“Woken” Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. Cesaro & Sheamus
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA — The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Woken Warriors around the globe rejoiced during the sold-out Greatest Royal Rumble event in King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, where “Woken” Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt completed their “Expedition of Gold” and procured the abeyant Raw Tag Team Championship by defeating Cesaro & Sheamus.
Despite The Bar using the same cohesive, hard-hitting tactics that had previously netted them four Raw Tag Team Championships, Hardy & Wyatt — known collectively as The Deleter of Worlds — utilized unorthodox tactics to counter their opponents’ brute strength, beginning an Era of Wokenness that could change Raw forever.
At WrestleMania, on the same night Hardy and Wyatt forged their Woken alliance, Braun Strowman and a 10-year-old named Nicholas captured The Bar’s Raw Tag Team Titles, but due to scheduling conflicts — The Monster Among Men’s partner was still in fourth grade, after all — the titles were vacated. Per Raw General Manager Kurt Angle, a Tag Team Eliminator determined which team would battle the newly former champions at the Greatest Royal Rumble event. Despite being bitter rivals prior to The Eater of Worlds’ disappearance into The Lake of Reincarnation, Hardy & Wyatt prevailed, earning a tandem opportunity at the historic, first-ever Greatest Royal Rumble event.
It seemed Wyatt & Hardy might suffer cruel defeat at the hands of the brutish Bar as Sheamus prepared to seal Wyatt’s fate with a Brogue Kick. However, The Deleter of Worlds rallied after Wyatt’s unsettling Spider Walk made The Celtic Warrior recoil, leaving him susceptible to “deletion” by way of Sister Abigail’s Kiss and an elevated Twist of Fate. With a pinfall, Hardy became a nine-time Tag Team Champion, and a Woken quest was completed to the delight of the sold-out crowd packed inside King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
United States Champion Jeff Hardy def. Jinder Mahal
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA — Jinder Mahal seemed to have given himself an advantage going into the Greatest Royal Rumble event. He had sent Sunil Singh to SmackDown LIVE to attack Jeff Hardy’s knee ahead of their United States Title rematch. However, The Charismatic Enigma was able to fight through the pain and withstand Mahal’s punishment, retaining the star-spangled championship at the sold-out King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
Though Hardy was in visible discomfort from last Tuesday’s attack, it didn’t slow his risk-taking style in this championship battle. Hardy winced as he managed to climb onto the ringside barricade, dash along the guardrail and leap onto his challenger. On this night, Hardy would not only have to compete against Mahal, but also keep an eye on Sunil Singh, who proved to be a distraction for the champion, which allowed The Modern Day Maharaja to take control of the bout.
Mahal slowed the battle down to a pace more fitting of his overpowering style in the squared circle, keeping Hardy grounded and wearing him down on the canvas. Jeff battled back, slipping out of Mahal’s grasp and staggering The Modern Day Maharaja with a flurry of dazzling moves. Perhaps seeing Mahal’s chances at reclaiming the United States Title slipping away, Singh leapt up onto the ring apron to distract Hardy once again, but he was met with a fierce right hand from the champion.
Though Singh was neutralized, Mahal tried to catch Hardy off-guard with the Khallas. The Charismatic Enigma evaded his challenger, though, countering with the Twist of Fate, which opened the door for him to hit a breathtaking Swanton Bomb and put Mahal down for the three-count.
Hardy’s victory ensures that the United States Championship will stay with The Charismatic Enigma on SmackDown LIVE, while The Modern Day Maharaja’s quest to turn America into the United States of Mahal comes to an end with his transfer to Raw in the 2018 Superstar Shake-up. What new challenges await Hardy as he begins his journey on Team Blue?
Credit: WWE.com
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Last week on SmackDown LIVE, Shelton Benjamin was set to begin a new chapter in his WWE career by asking for a big challenge. Shelton was surprised to see Randy Orton answer the call to be his opponent, but The Viper got a surprise of his own when the newest member of SmackDown LIVE, United States Champion Jeff Hardy, interrupted to answer Benjamin’s challenge first.
Tonight, it appeared Hardy and Benjamin would run it back in a rematch, but The Charismatic Enigma got a dose of his own medicine when The Apex Predator interrupted Hardy’s entrance, almost as a signal to suggest that he was getting him back for last week, taking Hardy’s place in this match.
The United States Champion remained at ringside as Randy and Shelton battled it out on the blue brand. During the match, the two Superstars took the fight to the outside when a masked man suddenly clipped Jeff Hardy’s knee. To avoid security, the culprit darted into the ring, and Orton caught him and removed the mask to reveal Sunil Singh, who tried to plead with The Viper, only for Randy to connect with an RKO, taking out Jinder Mahal’s faithful follower.
