The Heavyweight Championship Takes an Unexpected Turn on “Raw”
The landscape of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship underwent a radical change on Monday’s episode of “Raw.” Seth Rollins was stripped of the world title after WWE General Manager Adam Pearce announced that Rollins underwent “major surgery” and would be “out of action for a good while” following the attack by Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed last week.
A new World Heavyweight Champion will be crowned at “Saturday Night’s Main Event” on November 1st. CM Punk, also the number one contender, added commentary to the main event battle royal of “Raw” that named his opponent, Jey Uso.
“Raw” Results from October 20th
- World Tag Team Championship: AJ Styles and Dragon Lee defeated The Judgement Day by pinfall.
- Intercontinental Championship: Dominik Mysterio defeated Rusev by pinfall.
- Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Maxxine Dupri defeated Becky Lynch by disqualification.
- Stephanie Vaquer defeated Roxanne Perez by pinfall.
- Jey Uso wins the Battle Royal.
A new heavyweight champion will be crowned
Regarding Rollins, it doesn’t seem like we’re facing a “farce of the century” part 2, because it wouldn’t make sense to fake an injury that makes you lose the title. But Rollins is truly one of the best wrestlers of his era, and I hope he can return before Wrestlemania 42 in April 2026. Imagine the reaction he would get in a comeback match at the biggest event of the year.
Regarding the heavyweight title picture, Jey Uso had to overcome a large group of contenders, including his twin brother Jimmy, to earn his opportunity. Dominik Mysterio, who successfully defended his Intercontinental Championship against Rusev earlier in the night, was eliminated early, but snuck back into the match while the referees were distracted. Jimmy saved Jey from elimination, but Jey did not return the favor near the end of the match, sending Jimmy and LA Knight to the outside. Jey would go on to eliminate “Dirty Dom” to secure his title opportunity.
Punk vs. Jey will be a good match. It would be fun if Punk won and retained the title until Rollins returns. Punk has many potential challengers in the meantime, including “Dirty Dom”.
More conclusions from “Raw”
Paul Heyman knows how to give importance to each talent he supports. Breakker and Reed were already on the rise, but Heyman’s promotion in the ring after Pearce’s announcement at the beginning of the show made them seem like future Hall of Famers.
AJ Styles is a top-tier talent of this generation. He’s a team player, a fantastic locker room leader, and the kind of person who can have a match-of-the-year contender with John Cena and then go straight back to the tag team title picture. That’s not a slight on tag team wrestling. It’s a testament to “The Phenomenal One’s” ability to excel in every situation, anywhere on the card.
Speaking of that tag team title match, congratulations to Styles, Dragon Lee, Finn Balor, and JD McDonagh for a very entertaining match. Some wonderful 2.999 counts, especially McDonagh’s save after a Phenomenal Forearm from Styles nearly pinned Balor. Couldn’t have executed it better. CM Punk even praised McDonagh’s performance while commentating on the main event Battle Royal.
I don’t care that Becky Lynch barely retains the Women’s Intercontinental Championship against Maxxine Dupri, because it makes Dupri feel like a worthy opponent with the ability to beat veteran Lynch. A rematch between the two for the title would be a definitive conclusion to their story.
