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WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Oct. 16, 2017) from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, featuring the go home show to the upcoming TLC pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled this Sunday night in Minneapolis.
Advertised for tonight: Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman in a steel cage match, and more!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the Raw live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA. It will be below this line here. (REMINDER: NO GIFS OR PICS ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED.)
WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR OCT. 16
Love is a razor and I walked the line on that silver blade, slept in the dust with his daughter, her eyes red with the slaughter of innocence. And I will pray for her, I will call her name out loud; I would bleed for her, if I could only see her now, but instead, I'll just have to settle for liveblogging this here pro wrestling show, folks.
The show opens with a dramatic recap video of the last couple weeks of the show, centered around the Shield reunion.
Live in the arena, Kurt Angle makes his entrance. He welcomes us to the show before continuing, saying it's safe to say the Shield is back together, facing Miz, the Bar, and Braun Strowman this Sunday at TLC. But that's this Sunday, and he wants to focus on tonight--
SIERRA. HOTEL. INDIA. ECHO. LIMA. DELTA. SHIELD!
And not just the Shield, but the Shield in their classic riot gear entering through the crowd! They surround the ring like old times and Angle gets nervous. They step in the ring and he hands Roman Reigns the microphone. He tells him that was a good choice, because when the hounds come down to this ring, you got two choices-- get out of their yard, or they beat your ass.
Seth Rollins tells the Big Dog to take it easy and thanks Kurt for the ring before saying it feels good to be out here and it's amazing how things come full circle. Five years ago, the Shield had their first match at TLC, and they dominated that night and every single night after. As long as they were together, they dominated, and one day... that all went away. But now he's proud to say he's standing in this ring with his brothers because the Shield is back and better than ever, baby!
Dean Ambrose gets on the mic and reminds us of the weapons that will be used on Sunday. Thousands of pounds of steel and wood, but that's not why their opponents should be scared. No, they should be scared because the battle lines have been drawn and they're going to war with the masters. Nobody in the history of this business divides and conquers like the Shield, no force of nature on earth as powerful as they.
Maybe he got a little ahead of himself when he said they could fight four or five guys, maybe not the smartest thing to say, but if he could go back and do it again, he would. And they didn't put their Sunday best on just to talk about it, so Dean bids those hombres to come on down and have themselves a fight!
(RRROOOAAARRR!)
Miz, the Bar, and Strowman come down but Kurt Angle says to save it, they're not having the match tonight. If the Bar and Braun want to keep their matches later tonight, they'll stay right there, because Raw is gonna make history tonight and he's not changing the card.
Commentary hypes those matches and MizTV featuring Braun up for later and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Elias is in the ring with the Club, ready to sing us a song.
He asks us who wants to walk with him and says that's too bad, because he has two Good Brothers to walk with him tonight, Karl Anderson and "Big" Luke Gallows. He does his usual silence your cell phone spiel but Anderson interrupts to ask if he minds if they warm up their vocal chords. Gallows does some vocal exercises and sings a few bars of nerds, and then Karl does his own, leading into a rendition of the Honky Tonk Man's theme, of all things.
The Drifter congratulates them on their performance before discussing a song they came up with for Jason Jordan, and they're gonna play that right now. It's a loose parody of Kurt Angle's theme dedicated to calling Jordan a nerd. This brings Jason and Titus Worldwide out for a tag team match.
Elias & the Club (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) vs. Jason Jordan & Titus Worldwide (Apollo Crews & Titus O'Neil)
Gallows and Titus to start, collar and elbow, Luke fires a knee off before clubbing O'Neil across the back of the head and backing him into a corner with punches. Titus turns it around and returns the blows, climaxing with an overhand chop and a clothesline that sends the big man outside! The match breaks down and the babyfaces end up sending the heels running to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Crews is in on Gallows and getting his backside handed to him with punches and a big roundhouse kick. Gallows clears the apron and tags Elias in. Crews whips him in the corner and stops short of an up and over but the Drifter is able to catch him with a mule kick out of a headscissors for a nearfall. Apollo gets a lick of his own in but Samson is able to tag Anderson in.
