Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon had an interesting discussion backstage to kickoff the show. Foley asked Stephanie why he should believe that she knew absolutely nothing about her husband Triple H’s involvement in last week’s main-event on Raw. Stephanie McMahon was able to convince Foley that she was telling the truth because she stated that she was embarrassed by her husband’s actions. Foley said he had to believe her because if he didn’t, that would make Stephanie a great liar and a terrible person.
Kevin Owens came down to the ring in a suite to celebrate himself being the WWE Universal Champion. Foley and McMahon were in the ring. Foley went to shake Kevin Owens’ hand but Owens blew right past him. There was then a ridiculous pyro for Owens as he stood on the turnbuckle. There were balloons all over the crowd and the audience greeted Owens with a “you deserve it!” chant. Kevin Owens then insulted the crowd and the audience booed. Kevin Owens then stated from now on Monday Night Raw is officially known as the Kevin Owens show. Seth Rollins then interrupted and angrily walked towards the ring. Seth Rollins started screaming at Stephanie McMahon. Rollins asked how she could do this to him after all he had done for her and Stephanie continued to claim that she had no idea that Triple H would attack him. Rollins wound up attacking Kevin Owens which led to Stephanie McMahon announcing that Rollins was indefinitely suspended. Foley then interjected and said that Rollins wasn’t suspended. Instead, Foley awarded Rollins with a shot at the Universal Championship at WWE Clash of Champions.
Reaction: Overall, this was an entertaining way to open up the show. I’m still more interested to hear what Triple H has to say about the matter. It would be pretty obvious if Stephanie McMahon is lying to Foley. I hope they are going in a different direction with this story. I’d like to see something different come of this, rather than The Authority reuniting with Kevin Owens as the chosen one instead of Seth Rollins.
Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon were arguing backstage when Kevin Owens confronted them. Owens was annoyed that Foley awarded Rollins attacking him with a title shot. Foley responded by putting Kevin Owens in a match tonight versus Sami Zayn. Chris Jericho then sauntered up with his ridiculous scarf and started screaming at Foley. Jericho called him a stupid idiot. Foley didn’t appreciate that and put Jericho in a match with Seth Rollins later in the show. During this segment, Jericho referred to Kevin Owens as the longest reigning Universal Champion in history. Seven days and counting.
Bayley vs Charlotte
Charlotte controlled most of the match before the commercial break. When Raw returned, Charlotte was still in control but was getting frustrated with the referee. Charlotte wanted a faster count but the referee ignored her. This gave Bayley enough time to recover and she went on the attack. Her momentum was short- lived as Charlotte kneed Bayley’s leg. Charlotte had been targeting the leg the entire match. Dana Brooke was ringside with a clipboard and was instructed by Charlotte to take notes. The match ended with Bayley battling back and knocking Charlotte into Dana Brooke. Charlotte turned around and walked right into a Bayley to Belly. After the match, Charlotte slapped Dana Brooke in the face backstage.
Winner: Bayley
Bo Dallas vs Kyle Roberts
Bo came down with a “Bo-lieve in Bo” sign. Bo Dallas destroyed Kyle Roberts in under a minute. Bo Dallas was more aggressive in this match. He had an insane look in his eyes as he did his trot around the ring after winning the match. Michael Cole even commented that we are seeing a brand new Bo tonight. It appears that Bo Dallas has turned from Mufasa into Scar overnight.
Chris Jericho vs Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins stormed down to the ring and dominated the match early. Jericho was able to turn the momentum by dragging the referee in front of Rollins and then hitting Rollins with a Dropkick that sent him flying off the apron. When Raw returned from a commercial, it turned into a back and forth match. Rollins was beating down Jericho in the corner for forearms to the face. Rollins went to knee Jericho in the head but it was countered into the Walls of Jericho. Kevin Owens was watching backstage and he witnessed Rollins power his way to the bottom rope to break the hold. At this point the crowd was behind Rollins and very into the match. Rollins went for a Frog Splash off of the top rope but Jericho rolled out of the way. Jericho then hit the Lionsault but Rollins kicked out at two. Rollins was then able to connect with a Pedigree for the victory.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Reaction: This was a really solid match. Rollins gained some momentum heading into Clash of Champions in three weeks and the crowd has already got behind him.
Best of 7 Series: Sheamus vs Cesaro
In their second match, Sheamus sent Cesaro flying into the ring post and Cesaro injured his back. Cesaro came down to the ring with tape all over his back. Cesaro fought back as long as he could but his injury wound up costing him. Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick on Cesaro for the victory. Match #4 will take place this Wednesday in London.
Winner & Leading the Series 3-0: Sheamus
The Shining Stars vs Enzo & Big Cass
Enzo and Cass cut a promo before the match. They claimed that listening to The Shining Stars is just as painful as going into labor. Enzo then pretended to give birth in the middle of ring. Big Cass and Enzo then named the non-existent baby SAWFT in honor of The Shining Stars. Epico and Primo dominated Enzo Amore in the beginning of the match. Primo went to dive onto Enzo in the corner but Enzo rolled out of the way. This allowed Enzo to tag in Big Cass. Big Cass hit the Empire Elbow on Primo. Cass then tagged in Enzo. Big Cass when The Shining Stars got the victory via a roll-up.
