6/17 WWE Raw Results: Powell’s review of Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan, Baron Corbin reveals the special referee for the WWE Championship match at Stomping Grounds, Braun Strowman vs. The Miz vs. Ricochet vs. Cesaro vs. Bobby Lashley in a five-way for a shot at the U.S. Championship

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Aired live on June 17, 2019 from Los Angeles, California at Staples Center

[Hour One] Ring announcer Mike Rome introduced Elias, who was seated in the ring on his stool with his guitar in hand. Elias said he spoke with NBA player Anthony Davis and asked him why he would want to move to Los Angeles. Elias said Davis said he’s a piece of garbage and he needs to surround himself with other pieces of garbage.

Elias said he’d rather be anywhere other than Los Angeles, but he was invited by Baron Corbin. Elias removed some clothing and showed off a referee tank top. Elias claimed that Baron Corbin selected him to be the special referee for the WWE Universal Championship match at the Stomping Grounds event.

Seth Rollins appeared in the ring behind Elias and hit him with a chair. Rollins beat Elias with the chair until he fled the ring. Rollins said that he is done playing games after everything he’s been through with Brock Lesnar. Rollins said what he did to Elias is a warning to anyone who agrees to be the special referee for Baron Corbin… The broadcast team of Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Renee Young checked in…

The Miz made his entrance for the five-way match to determine the No. 1 contender to the U.S. Championship. Once in the ring, Miz performed his Skull Crushing Finale on Elias. Bobby Lashley made his entrance for the match and speared Elias. Cesaro made his entrance and gave Elias the Swing. Ricochet made his entrance and performed a Codebreaker on Elias. Braun Strowman was the last man out and he performed a running power slam on Elias. Cole hyped the five-way match as coming up after the break… [C]

Powell’s POV: Good pacing for the opening segment with Elias insulting the crowd, Rollins attacking him, and the five-way wrestlers all performing their finishers on him. I guess we can add blindsiding a hapless heel with a chairshot to his strange behavior for a babyface to go along with low-blowing his way to the Universal Title and pissing and moaning about Brock Lesnar not telling him when he’ll cash in his Money in the Bank contract even though Rollins took the same approach when he had the MITB contract.

1. Braun Strowman vs. The Miz vs. Ricochet vs. Cesaro vs. Bobby Lashley in a five-way elimination match for a shot at the U.S. Championship at WWE Stomping Grounds. Samoa Joe sat in a chair at ringside while holding the U.S. Championship. Cesaro performed an early Death Valley Driver on Strowman. A short time later, Strowman caught Lashley going for a spear and powerslammed him onto Cesaro. Strowman pinned Cesaro to eliminate him from the match.

Strowman performed another powerslam on Lashley and eliminated him from the match. Strowman hoisted up Miz for his finisher, but Lashley speared him. Cesaro performed a Neutralizer on Strowman. The heels stood by and watched as Ricochet performed his 630 splash on Strowman. Cesaro and Lashley held down Strowman while Ricochet pinned him. Strowman recovered and then tossed Ricochet over the top rope and onto Lashley. Strowman chased Cesaro up the ramp and shoved him into the entrance screen. [C]

Powell’s POV: WWE has gone way overboard in booking cheap finishes/eliminations due to disqualifications not being allowed in Triple Threats, four-ways, five-ways, etc. By the way, an ad aired locally for Raw coming to St. Paul at the Xcel Energy Center on August 19. For what it’s worth, they are advertising Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin, and AJ Styles and Becky Lynch for the show.

Ricochet and The Miz were the remaining entrants in the five-way coming out of the break. Miz applied a figure four, which Ricochet reversed by rolling over. Miz powered him back over, then Ricochet grabbed the bottom rope to break the hold. Later, Miz went for a springboard move and Ricochet hit him with a one-legged Codebreaker on the way down. Ricochet followed up with a 630 splash and scored the pin…

Ricochet defeated The Miz, Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley, and Cesaro in a five-way in 14:20 to earn a U.S. Title shot at Stomping Grounds.

