WWE Monday Night RAW took place from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Here’s all the action that went down.
The Shield addressed their WWE TLC opponents
Reunited and it feels so good. After last week’s RAW saw the thunderous reformation of the Shield, the partnership of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns returned to the ring again to interrupt general manager Kurt Angle and send a message to their TLC opponents. With Braun Strowman added to the mix for this Sunday’s upcoming match, the Shield was more than ready to throw down right then and there.
Instead, the Miz, Strowman and the Bar were called off by Angle, who decided that Ambrose and Rollins would put their tag team titles at risk against Cesaro and Sheamus, while Reigns would find himself locked in a steel cage against his eternal foe of the Gift of Destruction.
Jason Jordan, Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews def. Elias, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
With the good brothers of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows by his side, Elias was looking pretty confident that the first proper match of RAW would be an easy victory. Instead, the manic minstrel came up short as the combined firepower of Jason Jordan, Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews managed to set Anderson up for a Spear and Sit-out Powerbomb that earned the faces a win.
Cedric Alexander def. Gentleman Jack Gallagher
Moving into the Cruiserweigh division where no one by the name of Neville ever competed in it no sir no way don’t even mention that N-word, the more dastardly incarnation of Gentleman Jack Gallagher continued his assault on Cedric Alexander. Gallagher’s dirty tricks didn’t manage to help him keep Alexander down for long however, as a timely assist by Rich Swann kept The Brian Kendrick out of the mix.
Long story short? A Lumbar Check on Gallagher earned the win for Alexander, pumping plenty of momentum in his tank for the cruiserweight tag team match at WWE TLC on Sunday.
Braun Strowman appeared on “Miz TV”
The Gift of Destruction isn’t exactly known as a great orator, save for the times when he demanded to be fed more victims to help sate his bloodlust. On Miz TV, Strowman’s time on the mic was of course cut short for the host with the most, as The Miz decided that since The Shield was so confident in their chances at taking on multiple opponents, that the handicap match should have a fifth man added to the mix.
Deciding to make The Miz a one-time offer, RAW general manager Kurt Angle appeared to lay down the law: If Strowman could defeat Reigns in the steel cage match, the Miz would get his fifth man. If Reigns won, Strowman would be out of the TLC main event and it’d be a 3v3 match against The Shield. An offer that Strowman was all too happy to accept, even when Angle announced that The Miz, the rest of the Shield and anyone else linked to the cage match would be banned from ringside.
Sasha Banks def. Alicia Fox
Alicia Fox may have gained a huge win last week by pinning Bayley, but that momentum wasn’t enough to give her a leg over Sasha Banks. Despite a spirited offensive, Fox came up short when she was locked into a Banks Statement. None too happy backstage, Fox had a meltdown that was only calmed down when Kurt Angle agreed to give her a rematch at TLC on Sunday.
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Kalisto confronted Enzo Amore
The reign of Enzo Amore as the WWE Cruiserweight champion, was mericfully short. Somehow beating that fella whose name rhymes with Shmeville, Amore’s run came to a quick end when Kalisto hit the ring to remove the belt from the champ. Obviously none too happy, Muscles Marinara decided to hit the ring to vent his frustrations out, drawing out the new champ.
Surprise! Tony Nese, Drew Gulak, Ariya Daivari and Noam Dar decided to stab Kalisto in the back, jumping the King of Flight with a beatdown that even Mustafa Ali’s arrival couldn’t prevent. How about dat?
Raw Tag Team Champions Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins def. Cesaro and Sheamus
When the Hounds of Justice were last seen on RAW three years ago, they were one of the most dominant tag teams in WWE history. Proving that they still had plenty of fuel in their tank, Rollins and Ambrose kept the pace going against the Bar and rallied back to counter their combination of brains and brawn to earn a win. A timely assist from Rollins saw Ambrose lock Dirty Deeds onto Cesaro, ending the bout with the titles still firmly positioned around the waists of the reformed Shield.
Finn Bálor addressed Bray Wyatt
To fight a demon, Bray Wyatt has created a demon of his own as he has managed to draw forth on the power of Sister Abigail for his latest confrontation with Finn Balor. The first Universal Champion brought the Irish spirits with him last night on RAW, promising to channel their power into defeating Wyatt once and for all. Transforming in the middle of the ring, Balor only had one word of warning for the eater of worlds:
“Run”.
Mickie James and Bayley def. Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss and Emma
With a title match against Alexa Bliss this Sunday, Mickie James decided to engage in the ol’ tag team bout ahead of the bout with Bayley in her corner. Bliss enlisted Emma to give her a hand, which ended as you’d imagine it would: Chaos, top-rope action and a Mick Kick to little miss Bliss that saw the match ended decisively.
Braun Strowman def. Roman Reigns in a Steel Cage Match to turn the WWE TLC Match into a 5-on-3
Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and a steel cage. Not the title of a new sitcom, but rather another thrilling match in the storied rivalry of these two beasts. With Strowman’s victory hinging on making his upcoming match against the Shield stacked even more in his team’s favour, Reigns had to pull out all the stops to halt the rampage of the Gift of Destruction.
Even with the rival teams ignoring Kurt Angle’s ringside rules, the carnage inside the ring was too much for the cage to handle as both men took the fight into the parking lot. The Miz decided to lock the competitors out out of the arena, as the momentum shifted in Reigns’ favour when the fight was brought back to the arena.
All of a sudden, the lights went out and came back on with an eery red glow…as Kane had returned. The added interference of the big red monster was too much for Reigns, as the combined onslaught saw him demolished and pinned in time for Kane to be added to the squad of The Miz for WWE TLC this Sunday.
Last Updated: October 17, 2017
