A week post the WWE Superstar Shake-up, this week’s episode of Raw had everyone excited for the things the new roster will have in store for them. Additions such as Richochet, AJ Styles and Cesaro, the curiosity was at the peak to watch them square off with the retained stars of Raw.
Seth Rollins Addresses the WWE Universe:
Triple H walked down the ring to kick off the show and he wasted no time in introducing the WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins who came out to a thunderous ovation from his home crowd. There was no real contender for the Universal Championship, and hence Triple H chose to arrange two triple threat matches and the winners squaring off against each other to determine who will challenge Rollins for his title at the Money in the Bank Pay-per-view.
United States Champion Samoa Joe stormed out to the ring to let Rollins know about Joe’s possibility of being a dual champion by winning his Universal title. The remaining participants of the triple threat matches soon followed Joe into the ring with AJ Styles, Rey Mysterio, Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and The Miz delivering a promo together hyping their matches.
AJ Styles vs Rey Mysterio vs Samoa Joe:
A decade ago, a match involving these three superstars competing in the squared circle was a distant dream. However, when they came face to face on Raw, the match as expected was a high octane one with a lot of big spots involved. All three superstars were booked to look strong with Joe coming across as a complete unstoppable monster and Mysterio at his athletic best. Styles is touted as the next face of Raw, and he was the one to score a pinfall victory in the match going forward in the No.1 contender’s challenge with a styles clash
Winner: AJ Styles
Naomi vs Billie Kay:
The one-half of the women’s tag team champions Billie Kay, went one on one with Naomi who jumped the ship to raw in the Superstar shake-up. The match had the usual expected tauntings and distractions from Peyton Royce, the other half of IIconics and the tag team champions. Naomi ultimately scored a roll-up victory in the match and the plan going forward seems to be a feud for the tag titles with Naomi and maybe a new partner.
Winner: Naomi
Drew McIntyre vs The Miz Vs Baron Corbin:
This was the second triple threat match to decide on the contender for Rollins’ title. It was a fresh change to see Miz coming in as a fan favourite after his babyface turn. McIntyre and Corbin went after him and started the offence. Miz was quick to counter-attack and get momentum, only to get his face kicked by a Claymore Kick from the Scottish psychopath.
Interestingly, Corbin pushed Drew out of the way to score the pinfall win and advance in the tournament as Drew stared at the man with whom he has had a long term alliance who turned his back on him tonight.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Sami Zayn Promo Segment:
Zayn was at his absolute best as he came out to address the universe and delivered a fantastic heel promo. Zayn spoke about how the 10 months that he spent outside the ring were cherished by him. He lashed out on the fans for their online trolling and having unrealistic expectations.
Cesaro vs Cedric Alexander:
With Sheamus out with an injury, Cesaro moved to raw and was involved in a singles competition against Alexander. It was a good back and forth match-up as both the superstars traded offence and near falls. Eventually, Ceasaro caught Alexander with a mid-air Upper-cut to score the victory.
Winner: Cesaro
The Luch House Party vs The Viking Raiders:
The match did not take off as the Lucha House Party suffered a brutal beatdown from the Raiders and the current NXT Tag Team Champions displayed their dominance. They stood tall over the House Party to close out the segment.
Result: No Contest
Becky Lynch vs Alisha Fox:
Lynch undoubtedly is the hottest thing in the wrestling world. The man stormed into the ring to a thunderous ovation from the crowd. Lynch cut a promo talking about how she has made her career beating down blondes who are favoured by the management. Evans came out to interrupt and stated that she is going to take the two belts away from her at The Money In The Bank.
Fox came out next to get the match rolling and Lynch made a quick work of Fox as she made her tap out to dis-arm-her. As soon as the match got over, Evans came into the ring and delivered Woman’s Right as she walked off the ring with the crowd booing her.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Robert Roode vs Richochet:
Bobby Roode has been repackaged as “The Glorious” Robert Roode who also changed his look as now he is sporting a moustache. It was a back and forth contest with each superstar delivering offence and taking bumps. Roode hit the glorious DDT on Richochet to score the pinfall win.
Winner: Robert Roode
Bray Wyatt Segment:
Wyatt finally returned to the television as the host of a children show segment “Firefly Fun House” Wyatt was at his best and delivered a solid creepy promo as he addressed the WWE Universe as they were kids. The segment also included buzzard puppet and the creepy doll that were hyped in vignettes.
AJ Styles vs Baron Corbin:
The main event of the show saw the two winners of the triple threat challenge face off against each other to determine who will take on Rollins for his championship. Styles was the one the creative booked to go over with. He delivered a phenomenal forearm on Corbin to win the challenge and is the number one contender for the Universal Championship. Seth Rollins made his way into the ring post the match and the two had a staredown to close out the show. It will be very interesting to see how the creative will book this feud between two of WWE’s most over stars.
Winner: AJ Styles
