Roman Reigns will be back in the ring on Monday night after booking his ticket to WrestleMania 32. (Instagram)
Tonight’s WWE RAW is going to be good.
The fallout from Sunday night’s Fastlane pay-per-view is going to be very real, particularly after Roman Reigns booked his ticket to square off against Triple H at WrestleMania, defeating Brock Lesnar and Dean Amrbsose. Read on for all the results of each match:
Stephanie McMahon Was Named the Winner of the Vincent J. McMahon Legacy Of Excellence Award
So, well that happened. Are we really surprised?
.@StephMcMahon is named as the first-ever recipient of the #LegacyOfExcellence Award! #RAW
She was boo’ed. Everyone hated it.
AND THEN SHANE MCMAHON SHOWED UP AND EVERYONE LOST THEIR MINDS.
HERE COMES THE MONEY!!! $$$$$
#ShaneMcMahon is LIVE on @WWE #RAW!!!
He wouldn’t hug his father. He. Wouldn’t. Hug. His Father. Or shake his hand. You can watch the entire conversation between the three here, but here’s the highlights. McMahon wants to run RAW. Seriously. And Vince is ok with it. Seriously. As long as Shane wrestles in one match and Vince can choose when.
Shane agrees.
The match? A Hell in a Cell battle against The Undertaker at WrestleMania.
The New Day vs. The Lucha Dragons and Neville
Winner: The New Day
The New Day spent much of the match in control, but Neville did make it a bit difficul nail a 450 to get Big E on the floor. Still, Kalisto didn’t make matters better. He ran and jumped off Neville’s back and splashed into Xavier Woods.
Then Cara and Kofi Kingston go at it and it appeared Kofi pulled at his mask as he nailed a Touble in Paradise for the Win.
Brock Lesnar Will Face Dean Ambrose a WrestleMania
It’s a feud we can get behind. This happened before RAW on Monday night:
In reaction to that video Lesnar and Paul Heyman appeared and discussed (or at least Heyman did) what happened at Fastlane and how infuriated his client was after the events that will keep him from the main event at WrestleMania.
The whole event lasts for several minutes before Heyman issues a challenge to the WWE roster to take on Lesnar at WrestleMania. Lesnar smirks. And then the sounds of an ambulance echo through the arena.
Come hell or high water, @TheDeanAmbrose is determined to come face-to-face with The Beast @BrockLesnar. #Raw t.co/ztUGiJUSK9
Ambrose, who couldn’t even stand, responded to the challenge and demanded a matchup at WrestleMania. Lesnar agreed. He smirked again. Heyman dropped a microphone on Ambrose’s head.
The Usos vs. The Ascension
Winner: The Usos
…and The Dudley Boyz.
The Dudley Boyz taunt The Usos for a bit, giving The Ascension a chance to jump in and attack. Still, The Usos bounce back, led by Jey who absolutely unloaded on Viktor, hitting a Samoan Drop and the Rikishi splash.
Chris Jericho & AJ Styles vs. Heath Slater & Curtis Axel
Winner: AJ Styles & Chris Jericho
It’s #Y2AJ with their first victory as a team, over the #SocialOutcasts!! #RAW
Well, alright, the one-time feud is now a partnership and it’s already got one victory under its collective belt. Styles and Jericho team up well in their first match together. The duo took down the Social Outcasts members after Jericho took out Axel with the wall and Styles springboarded out to take out Slater.
Axel eventually taps out and the new Jericho-Styles tandem raised their arms together in victory.
The Wyatt Family vs. Ryback, Kane and Big Show
Winners: The Wyatt Family
If you don’t choose to #FollowTheBuzzards, #TheWyattFamily will make you! #Raw t.co/VRbk9BhCkQ
In a repeat of the match from Fastlane, things stayed mostly the same for much of the match until, surprise, Ryback walked out.
In the end, Ryback deserting his teammates led to a victory for The Wyatt Family after Bray Wyatt was able to hit Kane from behind with the Sister Abigal for the win. After the match, Rich Brennan approached Ryback backstage and asked why he left. Ryback’s response? He’s done with tag teams and is focusing on himself.
Sasha Banks vs. Naomi
Winner: Sasha Banks
Another semi-repeat from Fastlane and another victory for Sasha Banks. It’s what happens after the match that’s more interesting.
The Becky Lynch-Sasha Banks alliance seems alive and well, particularly after WWE Divas Champion Charlotte appears, wearing gear that mocks the Bella Twins, and tries to act emotion about the partnership in front of her.
Who wants the #DivasChampionship more, @SashaBanksWWE or @BeckyLynchWWE?! #Raw t.co/mQ6dNVyjPy
She also adds that The Authority has told her there will be a match to determine who she faces at Wrestlemania – Sasha Banks or Becky.
Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus – and Triple H
Winner: Triple H’s knuckles
There’s not really even a point in discussing the part of this match that pit Reigns against Sheamus. Because it doesn’t really matter.
What matters is the post-match brawl that broke out when Triple H appeared in the ring and proceeded to dismantle Reigns’ entire face. Check it out:
THE FISTS ARE FLYING between #TheGame and @WWERomanReigns!! #RAW @TripleH
There was blood everywhere. There were half a dozen refs trying to restrain Triple H whose tape was actually stained red. It was violent. It was intense. The fans absolutely loved it.
“REMEMBER WHO I AM NOW?!?!” – @TripleH to @WWERomanReigns
#RAW
Yeah, probably. He probably remembers you now. And his nose might be broken.
While the WWE has yet to announced any specific matches for tonight, the following Superstars are scheduled to appear on the weekly event: WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Sheamus, Bray Wyatt, Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens.
It should be an especially interesting night, particularly after Paul Heyman posted a fairly epic Twitter rant on Monday morning after his client, Brock Lesnar, was, more or less, attacked in the three-man match. You can read the whole thing on Heyman’s Twitter feed, but here are a few highlights.
There’s no one like @BrockLesnar. No one. He’s not only a once n a lifetime (once EVER) athlete, he’s equally an unique as a performer.
I’m in awe of what @BrockLesnar does in that ring. All these years in the industry, and I can still say when Brock is in the ring, I’m a fan
Meanwhile, Charlotte took to social media as well, giving props to Brie Bella after their Fastlane match, but making sure to point out, she’s ready to roll through the Divas division:
Brie is one of the very finest women I’ve ever faced… But no one will stand in my way of Being the greatest of all time. NO ONE. #Raw 👑
Expect some Charlotte moments in the ring tonight as well. Lastly, there’s certainly going to be some moments discussing The Wyatt Family’s loss to Big Show, Kane and Ryback on Sunday night. It was a bit of an upset loss, particularly after the way the WWE has been playing the Family and Bray Wyatt even posted a rare tweet afterwards:
In addition to the post-Fastlane matches, the show will open with the presentation of the first-ever Vincent J. McMahon Legacy of Excellence Award. Of course, those who watch regularly know that the award has been hyped up for weeks.
We’ve also been hearing rumblings that there is going to be a big-name guest on tonight’s RAW and that the surprise will happen at the beginning of the show. Rumor has it that the person – who isn’t on the current WWE or NXT roster – could be Undertaker’s opponent at WrestleMania. The best guesses out there for the surprise guest right now? CM Punk and Kurt Angle, although the possibility of Punk returning to the ring seems very, very low.
Toight’s WWE RAW will tape from the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan and airs at 8 p.m. ET o the USA Network.
