Welcome to POST Wrestling’s live coverage article for this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw! Keep an eye on this page throughout the evening for the latest updates and results from the show. Make sure to hit the refresh button on your browser to see the newest version of the page!
Still to come
- Maxxine Dupri vs. Nattie
- Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez
- Penta to defend WWE Intercontinental Championship
- Roman Reigns to appear
Results
- El Grande Americano def. Original El Grande Americano (9:54)
- AJ Lee def. Bayley (WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship) (10:39)
Oba Femi shocks Brock Lesnar
This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, held on 3:16 day inside the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, opened with a sea of hooded men, led by Seth Rollins, abushing the ring. Rollins got on the microphone as the rest of the hooded squad guarded him from ringside.
Rollins said he plans to kill The Vision, which he said he created. “If you stand next t0 Paul Heyman, consider yourself marked for death,” he said. It didn’t take long for this segment to be cut off by Paul Heyman, who appeared on-stage.
Heyman, sporting a nasty, bruised-up right eye, appeared distraught while staring down Rollins. “I wasn’t going to come out here, but I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Heyman said, while getting booed out of the venue.
Heyman kept shouting “FAFO,” (F*** Around and Find Out), before shouting “F5,” which caused Brock Lesnar to appear. Lesnar took off his cowboy hat and leather jacket, making it clear he didn’t show up to talk. Rollins’ masked henchmen proved to be useless against Lesnar, who tossed around many and scared away others.
After taking out all of the men, Lesnar went face-to-face with Rollins. But then, suddenly, the lights went out and Oba Femi’s music hit. Femi got into the ring and had his eyes laser-focused on Lesnar – it seems clear that the NXT call-up wants to answer Lesnar’s Wrestlemania challenge.
Lesnar glanced at Rollins, causing him to roll out of the ring. This brief pause allowed Femi to lift up Lesnar for a huge powerbomb. Femi stepped on Lesnar’s chest while pointing to the Wrestlemania sign – ’nuff said.
Femi vs. Lesnar was the obvious Wrestlemania matchup choice, and that brief segment sold it quite easily. They’re making Femi a star with how they have called him up, and this Wrestlemania match, if handled correctly, could continue that. Rollins got overshadowed here big-time.
One Americano beats another Americano
We were shown a clip from Saturday’s AAA Rey de Reyes, when the Ludwig Kaiser version of the El Grande Americano won a four-way. The OG Americano was handcuffed outside of the ring, causing him to lose the match.
The first match of the night saw both the Original and copycat El Grande Americanos face off. A distraction at ringside by Rayo and Bravo Americano allowed the copycat Americano to take control of the match in the opening minute. The Original Americano had momentum heading into the break after sending the other Americano over the top and to the outside with a German Suplex. The Ludwig Kaiser Americano scored an awesome head kick during the break.
OG Americano was gaining steam as the show returned, scoring a series of German Suplexes. After taking out Rayo and Bravo, he got a near fall with a Burning Hammer. The crowd started booing after a Kaiser near fall, they got a little ahead of the referee’s count and thus thought the match had ended for a moment.
A moonsault from Kaiser was caught by the OG Americano for an Ankle Lock, but he reached the ropes to force a break. OG Americano bridged a deadlift German Suplex into a pin attempt, but the referee didn’t count the attempt due to Rayo being on the ring apron. As the referee was watching OG Americano take out Rayo, Bravo slid into the ring and loaded Kaiser’s mask with a metal plate.
OG Americano came off the top rope with a headbutt, but upon impact had collided with the plate in Kaiser’s mask! This allowed Kaiser to go for the pin and win in just under 10 minutes.
Michael Cole summed up what has made this rivalry so interesting thus far: We have yet to see a match that didn’t end due to the Kaiser Americano winning via interference. While the in-ring between these two was fun and the finishing sequence was creative, it felt a little less interesting due to the result being such a foregone conclusion.
Backstage, Roman Reigns was seen telling The Usos that they “did the right thing” by pressing CM Punk last week over his comments about their family.
Danhausen used a t-shirt cannon during the commercial break to plug his new WWE Shop merchandise.
Liv Morgan reveals the truth about Finn Balor
In a pre-taped video package, Liv Morgan revealed that, since she joined Judgment Day, she has been plotting to try to kick Finn Balor out of the group: “I only put up with you out of respect for your relationship with Dominik.”
“You couldn’t hang with the Judgment Day anymore,” she continued. “You’re pathetic, you’re a loser, you’re washed up, and it made me sick calling you family every week.”
Morgan said everyone in the group is going to do better without him. Curious what JD McDonagh being able to “soar” will look like without a tag partner – maybe some appearances on Main Event?
The broadcast announced that Penta will defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship later tonight.
Backstage, Roman Reigns and The Usos were seen chatting about CM Punk again. The Usos said they still need an apology from Punk for his comments about their family. Reigns interjected: “I don’t need an apology, but y’all do.”
The latest – 9:06 p.m. ET: AJ Lee taps out Bayley in IC title bout
In the first of two title matchups tonight, AJ Lee put her WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship on the line against Bayley. Bayley was hoping to begin her first title reign in one and a half years, and more importantly, earn a win which could land her a spot on this year’s Wrestlemania card.
Commentary noted that the previous one-on-one between Lee and Bayley dates all the way back to 2013, when Lee stopped by NXT tapings at Full Sail University as part of her run as Divas Champion. Bayley won this title opportunity on last week’s Raw by prevailing in a gauntlet match.
Bayley countered a Shining Wizard into a Half Crab submission at the seven-minute mark, a fun sequence. Lee kicked Bayley away to escape the submission, but Bayley countered by coming off the ropes with a knee strike.
Lee escaped one Bayley-to-Belly, but was caught by the second attempt, although it only rendered a two-count. The two women traded strikes as they worked back up to their feet. Lee hit the ropes and scored a Shining Wizard upon second go around. A Black Widow submission was reversed into a sidewalk slam by Bayley.
Bayley climbed to the top for an elbow drop, but Lee rolled out of the way. Lee then locked in the Black Widow submission, which forced a tap to end the bout in 10 minutes. This was a short but fun title match between these two. Curious to see what they do with Bayley and this storyline of her potentially missing Mania again.
Penta is putting his title up against a mystery opponent next.
