The July 10th edition of WWE RAW was the first episode after the Great Balls of Fire PPV, and aired live from the Toyota Center in Houston, TX.
– A video recapping Roman Reigns’ ambulance attack on Braun Strowman last night before the RAW intro video plays
– Big Cass comes out to the ring to kick off RAW this week. Cass asks the crowd how they’re doin’, and says he’s doing spectacular after what he did to Enzo last night. Cass shows some clips from last night and says that’s what happens when you mess with Big Cass. Cass tells the fans not to hop on his bandwagon now that he’s the future of WWE. Cass says he has big plans for his future in WWE and says nobody can touch him and nobody is on his level. Cass says no one is bigger than him and he’s on the top of the mountain, and with that, the Big Show comes out to object. Big show steps into the ring and stares down Cass. Cass steps up to Big Show and Big Show headbutts him. Big Show wrestles Cass down to the mat and hits him with some knees. Big Show goes for the knockout punch, but Cass ducks and rolls outside. Cass retreats up the ramp as Big Show stares him down from the ring.
He's 7 foot tall… he's on the top of the mountain… and he may have just gotten a BIG wake-up call from @WWETheBigShow! @BigCassWWE #RAW pic.twitter.com/kkSVid6NOm
— WWE (@WWE) July 11, 2017
– Brock Lesnar is in the house tonight. Finn Balor vs. Elias Samson is announced for tonight as well.
– Finn Balor def. Elias Samson: Samson starts to sing a song before the match but Balor’s entrance interrupts him. Samson overpowers Balor early on and takes him down to the mat. Samson misses a splash in the corner and Balor hits him with a kick to the head, which causes Samson to roll outside to recover for a moment. Back in the ring, Samson hits a vertical suplex and some knee strikes. Balor fights back with a boot to the face and some elbows. Balor follows up with some chops to the chest and a kick to the head that sends Samson falling outside. Balor hits a baseball slide dropkick, then tries to kick Samson from the apron but Samson blocks it. Samson slams Balor onto the ring apron, then hits an elbow drop in the ring before locking in an armbar on Balor. Balor fights out and hits a double foot stomp on the mat. Samson and Balor trade strikes, then Samson starts focusing on Balor’s left arm. Balor comes back with a Sling Blade and a running dropkick, then he follows up with the Coup De Grace for the win.
– After the match, The Hardy Boyz come out to the ramp to congratulate Balor on his win. The Hardys’ music hits and they make their way down to the ring. Jeff gets on the mic and talks about falling one second short last night in their Iron Man tag match. Jeff says he hears the haters saying their time has passed, and maybe they should fade away and classify themselves as obsolete. Matt gets on the mic and says they’re here to make a proclamation: The Hardys are not doing anywhere, and they are nowhere near done. Matt says they’ve only just begun to make magic within the WWE Universe, and with that, Gallows and Anderson interrupt. Gallows and Anderson call Matt and Jeff nerds and tell them to go practice their magic somewhere else. Matt says they’re not 100% tonight, they’re stitched up, bruised, and a little “broken,” but they’ll still fight Gallows and Anderson right now. Gallows and Anderson walk down to the ring, and we have a match.
– Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson def. The Hardy Boyz: Matt and Jeff double-team Anderson with a vertical suplex early on, then they hit the Poetry In Motion on Gallows. Gallows and Anderson get Jeff alone and hit the Boot of Doom on him, but Matt breaks up the pin attempt. Matt gets the tag and lays into Anderson with elbow shots. Matt repeatedly slams Anderson’s head into the turnbuckles, then follows up with a running clothesline. Matt hits a bulldog, then comes off the middle rope with a flying elbow. Matt goes for the Twist of Fate but Anderson escapes and Gallows cheap-shots Matt from behind. Gallows tags in and they hit the Magic Killer on Matt. Gallows pins and they score the victory, with Jeff being one second too late to break up the pin.
– After the match, The Revival interrupts Gallows & Anderson’s exit and they make their way down to the ring. The Revival hits the ring and beats down both Hardy brothers. They knee Matt in the head, then hit the Shatter Machine on Jeff.
