WWE fans watching Raw on Monday night and hoping to see Bobby Lashley vs. Bill Goldberg made official for SummerSlam were left unsatisfied when the WWE champion refused to respond to Goldberg's challenge.
While the SummerSlam WWE championship match is still not official, the plan for the Raw women's championship is now set. In her first show as champion, Nikki A.S.H., who cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase to win the belt from Charlotte Flair last week, came face to face with Flair and Rhea Ripley. Shortly after the confrontation, Nikki found out that she would have to defend her title against both women at SummerSlam and would end the night facing Flair in non-title action.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. .
Bobby Lashley doesn't respond to Goldberg's challenge
Bobby Lashley and MVP came to the ring for an in-ring promo to address Bill Goldberg's challenge from the previous week. Lashley said he wouldn't even dignify Goldberg's challenge with a response before saying that he was in his ring and wouldn't be disrespected by anyone. Cedric Alexander interrupted to call out Lashley for kicking him out of The Hurt Business earlier in the year. This drew out Shelton Benjamin, who was also kicked out of The Hurt Business at the same time as Alexander. After both made challenges to Lashley, the champion said he'd take both on at the same time.
Bobby Lashley def. Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin in a handicap match. Lashley got off to a dominant start before a brief comeback by Alexander and Benjamin while using their superior numbers. Lashley then took out Benjamin with a spear and a jackhammer, Goldberg's trademark finishing combination. Lashley then hit Alexander with a dominator on top of Benjamin to pin both men at the same time.
If anything, the situation with Lashley and Goldberg seems to mirror SmackDown's storyline with John Cena and Roman Reigns. Reigns similarly refused to grant Cena a match at SummerSlam after the legend issued the challenge. There is plenty of upside, however, with Lashley's domination of Alexander and Benjamin keeping a good run going for Lashley since Kofi Kingston pushed him out of his complacency. We know what we're getting at SummerSlam, so it'd be nice if they'd just get there already and make Lashley vs. Goldberg official. Grade: B
Nikki A.S.H. has two SummerSlam challengers
Nikki A.S.H. opened the show with an in-ring promo. She addressed her Raw women's championship victory from the previous week, saying that her success came from finding her confidence and no longer being afraid of failure. The promo was interrupted by Charlotte Flair, who called Nikki "a disgrace" as champion. Flair said she would get a rematch at SummerSlam and Nikki would be forced to "bow down to a real champion." Rhea Ripley was out next, saying that it should be her, not Flair, who should face Nikki at SummerSlam. Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville came to the ring, announcing it would be a triple threat match at the pay-per-view. Flair responded by challenging Nikki to a one-on-one match later in the night before attacking Ripley and getting dropkicked from the ring by Nikki.
Charlotte Flair def. Nikki A.S.H. via pinfall. Flair went right at Cross, tossing her around the ring and even attempting to rip off her mask. Flair taunted the fans, asking if Nikki was really someone they wanted to cheer for. Nikki made a few short comebacks, before finally getting rolling late. Nikki hit a tornado DDT before going to the top rope to hit a crossbody. Flair was able to roll through and score the pin. Flair mocked Nikki before Nikki challenged her to another match next week. Flair then delivered a forearm and a big boot.
In a lot of ways, the Nikki vs. Charlotte match is something that should have happened before Nikki ever cashed in her briefcase. There was no real journey to drive home what an underdog she is and she needed more situations to drive it home. Setting up an immediate rematch doesn't do much for anyone, but the Raw women's title has felt stuck in a series of aimless stories for months, so why change now? Still, the match was solid and we at least know what the plan is for SummerSlam. Grade: C
What else happened on WWE Raw?
- Damian Priest def. Sheamus via pinfall after hitting Reckoning. Ahead of the match, Priest made it clear he was gunning for the United States championship.
- Raw Tag Team Championship -- AJ Styles & Omos (c) def. The Viking Raiders via pinfall when Styles hit Erik with a springboard 450 splash.
- Drew McIntyre def. Veer via disqualification. Before the match, Jinder Mahal told McIntyre he was going to sue him, bringing a lawyer with to the ring. Mahal slid a chair to Veer, which McIntyre drove into Veer's face with a Claymore, somehow making for a disqualification victory for McIntyre. After the match, McIntyre hit the lawyer with a Claymore.
- Natalya & Tamina def. Doudrop & Eva Marie via pinfall when Tamina hit Marie with a superkick. Alexa Bliss interrupted the match with a "Lillylution" video, parodying Marie's videos using Lilly the doll.
- Karrion Kross def. Keith Lee via submission with the Kross Jacket.
- Mansoor & Mustafa Ali def. Mace & T-Bar via pinfall when Mansoor pinned Mace with a roll-up.
- John Morrison def. Riddle via pinfall after hitting Starship Pain. Omos and AJ Styles provided the distraction at the end of the match with Omos breaking Riddle's scooter to set up the win for Morrison. After the match, they attacked Riddle, with Styles hitting a Styles Clash.
- 24/7 Championship -- Reginald (c) def. R-Truth via pinfall with his flipping senton.
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