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WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (June 19, 2017) from the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, 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: Roman Reigns has a big announcement to make regarding SummerSlam, 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 19
No more panic, no more regret. No more hoping for a new mess. Slide into the water, become one with the sea. Life seems so much smaller. Swim to the moon, while I liveblog this here pro wrestling show.
The show opens with Roman Reigns making his entrance for his big SummerSlam announcement that was announced last week.
He says some of us may not like this but some of us will love it, and when it comes down to it, he cannot be beaten one-on-one. It's the truth, ask Bray Wyatt, ask Finn Balor, ask his little brother Seth Rollins, ask Braun Strowman, he put him out of commission, and let's not forget, he main evented his third WrestleMania in a row, and that's where he retired the Undertaker.
Roman pauses a moment to let the crowd chant for Taker, and continues, saying he respects him and is respected back because of his win, so this is the plan-- after Great Balls of Fire, he doesn't care who wins, whether it's Brock Lesnar or the guy they call Joe, because at SummerSlam, he's the number one contender for the Universal Championship.
And why? Because this is his yard, and he makes the rules around here. And that is why--
Enter Samoa Joe. He paces in front of Reigns a moment before starting, saying he couldn't help but notice that Roman seems to have forgotten his name. At first he was offended, but then he thought to himself he had to come out here and make a case for his announcement, naming all these competitors that he's beaten, and Samoa's name isn't on that list, because he's never beaten him.
So allow him to reintroduce himself. His name is Samoa Joe, he's the true #1 contender, and the next Universal Champion. Roman says he never thought he'd agree with Paul Heyman, but what he said last week was true, and he'll never be Samoa Joe to him, he'll always be just Joe. (But not Just Joe, who's a different guy.)
Joe snaps a headbutt off and takes Roman outside, punching him repeatedly and throwing him into the barricade a few times! Smashing his face in the apron, he rolls the Big Dog back inside and goes to lock the Coquina Clutch in but Roman blocks with a judo throw... Superman Punch!
Samoa bails and stares Reigns down from the ramp.
The Hardy Boyz are walking along backstage, they'll have a match against the Club after the break.
Back from commercial, we learn that Kurt Angle has booked a Reigns/Joe match for later tonight.
Hardy Boyz (Jeff & Matt Hardy) vs. the Club (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)
Anderson and Matt to start, side headlock from Machine Gun, Hardy reverses to a shoulder armbreaker, tag to Jeff. Diving axehandle, arm wringer, short-arm shoulder thrust and kicks, quick tag to Matt. Double whip, back-first into their own corner, double suplex, only two.
Karl backs Matt into the Club's corner, tag to Gallows, in with punches, short-arm lariat, but Hardy rolls away from an elbow drop and tags Jeff in. Double whip, corner lariat as Jeff clears Anderson from the apron, Poetry in Motion into a big splash, only two. Big slicing right from big hoot, pass in the corner, tag to Karl.
Right hands, whip into the corner, Jeff rallying, back elbow, but Anderson crotches him in the corner and he lands right on his neck to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Luke has Brother Nero well in hand, running him over with a boot and tagging Machine Gun in. Repeated knee drops, cover gets two, and the good brother locks Hardy down with an armbar. Crawling for the tag, Anderson holding him back, he's mere feet away and Karl sends him in the corner.
Jeff sidesteps a charge, crawling for the tag, Anderson with a back suplex, Hardy lands on his feet, Karl has his boot, step-up solebutt, tag to Big Hoot and he knocks Matt from the apron. Corner avalanche, quick tag to Anderson, Jeff with a back elbow, Whisper in the Wind!
Tag to Matt, he comes in with a lariat, whipped, forearm to Gallows, a stunner over the ropes, elbows and he makes Machine Gun's face very well acquainted with the turnbuckles indeed. Corner lariat, bulldog denied, boot up on the charge, on the second, elbow to the back, Side Effect... Gallows with the save!
