The July 17th, 2017 edition of WWE RAW aired live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN on the USA Network.
– The broadcast kicks off with a video highlighting the Kurt Angle mystery storyline with Corey Graves. It shows clips of Kurt Angle winning the Olympic gold medals, and also getting married, with Angle saying the secret could cost him his career, his marriage, and his kids.
– Dean Ambrose is out to the ring to kick off RAW, and he’s got a steel chair. Ambrose calls out The Miz, but he gets Seth Rollins instead. Rollins takes issue with Ambrose interfering in his match last week. Ambrose gets in Rollin’ face over his betrayal of him three years ago, and Rollins apologizes. Rollins apologizes a second time and says he’s moved on, and asks what it will take for Ambrose to move on too. Rollins turns his back to Ambrose and tells Ambrose to hit him with the chair to make things even. Ambrose contemplates it, but throws the chair out of the ring instead. Rollins turns to face Ambrose, and The Miz interrupts. Miz comes out to the stage and says Ambrose won’t forgive Rollins, but he also needs Rollins in order to beat Miz. Miz says he’s brought a welcoming party out for them, and with that Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel surround the ring with steel chairs. The Miztourage gets the better of Rollins and Ambrose with the steel chairs. Miz takes Ambrose outside and throws him into the ring steps, then rolls in the ring. Dallas and Axel hand Rollins over to Miz, and Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale on Rollins into a steel chair. Miz delivers another chair shot to Ambrose at ringside, then The Miztourage leaves with Ambrose and Rollin both laid out.
– Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss is up next.
– The Miz is seen backstage walking away from an interviewer and exiting the arena.
– Bayley def. Alexa Bliss: This one is a non-title match. Bayley hugs a crying kid at ringside on her way to the ring. Alexa starts things off with a slap to the face, and Alexa answers with a spinebuster into the corner and some knee strikes. Alexa and Bayley trade kids until Bayley drops her with a flying forearm and pummels on her. Nia Jax’s music hits and she makes her way down to the ring to interrupt. Nia comes down to ringside and the distraction leads to Bliss laying out Bayley. Bayley dodges a splash in the corner and comes back with a flying back elbow off the middle rope. Bayley follows up with a back suplex and a leg drop. Bliss rolls outside and Bayley follows. Nia gets in Bayley’s face, which leads to Bliss sneaking around and hitting the cheap shot on Bayley. Bliss takes Bayley back in the ring, then Sasha Banks comes out and drops Nia at ringside. The distraction leads to Bayley hitting the belly to belly suplex on Bliss in the ring for the win. Nia and Alexa head up the ramp together while Bayley and Sasha celebrate in the ring.
– We go to the announce table where Cole introduces an ESPY Awards highlight reel with clips of John Cena and The Miz at the award show. Corey Graves checks his phone abruptly leaves the table.
– Kurt Angle is backstage looking nervous with Corey Graves. Angle is having second thoughts about going public tonight, and Graves reminds Angle that we live in the age of social media and the secret will get out anyways. Angle agrees, and says we should hear this from Angle himself. Angle thanks Graves and says his friendship means a lot to Angle and the mystery person.
– Tozawa is backstage with Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews. Ariya Daivari interrupts and asks where Tozawa’s honor has gone. Daivari demands a rematch and walks off.
– Jack Gallagher & Mustafa Ali def. Brian Kendrick & Drew Gulak: Kendrick looks to start the match, but hten he tags in Gulak before doing anything. Gallagher gets lots of offense in on Gulak early. Gulak breaks free and drops Ali from the apron, then sweeps Gallagher and pummels on him. Gallagher starts mounting a comeback until Kendrick gets the tag. Kendrick immediately goes to work on Gallagher, but Gallagher comes back with a headbutt and tags in Ali. Ali hits the inverted 450 splash on Kendrick for the win after a short match.
– Enzo Amore is backstage getting ready to come out to the ring.