Winners: The Shining Stars
Reaction: Once again, Enzo Amore is the reason Cass and Amore lost a match. It would appear that Big Cass and Enzo Amore aren’t going to be a tag team much longer. The only way I see them sticking together is if they start winning matches. One would assume that Big Cass would get fed up with losing and start pursuing a championship of his own. I’m not saying that is what I want to happen. I think Enzo & Cass are a fun tag team and should be vying for the titles. As of now, that doesn’t seem likely.
Nia Jax vs Ann Esposito
Esposito actually got in some offense in the beginning of the match. However, Nia Jax quickly turned the tables and won yet another squash match.
Winner: Nia Jax
Anderson and Gallows came down to the ring and introduced “The Old Day”. Three people dressed as elderly members of The New Day then came down to the ring. What followed was a truly terrible promo. The crowd was dead silent as The Club insulted The Old Day. The person dressed as old Big E pretended to soil himself. The New Day then came out and the horrific promo continued. The New Day went to get into the ring to attack Gallows and Anderson but they rolled out of the ring. The New Day then danced in the ring as The Old Day danced in the background. The New Day then beat up The Old Day.
Reaction: Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and Big E have demonstrated that they can be very entertaining in the past. In my opinion, they haven’t been entertaining for a pretty substantial amount of time now. I don’t think placing them in a promo as awful as this did them any favors. As for The Club, they aren’t entertaining either. They arrived to the WWE as a dominant force and have quickly been turned into a comedy act. This promo did nothing for the feud and created zero interest for their title match at Clash of Champions. All I really wanted to do during this promo was change the channel. If The New Day drops the titles to The Club at Clash of Champions, will anyone care? They are a less funny version of The New Day. I could go on and on about how awful this segment was but honestly I just want to erase it from my brain.
https://twitter.com/RWGIFS/status/772980556585963520
Darren Young vs Jinder Mahal
Titus O’Neil joined commentary for this match. Incredible. Darren Young won the match even though O’Neil tried to distract him. Darren Young then attacked Titus outside the ring. Finally, the referees broke them up. Bob Backlund raised Young’s hand in the ring and O’Neil retreated.
Winner: Darren Young
Alicia Fox and Nia Jax had a confrontation backstage. Alicia Fox was checking on her friend Ann Esposito when Nia Jax showed up to brag about her victory earlier. Fox started whipping objects around and one of them struck Nia. Jax then shoved Alicia Fox onto a table and walked away.
Braun Strowman vs Sin Cara
Sin Cara requested this match because Strowman ripped off his mask last week. Sin Cara got in some offense but eventually was defeated by Strowman. Sin Cara was tossed around outside the ring and Strowman got back into the ring and won via count out. Strowman then beat down Sin Cara outside the ring. Strowman then shouted “get out of my ring!” at Sin Cara, even though he was already laying outside the ring.
Winner: Braun Strowman
Sasha Banks came down to the ring and delivered an emotional speech. Sasha Banks finally was about to address the bad news she had to tell the WWE Universe but Dana Brooke. Sasha then got Dana Brooke in the Bank Statement and announced that the bad news was for Charlotte. Sasha Banks will get her title rematch at Clash of Champions.
Reaction: There was a brief moment where I actually thought Sasha Banks was retiring. Thankfully, that is not the case. There was some massive tool in the crowd that was chanting “boring” during this segment. I found that to be incredibly annoying. Other than that, this was a good segment that had me fooled for a bit.
Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens
Earlier in the night, Owens and Zayn had a confrontation backstage. Kevin Owens stated that winning the Universal Championship proved he was the better man. Zayn stated that one day he will win the Universal Championship and that he wouldn’t need Triple H to hand it to him on a silver platter. The match started off back and forth. Sami Zayn got the upper-hand as Raw went to commercial. When Raw returned, Owens was in control of the match. Owens hit a Running Senton on Zayn and then taunted him. Owens screamed that he was the Universal Champion and slapped Zayn in the face. Zayn then got up and slapped Owens in the face. Zayn then sent Owens outside the ring and flipped on top of him. Zayn then flipped onto Owens again outside the ring. Zayn rolled Owens into the ring and hit the Blue Thunder Bomb. Kevin Owens was able to kick out at two and Zayn looked frustrated. There were dueling “let’s go Sami” and “fight Owens fight” chants in the crowd. Zayn hit an Exploder Suplex on Owens into the the turnbuckle. Kevin Owens went for a Powerbomb on the ring apron but Zayn fought out of it. Owens was able to connect with the Cannonball on Zayn. Owens went for the Pop-up Powerbomb but Zayn avoided it. Zayn had a bad landing on his ankle and played up an injury. The referee asked if Zayn wanted to stop the match but Sami refused. Zayn was going for the Helluva Kick but his ankle gave out. Kevin Owens then hit a Superkick and followed it up with a Powerbomb for the victory.
Immediately after the match ended, Roman Reigns came down to the ring. Chris Jericho then came down to the ring to help out Owens. Mick Foley then came down to the ring and made a match for next week’s Monday Night Raw. Roman Reigns will face off against Kevin Owens next week. If Reigns wins, he will be added to the Universal Championship match at Clash of Champions. Jericho tried to ambush Roman but Reigns hit him with a Spear to end the show.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Reaction: The main-event was solid. There were a few other entertaining segments in this show but there also was a lot of filler. It makes sense for Roman Reigns to have a chance at the title because Triple H also cost him his shot at the belt last week on Raw. Overall, this was a pretty forgettable episode.
What did you think of this week’s Monday Night Raw? Let us know in the comments below.
