Monday Night Raw’s prime focus this week (14 October), was the conclusion of the WWE draft. The show also pushed along its story lines ahead of the Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. Let’s take a look through the highlights of this week’s Monday Night Raw.
WWE Draft 1st Pick: Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair
Becky Lynch started the segment stating that she can’t get rid of Charlotte, her opponent for the night after Sasha Banks was declared medically unfit. Flair interrupted saying she missed Becky and just wanted to be friends. It turned out to be a predictable ruse with Flair blindsiding Becky and catching her with a cheap shot. This led to a brawl between the superstars before the officials separated the two and started the match.
Becky Lynch went one on one with Charlotte Flair in the opening match of the show. While Lynch fought to secure the first Draft pick of the night for RAW, Flair fought to earn the same for SmackDown. The match went back and forth with Flair and Lynch fighting for control. Becky hit a missile dropkick but Charlotte countered with a Natural selection for a near fall. Flair hit a spear for a 2 count.
Eventually Lynch got the better of Charlotte, cashing in on Flair’s frustrations and rolling her up in a small package for a three count.
It wasn’t an ideal finish to the match but WWE’s commitment to Lynch’s push is heartening. She has the full support WWE universe and her momentum looks no where near over.
The draft pick started with Seth Rollins, Charlotte Flair, Andrade and Zelina Vega being drafted to RAW and Brock Lesnar and The New Day heading to SmackDown.
Andrade vs. Ali
Andrade vs Ali came up next. Ali appeared to be in control early in the match despite Vega trying to run interference. Andrade rallied back with an armbar but missed the mark. Ali hit a huge dive, flying over Zelina at ringside. Andrade hit Ali with a Hammerlock DDT in the ring to win.
The WWE Draft continued with The Kabuki Warriors, Rusev and Aleister Black going to RAW. Daniel Bryan and Bayley went with SmackDown.
RAW Tag Team Championship match
The Viking Raiders started strong with Erik taking out Roode right of the bat. Ivar hit a frog splash on Ziggler. The show off dodged as Erik charged, sending the Viking out of the ring. Ziggler put up some resistance as he struck Erik with a jumping elbow and rearhealocked him. Roode and Dolph pressed their advantage hitting Erik with a spinebuster and zigzag combo but it wasn’t enough to keep the Viking down. Neither the famouser nor the Glorious DDT could turn things in their favor. The match ended with the Viking Experience on Ziggler for the win.
The Viking Raiders are the new RAW tag team champions.
The Draft continued with Cedric Alexander, Humberto Carillo and Erick Rowan joining RAW. Shinsuke Nakamura and Ali head to SmackDown in round 3 of the Draft.
Aleister Black vs. Eric Young
Aleister Black put on a dominant performance against Eric Young. He locked Young in the Dark Ritual and got a quick tapout.
Buddy Murphy, Jinder Mahal and R-truth were drafted to RAW. Roode & Ziggler headed to SmackDown with Carmella. This implies that the popular team up of Carmella and R-Truth has been broken.
Shelton Benjamin vs. Ricochet
Shelton Benjamin looked aggressive in the beginning of the match but was soon bested by Ricochet. The One and Only hit a Standing Shooting Star on Shelton for a two count before getting an easy win by hitting The Recoil on Benjamin.
Crown Jewel contract signing
Jerry Lawler oversaw the contract signing of Braun Strowman vs. Tyson Fury for Crown Jewel on Oct. 31.
The exchange soon turned aggressive as Fury made it clear that he feels comfortable in any ring.
He went on to smash a pen before walking off the ring.
More superstars were drafted with Samoa Joe, Akira Tozawa and Shelton Benjamin going to RAW. The Miz and King Corbin joined Team SmackDown.
Buddy Murphy vs. Cedric Alexander
Murphy hit Alexander with a knee to the face, dodging a DDT as the match started. A big powerbomb followed by Murphy’s Law sealed the win for Buddy Murphy. The match was a good outing for the two stars who share a lot of in-ring history. Murphy’s win over Alexander could be an indicator that he might be going places in the near future.
The next round of WWE Draft saw Rey Mysterio, Titus O’Neil and Liv Morgan head to RAW and Shorty Gable and Elias making their way to SmackDown.
It was also announced that Crown Jewel will feature a Falls Count Anywhere match for the Universal Title between The Fiend and Seth Rollins.
WWE Women’s Tag team championship
The WWE women’s tag team championship match took place between the teams of Natalya and Lacey Evans against The Kabuki Warriors.
The impromptu team up worked surprisingly well as Natalya managed to lock The empress of Tomorrow in a sharpshooter. Evans hooked Sane with the Woman’s right but Asuka saved the day for The Kabuki Warriors rolling up Evans for a three count.
The draft pick ended with stars like Apollo Crews and Fire & Desire still undrafted.
Seth Rollins Burns It Down
“Firefly Fun House” was interrupted by Seth Rollins who attacked Bray Wyatt. The King Slayer beat down his rival and set the fun house to fire even as Wyatt begged him to stop.
The show ended with the ominous laughter of The Fiend in the background as fun house burned to the ground.
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