Finn Bálor has no shortage of confidence heading into the Extreme Rules Fatal 5-Way Match this Sunday; he even received a ringing endorsement from Paul Heyman last Monday night. However, tonight on Raw, the charismatic Irishman goes up against Samoa Joe and Bray Wyatt, two Superstars who, while hardly allies, were successful against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins last week’s main event.

 

As will be the case at WWE Extreme Rules, it will be every man for himself in this Triple Threat contest, and it will be a true test for the Irishman as he looks to officially begin his journey to Suplex City, where Universal Champion Brock Lesnar will be waiting. Can Bálor back up his boasts and defeat both The Samoan Submission Machine and The Eater of Worlds, or will one of his sinister opponents have their arm raised in victory when the chaos concludes?

Finn Balor makes his entrance and gets on the mic. He greets Grand Rapids and says Balor Club is in the building. They have their hands full, because at Extreme Rules, they have a fieful– whoops, fatal five-way match where the winner faces Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.
 
Tonight Karl Anderson stands in his path, but don’t worry, because he’s focused, he’s r–
 
Enter Paul Heyman. He does his usual intro schtick and says one could make the argument that he’s out here tonight to scout potential victims for his client. Surely you heard Bray Wyatt paint a portrait of a WWE Universe without a Beast, well, he hates to vandalize his masterpiece, but if Bray steps in the ring with his client, Lesnar will paint him as a victim.
 
Then there’s Seth freakin’ Rollins, he wants to compete in a fatal freakin’ five-way at Extreme freakin’ Rules, Brock freakin’ Lesnar will make him a freakin’ victim. Plus Rollins is the focus of Samoa Joe, hired mercenary, badass assassin, but against Brock Lesnar, he’s a victim too.
 
Then we have the one that laid the Deadman down, Roman Reigns. The odds-on favorite. If Roman wins the five-way and challenges Brock, he will no longer be the end-all, be-all in WWE, he’ll just be Brock Lesnar’s victim. Which leads Paul to Mr. Balor. He asks if he can get in the ring and Finn invites him.
 
Heyman reminds him he’s just an advocate and respectfully submits that Balor is nobody’s victim. He knows that the other contenders in the five-way have painted him as the underdog, but Finn is no underdog. They may not see him coming, but Paul E sees him coming, the Balor Club sees him coming. What was that prophecy he said? If you believe it you can achieve it?
 
Paul believes in his heart that Finn is the most talented in-ring performer in WWE today, and perhaps more importantly, he believes that Balor believes that he’s gonna take the other contenders to the extreme, and he knows a little something about the word extreme. And furthermore he believes that Finn believes that he doesn’t look at Brock like a mountain of a man with all these accomplishments, he believes that his client is the same as the other men in the five-way.
 
That if he steps into the ring with his client, he, just like the others, will be Finn Balor’s victim. So he’s most looking forward to the possibility of Balor/Lesnar for the Universal Championship. On behalf of his client, he wishes Finn luck and shakes his hand.
 
Finn says he’s glad Paul is here. He wishes Brock was, but he isn’t, surprise surprise. But hey, being Brock’s advocate, maybe he can pass a message, and tell him that at Extreme Rules, he will win the five-way and go on to face Brock Lesnar for the title that he never lost, and you tell him that Finn said Finn Balor will beat Brock Lesnar.
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The show opens with a recap centered around Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns again. closing on the brawl from last week. And thence into Raw’s intro video.

Commentary hypes up our Intercontinental Championship match and then Kurt Angle makes his entrance to really kick the show off.

He tells us that Braun suffered a shattered elbow last week and flew directly back to the United States for surgery on his elbow and may be out of action for six months. Strowman had set his sights on the Universal Championship, so he has given a lot of thought to who should challenge Brock Lesnar next, but it has to be earned, not given.

So at Extreme Rules, they’re doing a five-way #1 contender’s match for the Universal Championship. As for who’s gonna be in the match, it’ll be Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, and Roman Reigns. So whoever wants to slay the beast will have to win at Extreme Rules. It’s gonna be historical and it’s gonna be extreme, it’s true, it’s damn true.

He goes to leave but is interrupted by Roman Reigns. He gets in the ring and says we don’t need a five-way match because he’s the number one contender. This is his yard, he beat the Undertaker at WrestleMania, he put Strowman in that ambulance, and he’s the only guy around here that can beat Brock Lesnar.

Enter Finn Balor. He says he’ll tell Roman the same thing he told Seth Rollins– he was the first Universal Champion and he never lost the title, so, uh, if you want a piece of the Beast, the line starts behind him. Reigns tells Finn he has a lot of heart but he doesn’t have the killer instinct to beat Brock. Finn reminds Roman that he beat him on his first night on Raw as a counterpoint.