After the match, Joe attacked Ricochet from behind. Ricochet ended up holding the top rope down and Joe tumbled to ringside, then Ricochet performed a dive onto him and went back to the ring to continue celebrating. The broadcast team hyped Joe vs. Ricochet for Stomping Grounds…

Powell’s POV: Ricochet had a much better outing this week after being off with a couple of his dives last week. Joe vs. Ricochet is now the most appealing match on a Stomping Grounds show filled with rematches of some matches that I didn’t even want to see in the first place. I’m not sure why creative felt the need to make the five-way an elimination match when they could have simply had Ricochet pin Miz without having all of the other take pinfall losses.

A shot aired of Daniel Bryan and Rowan walking backstage, then a separate shot aired of Becky Lynch while Cole said Lynch was there to confront Lacey Evans… [C]

Cole touted that the show was in Los Angles. A photo showed Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch kissing at the red carpet event for the MTV Movie & TV Awards…

Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch made her entrance for a promo. Lynch said Lacey Evans likes to curry favors backstage, and she could do the fans a favor by kicking Lacey’s ass all over Los Angeles. Evans came out and said Hollywood should make a movie about her because her life is a heck of a story. She noted that she’s a real United States Marine.

Evans said she could attend bootcamp by morning and run a cotillion by night. Evans said she’s what the women’s division deserves. Evans entered the ring and Lynch grabbed her and performed an exploder suplex. Lynch’s music played and she left the ring. Lynch put on Evans’ hat and backed up the ramp whild holding up her title belt…

Cole hyped Roman Reigns appearing later in the show… The Revival were shown walking backstage with their newly won Raw Tag Titles. They entered Shane McMahon’s office and joined Shane and Drew McIntyre in sipping champagne…

Charly Caruso interviewed Baron Corbin on the backstage interview set and asked if he’s scrambling to find a new special referee for Sunday now that Elias is out. Corbin confessed that Elias was his first choice, but he said he already has a replacement in mind and will discuss it on a special edition of The Kevin and Sami Show. Rollins hit Corbin from behind with a chair…

The Viking Raiders were shown putting on their helmets backstage. Cole hyped them as being in action after the break… [C]

Powell’s POV: Reigns, Daniel Bryan, Rowan, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Elias, and Drew McIntyre have all appeared or will appear on the show. Whatever happened to that four wild card limit?

Smackdown Tag Champions Daniel Bryan and Rowan made their entrance and delivered a promo on the stage. Bryan said Raw and Los Angeles suck, so he understands why the McMahons needed him to appear. Bryan said Los Angeles is the smog capital of America and is filled with ignorant and impotent people. Bryan said he and Rowan were there to educate and excite the fans.

Bryan said he would excite the fans by destroying Rollins and prove that one half of the Smackdown Tag Champions are better than the entire Raw roster. The Viking Raiders made their entrance and exchanged glares with Bryan and Rowan before heading to the ring. Cole teased the possibility of the Viking Raiders showing up as wild card wrestlers on Smackdown and challenging Bryan and Rowan….

2. “The Viking Raiders” Erik and Ivar vs. local wrestlers. The Viking Raiders hit their Viking Experience finisher on one of the locals and scored the quick pin…

The Viking Raiders defeated two local wrestlers in 0:35.

The camera showed fans booing in the front row. R-Truth and Carmella were wearing disguises in the crowd (Truth looked like a British soldier and had a baby doll, and Carmella was dressed as Charlie Chaplin). The usual suspects ran out and went after Truth, who escaped under the ring and ran out the other side with his WWE 24/7 challengers in hot pursuit…

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were shown going over their talkshow questions with Baron Corbin… [C]

Heath Slater entered Shane’s VIP room where Shane, McIntyre, and The Revival were having steak and lobster. Heath Slater showed up and the sound was poor. Cole filled time until the mics were turned on. Slater asked for a raise due to his kids getting older and everything being more expensive. Shane said it took balls and he understands because he has kids too. Shane said no, then said he’d let Slater leave his private party like a man.

