WWE Raw Highlights, Recap: Roman Reigns Excels Ahead Of No Mercy

Roman Reigns delivered a stellar performance on Monday’s episode of WWE RAW, the last before this coming Sunday’s No Mercy pay-per-view competition.

WWE Raw Higlights

Reigns took advantage of John Cena’s absence to roast the wrestler-turned-actor, calling Cena the best talker. “But the thing is, sometimes he says stupid shit,” Reigns said. He even went so far as referencing the real-life backstage heat Cena had with former WWE superstar Alex Riley.”

Then, Reigns called Cena “the biggest hypocrite to ever set foot into a WWE ring.” Reigns then presented a video of a promo delivered by Cena in 2012 during his feud with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson ahead of WrestleMania XXVIII. Cena mocked Johnson for his desire to become a Hollywood actor and predicted he would never return to wrestling full-time. “On Sunday it’s going to be just like that WrestleMania, only this time he’s going to be beaten by a different Samoan,” Reigns said. He then dropped the mic, mouthed an insult in which he called Cena a bitch and walked away.

Otherwise on Monday, Nia Jax defeated Alexa Bliss via pinfall. An early appearance from Sasha Banks stopped Bliss from running away. Jax finished the non-title matchup with a Samoan drop. Bayley then made a surprise return to the Bay Area stage:

Furthermore, Sheamus and Cesaro defeated Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson via pinfall in a match that lasted nearly 20 minutes.

Neville also defeated Gran Metalik via submission. Neville ripped off Metalik’s mask and briefly exposed his face. Metalik made a moonsault attempt, but Neville hit him with two feet to the face.

Finally, Braun Strowman flattened Enzo Amore after interrupting Amore’s promo by steamrolling him on the ramp. Strowman won the match with a massive choke-slam and running power-slam.

Jason Jordan, meanwhile, got his title shot by defeating the Hardy Boyz, Matt and Jeff, as well as The Miztourage and Elias to secure a shot at the Intercontinental title against The Miz at No Mercy.

The Miz recently passed Honky Tonk Man, who holds the single longest reign as Intercontinental champion in WWE history, for the third-most combined days as IC champ. He’s also second to Chris Jericho with seven runs with that title.

NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 23: Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns celebrate their victory at the WWE SummerSlam 2015 at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on August 23, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images)