Raw arrived in Houston on Monday night for the first episode of WWE programming since this past Saturday's SummerSlam and the show brought plenty of great wrestling action. The most impactful group of the night, however, was the newly formed team of Bayley, Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai.
The trio debuted as a group at SummerSlam, confronting Bianca Belair after Belair's win over Becky Lynch to retain the Raw women's championship. On Monday night, they again targeted Belair and Lynch, first attacking an already-injured Lynch and then turning their attention to other members of the Raw women's division as they made a statement of their intent to dominate the roster.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Toyota Center in Houston.
Bayley, Kai and Sky put the women's division on notice
Becky Lynch opened the show with an in-ring promo, coming to the ring with her arm in a sling after reports she suffered a legitimate separated shoulder in her SummerSlam match with Bianca Belair. Lynch cut a babyface promo, building on her turn after showing Belair respect post match. After the two complimented each other and Lynch told Belair to hold things down and that she'd see her soon, Lynch left the ring. After Lynch was gone and Belair was speaking, cameras cut to backstage where Bayley, Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai were attacking Lynch's already injured arm before fleeing ahead of Belair's arrival for the save. Later in the night, Bayley, Sky and Kai said the attack wasn't about Lynch or Belair, it was simply about themselves, promising to show how later.
Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss ended in a no contest when Bayley, Sky and Kai attacked both women. Belair ran in to make the save and demanded a match with one of the women later in the night.
Bianca Belair vs. Iyo Sky ended in a no contest when Bayley and Kai began to brawl with Bliss and Asuka in the ring. Bliss and Asuka came to ringside mid-match to even the odds for Belair and the inevitable brawl broke out to cut off the match before it could reach a finish.
While clean finishes are always desirable, a no contest is acceptable when not overused and are in service of advancing a story. Bayley's group was out to make a statement that they have united to take over, regardless of who they had to attack to accomplish their goals. Sky vs. Belair couldn't really go to a finish without either crippling Sky before she fully established herself on the main roster or she goes over the Raw champion and is effectively outshining Bayley. In the interest of advancing the story that should lead to a six-woman tag match, this was all entirely fine. And, making it even better, it was part of what was a mostly very good episode of televised wrestling. Grade: B+
What else happened on WWE Raw?
- AJ Styles def. Mustafa Ali and The Miz via pinfall after a Styles Clash on Ali. The first of two triple threat matches with the winners facing off for a United States title shot ended with an amazing finish that saw Ali hit a 450 splash on Miz, but Styles caught Ali on the follow-through, turning it into a Styles Clash for the win.
- Seth Rollins def. Montez Ford via pinfall after hitting a stomp. The Street Profits interrupted a Rollins promo about his intention to go after Roman Reigns and played rock, paper, scissors over who would face Rollins, with Ford grabbing a referee and running to the ring to cheat Angelo Dawkins out of the opportunity. Dawkins still saved Ford after the match by preventing Rollins from continuing his attack.
- Ciampa def. Chad Gable & Dolph Ziggler via pinfall to advance to face AJ Styles for a shot at the United States title.
- Edge cut a promo vowing to end The Judgement Day.
- Ciampa def. AJ Styles via pinfall with the Fairy Tale Ending. Miz interfered several times, allowing Ciampa to score the win and secure a shot against Bobby Lashley for the United States championship on next week's episode of Raw.
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship -- The Usos (c) def. The Mysterios via pinfall to retain the titles after hitting Dominik Mysterio with the 1-D. After the match, The Judgement Day attacked The Mysterios until Edge's music hit and he ran to the ring to fight off Finn Balor and Damian Priest. Before Edge could hit Balor with a spear, Rhea Ripley shoved Dominik into the way, causing him to take the impact.