WWE Raw Recap

Monday Night Raw is here once again and so too is the 1Z1ProWrestling.com written play-by-play from yours truly, Jordan Huie aka the One Zeel One. This page will be updated throughout the show going over each segment in as much detail as I can manage, so watch this space for the WWE Raw Recap!

We begin with a video package showing the relationship between Sheamus and Drew McIntyre that finally came to an end last week.

Adam Pearce is in the ring and introduces – for the first time since the end of Raw Underground – Shane McMahon. They tell us that Drew McIntyre will be defending the WWE title inside the Elimination Chamber. Yeah seems more like a Drew thing than a Roman thing. All of his opponents are former WWE Champions. He is in there with Randy Orton obviously, Jeff Hardy who really could stand to have more momentum leading into that, AJ Styles sensibly, The Miz hahahaha, and Sheamus.

Shane tells Pearce he’s doing a great job and leaves. AJ Styles comes out and agrees that Adam’s doing great. Says Drew’s chances of losing the WWE title in that Chamber match are phenomenal! Says it’s a great idea and admittedly, he always thought of Pearce as kind of a dumbass. But Omos and the future WWE Champion will give a preview of the Chamber up next. And so for the first match of the WWE Raw Recap…

AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy

(Drew talks to Shane backstage before the match begins, he says he thought he’d be up against Sheamus one-on-one. McMahon says that’d be big but nothing is bigger than defending in the Chamber.) AJ with a headlock, Jeff reverses, AJ shoots him off but eats a shoulder tackle. Jeff with a snapmare, dropkick to the back. Back body drop, short splash for a 2 count. Catches a kick, trips him facefirst onto the mat.

Styles reverses a corner whip, Jeff with a floatover, lands on his feet on the mat and crumples, alluding to his injured knee from their feud on SmackDown. Jeff pulls himself up outside, AJ slips out there to get him with a chopblock! AJ lifts Jeff Hardy Back Suplex style and twists to send his leg violently into the post! Commercial break as the WWE Raw Recap continues. We come back to see AJ attacking the leg in the ring. Calf Crusher cinched in! Jeff makes it to the ropes for the break. AJ going for the Phenomenal Forearm, Hardy hits the ropes to cause him to fall!

Jeff with his Jawbreaker, Double Leg, Legal Low Blow, Basement Dropkick, stumbles into the Short Splash for a nearfall! Reverse Enziguri, kick to the gut, Gordbuster! Nearfall after a slight delay due to the injured leg. AJ with a low kick on his way up, tries for a Styles Clash but Hardy reverses for the Twist of Fate! Crawls haggardly over to the corner. He climbs to the top. Swanton Bomb but AJ rolls out of the way! And from there he hooks him into the Calf Crusher! Drags him to the center, Jeff has to tap out.

Winner: AJ Styles

Good stuff! Jeff continues to have no momentum and feels like he’s entirely in that match on name value alone but hey.

Keith Lee back on the show! Talking to Riddle backstage who has a black eye. Riddle talks about all the Air Bud movies he marathoned. Lee says Lashley might’ve knocked a screw loose, asks if he’s sure he wants to keep going after the US title. Riddle says a lot of people thought Air Bud couldn’t play basketball but he showed them. Lee says Riddle got a few shots already, maybe it’s time for someone new to have a shot. Lee says he knows he can beat Lashley, just as he can beat Riddle tonight.

Sheamus goes up to Adam Pearce complaining about being in the Chamber match instead of a singles match. Says McIntyre promised him a one-on-one. Pearce says they had a different idea. Sheamus says Shane said it was Pearce’s idea. Accuses him of refusing him to give him the respect he deserves. Says Drew is the shiny new toy but he’s nothing without him. If he wants to stick him in the Chamber match and stack the odds, that’s fine. He’ll go in there and unleash brutality on every single superstar, remember that it’s Pearce’s responsibility!

New Day vs. Retribution (T-Bar & Slapjack)

Ali on commentary with Mace standing beside him. Slapjack with a waistlock takedown. Woods reverses it into a side headlock. Slapjack gets to his feet, shoots him off. Xavier with a shoulder block. Roll up for a 1 count, Woods gets him back into a side headlock. Slapjack reverses with a wristlock, Xavier rolls through, chops exchanged! Woods ducks an elbow, Russian Legsweep as Kofi nails Slapjack with a Missile Dropkick! Tag to Kofi, Slapjack with a Short-Arm Uppercut, T-Bar tags in and nails Kingston with a shoulder block!

