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Monday Night RAW was live tonight from the historic Madison Square Garden, and WWE wasted no time in making it a big deal right from the word go. What better way to kick-off the show than the iconic glass-shattering music hitting the arena.
After the unsuccessful Universal Championship contract signing between Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman last week with Michael Cole as the moderator, it was Stone Cold Steve Austin who was decided to call shots this week on the go-home RAW episode for Clash of Champions.
While the Texas Rattlesnake was successful in making the Universal Title match official for the PPV this Sunday, it was not long before some uninvited guests appeared and all hell broke loose. As Austin himself said in his tweet last week, "These contract signings are always chaotic".
Let's take a look at the four things we learned from the Universal Championship contract signing at RAW in MSG. Did you enjoy watching the Hall of Famer's return to RAW?
#4 AJ Styles has become a massive heel with even fans booing him
AJ Styles is arguably one of the best and the most loved pro-wrestlers in the world right now. And why not, the guy is just that good. But what makes him even more amazing is his versatility to play both a face and a heel perfectly.
You are not a bad guy if you can't make the fans boo you! That was not the case tonight as the Phenomenal One made sure to play the exact irritating and irritated heel that fans love to boo.
Be it him mocking the fan-favorite Austin, the fans cursing him in unison, or getting beaten down by Rollins and Strowman only to temporarily get the upper hand, before meeting an earth-shattering Stunner, Styles has turned into a massive heel - something WWE and RAW needs.
#3 Strowman might turn heel at Clash of Champions
Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman are the RAW Tag Team Champions and will be facing each other for the Universal Title at Clash of Champions. While this isn't the first time such an event is taking place, the storyline is still interesting enough for us fans to pay attention.
From the last couple of weeks, Rollins has anticipated Braun's doubts of him using unfair tactics to get an upper hand for their fight this Sunday. He has also ensured the Monster Among Men of him fighting fair, but Braun doesn't seem convinced.
One interesting observation is how the Monster Among Men himself has been showing the tendencies of a heel - claiming himself to be more powerful, disrespecting Steve Austin saying "you're just a Rattlesnake", and so much more. The signs do point at a heel turn from Strowman at Clash of Champions.
In Braun's own words on RAW tonight, "I like being the Tag champs, but I'm gonna love being the Universal Champion."
The Monster Among Men has been after the title for a long time and unfortunately, hasn't been able to get his hands on it (no puns intended). When the time and opportunity comes, what makes you think he won't go to any measures to make sure he walks out of Clash of Champions as the new Universal Champ?
#2 Styles might challenge for the Universal Title soon
Ever since turning heel and forming The OC, AJ Styles has become a huge force to reckon with, if he already wasn't. Unfortunately, he is yet to get in a major rivalry.
As mentioned in the earlier slides, Styles has been interrupting the Universal Title match contract signing for the last couple of weeks, and every time he has had one point to make - he deserves a title shot more than anyone else. The mid-card champion does have a claim to that, in my opinion.
He has also made fun of the way Strowman was chosen to be the challenger by Rollins, solely because he looked at the title and asked his Tag Team partner to give him a shot. AJ has made it clear that he has his eyes on the Universal Title and it looks like The Phenomenal One might soon get into the championship scene.
It might not happen instantly after Clash of Champions, as Bray Wyatt is all but set to challenge for the title at Hell in a Cell. But expect Styles to be around and try to get a shot at the title he is yet to win.
#1 Steve Austin has a lot of freedom on the mic
The last few months have seen WWE loosen up their strict PG-programming on RAW and SmackDown, with superstars cursing and calling each other with a lot of insulting stuff which was not allowed before.
The Universal Championship contract signing segment on RAW tonight took this to a whole new level as the language used by Stone Cold Steve Austin was something we don't see on WWE TV. First, he introduced the two men facing each other for the Universal Title this Sunday in his typical style, even saying "Seth frickin' Rollins".
Then AJ Styles interrupted the three and did what a heel does best - making fans boo him. The crowd was completely into the segment with the typical "What?" chants as Austin was acknowledging them, but this was not the case with Styles who was constantly insulting the crowd and the entire city.
This didn't go well with the crowd who broke into a massive chant directed at the Phenomenal One. To this, Stone Cold claimed on the mic, "I don't know how good you're hearing this AJ, but you've got 18 thousand people calling you an Assh*le."
It was indeed unexpected to hear that from the Texas Rattlesnake, but one thing is clear - he has a lot more freedom than anyone else on the mic in WWE - and that's the bottom line.
Did you enjoy Monday Night RAW tonight? Let us know in the comments section below.
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