:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55201003/20170605_Raw_Brock__8255165682cb7ed4d54c1b24579edba5.0.jpg)
WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (June 12, 2017) from the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for early next month in Dallas, Texas.
Advertised for tonight: The Beast is back, The Hardy Men get a tag team title rematch, 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 JUNE 12
Thou have fathered son and daughter; doth begat, yet raised not bother. Paralyzed your children's lives, wither vines of family ties, but me, I'm just here to liveblog this here pro wrestling show, folks.
The show opens with a recap of last week's segment with Samoa Joe and Paul Heyman.
In the arena, Brock Lesnar makes his entrance, flanked by his advocate, Paul Heyman. Paul introduces himself and his Beast, saying Joe's day of reckoning is coming. (So I assume his GameCube is in good shape!) Last week he showed Samoa respect, and he thought he deserved it. Like a shark luring chum into his domain, Joe lured him in and took him out.
He and Brock have discussed it, if it was a legitimate beef, an old score to settle, he'd have had it coming, but that's not what it's about. Joe kicked down the front door of the lair of the Beast, putting his hand on Brock's guy in Brock's name, so now Brock Lesnar has a problem.
The problem is with Samoa Joe and it's a problem that's going to be solved by the greatest problem solver in WWE history, Brock Lesnar. He can't help but think he was fooled, that Samoa Joe was the worst case scenario, finally someone to step up and give Brock a fight, to be a worthy challenger to the Universal Champion, someone who could go man-to-beast against the Conqueror, but that's not who Samoa Joe is.
How many Samoans have been in the business for how many years with all these accomplishments, and they're all related to each other and proud of their accomplishments, but Joe is the one guy they're not proud of. He's not a proud warrior that's gonna go toe to toe with Brock, he's a mutt, a dog, a punk whose greatest moment is putting the Coquina Clutch on Paul Heyman.
But he'll give him credit, it was everything Joe warned him it was gonna be. He couldn't breathe, he saw a white flash, and that was it, next thing he knew he was waking up and thinking "Oh dear God, what happens if he does that to Brock Lesnar?" And then he realized as a punk dog mutt, he'll never get the Coquina Clutch on Brock Lesnar, because he's not man enough to get it on Brock, and if he does, he positively--
Enter Samoa Joe. He gets in the ring and Brock welcomes him as they square up, face-to-face. Joe with a shoulder block, forearm rush, Lesnar backs him in the corner and Kurt Angle is sending security to the ring! They take the security out and Samoa takes the Beast down! Fighting against the ropes and the Raw locker room empties to pull them apart!
They get them apart for a moment, but Joe escapes and lands a superkick! To the outside, the roster still trying to pull them apart, and they finally get enough daylight between them to keep them apart.
Commentary hypes up our tag title match and we go to break.
Back from commercial we get a recap of what we just saw because Raw is three hours long and has to fill time somehow. (And, to be fair, what we just saw was really cool.)
The Drifter is in the ring to sing us a song, and he has a bit of a lisp tonight. He says there's a lot of aggression in the air and he's gonna ease the tension with a song inspired by the crowd. The song is about how Louisiana is a joke and Cajuns should be caged up and also how Samson thinks Dean Ambrose sucks.
Enter Dean Ambrose, because they have a match.
Dean Ambrose vs. Elias Samson
Collar and elbow, struggle in the corner, Samson with a side headlock, referee Rod Zapata having a hell of a time separating them. Back to the lockup, Ambrose with a hammerlock, Elias backs him in the corner and breaks dirty with a forearm. Whip across, up and over, Dean ducks a lariat and lands a corkscrew back elbow. Chop, the Drifter bails, and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Dean is throwing forearms, he hits the ropes and he gets knocked down by a lariat. Strikes in the corner, the Drifter going mad before locking the champ down with a reverse chinlock. Ambrose fights out with elbows, back suplex, they get to trading chops, Dean in with forearms, off the ropes with more forearms and punctuating it with a lariat into a bridging fisherman suplex for a nearfall!
