Dean Ambrose didn’t take the WWE title at Roadblock, but he’s ready to make his next move at RAW. (Instagram)
Well, we were promised title matches at Roadblock and we got ’em. We just didn’t get any new champions.
The New Day, Charlotte and Triple H all retained their belts against their respective opponents on Saturday night and while the results might not spark any kind of weekend drama, they’re certainly helpful in advancing storylines on WWE RAW. Let’s break down tonight’s events:
WWE Tag Team Title Match: Alberto Del Rio & Rusev vs. The New Day
Winner: The New Day
But. BUT!
Ok, The New Day are still Tag Team champs after a match that seemed to last forever and went through just about every emotional roller coaster possible.
But was after the match that was the real dramatic part, because the League of Nations absolutely beat down. Check it out:
A vicious #BrogueKick for good measure from @WWESheamus… #RAW #TagTeamTitles #TheLads
It wasn’t pretty. It was excessive. It was brutal. The fans booed. A lot. Seriously, this is what the League left behind:
But, well, The New Day still won and that’s what’s important right? Sure.
Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose? Well, Kind of
Is it about to be BEAST vs. LUNATIC…with a crowbar?! #RAW @BrockLesnar @TheDeanAmbrose @HeymanHustle
Dean Ambrose came out. He lamented his loss to Triple H. And then Brock Lesnar (and Paul Heyman showed up.
Heyman begged Ambrose – who still had his coat zipped this whole time – to leave Lesnar alone and stop “provoking” the beast. Obviously, Ambrose wasn’t interested because HE HAD A CROWBAR IN HIS JACKET THIS WHOLE TIME.
What?
Lesnar circled the ring for a moment and appeared as if he was going to jump in for the fight, but, in the end, he just walked away. We are, admittedly, disappointed. Guess we’ll have to wait until WrestleMania.
Ryback vs. Sin Cera
Winner: Ryback
It happened, Ryback threw Sin Cera around the ring and then it was over. Honestly, it didn’t really last very long.
The big part of this match was Ryback telling Kalisto he should ditch Sin Cera and focus on his own career as the WWE United States champion. The two shared a pointed stare after the match.
Sami Zayn vs. The Miz
Winner: Sami Zayn
This one might not have been what we expected, if only because Zayn won after Kevin Owens, of all people, distracted The Miz.
Seriously.
Owens, who was sitting ringside during the match and joining in on commentary, tried to prove himself to the rest of the announcer’s table and made a move on The Miz who was standing in the corner of the ring. This gave Zayn just enough time to attack. It worked. Of course, this kind of move helped as well:
Owens was less than pleased.
Brie Bella & Alicia Fox vs. Naomi & Tamina Snuka
Winners: Tamina Snuka & Naomi
The absolute beatdown of Brie Bella continues as the Diva dropped another match and, once again, had to deal with Lana.
In fact, it was a distraction from Lana that allowed Naomi to run into the ring for the double team as Tamina covered for the win.
Triple H vs. Dolph Ziggler
Winner: Triple H
Ok, so early in the show Dolph Ziggler came into the ring, lamented his lack of a WrestleMania match and insulted Stephanie McMahon. So, Stephanie gave him a match. Any WrestleMania match he wanted. If. If he could beat Triple H.
Spoiler alert: he didn’t.
ONE-TWO-NOOOOOO! @TripleH kicks out despite the #Famouser by @HEELZiggler! #RAW #HHHvsDolph
He tried. He did. He almost had Triple H pinned. More than once. But the WWE World Heavyweight Champion held his own on RAW and eventually got the win.
Everything is cool right? Ziggler is sad. Triple H is vaguely exhausted. We’re on to WrestleMania. Nope. Cue Roman Reigns’ music. ROMAN REIGNS IS BACK AND HE IS HERE TO DESTROY TRIPLE H’S FACE.
That’s basically what he did. Here are some hightlights:
This happened too:
In the end, Reigns was, eventually, reigned in by The Usos and Triple H was left, literally, laying on the ground bleeding.
Chris Jericho vs. Neville
Winner by DQ: Neville
Chris Jericho whined a lot on Monday night. Like more than he probably should have. He called out people’s signs, told the crowd to shut up and destroyed AJ Styles in a very long monologue.
Then, he lost in the ring. Neville was hurt. Jericho didn’t care. He shoved the ref and that was that.
Shane McMahon vs. The Undertaker
Well, kind of.
In a preview of things to come from WrestleMania, Shane McMahon and The Undertaker squared off in the ring and while McMahon tried to hold his own, he simply wasn’t quite enough. He got beat up. Of course, having your father throw you into the arms of The Undertaker probably doesn’t help either:
What goes up, MUST come down! @ShaneMcMahon gets a #Chokeslam thanks to the assist from @VinceMcMahon! #RAW
Vince McMahon kind of skulked out of the ring after that. Fade to black.
In other words, there are going to be some very peeved off Superstars in the ring tonight. So, what’s on the schedule for this latest episode of RAW? We’ve got spoilers for the event, which is taping live from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The WWE has already announced the following stars will appear tonight: WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, Shane McMahon, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, The New Day, Albert Del Rio, Rusev, Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Lana, Brie Bella, Chris Jericho and AJ Styles.
As if that weren’t enough, we’ve also got a confirmed match for tonight.
In what is, apparently, becoming a trend, The New Day will defend its WWE Tag Team championship against Alberto Del Rio and Rusev. No doubt the other two members of the League of Nations will also be involved somehow as well. Del Rio posted this on Instagram over the weekend:
Of course, our biggest question heading into RAW is how Dean Ambrose will respond to Triple H after being defeated at Roadblock on Saturday. It probably won’t end very well.
And what about Roman Reigns? The former WWE champion hasn’t been seen in the ring since he underwent nose surgery in late February, although he did appear at the WrestleMania 33 pres conference last week. There has been speculation that Reigns, who is slated to battle Triple H at WrestleMania in April is having issues with his projected return. Still, there’s some hope. PWInsider is reporting that Reigns was spotted in Pittsburgh earlier on Monday and add that the Superstar is slated to return to RAW tonight.
Meanwhile, in the Divas division, expect more of the growing feud between Lana and Brie Bella as well.
WWE Raw airs at 8 p.m. ET on USA.