Monday Night Raw (Episode #1471)
August 2, 2021
Allstate Arena - Chicago, Illinois
To kick off Raw live from the Allstate Arena, The Hurt Business appeared on stage in front of a frenzy of Chicago fans, who were chanting the name of their second city saint, CM Punk. The group paid no mind to the crowd as they made their way down to the ring. On commentary, Jimmy Smith welcomed us to the show, laying out a couple of guesses as to what The Hurt Business will say to address the crowd. Graves chimed in saying there’s no better way to open the show than with the dominant WWE Champion, The All Mighty, Bobby Lashley. Once in the ring, MVP is handed a microphone and gets down to business. MVP began by saying he’s sick of the fans, especially the fans from Chicago, which garnered him some loud boos. He continued by saying because of all of them, Keith Lee came back from a serious ailment that could prove life threatening. He says he feels sorry for Keith because he’s putting his body on the line for people who don’t give a damn about him. He called Keith a nice guy, not wishing the beating from the All Mighty unto him, which is what will happen if Keith doesn’t call off this match.
This prompted Keith Lee to make an appearance much to the enjoyment of the crowd. Keith says even if he wanted to, he couldn’t back down because that’s not the type of man he is. He’s all heart and needs to do this not just for the fans, but for himself. Switching gears, the Limitless One says he remembers the Montel Vontavious Porter of old, one of, if not the greatest United States Champion this company has ever seen. Now, MVP has fallen so far from glory and that now, all MVP does is run his mouth and hide behind The Hurt Business.
MVP responded by saying he can bring back the MVP of old any time he wants to and that even with a bad knee, he’ll kick Keith’s ass all over the Allstate Arena. A smile can be seen on Keith’s face, prompting him to challenge MVP to a match tonight. MVP chuckled, asking Keith if he thinks he can goad him into a match. That’s when Lashley tapped MVP on the shoulder. The entire Hurt Business - Lashley, MVP, Benjamin, and Alexander huddle together and talk things out until finally, MVP emerges from the huddle informing Keith he’s on for a match tonight!
In the back, Styles is telling Omos off, blaming him for his loss against Orton last week. He says he was the sole reason for Omos’s win against Riddle and how he’s a big dumb goof for not being able to return the favor. Omos balls his fist, staring down Styles, but Styles isn’t done. He reminds Omos of taking him in and giving him a shot when no one wanted to deal with him. Omos backs down but not before Styles tells him that a couple more screw ups and they’re done.
[1] Damien Priest vs. AJ Styles w/Omos (Pick Your Poison Match): Saxton on commentary, reminds us that Styles is Sheamus’s pick your poison opponent for Priest tonight. In a rather competitive match, both combatants laid it all out in the ring in a match that went for about 14 minutes. The turning point of the match came when Styles tried to deliver the Styles Clash. However, with Styles facing where Omos was standing at ringside and being so close to the ropes, Priest grabbed onto Omos, preventing Styles from hitting the Styles Clash, forcing Styles to let go of the move. Styles berates Omos for the disruption long enough for Priest to catch a breather. As Styles turned around, he was met with a thunderous sitout chokeslam from Priest, who then secured the pinfall victory.
Frustration is evident on Omos’s face as he heads up the ramp, shaking his head at Styles. The cameras pick up Styles in the corner, breathing heavily, glaring at Omos.
The cameras go backstage with Sarah Schreiber, who has the United States Champion, Sheamus, with her. Schreiber says things seemingly didn’t go to plan with Priest picking up the victory over his chosen opponent in AJ Styles. Sheamus sarcastically thanks Sarah for pointing out the obvious. He assumed the tag team champions were competent enough to get the job done, but with their ongoing issues, he believes their title reign is coming to an end. Despite the loss, Sheamus isn’t worried because all it takes is one Brogue Kick to Priest’s stupid face to put him down.
Back from the break, we return to see a glimpse of the barely night sky, with purple and orange hues. The scene arrives at a campfire where the sound of a guitar melody gets louder the closer the camera pans in. Nothing but subtle hums are heard from the man playing the guitar, his back turned to the camera. Suddenly, a rapid montage of highlight reels from past matches begins to play on the screen. It’s hard to decipher the people in the reels, but that seems to be the point of it all. Just as the montage started to play, it ended almost as quickly when a harmonica started to play. With the camera zooming out, it’s revealed that a man with dark brown, unkempt shoulder-length hair has joined the man playing the guitar. He plays his harmonica to match the tune of the guitar as the video fades.
