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WWE Monday Night Raw Reaction (8/29)

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Written by

Robert Lentini

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This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw kicked off with Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Big Cass and Roman Reigns in the ring. Corey Graves was interviewing the four men whom will be fighting for the Universal Championship in the main event on Raw. Seth Rollins interrupted Graves and began to brag about himself for several minutes. Seth Rollins then donated his speaking time to Kevin Owens. Kevin Owens then claimed that the seating in the ring resembled a therapy session. Owens then shouted “Hi my name is Kevin and I want to be the Universal Champion.” Kevin Owens then insulted everyone. Big Cass interrupted and had a brutal insult towards Seth Rollins. Cass told Rollins that no matter what he has been telling himself the past few years, size does matter. Corey Graves then asked Roman Reigns how he would come out victorious tonight and Reigns stood up and punched Kevin Owens in the face. Reigns then tossed Big Cass out of the ring and hit a Superman Punch on Rollins. Reigns then stood next to the Universal Championship, while Rollins and Big Cass recovered outside the ring. Kevin Owens was barking at Reigns from the entrance ramp but didn’t get back into the ring.

Reaction: I thought this was a really great promo to open up the show. The Fatal-4 Way for the Universal Championship is a hell of a main-event. Big Cass was able to address the fact that nobody expects him to win tonight, but he also looked like he belonged in this promo. Reigns said nothing and just beat everybody up. That is all he has ever had to do in the first place.

Chris Jericho vs Neville

Neville controlled this match right from the beginning. Jericho was trying to avoid Neville and rolled outside the ring. He then began to scream “shut up!” at the fans and Neville turned him around and kicked him in the stomach. Neville then tossed Jericho in the ring and Jericho hilariously tried to scamper away while on his knees. Jericho then tried to hide behind the referee to avoid Neville. It didn’t work as Neville stormed in and continued with the kicks to the mid-section. The referee had to break this up because it was taking place in the corner. It was at this moment where Jericho poked Neville in the eye as the referee was pulling him away. Jericho then took control of the match and hit a few stomps on Neville. When Raw returned from a commercial break, Jericho was still in control as he hit a Springboard off the ropes on Neville. Eventually, Neville was able to battle back and hit a Standing Shooting Star Press. Jericho once again tried to avoid Neville outside the ring but that didn’t work as Neville hit him with an awesome Springboard Moonsault. The action spilled back into the ring and Jericho went for the Codebreaker but Neville blocked it. Neville went for the Red Arrow but Jericho rolled out of the way. Jericho then brought back the Liontamer and Neville had no choice but to tap out.

Winner: Chris Jericho 

Reaction: This was a very good match. Neville’s athleticism really shined in this match. I think this iteration of Chris Jericho is very entertaining. Jericho has always been great but I think he is really hitting it out of the park in this run when it comes to his character.

Nia Jax vs Hyan

Another enhancement match. Nothing to see here. I’m just waiting for someone to come out and challenge either Nia Jax or Braun Strowman.

Winner: Nia Jax

Sami Zayn vs Jinder Mahal

Jinder Mahal got in a lot of offense in this match but eventually Zayn hit the Helluva Kick for the victory. This was a quick match, but decent enough. I find it strange that the WWE cannot come up with a storyline for Sami Zayn.

Winner: Sami Zayn

The New Day & Bayley vs The Club & Dana Brooke

This match was set up by two promos earlier in the night. The New Day were hanging out with Bayley backstage when Dana Brooke interrupted. This led to them setting up this match and a promo from The Club later in the night. The Club announced that they were retiring as doctors and are now entering the retirement business. Last week they retired the Dudley Boyz and this week they are working on retiring the New Day. They had an acronym that displayed on the screen and it spelled out “Old Fart” in reference to the Dudley Boyz. Dana Brooke then appeared in front of them and snapped on a rubber glove. Bayley came down to the ring with the New Day wearing the silly unicorn headband. The New Day had control of this match early on but when Raw came back from commercial, The Club had taken over. Kofi was trapped in the ring and couldn’t tag in Big E. Eventually, Kofi battled back but only Bayley was on the apron. Kofi tagged in Bayley and she started to beat down Dana Brooke. Big E took out Karl Anderson outside the ring but Gallows hit him with a boot to the face. Bayley then pulled down the top rope and Kofi went flying onto Gallows. Dana Brooke tried to roll-up Bayley but Bayley kicked out at two. Bayley then hit the Belly-to-Bayley on Dana Brooke for the victory.