– Enzo comes out to the ring with a mic and puts himself over for cutting better promos than Cass. He says Cass being 7 feet tall never wont them any title belts. Enzo says Cass tried to throw him out of is life, but he’s still in it. He shows us a clip from last week’s segment with Cass and Big Show, and says Cass wrote a check he couldn’t cash and he sucks. Enzo says Cass has a foot and 100 pounds on him, but that Cass folded like a lawn chair when someone his own size got in his face. Cass comes out to interrupt with his new entrance music. Cass says Enzo is always running his mouth and hasn’t learned his lesson, so he’s going to beat some sense into Enzo. Cass hits the ring and Enzo runs outside. Enzo hops into the crowd and tells a fan to watch what’s about to happen, then The Big Show’s music hits. Big Show hits the ring and immediately him and Cass start brawling out of he ring and all around ringside. Show throws Cass into the fan barricade multiple times before Cass fights back with right hands. Big Show fights back and powerslams Cass onto the floor as Enzo watches. Show brings Cass into the ring and hits some chops. Cass comes back with a shot into the ring post and delivers several big boots and punches to Big Show. Enzo runs in but Cass drops him with a big boot. Cass heads to the back as Big Show and Enzo recover.
– Roman Reigns does an interview backstage where he says the stakes are high tonight against Samoa Joe, but that he’s at his best when the stakes are high. Reigns says he will beat Joe tonight, then beat Lesnar at SummerSlam.
– Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are backstage arguing about what happened earlier with The Mistourage, when Kurt Angle interrupts. Angle tells them next week they can have any two members of The Miztourage in a tag match. Ambose says he wants all three members and Rollins agrees, so Angle gives them a handicap tag match next week.
– Finn Balor def. Elias Samson via DQ: Samson cuts a promo about his history in Nashville and music, but gets interrupted by Balor. Balor strikes first but Samson quickly shuts him down and slams him to the mat. Balor mounts a comeback and takes things out to ringside where he hits the running dropkick. Samson senses the end is near and he grabs the guitar and smashes it over Balor’s head for the disqualification. Trainers check on Balor after the match as he appears to be busted open.
– Bray Wyatt appears on the big screen and laughs at Balor, who is still being tended to by trainers. Wyatt says that in order to satisfy his soul, he needs to inflict pain on Balor. Wyatt says he feels the need to punish Balor, and will enjoy it.
– Kurt Angle is backstage preparing for his announcement later, when Sasha and Bayley interrupt. Sasha and Bayley argue over who deserves a title shot more, so Angle books them in a singles match for next week. The winner determines who will face Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam for the Women’s Title.
– We briefly go to the announce table where Cole, Graves and Booker T promote WWE Battleground and the WWE Network.
– We see footage of The Revival attacking The Hardys last week. Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder do an interview where they says they’re going to get the Hardys again this week too.
– Ariya Daivari def. Akira Tozawa: Titus is at ringside in Tozawa’s corner. Tozawa takes control early on, but starts selling a shoulder injury and Daivari capitalizes on it. Daivari tries to keep Tozawa grounded as Titus cheers on Tozawa from ringside. Tozawa tries to fight back, but Daivari keeps going after the shoulder. Tozawa mounts some offense with some kicks and a back suplex. He goes up top but misses and Daivari capitalizes with a running knee to the head. Daivari stomps away on Tozawa. Titus gets on the apron and the ref calls for the bell. It appears that Titus called for the ref to end the match, which leads to arguing between Titus and Tozawa after the bell.
– Kurt Angle is backstage getting ready for his announcement.
– RAW GM Kurt Angle makes his way down to the ring and gets on the mic. Angle apologizes for being such a distraction in the past few weeks, and says he’s glad to say that his family and employer both support his announcement tonight. Angle says while he was in college he dated a woman and stopped, but recently found out that woman gave birth to a baby 9 month after their last date. The boy was put up for adoption, and it was discovered that the boy is currently on the WWE roster. With that, Angle welcomes the newest member of the RAW roster, and his son, Jason Jordan of American Alpha. Angle starts crying as the American Alpha music hits and Jordan comes out to the ring. Jordan steps into the ring and he and Angle hug. Angle and Jordan share the moment then head to the back together.
