This week continued another great run for WWE, as Monday Night Raw entertained and largely flew by despite its mammoth run times.
Three hours is a lot to commit to a show every week, but on nights like this it’s obvious why fans still put in the time.
A big part of the red brand’s success – and indeed all three shows at the moment – is the Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Sasha Banks and her partner Bayley – who also holds the SmackDown Women’s Title – have been all over every programme lately, and tonight was another perfect example of why.
Earlier in the evening, the duo were their usual arrogant self as they talked about being the best WWE has to offer, before Asuka made her way out to address her Extreme Rules match with the Boss.
Bayley defended her pal, but the Raw Women’s Champ had backup in the form of Kairi Sane.
It led to a fantastic match between Sasha and the returning Pirate Princess, with the latter clearly not missing a step.
They had plenty of time here, with Sane and Asuka getting the last laugh – and setting up our main event – despite Bayley interfering to cause a DQ ending.
Fast forward to our main event, and Nikki Cross – who finally made it to ringside and commentary after trying throughout the night – got a front row seat.
Her Extreme Rules opponent Bayley was in champion vs. champion action against Asuka, and there was no surprise to see them absolutely slay it like they did here.
In the end, Cross distracted Bayley and Sane stopped Banks from getting involved, which allowed Asuka to get the win.
Best of the rest
Let’s go back to the beginning with a mixed bag – on the plus side, Dolph Ziggler came out to greet Drew McIntyre but refused to reveal the Extreme Rules stipulation.
Instead, he brought out Heath Slater (who was released in April) as the latter talked about his long history with the WWE Champion, including their 3MB days.
He insisted Drew never called after he was fired earlier this year, and asked McIntyre for the match – eventually slapping him to make him accent.
Unfortunately, some absolutely stellar promo work led to an easy win with the Claymore, although there was a nice moment as Drew saved Heath from Slater as the former teammates shared a hug.
Moving on, Kevin Owens welcomed Seth Rollins to the KO Show as they hyped up their history together, and the Monday Night Messiah challenge Rey Mysterio to a match at Extreme Rules.
Despite Rollins trying to recruit him, Owens sided with the Master of the 619 after Aleister Black was found laid out backstage, leading to a great tag match with Seth and Murphy.
In the end, Dominik – who was at ringside and targeted by Rollins – was saved by the Dutch Destroyer, leaving Rey to pick up the win and choose an Eye For An Eye stipulation for their upcoming bout.
There was also drama in the United States Title scene, as MVP and Bobby Lashley unveiled the new design and said Apollo Crews – not cleared to compete – would fight for the fresh belt at Extreme Rules.
The All Mighty tried to crown his agent the new champ, but Ricochet and Cedric Alexander defended their friend’s honour and fought in a very fun tag match which saw MVP still wearing his suit and trying to do as little as possible.
In the end, the Spear was enough to earn Lashley the win, and MVP was later seen trying to recruit Cedric to his stable.
Elsewhere, Big Show teamed up with Viking Raiders in a losing affort against Randy Orton, Andrade and Angel Garza (who got a dressed down from Mr. RKO at ringside during the bout).
Finally, The IIconics continued their roll at Ruby Riott’s expense as Billie Kay won with a seated spinebuster.
Quickfire results
- Drew McIntyre destroyed Heath Slater
- Kairi Sane beat Sasha Banks via disqualification
- Rey Mysterio and Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins and Murphy
- Bobby Lashley and MVP beat Ricochet and Cedric Alexander
- Randy Orton, Angel Garza and Andrade defeated Big Show and The Viking Raiders
- Billie Kay pinned Ruby Riott
- Champion vs. Champion: Asuka beat Bayley
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