Winners: The New Day & Bayley

Reaction: This was a solid match. I found the interview with Sasha Banks before the match to be very interesting. Charlotte joined commentary for the match and fired back at Banks. Charlotte claimed that neither Ric Flair or Dana Brooke were ringside for her match against Banks at Summerslam. Charlotte went on to state that she is not a coward and Sasha Banks shouldn’t have any excuses for losing her match at Summerslam.

Best of 7 Match: Cesaro vs Sheamus

Sheamus currently holds a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series. The match started out back and forth. The crowd chanted “you look stupid” at Sheamus. Sheamus was selling an elbow injury and Cesaro took advantage. Sheamus then called the referee over and was complaining about his elbow. Cesaro showed no mercy and continued to target the injured elbow. After the negative chants towards Sheamus, the crowd became silent. When Raw came back from commercial, Sheamus had taken control of the match. Sheamus was applying a Sleeper Hold but Cesaro battled back. Cesaro went to hit a move off of the ropes but Sheamus hit the Irish Curse. Cesaro responded with a Springboard Corkscrew Uppercut. Cesaro went for the Cesaro Swing but Sheamus blocked it. Sheamus tried to pin Cesaro while his feet were on the ropes but Cesaro still kicked out. Cesaro then hit 11 uppercuts on Sheamus. The action spilled outside the ring and Sheamus sent Cesaro flying into the turnbuckle. Sheamus then rolled Cesaro into the ring and locked the Cloverleaf on Cesaro for the submission victory.

Winner & Leading the Best of 7 Series 2-0: Sheamus

Reaction: Sheamus and Cesaro put on yet another good match. Having said that, the crowd was absolutely dead for this match. That was my concern for this best of seven series. If the crowd isn’t into the matches, it will be very hard to pull off five more matches in the series. I’m guessing the series will go seven and in my opinion it is off to a good start. Unfortunately, the crowd doesn’t seem to be all that excited about these matches so far.

The WWE then aired a tribute to the recently passed WWE Hall of Famer, Harry Fujiwara. He was known to the WWE Universe as Mr. Fuji and spent more than 30 years in the WWE.

Braun Strowman vs Americo

This was another enhancement match that saw Strowman getting the victory in under a minute. Eventually Strowman will face someone actually on the Raw roster, right?

Stephanie McMahon came down to the ring to address Brock Lesnar hitting Shane McMahon with the F-5 at Summerslam. Paul Heyman interrupted and came down to the ring. The crowd began to chant “ECW!” and Stephanie McMahon thanked the crowd for reminding her that she purchased ECW years ago. Paul Heyman then offered to pay the $500 fine and pulled out a gigantic bundle of one dollar bills. Heyman began to count out each bill when Stephanie interrupted him. Stephanie claimed that Lesnar crossed the line and Paul Heyman offers nothing to Monday Night Raw. Paul Heyman then apologized in the most sarcastic and condescending way possible. Stephanie McMahon accepted Heyman’s apology and left the ring. Heyman then stood in the ring laughing.

Reaction: The WWE is clearly building something between Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Brock Lesnar. Stephanie McMahon was simply pretending to care about her brother being attacked by Lesnar at Summerslam. A $500 fine for attacking the commissioner of Smackdown is laughable. I’m looking forward to see where this storyline goes in the future. I’m also curious if Vince McMahon will get involved in the story.

Titus O’Neil vs Darren Young

Titus O’Neil dominated this match early. Darren Young fell on top of a camera outside the ring. The crowd was brutally silent for this match. Darren Young wound up stealing this match with a roll-up. After the match, Darren Young tossed Titus O’Neil out of the ring. Bob Backlund and Darren Young were celebrating the victory but O’Neil ran back into the ring and attacked them both. O’Neil then hit the Clash of the Titus on Darren Young and left the ring.

