Dean Ambrose has been back for all of a week and he already has the entire corporate power structure scrambling to contain him, both physically and figuratively. (Which is, let’s be honest, incredibly impressive.) That said, “unstable” doesn’t just apply to the former U.S. Champion’s mental state; it’s also applicable to his future given that he’s back on The Authority's radar. Ambrose’s boldness got Seth Rollins riled up on SmackDown, but is he about to come crashing down to Earth on Raw when The Authority strikes back? WWE.com has a few ideas of what to expect from Monday’s show.
Dean Ambrose had already cemented himself as WWE’s great escapist by finagling his way out of a locked storage room (clearly not his first rodeo in that regard), and the unstable one added grand larceny of the metaphorical kind to his résumé when he bolted from SmackDown with Seth Rollins’ Money in the Bank briefcase firmly in hand. The former Architect of The Shield was miffed, to say the least, about his contract getting filched, and vowed retribution of the most painful order should Ambrose fail to return the briefcase. The only question is, what could Rollins possibly devise that would be worse than a pile of cinderblocks?
It’s settled: Not only did Gold & Stardust finally get their mitts on the Cosmic Key (a.k.a. the WWE Tag Team Championship), but they clearly plan on keeping their prizes for the time being. Having resorted to dirty play to retain their titles against The Usos on SmackDown, the bizarre brothers sent a message to the WWE locker room that they’re willing to stay champions by any means necessary. It’ll take brains and brawn to dethrone the tag division’s resident weirdoes; who’s the tandem to step up and challenge them?
The ongoing battle between The Bella Twins took an unexpected turn last week when Nikki Bella demanded Brie Bella give up the rights to their last name. That’s relatively far down the line of anything the WWE Universe saw coming, but the implications are somewhat severe upon a second glance: If Nikki wasn’t just blowing smoke and Brie’s really willing to put her surname on the line, then it really and truly is the end of The Bella Twins as the WWE Universe knows them. Was the challenge legitimate, or are we looking at a more old-school method of settling this long-simmering rivalry?
As Cesaro might say in one of his five languages: J’accuse! The Swiss Superman lost his Intercontinental Title Match to Dolph Ziggler on SmackDown despite clearly having reached the ropes as he was being pinned. The referee missed the call, and it's hard to argue that The King of Swing doesn't deserve another go at The Showoff's title. Will Ziggler, having proved himself a fighting champion, grant Cesaro a rematch? Or is the brawler headed to the back of the line?
Even for John Cena, things have been getting unusually tense of late. Having failed to get the WWE World Heavyweight Title back — thanks in great part to a hasty Seth Rollins — Cena’s currently gunning for Mr. Money in the Bank … only that puts him square in Dean Ambrose’s crosshairs as well, which isn’t a place anybody really wants to be. Cena ended last week’s Raw on relatively civil terms with the former U.S. Champion, but with The Authority closing ranks to protect Rollins, and Ambrose willing to take out anybody that gets in his way, how long will it be before the odds finally overcome Cena? Tune into Monday’s Raw at 8/7 CT on USA Network to find out!