Tonight on Raw, we have an Intercontinental Championship match between Dean Ambrose and The Miz. Along with the title match, the stage for Extreme Rules is set, and there is a very surprising win in the Women’s Division. To top it all of, we get a glimpse of the Universal Championship’s future.
Opening Segment
To kick off the show is the General Manager, Kurt Angle. Angle wasn’t on Raw last week, so he made Dean Ambrose and The Miz Co-General Managers. Tonight, he gets right to business. Angle acknowledges Braun Strowman’s injury from last week, and since Strowman was hunting the Universal Championship, things get changed.
Angle announces a Fatal Five-Way match for Extreme Rules to determine the #1 Contender for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns. All five men show up to say that they are going to win the championship match and face Lesnar. That is, except for Seth Rollins, who says that he’s tired of the talking and he wants to fight. Everyone starts brawling, but it is Finn Balor (the first-ever Universal Champion) who stands tall at the end.
Jeff Hardy (w/Matt Hardy) vs. Sheamus (w/Cesaro)
Last week, Sheamus and Cesaro defeated the rest of the division in Tag Team Turmoil to become the new #1 Contenders for the Raw Tag Team Championships. These two teams competed for the titles at Payback and during that match, Sheamus kicked a tooth out of Jeff Hardy’s mouth. After the same match, Sheamus and Cesaro attacked the Hardy Boyz to start their more aggressive run.
Cesaro tries to distract Jeff Hardy, but Matt Hardy pulls him off of the apron. Sheamus kind of Brogue Kicks Matt Hardy off of the apron, but it was enough for Jeff Hardy to land a Twist of Fate. He then finishes off the Celtic Warrior with his signature Swanton Bomb. Winner: Jeff Hardy
Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox (w/Noam Dar)
Last week, Sasha Banks pinned Alicia Fox, but the referee counted to three even though Fox’s shoulder was up. Noam Dar, who reunited with Alicia Fox a couple weeks ago, went to Kurt Angle on Fox’s behalf and “lobbied” for the rematch.
Fox holds on to the ropes, preventing Banks from hitting the Bank Statement. Fox then throws Banks out of the ring, and when The Boss gets back into the ring, Fox hits her with a scissors kick to her back. After turning Banks over for the cover, Fox picks up the surprise win. Winner: Alicia Fox
Dean Ambrose (c) vs. The Miz (w/Maryse) – Intercontinental Championship
The Miz and Dean Ambrose battled over the Intercontinental Championship on SmackDown Live, and they are here to do it again on Raw. Miz and Ambrose were Co-General Managers last week, and since Ambrose is a fighting champion, The Miz didn’t have to earn the match.
The Miz attempts to hit Dean Ambrose with a low blow while Maryse distracts the referee, but Ambrose blocks it. Ambrose then retaliates by kicking The Miz down low, and the referee sees it and is forced to call for the bell. Miz wins, but Ambrose keeps the title. Winner (via disqualification): The Miz
In-ring Segment
The Raw Women’s Champion comes to the ring and starts her promo with some very accurate insults towards New Jersey. She then goes on to brag about her accomplishments and how she is a “goddess,” then she is interrupted by the woman she beat for the championship, Bayley. They go back and forth about Extreme Rules and Bliss insults Bayley long enough to have Bayley push the champion.
Bayley starts attacking Bliss, but Bliss counters. While Bayley is in the ring, Bliss grabs a kendo stick and nails Bayley across the back, sending the former Raw Women’s Champion writhing in pain out of the ring.
Announcements
Three championship matches are made for Extreme Rules: Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship, and Neville defending the Cruiserweight Championship against Austin Aries. Of course, Bayley is challenging Alexa Bliss for the Women’s Championship that night as well, but Kurt Angle decides to make it a Kendo Stick on a Pole match, for some reason.
Neville & TJP vs. Austin Aries & Jack Gallagher
These four Cruiserweights have been dealing with each other for a couple months now, ever since Neville retained the Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania 33. TJP has become Neville’s ally, who does the champion’s dirty work with the hopes of a future championship opportunity. Jack Gallagher doesn’t have a title shot and he hasn’t had one in a couple months, but he has been helping out Austin Aries with the numbers game.
Jack Gallagher looks to hit TJP with a running dropkick in the corner, but Neville grabs his ankles. By the time Gallagher fends him off, TJP recovers enough to hit the Detonation Kick for the win. Winners: Neville & TJP
Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns
Before both Finn Balor and Roman Reigns compete in the #1 Contender’s Fatal Five-Way match at Extreme Rules, they compete against each other for the first time since Balor’s first night on Raw. Balor defeated Roman and eventually became the first-ever Universal Champion, and tonight, Reigns has a chance to even the score.
Balor heads to the top rope for the Coup de Grace, but Reigns is able to knock Balor off of the turnbuckle. Reigns then takes advantage to hits Balor with the spear, picking up the victory. Winner: Roman Reigns
In-ring Segment
The Golden Truth were scheduled to take on Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, but when R-Truth starts pumping up the crowd, Goldust attacks his now former partner from behind. As a team, they almost never won, and after their loss in Tag Team Turmoil last week, it seems like Goldust has had enough.
Titus O’Neil (w/Apollo Crews) vs. Big Cass (w/Enzo Amore)
Before Enzo Amore finishes his opening promo, Titus O’Neil interrupts the “Michael Jordan of Jargon” and mocks him while telling him how badly Apollo Crews is going to beat him. However, Big Cass tells O’Neil that he got the match mixed up. Instead, O’Neil has to wrestle Big Cass in his fancy wardrobe.
Since O’Neil wasn’t prepared for the match, Big Cass takes care of him easily. Winner: Big Cass
Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt
In another preview match for the Fatal Five-Way, Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt face each other one-on-one for the first time ever. They have squared off when The Wyatt Family took on The Shield, but they have mainly gone their separate ways since.
The match is coming to a close when Samoa Joe comes from out of nowhere to attack Seth Rollins. Bray Wyatt joins the assault on Rollins, but then Wyatt surprisingly attacks Joe with the Sister Abigail. Wyatt then does the same to Rollins, ending the show standing (kneeling) tall to close the show. Winner (via disqualification): Seth Rollins
