Post by Slade on Feb 27, 2022 11:36:53 GMT -5
Live from Moda Center in
Portland, Oregon
On Monday, February 14, 2022
WWE Commentary Team: Mauro Ranallo, Tony Schiavone and Corey Graves
WWE Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel
WWE Backstage Reporter: Mean Gene Okerlund
***
Bianca Belair defeated Ruby Riot by pinfall at 10:38 to retain the RAW Women’s Championship. With a referee distraction from Liv Morgan and interference from Sarah Logan, Ruby Riot got the advantage and hit a Riot Kick. She pinned Belair, but the champ kicked out. Riot went to the top rope and attempted the We Riot diving senton, but Belair put her knees up, then picked up Riot and gave her the Kiss of Death for the win. After the match, Morgan and Logan jumped in the ring to beat down Belair. She was saved when Toni Storm and Jordynne Grace ran down to the ring, causing The Riot Squad to flee.
Mean Gene Okerlund spoke to the RAW Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero to get his thoughts on tonight’s main event to decide who will face him at NO WAY OUT. Guerrero said it didn’t matter who won the match because whatever building the Latino Heat enters, he is always the smartest and most athletic wrestler in it. No one out-thinks or out-wrestles him, and no one can lie, cheat, or steal as well as he can. Before he could say anything more The Bastard PAC showed up to say that the reason no one has ever out-wrestled Guerrero is because he’s never wrestled him. If he prove he is the best, he should step inside the ring against him. Guerrero said that he’s seen PAC in action and he is impressive, but if he wants a match with the Latino Heat, he’ll have to beat Adam Cole and Finn Balor to get it. “If that’s what I have to do, then that’s what I’m gonna do,” said PAC.
Tommaso Ciampa defeated Montez Ford by pinfall at 8:32. Ciampa was in control for most of the match, but Ford rallied off a jawjacker. When he knocked Ciampa down with a superkick, he went to the top rope and attempted a frog splash. Ciampa moved out of the way. He got up and struck Ford with a running knee to the side of the head before giving him the Fairy Tale Ending to secure the win. Ciampa was joined in the ring by Kevin Owens to celebrate. With a pair of wins over the Street Profits in singles competition, Ciampa are Owens are looking good going into a tag team match versus Ford and Dawkins next week.
Mean Gene caught up with Ricky Steamboat to get his reaction to losing a rematch for the RAW Tag Team Championships to FTR last week. Steamboat said it was a tough loss. Apparently, regaining the titles wasn’t meant to be. When asked what was next for Steamboat, he said that he would go back to focusing on his singles career. Having been both a Tag Team and Intercontinental Champion, there’s only one title left for him to go after to achieve the triple crown – the RAW World Championship. Keith Lee walked in and said that he couldn’t help overhearing Steamboat say he wanted to go after the world championship after costing the team a chance to regain the tag straps. He said that Steamboat’s poor decision to make a blind tag cost them the gold. This spurred an argument that led to Lee saying that maybe he too would now go after the World Championship, which led Steamboat to bring up how Lee eliminated him at Royal Rumble, making him think that Lee is always trying to take his opportunities from him. Lee said he would take whatever he wanted to because he is limitless. Steamboat said that his limit would be meeting him in the ring one-on-one. Lee said that if that was a challenge, it is a challenge accepted and told Steamboat that he would meet him at NO WAY OUT.
Pete Dunne defeated Gillberg by pinfall at 2:13. Dunne manipulated Gillberg’s fingers after no-selling a spear attempt, and then gave him the Bitter End to finish him off. After the match, Dunne called out Shawn Michaels, saying it was time for the Heartbreak Kid to face him like a man. Shawn Michaels came out and said that he wasn’t afraid of getting into a fist fight. He had been waiting an entire week to knock Dunne’s teeth down his throat. He started walking towards the ring, when several referees and security officials ran out and blocked his access to the ring. Dunne called him a sissy boy for letting a pack of safari animals prevent him from coming to the ring. Michaels made an effort to break through the wall of referees, but when he finally succeeded, Dunne nailed him with a suicide dive. Dunne hammered away at him with several forearms before bringing him to his feet and sending him crashing into the steel ring steps. The referees prevented Dunne from doing anything more. He left with a look of smug satisfaction on his face.
Harlem Heat defeated Stevie Richards and Blue Meanine by pinfall at 9:08 to advantage to the semi-finals of the UWA Universal Tag Team Championships title shot tournament. Stevie Ray pinned Blue Meanie after he and his brother, Booker T, executed the Towering Inferno on him.
