WWE Raw results, Sept. 10, 2018: Roman Reigns takes Braun Strowman to "Hell"

The Hounds of Justice retaliate against Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre and the other Superstars who laid them out one week prior.

NEW ORLEANS — Last week, Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre got themselves a bunch of new friends last week when half the Raw Superstars helped them lay out The Shield. That said, it doesn't seem from Raw’s opening moments like that alliance was anything more than a partnership of convenience.

After thanking the Superstars who had made what Ziggler called the “hard choice” of standing up to The Shield, Strowman & Co. found their backup all but evaporated after The Hounds of Justice came down through the audience, axe handles in tow, and tried to fight their way to Braun and his “dogs of war.” Rather than throw down on even footing, however, Strowman, Ziggler & McIntyre opted to head for higher ground.

Once again, however, The Shield found themselves in a standoff with the law, as local police officers cornered The Hounds of Justice backstage. Rather than have them hauled off to prison a second time, however, Acting General Manager Baron Corbin offered them an ultimatum: The Shield must vacate the premises, or Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins would forfeit the Universal and Intercontinental Championships and all three would go to jail for a "long, long time." The Shield can call this skirmish a victory, but clearly, the bigger battle isn’t quite being dictated on their terms just yet.

After The Riott Squad defaced The Bella Twins' locker room, Fearless Nikki looks for payback against the group's leader, Ruby Riott.

Nikki wins, no riot(t). Following a petty act of locker-room vandalism, Nikki Bella knocked off Ruby Riott in a singles victory that built nicely upon The Bella Twins’ win over Ruby’s two henchwomen, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan.

That Nikki used her powerhouse style to get past Ruby’s wild brawling would be impressive enough, but given that The Riott Squad was lurking at ringside, the former Divas Champion kept having to turn her attention to her would-be interlopers. A haymaker made quick work of Logan on the apron, but Morgan took a little help to get rid of: After Nikki thwarted the Riott Kick and got Ruby in position for the Rack Attack 2.0, Liv rushed the ring, but Brie Bella pulled her out of the squared circle and clocked her with a right hand to clear the way for Nikki’s fornidable signature move.

So Nikki gets the win, and Brie turns away one devious blonde en route to a confrontation with another. Yep. The Bellas are back.

Louisiana's Superstars of Tomorrow visit Raw as WWE celebrates their bravery during Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.

Raw played host to several Superstars of a different variety tonight, as Big Show took the stage to introduce the Connor’s Cure “Superstars of Tomorrow,” who arrived on Raw as part of WWE’s support of Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.

“We fight to win matches. These incredible superstars on this stage with me are far more courageous,” Big Show said before introducing the eight assembled Louisiana-born Superstars: Super 4, Brayden the Punisher, Diva Supreme, Super Messiah, T-Vic the Skull Crusher, Charlie the Champ, The Quiet Storm and Lae Lae the Unstoppable. At the conclusion of their introductions, the New Orleans faithful gave the Superstars a hero’s welcome.

To find out more about Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month and how you can join the fight, visit ConnortheCrusher.com.

Under the tutelage of Drake Maverick, AOP continue to dominate in tag team action on Raw.

The resurrection of AOP continues, with Drake Maverick once again shepherding Akam & Rezar through a one-sided demolition of local talent. There’s certainly something to be said for seizing opportunities where they come, but the intrepid duo of Ronnie Ace & Nathan Bradley might have been better off leaving this one alone: Rezar brutalized Ace to such a degree that Bradley tried to take a walk, only to wander into a clothesline from Akam on the outside. After that, it was a short walk to the Super Collider and another victory in AOP’s book.

The B-Team try to reclaim their titles from the aggressive new champions in this hard-hitting rematch.

With their win over The B-Team, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre cleared the decks of competition and cemented themselves as the kings of Raw’s Tag Team division, but they might find that it’s harder to hold the throne down than it was to take it.

Even though the champs held off an effort by The B-Team that was so gritty and inspired that they had to resort to chicanery — McIntyre dispatched Curtis Axel with a Glasgow Kiss, and Ziggler raked Bo Dallas’ eyes — to set up the Claymore-Zig Zag combo, they didn’t get to enjoy the fruits of their labor: Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins jumped the titleholders from behind immediately after the match and sent them scurrying.

Acting General Manager Baron Corbin was furious that his edict had been defied and The Shield had returned, but Rollins & Ambrose pointed out that they were acting on their own, and The Shield had technically kept to their word and stayed away. They also seemed to get Corbin to kind of-sort of admit he had them arrested last week, bringing out a Deputy Sheriff (“G. Ambrose,” according to his uniform) to take The Lone Wolf into custody. However, after a quick sidebar, Rollins & Ambrose opted not to press charges and Corbin later ruled that Ziggler & McIntyre would defend their titles against Ambrose & Rollins at the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. His reason? That Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon wanted Sunday's event to have as many big matches as possible. 

KO will no longer be held accountable for what he does to his opponents.

Kevin Owens seemed pretty dead set on quitting a couple weeks ago, so what brought him back? The short answer is that Acting General Manager Baron Corbin made him an offer he couldn't refuse: That Owens could do whatever he wanted to anyone he wanted without fear of reprisal. In other words, the devastation KO inflicted upon Tyler Breeze in lieu of their planned match was essentially business as usual — as was his role in the attack of The Shield and especially his bushwhacking of Bobby Lashley last week, the last of which Owens elaborated on after dismantling Prince Pretty.

Upon further reflection, KO had decided that Lashley had some business to answer for, as the former ECW Champion is the one who injured Sami Zayn and kept him from his rightful place at KO's side the last couple of months. That, Owens claimed, is Bobby Lashley’s fault. And with carte blanche at his back, KO is out to re-institute The Kevin Owens Show with "anarchy, agony and destruction" for whoever he deems deserving. And that, too, will be Bobby Lashley's fault.

As for Lashley himself, he only popped up on Raw in passing, training in the gym while 205 Live's motor-mouthed Cruiserweight Lio Rush motivated him during his lift. But it's safe to say with Owens back in play, his evenings will get a lot more eventful in the near future.

The newly formed team of Chad Gable & Bobby Roode aims to ascend Raw's Tag Team ranks by once again taking on Konnor & Viktor.

Last week, Chad Gable bailed Bobby Roode out of a tight spot in their first match as a tag team against The Ascension. This week, The Glorious One repaid the favor, throwing his new partner a lifeline in a rematch against Konnor & Viktor that was a mirror image of the contest the previous week.

Once again, the former NXT Tag Team Champions focused the entirety of their offense on one opponent — Gable, this time — hoping to keep the other from ever getting into the ring. Once again, a crucial tag — from Roode, this time — turned the tide. And, once again, Gable provided the final exclamation point, tagging in on an unsuspecting Roode to execute the rolling German Suplex for the win.

WWE's first Universal Champion takes on The Living Truth in a match made by WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley.

Mick Foley may well be right, and Elias may well be a future Universal Champion. But The Living Truth nevertheless fell to Finn Bálor in an impromptu match organized at the last second by The Hardcore Legend.

To his credit, Elias was more than up to the task of hanging with The Extraordinary Man; despite the lack of preparation, there was enough history between the two Superstars to allow The Living Truth to put together a game plan on the fly. He even managed to avoid the Coup de Grâce and cue up the first-ever Universal Champion for Drift Away, but Finn used the oldest trick in the book to get the win over Elias: A small package reversal. Just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s not (too) sweet.