On the heels of a lot of retribution following Sunday’s Payback PPV on the WWE Network, WWE stormed into old WCW territory at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia, for this week’s Monday Night RAW.
And look who’s back!
Look who is coming back to Raw tonight! http://t.co/6SUPKHhEi3 http://t.co/GLwF86O330
Hooray!
Sunday’s fatal-four-way match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was only HALF predictable — Kane and J&J Security defiantly helped Seth Rollins at all costs to help Seth Rollins do what was “best for business” and retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship over Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Unfortunately, that means that the brief Shield reunion during the match, which saw Randy Orton receive the triple power bomb through the announcer’s table, isn’t something that is still in the plans.
Here is what happened on this week’s Monday Night RAW:
Welcome Back the Authority!
#TheAuthority announces the #ICTitle #EliminationChamber Match. #RAW http://t.co/GTBFM9GAKV
Stephanie McMahon and Triple H announced that in two weeks at WWE Elimination Chamber, there will be a Chamber match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship that Daniel Bryan reliquinshed last week.
Ryback vs. Sheamus followed the Authority’s announcement.
Sheamus coming off of a strong victory against Dolph Ziggler at Payback defeated Ryback who was still nursing a broken rib from his match at Payback. Sheamus seems to be gathering momentum heading into the IC Elimination Chamber match. Sheamus was originally supposed to feud with Daniel Bryan after Wrestlemania.
Bo Dallas Came Out & Attacked Neville
.@TheBoDallas attacks @WWENeville after his match on @WWE #RAW. #BOlieve @WWENXT http://t.co/X9X0Xnxspv
Last night at Payback Neville faced King Barrett in a match where Barrett walked out and got counted out.
After Neville’s match tonight, Bo Dallas came out to attack him. All you have to do is BOLIEVE! Or… BO-LEAVE!! Get it?
The Bulgarian Brute Is Ready to Head Out On His Own
.@RusevBUL to @LanaWWE: “I Need No One!” #RAW http://t.co/5AS5hZyDUe
Lana quit on Rusev’s behalf last night at Payback and tonight on RAW signaled the end of the partnership between the Ravishing Russian and Rusev.
Rusev came out and proclaimed that he doesn’t need Lana and never needed Lana in the first place. the crowd showed their support by cheering Lana, who is continuing her babyface turn.
The Slap heard around Russia. as @LanaWWE smacks @RusevBUL on #RAW! http://t.co/jCkhllBmpt
Later in the night Lana slapped Rusev, fully cementing herself as a new face.
Bray Wyatt Continues to Roll
Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt was an exceptional battle of two former rivals again. In their feud from late last year, Ambrose never definitively won a match.
Unfortunately, that didn’t change on RAW. Thanks to J&J Security’s involvement in the match, Wyatt defeated Ambrose with Sister Abigail again. Ambrose would later get his revenge in the final segment of the show, though.
MARK OUT MOMENT: John Cena’s Challenge is Answered
NXT Champion Kevin Owens cane out to answer John Cena’s open challenge for the United States Championship… or did he? Owens declared that one day Cena and him would fight, but it would be on the NXT Champion’s terms and not Cena’s. Owens then attacked Cena and hit a powerbomb, stepped on the U.S. Championship and raised the NXT Championship high in the middle of the ring.
Owens will defend the NXT Championship Wednesday night at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable against Sami Zayn.
Also..
Kevin Owens will face John Cena at Elimination Chamber one-on-one.
Dean Ambrose & The Authority Close Monday Night RAW
The Authority came back out to close the show because seeing them three times already tonight wasn’t enough… The segment was dedicated to WWEWHC Seth Rollins called “Architect of a Dream,” which compared to Rollins to… none other than Triple H! How touching. That was, until Dean Ambrose came out to spoil the party.
The night ended with Ambrose combating the Authority, but falling to Rollins and company. Rollins used the Pedigree again, to the disappointment of everybody who knows he isn’t as good as his mentor Triple H. Rollins and Ambrose seem to be continuing their feud from last year.
Here is what else you can expect for tonight’s RAW just 24 hours removed from Payback:
John Cena’s U.S. Championship Open Challenge Continues
The Open Challenge continues! John Cena vs. Rusev was also slightly predictable. Cena never quits, he never gives up, and Sunday at Payback the WWE’s Most Valuable Player of the last 10 years made good on his go-to match stipulation, despite passing out during towards the end of the match — Stone Cold only wishes he had referee Mike Chioda in his Submission Match against Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 13. Cena’s victory wasn’t important.
At the end of the match, Cena had Rusev locked in the STF using the top ring rope and started uttering words in his native (Bulgarian) tongue. This was when Lana, who was showered in “We Want Lana!” chants throughout the night, stormed into the ring with a microphone to “quit” on Rusev’s behalf. In a segment later in the night, Rusev yelled at Lana and told her to leave. Could this finally be the end of the Ravishing Russian’s pairing with the Bulgarian Brute? What is next for Rusev after failing to regain the United States Championship he so desperately wanted for prideful reasons.
Sheamus & Dolph Ziggler Even the Score Up at 1 Win Apiece
Payback got off to a hot start when the Celtic Warrior and the Show-Off squared off in their second PPV match in a row.
Late in the match, Ziggler was busted wide open, worse than any WWE superstar has been in recent years and on par with Brock Lesnar’s laceration in the main event at Wrestlemania. Sheamus used the wounded Ziggler to his advantage by hitting a Brogue Kick, which resulted in the 1-2-3.
Although Ziggler has proven he can go toe-to-toe with Sheamus, the ending of these two PPV matches have not gone well for him. Will Ziggler retaliate once more or will he let bygones be bygones … for now.
Ryback Was Fed More & Choked on the Food
This isn’t to say Ryback choked because he didn’t. That being said, Bray Wyatt out-muscled Ryback to a victory in a surprisingly interesting bout.
Ryback is the powerhouse of WWE, but Wyatt’s unorthodox style and underrated power seemed to have shocked and gotten the better of the “Big Guy” on their first go-around. What will Ryback do in response to his loss at Payback, and now that Wyatt is back on track, is one match enough to satisfy Wyatt and make him go out and target another superstar in need of humbling?
