WWE RAW aired live from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. RAW Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Omos put the titles on the line against the Viking Raiders tonight. WWE Champion Bobby Lashley responded to Goldberg’s challenge for a match at SummerSlam as well.
RAW Results (7/26)
- Damian Priest def. Sheamus (non-title match)
- AJ Styles & Omos def. Viking Raiders to retain the RAW Tag Titles
- Drew McIntyre def. Veer via DQ
- Karrion Kross def. Keith Lee via submission
- Mansoor & Mustafa Ali def. Mace & T-Bar
- Bobby Lashley def. Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander
- John Morrison def. Riddle
- Reginald def. R-Truth to retain the 24/7 Championship
- Charlotte def. Nikki A.S.H.
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
There Will Be A Triple Threat For The RAW Women’s Title At SummerSlam
RAW Women’s Champion Nikki ASH kicked off this week’s show. The crowd gave Nikki a great reaction as she welcomed everyone to Monday Night RAW. Nikki added that she was so happy to be the new RAW Women’s Champion and the crowd chanted “you deserve it”. Nikki spoke about the confidence she gets from putting on the superhero costume before Charlotte interrupted.
Flair strolled to the ring and grabbed a microphone. Charlotte claimed that it was a disgrace that Nikki was RAW Women’s Champion and she shouldn’t represent WWE dressed like that. The crowd booed Flair and chanted “you suck!” as she boasted about defeating Rhea last week again. Charlotte vowed to get her rematch at SummerSlam and blamed the fans for all the injustice.
Charlotte claimed that the fans were jealous of her and then Rhea Ripley interrupted. The crowd loudly chanted for Rhea as she poked fun at Flair for only holding the title for a day. Eventually, Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville joined the party and announced a Triple Threat match for SummerSlam. They then said Charlotte will face Nikki later tonight.
Damian Priest Pinned The US Champ
US Champion Sheamus faced Damian Priest in the first match of the night. Sheamus dominated the match early and beat Damian down in the corner. When RAW returned from a break, Sheamus was still in control and had Damian trapped in a Headlock.
Damian escaped and dropped Sheamus with a kick to the face. Sheamus hit a kick of his own and climbed to the top rope. Priest grabbed Sheamus by the throat and connected with a massive Chokeslam for a two count. Damian responded with an Alabama Slam and went for the cover but Priest kicked out at two.
Priest unloaded a bunch of kicks to Sheamus’ face but Sheamus responded with a big knee to the face for a two count. Damian hit a Clothesline and followed it up with the Reckoning for the pinfall victory. Sheamus shouted that Damian re-broke his nose after the match.
Opinion: I still look forward to the day that WWE builds up challengers without pinning their champions. I’d like to think someone eventually will ask “why are we routinely making our champions look weak on television?”. It also weakens the moment when Damian does win the title because we’ve now already seen him pin the champion.
AJ Styles & Omos Retained
AJ Styles and Omos defended the RAW Tag Team Championships against Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) tonight. Viking Raiders hit Viking Experience on Styles early but couldn’t go for the cover because Omos beat them down outside the ring as RAW went to a break.
When RAW returned, Viking Raiders were in control and had Styles isolated in the ring. Ivar tried to drag Omos off the apron but the big man just booted him away. Omos got into the ring and Powerbombed Erik to the mat. Styles followed it up with an awesome springboard 450 Splash for the pinfall victory. AJ Styles and Omos are still the RAW Tag Team Champions.
Drew McIntyre def. Veer via DQ
Drew McIntyre faced Veer on this week’s RAW. Before the match, McIntyre tried to get a “Drew is gonna kill you” chant going. Veer got in some offense early and leveled McIntyre with a shoulder tackle. Veer followed it up with an Elbow Drop for a near fall.
Veer applied a Headlock in the middle of the ring but Drew quickly battled to his feet. McIntyre broke the hold but Veer hit him with a kick to the ribs. McIntyre responded with a shoulder tackle of his own and Jinder slid a chair into the ring. McIntyre hit the Claymore and kicked the chair into Veer’s face. According to the announcers, Drew won the match via DQ because Jinder Mahal introduced the chair. After the match, McIntyre leveled Jinder’s attorney with a Claymore to the face.
Alexa Bliss Distracted Eva Marie
Tamina & Natalya faced Eva Marie & Doudrop. Doudrop dominated early and hit Tamina with a Splash. Eva Marie demanded to be tagged in and went for the cover but Tamina kicked out. A video package for Lilly and the Lilly-Lution aired and distracted Eva Marie. Tamina capitalized with a Superkick on Eva for the pinfall victory. Natalya was shown being helped to the back after the match and appeared to have injured her leg.
Karrion Kross Tapped Out Keith Lee
Keith Lee faced NXT Champion Karrion Kross tonight on RAW. Keith Lee hit a couple shoulder tackles before Clotheslining Kross out of the ring. Lee followed him out there and Kross sent him into the ring post. Kross connected with a Suplex on the floor outside the ring as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, Kross sent Keith Lee to the corner and beat him down. Lee and Kross traded punches in the middle of the ring. Lee hit the pounce and Kross fell to the canvas. Karrion battled back and locked in the Kross Jacket for the submission victory.
