Detailed Results
One week after his ferocious assault on Roman Reigns in the backstage area where he not only hurled Reigns through a table and drove a stretcher off of a concrete platform to the floor with Roman strapped to it, but single-handedly tipped over an entire ambulance with Roman inside, RAW kicks off with “The Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman. Braun proudly states that he “broke Roman Reigns in half” last week and he is proud to say that Reigns has a separated shoulder and cracked ribs and he is “damn proud” to say that Roman Reigns will not be on RAW tonight! Strowman then says that, with Roman Reigns out of the way, he’s going to “tear through the entire RAW locker room” and prove why he is “The Monster Among Men”. Braun is then interrupted by RAW General Manager Kurt Angle, who appears to not be in a very pleasant mood. The GM asks what Strowman is trying to prove, saying that he already did enough damage last week when he tipped over an ambulance with Roman Reigns inside of it.
Angle then reveals that he talked with Roman Reigns before RAW, saying that he is going to give Roman exactly what he wants and that’s a match with Braun Strowman in less than two weeks at Payback! Braun tells the GM that Payback will be Roman’s “funeral” before asking what’s in store for him tonight with Angle saying that Braun did enough damage last week, telling Strowman that he’s got the night off! Strowman responds by saying that former GM Mick Foley tried to play these “games” with him and they all saw where that got Foley. Braun then tells Kurt that he wants “more competition” and he wants it tonight “or else”, but Angle doesn’t back down from Strowman, asking Braun “or else what?”. Strowman then responds by getting in the face of the GM before leaving the ring, letting his threat linger in the mind of Kurt Angle.
Thirteen nights before he challenges SmackDown LIVE’s Kevin Owens for the United States Championship at Payback, Chris Jericho would go one-on-one with “The Destroyer” Samoa Joe on RAW with Samoa Joe’s Payback opponent Seth Rollins a guest on commentary with Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T (who’s filling in for new arrival David Otunga for the next few weeks). In the end, it was Samoa Joe locking in the Coquina Clutch and, despite Chris Jericho’s best efforts to hang on, “Y2J” had no choice but to tap out as “The Destroyer” picks up the win. After the match, Samoa Joe would address Seth Rollins, asking if Seth remembers what it “sounded like” when he arrived on RAW, saying it was the sound of Seth’s “screams of agony and pain”. Joe then says that it was just “business” as Seth was nothing more than a “designated target” of his benefactor, Triple H. Joe continues, saying that he cares about his clientele so, for what Seth did to Triple H & Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania, what he does to Rollins to Payback will be “personal”. Seth responds by saying that it’s definitely personal since Samoa Joe tried to end his career, telling Samoa Joe that “Payback is a bitch”.
Backstage, The Golden Truth were on their way to the ring for a scheduled match against Gallows & Anderson when the team is ambushed by Braun Strowman! “The Monster Among Men” first tosses Goldust through a chain link door before targeting R-Truth, dropping Truth with a right hand before shoving R-Truth face-first into a plastic tub nearby. Agents then arrive on the scene, keeping Braun back as they check on The Golden Truth, asking for medical help for the downed tag team.
Following his attack on The Golden Truth, Braun Strowman is confronted by a referee, who tells Braun that Kurt Angle was very clear in telling Strowman that he’s got the night off. Braun responds by telling the referee that he will leave when he wants to, asking if the referee has a problem with that with the referee quickly leaving Strowman alone.
With their scheduled opponents, The Golden Truth, taken out by Braun Strowman, Gallows & Anderson would wait in the ring as Karl Anderson says that, since Braun Strowman gave The Golden Truth the “United Airlines treatment”, they’re on “stand-by”. Luke Gallows then says that Kurt Angle better round up some “nerds” from the locker room to face them right now. Gallows & Anderson would then receive their wish in the form of a pair of familiar foes, Enzo & Big Cass, who would face Gallows & Anderson in tag team action. In the end, it was Karl Anderson dropping Enzo Amore knees-first on the top turnbuckle, pinning Enzo to pick up the win for Gallows & Anderson.
After their return to RAW was interrupted by Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose, who would proceed to spike The Miz with Dirty Deeds, The Miz & Maryse would bring Miz TV back to Monday nights as The Miz & Maryse’s guest would be Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose. The Miz is barely able to get a sentence out before he is interrupted by the arrival of his guest, Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose. The champion then proposes that, since they’re both from Ohio, they should call a “truce” before The Miz says that he “respects what a WWE Superstar is”, saying he is “the part”. The Miz then says that Ambrose is a “disgrace” before saying that the fans love Dean Ambrose and that’s why Ambrose is “given opportunity after opportunity”. The Miz then says that Ambrose “wasted” all of the momentum that he had last year when he was WWE Champion, saying he went from being the top guy at SummerSlam to barely being a “blip on the card” at WrestleMania. The Miz says that, if he was Ambrose, he would be “embarrassed” before calling Ambrose “lazy and complacent”.
Ambrose responds by saying that there’s a lot of guys like The Miz in WWE who care about “image” and “branding”, saying that he doesn’t care about movies or endorsement deals, he does this because he loves it. Ambrose then says that he loves “kicking ass” and that is why he’s the Intercontinental Champion, pointing out that beat The Miz to win the title. Maryse then speaks on behalf of her husband, telling Dean Ambrose that walking around with a title doesn’t make him a “real champion”, saying that “the man makes the championship”. The Miz then goes on a rant about how he made the Intercontinental Championship relevant as Ambrose methodically lays the title belt down and takes off his jacket. The Miz then says that, now, the Intercontinental Title is exactly like Dean Ambrose, a “joke”. The champion then tackles The Miz, pummeling The Miz before Maryse gets involved, briefly distracting Ambrose. However, the distraction would fail as Ambrose would nearly hit The Miz with Dirty Deeds, but The Miz narrowly escapes, retreating up the ramp as Dean Ambrose wrecks the Miz TV set.
