RAW on Netflix 10/6 Results: Roman Reigns’ Feud With Bronson Reed Heats Up Ahead of Crown Jewel

After a dramatic return last week at the end of RAW, this week kicked off with the returning hero, Roman Reigns, being welcomed by a ruckus crowd. If the opening segment accomplished one thing, it was that it showed us Roman commands an audience as strongly as ever—even if everything around him looks different.

He came out alone, contrasting his image as the ‘Bloodline’s’ Tribal Chief, and it did not take long before Paul Heyman entered the equation. Instead of just abruptly cutting off his promo like Heyman has been doing lately, he allowed for ‘The Tribal Thief’s’ music to hit as Bronson Reed walked out—but never left the entrance stage.

However, Heyman did well reminding everyone that Roman was stretched out at the hands of Reed before his triumphant return last week, but the ‘OTC’ held his own in the promo battle versus his ex-mouthpiece.

Roman’s father, Sika, was brought up in the context that he’d never been stretchered out in his career the way Roman did, and so Reigns responded by considering what his father might say at this exact moment. That is when Roman challenged Reed to fight right then and there, but Heyman refused—desperately trying to keep Reed from ‘storming’ the ring.

Heyman is trying to build a new set of stars, and he knows that a schmoz at the start of RAW will not do the trick; he knows that a feud with Roman means nothing unless you can get on a ‘marquee’ with him. So, Heyman challenged Roman on Reed’s behalf for a ‘singles match’ at this Saturday’s Crown Jewel PLE.

For now, the story is about Heyman still in control (in certain terms) of Roman and his family’s every move, whether they know it or not.

ROMAN GETS REAL W/JEY… HE ‘HEARS AND SEES’ ALL

Later, in a backstage segment, Roman approached the USOs, who were ‘hot’ after hearing Heyman ‘burry’ their Uncle Sika, and both men committed to helping Roman at Crown Jewel—though there was a weird moment between the twin bros when Jimmy said “we” and Jey said ‘ME.’ Roman said he did not want either of their help, especially since Jey should be ‘utilizing his opportunities’ and ‘commanding the room.’

He asked ‘Who was speaking at the top of the hour,’ a prime slot for RAW segments, and Jey responded: CM Punk. The look that Roman gave Jey said it all as Jey stormed off to leave Jimmy standing by Roman. That is when Roman made the most ominous statement of the night, telling Jimmy he ‘sees and hears all’ before asking Jimmy, ‘what’s the problem’ with Jey taking advice from Roman. It was something that Roman was clearly waiting to bring up to Jimmy, who made those comments to Jey weeks ago during their struggles with LA Knight and ‘The Vision.’

CM GETS PUNKED

Punk was in an admitted good mood returning from ‘celebrating’ with his wife, AJ Lee, following their big mixed-tag match win at ‘Wrestlepalooza.’ He thanked the fans for welcoming Lee back the way they had, and he was grateful, despite being there for business.

He acknowledged that Crown Jewel was this weekend, and he also made it clear he would stay out of Cody’s business with Seth Rollins since it was a ‘champ vs champ’ story—though Punk could not help himself acknowledging that neither title is on the line, and the entire smart mark community thanks him for it, I’m sure.

After acknowledging he beat Rollins to kick off the ‘RAW on Netflix era,’ he then claimed he would beat him on RAW to finish off the year in his quest to become (once again) the new heavyweight champion. LA Knight made his entrance immediately following Punk’s claim, and Punk even stood at the steel steps corner to show Knight was not expected nor wanted.

The fans booed Knight initially, but he got them back with a, “let me talk to ya.” It was a brilliant display of comparison, as both men commanded the audience. For Knight, he was brilliant setting up Punk with a compliment of being a seemingly great husband, but then he dropped the hammer, calling him a “trash champion.”

