By using the tease of stipulations that threatened to affect title matches at Clash of Champions in two weeks, WWE successfully held the attention of fans on Monday during a fair but otherwise uneventful episode of Raw.In the end, both scenarios failed to come to fruition in ways that seemed to please the majority of fans in attendance at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore.Sasha Banks held off Bayley and Dana Brooke in an entertaining triple-threat match to open the show, preserving her return match against WWE womens champion Charlotte. Meanwhile in Mondays main event, WWE Universal champion Kevin Owens defeated Roman Reigns amid myriad chaos to prevent Reigns from joining his own triple-threat match against Owens and Seth Rollins on Sept. 25, in the first Raw-exclusive pay-per-view since the WWEs brand split in July.In the end, credit WWE for teasing the Reigns swerve -- a polarizing move that wouldve alienated a large section of the fan base, who are tired of predictable booking -- without actually following through. Instead, it was Rusev who emerged to distract Reigns and cost him the match after Owens landed his patented pop-up powerbomb for the pin.The move to further separate Reigns from the Universal title picture not only added credence to the idea that the WWE is committed to its new era of booking, but it allowed for a restart of a very physical Rusev-Reigns feud that has elevated the importance of the WWEs United States title.Rusev and Reigns had essentially pressed pause on their rivalry at SummerSlam following an ill-conceived match squeezed in right before the main event that ended in a no contest. But Rusevs return on Monday proved pop-worthy for anyone tricked by his tweet one week ago stating he would be out of action on his real-life honeymoon until Sept. 29.The only cliffhanger from Raw regarding the Universal title picture surrounds which storyline punishment will be handed down to Rollins by general manager Mick Foley after Rollins defied orders not to interrupt the main event in an effort to prevent Reigns from joining the triple threat at Clash of Champions. Rollins decision also somewhat clouds the idea of what appeared to be a natural heel turn.With commissioner Stephanie McMahon absent from Raw this week and Triple H yet to return after helping Owens to the title in a shocking swerve two weeks ago, Foley carried the majority of the backstage segments Monday, with his acting once again proving to be a bright spot on the show.Foley not only played well off of Rollins, showing believable anger in multiple segments, he continued to play up what will likely become a slow deterioration in his relationship with McMahon as their run leading Raw continues.On the womens side, it was good to see Banks and Bayley turn against each other, considering their rivalry in NXT and the sensational matches they produced, especially since Sashas character -- despite being a baby face -- has too many heel qualities to support the idea of her wanting to be close friends.Keep an eye out, as well, for any fallout following the finish of Mondays triple-threat match after Banks scored a pin on Bayley, despite her own shoulders also appearing to be down. While it wasnt mentioned by any Raw commentators, it could end up playing into the storyline of next weeks go-home episode ahead of Clash of Champions.Hits and missesIts getting hard to keep up with the constant soap opera turns between Brooke and Charlotte each week, despite how well both have performed. Brookes slap of Charlotte in Mondays opening segment produced a legitimate baby-face pop from the crowd, bringing back memories of Damien Sandow and The Miz. But soon enough, Brooke was unceremoniously returned to Charlottes side in a later segment, killing any momentum. By the time Brookes full turn finally comes, theres a fear that too many teases will have robbed its potential impact.What was the best way for The New Day and The Club to get us to forget about last weeks unforgivably bad comedy skit? Making light of it was a nice touch (as was The New Day serving fans cereal out of an empty boot, which gave commentator Corey Graves a field day of heel one-liners in response). But the best course of action was allowing Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson the room to re-establish their physical dominance in the matchup with a largely one-sided and punishing victory.Its easy to complain about the lack of buzz each week over the best-of-seven series between Cesaro and Sheamus, which is now 3-2 in favor of Sheamus after Monday. But its also completely warranted. With neither superstar being particularly must-see at the moment, giving each match in their series a gimmick or stipulation would have helped. Instead, the matches have very much blended together, with Mondays tilt memorable only for the questionable booking of baby-face Cesaro cheating to win by pinning Sheamus with his feet on the ropes while selling a back injury. Its just not working.Just like last week, Im all for a new and improved Bo Dallas, especially if he continues to execute such stiff and realistic-looking offense on the various jobbers he is facing. But having him deliver a nonsensical poem before each match feels too much like a creepy, evil version of Lanny Poffo and undermines the effectiveness of his repackaging.Its hard to tell whether Jinder Mahals the man who comes in peace gimmick will have much legs, let alone if the WWE will give it much of a push. But just like the Shining Stars earning victories in back-to-back weeks over Enzo Amore and Big Cass, it was good to see the extension of Mahals character in a situation other than a jobber to the stars role. His victory over Jack Swagger may have done nothing for the silent Baltimore crowd, but considering the success of Heath Slaters rags-to-riches turnaround on SmackDown Live, its good to see bit players at least given the chance to organically get over.Speaking of Enzo, who could once do no wrong from a comedic standpoint, he