WWE RAW Coverage & Discussion Thread - October 16th, 2017

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Roman Reigns battles Braun Strowman inside a steel cage

Less than one week before the reunited Shield battles Braun Strowman, Intercontinental Champion The Miz, Sheamus & Cesaro in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match at WWE TLC, Roman Reigns goes to the extreme against The Monster Among Men in a Steel Cage Match. Can Reigns take down Strowman inside the unforgiving structure without the aid of his fellow Hounds of Justice?


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– Tonight’s WWE RAW opens up with a look at recent happenings with The Shield, Braun Strowman, The Bar and WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz.

– We’re live from Portland, Oregon as Michael Cole welcomes us. He’s joined by Corey Graves and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T.

– We go right to the ring and out comes RAW General Manager Kurt Angle to a pop. There are tables, ladders and chairs all over the place.

Angle welcomes us and says it’s safe to say that The Shield is back together. He plugs the big TLC main event for Sunday. Angle says that’s this Sunday but he wants to focus on tonight. The classic Shield theme intro plays as the music hits and out comes Roman Reigns and RAW Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose, through the crowd with their old gear on. The Shield hits the apron and stares Angle down as the crowd starts a “this is awesome” chant.

The Shield looks as if they might attack Angle like old days. Angle asks fans if they want to hear from The Shield. Reigns says Angle made a good decision because when The Hounds come, you have two choices – hand it over or they beat your ass. Rollins jokes with Reigns to relax. Rollins talks some about their history now and says he is proud to stand here 5 years later with his brothers because The Shield is now back and better than ever. It looks like Angle has left now. Ambrose takes the mic next. Ambrose hypes the TLC main event and puts over how dominant The Shield is. Ambrose calls Braun Strowman, Cesaro, Sheamus and the WWE Intercontinental Champion to the ring for a fight as the crowd pops. Braun’s music hits and out they come. Curtis Axel is with them.

Angle says we are not having the 3-on-4 match tonight, save it for Sunday. He mentions tonight’s Steel Cage match and the RAW Tag Team Title match with The Bar getting a shot, then announces that tonight’s RAW will make history, oh it’s true… it’s damn true. Angle’s music hits as the heels stare The Shield down from the stage.

– The announcers hype The Bar vs. Rollins & Ambrose for later tonight as well as the Steel Cage main event. Also, Braun will be a guest on MizTV. We go to commercial.

Elias, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. Titus O’Neil, Apollo Crews and Jason Jordan

Back from the break and Elias is in the ring with Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson. They all do some singing with Gallows singing about nerd Jason Jordan. Jordan’s music interrupts and out he comes with Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews.

Gallows starts off with Titus and ends up beating him into the corner, then calling him a nerd. Titus fights back and overpowers Gallows. Jordan and Anderson come in and go at it. Jordan gets the upperhand before the babyfaces clear the ring and stand tall as we go back to commercial.

Back from the break and Gallows floors Crews and then hits him with a cheap shot. Elias tags in and works over Crews for a 2 count. Crews catches a shot and tries for a tag to Jordan but Anderson comes in and stops it. Jordan finally gets the tag and goes to work, dropkicking Anderson. Jordan takes Anderson into the corner, to another corner and then back to the first. Jordan keeps control and hits a belly-to-belly but Elias breaks the pin.

Titus and Gallows come in with big boots. Jordan ends up taking out Anderson and Gallows out with spears. Crews follows up with a sitdown powerbomb on Anderson for the pin.

Winners: Jason Jordan, Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews

– After the match, Titus Worldwide and Jason Jordan stand tall in the ring.

– The announcers plug Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view.

– Still to come, The Bar gets a title shot. Also, our Steel Cage main event. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and we get a promo for Asuka’s debut on Sunday. Renee Young is with Emma backstage. Emma is tired of hearing about Asuka and wonders why the attention isn’t on her. She started the women’s revolution after all. She beat 4 of the top Superstars last week and wonders what Asuka has done around here. RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss appears. She agrees that Asuka hasn’t done anything. Bliss thanks Emma for building the women’s revolution all by herself. She starts in on Mickie James now, saying she tears women down and isn’t a locker room leader. Bliss says the younger Superstars need to stick together. She asks Emma to team with her tonight against Mickie and her partner, if she can find one. Emma agrees and they walk off.

