{"id":64831,"date":"2018-08-20T13:22:10","date_gmt":"2018-08-20T18:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=64831"},"modified":"2018-08-20T13:22:10","modified_gmt":"2018-08-20T18:22:10","slug":"wwe-raw-primer-8-20-summerslam-fallout-new-universal-champion-reigns-new-raw-womens-champion-rousey-new-ic-champion-rollins-the-demons-return-next-for-the-b-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/08\/20\/wwe-raw-primer-8-20-summerslam-fallout-new-universal-champion-reigns-new-raw-womens-champion-rousey-new-ic-champion-rollins-the-demons-return-next-for-the-b-team\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE RAW PRIMER 8\/20: SummerSlam Fallout, New Universal Champion Reigns, New Raw Women\u2019s Champion Rousey, New IC Champion Rollins, The Demon\u2019s return, Next for the B-Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1209697208\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3><strong>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER<br \/>\nAUGUST 20, 2018<br \/>\nBROOKLYN, N.Y. AT THE BARCLAYS CENTER<br \/>\nAIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00PM EDT<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Arena \/ Opening Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Tonight, WWE stays put in the Barclays Center as they have for the past two nights as they roll out the Raw following SummerSlam and all the fallout we can expect from what WWE touts as the \u201cbiggest party of the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We have three new champions to discuss.\u00a0 Roman Reigns finally conquered Brock Lesnar and became Universal Champion in his third attempt in 2018.\u00a0 He became the fifth Universal Champion in the title\u2019s two-year history which began at SummerSlam only two years ago.\u00a0 Ronda Rousey became the Raw Women\u2019s Champion for the first time in her WWE career which began at the Royal Rumble this year as she defeated five-time champion Alexa Bliss.\u00a0 Seth Rollins regained the Intercontinental Championship from Dolph Ziggler after losing it only a month ago.\u00a0 We saw the return of \u201cThe Demon\u201d Finn Balor, and nearly saw the Money in the Bank contract cashed in by Braun Strowman.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a> doesn\u2019t advertise any matches as of this writing, which lends to the theory they want to keep things close to the vest especially in the Raw following SummerSlam.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>New Universal Champion Roman Reigns<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar in a short, but efficient and effective matter last night to become the WWE Universal Champion for the first time in his career.\u00a0 It is the fourth time he has held a world championship.\u00a0 He was previously WWE World Heavyweight Champion on three different occasions from late 2015-mid 2016.<\/p>\n<p>Braun Strowman, who had retained his Money in the Bank contract earlier in the evening, announced he was cashing in on the winner of the match before it began.\u00a0 This would not happen, as Lesnar would incapacitate Strowman with his signature F-5 on the floor as well as a shot with the MITB briefcase.\u00a0 He would then hurl the briefcase to the titantron, and further attack Strowman with chair shots.\u00a0 Eventually he returned to the ring and attempted to hit Reigns with the chair.\u00a0 Reigns hit his spear and scored the pinfall.\u00a0 Here\u2019s Reigns on Twitter following the win:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I always keep my word. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AndNew?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AndNew<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/B2R?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#B2R<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SummerSlam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SummerSlam<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWERomanReigns\/status\/1031382566887141376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 20, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 There\u2019s a bit of a disconnect for me as far as what became of Strowman following the match.\u00a0 Are we to believe that the man known as \u201cthe monster among men\u201d was so incapacitated he couldn\u2019t rebound from a single F-5 and a few shots from a briefcase and a chair?\u00a0 This is the same issue we faced when Lesnar defeated Strowman with a single F-5 at last year\u2019s No Mercy.\u00a0 It is what it is, and WWE will have to explain that.\u00a0 They\u2019ll also have to follow up on the failed cash in.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to be a coward and do so \u201cbehind someone\u2019s back\u201d as he touted last night and thus, does Strowman cash in tonight or for the next PPV?\u00a0 Outside of that the story between Reigns and Lesnar is done at least for now, and we can move on to other things.\u00a0 It will be interesting to see if Lesnar is on the show tonight to seek a rematch, as he is advertised according to the Barclays Center\u2019s website.\u00a0 He\u2019s shown as the Universal Champion, which doesn\u2019t surprise me as I can\u2019t expect them to update the site only 12 hours after the title changed.\u00a0 Remember folks, every former champion has a rematch clause ;o).