WWE Monday Night Raw: Golden Role Models retain women’s tag titles

WWE Monday Night Raw set the stage for Extreme Rules.

WWE Extreme Rules is set for this Sunday and the WWE is wrapping up major angles heading into the PPV. Monday Night Raw was centered around the story between Dolph Ziggler challenging Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. Not only them, but others like Sasha Banks and Bayley were in prominent spots on Monday’s show. Leading into Extreme Rules, there is a lot left to anticipate after Monday’s show.

Tag team action kicked off the in-ring work. The Viking Raiders challenged Angel Garza and Andrade to a fight to honor their friends, the Street Profits. Garza and Andrade did not wait for the bell to sound as they jumped their opponents right out of the gate. An interesting wrinkle was added to this match as it was under elimination rules, meaning there could be a two-on-one situation. This is exactly what happened as Erik was the first man eliminated, leaving Ivar to face off against Garza and Andrade alone.

Andrade and Garza had the advantage, but it would not be long before a miscue cost them that strength. Garza stepped out of the way to allow Andrade to get hit with a big kick, after two times where Andrade saved Garza from damage. Ivar pinned Andrade to set up the final match between he and Garza to determine a victor. Garza found a way to get the win when he countered Ivar in the corner to pin his shoulders to the mat.

For the last two weeks Ruby Riott has been forced to deal with the IIconics by herself. That situation changed on Monday when she brought out a special tag team partner in Bianca Belair.

Riott started off the match against Peyton Royce and got to an early advantage. Unfortunately, a boot to the face from Billie Kay halted that momentum, allowing the former tag team champions to beat her up on their side of the ring. Riott found a way to get to Belair and she came in to unleash the wrath on the IIconics. Belair hit the KOD in the middle of the ring and picked up the win for her team.

R-Truth was scheduled to face Randy Orton but found himself in a battle with Akira Tozawa. Before they could get into it, Shayna Baszler walked down to the ring and dispatched of Tozawa’s ninjas one by one. Tozawa saw enough and walked out of the ring. R-Truth also got the point, exiting the ring before Baszler put her hands on him as well.

Aleister Black and Buddy Murphy renewed their rivalry on Raw. These two have had several hard-hitting battles in the past and this match was no different. Murphy attacked Black’s legs to keep him grounded. That strategy worked for a while, but Murphy was unable to keep him off his feet for long. Black found a way to fight through the pain to secure the victory, continuing his dominance over Murphy.

This led directly into the match between Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens. Owens pounced on Rollins who was distracted by the fact that he was surrounded in the ring by Owens, Black and Rey Mysterio who joined them outside. Even with the odds against him, Rollins found a way to take over, damaging Owens leg and forcing him into the barrier outside the ring. Owens was on the receiving end of an extended beating before recovering with a super kick and DDT, but still could not get the pin fall. The numbers would play against Rollins as he would find himself distracted by everyone on the outside. This opened the door for Owens to hit the stunner and get the win.

Orton continued his work riding the WWE of legends. His match with Truth was very quick and painful. Truth got in some fast offence but ate and RKO then the pin 1-2-3.

Bobby Lashley submits Ricochet

Ricochet and Bobby Lashley faced off for the second time in two weeks. This time it was a singles match as last week they battled in a tag team format. Ricochet tried to use his quickness early, but his offense did not phase Lashley one bit. Ricochet would get a bit of offense going on his side but found himself bouncing right into Lashley’s full nelson lock.

The women’s tag team titles were on the line in the main event as the Kabuki Warriors challenged Sasha Banks and Bayley. Bayley and Banks would not allow the ring announcer to get through his introductions, attacking the challengers before the bell sounded. Bayley and Banks got the advantage early in the match, but Asuka turned the tables, tagging in Kairi Sane. Sane and Asuka put together some offense on the tag team champions, but that tide turned once Banks went back to underhanded tactics on the challengers.

Asuka would finally get back into this match, going on a one-woman rampage against the tag team champs. The action picked up pace and there was a moment where it looked like new tag team champs were to be crowed when Sane hit her elbow off the top. Sane went for a sliding clothesline on Banks, but she was able to reverse it into the Banks Statement for the win, keeping their titles.

Titles are on the line on Sunday’s Extreme Rules PPV. Sasha Banks and Bayley push to run the women’s division across all of WWE while Dolph Ziggler wants Drew McIntyre’s WWE title. Apollo Crews is set to defend his United States title against MVP, plus much more. Monday Night Raw closed out the week with a strong show heading into this month’s PPV showcase.

July 13 Monday Night Raw results

• Angel Garza and Andrade defeat the Viking Raiders
• Bianca Belair and Ruby Riott defeat the IIconics
• Aleister Black defeated Buddy Murphy
• Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins
• Randy Orton defeated R-Truth
• Bobby Lashley defeated Ricochet
• The Golden Role Models defeated the Kabuki Warriors