Following an eventful Clash of Champions PPV last night, it looked clear to everyone that Raw was going to be a show you wanted to tune into. With the King of the Ring Finals set to take place and the Universal Championship match to build to, it certainly did not let fans down. Here are the RAW highlights:
Raw Highlights: King of the Ring Finals: Baron Corbin vs Chad Gable
After weeks of matches that stole the show and conflict that made fans second guess, we were finally here. The 2019 King of the Ring Finals in a match that had Baron Corbin from the Raw side taking on Chad Gable from SmackDown LIVE. In most cases, becoming the “King” can change your career for the better, and that feeling was real during the bout and tournament even. Corbin brought it to Gable for much of the match, beating the smaller man down in hopes of him taking no more.
The former Olympian would not give in however, fighting back time after time and even looking like he’d capture the victory. Gable would it the Chaos Theory for a close fall, then locking in the Ankle Lock. Corbin screamed and ripped at the bat to try and survive, having enough power to do so. The finish would go as Gable went for a Tilt-a-Whirl Hurricanrana but would be met with an End of Days, shutting down his dreams of being “King”. The underdog story was a good one and had the fans on their feet. Tomorrow night will be the official coronation of King Corbin. Get used to it.
Raw Highlights: Rusev Returns… with Maria Kanellis?
A gender reveal party done for Maria Kanellis, hosted by The Street Profits. Okay. Spoiler alert, it’s a boy. The real story here was Maria once again belittling her husband, Mike Kanellis. She said that the father was instead Ricochet, leading to match between the two that saw Mike lose in short fashion as Ricochet hit the Recoil. Following the bout, Maria said it wasn’t Ricochet, but it wasn’t Mike either. Without confirming who it was, Rusev made his way down to the ring looking better than ever. Rusev eviscerated Mike, locking him in the Accolade to win their impromptu match. No word of Lana in this one, as it looks like Rusev and Maria may be a new combo.
Raw Highlights: Horsewomen Conflict Leads To Hell
The match was Bayley and Sasha Banks facing the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. Early in the match, Bliss was injured when she was ripped down from the apron and was not seen the rest of the match. This allowed Bayley and Sasha to beat down Nikki Cross who would not give up but simply did not have enough to stop both of them. Bayley and Banks would come out victorious when Sasha made Cross tap via Bank Statement. After the match, Banks would introduce a chair and begin to beat down Cross before Becky Lynch made her way down with chair in hand. Both Banks and Lynch swung their chairs at each other, smashing them before getting to a stalemate.
Bayley would slide back in with a chair in her hand as it all but seemed Becky Lynch would be beaten down much like everyone else. Charlotte Flair instead made her way down to the ring to even the odds. She would hit the big boot on Bayley to hit the chair out of her hand, allowing Lynch to take down Sasha in the ring. Following the Horsewomen conflict that continues, Banks would challenge “The Man” to a match at Hell in a Cell for the championship. Lynch would accept, but take it one step further. She said she wants a match in the Cell. These two are far from done. It certainly looks like they will be heading to hell together.
Raw MVP: Bray Wyatt’s Imagination
Rather than just give all credit to “The Fiend”, why not instead give it to the mind that created it. Bray Wyatt ticks a lot differently than most people. His mind and the ways he discovers what is next is impeccable. He is on the fast track to the “superstardom” that he was predicted to conquer long ago. And while it may have taken a little longer than many would have liked, it’s better late than never.
Wyatt interrupted Seth Rollins at the top of the show as the Firefly Fun House became interactive with Seth. He highlighted how Rollins has made a lot of mistakes and most people forget them. But he, as in “The Fiend”, never forgets. Throughout the night, the Fun House would reappear with Bray saying it may be time to go find some new friends as he had all those who had fallen to “The Fiend” so far on his wall with their eyes crossed out.
As the main event came around, it was Seth Rollins one on one with Robert Roode. Rollins was a count away from scoring the victory following a Stomp before Dolph Ziggler interjected himself into the match, leading to a disqualification. The OC would come down to the ring to join in on the beat down before Kane returned to the arena following his day with R-Truth, in full mask and all, to help and save the hurt Universal Champion. Kane would clear the ring before the lights finally began to go out one by one. “The Fiend” would appear behind Kane, who’s fate would be the same as all those before him. The Mandible Claw was once again the victor as “The Fiend” stared fear into Seth to end the night. Cherish this run right now, as imagination continues to come to light for Wyatt and his alter-ego.
With Knoxville County Mayor Glenn Jacobs gracing the fans of Raw with his presence to try and help save Seth Rollins, it was clearly a can’t-miss kind of night. “The Fiend” is coming for Seth Rollins, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop that. He will add to the list until the Universal Championship is around his waist.
Be sure to check back tomorrow for the SmackDown LIVE Recap as we are in for yet another big show, including the coronation of King Corbin himself.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Subscribe to the WWE Network to see all of WWE’s content and to see these Raw highlights in full.
