WWE 2017: Enter The Matrix

[Skairipa]

Summerslam Results:

Pre Show:

The Miz and Miztourage def. The Hardy Boys and Jason Jordan

Neville def. Akira Tozawa (c) to become Cruiserweight Champion

The Usos def. The New Day (c) to become Smackdown Live Tag Team Champions

Main Show:

Baron Corbin def. John Cena

Naomi def. Natayla to retain the Smackdown Live Women's Championship

Big Cass def. Big Show, post match Big Cass got his hands on Enzo and beat him to a pulp, ending with kicking his skull into the ring post.

Randy Orton def. Rusev

Sasha Banks def. Alexa Bliss to become Raw Women's Champion

The Demon Finn Balor def. Bray Wyatt

Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins def. The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) to become Raw Tag Team Champions

AJ Styles def. Kevin Owens to retain the United States Championship

Shinsuke Nakamura def. Jinder Mahal via DQ, Jinder Mahal retains the WWE Championship

Braun Strowman def. Brock Lesnar, Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns to become the Universal Champion.

Important Notes Following Summerslam:

Backstage after her match, Natalya complained to Shane and Daniel Bryan about losing, saying Naomi attacked her before she was ready. She asked for a rematch and was told no. After being told no, she asked to be traded. It's being reported that she'll get her wish and will be heading to Raw. It's unknown who will be coming to Smackdown in return for her, but they are expected to show up on the next episode of Smackdown and it is expected to be a woman.

In a somewhat surprising move, another trade has taken place between Raw and Smackdown. This time sending Finn Balor to Smackdown in exchange for Dolph Ziggler. It seems these are the only two trades that have happened but there's no word if any other trade will happen down the road.

It was announced after Summerslam that Enzo Amore has been released from his WWE contract, due to creative not having anything for him and for reported backstage heat on him, which is why he was laid out by Big Cass after his match with Big Show. James Ellsworth also was released from his contract, as WWE felt "the joke had gotten old" with him.

The rumor mill is buzzing about a potential call up for Asuka, having lost her championship and undefeated streak at NXT Takeover Brooklyn III to Ember Moon, it seems that might have free'd up one of the most dominant women in history to make the jump to the main roster. However she broke her collar bone in the match the night before Summerslam, and will be out of action for 6-8 weeks.

In the final piece of news, due to low viewership, 205 Live will be ending, at least for the time being. The cruiserweight division will still continue as part of Raw, but without their own show. The thought is that the cruiserweights will also start competiting against the rest of the Raw roster, instantly adding nice depth to the Raw roster instead of only being stacked near the top of the card.

Pay-Per-View Schedule:

No Mercy - September 24th, 2017, Los Angeles, California

Hell In A Cell - October 8th, 2017, Detroit, Michigan

TLC Tables, Ladders and Chairs - October 22nd, 2017, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Survivor Series - November 19th, 2017, Houston, Texas

Clash of Champions - December 17th, 2017, Boston, Massachusetts

Royal Rumble - January 28th, 2018, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Elimination Chamber - February 25, 2018, Paradise, Nevada

Fastlane - March 11th, 2018, Columbus, Ohio

Wrestlemania 34 - April 8th, 2018, New Orleans, Louisiana

[Skairipa]

As Raw comes on the air live from the Barclay's Center, Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Booker T welcome everybody to the show and recap a couple events of Summerslam last night, including Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose winning the Tag Team Championships, Sasha Banks winning the Women's Championship and ending with the surprise of the night, Braun Strowman winning the Universal Championship after pinning Roman Reigns. As if on cue, BRRRAUNNNN sounds through the arena as the brand new Universal Champion walks out, championship resting on his shoulder and the fans give him a loud, warm welcome. Braun soaks in the cheers as he heads down to the ring, but as soon as he gets into the ring and grabs a mic, he gets interrupted by Paul Heyman.

After getting in the ring, Heyman congratulates Braun on defeating Roman Reigns, but says he's not the true Universal Champion because he didn't beat his beast Brock Lesnar and can't beat his beast Brock Lesnar. Braun chuckled in response to this, mentioning how he manhandled Brock Lesnar last night and he might not have pinned him, but he did stop him. Braun then promised whenever Brock comes back for his rematch, that he'll get destroyed again. Heyman ended the segment with promising Brock Lesnar would be back soon, and that he would be having his rematch in 4 weeks at No Mercy, where he will once again become the reigning, defending, but before he could finish what he was saying Braun grabbed him by the throat and told him he talks too much, before pushing him into the corner and letting go after some begging from Heyman, who scurried out of the ring quickly after being released from the monster's grasp.

As Braun was leaving the ring, the cameras cut to the announce table where the announcers hyped up a few matches for tonight, including the start of the Cruiserweight Championship Chase to see who would challenge for the title at No Mercy, The Miz against a mystery opponent, and the main event of the evening of Akira Tozawa challenging Neville for the Cruiserweight Championship in a 2 out of 3 falls match.

As we return from commercial, the cameras go backstage where The Miz storms into Kurt Angle's office and demands to know who's he facing tonight. Kurt however tells him no, so Miz tells him it better not be his loser son since he already beat him last night. He proceeds to insult Kurt as a father, a man and a GM, before Angle cuts him off and informs him that since he's so fired up tonight, he can defend the IC Title tonight against his mystery opponent. This makes Miz furious and he storms out with the Miztourage behind him, as the cameras cut back to the ring for our first match of the evening.

Match #1:
The Hardys vs. The Club

Even back and forth match here with The Club managing to control slightly more of the match. They wore Matt down for awhile before he got off a hot tag to Jeff, who cleaned house for a bit before the numbers game caught up with him and got him a Rocket Kick to the face from Karl Anderson which let The Club regain control and perform a few double team moves on Jeff to wear him down. The finish came around the eight minute mark when Matt hit the Twist of Fate on Anderson, but Gallows pulled Jeff off the ring apron before he could tag in, and knocked him out with a big boot to the face. Gallows got up onto the apron, which earned him a punch to the face from Matt, but the distraction allowed Anderson to roll up Matt and get the pin with his feet on the ropes.

Winners: The Club via pinfall (8:05)

We go backstage and see Titus O'Neil hyping up his client Akira Tozawa for tonight's main event. He asks him how his shoulder is, Akira simply says AH! and nods his head but Titus understands. Apollo Crews walks in and promises they'll have Tozawa's back tonight and be in his corner supporting him as the camera cuts away to the interview area.

