The October 1, 2018 Edition of RAW is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE's RAW brand, which took place at the KeyArena on October 1, 2018 in Seattle, Washington.
Summary[]
So, what's the deal with Dean Ambrose and The Shield? After much speculation about whether The Lunatic Fringe would turn on The Hounds of Justice last week, the former WWE Champion opened Raw with an interview with Charly Caruso meant to address the lingering questions of The Lunatic's loyalty. However, the former WWE Champion refused to allow himself to be pinned down: Even though he acknowledged the “truth” of what Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre said about him and cryptically (and maybe sarcastically) hinted that if he was going to turn on Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, he'd probably wait until everybody least expected it, Ambrose ultimately declared he'd rather be judged by his actions rather than the speculation of the WWE Universe.
He closed the interview by confirming The Shield would be a united front heading into WWE Super Show-Down on Saturday, but at least one Superstar wasn't buying it. Acting General Manager Baron Corbin, still smarting from his loss last week, gave Ambrose a chance to show where he really stood by choosing one of three options for his match on Raw: A Universal Championship Match against Reigns, an Intercontinental Championship Match with Rollins, or a one-on-one match with Strowman. When Ambrose tried to turn it around and finagle a match with Corbin, The Lone Wolf made the decision for The Lunatic Fringe, placing him in an immediate match with Strowman instead.
Could Dean Ambrose beat Braun Strowman? He certainly came close when he planted The Monster Among Men with a surprise Dirty Deeds after a long, grueling bout that was going Strowman's way until The Lunatic Fringe up and dropped his foe with the double-arm DDT that once won Ambrose the WWE Championship.
But it wasn't enough: Strowman kicked out of the pinfall, rolled out of the ring and (despite a frantic follow-up from Ambrose) quickly turned the proceedings from a match into a statement beating — one so severe Roman Reigns appeared to run interference, clocking Stroman with a Superman Punch that led to a disqualification win for The Monster Among Men. It also set up the evening's next match: After Seth Rollins joined the fight and Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre arrived to even the odds, Baron Corbin re-emerged to restore order by immediately sanctioning Reigns vs. Ziggler, as well as Rollins vs. McIntyre for later in the evening.
As for Ambrose, he wasn't crazy about the whole thing. In fact, when Rollins went to check on his brother in the trainer's room, The Lunatic Fringe pointedly reminded The Kingslayer that he could have left Raw as Intercontinental Champion if he made a different choice.
Dean Ambrose's match with Braun Strowman got a little complicated at the end, but the big shocker between Roman Reigns and Dolph Ziggler came at the beginning: The Universal Title was about to be on the line, but Acting General Manager Baron Corbin quickly kyboshed that and prohibited Reigns from defending his title until WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.
That said, Ziggler certainly treated his match with The Big Dog as if it was a title bout anyway. Perhaps sensing that a win would put him in line for a future opportunity, The Showoff depleted Reigns’ energy with his mat game and raked Reigns’ eyes after the champion began to rally. Ziggler made it interesting down the stretch by reversing a Spear attempt into a sunset flip roll-up for a long two, but Reigns found victory by successfully baiting him into attempting the maneuver a second time: As The Big Dog bounced off the ropes for the Spear, Ziggler leapt into the air again and Reigns stopped for a split-second, waiting until Ziggler was airborne and defenseless before plowing him into the mat for the 1-2-3.
Moments before her match with Ronda Rousey, Ruby Riott claimed that handing the Raw Women's Champion her first loss in WWE would be her way of creating something truly beautiful. She'll have to wait a little while longer to see it.
Yes, The Baddest Woman on the Planet remains undefeated, despite Ruby exploiting Rousey's relative inexperience by bringing every dirty trick in the WWE playbook to bear. From a fishhook where the ref couldn't see to using The Riott Squad to her advantage, Ruby was well on her way to an underhanded win until Ronda simply decided she'd had enough: The Raw Women's Champion scooped Ruby out of the air mid-Riott Kick attempt and ripped off a near-unanswered rally, ending with an Armbar that earned an immediate tapout. It may not have been what Ruby would describe as “beautiful,” but it sure was pretty.
Well, well, well, we have ourselves a series. After dropping three consecutive matches to Chad Gable & Bobby Roode (two tags and a singles match between Viktor and Gable), The Ascension have now won two straight against the burgeoning tag team thanks to the prodigious power of their resident big man, Konnor. After dispatching of mighty mite Gable last week, the former NXT Tag Team Champion turned his attention to the veteran Roode and earned his second consecutive victory.
He does, however, owe a hefty assist to Viktor: Roode had been systematically picking Konnor apart by targeting his knee and using the turnbuckles to his advantage until he finally had him in position for the Glorious DDT. That's when Viktor tackled Gable clean off the steps on the outside, distracting Roode and allowing Konnor to earn the victory with his gutwrench slam.
Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre may have a firm grasp on the Raw Tag Team division, but who is the next team up? Is it The Revival, who took the champs to the limit last week in an outstanding match and looked just as crisp in their bout against The B-Team on Raw? Or, is it The B-Team, who shocked Dash & Dawson in said match when Bo Dallas thwarted a Rocket Launcher and rolled up Dash Wilder for the win?
