Brock Lesnar got physical on WWE television for the first time since March, but a reunited Authority was able to turn the tide and make Seth Rollins seem like an actual threat in their upcoming match.
All through the night, Rollins tried to repair the damage he had done over the past few weeks. He tried to get Kane, Jamie Noble, and Joey Mercury to forgive him and help him with Lesnar at Battleground. He got to the end of the night, where he went to the ring and basically groveled for their help. When Lesnar's music played and he came out, it seemed like it was all for naught, as the three left the ring, and left Rollins there. However, they attacked Lesnar from behind. While Lesnar at first easily fended off his assailants, including running Noble into the barricade (more on that later), the number game eventually became too much, and as the show went off the air, Lesnar was left lying, with Rollins and the rest celebrating.
This is the first time in a while we've seen Lesnar in this situation. While we've sometimes seen him at a disadvantage in matches, it hasn't been since before his match with the Undertaker that we've seen anyone get the advantage on him outside of a match. He's been made out to be an unstoppable monster. However, it made sense to present it this way here. Without a scene like this, Rollins would've been portrayed as a titanic underdog, even as champion. And, let's face it, anyone should fall when four people, including some wielding chairs, attack you. The fact that he did as well as he did just continues to make him look strong, while making Rollins look like a credible threat at Battlground.
The other thing that has to be brought up with this segment is Noble. As I said, Lesnar had picked Noble up and run him into the barricade outside the ring. Noble was down for the rest of the segment, and did not join in the eventual beatdown of Lesnar.
After the cameras went off, medical staff came out and ended up bringing a stretcher to take Noble out. There were also reports of them bringing oxygen for Noble. WWE.com confirmed an injury after the show, and speculation ran from broken ribs to a collapsed lung. Hopefully it's not too serious, as Noble is always a highlight on the show.
Despite what happened with Noble, it was good to see Brock getting physical again, and this added a new dimension to the feud and upcoming match.
The Rest of RAW:
-Kevin Owens vs. John Cena III was made for Battleground, this time for the U.S. title. It was a bit disappointing that they didn't bring up the Machine Gun Kelly powerbomb from Owens, as Steph had specifically said last week that he would have to face that. Just another little missed opportunity from the WWE. Besides that, the feud continues to evolve. What was simply a battle for respect is now becoming the clash of personalities that I expected it to be at first. Owens focused on the fact that he doesn't care about the fans, he doesn't need their support. The reason he wants the title isn't to prove himself to the fans, which Cena wants, but instead because the U.S. title is a symbol of excellence (how weird is that to say considering where the belt has been recently?) and he wants that. So we'll have the third match at Battleground. This is a little surprising, just because this screams that it should be a Summerslam match, yet would they really have four matches in a row?
-Roman Reigns and Sheamus worked to a non-finish. Bray Wyatt appeared on screen when it looked like Roman would win, taunted him, and convinced Roman to come to the back by insinuating that he had Roman's daughter. Here's my question about that. The daughter wasn't there. Presumably she wasn't in the arena. Are we supposed to think that Roman thought that Bray had super powers and could transport her there? Or are we just supposed to think that Roman is stupid?
-Kane beat Dean Ambrose as Seth Rollins distracted Ambrose. This could be taken two ways, and it's possible that both will end up being true. Rollins clearly was trying to get on Kane's good side again. However, it's possible that the program between Rollins and Ambrose isn't completely over. It's worth noting that Dean Ambrose had FIVE new shirts released yesterday. That's pretty much unheard of, to have that much merchandise released on one day. I don't think they would do that without some sort of plans for him for the summer. So it will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
-Neville beat Kofi Kingston, with the rest of the New Day at ringside. Xavier Woods continued with his amazing commentary at ringside, yelling at Neville at one point "I'm gonna call gravity. Gravity is going to know who you are!" He's reminding me of Mizdow when he first started his ringside antics. Hopefully, the WWE doesn't start ruining it.
-Speaking of the New Day, they'll be facing the Prime Time Players at Battleground for the titles. The Prime Time Players beat The Ascension earlier in the night. Darren Young picked up the match. It's interesting that they seemed so intent on pushing Titus O'Neil as the big reason for their success, but Darren Young has been hitting the finisher and getting the pin just as often lately.
-Ryback did something that I'm not sure we've ever seen him do before. He faced Mark Henry, and to win, he went to the top and hit a splash. It's nice to see Ryback do a few new things, as I think even with as hot he is right now, he needs to keep fans on their toes a bit to keep from getting stale again. An interesting note about this match was Big Show on commentary. I continue to believe that there's value in Big Show, and part of it is his mic work. I think that when he IS done, he could have a role at a commentator.
-Wade Barrett beat Neville. R-Truth appeared in a side-video during the entrance, talking about some of the proclamations he'd make as king. I suppose Truth and Barrett will be facing each other at Battleground. Or possibly at the Tokyo show if they don't want to wait til Battleground.
-The Bella Twins, with Alicia Fox at ringside (who had joined the Bellas on Smackdown) beat Naomi and Tamina. The ugly booking of the divas reared its head here, as it became a match with two tag teams that presumably we're supposed to hate.
-Dolph Ziggler beat Adam Rose. Ziggler and Lana continue to have negative chemistry with each other. It's one of the worst on-screen pairings I've ever seen in wrestling. They cut to Rusev looking on backstage, who got so upset he started throwing his crutches til he fell. Summer Rae was there to pick it up for him, which at least makes Rusev look a little better.
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