The October 15, 2018 edition of WWE RAW took place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA.
– Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre come out to the ring to kick off the show, and they’ve got microphones. The broadcast team runs down the card so far for Crown Royal, and they don’t mention the location of it. Ziggler introduces some video footage from last week, showing Dean Ambrose questioning his position in The Shield. Drew and Dolph take turns talking about Ambrose not benefiting from the Shield, and they say Seth and Roman are using Dean. Drew and Dolph both mention that their sights are set on being at the top of WWE. Drew says Dolph is absolutely fantastic, but he’s no Drew McIntyre. Ziggler laughs the comment off, and Braun changes the subject to giving Lesnar & Roman ‘these hands’ at Crown Jewel. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns come out to interrupt, without Dean Ambrose. Rollins says the Shield is not shattered or broken, and Rollins is going to bet Drew tonight and prove that he’s the best in the world. Reigns tells Dolph and Drew they’ll never get close to beating them, and after Crown Jewel, Braun will be going to the back of the line. Rollins says he loves Philadelphia because it’s a fighting town, and Rollins thinks him and Drew should get to it right now. Drew and Seth are in a singles match up next to qualify for the World Cup.
– Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre: This fight spills out to ringside early on and Rollins is taking charge. Dolph comes out for the distraction, and then Drew rolls under the ring to recover for a moment. Seth goes to grab Drew, and Drew appears to hit some sort of cheap shot on Seth when the ref can’t see them under the ring. Drew takes Seth back in the ring, but Seth comes back with a superkick. Seth follows up with a Sling Blade. Drew looks for an Alabama Slam, but Seth escapes and rolls up Drew for a near-fall. Drew misses a spear in the corner, and then Seth hits the Blockbuster on him. Seth hits a superplex and then looks for the Falcon Arrow, but Drew reverses it into a Falcon Arrow of his own for a two count. Dolph tries to get involved but Seth knocks him down, and then Drew misses a shot and Seth throws him outside. Seth follows up with a suicide dive on Drew, but then back in the ring Ziggler successfully connects with a cheap shot and Seth falls outside. Dean Ambrose’s music hits and he comes out for the save. Ambrose drops Dolph, and Drew goes outside to get involved. Seth ends up hitting the curb stomp on Drew at ringside, and then Seth rolls back in the ring as the ref counts to 10. Drew is counted out, and Seth will be advancing in the World Cup tournament.
Winner via countout: Seth Rollins
– The Bella Twins are shown backstage walking through the hallways.
– Trish Stratus and Lita are backstage talking, and Bayley walks up and hugs them.
– We go to a promo for SmackDown 1000 tomorrow night.
– The Shield is shown walking backstage, and Ambrose seems kind of antagonistic towards Rollins and Reigns. Ambrose indicates that he’s only useful to Rollins and Reigns when they need him to bail them out, and Ambrose walks off.
– We go to a replay of Triple H and Shawn Michaels addressing the Brothers of Destruction, and then we go to a pre-taped promo from Undertaker and Kane. Taker talks about Shawn staying in the shadows for 8 years out of fear of Undertaker beating him again.
– Nia Jax & Ember Moon vs. Dana Brooke & Tamina: This is Tamina’s first RAW match back from injury. Dana starts off strong against Ember, and then Nia and Tamina tag in. Nia and Tamina trade blows and test strength. They both look for Samoan Drops, but Tamina is the one who executes it, and both women are down. Dana and Ember come back in, and Ember hits the Eclipse for the three count.
Winners: Nia Jax & Ember Moon
– After the match, Tamina hits the ring and attacks Nia. Ember Moon then joins Tamina and dumps Nia outside, in a move to apparently prepared for the upcoming battle royal at Evolution. Tamina then tries to throw Tamina over the top rope, but Tamina stops and grabs Ember. Dana Brooke comes from behind and dumps both Tamina and Ember over the top rope to the outside.
