'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
A large number of fans were waiting for this week’s WWE RAW for the World Championship match between The Miz and Bobby Lashley. Lashley has been on the hunt for several years but had failed to win the top title of the company on previous occasions. His match against The Miz offered him a huge opportunity to bag his first big one.
Former WWE Champion Drew McIntyre was scheduled to appear on this week’s WWE RAW after losing the title to The Miz at Elimination Chamber. McIntyre survived the Elimination Chamber but fell prey to an attack from Lashley that allowed Miz to take advantage and win the title.
Apart from that, Charlotte Flair made it clear that she wanted to take on Asuka for the RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 37. The build-up to this rivalry and match has been questionable, and fans will have to wait and watch how RAW creatives go about this storyline.
Nia Jax scored a victory over Naomi on RAW, while Damian Priest took down Elias in a match that did not take off as it should have.
The race to WrestleMania is on and WWE RAW creatives are looking to build some big storylines ahead of the event. Let’s take a look at five things that WWE got right on this week’s episode of RAW.
#5 Drew McIntyre and Sheamus lit up WWE RAW
Drew McIntyre returned to WWE RAW after he lost the WWE Championship to The Miz at Elimination Chamber. McIntyre was looking to put the past behind him and take down Sheamus to once again get to the WWE title picture.
Sheamus and McIntyre locked horns even before the former got to the ring. The Celtic Warrior decided to target McIntyre’s jaw, and both men did not hold back punches to teach each other a lesson.
Sheamus continued to target The Scottish Warrior’s jaw and tried to break it with knee drops. The fight spilled over to the floor where McIntyre used his power to throw Sheamus into the announce table.
McIntyre then hit a great superplex from the top rope to take Sheamus down, but could not put him away. Both men continued to deliver some big blows, and McIntyre hit the Future Shock DDT.
He followed it up with a White Noise from the top rope, but The Celtic Warrior refused to stay down. Sheamus set up to hit a Brogue Kick but ran into a Claymore Kick at the last moment. The move awarded McIntyre the victory after a top-notch match.
McIntyre showed once again why he was the WWE Champion for so long. The WWE RAW Superstar continues to improve and impress the WWE Universe. It’s not easy to outwrestle a veteran like Sheamus, and McIntyre came close to doing that.
The Celtic Warrior, on the other hand, proved to be the perfect heel opposite McIntyre. They’re both big men, and Sheamus worked on McIntyre’s jaw to show that he wouldn’t let his former friend off easy. These two WWE RAW Superstars could main event a pay-per-view later this year.
#4 Adam Pearce found himself in a match alongside Braun Strowman on WWE RAW
Last week on WWE RAW, Braun Strowman tried to get into the WWE Championship picture. Strowman competed against Bobby Lashley in hopes of making the WWE Championship match this week a Triple Threat Match.
However, Strowman was unable to defeat The All Mighty who has been on a golden run as of late. This week on WWE RAW, The Monster Among Men called out Adam Pearce and Shane McMahon for cheating him out of opportunities.
Shane decided to have some fun on WWE RAW and told Strowman that he’d team up with Pearce to compete for the RAW Tag Team Championships. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin came out for the match and Strowman decided that he’d face the two men on his own without tagging in Pearce.
While Strowman went shoulder first into the steel post outside the ring after missing Alexander, he recovered enough to plant Benjamin with a Powerslam.
However, Shane commanded Strowman to tag in Pearce, and this gave Shelton time to recover and pin Pearce to pick up the victory. While the match wasn’t anything special, it seems like RAW creatives are building towards a rivalry between Shane and Strowman for WrestleMania 37.
Shane hasn’t competed since October 2019, but he’s someone who loves to take big bumps. Strowman could have a match at WrestleMania if the RAW creatives continue to build this further.
#3 The Miz continued to run away from his WWE Championship match on WWE RAW
The Miz was scheduled to defend his WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley on WWE RAW this week. The A-Lister wasn’t very sure about whether he’d be able to come out on top during the match, and continued to try and wiggle out of it.
He first tried to get Drew McIntyre on his side and asked him for his help. However, McIntyre wasn’t ready to give The Miz any assistance, and MVP arrived to inform the WWE Universe that Miz would defend his title at the top of the hour on WWE RAW.
Miz got out of defending the WWE Champion at 9:00 EST by claiming that he was having cramps and needed some time. At 10:00 EST he entered the ring but tried to talk his way out of the match.
Lashley wasn’t ready to wait and the match got started. However, Miz decided to run to the back with his title and got counted out in the process. The countout victory allowed Miz to retain his title, but Lashley wasn’t too happy with that.
Later on, Shane McMahon made it clear that The Miz would have to defend his title otherwise he’d forfeit it. This did not sit well with The A-Lister who wasn’t too pleased with the announcement.
While what was coming was inevitable, the company did well to keep things interesting on WWE RAW. Miz has always been a cunning heel, and it was good to watch him make excuses rather than face Lashley.
#2 Mustafa Ali pinned the United States Champion on WWE RAW
RETRIBUTION competed against the team of the Lucha House Party and the United States Champion Riddle on WWE RAW. The action was fast-paced in the match, and RETRIBUTION struggled later on.
Gran Metalik hit Slapjack with a top rope splash to pick up the victory on WWE RAW. However, Mustafa Ali was not too happy with his faction’s performance in the match and decided to challenge Riddle to a non-title match.
Ali started well but seemed to be no match for the United States Champion. Riddle almost had the match clinched after the Final Flash, but RETRIBUTION helped their leader out.
Several distractions allowed Ali to bounce back and hit The Original Bro with a top rope headscissors slam to take the win.
It was good to watch Ali pick up a huge victory over a reigning Champion on WWE RAW. RETRIBUTION hasn’t done too well over the past several months, and this victory could end up giving the team a boost and allow Ali to get in the United States Championship picture.
#1 Bobby Lashley became the new WWE Champion on RAW
After Shane McMahon told The Miz that he’d have to forfeit his WWE Championship if he did not face Bobby Lashley in the main event of RAW, the A-Lister reluctantly came out.
However, that wasn’t the only announcement Shane had in mind, as he revealed that the match between Bobby Lashley and The Miz would be a Lumberjack Match. Miz tried to get himself disqualified early but that did not work against The All Mighty.
Bobby Lashley did not hold back and wanted to earn the respect of the WWE Universe after having a long journey. Miz could not get away, as the Lumberjacks outside the ring ensured that he could not escape so easily.
Finally, Lashley locked in the Hurt Lock on The Miz and made him tap out to pick up the biggest victory of his WWE career. While RAW wasn’t the perfect place for Bobby Lashley's first WWE Championship victory, the Superstar won’t complain about it for sure.
It took a long time for one of the toughest men in WWE to win the title, and fans will hopefully watch him have a long and successful reign.
RAW now officially belongs to The Hurt Business.
Do you love to play crosswords, Wordle or other exciting games? We'd like to connect with you. Fill the form here!