Forearm, Samson blocks the bulldog, boot, Ambrose low bridges him outside, follows it up with a suicide dive! Dean climbing, Elias cuts him off, throwing forearms, climbing after him, thinking superplex but Dean blocks and fires headbutts off to knock him to the mat, whereupon the Drifter's arm catches the ropes.
Miz comes down to run interference, Samson gets a nearfall off a schoolboy pin and goes to dump Dean only to get caught by the pendulum lariat! Ambrose goes after Miz, who pulls Maryse in his way but Dean catches him in the end and throws him into the barricade! Miz going for an ambush, Dean blocks him, nearly counted out, he comes back in but the Drifter is ready, double knees to the back...
Elias Samson wins by pinfall with the rolling cutter.
Commentary hypes up our tag rematch again and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get another Goldust video promo.
He says R-Truth claimed they were brothers, they were friends, but the truth is, he was jealous and scared, so he got to Truth before Truth got to him. He never understood Goldust anyway, no one did. Is it because he's too bizarre or he makes you feel... (long touch) uncomfortable. Ignorance is like beauty, but nothing lasts forever, unless you're gold.
Buckle up buckaroo, because you ain't seen nothin' yet, and the Golden Age is back.
Miz and Maryse are strolling along backstage when Kurt Angle comes along yelling at them. Miz says Ambrose is lucky that's all that happened after he ruined his celebration last week. Maryse is still furious at him over the grandfather clock, but that's not Angle's problem. Miz offers a counterpoint, telling Kurt he was too preoccupied with his personal problems to do his job and keep Dean out of the arena.
Instead of getting on Miz's case about doing the right things, get on Dean for doing the wrong things. Fire him, suspend him, do something. Kurt says first off Miz will never speak to him that way again, and second, as far as Ambrose is concerned, he's doing nothing, if Miz has a problem with him, he needs to do something about it himself.
We get a video package for Cedric Alexander to give the ring crew time to tape the ropes purple.
Noam Dar is backstage talking to somebody on his phone when Cedric rolls up and says he thought he made it crystal clear on 205 Live after he beat him that he's moving on. He's done fighting Dar and he's done with his ratchet ex-girlfriend Alicia Fox. Fox is on the phone and asks Cedric how he's doing before saying he should say whatever he has to say to her face.
Alicia is at home recuperating from a neck injury and she wants to see Noam kick his face in. Alexander reiterates that it's done tonight, and we go to break.
Back from commercial in time for entrances. Well, Cedric makes his entrance, and Dar walks down being berated by Fox.
Cedric Alexander vs. Noam Dar
Cedric's lying in wait as referee Darrick Moore begs Noam to hang up. He sets the phone down, the bell rings...
Cedric Alexander wins by pinfall with the Lumbar Check!
Dar writhes in pain as Fox continues to ramble on over his phone.
Bray Wyatt will be out after the break.
Back from commercial we get a Roman Reigns vignette about how it's his yard now, and he has an announcement next week about his SummerSlam plans.
(Wyatt noise.)
Bray is staring into the camera for a good long beat before talking about how the world is ending, collapsing under its own weight. It's hot on the streets but it doesn't have anything to do with the anger of the sun. He's the only one that can save us, and he's here.
(Wyatt noise.)
Wyatt makes his entrance. He says those who deny him will be judged, and those who sit in pathetic apathy will pay for their guilt, and he who dares blaspheme his name will be punished, just like Seth Rollins. To us, Seth has it all figured out, he's got all the answers, but Seth lives in a glass house where the blueprints of the Architect coat the walls and block out the sun.
It only took one dose of his truth last week and Rollins' precious glass house shattered into a million pieces, all over him. Seth will be picking shards of glass out of his soul for eternity because of his judgment. Seth's trangression, his ignorance, his rank dependence on the intelligence of humanity has painted a vivid picture of a law we'll all learn to live by-- if you take his name in vain, you will fall.
If you take his name in vain...
Enter Seth Rollins. He wants to clarify one thing-- Bray cost him his match against Joe last week because he called him a couple of names? You can get under the skin of the Eater of Worlds that easily? When he called Wyatt a false prophet, a wannabe martyr, that's not blasphemy, it's the truth.