Kofi tries to fight back but T-Bar no sells. Kofi leaps at him for a crossbody but he catches him, forces him onto his shoulders. Kingston escapes, whip to the corner, T-Bar with a floatover, Kofi with a leap frog, T-Bar catches Kofi out of the air. Sunset flip attempt but T-Bar hoists him by the head and slams him to the mat. Kingston with a low bridge, sends Slapjack to the apron, Xavier kicks him to the outside, Kofi with a Trust Fall onto the both of them!

Commercial break as the WWE Raw recap rolls on…

T-Bar with back elbows to Kofi. Grinds a foot onto his throat. Tag to Slapjack, body slam from T-Bar, leaping stomp from Slapjack. Xavier trying to fight back but Slapjack drops him and gets him into a headlock. Woods fights up and escapes, but T-Bar tags himself in for a big lariat, nearfall. Slapjack tags in, Chokeslam/Back Suplex combo for a nearfall! Woods fights away, hot tag to Kofi! Double chop, big dropkick, knocks down T-Bar. Flying clothesline to Slapjack, Boom Drop! Ducks a T-Bar clothesline and hits him with Trouble In Paradise! Escapes a Back Suplex from Slapjack, Woods tags in, enziguri, Kofi tags right back in, they nail Daybreak for the win!

Winners: The New Day

Good match and afterwards, Xavier yells “GIVE ME RECKONING” which is absolutely wonderful. Ali in the ring freaking out.

Out comes Ric Flair on his own, when he gets to the end of the ramp out comes Lacey Evans. Evans confronts Charlotte after the commercial break.

Damian Priest backstage with Bad Bunny. Priest takes on Garza later tonight with Bunny in his corner.

Back in the ring Ric says he doesn’t take orders from any woman, check his history, especially his daughter. Says they know that Charlotte’s the Queen and that she doesn’t need him. But Evans has all the physical attributes, looks and ability to be a star and he’ll train her! Says their relationship is purely casual. If she gets overwhelmed by his charm, well that’s to be expected. Vows that Lacey will go after Asuka’s Raw Women’s title.

Evans says Ric is cute indeed but moreover she respects this man. And she’d never speak to her father the way Charlotte speaks to him.

Now out comes Charlotte.

She says if Lacey really wanted to learn she’d take herself to Orlando and work her ass off in the WWE Performance Center. (She’s definitely spent a lotta time there already.) She says what she’s been doing for the past five years is protect the family legacy, he doesn’t understand how he looks because he’s surrounded with Yes People. Says she doesn’t care who he manages but don’t drag her down with her. Lacey says she could find way better partners than that nasty Asuka.

Ric Flair suggests the two of them become a tag team! Flair calls Evans Charlotte 2.0 and says she already has a tag partner and it’s Asuka. Lacey says that’s okay because she’s after the Raw Women’s title instead. And in fact if she beats Charlotte, she hears that she’ll be next in line to face Asuka! Charlotte suggests they go right now. Lacey jumps her, takes her outside and throws her to the steps, yelling that she accepts! Commercial break, WWE Raw Recap will return.

Miz and Morrison talking to Angel Garza. This tag match against Priest and Bunny is so very inevitable.

Charlotte Flair vs. Lacey Evans

Evans with shoulder thrusts in the corner. Wristlock. Flair reverses a wristlock. Seems like the idea is that Evans injured Charlotte’s shoulder in that pre-match attack. Evans takes control, corner whip, Flair escapes to the apron. Shoulder thrust, roll up roll through, thrust kick. Dropkick sends Evans to the apron. Charlotte grabs her, Evans with a Hot Shot. Legsweep drops Charlotte. Pullover – can’t tell if that was supposed to be a leg drop or an elbow drop, she just lands on her.

Flair fights her way to her feet, clothesline drops her. Grabs her by the ankle, Evans crawls to the ropes for the break. Kick to the shin. Lacey with a wristlock now, trips her to the mat but Charlotte kips up repeatedly and gets in her face. Flair reverses a whip into the ropes, Lacey stops herself, starts to strut to the corner. Charlotte with a corner clothesline, Exploder sends her to the floor next to Ric! Charlotte now shows them the strut. Starts to go for a tope, Lacey pulls Ric in the way and Charlotte stops short! Evans trips her to the apron before the commercial break.

And we’re back!

Evans drags Charlotte to the mat for an armbar. Kicks at her head. Arm drags her down, kneedrop to the arm. Evans with a corner whip, Flair with a back elbow. Lacey with a clothesline, 2 count. Lacey climbs up top, Moonsault but Charlotte with the knees up! Chops ensue! Evans with a boot up off of a charge. But she charges into a big boot as well! Cover for a nearfall. Charlotte goes out, Ric stands between her and Lacey. Charlotte yells at him until Evans clips her, takes her into the ring, cover for 2.

