Date: 04/17	7:00 PM
Views: 351

Braun Strowman is risen! After committing probably the most Christ-like act in WWE history, the former powerlifter has earned a special place in our hearts, right next to Roman Reigns' hospital bed. Of course, Roman being Roman, he's already gotten revenge at a house show and is expected tonight. And how will The Miz, Dean Ambrose, Alexa Bliss, Bray Wyatt and more deal with their second week on Raw?

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Raw opens with a recap of Braun's epic beatdown of Roman Reigns. Braun then hits the ring to a relatively sizeable pop.

"I'm proud to say that last week, I broke Roman Reigns in half! I'm proud to say that Roman Reigns left in an ambulance! I'm proud to say that Roman Reigns has a separated shoulder and cracked ribs! And I'm damn sure proud to announce that Roman Reigns will not be here tonight! And now that Roman's out of my way, I intend to tear through the entire locker room and show the world that I am the monster among men!"

Kurt Angle hits the ring. "Braun, what point are you trying to prove? You've done enough damage. You've flipped over an ambulance with frickin' Roman Reigns in it!"

"There's still more to come!"

"You know, that's just what Roman said before we went on the air tonight. And despite his injuries, I decided to give him what he wants, and that's a match with you at the appropriately-named Payback."

"That's his funeral, but what about tonight?"

"Tonight? You should be suspended! You've already done enough damage, consider tonight a night off."

"You know, Mick Foley tried to play that game with me, and look how far it got him. I want more competition tonight, or else."

"Or else what?"

Braun walks off in response.

Match One: Samoa Joe vs. Chris Jericho

Seth Rollins is on commentary.

Joe charges Jericho to the corner, punches, knees, ref forces a break, face wash with Joe's boot across Jericho's face, break, Jericho with a dropkick, goes up top, crossbody for one, double-leg, Walls, blocked, Jericho dumps Joe to the floor, springboard dropkick, commercial.

Back on air, Joe with a snapmare, kick to the back, kick to the front, elbow drop for two, double chops to the shoulders, nerve pinch, Jericho elbows his way out, punch, chops, Joe with a knee, whip, Jericho with a boot to the face, Joe tosses him to the apron, Jericho with a double axe handle, Joe with a powerslam for two, misses an elbow drop, Jericho hits a Lionsault for two, kicks, Joe with an uranage, goes up top, misses a senton splash, Jericho goes for the Walls, locks it in, Joe rolls back through, Jericho with punches, goes to roll the hold back in, Joe powers out, Coquina Clutch, Jericho drops to a knee, back to his feet, flips in the turnbuckle into a rollup for two, Joe keeps the hold locked in, eventually taps.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Joe grabs a mic. "Seth Rollins! Behold the mighty Kingslayer! Let me ask you a question, Seth. Do you remember what it sounded like when I arrived here? Because I remember it very well, it was the sound of your ligaments and your joints popping as you collapsed to the ground, it was your screams of agony and pain, it was your pleads for mercy. And Seth, that was just business. You were no more than a chosen target of my benefactor, HHH. But, you see, I care for my clientelle. And so, for what you did to HHH, and more importantly, what you disgustingly did to his wife, Stephanie McMahon, it will not be business, it will be very personal."

Seth gets up on the table. "Of course it's going to be personal! You almost cost me my career. But in two weeks, it's you and me one on one, and you know what they say, payback is a bitch!"

Backstage, The Club run into Elias Samson and keep walking.

The Golden Truth are also walking to the ring, Braun Strowman ambushes them and beats them both down.

After a commercial, a referee tells Braun to leave, he says he'll leave when he want to leave.

The Club are in the ring. Anderson: "So Braun Strowman gives Golden Truth the United Airlines treatment, and The Club are the ones on standby?"

"Not good, my brother."

"We came from Japan for two reasons: To be mean and make some green."

"So Kurt Angle, you better send some nerds out here now so that we can do both."