Backstage, Braun Strowman’s reign of terror continues as Braun drags Kalisto through the backstage area before picking Kalisto up and putting the high-flyer into a trash container. However, there’s one man who had seen enough of Braun bullying the RAW locker room as Big Show arrives on the scene, shoving Strowman into a garage door, taking Braun off of his feet, yelling at Braun to pick on someone his own size.
With a new attitude thanks to his affiliation with Cruiserweight Champion Neville, T.J. Perkins would go one-on-one with “Gentleman” Jack Gallagher on RAW. However, before the match gets underway, Cruiserweight Champion Neville has a seat at ringside for the match. Not to be outdone, the #1 Contender for Neville’s Cruiserweight Title, Austin Aries, would come out promoting his more “specialer” appearance, also taking a seat at ringside for the match. During the match, T.J. Perkins would make it a point to shove Jack Gallagher into Austin Aries at ringside. This would lead to Aries getting on the ring apron, but Neville would knock Aries down. The confrontation between Neville and Aries would draw the attention of the referee long enough for Perkins to kick the middle rope into the eyes of Gallagher, following it up with the Detonation Kick, pinning Gallagher for the win.
A new #1 Contender for the RAW Women’s Title would then be decided on RAW as “The Boss” Sasha Banks, Columbus’ own Alexa Bliss, former Women’s Champion Mickie James, and the dominant Nia Jax would compete in a Fatal 4-Way Match with the winner challenging Bayley for the RAW Women’s Title. At the end of a hard-fought match, it was Nia Jax flattening Sasha Banks with a Samoan Drop, but the crafty Alexa Bliss is quick to send Nia Jax out of the ring before stealing the pinfall for herself as Alexa pins Sasha to become the new #1 Contender for the RAW Women’s Title in her hometown of Columbus!
Finn Balor was in action on RAW as “The Demon King” would go one-on-one with Curt Hawkins. Finn would make quick work of Curt Hawkins, hitting the Coup de Grace and pinning Hawkins to pick up the win.
With his House of Horrors Match against Randy Orton for the WWE Championship coming up at Payback, “The Eater of Worlds” Bray Wyatt would appear on the Tron with a message for Randy Orton. Bray says that “fear” lives inside his House of Horrors, saying that all of Randy Orton’s fears will come to light inside the House of Horrors. Bray then says that he will drop Orton into the “abyss” and Orton will “know pain” and he will “know horror”, saying that Orton’s pain will “fuel” him. Wyatt then says that the House of Horrors will forever be the “nightmare” at the end of Orton’s dreams, saying he will burn the House of Horrors to the ground with Orton inside. Bray continues, saying that, in the fire where it began, so it shall end before saying that it’s “all burning down here”, laughing maniacally before telling the WWE Champion to “run”.
With The Hardy Boyz set to defend the RAW Tag Team Titles against Cesaro & Sheamus in a couple of weeks at Payback, one-half of the RAW Tag Team Champions Jeff Hardy, with Matt Hardy in his corner, would go one-on-one with Cesaro, with Sheamus in his corner. At the end of a punishing match that saw Jeff Hardy took everything Cesaro could dish out, it was Jeff Hardy who would hit the Twist of Fate, following it up with the Swanton Bomb, pinning Cesaro to pick up the win. After the match, The Hardy Boyz and Cesaro & Sheamus would face each other in the ring with Cesaro & Sheamus sticking their hands out for a handshake. The RAW Tag Team Champions then reluctantly shake the hands of their Payback opponents before The Hardy Boyz celebrate Jeff Hardy’s win over Cesaro.
Then it was time for a mammoth main event as, following their confrontation earlier in the night, “The Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman would go one-on-one with “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show. Before the match can begin, Braun Strowman and Big Show brawl on the outside as Braun throws Big Show into the barricade before Big Show tosses Strowman into the barricade in response. The match would then get underway in the ring before Big Show takes Strowman back to the outside, sending “The Monster Among Men” into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Braun would nearly put Big Show after a dropkick but Big Show would kick out. The two big men would then try to slam the other with Big Show finally able to slam Strowman but Braun would respond with a suplex to “The World’s Largest Athlete”! Braun then methodically beats Big Show down before going for the running powerslam, but Big Show would fight out before hitting a big splash to Strowman in the corner. Big Show then puts “The Monster Among Men” on the top rope but Strowman fights back before coming off of the second rope, but Big Show would catch Strowman, planting Braun with a chokeslam, but Braun would kick out. Big Show then goes for the Knockout Punch, but Braun avoids the right hand before planting Big Show with the running powerslam but Big Show kicks out! Strowman then climbs to the top rope, but Big Show catches Braun and, with Strowman perched on the top rope, Big Show would try to superplex Braun.
However, Strowman would continue to fight back as Braun hangs Big Show up on the top rope before Braun comes off of the second rope once again with Big Show catching Strowman out of the air with the Knockout Punch, but Braun kicks out again! With Strowman kicking out of everything he had to offer, Big Show would decide to go the top rope, but Braun was quick to catch “The World’s Largest Athlete”. Strowman then manages to grab Big Show and deliver a superplex to his gigantic opponent and the force of nearly a thousand pounds would prove to be too much for the ring to handle as the entire ring implodes under the weight of the catastrophic superplex! With the ring in shambles, referees and medical personnel rush to the aid of Braun Strowman, Big Show, and the referee but Braun Strowman is somehow able to get back to his feet on his own! Braun is then able to walk away from the carnage as Big Show is still down in what’s left of the ring.
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