10 Things We Learned From Post-Payback WWE Raw (May 1)
1. Awesome
Steered away from Ambrose's comedy in the excellent mid-show segment that set the contest up, The Miz, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor provided the Raw crowd with a breathless twenty minute main event.
An endless stream of nearfalls and two huge run-ins gifted Miz victory and an overdue shot at an Intercontinental Title he masterfully carried throughout 2016.
The exhilarating triple threat was a non-stop sensory assault, with Rollins and Balor finally given the time and stage to throw caution to the wind with babyface panache and Miz's phenomenal character work somehow again able to curb sympathy in traditionally disadvantageous circumstances.
Dragging the audience so heavily into a match that was simply to earn a shot at the show's secondary title highlighted the artistry on display from the talented triumvirate. But the finish that saw heels Samoa Joe and Bray Wyatt intervene against their respective babyface rivals furnished two solid matches for the brand's next pay-per-view and afforded a cheap win for a game and opportunistic heel.
It was Monday Night Raw's best main event of the year and a timely reminder of how well a simple quest for a title is usually all the storyline encouragement needed when performers involved are this talented.