Tonight on Monday Night Raw, WWE looks toward SummerSlam with some huge matches and announcements. Perhaps the biggest match of the night is between best friends Sasha Banks and Bayley, with the winner going on to face Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women’s Championship at SummerSlam. Plus, Kurt Angle announces his plans for the Universal Championship match.
Opening Segment
The start the show, Kurt Angle comes to the ring to follow up on some of the events from last week. First, he announces that he newfound son Jason Jordan will be competing in his first-ever match on Monday Night Raw. He moves on to addressing the Universal Championship plan for SummerSlam when he is interrupted by Braun Strowman.
Strowman demands to be in the match since he was the only Superstar in the conversation to have won a match at Great Balls of Fire. Of course, Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe make their own claims, so Angle puts them all in the title match. After a decision is made, all three men brawl until the entire locker room helps pull them apart.
Finn Balor vs. Elias Samson – No Disqualification Match
Last week, Finn Balor and Elias Samson competed in a singles match where the action spilled to the outside. Samson got himself disqualified when he cracked Balor over the skull with his guitar, splitting Balor’s head and the guitar wide open. To get some revenge, there is a rematch with no rules.
Balor hits the Coup de Grace on Samson, but when he goes for the cover, Bray Wyatt appears out of nowhere. Wyatt hits Sister Abigail, and a groggy crawls over for the cover. Winner: Elias Samson
Enzo Amore vs. Big Cass
At Great Balls of Fire, Enzo Amore & Big Cass, two former best friends, duked it out. Expectedly, Cass’ size and strength advantage led to him dominating for the victory. Last week, Big Cass brawled with Big Show, and while Amore tried to help out, Cass stood tall yet again. While Amore does not win a lot of matches, he is persistent and is always ready for a fight.
Cass is perhaps even more violent than their first encounter and he easily picks up the win. Big Show looks to save Amore from further assault, but after Cass uses Amore as a battering ram, he takes out the legendary giant. Winner: Big Cass
Emma vs. Nia Jax
Earlier tonight, Emma interrupted an interview with Kurt Angle and asked why she hasn’t been featured as much as the rest of the division. Emma [rightfully] claims that she started the Women’s Revolution and everyone else is getting opportunities that she deserves. After saying that she would date Jason Jordan to get Angles attention, he put her in a match against the most dominant woman in WWE outside of Asuka.
Nia Jax dominates Emma throughout the entire match and finishes her off with an incredible flipping senton. Winner: Nia Jax
Backstage Segment
Akira Tozawa looks to compete tonight, but Titus O’Neil canceled the match to look out for his health. Tozawa refuses to back down from the fight and storms to the ring. Tozawa calls out Ariya Daivari, but instead, he gets the man who injured his shoulder in the first place, Neville. Neville calls Tozawa a joke and a brawl ensues. Tozawa manages to get the best of Neville and even hits him with the diving senton from the top rope.
Just when Tozawa thinks he is done, Daivari blindsides him and flips him inside out with the hammerlock lariat. Then to make a statement, he does the same to the King of the Cruiserweights.
Bayley vs. Sasha Banks – #1 Contender’s Match (Raw Women’s Championship)
This is the second night in a row with a #1 Contender’s Match for a Women’s Championship. Natalya is the next challenger for SmackDown’s title, and tonight we find out who will challenge Alexa Bliss next for Raw’s title.
Sasha Banks hits Bayley with a (kind of) frog splash, but Bayley rolls through the momentum to turn it into a cover of her own. With the three count, Bayley is going to have a championship match at SummerSlam. Winner, and NEW #1 Contender: Bayley
Jason Jordan vs. Curt Hawkins
After being revealed as Kurt Angle’s son last week, Jason Jordan competes in his first match on Monday Night Raw. He takes on Curt Hawkins, who is known for losing to everybody.
After a huge spear in the turnbuckle, Jordan hits Hawkins with a new finisher that doesn’t have a name yet. Winner: Jason Jordan
The Revival vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
It’s easy to forget sometimes how stacked Raw’s tag team division is. The Revival is one of the best tag teams in the world, while Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson took over the wrestling world in Japan before coming to WWE last year. The weird thing about this match is Gallows and Anderson seem to be looking for cheers from the crowd instead of the boos they’ve been going for over the last year.
After The Revival attacked the Hardy Boyz last week, the Matt and Jeff Hardy interrupted this match to provide a distraction. Unfortunately, the distracted Gallows and Anderson instead, giving The Revival the perfect opportunity to hit Anderson with the Shatter Machine. After the match, the Hardys attack The Revival, with Dash Wilder barely able to escape the Swanton Bomb. Winners: The Hardy Boyz
Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins vs. The Miz, Curtis Axel, & Bo Dallas (w/Maryse)
For a few consecutive weeks, the Miz and his Miztourage have beaten down Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Kurt Angle offered them a chance at revenge by facing two members of the Miztourage, but they wanted to go against the odds and challenge the entire group in a handicap match. The Miztourage has been working very well as a unit, while Dean Ambrose is having issues trusting Rollins.
With pretty much everybody laid out at ringside, Dean Ambrose overcomes the odds to hit The Miz with Dirty Deeds to pick up the win. Winners: Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins
