Roman Reigns might have a trick or two up his sleeve, especially after dealing with CM Punk’s antics ever since Reigns chose him as his WWE WrestleMania 42 opponent. With tensions already at their peak, I think the situation could potentially draw in another member of Reigns’ family.
The heart of the matter
On the March 16 edition of WWE Raw, Reigns bumped into The Usos backstage, a week after they confronted Punk about his statement about Reigns’ deceased father. Reigns acknowledged their efforts and that they were right in their course of action.
The OTC then looked into the camera and issued a message saying that everyone in the Bloodline should take offense to Punk’s remark about Sika Anoa’i.
“At the end of the day if you run your mouth, there’s gotta be consequences. As a matter of fact, to all my family, all the Bloodline, cousins, you should be offended at what CM Punk said about my father, your Uncle. But here’s the thing, you got before and you have after WrestleMania, but on that weekend CM Punk is mine,” said Reigns.
Given Reigns’ demeanor for anyone to step up, there is one other person from his family whom we all know has long-term issues with Punk: The Rock.
Why The Rock could return to be in Roman Reigns’ corner again
The WWE veteran showed solidarity with Reigns at WrestleMania XL against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. However, the original motive behind his move was to initiate a feud with Reigns for WrestleMania. That was met with backlash from the WWE fanbase who instantly rallied behind Rhodes (#WeWantCody) who won the Royal Rumble and rightfully carved his path for WrestleMania.
Last year, The Rock influenced John Cena’s shocking turn heel at Elimination Chamber with Rhodes being the victim again. While Rhodes is feuding with Randy Orton on SmackDown, The Rock might be tempted to drop by and ensure he doesn’t get the win at WrestleMania 42.
The Rock’s history with CM Punk
The Rock and Punk go a long way back. When Raw celebrated its 1000th episode in July 2012, The Rock returned as a special guest on the program while Punk and John Cena were battling it out for the WWE Championship. Big Show interrupted and attacked Cena, forcing Rock to rush out to even the odds.
Punk was already infuriated when The Rock dismissed him earlier that evening which shaped his decision to attack Rock with a GTS, instigating their rivalry further.
In January 2013, The Rock faced off with Punk and challenged him for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. This was also where Punk’s signature “Your arms are too short to box with God” promo was used.
It’s important to note that during this time, The Shield were running rampant in WWE. The stable (Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose) made their debut at Survivor Series 2012 and interfered in Punk’s match against Ryback.
At the 2013 Royal Rumble, The Rock and CM Punk collided in a WWE Championship match. The bout carried the stipulation that if The Shield got involved in any manner, he would be stripped of the title.
With Reigns now standing as one of the biggest names in the industry, let alone the WWE roster, he possesses the influence to shift the dynamic power play on his side and urge The Rock to return.
If that scenario unfolds, The Rock’s appearance on the road to/or at WrestleMania 42 could amplify the momentum for Reigns and Punk’s rivalry.
Seth Rollins believes his 2014 heel turn helped set the stage for the success the pro wrestling industry is having today.
In June 2014, Rollins betrayed The Shield and joined forces with The Authority. Now more than 10 years removed from that angle, Rollins appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter and was asked about the moment. Rollins said he wouldn’t go back and change anything because it put him, Roman Reigns, and Jon Moxley on the paths they’re on now.
“I’ve been asked about it a lot. Obviously, I think that’s like the one thing that if you are a fan of Seth Rollins or The Shield or Jon Moxley [or] Roman Reigns, I think that’s the one thing that kind of sits with you over the course of the last 10 years, essentially. And I get asked about it all the time and I’ve thought about it. Would you go back? Would you change it? Would you do something different? And my answer is unequivocally no, I wouldn’t,” Rollins said.
“Because where we’re at now, the business as a whole is healthier than it’s ever been. And that moment in time is what shifted everything. That’s what put us all on our separate paths. Our goal in the beginning was to run the show, to run the business, to change it, to make it better. And here we are a decade later — and I dare say that it was accomplished with the swing of that steel chair.”
After their breakup, The Shield later reunited and had their final match as a trio before Moxley left WWE and joined AEW in 2019.
Rollins’ SportsCenter appearance was to promote SummerSlam, where he’ll serve as the special guest referee for CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre. The PLE is taking place from Cleveland Browns Stadium this Saturday.
Reigns has not appeared on WWE programming since dropping the Undisputed WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40 this April. Rhodes is defending the title against Solo Sikoa at SummerSlam.
During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Jon Moxley spoke about his former teammates in The Shield.
Since debuting at WWE Survivor Series 2012, Moxley, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins have been three of the most successful wrestlers in the industry.
