers were then shown. Samoa Joe put over the Raw Underground concept. Tom Phillips said that “we understand that Shane McMahon is lining up another fight for Raw Underground” and that will be coming up later.
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Third hour —
Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins made their entrance.
Ford referred to Raw as “the longest episodic TV show in history” and Angel Garza as “Andrew.”
Ford and Dawkins cut a promo. They started with some comedy but ended up getting more serious towards the end. Dawkins said that Garza attacked Ford last week and that’s like attacking his family.
Ford took a sip from his red cup and acted like it tasted bad.
Angel Garza defeated Angelo Dawkins
Dawkins sent Garza outside and into the barricade before a commercial. After the break, Dawkins hit a dropkick for a two count. They cut to Demi from The Bachelor watching backstage.
Dawkins pantsed Garza. Garza is great but he needs to master the last part of the pants gimmick which is to act embarrassed when someone else pantses him but act proud when he pantses himself.
Garza hit a dropkick off the second rope. Ford fainted on the outside. Dawkins was distracted and Garza hit him with a dropkick to the head for the pin.
Andrade vs. Ford is next.
**********
Andrade & Montez Ford went to a no-contest
This match was joined already in progress. The announcers said that Ford had been medically cleared to compete after passing out before the break.
Ford worked the first part of the match as though nothing was wrong. They brawled to the outside where Ford sent Andrade into the barricade.
Ford hit a dropkick and knocked Andrade off the top rope. Ford hit a tope con giro.
After the tope, Ford shook the ropes per usual. He then collapsed and the bell rang.
Another horrible finish.
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Murphy was backstage watching video of his attack on Aleister Black last week. Rollins entered and told Murphy that he made the right choice and he’s proud of him. Rollins said it’s time to focus on the future.
Murphy asked Rollins if he had given Dominik’s challenge any thought. Murphy said the challenge was ridiculous, right?
Rollins just smiled and walked off.
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After a commercial break, Shane welcomed us back to Raw Underground. He introduced Erik of The Viking Raiders vs. “this tough kid.”
Erik won the fight via stoppage.
There is still one more Raw Underground fight to come tonight.
**********
The Raw announcers talked about the weird Ford angle. They threw to Charly outside the trainers room for an update on Ford.
Garza approached Charly. He said that Charly looked scared, but not to worry. He said that people like he and Chuck with full hearts can be worried, but then that turns into fun and love. He gave Charly a rose.
Andrade and Zelina Vega then approached. Vega talked down to Charly as usual.
Vega said that they’re concerned about Ford but she wants to know what happens to the Raw Tag Team title match at SummerSlam.
Dawkins exited the trainers room. He said that it looks like Ford has been poisoned.
Poisoned.
Bianca Belair then came out and told Vega she had one chance to tell her what she had done to Ford. Vega claimed innocence. Belair took her earrings off and they had a pull-apart.
**********
The announcers threw to security camera footage from the parking lot that showed five masked figures throwing fire at a generator, presumably explaining the production difficulties tonight.
**********
Charly approached The Hurt Business backstage. She asked about their troubles tonight with MVP and Benjamin both losing title matches.
Benjamin asked if it was a coincidence whether or not all of this happened the night this Raw Underground stunt debuted.
MVP decided that The Hurt Business will make their way to Raw Underground.
**********
Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton and Asuka vs. Bayley were announced for next week.
A video package recapped the Rollins/Mysterio family program.
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Rollins and Murphy came to the ring for a promo. Rollins said that before he addressed the Mysterio family, he had some housekeeping to take care of.
Rollins turned his attention to Phillips. He asked Phillips if he was a proffesional, unbiased and if he took pride in his work.
Rollins said that last week while Rey’s “stupid kid” was attacking him, Phillips was cheering Dominik on. Rollins said that as the voice of Raw, it’s Tom’s job to call it down the middle, not to create bias.
Rollins said it was time to find a new voice of Raw and ordered Murphy to take care of Tom. Samoa Joe stepped in Murphy’s way. He said no one is taking Tom. Joe said that he himself was laughing harder than anyone last week.
Rollins told Joe to stand down. Joe took off his headset instead. Before an ad break, Rollins said that if Joe gets in the ring, whatever happens isn’t his responsibility.
Joe was shown unbuttoning his shirt cuffs before a break.
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Rollins and Murphy were in the ring with chairs after the break. Joe was still on the outside teasing jumping in.
Instead, Dominik ran in with a kendo stick. He sent Murphy outside with kendo stick shots. Rollins missed with a chair shot and ate a 619. Dominick then hit a high cross off the post to the floor on Murphy.
