Monday Night Raw was backed into a corner with little time to prepare for their weekly episode following the previous night's Clash of Champions. With ratings expected to dip in the latter portion of the show, things kicked off early but did any gold change hands with multiple championships on the line?
Emotional Rusev
With WWE keen to keep their audience focused on the in-ring action, they placed a huge title match on to kick things off on RAW. Roman Reigns defended his United States Championship against the man he defeated to pick up the belt last night at COC; Rusev. The match started slowly with a real focus on wrestling ability with The Bulgarian Brute keen to limit the movement of The Big Dog.
Rusev, however, could not keep the champion down as Reigns inevitably powered through following Rusev's serving of power. Both men have built up an aggressive rivalry over the past month and it showed as the duo took their brawl over the protective barricade and inside the WWE Universe. The official counted to ten and the match ended in a count-out for both men, with Roman looking to send a message to Rusev he was instead greeted by a chair shot to the ribs.
The former Shield member was in a bad way as he rolled back into the ring and just when it looked as if he would be beaten down further he hit a spear out of nowhere! Reigns had the chair in one hand and his title in the other with the fans chanting for him to give in to his temptations, but he used the chair to sit down and stare at his fallen opponent. With Rusev waking up from his nap he hit him with a chair shot for good measure and send the brute packing as he scurried away with his wife Lana.
The best of seven series climax
One of the biggest questions left on the lips of the WWE Universe following COC was the conclusion to the best of seven series final match between Sheamus and Cesaro. The two men gave it their all in the past few weeks yet their finale ended in chaos and the official ruled that neither man was able to continue as they tumbled over the barricade.
Mick Foley invited both men to the ring as they protested that they were the most dominant in the seven-match battle but the RAW general manager had a plan in mind. He said that BOTH men would be granted a future title shot but together as they would team up to face the winner of The New Day vs The Club in their rematch later tonight.
Sasha's shot
Charlotte was in the mood to gloat following her win over both Sasha Banks and Bayley at the previous night's pay-per-view taking her record to 12-0 at PPV's. One person tired of hearing The Nature Girl talk was Sasha Banks as she entered the ring to demand her one-on-one title shot. Surprisingly the champion accepted her request but said that it would be next week, something that infuriated The Boss.
Banks delivered a slap to the face of Charlotte before locking in the Bank statement on Dana Brooke, just as the champion recovered she was quickly sent flying out of the ring, followed by her prodigy in a huge show of power from Sasha.
Four hundred and not out
The New Day came close to losing their titles at COC yet they somehow retained as their World Tag-Team reign continued. However, on their four hundredth day as champions, all signs pointed to the trio losing the belts with the winner going on to eventually face the unlikely pairing of Sheamus and Cesaro. The champions, however, remained that way but this time, they did it in a clean way without the help of Francesca as Kofi Kingston with his face pouring in blood scooped the win.
The former United States Champion was busted open following a clash with the steel steps as he bled profusely in the center of the ring but he was still able to hit the trouble in paradise to pick up the win.
Seth Rollins injured
During the show, we were informed that following a medical examination earlier that day Seth Rollins would be unable to compete. Stephanie McMahon ordered Foley to make sure that for the 'sake of his health' he does not go after Owens or Jericho.
The Architect did exactly that but was halted by a team of security as The Man did little to force his way through to get his hands on the duo. Maybe the former Shield member is legitimately injured, but regardless of that Jericho and Owens did get a taste of their own medicine as they took on Big Cass and Enzo Amore.
Despite the champion and Y2J defeating the former NXT performers, they were still pushed to their limit in a great closing match where ratings were naturally going to be low with eyes focused on the presidential debate taking place elsewhere.