People like Bray, who drink too much of their own Kool-Aid, they don't like the truth, it forces them to step into the light and Wyatt doesn't operate well in the light. He likes to hide in shadows and strike from the darkness, you can fancy that up, call it clever, mysterious, but since they're spitting truth, that makes Wyatt a coward.
And if he doesn't agree, well, he's out here by himself, face to face, man to man, and he's daring Bray to prove him wrong. Rollins throws the mic aside and Bray chuckles, saying his pride will betray him. Look at him, oozing arrogance all over the place. Wyatt knows when Rollins looks in the mirror, he sees the Man, but when he looks at him, all he sees is a man that's beneath him.
He tells Seth he doesn't want this fight, that his power is more than Rollins can fathom, because he's found the will to slay a king--
(Wyatt noise.)
The lights go down and when they're back up, Seth is alone in the ring.
(Wyatt noise.)
Bray is on the tron, staring, and continuing, saying a god lives forever.
The Hardyz roll up on an interview. Matt says they have a daunting task ahead of them and they're in for a long night. Cesaro & Sheamus are the most physical tag team they've been in the ring with, but when they see a daunting task, they climb it and jump off of it. They've proven they have Cesaro & Sheamus' number, but if they have to beat them twice, they'll do it.
If they're the bar, the Hardyz are gonna break the bar and reclaim the titles.
We go to break with a house ad for John Cena's return on July 4.
Back from commercial, Kalisto is in the ring for a match. Tozawa is in the front row because Titus O’Neil is still trying to recruit him to the Titus Brand.
Apollo Crews vs. Kalisto
Crews with a waistlock, Kalisto grabs a headlock, shoot off, tilt-a-whirl headscissors, handstand, Apollo kicks his arms out from under him for a two count. Straight suplex, locking the luchador down with a front facelock. Kalisto to his feet, Crews knocks him down and poses but walks right into an upkick. Kalisto to the apron, kick, springboard Frankensteiner!
Low kick, headscissors driver, only two! Kalisto is distracted by Titus, Crews with a schoolbody for two, handspring, Apollo catches him...
Apollo Crews wins by pinfall with the Blue Thunder Driver.
Titus yanks Tozawa out of his seat and brings him in the ring to celebrate with Crews, taking a selfie with both men.
Backstage, Heath Slater is doling out Easy Cheese onto crackers for his good buddy Rhyno when Miz rolls up with an offer for Heath. They were SmackDown Tag Team Champions and Angle has mishandled them, but he wants to let Slater into his entourage. Rhyno says he already has a partner, and Miz says it's very much just an offer for Slater.
Slater says before he had kids, what he always wanted was to be Intercontinental Champion. Miz offers him a shot at the title if he joins up, and Rhyno again butts in, to which Miz asks Slater if he wants to eat can cheese with a loser or if he wants to eat caviar, which Heath does not know what that is.
Rhyno tells Miz to go find a tag partner, because he's going to Kurt and he's going to get a match made for later tonight, and the Man-Beast then shoves a heaping handful of crackers into his mouth to send us to break.
Back from commercial and Alexa Bliss makes her entrance.
She talks about last week and says tonight she has no obligation to defend her title. Sunday SmackDown has the first-ever women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match, but tonight the Goddess of WWE graces us with her presence--
Enter Nia Jax. She questions Alexa's verbiage and says she was promised a title shot. Bliss slinks back and says she was thrilled to have a match against a great competitor and true friend like her. She wanted a classic match, one for the ages that people could watch over and over, but they didn't get that.
The moment was stolen by Mickie James and Dana Brooke, who are the real problem here.
Entire Mickie James and Dana Brooke. Mickie calls Bliss a dwarf and says sure she's a three-time champion, but James is a six-time champion, and the way she sees it, she has a long way to go before she reaches her territory. And if she remembers correctly, Alexa said it was unfair that Jax got a title opportunity.
Dana says she's right, and in fact her exact words last week were "WE have a Nia Jax problem", and Bliss tells everyone to calm down with all these accusations. She tells Nia to consider the sources-- Dana Brooke, the epitome of disgruntled worker, and Mickie James, someone who feels like the spotlight is fading by the second, or maybe that's just the cataracts.
