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RAW returned to the venue of WrestleMania 32, the AT&T Centre, for what was a very important episode for the men and women in red.
With Royal Rumble fast approaching, WWE needed to up the ante in terms of storyline progression and stacking up the card of the first big PPV of 2018 was the main agenda. The Creative delivered the goods on last week's episode and the momentum was expected to be continued.
But did they offer a solid follow up? Check out this week's results and highlights below and make a judgment for yourself:
Opening segment
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Braun Strowman opened this week's show to a massive reaction. He took the mic and shared a short story. The moral of the story was that the Monster Among Men was destined to walk out of the Rumble as the new Universal Champion.
Kurt Angle's music hit and the fans erupted yet again. The RAW GM came out flanked by a handful of security guards and looked to dish out punishment to Strowman for his destructive actions from last week.
Angle was in no mood to pander to the crowd as he got down straight to business and addressed Strowman's hellacious beatdown of Lesnar and Kane from last week. Angle termed what Strowman did as reckless and something that could have even hurt the fans. Strowman retaliated by saying that he does whatever he wants, wherever he wants and he doesn't need anyone's approval.
Angle then dropped a bombshell by removing him from the Royal Rumble title match and indefinitely firing him. He was then escorted out of the arena by the security and boy oh boy, he looked like a matured volcano waiting to explode. One of the guards got a little too touchy and didn't realize he'd written his own death wish in the process. Strowman rag-dolled the entire security team and vowed to destroy everyone. EVERYONE!
A monstrous storm was the predicted forecast for the night. Now that's how you kick off Monday Night RAW!
The Bar vs. Titus Worldwide
Sheamus and Cesaro looked to get back to winning ways as they took on Titus O'Neil and Apollo Crews in a tag team match. The match was kicked off by Titus and Sheamus after all the entrances and got a decent headstart for the babyfaces.
O'Neil and Crews worked on Sheamus but the Celtic Warrior somehow made the tag to Cesaro. O'Neil continued the offense with some knife-edged chops on the Swiss Superman's chest. He powerslammed Cesaro into the mat and tagged Crews, who connected with an impressive diving elbow.
A cheap shot to the back of Crews by Sheamus was enough for the heels to take control of the bout as Raw cut to a commercial. Sheamus and Cesaro wore down Crews as we returned from the break. They executed a double team backbreaker of sorts and Sheamus went right back to working on Crews' neck after a two-count.
Crews, though, created some separation and made the hot tag to O'Neil. Titus stunned Cesaro by flinging him around the ring. Cesaro and Sheamus attempted to steal one as they took advantage of the referee's distraction and got a surprise roll-up on Titus. O'Niel, somehow kicked out at 2 and the match continued.
Crews came in to save the day and got two close near falls as Booker T had an orgasm by the athleticism on display. Anyway, Jason Jordan's music hit, Sheamus got distracted, Cres rolled him up. 1...2...3! And just like that, Crews picked up the biggest win of his career by pinning a former World Champion in Sheamus and giving his team an upset win.
Titus Worldwide def. The Bar
Rollins later came out and didn't seem happy about Jordan interfering the proceedings.
Meanwhile, Strowman was busy redecorating an office backstage:
The Cruiserweights take center stage
The Bonafide Stud came out with his trusted lieutenant Tony Nese and carried out his usual shtick. He addressed Curt Hawkins getting destroyed by Strowman moments earlier and how we wished the Monster Among Men came out at this time and pummeled the Cruiserweight Champion. It didn't happen sadly!
Amore promised to walk out of Royal Rumble as the champion and revealed that Tony 'Abs' Nese would go one-on-one with Cedric Alexander tonight.
Talking about Cedric, the #1 contender for the Cruiserweight strap came out with Goldust by his side. The veteran got a solid pop from the Texas crowd and he then cut a promo in his own typical style. Cedric rallied the crowd and ended it with the SAWWWWFT and marched towards the ring for his match as we cut to another commercial break.
Cedric Alexander vs. Tony Nese
The two cruiserweights kicked things off with a fast-paced grappling sequence with Cedric coming on top in the exchange with a dropkick.
Nese, though, took control when he moved out of the way and a rampaging Cedric rammed into the turnbuckle. Nese showed off his abs and chopped and kneed Alexander in the corner.
He transitioned into a headlock and cranked Cedric's head. Alexander broke out but found himself in another headlock.Goldust tried to intimidate Amore by ringside by being his creepy self.
Meanwhile, in the ring, Alexander shifted the momentum in his favor with a strike followed by a faceplant. An epic kip-up followed by a leap off the top rope yielded a near fall for Cedric.
