Date: 03/06	7:00 PM
Views: 452

Tonight's Raw comes hot off the heels of a Fastlane PPV that was... well... it was something. Great undercard. Absolutely phenomenal Cruiserweight action, great tag match. Three match endings to close the show that weren't so much booked as thrown at us like monkey feces at the zoo. Still, it's Wrestlemania season, and what better way to smooth everything out than with Wrestlemania?

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Raw begins with a recap of how Fastlane ended last night, then Chris Jericho hits the ring. "So this is Chicago! The birthplace of Y2J! Even more so, tonight it's the site of the resurrection of Chris Jericho, and the reason for that is, last night at Fastlane, I screwed Kevin Owens out of the Universal Championship. Congratulations to Goldberg for that. But let's be honest, Kevin Owens had it coming. Three weeks ago at the Festival of Friendship, he betrayed me. He beat me up, he broke my heart, he took his knife and he stabbed it in to the back of Jericho, twist it in, man. And I'm hurt, I'm confused, but I want to know why. I want him to come out here and face me, man to man, and I want to know the answer to the question: Why?"

Owens comes out to the ramp. "After what you did last night, do you honestly think I'm going to come out here and give you the answer you're looking for? Do you not know me better than that?"

"Quiet, quiet, quiet! Answer the question, you son of a-- Just answer the question. Why did you turn on a man who called you his best friend for eight months? I'm hurt, I'm confused, I just want to know why."

"You want to know why I stabbed my best friend in the back? The truth is, I didn't stab my best friend in the back, because you were never my best friend. You know who was? Sami Zayn, and I stabbed him in the back, and I'd do it again and again, and again! You were just a tool, and I used you. I used you because the night I won the Universal Championship, HHH told me, 'Now you're the champion, everyone is going to be gunning for you, find someone to have your back.' So I needed someone who knew what they were doing, who knew what they were getting into, but I also knew someone who was gullible. And you were a tool, but you became a liability the second you accepted the match with Goldberg. That was the second you outlived your usefulness. And you wanna talk about Goldberg? I know I would've beaten him, I was supposed to outsmart him, and it would've happened. But Chris, I'm man enough to admit that you outsmarted me. But you know why that happened? Because you think I betrayed you at the Festival of Friendship? That was a mercy, I could have made sure you never walked again, but I didn't do that, I spared you, I did it for your family, I did it because I'm a good guy. But the biggest mistake of my career was letting you walk. And the biggest mistake you made was costing me my Universal Championship."

"You're wrong. That wasn't the biggest mistake I made. The biggest mistake I made was trusting you, and you know why? Because I would've done the same thing eight years ago, and I would have done it quicker, I would have done it better, and I would have done it smarter. But I liked the idea of having a best friend, so I went with it. But I didn't need you. I have thousands of friends. I have thousands of friends right here, thousands of buddies in attendence. I've got the friends of Jericho, cheer me on, man! And you think that was the end? You think that makes us square? Last night was the beginning of a long and winding road, that twists, and turns, and it goes left, it goes right, and it ends with Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens at Wrestlemania!"

"I'm glad you bring that up. Because you might think the only thing I want is to get that Universal Title back, but I'll get that back when the time is right. I've been promised a rematch, and I'll take it when I want to. But right now, you cost me my title, and all I can think of is taking yours. You want me at Wrestlemania? All you need to do is put that title on the line."

"Umm... okay, done. Let's do it, Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens for the US Title, at Wrestlemania! But I say, why wait? Wrestlemania is still a few months away, a month away. What's stopping us from getting it on right now?"

"What's stopping me from coming down to that ring? Nothing."

Owens hits the ring and starts brawling with Jericho, Joe sneaks in and goes after Jericho, Sami Zayn hits the ring with a chair and starts swinging, Owens knocks it out of his hand, he and Joe start beating him down in a corner, Jericho grabs the chair and clubs them both until they retreat.

Match One: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

Match made during commercial, Joe and Jericho banned from ringside, back on air Owens is beating down Zayn in the corner, Zayn rallies, Owens with more punches, Owens boots him in the face, Zayn with a clothesline, ten-punch, Owens with a boot to the gut, tosses Zayn to the floor, follows, Zayn with a clothesline, tosses Owens into the barricade, rolls him into the ring, follows, Owens with a clothesline in the corner, cannonball, Pop-up Powerbomb, reversed into a dropkick, Owens bails, Zayn with a suicide senton over the ref's back, rolls Owens into the ring, follows, Owens hits a Pop-up Powerbomb, doesn't cover, mounted punches, front-flip leg drop, pump handle neckbreaker across the knee, Pop-up Powerbomb for three.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Austin Aries introduces his video package with "It's not a good package, it's not a bad package, it's the package."

