Monday Night Raw opens with a look at the rivalry between Kane and Braun Strowman, going back to WWE TLC when The Big Red Machine attempted to murder Strowman.
We go live to the arena in Tennessee and the new Intercontinental Champion is introduced. The Big Dog, Roman Reigns, gets a mixed reception from the fans as he makes his way to the ring. We see highlights of last Monday when Reigns captured his first IC Title from The Miz.
Reigns stands in the ring and a decent “Roman” chant gets going. He says it’s no secret that last week was a big deal for him: The Shield officially reunited, they went to Survivor Series and “beat the brakes” off of those SmackDown boys, The New Day, and he won the Intercontinental Championship for the first time. “You deserve it” kick-up and Reigns says it’s been a very long time but “thank you for that”.
We see highlights of last week, after Raw went off the air, when The Shield hit the Triple Powerbomb on Miz through the announce table. Reigns says we won’t see The Miz for a while but we are going to see a lot of him with the IC Title. He says Miz talks a lot of stupid crap but one thing was true, this title is prestigious. He plans on keeping it that way, the most important title in WWE. So it’s simple, anyone who wants a shot knows where to find him.
Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel make their way to the stage. Dallas says it makes him sick to see Reigns with The Miz’s title. Axel says that they’re in no shape to get revenge on Reigns and The Shield but they know someone who can…
Elias says The Miz is a great guy, so he wants to help Dallas and Axel. He says that tonight he will take the Intercontinental Championship from Reigns. Roman says that “Elias wants to walk with the Big Dog”, but he should take a good look at Curtis Axel because after tonight Elias might need a neck brace too! The match is set for later!
Reigns walks up the ramp and once he reaches the top, Seth Rollins’ music hits and out comes The Architect. Rollins makes his way to the ring, after the break he will face Cesaro!
*Commercial Break*
Sheamus is not here tonight as he’s in Ireland, meanwhile Dean Ambrose is also missing due to being on his honeymoon with Renee Young.
Seth Rollins Vs. Cesaro
The bell rings and Rollins has to wait for Cesaro to take his kilt off. The fans cheer for Rollins as the two lock-up. Rollins takes Cesaro’s back but the Swiss Cyborg takes charge via some joint manipulation. Cesaro grounds Rollins with a wrist-lock but Seth rolls through and gets the wrist of Cesaro.
Rollins is kicked to the mat, then shot into the ropes where he counters with a crossbody. Rollins puts Cesaro in the corner and kicks him down before chopping him in the chest. Cesaro hangs through the ropes, forcing the referee to make the break, then takes a cheap shot and hits Rollins with a suplex onto the top rope. Rollins hits the mat hard, then rolls from the ring as we take a break.
*Commercial Break*
We come back from the break to see Cesaro applying an abdominal stretch. Rollins fights out and goes for a hip toss, but Cesaro doesn’t budge. Cesaro knees him in the midsection for a two count. Cesaro drives his knees into Rollins and waits for him to get up in the corner. Cesaro hits a shoulder thrust and puts him on the top rope. Cesaro goes for a gutwrench superplex, but Rollins holds the ropes and elbows him in the quadricep. Cesaro is knocked to the canvas. Rollins dives for a cross-body block, but Cesaro catches him and counters into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a near fall!
Cesaro isn’t happy, so he slams him down for another two count. Cesaro applies a bear hug, but Rollins quickly fights up and elbows him before going for a suplex. Rollins can’t get him up with the bad back, so Cesaro takes him down for a two count. Cesaro is frustrated with the referee’s count. Cesaro drops an elbow before head-butting him in the ribs. Cesaro sends him into the ropes for an abdominal stretch, but Rollins fights it and applies an abdominal stretch of his own. Cesaro quickly hip tosses out, but Rollins makes a comeback by booting him in the face. Rollins then hits a blockbuster, and both men are down.
