5 Things WWE subtly told us on RAW before Extreme Rules: Possible mistake made with Roman Reigns, Big title change to take place?
It was the RAW before Extreme Rules, and the show ended with possibly the biggest main event of the year on free TV. Before we get to it, a special mention to Shayna Baszler, who seems to be on the right track following her win over Nia Jax and vicious post-match assault.
Reggie continued to survive as the 24/7 Champion after a botched plan from R-Truth, Drake Maverick, Drew Gulak, and Akira Tozawa. That aside, Extreme Rules is this weekend, and it should be a good pay-per-view. Here's what WWE subtly told us this week:
#5. The RAW-SmackDown crossover with Roman Reigns
LEGENDS.
#WWERaw https://t.co/CQ4BauJGI4
RAW opened with The New Day's celebration. Surprisingly, it wasn't cut short right away, with Roman Reigns and The Bloodline only choosing to enter at the end of the segment.
It led to a highly-anticipated six-man tag match that was entertaining in itself. However, it came to an end soon after when Bobby Lashley interfered and took out The New Day. Reigns pinned Xavier Woods to win the match.
But it wasn't just The New Day Lashley took out – he even assaulted The Usos and speared Reigns. We wondered how WWE would book Lashley post-WWE title reign, and this was the best possible thing they could've done.
Lashley said he was willing to take on both World Champions at the same time. Big E wanted both Lashley and Reigns, and the match was booked for the main event of RAW.
On paper, it might've been one of the biggest main events we've seen on RAW; in 2021 at least. The match was explosive. There was no interference, and Lashley resorted to using a steel chair to assault Big E.
However, it was the Tribal Chief who walked out the victor as he pinned Lashley with a spear. One could argue that this was a mistake by WWE as it weakened Big E, Lashley, and RAW itself.
Believe that.
#UniversalChampion @WWERomanReigns is VICTORIOUS in a massive Triple Threat Match against #WWEChampion @WWEBigE & The All Mighty @fightbobby on #WWERaw.
@HeymanHustle https://t.co/HseRoQ429a
Mistake or not, it was a statement made by WWE. While they're obviously under pressure to treat both RAW and SmackDown equally, this seems to be a statement of intent that SmackDown will be the top priority.
It was a bit surprising to see Reigns stand tall on RAW, but it shouldn't be given how much they've invested in him.