Welcome to Ringside News’ results coverage for Monday Night Raw!
Tonight’s show is set to begin with SmackDown Live’s Roman Reigns, all but reaffirming that the brand split is effectively dead. What is Roman doing on Raw? We’re not sure but he just started a feud with Shane McMahon, and also Money In The Bank is approaching, so it likely has something to do with that, although WWE.Com is teasing a “jaw-dropping announcement”.
Also teased for tonight is a response from Seth Rollins after AJ Styles drove him through a table last week. Styles may be turning slowly heel but we’ll have to wait and see.
And the rest of tonight’s show is set to be further developments between Lacey Evans and Becky Lynch, Samoa Joe and Rey Mysterio, and The Uso’s and The Revival. All in all, it promises to be a by-the-numbers episode of Raw. Remember to follow us on Twitter and Instagram, download the Ringside News app, and enjoy the show!
The show kicks-off with the Chairman, Vince McMahon coming to the ring to a raucous reception.
Vinny Mac welcomes us to the show and says tonight’s show will be one for the ages; a show no-one will forget. Not at least because we’re beginning with him. Vince is interrupted as he attempts to introduce himself…
Roman makes his way to the ring, staring a hole through Vince as he does so. Roman stands opposite Vince, who tells him not to even think about touching him tonight because the police are on-hand. Secondly, why is he even on Raw tonight?
Roman says Vince had better watch his tone. He is on SmackDown Live but he was a major part of Raw for five years. And he always claimed he would leave Raw a better place than he left it. He reminds Vince that not so long ago he said the McMahons were no longer in charge. Roman tells the fans not to cheer because that was a lie, Vince’s spoiled kids have been running amok. He says he doesn’t take orders from Vince, he takes it from the fans.
Vince says that’s not how things work. As a matter of fact, that would be opening the floodgates. He would have no control. Just then, out comes the former WWE Champion, Daniel Bryan!
Bryan comes to the ring and Vince says this must be a bad dream. He asks Bryan why he’s here. Bryan says ever since he was robbed at WrestleMania by Kofi Kingston, he has spent the past month in solitude. He’s been searching for answers, the likes of which only he and Vince could understand. But when he heard Roman was on the way to Raw, he figured he and Vince could have an intellectual discussion.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston’s music hits before Vince can responds and the arena erupts. Kofi plays with the fans for a moment before telling Vince to chill out. Kofi says if Bryan had a problem with how things turned out at WrestleMania, he should have just come to him. Bryan says Kofi is an undeserving Champion, should never have even gotten a title shot, and his win was a fluke. He asks if Kofi knows why it took him 11 years? It’s because a pancake-throwing, novelty-act should never have made it. They begin to yell at each other.
Vince tells them to shut up because he had an epiphany. What if there was a wild card rule in regards to Raw and SmackDown Live? So three Superstars from Raw and three from SmackDown Live could jump back on forth on occasion. They all make their case why they should be the ones to come to Raw, until Drew McIntyre interrupts.
McIntyre says if Vince doesn’t have this situation under control and nobody in the back has the balls to do something, it’s up to him. He says this is not SmackDown Presents Raw. He says Kofi and Bryan are lucky he cares more about Roman. He says Roman thinks he can do whatever he wants, that he got himself drafted to SmackDown and punched his boss in the face. McIntyre says he shouldn’t have come back because he’s going to Claymore Kick his face off.
Vince says tonight we’ll have a WrestleMania rematch between Roman and Drew. And what if we have a second rematch; Kingston Vs. Bryan for the WWE Championship. He says he’s brilliant and turns leaves the ring. AJ Styles then comes out as we head to a break.
*Commercial Break*
We return to see Styles and Vince alone in the ring. McMahon asks him to get on with it. AJ asks what Vince is doing? He says he finally just got to Raw, but next thing he knows there are SmackDown Superstars on Raw. Vince says there’s a good explanation for that: wild card rule.
AJ says that’s very convenient. He spent years turning SmackDown into the house that AJ Styles built. He says now he got to Raw, a chance to face Seth, and Vince brings Seth Rollins’ best buddy right back. Styles says if that’s how it works, he could go to SmackDown Live and bring some of his friends to Raw. Vince begins to explain the rule again but Seth Rollins interrupts.
