A very emotional Monday Night RAW from Providence, Rhode Island last night.  The show started off with Roman Reigns coming to the ring carrying the coveted WWE Universal championship.  Reigns was welcomed with the usual mixture of cheers and boos.  He came to the ring in street clothes which was a little shocking, but not nearly as shocking as what we heard from Reigns.  Reigns went on to inform the world that he would be relinquishing the WWE Universal championship because he has been battling leukemia for the last eleven years, and unfortunately it has returned.

The crowd was very respectful to Reigns in response to the announcement.  Reigns said that every night he came to the ring whether the crowd cheered or booed, they reacted to him.  And he was very thankful for that.  Reigns will be taking time off to take care of his family and his health.  Reigns also stated that he is not retiring, and he will be back after he whoops leukemia’s ass.  Love or hate the character of Roman Reigns, the love the WWE universe showed the man who portrays him was incredible.  Best wishes to Roman Reigns, you are in my thoughts and prayers!

Finn Balor is back!

O.k., so Finn Balor never left, but he has been in some meaningless matches and angles lately.  Last night on RAW he was in the first match of the night with Bobby Lashley.  Lashley, who is doing great as a heel, is looking better than ever.  His hype man Lio Rush is the perfect accent to get the heat from the crowd that Lashley needed.  The match was pretty good and Balor was able to pick up the surprising victory.

I think Balor vs Lashley has potential to be a great feud.  I think both men are Universal title material, and I think a small rivalry between the two will be good for both.  Lashley, so that he can get as much heat as possible as a heel, and Balor to restore his credibility as a Universal title contender.  It will be interesting to see where this goes.

Sasha Banks picks up momentum headed into Evolution

Sasha Banks with Natalya and Bayley in her corner took on Ruby Riott with Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan in her corner.  The match was pretty good, going back and forth with Ruby picking up the win after a minor scuffle with all the women on the outside.  I could be wrong, but I swear I heard Jo Jo the ring announcer tell us this was a submission match.  Either it was a mistake or the stipulation was nixed at the very last second.  Either way big win for Ruby Riott.

Fifty fifty booking will tell us that Sasha, Bayley and Natalya will with in the six woman tag match at Evolution.  That will be my pick, but you will have to check out gohomepwb.com on Friday for the rest of my predictions on the all women’s pay per view.

DX still going strong two decades later

Some things will never get old.  I love seeing DX back, although I know it is for one match, it’s the match that I am most looking forward to at Crown Jewel.  It’s crazy to think that DX has been around for over twenty years.  I can remember watching the night DX was formed back in 1997.  That was also the same year Kane was introduced to us.  It’s hard to believe that in character terms, Kane is the youngest in this match.

Triple H and Shawn Michaels had a great promo adding fuel to the fire of this rivalry.  But as good as their promo was, Kane and The Undertaker’s may have been a little better.  An eery setting as Kane and The Undertaker were at a cemetery digging the graves of the DX members.  I can’t wait to see this match, it should be a classic!

Strowman vs Lesnar for Universal title

After the unfortunate diagnosis for Roman Reigns, there was questions as to what to do with the vacant Universal championship.  It was mentioned later during the show that Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar will now compete one on one for the Universal title at Crown Jewel.

Paul Heyman came out to promote the match, and was very respectful to Roman Reigns during his statements.  He of course was putting over Brock Lesnar, when Braun Strowman interrupted.  Strowman went on to take shots at Brock Lesnar’s part-time WWE schedule.  What was not expected was out of nowhere Drew McIntyre ran down the ramp and hit Strowman with a nasty Claymore kick.

McIntyre has hit Strowman with several of his finishing kicks in the last two weeks.  There is a part of me thinking Brock Lesnar may win the title at Crown Jewel and we see Strowman enter a lengthy feud with McIntyre.  I like this growing rivalry, as McIntyre is a stud, and is a believable opponent  for Strowman.

Is Elias turning to the good side?

Elias went one on one with Apollo Crews last night, and after a decent match picked up the victory.  In a more interesting segment, Elias was on the stage area and wanted to finish his song that he tried to start before his match.  Elias was interrupted by acting RAW general manager Baron Corbin.  Corbin and Elias went back and forth verbally, before Corbin cut the microphone to Elias and the sound to his guitar.  Elias left the stage area as Corbin went on to talk about the rest of the show.  Elias came back out seconds later and smashed his guitar over the back of Corbin.

