As much fun as it was gently trolling all the fans who kept chanting “OTC” weekly on WWE Raw since he wasn’t likely going to appear, it was only a matter of time before Roman Reigns appeared and those chants proved they weren’t in vain. That’s exactly what happened last week in Raleigh, with Reigns potentially turning the tide in the never-ending battle against The Vision.
Except all may not be as it seems. While Jey Uso was very happy to see Reigns show up to validate his recent “smash ’em all” philosophy, it was easy to notice that Jimmy Uso looked a little less pleased about this development. We won’t have to wait long to see how Roman fits into all the recent drama, as WWE says he will kick off Raw tonight.
CM Punk will also be in the mix for the first time since he and AJ Lee defeated Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch at Wrestlepalooza. And speaking of Lynch, she’ll take on Maxxine Dupri while Lyra Valkyria battles Roxanne Perez.
Let’s get things going with a recap of Reigns making his crowd-pleasing, chair-wielding arrival seven days ago and see where we go from here.
The Tribal Chief and the Tribal Thief trade barbs, then blows
Can’t a guy even get acknowledged without being interrupted these days? Apparently not, as Reigns is just beginning his usual shtick when Bronson Reed and Paul Heyman make their way out to the top of the aisle (not really the stage these days with the setup WWE uses for most episodes of Raw).
Why Reed specifically? As Heyman reminds us, no one has ever put a beating on Reigns like Reed, one that required him to be stretchered out. Bronson rubs salt in the wound by pointing out that Roman’s father and uncle were in the business for decades without being taken out on a stretcher. Reigns turns it around by saying his relatives would urge him to fight his does now, but Heyman is in Reed’s ear advising against it.
“There’s no wise words coming, just words of a coward,” taunts Reigns. Though Roman says it will always be on his time when they face off, Paul tries to counter that by saying the two men will meet at Crown Jewel in an Australian Street Fight. Reigns accepts, saying to the Dallas crowd that “they seem to be walking out like a couple of bitches.”
Reed is lured back to the ring for a fight after hearing that, but Reigns nails him with a Superman punch, then another after breaking free from the legion of referees and officials sent to keep them apart. Throw your ones in the air for now.
Asuka wants a match to be made tonight and browbeats Adam Pearce (already in need of a drink) into making it. One problem: It’s Kairi Sane vs. Iyo Sky that Asuka wants to book, and Sane doesn’t want to do it. This is a physically and emotionally abusive relationship Kairi is in, and part of her definitely realizes it.
Becky Lynch vs. Maxxine Dupri
Joe Tessitore puts over how locked in Dupri looks, but Wade Barrett doesn’t like her chances, and neither do I. Surely this is going to be a showcase match of sorts for her, though, and sure enough, she gets in some fun offense on the outside.
Oh wait, now she’s wrestling well inside the ring as well, dragging The Man into some trouble with an ankle lock. There’s a sitout powerbomb too. Good stuff.
But wait a second: Lynch gets a little too into their next scrap outside the ring, ignoring the referee’s count to stand on the announce table and yell at the crowd. That bites her big time, as a thoroughly beaten up Dupri manages to crawl back into the ring before the 10 count, emerging an unlikely winner.
Winner: Maxxine Dupri by countout
Jey Uso says he will have Reigns’ back at Crown Jewel, but that isn’t what Roman thinks Jey should be focused on. After Reigns steers Jey toward CM Punk instead, he then tells Jimmy, “You know I hear and see everything. What’s the problem with him taking advice from me?” The family intrigue continues.
No such issues between Bayley, currently in her manic phase, and Lyra Valkyria as the latter readies for her match.
Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez
The narrative of this bout is that Perez focuses her attacks on Valkyria’s arm to prevent her from potentially hitting Nightwing later on. Both Raquel Rodriguez and Bayley get involved, which ends up distracting Lyra more than her foe.
Indeed, once Valkyria gets too into the chaos on the floor, Perez takes advantage with a tornado DDT on the floor, followed by Pop Rox in the ring. Valkyria not only takes the ‘L’ but now has to deal with angry Bayley leading her to the back.
Winner: Roxanne Perez by pinfall
A video package reviews the rivalry between John Cena and AJ Styles, including their famous match at SummerSlam 2016. Afterward, Styles’ backstage interview time is interrupted by The Judgment Day. Styles is having none of it, saying he will grab Dragon Lee and see if they can find a third man to take on Finn Balor, JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio tonight.
Ah, but who might that third person be? Perhaps Penta? Before we get the answer to that question, the scene shifts to a chaotic backstage brawl pitting Valkyria and Bayley against The Judgment Day women, causing Joe Tess to say he worries about Pearce’s health sometimes.
There are PBR stars in the crowd tonight, as well as some Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
CM Punk, LA Knight and Jey Uso all have their eyes on the championship
Punk admires the volume of the Dallas crowd and their singing. He gets the fans going on a bit of “Deep in the Heart of Texas” and jokes that he has nothing else planned for tonight.
