Follow along with our live coverage of Monday’s episode of WWE Raw.
On Monday, the latest episode of WWE Raw will take place. This is the last edition before Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, which will see three cell matches, all for titles. Each bout will receive its final build in Minneapolis, MN.
Charlotte and Sasha Banks will hype their Raw Women’s Championship bout for Hell in a Cell. It’s going to be the first-ever women’s cell match, and could main event the show. However, this has not been confirmed yet.
This feud has arguably lasted since January. After WrestleMania 32, though, they split away from each other for two months. This changed when Banks returned in the summer to challenge Charlotte for the title again, and eventually won it on the July 25 episode of Raw. Two more belt exchanges would be seen after that, though, with The Boss now in possession. Before their potentially last encounter, who will stand tall?
Kevin Owens will also look to dodge Seth Rollins before their cell match. They have been at each other’s throats for the past two months, with things coming to a head on Sunday. Chris Jericho has been the wild card for the past few weeks as he and Owens haven’t been on the same page. Tension has been teased between the two friends, which could culminate at Hell in a Cell. Can they stay on the same page on Raw?
New Day will also look to keep Cesaro and Sheamus out of their way as they build for a Raw Tag Team Championship match. However, this odd couple tag team hasn’t gotten along well, so could they get in each other’s way on Raw?
With this in mind, follow along with our coverage of Raw beginning at 8:00 PM ET.
Chris Jericho Opens Raw
Jericho says the Triple Threat match between him, Kevin Owens, and Seth Rollins has been canceled until further notice. He says someone stole the List of Jericho and will stay in the ring until someone gives him back it.
Kevin Owens comes out and says he doesn’t know or care who has the list. However, he’ll help find it. Stephanie McMahon comes out next and says they’ll find the list, but Jericho needs to focus on the main event. Seth Rollins comes into the arena with the list. He reveals Stephanie McMahon is on the list and says Owens is on there too. Rollins says in a nutshell that he’ll destroy Owens on Sunday.
The tension here could be carved with a knife. It seemed to indicate that Jericho and Owens are steadily dividing, especially if the end of The List is true. These two and Rollins have a main event match tonight, which could further the feud.
Could the main event be where Owens first attacks and turns his back on Jericho? Either it’s going to be tonight or Sunday at Hell in a Cell.
Stephanie McMahon and Seth Rollins Backstage
Stephanie says she wants to know where the list is. Rollins gets angry and says it’s in the locker room.
Enzo Amore vs. Karl Anderson
Result: Enzo Amore defeats Karl Anderson via pinfall.
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Before the match, Anderson and Gallows shut off Enzo and Cass’ microphones so they couldn’t project themselves. However, in something that was probably way better than it should have been, Enzo and Cass still did their usual shtick and got the fans behind them.
Enzo getting the win probably sets up for Anderson and Gallows to win on Sunday. They’ve taken back to back singles losses, so based on WWE’s usual tag team match booking, this may be the avenue they go down.
Rusev Promo
Rusev cut a pre-recorded promo on how he will defeat Roman Reigns at Hell in a Cell.
New Day Promo
New Day turns Sheamus’ name into “Shame” and Big E even name-dropped Bill Simmons at one point.
New Day vs. Cesaro and Sheamus
Result: Cesaro and Sheamus defeat New Day via pinfall.
Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars
Here’s WWE’s latest edition of “We’re hyping a pay-per-view match for you on Sunday, but since there are three hours of Raw, we need to fill in some time”. However, this match performed admirably.
For the first segment, this bout didn’t do much. It was a pretty standard tag match until Raw returned from commercial break. This saw Cesaro, Sheamus, Big E, and Kofi Kingston all turn it up a notch to put on something pretty good. The closing sequence made for the best part of this match too as Cesaro hit a ridiculous uppercut on Kingston and Sheamus took out Big E with a big Brogue Kick for the win.
The odd couple team has momentum going into Hell in a Cell. They probably still won’t be the favorites, but should have a shot.
Chris Jericho Backstage
Jericho searches all throughout the locker room for The List of Jericho and encounters the bottom of Raw’s roster.
Bayley vs. Dana Brooke
This became an arm wrestling contest. Dana beat Bayley due to her bad right arm. Bayley won with her good right arm, but Brooke slapped her and they briefly brawled. Bayley then hit Bayley to Bayley.
The crowd did not like this. An arm wrestling contest on WWE programming in 2016? This has Vince McMahon written all over it. “Boring” and “we want wrestling” chants filled up the Target Center, and with good reason. Let’s just pretend this segment didn’t matter because it did not.
Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon Backstage
Jericho says no list, no match for tonight. Stephanie says she’s suspending him if he doesn’t wrestle in the main event.
