RAW Results and Recap: No Rest For The Weary
Roman Reigns—still Universal Champion—kicks off the show, live in Dallas, TX. According to Reigns, last night in the Hell in a Cell match was “rough,” “brutal,” and it didn’t exactly go according to plan… except for the part where Reigns remained the Universal Champion. As for Brock Lesnar, if he really wants his championship rematch so badly—badly enough to ruin Hell in a Cell the way he did—he can come out right now.
But instead of “The Beast,” Reigns gets “The Monster”: Braun Strowman. And he thinks Reigns should actually be thanking Lesnar for coming out and wrecking things last night, as it’s the only reason he’s still the champ. (Honestly, the last official moment of the match itself was Reigns spearing Strowman through a table, so maybe the champ was actually going to win. Had he woken up to pin Strowman.) So now Strowman’s got his eyes on Lesnar, but he’ll be back to take care of Reigns after that—he’s not finished with either of them. Before Reigns can respond, Acting General Manager Baron Corbin comes out to stop a fight that wasn’t even happening from even beginning. So, naturally, the Dallas crowd lets him know something very important: “YOU SUCK!” And not even in the sing-songy Kurt Angle way but the way where they really want him to know they think he sucks. But he’s out her to announce that he and Stephanie McMahon have been brainstorming a solution to the Universal Championship problem post-Hell in a Cell, and that solution will occur in Saudi Arabia, at WWE Crown Jewel, as Reigns will defend against both Strowman and Lesnar. Strowman’s thoughts on the matter?
“I think that sucks. I think you [Corbin] suck. I definitely think you [Reigns] suck. This whole situation sucks. Everybody in this entire arena sucks.”
Seriously, Braun Strowman telling everyone that they suck is kind of awesome. More of that, please (and he actually does do a little more of that before RAW is over, so thank you). Strowman’s about to leave for the back, but then Paul Heyman and his voice arrive, along with the literal door to Hell that Lesnar kicked in the night before. Heyman claims he’s here to “educate” us all, about “the economics called Brockanomics,” which is “a very sophisticated financial concept, but it’s so simplistic in nature”:
“The more you are worth, the bigger star you are, the more leverage you have, the more powerful you get in WWE, the more money you’re worth in UFC. The more money you’re worth in UFC, the bigger star you are in UFC, the more power—sheer power you wield in UFC—the more money you can make in WWE. And nothing is more powerful than holding the Universal Heavyweight Championship.”
The WWE Champion might disagree with that, but okay… Heyman mentions all the money WWE made when Lesnar was the champion and then says that Strowman and Reigns “ganged up” and “conspired” against his client at SummerSlam to take the championship away from him. “That’s why Brock Lesnar came back last night,” to reclaim his position as “the Crown Jewel of WWE.” And once Heyman says his piece, he has to run to the back as Strowman power walks toward him. As for Reigns and Corbin, the Acting GM points out that—because of his position of power—that he knows some things about Reigns. Like the fact that he’s working really hurt post-Hell in a Cell. He’s more a “puppy” than a Big Dog right now. So now he’s defending his championship tonight in the main event, against Baron Corbin.
Drew McIntyre def. Dean Ambrose
Reigns definitely isn’t the only member of The Shield working hurt tonight. After the chaos surrounding the Hell in a Cell match, Dean Ambrose and Drew McIntyre finally face-off in singles action. As Michael Cole points out, these men have “two of the most unorthodox styles” in all of WWE; and as Renee Young is able to provide more in-depth insight, this new version of Ambrose is one who’s had nine months of “pent-up anger and frustration” to deal with, sitting at home while the WWE Universe continued moving on without him.
From the beginning of the match, Ambrose focuses non-stop on McIntyre’s left leg. A modified leg breaker in the corner, just ramming the leg into the post and then the LED apron, etc. It’s a smart strategy too—taking out the big man’s base—since the tag team championship match at Hell in a Cell revealed that McIntyre’s size and strength prevented Ambrose from hitting the Dirty Deeds on him. So even when McIntyre gets some advantage in this match, it’s slow down by his leg giving out at the worst time.
Neither man is close to 100%, but you’d almost be convinced of the opposite considering Ambrose’s new style of wrestling. His entire demeanor and moveset have changed so much—the wild brawler is now clearly a deadly technician—and it’s incredibly impressive. Some of “the old Dean Ambrose” comes out with a suicide dive, which hurts his back (the after-effects of the fighting on the top of the Cell last night); and then it comes out even more when Ambrose tries again to dive to the outside, and McIntyre just squats him away—crash and burn. McIntyre is perfectly content to take the countout victory, but Ambrose gets back in at nine… and immediately eats a Claymore. A desperate Claymore too, because McIntyre can barely stand on his own two feet at this point and it’s the last bit of energy he has in the tank—he even needs the referee to help stand him up after the win.
After the match, the beaten up McIntyre celebrates with Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin backstage. According to Corbin, “it’s one down, two to go” as far as The Shield goes. And in terms of taking care of Seth Rollins—since Ambrose was just taken care of and Corbin will handle Reigns later tonight—Corbin actually manipulates Ziggler into enacting his rematch clause for the Intercontinental Championship tonight. Apparently, Rollins is just as beaten up as Ziggler—as they both fell off the Cell—but he’s not even in the building. So Corbin convinces Ziggler he can easily win the championship by forfeit and without even having to actually wrestle.
While both the Universal Champion and Intercontinental Champion are being forced to defend their titles this week, Ronda Rousey surprises the WWE Universe by deciding to host an Open Challenge for her RAW Women’s Championship. However, things—which you can read about here—don’t quite go as planned.
Chad Gable def. Viktor
This time around, it’s singles action from Chad Gable (with Bobby Roode in his corner and the “Glorious” theme blaring on their way to the ring) against one-half of The Ascension, Viktor (with Konnor in his corner). According to a pre-tape promo, since teaming with Roode, Gable’s been feeling “like a new man” and “good”—even “better than good.” He’s feeling “GLORIOUS.” He’s also clearly feeling like Bobby Roode is his new dad, and everything he continues to do is clearly done for the purposes of getting Roode’s approval. (I mean, seriously.)
Gable twists and wraps Viktor up pretty immediately into the match. But Viktor busts out a cartwheel! Honestly, Viktor has some moves, but he’s not glorious, so he just ends up pulling Gable’s hair. (Which is also glorious, especially compared to the remaining hair on Viktor’s head.) Konnor attempts to interfere, which Gable avoids… but ends up running right into a European uppercut from Viktor. While Viktor has the advantage for a bit, Gable has Roode’s—and the WWE Universe’s—support on the outside. Out of nowhere, Gable locks on a rope-assisted armbar, and then he’s on fire again. Roode calls for more suplexes, and Gable absolutely obliges—because Chad Gable rocks, y’all. He even prevents another Konnor interference before Roode can even take off his robe and stop the guy himself. (So, even when they’re not in a tag team match, Gable still does all the work.) After that, he hits the rolling German suplex on Viktor and wins, with Roode again not having to break a sweat. Konnor trucks both men from behind before they can actually celebrate though, so this rivalry is far from over.
A visibly hurt Seth Rollins finally arrives at the arena, and he gets the news about how he has to defend his Intercontinental Championship. No complaints from Rollins though, because he says Baron Corbin needs to be reminded of something: “This is still Monday Night Rollins.”
The Undertaker is in Dallas, and he’s got some things to say to Triple H about Super Show-Down, which you can read more about here.
Bayley def. Dana Brooke
This match is already in progress when the show comes back from commercial, and poor Dana Brooke. On the one hand, you have Renee Young on commentary talking about just how sold she is on Dana—not Titus Worldwide, as she calls Dana the now-solo Beyonce of that group—and it works in concert with the fact that Dan’s athleticism and strength are both very much on display here. She actually looks very impressive in this match, so maybe Renee is on to something. (She also questions Titus O’Neil’s credentials, which Corey Graves stumbles to actually provide a solid answer about. How deep does this conspiracy go?)
On the other hand, it’s easy to forget just how dominant of a wrestler Bayley can be. As Graves mentions Bayley’s “mean streak,” Renee scoffs at that at one point, until Graves reminds her of that time Bayley attacked Sasha Banks. To that, Renee replies that “She had to do what she had to do to stay on top.” And that leads into Bayley just absolutely rocking Dana with a big knee to the head before hitting the Bayley-to-Belly. (So, for once, Graves was right.) She honestly doesn’t even need to hit the Bayley-to-Belly after that knee. Then she just dances by Dana Brooke’s lifeless body.
AOP (Akam & Rezar) def. Gregory James & Barrett Brown (local talent)
“They don’t want to be methodical—AOP wants to hurt people.”
