7 things WWE subtly told us on RAW: Randy Orton helps popular babyface, Top star set for big title win at SummerSlam? (July 6th, 2020)

Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on RAW! It was a solid episode that took some time to start off, but once it did, the gears started turning and we ended up with a solid show with an incredible main event.

The final match featured a Champion vs Champion bout and we felt that overall storyline and character progression was much better this week than the last. Let's jump right into it, starting with RAW's 'scariest' superstar, Randy Orton!

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#7 Randy Orton's incredible character work on RAW

Randy Orton has truly taken it to another level in the pandemic era of WWE. He's essentially the top heel on RAW and the impact that he's having on the show is undeniable. It's hard to believe that in 2020, Randy Orton is one of the best things about Monday Night RAW and he was one of the central figures on the latest episode.

His role was teaming up with fellow third-generation wrestlers Andrade and Angel Garza to take on the trio of The Viking Raiders and The Big Show. Randy Orton intimidated Angel Garza and Andrade backstage, telling him that he respects them for being third-generation stars like him, but told them to leave The Big Show for him.

During the match, he even choked Angel Garza and threatened him to be on the same page - another great moment of character work showing how he's become the most "feared" star on the roster. Randy Orton ended up getting the win for his team after doing little work and finishing Erik off with an RKO.

Interestingly, he had an interaction backstage with R-Truth and Ric Flair. R-Truth, the 24/7 Champion, thought that Akira Tozawa was disguised as 'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair in a hilarious segment and ran away when he heard Tozawa approaching.

When Tozawa came, he respectfully bowed to Randy Orton, who directed him the wrong way. Why did Randy Orton help R-Truth of all babyfaces? It's an interesting bit of character work that keeps developing.

#6 Why MVP and not Bobby Lashley is challenging for the US title at Backlash

The United States Championship picture on RAW just took an interesting turn. As you might know, MVP defeated Apollo Crews last week on RAW and now considers himself the 'new' United States Champion.

He went as far as to introduce a new title design on RAW - one that we quite like. He did, however, get a United States title shot at Extreme Rules: The Horror Show and the winner will take home the new Championship belt.

MVP and Bobby Lashley were challenged by Cedric Alexander and Ricochet and ended up beating them in an impromptu Tag Team match won by Lashley - who has been established as the bigger threat among the two.

It seems like WWE is holding off on Bobby Lashley vs Apollo Crews intentionally. We don't see MVP winning the United States Championship at Extreme Rules 2020. Instead, we see Apollo Crews winning and then dropping the title to Lashley at SummerSlam 2020. It seems to be an inevitable title win for Lashley.

#5 MVP attempts yet another recruit

After the backstage segment on RAW featuring The IIconics and Ruby Riott, the camera shifted a few meters away, where Cedric Alexander was clutching his shoulder after losing his match while MVP was next to him.

Just as he did with Apollo Crews, MVP made a clear-cut attempt to recruit Cedric Alexander on RAW, provoking him by asking if he was happy being "Ricochet's sidekick" rather than finding success. MVP told Alexander that he had been noticing him for a while and had good things to say on RAW.

Unlike Apollo Crews, however, Cedric Alexander didn't seem to be as resistant about the idea. It's going to be interesting to see if they go in a direction where Cedric Alexander joins MVP and Bobby Lashley.

A heel turn might be what Cedric Alexander needs right now. Given that his pairing with Ricochet has been directionless, it would be best to utilize his talent some other way. Moreover, he's in desperate need of some serious character work, and MVP would serve as the perfect mouthpiece for him.

#4 What's the deal with Kairi Sane's future?

There were rumors about Kairi Sane leaving for Japan to go and stay with her husband. WWE had reportedly been aware of this decision for a while and the idea was reportedly for her to become a brand ambassador for WWE in the Japanese market. She's just 31 years old, but normally in Joshi puroresu culture, marriage normally leads to retirement. Either way, Kairi Sane appeared on RAW and it wasn't the end of her run as we thought.

She had a solid match with Sasha Banks that ended in a DQ on RAW, but she had a role to play in the main event as well. We're not sure where this is leading, but we wouldn't be surprised to see her challenge for the RAW Women's Championship at SummerSlam 2020.

The latest episode seemed to indicate that her run isn't over just yet and if that is the case, then we hope that WWE can utilize her to the best of her abilities while she's still around. She's far too talented to be on the sidelines.

#3 An eye for an eye

Rey Mysterio was medically cleared to make his in-ring return on RAW and he was scheduled to team up with Aleister Black to face Seth Rollins and Murphy. At first, Seth Rollins appeared on The Kevin Owens show in what was an extremely interesting interaction.

They had to confront each other about their WrestleMania 36 match this year and Seth Rollins made another attempt to recruit his former rival. Aleister Black, meanwhile, was attacked backstage on RAW and taken out of action.

As a result, Kevin Owens stepped in and a tag team match on RAW was made where Seth Rollins or Rey Mysterio could choose the stipulation of their Extreme Rules match if they won the tag team contest. Thanks to a distraction from Dominik and then Aleister Black, Seth Rollins was taken out and Rey Mysterio finished Murphy to earn the right to choose the stipulation.

He chose an "eye for an eye" match and it's the first time we'll be seeing anything like that in WWE. From the look of things, it sounds like the winner will be declared once they attack the other person's eye viciously.

#2 The Sasha-Bayley story continues to dominate both shows

The Boss N' Hug Connection Sasha Banks and Bayley have been the most frequent stars on WWE TV this past month. They're among the few who have appeared on RAW, SmackDown, and even NXT as well.

Bayley is a double Champion and will defend the SmackDown Women's Title against Nikki Cross at Extreme Rules. Sasha Banks is one-half of the Women's Tag Team Champions and is set to challenge Asuka for the RAW Women's title at Extreme Rules 2020.

Bayley faced Asuka in the main event in an incredible Champion vs Champion match. Asuka and Kairi Sane challenged the Champions to a Tag Team title match next week and while Bayley didn't want to defend them, Sasha Banks went against her wishes to accept the match.

It showed the miscommunication in their friendship and WWE is having a slow build to their eventual rivalry. It's going to be interesting to see where their story goes. We don't expect Nikki Cross to beat Bayley at Backlash nor do we expect Sasha Banks to win the RAW Women's Championship at Extreme Rules 2020.

For now, Asuka established herself as The Women's Champion in WWE.

#1 What was the meaning behind Heath Slater's return?

One of the big moments of RAW happened at the very start when Drew McIntyre asked Dolph Ziggler what stipulation he had chosen at Extreme Rules 2020 for their WWE Championship match. The recently-transferred RAW Superstar brought out Heath Slater - a Superstar who was recently released by WWE.

This led to an intense segment where Slater accused Drew McIntyre of not being there for him when he was fired. Slater claimed that he called McIntyre every day after he got fired in 2014 and the two would end up having a match.

Drew McIntyre ended his 3MB teammate's run with a Claymore Kick and after Dolph Ziggler berated Slater, Drew McIntyre came in for the save before embracing Heath Slater in an emotional moment. The 3MB sign indicated that they were missing Jinder Mahal.

But it was intense in every way and from the look of things, that's truly the end of Heath Slater's run with WWE on RA. We can't ever rule him coming back but in his mind, he seems to have accepted that it was over.