SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
ROLLINS SETS UP THE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE AS RAW’S TOP BELT…
Recap: Seth Rollins came to the ring just after the coveted top of the third hour slot (which went to Bobby Roode’s match with Elias). He admitted that the Miz had taken him to the limit last night, but said that unlike the Miz he would be a fighting champion on television each week. He recounted that while Money in the Bank previously changed his life, right now his focus was solely on the Intercontinental Title. He then issued an open challenge for the title.
The challenge was answered by Mojo Rawley. Rollins won a match that as was as solid as anyone could hope with Mojo Rawley as an opponent.
Evaluation: After opening Backlash with a great match on Sunday (widely regarded as the only good match of an awful event), it was bizarre that the announcers didn’t even mention Rollins’ name until 10:15p EDT. Considering how red hot Seth has been, it would’ve seemed to make sense to at least mention that we would be hearing from Rollins later in the night as a tease to keep viewers from changing the channel after the second hour. Even with Mojo Rawley as his opponent, opening the third hour with the Rollins segment instead of Elias-Roode probably would’ve been a good idea.
That aside, Rollins’ promo did a good job of setting up the Intercontinental Title as being Raw’s de facto top championship for the time being. This was clearly the intent of emphasizing his being on television each week. With Universal Champion Brock Lesnar likely appearing even less frequently than before his extension, this was a necessity. Rollins is the guy to keep interest in the title.
Through that lens, the decision to keep Rollins out of the MIB picture makes complete sense.
Forecast: For the time being, without regular appearances from Lesnar, Rollins will be the top champion on Raw. I wouldn’t expect Lesnar to appear again until the setup for SummerSlam. After Lesnar drops the title at SummerSlam, WWE can begin the process of moving Rollins back into the Universal Title picture.
BRAUN QUALIFIES FOR MONEY IN THE BANK…
Recap: The show opened with Kurt Angle approaching the ring for a promo. He announced that there would be two Triple Threat qualifying matches tonight for the Men’s and Women’s Money in the Bank matches next month.
Braun Stroman then came to the ring, irritated that he was not in the men’s qualifying match. Strowman recounted a childhood story to Angle about being left out of a neighborhood treehouse, and how he took down the entire tree while the other children were still inside.
Kevin Owens then interrupted, protesting that he belonged in the Money in the Bank match without needing to qualify. He also argued that Braun did not belong in the match due to his bad behavior (presumably his squashing of Owens and Zayn at Backlash).
Kurt then announced a qualifying match for Money in the Bank between Braun and Kevin Owens, to begin immediately.
The two had a back and forth match. The tide turned for good when Braun hit three running shoulder tackles on Owens outside the ring. They were followed up with a running powerslam for the pin inside the ring.
Evaluation: While a face turn for Kevin Owens was teased at Backlash, tonight Owens still played heel against the popular Strowman.
Three times during the match, Strowman ran a full circle around the ring to build momentum for a hard shoulder tackle. He’s done this a bunch over the past few weeks. so it seems it’s being positioned as one of his signature spots when an opponent is outside the ring.
Forecast: Braun is way over with the fans right now. He got a non-reaction last night at Backlash, but the event was such a disaster that it’s tough to place the blame on him. He has to be a strong contender for the briefcase right now.
BALOR QUALIFIES (& ROMAN DOESN’T)…
Recap: In an early show backstage interview, Roman Reigns referred to himself as the uncrowned Universal Champion. He also recounted his history of silencing his haters, and promised to win his qualifying match to take back the title that he claimed to be rightfully his.
Later, after defeating Chad Gable in a singles match, Jinder Mahal demanded entry into the qualifying match for MITB. Kurt Angle harshly denied his request.
The final match of the evening was Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, and Roman Reigns in a Triple Threat to qualify for the MITB Ladder Match. Toward the end of the match, Mahal appeared and tripped up Reigns, which allowed Balor to hit the coup de grâce on Sami Zayn for the win.
Evaluation: This was a fun, fast-paced match. It says a lot that the crowd was most interested during the stretch where Roman was incapacitated on the outside while Zayn and Balor fought in the ring.
Forecast: This match was more about who didn’t win than who won. By having Jinder Mahal cost Roman the victory, creative seems to be setting up a Mahal-Reigns program. Presumably the idea is that if the fans will boo anyone against Reigns, it will be Mahal. The issue is that WWE is going to have the same problem it encountered when turning the fans against Brock Lesnar: just because the fans will boo Roman’s opponent doesn’t mean they will cheer Roman.
Unfortunately this indicates that Vince still has not accepted the idea of a heel turn for Roman.
RANDOM THOUGHTS…
The feud between Baron Corbin and No Way Jose is literally being framed as being based on one guy liking fun opposing a guy who hates fun….
WWE’s touting of Backlash as being the most social show on television last night may reflect how bad it was more than anything else….
It was good that WWE gave Bobby Lashley a video package and sit-down interview tonight. On one hand, Lashley talking about his sisters came across as the type of interview that would take place on the preshow for a sporting event, which is a good thing. On the other hand, however, it seemed hard to figure out where WWE was going with the sister stuff storyline-wise….
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – RAW 4/30: A New Low for Reigns, Another Strong Rollins-Balor Match, WWE as a Positive Agent of Perestroika in Saudi Arabia
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