Raw opens with a video, recapping the main event of last week’s show. LA Knight enters the arena, staring at his phone. Rhea Ripley enters the arena. Nikki Bella is wandering around in a hallway somewhere. A drone flies around the arena, touring the sold-out crowd.

Roman Reigns’s music hits. Reigns makes his entrance slowly. Still walking. Still walking. Roman finally makes it to the apron and poses. He gets in the ring and wanders around. He poses. It has been at least three minutes of this. His music stops. The crowd continues singing. The crowd stops singing. Roman stands there. The crowd starts singing a different song. Roman poses again. Everyone cheers. Seriously, it’s been roughly 5-7 minutes. 

Roman finally starts speaking. This leads to another chant break from the crowd. Roman tells the Birmingham crowd that he’s got big plans for tonight, the rest of the year, and next year. Roman says he’s not the man he used to be, which prompts a “Yes, you are” chant from the crowd. Roman says The Vision has taken everything from him. The crowd begins chanting something unintelligible; it eventually coalesces into “F*** Seth Rollins.”

Roman says things aren’t the same. He doesn’t have all the things he used to have, like a Bloodline. Roman says he’s proud of Jey Uso, and Uso deserves to challenge for the title. He says The Vision took titles, Paul Heyman, and now even his shoes.

Paul Heyman interrupts Reigns and comes out with Bronson Reed, who has Roman’s shoes around his neck. Paul Heyman tries to introduce Reed, but the crowd boos, so he starts over and for some reason the crowd goes with it this time. He calls Reed “The Tribal Thief.” Heyman also points out they are near or at the anniversary of Heyman choosing Roman Reigns over Brock Lesnar. The crowd is chanting “shut the f*** up” while Heyman explains his history with Roman. He says he misses Roman. He loved him 5 years ago and loves him now, which is why he came out to “disrespect” Reigns. The crowd starts singing Roman’s name. Paul Heyman starts singing Bronson Reed’s name. The crowd responds by singing louder.

Roman, Roman Reigns. Roman, Roman Reigns…Sorry, they had me doing it.

Heyman says that everyone in the arena is poor, and then says Roman Reigns needs a “tough love” that Heyman isn’t “man enough to provide,” but Bronson Reed is. Roman calls Reed a “dumbass,” and Reed says that he is intent on disrespecting Roman. The crowd starts chanting again.

Reed says that his tribe was outcast to Australia, and that he earned his tattoos, while Reigns only paid for them. He says he’s the Samoan that Roman’s dad and uncle warned him about.

Reigns points out that if Reed is Samoan, he belongs to him. Roman tells Reed to apologize to their people for wasting their time. Roman offers Reed an opportunity to return his shoes and it ends in both men brawling around ringside and back into the ring. Security comes in to break it up, to no avail. Reed fights them off and sets up for a Tsunami, but Roman recovers and hits a Superman Punch, sending Reed to the floor. Security keeps Roman at bay, but Roman sneaks away and wipes out Reed and half the security team. They fight up the aisle, with security in tow. We head to a commercial, the crowd still chanting, “Roman, Roman Reigns!”