Raw Thread

And now we have 205 Live & NXT UK's Vic Joseph as the third man after The Fiend's attack on Lawler

Ricochet & The Miz vs Drew McIntyre & Baron Corbin:

McIntyre with an Overhead Belly to Belly Suplex on Miz for a 2 count, Drew with a Spinebuster then jumps into a Jackknife pin for a 2 count, Ricochet ducks Corbin's Dream Crusher then hits a Barrel Roll Dropkick for a 2 count, Springboard Lariat, Standing Moonsault, but McIntyre makes the save, Drew with a biel on Ricochet, Claymore countered into a Superkick, Skull Crushing Finale, Chokeslam to Miz, Ricochet lands on his feet after a Chokeslam, Deep Six, but only gets a near fall, Corbin charges, but Miz pulls Ricochet out of the way then Ricochet finishes Corbin with The Recoil for the win

Seth Rollins catches up to Braun backstage and says he sees how it’s going and he knows Braun is going to want to come after the title and if it was up to him, Strowman would be his next challenger.

But for right now he’s gonna see if he can get them a tag title match tonight. He asks if Braun is in and gets no response but takes it as a yes

Samoa Joe vs Cesaro:

Cesaro with a Rolling Swiss Upercut out of the gate for a near fall, Springboard Rolling Swiss Uppercut for a 1 count, Joe blocks the Giant Swing, Joe with a Back Elbow then a CCS Enzugiri sends Cesaro to the floor, Joe follows with a Tope Suicida, they trade Chops, Joe with a Lariat, Cesaro avoids the Running Senton and unleashes a barrage of European Upppercuts, Mafia Kick for a near fall, Joe blocks a Suplex, Cesaro hits it the second time for a 2 count, Cesaro up top, Diving Crossbody for a near fall, Cesaro charges, but Joe catches him with a ST-Joe then follows with a Running Senton for a near fall, Cesaro takes Joe down into the Giant Swing then the Sharpshooter then converts to a Crossface, but Joe turns into a flash pin for a near fall, Cesaro goes for a Springboard, but Joe catches him with The Coquina Clutch & Cesaro taps out

Joe advances to the Quarter-Finals

Rey Mysterio is interviewed backstage.

He thanks Charly Caruso for her time and the forum to let everyone know what’s going on. He says he’s very fortunate to have his family and the career he’s had, and he remembers his uncle training him as a little boy and also meeting all kinds of folks that he calls not just his fans, but his friends. Recently things haven’t been clicking, and what Andrade “Cien” Almas did was a disgrace.

Rey talks about what an insult it is to have your mask ripped off but what hurts more is that he hasn’t been able to do anything about it. Usually in the ring he can see what his next moves are, but lately his body hasn’t been responding to that vision, and his biggest fear is that now his injuries have finally caught up to him.

He collects himself for a beat and says that he knows that this day comes to everyone at some point, he just didn’t expect it would come to him. But he understands now that it’s time for him to hang up the mask and let the new generation of stars make their wave. He starts taking his mask off when his son Dominic rolls up and asks him to hear him out.

Dominic says that Rey told him when he debuted he’d debut as his partner, and he wants to keep the chain unbroken from Rey Misterio, Sr. to Rey Misterio, Jr. and make his debut alongside his father. He asks his father to keep going and promises to make him proud. Mysterio says he’ll do it for him because he loves him and they embrace

The New Day vs The Revival:

Xavier with a Lariat on Dawson for a 2 count, E with with a pair of Overhead Belly to Belyy Suplexes, Side Belly to Belly, Big Splash, New Day looks for the kill, Dawson shoves Xavier to the floor, E was looking for the Spear Suicida, when Orton runs in and rops E with a RKO for a dq

Kofi runs down and takes down Orton with a Barrel Roll Lariat, then a Double Jump Ax Handle on Revival, RKO to Kofi, Orton picks up Kofi, Xavier helpls out Kofi, but Revival & Orton with a Double Flapjack into a RKO on Xavier, Orton tells them to break his leg, Revival has Xavier in position for the leg break that they used on Cass & Enzo in NXT, & Orton forces Kofi to watch Revival snap Xavier's leg

Sasha Banks is interviewed.

She thanks Michael Cole for the time and says she’d like to explain from the very beginning. Last week she looked in the mirror and she told herself that blue is her color and look at it, it’s all over social media how she looks good and she’s better than ever. She says she looks good and feels even better, to which Cole says nobody’s talking about her hair, but rather her return to WWE to attack Natalya and Becky Lynch.

She takes a minute to consider before leaning in and simply saying “You’re welcome” and leaving

Cedric Alexander vs Sami Zayn:

Zayn with a Lariat for a 1 count, another cover for a 1 count, Backbreaker for a 2 count, another cover and another 2 count, Michinoku Driver II for a near fall, Cedric with a Dropkick then a Tope Suicida, back in, Neuralizer then finishes Sami with The Lumbar Check for the win

Cedric advances to the Quarters

If you noticed a difference in the quality of Raw tonight there's a reason for it, Vince was NOT at the show per ProWrestlingSheets and Heyman was in full control with Triple H & Kevin Dunn (now there's an odd pairing) running production, they switched Cole to color commentator and Vic Joseph in the lead play by play role

Sasha Banks making her entrance.

A recap of Sasha’s return and interview follows.

The Boss gets on the mic and says everybody wants to know why, and where she’s been. She throws up four fingers, Horsemen-style, and says she’s been gone four months, out of sight, minding her own business, but all she hears is people talking about her. About how she threw a fit (she did), how she was crying on the floor at WrestleMania (she did), and how she took her ball and went home (you’re damn right she did), but not for reasons you might think.

She was relegated to a tag team match she didn’t care about at WrestleMania, defending tag titles that meant even less while Becky Lynch got to main event WrestleMania against Ronda Rousey. So you’re right, she took her ball and went home and went on a couple amazing vacations with her WrestleMania paycheck, which, by the way, not as big as Becky’s.

When she came back, she came to work, and she wanted to make a perfect moment. And there she was, poor old innocent Natalya. And who came to save the day? Good ol’ Becky Lynch, and now Banks is the center of attention that she deserves to be for running the division since day one. And now, she deserves all this glory. So she--

Enter Natalya, elbow taped up but ready to fight! Double leg on the floor, grounded punches, the Boss turns it around and they brawl! Putting Banks into the steel steps, they roll around and referees and road agents swarm to separate them! At length, Scott Armstrong finally manages to pull Neidhart off

Braun and Seth are interviewed backstage. Rollins says it’s quite a situation he’s gotten himself into, but that’s what they do, so they’ll be ready for all comers. Strowman refuses to speak about the tag titles for a beat before agreeing and then asking who Seth will let step up and challenge him for the Universal Championship. Rollins starts talking about all the challengers before realizing that Braun must be challenging him for Big Red.

Strowman plays off like he’s just trying to make sure they’re on the same page to defend the tag titles before saying of course he’s challenging for the Universal Championship. Rollins accepts the challenge!