WWE Monday Night Raw results and observations (10/2/17): The Shield together again?

No company in the world is better at presenting the fictitious melodrama that is professional wrestling than WWE, but the company took time to reflect on some very real issues in the world at the beginning of this week's edition of Raw.

Before the heroes and villains combated each other in the ring, they, along with company executives, all stood together on stage and held a moment of silence for the victims of the mass shooting that took place in Las Vegas Sunday night.

It was a classy move on WWE's part. Once the moment of silence was over, WWE got back to the business of presenting another quality installment of its flagship television brand.

Before I delve into my full analysis, here are the full match results from the Pepsi Center in Denver:

- Braun Strowman def. Seth Rollins

- Elias def. Titus O'Neil

- Mickie James def. Nia Jax via disqualification

- Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows def. Matt Hardy & Jason Jordan

- WWE Intercontinental championship – Roman Reigns def. The Miz via disqualification

- Sasha Banks & Bayley def. Emma & Alicia Fox

The Shield may or may not put their fists together

With every passing week, it seems as though WWE is inching closer to a full reformation of The Shield.

After what we witnessed Monday night, we could be merely days away.

The show began with Rollins and Dean Ambrose being decimated by Strowman only to further decimated by Sheamus and Cesaro.

Reigns, who had an Intercontinental title match to worry about, didn't run down to save his buddies, but at least had a valid excuse.

When it came time for that Intercontinental title bout, The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel continued to mock The Shield by entering the arena through the crowd.

Dallas and Axel immediately paid the price for it, as Reigns beat the daylights out of both of them with steel chairs before the match even got underway.

Once it did get underway, Reigns and The Miz put on a highly entertaining match. However, everything came to a screeching halt when Sheamus and Cesaro reappeared and attacked Reigns for some reason.

The Miz joined his two new friends in destroying Reigns while the fans yearned for Rollins and Ambrose to lend a helping hand. They did not, which gave The Miz, Sheamus and Cesaro plenty of time to not only beat up Reigns, but also mock The Shield even more by delivering a triple power bomb.

I understand that WWE is going for the slow burn approach, but I don't understand why babyfaces never help each other.

To me, it would only give the heels more heat when they bail out of the ring once another babyface or two sprints down to thwart the beating. Not to mention, it helps make the babyfaces look like they actually look out for each other.

I guess Rollins and Ambrose had the excuse of recovering from the beating they took earlier in the night, but I figured it would have been a chance for them to get their hands on Sheamus and Cesaro again.

But just when it looked like Reigns had no friends, the show ended with him licking his wounds in his locker room when Ambrose and Rollins showed up.

No one said a word. They didn't even put their fists together. They simply looked at each other, as the show went off the air.

That is because even WWE knows that nothing has to be said when it comes to The Shield. The fans want it and it is time to give it to them.

And what better place to do it then Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.? It was in that arena back on June 2, 2014 that Rollins ended The Shield.

Whether that symmetry is intentional or not, it would still make for captivating television for WWE.

Kalisto is finally in the cruiserweight division, but …

No one cares. At least no one cared Monday night.

You know why no one cared Monday night? WWE told us not to a long time ago.

I, along with many others, have been calling for Kalisto to be part of the cruiserweight division essentially since the day it was resurrected a little more than a year ago.

It finally happened Monday night, but in the most underwhelming fashion.

Enzo Amore and the rest of the cruiserweight division closed Raw for the second week in a row, in a scene that was very reminiscent to last week.

Amore was once again in the ring cutting a fantastic promo while the rest of the sub-205 pound wrestlers surrounded the ring.

Like last week, Amore had another order signed by Raw general manager Kurt Angle that none of the cruiserweights could lay a finger on him. This order upped the ante by firing anyone that didn't abide by it.

Instead of taking turns beating the crap out of Amore, the cruiserweights stood there while Amore ripped each and every one of them in highly entertaining fashion.

Angle eventually made his way into the arena and said that none of the cruiserweights that had surrounded Amore were eligible for a title match, but that he had just signed someone that is.

Now, when Angle said this, I instantly got excited thinking about who this new acquisition would be. Would it be Rey Mysterio? What about Jushin "Thunder" Liger or maybe someone from NXT?

Nope.

Instead, it was Kalisto. You remember Kalisto, right? He's the same guy that was literally tossed into a dumpster by Strowman many months ago. He is also the only person to turn down O'Neil's offer to join Titus Worldwide. I'm sure he still regrets that decision.

To say that Kalisto coming out went over like a wet fart in church would be an understatement, and the shame of it all is that none of it is Kalisto's fault. It's WWE's fault.

There really wasn't an issue with keeping Kalisto away from the cruiserweight division. The problem was that WWE never booked him like he belonged among the non-cruiserweights.

If he had been presented like Mysterio was once upon a time, then I would have been OK with him not being in the cruiserweight division. But if that was not going to be the case, WWE should have put him in the cruiserweight division a long, long time ago.

Because WWE waited, and beat him seemingly every chance it got, no one gave a darn when he showed up Monday night.

Sister Abigail is alive?

Fans have speculated for years whether or not WWE was ever going to introduce Sister Abigail as an actual character on WWE television.

After Randy Orton burnt down the shack that housed her remains before WrestleMania (Remember that garbage?), it looked as though had no interest in ever doing it.

That was until Monday night.

WWE, desperate to keep this Bray Wyatt-Finn Balor feud going, had Wyatt bring up Sister Abigail by saying that she never lied to him. Later, he said that Abigail is alive and is dying to meet Balor.

Basically, Wyatt wants to see Balor's demon again, and he plans to combat that with Abigail.

After Wyatt said Abigail is alive, his face became pretty scary looking.

Almost as soon as the segment was over, fans began tossing out their theories as to whom or what Sister Abigail actually is.

I saw some fans say that they believe Abigail is not an actual person, but merely Wyatt's alter ego, much like what the demon is to Balor.

While that seems plausible, NXT wrestler Sage Beckett tweeted something out before Raw that barely caught anyone's attention when she sent it out, but when this particular segment was over, it definitely had people thinking that maybe she will be revealed as Sister Abigail.

For those unfamiliar with Beckett, she competed in the Mae Young Classic, where she lost in the first round to Bianca Belair. She also used to be in TNA/Impact as Rosie Lottalove.

One tweet is by no means an official announcement of anything. For all we know, Beckett could be pulling an elaborate ruse on the fans.

However, it is very interesting that she tweeted that out before Raw even began.

I wasn't intrigued with this feud before Monday night, but I definitely am now.

Mickie James to face Alexa Bliss at Tables, Ladders and Chairs

James and Bliss will face each other in a couple of weeks for the Raw Women's title in a feud that began because Bliss is constantly calling James old.

I don't know why that would be a storyline, but that is the case in WWE.

In storyline, James is old, but in reality, she is younger than the likes of Samoa Joe and AJ Styles. I don't think they're going to be called old any time soon.

Also in reality, James is only getting and looking better with age, so she is all right in my book.

Vaughn Johnson has a podcast with Nick Piccone called the Straight Shooters on WildfireRadio.com. Check it out here HERE.