Welcome to Ringside News’ live coverage of Monday Night Raw!
Tonight WWE throw Erick Rowan into the main event against the Universal Champion, Seth Rollins. The two will clash in a Falls Count Anywhere match, just five days before Seth defends his title against The Fiend in Saudi Arabia. This should be a fun match and a throwback to the days of the Wyatt Family!
Speaking of Crown Jewel, at the big show on Friday Team Hogan will take-on Team Flair. Tonight the two Hall of Famers come face-to-face one last time to hype the match. Who knows, maybe they’ll even come to blows!
Elsewhere tonight, Rusev and Lana will feature on The King’s Court, Becky Lynch faces Kairi Sane, Ricochet faces Drew McIntyre in a rematch from last week, and we’re to get the rest of the build to Crown Jewel. And that’s our preview of tonight’s Raw. Let us know what you’re excited to see by following us on Twitter and Instagram, and by downloading the Ringside News app. Enjoy the show!
Monday Night Raw
The final Raw before Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia is live from St. Louis, and we kick things off with the WWE commentary team running down the announced segments, which include Seth Rollins Vs. Erick Rowan in a Falls Count Anywhere match, and The King’s Court with Rusev & Lana.
In something of a surprise note, Paige makes her way onto the stage and gets a big pop. Paige welcomes us to Monday Night Raw and she says, as some of us know, she’s been advising a special tag team. She’s very proud of their success, so without further adieu, she welcomes the Raw Women’s Tag Team Champions, The Kabuki Warriors.
Paige, Asuka, and Kairi Sane make their way to the ring. Paige says, six months ago, she introduced these two to the tag team scene. She took Kairi Sane, a world travelled star who won the first-ever Mae Young Classic. Then she took Asuka, the winner of the first-ever all-women’s Royal Rumble match, and put them together. Paige says it was a risk but she’s so proud that they stand here today as Champions. Asuka pulls the microphone from Paige and speaks in Japanese. Paige looks angry and snatches the mic back. Kairi then takes it and cackles something in Japanese. Paige slaps the microphone from her hand and stares at her but then Asuka pulls her around and spits the green mist in her face! The fans boo as officials come in and help Paige out of the ring. They’re giving her some water at ringside when Asuka comes out and stares at her.
The Man, Becky Lynch comes out for her match with Kairi, and wastes no time storming the ring! Lynch runs down and brawls in the ring with Sane, ultimately clearing her out as the fans chant her name. Kairi and Asuka regroup at ringside but then Becky runs out and attacks them both. They brawl as we head to the break.
*Commercial Break*
Becky Lynch Vs. Kairi Sane
We return to get the match underway and Becky quickly takes Kairi down and she rolls from the ring to regroup with Asuka. Becky tries to pull Kairi back in but gets hit with a cheap shot. Sane comes in and punches Lynch in the corner.
Kairi stays in control until Becky dodges a corner flip and kicks Sane. Becky starts working on Sane’s left arm, in an attempt to weaken it for the Dis-Arm-Her, which she then attempts to attack but Sane slides out of the ring to escape. Lynch thinks about a suicide dive but Asuka jumps on the apron to distract her.
Lynch leaves the ring and goes under the apron but Kairi leaps at her from the steps. However Lynch drops her with a clothesline, then talks trash to Asuka. Sane shoves Lynch into the steel steps as we head to the break.
*Commercial Break*
We’re back live and Kairi has Becky twisted in a surfboard stretch. Lynch escapes and goes for the pin to no avail. Kairi slaps Becky a few times but that just fires her up. Lynch unloads on Sane, kicks her in the gut, and drops her with a heel kick to the face. Lynch delivers a forearm in the corner, followed by the Bexploder for a two-count.
Kairi counters Becky and applies a modified Cloverleaf. Lynch kicks her off and goes for a roll-up but Sane kicks out. They exchange shots until Lynch drops her with a diving forearm and they’re both down. Lynch looked for a suplex but Sane counters with a vicious slam for a two-count.
