WWE: Monday Night RAW was LIVE from the Mohegan Sun Area in Wilkes-Barre, PA on 6/5/17!
Highlights of Joey Headrocker pulling out the victory in a sensational fatal five-way main event at Extreme Rules start the show off. Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar, a potential dream match, will highlight Great Balls Of Fire in five weeks time.
Follow The Buzzards! Bray Wyatt is out to start the show and Michael Cole informs us that he’ll be seeing singles action to begin the night against “The Big Dog” Roman Reigns! Wow! That’s a premiere match and a clash that can really set the pace for the show as Raw has been seeing declining ratings over the past few weeks. It could be that is stems from a great NHL finals clash between the Penguins and the Predators and a Golden State against Cleveland battle, but many feel it’s due to RAW writers and a lack of forward progression. We’ll watch and find out. A pre-match promo from Bray gets things moving as he says that a sword was driven through his heart and he was killed before he could slay the beast that is “The Real” Brock Lesnar.
Roman Reigns defeats Bray Wyatt via pinfall with a spear. The pacing started off slow, but it built to a fine crescendo as the match neared it’s finish. Roman and Bray have had a very unique chemistry for several years now, dating back to “anyone but you”. Roman Reigns, for all the heat that he gets, seems to have a pretty uncanny ability to develop a match and tell stories with whomever he’s competing against. Bray has a very unique skill set and ability himself and it always makes for a very watchable match and those in attendance tonight bore witness to this. Roman hit a superman punch near the end of the match that was so graceful, it looked as if he floated across the ring. It was really something to see. Roman ran the length of the ringside area to nail a drive-by, but Bray almost decapitated him on the rebound with a monstrous clothesline. That was a pretty great exchange. Roman almost got counted out, but got back in at about nine and three quarters. Bray went for Sister Abigail, but a counter and a spear ends Bray’s night in decisive fashion. It was a heck of a match, but I actually do believe this is where the heat comes in as Roman always has to be made to look strong at the expense of other incredibly talented superstars. It doesn’t take away from the quality of this match and the win, but I get it.
Up next, we find out that after her successful title defense last night, Alexa Bliss gets extreme. Rumors indicate that a featured program with Nia Jax is on the horizon, culminating in a title match as early as this evening. The match last night was a dud for all intents and purposes, but it doesn’t take away from the quality of programming whenever Alexa is featured.
An upright Enzo Amore and Big Cass are backstage for words about the recent attacks on Enzo over the past few weeks. They are set to compete against members of the Club tonight and Enzo speaks as only Enzo can speak about the contest. Cass says that it wasn’t him and h says he’ll be watching Enzo’s back at all times, including tonight. Enzo makes a joke about Cass walking off as the commentator’s recap the women’s title match, showing photos of Bayley’s battered back after the kendo stick shots. Alexa Bliss walks into the segment and she says she doesn’t just want to celebrate her title reign, but she wants to celebrate her life this evening. Kurt shoots it down and he pans the horrendous segment from last week. He asks Alexa about her promise to Nia Jax and he books a women’s title match against Nia for tonight. The rumors were right and it’s booked. Dean Ambrose is shown backstage, and he’s headed to the ring for singles action after the break.
Elias Samson trashes the city and “The Drifter” never gets out of the blocks because Ambrose comes down to the ring and cracks him over the head with the mic and he calls out The Miz for an IC Title rematch. The Miz and Maryse appear on the video wall, the champ is getting his makeup done and he says that rematch isn’t going to happen tonight. Ambrose turns around and eats a swinging neckbreaker from Samson who calls him out for attacking him with the mic. They continue developing a story, but fans are robbed of an in-ring contest. It is what it is, and they head to a commercial break.
Dean Ambrose and Kurt Angle are backstage chatting about the IC title rematch, which Kurt says isn’t happening tonight, as Miz has a championship celebration planned and Maryse has worked out all the details. Kurt tells Dean to take the night off and he insists that he’s not asking, he’s telling. We hear Samoa Joe’s music and the crowd goes bananas, he’s on his way to the ring!
