WWE Monday Night Raw Results And Review (8/17): Last Show Before ‘SummerSlam,’ Shawn Michaels Appears, And More

Monday Night Raw

This edition of Monday Night Raw took place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando Florida with PC trainees in attendance. It was the final Raw before SummerSlam which featured the return of Rey Mysterio and an appearance by 2 time WWE Hall Of Fame Shawn Michaels as he confronted Randy Orton about the attack on Ric Flair last week.

Drew McIntyre came down to the ring in the opening of the show. Drew said that what Randy did to Ric Flair was unforgivable. He calls Randy pure evil and that at SummerSlam he is facing a fire breathing Scottish dragon. As Drew was saying that he can’t wait till SummerSlam, a whole bunch of camera cuts and graphics were showing. Footage was shown in the one of the production trucks of Retribution destroying anything inside it.

Everyone in the locker room were talking about it. Drew McIntyre hyped up everyone to stomp Retribution out. Seth Rollins interrupted saying that he is the leader. He said he was the first person that has taught Drew how to be a champion like how he taught Dominic a lesson last week. Cedric Alexander and Ricochet mock Seth, teasing that Rey might be here. Seth tells Drew that he needs to get his priority straight or else he will lose the title at SummerSlam. Drew was about to go after Seth until they restrain Drew.

The Hurt Business came to the ring saying that they are open for business. MVP said Retribution are not tough compared to any members of The Hurt Business. MVP claimed that Retribution costed him the U.S. title with the lights flickering and Apollo is a part of it. Apollo interrupted, saying it is low for MVP to accuse him of being a part of Retribution. MVP claimed that he sees fear in Apollo that he will lose the United States title so that he’ll go back to catering. Apollo purposed that if Shelton can’t beat him in their match, Lashley and Shelton will be banned from ringside at SummerSlam. MVP accepted and Shelton went after Apollo. Apollo landed a right hand to Shelton and went into the ring to start the match.

Apollo Crews Defeated Shelton Benjamin

After the match, The Hurt Business beat down Apollo. Cedric, Ricochet and Mustafa Ali came out for the save. R Truth was running away from the ninjas as Apollo’s group were leaving. Shelton landed a boot to Truth and pinned him to regain the 24/7 title. MVP went on the mic to say they will not be disrespected by anyone. MVP challenged Apollo to a 6 man tag elimination match for later on tonight.

Review: This was okay. Not much really happened except it was another distraction/roll up finish which is really common these days.

Angel Garza was talking to Demi Burnett from the Bachelor. He gave her a rose but was then interrupted by Ivar. Ivar purposed that she be is plus one for Raw Underground and gave her a turkey leg. He mentioned Montez being poisoned. She asked if Garza did poison Montez and he said no. Garza said Montez was trying to get out of their match at SummerSlam but Ivar won’t pretend to get out of their match later tonight. Garza threw the turkey leg down and Ivar picked up saying that he needs to put some respect on the name. He picks up the leg to give back to Burnett.

Angel Garza Defeated Ivar

Angelo Dawkins showed up on the screen with Demi after the match. Demi congratulated him on the win. Garza asked what was going on. She said she can’t wait to see the match at SummerSlam. Angelo said they are about to find out what kind of squad Garza has been rolling with. Samoa Joe said he knows about the footage and can’t wait to show it. Zelina asked what the footage is. Joe said that WWE has increased its security cameras since Retribution and they would be interested in what they found on the footage. Zelina and Andrade look concerned as they left.

Review: Pretty good match. It did what it needed to do to give Garza and Andrade momentum.

Garza confronted Demi and Angelo backstage. Garza told her that he better delete Angelo’s number. Angelo said he only wanted her number to show the video. Andrade and Zelina yelled at Angelo. Charly Caruso asked Angelo what was on the video. He signaled to roll the footage. The footage showed Zelina pouring something into Montez Ford’s cup. Caruso asked Zelina if she’s responsible and said the footage is messed with. She accused Charly of being behind this because she’s jealous of Garza hitting on Demi. Angelo said that his partner Montez wants the smoke. Montez appeared, him and Angelo brawled with Garza and Andrade. Garza and Andrade retreated.