The Revival def. The Hardys: The Hardys attack before the match starts. The ref separates them and calls for the opening bell. Matt starts off with Dawson and unloads on him with offense in the corner. Jeff and Matt trade quick tags and double team Dawson. Gallows and Anderson are shown backstage watching. Matt and Jeff continue the offense on Dawson until Wilder runs in, but they take Wilder down too and knock The Revival down to the ringside floor. The Revival takes control after a double team on Matt. Jeff finally gets the hot tag and gets a close 2-count on Wilder, but Dash breaks it up. Matt gets Dash out of the ring, then they hit the Whisper In The Wind on Dawson. Jeff goes for the Swanton, but Dash pushes him down form the turnbuckle when the ref isn’t looking. Dawson covers after the cheap shot for the win.
– Samoa Joe is backstage where he says he showed the world last month that he doesn’t fear Brock Lesnar, and came within inches of beating him. He gives Roman Reigns his props but says Reigns will learn too that Joe is more than an obstacle. Joe guarantees that the third time against Reigns will be a charm tonight.
– Cole introduces a video package about the Special Olympics, featuring Dana Warrior interviewing a powerlifter named Norris Peterson. Norris is in the front row at RAW tonight and gets a big pop from the crowd.
– Titus is backstage with Tozawa and he apologizes for getting the match called earlier. Titus says he was just thinking of Tozawa’s future. Tozawa says he wants Titus to get him a rematch with Daivari for 205 Live.
– Samson vs. Balor in a no DQ match is announced for next week’s show.
– Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe – No Contest: The winner of this one gets a shot at Brock Lesnar’s Universal Title at SummerSlam. Joe slaps Reigns across the face early on but Reigns comes back with right hands and floors Joe. Reigns sends Joe to the outside and Joe regroups. Back in the ring, Joe comes back and mounts some offense, then drops Reigns with a suplex for a two count. Reigns comes back with strikes in the corner and drops Joe with a big boot. Reigns sets up for a Superman punch, but Joe rolls out to the floor to recover. Reigns follows Joe outside and attempts a Drive By kick, but Joe avoids it and drops Reigns with a clothesline. Reigns comes back with a clothesline of his own and drops Joe on the floor. Back in the ring, Joe rocks Reigns with headbutts until Reigns fights back with a Samoan Drop. Reigns blocks a kick from Joe and hits the Superman punch for a 2 count. Both men are down when Braun Strowman’s music hits and he comes down to the ring.
Strowman pulls Joe off the apron, then turns his attention to Reigns. Reigns hits Strowman with a right hand that sends Strowman off the apron. Reigns throws more strikes at Braun until Braun grabs him and throws him into the barrier. Braun throws Reigns back in the ring, then turns his attention to Joe at ringside. Joe and Braun start brawling all over ringside until Braun drops Joe then cimbs back into the ring. Braun beats down Reigns, but Reigns comes back with a big boot. Reigns knocks Braun into Joe, and Joe locks Braun into the Coquina Clutch. Reigns hits a big boot on Braun then a Superman punch, which breaks the Coquina Clutch. Reigns goes for another Superman punch but Braun catches him and slams him with a spinebuster.
Braun beats down Joe and Reigns then goes to leave. Braun stops and turns back around and grabs Reigns as security approaches. Braun scares off the security and hits a powerslam on Reigns. STrowman leaves and heads backstage as Reigns and Joe are laid out in the ring. Referees check on Joe and Braun in the ring.
– We see Renee Young backstage setting up for an interview with Kurt Angle and Jason Jordan on the WWE Network as RAW goes off the air.
