Last night at WWE FastLane, Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose to become the #1 Contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Also, every champion going into FastLane retained their titles. How will the first episode of Monday Night Raw after FastLane shape the Road to WrestleMania?
Vincent J. McMahon Legacy of Excellence Award
For those who don’t know, Vincent K. McMahon is the owner of WWE. When he was younger, he bought the company from his father, Vincent J. McMahon, who paved the way for what his son would develop into the WWE we have today. There hasn’t been much to explain who is eligible for this award, what this is for or why it’s being given.
Unsurprisingly, Vincent Kennedy McMahon himself enters the ring to present the award. He gives a brief history about his father, then give the award to his daughter, Stephanie McMahon. How did I not see that coming?
Out of nowhere, Shane McMahon interrupts, after not being on WWE television in years. Shane O’Mac gets a huge pop, with a “Yes!” chant, a “This is awesome” chant, and a “Shane O’Mac” chant to follow. He’s here for one reason: He wants to take control of Monday Night Raw (with another “Yes!” chant in response).
Vince will give him what he wants, if Shane wins one match, at the time and place and against the opponent of Vince’s choosing. Shane accepts, and it’s a deal.
The place: WrestleMania 32. The opponent: The Undertaker, in a Hell in a Cell match.
Neville & The Lucha Dragons vs. The New Day
Kalisto defeated Alberto Del Rio last night to retain his United States Championship. You would think (I would, anyway) that this episode of Monday Night Raw would focus on who he would defend the title against at WrestleMania 32. However, WWE has been more focused on putting him in meaningless tag team matches now that Sin Cara has returned from injury.
Sin Cara looks to put Kofi Kingston away, but Kingston manages to grab the mask, leading to Kingston hitting Trouble in Paradise for the win. Winners: The New Day
In-ring Segment
Before Monday Night Raw, as Dean Ambrose was entering the arena, Brock Lesnar attacked him, even throwing him into the windshield of a limousine. Ambrose got taken out of the arena via ambulance, and we have yet to hear an update. As for now, we hear from Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar.
To sum up Heyman’s promo: He’s pissed, Brock’s pissed, and Ambrose is to blame. Just as they’re about to leave, Dean Ambrose comes back into the arena driving the ambulance he left in, still wearing a neck brace. He drags his way to the ring, and Lesnar starts to leave. Before he leaves, Ambrose challenges Lesnar to a Street Fight at WrestleMania, and Lesnar accepts. That’s three matches already for the WrestleMania 32 card, with possibly more to come tonight.
The Usos vs. The Ascension
The Usos haven’t been in action since the Dudley Boyz turned on them after winning a tables match together against the New Day a few weeks ago on Raw. Speaking of which, the Dudleys stand at the stage to watch the match.
After barely anything, the Usos put away the Ascension. Winners: The Usos
In-ring Segment
Chris Jericho comes out to the ring and calls out AJ Styles, who beat him last night at FastLane. After a “phenomenal” match, Jericho gives Styles his seal of approval. For some reason, the Social Outcasts decide to show up.
This leads to an impromptu match, with the Social Outcasts taking on Y2AJ (their name according to Adam Rose).
Chris Jericho & AJ Styles vs. Heath Slater & Curtis Axel (w/Bo Dallas & Adam Rose)
Even though the Social Outcasts don’t have a lot of wins in their history, they’ve been great in their promos since performing as a team. They are weird enough, and play off of each other well enough to be entertaining.
After a pretty decent match, Jericho locks in the Walls of Jericho on Curtis Axel for the win. Winners: Chris Jericho & AJ Styles
Kane, Ryback, & Big Show vs. The Wyatt Family (w/Braun Strowman)
For some reason, and I have no idea why, WWE booked the Wyatts to lose last night to this random team of people nobody cares about. The Wyatt Family could be the most dominating faction since the Shield, but instead they are being fed to two people who have been in the company since the mid-late 1990s.
These matches aren’t bad, they just have no reason for me to care, especially after FastLane.
Kane is about to hit a chokeslam on Luke Harper, and Ryback just decides to leave the match. This distracts Kane enough for Bray Wyatt to hit Sister Abigail for the win. Winners: The Wyatt Family
After the match, Ryback explains his decision by saying he doesn’t want to be in tag teams. That’s it.
Sasha Banks vs. Naomi (w/Tamina)
In case you weren’t tired of the feuds from FastLane, we’re just going to do a bunch of rematches.
Tamina starts to give Naomi the advantage by causing distractions, but Becky Lynch comes out to even out the odds. This leads to Banks locking in the Bank Statement for the win. Winner: Sasha Banks
After the match, Charlotte comes out and announces that either Lynch or Banks will face her for the Divas Championship at WrestleMania. The next few weeks will determine who goes to take on Charlotte.
Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus (w/Rusev, Alberto Del Rio, & King Barrett)
If you have been reading my recaps, you would know that I hate the League of Nations, and that I find Roman Reigns boring. So I don’t really care about this match at all. Isn’t the League of Nations supposed to be feuding with the New Day?
After the commercial break, the League of Nations just disappeared, and Triple H comes down to fight Reigns. Triple H ends up busting Reigns’s nose, and hits the Pedigree on the steps to end Monday Night Raw.
