The first episode of Raw following the 30-day suspension of Roman Reigns is here. It will be interesting to see how WWE goes about Reigns missing a month of work on the road to Battleground after violating the wellness policy. Most stars have been written out of television with an injury or on-air story to explain the absence when suspended. Nothing of that nature occurred last week and you’d assume they have to address one of the biggest stars on the roster missing shows before a big title reign. How will this affect the Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose triple threat match for the WWE World Championship next month?

John Cena was beat down by A.J. Styles and The Club last week. The disadvantage of having to battle three men appears to be too much for even the superman of WWE. Tonight’s Raw may give us an insight into if Cena gets help to even the odds. Battleground will be the final PPV before the brand split and WWE is pulling out all the steps in making it a special occasion. The road to Battleground, the draft and the brand split is here. Every episode is important and tonight has to deliver a home run.

5. Roman Reigns is called out for suspension 

Seth Rollins opened the show referencing Roman Reigns getting suspended. WWE never discusses a wrestler violating the wellness policy on air. The suspension is usually announced online and never referenced on television. This wasn’t the case for Reigns and WWE booked Rollins to run him down for disappointing everyone. Reigns has been protected for his entire main roster tenure but it is officially over. Rollins and Stephanie McMahon both made note of Reigns being out for the next thirty days due to a bad decision on his part.

Dean Ambrose defended his friend by stating everyone makes mistakes. That was a great help for Reigns character as the face champion still has his back. Everyone does slip up now and then and Ambrose added a human element to Reigns. This could help him in the long run if fans give him a fair chance but that’s unlikely given the response to him before the news. Still, WWE making Reigns’ suspension very public is not good for his standing in the company and a huge surprise.

4. Sasha Banks’ road to redemption 

Sasha Banks is finally back and looked great tonight. The tag match with Paige against Charlotte and Dana Brooke led to confusion on the plan for Battlegrund. Will we get Charlotte vs. Sasha now or wait until Summerslam? The latter would be better considering WWE passed on Banks winning the title at WrestleMania 32. The next best thing is Summerslam in the same venue she had a Match of the Year classic with against Bayley last year.

The women’s division has lacked desperately without Banks. We have been forced to witness boring characters and irrelevant feuds. Sasha returning showed fans will express excitement if there’s a performer they believe in. WWE has to capitalize on Banks popularity and put the title on her this summer. No one else currently has the “it factor” or must-see appeal that Banks brings to the division. Tonight proved she’s back and we are all ready for the reign of The Boss.

3. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn: The war ends

The war between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn is scheduled to end for the time being at Battleground. Our best bet is the two being split in the draft and this becoming a huge match on the final PPV before the rosters are split. Both men take great pride in their performances and have given their all to this rivalry for the past seven years all over the world. Battleground marks the biggest matchup of the rivalry and they could deliver a classic.

Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel show set up the match and the segment was captivating. We were finally given a great insight on the main roster as to why they hate each other from the days of NXT and the independent wrestling circuit. The disdain shown in the emotion of their promos gave a glimpse of storytelling being executed to a tee.

Owens and Zayn actually worked together to hit Jericho with a double superkick after he ridiculed them. This was an important moment in showcasing their history of being in sync. Most importantly, the hatred in the eyes of each man after the kick gave us all the reasoning to be excited for their big match.

2. Midcard titles are floundering again

An extremely important part of the brand split will be the respectability of the midcard titles. WWE needs to make the Intercontinental Championship and United States Championship mean something to put together two compelling shows from top to bottom. Rusev is a great choice for United States Champion but the feud against Titus O’Neil is just not helping. Titus is doing a solid job in the role but you can’t take him seriously after years of irrelevance. The presentation of Rusev as champion is huge in elevating him as a credible villain on one of the two shows soon.

The Miz is in a worse position. A two-month program and impressive matches against Cesaro, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn helped add respect to Miz’s name. The Intercontinental Championship was becoming cool again but all momentum suffered an instant death. Miz missed television for weeks to film The Marine 5, a film no one is excited about. His big return featured him facing a mystery opponent tonight.

Everyone had high hopes for Finn Balor, Neville or Kurt Angle. It was Kane. The disappointing match ended with Maryse faking an injury and Miz getting intentionally counted out. This means the feud is continuing and no one will possibly care about the Intercontinental Championship unless hopping in a hot tub time machine to find the last time Kane was noteworthy.

1. Double main event is still on for Battleground

WWE threw a bit of a swerve into the expectations for Battleground tonight. A.J. Styles and John Cena entered the WWE World Championship picture. Stephanie McMahon allowed them an entry into the title match at the PPV if they could top their opponents. Seth Rollins defeated Cena following the distraction of The Club and Dean Ambrose defeated Styles thanks to a distraction from Cena. It was predictable enough but any doubts of the likely double main event have been removed.

Rollins, Ambrose and Roman Reigns will face off in the dream triple threat match between Shield members for the WWE World Championship. Many fans want Reigns removed from the match due to his suspension but this is for the best. We may never get all three members on the same roster again with the brand split coming up. You never know if someone will suffer a decline or injury that changes their career. The match has to happen now before it’s too late.

Cena and Styles will also likely square off in the second part of the double main event. They had a great match at Money in the Bank and the second time is usually even better. The story is Cena needing help to overcome The Club as the trio stood tall over him to end the show. Someone will benefit greatly from aligning with Cena and that’s something to keep an eye on going forward. Raw was a mixed bag tonight but two spectacular main events being planned for Battleground is all you can ask for as we approach the draft in a few weeks.