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The WWE RAW season premiere and the final RAW before WWE Hell In A Cell came to us live from The Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The show opened up with a new video package, a new theme song and marked the return of pyros.
Rey Mysterio came out to a huge ovation from the crowd to address the attendees about his scheduled WWE Universal Championship match later in the night, against the reigning champion, Seth Rollins.
Rey took the mic and said he wanted to dedicate his match to his son Dominick, who was seated in the front row. Before he could say anything else, he was interrupted by Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman.
Lesnar then proceeded to hit Mysterio with a big F5 and then brutally assaulted his son Dominick by yanking him out of his seat. He then left the ring while getting jeered by the crowd and headed back towards the ramp.
The first night of the match was between Sasha Banks and the WWE RAW Women's Tag Team Champion Alexa Bliss. Becky Lynch came out before the match started and joined the commentary team. After a goof back-and-forth showing, The Legit Boss scored the pinfall.
After the match ended, Lynch and Banks got into a brawl inside the ring and then Banks retreated and fled through the crowd. The Man then took the mic and stated that she will make things painful for The Boss at Hell in a Cell.
Up next was the WWE Raw Tag Team Title match between the champions Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler and Heavy Machinery. After a hard-fought battle, Roode and Ziggler emerged victorious when Roode hit Tucker Knight with a Glorious DDT to score the pinfall.
Next was the Miz TV segment with Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, and Jimmy Hart as the guests. The Nature Boy and The Hulkster got into an argument after which The Miz announced that a 5 v 5 match was in the works to take place at WWE Crown Jewel on October 31 in Saudi Arabia, Team Hogan vs. Team Flair.
Flair and Hogan were announced as the coaches before Seth Rollins was introduced as the Team Captain for Hogan while Flair introduced Randy Orton as his Team Captain. The Viper then challenged The Beastslayer to a Captain vs captain match.
The match between Orton and Rollins didn't occur due to interference from King Baron Corbin. Corbin and Orton double-teamed on Rollins, as Rusev charged out to make the save. Rollins and Rusev kicked out both Orton and Corbin, as it was later confirmed that The Bulgarian Brute had joined Team Hogan while King Baron Corbin joined Team Flair.
The Viking Raiders squared off against The O.C's Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in a rematch. After an intense battle, Ivar took the win for The Viking Raiders after pinning Gallows.
Following an episode of The Firefly Fun House in which Bray Wyatt warned Rollins about the Cell, Ricochet challenged Cesaro to a match after The Swiss Cyborg disrespected Rey Mysterio and supported Brock Lesnar's heinous attacks on Mysterio's son. Ricochet emerged victorious after pinning Cesaro with a West Coast Pop, paying homage to his idol Mysterio.
This was followed by a United States Championship match between the champion AJ Styles and Cedric Alexander. After a back-and-forth fight, The Phenomenal One came out on top after pinning Alexander with a Styles Clash.
Up next was a match between Lacey Evans and Natalya. The Sassy Southern Belle picked up the victory by pinning The Queen of Harts with a victory-roll after a poke to the eye.
In the main event of the night, Rusev faced Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship. Midway into the match, both Superstars were interrupted when Bobby Lashley's music hit the arena.
Lashley, who was out with an injury made his return to a mixed reaction from the crowd, soon after which Rusev's wife Lana walked out and was involved in a romantic exchange with Lashley, which a shell-shocked Rusev watched from inside the ring.
The night ended with another appearance from The Fiend, who attacked Rollins with the Mandible Claw and made him pass out.
Overall, it was a unique and enjoyable RAW episode that had much edgier content than its previous episodes. Listed below are some of the best Twitter reactions for the episode.
See WWE RAW Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE RAW Results page
