0
Raw kicks off with the AOP arriving, Charly asks them about their attack on Kevin Owens, the boys speak in their native tongue, let Charly know that she looks lovely, and that’s that…
We head to the broadcast booth and find out that Samoa Joe is back at the desk. – – Made up about this, Joe is fantastic on commentary, apparently he’ll be there until he’s cleared, it’ll be great to see him back in action, but until then, it’ll be brilliant to hear him on commentary during Monday Night Raw. This bit of news is a high.
Seth Rollins’ apology is next. Seth addresses his blunt comments to the Raw roster last week. Rollins says he was coming from a loving place, he refers to the roster as his family. Seth calls himself the head of the family, claiming that he was trying to motivate them. Rllins admits that he may have went overboard and wants to apologize. He apologizes to the fans, the locker room and Kevin Owens.
He calls out Kevin and wants to apologize to his face. Kevin arrives and calls bullshit on any apology. He questions him about the AOP’s attack last week, of which, Seth denies involvement. Kevin says he’s lying and says that it’s bullshit. AOP arrive and challenge them to a tag match later tonight. Kevin won’t fall for it because he knows that it would certainly end with a three on one ambush. Seth leaves and AOP cleas the way allowing Rollins to head to the back.
Kevin calls them to the ring for a fight, but they leave. Kevin still wants a fight, and Bobby Lashley heads to the ring. – Another high. It was a pretty decent opening segment, it hinted nicely at Seth turning heel and teasing a possible alliance with AOP.
Lana arrives. We see Kevin looking annoyed. Lana says it’s all about her and Kevin simply lets her know that no one cares. He begs her to stop talking because he’s vomiting in his mouth. Rusev won’t be here because she filed another restraining order. She mentions that if Rusev shows up, he will be arrested and will be sent to jail for a long time. Kevin says she talks a lot, yet says nothing, and calls her repulsive. Lana mocks Owens for being on the big side, and promises that Lashley will finish him.
Kevin Owens vs. Lashley is the first match. We see the police & Lana at ringside. The finish sees Kevin figting off Lashley’s Full Nelson attempt and hitting a Pop Up Powerbomb. AOP interfere and attack Owens for the DQ. – Not a bad match, furthers a story, nothing amazing, but it was good for what it was. It gets a high.
AOP continue to beat down Kevin and drag him up the ramp and to the back.
Lashley claims he was about to beat Kevin and doesn’t know anything about AOP. Rusev arrives and attacks Lashley. He beats him down and runs away from the police. The police then arrest Lashley, for basically no reason but story…. Lana slaps one of them and she gets arrested.
We see the Street Profits & R-Truth watching Lana & Lashley being taken away
Drew McIntyre vs. Akira Tozawa is up next. It’s a quick match, with McIntyre laying out Tozawa with a Claymore Kick for the victory.
Drew runs down the Raw roster after the match and calls out Randy Orton. After the break, Drew runs footage from last week’s fatal four-way where he basically chopped the chest off of Orton. He calls Orton, “stupid, stupid, stupid.”
Orton arrives and Drew asks him if last week’s chops were loud enough to drown out the voices in his head. Drew says that he will not be disrespected and says Orton acts like he owns the place and disregards the rules.
Drew talk about how he won’t be spoken to like a child, and Orton was the man in the past, but in 2019,the only thing ferocious about him, is his posting on social media. Drew is the biggest and best right now, and says he’s the future and the RKO is out. Orton says Drew has an issue with reality, and does what he wants because he earned that right, while Drew hasn’t earned anything.
The OC arrive and Styles is still pissed about losing the US Title. They call Orton an unapologetic jerk who ruins lives. “Look at AJ, charismatic and handsome with great hair.” Styles wants Orton tonight. Drew walks off, referring to the issue as an Orton/OC problem. The OC beat down Orton and Ricochet makes the save. The OC beat up Ricochet. Humberto Carrillo arrives and they beat him down until Rey arrives. He dumps Styles and the faces take the ring. – All in all, more great work from all, especially McIntyre and Orton. This is another big high.
Backstage, we see Ricochet, Humberto Carrillo, & Rey Mysterio meet up with Orton who appreciates the save, but says he didn’t need it.
Aleister Black vs. Tony Nese is next, another quick match, Black hits the Black Mass for the victory. Our first low, Nese deserves a bit better than a quick loss.
After the match, Buddy Murphy says he will expose Aleister Black as a man who takes himself way too seriously. Black needs to calm down, and he’s the man to do so.
Andrade vs. Eric Young is next, quick match, nice back and forth action before we see Andrade nail a Hammerlock DDT for the win. Andrade continues to pick up momentum, hopefully this is leading somewhere in the long run…
R-Truth and the rest of the lower card runs out for the 24/7 Title segment. We then see a FOX/NBC Universal/NASCAR tie in, as we see Kyle Busch wins the 24/7 title. – This was pretty funny, it’s getting a high.
Charly Caruso interviews Seth, asking him why he didn’t help Owens earlier. Seth says Owens didn’t want his help. When asked about his apology. He plays the victim and says that everyone is a critic, but not everyone can be a leader.
We see Erick Rowan talking to his little pet thing or whatever is in the cage.
Erick Rowan vs. No Way Jose is next, 2 Claw Slams and this one is over very quickly, Rowan picks up the win.
Backstage, Sarah Schreiber is asking Rowan what’s in the cage, he refuses to answer and walks off.
Asuka is interviewed backstage, cutting a promo in Japanese.
The Kabuki Warriors vs. Charlotte match is up next, the Warriors jump Charlotte and beat her down. The finish sees Charlotte attacking the knee of Asuka, and taking out Kairi Sane, Asuka gets speared, Flair locks in the Figure Eight Charlotte but Sane tagged in and hits the Insane Elbow for the win. Match of the night, it got decent time, and everyone looked strong. Another high.
We see Charlotte backstage who is asked if she regrets accepting the match, Flair says that she does not.
The Viking Raiders win a super quick match barely worth mentioning. – A lot of these on Raw lately, something that needs to change… A low, The Viking Raiders are really great, they should be doing much more, especially as Raw Tag Team Champions.
Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, & Humberto Carrillo vs. The OC is our main event, The finish sees Ricochet fight off AJ and hit the kick flip onto Anderson on the floor. Styles counters the avalanche hurricanrana into an avalanche Styles Clash for the win. Fantastic match to end the show, top talent all involved, all getting their time.
After the match, Orton lays out Styles with an RKO. – Another match with these 2 icons should be incredible. The match and the RKO get one more big high to end the broadcast.
Highs – 7
Lows – 2