Winner: Darren Young

Reaction: It is beyond obvious that this feud isn’t working at all. Titus O’Neil attacked a man that is close to 70 years old tonight and the crowd simply didn’t care.

Mick Foley was backstage with Stephanie McMahon. Foley stated that he should have been out there and should have had Stephanie’s back while confronting Paul Heyman. Stephanie shrugged it off and claimed that she could take care of herself. Seth Rollins showed up and stated that tonight he is going to bring the Universal Championship home. Stephanie McMahon then told Rollins that tonight is his night. Mick Foley also announced that all friends and tag teams were banned from ringside in the now Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match for the Universal Championship. The promo ended with Stephanie McMahon and Seth Rollins embracing in a hug while Mick Foley stood there awkwardly.

WWE Universal Championship Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match: Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens vs Big Cass vs Seth Rollins

Enzo joined Big Cass for his entrance. Big Cass then called his three opponents SAWFT. As soon as the match started, Kevin Owens rolled outside the ring and rested upon the barricade. All four Superstars were then fighting outside the ring. Rollins and Cass got back into the ring while Reigns and Owens brawled outside. Rollins went for a Suplex on Big Cass but Cass countered into a Suplex of his own on Rollins. Foley and Stephanie were ringside for the match. Cass and Reigns traded punches in the ring. The crowd booed every time Roman connected with a punch. Reigns went for the Superman Punch but Cass caught him. Cass then hit a massive boot to the face on Reigns that sent him flying outside the ring. Owens and Rollins brawled outside the ring and Owens laid Rollins out. Owens and Big Cass then turned around and Reigns sent himself flying on top of them from inside the ring. Owens went to go for the Cannonball on Big Cass but Rollins dragged him out of the ring. Rollins then sent Owens flying into the barricade. Reigns was picking up momentum. He hit Clotheslines on both Rollins and Owens but Cass drilled him with a kick to the face. Big Cass hit the Empire Elbow on Rollins in the middle of the ring. Reigns then hit a Superman Punch on Cass. Kevin Owens then hit a Frog Splash on Big Cass and eliminated him.

It was now down to Owens, Rollins and Reigns to determine who will obtain the WWE Universal title. Reigns was dominating Rollins when Raw returned from a commercial break. Reigns went for a Superman Punch but Rollins countered into a Falcon Arrow. Rollins launched himself from the top rope but Reigns hit a massive Superman Punch. Rollins kicked out at two and Reigns looked shocked. Owens then got back into the action and hit a Cannonball on both Rollins and Reigns. Owens went for another Cannonball on Reigns but Roman hit him with a Superman Punch. Owens kicked out at two. Owens went for a Pop-Up Powerbomb but Reigns countered and punched him in the face. Owens then rolled out of the ring. The crowd broke out in a “this is awesome!” chant. Reigns then hit went outside the ring and hit another Superman Punch on Owens. Reigns followed it up with a Spear on Rollins outside the ring. Triple H then showed up and hit a Pedigree on Reigns outside the ring. Triple H then rolled Rollins back in the ring and Rollins pinned Reigns.

It was now down to Rollins and Kevin Owens. Triple H then rolled Owens back into the ring. Triple H was about to hit Owens with a Pedigree but he let go and hit Seth Rollins with one instead. Kevin Owens looked shocked but took advantage of the situation. Owens then pinned Rollins and for the victory. After the match, Triple H got right in Foley’s face. Stephanie McMahon looked shocked and Triple H didn’t even acknowledge her. Triple H then left through the crowd.

Winner & New Universal Champion: Kevin Owens

Reaction: The match itself was very good. Triple H showing up made it awesome because I didn’t see that coming at all. This is what happens when the WWE has interesting storylines, everything is better. The stench from Summerslam is behind us and tonight’s Raw was very good. I’m already looking forward to next week’s show.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw? Let us know in the comments below.

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