The Bray wrestler, real name Fergal Devitt, was making his first main roster television appearance after being drafted to Raw and delivered the finest first-night performance in WWE history.
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WWE also has prior announcements and bookings to honour, and the appearance of certain superstars at shows is going to be one of them.
The opening of this match went to Sasha Banks, as she dominated the WWE Women’s champion.
The main focus of tonight’s Raw will be the aftermath of Battleground. The victor of this match would face Seth Rollins at Summerslam for the new championship, the ‘Universal Championship.’ After Dean Ambrose’s victory meant that the WWE Championship went to Smackdown Live!, Raw needed a new belt so this was the right call. That match would take place on Raw, much to the dismay of the champion. We are heading towards a Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte match for the Woman’s title at Summerslam.
This match was made after Darren Young returned to TV and won the 18-man battle royal to decide a new #1 contender. That honor was ultimately won by Finn Balor.
It all came down to Rusev and Finn Balor in the ring, with the demon hitting a Coup de Grace on the Bulgarian Brute to earn a spot in the main event in one hell of a great debut.
Nia Jax could have scored the pin after around 60 seconds, but pulled away and delivered a second leg drop for good measure. As the newcomer celebrated, Tom Philips interviewed Reigns, whom said that he respected Balor and couldn’t wait to face him again down the road.
The timing of his suspension, however, allowed him to make it to his match at WWE Battleground against his former Shield teammates Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Think Kevin Owens feuding with John Cena or AJ Styles taking on Chris Jericho. Tonight’s main event is set: Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor (this is weird).
The New Day decides to pick an honorary member of the New Day from the crowd, who happens to be named Sonny Boy. This match along with the last match was probably the longest the crowd was really quiet, as it was loud the rest of the night. Gallows & Anderson struck from behind & left the Tag Champs laying as Sonny Boy escaped unscathed, but barely. One big factor is the WWE splitting into two shows, Raw and Smackdown, with each show having its own roster. WWE viewers don’t seem to be warming up to the new leading man and in fact, outright reject him. A superstar who’s been out of action for what feels like forever finally returns to Raw and his welcome back is a squash match against Curtis Axel.
Meanwhile, another NXT alumnus, Sasha Banks, defeated Charlotte for her first ever WWE Women’s Championship.
Sasha Banks has had quite the week already, and it’s only Tuesday.
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They made me care about James Elsworth, and, in turn, made me emotionally invested in a Braun Strowman singles match.
