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The latest episode of WWE RAW featured the returns of Shane McMahon and Keith Lee. While McMahon announced the competitors for the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship, Lee took on Riddle in hopes of finding himself in the United States Championship picture.
On the other hand, Charlotte Flair took on Lacey Evans with the stipulation that if Evans won, she would challenge Asuka for the RAW Women's Championship. Apart from that, Lana finally got to face Nia Jax in a Tables match.
Let's now look at all the developments from this week's WWE RAW. Do share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
#5 Shane McMahon appears on WWE RAW to announce Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship
Shane McMahon made his surprise return to WWE RAW this week. He and Adam Pearce announced the blockbuster Elimination Chamber match where Drew McIntyre will defend his WWE Championship against AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Sheamus, The Miz, and Randy Orton. While that match is bound to be fantastic, the choice of competitors is pretty head-scratching.
As big as a legend Jeff Hardy is, he has done virtually nothing of note in recent weeks on WWE RAW. Eliminated from the Royal Rumble in less than three minutes, Hardy found himself at the bottom of the card, yet he's competing for the WWE Championship. Ditto for The Miz, as despite holding the MITB briefcase, he's nowhere close to the position where he should be wrestling for the world title.
The singles encounter between McIntyre and Sheamus might now take place on Fastlane pay-per-view on March 21. Considering the WWE Champion has no clear opponent for WrestleMania 37, WWE might as well push this rivalry until the show, as it has all the elements of a feud that can span weeks and months. If at all the company is planning to culminate this rivalry at WrestleMania 37, crowning Sheamus at Elimination Chamber could be an intriguing possibility.
It will give the rivalry more heft, and the WWE RAW creative can tell the classic story of a babyface valiantly chasing the title. It'll also give McIntyre his proper WrestleMania moment in front of a sizable crowd.
#4 Sheamus plays spoilsport in the main event of WWE RAW between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton
In the main event of this week's WWE RAW, Drew McIntyre squared off against his old foe Randy Orton. Though they have wrestled countless times before this, they share great chemistry in the ring, and as a result, even this week's bout was quite fun.
However, Sheamus played spoilsport during the match by interfering and ending the bout in a no-contest. While it makes sense in this context to not let either of the two lose the match, the main event match should never end on a disqualification. Promoting a clash all through the weekend only to end the proceedings on such a note is highly underwhelming.
Moving on, it was surprising to see Alexa Bliss not make an appearance on this week's WWE RAW. Her involvement in Orton's segments over the last month has been quite entertaining and has successfully intrigued viewers. Perhaps the creative is putting the rivalry on hold until The Viper gets done with the Elimination Chamber match. On the other hand, The Fiend appearing at the pay-per-view to cost The Viper the match seems like a possibility.
#3 Lacey Evans defeated Charlotte Flair via disqualification on WWE RAW
Before the match began on WWE RAW, Ric Flair and Lacey Evans delivered a promo in the ring. Flair said that Evans is better than his daughter Charlotte Flair and that once they are done with her, Evans will be coming for Asuka's WWE Raw Women's Championship.
Charlotte made her way to the ring and after a verbal back-and-forth, laid down the challenge for the match. Evans attacked her and then accepted the challenge. The ensuing bout was quite good, a lot better than their bout from their match last month. However, it ended on a disappointing note, with The Queen herself causing the disqualification by brutalizing Evans.
This story has been stretched for way too long now, without any notable developments. The added equation of Evans getting a shot at Asuka's championship is a logical move. While it has been announced that Evans will challenge Asuka for the title at the Elimination Chamber, it's hard to imagine her walking out as the champion.
However, the company might be tempted to take the Evans-Charlotte saga up to WrestleMania 37. To be honest, that's a match nobody wants to see anymore, and WWE must wisely head towards the predictable yet satisfying feud between Charlotte and Asuka for The Grandest Stages of Them All.
#2 Lana finally gets her revenge on Nia Jax on this week's WWE RAW in a Tables match
Lana finally got her revenge on Nia Jax after defeating her in a Tables match at this week's WWE RAW. Though Jax thoroughly dominated the initial stages of the match, Lana made an unlikely comeback in the final stages. She found the right opportunity to push Jax into a standing table to secure the victory.
While it can be argued that her revenge came a little too late, it was nevertheless satisfying to see the story come to its logical conclusion. Immediately following this match, Lana's tag partner Naomi faced off against Shayna Baszler in a match that ended with Naomi rolling-up Baszler for the win.
With momentum thoroughly on their side, Naomi and Lana will be gunning to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships from Jax and Baszler. Though they are a randomly paired duo, they have shown decent chemistry until now. Naomi also scored a pinfall over Asuka on last week's WWE RAW, which puts her in contention for the women's title. It would be interesting to see if WWE follows-up on that or forgets it in favor of this storyline.
#1 Keith Lee returns to WWE RAW, defeats Riddle in a spectacular match
Keith Lee made his return to WWE RAW after a nearly month-long absence to take on Riddle. The two wrestled a fantastic battle, with Riddle having his best showing in months. Though Lee won the match, The Original Bro proved to be a daunting challenger for him. The match ended with Lee pinning Riddle after delivering a Spirit Bomb.
Post-match, United States Champion Bobby Lashley showed up on WWE RAW and took down both Lee and Riddle. A triple threat clash between Riddle, Lashley, and Lee was announced for the Elimination Chamber later in the night. However, the champion must retain his title there, as a singles clash between Lee and Lashley at WrestleMania 37 is a tremendous prospect.
If there's anyone who can believably dethrone Lashley, it is Lee. The two had a short match a couple of months ago on WWE RAW, where the two displayed the electric chemistry they have in the squared circle. Most importantly, this is the chance for WWE to finally elevate Lee to the main event level, a position he deserved to be in since he made his WWE RAW debut.
