WWE Raw results, March 5, 2018: Braun Strowman ends Symphony of Destruction Match with crushing piano solo

The Empress of Tomorrow goes one-on-one with The Irresistible Force in a hard-hitting WWE Elimination Chamber rematch.

The first time Asuka faced Nia Jax, The Empress of Tomorrow escaped with a win via a technicality. The second time, she won by the skin of her teeth. The third time was the charm, as the Women’s Royal Rumble Match winner finally cracked the code and landed a far more decisive (if no less hard-fought) victory over The Irresistible Force just a month from WrestleMania.

Even though a backstage Alexa Bliss predicted nothing less than a career-ending loss for The Empress of Tomorrow, and even though Jax powered her way to an early advantage, Asuka’s ruthlessness was far more than The Irresistible Force could handle. Asuka ensnared Jax in an armbar down the stretch and transitioned into a triangle when Jax hoisted her into the air, refusing to release the hold even after Nia rammed her into the turnbuckle.

After Jax bounced Asuka off the ropes, Asuka re-applied the armbar in what would turn out to be the bout's deciding maneuver. Jax refused to submit for what seemed like an eternity, but Asuka eventually got the tapout she wanted, handing Jax a loss that left her teary-eyed in the ring. The WWE Universe acknowledged The Irresistible Force's efforts with a pointed ovation, but Alexa opted for more of a tough-love tactic, telling an increasingly emotional Nia she was sure The Irresistible Force would recover to make WrestleMania next year ... or risk losing everybody's respect for her.

Can Raw's "Top Guys" pick up a decisive win against the Raw Tag Team Champions?

The Bar spoke a touch too soon last week by insisting they’d beaten every tag team Monday Night Raw has to offer, but as of this week, Cesaro & Sheamus can finally make the claim: Following their victory over The Revival, the Raw Tag Team Champions have officially swept the field.

And, since a Revival win would have gotten Dash & Dawson a title match at WrestleMania, The Bar have seemingly vanquished all their potential challengers for the big dance. That said, the “Top Guys” fought with all the ferocity you’d expect from their two reigns as NXT Tag Team Champions, and The Bar only beat The Revival by using their own strategy of cutting the ring in half against them. 

Even then, however, it was about as close a win as you could get. True to form, Dash & Dawson took a cue from a classic tag team and seized control with a Powerplex that notched a near three-count. With the match slipping away, Sheamus was forced to run interference, taking out Dash Wilder with a Brogue Kick before The Revival could execute the Shatter Machine on Cesaro. The Swiss Cyborg administered the Neutralizer to the stranded Scott Dawson, and that was that. The Bar march down the Road to WrestleMania a little worse for wear, but victorious all the same.

The Cenation Leader takes on Goldust for the first time ever, live on Raw.

John Cena hopped over to SmackDown LIVE in search of a Road to WrestleMania, and his big move is already paying off. Not only did WWE’s resident free agent win his way into what is now a Six-Pack Challenge for AJ Styles’ WWE Title at WWE Fastlane this Sunday, he has an idea for a WrestleMania dream match if he wins. After promising a record 17th World Title, The Cenation Leader demanded Styles use his rematch clause in the event of his victory to turn WrestleMania’s WWE Title Match into a Triple Threat between himself, The Phenomenal One and Men's Royal Rumble Match winner Shinsuke Nakamura.

Cena also revealed that he showed up on Raw to avoid an attack from the likes of Styles, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin, though he wasn’t immune from a confrontation from a Raw Superstar. The interfering party turned out to be Goldust, who wanted to topple Cena as a starting point to achieve his own WrestleMania dreams.

However, the improved odds of making the big dance have already invigorated the 16-time World Champion. Cena shook off Goldust’s mind games — not to mention a devastating low blow behind the ref’s back — to take The Bizarre One down with his big combo of shoulderblocks, slam, Five-Knuckle Shuffle and Attitude Adjustment to win the first-time-ever matchup. That’s a wrap.

With seemingly no one to watch her back, The Huggable One squares off against Absolution's Mandy Rose.

Bayley and Sasha Banks have always had a friendly, if competitive, rivalry, but The Boss’ betrayal of The Huggable One during the Women’s Elimination Chamber Match seems to have finally opened a rift between the two that will take some time to mend. Not only did Bayley bail on Banks in a crucial moment during a Six-Woman Tag Team Match last week, The Huggable One seems resigned to a life without backup as she faces whatever lies ahead for her.

As Absolution’s Paige pointed out before the scheduled match between Bayley and Mandy Rose, that means The Huggable One is making life incredibly difficult for herself. It proved to be a valid point. Sonya Deville's presence kept Bayley at a constant disadvantage; The Huggable One was only able to defeat Mandy with a surprise rollup, and the ensuing beatdown from Absolution was only thwarted by the arrival of Banks. 

The Boss singlehandedly stopped the attack and helped Bayley to her feet, but despite the assist, The Huggable One seemed ambivalent at best about her presence. Bayley and Banks may still be friends, though as Bayley’s refusal of a post-match embrace indicates, they’re not exactly on hugging terms at the moment.

The Man Beast battles The Eater of Worlds, as "Woken" Matt Hardy sets the stage for "The Ultimate Deletion."

Bray Wyatt challenged “Woken” Matt Hardy to a final battle, and now The Woken One is ready to accept. He even has a location in mind.

After The Reaper of Souls dispatched Rhyno — piling on last week’s decimation of Heath Slater — and demanded The Woken One present himself, Hardy appeared on the TitanTron with a mind-boggling acceptance of Wyatt’s challenge. Hardy not only promised to subject Wyatt to “The Ultimate Deletion,” he vowed to do so beyond the reaches of space and time itself, on the only ground that could possibly play host to the finale of The Great War: The Hardy Compound, where flying drones roam, expansive lakes stretch as far as the eye can see, and the battlefield has been prepared for annihilation.