While there was plenty of action during this week's three hours of Monday Night Raw
there was just as much excitement after the show, once the cameras had stopped rolling.
Before this Thursday's Crown Jewel Pay Per View in Riyadh, Universal Champion Seth Rollins
Rollins picked up a huge win against Erick Rowan in a Falls Count Anywhere match,
but there was no time for the Beast slayer to rest.
Instead, Rollins faced The Fiend in a Steel Cage match with the title on the line, just
three days before the pair face off at Crown Jewel in another Falls Count Anywhere match.
Fans who saw the dark match at the Enterprise Center in St Louis have said
the match was noticeably short, as it lasted less than five minutes,
with Wyatt dominating for the early minutes of the contest.
Ever resilient though, Rollins bounced back, but even after hitting
multiple stomps, the Architect still couldn’t keep the Fiend down.
Realizing he couldn't pin the Eater of Worlds, Rollins was able to retain his gold
by escaping the cage, though this still wasn't the end of his night.
After the match, the lights went out and by the time they were on again,
Applying the Manidble Claw and reportedly keeping it on his opponent for two minutes
Wyatt definitely had the last laugh, as the show ended with the Fiend
walking to the back and Rollins laid out in the ring.
Interestingly, the WWE used the red lights during the match, just like the pairs
highly controversial Hell in a Cell match, which gave the dark match a creepy aura.
Rollins may have been able to escape St Louis as Universal Champion,
but this won't be so easy on Thursday, as Seth is yet to Pin Wyatt
since the pair crossed paths at Clash of Champions
On the other hand, Crown Jewel may be Wyatt's last shot at the Universal title
for quite some time, as with him being drafted to SmackDown earlier this month,
he won't have many more shots at RAWs number one star as part of team blue.
It's unclear what exactly the Architect and the Fiend
have planned when they meet this Thursday at Crown Jewel
Speaking to WWE.com after his Falls Count Anywhere victory over Erick Rowan
on RAW, the Beastslayer discussed the lack of respect he's felt recently, saying:
"It wasn't so much about the win or the loss [against Rowan], it was about getting
myself ready for 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt. There's been a lot of disrespect lately, I feel like
'The Fiend' is cool, fresh, and new and has this cult following. And that just puts a chip
on my shoulder. I feel like I'm out here every single week, busting my back, breaking my back
putting this whole company on my back sometimes. And I don't get the respect
I deserve because there's this new flavor of ice cream. The dude is scary
I get that too. I don't know what it's going to take at Crown Jewel to put him away
but I'm gonna do whatever it takes to survive and prevail. It's kinda what I do."
In the interview, Rollins seemed to blend kayfabe and reality into his promo
as it's no secret that fans have turned on him during this feud, even booing him
at Hell in a Cell and RAW dark matches against the heel Fiend. We'll have to wait and see
what response Rollins gets in Riyadh this Thursday, as he'll meet Wyatt in a Falls COunt
Anywhere match, where the bout can't be stopped for any other reason.
Though Wyatt and Rollins will be competing at Crown Jewel, no women will be in the conservative
country, but that hasn't stopped Natalya, Lacey Evans and Lana from making the trip.
In an image on social media, all three women were spotted at an airport ahead of Thursday's show,
and whilst WWE hasn't been able to hold a women's match in Saudi Arabia,
that won't stop these three Super stars from supporting those who did get on the card.
One person who isn't scheduled to be on the show, but who may still appear
is Shane McMahon, who has been spotted arriving in Saudi Arabia this week.
This is interesting as McMahon is strictly an on-air talent only, and doesn't serve as an executive
leading to speculating that the WWE is bringing the prodigal son back to WWE
One possibility is that McMahon will be a part of the Tag Team Turmoil to decide
the Best in the world, after Shane won the same accolade at Crown Jewel 2018.
