Survivor Series ended with a RAW clean sweep on the main show (SmackDown won the tag elimination on the Kickoff) and it threw up some interesting things for RAW to deal with. Ronda Rousey needs to recover quickly from her beating by Charlotte Flair, because Nia Jax is in her near future, although Jax might have to deal with her attack on Sasha Banks first. Seth Rollins found out he’ll be facing Dean Ambrose at TLC for the Intercontinental Championship. And Baron Corbin might want to hide because Braun Strowman fulfilled his side of the bargain with Stephanie McMahon, so he’s due a match with Corbin and he’ll be looking for revenge for Corbin’s post-match attack last night.
I’m Amanda, and I’m here to give you the important bits of Monday Night RAW.
Match Results
Braun Strowman, Elias, and Finn Balor vs Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, and Drew McIntyre
Nia Jax and Tamina def. Sasha Banks and Bayley
Lucha House Party def. The Revival
Ronda Rousey def. Mickie James
Bobby Roode and Chad Gable def. AOP
Natalya def. Ruby Riott
The Best Bits
» Baron Corbin opened the show by welcoming everyone to the undisputed A-Show and introduced Stephanie McMahon by saying she deserves most of the credit.
She gloated a bit and said a lot of it was due to Acting General Manager Corbin, but she’ll give credit where it’s due to every member of the RAW roster who helped decimate SmackDown. They proved that they’re the best and tonight is going to be a celebration.
Corbin said there’s an amazing night of action planned after some housekeeping and reminded McMahon that she promised to consider making his position a little more permanent.
She agreed she made some promises, then Braun Strowman appeared because Corbin wasn’t the only one she made promises to.
Strowman said he held up his end of the bargain and he wants a match with Corbin. Stephanie McMahon ignored Corbin’s protestations and confirmed the match for TLC. If Corbin wins, he gets made permanent general manager, but if he loses, he loses all authority.
Strowman said Corbin will lose because McMahon promised he could pick the stipulation and assured him he won’t be held liable. McMahon said she’s still working on that with the lawyers because dismemberment is a bit of a corporate liability issue, but they’ll get there.
He asked about his Universal Championship match and she said he’ll only get that if he wins at TLC.
Strowman answered with ‘welcome to Monday Night Braun’ and told Corbin to enjoy his time as general manager because at TLC they will have the TLC match.
Corbin said that match favours him and he’ll leave him in a pile of twisted steel and rubble, if he even makes it, because tonight Strowman will face Lashley and McIntyre.
Stephanie McMahon said, since they’re celebrating, she would make it a six-man tag. Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, and Baron Corbin versus Braun Strowman, Elias, and Finn Balor – starting immediately.
Braun Strowman, Elias, and Finn Balor vs Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, and Drew McIntyre
During an ad break, Baron Corbin altered the match to make it an elimination match, so basically a three on three version of a Survivor Series match.
McIntyre and Strowman got things started. McIntyre is the only one actively seeking out ring time with Strowman. The crowd chanted for Balor so Strowman tagged him in and slammed him onto McIntyre. Balor quickly got outpowered and took a lot of punishment but managed to tag out without being eliminated. Elias got some time in the ring before Balor tagged himself back in and was eventually eliminated by McIntyre after a sneak attack while the ref was distracted.
After an ad break, Elias had become the punchbag for the opposing team. While Corbin was controlling him, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre double teamed Strowman, leaving Elias with no-one to tag. He got counted out after a spear from Lashley on the outside while trying to take out Lio Rush.
Strowman was still down at that point, but he got back up and, after another ad break, he was in the ring getting beaten on. That might have been the longest Strowman had been down in a match for a long time. It didn’t last, and he took a moment to knock Lashley and McIntyre off the apron, then level Lashley on the outside, so he could focus on Corbin. He should have levelled McIntyre as well because he wrapped a chair over Strowman’s back while he was trying in eliminate Baron Corbin. McIntyre was disqualified but he didn’t stop the assault. Lashley joined in and they beat Strowman down together. The match was thrown out.
