WWE RAW Results: September 26, 2016

Detailed Results

One night after besting Rusev at Clash of Champions to become the brand new United States Champion, RAW would kick off with the prestigious championship on the line as, in a Clash of Champions rematch, new United States Champion Roman Reigns would defend the gold against “The Bulgarian Brute” Rusev, with Lana in his corner. Throughout the title match, Rusev’s game plan would become clear as the challenger would methodically work on the lower back of Roman Reigns, attempting to wear the champion down with submissions and high impact moves with the ever resilient Reigns doing his best to fight through the pain. Late in the match, Rusev would avoid the Superman Punch before leveling Reigns with the Bulgarian Boot, but Roman kicks out. Rusev then looks for the Accolade, but the champion battles back, dropping the challenger with the Superman Punch, but Rusev was able to kick out. Roman then sizes Rusev up for the Spear, but Lana gets on the ring apron to try and distract Roman, but the champion would not fall for it.

The title match then spills to the outside as Roman and Rusev fight into the crowd as the referee reaches his ten-count as the match ends in a double count-out. However, that would not stop the fight between Reigns and Rusev as Rusev brings the champion back to ringside, sending Reigns into the ring mat and into the barricade before Roman fights back, sending “The Bulgarian Brute” into the barricade. Roman then runs and leaps off of the steel steps at Rusev, but Rusev catches Reigns in the mid-section with a steel chair shot! “The Bulgarian Brute” then delivers a second chair shot to the back before bringing Roman back into the ring, looking to do further damage with the chair, but Roman catches Rusev with the Spear, leaving Rusev laid out! The United States Champion then grabs his title belt before setting his sights on the steel chair and, after sitting in the chair and staring down at Rusev, Roman decides to use the chair for a bit of retribution as the champion delivers a chair shot to the back of “The Bulgarian Brute”. Rusev then rolls out of the ring with pain etched on his face as Reigns stands tall in the ring.

After the final match in the Best of Seven Series between Cesaro and Sheamus at Clash of Champions ended in a No Contest after both men were unable to continue, RAW General Manager Mick Foley would appear on RAW to address the questions surrounding the Best of Seven Series. Foley says that the Best of Seven Series ended in what was thought to be a “mathematical impossibility” before the GM brings both competitors to the ring. First, Foley introduces Sheamus as “The Celtic Warrior” makes his way to the ring, limping and bandaged up from the match at Clash of Champions. With Sheamus in the ring, the GM then introduces Cesaro as “The Swiss Superman” joins his rival in the ring, taped up and visibly hurting. Sheamus says that Foley told them that the man who was “more physically dominant” in the series would get a championship opportunity, saying that he didn’t come out there for some flimsy excuse.

Sheamus then says that, if he is not the man who Foley saw as being more physically dominant in the Best of Seven Series, then he doesn’t know what series the GM was watching. Cesaro says that he was “ready to fight” at Clash of Champions while Sheamus “scurried away” with Sheamus arguing that he was forced to the back. This sparks an argument between Sheamus and Cesaro before both men declare that they are “done” with each other. Foley would then stop the arguing by declaring that Sheamus is right, but so is Cesaro. The GM then says that Cesaro and Sheamus brought out the best in each other and, in good conscience, he cannot say that one of them was the “winner” of the series and one of them was the “loser”. Foley then declares that he is giving both of them their championship opportunity, saying that Cesaro and Sheamus will team together to challenge for the RAW Tag Team Titles! This enrages both Cesaro and Sheamus as both Superstars express their disdain for each other and unwillingness to work together. Foley then tells Cesaro and Sheamus that, if they decide to accept the title match, they will face the winners of the following match.

After the title match at Clash of Champions ended with Xavier Woods hitting Karl Anderson with his trombone behind the back of the referee to help The New Day retain the RAW Tag Team Titles, the rematch would take place on RAW as, on their 400th day as tag team champions, The New Day’s Big E & Kofi Kingston, with Xavier Woods in their corner, would defend the RAW Tag Team Titles against Gallows & Anderson. During the match, Big E would put his own body on the line to deliver his signature Spear to Karl Anderson off of the ring apron to the floor. Big E would then bring Anderson back into the ring as he and Kofi Kingston hit the Midnight Hour, but Luke Gallows would break up the pinfall attempt. Kofi then sends Gallows to the outside before Kofi tags in Big E as Kofi would then go for a dive to the outside, but Gallows would pull Kofi out of the ring, sending Kingston into the steel steps, busting Kofi open as a result.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ring, Anderson would catch Big E with a kick to the back of the head, following it up with a neckbreaker from the top rope. Anderson then tags Gallows as Gallows & Anderson hit the Magic Killer on Big E, but Kofi is able to break up the pinfall at the last second! Gallows then knocks Xavier Woods down with a kick to the head before tagging Anderson back into the match as Big E tags out to Kofi. The bloody Kingston then sends Gallows to the outside before Kofi catches Anderson with Trouble in Paradise, pinning Anderson to successfully retain the RAW Tag Team Titles for The New Day.

