'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
RAW came to us live from the 02 Arena in London this week. With the show taking place in the UK, the show was on tape delay. RAW GM Kurt Angle wasn’t on the show tonight so who would be in charge? We also found out the new #1 contender’s for the RAW Tag-Team Championships. Let’s go straight to the results.
Dean Ambrose kicks off RAW
Fans chanted “Deano” at Ambrose as he addressed the fans in the middle of the ring. He informed fans that Kurt Angle wasn’t going to be on the show before announcing that he would be the acting GM for the night.
As Dean continued to talk about how tonight’s show was going go, The Miz’s music hit. The Miz berated Ambrose as he made his way down to the ring, saying that anyone else would have been better than Ambrose. Miz informed Dean that he’d gotten a call from Stephanie McMahon which drew chants of “DELETE” from the fans in the 02 Arena.
Miz informed us that Stephanie had named him as the co-GM for the night. Miz then said that RAW finally had a GM who was awesome. Ambrose replied by telling The Miz to enjoy while he could because Extreme Rules was around the corner. Miz replied that he beat Balor and Rollins last week on RAW.
Ambrose offered Miz a handshake which Miz tentatively reached out for. Braun Strowman’s music hit at this point and he came out wearing a sling on his arm. He was met with chants of “Thank you Strowman”. Strowman said that he beat Roman Reigns at Payback but he wouldn’t be done while Roman could still walk. He then informed Dean Ambrose and Miz to inform Kurt Angle that he wanted Brock Lesnar after he was done with Roman Reigns.
At this point, Kalisto’s music hit and the luchador came out and challenged Braun Strowman to a match later in the night. He said that even after he beat Strowman in the dumpster match, Strowman had been unable to take it like a man. After the match was officially booked, Ambrose put Miz in a match with Finn Balor before leaving the ring.
Finn Balor vs The Miz
Miz left the ring immediately as soon as the bell rang. When Miz got back in the ring, Balor took him down with a bell-to-back takedown. Miz replied with an elbow to Balor’s face. Balor replied with a dropkick followed by a strike combo. He then hit an enzeguiri which sent Miz scrambling.
Balor followed it with a clothesline that sent Miz crashing to ringside and followed it up with a running dropkick at ringside. Balor rolled Miz back into the ring and headed to the top rope looking for the Coup de Grace when Maryse pulled him out. Miz recovered with Maryse as we headed for a commercial break.
We came back from the commercial break to see the Miz back in control after a distraction from Maryse. Miz hit Balor with a neckbreaker for the nearfall and followed it up with a snap DDT for a second one. Miz continued breaking Balor down, using every inch of the ring.
Balor suddenly hit back out of nowhere with a Pelle Kick which floored The Miz. Balor got back to his feet first and hit Miz with a running dropkick. Miz replied with a boot to the face and climbed onto the middle rope. Balor replied with a kick to the head which once again sent Miz crashing to ringside.
Balor followed it up with a PK from the apron before dragging Miz back into the ring. As Maryse got back up on the apron, Balor pushed the referee into The Miz which caused Miz to head to ringside and pick up the mic. As “co-GM”, he announced that Balor was disqualified for putting his hands on the referee.
As Miz and Maryse walked to the back, Ambrose came out and restarted the match with Maryse ejected from ringside.
Balor brought Miz back into the ring and hit him with a Slingblade before heading to the top rope and hitting the Coup de Grace for the win.
Finn Balor def. The Miz
We went backstage with Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax. Jax challenged Alexa to a title match after Alexa was done with Bayley. Alexa replied that she didn’t make the matches but would talk to Kurt Angle about his. Nia replied that till their match, Alexa had got herself a new best friend.
Alexa Bliss vs Mickie James
Alexa Bliss came out accompanied by Nia Jax while her opponent Mickie James had Bayley in her corner.
The two women started off at a brisk pace and the former 5-time women’s champion Mickie James started out on top. She had Alexa firmly in control as we headed to a commercial break.
Alexa was in control by the time we came back from the commercial break. She worked on James’ left arm as the former champion tried to get back to her feet. James briefly looked to be back on track as she hit a hurracanrana, but Alexa quickly hit back and continued her assault on Mickie James’ arm.
