Raw Deal - Raw recap for August 20, 2018

Roman Reigns shows up to start tonight's show. Roman says that he is a man of his word, and that he beat Brock Lesnar like he said he would. He also said that when he won the Universal title, he would defend it, and he plans on doing that tonight. Typically, he would make it easy and make it an open challenge, but he has one man in mind, as this person won it two years ago, got hurt and never had an opportunity at it again. Since he won it in Brooklyn, New York just like this person, he will defend the title against that person: Finn Balor. Finn Balor shows up and accepts Roman's challenge, and says he will take back the Universal Championship tonight. Both men then shake hands. Suddenly, Constable Baron Corbin shows up, and says that as exciting it would be to see the match, it will not happen. He says that if Finn thinks he will be rewarded for sending "The Demon" last week, he has another thing coming. He considers this cheating and a breach of contract, and then says he never heard the bell ring due to all the lights and sounds. Because of that, Finn is facing him tonight. Roman tells Corbin they're booing him, and that he would forget last night too if he sucked so badly. After Corbin he's not as worried about Braun Strowman as he is, General Manager Kurt Angle shows up. Angle tells Corbin that he makes the matches, not Corbin, and while he doesn't care what Corbin thinks, he cares what the fans think. He asks if they want to see Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal title tonight, the fans cheer. He officially makes that the main event for tonight, then tells Corbin he has a match right now against Bobby Lashley.

Bobby Lashley beats Baron Corbin.

Backstage, General Manager Kurt Angle is met by Paul Heyman. Heyman says he has a very specific mission this evening, and says his client Brock Lesnar wants to invoke his rematch clause. Angle says that the contract for the SummerSlam Universal Championship match did not state when the rematch will be, and that Lesnar may be waiting a long time before getting his rematch. Heyman says that Lesnar wants to invoke his rematch clause at Hell In A Cell. Angle says it will be a cold day in Hell before that happens.

Backstage, Constable Baron Corbin tells General Manager Kurt Angle that he is not a dog that does tricks, and that he is tired of not getting what he wants. Angle says his job is to do what is best for the fans, not him. Corbin then tells him that Commissioner Stephanie McMahon is here, and that he is going to talk to her.

The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan) beat Sasha Banks, Bayley and Ember Moon.

WWE COO Triple H shows up. He talks about how NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV and SummerSlam brought the roof off the arena, then says he will work until the day he dies to make sure WWE is here for everyone. He also says weekends like this make him want to rip the three-piece suit off, lace up the boots and become Triple H again, so when WWE CEO wanted him to wrestle in Australia, he was up for it. When he found out his match was against The Undertaker, he was not up to it, as one things stands out more than everything else he has done in the wrestling business: the end of their "End of an Era" match at WrestleMania 28. He talks about how he, The Undertaker and "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels looking at the ring from the ring is the realest thing he had ever experienced in his career, and said it changed the three of them as they knew an era. Afterwards, Shawn left, The Undertaker's streak ended and he put the three-piece suit back on, as they all knew it was over. He says the sound, the feeling and the goosebumps were gone, and that he realized their era was something special. The crowd chants "You still got it!" before Triple H says that for the same reason he turned the match down, he picked the phone back up and told Vince he was in, and that he would take off the suit, tape back up, lace his boots up and become "The Game" again. He says he would do that if The Undertaker would do the same and become "The Phenom" one more time. He then says at Super Show-Down, the sound, feeling and goosebumps will be back, for the era will be back as they go at it one last time.

Dean Ambrose beats Dolph Ziggler despite interference by Drew McIntyre, which is stopped by Seth Rollins.

Backstage, Elias tells his crew that they are not special and that they need to do their jobs.

We look back at the supermarket brawl between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Booker T.

Backstage, Finn Balor is met by Braun Strowman. Braun says that he refuses to cash in from behind, as he is The Monster Among Men and he does things face-to-face. He then wishes Finn good luck tonight.

