We are fresh off the heels of a massively successful SummerSlam just this past Saturday from Detroit, Michigan’s Ford Field. Many things took place and we now have ourselves the fallout set for tonight’s edition of WWE Monday Night Raw, live from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A notable arena especially in recent times as it’s been home to many WWE Premium Live Events as well as All Elite Wrestling’s Full Gear this past 2021. It was also home to the 1999 edition of SummerSlam. The event that saw the rather infamous “Kiss My Ass” match between The Rock and Billy Gunn. A match and feud so detrimental to Billy Gunn, one could argue it wouldn’t be until now that the man was finally able to truly recover.
It also saw Mankind win his third WWF Championship in a match against Triple H and Stone Cold Steve Austin with then-governor Jesse Ventura as guest referee. A messy match meant to get around Stone Cold and Triple H’s creative discontents at the time, as the Texas Rattlesnake was not keen to the idea of losing the title to The Game.
The build-up was so messy, that WWF actually changed the match to be Stone Cold vs. Chyna for a time while trying to figure out what to do.
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Is The Beast Coming Home?
At SummerSlam, Cody Rhodes was able to “slay the beast” when he defeated Brock Lesnar in their third encounter. A brutal affair where Lesnar did everything he could to undermine The American Nightmare but to no avail. In the end, Lesnar wound up conquered by three straight Cross Rhodes.
In a surprise, and according to Triple H, a completely unscripted moment, Lesnar helped Cody up. Then embraced him and raised his arm. As if to say that he earned his respect. A massive moment, given it’s something Brock Lesnar has never shown anyone.
Not knowing it wasn’t scripted, you would get the impression that Lesnar was taking another one of his “hibernations”. However, reports seem to indicate that he is scheduled for the next few WWE premium live events. And of course, WWE Raw tonight is set to take place from his hometown. Will we see Brock Lesnar in some capacity tonight? Well, let’s wait and see.
The Nightmare Is Over
As already stated, Cody Rhodes defeated Brock Lesnar and after that finale, it’s pretty clear their feud is over. With Cody Rhodes standing victorious, now we have a massive question for him. What’s next?
It’s a long way to go until the Royal Rumble still and as such, there will always be that elephant in the room revolving around Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins’ World Heavyweight Championship as we wait to see if Cody can find his way back into WrestleMania rematch with Roman Reigns and the WWE Championship he is specifically targeting. Let’s see what happens if he comes out tonight to ask what we want to talk about.
Judgment
At SummerSlam, Finn Balor failed to defeat Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship. Falling short as his anger clouded his own judgment and prevented him from being decisive when his Judgment Day stablemate and Mr. Money In The Bank Damian Priest came to help.
Can the two manage to mend their fractured fellowship? And for that matter, what’s next for Seth Rollins? As long as Damian Priest holds the Money In The Bank briefcase, The Judgment Day will always keep their eye on Seth Rollins. And Finn Balor can still get his revenge even if it’s not directly.
Is The Queen Of Spades The One?
At SummerSlam, Shayna Baszler was able to defeat Ronda Rousey in an MMA Rules match. Able to exorcise that demon of jealousy and frustration that clouded over her. Match quality aside, as things stand now, Shayna Baszler is the closest woman in the WWE Raw brand to look like a legitimate challenge to the current World Women’s Champion, Rhea Ripley.
Of course, the two are not strangers to one another. As Ripley famously ended Baszler’s long NXT Women’s Championship reign. However, right now, Rhea is entangled with another of her rivals from NXT in Raquel Rodriguez. We still need to see when those two will have their match.
All those questions still need to be answered, as well as the status of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Given the latter is dealing with a rib injury. Plus, we have Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus II set for WWE Raw next week in Winnipeg. Let’s see what WWE Raw brings to the table tonight.
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