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Bobby Lashley did not seem interested in Goldberg’s challenge on WWE RAW this week. While The All Mighty was ready to take out the Hall of Famer last week, he was not ready to defend his WWE Championship against Goldberg.
Instead, the WWE Champion defeated Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander in a handicap match to make a statement. Meanwhile, the new RAW Women’s Champion did not have such a good first outing on this week’s show.
Nikki A.S.H. looked to make her first major title victory more memorable, but ended up suffering a setback instead. Drew McIntyre taught Veer a lesson and also took down Jinder Mahal’s lawyer to build on his new rivalry.
Take a look at the five things WWE got right on this week’s episode of RAW.
#5 Nikki A.S.H. celebrated her victory on WWE RAW before being taken down by Charlotte Flair
The new WWE RAW Women’s Champion Nikki A.S.H. opened up this week’s show. She addressed her victory over Charlotte Flair last week and said that she was not afraid of failure anymore.
Nikki was soon interrupted by Flair who came out and called her a disgrace as champion. The Queen said she would get her rematch at WWE SummerSlam before Rhea Ripley came out to the middle.
The former RAW Women’s Champion claimed that she deserved a shot at Nikki and her title instead of Flair. Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville came out to announce that the RAW Women’s Championship would be defended in a Triple Threat Match at SummerSlam.
Flair then challenged Nikki to a match later in the night and attacked Ripley before being taken out by the RAW Women’s Champion.
Flair played the perfect heel character against Nikki in the main event of the night. She threw her opponent around and tried to rip off her mask to humiliate her. She taunted the WWE Universe and questioned whether they were willing to cheer for Nikki as their champion.
Nikki A.S.H. fought back with some big moves and went on a roll. She nearly picked up the victory with a crossbody, but Flair rolled her up for the pin. The Queen mocked the champion before Nikki challenged her to another match next week. Flair ended the night with a big boot to Nikki.
Nikki A.S.H. has taken the RAW women’s division by storm over the past few weeks. She hasn't been the best in the ring, but has enough charisma to come across as a top champion. A match against Flair and Rhea Ripley will show how much she can withstand on a big stage like SummerSlam.
WWE could have avoided giving her a loss in her first match as the champion. However, the storyline could help her pick up a huge underdog victory at SummerSlam to cement herself as a top superstar on RAW.
#4 Mustafa Ali and Mansoor successfully teamed up on WWE RAW
Mustafa Ali and Mansoor teamed up on this week’s WWE RAW. The two men had been shown in several backstage interactions before Ali defeated Mansoor earlier this month.
Ali and Mansoor went up against T-Bar and Mace on the show and the announcement team immediately reminded fans about Ali’s past with T-Bar and Mace.
The heels dominated Ali early before Mansoor helped his partner stay alive in the match. Ali hit a big kick to T-Bar and tagged in his partner just when Mace came into the ring.
Mansoor went on a roll and nearly picked up the win before T-Bar took him down with a big boot. He set up for the chokeslam, but Mansoor took advantage and rolled him up for the win.
The match wasn’t anything special but it gave the RAW tag team division something different to look forward to. T-Bar and Mace may be ruined beyond repair, but they could help Ali and Mansoor get a push on RAW.
The two men could end up being a great tag team if the creative team puts some effort into it. They have the talent and potential to get ahead in WWE. Ali deserves to get something good out of this one.
#3 Damian Priest defeated Sheamus on WWE RAW
Sheamus and Humberto Carrillo had a good match on WWE RAW last week. Carrillo was looking for a United States Championship opportunity but failed to defeat The Celtic Warrior on RAW.
This week, Sheamus surprisingly took on Damian Priest inside the ring. There wasn’t much backstory to this clash, but the two men definitely tried to make it work in the ring.
Priest looked to dominate Sheamus early but The Celtic Warrior dropped him on the apron to do some damage. The two men traded some blows before Priest delivered a clothesline and knocked Sheamus’ mask off.
The Archer of Infamy hit a top-rope chokeslam before going for Hit the Lights. Sheamus countered with an Alabama Slam but could not stay in the match for long. A big kick to the face seemingly injured Sheamus’ nose once again before Priest hit Reckoning for the win.
The match was good and gave Priest something to build upon. He seems to be next in line for the United States Championship and could get a big match at WWE SummerSlam. RAW needs to build its mid-card more, and this rivalry could spice things up on Monday nights.
#2 Karrion Kross picked up a victory over Keith Lee on WWE RAW
Karrion Kross picked up a humiliating defeat on his WWE RAW debut last week. The NXT Champion was put in a match against Jeff Hardy, where he ended up losing. This week, Kross came out to face his former rival, Keith Lee. Lee was the man Kross defeated at TakeOver XXX to win his first NXT Championship.
The two men came face to face before Lee used his power over the NXT Champion. The match spilled to the floor when Kross hit a huge overhead suplex to take Lee out for some time.
Back inside the RAW ring, The Herald of Doomsday kept the pressure on Lee. The Limitless One tried to gain some momentum with the Spirit Bomb, but Kross dodged it and hit another overhead suplex.
He hit Lee with a forearm to the back of the neck before locking him in the Kross Jacket. Keith Lee tapped out to award Kross his first win on RAW.
The match was decent and showed what both the superstars are capable of. Oddly, the RAW creative team decided to book another submission loss for Lee. However, it looks like RAW will build Kross as a threat so that he can immediately get in the WWE Championship scene after losing the NXT title.
#1 AJ Styles and Omos retained their WWE RAW Tag Team Championships before making Riddle pay
AJ Styles and Omos defended their WWE RAW Tag Team Championships against The Viking Raiders again this week. The baby faces isolated Styles early and kept the pressure on for some time.
Erik leveled Omos outside the ring and The Viking Raiders nearly put Styles away before Omos made the save. After some top moves throughout the contest, AJ hit a springboard 450 splash and picked up the win.
Later in the night, AJ Styles and Omos were seen backstage plotting something with The Miz and John Morrison. Soon after, Morrison took on Riddle on RAW. The two men exchanged some good moves and kept the pace up.
The Miz tried to cause a distraction with the drip stick before Riddle knocked his wheelchair over. The Original Bro had the upper hand in the match before Styles and Omos showed up. They broke Riddle’s scooter to cause a distraction, allowing Morrison to take advantage and finish Riddle off with Starship Pain.
After the match, Styles took out Riddle with a Styles Clash to make a loud and clear statement. WWE is building towards a rivalry between The RK-Bros and the RAW Tag Team Champions. Randy Orton will need to return soon if the creative team is heading in that direction for WWE SummerSlam.
A rivalry between these two teams could help RAW elevate the card for the big pay-per-view.
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