WWE Raw results, July 8, 2019: Roman Reigns and "Gary Garbutt" stand tall despite Shane McMahon's machinations

NEWARK — That’s two in a row for Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch, who powered past Andrade & Zelina Vega to earn their second consecutive Mixed Tag Team Match victory, teeing them up for a third at Extreme Rules with their titles on the line. Unsurprisingly, the Twitter beef between Lynch & Zelina carried over into the match, and despite some impressive innovation from La Muñeca, The Man applied the Dis-arm-her to submit Vega, removing her from the bout per Elimination rules.

Lynch was far from a passive presence for the rest of the match, however, brawling with Lacey Evans (her half of Sunday’s challengers) and Vega, while also getting the worst of some incidental contact with Andrade following an outside-the-ring scrap among the four competitors. Rollins’ concern for his partner briefly gave Andrade an opening to hit his running knees, but once Vega was dispatched a second time, The Beastslayer drilled Andrade with the Stomp to win the match. The two champions were not afforded the dignity of a peaceful exit, however: Baron Corbin and Evans resurfaced after the match to lay them out at the top of the stage as a final message for Sunday, and, perhaps, a preview of a world where Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch's Mixed Tag Team Match stands at two impressive wins and one catastrophic loss.

The Lone Wolf and The Sassy Southern Belle revel after dropping The Beastslayer and The Man.

Never let it be said Ricochet doesn’t know what he’s walking into: Although AJ Styles is his opponent this Sunday, the high-flyer is painfully aware that he’ll have to contend with the entire Club if he wants to escape Extreme Rules with his United States Title. The last word of his pre-match interview — “In the end, I’ll just have to fight all three” — ended up being oddly prophetic, as Luke Gallows and then Karl Anderson battled the titleholder in consecutive matches with Styles looming large at ringside.

Even though the U.S. Champion quickly dispatched both Good Brothers, those matches were little more than pretext to wear him down in advance of the inevitable attack from Styles, who slid into the ring and instigated another 3-on-1 mauling the second Ricochet defeated Anderson. In what was as close to a merciful gesture as Styles had to offer, he promised to stop the beating so long as Ricochet stayed down. True to form, the champion did not obey, and Styles did what he promised, dropping Ricochet with a Phenomenal Forearm seconds later.

Ricochet aims for retribution against The Club as he goes one-on-one with Luke Gallows on Raw.

As goes Alexa Bliss, so goes Nikki Cross. And as of Monday night, that’s no longer rhetorical: Following a victory over Bayley in a Beat the Clock Challenge with the stipulation for Bayley vs. Bliss at stake, The Twisted Sister made a selection that could cement their alliance in stone. As a demonstration of her loyalty to Bliss, Cross —who dispatched Dana Brooke with plenty of time to spare against Bayley's 4:32 win over Sarah Logan — selected a 2-on-1 Handicap Match as the stipulation, meaning Bayley will be defending her title against both women at once.

Her advice that Bayley find a loyal friend to slap some sense into her didn’t exactly fall on receptive ears, as the champion slapped Cross in the face, dropped her with the Bayley-to-Belly and drilled a flying elbow into her sternum. Clearly, if Alexa Bliss has manipulated Nikki Cross, she’s too far gone to save. And if she hasn’t manipulated her, Bayley has two motivated opponents to deal with. Either way, the time for talk has ended.

The SmackDown Women’s Champion is unfazed after learning she will defend her title against both Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross in a Handicap Match at WWE Extreme Rules.

Gary who? The mystery partner Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre selected to team with Roman Reigns turned out to be a custodian at the Prudential Center named Gary “The GOAT” Garbutt, who only accepted the gig after Shane and McIntyre promised him a $5,000 payday. In all honesty, Gary — a three-time, three-time, three-time Employee of the Month at Prudential Center who competed in a mask — earned his money and then some, breaking out a frankly astounding sequence of high-flying maneuvers before McIntyre turned him inside out with a match-ending Claymore.

Reigns, who had been waylaid by a trip into the ring post before Gary tagged himself in, drove McIntyre and McMahon from the ring before unmasking “The GOAT” to reveal none other than Cedric Alexander, the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion who apparently assumed “The GOAT’s” identity for reasons yet unknown. Alexander received a busted lip for his troubles, and if Shane’s M.O. is any indication, that may well be the first of many painful lessons he learns … provided, of course, Shane & Drew don’t learn one first from Roman and his other partner this Sunday.

Shane McMahon chooses Roman Reigns’ partner in this tag team Raw main event.