Jey Uso is still the WWE World Heavyweight Champion thanks to a good friend and an enemy of my enemy sort of situation that developed Monday night on Raw.
When a wrestler tells you they aren’t going to be on a show, don’t believe them. Prior to Monday Night Raw, CM Punk was clear that he was still recovering from WrestleMania 41 and the Raw After Mania. He told fans and the media in no uncertain terms that he would not be in Omaha. So when Cult of Personality hit in the middle of a wild main event, no one was really all that surprised.
Raw began with Paul Heyman issuing a challenge on behalf of his newest client, Seth Rollins. Heyman told Jey Uso that Rollins wanted the world title and he was willing to take on Uso any time, any place. Uso was fired up and accepted the challenge for that night. Turns out that was all part of Heyman and Rollins’ plan. Backstage, the two along with Bron Breakker laughed at how foolish Uso was to be bated into a championship defense he wasn’t ready for. But as Heyman told Breakker, Rollins was more than ready as he had been preparing for the match ever since WrestleMania 41 ended.
90 or so minutes later, Rollins and Uso were in the ring for the first WWE World Heavyweight Championship defense on Raw in over seven months. Uso, who has gained momentum as a result of not just winning the title but how he won it, was presented as a credible champion, kicking out of some of Rollins’ best moves. Uso acquitted himself well against the former multi-time world champ, even picking up a few nearfalls of his own. As the match went on, two things seemed certain: Uso wasn’t losing in his first defense and Rollins wasn’t losing clean. So while Uso attempted to get Rollins to submit, the Visionary wouldn’t befall the same fate as Gunther. Instead, Rollins relied on his wit and his new factionmate to provide the helping hand. With a series of ref distractions by Heyman, Breakker interfered on Rollins’ behalf several times.
It seemed Uso was going to fall victim to a less than clean win before Sami Zayn, banged up ribs and all, came out to neutralize Breakker. Zayn hyped up Uso before Breakker hit him with a massive spear much like last week. As Uso went to check on his friend, Breakker took advantage of another ref distraction to take out the champ. Rollins called for Breakker to roll Uso back in the ring where he hit a second curbstomp of the match. But before Rollins could make the cover, Punk came out chair in hand. Punk took out Breakker before charging the ring and brutalizing Rollins with the steel object. I guess the ref was still out of commission as no one called for the bell for a DQ or no contest. But that didn’t matter. Rollins and Breakker retreated, seemingly content to fight another day as Punk, Uso, and Zayn stood strong in the ring.
There had been rumors of a tag team match of Rollins/Breakker and Punk/Roman Reigns but it seems like Zayn may represent the Bloodline instead. Rollins will no doubt be incensed if his best friend aligns with his most hated rival. Reigns’ part-time schedule prohibits him from being a major player in this story as it would have made perfect sense for him to come out in defense of Uso instead of Punk to set up Uso/Reigns vs Breakker/Rollins. Perhaps that match could still be on the horizon later this year before another inevitable singles clash of Rollins and Reigns. Either way, it’s clear that the locker room isn’t backing down to Rollins, Breakker, and Heyman’s unholy alliance.
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