They'll do or say anything for attention--
Emma's back! She calls us to attention and says they can put the spotlight right on her where it belongs because she's back. And, Miss Bliss, she's ready to take her rightful place at the top of the division. Alexa sputters and tells Nia they're proving her points for her.
Enter Sasha Banks. She says Bliss has it all twisted and to her, being champion means proving you're the best day in and day out. And she has a ring full of women ready to throw down any place and any time, but all she wants to do is yap her mouth? But since Alexa loves throwing parties so much, she'd show her how the Boss throws a party... FOREARM!
All hell's breaking loose and we go to break!
Back from commercial and we have a match in progress!
Alexa Bliss, Dana Brooke, & Nia Jax vs. Dana Brooke, Mickie James, & Sasha Banks
Alexa has Dana locked down, Brooke gets to her feet only to get clobbered with a lariat and put in a reverse chinlock. Choking her against the ropes next, bickering at referee Shawn Bennett, tag to Emma. She comes in putting the boots to Dana, butterfly suplex, only two, of the ropes, basement dropkick, again just a nearfall and she goes mad with mounted punches!
Reverse chinlock, whip to the corner, Brooke gets the boot up, looking for a tag, Emma keeping her away, kick to the ribs, knock Mickie off the apron, tag to Banks! Lariat, dropkick, she catches a boot and kicks Emma in the face before throwing her in. Looking for the Bank Statement, an elbow fights her off, but Emma goes for the tag and Alexa denies her, walking out!
Regal Cutter on Emma, Jax in, James in to fight her off, low bridge, diving Lou Thesz Press to the outside! Emma with a rollup, the Boss reverses...
Dana Brooke, Mickie James, & Sasha Banks win by submission with the Bank Statement crossface from Banks on Emma.
Alexa stares down the other five women from the top of the ramp.
Commentary confirms Miz's tag match for later tonight, but up next, Corey Graves will interview Bayley about her Extreme Disappointment after the break.
Back from commercial and commentary shills for the WWE Network and we get a video package for Finn Balor.
Bayley's sitdown with Corey Graves is up. He asks her about her inability to get extreme in the match, and she says that match was designed to inflict pain, and she'd never been in a situation like that and she reacted the way most people would. She's not here to send people to the hospital, she's here to put smiles on people's faces.
Corey asks her how that attitude serves her, and she says she didn't get here become someone she's not, and every time she walks out of the curtain, it's 100% Bayley and she's not gonna change who she is just to give herself a name like Goddess or Queen. She's gonna do what's best for her and be Bayley.
Graves asks her about the future and she says she's been getting tons of tweets and ever since she started training nine years ago she wrote down that she wanted to be the best, and that hasn't changed. Just because she lost a match that doesn't change her mindset or her goal, and she wants to recapture the title, whether it's tomorrow or next week, all she knows is she wants to walk back into WrestleMania as Raw Women's Champion.
She wants to give anybody who has a dream the knowledge that it's possible and they can do it their way. Corey thanks her for her time but she asks if they can end on a hug and he obliges. She says it felt good and he says he needs a cigarette.
Beauty and the Man-Beast make their entrance, they'll wrestle Miz and his mystery partner after the break.
Back from commercial, Miz makes his entrance, flanked by Maryse as always. His partner is... the bear?! Corey Graves informs us he’s the Hundred Acre Wood Bare Knuckle Champion, Big John Cubb!
Beauty and the Man-Beast (Heath Slater & Rhyno) vs. Big John Cubb & the Miz
Slater nearly ends the match with a schoolboy pin out the gate! Miz offers a handshake, threatening to tag Cubb in but Slater pastes him with punches! Arm drags to an armbar, tag to Rhyno, whip into double back elbows, arm wringer, side headlock, Miz shoots him off and gets run over with a shoulder block.
Throwing punches, whip across, shouler thrust, short arm lariat, only good for two. Heath tags back in, diving chop to the shoulder, Miz gets a punch off, another one, he doesn't want to tag the Big John in and eats a flapjack, leading Cubb to tag in on him! Slater stares the bear down and goes to take his head off but Cubb has a palm strike! Backhand!
