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WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (July 24, 2017) from the Verizon Center in Washington D.C., featuring all the latest build to the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV) next month in Brooklyn.
Advertised for tonight: Resolution to the Universal title number one contender situation, Sasha Banks vs. Bayley for a Raw women’s title match, Finn Balor vs. Elias Samson, 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 JULY 24
And so it starts from one impurity held in place by loveless security, always thrown around and beaten by squinted eyes that soon bear turned back, abstract views through broken bottles of brandy. I'm questioned all my life, and my answer is I'm here to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you folks.
The show opens with a video package recapping the #1 contender's match for the Universal Championship from last week and the chaos it ended in.
Kurt Angle makes his entrance. He welcomes us to the show and says for the past few months he's been dealing with a private matter that has at times affected his ability to be Raw GM, but he made the matter public by introducing us to his son, Jason Jordan. At first he was a little nervous, well, actually terrified, but when he came down that aisle he knew he did the right thing.
He and Jason have been catching up, and tonight he has a match on Raw, an opportunity, and the rest is up to him. And speaking of opportunities, he gave Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns such an opportunity last week, but Braun Strowman had other plans. After a lot of thought, Angle has decided--
(RRROOOAAARRR!)
Enter Braun Strowman. He stares Angle down for a moment before saying the next words out of his mouth better be Braun Strowman, because unlike Roman and Joe, he won his match at Balls, and the fact is he does not fear Brock Lesnar. Brock Lesnar fears him, he insists, and at SummerSlam, he's going to break Lesnar in twain and become the next Universal Champion.
Enter Samoa Joe. He says he'll make it simple for them both-- He and Braun haven't crossed paths much, so he'll explain who he is. His name is Samoa Joe, he's the man that tamed the Beast and came within second of putting him to sleep, he's the man that doesn't fear Lesnar, and he definitely doesn't fear Strowman.
Angle gets between them and Joe says the only reason he's not kicking Braun's down his teeth is simple, all he accomplished last week was to keep Reigns from losing his third straight match to Samoa. Joe shifts to Angle and says he should let Braun and Roman finish their business, but at SummerSlam, he should leave the Beast to him.
Enter Roman Reigns. He says it's funny, Joe comes out and talks about what he almost did, and he hasn't done anything around here. Braun's been around for a hiccup, and he hasn't done anything either, but Reigns has been tag champ, US champ, a three-time WWE Champion, he's won the Royal Rumble in Philly, and boy it was loud that night.
He's been in part of five WrestleManias, three of which he main evented, and at the last one, he retired the Undertaker. So now, please tell him what y'all have done here, he'll wait. They don't answer and Reigns says he'll show the world what he's about to do. Kurt breaks it up and says they all make valid points, and he changed his mind again.
At SummerSlam, Brock Lesnar will be facing Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns AND Braun Strowman in a Fatal Four-Way Match for the Universal Championship! He goes to leave but Joe calls him back and asks what this is. Angle says they're done here and Samoa says they're not, and Joe says he's the only man who went one-on-one with Brock in the ring.
Braun says he doesn't care about how many dudes are in the match, he just cares about piling bodies. Roman tells him to shut up and hauls off with the big slicing right! Strowman goozles both men but the Samoans bring the fight back to him and take the fight outside, dumping him over the barricade!
Joe gets a jab in and takes it to Roman, bringing him back in the ring where they slug it out until Braun comes back in and lays Samoa out with a lariat before putting Roman into the ringpost! Kurt Angle calls for security to come break it up and Braun fights all of them off with ease... HE BIELS THE LAST GUY OUT OF THE RING! JOE HAS THE COQUINA CLUTCH ON BRAUN AND THE LOCKER ROOM EMPTIES TO BREAK IT UP!
Strowman backs Joe in the corner but he won't break! Roman spears both of them! Reigns dumps guys like it's the Royal Rumble go-home and Braun clobbers him from behind before hoisting him up and dropping him down with the running powerslam! Braun leaves the chaos he's created, confident and sated.
Commentary hypes up the semi-Shield vs. Miztourage handicap match and our women's #1 contender's match for later, as well as a rematch between Enzo Amore and Big Cass. But first, Finn Balor vs. Elias Samson, no disqualification, after the break.
Back from commercial, the Drifter would like to sing us a song.
He talks about how it hurt to break a guitar and dedicates the song to Finn... and of course he's interrupted by Balor's intro.
Elias Samson vs. Finn Balor (No Disqualification Match)
Finn throws his jacket at the Drifter and beats him down in the corner! Samson shoves him away but Balor passes him outside and pastes him with a dropkick. Punching away on the floor, rolling him back in but Elias runs away and Finn follows after, clobbering him with a forearm to the back of the head to send us to break.
Back from commercial and Balor is still in control on the outside. Back in, the Drifter shoots a headlock off and knocks Finn down with a lariat. Pressing the attack, clubbing and stomping the injured shoulder, snapping it over the apron and then locking an armbar on back in the ring.
Balor to his feet, he gets away, fires a kick but runs into a chop and a snapmare, Samson drops a knee and then takes Finn to the post and wraps his arm around it! Elias gets a chair but Balor is able to cut him off before he can use it, whip reversed, sunset flip rolled through and Finn catches him with a dropkick.
Drifter with a snapmare, stepover armbreaker, back in the corner and Finn charges out with elbows and a basement dropkick to try and fight back into it. Kicking, punching, stomping, Balor goes and gets the chair once he's satisfied Samson is down and out. But when he goes to use it, the Drifter kicks him back and takes the chair, waffling it across his back to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Finn has a waistlock but Samson takes a headlock out of it and ends up sending Balor out of the ring and into the barricade. Back in, an Emerald Flowsion shoulderbreaker (!) lays Finn out and Elias wedges the chair in the corner, but Balor turns him around and "He who smelt it, dealt it" is in full effect as the Drifter eats chair.
Ducking chops and throwing strikes of his own, Finn hits the Pele kick and is fired up! Charging chop, pass across the ring, Samson gets the boot up and Balor ends up outside. Following after and Elias gets tied up in the apron and Finn goes on the attack! He's stomping away at the back of his neck from the apron! Penalty Kick off the apron!
Shotgun dropkick into the barricade, Finn throws him back in and retrieves the chair, wailing on the Drifter's back with the black steel! Hesitation dropkick follows, Samson stumbles to his feet and takes the shotgun dropkick, Balor climbs the turnbuckles, Coup de Grace...
(Wyatt noise.)
Bray Wyatt is in the ring! Sister Abigail to Finn! Bray hangs from the corner as Elias crawls over...
Elias Samson wins by pinfall with a one-armed press.
Bray spider-walks over to Balor in the spotlight and bids that he follow the buzzards.
Jason Jordan will be making his Raw debut after the break, but first, we get a Sonic ad starring Bayley and the Hardy Boyz.
Back from commercial we get an ad for a song by a man who once got powerbombed by Kevin Owens, and a video recap of Kurt Angle's big reveal from last week follows.
Angle is interviewed backstage and says it's been quite a week and Jason didn't want to wait to prove that he can do it on his own. Kurt says as a father he has butterflies in his stomach, but he has every confidence in the world that Jason will-- Emma rolls up and asks when the focus will be on her, the one who started the women's revolution but now sits on the sidelines and watches people who used to look up to her get the opportunities.
She floats the idea of dating Jordan, and Kurt says she has every right to prove herself, and books a match against Nia Jax for later.
Enzo Amore is backstage warming up when he runs into Big Show. Show asks him if he's sure he wants to do this, and Enzo says he needs to show Cass he made the biggest mistake of his life, but he has a new plan this week, which is "screw a plan, bring the fight right to him."
The match will be after the break.
Back from commercial, Enzo Amore makes his entrance, he does the deal. He tells Cass the things that drive him, drive Big crazy, and he's got a full tank of passion. The key that starts his engine is all of us people, and Cass seems to have lost the key to success and his tank is on E. He says he's like the finish line and he can't wait to run into Big, and declares him SAWFT.
Big Cass vs. Enzo Amore
Enzo ducking and dodging, he clips Cass in the knee with a dropkick and takes his back for rabbit punches. A second dropkick gets swatted away by the big man and he clubs Amore's back before drawing him up by the hair and bieling him across the ring. Jumping in, Big hosses him up but Enzo floats over into a sleeper hold.
Cass backs him in the corner to break, Amore jumps in for the DDT but Big blocks and turns it into a thrust spinebuster! Elbow drop, another, a punt to the ribs and Cass mocks the "Oh, Enzo Amore" chant before stepping on his neck. Big sets him up on the turnbuckles and clubs his back repeatedly, knocking him to the mat.
Disdainful kicks and shoves but Enzo's still fighting, throwing desperation punches as he rises to his feet. Cass yells about disrespecting him and just shakes him in the corner before stomping him repeatedly. Amore is still fighting, though, crawling up the big man, but Cass pats his face and comes off the ropes...
Big Cass wins by pinfall with a Mafia kick.
Post-match, Cass draws Enzo up by his beard and puts him in the corner for more abuse, jawing at him before punching him and stepping on his neck again.
WELL...
Enter the Big Show! Cass threatens to snap Amore's neck if he comes any closer! Show keeps coming and Cass throws Enzo at him to get a boot in and he beats the giant down before dropping Empire Elbow after Empire Elbow on him, somewhere around five or six in total. Stomping away against the ropes and Show is truly down and out here. Kick to the ribs, and Cass poses and declares himself the new seven footer.
Commentary hypes up Shield/Miztourage and the women's #1 contender match again, and we roll up on an Alexa Bliss interview.
She's not worried about SummerSlam, because tonight we're going to see a friendship destroyed. Team Gag Reflex (Sasha and Bayley) will explode. Banks thinks she's the best at everything and she'll tell you, and she's not going to sit at home and watch SummerSlam on the WWE Network. As for Bayley she just sees her crying at home and eating Twinkies, watching her former best friend steal the spotlight from her for the three millionth time.
Tonight, the real winner is her, she declares, and we go to break.
Back from commercial, commentary hypes up WWE TapMania.
Emma vs. Nia Jax
Emma ducks in the ropes right away like she's Toru Yano and brings the fight to Jax with elbows after, but Nia runs her over. Duck a lariat, basement dropkick, dropkick to the head, corner punches but Jax throws her away and runs her over once again. Drawing her up, putting her in the corner, lariat to a biel, body avalanche, elbow drop, the big woman firmly in control...
Nia Jax wins by pinfall with a somersault senton.
Akira Tozawa is interviewed backstage, and we get a recap of his matches against Ariya Daivari last week for context. He says that's why he wants a rematch, and Titus O'Neil rolls up, saying he's been looking all over for him, and he knows how bad he wants Daivari, but they both know that shoulder is a liability.
You can fool a lot of people but you can't fool him, and Titus went to Kurt Angle and the medical staff and got the match canceled for Tozawa's own good. Tozawa insists he's going to the ring and tells O'Neil to stay there because this is his business and he insists he's fine, but Titus follows after arguing with him.
They make their way ringside and Tozawa shoves Titus away to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Tozawa is on the mic, and he demands Daivari come out and face him like a man.
Enter Neville. He says it's only been two weeks but Akira forgot who he is. All of this, his injured shoulder, his shattered confidence, it's all because of him. Tozawa wants to fight, and the King compliments his fighting spirit but says he's in no state to go toe to toe with the King of the Cruiserweights.
And he told him, but he made the mistake of trusting the false premises of Titus O'Neil, and where has that got him? What stands before Neville in the squared circle is pathetic, a joke, Tozawa has become nothing more than a shell of his former-- headbutt! Strike rush, the Stamina Monster climbs... diving senton!
Neville is hurting but Tozawa tweaked his shoulder as well, and Daivari runs in to stomp it and lay him out with the Pepsi Twist! Ariya turns to Neville and lays him out with it as well!