Blocking Crews for a moment but he gets the tag, Jason Jordan in hot with dropkicks, double leg pickups into the the corners repeatedly, overhead belly-to-belly suplex, Elias makes the save and the match breaks down again. Shoulder thrust, tag to Apollo, he gets Machine Gun up...
Jason Jordan & Titus Worldwide win by pinfall with the back suplex powerbomb from Apollo Crews on Karl Anderson.
Commentary shills for the WWE Network before hyping up our Shield matches for later tonight and sending us to break.
Back from commercial we get an Asuka vignette, this one talking up her undefeated streak and her title reign.
Emma is interviewed backstage, she says she's sick of hearing about Asuka? Why isn't the attention on her, the woman that started the women's revolution? Last week she beat four of the toughest women in the world, she's a social media superstar, and what has Asuka done around here?
Alexa Bliss rolls up and says she gets it, Asuka hasn't done anything, but Emma singlehandedly started the women's revolution, and she wants to thank her for it. It's refreshing to see someone building other women up instead of tearing them down like Mickie James does. Mickie isn't a locker room leader, it's the younger stars that are the future, and they need to stick together.
So she proposes a tag match, her and Emma against James and a partner of her choosing, perhaps Betty White. Emma agrees and they walk off.
Commentary tosses to a recap video for Cedric Alexander's feud with Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher.
Cedric makes his entrance, he'll wrestle Gallagher after the break.
Back from commercial in time for the bell.
Cedric Alexander vs. Jack Gallagher
Kendrick gets in the ring like he's going to wrestle as well and referee Rod Zapata tries to wave him off, but Rich Swann comes down to corner Cedric. Springboard clothesline wipes Gallagher out and Alexander follows with a series of forearms and a dropkick that sends Jack outside. Off the ropes, Brian blocks the suicide dive but Swann cuts him off!
Gallagher attacks from behind and mounts Cedric for repeated punches. A snapmare, stomp to the face, and right into a rear chinlock, stepping over one arm for better leverage. Alexander to his feet and fighting out, Jack catches him off the ropes with a dropkick and a shoot kick to the back. Chest kicks follow, disdainful kick to the neck, more chest kicks into a neck crank.
Cedric catches a kick, counters with an elbow, and hits the handspring enzuigiri after, but Kendrick grabs his leg! Swann runs over and clobbers him, Alexander is ready...
Cedric Alexander wins by pinfall with Lumbar Check.
Commentary informs us that MizTV is up next, and we go to break.
Back from commercial, the Miz makes his entrance, flanked by Curtis Axel and the Bar.
Miz pauses a moment while the crowd chants for Axel before launching into his usual introductory spiel. He says they would have loved to shatter the Shield tonight, but who says that was their intention? If they had done that, after all, Cesaro and Sheamus would have lost their opportunity to regain the tag titles. A cotton-mouthed Cesaro promises to do just that and tosses to Sheamus.
He says shattered is the word, because tonight and at TLC, the Bar are gonna shatter the Shield into three pieces. The crowd tells Sheamus he looks stupid and he counters that they're all jealous of the 'hawk, which leads Miz to ask the crowd if they've looked into a mirror. Anyway, tonight he and Cesaro are gonna take the titles and on Sunday he's going to break Dean's back with a chair.
Cesaro says he'll break Seth's leg pushing him off a ladder, and Miz claims he'll break Roman's spirit by putting him through a table. He continues, talking about the Shield being an overhyped nostalgia act pushed as the greatest stable in the history of WWE, but they're not as good as we think they are, especially not after what they've been through. The Shield are co-workers, but Miz and his boys are family. There's nothing he wouldn't do for Curtis, for Bo, for the Bar, or for the monster among men...
(RRROOOAAARRR!)
Braun tells Miz he would have shattered the Shield tonight. Last week they triple powerbombed him through the announce table because none of them could stop him on their own, so he's gonna tear them apart piece by piece until the Shield is done and gone forever. That starts tonight inside of a steel cage with Roman Reigns, where the door will be locked shut so he can't run away.