The faction even played a role in the conclusion of the WrestleMania 40 main event when Rollins came out to The Shield’s music and wore a tactical vest to distract Reigns. Moxley was in Japan at the time this took place. He says he woke up to texts from people who heard The Shield music and thought he was coming out rather than Rollins.
Moxley said:
I was asleep in Japan when that was going on. When I woke up, I had these messages saying, ‘I thought you were coming out!’ And I was like, ‘Coming out where?’ It’s cool that people thought it was me. But I was asleep.
On April 30, it will be exactly five years since Moxley left WWE. In that time, Rollins has gone through many different versions of his character and is now a five-time world champion while Reigns just finished arguably the greatest title reign in modern WWE history.
Moxley said of his Rollins and Reigns’ success in WWE:
What they’ve done, it’s a really cool thing. We were nobodies. We came in with attitudes, and we pretty much said, ‘We’re coming in, f— you, and we’re taking this sh– over.’ The more time that passes, the more it becomes evident that we did exactly what we said we were going to do.
Both Reigns and Rollins dropped world titles at WrestleMania 40 night two. Moxley won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at NJPW Windy City Riot just six days later. The win makes him the first wrestler to hold world titles in WWE, AEW, and NJPW.
Moxley continued:
I’m the first guy to hold all three–WWE, AEW, and IWGP. It feels so humbling to be put in this position. It’s a different world with the IWGP title, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So I’m going to storm the f—— castle.
Moxley’s first defense of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship is scheduled for AEW Dynamite tonight. He’ll defend against Powerhouse Hobbs on the show.
Moxley continued:
I need to get through Hobbs on Dynamite, and then I get the opportunity to return to Japan with the championship. I’m not intimidated by the opportunity. I’m much more comfortable with the ball in my hands. Let it fall on my shoulders. I’ll take all of the blame if it goes wrong. I am more comfortable when sh– goes off the rails. A lot of people want to be in those positions, but then they get there and realize it’s a lot harder than they thought.
Nothing lasts forever. You can’t take anything to the grave with you. One day you’re giving everything back to the universe, and the world keeps spinning. It could last three weeks, it could last three years–but to be in this position, it means as much to me as anything I’ve ever had in wrestling.
*Full coverage of WWE Crown Jewel & New Japan Autumn Attack, business notes on both shows, how successful Crown Jewel was on Peacock, PPV, public interest and business notes on Autumn Attack, plus poll results and more. *What’s next for WWE and New Japan *Cain Velasquez granted bond, Daniel Cormier talks, and a look back at the situation *A look back at the 60s and 70s tag team of Kurt & Karl Von Steiger, including unique political moves, the night they won the AWA tag titles and why the team split up *Full coverage of Saturday’s UFC show, including the probe on the suspicious gambling patterns on one of the fights *Dragon Gate’s Gate of Destiny coverage *PWG’s show on Sunday honoring Alan Denkenson and featuring one of the best trios matches of the year and in PWG history *The most complete look at the TV ratings for the past week *Streaming numbers *AEW has great success in one international market, not in another *Next Stardom PPV show *Update on the New Japan Tokyo Dome show *Crazy story of a plot to steal the NWA title by one of the biggest stars of all-time *More on Andre the Giant carer losses *A very important note on streaming ratings and what it says for viability of WWE & AEW next deals *The Nick Aldis-Billy Corgan split *The story behind former wrestling sponsor winning $75 million and getting national publicity *Politician wants to honor former national hero wrestler who has been forgotten about since his heyday was 40 yeas ago *Notes on the Teddy Hart documentary *A look at the veracity of stories on the Hawaiian episode of Tales from the Territories *Taryn Terrell career noes *Wrestler and promoter arrested *Movie on Baron Von Raschke *Full Gear notes as well as matches to be added *Notes on MJF’s first major Hollywood role *A look at AEW ratings in 2021 vs. 2022, what is up, what is down *Bandido contract notes *AEW woman star filming a movie *More on skirmish backstage at Anderson Silva vs. Jake Paul fight *Upcoming Raw and Smackdown notes *Sasha Banks training with former WCW star *WWE injury updates *Ticket sales for upcoming AEW and WWE events.
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
Wednesday News Update
WWE
Today’s episode of The Bump, featuring JBL and Baron Corbin.
Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Jon Moxley spoke to Sports Illustrated on the tenth anniversary of The Shield’s debut in WWE.
WWE stock closed at $77.80 on Wednesday.
The presale code for WWE’s 30th anniversary of Raw show on January 23 is RAW30.
Season 9 of WWE SuperCard will be released today on iOS and Android. New features include a TLC mode, new card tiers, official match commentary, and special equipment.
Tony Khan on Twitter noted that Full Gear this Saturday is close to a $1 million dollar live gate.
