Raw’s final build to Crown Jewel took place in Charlotte, North Carolina last night.
The Undertaker & Kane and Triple H & Shawn Michaels appeared in the main event segment, with Triple H and Michaels setting a trap and Michaels hitting Undertaker with Sweet Chin Music. The show ended with Undertaker sitting up and the teams having a staredown.
Brock Lesnar was also on the go-home show for Crown Jewel. He gave Braun Strowman an F5 and stood tall heading into their Universal Championship match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday.
John Cena was officially replaced by Bobby Lashley in Friday’s World Cup tournament. The storyline explanation was Baron Corbin saying that Cena didn’t qualify for the tournament and giving Lashley his spot after Lashley beat down Finn Balor.
Also on Raw, Dean Ambrose refused to give Seth Rollins an explanation for why he attaced him last week, WWE announced Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch for Survivor Series, and Sasha Banks, Bayley, Natalya, Trish Stratus & Lita teamed against The Riott Squad, Mickie James & Alicia Fox.
A video package looking back at the history of SmackDown started the show.
R-Truth and Carmella were already in the ring for a special edition of Truth TV. Truth said there have been a lot of special Truth TV episodes but this is the most special. Carmella pointed out they only had one episode and they were cancelled.
Truth and Carmella then had a brief dance break. The fans chanted “one more time” but Truth said he had to get to work. He went to introduce the next guest but they had another dance break instead. Truth went to announce his guest when Stephanie McMahon’s music hit.
Stephanie pointed out that she was the first SmackDown General Manager. She asked Truth to ask his first question when Shane McMahon’s music interrupted. The crowd popped huge for Shane. He thanked the fans and Stephanie acted disgusted.
Shane welcomed her to the A show but she pointed out that Raw’s the longest running show. She said Raw wouldn’t start off with something like Truth TV. The crowd broke into a loud “Truth TV” chant. Shane and Stephanie continued to argue until Vince McMahon’s music hit.
The crowd erupted for Vince. He said nobody wants to see Shane and Stephanie argue. He said they want to be entertained. The crowed started a “What?” chant. Stephanie pointed out that Vince has a hearing aid and can hear them. Vince said the fans want a dance break. Vince, Truth, Carmella, Shane and Stephanie all started dancing to end the segment.
The Usos defeated WWE Champion AJ Styles & Daniel Bryan
Styles was halfway down the ramp when Daniel Bryan’s music interrupted. Styles seemed a bit annoyed.
Jimmy rocked Bryan with chops in the corner. Bryan fought back and used a dragon screw whip. Styles continued to target the leg. The Usos gained the advantage with a double kick in the corner. Styles caught Jimmy with the Calf Crusher and Bryan applied the Yes Lock on Jey. Jimmy was able to make it to the ropes.
After the commercial break, both Styles and Jey were down. Bryan got the hot tag and ran wild. He hit a suicide dive and missile dropkick. Bryan used the Yes Kicks for a near fall.
Bryan tried to hit Jey but he moved and punched Styles instead. Jey then went to superkick Bryan but he moved and hit Styles as well. The Usos then hit a double superkick on Bryan for the win. Styles was clearly unhappy with Bryan.
General Manager Paige was in her office. Vicki Guerrero, Teddy Long and John Laurinaitis all showed up.
Randy Orton, Ric Flair, HHH and Batista came down to the ring. Tom Philips pointed out this is the first time Evolution’s been together on SmackDown. The crowd broke into a “Batista” chant. HHH and Flair spoke positively about each other and the fans.
Orton noted that HHH has been running things, Flair lives vicariously through his daughter and Batista spends most of his time in a make up chair. Orton’s been in the WWE dominating.
Batista said he’s nervous and going to ignore Orton’s comment. He pointed out that they’re in his hometown. He thanked the fans and said he loves them. He never cared when they called him “Bootista”. All he wanted to do was entrain the fans. One of the reasons he came back was to reunite with Evolution.
He said Evolution is a special group. He said when he first saw Orton in OVW he knew he was special. He said Orton has more talent in his pinky then anyone else that stepped in the ring. He said there’s nothing he can say about Flair that you don’t already know. Then he noted there are a few stories he can’t share. Batista said to Flair “Keep it in your pants”.
Battista started talking about HHH. He noted he’s the greatest and there’s nothing he can’t do…except beat him. The crowed erupted. Batista and HHH went face-to-face and the situaion got tense. Flair calmed them down. They hugged and smiled. However, their smiles slowly faded away.
The Miz defeated Rusev in a World Cup qualifying match
Raw General Manager Kurt Angle joined in on commentary. This was a short match. Rusev was on fire but Aiden English ran out and distracted Rusev. Miz then rolled Rusev up to qualify for the World Cup.
After the match, Lana gave English a low blow. Rusev beat English all around ringside and threw him over the announce table.
Backstage, Edge met with his former Edge head Curt Hawkins
Edge came down to the ring to host a special edition of Cutting Edge. He said he felt he had to be here for SmackDown 1000 because he feels it’s his show. He talked about facing The Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero and marrying & divorcing Vickie Guerrero.