The match breaks down, Anderson with a schoolboy pin for two, Hardy locks him down with a facelock and he forces Matt in the corner, where Luke jabs him in the throat. Lariat connects, tag to Gallows, Boot o' Doom... NO GOOD! Jeff wipes Anderson out, Matt tags him in, blocks a fireman's carry, Twist of Fate connects, Jeff climbs...
The Hardy Boyz win by pinfall with a Swanton Bomb from Jeff Hardy on Luke Gallows.
The Boyz celebrate their win, Matt throwing some "Delete!"s out for the crowd.
Commentary hypes Reigns/Joe up and we go to break.
Back from commercial we get another Goldust video promo. He talks about the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. The brightest stars, the biggest stage, a city where dreams come true. But what about the other side, the part they don't want you to see, where dreams get shattered like a piece of broken glass.
He's been there, but he pieced himself back together nicely, and now he'll be flying into the City of Angels on wings made of gold. So next week, he wants to invite R-Truth to the debut of his latest motion picture, The Shattered Truth. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll never forget the name of Goldust. The Golden Age... is back.
In the ring, the Drifter is here to sing us a song. He remembers when he was fifteen, his dad gave him a guitar and said you can take this thing and tell the stories of the world, and he didn't realize he'd drift into this godforsaken town. So relax, open your mind, and allow his music to wash over you and cleanse your filthy souls.
He starts to play but has to take a second to tune his guitar, demanding complete silence from the crowd.
Samson is interrupted by Finn Balor! They face off and circle, but the Drifter leaves and we go to break, informed that Finn will be in action after the break.
Back from commercial in time for the bell to ring.
Or not, because Bo Dallas blindsides Balor and lays him out! Referee Shawn Bennett checks on Finn and decides he can go.
Bo Dallas vs. Finn Balor
Punches in the corner, Dallas fired up, short-arm lariat, choke against the bottom rope and clubbing Balor against the apron. Throwing him into the barricade, charging knee to the head sandwiches him against it, back in the ring, only two. Knee lift, whip in the corner, Finn gets a boot up, takes an elbow, Pele kick in return and he finally gets some time to breathe.
Strike rush, elbow to the kidneys, mat slam into repeated stomps, Balor rallying, just laying stomp after stomp in as Bennett warns him. Lariat sends Bo outside, Penalty Kick from the apron! Throwing Dallas into the barricade repeatedly to give him his receipt, sling blade connects, shotgun dropkick...
Finn Balor wins by pinfall with Coup de Grace.
Corey Graves excuses himself from the commentary booth again and Booker T and Michael Cole talk up WWE 2K18 and toss to an exclusive trailer for it, and we go to break after.
Back from commercial, Kurt Angle is on his phone in his office talking about a controversy and Graves rolls up to say he's sorry he had a bad Father's Day but he got the same text and he wants to help. Enzo & Big Cass roll up, Kurt wanted to see them, and he wants to know why Amore Tweeted at Conor McGregor.
Cass is incredulous that he wants to talk about a Tweet when they're being attacked every week. Enzo calls out the Revival, Cass says he thinks it's Big Show, and Angle promises that by the end of the night, they'll know who attacked them. He and Corey resume their conversation as the camera cuts away.
Seth Rollins makes his entrance.
He says today was awesome. He grew up playing video games, and sports games were his favorites, and nobody was cooler than the dude on the box, guys like Peyton Manning and Shawn Michaels, and today he has the honor and the privilege to be the cover athlete on WWE 2K18.
It almost didn't happen, and we know the story, he was given an offer and accepted it. He bought in, and it was everything he could ask for, he had money, every material possession, but the truth is he couldn't look himself in the mirror. When he was at the lowest of the lows, something happened, and we gave him a second chance.
And no material possession is worth a second chance, so that's not just his cover, but our cover. The tagline for this year's game is Be Like No One, and that's awesome because life is about defining who you are, and life is about making mistakes, but that doesn't have to define who we are, today or in the future, we get to decide that.
He wants to make a promise to us--
(Wyatt noise.)
Bray Wyatt is on the tron, telling the Architect that he's contradicting himself. From one side of his mouth he speaks of how he's grown as an individual, but from the other side all he can talk about is his possessions, his vanity. He says he's his own man, but he shills this corporate banner. Bray can feel the struggle in his soul, he's still conforming.