Elias is already a fan favorite, even as a heel.  I hope that this is the start of a face turn for Elias.  He has the potential to be one of the most popular wrestlers on the roster now.

No fighting at contract signing

The Nikki Bella vs Ronda Rousey match for Evolution is now official after the contract signing on RAW last night.  The Bellas came out first, but quickly left the ring when Rousey arrived.  They were not going to fight Rousey, especially in a city like Providence…their words.  Rousey promised the twins that if they entered the ring she would not lay a hand on them.  Rousey also stated that unlike the Bella’s, her word is her bond.  The Bella’s entered the ring and signed the contract.  Nikki then slapped Rousey across the face trying to incite a reaction out of her.  Although extremely irritated by the tactic, Rousey managed to keep her cool and leave the ring, saving the beat down for Sunday.

I have said in previous posts that I would like to see Nikki win the title at Evolution.  The way things are shaping up, it doesn’t look like that will be the case.  I have a few days before Friday to decide on a prediction for the match.  I guess you will have to check out gohomepwb.com then to get my opinion.

Ember Moon continues to get push

Ember Moon, along with Nia Jax, Dana Brooke and Tamina, all wrestled in a fatal four way match on RAW last night.  When I first heard about the match, I was intrigued to see it.  However, my intrigue turned to disappointment when the match ended in less than four minutes.  Even worse Taminia took the loss, solidifying her role as womens division enhancement talent.

I will say this though, Ember Moon has probably the best finisher on the main roster right now.  Her flying stunner is awesome and really looks devastating for her opponents.  Too bad we probably won’t see it at Evolution due to her being in the battle royal.  I heard that there are a lot of great women wrestlers from the past that will participate in the battle royal.  I look for a legend to win it.

Trish and Lita still have some attitude

Trish Stratus and Lita were in Providence last night for RAW.  They had a back stage interview, that was quickly interrupted by Alicia Fox.  Fox and Mickie James attacked the hall of famers, and then started to say “this is how we do things now!”  Trish and Lita quickly recovered and fought back and was able to get the better of Mickie and Alicia, stating “That’s how we did things in the attitude era!”  Check out my prediction for the tag match this Friday.

Main Event Tag Team Title Match

RAW tag team champions Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre put their titles on the line last night against the emotional Seth Rollins and Dean Amborse.  The two Shield members came out through the crowd paying homage to Roman Reigns.

The match was everything as expected from these four men.  The first match of the night where I heard “this is awesome” from the crowd.  Granted we got some very heavy news from Reigns to start the show, and that immediately drained the energy from the crowd.  It took some time, but eventually the crowd was able to recover, and really got into the match.  A back and forth affair, until Strowman interrupted and went directly after McIntyre.  The Shield was not disqualified because the ref was knocked out before Strowman attacked McIntyre.  Once McIntyre and Strowman left ringside, Ziggler was left alone and went after his tag team title, to hit Rollins with.  His attempt was foiled by Ambrose, who then set Ziggler up perfectly for the curb stomp finisher from Rollins.  Ambrose put the ref back in the ring to count the one, two, three.  The Shield are the new RAW tag team champions!  But then…

On a night that should have been a celebratory night for the Shield, it could not have gone worse.  Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins had just won the tag team championships for their brother Roman Reigns.  In one of the most shocking moments in recent memory, Dean Ambrose turned on Rollins putting him in his dirty deeds finisher.  Ambrose then went on to completely decimate Rollins.  Ambrose put a beating on Rollins like I haven’t seen since the attitude era.  Ambrose even pulled back the padding that goes around the ring, exposing the concrete floor and put Rollins in his dirty deeds finisher once more.  This time on the concreted floor.  Ambrose threw his tag title at Rollins and left the ring through the crowd.

The WWE Universe in attendance last night were in shock!  It was the last thing anyone expected after all they had been through throughout the show.  Ambrose, will clearly be one of the most hated guys on the roster now.  And as predicted by my post yesterday, Rollins will reach a very high level of popularity.

A very emotional and shocking RAW last night.  I don’t know if RAW has new writers or if they decided to turn up the creativity, but whatever they are doing lately, I love it!  I can’t wait to see what happens next week, and at Evolution this Sunday.

Once again my thoughts and prayers for a full recovery go out to Roman Reigns, and I can’t wait to boo you as soon as you return!  Tomorrow I will give my Smackdown Live review.  As always thanks for checking out gohomepwb.com