Who Filled In For Injured Elias In WWE Tag Title Match On Raw?

Matt Riddle got a pinch-hitter - and a heavy one at that - after backstage attack.

by Scott Carlson
WWE Raw set
WWE.com

"Card subject to change" is a term that gets thrown around a lot in wrestling, but Raw really embodied it on Monday night when the first match of the night saw a substitute due to injury.

Matt Riddle & Elias were scheduled to challenge the Usos for the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship, but earlier in the evening, the Bloodline assaulted Elias backstage, leaving Riddle without a partner. However, the Original Bro came out to let the Usos know he had tracked down a replacement: Kevin Owens.

Owens really was the perfect pinch-hitter, given his ongoing rivalry with the Bloodline and former best friend Sami Zayn. As a team, KO and Riddle gave the Usos a run, but the makeshift duo ultimately fell to the longest-reigning tag champs in WWE history. Presumably, this will only further Owens' feud with Zayn and the Bloodline as a whole, with another shot at Roman Reigns' Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Championship in the future.

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But it's no rest for the weary for the Usos: They will defend their tag titles on SmackDown this Friday against Sheamus and Butch, with Butch replacing an injured Drew McIntyre. At least this time, the substitute is a fellow stablemate rather than a random roster member.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.