This week’s WWE Raw was filled with solid in-ring action. Sadly, not all of the action ended up with desired conclusions. Interestingly, that was not the case for the opening match of today’s show as Aleister Black picked up the biggest fight of his career since moving from NXT and beat Seth Rollings in a jaw-dropping contest.
Now watch WWE matches for free on WWE Network; Check all details here
The match card was after the Monday Night Messiah hosted a “retirement ceremony” for Rey Mysterio. A fired-up Black hung through the best efforts of Rollins — and his disciples, Austin Theory and Murphy — to score the win. Things, unfortunately, did not go well as Rollins, Theory and Murphy beat down Black and Humberto Carrillo who had entered the arena during the match to even the odds.
Let’s take a look at all the action from the night, including grades for the most meaningful action on the show.
WWE Raw grades, results, and recap:
Seth Rollins “honors” Rey Mysterio:
With Theory and Murphy sitting in chairs at ringside, Rollins addressing the WWE Universe said that he doubts Master of 619 will be able to make announce his retirement formally. As such, Rollins said he was taking some time to respect and appreciate Mysterio as a legend who was sacrificed for the greater good of Raw at Rollins’ darkest hour. He then honoured the end of the Ultimate Underdogs career with a video package of his highlights concluding with Rollins’ brutal assault and an offer of inducting him into WWE Hall of Fame.
Grade: B
Aleister Black def. Seth Rollins via pinfall:
As Rollins concluded his opening promo, Black rushed into the ring to attack his former mentor. After the match begin, Humberto Carrillo also appeared with a chair to even the sides. The former Universal Champion had the early edge until Black picked up momentum with a pair of springboard moonassaults. Rollins looked to fight back when an armbar by Black and following by a running knee shifted the match. Carrillo got double teamed outside after stopping Murphy and Theory from interfering, and Black countered a Rollins roll up for a successful pinning combination of his own. The disciples beat down Black and Carrillo after the match, and Rollins forced Black watch as he hit The Stomp on Carrillo. Rollins then screamed in Black’s face and hit him with The Stomp for good measure. Entertaining match with a clean finish and exceptional heel tactics.
Grade: A
United States Championship — Apollo Crews (c) vs. Kevin Owens ended in a no contest: Crews had decided to defend his newly won US C’ship against Owens, an offer the latter accepted after making sure it was not out of pity after his brutal and controversial loss to Angel Garza last week. Early on, Owens started strongly with a kick to the gut dropping Crews on the floor and leaving the champ clutching his groin and claiming a low blow. After a moment to recover, they began slugging it out and trading punches. As the match continued to build up, Angel Garza and Andrade ran in to attack and cause a no contest.
Grade: C+
Apollo Crews & Kevin Owens def. Andrade & Angel Garza via pinfall: Unsurprisingly, Andrade and Garza’s interference turned Owens’ opportunity at the United States championship into a tag match. The heel tactics of Zelina Vega’s boys couldn’t manage to steal the match, even with Garza again attacking Owens’ leg with a cheap shot. In the ending sprint, Crews hit Andrade with a sit-out powerbomb for the win. This was a decent TV tag match, but neither this nor the Owens vs. Crews match quite got the time needed to build to the best possible match for anyone involved.
Grade: B-
Billie Kay def. Nikki Cross via pinfall:
The IIconics and Cross & Alexa Bliss got into a confrontation backstage before walking to the ring. Kay scored an early near fall off a big boot, but cross was able to keep in the match. Kay threw a tantrum after the next near fall, throwing punches at the air and yelling, giving Cross enough time to come back with some forearms and a clothesline. A missed crossbody off the top opened Cross up for a uranage into a powerbomb from Kay for the victory. Not a great mix of styles, but an interesting pairing in a singles match and a surprisingly clean win for Kay.
Grade: C+
24/7 Championship — R-Truth def. Rob Gronkowski (c) via pinfall to win the title:
The 24/7 championship is one of the most unique title concepts in pro wrestling. In it the challenger can pin the champion anywhere, anytime. In today’s segment, Gronkowski was at his him, being filmed doing a dance for TikTik when his friend took off his jacket to reveal a referee shirt. And then he was quickly rolled up and pinned by R-Truth who was posing as a gardener.
Grade: C+
Nia Jax def. Kairi Sane via pinfall:
Jax overwhelmed Sane early, but a sleeperhold and tornado DDT brought her down twice. Jax then snuffed out Sane’s momentum by slamming her head into the ring apron twice and throwing her headfirst into the steel steps, busting Sane open. A leg drop was all it took to end the match. Raw women’s champion Asuka ran out after the match to prevent any further damage. Sane’s effort was admirable here.
Grade: C+
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair ended via referee stoppage after interference by Nia Jax:
In the absence of Becky Lynch, there is a new rivalry brewing between Asuka, Nia Jax and Charlotte Flair. In the penultimate fight card of today’s Monday Night Raw, Flair taunted Asuka during the match, yelling about the previous times she had beat the Empress of Tomorrow. The two women went at it with hard hits, and Asuka eventually bloodying Flair’s mouth. After a couple of high-flying moves from both the Superstars, the match was interrupted by Nia Jax. She walked to the entrance ramp with an Asuka mask and face paint to match. Jax laid out Asuka and threw the mask on her body before walking to the back. The bell rang before Jax and Asuka made contact, but it wasn’t made clear if there was a count-out or if the match was thrown out when Jax walked out. This was built to be a tremendous match and it feels like a robbery to not get a clean finish.
Grade: B+
Drew McIntyre (c) def. MVP via pinfall in a non-title match: Early in the night, Lana slapped MVP after he turned her suggestion he was just leeching off Bobby Lashley back on her, saying “that makes two of us.” Before the main event, Lana was interviewed backstage and pointed out that Lashley had asked her to not be ringside for his matches — but that he never said anything about MVP’s matches. She followed through on that plan, making her way to ringside after MVP and McIntyre were already in the ring. A bit of distraction by Lashley gave MVP the only break from a quick and consistent beating.
As McIntyre was about to attack MVP with the Claymore, Lashley pulled MVP from the ring. McIntyre then flew over the ropes and dived on both men, tossed MVP back inside and hit him with the Claymore to win by pinfall.
Grade: B-