In the interview area we see Renee Young standing as she welcomes her guests, the new tag champs Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. They say they're feeling good tonight after defeating The Bar last night and promise to do it again in four weeks at No Mercy. Renee asks if this means The Shield is officially back together, and after glancing at each other and chuckling, they say they don't know about that, but the two of them are back together and better than ever. The Bar suddenly walk in and congratulate them on their little reunion and not turning on each other last night, but promise at No Mercy to get their belts back, but before they can hit their catchphrase Ambrose cuts them off by challenging them to pick one to face him next week because he doesn't wanna wait until No Mercy to beat them up again. Sheamus tells him he's on and the two teams stare each other down for a minute before The Bar walks away.

Back in the arena, we have the announcers explaining the rules of the upcoming championship chase. The top five contenders have been decided on and will fight each week with the person being pinned or submitted being eliminated each round. Each match is one fall to a finish. and the winner of the tournament will fight for the Cruiserweight Championship at No Mercy against the winner of tonight's main event between Neville and Akira Tozawa.

Match #2:
Cruiserweight Championship Chase Round 1
Cedric Alexander vs The Brian Kendrick vs Mustafa Ali vs Rich Swann vs Drew Gulak

Fast paced, action packed match here as all five men try to continue on in the tournament. Each man had a chance to show off, hitting some big moves including at one point when Kendrick and Gulak fought onto the floor, and Cedric dived over the top rope and took them both out with a cross body. As the 3 of them got up, Mustafa dove from the top turnbuckle onto all three of them with a flipping dive which wiped them out again. As the four got up, they were all taken out with a suicide dive from Swann which left everybody down and the crowd chanting about this being awesome. Later in the match a big tower of doom took everybody but Mustafa out, which let him hit the 054 onto Kendrick for a close two count. The end of the match came when Swann hit his signature roundhouse kick on Cedric, but got rolled up quickly by Gulak who had a handful of trunks, and got the pin and the victory, eliminating the former Cruiserweight Champion from the tournament.

Winner: Drew Gulak (13:21)
Eliminated From The Chase: Rich Swann

The cameras cut back to the ring after a commercial break where Sasha Banks is in the ring with her newly won Women's Championship over her shoulder and a mic in hand. Sasha brags about beating Alexa Bliss and finally shutting her up by taking what she values the most and making her tap out. After a couple more words from Sasha, The Goddess's music hit and she came out saying she didn't tap out, she was reaching for the ropes and the stupid ref thought she was tapping. After a bit of arguing and Bliss promising to take back her championship, the newcomer to Raw, Natalya came out. Nattie promised that now that she was on Raw, she'd be the one to become champion because she's the best there was, the best there is, and the best their ever will be, which led to Sasha telling her to shut up and stop copying her Uncle Bret. The Women's Champion found herself in some trouble here though as the two women she argued with decided to join forces and beat her up, but luckily for her just as she was about to get jumped, Mickie James ran down to the ring!

Mickie stood next to Sasha daring them to make a move now that the numbers were even, but the two former Women's Champions thought better of it and left the ring, but before they could leave the arena however, the Raw GM Kurt Angle came out and announced a tag team match up next between the four women.

Match #3:
Alexa Bliss & Natalya vs Sasha Banks & Mickie James

Fairly standard tag match here as Sasha and Mickie took control early, keeping their opponents on their heels with fast paced action, including a stero suicide dive a couple minutes in. However later on in the match Bliss took control for her team after moving out of the way of a corner clothesline from James, and pushing her face into the turnbuckles. The finish came around the 8 minute mark when Sasha went for the Bank Statement on Natalya, who hung onto the ropes to avoid it, and dropped the boss with a discus clothesline as she reached her feet for the pin and the victory.

Winners: Alexa Bliss & Natalya (8:06)

Backstage, we see referees yelling at someone as Kurt Angle walks up, and sees Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas standing over Jason Jordan, who's laying in a broken table on the ground with a dented trash can on top of him. Angle yells at the Miztourage asking what the hell they did, as they walk away. Angle goes over to check on his son, as Miz walks up and looks down at Jordan, and shakes his head. He tells Angle it's a shame that happened, and that he guesses Jordan won't be able to be his mystery opponent later. Angle glares at Miz, and says that wasn't his opponent later and his match is still on for tonight, but now with Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel banned from ringside. Miz shoots a glare back at the GM and walks away in disgust as the medics come up to check on Jason Jordan and the cameras cut to the ring.

In the ring we see Heath Slater ready to compete with Rhyno hyping him up, as the music of Big Cass hits to loud boos from the fans.

Match #4:
Heath Slater w/ Rhyno vs Big Cass

One sided match here as Cass took it to Slater as soon as the bell rung, being extra aggressive as he pounded the former champion and hit him with a couple power moves. The end came shortly after the match began when Cass hit Slater with a big boot, followed by the Empire Elbow.

Winner: Big Cass (2:00)

After a commercial break we return to the backstage area where Neville is walking with the Cruiserweight Championship around his waist. He gets stopped by Renee Young, who asks him for his thoughts on his 2 out of 3 falls match with Akira Tozawa tonight, and he simply says Tozawa's win last week was a fluke as he proved at Summerslam, and promises Titus O'Neil can't lead him to the promise land, and to destroy him too if he gets in his way tonight before walking off.

We go back to the ring where The Miz finishes making his entrance, with only Maryse at ringside with him as Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel have been banned from ringside. Miz grabs a mic and says it doesn't matter who Kurt Angle has picked to face him tonight, because they won't be ending his title reign. He demands this mystery opponent, whoever it is, comes out. As if on cue the music of one fourth of the main event last night hits, and Roman Reigns walks out onto the stage! The Miz looks furious and slightly worried as Roman begins making his way down to the ring, ready for action here tonight.