Seth makes a b-line for the ring and Vince tells him to take it easy. Rollins says he gave AJ the benefit of the doubt but one week later he sucker punched him. Seth mocks AJ for the fact he thinks he built SmackDown Live. Rollins says this isn’t SmackDown, it’s his show: Monday Night Rollins. Vince mumbles that it’s actually his show.
AJ says he knows exactly where he is. He hit Seth last week because he threw his belt in his face. He says he could kick Seth’s ass and at Money In The Bank nothing will change. He says he will give Seth the Phenomenal Forearm again and stand tall as the Champion. Vince says it’s obvious they want to go at it tonight, and suggests they should team-up tonight. They put up a fight but Vince says they’ll be doing it right now, and he heads to the back.
*Commercial Break*
We start with Rollins and Corbin and they lock-up. Corbin shoulder tackles Rollins before being clocked with a dropkick. Rollins takes a wristlock and tags AJ. Lashley tags in.
Bobby and Styles lock-up and the latter is shoved to the corner. AJ takes a headlock but he’s shot off and tackled down. AJ responds with a dropkick to Lashley, then back to the headlock. Rollins tags himself in and they double team Lashley, knocking him out of the ring. Corbin comes in and they knock him out as well before Rollins dives over the ropes onto Lashley and AJ dives onto Corbin. They both get back into the ring and stare each other down.
*Commercial Break*
We come back from the break to see Lashley Irish whip Rollins chest-first into the turnbuckles. Lashley stomps him before slamming him for a two count. Bobby throws Rollins out of the ring, and Corbin attacks him while the referee’s back is turned.
Corbin tags in, and he drives Rollins back-first into the barricade. Corbin gets Rollins back in the ring and applies a chin lock. Rollins gets out with a jawbreaker. Corbin comes back with an out and in clothesline for a two count. Corbin stomps Rollins in the corner before setting him on the top rope. Corbin forearms him in the head and goes for a superplex, but Rollins knocks him off the ropes. Rollins hits a blockbuster, and they’re both down.
Styles and Lashley tag in. Styles connects with rapid-fire strikes before hitting a low clothesline. Styles does a kip-up and hits a corner clothesline. AJ sets up for a Styles Clash, but Lashley shoves him off. Styles boots him back and gets on the apron. Corbin distracts Styles, and Lashley spears through the ropes! Lashley looked like he spiked the ground but it was hard to tell.
Lashley seems fine as he slams AJ into the barricade. Back in the ring Lashley tags Corbin before knocking Seth from the apron and slamming him into the barricade. Corbin takes Styles down, then kicks him out of the ring. The heels are in control.
*Commercial Break*
We come back from the break to see Styles fight up from a chinlock applied by Lashley. Lashley fires back with a huge back body drop for a two count. Corbin tags in and punches Styles onto the apron. Styles shoulders him back, but Corbin connects with a punch for a near fall. Styles slowly gets to his feet, then unloads with a strike combo before tagging Rollins in.
Rollins comes in hot with a springboard clothesline before knocking Lashley off the apron. Rollins knocks Corbin back, ducks a clothesline, and hits Lashley with a suicide dive. Rollins kicks Corbin back before knocking him out of the ring as well. Rollins then hits Corbin and Lashley with a suicide dive.
Rollins catches Corbin with a diving clothesline, but Lashley breaks it up. Styles runs in and knocks Lashley out of the ring. Styles hits a baseball slide on Lashley. Corbin rolls Rollins up with a handful of tights for a near fall. Rollins hits a step-up enzuigiri before superkicking him.
Styles gets on the apron and knocks Corbin back. Corbin elbows Rollins and avoids a Phenomenal Forearm, but AJ inadvertently hits Seth! Styles stares at the Champion for a moment before simply walking off! Rollins gets to his feet, and Corbin drops him with End of Days for the win.
After the match we see replays and the commentators discuss why Styles may have abandoned his partner.
Still to come, Roman Reigns Vs. Drew McIntyre, and Kofi Kingston Vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship.
We see The Miz sitting outside Shane McMahon’s office, waiting for his arrival tonight. Sami Zayn makes his way to the ring.
We’re back live and Sami Zayn is in the ring. He asks the fans what they might have to complain about tonight. He says we’re getting two awesome matches tonight and they sound happy right now, but after the show ends we go right back to being our same selves. The commentators are literally talking over Zayn’s promo. Sami calls them lazy and cowards. He says he can almost hear the critics already…
Braun Strowman has seemingly heard enough and he comes to the ring. Strowman stares and Sami taunts him to get in the ring. As Braun does, Sami gets out of dodge and leaves through the crowd. Braun jumps over the barricade and cuts him off. Strowman chases Zayn back around the ring and towards backstage.