Rollins punches and chops him before kicking him in the midsection. Cesaro quickly gives him a back body drop to the apron. Rollins sidesteps a shoulder and hits a slingshot leg drop to knock him out of the ring. Rollins then connects with a suicide dive and takes out Cesaro as we take another break. A nice long match here.
*Commercial Break*
We return and see Rollins connect with a falcon’s arrow for a near fall. During the commercial break, Cesaro picked up Rollins and sent him ribs-first into the ring post. Rollins goes for a roll-up, but Cesaro holds the ropes. Cesaro tries to send him to the corner, but Rollins stops himself when the referee gets in the way. Cesaro quickly pokes the eyes and executes an inside cradle for a near fall.
Cesaro takes him down for a Cesaro Swing before transitioning into a Sharpshooter, a move in tribute to Cesaro’s former partner Tyson Kidd. Cesaro drags him to the center of the ring, but Rollins claws his way to the bottom rope to break the hold. Cesaro wildly punches away at Rollins before going for a Gotch Neutralizer. Rollins fights out with a back body drop and rolls through to superkick him for a near fall. Cesaro uppercuts him until Rollins counters into a backslide pin for a two count. Cesaro goes for a springboard, but Rollins superkicks him and hits a Ripcord Knee for the win.
Winner: Seth Rollins
After the match, Charly Caruso enters the ring and talks to Rollins. She mentions how Reigns is the IC Champion and Ambrose is gone, so maybe The Shield are going in different directions. Rollins says hell no, that Ambrose is just on honeymoon, which reminds him he should call Dean and see if he’s alive, but regardless he’ll be back next week. Rollins then says Roman being Champion is a great thing and it makes him and Ambrose want to invoke their rematch clause and win back their tag titles. Rollins says next week Ambrose will be back, and Sheamus should be back from “whatever weird Irish mohawk convetion” he’s currently at in Dublin, so they will take the titles back next week!
We see highlights of 205 Live last Tuesday night, when The Zo Train beat-down the babyfaces of the Cruiserweight division. Kurt Angle is backstage being berated by Rich Swann, Cedric Alexander, Akira Tozawa and Mustafa Ali. He asks what’s wrong and Swann says The Zo Train has gone off the rails, to which Angle asks what the hell a Zo Train is. They say they just want a chance to beat Enzo. He says he may have let the division get a little out of hand, so they shall find a new challenger to Enzo. Tonight we will have a Fatal 4-Way match, and another one next week. The winners of those matches will face each other to determine who will face Enzo Amore for the Cruiserweight Championship at Royal Rumble.
We see Samoa Joe making his way to the ring, looking to cause some new destruction.
*Commercial Break*
We return and Titus O’Neil is in the ring with Apollo Crews. Samoa Joe makes his way to the ring, he does not look happy but I guess Joe never does.
Samoe Joe Vs. Titus O’Neil W/Apollo Crews
The bell rings, and O’Neil charges him. Joe quickly covers up while O’Neil throws some punches. Joe quickly head-butts him and goes for a Coquina Clutch, but O’Neil backs him to the corner. O’Neil knees him down, but Joe turns him in the corner, hits a running elbow, and connects with a snap back kick. Joe jabs away at him and chops the chest.
They trade chops before Joe forearms him and slaps him in the throat. O’Neil tackles him to the corner and punches away at him. O’Neil then slaps him in the face, but that just angers Joe. O’Neil quickly big boots him down for a two count. O’Neil talks trash to him in the corner and punches before the official backs him up. Joe punches him while the referee backs O’Neil up and applies the Coquina Clutch for the submission victory.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Apollo Crews gets in the ring and gets in Joe’s face. Crews ducks a right hand, but Joe ducks a step-up enzuigiri. Joe then applies the Coquina Clutch. Joe leaves the ring after Crews passes out.
Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Mickie James will face Paige, Mandy Rose, and Sonya Deville next.
*Commercial Break*
Footage is shown of Paige’s return last week. She came down to the ring and partnered up with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, who jumped in through the crowd. They laid out Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Mickie James. After that, they laid out Alexa Bliss backstage.
