The Beast Is In the building to begin this evening’s Raw, live from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL on 3/18/19.
Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, and “The Advocate” Paul Heyman run down Seth Rollins, hyping their upcoming Wrestlemania confrontation.
Drew McIntyre comes out, interrupting the promo, and he runs down what he’s done to the Shield over the past few weeks as he and Rollins do business tonight. Rollins eventually has heard enough and he’s out, steel chair in hand, receipts issued to McIntyre.
He hustles to the ring as Heyman and Lesnar retreat, Lesnar laughing at Rollins as they make their exit.
Later on, we’ll hear from Batista, who’s set to tell his side of the story.
Finn Balor is out and he recaps losing the IC Title last week, but his rematch is coming soon, in the meantime, Rush and Lashley should meet his partner, Braun Strowman.
Braun Strowman and Finn Balor defeat Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush via pin fall after a powerslam on Rush from Strowman.
Lashley eventually took his leave of his hype man, leaving Rush to the wolves. Strowman and Balor feasted and a Powerslam from Lesnar put this one away.
Rumor is, we will see the Demon at ‘Mania, it’s quite possible.
The Women’s champion, Ronda Rousey, is in the building and she is flanked by her husband, Travis Browne. She is confronted by referees and security, they don’t want a repeat of last week’s hostility.
Alexa Bliss is excited about being the host of Wrestlemania and then we have a debacle with Heavy Machinery, No Way Jose, and Elias which leads to a match between the latter up next.
Elias defeats No Way Jose via pin fall with Drift Away.
This was quicker than a hiccup and Elias secures another victory. The former drifter needs a quality feud and soon.
Kurt Angle is glad to have an opportunity to compete one final time at Wrestlemania and he gets to pick his own opponent. He chooses the man who made his life a living hell while he was GM, so at ‘Mania, it’s Angle and Baron Corbin.
Tonight however, it’s a matter of respect, as he will see singles action against one half of the former tag team champions in Chad Gable.
Kurt Angle defeats Chad Gable via submission with the Ankle Lock.
This was a short bout, but one of quality. Gable looked fantastic, looking like Angle is his younger years and after giving it a valiant effort, he found himself prone for the submission and the ankle lock was his undoing.
Baron Corbin is out after the match and he’s looking forward to ending Angle’s career at ‘Mania.
Corbin is chatting up the Revival backstage after a break and Apollo Crews challenges him to a match. Crews presses him and says that nobody likes him. He says the Revival do, and Dash and Dawson aren’t exactly in agreement. That was pretty funny.
Natalya and Beth Phoenix have a run-in with Women’s tag team champions, Bayley and Sasha Banks. Phoenix is fired up and was “awoken” by Tamina and Nia Jax. They want a shot at the tag titles at ‘Mania. Phoenix eventually shoves Bayley to the mat, and Banks and Natalya do business next.
Sasha Banks defeats Natalya via DQ after interference from Tamina.
Another short match quickly thwarted by a run-in from the heels. This appears to be leading to a potential multi-team match at ‘Mania. I suppose we’ll see. This one barely got out of the blocks. Tamina attacked Phoenix and then Sasha and Bayley after a distraction from Nia Jax.
Ricochet defeats Jinder Mahal via pin fall with the 630 splash.
Another impressive outing for the former NXT North American Champion, but we seem to have a multitude of very short matches taking place on tonight’s broadcast.
Granted, Mahal has become fodder for the rising stars, but hopefully we’ll see Ricochet involved in a title situation, sooner, rather than later. Mahal fled to the outside at one point, and after a sentilating suicide dive, Ricochet took to the top rope for the finish and that was that.
Ronda Rousey heads to the ring for her title match tonight against Dana Brooke.
Seth Rollins adds fuel to his main event fire by running down Drew McIntyre and the Scottish Psychopath’s recent attacks on his Shield brethren. He hopes Lesnar will be watching later tonight.
Dana Brooke addresses the noted criticism of her in-ring work, she says she doesn’t have to be better than Rousey, she just has to succeed tonight.
Ronda Rousey defeats Dana Brooke via submission with the armbar to retain the Women’s title.
No steak or sizzle in this one. A great deal of hype for Brooke and she tapped out in moments. This, as with many of the matches tonight, was criminally short. In this case, it showcases what a monster Rousey is.
Rousey won’t release the armbar as referees surge towards the ring. Rousey flattens them and even her husband gets it on this, knocking down a member of the security staff. Rousey leaves through the crowd with Browne as Brooke is writhing in pain in the ring. If you want to make her look like a heel, this is how you do it.
Apollo Crews defeats Baron Corbin via pin fall with a rollup.
The short match bug continues to bite every contest this evening. Corbin employs his power offense, but Apollo Crews eventually counters a deep six attempt into a rollup.
Kurt Angle is out to celebrate the victory with Crews after the match and Corbin is shocked at what has just transpired.
Batista is live from Tampa, Florida, the house that Scrum Sports built. Kidding, but he cuts a vehement promo about Triple H being a control freak and he hopes that Vince McMahon fires him before he ends his career at Wrestlemania. This was a solid promo. Evil Batista is the best Batista. This match should be fun.
We recap Braun Strowman destroying the car last week from Colin Jost and apparently next week, Alexa Bliss will try to broker peace between Strowman, Michael Che and Jost. Oh boy, I can’t wait.
Drew McIntyre cuts a brilliant promo where he runs down the Shield and he even calls Roman his real name in “Joe”. He seems to set the stage for a match at ‘Mania and he says Reigns might have beaten Leukemia, but he won’t beat him. Low, and overdone.
Rollins appears on the video screen and says the receipt he dished out earlier with for his brothers, but tonight, it’s all about him. They come to blows early on the ramp, and the main event is up next.
Drew McIntyre defeats Seth Rollins via pin fall with a Claymore Kick after a distraction from Brock Lesnar.
This was one hell of a main event. The crowd was hot for this and these two took it pillar to post. Rollins had the upper hand after a falcon arrow, and after making a promise to burn down suplex city, Lesnar responded with a sagely timed distraction.
It was Ambrose last week, Reigns as well to an extent, and tonight, Rollins, as McIntyre hits a Claymore for the victory. He has Reigns at Wrestlemania more then likely, but this was his night tonight. Kudos to McIntyre for continuing to excel.