\u00a0 <\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>New Raw Women\u2019s Champion Ronda Rousey<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Last night in three minutes, Ronda Rousey defeated Alexa Bliss to gain her first Raw Women\u2019s Championship in her short career in WWE which only began at the Royal Rumble earlier this year.\u00a0 According to WWE we should expect to see Ronda tonight for the first time as champion and wonder if Bliss will exercise her rematch clause.\u00a0 Alexa was negative on Twitter following her loss:<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3804920211\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlexaBliss_WWE\/status\/1031396619110043648<\/p>\n<p>It was announced by WWE Saturday night that Alexa would be facing Hall of Famer Trish Stratus at the upcoming all-women\u2019s PPV Evolution in October.<\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 Both players here did their job, especially Alexa.\u00a0 This needed to be a dominant win for Ronda, and it was just that.\u00a0 I agree with Wade Keller in his SummerSlam report, as we should expect Ronda to show more offense especially if she\u2019s going to be a champion.\u00a0 Time will tell if this happens.\u00a0 Ronda doesn\u2019t wrestle or appear every week but should show up enough to make it feel special when she does appear.\u00a0 Let\u2019s look to see if Alexa exercises her rematch clause.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>New Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In a 20-plus minute match last night, Seth Rollins regained the Intercontinental Championship from Dolph Ziggler.\u00a0 He did so with his former Shield \u201cbrother\u201d Dean Ambrose in his corner, which Ziggler was flanked by his usual cohort Drew McIntyre.\u00a0 Ambrose foiled many attempts by McIntyre to interfere, ultimately culminating in Ambrose hitting his signature Dirty Deeds finisher on McIntyre on the outside.\u00a0 Rollins would nail his Curbstomp finisher on Ziggler moments later and score the pinfall.\u00a0 This is the second time this year Rollins is hoisting the Intercontinental Championship.\u00a0 He is certainly expected in the building tonight and should be flanked by Ambrose.\u00a0 Ziggler and McIntyre will not be far behind.<\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 It\u2019s not crazy to expect a rematch tonight between Rollins and Ziggler as they will be in the same building as last night.\u00a0 It\u2019s also not crazy to think we could see a tag match involving Rollins\/Ambrose vs. Ziggler\/McIntyre.\u00a0 It was speculated that Ambrose could turn on Rollins, which I didn\u2019t expect for last night.\u00a0 It could happen tonight although I give it a low probability.\u00a0 Either way the crowd will be hot tonight, and these are the key players that could provide the signature match.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Next for the B-Team<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In the SummerSlam pre-show, The B-Team (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) retained their Raw Tag Team Championship over the Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson).\u00a0 Tonight, WWE touts \u201cwhat\u2019s next for the B-Team and their Cinderella story?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s one thing we won\u2019t see for sure, and that\u2019s the show Total Fellas they discussed with their former leader The Miz from their days in The Miztourage:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Coming in 2020 &#8212; Total Fellas\u2122<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SummerSlam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SummerSlam<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NW2OO7sbNB\">pic.twitter.com\/NW2OO7sbNB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Sportster (@WrestlingSheet) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WrestlingSheet\/status\/1031349079819710464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 20, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/summerslam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#summerslam<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WWE<\/a> @RealCurtisAxel <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hq7Utti2uV\">pic.twitter.com\/hq7Utti2uV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tyler (@TylerSemmel) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TylerSemmel\/status\/1031354426571796480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 20, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>On a serious note, Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy will not be challengers in the near future.\u00a0 According to WrestleZone, he will be shadowing producers while nursing injuries.\u00a0 He did so last night at SummerSlam.\u00a0 He is not officially retired from in-ring competition, but we shouldn\u2019t expect him any time soon.\u00a0 Here are some tweets from Hardy.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3664260828\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/MATTHARDYBRAND\/status\/1029206242688987136<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I look ok in a suit. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DPg7DxLwFm\">pic.twitter.com\/DPg7DxLwFm<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MATTHARDYBRAND\/status\/1031271716926971904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 19, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 You can\u2019t help but laugh with the B-Team.