Slater went to the hallway and made a call. Drew McIntyre followed and teased giving him money, which he dropped on the ground. When Slater went to pick it up, McIntyre attacked him with punches. The Revival came out and pulled off McIntyre, and pocketed some of the cash…

[Hour Two] Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn sat in the ring and hosted The Kevin and Sami Show. Owens delivered the over the top introduction for Baron Corbin, who joined them in the ring. Sami withdrew himself from consideration as the special referee position after he was attacked last week. Owens said out of respect for Zayn he was doing the same.

Corbin introduced EC3 as the special referee for Sunday. EC3 made his entrance wearing a referee shirt and was the only one surprised when Rollins attacked him from behind with a chair. Corbin grumbled and said it looked like it was back to the drawing board.

New Day made their entrance while Cole played them up as wild card. Sami said he checked the lineup and New Day are not wild cards. He asked them to politely leave the building. Kofi Kingston said he’s WWE Champion, meaning he goes where he wants, when he wants, and he’ll bring his boys with him because it’s what they want.

Kingston said he has Dolph Ziggler right where he wants him in the cage match. Corbin suggested he, Owens, and Zayn give New Day a beating and send them back to Smackdown where they belong. Woods said it sounds like a challenge and said if only they had an official to sanction the match. Big E and Xavier Woods picked up EC3, who acted knocked out while nodded his head and Kingston spoke for him while turning his back to the camera. Cole hyped the six-man tag match for after the break… [C]

Powell’s POV: Why is there a brand split? Seriously, they should just give up the wild card rule since it’s broken every week. I was actually intrigued for about half-second by the thought of EC3 being named special referee, but then I naturally assumed that he would get his ass kicked by Rollins. Perhaps Corbin should name R-Truth as his special referee since he’s shown the ability to run away and avoid potential attackers?

AJ Styles was in the trainer’s room asking a trainer what else he needed to do. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson showed up dressed in lab coats and said they’d take it from here. Styles recalled that the duo made their WWE debut at Staples Center. They all agreed that they were cool in Japan. Styles said they had classic matches and then listed the Usos as the best team on the planet.

Styles said Anderson and Gallows got comfortable. He said they made a lot of money in WWE. He asked Anderson and Gallows when they last won a match or were on Raw or even on WWE television. Gallows and Anderson removed their garb and said they would give Styles serious when they face the Usos…

Powell’s POV: This was the most intriguing moment of the night with Styles attempting to light a fire under Anderson and Gallows. We’ll see where it goes.

3. “New Day” Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods vs. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Baron Corbin in a best of three falls match. Woods was isolated by the heel trio early on. Woods rolled up Zayn and pinned him going into a break. [C]

Big E took punishment from the heels coming out of the break and then made a hot tag to Kingston, who worked over Corbin. Kingston performed a frogsplash style cross body block for a near fall. Zayn distracted Kingston, allowing Corbin to perform a Deep Six. Corbin had the pin, but E and Woods broke it up. Kingston ducked a Corbin clothesline, which resulted in Corbin accidentally hitting Zayn. Owens and Corbin pushed and shoved one another, then Owens superkicked Corbin. Owens and Zayn left. Kingston hit Trouble in Paradise on Corbin and pinned him…

New Day defeated Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Baron Corbin two falls to none.

Powell’s POV: Did they make this a best of three falls match because there’s an unwritten rule that Zayn must be pinned every week? I realize they gave Corbin an out for losing, but why in the world would they have the weak heel challenger lose six days before he faces the babyface champion on pay-per-view? I wonder if Bray Wyatt will turn out to be special referee. Lord knows the match needs a hook and that would create some intrigue.

