For the third week in a row, Shane McMahon will control Monday Night Raw. With Shane in charge, we have seen NXT call-ups (Enzo Amore, Colin Cassady, Baron Corbin, and Apollo Crews), fresh match-ups (Roman Reigns teaming with Bray Wyatt), and overall a better Raw every week. If tonight’s episode is like the last two with Shane in charge, it’s sure to be a good one.
Ambrose Asylum (feat. Shane McMahon)
Dean Ambrose is back to being his goofy self with his second iteration of the Ambrose Asylum (it debuted on Smackdown this past Thursday), and is here to ask Shane McMahon what he plans to do tonight. When Shane McMahon starts to talk about his plans, he is interrupted by Kevin Owens, who was kicked out of the building last week. Everybody seems to have a score to settle, as Sami Zayn and Chris Jericho also make an unannounced appearance on the Ambrose Asylum.
Before Shane McMahon leaves the ring, he announces two matches for Payback: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens, and Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose.
Chris Jericho vs. Sami Zayn
During the commercial break (exclusively on Facebook, for whatever reason), Shane McMahon made this match, as well as Dean Ambrose taking on Kevin Owens in the main event. These two had a match against each other on Smackdown last week, where Sami Zayn won by disqualification after being attacked by Kevin Owens. A win in this match is very beneficial for both of these men going into Payback.
The ol' thumb-to-the-eye and #Codebreaker combo picks up the victory for @IAmJericho! #RAWUK @ILikeSamiZayn pic.twitter.com/p6ujUJJA1W
— WWE (@WWE) April 19, 2016
After a thumb to the eye of Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho hits Zayn with a Codebreaker to pick up the victory. Winner: Chris Jericho
Backstage Segment
Mauro Ranallo is about to interview AJ Styles, when Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (they all used to be in the Bullet Club in New Japan Pro Wrestling) interrupt. Instead of an interview, the three find a place to catch up.
Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady vs. The Dudley Boyz – #1 Contender’s Tag Team Tournament Match
Last week on Raw, The New Day announced a Booty-O’s sponsored tournament to determine the new #1 Contenders to the Tag Team Championship. After Enzo and Big Cass and The Dudley Boyz each won their first round matches, they meet tonight in the semifinals. When the Realest Guys in the Room debuted, they spent their first segment on the main roster talking smack to the Dudleys. Tonight, the Dudleys hope to get back at the recent NXT call-ups.
Big Cass sidesteps Bubba Ray, leading to Bubba Ray knocking D-Von out of the ring. Followed by a big boot to Bubba Ray, The Realest Guys hit “Air Enzo” to advance to the finals. Winners: Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady
In-ring Segment
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns comes down to the ring to pretty much only tell the fans that the Roman Empire is here to stay. Not very far into the promo, #1 Contender AJ Styles comes to the ring to confront the champion. (Note: This British crowd is booing Reigns louder than any other crowd in recent memory, including the post-WrestleMania crowd.) They go back and forth for a bit without much substance, and Styles heads to the back.
GALLOWS AND ANDERSON!! They club @WWERomanReigns from behind!!! Did @AJStylesOrg know they were coming? #RAWUK pic.twitter.com/NuNup96aVC
— WWE (@WWE) April 19, 2016
While Styles walks to the back, Gallows and Anderson attack Reigns from behind and lay him out in the middle of the ring. Styles, witnessing this going on, seems to have nothing to do with the attack.
Backstage Segment
AJ Styles approaches Roman Reigns to apologize for the attacks, saying he had nothing to do with it, but Reigns doesn’t believe him.
Fandango vs. Baron Corbin
Before the match starts, Dolph Ziggler joins the commentary team. On the post-WrestleMania episode of Raw, Corbin and Ziggler had a match that ended in a double count-out. After the match, Corbin would assault Ziggler, ending with the End of Days outside of the ring.
