In a twist that could only be cooked up in the chaotic kitchen of WWE, Monday night’s “Raw” has hit a last-minute snag. The powerhouse known as “Big” Bronson Reed, set to bulldoze his way through a triple threat match to determine the next contender for Bron Breakker’s Intercontinental Championship, is officially out of action. And the culprit? None other than the pesky COVID bug.
WWE General Manager Adam Pearce took to WWE’s X (you know it as Twitter) to break the bad news—Reed has been benched due to COVID, leaving a giant-sized hole in tonight’s match against Ludwig Kaiser and Sheamus. Pearce, ever the man of mystery, didn’t spill the beans on who would be stepping up to fill Reed’s colossal boots. He left that little nugget dangling, promising fans they’d find out during the show. Talk about keeping us on the edge of our seats!
Reed has been on a rampage lately, and last week’s Raw was no exception. He squared off against Braun Strowman, but the match quickly turned into a backstage brawl that ended with Reed performing his signature Tsunami splash from a retaining wall, sending Strowman crashing through the hood of a car. This isn’t Reed’s first time causing mayhem either—he’s already taken out stars like Seth Rollins and R-Truth with that same splash, leaving them on the injured list and collecting fines like they’re Pokémon cards. And let’s not forget, Pearce threatened Reed with suspension after his assault on R-Truth, but that was before he turned Strowman into a human pancake. Strowman may have walked away, but tonight, it’s Reed who’s sidelined.
Meanwhile, the second triple threat match of the night remains unaffected—former NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov is set to clash with Dragon Lee and Dominik Mysterio, who’s probably still licking his wounds from a mixed tag team loss at Bash in Berlin. And if that wasn’t enough, fans can also look forward to appearances from the newly crowned WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, as well as American Made battling Alpha Academy in six-person mixed tag action. It’s shaping up to be a wild night, folks!