[2] Piper Niven vs. Shayna Baszler w/Nia Jax: Shayna was on the hunt as soon as the bell rang, keeping Piper off-balanced. Taking a more methodical approach, frustrated Piper, who was not having a good time. However, with the Chicago crowd cheering on a comeback, Piper began gaining confidence and eventually scored a near fall. At ringside, Nia Jax had seen enough, pulling referee Charles Robinson out of the ring after Piper hit a running Crossbody onto Shayna, resulting in a disqualification.
But the heels didn’t care about the result, they cared about inflicting pain onto Piper to teach her a lesson. The Chicago crowd began to buzz when Nikki ASH came running down the ramp to make the save. However, Shayna and Nia would exit the ring before Nikki could get to them. Nikki approached Piper to check on her, extending a hand, but Piper quickly retreated under the ring. On commentary, Saxton brought up the point of Piper not knowing Nikki’s intentions with her and because of Piper’s previous affiliation with people like Eva Marie, she’s not trusting just anyone.
[3] Drew McIntyre vs. Shanky w/Veer and Jinder Mahal: Sonya was on commentary for the match doing some “scouting” in her words. With Jinder and Veer at ringside, Drew knew he was at a disadvantage going into the match. Shanky frustrated Drew constantly rolling to the outside to regroup with Jinder and Veer. That’s when Drew decided enough was enough when he went outside to take everyone out with a Claymore! Claymore to Veer! As he sets up for a Claymore for Jinder, Jinder pulls Shanky in his way - Claymore to Shanky! He then does a kip-up much to the enjoyment of the Chicago crowd as Jinder watches from a safe distance up the ramp. Drew throws Shanky back in the ring before pointing to Jinder, signaling this Claymore is for him - and hits another onto Shanky for the win.
After being announced the winner, Drew celebrated with the crowd but things took a turn when Veer entered the ring and attacked Drew. Jinder joined in on the beat down as well. Before long, the crowd began to buzz as the Street Profits ran down to make the save causing Jinder and Veer to retreat and retrieve Shanky as they exited through the crowd. Drew shakes hands with Ford and Dawkins for the save when Adam Pearce makes an appearance, much to the surprise of Sonya. He announced that he’s glad Drew and Street Profits are getting along nicely because Sonya’s looking at the first three members of Team Pearce with Drew as captain of his team. Sonya is pissed as the cameras catch her reaction. She takes off her headset and stares down Pearce who shrugs at her as we go to commercial.
Back from the break, we’re in the GM’s office where we see Sonya telling off Pearce. “Oh you think you can embarrass and upstage me like that, Adam? You’re playing a dangerous game with me,” Sonya says in an upset tone. Adam replies saying these are moves that will benefit him and it’s part of the game. “Just you wait, Adam. I’ve got some things in the works as well,” Sonya said before storming out of the office.
A video package began to play of Kay Lee Ray’s impressive stint in NXT UK. The montage highlights her battles against the likes of Toni Storm, Piper Niven, Jinny, and Meiko Satomura during her historic 649-day reign as NXT UK Women’s Champion as well as being the first British-born person to win the title.
[4] Kay Lee Ray vs. Mandy Rose w/Dana Brooke: In her debut match, KLR showed why she’s a force to be reckoned with in the women’s division. Starting off strong with her finisher, the KLR Bomb, only for Mandy to roll out of the ring. When KLR followed Mandy to the outside, she was greeted by Dana, who received a superkick for her troubles. KLR returns to the ring waiting for Mandy and Dana to get up. As soon as they do, KLR shows her athletic ability, quickly scaling the turnbuckles in one motion and hitting a Swanton Bomb onto Mandy and Dana. With the crowd on her side, KLR looks to finish the match, throwing Mandy back in the ring. Here, she sets Mandy up for the KLR Bomb (Gory Bomb) once again and hits it for the 1-2-3!
The cameras cut to the backstage area where Sarah Schreiber is standing with her guest, Charlotte Flair, who has been watching the KLR match on a monitor and looks unimpressed. Schreiber questions Charlotte’s focus as of late, bringing up the point that she seems more focused on Kay Lee Ray rather than the Raw Women’s Champion, Rhea Ripley. Charlotte responds, saying her focus on Rhea Ripley and the Raw Women’s Championship is unwavering and that KLR is not worth her attention, but if she continues to interfere in her business, she’ll have no issues taking her down too.
[5] Ricochet vs. John Morrison: This was the rubber match between these two amazing athletes. Early on, no one could get anything going because of their familiarity with one another. That would change when Morrison’s tag team partner, The Miz, came down to the ring. Despite a brief hesitation with Miz’s antics, Morrison showed his true colors when he took advantage every time Miz interfered. However, Morrison wasn’t able to lay Ricochet out for the count despite the advantages. The turning point of the match came when referee Rod Zapata had enough of the Miz and threw him out of the match. Ricochet would make sure Miz was out of commission for good. On his exit from the ring, Ricochet leaped over Morrison, and dove onto the unsuspecting Miz, garnering oohs and ahhs from the Chicago crowd. Ricochet hurriedly slid between Morrison’s legs to get back in the ring. When he turned around, Ricochet connected with a high knee followed by a back suplex before scaling the turnbuckle and hitting the 630 senton for the pinfall victory.
Backstage we hear a commotion of someone grunting and writhing in pain. “Get the doc!” screamed Matt Riddle. When the cameras arrive at the scene, we see Orton on the floor clutching at his ribs. “It was Omos,” Orton managed to say through the pain. Riddle assures him they’ll get him back for this.
The crackling of fire fills the scene as the camera pans closer. T-Bar’s mask lies engulfed in flames. The man known as T-Bar steps into view and declares, "T-Bar is gone. Donovan Dijakovic is here." The words "Next Week" appear on the screen then dissolve like embers from a fire.
[6] Rhea Ripley vs. Tamina w/Natalya: It’s a Champion vs. Champion match and it’s as hard hitting as ever which is not surprising seeing the combatants involved. Tamina was aggressive early, hitting multiple Samoan Drops as well as a Superkick that almost gave her the victory. However, Ripley would get things in gear after a failed splash by Tamina from the top rope and that was the beginning of the end for one half of the women’s tag team champions. In an impressive feat of strength, Ripley would hit her Riptide Pumphandle Slam for the three count.
After the match, Ripley and Tamina shake hands in a show of respect when the women’s Money in the Bank briefcase holder, Liv Morgan, appears on stage, holding up her briefcase for Ripley to see. The champion and briefcase holder mouth off at one another as we’re taken to a commercial break.
Smith tells us security footage was obtained to tell us a better story of what happened to Randy Orton earlier. We cut to grainy backstage footage where Orton is seen making his way back to his locker room before Omos attacks him from behind, driving Orton’s shoulder to the wall. With crates and other equipment filling the hallway, Omos made sure to make good use of them as he threw Orton into a pile of crates. Orton attempts to fight back despite clutching his shoulder. His efforts would prove futile as Omos lifts him with both hands around his neck before dropping him back down onto a nearby table.
[7] Sheamus vs. ??? (Pick Your Poison Match): Graves on commentary informs us that Orton was Priest’s pick to be Sheamus’s opponent but because of the footage we just saw, Priest needed to pick a new opponent. Sheamus’s new opponent turns out to be - Jeff Hardy! Starting quickly, Hardy makes use of his speed advantage, keeping Sheamus off balanced. Things would change when Sheamus caught Hardy with a backbreaker. From there, Sheamus focused on the Charismatic Enigma’s back, trying to eliminate the Swanton Bomb. Being the fan favorite that he is, Hardy made a comeback, even getting a nearfall after a Whisper in the Wind took down the Celtic Warrior. After a swift Twist of Fate, Hardy struggled to climb the turnbuckles because of Sheamus’s focused attack on his back. Sheamus played possum allowing Hardy to hit the Swanton Bomb… on his lifted knees! With Hardy writhing in pain, Sheamus sets up and hits a Brogue Kick for the pinfall victory.
After the match, the cameras go backstage with Sarah Schreiber once again, this time, with Damian Priest. Schreiber asked Priest his thoughts on the match just now and how he chose Jeff Hardy on short notice. Priest says Hardy put up a hell of a fight despite coming short of the win. He continued by saying Hardy was the one who approached him to fight Sheamus because of wanting to get back on track and a win against the current United States Champion would’ve done that. Priest says the match taught him a few things about Sheamus, but he’s unwilling to share those secrets before walking off the scene.
The cameras pick up Miz and Morrison arguing with one another in their locker room. Morrison is upset at the loss to Ricochet and feels like Miz being at ringside took his focus away from the match. Miz berated Morrison for thinking that way, stating Morrison’s been at his most successful because of Miz and if there’s anyone to be upset with, it should be with himself. “We’re done,” Morrison said in a serious tone, taking his luggage, brushing past Miz to exit the locker room.
With Summerslam a few weeks away, the commentary team ran down the Raw side of things for the big summer show. Smith begins with a match of epic proportions when Team Sonya faces off against Team Adam to see who stays General Manager for the foreseeable future. In a match just confirmed tonight, Smith says RK-Bro are getting their shot at the Raw Tag Team Championships against AJ Styles and Omos. Saxton followed with the United States Championship match pitting the champion, Sheamus, versus Damien Priest. Next, Graves says things are getting heated between the Raw Women’s Champion, Rhea Ripley, and her challenger Charlotte Flair and how you don’t want to mess with the Queen. Finally, Smith advertises the biggest match involving the WWE Champion, Bobby Lashley, versus a man who recently came back from a life threatening injury, Keith Lee.
[8] Keith Lee vs. MVP w/The Hurt Business: As soon as the bell rang, a staredown ensued between MVP and Keith. On commentary, Lashley says he hopes Keith isn’t underestimating MVP tonight because it will be a costly mistake if he does. With a nod of his head, Alexander and Benjamin each took a side, climbing onto the apron. Before anything could happen, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods run down to even the odds as we head to a commercial break.
Back from the break, Keith is dominating MVP, having just delivered a thunderous powerslam that gets him a two count. On commentary, Smith informs us that Big E called in a favor with his New Day brethren to aid Keith in case he needed it against the Hurt Business. Seeing things turn dire, MVP would greet Keith with a poke in the eye, backing the big man down in the corner as he received a scolding from referee Chad Patton. MVP used his striking ability to floor the big man, posing for the crowd much to their chagrin. Going back to the corner, MVP laid the boots onto Keith. He reared back and did a drive-by kick right to the side of Keith’s head. Next, MVP went into his bag of tricks, looking to hit the Ballin’ Elbow, but without the theatrics - he connects! But only gets a two count! MVP began slapping Keith around, which only enraged the big one. When he got Keith to his feet, Keith screamed in his face, ignoring MVP’s attempt at a shoulder block. MVP tried it again but again it didn’t affect the Limitless One! MVP tried a third time, but this time, Keith pounced him away. Looking to rebound off the ropes, Benjamin grabs Keith’s foot, causing him to fall. A few seconds later, Kingston and Woods are brawling with Alexander and Benjamin!
On commentary, Lashley is heard removing his headset to help his Hurt Business brethren. In the ring, MVP began connecting with some clubbing blows to the back of Keith, setting him up for the Playmaker (Overdrive, leg-assisted neckbreaker). However, Keith’s massive neck prevents this from happening, reversing it into a Spirit Bomb - NO! Lashley spears Keith in half before Keith can drop MVP with the Spirit Bomb!
The match is called off by referee Chad Patton, but that doesn’t stop Lashley. With Kingston and Woods taken care of on the outside, Lashley begins directing traffic, telling Alexander and Benjamin to remove the protective padding in front of the ramp. Lashley throws Keith outside where MVP gets a couple of shots in. With the exposed concrete ready for whatever Lashley’s planning next, Alexander and Benjamin lift Keith to his feet. In an impressive feat of strength, Lashley carries all 340 pounds of Keith back-first onto his right shoulder before slamming him down sideways with the Dominator Powerslam!
Referees began to surround Keith, waving off the Hurt Business to stop their carnage. MVP grabs the WWE Championship and hands it to Lashley, who raises it in the air for everyone to see. The Chicago crowd boo the Hurt Business excessively. Graves puts over the godly strength that Lashley possesses and with the Hurt Business by his side, he questions if there’s anyone that can take the WWE Championship away from Lashley. Smith, surprisingly agrees with Graves, but doesn’t discount Keith’s heart and drive to become the next WWE Champion. He thanks everyone for their time tonight and signs us off with the final image of the night being the Hurt Business standing tall on top of the ramp.
END.
BTBer’s Note: Well, this is a surprise. Definitely glad to be back writing this BTB with Deco and LG (Looking Glass). Despite trying to start other BTBs, I always came back to wanting to do this. There’s a good bunch of this project planned, so I’m hoping we can continue the momentum we currently have. Hope you enjoy this episode of Raw. It’s awesome to be back!
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