'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Baron Corbin teamed with Bobby Lashley to defeat the dysfunctional team of Seth Rollins and AJ Styles on the May 6 episode of WWE Raw.
The match was less about Corbin and more about the current Universal Championship storyline between Rollins and Styles, whose rivalry has become increasingly heated after “The Phenomenal One” sent the champion through a table during last week’s Money In The Bank contract signing.
This week’s encounter came to an end when Styles ‘inadvertently’ struck his tag partner with a Phenomenal Forearm before abandoning him by walking to the back. That then allowed Corbin to take advantage by hitting the End of Days on Rollins to pick up the win.
Never one to pass up an opportunity to gloat, the former acting General Manager of Raw took to Twitter after the show, writing: "VICTORY!!! Hahaha I just pinned the universal champion!"
Corbin will take part in the upcoming Money In The Bank ladder match at the MITB pay-per-view on May 19. As the 2017 winner of the men's contract, he will enter the event as one of the favourites to claim the briefcase again.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at four recent hints which suggest that he will win the Universal Championship in the not-too-distant future.
#4 WWE moved ahead quickly with Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles
Following the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up, it was clear that there was one dream match that everybody wanted to see on Raw: Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles.
In previous years, whenever the roster changes have set up an inevitable dream match like that, WWE has had a tendency to wait several months down the line for the encounter to happen (e.g. Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34).
As soon as Styles was drafted to Raw, however, his pursuit of Rollins’ Universal Championship began, bringing an end to talk that the two men could meet at SummerSlam 2019 or WrestleMania 36 next year.
If WWE had waited until a later date for Rollins vs. Styles, it would have been predictable that the former Shield member would keep his title over the next few months. Now, given that the company decided to move ahead with Raw’s biggest match just four weeks after the Shake-Up, it opens up a very real possibility that there could be another title change this summer when the current storyline is over.
#3 He pinned Seth Rollins
WWE doesn’t let just anybody pin their world champions, so Baron Corbin’s 1-2-3 over Seth Rollins on Monday is almost certainly going to lead to him entering the Universal Championship picture over the next few months.
Short-term, the 2016 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner will join Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, Ricochet, Randy Orton, Ali, Andrade and Finn Balor in entering the Money In The Bank ladder match on May 19.
Long-term, even if he fails to win the MITB contract for the second time in his career, we are likely to see Corbin remain in high-profile matches against the biggest babyfaces on Raw for the foreseeable future.
After all, Rey Mysterio pinned Samoa Joe last week on Raw and has since been granted a United States Championship opportunity against him at MITB, so why would the same not apply to Corbin and the Universal Championship?
#2 He retired Kurt Angle
One of the most unpopular moments from WrestleMania 35 came when Kurt Angle lost his retirement match against Baron Corbin.
On paper, Corbin defeating Angle does not read very well for the average WWE fan. However, from a storyline perspective, it made perfect sense for the younger competitor who is just hitting his prime, Corbin, to defeat the veteran who is bowing out after a 21-year career.
That said, we have seen plenty of occasions throughout WWE history where an up-and-comer has defeated a veteran (The Great Khali vs. The Undertaker springs to mind!) and it has ended up looking like an awful idea when you see what happened next to the person who picked up the victory.
In the case of Corbin, the victory over Angle will only prove to have been a wise booking decision if WWE truly capitalises on it by moving “The Lone Wolf” to the next level as a Superstar. Right now, that next level has to be the Universal Championship.
#1 He is the biggest heel in WWE
WWE took the unusual approach of allowing three of their top babyfaces – Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston – to win world titles from heels on the same night at WrestleMania 35.
Despite that rare booking decision, recent WWE history tells us that the higher-ups with the company much prefer to have a heel champion with top babyfaces challenging them for the title. The Universal Championship, for example, has been an active title for a total of 989 days, yet only 122 of those days have been spent with a good guy holding the title.
There are exceptions, of course, such as AJ Styles’ year-long babyface reign with the WWE Championship, but for every exception there are multiple examples of lengthy heel title reigns (e.g. Alexa Bliss held the Raw Women’s title for 48 out of a possible 49 weeks in 2017-2018).
Looking at the heels on Raw right now, nobody – not even Bobby Lashley or Drew McIntyre – has been treated as an obvious priority by WWE as much as Baron Corbin, which is why it is safe to assume that his constant presence on television will eventually lead him to Raw’s top prize.
