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One night after the Elimination Chamber, new WWE Champion The Miz found himself in hot water. Miz spent Raw trying to break out of a deal he made to give Bobby Lashley a shot at the title in exchange for Drew McIntyre out the night before.
In the end, Miz didn’t have to step into the ring, but Lashley did manage to get a championship shot next Monday. Lashley had to overcome Braun Strowman’s tough challenge to win this opportunity, but did so before making a final statement by taking out Miz to close the series.
CBS Sports was with you all night, bringing you the results and highlights of all the ThunderDome action inside Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Bobby Lashley Gets WWE Title Chance
The Miz opened the show with a special celebration of the “Miz TV” Championship. Miz talked about calling his shot and creating a detour on the WrestleMania road before being interrupted by Bobby Lashley and MVP. Lashley was seeking to claim Miz’s debt for helping Miz deposit McIntyre at Elimination Chamber to open the door to money in the bank. Lashley gave Miz an hour to make up his mind, threatening to beat him anyway. Behind the scenes, Miz launched Adam Pearce to delay any action on a game with Lashley “until the time is right.”
When the hour was up, Miz said he needed more time and that there were plenty of other men who wanted to challenge him for the title. Finally, Miz said he needed time to be ready, asking to write up the decision by next week. Braun Strowman’s music hit as he interrupted the situation and said he was the only man to win a title match while claiming that Shane McMahon and Adam Pearce were conspiring against him. This, in turn, made McMahon stand out. McMahon told Strowman he couldn’t demand title matches. Strowman said that if he couldn’t have the champion, he wanted to challenge him. This led McMahon to book the match, claiming that if Strowman beat Lashley then next week’s Raw would feature a triple threat match for the WWE Championship.
Bobby Lashley defeats. Braun Strowman via pinfall after hitting a spear. The match immediately erupted into a brawl between the powers, featuring heavy strikes and great displays of force. Lashley attacked Strowman earlier that night, tearing off his knee, and returned to the legs after Strowman ran down the steps of the ring. Before Strowman could really jump in, Lashley won the match short enough with a spear. After the victory, Lashley hit another spear and locked himself in the Hurt Lock. Miz tried to rush into the ring and hit Lashley with the championship belt only to be hit with a spinebuster and spear, ending the standing show after cementing his title shot on next week’s Raw.
Overall, this whole thing went well. The Miz isn’t a longtime champion, so the times he holds the title should count. Strowman initially felt like an unimportant inclusion in the mix, but he allowed Lashley to show once again just how dominant he was on his current run. Getting to a world title match on Raw next week is a big deal, as those moments are understandably rare. And Lashley’s ending by dodging the cheap shot attempt and exposing Miz kept him strong in his challenge. Quality: B +
What Else Happened on WWE Raw?
- Riddle def. John Morrison via pinfall after hitting Bro Derek. Before the game, Riddle celebrated his victory at the United States Championship behind the scenes with the Lucha House Party.
- The new day def. Compensation via pinfall after Kofi Kingston hit T-Bar with Trouble in Paradise. After the match, Mustafa Ali cried out to the members for revenge for their repeated failures.
- The Hurt Business def. Lucha House Party via pinfall in a tornado match when Shelton Benjamin hit Lince Dorado with Paydirt.
- Damien Priest beats. Angel Garza via pinfall with Hit the Lights. Bad Bunny was in the corner of Priest, and earlier that night Priest frightened R-Truth when Truth was trying to attack Bunny to win back the championship 24/7. After the match, Priest and Bunny quickly took charge of a number of challengers 24/7.
- Randy Orton Cut Backstage Promo respond to all of its recent failures. He ultimately concluded that he was not distracted by The Fiend, but rather by Alexa Bliss. Orton then began to cough and spit out black gunk before running away.
- Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler fight. Charlotte Flair and Asuka via pinfall after Jax hits Asuka with a dropped leg. The finish was set up when miscommunication led to Flair hitting Asuka with a big boot. Flair tried to shake Asuka’s hand after the match, but Asuka pushed her away.
- Sheamus def. Jeff Hardy via pinfall after hitting a Brogue Kick.
- Charlotte Flair faced Ric Flair backstage. Charlotte told Ric her antics with Lacey Evans – including pretending her baby was hers – distracted her and caused her to fall short of her standards. Ric said he was just trying to expand their brand by being behind a future champion at Evans.
- Lana and Naomi def. Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose via pinfall after hitting a double-team facebuster on Rose.
- AJ Styles def. Ricochet via pinfall with the Styles Clash. Omos hit Ricochet with a double chokeslam after the game.
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