ROMAN REIGNS kept hold of his United States title but former WWE star CM Punk was the name on everyone’s lips on the latest Monday Night Raw.
The Chicago local walked out on WWE to chase gold in the UFC but was obliterated in round one of his debut by Mickey Gall. But local fans have not forgotten their favourite hometown hero and constantly cheered his name – especially when Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon was out on the mic.
McMahon even aimed a dig at Punk – telling the crowd they would have to sing his name for 2mins 15secs to outlast his MMA match – which could fan the flames on rumours he could soon return to wrestling.
Kevin Owens vs Roman Reigns – United States championship
Roman Reigns clung on to his United States title with a win over Kevin Owens that came with help from former Shield team-mate Seth Rollins.
Reigns had his belt on the line against Kevin Owens and Jericho – once again – tried to influence the outcome only to come unstuck and end up in a pile of broken bodies with the Universal champion.
Owens was given the chance to become a double champion with the match against the divisive Roman Reigns.
The early shoulder tackle that knocked Owens out of the ring did not inspire confidence in the podgy star.
Just as Reigns got on top, Jericho ran down and distracted the champ who was hit by a DDT from Owens but it failed to get the pin, even with his BFF ringside trying to help.
Lots of stiff punches were exchanged and then Reigns caught and Owens kick and sent him upstairs for a sit-down powerbomb and he landed a flush Superman punch straight after.
Jericho then distracted Reigns allowing Owens to hit a Codebreaker but Rollins ran down and attacked Jericho.
Back in the ring, Reigns hit Owens with a huge spear to retain his United States title.
New Day vs Cesaro & Sheamus – Raw tag-team championship
Cesaro and Sheamus held on to their titles despite a valiant New Day effort to reclaim their crowns.
The two Europeans celebrated their eighth day with the tag-team titles with a rematch against their former strap holders.
Big E was given a rest as Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston jumped in the match and Woods hit a giant dropkick to start the match.
And it was the New Day’s smallest man who hit a sweet tornado DDT on Cesaro outside the ring.
And Woods then leapt the width of the ring to hit a huge flying-elbow but a brutal Brogue Kick from Sheamus finished the fight.
Nia Jax vs Scarlet
The squash match didn’t last young as Jax battered the Raw debutant.
The defenceless Chicago local wore a Sasha Banks shirt to enrage her opponent and she never laid a finger on Jax before a Samoan drop secured her the win.
Bayley vs Charlotte
Charlotte sneaked another win over Bayley with a dodgy roll-up pin thanks to crooked guest ref Dana Brooke.
Champ Charlotte handed Bayley a match after her ‘victory’ over Ric Flair’s daughter was scrubbed from the history books due a refereeing error.
Charlotte got the result expunged and the new match was confirmed with the addition of a special guest referee she named as her protégé.
Brooke didn’t last long, however, hit with a Bayley to belly suplex and a replacement official sent down.
Bayley took control but Brooke returned to the ring and helped Charlotte get an illegal pin for another win.
Neville vs TJ Perkins – Cruiserweight division
Neville continued his unconvincing heel turn with a bland win over TJ Perkins.
The Brilliant Brit has returned from a serious injury with a new mean streak but it’s not washing yet and his ring work still looks rusty compared to his ground-breaking action in NXT and earliers Raw days.
Perkins started brightest with a massive knee but he was so overpowered by the spiteful looking Newcastle star who has returned from a double ankle break with a serious attitude problem.
A double chicken-wing gutbuster from Perkins was seriously impressive, as was the detonation kick that followed it.
But Neville blocked an attempted knee bar and instead got a cheap roll-up illegally using Perkins’ tights for leverage.
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Bo Dallas & Darren Young vs Shining Stars
This nadir of a tag-team match was thankfully wrecked inside six seconds by man-mountain Braun Strowman who cleaned house and even took a chair shot to the back that didn’t even tickle him.
Like a warrior bowler he knocked over three wrestlers with one set of steel stairs he hurled through the air.
The crowd thanked him for decimating the four-man match he ruined.
Braun Strowman vs Seth Rollins
The giant showed, in his official match with Rollins, that he has the speed to match his giant frame and strength.
He hit a killer shoulder tackle that had Rollins spinning through the air and he then swallowed a handful of knees to head but never hit the deck.
Then, as Rollins went for the Pedigree, he was flipped outside the ring.
Sami Zayne’s music then hit and as Strowman looked up the entrance ramp, the former NXT star ambushed him and lured him outside the arena.
That left a wounded Rollins alone in the ring and opportunist Chris Jericho raced out and hit him with two venomous Code Breakers.
Golden Truth vs Gallows and Anderson
Gallows and Anderson might have won the most meaningless match of the night. Can’t quite remember.
Where was Strowman when these four tag-team flops needed battering?
The Japanese wrestling veterans thought there were coming o WWE to take over but fans barely want them taking part at all.
Goldust is still a fans, favourite with some nostalgic fans but he’s lacking relevance these days and has an outdated list of moves.
Ariya Daivari vs Rich Swann
Cruiserweight king Rich Swann made short work of Ariya Daivari and accepted Neville’s challenge but was then blindsided and pummelled by the bad-boy Toon fan.
Reigning champ Swann is so athletic and he pairing with roughhouse wrestler Daivari looked interesting for the few seconds it lasted.
Some intricate matt grappling looked to set the tone for a promising match but a huge head kick got him the win almost instantly.
Then, in his post-win interview, he accepted Neville’s challenge for a title match on 205Live on Tuesday but was attacked and hit with the stunning Red Arrow top-rope dive.
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