Joe says he’s gonna make things very simple, before us stands a man that does not fear Brock Lesnar. I believe that. He is incapable of fearing him, because he’s far too envious of him. He wants everything Brock has and he wants to take it from him. Joe wants Brock’s gilded schedule, he doesn’t care if Brock shows up and beats people down quickly before leaving, he wants that freedom. Joe wants Paul Heyman to be his advocate, he wants Paul to run his errands. He wants Brock’s Universal Championship and live on PPV at Great Balls Of Fire, he will staring Brock in the eyes, walking him down and taking the strap. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN…here comes “The Advocate” Paul Heyman! Heyman puts over Joe as a destroyer and a man who deserves the spot that he’s in. He is excited for the bout against his client. He puts over Joe leaving wreckage everywhere he’s every been and the crowd reacts with a huge “Joe” chant. Joe is standing with his arms crossed and Paul tells him that as Joe doesn’t fear Brock, Brock doesn’t fear him. Paul believes that Joe likes the fact that Brock doesn’t fear him. Paul says he worries for a living. He runs off a litany of names and says that even as he worries about those men, Brock always assuages those concerns. Paul recaps wanting Finn Balor against Brock as a “Rocky” story. He calls Joe the worst case scenario, because Joe is excited to go to war against Brock. Paul says Brock will not leave the ring the same way he gets in, because even if he beats Joe, Joe will take a piece of Brock with him. Paul tells Joe that at Great Balls Of Fire, Brock is Joe’s worst case scenario. He wanted Brock, he gets Brock. Folks, I’m gonna say this, what happened after that was single-handedly my favorite moment on Raw in the past year. Joe takes the mic away from his lips and he tells Paul very matter-of-factly that he’s very disappointed that Brock wasn’t here and he tells Paul exactly what is about to happen to him. He tells Paul that he’s going to wrap his arms around him and he’s going to lose oxygen and see stars and then, as promised, he slaps on the Coquina Clutch and Paul takes a nap. The crowd chants “We Want Brock” and Joe retorts “SO DO I!” That was simply amazing. I can’t wait for this match. Watch this segment, seriously.
Joe has a towel over his head backstage as Kurt Angle asks what’s wrong with him. Joe says he’ll take out whoever he wants on the way to Brock. He asks Kurt if Kurt’s in the way. Seth Rollins says “no, he’s not”. Seth references their history and he tells Joe he’s not speaking in riddles, he’s standing face to face with him because he’s Seth Freakin’ Rollins. He wants Joe tonight and Kurt books our main event. Wow. Excited to enjoy this one again. Joe looks like an absolute monster right now and it’s some incredibly sound booking to be honest. We hear the sirens and it heralds the arrival of the new world tag team champions, Sheamus and Cesaro! They head to the ring for non-title action.
Sheamus and Cesaro defeat Heath Slater and Rhyno via pinfall after a Brogue Kick on Slater. This was quick and easy for the new champ, disposing of the former Smackdown tag team champions in short order in nothing more than an enhancement match in theory. The heels look very strong and after the match, the champs run down the former champs, mocking their comeback and the fans that support them. Sheamus says Jeff is growing in his false tooth and Cesaro says that even though the Hardyz picked the match they wanted at Extreme Rules, it didn’t work in their favor. They say they didn’t just set the bar, they are the bar. Their music plays and they leave as quickly as they arrived. A dominant victory to establish the new champs as the top dogs.
TJP is backstage getting ready and The Cruiserweight Champion, Neville, walks into the shot. TJP tells Neville it’s time to pay up and he wants his title match, telling Neville it’s time for him to hold up his end of the bargain. Neville says there is no reason that Jack Gallagher should get an opportunity and TJP shouldn’t He tells TJP to handle Mustafa Ali in singles action next and Neville will go to Kurt Angle for him.
