WWE RAW Opener:
Miz is on the announce table and he welcomes everyone to the 98th day of the Miz’ Intercontiental Title World Tour. He says it is entertaining, captivating, and must see. You are going to see a massive battle royal to determine the number one contender for his title at Battleground. From the bottom of his heart, he wants to wish everyone luck because it does not matter. He will win at Battleground.
Intercontinental Title Battle Royal: Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley, Konnor, Viktor, Apollo Crews, Simon Gotch, Aiden English, Goldust, R-Truth, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Alberto Del Rio, Darren Young, Jack Swagger, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel
The bell rings and people pair off. Doph Ziggler is on the apron and Viktor punches Bo. Konnor with a punch to Truth. Swagger punches Corbin while Gotch works over Ziggler. Gotch and English go after Goldust and English is eliminated. We see Bob Backlund watching from ringside so Darren Young is involved. Darren is being lifted by Bubba Ray Dudley for a suplex but he stays in the ring. Konnor is eliminated. Gotch is sent to the apron by Axel and Bubba. Truth punches Del Rio while D-Von punches Gotch. Axel is sent to the apron by Bubba and D-Von knocks him off the apron to eliminate him.
Ziggler chokes Del Rio while Truth punches Corbin. D-Von is put on the turnbuckles and Truth is eliminated by Corbin. Viktor punches Corbin and Viktor is sent to the apron and he is punched off the apron to the floor and he is eliminated. Jimmy teases eliminating Jey and that allows them to take care of D-Von. We go to commercial.
We are back and things look a little clearer in the ring due to commercial eliminations. We see Simon Gotch eliminated by Dolph Ziggler and Jey Uso by Bubba Ray Dudley.
Ziggler is sent to the apron by Corbin. Goldust punches Del Rio. Goldust is sent to the apron by Del Rio. Del Rio with an enzuigiri to eliminate Goldust. Bo with a side head lock to Crews but Crews eliminates Bo. Crews tries to stop Corbin from helping Bubba eliminate Del Rio. Jimmy is eliminated by Corbin. Swagger is eliminated by Corbin as well.
We are down to Baron Corbin, Darren Young, Dolph Ziggler, Bubba Ray Dudley, Apollo Crews, and Alberto Del Rio.
Bubba punches Young on the turnbuckles and Young hangs on to teh ropes. Crews with a cross body to Del Rio. Corbin with a boot to Bubba and Young with a forearm to Bubba and he eliminates Bubba. Corbin with Deep Six to Young. Del Rio wtih an enzuigiri to Corbin. Del Rio misses the enzuigiri on Ziggler and Ziggler with a Fameasser. Ziggler sends Del Rio to the apron. Del Rio with a divorce court and a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster. Del Rio goes through the ropes to the apron and Ziggler with a super kick to send Del Rio to the floor, so he is not eliminated. Ziggler is dropped on the turnbuckles.
Corbin punches Del Rio while Del Rio hits a double stomp on Crews. Crews eliminates Del Rio. Ziggler with a super kick and then Ziggler clotheslines Corbin and both men go to the apron. Backlund watches intently from the floor. Ziggler punches Corbin and head butts him. Ziggler is grabbed by Corbin and thrown over the top rope to eliminate him. Crews goes after Corbin but Corbin with an elbow. Crews and Corbin are both eliminated at the same time.
Winner: Darren Young
After the match, Young leaps into Bob Backlund’s arms.
– We see the New Day freaking out as they see the sights of the Wyatt Family on their compound. Back to commercial.
Backstage:
We are back and Shane and Stephanie are having some small talk in the office before Stephanie asks why dad is coming tonight. Shane says with Smackdown going live and the draft, but it is not that. Maybe he is here to talk about Brock Lesnar. Maybe he is here to talk about Mr. Robot. Maybe he is here to fire someone. Stephanie says maybe he is here to give someone a promotion.
Seth says Vince is here to see him. He says he is the face of the future and the number one draft pick. Seth says he knows they don’t want him to talk about Roman Reigns, but he has footage for everyone to see.
Shane says that is perfect for the Ambrose Asylum and Stephanie does not like that idea. Seth says he has some talk show history and he almost replaced Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. He suggests the Rollins Report. He says Roman does not care what people think about him. He says it will be great. Seth leaves and Shane says it is all on her.
