This week’s WWE Raw featured Seth Rollins facing Penta in the main event.
It’s WWE Monday Night Raw from the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island. The commentary team was Michael Cole and Corey Graves. The ring announcer was Alicia Taylor.
Seth Rollins made his entrance as Mr. Money in the Bank, joined by the WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman, Bronson Reed, and Bron Breakker. The three wrestlers all have singles matches on this show. Breakker and Reed were in their wrestling gear. Rollins faces LA Knight at Saturday Night’s Main Event as well. The fans were singing Seth’s song as usual.
Bron Breakker took the microphone from Paul Heyman. Bron said that he’s standing there in the ring because Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman have a vision for him in WWE, with Bron as a main event player for the next two decades. Bron also envisions a WWE without Sami Zayn. Bron trashed Zayn’s ugly face and his stupid beard, and he doesn’t like that people sing his music. Bron bashed Zayn as somebody who didn’t play sports and didn’t even go to the gym. Bron said that Zayn is trying to get a little more out of the rag, while also noting that Zayn has an expiration date. Bron said that he’s going to maul Zayn’s head off, and he’ll be looking at the lights by the end of it. While Bron spoke, Seth and Heyman acted nervous about what Bron was going to say. Rollins asked Bron if he was good, and he was about to say more, but Bronson Reed took the microphone from him.
Reed said that he was the man who hit Seth with six Tsunamis, which built respect between them. Reed said that Seth brought Reed into this group, and with Seth’s vision, Reed will get the respect that he deserves. Reed said that Jey Uso doesn’t respect him, so Reed will Tsunami the respect into you just like he did to Seth Freakin Rollins.
Heyman said tonight, the empire strikes back. Heyman discussed Bron Breakker facing Sami Zayn, and he mentioned that Zayn may have gone home to Montreal to escape Breakker. Heyman noted that Reed would face Paul’s former Bloodline ally Jey Uso, claiming that Roman Reigns doesn’t have the balls to step up to them. Heyman said that Reed would take care of Jey. Heyman added that Seth Rollins pinned Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, and he’ll don the tights tonight against Penta. Heyman spoke in Spanish to Penta. Heyman said he doesn’t understand the hand signals that Penta does, but after he gets stomped into the mat tonight, Penta won’t be in the shape to do the hand signals again. Heyman said that’s not a prediction, that’s a spoiler. There were “CM Punk” chants that Rollins didn’t acknowledge. Rollins welcomed us to Monday Night Rollins and dropped the microphone to end the opening promo.
The Judgment Day was shown in their clubhouse, with all five members currently holding titles. Raquel Rodriguez pointed at a photo of Liv Morgan in the room with candles. Perez said that she made it for Dominik Mysterio. Raquel claimed Liv is going to be back soon. Finn Balor said it took him eight months to recover from his shoulder injury. Raquel talked about Perez facing Kairi Sane tonight, and Perez said she’s got it. Finn Balor and JD McDonagh talked about their business while Dominik Mysterio thanked them for the “Get Well Soon” cake. Dominik read the cake and said it was from AJ Styles. That led to AJ Styles standing in the background to stare at Dom, which was funny. Dominik said he had a doctor’s note.
Match #1: Kairi Sane defeated Roxanne Perez (w/Raquel Rodriguez) by pinfall. Perez was on offense for most of the match. Perez went for Pop Rox, Sane avoided it, and got a backslide pin to beat Perez.
After the match, Raquel knocked down Sane with a forearm to the back. Perez joined in, leading to Raquel hitting Sane with a boot to the face. Asuka ran down to the ring for the save. Asuka knocked down Perez, and Asuka hit strikes to knock down Raquel. Perez hit Asuka, so Raquel hit a clothesline. Raquel tried a lift on Asuka, but Sane dropkicked Raquel to stop that. Asuka hit a running Empress Attack to knock Raquel off the apron. Asuka held Perez, and Sane jumped off the top with an Insane Elbow on Perez. Asuka hugged Sane for this reunion of the Kabuki Warriors. The fans cheered.
Sami Zayn was interviewed by Jackie Redmond in the backstage area. Zayn talked about dealing with a rib injury and wanting revenge on Karrion Kross, but he has to pay attention to Bron Breakker tonight. Zayn said he didn’t care that Bron mocked him. After Zayn left, Scarlett walked into the frame, and Jackie asked what was going on, but Scarlett didn’t say much.