– Ronda Rousey comes out to the ring to address The Bella Twins turning on her last week. She asks for an explanation from the Bella Twins, and says they at least owe her that. The Bella Twins come out to the stage and trash Ronda, and say she isn’t respecting The Bella Twins’ contributions to WWE. The Bellas talk about starting the Divas era, and Ronda says the Diva Era made her sick to her stomach. Ronda says the Bellas lack talent, and they ride the coattails of their men, and they plagiarize their husbands’ move sets. Ronda says the only thing to hold her back at Evolution is the referee, and they don’t do a good job of that. The Bellas trash Ronda, and they claim they’ve knocked down doors for other women. Ronda says shes’s the one who has been knocking down doors, in Judo, Strikeforce and UFC, and the only thing Nikki knocked down the door for was John Cena’s bedroom, and then Cena threw her out the door. Some security guards come out and step in front of the Bellas, and the broadcast team says the Bellas hired security for the night. Ronda fights off the secuity guards, but during the commotion, the Bellas ran away. Ronda shouts from the ring as we go back to the broadcast team booth.
– Michael Cole introduces a replay looking at Kurt Angle’s return last week to beat Baron Corbin in a qualifying battle royal for the World Cup tournament.
– Bobby Roode and Chad Gable are backstage talking to Kurt Angle. Angle is dressed like he’s on vacation, and Kurt says his stress level is way down. Roode and Gable walk off to their locker room. No Way Jose dances by with his conga line, and Angle briefly joins in. Baron Corbin walks in and gets in Kurt’s face. Corbin points out that it’s been 12 years since Kurt’s last singles match, so he booked a warm-up match for Kurt tonight. Kurt says he didn’t bring his gear, but Corbin tells him to figure something out, because Kurt’s in a handicap match against the Authors of Pain.
– Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler: This one is also a qualifying match for the World Cup tournament. The opening bell sounds and Ambrose starts with a side headlock takedown. Ziggler misses a shot and Ambrose looks for a Texas Cloverleaf, but Ziggler fights him off. They fight up to the turnbuckle, and Ziggler hits a facebuster of the top down to the mat. Ambrose successfully locks in the Texas Cloverleaf now, but Ziggler reaches the rope. Drew comes out to interfere, but so does Seth Rollins to stop him. Ambrose and Rollins seem to have a mix-up, and when Ambrose gets back in the ring, Ziggler hits the superkick for the three count.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
– Ziggler has now qualified for the World Cup. Rollins gets in the ring after the match and stands across from Ambrose. Ambrose walks past him and bumps in to him. Seth follows Dean up the ramp, and they start having a shoving match on the ramp. Reigns comes out and tries to mediate the issue. Baron Corbin comes out next, and says he doesn’t want the Shield to fall apart on his watch. Corbin books a match to help them bond: The Shield vs. Braun Strowman, Drew and Dolph, in a six-man tag main event tonight.
– Still to come: Kurt Angle vs. The Authors of Pain in a handicap match; plus Trish Stratus and Lita are in the house.
– Finn Balor and Bayley come out, and then Jinder Mahal comes out with Alicia Fox, but the screen then cuts to black, and we go backstage to Braun Strowman’s locker room. Braun gives a pep talk to Dolph and Drew, but he warns them that if they screw up tonight, they’re gonna get these hands.
– Finn Balor vs. Jinder Mahal: Both of the Singh Brothers are in Jinder’s corner. Back to the ring, Jinder starts off strong against Balor in the opening moments and applies a chin lock. Balor fights up and hits the Sling Blade on Jinder. Balor follows up with the Coup De Grace for the three count after a short match.
Winner: Finn Balor
– After the match Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush come out to interrupt. Lashley and Rush step in to the ring. Lashley gets in Finn’s face as Lio talks trash. Lashley poses on the corner as Rush cuts promo about how great Lashley is.
– Bobby Lashley vs. Tyler Breeze: Before the match, Lio continues to pump up Lashley on the mic at ringside, and encouraging Lashley to pose in the corner. Breeze ducks a couple shots from Lashley and fires back with a dropkick. Breeze looks for a flying cross-body off the top, but Lashley catches him in mid-air. Lashley hits the stalling vertical suplex on Breeze, then poses some more. Lashley wastes some time posing and Breeze unloads with strikes. Breeze charges, but Lashley shuts him down with a spinning powerslam. Lashley hits another slam for the three count.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
– Bobby and Lio pose before leaving.
