WWE roll into John Cena's home away from Tampa tonight! Raw is in Boston's TD Garden, and with this past Saturday's Live from MSG event in the books, the focus can shift squarely to October 25's Hell in a Cell pay-per-view (PPV).
Which is probably why they've brought a Minnesota asskicker with them.
The Beast Resilient
Big Show, and the booking of his bout with Brock Lesnar Saturday night in Madison Square Garden, caught a lot of fans off guard. In story, the flurry of chokeslams that left the former UFC & WWE Heavyweight champ reeling shocked Brock and his manager, Paul Heyman, as well.
Five or so minutes later, when all was said and done, the crowd got what they paid for when Show was deposited in Suplex City and (after a quick side trip to the suburb of oops-he-slipped-so-have-an-old-fashioned-body-slam) it's swanky neighborhood of F5 Heights. The intent seemed to be to paint Lesnar as more than just a monster, but as a fighter that you should never count out regardless of how bad it looks for him.
Very babyface-ish trait, right? Having him return to the ring to beat that World's Largest Athlete ass some more - and right before the ring announcer asked the crowd to give Show a hand like he was a noble gladiator - was kind of confusing...but Lesnar's gleeful violence transcends storytelling quality. At least that's what Vince McMahon keeps telling himself.
What they should do: He's very busy himself, as his latest demonic appearance in Manhattan to cost Seth Rollins the U.S. title reminded us, but it sure would be swell to tie up a loose end or two with Kane. I've largely given up on ever getting answers regarding what Bray Wyatt did to him after SummerSlam 2013, but it wouldn't be difficult to explain The Big Red Monster's injury write-off from Lesnar.
It could be done in a way that further's the quest for respect for Big Show they seemed to be pushing over the last several weeks, too. Have Corporate Kane give The Giant an opportunity to call out Brock for his after the bell assault from Saturday, mentioning his own run-in with the Beast beyond the confines of a sanctioned match from this Summer. While Heyman and Show are jawing (and Brock is presumably jogging in place), the Director of Operations disappear. But when Lesnar puts his hands on 400 pounder...cue the smoke machine, and bring out The Demon.
As remiss as many are to have Paul E's client show much weakness, there's no shame in falling prey to two legendary hosses. Hell, cue Undertaker's music to distract him further, and remind us who his cell match at the PPV is against. Figure that if Lesnar gets worked over a bit here, he'll almost certainly get the upperhand when both he and The Dead Man are in Dallas for the Hell in a Cell go home show, anyway.
Could be an interesting tie in with Kane's all-but-official WWE championship shot. Perhaps Seth considers running in to take a shot at The Demon while he's focused on something else? This would plant a seed for a future face turn without actually giving us anything concrete on it yet. His deciding to not get involved would be something Kane could use as a taunt in the short-term future, and fuel for Brock & Heyman whenever they get around to addressing Brock's outstanding beef with The Architect.
Isn't continuity fun?
What we're afraid they'll do: Heyman sings a patriotic ditty with allows him to say "BAH-RAWK LEZ-NER" a lot while his client stays loose behind him. The sell for the last showdown between The Beast and Taker has to happen, but let's hope they choose to do it creatively for a change.
B.A.D. Behavior
The supposed good girls of the Divas Revolution...champ Charlotte, Becky Lynch & Paige, are busy sniping at each other and basically acting like the dreaded "catty, jealous chicks" the powers-that-be backstage allegedly think all women are. Following Paige's speech eviscerating the entire women's roster, she strangely rejoined her teammates for a six-person tag against Team Bella before leaving CB hanging. Teaching kids everywhere that two wrongs make a right, Char & BEX did the same to the Anti-Diva on Saturday night.
While those three (and Natalya) continue to act like middle schoolers, Sasha Banks, Naomi & Tamina are quietly putting it all together. Team B.A.D. is flying under the radar a bit, especially considering The Bo$$ has a huge match this Wednesday on NXT, but they've made the most of their opportunities - like winning a three-on-three battle against Nikki, Brie & Alicia Fox on SmackDown when Banks submitted the longest reigning Divas champ in history.
What they should do: With an Iron Man match for the NXT Women's title just days away, Sasha should rest tonight, but the rumors that she's being positioned for a Divas championship shot need to be acted upon. I'd do it slowly however.
Let HiaC feature Nikki's rematch against Charlotte. There's precious little chance of multiple women's bouts on the PPV card, but on the shows before and after that L.A. event, have Natty, Paige & Becky work out their issues while Banks works here way through Brie and Foxy - both former champs. After The Nature Girl takes care of business with the former champ, The Boss can go over her as well as the last step to a title shot at Survivor Series...
...where, of course, well - YOU KNOW WHAT'S TRUE.
What we're afraid they'll do: Just have Paige rejoin and quit PCB over and over and over again. But, if they do right by The Baddest Diva in WWE, I don't really care what they do with them.
Other stuff to keep an eye on:
- Bray Wyatt & Roman Reigns will take their long-running feud into a structure designed to end personal beefs like a crazy cult leaders single-minded desire to keep a legacy hero from becoming the face of the company. Now they need to decide what to do with Wyatt's followers Braun Strowman & Luke Harper and the Big Dog's bickering support system of Dean Ambrose & Randy Orton.
- Which will hopefully be a tag match between the four, as it would spare us from another Viper vs. Mr. Money in the Bank Sheamus PPV contest.
- The New Day are all about two things...making my job easier with tons of entertaining, shareable content, and getting disqualified to keep The Dudleyz from winning the tag titles. Expect something to be done about the latter tonight.
- Look for Rollins and Kane to be made official this week, as well, and probably become the third Hell in a Cell match on the show named for the concept.
- With the WWE champ apparently in his rear view, United States king John Cena is promising to bring back his open challenges. And since its now official that he's taking time off in November, those bouts will have added intrigue since it seems likely Cena will drop his red, white and blue belt in one of them.
- Kevin Owens is back to his "walking out of matches he either might lose or that he deems beneath him" ways. And he's added the eye rake to his list of finishing maneuvers! The man he beat for the Intercontinental title, Ryback, has been on the receiving end of both. We'll see if Big Hungry can come up for an answer when next they fight.
Three shows until Hell in a Cell!
What do you think they should, or are afraid they will, do on Raw tonight?