WWE Raw: Results, Highlights, and Grades for June 18, 2018

Alexa Bliss had a great Money in the Bank. What’s next for her on WWE Raw? Photo Source: WWE.com

Braun Strowman is Mr. Money in the Bank, Alexa Bliss is Raw Women’s Champion again, and Ronda Rousey is likely in a bad mood. Follow along with the MITB fallout with our live WWE Raw review!

Previously on WWE Raw, I honestly have no idea. Sami Zayn built an obstacle course? But since that last episode of Raw, Money in the Bank absolutely rocked, and kind of made you forget about how iffy Raw has been lately. Progress for WWE!

This week on WWE Raw, expect a bunch of fallout from Money in the Bank. Just what should we be seeing? First, Braun Strowman won the Men’s MITB Ladder Match, officially making him Brock Lesnar’s worst nightmare. Man, if I was Brock, I wouldn’t even bother showing up for a few months! How will “Mr. Monster in the Bank” start his reign of terror?

But Strowman wasn’t the only Raw superstar to grab a briefcase — Alexa Bliss also nabbed the prize in the Women’s Ladder Match. The difference is, Bliss has already cashed in that contract — successfully. The now five time Women’s Champion Bliss may have gotten her title back, but she’s raised the ire of two destructive forces in the Raw women’s division: Ronda Rousey and former champ Nia Jax. How will that play out this week?

Seth Rollins successfully defended his Intercontinental Championship at Money in the Bank against Elias, but he needed some underhanded tactics to do so. The Kingslayer battled through a pair of injuries just to stay in the match, so when it came time to put the troubadour away Rollins had to grab a handful of tights. It may not have been the most honorable thing, but maybe the ends justify the means? What will Elias have to say about the injustice?

And Roman Reigns wrestled a match at Money in the Bank. It was fine, but you’d never know it from social media and the live crowd. What’s the next step for the Big Dog that the WWE Universe will crap all over?

Related Story: What's Next For Roman Reigns After MITB?

Follow along here with our live WWE Raw review. The action gets underway on the USA Network at 8 p.m. ET.

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Help Me, Ronda

Well, it doesn’t take long at all to get back into the swing of things for Alexa Bliss. A mere 24 hours ago, she made the past two and a half months of programming just disappear — she’s Raw Women’s Champion again, and her first defense will be against Nia Jax at Extreme Rules. In fact, Bliss is right back on her “Nia is a bully!” talking point, like nothing ever happened?

So, what was the point of WrestleMania? Was it just for a feel good moment for everyone who’s ever been body shamed? Did Jax’s brief “walkout” late last year force WWE’s hand? I get title swaps, they happen all the time. But this one, with Bliss winning so unexpectedly, just seemed like a reset to me.

The X-factor here, though, is Ronda Rousey. Alexa is at her best when she’s got a white hot babyface to bounce off of. That’s why the Jax storyline, as borderline bad as it might have been, was such a shining moment for Alexa. (The garbage Bayley storyline is the exception that proves this rule, by the way.)

And speaking of looking good, “Stone Cold” Ronda Rousey solidified her spot as The Best Thing on Monday Night Raw™ with this segment. As if the limited action she’s had in the ring hasn’t been good enough, now she gets her “to hell with the authority figures” moment. That’s the true sign of making it in the WWE.

Of course, the second thing that signifies “making it” in WWE as a babyface is the ridiculous 30-day suspension. You know Rousey’s being held back until SummerSlam, so this is just a way to stop everyone from saying “Where’s Ronda?” every week until Brooklyn. Great stuff all around.

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Intercontinental Championship Match

Seth Rollins (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler (w/ Drew McIntyre)

Result: Dolph Ziggler defeated Seth Rollins via pinfall to become the NEW Intercontinental Champion

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Rollins made his way to the ring, apparently completely healed of the neck and knee injuries plaguing him at Money in the Bank. After a hot opening segment, the Kingslayer decides he wants to keep things going, so he issues an open challenge for the Intercontinental Championship. That challenge was accompanied by a not-so-subtle jab at Brock Lesnar as Rollins called himself “a fighting champion [who’s] here every week.” Please give me Rollins vs. Lesnar at SummerSlam, I don’t ask for much.

The challenge is answered by Dolph Ziggler, and while I would have preferred Drew McIntyre (or a triple threat, because I don’t think there’s any rules against that), it’s a damn good matchup. Ziggler wrestles a smart match, attacking the neck and knee that bothered Rollins at MITB.

What I like best about the concept of the open challenge is the random matchups that are possible. Remember how good the Rollins vs. Mojo Rawley match was when this round of the challenge started? How about when John Cena faced all sorts of opponents from out of left field? Rollins and Ziggler isn’t that random, but Dolph hasn’t been a singles championship contender since he relinquished the US Title on SmackDown Live in December.

