WWE Monday Night Raw: Randy Orton punts Shawn Michaels

The SummerSlam go-home show set the stage for Sunday’s PPV

SummerSlam is one week away and Monday Night Raw was the go-home show before one of the biggest PPV events of the year. While there were many different storylines to continue forward, the issues with Retribution remained at the forefront of the show.

Shelton Benjamin and Apollo Crews were the first match of the night with a rematch of Benjamin’s win from last week. There were stakes to this match as Crews was fighting to keep Bobby Lashley and Benjamin away from the ring for Sunday’s match at SummerSlam. R-Truth made a surprise appearance, chased by Akira Tozawa which allowed for Crews to get the sneak pin on Benjamin.

Ivar and Angel Garza were out next as the next singles match of the evening. Garza started out strong early but did not have immediate answers once Ivar brought out his power-game. Every time Garza attempted to get some momentum going, he was stopped in his tracks. Ivar made the mistake of allowing Andrade and Zelina Vega to distract him, allowing for Garza to kick him in the head to pick up the victory.

Mickie James returned to action for the first time in more than a year as injuries forced her to the sideline. She was met in the ring by Natalya who had her new colleague, Lana outside for support. James and Natalya had a strong back and forth match, but the end came when Lana caused enough of a distraction for James to be knocked from the top rope, falling to the outside. She was unable to enter the ring in time to beat the ten-count, resulting in a victory for Natalya.

The Golden Role Models were up for a challenge from Shayna Baszler and Asuka. Baszler was on the outside of the ring before Nia Jax would attack, leaving Asuka by herself against the double champions. Sasha Banks and Bayley would take advantage of the 2-1 situation to take turns beating up on Asuka. Even though she was fighting against two of the best women in wrestling, Asuka would not go away without a fight. Just when it looked like Asuka was in the worst position, Baszler ran down to the ring to rejoin her partner. Baszler’s presence was enough to swing the match in their favor. While Asuka was on the outside dealing with Banks, Baszler would force Bayley to submit in the ring for the victory.

The rivalry between Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott and the IIconics continued Monday’s show. This time it was Riott against Peyton Royce in a one-on-one match. Riott got off to a hot start, battering Royce both inside and out of the ring. When they returned to the squared circle it would be Royce who would take control. Billie Kay would make enough of a distraction outside to allow for Royce to hit the Déjà vu and pin Riott for the win.

Back at Raw Underground, Erik picked up another victory when he stopped an unknown competitor with knee strikes. But that was not his only match as Dolph Ziggler stepped up to face him next. Erik was able to control Ziggler for much of the match until Ziggler got to his back, choking him to sleep with a rear naked choke.

Riddick Moss and Arturo Ruas were next in line on Raw Underground. Both men had their flashes of offense, but the bout was not finished when Moss rolled off the ring to escape Ruas’s heel hook attempt. They would then begin attacking the crowd, causing Shane McMahon to step in before they could get back to each other.

The Hurt Business goes to work

The Hurt Business then went up against Crews, Ricochet and Mustafa Ali in a six-man elimination tag team match. Ali was the first man eliminated and that came at the hands of Bobby Lashley. Lashley ran in and assaulted everyone once he got the tag. He landed the Dominator on Ali and pinned him clean in the middle of the ring. Ricochet did not fare any better as he could not fight off Benjamin, eating the Pay Dirt in mere seconds and being pinned, setting up Crews in a three-on-one situation.

Crews would not go away without a fight. He took advantage of a mistake by Benjamin, landing the Toss Powerbomb to pin Benjamin, eliminating the first man from the Hurt Business. MVP would come in and attempt to take out Crews, but he also failed, eating a Toss Powerbomb of his own to also get eliminated from the match. Crews tried to fight off Lashley, but a series of reversals led to the spear from Lashley and the pin fall, giving his team the victory.

An impromptu 24/7 title match occurred as Cedric Alexander, who picked up a win over Benjamin in the last match when the latter was eliminated, defended his title against Akira Tozawa. Tozawa attempted to get his ninjas involved, but even they could not keep him from eating a Lumbar Check for Alexander to pick up the win and keep the title. He would not escape the ring though as Benjamin hit the Pay Dirt on Alexander and pinned him, to take the title back – the third title change of the evening.

Marina Shafir was the next woman to appear in Raw Underground as she battered some unsuspecting woman, forcing her to tap out to a submission variation. Nia Jax appeared the second time to call out Baszler and these two women looked to square off before Jax walked out.

Montez Ford was back in action this week and he went right after Andrade. Earlier in the evening it was revealed that Vega was the one that poisoned him two weeks ago. Garza and Andrade are scheduled to face the Street Profits at SummerSlam, and this singles match was to set the tone for that championship affair. Vega attempted to distract the referee, but Bianca Belair made the save, giving Ford the opportunity to roll Andrade up for the pin fall.

August 17 Monday Night Raw Results

• Apollo Crews defeated Shelton Benjamin via pin fall
• Angela Garza defeated Ivar via pin fall
• Natalya defeated Mickie James via count out
• Shayna Baszler and Asuka defeated Bayley and Sasha Banks via submission
• Peyton Royce defeated Ruby Riott via pin fall
• The Hurt Business defeated Apollo Crews, Ricochet and Mustafa Ali
• Cedric Alexander defeated Akira Tozawa via pin fall
• Montez Ford defeated Andrade via pin fall