WWE News: Two Big Names Returning To ‘Raw’
Next week’s episode of Monday Night Raw will be held in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and will be the “go-home” show before the Raw exclusive pay-per-view Fastlane on March 5. With WWE wanting to build and sustain as much interest in Fastlane and the storylines within, it is highly likely that two high profile names will be returning.
Seth Rollins has been advertised for the event, with a sit-down interview taking place. Rollins was injured last January 30 when NXT superstar Samoa Joe made his main roster debut. Joe was revealed to be working with Triple H, and it was during the brawl where Joe put Rollins in a submission maneuver that Rollins injured his knee again.
This is not the first knee injury to happen to Rollins, who injured his knee back in November 2015 in a live event in Dublin and had to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Rollins returned to action at Extreme Rules on May 22 and ambushed then champion Roman Reigns. The next night on Raw, Rollins staked his claim to the title, arguing that he never lost it to begin with. At Money in the Bank, Rollins defeated Reigns to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion, only for Dean Ambrose to cash in his “Money in the Bank” contract that he had won earlier that same night, Ambrose beat Rollins to become champion.
Prior to Battleground in July, the WWE Draft took place, and Rollins and Reigns were drafted to Raw while Ambrose was drafted to Smackdown. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship was also renamed to the WWE Championship. At Battleground, both Rollins and Reigns failed to bring the WWE Championship to Raw, and a new championship, the WWE Universal Championship, was created. Rollins faced Finn Balor at Summerslam but lost, and Balor became the inaugural champion. However, Balor suffered an injury during the match and was forced to vacate the title. A fatal four-way match was held the next week between Reigns, Rollins, Kevin Owens, and Big Cass. It was during this match that Rollins’ former mentor Triple H attacked him and gave the championship to Kevin Owens.
Rollins would be unsuccessful in his attempts to defeat Owens and was calling out Triple H until January when Triple H returned. Rollins would get injured, putting the feud on hold first.
Another big name returning is Chris Jericho. Jericho has been absent on Raw since the February 13 episode, after Kevin Owens attacked him. Owens and Jericho were best friends, having formed an alliance prior to Summerslam in 2016. When Owens became Universal Champion, Jericho would constantly interfere on Owens’ behalf to help him retain the championship. At Hell in a Cell, Jericho sneaked his way into the titular structure and helped Owens retain against Rollins.
On January 9, Jericho beat Roman Reigns in a handicap match alongside Kevin Owens to become WWE United States Champion. At the Royal Rumble, he lasted over an hour in the match before being eliminated by Roman Reigns. On the February 13 episode of Raw, Jericho held a “Festival of Friendship” for Owens. It featured the return of former WWE Superstar Gillberg, as well as a parody of the famous “Creation of Adam” by Michaelangelo. It was during this event that Owens turned on Jericho and attacked him before sending him through an LED screen. He was absent the next week on Raw but made an appearance at a house show in Germany.
With both Jericho and Rollins set to return, both will be out for blood. Rollins, while still out of action, will continue the build towards his inevitable battle with Triple H, while Jericho will deal with Owens. The former best friends are also set for a clash soon, most likely at Wrestlemania 33.
[Featured Image by WWE]