Match #5:
Intercontinental Championship Match
Roman Reigns vs The Miz (c) w/ Maryse

Back and forth match here that was controlled more by Reigns. Miz tired every under handed tactic in the book to try and gain the advantage, including a thumb to the eye, an exposed turnbuckle, trying to walk out on the match and even trying to get Reigns counted out, but none of it was successful in retaining his championship. At one point Reigns took down Miz with 2 superman punches in a row, and was setting up for the Spear when Maryse grabbed his leg. Roman got annoyed quickly with that and left the ring, blocking a slap in the process and grabbed her wrist. As Maryse screamed in pain, Miz took out Reigns with a baseball slide dropkick. The finish came at the 12 minute mark when Roman blocked a Skull Crushing Finale by flipping Miz over his head, but Miz bailed from the ring upon landing. As Roman followed him out to the floor a few seconds later, Miz grabbed the ring bell and smashed him across the face with it for the DQ.

Winner via DQ: Roman Reigns (12:13)
Still IC Champion: The Miz

Backstage after a break, Bliss brags to Nia about her victory earlier, and says how Sasha got lucky to beat her and when she gets her rematch, she'll take back her championship. Nia reminds Bliss that she promised to give her a title shot down the road for watching her back and Bliss reminds Jax that she has to be champion to give out title shots. She tells Nia she got her a match with Sasha next week so Nia can soften her up for her, as the cameras go to a hallway backstage where Elias is walking.

Elias is tuning his guitar as he walks, and Charley Caruso walks up to him and asks him what's next for him after not having a match last night or tonight. Elias says he was going to perform tonight but these people don't deserve to hear him perform, but says next week he'll have a brand new song ready. The cameras then go to the ring for the main event of the evening.

Match #6:
2 Out Of 3 Falls Match For The Cruiserweight Championship
Akira Tozawa w/ Titus O'Neil and Apollo Crews vs Neville (c)

Back and forth action to start here as these bitter rivals went after each other with a variation of strikes right off the bat, starting things off a fast pace. At one point early in the match after getting sick of hearing O'Neil cheering on his client, Neville slid out of the ring and rammed the leader of Titus Worldwide head first into the steps. The first fall came at around the 5 minute mark, when Neville went for the Red Arrow, but Tozawa got his knees up to block it, and countered with a small package pin.

Winner of the first fall - Akira Tozawa (5:02)

Neville was in shock at getting caught by Tozawa again, who had a grin on his face as he stood up in the corner. Letting anger consume him, Neville charged him in the corner, but Tozawa sidestepped and grabbed a school boy pin but only managed a two count. A few minutes later after losing control of the match to Tozawa, Neville blocked a german suplex by landing on his feet and connecting with a nasty spin kick to the ribs of Tozawa to double him over, before dropping him with a superkick. With control of the match back in his favor, a couple minutes later Neville managed to lock the former champ into the Rings of Saturn, and score a submission, tying up the match at one fall a piece.

Winner of the second fall - Neville (13:23)

With the next fall deciding the victor and Tozawa still down, Neville glanced over at Titus, who was pounding on the mat trying to will his client on, but that was quickly stopped when Neville hit him with a baseball dropkick, followed by a suicide dive as he recovered. But as the champ got to his feet, Tozawa took him out with a diving crossbody, coming to the aid of his manager. The two proceeded to fight on the floor for awhile, each taking turns breaking the count depending on who was in control. Finally the brawl ended with Tozawa hitting a big roundhouse kick to the head of Neville! Tozawa rolled the champ into the ring, slid in and jumped onto him with a Senton! But to the surprise of the challenger and the crowd, Neville kicked out at the last possible moment! With the challenger not knowing what else to do, he climbed to the top turnbuckle, went for a diving Senton, but hit nothing but mat! The finish came about a minute later after Neville german suplexed Tozawa into the turnbuckles, superkicked him, and delivered a Red Arrow for the pin to retain his championship and end the feud with Tozawa once and for all.

Winner and STILL Cruiserweight Champion - Neville (20:19)

With the fans booing him and him soaking it in, Neville celebrated with his championship as Titus pulled his client out of the ring and helped him up the ramp as RAW went off the air.

[Yaz]

Nice main event. I'd definitely have watched that in real life.

[Skairipa]

Smackdown comes on the air and the announcers welcome everybody to the last day of the incredible 4 day stretch of WWE shows here in Brooklyn, followed by the music of Shane McMahon hitting. Shane comes down to the ring and welcomes everybody to Smackdown Live, and says tonight will see the Smackdown Live debut of Finn Balor in the main event as he teams with Shinsuke Nakamura to face Jinder Mahal and Baron Corbin. He also announces the return of the US Title Open Challenge after AJ Styles retained his championship at Summerslam, which causes the former champion Kevin Owens to storm out to the ring. Owens blames Shane for his loss and for screwing him over, and says nobody is getting a shot at the US Title before he gets a fair rematch. Shane admits he might have gone too far last night, but mentions Owens putting his hands on him first. The two have a staredown for a moment, before the champ himself, AJ Styles comes out onto the stage.

Styles says he's so sick of hearing Owens complain and tells Shane to give him the title match tonight so he can shut Owens's mouth for good. Shane tells AJ if that's what he wants then he can have it, and that the match will start right now since both of them are out here and dressed to compete. Owens demands that Shane leave ringside so he can have a fair rematch, and Shane agrees, but tells Owens that this will be his last chance to regain the US Championship so he better not blow it as Smackdown goes to commercial.

Match #1:
Kevin Owens vs AJ Styles (c)
United States Championship Match

Good back and forth match here as both guys gave it everything they had to try and walk out champion. At one point Owens had a very close near fall after a frog splash, but Styles managed to kick out. Styles fought back into things shortly after, hitting a brutal series of strikes to rattle the challenger, before dropping him with a Pele Kick. Around the 10 minute mark, Owens tried to powerbomb Styles through the announce table, but Styles avoided it by countering with a hurricanrana which launched the challenger into the table. Styles tossed him into the ring and slid in after him to avoid a countout. The finish came a minute or two later when Styles locked Owens into the Calf Crusher, and after a little struggle, Owens was forced to tap out.

Winner and STILL United States Champion: AJ Styles (12:34)

As Smackdown comes back from commercial, we see Sin Cara standing in the ring ready for action, when the lights go out in the arena....and a familiar piano tune hits causing the fans to cheer loudly just as Glorious Domination hits! Former NXT Champion Bobby Roode has arrived!

Match #2:
Sin Cara vs Bobby Roode

Squash match here as Sin Cara got in very little offense as Roode managed to control things. Roode won after a spinebuster and a Glorious DDT around the 3 minute mark.

