WWE: Monday Night RAW was LIVE from the Ford Center in Evansville, IN on 6/19/17!
Roman Reigns starts off the show with his big announcement and it’s anything but. Reigns, who is always on the wrong end of a reaction, announces his intentions to take on the winner of the Brock Lesnar/Samoa Joe title match at Great Balls Of Fire for the Universal Title. This doesn’t sit well with Joe, and it leads to a main event booking for later in the evening.
The Hardy Boyz defeat Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson via pinfall with a Swanton on Gallows.
This was a quality match between two teams that are up to the task and it gets the Hardyz back on the winning path as they look to a rematch for the tag titles with Cesaro and Sheamus.
Another quality Goldust vignette leads to him inviting R-Truth to a production of “Shattered Dreams” next week on Raw and hopefully it will ultimately lead us to a singles match at Summerslam as these two trusted veterans look to move forward with singles careers.
Elias Samsons “endears” himself to Evansville fans with a song and he isn’t pleased as he’s interrupted by Finn Balor, who is set to engage Bo Dallas in singles action.
Finn Balor defeats Bo Dallas via pinfall with the Coup De Grace.
A quality win for Finn Balor after Dallas attacked him before the contest began. Dallas was very physical and he controlled the tempo of the match before Balor fired off the comeback. Balor hit his signature spots such as the Sling Blade before he put Dallas away with his finish.
Corey Graves checks his phone and leaves the commentary booth quick, fast and in a hurry as he and the Raw GM, Kurt Angle, continue their mysterious interactions. Rumors are running rampant that this will lead to the on-air return of Stephanie and Triple H as Kurt and HHH will do business at Summerslam in what should be a fine match.
Seth Rollins is revealed to be the superstar who graces the cover of this year’s WWE 2k18 game and I’m happy for Seth. He certainly deserves it.
Graves and Angle discusss the texts backstage when they are confronted by Enzo Amore and Big Cass who are looking to resolve the situation surrounding attacks on both men the last few weeks. Enzo believes that the Revival is responsible for the tomfoolery and Cass suspects Big Show who’s had more heel and face turns then a Drifter’s race track. Angle says they’ll get to the bottom of this later in the evening.
Seth Rollins goes to the ring to celebrate his video game cover and plays to the fans which is well received. He and Bray Wyatt continue to build their feud as Rollins once again tells Wyatt that he’s no deity and Wyatt takes offense, leading to an in-ring confrontation which leaves Seth will a small abrasion on his cheek, but it sends Wyatt into retreat mode as Rollins takes to the skies and prevents an assault from the “Eater Of Worlds”. They’ll probably have a singles match at Great Balls of Fire.
Titus O’Neil continues his Lavar Ball style chicanery as he hypes up Tozawa as the next big threat to Neville’s Cruiserweight title. Neville takes offense to this as he and O’Neil have words and it leads to a Tozawa/TJP match.
Akira Tozawa defeats TJP via pinfall with a Senton Bomb.
Tozawa looked fantastic in this showcase as both he and TJP really dazzled the live crowd with their high impact offense. Tozawa is looking very strong as he looks towards a shot at the Cruiserweight title and the veteran TJP really helped that cause by giving Tozawa a run for his money in this contest.
Kurt Angle and The Revival have a conversation backstage, but we can’t hear any of it. It adds intrigue to the reveal later this evening.
Bo Dallas is licking his wounds backstage as he and Curtis Axel talk about getting to that next level. Enter the IC Champ, the Miz puts over both talents and says that if they pair up with him, they can accomplish great things. It could be a very solid stable if they book it right and it adds another tag team to the Raw tag division with Dallas and Axel who are both capable hands and if given the right opportunity, they can get over.
Samoa Joe cuts a promo backstage where he promises to lock Roman Reigns in the Coquina Clutch in their matchup next.
Samoa Joe defeats Roman Reigns via submission with the Coquina Clutch.
The result isn’t the most important part, but it certainly doesn’t hurt Joe’s cause as he moves ever closer to his confrontation with Brock Lesnar. An ambulance backs up into the arena and we get the surprise return of “The Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman! The distraction provided ample opportunity for Joe to make good on his promise as Roman was made to submit to Joe’s finisher. This was a fantastic match and certainly a feud I’d pay money to enjoy in the future. Strowman comes out and challenges Reigns to an “Ambulance Match” at Great Balls Of Fire after the contest. Strowman slammed Reigns down and uttered his infamous “I’m not finished with you!” line and the crowd reacted very positively to it. That should be a quality interaction at the PPV. Welcome back Braun.
MizTV with the lovely Maryse is up next. Miz had repaired the Grandfather clock he destroyed several weeks ago and it looks as if he and the misses are headed towards a happy reunion. Dean Ambrose spoils the moment and heads to the ring only for Miz to push Maryse is front of him and she spills a glass of the bubbly. Frantic, she leaves the ring and Miz is back in the doghouse. Two gentlemen in bear costumes savagely attack Ambrose however and as we saw earlier, the start of a new stable is revealed as Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel are in Camp Miz. That should be something to watch over the next few weeks.
Sheamus and Cesaro defeats Apollo Crews and Titus O’Neil via pinfall after a White Noise on Crews.
All the hoopla around the Titus brand is shelved once again, at least for the moment, as the champs win in a non-title match after they secure a pinfall over Team Titus in a quick match. Let’s hope Tozawa fares better in his forthcoming affairs then his stablemates.
A fantastic promo for the Universal Title match at Great Balls of Fire gives us some classic Brock Lesnar. “The Beast” refers to Joe as a punk ad a five letter word that is a synonym for a female dog. It is masterful and it only builds more interest in what should be a terrific match.
Nia Jax defeats Sasha Banks via DQ after interference.
I don’t really even wanna type this out for you great fans of the Scrum Sports and the RAWtrospective because this was a dud. At least it ended quickly as everyone interfered and leaves us scratching our heads as to what happens next as it relates to the women’s title. Bayley did return her and her presence was well received by the crowd.
The big reveal. Kurt Angle disqualifies both The Big Show and The Revival as the attackers as surprise footage is revealed. Cameras show Big Cass staging his own attack as the crowd is shocked. Cass reveals that he is sick and tired of always having to defend Enzo because his buddy runs his mouth and it was a sensational reveal. Cass ends his friendship with a running boot that puts Enzo on the mat as his heel turn is in full effect and the sky is the limit for the seven footer. Enzo can rebound from this with a new partner, perhaps even the Big Show, but he’s going to lose this feud. Cass is a heck of a talker and if he can continue to hone his craft and develop his in-ring skill, he can be a major player on the Raw brand. He’s always looked like a bigger Edge to me and that’s one heck of a compliment. A very condensed version of the recap here tonight as I was enjoying the live music of my all-time favorite band, Iron Maiden, at the Chesapeake Arena, home of the Thunder, this week. This was a great Monday Night Raw with huge reveals and a Samoa Joe/Roman Reigns match that has to be seen and enjoyed! Until next week, folks!
