WWE News: Roman Reigns Absent From Show, Braun Strowman Destroys Sami Zayn At WWE Rapid City Event

The WWE superstars from both Raw and SmackDown were in action on Friday night for an event held in Rapid City, South Dakota. Among the wrestling stars appearing for the live house show were Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Bayley, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Finn Balor, Braun Strowman, and Sami Zayn. Roman Reigns was absent from the lineup due to recent personal matters but Raw fans can expect to see him just before the Payback pay-per-view next Sunday. Here’s a look at all of the results from Friday night’s WWE show in Rapid City.

According to Top Rope Press, the show results opened with SmackDown Live‘s Sami Zayn calling out Braun Strowman. The big man has not shown much intimidation while on the Raw roster, and fans will remember that Zayn was amongst his early opponents he handled easily. The two previously competed in a brutal Last Man Standing match and were in several matches where former Raw General Manager Mick Foley had to stop the match. On Friday evening, Braun was dominant yet again and ended up putting Zayn through a table.

Multiple Twitter videos popped up after the match had ended, showing off Braun as he powerslammed Zayn through a table in the corner of the ring. So Zayn got the loss, but lucky for him, he won’t be facing Braun regularly on SmackDown. Sami also appeared to walk off in much better condition than Roman Reigns was after getting attacked by Strowman on Raw several weeks ago.

Also on the card, The Golden Truth teamed up with Sin Cara for a match. Fans saw all three of these stars also destroyed by Braun Strowman on last week’s episode of Raw. They were victorious over a team consisting of Curt Hawkins and The Colons. Finn Balor was also in action and got the win over Jinder Mahal who just became new No. 1 contender for Randy Orton’s World Championship at WWE Backlash.

Two of the championships were on the line during the show. In one match the “King of the Cruiserweights” Neville defended his WWE Cruiserweight title against Austin Aries. In a match after that, there was a Fatal Fourway for the women’s title. Bayley successfully defended against Sasha Banks, Charlotte, and Nia Jax.

I was happy to see @MsCharlotteWWE again in Rapid City. Wasn't expecting her. #WWERapidCity #DoItWithFlair pic.twitter.com/3ACWJ0TQyq

— ??? ?????? ??? (@i_am_apanda5) April 22, 2017

In tag team action, Sheamus and Cesaro got the victory over former champions Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Matt and Jeff Hardy were missing from the action but for good reason. The current Raw tag team champions weren’t at the show as they’re still wrapping up indie bookings they had agreed to participate in.

Two singles matches closed out the show. First, it was Big Cass with Enzo Amore at ringside taking on Titus O’Neil. Cass got the victory which has to make fans wonder if he’s going to end up getting a singles push at some point. It seems there will be a split of this duo in the future, it’s just unknown when and who will take on the heel role.

In the main event match, Seth Rollins and Samoa Joe went head-to-head. The two are scheduled to collide at this month’s Payback pay-per-view. Rollins reportedly won this match at Rapid City, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll win at the big event later this month. There’s always the possibility that “The Game” Triple H makes another return to stick his nose into Rollins’ business, especially after he saw a Rollins bump cause Stephanie to crash through a table.

As mentioned, Roman Reigns did not participate in Friday night’s WWE Rapid City event. The Wrestling Inc website reported that he was not booked for any live events this weekend. Reigns recently lost his brother Matt “Rosey” Anoa’i at age 47 so he and his family are taking some time to mourn this loss. There are reports going around that Reigns is expected to appear on this coming Monday’s episode of Raw which will be his first appearance back on the show since he was attacked backstage by Braun Strowman.

Monday’s show will take place at the Sprint Center Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The latest Raw takes place with just a week until the Payback pay-per-view where Reigns and his nemesis Strowman will meet in the ring. So one has to think Reigns will show up looking for Braun on Raw and that maybe they’ll change this match into something with a stipulation such as a Last Man Standing or Ambulance match perhaps.

[Featured Image by WWE]