Detailed Results
RAW kicks off with most of the RAW Women’s Division in the ring as Emma, Dana Brooke, Mickie James, Alicia Fox, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks, and former champion Bayley are all standing around a podium set up in the middle of the ring. The reason for this quickly became apparent as, one night after defeating Bayley at Payback to win the RAW Women’s Title, new RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss would make her way to the ring. The new champion says that she appreciates the other members of the RAW Women’s Division being out there, even if some of them were ordered to be out there by RAW General Manager Kurt Angle. Alexa then fires a shot at SmackDown LIVE’s Charlotte Flair, saying that a lot of Superstars come out there and refer to themselves as “The Queen” before stating that “The Queen is dead”. Alexa then proclaims “long live Alexa Bliss”, calling herself “the goddess of WWE”. The champion continues, saying that she’s the first Superstar in history to have won both the RAW Women’s Title and the SmackDown Women’s Title. Alexa then says that she has some people to thank, starting with Mickie James, saying that Mickie is so “inspirational” before saying that, even though Mickie’s “contemporaries” Mae Young and The Fabulous Moolah are in a better place, Mickie is still there.
The new champion then confronts Sasha Banks, saying that Sasha can call her the RAW Women’s Champion or she can call her the one who pinned Sasha to get to where she’s at. Alexa Bliss then turns around to come face-to-face with Nia Jax, opting to do her best to not anger the dominant Superstar, saying that Nia is “naturally talented” and the other women are “jealous” of Nia. Alexa then stands on her podium before addressing former champion Bayley, saying that, if it wasn’t for Bayley, then none of this would have been possible. The champion then says that Bayley’s whole family was in the front row at Payback in her hometown, saying that, when she beat Bayley for the title, she saw Bayley’s nephews and they were crying. Alexa continues, saying that it’s a good thing that she didn’t let that get to her before saying that Bayley’s family finally has a “real role model” to look up to. Having heard enough from the brash champion, Bayley would flip over the podium, knocking Bayley to the mat! This would spark a brawl between the eight women.
Stemming from the brawl moments earlier, the opening match of the night would be an 8-Woman Tag Match as Bayley would team up with Sasha Banks, Dana Brooke, and Mickie James to face new RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, Emma, and Alicia Fox. During the match, all hell would break loose in and out of the ring with all eight women brawling and leaving it down to just Alexa Bliss and Bayley in the ring. Following a rake to the eyes of Bayley, Alexa would spike Bayley with her DDT, pinning Bayley to pick up the win for her team.
After Enzo Amore was able to surprise Luke Gallows with a roll-up to earn Enzo & Big Cass the victory over Gallows & Anderson on the Payback Kickoff, Enzo Amore, with Big Cass in his corner, would go one-on-one with Luke Gallows, with Karl Anderson in his corner, on RAW. During the match, Karl Anderson would get on the ring apron to distract Enzo Amore and Luke Gallows would take advantage, hitting the one-man flapjack and pinning Enzo to pick up the win.
Following his win over Samoa Joe at Payback, Seth Rollins would make an appearance on RAW. Rollins says that he’s feeling really good, saying that the fans have been with him in the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Seth then says that you have to embrace the bad stuff in life as much as the good stuff, saying that you have to do what you have to do to become what you want to be. Rollins continues, saying that he’s still “Seth freakin’ Rollins” before saying that he “slayed” Triple H at WrestleMania and he got some payback against Samoa Joe. Seth then says that there’s only “one thing” left for him to do, declaring that he wants Brock Lesnar and he wants the Universal Title, saying that he’s been to Suplex City before and he’s not afraid to go there again!
This is when Finn Balor would interrupt, making his way to the ring as he says that he’s got a lot of respect for Seth Rollins, saying that Seth is the one-legged man who won at WrestleMania but he’s the one-armed man who became the very first Universal Champion. Now in the ring, Finn says that his arm was hanging from his body and he still beat Seth Rollins to win the title. Balor continues, saying that, since he had to surrender the Universal Title due to injury back in August, he never lost the title so the line to contend for the Universal Title “starts here”. This brings out Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose, who says that he knows all about Brock Lesnar, saying that Brock only fights when Brock wants to fight. Ambrose then says that RAW needs a “fighting champion”, saying that he will fight anyone, anytime, anywhere.
“The Lunatic Fringe” then says that, right now, the Intercontinental Championship is the “number one championship” on RAW and he’s itching to get some action. The Miz & Maryse then come out as The Miz says that Seth Rollins and Finn Balor haven’t earned anything before calling Ambrose an “embarrassment” as champion. The Miz then says that, if anyone deserves the Intercontinental Title, it’s him before saying that he made the title mean something again. The Miz then says that none of them deserve to be the Intercontinental Champion, saying that, when was the champion, he would defend the title every week before pointing out that Ambrose wasn’t even “important enough” to defend the Intercontinental Title at Payback. The Miz then calls Seth a “gimp” before saying that he beats people up, saying that he is the “biggest threat” on RAW.
In unison, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Dean Ambrose all tell The Miz to “shut up” before Dean Ambrose offers a solution. The Intercontinental Champion then polls the crowd on who they want to see beat up The Miz before Ambrose decides to call RAW General Manager Kurt Angle from the ring. Ambrose then reveals that the GM has made a match for tonight as The Miz, Finn Balor, and Seth Rollins will compete in a Triple Threat Match to decide a new #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Championship!
The Cruiserweights were in action on RAW as “Gentleman” Jack Gallagher would team with Rich Swann and Akira Tozawa to face the team of Tony Nese, Noam Dar, & The Brian Kendrick in a 6-Man Tag Match. In the end, it was Jack Gallagher scoring with the Gentleman Dropkick, pinning The Brian Kendrick to pick up the win for his team.
After assaulting The Hardy Boyz following their match for the RAW Tag Team Titles at Payback, Cesaro & Sheamus would appear on RAW to explain their actions. Sheamus says that, for the past couple of months, he’s been living in a “fog of delusion”, saying that he’s never liked any of them. Sheamus then says that the fans have treated him like a “red-headed stepchild” from the beginning before saying that Cesaro believed that, with the support of the fans, their team could be greater than ever and he believed it until WrestleMania. Sheamus continues, saying that The Hardy Boyz were added to the title match at WrestleMania at the last minute and The Hardy Boyz took their moment. Cesaro then says that the fans had a “rush of nostalgia” when The Hardy Boyz, saying that the fans would rather “live in the past” then appreciate what it right there in front of them.
Cesaro then says The Hardy Boyz are just a “novelty act” that doesn’t belong in the ring with Superstars of their caliber. Sheamus then says that this isn’t the WWE that The Hardy Boyz left behind, this is the WWE that belongs to Cesaro & Sheamus. Cesaro then vows to win the RAW Tag Team Titles before saying that they don’t just “set the bar”, they “are the bar”. This brings out RAW Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz as Matt Hardy says that they are hurting from Cesaro & Sheamus’ post-match ambush last night before saying that they are out there to give Cesaro & Sheamus their response. Matt & Jeff then signal “delete” before rushing the ring, but Cesaro & Sheamus are quick to leave the ring, saving the fight for another time.
With Titus O’Neil in his corner, Apollo Crews would go one-on-one with Heath Slater, with Rhyno in his corner. In the end, it was Apollo Crews hitting the spinning sit-out powerbomb, pinning Heath Slater for the win.
With Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman nearly destroying each other at Payback, RAW General Manager Kurt Angle would make his way to the ring on RAW to address the situation. The GM says that the match between Reigns and Strowman at Payback was one of the most physical matches he’s ever seen before revealing that, as a result of the collision with Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns has re-injured his ribs and also sustained other internal injuries while Braun Strowman has torn his rotator cuff. Angle then says that he spoke with both Reigns and Strowman and they both made it clear that they are not finished with each other yet. The GM continues, saying that he has been speaking with WWE officials to decide what to do about this situation.
However, Kurt Angle is then interrupted by “The Eater of Worlds” Bray Wyatt fresh off of Bray’s victory over WWE Champion Randy Orton in the House of Horrors Match where Bray took advantage of interference from Jinder Mahal to get the win. Bray first introduces himself to the RAW General Manager, shaking hands with Kurt Angle before saying that he’s come out there as a “savior”. Bray then says that he “closed the chapter” of Randy Orton at Payback, saying that Orton will forever burn in his House of Horrors. Bray continues, saying that he rose from the hell of his own creation with “burnt wings”, saying that he understands what he must do. Bray then says that there’s an “evil” all around them but he holds the “cure” before saying that Angle “needs” him and what he needs to know from the GM is if Angle is going to walk by his side or if Angle is going to stand in his way. Kurt says that he doesn’t know what Bray Wyatt has planned but this is his show. Bray then laughs at the GM before saying that this may be Kurt’s show, but this is “my world”.
After Neville got himself disqualified to avoid losing the Cruiserweight Title to him at Payback, “A Double” Austin Aries would go one-on-one with Neville’s protégé TJP on RAW. Despite TJP working over the knee of Austin Aries throughout the match, “A Double” was still able to lock in the Last Chancery, making TJP tap out to pick up the win. After the match, TJP would attack the knee of Austin Aries as TJP would do his mentor’s bidding by locking in the knee bar on Austin Aries, doing his best to cripple Neville’s biggest threat. The referee is finally able to pull TJP off of Austin Aries before TJP exits the ring, proud of his actions.
Then it was time for the main event as a new #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Championship would be decided as Finn Balor, The Miz, and Seth Rollins would compete in a Triple Threat Match with the winner earning a future shot at the Intercontinental Championship. During a thrilling Triple Threat Match, The Miz would target the previously injured knee of Seth Rollins before locking in the Figure-Four Leg Lock before Finn Balor makes the save. Seth Rollins and Finn Balor would then exchange kicks with Seth getting the better of the situation with Finn finding a way to kick out. Shortly after this, Seth Rollins would hit a superplex into the Falcon Arrow to The Miz but The Miz would kick out! Seth then dives to the outside to take out Finn Balor before diving out on the other side to take out The Miz, but this is when Samoa Joe would emerge, taking Rollins out with a uranage on the floor!
This would leave it down to Finn Balor and The Miz in the ring as Finn connects with the Slingblade, following it up with the dropkick into the corner. However, when Finn Balor goes to the top rope for the Coup de Grace, Bray Wyatt would appear, knocking Balor off of the top rope before “The Eater of Worlds” takes Finn out with Sister Abigail before Bray disappears! Ever the opportunist, The Miz would crawl over to pin Finn Balor as The Miz becomes the new #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Championship! As Maryse helps her husband up the ramp, Finn Balor and Seth Rollins are left confused and defeated, having both been cost a shot at the Intercontinental Title by their respective rivals.
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