He noted he’s been watching the show the last few weeks. He feels he needs to be the moral campus. He introduced SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch. The fans broke into a “Becky” chant. They booed when Edge mentioned Charlotte Flair.
Edge sees a lot of himself in Lynch. She thanked him for having the champ on his show. Edge said he wasn’t meant to be in the main event. He had to fight for everything he got just like Lynch.
Edge noted that Lynch chose the championship over friendship but it was a mistake. He said that he stills see a good person in Lynch. He said it ends with Lynch at home looking at her championships and reminiscing all alone.
Lynch said he’s right and she doesn’t like herself. She loves herself. The fans popped big. She told Edge to get out of her ring and not to break his neck on his way out. Awesome line. This got a huge reaction.
Flair came out and was disgusted with Lynch. The fans chanted “Becky”. Flair and Lynch brawled. Several referees tried to break them up. This was a really good segment. The fans love Becky Lynch.
Backstage, Rey Mysterio ran into Jeff Hardy.
The Bar defeated The New Day (w/Kofi Kingston) to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The New Day gave up their special orange announce table to Jerry “The King “ Lawler and Booker T. Throughout the match they cut away to King and Booker. King and Booker never seemed ready to speak.
The Bar had the early advantage and isolated Xavier Woods. Big E got the hot tag and ran wild. Big E dropped Cesaro on the top of his head for a near fall. This looked scary.
Sheamus missed a brogue kick and Big E hit the spear to the floor. Woods hit a Shining Wizard for a near fall. Big E hit the Big Ending on Sheamus but he had made a blind tag. Cesaro scored a close near fall.
Sheamus and Cesaro gave Big E a powerbomb/uppercut combo for a near fall. Cesaro hit Kingston from behind. Woods tried to hit a dive but The Bar caught him and tossed him in the barricade. The Bar cleared the orange announce table but Big Show’s music hit.
Big Show came down to ringside and The Bar left. He helped Kingston up. Show suddenly gave Kingston a choke slam through the table. Big E was distracted and Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick to win the SmackDown tag team championship.
John Cena sent in a special video. He noted that without SmackDown there would be no John Cena. He mentioned his debut against Kurt Angle. He thanked the fans.
Rey Mysterio defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to qualify for the World Cup
Nakamura started off with stiff kicks and knees. Mysterio fought back with his own strikes. Nakamura applied a front face lock and slowed the pace down. Mysterio attempted the 619 but Nakamura avoided the move. Mysterio hit a sliding dive underneath the bottom rope into a splash on the floor.
Mysterio gave Nakamura a hurricanrana off the top for a near fall. He went for springboard splash but Nakamura caught him with a knee. He followed up with a second knee for a two count. Nakamura attempted the Kinshasa but Mysterio reversed into a pin fall attempt.
Nakamura attempted a second Kinshasa but Mysterio ducked. Finish came when Mysterio hit the 619 and a springboard frog splash to win the match and qualify for the World Cup.
The lights went out and The Undertaker came down to the ring. He mentioned Crown Jewel and the fans booed. Undertaker said he has three words for DX, “Rest In Peace.”
Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins both retained their titles on last night’s Hell in a Cell fallout edition of Raw.
The show opened with WWE announcing that they’ll be returning to Saudi Arabia for an event called “Crown Jewel” on November 2, with Roman Reigns defending his Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match on the show.
But, with the story being that Baron Corbin knew Reigns was still hurt from Hell in a Cell, Corbin announced that he’d be challenging for Reigns’ title in last night’s main event. Corbin also got Dolph Ziggler to invoke his rematch clause for the Intercontinental Championship and said that Seth Rollins would be stripped of the title if he couldn’t compete.
As the build to Super Show-Down continued, The Undertaker made his advertised appearance on Raw. It was revealed that Shawn Michaels would be in Triple H’s corner and Kane would be in Undertaker’s corner in Australia.
Also on Raw, The Bellas helped Ronda Rousey fight off The Riott Squad, Nia Jax returned to the ring for the first time since July, and Lio Rush debuted as Bobby Lashley’s manager.
WWE has revealed Shawn Michaels’ role for Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia.
As was advertised in advance, The Undertaker made an appearance on Raw tonight to continue promoting his match against Triple H at Super Show-Down. During his promo, it was announced that Michaels will be in Triple H’s corner for the match and that Kane will be in Undertaker’s corner.
Michaels was on Raw two weeks ago as part of the build to Triple H vs. Undertaker, and WWE teased Michaels potentially coming out of retirement for his first match in over eight years. Dave Meltzer then reported that Michaels wrestling was “targeted, if not scheduled” for WWE’s return to Saudi Arabia on November 2. Meltzer wrote that it wasn’t planned to be a singles match.
Kane (real name Glenn Jacobs) hasn’t appeared on WWE television since winning his election to become mayor of Knox County, Tennessee last month. He’s noted that he wouldn’t rule out still making special appearances for WWE after becoming mayor.
Undertaker vs. Triple H at Super Show-Down is being billed as the final time they’ll ever face each other. The event will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 6 and will air live on the WWE Network.