Alexa missed a jumping double knee which gave James a way back into the match. She hit Alexa with a flurry of knees before planting her face-first into the mat. Nia Jax grabbed James’ foot and distracted her at this point which led Alexa Bliss to pin Mickie James.her face-first into the mat. Nia Jax grabbed James’ foot and distracted her at this point which led Alexa Bliss to pin Mickie James.
Alexa Bliss def. Mickie James
Bayley chased Alexa Bliss out of the arena after the match while Nia Jax continued the punishment on Mickie James.
Samoa Joe was backstage talking to Charli Caruso when Seth Rollins attacked him from behind. The two of them brawled backstage before referees separated them.
Braun Strowman vs Kalisto
Braun Strowman took to the mic before the match began, calling Dean Ambrose a terrible GM. He then said he wouldn’t wrestle because he was injured. However, the referee rang the bell despite Strowman’s words and hit Kalisto with a massive boot as soon as the bell rang.
Braun was pounding Kalisto in the corner when Roman Reigns’ music hit. The former 3-time WWE Champion returned to RAW and made his way down to the ring and targeted Strowman’s injured arm. Reigns had the upper hand as he hit a Superman Punch which sent Strowman rolling to ringside.
Strowman briefly replied with a big boot but Roman was soon back on top as he attacked both of Strowman’s arms. Reigns then picked up a chair and hit Strowman across the injured arm before hitting him across the back and then following it up with a second chair shot to the injured arm which forced Strowman to retreat to the back.
Match ends in no contest
Cesaro & Sheamus vs. Enzo & Cass vs. Rhyno & Slater vs. The Club vs. Golden Truth (#1 Contender’s Tag-Team turmoil match)
We started off with Enzo and Cass facing Cesaro and Sheamus. Sheamus and Cass started the match. The two went back and forth and Cass showed off he was one of the few men who could overpower Sheamus. Cass took control briefly before tagging in Enzo which turned out to be a mistake. Sheamus soon overpowered him and hit him with the Irish Curse Backbreaker.
We came back after a commercial break to see Cesaro in control of Enzo. As Enzo finally reached his corner to make the tag, Sheamus pulled Cass off the apron. Cesaro then took advantage and locked in a Sharpshooter which forced Enzo to tap.
Enzo and Cass are eliminated
Heath Slater and Rhyno were the two men who were out next. Cesaro and Sheamus met then on the entrance ramp and they sent Rhyno crashing into the steel stairs. They then turned their attention to a helpless Heath Slater.
Cesaro rolled Slater into the ring and worked on him as Rhyno tried to get back up to his feet at ringiside. Slater somehow fought back and hit Cesaro with a heel kick but there was no one to tag in his corner.
Sheamus hit Slater with a flying clothesline before taking Rhyno out once again. Sheamus then hit the Brogue Kick before pinning Slater.
Rhyno and Heath Slater are eliminated
Gallows and Anderson were the next team out. They started off strong as Anderson hit Cesaro with a knee strike in the corner before tagging in Gallows. Gallows rained down elbow strikes on Cesaro.
Cesaro hit a vertical suplex out of nowhere before tagging in Sheamus. Sheamus and Gallows fought hard before Anderson came in. The Club tried to hit the Magic Killer on Sheamus when Cesaro came in and clothesline Anderson out of the ring.
Sheamus took advantage and hit Gallows with a Brogue Kick for the elimination.
Gallows and Anderson are eliminated
The last team left were the Golden Truth. They came in all guns blazing as they took the fight to Cesaro and Sheamus, who were tired by this point. Sheamus tagged in the fresher Cesaro who focused his attack on Goldust’s knee. He then tagged Sheamus back in as R-Truth tried to rally the crowd to get behind the Golden Truth.
Sheamus and Cesaro traded tags as they cut the ring in half and isolated Goldust. Cesaro floored R-Truth with a cheap shot and locked in the Sharpshooter. Truth came in and broke up the submission move before Goldust finally tagged him in.
Truth was in fine form as he hit Cesaro with a Reverse Falcon Arrow followed by a Lie Detector for the nearest of falls. Cesaro rolled Truth up after this to win the match.
Golden Truth eliminated
Sheamus and Cesaro win the #1 contendership
Cesaro and Sheamus took out the Golden Truth after the match which led to the Hardy Boyz to come out and chase the new #1 contender’s away.
