It’s time for the September 18th edition of Monday Night Raw. The wrestling world just lost Bobby The Brain Heenan and WWE is headed toward No Mercy. John Cena and Brock Lesnar weren’t expected to make the show but there was plenty of reasons to catch this one. Bobby Heenan’s death on the previous night meant Raw was in store for tributes for the legendary wrestling personality throughout the night as well.
Opening Segment
Angle came down to hype No Mercy until The Miz’s music hit and he came out with Dallas and Axel. Maryse won’t be joining him in the ring while she’s pregnant now.
Miz said he’s tired of being overlooked and being an afterthought. He told Angle they’re doing No Mercy without Raw’s biggest star.
Mat Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Elias, and Jason Jordan will fight to decide who’s the #1 contender for the IC Title at No Mercy. Miz said JJ doesn’t deserve to be in the match to determine who gets to face Miz.
Miz said Dallas and Axel get leapfrogged by Jason Jordan and it’s not fair. Miz and Angle argue about parenthood and say we’re paying for Kurt Angle’s mistakes with JJ’s booking.
Miz said he should be a priority and not JJ. Kurt’s trying to make it up to Jordan at the expense of the locker room. Miz said you can always count on Kurt Angle to be a deadbeat.
Suddenly Jason Jordan’s music hit and he came down looking serious. But the crowd really didn’t care. They seemed dead already. Tickets didn’t sell very well anyway.
JJ said if Miz says one more word about his Papa Kurt then he’ll knock Miz’s teeth down his throat. JJ then suggested putting Bo and Curtis in the match too so Miz can’t make any excuses when he wins.
Now the #1 contender match for the IC Title is a six-pack challenge.
Backstage Segment
Jason was backstage and looked angry. He wasn’t really selling it well though. Kurt Angle told him to calm down. JJ said he sees the looks and heard the whispers. He said once he wins the IC Title the whispers and looks are going to stop.
Angle asked JJ what he thought would happen when it was revealed he was JJ’s dad. Jordan said he didn’t ask for this.
Kurt said he knows what Jordan’s capable of and he needed to go on to No Mercy and claim the IC Title.
Alexa Bliss vs Nia Jax
Hey! They’re giving this match away for free!
Alexa begged off right from the start and dodged around Nia Jax to roll out of the ring. Bliss wasted some time on the outside of the ring and finally got back in.
Bliss tried to grab Nia from behind but she just slung her out of the ring. Bliss didn’t act like she wanted to be in this match and who could blame her?
Bliss got lifted up by Nia with one arm but a knee from Bliss made her put The Five Feet Of Fury down. Bliss scrambled out of the ring and started to leave. Then Sasha Banks came out and stopped her from leaving. As soon as Bliss turned around, she was bowled over by Nia Jax.
Bliss dodged out of the way from a charge by Nia causing her to take a post to the shoulder. Bliss hit her a few times and climbed to the top rope. Bliss jumped down on Jax but she was caught. Nia hit a Samoan Drop and 1-2-3 the match was over in clean fashion.
Banks jumped on Nia after the match but Nia took her out too.
Suddenly Bayley’s music hit and the San Jose arena popped (kinda). Bayley stood on the outside of the ring and finally got on the apron. She entered the ring and then all three of them speared Nia Jax. Does that spear mean Bayley’s shoulder is all better? Or did she just get to go out there for the hometown crowd pop? Either way, Emma was nowhere to be seen.
Baylay hugged Sasha big time and it looked like a Bayley to Belly was coming. But it was just a very excited hug. Bayley and Sasha started to celebrate with Bliss then they realized they’re not supposed to like her. So Banks kicked Bliss and Bayley hit her with a Bayley To Belly.
As Bayley’s music started to play I can’t but wonder if she’s been cleared for an actual return yet.
Well, it would appear she’s good to go because WWE.com announced later on that Bayley was added to the Raw Women’s Title Match at No Mercy to make it a fatal five-way.
Sheamus and Cesaro vs The Club
Sheamus cut a promo about nostalgia before the match started and really trashed the concept. He said they don’t live in the past, they live in the present. He said they destroy nostalgia acts… just ask The Hardy Boyz.
Cesaro said as soon as the music ends nostalgia fades and the truth is Seth and Dean really can’t stand each other. When their friendship finally cracks then The Bar will be there to pick it up.
Seth and Dean came out and they looked like they were already having a good time. Rollins made fun of Sheamus and Cesaro’s outfits saying it looked like De Niro’s Taxi Driver had a baby with Braveheart’s kilts.
Ambrose also made fun of what they were wearing.
Then The Club came out to weigh in on who’s the better set of Good Brothers. Gallows prepared to call them “nerds” and the crowd started chanting it before he said it. That was he best crowd interaction so far in the night.
Ambrose said “nobody calls me a nerd!” and they tossed The Club out of the ring.
Once this match finally got started it has turned into a triple threat match with the addition of Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.
The Bar used some heavy-hitting offense because that’s what they do. But Luke Gallows didn’t give up without a fight. Seth tagged himself in with a blind tag and hit a top rope cross body on Sheamus. Dean tagged in and they hit a double team move on a prone Sheamus.
