WWE Raw live results: Bobby Lashley responds to Goldberg
Date: July 26, 2021
Location: T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO
The Big Takeaway —
AJ Styles and Omos retained their tag titles over the Viking Raiders, Damian Priest beat Sheamus in a non-title match, Karrion Kross beat Keith Lee, and Charlotte Flair beat Nikki ASH in a non-title main event. Charlotte laid out Nikki to close the show.
Among those absent from Raw tonight: John Cena, Randy Orton, Asuka, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Jaxson Ryker, Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Ricochet, and Goldberg.
Show Recap —
There was a recap of last week’s Women’s title match and the cash-in by Nikki ASH.
Nikki came out to start the show. She high-fived and hugged young fans on the way to the ring. The crowd chanted “Nikki” and she proudly held up the belt.
“I’ve always wanted to say this: Welcome to Monday Night Raw!” Nikki was happy they were all together and she was now their Raw Women’s champion. The crowd chanted “you deserve it.” She spoke about this being a dream come true.
She never used to have the confidence she needed to reach the top because she was afraid to fail. She suddenly realized that if she failed, she failed, and it didn’t have to be a big deal. Her new outfit gave her confidence and she wanted to remind everyone that no matter what, you can overcome the odds if you believe in yourself. We can all almost be superheroes.
Charlotte Flair interrupted. Charlotte called Nikki a disgrace as champion and wondered how she could possibly represent the company dressed the way she does. She couldn’t imagine Nikki on the Today show with Al Roker who wouldn’t believe that she was champion. The crowd booed as Charlotte continued to rant. She blamed Rhea Ripley on what happened.
Charlotte also noted that she hadn’t even gotten to her feet yet when the match started and accused Nikki of stealing her title. Charlotte wanted a rematch at SummerSlam where Nikki would bow down to the real champion. The crowd booed. She said this injustice wasn’t even Nikki’s fault, it was the fans.
Charlotte said the same things heels always say about the fans until Rhea Ripley interrupted. Ripley got a good reaction. She didn’t think people were jealous of someone who was champion for one day. She also noted that Charlotte got herself disqualified because she knew she was about to lose. Ripley thought she should be the one getting the shot at SummerSlam.
Nikki wondered why either of them thought they would beat her. Nikki said the butterfly on her gear represented a metamorphosis and she represented change in the division. (The crowd cheered Nikki but some fans are booing whenever she mentions her gear.) Charlotte and Ripley argued and Charlotte referenced Nikki’s “super Marvel” outfit.
Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce entered. Deville made a triple threat match at SummerSlam. Charlotte thought that was dumb. She wanted a (non-title) singles match against Nikki tonight and Nikki accepted. Pearce made it official. Charlotte attacked Ripley and knocked her out of the ring before Nikki dropkicked Charlotte out of the ring as well.
Earlier today, Damian Priest said Sheamus didn’t deserve to be champion. Sheamus made excuses and attacked people from behind. Priest planned on showing him why he deserved to be champion.
(Jimmy Smith said we’d see Priest against a “returning” Sheamus next, even though Sheamus hasn’t gone anywhere.)
Damian Priest defeated US Champion Sheamus in a non-title match (10:08)
In case you missed it last week, they’re referring to a non-title match like this one as a “championship contenders match.”
Priest psyched out Sheamus with a fake dive but it didn’t matter because Priest went for a spinning heel kick instead and Sheamus simply caught him and dropped him on the apron, which sent us to break two minutes into the match.
Sheamus was in control until Priest fought back with a clothesline and a spinning heel kick that knocked Sheamus’ face mask right off (which popped the crowd). Sheamus went to the top but Priest grabbed him and brought him down with a big chokeslam for a nearfall. Sheamus came back with an Alabama Slam for two.
Sheamus went for a cloverleaf but Priest kicked him repeatedly in the chest. They had a strike exchange that led to a knee strike for a close nearfall. Sheamus tried pounding Priest’s chest but Priest came back with a kick and Hit the Lights for the pinfall win. The crowd was into the nearfalls.
AJ Styles & Omos defeated The Viking Raiders to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships (9:30)
(This was the second straight week that Styles and Omos did not get an entrance, which is strange. Perhaps they don’t want us seeing the crowd popping for the heels.)