Sasha Banks runs into Bayley in the hallway, apoplectic about what Alexa had to say. Bayley gets her to cool down and reminds her they've wrestled many times and they're still friends. The Boss talks about how awesome it'll be to get her hands on that troll at SummerSlam, but Bayley tells her to concentrate on their match tonight.
Sasha tells her they'll go out there and tear the house down, Bayley bids the best woman win, and Banks says she's right, the best woman WILL win, to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get a recap of the opening segment, because Raw is three hours long.
Jason Jordan is interviewed backstage, and he's grateful for the opportunity to wrestle on Raw, and since this is his first match and Angle is his father, all eyes are on him. But he can handle the pressure, although he does have butterflies. He says it's incredible and unbelievable that a man he grew up idolizing his entire life is his biological father.
His hero is his father, and he's no poet, but it's like if you had one of the wildest dreams and it came true. You'd be so overjoyed you wouldn't know what to do with yourself, but right now he's focused and he's gonna win his match.
Dean Ambrose is in the locker room taping his wrists when Seth Rollins rolls up. Dean asks him what he wants and Seth says they have a match, it's kind of a big deal and he's looking forward to it, but that's not why he's here. They got worked over last week and they need a plan, but Dean isn't interested in a plan, he's just gonna go out there and do what he does.
Rollins asks if he's gonna go out and bite off more than he can chew again, and reminds him they have three dudes to worry about. Ambrose says Seth has three guys to worry about, but he has to worry about four.
Bayley makes her entrance, and her match is after the break.
Back from commercial in time for Sasha's entrance.
Alexa Bliss enters as well and joins the commentary desk.
Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (WWE Raw Women's Championship #1 Contender's Match)
Circling, collar and elbow, struggling, Banks throws Bayley off. Back to the lockup, Bayley throws her off and Sasha runs her over before locking an armbar on. Roll-through escape into a quick cover, off the ropes, Gedo Clutch, no count, mat slam to a press, Hugger with the armbar, off the ropes, leapfrog, another pinning predicament and the Boss fires off a huge slap.
Step-up arm drag, charging into the back elbow, diving arm drag, corner lariat, cover gets two and Bayley grabs a front facelock, wrenching it in a moment. Banks with a kick from the ropes, Bayley with a back body drop and another cover, corner knee, adjust the ponytail but Sasha knocks her off the turnbuckles and to the floor and we go to break!
Back from commercial and Banks is wrenching back on a seated Japanese stranglehold something wicked. Bayley turns herself over trying to break the hold but the Boss has a deathgrip on her. Backing Sasha in the corner finally breaks it, but Bayley takes the brunt before flapjacking Banks into the turnbuckles.
She gets her hung up over the middle rope, running stunner, only two! Struggle over a backslide and Sasha fires a wicked knee off before putting the Hugger face first into the turnbuckles with a headscissors, double knees, lungblower, the Bank Statement is on! Repositioned, Bayley tries to roll in a pin but Banks rolls her back! Bayley stands and snapmares Sasha out of it!
Bayley-to-Belly blocked, trading slaps into throwing wild punches, and the Boss throws the Hugger into the turnbuckles before savaging her with the double knee drop! Meteora comes up empty and Bayley levels her with a knee before taking a sliding knee in return! Both women out as referee John Cone issues the standing ten count but they both make it up in time.
In the middle of the ring, trading forearms, Sasha catches one but Bayley returns with the other! To the apron, Banks levels her with a knee lift and begins to climb once again only to get cut off with a right hand. The Hugger climbs to meet her, thinking superplex, right hands, struggling over it and the Boss hits the gourdbuster! She perches, frog splash... NOPE!
Bayley reverses...
Bayley wins by pinfall with a folding lateral press, becoming #1 contender for the WWE Raw Women's Championship.
Alexa Bliss gets in the ring to confront her new challenger, holding the title high as Bayley looks on, determined to regain what she had lost.
