WWE Monday Night Raw was live last night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Coming off a Raw that lefts tons of questions coming into this week, answers and conclusions became clearer to all of us.

   Raw kicks off with Roman Reigns. He blames Bobby Lashley for their loss last week, even though he got pinned. He said that himself is the guy that runs the yard, even though a few months ago he said Brock Lesnar was the guy.

   This continues until Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre interrupt. They verbally attack Roman with somethings that spoke volumes to fans. Dolph and Drew then began to attack Roman which led to Seth Rollins evening up the odds. Leading to a tag team match later in the night.

“Woken” Matt Hardy v. Curtis Axel

   Reports came out that over the weekend, Bray Wyatt was involved in a car accident in which he sustained injuries, but nothing severe. He was not at Raw last night meaning Matt Hardy would battle the B-Team (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) alone.

   Their match was a lot longer than last week but the result did not change. The B-Team continues to pick up win after win. Can this lead to a win and the Raw Tag Team Championships at Extreme Rules?

Sasha Banks & Bayley Go To Counseling

   After weeks and weeks of dysfunction between two women where were once best friends, they are forced to go to therapy. However, they continue to show dysfunction at counseling, much to the chagrin of their therapist. Fans got exactly who they wanted with these segments. The therapist was Dr. Shelby, the one who brought Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) together.

   They tried to fix the issue with showing the inner feelings towards each other. However, no progress was made in fixing their relationship.

Titus Worldwide (Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews) v. Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar)

   Authors of Pain show why they are the future of the tag team division. They dominate the match up hitting “The Last Chapter” for the win. Authors of Pain needed this victory to show they can make a statement. Being a dominant team in NXT, they need to continue to show that dominance to a new, wider audience.

Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins v. Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler

   Before the night began, it was made official that at Extreme Rules, Dolph Ziggler will face Seth Rollins in a 30 minute Iron Man match for the Intercontinental Championship.

   In Roman’s first match of the night, Roman & Seth compete against their foes. The action is pretty good for a few minutes, until The Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) beat down Reigns before he teams up with Lashley to face them later in the night. Due to this, Reigns and Rollins get a DQ victory, but both are beaten down by their rivals. 

Constable Baron Corbin Demands Apology

   Baron wants Finn Balor to come out and apologize for being the reason for losing their match last week. They each throw verbal jabs at each other until they begin throw punches at each other. Finn gets the last laugh after hitting the Slingblade on Baron.

Liv Morgan v. Ember Moon

   Ruby Riott like Bray Wyatt was not at Raw due to an injury. Ruby sustained an injury at a live event and was unable to compete on Raw. In a lengthy match up, Ember was able to hit the Eclipse for the win. Hopefully, Ruby is not severely injured so she can continue leading The Riott Squad.

The Revival v. Roman Reigns & Bobby Lashley

   In Roman’s second match of the night, he portrays his dominance and ego towards Bobby, really going against his word earlier saying Bobby was the egotistical one. Roman’s ego got the best of him yet again. Bobby wanted the tag, even clearing The Revival out the ring so Roman has a clear path to tag him in. Roman refuses leading to The Revival beating down Roman yet again for the DQ. Bobby walks away.

   Roman goes to Kurt complaining about Bobby’s behavior. Kurt makes the match official between the two at Extreme Rules. This feud is off to a weird start because Roman is doing everything he is stating Bobby is doing. Roman is supposed to be “The Guy” but he is complaining an awful lot.

No Way Jose v. Mojo Rawley

   Mojo wants No Way Jose to understand what opportunity means. Mojo then attacks Jose’s conga line yet again. Mojo and Jose then brawl with Mojo getting the advantage. The match for the second week in a row does not happen.

Mickie James v. Nia Jax

   During a WWE.com interview, Ronda Rousey states she will be front row for the Alexa Bliss & Nia Jax Raw Women’s Championship match at Extreme Rules. Also announced is that Alexa v Nia will be an Extreme Rules match.

   Nia sends a strong message to Alexa, dominating Mickie and picking up a victory heading towards Extreme Rules. How will Ronda play a role in the match at Extreme Rules in a few weeks?

Kevin Owens v. Braun Strowman

   Kevin throughout the night tried to run from Braun. He parked around the other side of the arena. He also tried to get punishment against Braun for his actions on him and Kevin Owens car. Kurt does not and makes a match between Kevin and Braun.

   The match barely begins. Kevin immediately runs backstage towards his car. However, he forgets his keys. So, he decides to to hide in a porta-potty.

   Braun chases and searches for Kevin. Until he is able to find Kevin in the porta-potty. He would then duct-tape him in it and drags him back into the arena. Which leads him to push the porta-potty off the stage. Bringing an end to Raw.

   This Raw seemed lackluster. Nothing seems to be going into a positive direction towards Extreme Rules. Hopefully in the next few weeks, they can fix the issue to make it a watchable show for the Raw brand.

David Jacobus
Intern