rollins.jpg
WWE

Raw on Monday night came to us live on the USA Network here in the United States, but in actuality, it was pre-taped on Friday in Manchester, England, following the taping of this past Friday's edition of SmackDown. For a pre-taped effort, though, this was quite the eventful and enjoyable three hours of sports entertainment as the build to this year's Survivor Series event on Nov. 24 in Chicago rolls along. 

This week, the flagship brand again had to deal with the presence of a few invading superstars from NXT, though this time the "main roster" competitors were a little more prepared to deal with the threat of the black and gold. In addition, the women's tag team titles were defended as The Kabuki Warriors took on two of the best the women's division has to offer and the Rusev-Lana-Bobby Lashley soap opera took yet another turn -- though not necessarily for the better this time around. 

Big fan of WWE? Subscribe to our podcast -- State of Combat with Brian Campbell -- where we go in depth on everything you need to know in WWE each week.

Let's have a look now at everything that went down on Monday's pre-taped edition of Raw from Manchester. 

Rollins learns his teammates, battles U.K. champion

Seth Rollins was out for an in-ring promo. He addressed the actions of Triple H last week trying to lure him back to NXT, and said that if he wanted to light a fire under Seth Rollins, then he did just that. Rollins said that Raw is now his show and his home; NXT started the fight, but at Survivor Series, he and his gang (which we'll get to shortly) are gonna finish it. Rollins then turned his attention to tonight, issuing an open challenge to the best the United Kingdom has to offer. The challenge was immediately accepted by reigning WWE U.K. champion WALTER as he and Imperium walked out. 

Seth Rollins def. WALTER via disqualification: The match reached a conclusion after Imperium interfered on behalf of its leader. As the beatdown was commencing, The Street Profits and Kevin Owens -- who received a massive pop from the U.K. faithful -- made their way out for the babyface save for the former universal champion. This set up our subsequent matchup ... 

Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens & The Street Profits def. Imperium via pinfall: An entertaining eight-man tag team match saw Rollins get the win for his side after pinning Alexander Wolfe following the Stomp. 

Prior to the main event later in the evening, it was revealed that team captain Rollins will be joined at Survivor Series by Owens, Randy Orton, Ricochet and Drew McIntyre to battle Team SmackDown and Team NXT. 

I have to fanboy out here for just a second and point out just how amazing it was to see WALTER in a singles match on Raw, even if it was only for a brief moment in time. That out of the way, Imperium came across as a huge deal on the big stage in front of the Manchester crowd and WALTER more than looked like a major player in the future with one of the top stars in the company. Great use of NXT UK's top faction on a larger platform in England. Team Raw also built out nicely for Survivor Series, as the use of five major stars going into battle for the flagship brand against not one but two threats in SmackDown and NXT makes the traditional Survivor Series match seem all the more important. Grade: A-

Lana lures Rusev into a beatdown

Backstage, Lana and Bobby Lashley were shown arguing with one another. The "Ravishing Russian" was then out for an in-ring promo. She said that she wasn't gonna sit around like a doormat because Rusev cheated on her first. Adding yet another twist to the love triangle that has captivated Raw in recent weeks, Lana revealed that after Lashley forced her to see a doctor following her bump last week on Raw, she learned that she was pregnant with Rusev's child. Or, as she so eloquently put it, "he put a little machka brat inside me." Lana was even gracious enough to provide us with timeline proof that the child is her husband's by revealing how long she's been sleeping around with Lashley opposite the last time she slept with Rusev. Facts matter, kids. 

This led to Rusev coming out amid the news that he's going to be a father. As he tried to make sense of the situation, Lana got heated an accused her husband of insinuating she was a liar. Lana began repeatedly slapping Rusev, which then brought out Lashley who beat down Rusev in the ring. Lana and Lashley celebrated together before walking off to the back as Rusev recovered in the ring. When the two reached the top of the aisle, Lana yelled back at Rusev, "I can't believe you believed I was pregnant," revealing that it was all merely a trap to allow Lashley to get his hands on the "Bulgarian Brute."

As everyone knows who reads this recap on a weekly basis, I've been a rabid supporter of this soap opera since its inception. This was the first time, though, that it just fell a little flat. The Manchester crowd wasn't really all that much into it, and while Lana did another fairly good job on the mic as she continues to seem comfortable in this role, this was the most forced everything a chapter within this angle has seemed to date. Just not the greatest effort here from what has been an otherwise pleasant surprise each and every Monday. Grade: D+

What else happened on Raw?

  • Women's Tag Team Championship -- The Kabuki Warriors def. Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair via pinfall to retain the titles: NXT women's champion Shayna Baszler once again made her presence felt as she decided to take in this match from ringside. Near the finish, Baszler jumped up on the apron and distracted Lynch. SmackDown women's champion Bayley then emerged from the crowd and attempted to take out Baszler, but the NXT women's champ was able to fight her off. The distraction allowed Asuka to roll up Lynch for the victory. Afterwards, as Lynch was on the outside jawing at Baszler who had retreated through the crowd, Bayley attacked her from behind. 
  • Drew McIntyre def. Sin Cara via pinfall after the Claymore kick. 
  • 24/7 Championship -- Samir Singh (c) & Sunil Singh vs. R-Truth ended in a no contest after the Singh Brothers decided to just flee to the back with the title. They ended up in the locker room of Erick Rowan who destroyed both. Truth eventually entered, but upon seeing the carnage, decided it best to just leave. 
  • Andrade def. Cedric Alexander via pinfall after the Hammerlock DDT. 
  • Aleister Black cut another pre-taped promo in which he referenced a specific target, though not by name. He asked that person to knock on his door and pick a fight. 
  • Erick Rowan def. Soner Dursun (enhancement talent) via pinfall after the Iron Claw Slam. Prior to the match, Rowan dropped off a cage draped in a cloth to the commentary table. Earlier in the night, Rowan was shown talking to presumably whatever does reside in that cage. 
  • The Viking Raiders def. Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews via pinfall after the Viking Experience to Andrews. 
  • Humberto Carrillo, Randy Orton & Ricochet def. The OC via pinfall after Carrillo pinned Styles following a moonsault in Monday night's main event. The underlying story from this match, however, was the tension building between Orton and Ricochet. The two bickered backstage throughout the night as well as in the match, foreshadowing some issues that could come into play which could lead to a post-Survivor Series program for the Raw teammates.