Finn Bálor has no shortage of confidence heading into the Extreme Rules Fatal 5-Way Match this Sunday; he even received a ringing endorsement from Paul Heyman last Monday night. However, tonight on Raw, the charismatic Irishman goes up against Samoa Joe and Bray Wyatt, two Superstars who, while hardly allies, were successful against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins last week’s main event.

 

As will be the case at WWE Extreme Rules, it will be every man for himself in this Triple Threat contest, and it will be a true test for the Irishman as he looks to officially begin his journey to Suplex City, where Universal Champion Brock Lesnar will be waiting. Can Bálor back up his boasts and defeat both The Samoan Submission Machine and The Eater of Worlds, or will one of his sinister opponents have their arm raised in victory when the chaos concludes?

Finn Balor makes his entrance and gets on the mic. He greets Grand Rapids and says Balor Club is in the building. They have their hands full, because at Extreme Rules, they have a fieful– whoops, fatal five-way match where the winner faces Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.
 
Tonight Karl Anderson stands in his path, but don’t worry, because he’s focused, he’s r–
 
Enter Paul Heyman. He does his usual intro schtick and says one could make the argument that he’s out here tonight to scout potential victims for his client. Surely you heard Bray Wyatt paint a portrait of a WWE Universe without a Beast, well, he hates to vandalize his masterpiece, but if Bray steps in the ring with his client, Lesnar will paint him as a victim.
 
Then there’s Seth freakin’ Rollins, he wants to compete in a fatal freakin’ five-way at Extreme freakin’ Rules, Brock freakin’ Lesnar will make him a freakin’ victim. Plus Rollins is the focus of Samoa Joe, hired mercenary, badass assassin, but against Brock Lesnar, he’s a victim too.
 
Then we have the one that laid the Deadman down, Roman Reigns. The odds-on favorite. If Roman wins the five-way and challenges Brock, he will no longer be the end-all, be-all in WWE, he’ll just be Brock Lesnar’s victim. Which leads Paul to Mr. Balor. He asks if he can get in the ring and Finn invites him.
 
Heyman reminds him he’s just an advocate and respectfully submits that Balor is nobody’s victim. He knows that the other contenders in the five-way have painted him as the underdog, but Finn is no underdog. They may not see him coming, but Paul E sees him coming, the Balor Club sees him coming. What was that prophecy he said? If you believe it you can achieve it?
 
Paul believes in his heart that Finn is the most talented in-ring performer in WWE today, and perhaps more importantly, he believes that Balor believes that he’s gonna take the other contenders to the extreme, and he knows a little something about the word extreme. And furthermore he believes that Finn believes that he doesn’t look at Brock like a mountain of a man with all these accomplishments, he believes that his client is the same as the other men in the five-way.
 
That if he steps into the ring with his client, he, just like the others, will be Finn Balor’s victim. So he’s most looking forward to the possibility of Balor/Lesnar for the Universal Championship. On behalf of his client, he wishes Finn luck and shakes his hand.
 
Finn says he’s glad Paul is here. He wishes Brock was, but he isn’t, surprise surprise. But hey, being Brock’s advocate, maybe he can pass a message, and tell him that at Extreme Rules, he will win the five-way and go on to face Brock Lesnar for the title that he never lost, and you tell him that Finn said Finn Balor will beat Brock Lesnar.
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The show opens with a recap centered around Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns again. closing on the brawl from last week. And thence into Raw’s intro video.

Commentary hypes up our Intercontinental Championship match and then Kurt Angle makes his entrance to really kick the show off.

He tells us that Braun suffered a shattered elbow last week and flew directly back to the United States for surgery on his elbow and may be out of action for six months. Strowman had set his sights on the Universal Championship, so he has given a lot of thought to who should challenge Brock Lesnar next, but it has to be earned, not given.

So at Extreme Rules, they’re doing a five-way #1 contender’s match for the Universal Championship. As for who’s gonna be in the match, it’ll be Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, and Roman Reigns. So whoever wants to slay the beast will have to win at Extreme Rules. It’s gonna be historical and it’s gonna be extreme, it’s true, it’s damn true.

He goes to leave but is interrupted by Roman Reigns. He gets in the ring and says we don’t need a five-way match because he’s the number one contender. This is his yard, he beat the Undertaker at WrestleMania, he put Strowman in that ambulance, and he’s the only guy around here that can beat Brock Lesnar.

Enter Finn Balor. He says he’ll tell Roman the same thing he told Seth Rollins– he was the first Universal Champion and he never lost the title, so, uh, if you want a piece of the Beast, the line starts behind him. Reigns tells Finn he has a lot of heart but he doesn’t have the killer instinct to beat Brock. Finn reminds Roman that he beat him on his first night on Raw as a counterpoint.

Enter Samoa Joe. He tells them they have it very wrong, it’s not about big hearts, about anybody’s yard, and definitely not about anybody’s club. It’s about two things, actions and results. Action, he locks the Coquina Clutch on Rollins; result, Seth is unresponsive on the ground and his body goes limp. Action, he enters the five way; result, he wins. Action, he goes on to face Brock Lesnar–

(Wyatt noise.)
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Who will be the first Superstar to challenge The Beast? This is a question that will be answered in historically chaotic fashion.

 

At Extreme Rules, for the first time ever, in a battle that could change the course of the New Era, an Extreme Rules Fatal 5-Way Match between Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Bálor, Bray Wyatt and Samoa Joe to determine who will compete with Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.

 

Raw General Manager Kurt Angle announced the historic showdown on the May 15 edition of Monday Night Raw, and speculation is already running rampant as to who will emerge victorious and get the chance to tangle with The Beast for Raw’s top prize.

 

Though Reigns’ unbreakable determination helped him overcome The Undertaker at WrestleMania and put Braun Strowman on the shelf for six months, it remains to be seen whether The Big Dog will be able to simultaneously conquer four of the best Superstars in the business under such extreme circumstances.

 

In addition to the absolute bedlam that such a showdown promises, Rollins and Samoa Joe will both need to get past the enormous animosity that they have for one another in order to concentrate on the entire field of battle in this epic free-for-all.

 

Lest we forget that the first Universal Champion, Bálor, was never beaten for his title, but was instead forced to surrender it due to injury and is now hungry for an opportunity to challenge The Beast Incarnate.

 

And one must never count out Wyatt, arguably one of the most cunning competitors in the contest, who continues to show time and time again why he is The New Face of Fear by thriving in the very mayhem that the Fatal 5-Way Match will unleash.

 

Who will triumph in the Fatal 5-Way Match and become the first Superstar to attempt to conquer The Conqueror? Find out on June 4 at 8 ET/5 PT, steaming live on WWE Network.

Expressing gratitude that Co-Acting Raw GM Dean Ambrose restarted his match with The Miz, Finn Bálor gives an update on The A-Lister’s status in a very exclusive club.