WWE RAW Report – 8/29/16
– Tonight’s WWE RAW opens up with a graphic in memory of Mr. Fuji.
– We go to a video package to hype tonight’s Fatal 4 Way for the WWE Universal Title. Michael Cole welcomes us to RAW. He’s joined by Byron Saxton. Cole sends us to the ring.
– Corey Graves is in the ring with the WWE Universal Title. Sitting on stools are Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens and Big Cass.
Rollins cuts Graves off and takes credit for putting Finn Balor out of action. Rollins talks about how he’s the favorite to win the title tonight. Rollins knocks the others and hands it over to Owens. Owens can finally focus on the title now that Sami Zayn is out of the picture. Owens is a prizefighter, he’s at his best when the stakes are high. Owens says Rollins talks big but he delivers big. Owens addresses Reigns next and fans boo him. Owens says Reigns fights hard but he fights smart, and Cass is just really tall. Owens asks if he thinks that really counts for something. Cass says yes that does. Owens takes a shot at Enzo Amore and Cass does the same with Chris Jericho. Cass says he knows where he stands. He’s only been here a few months and has never won a title but that means he has nothing to lose. Cass says no one expects him to win and Rollins jokes that even Enzo took a bet out against him.. They go on until Reigns decks Owens. Rollins unloads on Cass. Reigns and Cass meet in the middle of the ring. Rollins comes from behind but Reigns drops him. Reigns sends Cass to the floor. Reigns with a Superman punch on Rollins, sending him to the floor. Reigns stands tall as a good amount of fans boo him. Reigns looks at the title as Owens backs up the ramp talking trash.
– Still to come, Paul Heyman will address Brock Lesnar’s actions and fine. We see Chris Jericho walking backstage before going to commercial.
Neville vs. Chris Jericho
Back from the break and out comes Neville. We go backstage to Chris Jericho and Tom Phillips for pre-match comments. Jericho believes Kevin Owens will win the title later tonight and says he’s going to embarrass Neville, he’s going to give him the Gift of Jericho. Jericho is out next. The bell rings and Neville drops Jericho with a right hand.
Jericho ends up going to the floor for a breather as Neville puts the brakes on. Jericho talks trash to fans but out comes Neville from behind. Jericho turns around to a kick. Neville works him around the ring and back in. Neville goes to the top for a big crossbody and a 2 count. Jericho crawls to the referee and wraps his arms around his waist. Jericho gets in a cheap shot and turns things around as we go to commercial.
Back from the break and Jericho is sending Neville to the mat after countering a superplex. Jericho keeps him grounded now. More back and forth with some high-risk moves. They trade moves and counters. Neville with a superkick. Neville goes up for Red Arrow but rolls through as Jericho moves. Jericho gets Neville in the Liontamer for the win.
Winner: Chris Jericho
– After the match, Neville recovers in the ring as Jericho stands tall and makes his exit.
– Bayley is backstage with hugs. She walks up on WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day and they all mark out. Dana Brooke appears. She runs Bayley down and says she will never succeed because she doesn’t belong here. The New Day reminds us how Bayley beat her last week. Dana says she wasn’t out there to wrestle last week. She threatens to go find Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson but The New Day tells her to bring it on. It sounds like we’ve got a six-person match for later. We go to commercial.
Back from the break and Cole congratulates The Rock on being the highest-paid actor.
Nia Jax vs. Hyan
We go to the ring and out comes Nia Jax as her opponent Hyan waits in the ring. We see video from earlier of Andrea D’Marco interviewing her. Hyan says her heart is big like everything else in Texas. Andrea hopes it’s still beating after tonight. Nia gets another easy win after beating Hyan around.
Winner: Nia Jax
– We go to another vignette from Dr. Luke Gallows and Dr. Karl Anderson. They cut promos on The New Day and in comes their nurse, Dana Brooke. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and Cole leads us to a video package hyping up Seth Rollins.
Sami Zayn vs. Jinder Mahal
We go to the ring and out comes Sami Zayn as Jinder Mahal waits in the ring.
Back and forth to start. Jinder takes control but Sami turns it around a few minutes later and hits a Helluva Kick and drops Jinder to get the pin.
Winner: Sami Zayn
– Still to come, Bayley and The New Day vs. Dana Brooke and The Club. Also, a Sasha Banks medical update. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte is out with the announcers. We see video from the RAW pre-show with Sasha Banks talking about how she’s coming back better than ever and will be gunning for Charlotte.
The New Day and Bayley vs. Dana Brooke, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
We go to the ring and out comes Bayley with WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day. Out next comes Dana Brooke with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.
Bayley and Dana go at it to start. Bayley takes control but Dana gets some offense in. The New Day comes in and unloads but it’s turned around when Dana provides an assist. The New Day and Bayley have their opponents on the floor as we go to commercial with them dancing in the ring.