Slater charges in... THE BEAR HUG! I CAN'T BEAR IT! RHYNO SAVES IT! Big John tags Miz back in but Miz blindsides him rather than come back in the match! He throws Cubb into the barricade and then the apron, taking the hat off and it's just a guy! Rhyno throws Miz back in the ring, he eats a huge kick and Big John rolls back in to run interference!
Kick to the gut, Dirty Deeds?! Miz turns around, Ambrose is the bear now! He knocks Miz into Maryse, pushing her off the apron! Dirty Deeds for Miz, he rolls Slater onto the Intercontinental Champion...
Beauty and the Man-Beast win by pinfall with a lateral press from Heath Slater on the Miz.
Dean puts the bear head on Miz and rolls out. Miz wakes up, takes the head off, and stares intently at it.
Commentary shills the Network again and we get a video package recapping the Raw Tag Team Championship match from WrestleMania and the Hardy Boyz' feud with Cesaro & Sheamus since then. After that, we go to break.
Back from commercial and Neville is in the ring for a match.
Rich Swann comes down and Neville blindsides him during his entrance, stomping away! He throws Rich face-first into the apron and head-first into the barricade, yanking his jacket up over his arms and throwing him in the ring, where he locks the Rings of Saturn neck crank in until Swann is out.
Neville names Austin Aries, TJP, and now Richard Swann before telling Swann to get out of his ring and kicking him out. It feels good to be the King, he says, and he poses with his title. How many more pretenders does he have to obliterate before he gets the respect that he deserves?
He's heard what has been said about Akira Tozawa, well, it takes more than a cute Tweet from the likes of Titus O'Neil to be Cruiserweight Champion, so if Tozawa wants his advice, tread carefully unless you want to be forced to bend the knee and knee before the King of the Cruiserweights.
Cesaro & Sheamus roll into an interview backstage. Sheamus says they say the key to defeating your opponents is to know your opponents. Cesaro says he's been studying up on the Hardyz and he read their book, in fact. Sheamus says it's ridiculous, and Cesaro says it's now them who inspire. The Celtic Warrior says tonight they're gonna inspire the Hardyz to write a sequel called Exist to Retire, because they don't just set the bar, they are the bar.
Enzo & Big Cass vs. the Club is up next, after the break.
Back from commercial, the Club are waiting in the ring.
We cut backstage where Big Cass is once again laid out and the Revival are in the background walking away. Enzo rolls up and asks Big what happened, he says he took one shot in the back of the head and he was out cold, hardest he's ever been hit. Cass insists on having the match and Amore tells him it's not a good idea but he keeps coming.
Gallows and Anderson are laughing about it. Luke asks him if he tripped and fell again and calls him a nerd, and Karl says that makes two weeks in a row and if Cass didn't want to fight them he just needed to say something, he didn't have to beat himself up over it. They too sweet and Enzo and Cass make their entrance.
Enzo & Big Cass vs. the Club (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)
Cass and Anderson to start, Big gets a knee off and stumbles over to clobber Karl but he can't press the assault in his usual manner. Another body blow in the corner, whip, Machine Gun takes it hard but Cass leands against the ropes after. Side slam connects, off the ropes, Empire Elbow connects but still Big's equilibrium is shot.
He tags Enzo in, Anderson knocks Cass off, Amore throwing strikes, big knee lift off the ropes, Karl catches him with a Sick Kick! Stomps to the face, whip to the corner, Enzo with a boot up, he needs a tag but Big can't climb up the steps! Gallows in, Enzo sidesteps a charge, boots up on another, going for the diving DDT but Luke counters with a superkick!
Anderson tags in...
The Club wins by pinfall with Magic Killer on Enzo Amore.
They draw Amore up for another but Big Show moseys down to make the save. The Club bail and Show checks on Enzo, but Cass climbs up to the apron and immediately assumes the worst, staring Show down before getting in the ring and confronting Amore about it.
The tag titles are up next, after the break.
Back from commercial, we get an R-Truth video promo. He says there was nothing cool about what Goldust did to him. He stabbed him in the back and he's not gonna let that slide. He doesn't forgive and he doesn't forget, he gets even. He's mad as hell and he's not gonna take it anymore, and he once again informs Goldust that he's gonna get got.