Date: September 17, 2018 Location: American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX
The Big Takeaway —
The next show in Saudi Arabia is called Crown Jewel and will be main evented by a triple threat match for the Universal title with Roman Reigns defending against Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman. Reigns successfully defended his title tonight against Baron Corbin (see more below). Seth Rollins defended his IC title against Dolph Ziggler. Dean Ambrose lost to Drew McIntyre.
Undertaker will have in Kane in his corner for his match against Triple H (with Shawn Michaels in his corner) in Australia.
Nia Jax returned to team with Ember Moon and may be feuding with Alexa Bliss next. Finn Balor was not on the show.
Show Recap —
Roman Reigns came out to start the show. They interrupted his entrance to show a video package of his Hell in a Cell match. He said last night was brutal and didn’t go according to plan, but he woke up still Universal Champion. Weird thing to brag about.
Reigns said he knows Brock Lesnar has a title rematch but wasn’t expecting him to kick down the door to hell and take him out. He challenged Lesnar to have the rematch right now. Strowman came out instead. The crowd chanted “Get these hands.”
Strowman said Reigns should be thankful for Lesnar because his attack was the only reason he’s still the champion. Strowman was pissed that Lesnar cost him a chance at the title again and he would be the one to get Lesnar next, and when he was done, he was going for Reigns.
Baron Corbin came down to cool things down because he didn’t want them to fight right now (even though that’s not what Strowman said). Corbin also wasn’t happy about the finish last night, and after talking to Stephanie McMahon, he had a solution.
On November 2nd in Saudi Arabia, at an event called, “Crown Jewel,” Reigns would defend the title in a triple threat match against Strowman and Lesnar. Strowman said, “I think that sucks,” then told Corbin and Reigns that they also suck. Strowman was cheered like crazy for that, until he told the crowd that they suck too.
Strowman was about to storm off when Paul Heyman interrupted. Some stagehands brought out the door that Lesnar kicked down last night. Heyman said Lesnar laid out both men and conquered Hell in a Cell.
He educated the fans on how valuable Lesnar was and how he was leveraging his star power against UFC and WWE, and nothing brought more power than the Universal title. He credited Lesnar with the WWE gaining a multi-billion dollar TV deal and all-time high stock price, then accused the company of conspiring against him to get the title off of him.
Heyman said Lesnar would reclaim his championship in Saudi Arabia because he was the crown jewel of WWE. Strowman marched after Heyman, who bailed.
Reigns snatched the mic out of Corbin’s hands, then Corbin snatched it back. Corbin said he knows Reigns is hurt and he wouldn’t have to worry about the triple threat, because he had to defend the title against Corbin tonight.
Smackdown tomorrow has AJ Styles vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas, Becky Lynch’s championship coronation, and a special guest on Miz TV.
Drew McIntyre defeated Dean Ambrose (11:12)
Ambrose worked over McIntyre’s knee early in the match and later applied a Texas cloverleaf. After McIntyre got a rope break, Ambrose nailed a suicide dive. Ambrose then went to the top rope and tried a dive to the outside, but McIntyre side-stepped him and Ambrose crashed into the barricade.
Ambrose barely made it back in the ring before the ten count, but McIntyre immediately caught him with the Claymore kick for the pinfall win.
The match was fine while it lasted. The crowd liked Ambrose, who basically cost himself the match.
Backstage, Dolph Ziggler, who was selling his neck, congratulated McIntyre on his win. Corbin showed up and said tonight wouldn’t be the Shield’s night after he takes the title from Reigns. He also heard Ziggler was invoking his IC title rematch tonight. Ziggler said no, because he was hurt. Corbin told him that Seth Rollins wasn’t here, and if he doesn’t show up for the match, he would give Ziggler the title. Ziggler accepted.
The Bellas and Natalya were approached by Ronda Rousey backstage. The Bellas congratulated her on the win last night. Rousey asked them how open challenges work — Does she just go to the ring? Does she talk to Corbin first? Natalya urged her to just go to the ring and do it and said you never know who would accept. Rousey was pretty confident regardless.
Chad Gable did an inset promo with Bobby Roode. Gable has been feeling glorious since teaming with Roode. Roode approved.
Chad Gable (w/Bobby Roode) defeated Viktor (w/Konnor) (4:10)
Viktor briefly had control, but this was basically a showcase for Gable who suplexed Viktor all over and won with the Chaos Theory suplex. If you haven’t been watching, the story is that Gable is filled with confidence now, and he was basically cackling with glee while on offense.
After the match, Konnor pushed Gable into Roode as they celebrated. I guess that means next week we’ll get the fourth straight Raw show with some combination of these four having a match.
Kayla Braxton approached Rollins as he arrived to the building. He was bewildered to learn that Ziggler was invoking his title rematch. She told him that he would be stripped of the title if he couldn’t compete. Rollins said he would remind Corbin this was still Monday Night Rollins.
Undertaker promo
Undertaker came out to a big reaction. He said, “They say delusion is the final recourse for the damned. That no man can spin a web of lies like a man that has a broken soul. And I have never seen anyone with a more broken soul than Triple H.”
