When:
United States: LIVE, Monday Night, September 5, at 8/7c on the USA Network
United Kingdom: Tuesday Morning, September 6, at 1AM on Sky Sports 5 HD
Where:
Sprint Center Arena
Kansas City, MO
Raw preview, Sept. 5, 2016: The Kevin Owens Era begins
One week after the returning Triple H helped Kevin Owens capture the vacant WWE Universal Championship, The Prizefighter brings Team Red’s flagship title to Raw. What will Owens have to say about his controversial victory, and why did The Game betray Seth Rollins to ensure a win for the Canadian brawler?
About last week …
Triple H’s surprise return during last week’s WWE Universal Championship Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match main event seemed to signal an easy victory for Seth Rollins; for years, The Authority’s longtime poster boy benefited from a close association to The Cerebral Assassin — even inheriting The Game’s Pedigree as his finishing maneuver! Yet, after Triple H helped Rollins eliminate Roman Reigns from the bout, the WWE COO betrayed his one-time chosen champion, helping Kevin Owens claim the WWE Universal Title instead.
Owens was brought into WWE NXT by Triple H himself, and if their consistent string of “Too Sweet” photos on social media is any indication, The Prizefighter and The Game have remained incredibly close over the past two years. Was making Owens Team Red’s New Era standard-bearer part of Triple H’s plan all along?
Additionally, now that Triple H no longer has direct control over the red brand, how will Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon — his wife — deal with his interference in last Monday’s massive main event? Or was she in on Triple H’s plan to backstab Raw’s No. 1 WWE Draft pick? Hopefully, all of these questions will be answered Monday night.
What’s next for Roman Reigns?
If not for Triple H’s interference, Roman Reigns might be heading to Kansas City this Monday night with the WWE Universal Championship slung around his shoulder. Unfortunately, a Pedigree from The Game sealed The Big Dog’s fate in this past Monday’s Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match — a vengeance-fueled attack after Reigns defeated Triple H for the WWE World Championship at WrestleMania 32.
Denied Team Red’s most prestigious title by his longtime nemesis, Reigns is undoubtedly furious, and the rest of the Raw locker room would be wise to stay out of his way this week.
Injured Cesaro looks ahead to Match 3
Despite a valiant effort against Sheamus this past Monday night, Cesaro sustained multiple contusions to the lumbar spine during the bout, which The Celtic Warrior used to his advantage by locking The Swiss Superman in the Cloverleaf to extend his lead to 2-0 in their Best of Seven Series.
Sheamus is now just two victories away from earning a guaranteed championship opportunity on Raw, and based on Cesaro’s condition, it’s unlikely that The King of Swing will be at 100 percent come Monday night. Can Cesaro rebound and finally make some headway in this hard-hitting series?
Is Bayley in line for a WWE Women’s Championship opportunity?
As if Bayley wasn’t already a beacon of positivity, her alignment with WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day in last week’s Six-Person Mixed Tag Team Match had many WWE Universe members shooting rainbow-colored lasers out of their eyes for several hours — or, at least that’s what we’ve heard. Regardless, in her second week on Team Red’s roster, Bayley once again pinned Dana Brooke.That definitely didn’t sit well with WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte, who might be realizing that the hug-loving underdog is a greater threat to her title reign than she realized. If Bayley’s momentum continues, is a title opportunity in the cards?
Don’t miss Raw at 8/7 C on USA Network, and be sure to tune in to Raw Pre-Show at 7:30 ET on all of WWE’s digital platforms.