Ambrose hit a missile dropkick for a pin but Sheamus kicked out. Then The Celtic Warrior kept going. They traded tags a little and Dean ended up taking a Ceasro Swing into the barricade.
Once Dean was rolled back in the ring, The Swiss Cyborg continued his assault. Karl Anderson got the tag and hit a gourd buster on Dean but The Lunatic Fringe wouldn’t lay down. Gallows was tagged in next and he kept the pain on Dean until Ambrose rolled out of the way of an elbow drop causing Gallows to hit nothing but mat.
Rollins got the tag and hit a sling blade and a blockbuster on Anderson. Cesaro got the tag and Rollins hit him with a bucklebomb but Sheamus broke up the pin. Cesaro and Sheamus got Seth up for a double team move but Dean saved him.
Seth hit Gallows and Anderson with superkicks. But The Club hit a Magic Killer only to have the pin broken up by Dean. Ambrose would soon find himself smashing through the barricade.
Seth took some damage from Cesaro and the cut the ring in half. Rollins got a tag but the ref didn’t see it. So Rollins took a brutal double team move but Karl Anderson broke up the pin. Seth ended up besting both Sheamus and Cesaro and getting to his partner.
Karl Anderson got a tag as Dean came in the match. Ambrose one-upped Anderson and Gallows. Karl and Ambrose ended up on the top rope and Dean hit a superplex. Then he hit the top rope elbow drop he does so well, but Gallows broke up the pin again.
Dean and Seth knocked everyone to the floor and went flying on either side of the ring, they did the same thing on the opposite sides of the ring.
Karl ended up in the ring with both Seth and Dean. Ambrose had Anderson set up for a Doomsday Device looking move but Gallows broke that up before anything bad happened.
Seth hit a top rope dive to the floor on Gallows and Cesaro. Dean hit the Dirty Deeds on Anderson but Sheamus tossed him out of the ring and stole the pin. 1-2-3 and The Bar wins.
Backstage Segment
Miz and the Miztourage were backstage discussing their plans for the night. Dallas and Axel really want a shot at their leader’s IC Title.
Kurt Angle was backstage when suddenly Goldust was there with no facepaint paint on. Goldy said he wanted a rematch against Bray Wyatt but he wasn’t asking as Goldust, he was asking as Dustin Rhodes.
Kurt granted him the match and Goldy said Bray Wyatt will never forget the name Dustin Rhodes but he still came back on the screen to bite at Angle like Goldy.
Curt Hawkins vs Apollo Crews
Curt said he’s tired of making stars so the Curt Hawkins Star Factory is officially closed. Now he’s opening up Curt Hawkins’ History Machine. His 114 match losing streak is going to be ending soon.
Hawkins said he’s about to make a name out of someone who he will beat to end his epically long losing streak.
Then Apollo Crews came down and defeated Curt Hawkins to make loss #115 in a row for Curt. But wasn’t for lack of trying on Hawkins’ part.
As Titus O’Neil and Titus celebrated in the ring they showed a graphic on the bottom of the screen showing 115 losses for Curt Hawkins. It looks like they’re actually going to make losing his gimmick.
Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman Interview
Michael Cole interviewed Brock and Braun from the announce table with the competitors on the big screen. Brock was time traveling during this interview because he taped his answers last week.
Heyman said Brock will beat Strowman and Braun said he will put Lesnar down for good. Heyman did all the talking for Brock which is expected. Strowman said he’ll do more than survive Suplex City. He plans on walking into Suplex City and stomping it to the ground.
Heyman said Brock Lesnar knows he’ll have to bring the pain to Braun and understands how badly he’ll have to beat him. Brock just looked very serious. Braun said it doesn’t matter what Brock does because the ball is in his court, he pulls the strings, and he makes the decisions.
Paul Heyman listed a lot of Brock’s accolades including the UFC Heavyweight Championship and defeating The Undertaker’s steak which doesn’t get him nearly the heat it used to now that Roman Reigns can claim he retired The Dead Man.
Brock thanked Braun for challenging him when he was at his best. Then Lesnar said “Suplex City, b-tch.”
Roman Reigns
The Big Dog made his entrance in San Jose and he received plenty of boos in the process. Reigns got on the mic and said John Cena might be the best talker ever buy sometimes he says “stupid sh-t” — okay. That cursing was scripted and didn’t get the pop they wanted.
Reigns came down on Cena for saying he was “the next John Cena.” Roman said he doesn’t look like Cena or he wouldn’t be there and if we don’t believe him we can ask Alex Riley about that.
He called John Cena a “fake ass little b-tch” again and then said he’s a hypocrite. Then he played video of Cena trashing The Rock on Feb 2012 where he grilled The Rock for being a part-timer.
Roman asked if they should bring Cena out and they cheered. Then Reigns said that’s not going to be loud enough because Cena isn’t there. What he didn’t tell them was Cena was doing WWE’s bidding in China.
Reigns said it will be just like the last time only he’s going to get beaten by another Samoan. Reigns said he’ll be there next time “see ya next week movie star,” Roman said. Mic drop, then he left.