– We get a look at recent happenings on WWE 205 Live.

Cedric Alexander vs. Jack Gallagher

We go to the ring and out comes Cedric Alexander. Back to commercial.

Back from the break and Jack Gallagher is out with Brian Kendrick. We see the Steel Cage hanging above the ring. Gallagher enters the ring but do does Kendrick, who tries to intimidate Cedric before the bell. The music hits and out comes Rich Swann to stand in Cedric’s corner. A tag match is announced for TLC on Sunday.

Cedric takes control early on, avoiding a distraction from Kendrick. Gallagher ends up turning it around and working Cedric over thanks to Kendrick. Gallagher controls most of the match. Kendrick gets involved again but Swann takes him out on the floor. This leads to Cedric hitting the Lumbar Check on Gallagher for the pin.

Winner: Cedric Alexander

– After the match, Swann and Cedric stand tall in the ring.

– Still to come, MizTV with Braun.

– Back from the break and out comes WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz with Curtis Axel, Cesaro and Sheamus for another must see edition of MizTV. Greg Hamilton does the introduction.

The group enters the ring where there are tables, ladders and chairs. Miz welcomes us and says Roman Reigns sent them away earlier without giving the fans what they wanted. Miz goes on and mentions how The Bar will take back the RAW Tag Team Titles tonight. Cesaro and Sheamus both speak on how they will shatter The Shield tonight. A “you look stupid” chant starts up at Sheamus but he says they’re all just jealous. Miz knocks the crowd and asks Sheamus to continue. Sheamus goes on about tonight’s title shot and how The Shield will break. Miz says they are looking forward to Sunday and they will expose The Shield as an over-hyped nostalgia act. Miz says The Shield has never been as good as everyone thinks they are, especially after what they’ve been through. Miz talks about how group is a family, mentioning that Bo Dallas isn’t here tonight. Miz introduces tonight’s guest and out comes Braun Strowman.

Braun talks about how The Shield put him through the announce table last week because none of them can stop him on their own. Now he will tear them apart, one by one, piece by piece, until The Shield is done and gone forever. That starts tonight in the Steel Cage with Reigns. Braun will make them lock the door shut so he can make sure Reigns won’t run away. Miz says The Shield is no match for this group. A “yes!” chant starts when he asks if fans think The Shield can take them on. Miz brings up how Dean Ambrose said they can take on 4 or 5 people. Fans chant for Axel as Miz starts to announce a fifth member of their team this Sunday. GM Kurt Angle interrupts and says Miz is pushing it too far. Miz tries to talk him into making it 3-on-5.

Angle tells Miz to shut the hell up because he’s the General Manager and he told Miz to. Angle says we will settle it in the ring like they always do on RAW. If Braun wins the Steel Cage match, Miz will get his other partner. If Reigns win the cage match, the match goes back to 3-on-3 and they lose Braun as a partner. Braun accepts the challenge but the others don’t look so sure. Angle goes to leave but he almost forgot… during both matches tonight, everyone is banned from ringside. Oh it’s true, it’s damn true. Angle’s music hits as the heels look on from the ring.

– Still to come, Ambrose and Rollins defend. We see the cage hanging high above the ring again. Also tonight, Finn Balor’s demonic message to Sister Abigail. Back to commercial.

Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox

Back from the break and out come Sasha Banks as Alicia Fox waits. We see highlights from last week’s Fatal 5 Way and get a sidebar video of Alicia saying she didn’t tap last week, she was scratching an itch.

Sasha drops Fox as the bell hits and immediately goes into the Banks Statement but Fox makes it to the rope. Fox goes to the floor for a breather but Sasha kicks her through the ropes and brings it back in. Fox tries to retreat again and catches Sasha over the top rope. Fox with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a 2 count.

