The Backlash fallout on the red brand saw Bobby Lashley and WWE champion Drew McIntyre stand across the ring once more in a tag team match. Randy Orton kicked off the show and a Raw women’s championship rematch took place as WWE now builds toward Extreme Rules on July 19.
Randy Orton speaks after The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever
One night after defeating Edge in a long, demanding match where The Rated R Superstar tore his triceps, Orton took to the ring to give thanks.
Orton said Edge helped him feel like “the Legend Killer” again, and said he will see him in July 2029 once he gets cleared. Christian, Edge’s best friend, entered the ring.
Christian said the redemption of Edge was not over. Orton said Christian was merely jealous, then challenged him to an unsanctioned match which proves to be risky as Christian is medically retired. The offer expires at the end of the show.
Kevin Owens vs. Angel Garza
Garza dove after Owens’s knee at the bell but the latter moved aside. Andrade entered the arena and Owens took over. Owens looked to stun Garza after ripping his opponent’s warmups. Zelina Vega got between Andrade and Garza outside the ring, then walked away when the two could not stop arguing.
Garza garnered momentum and hit a flying dropkick. Andrade stood on the apron and distracted Owens. Garza looked to take advantage with a kick, but Owens countered with a stunner and won the match. Vega told her clients to stop fighting against each other but rather fight together.
Bobby Lashley wants a divorce
MVP and Lashley entered the arena to express their disgust in the Lashley-McIntyre match. MVP said Lana is always “thirsting for attention” and blamed her for Lashley’s loss.
Lana entered the arena after MVP demanded McIntyre quit hiding behind her and issue Lashley a rematch. She listed all of the sacrifices she made to be with Lashley, then MVP interjected saying he was the reason Lashley earned a title shot.
Lashley said Lana made Backlash “all about her,” and expressed his disliking for her using social media to broadcast their “sex life.” Lana tossed that statement in her husband’s face, but their marriage seems to be fizzling as Lashley said he wanted “a divorce.”
Ninjas vs. The Viking Profits
The Viking Raiders and The Street Profits were scheduled to clash for the Raw tag team championships at Backlash, but the teams joined forces when they encountered ninjas in the parking lot of the Performance Center.
Akira Tozawa led the group of ninjas. Erik quickly kicked one ninja away and Dawkins followed. Erik and Dawkins doubled-teamed, as did Ivar and Ford, to several other ninjas. Ford and Ivar hit splashes from the turnbuckles to quickly win the match.
Post-match, Tozawa introduced the Big Ninja. As The Viking Profits prepared to engage with Big Ninja, Big Show entered the ring. Big Show cleared the ring of the smaller ninjas, leaving Tozawa and Big Ninja backing up the ramp.
Dominik Mysterio accepts Seth Rollins’s invitation
The Monday Night Messiah took to the microphone and said Rey Mysterio is still not medically cleared. Rollins said Mysterio took the “coward’s way out” by not appearing on Raw, but said Dominik would join Raw.
Rey appeared on the titantron and said he did not know his son was coming to Raw. Rollins said he does not want to hurt Dominik, but rather help him. Rollins wished for Dominik to join his disciples and said Austin Theory and Murphy were looking for him, and Dominik must be sacrificed.
Rollins mentioned Dominik said “an eye for an eye,” and proposed an ultimatum: become a disciple or be sacrificed. Domink attacked him from behind, slinging Rollins into the ring steps. Domink was cornered in the ring by Theory and Murphy, but evaded the two and escaped through the crowd.
Liv Morgan and Natalya vs. The IIconics
Peyton Royce and Billie Kay had their opportunity to become women’s tag team champions pushed away as Sasha Banks stole the win at Backlash.
Royce and Natalya began the match, and The IIconics quickly became too much for Natalya. Kay slammed Natalya to the mat and dropped her elbow before a pin attempt. Morgan clotheslined and face-slammed Kay, then hit a dropkick.