MJF on Twitter: “There’s been a shadow casted over AEW by a bunch of f****** bulls***. We are closer then ever to stepping out of the darkness and into the light. We have the roster. We have the platform. Now all we need is stability, change, and leadership. We need the Devil. I’m ready.”
Other Wrestling
Andrade el Idolo, who is currently suspended from AEW, posted a video saying he would have to pull out of an event in Cudahy, California due to an “issue to attend,” saying he would explain at a later date. During the video, he was shown wearing what appeared to be a hospital gown. Andrade, who was set to face Dralistico, has been replaced by Rey Fenix.
Nick Alids spoke to Sportskeeda, declaring himself a free agent following his departure from the NWA.
David Marquez on the Aldis/NWA split: “For the past week I’ve been asked to comment on the Nick Aldis/NWA fallout. All I’ll say is my dealings with Aldis were not the best and watching him angle for influence within the promotion, I knew he and Billy (whom I’m 50/50 with) would not last as partners. I spent two decades promoting NWA Champions and I enjoyed my time doing that, whomever was wearing the title. I always did my job.”
The Polynesian Pro Wrestling episode of Tales from the Territories scored 74,000 viewers, 28,000 in 18-49.
Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics reported that the eighth episode of WOW averaged 229,000 viewers, down from the 263,000 viewers from the October 30 episode.
‘The Shield’s Final Chapter’ is airing live on the WWE Network Sunday with WWE promoting it as the final time Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will team together as a trio.
They will take on Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre in Ambrose’s last match in WWE. The special is airing from the Sunday Raw house show at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Illinois.
Reigns, Rollins & Ambrose also defeated Corbin, Lashley & McIntyre at March’s Fastlane pay-per-view.
WWE confirmed at the end of January that Ambrose wouldn’t be renewing his contract when it expires this month.
Reigns was drafted to SmackDown in the Superstar Shake-Up while Rollins, Corbin, Lashley, and McIntyre stayed on Raw. Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor moved to SmackDown in the Shake-up and will defend his title in a match on tonight’s special in addition to Bayley & Ember Moon vs. The Riott Squad.
**********
WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor defeated Elias to retain
The show opened with Elias in the ring doing a song. He mocked the Shield, basically saying that Ambrose was the only one with enough sense to get out since there was no future for The Shield in WWE. Balor’s music interrupted. Balor claimed that he’s one of Elias’ biggest fans and he’s out because he wants to “Walk With Elias”. Elias asked him to sing with him and Balor sayid he’d be honored.
He sang “When I Love Elias”, you say “Yes I Do”. Balor sang (really badly) “When I say Elias sucks”, you say “Yes he does”. Elias didn’t like that and he attacked Balor and the ref called for the bell. Renee Young and Corey Graves joined Michael Cole on commentary and they were particularly annoying during this segment with Renee actually singing along to the “Yes I Do’ part.
Elias took most of the match but Finn made a comeback at the end and won with a La Magistral cradle (called that by Corey Graves) in about six minutes.
Elias stayed in the ring and was about to sing again when he was interrupted by The Riott Squad. They asked if they could be the Elias Squad just for tonight. All three members are back together for this show. Elias did the same song and the Squad sang along “Yes I Do”. They tried to change it to “When we say I love the Riott Squad”….Elias was cringing during this and their singing was thankfully stopped by Bayley’s music. She was joined by Ember Moon.
Bayley and Ember Moon beat The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott/Sarah Logan) w/Liv Morgan
The Squad got the heat on Bayley. She mad a hot tag to Moon who ran wild for awhile. She made the tag in to Bayley, who again was beaten up 2 on 1. Liv Morgan was interfering at ringside. She tagged in to Moon. Ruby got what appeared to be a three count with her foot on the ropes with Morgan holding her feet. The ref caught that and sent Morgan to the back. While this was going on, Moon went to the top rope and hit Riott with the Eclipse for the win in about eight minutes.
— We got a taped promo from The Shield, one with their old one camera, grainy footage style. They said they have been together for seven years, have always done things their own way and are doing it the same way tonight. They showed Cole, Young and Graves at ringside. Young was wearing a jean jacket with an Ambrose symbol on the arm and “The Dude” on the crest.
— We got highlights from earlier tonight with Lashley, Drew and Corbin breaking up a tag match involving Lucha House Party and the Singh Brothers, destroying all of them. Corbin then cut a promo saying this was just a preview of what they were about to do to The Shield.
The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) defeated Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley
All three heels entered separately. Corbin got the special introduction, calling him the Quad Cities favorite son. He said that tonight won’t be a fairy tale ending. Just like he spoiled Kurt Angle’s retirement, he’s going to do the same thing to The Shield. Lashley took the mic and said they would be lucky to limp out of there after the beatdown they were about to get. Drew told the fans to get on their feet and show them the respect they deserve. He said you are only as good as your last match and after they destroy the Shield, they will be the new dominant force in WWE.