The Undertaker, who isn't wrestling at the show, was recently in Saudi Arabia
to promote the show, and that could be the same for McMahon, who hasn't been
seen since he lost on the FOX premiere of SmackDown to Kevin Owens.
From Crown Jewel to RAW now, and despite bringing in both Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair
as well as the Falls Count Anywhere match, the numbers weren't great this week.
This week's show averaged 2.13 million viewers, down from last week's 2.34 million, and
and according to the Wrestling Observer, this is the third-worst
non-holiday number in recent years.
Breaking those numbers down, the show kicked off with 2.32 million tuning in, which went upto
2.4 million in hour two, and settled at a worrying 1.92 million in hour three.
There was no World Series game on at the time, and the NFL game which saw the Steelers
beat the Dolphins did it's worst viewership of the year, so whilst there was
competition for RAW, it wasn't anything like usual.
The fact is that fans just aren't that interested in what WWE has to offer right now
so hopefully that will change next week as the company starts on the road
to it's November tradition: Survivor Series.
Back to Crown Jewel and whilst Hulk Hogan will have his hands at the show
as his team deals with Team Flair, even the journey to the show
is proving to be difficult for the former World Champion.
In a video shared on Facebook, the Hulkster spoke about his trip to Saudi Arabia
and revealed that he and Jimmy Hart had a "hard landing in Iceland" on their private plane.
According to Hogan, the tires blew out and the brakes melted
slightly and thankfully everyone is okay.
After saying he was using a "friend from Minnesota's" plane to get there, the PW Insider
discovered that that friend was Brock Lesnar, as his plane had to stop in Iceland to refuel.
A plane ride with Hulk Hogan, Brock Lesnar, Jimmy Hart and Ric Flair, who was also
on Hogan's flight, sounds entertaining to say the least, so hopefully
the four will be able to geet there and back without anymore issues.
Speaking of turbulence, the marriage of Rusev and Lana
has been going through some serious issues as of late, and it seems
the love triangle involving Bobby Lashley isn't ending anytime soon.
In the final segment of RAW, Rusev was demolished by the Almighty in the ring
and whilst the clip went viral, that's probably not what Rusev was hoping for.
Now, his wife and her lover are getting pretty comfortable with each other
as the two snuggled on a plane before take-off, clearly pleased with themselves.
We can't iamgien Rusev reacted to the picture well, but until he and Lashley meet on opposing teams at
Crown Jewel, the Super-Athlete will just have to accept his wife is getting very close with another man.
Since returning to WWE last year, Lashley has shown a different side of himself,
in stark contrast to his strong and silent image of his first run.
Since coming back, Lashley has done it all, from teaming with Lio Rush,
to singing with Elias, to beating up his sisters, thanks to Sami Zayn.
Speaking to TV Insider, the former Intercontinental Champion admitted
that it's still been hard for him to come back to WWE, saying:
"I came from a world of amateur wrestling. It was always shut up and train. The last thing you would
want to do is anything else. Everything else was shut up and train. When I first came into this
world, it was more hardcore. That fighting style was real, and I fit right in.
Coming back this time, there are so many different characters, and people
are talking about entrances and costumes."
Speaking about his return, Lashley said that what he had planned wasn't quite
the same as what he's received, but he's learned to enjoy what has happened, saying:
"I was like, ‘Where is Brock? Sign us up. Let’s do this. Let’s fight.’ They were like
‘No, we need you to dance on Instagram. We need you to tell a joke. We need you to
look sloppy and do some different things. Sing on TV. Make out with this lady.'
All these things they want that are different. I didn’t under stand it for a long time,
but I do now. Just to see me open up where people can relate to you and
get behind you. People can get behind you or against you, but they know who you are
. I don’t think they know who I really am. They know what I’m capable of doing,
but they don’t know who I am. I think that is what we are trying to do
Just crack the shell and show a little bit more of me.”
It's hard to argue with Lashley's success since his returning, which includes two stints
as Intercontinental Champion, but if he ever turns face again, a match against
Lesnar could be epic if the two end up on the same brand.