Lucha House Party make their way to the ring but we cut backstage to see Sami running from Braun. He meets a dead end at a garage door and Braun has him cornered. Zayn tries to reason with Braun before throwing boxes at him. The garage door opens and Zayn tries to escape but Braun grabs hold of him and throws him into a dumpster. Suddenly and oh-so conveniently, a dump truck appears and tosses the dumpster into the back.
The bell rings and Lucha House Party immediately take out two of the jobbers with some aerial moves. We’re left with one jobber, who Kalisto takes out with Salida Del Sol. Gran Metallik follows up with a diving elbow drop. Lince Dorado finishes the guy off with a shooting star press for the win. Waste o’ time.
Still to come, our two WrestleMania rematches.
*Commercial Break*
We see Natalya and Naomi backstage, both holding envelopes. Natalya reads the letter aloud and it’s from Lacey Evans, requesting they come ringside tonight in formal wear. Dana Brooke walks up and she has one as well. They aren’t happy. Naomi points out that they are the three women in Money In The Bank ladder match. Naomi notices that the invitation smells like peach cobbler.
We see The Miz, still camped outside Shane’s office, awaiting his arrival.
Ricochet is in the ring, ready to defend his position in the Money In The Bank ladder match. No real reason why Ricochet’s position in the match is on the line, except that Roode scored a pinfall over him a few weeks ago.
The bell rings and Roode takes Ricochet down and stomps him in the corner. Ricochet responds with a picture-perfect dropkick. He goes to the apron and looks for a springboard but Roode shoves his feet and knocks him to the floor.
Roode slams Ricochet into the ring apron before slamming him into it. He covers Ricochet in the apron and unloads punches. He drags Ricochet into the ring and scores a two count. Roode applies a headlock but Ricochet quickly fights out, only to be floored with a clothesline.
Ricochet creates some distance and looks for a rolling dropkick but Roode grabs his legs. Robert catapults Ricochet into the turnbuckles but the one and only springboards right back at him with a moonsault. They trade some shots before Roode scores a two count with a nice spinebuster. Roode set Ricochet on the top rope but got knocked off. Ricochet followed-up with a 630 for a win with almost no offence.
Ricochet has retained his position in the Money In The Bank ladder match, alongside Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, Mustafa Ali, Andrade, and Randy Orton.
Rey Mysterio and his son are seen walking backstage before going their separate ways. We then see Samoa Joe following after Dominick.
*Commercial Break*
We see Joe caught up with Dominick. He says he’s glad the kid is here, acting like he belongs. He reminds us that last week Dominick ran out and hoisted Rey onto his shoulders, which he took as a slap in the face. He believers Dominick aimed to embarass Joe, just like he did to Rey at WrestleMania. He tells Dominick to relay to Rey that he can’t wait to defend the United States Championship against him at Money In The Bank.
Lacey Evans makes her way to the ring, followed by Naomi, Natalya, Dana Brooke, and Alexa Bliss. She’s got a match with some young gal.
Evans grabs hold of Ali and tosses her into the corner. She hits something of a slingshot bronco buster. Evans connects with the Women’s Right and scores the quick pin.
She thanks everyone for coming to the classy event, even if they didn’t RSVP. She says the real reason she has these four nasties out here is simple: they all deserved a front row seat to see what a legitimate lady is capable of. At Money in the Bank, Becky Two Belts will lose everything courtesy of a Woman’s Right. She’s aware one of them may win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. She hopes they’re smarter than they look. If any of them have the audacity to cash in after she wins the RAW Women’s Title, they’ll regret their opportunity. They’ll come up short just like The Man will come up short.
Becky comes out and drops her belts halfway down the ramp. She storms the ring and the two of them brawl around. Lynch looks for the Dis-Arm-Her but Evans gets out and retreats.
We see Daniel Bryan backstage. He looks to the camera and says Kofi’s constant shilling of pancakes and merchandise is a threat to our very existence. That is why he has no choice but to eliminate Kofi. He can’t be a role model, so he must correct the course and once again become the Planet’s Champion.
The Viking Raiders make their way to the ring.
*Commercial Break*
We see The Uso’s sneaking around backstage, acting shifty.