The Shield did the entrance through the crowd like they used to and all three were wearing their classic gear.
The first part of the match was Rollins getting the better of Lashley and Reigns doing the same on McIntyre. Ambrose hit a big dive to the outside on McIntyre, but Corbin and Lashley attacked before he could get back in the ring to turn the tide. Ambrose took most of the match before getting a hot tag to Rollins. Rollins eventually hit a hot tag to Reigns who ran wild on Lashley, hitting the big Superman punch. He eventually got a hot tag to Ambrose who quickly lost the advantage again.
The end came when Reigns hit a spear on Lashley, Rollins hit the curb stomp on McIntyre, and Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds on Corbin. That led to all three guys hitting the big powerbomb on Corbin for the pin with Rollins getting the nod.
Cole mentioned afterward how Ambrose was unselfish in not getting the pin himself after the Dirty Deeds but tagged in Rollins so he could get the pin in his hometown.
Crowd chanted “Thank you Ambrose” afterward and “Please don’t go”. Rollins joked that they tried telling him that already. Ambrose was selling injuries from the match, but Rollins and Reigns looked fine.
Rollins said that beating Brock Lesnar for the Universal title was the culmination of 15 years in the business and he couldn’t have done it without the support of his family and friends, many of whom are in the audience. He also said it wouldn’t be possible without the brotherhood that is The Shield. He said that he’ll always love The Shield and that “this is for us” and all three guys embraced which elicited a “Thank you Shield” chant.
Ambrose took the mic. He said that we (The Shield) are just like any of you and that if you set your mind to anything and Seth Rollins, who is from right here, is proof of that. He brought up how Reigns came back from something worse than anyone can imagine and he’s here. The Shield is about breaking down doors and doing what others don’t think are possible and if someone tells you that you can’t do something, break down the door, stick your middle finger in the air and tell them The Shield said that you could. Another “Thank You Ambrose” chant and they did The Shield fist bump as their music played.
WWE is promoting that The Shield’s final match as a trio will stream live on Sunday night.
“The Shield’s Last Chapter” will air live on the WWE Network at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday (April 21). It will feature Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose’s final match as a team, though WWE has yet to announce their opponents.
An Intercontinental title defense by Finn Balor will also air on the broadcast. His opponent is to be announced.
Raw’s Sunday night house show is taking place at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Illinois.
The Shield held a sendoff for Ambrose after last Monday’s Raw in Brooklyn, New York went off the air. Dave Meltzer reported that Ambrose is at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for tonight’s Raw. Ambrose’s contract with WWE expires this month, and WWE confirmed in January that he will be leaving when his contract is up.
The Shield most recently teamed together in the main event of March’s Fastlane pay-per-view, defeating Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley & Drew McIntyre. That was also promoted as Reigns, Rollins & Ambrose’s final match as a team.
A sendoff for Dean Ambrose took place after last night’s Raw went off the air.
Seth Rollins spoke on the mic and said there’s one more thing he wanted to do before the night was over. He asked Roman Reigns to come out to the ring, then asked Ambrose to do the same.
Rollins thanked Ambrose and told him he loves him. Ambrose said Rollins winning the Universal Championship and Reigns returning now that his leukemia is in remission are two of the sweetest sights he’s ever seen.
Ambrose talked about The Shield’s history at the Barclays Center and it being where they made their in-ring debut, but he said the fans are what makes a building. Ambrose said there are no fans like the ones who come from all over the world for WrestleMania week.
Ambrose thanked the crowd and bowed to them. The Shield then posed to close the show.
On last night’s Raw, WWE promoted that Ambrose would be having his final match in the company. The match never got started, with Ambrose attacking Bobby Lashley when Lashley said he’ll make sure to take care of Renee Young when Ambrose is gone.
After Lio Rush getting involved in the brawl distracted Ambrose, Lashley speared Ambrose on the stage and put him through the announce table.
WWE confirmed on January 29 that Ambrose wouldn’t be renewing his contract when it expires in April. Here’s the statement they released at the time: “Dean Ambrose (Jonathan Good) will not be renewing his contract with WWE when it expires in April. We are grateful and appreciative of all that Dean has given to WWE and our fans. We wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE.”
Video of last night’s post-Raw segment is available to watch below:
Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Ambrose defeated Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre & Bobby Lashley in the main event of Fastlane. It was Reigns’ first match since announcing that his leukemia is in remission. He pinned Corbin after Corbin was given a triple powerbomb.
Rollins will challenge for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35.
Finn Balor defending his Intercontinental title against Lashley has been announced for tonight’s Raw, which is taking place at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There will also be a face-to-face segment with Triple H and Batista.
