Monday Night Rollins Part Deux
For the first time in a while, the crowd cheered heartily for Rollins.
A new humble Rollins touted Lesnar’s abilities and thanked the fans for coming alive (after weeks of silence) to take him to a place he “couldn’t go alone” and he “slayed the Beast.”
The OC, led by AJ Styles came out to cut a promo their upcoming match later in the evening (news of it was released earlier in the day). Looks like a new rivalry is about to start. Kinda surprised it took them this long to bring them together after ending their previous attempt after one match. The difference this time is Styles is a heel. In other words, they feel he’s the best one to put Rollins over as a babyface.
Styles got it started. “Here’s where it gets tricky, Seth. You don’t have to worry about Brock Lesnar anymore, but you do have to worry about the man standing in front of you.
“I used to have respect for you, but not anymore.” Rollins then officially accepted his challenge.
Style then had Gallows and Anderson leave the ring, but when Rollins refused to shake his hand, they climbed back on the apron.
In the second hour, Styles cut a promo while the other OC members picked on him for never beating Brock Lesnar.
In the final hour, Rollins cut a prematch promo taunting Styles for not beating Lesnar and for losing to Rollins at Money in the Bank.
Champion vs Champion (titles not on the line) Seth Rollins beat AJ Styles by disqualification
A decent match continued mainly because the OC pulled Styles out of the ring to save him from the Stomp early, then threw him into the ring to avoid a countout.
After a few more exchanges, Gallows and Anderson attacked Rollins from behind after not going to the locker room like the referee ordered.
Ricochet then came out to help, but he was quickly overwhelmed. When it looked bleak, Braun Strowman came out to the loudest pop of the night and leveled the OC, setting himself up as the night’s showstopper (literally) and even handed Rollins his championship belt solidifying the new babyfaces for a potential new Shield.
Becky Lynch Sends Out a Challenge, Natalya Stands Firm, The Boss Returns as a Heel
Lynch took the microphone from Charly and said Nattie owed her a debt and she paid it at SummerSlam. She explained she’s not there to make friends and it’s a cat and mouse game and they’d better get her before she gets them.
Later in the show, the focus changed to her SummerSlam opponent…
Despite claiming to have a dislocated elbow and needing an MRI, she refused to take back what she said about Becky Lynch and promised they would do this again.
She said she had a dream where her father (Jim Neidhart) spoke to her in her dreams that he was proud of her. As she mourned his passing, she was interrupted by Sasha Banks.
After embracing Natalya, Banks attacked her from behind, and mocked her while continuing her assault.
Of course, Lynch came out to defend Natalya (ie: look for a fight and feud), and Banks worked her over with a chair. Her damage done, Banks headed backstage.
The Rest of Raw
Sami Zayn Gave a Little Too Much Advice
Zayn pointed out the Street Profits should enjoy it while they can because the place and “parasites in the crowd with suck out your soul.” He then went after Rollins and how he used to be tough but now panders to the people, and how Becky Lynch is just manufactured.
When asked if it happens for everyone, including Samoa Joe, Zayn laughed and said, “Samoa Joe, are you kidding? That is a perfect example.” He compared Joe to King Kong, then mocked him for “don’t hurt my sweet baby angle Roman,” last week.
Of course, Joe was behind him ad challenged him to a match so Zayn could get it off his chest and “Prove to his fellow countrymen that he was more than Kevin Owens’ water boy.”
He then shoved Zayn down and headed for the ring.
Samoa Joe beat Sami Zayn by submission
It’s embarrassing when the promo lasts longer than the match, but at least Zayn tried.
Zayn attacked Joe from behind early, but Joe got him in the Coquina Clutch around the first minute mark.
Joe then took the mic and pointed out his forgiveness extended to no one but Reigns for the accusations leveled at him about attacking Reigns.
The Miz beat Dolph Ziggler by submission
After Ziggler came out claiming he wasn’t medically cleared to wrestle, he attacked the Miz from behind.
Another quick match ended when the Miz slapped a figure four leg lock on Ziggler for the tap out.
Ziggler then ran his mouth like he did after Goldberg beat him, claiming the Miz wouldn’t have beaten him if he hadn’t faced Goldberg. Ziggler said all this with his back to the ramp, and the Miz entered the ring and hit him with a Skull Crushing Finale.
Hello, I’m Elias
Elias explained how he’s figured it out that he sings a song and a legend comes out to interrupt him.
To get it over with, he did three countdowns, asking anyone that intends to interrupt him to do so.
When no one came out both times, he started to play and Ricochet came out.
“People don’t come out here to interrupt you because it’s the cool thing to do, it’s because you suck.”
