WWE Monday Night Raw: Keith Lee debuts, Asuka retains title

Keith Lee makes his WWE Monday Night Raw debut, setting stage for PPV match against Randy Orton.

Coming out of SummerSlam there was quite a bit to look forward to on the latest edition on Monday Night Raw. Not only were Asuka and Sasha Banks set for a lumberjack match, but former NXT champion Keith Lee also made his Raw debut.

The main event featured a tag team match between Rey and Dominick Mysterio against Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy. The father-son duo got things off to a hot start, going right after Rollins and Murphy immediately. This was a fast-paced match with the Mysterio family using the Lucha-libre style that their family has become known for throughout the years.

As things were picking up, Retribution would hit the ring, attacking Rey and Dominick. They continued to cause carnage around the ring until the show went off the air.

The lumberjacks did their job when Asuka and Sasha Banks had their match for the Raw women’s title. That would not stop Bayley from trying multiple times throughout the match. In the end, Bayley was drug out of the ring by Shayna Baszler, which allowed Asuka to lock in the Asuka Lock on Banks, forcing her to submit.

That debut came with Lee walking down to the ring and calling out none other than Randy Orton. Orton stood in the ring and tried to continue his narrative against WWE champion, Drew McIntyre, only to be silenced by the newcomer, setting up a singles match later in the evening.

That match would come around later in the evening. Lee was showing Orton that he was more than prepared for the challenge and was on his way to securing a big win before McIntyre came back down to the ring to attack Orton, causing the disqualification.

Baszler and Jax for a tag-team

Shayna Baszler has been on a successful run the last few weeks, including submitting Bayley in a tag team match a week ago. That gave way to her having a one-on-one match with the current SmackDown women’s champion on Monday.

Baszler went right to work on Bayley’s arm which was Asuka’s target in their match on Sunday. Baszler was in control early until a distraction from Banks opened the opportunity for a Bayley sneak attack. Baszler would not back down from the duo, but it would be Nia Jax that would get involved, causing the disqualification.

Shelton Benjamin had to put his 24/7 title up in a fatal four-way match against Akira Tozawa, Cedric Alexander, and R-Truth. The numbers game came handy for Tozawa as he used his goons to hold back Benjamin while he jumped back in the ring to pin Truth, winning the title once again before running out of the arena.

Angel Garza was not done with Montez Ford. Garza stayed one step ahead of Ford for much of the early going. That was until Ivar came down to the ring with a turkey leg for Demi Burnett, taking her from ringside. That gave Ford the space to knock Garza off the top rope and land a big Frog Splash for the win.

The Riott Squad had a special partner in Bianca Belair to compete against the IIconics and Zelina Vega. Riott was on the wrong end of a beating for much of the early going, taking offense from all three opponents for an extended period. The match was over the minute Belair came into the wrong because she would blow through Vega to hit the KOD for the victory.

The Hurt Business went on the warpath in Raw Underground with Bobby Lashley dispatching multiple people including Dolph Ziggler and Cedric Alexander. Ivar tried to attach Lashley from behind, but the other members of the Hurt Business jumped in, beating down the Viking Raiders.

Aug. 24 WWE Monday Night Raw

• Shayna Baszler defeated Bayley via disqualification
• Akira Tozawa wins the 24/7 title in a fatal four-way against Shelton Benjamin, Cedric Alexander, and R-Truth
• Montez Ford defeated Angel Garza via pinfall
• Bianca Belair and the Riott Squad defeated the IIconics and Zelina Vega
• Randy Orton defeated Keith Lee via disqualification
• Asuka defeated Sasha Banks via submission
• Rey Mysterio and Dominick Mysterio versus Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy ended in a no-contest