Ric Flair is commanding Lacey to finish it up. Evans wants the Figure Four but hilariously it really looks like she has no idea how to apply it and Charlotte kicks her away. She confronts her dad for a moment before attacking Lacey in the corner until the ref calls for the bell.

Winner: Lacey Evans (by DQ)

Well. Guess she earned the title match, maybe?

And now out comes Edge! He says last week was a long one but an amazing one. Leaves him with a massive decision to make, which champions does he challenge? May seem like a simple choice on the surface but he needs to dig deep. Wants to get the lay of the land and finish things with Randy Orton. He was this close to making his decision but now the landscape’s changed again with McIntyre defending the WWE title in a Chamber match.

He knows a few things. Roman Reigns is the Universal Champion and Finn Balor is the NXT Champion; who is going to walk out of that Chamber as WWE Champion? Kudos to them all but he likes his odds against every single one of them. But he doesn’t like Drew’s odds of walking out of the Chamber as champion. Says it doesn’t make sense to make a decision right now, he’ll wait for the dust to settle after the Chamber.

Miz and Morrison interrupt with Angel Garza in tow.

The Miz says Edge has always been an ultimate opportunities and he knows he’s waiting for the perfect opportunist. Miz says he’s more a strategist, but he says it weird. Promises to cash in his briefcase and take the WWE title to WrestleMania. Edge says he’s the one who put that briefcase on the map, he knows how MITB works.

Edge knows if he wins that title at Mania he’ll have to have eyes in the back of his head. Chastises Miz for telling him upfront what he’s going to do. Reminds him of all the people he needs to look out for. Says him and Miz think on very different wavelengths, he was done settling for being awesome two decades ago. Says Miz wants to win the title but Edge NEEDS to win, see the difference? Really just puts him down like it’s nothing and leaves.

Damian Priest vs. Angel Garza

Priest with a big kick out of the gate. Bashes Garza in the corner, uppercut to the face. Whip, Garza with a boot off a back body drop attempt, Priest with a crossbody for a 1 count. Miz and Morrison with a distraction, Garza attacks, charging knee, dropkick for a 2 count! Garza with a leglock, slapping at the back of Priest’s head. He knocks Garza away though. Forearms as he rises to his feet, high kicks to the gut, leg kick, Discus Headbutt! Clothesline nailed! Stomps the mat, shoots the arrow, Charging Elbow in the corner.

Miz and Morrison on the apron, Priest chases them away, Garza clotheslines him to the floor. Morrison with a driving knee to Priest’s face as the ref is distracted! Bad Bunny grabs the MITB briefcase, gets Miz to chase him into the ring to get it. Ref catches Miz in the ring and ejects him and Morrison. Garza yells at Bad Bunny but turns around to get hit with a Bell Clap from Priest, the Reckoning earns him the win.

Winner: Damian Priest

Struggling for comments.

Drew McIntyre backstage. Asks why sever a 20 year friendship, all he had to do was ask for a title shot. But he can’t think about Sheamus tonight, he needs to focus on Orton. He knows Randy will try and ensure he doesn’t’ make it to the Elimination Chamber. Dares him to come at him, he’ll rip your face off. WWE Raw Recap continues with…

Riddle vs. Keith Lee

(…After this promo from Bianca Belair where she goes over the potential champions she could go after and says more or less the same stuff as on SmackDown but now she can add Lacey Evans to the list of names. Asuka comes up to her and says she won the Rumble but that does not mean she’s ready for Asuka. Bianca says she is, but Lacey isn’t! If Asuka handles her business at the Chamber, she might be seeing more of her on Raw.)

Now we’re back in the ring, I wish they wouldn’t do that so often… bell rings, quick fist bump but Riddle leaps at him for a cross-armbreaker. Lee just powers him up though, Riddle has to escape to the mat. Riddle fights him to the corner, high kicks. Charges but Lee with a POUNCE sends him across the ring! Lee with body shots. Power whip bounces Riddle off the buckles! Lee drops him with a huge forearm. Keith Lee with a combination, hard elbow.

Riddle lands on his feet off a German Suplex, Pele Kick sends him to the corner!

Charging forearms. Wants an Exploder, that’s a bad idea, Lee escapes for Grizzly Magnum! Pops him up for the Spirit Bomb but Riddle escapes, to the second rope, Spinning High Knee! Lee with the tree fall, Riddle covers for a nearfall! PK! Goes up top for the Floating Bro and nails it! But Lee kicks out! Riddle with a series of Brotons.