Winner: Bobby Roode (3:00)

Backstage, Baron Corbin is in the interview area with Renee Young as she asks him about his victory at Summerslam against John Cena. Corbin brags saying how he beat John so bad that he didn't even show his face here tonight, and promises that Summerslam was only the beginning of his path of destruction he's going to bring to Smackdown Live. He says that Cena costing him his Money In The Bank briefcase lit a fire inside him, and now anybody who gets in his way is going to meet their end of days.

The cameras cut into the office of Daniel Bryan, as Tye Dillinger walks in. Bryan asks Tye what he can do for him and Tye says he has a request, he wants to join the tag division. He thinks it could change his luck since he hasn't had much success on his own since coming to Smackdown Live after Wrestlemania. Bryan says it's an interesting idea and tells Tye to start looking for a partner, but Tye says there's no need as he already found the "perfect" partner, as the returning Shelton Benjamin walks in to a pop from the crowd watching on the monitor. Tye and Shelton shake hands as Bryan tells them he likes this teaming, and tells them that next week they'll have their first tag team match to see how they do as a team.

As Smackdown comes back from commercial, the Women's Champion Naomi stands in the ring with a mic. She talks briefly about her victory over Natalya last night, and how she's been champion since Wrestlemania 33 when she won the title in her hometown of Orlando. She goes on to say how Smackdown has felt the glow and now she hears that a new woman has been traded to Smackdown and she's just as curious as everybody else who it is. She tells whoever the new addition is to come on out, and offers them a chance to face the champ and make a big impression in their first night here, and after a few moments the familiar music of Emma hits! Naomi looks a little surprised as Emma comes out, dressed to compete with a mic in hand. Emma says now that she's here, Smackdown Live is all about her, before sliding into the ring and popping Naomi in the mouth with a punch! A ref quickly runs down as Naomi gets to her feet and after getting each woman to go to a corner, calls for the bell.

Match #3:
Naomi vs Emma

Fast paced match here as Naomi was fired up after the cheap shot from Emma and took it to her early on with a flurry of kicks and punches, before diving onto the aussie as she rolled to the floor. While on the floor, Emma baited Naomi in, only to throw her head first into the steps as she came near which let Emma take control of the match. Emma proceeded to control the match for the next few minutes, working over the head of Naomi and scoring a couple near falls as she attempted to pin the champion. Naomi fought back and got in some of her signature offense, including a roundhouse kick and hurricanrana which left Emma in a daze on the mat. Naomi saw her opening and lined up for the Rear View, as Emma stumbled to her feet, but as Naomi came charging for her finisher, Emma sidestepped and grabbed a quick roll up pin with a handful of tights, unbeknownst to the ref as he counted the 3 count and gave Emma a nice start to her Smackdown Live career.

Winner: Emma (9:13)

Emma quickly bailed from the ring after the match, grinning from ear to ear after getting one over on the champ, who proceeded to argue with the ref about Emma's cheating. After getting nowhere with that Naomi looked back at Emma, who was now on the stage yelling to the auidence yelling about how it was all about her, as Naomi shook her head but suddenly she got taken down from behind, which caused a pop from the New York fans! What was going on!?

Peyton Royce and Billie Kay! The Iconic Duo have arrived and are beating down the Smackdown Women's Champion! Peyton and Billie are stomping away at Naomi as she tries to cover up without much luck. Emma sees what's going on in the ring and simply laughs before walking backstage, as Naomi manages to fight back a bit, kicking both of them away. Naomi stumbles up to her feet, but gets blasted with a running big boot from Billie, Shades of Kay! Naomi is down and out now as Peyton pulls her back to her feet, and drops her with a Gory Neckbreaker! Naomi is laid out as Billie and Peyton raise each others arms as they stand over her, celebrating their debut as Smackdown goes to commercial.

The cameras return to the backstage area as Finn Balor is getting ready for his match tonight. Renee Young walks up and asks him how he feels about being on Smackdown Live now, and he says he didn't expect to get traded, but he's ready for whatever the change brings. Renee asks him what his goals are, and he simply says he was the first ever Universal Champion, and was never given his rematch after he returned from injury, But now he wants to become WWE Champion. He says he's looking forward to facing Jinder Mahal tonight, so he can see what the big deal is with him and so he can beat him to stake his claim into deserving the next shot at him. Renee thanks him for his time as the cameras cut to the ring, where The Usos stand with their newly won Smackdown Tag Team Championships over their shoulders.

The Usos wait for their music to cut then talk about how last night they put the Smackdown tag division back on lockdown as they took back their titles, then hold them up. Jimmy says how it wasn't easy, and New Day gave them a good fight, but before he can continue the music of the former champs hits and out walks The New Day onto the stage. As they walk down to the ring, Woods says how The Usos are talking like they're done with them, but they aren't. Kofi says how they have a rematch baybeeee and when they cash in that rematch, they'll win because New Day rocks. As the trio get into the ring, Big E says they already know when they want that rematch, they want it next week. The Usos nod in approval and agree to the title match next week, but Jey says if New Day wanna interrupt them then how about one of them face him right now? New Day have a quick huddle, then Kofi agrees to face him.

Match #4:
Kofi Kingston w/ Big E & Xavier Woods vs Jey Uso w/ Jimmy Uso

Fast paced but short match here as Kofi and Jey started with exchanging roll up pins to try and catch each other off guard before Jey threw a superkick, but Kofi avoided it. The match lasted about 5 minutes and ended when chaos broke out at ringisde as Xavier Woods tried to distract Jey, leading to Jimmy pulling him off the apron and superkicking him before being tackled by Big E. With Jey distracted, Kofi waited for him to turn around then dropped him with Trouble In Paradise for the pin and the win.

Winner: Kofi Kingston (5:03)

As Smackdown comes back from commercial, Rusev is standing in the ring with a mic. After his music cuts he mentions how Randy Orton made him look like a joke at Summerslam, getting that fluke win over him so quick. Rusev says that he can't go back home to Bulgaria like that, and he demands a rematch with Orton tonight. After a few moments, Randy Orton's music hits and the Viper walks out onto the stage, and questions why he should face Rusev again considering how quick he beat him two nights ago. Rusev yells at him saying he got lucky and demands Orton get in the ring right now and face him. Orton says if that's what he really wants, he'll be happy to beat him again, then drops the mic and starts walking down the ramp.

