The WWE Raw following a pay-per-view typically always has a lot of fallout and future plans in the making. And while last night’s post-No Mercy Raw was hit or miss, it did a solid job in doing just that.
But where some future plans are becoming clearer, others are still in question. With the likelihood that Brock Lesnar will not defend his Universal Championship at the next WWE Raw-exclusive pay-per-view TLC, other matches will have to step up.
And the possibilities to do so are out there as last night taught us. Let’s take a look at five key takeaways from last night’s Raw.
Credit: WWE.com
5. New Potential Challenger for the Raw Women’s Championship Arises
Following her successful title defense at No Mercy in a Fatal 5-Way match, Alexa Bliss was in a gloating mood on last night’s Raw. While it seemed obvious her in-ring promo would lead to her next feud, the potential opponent came as a bit of a surprise.
Bliss, bragging about how she has beaten everybody the Raw women’s division has to offer, was approached by Mickie James. James called out Bliss for calling her an “old lady” on Raw Talk following No Mercy, and Bliss continued with the subtle old jokes directed towards James throughout the entire segment before James slapped Bliss and had her running for cover.
This could be a nice change of pace for the Raw Women’s Championship scene and has the opportunity for some great storytelling as well. The veteran and highly-decorated James isn’t ready to pack it in and call it a career while the present-day star Bliss is cocky and confident and wants to rid the women’s division of the past. This could be a very good feud if handled properly and not rushed if the WWE does, in fact, decide to go this route.
James’ WWE return was involved with Bliss as well so this potential feud has all the makings of being a memorable one for the Raw women’s division.
Raw. Photo by WWE.com
4. Braun Strowman’s Future Direction is Unclear
The Monster Among Men Braun Strowman has laid waste to the Raw roster over the past several months and has established himself as the most dominant force in the WWE. But following a loss to Brock Lesnar at No Mercy with the Universal Championship on the line, Strowman’s main event momentum took a hit.
That’s primarily because of how the match was booked to finish, where Strowman took one measly F5 and was done. He regained some of his dominance on last night’s Raw via a savage attack of Curt Hawkins and a one-on-one victory over Dean Ambrose, one-half of the Raw Tag Team Champions. While it’s good that Strowman looked dominant the night after his loss to Lesnar, it didn’t do much of anything in terms of what his future holds.
Strowman is now scheduled to wrestle Ambrose’s tag team partner Seth Rollins next week and while it’s an intriguing match, it also does very little to help distinguish his future plans. Strowman has had a huge wave of momentum in recent months and if the WWE isn’t careful, he could end up losing that momentum.
The company needs to find some type of direction for him in the near future to continue his ascent among the main event talent in the WWE.
RAW. Photo by WWE.com
3. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt Isn’t Finished Yet
The Demon King Finn Balor has been one of Raw’s most popular stars since debuting in 2016. Despite losing months of his career due to an injury, he is back in the saddle and seemed to have rid himself of the problems caused by the Eater of Worlds Bray Wyatt.
Balor knocked off Wyatt at No Mercy for his second straight pay-per-view victory over Wyatt, but last night’s Raw told us we might not have seen the end of this feud. Following Balor’s win over Goldust after being beaten down by Goldust backstage earlier in the night, the lights went out to signal Wyatt’s presence. But instead of Wyatt, we got the sounds of a child singing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” the patented jingle Wyatt has used in the past.
It looked as if this feud was finally over, but it appears as if it still has a little juice left in it. But at this point, it will be tough to make this feud feel special anymore. It felt like an afterthought at No Mercy and with Wyatt losing yet again, it feels even less significant now.
Maybe the WWE can up the ante and make it intriguing, but regardless if it is or isn’t, Balor and Wyatt aren’t done with each other yet.
Source: WWE.com via Twitter
2. Enzo Amore is Officially a Heel and 205 Live Finds New Meaning
One of the more interesting segments Raw has seen in a while came last night when the show was closed out with the Cruiserweights for the first time since 205 Live came to Raw. This came about following Enzo Amore’s win over Neville at No Mercy to dethrone the King of the Cruiserweights and win the Cruiserweight Championship with a low blow.
The WWE has been teasing Enzo’s heelish ways in recent weeks since debuting on 205 Live and that teasing came to a head last night. Enzo had a celebration in the ring that was comprised of him gloating and saying how much better he was than the rest of 205 Live. This led to the entire cruiserweight division coming out on the stage in protest of Enzo, only for him to cut negative promos on several of the division’s top stars.
Neville then made his appearance and laid into Enzo verbally. The two faced off in the ring where Neville lost his cool and attacked Enzo, laying him out with one of the best Red Arrows of all-time. Neville and the rest of the cruiserweights are unhappy with how Enzo has treated the division and its championship, and Enzo feels he has single-handily made 205 Live more important and that he is better than the entire division. It seemed like a bad joke to take the Cruiserweight Championship off Neville so quickly in favor of Enzo, and by a low blow nonetheless.
But this current storyline of Enzo vs. the rest of 205 Live might just make up for it and provide the division with some much-needed importance.
Miz TV. Source: WWE.com via Twitter
1. A Shield Reunion is Imminent
The first segment of last night’s Raw featured a great edition of Miz TV with special guest Roman Reigns, following his big win over John Cena at No Mercy. The segment went back and forth with The Miz and Reigns trading verbal blows with each other and eventually led to a match between Reigns and Miz later in the night.
The Miz made a seemingly insignificant statement during Miz TV that if the Miztourage was around when The Shield started, the trio of Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose would have never gotten to the point they got to. And later in the night following Reigns’ win over Miz, the Miztourage attacked Reigns after the match with the help of The Miz. The three laid into Reigns and left him lying in the middle of the ring. But what the three did after laying out Reigns might have told a bigger story.
The Miz and the Miztourage continued to bring The Shield into the picture with three fists all in unison just as Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose had done in the past. With rumors circulating that we could see a Shield vs. Miz and Miztourage match at TLC, last night’s Raw might have just foreshadowed it. Reigns does have an Intercontinental Championship opportunity against The Miz on next week’s Raw, but even if Reigns wins, that only helps a potential Shield mini-reunion if all members have gold around their waists.
Next: Poorly-Booked Finish Plagues Otherwise Stellar No Mercy
Fans have wondered if the WWE would ever put The Shield back together if even for a one-off appearance. And it appears as if fans might get their wish.