Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter
The Sept. 3 edition of WWE Raw was a memorable show for the red brand that saw several important moments from current superstars and past superstars as well.
Last night’s WWE Raw saw several noteworthy moments and storyline developments throughout and even saw an unexpected title change as well that will shake things up moving forward.
Can the red brand keep things rolling into Hell In A Cell in just under two weeks? Only time will tell, but things are shaping up nicely so far. With that being said, let’s take a look at five key takeaways from the Sept. 3 edition of WWE Raw.
5. The Bellas Are Gearing Up For A Big October
The first-ever all-women’s pay-per-view is under two months away with Evolution promising to be a banner night for women’s wrestling. Stars of the past, present, and future will converge to one place to celebrate the history and future of the women’s division in the WWE.
Two past stars are bound for something big at Evolution in Nikki and Brie Bella. The Bellas had solid success in the WWE for years and have parlayed that into reality TV success and mainstream success to an extent, but they returned to the ring together for a tag team match on Raw for the first time in over three years last night when they battled The Riott Squad.
How would The Bellas do in their first tag team match in a long time? Pretty well all things considered. It was an entertaining match with Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan that got a fair amount of time as well. A couple spots were a bit risky for Brie, however, especially when she tried a suicide dive towards the end of the match where it almost looked like she missed Morgan and Logan on the outside and they nearly missed catching her.
But outside of that, The Bellas looked solid and Nikki got the win for her team. They will be in action at the Super Show-Down event in Australia next month when they team with Ronda Rousey to battle The Riott Squad, but it seems like something bigger is on deck for the Evolution pay-per-view towards the end of October.
Whatever the WWE has planned for The Bellas next month should be interesting and last night was a big step in getting back into ring shape.
Photo by WWE.com
4. A Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Lashley Feud Could Be Mutually Beneficial
There are many superstars that need a better creative direction moving forward, but two of the top candidates have to be Kevin Owens and Bobby Lashley. These two have had success throughout 2018 so far, but currently are in a bleaker state creatively. Or are they?
Lashley hasn’t been treated fairly since he defeated Roman Reigns clean on pay-per-view back at Extreme Rules. Owens hasn’t seen much of any creative direction since being switched over to Monday nights via the superstar shakeup a few months ago. What better way to give them something to do than put them in a feud together, right? It appears as if that’s what is happening.
Acting GM Baron Corbin made Lashley take part in a meditation segment with Jinder Mahal last night. It was pretty humorous for a while, but the humor ended when Owens made his presence felt and jumped Lashley from behind. KO apparently walked out and quit last week, but it wouldn’t take him long to return and his sights were set on Lashley last night.
He laid out The Dominator and never looked back, but what does this mean for both superstars moving forward? It seems like they are going to feud together and given how both men haven’t had much direction lately, that could be a mutually beneficial move. Two superstars of that caliber squaring off could potentially revitalize both men and elevate them up the card for future success.
They aren’t doing anything else, so a Lashley vs. Owens feud could be the best way to go for both men.
Credit: WWE Universe on Twitter
3. Braun Strowman Is A Full-Fledged Heel
You could make the argument that Braun Strowman has been the most over babyface on the Raw roster over the past few months. But heading into the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view in less than two weeks, The Monster Among Men is in a much different position than he has been lately.
Strowman will cash in his Money in the Bank opportunity to battle Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship inside Hell in a Cell, but he will be doing it as a heel for the first time since the beginning of the year. Many wondered if aligning himself with Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre was just a method of revenge against The Shield, but last night proved it’s more than that.
The three men opened up the show with Strowman saying Reigns has his pack to lean on, so now Strowman has his own pack as well and he doesn’t care if the fans like it or not. So, with that very statement, Strowman is an obvious heel moving forward. The night would get crazier, however, with The Shield trying to attack the three before eventually being thrown in jail thanks to the acting GM Baron Corbin.
The Monster Among Men battled Finn Balor in the main event of last night, but as soon as the match was finished, it wouldn’t take The Shield long to come back, in the same car the trio was taken out in earlier no less. But presumably, Corbin sent out an abundance of superstars from the back to attack The Shield along with Strowman, Ziggler, and McIntyre. That’s how the show ended and it only further establishes that Strowman is a full-fledged heel.
Love it or hate it, The Monster Among Men is a heel again and his alignment with Ziggler and McIntyre could pay dividends in his quest to capture the Universal Championship.
Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter
2. Seeing The Undertaker And Shawn Michaels Face-To-Face Again Was Special
It’s rare to see two past icons in the same ring again in the WWE in 2018, but last night’s Raw gave fans that opportunity in a huge way. With the pending final match between Triple H and The Undertaker set to take place at the Super Show-Down event next month, a WWE Hall of Famer that knows both men very well addressed the situation last night.
Shawn Michaels made his return to Monday nights to address the match between The Game and The Phenom to a huge nostalgia feel that had fans buzzing. Past legends have been making their predictions as to who will win between Triple H and The Undertaker, but HBK gave his prediction in a more personal way. He said he thinks The Game will win because he’s got way more left in the tank than The Undertaker has.
But The Phenom wouldn’t let that slip and he made his surprising return to confront Michaels. It was incredible to see those two in the same ring again, but it got even better with the promo that would follow. Taker said HBK made it personal with his comments and that the whole situation is about Michaels being upset that Taker took his career from him when he defeated him at WrestleMania 26 back in 2010.
Michaels said he’s stayed away for as long as he has because he’s a man of his word and because of respect for The Undertaker and the business in general. But Taker responded by asking if it was because of respect or fear before ending it with another claim that he will finish The Game. It was a phenomenal promo that just felt like an old-school promo between two legends that know the business like the back of their hand.
This was a special moment in time and whatever comes out of it should be special in its own right.
Credit: WWE on Twitter
1. Dolph Ziggler And Drew McIntyre As Raw Tag Team Champions Helps The Entire Tag Team Division
The duo of Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre has been running roughshod on Monday nights since the two have been together following WrestleMania 34. They have been out to take over the red brand, but last night was a crucial step in accomplishing that when a fortuitous situation came about.
Last week saw Ziggler and McIntyre align themselves with Braun Strowman and that carried over into last night’s show. The three would get the upper hand over The Shield, but Ziggler and McIntyre weren’t content with just that. They wanted competition and decided they wanted in on the Raw Tag Team Championship match that was set to take place between The B-Team and The Revival. But Ziggler and McIntyre had to take matters into their own hands first.
They attacked The Revival from behind and left them laying in order to take Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder’s place in the tag team title match. It worked like a charm and Ziggler and McIntyre challenged Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel for the Raw Tag Team Championship. You could see the writing on the wall by this point that it wouldn’t be a good night for The B-Team.
It was a competitive match, but Ziggler and McIntyre were too much for The B-Team and they got the win to capture the Raw Tag Team Championship for the first time. This was a big moment for not only Ziggler and McIntyre, but for the entire tag team division as well. These two as champions should bring a level of legitimacy to the tag team division on Raw that hasn’t been seen in a while.
The B-Team had a good run, but the tag team division needed a change and that change came courtesy of Ziggler and McIntyre.