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WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Mar. 21, 2022) from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming WrestleMania 38 two-night extravaganza in early April in Arlington, Texas.
Advertised for tonight: AJ Styles makes his return after a couple weeks away to address Edge and the attack that took him out, not to mention their match at WrestleMania. Nothing else has been advertised for the show at this time but we can expect more on the Raw tag team title scene, Kevin Owens building to his confrontation with Stone Cold Steve Austin, an update on the apparently injured Bianca Belair, and more!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the Raw live blog will kick off once the show starts on USA Network. It will be below this line here.
WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR MAR. 21
Animation breathes a cloudless mind. Fascination leaves the doubting blind. Until the circle breaks and wisdom lies ahead, the faithful live awake, but me? I’m just here to liveblog this here pro wrestling show, folks.
The show opens with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin making his entrance.
Except it’s not Stone Cold, it’s Kevin Owens wearing a bald cap.
He asks Chicago if they’re ready to see him open up a can of whoopass on Steve Austin at WrestleMania. He mockingly shifts into imitating Austin and saying everything that KO said about Texas was right and he figured he’d do what he does best and run his mealy little mouth and accept KO’s invitation.
The crowd chants for Austin, the glass shatters... and Kev laughs, because he knows Stone Cold isn’t coming. He mocks the crowd for getting fooled and calls for the Steveweisers but proves unable to catch the beers as they’re hurled at him. He berates the stagehand for being a poor arm and tells the guy to come in the ring and give him the beer.
The guy does so, and of course, Owens kicks him in the gut and hits the Stunner! Kev cracks his two beers and gives the guy a beer bath!
The Mysterios make their entrance to send us to break.
Dirty Dawgz (Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode) vs. the Mysterios (Dominik & Rey Mysterio)
Dominik and Dolph to start, side headlock, shot off, drop down, leapfrog, arm drag, Ziggler falls to the floor! Shove into the apron, tag to Roode, a little back and forth and the Dawgz are laid out—
Enter Seth Rollins.
He says the show doesn’t move another second until the world hears what he has to say. He wants a WrestleMania spot and he’s going to get a WrestleMania spot because he’s Seth Freakin’ Rollins. Not just any spot, but a spot that’s gonna live forever.
His mic keeps going in and out and he says he wants bigger and we abruptly go to break with no clue whether or not our match is continuing.
Back from commercial, the match is still happening and Mysterio takes Ziggler out with a dropkick! Roode tags in, tornado DDT drops him, tag to Dominik! Big diving crossbody, duck a lariat, headscissors wipes him out! Back body drop to the apron, trip him up in the corner, senton atomico, swinging neckbreaker... DOLPH BREAKS IT UP!
Mysterio hits an Ace Crusher on him, Roode hits a spinebuster... NOPE! 619 connects, Dom off the top...
The Mysterios win by pinfall with a frog splash from Dominik Mysterio on Robert Roode.
Post-match, Dolph lays Dominik out with a superkick and Miz gets up from commentary to hit Skull-Crushing Finale on Rey and tear his mask off!
Seth Rollins is backstage with Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville to demand a big WrestleMania match.
Pearce tells him disrupting the show won’t get him what he wants, but Rollins asks if relying on them will get him what he wants. Deville points out that they gave him an opportunity last week and he failed, not them. Adam says maybe there’s something they can do but Seth laughs and walks off to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get a recap of what we just saw.
The Miz, carrying Rey Mysterio’s mask, runs into an interview backstage.
He says Logan Paul was a Rey Mysterio fan as a kid and he really wanted one of his masks but poor little Logan grew up to discover what a jerk Rey is, and the Mysterios have shown them nothing but disrespect, so he humiliated the Mysterios.
We get a recap of Universal Championship business.
Omos makes his entrance to send us to break.
Apollo Crews & Commander Azeez vs. Omos (Handicap Match)
Azeez running interference so Crews can kick things off with a dropkick and an enzuigiri that sends Omos to the floor! He shrugs Commander off, goozles on both guys but Azeez fights back with body blows! Omos nails him with an uppercut, goozle on Apollo and Azeez rams him into the post!
Back inside, Omos recovering and we finally get a bell! Boot lays Crews out, he tags out, big men square up and Omos scoops him up one-handed and slams him! Apollo with a diving crossbody, he gets caught and military press dropped! A roundhouse kick takes Azeez out, Omos picks Crews up and tells him this is his fault before chokebombing him!
Dragging Apollo over, double stack...
Omos wins by pinfall with a lateral press.
Post-match, Omos says it doesn’t matter how big they are or how many they are, he’s undefeated and cannot be stopped, and anyone who has the balls can step up, whether it’s on Raw or at WrestleMania, and they’ll all be dominated.
AJ Styles makes his entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, AJ Styles gets on the mic.
He says for the past two weeks he’s been missing out because he’s been at home nursing an injury. He had nothing but time on his hands, and if you have enough of it, time can be a dangerous thing. He saw Edge with his mood lighting and he’s not here to ask why or get answers, he’s here to kick Edge’s teeth down his throat!
Edge wants the pitbull, he’s got him, but he doesn’t have to wait until WrestleMania, he can come collect this ass kicking right now! Edge doesn’t answer and AJ calls him a coward.
Enter Seth Rollins.
He gets in the ring and on the mic and says he’s living for his WrestleMania moment. Styles tells him to cut the crap and Seth says he’s concerned about AJ’s health and safety, asking if he’s physically and emotionally capable of fighting him at WrestleMania, and says he has a proposition.
Go home to your wife and kids, hug them close, get 100% and come back after WrestleMania, so Seth can fight Edge instead. AJ says as long as he’s able to walk he’s gonna fight Edge, and Rollins asks if that means he can have his spot if somehow he gets taken out. Styles says he sees what he’s doing and asks if Rollins is trying to get a match like the one he had against Owens.
Seth says that’s a great idea and he’s running out of ideas. AJ says he comes out here dressed like an idiot but he’s delusional too, because he’s not giving up his spot at WrestleMania. He’s gonna do what Rollins couldn’t, destroy Edge, and then he’d be happy to give him his match.
Enter Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville.
Pearce says they’ve been talking and they’ve decided that Seth will get one last chance, and if he can beat AJ Styles tonight, he’ll get the Edge match.
We go backstage with Carmella.
Zelina Vega rolls up and berates her for her total lack of focus just weeks before WrestleMania, and Mella tells her to stop freaking out, she’s focused, and she thinks Zelina isn’t watching HER back. Vega calls her wedding and reality show stupid and reminds her they’ve found themselves in a fourway.
Carmella says she knows and Zelina yanks her phone out of her hand and throws it away, calling her a bridezilla. Carmella says the phone cost more than her tacky crown and slaps her across the face, and our tag champions brawl until they’re separated!
Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley make their entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, AJ Styles yells at Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville for sucking at their jobs.
Liv Morgan & Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya & Shayna Baszler
Baszler and Ripley to start, collar elbow, waistlock takedown from Rhea! Shayna reverses to a double wristlock, Ripley fights out, tag to Morgan, doubleteam gets a nearfall! Liv with a tijeras, Shayna runs interference and Nattie hits slingshot atomic drop, Baszler with a blind tag and running knee!
Top wristlock applied, Carmella comes to ringside to whine at Corey Graves, Liv gets away and reaches for a tag but Baszler pulls Ripley off the apron! Natalya in, small package for two! Tag back to Shayna...
Natalya & Shayna Baszler win by pinfall with a Hart Attack on Liv Morgan.
Post-match, Zelina Vega blindsides Rhea Ripley and smashes her with her scepter! The tag champs manage to take out their challengers and Carmella slides in the ring to stare Zelina down... BUT THEY HUG INSTEAD!
We get the medical update that Bianca Belair’s hyoid bone has been fractured and she’ll be out an unspecified amount of time.
Becky Lynch makes her entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Becky Lynch is seated on a chair and gets on the mic.
She says there’s a question she asks herself— what does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul? First you have to ask what it means to gain the world, and she found the answer to her question about eight months ago when she first faced Bianca Belair, but she’ll come back to that.
Fifteen long months she went without holding the title, and not because anybody beat her, no because she was forced to give it up, and she knew when the time came she’d do anything to get her precious back. It’s the only thing that matters inside and outside of these ropes, and she is power and glory and the prize at the top of the mountain.
So when she came back and we all chose Bianca over her, that’s when she knew she’d sell her soul to regain the title, and Belair doesn’t have what it takes to take the title back from her. Eye for an eye, throat for a throat, and she said she’d come for her hair, but she’s gonna lose her soul, and she doesn’t want that.
Becky says she’d sell her soul every day of the week and twice on Mondays to keep the belt on her shoulder. So, what does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul? She’ll show everyone at WrestleMania.
We get a recap of Pat McAfee and Austin Theory on SmackDown last week.
Theory is interviewed at Gorilla.
He says he doesn’t care if Pat’s apology was sincere or not, because he’s a dumb jock and he finally did something smart and kept his job. He had a great NFL career, but he’s got no business stepping in the ring with Austin Theory, and after he wins, he might not have a job as a commentator anymore.
He says he’s got so many selfies of Finn Balor knocked out that his phone is running out of storage, but he thinks he’s got room for one more.
Austin Theory makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Veer Mahaan is coming... on April 4!
Austin Theory vs. Finn Balor
Pat McAfee joins commentary for this one.
