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Monday Night RAW promised some big matches and segments this week as WWE looked to build up its ratings and also pave the road to WWE Backlash.
The biggest match of the night was announced last week, as WWE Champion Drew McIntyre had laid down a challenge to SmackDown’s King Corbin. The two former partners collided in the main event of the night.
Asuka had an in-ring celebration with her friend Kairi Sane after being awarded the RAW Women’s Championship last week. Bobby Lashley, who aligned with MVP last week, destroyed R-Truth once again.
The IIconics competed for a chance to become the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, but their match ended in a disqualification after Peyton Royce lost her cool.
The biggest segments of the night saw some big returns and surprises that will likely make the Red brand even more entertaining in the coming weeks.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things WWE got right on this week’s episode of RAW.
#5 Edge accepts Randy Orton’s challenge
WWE Backlash is only a few weeks away and WWE got right to booking the event from the opening segment of this week’s Monday Night RAW. Randy Orton and Edge had appeared at the show last week where The Viper had made solid excuses for his loss at WrestleMania 36 and laid down another challenge for The Rated-R Superstar.
Orton appeared this week to continue pressurizing his former friend for a match at Backlash, mocking Edge in the process to give into The Viper’s mind games.
Rated-R Superstar accepts the biggest challenge for WWE Backlash
Edge, however, was focused and knew exactly what he wanted as he vowed to show Orton what it meant to truly love the business. He accepted The Apex Predator’s challenge, promising to prove Orton wrong once again inside the WWE ring.
While fans were ready to see Edge accept Orton’s challenge sooner than later, this segment was good enough to give the two men some more spotlight before they get into one more big clash.
Having Edge and Orton appear at the show works for WWE as they are looking to boost their ratings with as much star power as possible. This rivalry also keeps Orton away from the WWE Championship picture for some time as Drew McIntyre continues to build as a dominant Champion.
While the match may fall short of the "greatest wrestling match ever" tagline, it will surely entertain the WWE Universe and give them what they’re looking for.
#4 Asuka and Kairi Sane’s celebration; Nia Jax’s attacks
WWE’s Pirate Princess Kairi Sane introduced the new RAW Women’s Champion for a big celebration this week. Asuka had won the Money in the Bank ladder match last Sunday, after which she was awarded the RAW Women’s title by Becky Lynch who relinquished the title on her way to motherhood.
The two former heels celebrated as Sane put over Asuka as a Grand Slam Champion. The Pirate Princess even played The Empress of Tomorrow's theme on her flute (shakuhachi).
The RAW Women's Champion comes face to face with WWE's Irresistible Force
While the WWE Universe at home were enjoying the two Japanese Superstars’ shenanigans, Nia Jax appeared to ruin the fun. She threatened Asuka and promised to become the RAW Women’s Champion soon, but The Empress showed WWE’s Irresistible Force why she’s the new Champion by hitting her with a series of strikes and sending her out of the ring.
Later in the night, Jax hunted down Sane and attacked her backstage, prompting The Empress to find her again and delivering a kick to her head to lay her out.
This was a good segment to help turn The Kabuki Warriors face and introduce Asuka’s first challenger on the way to Backlash. While Jax may not be a longterm prospect, she can give Asuka a good first fight before she ends up locking horns with Shayna Baszler.
#3 Apollo Crews and Kevin Owens’ return
Kevin Owens returned to the Red brand for the first time since his WrestleMania 36 match against Seth Rollins. The host of The Kevin Owens Show announced that he was fully fit and ready for some competition, to the delight of the WWE Universe. He then introduced his guests who were arguing backstage. Zelina Vega brought out her heel faction comprising of Andrade, Angel Garza, and Austin Theory.
KO then revealed that he had another guest for his show, after which Apollo Crews arrived and attacked the United States Champion while Owens took care of Garza and Theory.
This led to an impromptu return match not only for KO but also for Crews as the two babyfaces teamed up to take on El Idolo and Garza.
Theory tried to cause distraction on the apron, but it only led to him colliding with Garza after which Crews delivered the spinout powerbomb on the heel to pick up the victory.
WWE's Prizefighter and RAW's Highflyer break up a heel faction
After the match, Andrade and Garza vented out their frustration on Theory and beat him down fiercely, effectively ending their alliance with the 22-year-old Superstar.
Backstage, Crews told Charly Caruso that he would like to take on Andrade for the United States Championship next week on RAW.
This entire segment helped WWE bring back two babyfaces to the brand and effectively draw the line between the heel faction. Theory’s inclusion into the mix was as big a surprise as his exclusion is, and it was interesting to see how the youngster played out his role.
WWE needs KO back at the top of RAW during the current fall in ratings, while Apollo’s return will strengthen the mid-card as WWE looks to give the Superstar a push that can help both the parties.
#2 Drew McIntyre flattens The King, meets The All Mighty
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre had laid down the challenge to The King of SmackDown last week, and the two met in the ring to much fanfare this week on RAW.
King Corbin used his usual heelish techniques to try and get over his former partner as the WWE Champion refused to stay down. The two men matched each other in size and strength, something that helped elevate the overall booking.
While McIntyre caught Corbin with a Future Shock DDT, he could not finish his opponent as he ran into a Deep Six himself.
However, the WWE Champion finished the match by downing WWE’s King with a Claymore Kick and sent a statement not only to the RAW but the entire SmackDown roster too.
RAW finds a new challenger for the WWE Championship
McIntyre’s night was not over as Bobby Lashley with MVP by his side called out the face of RAW and promised to take his WWE Championship away.
Lashley has been red-hot recently with some dominating performances, however, they’ve all come against lesser opponents and failed to make as big an impact as required. This rivalry could end up entertaining the fans as both McIntyre and Lashley are huge athletes who are great at what they do.
While WWE should not rush into this rivalry, we might end up seeing the two men compete as early as at WWE Backlash.
#1 The reinvented Monday Night Messiah
Earlier in the night, Seth Rollins arrived to address the WWE Universe and future WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio regarding his actions from last week. He claimed he did only what was necessary, and made it clear to the Master of the 619 that he will be able to see clearly once he was through it.
Humberto Carrillo once again came out to defend the legend and challenged The Messiah for a match. Carrillo did not get what he asked for, as Murphy accepted the challenge instead and put away the highflyer with Murphy’s Law after a good match.
The two heels tried to harm Carrillo after the match, but Aleister Black arrived to send both the men running. Black then took on Murphy himself later on in the night and had the heel on the ropes before Rollins came up with another great idea.
WWE RAW's Messiah finds a new disciple
He offered Austin Theory a spot in his stable, and Theory accepted the invitation of WWE's Messiah. He helped Murphy out in the match, causing a disqualification and beat down The Dutch Destroyer.
This was a great overall build for The Messiah who seems to be back on track once again after his loss to Kevin Owens at WrestleMania. Rollins’ work was much more focused and his mic work was excellent once again.
Theory could end up being a great addition to Rollins’ faction, and he could get much more out of the group as compared to Murphy who is still looking for his major push.
