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The latest edition of RAW kicked off the road to WrestleMania in epic fashion. A big return, a big championship match, and an even bigger debut cemented the excitement starting WrestleMania season.
Kevin Owens receives bad news
Owens' right arm was completely wrapped up. Owens started by introducing himself and Jericho, and the champions they are. He said it loudly and with great zeal.
Owens said that almost everyone thought he had no chance of walking out of Alamodome the Universal Champion.
He said he made a career out of proving people wrong, and that if he had a list of people who he has proved wrong, it would be longer than the list of Jericho.
Owens said he's most proud that he proved Mick Foley wrong. He accused Foley of stacking the deck against him and Jericho. He said that he beat Roman Reigns because he's the best, he's the guy, and he's the one.
He said that he's man enough to admit that someone helped him, and he thanked Chris Jericho. He said his friendship and moral support helped him and embraced his best friend.
Owens said that Chris Jericho is the greatest Royal Rumble competitor of al time. He said that he didn't want to brag, but he will. 4h ours 56 minutes and 12 seconds is Jericho's overall time spent in the Royal Rumble, as mentioned by Jericho himself.
Jericho said he lasted for over one hour and proclaimed himself as the "61-minute man".
Braun Strowman came out and told Owens that he is champion because of him, and wanted the Universal Championship match they "promised" to him. Owens said they never promised him anything, but Strowman showed footage of Owens promising him a championship match and continued to demand it.
Mick Foley came out and told Owens he wasn’t happy with the way he won his match against Roman Reigns. He then told Owens that he did indeed promise Strowman a Universal Championship match, and said that he would get it later in the night. He told Chris Jericho that he was going to face Sami Zayn next.
Sami Zayn vs Chris Jericho
The match started off with a series of wrist locks. Jericho transitioned out of it. Sami then followed with a series of chest slaps to Jericho. When Jericho went outside the ring to catch a breath, Sami hit a flying leg drop through the middle ropes.
Jericho came in and used the referee as a distraction and drop kicked Zayn on the outside. He tried a baseball slide attack on Zayn, who moved out of the way. Jericho then threw Zayn against the barricade, but Zayn did a moonsault over Jericho and struck him. Back after a break, Jericho had the momentum.
Jericho hit a hurricanrana from the top rope. Not long after, Zayn hit the blue thunder bomb on Jericho, but only got a two count. He tried to hit the Helluva kick but Jericho exited the ring. He then tried to give a DDT through the ropes but Jericho started fleeing from Zayn.
Back in the ring, Jericho tried the walls of Jericho, but Zayn escaped and gave a DDT when hopping the top rope. Jericho managed to get the walls of Jericho on, but Zayn barely managed to get to the ropes. Sami Zayn caught Jericho and hit him with the Helluva kick for the win.
Sami Zayn defeated Chris Jericho
Backstage, Cesaro and Sheamus are arguing about the Royal Rumble match and eliminating each other. Bayley came in between and said that they needed to get along for their mix-six person tag match against Charlotte and Gallows & Anderson. She then brought them in for a group hug. Charlotte, Gallows, and Anderson came in and started calling the babyface trio losers, nerds and chumps.
Backstage again, Stephanie McMahon was on a call before Kevin Owens came in. He tried to goad Stephanie into cancelling is his Universal Championship match against Braun Strowman. Stephanie said she had no idea about Foley’s decision, and that once she took care of the “Seth Rollins business”, she would see what she could do about getting the match cancelled.
Tony Nese vs Mustafa Ali
Tony Nese started off very dominant against Ali. Mustafa Ali got his fair share of offence in until he had a bad fall on the back of his neck and Tony Nese hit a running knee strike on Ali to pick up the win.
Tony Nese defeated Mustafa Ali
When exiting, Austin Aries interviewed Nese and asked him about his critics, and Nese said he didn't need to answer to them.
Stephanie McMahon's confrontation of Seth Rollins was announced as next.
Stephanie McMahon and Seth Rollins go face-to-face
Rollins called out Stephanie McMahon. Rollins gave a few jabs to Stephanie. Stephanie said that Triple H wasn’t there in the night. Stephanie said that Triple H is scared of what he would do to Rollins, and she told Triple H not to do anything.
Stephanie told Rollins that he owed her and the crowd an apology. Seth Rollins said that Triple H was scared of him because he is the greatest threat to his legacy. Seth said that he had nothing to lose. He said that he could invade WWE headquarters, a board of directors meeting, and perhaps even their own house.
Stephanie said that she lied and that Triple H was on his way to the arena, and he was coming for Rollins.
Bayley, Cesaro, and Sheamus vs Charlotte, Gallows, and Anderson – Six person mixed tag team match
Cesaro came out wearing tassels on his hands like Bayley.
Bayley ad Charlotte started off but Charlotte tagged in Karl Anderson. Bayley then tagged in Cesaro. Cesaro got the better of Anderson, so he tagged in Gallows. Charlotte distracted Cesaro which led to Gallows giving him a kick.
After the break, Cesaro was still getting dominated, but Cesaro managed to get the hot tag on Sheamus who started running through Gallows. Sheamus started pounding Gallows’ chest but Charlotte attacked him from behind. Bayley pushed her out.
At the end, Bayley hit the Bayley-to-Belly on Charlotte and picked up the win for the team.