Backstage, Alexa Bliss gave Nikki Cross a coffee mug with a piece of paper inside. Nikki read the scroll that invited her to join Bliss in a tag title match against The IIconics. Bliss said she worked her magic and got them a title shot. Bliss said that when she becomes champion, WWE will finally have a women’s champion who knows how to treat fans. Cross asked what she meant. Bliss said it was just more Bayley drama and Cross didn’t need to worry about it…

Paul Heyman was shown straightening his tie backstage while Cole wondered if Brock Lesnar was present with the Money in the Bank contract… [C]

Paul Heyman entered the ring for a promo and delivered his usual self introduction. Heyman looked at the stage and said he’s uncomfortable being out there given that Rollins had been smashing people with a chair all night long. Heyman pointed out that he’s not a physical threat to Rollins. Heyman emphasized that he will not be the special referee on Sunday at Stomping Grounds and would respectfully decline if it were offered to him.

Heyman said you have to be a dumbass to accept the job since it means you’ll be immediately beaten with a chair. Heyman asked what Rollins and the L.A. Lakers have in common. “They both traded away their balls,” Heyman said. He noted that the Lakers traded away their (Lonzo) Ball, and Rollins traded away his balls for a chair because that’s the only way he’s man enough to fight Lesnar.

Heyman said Lensar knows how to swing a chair pretty damn well himself. Heyman teased the possibility of Lesnar cashing in during Rollins’ match against Daniel Bryan. “Then again, maybe not,” Heyman added. “Maybe Sunday. Maybe next Monday. I don’t know. You don’t know. But most importantly, guess who doesn’t know? The soon to be former reigning, defending, undisputed Universal Heavyweight Champion Seth ‘Freakin” Rollins.” Heyman dropped the mic. Cole said the most pathetic thing about the statement is that Lesnar has driven Rollins to the point where he is today…

Backstage, Corbin told Eric Young to consider being special referee. Young shook his hand and said he’d think about it. Rollins showed up. Young said he doesn’t look good in stripes. Rollins told him to relax because they go back a long ways. Rollins teased leaving, then destroyed Young with chair shots…

Powell’s POV: The live crowd sat silently during the latest beatdown. They are probably becoming numb to all of the chair shots. I also wonder if some fans are thinking that Rollins is being a bit of a dick about this by blindsiding and beating up undercard talent.

The Usos delivered a brief backstage promo and closed with the “welcome to the Uso penitentiary” line… [C]

4. Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. The Usos were in the ring coming out of the break, and then Gallows and Anderson received a televised entrance. Gallows and Anderson performed an early Boot of Doom on one of the Usos for a near fall. AJ Styles was shown watching the match on a backstage monitor. Cole noted that Styles, Gallows, and Anderson “were part of a club” and that Gallows and Anderson were three-time former IWGP Tag Team Champions.

Anderson had Jey down when he decided to flash the Wolfpac sign. Anderson tagged in Gallows and they set up for the Magic Killer on Jey, but Jimmy broke it up with a superkick. Moments later, the Usos hit a double superkick on Gallows and Jimmy pinned him. Styles was shown looking frustrated by the loss. Graves said Anderson had the match all but won when he became too cocky…

The Usos defeated Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in 2:40.

Cole hyped Rollins vs. Bryan for later in the show and said that Rollins has never beaten Bryan in a singles match in WWE… A shot aired from inside Shane’s VIP party… Roman Reigns was shown walking backstage while Cole hyped him as coming up next… [C]

Powell’s POV: I’m in wait and see mode with Gallows and Anderson given the way they lost and the frustration that Styles showed. Hopefully this leads to something for them, as they’ve been absolutely wasted throughout their WWE run.

Cole noted that the U.S. women’s soccer team all seem to be fans of Hulk Hogan, who was then shown delivering a promo about the team beating Chile on Sunday. Cole noted that the U.S. team won that match and will play Sweden on Thursday on FS

Powell’s POV: Yep, Cole worked in a FS1 plug on USA Network. It will be interesting to see how much of that is allowed once Smackdown moves to Fox in October.

Roman Reigns made his entrance. A video package recapped Shane McMahon beating Reigns at WWE Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia. Reigns said Super ShowDown was not a good week for him. He said he wasn’t going to make excuses because excuses don’t entertain the fans. He said that whooping someone’s ass tonight would entertain the fans instead. Reigns called for Shane to prove he’s a man and face him in a singles match on the spot.