Miz says the Shield are no match for them and polls the crowd. They think the Shield will beat them, but Miz says the "Yes!" chant is nostalgia like the Shield and they'll throw it away the same. He says Dean is out here talking about they'll fight five guys? Well let's do it, the Shield will now face a team of Braun, Cesaro, Sheamus, Miz himself, and the fifth member...
Kurt Angle comes to the stage to try and put a stop to it but Miz tells him words still matter. What about the Three Is, what about integrity? The Shield are out here talking about taking on all these dudes, make them prove it! Think about the main event he could have, these heroes going against all odds... Kurt tells him to stand there and shut the hell up, because he's Raw GM and he's telling him to.
You want a fifth partner at TLC? Then Braun Strowman is going to have to defeat Roman Reigns inside of the cage tonight. But if Braun loses, he's out of the match and it's back to being a plain trios match. Miz confers with his teammates and Braun accepts!
Kurt goes to leave and turns around, saying he almost forgot-- during both the tag title match and the cage match, EVERYBODY is banned from ringside. It's true, it's damn true!
Commentary hypes our matches up and promises that Finn Balor has a "demonic" message for Sister Abigail to send us to break.
Back from commercial in time for entrances and a picture-in-picture promo from Alicia Fox. She says she wasn't tapping out last week, just scratching her nose.
Alicia Fox vs. Sasha Banks
Sasha takes Alicia right down into the Bank Statement crossface and nearly taps her out! Fox outside, Banks draws her back up on the apron but takes a neck snap over the top rope, shove into the ropes, tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, only two! Alicia grabs a reverse chinlock but Banks gets to her feet, ducks a lariat, crossbody gets one and Fox runs her over with a back elbow.
Back to the reverse chinlock, switching to a standing rear chinlock as the Boss struggles and breaks free with punchs, off the ropes, backbreaker denied, a takedown, wrenching back...
Sasha Banks wins by submission with the Bank Statement crossface.
Fox loses her mind after the match, screaming about a rematch.
A subdued Enzo Amore is walking backstage, decked out in a Canadian tuxedo to send us to break.
Back from commercial Sasha Banks rolls up on an interview.
She says Fox is as tough as she is crazy, but-- Alicia Fox blindsides her! They take turns throwing each other into road cases but Fox pulls ahead, yelling about Sasha learning to respect her while she shoves her into the cases more. Referee Darrick Moore shows up to break it up and she shoves him too! More referees show up and we leave the scene.
Enzo Amore makes his entrance, he does the deal.
He hears the boos and assumes the crowd is asking where "his boo", the Cruiserweight Championship, is, and he rolls footage of himself losing the title last week. He wants to be real for one minute, he got nuked, duped, screwed, and robbed of his title, and that's no conspiracy, that's a fact. He complains about being forced into a lumberjack match for the title and says "Mufasa" Ali helped steal the title from him.
Enter Kalisto. He tells Enzo enough is enough, his mouth is like a 7/11, it never closes. You can blame him, you can blame Kurt Angle, the whole 205 Live roster, the WWE Universe, whatever helps him sleep at night on the knockoff Gucci sheets he has, but there won't be any excuses at TLC when he retains the title. Amore takes offense at the idea that he'd have to buy a knockoff, and says he doesn't understand why he's standing on the tracks when there's a light at the end of the tunnel...
Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak, Noam Dar, and Tony Nese hit the ring to beat Kalisto down! Enzo provides running commentary mocking Kalisto, saying at least Rey Mysterio wore a Louis Vuitton mask. He'd join but he doesn't want to get dirty-- Mustafa Ali with the save! Frankensteiner for Nese, superkick for Gulak, shoulder thrust for Enzo, lariat for Dar, a kick for Daivari but That Damn Numbers Game wins out and they put boots to the former Freelance Champion.
