RAW 1254: June 5, 2017

## Episode recap

#### **Dean Ambrose attacked Elias Samson"**

You can’t really blame Dean Ambrose for being a little raw (so to speak) about what went down at WWE Extreme Rules.

After Ambrose somehow managed to adhere to the stipulation that he could lose the Intercontinental Title to The Miz via disqualification at WWE Extreme Rules, a confrontation with the referee allowed The A-Lister to pin Dean the old-fashioned way, all of which is to say that The Lunatic Fringe wasn’t really in the mood for Elias Samson’s singing insults on Raw.

Ambrose ambushed Samson mid-ballad and threw him into the crowd, only stopping to demand his title rematch with The A-Lister. But Miz, having plenty of experience in avoiding people who want to beat him up, came prepared: The new Intercontinental Champion was ensconced in the safety of the backstage area, from which he revealed that Ambrose would not be getting a rematch, and Miz would instead kick off his “Intercontinental Championship Comeback Tour” with a celebration later in the evening.

And then, finally, Samson sprang back up and laid out Ambrose. Adding insult to injury (injuries?), Kurt Angle gave Ambrose the night off when the deposed former champion went hunting for The A-Lister backstage.

#### **Dean Ambrose crashed The Miz’s Intercontinental Championship Comeback Tour Kickoff**

In an ideal world for The Miz, he would have begun his Intercontinental Championship “Comeback Tour” with champagne, gifts and absolutely no interference of any kind from Dean Ambrose. He’ll have to settle for two out of three.

The so-called kickoff ceremony did indeed have all the trappings Miz expected, but having seen Seth Rollins do this dance a few years back, the champion was understandably paranoid that Ambrose was lying in wait and thus, had his head on a swivel from the word jump, despite the fact The Lunatic Fringe had been ostensibly given the night off by Raw GM Kurt Angle.

Miz became steadily more unhinged as the ceremony progressed, beating up a dancing bear whom he thought was Ambrose in disguise and dropping two tremendous elbows on a giant gift box before Ambrose could, presumably, jump out and attack. That turned out to be a gift of a "timeless" grandfather clock from Maryse, and its destruction led to The Awesome One’s lady love storming off in disgust.

He needn’t have looked so hard to find The Lunatic Fringe, though: With Kurt Angle distracted thanks to his own ongoing drama surrounding potentially-incriminating texts, Ambrose had snuck back into the building and hid himself in plain sight, filming Miz in the guise of a cameraman and waiting for the opportune moment to strike with Dirty Deeds. The Lunatic Fringe then took Miz’s champagne for good measure.

#### **Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax**

A few weeks ago, Alexa Bliss recruited Nia Jax to her side with the promise of a future Raw Women’s Title Match should she get past Bayley unscathed. Well, Alexa’s still champ after WWE Extreme Rules, and on Raw it was time to pay the piper. Bliss retained her title thanks to a technicality and what may have been a canny bit of planning.

Seeking to replicate the strategy that joined her and Jax up in the first place, Bliss went to the Women’s locker room seeking help — anyone’s help — against Jax. With the exception of Sasha Banks, who dismissed Alexa outright, the ladies all said they’d rather just sit at ringside and watch Bliss get destroyed, which led the champ to run her entire division down throughout the night.

When Jax inevitably tossed Alexa to the outside during what was shaping up to be a one-sided win, Little Miss Bliss shoved Dana Brooke and Mickie James to instigate a brawl, handing herself a disqualification win and conveniently keeping the title around her waist.

Even more conveniently, Little Miss Bliss got out of Dodge right as Jax took out her frustrations on anything that moved, leaving Dana and Mickie in a heap while the champ made herself scarce.

## Results

1. Nia Jax def. Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss via Disqualification