New Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins may not be out of the woods with Finn Bálor, but the good news is that he has no shortage of allies when it comes to dealing with The Miz.
After a brief confab between Rollins and The Extraordinary Man (wherein a handshake — though non-binding — deal was struck to battle for the title), former champion The Miz resurfaced to reprimand Rollins for defeating him at WrestleMania, as the loss had made his baby daughter cry… which, in turn, made his wife cry… which made Miz himself cry.
That said, Miz — who made a point of saying he only dismissed The Miztourage at WrestleMania to avoid accusations of playing dirty — wasn’t about to invoke his rematch clause on The Kingslayer. He opted instead to call his shot for WWE Backlash, though he was more than willing to battle Seth and Finn in a 3-on-2 Handicap Match. Alas, that plan was thwarted by the arrival of Jeff Hardy, last seen haunting The Hardy Compound during The Ultimate Deletion. Jeff returned more than willing here to help Rollins and Bálor send Miz and his crew packing. Given that Kurt Angle sanctioned a Six-Man Tag Team Match for later in the evening, The Charismatic Enigma may well be willing to do a little more before all is said and done.
“Woken” Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. Titus Worldwide in a Tag Team Eliminator Match
Last night, Bray Wyatt rose from The Lake of Reincarnation to help “Woken” Matt Hardy win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, signifying the beginning of a wonderful new partnership. On Raw, the two former rivals made it official, teaming up for the first time and notching a Tag Team Eliminator victory that doubled as the start of their “Expedition of Gold.”
With Wyatt “rid of the succubus known as Sister Abigail” and Hardy bolstered by the presence of Humungous Wonder Number Eight, they were near-flawless against Titus Worldwide, despite having never competed together. The Eater of Worlds seemed to have picked up a few of Hardy’s mannerisms as well — he decreed Apollo’s athletics to be “Wonderful!” — but Wyatt still relied on his punishing power moves to take the wind out of Apollo’s sails. A Sister Abigail-Twist of Fate combo landed Hardy & Wyatt a victory, The Expedition of Gold is officially a go, and The Revival await in the distance.
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins, Finn Bálor & Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz & The Miztourage
Unlike WrestleMania, The Miz had no reservations about using The Miztourage to his advantage in Raw’s main-event Six-Man Tag Team Match. And yet, the result remained the same for the former Intercontinental Champion.
A stomp to the mat from Seth Rollins ended Miz’s night once again, though having his understudies at his side paid significant dividends for The Awesome One. The Miztourage did their work to take Finn Bálor out of the equation, and the returning Jeff Hardy took as much out of himself as he did his opponents upon entering the fray.
That left Rollins to shoulder the load, and The Kingslayer answered the call, sprinting around the ring and taking out Miz and The Miztourage with a suicide dive. His partners helped clear the ring of interference, and a stomp to The Awesome One handed the Intercontinental Champion the win.
A train of finishing maneuvers from all three to Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel sent the WWE Universe home happy. The moment was somewhat tinged with uncertainty: Come the Superstar Shake-up next week, one, or all, of these Superstars might be competing on a different show. But given their big win, it’s hard to begrudge Rollins, Bálor & Jeff for letting the good times roll while they can.
Credit: WWE.com
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