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This week's episode of Raw was held at the University of Tennessee and had its fair share of hits and misses. A big title match, a Demon vs. Demon main event and the beginning of new feuds and angles made it a tolerable show.
With SmackDown preparing for Clash of Champions, the red team can build storylines and that is exactly what happened.
But did it work? Check out the results and highlights for this week and take a call for yourself:
Opening Segment
The New IC Champion, Roman Reigns opened this week's show and he got a pretty decent pop. Michael Cole highlighted the fact that WWE's Instagram post of Reigns' first backstage photo as IC Champion became the most like post on its handle.
Trending
The Big Dog said that it had been a big week for him and this elicited a 'you deserve it' chant. The Samoan Superman seemed to be quite over in Tennessee with minimal jeers.
The Champ laid out the gauntlet and challenged anyone backstage to step up and battle him for the title on the line. The Miz's music hit, much to the surprise of Reigns after last week's post-show beatdown.
Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas appeared and stood up for their A-List boss. So what if the Miz isn't cleared to compete, they had a suitable replacement who shared the same viewpoint as the Miztourage.
Guitar strummed and out came the Drifter. He claimed that he would be performing a special set tonight and would walk out of RAW as the new Intercontinental Champion. Reigns accepted and it was on for the night!
Seth Rollins made his way to the ring as Reigns proceeded backstage. The brother's fist bumped as the Architect prepared for his match against Cesaro.
Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins
And Cesaro came out to Sheamus' music too despite the absence of the Celtic Warrior. God bless the Swiss Superman! In case you didn't know, Sheamus is in Ireland for his annual sabbatical.
Rollins and Cesaro locked up as the opening bell rang.Cesaro outpowered the Kingslayer with some epic arm strength. He kicked Rollins in the gut and trash talked the former WWE Champion.
Rollins retaliated with a barrage of strikes, kicks and knife-edged chops. Cesaro hit back by dropping Rollins on the rope as RAW cut to a commercial break.
Cesaro continued to wear Rollins down as we returned from the break. These two showed incredible chemistry and the indy familiarity was all there to be seen. A good spot followed when Cesaro caught Rollins in mid-air and swirled him around into a backbreaker, all in a single motion. He got a very close pinfall for his superhuman efforts.
Rollins played the babyface underdog to perfection as Cesaro dominated for most parts of the match. The former WWE Champion finally created some separation and the pace of the bout picked up again. He delivered a Booker-T-esque Axe Kick to the back of Cesaro's head that was resting on the middle rope.
He followed it up with the Suicide Dive and the fans in attendance loved every bit of it. As Graves mentioned, the finish is around the corner and it showed great promise, however, RAW cut to a break. Sigh!
Rollin was on a roll after the break as he hit the Falcon Arrow for a two-count. Cesaro caught Rollins off guard with a roll-up for a two-count and didn't let go of the pressure as he yanked his leg and began the Swing. Transition into the Sharpshooter and Rollins was now in deep trouble
He wriggled his way to the bottom rope, forcing the referee to break the hold. Cesaro looked to rearrange his face with the Neutralizer but Rollins countered with the superkick. Both men were down at this point, gasping for air, as the end was near.
Cesaro went for the springboard elbow but a groggy Rollins had him scouted and revered it into the Kings' Landing. 1-2-3!
Result: Seth Rollins def. Cesaro
Charlie Caruso asked Rollins about the Shield status after the match, in the wake of Reigns winning the IC title and Dean Ambrose away on his honeymoon. Rollins trashed the rumours of a split and invoked their rematch clause for the tag team titles for next week.
Thankfully, the Hounds of Justice are very much still together and by the looks of it, we have seen nothing yet!
Titus O'Neil vs. Samoa Joe
We all know how this went down. It doesn't matter if your tall or intimidating, Joe is out here to kill you. The two 'Gladiators' as Cole referred to the behemoths, had a nasty exchange of chops to begin the match.
Titus' chops looked weak in comparison to Joe's stiff slaps to the chest. O'Neil did manage to get a pinfall attempt and a few strikes before he the inevitable happened; passing out to the Coquina Clutch.
Joe laid out Apollo Crews after the match to continue his destructive streak.
Result: Joe def. O'Neil
Sasha Banks, Mickie James, & Bayley vs. Paige, Sonya Deville, & Mandy Rose
In what was hyped to be Paige's first match in over 15 months, the fans may have been let down by the events that unfolded. Backstage attacks on both Mickie James and Bayley meant that The Boss was all on her own.
Paige and her new friends came out and owned up to putting Bayley and James out of commission for the night. The Anti-Diva then cut a solid promo by calling herself the matriarch of the WWE Evolution and the biggest reason why the word Divas is no longer in the WWE dictionary. She taunted Sasha and put forth an offer: either join them or get laid out.
Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville cut short promos in which Rose looked alright while Sonya was below average. She got the what treatment in all its glory.
Banks turned down Paige's offer and paid for it by getting destroyed the trio. Paige called themselves the 'Absolution' as the three women stood tall to end the segment.
Bray Wyatt vs. Matt Hardy
The Eater of Worlds made his entrance to an ocean of flashlights and cut a generic Bray Wyatt-promo. Nothing new here folks. An over usage of manic laughter may have been the only difference.
