This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW aired live on the USA Network from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN.
– Roman Reigns comes out to the ring to open up the show, and he is quickly interrupted by Stephanie McMahon. Stephanie says that she and Mick Foley have come up with a good solution for him, and with that, Foley comes out. Foley announces that Reigns vs. Rusev for the U.S. Title will take place at Clash Of Champions. Foley says he’s offended by wrestlers not taking him at his word anymore, so he needs to prove a point. He also gives Reigns a rematch against Kevin Owens tonight. Owens comes out to the stage to disapprove. Stephanie points out that it will be a non-title match. Foley adds that the match will take place inside a steel cage, right here in Memphis, Tennessee.
– Stephanie McMahon is yelling at Foley in the back about putting Owens in a cage match so soon before his Universal Title defense. Rusev approaches and also tells off Foley. Rusev leaves to walk out for his match, then Foley gets a phone call from Chris Jericho.
– Rusev vs. Seth Rollins – Double Count-out: Rusev’s U.S. Title is not on the line in this one. They go back and forth pretty evenly in the opening minutes of the match. Rollins hits a Blockbuster off the middle rope early on, then a series of chops to the chest. Rollins goes to the top rope, but Rusev throws him off with one hand and Rollins is down. Rollins is able to come back with a series of forearm shots in the corner, then a Falcon Arrow for a two count. Rusev blocks a superkick and comes back with a knee to the mid section and a kick to the head. Rusev goes for the Accolade but Rollins escapes and hits a flying knee off the top rope to the face of Rusev. Rusev rolls outside and Rollins drops him with a suicide dive through the middle ropes. Rollins rolls back in the ring then hits another suicide dive on Rusev on the other side of the ring. Rollins and Rusev brawl up the ramp and the referee counts them both out. Rollins ends up throwing Rusev off the stage, then jumps off the announce table with a splash onto the U.S. Champion.
– Charlotte and Dana Brooke are in the back complaining to Mick Foley about last week’s match. Foley says Dana gave him a great idea, and books Charlotte in a match against Sasha Banks and Bayley at Clash Of Champions. Charlotte gets mad at Dana again and pushes her down to the floor.
– Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens are in the back talking about how badly Mick Foley is treating them. Jericho says he’s going to make a list of the things Foley is doing wrong, and when Foley sees it he won’t like…. it.
– Braun Strowman def. Sin Cara: Sin Cara gets in lots of offense early on and dodges Strowman’s attempt at a splash in the corner. Strowman eventually drops Sin Cara and starts dominating the match. Strowman throws Sin Cara outside and follows him out, but Sin Cara runs back in the ring and comes flying out with a suicide dive. They both get back in the ring and Sin Cara goes for a springboard moonsault, but Strowman catches him in mid-air and hits a running powerslam for the win.
– Bayley and Sasha Banks talk backstage about which one of them is going to win the Women’s Championship from Charlotte on Sunday. They agree to disagree and get ready for their tag team match tonight.
– Charlotte & Dana Brooke def. Sasha Banks & Bayley: The heels control the opening moments of the match until Bayley throws Charlotte into Dana on the apron. Bayley then knocks Dana off the apron down to the floor, and she takes a breather with Sasha. Charlotte gets the tag and starts working on Bayley, but eventually Sasha gets the tag and the babyfaces hit a double suplex on Charlotte. Charlotte comes back and starts working on the injured back of Sasha. Charlotte and Dana take turns working on Sasha’s back until Bayley gets the hot tag. Dana distracts Bayley, allowing Charlotte to hit a big boot on Bayley for the win.
– Seth Rollins is in the back cutting a promo on Stephanie McMahon about Triple H screwing him over. Stephanie denies knowing anything about her husband’s actions, and says maybe Triple H was embarassed by Seth Rollins losing too much. Stephanie says she thinks Owens is the right person to be the Universal Champion and that Owens has replaced Rollins as “the man.” Rollins says Stephanie has lost her touch since her brother Shane returned.
– Bo Dallas def. Local jobber: Dallas cuts a “Believe in Bo” promo before the match. Bo’s opponent gets a “let’s go jobber” chant from the crowd, but Bo dominates the match with knees and clotheslines. Bo hits a spinning reverse DDT for the win in a short squash match.
– Cesaro def. Sheamus: Sheamus opens up the match in control and immediately starts working on Cesaro’s injured back. Cesaro comes back with a running European uppercut and goes for the swing, but Sheamus reaches the ropes and throws Cesaro outside to the floor. Sheamus goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Cesaro hits a dropkick that sends Sheamus falling to the floor. Cesaro beats down Sheamus all around ringside, then back in the ring hits a springboard elbow. Cesaro goes for a superplex, but Sheamus gets out and hits the White Noise on Cesaro onto the corner of the ring apron. Sheamus misses a big boot, but is able to hit the Irish Curse backbreaker for a 2 count. Sheamus hits a Celtic Cross across his knee on Cesaro but Cesaro kicks out of that too. Sheamus puts Cesaro in the Texas Cloverleaf, but Cesaro escapes. Cesaro misses an uppercut in the corner and Sheamus rolls him up with his feet on the ropes. The referee breaks the hold and Sheamus argues with the ref. Sheamus misses a big boot and Cesaro comes back with a European uppercut and the Neutralizer for the win.