Elias then challenged Ricochet right there and then.
Ricochet beat Elias by pinfall
A new, far more aggressive Elias took it to Ricochet from the start, staying on him to keep Ricochet grounded.
Elias went to hit Ricochet with his guitar, but the referee stopped him. Ricochet then hit him with a superkick and a sunset flip off the top rope for the pin despite Elias’ shoulder clearly being off the mat.
2 out of 3 Falls: Andrade beat Rey Mysterio 2-0
First Fall: Andrade won the first fall by pin after Vega distracted Mysterio when he was going for the 619 and Andrade rolled him up. Andrade’s feet were on the ropes with Vega holding on and the referee didn’t see it.
Second Fall: Much longer than the first fall saw several exchanges and counters before Mysterio hit the 619 and frog splashed on Andrade’s raised knees. Andrade then his with Cien Almas for the final pin.
After the match, Mysterio gave some cryptic comments about his career after losing two falls in a row for the first time in his career.
Steve Austin Puts Rollins Over
If there was any doubt as to who the WWE wants as their big name face, Austin gushed over Rollins’ performance to put him over and promoted his show, Straight Up Steve Austin.
Drew McIntyre beat Cedric Alexander by pinfall
Possibly the best match of the night, McIntyre dealt out a great deal of punishment. Alexander returned the favor in spurts, showing a great deal of heart.
Alexander had a chance to win by countout after hitting with a Lumbar Check outside the ring, but he attempting a suicide dive at the count of eight, but McIntyre caught him and hit with a belly-to-belly suplex onto the ramp.
After Alexander countered several of McIntyre’s maneuvers into pinning combinations, McIntyre hit with a Claymore off the ropes for the pin that brought the fans to their feet.
Both did an awesome job of putting each other over as Alexander is growing in popularity and McIntyre’s intensity has risen another notch. Both are participants in the King of the Ring Tournament, anyone want to bet on their possibly meeting in the final round?
It’s also interesting to point out that McIntyre hasn’t been with Shane McMahon the last couple of weeks.
Paul Heyman Sighting
Not only is Heyman executive producing Raw, but he’s still Brock Lesnar’s advocate and was seen going into Lesnar’s locker room.
When he came out for an interview, Heyman broke the news that the WWE stated his client, Brock Lesnar, gets no rematch against Seth Rollins. He then left the interview frustrated, and slammed the door behind him.
Robert Roode beat No Way Jose by pinfall
While it was good to see these two in action without being sacrificed (really thought the Fiend was going to come out for Jose), it was another quick match when Roode hit the Glorious DDT for the pin.
The Revival and Lucha House Party ended in no contest
During the match, R-Truth and Carmella ran out, chased by the locker room.
24/7 Championship: The Revival beat R-Truth (c) by pinfall
After slipping through the ring and letting the Lucha House Party take care of his pursuers, Truth was attacked by the Revival, and after they hit a double team for the pin, they became duo 24/7 champions.
History made. A good drinking game would be to take a swig every time Michael Cole says “History has been made!”
24/7 Championship: R-Truth beat Dawson (c) by pinfall
After Lucha House Party did the damage and Wilder pulled Kallisto off Dawson, Carmella pulled Truth over to pin Dawson to reclaim the title for the twelfth time.
24/7 Championship: Elias beat R-Truth (c) by pinfall
While Truth and Carmella celebrated backstage, Elias snuck up behind them and hit Truth with his guitar for the pin.
Still Playing Who Attacked Roman Reigns?
A quick video roundup of the events in the latest mystery of attacks on Roman Reigns, including his getting information from Buddy Murphy and Rowen attacking Murphy at SummerSlam.
The Viking Raiders beat Carter Mason and Sebastian Suave by pinfall
Cool, they actually put the Raiders’ opponents’ names on TV.
After the usual abuse toward their opponents, the Raiders finished it with a Viking Experience.
The fans chanting, “Let’s go jobbers!” says it all about how this is falling flat.
Women’s Tag Team Championship: Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross (c) beat The Kabuki Warriors by pinfall
A fun, fast-paced match was full of athleticism and pin saves, even an inventive method of Bliss pulling Cross toward their corner for the tag made an appearance. Sain broke that attempt up, but it allow Cross to hit her with a swinging neckbreaker and Bliss to hit with a Twisted Bliss for the win.
Final Thoughts
A far improved Raw that squeezed in more matches by making them shorter, we got to see more talent perform while still having the normal promos and push of established talent. The big news of the night was the Boss, Sasha Banks, returning and Strowman establishing the muscle Rollins desperately needed in his corner to presumable form a new Shield. If it worked before, why not reuse it, right?