Nese fought back with a bunch of kicks, Cedric caught one of them. Nese resisted and tried to set him up for his finisher but Cedric reversed it, got him up in the air and connected with the Lumbar Check. 1...2...3! A big win for Alexander heading into Royal Rumble.
Cedric def. Nese
Strowman update: Braun was now headed towards the TV production truck, which was worth 12 million dollars. Yes, WWE found it necessary to let us know how much it all cost via Kurt Angle. Cringe.
BRAUUUUUN!
This wasn't RAW! It was the Braun Strowman show! The Monster Among Men barged into the production truck that was, don't forget, worth 12 MILLION DOLLARS! Strowman entered the truck like a man possessed and had one intention in mind -- to shut the whole damn show down!
The WWE personnel inside the truck looked terrified at the sight of the 7-foot giant looking for the switches or buttons that would end the programming. He ordered all of them to leave the truck but in a fit of rage, exited the truck himself. The situation seemed to have calmed inside down but Strowman hadn't outside.
He went out and unhooked the tractor from the truck. Kurt Angle appeared outta nowhere and tried to talk some sense into him and told him that the cops were on their way.
We got a throwback from the Reigns-Strowman feud as the Braun flipped over the tractor with some inhumane strength!
The carnage was not done, yet! Strowman bulldozed his way towards the ring and went straight after Micahel Cole. Hold on, it kept getting better and better! He picked up Cole like a toddler and proceeded backstage before Angle stopped him in his tracks.
Angle said that he got a call from Stephanie McMahon and she had rehired Strowman. As things stood, Strowman got his job and his Universal title shot back. And yes, he tossed Cole over an army of guards to end the segment with the biggest pop of the night.
Did we tell you how much we love Strowman?
Tom Phillips was brought in as an impromptu replacement for Cole as Strowman stole the show with over an hour and a half yet to go.
Asuka vs. Nia Jax
The Empress of Tomorrow's 3-year undefeated streak was in jeopardy as Nia Jax looked to get back to her dominant ways by potentially pulling off the biggest upset in recent memory.
Asuka wasted no time with some stiff kicks to Nia's legs. Jax powered through the pain and flung Asuka across the ring to take control of the match. Asuka, however, flipped over and locked in the armbar on Jax, who somehow escaped. Asuka ran towards Nia but got shot down.
Asuka hit a sequence of spinning back fists on Nia but got caught. Nia hit a powerbomb and got a two-count for it. The former NXT Women's Champion Asuka managed to land a kneebar on Nia and nearly made her, tap. Nia saved the match by grabbing onto the roped for dear life.
Nia shoved Asuka into the ring apron as the action shifted to the outside. She took her time to compose herself and Nia finally stepped on the steel steps, Asuka kicked knee. Nia attempted to get back up but fell right back down due to a buckled up knee.
The referee had no option but to stop the match due to the injury.
Asuka def. Nia Jax via referee stoppage due to injury
A concerned Alexa Bliss came out to help her friend out as hoards of medical personnel swarmed the ring and assisted her backstage.
Jason Jordan and Kurt Angle were involved in a backstage segment next. The father-son interaction somehow managed to end with Kurt Angle announcing Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor for tonight. Jordan may have managed to tick off Rollins ever more by convincing his father to book the match that is worthy of main eventing any PPV.
Tha fans aren't complaining though.
The Revival vs. Enhancement talents
It seemed like WWE is in a rebuilding phase for the unfortunate team of Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder as the duo, who recently returned after a lengthy injury lay-off, took on a couple of local talents in a blink-and-you-miss squash match.
Interestingly, Bayley's boyfriend Aaron Solow was one of the unlucky jobbers who got steamrolled by the former NXT Tag Team Champions.
The Revival win
Charly Caruso interviewed the winner after the match and as expected, Dash and Dawson cut a really solid promo. She asked them about next week's monumental 25th-anniversary episode of Raw and who they would like to witness.
The Revival trashed the so-called legends of the business, WWE's top brass and everyone who doubt them backstage. They claimed that the WWE did not want them to be successful and even took a shot at DX by calling them a mockery of pro wrestling.
The bottom line is this: The Revival is getting buried next week by a legendary tag team or maybe all the tag legends scheduled to appear.
Elias' special Royal Rumble single
It was time again to walk with Elias. One of the most promising stars on Raw continued his streak of producing entertaining TV bt whipping out a special Royal Rumble song for the fans in Texas. John Cena prominently featured in the song as Elias vowed to eliminate the 16-time WWE Champion and avenge what happened on Christmas.