Just when he does it now, he's conforming to what the people want him to be. You can wear the clothes of a good, honest man, but they both know that deep down he's not that man.
Seth says he's right, he's not that man. He's THE man, and he's been around some of the most egotistical men in this business, but lately Wyatt has taken it to another level. He thinks he knows everything about everyone, but life doesn't work that way.
Rollins has had an eventful couple years, but those who know him know he was most excited to stand in this ring toe-to-toe with an alleged god. The truth about gods is that they only exist in our minds, so maybe in his world, he's god, but in Seth's world he's nothing but a coward.
Bray says that in Rollins' world he thinks he's safe, but he was warned that anyone that takes his name in vain is to be punished. And now, it's time to make a sacrifice. Now, he's here.
Wyatt makes his entrance... and Seth is ready for him with a diving splash to the outside!
Commentary promises that Kurt Angle will crack the case on Enzo & Big Cass by the end of the night and hypes Reigns/Joe up again to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get a replay of what just happened because Raw is three hours long.
Corey Graves rejoins the desk and says he stands by Kurt Angle.
Finn Balor is interviewed and says all he sees in his future is the Universal Championship and him doing everything in his power to win it back. He says nobody knows Joe like he does and when he locks in the Coquina Clutch it's lights out. And as for the Big Dog--
Elias Samson blindsides Finn! D-Von Dudley makes the save and tells the Drifter to get out of there.
Akira Tozawa vs. TJ Perkins TJP
Titus O'Neil comes out before they can get going to ask what they're doing. They can't have a match of this magnitude without the proper hype, and how you gonna have the proper hype without the proper brand, or the proper man? Titus gives the match a big intro and we get going.
Collar and elbow, Tozawa gets a side headlock, TJP reverses to a rear chinlock, into a cravate, Akira shoots him off, drop down, spinning schoolboy pin, arm drag into an armbar. Perkins reverses to a headscissors takeover from the mat, a cover gets one and he takes Tozawa into the corner, breaking with a right hook.
Whip across, up and over, Akira snaps off a headscissors takeover, TJ comes back with a shoulder thrust from the apron and a diving sunset flip but Tozawa rolls out for a kick, throws a senton but the knees are up. Neville comes out, he tells Michael Cole he's not here to talk to him but rather to get eyes on Tozawa and he takes a seat at the desk as we go to break.
Back from commercial, I missed a minute but I come back in to Tozawa coming off the top but Perkins rolls out of the way, so Akira follows it up with a suicide dive! Back in, he's fired up and TJP is begging off, throwing him into the turnbuckles. Double chickenwing gutbuster connects, only a nearfall.
Fireman's carry, Tozawa escapes, rolling solebutt dodged but he connects with a jumping roundhouse, back suplex, he climbs up top...
Akira Tozawa wins by pinfall with the diving senton.
Titus asks us to give it up for Tozawa and says the Titus Brand has more ahead of them because he and Apollo Crews have a match against the tag champions. And he's gonna give away stuff like Oprah Winfrey gives away stuff to make it a celebration. O'Neil says Tozawa hasn't quite signed, but when he does, the money will be flowing in!
Neville gets on the mic to call Titus a peasant and tell him to watch his tongue. He warned Tozawa last week to tread very, very carefully, because if he continues to disrespect the King of the Cruiserweights, he won't have the chance to bend the knee, he'll be annihilated.
O'Neil says he's not sure he sees a proud King, it looks more like a little scared little boy. You see, the Neville Level will surely be annihilated by the power of Tozawa. He claps Akira's shoulder and they yell together.
Commentary hypes Reigns/Joe up and we see Kurt Angle backstage talking to the Revival as we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get a new video from R-Truth.
He accepts Goldust's invitation and next week it's going down in LA. He wants his name in the lights? Get ready, because he's gonna slash them all. He's gonna reach up and bring Goldust crashing down to earth, and there will be no movie premier, just the hand of Truth smacking him right dead in the face. Next week, he's gonna get got.
Bo Dallas is in the locker room with Curtis Axel telling him he's better than this. He Bo-lieves in Bo and positivity brings purpose, but Dallas confesses that he stole that from a poster with a cat on it. Miz rolls up and says they have no one to blame but themselves. On the set of the Marine 5, they were stars, but on Raw they're bit players.
The Bo on the movie set would slap this Bo in the face and tell him to wake up. He moves to Axel, who tells him not to try, and Miz says what, you gonna hit him? What happens then? Miz goes on to Raw and Curtis gets stuck in a match with catering. But if they join his Entourage, they can be stars their families will be proud of. He bids them think about it and takes his leave.
Samoa Joe is interviewed backstage. He says he's being asked the wrong question, Roman needs to be asked how he's preparing for Joe. And what happened the last time he wrestled a guy named Joe? They roll footage of Samoa beating Reigns on his in-ring Raw debut months ago. It's real simple-- Roman needs to reassess his goals and consider who he's in the ring with.
Reigns' past dictates he's going to leave a broken man, and he needs to remember to be careful what he asks for, because he's gonna lock the Coquina Clutch on at Great Balls of Fire and not let go of it or the championship. Roman better learn his name and put some respect on it, because he's Samoa Joe.
Roman Reigns makes his entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get a recap of Roman's announcement, again presumably because Raw is three hours long.
Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe
Circling, collar and elbow, Joe backs Reigns in the corner and referee Rod Zapata calls for the break. Back to circling, the lockup again, this time Roman grabs a side headlock, Samoa shoots him off and wobbles him with a shoulder block. Off the ropes, another shoulder block, again the Big Dog is knocked back a few steps and they jaw.
Joe shoves Reigns and gets a pair of big slicing rights in return. Samoa with knees and forearms, knocked down by a shoulder block from Roman, ready for the Superman Punch but Joe bails. Back in, circling again, knuckle lock, Joe fakes out into punches and backs Reigns into the corner with jabs.
Forearm for forearm in the middle of the ring, the Big Dog gets a few off in sequence, whip reversed, charging back elbow to the enzuigiri, looking for the Coquina Clutch and Reigns bails. Joe waiting eager as Zapata counts and the Big Dog comes in with Frye/Takayama punches! Samoa wins the exchange with headbutts, asking Roman what his name is and drawing him up for additional headbutts one at a time.
Off the ropes, the Big Dog with the Samoan drop (Samoans drop?), Joe is in a bad part of town but leaves before the Drive-By and catches him around the corner. Putting Reigns spine-first into the ringpost, following up with a running senton on the floor and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Joe lands a snapmare and follows it with a chop, a kick, and a corkscrew elbow drop for two. Passing stomp, mounted punches, before grounding the Big Dog with a rear chinlock and a knee to the back. Reigns to his feet, Samoa fires off a headbutt and a senton but Roman moves out of the way!
Reigns firing the trifecta of lariats off, Joe ducks the jumping one but gets caught by a big boot for two all the same. Corner lariats, clubbing away, off the ropes and the jumping lariat connects this time. Calling for the Superman Punch, the Destroyer bails and this time he's caught by the Drive-By!
Back in the ring, Superman Punch blocked into a Manhattan Drop, Joe follows with a boot and a senton, only a nearfall! Drawing him up, looking for the Rock Bottom but Reigns fights back with elbows. Knees connect, Roman flips out of the Rock Bottom, Superman Punch... NO GOOD!
Charging in for the spear, he gets a knee, Joe gets the Spinning Dwayne off... NOT ENOUGH! Looking for the Coquina Clutch, Roman keeps him from getting his hands together, backs him in the corner, off the ropes, spear... JOE GETS HIS FOOT ON THE ROPE!
Lying in wait for the spear but somebody left the oven on... The beeping is coming from the tron as an ambulance is backed into the arena. BRAUN STROWMAN IS BACK! THE MONSTER AMONG MEN! HE'S MAKING HIS WAY THROUGH THE ARENA! COQUINA CLUTCH! ROMAN IS FIGHTING BUT HE CAN'T BREAK IT! IT'S OVER!
