5 Things WWE subtly told us on RAW before Extreme Rules: Possible mistake made with Roman Reigns, Big title change to take place?

It was the RAW before Extreme Rules, and the show ended with possibly the biggest main event of the year on free TV. Before we get to it, a special mention to Shayna Baszler, who seems to be on the right track following her win over Nia Jax and vicious post-match assault.

Reggie continued to survive as the 24/7 Champion after a botched plan from R-Truth, Drake Maverick, Drew Gulak, and Akira Tozawa. That aside, Extreme Rules is this weekend, and it should be a good pay-per-view. Here's what WWE subtly told us this week:

---

#5. The RAW-SmackDown crossover with Roman Reigns

RAW opened with The New Day's celebration. Surprisingly, it wasn't cut short right away, with Roman Reigns and The Bloodline only choosing to enter at the end of the segment.

It led to a highly-anticipated six-man tag match that was entertaining in itself. However, it came to an end soon after when Bobby Lashley interfered and took out The New Day. Reigns pinned Xavier Woods to win the match.

But it wasn't just The New Day Lashley took out – he even assaulted The Usos and speared Reigns. We wondered how WWE would book Lashley post-WWE title reign, and this was the best possible thing they could've done.

Lashley said he was willing to take on both World Champions at the same time. Big E wanted both Lashley and Reigns, and the match was booked for the main event of RAW.

On paper, it might've been one of the biggest main events we've seen on RAW; in 2021 at least. The match was explosive. There was no interference, and Lashley resorted to using a steel chair to assault Big E.

However, it was the Tribal Chief who walked out the victor as he pinned Lashley with a spear. One could argue that this was a mistake by WWE as it weakened Big E, Lashley, and RAW itself.

Mistake or not, it was a statement made by WWE. While they're obviously under pressure to treat both RAW and SmackDown equally, this seems to be a statement of intent that SmackDown will be the top priority.

It was a bit surprising to see Reigns stand tall on RAW, but it shouldn't be given how much they've invested in him.

#4. Is Alexa Bliss in for singles gold on RAW?

Alexa Bliss is challenging for the RAW Women's Championship after a long time. It's been over three years since her last RAW Women's title reign, which also happens to be her last singles title reign.

For a woman who was so dominant for close to two years, it's hard to believe that she hasn't had the same level of success on a singles level. She has enjoyed success in the Women's Tag Team division, however.

This week on RAW, Charlotte Flair was invited to Bliss' playground, and it was a bit of a tense segment. Charlotte took a dig at Bliss for not being "original," hinting at Bray Wyatt.

Bliss took digs at Charlotte for her lack of personality without the championships. It was a good back-and-forth promo battle, with Bliss standing tall and sending Charlotte packing.

While it might seem like Charlotte will be retaining the title, it wouldn't be surprising if this entire segment on RAW was foreshadowing a title change. This means that Charlotte will lose yet another Women's title, but Bliss certainly deserves it.

#3. RK-Bro stands tall in a growing RAW Tag Team division

RK-Bro might be on the verge of a rematch against AJ Styles and Omos, but so far, they've gotten the better of the former RAW Tag Team Champions. This week on RAW, Riddle played the ultimate hype man to Randy Orton as he took on AJ Styles in a rematch.

The two have faced off on RAW several times since their WrestleMania bout two years ago, and this was undoubtedly one of their better ones. In this instance, Riddle's purpose was to serve as a way to neutralize Omos.

After a point, it didn't matter as Omos was ejected from ringside. This eventually allowed Orton to pin Styles clean. It was a good match, but the big takeaway wasn't from this match, but one much later on.

Humberto Carrillo formed a tag team with Angel Garza, who hasn't been seen on RAW in a long time. The RAW Tag Team division continues to grow, meaning that RK-Bro will have no shortage of teams to feud within the coming months.

#2. Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. quickly ascend the Women's Tag Team division on RAW

Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. are now the only "dual-branded" superstars on the WWE roster as they won the Women's Tag Team Championship. Rhea and Nikki have been on a roll since RAW after SummerSlam 2021, eventually leading to the Women's Tag Team Championship match.

Natalya and Tamina have been good champions, but it's clear that their time as Women's Tag Team Champions is up.

While many are wondering why WWE didn't wait for 6 more days until Extreme Rules to have a title change, there's a good reason for this. WWE is reportedly under some pressure to treat RAW and SmackDown as equal shows.

As important as pay-per-views are, TV broadcast deals are far more important to WWE from a financial perspective. Perhaps this was one of the "big moves" on RAW.

#1. Jeff Hardy sneaks his way into title contention on RAW

We're not sure how it happened, but it just has – Jeff Hardy's win on RAW cemented his place in the Extreme Rules US title match. There haven't even been any stipulations for the matches, but the US title match may not need it.

Although Damian Priest retained the US title against Jeff Hardy on RAW last week, The Charismatic Enigma was handed a match against Sheamus this week. The match on RAW stipulated that if Jeff Hardy beat Sheamus, he would enter the US title match at Extreme Rules, making it a Triple Threat.

US Champion Damian Priest was at ringside as Jeff Hardy defeated Sheamus. He didn't seem to mind, even getting physically involved with Sheamus post-match. Sheamus, meanwhile. had his face busted open once more without his mask.

Does Jeff Hardy deserve to be in the title picture? Either way, we can't see either Sheamus or Jeff Hardy dethroning Damian Priest.