Match #5:
Rusev vs Randy Orton

As soon as the bell rings, Rusev charges Orton looking for a Machka Kick, but Orton ducks out of the way and attempts an RKO with no luck as he gets shoved off by the brute. As Orton gets back up though, he gets dropped with a Machka Kick from the big blugarian, who falls right into the pin and gets the quick victory!

Winner: Rusev (0:25)

As Rusev quickly bailed from the ring and began celebrating at ringside, Randy Orton got to his feet and looked angry with how quick he got caught. The two men locked eyes, but nothing further happened as Orton simply glared at Rusev from the ring while Rusev backed up the ramp celebrating as Smackdown took a break.

As Smackdown came back from commercial, the competitors in tonight's main event tag team match made their way out for the final match of the evening.

Match #6:
Jinder Mahal & Baron Corbin w/ The Singh Brothers vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Finn Balor

A solid tag team main event match here as Jinder and Corbin worked well together to keep Nakamura isolated for most of the match after he tagged in early on. Around the 7 minute mark Nakamura fought back into the match, fighting off both Mahal and Corbin while trapped near their corner, taking them down with a series of strikes before giving Jinder a knee to the ribs and trying to get over to Balor, only to be stopped by Mahal grabbing his foot. However Nakamura hit an enziguri to knock the champion away, dove across the ring and made the hot tag to the Smackdown new comer, who came in on fire with a series of running forearms to the face of the champion. Around the 10 minute mark, Balor went to the top turnbuckle for the Coup de Grace, but was stopped by Baron Corbin crotching him up top. This led to Corbin entering the ring, and grabbing Balor by the throat, but before he could do anything Shinsuke Nakamura made the save, coming out of nowhere to deliver the Kinshasa to the face of Corbin, followed by one to Mahal before bailing from the ring to handle the Singh Brothers, as Balor recovered, and delivered the double stomp finisher right to the chest of the champion for the pin.

Winners: Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura (12:14)

[Skairipa]

As RAW comes on the air, the announcers welcome us to the show tonight live from Memphis, Tennessee. The announcers quickly go over a couple matches happening tonight including Dean Ambrose vs Sheamus, Round 2 of the Cruiserweight Championship Chase and Nia Jax vs RAW Women's Champion Sasha Banks. Suddenly the music of the GM hits and Kurt Angle comes out and heads down to the ring.

After the music cuts, Angle welcomes all the fans in attendance to Monday Night Raw and confirms that after talking to Paul Heyman last week, that at No Mercy, Brock Lesnar will return to have his rematch for the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman. Before he can continue talking, the music of The Miz cuts him off and the IC Champ walks out on stage, flanked by Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel and Maryse. The Miz says nobody cares about the Universal Championship or who's holding it, because the most important championship right now is the IC Championship, because it's held by him. He starts to brag about defeating Roman Reigns last week, when he gets cut off by Kurt Angle who reminds him that he lost by DQ. Miz says all that matters is he's still the champion and Angle says due to his actions last week, The Miz will give Roman Reigns a rematch at No Mercy. Miz is furious about this but Angle says he isn't done there, because next week The Miz will face his son Jason Jordan and if The Miz loses, Jason Jordan will also be in the match. Miz starts ranting and starts heading down to the ring, but Kurt Angle says he almost forgot to tell Miz about tonight's main event, which features Miz.

This makes Miz stop walking as he reaches the bottom of the ramp and he asks who he's facing, and Angle says he's glad Miz asked....and the music of the Universal Champion Braun Strowman hits! The Miz slowly turns around in horror, as Braun Strowman strolls out onto the ramp with a big smile on his face. Braun starts making his way down the ramp, but Miz and Maryse take off running, leaving Bo and Curtis behind as they try to stop Braun, but he simply runs them over! Braun raises his arms and lets out a roar as Miz stands at the top of the arena looking terrified and Raw goes to commercial.

Match #1:
Cruiserweight Championship Chase Round 2
Cedric Alexander vs The Brian Kendrick vs Mustafa Ali vs Drew Gulak

Fast paced match here as all four cruiserweights battled it out hoping to keep their championship dreams alive. Around the 5 minute mark Cedric and Kendrick hit stereo superplexes on Mustafa Ali and Drew Gulak, before popping up and brawling with each other to the floor, which led to Kendrick throwing Alexander into the ring post, before throwing him into the time keepers area, leaving him down and out on the floor for the time being. Around the 10 minute mark, Mustafa Ali hit the 054 on Drew Gulak, only for Brian Kendrick to pull Ali to his feet, throw him into the corner face first, and hit him with The Kendrick which made him land onto Gulak! Kendrick was about to go for the pin, when Cedric Alexander springboarded into the ring taking him down with a forearm smash to the face! As Cedric was loading up for the Lumbar Check, a masked man wearing a suit slid into the ring behind him and took him out with a low blow! The fans were in shock as Cedric crumbled to the mat, and Kendrick stumbled to his feet and the masked man revealed himself as Jack Gallagher! The fans were in shock as was Brian Kendrick, as Jack offered him a handshake and Kendrick slowly took it and a devious grin spread across his face as he realized he had a new ally. Alexander slowly stumbled back to his feet, but before he could fully get up he was pulled to his feet by Gallagher, who hit him with a nasty headbutt! Alexander stumbled backwards, and Kendrick grabbed a school boy pin on him, as the ref counted the pin!

Winner: The Brian Kendrick (12:58)
Eliminated From The Chase: Cedric Alexander

As Raw returns from commercial, the cameras go backstage to where Samoa Joe stands, as Renee Young approaches him. She asks him what's next for him after his loss at Summerslam and he says he's still setting his sights on the Universal Championship and wants to face Braun or Brock no matter who wins at No Mercy. Renee asks him what he'll do in the meantime and he simply says he's waiting for the right opportunity to strike, and that this is two weeks now he wasn't given a match. He promises next week that he's going to choke someone out.

Match #2:
The Club vs The Hardys

Rematch from last week here after The Club stole a victory by cheating and this one was fast paced and broke down into more of a fight than a match quickly. Around the 4 minute mark, Jeff Hardy was trying to fight off Gallows and Anderson, but the numbers game caught up with him and The Club took him down and started stomping the hell out of him, before Matt came back in from being down on the floor and tackled Gallows, leading to Anderson jumping on top of him. The ref threw the match out around the 5 minute mark but that didn't stop the two teams from fighting. Gallows and Anderson ended up getting the better of Matt and tossing him out of the ring, just as Jeff got up right into a Rocket Kick from Anderson!