– We take a look back at photos of Brock Lesnar’s victory over Mark Hunt. Brock was asked about facing Randy Orton and he says that he does what he wants to do. He says his future is laid out since he will be facing Randy Orton.
Backstage:
Zack Ryder walks in the back and he stops Rusev to tell him he had to prove himself and challenge Rusev on Raw. He makes the challenge.
Ryder is attacked from behind by Sheamus. He tells Ryder if he wants a match, he has one against him and it is next. We go to commercial with Rusev and Lana walking over Ryder.
Sheamus vs. Zack Ryder
Back from the break and Sheamus is making his entrance. Zack Ryder is out next as we see the Spanish announcers at ringside.
Ryder with a double leg take down and punches. Ryder wtih a clothesline that sends both men over the top rope to the floor. Ryder with a punch but Sheamus sends Ryder into the ringside barrier. Sheamus rolls Ryder back in but Ryder with a baseball slide and drop kick off the apron. Sheamus begs for mercy but Ryder with a boot and forearms. Sheamus with a clothesline. Sheamus misses a shoulder into the corner and Ryder with a running boot for a near fall. Ryder goes up top but Sheamus crotches Ryder. Sheamus with a Brogue Kick for the three count.
Winner: Sheamus
After the match, Rusev makes his way to the ring and Sheamus leaves.
Ryder with forearms to Rusev but Rusev with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex and a round kick to the head. Rusev applies the Accolade and he leans back. Rusev screams that he accepts Ryder’s challenge.
– Still to come, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. Enzo Amore and Big Cass. Back to commercial.
Tyler Breeze and Fandango vs. The Lucha Dragons
We go to the ring and out comes Tyler Breeze and Fandango. Sin Cara and Kalisto are out next.
Back and forth between Fandango and Cara to start. Breeze gets a tag but Cara keeps control. Fandango comes back in and they finally take control after some double teaming. Fandango with a 2 count. Breezango with quick tags as they keep Cara grounded now.
Kalisto gets a tag and slips doing a springboard, allowing Breeze to take control. Kalisto comes back and drops Breeze with a kick. Kalisto plants Breeze face first and takes out Fandango when he runs in. Cara leaps out to the floor and takes out Fandango. Breeze rolls Kalisto up for a 2 count. The end comes when Breeze kicks Kalisto in the corner and slams him from the second rope for the pin.
Winners: Tyler Breeze and Fandango
– Still to come, the first episode of The Rollins Report. Back to commercial.
The Rollins Report:
We are back and it is time for Seth Rollins and the Rollins Report.
Seth says he hopes everyone is ready because he has a scoop for everyone. He tells Anderson Cooper and Bill O’Reilly to watch out and he tells Jon Stewart to stay retired because he is the hottest investigative reporter out there.
He says he has obtained exclusive footage of a one on one sit down interview with Roman Reigns where he asks the tough questions.
Rollins sends us to the first actual Rollins Report episode on the big screen. Rollins is in a sitdown interview setting and he uses footage from Reigns’ interviews with Michael Cole to make him look bad.
Dean Ambrose’s music plays and he makes his way to the ring while JBL wonders how can Dean do this. Dean tells Seth that was good and he liked that Seth pulled the stick out of his butt to have some fun.
Seth says that Dean’s championship reign is a joke to him. He says Dean snuck up and stole the title from him at Money in the Bank. Seth says that Dean stole his life. He calls Dean a coward and says he cannot beat him one on one. Seth reminds Dean he held the title the entire year and Dean tried and tried and tried to take the title from him and he failed. No one could beat him for that title. You are afraid and now you won’t give him the one on one rematch. You would rather have Roman to team up on him and then sneak up and take the title from Roman. You can have your plan all you want. It will be about what it has always been about. It will be about who is the best. Who is the best member of the Shield. At Battleground, he will prove what he has known all along. He was better before the Shield, he was better during the Shield, and he will prove that he is better when they meet at Battleground. He says he will stomp on Dean’s dreams and take back his title at Battleground.
Dean says he likes to have fun and have a good time because he is on top of the world. It is sweet and he proved that he is more than a joke or utility guy. When the smoke cleared at the end of the day, he was still here. He is the backbone of this industry and everyone knows it. It is fun.
Dean says Seth knows what kind of person he is and how many buckets of blood he has spilled and how many body parts he has lost. He says Seth knows how many miles of crap he has crawled through. If he went through all of that to get here, how far will he go to keep it. Whoever wants to take this will have to pry it from his cold, dead hands. It is not going to happen at Battleground. He says that Seth embarasses him. If Seth wants a one on one match, he says any time and any place.
