Skip to content
Sports
Link copied to clipboard

WWE Monday Night results and observations (05/02/16): Roman Reigns smash

WWE's run of good episodes of Monday Night Raw continued this week, as the company set in motion its plans heading into Extreme Rules later this month.

Since Extreme Rules is less than three weeks away, WWE had to deal with fallout from Payback and lay the groundwork for Extreme Rules in one show.

WWE did a good job of accomplishing both.

Before I go any further in my analysis, here are the full match results from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis:

- Cesaro def. Kevin Owens via disqualification

- Tyler Breeze def. Goldust

- The New Day & Big Cass def. The Vaudevillains & The Dudley Boyz

- Emma def. Becky Lynch

- Rusev wins battle royal to become No. 1 contender for WWE United States championship

- AJ Styles, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows def. Roman Reigns & The Usos

Roman Reigns goes berserk

The ever-intriguing story involving the WWE World Heavyweight championship got even more intriguing Monday when Reigns teamed with The Usos to take on Styles, Anderson and Gallows in the main event.

After the former Bullet Club members picked up the win, Gallows and Anderson wanted Styles to continue punishing Reigns after the match by hitting him with a steel chair. However, Styles was conflicted in what he wanted to do.

Eventually, he chose to not hit Reigns with the chair.

But the The Usos, who were also attacked by Gallows and Anderson after the match, did not care about Styles' moral dilemma and hit him with a chair. Styles eventually recovered and pummeled The Usos with a steel chair.

Reigns got his bearings back just in time to see Styles crushing his cousins with the chair, and that sent him into a rage.

Reigns sent Styles through the announce table courtesy of a power bomb and stood tall as the program went off the air.

For as much as I get on WWE's case about its lack of creativity, I have to give credit when credit is due. WWE is finding little ways to keep this angle interesting and entertaining.

For the last couple of weeks, we were all wondering whether Styles had anything to do with Gallows and Anderson attacking Reigns and The Usos. This week, Styles was faced with the moral dilemma of either doing it alone or using his friends to help him get ahead.

So far, Styles has remained on the straight and narrow, but that could change.

As of now, I'm digging pretty much everything about this story, and if the match at Extreme Rules is anything like their encounter at Payback, things are going to get only better.

Charlotte to face Natalya in a submission match

Speaking of getting better, things improved a lot between Charlotte and Natalya on Monday night when Stephanie McMahon announced that they would be competing for the WWE Women's championship at Extreme Rules in a submission match.

On top of all of that, Ric Flair has been banned from ringside.

I know a lot of people were not all that enamored with the screwjob finish that occurred between these two at Payback. For whatever reason, I think people assessed that match in a vacuum and did not take into account that more could be coming between them.

Well, we got that Monday night because the screwjob finish at Payback now plays into the fact that this will be a submission match at Extreme Rules.

Whether you liked how WWE got here or not, you have to like the fact that the women's title is being contested in a submission match.

It was not that long ago that the women's matches were complete afterthoughts and, if they lasted more than five minutes, they were looked at as modern marvels. Now, we have two of the best women's wrestlers in the world -- not bikini-model divas -- competing in a submission match for the title. Not over who is more catty than the other, but over the championship.

By the way, I found it quite humorous that WWE explained the history between Flair and referee Charles Robinson. WWE even used footage from World Championship Wrestling when Robinson wrestled alongside Flair.

Firstly, it made sense that WWE actually filled in that blank for the uneducated viewer, but I still found it funny considering all the things from WCW that WWE opts to leave in the past, but one of the few things it unearths is footage of "Little Naitch" wrestling alongside his idol at Slamboree some random year in the 1990s.

Intercontinental title scene continues to heat up

If you thought the stories surrounding the WWE World Heavyweight and WWE Women's titles were exciting, how about the WWE Intercontinental championship scene?

Come to think of it, all of WWE's main storylines, with the exception of the McMahon melodrama, revolve around a championship title. Usually, titles are low on WWE's priority list, but it has put a renewed focus on pretty much all of them lately.

The Intercontinental title scene is particularly fun to watch as it boasts some high-quality workers and characters. When you have The Miz, Cesaro, Owens and Sami Zayn vying for the Intercontinental championship, it should be very fun to watch.

On Monday, Owens demanded that he receive his rematch for the Intercontinental championship he lost at WrestleMania. He still hasn't received his automatic rematch clause.

Instead of getting a title match, the McMahons decided to put him in a No. 1 contender's match against Cesaro. With The Miz at ringside doing commentary, Cesaro and Owens put on a very good match, but it eventually ended in disqualification after The Miz attacked Cesaro.

The Miz and Owens eventually teamed up to dish out punishment on Cesaro until Zayn showed up to even up the odds. Once Zayn cleared the ring of all the heels, he got hold of The Miz's Intercontinental title and held it up high. The fans went nuts at the thought of Zayn becoming the next champion.

It is one thing to see four talented performers involved in one program, but it is even better when they are helping to elevate a title at the same time.

Rusev is No. 1 contender for United States title

You know what got me excited? The possibility of Rusev regaining the United States championship.

Rusev became the No. 1 contender for Kalisto's championship after winning a battle royal on Raw.

It was not that long ago when the United States title meant something. A lot of people remember John Cena's memorable title reign in the middle of 2015, but it really began to mean something when Rusev won it in late 2014. Not only did the United States title mean something but so did Rusev, as he was this undefeated monster with the lovely Lana by his side.

Rusev rode that wave of momentum to a match with Cena at WrestleMania 31, where he rode into the match on a tank. A tank.

Since then, however, Rusev has never been quite the same. Terrible creative, splitting up with Lana and joining the League of Nations were among the things that got in Rusev's way of being the dominant force he once was.

I mean, he was being called "RuRu" and using dead fish and puppies as props during promos. It was hard to watch at times.

Rusev does have a comedic side, but he is better served if that is kept at a minimum.

But maybe, just maybe, some of that luster can return if he wins the United States championship. And maybe he'll resurrect it for a second time.

That is no knock against Kalisto. I am a fan of Kalisto, but as long as he has the title, WWE just won't feature it in the same light as it would when Cena or Rusev had it. For the betterment of the title, Rusev should take it from Kalisto at Extreme Rules.

Chris Jericho kills Mitch

You are probably wondering who Mitch is, but that was apparently the name of the potted plant Dean Ambrose used on the Ambrose Asylum.

I say all of that in past tense as Stephanie McMahon canceled the Ambrose Asylum on Monday and brought back Jericho's Highlight Reel show.

But back to Mitch, because that is what is most important here. Mitch was simply minding his business when Jericho maliciously attacked Ambrose, picked up the plant and bashed it over the back of Ambrose's head, officially ending Mitch's life.

That is now the second inanimate object Jericho has destroyed since his return to WWE. Remember Francesca? Jericho brutally murdered her as well. I felt so bad for Xavier Woods. He was crushed until he met Francesca II at the first Francesca's funeral.

It is a darn shame what Jericho did to Mitch. Poor thing.

Vaudevillains will face The New Day

After Enzo Amore's unfortunate injury abruptly ended the No. 1 contenders' tag team tournament final match early, WWE awarded the match and the No. 1 contender spot to the Vaudevillains and they will face The New Day for the tag titles at Extreme Rules.

I figured the Vaudevillains were going to get that title shot anyway, but it is still unfortunate how everything got to that point.