Match Two: Cruiserweight Championship: Neville (c) vs. Rich Swann

Swann opens with a pair of clotheslines, kick, dropkicks Neville out of the ring, follows, Neville goes to toss him into the barricade, reversed, Swann with chops, punches, Neville boots him, tosses him into the apron, Swann leapfrogs, Neville tosses him into the LED board head-first, commercial.

Back on air, Neville has Swann in a chinlock, Swann starts to power out, Neville tosses him down, both men to the apron, Swann with punches, Neville presses him into the ring, Swann with a swinging kick, Neville lands out of the ring, Swann goes up top, swanton bomb, Neville slowly gets to his feet, both men roll into the ring, Neville with a knee, whip, misses a clothesline, Swann with a head scissors, kick to the gut, Michinoku Driver for two, goes up top, Neville trips him, follows, superplex, Swann rolls to the floor, Neville follows, tosses him into the barricade, commercial.

Back on air, Neville boots Swann, trading punches, Swann gets the better of it, Neville with a spinning kick to the gut, German, Swann lands on his feet and hits a German, roundhouse to the head for two, goes up top, leapfrogs, roundhouse kick, goes up top, misses the Phoenix Splash, Neville covers for two, Rings of Saturn for the tapout.

Winner and STILL Cruiserweight Champion: Neville

Austin Aries: "Neville, it's been an impressive 24 hours for you, you're still the Cruiserweight Champion, how does it feel to be on top of the mountain? (Aries chants) Thank you, Chicago. Neville, what are your thoughts on the last 24 hours?"

"Well it appears I've done everything I said I would do! So for everyone who has doubted me, who has overlooked me, look at me now! I have laid waste to pretender after pretender after pretender, and now it has become evident that there is no one on 205 Live who can hold a handle to the king of the Cruiserweights!"

"Well it appears you've done everything you've set out to do, but I'm having a hard time hearing you, there is no one at your level?"

"Nobody!"

More Aries chants.

"It sounds like the WWE Universe might disagree with you."

"You cannot seriously be suggesting yourself. You must be delusional if you think you are even close to being on my level. In fact, Austin, I'm running out of patience with you, so why don't you head back to your announcer's desk so you can make cheap little jokes to entertain the universe? This territory is mine, so get out of here before I re-break your orbital socket."

Aries removes his glasses. "I'm just trying to do my job here."

"Well what are you going to do about it, commentator?"

"I'm just trying to do my job, I just want to ask you one more question. Well, actually, it's not so much of a question, it's more of a statement."

Aries blasts Neville in the head with the microphone, then hits a spinning elbow. Neville retreats as Aries holds the ring and hoists the Cruiserweight Championship.

Backstage, Enzo and Cass run into Cesaro and Sheamus. Sheamus calls them chokers, Cass tells him to watch his mouth. He says they're winning the tag titles tonight. Enzo also says Cesaro has pepperoni nipples.

After a commercial, the Universal Champion Goldberg hits the ring. As usual, his entrance takes more time than all of his matches combined since his return. "This title belongs to all of you just as much as it belongs to me, because I could not have done it without you! The truth is, I stand before you tonight a very humbled man, as WWE's new Universal Champion. And another thing that that gives me is an opportunity to divulge some information that I never thought I'd divulge in my life, information that I've never shared before."

Paul Heyman comes out. "Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman, and please don't confuse me as someone who even thinks he's man enough to go down to that ring and even attempt to offer a handshake to the new Universal Champion. Because, honestly, my hand is not the hand that should be shaking Mr. Goldberg's in congratulations. Oh no, no, no, no, no, I did not come here alone. Ladies and gentlemen, I come to you tonight as the advocate for the challenger for the Universal Championship tonight, I come before you tonight to introduce your opponent and my client, Brock Lesnar!"

Lesnar hits the ring.