Curt Hawkins is interviewed backstage. He complains about how all he's been hearing about is Jason Jordan, but he doesn't care about Jason Jordan. He's gonna smack him in his face and beat him and absolutely ruin his big Monday Night Raw debut. And everybody will be talking about Curt Hawkins tomorrow.
The match will be after the break, but first we get a Special Olympics video package focused on speed skater Cornell Gray.
Back from commercial in time for entrances.
Curt Hawkins vs. Jason Jordan
Hawkins with a palm strike before the bell! Jordan comes in after the bell with a huge takedown, crossfaces, another waistlock takedown, going for a third, Curt grabs a headlock, back suplex gets two and Jason rides Hawkins, throwing crossface after crossface. Curt gets the ropes and heads out for a breather, back into it with a slap, repeated punches, but Jordan shoots him off and throws a few strikes.
Charging him in the corner, overhead belly-to-belly suplex and the straps are down! Shoulder thrust...
Jason Jordan wins by pinfall with a back suplex dropped into a neckbreaker!
We get a recap of the Revival's return to Raw and they're shown walking backstage. They'll be doing stuff after the break.
Back from commercial, the Revival make their entrance for an in-ring interview.
Scott Dawson says they're professional enough to know what they're going to be asked and they handle the interview by themselves. He bids Dash Wilder enlighten the WWE Universe as to why they're special, and he says that not only did they dominate NXT and show they're the greatest tag team on the planet today, they're on Monday nights showing why they're the future of the tag division.
Dawson says they sent New Day to SmackDown, make the Hardy Boyz irrelevant, and he takes responsibility for making Cass turn on Enzo because they couldn't stand the idea of facing the Revival.
Enter the Club. Karl Anderson says they're acting like they did it all, but he and Luke Gallows did it first. Beat up the New Day? First. Beat up the Hardy Boyz? First. Gallows says they were even baldski first. They stand in the ring and call themselves Top Guys, but all they see is a couple of top nerds.
Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) vs. the Club (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)
Anderson and Dawson to start, collar and elbow, struggling all over the ring and Dawson backs him in the corner and breaks dirty with a shove but gets slapped in return! Back to the lockup, Scott backs him in his corner this time and Dash tags in for the beating. Chop, a headbutt, quick tag back to Dawson, punch, chop, elbow, another chop, whip reversed and Karl catches him with a back elbow.
Thinking whip but Scott drops low to block and Gallows tags in, leading the Revival to have a strategy meeting before Dawson comes in, knocks Anderson down, and they use the opportunity to double team the Big Hoot. Wilder tags in, whip to the corner, Luke lariats both men, back body drops all around and the Club clothesline the Revival out of the ring to send us to break.
Back from commercial and Dawson has Anderson in an armbar but the Good Brother is fighting for the tag, elbows ahoy. Off the ropes, Scott hits an uppercut and Wilder tags in. Dash off the ropes, Karl catches him with a leg lariat, tags all around. Gallows running Dawson over with lariats, knocking Wilder off the apron, Stinger splash, big boot, off the ropes for the big splash!
Stinger splash ducked, Big Hoot with a boot, tag made, thinking Boot o' Doom but Dash runs interference and Dawson lays the chop block in on Gallows...
Enter the Hardy Boyz! Their distraction gives the Club an opportunity to dump the Revival outside and beg the Hardyz for a fight, but that's a mistake, the Revival capitalize...
The Revival win by pinfall with Shatter Machine on Karl Anderson.
The Hardyz hit the ring to brawl with the Revival! Dawson gets dumped, Poetry in Motion on Wilder, Twist of Fate, but Scott makes the save before Jeff can hit the Swanton.
Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel are getting ready in the locker room when Miz rolls up for a pep talk. He says they're like family while the Shield boys are squabbling. They're like the Marine 5, and Ambrose and Rollins are like Tom Cruise in the Mummy. Rollins is out of ideas and begging for Dean to reboot a once-great franchise, but tonight the Miztourage will go out there and prove that they're what's it in WWE.
They're gonna do exactly what they did last night and lay out them out on the mat and prove without a shadow of a doubt that those two are nothing more than a box office bomb waiting to happen. They feel it together and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we're informed that Jason Jordan will be on MizTV, and the contenders for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam will be having a three-way match.
Wale is shown in the first row with the Million Dollar Championship over his shoulder.
Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins vs. Miz & the Miztourage (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel) (Handicap Match)
Miz and Ambrose to start, Dean rushes in and Miz immediately tags Axel in. Ambrose hip tosses him in to the ring and takes him right to the corner for mounted punches, chops, whip reversed, up and over, off the ropes, jumping lariat into mounted punches. Curtis with a knee, Rollins tags in, punches and chops, body slam, off the ropes for a knee drop right to the face but it's only good for one.
Bo tags in, Seth comes off the ropes with a boot, big hip toss, a chop, snapmare, off the ropes with a Penalty Kick and Dallas is hurting. Off the ropes, Bo wipes him out with an elbow and tags the Miz in. The A-Lister comes off the ropes with a boot and taunts Dean before laying knees into the Kingslayer's back.
Overhead elbows lead into a reverse chinlock, Rollins struggles to his feet and breaks with body blows. Miz has a knee, sends him off the ropes, Seth ducks lariats and hits the sling blade. Miz gets a jawbreaker off and Ambrose tags in, but the A-Lister heads outside. Dean follows, Axel with the blind tag but Ambrose is ready for him, blocking a punch and firing back.
Off the ropes, back body drop scouted, quick tag for Rollins, dropkick, Bo gets clotheslined outside and Miz thinks better of getting in the ring as we go to break.
Back from commercial, Rollins is fighting back against Dallas, big back suplex, crawling for the tag but Miz tags in and cuts him off. Straight suplex, the A-Lister getting into Dean's head before choking Seth over the ropes and stomping away at him. Seated sentons cut the Kingslayer off everytime he tries to draw himself crawling over and Miz follows with a front chancery.
Rollins pushing forward, Miz hits a knee, follows with the backbreaker / neckbreaker combo, the cover's only good for two and he tags Axel in. Running blockbuster gets two more, overhead elbow into knees to the ribs, grinding into Seth's torso using the ropes for leverage. Armbar applied, Seth getting closer and closer to the tag but Curtis shoots him off into a dropkick.
Tag to Bo, who drops repeated knees into Rollins' face. Right hand cuts the tag off, a choke with the knee, Miz tags back in as Dallas wrenches a wristlock on with a foot on Seth's face, and throws stomps once he's legal. Rollins fired up but the A-Lister cuts the rally with his basement DDT for a nearfall!
Laying the Daniel Bryan chest kicks in now, Seth ducks the buzzsaw, grabs a schoolboy pin for two, double lariats lay both men out! Curtis tags in, Rollins hits the reverse STO into the turnbuckles, Dallas legal, Ambrose tags in! Off the ropes with forearms, whip reversed, big lariat, swinging neckbreaker on Axel, bulldog on Bo with a lariat for Curtis and he knocks Miz away from the apron before throwing a plancha!
He dumps Miz in the timekeeper's area, rolls Bo up for two, takes a forearm, pendulum lariat, Dean is fired up! Climbing, kicking Axel away, fighting Bo off, diving elbow drop, Miz breaks it up and Rollins takes him outside! Curtis puts Seth into the barricade and tags in. Dallas thinking spike piledriver, back body drop counter, blind tag from Miz, he comes from behind, Skull Crushing Finale... ROLLINS MAKES THE SAVE!
Bo takes the bottom rope hard getting slid out of the ring, and Miz gets to his feet first. Dean back body drops him outside and the Shield boys make a recovery and lock eyes... stereo suicide dives! Miz slid back in the ring, rope-hung DDT into a small package... NO GOOD! Full nelson, Rollins hits the diving knee, Dean gets the underhooks...
Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins win by pinfall with Dirty Deeds from Ambrose on the Miz!
Seth and Dean hug in celebration! Rollins offers his fist for the fist bump but Ambrose isn't ready for that and cold shoulders him, leaving the ring in celebration.
That's the show, folks.