Seth Rollins successfully defended the WWE world championship against Randy Orton in a cage match at Extreme Rules, but had no time to celebrate. Fans voted via the WWE App during Monday Night Raw this week for the title holder to face Roman Reigns and Orton in a triple threat match at the next big event, Payback, on May 17.
This came after Orton and Reigns defeated Rollins and Kane in the main event of the show, Rollins fell to the RKO and was compared to Catwoman and Justin Bieber. Suffice to say, it was not a good night for the champ. Time will tell if Bieber chants will continue to be directed at Rollins moving forward.
It seems most episodes of Raw kick off with an opening talk segment and end with a tag team match. I understand WWE produces television every week of the year, but the company may want to seek some more variety when it comes to the layout of its programs.
The other big story to come out of this week’s event was the return of the King of the Ring. The tournament was launched in 1985 and last seen in 2010 when Sheamus wore the crown. The opening round matches saw Neville, R-Truth, Sheamus and Bad News Barrett advance. The semi-finals and finals will air on WWE Network during a special at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 28.
Neville impressed with a spectacular win over Luke Harper. The NXT standout has a chance to really solidify his initial run on the main roster if he wins the King of the Ring. This accolade launched the careers of Brock Lesnar, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple H and many others. Ziggler lost to Bad News Barrett thanks to interference from his rival Sheamus, who beat Dean Ambrose by disqualification. R-Truth got an unexpected win over Stardust.
Other happenings on Raw included Ryback making quick work of Bo Dallas. Bray Wyatt appeared post-match and let his intentions be known that the “Big Guy” is his latest target. Adam Rose beat Fandango. Adding insult to injury, Fandango’s ex, Rosa Mendes, officially joined the Exotic Express and put a lip lock on Rose that bordered on PG-13.
Fellow “Total Divas” stars Naomi and the Bella Twins added another chapter to their rivalry. Brie Bella gave fans an update on the condition of her husband Daniel Bryan and was attacked by Naomi backstage in the middle of her interview with Renee Young. Brie then lost to Naomi with her sister and Diva’s champion Nikki looking on.
New WWE tag team champions The New Day celebrated their win from Extreme Rules. Big E beat Tyson Kidd. Interesting enough how over the trio of Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E have become as a heel tag team and embracing the negative reactions they received from the fans in every arena. Damien Sandow cut an honest promo about his journey so far in WWE. The former Mizdow resonates with fans and has that similar charismatic star quality of The Rock. Here’s hoping the company continues to give Sandow a platform to build on the momentum he is building. Curtis Axel interrupted Sandow on Raw, which followed an entertaining exchange between the two.
Rusev will get one more shot at John Cena’s United States title at Payback in an “I Quit” match. Heath Slater answered Cena’s open challenge, but Rusev beat up the superstar before he made it to the ring. The positive reactions for Rusev’s manager Lana gets louder with each event. Despite representing a despised villain, she gets more popularity. The last time this scenario really played out on WWE TV it involved Marc Mero and Sable, who became one of the top divas ever. Time will tell if Lana enjoys the same success.
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Photos: WWE
