WWE: Monday Night RAW was LIVE from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 8/7/17!
MizTV opens the broadcast for the live Canadian crowd as the IC Champ, accompanied by Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel and the lovely Maryse start us off. Miz takes issue with Kurt Angle, the Raw GM, and his son.
Miz wants Jason Jordan to come down to the ring to face him, but he instead finds himself graced by the presence of Angle himself. Angle tells us that Jordan won’t be on MizTV as he’ll be seeing singles action later against Curtis Axel.
Here comes the Beast! The Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, accompanied by the Advocate, Paul Heyman, head us to a thunderous ovation. This should be something special. Miz does a great impersonation of Paul Heyman and he then comments on the likelihood of Lesnar losing the title at Summerslam in the fatal four way match. He goes on to paraphrase Heyman, commenting on Paul stating that if Brock loses, he and Lesnar will leave the fed.
Good riddance to bad rubbish, that’s what Miz tells us. He asks for Paul’s response. Paul asks if Miz and his wife ever role-play. He asks the Miztourage to play along, acting the roles of the competitors in the fatal four way match.
As expected, F-5’s, german suplexes and clotheslines are handed out like water to runners at the end of a marathon. The Universal Champion handles his business and gives the fans something to cheer for as he disposes of the three men in the ring. We get a fine opening segment to start us off this evening. Seth Rollins, the Kingslayer, will be in action after the break.
Sheamus defeats Seth Rollins via pinfall with a rollup after a distraction by Cesaro.
A rare “You Look Stupid” chant from the live crowd, but the “Celtic Warrior” looked anything but. He and Seth put together a very watchable match, as they did last week in front of that live crowd. Both men got in their signature spots and Cesaro’s presence was felt on the outside several times throughout the match, whether it be a distraction, or moral support for his partner.
After a mid-match break, we come back with Seth Rollins firmly in control. The offense is potent and “The Architect” is about to put things away when a distraction from Cesaro allows Sheamus to roll up Seth for the three count.
Seth isn’t pleased and he tries to take the attack to the champs, but he is laid out for his efforts. Fans are clamoring for Dean Ambrose and a save, but the assault continues and Ambrose doesn’t make his presence known. He did tell Rollins last week that if he bit off more than he could chew, he wasn’t helping him out. Ambrose held true to his word.
Seth Rollins finds Dean Ambrose backstage. Ambrose says that now he looks like a real jerk because he didn’t help out his old friend. Seth says it’s because he is a real jerk. Seth asks what he has to do to make up for what happened three years ago? Ambrose has Cesaro later on this evening, and just as Seth had to do, he’s gonna go it alone.
Jason Jordan defeats Jean Pierre Goulet via pinfall with a back suplex neckbreaker.
A “Let’s Go Jobber” chant doesn’t endear the crowd to Mr. Jordan as the world-class athlete takes it to Goulet, who is in for the injured Curtis Axel after the attack from Lesnar earlier. Goulet hits two or three elbows, but he faces the wrath of Angle’s son, who makes short work of Goulet.
A few nice moves and then we get the big finish. Jordan is a very talented man, but we’ll probably see a heel turn, sooner, rather than later, as Jordan isn’t getting cheered by the crowd after the big reveal. This has nothing to do with Jordan’s talent, as he has it, and everything to do with poor writing. I’m certainly rooting for Jordan, he’s a very likeable guy.
As reported on the WWE website, Bayley will not be competing for the women’s title at Summerslam. She suffered a debilitating shoulder injury during her match with Nia Jax, and as a result, she is shelved for the title match. We’ll have two triple threat matches tonight with the winners facing each other next week. It’ll surely be Nia Jax against Sasha Banks, with Sasha probably facing Alexa Bliss at Summerslam.
Bayley speaks on the subject, and as expected, she is disappointed. We don’t see her usually sunny disposition, but she was moved by support from the WWE universe. The crowd is booing her. Wow. I’m not surprised, the Canadian crowds usually love a proper heel and a motivated villain. Needless to say, I respect those good people. The first triple threat match is up next.
Sasha Banks defeats Emma and Alicia Fox via submission in a Triple Threat Match with a Banks Statement on Emma.
I knew it! The crowd is massively behind Emma, who gets a chance to shine in this match. Emma can be heard saying that it’s “her time” here tonight. Alexa Bliss joins the commentary team as the action gets underway.
Emma hits an absolutely marvelous wheelbarrow german suplex onto Sasha Banks on the ring apron! That was very impressive! They tease several near falls as Emma comes really close to several pinfalls on Fox. Banks gets the Banks Statement on Foxxy, but Emma breaks it up and falls victim to the submission herself. That’s the ballgame, and as expected, Banks heads to the matchup next week. She’ll more than likely be seeing Nia Jax in that contest.
Braun Strowman tells Renee Young that he likes hurting Roman Reigns. He likes hearing his bones break and the hope fleeing from his eyes whenever they’re in the ring together. Whenever he and Reigns are in the ring together, the “Big Dog” is just a puppy. Strowman says he’ll be the only monster standing after the main event ends this evening.
Gallows and Anderson defeat Enzo Amore and The Big Show via pinfall with a Boot of Doom on Enzo.
The apparent “heat magnet” Enzo Amore, works the stick like no other. He quotes Drake and compares himself to Drizzy seated atop the CN Tower on the “Views” album cover as he’s flanked by his buddy, the Big Show.
Gallows and Anderson offer a challenge to these “nerds”, who don’t know how to “good brother”. After they lose, they say that Show and Enzo can be in good company as they’ll join the many others who’ve lost to the former champs. By the way, Gallows and Anderson are over like rover in Toronto.