Sane goes to the top-rope, looking for the Insane Elbow, but Becky climbs up and fights with her. Sane knocks Becky into the tree of woe and looks for the double stomp but again Becky escapes and hits Sane with a deadly driver. Becky hits a leg drop from the middle rope for a near-fall. Asuka tries to cause a distraction but Becky connects with a forearm from the apron before getting back inside and Sane drops her with a wicked backfist for a near-fall. Lynch quickly counters Kairi and locks-in the Dis-Arm-Her for the submission win!
Winner: Becky Lynch
We take a look back at last week, when Rusev stormed the restaurant with Lashley and Lana and attacked the former. Tonight Rusev and his estranged wife will be on “Divorce Court” with The King, Jerry Lawler.
*Commercial Break*
Before the next match, Charly Caruso talks to R-Truth in the ring. She says he’s facing Buddy Murphy and Truth cuts her off, saying he’s not his buddy. Caruso corrects him, before mentioning that, last week, Sunil Singh took Truth’s 24/7 Championship with the help of his brother. Truth gets excited and says he knew there was two of them. He says he needs a second set of eyes, which is why he went and got himself a pair of bi-focals. He puts on his new glasses and says he can now win his 48/7 Seven-Eleven 27/7 European Television…Buddy Murphy Interrupts. Murphy says that Truth needs to focus more on him, Australia’s finest, instead of getting his title back.
R-Truth Vs. Buddy Murphy
The match gets underway and Murphy takes the fight to Truth, forcing him to the corner. Truth fights out and chops Murphy, before hitting a tilt-a-whirl headscissors and dancing. Truth ducks Murphy and drops him with a spinning forearm for a two-count.
Truth waits for Murphy, then looks for the axe kick but Murphy dodges it and delivers some kicks of his own. Truth floors Murphy with a kick and scores a two-count, just as The Singh Brothers come running own with the 24/7 Championship. The brothers run around the ring, chased by jobbers, while Truth joins them. All men run around the ring for 8 referee seconds, then Truth slides back in and Murphy clocks him with a knee to the face and wins.
Winner: Buddy Muprhy
After the match, Truth leaves the ring and chases after the 24/7 crew.
*Commercial Break*
The Author’s of Pain cut a sit-down promo in which they say speaking a different language gives them an upper hand, that they specialise in warfare, and that they have to uphold their legacy.
The Street Profits make their entrance, detouring through the crowd, to the ring. Before they talk, the fans chant “we want the smoke”. Montez Ford says that not only did they make their debut last week, but they showed-up and showed-out. Dawkins says you always remember your first. Ford says they made they made The O.C. feel the blues, even though it wasn’t in St. Louis. Dawkins gives a shout-out to Kevin Owens. They joke about Dawkins kissing ladies but Ford gets them back on track. Dawkins says all teams that feel like The O.C. done messed-up, and Ford says they want the smoke. The fans chant along and their music plays as they head back into the crowd singing and dancing.
Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan are shown walking to the ring, they’ll be face-to-face one last time, after the break.
*Commercial Break*
The Immortal Hulk Hogan is entering the ring as we return, and Ric Flair is already there. Hogan then a main man from his team: Ricochet. His opponent from Team Flair is out next.
Ricochet W/hULK HOGAN Vs. Drew McIntyre W/HULK HOGAN & JIMMY HART
Before the match can even begin, Ricochet dives through the ropes with a rolling senton onto McIntyre. He tosses the Scotsman into the ring and the bell rings. Ricochet connects with a kick to Drew, that knocks the big man from the ring. Ricochet then runs and hits a twisting senton to McIntyre on the outside. Ricochet’s ribs are hurting from last week’s match.
Drew slides back in and Ricochet tries to follow but, as he looks for a springboard, Drew yanks him down gut-first onto the ropes. McIntyre then goes out and hits Ricochet with an overhead suplex on the floor. Drew slams Ricochet into the ring apron and slaps his chest before tossing him into the ring.
