WWE Raw preview, April 10, 2017
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| PIC COURTESY WWE.COM |
As Mr. McMahon said this past Monday night, “it’s time to shake things up around here,” and on Raw, emanating from the new Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, N.Y., a Superstar Shake-up will begin that will allow representatives from both Raw and SmackDown LIVE to make trades, deals and other moves to bolster their respective rosters. WWE Hall of Famer and newly instated Raw General Manager Kurt Angle has already been in discussion with Team Blue General Manager Daniel Bryan regarding potential Superstar movement. We’ll find out how the “shake-up” affects Team Red on Monday night, with more changes coming to light on Tuesday night during SmackDown LIVE.
Will champions change their brand allegiance? Might Raw newcomers The Revival bring their no-nonsense offense to SmackDown LIVE? Will the returning Emma soon pursue Naomi’s SmackDown Women’s Championship? Could AJ Styles make Raw even more “Phenomenal”? Witness all the chaos unfold Monday night, when The Chairman’s Superstar Shake-up kicks off.
Seth Rollins needed a tag team partner to battle United States Champion Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe Monday night, and Raw General Manager Kurt Angle delivered big time by teaming The Architect with the returning Finn Bálor. Bálor had been unseen in a WWE ring since he was forced to relinquish the Universal Championship the night after SummerSlam, due to an injury sustained at the hands of Rollins. There have been more awkward tag team pairings in WWE, but not many.
Fortunately, Rollins and Bálor put their differences aside to defeat The Prizefighter and the dominant Destroyer, and the duo even shared a brief victory pose when The Kingslayer raised the returning Superstar’s hand following the match. Now that Bálor has returned to the red brand, what does his future hold? We’ll find out Monday night.
Having finally conquered Goldberg to claim the Universal Championship, Brock Lesnar is now in search of a new challenger. One potential contender named by Paul Heyman this past Monday night was Roman Reigns, the only Superstar besides The Beast Incarnate to vanquish The Undertaker at WrestleMania.
Heyman deemed the Raw after WrestleMania the appropriate battleground for a title bout between Reigns and Lesnar. Instead of The Big Dog, though, it was Braun Strowman who emerged to stare Lesnar straight into the eye, making it clear that once he has settled his own unfinished business with Reigns, The Monster Among Men is coming for The Anomaly’s prize.
Reigns has yet to comment on Heyman’s challenge, so it’s unclear as to when — or if — we’ll see the only two Superstars to defeat The Deadman at The Show of Shows lock horns for the Universal Championship. If not Reigns, who will be next to face The Beast?
One night after The Hardy Boyz made a shocking WrestleMania return and defeated three of Raw’s top tandems in a Fatal 4-Way Ladder Match to become the Raw Tag Team Champions, Cesaro & Sheamus scored a victory over Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson to become the No. 1 contenders to Matt & Jeff Hardy’s titles.
The Hardy Boyz clearly haven’t lost a step since they dominated Raw’s Tag Team division a decade ago. However, Cesaro & Sheamus are one of WWE’s most hard-hitting duos, having ended The New Day’s record-shattering 483-day reign as Raw Tag Team Champions and remaining in close contention for the titles ever since. Will The Swiss Superman and The Celtic Warrior spoil The Hardys’ homecoming?
Kevin Owens might have defeated Chris Jericho to become the United States Champion at WrestleMania, but he wasn’t about to wait until WWE Payback to get his hands on his former friend. Live on Raw, just as The Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla was about to put Owens’ fingertip on “The List of Jericho” (long story), The Prizefighter — with the aid of Samoa Joe — ambushed his one-time tag team partner and powerbombed him through a table.
Jericho has been brutalized by Owens in the past, but now that The Prizefighter has broken both his heart and his title reign, retribution is coming. WWE Payback couldn’t have a more appropriate name.
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