WWE RAW Report – 7/25/16

– Tonight’s WWE RAW opens up with a new intro video. We’re live from Pittsburgh with Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton. They’re back near the production area. We go to the ring with Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and General Manager Mick Foley.

Foley brings the RAW roster out to the stage. He talks about producing the best show every week. Stephanie says Foley will have full authority status to do what he needs. Stephanie brings up Roman Reigns costing the brand the WWE Title at Battleground. Fans boo. Stephanie calls him a loser. She says there has always been a heavyweight champion on RAW and the world demands it. She says that’s exactly what they’re going to get. Foley announces Fatal 4 Way matches for tonight. The winner will face Seth Rollins at SummerSlam to crown the new WWE Universal Champion. The participants are revealed to be Sami Zayn, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, Cesaro, Roman Reigns, WWE United States Champion Rusev, Kevin Owens and Finn Balor. Balor appears and gets a big pop. They address WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte and announce Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks for tonight because of the tag match loss at Battleground.

WWE Universal Title Qualifier: Cesaro vs. Rusev vs. Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor

Back from the break. We go to the ring and out first comes Cesaro followed by WWE United States Champion Rusev. Kevin Owens is out next. Finally, Finn Balor makes his first entrance to RAW and gets a big pop.

The bell rings and Balor takes Owens to the corner while Rusev takes Cesaro to a corner. They go to the floor while Owens and Balor go at it. Owens with a shoulder tackle. They run the ropes and Balor hits a dropkick. They also go to the floor. Rusev gets sent into the barrier. Cesaro leaps off the apron and takes Rusev down with a cannonball. We go to commercial.

Back from the break and Balor is down. Owens ends up talking trash and keeping Balor down in the corner while Cesaro and Rusev go at it. Owens and Rusev end up double teaming Cesaro before having issues. Owens with a senton on Cesaro. Rusev tries to one-up him. Owens brings Balor in the ring. Balor fights them both off with forearms. Balor ducks a clothesline but gets slammed for a 2 count. Rusev breaks the pin. Rusev with a side suplex on Owens. Rusev misses a diving headbutt. Owens and Rusev trade shots. Cesaro takes them both down with a crossbody from the top.

Cesaro with the Uppercut Train on all three opponents. Rusev stops a Cesaro Swing on Owens. Cesaro boots Rusev and tosses him to the floor. Cesaro also tumbles to the floor. Balor turns around to a shot from Owens. They trade counters and Balor hits a dropkick. Balor runs the ropes and dives out onto all three of his opponents. Balor takes Rusev out with kicks from the apron. He comes in and goes at it with Cesaro. Balor goes on and hits the 1916 on Cesaro for a 2 count. Back to commercial.

Back from the break and Rusev counters to slam all three out of the corner. More back and forth, offense by Rusev. Owens drops Cesaro on the floor with a superkick. Owens goes to the top and hits a Frogsplash on Balor but Rusev breaks the pin. Owens with a pop-up powerbomb on Balor but Cesaro barely breaks the pin up. Owens blocks the Neutralizer but eats the springboard corkscrew uppercut. Cesaro goes for the Swing on Owens but Rusev superkicks him. Rusev with a kick to Owens as well. Rusev applies The Accolade on Owens but Cesaro breaks it and suplexes Rusev on his head. Cesaro with a 2 count on Rusev. He applies the Sharpshooter but it’s blocked. Rusev with The Accolade for a 2 count. The hold is broken and Cesaro floors Rusev with a clothesline.

Rusev and Cesaro get up trading shots in the middle of the ring. Cesaro hits the Swing on Rusev and then applies the Sharpshooter. Owens breaks it with a superkick. Owens with the corner cannonball on Owens. Balor comes in and hits a Slingblade on Owens. Balor dropkicks Rusev and goes to the top for the Coup de Grace and the win. Balor is going to the main event.

Winner: Finn Balor

– After the match, Balor celebrates as the crowd pops.

– Still to come, The New Day will celebrate their record-breaking title reign and new cereal. Also, Nia Jax debuts. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and we go to the announcers, still over in their new location and standing as they talk about the brand split.

Nia Jax vs. Britt Baker

We go to the ring and out comes Nia Jax for her main roster debut. Local wrestler Britt Baker waits in the ring. Nia attacks and hits a big splash in the corner. Nia catches Britt and slams her in the corner. Nia keeps control and destroys Baker, getting the easy win with the leg drop.

Winner: Nia Jax

– After the match, Nia stands tall as the referee tends to her opponent.

– We see Sasha Banks backstage when Goldust and R-Truth walk in playing Pokemon Go. They walk off and Tom Phillips approaches Sasha for comments on tonight’s Women’s Title match. Sasha says she finally gets to expose Charlotte tonight. Sasha says it’s a New Era and the New Era is about to have its first new champion, The Boss. Sasha says the title is about to have a new swag to it and it’s about to get lit.

