WWE Raw came to us tonight from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. How will WWE follow up last week’s blockbuster episode this week? Will the New Era continue to live up to the hype or will it fizzle out already?
Here are the complete WWE Raw Results for 1st August 2016:
The show opens with Sasha Banks coming out to the ring with her newly won WWE Women’s Championship belt. She starts off by thanking fans for believing in her and reminding them about how she and Bayley stole the show at NXT: TakeOver Brooklyn last year and promises to do the same at SummerSlam with former champion Charlotte.
Speak of the devil and she appears. Charlotte interrupted to a chorus of “You tapped out!” from the fans in attendance. The two cut fantastic promos against each other before the segment was interrupted once again, this time by Chris Jericho.
Jericho defends Charlotte, stating the she is wrestling royalty and that she had already outdone her father’s achievements in her short time in the business.
Enzo interrupts to side with Sasha Banks and it leads to a verbal joust with Chris Jericho. Mick Foley comes out to ease the situation and makes an impromptu mixed-tag match – Sasha Banks and Enzo Amore versus Charlotte and Chris Jericho.
Sasha and Enzo vs Jericho and Charlotte
The match had some decent action but ended abruptly when Dana Brooke came out of nowhere to distract Sasha as she tried to apply the Banks Statement on Charlotte. Sasha dispatched with her before slapping Chris Jericho in the face. Charlotte took advantage of the opening and attacked Sasha from behind. She hit Sasha with the Natural Selection to get the pinfall.
Charlotte and Chris Jericho def Sasha Banks and Enzo Amore
Jericho hit the Codebreaker on Enzo after the match for good measure before Big Cass came out. Jericho wanted nothing to do with Big Cass and literally ran away from him.
Braun Strowman vs Evan Engerholt
Another random jobber faced Braun Strowman tonight. Byron Saxton is in the ring before the match starts and asks Evan Engerholt about his thoughts on facing Strowman. Engerholt replies that he’s getting paid $1000 to compete in the match and has a $5000 win bonus. Saxton replies that Engerholt has a better chance of winning the lottery before leaving the ring.
Strowman absolutely steamrolls Engerholt once the match begins. The youngster just didn’t have a chance.
Braun Strowman def Evan Engerholt
Mark Henry announces his intention to bring back the Hall of Pain
WWE veteran Mark Henry appeared at a backstage to talk to Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon about the New Era. Henry tells them that he wants to reopen the Hall of Pain. Steph explains that Mark Henry was drafted to be a mentor to younger Superstars but WWE’s ambassador to the 2016 Rio Olympics would have none of it. He got Mick Foley to put him in a United States title match against Rusev and declared that he would be bringing the title back to the United States of America.
Golden Truth vs The Shining Stars
Another week and another nonsensical Golden Truth segment/match. It begins backstage with Goldust expressing his concerns about R-Truth’s Pokémon Go addiction before they went out to face The Shining Stars.
There was nothing special in the match itself, with Goldust’s new face paint being the most notable aspect. The match ends when R-Truth is busy with his phone and misses a tag from Goldust which costs them the match. Shining Stars pick up a distraction victory, but did this match really help either teams prospects?
The Shining Stars def Golden Truth
Michael Cole interviews Finn Balor in the ring
Balor joined Michael Cole in the ring for a live interview. Michael Cole starts off by saying that Balor being drafted in the first round of the WWE Draft was a surprise but that Balor had proved his worth in one night with Finn replying that he was there to make an impact. He admits that it had been a wild couple of weeks before he was interrupted by Seth Rollins.
Rollins comes out and tells Micahel Cole that his services were no longer required and asked him to get out of the ring. He admits that while he impressed with Balor winning both the fatal-4-way and the match against Roman Reigns the previous week, he had beaten Roman at Money In The Bank after returning from his injury so he was better than Balor. He also reminds Balor that while Balor was the longest reigning NXT Champion, he was the first ever NXT Champion.