Raw GM Adam Pearce talked to American Made’s The Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile. Pearce said that El Grande Americano has a match tonight. Brutus Creed mentioned how that can’t happen because it was Chad Gable, but Julius tried to get him to not say it. Ivy Nile said she wanted to be in the Evolution battle royal, and Pearce said she was in.
Asuka and Kairi Sane spoke with Adam Pearce, stating they wanted to face The Judgment Day. Pearce said they can represent Raw in the Women’s Tag Team Title match at Evolution because it’s the return of the Kabuki Warriors. Asuka and Sane liked that.
Nikki Bella was featured in a backstage promo saying she wants one more moment to prove what she can do. Nikki said that she’ll prove it when she enters the battle royal at Evolution. Nikki said she’ll do whatever it takes to win. Nikki wants that title match at Clash in Paris. Nikki said you don’t run from your past. Nikki said that she’ll prove to everybody again why Nikki Bella is fearless.
Sami Zayn made his entrance for singles action. Karrion Kross attacked him from behind. Scarlett had a pipe, so Kross used the pipe to hit Zayn in the taped ribs. Adam Pearce and officials went out there to get Kross out of there. Zayn was down, selling the rib injury. They spent three minutes during the break for some fans, with Zayn telling officials that he was fine to compete. Pearce was hesitant, but he let Zayn compete in the match.
Match #2: Bron Breakker defeated Sami Zayn by pinfall. Zayn was selling the rib injury throughout the match. Breakker hit Zayn with multiple Spears and a final Spear in the ring.
Raw GM Adam Pearce was talking to the War Raiders, who wanted Pearce to keep them in consideration. The New Day arrived in all-black gear, and they wanted to know when they would get their rematch. The War Raiders said you don’t get automatic rematches. Becky Lynch walked in saying, “Sorry for your loss,” to The New Day. Lynch complimented New Day on getting rid of Big E, who she called a scumbag. Lynch walked toward the ring for a promo coming up.
The Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch did an in-ring promo. She is defending the Women’s IC Title against Bayley and Lyra Valkyria at Evolution. Lynch wondered how Bayley and Lyra got a title match against her when they both lost last week. Lynch discussed how she believes she is the greatest women’s wrestler of all time, so she understands why Pearce needs her to be on Evolution. Lynch said that she beat Lyra and Bayley, so she should get to pick her own opponent like Iyo and Tiffany. Lynch said she picked a woman in the crowd whom she could easily beat. Lynch claimed that Bayley and Lyra were working in cahoots to try to take the title off Becky. Bayley interrupted and walked down to the ring for a promo, but here comes Lyra Valkyria as well. Lyra walked right past Bayley and went into the ring.
Lyra called Lynch a raving lunatic. Lyra thinks it’s time to take back her title. Bayley said that the way she sees it, she should be standing there as the IC Champion if it wasn’t for Lyra two weeks ago. Bayley said that if WrestleMania taught her anything, it’s that she doesn’t need partners or friends. Bayley said she needs that championship. Lynch said after 13 years of failed friendships for Bayley, another one bites the dust. Lynch said that Lyra dropped her at WrestleMania. Lyra said that everybody thinks that Lyra brought back Lynch, but it was Lynch secretly attacking Bayley, and Lynch called Lyra. Lynch said that Lyra didn’t hesitate. Lynch continued to try to push their buttons. Lyra said that Bayley doesn’t seem to care about friendship when it comes to championship gold, so that makes her like Becky. Lyra said that she needed to rescue that title from two disappointments.
Bayley talked about how she supported Lyra to become a champion and a double champion. Bayley said then she saw Lyra lose that title and raise Lynch’s hand like a little bitch. Lyra hit Bayley and sent Bayley out of the ring. Lyra hit Nightwing on Lynch. Bayley went back into the ring, and Lyra hit Nightwing on Bayley as well. Lyra stood tall over Lynch and Bayley as they sold the Nightwing in the ring.
Seth Rollins was in the locker room with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. Bron was upset that Karrion Kross attacked Zayn, and people would think Bron couldn’t do it by himself. Rollins said don’t worry because nobody likes Kross. Rollins said that Bron got the job done. Paul Heyman walked in to say that Sami Zayn was out of action indefinitely. Rollins talked to Reed about how Jey Uso is in perfectly fine health, but Reed said he won’t be after Reed is done with him.
