Roman Reigns has quite a task in front of him at Royal Rumble, but first he has to get through this week’s Raw. (Facebook)
A Lot Happened During the Highlight Reel – Like A Lot
Can #SuplexCity survive the #HighlightReel?! #Raw @BrockLesnar @WWERomanReigns t.co/a73MebQEMz
Alright, so we started out Monday night’s Raw with Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns discussing the Highlight Reel and the upcoming Royal Rumble. Reigns called out Brock Lesnar and promised that the three men would return to the ring to wrap up Raw with, as Jericho put it, the biggest Highlight Reel in WWE History.
They did not disappoint.
Jericho and Paul Heyman jabbed with a short war of words before Lesnar came face-to-face with Y2J. It got real dramatic real fast as Lesnar simply did a lap around the ring before Reigns made his own appearance.
Then, it got a bit crazy.
THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE @WRESTLEMANIA 31! #RAW #HighlightReel
As you’d expect Lesnar and Reigns fought. Then Sheamus appeared. Then the League of Nations joined him and absolutely staged a beatdown on Reigns before turning their collective attention to Lesnar, who took all four members of the League down. Of course, that was a heck of an effort from Lesnar and Reigns used it to his advantage, following up with his own spear to the Beast.
But wait, there’s more.
The Wyatt Family appeared. And they wreaked havoc.
.@BrockLesnar…meet #SisterAbigail! Will @WWEBrayWyatt and his family stand tall this Sunday at #RoyalRumble? #RAW
Bray Wyatt hit Reigns with a Sister Abigal. He went down. Braun then followed up with a clothesline on Lesnar. The entire Family yells about Royal Rumble and we fade out. Yup, that happened.
Sheamus & Alberto Del Rio Cruised Past Dean Ambrose & Kalisto
For a moment there it looked as if Dean Ambrose and Kalisto were going to get a jump (literally) on Sheamus and the reigning U.S. Champion. Not so fast.
What happened? Dean Ambrose got distracted. Seriously.
While Ambrose was standing outside the ring, flaunting his throw-down of Del Rio, he took part in a bit of a staredown with Kevin Owens (who was doing a guest stint at the announcer’s table) and Del Rio got the chance to get back up and drop him with a big-time kick. Sheamus and Kalisto tried to keep things going in the ring, but Sheamus blocked a Salida del Sol and took Kalisto down for the win.
That can’t happen in Sunday’s Royal Rumble, especially if Ambrose wants to walk away with an Intercontinental Championship.
Becky Lynch Got Her Wish – A Divas Championship Match is Coming
Well, the crowed cheered. Becky Lynch taunted and Ric Flair bought it all hook line and sinker.
Despite some protests from his daughter, Charlotte, Ric Flair responded to Becky Lynch’s taunts and declared that the two would battle for a Divas Championship in Sunday’s Royal Rumble. Let’s just say Becky was a bit psyched.
Going to #royalrumble!!!!! This is the greatest day of my life… So far 😉 #RAW
Of course, the road to the Rumble has been pretty dramatic for both Charlotte and Becky Lynch. The former friends have established one of the best in-ring feuds of the past few months as Charlotte turned on Becky and joined forces with her father. She was not particularly interested in the rematch. Check out her reaction:
THIS SUNDAY, @MsCharlotteWWE defends her title against @BeckyLynchWWE at the #RoyalRumble. #Raw t.co/kVWbeJFtob
Roman Reigns Is Facing Some Serious Tough Royal Rumble Odds
The McMahons continue to stack the metaphorical deck against Roman Reigns in next week’s Royal Rumble. The father-daughter duo appeared on stage midway through the night, set to pick the first entrant into Sunday’s Royal Rumble match and things are not looking good for Roman Reigns.
Check it out:
And the No. 1 entrant in the #RoyalRumble is… @WWERomanReigns! #RAW
The McMahons went on to pick two more times and, surprisingly enough, Roman Reigns was selected first each and every time. Coincidence? Probably not.
Big Show Knocked Out Every Single One of the #SocialOutcasts
The benefits of having a #NewFaceOfDestruction in your crew… #RAW @BraunStrowman
Well, that’s one way to make a statement.
The Social Outcasts, excuse us #SocialOutcasts, proclaimed themselves ready for Royal Rumble and predicted that they would be trending topics across the world on Monday night. Well, they might be, but not for the reasons they hoped.
The Wyatt Family Continued to be a Focused Force in Ring
“The apocalypse is here.”
That is actually how the Wyatt family wrapped up its victory over the Dudley Boyz. So, that seems like a pretty good insight into the group’s collective thinking right now. Also, this might help too:
The benefits of having a #NewFaceOfDestruction in your crew… #RAW @BraunStrowman
The Wyatt family wasn’t exactly an odds-on favorite for the Royal Rumble on Sunday, but as far as they’re concerned, they’re primed and coming for the title and only the title.
The League of Nations Challenged & Roman Reigns (Plus Chris Jericho) Answered. Big Time
.@WWERomanReigns sends a clear message to the other #RoyalRumble competitors… DON’T mess with #TheBigDog. #Raw t.co/TpgftfeEDm
The League of Nations was less than pleased that Roman Reigns appears to only be interested in fighting Brock Lesnar in next week’s Royal Rumble. After all, as they pointed out, Reigns is set to go up against the entire WWE slate and there are plenty of competitors looking to take his title.
Reigns, flanked by Chris Jericho, opened the night – and responded to the League – by laughing at them. And challenging Rusev to a one-on-one match. Oh, and did we mention that Jericho appointed himself special referee? It made for a pretty interesting match as Jericho essentially shut out the League of Nations from the ring. Check it out:
Best. Ringside ejection. EVER! @WadeBarrett and @VivaDelRio are outta here as well! #RAW #RomanvsRusev @IAmJericho
That cartwheel, though. Is it 1999?
After Jericho threw the rest of the League out (Sheamus had tried to attack Roman Reigns, after all), the rest went about as well as you’d expect for Rusev. It didn’t take long for Reigns to take him down. That won’t be the last time we see the reigning champion, or Jericho tonight. Both of them are slated to get back into the ring for The Highlight Reel with Brock Lesnar.
Pre-Event Spoilers
There’s less than a week until Royal Rumble so it’s safe to assume that tonight’s WWE Raw is going to be jam-packed with top-tier events.
This week’s Raw is being taped at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio and already has a handful of superstars confirmed. Check it out: Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, The Wyatt Family, The Dudley Boyz, The New Day and Alberto Del Rio.
Although there haven’t been any specific matches announced prior to the event, Lesnar is expected to appear on The Highlight Reel with Jericho. Expect a bit of chaos to erupt there, particularly after last’s run-in between Jericho and The New Day.
So, what else is expected to go down? Let’s break down a few pre-event spoilers.
The Social Outcasts have been on the upward trend over the past few weeks, even making several appearances on Smackdown as well, and viewers can expect them to gain a bit of the spotlight on Monday night as well.
Charlotte is expected to respond to Becky Lynch’s Royal Rumble challenge as well. The feud between the two Divas has been growing and growing over the past few weeks and it could come to a bit of a head here, setting the stage for Sunday’s pay-per-view
Meanwhile, Kalisto and Del Rio could battle once again over the U.S. Title after last week’s rater strange swap between the two men. Amrbrose and Owens, who are already slated for a Royal Rumble match, will likely battle once again on Raw tonight.
Lastly Roman Reigns will once again earn a good chunk of the focus, particularly with his one vs. everyone match looming.
Raw airs at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network. Make sure to check back here during and after the event for all the updates and highlights.