The segment ended when Rollins attacked Balor, who countered with a Pelle Kick that sebt Rollins scurrying.
Rusev vs Mark Henry – US Title Match
Rusev and Mark Henry had the kind of match you’d expect. It was slow and plodding at point with Rusev bumping around for Mark Henry in the beginning. In the end Rusev won with The Accolade but the result really was a foregone conclusion.
Rusev def Mark Henry
This match was basically a plot point to set up the post-match segment. Rusev cut promo on the International Olympic Committee saying that they unfairly ban Russian and Bulgarian athletes so that the US has more chances of winning medals.
He got interrupted by none other than Roman Reigns and for a change, the crowd’s reaction to Roman was pretty positive. Roman and Rusev had a staredown before Roman countered Rusev’s attack and sent him scurrying.
This will presumably set up a match between the two at SummerSlam for the US title.
Darren Young vs Titus O’ Neil
The fomer tag-team partners clashed on Raw tonight with Titus pulling off the win via a handful of Darren Young’s tights. The match itself was uneventful and Darren Young’s new character direction is falling a little flat. Bob Backlund is a delight to watch though.
Titus O'Neil def Darren Young
Bob Backlund yelled into Titus O’ Neil’s face backstage and accuses him of cheating. Titus threatened to knock Backlund out, at which point Darren Young attacked Titus for threatening his mentor.
Nia Jax vs Ariel Monroe
The second squash match of the night and second in successive weeks for Jax. Jax absolutely hammered her opponent, dominating from the start. Even though this was a squash, Nia put in an impressive performance and showed glimpses of the performer she could be. Also, she unveiled a new and yet unnamed finisher.
Nia Jax def Ariel Monroe
The New Day vs The Club
Two members of The New Day took on Anderson and Gallows with Xavier Woods banned from ringside. The Club dominate the opening exchanges before being caught out by Big E while they were ‘Too Sweet-ed’. A quick match with Big E picking up the win for The New Day.
The New Day def The Club
The New Day get absolutely destroyed after the match by The Club. Xavier Woods comes out to help Kofi and Big E, but he gets hammered by Anderson and Gallows in return.
Are we going to see Anderson and Gallows vs The New Day at SummerSlam?
Cesaro vs Sheamus
Cesaro is always fun to watch and Sheamus is great in the ring. This match was a quick one but it was a fun one. Cesaro proved his doubters wrong yet again and pulled off the win with a Gotch Neutralizer after reversing a powerslam.
Cesaro def Sheamus
The duo brawled after the match and throughout the commercial break, leading into the next segment.
Jinder Mahal returns
Heath Slater was in the ring following the commercial break with Jinder Mahal. Slater wanted to form 2MB but Mick Foley interrupted and said that there was only one spot left on the Raw roster and the two of them would have to wrestle over it, immiediately.
Mahal attacked Slater from behind and almost decapitated him with a kick to the head before pinning him to earn himself a spot on the Raw roster.
Sami Zayn vs Seth Rollins
Rollins and Zayn had a great but pretty standard match yet again. Zayn dominated the opening exchanges before Rollins fought back. In the end, Rollins countered a Helluva Kick before Pedigree-ing Zayn for the win.
Seth Rollins def Sami Zayn
Brock Lesnar returns accompanied by Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman is in the ring to announce the much awaited return of the Beast Incarnate. Lesnar comes out to an uncharacteristic amount of boos from the fans. Heyman declared that Lesnar would bring his own brand of entertainment to SummerSlam. He also said that the New Era would have to step up to Brock Lesnar’s level.
Following this he changed the topic to Brock’s SummerSlam opponent, Randy Orton. Heyman goes onto say that the RKO would be no match for Lesnar and that his client would annihilate ‘the viper’. As Heyman was saying this, Orton showed up out of thin air and delivered a RKOOUTTANOWHERE to Brock Lesnar before running back into the crowd.
Everyone in the building was in shock and Stephanie and Mick Foley came out along with security to eject Orton from the building.