Elias is in the ring. Elias says he has had to fire three crew members, and that whoever messed with him last night has yet to understand that WWE stands for "Walk With Elias." He says that his doctor has told him not to return to Brooklyn, New York as the people there are bad for his health, but Elias feels he needs to perform and that he is about to do just that. As Elias performs, he is suddenly interrupted by Curt Hawkins. He says he knows that Elias is looking for a #1 hit, and Curt Hawkins says he can be the first guy to lose to him. Hawkins says he feels so lucky tonight, and that this is his town, not Elias'. He proposes that they go ahead and end his 218-match losing streak tonight. Elias tells him he is a loser, just like everyone else here, and that when he is in the ring, it is his stage and he does not belong. He then tells Hawkins to get out of Brooklyn. Curt Hawkins heads towards the back, but as Elias plays his guitar, Hawkins asks if he is going to hide behind his guitar and "goofy" scarf or if he will fight him, as he is challenging him right now. This starts the next match.

Elias beats Curt Hawkins, bringing Curt Hawkins' losing streak to 219 matches.

Backstage, Titus O'Neil meets with Dana Brooke and Apollo Crews. Dana has a strategy for their opponents in the next match.

The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) beat Titus Worldwide (Titus O'Neil and Apollo Crews).

The Raw women's division is standing around the ring when WWE Chief Brand Officer and Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon shows up. She says that when she thinks of today's women's division, she thinks of one word: proud. She is proud of the women in WWE right now, the fact that Evolution is taking place next month and of "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey's championship win from last night. After a short recap of what happened last night, Stephanie says she is proud of Ronda Rousey, for without her and her own efforts, Ronda would not be where she is in WWE right now and the women in WWE would not want to be like her or Ronda. As Stephanie introduces her as her protege, Ronda Rousey shows up and tells Stephanie this is about all the women in the crowd and at ringside, not Stephanie. She then tells everyone at ringside to get in the ring, as they deserve to be here. Stephanie says this is conduct unbecoming a champion as everyone gets on the apron, but Stephanie says this isn't about one person, and credits everyone else - who is now on the apron - for their roles in the Women's Revolution. Ronda says she is not Brock Lesnar, and that she is going to be a fighting champion each and every night and that she cannot wait to face everyone on the apron. Stephanie says she does not who Ronda is anymore, and wants the Ronda Rousey that rips people's arms off. She tries to turn everyone against Ronda, saying she will rip their arms off and wipe them off so she can stand in the spotlight. Ronda says she is not here to break arms unless they deserve it, and stares at Stephanie. She then grabs Stephanie by the arm and puts her in the arm bar while everyone else watches. The faces then join Ronda in the ring while the heels check on Stephanie on the outside.

Before the next match, Bo Dallas says that life has its twists and turns. A few weeks ago, they had never won a single match on Raw, but then, the letter B changed the WWE forever, and they are now the undefeated Raw tag team champs. Curtis Axel then says they are dedicating their two singles matches to the fans, as the B stands for Brooklyn, New York.

Scott Dawson beats Bo Dallas. After the match, Curtis Axel dares Dash Wilder to get in the ring, as he is next. This starts the next match.

Dash Wilder beats Curtis Axel. After the match, Bo says The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) might have beaten them separately, they are still the Raw tag team champions.

Backstage, Renee Young interviews Roman Reigns, who says that he did not win the Universal Championship only to hide in the locker room. He says that Finn Balor has waited for his opportunity and deserves it, even though he will be going to the back of the line afterwards. As for Braun Strowman, he can do whatever he wants, but he will always be ready for him.

Backstage, Alexa Bliss and Constable Baron Corbin check on Commissioner Stephanie McMahon when General Manager Kurt Angle shows up. Stephanie and Corbin chew out Angle, and blame him for "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey breaking Stephanie's arm. Stephanie says Angle needs a vacation and makes Corbin the Acting General Manager of Raw. Angle leaves, irritated.

Roman Reigns retains the WWE Universal Championship against Finn Balor, despite the appearance of Braun Strowman distracting Roman. Strowman boots Roman and cashes in the Money In The Bank contract, but before the bell can ring, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins show up, this time clad in black, with The Shield's TitanTron and music playing, signifying that The Shield (Ambrose, Rollins, Reigns) has been reformed. Despite being surrounded, Braun fights The Shield anyway, and the end results is The Shield overpowering Braun Strowman before nearly powerbombing him through an announce table. Strowman fights back, but he is again overpowered. The Shield then hits the three-man powerbomb on Braun Strowman through the announce table to end the show.

Here are the top 10 moments from tonight's show!