10 Booking Steps For WWE Raw (Aug 8)
3. Roman Reigns Beats Rusev By Count Out
In a match made earlier by Stephanie McMahon, Roman Reigns must defeat the mighty Rusev in a non-title bout if he hopes to get a crack at the WWE United States Title. Aware of this, Rusev doesn't rush into anything, crucially being informed by Lana (allowing her to show some importance) that he doesn't need to beat Reigns, it's the other way around.
Hopefully, if Rusev plays the role of wrestler more willing to stall and frustrate, fans will be more appreciative of the portions when Roman gets his hands on the Bulgarian. Booing was more muted last week, either showing that Rusev is strong as a heel or that people are glad Reigns is out of the main event pack for the time being.
Following all that stalling and brawling, Reigns and Rusev find themselves on the outside. A huge Spear from Roman causes the champion to get counted out. Fans may boo at this decision, allowing Reigns to look confused that they continue to rally against him despite the fact he's doing everything he can.
By virtue of his victory though, Stephanie will either be forced to hand Reigns a title shot or be disgusted at the manner of his win.