McIntyre continues to focus on the mid-section; applying submissions and throwing Ricochet with huge biels. McIntyre drops Ricochet with a big boot, then hits a leg drop like Hogan. Drew slides out of the ring and comes face-to-face with Hogan, telling him he will see him on Friday. McIntyre applies an abdominal stretch and Ricochet tries to fight out but gets hip-tossed into next week.
Ricochet catches Drew with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, but is then caught with a huge back body drop. Ricochet rolls from the ring followed a crucifix buckle bomb and McIntyre goes after. Drew drops Ricochet with a right hand, then military-presses him onto the barricade. Drew takes Ricochet to Hogan and punches him in front of him. Back in the ring and Ricochet starts to make a comeback but gets kicked in the face for his troubles.
*Commercial Break*
We’re back live and Ricochet is starting to build a head of steam. He reverses a crucifix buckle bomb into a hurricanrana that sends Drew into the buckles. Ricochet punches and chops Drew, flips off his chest, and connects with an enziguiri.
Ricochet dropkicks McIntyre into the corner, then hits a springboard clothesline, followed by a springboard moonsault for a near-fall. McIntyre hits Ricochet with an inverted Alamaba Slam, followed by a Glasgow Kiss and a clothesline for a near-fall!
McIntyre lifts Ricochet and sets him on the top rope. Drew gets punches and knocked into the tree of woe, but then he sits-up and tosses Ricochet by the head. Drew looks for the Claymore Kick but gets caught with a flying kick from Ricochet. The One and Only heads to the top rope and looks for the 450 but nobody’s home. Ricochet is then caught with an RKO out of nowhere!
Winner Via Disqualification: Ricochet
Orton is fired-up and he stands with Drew as part of Team Flair. Orton poses on the ropes as Flair teases Hogan from the ring. McIntyre tosses Ricochet out of the ring and shouts “you are screwed” at Hogan and Hart.
Still to come, the Falls Count Anywhere main event, and King’s Court with Lana and Rusev.
We see The O.C. backstage with Humberto Carrillo and Styles asks him his name. Styles says he’s the guy who tore it up with Seth Rollins last week. AJ says it’s not that long ago that he was a rookie, but now he’s one of the most well-liked veterans in WWE. He says he thinks it’s cool that Humberto made his debut against Rollins last week, but if he wanted to prove himself against a Champion, then he picked the wrong one. So if he wants to prove himself, he can do so tonight. The trio too sweet and walk off.
*Commercial Break*
Rizzo & Bryant Vs. The Viking Raiders
Poor Rizzo & Bryant are dressed as Chicago Cubs in St. Louis and they’re facing Erik and Ivar. We start with Erik and Bryant is tagged in immediately. Erik slams Bryant down and Rizzo runs in, only to be floored with a right hand.
Ivar tags in and he hits a jumping senton onto Bryant, followed by a running Bronco Buster to Rizzo. Ivar tags Erik and they hit the double-team body slam to Bryant. Erik hits Rizzo with the float-over knee, then Ivar tags in and he helps Erik hit a powerbomb/powerslam combo to Rizzo. They hit Bryant with The Viking Experience for the win.
Winners: The Viking Raiders
We see Lashley and Lana sitting backstage, both looking worried. They’ll be on the King’s Court tonight.
*Commercial Break*
Andrade and Zelina Vega make their way to the ring. Sin Cara is interviewed backstage and he says he aims to counteract Andrade and Vega by evening the odds. A woman wearing a mask then pops-up beside Sin Cara and speaks in Spanish. They make their way to the ring.
Andrade W/Zelina Vega Vs. Sin Cara w/catalina
Sin Cara ducks a clothesline right away and hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors that sends Andrade to the outside. Sin Cara heads to the top rope but Andrade shoves him off and he tumbles to the floor. Vega poses on the floor beside the downed Sin Cara.
Andrade gets Sin Cara back in the ring and hits an inverted backbreaker for a two-count. Andrade applies a submission to Sin Cara but the Lucha fights out, only to be dropped with a knee. Andrade connects with a running knee in the corner for a quick count. Sin Cara fights back and knocks Andrade from the ring. He then dives onto Andrade from the top rope and both men are down.