Enzo and Cass come out. "My name (etc.) How you doin'? And so, the Superstar Shakeup, it came and it went. And Monday Night is still the realest night of the week, sweet boys!"

Cass: "And Enzo is looking at you with his book eyes. Those eyes can see into the future. And they're seeing two bald heads, four black eyes, and only ONE WORD (etc.)

Match Two: The Club vs. Enzo and Cass

Cass and Karl start off, Cass with a knee, punch to the back, punch to the gut in the corner, punch, punch to the gut in the opposite corner, toss to the corner, Enzo in, assisted crossbody in the corner for one, Cass in, clothesline to the back of the head, punch, toss to the corner, punch to the gut, whip, shoulder tackle, clothesline over the top rope, tosses Enzo into Gallows, then into Anderson, commercial.

Back on air, Gallows tosses Enzo to the corner, Enzo elbows his way out, Anderson in, running boot, cover for two, armbar, Enzo to his feet, Karl whips him to the corner, Luke in, boot to the arm, keylock, Enzo punches his way out, Gallows tosses him down, arm breaker, armbar, knee lift stomp in the corner, Karl in, knee drop, another, armbar, Enzo to his feet, punch, Anderson with a spinebuster for two, punch, Gallows in, whip to the corner, charge, Enzo with a boot, second rope DDT, goes for a tag, Anderson in, blocks him, punches in the corner, goes for a running knee lift, misses, goes to block a tag, Enzo ducks, Cass in, spinning elbows for both opponents, another for Anderson, avalanche, side slam, Empire Elbow, running big boot, Enzo in, Bada Boom Shacka Lacka, blocked by Gallows, who eats the crossbody instead, Cass boots him over the top rope, Enzo goes for a second rope DDT, Anderson reverses and tosses him into the top turnbuckle by his knees for three.

Winners: The Club

They show a video package for Mickie James.

Miz and Maryse hit the ring for a MizTV. "Welcome to (...) MizTV! Last week, my beautiful, gorgeous, sexy wife and I shocked the world when we moved to Smackdown Live in the Superstar Shakeup. But little did we know that when the luxury yacht that was the It Couple left the dock of Smackdown, we had a stowaway--"

Ambrose hits the ring. "Miz, thank you so much for having me on MizTV, I'm a huge fan of the show, looking forward to this all week."

"Jumping the gun are we? Ruining my introduction? We had a whole thing worked out."

"Are you still mad about last week? Well we're in neutral territory, you're from Cleveland, I'm from Cincinnati, we're in God's Country, in the great state of Ohio, let me try something, O-H"

Crowd: "I-O!"

Ambrose: "Maryse, you wouldn't know anything about that, you're Canadian."

Miz: "Is this a joke to you?"

Ambrose: "That maroon suit is a joke. And those shoes are making me dizzy."

"You know why I dress like this? Because I have respect for this business. I want to make pro wrestlers look like professional, proper athletes, you want to make us look like Rasslers. Why don't you wear a fanny back and zubaz and set us back thirty years? And yet these people love you. And you get chance after chance. Don't believe me? WWE Draft, first Smackdown pick, Dean Ambrose. Biggest party of the summer, who's WWE Champion? Dean Ambrose. And yet you squander it. Six months later, grandest stage of them all, where are you? Barely a blip on the card. Because you're lazy and complacent."

"I could wear a fanny pack and zubaz, wouldn't matter. Because it's not what you wear, it's what's in here. There are a lot of guys out there, who worry about image, and branding, I don't even know what that is. Dean Ambrose is not a brand, I love coming out here and fighting! I do it in front of 20 people, I do it in front of 100, 000 people! I love black eyes, coughing up teeth, I love getting my ass kicked and kicking ass. I'm the Intercontinental Champion, you'd know all about that, I beat you for it."

Maryse: "You think you are a real champion? There's an old saying, the title doesn't make the man, the man makes the title."

Ambrose: "Can you hold this microphone for a second?"

Ambrose starts taking his coat off.

