'%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)
Rey Mysterio kicked of the RAW season premiere and his promo was promptly interrupted by Brock Lesnar who came in the ring and snatched his mic away. Heyman started to speak and Rey snatched his mic in reply but Brock delivered two huge F5s to the WWE Legend.
Rey's son, Dominick was watching in the front row and Brock motioned at him before dragging him over the barricades and sending him back first into the ring post and then the concrete. Brock tossed Dominick in the ring and then delivered a third F5 to Rey and another to Dominik before officials came out to stop him.
Segment Rating: A+
Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks
The Boss took out Alexa right off the bat and started a screaming match with Becky Lynch who was at the commentary table. The match continued and Becky was on top of the announce table as Sasha dominated in the ring.
Banks got a rollup pin and the three count before Becky rushed the ring and Banks ran into the audience and escaped. Becky threatened Sasha one last time before they called it quits, at least until Sunday.
Result: Sasha Banks def. Alexa Bliss
Match rating: C
Seth Rollins was in a backstage interview and he was shaken by what happened to Dominik earlier on. He said he will survive Hell in a Cell and walk out as champion before offering Rey Mysterio a shot at the Universal Championship match later. He also threw out sort of an open challenge for his title later in the night as well.
Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler were out for a match with Heavy Machinery and before it began, Jerry Lawler informed us that he saw Otis eat a steak in 12 seconds.
Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler vs. Heavy Machinery
Dolph Ziggler kicked off the match against Otis who made the tag early on before they hit a combined Suplex on the tag champ. Roode ran a distraction and took out Tucker on the outside as the champs got in control of the match.
Roode got a near fall on Tucker before tagging in Ziggler who was sent face-first into the turnbuckles. Otis tagged in and seemed unfazed by Roode's offense before Ziggler hit a ZigZag and Superkicks followed by a Glorius DDT from Roode to Tucker which ended the match.
Result: Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler def. Heavy Machinery
Match rating: B
Up next was a very special Miz TV segment with WWE Legends Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan. The Miz was out in a red suit and the pyro was back in full force to celebrate the premiere.
Miz TV featuring Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan
The Miz conveyed his regards to Rey and his son before starting off the segment. Ric Flair came out first and said Miz was looking good. Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart came out next, the latter being a surprise appearance.
Ric and Hogan were bickering early on and Flair said he was listening to Hulk's entrance music for too damn long. Flair looked like he had a bone to pick with Hogan, saying that he put in more time in the ring than him.
The started a mock fight before admitting that they aren't 'spring chickens anymore'. We learned that Crown Jewel in late October will see Team Flair and Team Hogan compete, the two teams being coached by the two legends.
Hogan announced that his team captain was Seth Rollins, who came out to the ring. Next one out was Randy Orton, who was the captain for Team Flair.
We learned that the two captains will be picking their teammates in the coming weeks before Randy challenged Seth to a match and he agreed.
Baron Corbin came out before the match began, and Randy attacked Seth off the distraction. Corbin attacked Rollins and it turned into a two-on-one streetfight. Rusev came out to save the champ and decimated the heels with Rollins' help before joining Hulk and Jimmy Hart on the stage.
Segment rating: A+
Backstage, Rusev was asked about Lana and he was silent. We got confirmation that Rusev and Baron Corbin will be joining Team Hogan and Team Flair respectively. Rusev then challenged his team's captain, Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship, tonight.
The AOP gave another promo, talking about violence and how they lust for it. They might need some counseling or anger management if you ask me. All that rage can't be good for your blood pressure.
The Viking Raiders vs. The OC
The Viking Raiders dominated Anderson early on in the match, keeping him from making the tag while the commentators talked about Live Action Roleplaying. Gallows was tagged in and the OC managed to gain some momentum as he kicked Ivar around. Erik came in with a tag and so did Anderson before we headed for commercials.
We returned to see the Raiders back in control as Ivar took both members of the OC out. The Raiders picked up the win as Ivar hit a flying splash from the top rope onto Gallows and got the pinfall.
Result: The Viking Raiders def. The OC
Match rating: B
Charly Caruso was backstage, talking about Lesnar possibly facing criminal charges when Cesaro started trash talking about how he too would have attacked Rey and his son, given the chance. Ricochet came out and challenged him to a match to shut him up.
Ricochet vs. Cesaro
Ricochet went for a series of quick kicks right off the bat before tossing Cesaro out of the ring and hitting a dive. Back in the ring, Cesaro gained some momentum with a backbreaker. Cesaro went for a huge mid-air uppercut and a pin, but Ricochet kicked out. Ricochet hit a top rope Hurricanrana and went into a pin paying tribute to Mysterio's West Coast Pop, getting the win.
Result: Ricochet def. Cesaro
Match rating: B
The FireFly Funhouse returned and Bray's 'friends' were scared about the upcoming match. Wyatt said that he was scared too, but only for Rollins and what the Fiend might do to him.
AJ Styles (c) vs. Cedric Alexander - US Title match
Alexander came out with a dropkick to the champ as the bell rang. Cedric kept the heat up and AJ was struggling early on. Both got plenty of pin attempts on each other as the match went on. Styles countered a big move into the Styles Clash and got the win.
Result: AJ Styles def. Cedric Alexander to retain the US Title
Match rating: A
The Street Profits were back and said they are still billed for NXT, not RAW. They apparently learned from an old janitor if you say the Fiend's name three times, he appears. Seems legit.
Lacey Evans vs. Natalya
Evans pulled Natalya under the top rope and slammed her head into the ring post as the match started. Natalya gained some momentum back and went for a Sharpshooter but Evan got the fistful o' tights off an illegal move and got the pinfall.
Evans hit the Women's Right on Natalya after the match.
Result: Lacey Evans def. Natalya
Match rating: C
Paul Heyman was backstage and screamed into a mic that Kofi should be scared, because apparently the devil thanks Lesnar for sending his victims to hell or something.
Maria Kanellis was backstage and confirmed that Rusev was not the father before Sasha banks took the mic away and said Becky was not ' man enough' for her.
A limousine pulled up in the parking lot right before the end of the show, who could it be?
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Rusev - Universal Title match
Rusev tossed Seth around the ring and the out of it, but wasn't really too aggressive about it. The commentatots were sure the 'specter of the Fiend' was there, as Lawler put it. Rollins hit a falcon arrow and almost got the pin.
Bobby Lashley showed up unannounced and brought Lana with him, and they kissed, shocking Rusev. The ring went dark right after and The Fiend made an appearance. He took out Rollins with the mandible claw and that was the end of the show!
Match result: DNF
Match rating: A
Episode rating: A
A good premiere, great promos, but the matches lacked tension as a result of cramming too much content into 3 hours.