Given how Rollins beat Elias at Money in the Bank, I would have wagered anything that he would have interfered in this one. But instead, Ziggler won (with the same handful of tights that Seth used at MITB, and tried to use again now) in a shock. Like, who saw that coming?

It was a great match with a surprise finish, so how could you not love it?

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Bobby Roode vs. Curt Hawkins

Result: Bobby Roode defeated Curt Hawkins via pinfall

Rating: DUD

Ladies and gentlemen, I was still typing up the heading for this match as the bell rang for the three count. For the life of me, I can’t figure out what purpose this match served.

In one corner, you have Curt Hawkins. He’s riding a streak of (now) 204 consecutive losses. A few weeks back, he looked to be close to ending that run of futility, but Baron Corbin intervened as he announced himself the “constable” of Raw. You would think that would lead to a match between Hawkins and Corbin. But nope.

In the other corner, you have Bobby Roode. He’s one of the most skilled performers on the roster — maybe not necessarily from a technical standpoint, but from a “sports entertainment” standpoint. He is a sports entertainer; that’s what makes him so Glorious. He’s been on his own run of futility, too: Roode hasn’t definitively won a match of importance in a while.

And Roode was on the receiving end of one of the high spots in the Men’s MITB Ladder Match, when Finn Balor hit a Coup de Grace from off the giant ladder. So Roode is 1) banged up, 2) having some difficulty, and 3) going up against an opponent who couldn’t parlay one of his many losses into the world’s most obvious feud?

The less said about this, the better, so let’s move on.

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Monster in the Bank

There’s a quick video package highlighting all the bonkers stuff Strowman did in the MITB match. You know, getting buried by a bunch of ladders, rising like a phoenix from the ashes, crushing ladders, throwing Kevin Owens to his doom, all that.

That brings out Braun himself, who declares himself the next Universal Champion. He’s probably right, but first he’s got to find Brock Lesnar before he can beat him. That’s probably going to be more difficult than actually beating a guy that hasn’t been pinned to lose a championship by anyone since Eddie Guerrero.

When Strowman finishes his spiel, he’s joined by Kevin Owens. KO is a smooth talking SOB, and he tries to convince Braun — who, 24 hours ago, threw him off a ladder to near death — to work together. See, Owens knows what it takes to be Universal Champion, and he’s prepared to be Braun’s only ally in WWE. He points out that both he and Braun are loners at present. Strowman needed a child to be his tag partner at WrestleMania, and Owens has lost Sami Zayn to injury for who knows how long.

KO’s plan is simple: He’ll help Braun win the title via cash-in, so long as Owens gets a match for the title once Braun wins it. They shake on it, but Strowman decides to try and powerslam the smarmy, sneaky Owens. KO wriggles free, and now he’s a marked man.

Friends Forever (?)

Backstage, Bayley convinces Sasha Banks to make a fresh start of things as they prepare to face the Riott Squad later tonight. Surely this will be nothing but smooth sailing!

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Deleters of Worlds (Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt) vs. Heath Slater & Rhyno

Result: Deleters of Worlds defeated Heath Slater & Rhyno

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

The match here is secondary to the WONDERFUL homage to the Raw Tag Team Champions presented by the B-Team. Curtis Axel did Matt Hardy almost better than Matt himself. But the highlight was absolutely Bo Dallas channeling his shoot big brother Bray, complete with rainbow floral fedora and lantern.

While Bo got fed up with the fake beard and slipped back into his real persona, Axel never breaks character. No need, baby, just go with it. The close of the B-Team part of the segment was so pitch perfect, with the pair not knowing if the shot was live or not, and just sulking out of the camera shot. Put the titles on them, and see what happens before feeding them to, like, the Authors of Pain or something.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1008883559564697600

The distraction allowed Slater and Rhyno to get the jump on the tag champs, but it didn’t last. There’s no reason for the champs to drop a non-title match to a team like Slater and Rhyno, even with a past reign as SmackDown Tag Champs on their resumé. A solid win for the current Raw Tag Champs gives the B-Team something to try to overcome.

We Need to Talk About How Kurt Angle Holds a Phone

Constable Corbin tells Angle that Stephanie McMahon is pleased with how the GM handled the Ronda Rousey situation. Angle snaps at Corbin before being handed a cell phone to talk to the Commissioner, but more important to me is just how Angle holds the phone. The mic is like next to his eye. Can anyone on the other end of the conversation hear him?