After thanking the fans for the reception that they have given his wife, AJ Lee, he goes on to make it clear he has his sights set on Seth Rollins. He thinks he has earned a shot at him too, saying he started the year beating Seth and will end it that way too.
Alas, there is always someone who takes exception to a statement like that, and in this case it appears to be LA Knight. The Megastar starts out by reciting some of the lyrics to Punk’s own theme before quickly pivoting to his assertion that he too has earned the right to be World Heavyweight Champion.
Knight says Punk was the owner of the pipe bomb but has been known more recently more as a husband. “However, as good of a husband as you seem to be, you are a trash champion,” Knight says before recalling the times Rollins has pinned Punk. The comeback involves Knight not ever being champion, and now both men appear irritated with each other.
Can we get one more person in this conversation please? Sure enough, Jey Uso wants to join the party too. Knight has something to say to him too, wondering if Jey thinks he “isn’t Roman enough” until Jey has enough and silences him with a superkick.
Punk says maybe Jey should focus on being a tag team wrestler, “because I love Jey Uso, I don’t like little Roman.” Those are also fighting words, and Punk ends up dropping Jey with a right hand before Jimmy nails him with a superkick. The Usos are the only ones who leave on their feet, but this feels like it is far from over.
A video package features Sky telling the world that at Crown Jewel, Asuka will learn that she’s not ready for Iyo. That’s a good segue to …
Iyo Sky vs. Kairi Sane
Sky doesn’t even wait for the bell before she takes to the air to try to get at Asuka, so we know exactly where her head is at. We’ve already seen once tonight what can happen when you don’t concentrate on your opponent, so Iyo will have to be careful not to fall into that same trap.
Iyo wrestles like she is fully focused on Kairi, so maybe the lesson is the opposite one here: Don’t take your eye off Asuka. With the ref looking the other way, Asuka pulls her partner’s arms through on a bridge, allowing her to pin the Genius of the Sky.
After the bell, things get no better for Sky, who ends up taking an Insane Elbow.
Winner: Kairi Sane by pinfall
The second part of the very good video series on the rivalry between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins, narrated by the champs themselves, is shown.
Lynch is taking her loss to Dupri poorly, as you might expect. Once again, however, Rollins appears to be ignoring his wife and keeps staring at the WrestleMania 40 watch. Seth summons Heyman and says they should talk. “What if I don’t beat Cody Rhodes?” he asks Heyman, and not rhetorically. “If you lose to Cody Rhodes, you lose the locker room,” Heyman says, piling on by saying The Vision will lose faith in him. “So please, do yourself a favor, and don’t lose.” Rollins says he noticed that Heyman left himself out of that equation, and when pressed, Paul says he would have to ask himself why he picked Seth over Roman Reigns. Not sure that answer was the one Rollins wanted to hear.
In the back, the Usos are still at odds, with Jey questioning whether Jimmy was protecting Punk. Jimmy takes Roman to task for “pulling his strings” and says neither of them are like the Tribal Chief, but Reigns says that once Jey won the title, he became more like Roman and less like Jimmy. If Jimmy really wants to help Jey, Roman concludes, maybe the best thing to do is stay out of his way.
AJ Styles, Dragon Lee and Penta vs. The Judgment Day (“Dirty” Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor and JD McDonagh)
Want to see Lee fly? You got it. Want to see all three of the faces do the Penta walk? We got you covered there too.
Barrett notes that the crowd supports Mysterio sometimes and boos him at others. They are definitely conflicted when it comes to Dirty Dom.
They love Penta all the time, though, and are into everything he’s doing in the ring tonight. I’m also a sucker for spots where wrestlers are rapidly thrown out of the ring just so they end up targets for aerial moves.
Just as Dom looks pleased and ready to end this, he sees Ruseve headed down to the ring. Penta comes running over and tries for a superkick to Dom, but Mysterio ducks and it hits Rusev, to which Penta can only shrug.
Amidst all of the hijinks, Styles gets McDonagh lined up for a Styles Clash to win it. Styles gets some mic time to say that his match with John Cena needs no story, because both men will leave it all in the ring: “It will kick ass.”
Winners: AJ Styles, Dragon Lee and Penta by pinfall
A rundown of the Crown Jewel card takes us through the latest and greatest.
Backstage, Punk and Knight agree they didn’t ask for this match and just would prefer the other guy doesn’t mess things up for them.
The Usos vs. CM Punk and LA Knight
You have to hand it to WWE for arranging a main event where the “Can they coexist?” theme can be equally applied to both sides. Barrett thinks the Usos can flip the switch and operate like the iconic tag team they have always been when needed, but let’s see if that holds up to the very end.
It turns out the answer is … yes. The problem is actually on the other side, as Punk gets Jey in position for the GTS only to have Knight tag himself in and cover Jey for the three count. Punk did all the work but sees Knight walk back up the aisle with a huge grin on his face.
Winners: CM Punk and LA Knight by pinfall
WWE wants us all to remember that Crown Jewel is coming up this weekend at a special start time of 8 a.m. ET/5 a.m. PT. Wrestling for breakfast, what could be better? See you next week!