– Trish Stratus and Lita are out to the ring next. Lita and Trish start talking about the women’s Evolution, until Alexa Bliss and Mickie James interrupt. Mickie and Alexa start impersonating Lita and Trish and trashing them on the mic. Lita and Trish throw back some verbal shots, and channel Allen Iverson’s “practice” speech. Alexa and Mickie tease that they’re going to hit the ring, but they end up leaving.
– Bayley is walking backstage, and The Riott Squad briefly harasses her before leaving.
– Still tocome: Natalya vs. Ruby Riott
– The Conquistador is in the ring now, presumably with Kurt Angle inside the suit.
– The Authors of Pain vs. Kurt Angle: This one is a two-on-one handicap match. Baron Corbin comes out to the stage to watch. The Authors double team Angle early on, and then Rezar clotheslines him down. The Authors hit a double team suplex/powerbomb for the three count.
Winners: Authors of Pain
– After the match, the Authors unmask the conquistador, and it’s some unknown guy. Corbin gets up from his seat on the stage, and then the real Kurt Angle runs out and gives Corbin and Olympic Slam on the stage. Kurt poses for the fans on the stage before leaving.
– The Riott Squad is backstage defacing the door to Natalya’s locker room with ketchup and mustard.
– Natalya vs. Ruby Riott: Natalya cuts a brief promo before the match, and she introduces her friends who will have her back tonight: Bayley and Sasha Banks. The Riott Squad is also at ringside for this one. Ruby hits a big kick to the midsection early on to control the opening moments of this match. Natalya comes back with a double leg takedown and she applies the Sharpshooter. Ruby screams, and The Riott Squad hits the ring before she taps out.
Winner: Natalya
– Sasha and Bayley hit the ring after the match, but The Riott Squad throws them both outside. The Riott Squad looks for a triple-attack on Natalya, but Bayley and Sasha get back in the ring for the save.
– We see Elias backstage berating his guitar tech.
– Elias is in the ring now for a song, and he leads the crowd in a Walk With Elias chant. Elias takes some shots at the city of Philadelphia. Apollo Crews comes out to interrupt, and he steps in the ring. Crews says he’s sick of hearing Elias come out here and complain week after week. Elias says he’s going to show what happens when you interrupt him, and he takes off his headset. Elias looks for the cheap shot on Crews, but Crews ducks and comes back with a kick to the head. Crews follows up with a gorilla press slam, and Elias rolls out of the ring to recover. Elias retreats up the ramp as Crews poses on the turnbuckle.
– The Shield vs. Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre: The opening bell sounds for our main event, and Ziggler starts off strong against Ambrose. Rollins tags in and they double team Ziggler. As Ambrose goes to step out of the ring, Ziggler kicks Rollins into Ambrose, and then Ambrose and Rollins get in each others’ faces. Reigns tags himself in and attempts to diffuse the fight between his teammates, then Ziggler dropkicks them all in to each other. McIntyre tags in now and Reigns starts to fight back with right hands, but Drew shuts him down with a spinebuster. Drew works over Reigns in the corner, then Braun tags himself in and yells at his teammates a little. Reigns fights back and looks for a Samoan Drop on Braun, but can’t get him up. Reigns goes for it again and hits it. The aprons clear and all hell breaks loose in the ring now. It’s down to Ambrose and McIntyre. Ambrose hits the Dirty Deeds and pins, but Ziggler then shoves Rollins on top of them to break up the pin. Ambrose and Rollins have a shoving match again and Ambrose goes to DDT Rollins, but Rollins escapes, and Ziggler and McIntyre drop them. Ziggler and McIntyre go to double team Ambrose, but Reigns breaks it up. Braun comes in but misses a spear and he hits the ring post. Drew looks for the Claymore kick on Reigns, but Reigns moves and Drew accidentally kicks Strowman. Reigns comes back with a spear and Drew is down. Ziggler comes in and looks for the Zig Zag on Reigns, but Reigns blocks it. Ambrose and Rollins come in, and The Shield hits the triple powerbomb on Ziggler for the three count.
Winners: The Shield
– After the match, Braun grabs Ziggler by the hair and reminds him what he told him earlier tonight: If you mess up you’re gonna get these hands. Braun hits the running powerslam on Ziggler. Braun gets back up, and Drew immediately hits the Claymore kick on Braun and drops him. Drew leaves the ring and looks back at the bodies laying in the ring. Braun gets up and yells at Drew as RAW goes off the air.
