The June 4th edition of WWE RAW aired live from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
– This week’s episode of RAW kicks off with Elias already sitting in the ring. Jojo introduces him, and he starts warming up on his guitar under the spotlight in the ring. Elias says he is WWE’s most valuable asset, and he’ll be even more valuable after becoming the next IC Champion at Money In The Bank. He says Seth Rollins will learn the hard way that WWE stands for Walk With Elias. Elias reminds everyone that he smashed a guitar over Rollins’ last week, and complains that he lost one of his favorite guitars in the altercation. Elias sings a song trashing Rollins and the Houston Rockets, and then Rollins comes out to interrupt. Rollins circles the ring as Elias stands on the mat wielding his guitar like a weapon. Rollins grabs a steel chair to even the odds, and he steps into the ring. They both swing their weapons, but Rollins hits the guitar away with the steel chair. Rollins corners Elias, but then Jinder Mahal runs in from behind and ambushes Rollins. Mahal and Elias now beat down Rollins on the mat until Roman Reigns runs in for the save. Reigns fights them off, including Sunil Singh who has hopped in the ring. Reigns clears the ring, and then helps Rollins to his feet. Kurt Angle comes out to the stage on the mic, and tells Elias that he and Jinder aren’t going anywhere. Kurt books a tag team match, right here in Houston, Texas, and that starts right now.
– Seth Rollins & Romain Reigns vs. Elias & Jinder Mahal: It’s all Reigns and Rollins in the opening moments of this one as they beat their opponents down all over ringside. Back in the ring, Elias finally mounts some offense and drops Rollins with a big lariat. Elias and Jinder take turns beating on Rollins, but Rollins finally comes back and gets the hot tag to Reigns. Reigns hits the ring and cleans house. He throws Jinder outside, then drops Elias with a big boot to the face. Reigns looks for a superman punch on Elias, but he gets distracted by Jinder and punches Jinder off the apron. Elias rolls outside to recover, and Reigns follows. Reigns runs around the ring, but an interference from Sunil Singh saves Jinder and allows Elias to knee Reigns in the face. Reigns is down now as Elias beats on him and then takes him back in the ring. Elias and Jinder take turns beating on Reigns. Jinder drops some elbows on Reigns’ head, then follows up with the knee drops. Elias comes in and knocks Rollins off the apron, and the distraction leads to Reigns coming back with an uppercut on Elias. Elias shuts him down and tags in Jinder, who continues the assault on Reigns. Rollins finally gets the hot tag and cleans house. Rollins takes the fight to Elias and hits a Falcon Arrow, but Jinder breaks up the pin. Jinder looks for the Khallas, but Reigns runs in and hits the superman punch on him. Jinder then boots Elias in the face, and Rollins superkicks Elias in the face. Sunil gets on the apron and distracts Rollins. Meanwhile at ringside, Jinder and Reigns brawl into the crowd. Elias tries to roll up Rollins, but Rollins escapes and kicks him in the head. Rollins then hits a suicide dive on Jinder at ringside. Sunil gets a steel chair and eyes up Rollins, but Rollins snatches it away from him. They run in the ring and Elias stops Rollins and DDT’s him on the chair. Elias follows up with the Drift Away on Rollins for the three count.
Winners: Elias & Jinder Mahal
– Reigns helps Rollins recover in the ring after the match, as Jinder, Elias and Sunil head up the ramp.
– Still to come: Nia Jax vs. Natalya; and a Tag Team Battle Royal where the winners get a shot at the RAW Tag Team Titles
– Bruce Prichard is at ringside to promote his WWE Network series Something Else To Wrestle With.
– Curt Hawkins is in the ring and there is a big taco buffet display at ringside. Hawkins cuts a promo in the ring and talks about free tacos, and he’s in the ring with a local enhancement talent.
– Curt Hawkins vs. enhancement talent: Hawkins and the jobber go back and forth in the opening moments until Hawkins hits a big scoop slam. Hawkins follows up with a big lariat, then he calls for him to get to his feet, but Baron Corbin interrupts. Corbin hits the ring and hits the End of Days on the jobber, and the ref calls for the DQ.
Winner via DQ: Enhancement talent
– Hawkins looks traumatized after the match. Hawkins rolls outside after Corbin, and Corbin throws him onto the table of tacos. Corbin flips the table ontop of Hawkins and the crowd boos as Corbin heads backstage.
– Ronda Rousey is backstage helping Natalya warm up for her match tonight.
– Baron Corbin confronts Kurt Angle and says he talked directly to Stephanie McMahon. Corbin says Stephanie had a message for Angle, saying Angle has made irresponsible decisions, and Stephanie now appoints Corbin as the new “constable” of RAW to assist Angle in his RAW duties.
– Ronda Rousey comes out to the broadcast table to do commentary for the next month.
– Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey: The opening bell sounds and they lock up. Nia overpowers Natalya early on and backs her into the corner. Natalya tries to fight back with a dropkick, but Nia drops her again by shoving her down to the mat. Nia bumps Natalya out of the ring and Natalya recovers on the floor. Back in the ring, Nia continues the beat down on Natalya. Natalya starts to fight back and she dropkicks Nia down to one knee. Nia misses a splash in the corner and Natalya drops her with a clothesline for a two count. Natalya starts selling a knee injury, and Nia capitalizes with a Samoan Drop for the three count.
Winner: Nia Jax
– Natalya is still selling the knee injury after the match. Nia acts upset about the injury after the mach as Natalya undoes her boot. Ronda comes down to the ring and to check on Natalya. Nia asks if Natalya is okay but Ronda keeps shooing her off. Nia bumps into Ronda and Ronda gets in her face. Ronda tells Nia to just go, and then Ronda gets back down to check on Natalya. Nia stands by as the ref and Ronda help Natalya out of the ring.
– Still to come: Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor; and Bobby Lashley responds to Sami Zayn
– Bobby Roode is backstage getting ready for his match tonight. He does a brief interview with Renee Young, where Roode says he thrives in the spotlight and is excited to climb the Money In The Bank ladder, and then go on to win the Universal Title. Roode isn’t as happy talking about his match against Strowman tonight, and he says he has never seen a competitor like Strowman. Roode says his goal tonight is just to survive.
– Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Roode: The opening bell sounds and they immediately go at it. Strowman starts off strong, but Roode hits a shot to the knee that stuns Strowman. Strowman briefly sells a knee injury, but then goes right back to work on Roode and drops him. Strowman suplexes Roode down and then poses for the crowd. Roode fights back with a kick and then Strowman misses a shot in the corner and crashes into the ring post. Roode rolls outside and pulls a ladder out from under the ring. Strowman and Roode fight around ringside, and Strowman crushes the ladder in half with his hands. Roode is shocked and he backs away from Strowman. Strowman chases Roode back in the ring and hits the running powerslam for the three count after a competitive match.
Winner: Braun Strowman
– Strowman admires his handiwork and then heads backstage.
– Kevin Owens is backstage watching on a monitor, and he’s not happy. Owens does a brief interview where he talks about his match with Finn Balor tonight. Owens says he’ll be the winner of the Money In The Bank contract, and tonight he’s going to show the world that Balor is a made-up Irish myth.
– Ronda Rousey is backstage helping Natalya ice her knee.
– Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt come down to the ring for an interview. They talk about what it means to be wonderful, and Matt talks about being magical and transcending space and time. Wyatt interrupts and says to let it be known their enemies will suffer first, and then they will be… DELETED!
– Tag Team Battle Royal: The winners of this will earn a shot at the Tag Team Titles. The opening bell sounds and all of the RAW tag teams start going at it. Ziggler and McIntyre stand on the apron and watch the other teams go at it. McIntyre and Ziggler finally get in and start beating on the other teams. Ziggler is looking good, but he gets kicked from behind and Ziggler falls outside for the elimination. McIntyre is not happy and he starts dropping people, and then Ziggler runs back in the ring nad starts beating on people. The referees eject Dolph and Drew from the ringside area as the other teams continue fighting. Titus gets eliminated by The Revival next. Viktor and Konnor get eliminated next, and then Fandango and Breeze get eliminated. The Revival takes control of the action in the ring now. Rhyno eliminates The Revival next, and it’s down to The B Team and Rhyno & Slater. The B Team double-teams Rhyno now, and then they try to eliminate him. Rhyno hangs on as Slater recovers. Slater knees Bo in the face and then kicks Axel down. Slater picks up Bo for a slam, and he accidentally knocks Rhyno off the apron for the elimination. Axel clotheslines Slater to the outside, and Axel and Dallas are the winners.
Winners & #1 contenders for the Tag Team Titles: Slater & Dallas
– Dallas and Axel have a big over-the-top celebration after the match.
– Up next: Bobby Lashley addresses Sami Zayn
– Bobby Lashley comes out to the ring in street clothes and gets on the mic. Lashley gets on the mic and says Sami should stop talking trash and come down and talk to his face. He calls out Sami, and Sami’s music hits, but Sami doesn’t come out on the stage. Sami is in the crowd with a mic and he trashes Bobby. Sami asks the crowd if they want him to get in the ring and face Bobby right now, but Sami says not a chance, because last time Lashley assaulted him when he wasn’t ready. Sami complains about Bobby injuring his hand last week, and then says he’s got more dirt on Lashley. Sami makes fun of Lashley for posting inspiration quotes on Instagram, and shows some on the big screen. Sami says Lashley’s ego is out of control because he has his own fan club online. Sami continues to walk through the crowd, and Bobby asks where he’s going. Bobby calls out Sami for stalking him on Instagram and not coming to talk to him face to face. Sami says Bobby is one big lie and phony, and asks if he was even really in the army. Sami says Bobby never really served his country, it was another one of his lies. Lashley stares at Sami from the ring as Sami walks off and the crowd chants “USA.”