Another star who knows about transitioning to MMA is Jake Hager, who's third Bellator fight
ended in a no-contest, after the AEW heel leveled his opponent with a knee to the crotch.
Keeping up kayfabe, Hager's Inner Circle crew was in attendance for the big fight,
and whilst Chris Jericho was popping a little but of the bubbly elsewhere,
Sammy Guevara, Ortiz and Santana all made the trip.
Another wrestler in attendance for the show was Batista, who posed for a pic
with the Circle in a photo op that quickly got the pro wrestling world talking.
In the caption, Santana said "real recognises real" as just because the Animal isn't associated
with AEW yet, that doesn't mean he won't find a role with the company down the line.
This past Monday was national First Responders Day in the US,
and John Cena certainly made the most of the day, bu donating half a million dollars
to the LA Fire Department and California Fire Foundation.
The charities were chosen by Paramount, the production company behind Cena's new
film 'Playing with Fire', and the former World Champion himself explained that
he wanted to give back and help responders fighting to California wildfires.
We've got some AEW news now, as in preparation for next month's Full Gear event,
the company has laid out a special rule for the main event.
The show will be headlined by AEW World Champion Chris Jericho facing
Cody Rhodes for the title, and if the match goes to an hour- long draw
a panel of three judges will decide the victor.
According to the company, this is to avoid any sort of controversy
in the main event, though we imagine Chris Jericho won't be pleased, as he
could lose his AEW World title, without being pinned.
Back to WWE now, and its no secret that Dominick Mysterio wants to step into the ring
with his father, and that dream just took another big step to coming true.
In an interview with Marca, Dominick's father Rey revealed that his son
will be going to the Perofrmance Center next year, saying:
"He's had more than two years to prepare and the truth is, he's been learning pretty quickly
You can tell that it's in his blood. I am loving being able to share the ring
with him before I retire. I think he will enjoy it."
Fans first got to meet Dominick during Rey's 2005 feud with Eddie Guerrero, and were recently
reintroduced to him this year in Rey's feud with Samoa Joe and his current battle with Brock Lesnar.
After attacking Dominick back stage on SmackDown this week, Lesnar will hope to be
be just as dominant this Thursday, when he defends the WWE Championship
against the Mysterio's friend Cain Velasquez at Crown Jewel.
And finally today we're ending with some news from The Rock, who said that whilst he will make
an announcement on Friday, he wanted to tell UFC fans and the MMA community first.
On an Instagram chat with UFC president Dana White, the Brahma Bull revealed he will
present the ceremonial 'BMF' belt this Saturday at UFC 244.
The Rock will present the gold to either Nate Diaz or Jorge Masvidal after their match
but the belt has been created for this fight only.
At the end of his talk with White, Johnson said that he will make the announcement this Friday
at a UFC press conference, but the company has yet to announce a time or location for that.
As a client of Endeavour, the company which owns the UFC, Johnson is a long-time fan
of the industry, and even appeared backstage to greet his friend and former nemesis Brock Lesnar
after the Beast retained the UFC Heavyweight title during his incredible 700+ day reign.
The idea of Johnson presenting the belt to the winner of Saturday's main event
came from Masvidal on social media, and while we know what part of Rock's
announcement will be, there's always a chance he could reveal other news.
The announcement of Rock appearing at UFC 244 could be Athleticon, a three-day event
next October in Atlanta, GA, that will focus on athletics, fitness, and entertainment
three points the Rock clearly represents.
In an article from CNN, the idea of Athleticon hosting "competitive athletic events"
was discussed, which could mean a UFC event being hosted at the show.
For what it's worth, it's not expected that the 47 year old Hollywood star will announce
he is going to fight in the UFC, as after quietly announcing his retirement from WWE
earlier this year, it seems the Great One is solely focussed on his entertainment career.