During Raw on Monday night, CM Punk and Jey Uso met in the ring ahead of their match for the vacant world heavyweight championship this weekend at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Uso continued to slip down a reckless path since losing the title, while Punk was happy to try and push his buttons ahead of their match. But nothing much of note happened beyond a small exchange of words.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Honda Center in Anaheim.
Punk, Uso go face-to-face before world heavyweight title match
CM Punk and Jey Uso came face-to-face to start the show. After Uso said everyone has been in his ear, from his brother, Jimmy Uso, to “everybody’s mama,” CM Punk interrupted. Punk admitted the two men are friends, but that wouldn’t hold him back from doing what he needed to do at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Punk asked Uso how far he’s willing to go, because Uso isn’t the only man who “needs” to become world heavyweight champion again. Uso said he has swam in deep waters before and will again against Punk.
Later in the show, Jimmy Uso confronted Jey for eliminating him in the previous week’s battle royal to determine Punk’s challenger for the vacant world heavyweight championship. Jey would talk to Jimmy again later in the night, promising he hadn’t changed and getting Jimmy back on his side.
Monday felt like a completely meaningless show. WWE has been phoning in go-home shows ahead of big events, and Monday was no different. Punk and Uso came face-to-face and … what? Nothing happened. The main event produced nothing. There was nothing along the way that changed anything. Raw felt like a complete waste of time. Grade: D
What else happened on WWE Raw?Rusev vs. Penta ended in a no-contest after both were attacked by the Americanos. The match was to determine a No. 1 contender for the intercontinental championship. Dominik Mysterio made a call for help, which was apparently to the Americanos. Later in the show, Adam Pearce informed Mysterio that he would defend his title against Rusev and Penta at Saturday Night’s Main Event.LA Knight cut a promo saying he is ready to take on whoever wins when CM Punk and Jey Uso battle for the world heavyweight championship.Roxanne Perez def. Nikki Bella via pinfall after hitting Pop Rox. After the match, Perez and Raquel Rodriguez looked to continue the attack before Stephanie Vaquer ran in for the save. Rodriguez stared Vaquer down, but the two did not come to blows.Bron Breakker def. LA Knight via pinfall after a spear. The match was part of Paul Heyman’s plans to clear out the competition for Breakker after Punk and Uso battle for the world heavyweight championship.JD McDonagh def. Sheamus via pinfall after a top-rope Spanish fly. Finn Balor interfered to set up McDonagh’s victory in a match that was set up by Adam Pearce earlier in the show.AJ Styles and Dragon Lee agreed to a rematch with JD McDonagh and Finn Balor next week for the world tag team championship.Women’s Tag Team Championship — Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair def. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria via pinfall after a double Natural Selection on Bayley. After the match, the Kabuki Warriors attacked both teams until Bayley got the duo to back down.