An angle with Ronda Rousey closed Raw’s go-home show for Fastlane.
Rousey interrupted Stephanie McMahon, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair in the main event segment. She said she didn’t vacate the Raw Women’s Championship last week, she gave Stephanie a week to think about things and add Lynch to the match at WrestleMania. Rousey got her title back from Stephanie.
Rousey then cut a promo where she spoke out against the fans. She brought up that the crowd booed her out of the Staples Center and people chant for Lynch while Rousey’s working her ass off to entertain them. She then kicked Charlotte and put the armbar on Lynch three times, with Charlotte backing away instead of getting involved.
Lynch vs. Charlotte is set for Sunday’s pay-per-view. The stipulation is that — if Lynch defeats Charlotte — she’ll be added to the Raw Women’s title match at WrestleMania, officially making it Rousey vs. Lynch vs. Charlotte.
The Shield also reunited and will face Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre & Bobby Lashley at Fastlane, and Triple H responded to Batista after Batista returned and attacked Ric Flair last week.
The Shield has reunited once again, with the trio taking on the new team of Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre at Fastlane.
Roman Reigns started off Raw tonight noting that life was too short, and he wanted to reunite the Shield one last time. He called out Rollins and, after some debating, eventually agreed. Dean Ambrose came out to give his response, but before he could answer ended up being laid out by Elias.
The two had a match later on Raw, with Elias picking up the win. Reigns and Rollins came out to persuade him to rejoin the Shield. Ambrose exited the ring and headed through the crowd, seemingly rejecting the offer. Corbin, McIntyre and Lashley then came out, with McIntyre saying they were going to end this now. They attacked Rollins and Reigns until Ambrose made up his mind, coming in for the save. The trio then did their signature pose.
Fastlane will take place this Sunday at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Overnight, Pro Wrestling Sheet ran a story on how Dana Warrior, wife of the late Ultimate Warrior, joined the WWE writing team to offer more of a female perspective. Our Dave Meltzer reports that the role is that of a consultant and not a member of the writing team, although that may change in the future. She was at WWE TV last week and is scheduled for this week.
Some other notes from Dave:
– Bruce Prichard’s role with WWE and in the pecking order has been a bit overstated and that he’s also a consultant and not on the writing team. Prichard and Conrad Thompson will continue their Something To Wrestle podcast.
– The featured Raw match for WWE Fastlane is being advertised by Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena as Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley in a two-on-three handicap match.
Meltzer says an angle will be shot Monday to get Dean Ambrose into the mix, reuniting The Shield. The match will then eiher be Reigns, Rollins, and Ambrose vs. Lashley, McIntyre, and Corbin or Reigns, Rollins, and Ambrose and Braun Strowman vs. Lashley, McIntyre, Corbin, and Elias.
What was supposed to cap off Raw on a high note ended instead in confusion as Dean Ambrose ambused Seth Rollins right after they won the Raw tag team titles.
The Shield had announced before the match that they were dedicating the match to Roman Reigns, who announced earlier in the show that he would be taking a leave of absence to battle leukemia. After Braun Strowman chased Drew McIntyre out of the arena, Rollins picked up the win for his team after hitting the curb stomp on Ziggler.
Rollins and Ambrose were celebrating their title win when suddenly Ambrose laid out Rollins with the dirty deeds DDT. Ambrose continued to beat on Rollins, sending him out of the ring. After throwing the tag titles at Rollins, he then uncovered the mats outside the ring, revealing concrete. Ambrose gave Rollins another dirty deeds on the exposed concrete as he exited through the crowd to close out the show.
Ziggler and McIntyre held the titles for 49 days, winning them back on the September 3 edition of Raw
Last night’s Raw featured a show-long storyline where Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, and Drew McIntyre tried to turn Dean Ambrose against The Shield.
After multiple segments of the heels attempting to manipulate Ambrose into thinking The Shield doesn’t care about him, the episode closed with Ambrose deciding to stay aligned with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. The Shield teamed together in the main event, defeating Baron Corbin & AOP.
Raw also featured appearances by Stephanie McMahon and Triple H for a segment about WWE’s partnership with Hyundai to fight pediatric cancer. In their storylines, Stephanie threatened Baron Corbin with bringing back Kurt Angle as general manager sooner than expected and Triple H sent a message to The Undertaker ahead of next week’s go-home show for Super Show-Down.
Also on Raw, Liv Morgan was injured when getting kicked in the face by Brie Bella during a six-woman tag match, Ziggler & McIntyre defended their Tag Team titles against The Revival, and the build to Super Show-Down continued with another Bobby Lashley vs. Elias match ending in a disqualification.
More matches have been added for October’s WWE Super Show-Down event in Melbourne, Australia.
