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It's been over three years since Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns were united as one. By the end of this first Raw of October, The Shield teased their reunion. That's about as big of a highlight WWE could've pulled off, so kudos to them for the crowd-pleasing moment. As for the rest of the three hours, this Raw was a mixed bag.
Sasha Banks' mouth was evidence of the biggest botch of the night. A stiff strike caused her to bleed a little, although not nearly as bad as the mouth injury from Raw just one week prior. Other odd moments that deserved pointing out include a peculiar Jinder Mahal sign from the front row, a glaring storyline inconsistency regarding the Raw Women's Champion and her friends, and an awkward bounce off the ropes from Alicia Fox.
Kicking off the list is a standout insult from the Smacktalker Skywalker, Enzo Amore.
#5 Bloody Sasha
"Sasha Banks may need to call Cesaro's dentist!"
Corey Graves said the above quote during the Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Emma & Alicia Fox tag team match. It was an exaggeration for sure, but still a noticeable bit of blood. The Boss took an unidentified stiff shot in the mouth but it was nowhere near as gruesome of an injury as what The Swiss Superman endured last week.
It was unclear what specifically caused Banks' mouth to become noticeably bloody but she was seen several times before this checking herself for injury. She continued on in this contest even though she was aware of her situation. Even with her dental calamity, Sasha Banks and Bayley emerged victorious thanks in part to Emma walking out on her partner.
#4 Friends again?
Nia Jax and Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss used to be friends. However, Nia definitively turned against her pal during the buildup to WWE No Mercy. That resulted in a 5-way Women's match for Bliss' belt that was an every wrestler for themselves contest. Nia and Alexa were not working together during that match.
Knowing this, Mickie James appeared a little surprised when Jax emerged from Bliss' dressing room. It appeared that they were back to being buddies again without any real explanation given.
Was there an apology by one of the ladies? Was there a deal worked out that might give Nia a future singles title shot if she promises to not beat up Bliss? These are all important potential plot developments that could've answered some questions regarding their re-alliance.
#3 Bouncy on the second rope
Since ending her stint on 205 Live as the crazy girlfriend of Noam Dar, Alicia Fox has been somewhat MIA on WWE programming. That all changed with this episode of Raw. Fox was first seen helping Emma set Mickie James up for some AARP-style humour in a backstage segment. Then, she got to compete in an actual televised match.
After Bayley came in off the hot tag late in this bout, Fox suffered this rough landing on the mat, thanks to a neckbreaker of sorts. Alicia flopped on the ropes then finally came down on the back of her head and neck. That couldn't have been how she hoped to bump. Even worse for Alicia, Emma abandoned her at ringside shortly after this. She ate a pinfall shortly afterwards.
#2 Jinder sign that makes no sense
This sign is missing something. It simply states "I Drove 400 Miles Jinder Mahal." Surely the sign author forgot some important words.
Did they drive 400 miles to see Jinder Mahal? That seems like the obvious correction. However, this sign was displayed on Raw and Jinder Mahal holds the major title on the other show. If this person really drove all that way to see the top title holder of SmackDown on a Monday night, then that's too bad.
Another possibility for what message this sign was trying to convey was that the people who wrote this simply wanted to brag to the WWE Champion that they've driven 400 miles. If all that was missing is a comma then it could read "I drove 400 Miles, Jinder Mahal." Maybe the guy in the blue shirt thought he'd be impressed by that and simply wanted to tell him the good news of his travels.
The guy in the John Cena garb that somehow has a muscle-bound physique underneath the fluorescent orange also deserves a mention. Is he wearing a few dozen shirts to look puffed out like that? Also, did he drive 400 miles as well?
#1 Enzo burns everybody
The other wrestlers backstage may very well hate Enzo Amore's guts, but surely they appreciate how amazing of a trash-talker he is, right? The Cruiserweight Champion claimed the headlining spot of Raw for the second week in a row and took his time to verbally tear down every single one of his peers. It was fantastic.
Amore talked about carrying the division on his back and made fun of Mustafa Ali's parents for giving him a Lion King name. He quoted MC Hammer towards Rich Swann, called Jack Gallagher a teacup, and simply stated that Brian Kendrick was a 'hobo'. He went down the gamut of cruisers and proceeded to sling amusing insults, but the best line was directed at TJP. Amore asked him to present an ID because he didn't want to get in trouble for assaulting a minor.
The first Cruiserweight Champion of this lineage does have a surprisingly youthful appearance even though he's really in his 30s. That was an outrageously good burn and the crowd erupted in response.
