The Shield Addresses Their Opponents
The Shield may have formalized their reunion last week with their trademark fist bump, but for the first time in three years, Raw opened with the crackle of “Sierra, Hotel, India… ” and the sight of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns donning black and marching through the audience to surround someone in the ring — in this case, Raw General Manager Kurt Angle, who quickly turned over the mic and made his exit.

It was awesome (as the WWE Universe chanted), and if there were any concerns that The Hounds of Justice had lost a step, they immediately launched into a scorched-earth proclamation to pick up right where they left off at WWE TLC. And even though Ambrose’s tough talk inadvertently got Braun Strowman added to the upcoming TLC Match last week, The Lunatic Fringe only doubled down on his resolve — he reiterated that The Shield could take on any number of opponents and challenged their TLC foes to throw down on the spot.

The Miz, Braun Strowman and The Bar came to the stage to oblige, but Angle got between the two squadrons, reminding them that The Bar would challenge Ambrose & Rollins for the Raw Tag Team Titles and Strowman would battle The Big Dog in a Steel Cage Match tonight. It was enough to stop the fists from flying, but there’ll be no such restraint on anyone’s part come Sunday.

Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Sheamus & Cesaro
Perhaps it was the thrill of being back in black, but Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins were even more rabid than usual in a successful retention of the Raw Tag Team Titles against Cesaro & Sheamus, whose opportunity had only been sanctioned hours earlier.

After getting taken out early, The Lunatic Fringe re-entered the match like a house on fire in relief of Rollins, who had been neutralized for a stretch. The Bar upped the ante with Ambrose running rampant, mixing both smarts (Cesaro wisely avoided another slingshot into the ropes) and power (Sheamus hoisted Ambrose up for a Cesaro springboard uppercut). But Rollins provided the final boost for his brother, rushing the match and instigating a brawl that The Lunatic Fringe closed out with Dirty Deeds to The King of Swing for the victory.

Main Event Mayhem Backstage & Roman Reigns is def. by Strowman

Raw General Manager Kurt Angle banned The Miz, The Bar and The Shield from ringside to prevent outside interference and preserve the integrity of Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman in a Steel Cage, a match that would determine the complexion of the big TLC Match on Sunday. But he didn’t say anything about inside interference, and now Strowman’s victory expands The Shield’s opponents from four to five as a result.

To be fair, the rival teams ignored Angle’s initial decree as well, rushing the cage despite the General Manager’s orders. The Miz’s crew struck first, with The Bar cutting Roman off at the pass when he tried to escape the cage after momentarily felling Strowman. The Shield quickly neutralized the interference, but The Monster Among Men hauled Reigns over the cage right into a superplex, and when the brawl between The Shield and The Bar continued into the parking lot, Miz himself locked them out of the arena by closing the door of the loading dock.

Reigns managed to fight his way back into contention by hitting Strowman with three Superman Punches and a Spear, but the tide quickly turned when the arena plunged into red light and Kane rose from beneath the ring to administer two bone-rattling chokeslams to the former WWE Champion. Strowman followed up with a Running Powerslam, The Big Red Monster piled on with a Tombstone, and a second Running Powerslam from The Gift of Destruction earned the decisive pinfall and expanded his squadron by one for Sunday in the process. And, as Miz informed the WWE Universe, in case that wasn’t enough of a hint, The Devil’s Favorite Demon was, indeed, his final teammate for WWE TLC. Dean Ambrose said The Shield could take on five opponents and win. The Hounds of Justice are about to be put to that exact test.

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