leveraged the goodwill of fans for the second straight week on Monday with a bit that failed to sizzle, let alone make a whole ton of sense. Like The New Day, fears of overexposure seem real for a character so beloved for his originality.Move of the nightNia Jaxs spear on Alicia Fox through the barricade wall outside the ring showcased a kind of brutal physicality that is almost never seen in a WWE womens match. Not only was it set up effectively by Jax grabbing Fox by the hair and repeatedly swinging her body into the wall, its the perfect way to evolve her booking past the level of squash matches. Jax is not only believable as an unrepentant monster, shes incredibly unique to the WWE roster.Line of the nightBefore we came out here, I got a text from Kevin Owens telling me what to expect from you. Want to know what he said? Ill show you. -- Chris Jericho, before assaulting Sami Zayn with his cellphone and connecting on a Codebreaker during a segment of Chris Jerichos Highlight Reel. Fake Royals Jerseys . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. Custom Kansas City Royals Jerseys . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. https://www.cheaproyals.com/ . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. Wholesale Royals Jerseys .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. Royals Jerseys 2020 . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. Margins of victory are often small in sport but Saturdays defeat to Australia was particularly tough on Scotland.Had Greig Laidlaw directed his second-half conversion a fraction to the left, or Stuart Hogg got to the rampaging Tevita Kuridrani half a yard quicker then a 10th Test win over the Wallabies would have been theirs.Following the match, Vern Cotter lamented that his side had not got the rub of the green at crucial moments, and Scotland were certainly penalised more readily than their visitors.But as the team and its supporters turn their attention towards the visit of Argentina next weekend, they will do so in optimistic mood. There was plenty on show at Murrayfield to suggest that Cotters final season in charge could yet prove to be a fruitful one.The quartet of players making their first international starts all acquitted themselves well, and in Huw Jones Scotland may just have unearthed a star in the making.Ahead of his first appearance at Murrayfield Jones had been required to serenade his teammates with a song. He picked R Kellys Ignition (Remix), and in terms of his impact on the game it proved a prophetic choice.Cheered on by my dad Bill, mum Hillary -- yes, really -- and sister Rhiannon, the Edinburgh-born, England-raised and South Africa-based centre personified Scotlands all-action approach as his two first-half tries helped secure a 17-10 half-time lead.Jones had also supplied a crucial interception and would be in the right place at the right time for his side again in the second half as he diverted Israel Folaus offload away from danger.It was little surprise when the 22-year-old was named man of the match. Its obviously unbelievable and a great feeling, he said of his debut.I thought that personally I had a fairly good game, but its a team game at the end of the day.Jones might not have enjoyed finishing on the losing side but his performance will have given the Murrayfield faithful reason to dream.His link-up play with fly-half Finn Russell for Scotlands first try, darting onto the playmakers chip ahead just before Wallabies fullback Folau could snuff out the danger, was particularly impressive.Watching at full speed it was easy to dismiss the move as an opportunistic kick-and-chase, but according to Jones that would be doing Scotland a disservice.We had that plan, he explained. Weve done that a couple of times this week [[in training] and it worked every time.ddddddddddddhether it would do so again having been shown to the world is another matter, but it is encouraging for Scottish rugby that the players are coming up with these moves in the first place.During his reign as Scotland coach, Cotter has not been afraid to let the likes of Russell and Hogg trust their instincts. It was a feature of their performance against Australia too, as the Wallabies appeared shocked by how willing their hosts were to run the ball at them.Cotter is not short of midfield options, highlighted by the fact that Mark Bennett, Matt Scott and Duncan Taylor were not in Saturdays match day 23.Instead Jones lined up alongside Alex Dunbar, and with the help of the 17-cap Glasgow player he proved he belongs in such company. Its nice to have senior guys around you, guys who have played a few Tests, he said.They definitely do help you trough the game. Quite tough to hear them on the field at times, when the crowd starts roaring but they definitely help.Cotter said after the game that he believed Jones fed off the energy of his teammates, and it is also true that he would not have been able to showcase his talent without the platform set for him and his back line colleagues by Scotlands forwards.Wallabies captain Stephen Moore admitted his side had been given a bit of grief at the breakdown, an assertion borne out by their high number of turnovers conceded.Ryan Wilsons early injury forced Cotters hand, but the back row of John Barclay, Hamish Watson and John Hardie worked tirelessly.Barclay in particular appeared to be a one-man wrecking ball, with one steal leading to a complaint from Michael Hooper to referee John Lacey.The inference was that foul play must have played a part, but Lacey let Hooper know that Barclay had done nothing the Wallabies own No. 6 David Pocock hadnt been doing. High praise indeed.In the end it wasnt enough to stop a record crowd for this fixture trudging back into Edinburgh in disappointment. But they had been given reason to hope that an even better performance might ignite against the Pumas next Saturday.Its obviously another big one, Jones said of Argentina. Theyre a physical team, a good team, so more of the same. We need to be better. ' ' '