TJP defeats Mustafa Ali via pinfall with a Detonation Kick. Great in-ring work from both men. Ali is very fun to watch and has some incredible moves in his arsenal including the Spanish Fly and the Inverted 450. He took it to TJP and the former champ held his own as well. A very unnecessary “CM Punk” chant from marks in the crowd and it was immediately after a beautiful tornado DDT from Ali. TJP makes the comeback and he catches Ali with the kick to end the night and move one step closer towards Neville. The champ is out after the match. Neville looks dismayed and he tells TJP that he’s not a miracle worker. He says he spoke to Kurt Angle and he has some unfortunate news. TJP is frantic and he prepares to head backstage to have words with the GM and Neville attacks him from behind, telling TJP he’s got his shot tomorrow night on 205 Live.
Another classic 24 Karat Productions from the Golden one himself. He quotes “Gone With The Wind” and considers himself smitten with the game of back and forth with his former partner. Goldust says he sees the bigger motion picture as it relates to his future. He says it’s going to be so beautiful. The Golden Age is back.
Sasha Banks, Mickie James and Dana Brooke are backstage and Alexa Bliss walks into the segment. Sasha heads off, and the others are trying to leave the champ by her lonesome when Alexa tries some mind games, trying to get them to intercede in her title match tonight. Alexa says they all hav a Nia Jax problem. Dana says everyone will be ringside tonight. It really does show the stupidity of the faces in my opinion. They really think they’ll have a better chance against Nia Jax then they would against Alexa? That’s cute.
Kurt Angle interrupts the commentary team and he grabs Corey Graves, showing him a text. Michael Cole and Booker T. call the situation very unusual and Corey sits back down as Kalisto’s music plays. They asks Graves what is going on, but he dodges the question and chooses to focus on the in-ring product instead. Kurt is questioned backstage by an announcer about the conversation with Graves and he heads off saying it’s a “private matter”. Dean Ambrose chooses that opportunity to sneak back into the building. We hear the music of the Titus brand and it’ll be Kalisto and Titus tonight, Apollo Crews at his side.
Kalisto defeats Titus O’Neil via pinfall with a rollup. Akira Tozawa is looking on as Titus puts in work. Apparently, Tozawa is to meet with Titus after the match in regards to the title brand. Kalisto reverses his fortunes as it relates to last week’s finish, countering a rollup and a handful of tights into a rollup and a handful of his own. Quick and easy for the young star.
The Miz, title in hand, along with his lovely wife Maryse, are headed to the ring for their championship situation. We then see Big Cass laid out backstage, in the same fashion that Enzo has been for the past two weeks. Enzo rushes to his buddy’s side and he asks a ref if he saw what happened. The ref hasn’t the foggiest, but we see Enzo grabbing a chain that was at Cass’s side. Strange, this does however, continue to develop. It does seem like it could be the Revival at this point unless it’s a red herring and they are both turning on each other. Enzo is told after the break by an official to find a new partner. As Cass is taken off, he tells Cass that despite what appears to be the planting of a chain that looks to be his, it’s not what he thinks. This would be a golden opportunity to see Finn Balor join Enzo and then turn on him and reform the Club. That’s just me dreaming of a sound idea though.
