The new regime is officially underway and Paul Heyman let us know in the first segment of the night. He is officially in his new position of Executive Director for Monday Night Raw. His client, Brock Lesnar, is on top of the world as Universal Champion and Heyman did all he could to find him a challenger for SummerSlam. But the most important question was if Raw delivered in it’s first night following a widely-renowned great PPV of Extreme Rules – with a new leader, of sorts. Here are the highlights including Bray Wyatt and his re-debut.
Natalya set to meet Becky Lynch at SummerSlam
Natalya defeated Alexa Bliss, Naomi, and Carmella in a Fatal 4-Way Elimination match to set herself up for a shot at Becky Lynch and her Raw Women’s Championship at SummerSlam. Good to see someone like Natalya get a shot in her home country at the second biggest PPV of the year, after all the time and effort she has given to the company. That’s it. That’s the highlight.
#AndNEW: R-Truth wins record 9th 24/7 Championship
R-Truth has won his 9th 24/7 Championship in the worst way possible for two-time champion Drake Maverick. Maverick attended a hotel near the arena in Long Island as he tried to finally “consummate” his marriage with his wife, Renee Michelle. They managed to get as far as the bed of their room before “room service” showed up. Michelle went to answer the door to let the gentleman in, before he revealed himself to be a WWE official.
Maverick would be in fear looking for someone who may be looking to pin him, and take his championship. Reminder, Maverick is only wearing his underwear as R-Truth revealed himself. Truth would go for the roll up and Maverick would manage to kick out. Truth would then hit a crossbody on Drake, taking him to the bed and pinning him for the three count to become the new champion.
Seth Rollins wins the Cross-Branded All-Star Top 10 Battle Royal
What a name for a battle royal, huh? Mouthful to say the least. The best of Raw and SmackDown LIVE went to battle in hopes of winning a shot at Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. Seth Rollins managed to outlast the other nine superstars to win another opportunity at The Beast. It felt rather rushed, but it was hard to see anyone but Seth “Freakin” Rollins earn a shot Brock when SummerSlam comes around. A WrestleMania rematch is on the horizon.
Raw MVP: Bray Wyatt
It happened, it happened, it finally happened! Finn Balor had a match-up with Samoa Joe, in which he lost with a roll up. Following the match, Joe went to attack Balor but the leader of the Balor Club managed to fight Joe off and celebrate with the fans. Balor’s music seemingly went out and the lights followed. This was clever as the New York area had been experiencing power outages – and this was perfectly sold like that was the situation.
Instead, a screeching would occur as Bray Wyatt in the appearance of “The Fiend” holding Finn in his arms for a Sister Abigail. He would lay out Balor and stare into the camera before the lights would go out once again. Terrifying, fun, and fantastic are all words that came into mind with this as Wyatt has finally resurfaced following his Firefly Fun House segments that stole the attention of wrestling fans and he had a debut to remember.
Bray Wyatt is here to change the environment of the WWE and we should all enjoy the ride. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come from Raw with Heyman at the helm with Vince McMahon. Be sure to check back tomorrow for the SmackDown Rundown as Eric Bischoff takes the lead and Kevin Owens continues his rampage to dethrone Shane McMahon.