Seth says Detroit is as good a place as any… but not tonight. He says he will see Dean next week and they will do it on his time.
– We see some more clips from The New Day’s visit to the Wyatt Family Compound. We will see the whole thing later. Back to commercial.
In the Arena:
Back from the break and out comes Sami Zayn for commentary. Kevin Owens’ music hits but he doesn’t come out for his match. We go backstage and Owens is arguing with referees, calling Sami on commentary an unsafe working environment. He refuses to go out until Sami is removed from commentary. Stephanie walks up and makes it happen. The referees go out and escort Sami to the back. Owens comes out and they brawl on the ramp. Owens hits the ring and yells for Sami to come back.
Backstage:
We see a limo pull up outside and Vince McMahon steps out. Renee Young stops him for comments on why he’s here. Vince says he’s here for the fresh Detroit air and to name the new COO of SmackDown Live. Vince says it’s the New Era and maybe we need something bigger… so he’s here to announce the new Commissioner of SmackDown. Vince says he may change his mind again but he will let everyone know when he marches to the ring, live here in Detroit. Back to commercial.
Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro
Back from the break and Owens is still in the ring. Cesaro is out next to a pop.
Owens stalls some to start the match. Cesaro hits a gutwrench suplex early on. Cesaro keeps Owens grounded with a headlock but it’s reversed. They run the ropes and Cesaro hits a hurricanrana. He goes for the Cesaro Swing but Owens retreats for a breather. Cesaro leaps off the apron and takes Owens out on the floor. Cesaro goes for a running uppercut on the floor but Owens sidesteps and he hits the barrier. Owens knocks Cesaro over the barrier with a kick and breaks the count. Owens brings it back in the ring and hits a senton for a 2 count.
Cesaro ends up hitting the uppercuts. Owens misses a kick and eats another uppercut. Cesaro gets knocked from the apron to the barrier and lands hard. Owens stands tall as we go back to commercial.
Back from the break and Owens has Cesaro in a headlock. Cesaro fights out but Owens drops a neckbreaker over his knee for a 2 count. Owens hits a corner clothesline but misses the cannonball. Cesaro comes back with uppercuts into the corner. Cesaro unloads with uppercuts as the referee warns him. Owens goes down with a big uppercut for a 2 count. Owens ends up hitting a poke to the eye while the referee isn’t looking but it backfires on him as Cesaro avoids the pop-up powerbomb. Cesaro with the springboard uppercut for a close 2 count. Owens goes back to the floor. Cesaro puts on JBL’s cowboy hat and runs around the ring to deliver another uppercut. Cesaro brings it back in and goes to the top for a crossbody but Owens kicks out at 2.
The Swing is blocked again. Cesaro blocks a tornado DDT and nails a dropkick while Owens is up top. Cesaro gets crotched, leading to Owens hitting a TKO for the win.
Winner: Kevin Owens
– After the match, Owens goes to ringside and takes Byron’s headset. He rants until Sami Zayn attacks him from over the barrier. Sami beats on Owens at ringside and slams him into the announce table. Sami rolls Owens in the ring but a referee stops him from following. Fans chant for Sami as he and Owens have words. Owens turns around to Cesaro, who drops him and puts him in the Swing. Sami’s music hits as Owens falls out to the floor.
– We get a look back at Enzo Amore and Big Cass making the save for John Cena last week.
Backstage:
We see The Club walking backstage and Renee approaches for comments. Karl Anderson says Enzo and Cass are in trouble tonight. AJ Styles says Cena doesn’t care about Enzo and Cass. AJ points out how Cena isn’t here tonight as he’s at the ESPY Awards rehearsals in LA. AJ says they’re going to take out Enzo and Cass tonight, then they should jump on a flight to LA to crash the ESPYs, then… #BeatUpJohnCena. The Club walks off laughing as we go to commercial.
Heath Slater vs. Titus O’Neil
We go to the ring and out comes Heath Slater with fellow Social Outcasts Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. We get a sidebar video from earlier with the Outcasts knocking Titus O’Neil for losing on 4th of July and Father’s Day. Titus makes his way to the ring next.