It was then revealed that, during the WWE Universal Title match between Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins at Clash of Champions, Rollins would suffer damage to his ribs and, as a result, will be unable to compete this week on RAW.

Backstage, Cesaro and Sheamus are still arguing over the decision made by RAW General Manager Mick Foley before Foley comes in to try and set them straight. The GM says that Cesaro and Sheamus “stole the show” at Clash of Champions and he can’t risk losing either one of them by allowing them to compete against each other again. Foley then says that, together, they can “change the face of tag team wrestling” and that, sometimes, you put two guys together who don’t like each other and they “create magic”. The GM then concludes by saying that, if they let him put them out there as a team, they will be “amazing”.

After coming up short in the Triple Threat Match for the RAW Women’s Championship at Clash of Champions, Bayley was in action on RAW as Bayley would face local competitor Anna Fields. In the end, it was Bayley scoring with the Bayley-to-Belly, pinning Anna Fields for the win. After the match, Bayley is interviewed about the Triple Threat Match the night before, saying that Charlotte and Sasha are leading the RAW Women’s Division, but she’s not going anywhere and she is not going to stop until she’s “hugging” the RAW Women’s Championship.

Backstage, RAW General Manager Mick Foley confronts RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon over what transpired at Clash of Champions. The GM says that, during the WWE Universal Title match, the referee was down for several minutes while Chris Jericho got involved in the match before Stephanie “conveniently” brings out a second referee just in time for Kevin Owens to hit the Pop-Up Powerbomb and retain the title. Foley continues, saying that WWE.com then showed footage of Stephanie’s husband Triple H arriving in a limousine after Clash of Champions before the husband and wife get in the limo together. Stephanie explains to Foley that Triple H showed up after Clash of Champions because he wasn’t able to see the show in person so he came to the arena to ask Stephanie how it went. The Commissioner then says that the one thing that “wasn’t great” was what happened during the main event.

Stephanie then turns the tables on Foley, saying that the referee for the title match was down for quite a while before asking the GM whose job it is to “protect the integrity” of the main event. After Foley admits that it’s his job, Stephanie says that it’s great that Foley was checking on Cesaro and Sheamus after their match at Clash of Champions, saying that she didn’t hire Foley for his “medical expertise”. Stephanie continues to grill Foley, saying that she hired the best doctors in the world to take care of the Superstars and she hired Foley for his “brains” and to be a “businessman”. Stephanie then says that she needs Foley to not let his “ego” get in the way before Foley says that he was “out of line” before saying that, if Foley wants to continue being the RAW General Manager, then he needs to prove that he is “worthy” of the job and prove that he can think like a “businessman”. Stephanie then tells Foley to be the businessman that she hired and to never forget who he works for.

Then it was time for the Cruiserweight portion of RAW as Rich Swann would team with Cedric Alexander to face the debuting Drew Gulak and Lince Dorado in tag team action. At the end of a thrilling tag match, it was Rich Swann hitting the Rich Kick on Drew Gulak before rolling Gulak up with the bridge to pick up the win for himself and Cedric Alexander.

Forced to team together by RAW General Manager Mick Foley, “The Swiss Superman” Cesaro would reluctantly team with “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus to face local competitors Nick Cutler and Willis Williams. In what would turn into a game of one-upsmanship between Cesaro and Sheamus, Cesaro would go for the Neutralizer but Sheamus would come in and drop both Nick Cutler and Willis Williams with Brogue Kicks before Cesaro reluctantly pins Cutler as, for better or for worse, Cesaro and Sheamus win their first match as a team.

Backstage, an interview with Cruiserweight Champion T.J. Perkins is interrupted by Brian Kendrick as Kendrick tells the champion that the Cruiserweight Championship was resurrected for him. Kendrick then says that TJP “owes” him for the title and owes him for his career, saying that he wants Perkins to soak up the “spotlight” because, the next time they meet in the ring, that is when TJP is going to “wake up” from his dream.

After she was narrowly able to retain the RAW Women’s Title, thanks in large part to her protégé Dana Brooke, in a Triple Threat Match against Sasha Banks and Bayley at Clash of Champions, RAW Women’s Champion Charlotte and her protégé Dana Brooke would make their way to the ring on RAW. The champion says that Clash of Champions was her night and proved why she is the “queen” of the RAW Women’s Division. Charlotte then says that, month after month, a new woman emerges and the fans think that they are going to be the one to take the title away from her. The champion continues, saying that she is not the “lovable” Bayley and she is not the “internet darling” Sasha Banks because she is the “money maker”.

