WWE Monday night RAW Highlights
Finn Balor forced to Relinquish WWE Universal Championship
This weeks episode of Monday night RAW kick started with some rather bad news. On Sunday night Finn Balor and Seth Rollins went to war in what was a highlight match of the weekend to become the first ever WWE Universal Champion. A solid build up full of strong promos and segments led to these creating a stand out match and one that will be highlighted at the end of the year as one of the strongest of twenty sixteen. You can find out what I thought of that match and every other mach on the card on Sunday in my SummerSlam review witch will be linked bellow at the very end of this post. Now, like I have already noted the match itself was very very strong however during it Balor suffered a seriously high knock to his shoulder and as we found it in last nights show he was able knock it back into place so he was able to not only carry on competing but defeat Seth Rollins to become the first ever WWE Universal Champion. However, less than twenty four hours later we all learnt the sad news that Balor won't be keeping hold of that title very long and it was announced on the pre show that due to his injury Balor would have to relinquish his championship taking time out to have surgery and recover, a predicted time of six months out of action. Balor opened the show last night alongside Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley where the champ took to the mic to address the matter and promise that he will be back and when he is he's coming right after that WWE Universal Champion. I tweeted out yesterday that this really was such a shame. Balor is a man that has worked so extremely hard throughout his career and that moment at SummerSlam really was a highlight of his career. I don't doubt however that he will be back stronger than ever and will get that title back right around his waist.Bayley Finally arrives On RAW
Last year three out of the four horsewomen made their much anticipated main roster debut. Sasha Banks, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch all made their way up to the big stage and as reward for their hard work throughout their careers down in NXT they all received a monster push and all competed in their first Wrestlemania this year all looking to become the WWE Women's Champion. All receiving great success up on the main roster everything looked fine and dandy for these women but there was a women missing, a missing part of the four horsewomen puzzle, Bayley. As the only one of the four not getting their call up just yet Bayley was left waiting an entire year for her moment and to join her fellow horsewomen. Over the past twelve months the leader of the Hug Nation has been delivering phenomenal matches and taking part in some brilliant storyline's that have pushed the Women's division even further and taken NXT to a whole new level. Taking on the likes of Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, Carmella, and Asuka Bayley has made a name for herself and become one of the most popular and must see WWE Superstars. Now, we have waited months, years even to see the former NXT Women's Champion arrive on the main roster and last night finally she made that much much anticipated debut. After teasers all day a segment half way through the show that saw Charlotte boast about her win at SummerSlam also saw Mick Foley announce Bayley as the newest member of the Monday night RAW roster and what a moment it was. Picking up a huge reaction from the live crowd Bayley finally had her moment and after defeating Dana Brook and making it clear she was coming after Charlotte's WWE Women's Championship she made her presence well and truly known and not only was this a highlight of the night but the highlight of the wrestling week!The Dudley Boyz say Goodbye
It was announced several hours before the show and despite not wanting it to be true last night really was the final night we would be seeing the Dudley Boyz inside a WWE ring as the iconic tag team said goodbye to the WWE. Now, over the past couple of years I have spoken a lot about the Dudley Boyz both here on my blog and over on twitter. Before they even returned to the WWE. I have mentioned several times that the Dudleys are one of my all time favourite tag teams. I grew up watching them witnessing those outstanding TLC matches that I still talk about all the time. That epic Wrestlemania match between the Dudley Boyz, Edge and Christian and the Hardys is still a match I watch on repeat to this day. So being such a big fan of these guys for so long it really was a sad moment watching them retire last night. Making their way to the ring the ring the Dudleys looked back at their career and what they had achieved but spent most of the time thanking the WWE Universe and trust me it wasn't just the Dudley Boyz who were feeling a little emotional. It certainly brought a tear to my eye thinking about how influential they were to me growing up. Now, their celebrations may not have ended quite the way they would have wanted to with Anderson and Gallows attacking the legendary team but it did make sense, it pushed the new era and the new stars of it more and showed the Club to be that true "I don't give a shit" heels that they are but I don't doubt for a single second that we will be seeing more of the Dudley Boyz next year as their chances of going into the WWE hall of Fame next year are pretty high.
Braun Strowman Continues to Make an impact
Since his change in character and new direction after the brand split I have been obsessed with Braun Strowman! I have not stopped talking about him and if you know me in person you're probably sick and tired of hearing me talk about him so much! I was defintley one of the people who was very worried about Strowman going at it alone but the WWE seem to be going a strong road with him and I honestly do believe that he has a fantastic year ahead. Since the brand split the WWE have been feeding Strowman local competitors week after week and while these type of simple squash matches are not to everyone's taste it works. Strowman is looking like a true beast! He looks extremely strong and dominate and I do genuinely have an interest in where the WWE are going with him. Last night he continued to make an impact destroying another local competitor in a matter of seconds. I do think that over the next month or so we should start to see him begin to take on superstars on the roster and slowly starting working small, basic feuds that will put him over.
Who will become the new WWE Universal Champion?
After Finn Balor was forced to relinquish his WWE Universal Championship at the top of the show Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon announced that several matches would take place during this
weeks episode of Monday night RAW. The winners of the four matches would go on to compete in a fatal four way in next weeks main event to crown a new WWE Universal Champion. I lied the idea. It's a typical WWE move and exactly what I expected. Most the names added to the picture were also names I expected. The likes of Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, and Seth Rollins were all names I would have put in the mix I was surprised however to see Big Cass also added to the picture and by the end of the night we learnt that he would be one of the men competing in next weeks main event. I love that Cass is getting this huge push. There's a very very slim chance of him walking out as champ next week but the fact he is being put in such a huge match says a lot about just how high the WWE are on him. Owens and Rollins were early favourites and so it came as no surprise to see them win their matches and added to the main event. I was however very very disappointed to see Roman Reigns put in this match. I really am getting bored of saying this but what are the WWE doing!? I said it last night and I will say it again, it really is a matter of one step forward two steps back with Reigns. They were just getting it right with him then they go and fuck it all up again. The fact is is he should not be in this match. I do believe that they are going to carry on the work between him and Rusev but putting him in this main event next week is only adding fuel to fire and pissing off the fans a whole lot more. Looking at the line up for this match I have to say that I'm favouring Owens. I would love to see Cass walk away with the win but I also really want to see him and Enzo become tag team champions by the end of the year. I would love to know who you guys want to see walk out as champion so feel free to leave a comment bellow letting me know.
This weeks Monday Night RAW was an average one. We had a couple of stand out matches and the main roster debut of Bayley witch I think we can all agree was the best moment of the night. I was expecting the show to be stronger but I have a feeling that tonight's Smackdown LIVE is just going to walk all over RAW this week again. As always I would love to know what you think so feel free to leave a comment bellow or tweet me at @TezangiVictoria letting me know!
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