This week’s episode of RAW airs live from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX.
There is news news about Undertaker being backstage for tonight’s RAW. We open this week’s episode with Seth Rollins, who comes out and out of nowhere calls out Triple H. He challenges Triple H to come out and face him and again reiterates his statement saying Triple H is not the kind of the person to come out and face him so he ponders how he can get to Triple H.
He then decides that to get to Triple H, he needs to beat Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship. He adds that to do that, he first needs to completely remove Chris Jericho from the picture since Owens can never beat him on his own. Kevin Owens comes out to interrupt and is immediately challenged by Rollins to prove that if he is so man enough, he should put on the Universal Title on the line.
Owens declines and says the he already beat Rollins two weeks ago and that he already has a match against Sami Zayn later tonight. Owens says that he has three gifts for Rollins to cheer him up after last week. The first is that Jericho is getting a title shot at the United States Championship against Roman Reigns.
Next, Jericho will have a chance to get his revenge on Rollins at the Roadblock pay per view later this month. The third gift is a match for Seth Rollins right now, and it is against the returning Big Show.
Seth Rollins vs the Big Show: Show mushes Rollins aside initially and misses with a right hand allowing Rollins to trap him in the corner and nail him with strikes. Rollins goes to the ropes to make a move but Show sends him in a backflip following a shoulder block.
Show chops on Rollins’ chest and tosses him around the ring. Show connects with the running butt in the corner. Show goes to the ropes but Rollins connects with a drop kick to the knee prompting Show to roll to the outside.
Rollins goes for a suicide dive over the top rope, but Show catches him and slams him chest first on the barricade. Owens cheers Show on from ringside. Show goes for the choke slam, but Rollins gets out and connects with a DDT of his own for a one count. Shows goes for a choke slam again, but Rollins gets out again and another DDT.
He connects with spring board knees and connects with a flying knee off the top rope. Rollins goes for the pedigree, but Owens causes the distraction. Owens tries to yell orders at Show prompting Show to grab him by the throat and choke slams him from the apron into the ring. Show points at Owens and tells Rollins he is all yours and leaves the ring. Rollins immediately super kicks Owens and hits him with the pedigree. Winner by count out: Seth Rollins.
Jack Gallagher vs Ariya Daivari: Speaking of the cruiserweights, former WWE and ECW superstar Tajiri tweeted that he would be returning to the WWE for full time programming in 2017. Daivari starts off with a waist lock and Gallagher reverses it into a spinning hammer lock.
Daivari reverses the move and locks in the side head lock. Gallagher does a head stand and coolly walks his way out of it. (Yes on his two hands!). He walks into a stun gun for a two count. Daivari goes for a suplex but Gallagher moves out and lands successive drop kicks. He connects with a head butt.
Gallagher follows Daivari in the corner with a running corner drop kick for the win.
Post-match, Gallagher tries to shake Daivari’s hand but Daivari attacks him.
Backstage, Titus O Neil is passing out flyers for his match against Mark Henry.
Owens is shown complaining to Foley about facing Zayn tonight. He says if Stephanie was here tonight, none of it would be happening. Foley says yes, Stephanie is not here tonight and yes he has to face Zayn in a match. Foley walks away. Owens walks into Jericho and asks him whether he saw what happened to him moments ago.
Jericho says he just got into the building. Owens tells Jericho about the gifts he got him. Owens asks Jericho if they are good. Jericho says no they’re not good and walks away.
Another backstage segment with Enzo and Cass. They see Lana and Rusev arguing about something. Enzo tries to channel his inner captain to save Lana as no man should ever talk to a woman that way. Cass tries talking Enzo out of it, but Enzo walks up to Rusev and asks him to calm down. Rusev yells and Enzo and Lana asks Rusev to stop as Enzo is only trying to help. Rusev calls Lana pathetic and says maybe she deserves a pathetic man like Enzo. Rusev tries to walk away but Lana grabs him and takes off her ring.
Lana points at the ring and asks Rusev sees the ring and says that it means that Rusev is the only man that can have her. She tosses the ring on the ground and Rusev stomps away.
Enzo and Cass are shocked and seem to get excited about what ‘might’ happen. Enzo sends Cass away and tells Lana that he is a certified listener and asks her how she is doing. Lana claims that Rusev is taking her for granted and that maybe if he sees another man showing her attention, he would appreciate her and asks Enzo to meet her at her hotel room later tonight.
Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens: Zayn and Owens attack each other after the bell rings. Owens regroups on the outside but Zayn follows him with a slam to the barricade and rolls Owens back into the ring. Owens catches Zayn with a drop kick and follows it up with an over the top rope suicide senton. Owens rolls Zayn into the ring, but Zayn gets up and dives back onto Owens on the outside with a tope con hilo.
Owens applies a rear chin lock on Zayn. Owens hits the ropes but Zayn connects with a clothesline. Zayn goes for the ropes but Owens catches him with a kick, and Zayn lays out Owens with another clothesline. Zayn connects with a tornado DDT onto the apron. Zayn connects with a top rope dive DDT on Owens. Zayn follows it up with a half nelson German suplex for a two count.
Zayn sets up for a super plex but Owens reverses it into a second rope three handles moss cross cover family credenza for a two count. Owens connects with two canon balls in the corner and goes for a third, but Zayn pops out and catches him with a exploder. Owens rolls out mid way and connects with a package power bomb. Zayn reverses it and hits a rope walk DDT. Zayn calls for the helluva kick but ends up running into a suplex from Owens.
Owens misses the pop up power bomb and Zayn connects with a half nelson suplex and an exploder in the corner. He follows it up with a blue thunder bomb but Owens still kicks out. Owens rolls to the outside and Zayn connects with another half nelson and suplexes Owens into the barricade.
Zayn tosses Owens into the ring and Owens immediately hits the pop up power bomb for the win!
One of the best matches seen on RAW in a long time!
Backstage, Reigns walks into Jericho’s locker room and asks him if its still car paint on Jericho’s forehead referencing to last week’s attack by Rollins. Jericho says tonight will be his lucky night. Reigns counters by saying Jericho would just be doing Owens’ dirty work again.
Sasha Banks is shown talking about how last week took everything out of her. She says she lost her voice screaming. She claims that Charlotte does not deserve to live as a part of Ric Flair’s legacy and challenges Charlotte to a match at WWE Roadblock. It would be an iron man match.
Rich Swann vs TJ Perkins: Our second cruiser weight match of the night. TJ grabs an arm bar and Swann reverses it. TJ reverses it into a spinning head scissors and a kip up. They go into a tackle drop down spot with Swann hitting TJ with a drop kick. Swann connects with clotheslines with a double stomp to TJ’s back for a two count. He hits a suplex and goes for the pin again. They trade chops in the corner after TJ kicks out.
Swann connects with a side Russian leg sweep and a rolling thunder for a near fall. Swann connects with a modified standing surfboard. TJ hits an inverted drop kick and drop kicks Swann’s knee. TJ sets Swann in the tree of woe. He lands a drop kick in the corner and almost gets Swann in the rolling knee bar but Swann reverses it into a pin. TJ kicks out and hits the wrecking ball drop kick. TJ goes on top and dives off but Swann catches him mid air with the Swann kick for the win.
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