Sin Cara puts Andrade back in the ring and hits an incredible springboard sunset bomb. Zelina Vega distracts the referee from making the pinfall. Catalina makes her way over and Zelina attempts to hit the hurricanrana from the apron but the Lucha counters her and tosses her into the barricade! Meanwhile Andrade rolls-up Sin Cara and uses the ropes for leverage to win!
Winner: Andrade
Natalya and Charlotte Flair are shown walking backstage, they’ll be in tag team action after the break!
*Commercial Break*
Charlotte Flair & Natalya Vs. The IIConics
We start with Charlotte and Peyton. Flair immediately looks for the Figure Four but Royce kicks her back. Flair unloads a plethora of chops, then catches Peyton with a fallaway slam and kips-up. Flair tags Hart and they hit a double-team move for a two count.
Royce gets out of a scoop slam and slams Nattie down by the hair. Billie Kay gets the tag and takes Natalya down for a two count. Kay applies a rear chinlock but Natalya fights up, only for Kay to knee her in the face. Royce tags in and stretches Natalya across the ropes. Natalya rolls Royce up for a two count.
Royce drops Natalya with a spinning kick to the face for a near-fall. Royce screams at the referee, then applies a rear chinlock but again Natalya fights up, so Royce pulls her down by the hair. Kay tags in and knees Natalya, but Flair pulls Kay off. Flair then big boots Royce off the apron. Natalya applies the Sharpshooter to Kay and Royce runs in to help, but Flair spears her down. Kay taps.
Winners: Charlotte Flair & Natalya
Seth Rollins is interviewed by Charly Caruso backstage. He’s fired-up and he says that he has no time to waste because up next he faces Erick Rowan in a Falls Count Anywhere match. He mentions The Fiend and says he will be taking it to another level on Thursday because that’s what he did when he burned down the Firefly Fun House. The Fun House is back and he knew it would be. That’s OK though, because he’s gonna do tonight and on Thursday what he always does, Burn It Down.
*Commercial Break*
Falls Count Anywhere
Seth Rollins Vs. Erick Rowan
The match gets underway and Rollins hits Rowan with several running forearms but he doesn’t fall. Rollins kicks Rowan twice and hits a blockbuster from the middle rope for a one-count. Rollins is shocked at the short pin. Rowan drags Rollins out of the ring and slams him into the barricade shoulder-first.
The fight then spills into the crowd and Rowan forces Seth up the steps and into the arena concourse area. Rowan chops Seth towards the merchandise table and Seth tries to hit him with a metal pole but Erick prevents it. Rowan slams Seth into the t-shirt stand, then chokeslams him through the merch table! Rowan pins but Seth kicks out at two.
*Commercial Break*
We’re back live and Seth and Rowan are in the ring again. Seth hits Rowan with multiple suicide dives but the third time, Rowan catches him. Rollins counters Rowan and shoves him into the steel steps, then slams him into the other steps.
Rollins gets back in the ring and looks for that third suicide dive again but Rowan throws the steps up in Seth’s face. Rowan hits Seth with a dropkick that knocks him from the ring. Rowan heads outside and hits a running body attack for a two-count. Rowan lifts Rollins and powerbombs him into the LED ring post.
Rowan lifts Seth onto his shoulders and carries him up the ramp to the top of the stage. Rollins fights free but gets dropped with a clothesline. Rowan pulls the top from the announce table and looks to Chokeslam Seth through said table, but Rollins lands on his feet and hits him with The Stomp. Rollins climbs down and pins Rowan but he kicks out!
Rowan climbs down to below the stage and Seth dives onto him. Rollins then grabs a chair and batters Rowan across the back with it and over and over until they’re backstage. Rowan counters Seth and slams him into some production cases. He attempts to kill Seth by throwing one at his head but Rollins dodges it and uses a ladder to beat Rowan. Rollins hits The Stomp onto the ladder, but instead of going for the pin he slides Rowan under a forklift and forces a guy nearby to lower the pallet onto Rowan. Seth then stands on top of the pallet and wins.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Rollins makes his way back to the stage in the arena to pose on the announce table with his title.