With both Hardys down for the moment, Gallows bailed from the ring, kicking Matt in the face in the process as he walked over to the time keepers area and grabbed two chairs, throwing one to Anderson in the ring as he took the other one, and smashed Matt over the back as he tried to get up! Jeff stumbled to his feet in the ring and Anderson tried to hit him over the head with the chair, but Jeff caught the chair! Jeff yanked the chair away from Anderson and hit him in the ribs with it to the delight of the fans! Jeff tossed the chair down, threw his shirt off and went for a Twist of Fate onto the chair, but got blasted with a big boot from Gallows! Things ended shortly after as The Club hit a Magic Killer onto one of the chairs on Jeff, before wrapping a chair around his ankle as Anderson went to the top rope, and jumped off crushing the ankle of Jeff in the chair! Refs quickly pushed The Club away from Jeff, who was rolling around the mat in pain while Gallows and Anderson shared a too sweet, as Matt got up and slid into the ring, causing them to bail as he stared them down. Raw went to commercial with Jeff being helped out of the ring and to the back by a referee and Matt.

Match Ends In A No Contest (5:02)

Neville is backstage with a camera on him as he says he's been watching the championship chase closely, but knows it doesn't matter who wins because nobody can touch the King of the Cruiserweights. He says he has vanquished Akira Tozawa once and for all, and next week he's issuing a challenge to the false prophet known as Titus O'Neil, who dared get in his way multiple times last week, to face him in the ring. The cameras then cut to the ring for the next match.

Match #3:
Dean Ambrose w/ Seth Rollins vs Sheamus w/ Cesaro

Solid match here as Ambrose and Sheamus battled it out with the match having more brawling and striking than technical wrestling. Cesaro got involved a couple different times, and after the 2nd time Ambrose dove onto him on the floor and started pounding on him until Sheamus grabbed him by the shirt, and threw him into the steps! Sheamus took control from there, managing to get a few of his signature moves once getting Ambrose back into the ring, including White Noise for a close two count. Around the 8 minute mark, Sheamus went for the Brouge Kick, but Ambrose ducked it and kneed Sheamus in the back, sending him face first into the turnbuckles! Ambrose walked over, but Cesaro grabbed his foot from the floor sensing his partner was in danger, but suddenly Seth Rollins came flying in off the apron, taking out the Swiss Superman with a diving knee strike! Ambrose watched the fight on the outside for a moment, and that was enough for Sheamus to hit him with a clubbing blow to the back! Sheamus dragged Ambrose to the middle of the ring, but suddenly Ambrose pushed the irishmen off him, and dropped him with a quick Dirty Deeds for the pin!

Winner: Dean Ambrose (9:48)

The cameras now go to the ring where Elias sits on a stool with his guitar. He does his usual speech before he performs introducing himself and telling everyone to silence their cell phones and shut their mouths before beginning to perform his song about Memphis and how much he hates it here. He stops when he's getting booed loudly and tells them he'll sit here all day if he has to, which leads to more boos from the fans. After waiting a minute or so for them to quiet down he begins to perform again, but suddenly he stops as something hits him in the back of the head and he falls out of his seat and face first onto the mat! The fans are surprised and start cheering...until the lights come on to reveal Dolph Ziggler standing over the fallen Elias with a big grin on his face! Dolph kicks the stool over and throws it out of the ring as Elias pulls himself to his feet with the ropes...but he turns around right into a Superkick from The Show Off!

Elias goes down again as Dolph picks up his guitar and looks at it for a minute, before shaking his head and smashing it over the back of Elias as he begins to recover! The fans aren't sure how to react as Dolph throws down the broken pieces of guitar and exits the ring through the ropes, walking backwards up the ramp while shaking his head in disgust as Raw takes a break.

As RAW comes back from commercial, the cameras go to the ring where Rhyno stands ready to compete with Heath Slater hyping him up for the match, and the music of Big Cass hits as he faces the other member of the team that are former Smackdown Tag Team Champions.

Match #4:
Rhyno w/ Heath Slater vs Big Cass

One sided match here as Rhyno tried to take the fight to Cass early, but got fought off and taken out with a Big Boot! Cass proceeded to hit a couple big slams on Rhyno, and taunted Slater on the floor, before going for an Empire Elbow on Rhyno only for him to roll out of the way! The finish came a minute later when Rhyno had the Gore get countered with East River Crossing from the big man, followed by an Empire Elbow for the pin.

Winner: Big Cass (3:00)

A vignette plays hyping the upcoming debut of a female superstar while the song Killa Queen plays in the background, at the end it says "The Killer Queen: Madison Rayne. Coming Soon To RAW!" After the vignette ends, the cameras go into the arena where Alexa Bliss has just come out onto the stage, and walks over to the commentary table, joining commentary for the next match of the evening.

Match #5:
Nia Jax vs Sasha Banks

Good back and forth match here as Nia and Sasha battled it out. The champ was dominated for a majority of the match by the bigger, stronger Nia Jax but managed to fight back with quick strikes, some signature offense and a couple dives outside the ring. Around the 6 minute mark Sasha locked in the Bank Statement but Nia was able to escape it, get up to her feet with Sasha keeping the crossface on her, and slam her down onto her back. The match came to an end around the 8 minute mark as Sasha dove onto Nia on the floor, and knocked her backwards onto the ramp. With Nia stumbling, Sasha charged her and hit her with a tornado DDT onto the ramp to take her down and ultimately, Nia wasn't able to recover in time to get back into the ring before the count of 10.

Winner by Countout: Sasha Banks (8:44)

Post Match, Bliss cut off Sasha celebrating getting one over on Jax by standing on the announce table and telling Sasha that next week, her little title reign comes to an end because she's getting her rematch for the championship. With Sasha yelling back at her to come down to the ring and fight her now, Nia Jax slid into the ring behind the champ, lifted her up onto her shoulders and hit her with a big Samoan Drop! Bliss simply laughed as Nia followed it up with a splash onto The Boss before bailing from the ring as The Boss was left laying. Before Raw went to commercial the announcers hyped up the upcoming main event of champion vs champion with The Miz taking on Braun Strowman.

