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WWE RAW was looking to take the brand's top championship storylines to the next level this week. With WWE SummerSlam coming up, Bobby Lashley and Nikki A.S.H. were looking to give their opponents a tough time before their big matches.
Meanwhile, Sheamus tried to get the better of Damian Priest while the latter competed in a match against John Morrison. Ricochet helped even the odds and picked up a victory alongside Priest over Sheamus and Morrison.
Reggie successfully defended his 24/7 Championship against Akira Tozawa, while Tamina defeated Duodrop on RAW. Mansoor and Mustafa Ali teamed up to take on Mace and T-Bar once again but were not very successful this time around.
The WWE Universe chanted for Bray Wyatt, CM Punk, and Becky Lynch during different parts of RAW this week. Take a look at the five things WWE got right on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW.
#5 Goldberg got in Bobby Lashley’s face again on WWE RAW
Goldberg returned on the July 19th edition of WWE RAW in front of a live audience to challenge Bobbly Lashley. A match was teased between the two superstars, but Lashley shrugged off the challenge during the episode that followed.
MVP and Lashley came out to kick off RAW and addressed a few things before getting to the point. MVP put Goldberg over and said he could still beat most men in WWE, but not The All Mighty.
After MVP mocked the Hall of Famer a little more, Goldberg made his way out on RAW. He said that Lashley was the one who should be worried and claimed that the WWE Champion was scared.
The former Universal Champion once again laid down the challenge for SummerSlam before leaving the ring. After Goldberg left, MVP got in the Hall of Famer’s son’s face at ringside, saying Lashley would end his father's career. This drew Goldberg back to flatten MVP with a spear.
Later on RAW, Lashley accepted Goldberg’s challenge for SummerSlam. The All Mighty told Goldberg to bring his son to SummerSlam so that he could watch Lashley annihilate him.
The entire segment wasn’t too over the top but did what was required. WWE ran a similar storyline on RAW and SmackDown for the top titles before confirming the big championship matches for SummerSlam.
Goldberg has never been too good at promos, and the segment ensured that he didn’t ruin the big buildup by going over the top. Meanwhile, MVP carried the segment perfectly and took one for the team to make matters more interesting.
#4 Rhea Ripley defeated Nia Jax on WWE RAW
Rhea Ripley got a match against Nia Jax on this week’s WWE RAW. The Nightmare is set to compete in a Triple Threat Match for the RAW Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair and Nikki A.S.H. at WWE SummerSlam.
Ripley and Jax went hard at each other from the opening bell. A headbutt from Ripley backfired as it did more damage to her than her opponent.
Jax tried to work on Ripley’s head for some time but missed an attempt to smash her skill at ringside. This allowed Ripley to take control of the match and lay out Shayna Baszler at ringside to gain some momentum.
After the two women exchanged some excellent moves, Baszler tried to distract The Nightmare. The plan backfired as Jax could not keep up and got rolled up for the three-count. Jax and Baszler began to argue after the match. The Queen of Spades left while Ripley came back in and took Jax down with the Riptide.
It was good to see Ripley pick up a victory over a major superstar on RAW. However, WWE could have allowed her to hit the Riptide during the match and pick up a convincing win.
The finish of the match could also signal a split between Baszler and Jax. The Queen of Spades should soon get in contention for the RAW Women’s Championship.
#3 Omos laid waste to Riddle on WWE RAW
Riddle has been one of the most entertaining characters on WWE RAW for some time. He got to show off his skills once again as he took on the giant Omos in a one-on-one match.
The Original Bro tried to weaken Omos early by putting him in a sleeper hold, but the big superstar easily threw him to the mat.
The fight spilt over to the floor where Riddle could not take down Omos and got thrown over the barricades. The giant used his size in the match and punished the former United States Champion with a few tackles and slams.
Riddle tried to fight his way back into the match with a few strikes to the RAW Tag Team Champion but could not take control. After delivering a massive clothesline, Omos picked up the win with a two-handed chokeslam.
Omos isn’t the best mover in the ring. However, his size and power advantage allow him to remain a big attraction on RAW. Riddle proved to be a great opponent for the giant as he sold all his moves perfectly.
A dominant victory for Omos is a good sign for the superstar, who will likely become one of the company's top giants. Fans are now waiting to see whether Randy Orton will return to RAW and team up with Riddle to take down the champions.
#2 Keith Lee picked up a victory over NXT Champion Karrion Kross on WWE RAW
Karrion Kross defeated Keith Lee for his first victory on WWE RAW last week. The two men got a rematch for this week’s show as Lee was looking to get some payback over the man who defeated him for the NXT Championship.
The two men tested each other’s strength early and exchanged some basic holds and moves to warm up. Kross countered nearly everything Lee had to throw at him and looked like the better superstar.
The two men fought their way out of the ring, and The Herald of Doomsday suplexed Lee into the side of the steel steps to take control of the bout. After taking some strikes, Lee made his signature babyface comeback and punished Kross with some chops.
Kross nearly picked up the win again with the Kross Jacket before The Limitless One countered it with the Spirit Bomb for the win. WWE did the right thing by awarding Lee with a big victory after two major losses on RAW.
It looks like the creative team is unsure what to do with Kross on the main roster. The plan could be to bring Scarlett in to put Kross back on a dominant run. However, the loss hurt his credibility ahead of his NXT Championship match against Samoa Joe at TakeOver 36.
#1 Nikki A.S.H. surprised the WWE Universe with a clean victory over Charlotte Flair on RAW
Charlotte Flair and Nikki A.S.H. competed in yet another main event match on WWE RAW this week. Nikki was defeated by Flair on last week’s show, but she was looking to turn things around in the No Holds Barred match.
Flair looked overconfident and went straight at Nikki from the opening bell. She punished the RAW Women’s Champion before bringing a table into the match. The Queen continued to dominate the action as she speared Nikki through the barricade shortly after.
Flair tried to end things early before Nikki made a comeback. She took some more punishment before delivering a dropkicking a chair into Charlotte's face. The Almost Superhero’s rally did not last long as Flair powerbombed her through a table.
Flair tried to pick up the victory by covering Nikki with one foot, but the RAW Women’s Champion kicked out. She dodged a Spear from Flair to send her through a table in the corner.
Nikki finally hit a twisting neck breaker to pick up a convincing victory over her SummerSlam opponent. This was arguably the best match of the night and one of the best matches Nikki has competed in so far.
The champion needed to show what she’s made of before SummerSlam, and Flair gave her an excellent chance to do so. The Queen played the crowd perfectly while being the heel in the match while Nikki proved to be the perfect underdog.
