In what many considered a preview for the upcoming pay-per-view WWE Extreme Rules 2017, last night’s WWE Raw served its purpose. Beyond that, it did little else. The show was mainly flat and did little in the way of advancing story lines, although two of the nine events, and their results, will hold weight in next weeks show.

The Triple Threat match between Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, and Bray Wyatt, considered one of the most important matches of the night, was telling of what’s to come in next week’s Extreme Rules – all three will be facing off in the Fatal 5-Way.

While Balor and Wyatt exchanged kicks in the early goings, Joe began to maintain control of the ring as the fight progressed.In typical Triple Threat fashion, Joe’s strategy involved keeping one wrestler outside of the ring, while leaving the other inside.

After a commercial break, Joe and Wyatt teamed up to beat down on Balor, who lacks any type of size advantage over the other wrestlers.

Soon, with Joe outside of the ring, Balor entered into a second wind, looking as though he would make a miraculous come back. Sure enough, his hopes were dashed once Joe re-entered the ring. Allowing Balor to take down Wyatt, Joe saw his path to victory, tossed Balor to the floor and scored the pinfall win.

The second most consequential match was the headliner, Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins – both of whom will be in the Fatal 5-Way as well, making the match Reigns vs. Rollins vs. Joe vs. Wyatt vs. Balor.

Reigns and Rollins, having last fought nearly a year ago, proved that a rivalry between the wrestlers still existed and set up an interesting dynamic for the future beyond next week’s match.

Both wrestlers are former WWE champions and proved as much early on. Reigns and Rollins exchanged hits and neither seemed to have much of a lead headed into the first commercial break.

Rollins, who suffered a rib injury early in the match, was sluggish a step behind Reigns most of the match but fought valiantly, stunning Reigns with two Superman Punches.

In the late minutes, Rollins appeared to be in control but his ribs came back to haunt him. With a brief hesitation, Reigns delivered a spear, throwing his body into Rollins’, rendering him useless. The finishing move gave Reigns the victory.

Now with Reigns as the clear favorite for next week’s Extreme Rules match, the other four wrestlers have been pitted as the underdogs. The Fatal 5-Way match will determine which wrestler will face Brock Lesnar in the Universal Championship match.

WWE Extreme Rules 2017 will be held on Sunday, June 4 at 8 p.m. EST.

The results of the less consequential matches from Monday night’s Raw appear below.

Dean Ambrose and The Hardy Boyz defeated The Miz, Sheamus, and Cesaro

Elias Samson defeated Zac Evans

Rich Swann defeated Noam Dar

Titus O’Neil defeated Kalisto

Austin Aries and Jack Gallagher defeated Neville and TJP

The Undertaker made a huge appearance on the 900th episode of WWE SmackDown on Tuesday, and delivered a special message for the SmackDown roster before they take on Team Raw at Survivor Series.

The Undertaker Shocks WWE World With Announcement At SmackDown

“Now, I’m here tonight for two reasons,” The Undertaker said after making a dramatic entrance. “One, WrestleMania will no longer define who I am. I’m back, taking souls and digging holes. Survivor Series was where the Undertaker was born and SmackDown has always been my home.”

The wrestling phenomenon continued: “Now, that brings me to the second reason I’m out here. There’s no reason to fear failure. But if you fail, you will have reason to fear the Deadman. Team Raw better rest in peace.”

Before Tuesday, it had been a while since The Undertaker had made a public appearance in the ring. His previous appearance was at WrestleMania 32 in April, where he took down Shane McMahon in a Hell in a Cell match to avoid being banned from future Wrestlemanias.

The 51-year-old superstar was also recently spotted hobbling around on crutches and hanging out with the Cleveland Cavaliers (but without LeBron James) in their season home opener.

