WWE Raw: Results, Highlights, and Grades for August 20, 2018

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Universal Championship Match

Roman Reigns (c) vs. Finn Bálor

Result: Roman Reigns defeated Finn Bálor via pinfall

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

A quick search through the record books on the Internet Wrestling Database tells me that this is the fourth ever Universal Championship match on WWE Raw, and the first since the night after the 2017 Royal Rumble. That’s… a long time.

This was easily the best match of the night. For everyone who tells me “Roman Reigns is trash in the ring,” he’s got two or three matches like this in his portfolio. The dude was bred for professional wrestling, and you can tell he gets it. He plays to his strengths, plays off his opponents strengths, and that’s why so many of his matches are good.

Here’s a hot take for ya: The Reigns/Lesnar matches got dumped on by the crowds because Lesnar and Reigns do too much of the same stuff. Lesnar turned into a suplex and strike machine outside of his F-5 finisher over the past few years. Reigns has always been a Samoan drop and strike kind of guy outside of his spear finisher. There’s no variety, and it ends up looking like a lousy MMA fight instead of a pro wrestling match.

But compare that to Reigns vs. Bálor tonight. Roman is always at his best when he can dominate with his power. Opponents like Bálor, Rollins, Daniel Bryan — those are some of Reigns’s best matches. He’s a strong dude, and if he faces someone like a Lesnar, he can’t do his thing.

At the end of a great match, Braun Strowman emerges with his briefcase, and almost caused a repeat of SummerSlam — it was Strowman’s appearance that cost Lesnar the title, after all. Bálor nearly capitalized, but Reigns hit the spear for the win.

As good as the match was, what happened next was even better. I mean, is the full Shield ever a bad thing? Ambrose and Rollins in their old tactical gear, the NATO phonetic alphabet, a triple powerbomb through the announce table.

And it brings up a whole new set of questions, too. Who’s the babyface in this? Are we getting the OG unstoppable heel Shield from 2013? Will Reigns continue his “open challenge” of sorts now that he has backup? I’m definitely excited for next week’s Raw, which isn’t something I’ve said in a looooooong time.

What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw?