Having suffered an almost-unheard-of draw in their 2-out-of-3 Falls Raw Tag Team Title challenge last week, The Hardy Boyz came to Raw looking to put themselves back in the hunt for Cesaro & Sheamus’ championships. That meant they had to get past Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, the team The Hardys dethroned at WrestleMania to kick-start their comeback run.

The “good brothers” entered the tag bout on a bit of a roll themselves after making mincemeat of a weakened Enzo & Cass seven days prior, so Matt & Jeff were forced to dig deep to put themselves in position to win.

Jeff had to take out both opponents with Whisper in the Wind just to create an opening, but Matt made good on the opportunity after receiving the tag, kicking out of the Boot of Doom and hitting the Twist of Fate on Gallows before The Charismatic Enigma closed the book with a Swanton Bomb.

Credit: WWE.com

One of the good things about a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match is that it never leaves a doubt as to who truly earned the victory … except, of course, for the rare occasion that it does.

The 2-out-of-3 Falls Raw Tag Team Title Match (the first Tag Team Title variation of the bout in the history of Raw) between Cesaro & Sheamus and The Hardy Boyz brought out the best in both tandems, with The Alabaster Gladiator quickly landing the first fall on Jeff Hardy following a Brogue Kick, and a wild Matt Hardy claiming the second after slamming Cesaro’s his head onto each turnbuckle and executing a Twist of Fate.

Seeking fall No. 3, Jeff swooped down with a Swanton Bomb on Sheamus, but Cesaro saved the match by pulling The Celtic Warrior out of the squared circle, kicking off a wild brawl at ringside that resulted in a double count-out.

As a result, the match ended in a draw, which allowed Cesaro & Sheamus to retain their titles. The champions were left in a relieved heap on the ramp, but while The Hardy Boyz didn’t score the final fall, they were the only team left standing in the ring and looking ready to do it again.

Credit: WWE.com

It is a truth universally acknowledged that nearly every episode of “Miz TV” ends with the host catching hands, but The A-Lister’s sit-down with Cesaro & Sheamus ended badly even by those standards when Dean Ambrose and The Hardy Boyz came a-callin’ and scrapped with their WWE Extreme Rules opponents in Raw’s opening moments.

Despite the beating dished out by the Intercontinental and Raw Tag Team Champions, the impromptu Six-Man matchup that ensued from the fracas provided a unique opportunity for Miz — who will challenge for Ambrose’s title on Sunday — and Cesaro & Sheamus — who’ll make a play for the Hardys’ — to gain some momentum heading into Sunday.

Alas, no dice: After being isolated from the Hardys for an significant portion of the match, The Lunatic Fringe summoned Jeff Hardy into the fray. The Charismatic Enigma quickly tagged in his brother Matt, who survived a wild brawl to hit Twist of Fate on The Miz, teeing up Jeff for the fateful Swanton Bomb.

Credit: WWE.com

Goldust may have abandoned his Tag Title pursuits for a return to eerie, directorial form, but reigning Raw Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz have swept their No. 1 contenders in singles action. Matt Hardy piggybacked off of his brother Jeff’s win over Sheamus to hand The Alabaster Gladiator his second loss in the last two weeks, and this one came with a hefty price tag, too: It gave the Hardys the right to choose the stipulation for their title defense against Cesaro & Sheamus at Extreme Rules.

The Celtic Warrior had been rolling against Hardy, until a timely interference by Jeff gave Matt enough room to brawl his way back into the match. Jeff once again made his presence known, taking out Cesaro at ringside before The King of Swing could get involved and diverting Sheamus’ attention long enough for Matt to seal the win with the Twist of Fate. And what stipulation did they select for their troubles? A Steel Cage Match.

Credit: WWE.com

The days of polite handshakes in the Raw Tag Team Title race are over.

With the battle lines drawn once again between The Hardy Boyz and the new-attitude Cesaro & Sheamus, the Raw Tag Team Champions and their challengers deployed half their respective ranks — Jeff and Sheamus, to be exact — for a singles competition that lacked any of the tentative sportsmanship of their last cycle of matches.

In fact, Hardy started like a house on fire against The Alabaster Gladiator, only to find his aggression turned against him when Sheamus tossed Jeff into the barricade minutes into the match.

The Charismatic Enigma eventually clawed his way back after kicking out of a knee to the face that miraculously didn’t knock out any more of his teeth. When The Celtic Warrior Brogue Kicked Matt Hardy off the apron (an unsuspecting Cesaro broke his fall), Jeff caught his opponent with the Twist of Fate and administered the Swanton Bomb. Hardys, one. Challengers, zero.

Credit: WWE.com