Jul 25, 2016 MALE WRESTLERS: Akam Apollo Crews Baron Corbin Big Show Bo Dallas Bobby Lashley Bobby Roode Braun Strowman Bray Wyatt Brock Lesnar Chad Gable Curt Hawkins Curtis Axel Dash Wilder Dean Ambrose Dolph Ziggler Drew McIntyre Elias Fandango Finn Balor Goldust Heath Slater Jason Jordan Jinder Mahal John Cena Kane Kevin Owens Konnor Kurt Angle Matt Hardy Mike Kanellis Mojo Rawley No Way Jose Rezar Rhyno Roman Reigns Sami Zayn Scott Dawson Seth Rollins Sunil Singh Titus O'Neil Tyler Breeze Viktor Zack Ryder CRUISERWEIGHTS: Akira Tozawa Ariya Davari The Brian Kendrick Buddy Murphy Cedrick Alexander Drew Gulak Gentleman Jack Gallagher Gran Metalik Hideo Itami Kalisto Lince Dorado Mark Andrews Mustafa Ali Noam Dar TJP Tony Nese FEMALE WESTLERS: Alexa Bliss Alica Fox Bayley Dana Brooke Ember Moon Liv Morgan Mickie James Natalya Nia Jax Ronda Rousey Ruby Riott Sarah Logan Sasha Banks Other On-Air Personalities Drake Maverick (WWE 205 Live GM, manager of Authors of Pain) Braun Strowman (RAW GM) Paul Heyman (manager of Brock Lesnar) Stephanie McMahon (RAW Commissioner) CHAMPIONS: WWE Universal Champion: Brock Lesnar (2x, won November 2, 2018) WWE Intercontinental Champion: Seth Rollins (2x, won August 19, 2018) WWE Raw Women's Champion: Ronda Rousey (won August 19, 2018) WWE Raw Tag Team Champions: Bobby Roode and Chad Gable (won December 10, 2018) WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Buddy Murphy (won October 6, 2018) ANNOUNCERS: Michael Cole Corey Graves Renee Young
Jul 25, 2016 WWE Monday Night RAW, July 25, 2016 Preview The WWE Brand Extension Draft has come and gone, and the landscape of Monday Night Raw has experienced a seismic shift. As WWE’s New Era begins in earnest for the longest running weekly episodic show in history, what will Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and General Manager Mick Foley do now that the WWE Championship is on SmackDown Live? 1. Beat blue One of the guiding principles behind the WWE Brand Extension Draft was the desire to foster a spirit of friendly competition between Raw and SmackDown Live in all facets — television ratings and ticket sales among them. It appears that, in an interesting turn of events, the blue brand has hit the ground running: Last week’s WWE Draft special topped the previous night’s Raw in the ratings, as confirmed by SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan on WWE Battleground Kickoff. With the ball now in Raw’s court, what will Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and General Manager Mick Foley do for their first show of the New Era, especially after SmackDown Live’s Dean Ambrose retained the WWE Championship over Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns at WWE Battleground? 2. The NXT factor The WWE Draft saw the much-anticipated summons of Finn Bálor from WWE NXT, as well as the unexpected selection of Nia Jax, the powerhouse of the Women’s division. The WWE Universe will watch tonight’s to see if these dynamic competitors will make their first appearances as Raw Superstars. If they do, look for Bálor’s athleticism and Jax’s unparalleled power to make a big, big impression on the WWE Universe and the locker room alike. 3. TKO If WWE Battleground was, indeed, the last time Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens will ever fight each other, then Owens has to be feeling pretty rotten right about now. The Prizefighter was upended by Zayn in glorious fashion, leaving Sami to claim what he said would be the definitive win in their endless war and leaving Owens to ponder what might have been. The bad news for the rest of the Raw roster (Zayn included, for what it’s worth) is that Owens is never more dangerous than when he has been embarrassed. And make no mistake, he has been embarrassed. Who’s he going to take it out on? 4. Hounds without a bone When the dust settled on the former Shield brothers’ Triple Threat Match at WWE Battleground, Dean Ambrose was the last man standing, and The Lunatic Fringe’s WWE Championship is now the exclusive property of SmackDown Live. That leaves Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns bereft of hardware to chase, but with no shortage of animosity left between them, especially since they were in the midst of a heated battle before Ambrose made his move. There’s no chance these two are done with each other, so the only question is where “The Man” and “The Guy” will take their rivalry next. 5. #CesaRAW Of all Superstars’ reactions to their Draft destinations, Cesaro’s was by far the most shocking. The typically soft-spoken Swiss Superman openly discussed his desire to be a member of the SmackDown Live roster, and his disappointment that he wasn’t selected to a show that prioritizes in-ring competition over the showmanship that has typically defined Raw. (His mood hadn’t improved by the time he sat in on WWE Battleground’s Kickoff panel.) That said, The King of Swing now has an opportunity to affect change from within, and the first Raw of the New Era will be crucial to his mission to deliver the best in-ring action that sports-entertainment has to offer. With Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho and more, there is no shortage of opponents for Cesaro. All that remains is to see who steps up to face him. Find out who that is when the first Raw of the New Era begins, live at 8/7 C on USA Network, with Raw Pre-Show coverage beginning at 7:30 ET exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network.
Jul 25, 2016 Real curious to see how tonight goes, either we get a new title introduced or we figure out how the main event scene will look without one. I'm guessing whether it's for a title or not, they go with Rollins/Reigns as the main event picture heading into summerslam.
Jul 25, 2016 i enjoyed battleground (i can see WWE network now in my country)...i think Sami and Kevin had one of the best last 3 mins of a match since flair and HBK,,,telling a story during a match is important and almost never done anymore...the shield match shoulda told a story and we got a match that any 3 people coulda had
Jul 25, 2016 The Sami vs Owens feud is one of my favourites in recent memory. Eventually one of them will hold the WWE title and I cannot wait for the renewal of the rivalry.
Jul 25, 2016 I've said it before but I'll say it again, they will main event WrestleMania against each other by WrestleMania 35
Jul 25, 2016 Y'all think they'll go into a Balor Club story tonight? Or do y'all think they'll wait til after, say, Summerslam?
Jul 25, 2016 No clue. Balor has been face the whole time in NXT and The Club is supposed to be seen as a heel faction in WWE, so it's going to be interesting to see how they'll handle it
Jul 25, 2016 I just really hope they debut a new set tonight, and a different unique one tomorrow for Smackdown. The universal HD stage that they've used for everything except WrestleMania has definitely run it's course EDIT: Ask and you shall receive
Jul 25, 2016 Love a new stage...I miss the days of new, creative sets for every PPV I heard a rumor Fin is going to start a feud with Jericho tonight
Jul 25, 2016 Can't link to the photos because I'm on mobile, but the ropes look as if they've returned to red and the announce table is by the stage again
Jul 25, 2016 and I thought the Raw logo looked bad...its even worse blown up on a big screen praying it looks better in action
Jul 25, 2016 Reigns will probably be the one that ends up facing Rollins at Slam but I'd love to see them go a different route