Mansoor & Mustafa Ali Picked Up A Win
Mace & T-Bar faced Mustafa Ali & Mansoor tonight on RAW. T-Bar leveled Mustafa Ali and then knocked Mansoor off the apron. Ali eventually battled back and was able to tag in Mansoor. Mace tagged in at the same time and Mansoor greeted him with an Enziguri.
Mace went for a slam but Mansoor countered into a reverse DDT. Mansoor went for the cover but T-Bar broke it up and sent him to the outside. Mustafa came out of nowhere and hit an awesome Suicide Dive into a Tornado DDT outside the ring. Mansoor then rolled up Mace for the pinfall victory.
Lashley Dominated & Sent A Message To Goldberg
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley came down to the ring to begin the final hour of this week’s RAW. MVP accompanied the champion to the ring. MVP asked the crowd to rise to their feet and show the proper amount of respect for the WWE Champion. MVP brought up Goldberg and the crowd started chanting his name. Lashley said he is not even going to dignify Goldberg’s challenge with a response but this is his ring and he will not be disrespected by anyone.
Cedric Alexander interrupted and challenged Lashley. Shelton Benjamin joined the party and told Cedric that he has an annoying voice. This led to a Handicap match and Lashley planted Shelton with a Neckbreaker. Lashley hit the Flatliner on Cedric and threw him out of the ring.
Benjamin hit Lashley with a knee to the face and Alexander followed it up with a DDT. Shelton and Cedric went for the cover but Lashley threw them both off of him. Lashley planted Alexander with a Chokeslam and then hit Shelton with the a Spear. The WWE Champion then sent a message to Goldberg by hitting Benjamin with a Jackhammer. Lashley stacked Shelton and Cedric on top of each other and pinned them both.
Omos & AJ Styles Helped Morrison & Miz
Riddle faced John Morrison this week on WWE RAW. Riddle sent Morrison to the corner and charged but John dropped him with a kick to the face for a near fall. Riddle booted The Miz in the face and knocked his wheelchair over. Riddle hit a springboard Moonsault onto Morrison outside the ring as AJ Styles & Omos made their way down the entrance ramp. The Miz and Morrison were shown talking to the RAW Tag Champs before the match.
Morrison connected with a kick to the face but Riddle shrugged it off. Riddle connected with the Ripcord Knee and went for the cover but Morrison kicked out at two. Omos broke Riddle’s scooter and Morrison capitalized with a spinning slam/ Uranage. John followed it up with Starship Pain for the pinfall victory. The Miz fired off the drip stick and AJ beat Riddle down some more after the match.
Reginald Retained The 24/7 Title
Reginald defended the 24/7 Championship against R-Truth. R-Truth had a microphone the entire match and taunted Reginald. R-Truth threw Reginald’s jacket over his face and went for a Crossbody but Reginald got out of the way. Reginald hit a Senton for the pinfall victory and then flipped out of the ring when superstars rushed the ring.
Charlotte Pinned The RAW Women’s Champion
Charlotte Flair faced Nikki A.S.H. in a Championship Contender’s match in the main event. Charlotte slammed Nikki’s face off the top turnbuckle and then choked her against the middle rope. Nikki shoved her away but Charlotte caught her with a forearm to the face.
Flair sent Nikki out of the ring and started mocking the crowd for being behind Nikki. Charlotte stomped away at Nikki as she got back into the ring and then a boot to the face for a two count. Nikki battled back and unloaded some strikes on Charlotte in the corner. Flair turned it around and knocked Nikki to the canvas.
Charlotte stomped Nikki back down in the corner of the ring and went for a Suplex but Nikki countered into a roll-up for a two count. Flair went for a Side Slam but Nikki escaped and sent Charlotte to the outside. Nikki connected with a Dropkick through the ropes but Flair got up and sent the RAW Women’s Champion over the announce table as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, Charlotte was stretching out Nikki’s from on the ring post. Back in the ring, Flair hit a Fallaway Slam and went for the cover but the RAW Women’s Champion kicked out at two. Flair got Nikki in a Headlock in the middle of the ring. Nikki escaped and sent Charlotte to the outside.
Nikki hit a Crossbody off the apron and rolled Charlotte back into the ring. Nikki ducked a Clothesline and hit Charlotte with two more Crossbodies. Nikki went for a Sunset Flip but Flair blocked it. Nikki connected with a Running Bulldog and went for the cover but Charlotte powered out at two.
The RAW Women’s Champion fired up the crowd as Charlotte made her way back up. Flair unloaded some chops that knocked Nikki to the corner of the ring. Nikki planted Flair with a DDT and climbed to the top rope. The champ went for a Crossbody but Flair rolled through and pinned the champion.
Charlotte was annoyed that she was congratulated after the win by the interviewer. Flair referred to herself as “The Opportunity” and told Nikki that nobody was in her league. The crowd booed and Flair said that she wasn’t sorry. Charlotte posed in the ring and Nikki shouted that she said “Almost A Super Hero!” and can admit that she lost the match. Nikki challenged Flair to a rematch next week. Flair told Nikki that she can beat her any week and accepted the match.
Flair booted Nikki in the face and beat her down next to a fan holding a “Nikki A.S.H.” sign. Charlotte leveled Nikki with another boot to the face and posed for the crowd to close the show.
Opinion: Apparently, you simply are not a champion unless you are constantly getting pinned in non-title matches. I don’t understand the point of making Nikki A.S.H. the champion and immediately handing her a loss.