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WWE advertised two big matches for this week’s episode of RAW. The Miz was set to take on John Morrison after turning on him last week, while Sheamus was ready to beat down the WWE Champion.
However, neither of the matches took place on Monday night. Instead, three of the four superstars competed against completely different opponents during RAW. Only Duodrop got her advertised contest against Eva Marie. Even that did not get going as Marie was unable to compete.
Instead, fans got a big United States Championship match on the show. MVP also returned to the ring to team up with Bobby Lashley for the main event of RAW.
Karrion Kross made quick work of Humberto Carrillo but failed to make a big impact. The RAW creative team will need to give the former NXT Champion a few big names to roll over. R-Truth and Akira Towaza had another ordinary segment to build the 24/7 Championship scene.
Take a look at the five things WWE got right on RAW this week.
#5 WWE RAW tried to give Nia Jax a push with a victory over Charlotte Flair
Shayna Baszler took on Rhea Ripley in a match early on WWE RAW. Nia Jax took out Nikki A.S.H. with a Samoan Drop outside the ring, but the distraction could not help Baszler pick up the win.
After the match, Jax laid out Ripley with a Samoan Drop to make a loud and clear statement. Later in the night, The Irresistible Force went up against Charlotte Flair in a non-title match.
Baszler did not accompany Jax to the ring. However, The Irresistible Force was raring to go from the opening bell.
The two women had a decent contest that saw Jax overpower the RAW Women’s Champion for the most part. It was one of the few contests in which WWE booked Jax to come across as an unmovable force rather than a giant pushover.
Jax and Flair had a very messy exchange in the middle portion of the contest. A stiff exchange saw Flair take out Jax’s knee to set up the Figure-Eight leg lock.
Jax hit a powerbomb out of nowhere and pinned Flair to pick up a surprise victory on RAW. While the match wasn’t too great, it was good to watch Jax aim for the top once again. She is a much-improved performer and deserves to get in the RAW Women’s Championship scene once again.
#4 The Viking Raiders returned to their winning ways on WWE RAW
The Viking Raiders lost their last couple of matches together for the WWE RAW Tag Team Championships against AJ Styles and Omos. Erik and Ivar finally got a tag team match on RAW after moving out of the title picture a month ago.
The two men came out to face Jinder Mahal and Veer on Monday Night. Ivar and Veer started the match for their respective teams before Erik came in to help Ivar level their opponents.
The former RAW Tag Team Champions kept the pressure on for some time before Veer made a comeback. He hit a Thesz Press and tagged Mahal into the contest.
The heels isolated Ivar for some time before the powerhouse broke loose and hit some good moves. Late in the match, Ivar took out Shanky and Veer at ringside before Mahal took the Viking Experience. Erik pinned the former WWE Champion to pick up the win for his team.
The match wasn’t anything great but it allowed The Viking Raiders to get back on RAW just in time. With RK-Bro as the champions, the creative team will look to build more challengers for Riddle and Randy Orton.
#3 Omos and AJ Styles picked up individual victories on WWE RAW
John Morrison and The Miz were set to compete on WWE RAW this week. However, The A-Lister backed out of the match at the last second. Morrison then requested a match against Omos on RAW for no logical reason.
JoMo tried to slow down the giant early but kept falling short. Omos used his power to keep Morrison grounded and then threw him over the top rope to the floor.
Morrison and Omos mistimed a move badly, but that did not affect the outcome of the match. Omos hit a two-handed chokeslam to Johnny Drip Drip for a quick win.
Soon after, Xavier Woods came out for his match against AJ Styles on RAW. Omos remained at ringside and looked to help his partner out in the contest. Woods and Styles exchanged some good moves to keep the action ticking.
Woods avoided the Phenomenal Forearm during the middle portion of the contest and took the fight to Styles. The former SmackDown Tag Team Champion could not keep Styles down for long and was forced to tap out to the Calf Crusher.
Both matches were decent and allowed Omos and Styles to stay on top of RAW. It looks like they are not out of the RAW Tag Team Championship picture yet. The match between Omos and John Morrison helped establish the latter as a true babyface.
#2 Damian Priest pinned Drew McIntyre to retain his United States Championship on WWE RAW
Damian Priest opened up WWE RAW this week and issued an Open Challenge for his United States Championship. Sheamus came out to accept the challenge, closely followed by Drew McIntyre, who also wanted a shot at the title.
Later in the night, the three men competed in a Triple Threat Match for the title. Priest and McIntyre teamed up for some time to take out Sheamus before taking each other down with some thunderous blows.
Sheamus took control of the contest for some time and slowed down The Archer of Infamy. The Celtic Warrior sent McIntyre into the steel post and continued to work on the United States Champion.
All three men exchanged some near falls as they delivered some top moves to put each other away. The Scottish Warrior took down Sheamus with a Future Shock DDT but could not hit the Claymore.
Priest surprised the WWE Universe and hit Sheamus with The Reckoning to pick up the win and retain his United States Championship on RAW. After the match, Priest and McIntyre shook hands as the former WWE Champion put The Archer over before walking back.
This was Priest’s first title defense on RAW, and it was a massive one. WWE did the right thing by taking McIntyre out of the equation. Sheamus and Priest will probably have a rematch for the title at WWE Extreme Rules.
#1 RK-Bro defeated The Hurt Business to retain their RAW Tag Team Championships on WWE RAW
The opening segment of WWE RAW led to a tag team championship match between RK-Bro and The Hurt Business. The two teams met in the main event of the show.
AJ Styles and Omos decided to stay back and watch the match up close. Riddle started hot and went right after his former rival, Bobby Lashley. The WWE Champion punished him with a vertical suplex and showcased his explosive power.
MVP tagged in soon after and gave Riddle a chance to bring Randy Orton into the ring. The Viper worked the veteran over and starred a hole through Lashley.
The All Mighty tried to help his partner out in the ring and took down Riddle with a slam. The Bro was able to bring Orton back into the contest to work over MVP.
After the two teams exchanged some moves, Omos tried to interfere in the contest and attack Randy Orton. Riddle stopped him in his tracks and hit the Floating Bro to pin MVP and pick up the win.
After the match, Lashley attempted to lock Riddle in the Hurt Lock. The Viper slid into the ring and hit an RKO to level the WWE Champion and bring RAW to a close.
The match was great and gave RK-Bro a huge victory to brag about. WWE is also looking to build a lot of tension between some of the top superstars of RAW and Lashley. While Goldberg will be back to challenge the WWE Champion, it will be interesting to see who faces him at WWE Extreme Rules.