Looks for the Final Flash but Lee catches him, hoists him up for the Spirit Bomb, Riddle triangles him though! Lee trying to Backlund Bomb him but Riddle keeps the pressure on… on the second attempt he gets him up, tosses him to the buckle! Final Flash knee lands! Charges him but Lee powers him up again, Spirit Bomb for the win!

Winner: Keith Lee

Good fight. The Dragonball fan in me loves seeing them trade Final Flashes and Spirit Bombs, lemme tell ya. Afterwards Lashley attacks Lee from behind and knocks Riddle away. Keith charges at him but gets dropped with a Full Nelson Slam! And now the Hurt Lock for Riddle. Charges at Lee to knock him off the apron and to the floor. Rushes around ringside for a big lariat! Posts him, takes up the steps and nails him with them, sending him over the announce table. Lashley stands on the table and poses with the US title.

Randy Orton backstage says the WWE title means everything to him so he’ll do anything to get there and live with those actions, but those actions always end any unfinished business he has. Drew gets reintroduced to the Legend Killer tonight but at the Elimination Chamber destiny will come knocking again and he’ll bring the WWE Championship to WrestleMania.

And now, this just happens here instead of at TLC…

Tables Match: Lana vs. Nia Jax

Jax with a powerbomb moments into the match. Big slam. Kicks her around the ring. Jax grabs her for the Elevated Stretch Muffler! Yanks her into the buckle. Kicks at the back of her head. Wants to toss her over the top rope through a table, Lana grabs the rope to block, Jax drops her neckfirst on the rope. Lana sidesteps a corner charge, Switch Kick lands. Lana, visibly struggles to get angry, charges but Jax body blocks her. Literally starts yelling “You really suck”, as she pulls Lana up for a powerbomb.

Lana with a headscissor takes her to the apron. High kicks, Nia holding onto the rope. Lana rips one hand away but Jax with a headbutt takes her down. Grinds boot into Lana’s throat, legdrop attempted, Lana avoids it and Jax lands hard on the apron! She shoves the table away as she yells in agony. Lana sneaks up behind her and… just, shoves Nia through a table that happened to be leaned over in the corner barricade.

Winner: Lana

Shayna attacks Lana afterwards but Naomi stops that with a Springboard Roundhouse Kick and drives her from the ring.

After a commercial break the WWE Raw Recap resumes with…

Naomi vs. Shayna Baszler

Shayna kicks her down, arm stomp missed but she sets her again and hits the stomp. That move used to put people off TV. Double wristlock. Naomi knocks her away momentarily but she gets her right back into it. Naomi kicks her away. She sidesteps a Baszler high knee, dropkicks, charging rana to the corner. Baszler with a kick to the gut, palm strike, Naomi with a Spinning Jawbreaker. Wheelbarrow Stunner attempt but Baszler counters into the Kirifuda Clutch! Naomi grabs the rope for the break. Shayna goes outside to attack Lana, throws her into the dasherboards. Back into the ring, Naomi catches her with an immediate inside cradle for the win.

Winner: Naomi

Fluke wins for both of the tag title contenders in singles matches, very legit build.

Hilariously, Keith Lee’s decisive victory over Riddle leads to Lashley defending against both of them in a US title triple threat match.

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton (Non-Title)

Drew and Randy lock up. Randy breaks it up, just avoids a kick and powders. As Randy is re-entering the ring, Drew goes for the Draping DDT and takes way too long to hit it so Randy drives him into the corner, but Drew explodes out with a lariat. Sheamus rushes down the ramp to the apron for the distraction, Orton hits him with an uppercut from behind and posts him! Commercial break, WWE Raw Recap will conclude when we come back.

As we’re back, Orton tosses McIntyre to the floor where Sheamus is watching. Randy with a back suplex onto the announce table! Takes Drew into the ring, cover for a nearfall. Side headlock cinched in tight. McIntyre fights out of it, exchange of punches. Orton with a gut kick, whip reversed, kick off a back body drop attempt. Orton charges, McIntyre with an Overhead Belly To Belly! And another! Neckbreaker! Kip-up! Kick to the gut, Future Shock attempt but Orton with a double leg into a Jacknife Cover for 2! McIntyre with a Spinebuster into his own Jacknife for a nearfall! Drew up top. Randy stops him, superplex for a nearfall!

Randy drags him to his feet, Drew with a Glasgow Kiss! But Orton counters with the Draping DDT, stalks for the RKO – McIntyre reverses for the Future Shock DDT! They both fight to their feet, Sheamus rushes into the ring, McIntyre sidesteps and Sheamus hits Orton with a Brogue Kick! McIntyre with a Claymore to Orton and… his music hits and this match got thrown out without a bell yay I love that.

Winner: N/A

That’s the show.

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