Part of me feels bad for Fandango since he loses all the time, like the tag team match against the Vaudevillains on Smackdown, but he is getting a lot of television time.
After Corbin throws Fandango into Ziggler, Corbin hits the End of Days on Fandango to win the match. After the match, Ziggler attacks Corbin, but meets the same fate he met two weeks ago outside of the ring. Winner: Baron Corbin
MizTV
The Intercontinental Champion, The Miz, and his wife Maryse, start off MizTV by talking about how great the Miz is, and how terrible the United Kingdom is. While they start kissing for an unnecessarily long amount of time, they are interrupted by the #1 Contender to the Intercontinental Championship, Cesaro. The Miz does some weird rendition of Liam Neeson’s monologue from Taken to tell Cesaro that the Miz will beat him at Payback.
Cesaro challenges The Miz to a match, but just like on Smackdown with Zack Ryder, Cesaro already has a match scheduled with Rusev. Before Rusev and Cesaro have a singles match, Cesaro announces that Shane McMahon changed things up a bit. Instead, The League of Nations will team up with The Miz to take on Cesaro and The New Day.
The League of Nations & The Miz (w/Maryse) vs. The New Day & Cesaro
The only success that the League of Nations has really seen since forming was defeating the New Day at WrestleMania 32. That might give them the edge in this match, especially with the numbers game in their favor.
After almost everybody hits their signature moves, Cesaro hits the Neutralizer on Sheamus to pick up the victory. Winners: The New Day & Cesaro
Backstage Segment
Mauro Ranallo is backstage with Charlotte and Ric Flair, when he asks for her thoughts about the ending to her Women’s Championship title defense last week against Natalya. Natalya interrupts Charlotte after being insulted, and a match is made for Payback. Charlotte will defend her Women’s Championship against Natalya, and the challenger is evening the odds by having Bret Hart in her corner. As great as it is to have “The Hitman” back, this feud really needs a cage match.
Natalya, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, & Paige vs. Naomi, Tamina, Summer Rae, & Charlotte (w/Ric Flair)
Unfortunately, this match is probably the only women’s match on Raw tonight. The benefit is to shed some light on the whole division, but each woman only gets a couple minutes of in-ring action at most.
Everyone but Natalya and Charlotte are outside of the ring fighting, when Natalya locks in the Sharpshooter to put the Women’s Champion away. Winners (via submission): Natalya, Becky Lynch, Paige, & Sasha Banks
The Usos vs. The Vaudevillains – #1 Contender’s Tag Team Tournament Match
In the first round of the Tag Team Tournament, The Vaudevillains would defeat Goldango (Goldust and Fandango) one week after making their main roster debut. The Usos would defeat the Social Outcasts last week on Raw, but immediately after their victory, they would be attacked by the debuting Karl Anderson and returning Luke Gallows. This semifinals match is the first match for the Vaudevillains on Raw, and if they win, they will make a big statement.
After using the Usos’ injuries to their advantage, the Vaudevillains hit the Whirling Dervish to advance to the tournament finals, where they will take on Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady. Winners: The Vaudevillains
Instead of the tournament finals taking place next week on Raw, they will take place at Payback.
Apollo Crews vs. Heath Slater (w/Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas)
The Social Outcasts are down one member since Adam Rose has violated the WWE Wellness Policy, and is suspended for 60 days. Before the match, Crews told the Social Outcasts that if one of them can pin him tonight, he will join their team.
After hitting Slater with a jumping enziguri, Crews connects with the spinning sit-out powerbomb to continue his main roster winning streak. Winner: Apollo Crews
Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose
Owens and Ambrose have had some great matches during their feud early on in the year, which ended when Dean Ambrose successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship against Owens in a Last Man Standing match at the Royal Rumble.
Ambrose counters a frog splash by Owens, and hits Dirty Deeds for the pinfall. Winner: Dean Ambrose
After the match, Chris Jericho comes from out of nowhere to hit Ambrose with a Codebreaker to end Raw.
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