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After SmackDown's money in the Bank pay-per-view last night, WWE's eyes are now fully focused on the road to Great Balls of Fire! What does Samoa Joe have in store after the massive brawl on last week's show? Speaking of last week, the tag team division had the main event spotlight with Sheamus and Cesaro retaining their titles over Matt and Jeff Hardy. Where will the tag champions go from here? After Seth Rollins made his big "announcement" on ESPN today, Roman Reigns will kick off RAW with a major announcement of his own! What does Reigns have to say? What will go down tonight? Let's find out when Raw starts at 8 p.m. EST!
Roman Reigns enters the ring comes out in the ring and says he can't be beat in a one-on-one match and expressed how good he is by saying he main evented his third WrestleMania and that he retired the Undertaker. Reigns said he should be the No. 1 contender for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam. Why? Because this is his yard.
Out comes Samoa Joe and Joe corrects Reigns' claim that he can't be beaten one-on-one because Reigns has not beaten Joe yet. Joe then attacks Reigns, throwing him all over the barricades. Reigns blocks a Coquina Clutch attempt by Joe and then Reigns hits a Superman Punch as we head to a break. Hardys vs. Gallows and Anderson is next after a commercial break. Reigns vs. Joe is announced for later tonight.
Hardy Boyz vs. Gallows and Anderson
Matt Hardy and Karl Anderson start the match and Matt gets the early offense, tagging in Jeff. Jeff gets some offense in and the Hardys suplex Anderson for a quick pin attempt that only goes for two. Matt then gets pushed into the corner and Luke Gallows is tagged in. Gallows then gets some offense in, but Matt reverses and send Gallows into the Hardys' corner. Jeff and Anderson are tagged in and Jeff is sent to Gallows and Anderson's corner where he got laid flat.
Back from the break and Jeff is still getting workd on: first a big boot from Gallows and then a knee drop from Anderson. Jeff is sent to a corner and gets out of the way when Anderson tries for a splash. Jeff reverses a suplex, attacks Gallows and tries to get back to his corner. After some offense from Gallows and Anderson, Jeff manages to tag in Matt and Matt goes to work on Anderson. Anderson eats a lariat from Matt and then hits a Side Effect. Gallows breaks up a pin attempt and is sentringside alongside Jeff. Gallows gets in a cheap shot to Matt and Gallows and Anderson connect a Boot of Doom and Matt kicks out at two. Jeff tags in, Gallows eats a Twist of Fate, then a Swanton Bomb and the Hardys win.
Winner: Matt and Jeff Hardy
Goldust with another backstage promo, quoting Sunset Boulevard and talking about Hollywood and how he has pieced himself together and invites R-Truth next week to his latest motion picture "Shattered Dreams."
Elias Samson is in the ring and he's here to tell us about his childhood and sing a song! Crowd chants "What?" as Samson's here to cleanse our "dirty souls." Before he sings, he is trying to tune his guitar and asked for complete silence. He doesn't get it as Finn Balor's music plays. After a brief staredown, Samson slowly leaves the ring as we head to a commercial break.
Finn Balor vs. Bo Dallas
Dallas attacks Balor as Balor was taking off his jacket.The referee checks up on Balor and the bell is rung. Dallas then starts punching away on Balor as he's put into a corner. Dallas then sends Balor to the barricades and Dallas hits Balor with a huge knee strike. Dallas gets Baor back into the ring. Balor eventually is sent to a corner and hits a dropkick and then an overhead kick to stop Dallas on his tracks. Balors starts stomping away on Dallas and then clothesline Dallas outside of the ring. After Balor hits a PK on Dallas, Dallas is then sent all over the barricades. Slingblade from Balor, dropkick, then a Coup de Grâce connects and Balor gets the pin.
Winner: Finn Balor
Corey Graves then leaves the commentary table without any explanation. Michael Cole then starts talking about the new WWE 2K18 video game and shows a trailer for the game, which is just Seth Rollins in a ski mask destroying many WWE memorabilia. Pretty cool trailer if you ask me. Rollins will make an appearance on RAW next.
Kurt Angle is backstage on his office. Graves then appears and said he had the same text as Angle did. Enzo and Cass also show up and Angle chastises Enzo for sending a tweet calling out Conor McGregor. Enzo and Cass then ask about why their attackers haven't been identified. Angle promises them that they'll get an answer by the end of the night.
