The February 18th, 2019 edition of WWE RAW took place at the Cajundome in Lafayette, LA, and was the first episode after the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
– Triple H comes down to the ring to kick off tonight’s show. He gets on the mic and talks about the excitement in the air on the road to WrestleMania. Triple H talks about the results from last night’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, and the announcement that D-X is being inducted into the Hall of Fame. HHH lists the members of D-X who will be inducted, including Billy Gunn, the Road Dogg, and Chyna. He brings up the brand he oversees – NXT. He says he wants to introduce some competitors from NXT who will be making their RAW debuts tonight. He introduces a video package looking at Ricochet, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa. Triple H says you will see the future tonight, but right now, all hell is about to break loose. Triple h points to some tables on the stage, and he says those are there because a table match is about to happen right now. It’ll be Baron Corbin vs. Braun Strowman in a tables match, and that starts right now.
– Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin: The first man to put his opponent through a table wins. They brawl out to ringside early on in this one, and Corbin slams Braun ribs-first into the fan barricade. Braun fights back and drops Corbin on the floor as the crowd chants “get these hands.” Back in the ring, Corbin comes back and puts the boots to Braun on the mat. Braun rolls outside and Corbin slams him into the ring apron. Braun is selling a rib injury from the 3-on-1 beat down on him last night. Corbin tries to suplex Braun on the ramp, but Strowman turns it around and reverses it into a suplex of his own. Strowman takes Corbin up the ramp and throws him into one of the screens, then he goes over to the announce table on the stage. Braun goes for a running powerslam, but Braun escapes and throws Braun off the stage. They fight back to the ring, and Strowman looks for a running powerslam into a table set up in the corner, but Corbin escapes. Corbin knocks Strowman outside and throws him into the ring steps face-first. Corbin climbs up to the apron and looks for a flying move, but Strowman knocks him out of mid-air with the steel ring steps. Strowman hits him with the ring steps a couple more times before taking him back in the ring. Strowman hits the running powerslam on Corbin through the table in the corner for the win.
Winner: Braun Strowman
– As Strowman is heading up the ramp, Paul Heyman comes out to the stage. Strowman grabs Heyman by the throat and Heyman begs for mercy. Braun ends up letting go and heading to the back. Heyman heads to the ring and gets on the mic. He says he’s not surprised by Strowman, because everyone is jealous of his client Brock Lesnar. Heyman introduces a video package looking at Lesnar’s college wrestling days, WWE recruiting him, and some milestones in his career, including his UFC run. Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor comes out to interrupt. Heyman leaves.
– Finn Balor gets on the mic and says it’s been a while since he’s held one of these Championships, and it feels good. Balor talks about his plans to defend his Title, and then Lio Rush comes out to interrupt. Lio gets on the mic and says Balor doesn’t deserve to be the Intercontinental Champion – Lashley does. Lashley then hits the ring from behind and blind-sides Balor. Lio Rush comes down and joins in on the beat down on Balor. Ricochet comes out for the save and hits a moonsault on Lio at ringside, then a springboard missile dropkick on Lashley.
– Ricochet & Finn Balor vs. Lio Rush & Bobby Lashley: This match was made official during the commercial break. Lio and Ricochet start off tranding headlocks on the mat. Ricochet hits a hurricanrana and a dropkick, and Lio is down. Lashley tags in and Ricochet goes for a headlock, but Lashley reverses it into a big slam. Lashley continues the offense, but Ricochet fires back with a kick to the head and then a dropkick. Lashley rolls outside, and Ricochet fakes him out with a suicide dive attempt, but he ends up not diving. Lio tags back in, and he tells Ricochet to tag in Balor. Balor tags in, and then Lashley tags in quickly after and starts dominating Balor. Lio tags back in, and Balor turns it around and lays into Lio with chops to the chest. Balor hits the sling blade on Lio, then Balor goes up top, but he gets distracted by Lashley on the apron. Lio capitalizes on the distraction with a cheap shot to Balor’s knee, and Balor falls out to ringside. Lashley tags and beats down Balor at ringside, then takes him in the ring and continues the offense. Balor finally comes back and hits a double foot stomp on Lashley, then Ricochet gets the hot tag. Lio also tags in, and Ricochet cleans house. Ricochet knocks both opponents out to ringside, then hits a suicide dive on Lio. Lashley chases Ricochet around ringside, and Ricochet leaps over him, then Balor dropkicks Lashley into the barricade. Back in the ring, Ricochet hits the 640 splash on Rush for the win.
