On the final Monday Night RAW before SummerSlam, solid in-ring action and entertaining segments were in abundance but too many filler bouts watered down an otherwise solid show.
Roman Reigns got his hands on Rusev six days early, Brock Lesnar took a delusional Heath Slater to Suplex City– after telling the “One Man Band†that he does not give a s**t about his kids. Finally, Seth Rollins got his wish as he came face-to-face with Finn Balor’s ‘Demon King’ persona, setting the stage for their match on Sunday to crown the first WWE Universal champion.
With nine matches on the evening, RAW had a strong start and a strong finish but a noticeable lull in between. However, the intrigue for SummerSlam is higher coming out RAW than it was when the night started.
Sheamus vs. Sami Zayn: Zayn took it to Sheamus early, throwing his shirt in Sheamus’ face to start the match. However, the size difference came into play as Sheamus had Zayn reeling until the Underdog from the Underground took his offense to the air. Sheamus hit White Noise and Zayn hit his Blue Thunderbomb but neither man could put the other away. Cesaro provided a key distraction, allowing Zayn to hit the Helluva Kick for the win. The Cesaro vs. Sheamus rivalry will continue with a best of seven series that will begin at Summerslam.
New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs. The Dudley Boyz (Devon Dudley and Bubba Ray Dudley): Despite the Bullet Club taunting New Day about injuring Big E, the WWE Tag Team champions overcame the veteran Dudley Boyz after Kingston hit Devon with the Trouble in Paradise.
Rachel Levy vs. Nia Jax: Despite her small frame, Levy told Byron Saxton in a pre-match interview that she believes she can win. That was not the case as Jax added Levy’s name to her list of victims since making her main roster debut
Kevin Owens w/Chris Jericho vs. Big Cass w/Enzo Amore: Owens started strong but Cass utilized the first part of his name, using his size to overpower Owens. After the fight spilled out onto the floor, Jericho hit Cass from behind to force a disqualification. Owens and Jericho got the upper hand in a post-match brawl with their SummerSlam adversaries.
The Shining Stars (Primo and Epico) vs. The Primetime Players (Darren Young and Titus O’Neil) w/Bob Backlund: The newly reformed Primetime Players did not last long as O’Neil turned on Young, allowing the Shining Stars to pick up the win. Backlund looked on in confusion.
Neville vs. Jinder Mahal: Just weeks after his WWE return, Mahal reprised his role of several years as the man taking the fall for more established stars. Nevile hit his signature Red Arrow for the win.
The Club (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) vs. Golden Truth (R-Truth and Goldust): Another short match with The Club picking up the win with the Magic Killer.
Charlotte vs. Alicia Fox: Charlotte hit Natural Selection to defeat Fox in a short but competitive match.
Roman Reigns vs. Rusev: For the second straight week, Rusev has competed in the final match of RAW and for the second straight week, he put on a solid performance. He will defend his United States championship against Reigns on Sunday but on RAW, he was defending Lana’s honor. Reigns and Rusev gave a sterling preview of their SummerSlam bout, hitting each other with all of their signature moves. Reigns won with a spear to end the show.
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