He ended by dissing Spurs and that elicited some massive heat that lasted for a couple of minutes. He then introduced Miz and the Miztourrage.
The Miz cut a promo and harped about how Raw mizzed him and that his return has made the show great again.
This was the cue for Roman Reigns' entrance, who came out for his handicap match against Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel.
Roman Reigns vs. Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel (2-on-1 Handicap match)
The Big Dog had his task cut out for himself tonight. The Intercontinental champion looked to fend off not one, but both of Miz's stooges in a handicap encounter that began with Reigns on top for a brief period.
The assumed command of the match as Dallas and Axel worked on Reigns' neck with tandem head locks and mat-based submission moves.
The Miz barked order by ringside as Reigns managed to create some separation and then take it to Axel. Reigns took Dallas out to even out the playing field and connected with ten punches in the corner. Well, he didn't go all the way as Dallas interfered but got taken out by Reigns. Reigns got in position for the Superman Punch. Oooooaaahh! He planted his fist on Axel's face and followed suit by landing one on Dallas' jaw too on the outside. The Miz retreated, Reigns got back into the ring and finished off the job with a spear to Axel.
Reigns def. Dallas & Axel
Sasha Banks vs. Sonya Deville
The Boss made her entrance with Mickie James and Bayley in her corner for a match against the hard-hitting Sonya Deville.
Despite Paige's career seemingly ending due to an aggravated neck injury, the Anti-Diva appeared along with her stablemates. It seems WWE will continue to use her in a manager's role until further diagnosis of her injury. As confirmed on the show, Paige will no longer be a part of the Women's Royal Rumble match. What.A.Shame!
As for the match, Sonya showed off her striking prowess by landing a few stiff kicks and strikes all throughout the short match.
The finish of the match saw Sasha fight back against the onslaught and try to lock in the Bank Statement. Deville countered with a kick to Banks' ribs and pinned her clean! A really surprising yet flat finish to a pointless match.
Deville def. Banks
The friction between Rollins and Jordan continued to flourish:
WOKEN Matt Hardy vs. Heath Slater
It is always good to see Heath Slater work a match once in a while. The first-ever SmackDown Tag Team Champion was set to be fed to the seven deities as the fans chanted delete till their throats gave out. Ryhno was at ringside, guiding his partner.
Slater had no answer to the ground and pound coupled with the mental warfare of the WOKEN entity and ended up losing the match courtesy of a Twist of Fate.
And just like that, another superstar has been DELETED and we're sure this is just the begging of the WONDERFUL things to follow.
Hardy def. Slater
Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins
It was time for the rematch of the first-ever Universal title match from SummerSlam. finn Balor and Seth Rollins made their respective entrances with Jason Jordan and The Club acting as reinforcement at ringside.
Balor and Rollins began the match jockeying for position. Rollins tried to keep Balor down with a chin lock but Balor got up, Irish Whipped him into the ropes and landed a dropkick. He then sent Rollins crashing to the outside as we cut to one of the final commercial breaks (hopefully the last) for tonight's show.
Back from the break, Balor was top of the action as he worked on Rollins. He executed a perfect double stomp on the solar plexus of Rollins. Rollins looked to shift the tide in his favor with a surprise kick. He went up top to the top rope but got caught by Balor's enzuguiri.
Balor then got a two-count from a downward elbow. Just when you though Rollins was rallying towards a comeback, he got tangled in a sling blade. Rollins, though, got right back up and connected with a wicked superkick right to the Jaw of Balor. 1....2...KICKOUT! The fans in attendance woke up after that sequence.
Rollins smelled the opportunity and limped his way to the top rope for what seemed like a Pheonix Splash. Balor, however, moved out of the way and sent Rollins crashing into the turnbuckle neck first with a basement dropkick.
Rollins stopped Balor from going for the Coupe De Grace with a suplex from the top rope transitioned into a falcon arrow. A really close fall for that.
A moment of confusion ensued as Balor rolled up Rollins and the referee counted till three but waved his decision in favor of Rollins and called it a two-count.
The Bar interfered in the match but was unsuccessful in influencing the outcome. Jordan then helped Rollins in tripping Balor. Rollins then did the freaking unthinkable. He executed the Curb Stomp and picked up the win against the Demon King.
The Curb Stomp is back folks!
Rollins def. Balor
Finn Balor, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows teased something interesting after the match as Balor struggled to get back up on his feet after the match. They looked perplexed but it didn't lead to anything as the show came to a close. At one point it seemed Anderson and Gallows were about to turn on Balor, Thankfully that didn't happen.
Major rumor about recently released stars HERE
