Cole is back and Dolph is replacing Joe on commentary for RAW IN YOUR FACE. So I guess they’re going for the same 50+ demo that the XWF wanted 19 years ago. Drew comes out after a long recap video of the Orton feud and says he was worned that one bad shot could end his title reign – but he’s willing to risk it. Drew wants an ambulance match with Orton and Pearce says that Orton may not be cleared for that match, but if Keith Lee can beat Drew tonight, it will be a title match. That’s a nice way to add some stakes. Lee and Drew tease tension. Cole talks about the inter-brand invitational allowing superstars like Nakamura and Cesaro last week to come to the show once per quarter… so here they are again as the SD tag champs face the Raw tag champs. The face team wins a long, somewhat boring match after Cesaro hits a powerplex on Ford, but a blind tag allows Dawkins to come in and hit a frog splash to pin Cesaro.
Lana flirts with Garza for a bit and then Andrade and Garza argue. They brawl and make sure that their blue and white suits match the boxes they’re around. Dominik chats with his family as he prepares to face Seth in a steel cage match later. The Hurt Business is out with a new tron and theme with MVP hyping them up. Apollo and Ricochet call Cedric a sellout and then Cedric beats Ricochet quickly. So they’re pretty stupid babyfaces in all this as the heels are making valid points and are constantly proven to be correct.
The Hurt Business talks to Pearce about needing to be the security detail for the show with Retribution around. Asuka faces Mickie in a good little match. Mickie eats a knee to the jaw, but a missed hip attack leads o the Mick Kick for 2. A half crab leads to Asuka getting to the ropes. Asuka gets the Asuka Lock and Mickie doesn’t tap, but the ref says she can’t continue. Vega insults Asuka and I guess we’re getting Vega vs. Asuka at Clash of Champions.
MVP gets on commentary to replace Dolph as Lashley demolishes Erik in two minutes. So after all the buildup on Raw Underground with him being this badass fighter, he’s just taken out in two minutes with the full nelson after getting in a few knee strikes. Wow. Sarah Shrieber asks KO if he knows why Aleister went after him and he says maybe it’s due to Hot Topic not honoring his coupon, but he doesn’t care why – he’ll take him out and make him run to his hiding spot. Braun chats with Shane outside the Raw Underground area and wants his best guy. This apparently doesn’t count against Strowman’s SD to Raw arrangement because anyone can show up at Raw Underground, so that’s a thing now.
Murphy and Seth reuninte with Seth smacking him around and telling him to stay put. Mandy Rose is coming to Raw to make it Monday Night Rose. Fantastic. Dom says that he won’t back down and Rey says Seth is the one who needs to be scared. Seth and Dom have a nice, basic cage match. Dom’s a great face in peril and his babyface is perfect for being raked against the cage for sympathy. Dom gets a schoolboy, but eats a pair of stomps to end it. Seth sends the cage door into Murphy’s face as a sacrifice and tells Angie he hopes she did a better job with her daughter than her son.
In Raw Underground, Dolph beats up a dude and then Moss fights him but Braun takes them out. Drew is interviewed backstage and Keith talks smack to him and then they brawl after Lee goes to touch the belt and Drew slugs him. Braun takes out more guys and then Titus O’Neil. KO faces Aleister, who jumps him before the break. Black gets a kneebar and teases a tapout before getting a rope break. Black goes for the Black Mass, but the lights flicker and Owens hits the stunner for the win. That’s kind of a heelish win and why even bother having Black lose if you’re just going to tease Retribution?
MVP complains about Retribution and Cole says he thought his group had it under control. Cole sure is bitchy to a guy who is willing to help protect him and his co-workers. Lee beats up Drew and acts like a prick to him. Boy what a show full of likeable babyfaces. The Riott Squad beat Nattie and Lana after a codebreaker/Riott kick combo. Shayna and Nia beat up Lana and Nattie with Lana taking a bump through the announce table. Yeah, that’s a thing she should be taking. Braun takes out a couple of dudes in Raw Underground before beating up Dolph too. Dabbo-Kato confronts him and they’ll fight next week. Drew and Keith Lee have a short, good-ish match.
Lee is in new, far worse-looking gear. He’s in a black and pink singlet with a top that makes him look so much worse than the compression-style stuff he was wearing before. Drew lands a nice punch, and avoids a spirit bomb, but eats a superplex. Retribution beats them up and then the Hurt Business stares down and brawls with Retribution before both Lee and Drew hit flip dives on everyone. So I guess they’ll be wacky tag partners that can’t get along and win the Raw Tag Titles after Drew loses the title without being pinned in the ambulance match.
