This week’s Monday Night Raw kicked off with a massive food fight featuring the entire WWE locker room. The food fight ended with Heath Slater getting Chokeslammed through a table and Kevin Owens getting a pie to the face.
United States Championship Match: Rusev (c) vs Titus O’Neil
Rusev came out to a chorus of boos because Lillian Garcia had just finished a rendition of the National Anthem. Titus O’Neil came down to the ring dressed as Uncle Sam, or Apollo Creed from Rocky IV.
Titus O'Neil coming out looking like Apollo Creed from Rocky IV #WWE #Raw Lets hope the match goes better for Titus pic.twitter.com/8HmwJZSrTs
— Rock Bottom Radio (@RockBottomRadio) July 5, 2016
Rusev slammed Titus into the steel ring steps and dominated the match early. Titus O’Neil fought back and even hit the Clash of the Titus, but Rusev kicked out at two. Rusev locked in the Accolade and the crowd broke out in a “USA!” chant to try to motivate Titus to get to the ropes to break the hold. Unfortunately, it did not work and Titus O’Neil was forced to submit. After the match, Rusev locked in the Accolade once again and Titus O’Neil screamed in agony. Rusev then broke the hold and grabbed a microphone. Rusev sarcastically wished America a happy birthday and celebrated with his United States Championship.
Reaction: Once Titus O’Neil came out in that ridiculous outfit it was a guarantee that he was going to lose. I’m not really sure where Titus O’Neil can go from here. Hopefully, this match marks the end of this feud.
The Social Outcasts come out dressed as Minutemen and are immediately interrupted by Big Cass and Enzo Amore. Enzo recited the names of all the presidents and claimed they would be insulted if they saw the Social Outcasts. This led to a tag team match between the two teams. Heath Slater’s arm was in a sling, presumably selling the effects of the Chokeslam he suffered during the food fight.
Social Outcasts vs Enzo & Big Cass
Enzo and Cass dominated this match and defeated the Social Outcasts rather quickly. After the match, Enzo put on one of the wigs that the Social Outcasts brought with them and danced around in the ring.
Feeling Presidential! @WWEAaLLday21 @BigCassWWE #RAW pic.twitter.com/DdNOHYAOku
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 5, 2016
Charlotte and Dana Brooke came down to the ring. Charlotte claimed that she was the real boss and this led to Sasha Banks coming down to the ring to confront Charlotte. Dana Brooke and Charlotte eventually attacked Banks but Sasha was able to get the upper hand. Sasha had Charlotte in the Bank Statement but Dana Brooke was able to drag Charlotte out of the ring. Both Dana Brooke and Charlotte retreated as Sasha Banks stood tall in the ring.
Reaction: Sasha Banks hit this promo out of the park. She has all the momentum in the world and should be holding the Women’s Championship very soon.
The Miz vs Dean Ambrose
Michael Cole referred to this as a rare match because it was champion versus champion, even though it just happened on Smackdown a few days ago. Much like their match on Smackdown, it was a back and forth contest. Once again, Dean Ambrose was victorious via pinfall. After the match, JBL was screaming into his headset that this is the dark ages of the WWE because Dean Ambrose is the WWE Champion. Seth Rollins’ music hit and he walked past Ambrose without any confrontation. Ambrose was about to exit when he decided otherwise and sprinted back towards the ring. Rollins thought that Ambrose was going to attack him, but Ambrose simply wound up sprinting to the announcer’s table.
Seth Rollins vs Dolph Ziggler
Dean Ambrose was on commentary for this match. This entire match was back and forth and the crowd was into it. Ziggler hit a Super Kick out of nowhere but Rollins kicked out at the last second. Shortly after, Rollins was able to counter the Zig Zag by Ziggler and hit him with a Pedigree for the win.
