RAW Results and Recap: Remember The Shield
This week’s Monday Night RAW begins with Roman Reigns making an emotional statement—which you can read more about here—in which he relinquishes the Universal Championship and bids the WWE Universe farewell for now.
But as we all know, when it comes to WWE, the show must go on.
Finn Balor def. Bobby Lashley
It’s no surprise that, after interrupting Team B&B (Balor & Bayley) last week, Bobby Lashley (with his hype man Lio Rush by his side) is now facing off one-on-one against Finn Balor. But the WWE Universe—and even the commentary team—would much rather have Balor take on Rush every time he shouts “LASHLEY!” into the microphone. So when he eventually ends up chasing after Rush on the outside of the ring, the crowd goes wild… only for Balor to go crashing right into the brick wall known as “LASHLEY! LASHLEY! LASHLEY!”
Even when RAW returns from commercial, Rush is still chanting “LASHLEY!” But chanting isn’t enough to help your man win a match, as Balor uses his speed to counter Lashley’s power game as much as he can. And with that, Balor is able to get a head of steam that ultimately leads to a flash roll-up and the win. BALOR! BALOR! BALOR!
Ruby Riott def. Sasha Banks
With this match, Sasha Banks (accompanied by Natalya and Bayley, to even the numbers) faces off against Ruby Riott (with The Riott Squad) to battle for momentum heading into this Sunday’s Evolution pay-per-view. After some time off, Banks is ready to make a statement at Evolution, but The Riott Squad is more ready to turn their opponents’ dreams into nightmares. “Because when we win, we riot,” Ruby Riott states in a promo.
Sasha and Ruby have faced off in singles competition before, taking each other to the limit, and that’s what happens again here. Only this time, even with the numbers advantage removed, Ruby takes advantage of Sasha deciding take out Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan on the outside; she strikes as soon as Sasha gets back to the ring and hits her with the Riott Kick for the win.
Backstage, Dolph Ziggler thanks Drew McIntyre for having his back last week after Braun Strowman fulfilled the promise of giving Ziggler these hands. But according to McIntyre, as much as it was a good thing to do as a partner, it was actually somewhat of a selfish choice: He “saw the writing on the wall” once Strowman attacked Ziggler, so he acted in a “kill or be killed” manner when he hit that Claymore on “The Monster Among Men.”
And now that Strowman is no longer part of their pack, McIntyre says Strowman clearly needed them more than they needed him; after all, Strowman wanted their back-up to get the Universal Championship, while they already have the RAW Tag Team Championship. And unlike everyone else in WWE, McIntyre isn’t afraid of Strowman, so he has no problem poking the bear. Or going off “monster hunting,” so Ziggler won’t have anything more to worry about heading into their RAW Tag Team Championship defense tonight (against Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose) and the WWE World Cup at Crown Jewel.
According to Triple H and Shawn Michaels, what some may call “nostalgia” is really just a “polite way of saying old.” But what it can also mean is “‘we’re better’.” Look at how much they drew in Melbourne for Super Show-Down, look at what they’re doing in NXT. Look at—oh, The Brothers of Destruction show up on the TitanTron to interrupt DX’s little nostalgia lesson, promising them “total annihilation.” According to The Undertaker and Kane, Triple H “should’ve stayed away” and Shawn Michaels “should’ve stayed retired.” But now at Crown Jewel? “Your first match against us will be your last match against anybody.”
At Crown Jewel, the winner of the now vacant Universal Championship will be determined in a singles match between Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar. And speaking of Brock Lesnar, his advocate Paul Heyman is here.
After giving Roman Reigns a much-deserved amount of respect as a person and a champion, Heyman makes clear that the guy who you want replacing Reigns as “The Guy” in the company is Brock Lesnar, not Braun Strowman. And to that, Strowman comes out, promises that—when he becomes the champion at Crown Jewel, not Lesnar—Reigns will have a championship opportunity whenever he wants, and says that Lesnar needs to come out right now and get these hands. Instead, Strowman gets McIntyre’s Claymore.
Backstage, McIntyre tells Charly Caruso that he remains unafraid of “The Monster.” He also calls that unexpected Claymore a “swift kick of reality” and, again, a reminder that Strowman needed McIntyre and Ziggler, not the other way around.
Elias def. Apollo Crews
As usual, Elias comes out to perform for the live WWE crowd, but it seems like Apollo Crews interrupts him even sooner than most people do. At least this time Crews and Elias have a match against each other.
After saying he wanted to prove what he can do in this ring last week, that’s exactly what Apollo Crew does here. Crews is all about showing off his
athleticism for the WWE Universe… but all it takes is one big knee and a Drift Away, and then it’s over for the former Titus Worldwide team member.
After winning the match, Elias is on such a high he decides to try his concert again, this time at the top of the ramp. But whoops, Acting General Manager Baron Corbin interrupts him, before he can get even close to starting a song. According to Corbin, “We just don’t have time to accommodate your performance,” even though Elias assures him that Stephanie McMahon wants to walk with Elias and would absolutely support this concert. Be that as it may, Corbin continues to deny Elias, claiming that what has to say is “far more important” than Elias’ music and “little guitar.”