Face in peril, the Enzo Amore story, writes itself for the majority of the contest as the “good brothers” handled their business. Big Cass makes an appearance at ringside to take in the action. Amore escapes a Magic Killer only to eat a Boot of Doom for the three count. A solid victory for the Club and another loss for Enzo.
Big Cass once again destroys Enzo after the match. He continues to take a part his former partner as he is blind to a Knockout Punch from Big Show that meets its mark and continues the story between the two giants.
We finally get a massive pop for a deserving face. Finn Balor gets a “2 Sweet” chant and he responds. He talks about kicking Bray Wyatt’s teeth down his throat last week. He says Wyatt talks in riddles and gives him the creeps. He seems to care less about winning and losing and more about hurting people and having people fear him.
Balor says when fear comes knocking, you kick it right in the face. He’s got some advice for the “Eater Of Worlds”, the next time he comes at Finn, he better not miss. Whatever Bray wants to start, Finn will finish. A jump cut puts Wyatt in the center of the ring and Balor is seated on the top rope. Wyatt charges and eats a kick and then a sling blade. Another jump cut and Wyatt is no longer in the ring.
Wyatt is on the video wall now and he says he knows why the people like him, when Finn flies, they fly too. He will rip Finn from the heavens and they’ll fall with him, run. That was a short segment, but very effective to continue that story. I cannot wait for that match.
Dean Ambrose defeats Cesaro via pinfall with a roll-up after a failed distraction attempt by Sheamus.
Cesaro tripped on the way out, Corey Graves made light of it, and Cesaro had fun with it. That was actually pretty awesome. Cesaro goes to work on Ambrose early and the two get after it.
Booker T. really puts over Cesaro on commentary and it appears that Ambrose is a little late on a few spots, which is weird, because he’s been pretty solid lately. Sheamus distracts Ambrose and Cesaro rails Dean with a European Uppercut.
After a break, they come back and give the fans several more minutes of solid action. These two took a few minutes to develop their chemistry, but they eventually made music together. The ending nearly came after a La Magistral Cradle from Ambrose, and after Ambrose escaped a Sharpshooter, a distraction from Sheamus backfired and Ambrose got the rollup.
Seth Rollins rushes down to the ring, surging forward to aide his former friend. The “Kingslayer” sends the champs into retreat mode and they build towards an eventual tag title match at Summerslam, which should be incredible. Ambrose finally offers up the Shield fist bump, but Rollins leaves him hanging. The crowd wanted it so bad too! This was a fine match up to compliment others this evening.
“The King Of The Cruiserweights”, and the champ himself, Neville, interrupts a backstage segment where members of Titus worldwide are celebrating Tozawa’s victory over Daivari, which puts him in a title match against the champ at Summerslam. Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews stand with their new brother as he prepares for singles action next.
Akira Tozawa defeats Airya Daivari via pinfall with the top rope senton bomb.
Titus is on commentary and he’s great as per the norm. I recall when he and Darren Young were the Primetime Players and were absolutely hilarious. Tozawa and Daivari go to work in the ring and with the allotted time, they give the crowd a solid piece of work.
Tozawa looks supremely confident and he puts Daivari away with relative ease after the big Senton. He and Neville should dazzle if given some significant time at Summerslam.
Roman Reigns tells Renee Young he doesn’t watch MizTV. Reigns wasn’t afraid to retire to the Undertaker, so he won’t be afraid to help Lesnar on his way out the door after Summerslam. Last week he won the triple threat match, and tonight, he’ll walk out on top. No lack of confidence from the “Big Dog” here tonight. The second triple threat match for the women’s title opportunity is up next.
Nia Jax defeats Dana Brooke and Mickie James in a Triple Threat Match with a big leg-drop on Dana Brooke.
Nia starts off by throwing her opponents around. You can visibly see a cue where Mickie James has to literally tell Dana and Nia how to execute a spot. I don’t know who to put that one one.
Jax rebounds after Bayley’s exit from the championship match with hard hitting offense. Watching Nia and Dana was a train wreck to be honest, and mercifully, after a big leg drop, it’s over. It’ll be Nia and Sasha next week as predicted and expected. I really believe both Jax and Brooke could benefit from more time in development as Brooke is very raw and Jax can be very careless at times.
To steal a page from fellow Scrum writer Nathan, there wasn’t any good here. There was a lot of bad, and most of it was ugly.
Goldust promises the return of the Golden Era in a backstage vignette and Kurt Angle books Big Cass and Big Show at Summerslam. Enzo Amore will be suspended in a shark cage above the ring at Summerslam. That could be interesting.
Braun Strowman defeats Roman Reigns via a standing ten count in a Last Man Standing Match after interference from Samoa Joe.
These guys beat the holy hell out of each other. Both men are always equipped to entertain fans and everything from the steel ring steps to hard hitting and high impact physical offenses were employed for the Toronto fans.
A free last man standing match on Raw between two very capable talents not only delivered in this week’s main event, but it continues to build interest in what should be a spectacular Summerslam main event match for the Universal Title.
Superman punches and right hands were employed as the referee teased ten counts on multiple occasions. Strowman nailed a massive dropkick to the delight of the Canadian fans and those watching around the world as Reigns climbed back to his feet. The action continued and eventually, Strowman launched a ringside chair at Reigns like a dart! That wasn’t a steel folding chair either! That was simply incredible!
These two slayed this one tonight like a competitive dragon. Reigns nailed a tremendous spear on the ramp and this one wouldn’t end. I could have watched it all night. Samoa Joe made his presence known! Coquina Clutch slapped on Reigns as payback for last week and Strowman wins this one as a result of Joe. I would have been perfectly fine with a definitive ending here, but it makes business sense and it didn’t take anything away from a solid main event. What a Raw!