Right after Raw went off the air, a match pitting The Shield against Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre was announced on Twitter. This came after Strowman turned on Roman Reigns in their tag team match against McIntyre and Ziggler on Raw. After not helping Reigns as he was being assaulted by his opponents, Strowman turned, laying out Reigns with a headbutt. The rest of the Shield arrived to make the save, but this time the numbers were even. Strowman ended up laying all three members of the Shield out with powerslams.
Also made for Super Show-Down is a six-woman tag team match with Ronda Rousey teaming with the Bella Twins to take on the Riott Squad. It was announced on Raw that the Bellas would be making their televised in-ring return next week against the Riott Squad.
Here is what the card is looking like so far for Super Show-Down, which will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 6:
The Undertaker vs. Triple H
John Cena and Bobby Lashley vs. Elias and Kevin Owens
Ronda Rousey and The Bella Twins vs. The Riott Squad
The Shield vs. Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre
Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz with the winner getting a future WWE title shot
Date: August 27, 2018 Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON
The Big Takeaway —
Braun Strowman appeared to turn heel, joining with Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler to beat down Roman Reigns. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins tried to make the save, but they were taken out as well. Strowman gave powerslams to all three Shield members.
Kevin Owens quit after losing an open challenge for the IC Title against Rollins.
Trish Stratus made a special appearance in a segment with Elias. She also plugged her match against Alexa Bliss at Evolution, and was in Natalya’s corner tonight along with Ronda Rousey. Nikki and Brie Bella announced they would return to in-ring action next week.
Show Recap —
Roman Reigns came out to start the show and was loudly booed by the Toronto crowd. The announcers recapped what happened last week and showed Braun Strowman’s Twitter challenge for a one-on-one confrontation. Michael Cole mentioned that Reigns defended his title all weekend, which is not something we’ve had in a year in a half.
His music cut and the crowd continued booing. Reigns said he told Strowman he’d be in the ring at 8:00pm and now it was 8:05pm, but if Strowman didn’t want to show, he was ready to challenge someone else. Strowman came out to the ring.
Strowman laughed at Reigns calling himself a workhorse after his boys had to save him last week. Reigns said the Shield were a brotherhood of workhorses, and those boys made a choice. They knew what it took to be at the top of the mountain, unlike Strowman.
Reigns mocked his “get these hands” catchphrase and said his own hands knew what it was like to hold every title in WWE. Reigns dared him to a title match here in Toronto. The crowd chanted “Yes.” Strowman said he wouldn’t cash in tonight, which was booed, because we all knew his “little boys” would interfere.
Strowman challenged him to a Hell in a Cell match at the PPV, where his boys couldn’t interfere. The crowd seemed happy with that. They shook hands on the match.
Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre interrupted. Ziggler said his Intercontinental championship was stolen by Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Ziggler went on for a while, then he and McIntyre told Strowman and Reigns that they were their next challenge because they were on top of the mountain. They wanted a match tonight.
Reigns said they could fight right now, but Baron Corbin interrupted. Corbin said Strowman’s title match at HIAC has been approved. Corbin also made a main event that Kurt Angle couldn’t dream of, which was the match they basically all just agreed to, Strowman and Reigns against Ziggler and McIntyre. Strowman said he would get the title at HIAC and Ziggler and McIntyre would get these hands.
The announcers ran down what happened, then they cut back to Corbin in the ring alone. Corbin put himself in a match against Finn Balor, the man, not the demon.
Baron Corbin defeated Finn Balor
Corbin had Balor in a rest hold as the crowd chanted “Corbin sucks” and “you can’t wrestle.” Cole put over Balor’s performance last week in his title match and Jonathan Coachman called it “a five star.”
Corbin had control until Balor hit a slingblade on the outside leading to commercial. After the break, Balor was back in a rest hold. Balor came back with a forearm, strikes, double foot stomp, and slingblade, but Corbin countered a dropkick into a Deep Six for a nearfall.
Balor responded with a flip dive. After Corbin placed a steel chair on the apron, Balor went for the Coup de Grace, but Corbin moved and hit him with the chair. The referee called for the bell, but Corbin said he forgot to mention that the match was no DQ. Corbin had the match restarted, hit Balor in the back with the chair, then used End of Days for the pinfall win.
The initial match went 11:25 and went 20 more seconds after it was restarted. This was the fourth televised singles match between these two since July 15th.
They aired a video package for Triple H vs. Undertaker, with comments and predictions from Ric Flair, Christian, Mick Foley, Jeff Jarrett, and Kevin Nash. They announced that Shawn Michaels would be on Raw next week, not tonight in Toronto, unfortunately.
