WWE: Monday Night RAW was LIVE from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on 6/26/17!
Believe that. The Roman Empire brings us into this week’s Raw, as he’s certainly going to answer the challenge of Braun Strowman. The two look to have an ambulance match at Great Balls Of Fire in a few weeks. They recap last week’s match between Samoa Joe and Reigns, when Strowman interfered and made his presence felt.
A volatile crowd clamors for Strowman as exhibted by their chants for “The Monster Among Men”. Roman is unphased by this however and he asks them to settle down to hear him out, they might like what he has to say. He recaps Joe tapping him out last week and then says Strowman, like a coward, picked his bones while he was down.
He accepts the challenge and makes a promise to lock Strowman in the back, leap into the driver’s seat and drive him straight to hell. It’s his yard. We hear sirens and I immediately wait for the “Holla, If Ya Hear Me!”, but alas, no Big Poppa Pump. Roman approaches an ambulance that’s backed into the arena and he opens it. It’s empty, but Strowman strikes. He decimates Reigns and it was a very nicely done attack. Reigns is loaded into the back and driven away. The crowd ate it up and it was good to get the LA fans hyped and fired up, even before Lavar Ball heads out later for MizTV.
The Hardy Boyz and Finn Balor defeat Cesaro/Sheamus and Elias Samson via pinfall after a Coup De Grace on Cesaro.
This was a great opening match. Josh Duhamel of “Transformers” and “All My Children” fame was a guest on commentary, and similar to his appearance on Sportscenter, he was a lot of fun. He promoted a new WWE films offering that will star Sheamus, alongside Duhamel. The crowd was not enjoying the offerings of the heels champs and Samson tonight however as they were deafening as it relates to the Hardy Boyz and Balor. It was a pairing that worked wonders and Samson was able to tread water with these ring generals and rising stars. They gave this one over twenty minutes and outside one commercial break, it flowed. This is how you entertain fans and the right guy got the pinfall here in my opinion. Fantastic stuff here.
24 Karat Pictures presents a Shattered Dreams production as Goldust quotes the Michael Keaton vehicle “Beetlejuice”, as he talks about something magical being in the air. Tonight the “Shattered Truth” hits Hollywood. He says that R-Truth might suffer from stage flight, but as a true professional, he’ll direct this one and he’ll shine like gold for the grand finale.
Goldust and R-Truth never gets out of the blocks and the finale is in the first act. Goldust attacks R-Truth, something that hopefully will culimate in a match at the PPV. Goldust had a camera man filming in attire similar to his. But hey, finally we get some storyline progression.
Paul Heyman is backstage and social media is apparently on fire after Brock Lesnar’s proclamation earlier today. His client will call out Samoa Joe live in LA for a fight. Joe sneaks up behind Heyman and he mocks that he’s gonna tap him out to the Coquina Clutch once again. He issues a stern warning that Heyman will surely deliver as it relates to the altercation sure to ensue later this evening.
Stephanie McMahon was honored for her accomplishments with the women’s revolution with a recent award and they inform us that a gauntlet match scheduled for later this evening will provide Alexa Bliss with an opponent to challenge for the women’s title at Great Balls Of Fire.
Kurt Angle, the Raw GM, is spinning a contraption containing balls like they use to determine Royal Rumble entries. Bayley draws her number and we head to the ring for what should be a momentous MizTV with the Ball Family. I am stoked for this and kudos to the fed for pulling this off.
Miz and Maryse are still on the outs, even though he vehemntly denies it. Maryse shys away from a kiss and is tepid with her reaction to the Miz’s attempts st on-screen romance. Miz moves on and he introduces the father of the Big Baller Brand. Lavar and Lemelo show up and they have some fun. Lavar does a “ring angel” if you will. Hopefully Titus O’Neil is backstage taking notes on how to run his brand. We get a proper introduction for Lavar, who might be my pick to turn the most heads this season. Anfernee Hardaway and Jason Kidd look out! Lonzo joins his father and brother in the ring. Lonzo is happy to be a Laker and he gets a good reaction. They boo him at first, but this kid is gonna be the truth. They support him as Miz talks about a partnership with Big Baller Brand. Lavar chops down that tree and calls Miz “low-hanging fruit”. He must have seen Marine 5! Lavar mocks Miz’s name after he knocks UCLA losing in the NCAA tourney.
Lavar holds his own. Lavar says there are only two people better than him and he’s both of them. He tells Miz to stay in his lane and the hunt is on and Miz is the prey. Miz takes off his shirt and Lavar does the same! That’ll make “First Take” and “Undisputed” tomorrow if they’re on! Dean Ambrose is out and he’s rockin’ a Big Baller Brand shirt. Dean plugs the fact that he’s got the biggest balls around and he got a free shirt. We’ll have Ambrose, Rhyno and Slater against the Miztourage up next in a six man tag!
The Miztourage defeats Heath Slater/Rhyno and Dean Ambrose via pinfall after a rollup on Rhyno by Dallas.
This was another one that got a round of applause from the live crowd. They perfectly timed a commercial after a solid interaction and everyman involved had the chance to showcase what they bring to the table. The commentary was good fun and it really adds another level of interest to those who are enjoying the extended feud between Miz and Ambrose. I think Dallas getting the win was crucial for developing interest in a new team for a division that sorely needs it. Raw has fantastic tag teams, don’t get me wrong, but another another element to the mix doesn’t hurt. Good to see this new faction getting legs under it. The Bell family had left the ringside area before the match began.
The breakup of Enzo Amore and Big Cass is shown once again. That was a quality reveal for a seven footer that can really make some major waves in the competitive ocean going forward. Enzo can saddle up with a new star and he can reignite the tag team fires that burned for he and Cass for several years. Enzo is a wonderful talker and has the ability to draw in the crowd for those who like his offerings. Keep an eye on this one, it should be fun for a while.
Enzo cuts a really solid promo about “better times”. He’s actually trying to handle this man to man and he wants to get back on the same page with his former friend. Cass is out and he’s stern-faced and almost indifferent to Enzo’s pleas. Enzo knows that the boos hurt Cass and they cut deep like his betrayal did to Enzo. Enzo says Cass was right about a lot of what he said. He says he isn’t the biggest guy but he’s got the biggest mouth and it bites off more that it can chew on occasion. He always had Cass.
He calls Cass his brother and when they ate together, it was family. He says forget the live arenas and the fed, he’s his brother on the rollecoaster of life. He knows Cass saw love and passion streaming down his cheek in the form of a single tear. Cass was at his bedside after the injury at the hands of Simon Gotch. There’s a loose reference to it. Cass stands silent.
Cass finally speaks and says that Enzo doesn’t know when to shut up. He was embarassed at himself last week. He can’t change Enzo, but like Enzo said, they are brothers. In front of the world, he wants to tell his “brother” that he’s sorry. He asks Enzo to accept his apology to frantic “no” chants. They draw each other in for a hug and they seem to reconcile. It’ll be short lived I’m sure, but this was a well done segment and really showed the range of both performers. Kudos.
Short lived indeed. Hands are thrown up atop the ramp and then Cass levels Enzo with a monstrous clothesline. Cold blooded and brilliant. Cass then presses Enzo high over his head and he chucks him down the ramp. Wow, that had to be a rough spot. This is coming along very nicely, as I said earlier, well done. Seth Rollins is up after the break.
Big Cass warns Corey Graves to stay out of his business, but before the “Savior Of Misbheavior” can respond, we get Seth Rollins and scheduled singles action.
Seth Rollins defeats Curt Hawkins via pinfall with the Short-Arm Jumping Knee.
Seth “faced the facts”, but it wasn’t a complete squash. It was certainly a showcase for the “Architect” and he had little time to celebrate before the “Eater Of Worlds” made an appearance after the match. He calls Seth’s vanity into question and he mocks Seth carrying around the corporate flag. He says that Seth blindly leads the people and if he values his redemption, he’ll give in to his true self. Seth is to be cleansed in the flames. Bray is in his mind, he is everywhere. July 9th will be the date of Seth’s reclamation. He will burn at Great Balls Of Fire. Solid promo from Bray as per always.
Paul Heyman is waiting backstage with his hands clasped together and he’s wearing an evil grin. A proper ride pulls up and “The Beast” is here! They’ll head to the ring after the break.
Heyman talks about Joe cheapshotting Lesnar last week, he puts over his client and he says the bathroom breaks need to be over, this is what we pay for. He gives a thunderous introduction to his client and the crowd goes wild for the Universal Champion. The Beast is unleashed and he’s headed to the ring, he’s attacked from behind. Joe slaps on the Coquina Clutch from behind and Lesnar is down to one knee! Lesnar is red in the face, but he backs Joe into the video wall! Joe won’t release the hold. The Beast is down to one knee and the champ is fading fast. The Revival and other talents pull Joe off of Lesnar, leaving the crowd speechless. Lesnar is in shock, realizing that he was almost put to sleep in Los Angeles by his opponent in two weeks. They head to commercial. Wow, that was unexpected and well done. This has been a pretty solid show tonight so far.
Neville defeats Lince Dorado via pinfall with the Red Arrow.
A great match and another win for the champ in a non-title outing. Akira Tozawa was ringside in a VIP style setup. Neville and Tozawa are about to get after it, but we see “Making Moves” and Titus O’Neil is out and he informs both men that they’ll do battle at Great Balls Of Fire for the Cruiserweight Title. Titus cracks on Neville and he wonders if that Neville level can compete with the Power of Tozawa. Tozawa looked hyped up and this pairing could be similar to Lonzo working hard with Lavar Ball on the mic. I like it. That should be a quality match.
Charly Caruso confronts Paul Heyman backstage. “The Advocate” says that everything about Joe is true, as it relates to his toughness. He still maintain that it was a cowardly act to attack his client from behind. Joe taking the title could be bad news for the company as a cornered beast lashes out the hardest. It’ll be a violent fight from start to finish. Heyman builds the match even more. It’s a gift, he is a master at his craft.
Sasha Banks defeats Nia Jax, Bayley, Emma, Dana Brooke and Mickie James in a Gauntlet Match to become the Number one contender for the Women’s Title.
Nia defeats Bayley to start things off. It quickly kills the crowd, not a smart booking decision. Mickie James tries her luck after the break. Mickie gives her hell, even scoring a Mick Kick that doesn’t even take Nia off her feet. Nia mows down Mickie and that’s another elimination in the gauntlet match for Nia. Dana Brooke is up next. This part of the contest was very short lived. Nia quickly eliminates Dana with a leg drop and here comes Emma! I’d be okay with Emma taking things to the next level, but Nia is running the show tonight. Nia catches Emma coming off the top rope with a cross body and she hits a Samoan Drop for the three. This is how you bury a division apparently. We’re watching it happen.
Sasha Banks is out last to do the seemingly impossible. Sasha is caught by Nia on the outside as she tries a suicide dive, but she escapes down the back and posts Nia. That was a hard bump by Jax. We come back after the break with Jax in charge after flooring Sasha with a clothesline that shook the Staples Center. Nia is really pulling off a Rumble performance here tonight and she should be commended for that. This is reminiscent of Sheamus and Cesaro going the distance a short time ago. The match continues and Nia dominates, but Sasha dodges a leg drop later in the match, regrouping for a final stand. The crowd is firmly behind Sasha as she applies a standing Banks Statement. A samoan drop takes Sasha down and she rolls out of the ring. Nia drags her back in and she tries to ragdoll her, but Sasha gets the Banks Statement back on and she chicken wings the arms with her legs. Nia taps and it’ll be Bliss and Sasha at the PPV! I’m cool with that! Kurt Angle is out to congratulate her, and then she levels Alexa Bliss, who comes out after Angle. The show goes off the air.
