Tonight, Monday Night Raw moves on from Extreme Rules and looks towards the Great Balls of Fire Pay-Per-View in five weeks (yes, that’s the real name). There are new Intercontinental and Raw Tag Team Champions, and Samoa Joe is the new challenger for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship. Tonight is the start of a long road to the next event, and there’s a lot of action to unfold.
Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns
Monday Night Raw kicks off with a huge match. Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt both competed in the #1 Contender Fatal Five-Way last night, but both lost. Wyatt comes to the ring and before the match starts, he accuses his four opponents from last night of being “guilty.” Guilty of what, exactly, wasn’t clear. Reigns interrupts the Eater of Worlds and decides to shut him up by clocking him in the jaw.
Reigns counters Wyatt’s attempt at Sister Abigail, then he hits his signature Superman Punch/Spear combination to pin Wyatt in the center of the ring. Winner: Roman Reigns
Backstage Segment
Alexa Bliss approaches Raw General Manager Kurt Angle in his office to suggest a segment for tonight: Alexa Bliss, This is My Life. Angle says that the idea is terrible, and he acknowledged that her “This is Your Life” segment from last week was one of the worst segments in Raw history. Instead, Angle remembers she promised Nia Jax a title shot and he wants her to uphold that promise tonight.
In-ring Segment
Elias Samson is in the ring singing a song before his match with Dean Ambrose, but Ambrose interrupts the song. Ambrose attacks Samson and calls out the Miz, demanding an Intercontinental Championship rematch. Miz denies Ambrose’s demands, telling the Lunatic Fringe that he has a victory celebration planned for tonight instead. While Ambrose is distracted, Elias Samson attacks him from behind, laying him out in the middle of the ring.
Ambrose heads to the backstage area and he runs into Kurt Angle. Angle demands that Ambrose takes the night off because according to Angle, he needs a bit of a cooldown.
In-ring Segment
Samoa Joe comes to the ring to tell the WWE Universe exactly how and why he will beat Brock Lesnar at the Great Balls of Fire Pay-Per-View. Paul Heyman recalls how he wanted Lesnar to take on Finn Balor and he calls Joe a “worst case scenario.” Joe doesn’t like the Lesnar decided not to show up, so he makes a statement. Even though Paul Heyman is “just an advocate,” Joe locks him in the Coquina Clutch.
When Joe gets to the back, Kurt Angle starts yelling at Joe about his actions. Joe says that he will take out anyone in his way, and if Angle is in his way, he will have no problem taking him out as well. Seth Rollins interferes and stands up for his General Manager, so a match between Rollins and Joe is made for later on tonight.
Sheamus & Cesaro vs. Heath Slater & Rhyno
Last night, Sheamus and Cesaro defeated the Hardy Boyz to become two-time Raw Tag Team Champions. To continue their momentum, they take on the first-ever SmackDown Tag Team Champions in a non-title match.
Heath Slater is distracted by Cesaro attacking Rhyno at ringside, so Sheamus takes advantage to hit him with a Brogue Kick. Winners: Sheamus & Cesaro
Backstage Segment
TJP is walking backstage and comes across Neville. TJP wants the Cruiserweight Championship match that Neville promised him, but Neville says he will only talk to Kurt Angle if he can defeat Mustafa Ali.
TJP vs. Mustafa Ali
Both Cruiserweights in this match need to win. TJP needs to win so he can get a Cruiserweight Championship match, and Mustafa Ali needs to win to get back on track. Ali returned to action last week on 205 Live, where he lost to Drew Gulak.
Ali looks to hit his inverted 450 Splash, but TJP kicks Ali’s feet out from under him. TJP then hits the Detonation Kick to finish the job. Neville says he has “unfortunate news” for TJP, and when TJP turns his back, Neville assaults him. According to Corey Graves, their title match is taking place tomorrow night on 205 Live. Winner: TJP
Titus O’Neil (w/Apollo Crews) vs. Kalisto
Titus O’Neil defeated Kalisto last week on Raw, but his protege, Apollo Crews, couldn’t get the job done. O’Neil decided that he needs to do it again, so he is getting back in the ring. Earlier tonight, O’Neil talked to Akira Tozawa and believed that after this match, Tozawa would be dying to join the Titus Brand.
O’Neil tries to pull the tights of Kalisto, which helped him win their match last week. However, Kalisto counters into a pin of his own and uses O’Neil’s strategy against him for the win. Winner: Kalisto
Backstage Segment
The Miz and Maryse are walking through the backstage area to get ready for the Intercontinental Championship celebration when they see Big Cass laid out backstage. Over the past few weeks, Enzo Amore has been the one to be attacked, so this seems to take Cass out of the conversation of Amore’s attackers.
The Miz’s Intercontinental Championship Celebration
Maryse worked really hard on the celebration in honor of Miz’s Intercontinental Championship victory from last night, but The Miz’s paranoia ruins everything. First, he attacks a dancing bear thinking it is Dean Ambrose, but it just ends up being some guy. A tall gift is delivered to the ring, and Miz attacks that as well, thinking Ambrose is inside. It turns out that it is just a grandfather clock, and Maryse storms out after Miz ruined her thoughtful gift.
After ruining everything, Miz calls out Ambrose and demands that he shows himself. A cameraman walks to the center of the ring behind Miz, takes off his hat and headset, and reveals himself as Ambrose. The Lunatic Fringe hits Miz with Dirty Deeds and drinks a little champagne of his own.
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Enzo Amore & Big Show
Since Big Cass is recovering from getting attacked earlier tonight, Enzo Amore had to find a last-minute replacement partner. Luckily, there happens to be another 7-foot tall Superstar in the locker room that is willing to do the Certified G a favor. Big Show has fun with Amore by getting in some jargon of his own and even doing the “SAWFT” chant.
Big Show takes out Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson all by himself, and he tags in Amore for a unique version of Badaboom Shakalaka. Winners: Enzo Amore & Big Show
Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax – Raw Women’s Championship
In order to gain an ally a few weeks ago, Alexa Bliss promised Nia Jax a championship opportunity, and tonight is the night she has to eat those words. Bliss tried to play nice with Mickie James and Dana Brooke earlier tonight to help get the edge on Nia Jax, but instead, they come to ringside to get a close look at the match.
When Bliss gets thrown out of the ring, James and Brooke make fun of her. Bliss pushes Brooke, which leads to both Brooke and James hitting the champion. Since this gives Bliss a disqualification victory, Nia Jax is furious. Bliss escapes an assault from Jax, so Jax takes out her anger on the women who cost her the title. Winner, and STILL Raw Women’s Champion (via disqualification): Alexa Bliss
Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe
Before Samoa Joe faces Brock Lesnar in a few weeks, he faces a recent rival in Seth Rollins. Joe injured Rollins months ago and almost kept the Kingslayer out of WrestleMania. Rollins managed to get revenge on Joe by defeating him at the aptly named Payback event, but the animosity hasn’t faded one bit.
Rollins seems to have Joe under control, but Bray Wyatt’s sudden entrance theatrics distract him (Rollins called him a “false prophet” earlier tonight). Joe takes advantage to lock Rollins in the Coquina Clutch to pick up the victory. Winner (via submission): Samoa Joe