As we return from commercial we see Kurt Angle on the phone in his office, talking about the great show they've had tonight, when suddenly TJP walks in and Angle hangs up the phone. Angle asks TJP what he can do for him and TJP tells him he's sick of the Cruiserweight Division and wants a new challenge, he wants a shot at the Intercontinental Championship. Angle informs him that that's not possible right now but TJP asks if it would be possible if he was his son, since Jason Jordan has a chance to get a shot next week for doing nothing. Angle ends up agreeing to change the match next week, instead of Jason Jordan vs The Miz it'll be Jason Jordan vs TJP with the winner fighting Roman Reigns and The Miz at No Mercy. TJP seems satisfied as he nods in approval and leaves the office, as the cameras go to the ring for the main event of the evening.

Match #6:
The Miz w/ The Miztourage vs Braun Strowman

Not the best match here as Braun easily overpowered Miz, but Miz hung in the match thanks to underhanded tactics as well as Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel pulling him out of danger once and providing multiple distractions. After the latest distraction, Braun grabbed a mic and told Curtis and Bo if they wanna keep getting involved in his match then they can get in the ring and get these hands, which led to them backing down and begging Braun to show mercy. As Braun got back into the ring, he was hit with a low dropkick to the knee which set up the It Kicks for The Miz, but he only managed a one count after them. The finish came around the 8 minute mark when Braun left the ring to deliver a double chokeslam to Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas, which left them laying and led to Maryse fleeing in terror, as Braun got back in the ring Miz tried to hit the Skull Crushing Finale, but Braun avoided it, picked up the IC Champ and hit him with a Running Powerslam for the pin.

Winner: Braun Strowman (8:31)

Post Match Braun celebrates his victory as Bo and Curtis quickly pull Miz out of the ring after recovering from their earlier beating. While the three of them went to leave up the ramp, Roman Reigns came out of nowhere and hit a massive Spear on The Miz! The fans booed loudly as Bo and Curtis took off and Roman picked up the IC Championship from the ramp, and held it up over his head as RAW came to a close.

[Skairipa]

Smackdown Live comes on the air in Little Rock and the fans are cheering with excitement, until they see the Singh Brothers walk out onto the stage, and do their usual introduction for WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. The trio come down to the ring and Jinder talks about how last week he just didn't expect to be facing Finn Balor which is why he lost, and even blames the loss on The Singh Brothers. He says he's still WWE Champion, but before he can continue he's cut off by the music of the first ever Universal Champion, Finn Balor. Balor says last week he pinned Jinder and now he wants a shot at the championship.

As Balor reaches the bottom of the ramp, he gets cut off by Shinsuke Nakamura, who walks out onto the stage and says he wants a rematch with Jinder Mahal. Jinder chimes in and says Finn hasn't earned anything and that Shinsuke has had two shots, he doesn't deserve a third. Before the conversation can continue, General Manager Daniel Bryan walks out onto the stage, and says Jinder has yet to beat Shinsuke without cheating, and Finn Balor pinned Jinder last week, so in tonight's main event it'll be Finn Balor against Shinsuke Nakamura, with the winner facing Jinder Mahal for the championship at Hell In A Cell! The fans cheer loudly for this announcement while Jinder and the Singhs are furious, as Smackdown goes to commercial with Nakamura and Balor staring each other down.

As Smackdown returns from commercial, AJ Styles stands in the ring dressed to compete with a mic in hand. He says now he's finally done dealing with Kevin Owens, the US Open Challenge is officially back open! He lays down the challenge for anybody who wants a shot to step up and come out right now...and after a moment or two, the music of Chad Gable hits much to the delight of the fans! AJ Styles has a grin on his face as he nods in approval and it seems we have ourselves a title match right now!

Match #1:
United States Championship Match
Chad Gable vs AJ Styles (c)

Good back and forth match here as Gable got a big chance to shine, going toe to toe with the Phenomenal One every step of the way. At one point Gable hit multiple different suplex varations on Styles, leaving the champ rocked as he rolled to the floor to take a breather, which led to Gable diving over the top rope to take him out! As the match continued, Gable went for Chaos Theory on Styles, but Styles managed an amazing counter and landed on his feet as Gable went for the german suplex! The fans popped loudly for that as Gable turned around into a Pele Kick for a close two! The finish came around the 12 minute mark as Styles loaded up the Styles Clash, but Gable slipped out into an ankle lock! Just as it looked like Gable might pull off the upset however, Baron Corbin came out of nowhere and hit Gable with a big boot to the face!

Winner via DQ: Chad Gable
Still US Champion: AJ Styles

Post match, The fans booed loudly as Corbin laughed at ruining the match for Gable, before laying out both men with the End of Days. With the champion and challenger both down, Corbin picked up the US Title and held it up over his head much to the displeasure of the fans as Smackdown Live went to commercial.

As Smackdown comes back from commercial, Emma is standing in the office of Daniel Bryan, who tells her he doesn't appreciate her having the Iconic Duo attack Naomi last week. Emma denies having anything to do with their attack, and demands a title match for pinning Naomi last week. Bryan reminds her she cheated to win, but tells her she did win so next week she'll be in a number one contenders match against Becky Lynch.

The camera cuts to the interview area where Carmella moonwalks up to Renee Young with her Money In The Bank Briefcase in hand. Before Renee can even ask a question, Carmella mentions feeling so much better since ditching that dead weight with no chin, leading to Renee asking her what made her ditch James Ellsworth. Carmella asks Renee why she would wanna keep that thing around her? She's the most fabulous woman in the WWE and has no use for that ugly creature. Renee then asks her what's next for her, and she says that Renee will find out when everybody else finds out, but says she'll be keeping her on Naomi, because she's waiting for the right time to cash in "Frankie" her briefcase.

The cameras then go to the ring as Mike and Maria Kanellis are in the ring, Maria taking off his jacket as Glorious Domination hits, and the fans pop for the newcomer coming out for a match.

Match #2:
Mike Kanellis w/ Maria Kanellis vs Bobby Roode

Quick match here as Mike Kanellis got the jump on Roode early, charging him as soon as the bell rang and pounding on him and beating him down into the corner. Kanellis got pulled away by the referee, and as Roode got back up and waited for Kanellis to come back at him and hit him with a spinebuster! As Kanellis got back to his feet, he was hit with a Glorious DDT for the pin and the win.

