Hi everyone. Today I try to make sense of what happened following the main event of this weeks Monday Night Raw. Firstly I’ll say I was not expecting to see Triple H, so that was a good/bad surprise depending on how you feel about him. The buildup hinted Roman Reigns dominance, as he let the others talk among themselves til someone asked him a question; then he cleared up without uttering a word. I do have to say Reigns’ body language is very negative these days. He’s going through the motions as he knows his career’s taken a major hit and won’t be recovering anytime soon.
As for Rollins, “The Man” seemed like the logical choice to win as he challenged for the title and lost to Balor. Safe to say had he won the Universal title Raw would’ve returned to last years “Authority” angle with Rollins ruling the show, at least with Stephanie’s support seen as they showed their friendliness to each other with a hug. At that point it felt like a done deal to me, Seth was going to win. But as Big Cass was eliminated by a sneaky Kevin Owens, I began to wonder if the only real choice was KO. As the match continued I thought “could Owens win this?”. I knew he could, but I couldn’t be sure. I was fine with either Seth or KO winning the title, but I didn’t want it going to Reigns, and had zero faith it would go to Big Cass.
When Triple H showed up and destroyed Reigns, my first thought was “oh no, it’s The Authority all over again”. But a few seconds later I pondered on another possibility, could he be here to help Kevin instead? I figured he would have to screw Rollins too, so I was kinda hoping he would so the end of the show wouldn’t be so predictable. Rollins winning with HHH assistance, it wouldn’t have gone down well and people would’ve cried out and said it was too much of the same. I know Triple H, I’ve watched him since the 90’s so I know he can change allegiance as easy as a desperate chick on a night out.
So when he jumped on Seth to give him a pedigree, I marked out a little. Not because I didn’t expect it, but because it’s exactly how I would’ve booked that situation (and it reminded me of the Attitude Era, when turns were unexpected and cool). There’s many things we need to consider in this angle which I’ll touch on in a minute. We can assume that Triple H’s interference was so Owens didn’t need to beat Reigns and Rollins clean, thus not making them look weak in comparison. In terms of wins and losses, Seth was easily the top guy in the fatal four-way, so if it was going to end clean he was the most likely champion, so they needed a way to put the title on Owens without him beating Seth, Roman, and Cass just like that.
The interesting part was it seemed like Owens didn’t know what was happening. I joked with my Dad about this, because I said that he played disbelief so well you could believe he wasn’t told the real finish. It was almost like the company told everyone else the finish was Seth winning, but then got Rollins, HHH, the referee, and anyone else who needed to know together to tell them it was Owens going over. It would be kept a secret to get a real reaction (the company has done this in the past) from KO. Like I said, Owens is either 1) a fine actor, or 2) kept in the dark about the finish til it happened. #1 is more likely, but I could see them doing #2 as a way to surprise Owens as they know how much he wanted it.
Who’s What!?
You may wonder why I asked that question, so allow me to shed some light. When you think about it, Triple H, who we don’t know if he’s face or heel, helped a heel the fans cheer, to overcome a face people don’t like, and a heel who has the support of his heel wife (portraying a face) in a way which not only surprised the guy he helped, but his wife as well. Foley was kinda there … just to hold the belt, and the biggest face in the match (Cass) had nothing to do with it.
So what is Triple H? Is he good? Is he bad? What about Owens? Is he a good guy? Do we cheer for the obnoxious anti-hero? Or do we boo him? What about Rollins? Is he a good guy now? And where does it leave Roman? Will he feud with Triple H? Or will it be Rollins? Or both at the same time? The finish was confusing, and not in a bad way. They did the right thing by having Triple H walk out and not explain himself, as it gives fans something to look forward to. It gives us anticipation for next weeks show, which is something they never do nowadays. For many years, I’ve watched Raw and not felt the “necessity” to watch next weeks show to find out what happens. This time they gave us incentive, which is a great feeling.
Usually I’m good at seeing what’s coming next, so I was pleasantly surprised to see Owens holding the title like it means something! Look at that emotion people … that’s how you win a championship! That’s how much it means. Does it matter what the title looks like? No! Because Owens made that “terrible belt design” look like a Gold Medal at the Olympics. Over 15 years of hard graft lead him there, so he let go and celebrated one of the biggest moments of his career. Not bad for someone who apparently only does it for “the money, and to support his family”.
Conclusion
To close this piece, I’ll attempt to explain what happened. Triple H had faith in Seth for a long time, he saw him as “The Man”. Only thing was, he lost to Balor who was injured. Rollins was so bad he lost to a guy who severely injured his shoulder during their title match, so the disappointment would be too much for “The Game”. As Kevin Owens has always been a Triple H guy since he signed a contract and debuted on NXT, he was the next logical choice. In terms of the Triple H character, Reigns wasn’t worthy, Rollins wasn’t worthy, only Owens (who proved he would do anything to hold a championship) was worthy of winning the title as it was “best for business”. Yes, Triple H continues to do what’s “best for business” despite not being an authority figure on Raw, and he knew neither his wife or Foley would do anything about it.
Owens will continue as a tweener, a guy you either love or hate. It’s sorta like .. how Austin was before his Wrestlemania match with Bret Hart, you either loved or hated him. As for Seth, the friction between him and Stephanie will reach new heights as he interrogates for answers, which will spark a feud (the seeds were planted months ago) between him and Triple H as he goes too far with his wife. Perhaps Seth takes Stephanie hostage? Til he gets answers from HHH? Just a thought, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time she played the damsel in distress. As for Roman, he may want revenge on Triple H for costing him the title, so it could end up being a three-way feud, unless WWE decides to relegate Reigns to the mid-card.
As for Owens I don’t know what’s next, it’s difficult to see his future. Maybe Jericho will challenge him? Seen as he “has his back and deserves at least one shot”. Owens could respond and say “well where were you? Why did Triple H help me and not you?”, which could put Owens in a face roll while Jericho “drinks it in … man”. Either way, it’s refreshing and I would argue Raw as the upper hand over Smackdown. What the hell happened to Smackdown this week anyways? Was it me or did it totally suck balls? Anyways, I’m done here and it’s another subject for another day … so thanks for reading and let’s see what happens next Monday. See you guys and girls.