Samoa Joe wins by submission with the Coquina Clutch.
Braun Strowman makes his way to the ring, standing over Roman's writhing body. He shakes his head and says Roman seems to have forgotten HE'S NOT FINISHED WITH HIM! Drawing him up with the goozle... INVERTED CHOKESLAM! ROAR!
He tells Roman he'll face him at Great Balls of Fire in an Ambulance Match!
Commentary informs us that MizTV with Maryse is up next, after the break.
Back from commercial we get a recap of what we just saw because Raw is three hours and nobody wants Braun to be angry because he didn't get to play too.
Miz makes his entrance and gets in the ring, where a man-sized gift is wrapped and two people are in bear suits, holding banners of apology for Maryse. Miz introduces his beautiful wife and she makes her entrance. He promises he checked the bears out this time and there's one for each of them.
In fact, they're the It Couple of the bear community. He goes for a kiss and gets denied, so he says he was wrong and can admit it, and he apologizes for destroying the clock and also for knocking her off the apron last week. But he knows "sorry" isn't good enough, and that's why he got her this gift, wrapped himself, safe and everything.
Miz leads the crowd in an "Open it!" chant, and she does. It's the grandfather clock, fixed and enhanced. He did it himself using YouTube tutorials and made it perfect just like her and just like us. They're perfect and Dean Ambrose is trying to ruin it with his stupid shenanigans, because they have what he wants, their relationship and the Intercontinental Championship, which is like their baby.
He says no one has a stronger bond, and she is his everything. He loves her so much and he's so sorry and he'll never, ever put her in harm's way. She said the clock is timeless like him, but she was wrong, it's timeless like them. He asks her to forgive him and she goes to give him a kiss as a response...
Enter Dean Ambrose. He gets in the ring and Miz puts Maryse in harm's way, causing her to spill her champagne all over herself. He falls over himself apologizing and attacks Dean, but he only succeeds in knocking the clock over again! He keeps apologizing and Maryse shoves him away!
She leaves, Miz goes to attack again, Dirty Deeds blocked and the bears attack Ambrose! It's Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel! They keep clubbing away before dragging him up so Miz can yell at him and hit Skull Crushing Finale as punctuation. Miz holds the title high to close MizTV out.
Kurt Angle is talking to Big Show backstage and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Cesaro & Sheamus enter for a match.
Cesaro & Sheamus vs. Titus Brand (Apollo Crews & Titus O'Neil)
Crews and Cesaro to start, side headlock shoot-off into the shoulder block, drop down, leapfrog, Apollo with the dropkick, armbar, Cesaro breaks with a right, corner uppercut, tag to Sheamus. Finlay Roll, only two, crossface blows and the Celtic Warrior locks a top wristlock on. Crews to his feet, body blows, Sheamus gets him in the corner and makes the tag.
Europeans putting boots to the Dragon Gate alumnus as Titus jaws at referee John Cone. Swiss Superman locks a reverse chinlock on, Apollo to his feet and Sheamus tags in. Jawbreaker gets some separation, Cesaro back in, he takes an enzuigiri, tag to Titus. Lariats for Cesaro, a biel, yelling all the way. Barking, corner avalanche, scoop, Cesaro tags Sheamus in.
Big boot for Cesaro, Sheamus snaps his neck over the top rope, diving lariat ducked, corner avalanche, scoop slam, tag to Crews, standing moonsault, no good. The match breaks down a little, O'Connor roll, only two, Cesaro gets an uppercut off from the outside and tags in...
Cesaro & Sheamus win by pinfall with a spike White Noise on Apollo Crews.
And on that note, we go to break.
Back from commercial commentary pumps Great Balls of Fire up a little, tossing to a video package about Samoa Joe's legacy, covering as much as you can with footage WWE owns and still pictures. It shifts to Brock talking about who he is and what he wants out of life and then they proclaim the fate they have in store for each other.
Sasha Banks and Nia Jax make their entrances, and Alexa Bliss joins the commentary desk for the match, which will start after the break.
Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks
The match is in progress, Nia bieling the Boss across the ring. Banks throwing kicks, sidestep a charge, up top, Meteora connects big! Emma shows up at the commentary desk and gets into a shoving match with Bliss, they hit the ring and Alexa hides behind Jax. Nia offers her up, Emma throws a kick, the champion moves...
Nia Jax wins by disqualification.
Sasha jumps Jax from behind but is thrown off and Alexa and Emma join forces to put boots to her. Mickie James and Dana Brooke make the ave and it's chaos in the ring! Bayley joins the party late but clears house on Emma and Bliss. Bayley-to-Belly on Alexa, working Emma over in the corner, running knee to the face takes care of her!
Nia puts Bayley in the corner, Dana and Mickie make the save, Bayley with a diving bulldog on Jax and Brooke and James dropkick her out of the ring, leaving the babyfaces standing tall as we go to break.
Back from commercial, commentary addresses the controversy of the women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match last night, saying we'll find out what, if anything, Daniel Bryan will do tomorrow night.
Kurt Angle makes his entrance. He says he wants to get to the bottom of this and invites Enzo & Cass to come to the ring.
Enzo does his schtick and Cass promises to find whoever's been doing this and preemptively declares them SAWFT. Kurt says he's been talking to suspects all night long, so first and foremost he's bringing out the Revival. Next up, someone he's known for a very long time, the Big Show.
Angle gets to the point, he wants to rule some folks out. He addresses Big Show first, saying Cass said he felt like he was knocked out by a punch. Show says Kurt knows him and as far as it goes, it's written on their shirts, they're both SAWFT and if he's gonna attack them, he'll punch them right in the mouth, and he'll give Cass more than he can handle for sure.
Everything they've been through, and Angle wants to accuse him of the sneak attack, well maybe he doesn't need to be on his show anymore. Cass takes this as proof that it was Show and Angle cuts him short, saying they still have the Revival. Scott Dawson cuts him off saying they've heard the same thing for four weeks.
They're not here to win a popularity contest but they're innocent and there's nothing left to prove. Kurt says they're right, and after speaking to referees, producers, and other superstars, he's come to the conclusion that the Revival have very solid alibis.
Corey Graves interrupts, saying he thinks he can be of assistance. He says Cass said something that isn't true about the lump on the back of his head, and he says the WWE medical crew had no record of healing him. Cass claims it was another medical team, so Graves says if he was attacked and wasn't cleared, why did he wrestle?
Big says he wouldn't abandon Enzo, and Corey says he doesn't know about the other attacks, but he has security footage of last week, which he rolls on the tron. Big Cass is waking backstage, looking around confused, and Corey narrates, as Cass picks up a piece of metal framework and lays it down.
He moves another piece of framework, kicks the box and lays himself down as if he had been attacked. In fact, Graves says that's the same position he was found in by referees. He says he was hit in the back by a knockout punch, but nobody attacked him. Enzo turns around and Cass admits to attacking him!
Cass asks Enzo if he has any idea what it's like teaming with him, he constantly runs his mouth about god knows what every minute of the day, and he even ran his mouth at Conor McGregor. He's wanted to knock Enzo out so many times but he never did it because he felt bad for Enzo, since nobody else behind that curtain liked him.
He put up with his crap for years, every single day until finally he snapped, and it felt damn good when he attacked Amore from behind. And he woulda snapped his little neck like a twig if he wanted to but he didn't because he wanted to see Enzo suffer for all the years of crap in NXT and on Raw, for everything he had to put up with he wanted to watch him suffer.
And when things got a little hot and fingers were pointed in his direction he cooled them down to see just how smart Enzo is, to see if he could figure out what was going on or if he was just as dumb as he looks. He says Enzo's dead weight holding him back from his potential when he should be rising to the top.
He's the future of the WWE and Enzo just writes checks his mouth can't cash with Cass behind him, but not for long, because they're through. He knocks Enzo down and Angle finally steps in, so Cass leaves and stares on from the ramp.
That's the show, folks.