August 22, 2016
Episode 1213
(aired live)
#RAW
City: Brooklyn, NY
Venue: Barclays Center
Commentary: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Jojo
Video
Last night at Summer Slam, Finn Balor became the first Universal Champ.
Intro Video
“Enemies” by Shinedown
Ring Area
#UniversalTitle
Michael Cole announces that Finn Balor was injured in the match against Rollins at Summer Slam and will be out for at least six months.
Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley are already in the ring. They welcome Finn Balor who has the title on his shoulder and his arm in a sling. He talks about how the Universal title represents a lifetime of hard work. Unfortunately, he has to relinquish the title. He hands the belt to Mick Foley and walks away.
As Balor approaches the stage, a smiling Seth Rollins comes out and walks by him on the way to the ring. He hugs Stephanie and tells everyone that “we know who the real winner at Summer Slam was.” Tonight should be a celebration for the new Universal champ.
Just then, Sami Zayn comes out and heads to the ring. Following Zayn is Chris Jericho. Then out comes Kevin Owens. Enzo and Big Cass come out next. Then Roman Reigns. Foley finally brings a little order to the ring by saying that there will be a series of matches to determine the new Universal Champ, the final winner being decided next week. The first match will be Rollins versus Zayn. As the ring is being cleared, Rollins attacks Zayn.
Match 1
Universal Title Contender Qualifying Match
Seth Rollins vs Sami Zayn
(referee: Chad Patton)
#UniversalTitle
Result: Seth Rollins wins via pinfall after a Pedigree
Time: 9:22 (joined in progress, 1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match, and pretty emotional. Zayn hurt his ankle fairly early in the match which hampered all of his offense going forward. He fought through the pain and managed to get a few nice near falls on Rollins. This was an entertaining match, and it fits very well with the story developing around Rollins.
Match 2
Universal Title Contender Qualifying Match
Kevin Owens vs Neville
(referee: Rod Zapata)
#UniversalTitle
Result: Kevin Owens wins via pinfall with an Argentine neckbreaker
Time: 5:08 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. It seemed a little short, but I liked this a lot. Neville came to this match with a purpose. He dominated the match and brought out a lot of flash, but also a lot of moves I haven’t seen him do often. He looked very good here and demonstrated that he should be in contention for a title at some point.
Ring Area
Michael Cole announces that the Universal Title match next week will be a Fatal 4-Way.
Ring Area
Big E is back, and he is magical. Also, New Day have been the tag champs for 365 days. Kofi thanks the WWE Universe, and Xavier presents a unicorn pinata filled with Booty-O’s. Before they can break open the pinata, Anderson and Gallows come out and call everyone and everything “stupid.” They wonder what New Day has to celebrate, especially since they lost at Summer Slam. Anderson and Gallows are entitled to a rematch, but Big E is tired of all the “flim flam” and “booty chatter.”
Match 3
Big E (Tag Champ) w/ Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods vs Karl Anderson w/ Luke Gallows
(referee: Shawn Bennett)
Result: Big E wins via pinfall after a Big Ending
Time: 3:37
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. It was very short, but it was a nice first match back for Big E. It showed New Day’s near-flawless teamwork when they are all together.
Video
Clips of The Dudley Boyz debuting on SmackDown in 1999.
Ring Area
Titus O’Neil is in the ring. He reminds everyone that New Day beat the Prime Time Players last year to start their year-long reign. He says that it wasn’t the worst day of his life, it was the best because he “dropped the dead weight” of Darren Young. Young wouldn’t be relevant if it wasn’t for Titus. He calls out Young so he can end him once and for all.
Bob Backlund runs to the ring. Backlund briefly puts O’Neil in a crossface chicken wing, but O’Neil escapes and slams Backlund. Darren Young runs out just to take a Clash of the Titus.
** I’m not sure if it was wise to put Titus O’Neil in front of that Brooklyn crowd by himself for so long. He seemed to struggle a bit, and the crowd wasn’t into it. I don’t know if I really like the direction they’re taking with Young and O’Neil either. They tried this feud before and no one cared. I think they can both succeed, but I like Titus better as a good guy, and Young should go after a stronger heel. **
Video
Last night, Brock Lesnar completely destroyed Randy Orton.
Backstage
Tom Phillips asks Stephanie about Lesnar’s actions. She says there will be repercussions.