Shane appeared on the big screen and had ring announcer Mike Rome deliver his “best in the world” introduction. Shane said Reigns shouldn’t be ashamed of losing to the best in the world. The Revival checked in from behind Shane and mentioned how hot it was at Super ShowDown.

[Hour Three] Shane declined to face Reigns and told him he should be worried about facing Drew McIntyre on Sunday. McIntyre said Shane was the only reason he wasn’t out there hurting Reigns. McIntyre said he will physically assault Reigns until it becomes very uncomfortable and then he might consider pinning him. McIntyre said Reigns’s night will end when he physically disfigures him.

Reigns dropped the mic and left the ring. Reigns hopped the barricade and walked through the crowd and toward Shane’s backstage VIP room. The Revival met Reigns and were quickly destroyed by him. Reigns entered the VIP room and punched McIntyre. Reigns ended up putting McIntyre through a table, then chased Shane into the arena. Shane hopped the barricade and then Reigns leapt over the barricade and onto Shane. Reigns threw Shane into the barricade and then worked him over with punches before throwing him inside the ring.

Reigns hit Shane with a Superman Punch. Reigns went to the corner and let out his war cry before spearing Shane. A “Roman” chant broke out briefly. Reigns got a mic and said, “Crawl to the back and tell him I’m going to whip his ass on Sunday,” Reigns said. Roman’s music played and he left the ring…

Powell’s POV: Watch WWE Stomping Grounds to see Reigns face the guy he easily beat up backstage a moment ago?

Cole hyped the WWE Women’s Tag Title match for after the break. The IIconics were shown walking backstage… [C]

Cole hyped the WWE Women’s Tag Title match for after the break. The IIconics were shown walking backstage… [C] The broadcast team recapped Reigns destroying all the heels again…

Bayley was shown talking with Natalya and Naomi when Charly Caruso entered the room and asked about Bayley mistreating a fan. Apparently, Bayley didn’t take a photo with a fan who was wearing an Alexa Bliss t-shirt. Bayley said if it’s on the internet it must be true, then walked away…

The IIconics made their entrance and mocked the idea of facing Bliss and Cross. Billie Kay said Bliss and Cross remind her of the Lakers in that LeBron James was a champion and then he teamed with the Lakers and everyone knows how that turned out. Peyton Royce asked if they even made the playoffs. Kay said they didn’t even come close. The challengers made their entrance…

Mike Rome delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. Bayley made her entrance heading into a break… [C]

5. “The IIconics Peyton Royce and Billie Kay vs. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross for the WWE Women’s Tag Titles. Kay jawed at Bliss after the bell, and Bliss responded with a slap to the face. Later, Kay knocked Bliss off the apron. Bliss and Bayley went face to face, and Bliss pushed Bayley down. In the ring, Kay rolled up Cross. Bliss tried to return to the ring, but Bayley pulled her to ringside and yelled at her while Kay pinned Cross…

The IIconics defeated Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross in 3:30 to retain the Raw Tag Titles.

Powell’s POV: This was well booked in terms of Bliss manipulating the situation to convince Cross that Bayley is the bad person who cost them the match.

The broadcast team ran through the electrifying Stomping Grounds lineup. Cole noted that new subscribers can sign up free and get both Stomping Grounds and Extreme Rules. Young hyped the Firefly Funhouse segment for after the break… [C]

Backstage, Bliss apologized to Cross and they agreed they would be tag champions if it wasn’t for Bayley. Cross said Bliss was right. Cross said Bayley crushed her feelings, and now she wants to be in Alexa’s corner at Stomping Grounds to see Bliss do the same to Bayley…

The latest Firefly Funhouse video aired. Bray Wyatt was watering flowers. He said our minds are just like gardens. He said you need water and a little bit of sunshine to make your ideas grow. He said some ideas are full of worms and that’s no good. Wyatt said people will always lie to you. He said your parents probably told you that the earth is round, but he questioned whether they have traveled all around the world. He said your teachers probably told you that dinosaurs are extinct, but what do they know.

