- We kick off the show and RAW has a completely new look, new theme song, including a new logo, new commentary team, and new set up. Mick Foley & Stephanie McMahon open the show and bring out the entire roster. Stephanie throws shade at Roman Reigns for losing at Battleground last night and calls him a loser. Stephanie says that the world wants a World Championship on RAW and that there will be two Fatal 4-Way matches to determine the two men who will face off in the main event. The winner faces Seth Rollins for the new WWE Universal Heavyweight Championship. The 8 men participating are Sami Zayn, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, Cesaro, Roman Reigns, Rusev, Kevin Owens, and Finn Balor. Stephanie then brings Charlotte forward, and Foley says that because she lost at Battleground, she'll be defending the Women's Championship against Sasha Banks tonight.
- Cesaro vs Rusev vs Kevin Owens vs Finn Balor-Finn Balor on RAW...so great. Rusev and Cesaro quickly exit the ring and fight on the outside, leaving Balor and Owens to go back and forth in the ring. On the outside, Cesaro whips Rusev into the barricade so hard he breaks it. He follows that up with a diving cannonball off the apron before the commercial break. We come back to Rusev & Owens beating down Balor & Cesaro. Rusev moves over to work on Balor, with him and Owens taking turns suplexing him. The two change gears and work on Cesaro, with Owens hitting a running senton and Rusev hitting a running senton bomb. Balor re-enters and runs wild for a bit before being cut off with a tilt-a-whirl Death Valley driver for a near fall. Rusev and Owens fight before being taken out by Cesaro with a diving crossbody. Cesaro starts a three-man Uppercut Train but gets denied the Cesaro Swing to Owens by Rusev. Cesaro & Rusev go flying out of the ring, followed by Owens, which allows Balor to hit a somersault plancha. Balor & Cesaro go back and forth until Balor hits 1916, a lifting inverted DDT for those who don't watch NXT or read my reviews of it (cheap plug), but only gets a two count before the commercial break. We come back to all four men performing the Tower of Doom spot. Everyone gets their signatures in, with Owens hitting an inverted TKO, which Cesaro breaks up the pin on, a Frog Splash for a near fall, and a Pop-Up Powerbomb, all on Balor, only to get the pin broken up again by Cesaro. Cesaro hits the Springboard Uppercut on Owens and goes for the Cesaro Swing again, but gets denied again and eats a superkick from Rusev. Rusev delivers a roundhouse to Owens and locks in the Accolade, but Cesaro breaks it up again and deadlift suplexes Rusev for a near fall. Rusev counters the Sharpshooter and goes for the Accolade, but Cesaro counters that with a pin attempt for a near fall before delivering a JBL-esque clothesline. Cesrao finally gets to swing somebody in Rusev and locks in the Sharpshooter, but Owens breaks it up and cannonballs Rusev. Balor runs in, hits the Sling Blade on Owens, and finishes Rusev off with the Coup de Grace, a diving double foot stomp, for the huge win. Great match, glad to see Balor is being treated like the massive star he should be treated as.
- Nia Jax vs Britt Baker-Was Nia Jax ready to be called up to the main roster? That's debatable, but she's here now, so let's hope for the best. She squashes Britt Baker, who I thought was Deonna Purrazzo from far away at first, finishing her off with a leg drop. I've seen Britt Baker wrestle before at an AIW show and she was pretty good, so it's pretty cool to see her get a (more than likely) one-off appearances on RAW.
