Category: RAW

Braun Strowman Has Reportedly Re-Signed With WWE

Triple H has been bringing a lot of previously released wrestlers back into the WWE fold since being appointed head of creative. Johnny Gargano, Karrion Kross, and Dakota Kai are just some of the names to be reinstated as WWE Superstars. Rumors started to swirl earlier this week that Braun Strowman would also be added to that list, and apparently, those rumors have now been confirmed.

That’s according to a new report from PW Insider claiming The Monster Among Men is once again a WWE Superstar. The former Universal Champion has reportedly signed a new deal with the company and will make his first appearance on RAW this coming Monday – September 5th.

Nevertheless, the latest report states the September 5 Raw which may well signal a big reset in WWE, and not just because Strowman looks likely to be back. Even though the draft that was once rumored to be starting next week now appears to have been pushed into 2023, Clash at the Castle will be the first PPV solely booked by Triple H. After that big show is in the rearview mirror, The Game can really put his stamp on what exactly he wants WWE to look like, at least when it comes to on-screen and in the ring.

Strowman was released by WWE in June of 2021 and might well be one of, if not the most surprising addition to that long list. Strowman had been Universal Champion the year before, beat Shane McMahon at WrestleMania a few months prior to being let go, and was competing for the WWE Title on a PPV just weeks before he was wished well in his future endeavors.

Source: TheSportster

WWE RAW Preview 8/29/2022

Edge Tells WWE Raw Crowd He Intends To Retire Next Year In Toronto

Edge spoke to the live crowd in Toronto after Raw went off the air and said he intends to retire there next year.

Edge had a big night in Toronto, Canada on Monday. He was advertised well in advance for the show — one that was over a decade in the making — and he secured a big win over Damian Priest in the main event before his wife, Beth Phoenix helped him out against Judgment Day to close the show. While that’s what the television audience saw, there was more to the night for the live fans in attendance.

As seen in a video posted by WrestleOps, after Raw went off the air, Edge grabbed the microphone and he spoke to the fans in attendance. Toronto is Edge’s hometown and he let them know how much he appreciated them, was glad to be back, and he thanked the fans for their support. He then talked about how he grew from being a fan in this building to wrestling in front of a crowd in the same arena. He added that his intention was to retire in front of the same fans a year from now.

Edge has been quite public about how close he is to the end of his career. The recent A&E Biographies episode was about his career and he’s hinted that he’s going to be calling it a career soon. Raw might have been the first time he publicly put a timeframe on it and gave a specific place. WWE typically does this Eastern Canadian swing at the same time each year and it is likely they will be back in Toronto in August of 2023. It would make sense that he might know Toronto is the place where he wants to go out and say goodbye.

Source: TheSportster

Toxic Attraction Removed From Tag Title Tournament Due To Gigi Dolin Concussion

Fans had been waiting months for WWE to announce what it had planned for the Women’s Tag Titles after Sasha Banks and Naomi handed them over and walked out. It took Vince McMahon retiring for those plans to be put in place. A tournament to decide who the new champions will be. However, as that tournament nears its end, it has been wrought with issues.

Last Friday, as Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark prepared to make their main roster debuts, WWE revealed the NXT duo would not be competing in the tournament. Stark is legitimately injured, and Lyons is too apparently though whether that’s the case or not remains up in the air. Toxic Attraction replaced the pair and defeated Natalya and Sonya Deville to progress.

Three days later, the high Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne were likely riding after debuting on SmackDown and winning their first match has come crashing down. Right before Raw went live on Monday, WWE revealed that Toxic Attraction, who were replacements themselves, will now need to be replaced. WWE reported Dolin suffered an injury on SmackDown, and it has since been revealed (via Wrestling Observer Radio) that injury was a concussion.

It was a little unclear how exactly WWE would fill a tournament for the Tag Titles when there aren’t that many women’s teams to begin with. That reality has really hit home with yet another replacement needed. Instead of finding another team, the four duos who lost their first round bouts will get a second chance match. The Four-Way tag team bout will take place this Friday on SmackDown.

Elsewhere in the bracket, Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai booked their spot in the final on Raw last night. Raquel Gonzalez and Aliyah are the other team left in, and they will face the winner of the 4-way match. When exactly that second semifinal, and then the final, will take place is unclear. Probably not at Clash at the Castle since Sky and Kai are already booked in a different match that night.