Perhaps it's neither. Perhaps it's AOP, who appeared out of nowhere after the bout and obliterated Dallas & Axel with the Super Collider. Perhaps, the race for the Raw Tag Team Titles is only a race until Akam & Rezar decide to jump the line
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and WWE has once again partnered with the Susan G. Komen Foundation to help raise awareness and funds to fight the spread of this “unacceptable” disease. To kick off this year's campaign, Charly Caruso took the stage on Raw and introduced WWE ambassador Dana Warrior as well as three Komen representatives — researcher Dr. Candice Grzelak, fundraiser Patty Bulger and 10-year survivor Jennifer Teeler — and invited the WWE Universe to help contribute to the fight against breast cancer. To join the fight and help save lives, please visit Komen.org/DonateWWE.
Braun Strowman made it clear before Drew McIntyre battled Seth Rollins that he would not accept a weak link in his squad as WWE Super Show-Down approaches. His pointed stare at Dolph Ziggler did not go unnoticed, nor did McIntyre's failure to defend his fellow Raw Tag Team Champion — which is probably why The Showoff made his presence known in the waning moments of McIntyre vs. Rollins, dashing into the ring to administer a pre-Stomp distraction that freed up McIntyre to blast Seth with the Claymore for the win.
All hell broke loose quickly after the match, however, as Roman Reigns, Strowman and finally Dean Ambrose — axe handle in hand — threw hands in a chaotic six-way brawl. Ziggler was a key figure in the fray as well, administering the Zig Zag to Reigns and assisting with the Claymore-Zig Zag combo on Ambrose. Strowman got the last word with a Running Powerslam to Reigns, and the “pack” ended their evening with a Shield-style fist bump of their own. If there is a weak link to be found, it's hard to see.
On Raw, Kevin Owens and Elias learned two very important lessons: First, do not, whatever you do, disrespect the Sonics in Seattle — an errant insult at the departed hoops squad led the Seattle crowd to boo the duo for six-and-a-half minutes straight —and second, the key to getting Bobby Lashley where you want him is to take out Lio Rush.
Yes, after weeks of embarrassment at the hands of The Man of the Hour, Owens and Elias finally got their hands on Rush, with The Living Truth ensnaring the hype man in a full nelson right as victory was within reach for Lashley. Owens pinned a distracted Lashley with a roll-up, and with the help of Elias, handily beat down both the former ECW Champion and Rush, who attempted to even the odds to no avail. Of course, this could be a different story at Super Show-Down when Lashley has John Cena in his corner. But for now, consider the shoe on the other foot.
Maybe Mahalicia should change up their mantra. One week after Finn Bálor defeated Jinder Mahal, their respective Mixed Match Challenge partners Bayley and Alicia Fox battled, and the results were the same — the representatives of B’N’B prevailed, despite a timely interference from Mahal that nearly saved the matchup for Alicia. Despite The Maharaja meddling in the bout, his plan blew up in his face when Bálor took him out at ringside and The Huggable One administered a Bayley-to-Belly to the former Divas Champion to earn the win.
Things have gotten personal between The Undertaker and Triple H in the run-up to the Last Time Ever at WWE Super Show-Down — so personal, in fact, that Shawn Michaels and Kane have been roped in as backup for the two living legends. But in the final Raw before the epic clash, HBK stopped by to make one thing clear: He had originally intended to be an “innocent bystander” and was only getting involved because The Undertaker had crossed a couple of lines in their last confrontation. Now, given the escalating attacks and the presence of The Big Red Machine, he would not hesitate to unleash Sweet Chin Music on Kane should he try to rush the ring in Australia.
He didn't have to wait until then. The deafening boom of Kane's pyro cut off Michaels, and The Devil's Favorite Demon appeared in the ring behind Michaels and dropped him with a stinging right hand; then the lights dimmed, and The Deadman himself materialized beside his brother. Triple H attempted to even the odds, but only managed a pair of haymakers before The Brothers of Destruction made quick work of him and HBK, dropping both men with Chokeslams before The Phenom administered a final Tombstone to The Game. The line has been crossed. This is as personal as it gets. And now, there are no innocent bystanders.
Results[]
- Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.
- (c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.
- Braun Strowman defeated Dean Ambrose by disqualification
- Roman Reigns defeated Dolph Ziggler
- Ronda Rousey (w/ Brie & Nikki Bella) defeated Ruby Riott (w/ Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan) by submission
- Konnor (w/ Viktor) defeated Bobby Roode (w/ Chad Gable)
- The B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel) defeated The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder)
- Drew McIntyre defeated Seth Rollins
- Kevin Owens (w/ Elias) defeated Bobby Lashley (w/ Lio Rush)
- Bayley (w/ Finn Bálor) defeated Alicia Fox (w/ Jinder Mahal & Sunil Singh)
Other on-screen talent[]
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Image Gallery[]
Braun Strowman v Dean Ambrose[]
Roman Reigns v Dolph Ziggler[]
Ronda Rousey v Ruby Riott[]
Konnor v Bobby Roode[]
The B-Team v The Revival[]
Susan G. Kolmen partnership[]
Drew McIntyre v Seth Rollins[]
Kevin Owens v Bobby Lashley[]
Bayley v Alicia Fox[]
The Brothers of Destruction attack Triple H & Shawn Michaels[]
