They say that the first RAW after a WrestleMania is almost always just as good as the Showcase of the Immortals. We’re not quite sure if this year’s first post-WrestleMania Monday Night RAW lived up to its predecessors, but it kicked things off with a surprise and ended with an even more shocking twist.
The main event of the night was set up right from the opening segment with Brock Lesnar throwing himself into the mix by joining Cody Rhodes in a tag team match against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa.
Unfortunately, the match never officially began.
Just as the ring introductions for the main event were underway, Lesnar viciously attacked Rhodes with multiple F5s, leaving Reigns and Sikoa just as shocked at the turnout. But, that wasn’t enough for The Beast Incarnate. Lesnar continued to target Rhodes’ damaged ribs and dished out even more punishment at the No. 1 contender for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Rhodes couldn’t do anything against the onslaught brought upon him by one of the WWE’s most imposing superstars. The officials were even more helpless as they could only wait out the attack, which Lesnar capped off by giving Rhodes two middle fingers.
Perhaps it was too good to be true for Lesnar to wrestle on “RAW” for the first time in two decades and be a part of a tag team for just as long.
Regardless of whatever thoughts you may have following Lesnar’s wasting of Rhodes, one thing is clear – Rhodes couldn’t have had a worse 24 hours than anyone else. First, he lost his shot at the WWE’s top titles after Solo Sikoa interfered what what would’ve been a finishing blow. Now, Lesnar just became a thorn on Rhodes’ side, and that thorn may have just literally broken his newly-recovered ribs.
It’s unclear where Rhodes’ story will lead next but we know that there’s more to it than what we’ve seen.
Now, if this all looks familiar, you might have seen a similar set of circumstances happen in 2012. After John Cena lost to The Rock at WrestleMania 28, Lesnar beat him up one night later on RAW. Cena would later get the last laugh as he’d beat Lesnar at Extreme Rules just weeks later before winning the WWE Championship over The Rock at WrestleMania 29.
With WrestleMania going for its 40th iteration next year, Triple H might re-hash this old storyline, albeit likely with far more twists and shocking turnouts.
Between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, The Bloodline, Brock Lesnar, Solo Sikoa, Roman Reigns, and Cody Rhodes, as well as whoever Triple H can think of throwing into this laundry list of who’s who, there’s no telling what’s going to happen in the WWE next.
