WWE Raw results, April 16, 2018: Superstar Shake-up concludes with titanic 10-man main event

Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan make their destructive Raw debut during the 2018 Superstar Shake-up.

Bayley and Sasha Banks’ score-settling will have to wait. The long-simmering confrontation between the two fraying friends ended up playing host to an unceremonious intrusion from The Riott Squad, the three-woman wrecking crew from SmackDown LIVE who ruthlessly attacked the two former Raw Women’s Champions in the middle of their match.

They picked as dramatic a moment to do so, too, making their move right as Banks trapped The Huggable One in the Bank Statement at the end of an increasingly intense confrontation. The trio of Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan dispatched the two competing Superstars with ease, and it’s safe to say that if Bayley and Banks stay on Raw throughout the Superstar Shake-up, they may well long for the days where their biggest problem was each other.

Akam & Rezar continue to dominate without the aid of Paul Ellering.

The post-Paul Ellering era is off to a roaring success for The Authors of Pain, who notched a repeat victory over Heath Slater & Rhyno despite closing the book on their legendary manager in the wake of their Raw debut last week.

To the credit of Slater & Rhyno, who demanded the rematch, they made things a little more competitive than the first time around, jumping the former NXT Tag Team Champions before the bell. Rhyno, who didn’t even make it into the ring last week, ended up getting involved early to put AOP on their heels. But any missteps Akam & Rezar made without Ellering in their corner amounted to little in the long run: Slater was sent sailing out of the ring, and The Man Beast was stifled down the stretch, leading to a thunderous Last Chapter that handed the Authors the win.

As Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn are granted Raw contracts, The A-Lister is forced to go to SmackDown LIVE without The Miztourage.

Last week, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn battled to a dead heat over Kurt Angle’s one free Raw contract, leaving The Olympic Hero to refuse a Team Red deal to either Superstar. That, however, was last week. This week, Owens and Sami both returned during an episode of “Miz TV,” wherein they revealed that Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon had overruled Angle and signed The “Yep!” Movement to Raw, much to the consternation of The Olympic Gold Medalist.

But one executive decision merits another, and Angle quickly informed Miz that SmackDown LIVE’s front office of Commissioner Shane McMahon and newly-minted GM Paige had struck a deal to send The A-Lister to the blue brand… without The Miztourage. Miz would get his last hurrah in the form of a 10-Man Tag Team Match that would team him, Sami, KO and The Miztourage against the team of Seth Rollins, Finn Bálor, Braun Strowman, Bobby Lashley and a mystery Superstar making his Raw debut, but the most ominous piece of news The A-Lister received may well have been that Daniel Bryan called in a favor to send Miz to SmackDown LIVE in the first place. They’ll probably have a lot to talk about.

The War Goddess matches wits with six-time Women's Champion Mickie James on Raw, as Nia Jax looks on.

Alexa Bliss may be doubling down on her claims that it was Nia Jax, not her, who was the bully throughout their long rivalry. But The Irresistible Force was hardly the most immediate problem Team Bliss faced on Raw, as Ember Moon pinned Bliss’ lieutenant Mickie James one week after downing Alexa during her Raw debut last week.

With Nia watching on commentary (Alexa, allegedly for her own safety, refused to join the crew), Moon once again demonstrated the unique style that took her all the way to the NXT Women’s Championship. That included the devastating Eclipse, which hit its mark so effectively that Mickie was sent flying across the ring. Ember and Nia might be on friendly terms now, but — as the commentary team was quick to point out — with Moon rising as a player in a stacked Raw Women’s division, it might not be long before Bliss isn’t the most immediate problem the champion faces, either.

After Dolph Ziggler rejects Titus O'Neil's offer to join Titus Worldwide, Drew McIntyre strikes.

Dolph Ziggler is back on Raw, and he did not come alone. The Showoff’s return to Team Red ended up doubling as the Superstar Shake-up's first roster move involving NXT when Drew McIntyre stormed the ring from the crowd, helping Ziggler to dispose of Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews after they tried to recruit Dolph to Titus Worldwide. The former NXT Champion’s arrival left the WWE Universe aghast and immediately provided major returns for Ziggler, as McIntyre held Titus against the turnbuckle while Dolph administered a superkick, and the two wiped out Apollo Crews with a combo of the Claymore Kick and Zig-Zag.

The Samoan Submission Machine trades verbal jabs with The Big Dog, three weeks before their titanic battle at WWE Backlash.

Roman Reigns was quick to point out that he was on Raw while Universal Champion Brock Lesnar was once again absent, but despite his promise to become a "full-time Universal Champion" at the Greatest Royal Rumble event, Samoa Joe was there to quip that Reigns' boasts stopped short of “getting the job done.”

Once again reminding his WWE Backlash opponent that Lesnar has gotten the better of him at almost every turn, Joe reiterated that he would provide the "sweet mercy" of putting The Big Dog to sleep after the dust had settled from the Roman-Lesnar Steel Cage title match. That said, Joe wasn’t about to take Reigns’ attempts to bait him into a fight then and there. The Samoan Submission Machine reiterated that their battle would happen “on his time,” though the question of how much of The Big Dog will make it to Backlash remains to be seen.

The Fashion Police come to Raw in the Superstar Shake-up and collide with The Bar.

The Superstar Shake-up was not kind to Cesaro & Sheamus. Not only were the former Raw Tag Team Champions cited by new Raw arrivals Breezango for various crimes against fashion — clashing outfits, Mohawks and the like — but The Bar ended up losing to The Fashion Police in shocking fashion. Perhaps the former champions were expecting a bit more of a stately match with The Fashion Police and weren't prepared for what they got instead, or perhaps they were just incensed by Breezango’s pre-match mockery. Either way, the combination of Fandango’s antics — he started the match wearing Cesaro’s jacket — and the resilience of Tyler Breeze led to a rollup by Prince Pretty that put The Bar in both fashion jail and the loser's circle for the first time ever.