Roman Reigns showed up on last week’s Raw to interfere in the main event and help Jey Uso beat Bron Breakker in an Extreme Rules match. When the match began, you knew Roman had to get involved, because he was advertised for the show but had yet to appear. WWE is taking the opposite approach with Reigns on today’s episode of Raw. The Tribal Chief is back in his familiar position of kicking off the show to set the stage for what we can expect to see on Raw, tell everyone to acknowledge him, and remind Bronson Reed that he’s in way over his head when they go one-on-one at Clash in Paris.

WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella is in the building and she wants to pick a fight with Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch. Wade Barrett beat Brodus Clay in 2012, the last time WWE Raw was in Birmingham. Naomi accompanied Clay to the ring as a dancing funkadactyl. She was set to step back into Birmingham having grown over the decade to become Women’s World Champion. But Naomi relinquished the title last week due to her wonderful pregnancy. A vacant top title on WWE Raw makes Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez all that more meaningful. Ripley will hope the stars finally align for her to regain the title she lost just before WrestleMania 41. Perez has been a force to reckon with since coming to WWE Raw after ‘Mania. These are probably the two likely candidates to claim the vacant title. So serious bragging rights are on offer.

Roman Reigns will respond to Bronson Reed on WWE Raw Birmingham. Reed has been trash talking Reigns over the weekend at UK house shows. The two meet at Clash In Paris and WWE Raw will serve as the final hype before the Tribal Chief meets the Tribal Thief. Meanwhile, Penta is currently on top in his feud with the New Day. He destroyed Xavier Woods’ fancy hat and then pinned him last week. Kofi Kingston tries to score something back for New Day in Birmingham in the other bout on the WWE Raw match card.