Match #3: Jey Uso defeated Bronson Reed by disqualification. Jey superkicked Reed into a chair at ringside. Jey superkicked Reed on the floor, so Reed fell back onto the chair on the floor. Reed threw the chair at Jey during his suicide dive attempt, so there’s the DQ finish. It only went three minutes.
LA Knight was backstage talking about his issues with Seth Rollins, leading to their match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Knight said he feels like Money in the Bank should belong to him. Knight talked about how he took multiple Tsunamis, but he was back in one week and went after Rollins. Knight said that Rollins can be the one to hold the MITB case, but Rollins will know it’s LA Knight’s game…yeah.
A video package aired about the Iyo Sky-Rhea Ripley match for the Women’s World Title at Evolution. It showed how Ripley hasn’t beaten Sky, so they showed Sky beating Ripley multiple times, going back to their NXT days. They showed the Ripley-Sky promo last week to set up the title match at Evolution.
Match #4: El Grande Americano defeated Dragon Lee by pinfall. Ludwig Kaiser was Grande, but Cole had no idea other than it wasn’t Gable while Graves acted like he had no clue. Grande put a piece of steel under his mask and hit a headbutt for the win.
Karrion Kross and Scarlett were interviewed by Jackie Redmond in the upper deck part of the arena. This was during the break for some fans. Kross laughed about his attack on Sami Zayn earlier. The fans chanted, “We Want Kross” for him. Kross said: “Now you got me!” Kross said that every single week that Zayn comes out here, Kross is going to blast his guts with a steel rod. Kross wondered if Zayn actually thought that Kross would go away. Kross wanted Zayn to say that Kross told the truth. Kross said until you do that, this will continue. Kross said that he’s the devil they know, while Zayn is the devil they don’t know. Kross kissed his wife Scarlett to end it.
A video aired about Stephanie Vaquer, who said she was here to dominate.
The World Heavyweight Champion Gunther made his entrance with the title around his waist. The crowd chanted “Goldberg” before Gunther said a word. Gunther said he’ll defend the World Title at Saturday Night’s Main Event against Goldberg. Gunther thinks that Goldberg is afraid of him, and he’s afraid of the pressure.
Bill Goldberg was shown driving up to the arena in a sports car. Goldberg walked into the building and down to the ring while his music played. The fans were chanting his name. Goldberg got in Gunther’s face saying that Gunther has been talking too much crap. Goldberg didn’t have a microphone in his hand. Gunther tried to speak, so Goldberg knocked the microphone out of his hand. Goldberg dared Gunther to take a shot, Gunther tried, Goldberg blocked it and Goldberg punched Gunther. Goldberg teased a Spear, but Gunther bailed to the floor. Goldberg shouted “Five days” at him.
What Happened In The WWE Raw Main Event?
Match #5: Seth Rollins (w/Paul Heyman) defeated Penta by pinfall. Penta hit a Mexican Destroyer for two because Rollins was near the ropes, so Rollins got his hand on the bottom rope. The fans chanted, “This is awesome” as the match went on. Penta was going for a move, but Rollins used the back of his head to hit Penta in the groin. Rollins acted as if it were an accident. Rollins hit The Stomp on Penta for the pinfall win. It went about 13 minutes.
After the match, Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker were in the aisle. While they were there, LA Knight got into the ring behind Rollins and hit a BFT to drop Seth. Breakker and Reed went into the ring, but Knight left the ring and was in the crowd. Knight had a staredown with Rollins from a distance while the fans chanted “LA Knight” and that was the end of the show.
This week’s Raw had a runtime of 2 hours and 32 minutes on Netflix.
This Saturday, July 12th, at Saturday Night’s Main Event, has this lineup:
* LA Knight vs. Seth Rollins
* Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre
* World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther vs. Bill Goldberg
The WWE Evolution lineup on Sunday, July 13th looks like this:
* WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Trish Stratus
* No Holds Barred Match: Jade Cargill vs. Naomi
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs. The Kabuki Warriors – Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Sol Ruca & Zaria
* NXT Women’s Championship: Jacy Jayne (c) vs. Jordynne Grace
* Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria
* Battle Royal for a Women’s World Championship match at Clash in Paris
* WWE Women’s World Championship: Iyo Sky (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading.