Detailed Results
RAW kicks off with commentator Michael Cole in the ring as Cole would host the first ever WWE Hall of Fame Forum as Cole first introduces “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan, followed by the introductions of “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair and “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels as all three former World Champions take a seat in the ring behind a special announce table. Michael Cole reminds everyone that John Cena has invoked his rematch clause and will face Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in three weeks at Night of Champions. Cole then asks Shawn Michaels what he thinks Cena’s chances are against Brock Lesnar at Night of Champions. “The Heartbreak Kid” cuts right to the chase, saying that Cena’s chances are “not good” because he’s not going to beat Brock Lesnar. HBK then says that all three of them know what it is like to be at a “crossroads” in your career when you have to decide to either keep competing or walk away, saying that it might be time that Cena says “when”. Hogan debates Michaels’ statement, saying that Cena’s time is not up because Cena can still go. Flair says that he does agree with Michaels, saying that John Cena is the “franchise” in WWE, but he does not want to see Cena go up against Brock Lesnar at Night of Champions. Cole then asks Hogan to make a prediction for Night of Champions and Hogan says that Cena has “heart” and Cena will not stop, so he is rooting for Cena. HBK says that everyone likes John Cena, but it doesn’t change the fact that Cena does not have a chance. Hogan argues that, in their match last year, Lesnar dominated Cena, but Cena still won the match, saying that Night of Champions is the “rubber match” between Cena and Lesnar and, in the end, Cena will get his hand raised in victory. Tension then begins to mount among the Hall of Famers as both Flair and HBK says that Hogan and the fans do not believe in what Hogan is saying because it is “unbelievable”.
The Hall of Fame Forum is then crashed with the arrival of the man himself, the fifteen-time former World Champion John Cena, who makes his way to the ring. Cena says that everyone is weighing in on him after what happened at SummerSlam, saying that he has the upmost respect for all three of the legends before him. Cena then says that he is sick of all the talk about what he should do and where he should go, saying that he can’t dance around the fact that SummerSlam was an “ass-whooping” and, after being dropped on his head nearly twenty times, the first thing he told the doctor was that he wants to fight Brock Lesnar again. Cena continues, saying that he is going to “bring the fight” to Brock Lesnar at Night of Champions, saying that he is not going to Night of Champions to beat Brock Lesnar, he is going to “beat Brock Lesnar’s ass”.
After a physically and emotionally crushing loss in a Flag Match to Rusev at SummerSlam, Jack Swagger would get his shot at redemption on RAW as “The Real American” would collide with “The Hero of the Russian Federation” Rusev, with Lana in his corner. Throughout the match, Jack Swagger would battle his injured ribs to keep Rusev reeling, twice locking in the Patriot Lock on Rusev, but after a solid five minutes of Rusev relentlessly attacking the injured ribs of Swagger, the referee would make the call to end the match, deeming Jack Swagger unable to continue. After the match, WWE’s ringside physician would tend to Jack Swagger as Rusev & Lana celebrate Rusev’s victory.
With United States Champion Sheamus a guest on commentary, a new #1 Contender for the United States Title would be determined on RAW as “The Swiss Superman” Cesaro would face “Mr. Monday Night” Rob Van Dam. In the end, it was Cesaro hitting the Neutralizer on Rob Van Dam, pinning RVD to become the #1 Contender for the United States Title. After the match, Cesaro would confront Sheamus at ringside, picking up the United States Title belt and tossing it into the face of the United States Champion before Cesaro quickly backs away from the angry Irishman.
After AJ Lee twice cost her a match against Natalya last week, the Divas Champion was in action on RAW as Paige would go one-on-one with Natalya in a non-title match. In the end, with no AJ Lee in sight, Paige would manage to survive the Sharpshooter of Natalya moments before hitting the Paige Turner, pinning Natalya for the win. After the match, AJ Lee would skip down the ramp and Paige would retreat back into the ring, where Natalya would level the Divas Champion with the Discus Clothesline. After Natalya leaves the ring, AJ Lee helps Paige to her feet before telling the Divas Champion that she knows that Paige was “sincere” when she said that she loves AJ Lee, but it is not as sincere as she is. AJ then awkwardly hugs a visibly uncomfortable Paige before kissing the hand of the Divas Champion and skipping circles around Paige!
With Dean Ambrose still missing after refusing medical attention last week as a result of Seth Rollins crushing the skull of Ambrose with a Curb Stomp through a stack of concrete blocks, Director of Operations Kane would come to the ring for the supposed “Eulogy of Dean Ambrose”. With a picture of Dean Ambrose in the ring, Kane would step up to the podium, saying that tonight is not a “mourning of the departed”, it is a “celebration of the future”. The Director of Operations then introduces “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Seth Rollins, who comes out dressed in a black suit and black tie, joining Kane in the ring. Taking his place at the podium, Seth Rollins says he was the leader of the most dominant group in WWE history and there is a reason that he “hand-picked” Dean Ambrose to be a member of The Shield, saying that Ambrose was a “courageous fighter”, but he had to prove, at Ambrose’s expense, that The Authority always wins. After showing what he did to Dean Ambrose last week, “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” laughs before pondering if Dean Ambrose even realized that he had been “outmatched” by Seth Rollins, saying that the cinder blocks were not out there by accident and the headache that Dean Ambrose will have for the rest of his life was no “accident” either. Rollins continues, saying that Ambrose’s career can be summed up in two words, “what if”, asking what if Dean Ambrose would have “walked away” when he had the opportunity. Rollins says that, as far as he’s concerned, they will “never” see Dean Ambrose again. “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” then declares that he is the man who “made” The Shield and he is the one who “destroyed” it.
However, one man would take issue with what Seth Rollins had to say and that is his other former Shield teammate, Roman Reigns, as Roman would make his way to the ring. Kane would confront Roman Reigns at ringside, sparking a battle between Kane and Reigns with Roman sending the Director of Operations into the steel steps. Reigns then sets his sights on Rollins, destroying the eulogy setup in the process, smashing Seth Rollins in the face with the podium. Reigns then blasts Rollins with a clothesline, but before Roman could deliver the Spear, Kane pulls “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” out of the ring, rescuing Rollins from certain destruction.
The WWE Tag Team Titles would then be up for grabs on RAW as The Usos would defend the gold against the team that defeated them last week, Gold & Stardust. During the match, Jey Uso would dive to the outside, taking Stardust down and, when Jey stands back up, Jey tweaks his knee and, while Stardust is able to get into the ring before the ten-count, Jey Uso does not. As a result, Gold & Stardust win the match via count-out, but The Usos retain the WWE Tag Team Titles. After the match, a disgruntled Goldust confronts the champions, saying that it was their one opportunity to get the titles, accusing The Usos of getting themselves counted out on purpose. Goldust then says that they want a rematch right now before Goldust cheap-shots Jimmy Uso and Stardust cheap-shots Jey Uso! Gold & Stardust then toss Jimmy Uso out of the ring before focusing on Jey Uso, tossing the WWE Tag Team Champion into the turnbuckle before dragging Jey Uso to the corner, slamming Jey’s injured knee into the steel ring post.
Backstage, a seething Seth Rollins is with Director of Operations Kane, saying that they need to do something about Roman Reigns and what happened to Dean Ambrose will happen to Roman too. Kane then takes Seth Rollins’ idea and turns it into a 2-on-1 Handicap Match pitting Roman Reigns against both of them! The Director of Operations then says that, just like with Dean Ambrose, their business with Roman Reigns ends tonight.
After their title match last week ended with The Miz winning by count-out, the rematch was set for RAW as Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler would face The Miz in a non-title match. However, before the match can begin, The Miz comes out in street clothes, revealing that, tonight, Dolph Ziggler will face his “stunt double” in “Damien Mizdow”! With The Miz a guest on commentary, The Miz’s stunt double, Damien Mizdow, would face Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match. In the end, it was Dolph Ziggler surviving the Figure-Four Leg Lock, hitting Damien Mizdow with the Zig Zag, pinning the stunt double for the win.
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler would then appear in the ring for a proposed “reconciliation” between Brie Bella & Nikki Bella after Nikki Bella betrayed Brie at SummerSlam and viciously slapped her on RAW last week. Lawler says that he hopes that tonight will be the first step in getting The Bella Twins back on the same page. Lawler first introduces Nikki Bella, who makes her way to the ring, pulling her chair away from her sister’s before Lawler brings out Brie Bella. Brie says that she loves her friends and she loves her husband, but they have been together since before they were even born. Brie says that she understands why Nikki is upset, saying that she is “sorry”. After hearing the heartfelt apology from her sister, Nikki Bella says that’s the biggest “load of crap” she’s ever heard. Nikki says that she is the “selfish, materialistic one” and Brie is the “beautiful, innocent” one, but she is not “stupid enough” to believe that, telling Brie that she has always wanted the “spotlight”. Brie argues that it was never about her, but Nikki tells Brie to stop acting like an “angel”, telling Brie that she has always held her back. Nikki continues, saying that she is so “done” with their family treating her as an “afterthought” and she is “so over” Brie’s scraggly hair, her “save the earth crap”, and she is so over her “troll-faced husband”. Nikki then says that she is so done playing “second fiddle” to a sister that never “gave a damn” about her, saying that Brie always stole her boyfriend when they were growing up and Brie always blamed everything on her because Brie was the “good twin” and Nikki was the “bad twin”. Brie tells Nikki that she is lying, but Nikki continues, saying that when Brie quit, Brie “abandoned” her and she was forced to compete in unfair matches and do demeaning things while Brie got to sit at home and watch it all happen. Nikki continues, saying that Brie cared more about her own popularity than her sister before Nikki continues to break her sister’s heart by saying that Brie is a “sad excuse” of a “sister” and a sad excuse of a “human being”.
