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WWE Raw results, grades: Kofi Kingston comes up short, Randy Orton hits Bro-Derek and Reginald beats Shayna Baszler
Bobby Lashley now knows his opponent for WWE Hell In A Cell after Drew McIntyre beat Kofi Kingston in an incredible main event on Raw.
The two superstars headlined Monday night’s show and delivered in a big way to make sure the night – which had its moments – ended on a high note despite the New Day man falling short.
They did a great job of making this feel like a big deal during the evening, with Drew talking about the match backstage midway through.
He called his opponent a loyal friend and put over how hard he worked for so long, while the Scotsman suggested he himself has the edge by not having kids to worry about.
Later, it was Kofi’s turn to speak as he disagreed with the idea of his family and friends being a weakness, instead calling them his motivation.
He also hit out at McIntyre referencing his loss to Brock Lesnar back in October 2019 – it’s still too soon, let’s be honest – and noted Drew hasn’t been able to beat Lashley in months.
Just before the match itself, MVP was seen partying with the WWE Champion and his crowd of women in the executive lounge.
He recalled being brought to tears by Kofi-Mania and noted McIntyre’s work ethic, but insisted the All Mighty is simply a step above them.
The main event was a cracking effort from two men delivering at the top of their game, with some great moments including a spinning Futureshock DDT, and a Trouble In Paradise where it looked like Kofi might actually win.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be as Drew hit a Claymore to secure another match against Lashley with the old on the line.
The champ came out as Drew told him he can’t run from him anymore – and while the match at Hell In A Cell will be great, it’s a shame Kofi didn’t earn himself a shot here.
Mace and T-Bar dominate, Reginald wins big, Elias turns on Jaxson Ryker and Randy Orton hits Bro-Derick
Jimmy Smith made his debut on the commentary desk as Miz TV kicked off the night with John Morrison foolishly wearing a garlic necklace to warn off any zombies.
Charlotte Flair joined them to build up her match with Rhea Ripley, which brought out the Raw Women’s Champion as she described herself as the Nightmare – although the Queen couldn’t resist showing her failure to beat Nikki Cross last week.
Naturally, the Scot came out next, suggesting she should get the first shot after HIAC, before things led to her facing Flair with the same time limit as last week.
Again, Cross survived after hiding behind Rhea at one point, which Charlotte blamed on her not winning before the time expired.
Elsewhere, Randy Orton asked Riddle about using the RKO last week (it came ‘outta nowhere’), and seemed more open to a tag team as he invited the Original Bro to be at ringside for his own match against Xavier Woods.
While not quite on the level of his match with Riddle last week, the New Day man shone again her in the solo spotlight, before eventually falling to Randy hitting his tag partner’s own Bro-Derek move for the win.
Reginald – who told Nia Jax to stay backstage – faced off with Shayna Baszler in singles action in a decent comedy match showing off the former Cirque du Soleil star’s athleticism before the pyro went off again to give him a roll-up win.
Later in the night, he joined Alexa Bliss and Lilly in their playground, but he got jumped by the Queen of Spades as she beat him down and then joined the interview, challenging Bliss to get in the ring next week.
Elsewhere, T-Bar and Mace dominated Lucha House Party in a very brief match as they won with a Double Chokeslam.
Sheamus ranted about Ricochet and Humberto Carrillo before facing both men back to back, with each of them distracting the Celtic Warrior to help the other beat the United States Champion.
The Humberto match was longer and better, although Sheamus ended up with a broken nose from an elbow.
Over to the women’s tag team division, Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose picked up a win against Lana and Naomi in a decent bout.
At the very least, they got more time than Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander, with their rubber match ended in seconds after a thumb to the eye helped the latter to a quick victory.
Jaxson Ryker appeared to be in a trance as Elias talked about their match against AJ Styles and Omos, before the former referenced fighting in Iraq.
The match itself was fun with Omos looking like a monster and Styles being as phenomenal as ever, before the drama came as Elias abandoned his partner.
Splitting them is the right option, but they’d be wise not to try and make Jaxson the babyface based on online reaction.
WWE Raw results and grades
- Beat The Clock: Nikki Cross and Charlotte Flair ended in a time limit draw (C)
- Randy Orton beat Xavier Woods (B)
- Reginald pinned Shayna Baszler (C-)
- T-Bar and Mace defeated Lucha House Party (C+)
- Ricochet pinned Sheamus before Humberto Carrillo did the same (B-)
- Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose beat Lana and Naomi (C)
- Cedric Alexander defeated Shelton Benjamin (D+)
- Raw Tag Team Titles: AJ Styles and Omos (c) beat Elias and Jaxson Ryker (B)
- WWE Title Number One Contender: Drew McIntyre pinned Kofi Kingston (A)
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