10 Things We Learned From WWE Raw (April 17)
9. Brass Rings
The temporary loss of The Revival on Raw thanks to Dash Wilder's jaw injury in the duo's final NXT house show was a setback for Raw's tag division, but Jeff Hardy and Cesaro ensured the anticipation would be high for the respective duos facing off at Payback.
Though the two couldn't live up to WWE's lofty 'Dream Match' presentation, 'The Swiss Superman' and 'The Charismatic Enigma' assembled an excellent TV match that aided the build to the first meeting of The Hardy Boyz/Cesaro & Sheamus pairings.
Hardy became a far more complete performer during his second WWE run between 2006 and 2009, and seems to have barely aged despite the trials and tribulations of a tumultuous TNA spell in the interim.
The chance of one last singles run for the 'Charismatic Enigma' seems all the more probable when viewing the metamorphosis of Matt Hardy to a hybrid #BROKEN/Version 1.0 greatest hits edition of himself.
Still riding a wave of nostalgia, there will come a point where the company tires of the elder Hardy, and paves the way for a latest title quest for the insanely popular younger sibling.
In the meantime, the match served as a mouthwatering teaser for the doubles clash. Sheamus and Cesaro have gradually found steam together, and their impactful strikes and throws should mesh well with the evergreen high-flying Hardy formula.