Anyway, Matt Hardy interrupted Wyatt and the match was up next. Imagine this: Broken Matt Hardy vs. relevant Bray Wyatt was a dream feud at one time. How the times have changed!
This one didn't last long as Bray Wyatt made quick work of the tag team legend by connecting with the Sister Abigail early in the match.
Result: Bray Wyatt def. Matt Hardy
The Broken Universe may soon take over WWE as Hardy broke into a delete frenzy after the match ended. It's coming!
WONDERFUUL!
Noam Dar vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Rich Swann vs. Ariya Daivari (Winner gets a spot in the #1 contenders singles match for the Cruiserweight title)
Daivari and Dar kicked things off by assaulting the faces. They teamed up and focussed on Tozawa. Swann came in and made the save by taking out Dar and Daivari. The four talented cruiserweights displayed some incredible stuff in the ring only to get no reaction at all from a dead crowd.
There was a scary moment when Swann accidentally hit Tozawa in his face with his knee while trying to take everyone out with a running somersault to the outside.
Rich Swann attempted a phoenix splash on Daivari, Dar, however, stopped that from happening and took some punishment from Tozawa as a result.
The finish of the match saw Swann hit the Pheonix Splash on Dar for the win. The former Cruiserweight Champio
n will meet the winner of the other fatal-4-way match to determine the new #1 contender for Enzo Amore's title.
Result: Rich Swann def. Dar, Tozawa and Daivari
Roman Reigns vs. Elias (Intercontinental Championship Match)
The only title match of the night was preceded by Elias' surprisingly lengthy performance. He dedicated a song to The Miz and his family. The Drifter was in for a long set as he broke tradition and involved Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel in his solo performance.
Dallas and Axel played the mouth organ followed by a solo from Elias. We get it! WWE forced the fans into chanting 'We want Roman' by pushing the segment too long.
The Big Dog's music finally hit as 'Roman sucks' chants began gaining prominence. The formal introductions were wrapped up and Elias finally kicked off his first-ever title match in WWE against Reigns.
The two lock up and jockey for position in the early goings. Elias dominated as he kept the babyface champion down before Reigns made a predictable comeback. Bo and Axel ired to make their presence felt all throuhout the match but the champ was one step ahead.
Elias, though, put on a great performance in what ended up being a very enjoyable bout. Elias executed a crazy move when he turned Reigns around in mid-air into a powerbomb.
The finish of the match saw Reigns frustrating Elias with his resiliency. He hit a Superman Punch outta nowhere for the two-count. He went for the spear but got caught in a kick. However, Elias got tricked by Reigns' run-up and eventually got speared into the mat. 1-2-3! And STILL!
Result: Roman Reigns retained
Samoa Joe viscously attacked Reigns as the IC Champion made his way backstage through the ramp. The Samoan Submission Machine has made it clear that he is coming after the Big Dog's title.
Asuka vs. Dana Brooke
Four seconds was all it took for the Empress of Tomorrow to finish off Brooke. The bell rang, Brooke charged and Asuka flipped her into the Asuka lock with effortless ease.
And that was all she wrote!
Result: Asuka def. Brooke
We're sure this one's right up there amongst the shortest matches in WWE history and we just have to wait for the official time to come in.
However, Asuka couldn't celebrate in peace as Paige and her understudies, collectively known as the Absolution, surrounded Asuka after the match. Asuka retreated as Paige refrained from engaging with the longest reigning NXT Women's Champion in WWE history.
Jason Jordan vs. Kane
Kurt Angle's son cut a promo and well, it was nothing that we wanted it to be. Nevertheless, he was on the verge of main eventing RAW against a WWE legend in Kane. Who cares if you're not over these days right?
Fire engulfed the arena and out came Kane to teach the rookie a lesson or two. Jordan started in his usual energetic vein as he picked the 50-year-old legend up and rammed him into the turnbuckle.
The match ended in abrupt fashion after Jordan got counted out as he was unable to make it to his feet owing due to an injured knee.
Result: Kane def. Jason Jordan via count out
Jordan showed some fight despite being hurt but the Demon proved to be too much of an obstacle. Kane destroyed the Angle scion but that shouldn't be the end, right?
Finn Balor's music hit and the fans in attendance erupted. The Demon King vs. Devil's Favourite Demon was up next. An impromptu main event.
Finn Balor vs. Kane
Finn Balor escaped a chokeslam right in the begging and manage to bring Kane down to one knee only to get outpowered by the Big Red Monster.
This match too ended in abrupt fashion when Kane took the steel chair and attacked Balor, ending the match in DQ.
Result: Finn Balor def. Kane via DQ
Kane was not done yet though. The Big Red Machine had all the intentions of ending Balor's career as he placed his neck in the middle of the chair and went up to the top rope.
BRAUUUUUN!
The Monster Among Men appeared and Kane's sadistic expression turned into horror. Strowman looked for retribution for last week's assault and he possibly may have outdone the legend himself.
Strowman victimized the 50-year-old Former WWE Champion with anything that was made of steel. The chair and the steps were used to full effect as Strowman completely annihilated the Demon.
Strowman gave Kane a taste of his own medicine by wrapping his head around a steel chair and slamming it into the steel steps. Kane sold the spot like a boss and had no option but to run away from the crowd.
Meanwhile, Strowman stood in the ring with his arms raised. A decent end to a very average show.