– Still to come, Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn vs. Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho to determine who faces Finn Balor in the main event. Back to commercial.

– Brock Lesnar is announced for next week’s RAW.

WWE Universal Title Qualifier: Sheamus vs. Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho vs. Roman Reigns

Back from the break and the Superstars are out with Roman Reigns coming last to boos from the crowd. Back and forth to start with action all over the place. Jericho and Sheamus double team Sami while Reigns is down on the outside.

They toss Sami to the apron but he hangs on and fights back in. Sami takes Sheamus down with a hurricanrana and dumps Jericho to the floor. Jericho lands on Sheamus. Sami runs the ropes for a dive but puts on the brakes as the veteran heels move on the floor. Reigns comes from behind and spikes Sami to the mat for a 2 count. Reigns knocks Sheamus to the floor and hits a snap suplex on Sami for a 2 count. Reigns takes Sami from corner to corner now as the boos continue.

More back and forth with all four Superstars. Reigns ends up running the ropes and hitting a big dive on all three of his opponents. Back to commercial with Reigns standing tall as fans boo.

Back from the break and Reigns hits a double Drive By on Sheamus and Jericho. More back and forth. Sami with a Blue Thunderbomb on Reigns for a close 2 count. Reigns counters a Helluva Kick and hits the Razor’s Edge sitdown for a 2 count. More action all over the place as they steal pins and land counters. Fans do the “ole!” chants for Sami as he goes at it with Jericho. Jericho goes for the Walls of Jericho and gets it locked in. Sheamus eventually breaks it with a Brogue Kick. Sheamus covers for a 2 count as Sami breaks it. Sheamus and Sami go at it again. Sheamus with the Irish Curse backbreaker. Sheamus goes for White Noise but Reigns hits a Superman punch. Jericho also takes a Superman punch. Another for Sheamus. Sami rolls Reigns up for 2. Reigns with another punch. Reigns blocks a Codebreaker and drops Jericho with a punch after a failed attempt. Reigns readies for a spear as fans boo. Jericho kicks the spear and nails a Codebreaker for a 2 count.

Jericho yells at Reigns to stay down. Jericho misses a shot and Reigns spears him for the win. Reigns is going to the main event against Finn Balor.

Winner: Roman Reigns

– Still to come, a big celebration with WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and out come WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day. Xavier Woods says their match against The Wyatt Family didn’t go as planned last night and he’s glad Bray Wyatt got drafted to SmackDown but that doesn’t change the fact that they’ve had a record breaking title reign. Kofi Kingston shows off the new Booty-Os cereal, available at FYE stores. Big E leads us to a cheesy promo on the group.

They go to ringside and pick a fan to come in the ring and join in their celebration. He appears to be a plant and is wearing a New Day t-shirt. They can’t believe the guy’s name is Sonny Boy. Out of nowhere, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson attack The New Day and destroy them. Kofi and Woods are sent into the steel steps a few times while Big E takes Magic Killer in the ring. After standing tall, Gallows and Anderson taunt the New Day fan from ringside. They throw some of New Day’s gear at him and talk some trash.

– Still to come, Neville returns to RAW. Back to commercial.

Neville vs. Curtis Axel

Back from the break and JoJo announces Curtis Axel as Mr. Irrelevant due to him being the final draft pick for RAW. Axel takes the mic and says he’s not irrelevant, they just saved the best for last. Neville is out next for his return.

Axel gets in a good amount of offense but Neville gets the win after a belly-to-back suplex and Red Arrow.

Winner: Neville

– Back from a commercial and Darren Young is with Bob Backlund. Young almost won the WWE Intercontinental Title from The Miz at Battleground but no one puts their hands on his coach. Backlund says they will learn from what happened and Young will get the title. Golden Truth walks in, still playing Pokemon Go, and Backlund flips out on them.

– We get a video package for Finn Balor and hype for tonight’s main event.

– WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte is backstage with Dana Brooke. She cuts a promo on tonight’s title defense and says Sasha Banks will bow down.

WWE Women’s Title Match: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

We go to the ring and out first comes Sasha Banks to a pop. Back to commercial.

They lock up as fans chant for Sasha. Back and forth with counters and exchanges to start. Dana gets involved and grabs Sasha’s leg, which brings the referee over to warn her. Charlotte takes advantage and decks Sasha from behind. More counters. Sasha with a Backstabber and a straitjacket hold. The hold is finally broken but Sasha takes Charlotte back down for another submission. Charlotte gets to the rope and forces the break. Charlotte goes to the floor for a breather but Sasha dropkicks her. Sasha with double knees off the apron to a pop. Sasha brings it back in the ring for a 2 count.