Match 4
Universal Title Contender Qualifying Match
Rusev (US Champ) w/ Lana vs Big Cass w/ Enzo Amore
(referee: Darrick Moore)
#UniversalTitle
Result: Big Cass wins via countout
Time: 5:10 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
An okay match. It could have been a lot better though. The ending didn’t really help anyone.
Backstage
Tom Phillips welcomes Jeri-KO. He wonders what happens if Jericho faces Owens for the title next week. Jericho and Owens have a (mostly) friendly disagreement over who will have whose back in the Fatal 4-Way.
Ring Area
Charlotte and Dana Brooke head to the ring. Charlotte claims to be the best female athlete in the world and says that Sasha will never come after her title again. The queen has reclaimed her throne.
As Charlotte is about to leave the ring, Mick Foley comes out. He congratulates Charlotte on her win. Charlotte says that she deserves the night off, but Foley instead introduces the newest member of the RAW roster: Bayley!
Charlotte is not impressed. She won’t be upstaged. Bayley isn’t here to upstage Charlotte, but she is here to challenge her for the Women’s Title. Charlotte tells her to get in line. She also says that Dana is ready for a fight.
** I knew she was coming, but I still loved the moment that Bayley was announced. And I’m so very glad Charlotte’s next contender is Bayley and not Nia Jax. **
Match 5
Dana Brooke w/ Charlotte (Women’s Champ) vs Bayley
(referee: John Cone)
Result: Bayly wins via pinfall after a Bayley to Belly suplex
Time: 4:29
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. It showed what Bayley does: survive a beating until she can take the advantage. It was a good first match on RAW.
Backstage
Tom Phillips asks Reigns about Jericho. Reigns says he’s going to shut Jericho’s mouth.
Video
Rich Swann, Noam Dar, Brian Kendrick, and TJ Perkins are introduced in brief profile videos. They’re headed to RAW starting September 19th.
Backstage
Andrea D’Marco welcomes Sheamus. Sheamus explains that Cesaro is like The Suicide Squad. He under-delivers.
Ring Area
Byron Saxton asks Johnny Knockout about Braun Strowman. Johnny likes big, sweaty men.
Match 6
Braun Strowman vs Johnny Knockout
(referee: Rod Zapata)
Result: Braun Strowman wins via pinfall after a reverse chokeslam
Time: 1:19
Match Thoughts
Yet another squash.
Ring Area
After the match, Strowman continues the attack and forces the referee to count to three again.
** The best part was that the ref wouldn’t start the fake count until both of Johnny Knockout’s shoulders were completely down. He actually made Strowman correct his cover. **
Video
The Dudley Boyz returned to WWE last year the night after Summer Slam.
Ring Area
#DudleyBoyz
The Dudley Boyz head to the ring. Bubba Ray talks about their 20 year career and coming home to the WWE. D-Von talks about TLC and says that he would take every bump again. Bubba thanks the fans, and D-Von testifies. As they’re finishing up, The Shining Stars come out.
Primo says it’s about time the Dudleys leave. Epico would like to give the Dudleys a going-away present: tickets to Puerto Rico. The Dudleys listen for a while before they attack. As they’re about to put Primo through a table, Anderson and Gallows rush into the ring and attack. They hit a Magic Killer on Bubba on the floor, and one to D-Von through a table.
** I like it. This could be the start to a great final run for the Dudleys, but even if it isn’t, having Gallows and Anderson do what they did helps them a lot. **
Match 7
Universal Title Contender Qualifying Match
Chris Jericho vs Roman Reigns
(referee: Chad Patton)
#UniversalTitle
Result: Roman Reigns wins via pinfall after a spear
Time: 11:30 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. With a little help from Kevin Owens, this match could have gone either way. This was entertaining throughout, and the ending was well done.
Show Impressions
This was a good show. It sucks about what happened to Finn Balor, but in the long run it could actually help the Universal Title. Balor and Rollins had a great match at Summer Slam. That makes the title, at the very least, interesting. Now that Balor has to go away for a while to recover, it shows what lengths people will go to in order to hold the title. Not only did Balor finish and win the match with a serious injury, but he’s dedicating the next half-year of his life to getting back to the ring to reclaim the title. In the meantime, while Balor is away a new champ will have the opportunity to accumulate some good wins and title defenses. Balor’s tentative injury time means that he could easily be back before Wrestlemania. So yeah, this could be very good for the Universal Title.
Match of the Night
Chris Jericho vs Roman Reigns
This was easily the match of the night, though the Neville/Owens match was a fairly close second place.