This brings out Sasha Banks as “The Boss” says that Clash of Champions may have been Charlotte’s night, but the RAW Women’s Title still belongs to her. Sasha then points out that she was not pinned in the Triple Threat Match and she is still owed her one-on-one rematch for the title and she wants her rematch right now! Charlotte says that as good as Sasha thinks she is, she is “that much better”. The champion then says that Sasha has “earned it” and she will give “The Boss” her shot at the RAW Women’s Title, but she will get the title match next week. Charlotte then says that, if she didn’t give Sasha a rematch, Sasha would “boohoo” all the way to Mick Foley to try and get her way. The champion then says that, as much as she has beaten Sasha down, Sasha continues to get back up.

A determined Sasha then tells Charlotte that she is going to show Charlotte and the world that she is the face of the RAW Women’s Division when she takes back her Women’s Title. “The Boss” then slaps Charlotte across the face before locking Dana Brooke in the Bank Statement. Charlotte then tries to capitalize on the numbers advantage by attacking Sasha, but Sasha fights back, sending the RAW Women’s Champion out of the ring. Charlotte and Dana Brooke then regroup on the ramp as Sasha Banks stares down the RAW Women’s Champion, clearly ready for her title match next week.

Despite not being cleared to compete, Seth Rollins would look to be on his way to the ring when he is stopped by RAW General Manager Mick Foley backstage. Rollins tells the GM that he intends to go out there and get involved in The Highlight Reel. Seth says that she saw Stephanie get in the limo with Triple H and he’s not going to sit back and let Kevin Owens talk about what happened at Clash of Champions. Foley tried to talk Rollins down, but Seth says that he sees Mick’s mouth moving but he only hears Stephanie’s words coming out before Rollins walks away from the GM.

Following a successful defense of the Cruiserweight Championship against Brian Kendrick at Clash of Champions, the Cruiserweight Champion would make his RAW debut as T.J. Perkins would face Tony Nese in a non-title match. In the end, it was T.J. Perkins locking in the knee bar on Tony Nese, making Nese tap out as the Cruiserweight Champion picks up the win.

Then it was time for The Highlight Reel as, after lending a major assist to his best friend Kevin Owens to help Owens retain the WWE Universal Title against Seth Rollins at Clash of Champions, Chris Jericho would make his way to the ring with his “List of Jericho”. After putting a cameraman on the List of Jericho, Jericho says that he is also putting Seth Rollins in the list because Rollins got injured at Clash of Champions, pointing out that he’s never been injured in his WWE career. “Y2J” then introduces his guest as Jericho’s best friend and WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens makes his way to the ring. Jericho says that, at Clash of Champions, Owens showed what it means to be a champion. The champion then says that he proved at Clash of Champions that he should have been the #1 Draft pick for RAW and he, not Seth Rollins, is “the man”.

Owens then says that, not only did he beat Rollins and retain the WWE Universal Title, he “hurt” Rollins before calling the injury “karma”. The champion then points out that, for the past year and a half, Rollins has been injuring guys such as John Cena, WWE Hall of Famer Sting, and, most recently, Finn Balor. Owens continues, saying that Seth might have been the “most dangerous man in WWE” but he beat Seth at Clash of Champions so that makes him the “most dangerous man in WWE”.

This brings out Seth Rollins as Seth makes a beeline for the ring, but he is quickly stopped by agents, security, and RAW General Manager Mick Foley. With agents and security keeping Seth at bay, Owens would continue to badger Seth Rollins, telling Rollins to go “redesign, rebuild, reclaim” his couch. Enzo & Big Cass then come out with their signature introduction with Chris Jericho saying that everything was going fine until they came out, saying that he is putting Enzo & Big Cass on the list. After calling Jericho “Santy Claus” for having a list, Jericho threatens to come down there and sit on Big Cass’ lap! Jericho then denies saying that, leading to Big Cass polling the crowd, who overwhelmingly support hearing what Jericho said. Owens then says that they are going to punch them in the face with Jericho adding that they don’t have a match tonight. However, Big Cass informs Owens & Jericho that they were informed by Mick Foley that they do have a match and it’s against them right now!

In an impromptu main event, Enzo & Big Cass would face WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens and his best friend Chris Jericho in tag team action. During the match, Big Cass would take Chris Jericho out with a big boot that sends both men to the outside before Kevin Owens plants Enzo Amore with a powerbomb, pinning Enzo to pick up the win for Jeri-KO. The best friends then celebrate their win as Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho once again end the show the victors.

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