Heyman: "Brock Lesnar, Goldberg. Goldberg, Brock Lesnar! My client came here tonight, Mr. Goldberg, to shake your hand and congratulate you for being the new Universal Champion. My client understands how happy you must be having devastated and demolished Kevin Owens last night. I imagine the only person happier is my client, Brock Lesnar. On April 2nd, at Wrestlemania, my client understands that you have proven yourself to be every bit the beast he has. That is why he will shake your hand. My client understands that you have proven yourself to be every bit the conqueror that Brock Lesnar has. But on April 2nd, at Wrestlemania, both of you need a win, but only one of you will walk out the winner, and the other will walk out the loser. And Mr. Goldberg, I am not a man who makes predictions, I'm a man who makes spoilers. And the spoiler goes like this: At the end of Wrestlemania, there will be a new reigning, defending WWE Universal Champion, and his name is Brock Lesnar! Which means after the match, everyone can look at you and say, there he is, Brock's bitch!"

Goldberg turns to look at Heyman, Lesnar floors him with an F5. They leave as Goldberg crawls to his title and gets up. Well, at least we now know Goldberg can take a bump.

Match Four: Raw Tag Team Titles: The Club (c) vs. Enzo and Cass

Enzo: "My name (etc.) So last night will forever be dubbed the Milwaukee Shoejob. Because I should be walking out here tonight saying bada boom, realest champs in the room. But Chi-town, the night is still young. And we ain't looking for pity in the Windy City."

"We're walking out with championship gold. Just like Jordan in 91, Jordan in 92, Jordan in 93, Jordan in 96, Jordan in 97, and Jordan in 98. There's only one word (etc.)"

Enzo and Gallows start off, Gallows with a boot, Enzo with a dropkick another, Cass in, shoulder tackle, mounted punches, Gallows with a punch, tosses Cass to the corner, punch, Anderson in, punch, Cass tosses him to the corner, punches, Anderson with boots to the gut, punch, Cass with a knee lift, knees Gallows off the apron, Cesaro and Sheamus walk out, commercial.

Back on air, Anderson has Enzo in a chinlock, Enzo elbows out, Anderson tosses him down, back suplex, cover for two, European uppercuts in the corner, punch, Gallows in, punches, body slam, reversed into a DDT, double tag, Cass with a pair of clotheslines, fallaway slam, avalanche, another fallaway slam, Empire Elbow for two as Gallows breaks the count, Enzo tosses him to the floor, suicide dive, celebrates, knocks Cesaro's coffee, who chases him, accidentally clotheslines Anderson, a full-scale brawl breaks out.

Winners by DQ and STILL Raw Tag Team Champions: The Club

Cesaro and Sheamus eventually take the ring.

They announce Rick Rude for Hall of Fame.

After a commercial, Enzo and Cass are still brawling with Cesaro and Sheamus. Mick Foley makes a match between the two teams next week, winners challenge for the tag straps at 'Mania. Stephanie McMahon then orders Foley to her office.

Match Five: Akira Tozawa vs. Ariya Daivari

Tozawa with punches in the corner, Daivari presses him to the corner, clothesline for two, knee drop, recliner, Akira elbows out, trading chops, Tozawa gets the better of it, kicks Daivari out of the ring, suicide dive, rolls him back in, leapfrogs, Daivari with a kick to the gut, Tozawa with a snap German for three.

Winner: Akira Tozawa

Tozawa: "Brian Kendrick! Fight me face to face! Just come out right here, right now!"

Kendrick comes out. "So, Akira Tozawa after all this, you still want to fight Brian Kendrick. Well, I'm not making you any promises but I'll have an answer for you tomorrow night. But lesson 5 is the same lesson the dog learns after he's finally caught his own tail and he bites down. Careful what you wish for."

After a commercial, The New Day come out with their ice cream cart.

Woods: "Now for those of you who missed it, let me introduce you to our brand new, beautiful baby girl! This is our New Day Popcycle."

Kofi: "New Day Pops! Mouthful of magic, I gotta have it! Now, do you know who this cycle represents? The WWE Universe and their hopes and dreams! So keep making your voices heard, and your ice cream dreams will come true."

E: "As your Wrestlemania hosts, we are qualified to host all kinds of events! We can host a quinceanera, a bar mitzvah, and in a few moments, we're going to host our boots up the buns of the Shining Stars!"

Match Six: The New Day vs. The Shining Stars

Epico beats down Kofi, exploder suplex into a Codebreaker, Primo in, leaps on Kofi in the ropes, they menace the cart, E clotheslines them both, tags in, Midnight Hour for three.

Winners: The New Day

For Women's History Month, they show a package for Trish and Lita.

After a commercial, Mick Foley introduces Bayley.