Backstage Segment
The Hardy Boyz were interviewed by Renee Young about the #1 contender for the IC Title match for No Mercy. Matt and Jeff seemed focused and Matt didn’t use any of that WONDERFUL Woken speech.
They spoke like real people and talked about how they’re both going to seize the moment at No Mercy. Jeff ended up saying “may the best Hardy win.”
Bray Wyatt vs Dustin Rhodes
It was time for man vs man action. No face paint and no gimmicks. It was just going to be Bray vs Dustin.
Rhodes said he’s not going to be a pawn to Bray’s twisted game which is ironic because his participation in this angle is fodder for Bray to further his character’s agenda in the program.
Bray beat Dustin around the ring until Rhodes turned it around, bounced him off a barricade and shot him into the steel steps. He hit a bulldog off the steel steps and mounted Bray for some punches.
Bray hit a shoulder tackle and brought the big Texan down. But Dustin covered it up and hit the Shattered Dreams on Wyatt when they got back inside. But Bray soon hit a Sister Abigail and got the win.
After the match, Finn Balor showed up on the screen to tell Bray a story. He talked about a shy little boy who was different and read stories about monsters while the rest of the children were out playing. This boy would become a man and learn how to turn his anger and rage into something else. This man created a Demon “now I wanna asked you a very important question, Bray. If the demon is a creation of the man, which one is more dangerous? At No Merc, you’re going to find out.”
Backstage Segment
They showed Enzo Amore walking backstage asking people “how you doin’?”
They played a Bobby “The Brain” Heenan memorial promo that would bring a tear to any fan’s eye.
RIP Enzo Amore
Enzo came out and started his promo. Suddenly Braun Strowman ran out and destroyed him on the ramp. He tossed Enzo in the ring and started to dismantle Amore with a chokeslam and a running powerslam while “thank you Strowman” chants broke out.
Sooo Enzo is challenging for the Cruiserweight Championship at No Mercy, right?
Neville came out to survey the damage after Braun was finished with him. Neville went to the ring and approached Enzo who was laying out cold. Neville jumped to the top rope and hit a Red Arrow on Amore. Good lord that move is beautiful.
Neville asked to the microphone and asked “how you doing?!” then he laughed like an evil villain in a Disney cartoon.
Backstage Segment
Enzo is showed backstage receiving some treatment. He didn’t seem very amused.
Neville vs Gran Metalik
It’s great to finally see Gran Metalik on Raw in a singles match. He really deserves to be featured more.
Neville got the best of Metalik and kept the pressure on him from there. Nevill started tearing at Metalik’s mask and ripped a hole in it nearly tearing it apart. Metalik still hit a sick springboard dive on Neville to the outside.
Neville kicked out after a splash and soon found himself in The Rings Of Saturn. Gran Metalik soon had no choice but to tap out. But those two really deserve a match with a little extra time than what they received.
Elias vs Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy vs Curtis Axel vs Bo Dallas vs Jason Jordan
Elias had a chance to since a song before the match started. San Jose didn’t appreciate that very much. They also didn’t like being told a disappointment. Then he threatened to kick a kid who we never saw) out of San Jose if he looked at him again like that.
He sang a song about Jason Jordan being a daddy’s boy and ending up a failure like everyone in San Jose. They really need to get him into a studio so he can lay down those tracks for real.
Elias showed a lot of ability during this match and Matt Hardy took some damage. The heels banded together to keep the babyfaces down for most of the first moments of this match but Elias soon started taking it to Axel and Dallas too.
Elias sat JJ up on the top rope and climbed up to join him. After Elias was knocked to the ground JJ didn’t get off easily at all. He took a Tower Of Doom type move which saw everyone taking a bump.
The Hardys hit some Poetry In Motion on Elias and then Matt and Jeff started wrestling each other. Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel double-teamed Matt Hardy and sent him outside.
JJ soon hit Bo with a belly to belly and then hit Axel with one too. He took down his singlet straps just like his daddy. He hit Curtis with his awesome double Northern Lights suplex combo but Bo tossed him outside to Miz.
The Miz beat JJ down and tossed him over the barricade into the timekeeper’s area.
Matt and Elias fought on the inside and Elias hit the Drift Away but Jeff broke up the pin. Jeff and Elias paired off after that. Jeff hit an inverted atomic drop and Elias went outside. Jeff climbed up and hit Axel with a Swanton Bomb that practically killed Curtis.
Miz jumped in the ring to break up the pin and make sure he wasn’t facing Jeff Hardy again. Then Jason Jordan snuck in and hit his finisher on Curtis Axel to claim the win and his spot in the IC Title match at No Mercy.
Raw ended with The Miz not looking too happy. He got in the ring to stand toe-to-toe with JJ and Jordan hit him with a couple German suplexes. The Miztourage jumped in and stopped it from getting any worse.
After beating Jason Jordan down with The Miz directing traffic he hit a Skull Crushing Finale on JJ to leave him in the ring at the end of the night.
“After No Mercy, I will be the champ. Kurt Angle will still be a terrible father and you will still be a bastard” The Miz said before holding up his Intercontinental Title while his music played on.
