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WWE

While it can typically be a futile effort to declare Raw as fixed after one standout episode due to the inevitability that the creative highs are typically followed by equally frustrating lows, Monday's episode felt like a reminder of how good things can be in WWE. Regardless of whether you chalk it up to a rise in competition (either externally with AEW or in-house with the upcoming TV launch of NXT), the added influence of Paul Heyman as backstage creative lead or whatever other theories are hot at the moment, Raw provided plenty of water cooler topics to be dissected the next morning after episode heavy on big reveals and exciting matches.  

Very few segments felt like filler as WWE's flagship show played out as just that after a number of key angles produced important developments designed to impact the Sept. 15 Clash of Champions show and beyond.  Let's take a closer look at what went down in Baltimore on Monday night.

Sasha Banks recruits help against Becky Lynch 

Lynch began an in-ring promo by calling out the "little blue-haired freak" Banks for being whiny. Out came "The Boss" to ridicule Lynch for only becoming popular thanks to having her face broken by Nia Jax. She went on to turn down Lynch's offer for a fighter by saying she doesn't fight for free and will only do so for a paycheck. "After Clash of Champions, The Man is going to be The Boss' bitch," Banks said. Their pay-per-view match was made official after a commercial break. Later on, Bayley was interviewed about teaming with Lynch tonight and mentioned that although her and Banks are still best friends, she won't be overshadowed and doesn't have a comment about Banks' recent actions.

Becky Lynch & Bayley def. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross via disqualification: Hyped up as a "champions vs. champions match," it didn't take long for Banks to make her way to ringside and alter the finish. Just as Lynch appeared close to putting Bliss away, Banks hit her with a backstabber from behind. She then pulled out a steel chair and began to attack until Bayley grabbed it from behind. After a long staredown in which Bayley and Banks exchanged words under their breaths, Bayley let out an evil smile and joined her in attacking Lynch with the chair as the show ended.  

Oh heck yeah! Now that's how you send the fans home happy. Not only was Bayley's heel turn received with nothing but shock value given how many times storylines between her and Banks have been bungled in recent years, credit Bayley's facials for adding the necessary punctuation to the moment. This added wrinkle of storytelling takes an already great angle between Lynch and Banks -- evidenced by their hot-fire exchange of insults earlier in the night -- and brings it to a whole new level. Between the reaction from the crowd and the undeniable swagger shown by Banks throughout the night, it wouldn't be a stretch to see this feud main event a pay-per-view before the end of the calendar year. The abrupt ending also provided the perfect cliffhanger to see how Bayley handles herself as a heel moving forward and what this means for her own future business as SmackDown women's champion. Grade: A 

The OC make a violent statement  

Raw opened with a contract signing between Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins inside the ring for their universal championship bout at Clash of Champions. Styles, the United States champion, joined Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in coming out to complain about being passed over for both the universal and tag team titles. After Styles hilarious told moderator Michael Cole off, he ripped up the contract between Rollins and Strowman to trigger a brawl. (It was announced later on that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin will moderate a second contract signing between Rollins and Strowman next week when Raw returns to New York's Madison Square Garden.) Strowman took issue with the news backstage because of Austin's public support of Rollins and said he would have no problem with the Hall of Famer "getting these hands." 

Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman def. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson via pinfall despite outside interference from Styles. After Rollins reversed a rollup attempt by Anderson for one of his own to score the pin, Styles attacked from behind. Strowman settled the score by cleaning house outside with running shoulder blocks (including one that accidentally hit Rollins). Out came Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode to aid the heels in taking out Strowman. Following a four-man Magic Killer that put Strowman down, Styles added a Phenomenal Forearm. Immediately after, The OC interrupted a backstage interview by attacking Cedric Alexander with Styles throwing him into a road case before inciting a three-man "Too Sweet" hand gesture. 

If Styles is going to be a heel, this is the perfect way to book him. From trash talking Cole to violently attacking Alexander for no given reason from a storyline standpoint, this was one hell of a bad-ass escalation for The OC after turning last month. Not only was the attention to detail strong in having Strowman be leery of Austin, keeping Styles connected to the universal championship storyline remains a smart idea should WWE look to spinoff into a big-name feud pairing Styles against the winner this fall. Grade: B+ 

What else happened on Raw?  

  • Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode def. Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder via pinfall. One week after securing a title shot at Clash of Champions, the new team of Ziggler and Roode stayed hot. Ziggler hit Hawkins with a super kick and Roode followed with a Glorious DDT for the 1-2-3. 
  • Lacey Evans def. Natalya via pinfall despite being attacked from behind on the ramp before the match even started. The ultra aggressive Natalya, who called Evans a "nasty bitch" before stomping her, came up short in the end when she was distracted by a thrown handkerchief and ate a clean Woman's Right for the finish. 
  • King of the Ring quarterfinal: Baron Corbin def. Cedric Alexander via pinfall in a pay-per-view quality match which had the crowd on its feet. Alexander, who was attacked earlier in the night by The OC, kicked out of a Deep Six and twice rallied to nearly steal the win. Corbin tripped Alexander off the top rope late and followed with End of Days to advance to the semifinals. 
  • Viking Raiders def. Tyler Hastings & Brian Thomas via pinfall in yet another meaningless squash match for Ivar and Erik against local enhancement talent. 
  • King of the Ring quarterfinal: Samoa Joe and Ricochet both advance after a double pinfall. After Joe climbed the ring apron to put a sleeper hold from behind on the top rope, Ricochet kicked off into a back suplex that left both men counted out with their shoulders down and one arm extended over each other. Referee John Cone conferred with backstage officials over a headset and refused to declare a winner until he ran backstage. After Joe attacked Ricochet from behind to spark a brief brawl, Corbin interrupted Cone to suggest that he advance to the finals on a bye. Cone announced WWE's ruling that Joe and Ricochet would advance together and create a triple threat match with Corbin in next week's semifinal.
  • Bray Wyatt ready to go to hell inside Firefly Fun House. The latest episode began with Wyatt apologizing to Finn Balor on behalf of The Fiend for being "super duper rude." Out came the evil Vince McMahon puppet to accost Wyatt for challenging Rollins and Strowman to a match at Hell in a Cell. Wyatt calmed McMahon down by flashing money and sticking a bill into his mouth to eat. After calling both Rollins and Strowman "selfish and greedy," Wyatt brought out all of his puppet friends to explain the virtues of teamwork and how they help him cope with pain. "But The Fiend," Wyatt said, "he helps me inflict it. See you in hell!" A suddenly sweaty Wyatt then took on an evil expression and exclaimed, "Let me in" after his face turned into The Fiend. This top-notch and dark segment may have been Wyatt's best yet in this new character.
  • Rey Mysterio confirmed during a backstage interview that he will continue his career and credited his son Dominic with convincing him to say. "I'm not done, not just yet," Mysterio said. "I still have much more to accomplish and I'm doing this for my son." 
  • The Miz def. Cesaro via pinfall following a late reversal into a Skull Crushing Finale. Miz rallied late after kicking out of a pop-up European uppercut to halt the momentum Cesaro created over the weekend at NXT TakeOver: Cardiff.