Seth Rollins comes out and said he is excited to be on the cover of the WWE 2K18 video game. Rollins then talked about his time with The Authority and said he is thankful the fans have given him a second chance. Rollins says that this isn't just his video game cover, it is the fans' cover, "our cover." Bray Wyatt interrupts Rollins and says Rollins is contradicting himself. Wyatt calls Rollins a corporate shill and is conforming to what people want him to be. Rollins then calls Wyatt egotistical. Rollins said that God is just in everyone's mind and that even though Wyatt sees himself as one, Rollins does not.
Wyatt says it is time for a sacrifice to be made and then makes his way to the ring. As soon as Wyatt makes his way to ringside and blows off his lantern, Rollins then throws caution to the wind and jumps from the top rope, hitting Wyatt with a crossbody and cutting his left cheek open. Blood is pouring out of that big open wound.
Charly Caruso then interviews Balor. Balor says he's looking to the future and is doing everything he can to win back the Universal Championship. Samson then attacks Balor from behind and Angle shoos Samson away as the RAW GM is asking for medical help. Cruiserweight action is next.
Akira Tozawa vs. TJP
Before the match begins, Titus O'Neil comes out and is trying to hype up the match with the Titus Brand. O'Neil then does ring introductions for both men. The match begins and both wrestlers take turns getting each other in a headlock. TJP has Tozawa in the corner, hitting him with forearm strikes. Tozawa then hits a hurricanrana. Neville comes in the middle of the match and tells the commentary team he's here to take a look at Tozawa, whom O'Neil earlier claimed is the next Crusierweight champion.
Back from the commercial break, Tozawa is laid on his back as TJP is getting a lot of offense in. TJP has Tozawa in a hold. Tozawa escapes and then kicks TJP in the chest. TJP then hits a springboard crossbody and TJP has Tozawa in another hold. Tozawa then gets away, has his german suplex blocked, but Tozawa hits a big boot. Tozawa goes to the top rope, but TJP gets out. Tozawa then hits a suicide dive on TJP. TJP then hits a gutbuster, but Tozawa is back on offense, connecting with the gutwrench suplex and then the top rope Senton for the win.
Winner: Akira Tozawa
After the match, O'Neil said he and Apollo Crews will face RAW Tag Team Champions Sheamus and Cesaro. O'Neil then tries to sell Tozawa on the Titus Brand, promising him the Cruiserweight Championship. Neville takes exception to that and tells Tozawa to tread carefully. O'Neil calls Neville "a scared little boy" and that Neville will be annihilated by Tozawa.
R-Truth is backstage and accepts Goldust's invitation to his next motion picture. R-Truth proclaims to Goldust "You goin to get got!"
Curtis Axel is in the locker room with Bo Dallas trying to cheer up Bo Dallas and The Miz comes in to call them pathetic after being action stars on "The Marine 5." The Miz invites Dallas and Axel to his entourage and promises them that they would become stars.
Charly Caruso is interviewing Samoa Joe and Joe says Roman Reigns should be trying to prepare for him, not the other way around. They then show footage of Joe's win over Reigns a few months ago. Joe then promises Reigns will leave RAW a broken man.
Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe
Both guys lock up to start the match. Reigns has Joe in a headlock, but Joe escapes. Both men now trade shoulder tackles, neither of which do much. Reigns lands a couple of right uppercut punches and Joe counters by kneeing Reigns' midsection. Joe exits the ring and takes his sweet time doing so. Joe then connects with an elbow and quick jabs to Reings. Joe then goes for the Coquina Clutch but Reigns rolls out of the ring.
After Reigns gets back to the ring, the two wrestlers trade shots to each other and Joe headbutts Reigns a couple of times. Reigns then hits Joe with a Samoan Drop. Joe gets out of the ring, Reigns follows suit and then Joe sends Reigns to the ring post and then into the barricades as we head to another commercial break.
Back from the break and Joe is still dominating this match. Joe stomps away at Reigns and then hits a few punches, followed by a hold. Reigns escapes, but Joe connects on another headbutt. Reigns builds momentum with a couple of clotheslines and a boot to Joe's face. Reigns gets a pin attempt, but it only goes for two.
Reigns sends Joe to a corner and hits him with a few forearm strikes. With momentum on his side, Reigns tries to ready the Superman Punch, but Joe rolls out of the way, but then gets hit with a Drive-by by Reigns. Joe gets sent back to the ring, hits Reigns with an inverted atomic drop, then a boot and finally a Senton. Joe tries to go for the pin, but Reigns kicks out at two.