Royce entered and tossed Natalya from the ring, then distracted the referee while Morgan had seemingly pinned Kay. Royce hit a Fall from Grace to earn the victory. The two called out Banks and Bayley for an immediate one-on-one tag team match.
Christian accepts Orton’s challenge
Charly Caruso found Christian atop the ramp and asked him about Orton’s challenge.
Christian said he had nothing to prove to Orton, but also said he was not “going to be disrespected.” He took off his coat and accepted The Viper’s challenge for an unsanctioned match.
Shelton Benjamin vs. Apollo Crews
MVP found Crews backstage and proposed the U.S. champion finds a manager. Crews respectfully declined, but MVP said the only way he keeps the belt is with him in his corner.
The two grappled at the belt and Crews dropkicked Benjamin. The challenger hit a German suplex and running knee to a cornered Crews. Crews kicked Benjamin’s upper body and hit a shooting star for a two-count.
Benjamin rolled up Crews and placed his legs on the ropes, and the referee stopped his count when he saw what Benjamin was doing. Crews followed suit and tactic, hooking his arm around the ropes after quickly rolling-up Benjamin for the win.
Bobby Lashley and MVP vs. R-Truth and Drew McIntyre
WWE championship match
This match went from a basic tag match to a winner-take-all for the 24/7 and WWE championships, but R-Truth was able to convince management to only put McIntyre’s WWE title on the line. McIntyre reminded R-Truth the serious implications of the match, which included the fact McIntyre does not have to be involved in the decision to lose “everything he has worked for.”
Lashley and McIntyre started for their teams. The two shoved one another and Lashley was hit by a Glasgow Kiss. Lashley thumped McIntyre’s head area and he and MVP doubled-up on the champion from their corner. McIntyre hit a spinebuster to Lashley and dumped him from the ring.
R-Truth tagged himself in and was tossed out of the ring by MVP. Lashley pinned R-Truth in a corner and tagged MVP to charge him. MVP missed knocking down R-Truth so the latter hit a spinning kick that led to a hot tag to McIntyre.
Lashley countered a futureshock DDT but was tossed with an overhead belly-to-belly. McIntyre jumped onto MVP from the top rope and executed a futureshock DDT, but the pin was broken up by Lashley.
R-Truth drew Lashley away from his corner and stepped aside his charge, allowing Lashley to crash into the steel steps. McIntyre hit a Claymore to MVP and pointed to R-Truth, and allowed him to splash into a pin to win the match.
The IIconics’ challenge gets accepted
SmackDown women’s champion Bayley said that the team was in the mood to celebrate not only their Backlash victory but also her birthday. Bayley promoted her team’s NXT matchup for their women’s tag team championships against Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart.
The IIconics interrupted and demanded an answer to their proposal for next week. Banks got in Royce’s face and the latter slapped her. Bayley scrambled to protect her team’s image and accepted the challenge for a tag team championship match.
Nia Jax vs. Asuka
Raw women’s championship match
A double count-out ended the championship match at Backlash, so a rematch took place on Raw.
Asuka opened with a kick to Jax’s midsection, but Jax answered with a clothesline. Asuka flipped around Jax to lock in a short-lived armbar. She got caught in the ropes after a hip attack, then reversed being put on Jax’s shoulders to pull her down toward the ropes.
Asuka attempted a baseball slide but Jax caught her and powerbombed her to the floor. The champion recovered quickly and scored a near-fall after a dropkick.
Jax hit a Samoan Drop but the referee said Asuka’s foot was under the ropes. Jax shoved the referee and he almost called for the bell, but Asuka rolled up Jax and the referee gave a quick count for The Empress to retain her title.
Christian vs. Randy Orton
Unsanctioned match
Orton said backstage that Christian’s legend would soon be destroyed by the RKO in their unsanctioned match, where WWE cannot be held liable for what happens.
Just as the ring announcer was set to start the match, Ric Flair entered the ring to stop the match. Flair said he talked to Edge and told Christian to let the match go. Christian told Flair he “had to do this,” and the match began.
Flair gave Christian a low-blow and Orton followed with a punt, then pinned Christian to end the match.