Winner: Bobby Roode (2:30)

Smackdown returns from commercial to The Ascension standing in the ring, as the music of Tye Dillinger hits and it appears we're going to get a test of the new team on the scene here next.

Match #3:
The Ascension vs Tye Dillinger & Shelton Benjamin

A bit of a rough go for the new team early on here as a miscommunication over who'd start the match led to the Ascension taking control and isolating Dillinger. The first couple minutes had a few double teams by Ascension as they tried to ware down the Perfect 10, but he managed to fight them off as they attempted one too many double team moves, and knock Viktor off the ring apron and kick Konnor away, before charging out of the corner with a bulldog. The fans began getting fired up with the 10 chants as Tye rallied with a few clotheslines before making a tag to Benjamin. The finish came around the 5 minute mark when Tye and Shelton hit a neckbreaker/diving crossbody combination for the win as Shelton pinned Viktor.

Winners: Tye Dillinger & Shelton Benjamin (5:12)

As Smackdown comes back from commercial, Aiden English is in the ring dressed in a suit as a red carpet covers the ring, a pedestal is set up in the middle and a strange older looking man is standing in the ring. Aiden English welcomes everybody to the greatest celebration WWE has ever seen, to celebrate Rusev becoming a hero to his people by beating Randy Orton in a matter of seconds last week. Rusev comes out to a mixed reaction from the fans, dressed in a suit himself as Aiden sings him to the ring with the Bulgarian national anthem. After a celebration that including Rusev getting the key to the city of his hometown, Rusev bragging about destroying the legend of the legend killer and becoming the new apex predator, and the mayor of Plovdiv proclaiming this day to be Rusev Day, to cheers from the fans, the celebration was ruined by Randy Orton coming out of nowhere to hit an RKO on Aiden English! Rusev tried to stop the viper, jumping on him and pounding him into the corner before getting the mayor out of the ring, he turned around right into an RKO of his own! Orton kicked over the pedestal in the ring before posing to celebrate as Smackdown took a break.

Match #4:
Becky Lynch vs Peyton Royce w/ Billie Kay

At the start of the match Peyton quickly took control after Billie distracted Becky. The match took on a slow pace from there as Peyton used rest holds to try and keep control of Lynch, with Lynch managing to escape them but getting put back down each time. Around the 3 and a half minute mark, Lynch took control with a couple quick hip tosses, and sent Royce to the floor with a big running clothesline that knocked her over the ropes! Around the 7 minute mark, Becky hit an exploder suplex on Peyton and grabbed the Disarm-her, but Billie jumped onto the ring apron to distract the ref as Peyton was about to tap out, causing Becky to break the hold, as Naomi ran down the ramp and ended up pulling Billie off the ring apron and taking her out with a hurricanrana! Naomi began pounding on Billie as Peyton got to her feet, and pushed the Lass Kicker into the ref, knocking him down! Peyton spun Becky around and went for the Widows Peak...but Becky slipped out of it! As both women got back to their feet, Emma's music hit causing Becky and Naomi both to turn their focus to the stage, which let The Iconic Duo recover, and Billie to shove Naomi into the steps and Peyton to roll up Becky for the pin as the music cut and the ref recovered, to count the pin!

Winner: Peyton Royce (9:03)

As Smackdown comes back from commercial, the cameras go backstage to AJ Styles, who's sitting on a crate backstage rubbing his neck as Baron Corbin walks up with a big smug grin on his face. AJ jumps up and takes a defensive stance, but Corbin tells him to relax, he just came to tell him that next week that US Title Open Challenge is only open to one person, him. Styles picks up his championship off the crate and tells Corbin he's happy to kick his ass next week after what Corbin did earlier to him. Corbin walks away chuckling, brushing past Styles as he does as the camera cuts to the ring for the first of two main events of the evening.

Match #5:
Smackdown Live Tag Team Title Match
New Day vs The Usos (c)

Another good match between the two teams here with Xavier and Kofi representing New Day here as their speed lineup. A lot of fast paced action including The Usos superkicking Kofi through the ropes and to the floor, only for Woods to dump them over the top rope, and dive onto both of them while Kofi held them up. Around the 10 minute mark, Kofi hit Trouble In Paradise on Jey, and Woods jumped from half way across the ring for an elbow drop, but got kicked out of the air by Jimmy with a Superkick! Jimmy draped Jey over the top of him and dove onto Kofi on the floor for a close 2 count. The finish came around the 13 minute mark as both teams were brawling on the floor, and ended up getting counted out.

Match Ends In A Draw (13:02)
Still Smackdown Live Tag Team Champions - The Usos

Match #6:
WWE Championship #1 Contenders Match
Finn Balor vs Shinsuke Nakamura

Very good, fast paced back and forth match here as both men gave it their all trying to punch their ticket to the main event of Hell In A Cell. Shinsuke used his striking skills to keep Balor rocking for a good portion of the match, while Balor used his fast paced offense to fight back. Around the 8 minute mark, Balor went for the Coup De Grace, but Nakamura was able to roll out of the way, causing Balor to jam his ankle in the process! With Balor hurting, Nakamura came running and took him out with a Kinshasa, but Balor was able to roll out of the ring after impact to avoid being pinned! The finish came a couple minutes later when both men were feeling a little exhausted after beating the hell out of each other, and just as Balor connected with the Coup De Grace, The Singh Brothers slid into the ring and began attacking both men! The fans started booing as the ref called for the bell while Jinder slid into the ring, and smashed Balor in the face with the championship! The Singh Brothers then grabbed Nakamura and held him up as he tried to fight them off, but Mahal hit him across the face with the championship as well!

Match Ends In A No Contest (10:41)

Post match, The fans were booing loudly as Jinder Mahal stood tall over both of his potential challengers with the WWE Championship held proudly over his head. Suddenly however Shane McMahon's music hit much to the approval of the fans, as he walked out shaking his head with a mic in hand. Shane told Jinder that's not how things work around here and since he didn't wanna let the match finish, there's only one solution...at Hell In A Cell Jinder Mahal will defend the WWE Championship against both Finn Balor AND Shinsuke Nakamura....inside the Hell In A Cell! The fans roared in approval of this as Jinder and The Singhs looked furious and started yelling at Shane, who simply shrugged as Smackdown Live comes to an end.