Source: TheSportster

Johnny Gargano Returns To WWE On Monday Night RAW

Former NXT Champion, NXT Tag Team Champion, and 3-time North American Champion Johnny Gargano just made his return to the WWE last night on RAW.

Johnny Wrestling is back in the WWE!

Johnny Gargano was last on TV about nine months ago; he fought in NXT’s annual War Games match alongside LA Knight, Pete Dunne, and Tommaso Ciampa against Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller and Tony D’Angelo. On the following episode of NXT, Johnny Gargano bid an emotional farewell to the fans as his contract with WWE expired and he chose not to renew it.

For the past several months, Gargano’s future in wrestling was very much up in the air. He wanted to take some time off to help raise his newborn son, Quill (also known as Baby Wrestling), alongside his wife Candice LeRae. Tonight, he made his long-awaited return to the world of wrestling.

Gargano gave an impassioned speech to fans in Toronto last night about the importance of betting on yourself. Gargano said that both for his own dreams, and for his son, he wants to become a WWE champion. He was then interrupted by Money in the Bank briefcase holder Austin Theory, but Gargano swiftly dealt a superkick to his former protege and left the crowd happy.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1561900115526295553

WWE RAW Preview 8/22/2022, Trish Stratus Returns

WWE will take over the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, tonight with the latest installment of “WWE Raw.” The episode, which will be the first episode of “Raw” to take place at the venue since August 2019, will have an added Canadian flavor, with two Ontario-born WWE Hall of Famers advertised to be in the house. Edge and Trish Stratus

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1561442011990958082

WWE RAW Preview 8/15/22

Tonight’s live episode of “WWE Raw” will emanate from the nation’s capital, Washington, DC, airing on USA Network at 8/7C.

Parking Lot Mystery Leads To Surprise Return Of Dexter Lumis On WWE Raw

The element of unpredictability has seemingly returned to WWE programming under the Triple H regime.

Fans who watched last night’s “WWE Raw” are still buzzing about a bizarre backstage segment involving Kevin Owens, Doudrop, Nikki A.S.H. and a car accident in the backdrop.

The aforementioned accident occured just as Owens, in an interview with Kevin Patrick, gloated about injuring Ezekiel and sending him away on a stretcher before their match even started. Just as Owens was being interviewed, a black car in the background drove directly into a structure in the parking lot, prompting a ‘what just happened?’ reaction from Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. who stood inches away from the site of the crash. This was followed by Doudrop, Nikki A.S.H. and several WWE officials inspecting the crashed car.

Interestingly, WWE camera crews cut back to the interview with Owens as if nothing happened in the background.

A little later, when Alexa Bliss and Asuka were interviewed at the same backstage spot, the crashed car was being loaded onto a tow truck with a bunch of police officers sprinting towards the scene.

WWE’s announcers did not acknowledge the incident at all, which added to the bizarre nature of the segment. Some believe it was done in such a way so as to leave viewers guessing and wondering about the person who caused the accident.

The main event of Raw saw AJ Styles defeat the Miz. After the match ended, a commotion began in the crowd. When the camera panned over to it, fans could see Dexter Lumis being dragged away by security. Commentary, in disbelief, questioned whether they did in fact see Dexter in the crowd.

It appears Dexter Lumis has returned to WWE.

Following the main event bout between AJ Styles and The Miz on the 8/8 “WWE Raw” episode, cameras cut to cops detaining someone that resembled Lumis.

Immediately after the segment, Indi Hartwell, the former kayfabe wife of Lumis, reacted on Twitter with a thumbs-up emoji. NXT announcer Wade Barrett also seemingly confirmed that the debuting Superstar was Lumis.

The return of Lumis has been widely expected since Triple H was appointed as WWE’s Head of Talent Relations and Head of Creative last month. Earlier on Monday, Fightful Select confirmed that WWE was interested in bringing back Lumis.

Since his WWE release last April, Lumis has kept himself busy on the independent scene under his past ring name Sam Shaw. He also appeared at the NWA’s Alwayz Ready pay-per-view back in June, where he competed in a four-way match for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.

