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The RAW after Money in the Bank is always an interesting one, but no one could have been ready for this week’s show as it packed a punch, unlike any other episodes.
Fans got to see the return of Becky Lynch, Edge, and Randy Orton on the Red brand, while the RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits took on The Viking Raiders in a basketball match.
The RAW Women’s Championship changed hands after almost 400-days, and Lynch gave up the title for something even greater.
Seth Rollins was not himself on the show as he assaulted a future Hall of Famer and almost ended his career, while Bobby Lashley got a chance to climb up the ladder by proving that he is the strongest heel on RAW at the moment.
With a lot of action and even more drama, this week’s RAW was certainly one of the best we’ve seen all year as we got to watch much more than we’d bargained for.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things RAW got right on this week’s episode after Money in the Bank.
#5 The newest faction of RAW begins to crack
This week’s RAW saw some cracks begin to form in the brand’s newest faction. Cameras caught Andrade, Angel Garza, and Austin Theory backstage as Zelina Vega tried to regain control.
Garza was later seen competing in a match with Akira Towaza, which he easily won by hitting the Wing Clipper on his opponent. After the match, the three teammates once again got into an argument before RAW’s dominant WWE Champion Drew McIntyre interrupted them.
He took out Theory and Garza with lethal Claymore Kicks before stepping up to the United States Champion, Andrade. The two had a Champion vs. Champion match where El Idolo tried to work on McIntyre’s injury. However, a Claymore Kick was all it took for McIntyre to pick up another victory over Andrade on RAW.
After the match, McIntyre issued a challenge to SmackDown’s King Corbin for a match.
While the entire segment was very interesting, it was surprising to watch RAW’s newest faction begin to fall so soon. While Theory and Garza are good enough to go out on their own and compete individually, we could see Vega move on from Andrade and manage her real-life husband Aleister Black on RAW to help him get over to the top of the brand.
#4 The IIconics return to RAW
Many would have forgotten by now that The IIconics were the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions at one point. The duo had been out of action since November 2019 and returned to interrupt the current Women’s Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross on their 'A Moment of Bliss' talk show.
The two Superstars did not enjoy being overlooked on RAW and issued a challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Championship. However, Bliss and Cross declined to fight Billie Kay and Peyton Royce for the titles, after which they laid down a non-title challenge.
The match got underway and we saw The IIconics deliver a much better in-ring performance than before. They isolated Cross for most of the match, but Bliss tried to bring the team back into it. However, Royce took down Bliss and picked up the victory to immediately get in contention for the Tag Team titles.
This was a good way to bring back the former Champions right after Asuka won the Money in the Bank match and the Kabuki Warriors have been put on the shelf for now.
The IIconics can strengthen the RAW women’s division, and we could see the two teams compete for the Women’s Tag Team titles at Backlash.
#3 The Monday Night Messiah breaks down on RAW
Getting thrown off the roof of the WWE Headquarters was not enough for Aleister Black and Rey Mysterio as the two men returned on RAW to take on Seth Rollins and Murphy. After his loss to Drew McIntyre at Money in the Bank, Rollins seemed out of sorts and watched Murphy get beaten down by Black and Mysterio from the ring apron.
The action continued and Black was sent into the ring post as the heels managed to get back the control of the match. Mysterio struck Rollins, snapping him out which proved to be very costly for The King of the Cruiserweights.
The Messiah caught Mysterio in a 619 attempt and sent him into the barricade. He then dished out the same punishment to Black before telling his disciple to stay back and not get in his business.
He drove The Master of the 619 eye-first into the steel steps and looked on without remorse as medics and officials tended to Mysterio.
Backstage, Black confronted Rollins and Murphy but The Messiah walked away as a brawl broke out between Black and Murphy.
This will likely lead to another change in character for Rollins and we could see him become even more intense and villainous while Murphy could start moving away from his leader.
How will the father-to-be react in the coming weeks on RAW, and will he get into a major rivalry with Black or Murphy heading into Backlash?
#2 Asuka becomes the RAW Women’s Champion
RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch kicked off the show after Money in the Bank but walked in with the Money in the Bank briefcase instead of her RAW Women’s title.
She addressed the WWE Universe and spoke about how they have supported her through thick and thin. She revealed that she wanted the fans to be the first to know that she had to go away for a while.
This brought out Asuka who was not too happy with Lynch carrying her briefcase and announcing that she will be walking away. To the Empress’ surprise, The Man revealed that not only did Asuka win the briefcase at MITB, but she won the RAW Women’s Championship that was locked up inside the briefcase instead of a contract to cash-in for a Championship match.
Lynch further revealed that she was going to be a mother, revealing her pregnancy in the process, and wished Asuka well for her future too.
Even though the arena was silent without a crowd, we’re sure that the fans at home must be cheering for what they saw on this week’s RAW. Asuka is the most deserving Superstar after Lynch to hold the title, while Lynch taking time off to prepare for motherhood is something the fans would not mind her doing at all.
This was a great segment that helped deliver the biggest surprises in the most perfect way. It’ll be interesting to see how Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax react to all this.
#1 From Monday Night RAW to Backlash
Fans finally saw Edge return to their screens this week on RAW for the first time after his epic match against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 36. The Rated-R Superstar looked to dismiss the idea that he was back on RAW to still chase The Viper, but Orton came out to interrupt him.
Orton claimed that the better man may have won at The Showcase of Immortals, but it wasn’t the better wrestler who won the fight. The Viper then went on to make excuses for his loss and claimed that he’d rather have a proper wrestling match than a violent fight to determine who’s the better wrestler.
Orton went on to remind The Rated-R Superstar of the times he’d praised him but believed that he did not have it in him anymore. He ended the segment by challenging Edge to a straight-up wrestling match at Backlash.
RAW went off the air as Edge stood silent, leaving fans to wonder how the Rated-R Superstar would respond to the challenge.
While we’re not sure whether we want another Edge vs. Orton match, this segment was extremely good at building towards the next chapter in these two veterans’ rivalry. Orton was manipulative and will get what he wants as Edge will likely accept The Viper’s challenge in the coming weeks on an episode of RAW.
Bayley gives us a HUGE update on a top Superstar's upcoming return RIGHT HERE.