Enter Samoa Joe. He tells them they have it very wrong, it’s not about big hearts, about anybody’s yard, and definitely not about anybody’s club. It’s about two things, actions and results. Action, he locks the Coquina Clutch on Rollins; result, Seth is unresponsive on the ground and his body goes limp. Action, he enters the five way; result, he wins. Action, he goes on to face Brock Lesnar–

(Wyatt noise.)
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The Miz w/Maryse vs. Finn Bálor

As soon as the bell rings Miz rolls out of the ring. Miz eventually gets back in the ring. Baálor promptly takes down Miz and gets one count. Miz catches Bálor with a back elbow. Sunset flip by Miz but Bálor rolls through and dropkicks Miz in the face. Stiff dropkick by Bálor. Bálor clotheslines Miz over the top rope. Bálor torpedo dropkicks Miz into the barricade. Bálor rolls Miz back in the ring. Bálor climbs up to the top rope but Maryse pulls Miz out of the ring. After a short break

 

After a short break, Miz is working a rear chin lock. Bálor tries to fight out of it but ends up eating the Miz combo for a two count. Miz calls for the skull crushing finale but Bálor rolls out of it. Miz kicks Bálor in the knee and waylays him with a spike DDT for a near fall. Bálor surprises Miz with the Pelé kick. Both Miz and Bálor are out on the mat. Bálor gets to his feet first. Miz charges in and eats a big boot from Bálor. Miz pops up to the top rope. Bálor head kicks Miz off the top rope. Miz falls to the outside. Bálor hops out to the apron and hits a penalty kick that almost decapitates Miz. Back in the ring, Miz tries to beg off. Miz pushes Bálor into the referee (and Maryse). Miz rolls out of the ring and says since he is the co-GM he can not allow a superstar to put their hands on a referee. Miz disqualifies Bálor.

 

Miz and Maryse attempt to leave but Ambrose cuts them off. Ambrose says this match will not end in a DQ. Ambrose restarts the match and bans Maryse from ringside.

 

Bálor hits the sling blade as soon as Miz gets in the ring. Bálor hits the Coup de grâce for the win.

 

Winner: Finn Bálor

Tonight’s edition of Monday Night RAW is being taped at the O2 Arena in London. Click ‘Show’ to find out what Finn will be up to on the show and be sure to tune in at 8/7C on the USA Network.

[spoiler]

The show opens with The Miz, Maryse, Braun Strowman and WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose. RAW General Manager Kurt Angle is away so Ambrose and Miz are acting as co-General Managers for tonight. Braun vs. Kalisto with one arm tied behind Braun’s back is announced for later. The Miz is booked in a match first

The Miz vs. Finn Balor is next with Miz’s IC Title shot on the line. Balor controls most of the match after they got going. Miz disqualifies Balor using his GM powers but Ambrose uses his and re-starts the match plus bans Maryse from ringside. Balor gets the win with Coup de Grace and was over huge.

[/spoiler]

Seth Rollins makes his entrance to a really good pop. Rollins gets the crowd pumped up and asks to hear them louder. Rollins says he’s feeling good, too. For the first time in a long time, aside from getting his butt kicked a little bit last night by Samoa Joe, he’s feeling really good. The last six months have been like a rollercoaster, and the crowd has been with him throughout all of it. Sometimes you get to a point where you want to dig a hole and climb in, but you have to embrace the sucky part of life, look in the mirror, and figure out who you are and who you want to be. Rollins did that. He looked in the mirror and realized he’s still Seth Freakin’ Rollins. Everything kind of came full circle. At WrestleMania, he slaid the King of Kings. Last night, he took out Samoa Joe. There’s only one thing left to do. Rollins says, “I want The Beast!” A loud “YES” chant fires up. Rollins says he wants Brock Lesnar and the Universal Championship. Rollins has been to Suplex City and isn’t afraid to go back!

 

Finn Bálor’s music hits, and he comes out to the stage smiling. Bálor says they’ve been on the same page recently. Bálor respects Rollins. Rollins is the one-legged man who won at WrestleMania. As for him, he’s the one-armed man who became the very first Universal Champion. Bálor gets in the ring and says Rollins remembers it. Bálor’s arm was hanging from his body, yet he still beat him. Bálor never actually lost the title, either. Bálor means no offense, but when it comes to facing Brock Lesnar, the line starts with him.

 

Dean Ambrose’s music hits, and he comes out to a very good reception. The WWE Intercontinental Champion makes his way to the ring. Ambrose says they all sound like a couple of chickens saying “Brock” over and over again. Lesnar fights when he wants, which isn’t often. RAW is about fighting champions, which is what he’s all about. The Intercontinental Championship is the #1 title on RAW now, and he’s anxious to get to some action.

 

The Miz’ music hits, and he comes out with his wife, Maryse. Miz tells them to hold up, and the crowd loudly starts booing him. If Ambrose wants to talk about action, Rollins and Bálor haven’t earned anything. As for Ambrose, he’s an embarrassment as a champion. Miz and Maryse get in the ring. If anyone deserves that title, it’s him. Miz is the one who made the Intercontinental Championship relevant and prestigious. Bálor says Miz is also the latest member of the “Finn Bálor just kicked my ass” club. Miz says Bálor cheap shotted him and it’s a coward. No one in the ring deserves to be the Intercontinental Champion. Miz defended it nightly. Ambrose wasn’t important enough to defend it at Payback last night. Then there’s Seth Freakin’ Rollins. Rollins used to be the man, but now he hobbles on one leg like the gimp he is. Rollins says he could still run circles around him. Miz says this isn’t a running competition. This is a WWE ring. In this ring, he beats people up. Miz says people hate him because he’s the biggest threat on Monday Night RAW. All three men tell him to shut up.

 

Ambrose says there’s a lot of mudslinging going on here. Ambrose says he will defend the title against anyone, and people like seeing Miz get beat up. Ambrose asks if the people of Sacramento would like to see Bálor beat up Miz. The crowd loudly cheers. Ambrose then asks if the people want to see Rollins beat up Miz. They loudly cheer again. Ambrose calls Kurt Angle on his cellphone. Ambrose says Angle was not happy he had his phone number. Angle made a match for tonight. It’ll be The Miz vs. Finn Bálor vs. Seth Rollins. The winner will become the #1 Contender for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Ambrose says, “It’s true… it’s damn true, baby.” Ambrose then walks off.