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From Rey Mysterio's retirement ceremony being revealed as a complete sham to Charlotte Flair and Asuka tearing it up in a Champion vs. Champion match, this week's edition of WWE RAW featured many contrasting moments.
During a time where shows like AEW Dynamite, WWE NXT, and SmackDown have been boosting their creative power to attract more viewers, Monday Night RAW continues to be one step behind in terms of content.
There were notable moments from this week's RAW. But the Red brand failed to establish a segment that can draw more attention when compared to segments like Mike Tyson and Chris Jericho's brawl on Dynamite, or Jeff Hardy's controversial cold open to last week's SmackDown.
Let us know what you thought about this particular episode in the comments section below.
Here are the five biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE RAW (June 1, 2020).
#5: Apollo Crews chose Kevin Owens as his first challenger for the United States Championship
Apollo Crews and his U.S. title victory has been one of the most discussed moments since last week's episode of RAW.
In an effort to keep his title run exciting, Crews got right down to business and selected Kevin Owens as the first challenger to his U.S. title reign.
The only low point from this angle was that it had to end in a no-contest when Andrade and Angel Garza interfered. Garza has beef with Owens, and Andrade wasn't too happy that Crews ended the former's title reign.
The usual interference trope led to a tag team match between all four competitors, and it felt like a downstep from the previous bout. However, Owens and Crews picked up a victory on the road to Backlash.
On a side note, Angel Garza's charisma has been one of the best aspects of WWE RAW lately.
#4: Dominick teased his WWE in-ring debut against Seth Rollins
If it wasn't obvious by now, then you should know that Rey Mysterio's "retirement ceremony" in WWE was just a simple ploy set up by Seth Rollins.
The Monday Night Messiah opened WWE RAW and thanked Rey Mysterio for "sacrificing himself" for the greater good of WWE. The whole sham was interrupted by Aleister Black, who defended Mysterio's honor and even managed to pick up a victory against Rollins in singles competition.
Even though Rollins' crew squashed Black's momentum after the match, Rey Mysterio responded to The Monday Night Messiah's actions via satellite.
Just like when Brock Lesnar had crossed a line in Mysterio's book, the legendary WWE luchador felt that Rollins did the same with his family. Rollins almost ended Mysterio's career on RAW a few weeks ago, so you can imagine that the latter's family wasn't too pleased with that.
Dominick, Mysterio's son - who has been featured on WWE TV previously - warned Seth Rollins of the impending doom that awaits him. With Cain Velasquez out of the question, Dominick may avenge his father's injuries in what could be his in-ring debut against The Monday Night Messiah.
#3: Bobby Lashley gave Drew McIntyre a painful preview of WWE Backlash
The main event of this week's WWE RAW concluded with a match between Drew McIntyre and MVP.
MVP has been quite good in his recent duties as a manager. However, as a wrestler, we all knew that there was no way MVP could take out Drew McIntyre in a singles match in 2020.
As I pointed out last week, Lana is the unexpected factor in Lashley and McIntyre's feud.
WWE has pushed Lashley to the forefront in the best way since his return, but The All Mighty's past history with Lana is simply something that everyone would like to forget. However, the past wouldn't let go of him too easily. Lana doesn't like that MVP is now the one leeching off of Lashley's name, which is ironic since it was also hinted that Lana might be doing the same.
She made an unwanted appearance in the main event, and as expected, McIntyre picked up an easy victory against MVP.
But it was after the match where Lashley quickly trapped the WWE Champion in a Full Nelson hold to end the show. The numbers game is something that McIntyre has overcome several times, and he might have to do the same if Lana continues to be a part of this fiasco till WWE Backlash.
#2: Randy Orton said he has phoned his performances and still accomplished more than anyone else in WWE
WWE fans have often debated if Randy Orton tends to be quite complacent throughout his WWE career. While that question may have mixed answers, Orton used this as bait to complement the nature of his onscreen character this week.
Previously, Ric Flair said that Orton is the best ever to lace a pair of boots in WWE. The Viper also affirmed that Edge has stated the same in the past.
According to Orton, the irony here is he accepted that he may have been phoning it in the ring for 20 years. Yet, all he has to do is become Randy Orton to accomplish more than anyone else in the locker room.
Being Randy Orton might be the easiest thing that Randy Orton has ever done. But for Edge, it is the hardest thing for him to overcome Randy Orton in singles competition at WWE Backlash.
Orton promised that he would end Edge's storybook ending at the aforementioned event. Even if Orton's promo wasn't the biggest part of this week's RAW, it had more takeaways than Street Profits and The Viking Raiders' "bowling competition".
#1: Nia Jax impersonated Asuka's gimmick to cost her a match against Charlotte Flair
Asuka and Charlotte Flair stole the show in a Champion vs. Champion match on this week's episode of WWE RAW.
The two competitors gelled together perfectly, and such was expected to be the case when Asuka and Charlotte have faced each other in high-stakes situations several times before.
The NXT Women's Champion has been on a promotional tour of sorts, and this week was no different as The Queen made sure to plug her Triple Threat title match against Io Shirai and Rhea Ripley at NXT's In Your House Pay-Per-View this Sunday.
Despite Asuka and Charlotte's impressive in-ring chemistry, there was no way WWE would let this one end in a clean finish. Nia Jax distracted the RAW Women's Champion by impersonating Asuka, and before you knew it, the match ended with a count-out in Charlotte's favor.
From a storyline-based perspective, this was a good decision that put Nia on a higher pedestal before their eventual title match at WWE Backlash.
But as someone who watches the entirety of Monday Night RAW, it becomes tiring to see how WWE keeps playing it safe from a booking standpoint every week.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
