The Good, the Great and the Awesome from Raw (6/30/14)

The June 30 episode of Raw featured a night of returns, as former WWE champions Chris Jericho and The Miz and former Divas champion AJ Lee all returned to wrestling's flagship show.

The Miz debuted his new Hollywood persona, Jericho became the target of the Wyatt Family and AJ regained the Divas Championship she parted ways with upon her departure the night after WrestleMania XXX.

Their returns inject the roster with some much-needed star power on the road to SummerSlam and set up some intriguing programs for the biggest event of the summer.

New WWE World Heavyweight champion John Cena will suffer the wrath of The Authority by opting to do things the hard way, while Roman Reigns refused to back down from a face-to-face confrontation with Triple H, ensuring that the COO now has two top babyfaces he must deal with if he wants to retain complete control of the company.

Rusev and Lana may have met their match in the form of Real Americans Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter, Dolph Ziggler made out with Summer Rae and won a match and Seth Rollins continued to impress with another win over ECW icon Rob Van Dam.

Now, relive every electrifying match and moment from Monday night's Raw with the Good, the Great and the Awesome from June 30.

The Good

Credit: WWE.com

John Cena and Roman Reigns vs. Kane and Randy Orton

Considering all four men were involved in a Ladder match less than 24 hours earlier, the main event of Monday's show was actually quite good.

Sure, Roman Reigns played the babyface in peril, while Super Cena got the hot tag and tore through Randy Orton and Kane with his Five Moves of Doom. But that should not taint what was an otherwise very good tag team match that serves as a nice setup for the Battleground main event.

Speaking of which, can anyone explain why Triple H was so quick to add Reigns to said match when, a month ago, he was desperately trying to keep him out of the Money in the Bank match? Hunter sees him as a threat and does not want him as champion, but then he goes and adds Reigns to a title match he could very well win?

It does not make sense. But hey, that's why WWE Creative gets paid the big bucks.

Dolph and Summer Sitting in a Tree...

One of the more interesting developments to come out of Monday night's broadcast was the latest chapter in the Fandango-Layla-Summer Rae triangle, which could become a square if the events from Raw are any indication.

During a match between the aforementioned Fandango and Dolph Ziggler, Summer Rae made her way to the ring and planted a lip lock on Ziggler, much to the dismay of Fandango. The ballroom dancer looked crushed as he tried to get the attention of the leggy blonde. Ziggler, apparently liking the first one, kissed Summer back.

Moments later, he took advantage of a stunned Fandango and laid him out with the ZigZag for the pinfall victory. After the match, Ziggler and Summer Rae exchanged a look that indicates this was not a one-time deal. 

A soap opera-esque angle involving Fandango and his dance partners may not be what fans of Ziggler would consider ideal, but at least it gives him something of substance to do. Sure, watching him deliver great matches against great wrestlers every week is all good, but eventually, it becomes a bit monotonous when he is neither moving forward nor back.

Besides, there are much worse potential pairings than Dolph Ziggler and Summer Rae. Especially if she is intended to be a babyface in post-Money in the Bank WWE.

Cesaro Snaps

Ending a match during a commercial break is something rarely seen in WWE, but it has happened before. Monday night, it happened again, as Kofi Kingston stunned Cesaro with a sunset flip for the three-count. It was a big upset considering the placement of the two stars on the card at this point in their careers.

The loss triggered something in the King of Swing, whose post-WrestleMania push has not exactly been what everyone thought it would be, and he snapped. He brutally attacked Kingston, beating him all over the arena before tossing him back to ringside and decimating him with a brutal clothesline.

It was a great way to introduce some aggression and meanness to a character that was sorely missing it. As great a wrestler as he is, Cesaro was missing that edge that really told the audience how dangerous he could be. Now that he has demonstrated that, it will benefit him in the long term.

The Great

Credit: WWE.com

Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins

The first match of the night was a rematch from last week's show, as Rob Van Dam and Seth Rollins did battle just one night after a brutal, violent Money in the Bank match.

How either man was able to take the bumps they did without crumbling is a mystery. With that said, they worked a different style that minimized how many high-impact bumps they took and instead wrestled a much smarter and better match that they did a week ago.

Van Dam targeted Rollins' injured back, while Rollins attacked the left knee of his opponent. It was that knee that would prove to be RVD's downfall. A leg whip while Van Dam was re-entering the ring would set up the Curb Stomp and a Rollins win.

The match of the night, it was a testament to the toughness of both men that they were able to deliver the quality of bout that they did considering the tremendous pain coursing through their bodies.