Miz: "That is a saying. When I was champion, this title was the most important thing in the WWE! And then you beat me for it, and ever since then, it's been just like you: a joke."

Ambrose spears Miz, beats him down, Maryse gets in the way, Miz goes for a Skull-Crushing Finale, Ambrose reverses into Dirty Deeds, Miz blocks and retreats.

Backstage, Braun Strowman has Kalisto unconscious and is dragging him around backstage, then tosses him into a dumpster, saying that Roman is garbage and now he is too. Big Show tackles him and tells him to pick on someone his own size.

After a commercial, they announce that Show vs. Strowman is happening tonight.

Match Three: TJ Perkins vs. Jack Gallagher

The ring announcer introduces Neville for a "special appearance". Neville slides in the ring, stares down Gallagher, then Perkins, then leaves. Austin Aries then comes out as Neville settles in at ringside.

"I didn't know we were having a special viewing party out here, my invitation must have been lost in the mail, so let me make an even more special appearance, introducing the man who will beat Neville at Payback and become your new Cruiserweight Champion, Austin Aries!"

Aries sits down beside Neville in a much less nice chair as the bell rings, Neville moves down.

Gallagher with a side headlock, Perkins back suplexes his way out, reversed into a snapmare, Perkins with a rollup for one, Gallagher with a springboard snapmare, keeps the hold locked in, Perkins rolls him up for two, Gallagher keeps the hold locked in, reversed into an armbar, Gallagher reverses the pressure, leg hammerlock, rollup for two, Greco-Roman knuckle lock, Perkins with a hurricanrana, Gallagher with a head scissors, Perkins flips his way out, double leg, Gallagher reverses into a monkey flip, does a dab, Perkins responds by taking his umbrella and tossing it to the floor, Gallagher with a handstand kick, pair of elbows, charges, Perkins pries the ropes apart, Gallagher hits the floor, commercial.

Back on air, Perkins has Gallagher in a nerve pinch, bow and arrow hold, Gallagher breaks, punch, Perkins with a punch, suplex, blocked, Gallagher with European uppercuts, overhead throw, powerslam for two, Perkins with an elbow, springboard forearm, Gallagher with a headbutt, Perkins falls to the floor, Gallagher grabs the umbrella, goes up top, Mary Poppins double thigh attack, rolls Perkins into the ring, follows, Perkins rolls to the floor, Gallagher grabs him, Perkins tosses him into Aries, Aries goes to attack Perkins, Neville pulls him off the apron, Perkins kicks the middle rope to hit Gallagher, Detonation Kick for three.

Winner: TJ Perkins

They show a video package for Alexa Bliss.

Backstage, Akira Tozawa congratulates Apollo Crews on coming to Raw. Titus O'Neil walks in and asks Crews how he plans to make an impact, Crews says he's going to keep kicking doors until he knocks one down. Titus says he should brand himself with the Titus Brand. He gives him his card.

The backstage interviewer who looks like Rockstar Spud asks The Hardys what about coming back has surprised them the most. They both say that everything is that much bigger and better. Sheamus and Cesaro walk in and welcome them back to WWE. They imply that the Hardys can't win without ladders, The Hardys disagree.

Match Four: #1 Contender's Match: Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James vs. Nia Jax

Mickie and Sasha throw Alexa into Nia Jax, Nia responds by teeing off on both of them, Mickie tries for a backpack sleeper, gets thrown on her head for her troubles, Nia with an avalanche to Sasha for two as Alexa breaks the count, staredown, Nia grabs her by the hair, Bliss slaps her, retreats, Nia grabs her on the floor by the hair, Mickie and Sasha dropkick her to the floor, lockup, Sasha with a rear waistlock, rollup for two, Mickie with a jackknife for two, lockup, Sasha wrenches an arm, Mickie with a tackle, dropkick, Sasha with a hurricanrana, Mickie with a kick, hurricanrana, neckbreaker, covers, Nia pulls her out of the ring, Sasha with a crossbody, commercial.

Back on air, Mickie kicks out of Alexa's cover at two, Bliss throws her down for two, Nia slides in the ring, powerslam to Bliss, Sasha goes for a crossbody, gets tossed onto Alexa, Mickie goes for a wheelbarrow bulldog, Sasha tosses her onto the other two, covers Mickie for two, Million Dollar Dream to Mickie, Mickie elbows her way out, Nia tosses Mickie to the corner, avalanche, Bliss charges, Nia tosses her aside, Sasha with forearms, Nia with a pair of elbows, whip, bear hug, Sasha slowly reverses into a guillotine, reversed into a suplex for two as Mickie breaks the count, Mickie with punches to Nia, Nia locks in a two-handed lifting chokehold, Mickie slowly reverses into an armbar, Nia slowly powers out, tosses Mickie into Sasha in the corner, Bliss goes up top, Nia stares her down, Bliss fucks off, Nia charges Mickie in the corner, misses, Bliss tosses Sasha to the floor, rollup to Mickie for two, Mickie responds with a series of kicks, uppercut, leaping DDT blocked by Sasha, who then dropkicks both opponents, blocks a kick from Bliss and slaps her, sets her up sideways, tosses Mickie's head into Bliss, double foot stomp to Bliss for two as Nia pulls her out of the ring, Mickie pulls Nia back out of the ring, Bliss hits a forearm on the apron sending Mickie into Nia, staredown with Sasha, trading strikes, Bliss goes for what almost looks like a Sister Abigail, reversed into a back stabber, Banks Statement, Mickie breaks the hold, punches Sasha, trading punches, Mickie gets the better of it, flapjack, goes up top, Sasha crotches her, punch, punches up top, Nia punches Sasha, fireman's carry, uses Banks to knock Mickie off the top rope, Samoan Drop to Sasha, Bliss dropkicks Nia out of the ring and covers Sasha for three.

Winner: Alexa Bliss

That match kicked off what I think is going to be a very interesting summer for this division.

Also, interesting that they're seemingly treating being a two-time former Smackdown Women's Champion as making her the most interesting challenger on Raw right now. This is something I approve of quite a lot.

Charly Caruse asks Big Show why he stepped to Strowman, he says Strowman needs to know what it's like to be intimidated.

They show a video package for the WWE Network.

Curt Hawkins is in the ring. "Last week, The Big Show stepped in the ring with Curt Hawkins. And this week, he's in the main event. See, if you want a superhero role, you need to enroll in Professor Xavier's School for the Gifted. But if you want a main event role, you need to step in the ring with Curt Hawkins! So who's it going to be this week? Who wants a role in Curt Hawkins' star factory?"

Finn Balor comes out. He can't possibly be cleared yet after last week's concussion, can he? Guess so, there's a ref in the ring.

Match Five: Finn Balor vs. Curt Hakwins

Balor dodges a clothesline, hits chops, dropkick, slingblade, dropkick to the corner, Coup de Gras for three.

Winner: Finn Balor

So I'd guess he's mostly cleared then. Zero bumps, but pretty rigorous action.

American Rockstar Spud asks Chris Jericho, who doesn't know his name either, about his loss to Samoa Joe. Jericho says he was distracted by his upcoming match against Owens, which he vows to win, but says he has mixed feelings about leaving Raw but it doesn't matter, because they can follow him anywhere. Apparently his name is Mike. Jericho is about to put him on the list for not knowing his own name, Elias Samson walks past playing the guitar, Jericho puts him on the list instead, but doesn't say his name.

In a smoky room, Bray Wyatt talks about fears, and says that fear is under his control.

Backstage, Alicia Fox is trying to figure out why the powder exploded in her face and co-ruminating with Dana Brooke. Emma walks in and accuses Dana of making a joke about it, Fox walks off in a huff, Emma admits it was a lie but says it's all about Dana wanting to stand on her own.