Fox keeps control until Sasha looks to make a comeback. Fox kicks out and nails an elbow. Fox with more offense before keeping Sasha grounded. Sasha ends up getting the win with the Banks Statement.

Winner: Sasha Banks

– After the match, Sasha celebrates and leaves while Fox throws a fit in the ring and refuses to leave.

– We see Enzo Amore backstage walking. We go to commercial.

– Back from the break and Charly Caruso congratulates Sasha backstage on the win. Sasha starts talking when Alicia attacks her from behind. Sasha fights back and looks to get the upperhand but Fox destroys her, tossing her into a bunch of production cases. Fox rants on how Sasha will learn to respect her. A referee tries to stop Fox but Fox shoves him down onto Sasha. Other referees finally back Fox off and get her to leave before checking on The Boss and their colleague.

– We go to the ring and out comes Enzo Amore.

Enzo introduces himself and says he’s doing alright but he heard some boos in the crowd, which brings up his missing boo – the WWE Cruiserweight Title. Enzo shows us footage of the title loss to Kalisto last week. Enzo rants about how last week was unfair. The music interrupts and out comes WWE Cruiserweight Champion Kalisto.

Kalisto knocks Enzo for trying to cast blame, and accuses him of using knock-off Gucci sheets to rest on at night. Enzo fires back and says he has $10,000 worth of stuff on right now, he doesn’t use knock-offs. They have words and hype Sunday until Kalisto is attacked from behind by Noam Dar, Ariya Daivari, Tony Nese and Drew Gulak.

Enzo talks trash on the mic while the beatdown continues. The music interrupts and out comes Mustafa Ali. He takes out Daivari at ringside and fights Enzo to get in. He continues but the numbers game catches up and the heels beat Ali down in the middle of the ring. Some fans are chanting for Neville. Kalisto tries to recover but they beat him down as well with Enzo joining in. Nese holds Kalisto while Enzo brags about how exclusive his shoes are. Enzo drops Kalisto with the JawdonZo and taunts him. Enzo says he has a question for both of them that they won’t be able to answer right now – how you doin’? Enzo’s music hits as he leaves with Daivari, Dar, Nese and Gulak.

– Still to come, the RAW Tag Team Titles will be on the line. Back to commercial.

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RAW Tag Team Title Match: The Bar vs. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose

Back from the break and out first come RAW Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose. Cesaro and Sheamus are out next.

Ambrose starts things off with Sheamus. Cesaro mocks Ambrose with a set of Shield dog tags. Ambrose takes Sheamus to the corner and unloads. Ambrose with chops before whipping Sheamus across the ring. Ambrose runs into a kick as Sheamus turns it around. Ambrose fights back and tags in Rollins for some double teaming. Rollins kicks Sheamus to the floor. Cesaro runs in but Rollins clotheslines him over the top as well. Rollins and Ambrose launch over the top and take out their opponents on the floor.

Rollins brings Sheamus back in. Rollins goes to the top but has to kick Cesaro away. Rollins comes off the top but Sheamus catches him. This leads to Cesaro taking out Rollins with a clothesline from the apron as the referee was distracted with Sheamus. We go to commercial with Sheamus stomping on Rollins.

Back from the break and Sheamus has control of Rollins as Ambrose reaches for a tag. Sheamus nails the Irish Curse backbreaker for a pin attempt. Cesaro tags in for some double teaming in the corner. Cesaro covers for a 2 count. Sheamus gets a big cheap shot kick to the face while the referee has his back turned and Cesaro covers for another pin attempt.

Cesaro takes his time with Rollins now. Rollins tries to take Cesaro back to the corner for a tag. Cesaro breaks the hold and knocks Ambrose off the corner. Sheamus ends up getting the tag and flooring Rollins for a close 2 count. Sheamus wastes some more time by arguing with the referee. Fans chant for Ambrose as he is still down off the apron. Sheamus mocks the crowd and rocks Rollins into the ropes. Rollins blocks and fights back, unloading. Rollins makes a comeback and dumps Cesaro to the floor. Ambrose is reaching for the tag now. Cesaro comes back in but Rollins counters and tags in Ambrose.