Then Corbin pulls rank, reminds Elias that he’s his boss—and if Stephanie didn’t like Elias so much, he’d fire him right now for insubordination. Corbin thinks that’s enough to get Elias to leave, but he still refuses to do so, instead opting to sing a song about Corbin. One that includes the lyric, “Just a giant puppet with Stephanie’s hand up your ass.” After that, Corbin has the production crew cut off Elias’ mic and guitar, so Elias finally leaves… only to come back and hit Corbin hard in the back with the guitar. This is what Corbin gets: It was only a matter of time before Elias finally got fed up with constantly being interrupted.
At Crown Jewel, Kurt Angle wants to prove once more that he’s still the best in the world. But according to him, “It may be my biggest challenge yet.” Especially when he goes through all the other competitors’—Seth Rollins, Jeff Hardy, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton, and John Cena—strengths. (Especially—surprisingly—The Miz, who Angle points out is constantly winning, even though people criticize him for constantly talking.)
Before main the Evolution pay-per-view, RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey and challenger Nikki Bella have to sign the match contract to make it official. You can read about the contract signing here.
Backstage, Charly asks Rollins and Ambrose if they have anything to say about Reigns and his current health situation. Ambrose says there are no words to describe their brotherhood over these past six years, just action. “So tonight, we’re gonna do what we always do. Win.”
To that, Rollins adds that they’re going to channel all of they’re feeling right now into winning the RAW Tag Team Championship. “And we’re gonna do it for you, Roman. We love you. Believe that.”
Ember Moon def. Tamina, Nia Jax, & Dana Brooke
Throughout the night, the women in this Fatal 4-Way have spoken about why they want to win the battle royal at Evolution. Nia Jax wants another chance to become RAW Women’s Champion, after losing the title to Alexa Bliss three months ago. Dana Brooke knows this is a rare opportunity for her, and she’s ready to prove herself and what she can do. Ember Moon sees the importance of Evolution as a whole, and she believes “the stars will align” for her to get the win there.
If this Fatal-4-Way is any indication, she may be right, as she ends up hitting Tamina with the Eclipse out of nowhere to get the win.
Charly asks Trish Stratus and Lita how they feel about the fact that their Evolution opponents, Alexa Bliss and Mickie James, continue to take them so lightly this close to the pay-per-view. But before they can answer, Alicia Fox interrupts to hype up her two besties. Lita decides that since Alicia is clearly “the messenger for Mickie and Alexa,” she can relay this message—wait, no. It’s an ambush, as Mickie jumps her future opponents from behind.
Referees have to separate the women, but it looks like Mickie and Alicia got the upper hand in this confrontation. In fact, Mickie is even ready to tell Charly how they do things “these days,” only to get interrupted herself by a returning Trish and Lita. This time, the Hall of Famers end up on top, with Trish letting ‘em know: “That’s how we do it in the Attitude Era.”
The Shield (Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) def. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre (c), for the RAW Tag Team Championship
Unsurprisingly, the reigning tag team champs bust out the great tag team wrestling, cutting the ring in half, preventing tags completely. But it’s not like this is The Shield’s first rodeo, and of course, they’re also doing this all for their brother. And the WWE Universe in Providence feels it all too, as they eventually start a “THIS IS AWESOME” chant for this match. (It is. It really is.) The crowd is also ready for Rollins to “BURN IT DOWN!” when the time comes, and honestly, with as much as Ziggler wants to prove he’s “the best in the world” at Crown Jewel, he and Rollins definitely both have valid claims for that moniker—and this match proves it.
This match also proves that Rollins knows how to buckle bomb a person into another person—as he does so to Ziggler (right into McIntyre)—and that Ambrose still has trouble hitting the Dirty Deeds on McIntyre. But even with that disadvantage and a Zig Zag to Rollins, The Shield remain in this match. Things become chaotic when Rollins accidentally hits the referee: Strowman comes out to make sure McIntyre gets these hands, and the two men fight all the way through the crowd and into the backstage area, leaving Ziggler to fend for himself. He tries to cheat with the tag team title, but Ambrose prevents that, leading to a Stomp from Rollins, and a three-count as soon as Ambrose gets the referee back into the ring. New champs! And they did it for their brother. Or did they?
“NOT TONIGHT! NOT ON THIS NIGHT!” – Michael Cole
As Rollins celebrates, Ambrose throws his title down and immediately hits Dirty Deeds on Rollins. But while the crowd is shocked, Ambrose seems extremely conflicted about this. At least, at first. He’s crying, and he’s punching the ring… and then he’s just on Rollins, beating the crap out of him. Screaming things like, “I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU WHY!” and “SAY IT AGAIN!” Seemingly still upset about the “lunatic time” comment from last week, telling Rollins to “WATCH YOUR MOUTH,” as the crowd remains confused. Then he even throws the championship titles at Seth, shouting, “THAT’S WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU, HUH?” Soon, the padding from the floor, telling Rollins to “suck it up” and that he “asked for this.”
I suppose these are in fact the actions of a lunatic. He hits Dirty Deeds on Rollins on the exposed floor, and no one in Providence is happy. Ambrose heads out through the crowd once more, up the stairs, as Rollins’ lifeless body remains on the floor.