WWE RAW 12th September 2016: 5 Points to Note

Rollins may not be a total babyface yet but he’s getting there

On the heels of a stellar, stellar show that was Backlash, Raw emanated from Baltimore, Maryland and while the 3 hours are a bit too much, it had its own share of storyline development thatw as very well done. The main event picture looks rock solid with chaos reigning supreme and a certain superstar returned from his honeymoon to make another superstar’s life a living hell. The heel reigned supreme on this show and sometimes a babyface has to pull off something heelish to get what they want.

Here are the five points to note from this weeks episode of Monday Night Raw.

1: Redesign, Rebuild, Replaced

Owens was attacked by Rollins during his match

Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins can’t stand each other and it was all so beautifully played out in a backstage segment where Owens got enough time to show off that famous sass. He told Rollins that he hasn’t done anything of note since returning – he lost the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, got beat up by a ‘one armed’ Finn Balor - so it was but imperative for Triple H to get rid of him. And while Rollins berated Owens for taking an assist from Triple H to win the title, Owens reminded the architect about how throughout his career he’s been assisted by his Sheild brothers and by various versions of The Authority.

Mick Foley ordered Rollins to not interfere in the match between Owens and Reigns but to no avail. The match was restarted by Mick Foley and what a match it was!

2: Payback

Rusev Crush!

Reigns and Owens had a terrific match. After Rollins interfered, they continued that stellar approach after the match was restarted but guess who’s back from their honeymoon?Rusev came out to distract Reigns enough for the match to end with a Pop-Up Powerbomb.

And then, the ghost of Summerslam past came to haunt Reigns. Rusev was beaten up by Reigns at the PPV so the Bulgarian Brute returned the favor by ending Raw by completely decimating Reigns with The Accolade.

Rusev and Reigns’ feud has been restarted and the latter is not going to be in the main event picture for some time. The US Title seems that much more relevant now!

3: The Mentor and The Protégé

Charlotte and Dana Brooke’s relationship was quite interestingly played out

Well, if that’s the relationship Charlotte and Dana Brooke have then the former is quite merciless when it comes to being a mentor. Tonight’s episode delved deeper into the relationship and the dynamic both of these women share. Charlotte is the one making the rules and Brooke is the obedient, submissive one (though she did snap a little, but that’s for a later day)

While these two haven’t had the best chemistry since they became an alliance, the dynamic right now is being executed quite well. This and Nia Jax’s feud with Alicia Fox. Hope this feud is one of Jax’s longer feuds in Raw since ‘Crazy Fox’ has been missed dearly. She has to avenge being speared through the barricade.

4: Unremarkable

This match up was quite muddled up

Sasha Banks’ return has been quite a muddled affair. Firstly, that fake retirement speech wasn’t that well received and plans for the Clash of Champions bout were obviously in a flux since they didn’t know how sooner Banks will recover from her back injury. And it’s okay that Bayley took the pin since losing hasn’t really harmed Bayley’s character, it has only helped.

Banks is back to facing Charlotte to get the title she lost at Summerslam. But this match between Bayley, Banks, and Brooke wasn’t all that great storyline wise. The storyline has been pretty bumpy. But well, over to Clash of Champions!

5: Hook or by crook

Cesaro and Sheamus have been great in this feud

Cesaro pulled off a really heel move by tugging onto the ropes to score and pin and equal the best of seven series. This how desperate the characters are to get through with this series and in turn shows how important the series is. The winner in the final bout at Clash of Champions will be given a Universal title opportunity and the story has been built up quite well.

This feud has brought out the best in both Cesaro and Sheamus and this is the best character wise role they’ve played in some time. Cesaro selling his back injury this far into the feud is a great bit of continuity. This has been one of the best outcomes of the brand split. More and better stories.

2 more stars coming from AEW to WWE? More details right here