The bell rings and Slater ducks a move, nailing a chop. He shows off and dances around as Titus watches. Slater turns around to Titus tossing him into the corner. Titus with a big chop and another. Titus tosses Slater across the ring. Slater finally turns it around but wastes time playing to the Outcasts as they do a victory lap. Titus catches a boot but Slater drops him with a DDT for a close 2 count.
Titus overpowers and sends Slater flying again. Titus tosses him again and hits a shoulder. Titus with a big clothesline. Slater tries to make a comeback but Titus catches his crossbody. Titus with backbreakers before tossing Slater to the side. Titus gets fired up and barks before hitting a splash in the corner. He hits Clash of the Titus for the win.
Winner: Titus O’Neil
– Renee is backstage with Sasha Banks. She talks about tonight’s match with Dana Brooke and says she doesn’t get mad, she gets real.
– Still to come, what happened when The New Day visited The Wyatt Family compound. Back to commercial.
– We go back to last week’s Raw to see the acceptance of the challenge to come to the Wyatt Family Compound.
The Wyatt Family Compound:
We go to the compound and they are greeted by a woman in a sheep mask and a sea of car headlights. Someone hits their truck and it is Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt.
They fight by the truck and Big E fights off Strowman until Rowan hits Big E from behind. Rowan with a spinebuster to Kofi. Woods hides behind a tree but Wyatt finds him and he punches Woods and carries him away. Big E stops Rowan from his attack on Kofi but Strowman gets involved. Strowman charges at Big E but misses and hits the truck. Wyatt returns and he drops Woods.
Strowman, Rowan, and Wyatt work over Big E and then they turn their attention to Kofi. Strowman gets on top of the truck and Woods tries to stop Rowan and Wyatt. Woods hits Strowman with a bucket while Kofi battles wtih Bray. Kofi is put in the car and Bray destroys the window. Woods attacks Wyatt and comes off the car. Big E, Kofi, and Woods make their move on Wyatt but Bray laughs.
Strowman and Rowan emerge from among the people at the trucks and the fireflies appear. Bray tells them to Follow the Buzzards.
In the Arena:
We go to the ring and out comes The Club. Enzo Amore and Big Cass are out next to a big pop. They cut promos on the way to the ring. Cass says everyone on the roster wants Cena’s spot, including them, but that has to be earned. Cass goes on and says they have stepped up and joined the fight instead of sitting back and waiting. AJ Styles calls that a real cute story and reminds them that Cena is not here tonight because he doesn’t care about Enzo and Cass. AJ gives them the chance to walk away but Enzo says the only place they’re walking is into the ring. Cass leads the “SAWFT” gimmick and they head to the ring as we go to commercial.
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. Enzo Amore and Big Cass
Back from the break and Enzo is going at it with Anderson. They trade holds as AJ cheers The Club on from ringside. Enzo dodges a move in the corner and rolls Anderson up for 2. Enzo with a backslide for 2. Enzo with another takedown to keep Anderson grounded.
Styles gets dueling chants from the crowd. Anderson turns things around and takes Enzo down with another headlock. Cass finally gets a tag and works Anderson over. Enzo tags back in and they double team Anderson. Enzo doesn’t see Gallows get a tag. Gallows comes in with a big boot and then launches Enzo into the corner. Enzo falls to the floor and AJ talks trash as we go to commercial.
Back from the break and Gallows is in control of Enzo. Gallows with a 2 count. Enzo reaches for a tag but Gallows slams him back into the corner. Enzo fights Gallows off and decks Anderson. Enzo brings Gallows down with a big DDT. Cass gets the hot tag and unloads on both opponents. Anderson takes the Empire Elbow and a big fall-away slam out of the corner. Cass with a big splash in the corner and then a big boot on Anderson. Enzo tags in for the Rocket Launcher. Styles dumps Cass to the floor. Gallows breaks up Enzo’s pin. AJ tosses Cass over the barrier for the disqualification.
Winners by DQ: Enzo Amore and Big Cass
After the bell, Styles comes into the ring and The Club surrounds Enzo. John Cena’s music hits to a big pop and out he comes. Cena rushes the ring as does Cass from the crowd. The Club brawls with Cena, Enzo and Cass but get tossed to the floor. Both teams face off and talk trash as the crowd pops. Cena’s music hits as The Club looks on from ringside.
– The announcers hype the WWE Cruiserweight Classic. Still to come, Vince McMahon is here. Also, Sasha Banks vs. Dana Brooke. Back to commercial.
