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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on RAW! There was a lot that happened this week, and the Asuka-Alexa Bliss-Randy Orton story closed the show yet again.
Sheamus lost to The Miz and John Morrison in a handicap match, but there's a lot more to get into on RAW this week:
#8. Edge returned to RAW, but what does it mean for the Royal Rumble?
In what was a very random announcement, Edge made his first appearance on WWE TV since the RAW after Backlash 2020. On his last appearance on RAW, he was left frustrated by an injury caused against Randy Orton, which has kept him out of action.
Had the injury not happened, we can assume that their feud would have continued on RAW and that they would have faced off at SummerSlam 2020. But that didn't happen, and Edge's return was cut short.
On the latest episode of RAW, Edge returned to declare his entry into the 2021 Men's Royal Rumble match. It's interesting that they decided to announce it beforehand, but we'll get to that in a separate article.
But WWE didn't want to have the same surprise moment two years in a row. In their minds, it probably wasn't even needed. Either way, Edge's return to the ring is a huge boost to RAW and WWE in general.
It's hard to say who will win the Royal Rumble, but Daniel Bryan of SmackDown has been among the favorites. With Edge now making the ground-breaking announcement on RAW, we fully expect him to be one of the favorites as well.
We wouldn't be surprised to see Edge join the elite list of Superstars to have won the Royal Rumble match twice and challenge for a World Championship at WrestleMania 37.
#7. Is Riddle set for a massive title win post-Royal Rumble?
Riddle didn't have the star-making performance that we expected, but he did well on RAW, defeating 3/4th of The Hurt Business in a Gauntlet match to become the #1 contender to the United States Championship.
Given the timing and the fact that it will be his second attempt, we wouldn't be surprised to see Riddle beat Bobby Lashley to capture the gold on RAW.
#6. The Metamorphasis of Alexa Bliss on RAW
The closest we've gotten to a Bray Wyatt return on RAW is the teasing done with Alexa Bliss. We saw an incredible promo on RAW where it looked like she was merging into one with The Fiend:
She faced Asuka in the main event of RAW for the second week in a row. This time, it was a RAW Women's title match, and we witnessed Alexa Bliss go from the "playground" version back to "The Goddess" and then the most sinister version of herself.
While she was poised to become the next RAW Women's Champion, Randy Orton prevented it from happening and hit an RKO to finish the show.
#5. A botched finish leads to complications on RAW
Charlotte Flair vs. Shayna Baszler was the advertised match-up on RAW. It was all going well until Nia Jax predictably interfered and caused a DQ. This spun-off into a six-woman tag team match on RAW, where Charlotte Flair teamed up with Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke to take on Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, and Lacey Evans.
The big story was between Charlotte and Lacey Evans, but there wasn't much emphasis put on that this episode of RAW at the time. Instead, all the attention went to the rather dusty finish - where Shayna Baszler lost the match on RAW via count-out.
Except this time, it was a botched count. After the break, RAW resumed, and the match was restarted by Adam Pearce, confirming that it was a big botch. That took away from the match a bit, but once they restarted it, Nia Jax got the better of Dana Brooke.
Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke are also getting a great showing and are both improving rapidly. But Lacey Evans and Charlotte Flair had a segment with Ric Flair in the second hour of RAW. Charlotte took a dig at her father, who was helping Lacey Evans with her moveset. The segment on RAW ended with Charlotte eating a ladies right while Evans walked out with Ric Flair.
#4. Has AJ Styles become RAW's gatekeeper?
AJ Styles attempted to block a third superstar from entering the Men's Royal Rumble match. He only got a free entry on RAW because of his status as a 2-time WWE Champion.
Since then, he defeated Drew Gulak and Ricochet to prevent them from earning a Royal Rumble spot. R-Truth went to Adam Pearce and said that he was ready to compete in the Money in the Bank ladder match. A puzzled Adam Pearce was met by AJ Styles, who offered to face R-Truth on RAW.
The stipulation, of course, was that a win for R-Truth on RAW would secure him a spot in the Men's Royal Rumble match. It was a good match, but it's no surprise that AJ Styles won once again. We're not sure why WWE is preventing so many names from entering the Royal Rumble.
If a superstar like Ricochet made an appearance at the Rumble, it would mean that the last few weeks had pointless matches. But AJ Styles has essentially become RAW's gatekeeper.
#3. Mustafa Ali targets Kofi Kingston on RAW
Xavier Woods faced Slapjack, and after losing to T-Bar and Mace the last couple of weeks, he finally picked up a big win on RAW. Kofi Kingston is out injured, and despite Xavier Woods' win, his night didn't end well.
He received a beatdown post-match, after which Ali revealed his frustration from 2019 - where his injury saw him removed from the Elimination Chamber and led to the rise of KofiMania.
Mustafa Ali then took Kofi Kingston's spot at the Royal Rumble as an act of revenge on RAW.
#2. Randy Orton's compassion is gone
Randy Orton cut a similar promo to what he did last week and spoke bitterly about Alexa Bliss lighting his face on fire on RAW. While no mention was made about a Royal Rumble match, Randy Orton teased, taking his mask off on RAW.
He said that any compassion he had left is gone, and he capped it off with an RKO to Alexa Bliss to end the show.
#1. Who will stand tall after Drew McIntyre and Goldberg's face off on RAW?
Drew McIntyre and Goldberg returned to RAW as advertised, and they opened the show. There was an interference in between the segment featuring Money in the Bank winner The Miz and John Morrison.
While The Miz could be in a prime position to cash-in at the Royal Rumble, there is no sign to indicate that he will have a successful cash-in. Either way, they were there for heat, and Drew McIntyre and Goldberg pulled them both in the ring, after which Goldberg hit the spear on The Miz and McIntyre hit the Claymore Kick on John Morrison.
They had a tense staredown on RAW, with Drew McIntyre vowing to end Goldberg's successful run against World Champions in WWE. The big question is as to who will walk out of Royal Rumble as the WWE Champion. Goldberg has a big chance, but Drew McIntyre has been WWE's best superstar this past year.
Either way, WWE designed the segment on RAW to make both men look good heading into the Royal Rumble.
