This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw opened up with Seth Rollins looking for “The Demon King” outside of the arena. He called his name out a couple of times but he didn’t show up. Rollins then cackled and stated that if The Demon King wouldn’t come to him, he would go find him.
Rusev and Lana were in the ring complaining about what happened on last week’s Raw. Roman Reigns ruined their celebration of their wedding and it eventually led to Lana falling into a wedding cake. Rusev claimed that he would not leave the ring until Roman Reigns apologized. Mick Foley came out and tried to get Rusev out of the ring but Rusev refused. Rusev then demanded that Stephanie McMahon come down to the ring. Rusev then stated that he would contact Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan to see if he could go to Smackdown if he doesn’t start getting some respect. Roman Reigns interrupts and once again called Lana a mail order bride and Rusev a Sasquatch. Mick Foley temporarily resolved this situation by making a matchup for later in the evening. Roman Reigns will take on Rusev, who will be defending Lana’s honor.
Sami Zayn vs Sheamus
Cesaro joined the announcer’s table for this match, so you just knew he would play a part in the finish of the match. Zayn and Sheamus went back and forth in what amounted to a solid and physical match. Sheamus was in control and was going for the Brogue Kick when Cesaro finally made his way to the ring. This distracted Sheamus and gave Zayn enough time to recover. Zayn then hit Cesaro with the Helluva Kick for the victory.
Winner: Sami Zayn
Later on Raw, Cesaro and Sheamus were fighting backstage. Mick Foley intervened and revealed that Cesaro and Sheamus will be competing in a best of seven tournament with their first match happening at Summerslam on Sunday.
Reaction:Â This week’s Rusev and Roman Reigns promo wasn’t as corny as last weeks. The best of 7 tournament between Cesaro and Sheamus completely baffles me. They are both great performers, but why do we need to see them have a match over and over again? They had a match on the previous two episodes of Raw. I guess they have nothing else for them to do? Also, is Sami Zayn even going to be on Summerslam? He just won a match against Owens in which they billed as the end of their rivalry. Zayn emerged victorious and the WWE made it seem like it was supposed to propel his career. Titus O’Neil versus Darren Young might find it’s way onto the Summerslam card, but Sami Zayn won’t be on the show at all? I find that to be ridiculous.
Jericho and Kevin Owens had an amusing interview backstage in which they called Tom Phillips everything besides his name.
The New Day vs The Dudley Boyz
D-Von cost his team the match when he accidentally hit Bubba Ray. Kofi then laid out D-Von with the Trouble in Paradise for the victory.
Winners: The New Day
The Club have another promo about Big E’s privates. They take out two smaller jars labeled Kofi and Xavier. I cannot believe this is what this feud is about. This was an entertaining promo, but it was pretty much the same exact promo that aired last week on Raw.
Nia Jax vs Rachel Levy
Another enhancement match. Nia Jax won easily.
Winner: Nia Jax
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman addressed the WWE Universe in the middle of the ring. Before they could really get started, Heath Slater showed up and challenged Lesnar to a match. Slater claimed that he had kids and needed to put food on the table. Brock Lesnar stated that he respected that, but followed it up by saying he couldn’t give sh*t about Slater’s kids. Lesnar then hit a couple of German Suplexes on Slater and followed it up with an F-5. Slater rolled out of the ring and this allowed Paul Heyman to continue with his promo. Heyman did what he does best and talked up the match between Lesnar and Orton at Summerslam.
.@BrockLesnar WARNED @HeathSlaterOMRB. And it ended badly for the hottest free agent in @WWE. #RAW #BeastIncarnate https://t.co/Ood6viTpZc
— WWE (@WWE) August 16, 2016
Reaction:Â Heath Slater is good at what he does. The fact that he challenged Lesnar was awesome to me. The Orton and Lesnar match still seems to be lacking buzz. It doesn’t feel like a special match at all and I’m not sure why that is.
Big Cass vs Kevin Owens
Owens had control of this match in the beginning but Cass battled back. Jericho interfered in the match, causing a disqualification. Jericho attacked Cass from behind. Owens and Jericho then proceeded to beat the heck out of Cass and left him laying in the ring. Owens and Jericho then celebrated while standing tall over Big Cass.
