The traveling circus known as WWE took its show to Oklahoma City Monday night. With a jammed pack night of wrestling throughout the three-hour program, the Chesapeake Energy Arena was apropos for the show Raw put on last night. New stars like Damian Priest, Matt Riddle, Omos, and Rhea Rhipley were able to keep building momentum. The more established veterans on the roster like Orton, Sheamus, Styles, and Flair did a great job adding to the quality of every match and segment with their presence. For a program this long there comes an expectation of slow moments and filler pieces to try to fill up the slot. However, WWE on this night chose to fill the full three hours with wrestling from all over the roster. The competitive spirit was apparent in every entertainer that took the ring on August 30th.

Damian Priest Next Star

After defeating Sheamus in a fun and physical championship match at Summerslam, Priest opened Raw with hopes of carrying on the legacy of previous US champions by issuing an open challenge. Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, RKBro, and Bobby Lashley would all answer the call, looking for the opportunity to add to their trophy cases. With all the male titleholders on the show out on the stage making demands, Sonya and Adam announced two title matches for the night.

The first included Damian Priest defending his US title in a triple threat versus Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. This match would go on about an hour later, but the wait would be worth it as WWE fans were given a PPV level championship match in the middle of the weekly program. Priest and his two challengers would brutalize each other for 25 minutes in a battle for the championship. After a brilliant showing and a well-deserved "This is awesome" chant from the fans, Priest would find a way to win with a pinfall victory of Drew McIntyre. Retaining his title and establishing himself as one of the cornerstones of the red brand going forward. Drew's handshake at the end of the segment is the type of respect and star-making move that Priest needs to take the next step.

The Irresistible Force

Nia Jax has always been built differently than the rest of the women in WWE. For one night she was treated as the dominant force in the women's division. Before Rhipley's match with Shayna Blazer (who's struggling on the main roster following a dominant run in NXT), Jax promised to "splatter" Nikki A.S.H, Rhea Rhipley, and the champion Charlotte Flair. Jax would deliver on every threat she made. Rhipley would defeat Bazler before Jax took her and Nikki out with power and physicality. Then later on in her match with Raw Women's Champion Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax would survive the champions onslaught before spiking Flair into the canvas for a decisively clean pinfall victory. Establishing her dominance over the entire women's roster and a credible threat to the Queen's 12th reign.

RKBro Closes the Show

The main event of Monday Night Raw would pit the All-Mighty WWE champion and his manager MVP against RKBro in their first title defense since winning the tag titles nine days ago at SummerSlam. MVP noticeably was in the match for a very long period, taking a beating from Orton and Riddle as the plan to keep Lashley fresh was the right call. Towards the end of the championship bout, AJ Styles & Omos who had been part of the announce team during the main event would get involved. Orton managed to fight off Lashley + Styles while Riddle took care of Omos long enough to turn his attention back to MVP. After Riddle hit MVP with the floating bro clinching the successful title defense, Lashley would spear Riddle before taking the RKO. This would surely send fans home happy with a win from the fan favorites.

Other Significant Developments

  • Lost in Nia's dominance was the continued struggles of Shayna Blazer, once the dominant force, is now struggling to keep the aura she had built so well for herself in NXT
  • The Vikings squashed Mahal and Veer as they eye the raw tag titles
  • Karrion Kross continued his dominant run through raw
  • Styles & Omos both had singles victories over quality opponents as they also look to regain the tag titles
  • Eva Marie & Doudrop grudge match ends in NO contest after pre-match attack from Doudrop
  • Every champion on Raw competed tonight, with the Women's(Charlotte Flair) and Men's (Bobbly Lashley) champions both losing on the same night. The champions who defended their titles retained.