Natalya Defeated Mickie James By Count out

Mickie attacked Lana after the match. Seth Rollins was asking Joe during the match how he knows that Rey Mysterio is here. Seth said if Rey or Dominic has the audacity to appear on his show it will be the last mistake they ever make.

Review: The match was okay until it was overshadowed by Seth Rollins and Samoa Joe with their back and forth. I don’t understand why they would have Mickie come back to lose and to Natalya who hasn’t done anything as of late.

Before their match, Bayley and Sasha cut a promo in the ring, saying there is no way that Asuka will beat both of them at SummerSlam. Bayley volunteered to face Asuka first so that Sasha could make her tap out easily. They say they will go out to celebrate when they win. They say they don’t care who will challenge them for the tag titles because they will win like they always do. Shayna Baszler came out, saying no matter who walks out with the Raw Women’s title, she has next. Asuka came out, saying that Shayna has to fight with her before she fights against her when she wins the Women’s title back.

During the match, Nia Jax attacked Shayna Baszler outside. Nia and Shayna went at it by ringside, leaving Asuka by herself until she came back later on.

Shayna Baszler And Asuka Defeated Bayley And Sasha Banks

Review: Good match. I’m confused though with Baszler tapping out Bayley and not Sasha so that she can be a possible Raw Women’s title contender rather than challenging for the SmackDown title. I think the finish should’ve been the other way around.

Apollo Crews confronted Cedric, Ricochet and Ali backstage, thanking them for having his back. Apollo chose Ali and Ricochet as his partners in the tag match. Cedric asked why he didn’t get chosen and Apollo said that he needed some rest after getting the full nelson. Cedric said he was fine but ultimately said that it was all good.

Shawn Michaels confronted Drew McIntyre backstage saying that Ric meant the world to everybody but Randy is going to use that rage. Shawn tells him that he needs to re focus for SummerSlam. Drew said he appreciates that and Shawn was a huge part of bringing him back to WWE. Drew said he didn’t want to let Shawn down and Shawn said he could never let him down. Shawn gave him a pep talk to show Drew that he is the Scottish Psychopath and tells Drew to give him his space when he goes out to face Randy.

The Iconics confronted Ruby and Liv. Billie said her shoulder is banged up so Peyton will take her place in the match. They call Liv trash and Ruby gets right up in their face. Liv held her back and they head to the ring for their match. Shayna Baszler was seen talking with Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke.

Peyton Royce Defeated Ruby Riot

Review: This was okay. This rivalry is kind of getting stale with Ruby and Liv just having repeated matches with them and The Iconics keep insulting them.

Raw Underground is shown with Erik from the Viking Raiders knocking out his opponent. Shane asked Dolph what his performance was and he thinks it was a 4/10. Erik challenges him to a fight. Dolph accepted. Dolph made Erik pass out from the sleeper hold and dived onto the people surrounding the ring after Ivar pounced him there.

Rey Mysterio and Dominik came out to the ring. Rey said he has felt pain since Extreme Rules because of what he did to his eye and what he did to Dominik last week. He said he has never felt a rage like he felt before. Rey said he might never recover but nothing will stop him from protecting his son. Rey claimed he will be in Dominik’s corner at SummerSlam to watch him destroy Seth. Dominik said he knew what he was in for when he signed the WWE contract and he will be ready. Rey said he is proud of him that he will defend the family name. Seth and Murphy appeared on the screen, saying that it has always been about Rey and asked what kind of father is he. Seth said it all could’ve been prevented if he accepted his role in the greater good. Seth said the Mysterio family will be a sacrifice. Rey dared Seth to get in the ring and face him. Seth told Rey to not move an inch. Seth and Murphy came down to the ring as Rey distracts them outside the ring. Dominik grabbed kendo sticks from the timekeepers area and strikes Seth and Murphy with them. They attempted to tie Seth up on the ropes but Murphy came to his aid. Seth and Murphy retreated from them.