Curtis Axel vs. Bo Dallas
Result: Bo Dallas defeats Curtis Axel via pinfall.
Axel may have cut the promo of his life before the match started. He may have gotten the most crowd support he’s ever received.
Bo getting the win may end this brief feud. Where this guy is going remains to be seen because this “holding a sign” gimmick won’t get him far. Maybe a mid-card title shot at some point?
Chris Jericho Backstage
Someone tells Jericho they found the list, which turns out to be Braun Strowman. He gives Jericho the list, but gets put on it himself.
Roman Reigns Promo
Reigns cuts a pre-recorded promo on his match with Rusev at Hell in a Cell. He says Rusev doesn’t know how to battle inside the cell and doesn’t know what it’s like to win in this match.
Golden Truth vs. The Shining Stars
Result: Golden Truth defeats The Shining Stars via pinfall.
There’s not much going on with this feud, so does it matter? It feels like they’re going to be in the Hell in a Cell pre-show, though.
Raw Women’s Championship Match Contract Signing
This segment got highlighted by Mick Foley explaining to Sasha Banks and Charlotte that they don’t understand what they’re getting themselves into. Sasha and Charlotte would both answer back with two fiery promos on how they aren’t afraid of Hell in a Cell.
The emotions ran high here, especially with Foley’s words on what Hell in a Cell can do to you. While him inserting himself into the argument felt a bit forced and repetitive (see Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose from 2014), it still made a mark for the first-ever women’s cell match.
No fists were thrown here, which is more than fine. Hell in a Cell matches usually see body parts fly, so saving this for Sunday makes plenty of sense. Not worth giving something away after all the matches these two have had and the usual predictability of contract signings.
Banks and Charlotte should get the main event spot at Hell in a Cell. WWE has yet to confirm what the actual headliner will be, though. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns vs. Rusev are the others. However, neither feud has lasted as long as the one for the Raw Women’s Championship. Shouldn’t that be enough to make a decision?
Brian Kendrick vs. Rich Swann
Result: Rich Swann defeats Brian Kendrick via pinfall.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Wow, a bit surprising here that Swann beat Kendrick six days before Hell in a Cell. A very unusual thing of WWE to do to say the least. If the former WWE Tag Team Champion wins on Sunday, could that mean Swann feuds with him at a later date?
Kevin Owens Interview
Owens says he and Chris Jericho are on the same page and will take out Seth Rollins on Raw. He says Rollins will be dismantled and have a permanent scar left on him.
A great backstage promo here from Owens just minutes before the main event match. His match with Rollins should be fantastic at Hell in a Cell.
Braun Strowman vs. Sami Zayn
Strowman looked for other competition, but when he had his back turned, Zayn tried to take a shot at him. He got in brief offense, however, until Strowman slammed him into the barricade.
This match could get added to Hell in a Cell or the Kickoff Show.
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman Promo
Heyman says the “Goldberg” chants are starting to anger Brock Lesnar. He says Lesnar will victimize and conquer Goldberg when they have their match. The crowd took over with “Suplex City” chants as Heyman tried pointing out the people who were chanting “Goldberg”. the segment seemingly got cut off when this wasn’t working.
This was horrible, and not because of Lesnar, Heyman, or the fans. WWE booked this as a promo to get Goldberg over with the fans, which would work in almost any other arena in the United States. However, they attempted to do this in Lesnar’s hometown of Minneapolis, MN, where he gets overly positive reactions every time. How tone deaf can this company be to not think ahead?
Heyman and Lesnar were left to stare at everyone because they couldn’t do anything to draw heat against the latter. The music then seemingly got played to cut them off and end this before it got worse.
This is all WWE for not booking ahead. Maybe they should have skipped a Lesnar or Goldberg appearance altogether for Monday night.
Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
Result: Seth Rollins defeats Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens via pinfall.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Rollins pinning Owens and Jericho is clever. That rarely gets seen, but given that Jericho and Owens did not have their tensions play up in this match, this finish fit. Seeing these friends not tease anything seemed curious, though, and almost like it didn’t exist. However, for one match on a Raw that meant just about nothing, this wasn’t the worst thing to happen.
The post-match antics should have plenty of impact on Owens vs. Rollins at Hell in a Cell. The Architect getting powerbombed into the apron should put a back injury into play, which could lead to his demise on Sunday. KO will probably target it throughout and may even win because of the hurt body part.
As for Jericho’s involvement, he didn’t get named a special guest referee, which seems a bit odd. There probably will be something else planned for him on Sunday night. It could come in the post-match part since Owens should retain the Universal Championship. They could have a disagreement mid-match, which plays into the closing part of the bout.
Final Grade: C
What did you think of Monday’s episode of Raw?
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