The bell rings and Hawkins and Ryder duck Ivar and Erik to knock Erik from the ring and isolate Ivar in the corner. They make use of quick tags to pound him against the turnbuckles. Ryder dropkicks the knee of Ivar and he hits a nice double-team move for a two count. A boot from Ryder in the corner earns another two-fall, but then Ivar floors Hawkins with a leaping senton.
Erik tags in and tries to ground Hawkins. Ryder is tagged in regardless and knocks Ivar down on the apron, before landing some forearms to Erik in the corner. Ivar is suckered to the outside, where Hawkins connects with a clothesline off the apron. Erik hits a running knee to Hawkins on the outside. Ryder connects with a double kick through the ropes, then looks for the Rough Ryder back in the ring but gets tossed over. The Viking Experience hit their finish for a non-title win over the Champions.
Still to come, Roman Reigns Vs. Drew McIntyre, and Daniel Bryan Vs. Kofi Kingston.
*Commercial Break*
It’s time for another episode of the Firefly Fun House. Bray welcomes us to the Fun House and says today is going to be fun. We see Mercy the Buzzard in a cardboard box, eating and burping. Bray wants to know what he has and he says nothing. He tells Bray to back off and the Witch chimes in, asking to know what’s going on. Bray tricks the bird and pulls out what he’s eating; which turns out to be the rabbit from last week’s show. Mercy tore it apart. He says he hates rabbits and their ideology. Bray says that’s fine, because he can be forgiven, just like he was. In fact, he should be rewarded. The screen cuts and wee see kids sitting unhappily in the room, for a picnic! Bray is wearing sunglasses and he sits down for a picnic. He reminds us that we just need to let him in.
Rollins is backstage and he says it doesn’t matter if AJ’s forearm was an accident tonight, because he made his point clear when he walked away. Rollins says the next time AJ walks away from him it will be with a broken face. I guess WWE is done with backstage interviewers, because everyone is just talking to the camera tonight.
Roman Reigns makes his way to the ring, ready to face Drew McIntyre.
*Commercial Break*
We come back to see the bell ring. Both men circle the ring, then Drew clubs the back of Reigns. He throws him to the corner but Roman bounces out with a clothesline. Roman hits Drew with ten punches in the corner but McIntyre fires back with a throw across the ring. Drew unloads some ground and pound on Reigns.
The Big Dog starts to fight back but gets floored and hit with an impressive deadweight suplex. McIntyre applies a submission in the centre of the ring. Eventually Roman fights up but Drew again tosses him with something of a biel. Roman rolls from the ring.
McIntyre tosses Reigns into the ring post, then gets him back inside. McIntyre stomps Reigns and looks for another suplex but this time Roman reverses and hits one of his own. Reigns clotheslines Drew from the ring.
Roman starts running around it, looking for the Drive-By but Drew hits him with a kick. McIntyre then grabs Roman by the legs, hanging down his back, and swings him head-first into the apron!
*Commercial Break*
We come back to see Roman run for a Superman Punch but Drew caught him with a spinebuster for a near-fall. Roman then sidesteps a Claymore Kick and the two of them exchange back and forth until Drew floors him with the Glasgow Kiss and a near-fall.
McIntyre stands over Reigns before lifting him up. He catches Reigns with a backslide, kick-out, then Roman fires back with a huge DDT for a near-fall. Roman follows Drew out of the ring and looks for the Drive-By Kick again but again Drew kicks him. Drew gets him back in the ring and connects with a swinging powerslam for a near-fall. Drew literally leaps to the top rope and jumps off but gets caught with a Superman Punch.
Reigns gets fired-up and looks for the Spear but Drew kicks him. Roman uppercuts Drew, who fires back with a headbutt. They both hit the ropes, Roman ducks a clothesline, and huge Spear. Roman goes for the pin but Shane McMahon slides in and begins unloading on him!
Elias has joined Shane and they’re beating Roman down. Out comes The Miz to help and he chases Shane off through the crowd. Elias lifts Roman in the ring and McIntyre takes him out with a Claymore Kick.
We see Shane running backstage, hiding from Miz. He manages to duck him but Charly Caruso appears and asks him what he’s going to do at Money In The Bank when he’s trapped in a cage. Shane runs through a door into the parking lot and tries to get into a limo but Miz appears behind him and cracks him with a chair. Miz hits him again, then tosses him into the limo. Shane fires back with a low-blow and jumps into the limo and leaves. Miz is left lying, holding his gonads.