Winners: Ricochet & Finn Balor
– Balor and Ricochet celebrate in the ring after the match.
– Triple H is shown backstage talking to Natalya, when Drew McIntyre interrupts. Drew complains about Triple H rolling out the red carpet for the new NXT superstars, and he demands a shot at Seth Rollins. Drew says he wants to prove he can main event WrestleMania. Dean Ambrose walks in and says he’s not doing anything tonight, what about him. Ambrose slaps Drew across the face and walks off. Drew tells HHH he wants Ambrose tonight instead.
– Lucha House Party vs. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins: Hawkins and Gran Metalik start off, then Ryder quickly tags in for the double team. Lince Dorado tags in and hits a hurricanrana on Ryder off the apron into the fan barricade. Back in the ring, Dorado and Metalik trade frequent tags to double team Ryder. Ryder finally fights out of a suplex attempt, and Hawkins gets the tag. Hawkins cleans house. Dorado comes back with a kick on Hawkins, but Hawkins comes back with a Michinoku Driver. Hawkins pins, but Metalik breaks it up. Ryder and Metalik go outside, and Hawkins hits a kick on Dorado in the ring. Metalik distracts Hawkins from the apron, and Dorado rolls up Hawkins for the three count.
Winners: Lucha House Party
– Still to come: Ronda Rousey vs. Ruby Riott in a rematch from last night.
– Heavy Machinery comes out to the stage and talks about how they like going to the gym and eating steaks. They talk about having a pact to have each other’s backs. Lacey Evans comes out to interrupt. She walks down the ramp, then turns around and heads back up to the stage. Heavy Machinery heads down to the ring, then they turn around and head back up to the stage where Lacey is.
– Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano are shown backstage getting ready for their match. Bobby Roode and Chad Gable interrupt, and welcome them to RAW. They question why they’re getting a match against The Revival already, instead of Roode and Gable. The Revival walks by and heads out for their match.
– Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano vs. The Revival: This one is a non-Title match. Dawson and Gargano start this one off, but Ciampa and Gargano trade tags to double team Dawson. Dawson finally fights back against Gargano, and Wilder gets the tag. Gargano throws Wilder outside with a hurricanrana, then he throws Dawson outside and hits a suicide dive. Back in the ring, Gargano fends off a double team attempt and hits a DDT on Wilder. Ciampa and Dawson are now the legal men, and Ciampa cleans house. Ciampa hits a series of German suplexes on Dawson. Wilder gets the tag and they hit a double team suplex/uppercut on Ciampa for a two count. They look for the Shatter Machine on Ciampa, but Gargano comes in and helps break it up. Gargano gets the tag and hits a slingshot DDT on wilder for a two count. Dawson pulls Ciampa out to ringside and drops him on the floor. Wilder and Gargano fight in the ring and Wilder reverses a spear attempt, which leads to The Revival hitting a Doomsday Device type double team on Gargano. Ciampa comes back in and breaks up the pin attempt. Wilder and Ciampa go out to ringside, while Gargano and Dawson trade strikes in the ring. Gargano hits the sling shot spear on Dawson, then Ciampa tags in and they hit the superkick and knee combination. Ciampa covers for the three count.
Winners: Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano
– Finn Balor and Ricochet are backstage for an interview. Balor says last night was his night, but tonight is all about Ricochet, and he welcomes him to RAW. Ricochet says he never imagined debuting on RAW would be like this, and talks about achieving his goals and living his dreams.
– Ronda Rousey is shown backstage warming up for her match tonight.
– We see a selfie video from Kevin Owens where he talks about being ready to come back. Owens says he’s focused and hungry, then he eats some popcorn.
– New Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks and Bayley come out to the ring. Bayley talks about crying last night and how emotional of a night it was. Sasha and Bayley talk about having the same dream and goal, and how it took going to war with each other to finally realize that together they’re changing the world. Nia Jax and Tamina come out to interrupt. They talk trash to Sasha and Bayley and hit the ring. Tamina says last night they got lucky, but their luck is up tonight. Sasha and Bayley knock Nia and Tamina off the apron, then when Nia tries to get back in, they knock her out again. Nia and Tamina retreat up the ramp and head to the back.
– Michael Cole introduces a video package looking at D-X going in to the WWE Hall of Fame.
