On Monday night, The Authority took their anger over what happened at Elimination Chamber out on Roman Reigns. While he was announced for the Money In The Bank ladder match, he was forced to defend that spot not once, not twice, but against three different opponents. He dispatched King Barrett with ease, then had a bit more trouble with Mark Henry, and was attacked after the match. Despite wrestling twice already, feeling some pain, and having The Authority also get involved, Reigns was also finally able to beat Bray Wyatt to save his spot in the match.
So Reigns is going to go into Money in the Bank in less than two weeks as the clear favorite. It's hard to make a real case for anyone else currently in the match at this point. They're in an interesting spot with Reigns. He's doing well, and his support is growing back, and slowly getting close to where he was last summer. However, the real test is what happens if fans start to feel like he's the anointed one again. If he's the guy who will inevitably win the title, will the fans start to turn on him again?
There's an easy out if that is the case. The best friends dynamic between Reigns and Dean Ambrose has seemingly come out of nowhere, and when something comes out of nowhere, generally there's' a reason. The reason in this case could be making a heel turn more painful.
Granted, right now Reigns is over. If the crowds through the summer are like they were at San Antonio Monday night, then Reigns and the WWE won't have any issues. Money in the Bank is the real test, and the tone-setting moment for the summer.
The rest of RAW:
- The John Cena/Kevin Owens feud continued after their great match at Elimination Chamber. Kevin Owens, in a nice touch, talked about how his son (probably legitimately) was proud of him, but also was concerned about his favorite wrestler, Cena. He went on a rant about how the WWE deluded children into cheering for guys like Cena. Cena, for his part, came out and gave a good promo, for the most part. Having Owens as a foil makes his usual promos work a lot better. However, he gave a weird twist at the end when he said that Kevin Owens never gives up, and is a lot more like Cena than he thinks. It's a fine message to try to send, however, it contradicted the rest of his promo when he said that Kevin Owens wasn't a true champion and didn't deserve the NXT title he carried. So while the promo was delivered well, it ended up being somewhat confusing at the end, and fell a bit flat. If this feud continues through the summer though, like I expect, these promos should continue to get better.
- Dean Ambrose got his title back after Reigns needled him and the rest of the Authority enough. It was interesting that the rest of the Authority didn't want to give Ambrose the match, but it was Rollins who stepped up and granted the match. There have been a few moments where they have seemed to be teasing a face turn for Rollins over the past few months. While I don't expect it to happen soon, because Rollins is doing too well at his job right now, I could certainly see it before the end of the year.
- Besides Roman Reigns, the star of the show might have been Titus O'Neil. He looked fantastic in a six-man tag against The New Day. One of the most baffling things about the WWE in recent years has been their usage of Titus O'Neil. He's a legitimate athlete, with a great physique, decent in-ring, and has a good personality. This seems like the WWE's dream. Yet, they haven't been able to figure it out with him. It seems like they're finally ready to give the Prime Time Players some sort of push though. It's hard to see them get the titles right now, as the New Day are so hot right now, but if you told me that the Prime Time Players were the team to eventually dethrone the New Day, I could buy it.
- Rusev had a pretty odd promo (while Lana came out with Ziggler earlier in the night). He talked as if he was a broken man, as he literally has a broken ankle, but also talked about losing his title and his girl, and how that was everything. He ended it with a determined promise that he'd get everything back. The promo, again, was delivered well. I question though why Rusev is giving the same promo that a face would give under the circumstances. Are we supposed to feel sorry for Rusev, and root for him to regain everything? I'm guessing not, but based on the promo, it sure seems that way.
- The Bellas once again turned heel. Or at least I think they turned heel. As has been said over and over, there doesn't seem to be faces and heels within the divas division. This time, they pulled the “Twin magic,” the move that worked so well so often when they were heels, to beat Paige. Now, let's ignore the fact that they really don't look alike anymore, and don't even have the same hair if someone was to argue that you couldn't tell from behind. Why are they cheating, if they just turned face? We understand at this point that the WWE feels like the divas are not faces or heel, but we have never found out why. It's not hard to give people a reason to care about faces or heels in the division. You can't just go back and forth with no explanation though. If the WWE really wants to #GiveDivasAChance, they need to start with their characters.
- Well, we know who Ryback's first feud will be after winning the IC title, the Big Show. I have no idea if the match will be any good, but with the reaction that The Big Show always gets, it should at least keep Ryback hot through the feud, which will be important for the IC title.
- Randy Orton beat Sheamus by DQ, who resorted to hitting Orton with a chair after he lost the advantage. Both of these guys are going to be in the MITB match, and, while I guess you can consider both of them contenders, they're pretty heavy underdogs at this point. I'd say Dolph Ziggler even has a better chance than both of these guys.
- Neville beat Bo Dallas again. Interestingly, Dallas came out, and refused to give his normal speech, just demanding Neville would come out. He also showed a much more aggressive side. This side of him could work, but it would have to come with some wins to take him credibly.
Thoughts? Questions? Leave them in the comment section, email me or find me on Twitter: @TheAOster. You can also find my podcast, Jobbing Out, on iTunes.