Ambrose gets the hot tag and unloads on Cesaro. Cesaro counters a bulldog but Ambrose hits a swinging neckbreaker. Ambrose goes to the top but has to roll through. Cesaro comes from behind but Ambrose counters and catapults Cesaro into the corner. He jumps on top instead and comes back down. Cesaro ends up countering Dirty Deeds. Ambrose knocks Sheamus off the apron. Rollins comes in and nails a big dive on Sheamus. Ambrose follows up and takes out Cesaro on the floor. Ambrose goes to the top after Cesaro is brought back in. Ambrose with the big elbow on Cesaro as Sheamus breaks the pin.

Rollins comes in to fight Sheamus but Sheamus hits a big backbreaker. Ambrose sends Sheamus to the floor. Cesaro with a big back body drop on Ambrose. Ambrose walks into a kick. Sheamus tags in for the big double team but they struggle with Ambrose. They drop Ambrose but Rollins breaks the pin. Cesaro catches a Rollins kick and uppercuts him down. Cesaro tags in to be the legal man. They try to double team Ambrose again but Rollins makes the save. Ambrose ends up hitting Dirty Deeds on Cesaro for the pin.

Winners: Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose

– After the match, Rollins and Ambrose stand tall with the titles as we see the cage hanging high.

– Still to come, Finn has a message for Abigail. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and Curtis Axel is trying to talk Sheamus & Cesaro into staying positive and staying strong as he wants to become the fifth man for Sunday’s TLC main event. Braun Strowman walks in and Axel says his hometown moment on Sunday hinges on Braun’s win tonight. Axel goes on about how bad he needs this match on Sunday. Axel gets riled up and says he wants to fight Roman Reigns by himself, right now. Braun tells him to go find Reigns. Axel is hesitant now. Cesaro says it sounds like Axel is scared of Reigns. Sheamus says the fifth member of their team wouldn’t be scared to fight Roman. Axel is hesitant but he walks off to find Reigns.

– The announcers show us what happened with Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt and Wyatt as Sister Abigail last week.

– We go to the ring and out comes Finn Balor.

Balor hits the ring and declares that Portland is Balor Club. He talks about how he didn’t know what to think at first when Bray Wyatt introduced Sister Abigail. Balor says Wyatt may have his tricks but he has some of this own. Balor says he will slay a monster with a demon of his own. The red lights go off in the arena. Balor says his demon has no fear, dreams about nightmares. We see Balor’s face transform into The Demon as he talks. Balor says his demon is dying to meet Sister Abigail. Balor tells Abigail to run. We go to commercial.

– Back from the break and we get another promo for Asuka’s arrival on Sunday.

Emma and Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James and Bayley

We go to the ring and out comes Emma. Her partner RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss is out next. Mickie James is out first for her team. Her partner is Bayley.

Cole announces that Alicia Fox has been fined for shoving the referee during tonight’s backstage segment. Bliss starts off with Mickie as they have words. They never touch as Bliss tags in Emma. Emma and Mickie lock up and go at it. Mickie ends up tagging Bayley in. Bayley gets the upperhand on Bliss and covers for a 2 count. Emma breaks the pin. All four 4 Superstars end up on the floor, yelling and shoving as we go back to commercial.

Back from the break and Emma has control of Bayley. Bayley turns it around but in comes Bliss to keep Bayley down. Mickie finally gets the hot tag and unloads on both opponents.

Mickie with a neckbreaker on Bliss. Bliss counters a kick and decks Mickie. Bliss with some trash talking. Mickie kips up after dropping Bliss on her face. Mickie goes to the top for the Thesz Press. Bliss kicks out at 2 as Emma breaks it up. Bayley comes in and takes out Emma, kicking her to the floor. Bliss drops Bayley from behind and yells at her to get out of the ring. Bliss turns around to Mickie catching her in the face with a Mick Kick. Mickie covers for the pin.

Winners: Mickie James and Bayley

– After the match, Mickie’s music hits as she helps Bayley up. Mickie talks trash to Bliss as we go to replays. Mickie and Bayley stand tall as the heels head to the back.