Bayley, Cesaro, and Sheamus defeated Charlotte, Gallows, and Anderson.
After the match, backstage, Mick Foley was talking to Stephanie McMahon, who seemed shocked that he made the Universal Championship match. Foley told Stephanie he was doing his job, and that he wasn’t pleased when Triple H’s music played but he didn’t come out. Stephanie assured him Triple H was coming, and Foley convinced her to let the Universal Championship match between Braun Strowman and Kevin Owens happen.
Neville makes his entry as the King of Cruiserweights
Neville said that at Royal Rumble, people witnessed the coronation of the King Of Cruiserweights. He said 205 Live belonged to him. He said he did a lot more than just win the title, he proved everyone wrong. Rich Swann came out and said that as much as it pained him to see Neville with his title, he said he was going to wait for his opportunity and rematch.
Swann said that the fight between Neville and the WWE Universe is in his head. Swann offered his hand in appreciation of Neville beating him at Royal Rumble. Neville asked Swann when he was “going to get it”. He said that one doesn’ offer their hand to the king. They bend their knee and they bow. Swann was about to exit but Neville tried attacking him. Rich Swann managed to get the better of Neville.
A tag team tornado match was announced for later between Enzo & Cass and Rusev & Jinder Mahal.
Backstage, Sasha Banks had her knee wrapped up. Bayley told Sasha hat she should first recover then go after Nia, and that she had nothing to prove. Sasha said that “unlike some people”, she doesn’t like coming up short.
In the locker room, Kevin Owens expressed his frustration at Mick Foley for putting him in a match against Strowman. He told Chris Jericho that they needed to do it together in the night. Jericho pointed out that Owens was not there during his match earlier in the night with Sami Zayn. Owens said that he was sorting out things with Foley to get the match cancelled. Jericho agreed to help Owens out.
Kevin Owens vs Braun Strowman – Universal Championship
Braun Strowman assaulted Chris Jericho and sent him crashing through the announce table before the match began. Strowman was decimating Kevin Owens. He then hit Owens with a thud to the chest. Outside the ring, Owens moved out when Strowman was charging, Owens moved out of the way, so Storwman banged into the ring polls. Owens utilised the chance to give a cannon ball to Strowman against the barricade.
Strowman entered the ring by the count of six. Owens got some offence in, and as Strowman gave a powerslam to Owens, Roman reigns entered and hit him with a superman punch, disqualifying him.
Braun Strowman defeated Kevin Owens by Disqualification
Strowman, seemingly furious, was knocked over the top rope and then hit with a spear outside. He then went inside the ring and hit Kevin Owens with a spear.
After the match, outside the arena, a car pulled up. The commentators speculated that it was Triple H. Out came Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman.
Brock Lesnar makes a big challenge
After the commercial break, Brock Lesnar came out with Paul Heyman. As Heyman started his promo, the crowd began “Goldberg” chants. Paul Heyman said that every all-time great has that one person who has their number. He made a reference to Andre the Giant, Ronda Rousey and The Undertaker’s Wrestlemania streak.
He started talking about Goldberg being the one asterisk in Brock Lesnar’s record. He said that Brock Lesnar challenges Goldberg to a final match at WrestleMania 33.
Sasha Banks vs Nia Jax
Nia charged at The Boss but Sasha moved out and Nia hit the ring post. However, Nia dragged Sasha outside and rag dolled her. Nia Jax started working on Sasha’s knees. and the bell rang without the referee giving any signal whatsoever. Nia continued to put a submission hold and Bayley came out and made Nia stop. She checked on Sasha as Nia left.
Nia Jax defeated Sasha Banks
After the match, Bayley and the trainer are helping Sasha to the trainer room.
Enzo & Cass vs Rusev & Jinder Mahal – Tag Team Tornado Match
As the rules go, there are no tags in tornado matches. Enzo went after Jinder Mahal while Big Cass went after “Handsome” Rusev. The heels were dominating until the commercial break.
After the break, Enzo and Cass got the better of Rusev and Jinder. The heels overall got the better of Enzo & Cass. They made sure to take out Big Cass so they could punish Enzo. Big Cass almost pinned Rusev with an empire elbow, but Jinder broke the pin up.
At the end, Enzo & Cass hit the bada-boom shakalaka on Rusev to pick up the win.
Enzo & Cass defeated Rusev & Jinder Mahal
After the match, Triple H came out of a limousine outside the arena
Triple H confronts Seth Rollins; Seth Rollins gets an unexpected surprise
Triple H came out to “The King of kings” theme. Triple H talked about having chosen Seth Rollins and what he accomplished during the time. He said that everything had been handed to him on a silver plate, and he couldn’t keep his end of the bargain. He called Rollins an abject failure.
He told Rollins that he doesn’t owe Rollins an apology, but Rollins owes him an apology. He said that he tries to put everything behind him and go to the office and be a creator. He said he was done trying. He then removed his jacket and tie. He constantly referred to Seth as “Seth Freaking Rollins”. He called Rollins out and told him that he was his creator and told Rollins to meet his destroyer.
Seth Rollins made his entry, and Samoa Joe came out of nowhere and assaulted Rollins. He viciously assaulted Rollins and made him pass out with the Coquina clutch and stood tall to end the show.