Sheamus and The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family

The six-man tag match from Monday's show may not have been a fresh pairing, but Sheamus, The Usos and The Wyatt Family again delivered a great match that showcased the flawless six-man tag team formula that WWE has perfected over the last year.

Jimmy Uso and Sheamus both found themselves isolated from their partners at different points in the bout, but Jey Uso had the babyfaces in great position to pick up the win following a late hot tag. Unfortunately, Bray Wyatt used Sister Abigail to lay out Sheamus, opening Jey up to the discus clothesline from Luke Harper.

That allowed the big man to score the pinfall victory for his team and make up for the previous night's loss.

Outside of reconfirming Harper and Rowan as the top contenders to The Usos' WWE Tag Team Championships, the match won't have any lasting effects, though that is not necessarily a bad thing given its overall quality. 

Planting the Seeds

Raw went off the air with a tense staredown between Roman Reigns and Triple H, as WWE planted the seeds for a potential match between the two at some point in the future.

The crowd's "this is awesome" chants had to be a relief of WWE Creative. Now, both the writing staff and management know the crowd is receptive to a program between the two.

Triple H is such a great villain at this point that the idea of Reigns being the one to finally shut him up has fans excited. More importantly, if Reigns is able to do that, he will be a made man for the foreseeable future.

It is still way too early to put the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on him, but Reigns and WWE Creative are doing exactly what they need to do to build the second-generation performer into the star the company believes he can be.

Another big step in the evolution of Roman Reigns.

The Awesome

Credit: WWE.com

A Real American Emerges

For months, Rusev and Lana have denounced the United States of America, its people and its culture. For months, the Bulgarian Brute has torn through the competition while Lana watched approvingly from ringside.

For months, Real Americans Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter have sat back and done nothing.

That changed Monday night when Swagger and Colter confronted the Russian duo and made it known that they are done listening to Rusev and Lana tear down the greatest country in the world.

It appeared as though Rusev and Swagger were headed for a war when Lana momentarily convinced Rusev to back down. Then the Bulgarian Brute charged at the former World Heavyweight champion and paid for it, as Swagger took him down with a pair of arm drags.

The crowd response for the segment was off the charts. "Let's go Swagger" and "USA" chants echoed throughout the arena as the Perry, Oklahoma, native completed the first babyface turn of his career.

A great moment for Swagger and Colter, who should excel in their new roles. 

AJ Lee Returns

Former Divas champion AJ Lee returned to Raw Monday night and was greeted with a huge pop from the WWE Universe, which clearly missed her.

Paige was in the middle of discussing her place in WWE and how she deserved to be Divas champion when she was interrupted by the woman she beat to win the title. AJ skipped around ringside before entering the ring and goading Paige to putting the title on the line.

She did and lost.

Paige looked crushed as AJ celebrated her second Divas title win, and one has to wonder whether this leads to the emergence of a meaner, more aggressive Paige in the coming weeks. Regardless of what happens with Paige, the program between the two outstanding female workers should return some legitimacy to the Divas division in WWE.

Chris Jericho Returns

The Miz made his WWE return Monday night, and while his new Hollywood persona may be just what he needs to return to his main event form, it was the return of Chris Jericho that stole headlines and resulted in a very warm homecoming from the fans in Hartford.

Y2J was met with a huge pop as he made his way to the ring to confront the former WWE champion. Jericho floored The Miz to the delight of the audience, but before he could say anything of note, the Wyatt Family appeared and beat Jericho down.

Bray left him lying following Sister Abigail and posed over his fallen body as JBL echoed the sentiment of fans everywhere by asking, "Why?"

The answer to that question and the ensuing feud should make for some very compelling television over the next few weeks.

Dean Ambrose Promo

Dean Ambrose's promos are so effective because they are short, sweet and to the point.

Monday night, he addressed former partner and Money in the Bank winner Seth Rollins from the backstage area. He vowed to make Rollins' life a living hell by cutting him off every time he tries to cash in his precious briefcase.

It is a new twist on the Money in the Bank contract and something that has never been done before. Rollins has the title shot, but he is also embroiled in this heated, violent feud with Ambrose. In order to achieve the glory that comes with winning the WWE World Heavyweight title, he has to first incapacitate his former partner to the point that he cannot physically stop him.

Ambrose followed up on his threat later in the night by attacking Rollins as he attempted to cash in on a prone John Cena.

The feud between the former Shield teammates has been the best WWE has produced in quite some time thanks to its simplicity. Ambrose was wronged and wants revenge, so he attacked Rollins from out of nowhere. There was no music to telegraph that he was coming and as a result, it created an air of unpredictability.

That the brawls have been as awesome as they are only helps to enhance to the whole ordeal.