- Backstage, Goldust & R-Truth interrupt Sasha Banks stretching because they're playing Pokemon GO. They run off after a Pikachu, and incomes Tom Phillips to interview her. Sasha says she thrives under pressure, and that she's going to beat Charlotte and win the Women's Championship tonight,
- Chris Jericho vs Sheamus vs Sami Zayn vs Roman Reigns-Jericho & Sheamus immediately rushes Reigns to take him out early as Zayn sits back and watches before he joins in, which shocks Jericho & Sheamus for a bit. Jericho & Sheamus take Reigns to ringside and take him out as Zayn sits back and watches. The heels turn their attention to Zayn and beat him down for a bit before he tosses them from the ring. He teases a somersault plancha, only to take a side slam from Reigns for a near fall to major boos. Reigns beats down Zayn for a while before Zayn makes Reigns fly out of the ring. He tries to go for the somersault plancha again, but Sheamus catches him and starts the Beats of the Bodhran, but gets taken out with a springboard dropkick by Jericho. Sheamus, Jericho, and Zayn go to the outside, which allows Reigns to hit the Taker dive to the outside before the commercial break. We come back to the heels beating down Reigns in the ring before they start fighting each other. Zayn comes out of nowhere and hits a diving crossbody on Sheamus for a near fall. Reigns then runs wild on Sheamus, followed by a Drive By Dropkick on both Sheamus & Jericho, before taking a Blue Thunder Bomb from Zayn for a near fall. Zayn sets up for the Helluva Kick on Reigns, but Reigns counters and hits a Razor's Edge Powerbomb for a near fall. Reigns calls for the Superman Punch but takes a Brogue Kick out of nowhere from Sheamus. Zayn then delivers a Helluva Kick on Sheamus, but Jericho breaks up the pin attempt. Jericho locks in the Walls of Jericho on Zayn, only to take a Brogue Kick from Sheamus, but Zayn barely breaks up the pin. Sheamus batters Zayn, hitting an Irish Curse backbreaker before Reigns Superman Punches everybody multiple times before calling for the spear on Jericho. Jericho counters and hits a Codebreaker, but only gets a near fall. Jericho goes for...something(?), and eats a spear from Reigns for his troubles. Reigns gets the win because "F*ck you", that's why. This sets up the main event for the night; Finn Balor vs Roman Reigns, with the winner going on to face Seth Rollins for the WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam.
- IT'S A NEW DAY, YES IT IS! It's the New Day celebrating their now record breaking tag team title reign. They admit defeat, but then remind everyone that they are the longest reigning W-W-E-WORLD-TAG-TEAM-CHAMPIONS! They also announce that Booty-Os are an actual cereal now. They show a video package highlighting their title reign, and announce that they will pick one member to be an honorary member of the New Day. They run around ringside before picking someone and bringing him into the ring. He is obviously a plant because his friend sitting next to him was wearing a Golden Truth t-shirt, and I'm fairly certain no one would actually buy that hideous shirt. His name is Sunny Boy, which the New Day doesn't actually believe at first. They eventually start dancing and chanting with Sunny Boy before being attacked by Gallows & Anderson, who hit the Magic Killer on Big E in the ring and rip off Kofi & Woods' t-shirts. Gallows blows his nose into one of them and he and throw the t-shirts on Sunny Boy.
- Curtis Axel vs Neville-Axel takes to the mic and says RAW saved the best for last when they used their last pick on him. Neville flies around the ring before Axel takes control. Axel works over Neville until Neville kicks him in the face. Neville hits a dead lift German suplex and a belly-to-back suplex before hitting the Red Arrow for the win. Quick match, not much to talk about.
- Backstage, Darren Young sulks over his loss at Battleground, and Bob Backlund hilariously flips out on the Golden Truth for playing Pokemon GO.
- Also backstage, Tom Phillips interviews Charlotte & Dana Brooke. Charlotte says she's the one who's always under pressure, and that she'll retain tonight.