Big Show is walking backstage when Enzo rolls up to thank him for saving him two weeks in a row. Before he goes, he says Cass is big and one blow to the back of the head took him down? Just for his own peace of mind, he asks Show if he attacked his buddy. Show blows up on him before realizing that Cass must have sent him to ask, and tells him that Big Cass is SAWFT.
We get a recap of the opening segment once again, and Samoa Joe is interviewed backstage. He says that changes nothing and Heyman and Lesnar are playing into his strategy. It's not about words, but actions, and last week Paul's actions showed him that Brock didn't sweat him, and his reaction is to send the messenger back with the same wounds he's going to inflict on his master.
Tonight Brock comes out to tell everyone this is his house? Joe walks to the ring to stare him in the eye so he can feel the man he's going to battle with. Four weeks from now, they'll do battle and Joe will lock him in the Coquina Clutch, put him to sleep, and become the new Universal Champion.
The Hardyz make their entrance, and the actual match will have to wait until after the break.
Back from commercial we get the Roman Reigns video package announcing his announcement again and the champions make their entrance.
Cesaro & Sheamus (c) vs. Hardy Boyz (Jeff & Matt Hardy) (WWE Raw Tag Team Championship 2 Out of 3 Falls Match)
Sheamus and Matt to start, Hardy ducks a Brogue Kick and hits a bulldog for one. Tag to Jeff, Poetry in Motion, Matt gets a Side Effect off, splash from Jeff, Cesaro breaks it up. Matt back body drops the Swiss Superman outside, Brother Nero puts boots to Sheamus, thinking Twist of Fate, blocked, up but Sheamus kicks him before the over...
Cesaro & Sheamus win the first fall by pinfall with a lateral press from Sheamus on Jeff Hardy.
Cesaro screams about being up 1-0 and we go to break.
Back from commercial, the Celtic Warrior has a reverse chinlock in on the Charismatic Enigma. Shifting to a rear chinlock as Jeff struggles, whip away, Irish Curse, only two, looking for a cloverleaf but Hardy fights him off, kicking him clean out of the ring! Desperate for a tag, crawling, Sheamus cuts him off but eats the leg feed solebutt, tags made all around!
Matt throwing forearms and headbutts, smashing Cesaro's face into the turnbuckles repeatedly! Delete! lariat, bulldog countered, big back elbow knocks the Swiss Superman loopy and a tornado DDT gets two. Sheamus running interference, he takes a Side Effect on the apron...
The Hardyz win the second fall by pinfall with a Twist of Fate from Matt Hardy on Cesaro, evening it up 1-1.
A quick lateral press comes up empty, a second Twist of Fate blocked, Matt dives right into an uppercut! Sheamus tags in, boot to Matt, knocking Jeff off the apron but his Broken Brilliance throws hands. A kick and a knee, only two! Tag to Cesaro, assisted White Noise... JEFF BREAKS IT UP!
Sheamus dumps Brother Nero out of the ring, Cesaro hooks the Neutralizer but Matt counters with a back body drop, Swiss Superman re-reverses to a sunset flip and then the Sharpshooter! Crawling for the ropes, he gets them but Cesaro drags him to the center of the ring, small package counter... Cesaro kicks out! A lariat wipes both men out and they tag their partners in.
Jeff throwing lariats, Manhattan Drop to the double leg drop and the basement dropkick, Twist of Fate... CESARO BREAKS IT UP! Matt dumps Cesaro and they brawl outside, Sheamus with a Stun Gun, Cesaro adds an uppercut, schoolboy pin... NO GOOD! Jeff hits a jawbreaker, ducks a charge, Sheamus takes the post hard, Hardy up top, Swanton Bomb... CESARO SAVES IT AGAIN!
Splash from the apron on Cesaro, trying to get Sheamus back in the ring, all hell's breaking loose as referee Shawn Bennett counts...
The third fall is a double count-out draw, rendering the match as a whole a draw.
Both teams keep fighting on the outside, Hardy climbs the ringpost... SPLASH ON THE CHAMPIONS!
The Hardyz beckon the champions back in the ring but Cesaro & Sheamus pose with their titles on the ramp.
That's the show, folks.