Another week, another major Raw moment.
What is Daniel Bryan’s status as WWE World Heavyweight Champion? Were Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns able to get their hands on Seth Rollins? Speaking of Rollins, why did he betray the Shield a week ago?
So many questions to be answered, let’s just get right to it.
The Authority wins, for now.
For months and months, the Authority threw every obstacle they could in front of Daniel Bryan in hopes of derailing his climb up the proverbial mountain. But Bryan conquered it all, eventually having his Wrestlemania moment and finally capturing the WWE World Heavyweight Titles in New Orleans.
Shortly after, Stephanie McMahon would unleash the demon Kane on Bryan, and after a series of brutal matches between the two, Bryan injured his neck and was forced to have surgery that would keep him out indefinitely. After announcing that Bryan would forfeit his titles if he cannot compete at the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view, McMahon officially stripped the Beard of his belts after doctors determined that Bryan would be unable to compete at the PPV.
And boy did Steph and Triple H enjoy the moment. We saw the return of the “B+ player” line from Triple H, as the Authority gloated about being right all along. For now, they are. But Bryan never officially surrendered his titles as he was not in the building for the announcement, setting up his return nicely whenever he is cleared by WWE medical to return to the ring. The return of the Beard can’t come soon enough.
Three more qualify for the MITB ladder match.
Following the announcement of Bryan’s relinquishing the titles, the Money in the Bank ladder match at this month’s PPV officially will be for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
After Alberto Del Rio qualified last week, three more men claimed their spots in the match of a lifetime.
First up was the Viper himself, Randy Orton. Orton secured his spot in the match by… being a member of Evolution. Triple H added him to the MITB without forcing the Viper to compete at all. Shocking, I know.
Next, we had United States champion Sheamus taking on Intercontinental champion Wade Barrett. As expected, the match between these two brawlers was an absolute slugfest. Barrett dominated most of the match, nearly causing Sheamus to be counted out early on and getting near-fall after near-fall. But as is often the case for Sheamus, the Irishman fought back and caught Barrett with a Brogue Kick out of nowhere for the 1-2-3, securing his spot in the MITB match.
Next up, we had current Paul Heyman Guy Cesaro taking on former Paul Heyman Guy Rob. Van. Dam. in a great back and forth match (following an even better Paul Heyman promo). Both men took turns dominating the bout, scoring plenty of near-falls along the way. After a close two count by Cesaro following a brutal uppercut, Van Dam made his comeback. Ultimately a late mistake by Van Dam allowed Cesaro to hit the Neutralizer and score the pin to secure his place in the ladder match.
We are all Bo-lievers!
After a lackluster run in his first call-up to the main roster, Dallas has returned as a motivational speaking, delusional heel. Dallas thinks he’s a hero to the crowd, he thinks the boos are really fans chanting “Bo-ooooo!” and his character is amazing. While his in-ring moves have not been highlighted much, his character alone has caught the attention of the WWE Universe.
The Shield drama continues.
After the chairshots heard round the World on last week’s Raw, Seth Rollins had some real explaining to do.
Before we got Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose let their feelings be known, and well they didn’t have many nice things to say about their former brother in arms.
“You’re the scum of the Earth,” said Roman Reigns, “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t piss in the wind, and you don’t stab your brothers in the back.”
“We want you to stand out here in this ring, in front of the whole world, and lie through your teeth.” Ambrose said. “We’re going to listen to every word of it, and then we’re going to beat the hell out of you.”
Ambrose in particular cut one of the most impressive promos we have seen in a long time.
Rollins would make his way out to his new intro music amid a chorus of boos later in the evening for a sit-down interview with Michael Cole, and boy was it a doozy.
“I don’t get all the controversy, are we talking about what I did last week? To me that wasn’t a big deal, I was just doing what was best for business. Best for my business.” Rollins said, “Dean Ambrose is a lunatic.. and Roman Reigns, the golden boy. You’ll never see anger and fury like you see in Reigns. Without someone like me to control it, he’s worthless. Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns are nothing without me.
Rollins wasn’t done there however.
“Why is this a surprise? I took the Shield to the top, as high as we could go.” Rollins continued, “To me they were business partners, and I severed a business relationship.. You and everybody else better start believing in Seth Rollins.”
Rollins then challenged his former partners to come out and back up their words from earlier in the evening. Reigns and Ambrose made their way out to the ring, only to be interrupted by Harper & Rowan of the Wyatt family. Ambrose and Reigns nearly got to Rollins before Bray Wyatt saved the former Shield member and the Wyatts began to beat down the Shield.
It looked like all was lost for the Shield before, wait what is that? THAT’S JOHN CENA’S MUSIC!
Superman himself made the save as the faces cleared the Wyatt family out of the ring. Setting up one heck of a main event match later in the evening.
What a great segment, I can’t wait for this rivalry to continue to develop in the coming weeks, and hopefully, months.
Another six-man spectacle.
As is often the case, the six-man main event was a great way to close Raw out.
As the Wyatt Family made their way to the ring, we were given a surreal sight inside of the squared circle. John Cena, standing tall with Roman Reigns and Dean Amrbose, two men who, along with Rollins, had made Cena’s life hell in the past.
The match started out with an all-out brawl between the six men before settling down. Ambrose got things off by taking it to Rowan, showing the awkward aggression that has made him a fan-favorite. Moments later the powerhouse, Roman Reigns was tagged into the match and immediately went to work. The intensity the two remaining Shield members shown throughout the match was a clear message to former stablemate Rollins that they were more than capable of being successful without the Shield’s architect.
Early on, Reigns, Ambrose and Cena were in control. As is often the case in these matches, the Wyatt’s made their comeback. Bray Wyatt reminded us all why he is one of the best characters in the WWE Universe, laughing hysterically while beating down John Cena before dancing around with his limp body and doing a phenomenal job of playing to the crowd. This guy is going to be a main event superstar for a long, long time.
(Side note: The Roman Reigns jump kick from outside onto the apron is amazing.)
As is often the case, the match broke down towards its finish. A Wyatt “Sister Abigail” on Cena was followed by a Reigns superman punch. After some more back and forth between the six men, Reigns nailed Harper with a spear to win the match for the faces.
Next week will provide fans with some clarity on the remaining three participants in the MITB match, as well as further the Shield/Rollins feud. As always, check back with us next Tuesday for the recap!