They mix their beatdown up, attacking Kalisto some more in turn, Daivari hits his Pepsi Twist on Ali, they draw the champ up and Enzo hits his inverted stomp facebreaker to polish it off. Enzo asks them how they're doing and they take their leave.
The tag titles will be defended after the break.
Back from commercial in time for entrances.
The Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus) vs. the Shield (Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns) (c) (WWE Raw Tag Team Championship)
Ambrose and Sheamus to start, circling, collar and elbow, forcing Dean back in the corner, trying to break dirty but he ducks a punch and puts boots to the Celtic Warrior! Chops, whip across, boot up in the corner, Sheamus lands a knee lift, a headbutt, into the ropes, Ambrose gets the tag and they charge dropkicks in! Clothesline sends Cesaro outside when he runs in, stereo dives!
Rollins up top, fending Cesaro off, Sheamus catches the dive but he escapes, meeting of the minds and the Swiss Superman gets a cheap shot in! Sheamus puts boots to the Kingslayer and we head to break.
Back from commercial, Sheamus has a top wristlock on Rollins, but the champion fights to his feet and out with punches. Tag denied, he knocks Cesaro down but gets caught with the Irish Curse for a nearfall. Tag to Cesaro, hard whip into the post and the Bar are fired up into tandem superkicks to the midsection for another nearfall! Choking Seth over the ropes, the Celtic Warrior gets a shot in that leads to a third nearfall in the sequence.
Swiss Superman considering his options as Rollins stumbles, big uppercut, Seth trying to push him back but Cesaro's strength and leverage keep him from closing the gap, with the help of a knee lift. Back body drop, Ambrose isn't there to tag thanks to Cesaro and Sheamus tags in to flapjack the Architect into Swiss Death... NOT ENOUGH! Disdainful kicks from Sheamus, he conducts the crowd's chants for Ambrose before laying some punches in.
Seth blocks one and fires chops in return, a low superkick, off the ropes, up for a slam, he slips out and puts the Celtic Warrior's shoulder into the post! Cesaro tags in, back suplex, Rollins lands on his feet and back body drops him to the floor, crawling for the tag but the Swiss Superman comes in to vex him again... TAG MADE!
Dean charging in with forearms, sliding lariat, corner forearm, bulldog blocked but the swinging neckbreaker finds its mark, Ambrose climbs the turnbuckles, up and over, double leg takedown... catapult but Cesaro stops himself short before he jams his teeth again! Jumping off, nearly caught with Dirty Deeds, he evades, the Bar outside... SUICIDE DIVES!
Ambrose up top again as Cesaro staggers to his feet, the diving elbow connects but Sheamus breaks the pin up! Rollins in, tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, Dean knocks Sheamus back outside, back body drop from Cesaro, boot up in the corner, tag to Sheamus! Capture bear hug... TURNING SPRINGBOARD HART ATTACK! ROLLINS WITH THE SAVE! Cesaro fends the Architect off with a lariat and tags in.
Up for the double crucifix powerbomb, Ambrose slips out, ripcord knee strike from Seth, underhooks...
The Shield win by pinfall with Dirty Deeds from Dean Ambrose on Cesaro, retaining the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship.
Commentary hypes up and explains the stipulation for the steel cage match tonight before telling us that the Demon's message for Sister Abigail is after the break.
Back from commercial, Curtis Axel is giving the Bar a pep talk in the locker room, telling they need to stay strong for Braun, because if he beats Roman Reigns tonight, he'll be the fifth man at TLC. It's in his home town so they need to do it, and Braun rolls up. Curtis tells him life is all about moments and his moment at TLC hinges on whether he wins or loses tonight, and he's not the only one sitting on the sidelines.
He tells Braun he needs it more than anything, he wants to fight, and matter of fact, he wants to find Roman Reigns and fight him right now. Strowman tells him to go find him but Axel balks because he's wearing his suit. Cesaro says it sounds like he's scared, and Sheamus says the fifth member of their team wouldn't be afraid to take on Roman. Axel psyches himself up and walks off to go fight Roman!