MVP confronted Cedric Alexander backstage saying that Cedric shouldn’t be left backstage here while his friends go out to wrestle. Cedric said Apollo is looking out for his best interest. MVP said that Apollo probably thought that he was the weakest link. He tells Cedric that his offer for Cedric still stands as he walked away.

Shane McMahon brought back Raw Underground with Riddick Moss taking on Arturo Ruas. Shane stopped the fight as they knocked out people who were around ringside pushing them.

After Shelton Benjamin was eliminated by Apollo Crews during the 6 man elimination tag, Cedric Alexander rolled up Shelton for the pin to win the 24/7 title.

The Hurt Business Defeated Apollo Crews, MVP and Shelton Benjamin In A 6 Man Tag Elimination Match

Review: Good match. It was definitely the right call for Lashley to be as dominant in the match as Apollo got some shine with eliminating Shelton and MVP. It’s a shame Ali hasn’t really been doing too much since he returned but it is what it is.

Cedric Alexander Defeated Akira Tozawa To Retain The 24/7 Championship

Shelton Benjamin came out of nowhere with the Pay Dirt on Cedric after the match. He pins Cedric to regain the 24/7 title.

Review: Good showcase for Cedric. The match overall was what it was. Shelton regaining the title sets up a possibility for Cedric joining The Hurt Business.

Marina Shafir competed in Raw Underground as she made her opponent tap out with a triangle choke. Nia Jax attacked her afterwards. She also knocked Duke out who was outside the ring. Shayna Baszler stepped up to fight her until Nia left when the bell rang.

Montez Ford Defeated Andrade

Review: Good match. The only thing is that of course they had to do the roll up finish that they love to do. They should’ve had Ford just pin up regularly.

Shawn Michaels came down to the ring. He recalled what Ric said to Randy last week about when he was in intensive care. He said if it wasn’t for Ric Flair there would be no Edge, Shawn Michaels, Batista, Christian or Big Show. Shawn said that Randy will get either a Sweet Chin Music or a Claymore Kick and he will see it coming. Shawn’s music hit and was about to leave the ring until Randy came from behind with an RKO on him. Randy punted Shawn in the skull and escaped as Drew ran down to the ring. Randy came from behind Drew but Drew attacked him all over ringside. Drew went to check on Shawn but then Orton nailed Drew with the RKO. The show ended with Drew and Shawn laid out in the ring as Randy walked away.

Overall Review: This show was good enough to get me somewhat excited for SummerSlam but it did have its faults. They had only one Retribution segment on this show and it didn’t make any sense. How would they still continue in the production trucks with the camera cuts and graphics if Retribution destroyed everything? This whole Retribution angle has just really been a dud and I think they should just kill the story. The matches were pretty good but the promos and segments were definitely a lot more enjoyable to me. Rey, Dominik and Seth Rollins’ segments were great and how they dished out their payback on Seth and Murphy. The whole angle with Zelina being the one that poisoned Montez Ford was pretty predictable and anticlimatic with what the possibilities were for who poisoned him but it was what it was, didn’t have too much of a problem with it. The best segments were by far the Drew, Shawn and Randy segments especially the closing segment. Shawn showed that he can still sell a story. Randy and Drew’s fight was great with Randy landing the final blow giving him the edge for the pay per view on Sunday. Raw Underground was pretty good with implementing Shayna, Marina and Duke in there with Nia. You would believe those women would fight in a setting like this. The rest of it with Dolph and Erik was okay, I still don’t see how Dolph really fits in that setting. The Riddick Moss and Ruas fight was really damn good, I was impressed with how well they came off as legit tough guys in their fight.

Overall Grade: 5/10

 

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