Wyatt said he knows what it’s like to feel different. He said he built the Funhouse so we could all be together. All of his puppet characters were shown. He said he wants you call to join them so the fun never has to end. The puppets asked viewers to join them. Wyatt said people worship what they fear and fear is power. “Follow the leader,” he said. Various images appeared on the screen including “Let Him In” along with past clips from the Funhouse segments. A child could be heard singing “Follow the leader” as a shot of Wyatt’s “The Fiend” masked persona was shown…

Caruso interviewed Bryan and Rowan backstage and asked if Bryan was ready to face the ultra aggressive Rollins. Bryan asked Caruso why no one had the common sense to take the chair out of Seth’s hands. He said it’s all about to end. Bryan said that without a chair, Rollins is not a better wrestler than him. Bryan noted that Rollins has never beaten him and said he never will…

A shot aired of Rollins walking backstage. Rollins crossed paths with Becky Lynch and showed her his chair… [C]

Powell’s POV: I hope Wyatt is the special referee on Sunday if this has been well planned. I don’t think there’s anyone else from the main roster who could be in that role and sell viewers on Stomping Grounds.

An ad for Smackdown hyped Dolph Ziggler vs. Xavier Woods, and A Moment of Bliss with Bayley as the guest… Ring entrances for the main event took place…

6. WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan (w/Rowan) in a non-title match. Rollins brought his chair to the ring with him. Rollins performed an early suicide dive onto Bryan at ringside. Rollins went for a second suicide dive, but Rowan caught him and gave him a claw slam onto the ring apron for the DQ.

Rowan worked over Rollins inside the ring and then held him for Bryan, who hit him with a running knee. New Day ran out to make the save. Kofi Kingston performed Trouble in Paradise on Bryan. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and The Revival ran out and joined the fight, then The Usos ran out and helped the babyfaces. New Day and the Usos cleared the heels from the ring, then the Usos dove onto the heels at ringside. Mike Rome announced that the match would continue with no one allowed at ringside. [C]

Bryan dominated the action coming out of the break. Rollins showed signs of life, but Bryan countered into the LeBell Lock. Rollins reached the ropes to break the hold. Bryan charged at Rollins, who caught him and gave him a buckle bomb followed by a superkick, which led to a two count. Rollins sold a left shoulder injury as he went to the top rope. Rollins performed a frogsplash, but Rollins put his knees up and reapplied his submission finisher. Rollins countered into a pin for a two count. Rollins and Bryan got to their feet. Rollins caught Bryan with a step-up enzuigiri, then followed up with a Stomp and scored the pin…

Seth Rollins defeated Daniel Bryan in 12:40 in a non-title match.

Rollins went to the stage and celebrated his win. Corbin came and hit him from behind with a chair three times. Corbin brought Rollins to the ring and gave him his End of Days finisher. Corbin had the referee hand him the WWE Universal Title belt, then raised it over his head while posing over Rollins. Graves questioned who the referee will be as the show went off the air…

Powell’s POV: Another week, another bait and switch. This time it was the announcement of the special referee for the WWE Universal Championship match, which they opted to leave that a mystery at least for tonight and presumably until Sunday. My expectations for the special referee are low, as you’d think that if they had something big in mind then they would have been sure to announce it tonight to sell the pay-per-view. We’ve seen worse episodes of Raw lately, but this failed in its unenviable task of trying to sell viewers on Stomping Grounds. By the way, I missed it, but WWE added Big E and Xavier Woods vs. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens to the Stomping Grounds lineup. I will have much more to say regarding Raw in my weekly members’ exclusive audio review coming up later tonight, and in my Raw Hit List on Tuesday. Join me for live coverage of Stomping Grounds on Sunday night.

Check below for the latest Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and Pat McNeill of the Wayback Playback podcast, who discusses how the more things change the more they stay the same with the return of the XFL and AEW coming to TNT, plus thoughts on WWE’s struggles, how wrestling from 20 years ago holds up through today’s eyes, and more.

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