Commentary tosses to a recap of Bray Wyatt's segment from last week wherein he was possessed by the spirit of Sister Abigail and wore corpse paint and a sheet on his head.
Finn Balor makes his entrance.
He says when Bray introduced Sister Abigail to the world he didn't know what to think, had he lost his mind or outsmarted all of us? He thought it was another trick, a mind game, but he was wrong. When he was a kid he read about the Celtic festival of Samhain, a night when the dead rose and monsters walked the earth. He thought those were just stories, but after feeling Sister Abigail's presence, he realized they were real.
Wyatt may have his tricks, but Finn has some of his own. And just like the legend of Samhain, he'll slay a monster with a demon of his own. The lights flicker and Balor continues, staring into the camera. His demon has no fear, dreams about nightmares, and is dying to meet Sister Abigail. Do note that between each of those statements his face warped and came back painted before flickering back to normal.
On that note, we go to break.
Back from commercial we get another Asuka vignette.
Alexa Bliss & Emma vs. Bayley & Mickie James
James and Bliss to start, Mickie ducks a slap and passes Alexa right back around, leading her to tag Emma in. Circling, collar and elbow, Emma grabs a side headlock but James counters to a cover for two. Arm wringer for the Australian, Mickie rolls through and escapes, a cover gets one, tag to Bayley. Whip into a double elbow and tandem elbow drops for a nearfall but Emma gets the Hugger in the corner and makes the tag.
Bliss puts her face into the turnbuckles and kicks her midsection before getting flapjacked into the turnbuckle and eating the stunner in the ropes! Emma makes the save, Bayley follows outside after, James comes around and the match breaks down into a shoving match on the floor to send us to break.
Back from commercial Emma has a reverse chinlock in on Bayley, grounding her, but the Hugger gets to her feet and throws elbows. Overhead club in return, smash of the face into the turnbuckles but Bayley's just getting fired up by each shot and returns them in kind! Big finale, snapmare, out of the corner, sliding lariat into a knee drop, only two. To the apron, thinking Twist of Fate but Emma throws her off and dumps her to the floor.
Emma kicks Bayley into the barricade and jaws at the crowd before throwing her back in for a nearfall. Tag to Bliss, whip-assisted slap in the corner, choking the Hugger over the middle rope, and she follows it up with a reverse chinlock, verbally taunting James. Bayley to her feet for leverage, throwing the champion off but she gets wiped out with a lariat.
Mickie ducks a slap and goes to get in the ring but referee Darrick Moore warns her off while the heels put boots to Bayley. Bayley fighting hard, crawling for the tag, Alexa gets her boot but the Hugger throws her off and gets the tag! James in hot with forearms, off the ropes with an elbow, another elbow, duck a lariat, kick, knee strike, another forearm, snapping off the hangman's neckbreaker!
Mick Kick ducked, Bliss lands a big slap, Nodowa Otoshi denied, Mickie with a flapjack into a kip-up, she heads up top for a diving Lou Thesz Press but Emma breaks the pin up! Bayley in with mounted punches and stomps to remove Emma, Bliss hits a wicked elbow, but turns around to face a primed Mickie...
Bayley & Mickie James win by pinfall with a Mick Kick from James on Alexa Bliss.
Curtis Axel is walking backstage looking for Roman Reigns... and he finds him, talking strategy with his teammates in the Shield. Axel psyches himself up and walks over... and we go to break.
Back from commercial, the Bar are in the locker room talking strategy with Braun Strowman when Miz rolls up. Miz says it's a privilege to fight alongside Braun at TLC, and when he beats Roman tonight, the five of them are destined to beat the Shield. Miz wonders where Axel is and Sheamus says the Axeman is singlehandedly destroying the Shield. Braun explains that he told Curtis to go beat up the Shield, and Miz takes his leave.
Bayley and Mickie James are walking backstage talking about how much they like hugging and wrestling when an interview rolls up for Mickie. She says Alexa's words about her being old cut her deep, they really hurt. But she's proud of who she is and what she's accomplished in this business, and she's a different woman now. She has a three-year-old boy waiting for her, the light of her life, her everything, and that's the greatest feeling in the world.