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Jinder Mahal (w/ Sunil Singh) vs. Chad Gable

Result: Jinder Mahal defeated Chad Gable via pinfall

Rating: 2.25 out of 5 stars

Never a good sign when a superstar is announced as “already in the ring.” That’s code for, “We like you, but not enough for people to pay attention to you.” Can’t figure out why Gable would end up in that category, when just about all of his matches are excellent. But he’s already out there waiting for Jinder to make his way to the ring regardless.

Mahal speaks before the match, claiming to have found inner peace and tranquility. Somewhere on SmackDown Live, Andrade Almas is weeping for not being the height of tranquilo. But once the match starts, Jinder is less tranquil and more Mola Ram.

Gable comes back quick, and the match is super short but super action-packed. Even though there’s only about four minutes of bell to bell time, there was no let up. Gable came through with a beautiful moonsault and put a hurting on Jinder, but it wasn’t enough. A Khallas led to another victory for the Modern Day Maharaja.

The question I have is where does Jinder go from here? It seems pretty clear that he’s done with Roman Reigns for now. But a lengthy program with Gable seems unlikely. He could have been a contender to take the Intercontinental Championship from Seth Rollins, but that won’t happen now. So what’s in store for him?

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Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan, w/ Ruby Riott)

Result: The Riott Squad defeated Sasha Banks & Bayley via pinfall

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Usually, a “will they, won’t they” situation on television is about two characters that fans want to get together. Sam and Diane. Jim and Pam. Maddie and David. But in the case of Sasha Banks and Bayley, the “will they, won’t they” is referring to their inevitable breakup. Their union right now is as strong as a mug of three day old decaf coffee.

The entire match is devoted to getting their tension front and center. Not that it hasn’t been there since the Royal Rumble in January. But both superstars kept tagging themselves into the match, even though the other didn’t want out.

More than once, a hobbled Sasha tagged herself in despite the agony she was in. Bayley tagged herself in to try and save Sasha’s back, which was met with disdain from The Boss. Late in the match, Sasha actually looked to try and tag out, but Bayley was pulled off the apron. Uh oh, miscommunication!

Morgan picked up the pin on Banks after a cheap shot from Logan, and Morgan held the tights to boot. Bayley was slow to break up the pin, but who cares — things are finally progressing. Bayley tries to talk to Sasha, but gets shoved aside three times. The final one knocked the Hugger onto her keister, so it would seem the friendship is done — especially after a major brawl backstage.

Until next week, probably, when they make up again and break up again. Because, you know, they’ve brawled backstage before.

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That Was Extreme(ly Bad)

When Kurt Angle said he had a massive announcement, many of you were probably like me and yelled out, “LIAR!” WWE loves their hyperbole, don’t they? But Kurt says WWE has made a deal with Brock Lesnar to set up his next Universal Championship defense. How great must it be to be Brock? Every other champion gets put in a title match for breathing the wrong way. But Lesnar gets to actually negotiate his matches. What a concept!

Angle says he’s going to reveal who Lesnar will face, but Roman Reigns comes out. He hears the words “Universal Championship” and it’s like saying Beetlejuice three times — he’s just gotta pop up.

Then Bobby Lashley wanders down to the ring and stinks up the joint. Seriously, it’s the worst parts of 2015 Roman Reigns mixed in with a middle school kid trying to give a speech to his classmates. Bad writing and terrible delivery actually made Roman look like Ric Flair on the stick tonight.

Somewhere in there, Angle announces a vague multi-man match for Extreme Rules, where the winner gets a shot at Lesnar. So that’s a thing every year now, I guess. Thankfully, The Revival come out to save us all. They call out Lashley and Reigns to a match, so the best tag team on the planet can beat two of the best singles wrestlers. Dash and Dawson are so confident, they give away their strategy because the lack of cohesiveness between the two potential Universal Championship challengers means they can’t win.

Angle calls for a referee, and the match is on.

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Bobby Lashley & Roman Reigns vs. The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder)

Result: Bobby Lashley & Roman Reigns defeated The Revival via pinfall

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The match plays out pretty much as you would expect. The Revival did exactly what they said they would do: they exploited their superior tag team skills to gain an advantage over two theoretically “better” superstars. Quick tags, bending the rules to the point of breaking (but never breaking), and coming between their opponents were all on tap.

It’s great to see Dash and Dawson finally getting some time in the spotlight on Raw. They’ve had one of the most uneven times on the main roster since their stellar run in NXT. They don’t fit into the Tag Team Championship picture at the moment, but a match like this could get them back to that point sooner rather than later.

But as much as the match was beneficial for them, this wasn’t about The Revival. This was about Lashley and Reigns having a chance to knock the other down a peg. Lashley took the brunt of the punishment, but he also sniped the finish from Roman. And for Bobby to finish things off with a spear? Ice cold, bro.

