WWE Monday Night Raw: Raw Underground takes center stage

WWE revealed a new style of fights of sorts with Raw Underground.

There was something out Monday that sparked off a swath of rumors around the August 3 edition of Monday Night Raw. Expectations were set for a few different surprises and even that description was not enough to set the stage for what occurred.

The first match of the night brought out the rightful United States champion, Apollo Crews, who returned to television for the first time in a few weeks. He faced off against the man carrying the new edition of the US title, MVP.

The match started with both men exchange grappling techniques on the mat. Crews got the first advantage, finding a way to control the veteran in MVP. Crews’s advantage would not last once the Hurt Business got involved, helping swing the momentum toward their stable mate. MVP looked like he was on his way to a victory before he made a mistake that allowed for Crews to jump all over him. Crews would hit is sit-out power bomb to get the pin fall, walking out of the match with the legit US belt.

An impromptu women’s tag match broke out when Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott reunited to face the IIconics. The IIconics tried to single out Riott early in the match which was working. Once she created to separation to tag in Morgan, Morgan came in with a head full of steam aimed at both opponents. She would roll Billie Kay up for the victory roll, but the IIconics tried to jump her before she could celebrate. Riott ran in and saved Morgan from the attack, laying Kay out in the middle of the ring.

The 24/7 championship was up for grabs in a triple threat match. Shelton Benjamin defended his belt against Akira Tozawa and R-Truth, even though Truth tried to steal the title and run. It looked like Benjamin was going to keep his title, until Tozawa’s ninjas got involved. They would distract Benjamin and the rest of the Hurt Business long enough to allow Tozawa to hit his Senton Bomb from the top to pin Truth.

Shayna Baszler made it clear that she is looking at Sasha Banks and the Raw women’s title is on her radar. For a minute it looked like Baszler was about to have her way with Banks, but thankfully Bayley was at ringside to help her best friend. Bayley’s presence would not benefit her at all when Asuka ran down to the ring to attack her, resulting in the referee ringing the bell to throw out the match.

Montez Ford is poisoned

The Street Profits faced their SummerSlam challengers, Andrade, and Angel Garza, in a series of one-on-one matches. Garza had to deal with a massive size and strength advantage in his opponent’s favor. A momentary distraction that saw Montez Ford collapse at ringside allowed Garza to capitalize and get the victory.

Ford’s night was not over as he was up next in a singles match against Andrade. The story of the match was that Ford seemed “off” throughout the match, unable to get any real offense going. Andrade held the advantage for much of the match. That would be until Ford would go on a flurry of offense. But before things could materialize, he would collapse in the ring a second time, forcing the referee to call off the match.

A new segment debuted during the show as Raw Underground put on an atmosphere right out of the 1988 cult classic, Bloodsport. DABBA-KATO made his first appearance on the WWE main roster and dispatched two men back to back in the first series of fights for the night. Erik from the Viking Raiders was the next man up in Raw Underground as he smashed another jobber in moments. Even Dolph Ziggler got in on the action as he choked another man to sleep. The big moment came when the Hurt Business walked in and established their dominance by beating up multiple people, before clearing the room out entirely.

With what seems to be a new segment and a refreshing air of unpredictability in tonight’s show, it seems like WWE Monday Night Raw is attempting to head in a new direction.

August 3 Monday Night Raw results

• Apollo Crews defeated MVP to retain the United States title
• Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan defeated the IIconics via pin fall
• Akira Tozawa defeated Shelton Benjamin and R-Truth to win the 24/7 championship
• Angel Garza defeated Angelo Dawkins via pin fall
• Andrade versus Montez Ford ruled a no contest