Neither of these guys had a real program going with each other, so they took this moment to go toe-to-toe in a promo battle; it was epic. Back and forth they went, exchanging quick quips off the top and clearly premeditated lines. Although Punk controlled the battle, Knight showed he belonged.

Jey’s music hit just as things started to get very tense, and it helped to show just how competitive the current climate is for the red-brand as each man knows that ‘being next’ is no guarantee. It became very clear that these three guys badly need a #1 contender’s match asap, but as Jimmy made his music-less entrance, that distracted Knight long enough to catch a superkick in the face.

The segment finished with Punk getting the best of everyone with a dynamite line: ‘I like Jey Uso, I do not like “little Roman.”’ The line set off Jey, and Punk eventually took his shot. That is when Jimmy stepped in for Jey and threw a shot at Punk that knocked him on his back before The USOs made their exit together.

Later in the back following the promos, Jey ended up shouting at Jimmy for involving himself, and Roman told Jimmy that he ‘needs to get out of his brother’s way.’

MAIN EVENT: THE USOS VS CM PUNK & LA KNIGHT

Punk and Knight defeated The Usos, which succeeded in highlighting just how dysfunctional Jey and Jimmy are, as the future Hall of Fame tag team allowed a non-tag team to defeat them. Still, it was not without drama that the faces(?) won as Knight tagged himself in to steal the pinfall victory over Jey Uso from his partner CM Punk, who stood in the corner, partly baffled that he did not suspect this finish in the first place.

BECKY LYNCH(c) VS MAXXINE DUPRI—NON-TITLE SINGLES MATCH

After Maxxine Dupri made some comments to Becky regarding AJ Lee last week, this match was set up to give Becky’s inflated ego a quick shot of air. However, Dupri fought hard and fought well as Becky struggled to keep control throughout the match. There were near-falls and submission reverses as Lynch went life-and-death with Dupri for over 10 minutes of solid back-and-forth action.

In the end, and after half a dozen near falls, the fans were on their feet with their cameras, and the kids in the audience were all engaged with what was going on in the ring. Unfortunately, the match’s flow was killed when Becky took control on the outside of the ring and was eventually counted out as she spammed the ‘taunt button’ atop the commentary table. The crowd went crazy for a Maxxine win, even if it was a countout, but you have to figure that AJ Lee will be what remains at the end of this program.

OTHER TIDBITS/IN-RING ACTION

• The compelling story between Iyo Sky and her ‘wrestling family’ of Auska and Kairi Sane continued tonight ahead of the Crown Jewel tag match between Sky/Rhea versus Auska/Sane. Auska set up a match between a reluctant Sane and Sky, and in the end, Auska helped Sane win the match. This program has been awesome, and it comes to a hopefully satisfying conclusion on Saturday.
• Roxanne Perez beat Lyra Valkyria in a sort of singles action as both Bayley and Raquel Rodriguez were involved themselves. Bayley continued to work her ‘split personalities’ gimmick, asking Lyra if she could ‘corner her’ for her match just before she made her entrance through ‘Gorilla.’
• AJ Styles got a backstage interview that was interrupted by Dom Mysterio and The Judgement Day’s Finn Balor and JD McDonagh. Finn asked Styles if it was true that he and Dragon Lee wanted a shot at TJD’s tag team titles, and that is when Styles challenged them to a 6-man tag. The match was very fun, and we got a three-man “Penta Stride” with Styles and Lee alongside the originator. The faces won and then AJ Styles was clearly forced to give a post-match promo telling the fans ‘it was cool’ that the massive showdown with John Cena is story-less (it is not okay, it never will be, and we all know how big both Cena and Styles are without a story—that was never the problem and the idea that someone in the back thinks that is the problem adds to the disrespect towards the characters of AJ Styles and John Cena… probably disrespectful towards ‘the fans’ as well).
• Joh Crimber (#1 overall in PBR) and Rocker Steiner (current world champ bareback rider) were in the building along with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders for tonight’s episode of RAW on NETFLIX.