Raw: Sept. 21, 2015

Roman Reigns confronted The Wyatt Family

The Lunatic Fringe and The Big Dog gain a new ally against The Wyatt Family.

LAREDO, Texas — They all fall down, true, but even if one Superstar is felled by The Wyatt Family, another will step in to take their place. So despite Chris Jericho getting stomped out by Braun Strowman at Night of Champions, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose found that help was only a moment away when the numbers game turned against them the next night on Raw.

Watch:  Orton to the rescue! |  Photos of The Viper's return

What had been an unsanctioned, unofficiated fight between The Big Dog and The New Face of Fear quickly turned into a pack attack after Reigns gained a sizable enough advantage. That caused Wyatt's flock to descend to pick Reigns and, later, an interfering Ambrose, apart. Enter Randy Orton — seemingly an initial pick for the Shield vets’ third man — to settle his score with the first family of fear. The Apex Predator’s help proved enough to drive the buzzards back to their hidey-hole, though this game of war is likely just revving up for another round.

Neville & The Lucha Dragons def. Stardust & The Ascension

A massive Night of Champions Kickoff rematch is waged on Raw.

After falling to the so-called Astral Alliance at Night of Champions Kickoff, WWE’s resident heroes were reborn in high style when Neville & The Lucha Dragons united once again to turn Stardust & The Ascension back to the shadows. Thank Kalisto, too: An early slip-up by Sin Cara and the power of The Ascension — sporting jewels on their foreheads to match Stardust’s — meant both Neville and The International Sensation were overpowered for the majority of the rematch. Kalisto’s late-game entry sent the highfliers soaring into the daylight, when, after Neville dispatched an interfering Stardust, the former NXT Tag Team Champion ascended to the heavens for a Salida del Sol that brought Viktor crashing down to the mat.

Ryback def. Bo Dallas

One night after losing the Intercontinental Championship to Kevin Owens, The Big Guy battles one of WWE's most "inspirational" Superstars.

It wasn’t a lack of belief, or even Bo-lief, that cost Ryback the Intercontinental Title, but rather a shrewd rake of the eyes by Kevin Owens. So it’s unsurprising that the deposed Big Guy was not interested in hearing newly aggressive Bo Dallas spill his own “secrets” to success, nor that the former NXT Champion felt Ryback’s wrath in the form of a Shell Shocked in quick order. What was surprising, though, was that Owens — who barely escaped last night’s prizefight with his prize and gloated on commentary during this matchup — rushed the ring for another go at The Human Wrecking Ball once Bo was put to bed. All things considered, he was lucky to escape a second Shell Shocked. He might not be so lucky on SmackDown.

Paige ruined Charlotte’s Divas Championship Celebration

Paige gets brutally honest about PCB and the Divas Revolution.

Your first Divas Championship reign to cap a successful “Revolution,” your Hall of Fame father by your side, and your two best friends there to watch you get crowned. What could possibly ruin Charlotte’s night? How about Paige? Wait. How about Paige? How about Paige. 

Watch:  Paige said WHAT?!?! |  Photos of the shocking ceremony

The “P” in “PCB” got pretty prickly in the midst of Charlotte’s coronation, insulting both the champion and Becky Lynch before claiming responsibility for the Divas Revolution as a whole. She quickly pointed out that, despite the influx of new faces, Natalya is M.I.A., the Divas division is as dysfunctional as ever, and all the change Paige started has led to a new champion whose reign will eventually end. And then she insulted Ric Flair. And then she stormed out. And then Nikki Bella sent Brie to the ring to face Charlotte in a match. Welcome to the top, Charlotte.

Divas Champion Charlotte def. Brie Bella

The newly crowned Divas Champion goes one-on-one with Brie Bella.

If Charlotte’s Divas Championship coronation was a bit more of an emotional roller coaster than she’d have liked, at least she got the satisfaction of knocking Brie Bella for a loop afterward. Ostensibly looking to tune up the Divas Champion so Nikki Bella gets a leg up in her rematch, Brie fizzled out down the stretch against the freshly anointed titleholder.

Watch:  Charlotte's first match as champion

Speaking of legs, Brie made it a point to go after Charlotte’s, which was so effectively worn down by Nikki at Night of Champions. But the song remained the same anyway, as Charlotte managed to chop Brie into the defensive and grit her way through a Figure-Eight Leglock to earn the first win of her reign.

Sheamus def. Mark Henry

The World's Strongest Man clashes with Mr. Money in the Bank on Raw.