Taker mentioned Triple H’s claim that he lost his self-respect, but said delusion would be his downfall. Taker said there was a time where Triple H was savage, but now his battlefield was the boardroom and his life was so filled with lies that he can no longer decipher the truth. He said Triple H couldn’t see the fear in his own friend’s eyes or his own demise.
Taker said the result of their final match would be the same as their first and he would put him six feet under. Taker knew that Shawn Michaels wasn’t going to Australia just to watch the match, he would be in Triple H’s corner. Taker was fine with that, because in his corner would be his brother Kane. The crowd cheered.
Taker took Michaels’ career and he would take Triple H’s as well, but Triple H deserves a fate worse than that, so he would take his soul as well. He finished with “rest in peace.” This was definitely an Undertaker promo.
They aired a video for Connor’s Cure and a few kids were able to do an entrance live with Sasha Banks and Bayley.
Bayley (w/Sasha Banks) defeated Dana Brooke
Bayley won quickly via pinfall after a running knee and Bayley-to-belly suplex.
AOP walked through the back and Rezar was about to kill a random stagehand but Drake Maverick told him to save it.
AOP (w/Drake Maverick) defeated Gregory James & Barrett Brown (1:01)
AOP won quickly with the Super Collider.
Ziggler was getting ready backstage and seemed concerned now that Rollins had arrived. Corbin told him that Rollins was feeling worse than he was. Rollins showed up and said he wasn’t backing down and hoped that Ziggler was ready for a fight.
Seth Rollins defeated Dolph Ziggler to retain the Intercontinental Championship (9:32)
They’re both selling big time after taking the table bump off the cell last night. Rollins seemed like he wanted to do a dive early, but instead just slid to the outside. Ziggler cut him off, sending him into the barricade and us to a commercial break.
Rollins made a comeback immediately after the break, hitting strikes and a blockbuster. Rollins fought out of a sleeper and hit the ripcord knee for two. They battled on the top which led to a superplex by Rollins. Ziggler countered the falcon arrow into a schoolboy holding the tights for a nearfall, then Rollins hit the curb stomp for the pinfall win. Short but fun match.
Charly Caruso interviewed Reigns and told him that many are considering him the underdog tonight given that Corbin didn’t compete last night. Reigns said he might be the underdog against someone like Lesnar or Strowman, but not against Corbin. “I’m not going to be the underdog, I’m just going to be the big dog.” That’s what he said.
They aired a video for Hispanic Heritage month.
Rousey came out to a good reaction. A few people were booing but they were mostly drowned out by “Ronda Rousey” chants. She was delighted by the reaction. She gave credit to Alexa Bliss for her fight last night and for pushing her to her limits.
Rousey wanted to be the greatest champion they ever saw. She wanted to be like Bret Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Ric Flair. She issued a challenge to any woman in the back who had the “gumption” to take her title.
Natalya’s music hit but she didn’t come out. Instead, She was dragged out by the Riott Squad. Ruby Riott said she would be the one accepting the challenge. Rousey punched her off the apron, then took out Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan. Rousey continued to sell her ribs as she fought them off, but Ruby managed to catch her with a spear.
They put the boots to her until Nikki and Brie Bella made the save. (Brie wore her red gear instead of the blue and green she wore on Smackdown and HIAC.) Rousey and the Bellas stood tall and stared down the Riott Squad as they backed away up the ramp. I mean, maybe Rousey or the Bellas should go check on Natalya?
Strowman approached Corbin backstage and wondered why he booked himself in a title match. Strowman hoped that Corbin won, “because like I said earlier, you suck, and I know that I can kill you.” The crowd was amused.
Elias was in the ring and performed on his guitar. He said, “I know how bad this show can be before Elias shows up.” If it were up to him, the show would be three hours of Elias, but he always gets interrupted by people jealous of him.
He said he would have to deal with Bobby Lashley, a constant disappointment like the Dallas Cowboys. The crowd booed. He told the fans that wearing a Cowboys jersey was just advertising failure. He was about to perform but was interrupted by Lio Rush, which seemed to confuse Michael Cole. (The graphic for Rush was purple instead of red.)
Rush accused him of repeating the same material. Elias interrupted and asked, “whose kid is this?” which got a big pop. Rush introduced himself as the 23-year-old piece of gold, the man of the hour. Elias didn’t care and said security could send him to lost and found. Rush laughed him off and said “the big man” had some unfinished business with him.
Elias defeated Bobby Lashley (w/Lio Rush) via DQ
The Bayley match started during a break and when they came back, Bayley had Brooke in a headlock. This match started during a break and when they came back, Elias had Lashley in a headlock. Lashley came off the top but Elias caught him with a high knee, which was cool.
With both men down, Kevin Owens came out and went after Rush, who was on commentary. Rush evaded him by jumping over him, and also dodged when Owens threw a chair at him. Rush also leapt over Elias twice and gave him an enziguri. The referee called for the bell.
Owens caught Rush and tried an apron powerbomb, but Lashley saved him. Lashley then launched Rush onto Owens and Elias. Lashley put Rush on his shoulders and they posed as the heels backed away.