Erik and Ivar hit Styles with a flurry of offense and worked extra hard to knock Omos off the apron. They gave Styles the Viking Experience but Omos yanked Erik out of the ring to break up the cover. Omos destroyed both Erik and Ivar which sent us to break barely 90 seconds into this title match.
Erik bested Styles in a strike exchange and tagged in Ivar who dodged a Phenomenal forearm and clobbered Styles with a clothesline. Styles came back with a tornado DDT for two. Erik and Ivar double-teamed Styles before Ivar went to the outside to hold Omos by his leg. Erik gave Styles a knee strike for a close nearfall as Omos managed to break free of Ivar.
Styles tagged in Omos who gave Erik a delayed scoop slam before chucking Ivar from the ring. Omos gave Erik a tree slam, Styles tagged in and hit a springboard 450 for the pinfall win. Styles and Omos retain. This was fun.
[Second hour]
Jinder Mahal cut a promo before the upcoming match. Mahal was disgusted that the crowd cheered as Drew McIntyre clobbered Shanky with a chair last week. He wanted McIntyre to apologize. When McIntyre didn’t respond, Mahal said he brought his lawyer with him and they planned on suing. Mahal gave him one more chance to apologize.
McIntyre told him to shut up. He asked the crowd if he should apologize and buy them a steak dinner. They booed. He asked if he should beat Veer within an inch of his life. They cheered. McIntyre led the crowd in a “Drew is gonna kill you” chant (directed toward Mahal) and the crowd was happy to oblige.
Drew McIntyre vs. Veer (w/Jinder Mahal) ended in a DQ (3:50)
Veer got some offense but Mahal was getting desperate so he slid Veer a chair. McIntyre Claymore kicked the chair into his face and the referee called for a DQ. McIntyre also gave the lawyer a Claymore kick as Mahal and Veer watched from the stage.
They awarded McIntyre the win because Mahal was the one who handed Veer the chair to use. However, seconds later, Corey Graves said that Veer was getting a DQ win in the record books.
They actually replayed Eva Marie “tripping” in Alexa’s Playground last week.
Eva Marie told Doudrop not to worry about last week because if they won tonight, they’d be closer to the tag team titles.
Tomorrow on NXT: Can anything stop Karrion Kross’ reign of destruction?
Tag Team Champions Natalya & Tamina defeated Eva Marie & Doudrop in a non-title match (3:13)
Doudrop knocked down Tamina with a crossbody but instead of going for a cover, she tagged in Marie so she could make the cover instead and Tamina kicked out. A Lilly-lution video suddenly played on the screen, which was a parody of the Marie return videos featuring Bliss’ doll. Marie was distracted by the video, so Tamina superkicked her for the pinfall win.
Unfortunately, Natalya appeared to hurt her leg (during an exchange with Doudrop). Medical staff assisted her on the outside and Tamina helped her to the back after the match.
NXT Champion Karrion Kross defeated Keith Lee (8:53)
Kross couldn’t suplex Lee, so Lee suplexed Kross and knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. However, Kross drove Lee into the side of the ring and suplexed him on the outside which led to break just 70 seconds into the match. (After the break, Smith let us know that this match has lived up to the hype even though we’ve barely seen a minute of wrestling.)
Lee tried fighting back but Kross hit a DDT for two. Lee fought out of a Kross Jacket (sleeper hold) and followed with a clothesline, strikes, a headbutt, and running shoulder tackle. Lee tried setting up for a Spirit Bomb but Kross slipped out and hit a Saito suplex.
Kross put Lee in the Kross Jacket and Lee struggled for a bit before tapping out. Kross wins by submission. The crowd seemed to like Lee.
Sarah Schreiber interviewed Nikki about her match tonight. Nikki said she was no longer afraid to fail. She wanted all the little boys and girls to know that the hardest challenges were worth fighting for. She knew that no matter what happened tonight, she’d be defending the title at SummerSlam. Ripley showed up. Ripley planned on winning at SummerSlam but also wanted to see Nikki give Charlotte hell tonight.
Mansoor & Mustafa Ali defeated Mace & T-Bar (3:11)
Mace and T-Bar did a pre-taped promo where they said little teams like Mansoor and Ali existed to feed them (they lost to Lucha House Party a few weeks ago). There was a separate segment where Mansoor wanted to gameplan with Ali but Ali told him to just follow his lead.