Charlotte finally turns it around with a kick in the corner. Charlotte with a big neckbreaker. Charlotte walks into a kick. Sasha gets knocked to the floor and Charlotte follows with a big running kick to the head, sending Sasha’s head into the barrier. Charlotte poses and grabs the title. She taunts Sasha and says she doesn’t deserve the title. Sasha decks her and rams her into the apron. Charlotte shoves her and goes back in the ring. Dana comes over and Sasha tosses her the title, another tribute to Eddie Guerrero. The referee sees her with the title and ejects Dana from ringside. Sasha smiles and we go to commercial.

Back from the break and Charlotte has Sasha in a submission. Sasha looks to make a comeback and hits double knees out of a counter. They both are down now. They make it up and trade shots in the middle of the ring. Charlotte misses a big boot and Sasha unloads with offense. Sasha stuns Charlotte into the corner and hits the double knees for a 2 count.

Charlotte comes back and hits a neckbreaker. Charlotte goes up top for a moonsault but has to land on her feet. Sasha counters and Charlotte has to roll to the floor for a breather. Sasha runs the ropes and nails a big dive to the floor. The referee goes out to check on both of them. They come back in and Sasha ends up tumbling from the top to the floor. Charlotte goes up and hits a moonsault from the top. Fans chant “holy shit” now. More back and forth. Sasha kicks out of Natural Selection at 2. Charlotte briefly gets the Figure Eight applied. Charlotte comes back in and tries for a Figure Four but Sasha gets the Banks Statement applied. Charlotte gets her foot on the bottom rope. Sasha ends up hitting another Backstabber and the Banks Statement, this time Charlotte taps to drop the title.

Winner and New WWE Women’s Champion: Sasha Banks

– After the match, Sasha takes her title and celebrates. Byron Saxton interviews her int he ring and a “you deserve it” chant breaks out. Sasha says this has been her dream since she was 10 and she did it. She’s going to prove why she’s the best and says this is the era of The Boss, the era of change.

– Still to come, Balor vs. Reigns. Back to commercial.

James Elsworth vs. Braun Strowman

Back from the break and out comes Braun Strowman with a new haircut. Byron is in the ring with a local competitor named James Elsworth. He admits he’s nervous but says any man with two hands has a fighting chance and this could be big for his career.

Braun dominates the match and destroys James with a squash. He gets the win with a reverse chokeslam.

Winner: Braun Strowman

– After the match, we go to replays as Braun makes his exit and the referee checks on the jobber.

– We get a video package on Roman Reigns. Still to come, Reigns vs. Balor in the main event.

– Back from the break and we see Golden Truth playing Pokemon Go backstage again.

– We go to the ring and out comes Enzo Amore with Big Cass to a pop.

Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. The Shining Stars

Enzo and Cass hit the ring for promos but are interrupted by Primo and Epico and we get a match.

Back and forth until Golden Truth comes out looking for Pokemon. This leads to Cass hitting a big boot on a distracted Primo.

Winners: Enzo Amore and Big Cass

– Roman Reigns is walking backstage when he sees Finn Balor. They wish each other good luck. Finn says he’s Irish, he invented luck. Reigns says he’s Samoan, ’nuff said. Back to commercial.

WWE Universal Title Qualifier: Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns

Back from the break and out comes Finn Balor for the main event. The winner will face Seth Rollins in the main event of SummerSlam to crown the first-ever WWE Universal Champion.

Roman Reigns is out next to a big mixed reaction. We get formal introductions from JoJo. Reigns attacks to start the match and launches Balor across the ring. Reigns with another big toss across the ring. Balor does make a comeback but Reigns drops him with a high elbow. Roman unloads on Balor in the corner and then drops him. They end up on the floor and Balor nails a big running dropkick into the barrier. Balor goes back into the ring and stands tall as we go to commercial.

Back from the break and they’re going at it. Reigns with a slam for a 2 count. Reigns keeps Balor grounded and wears him down now. Balor fights up but Reigns nails a headbutt. Reigns with another shot in the corner. Reigns runs into a boot. Balor with a forearm and another. Reigns ducks a shot and rolls Balor up. Reigns powers into the sitdown powerbomb for a 2 count.

Reigns misses a Superman punch. Balor runs into a boot. Reigns sits on the top but Balor kicks him in the head. Reign falls to the floor and Balor dropkicks him back. Balor with a running knee to the face from the apron. They bring it back in and Balor goes to the top. Balor with the big stomp to the back of the head for a close 2 count. More back and forth. Balor runs into a Superman punch for a close 2 count. Reigns scoops Balor for the Razor’s Edge but Balor rolls him for a very close 2 count. Reigns powers up with two powerbombs for a 2 count. Reigns readies for a spear but Balor counters with a Slingblade. Balor dropkicks Reigns into the corner. Balor goes to the top and hits Coup de Grace for the win.

Winner: Finn Balor

– After the win, Balor celebrates as Reigns goes to the floor. Balor will face Seth Rollins at SummerSlam to crown the first-ever WWE Universal Champion. Saxton interviews Reigns at ringside. Reigns hopes Balor wins at SummerSlam because he wants him again. RAW goes off the air with Balor celebrating.

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