Bliss did a selfie promo with Alicia Fox and Mickie James. She claimed they would all be Hall of Famers as singles competitors, but wanted them to be a team now. Basically, they challenged Ember Moon to a match assuming she could find a partner, and they wondered who would ever want to be her friend.
Ember Moon & Nia Jax defeated Alicia Fox & Mickie James (w/Alexa Bliss) (6:17)
Moon got a big pop when she was announced from Dallas. Bliss was filled with dread upon seeing Jax.
Moon nailed both opponents with a suicide dive, but a distraction allowed Fox to push her off the top and the heels took over. There was a strange moment where James went for a cover but the referee stopped counting after one even though Moon didn’t kick out.
Jax eventually got the hot tag and ran wild on Fox. James broke up a cover so Moon took her out with an Eclipse, then Jax gave Fox a Samoan drop for the pinfall win. This wasn’t good but the crowd was happy.
Corbin told a referee to call his match down the middle tonight, even though he controls his fate.
They plugged a new Wednesday night lineup on the Network. Starting at 7pm ET, it goes 205 Live, NXT, and the Mae Young Classic.
Roman Reigns defeated Baron Corbin to retain the Universal Championship
With Reigns banged up, Corbin went for a bunch of quick covers right away. Reigns fended him off and hit a drive-by dropkick, but Corbin came back with a clothesline for a two count.
(Less than two minutes into this title match, Cole sent us to commercial, the screen went black for a second, then the feed came back on with no commentary. Corbin applied a rest hold and then they went to commercial for real.)
Back from break, the crowd is cheering on Reigns as he fought out of a rest hold but Corbin cut him off with a chokeslam backbreaker for two. Corbin put on another hold for a while until Reigns fought out and hit clotheslines, a jumping clothesline, clotheslines in the corner and a big boot. Reigns followed with a Samoan drop for two.
Corbin rolled to the outside, so Reigns went out and gave him a superman punch. Corbin again went outside, so Reigns went after him, but Corbin threw a chair in his face. The referee hesitated but then called for the bell as Corbin freaked out.
Corbin suddenly remembered he was the acting GM and had the match restarted as a no-DQ match. Corbin grabbed the chair but Reigns gave him a superman punch for a close nearfall.
Reigns picked up the chair, then Strowman entered. Corbin knocked Reigns down from behind, then Strowman attacked. Reigns avoided a shoulder tackle and Strowman fell to the outside. Corbin then caught Reigns with a Deep Six for a nearfall.
Ziggler and McIntyre came out, but Rollins and Ambrose soon followed, brawled with the heels and took them out with suicide dives. Reigns went for a dive but Corbin caught him with a forearm. That didn’t matter though because Reigns hit him with a spear for the win.
There was way too much going on here, and there’s no reason Corbin couldn’t have found any way to get himself the title.
The initial match went 11:54, and the second match went 4:38.
The Undertaker will once again appear on Raw next week to talk about his upcoming match against Triple H at WWE Super Show-Down.
On tonight’s Raw, Triple H came out and furthered their angle by talking about how Undertaker appeared last week because it bothered Undertaker that Shawn Michaels chose Triple H over him in picking a winner for the Super Show-Down match. Triple H at first wondered if Undertaker had lost respect for he and Michaels, but eventually came to the conclusion that he had lost respect for himself.
Triple H went on, saying that ever since he lost at WrestleMania, all The Undertaker had now was a reputation. The matches he had against Triple H and Micheals were his last signs of greatness. In Triple H’s eyes, it is personal now, and he said that he will put him down at the Super Show-Down.
Undertaker and Triple H will headline WWE Super Show-Down on October 6 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia. It is being billed as the last match between the two.
The Undertaker returned to WWE television and confronted Shawn Michaels on last night’s episode of Raw.
Michaels was making an appearance on the show to promote Triple H and Undertaker’s match at Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia next month. Michaels picked Triple H to win before being interrupted by Undertaker. The story of the segment was Undertaker saying he’s put both Triple H and Michaels down and questioning whether Michaels has stayed retired out of respect or fear.
Undertaker said he’d put Michaels down again if he were to ever come out of retirement and vowed to defeat Triple H at Super Show-Down.
The Shield were involved in a show-long storyline where they were arrested after starting a brawl with Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, and Drew McIntyre in the opening segment. They got out of jail at the end of the show — only to be attacked by the heel roster.
Also on Raw, Nikki & Brie Bella faced The Riott Squad and later offered to give Ronda Rousey advice, Ziggler & McIntyre attacked The Revival and replaced them in their Tag Team title match against The B-Team, and Drake Maverick became The Authors of Pain’s new manager.
The build to Triple H vs. The Undertaker at WWE Super Show-Down will continue on next week’s Raw.
During tonight’s episode, it was announced that both Triple H and Mick Foley will be making appearances next Monday. It was noted that Triple H will be responding to Shawn Michaels and Undertaker’s segment from tonight, while Foley will be discussing this year being the 20th anniversary of his Hell in a Cell match against Undertaker at King of the Ring 1998.