So you can guess—even without that quote from Corey Graves—how this match goes. Some basic destruction of local talent, a Super Collider, and that’s all she—well, the AOP—wrote.
Seth Rollins (c) def. Dolph Ziggler, for the Intercontinental Championship
Rollins walks to the ring with a very visible limp, but you can tell that both Rollins and Ziggler are very hurt. Irish Whips into the corner and both men are holding their backs. Rollins leapfrogs over Ziggler, and of course, he’s wincing. Both men are in even worse shape than McIntyre and Ambrose were, but they’re also high-level WWE Superstars who will fight with and through the pain. Their backs, their shoulders, their necks, their legs. All hurt.
So they choose to focus on a methodical pace as opposed to their typical fast one… but Rollins also knows what he needs to do to win, so even after he winces his way up the turnbuckle gingerly, he still goes for the Blockbuster. And Ziggler’s end, the sleeper hold has an even greater effect on him Rollins than it usually would. Rollins gets the ripcord knee—and Ziggler may have lost a tooth—after some back-and-forth reversals, but he can barely muster the strength to properly cover Ziggler and he only gets a two out of that. As Graves points out, “At this point, even offensive maneuvers hurt you.” It’s true even head into the finish: Rollins get the superplex and gets fired up, but he can’t pull off Falcon Arrow and Ziggler rolls him up (with a fistful of tights). Rollins is able to get out of that and hits a last-gasp stomp. Rollins’ lower back pain prevents him from going for the cover immediately, but he eventually does, and he gets the three-count.
Unlike McIntyre before, Rollins is actually able to get up to his feet by himself (well, with help of the ropes). And then he is still on fire, letting the crowd know, “I AM THE BEST IN THE WORLD” and that no one is going to take that title—or the Intercontinental title—away from him.
Backstage, Reigns is proud of his boy’s job well done, so now all he has to worry about his championship defense later tonight. Charly Caruso asks him if he feels like an underdog heading into the match—especially since Corbin is rested and didn’t even wrestle the night before—but a confident Reigns points out he only feels like an underdog in the ring with Lesnar or Strowman. So tonight, he’s just the Big Dog. And he’s going to retain.
Strowman, however, lets Corbin know he wants him to win the Universal Championship match: “Because like I said earlier, you suck. And I know that I can kill you.”
Elias def. Bobby Lashley, via Disqualification
“Ladies and gentlemen, listen, I know how bad this show can be before Elias shows up. I mean, if I had it my way, it’d be three hours of Elias.”
You know, Elias better be careful: He’s starting to put on actually good concerts. But as he mentions, these concerts tend to be interrupted by WWE Superstars, past and present. All because of one thing: “jealousy.” For example, Bobby Lashley. Who Elias calls the kind of guy “who never wins when it matters.” And Elias will prove that again after he sings his song… which is interrupted by “The Man of the Hour” (and 205 Live star) Lio Rush. Rush says he’s “looking at a rockstar” but also one who sings “the same, sad, tired, diss track.”
Elias, however, wants to know: “Whose kid is this?” In Rush’s defense, he tries to tell Elias who he is and why he’s getting involved in his business, but Elias keeps cutting him off. But eventually, he’s able to tell Elias that “the big man…has some unfinished business with you.” And that man is “MY MAN,” Bobby Lashley.
Lio Rush joins the announce team on commentary during the match to let them know that, “Every great man needs a great manager of the hour.” Also, that their relationship began over smoothies. Something must be good about those smoothies, because in the ring, Lashley is dominating Elias with his power and freaky Lashley athleticism. He’s letting his in-ring work do the talking—all while Rush runs his mouth and calls Kevin Owens “a coward” (for that sneak attack on Lashley a few weeks back)—only failing once he dives right into a huge jumping knee from Elias. Rush keeps calling Owens a coward, which is apparently enough for Owens to come out and try to stomp the little man out. But then the most amazing thing happens, and that’s Rush avoiding both Owens and Elias (although it sucks he accidentally causes Lashley to lose by DQ):
Post-Hell in a Cell, Alexa Bliss and her crew (they’re calling themselves Team “In Your Dreams” now, by the way) have a new focus. As singles competitors, they’re all obviously future Hall of Famers—I think we’re supposed to hate the lack of humility on Bliss’ end, but it’s hard to argue that she, Mickie James, and Alicia Fox don’t deserve to be in the WWE Hall of Fame when all is said and done—so now they’re going to focus on tag team dominance. So her besties are going to compete against hometown girl Ember Moon and a partner of Ember’s choosing if she can even find one. Which will be difficult, because not everyone can have a friendship like theirs.