– Chris Jericho confronts Mick Foley backstage with his list. Foley tells Jericho he’s got to deal with the cruiserweights and leaves him. Jericho says since Foley won’t talk to him one-on-one, he’s going to have to tell the world what’s on “the list of Jericho.”
– Jericho comes out to the ring and says Foley has ruined RAW since he became GM. Jericho starts reading items from the list of things he hates about Foley until he gets interrupted by Enzo and Cass. They make fun of Jericho for saying he’s best friends with Kevin Owens. Enzo makes fun of Jericho’s scarf, and Jericho marks them down on the list. Jericho says their insults are outdated, then he gets interrupted again by The Shining Stars. The Stars come out talking about timeshares, then The New Day quickly interrupts them. The New Day says they have nothing better to do than come out and mess with Jericho. Xavier plugs an iPhone giveaway on his YouTube channel, then Gallows and Anderson interrupt. They say they’re taking The New Day’s tag titles on Sunday and trash the other teams. Jericho says he’s starting a new list, a list of stupid idiots and everyone in the ring is on it. Jericho starts walking up the ramp then is interrupted by Sami Zayn who beats down Jericho all over ringside. Zayn throws Jericho in the ring and everyone starts brawling.
– Sami Zayn, The New Day, Enzo & Cass def. Chris Jericho, The Shining Stars, Gallows & Anderson: Michael Cole announces that this 10-man tag match was made by Mick Foley during the commercial break. Kofi hits a springboard splash off the back of Big E onto Primo in the corner early on for a two count. Anderson gets the tag and hits a spinebuster on Kofi for another two count. Kofi gets the hot tag to Big Cass and he clears the ring and apron. Cass hits a splash on Primo in the corner and a powerslam followed up by the Empire Elbow for a two count. Big E throws Kofi over the top rope down onto Gallows and Anderson on the floor at ringside, then Jericho throws Big E outside. Sami Zayn hits a tornado DDT on Jericho in the ring, then a big boot on Primo. Enzo and Cass hit the Bada Boom on Primo for the win.
– Mick Foley is in the ring to introduce us to the cruiserweights. He botches “it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog,” but he continues on. He introduces us to the first four cruiserweights to compete on RAW, up next.
– Brian Kendrick def. Cedric Alexander vs. Gran Metalik vs. Richard Swann: Before the match, Foley announces that TJ Perkins will be defending his Cruiserweight Title against the winner of this match. After the opening bell rings, Kendrick rolls outside and watches the other three competitors go at it. Swann drops Metalik with a dropkick, then Kendrick gets back in the ring and drops Swann with an elbow to the face. Alexander starts working on Kendrick with chops to the chest, then Kendrick rolls outside again. Metalik hits a springboard elbow on Alexander, and Alexander comes back with a springboard clothesline off the top. Swann throws Kendrick outside again then puts Alexander in a dragon sleeper. Alexander gets out and starts trading chops to the chest with Swann. Alexander hits a hurricanrana that sends Swann outside, then hits a suicide dive over the top rope onto Kendrick on the floor at ringside. Metalik then hits a springboard suicide dive onto all three of his opponent on the floor. Kendrick mounts a comeback and lays out Swann with a kick to the face. Kendrick gets Alexander in an armbar and Metalik breaks it up with an elbow off the top. Malik comes off the top again, this time with a springboard dropkick on Swann. He follows up with a running shooting star press on Swann for a two count. Swann gets his feet up to block a moonsault then hits a Tiger bomb for a two count. Alexander comes back with a kick to the head for another near fall. Kendrick goes for the Sliced Bread, but Metalik blocks it. Kendrick hits a tornado DDT on Metalik for a two count, then Alexander drops Kendrick with a running knee. Swann drops Alexander with a kick to the face, then follows up with a 450 splash for a near-fall. Kendrick throws Swann outside, then Metalik hits a dropkick on Kendrick. Alexander hits a back suplex into a backbreaker on Metalik, then Kendrick sneaks in the ring and gets Alexander in a crossface for the win via submission.
– Nia Jax vs. Alicia Fox is announced for the Clash Of Champions kickoff show.
–Roman Reigns def. Kevin Owens: Owens tries to escape through the door and over the top of the cage early on, but Reigns stops him each time and beats him down. Reigns controls the match until Owens sidesteps a flying clothesline and sends Reigns flying into the side of the cage. Reigns misses a Superman punch and Owens hits a German suplex followed up by a cannonball in the corner. Owens goes for a Senton splash but Reigns gets his knees up to block it. Owens and Reigns trade right hands in the middle of the ring until Owens hits a superkick. Owens goes for the pop up powerbomb but Reigns reverses it into a Superman punch for a two count. Owens blocks and spear attempt and successfully hits the pop up powerbomb for a two count on Reigns. Owens starts climbing the cage to escape but Reigns stops him by grabbing his leg. Reigns hits a Superman punch that sends Owens falling off the top rope. Reigns starts climbing the cage as Owens starts crawling out the open cage door. Reigns beats Owens to the floor and Reigns wins.
– Immediately after the match, Rusev attacks Reigns but Reigns gets the better of him until Owens joins in. Owens kicks the cage door in Reigns’ face, then Rusev goes to work on Reigns. Rusev and Owens take Reigns in the ring and lock the cage door shut. The heels beat down Reigns and Rusev puts him in the Accolade. Seth Rollins comes out for the save and climbs the cage. He jumps off the top of the cage down onto Owens and Rusev in the ring and RAW goes off the air.
