Bobby Lashley and MVP gave WWE Champion Drew McIntyre signs that Lashley wanted a shot at the title last week on Raw. Andrade put his United States Championship on the line against Apollo Crews, and a No. 1 Contender’s Match took place between three women.
KO Show
A crowd of NXT trainees stood in the empty seating areas. Owens hosted Raw Women’s Champion Asuka to discuss the No. 1 Contender’s triple threat match taking place later in the show.
Owens showed video of Jax attacking Kairi Sane last week, and Asuka began to speak as NXT Champion Charlotte Flair entered the arena. Flair brought up how Asuka has never beaten her, and then Natalya entered the ring. She apologized for getting upset last week, and Flair interrupted to tell Natalya she was irrelevant.
Jax entered atop the ramp and said she was going to “bulldoze” over Asuka at Backlash. Owens told Asuka to not hit Jax in the face, but Asuka did anyway. Jax was pushed from the ring by the three other women and Asuka cleared the ring.
Apollo Crews vs. Andrade (t)
United States Championship match
Crews looked to win his first championship in WWE and also get revenge on Andrade for taking away his ability to compete in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Crews opened the match by sending Andrade to a corner and the mat.
Crews held Andrade vertically in the air but was hit with a spinning elbow when he let Andrade back to the ground. Crews countered a hammerlock DDT and held Andrade in a standing press before Zelina Vega tried to be a distraction. This backfired when Andrade accidentally pushed Vega to the ground, then Crews and his opponent fought outside the ring.
Andrade rolled into the ring and Crews struck his opponent with a clothesline. Crews kicked Andrade when he climbed atop a turnbuckle, and Andrade stomped Crews’s chest when he turned his opponent upside down.
Crews tossed Andrade into a corner with an overhead belly-to-belly for a two-count. He hit an overhead press and a standing Shooting Star to pin Andrade and become the new U.S. champion.
Austin Theory is Rollins’s disciple
The Monday Night Messiah held Rey Mysterio’s mask backstage prior to this segment. Rollins claimed he is better than ever thanks to Mysterio, then speculated the event two weeks ago may have been Mysterio’s “final act.”
Rollins introduced Austin Theory as his new disciple. Rollins spoke of those underappreciated, but his guidance can help lift them.
The IIconics put Bliss and Cross on notice
Kay and Royce apologized to each other after not capitalizing on their chance to win the Women’s Tag Team championships. The two reminisced on their journeys in WWE, then Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross entered the ring.
Bliss said The IIconics blew their opportunity while Kay told Cross to be “grateful” for her position. The IIconics attacked the champions and drove Bliss into a ringpost. The two double-teamed Cross and held the title belts above themselves.
The VIP Lounge
MVP and Lashley have formed a resurgent duo in recent weeks and the latter may be looking to compete for championship gold. MVP hosted Drew McIntyre during the segment, who was addressed as the “soon-to-be-former WWE Champion.”
McIntyre tossed the two couches aside and asked where Lashley was. MVP dispelled the champion’s thoughts and reminded McIntyre he offered him guidance the last time he was in the lounge. MVP said he was going to play a role in McIntyre’s title loss.
McIntyre said the only way anyone would take his title was by “prying” it from him, and Lashley entered the ramp. McIntyre delivered a Claymore to MVP and demanded Lashley fight him.
Angel Garza vs. Kevin Owens
Garza attacked Owens and targeted his right knee as he made his way to the ring. The two quickly engaged when the bell rang.
Garza held Owens in an ankle-breaker and Owens responded with a DDT. Owens charged from a corner but fell when his knee gave out. Soon, Garza superkicked him for a two-count. Owens hit a senton to a laying Garza but missed a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Garza hit a Wingclipper for the victory.
The Viking Raiders and Street Profits play golf
From basketball to axe-throwing to golf, the Anything You Can Do, We Can Do Better series continued between the two tag teams. Dawkins drove the ball near the green and putted into the hole while Erik and Ivar threw their clubs and had trouble in the sand.
