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WWE RAW was stacked with some good matches this week. Kofi Kingston and Drew McIntyre were put into a match by Adam Pearce to determine Bobby Lashley’s challenger for Hell in a Cell.
Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin competed in another singles match. Alexander used some dirty tactics to get the victory over his former tag team partner.
Humberto Carrillo came out to challenge Sheamus on RAW once again. The United States Champion cheated his way to victory, after which Ricochet came out to save Carrillo from a beatdown.
Riddle and Xavier Woods competed in a good contest, while Nikki Cross made her return to the RAW ring after a long time.
Charlotte Flair and Asuka locked horns in a contest to determine who’d challenge Rhea Ripley for the RAW Women’s Championship.
Last but not least, Natalya and Tamina defended their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships in the main event of the show.
Let's take a look at the five things WWE got right on RAW this week:
#5 Kofi Kingston got in the race for the WWE Championship on RAW
RAW opened with MVP introducing Bobby Lashley to the WWE Universe. The WWE Champion came out in style once again and recapped what happened last week during his match against Kofi Kingston.
It did not take long for Drew McIntyre to show up. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods followed soon after, after which Adam Pearce booked a match between Kingston and McIntyre.
The match got underway, and McIntyre used his strength to push Kingston to the edge. He manhandled his opponent for some time before Kingston made a comeback into the match.
MVP and Bobby Lashley watched from the stage as the two RAW Superstars competed for an opportunity to challenge The All Mighty for the WWE Championship.
The two men countered each other’s moves and exchanged some near falls. McIntyre taunted Lashley to come and take a closer look at the match, after which both the superstars ended up crashing into the WWE Champion.
MVP and Lashley attacked both men, causing a disqualification in the process. Afterwards, Pearce booked a rematch between McIntyre and Kingston for next week. He informed MVP and Lashley that they’d be suspended without pay if they dared to interfere in the match.
It’s good to see Kingston back in the top title picture again. He was one of the better WWE Champions in recent memory and deserves to get a few more shots at the title.
McIntyre has been in the WWE Championship picture for too long and needs to get into some other rivalry. Will Kingston defeat The Scottish Warrior next week to head to Hell in a Cell for a match against Bobby Lashley?
#4 Nikki Cross picked up a huge victory on her return to WWE RAW
Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley had a heated exchange backstage on WWE RAW. Nikki Cross showed up and challenged one of the two superstars to a match. The Queen refused to fight Cross, but Ripley accepted the challenge.
A Beat the Clock challenge took place between the two RAW Superstars soon after. Cross tried to take control of the match early, but she was no match for Ripley’s strength. The Nightmare took her down with a dropkick before unloading on her challenger.
While Ripley had the upper hand in the match, the clock counted down before Ripley realized she had to defeat Cross in the set time. This allowed Cross to pick up a big victory on RAW.
The was Cross’s first match on RAW since February. The superstar has a lot of talent, but WWE creative hasn’t been able to use her effectively since he split from Alexa Bliss.
This victory could help her get more screentime in the weeks to come. Cross is a superstar who needs to stay on television and build a storyline of her own.
#3 Charlotte Flair is the No.1 Contender for the WWE RAW Women’s Championship once again
Charlotte Flair and Asuka locked horns on WWE RAW for an opportunity to challenge Rhea Ripley for her title. Asuka went on the attack early but was taken down by The Queen with a chop block.
Flair went on the attack and targetted Asuka’s knee to slow her down. She started building towards the Figure Eight for an easy victory on RAW.
The Empress of Tomorrow fought back and hit a German Suplex to make a comeback into the match. She tried to lock in a submission but Flair managed to break the hold.
The Queen hit a backbreaker and set up a moonsault. Asuka caught her with the Asuka Lock and made her pay, but Flair reversed it to pin her opponent and win the match.
Asuka had already defeated Flair last week, and WWE could have given her a shot at the RAW Women’s Championship based on that result. Instead, the RAW creative decided to put her down and give Flair another opportunity.
The good thing is that Ripley and Flair will get a one-on-one contest on a major pay-per-view. This will likely lead to a great match between the two women.
#2 Natalya and Tamina retained their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships on RAW
Natalya and Tamina defended their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at the end of RAW. Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax came out looking to win the titles back for another reign.
Tamina kicked off the action for her team before Natalya asked to be tagged in. The Queen of Harts took her opponent down with some big moves before being taken out herself.
Reginald decided to show up at ringside, and Baszler wasn’t too happy to see him out there. Natalya took advantage of the situation and hit her with a German Suplex.
Tamina tagged herself back in the ring and rocked Jax with a Superkick. She used her power to work over her cousin for some time and then hit Baszler with a Powerslam.
Late in the match, Natalya was pushed on the backfoot and nearly got pinned before Reginald distracted the referee at the wrong time.
Baszler unloaded on Reginald and told him to head backstage. As he walked up the ramp, the pyro went off, sending him flying. The distraction allowed Natalya to take advantage and pin Baszler to pick up the win.
RAW creative still need to put in a lot more work to build the women’s tag team division. However, it was good to see Natalya and Tamina retain their titles after working so hard over the past few years.
The two RAW Superstars deserve a longer and more dominant run with the championships and, more importantly, new feuds.
#1 Riddle and Xavier Woods put on a great match on WWE RAW
After the events of last week’s WWE RAW, Riddle and Xavier Woods met in the center of the ring. The two superstars were getting along quite well before Randy Orton’s actions forced Riddle to make a choice.
The Original Bro took control of the match early, but Woods answered by hitting a beautiful suplex from the ropes. The two superstars continued to trade strikes before they took each other out with clotheslines.
Later in the match, Woods hit another great suplex, this time on the apron, to nearly knock Riddle out. He kept control of the match for some time and kept the pressure on The King of Bros.
Riddle made a comeback and set up towards the Floating Bro, Woods dodged it and was closing in on finishing Riddle before The Original Bro hit an RKO out of nowhere for the win.
Riddle using Orton’s finisher shows just how much The Viper has influenced him.
It was arguably the best match of the night that elevated both men on the RAW mid-card. It looks like Riddle will be turning heel and will continue to work with Orton for the foreseeable future.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