Michaels was on Raw tonight to hype up Triple H vs. Undertaker. The story of the segment was Michaels talking about how Triple H was going to win, leading to Undertaker coming out and interrupting him. Undertaker said he’s put both Triple H and Michaels down before and their egos can’t take it. He questioned whether Michaels has stayed retired out of respect or fear and vowed to put Triple H down again.
Triple H vs. Undertaker at Super Show-Down is being promoted as the final time they’ll ever face each other. The show is taking place in Melbourne, Australia on October 6, with Michaels also advertised to appear.
The Undertaker is being advertised to appear on the October 16 event at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. It’s the second announced appearance for The Undertaker in October, with him facing Triple H at WWE Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia on October 6. That’s being billed as the final time they’ll ever face each other.
Undertaker was also part of SmackDown’s 900th episode in November 2016 and the 25th anniversary edition of Raw this year. He’s had three matches since appearing at Raw 25. He faced John Cena at WrestleMania 34, Rusev at the Greatest Royal Rumble, and teamed with Roman Reigns & Braun Strowman against Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin & Elias at a Madison Square Garden house show.
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz, and Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton are also being advertised for the 1,000th episode of SmackDown by the Capital One Arena, but it seems likely that those are just placeholder matches. This is another WWE show that Bryan is listed for that is taking place after his contract expires on September 1.
– Bobby Lashley defeated Jinder Mahal (w/ Sunil Singh)
This was a fairly basic, nothing happening match. Singh was cheered initially before getting booed as he started introducing Mahal. At one point, Singh attacked Lashley at the ropes when the referee wasn’t looking. The crowd was fairly loudly behind Lashley, though they got quieter as the match went on.
Lashley won with the delayed suplex.
– WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander defeated Buddy Murphy to retain his title
A very good match. It had a good amount of heat for a cruiserweight match, especially after the halfway point. The crowd chanted heavily for Alexander. By the time the finish came, they were more into it than the opener.
They did lots of great near falls. Alexander won with a Lumbar Check and got a big pop.
– Raw Tag Team Champions Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt defeated Titus Worldwide (Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews) and The B-Team (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) in a triple threat match to retain their titles
The B-Team got a big pop coming out. It seemed to be a bit louder than the reaction for Hardy and Wyatt, but I wasn’t certain. All three teams got pops, though.
Even if The B-Team had the bigger reaction, Hardy and Wyatt were the clear crowd favorites once the match got going. Each team did their usual spots. Axel had the heat on O’Neil at the end, but Hardy tagged him, then hit the Twist of Fate on O’Neil for the win. Average match overall, but each team made it fun.
– Bayley, Ember Moon & Natalya defeated Alicia Fox, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan
Bayley was clearly playing babyface, and Fox got a decent pop despite being a heel. This match had the least heat so far. After Natalya started, most of it was built around Moon trying to get the hot tag to Bayley. Bayley pinned Morgan with the Bayley-to-Belly.
– Baron Corbin cut a promo in between matches, introducing himself as the Constable of Raw, talking about being in the main event, and declaring that he would deliver the End of Days.
– Mojo Rawley defeated Bobby Roode
Rawley got little reaction, but Roode got a big pop. A lot of people sang along with his song. As the second chorus began, Rawley attacked Roode from behind, getting a lot of heat.
Rawley actually got lots of heat throughout the match — the most I noticed up to this point (the only other person to get any real heat was Mahal). Rawley surprisingly won after Roode’s knees buckled coming off the top rope. His win didn’t get much reaction. Roode sold the knee after Rawley left and got cheered on his way out.
– Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler (w/ Drew McIntyre) defeated Seth Rollins and Finn Balor in a triple threat match to retain his title
Rollins got the biggest reaction coming out, with a big “Burn it Down” chant at his entrance. McIntyre is super imposing in person, especially when next to Ziggler. Rollins and Balor got big pops for their introductions, while Ziggler got decently loud boos.
After a lot of roll-up attempts by all three, Rollins got Ziggler out of the ring and faced off with Balor, but Ziggler and McIntyre continually interrupted them. McIntyre got ejected, but he threw Rollins into the barricade on the way out, leaving Balor and Ziggler alone in the ring for a while. As Rollins tried to get back in, Ziggler threw Balor at him, keeping him out a bit longer. Rollins then dodged the same spot, though Ziggler soon got a sleeper hold on him.
Rollins got out of that before Balor ran wild on both, chopping each in opposite corners and eventually throwing Ziggler out before getting thrown out by Rollins, who then hit separate suicide dives on each. With all three in the ring, Rollins hit the falcon arrow on Ziggler for a huge near fall. Balor and Rollins traded strikes after a Curb Stomp attempt, but Ziggler came in and hit the Zig-Zag on Rollins for an even bigger near fall. “This is awesome” chants started after that.
Ziggler stopped Balor attempting the Coup de Grace. He tried a superplex before getting buckle bombed by Rollins, who tried to superplex Balor but got kicked down. Rollins rolled out to avoid the Coup de Grace attempt, after which Balor got hit with a Zig-Zag for another gigantic near fall.