Mick: "Bayley, congratulations on successfully defending and retaining your Raw Women's Championship at Fastlane."

"Thanks, Mick. I wish I could say I felt like a champion tonight, but last night, I specifically asked Charlotte to leave Dana backstage so we could have our match, and Sasha, well, you saw what happened. I'm trying to wrap my mind around what happened, but I need to look forward, and I need to look at Wrestlemania. Growing up, I wasn't like everyone else, my year didn't go by the calendar, it began and ended at Wrestlemania. And last year, I stood right there and watched Lita present the new Women's Championship, then I watched three of the best women I came up with in the Performance Centre put it all out there. And I promised myself that next year, I would be there, as the champ. But it just doesn't feel like it should."

"Bayley, trust me, this time of year, it doesn't matter how you get there, as long as you get there. And you are going to Wrestlemania. The only question is, who will be your opponent heading in to Wrestlemania?"

Sasha comes out. "Mick, that is a great question. And Bayley, Charlotte may have told Dana to go backstage, but that does not mean she was going to stay backstage. But let's not talk about them. You and I, when we became friends, we talked about how we wanted to go out there and tear it up. So how about you and I, one on one, at Wrestlemania?"

Mick: "That sounds like a hell of a match, but I want to get a second opinion from the people right here in Chicago, Illinois? What do you think?"

Charlotte comes out. "And just like that, the plan is crystal clear. You knew you weren't going to get another title opportunity to face me, because that was the deal. Whoever lost Roadblock: End of the Line wasn't going to get a second chance. You didn't think Bayley was good enough to beat me. That's right, you used her, you even pretend to be her friend. And it worked! I'm the victim in this conspiracy! Last night, I was robbed of my title, and I was robbed of my Pay Per View streak. And guess what, Mick, you don't even care as long as your two favourite daughters go to Wrestlemania."

Mick: "Actually, I do care. But you lost your contractually obligated rematch."

Charlotte: "I was robbed! You all saw it! You're buying this friendship?"

Mick: "I understand that there was controversy involved, but--"

Stephanie comes out. "Let's make one thing clear: Mick Foley is not the boss, and neither is Sasha Banks for that matter. ('CM Punk' chants) Well you people are certainly predictable, you're just like CM Punk. You're all losers. And you'll always cheer for the wrong people. Charlotte is right, Sasha is one of the most manipulative people backstage, she's been cozying up to Bayley. And Mick, I expect the rest of these people to be hypocritical but not you. And the woman who deserves her shot at Wrestlemania is Charlotte."

Mick: "Stephanie, I think you would agree that--"

Stephanie: "You think? Well I'm going to make that match official. At Wrestlemania, Bayley will defend the title against Charlotte at Wrestlemania!"

Mick: "You cannot leave the boss out in the cold!"

Stephanie: "Who is the boss?"

Mick: "You are my boss, but Sasha is the boss. And after the year she's had, you can't leave her or Charlotte out of the match. I propose that next week, we see Charlotte vs. Sasha, one on one, the winner goes to Wrestlemania."

Stephanie: "You get on my nerves, but you do have the kernel of a good idea. Sasha will have an opportunity to qualify for the match, but if she wins, it's going to be a triple threat. And Bayley, you shouldn't like that, because you won't even have to get pinned to lose your title. We'll find out what kind of woman Sasha is when she goes one on one with... you. And that match isn't happening next week, that match is happening right now."

Before the bell rings, we get a video package recapping Wrestlemania 1.

Match Seven: Raw Women's Champion Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (non-title, but with a title shot on the line)

Charlotte sticks around on commentary.

They open with a slap handshake, lockup, Bayley with a side headlock, Sasha powers out, Bayley locks the hold back in, Sasha wrenches an arm, Bayley rolls through, side headlock, covers for one, break, lockup, Sasha with a rear waistlock, transitions to a front facelock, twists an arm, arm breaker, keeps the pressure on, Bayley rolls through, reverses pressure, arm drag for one, Bayley with a rear waistlock, side headlock, Sasha whips her way out, Bayley with a tackle, Sasha with a hip toss, reversed for one, Sasha with a side headlock, Bayley whips out, Sasha with a tackle, Bayley goes for a hip toss, reversed, Sasha follows up with an arm drag, Sasha goes to shoot a leg, Bayley wrenches the arm, whip, reversed, Bayley with an elbow, springboard arm drag, leaping clothesline in the corner for one, armbar, cover for one, Sasha with a rollup for two, chop to the chest, springboard arm drag, head scissors, Bayley rolls out to the floor, ducks a double axe handle from the apron, Bayley misses a baseball slide, Sasha with a clothesline inside the ring, commercial.