Maryse introduces her husband and she look like a million bucks or a million copies of the Marine 5 in the dollar bin as I’d put it. The ring is cloaked in red and there is a dancing bear with a “Congratulations” sign and it’s awesome and probably Dean Ambrose if they’re smart. The Miz heads to the ring and he’s all smiles. A huge “You Desrve It” chant breaks out and he really does in my opinion. Miz trolls them and says it would mean so much more if they didn’t chant it at every superstar that won a belt. Tonight he kicks off the IC Title comeback tour. Last night he exiled the depraved Dean Ambrose as he looks to take the IC Title to heights never seen. He asks that we at home raise a glass and those at the Sun, a Styrofoam cup. He proposes a toast to himself. He toasts his wife and says she’s outdone herself. Maryse says she’s glad he likes everything but neither of them got the bear. Lefts and rights for the bear and a Skull Crushing Finale. It wasn’t Ambrose and that’s simply amazing. It was a local jabronie. Miz tells the kid at least he gets to say he was beat up by the IC champ and he dumps him. He sees a big gift at ringside and it’s rattling. He grabs a steel chair and attacks the box, nailing it with elbows and chair shots. Maryse is upset because it’s actually a grandfather clock and she says it’s timeless like he was. She storms off, leaving the champ by himself. He’s the camera man. He comes up behind the Miz, boot and a Dirty Deeds. Poor Miz. His celebration is ruined, his wife is angry and he’s dumped on his head by the “Lunatic Fringe”. That was actually pretty fun, I enjoyed it.
Enzo Amore and The Big Show defeat Gallows and Anderson via pinfall with Bada Boom Shaka Laka. Enzo does his standard intro and he says he called in a seven foot favor and it’s The Big Show. Show teams with Enzo against The Club and it is what it is. As usual, a writing team misses a grand opportunity and they turn it into an opportunity to bury the former champs and reintroduce a veteran hand who we all know and love, but didn’t need this. Enzo and Show had a little fun, but to me, it served no purpose here. I hate when they bury established teams at the expense of an unnecessary segment and this was one of those times. The faces got a win, that’s that. Alexa and Nia is up next.
Big Show and Enzo celebrate the win and Cass is waiting backstage with his shoulder taped up. He says that as soon as Enzo needed a partner, he showed up even after being gone a few weeks. Show says he doesn’t need to sneak up on anyone he’s a giant. Enzo intercedes and tells the fellas to let cooler heads prevail and they should go hit the tables at the casino. Show tells them to go ahead and they head off. R-Truth does another video and directs it towards Goldust and then we get another backstage segment with Alexa Bliss. Alexa says she hates being stuck on a brand with women with no backbone or talent. The crowd applauds that. Yikes. Nia hits the ring. If she walks away with the belt tonight, it’s a joke. She basically got the shot because she went on a twitter rant. I like Nia, but she’s still greener than goose you know what as Austin calls it. We’ll see if this delivers, but I have no faith that it will. Either way, it happens after the break.
Alexa Bliss defeats Nia Jax via DQ after interference on the outside. Dana Brooke and Mickie James are watching from the ramp as promised as this gets underway. It plods along until Nia slings Alexa halfway across the ring by her hair and then crushes her in the corner. Several relentless elbows from Nia ground the champ and silence the crowd. I’m actually waiting for the Punk chant hear but to no avail. The faces are mocking Alexa on the outside as Alexa taunts them and she gets a DQ victory after they attack her. She grins as the crowd cheers, hating the potential of a Nia title reign while supporting Alexa. The faces flank Nia and pay the price as she turns on them, realizing her opportunity was taken away. I really feared they would make the switch here, I’m glad they didn’t. Give us Sasha and Bliss, that’s money right there.
Paul Heyman is recovering backstage as Brock calls him on the cell. Paul says he is keenly aware of whatever Brock is saying. Paul ays it’s time to instill that fear of Brock that Samoa Joe doesn’t have and that it’s time to unleash the beast. The Universal champ will be on the broadcast next week, but the main event is next!
Samoa Joe defeats Seth Rollins via submission with the Coquina Clutch. Sudden. It’s a word that Michael Cole used to describe Joe’s offense and it’s apt. Joe is so quick for his size and it’s just fun to watch. This was a pay per view quality match between these two with each hitting their signature spots and putting on a show for the fans. The end came when Seth hit a falcon arrow on Joe and nearly put the match away but we got the jump cut and a teased appearance from Bray Wyatt after Rollins made comments about him earlier. Joe slapped on the Clutch and went to the pay window and he heads into next week’s show and a future clash with Lesnar. Great match.
