Shane McMahon and Elias Attacked Roman ReignsWhat the hell ever happened to The Miz's feud with Shane? Miz attacked Shane on the night of his Raw debut last Monday, but we haven't heard anything else about it since. Their beef wasn't acknowledged at all this week, so we're being led to believe that their storyline is over. If so, what a waste it was to have Shane beat Miz at WrestleMania 35. Nevertheless, this segment was designed to kicked off an Elias vs. Reigns rivalry heading into Money in the Bank. If nothing else, at least Shane didn't go further with the tease of firing Reigns, because that has been done to death in the past. Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor def. Andrade (Non-title)In case you missed it, Andrade and Zelina Vega are back on SmackDown Live, reportedly because FOX wants a Latino star on the blue brand in time for the show's move to the network later this year. That makes sense, but he shouldn't have switched shows to begin with if that was the case. This really should have been for the title considering Almas beat Balor the last time they faced off, but this was another entertaining encounter from them. I was hoping Andrade would win again to set up a title match between them for Money in the Bank, but no such luck.
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Dana Brooke def. Ruby RiottThe Riott Squad is no more now that Liv Morgan is on SmackDown Live thanks to the Superstar Shake-up. I was wondering whether Sarah Logan would continue to team, but Logan was nowhere to be seen here. Instead, Riott flew solo, which I liked. Unfortunately, she still lost. It was definitely smart for her to be on offense for most of the match, but this was mediocre at best. This marked Brooke's second straight win on the show, so it's clear officials are keen on pushing her at the moment. EC3 def. No Way JoseWWE did a dry run with Drake Maverick as EC3's manager two weeks ago during a SmackDown Live dark match. Why hasn't that pairing happened on TV yet? Anything is an improvement over this for EC3. He could not be any more dead in the water, but if nothing else, he was able to beat Jose. This was a perfectly fine match and it was nice that they picked up the pace in the final few minutes, but it wasn't anything worth writing home about beyond that.
Universal Champion Seth Rollins Was Confronted by His Potential ChallengersCan someone tell me what purpose Triple H served in this segment? He didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. It was weird hearing him talk about the two Triple Threat matches as if none of us didn't just hear the commentators announce them at the start of the show. The promos everyone else cut were fine, but this was exactly what you'd expect it to be. They set the stage for the night's biggest bouts nicely, but this wore out its welcome. AJ Styles def. United States Champion Samoa Joe and Rey Mysterio in a Triple Threat Match to Advance to the Universal Championship No. 1 Contender's Match (Non-title)I had zero problem with three of the Superstars coming over from SmackDown Live colliding in this Triple Threat, if only because it felt fresh and was very entertaining. Styles and Joe have worked well together in the past, Joe and Mysterio feuded going into WrestleMania 35, and seeing Styles and Mysterio mix it up for the first time was cool. This was an exciting opener with an innovative finish to boot. I wouldn't have had Joe get pinned in his Raw return, but I can't say I'm surprised.
Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor def. EliasElias did his usual shtick before the bout and Balor even joined in at one point. Their match wasn't anything out of the ordinary as a result of being only six minutes in length. The finish coming across as botched didn't help matters, either. This would have been the perfect time for Balor to drop to the Intercontinental Championship to a Raw wrestler, but since that didn't happen, I guess that all but confirms that Samoa Joe and the United States Championship are Raw bound. Bayley and Ember Moon def. The Riott SquadThis marked The Riott Squad's final appearance as a unit on WWE TV with Liv Morgan being sent packing to SmackDown Live in the Superstar Shake-up, so it was weird that Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan were the ones who teamed up and Morgan wasn't involved at all. The match itself was perfectly fine but hardly worth writing home about. Bayley and Moon made for a good team, but I'd much rather see them showcased in singles competition on SmackDown.
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