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WWE Raw 8/3/2020 Report Part 1: No Idea of the Horrors Still to Come

Well, there's a show airing, so I guess WWE managed to pull something together despite all the "chaos." It's time once again to give up three hours of our lives we'll never get back. But rumors swirling around the toilet that is the internet wrestling blogosphere indicate this should be an interesting night. Will it live up to the promise.

Hold on, I have a message from Future Jude, the one at the end of this article: "Yes. Yes, it did."

WWE Raw 8/3/2020 Part 1

As the show is getting started and the announcers talk about what's to come, there's a production glitch of some sort and all the music and lights go off. The announcers excuse this as some kind of issue with the production truck. Then Apollo Crews comes out, having apparently recovered from COVID. Then the lights go out again in the middle of Apollo's entrance. Tom Phillips attributes this to bad weather causing electrical problems. Then MVP comes out with Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley. Crews hands over his original US title belt, while MVP hands over the new one.

Before the match starts, MVP cuts a promo. He says he's the real US Champion because Crews didn't show up at Extreme Rules. MVP says Crews made excuses while MVP made history. After he wins tonight, he'll be the real United States Champion and Crews can hang out with Cedric Alexander and Ricochet in catering.

MVP vs. Apollo Crews – United States Championship Match

Crews and MVP lock up to start and hold that lockup through a monkey flip by MVP. MVP gets a sleeper on Crews, but Crews elbows out. Crews gets a two-count off a rollup and then kips up to his feet. MVP wants a test of strength, but when Crews goes for it, MVP stomps him in the foot. The lights flicker some more, but the announcers don't mention it.

Crews reverses an Irish Whip and hits a couple of elbows and a snap suplex, but MVP kicks out at one. Crews works an armbar on MVP for a while. MVP fights out with an elbow and hits a big boot. Crews whips him into the ropes but Hurt Business pulls MVP outside. More light flickering. Crews hits a dive on everyone and Raw goes to commercials.

So here's what's going on tonight. WWE started working the dirt sheets early today, with reports surfacing of "chaos" backstage as Vince McMahon was constantly rewriting the show. Then a "leak" on Pro Wrestling Sheet, run by Ryan Satin who worked as a correspondent on WWE Backstage, said that a new faction will debut on Raw tonight that would seek (in storyline) to promote "chaos" in order to change the way WWE is run. WWE later confirmed that report with an official announcement. And that's why the lights keep flickering. We know that Ric Flair is backstage as well as Shane McMahon. We know a new faction is debuting. And WWE is betting on people tuning to find out what this is all about. The only question is whether they'll drag this out all night, or we'll get some answers soon.

MVP is working a headlock when Raw comes back from break. He hits a clothesline and tries for a pin, twice, unsuccessfully. He elbows Crews in the neck and hits him with a forearm for a two-count. MVP trips Crews, sending him face-first into the match. He puts a camel clutch on Crews around the ropes. MVP hits a suplex into a pin for two. The lights flicker some more, and this time, MVP notices. He looks around confused. Someone in the crowd mentions the hurricane.

MVP beats on Crews in the corner. He tosses him into the opposite corner but misses a running big boot. Crews hits a diving crossbody then spears MVP in the corner. He hits a big splash and a spinebuster for two. MVP blocks a powerbomb and hits a German Suplex, but Crews pops back up and hits the powerbomb. That's enough for the pinfall.

Winner: Apollo Crews

Lashley tries to put Crews in the Full Nelson after the match, but Apollo escapes and backs up the ramp with two belts. MVP looks dejected in the ring as his buddies console him. Charly Caruso interviews Crews backstage. Crews says Lashley's strength is unlike anything he ever imagined. Because of his full nelson, Crews had to sit at home and watch MVP parading around with his fake belt. It embarrassed Apollo in front of his kids. Now, he's gonna hang the retired belt in his kids bedrooms since he has the brand new belt, paid for by MVP, which he thinks looks good on his shoulder. All Crews can say is thank you to MVP.

Back at Ringside, MVP grabs a microphone and berates the announce team. He wants to know what's up with the lights and the unsafe working environment. MVP says Apollo Crews should be ashamed of himself for taking advantage of these conditions. MVP says Crews didn't show up at Extreme Rules because Bobby Lashley left him at home. Then he showed up tonight and stole MVP's championship. MVP doesn't care about Apollo's wife and kids. What he cares about is his rematch. Benjamin whispers something in MVP's ear. MVP says he wants the rematch at SummerSlam.

Sasha Banks and Bayley are partying backstage. We see someone standing in the dark outside a dressing room as the announcers mention the strange happenings tonight. They hear it's "the brainchild of Shane McMahon."  Raw goes to commercials again.

Sarah Schrieber interviews Sasha Banks and Bayley. They talk about having all the gold. Sarah asks if they'll be defending any of the titles at SummerSlam. Bayley tells Sarah her interview schtick is boring. They decided to spice things up and they brought a video. It's a trailer they made for themselves with the deep-voiced movie trailer guy. "What on the surface looked like cowardice was actually a plan of sheer brilliance," he says of Sasha's win over Asuka. "Now they own all the gold." The trailer ends with Asuka shouting and saying Revenge will be sweet. Sasha and Bayley are outraged their video was edited. Shayna Baszler shows up and tells them to knock it off. Shayna says she's waited in line long enough. She punches Sasha in the face.

Kevin Owens is grabbing a soda backstage when the Iiconics see him. They hear he's hosting a KO Show tonight and they'd like to be the guests. But Owens says he already has guest, though he'd love to have them. He grabs water (he was totally going for a Coke before he knew people were watching him). Owens comes to the ring as Raw goes to commercials.

We're only about a half-hour through Raw tonight, but as you can see, a lot is happening. We've already got a thousand words. It's gonna be a long night. But it will be worth it. I promise. I'll see you in part two of the Raw report.

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