But one of the greatest feelings in her career would be to take the title home for her little boy to see. Alexa can joke all she wants, but at the end of the day it's gonna be her last laugh, because she's gonna whip that biscuit butt all over TLC and walk out a seven-time women's champion.
Commentary announces Banks/Fox for the TLC preshow and hypes up the rest of the card match by match.
We go backstage to see Miz calling after Curtis Axel like a lost cat only to find him hanging from his heels, shirtless and unconscious.
Commentary hypes up the cage match and we go to break.
Back from commercial, commentary hypes up 205 Live tomorrow, announcing Rich Swann vs. Jack Gallagher.
Backstage, Curtis Axel is being tended to by referees and trainers when an interview rolls up to ask Miz if they have a replacement fifth man. He says he thinks the world of Curtis Axel, but he was never the fifth man.
Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns (Steel Cage Match)
Braun hot early, just shoving Roman around. Going for the powerslam, Reigns slips out and Strowman eats cage. Big Dog trying to climb, but Braun comes back and they trade lariats. Off the ropes, Roman lands a Mafia kick, a second boot, fireman's carry but he can't get the monster up! Sidestepping a charge, Braun takes the post hard and Roman follows up with the corner lariats.
Charging in in turn, Braun catches him and hits a thrust spinebuster for a nearfall and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Braun is large and in charge and throws Roman face-first into the steel! Another toss, he grabs a handful of the Big Dog's hair and draws him up for another but Reigns catches the top of the cage and nearly escapes! Strowman yanks him down, body avalanche traps Roman against the wall! Off the ropes... Reigns sidesteps and Braun takes the cage hard!
Front kicks to the chest and face, low superkick, another front kick, Strowman is staggered, Roman gets under him, fireman's carry... SAMOAN DROP! BRAUN KICKS OUT AND SENDS REIGNS VERTICAL! Big Dog climbing, he gets one leg over the top but the Bar come down to block him from coming over! Ambrose and Rollins make the save and pull the Bar off the steel and brawl in the aisle with them!
Dean lariats Sheamus over the barricade as Reigns regains his poise and climbs over the top but Strowman is awake and grabs a wristlock, dragging Roman back inside... SUPERPLEX OFF THE ROPES! One-armed cover... THE BIG DOG KICKS OUT! The Bar and the remainder of the Shield continue brawling up the entry into all the tables, ladders, and chairs set up on the stage and backstage!
Miz leaves the commentary desk as they keep brawling deeper into the back, behind a loading door that Miz shuts. Back in the ring, Braun is on his feet and Roman is almost there as the monster stalks over to him. Scoop up for the powerslam, Reigns throws hands to block as Miz returns to commentary. Roman climbs, Braun comes from behind and pulls him down, throwing headbutts to knock Reigns to the mat.
Strowman climbs but Reigns kicks his leg out from under him and crotches him! Calling for the Superman Punch, it connects flush but doesn't knock him down, the second does the trick and the Big Dog calls for the spear! BRAUN POPS HIM UP BUT ROMAN CONNECTS WITH A SUPERMAN PUNCH ON THE WAY DOWN... STROWMAN KICKS OUT AT THE LAST SECOND! Kane's music plays?!
Braun takes advantage of the distraction to hit a body avalanche in the corner but the Big Dog hits the spear! THAT'S GOTTA BE KANE! HE CRAWLS OUT OF A HOLE IN THE MAT... CHOKESLAM ON ROMAN! A SECOND! BRAUN HOISTS HIM UP... RUNNING POWERSLAM! KANE PICKS ROMAN UP... TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER! STROWMAN TAKES THE STRAPS DOWN AND ROARS... ONE MORE POWERSLAM...
Braun Strowman wins by pinfall with a running powerslam, earning his team the right to field another man against the Shield at TLC.
Miz gets on the mic and says that in case that wasn't clear enough, the fifth member of their team at TLC is Kane!
That's the show, folks.