If there’s one person who ended Night of Champions off worse than Seth Rollins, it’s Sheamus. The Celtic Warrior had The Architect dead to rights on a Money in the Bank cash-in — he hit the Brogue Kick! — before Kane barged in and sent the Celt’s championship hopes straight to hell. If that wasn’t enough, Sheamus got Mark Henry in a match on Raw. Luckily, Mr. Money in the Bank was, indeed, money with his pride on the line. The Texas native made the mistake of underestimating the Irishman and Sheamus, in turn, made Henry respect "The Hawk" with a pair of Brogue Kicks before proclaiming himself the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion in waiting.

WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day & Rusev def. Dolph Ziggler & The Dudley Boyz

Are any tables safe in this Six-Man Tag Team Match?

Now this is quite a combination of combatants. After Dolph Ziggler knocked off Rusev and The New Day retained their WWE Tag Titles in disqualification defeat against The Dudley Boyz, heroes and villains joined forces for one of the most off-the-wall Six-Man Tag Team Matches since the days of The Shield. Give most of the Dudley/Ziggler credit to The Showoff, who was besieged by his current rival, his longtime rival and his former bodyguard in equal measure before tagging in the Dudleys to rally.

Watch:  Six-man chaos explodes on Raw |  Dudleys get rematch at Madison Square Garden

The boys from Dudleyville successfully turned the tide — Ziggler even got in on a “Wassup!” headbutt action. But for all The Showoff’s work throughout the match, he ultimately caught the short end of the stick when a trombone-toting Xavier Woods blasted a note straight in Ziggler’s face from the apron. A superkick took care of Woods, but a thrust kick from The Bulgarian Brute put Ziggler down for the night. Rusev rocks?

Naomi def. Natalya

The Hart Dungeon Graduate takes on Team B.A.D.'s Naomi.

After sitting on the sidelines for the NXT insurgence, Natalya is back and boy, is she ready to go. The leather-clad first lady to The Best Team Ever stormed onto the singles scene looking for a big statement against one of the Divas Revolution’s main foot soldiers, Naomi, only moments after taking Paige to task for putting her own glory above the bigger picture of the division’s elevation.

Watch:  Natalya turned back in Raw return |  Photos of Naomi's big win

That said, glory was bitterly denied to The Queen of Harts, who was seemingly rusty in the early goings against her fellow “Total Diva” and was put on the defensive for minutes on end. A discus clothesline changed the tune in a hurry, but Team B.A.D. again provided the key distraction when Sasha Banks and Tamina clambered onto the apron, leaving Natalya open for the Rear View.

Big Show def. Cesaro

Two Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winners collide on Monday night's hottest show.

If Brock Lesnar thinks Big Show will be manhandled quite as severely as he was last time come Oct. 3, he might have another thing coming. Even though Show's Raw victory leaned heavily on chance, as a gritty Cesaro attempted one feat of strength too many against the giant and took himself out of the game, the giant's upending of his fellow Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner served as notice for The Beast Incarnate. Big Show is planning on re-enacting their earlier Madison Square Garden battle in 2002, rather than the one-sided obliteration of 2014, when they meet next Saturday in The World's Most Famous Arena. When his in-ring work was done, Show capped his night off with some choice words for The Beast Incarnate, and a dire warning of what’s to come.

U.S. Champion John Cena def. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins

The Architect attempts to reclaim WWE's star-spangled prize from The Champ.

Thanks to the oddly pleasant machinations of a suit-clad Kane — still acting as the suit-wearing Director of Operations and sporting a perky demeanor that left The Authority baffled, bumfuzzled and altogether confused — Seth Rollins found himself in a U.S. Title rematch against John Cena. He was not entirely prepared for it, but “The Man” still mounted a solid attempt to resume his historic status as a dual titleholder after only a 24-hour break.

Watch:  The Champ survives in Raw's main event |  Kane claims Rollins in hell

Unfortunately, “attempt” was about as far as he got. Despite mugging The Champ before the bell even rang and landing a bull’s-eye Frog Splash, a retaliatory Attitude Adjustment spelled the end for Rollins. At that point, Kane appeared on the TitanTron, giving Rollins a friendly corporate warning that his WWE World Heavyweight Title was being targeted by a Superstar of nightmarish proportions. Cue the fire from the stage and the re-emergence of Kane, fully transformed into The Devil’s Favorite Demon, as he climbed through a hole in the ring that he also dragged Rollins into — after a brief, if futile, struggle. Out of the frying pan, into the … well, you know.

WWE.com Exclusive:  Rollins re-emerges from hell