Raw Deal - Raw recap for March 8, 2021

Backstage, Sarah Schreiber interviews Bobby Lashley. Lashley says he has been through a lot that would have broken a normal man, but he is not a normal man, and that he waited sixteen years for the WWE Championship. He says that he destroyed The Miz for delaying the inevitable, then says that the same fate awaits anyone who gets in his way and that "The Almighty Era" has begun.

Before the next match, The Miz says he stands in the ring empty-handed, and through John Morrison, he says he expected to get demolished by Bobby Lashley but did not expect to lose the WWE Championship. He says that after years of doing so much in WWE and keeping from being injured, he says he should be believed that he did feel well after having stomach cramps before last week's match. He says that he had the champion's advantage, and admits that while it was shady, it allowed him to outsmart everyone. He also says that having two championship matches in one night is not part of his contract, yet he was forced and physically threatened with title forfeit if he did not. Miz goes on to call Shane McMahon making the second match a lumberjack match adding insult to the injury, and says that Lashley manhandled him and got no repercussions for it. Miz says that the only thing WWE did right was grant a championship rematch, and after Lashley's championship was celebrated all last week, he will take back the title this week.

Bobby Lashley retains the WWE Championship against The Miz with the Hurt Lock.

It is announced that tickets for WrestleMania 37 will be available one week from tomorrow.

Backstage, Sarah Schreiber interviews Drew McIntyre, who says he is the only challenger around here, then asks Bobby Lashley where his passion, guts and balls are. Suddenly, he is attacked by Sheamus. Sheamus tells McIntyre it is not over between them and that he is done being friends with him after being in his shadow for over twenty years, then leaves.

We see another vignette for Rhea Ripley, who is coming soon to Raw.

Backstage, Drew McIntyre tells Adam Pearce to make a match between himself and Sheamus as soon as possible.

Backstage, Braun Strowman is met by R-Truth, who tries to recruit him to help win the WWE 24/7 Championship and apologizes to him for various things, but Strowman says he is asking for an apology from Shane before realizing he is a monster and that he needs to demand one. R-Truth then tries to make Braun Strowman forget about their meeting with a toy Neuralyzer, but it does not work and he runs away.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus in a no-disqualification match is official for later tonight.

Braun Strowman enters the ring. He says that he is over not being in Raw's Elimination Chamber match, but takes offense to Shane McMahon's snide reading level comments and making his tag in Adam Pearce last week and says he could snap his neck like a twig if he wanted to. He also knows that Shane can fire him on the spot, but he is not here for that and demands that Shane give him respect as well as an apology. Shane McMahon soon shows up. He walks up to Braun, looks straight up at him, says "I apologize," and heads up the ramp before turning around and looking at him. Braun expects Shane to say something to him, but he does not.

Backstage, Sarah Schreiber interviews Shane McMahon, who says "maybe later" when asked about what else he may or may not have had to say to Braun Strowman.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus in a no-disqualification ends in a no-contest when both men run into each other with ring steps in their hands only to knock each other out.

Backstage, Kevin Patrick interviews "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles and Omos. Styles says that ever since Randy Orton burned The Fiend to a crisp, he has been haunted by him and Alexa Bliss. He says this is the worst thing he could have done, as The Fiend's ghost and Alexa Bliss are tearing him down bit by bit, but Orton shows up and asks Styles if there is anything funny about what is happening to him. Styles says it is weak, and Orton proposes they can go at it in the ring and show how weak he is. Styles asks Orton if he wants bigger problems to deal with before telling him he accepts his challenge.

Next week: The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs. The Hurt Business (Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander) for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships!

Xavier Woods beats Shelton Benjamin with an inside cradle after Benjamin is focused on talking trash towards Kofi Kingston.

Backstage, Sarah Schreiber interviews Matt Riddle, who says that Retribution will not break his concentration against Slapjack and that he is more concerned about parking his scooter. When The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) show up, they have a conversation where a post-match game of Call of Duty is briefly brought up and Reginald is revealed to make some nice French toast before Riddle asks The New Day to look after his scooter.

Next week: Mustafa Ali vs. Matt Riddle for the WWE United States Championship!

Matt Riddle beats Slapjack.

Backstage, Shane McMahon meets with Adam Pearce, who wants to know if Shane has anything to say to Braun Strowman. Shane tells Pearce to tell Strowman to meet him in the ring.

Shane McMahon is in the ring. Braun Strowman shows up to meet with him. Shane's microphone cuts out, then gets another one that works and walks all the way back to the ramp as he says he should be talking to him face-to-face. Shane says he had fun last week, as this is what he does each week, then says Strowman should do it too and admits he does it at others' expense. Shane then says he wants to get stuff done, and one of those things he wants to get down is to come to an understanding with Strowman. He says he would never come to the ring to make Strowman look stupid, saying "stupid" is a terrible word. He then hints that other people might be calling Strowman stupid, then says he would never call him that before saying "B-B-B-B-Braun." Shane then runs away, and as an angry Strowman chases him, he gets in a white SUV which soon speeds out of the arena. As Strowman walks away, Shane comes back to the arena, revealing that he never left in the SUV. He waves towards Strowman, who has no idea he is in the building, then says "So stupid."

Before the next match, Nia Jax introduces Reginald, whom she has brought ringside for the match, saying that Reginald is down on his luck after Carmella fired him and Sasha Banks slapped him in the face. Nia also says she knows her way around a glass of wine before asking "Isn't he cute?"

Nia Jax and "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler retain the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships against Lana and Naomi after Reginald grabs Naomi.

Backstage, Sarah Schreiber interviews Randy Orton, who says that the only thing AJ Styles needs to concern himself with tonight is taking an RKO.

Backstage, Sarah Schreiber interviews Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke. Mandy says they are serious about the women's tag team titles, and Dana says they are not to be overlooked as they are just as ambitious as all the other teams. Charlotte Flair shows up, saying she is also ambitious and wants a title shot at ambitious. Dana says that anyone who wants a shot at the Raw Women's Championship woud leave it all in the ring. Charlotte tells Dana "You've got five weeks. Show me what you've got."

Backstage, Kevin Patrick interviews AJ Styles. Styles says that Randy Orton is "crazy in the head," and that it is The Fiend's fault, not his, that he's not focused. Styles says that Orton will be taking a loss at WrestleMania.

"The Phenomenal" AJ Styles beats Randy Orton. During the match, Alexa Bliss shows up on the TitanTron and winds up a jack-in-the-box, but says "not yet" before finishing the song on it. She then lights a match and blows on it, causing pyro to go off in the ring and Orton to regurgitate black bile. This allows Styles to hit Orton with the Phenomenal Forearm for the win. After the match, Alexa laughs at Orton as the show ends.

Raw Talk: Peyton Royce wants an opportunity.

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