– The Miz and his entourage are in the ring for Miz TV. The Miz says he he’s presenting an award show tonight called The Mizzies. The fist Mizzie Award is for best supporting actor, and it’s a tie between Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. They accept their awards, and thank The Miz for all he’s done for them. Miz presents an award for best leading lady to his wife Maryse, then gives the award for most outstanding performance to himself. Miz says Dean Ambrose is the toughest competitor he’s ever been in the ring with, but he beat him. Ambrose’s music hits and he comes down to the ring, but he is outnumbered by The Miz and his entourage. They beat down Ambrose until Seth Rollins comes out for the save.
– Dean Ambrose confronts Seth Rollins backstage and tells him a Shield reunion is not going to happen after what Rollins did to him last time. Ambrose tells Rollins to stay out of his business.
– Sasha Banks & Bayley def. Nia Jax & Alexa Bliss: Bliss starts, but immediately tags in Nia. Bayley tags in, and Nia drops her with a headbutt. Sasha and Alexa brawl through the ring and distracts Nia, allowing Bayley to hit a kick and a flying elbow. Sasha tags in and hit some strikes on Nia in the corner, then Bayley tags back in. Nia slams Bayley into the corner and stomps on her to take control of the match. Alexa tags in and briefly works on Bayley, before Nia tags back in and hits a headbutt on Bayley before putting her in a sleeper. Alexa tags in and drops Sasha off the apron while Nia beats down Bayley behind the ref’s back. Alexa goes up top and hits the Twist Bliss on Bayley, but Sasha breaks up the pin. Nia throws Sasha outside and follows her out. Alexa picks up Bayley, but Bayley rolls up Alexa in a pin out of nowhere for the win.
– Goldust is backstage cutting a promo on R-Truth for trying to ruin his movie premier last night. Goldust says he’s going to make another film, and while the sequel is normally never as good as the original, nothing about him is normal. Goldust reminds us that the golden age is back, then we go back to Cole, Graves and Booker T in the arena.
– Goldust def. R-Truth: Goldust takes Truth into the corner with strikes, but Truth quickly turns the tides and lays into Goldy. Goldust comes back with a knee and taunts Truth on the mat before hitting an elbow drop. Truth starts to fight back and fire up, but Goldust catches him with a spinebuster. Goldust mounts Truth in the corner and does his old school taunt before pummeling on Truth’s head. R-Truth grabs Goldust and powerbombs him off the corner. Truth goes to follow up with the scissor kick but Goldust dodges it and kicks R-Truth’s leg out from under him. Goldust starts working on Truth’s knee until Truth kicks him off. Truth hits a spinning heel kick, then successfully hits the scissor kick for a two count. Goldust goes back to working on Truth’s knee, then slams him into the ring post. Goldust follows up with the Curtain Call for the win.
– RAW GM Kurt Angle comes out to the ring and introduces “The Beast” Brock Lesnar. Lesnar and Paul Heyman come out to the ring, and Angle reminisces over his WrestleMania with Lesnar. Angle says he thought Joe had a shot at taking Lesnar’s Universal title, but he was wrong, and he congratulates Lesnar on a successful title defense with a hand shake. Heyman asks if Angle has anything else to tell them, and Angle asks if they’re curious to know who’s going to challenge Lesnar for the Universal Title at SummerSlam. Heyman says they aren’t interested in talking about this in public and start to leave, but they’re interrupted by Roman Reigns making his entrance. Angle tells Heyman he’s not done with him yet, then Angle tells Reigns he has a lot of nerve coming out to the ring tonight after what he did last night to Strowman. Reigns says he can’t believe Angle thinks Reigns went too far, since Angle was a part of the Attitude Era and they blew up everything back then. Reigns says Angle doesn’t know how to handle Strowman, and Lesnar is never around to handle him. Lesnar and Reigns stare each other down, and Angle and Heyman get between them. Reigns says he did Angle a favor by taking care of Strowman, so he wants a shot at Lesnar’s Universal Title at SummerSlam. Lesnar says Reigns has gotta be kidding, and says Reigns “doesn’t deserve shit.” Lesnar says right now is the closest Reigns will get to the title, because he doesn’t deserve it. Samoa Joe interrupts next. Joe says he’s going to bring everyone back down to reality, and says Lesnar didn’t beat him he just escaped him, and Reigns never beat him. Lesnar says the reality is that he beat Joe last night. Heyman says Reigns is more deserving of a Title shot, and that Joe will never get a title shot again. Lesnar and Joe get in each others’ faces until Kurt separates them. Joe says Lesnar’s advocate knows Joe has Lesnar’s number. Reigns also points out that Lesnar beat Joe, and Joe says Reigns is really mouthy for a guy who got beat by Strowman last night. Angle books Reigns vs. Joe for next week, and the winner takes Lesnar at SummerSlam. Angle says if they start fighting now he will cancel the match, and he instructs everyone to leave and go their separate ways.