Seth Rollins vs Samoa Joe
This match was set up earlier in the night. After their match at Payback, Joe was out for revenge and retribution. The two former NXT Champions went all out during the match as they went back and forth.
Joe gained control early on as he hit Seth with nice strike combinations before Rollins took back control with a Slingblade. Joe hit back with a vertical suplex before dragging Seth up by the hair. Rollins caught Joe with a high-elbow before following it up with a Blockbuster from the top rope. Joe replied by attacking Rollins’ knee which caused him to crumple at ringside for a brief moment as we headed to commercial.
We came back to see Joe and Rollins going back and forth and trading strikes. Joe got the better of the strikefest and covered Rollins for a nearfall. Joe taunted Rollins and continued to pound him down as chants of “Let’s go Rollins” began.
Rollins blocked an attempted Coquina Clutch and hit a jawbreaker. As Joe rolled to ringside, Rollins hit two consecutive suicide dives. Back in the ring, Joe took back control with a Powerslam and followed it up with a Senton for another nearfall.
Rollins dug into his energy reserves and somehow hit the much larger Samoa Joe with a Falcon Arrow. Rollins then headed to the top rope but Joe met him there and pulled him away which inadvertently caused the turnbuckle to get exposed. Joe sent Rollins sternum-first into the turnbuckle before following it up by driving Rollins back into the exposed turnbuckle which caused the referee to DQ Joe.
Seth Rollins wins by DQ
After the bell, Joe sent Rollins head-first into the exposed turnbuckle once again before locking in the Coquina Clutch.
Jack Gallagher vs TJP
TJ remained perched on the top turnbuckle as the match began and refused to get down. He mocked Gallagher, who mocked him in turn with the dab. TJP then got down and dabbed in Gallagher’s face and then ate a headbutt.
Perkins then slammed Jack's head off the steel steps by tripping him. TJP then had Gallagher in a Butterfly lock but Gallagher caught him with a kick and then landed tow uppercuts and flying kicks.
TJP then went for a Detonation Kick but Gallagher rolled him up. TJP replied with a roll-up of his own and pinned Gallagher.
TJP def. Jack Gallagher
Alicia Fox vs Sasha Banks
Alicia slapped Sasha across the face as this match began. Sasha replied with one of her own and a brawl ensued between the two. Alicia hit a beautiful bridging Nothern Lights suplex for a nearfall.
Sasha Banks replied by driving her knees into Alicia Fox in the corner. Foxy replied with knees of her own. Alicia overpowered Sasha as she went for the backstabber and she dumped Sasha onto the top turnbuckle. Sasha hit the double knees from the middle rope to pick up the win.
Sasha Banks def. Alicia Fox
Bray Wyatt vs Dean Ambrose
The Miz was on commentary for this match.
Ambrose and Wyatt locked up to start us off and Wyatt took control early. Ambrose hit back as he sent Wyatt rolling out to ringside and followed it up with a suicide dive. As Ambrose tried to roll Wyatt back into the ring, Wyatt hit him with a vertical suplex on the floor at ringside.
We came back from commercial to see Wyatt in control. He hit Ambrose with a running body check in the corner before hitting a DDT. Wyatt then locked in a headlock as he tried to keep Ambrose off his feet.
Despite Wyatt’s efforts, Ambrose got back to his feet and hit a Jawbreaker. Undeterred, Wyatt tried to hit a Senton from the top rope and missed once again. As Ambrose headed to the top rope, Wyatt rolled out to ringside. This didn’t stop Dean, who dived out to ringside.
Miz got up from commentary and headed to ringside. This almost cost Ambrose immediately as Wyatt tried to surprise him and hit him with a Sister Abigail. Ambrose and Wyatt then traded punches on the top turnbuckle. Ambrose pushed Wyatt off and looked for a clothesline but Wyatt met him with a right hand.
At this point, Miz distracted Ambrose with the Intercontinental title match. Ambrose dodged Wyatt and hit Miz with a suicide dive. As the match spilled to ringside, Miz hit Ambrose with the title belt from behind. However, Ambrose still kicked out.
Wyatt then hit Ambrose with the Sister Abigail to pick up the win.
Bray Wyatt def. Dean Ambrose
Miz attacked Ambrose after the match. Clearly with an eye on their Intercontinental Championship match on RAW next week.