Balor with a waistlock, Theory with a side headlock, shot off, shoulder block, schoolboy pin, elbows to the kidney. Finn fires back with a dropkick, running knee, putting boots to Austin in the ropes and sending him crashing to the floor! McAfee stalks after Theory to mock him and distract him enough for Balor to put him into the timekeeper’s barricade with a dropkick that sends us to break.
Back from commercial, Theory has a waistlock and McAfee gets up to cheerlead for Balor at the apron! Finn gets to his feet and breaks free but Austin nails him with a knee and puts him into the corner. Boot up, high elbow, off the ropes, flying forearm! Double leg into a double stomp!
Action to the floor, Theory smashes Finn’s face into the announce table, Balor reverses and Pat cheers him on and they go back in the ring for Sling Blade! Shotgun dropkick, Finn up top... NOBODY HOME ON THE COUP DE GRACE! Austin with grounded punches, McAfee gets up on the apron for the distraction, fireman’s carry, Balor reverses out of ATL and lays chest kicks in!
Inverted facelock blocked, Theory gets a fisherman buster on the knee... SO CLOSE! Again Pat gets up from commentary, rolling thunder, Finn reverses...
Finn Balor wins by pinfall with a small package.
We get a recap of last week’s tag title developments and a triple threat is officially booked for WrestleMania.
RK-BRO make their entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Alpha Academy cut a promo during their entrance about how criminal it was of RK-BRO to take a title match against anyone that isn’t them, but they’re gonna have their revenge because they’re in the tag title match and Otis is better than Batman.
Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis Dozovic) vs. RK-BRO (Matt Riddle & Randy Orton)
Gable and Orton to start, little bit of mat grappling, tag to Riddle, assisted corkscrew moonsault for one! Chad hits a butterfly suplex, no good, tag to Dozovic. A little back and forth, Otis blasts Matt on the floor and we go to break!
Back from commercial, a little back and forth...
RK-BRO win by pinfall with the fall-forward Tombstone Piledriver from Matt Riddle on Chad Gable.
Post-match, Otis blasts Riddle but the Street Profits make the save and lay Gable out! They hit their finishing combo on Matt for good measure!
We get a WWE.com video from last week of Dana Brooke and Reggie being accosted by Akira Tozawa and Tamina backstage and somehow making it out of there without any title changes happening.
Dana and Reggie make their entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get some hype for Gable Steveson winning the NCAA Championship for a second time.
Tamina and Tozawa get an inset promo where Akira asks her about their moment last week. She says she felt it too, and they want the same thing. She grabs his jaw and tells him she wants the 24/7 Championship and asks if he wants it for her. He says he does and she says to make it happen.
Akira Tozawa & Tamina vs. Dana Brooke & Reggie (Mixed Tornado Tag Team Match)
Dana up on Reggie’s shoulders, Tozawa on Tamina’s, collar and elbow, Akira gets whipped into Snuka in the corner and she falls, headbutting his gentleman’s area! Reggie swoops in...
Dana Brooke & Reggie win by pinfall with a lateral press from Reggie on Akira Tozawa.
We get a recap of our opening segment, because Raw is three hours long. (Three hours long.)
AJ Styles makes his entrance and we go to break.
AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins
A bit of mat grappling, Rollins with the Scott Hall scary fingers taunt, Styles with a side headlock, shot off, drop down, Seth hits the Sling Blade! AJ with a back body drop to the floor and he follows it up with the plancha elbow and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Rollins with a cravate, throwing knees, Styles catches one and hits overhead elbows to the knee! Seth whips him hard into the ringpost and puts boots to him, following it with a neckbreaker! Tree of Woe in the corner, dropkick follows... NOPE!
Trading punches, Seth with a knee, whip across, to the floor and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Rollins has a cravate in once again. Headbutts follow, overhead elbows, trading forearms, big corner lariat and an Ushigoroshi from Styles... NOPE! Drawing Seth up for the Styles Clash, he fights out, AJ hits the back suplex facebuster... NOT ENOUGH!
Calling for the Styles Clash, Rollins floats out, rolling elbow, Falcon Arrow... STILL NO! Hurricanrana, reversed, folding press, powerbomb lift, AJ slips out and suplexes him into the turnbuckles! Up top, jockeying for position, Styles slips out, trips him up, backbreaker rack into a spin-out powerbomb for two!
AJ goes to the apron and lines it up... AND ROLLINS CUTS HIM OUT OF THE AIR WITH A SUPERKICK! Buckle bomb, headed up top... KNEES UP ON THE FROG SPLASH! Styles on the apron, Edge with a chairshot from out of nowhere...
AJ Styles wins by disqualification, retaining his match against Edge at WrestleMania.
Seth, furious, storms to the timekeeper’s table and gets on the mic.
He says this is bullshit and next week Monday Night Raw will not happen unless he gets what he deserves.
He tears apart the ringside area some more.
That’s the show, folks.
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