A spear on the outside and shifting the steps with Strowman’s body, wasn’t enough to keep Strowman down, he still grabbed Corbin around the throat when he came to gloat. A Claymore and another set of steps put him down again and it was Corbin’s turn to beat him with the chair. Lashley wrapped a belt around Strowman’s wrist and pulled his arm over the bottom layer of the steps, Baron Corbin smashed the top layer onto the arm. Strowman lay screaming in pain and bleeding profusely from his arm while officials tried to help. Before the final cutaway Strowman was heard telling officials he couldn’t feel his fingers – and that was pretty much the first hour of the show.
It was later reported that Braun Strowman had been taken to a local medical facility with a shattered elbow.
» Seth Rollins said last night was six years to the day since The Shield made their debut, and for most of those years they ran the place. It’s only been four weeks since Ambrose turned his back on them but it’s felt like an eternity because, as yet, Ambrose hasn’t had the guts to walk down to the ring and face him like a man. But all that changes at TLC because he’s not going to have a choice. They’re one on one for the Intercontinental Championship.
He watched last week as Ambrose lit his vest on fire and said The Shield was a burden to him, and that he’s the same guy he’s always been. You think you know someone, but Rollins learned more from watching the WWE Chronicle on the WWE Network than he knew about him the entire time they were best friends. He didn’t know about the infection that nearly killed him, because Ambrose never picked up the phone when he called and didn’t return his calls once while he was out. Ambrose says he loves WWE but Rollins has known him for ten years and that’s the first time he’d heard Ambrose use the word love. Rollins didn’t know Ambrose was capable of love. He said he loves WWE because it’s just two guys in the ring expressing themselves through highly aggressive physicality and that’s funny because for the last four weeks all he’s been doing is hiding and talking. He suggested, if Ambrose loves it so much, he should come to the ring.
Ambrose appeared by video, told Rollins he was looking a little desperate and asked if he thought he could rile him up and he’d come down there like some lunatic, as Rollins might phrase it, and give him exactly what he wants. Things have changed. Over the past six years, The Shield did more harm than good. Everyone all over the world loved them but nobody knows how they were when the cameras stopped rolling. No-one knows what kind of people they were behind the scenes and the things they did. They were rotten to the core from the very beginning, and now time has caught up to them and they’re all going to pay for it in different ways. As the old saying goes what goes around comes back around on you. And it’s come back around on them in a big way and now they’re all going to get what they deserve. Look at Roman. For Roman’s part, for what he did in The Shield, he has to answer to the man upstairs, and Rollins has to answer to Ambrose.
So, Rollins wants to know why, what happens next? Well, Ambrose is there – he revealed himself to be backstage – come and find him and he’ll show him.
As Rollins went looking, Michael Cole asked Renee Young what she knows. She said she’s an easy target to just ask all the questions about Dean Ambrose. She doesn’t agree with what he’s doing but she does understand part of it. He was on the shelf for eight months with all that time to think about how he was wronged by Rollins and Reigns and now we get to see it come together, but she doesn’t know what his plan is.
The cameras cut to Rollins searching backstage. One of the security guards he asked where Ambrose was told Rollins to get out of his face, and Rollins decked him.
Ambrose interrupting Charly Caruso via video as she was about to conduct an interview. He asked her to tell Rollins that he was right there waiting for him in the place The Shield used to call home. All Rollins found when he got there were the words Burn It Down on the inside of the door.
Caruso found Rollins and said it seems like Ambrose is playing mind games and winning. Rollins said he’s annoyed and frustrated. But he’s going to find Ambrose and hurt Ambrose because he can say whatever he likes about Rollins, but what he said about Roman Reigns was too far. Ambrose walked past, behind him while he was talking, Titus O’Neil called out to tip Rollins off that Ambrose was just there and Rollins ran off to look, in the wrong direction.