For the first time in three years apparently, the WWE Championship will be contested in tonight’s main event.
*Commercial Break*
The Revival are in the ring, ready for a match with Anderson and Gallows.
Before this tag match can begin, The Uso’s come onto the stage. They mock The Revival for calling themselves “top guys” and “the hottest tag team in WWE”. They say they have something to help them out, it’s like Icey Hot but it’s Ucey Hot. It’s some sort of powder that makes you itch and burn. Just about then, Dash and Dawson start losing their minds, using the turnbuckles to scratch themselves and rolling around the ring. The Uso’s put the cream in their ring gear. They give them water, which they pour down their trunks. The Uso’s tell them the water was for drinking, because pouring it on the affected area makes it worse. Dawson then flips over and rolls around like the red devil from Cow & Chicken. The Uso’s are left laughing on the stage. Yeah, no-one can understand why they want to leave.
Kofi Kingston is seen backstage. He says a lot of people thought his journey was impossible but he proved it was possible. He says Bryan thinks he can correct the course, but that’s actually what he’s doing. He says he’s sending Bryan’s yapping behind back to where it came from.
No Way Jose and his conga line make their entrance. Lars Sullivan’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring – worth pointing out that’s at least five SmackDown Superstars on Raw tonight, so much for Vince’s three at certain times. Lars attacks the conga line at ringside. No Way Jose attacks him at ringside but gets tossed into the crowd. He slams one of the party-goers into the barricade, military presses another into the ring post, then sends the other into the ring. Jose returns and attacks but Lars hits him with the running sit-out powerbomb.
*Commercial Break*
We see Vince backstage on the phone, explaining that the Wild Card rule is definitely just three Superstars, saying that Elias was just with Shane so he didn’t count. Lars Sullivan walks in and stares at Vince, who then lifts the phone to his ear again and says “let’s make it four”.
The match gets underway and they lock-up. Bryan forces Kofi to the corner and unloads kicks, followed by running dropkicks. Kofi fires back with a clotheslines, then another to knock Bryan from the ring. Kofi then runs and leaps over the ropes with a senton to Bryan.
*Commercial Break*
We return to see Bryan kicking Kofi in the corner. Bryan hits the ropes and suffers a flying elbow from the Champion for a two count. Snapmare and a cool slingshot splash from Kofi. Bryan is tossed into the corner and gets chopped twice. He whips Kofi to the opposite corner and looks for a monkey flip but Kofi lands on his feet. Kofi then looks for a monkey flip of his own but Bryan tosses him over the ropes and to the floor.
Bryan grabs hold of Kofi and tosses him shoulder-first into the ring-post, then again – starting work for the Lebell Lock. Bryan gets him back inside and kicks Kofi’s arm. Kingston avoids Bryan and lands a knee. He looks for a springboard but Bryan caught him and applies an armbar. Kofi begins to escape and Bryan tries to transition to the Lebell Lock but Kofi kicks him off. Bryan hits the ropes and they both hit double crossbody’s. Both men are down.
*Commercial Break*
We return to see Kingston get thrown over the ropes with a back body drop to the floor. That was nasty and unnecessary. Bryan grabs Kofi and throws him into the barricade. Bryan looks to toss Kofi into the steps but Kingston leaps onto the apron, then springboards off the ropes with a splash on the floor.
Kofi climbs to the top rope and hits a crossbody to the back of Bryan for a near-fall. Some cool, innovative offence in this match. Kofi headbutts Daniel before getting caught in the Lebell Lock! Kofi fights and manages to get his foot on the bottom rope. The fans chant for the Champion, making Bryan angry. Bryan unloads the former Yes Kicks to Kingston’s injured arm.
Kofi fires back with lefts and kicks, followed by the Boom Drop. Kofi fires up the crowd and looks for the Trouble in Paradise but Bryan dropkicked him in mid-air. Bryan hits Kofi with a German suplex bridge for a near-fall. Bryan sits in the corner and looks for the running knee but Kofi avoids it. Bryan dodges Trouble In Paradise and tries to lock-in the Lebell Lock. Kofi slips out and hits Trouble In Paradise for the win!
Kofi celebrates his huge win for Bryan after the fact.
That’s it for Monday Night Raw. Let us know what you thought and be sure to come back tomorrow for more news and results. Until then, safe travels!