5 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Monday Night Raw (24 November - Results & Review)
3. Sowing Seeds
Raw’s long opening segment was a drag in some ways, but they managed to sneak in a couple of nice moments that hinted at future conflicts between Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and CM Punk.
Rhodes welcomed Roman to “my team” for WarGames, which drew Punk out to rebut that and remind Cody that he wasn’t on SmackDown. The bristling between them was enough for Reigns to suggest they turn it into an actual d**k-measuring contest rather than a verbal one. Considering Cody and Punk would be one of the few true WrestleMania dream matches left on the table, even a hint of discontent between the two is enough to stoke speculation.
Later, Roman went to leave the ring but glared at both men and commented, “That title would look so much better on my shoulder.” Punk naturally asked whether Reigns was directing that at him or Cody, and Roman responded (off-mic) that it was “for you to figure out.”
Again, this wasn’t some white-hot, “shots fired” moment, but the Tribal Chief hasn’t made many overtures toward regaining a world title in recent appearances, so that alone made this notable. It very likely won’t lead anywhere – Roman is around even less than he was during the latter days of his last world title reign – but a wrestler of his stature should want to be world champion again.