WWE Extreme Rules is a just a couple of weeks away and as we near Raw finds itself switching into a much higher gear. This particular Monday night saw a few big developments for some of the marquee matches, especially in the main event and tag team title scenes.
For the upcoming Fatal 5-Way Number One Contender's Match, a partial Shield reunion took place in Raw's main event. Sadly for Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, their ability to stay on the same page isn’t quite what it used to be. A misguided Superman Punch isn't exactly the best way to treat your partner.
As for the Hardys’ upcoming Tag Title defence, Matt and Sheamus battled it out for the right to pick the match stipulation. If you went with the obvious guess that a Hardy would choose a ladder-themed environment, you 'd be wrong.
Several other big developments took place, including a clever attack by The Miz that surprisingly wasn't directed toward Dean Ambrose and a Cruiserweight senton off of the top rope that was tailor-made for the highlight reels.
This article showcases the must-see moments from Monday Night Raw:.
#5 High praise from Paul Heyman
As the five competitors vying for a shot at Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship near their Number One Contender’s match, one person seems to be on a different path than the other four. Finn Balor was absent during the big kerfuffle in the opening segment and was also not included during the main event tag team match featuring all of his Extreme rules foes.
The segments he was involved in happened to be very telling.
Finn squared off against his former Bullet Club brother Karl Anderson in a singles match that featured a must-see promo beforehand. Paul Heyman made a surprise appearance and countered the first Universal Champion, offering some uniquely high praise.
He lauded Finn’s talents to the point that it brought out what looked like a genuine smile. He also made a point to call all four of Finn’s Extreme Rules opponents victims as a contrast to stating that Balor is “nobody’s victim.”
Balor is being set up on a pedestal to stand out among his peers. This has to bode well for his chances to challenge Brock for the title he never lost. It’s disheartening to think that Balor might ultimately be treated as fodder on the path to Lesnar vs. Reigns at next year’s WrestleMania, but for the meantime, he’s being regarded as a very special performer.
#4 Big air for Akira Tozawa
The rivalry continues between Brian Kendrick and Akira Tozawa. This time around, the former Cruiserweight Champion watched backstage as the man he constantly tries to school battled in the ring with Ariya Daivari. This was a fairly short contest, capped off with a huge high spot at the end.
After nailing a Hurricanrana and a German suplex, Tozawa climbed to the top rope and soared through the sky. Just look at the air time he got before he dropped the senton! Tozawa went for the pin afterwards, winning this match.
On 205 Live, Tozawa and Kendrick will compete in a Street Fight, which should be an exciting contest.
#3 Calculating the disqualification
During Dean Ambrose’s match against the Raw-debuting Elias Samson, his Intercontinental rival and his wife sat on commentary. It should’ve been obvious that The Miz would find a way to cause a disturbance. What he eventually ended doing was downright clever.
The Miz entered the ring late into this match and paused before what appeared to be an attack on the IC Champion. After thinking about it for a second, he realised he could mess with Dean psychologically if he instead struck The Drifter. He simply dropped the double axe handle softly onto Elias’ back. It was just enough to stop the match but not nearly enough to seem like an act of assault.
This was brilliant because instead of giving Ambrose a beating, he gave him something far worse: a loss. This should fuel Dean’s anger as they head into Extreme Rules.
#2 Matt announced the stipulation
The ongoing behind the scenes legal drama between Matt Hardy and his former employers may be draining, but his current WWE feud is loads of fun. He battled Sheamus on Raw in a singles match for the right to pick the stipulation for their upcoming Tag Team Championship Match at Extreme Rules, which he won after some in-ring shenanigans involving brother Jeff and Cesaro.
When Matt announced the stipulation post-match, he threw a big curve ball. The obvious pick would be that the Hardyz would want to fight under Ladder Match rules given their history. Instead, Matt opted for the ominous environment of a steel cage.
There’s plenty of reasons to be excited about these four men inside of a steel cage. The Hardyz still get a huge structure to tempt them to jump off of and the European brawlers have an environment that’s well-suited for brutality. This is a win-win for everybody.
#1 Inadvertent collision
Any match that features a Shield reunion, even if Ambrose is missing, is still a special occasion. The former Tag Team Champions of Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns took on Bray Wyatt and Samoa Joe. Sadly for them, they couldn’t get on the same page like in the good ol’ days.
In the final moments of the match, Reigns went in for a Superman Punch to Joe but got duped by a sidestep. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Rollins took what looked like a head on head bump by his partner. This led directly to Rollins and Reigns' loss. So much for getting the band back together.
After the match was over, Kurt Angle was seen backstage with Finn Balor. He set up a couple of big matches for next Monday night which included a Triple Threat between Finn, Joe, and Bray and also a singles match between Seth and Roman. If Rollins gets Superman Punched next week, it will not be an accident.
