What was Raw Reunion, at the end of the day? If you ask one Superstar in particular, it was a family reunion - None other than u00e2u0080u009cStone Coldu00e2u0080u009d Steve Austin closed out the biggest reunion in history
Stone Cold Steve Austin closes off WWE Raw's biggest reunion. Pictures Courtesy/ WWE Instagram
The largest reunion in Raw history began with a familiar if somewhat surprising face: 16-time World Champion John Cena made an unannounced appearance to kick off Raw Reunion, and The Cenation Leader was alternately bemused at the friendly reception, excited for the Legends slated to return and happy to return to his “family,” as he called the WWE Universe during the choked-up final moments of his address.
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According to WWE, Cena also gleefully traded a couple of bars with The Usos when the erstwhile battle-rappers hit the scene and called him out moments later, but what was shaping up to be a four-man dance alongside Jimmy & Jey’s father Rikishi was spoiled by the arrival of Raw Tag Team Champions The Revival, who emerged for their bout with The Usos with D-Von Dudley in tow. And with that, Raw Reunion was off.
Fittingly, the first match of Raw Reunion was a throwback in every sense of the word: In the ring were The Revival and The Usos, continuing the kind of old-school tag team rivalry that both tandems made their bones off of. Around the ring were the teams’ enforcers, famous tag team veterans — D-Von Dudley backed up the Raw Tag Team Champions, while Rikishi flanked his sons at ringside. And at commentary was Booker T, the two-time Hall of Famer who cut his teeth as one half of Harlem Heat in WCW.
Last week, Cedric Alexander shocked the world by defeating Drew McIntyre. The towering Scot made sure the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion wouldn’t even have an opportunity to do so again, as he exited the ring to attack Alexander halfway up the ramp before the bell.
The Scot added a sinister twist to the manoeuvre, sending Alexander careening face-first into the ring in a clear message that insubordination will not be tolerated, and any instance in which McIntyre is made a fool of will be repaid with punishment.
Samoa Joe saw a cheap nostalgia ploy that took the spotlight off of Superstars like himself, but at least one Superstar took exception to that characterization: Roman Reigns.
Joe certainly proved his in-ring skill with an extended dismantling of Reigns’ left shoulder; if anything saved Roman, it was his simple refusal to stay down. The Big Dog kicked out of several pin attempts and escaped the Coquina Clutch by sending his foe tumbling through the ropes. Joe rushed the ring quickly in response, but his overzealousness got the better of him: Reigns launched himself full-bore into a Spear just as Joe got to his feet, chopping the big man down to seal a victory.
Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns
Are AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson — the nefarious trio now calling themselves The O.C., as in "Original Club" — truly the most dominant group on Raw? It might be true these days, but the good brothers certainly got put in their place by a pair of dominant factions during The Phenomenal One’s bout against Seth Rollins. The proceedings were interrupted by Triple H & Shawn Michaels, who evened the odds in DX garb. The O.C. threw caution to the wind, and AJ took a disqualification loss when Gallows & Anderson jumped Rollins in the middle of the match rather than allow Styles to potentially suffer the Stomp. When Styles, Gallows & Anderson regrouped at ringside, Road Dogg and X-Pac emerged from behind the curtain, as did Kevin Nash and Razor Ramon in nWo gear. It was, as Dogg said, The O.C.s vs. The O.G.s, and in this case, the former didn’t want none. They did, however, get something as they made their retreat: The two famous words, delivered by Rollins himself.
Was last week’s harsh confrontation between Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and Natalya a heat-of-the-moment spat or something deeper about to surface? All signs point to the latter, as Lynch and Natalya came to blows when The Queen of Harts crashed Becky’s interview on “A Moment of Bliss.”
What was Raw Reunion, at the end of the day? If you ask one Superstar in particular, it was a family reunion — and the man in question was never known for his sentimentality: None other than “Stone Cold” Steve Austin closed out the biggest reunion in Raw history, following up an emotional speech by Hulk Hogan with a thank-you to the Legends on stage, the crew who helped assemble the arena, and the WWE Universe in attendance and at home, all of whom are members of the WWE family as far as The Rattlesnake is concerned.
That meant Raw Reunion was a celebration for all of them, and Austin expressed his gratitude for everyone who made it happen.
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