Monday Night Raw (10/22/2018): Recap & Results

Drew McIntyre says Braun Strowman just felt the cold kick of reality. He’ll soon realize he needed McIntyre and Ziggler. Now he and Ziggler must focus on their challengers for tonight for the Raw Tag Team Championships.

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Elias is in the ring doing his shtick, playing guitar and cutting a promo. Apollo Crews comes out to interrupt.

Singles Match: Elias vs. Apollo Crews

Match begins and Crews takes control early as he beats Elias up at ringside. Commercial break.

Back again and Elias has Crews in a side headlock. Crews powers out and hits an arm-drag. He tries to get his breath back, and then hits a few big kicks. He levels Elias with a jumping clothesline and then kips up. Crews lands a standing shooting star press for a 2-count. Elias manages to bait Crews into a trap and he connects with a big knee to Crews’ chin. Elias proceeds with the Drift Away for the pinfall.

Winner: Elias

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Elias tries to perform his song again on the main stage but Raw General Manager Baron Corbin comes out and says they just don’t have time to accommodate his performance. Elias says Stephanie McMahon would want to walk with Elias so he’s going to go ahead with his performance. Corbin says if Stephanie didn’t like Elias, he fire him. Then Corbin orders him to get off the stage. The crowd chants “No!” Elias says he just wrote a song for this occasion and orders Corbin to silence his cell phone, hold his applause…

Elias starts a song making fun of Corbin and Corbin orders his mic and guitar to be cut. Corbin then order Elias to get off the stage and ultimately Elias does. The crowd boos. Corbin is about to say what he has to say when Elias appears behind him again and smashes his guitar over Corbin’s back. Elias smiles at his handiwork and leaves Corbin battered in the aisle.

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Nikki Bella and Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey come out for their Evolution title match contract signing. They cut promos on each other and then Rousey hands the pen to Nikki. Nikki happily signs the contract and then slaps Rousey across the face. Rousey looks angry but then she just laughs and signs the contract. Rousey says she’ll end Nikki on Sunday. And smiling, “I give you my word.”

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Fatal 4-Way Match: Nia Jax vs. Dana Brooke vs. Tamina Snuka vs. Ember Moon

Ember Moon picks up the quick victory with an Eclipse on Tamina.

Winner: Ember Moon

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Alicia Fox and Mickie James attacks Trish Stratus and Lita and a brawl ensues backstage. Trish and Lita end up leaving Mickie and Fox beaten up and Trish says, “That’s how we did it in the Attitude Era!”

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Tag Team Championship Match: Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose

Match begins and Rollins and Ambrose drives McIntyre and Ziggler from the ring as it cuts to commercial.

Back again and Rollins is taking it to Ziggler. He goes to the top rope but McIntyre pushes him off. Ziggler follows up with a Famouser for a near-fall. McIntyre comes in and picks up the offense. Ziggler and McIntyre cycle tags and keeps Rollins isolated in their corner. Rollins tries to get a tag to Ambrose but Ziggler grabs a sleeper and drags Rollins down. McIntyre tags in and Rollins nails him with some shots. He is about to get the tag but Ziggler prevents it.

Ambrose chases Ziggler around the ring but runs into a shot from McIntyre. McIntyre then hits an Alabama Slam on Rollins for a 2-count. Commercial break.

Back again and Rollins and Ambrose use some nice teamwork and Rollins gets a near-fall on McIntyre after a big frog splash. McIntyre then looks for a belly-to-back superplex but he gets knocked backward and hung upside down. But suddenly McIntyre sits up and german superplexes Rollins into a backflip, landing face-down on the canvas. There is some scrambling and Rollins hits Ziggler with a superplex-Falcon Arrow for 2. It’s pandemonium and Ziggler hits a ZigZag on Rollins. He pins. 1-2-… but Rollins gets the shoulder up.

Ziggler and McIntyre look for the finish but then Braun Strowman’s music hits. There is some confusion and the ref gets bumped. Strowman and McIntyre have a stand-off before locking horns. Strowman and McIntyre brawl out into the crowd and away into the backstage area. Ziggler comes to in the ring and McIntyre is nowhere in sight. Ziggler tries to use the title belt as a weapon but Ambrose stops him. Rollins plants him with the Stomp. Ambrose rousts the referee up and into the ring and he hits a count of 3.

Winners: The Shield (c)

After the match, Rollins and Ambrose are celebrating but then suddenly Ambrose kicks Rollins and spikes him with a Dirty Deeds. Faces are shown in the audience, shocked and confused. Ambrose looks crazed and lost. Rollins starts coming to and is wondering what happened. Ambrose brutally attacks him some more. Ambrose yells at Rollins as he viciously assaults him around the ringside area, concerned and distraught fan faces are shown in the crowd. Ambrose lifts up the mats beside the ring and exposes the concrete floor.

Ambrose plants Rollins cranium on the concrete and the crowd is in a state of disgust as they boo and jeer Ambrose’s walk out of the building through the crowd.