– We see a replay of Elias and Jinder defeating Rollins and Reigns in a tag match earlier tonight.
– Jinder Mahal and Sunil Singh are backstage for an interview. Jinder trashes Seth Rollins and Roman, and tells them the storm is coming.
– Roman Reigns is also backstage for an interview. Reigns says Jinder must have forgotten who he is, and people should compare his resume with Jinder’s. We cut back to Jinder, and Jinder appears to have heard what Reigns said on a monitor, and he trashes Jinder. We go back to Reigns who says he knows Jinder is still in the arena, and he’s going to look for him. Jinder goes looking through the arena for Mahal. He finally runs into Jinder and Sunil, and they face off. Jinder throws Singh at Reigns as a sacrifice, and then he starts brawling with Reigns. Reigns throws Jinder into a garage door, and then they get pulled apart.
– Ember Moon, Alexa Bliss & Sasha Banks vs. The Riott Squad: Ruby and Ember start off, and Ember takes control early on with a slingshot press for a two count. Alexa tags in and continues working on Ruby, except Alexa appears to injure her own knee, and then she tags in Sasha. Alexa appears to be heading back up the ramp due to her injury, and Sasha and Ember look frustrated with her. Ember comes back in and goes at it with Ruby. Sasha and Liv get the tags and Sasha cleans house. Sasha boots Liv down, and then punches the other Riott Squad members off the apron. Liv reverses a shot from Sasha and slams her down for a two count. Liv takes Sasha to the corner and stomps on her, then the Riott Squad members all take turns beating on her. Sarah and Ruby start brawling with Ember at ringside, as Liv and Sasha go at it in the ring. Liv kicks Sasha down for a two count. Sasha dumps Liv outside, and then she drops both Logan and Riott. Bayley’s music hits and she runs in and gets on the apron. Sasha tags in Bayley and the ref allows it. Bayley cleans house and hits a suplex on Logan for the three count.
Winners: Ember Moon, Sasha Banks & Bayley
– The ref looks confused, but he calls for the bell anyways and raises Bayley’s hand.
– Baron Corbin gets in Kurt Angle’s face again and tells him Bayley shouldn’t be able to do that. Corbin says if Kurt doesn’t tell Bayley, Sasha and Ember they didn’t really win, Kurt will have to deal with Stephanie.
– Sasha, Ember and Bayley are backstage talking about Alexa pretending to be injured. Sasha thanks Bayley for having her back. Ember tells them to hug it out, but Kurt interrupts. He tells them they had a great performance, but since Bayley wasn’t really in the match, The Riott Squad has won via DQ. Kurt walks off, and the ladies look disappointed.
– The Big Show is on the stage with some participants from the Special Olympics. The Big Show wishes them luck as they compete for Team Texas in the 2018 Special Olympics Games. The Big Show wraps up his speech, and Finn Balor comes out for the main event.
– Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens: Balor backs Owens into the corner and lays into him with chops. Owens talks some trash to Finn, and Finn takes him down with leg kicks. Owens rolls outside for a breather. Back in the ring, they lock up and Owens applies a side headlock. Owens works over Finn in the corner, then drops him and stomps on his head. Finn tries to mount a comeback, but Owens drops him again and stomps on him in the corner. Balor fights back and knocks Owens outside, then follows up with a suicide dive. Back in the ring, Owens starts fighting back and puts Balor in a shoulder lock. Balor fights up and lays into Owens with chops, and then he hits a neckbreaker for a two count. Balor continues the offense now and he climbs to the top rope, but Owens bumps the ropes and Balor falls down. Owens hangs Finn upside down in the corner and stomps a mud hole in him. Owens keeps on stomping and ignores the ref’s orders to stop. The ref calls for the DQ, and Owens looks shocked at the decision.
Winner via DQ: Finn Balor
– After the match, Owens is mad and he continues the beat down on Balor. Owens goes up top and hits a frog splash on Balor. Owens rolls outside and grabs a ladder from under the ring, then he slides it in the ring. Owens sets up the ladder in the ring and climbs it. Owens looks like he’s about to jump off the ladder, but he gets cold feet and doesn’t jump. Balor gets up and pulls Owens down off the ladder. Finn dropkicks Owens into the corner, then Balor starts climbing up the ladder. Balor climbs way up high and comes flying off with the Coup De Grace on Owens. Balor climbs back up the ladder and grabs the Money In The Bank briefcase and celebrates with it.
