WWE RAW Recap, Feb. 27: Seth Rollins returns, Goldberg is here

Seth Rollins returned to RAW this week, and Goldberg and Kevin Owens come face-to-face before Fastlane

We are less than a week away from WWE Fastlane which means it’s time to dot all of our I’s and cross all of our T’s for every feud that will be culminating on the last stop before WrestleMania 33. The go-home RAW was not action-packed, but did add a few matches to help set the stage for Fastlane to be a fun show.

Goldberg Going For Gold

Goldberg kicked off the show by promising everyone on the planet he’s ever come across that he will “deliver” on Sunday, and I don’t think he means the newspaper. Kevin Owens came out to respond, something Goldberg didn’t do last week during KO’s “There Are No Superheroes” soliloquy. Owens talked about all the competition he’s beaten since he’s arrived in WWE, something that is impressive when you think about it, but not when you compare it to the beginning of the career of the guy he’s facing on Sunday.

Owens told Goldberg “You’re next … in the evolution of Kevin Owens as Universal Champion,” which only angered bald the man in the ring with the tight shirt, who was naturally looking for a fight. He didn’t get one, because Owens said the Green Bay crowd didn’t deserve that. We will have to wait until Sunday to see these two behemoths go at each other, with gold on the line.

New Day Rocked

The New Day showed up to Green Bay with a new shirt, and the same old sad booking they’ve been receiving since they lost their — W (gyrate) W (gyrate) E (gyrate) World (gyrate) Tag (gyrate) Team (gyrate) CHAMPIONSHIPS.

It looked like they were going to fight The Shining Stars, but being on brand with their typical, timely pop culture references, they received an envelope from the timekeeper that they actually weren’t facing The Shining Stars — who would go on to lose to Big Show in a handicap match later in the night — but would be facing Rusev and Jinder Mahal instead. Big-E and Xavier picked up the win for the New Day, but what exactly does this mean for them?

Last year, they were going into WrestleMania 32 as Tag Team Champions, and released an actual cereal that’s available for retail purchase called Booty-O’s. This year, they are –apparently — releasing a brand of ice cream and have no matches lined up for FastLane or WrestleMania 33, the latter of which they are hosting. Sorry boys, the gimmick is up, and after ‘Mania it is indeed time for a New Day. (Yes, it is.)

A Heartless Apology

In a backstage segment, Stephanie McMahon apologized to Mick Foley. It wasn’t because she did anything wrong; she was sorry that she put Mick Foley in this position when he’s unable to maintain control of RAW. Most fans would disagree with Stephanie’s claim, as Mick always seems involved in RAW’s more memorable moments. It wasn’t all bad for Mick, who got some fantasy booking done a little later in the show, as he put Samoa Joe in a match vs. Cesaro after Joe tried taunting Mick.

#NotMyProtégé

In the past few weeks, THE Brian Kendrick has been trying to mentor Akira Tozawa, who is having none of it. Tozawa made a name for himself in Japan, and has enough experience at this stage of his career to not need any sort of guidance. Tozawa defeated Noam Dar in a short match that was a bit of a teaser for this Sunday; just before this match started, it was announced that Tozawa and Rich Swann will take on Noam Dar and Brian Kendrick in a Kickoff Show match at FastLane.

After the match, Kendrick blindsided Tozawa while he was celebrating his victory. This isn’t the most exciting feud on 205 Live — it’s arguably not Top-3 — but it’s a nice filler feud until one of these two, most likely Tozawa, gets a chance at the Cruiserweight Champion. More on that in a bit.

Jax’d Up

Speaking of protégé’s, it’s looking like Charlotte is finally upgrading hers. she came out to the ring Monday night with Dana Brooke, but teamed up with Nia Jax to face the team of Sasha Banks and Bayley. Jax ended up pinning Bayley to get the win for the team, but I don’t think this team will be long-lived, as Nia is out to destroy the entire Women’s Division. Bayley fights Charlotte for the RAW Women’s Championship on Sunday, and Stephanie announced that Sasha will have to fight Nia Jax, and not on the Kickoff Show this time.

