WWE RAW
Episode 1302
#RAW
Original Air Date: May 7, 2018
Event Date: May 7, 2018 (aired live)
City: Uniondale, NY
Venue: Nassau Coliseum
Commentary: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Jonathan Coachman
Ring Announcer: Jojo
Ring Area
Kurt Angle heads to the ring. He talks about how the WWE never stops. The next big show is Money in the Bank, so tonight there will be two qualifying matches to decide some of the participants for the men’s and women’s MitB matches. Angle names the people who will compete tonight, then Strowman comes out immediately after.
In the ring, Strowman tells Angle a story about being left out of a tree-house when he was a kid. He wasn’t allowed in, so he knocked the tree down with everyone in the house. Angle says he understands that Strowman deserves a chance to be in the MitB match. Kevin Owens comes out.
Owens says he deserves a spot in MitB. Owens is the top star on RAW, and the referee counted the wrong man out in his tag match last night. Owens should be in the ladder match, and he shouldn’t even have to qualify. Owens tells Angle that he deserves to be treated fairly, especially with Stephanie McMahon watching. Angle decides to put Strowman in a qualifying match… against Kevin Owens.
Match 1
Money in the Bank Qualifying Match
Braun Strowman vs Kevin Owens
(referee: Darrick Moore)
Result: Braun Strowman wins via pinfall after a running powerslam
Time: 10:10 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. Owens did surprisingly well against Strowman for the first part of the match. It humanized Strowman a little, but then Strowman did what Strowman does. The finish was very definitive and unsurprising, but I can see how people would find it fun.
Backstage
Mike Rome asks Roman Reigns about tonight’s qualifying match. Reigns says he’s the uncrowned champ and he’s been screwed over. He can’t control what happens backstage, but he controls what happens in the ring.
Video
Bayley says there would be nothing better than hugging the MitB briefcase.
Video
Breezango has been briefed on a new case, a briefcase.
Backstage
Goldust tells Angle that he wants an opportunity to qualify for Money in the Bank. Jinder Mahal walks up and complains that he is not in tonight’s qualifier. Angle tells Mahal that he hasn’t won a match on RAW yet, so he doesn’t deserve anything. He’ll consider adding Mahal to MitB if he can beat Chad Gable tonight.
Match 2
Apollo Crews & Titus O’Neil w/ Dana Brooke & No Way Jose vs The Revival & Baron Corbin
(referee: Chad Patton)
Result: Baron Corbin pins No Way Jose after End of Days
Time: 4:57
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. The Revival and Apollo Crews looked really good. Jose was saved until the end of the match, so he didn’t have a lot of time to shine. Titus was fine, but he didn’t have a lot of ring time either. Corbin was also in this match.
Match 3
Triple Threat Money in the Bank Qualifying Match
Sasha Banks vs Ruby Riott w/ Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan vs Ember Moon
(referee: Rod Zapata)
Result: Ember Moon pins Ruby Riott after an Eclipse
Time: 10:32
Match Thoughts
Great match! All three women looked great, and all of them had a chance to shine. Ruby Riott was especially dominate. The fact that she had Morgan and Logan out there to help her at times made her that much stronger. That was all buildup to a big and satisfying finish that involved a brawl, Bayley, and a nicely impactful move that took everyone down. I wish these three women were all in the Money in the Bank.
Backstage
Charly Caruso asks Ember Moon about her victory. Moon says people might consider her an underdog, but she proved that she is “skill, honor, and heart” tonight. She’s going to rise and grab the MitB contract.
Video
A video package is played which briefly chronicles Bobby Lashley’s history in wrestling. Lashley has been a amateur wrestling champion since his high school days. A knee injury cost him a chance at the Olympics, but meeting Kurt Angle led him to the WWE. After winning titles in WWE, he left for a successful MMA career. Now he’s back.
Video
Renee Young sits down for an interview with Lashley. Lashley talks about his family. He’s all about his family. He has older sisters, and with a smile, he talks about them picking on him when he was little. He has more family now, the WWE Universe.
Backstage
Sami Zayn feels like a cloud of conspiracy is following him and Owens. Owens is still upset (and hurting) about his match with Strowman. He’s also still upset about Zayn slapping him last night. Zayn apologizes. He wants to focus on getting into the MitB, and he needs to know that Owens has his back. After a few seconds, Owens says “yeah.”
Match 4
Jinder Mahal w/ Sunil Singh vs Chad Gable
(referee: John Cone)
Result: Jinder Mahal wins via pinfall with The Khallas
Time: 4:11
Match Thoughts
Good match. Gable started strong and looked good, but this was a good match for Mahal. Gable took considerable punishment from Mahal, and though he had some bursts of offense, this was Mahal’s match.
Ring Area
Mahal beats up Gable after the match.
Video
Alexa Bliss says she’s going to win Money in the Bank despite being bullied.
Video
The Ascension will rise in Money in the Bank.
Backstage
Zack Ryder thinks it would be a good idea to have the hometown boy (himself) qualify for the MitB tonight. Jinder Mahal and Sunil Singh walk up. Mahal thinks Angle should add him to tonight’s triple threat qualifier. Angle says “no.”
Match 5
Heath Slater & Rhyno vs Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler
(referee: Darrick Moore)
Result: Drew McIntyre pins Heath Slater after a tandem Claymore and Zig Zag
Time: 2:38
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Match Thoughts
This was kind of a squash. Rhyno never tagged in, so McIntyre and Dolph took turns beating up Slater. Some of the transitions into moves seemed to take a second or two, but other than that this was a fine squash match. McIntyre and Ziggler certainly looked dominant.
Ring Area
In the ring, Elias isn’t happy about being interrupted last night at Backlash. He’s particularly upset at Bobby Roode, the talentless hack. Elias intends to win Money in the Bank. He would also like everyone to be quiet so he can sing a song about Roode. Roode interrupts.
Match 6
Elias vs Bobby Roode
(referee: Rod Zapata)
Result: Bobby Roode wins via pinfall after a Glorious DDT
Time: 7:23 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. I like the anger they’ve put into this feud. I think that came through in the match, and it made it that much better. A good, straightforward battle between these two guys.
Ring Area
In the ring, Charly Caruso says Roode’s victory must feel great. Roode thinks that’s an understatement. He also thinks he deserves to be in a qualifying match for Money in the Bank. Winning MitB would be glorious.
Ring Area
Seth Rollins heads to the ring. Rollins feels good after being taken to the limit by The Miz last night. He says again that he wants to be a fighting champion. He wants the IC Title to be THE title on RAW, and he issues an open challenge. Mojo Rawley answers the challenge. He says he’s going to knock Rollins down and change RAW to “Monday Night Rawley.” Rollins isn’t impressed.
Match 7
Intercontinental Title Match
Mojo Rawley vs Seth Rollins (IC Champ)
(referee: Darrick Moore)
Result: Seth Rollins wins via pinfall after a curb stomp
Time: 7:24 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. Rawley stood around for a while early in the match, but the pace picked up as the match went along. I think Ryder would have been a better choice tonight, but this was a decent defense for Rollins.
Video
Finn Balor likes to earn opportunities. It brings out the best in him. Earning his way into Money in the Bank will make his victory that much sweeter.
Match 8
Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel vs Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt (RAW Tag Champs)
(referee: Chad Patton)
Result: Matt Hardy pins Curtis Axel after a tandem Sister Abigail
Time: 2:41
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Match Thoughts
Good match, though it was barely more than a squash. I think Hardy and Wyatt still need to work on a good tandem finisher though. Everything they’ve come up with so far is kind of strange.
Video
Natalya knows what it takes to win Money in the Bank.
Video
Baron Corbin feels sorry for everyone who thinks they’ll win Money in the Bank. Not really.
Match 9
Triple Threat Money in the Bank Qualifying Match
Finn Balor vs Sami Zayn vs Roman Reigns
(referee: John Cone)
Result: Finn Balor pins Sami Zayn after Coup De Grace
Time: 11:54 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. There were too many times when Reigns was just standing in the ring by himself, but the way the match played out was interesting. It did turn into a one on one match for a while which I’m not usually a fan of, but I was fine with it here. I thought the finish was good too, even with the interference.
Show Impressions
This show was good. It kept my interest. Maybe that was because there were nine matches. Granted, some of the matches were essentially squashes, but I was entertained regardless.
I also like that the next PPV isn’t for another six weeks. Having fewer PPVs is going to allow feuds to be built up over time, and having fewer superstars from each roster on PPV is hopefully going to push some feud payoff matches onto regular TV. That’s what tonight’s Roode versus Elias match felt like, and I liked that.
Match of the Night
Ember Moon vs Ruby Riott vs Sasha Banks
These women stole the show tonight. Great match. One that I’ll definitely want to watch again.
Official Results: http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2018-05-07