WWE Week in Review: Undertaker returns for Fastlane fallout, Styles and Orton battle

WWE Monday Night RAW

Following a very average pay-per-view and a horrible and weak main event, Monday night needed to kick off with some high energy and it did just that with Chris Jericho and now-former WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens. Y2J was looking for some answers and KO finally had to address the situation and both men were at their best here. Jericho has always been able to work the crowd as a face or a heel and had the Chicago crowd eating out of the palm of his hand and Owens was perfect, saying that Jericho was never his friend and that he just used him to get where he needed to be, much like he did with Sami Zayn. Jericho challenged Owens to a match at WrestleMania and Owens did a nice job of accepting, saying that he’ll get his Universal Championship back when the time is right but he first wants Y2J’s United States Championship. The two brawled for a bit before Samoa and Joe and Zayn got involved, which should lead to a fun tag match in the next week or two but first we’ve got Owens taking on Zayn in the first match of the night.

While the opening segment was fantastic, the match wasn’t that great. These two have put on some classics over the years, not just in WWE, but this wasn’t one of them as KO got the win in about four minutes, which really doesn’t do Zayn any favors as he continues to get beaten mercilessly. Owens had to get the win here after what happened to him on Sunday night though and it served its purpose but they probably could have gotten somebody else to take the fall.

The cruiserweight division finally got some decent time on RAW as Neville defended his WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Rich Swann but we still had to suffer through two commercial breaks during what was an amazing match. The energy and intensity were there from the start and Swann taking that hit into the LED board was fantastic. Swann showed some great athleticism throughout what we did see and nearly pulled off the win but missed his Phoenix splash, thus allowing Neville to lock in his submission finisher for the victory. This was a great match and it was followed by a great interview segment with Neville and Austin Aries that helped start the feud between these two and was a great in-ring ad for 205 Live. If my ladder match idea isn’t going to happen, Neville and Aries at WrestleMania will do just fine. Really good first hour.

New WWE Universal Champion Goldberg is out to kick off the second hour and the Chicago crowd really isn’t into it. We knew we’d get some “CM PUNK” chants in the Windy City (more on that later) and we got them when Goldberg tells them that this title is for them. Know where you’re at, buddy. He teases a secret but is cut off by Heyman, who brings down Lesnar for the first confrontation between the two in a while and after the typical Heyman promo (plus the awesome “There’s Brock’s b***h” line,  Goldberg actually took a bump from the F5. WHAT?!!! Well, at least we know he can take one, right? This is the first time he’s been made to look a bit vulnerable and this whole thing actually was done quite well. I’m still not looking forward to the match but at least this was an improvement.

The second title match of the night went on next with a rematch from WWE Fastlane as Enzo and Cass got another shot at The Club and this match was worse than the one on Sunday night. The tempo was about the same and Enzo took most of the heat again but this was all to set up a three-way feud with these two teams and Cesaro and Sheamus, who came down to ringside about halfway through and then everybody brawled for a DQ finish. A number one contender’s match was made for next week, with the winners getting a shot at WrestleMania, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that goes haywire as well.

We needed something after this match and the fact that we found out that Ravishing Rick Rude is FINALLY going into the WWE Hall of Fame put a smile on my face. Great choice that’s long overdue. Ricky Steamboat will do the induction.

The cruiserweights were back in action next and this is more of what we’ve been seeing on Monday nights as Akira Tozawa took out Ariya Daivari in about two minutes. He called out Brian Kendrick for Tuesday night and we’ll get to that in a bit.

The New Day came out next to once again talk about ice cream (take that, Chicago) and then beat The Shining Stars in about 80 seconds. That’s all.

Mick Foley is out and we’re going to get a Bayley interview. Oh no. She fumbles through the events of Sunday night and we’re thankfully saved by Sasha Banks, who’s out to challenge her pal to a match at WrestleMania. Foley seems into it, as is the Chicago crowd, but Charlotte comes out and says she now understands what the plan was. Sasha couldn’t beat her so she helped Bayley win the title and keep the title and it’s all making sense. It’s actually a really good point. Stephanie McMahon makes her way to the ring and for the second time in as many appearances shut down the “CM PUNK” chants, saying all Chicagoans are losers just like CM Punk. God, I love her so much. And that’s not bashing Chicago at all. I’m from Illinois and love that city but it’s time to let this thing go and she just owns it every single time she’s in that ring. She was perfect once again here as she called herself the real boss and said that Charlotte deserves the shot at WrestleMania. Foley says that Sasha has earned her way into that match and wants to make it a Triple Threat but Stephanie says that Banks has to earn her way in and books Sasha vs. Bayley on the spot. If Sasha won, she would be in the title match at ‘Mania and that led us right into it.

As for the match itself, it started a little slow but picked up towards the end and it was decent enough for what it was. Sasha picked up the win via submission, which actually makes Bayley look even worse. She can’t beat Charlotte on her own and then loses cleanly to Sasha. This kind of treatment is usually reserved for a heel, so I’m a bit confused on why they’re doing this to their biggest babyface in the division. And there was no mention of Nia Jax at all here. Is she being completely taken out of the expected four-way in Orlando? Perhaps she shows back up next week to take out her frustrations on the entire division, a division that will maybe soon include Emma again. What is going on with all of that? Very strange.

Triple H cuts a promo on the great medical care that WWE superstars receive and also reiterates his point that if Seth Rollins shows up to WrestleMania, it will be the last thing he ever does. This didn’t do much except keep everybody reminded that this still may happen.

Samoa Joe vs. Chris Jericho was up next and while this didn’t last very long, it did what it needed to do. Joe picked up a win via countout after choking out Y2J but Jericho got some revenge afterwards with a Codebreaker. This probably could have waited until next week to give them some more time but again, it accomplished what it needed to.

Braun Strowman is out for the final segment of the night and he wants Roman Reigns but he gets The Undertaker instead. Interesting. ‘Taker hits the ring, stares him down and Braun actually backs away and exits the ring, leaving Roman Reigns to come out and tell The Deadman that this is now his yard but gets a chokeslam for his troubles. Now it’s really WrestleMania time with ‘Taker being around but is this going to be a one-on-one deal with Roman or are they setting up a three-way with Strowman as well? Perhaps the confidence in The Undertaker handling a match on his own isn’t there and they’re leaving the option open. Braun can always go and win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal if they end up excluding him. Pretty interesting.