Contract Signing
What better way to kick off the show than with a contract signing between Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins? It’s an interesting change of pace as they’re usually at the end of the show, what could possibly go wrong?
Michael Cole started if off by asking Rollins how he and Strowman could function as teammates.
Both agreed they’d beat Roode and Ziggler, but differed on who would win the Universal championship. Not a surprise there.
Rollins’ comment was best: “But to win this Universal title, I slayed the Beast. Which is something you, unfortunately, couldn’t do. And at Clash of Champions to keep this title, I’m going to slay a monster.”
AJ Styles and the OC crashed the signing, with Styles claiming, “At Clash of Champions, history will be made.”
Styles criticized why Strowman got his opportunity, and claimed “By proxy, the United States champion should be the first in line to get an opportunity at the Universal championship.”
He then asked who was he going to face, and pointed out he’d walk around showing off his belt and give whoever looked at it an opportunity.
Entering the ring and claiming if the OC doesn’t get what they want, then nobody would, Styles ripped up the contract and a mini brawl started, leading to an “impromptu” tag team match.
Just a thought, but maybe not doing this “impromptu” thing every week would make it more spontaneous?
Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman beat The OC by pinfall
A good match to start things off, Rollins took the brunt of the abuse by the OC, leaving Strowman to clean up when he came in.
After a blind tag, Rollins countered a rollup by Anderson for the pin.
After the match, Styles attacked Rollins, but Rollins fought them off and knocked them out of the ring. Strowman hit Rollins by accident with his running shoulder block, and Roode and Ziggler jumped Strowman, five teaming the monster into the steel steps.
Despite Rollins and Strowman’s efforts, they were overwhelmed by the numbers game and suffered a Glorious DDT, Magic Killer, and Phenominal Forearm — the final two to Strowman.
Interesting to see Roode and Ziggler getting along with the OC. Wonder if they could be added to the stable at some point?
Later in the show, Strowman expressed his concern over the announcement that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin would be moderating their contract signing next week. It makes sense, given how Austin gushed over Rollins a couple of weeks ago, but that’s not Austin’s style. Strowman then promised Austin would get his if he got in his face, setting Strowman up for a heel turn. Guess we know what feud Rollins will have next, huh?
Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks Hurl Salvos
During Lynch’s tirade about how Banks had everything going for her and how she should’ve been Lynch.
Banks came out and responded by mocking Lynch with a Ziggler type of “I should’ve been you,” and then pointed out the only reason Lynch got any of it was because Nya Jackson broke her face.
When Lynch challenged her right then and there, Banks declined, saying she “Doesn’t give these people anything for free. I do it for the paycheck. The next time I face you will be for that title at Clash of Champions.”
Lynch accepted, of course, and Banks responded with, “And, Becky, after Clash of Champions, the Man will be the Boss’ bitch.”
Champion’s Showcase
Becky Lynch and Bayley beat Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross by disqualification
A good match took a curious, but regular anymore, turn when Sasha Banks came out to watch it as her best friend, Bayley, took all of the punishment for most of the match as Cross and Bliss cut the ring in half.
When Lynch got into the match, she had Bliss in a far corner when Banks attacked her from behind, then grabbed a steel chair from under the ring.
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Two chair strikes later, Bayley grabbed the chair from her, and after a brief staredown, Bayley beat Lynch with the chair a handful of times to close out the show.
The Rest of Raw
Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler beat Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder by pinfall
Another good match showcased both team’s abilities and we got to see a little of the skillset than helped make Hawkins and Ryder tag team champions. Ziggler hit Hawkins with a superkick, then Roode hit with a Glorious DDT for the win.
Roode was going full throttle this week, which was good to see as last week he and Ziggler seemed to have some chemistry issues. Glad they were able to work through that.
Lacey Evans beat Natalya by pinfall
Evans entrance was cut short by Natalya’s music, and Natalya ran out and knocked Evans down enroute to the ring.
A quality match, we got to see how much Evans has improved as she held her own with Natalya right up to Evans throwing her hanky into Natalya’s face to distract her, then hit with a Woman’s Right for the pin.
