WWE Raw results: The Undertaker leaves his mark on Brock Lesnar ahead of SummerSlam as John Cena and Seth Rollins clash
Full results from the final Raw ahead of Sunday's SummerSlam
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Monday night, World Wrestling Entertainment rolled into Target Center in Minneapolis for the final Raw before this weekend's SummerSlam spectacular, writes Erik Beaston of Bleacher Report.
With The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar under the same roof just six days before their epic follow-up to the shocking WrestleMania XXX bout, would fans be greeted with the same chaos that they were following last month's Battleground show?
Or would The Authority reel things in, ensuring that the main event of such a major extravaganza was not adversely affected by Monday's festivities?
How would United States champion John Cena respond to WWE World Heavyweight champion Seth Rollins just days before they clash in a winner-takes-all, title-for-title match?
What would await Cesaro and Kevin Owens before their bout, which trio of Divas would stand tall before Sunday's huge elimination tag team match and what maniacal mind games did Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper have in store for Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns?
The answers to those questions were revealed over the course of three hours Monday night.
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon made their way to the squared circle to kick off the evening's broadcast and the road to SummerSlam.
The most powerful couple in wrestling ran down the card for Sunday's summertime extravaganza, serving as a great way to remind fans of exactly what they can expect from this weekend's show.
Of note was the announcement that later Monday night, John Cena and Seth Rollins will meet in the center of the ring for a contract signing for their huge title-for-title match.
Randy Orton's entrance music sounded and The Viper made his way to the ring to kick off the in-ring portion of the night's festivities.
Randy Orton & Cesaro vs Kevin Owens & Sheamus
Two of the midcard feuds making up Sunday's card fused to create a huge tag team contest Monday night as Randy Orton and Cesaro squared off with Kevin Owens and Sheamus.
Following the break, the heels were able to isolate Orton, wearing him down until The Viper was able to make the hot tag to the Swiss Superman.
Cesaro exploded with a series of uppercuts to the Celtic Warrior. He caught Sheamus soaring through the air with another uppercut.
A nasty botch by Cesaro ensued before Orton caught Sheamus with the RKO and scored the pinfall victory.
Roman Reigns vs Luke Harper
In a rematch from SmackDown, Reigns battled Harper, Dean Ambrose in his corner and Bray Wyatt in Harper's.
The Lunatic Fringe sat in on commentary, selling Sunday's big tag match with some strong promo work while Harper wore Reigns down with a side headlock.
Wyatt watched intently from ringside as Reigns mounted a comeback, using a big Samoan drop and a series of corner clotheslines.
Reigns set up for the Superman Punch but Harper bailed out of the ring, leaving his opponent to give chase. He ended up colliding with the steel steps. Harper tried for the suicide dive, but Reigns caught him with a huge right hand.
A sidewalk slam from Harper cut Reigns off yet again.
Reigns finally finished off his opponent with the spear to pick up the pinfall victory.
The winner and Ambrose celebrated on the ramp while Wyatt checked on Harper and implored fans to follow the buzzards.
Becky Lynch vs Tamina
The Divas Revolution continued Monday night as Becky Lynch squared off with Tamina.
The second-generation daughter of Jimmy Snuka dominated the action but made the mistake of trying for a Samoan drop, which Lynch countered with a rollup for the upset victory.
Team PCB celebrated post-match.
Rusev vs Mark Henry
Lana sat in on commentary as Rusev and Summer Rae were inside the squared circle, preparing for competition.
Mark Henry made his way to the ring, American flag in hand, prepared to wage war with one of his fiercest rivals. Chants of "USA" broke out early as Henry sent the Bulgarian Brute scurrying to the safety of the ringside area.
Or so he thought.
The fight eventually returned to the squared circle, where Rusev caught his opponent with a huge kick to the face and the Accolade for the submission win.
After the match, Lana challenged Summer Rae to come back to the ring for a fight.
Dolph Ziggler made his return to television, left Rusev lying with a superkick and watched as Lana did the same to Summer.
The happy couple made out in the center of the ring to a big pop to close the segment.
Ryback vs The Miz
Just days before clashing for the intercontinental title, champion Ryback battled The Miz while Big Show joined the commentary team.
Miz wore Ryback down but proved incapable of slowing the surging competitor. Ryback finished one of two top contenders in impressive fashion with the Shellshocked finisher.
After the match, the Big Guy challenged Big Show to enter the ring, but the World's Largest Athlete walked away without as much as a glare while Ryback played to the crowd.
Seth Rollins and John Cena contract signing
Seth Rollins and John Cena joined Triple H and Stephanie McMahon inside the ring, signing the contract for this Sunday's WWE United States Championship match.
The WWE World Heavyweight champion referred to himself as the cure to the company's Cena problem. The U.S. titleholder responded, calling Rollins a "b---h" and ran him down verbally.
Cena then went on to tell Triple H that, when Rollins loses, he will lose because the legacy of Ric Flair, which he so wanted to carry on, will be threatened when Cena ties his world title reigns record.
The babyface vowed to make Rollins his b---h Sunday night and leave with both championships.
Lucha Dragons & The Prime Time Player vs The New Day & Los Matadores
In a preview of Sunday's WWE Tag Team Championship match, Lucha Dragons teamed with titleholders the Prime Time Players to battle the New Day's Kofi Kingston and Big E and Los Matadores in an eight-man tag bout.
The action was fast and furious and came to an end when Kalisto caught Fernando with the Salida del Sol for the pinfall victory.
Sasha Banks vs Nikki Bella
After Becky Lynch picked up a win for Team PCB, Teams Bella and BAD looked to play catch-up as NXT Women's champion Sasha Banks squared off with Divas champion Nikki Bella.
Banks controlled early, delivering the double knee to the midsection of her opponent and mocking her heading into the break.
The Boss trash-talked Bella as she continued to dominate. That is, until Nikki generated a comeback courtesy of an electric chair.
Naomi provided a distraction, though, and Banks delivered the Bank Statement for the win.
Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker face off
Paul Heyman introduced Brock Lesnar as the former NCAA champion from the University of Minnesota, guaranteeing him a huge ovation as he took to the squared circle. The Beast Incarnate was greeted with a hero's welcome, chants of "Suplex City" ringing throughout the Target Center.
Heyman ran down the history between Undertaker and Lesnar, including the fact that his client has never lost a match to the Deadman. He promised that Lesnar would destroy Undertaker, put him out of his misery and remain undefeated against the Phenom.
The lights dimmed, and when they turned back on, Undertaker appeared. He kicked Lesnar low and proceeded a Tombstone piledriver as the crowd erupted in a chorus of boos.
Undertaker made his way to the back as a rattled Lesnar watched, his eyes barely focused on his SummerSlam opponent.
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