– Dean Ambrose vs. Drew McIntyre: We see a replay of Ambrose slapping McIntyre across the face earlier tonight. The opening bell sounds and Drew immediately starts with the offense, and slaps Ambrose across the face a couple times. Ambrose ducks a shot and dumps Drew outside, then knocks him off the apron with a big boot. Ambrose follows up with a suicide dive, then throws Drew back in the ring. Dean follows up with a neckbreaker, then he goes to the top rope. Ambrose misses a shot and Drew comes back with the Claymore Kick. Drew wastes some time and lets Ambrose get back to his feet. Drew hits a second Claymore Kick for the three count.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
– Drew stands over Dean in the ring and looks up at the WrestleMania sign hanging above.
– We go to a video package narrated by Paul Heyman, looking at Lesnar vs. Rollins at WrestleMania.
– Seth Rollins is backstage for an interview reacting to that video package. Rollins says everything Paul said about Lesnar was true, and Rollins accepts his fate. He says Lesnar must also accept his fate, that Rollins is leaving WrestleMania with the Universal Title belt whether it’s on his feet or in a wheelchair. Dean Ambrose walks over, and Rollins asks if he can help him with something. Ambrose asks where Rollins was. Rollins acts confused and asks if Ambrose has completely lost his mind. Ambrose gives Rollins a look and walks off.
– Elias is in the ring with his guitar. He says he’s fed up with how he’s been treated, because he’s the most talented and charismatic superstar to come along in a long time. Elias says he’s got a song for himself tonight rather than the fans. He asks everyone to be quiet, but Aleister Black then makes his entrance to interrupt. Black enters the ring and gets on the mic. Black says if silence is what Elias wants, he’s going to get that tonight when he fades to black. And we’ve got a match.
– Elias vs. Aleister Black: Black reverses a shot early on and Elias goes out to ringside. Black backflips off the ropes and sits down on the mat. Back in the ring, Elias fights back with chops and a clothesline. Black reverses a shot and connects with some kicks. Black hits a springboard moonsault for a two count. Black hits a back elbow, and Elias answers with a kick. Black comes flying off the top, but Elias knocks him out of mid-air with a leaping knee to the face. Elias wastes some time and argues with the ref now. Elias misses a shot and Black hits the Black Mass kick for the three count.
Winner: Aleister Black
– We go to replays and Black sits down in the middle of the ring.
– Next week: Ric Flair’s birthday celebration on RAW in Atlanta, GA.
– Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Ruby Riott: Ronda’s RAW Women’s Championship is on the line in this one. Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan are at ringside. The opening bell sounds and Ronda immediately takes Ruby down with a judo throw. Ronda follows up with strikes in the corner until Ruby rolls outside for a breather. Back in the ring, Ruby takes Ronda down and they scramble for position. Ruby is in control until Ronda catches her in an arm bar attempt. Ruby escapes and slides back out to ringside to regroup. Back in the ring, Ruby hits a spear on Ronda for a two count. Ruby goes for a sleeper now, but Ronda escapes and tosses Ruby down. Ronda follows up with strikes and then hits a series of tosses to the mat on Ruby. Ronda hits a running elbow shot in the corner, then she goes for another one, but Ruby dodges it and slams Ronda into the turnbuckle. Ruby hits a senton drop off the middle rope for a two count. Ruby wastes some time taunting Ronda, but she stills connects with the Riott Kick. Ronda kicks out at two. Ruby hits a knee to the face and tries to follow up, but Ronda reverses into a gut wrench powerbomb. Ronda goes up top, but Logan and Morgan cause a distraction. This leads to Ruby kicking Ronda on the corner, then pulling her down for another Riott Kick. Ruby pins for another two count. Ruby goes up top for a senton bomb, but Ronda rolls out of the way. Ronda goes for the arm bar, but Ruby rolls outside with the help of Logan and Morgan. Ronda goes up top and goes flying down to the floor on to Morgan and Logan. Ruby avoids it and runs back in the ring. Ronda follows her back in the ring and they struggle in the corner. Ronda hits a reverse Alabama slam into the turnbuckle, then she applies the arm bar for the win via submission.
Winner & still RAW Women’s Champion: Ronda Rousey
– After the match, Morgan and Logan hit the ring. Ronda throws them both down and fights them off. The Riott Squad recovers at ringside as Ronda holds up her Women’s Title belt in the ring and RAW goes off the air.