– Curtis Axel is backstage looking for Roman Reigns. He spots The Shield talking. Axel hypes himself up and walks towards the group as we go back to commercial.

– The Miz is backstage with Braun and The Bar to hype them up for tonight and Sunday. He gets worried and leaves when they mention how Axel might be taking out The Shield by himself right now.

– Charly approaches Mickie and Bayley backstage to congratulate them on the win. Mickie talks about how she’s proud of her accomplishments and how she’s different now, she has a 3 year old son waiting at home. She goes on and says it would be one of the best feelings of her career to proudly take the title home to her son. Mickie says she will have the last laugh on Sunday after she beats Bliss’ biscuit-butt around TLC and becomes a seven-time champion.

– The announcers plug TLC and the WWE Network. Banks vs. Fox is announced for the pre-show.

– The Miz finds Curtis Axel backstage hanging from a forklift. Officials help bring him down. We see the steel cage being lowered for tonight’s main event. Back to commercial.

– Renee Young is backstage asking The Miz about Curtis Axel’s condition if they earn the fifth man for Sunday. Miz loves Axel but he was never their fifth man. Miz walks off as we see officials and medics checking on Axel.

Steel Cage Match: Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns

We go to the cage as Braun Strowman makes his way out for tonight’s main event. We see footage from Braun’s cage match win over Big Show last month. Roman Reigns is out next as we see more highlights from recent events. Reigns enters the cage and the referee locks the door. The Miz has joined the announcers for commentary now, despite the ringside ban.

They go at it with Reigns unloading to start. Braun turns it around. More back and forth. Reigns takes Braun into the corner and beats on Braun as fans count along. Braun ends up catching Reigns and driving him to the mat for a close 2 count. We go to commercial with Braun in control.

Back from the break and Braun remains in control, driving Reigns into the steel. Braun sends Reigns into the steel again and laughs. Braun charges but Reigns moves and he hits the steel hard. More back and forth now. Reigns hits a big Samoan Drop.

Reigns starts climbing the cage but Cesaro and Sheamus climb up to meet him. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose run down to pull them off the cage. The Bar looks to take out Rollins and Ambrose at ringside Ambrose sends Sheamus over the barrier. Reigns is over the top of the cage now. Braun climbs up and grabs Reigns’ wrist. Braun pulls Reigns back over and nails a big superplex from the top of the cage. A “holy shit” chant breaks out while they’re both down now.

Reigns kicks out at 2. The fight on the outside continues and goes up to the stage where the tables, ladders and chairs are. The Miz gets up from commentary as the tag team brawl goes into the backstage area. Cameras follow. Rollins uses a steel chair on Cesaro as Ambrose drops Sheamus with a chair. Miz appears and closes a door, shutting the two tag teams in another room to keep them away from the ring.

We go back to the cage as the match continues. The Miz has returned to commentary. Reigns starts to climb the cage again but Braun stops him. Braun headbutts Reigns to the mat. Braun gets crotched on the top rope. Reigns nails a Superman Punch while he’s stuck but Braun is still up. Reigns with a second Superman Punch to send Braun to the mat. Braun gets up and blocks a spear but Reigns counters and drops him for a close 2 count. They go on and the lights go red, the music hits and it looks like Kane is returning. Braun decks Reigns and takes advantage of the distraction. Reigns spears Braun. Kane comes from up under the ring for a big pop.

Reigns can’t believe it. Kane stares Reigns down. Kane delivers chokeslams to Reigns in the middle of the ring. Braun with a big slam on Reigns. Kane with a Tombstone piledriver on Reigns now. Braun drops his straps and scoops Reigns for a running powerslam. Braun covers for the win.

Winner: Braun Strowman

– After the match, Braun stands tall with Kane right behind him, standing over Reigns. Braun’s music hits as Reigns tries to recover. The Miz climbs a ladder on the stage and announces that Kane is the fifth member of their team at TLC. Kane’s music hits and they stand tall as RAW goes off the air.