Instead of arresting WWE’s Vince McMahon the character on last night’s episode of Raw, they should have arrested Vince McMahon the CEO for another episode that even seemed to leave the audience lifeless. Here is the Monday Night Raw Recap:
The show starts with McMahon who immediately calls out Roman Reigns. They banter for a bit on whether Vince or the fans own the ring (Vince does). Vince starts to piss off Roman by mentioning how he overworked the Wild Samoans back in the 90s, and Roman “shoves” Vince. Vince calls for medical attention, but instead Stephanie McMahon calls for ‘security’ to arrest Roman. Things start getting heated, and since Stephanie is worked up, she’s threatened to be arrested if she doesn’t calm down. Vince yells at the faux security to stop threatening his daughter, puts his hands on one of them and is ‘arrested’ and removed from the building. The storyline continues later in the show. (Check out this story that shows how believable this was to some of the people watching.)
Kevin Owens vs Neville
What’s noticeable from the start of this match is that Kevin Owens didn’t get a televised entrance, which has been happening a lot more than usual. Also, ring announcer Tony Chimel is back! Too bad Edge isn’t around… Anyway, the match starts with Neville getting an early attempt for the Red Arrow. Owens counters, and goes for the Pop-up Powerbomb, which Neville reverses into a roll-up for the win.
Winner: Neville
After the match, Kevin Owens takes out his frustration over the loss on Neville. When we come back from commercial, Neville is being taken away by referees and trainers, but Owens come back to attack him some more. However, Dean Ambrose comes to Neville’s rescue and turns the tables on him.
Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks
This segment starts off with a backstage interview with Becky Lynch, who notes that she doesn’t need Charlotte at her side to win matches and that she wants to win them cleanly. Lynch makes it clear that she has done everything on her own before bringing brought up to WWE, so she can definitely win her own matches now. Unfortunately, Team B.A.D. had other plans for her.
This match was a great showing between two of the best in-ring performers in the Divas division, with plenty of great counters, close calls, and even some high spots. Even though Lynch had been close to putting Banks away multiple times, there were too many distractions from Team B.A.D., which ultimately gave Sasha Banks the victory. An important thing to note is that other than the main event, this match was probably the longest of the night.
Winner: Sasha Banks
“Breaking News”
Renee Young is down at the local New York City precinct and will provide updates throughout the night. She mentions that they’re trying to leave as soon as they can pay bail, and provides the audience with Vince McMahon’s hilarious mugshot.
Kofi Kingston vs. Kalisto
Before the match, New Day promo about how Brooklyn is where they won their Tag Team Championships, as well as where the now famous trombone debuted. They teased the crowd with a song, but played up their bitterness over not being voted as “Tag Team of the Year”.
Right out of the gate, Kofi and Kalisto show some fast-paced action that’s reminiscent of the WCW Cruiserweight division. Kalisto starts to get the upper hand, and Big E and Xavier Woods provide a distraction at ringside. However, Sin Cara dives onto them, which in turn distracts Kofi, giving Kalisto the victory. Winner: Kalisto
Impromptu match: Big E vs. Sin Cara
After Kofi’s loss, Xavier tells Sin Cara that “Payback is a bi….g E,” challenging Sin Cara to face Big E immediately. Sin Cara accepts and the match has some great showings of athleticism from both men. Big E sweeps Sin Cara from the ring apron to the floor, which unfortunately dislocated Sin Cara’s shoulder. Sin Cara did a commendable job finishing the match, even with some of his signature moves, but that match ended with a ‘Big’ Ending.
Winner: Big E
Miz TV Year in Review Spectacular
Miz starts off this segment (wearing a ridiculous scarf, by the way) by looking back at his 2015, but is immediately interrupted by Ryback, who is interrupted by Goldust, who’s interrupted by Zack Ryder, who’s interrupted by R-Truth, who’s interrupted by Heath Slater, who’s interrupted by the Big Show. Big Show cleans house. This segment didn’t really have much purpose except for R-Truth’s comedic moment of knocking himself out. Oh and the Big Show also announced that he is in the Royal Rumble match.
Big Show vs. Ryback
After their in-ring altercation, Big Show starts their match with the upper hand, and once Ryback starts getting some offense, the Big Show walks out and takes the count out loss. Winner: Ryback
League of Nations (Sheamus, Barrett, Rusev) vs. The Usos and Dean Ambrose
Not many people cared about this match, as evident by the “This is boring” crowd chants. The League of Nations was a strong enough unit to pick up the victory.
Winner: League of Nations
After the match, while Ambrose and the Usos are recovering, Kevin Owens attacks Dean Ambrose and powerbombs him through the announce table.
John Cena Promo
Cena is back and addresses the situation of Alberto Del Rio being the United States Champion. During this, Del Rio interrupts, and antagonizes Cena. After insults and name calling, Cena convinces Del Rio to defend the United States championship tonight.
John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio – United States Championship
We’ve seen this before. Cena gets beaten up for most of the match, gains all his energy back out of nowhere, and starts putting Del Rio away. After the Five Moves of Doom, Cena is about to win back the United States title, but then the League of Nations attacks, keeping Del Rio as the champion.
Winner: Cena (via DQ), Still US Champion: Alberto Del Rio
After the match, the League of Nations beats down John Cena, who tries to fight back, but to no avail. After a few minutes, the Usos come out to defend Cena, but the numbers game is in the League’s favor. Finally, Roman Reigns comes to save the day, because the numbers game doesn’t apply to him. After spearing and punching everyone, out comes convicted criminal Vince McMahon. Pissed off, he announces that Roman will defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship next week against Sheamus. The catch, however, is that the referee is Vince McMahon.