Although we still don’t know who The Undertaker’s first opponent will be when he eventually returns to the ring, it will more than likely be a member of Team SmackDown. According to one report, whoever ends up being the reason the team loses in Sunday’s Survivor Series will have to face The Undertaker at Royal Rumble in January.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 15:  The Undertaker (L) pushes Bam Neely into the corner during WWE Smackdown at Acer Arena on June 15, 2008 in Sydney, Australia.  (Photo by Gaye Gerard/Getty Images)

The epic WWE showdown wrestling fans have all been waiting for finally arrived on Monday.

Bill Goldberg And Brock Lesnar Finally Face Off On WWE Raw

Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar faced off on Monday night’s episode of Raw, surrounded by dozens of extra security guards to prevent the wrestlers from completely destroying each other.

Paul Heyman kept attempting to get a word in, but Goldberg kept cutting him off, going as far as to ask the security guards to leave so he could properly finish Lesnar.

When Heyman offered Goldberg an opportunity to get his dream of fighting Lesnar instead of a replacement at Survivor Series, the returning champion responded by ripping off his shirt.

Lesnar, who is also a UFC fighter, did not take this well and knocked over two security guards. Heyman then insulted Goldberg’s family again.

It was a fantastic show, although the real fight between Goldberg and Lesnar will take place Sunday at the Survivor Series in Toronto.

Goldberg, a former SEC and NFL football star and current actor, television personality, businessman and volunteer who will be 50 next month, is a realist.

“I’d love to be the Goldberg of old,” he stated recently, “and not the Goldberg that’s old. I’m 12 years older, and gray, but in those 12 years I that I’ve been away from wrestling I’m much wiser, and I have 12 years of MMA training that I can utilize. My stand up game is immensely better than it ever was in WCW or WWE.”

Bill Goldberg made his much-anticipated return to WWE Monday night on Raw, and fans seemed as excited as he was.

Bill Goldberg Returns To WWE Raw After 12 Years, Accepts Brock Lesnar’s Challenge

As is tradition, the former WCW heavyweight champion was serenaded with his name– – “Gold-berg! Gold-berg!” — as he walked down to the ring.

Before he could even speak, fans began chanting “holy s—” and “this is awesome.”

Goldberg then took the mic and talked about promoting the new WWE 2K17 video game, and how delighted he was to be back competing in front of his fans.

“The biggest thing I missed, other than kicking ass, is being a superhero for the kids all around the world. In this day and age, there ain’t enough of us,” he said.

Goldberg eventually accepted the challenged presented by Paul Heyman, advocate for Brock Lesnar, last week on Raw for one more match against the man who Goldberg defeated in his final WWE show at WrestleMania XX.

“I thought to myself, ‘Maybe I have one more ass-kicking left in me.’ I thought to myself, ‘Maybe I have one bad-ass spear left in me.’ Then I thought to myself, ‘Maybe I have one last devastating jackhammer in me,'” Goldberg began.

“So, Brock Lesnar, not only does that mean that you’re next … but most importantly, it means, Brock Lesnar, you’re last!”

The crowd got raucous for Goldberg, and among the notable fans in attendance was Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, who seemed very excited about the fighter’s comeback.

The only thing left now is for the match to be scheduled. Although the date was not announced Monday night, all signs point to Goldberg and Lesnar facing off in the main event of Survivor Series on Nov. 20.

As WWE has done with Ultimate Warrior and Sting over the past few years, it has made Goldberg a playable character in pre-order editions for its new WWE 2K17 video game.

During his time in WCW, Goldberg was booked as an unstoppable force, starting his career undefeated with a 173-match winning streak. He only won the WCW world heavyweight title once, though he later recaptured it during his short stint in WWE. He was known for his two devastating finishing maneuvers (Spear and Jackhammer) and for captivating audiences.

Prior to being a wrestler, Goldberg played college football for Georgia and was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 11th round of the 1990 NFL Draft. He played pro football for three years, (1990 with the Rams, 1993-94 with the Atlanta Falcons), and also briefly played in the CFL and World League of American Football.