This interference would prove costly though, Benjamin took advantage by dropping The Apex Predator with Paydirt for the win.
Credit: WWE.com
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Having dispatched The Revival last week to earn a bout against Cesaro & Sheamus for the vacant Raw Tag Team Championship at the Greatest Royal Rumble event, “Woken” Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt turned their focus to The Ascension, making their Team Red return after coming over from SmackDown LIVE in the Superstar Shake-up.
The matchup was somewhat crucial to “The Deleter of Worlds’” preparation: If you’re looking for a team that can match The Bar’s physical prowess, Konnor & Viktor certainly fit the bill. And the former NXT Tag Team Champions put an undoubtable hurting on their opponents, pummeling Hardy into the corner while Wyatt was stranded on the apron.
Much like last week, however, The New Face of Fear’s entry into the match proved to be the turning point. He dispatched an interfering Konnor with Sister Abigail, leaving Viktor ripe for the picking of a wonderful tag team finishing maneuver. Now, having outsmarted the brains of The Revival and overcome the brawn of The Ascension, it’s time to see how Raw’s fastest-rising tag team fares when faced with both at once.
Credit: WWE.com
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With his now former tag team partner, Chad Gable, having been moved to Raw via the Superstar Shake-up, Shelton Benjamin threw some shade his old partner’s way and then looked to make a major solo impression on the blue brand by calling out anyone on the roster to face him tonight.
First out was Randy Orton, clearly looking to silence Benjamin. However, before The Apex Predator could make it to the ring, he was interrupted by the new United States Champion and the newest SmackDown LIVE acquisition via the Superstar Shake-up, Jeff Hardy!
Benjamin and Hardy tore the house down with a thrilling contest that had the WWE Universe on its feet. After several back-and-forth exchanges, The Charismatic Enigma topped Benjamin with a Twist of Fate and the Swanton Bomb to claim the win in his first night back on the blue brand.
Credit: WWE.com
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Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal for the United States Championship
HARTFORD, Conn. — The roster has been shaken, to say nothing of the WWE Universe: No sooner did United States Champion Jinder Mahal reveal himself as the first Superstar to hop the divide from SmackDown LIVE to Raw in the Superstar Shake-up than he found himself dethroned by Jeff Hardy in an impromptu title defense that left The Modern Day Maharaja sputtering with anger.
The compromising position Mahal found himself in can partially be attributed to his own imperious attitude, which provoked Raw General Manager Kurt Angle to give an open call for a title challenger. Even after The Charismatic Enigma answered, The Modern Day Maharaja looked good in the early goings, and this Superstar Shake-up seemed that it may lead Mahal to the same career-making heights as the last one. But Hardy slowly crawled back from the deficit, thwarting Sunil Singh’s attempted interference before catching Mahal in the Twist of Fate. One epic Swanton Bomb later and Jeff was U.S. Champion for the first time and the newest Superstar to complete the Grand Slam.
Adding insult to injury, a fuming Mahal ran afoul of No Way Jose, who advised Mahal to stay positive and assimilated Renee Young into his conga line in the middle of The Maharaja’s backstage interview following the match. The result of his evoked rematch at the Greatest Royal Rumble could very well soothe Mahal’s wounds, but for now, he arrives to his new “kingdom” down a title, down an interviewer, and for tonight, at least, down for the count.
“Woken” Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. The Revival
From the battlefield of The Hardy Compound to the Greatest Royal Rumble event, “Woken” Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt are now one win away from becoming the Raw Tag Team Champions. In just their second week as a tandem, the eccentric duo powered past The Revival in the finals of the two-week Tag Team Eliminator to earn a bout against Cesaro & Sheamus for the vacant Raw Tag Team Titles in Saudi Arabia.
They did so despite Dash & Dawson resisting the team’s mind games, which forced the duo to adjust on the fly. Specifically, Hardy turned Wyatt loose on the former NXT Tag Team Champions, and The Reaper of Souls quickly turned the tide in his team’s favor. The result was the one-two punch of Sister Abigail to Dawson and a Twist of Fate-combo maneuver to Dash that ended the bout. With The Great War behind Hardy & Wyatt and tag team glory only one victory away, the future could be very wonderful indeed.
Credit: WWE.com
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WWE Photos > Weekly & Pay-Per-View Digitals > 2018 > RAW > April 16th – US Title Match & Tag Match
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