It’s clear that either Reigns or Lashley will actually be the one to face Lesnar (it’ll be Roman). The “multi-man match” is the worst kind of charade to get to that point. But at least it fills time before Extreme Rules.

Runaway Train, Never Comin’ Back

Finn Balor wants in on the multi-man match, but Constable Corbin thinks that’s hilarious. Kevin Owens sides with Corbin, but gets the poop scared out of him by Braun Strowman sneaking up on him. Strowman sticks up for “his little buddy” Balor, and challenges Corbin and Owens to a match. Apparently the briefcase allows this, according to Braun. Angle runs away, and it takes a good thirty seconds before anyone realizes he ain’t coming back.

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No Way Jose vs. Mojo Rawley

Result: Mojo Rawley defeated No Way Jose via pinfall

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

After Roode vs. Hawkins earlier tonight, it seems someone hit the random match generator button a second time. No Way Jose vs. Mojo Rawley? Really?

Let me be clear: I like the idea of random matches. What was I saying about the open challenges for the Intercontinental and United States Championships? My issue with them is that more often than not, the random matches go nowhere and mean nothing. Why not book a random match, and if it is well received, build on it? If that never happens, you’ll end up with a never ending cycle of repetition in the booking.

Rawley vs. Jose wasn’t a great match, so I wouldn’t necessarily repeat that. But Mojo looked pretty good, and his promo after the match seems to indicate that he’s in store for some kind of push. You know what? Do it. Why shouldn’t we get some new blood mixed in to the same old same old?

Chasing Cars

Sasha Banks angrily leaves the building, but Bayley gives chase. The Hugger does her best Braun Strowman impression, telling The Boss she’s not finished with her. Sasha is done with Bayley, though, and goes to drive away.

Bayley, despite the car window being open, tries to open the door as Sasha drives away. Not the brightest of moves, Bayley.

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Elias Wants to Brock and Roll

Elias challenged Brock Lesnar. Wow.

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Who on earth would have thought that one of the biggest heat magnets in NXT would be out on WWE Raw challenging Brock freaking Lesnar to a Universal Championship match? Not only that, but the match actually would make some sense! It wouldn’t be some random throwaway kind of thing, where everyone just laughs it up. Elias has proven himself worthy of sharing the ring with the Universal Champion.

As awesome as that is, no one really sees it happening, do they? At best, Elias will be in the multi-man match at Extreme Rules, but he ain’t winning. We already know Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley are in that match. Finn Balor is probably getting in, and maybe Kevin Owens. Elias is amazing, and probably the most improved superstar of the year, but he’s not getting an actual Universal Championship match just yet.

Eat Your Humble Pie, Seth

Former Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins talks with Renee Young about how much he hates that word “former.” Credit to the Kingslayer, he doesn’t make excuses for losing the title to Dolph Ziggler. MITB didn’t hurt his chances, nor did Drew McIntyre at ringside. But Rollins announces he’s invoking his rematch clause for next week, so we’ll see if he’s right or not.

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Finn Balor & Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens & Baron Corbin

Result: Kevin Owens & Baron Corbin defeated Finn Balor & Braun Strowman via pinfall

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Say what you want about anyone else in the match, but this was the Kevin Owens Show. And he did such a great job selling the ladder match and the injuries he sustained in it.

Watching KO tonight was like watching a master class in ring psychology. Everything he did in this tag match was accompanied by a grimace, or a moan of pain. Those little things are so important, but more often than not they’re ignored. Look at Seth Rollins making his ring entrance earlier in this episode. Despite injuring his knee, there was no bandage, no crutch, no limp. Meanwhile, Owens is here grabbing his neck after hitting a cannonball senton.

Praising Owens doesn’t mean no one else in the match did anything of note. Constable Corbin looked more motivated in the ring than he has in ages. The Deep Six to Balor as he was attempting to tag out was gorgeous.

Balor and Strowman also worked fairly well together as a team. Maybe that whole “teamwork” thing could be more than just a one off. Of course, Balor probably wants Braun to come up with a better way to tag in to the match.

A clean-as-a-whistle finish with Corbin scoring the pin was admittedly weird. But you know what? With how good Corbin looked earlier in the match, he may as well pick up the win.

The destrucity on the outside of the ring also helped with the rationale for why Corbin could get that pin — Strowman practically murdered KO through the barricade, so both superstars were down and out for the finish. I’m thinking the Constable will end up in the multi-man match, likely due to Stephanie’s doing.

Next: What's Next For Roman Reigns After MITB?

Hey, WWE Raw was actually pretty good tonight! Rollins vs. Ziggler was great with a surprise finish, Ronda Rousey MDK’d Alexa Bliss — and Kurt Angle — and the next step in the blood rivalry between “friends” Sasha Banks and Bayley blew up. What are your thoughts on WWE Raw this week?