We see Lana and Lashley sitting backstage again. He offers to accompany her to the ring but she says no. They kiss as we head to the break.
*Commercial Break*
AJ Styles W/Gallows & Anderson Vs. Humberto Carrillo
The match gets underway and Carrillo takes AJ off-guard with a springboard arm-drag. He chops Styles in the corner before hitting an impressive springboard headbutt for a two-count. Styles rolls-up Carrillo for a two, but then he fires back with two kicks and a springboard enziguiri.
A springboard moonsault from Humberto earns a two-count. He dropkicks the United States Champion, who rolls from the ring to regroup. Styles dodges a dive from Carrillo and slams him into the barricade before hitting an inverted DDT on the floor.
*Commercial Break*
Back live and Styles has Carrillo in a headlock. The rookie fights out and drops AJ with an enziguiri. Carrillo connects with a dropkick, then heads up-top and hits a missile dropkick. Carrillo hits the Aztec Press to AJ but he kicks-out!
Styles dodges Carrillo and hits an inverted DDT for a near-fall. Styles jumps for the Phenomenal Forearm but Carrillo hits the ropes to make him fall, then he heads up top and hits an Asai moonsault for a near-fall. Carrillo dives at Styles, who counters him with a shoulder tackle, then applies the Calf Crusher and Humberto taps immediately.
Winner: AJ Styles
After the match, Styles gets back in the ring and extends a hand to Humberto. The youngster goes to shake but Styles pulls his hand away. Humberto shoves Styles, who hits him, then hits the Styles Clash. Gallows and Anderson come in and look to hit the Magic Killer but the Street Profits come running down and make the save. They clear the ring as the fans chant “we want the smoke!”
*Commercial Break*
We’re back live and Jerry Lawler is in the ring for King’s Court. He says tonight might as well be called Divorce Court, because we’re her to figure out if that’s what should happen between two talented Superstars. He then introduces Rusev, followed by Lana.
The King thanks them for coming. He says that Rusev is still wearing his wedding ring, looking to reconcile. Lana says she had no desire to air their dirty laundry in public, but every day she is attacked by the WWE Universe on Twitter etc. So she wants to needs to tell it like it is. Lana says their whole relationship was based around what Rusev wanted, and all he wanted was sex. Rusev says “well can you blame me?” Lana says we don’t understand, Rusev wanted to have sex in the morning, afternoon, night, in bed, in the kitchen, at the arena, at the doctor’s office, etc. The fans cheer for Rusev.
Lana says it was never about love though, all Rusev wanted was to have a child. She says it was all about having kids but Rusev denies it. He says he was never going to force Lana to have kids, but she says she wouldn’t have kids because it would ruin her body. She says she makes her money via her looks but that won’t be the case when she’s Mama Rusev. The King asks if Lana did all this because Rusev wanted a baby and she says no, she says Rusev cheated on her. He’s astounded and asks where she heard that, to which she says Lashley. Rusev says Lashley is “talking shit”, which they bleeped out.
Bobby Lashley then comes down to the ring and Rusev attacks him. They brawl outside the ring, then inside. Lashley hits Rusev with a reverse STO, then looks for the Spear but Rusev kicks him and hits a Samoan drop. Rusev takes-off his wedding ring and throws shoves it in Bobby Lashley’s mouth and the fans cheer. Rusev pounds Lashley but then Lana comes in with a Kendo stick and beats him but he seemingly doesn’t notice. She swings again but Rusev catches it and asks her “why?” Lashley then low-lows Rusev, and kicks him in the gonads. Lashley beats on Rusev, then makes out with Lana while standing over him.
And that the end of this week’s Raw. Let us know what you thought and be sure to come back tomorrow for more wrestling news. Until then, safe travels!
