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The season premiere of WWE RAW had some big matches and segments scheduled for the night. The RAW Women’s Championship was on the line as Asuka defended her title against Lana. Mustafa Ali was also booked to make an appearance with RETRIBUTION.
Fans were waiting for the massive clash between Braun Strowman and Keith Lee this week. The rumors circulating about AJ Styles getting a new bodyguard turned out to be true as well.
That wasn’t all, as Kofi Kingston competed in a match against the man who tried to take down his friend Big E on WWE SmackDown. The women of RAW were in action and competed in a Fatal 4-Way Women's Tag Team match, where the Champions stood tall once again.
Jeff Hardy crashed Elias’ performance, and the two men will likely get into an extended rivalry in the weeks to come.
In this article, we will look at the five things WWE RAW got right in its season premiere.
#5 Asuka retains WWE RAW Women’s Championship
Lana surprised everyone by winning the Battle Royal last week to become the #1 contender to Asuka’s WWE RAW Women’s Championship.
While many expected it to be a squash match of sorts, it was good to watch Lana get some offense in. Lana hasn’t been used in the ring as much as many other female Superstars on WWE RAW, and she had a big opportunity to showcase her potential just like Zelina Vega did.
The Ravishing Russian was no pushover, but once The Empress trapped her in the Asuka Lock, there was no coming back for Lana as she was forced to tap out.
After the match, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler made their presence felt. Jax took down Lana with Samoan Drop through the announce table for the fifth consecutive week before Asuka fended them off.
While it was unfortunate to see WWE dishing out the same punishment for Lana for the fifth time, it was good to see her compete in a big match.
Jax and Baszler coming out to attack Asuka opens a new door and the hunger for the WWE RAW Women’s Championship could well lead to their breakup and downfall in the coming months.
#4 AJ Styles gets a new bodyguard on WWE RAW
After a great victory over Seth Rollins and Jeff Hardy on WWE RAW last week, AJ Styles walked into the show with a massive new bodyguard. Jordan Omogbehin, who’d previously played the role of the Giant Ninja with Akira Towaza and the bouncer during RAW Underground, was the man accompanying The Phenomenal One.
Styles cut a promo and spoke about his move to WWE RAW before his opponent Matt Riddle walked into the ring. Styles’ new bodyguard intimidated the referee before leaving the ring and the match kicked off with Riddle taking control.
Omogbehin provided the distraction to allow Styles to get back into the match and take the fight to his opponent. While Riddle sparked a good comeback, he found himself knocked to the floor soon after, where he was distracted by Omogbehin once again.
Back inside the ring, Styles took advantage and hit Riddle with the Styles Clash for the victory. This was a good match between the two men who could put on even better matches in the future.
Omogbehin introduction as Styles’ bodyguard is an interesting choice. Will he become an in-ring competitor soon? That's a question that may be answered in the weeks to come, but with Styles leading him, he could become a breakout star for the company.
#3 The New Day continue to build momentum on WWE RAW
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods landed on WWE RAW last week and traded their SmackDown Tag Team Championships for Street Profits' RAW Tag Team titles.
This week on the show, Kingston was booked to take on the man who’d been trying to hunt down Big E on SmackDown, Sheamus. The Celtic Warrior was also drafted to WWE RAW following the Draft.
After The Irishman interrupted The New Day’s promo, the match between Kingston and Sheamus got underway. Sheamus relied on his strength to get the better of the former WWE Champion as Big E watched on as part of the ThunderDome audience.
Kingston kept fighting back, but The Celtic Warrior was smart enough to keep him down and even hit him with an Alabama Slam to score a near fall.
After Kingston took Sheamus down with the Russian leg sweep, he kept the pressure on and hit him with Trouble in Paradise to score a hard-fought victory on the season premiere of WWE RAW.
This was a fun match that went on for longer than expected. Both the former WWE Champions put on a good show on a night where many matches did not meet expectations. It looks like New Day is done with Sheamus for some time unless he finds a partner and comes back for the RAW Tag Team Championship.
#2 The Hurt Business score a big victory on WWE RAW
The season premiere of WWE RAW opened with a huge eight-man tag team between RETRIBUTION and The Hurt Business.
Bobby Lashley, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, and Cedric Alexander continued to play their roles as the protectors of WWE RAW as they took the fight to T-Bar, Mace, Slapjack, and Mustafa Ali.
Slapjack took the initial punishment from The Hurt Business before Ali got the tag and sparked a comeback for his team.
‘The Fiend’ appeared on the video screen to haunt everyone in the ring, and The Hurt Business took control of the match from that point.
While both teams were doing pretty well, the United States Champion applied the Hurt Lock to T-Bar to score the victory for his team.
This was a fun match that allowed The Hurt Business to go over once again. While many will argue that it was wrong to hand Ali’s new faction a loss so soon, it makes sense because The Hurt Business has gelled well together compared to RETRIBUTION.
The Hurt Business seems to be more of a long-term project, and WWE could use RETRIBUTION to simply keep Hurt Business busy and allow its members to get over.
#1 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss leave a lasting impact on WWE RAW
Before RETRIBUTION and The Hurt Business competed on WWE RAW this week, ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt appeared to kick off the show with Alexa Bliss.
The former Universal Champion joined Bliss in the ring, hand-in-hand, before RETRIBUTION appeared under Mustafa Ali’s leadership and surrounded The Fiend and Bliss. However, the lights went out and when they came back on, The Fiend and Bliss had disappeared.
During the match between The Hurt Business and RETRIBUTION, The Fiend appeared on the screen. After the match was over, The Fiend appeared once again and single-handedly laid out Mace, T-Bar, and Slapjack along with Ali.
The Fiend stood tall as Bliss appeared on the video screen and chants of “Let Me In” filled the arena.
Later on WWE RAW, Wyatt appeared on the Firefly Fun House. He introduced The Goddess as the newest member of the Firefly Fun House to make things even more entertaining and exciting.
On an episode of WWE RAW where there were several mediocre matches and segments, The Fiend and Bliss stood out. These segments have already made The Fiend and Bliss the star attractions of RAW, and it shouldn't be too long before they start eyeing the big prizes on the brand.
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