Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will battle for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on ‘Monday Night Raw’ on July 18th. (WWE.com)
Tonight on Monday Night Raw, it’s the final show before the brand split, after which Raw and SmackDown will become fundamentally different programs. The WWE is about to change forever. Read on for match results and updates from throughout the night, and read on for a full preview of the episode written earlier this afternoon.
8:00 – Stephanie McMahon enters to massive boos. She’s immediately interrupted by Shane McMahon. Both of them say they won’t miss working together. Stephanie brags that Raw has the advantage in the draft.
Both have to name their general managers for their respective programs. Stephanie announces the new GM of Monday Night Raw will be…Mick Foley!
Mick Foley enters. He calls back to the Attitude Era and the Monday Night Wars. He says he will bring the same ruthlessness and competitive streak to Raw, ensuring it consistently beats SmackDown.
Shane McMahon announces the new general manager of SmackDown…Daniel Bryan! Bryan enters to massive “Yes!” chants all around. He tells the crowd that he missed them twice as much as they missed him. He says SmackDown will put the superstars, not the management, first. Bryan also says SmackDown is the underdog just the way he always was. Stephanie calls Daniel a B+ player for a B+ show.
8:25 – Sami Zayn & Cesaro defeat Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens.
8:40 – Backstage, Stephanie McMahon says Daniel Bryan is like the doll from the Chucky movies: he just won’t go away.
8:45 – Darren Young defeats Alberto Del Rio.
8:55 – John Cena enters, hyping up the WWE draft. He also says he’s going to defeat The Club at Battleground with the help of Enzo & Cass. Enzo & Cass enter, with Enzo Amore mercilessly roasting The Club. Big Cass calls them sawft.
The Club enters. They say that John Cena, Enzo and Cass have no chemistry together, especially compared to them, a well-oiled machine. They say that tonight they will beat up John Cena, Enzo and Cass.
The New Day enters. They talk about surviving the Wyatt Family Compound, saying they will defeat them at Battleground. Xavior Woods goes off on a tangent about Pokemon Go, saying that he’s a level 21 and is Team Valor for life.
The Wyatt Family enters. The 12-man tag team match will begin next.
9:15 – The Club and The Wyatt Family defeat John Cena, Enzo & Cass and The New Day in a match lasting roughly 20 minutes.
9:41 – In a pre-taped segment, Seth Rollins arrives at an empty arena prior to the show starting. He says Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns were always just pawns in his game. He was always two steps ahead of them. He says that Roman Reigns will never be the same when he returns from suspension, and Dean Ambrose is a thief and coward. Tonight, he will put an end to Dean Ambrose’s run as WWE Champion.
9:47 – Backstage, Shane McMahon warns Mick Foley that Stephanie McMahon chose him because he could be easily manipulated.
9:51 – Baron Corbin defeats Sin Cara. He continues to beat up Sin Cara after the match ends. Kalisto enters to protect Sin Cara, and Kalisto and Baron Corbin brawl outside the ring.
9:58 – Charlotte & Dana Brooke defeat Sasha Banks & Becky Lynch by disqualification.
10:05 – In a pre-taped segment, Dean Ambrose says that he will retain his title both tonight and on Sunday.
10:11 – Rusev & Sheamus defeat Dolph Ziggler & Zack Ryder by submission.
10:30 – Mick Foley and Daniel Bryan talk backstage, saying they have respect for one another but that they’re both going to try as hard as they can to kick each others’ ass. “Let the games begin,” Foley says.
10:37 – Seth Rollins defeats Dean Ambrose and reclaims the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, although the result of the match is in dispute as the show ends.
The biggest event taking place tonight is a battle for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. That’s right: six days before the Battleground pay-per-view, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will be battling to determine which one of them will hold the belt going into their triple threat match with Roman Reigns. Who will walk into Battleground on Sunday with the upper hand?
Plus, this week we will be learning more about the future of SmackDown and Raw. Last week it was decided that Stephanie McMahon would be the new commissioner of Raw and Shane McMahon would be the new commissioner of SmackDown. But they were both tasked with hiring new General Managers for their respective shows, and according to WWE.com, tonight’s broadcast will kick off with the announcement of the two new GMs. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen plenty of past General Managers throw their hats in the ring, like John Laurinaitis and Teddy Long. Could it be one of them? Or someone completely unexpected?
In the women’s division, Sasha Banks will be battling Charlotte and Dana Brooke at Battleground on Sunday. But before that happens, Sasha must secure an ally of her own to help in the match. As WWE’s official preview points out, it’s unclear who in the division might want to help Sasha. Will The Boss find someone this evening?
The feud between The New Day and The Wyatt Family is also expected to continue after last week’s borderline incomprehensible fight at the Wyatt Family Compound. Basically nothing was resolved during that battle, so where is this storyline going from here? And is it possible that the New Day members are about to be broken up in the draft? Finally, we should expect to see Rusev go up against Zack Ryder after the Long Island Iced Z intervened during a match last week.
It all begins tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on the USA Network.