Apollo Crews told Dana Brooke she deserved to be on WWE Evolution and could prove it tonight in a tune-up match. Crews seemed to think the match would be against a jobber, but Titus O’Neil showed up and said he got her a match with Sasha Banks. They psyched her up, but after she left, Crews was worried because Banks is no tune-up match and Brooke has only had one singles match in the past nine months. O’Neil was excited and believed in Brooke.
Sasha Banks (w/Bayley) defeated Dana Brooke (w/Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews) (2:30)
Bayley wore a Banks t-shirt and Banks wore a Bayley t-shirt. Brooke got a lot of offense but Banks won quickly with a Bank Statement. Crews consoled Brooke afterwards.
Ambrose and Rollins were shown chatting backstage. After a break, Ambrose was still standing there staring at nothing. He was approached by Jinder Mahal and Sunil Singh. Mahal said he’s noticed the anger in Ambrose since he returned. Mahal offered to help and told Ambrose to close his eyes. Ambrose closed his eyes. Ambrose said he saw Mahal and himself. He saw himself breaking Mahal’s teeth and his face. He saw Mahal crying. Ambrose opened his eyes and told Mahal to get out of his face. Mahal left.
Rollins came to the ring and got a good reaction. Rollins said last week (helping Reigns) was about family business. He spoke about being a fighting champion. He thought he would have to deal with Ziggler and McIntyre again, but his he doesn’t, he issued an open challenge.
Kevin Owens came out to a huge pop. Owens was glad that Rollins was happy. However, since coming back to Raw, his own life has been a living hell. When he was on Smackdown, all he wanted was to come back to Raw and things should be better.
Owens said Rollins had his best friend at his side at SummerSlam, and if Owens had Sami Zayn by his side, he would’ve beaten Strowman, cashed in his contract and would be standing there as Universal champion. The crowd cheered. After mentioning that Zayn was taken out by some brute, Owens said he wanted to leave here as champion.
Owens said they were in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and was about to say he couldn’t think of a better place to win the IC title, but then said Montreal, Quebec would be way better. The crowd booed, then Owens spoke French, which was also booed. Owens said he would win the IC title tonight and the crowd cheered.
Seth Rollins defeated Kevin Owens to retain the Intercontinental Championship (22:11)
Rollins made a comeback using consecutive suicide dives. The third was blocked by Owens, but Rollins shoved him off the apron and hit a third dive anyway leading to the second commercial break of the match.
After a break, Rollins nailed a frog splash for a nearfall which brought a “this is awesome” chant. Owens avoided a curb stomp, sent him shoulder first into the post, then applied a crossface but Rollins eventually got a rope break.
Owens slapped Rollins and I think said “it’s my goddamn title,” which was bleeped. Rollins slapped him back and hit a superkick, but Owens responded with a Stunner for a nearfall. This got a big pop and “holy shit” chants. This also got the crowd solidly behind Owens.
Rollins nailed a buckle bomb but Owens popped back with a superkick for a very close nearfall. They traded fists on the top rope, Owens hit a headbutt, then Rollins hit an enziguri. Owens dropped Rollins over the top rope, but he missed a springboard moonsault and Rollins hit the curb stomp for the pinfall win. Really fun match by the end.
They showed a social media post by Kurt Angle about the uncertainty of his future in WWE.
Corbin, truly taking on the role of GM, was shown texting backstage. Strowman gave him the Money in the Bank briefcase and told him to bring it to Money in the Bank.
After a break, Owens was still in the ring, now sitting on a chair as the crowd chanted for him. Owens looked around for a moment, then very abruptly said, “I quit.” He left.
Renee Young interviewed Ziggler and McIntyre who said they saw tonight as a perfect opportunity to strike on Reigns and Strowman. It took them a lot of words to get this point across.
The Revival defeated The B-Team in a non-title match (8:50)
Revival won with the Shatter Machine on Curtis Axel. After the match, they gave Bo Dallas a Shatter Machine as well. Including the SummerSlam kick-off show, this was the fifth straight show these four have had some kind of match together.
Revival grabbed the tag title belts and microphones. They said the tag division has been a joke thanks to these morons. Dash Wilder said B-Team were making a mockery of the sacred history of tag team wrestling. Scott Dawson told them to keep the belts clean because they could take them any time.
Cole announced that SummerSlam would take place in Toronto next year, along with NXT, Raw, and Smackdown. You could hear the crowd cheering in the background. I would’ve had Renee Young announce this in front of the live crowd.
Elias was in the ring and performed on his guitar as the crowd clapped along. The crowd chanted “walk with Elias.” Elias said they were singing for him but they didn’t need to. He had a realization, that when Drake said he started from the bottom, he literally meant Toronto. They booed. Elias said John Tavares told him that going from New York to Toronto was the biggest disappointment of his life. (Tavares signed as a free agent, he wasn’t traded.)
