Brock Lesnar is making his return to RAW on Monday night and that only means one thing; it’s going to get crazy. (Facebook)
Brock Lesnar Took Over the Final Match & Destroyed the Competition
Right when it seemed that Roman Reigns was at the end of his rope in the final match of Raw, Brock Lesnar, finally, made his much-anticipated return to the ring. And it was worth the wait. Lesnar rushed into the center of the fight and immediately shut down the entire opposing roster.
He took down all of New Day. He took down Kevin Owens. He took down Alberto Del Rio.
There were bodies flying everywhere.
Then, Lesnar took on Reigns.
Although he had objected to being lumped into the Royal Rumble roster earlier in the night, the complete beatdown seemed to suggest that Lesnar was ready to join the fight in a few weeks. Things just got a bit more exciting.
#OneVsAll
In a preview of things to come in the Royal Rumble, Roman Reigns faced off against just about everyone on the WWE Roster while the McMahons sat next to the ring and watched.
Let’s just say, it didn’t go well.
#OneVsAll doesn’t seem to be working out too well for @WWERomanReigns right now… #RAW t.co/fFeoE43HsZ
Roman Reigns seemed fairly solid early on against Kevin Owens, but as the match progressed, he started to show signs of exhaustion and it didn’t take long for the roster to take advantage of that. There were kicks to the face.
Kalisto Defeated Alberto Del Rio for the United States Championship
It took a few tries – Del Rio kicked out several times – but Kalisto is, officially, the United States Champion. Officially. Here’s how the final moments of the match played out:
WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION! @KalistoWWE has won the #USTitle from @VivaDelRio! #RAW t.co/LWA2OoIBh4
Del Rio looked strong early on and even appeared to have Kalisto down the for the metaphorical count, but the tide never completely turned. “I fight every day for my opportunity,” Kalisto said before the match. “..and tonight, I’m going to give it my all!”
Chris Jericho Broke New Day’s Trumpet. For Real.
This is an actual screenshot of a grown man crying over his broken trumpet:
¡ADIÓS AL RUIDO!
#WWExFOX Chris Jerico rompió el trombón de Woods. #EnVivoxFOXPlay t.co/IFpz9q71jy
Chris Jericho once again taunted New Day with his “Rooty Tooty Booty” chant, but the real heart break came at the end of the tag-team match against The Usos when Jericho absolutely destroyed Xavier Woods’ trombone. It was the most vicious thing to happen all night. Even after Sheamus’ bloodied face.
Here’s how it played out:
RIP trombone.
Titus O’Neil Defeated Stardust & Then Jammed Out With a Small Child…But It Wasn’t Perfect
“Stardust is SEEING STARS!” – @MichaelCole
So, this is how – technically – the match ended. Titus O’Neil dropped Stardust in one heck of a finishing move and then proceeded to find a small child in the stands, lift him out of the crowd and stage an impromptu dance party along the wall. It was a pretty steep leap from decimating to adorable, but for a second it worked.
Then, Stardust (who also paid homage to David Bowie on his way into the ring) got up. And he destroyed Titus O’Neil. Right in front of that same little kid.
Stardust strutted away, Titus O’Neil was still on the ground and the little kid in the stands looked a bit confused about what was going on.
Sheamus Challenged Dean Ambrose Early in the Night
The #CelticWarrior @WWESheamus does not like to be embarrassed… #RAW @TheDeanAmbrose t.co/Z9X9yg007h
As expected, the night got underway with the McMahons once again throwing jabs at Roman Reigns, taunting him a bit about his upcoming Royal Rumble match against the entire slate. He laughed. They laughed. They threw more jabs.
Then Sheamus came out and…jumped on Dean Ambrose? Ok. We’ll go with it.
The match honestly felt like it lasted forever – we went to commercial break several different times – and then Ambrose completely lost his mind. The Intercontinental Champion destroyed Sheamus, long after the two had been counted out.
But while he was reveling in his beatdown Kevin Owens came sprinting in to throw in a few of his own punches.
In other words, the feud lives on. Check it out:
.@FightOwensFight admires his handiwork after attacking @TheDeanAmbrose on #RAW.
Pre-match Spoilers
Brock Lesnar is set to return to the RAW ring tonight and things are going to get a bit dramatic as a result.
Lesnar hasn’t been seen since defeating The Undertaker at Hell in a Cell at the end of October and there’s already plenty of speculation what his next move (or what Paul Heyman’s next move) is going to be. Although he hasn’t been on RAW in several months, Lesnar has made two house show appearances in the last month. He took on Alberto Del Rio in mid-December and, on January 8, faced off against Sheamus in Houston, Texas. Check it out:
That’s two straight matches against League of Nations members. That could be a trend that continues on Monday night. Or, as some have speculated, Lesnar could be here to challenge Roman Reigns and his WWE World Heavyweight Title.
The WWE official teaser added fuel to that fire:
Perhaps Lesnar’s return is tied directly to Mr. McMahon’s bombshell announcement last week that Roman Reigns will defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against 29 other Superstars in the 2016 Royal Rumble Match. Might Lesnar have sports-entertainment’s grandest prize in his crosshairs?
Speaking of Reigns, how will the champ react after his latest Vince McMahon punch and the announcement that he’ll defend his title in the Royal Rumble? Don’t expect that storyline to go away any time soon.
Meanwhile, there’s still a good amount of drama in the United States championship, particularly after last week’s SmackDown. Kalisto scored an upset victory over Del Rio, but the champ declined to put his title on the line. Although there are plenty of people who think Kalisto deserves a shot at the title, but the WWE may not want to push him into that storyline because of his undersized stature.
Don’t think RAW won’t keep the Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens feud going. After last week’s no-contest ruling, the two are primed for a Royal Rumble match, but the frustration from both sides is so strong, it would be silly not to add to this on Monday night.
WWE Raw airs at 8 p.m. ET on USA. Make sure to keep checking here throughout the broadcast for the latest updates and highlights from the night.