After an absence of more than 12 years, Bill Goldberg will make his long-anticipated return to WWE programming on the Oct. 17 episode of Monday Night Raw.

Bill Goldberg Set To Return To WWE At Raw, Will Address Brock Lesnar Challenge

Goldberg announced the news Monday on Twitter:

His tweet followed a segment during Monday’s episode of Raw in which Brock Lesnar’s manager, Paul Heyman, issued a challenge to Goldberg.

Goldberg, 49, the former WCW and WWE world heavyweight champion, last competed in a match at WrestleMania XX in March 2004. That fight against Lesnar was widely criticized, and it appeared as though Goldberg’s wrestling career had ended on a bad note.

Rumors surrounding Goldberg’s potential return have run wild in recent years, although it wasn’t until his involvement with the video game WWE 2K17 that it became a strong possibility.

After years away from WWE, Goldberg was included as an exclusive downloadable character in the video game, which stirred up more speculation that there could be more to his deal.

Fittingly, Lesnar was the cover athlete for WWE 2K17, and the game was used as a means to exacerbate the rivalry between ‘The Beast Incarnate’ and Goldberg.

Commercials for the game featured Easter eggs hinting at a potential rematch, while Lesnar and Heyman called out Goldberg with the following promo:

Goldberg refused to stand idly by while The Conqueror and his advocate ran him down:

Goldberg was also questioned regarding a potential rematch while doing press for WWE 2K17 prior to SummerSlam in August, and although he didn’t confirm anything, he didn’t back down, either.

This in turn led to several rumors suggesting Goldberg might interfere in Lesnar’s match against Randy Orton. However, this never happened, although the groundwork for Goldberg’s eventual return was there.

Before an appearance by Goldberg on ESPN to promote the video game and discuss his role within WWE, Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross revealed on Twitter that a source stated a match between Goldberg and Lesnar was a “done deal” and likely to be held at Survivor Series on Nov. 20.

There remains a strong desire among WWE fans to see Goldberg mix it up in the ring nearly 20 years after his undefeated streak ended in WCW, and given his imminent return to Raw, another Goldberg match certainly seem close as well.

Former WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks has not wrestled since her stinging loss to Charlotte at SummerSlam 2016 on August 21, where Banks seemed to suffer a serious injury when her opponent dropped her from the middle rope.

WWE’s Sasha Banks Addresses SummerSlam 2016 Back Injury On Raw

The 24-year-old fought on and continued the match, although she evidently looked very weak. She managed to pull a thunderous Hurricanrana reversal on Charlotte, but was eventually unable to retain her title and needed to be helped out of the ring.

Banks’ status has remained unknown since that match, although she sent an ambiguous tweet on Labor Day (Monday) to say she would deliver some “bad news” on Monday night’s episode of Raw. 

Banks, who is nicknamed ‘The Boss,’ entered the ring in the third hour of the show and delivered an emotional speech regarding the Women’s Revolution in WWE and her role in helping the organization move on from the shameful content of the Attitude Era and the “stupid butterfly” belt.

“We did it. We finally became what we deserved all along – to be called ‘Superstars,'” Banks said. “Every time I step in this ring, I do it for every little girl, every little girl who has a dream of being something bigger. I do it for every single person who dreams of being more, that had nothing and was told they couldn’t be anything that was great in life.”

Clearly, Banks hopes to serve as a role model for young girls everywhere. Hopefully, her intended audience will take the message to heart.

Many WWE fans immediately took to social media to express their fear that the wrestler was so severely injured that they were concerned she would retire.

Fortunately for wrestling fans, it was (mostly) all a work. Dana Brooke interrupted Banks and threatened to finish her for good, but Banks responded by hitting Brooke and promising that she’d reclaim her Women’s Championship at the upcoming Clash of Champions pay-per-view event.

Finn Balor emerged as the champion of this year’s SummerSlam, which was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 18: Sasha Banks arrives for WWE RAW at 02 Brooklyn Bowl on April 18, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)