RAW 1251: May 15, 2017

## Episode recap

#### '**Alicia Fox vs. Sasha Banks**

Sasha Banks pinned Alicia Fox last week, but the former Divas Champion had a shoulder up outside the ref’s field of vision, which means Fox got another chance to exorcise her aggression against The Boss … and this time, she won. With her Cruiserweight love interest Noam Dar at ringside, Fox deployed the full force of her strength against Banks, muscling out of a Bank Statement attempt and nailing Banks in the small of her back with a ruthless Scissor Kick to claim the win. And since a big win deserves a big celebration, Dar hoisted Fox on his shoulders and paraded her around the ring.

#### **The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose**

The Miz’s tendency to get people riled up to the point of a blind, frothing rage didn’t just land him on the wrong end of a Dean Ambrose beating — it cost him the Intercontinental Championship.

Granted, Miz technically won the match, but The Lunatic Fringe’s excessive aggression was such that the ref was forced to throw out the contest, handing Miz the disqualification victory but allowing Ambrose to retain the title via champion’s advantage.

It was a surprising ending to a match that had been a dead heat from the word jump, and things only took a turn when Maryse distracted the ref while Miz wound up for a massive low-blow on The Lunatic Fringe. Ambrose intercepted the attack and replied in kind with a Charlie Brown boot to The A-Lister’s nether regions, only this time the ref was watching, and Ambrose was disqualified as a result.

Luckily for Miz, Kurt Angle was willing to give him another opportunity at the title at WWE Extreme Rules, but The A-Lister demanded, and received, further consideration, cajoling The Olympic Hero into adding the stipulation that the title can change hands via disqualification. The confrontation got a bit more heated than expected, but the reappearance of Elias Samson was enough to diffuse the tension.

#### **Bayley confronted Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss**

Alexa Bliss’ Raw Women's Title victory tour has been a whirlwind of impeccable side-eye and scathing insults thus far, but the “Goddess of WWE” may have finally pushed her favorite target to the breaking point.

Moments into her evisceration of the city of Newark, Bliss was interrupted by former Raw Women’s Champion Bayley, who announced she was exercising her rematch clause for WWE Extreme Rules, resulting in another round of bone-deep mockery by the champion, who insisted Bayley was too timid to get “extreme.”

It was enough for The Huggable One to shove Alexa out of the ring, but The Wicked Witch of WWE responded quickly, producing a Kendo stick from under the canvas and laying Bayley out with a single, surgical swing.

If The Huggable One wasn't quite ready for extreme, however, the good news is she'll have an opportunity at redemption: Following Alexa's attack, Bayley successfully petitioned Kurt Angle to add an extreme stipulation to their rematch, which he granted in the form of a Kendo Stick on a Pole Match.

## Results

1. The Miz (w/ Maryse) def. Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose via Disqualification
2. Alicia Fox (w/ Noam Dar) def. Sasha Banks