The final WWE Monday Night RAW show before Wrestlemania took place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here’s all the action that went down.
Raw Women’s Champion Bayley and Sasha Banks defeated Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax
It’s the final Monday before Wrestlemania, and every win was a welcome dose of momentum before the showcase of the immortals. With the RAW’s women championship scheduled for a fatal fourway match this Sunday, the show kicked off with some tag team action between the contenders and the champ that ended with the doctor of huganomics getting a win over her eternal rival Charlotte Flair.
Bayley may have picked up the pin, but Nia Jax delivered the final slams as she posed with the belt amidst a ring’s worth of wrecked ladies.
Austin Aries defeated Noam Dar
Cruiserweight action was up next, as Austin Aries looked to grab some momentum for his upcoming Wrestlemania debut in a match against Noam Dar. And he didn’t disappoint as Aries delivered an onslaught of punishment from the minute the bell was rung. With his Wrestlemania opponent and Cruiserweight champion Neville watching, Aries gave the king a taste of things to come: The Last Chancery submission hold, a move that had Dar desperately slapping the canvas in defeat.
Seth Rollins signed Triple H’s Hold Harmless Agreement
This Sunday, a tale of mentor vs protégé might finally reach its conclusion when the two collide in a non-sactioned match at Wrestlemania that will have zero legal repercussions whatsoever for the two. Inking his name on the legal waiver for the Hold Harmless agreement, Rollins got the upper hand of the The Game when he attempted another sneak attack on his knee and sent the cerebral assassin running. Payback is coming this Sunday.
An Over-the-Top-Rope Challenge descended into chaos
The regular Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale will most likely be pure chaos this Sunday, as last night’s over the top rope challenge on RAW provided a taste of things to come. Jinder Mahal tried all night to toss the Big Show out of the ring, with the results being embarrassingly evident tat size does sometimes matter.
But so too do numbers, as Mahal, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel and the Shining Stars briefly banded together to remove the giant from the ring. Big Show wasn’t taking that defeat lying down, as he hopped back into the ring and started running riot. At least until Braun Strowman popped up, to see the devastation that he’d be in for himself this Sunday.
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville defeated Gentleman Jack Gallagher
Austin Aries will be challenging for the RAW Cruiserweight title at Wrestlemania, but he was this close to having to face Gentleman Jack Gallagher instead of Neville after the king had his reign challenged rather decisively. A superplex that led into the Rings of Saturn put Gentleman Jack out for the night, while The New Day gave their approval to Aries once he demonstrated that he was capable of a New Day hip swivel in a post-match interview.
The Undertaker confronted Roman Reigns
For decades, Wrestlemania has belonged to one man. A dead man known as the Undertaker. With only a single loss to his credit and numerous victories over the years, the Undertaker’s legend at Wrestlemania is that of an unstoppable phenom. But Roman Reigns wants to carve out his own Wrestlemania moment this week, as he gave a final address to the WWE Universe ahead of the upcoming clash.
The Undertaker was prepared to play some mind games however, as the mythic figure popped up in the Titantron to reveal a freshly dug grave with Roman Reign’s name on it, just as the lights went out. And when they were finally switched back on, there was the dead man, standing in the ring with his opponent. Somebody is going to rest in pieces on Sunday.
RAW Tag Team Champions Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. Enzo Amore and Big Cass never happened
Because last night was a brouhaha of unrestrained carnage between the two teams and Cesaro and Sheamus as a brawl derailed a non-title match. HOW ABOUT DAT?
Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens to earn his way into the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Oh how the mighty have fallen. While Kevin Owens was tasked with annihilating Sami Zayn for his loyalty to former General Manager Mick Foley, the Underdog from Underground instead triumphed over the former Universal champ in his No Disqualification match thanks to a little bit of help from Chris Jericho.
Y2J prevented Samoa Joe from dismantling Zayn, as the high-flying superstar landed a sneaky roll-up pin on the Prizefighter to pick up a huge win and a spot in the Andre the Giant Battle Royale. As for Owens? He got a spot on the brand new list of Jericho.
Universal Champion Goldberg confronted Brock Lesnar
Wrestlemania is apparently meant to end in this sequence next week: An F5 connecting to Goldberg, followed by a referee counting to three as Brock Lesnar walks out of the show of shows with the Universal championship secured. Pity nobody told Goldberg that, as he decided to interrupt Paul Heyman’s lesson on Wrestlemania Relativity with a brawl that reminded the Beast Incarnate to always fear the Spear.
Last Updated: March 28, 2017