Mace and T-Bar dominated Ali and Mansoor had to save him from being pinned. Mansoor distracted T-Bar long enough to allow Ali to come back with a spinning kick. Mansoor tagged in and hit Mace with a reverse DDT but T-Bar broke up the cover. Ali saved Mansoor by wiping out T-Bar with a tornado DDT to the outside, which was cool.
Mansoor saved Ali from being attacked by Mace, then Mansoor rolled up Mace in the ring for the pinfall win. Ali acted surprised. Mansoor raised Ali’s hand in celebration. Ali wasn’t as enthused as Mansoor but did seem impressed.
(If you’re wondering, the announcers did acknowledge Ali’s time with Mace and T-Bar in Retribution.)
[Third hour]
Bobby Lashley responds to Goldberg
MVP spoke about Goldberg disrespecting Lashley as the crowd chanted for Goldberg. Lashley didn’t plan on dignifying Goldberg with a response. He said this ring belonged to him.
Cedric Alexander interrupted. Alexander said Lashley disrespected him by kicking him out of the Hurt Business. Alexander claimed Lashley did so because Lashley knew he was better. He wanted an opportunity against Lashley.
Shelton Benjamin interrupted. Benjamin noted how annoying Alexander’s voice was (the crowd laughed). Benjamin wasn’t here to complain about the Hurt Business, he wanted to give Lashley a real challenge. As they argued, MVP told them they didn’t have time for this.
Lashley grabbed the mic and said he’d take them both on at the same time.
1-on-2 handicap match: WWE Champion Bobby Lashley defeated Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin (2:42)
Lashley was in control until Benjamin and Alexander started working together. That didn’t last long, though, because Lashley gave Alexander a spinebuster and speared Benjamin. He gave Benjamin a jackhammer and gave Alexander a Dominator on top of Benjamin. He pinned them both at the same time for the win.
AJ Styles approached Miz and John Morrison with a proposal. Omos blocked the camera so we couldn’t see anything.
John Morrison (w/The Miz) defeated Riddle (9:53)
Miz sprayed Riddle with the drip stick and Morrison used the distraction for a schoolboy but Riddle kicked out and hit a knee strike. Riddle then knocked down Miz with a PK. Miz again acted like a turtle that couldn’t get up and Riddle mocked him by doing the same.
Back from break, Riddle knocked down Morrison with a springboard dive. Styles and Omos sauntered down at this point. Morrison used a couple of kicks for two but Riddle came back with a powerbomb and knee strike for two.
Riddle began climbing the ropes but was distracted by Styles grabbing his scooter. Omos snapped the scooter in half and Riddle was very upset. The distraction allowed Morrison to slam Riddle and hit Starship Pain for the pinfall win.
Styles laid out Riddle with a Styles Clash after the match. The crowd chanted for Randy Orton but he didn’t show.
Reginald defeated R-Truth to retain the 24/7 Championship (1:27)
Truth was mic’d up for the match. Reginald decided to compete in a full suit. They did a lot of comedy, obviously, but the crowd wasn’t laughing. Reginald eventually managed to do a flip into a cradle for the pinfall win.
The 24/7 crew (including Humberto Carrillo) ran down after the match but Reginald flipped over the group and over the top rope to escape the ring and they all just looked baffled instead of going after him.
Charlotte Flair defeated Raw Women’s Champion Nikki A.S.H. in a non-title match (12:34)
This was still considered a “championship contenders match” even though Charlotte was already granted a title match at SummerSlam regardless of this outcome.
Charlotte was in full control and at times was not taking Nikki seriously. Nikki came back after a break with a crossbody to the outside, followed by a crossbody in the ring, a clothesline and running bulldog for two.
Charlotte followed with chops but Nikki came back with a tornado DDT. Nikki tried a flying crossbody (which is how she won last week) but Charlotte rolled through into a cover for the pinfall win.
Kevin Patrick tried interviewing Charlotte after the match but she took the opportunity to mock Nikki instead. She said no one was in her league.
Nikki admitted that she lost. She said she was almost a superhero, and “I showed myself that I almost could have won.” (Yikes.) Nikki was confident she could beat Charlotte. She challenged her to a rematch next week. Charlotte accepted.
Charlotte gave Nikki a cheapshot and laid her out with a big boot. Charlotte dragged Nikki in front of a young fan who held up a “Nikki A.S.H.” sign and chopped Nikki before knocking her down again with a big boot.
This was no good.