Brock Lesnar causes chaos as John Cena and Daniel Bryan both win — WWE Raw talking points

Brock Lesnar, pictured ahead of his championship fight at WrestleMania 31 on March 29. Lesnar would eventually lose his title to Seth Rollins. Don Feria / AP Images

Graham Caygill completed his week in the United States with the WWE on Monday by attending the television recording of their main TV show Raw, the first action since WrestleMania 31 on Sunday. Here are the talking points from the event in San Jose, California.

Brock Lesnar’s memorable night

Lesnar had endured the indignity of losing his WWE world heavyweight title at WrestleMania without losing directly, as Seth Rollins pinned Roman Reigns at Levi’s Stadium after cashing his Money in the Bank contract, which gave him a title shot anytime he wanted.

Lesnar wanted, and initially got, his automatic rematch for the title, but when Rollins, clearly not fancying one bit of a physical confrontation with the former champion, escaped through the spectator areas to avoid the match before the bell rang to start proceedings, Lesnar took his frustrations out by overturning the TV commentators’ table, giving his F-5 finisher to main commentator Michael Cole and two F-5s to a cameraman.

The consequence was an indefinite suspension for Lesnar by WWE’s authority figure Stephanie McMahon.

Obviously, this is just the storyline, and not reality. Lesnar has just signed a new deal with the WWE with limited dates, so he will now rest up for the next few months, and return probably at SummerSlam in August, against Rollins in what will be a much anticipated match.

It is a shame he does not wrestle more dates; Lesnar was the most exciting part of the San Jose show, and he had the crowd in the palm of his hand.

But it will make it even more special for the fans when he does make his next appearance, whenever that it is.

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Rollins loses but stands tall

It was a busy night for the new WWE world heavyweight champion, as Rollins escaped a beating from Lesnar and spoke confidently on the microphone before his team lost the six-man tag match in the main event, although it was not he who took the fall; that was Kane who was pinned by Reigns.

Rollins looked good as champion, and it is no surprise as the past seven to eight months have been a preparation for now.

With Lesnar’s limited appearances, it was Rollins who was the focal point of the roster, having feuds going with Dean Ambrose, John Cena, Reigns and Randy Orton as he adapted to life in the bad-guy role — following his split with the Shield — like the proverbial duck to water.

With Lesnar gone, for now, it is unclear who Rollins’s first title rival will be. Both Orton, who beat Rollins at WrestleMania and Reigns, who had Lesnar in trouble at Levi’s Stadium before Rollins’s intervention, have legitimate claims to be No 1 contender and the road to the next pay per view, Extreme Rules, will be intriguing.

Orton would be the sensible option as Reigns still needs to gain more experience to be a creditable face of the company, though his impressive showing in defeat at WrestleMania means he is not far away from being that level.

Crowded intercontinental scene

Daniel Bryan had promised, before Sunday, that he wanted to make the intercontinental title a serious belt again after being almost ignored in recent years.

Having won it in a ladder match at WrestleMania, the four-time WWE world champion was a man of his word as he put on a great first title defence against Dolph Ziggler, winning a compelling bout with a knee to the face.

He was attacked by former champion Bad News Barrett, and then a returning Sheamus, but Bryan has made a big step towards backing up his words and the next month or so should see a lot of action for him as he deals with his numerous challengers.

Dean Ambrose’s potential

Lesnar was easily the most popular superstar in San Jose, but Dean Ambrose was not far behind as he put in a terrific performance in being the first person to challenge John Cena for the United States title he had won at WrestleMania.

While Ambrose lost after a match full of good wrestling and false finishes to a second Attitude Adjustment from an unpopular Cena, who was the target of the crowd’s ire for most of the event, he demonstrated again his ability to connect with the fans.

Given how poorly he has been booked of late, losing to Bray Wyatt, being eliminated in weak fashion at the Royal Rumble and failing to win the intercontinental title, the fact the crowd still bought into him being a serious danger to Cena, spoke volumes for him.

Ambrose could easily be one of the WWE’s top guys, he just needs to be treated like one.

New faces

Former NXT champion Adrian Neville made an impressive start to life on the main WWE roster as he pinned Curtis Axel in a quick match, while the Lucha Dragons were the stars of an eight-man tag match, with Kalisto getting the pin.

The NXT brand, which allows the WWE to develop younger wrestlers, is perceived as the new stepping stone to the WWE and Neville, with his high-flying moves will be a strong addition.

RAW results

— Daniel Bryan defeated Dolph Ziggler to retain his intercontinental title

— The New Day and The Lucha Dragons defeated Tyson Kidd, Cesaro and The Ascension in an eight-man tag match

— Damien Mizdow defeated Stardust

— Adrian Neville defeated Curtis Axel

— John Cena defeated Dean Ambrose to retain his United States title

— AJ Lee, Naomi and Paige beat Brie Bella, Nikki Bella and Natalya in a six-woman Divas tag match

— Rusev defeated Goldust

— Randy Orton, Ryback and Roman Reigns defeated Seth Rollins, Kane and Big Show

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