Triple H faces the consequences of his Survivor Series actions tonight as the fallout from Sunday moves to Raw, live on Sky Sports Arena from 1am.
The weekend pay-per-view ended in hugely controversial circumstances, with Triple H delivering a Pedigree to Raw general manager Kurt Angle to ensure the red brand picked up the critical victory in the five-on-five elimination match.
The match results were tied at 3-3 going into that final showdown of the night and Raw enjoyed a three-on-one advantage against SmackDown captain Shane McMahon, alongside whom it appeared Triple H would side after nailing Angle with a Pedigree and draping McMahon’s arm over him for the three-count.
But McMahon also received a Pedigree to leave The Game and Braun Strowman as the sole survivors.
Strowman may find himself in hot water with Triple H and his wife, Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon, after he choked and threatened him as Survivor Series reached a chaotic conclusion.
But the key issue concerns the relationship between Angle and Hunter. Raw’s Olympic hero was already undertaking an uneasy peace with the boss’ husband after he gave a Pedigree to his son Jason Jordan and took his spot on the Raw team.
Jordan teased an interference in the match on Sunday night, saying he wanted Raw to win but he did not want Triple H to win, but he kept his distance in the main event, a strategy which he may now be questioning.
Angle is in a difficult spot; his job was already under threat from Stephanie before the event and she may now decide to dispense with his services altogether, with her brother vanquished and Raw top of the mountain.
Triple H will no doubt look to convince those around him that what he did was simply another illustration of his firm belief in doing “what is best for business”.
But all of a sudden there are deep divisions in the top levels of Raw management, and that could lead to a fresh round of problems for the Monday night crew.
Will The Shield be looking for titles?
The Hounds of Justice proved themselves to be the best faction on the current roster with a decisive victory over SmackDown trio the New Day at Survivor Series.
And they’ll be looking to capitalise on that momentum back on home soil when Raw returns.
Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are still smarting from their tag team title loss to Sheamus & Cesaro a fortnight ago, a direct result of The New Day’s distraction.
Roman Reigns, meanwhile, will have one man firmly in his sights. Brock Lesnar once again established his domination of the entire WWE with a gritty win over AJ Styles.
Reigns knows he has to overcome The Beast before he can truly be considered the Big Dog of the company.
Who’s next for Asuka?
The Empress of Tomorrow proved her quality once again in the Survivor Series elimination match, overcoming a two-against-one disadvantage to ensure Team Red prevailed.
With Alexa Bliss losing the champion-on-champion match to Charlotte Flair elsewhere on the card, the long-term build now looks likely to be a Flair-Asuka supermatch, potentially at WrestleMania.
But who does Asuka face in the meantime? The other members of the Raw roster won’t be keen to step into the ring with her considering her long reign of WWE domination.
Let Joe and Finn fight
After weeks of simmering tension, Samoa Joe and Finn Balor teamed up on Team Red in the Survivor Series, although both were eliminated fairly early in the match.
Now, there’s nothing to stop the pair resuming their feud and the prospect of a series of matches between these hugely exciting wrestlers is mouthwatering in the extreme.
As the NXT crowd memorably chanted during their fierce contest at Takeover:Dallas – “let them fight!”