Tom Phillips was set to interview Roman Reigns but that interview was cut short. Rusev attacked Reigns from behind and hit him with some really good looking haymakers to his back. Rusev then threw Reigns into a steel door a few times. Reigns fought back a little bit but Rusev tossed Reigns onto a table and referees broke up the brawl.
Reaction:Â Jericho and Owens are terrific as a team. The two minute backstage brawl between Rusev and Reigns was much more entertaining in my opinion than the promo earlier tonight and the horrific cake promo last week. Rusev looked like a madman and Reigns wasn’t going to back down.
The Shining Stars vs The Prime Time Players
Darren Young and Titus O’Neil reunited for one night only and naturally things didn’t work out. Darren Young accidentally hit O’Neil which led to him hitting the Clash of the Titus on Young. Primo then pinned Young for the win.
Winners: The Shining Stars
Neville vs Jinder Mahal
This was a quick back and forth match that concluded with Neville landing the Red Arrow for the victory.
Winner: Neville
Foley revealed to Stephanie McMahon that Jon Stewart will be a special guest at Summerslam. Maybe he will be wrestling Sami Zayn?
Seth Rollins was cutting a promo on Finn Balor and The Demon King when the lights began to flicker. A fan also appeared to run into the middle of the ring but security tackled him or her before they were able to reach Rollins. Balor came down to the ring as The Demon King and the crowd enjoyed the entrance. Rollins and Balor started brawling and Balor wound up getting the upper hand. Balor went for the Coup de Grace on Rollins but he rolled out of the ring at the last moment. Rollins didn’t escape though because Balor launched himself onto Rollins outside the ring. Balor then stared Rollins down from the middle of the ring as Rollins retreated.
Finn Balor's Demon King Receives "Holy S**t" Chant On Raw After Epic Entrance #WWE #Raw https://t.co/0tv6HG9CWy pic.twitter.com/MbU8u8H0JF
— Still Real To Us (@stillreal2us) August 16, 2016
The Club vs Golden Truth
The Club get the win after hitting the Magic Killer on Goldust. After the match, Woods and Kingston attacked The Club. Xavier Woods goes to hit Karl Anderson in the groin with his world famous trombone but Gallows made the save. Gallows and Anderson retreated as The New Day stood tall in the ring.
Winners: The Club
Charlotte threatened Dana Brooke backstage that she is in danger of being replaced.
Charlotte vs Alicia Fox
Sasha Banks was on commentary for this match. This was another quick match that saw Charlotte getting the victory via the Natural Selection. Sasha Banks went down to the ring to confront Charlotte but was attacked from behind by Dana Brooke. Charlotte then locked Sasha Banks in the Figure Eight for a substantial amount of time. Finally, the referee that was standing there the entire time realized that Charlotte probably wasn’t going to break the hold and he broke it up.
Winner: Charlotte
Rusev vs Roman Reigns
This was a terrific back and forth match. Rusev tried everything he could to defeat Roman Reigns but he couldn’t do it. Rusev locked in The Accolade but Reigns was able to power his way to the ropes. Shortly after that, Roman Reigns hit Rusev with a Spear for the victory. After the match, Reigns was celebrating in the ring and Lana was looking at Rusev with disgust.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Reaction:Â I was already looking forward to the Rollins and Balor match, tonight was just further proof that it will most likely be fantastic. Charlotte earned some new hatred tonight from the crowd as she had the Figure Eight locked in on Banks for a long time. I’m sure that will come into play in their match for the Women’s Championship at Summerslam. I was really surprised that Reigns defeated Rusev tonight. I thought for sure Rusev would get a cheap victory heading into Summerslam. Instead, it now seems like Rusev simply cannot defeat Reigns. It will be interesting to see what happens at Summerslam.
Rusev has really found his stride and Roman Reigns delivers in main events. These two work well together. #WWE #Raw
— Scott Fishman (@smFISHMAN) August 16, 2016
This week’s episode was certainly better than last week’s but did it get you anymore excited for Summerslam this Sunday? Let us know in the comments below.
