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From Bobby Lashley and The Miz's WWE title clash to a bizarre segment with Randy Orton, this week's edition of WWE RAW featured many contrasting moments.
RAW was a unique show this week. The WWE title scenario completely overshadowed the rest of the proceedings. The entire episode was engagingly built around Lashley vs. Miz, as their clash stretched throughout the night.
That alone made the show entertaining, even though other aspects of RAW were relatively less important this week.
Let us know your thoughts about this particular episode in the comments section below.
Here are the five biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE RAW (March 1, 2021).
#5 Creepy music box, a doppelganger, and more — What happened to Randy Orton on WWE RAW?
Just as Alexa Bliss and Randy Orton's storyline takes a bizarre turn, the bizarreness of it all steps up a notch with every passing week.
On this week's WWE RAW, Orton was interviewed by Kayla Braxton in a backstage segment. He didn't have an explanation behind why he coughed up some black liquid last week.
However, he knew Bliss had something to do with it. Orton did not want to be associated with Bliss anymore. He warned her to stay out of his path, otherwise, there would be consequences.
The Viper looked apprehensive when he warned Bliss this week. It's almost as if he is a little scared and unsure of what Bliss has in store for him over the next few weeks.
Bliss interrupted the interview with a jack-in-the-box toy and appeared on a monitor behind Orton. The creepy music box was in focus as she whispered, "bring him back," before turning her attention to The Viper. Things took an even stranger turn from this point onwards.
Orton met his own doppelganger on the screen. The doppelganger spoke in a distorted voice and said that Orton will come face-to-face with everything he has ever done. The real Orton began coughing and moved out of the frame as fake Orton's laughs echoed from the monitor to end the segment.
As always, a section of viewers thought this was too silly, while others appreciated the bizarreness of the whole segment.
It's safe to assume that Alexa Bliss has placed some sort of hex on the 14-time World Champion. Will Randy Orton's doppelganger make any future appearances? When exactly will Bray Wyatt return? What role will Alexa Bliss play on the Road to WrestleMania 37?
Every week, there seem to be more questions than answers regarding the aforementioned storyline. While some WWE fans want more answers than questions, others like being mystified by the whole shtick.
#4 Charlotte Flair wanted to face Asuka for the WWE RAW Women's Championship at WrestleMania 37
Many WWE fans had predicted that Charlotte Flair would turn on Asuka. However, the possibility of their future match was established without the occurrence of a betrayal on WWE RAW.
Asuka wasn't on RAW this week as she was recuperating from an injury inflicted by Shayna Baszler. Charlotte came out and talked about her alliance with The Empress of Tomorrow. The Queen was happy to tag with the RAW Women's Champion, without challenging for the title for weeks.
However, priorities change on the Road to WWE WrestleMania 37. Charlotte made it clear that she wants to face Asuka for the title when the latter returns to RAW.
Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax interrupted Charlotte. The duo wanted to challenge Asuka for the RAW Women's title - separately - as well. This back-and-forth regarding the RAW Women's Championship led to a match between Flair and Baszler.
With the absence of Ric Flair and Lacey Evans, Charlotte was able to focus on her match and pick up a victory against Shayna.
For WrestleMania, there are four possibilities in the RAW Women's Division that seem more high-stakes than any other outcome:
- Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley.
- Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair.
- Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss.
- Asuka vs. Becky Lynch.
The above possibilities will only stay relevant if Asuka remains the champion till WrestleMania. At the moment, Charlotte seems to be the clear number one contender. But things can drastically change on the Road to WWE WrestleMania 37.
#3 Adam Pearce became Braun Strowman's tag team partner in an unexpected turn of events on WWE RAW
Shane McMahon's recent presence on WWE RAW has become quite frequent. Braun Strowman is a major reason behind Shane-O-Mac's recent appearances as an authority figure.
This week, Strowman appeared on WWE RAW to address his situation. The Monster Among Men was called out for a tag team match but had no idea who his partner would be. He was also frustrated about not being involved in the Elimination Chamber match. This is what led him to believe that McMahon and Pearce were biased against him.
Shane and Adam came out to address Strowman's issues against the authority. While taking some shots against Strowman, McMahon revealed that he had been taking some MBA courses. Good for him.
Shane talked about conflict management and how the key to resolving Strowman's problem is communication. Since Strowman has issues with Pearce, Shane booked both of them as tag team partners. The two would face Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin for the WWE RAW Tag Team Championships.
Strowman warned Pearce not to mess up their opportunity, which is exactly what the latter did. Strowman dominated The Hurt Business for the most part until McMahon encouraged him to tag Pearce towards the end. As soon as Pearce entered the ring, he was rolled up by Benjamin and lost the match as a result.
Clearly, Shane McMahon's advice didn't work. Shane's conflict resolution objectives have only created more conflict between himself and Braun Strowman, which could lead to a WrestleMania program between the two.
#2 Drew McIntyre returned to WWE RAW and made his intentions clear
Drew McIntyre's return kicked off this week's WWE RAW. The former WWE Champion addressed his rivalry with Sheamus, his efforts at Elimination Chamber, and The Miz's successful MITB cash-in.
McIntyre made it clear that he wanted to regain his title and main-event WrestleMania.
The Miz and John Morrison entered the scene as The A-Lister justified his cash-in against McIntyre. Miz tried to manipulate McIntyre into turning against Lashley. He presented Lashley as the main villain and prompted McIntyre to join forces with The Dirt Sheet duo.
Of course, this was one of many ways through which Miz wanted to escape from his title match against Lashley. McIntyre did not fall for it.
Sheamus entered the scene, and his arrival immediately led to a one-on-one match between The Celtic Warrior and McIntyre. McIntyre promised this would be a hard-hitting bout, and that's exactly what it was.
Sheamus and McIntyre have had a good rivalry, and their one-on-one match delivered in terms of quality. McIntyre ended up winning, as expected.
Did this match deserve to take place on a pay-per-view stage like WWE Fastlane? Of course, it did. But for what it's worth, McIntyre and Sheamus still gave their best under the circumstances.
#1 The Miz's short-lived WWE title reign allowed Bobby Lashley to have the biggest moment of his career
The Miz tried to escape his fate throughout WWE RAW, but he couldn't come to terms with the fact — Bobby Lashley is inevitable.
What can you do to avoid facing a dominant force like Lashley in the ring? Stomach cramps, of course, can prove to be a temporary excuse. The Miz used that excuse and several other ways to avoid putting the WWE title at stake against Lashley.
At one point during the episode, Miz escaped from the ring and lost via count-out. As everyone knows, a count-out loss doesn't lead to a title change.
In the main event, Miz had no excuses left to escape from a match against Lashley. Shane McMahon made the main event a lumberjack match. This night-long arc for the WWE title culminated in Lashley becoming the new WWE Champion.
There was a time when Lashley was part of a silly romance storyline with Rusev (Miro) and Lana on the same show. His rise to the top has been absolutely excellent, and MVP deserves credit for kickstarting this change in the first place.
As for The Miz, he excelled in his role as a weak champion. The A-Lister gets a lot of hate from a certain section of WWE's fanbase, but he will go down as one of the most compelling characters of all time.
At the end of the night, Bobby Lashley celebrated his first-ever WWE title victory. Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre will happen at some point, which will surely be a major box-office clash for the WWE Universe.
Do check out the latest edition of 'Legion of RAW' with Dr. Chris Featherstone and former WWE Head Writer Vince Russo in the video embedded above.