AJ Styles came to the ring. He challenged Triple H to a match, one-on-one, with no one else from the Bullet Club or the Heenan Family there. He wanted to know if The Game was man enough to play the game by myself. Bobby “The Brain” Heenan came out and told Styles that he was dumber than all these humanoids in Portland. Triple H is undefeated against Styles. He’s beat him for the title twice now. Styles might think he still has something more to prove, but Triple H has nothing more to prove. Styles said he had yet to prove that he could beat him without interference from the Heenan Family. Heenan told Styles that Triple H is the greatest wrestler in the world and he needed better competition than what the Bullet Club has to offer, so there won’t be another re-match. And this thing between the Bullet Club and Heenan Family is finished. It’s over. Styles said it wasn’t over. It’ll never be over until the Heenan Family gets put in its place. Heenan said, “Suit yourself”. FTR started walking down the entrance ramp. Styles readied himself for a fight, but was hit from behind with a sledgehammer shot to the back of the head from Triple H.. Triple H took the mic and asked Styles, who was left unconscious on the mat, whether he still thought it wasn’t over.
Matt Hardy defeated Johnny “The Bull” Stamboli by pinfall at 4:48. Stamboli went for a clothesline on Hardy, but he ducked it and executed a side effect. After that, Hardy went for the cover, but Little Guido distracted the ref as Chuck Palumbo jumped in the ring to interfere. Jeff Hardy jumped in the ring and cut him off, taking himself and Palumbo over the top rope with a running clothesline. Stamboli tried for a roll-up with a handful of tights, but Hardy kicked out and then executed the Twist of Fate to secure the win.
Mean Gene Okerlund caught up with “Macho Man” Randy Savage, with the lovely Miss Elizabeth, and Samoa Joe to ask them about their unsuccessful foray into tag team competition a week ago. Savage said that it was too bad that things didn’t work out before last week, but that’s just how the cookie crumbles sometimes. There’s no time to dwell on it because there are other prizes out there, ones that you don’t need to rely on anyone but yourself to win, like the RAW World Championship. Samoa Joe was offended that Savage so quickly wants to move on without so much as to give him an apology. Savage wondered why he owes Joe an apology. Joe said it was because Savage blew Joe’s only opportunity to regain UWA Universal Championship gold when Savage hit him with a double axehandle, wrecking their chances of moving on. Savage said he seems to remember Joe getting pinned for the 3-count, so if there’s any blame to go around, it belongs to him. As tensions built, with Mean Gene stuck in the middle, Joe slapped Savage in the mouth. He responded by attacking Joe. Miss Elizabeth got out of harm’s way and hollered for help. Referees showed up. Savage pushed out of his way, but that gave Joe an opening to bury a knee into his abdomen and then put him in the Coquina Clutch. Joe held on until Savage passed out.
PAC defeated Adam Cole and Finn Balor by pinfall at 22:34 to earn the opportunity to challenge RAW Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero at NO WAY OUT. Before the match started, PAC came out and announced that this match was now a triple threat with him in it. That didn’t sit well with Cole nor Balor, but the Bastard just slapped with both in the faces and told them to try to beat him if they didn’t like it. It was full-throttle, high-energy, fast-paced from the start to finish. There were close calls for all men in this one. PAC trapping Cole in the Brutalizer. Cole was on the verge of tapping out when Balor broke it up. Later, Cole executed the Panama Sunrise on Balor and got a 2-count before PAC broke up the pin. Balor hit the Coup de Grâce on PAC and pinned him for a 2-count before Cole broke up the pin. Later, after PAC had received a brainbuster on the apron from Balor, it was Balor and Cole doing battle in the ring. After Balor blocked a rebound superkick attempt, he gave Cole the 1916 DDT and went for the cover. 1…2.. Bobby Heenan pulled the referee out of position to finish the count. The referee banished Heenan from ringside. As he protested, Triple H and FTR came down to the ring. Triple H carried his sledgehammer with him. AJ Styles and the Good Brothers ran down and prevented them from interfering. Triple H used his sledgehammer to knock down Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. He was readying to give Styles another sledgehammer shot when Balor took him out with an over-the-top-rope suicide somersault senton. As FTR took the fight to Balor, PAC got back in the ring. He ducked an attack from Cole and executed a handspring backflip tornado DDT. Then, he went to the top rope and executed the Black Arrow to get the win.
***
Next week on RAW
Shawn Michaels & Randy Savage vs. Samoa Joe & Pete Dunne
Bianca Belair, Toni Storm & Jordynne Grace vs. Ruby Riot, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan
Street Profits vs. Kevin Owens & Tomasso Ciampa
And more!
Shawn Michaels & Randy Savage vs. Samoa Joe & Pete Dunne
Bianca Belair, Toni Storm & Jordynne Grace vs. Ruby Riot, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan
Street Profits vs. Kevin Owens & Tomasso Ciampa
And more!