A bit later, Rollins hit a superkick on each and was signaling for the Curb Stomp before a distraction from McIntyre allowed Ziggler to get the pin. After celebrating, McIntyre and Ziggler beat down Rollins. They seemed to be about to hit their tag team finisher before Balor made the save, hitting the Coup de Grace on McIntyre and allowing Rollins to Curb Stomp Ziggler. Rollins and Balor shook hands afterwards. Awesome match with a ton of heat.
– The Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado) defeated Drew Gulak, Brian Kendrick & Jack Gallagher
They had a good match, but it was nothing you wouldn’t see as a 205 Live opener. The crowd was in and out of this, but they were still louder than most cruiserweight matches.
– Ronda Rousey defeated Nia Jax
Alexa Bliss was introduced as the special guest referee. She cut a promo, admitting that there was mutual disrespect between her and the two wrestlers in the match, and thus she was adding a second guest referee, Mickie James. Jax got little reaction, but Rousey got a huge pop. Like in Philadelphia on Friday, she was again announced as the first woman to enter the UFC Hall of Fame.
Rousey started off on fire, but she got cut off by James, who pulled her away from Jax after she beat on her too long in the corner. Bliss also attacked Rousey while James attended to Jax. After that, Jax got the heat for much of the match. Rousey countered the bear hug into a sleeper hold, but Jax was able to again counter into a vertical suplex.
After recovering, Rousey got a big kick on Jax and got her into a sleeper hold, eventually putting her in an armbar over the ropes before James forced the break. Rousey fired up into a striking combination and followed with a big knee, but James counted slow for a two count. Jax then bumped into Bliss, giving Rousey another chance to take Jax down, but James pretended her arm couldn’t make the three count. Rousey put her into an armbar, which she tapped out to before Jax broke it up with a leg drop.
Jax went for the pin, and Bliss counted to one before stomping on Jax. Both referees were eventually taken out, with Rousey then hitting a crossbody on Jax. She got about a 12 count on her as a referee ran down, finally getting to the ring for a two count.
Rousey finally got the armbar and submitted Jax clean, getting a big pop and having probably the most genuine celebration with the crowd of anyone on the show. The match was a lot of fun despite everything with the referees, and it was helped a lot by the heat it had.
– AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship and Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz were announced for SmackDown’s house show at MSG on December 26, with the pre-sale password “HOLIDAY.”
– The Undertaker, Roman Reigns & Braun Strowman defeated Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin & Elias
Elias started this with a performance, saying he thought about not doing a concert but had to since he was in the main event at MSG. He was super over until he got mega heat for burying New York, though the first few comments got laughs. He complained about the crowd not appreciating him, then brought out Owens and Corbin by saying that he had two partners who do.
Strowman was the first babyface out and got a big pop. Reigns got a 50/50 reaction when he first entered, but after that initial pop it was overwhelmingly negative. Undertaker’s pop was absolutely ear shattering when he first came out and when Jojo announced his name. From the beginning of Elias’ concert to the ring of the bell was about 22 minutes.
The noise from Undertaker’s entrance never left, and the entire match was extremely hot. None of the heels wanted to start, with Owens finally going against Strowman. The heels kept tagging out until Strowman tagged in Reigns to huge boos. As expected, the tag to Undertaker was constantly teased throughout the match, with a huge pop coming when he entered the ring without being tagged when Owens knocked into him.
Undertaker finally tagged in after Reigns hit a Superman Punch. He set up Owens and Elias for a double chokeslam but got interrupted by Corbin. After Strowman and Reigns took out Corbin and Elias, Undertaker hit the tombstone on Owens for the pin and got another ear-shattering pop.
Undertaker shook hands with Strowman, then had a staredown with Reigns before shaking his hand to another huge reaction.
This was my favorite of the three Undertaker matches this year. It was a lot of fun, though that was probably helped by having the experience of being in the crowd. The Cruiserweight and Intercontinental title matches provided great in-ring action, and the two main events had unbelievable atmospheres.
While the card is always subject to change, it looks like The Undertaker’s match has been revealed for next month’s house show at Madison Square Garden.
Undertaker, Roman Reigns & Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin & Elias in a six-man tag is advertised to headline the July 7 event. Undertaker and Reigns are teaming together after their WrestleMania 33 main event, where Undertaker indicated that he was retiring before returning this year.
Undertaker last wrestled this past April, defeating John Cena at WrestleMania 34 and Rusev at the Greatest Royal Rumble. He’s also scheduled for a match against Triple H at WWE Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia this October, which is being billed as the final time they’ll face each other.
Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax for the Raw Women’s Championship had originally been announced for the Madison Square Garden house show. She’ll still be facing Jax, but now it’s a non-title match with champion Alexa Bliss as the special guest referee.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor for the Intercontinental Championship is also listed for Madison Square Garden, and Bobby Lashley, Jinder Mahal, Bobby Roode, Natalya, Bayley, Matt Hardy, and Bray Wyatt are advertised.
WWE’s planned Network special in Australia, which was even briefly mentioned on television earlier this year, has now been announced.
