5 reasons Roman Reigns showed up to Monday Night Raw

The Big Dog made his triumphant return to Monday Night Raw only one week after being drafted to Smackdown Live and wasted no time telling Vince McMahon that he would do what he wanted when he wanted. He also made it clear that he took orders from The WWE Universe now, which was also a nice surprise.

It also marked the first of what would become many interruptions during the opening segment on Monday Night Raw, thus causing McMahon to have the epiphany to start allowing superstars to shift brands at will. If nothing else, the segment was bizarre, to say the least, lagged at times and made little sense, but it got everything done that it set out to.

With that being said, everything happens for a reason and here are five for Roman Reigns' special appearance on Raw Monday Night. As always, let us know your thoughts on Reign's return to Raw in the comments below and tell us if you think it actually helped his character at all.

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#5 Create an anything can happen atmosphere

Monday Night Raw had a combustible feel to it tonight!

Whether you thought the segment was a trainwreck or a masterful work of genius, you have to admit that WWE did everything it could to create an anything can happen atmosphere. In fact, between Mcmahon and Reigns having a staredown, Daniel Bryan showing up and Kingston appearing as well, it's safe to say that WWE spared no expense on this one.

With that being said and WWE needing something interesting to start off Monday Night Raw with this week, this was probably the base case scenario for them from all angles. Beyond that, the opening segment also set the stage for what would become one of the most bizarrely spectacular nights in Raw history.

#4 Blur the lines

Vince McMahon and Roman Reigns colliding again was the perfect blur of fiction and reality.

WWE has done a great job of blurring storyline and fiction over the course of the last couple of months and that kind of storytelling was definitely on display here in the opening segment of Monday Night Raw. Of course, maybe it lost its appeal after the second or third Superstar made their surprise appearance, but they really had the fans going for a minute there.

If nothing else, The WWE Universe has shown a profound enjoyment for reality-bending based storytelling, which is probably exactly why the company has decided to bring it back in this capacity. Again, it lost some of its appeal as it dragged on and more stars crowded the ring, but WWE was really on to something here

In the end, WWE had some big-money feuds with this kind of storytelling and was very smart to go back to it here. It also helped to further the divide between McMahon and his personal project, Roman Reigns, which is going to be another interesting thing to watch as the weeks go on.

#3 Ratings

WWE needed to do everything possible to get a ratings boost tonight.

Let's be honest here, WWE needed to have a strong showing tonight ratings wise and Roman Reigns starting things off on Monday Night Raw was a great way to go about it. At least this way, it gave The WWE Universe something to entice them into watching the opening segment and gave them a taste of what happens when Reigns and Vince McMahon's paths cross.

With that being said and WWE going up against The NBA playoffs and several other highly rated shows in the Monday Night slot, this was probably the one way that WWE could keep everyone on their toes. It also set the stage for what would again become one of the most iconic episodes of Monday Night Raw in history, which was just amazing to watch.

In all honesty, WWE had its work cut out this week and it delivered a crushing blow to its competition by putting the Big Dog on their biggest weekly stage. They also created something special in the process and may have given even the most skeptical of fans a reason to watch the product again the future.

#2 Introduce the wildcard rule

Genius or not. Vince McMahon just introduced the wild card rule.

WWE has come up with some pretty ridiculous ideas in the past, but this really wasn't one of them. While some might argue that Vince McMahon didn't introduce the rule the way it needed to be, he still made a call that select Superstars will now be able to travel to Smackdown Live and Raw via a wildcard slot.

Again, the moment was kind of diminished by interruption after interruption and McMahon's rambling to himself about being a genius, but it was an interesting idea that could solve a lot of WWE's problems. Not only is that evident by the fact that it allows certain Superstars to appear on both brands, but it also allows WWE to play with the brand supremacy idea again as well.

If nothing else, its a good start to something that could really pay dividends for WWE in the future and also comes at a perfect time since Smackdown Live is set to air on Fox Sports in October. This gives Fox Sports access to both The Raw and Smackdonw Live roster and will definitely create some interesting scenarios as time goes on.

#1 Cement Roman Reigns as a babyface

This is the moment that Roman Reigns became a fan favorite.

Another thing The WWE Universe needs to be honest about is the fact that this segment represented a seismic shift in Roman Reigns' character going forward. Not only was that evident by him saying he only follows orders from the fans, but also by how much the crowd was into Reigns bucking McMahon's authority.

Think about it! Before everyone else came out resulting in a disjointed trainwreck, Reigns and McMahon had the crowd eating out of the palms of their hands. It had everything! Tension, suspense and a little bit of fiction blurred with reality to create a situation where anything could happen.

In the end, this marks a huge change for Roman Reigns' career and even might help catapult Reigns into the title picture earlier than expected. Whether that actually happens or not is anyone's guess, but you have to admit that WWE got a great start to that by what they did with Reigns and McMahon here.