Rollins and Murphy turned tail and ran away. Rollins grabbed a mic and accepted Dominik’s challenge for SummerSlam.
This segment was the best thing on the show by a wide margin.
Phillips remained quiet for the rest of the segment after Rollins verbally attacked him, so Saxton threw to one final Raw Underground segment.
**********
Dolph Ziggler was in the ring at Raw Underground. He beat a geek with a rear naked choke.
The Hurt Business entered Raw Underground. MVP took the mic from Shane and said that Raw Underground is now under the managaement of The Hurt Business.
Lashley stepped into the ring and wrecked a nameless guy with a throw and a right hand.
MVP stepped into the ring and issued an open challenge. A very small guy answered him. MVP used a judo throw to take him down before hitting some right hands.
Benjamin then made a challenge and quickly defeated his challenger, former Raw announcer Dio Maddin.
The Hurt Business then laid waste to the crowd looking on.
Shane McMahon told MVP, Lashley and Benjamin that anything goes here on Raw Underground and they can stay as long as they like.
MVP ended the show with “Ladies and gentlemen, we are The Hurt Business and business is booming.”
For the first time in 10 months, Shane McMahon is set to appear on WWE television.
WWE posted a tweet this afternoon revealing that Shane will be returning to TV on tonight’s episode of Raw: “Shane-O-Mac is back! @shanemcmahon RETURNS to #WWERaw TONIGHT. What will he have in store?”
On SmackDown’s Fox premiere in October 2019, Shane lost a ladder match to Kevin Owens where the stipulation was that the loser would be fired from WWE.
Last week’s Raw drew 1,617,000 viewers, the second lowest number the show has done in its history. The episode averaged a 0.48 rating in the 18-49 demo, tied for the third lowest rating Raw has ever done in that category.
Apollo Crews defending the United States Championship against MVP will kick off tonight’s episode of Raw. WWE will also follow up on Asuka losing the Raw Women’s Championship to Sasha Banks last week and Randy Orton laying out Drew McIntyre with an RKO at the end of last week’s show. McIntyre defending the WWE Championship against Orton has been officially announced for SummerSlam.
After being set up at the end of this week’s SmackDown, WWE has announced when Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon’s ladder match will take place.
The ladder match between Owens and Shane has been added to the lineup for SmackDown’s FOX premiere. The match has a stipulation where Owens and Shane are both putting their careers on the line.
The SmackDown on FOX debut is taking place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Friday, October 4. Brock Lesnar will challenge for Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship on the episode, Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair will face Sasha Banks & Bayley, and legends will appear as part of SmackDown’s 20th anniversary celebration.
Owens was “fired” by Shane on the September 10 episode of SmackDown. Last week, the angle was furthered with the revelation that Owens had filed “the largest wrongful termination lawsuit in history” against Shane.
That led to Owens and Shane trying to settle the lawsuit on SmackDown this week. Shane offered Owens two options: keeping Owens in court for years or him dropping the lawsuit and being reinstated by Shane. Shane also said he would rescind Owens’ $100,000 fine. Instead of accepting either option, Owens challenged Shane to the ladder match.
Kevin Owens’ storyline firing could come to an end on tonight’s SmackDown.
WWE has announced that Owens has been invited to tonight’s show by Shane McMahon. Shane tweeted: “This is an important time for @WWE and its Superstars. We can not afford to have distractions therefore I am inviting @FightOwensFight to #SDLive tonight so we can settle this lawsuit once and for all.”
After the firing angle began the previous week, Owens appeared in the crowd on SmackDown last Tuesday. It was revealed that he had filed “the largest wrongful termination lawsuit in history” against Shane. Owens said the lawsuit also includes a clause where — if Owens wins — he’ll be able to fire Shane.
Owens was “fired” by Shane on the September 10 episode of SmackDown. He was the referee for Shane’s King of the Ring semifinal match against Chad Gable, with Shane suggesting that he would rescind Owens’ $100,000 fine if Owens helped him win.
Gable quickly defeated Shane, but Shane then made it a two-out-of-three falls match. Owens tried to help Shane, but Shane tapped out to an ankle lock after Owens stopped him from using a steel chair.
Owens wrestled at SmackDown’s house shows in Manila, Philippines, Shanghai, China, and Honolulu, Hawaii this past weekend. The storyline explanation was that Shane allowed him to wrestle at the events while considering a resolution to the lawsuit.
WWE is back at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California for the second straight night tonight. Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair & Carmella is set for SmackDown. There will also be a segment where Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan “clear the air” between them, and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston will do a sit-down interview about his upcoming title defense against Brock Lesnar on SmackDown’s FOX premiere.