Back on air, Bayley breaks a straightjacket hold, rear waistlock, reversed into a rollup for one, reversed into a rollup for one, Bayley covers for one, Sasha with a rollup for one, reversed into a rollup for two, reversed into a rollup for two, Sasha with an armbar, hurricanrana into another armbar, backslide, blocked, Bayley rolls through using the turnbuckle, Bayley to Belly, blocked, Sasha with forearms, Bayley with a back suplex, Charlotte starts heading toward ringside with Dana, Bayley with a shoulder tackle, misses an avalanche, Sasha with knees, Bayley with a shove, sunset flip, reversed into double knees for two, Sasha with a whip to the corner, reversed, Sasha pulls Bayley into the second turnbuckle, sets her up sideways, double foot stomp, blocked, Bayley goes up top, misses a crossbody, Sasha locks in the Banks Statement, Bayley makes it to the ropes, elbow, misses a clothesline, Sasha with a Backstabber, Banks Statement, Bayley crawls toward the ropes, Dana distracts the ref, Charlotte tries to interfere, Sasha kicks her, rolls through, keeps the hold locked in for the tapout.

Winner: Sasha Banks

Charlotte boots both women almost immediately after the bell. She grabs the Women's Title and hoists it above her head.

Backstage, Charly Caruso finds Roman Reigns and asks him about Braun Strowman threatening to "finish what he started". He says he'll be in the middle of the ring at the end of the night.

They show a video package for Seth Rollins' rehabilitation. It looks pretty damn hardcore, the doctor says he's in for three sessions a day. Based on what they show him doing, I think it's fair to say that, while he might not be cleared to wrestle yet (might), the crutches he was on last week have to be 100% work.

Michael Cole introduces HHH via satellite and asks him about what they just saw. HHH praises WWE's doctors, but says Rollins needs to take their advice and take it easy. He says Rollins lies, he isn't the man, while he (HHH) never had to call himself anything, his many nicknames came from other people. He accuses Rollins of employing a fake-it-til-you-make-it ethic. He says Rollins calling him out at Wrestlemania will be a huge mistake.

They show a video package for the makeover of Emmalina to Emma.

Match Eight: Samoa Joe vs. US Champion Chris Jericho (non-title)

Owens and Zayn are barred from ringside.

Both men open with punches, Joe punches Jericho in the corner, whip, Jericho with en elbow, chops, whip, reversed, Joe with a hip check, enziguri, stomps a mudhole, foot choke, Jericho with punches, elbow, whip, reversed, Jericho with a punch, Joe tosses him to the apron, Jericho goes up top, crossbody for one, boot to the head, Joe with a back elbow, running senton for two, stomp, forearms, armbar, Jericho reverses into a rollup for two, Walls of Jericho, blocked, Joe misses a clothesline, Jericho hits an enziguri, punch, dropkick sends Joe to the floor, Jericho with a springboard dropkick, Joe hits the apron but does not go down, Jericho goes for a baseball slide, Joe dodges, Coquina Clutch, Joe breaks at a count of 7, rolls back in the ring at 8, wins by countout.

Winner by Countout: Samoa Joe

Joe drags Jericho up, rolls him into the ring, Jericho catches him with a Codebreaker.

After a commercial, Braun Strowman hits the ring and grabs a mic. "Roman! Roman Reigns, you got lucky last night! Your luck, it runs out tonight! You see, I don't want to have a match, I don't need to have a match, what I need is for you to come out here like a man! Come out here so I can rip you limb from limb. You see, Roman, Chicago doesn't like you, and neither do I! So get out here and fight me right now! Roman!"

Reigns' music hits, but almost immediately thereafter, the gong sounds. Undertaker is out instead. Undertaker stares down Strowman, who cedes ground to him, then leaves the ring. He exits through the crowd. As Undertaker prepares to leave, Roman makes his entrance. He grabs a mic.

"Braun wasn't calling you out here, Deadman. He was calling out me. So with all due respect, this is my yard now."

Undertaker looks up at the Wrestlemania sign, Roman's gaze follows, and Undertaker drops Roman with a chokeslam. He leaves, staring back at the ring as Raw goes off the air.