Smackdown
The women’s roster were pretty much in tact for the show; Sasha Banks accompanied Bayley for a Smackdown Women’s Title match against Nikki Cross. Cross did the job for the champ, but the message came during the celebration. Banks was the first victim of the oncoming invasion as Shayna Baszler smashed her into the ring post on her way to destroy the champ. B
The Saudi Arabia incident launched an invasion of the NXT roster. Sami Zayn dared anyone step to him, and step to him did Keith Lee and Matt Riddle. They chase Zayn to the ring to lay him out in front of an audience. Lee hit a middle rope moonsault to cap off the segment. A-
Backstage, Bianca Belair ran interferance for Rhea Ripley and Tegan Nox by taking out Carmela and Dana Brooke. Young Carmela pulled the straw of being gorilla pressed and launched over a curtain. Belair gave Brooke a few shots to the containers for good measure. A+
Raw
The fallout from Crown Jewel continued by virtue of the Rusev – Bobby Lashley feud. Lashley feigned an injury in order for Drew McIntyre to step in for him. When the opportunity presented itself, Lashley used his crutch to take our Rusev, and Randy Orton would help send a message to the brute. Ricochet joined the party to stand up for Rusev as everyone else left to fight another day. B-
The old faithful match with Cedric Alexander and Buddy Murphy was revisited. Murphy seems to be getting a small push on his third show in less than a year. Alexander’s rise is clearly on hold taking another loss to his old rival. C
The Street Profits know all about being pushed. They spent weeks as backstage commentary before being drafted to the Raw roster. Their rematch against the OC paired them with another hot new superstar in Humberto Carillo. The OC pulled even in the series only after the Profits and Carillo crafted a performance to pit them as worthy contenders to the US Champ and the World’s Greatest Tag Team. B+
An NXT invasion pushed past the show ending with guys like R-Truth and Ricochet defending the Raw turf from Keith Lee and crew. A