Ember Moon & Nia Jax def. Mickie James & Alicia Fox
So, maybe it’s not a matter of having a friendship like Team “In Your Dreams,” but Ember Moon does end up having a partner in the form of a returning Nia Jax. Bliss’ expression about realizing this is priceless, while James and Fox literally want none of this: Fox actually pushes Bliss forward and suggests she wrestle in her places instead. James has to hype Fox up, even though she refuses to get into the ring too.
Jax starts off the match, and… Well, she would—but again, Fox and James refuse to get into the ring as long as she’s in there. Instead, the match starts with Ember Moon and Alicia Fox, and Fox really doesn’t want Ember Moon to tag Nia Jax. Also, Bliss was right: Fox and James are actually a really good tag team, cutting the ring in half, making pretty frequent tags. And Mickie James is just a brilliant trash talker, as she hits Ember with a big kick to the midsection and then yells “IT’S GOOD.” (The Cowboys fans in the crowd are definitely not fans of that.)
But then she and Fox are having too much fun, she starts mocking Jax, and that ends up costing her when Jax is finally in the ring. At one point, Jax uses Fox as a battering ram into James. And when James begs Jax not to chokeslam her, it’s only an act of mercy that occurs because Ember hits her with the Eclipse instead. This allows Jax to hit Fox with the Samoan Drop, and it’s over.
Prior to the main event, Corbin tries to bully the referee into calling the match in his favor, but he might actually say this so subtly that it actually gets lost in translation.
Roman Reigns (c) def. Baron Corbin, in a No Disqualification match for the Universal Championship
This is basically a Money in the Bank cash-in of sorts, which, as we all know, isn’t exactly something Corbin is good at. So Corbin makes sure to get on Reigns pretty quickly; he wants to end this fast, and at the very least, all the kickouts lead to Reigns exerting energy. The plan doesn’t really work though, as evidenced by an early Drive-by. One mistake on Reigns’ end leads to him going shoulder first into the post, and that when Corbin gets more of an advantage. He still has a lot to do to properly to wear Reigns down.
With every big move from Corbin, while he still only gets two-counts, he’s clearly getting closer to a win. But then he starts to get cocky because of that, slowing down and not just wailing on Reigns like he was at the beginning of the match. That allows Reigns to gets some life in him, and he’s upset once he finally does. After last night’s insanity of a match, all the announce team can think is that adrenaline and the energy of the WWE Universe must be fueling him. That’s literally the only thing that can explain it.
And Corbin, despite being more rested, is in desperation mode. Every time Reigns is about to Superman Punch him, Corbin rolls out of the ring. Reigns even gets the punch off the steel steps and gets Corbin into the ring after… but Corbin rolls out again. And then he throws a chair at a running Reigns, leading to the DQ. But unlike Corbin’s match against Finn Balor, this time, he doesn’t even pretend he “forgot” this wasn’t a No DQ match—it takes him a while to realize what he can do, but once he does, he restarts the match as such.
While this strategy worked against Balor, Corbin ends up getting Superman Punched before he can even swing the chair. Only a two-count for Reigns though, so Reigns then decides he wants the chair. But as soon as Reigns grabs the chair, out comes Strowman, just strolling to the ring and making sure Corbin gets the win. Corbin’s able to take Reigns down from behind as a result, and Strowman enters the ring and stands over Reigns before headbutting him and hitting him with some corner clotheslines. He’s about to go for the running powerslam but instead ends up going shoulder first into the post. This leaves Corbin to try to finish Reigns off, and he hits a huge Deep Six on Reigns. But still, only a two-count.
So that leads to Ziggler and McIntyre coming out to help Strowman backup—and Ambrose and Rollins to even the odds. Yet again, it’s a brawl outside the ring. Only this time, Reigns gets involved, Superman Punching Strowman before Ambrose and Rollins suicide dive into The Dogs of War. And Reigns is about to hit a dive of his own until he’s caught by a right hand by Corbin. But once Corbin gets back into the ring, it’s spear o’clock for the win. And The Shield boys end up on top to end the show, as Rollins has the chair now, and he and Ambrose help the retaining Reigns up.