On the first edition of the TV show Monday Night RAW, World Champion Seth Rollins is also ambushed. A partner turns on him
At SummerSlam over the weekend, Jey Uso was betrayed by his own brother Jimmy, and now the reigning World Champion has also been ambushed.
The first post-SummerSlam edition of the TV show Monday Night RAW ended with another shock moment – foreshadowing the next feud for title-holder Seth Rollins.
Seth Rollins to renew rivalry with Cody Rhodes
At the start of the show, Rollins made clear his intention to rekindle his old rivalry with Cody Rhodes: He interrupted an appearance by Rhodes after the latter’s big win over previous rival Brock Lesnar and offered the “American Nightmare” the chance to face him now.
That set off the Judgment Day grouping – Finn Balor, who was narrowly beaten by Rollins on Saturday, Money in the Bank winner Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio – who made it clear they weren’t done with Rollins yet. The scene culminated in a brawl with Rollins and Rhodes, who were then joined by Sami Zayn.
It led to the scheduling of a six-man tag team match, which was then reshuffled: Tag Team Champion Zayn – whose partner Kevin Owens is currently injured – was the victim of an attack by JD McDonagh, who was recently promoted to RAW. The former Cruiserweight Champion from Ireland (formerly Jordan Devlin) was “scouted” by countryman Balor for Judgment Day some time ago.
Japan star Shinsuke Nakamura, previously victorious against his rival Bronson Reed, then offered himself as Zayn’s replacement.
Shinsuke Nakamura turns on champ Rollins
In the final match of the evening, tension between old enemies Rollins and Rhodes then hinted at several times, but ultimately they combined forces and won when Rhodes pinned Balor – also with the support of the battered Zayn, who acted as peacemaker.
After the match, however, it was Nakamura who surprised Rollins and put Kinshasa down with his finisher. Nakamura left Rollins knocked out in the ring while Rhodes and Zayn looked on in horror.
It seemed to be the completion of Nakamura’s “heel turn” into villainy that had been in the making for some time. The 2018 Royal Rumble winner – previously the top star in Japan’s traditional NJPW league for years – could now challenge Rollins at the upcoming big event Payback on September 2.
WWE RAW – the rest of the news and highlights:
– The first match of the night saw a new challenger for Austrian Intercontinental Champion Gunther: Former Olympic wrestler Chad Gable – local hero at Foam Place Minneapolis – defeated Matt Riddle, Ricochet and Tommaso Ciampa in a spectacular four-way match.
A new feud is also in the works for rising crowd favourite LA Knight, who engaged in a lengthy, intense war of words with former WWE Champion The Miz on RAW, at the end of which Knight got the upper hand in fisticuffs.
Kofi Kingston, another former champ, made an unheralded comeback after several months out with injury, teaming with New Day partner Xavier Woods to defeat the Viking Raiders. New Day could be permanently reduced to a duo: Big E, who has suffered a serious neck injury, faces career-ending