Since the start of the Triple H era, the likes of IYO SKY, Karrion Kross, Scarlett and now Dexter Lumis have returned to WWE. Another former NXT Champion Johnny Gargano is rumored to return soon.

Sources: Wrestling Inc. and TheSportster

Becky Lynch Confirms Injury

As we noted earlier this weekend, it looked like top WWE star Becky Lynch suffered a shoulder injury during her match against Bianca Belair at SummerSlam this past Saturday. Tonight’s episode of WWE “Raw” confirmed that news shortly after reports emerged online that Lynch’s injury was legitimate. Becky appeared in a sling as she walked down to the ring in all black on tonight’s show, and through evident emotions, she told fans that she had two choices when she realized the injury had occurred: give up or keep fighting on.

That made her realize who she was deep down — not someone that needs constant validation or fancy clothes. Instead, she will focus on grit, determination, and defining what it means to be the man. Lynch promises she is starting a new era with the most impressive comeback in WWE History.

Becky would then invite Bianca Belair to the ring and express her admiration for the EST of WWE before telling her to “hold it down” while she is away. Bianca supported the idea that Becky is “The Man” and explained that she couldn’t pass up the opportunity at SummerSlam to become allies with Lynch. That’s when she was interrupted by a live feed from a backstage camera. Bayley, IYO SKY, and Dakota Kai, seemingly named “Control” as a group based on recent social media posts, were shown attacking an injured Becky in the backstage area as her arm was still in a sling. Bayley had caught her arm in the chair and was on the offense as Bianca Belair retreated from the ring and ran to make the save. IYO, Dakota, and Bayley fleed as soon as Bianca approached, leaving Bianca alone to console a hurt Becky.

https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1554289194306093058
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1554256535550935040
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1554257246703570944

As noted, Lynch was leaving the arena at WWE SummerSlam with the medical team while keeping her arm close to her body. Lynch noticeably started favoring her shoulder after taking a Glam Slam from Belair during their WWE “Raw” Women’s Title match.

A report from Fightful said they couldn’t give a timetable on Becky Lynch’s eventual return, and it is a 50/50chance  whether or not Lynch would have to have surgery.

Becky Lynch is expected to miss at least several months of in-ring action, WWE announced via a tweet Monday.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1554274811098329088

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Raw Preview 8/1/22

WWE RAW, tonight at 8/7 C on USA Network.

Coming out of WWE SummerSlam, the red brand saw returns, debuts, and even a celebrity having his first one-on-one match in company history.

Most notably, Triple H, in his first couple of weeks in charge of creative, clearly sought to shake things up in the women’s division. With the “Raw” Women’s Championship staying around the waist of Bianca Belair for now, her next major challenge became apparent when a returning Bayley made her way down the ramp before stopping, allowing two other wrestlers to join her in shocking fashion — Dakota Kai, who was released back in April from “NXT,” and Iyo Sky, formerly known as Io Shirai, also making her return from injury and having seemingly signed a new contract. The trio entered the ring and faced down Belair, who was unexpectedly backed up by Becky Lynch, whom Belair had just defeated for the championship.

Also on the “Raw” side of SummerSlam, Logan Paul made his singles debut when he took on The Miz, busting out moves that we had not seen the social media influencer perform prior to this match. Miz had Maryse and Ciampa at ringside to start out with, but later into the match, AJ Styles came out to help fight off Ciampa, leaving just Maryse in Miz’s corner. Paul defeated Miz using Miz’s own move, the Skull Crushing Finale.

Bobby Lashley has now beaten Theory in back-to-back PLEs at Money in the Bank and SummerSlam, retaining his United States Championship over Mr. Money in the Bank in fairly quick action. Theory would be seen again in the main event of SummerSlam, attempting to cash in during the main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, but Lesnar hit Theory with an F-5 before Theory had the chance to cash in, and he left the arena still holding the battered briefcase Reigns used as a weapon to help put Lesnar away.

In the last “Raw” match of the night, the Mysterios went 2-0 over The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and Damian Priest as the father and son team secured the win off of a returning Edge’s help.

As of early Monday morning, nothing has been promoted for “Raw,” but you can certainly expect fallout from SummerSlam, likely in all four of these storylines.

Source: Wrestling Inc.