– We go tot he announce table, where Corey Graves gets distracted by his cell phone and leaves.
– Kurt Angle is backstage with a troubled look on his face. Corey Graves walks in and Angle asks if he got the same text he got. Graves said he did. Angle says he can’t let this thing leak out, and if he goes public with it he might also have to say goodbye. Graves says that Angle is loved and respected by so many people, that he thinks everything will be fine. Angle looks very concerned as we go back to the arena.
– Akira Tozawa & Cedric Alexander def. Noam Dar & Neville: Alexander starts off with an elbow to the face of Dar. More strikes from Cedric until Dar rolls outside to recover. Back in the ring, Tozawa tags in and dropkicks Dar. Tozawa delivers more strikes to Dar until Neville tags in. Tozawa drops him and hits a senton drop, but Neville comes back with a slam into the turnbuckle. Neille works over Tozawa until Cedric gets the tag and hits a flying clothesline off the top on Neville. Cedric goes up top, but Neville knocks him down. Neville goes up top but Cedric knocks him off and Neville gets crotched on the top rope. Tozawa tags in and kicks the rope Neville is crotched on for some revenge from last night. Tozawa goes up top and hits a flying senton drop for the win. Titus celebrates with Tozawa after the match.
– Seth Rollins does an interview backstage where he says his goal earlier wasn’t to save Ambrose, but rather to shut up The Miz.
– We cut to Bray Wyatt in a dark room who asks how dare Rollins take his eyes off him. Bray says he won’t forgive Rollins for his sins, and he will burn for them.
– Bray Wyatt def. Seth Rollins: Rollins controls the opening moments with strikes and hits a knee to the face for a two count. Wyatt hits a lariat and goes for the Sister Abigail, but Rollins escapes and throws Wyatt outside. Rollins follows up with a suicide dive, then throws Wyatt into the ring post. Back in the ring, Wyatt comes back and gets Rollins in a chin lock as the crowd does “the wave.” Rollins starts to rally up but Wyatt shuts him right back down with a lariat. Wyatt and Rollins trade strikes in the corner until Wyatt catches Rollins with a DDT for a two count. Wyatt hits a big boot, but Rollins comes back with a kick to the head of his own and both men are down. Rollins hits the Sling Blade on Wyatt and Wyatt rolls outside. Rollins hits the suicide dive on Wyatt at ringside, then throws him back in the squared circle. Rollins hits a springboard clothesline off the top rope for a two count. Rollins hits two running forearm shots on Wyatt then a Blockbuster for another two count. Rollins hits the Falcon Arrow for another two. Wyatt hits an elbow to the face and goes for the Sister Abigail, but Rollins escapes and superkicks Wyatt. Wyatt comes back with some headbutts on Rollins, then he hits the Sister Abigail for the win.
– After the match the lights cut out and Wyatt disappears. Miz, Dallas and Axel comes down to the ring through the crowd. They surround Rollins in the ring, and Rollins briefly tries to fight them off but they overwhelm him. The Miztourage stomps out Rollins until Dean Ambrose comes down for the save and lays everyone out with a steel chair. Miz, Dallas and Axel back up the ramp as Ambrose stands tall in the ring and Rollins recovers.