Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The Shield, consisting of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, has re-formed once again just as Reigns needed help the most Monday on Raw.
Reigns, who became Universal Champion Sunday at SummerSlam after finally defeating Brock Lesnar, made good on his promise of regularly defending the title when he put the championship on the line against Finn Balor.
Balor, Reigns said, deserved a title match as he was the first-ever Universal Champion who was never granted a rematch after he was forced to relinquish the title due to injury.
A highly-competitive bout, Balor appeared poised to win multiple times after landing impressive blows against the Big Dog. As the match neared its conclusion, Braun Strowman's music hit, signaling that the Monster Among Men was getting ready to cash in his Money in the Bank contract which grants him a championship match at anytime.
The distraction allowed Balor to set up for his Coup de Grace finishing maneuver, however, Reigns dodged the attack and delivered a Spear for the three count. Exhausted, Reigns was not ready to take on Strowman who entered the ring, kicked down the champion and handed the referee his Money in the Bank briefcase.
It was then that Rollins and Ambrose arrived onto the scene, donning The Shield's signature SWAT gear. The Hounds of Justice then surrounded the ring and pounced on Strowman once he started attacking Reigns.
Strowman, despite his impressive strength, was no match for The Shield, who delivered a Triple Bomb to the giant onto the announcer's table after Reigns had struck him down with a Spear. The Shield then gave their group fist-bump as Raw went off the air. Luckily for Strowman, the referee never rang the bell to signal his Money in the Bank contract being used.
Also on Raw, commissioner Stephanie McMahon returned to host a ceremony for Ronda Rousey after The Baddest Woman on the Planet had defeated Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam to become the new, Raw Women's Champion.
McMahon, who took all the credit for signing Rousey to the WWE and for being a mentor of sorts to the champion, had the Raw Women's locker room standing at ringside which angered Rousey.
Rousey, who invited the other women to come join her in the ring, corrected McMahon on her claims and gave thanks to the others for making the women's division a possibility in the WWE.
After McMahon stated that Rousey is a competitor who would like nothing more than to break each woman's arm, Rousey put her boss into an Armbar before celebrating in the ring with Natalya, Nikki and Brie Bella, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Ember Moon and Dana Brooke.
McMahon, upset that she was attacked yet again by Rousey, laid the blame on general manager Kurt Angle backstage, telling the Olympic gold medalist that he needs to take a vacation. In his place will be Constable Baron Corbin running Raw until Angle's return.
Other moments from Raw included Bobby Lashley defeating Corbin; Angle explaining to Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman that The Beast will not get a Universal Championship rematch for a long time; The Riott Squad defeating Banks, Bayley and Moon; Ambrose defeating Dolph Ziggler; Elias defeating Curt Hawkins; The Authors of Pain defeating Titus Worldwide; Scott Dawson defeating Bo Dallas; Dash Wilder defeating Curtis Axel; and Triple H returning to hype up his upcoming match against The Undertaker.
Triple H and The Undertaker, two of the WWE's biggest living legends who have collided multiple times at WrestleMania, will be having one last match at Super Show-Down which takes place Oct. 6 in Melbourne, Australia.