Dana Brooke vs. Sasha Banks
Back from the break and Dana Brooke is out with WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte, dressed in street clothes. Sasha Banks is out next to a pop.
Sasha ducks a lock-up and drops Dana to start. Sasha talks trash as Dana retreats to the floor for a breather. Fans boo. They come back in and Dana ends up taking control, talking trash while working Sasha over. Sasha makes a comeback but Dana beats her down as Charlotte looks on from ringside. Dana sends Sasha out to the floor on her back. Charlotte comes over and taunts Sasha with the title as we go to commercial.
Back from the break and Dana is in control of Sasha in the middle of the ring. Lots more back and forth until Sasha drops Dana into the Banks Statement right in front of Charlotte. Dana goes for the bottom rope but Sasha pulls her back into the center of the ring and Dana taps.
Winner: Sasha Banks
After the match, Charlotte doesn’t look happy as we go to replays. Sasha celebrates as Charlotte takes a mic. She congratulates Sasha and knocks her hair. Charlotte says Sasha isn’t worthy of a title shot after just winning once. Charlotte says anyone can get lucky once but that doesn’t mean they’re deserving. Charlotte proposes Sasha vs. Dana on SmackDown to see if Sasha is deserving. They have more back and forth until Sasha’s music hits and she stands tall in the ring.
– We see Vince McMahon walking backstage. Back to commercial.
In the Arena:
Back from the break and out comes Shane McMahon to a pop. Stephanie McMahon is out next to join him in the ring. Vince McMahon makes his way out next.
Vince says Shane and Stephanie have been doing a good job. He did not think they would cooperate. Competition is good on Raw, but he is disappointed. It is like neither of you came from his loins.
Who is this sweet little girls who gets along with her brother and is passive aggressive. Who are you?
Stephanie wants the people of Detroit to tell Vince she is not sweet.
Vince says that Shane is only here because of the leap off the cell at Wrestlemania. Where is that ruthless aggression. He says he would have expected one to stab the other in the back or slit the other’s throat.
Vince wants to be convinced why they should be the commissioner of Smackdown.
Stephanie mentions the launch of the WWE Network, the biggest Wrestlemania and increased revenue. Stephanie says that she watched Shane on Mick Foley’s podcast. He says he left because he wasn’t patted on the back enough and he said he knew more than Vince. Shane is manipulative, malicious, and maniacal. The only villain in the ring is the wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Vince wants Shane to convince him.
Stephanie says the crowd chants for him because he kisses their butts.
Shane says he returned to WWE five months ago in this building and he was humbled for the reaction when he returned. He should run Smackdown because he represented change. Change is what we need and that is what he would bring to Smackdown. He would change the way things look and he would get rid of the glass ceiling because it is choking the lives out of the business. He says he is the only one in the business who tells Vince what is on his mind in a respectful way without kissing your ass. Change is in the power of your hands right here. You can make history because it is all about change and change is what is needed in the WWE. If you still have the grapefruits, pick him because we need change in the WWE.
Don’t just take his word for it, so he does a survey and the crowd is obviously behind Shane.
Vince says he does not care what the people think. That is not the way to run a business.
Shane says one of you has to be named the commissioner of Smackdown Live.
Vince gets a drumroll to make the announcement.
The new Commissioner of Smackdown is Shane McMahon.
Vince says he has to curtail the celebration. He says that he is relieving Shane of his duties on Raw. The commissioner of the juggernaut and flagship Raw is Stephanie McMahon.
Vince says he wants them to compete . . . for real. He wants them to compete for ratings, social media metrics, live event attendance, merchandise. One of you might inherit the keys to the kingdom. He does not care if they break the law, as long as you don’t get caught. Vince asks which of them will prove they will inherit the keys to the kingdom. He says each show needs a General Manager. Vince says each of them will name a General Manager on Raw next week or he will name one. Vince says in the end he gets what he wants. He says let the games begin.
Stephanie says she has had to work twice as hard for half the recognition. He will make sure Shane knows when she buries Shane. She says Shane will wish he was never born a McMahon or that he was never born.
Shane says that Stephanie usually hides something when she uses that venom. It isn’t intensity or anger. Stephanie is scared. Shane says she will be looking up to him, like she always has.
Shane says Game On.
Stephanie says there is only one game in this business and she is married to him. Stephanie slaps Shane and then she dares Shane to slap her.
Stephanie makes sure to show how dangerous it is to walk down stairs.
We go to credits.
