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RAW kicked off from Madison Square Gardens with Stone Cold Steve Austin coming out to the ring and reminiscing about all the great times he has had at the venue. He spoke about his match with The Undertaker and hitting Vince McMahon with the Stone Cold Stunner. He then moved on to the Universal Championship contract signing and called Braun Strowman out to the ring.
Braun held out his hand to Steve for a handshake but the WWE Legend ignored him and invited Seth Rollins to ring. Steve finally shook both their hands after Seth came in the ring and the signing began. Seth said Braun thinks that Steve was out to get him and Rollins reassured that no one was stabbing anyone in the back. Seth signed the contract and Braun did too, after a few threats to Rollins.
AJ Styles and the OC came out and mocked Austin, saying no one really cares about him anymore. The crowd went against the OC and called AJ an 'a**hole' as he walked up to the ring. AJ called Austin an old fart and the tag champs attacked The OC. Styles sent Rollins over the ropes but Stone Cold was behind him and hit a Stone Cold Stunner, ending the segment.
Segment rating: A+
AJ Styles vs. Cedric Alexander
Cedric unloaded on AJ as the match began, trying to take advantage of the events that transpired right before the match. AJ fought back as the match went on but took a big kick to the head and then a splash on the outside. Alexander hit the Michinoku driver and AJ managed to kick out.
Gallows and Anderson came in and started beating on Alexander, ending the match in a DQ. The Viking Raiders came in and took out the OC and Cedric joined the post-match brawl, wiping out the OC.
Result: Cedric Alexander def. AJ Styles via DQ
Match rating: B
Sasha Banks and Bayley were backstage, celebrating their friendship and mocked the team of Becky Lynch and Charlotte.
Bray Wyatt came onscreen to say that a special episode of Firefly Funhouse was coming up later in the night.
Roman Reigns was out next to talk about Connor's Cure and his own fight against cancer. He called out the kids that were part of the Connor's Cure program and gave them their moment in the spotlight.
Becky Lynch & Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley
Charlotte and Becky attacked Sasha and Bayley during their entrance and a huge brawl broke out as the Superstars fought their way to the ring. Charlotte brought a chair in the ring and drove their opponents away before the match began.
The RAW and SmackDown champs kicked off the match and Becky was in trouble early on. After a break, Charlotte was caught in the Banks Statement and The Queen reversed into a figure 8 which Bayley had to break up.
Becky Lynch & Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley (contd...)
Sasha hit a Meteora on the outside as we headed for another break. We returned to see Sasha in control as she tagged Bayley and they hit a double team move on Charlotte. Becky was tagged in and took control of the match.
Sasha hit the Backstabber on Becky and Charlotte hit a big boot on Sasha. Becky hit a double missile dropkick on the opponents followed by a leg drop on Bayley.
Bayley hit suplexes to her opponents on the outside and all four women were down. Charlotte hit the Natural Selection and got the pin on Bayley in the ring.
Result: Charlotte & Becky Lynch def. Bayley & Sasha Banks
Match rating: A+
Backstage, the OC were being interviewed and ran into Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode who proposed an alliance against 'common enemies'. AJ was up for it.
Rey Mysterio vs. Gran Metalik
The rookie and the legend put on a clinic and countered each other, move for move. Rey Mysterio hit a Hurricanrana and set up for the 619 but Metalik was too fast. Metalik was in control and hit a huge dive to the outside and it looked like Rey's neck took some damage.
Mysterio took back control with a senton but was caught with a Hurricanrana off the top rope. Mysterio got a huge Sunset Flip and the 619 followed by the frog splash for the win.
Result: Rey Mysterio def. Gran Metalik
Match rating: A
Backstage, The Street Profits were hyped for the upcoming 10-man tag team match that was scheduled for later in the night and even plugged the WWE Network and Clash of Champions. They then hyped Roman Reigns vs. Rowan that was set for Sunday and cut to a video package for the setup of the match.
We learned that the 24-7 title changed hands twice before the show began.
Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin vs. Ricochet - King of the Ring: Semi-Finals
Joe was sent out of the ring early on and Ricochet hit a Standing Shooting Star Press on Corbin and he kicked out. Ricochet hit dives on both men as we headed for commercials. We returned to see Corbin bounce Ricochet off the ring post and Joe sent Baron into the barricades.
Ricochet was in trouble in the ring and Corbin wiped out before Ricochet hit a huge kick to the face of Joe, taking him down. Joe hit the Coquina Clutch on Corbin and Ricochet leaped on them. In the ring, Ricochet hit his finisher but Corbin dragged him out and got the pinfall on Joe.
Result: Baron Corbin def. Samoa Joe & Ricochet and will take part in the finals
Match rating: A
Lacey Evans vs. Natalya
Lacey Evans started off strong but Natalya took control early and tried for a sharpshooter but failed. Outside the ring, Lacey took control and used the apron to do massive damage to Natalya's head. Lacey hit the moonsault but no one was home. She then smashed Nattie's head into the mat and then the turnbuckles. Natalya came back with a big boot and hit the Sharpshooter for the win.
Result: Natalya def. Lacey Evans
Match rating: C
The Firefly Funhouse was back to teach us about stranger danger. The stranger happened to be Stone Cold Steve Austin and the other characters joined in on the commotion till Bray shut them up. He said strangers were just friend we haven't made yet and added that friends might forget about each other's past wrongdoings, but the Fiend never forgets. He then ended the segment with: "See you in Hell".
10-Man Tag Team Match
Seth Rollins and Ziggler started the match off and the champ was in control early on. The Viking Raiders hit Ziggler with a double team and a huge brawl broke out in the ring as we headed for another commercial break.
We returned to see AJ in control as he kept Cedric from tagging out. Gallows came in and Roode took advantage of a distracted referee. Roode came in with a tag and hit an armbar on Cedric. Alexander broke free and made the tag to Rollins while Anderson came in on the other side.
Rollins hit a Falcon Arrow and all the Superstars came in for a big sequence. Anderson hit a spinebuster on Rollins after a break and Braun came in to clean house. Ivar came in and took down Styles before leaping on the rest of the team. Alexander hit the Lumbar Check on AJ and got the win.
Result: Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Cedric Alexander def. The Viking Raiders vs. The OC, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode
Match rating: A+
Stone Cold Steve Austin came out to celebrate after the match with some beers.
Episode rating: A+
An amazing show at Madison Square Gardens saw the return of a legend and some 5 star matches.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