After the match, Rollins climbed on top of the Spanish announce table. Seth Rollins grabbed a microphone and once again demanded that Roman Reigns be removed from the triple threat match. Rollins called Reigns a cheater as well. Dean Ambrose then attacked Rollins and hit him with the Dirty Deeds on the Spanish announce table. Unfortunately, the table did not break.
Reaction: The match between Rollins and Ziggler was excellent. I find it strange that for the second week in a row, the WWE has mentioned the Roman Reigns suspension. It has not been revealed what Reigns was suspended for, however Rollins insinuating that Reigns “cut corners” to make it to the top makes it pretty obvious what he was suspended for. Also, the crowd was cheering during Rollins’ rant on Roman Reigns.
Vickie Guerrero returned and said that she wanted be the GM of Smackdown. Odds are that will not be happening as she was escorted out of the arena by security.
Golden Truth vs the Vaudevillians
The Golden Truth defeated the Vaudevillians in a match that lasted only a couple of minutes.
Reaction: I feared that the Vaudevillians would become another tag team that the WWE gave up on quickly. It is looking like that may be the case, which is unfortunate.
John Cena comes down to the ring and cuts a promo on AJ Styles and the Club. It didn’t take long for Styles and the Club to interrupt Cena. The Club attacks Cena and beat him down. Enzo and Cass came out to help Cena and they clean house. Styles and the Club retreat as Enzo, Cass and Cena celebrate in the ring.
Becky Lynch vs Summer Rae
Becky Lynch defeated Summer Rae in a solid match. Natalya was shown backstage watching Becky Lynch celebrate her victory. Natalya will be facing Becky Lynch at WWE Battleground.
The New Day cut a promo claiming that the Wyatt Family are hillbillies, etc. They are interrupted by a Wyatt Family vignette and once again Xavier Woods looks freaked out. Bray Wyatt challenges the New Day to come down to their compound and the New Day accepts. Xavier Woods gets angry at Big E and Kofi Kingston because they don’t seem to be taking the Wyatt Family seriously. Xavier Woods stated that if Big E and Kofi Kingston don’t start taking the Wyatt Family seriously, the New Day won’t survive. Xavier Woods exited the ring without Big E, Kofi and his trombone.
HE LEFT THE TROMBONE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 #RAW
— 🏴☠️ (@cantrlysay) July 5, 2016
The Multi-National Alliance vs Team USA (Elimination Match)
Sin Cara and Bubba Dudley were eliminated very quickly. Cesaro eliminated D-Von Dudley with the Sharpshooter. Chris Jericho eliminated Jack Swagger with the Code Breaker. Mark Henry eliminated Kalisto with a World’s Strongest Slam. Kevin Owens immediately hit Mark Henry with a massive Pop-Up Powerbomb and eliminated Henry. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens began brawling, even though they are on the same team. Kevin Owens hit Sami Zayn with a steel chair and got himself disqualified from the match. Kane then hit Kevin Owens with the chair and was also disqualified.
Apollo Crews pinned Sami Zayn after Kane hit a Chokeslam on him. Immediately after that pinfall, Crews was laid out and pinned by Sheamus. Jericho, Del Rio and Sheamus refused to tag in Cesaro, which led to Cesaro flipping out and hitting all three of them with Upper-cuts. Zack Ryder eliminated Cesaro. Big Show eliminated Chris Jericho with a Knockout Punch. Big Show then eliminated Del Rio with a Chokeslam. It was then down to Big Show and Zack Ryder versus Sheamus. Zack Ryder eliminated Sheamus via the Rough Ryder, sealing the victory for Team USA.
Reaction: This match was entertaining for what it was. I didn’t see Zack Ryder being the one standing tall at the end of the match so that was a pleasant surprise. For the most part, this felt like a throwaway episode of Monday Night Raw.
Yes, @ZackRyder just won in the main event of RAW. 'Merica. #RAWTonight
— WWE Creative Humor (a sub of TKO Creative Humor) (@WWECreative_ish) July 5, 2016
What did you think of this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw? Let us know in the comments below.