Oh, hell yeah! WWE officially returned to Madison Square Garden tonight to hold their first live show in 10 years from the venue as a part of their back to back nights as MSG this week. With Stone Cold Steve Austin and some dazzling matches scheduled to take place, we knew we’d be in for a treat. Sit back, relax, and here are the Raw highlights from the return to the garden.
Raw Highlights: King of the Ring Night 7 Results
The King of the Ring tournament has been one of the best parts of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown LIVE since it was announced, only meaning that it will be sad to see it go. For now, the Raw side has officially been determined following an incredible Triple Threat bout in the semifinals last night.
King of the Ring Semifinals: Ricochet vs Samoa Joe vs Baron Corbin
The New York crowd was hot last night as these three men went to war in hopes of being the representative from the Raw brand come Clash of Champions this Sunday. The crowd was split in three as all three men had an opportunity to capture victory. Ricochet has quite possibly his most impressive showing since making it to the main roster at the beginning of the year, as he put on a display of athleticism that is unmatched.
As the match came to a close, that display almost led to victory for “The One and Only” as he hit a Codebreaker on Samoa Joe to lay him out. He’d then climb to the top and hit a beautiful 630 Splash that he would get all of and then some. As he went for the victory, Baron Corbin through him out of the ring and stole the victory. King Corbin really could be on its way, with Elias or Chad Gable being the final hope come Sunday to try and stop the former Constable.
Raw Highlights: Stone Cold’s Return to The Garden
Anytime Stone Cold Steve Austin returns to the WWE, it is a big deal. The reactions that he got back in the Attitude Era are carried into today. When the glass shatters, there is no one that gets a bigger reaction in the history of wrestling like Stone Cold. It makes it even more special being in Madison Square Garden. Austin made his way down to the ring and talked about his past times in the arena, including him preparing to take on Bret Hart and the first time he hit the Stunner on Vince McMahon. Before long though, Stone Cold knew it was time to get to work.
Both Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman would come down to the ring to sign the contract, while both making some jokes with Stone Cold before ultimately signing and preparing for their bout against each other. Then, much like last week, The OC would make their way out. AJ Styles would make the point to Austin that they didn’t want any problems and he should leave before it got ugly. Stone Cold made the point that nothing is going to change and this led to Rollins and Strowman go at them. By the end of their scuffle, Austin would hit Styles with a perfect Stone Cold Stunner as always to end the beginning of the night and prove a successful return to the garden.
But Austin would not be done just yet. Following the huge victory for Cedric Alexander and company in the main event, Austin would head to the ring yet again to have a few beers with them all to perfectly end the night.
Raw Highlights: Rey Mysterio vs Gran Metalik shine through
When it was announced, fans felt the excitement as these two incredible superstars got to go one on one and put on a show for the garden. Rey Mysterio, following his threat of retiring, officially returned to the ring in a matchup with “The King of the Ropes”, Gran Metalik. First impressions before the bout even started was that 205 Live is quickly taking over both brands, with star making performances occurring what feels to be week in and week out and that continued with Gran Metalik. If you didn’t see this one live, make sure to go out of your way to watch as these two men put on one hell of a show. Mysterio would win with the 619 with a Frog Splash to follow. The two men showed respect as this was a show-stealer, on a night that had more than one of those.
Raw Highlights: “Stranger Danger” at the Fun House
As it did not lead to anything just yet, this version of the Firefly Fun House included Bray Wyatt and Rambling Rabbit discussing “Stranger Danger” was real this week. The stranger? Stone Cold. Rambling would ask what would happen to Stone Cold, as Bray and “The Fiend” have taken care of past strangers week in and week out by putting them down. While nothing occurred between the two last night, it surely could in the future with Bray taking shots.
Raw MVP: Four Horsewomen
Batista made the perfect quote at the beginning of this year with the words “give me what I want!” Well, those words stay true here but in a completely different manner. When the Four Horsewomen, who we know as Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Bayley, are in the ring together, magic happens. And that of course happened again last night as Becky and Charlotte put their differences aside to take on the common enemy of Sasha Banks and Bayley. And they didn’t wait for the bell to ring before bringing the fight to the former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
These four had no problem laying it in a little extra in hopes of coming out victorious, with both duos working incredibly well together throughout the bout. Towards the finish, Becky Lynch and Charlotte hit a tag team combination as Lynch hit a leg drop on Bayley from the second rope with Charlotte following with a moonsault which would be stopped at a two count by Sasha Banks. The bout would find its end when Flair hit Natural Selection on Bayley for the pinfall. This was the first match between these four ever on the main roster, and we can only imagine a main event on a possible WrestleMania hopefully including these four once again.
A home rum overall is a show as Raw had a big time feel from the start. Something about Madison Square Garden that brings out the best in all individuals that step in the squared circle and that showed again last night. With that being said, make sure to tune back tomorrow for the SmackDown Rundown as the blue brand takes on MSG!
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.