\u00a0 With that said, I would expect the Authors of Pain to be on deck as challengers for the championship.\u00a0 There are no rumors of NXT callups in terms of tag teams, although nothing can be ruled out in that regard.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Return of \u201cThe Demon\u201d Finn Balor<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For the third straight SummerSlam, Finn Balor arrived as \u201cThe Demon,\u201d only this time we were surprised.\u00a0 He defeated his scheduled opponent, \u201cConstable\u201d Baron Corbin in decisive fashion.\u00a0 While nothing is specific on <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a>, they allude to the possibility of Balor facing \u201cretribution\u201d from Corbin.<\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 Initially I thought \u201cThe Demon\u201d was a waste on Corbin, but I found myself completely psyched when the lights went out.\u00a0 You could tell the crowd ate it up.\u00a0 It shows Balor is still a key player especially with \u201cThe Demon\u201d in his pocket.\u00a0 I would expect this feud to continue but we likely get \u201cregular\u201d Balor tonight.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Other Items<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Elias attempted to serenade the \u201cdisgusting New Yorkers\u201d last night but broke his guitar.\u00a0 With me being from New York, I have no sympathy!\u00a0 With that said, there could be follow-up tonight as I\u2019m certain he will attempt to perform.<\/li>\n<li>Braun Strowman retained his MITB briefcase over Kevin Owens in what essentially turned out to be a squash match.\u00a0 It was odd to see, especially since Strowman was essentially squashed later in the evening in his attempt to cash in MITB.\u00a0 Owens could be headed for a babyface turn or at the very least some sort of issue with his \u201cguru\u201d Jinder Mahal.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be interesting to see how Owens\u2019s story is told going forward.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Natalya was on-hand and congratulated her good friend Ronda Rousey in the ring following Ronda\u2019s victory.\u00a0 It was good to see her considering the week she had losing her father, WWE legend Jim \u201cThe Anvil\u201d Neidhart.\u00a0 The Bella Twins were also on-hand to congratulate Ronda and received a negative response upon their entrance to the ring.\u00a0 They came across very unlikable in a video they aired earlier in the evening discussing Total Divas and Evolution.<\/li>\n<li>NXT callups are not out of the realm of possibility following SummerSlam.\u00a0 Adam Cole, Velveteen Dream, Shayna Baszler, and EC3 could be candidates to arrive on either Raw or Smackdown.\u00a0 All except for Dream lost their matches at NXT:Takeover Saturday night.\u00a0 I could see EC3 and Baszler on Raw, but that\u2019s just speculation on my part and not based on any knowledge.\u00a0 Nothing is definitive on the others mentioned, as that\u2019s also speculation by me.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Start Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>On the arena\u2019s website, start time shown is 7:30 p.m. but they do not indicate when doors will open.\u00a0 Another eight-man tag \u201cmain event\u201d is advertised.\u00a0 This time the participants shown are Reigns, Strowman, Rollins, and Balor vs. Ziggler, McIntyre, Owens, and Corbin.\u00a0 As I said earlier they show Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion and also show Alexa Bliss as Raw Women\u2019s Champion.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Follow me on Twitter @FrankPeteani.\u00a0 Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>NOW CATCH UP ON OUR SUMMERSLAM COVERAGE:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/08\/19\/wwe-summerslam-results-8-19-kellers-report-on-lesnar-vs-reigns-bliss-vs-rousey-styles-vs-joe-ziggler-vs-rollins-carmella-vs-charlotte-vs-becky-braun-vs-owens\/\">WWE SUMMERSLAM RESULTS 8\/19: Keller\u2019s report on Lesnar vs. Reigns, Bliss vs. Rousey, Styles vs. Joe, Ziggler vs. Rollins, Carmella vs. Charlotte vs. Becky, Braun vs. Owens<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2989405907\"><div id=\"pwtor-2579263284\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER AUGUST 20, 2018 BROOKLYN, N.Y. AT THE BARCLAYS CENTER AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00PM EDT BY FRANK PETEANI, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR \u00a0Arena \/ Opening Thoughts Tonight, WWE stays put in the <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/08\/20\/wwe-raw-primer-8-20-summerslam-fallout-new-universal-champion-reigns-new-raw-womens-champion-rousey-new-ic-champion-rollins-the-demons-return-next-for-the-b-team\/\" title=\"WWE RAW PRIMER 8\/20: SummerSlam Fallout, New Universal Champion Reigns, New Raw Women\u2019s Champion Rousey, New IC Champion Rollins, The Demon\u2019s return, Next for the B-Team\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,4354,27,5893],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-raw-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Rollins_600.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64831"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64838,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64831\/revisions\/64838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}