Even though Brie begins to cry, Nikki does not let up, mocking her sister and telling everyone to look at the “real Brie mode”. Lawler then tries to step in, telling Nikki that she’s said enough, but Nikki calls Lawler “old man” and tells the Hall of Famer to stay out of it. Lawler then reluctantly leaves the ring as the vindictive Nikki turns completely evil, grabbing Brie by the hair and screaming in her face that she wishes that Brie would have “died in the womb”! As if that was not enough, Nikki takes Brie by the hair, slamming her into the mat, assaulting her sister and pulling at her hair. Lawler then comes back into the ring, trying to break up the fight, but after pulling Nikki off of Brie, Nikki slaps “The King” across the face before jumping back on her sister, even hitting Brie in the head with a microphone. As Nikki screams that Brie is “dead” to her, referees join Lawler in the ring and, together, they are finally able to pull Nikki off of Brie. Nikki then marches away from the ring, showing no remorse for her actions while Lawler tries to console the heartbroken Brie Bella.
After getting the better of Kane and Seth Rollins earlier in the night during their attempt at a “eulogy” for Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns would be forced to face both “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Seth Rollins and The Authority’s Director of Operations Kane in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match. At the end of the short match, Roman Reigns would hit the Spear on Kane, but when Roman goes for the pin, Seth Rollins uses his Money-in-the-Bank briefcase to break up the pin, resulting in the disqualification. With the match over, Seth Rollins would get Kane to his feet before Kane and Rollins would set their plan into motion as the Director of Operations again exposes a stack of concrete blocks. However, Roman Reigns would refuse to suffer the same fate as Dean Ambrose as Reigns fights out of Kane’s grip, dropping Rollins with the Superman Punch before sending Kane into the steel ring post. Roman then picks up one of the concrete blocks, hurling the block at Seth Rollins’ head, but “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” barely gets out of the way as the block explodes all over the ringside area! Roman then takes Kane out with the Superman Punch on the outside before getting back into the ring, daring Seth Rollins to come back and fight him.
In tag team action, Los Matadores, with El Torito in their corner, would face Heath Slater & Titus O’Neil on RAW. In what may have been a result of their arguing throughout the match, Heath Slater would find himself rolled up by Diego as Los Matadores picks up the win.
The self-proclaimed “inspiration” was in action on RAW as Bo Dallas went one-on-one with Kofi Kingston. In the end, it was Bo Dallas hitting the Bo Dog on Kofi Kingston, pinning Kofi for the win. After the match, Bo Dallas tells Kofi Kingston that, unlike Jack Swagger, Kofi only let himself down while Jack Swagger let the entire country down. Having heard enough, the injured Jack Swagger would make his way to the ring, laying Bo out with a belly-to-belly suplex.
Then it was time for the main event as, for the first time since they faced each other at WrestleMania 30, the fifteen-time former World Champion John Cena would go one-on-one with the leader of The Wyatt Family, Bray Wyatt, with Luke Harper & Erick Rowan in his corner. With a new demeanor, John Cena would dominate most of the match with Bray Wyatt getting very little offense, but after witnessing the beating that their leader was taking, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan would hit the ring, attacking John Cena and ending the match by disqualification. After the match, The Wyatt Family had their sights set on beating John Cena down, but Big show and Mark Henry would march down to the ring, helping Cena even the odds.
In an impromptu match, John Cena would team with “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show and “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry to face Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, & Erick Rowan in a 6-Man Tag match. In the end, it was John Cena making a major statement directed at Brock Lesnar as Cena locks in the STF on Luke Harper, making Harper tap out to pick up the win for his team. After the match, Cena would plant Erick Rowan with the Attitude Adjustment, followed by an Attitude Adjustment to Bray Wyatt and a final Attitude Adjustment to Luke Harper! John Cena then stands tall, ready for his rematch against Brock Lesnar at Night of Champions.
What did you think of this week’s RAW? Post your comments in the box below.