Trish Stratus interrupted to a nice ovation. Elias was happy to see Stratus take a break from changing diapers to join us. Stratus was impressed was his ability, but when it came to trash talking her city, she told him to shut his mouth.
Elias said a performance from him in Toronto was like the Stanley Cup–they’ll never see it in their lifetime. That led to a “Go Leafs go” chant. Stratus responded by saying he’d never win a WWE championship. Stratus reminded him that she was a 7-time champion and said it wouldn’t be long before she was facing Alexa Bliss at Evolution.
Elias was looking forward to their swimsuit model pillow fight. Stratus told him to pack up his guitar and leave. Elias figured the only reason she was out there was that she wanted to walk with Elias, but he doesn’t date women in their sixties. Stratus slapped him.
That was basically the end of the segment. Ronda Rousey and Natalya came out for the next segment with Stratus still in the ring. Elias disappeared.
Before the match, Bliss told Stratus that she replaced her and all the yoga in the world wasn’t going to help her at Evolution. Bliss also informed Rousey that she was getting her title match at Hell in a Cell. Bliss made a dig at Toronto, which was lame compared to what we just got from Elias. Bliss said they had another friend as backup, someone Stratus knew well, which brought out Mickie James. (The only one of these women who didn’t get their music played was Fox.)
Natalya hit a discus clothesline and won quickly with the Sharpshooter. Natalya, Rousey and Stratus posed, then Natalya pointed to the sky.
Nikki and Brie Bella embraced Rousey, Natalya and Stratus backstage. Nikki told Rousey they were proud that she was representing the division. Brie said they spoke to Corbin and they would be back in action next week. They were all happy and Natalya took a group selfie.
They aired more comments on Triple H vs. Undertaker, this time from Steve Austin, Booker T, Big Show and Diamond Dallas Page.
Corbin was on the phone with Stephanie McMahon and told her that he would try to iron things out with Owens. He also told a stagehand to get a masseuse. Bobby Lashley showed up and mocked him for wanting a masseuse.
After they bantered for a bit, Corbin told Lashley that he didn’t forget about him and had a match for him up next, though he couldn’t think of the opponent’s name. Lashley acted impressed by Corbin and smacked him twice on the shoulder. Lashley was actually pretty amusing here.
After a break, Corbin announced that Lashley actually had a handicap match.
2-on-1 handicap match: Bobby Lashley defeated The Ascension (2:30)
Ascension briefly got the heat but Lashley won quickly with his Dominator variation on Viktor.
Based on how many times he has said it tonight, it seems Corey Graves has decided that Corbin’s new first name is “Acting-General-Manager.”
Dean Ambrose defeated Jinder Mahal (w/Sunil Singh) (3:45)
Graves suggested Mahal channel his inner John Olerud and wear a helmet tonight, which is a reference I can’t imagine too many people understood.
There was a moment where Ambrose shoved Sunil hard into the barricade, but Mahal took control after that. Ambrose came back with clotheslines and back elbow, then Mahal caught him with a high knee for two. Ambrose then countered a Khallas into a Dirty Deeds for the pinfall win. Ambrose didn’t celebrate long before marching to the back.
Ambrose wrestled without a shirt this week. He still has a bandage on his arm. He did not use the rebound clothesline in this match, nor did he do it last week.
Strowman approached Reigns in the locker room and warned him he was taking the title at HIAC. Reigns said Strowman would have to wake up the day after HIAC, look himself in the mirror and realize that he couldn’t get the job done.
Universal Champion Roman Reigns & Braun Strowman defeated Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre via DQ (9:00)
The match started after 11:00 pm. I know there’s an overrun, but why would you schedule the main event to start after the show is presumably supposed to end?
The heels had the heat on Reigns forever and came close to a hot tag but McIntyre cut him off with a belly-to-belly suplex. Reigns eventually caught Ziggler with a superman punch and made the tag to Strowman.
Strowman remained on the apron instead of entering the ring. He watched as McIntyre and Ziggler put the boots to Reigns. The referee eventually called for the bell. Strowman entered the ring, then McIntyre and Ziggler backed off.
Strowman grabbed Reigns, headbutted him, then nodded at McIntyre, who continued the attack. Ziggler hit a superkick, then Ambrose ran down. He wildly attacked but he was overwhelmed. Rollins ran down next, selling his shoulder from his match against Owens. They cut him off easily and Strowman gave him a powerslam. He then gave powerslams to Ambrose and Reigns.
Strowman posed with Ziggler and McIntyre to end the show. The crowd cheered a bit when Strowman attacked Reigns, but they were mostly booing when he was teaming with the other two to attack the Shield. Either way, this definitely came across like a heel turn.