It was confirmed this morning that “WWE Super Show-Down” would officially be taking place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday, October 6th. Following WrestleMania 34 and the Greatest Royal Rumble, this will be WWE’s third stadium show of the year.
The first match for the show has also been announced, with Triple H set to face The Undertaker for the first time since WrestleMania 28. It’s being promoted as the final time they’ll wrestle each other.
John Cena, Ronda Rousey, Shane McMahon, Big Show, Kurt Angle, and Shawn Michaels are among those listed for the show. Though Michaels has discussed potentially being open to one more match under the right circumstances, it wasn’t specified whether he would just be making an appearance or not.
Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Nia Jax, AJ Styles, Charlotte Flair, Daniel Bryan (whose contract expires on September 1st), The Miz, Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss, Bray Wyatt, and Peyton Royce & Billie Kay are also advertised, along with more wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown.
Super Show-Down will stream live on the WWE Network at 4 a.m. Eastern time that Saturday and will be available on pay-per-view globally. It’s taking place three weeks after Hell in a Cell and two weeks before TLC.
Here’s the ticket information for the show: “Tickets for WWE Super Show-Down will be available Thursday, June 28, at 10 a.m. AEST via ticketek.com.au. An exclusive Telstra Thanks pre-sale for customers starts this Friday, June 22, at 12 noon AEST, and is open until Tuesday, June 26, at 10 p.m. AEST.”
Coming off his matches at WrestleMania 34 and the Greatest Royal Rumble, The Undertaker’s next appearance for WWE is set.
Madison Square Garden revealed this morning that Undertaker will be in action at WWE’s Raw-brand house show at the venue on July 7th. This will be Undertaker’s first time wrestling at MSG since 2010.
After indicating that he was retiring at the end of WrestleMania 33, Undertaker returned for a match against John Cena in New Orleans this year. It lasted for under three minutes and had a storyline where it wasn’t officially announced as part of the WrestleMania card in advance. Undertaker also defeated Rusev in a casket match at the Greatest Royal Rumble in April.
As was previously announced, Ronda Rousey will be making her Madison Square Garden debut at the July 7th show. Advertising now lists her as facing Nia Jax in a Raw Women’s Championship match. Whoever is champion heading into that will be decided when Rousey challenges for Jax’s title at Money in the Bank on June 17th.
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. Elias for the Intercontinental Championship is also listed on the card for Madison Square Garden, and Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Bobby Roode, Jinder Mahal, Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Dolph Ziggler, Matt Hardy, and Bray Wyatt are the other wrestlers advertised.
NJPW’s G1 Special at the Cow Palace will be taking place on July 7th as well, along with Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier headlining UFC 226 in Las Vegas.
After announcing the match last week and then removing him from it the next day, Rusev is once again scheduled to face The Undertaker at the Greatest Royal Rumble.
WWE added Rusev back into the casket match today, taking the place of Chris Jericho. Jericho was originally announced for the show’s 50-man Royal Rumble before briefly being slated to wrestle Undertaker.
The storyline explanation for Rusev being replaced was a tweet from Lana where she wrote about lobbying for the change, and WWE had her send out another tweet before revealing that he was back in the match: “After much thought, I have notified @WWE officials that I have changed my mind. @RusevBUL will celebrate #RusevDay by burying The Undertaker in the sands of Saudi [Arabia] and will win the Casket Match at #WWEGRR ! #RusevCrush ! Have a Happy Rusev Day!”
King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia will host the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27th, with it airing live on the WWE Network at noon Eastern time. Here’s the updated card:
50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
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
Cesaro & Sheamus vs. either Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt or The Revival for the vacant Raw Tag Team titles
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers defending against The Usos
WWE, United States, and Cruiserweight Championship matches that have yet to be revealed
The Undertaker is still set to wrestle in a casket match at the Greatest Royal Rumble, but it won’t be against Rusev.
WWE announced a change to the card this afternoon, with Chris Jericho replacing Rusev in the match. This will be the first singles meeting between Undertaker and Jericho since 2010.
WWE had Lana send out a tweet before announcing Undertaker’s new opponent: “All over the world, little boys and girls are celebrating #RusevDay, they smile for the greatest Superstar ever ! I’ve already spoke with @WWE officials to change that match because I REFUSE to let my husband @RusevBUL compete in a Casket Match at #WWEGRR! Happy #RusevDay”
Rusev and Lana also did an interview with TMZ Sports where they hyped up the casket match prior to it being changed. Michelle McCool then responded to TMZ’s headline for the article, which wasn’t a direct quote from them: “Had to listen to see if ‘crush his old a$$’ was ACTUALLY said! Guess some people are smarter than others…”
The Greatest Royal Rumble takes place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on April 27th and will air live on the WWE Network. Here’s the updated card:
50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
John Cena vs. Triple H
The Undertaker vs. Chris Jericho in a casket match
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against The Miz, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe in a ladder match
Cesaro & Sheamus vs. either Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt or The Revival for the vacant Raw Tag Team titles
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers defending against The Usos
WWE, United States, and Cruiserweight Championship matches that have yet to be revealed
