Welcome to another exciting edition of Monday Night Raw!
Samoa Joe shocked the world last night at Extreme Rules when he grabbed Finn Balor in a Coquida Clutch and choked him out. Joe became the number one contender to Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship and the Samoan Bulldozer had some words for Brock Lesnar on Raw Talk:
“I am more than prepared to take myself to that very deep, dark, violent place…” – @SamoaJoe on challenging @BrockLesnar #RAWTalk pic.twitter.com/NFKF5lE5ul
— WWE (@WWE) June 5, 2017
WWE.COM has been teasing a response from Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar tonight but I would be shocked if The Beast actually appeared. A showdown between Joe and Lesnar will be amazing, even if it is just a one-off match. Joe will also look to keep his momentum tonight with a comfortable win over some poor soul.
Two title changes also occurred at Extreme Rules last night, with The Miz winning his 7th Intercontinental Championship, and Sheamus and Cesaro regaining the Tag Team Championships from The Hardy Boyz. The Miz was able to beat Dean Ambrose, with a little cheating, to win another Intercontinental Championship and hopefully begin to restore meaning to that title again. Ambrose has been a fairly lacklustre champion every time he has held a belt, whereas The Miz thrive with a title on his shoulder. The Hardy Boyz lost their first tag match since returning last night, and thus lost their titles as well. It was a solid match and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a rematch at Great Balls of Fire.
Alexa Bliss battled Bayley in a weird match last night. I say weird because the story built around the match was that Bayley wasn’t able to get extreme, well then you would think the match would climax when Bayley finally discovered her edge. Nope, Alexa just blasted Bayley with the Kendo Stick multiple times, hit the Bliss DDT and pinned her clean. It was a really odd finish but, frankly, I’m glad to see the end of this rivalry. Nia Jax made it clear on the pre-show last night that she is next in line, no matter who the Champion is, so I would expect an altercation on tonight’s program.
Then there’s Neville, still the Cruiserweight Champion, Kurt Angle’s cryptic phone messages, and Elias Samson still singing his heart out. All that and loads more happening on tonight’s Raw. What are you excited to see? Let us know in the comments, check out the Ringside News app, and enjoy the show!