Sawft Champs

In 20 years of watching WWE, it’s hard to remember any champion(s) having a weaker month than Gallows and Anderson’s February. They got beat up not only last week, but the week before by Roman Reigns, and this week, Gallows lost to Big Cass in a one-on-one match. It’s time for their forgettable championship run to end, and after the year Enzo & Cass had, going all the way back to WrestleMania 32, they deserve to hold the Tag Team Titles for the first time. It’s long overdue, and you can’t teach … well, you know.

Titus Brand Stock At An All-Time Low

The timeless formula of Facebook Live + chocolate cake + Titus O’Neill almost never equals anything. Speaking of timeless, this match took the same amount of time as Sheamus spends in the tanning booth daily. What’s in store for Sheamus’ future? Tonight, he and his partner Cesaro had separate one-on-one matches, and neither accompanied the other to the ring. They don’t seem to have any animosity towards each other — Sheamus even stood up to Samoa Joe on Cesaro’s behalf — so perhaps their breakup isn’t as inevitable as we thought when Mick Foley made them tag partners.

Return of the Architect

This week’s RAW was circled on everyone’s calendar as soon as it was announced last week that Seth Rollins would make an appearance and address the elephant in the room: will his knee allow him to compete vs. Triple H at WrestleMania?

At first, when Rollins hobbled to the ring with a crutch in hand, it seemed like a farfetched thought. It wasn’t until Triple H himself came to the ring — along with his new Plan B, Samoa Joe — that it actually seemed like they might indeed pull this thing off.

Cruiserweight Action

In the second cruiserweight match of the night, Tony Nese and Neville faced Jack Gallagher and TJ Perkins. In classic heel fashion, Neville abandoned his partner, who was submitted by Gallagher. Gallagher gets his chance at Neville’s cruiserweight championship on Sunday, but perhaps will have a chance to get his hands on the champ during 205 Live.

In a division that’s built less on fun gimmicks and more on pure talent, Gallagher has been the most consistently entertaining, ever since his WWE debut during the Cruiserweight Classic. He is quickly bringing an umbrella up the ranks of WWE’s most unique weapons, which now lies somewhere between Triple H’s sledgehammer and William Regal’s brass knuckles. (Ranked last: Perry Saturn’s mop.) Gallagher has quite a fight ahead of him on Sunday, and whoever wins will no doubt solidify themselves as the face of the cruiserweights.

Samoa Joe Survives 

Man, can Cesaro wrestle or what? Sure, he lost to Samoa Joe, but he also was on the attack for about 80 percent of the match. After the clean win, Joe was interviewed about his impact since coming to RAW. His straightforward answer: “I came here to hurt people.” He may have spoke too soon, as Sami Zayn attacked him from behind. If Zayn’s goal was to piss off Samoa Joe enough to get a match with him on Sunday, WWE’s Twitter confirmed that match, proving that Sami Zayn is either dumb, or a masochist.

This is just a speed bump on Joe’s ultimate destiny: whatever Triple H asks of him to do to Seth Rollins. If Rollins will indeed fight at ‘Mania, it’s not crazy to think that he’d need some sort of tune-up match. What better way to get ready for Triple H than to fight the guy who put you on the shelf? If Samoa Joe becomes Triple H’s full-time bodyguard, and they need extra muscle, once Kevin Owens moves past Goldberg and inevitably, Chris Jericho, it’s a fun thought to imagine Owens — who still owes Triple H for basically handing him the Universal Title — and Joe becoming the Authority 2.0.

Unstoppable Force Meets Immovable Object

RAW ended with Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman signing a contract for their match on Sunday. Well, it technically ended with Reigns flat in the ring and Strowman with a creepy, psychotic smirk on his face, but still. It’s tough to pick a winner for this match:

Option A. Strowman wins, keeping his untouchable mystique by beating the guy who seemingly never loses in a big match. Reigns doesn’t take much of a hit, as he lost to the scariest SOB in the locker room.

Option B. Roman wins, most likely after Hulking up while in Braun’s bearhug. A few Superman Punches and Spears later, it’s the same old story. It’d also be back to Square One for Strowman.

If you listen carefully, you can already hear the boos emitting from the crowd if option B happens. Which option will you be rooting for?