Ivar hit a nearby spectator with the ball and popped a tire on their golf cart before the two teams were kicked off the first course. Another golf course was found and The Street Profits continued to gracefully dominate. The Street Profits won the golf match with a score of 28, and Ivar pulled a chicken leg from the final hole as they fell behind 2-1 in the competition.
Aleister Black and Humberto Carrillo vs. Murphy and Austin Theory
Theory and Carrillo locked up to start the match and Theory drove his opponent into the corner to double-team. Carrillo quickly regained his footing and tagged Black, then jumped onto both Murphy and Theory, who stood outside the ring. Theory hit a belly-to-back suplex to Carrillo, and Murphy tagged in and used his legs to deliver small strikes.
Black and Theory hot-tagged and Black pushed Murphy, who elbowed Theory. Black continued pushing his opponent around and moved just as Theory kicked Murphy. Carrillo missed a moonsault and Theory hit an ATL to win the match.
Rollins directed his disciples to beat down Black and Carrillo post-match, then told the two to hold Carrillo near the ring steps in a similar way he did to Mysterio. Black entered the ring with a chair but dropped it when Rollins told him Carrillo would lose an eye if he came further. Rollins said Mysterio was sacrificed for the “greater good.”
Edge wants to prove himself
The Rated R Superstar said Randy Orton caught him “tongue-tied,” and now finds himself “doubting his ability.” Edge laid out the number of days he was retired and the number of matches Orton competed in during that time, then said he must “prove himself.”
Edge said he taught guys how to get to the next level and called himself a “five-tool workhorse” for WWE. He said he does not know if he can be anything like that anymore, but said Backlash will be different.
Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya vs. Nia Jax
No. 1 Contender’s Match
Jax cornered Flair and tossed Natalya aside before body-slamming the two onto one another. Flair and Natalya slung Jax into a ringpost and fought in the ring. Natalya and Flair traded leg submissions and holds, and Jax cleared the announcer’s table after pulling Flair from the apron. Flair drove the announcer’s desk hood into Jax and the two fought on the apron. Natalya joined the fray, and she teamed with Flair to carry and slam Jax through the announce table.
Asuka rolled Jax back inside the ring and Natalya put her into an armbar. Jax picked her up and hit a powerbomb, and Flair threw Natalya from the ring. Flair hit a moonsault and Natalya jumped onto The Queen. Flair put Jax in a Figure Four and Natalya put Flair in a Sharpshooter submission.
Jax and Flair looked to suplex from the ropes but Natalya slammed the two from the turnbuckle. Jax hit a Samoan Drop to Natalya to win the right to face Asuka at Backlash for the Raw Women’s Championship.
MVP and Bobby Lashley vs. The Street Profits
After arriving at the WWE Performance Center following their golf outing, The Street Profits ran into MVP and Lashley. MVP told them they were wasting their talent, and the Raw Tag Team Champions challenged the two to a match.
Ford and Lashley started the match and the latter hit a flatliner. MVP tagged Lashley in and Lashley hit a charged spear to Ford, who leaned in the corner. Ford looked to jump onto his opponents outside the ring, but Lashley shoved him off the apron and drove him into the ringpost. MVP slung Ford into the steel steps but lost momentum back inside the ring.
Dawkins hot-tagged and hit a spinning splash and face slam. He knocked Lashley off the apron and Ford pushed him into the barricade. Ford hit a frog splash to MVP, but outside Lashley pushed Dawkins into a ringpost. Lashley entered the ring and put Ford into a full nelson, and the referee counted to five before calling for the bell. McIntyre entered the scene and fought with Lashley.
The two fought both inside and outside the ring, and the referee called for the trainees in the crowd to help separate the Champion and Lashley. Lashley speared McIntyre and more trainees tried to split the two. McIntyre and Lashley were pushed into the corners by the trainees and taunted each other as the show closed.