Back from the break and things finally turn around after Anderson hits a big spinebuster on Kofi. Gallows comes in and keeps control, turning Kofi upside down in the corner for a low dropkick. Gallows keeps control for another pin attempt. Gallows unloads with elbows and keeps Kofi down. Anderson comes back in and works Kofi over for several minutes. Kofi finally gets a break with double knees. Bayley tags in, bringing Dana in. Bayley unloads and hits a nice suplex. She goes to the second rope for the corkscrew elbow for a 2 count as Anderson drags Dana to the floor. Big E nails Anderson but Gallows floors him with a boot. Kofi leaps out of the ring and nails Gallows. Dana rolls Bayley up from behind for a 2 count. Bayley hits the Bayley-to-Belly suplex for the win.
Winners: Bayley and The New Day
– After the match, Bayley and The New Day celebrate.
– Still to come, Paul Heyman. Also, a Fatal 4 Way to crown the second WWE Universal Champion.
– We see Cesaro backstage. Tom Phillips approaches for comments on the Best of 7 Series against Sheamus. Cesaro admits he’s in a rough spot but still plans on getting the title shot that Mick Foley promised to the winner of the series. Cesaro cuts a promo on Sheamus and threatens to Cesaro Swing him as he walks off. Back to commercial.
Best of 7 Series, Match #2: Sheamus vs. Cesaro
Back to the ring and out comes Sheamus. He talks to Byron Saxton in the ring about he’s truly better than Cesaro. Cesaro is out next for a pre-match interaction. Cesaro controls most of the match early on. Sheamus sells an elbow injury and gets sent back to the floor as we go to commercial with Cesaro standing tall.
Back from the break and Sheamus ends up dropping Cesaro into the Irish Curse for a 2 count. Sheamus stomps and goes for the Cloverleaf. More back and forth. Cesaro ducks a Brogue and hits the springboard uppercut for a 2 count. Cesaro goes for the Swing but Sheamus makes it to the bottom rope. Cesaro pulls him into a close 2 count. More back and forth. Cesaro with big uppercuts. Sheamus with an elbow and a roll up for 2. Sheamus argues with the referee and gets rocked with an uppercut. Cesaro unloads in the corner as fans count.
Cesaro with the uppercut train now, sending him to the floor. Cesaro charges on the floor but gets backdropped hard into the ring post. The referee checks on Cesaro as he’s down in pain. Sheamus brings him in and applies the Cloverleaf for the win. Sheamus goes up 2-0.
Winner: Sheamus
– After the match, Sheamus stands tall as Cesaro is checked on.
– The announcers lead us to a tribute video for Mr. Fuji.
– Back from the break and Cole leads us to a video package on Kevin Owens.
Braun Strowman vs. Americo
We go to the ring and Bryon Saxton is interviewing a masked wrestler named Americo. Braun Strowman’s music interrupts and out he comes. Americo is speechless.
Braun takes Americo to the corner and goes to work. Braun manhandles Americo and plants him on his face for the easy win.
Winner: Braun Strowman
– After the match, Braun stands tall and rips off Americo’s mask. Braun holds the mask high as some fans boo him. We get replays and come back to Braun yelling at fans as he makes his exit.
– Stephanie McMahon is backstage walking. Up next, Heyman addresses Lesnar’s recent actions. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and Stephanie McMahon welcomes us to a history making edition of RAW. We’re just moments away from crowning a new champion but first Brock Lesnar’s actions need to be addressed, mainly the F5 to her brother. She says she did not welcome the unprovoked attack to her brother Shane McMahon. Stephanie says no one messes with her family. Paul Heyman interrupts and out he comes to a pop.
Fans chant ECW at one point and Stephanie reminds us she purchased ECW from Heyman a long time ago. Fans chant CM Punk next but they no sell it. They go on and Heyman pulls a huge stack of cash out. He starts counting off Lesnar’s $500 fine in ones and Stephanie tosses the whole stack. Stephanie rips Heyman and threatens his job. She will stop at nothing to avenge her brother. She says a storm is coming Heyman’s ugly way. Heyman fires back about Lesnar is the storm. Heyman says the apology he’s here to deliver goes right out to Stephanie. He realizes the compromising position Brock put her in. They go on and Stephanie ends up accepting his apology before walking off.
– We get another look at Finn Balor’s surgery. Still t come, the Fatal 4 Way main event.
– Darren Young is backstage walking with Bob Backlund. Titus O’Neil is also walking. We go to commercial.
– We get a video hyping Roman Reigns for the main event.
Titus O’Neil vs. Darren Young
We go tot he ring and out comes Titus O’Neil as we see what’s happened in recent weeks. Darren Young is out next with WWE Hall of Famer Bob Backlund.
The bell rings and they go at it. Young is fired up, forcing Titus to go to the floor for a breather. He comes back in but Young hits him with more shots. Young with a forearm off the ropes and a neckbreaker. Young keeps control until Titus turns it around and launches him over the top, to the floor and into a photographer. Titus talks trash and brings Darren back in for a big powerslam.
Titus talks trash about how Young owes him. Titus works Young over and keeps him grounded now. Titus with more offense and a big pumphandle slam. Young ends up getting the win thanks to an assist from Backlund.
Winner: Darren Young
– After the match, Young and Backlund celebrate until Titus attacks. He lays them both out and hits Clash of the Titus on Young as fans boo.
– Foley and Stephanie are backstage. They agree that there must be a winner in the main event and all friends or associates should be banned from ringside. Rollins walks up and says tonight will be the best night they’ve had. All their faith will be rewarded as Rollins brings home the gold. Stephanie believes tonight is Rollins’ night. He hugs her and says he won’t let her down.
– Still to come, the main event. Back to commercial.
Fatal 4 Way for the Vacant WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens vs. Big Cass vs. Seth Rollins
We go to the ring and out first comes Roman Reigns followed by Kevin Owens. Seth Rollins is out next. This match will crown the second-ever WWE Universal Champion. Big Cass is out next with Enzo Amore to a big pop. They cut promos on the match and Cass heads to the ring. We get formal ring introductions from JoJo.
Back from the break and we get the bell. Owens immediately goes to the floor and leans up against the barrier next to Foley and Stephanie. Reigns and Cass start working on Rollins. Cass sends Rollins over the top. Reigns and Cass meet in the middle of the ring but get attacked from behind by Owens and Rollins. More back and forth in and out of the ring. Cass ends up sending Owens to the floor and meeting Reigns in the middle again.
Cass and Reigns go at it. Reigns gets the upperhand. They both tumble to the floor after Cass nails a big boot. Rollins runs the ropes and nails a suicide dive. Owens comes over and drops Rollins on the barrier. Reigns runs the ropes and takes out Owens. We go to commercial with everyone down on the floor.
Back from the break and Owens nails a big elbow from the apron on Cass. Rollins takes Owens out as he yells at Stephanie and Foley. More back and forth with Rollins and Owens looking strong. Owens works over Cass in the ring now, keeping him off his feet. Owens readies for the corner cannonball but Rollins pulls him to the floor and sends him in the barrier. Rollins comes in and Cass charges but lands face first in the corner. Rollins nails him and mocks him, slapping Cass around. Reigns runs in with a big clothesline on Rollins, and another> Cass floors Reigns with a big boot.
Cass runs wild and hits the Empire Elbow on Rollins. He scoops Rollins but Reigns nails a Superman punch on Cass. Rollins sends Reigns into the ring post. Rollins kicks Cass for a 2 count. Owens with a Frogsplash on Cass for the first pin. Big Cass has been eliminated. We go to commercial.
Back from the break and Owens with more offense, pin attempts. Reigns comes back and unloads on Rollins in the corner as some fans boo and some count. They trade counters but Reigns drops him with a boot. Fans boo as Reigns readies for a Superman punch. Rollins ducks it and ends up sending Reigns to the floor but he lands on his feet. Rollins goes for a dive but eats a right hand. Rollins comes in with a Superman punch but it’s blocked. Rollins with a Falcon Arrow for a 2 count. More back and forth. Reigns nails a Superman punch in mid-air for a close 2 count.
Rollins blocks a spear and nails an enziguri. Owens comes in with cannonballs for both men. Reigns nails a Superman punch on Owens and covers for a close 2 count. Owens blocks a spear. Reigns blocks a pop-up powerbomb with the big punch. Owens rolls to the floor. Reigns blocks a Pedigree and rolls Rollins up. Reigns goes on and hits the sitdown powerbomb for a 2 count. Reigns ends up hitting the Drive By on Rollins, then a Superman on Owens on the floor. Rollins and Owens are down on the floor now. Reigns spears Rollins on the floor. Triple H suddenly appears and lays Reigns out with a Pedigree on the floor. Triple H rolls Reigns in the ring and then wakes Rollins up, sending him in. Rollins covers Reigns and pins him for the elimination. Reigns is eliminated. Triple H drags Reigns under the bottom rope and walks off.
Triple H rolls Owens in the ring next and follows. He takes off his coat and kicks Rollins out of nowhere to a big pop. He looks at Owens and drops Rollins with a Pedigree. Owens is shocked. He covers Rollins for the pin and the title.
Winner and New WWE Universal Champion: Kevin Owens
– After the match, Triple H celebrates with Owens. He leaves the ring and stops to stare at Foley and Stephanie before walking to the back. They’re shocked also. We get replays and shots of Owens going wild with the title. RAW goes off the air with the new WWE Universal Champion celebrating.