Monday Night Raw was live last night in Columbus, Ohio. The battle lines have been drawn and two men are ready to go to war. At the Hell in a Cell pay per view, Braun Strowman will step inside Hell in a Cell for the first time against Roman Reigns with Raw’s richest prize on the line, the Universal Championship.
However, the alliance between Braun, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre completely changed the landscape of Monday Night Raw. How will The Shield respond?
Before we begin, congrats to Renee Young for her return to the commentary table. Jonathan Coachman is on location, so Renee Young is filling in for the night.
Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, and Drew McIntyre Explain their Actions
Raw kicks off with Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler. Braun explains that he aligned himself with Dolph and Drew to take the fight to The Shield. Braun also explains that inside Hell in a Cell where it is just the two of them locked in the demonic structure, Braun will walk out as the new Universal Champion.
Dolph and Drew explain that these three men will become the most dominant trio in WWE history.
Before they could continue, The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins) make their way to the ring ready for a fight; And a fight they got. The Shield and the Braun’s alliance brawl all around the ring. Acting General Manager Baron Corbin attempts to break up the men by sending the entire locker room to break them apart. However, it was to no avail as the men continued to brawl to the back.
After the situation seemed to be resolved, Corbin had The Shield arrested for inciting a riot.
The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) v. The Bella Twins (Nikki & Brie)
The Bella Twins make their return to in-ring action for the first time in over a year. The Bellas had a few noticeable botches in the match, but they ultimately won the match. This is my opinion, and while I know many others view it differently, The Bellas are the exact opposite of what the Women’s division is. The Bellas are “divas” in a “Women’s” division.
The Ascension v. Chad Gable & Bobby Roode
Bobby Roode and Chad Gable are the team of the future. Two men who have had tag team experience in past years team up for the first time. Team Roode and Gable win pretty handily with a great showing of maneuvers and an array of suplexes. Could this be the start of a “Glorious” partnership?
Elias Calls out The Ohio State University
After making remarks of his confrontation last week with Trish Stratus, Elias came out to make remarks towards The Ohio State University. Making remarks about Michigan and their rivalry with the college. It continued until Columbus’s own Alexa Bliss came out to confront Elias.
Alexa began to be on the side of Columbus, her hometown. Until after she got the crowd fired up with “O-H-I-O,” she called Columbus mindless sheep. She continues by stating she will reclaim her throne and reclaim the Raw Women’s Championship from Ronda Rousey. Alexa then asks Elias to play her a song because she wants to Walk With Elias.
Before the song begins, Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey comes out alongside Natalya as Nattie takes on Alexa.
Natalya v. Alexa Bliss
In a pretty competitive match, Alexa Bliss was able to pick up the victory using an armbar. Alexa does not let go and Ronda sees enough and confronts Alexa. Alexa tries to cheap shot Ronda with a chop block but Ronda is one tough cookie. She runs off Alexa. Ronda is taking the lead of the Raw Women’s Division.
The B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel) v. Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler: Raw Tag Team Championships
The advertised match was between the B-Team and The Revival, however Dolph and Drew attacked The Revival backstage. Acting General Manager Baron Corbin put Dolph and Drew in their place.
In a pretty good match, Dolph and Drew were able to hit their finisher and win the Raw Tag Team Championship. That now put all three Men’s Championships in the main event story. This is big for Monday Night Raw having all the titles in the main story.
Sidenote: Congrats to Drew McIntyre for winning his first championship on the WWE main roster since 2010.
The Authors of Pain (Akem & Rezar) v. Local Talent
Before the match, I guess AOP has a new manager, the 205 Live manager Drake Maverick. Drake was dressed like he was a member of AOP more than as their manager. However, there is no reasoning for why he is their manager now. Anyways, AOP wins pretty convincingly squashing these local talents.
Shawn Michaels speaks about the “Final Time Ever” Match
Shawn Michaels made a special appearance to talk about the match in Australia between Triple H and The Undertaker. He talks about the importance of why Triple H, his best friend, has to win this match because Triple H has never beaten The Undertaker in a one on one contest.
Shawn continues until, a return that no one saw coming. THE UNDERTAKER!!!, making his first Raw appearance in almost two years. The Undertaker made his way to the ring to confront Shawn about his comments. The two began throwing remarks that arranged from Shawn and Triple H’s friendship, Shawn’s retirement and respect.
The Undertaker retired Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 26 and Shawn has stood by his word out of respect for the system, the fans and out of respect for The Undertaker.
The Undertaker believes it is not respect, but fear. Fear of The Undertaker, because if Shawn ever comes out of retirement, there is only one man for Shawn to face and that is The Undertaker himself. The Undertaker states that in Australia, he vows to put Triple H down for the count again.
What a moment. Two of the best ever to lace their boots created yet another moment to remember.
Sasha Banks & Bayley v. Dana Brooke & Ember Moon
The Boss and Bank Connection continue to roll with yet another win over Ember and Dana. However, the dissension of Titus Worldwide continues as Titus Worldwide became the reason that Dana lost the match.
Bobby Lashley Required Meditation with Jinder Mahal
After a performance review by Corbin, Lashley is mandated to have a meditation session with Jinder Mahal. This was a very comical segment, and ended when Lashley was attacked from behind by the returning Kevin Owens.
Yes, the same Kevin Owens that quit just a week ago. This severely tarnishes one of the most compelling stories on Raw. If they would have Kevin Owens stay off television at least until after Hell in a Cell it would have increased the significance and dynamic of him quitting but, a return only one week later is a big step back.
Finn Balor v. Braun Strowman
Originally, Finn Balor was supposed to take on Baron Corbin, but with his power as GM, Baron changed the main event opponent to Braun Strowman. Even though the size of these two are polar opposite, these two know how to put on a great match and tell a great story. Finn gave it his all to try to topple the Monster. The size though was too much as Braun was able to hit the powerslam and pick up the win over Finn.
After the match, Dolph and Drew along with Braun continued the onslaught on Finn Balor. This continued until a police van made its way to the stage area. The Shield have made it back to the arena for a fight.
Before they could do so, The Shield was attacked from behind. All the heels from the Raw locker room came out to get a piece of The Shield. The Shield were laid out individually as groups of guys each took out a member of The Shield. Yet, another plan by Braun’s Pack to one-up The Shield.
Conclusion
What a heck of an episode of Raw. From Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, to Braun’s Pack of dominance and fantastic storytelling throughout the show. Being in attendance definitely is going to give me a reason to remember this episode of Monday Night Raw. A Raw that will be hard to forget. It has been a long time since I have said that.
David Jacobus
Contributing Writer