King of the Ring Round 2: Baron Corbin beat Cedric Alexander by pinfall
During his prematch interview, Alexander was attacked by the OC, making it look like they’re on a couple pf payrolls. Interesting angle if that’s what they’re doing.
In what was probably the best match of the night, Alexander came out holding his left arm, so there was little doubt what Corbin would target, which he eventually did after Alexander used his speed against Corbin early on.
Alexander had a couple of flourishes, one of which Corbin countered into a Deep Six for a near pinfall, before gaining the upper hand and slamming Corbin’s left shoulder into the ring post four times and a missile dropkick for a near pin.
After knocking Alexander off the top rope, Corbin hit with an End of Days for the win.
The Viking Raiders beat Brian Thomas and Tyler Hastings by pinfall
Though this was another squash match, at least this time, they allowed the opposition to get some promo time in to insult Baltimore to help put the Viking Raiders over. Now, had it been from the Revival or another top flight team, it’d be believable. You know it’s bad when even the announcers poked fun of the jobbers.
Oh, after hitting the Viking Experience on Hastings, they pinned him.
King of the Ring Round 2: Ricochet beat Samoa Joe by
Another good match that’s in the running for the best of the night, saw a slower pace than we’re used to with Ricochet’s matches as Joe dominated through a majority of the match, grounding Ricochet and grinding him down with various submission holds. When Ricochet started to gain some momentum, Joe took it away by continuing to work of Ricochet’s legs.
The match ended when Joe slapped on the Coquina clutch on Ricochet on the top rope, and Ricochet pushed off to counter. Both landed on the mat with each having an arm draped over them. The referee counted them both down for a pin, then headed to the back to get a ruling on the match.
Unhappy with how it finished, both superstars followed the referee up the ramp before Joe attacked Ricochet and Ricochet hit with double knees to Joe’s face and left the ring.
Later in the show, the referee, John Cone, was being interviewed about his decision when Baron Corbin came in and said they were both eliminated. Cone informed him that WWE officials ruled that neither of them were eliminated, and therefore both would advance. Next week, Corbin will face them in a triple threat match.
Corbin was not happy.
Firefly Funhouse
Bray Wyatt was back to say he thought what the Fiend did to Finn Balor was “Super duper rude,” and apologized.
His Mr. McMahon character appeared, giving him grief over challenging Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman to a match at Hell in a Cell. Wyatt quickly pulled out some money and fed one to the doll, which appeased it.
He then pointed out how Rollins and Strowman haven’t been getting along and said, “They’re selfish, and greedy, and in another life, they took something very dear to me.” He stared into the camera ominously for a few seconds before laughing and saying, “But unlike those bozos, I’ve learned to embrace the virtue of teamwork.”
The screen shifted to include his Funhouse characters, with Ramblin’ Squirrel holding a “Help” sign. Laughing, he pushed Ramblin’ and his sign down under the table. “My team, they helped me cope with the pain. But the Fiend, he helps me inflict it. See you in hell.” Then turning serious, said, “Let me in.”
Rey Mysterio’s Back
Mysterio explained how his son convinced him to dig deep and find his passion, and what a blessing it’s been to grow up in the WWE family. Mysterio said it’s a parent’s job to push their children higher, but his son was doing that for him, and he had goals he wanted to achieve yet.
The Miz beat Cesaro by pinfall
Once again, Cesaro got off to a fast start by charging the Miz and taking control early.
A series of counters kept the Miz alive so he could counter an upper cut into a Skull Crushing Finale for the win.
Final Thoughts
An improvement over last week, this week’s show had a few good twists and turns, like Bayley turning on Lynch and a triple threat match on Raw next week between Corbin, Ricochet, and Samoa Joe (anyon eelse notice the officials keep messing up Joe’s matches? Not sure what angle they’re building there.) The Fiend also challenging Rollins and Strowman at Hell in the Cell is something many fans have been calling for. This is going to be a fun pay-per-view coming up.
