5 Takeaways From Monday Night Raw - 8/20/18

This is my series, simply known as "5 Takeaways", where I will share my personal main talking points coming out of Raw and SmackdownLive.

These are all my opinion, so I may miss a nugget or two. If you have something to add to my list, or a list of your own, feel free to share in the comment section below!

Also, please check out The Enzuigiri podcast, Reddit, and Facebook page!

https://m.facebook.com/groups/theenzuigiri

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheEnzuigiriPodcast

https://m.soundcloud.com/theenzuigiri

We are a group of long-time wrestling fans living in the Tri-State area. We have results, news, and so much more!

I don't work in this business. However, I do know when you have a monster tag team, ready made to dominate coming out of NXT, you take full advantage of that. This is exactly what WWE had in A.O.P. Instead of taking advantage of this, however, they had the pair abandon Paul Ellering and go off on their own (we can see how that has turned out).

These two should be an absolutely unstoppable force right now, but instead they're barely escaping with a win over Titus Worldwide. This is a far cry from what should have been. Only time will tell if WWE realizes their mistake, and tries to correct it.

Following the actions of our next entry, Kurt Angle finds Stephanie McMahon, Constable Corbin, and Alexa Bliss in the trainer's room. They complained about how Angle can't keep control over his roster, and Stephanie eventually decides to give Kurt some time off, with Constable Corbin acting as his replacement as GM.

This will lead to nothing more than handicap matches for Reigns and Bálor in my opinion. They may surprise us, but I highly doubt it.

Stephanie McMahon brought out the entire Raw women's division to the ring, and took the credit for Ronda Rousey's success. McMahon made it all about herself rather than the actual performers, and paid the price.

Ronda Rousey locked her in an armbar as a way to shut her up. This was an okay segment, and will further push to make Rousey the Stone Cold to Stephanie's Vince McMahon.

To open the show, Roman Reigns entered the arena (to nothing bit boos), and told everyone he's a man of his word when it came to beating Brock Lesnar. He then issued a title defense to Finn Bálor, since he never got his rematch from a couple years ago.

The main event match was a very good one. Finn and Roman always put on an excellent performance, and this was no different. The majority of the crowd was behind Bálor to reclaim his prize (as expected), and this felt like a pay-per-view main event.

The ending came when Braun Strowman's music hit, distracting Reigns, allowing Finn to take advantage. Roman avoided the Coup De Gráce, and hit a Spear for the win. Again, an excellent match, which lead into an even more excellent final segment...

Braun entered the ring and announced he was cashing in his briefcase before we heard some oh so familiar music... Sierra Hotel India Echo Lima Delta... Shield! Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose made their entrance to the ring in their old Shield attire, and made the save.

The show ended with a triple powerbomb onto Strowman through the announce table, without the title match even starting. This is brilliant, since it forces fans to pick what side they're on, between Braun and The Shield.

It's been a very long time since I've been so excited to see what happens next week on Raw. This is because we don't have any true clarification on what happened. Did Braun lose his briefcase (I'm pretty certain he didn't)? Did the Shield turn heel? Are we supposed to cheer Strowman? So many questions that will (hopefully) be answered next week.

Thanks for reading! Did I miss any good points? Is there something you agree or disagree with? Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to check out my SmackdownLive Takeaways tomorrow!