Hot off the heels of Hell In A Cell we had Monday night's Raw, and due to how the PPV ended fans had quite a few questions. What's next for the Universal Title? Will Braun Strowman get his Money In The Bank contract back? Why was the HIAC main event stopped just because Brock Lesnar interfered? Expect answers to some of your questions but not all of them, because it is WWE after all. On the bright side, there were two title matches on Monday night, and almost a third had it not been for that meddling Riott Squad.
After what happened at the end of Hell In A Cell on Sunday night, the only man opening Raw this week was going to be the Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. He was quickly joined by Braun Strowman as the two rivals' championship match wound up being stopped thanks to a Brock Lesnar run-in. Enter acting GM Baron Corbin to try and diffuse the situation. The constable confirmed the rumor that WWE will be heading back to Saudi Arabia on November 2, 2018, for an event called Crown Jewel. At that show, Reigns will defend his title in a triple threat against both Lesnar and Strowman. That is if he still has it by then as Corbin booked himself in a title match versus The Big Dog later that night on Raw.
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Reigns and Strowman weren't the only ones who suffered during the HIAC main event on Sunday night. The rest of The Shield along with Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre did battle around it and even ended up on top of the demonic structure. That didn't stop The Lunatic and The Scot going one-on-one in the opening match of this week's Raw, though. Clearly, Ambrose is feeling the effects of the PPV more than McIntyre. The Hound of Justice almost lost by count out after McIntyre slung him into the barrier, only to be met with a vicious claymore kick when he got back in the ring to beat the count. That was enough to earn McIntyre the victory.
The promos involving The Undertaker and Triple H over the last few weeks have been pretty damn good. That was no different on Raw this week as The Deadman returned once again. Taker responded to The Game's comments last week that at Super Show-Down, he is going to put him down. Not only did The Phenom threaten to end Triple H's career in their last match ever, just like he did to Shawn Michaels, but he also had a big announcement. The Game might have HBK in his corner in Melbourne, but The Deadman is going to be joined by his brother Kane.
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Corbin didn't only give himself a title match. The constable also convinced Ziggler that it would be a good idea to cash in his Intercontinental Championship rematch. Why? Because Seth Rollins wasn't in the building, so The Showoff would win a rematch by forfeit. Unfortunately for Ziggler, The Architect showed up in time for his match, although he was clearly still hurting from falling off the cell on Sunday. Ziggler took that fall too though, so it was pretty much a level playing field. Both men did their best to shrug off their battle scars and eventually, Rollins hit Ziggler with the stomp and covered him to retain his title.
Ronda Rousey had a tough time defending her title at HIAC on Sunday due to her injured ribs but she did manage it. The champ did acknowledge Alexa Bliss's efforts on Raw this week, though. However, that wasn't why she came to the ring. The Rowdy One came out on Raw to issue an open challenge for her Women's Title. It seemed as if Rousey's friend Natalya had answered that challenge but sadly not. Nattie's music played but The Riott Squad came to the ring dragging the Queen Of Hearts behind them. The trio then went about beating down Rousey but luckily, The Bella Twins rushed the ring and evened the odds. Coincidental considering those three will take on The Riott Squad at Super Show-Down.
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Raw's main event was the one Corbin booked himself in versus Reigns for the Universal Title. The acting GM thought he would take advantage of a wounded Big Dog in what is obviously a gross misuse of his power. The constable got a lot of offense in early on but once Reigns hit his stride, Corbin threw a steel chair in his face. He then abused his power again, restarting the match under no DQ rules. That was the biggest mistake of The Lone Wolf's evening. Yes, Strowman, Ziggler, and McIntyre came to his aid, but the rest of The Shield came to the champ's. As has been the norm for Raw recently, chaos ensued and Corbin almost won at one point. It wasn't to be though, thankfully, and a spear right in the middle of the ring kept the championship where it is for now.