Joe goes for a Uranage suplex, but Reigns counters and hits him with a Superman Punch. Joe kicks out at two. Reigns gets some offense before Joe connects with the Uranage and Reigns kicks out. Joe goes for the Coquina Clutch, but doesn't fully lock it in. Reigns hits a spear out of nowhere, but when Reigns goes for a pin, Joe gets his foot on top of the bottom rope. Joe then rolls out of the ring where he gets back up just before the 10 count.
An ambulance starts to drive back into the arena and out comes Braun Strowman. Strowman starts to makes his way through the arena and Joe takes advantage of the distraction to fully connect on the Coquina Clutch. Reigns passes out and Joe is declared the winner.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Strwoman is back into the ring and Reigns is still in the ring recovering from the Coquina Clutch. Strowman says he's not finished with Reigns and slams Reigns hard. Strowman then challenges Reigns to an ambulance match at the Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view. MizTV is up next.
They show various replays of The Miz f'ing up things with Maryse because of Dancing Bears and Dean Ambrose for the ast couple of weeks. Miz is in the ring and there are two bears holding apology signs. There is also a giant present in the middle of the ring. Miz invites Maryse to MizTV. Miz calls the two bears, the Miz and Maryse bears, as the "It" couple in the bear community. Miz apologizes for the past couple of weeks to Maryse and invites her to open the present. It's the Grandfather clock Miz broke a couple of weeks ago. The Miz then tries to sweet talk Maryse back into her good graces and Miz promises he will not put her in harm's way again.
As Miz and Maryse are about to kiss, Ambrose interrupts the two of them and walks to the ring. As Ambrose approaches the two of them, Miz pulls away Maryse and accidentally splashes her with champagne. Miz then tries to attack Ambrose and instead damages the clock. Maryse leaves and Miz eats a Dirty Deeds. As Miz leaves the ring, the two bears, who turned out to be Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas, attack Ambrose from behind until Miz comes back and hits him with a Skull-crushing finale.
Sheamus and Cesaro vs. Titus O'Neil and Apollo Crews
Crews and Cesaro start things off and Crews hits Cesaro with a dropkick. Cesaro sends Crews to the corner and hits him with a European uppercut, tags in Sheamus and the Celtic Warrior is on offense. Sheamus hits a rolling senton and he is in control of the match. Sheamus drags Crews to a corner, tags in Cesaro and the two of them start stomping Crews in the corner. Crews eventually bounces back and hits Cesaro with an enziguiri. O'Neil is tagged back in and O'Neil gets some offense in on Cesaro. O'Neil gets a big boot on Cesaro, but Sheamus is tagged in. Crews is tagged in, goes for a pin attempt, but Cesaro breaks it up. Cesaro gets a cheap shot in as the referee didn't see it. Sheamus and Cesaro get the win.
Winner: Sheamus and Cesaro
We get back to RAW where they show a video package for Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe for the Great Balls of Fire event.
Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax
RAW Women's Champion Alexa Bliss also appears and makes her way to the commentary table as we cut to a commercial break. Back from the break and Banks is on the mat, but she gets back up and then hits Jax with a double knee. Emma then appears from behind and chases Bliss all the way to the ring. The referee throws away the match as Bliss and Emma attack on Banks. Mickie James and Dana Brooke run in to make the save, but Jax then attacks everyone. Bayley appears and runs to the ring, attacking Emma and Bliss. Jax then shifts her attention to Bayley, but not before James and Brooke go after Jax and the babyface trio send Jax out of the ring. Kurt Angle's investigation concludes next.
Match ends in a no contest.
Angle comes out and says he will not allow further harm to come to any of his superstars. He invites Enzo and Cass to the ring. Angle says he's been talking to "suspects" and brings out The Revival and Big Show. Angle says to Big Show that Cass told him he was knocked out by a strong punch and asks him if he attacked Cass. Show is insulted and says he doesn't need to be on RAW anymore and leaves. Angle then turns his attention to The Revival and Angle says the duo is innocent. Corey Graves then interrupts from the commentary table and says WWE medical staff never treated him.
Graves announces he knows what happened last week and shows footage from last week. Cass is on security footage, looks around and then picks up some stage equipment. The security footage revealed that Cass faked his attack. Graves blames Cass for attacking Enzo and Cass admits it. Cass says he felt bad for Enzo, but is tired of Enzo's shenanigans for years and says it felt really good to attack. He wanted Enzo to suffer from all the crap he pulled at NXT and on the main roster. Cass called Enzo dead weight and the reason he has never been a champion in WWE. Cass is no longer behind Enzo and that the duo are through, resulting in Cass dropping Enzo with a big boot as RAW comes to a close!
Check out the post-RAW Fightful Podcast in the video above.