Ambrose appeared, yet again. He said he’s not playing games, but it’s been fun watching Rollins run around like a lunatic all night. He’s still waiting for him to try to hurt him but all he’s done is whine. He’s so whiny, all the people are so whiny, they can’t believe he went there with Roman. Grow up, it’s not about Roman it’s about the bond between brothers, broken, crushed, shattered, and if Rollins finds him that’s what he’ll do to him. He complained about by a smell which he decided it was coming from the people. If Rollins finds him he’s just going to burn it down.
Rollins was interviewed while leaving. He said he’s got a flight to catch and Ambrose doesn’t want to be found because he knows what’s going to happen when he does, but he’s got him one on one at TLC.
Dean Ambrose came to the ring for the final segment of the show. He said this was too easy. Everyone wants to see Seth Rollins beat him up because he turned on Seth and Roman and all the people and their dirty little children. He went off on one at the crowd, still complaining about the smell, until Seth Rollins was shown running through the backstage area to the ring.
Rollins barrelled down to the ring and the fight was finally on. Ambrose tried to escape into the crowd, Rollins dragged him back. Rollins kicked Ambrose in the face and went for the stomp, but he missed and caught a low blow and Dirty Deeds. Ambrose left the ring then came back for a second Dirty Deeds. The show ended with him holding the unconscious Rollins’ head and asking him if he wanted to talk now.
» Ronda Rousey talked to the crowd about the beating she took from Charlotte Flair. There were some ‘Woos’ in the crowd and ‘we want Becky’ chants. Rousey started by announcing she’ll be defending her title against Nia Jax at TLC. She knows how dangerous Jax is, but she’s going to tap her out. And after she’s done with Jax the next chapter of Ronda Rousey versus Charlotte Flair is going to be written. But she’s not there to hit poses and play for sympathy and talk about fighting. She came to show what a true champion is. A true champion stands guard atop the mountain ready to throw down anyone who dares to approach. A true champion… look, she went on a bit but, basically, she wanted someone to fight. Baron Corbin arrived and said he couldn’t allow her to compete in good conscience. She argued that she’s never postponed a fight and told him to find her a challenger unless he wants a shot at the champ. He didn’t seem keen and, after warning her she’ll lose, went backstage to find someone.
Mickie James was chosen one and we got a title match. Mickie James vs Ronda Rousey was short. James had a good run early on, targeting the welts and bruises left by Charlotte Flair. Rousey took the beating for a minute or two, then three ‘Piper’s Pit’ throws and an armbar ended Mickie James’ attempt to become seven-time women’s champion.
On her way out, Nia Jax and Tamina met her on the stage. Jax looked at her own fist and they walked away smiling.
The Other Bits
» Alexa Bliss joined commentary for Sasha Banks and Bayley vs Nia Jax and Tamina. It meant they didn’t talk about the match until the near the end. Bayley got caught with a superkick from Tamina after knocking Nia Jax off the apron. Tamina seemed a little thrown that Jax wasn’t there to back her up, but she was back in time to punch Bayley in the face and come in to finish her off. The finishing off was delayed by Sasha Banks breaking up the first pin attempt, but a Samoan drop got the job done a few moments later.
» Lucha House Party vs The Revival was an entertaining match completed under Lucha House Rules, allowing all three members to compete, four if you count the pinata which ended up losing its head at some point. Lucha House Party won with a pin on Dash Wilder.
» Drake Maverick wetting his pants while being threatened by Big Show at Survivor Series was shown, which led into Drake Maverick being teased in catering about it. Maverick ended up shouting at Chad Gable and Bobby Roode while they laughed at him.
Bobby Roode and Chad Gable vs AOP in a non-title match was Drake Maverick’s revenge for their playground nastiness. It didn’t work out for him. Chad Gable managed to get the pin with a roll through from a sunset flip.
» Ruby Riott vs Natalya was a proper grudge match. Natalya wanted revenge and went in hard for it. Ruby Riott got control mid-match, with a little help from her friends, and it started to look like she had Natalya beaten. She fought back but Logan and Morgan interfered to stop Riott submitting to the Sharpshooter. Riott tried to roll Natalya up but Natalya shifted their bodyweight and stole the pin.
A fairly strong episode of RAW tonight. Looks like the build to TLC will be a lot of fun.