- Charlotte (c) vs Sasha Banks for the Women's Championship-The match starts with a long aggressive lock up before Sasha gets two near falls. Dana Brooke grabs Sasha's leg, which allows Charlotte to get control. Sasha quickly goes for the Bank Statement, but can't lock in the crossface, so instead locks in a straitjacket hold. Charlotte gets out of the hold, but Sasha quickly locks in the Bank Statement, only for Charlotte to quickly get her foot under the ropes and roll out. Sasha hits a baseball slide to Charlotte, followed by a nasty looking double knee senton to the outside. Back in the ring, Charlotte is able to beat down Sasha, including kicking her to the outside and booting her into the barricade. Sasha pulls the Eddie Guerrero fake out, tossing Dana the Women's Championship belt and acting like she got hit. It works perfectly, with Dana getting ejected by the referee before the commercial break. We come back to Charlotte working over Sasha, only for Sasha to hit a tilt-a-whirl head scissors takedown. Sasha follows that up with a pop up double knees to the face, leaving both women down. The two trade blows before Sasha runs wild, hitting her rope hung double knee drop for a near fall. After a series of reversals, Charlotte hits a neck breaker and goes to the top rope for a moonsault. Sasha dodges, and gets her knees up on a senton attempt, sending Charlotte to the outside. Sasha hits a suicide dive, nearly breaking her neck on the landing. Seriously, looked so much like Lita. Charlotte goes for a superplex, but Sasha blocks it, only to ended up landing ribs first on the ropes. Charlotte then hits a moonsault to Sasha on the outside. Sasha almost gets the cradle win, but Charlotte kicks out, boots Sasha in the face, and hits Natural Selection, but Sasha is able to get to the ropes. Charlotte goes for the Figure 8, but Sasha blocks it, only for Charlotte to roll out of the ring with the leglock still on. Sasha reverses a jackknife pin into a Bank Statement, but Charlotte is able to roll to the ropes. Sasha hits the Bank Statement one last time, locking it in and making Charlotte tap out. New Women's Champion Sasha Banks! IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME! Amazing match, one of, if not the best main roster women's match ever. After the match, Byron Saxton comes down from the commentary table and interviews Sasha Banks. The crowd chants "YOU DESERVE IT" as she cries tears of joy. She says she proved she is the best, and this is the era of the Boss, and the era of women's wrestling.
- Braun Strowman vs James Ellsworth-Byron Saxton interviews Ellsworth, saying he's gonna try to pull off the upset against Braun Strowman, or as his entrance theme says, BRAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN...Strowman. Strowman murks Ellsworth, finishing him off with a reverse chokeslam.
- Backstage, the Golden Truth are still playing Pokemon GO. Truth confuses the Pittsburgh Penguins logo for a Pokemon. That is all.
- Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs The Shining Stars-Wait, they still work here? The Stars sh*t talk Pittsburgh and talk about how much better Puerto Rico is before they get the S-A-W-F-T treatment. The Stars double team Enzo to start until Enzo dodges a body guillotine. Cass tags in, runs wild, Golden Truth looks for Pokemon in the ring, and Epico eats a big boot for the win.
- Finn Balor vs Roman Reigns-Reigns kicks off the match tossing Balor all the way across the ring, following it up by doing it again. Balor dodges Reigns, hitting an enziguri, but Reigns keeps control with a shoulder tackle. Balor cuts off a charging Reigns with a dropkick and delivers a flurry of kicks, but Reigns cuts him off with an elbow. Reigns pummels Balor in the corner and goes for the Drive By Dropkick, but Balor dodges and hits a slingshot double stomp, followed by a dropkick into the barricade on the outside before the commercial break. We come back to Reigns in control, hitting a side slam for a near fall. Balor fights back, only for Reigns to hit a schoolboy powerbomb for another near fall. Reigns calls for the Superman Punch, but Balor dodges and hits an enziguri, sending Reigns to the outside. Reigns hits the apron punt kick before hitting a double stomp to the back of Reigns' head. Balor hits the Sling Blade but gets his missile dropkick attempt countered with a Superman Punch. Reigns hits another schoolboy powerbomb for another near fall and calls for the spear, but Balor counters with a Sling Blade. Balor dropkicks Reigns into the corner and follows up with the Coup de Grace FOR THE WIN! FINN BALOR PINNED ROMAN REIGNS CLEAN! HOLY SH*T! After the match, Tom Phillips interviews Reigns after his loss. Reigns says he wants to fight Balor again, and he hopes he beats Rollins for the Universal Championship.
And that's about it. Overall, a great new start for RAW. Both the Fatal 4-Ways were good, Braun Strowman & Nia Jax both looked like huge deals, Balor-Reigns was good, and the Women's Match was phenomenal. Let's hope SmackDown is just as good tomorrow.
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