Match Six: Jeff Hardy vs. Cesaro

Lockup, Jeff with an armbar, Cesaro rolls through, single-leg, break, Hardy with a side headlock, Cesaro whips out, dropkick, knocks Cesaro to the floor, running crossbody from the apron, rolls Cesaro into the ring, covers for two, side headlock, Cesaro whips out, powerslam, Hardy to the floor, Cesaro with a European Uppercut across the barricade, rolls him back into the ring, covers for two, Hardy hits a jaw breaker, Swanton, blocked when Cesaro rolls out, Hardy hops down, commercial.

Back on air, Cesaro has Jeff in a Cobra Clutch, Jeff powers out, Cesaro tosses him to the floor, rolls him back into the ring, covers for two, covers again for two, Cobra Clutch, Jeff elbows his way out, Slingblade, misses an avalanche, Cesaro with a European Uppercut for two, punch, a second punch blocked, Hardy with a punch, Cesaro with mixed strikes, whip, Jeff with a clothesline, inverted atomic drop, leg drop to the gut, dropkick to the face for two, Twist of Fate, reversed into a European Uppercut for two, Cesaro Swing, blocked, springboard European Uppercut for two, Cesaro Swing, blocked again, Jeff with an enziguri thrust kick to the gut, goes up top, Cesaro with a European Uppercut, superplex, blocked, Jeff with punches, crotches Cesaro on the top rope, dropkicks him to the floor, misses an avalanche, hits an elbow, Whisper in the Wind for two, running dropkick in the corner, swinging dropkick, Cesaro dodges and covers for two, Neutralizer, reversed into a back body drop, Twist of Fate, Swanton Bomb for three.

Winner: Jeff Hardy

Sheamus offers Matt a hand, Cesaro offers Jeff a hand, they take them, Sheamus also shakes Jeff's hand, I think Matt shoot Cesaro's hand off-camera too, looked like he was going for it before they cut to commercial.

Backstage, Mike gives an update on Golden Truth and Kalisto, they're being checked out by trainers. Heath Slater and Rhyno start talking about how great it is to be on Raw, Braun walks by and they cower in fear.

Main Event: Braun Strowman vs. Big Show

Braun slides out of the ring to fight Big Show before the match starts, they trade blows, Braun tosses Big Show into the barricade, they keep fighting, Show tosses Strowman into the steps, then into the barricade, then into the ring, follows, the bell rings, Show calls for a chokeslam, Braun with a boot, whip, reversed, hip toss, blocked, reversed, blocked, Show tosses Strowman to the floor, baseball slide, follows to the floor, tosses him into the steel steps, rolls back into the ring, pulls Strowman to the apron, Strowman with a forearm, running dropkick for two, armbar, Show twists an arm, Strowman rolls through, kips up, reverses pressure, arm drag, another arm drag, body slam, blocked, Show with elbows, body slam, blocked, Braun with elbows, body slam, blocked, Show with punches, body slam, blocked, Braun goes for a body slam, blocked, Show with punches, body slam, chokeslam, blocked, Braun with a suplex, punch, headbutt, kick to the side, crossface punch, forearm to the face, running powerslam, blocked, Show tosses Braun into the corner, avalanche, sets Strowman up top, chop, superplex, blocked with punches, Strowman goes for a double axe handle, reversed into a chokeslam for two, KO Punch, Strowman dodges, powerslam for two, goes up top, Show crotches him, headbutt, superplex, blocked with punches, Show stumbles, falls, Strowman goes for a double axe handle, Show hits him with a KO Punch for two, goes up top, Strowman tackles him, superplex, THE RING BREAKS! The ref just goes flying out of the ring, bounces a little on the way down.

Strowman gets to his feet, his music plays.

Match Result: No Contest

The refs are checking on Big Show, but they're also checking on the ref. I think he might be legit hurt. He was just leaning on the ropes when the superplex hit, and he took quite a tumble. He had to know that was coming, didn't he? Is he selling it, or is he hurt?

Raw goes off the air with Strowman roaring.