Fallout from the Fallout from Payback (Recap of Raw, 2 June)

In my last post here at KO@2 I said that having the Shield clean-sweep Evolution was not the best way to blow off a feud. I was right, in that the feud was not yet over. To open Monday Night Raw, Evolution hobbled to the ring. Only Randy Orton was in wrestling gear. Triple H took the mic and began to spew venom at the Shield.

Evolution, Then

Batista interrupted him, saying that he was tired of fighting the Shield and was ready for what he had earned and what was promised him: a 1-on-1 shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (hereafter sometimes referred to as WWE WHC). Triple H reminded him that the current champion, Daniel Bryan, was in no shape to fight.

(Sidebar: it’s interesting to note that Triple H had no problem denying Batista a championship match because Daniel Bryan is injured, yet Triple H’s wife, Stephanie, is simultaneously pushing for Bryan to relinquish the titles so the WWE can have a “fighting” champion.)

Triple H went on to say that no one (in Evolution) was getting anything until the Shield was eliminated. Batista said he understood The Game’s point…then promptly quit and walked out. Triple H and Randy Orton stood bewildered in the ring as their partner left. The move makes sense. Batista is going to be gone for a while promoting his new movie. Having him leave after a beating might’ve weakened him too much in the eyes of the crowd. Instead, walking out on his own volition allows WWE to play a CM-Punk-esque story here.

Later in the episode, Stephanie came to the ring to once again discuss the situation with the WWE WHC. She brought up the events of Payback, in which Brie Bella quit the WWE, taking away Stephanie’s leverage in making Bryan hand over the titles. To force the champion into doing what she wants, Stephanie said that Bryan would face Kane at Money in the Bank, in a stretcher match (which is about the worst gimmick match they could’ve done). If Bryan is unable to compete, Stephanie continued, then the Money in the Bank ladder match, which is normally for a guaranteed title shot, would instead be for the vacated WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Upon her saying those words, John Cena ran to the ring so fast it was sickening. I’m not kidding. Stephanie barely got the words out of her mouth and Cena’s music hit. Because that’s what we need, John Cena once again in the title picture. Cena, though, chose to get some cheap pops by standing up for Daniel Bryan. Knowing that better than half the crowd would boo him, Cena kept name-dropping in the hopes that it would look like he was being cheered. He gave Stephanie a very poor performance review in a segment that really just petered out…before Stephanie set Kane against Cena.

The match was nothing special, with Kane getting himself disqualified. He beat down Cena for a while, but in typical superman fashion Cena rose up (again) and overcame the odds (again) and walked away from the battle on top (again)…and WWE wonders why the adult fan base is so sick of this guy.

Bray Wyatt, the latest victim of John Cena’s unyielding need to always win, wasn’t at Raw. His followers, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, were. They had a match with the Usos that was probably the best match of the night. Harper got some mic time, which was great. His mic work is really undervalued by the WWE. The highest praise of the night, though, came from JBL on commentary, when he compared the tag team of Harper and Rowan to Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen. The Wyatt Family picked up the win, likely setting themselves up for a tag team title match in the near future.

The biggest spot of the night, though, came in the last few minutes of the broadcast. The Shield made their way to the ring to gloat about once again defeating Evolution. Each Shield member had their turn, leading to Roman Reigns calling Randy Orton out for their scheduled main event match.

Orton appeared on the stage, with Triple H right beside him. HHH was carrying his trusty sledgehammer. Seth Rollins moved quickly to grab a chair, in an attempt to even the score. Triple H and Orton stopped short of the ring. With mic in hand, Triple H said that beating the Shield at Payback was Plan A. Since that failed, he had to go to Plan B.

As Reigns and Ambrose exchanged questioning glances, Rollins laid out Reigns with the chair. Ambrose’s look of shock told a great story. He turned to attack Rollins, but he was also taken out by the chair. Rollins beat Ambrose down with the chair, doing just enough to keep Reigns from getting back up. Rollins left the ring to stand beside Triple H, handing the chair to Orton, who took his turn demolishing Reigns.

It was one of the more shocking heel turns in recent memory. I truly expected Reigns to be the one to go heel and join Evolution. Personally, I like Reigns, but I’m not sure he’s ready for a singles push just yet. Having him in Evolution would’ve masked some of his shortcomings while he learned from arguably two of the best in the industry. Now, Rollins gets that chance.

Evolution, Now

Rollins has, lately, been compared to Shawn Michaels. It makes a degree of sense that he would join forces with Triple H. The turn absolutely came out of nowhere, leaving loads of fans trying to sort out what it all means. The ball is now firmly in the court of Seth Rollins. The next time we see him, he’ll be explaining why he turned. If his explanation is weak, then this heel turn may not work. Deliver a solid promo, though, and he’s set for a while.