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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on RAW. It wasn't exactly a happening episode, but it wasn't the worst either. It did far more to build to Extreme Rules: The Horror Show than SmackDown did, though that probably had to do with the timing of all the tapings and the overall testing process that's happening within WWE.
Either way, there was a contract signing that started the show and a solid star-studded match in the main event. A few names were missing but the episode wasn't so bad that they needed the "bigger" names. Either way, let's jump into the things that WWE subtly told us on RAW!
#5 WWE attempting to reunite two losing Superstars
Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan are two WWE superstars who have been on a losing skid lately. Riott has had a record of 0-11 since returning to WWE TV while Liv Morgan has been losing every week.
There have been some rumors indicating that Vince McMahon wasn't too big on Liv Morgan and the way Ruby Riott has been treated as an enhancement talent. Either way, their stories are being acknowledged on TV, so that's a good start at least.
Ruby Riott has also been more of a babyface since returning and she's made clear attempts to patch up with former Riott Squad member Liv Morgan. It's an interesting story to go by and we can see them pairing up once again to become a part of the women's tag team division.
Since there seem to be no plans of a singles push for either WWE Superstar, having them in the women's tag team division is the best thing to do. There are hardly any teams in the division, to begin with, and it's severely lacking.
There's also a great deal of inconsistency with regards to how often they're defended and Paige made a valid point in criticizing WWE for putting the Championships on Sasha Banks and Bayley.
The truth is that they don't need it, but that seems to be a part of their story. Either way, we can only hope that Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan form a tag team and become legitimate title contenders. They both have a lot of talent and can fit right in.
It could also be the start of a good story as their Riott Squad run ended rather abruptly.
#4 A big contract signing and a big main event
Tonight's show opened with a contract signing hosted by Samoa Joe, featuring WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, RAW Women's Champion Asuka, and their Extreme Rules opponents Dolph Ziggler and Sasha Banks.
While the signing was chaotic as expected, it turned into a mixed tag team main event match between the Champions and the Challengers while Bayley sat on the side. This was perhaps the most interesting part of the episode.
Drew McIntyre and Asuka got along perfectly while Dolph Ziggler was backstage getting yelled at by Sasha Banks, telling him to listen to her and reminding him of his slump on SmackDown before jumping over to WWE's Red brand.
However, in the main event, Sasha Banks managed to pin Asuka to pick up the win for her team. This alone seems to be quite the indicator that Asuka will be beating her at WWE Extreme Rules.
As for Dolph Ziggler, it's doesn't take much to see that he's a filler opponent for Drew McIntyre before SummerSlam 2020. This is despite the fact that Drew McIntyre allowed Dolph Ziggler to choose the stipulation for their Extreme Rules match.
#3 Dissent despite a possible title challenge?
It looks like the plan moving forward for Andrade and Angel Garza is for them to become a tag team. It's not often that we see a tag team pairing in WWE begin when there is dissent, but that seems to be the story here.
Their attack on The Street Profits last week indicated a clear title challenge, and a victory over The Viking Raiders undoubtedly put them at the front of the line. However, their night didn't end there. They would go on to face The Big Show in a 2-on-1 handicap match and lost after some miscommunication.
On a side note, we've been loving Zelina Vega's role and she adds a lot by being at ringside. Her facial expressions are perfect for WWE TV and she's a great manager as well. While Andrade and Angel Garza seem to be challenging for the Championship, we wonder how it's going to play out with these two WWE Superstars not getting along as they should.
Is it a story to build a stronger foundation or are their days together limited?
#2 Is Bobby Lashley set to end Apollo Crews' honeymoon phase?
The Bobby Lashley we're seeing now in WWE is the Bobby Lashley that we should have seen over two years ago when he returned. He's a phenomenal athlete and has such legitimacy in the ring that he can look like a world-beater when things are done right.
A world-beater is certainly what he's been lately and he helped MVP defeat United States Champion Apollo Crews. After the match, Bobby Lashley began the assault on the WWE United States Champion, but Apollo Crews' allies Cedric Alexander and Ricochet (who finally started making appearances again on TV) came to the rescue - only to be beaten down by Lashley themselves. He would face Ricochet in an impromptu match and win.
This is heading towards a Bobby Lashley vs Apollo Crews United States Championship match and unfortunately, we don't see Apollo Crews coming out of it with the Championship intact.
We can only hope that losing it is a part of his story, but Bobby Lashley has a lot of momentum right now and after failing to get the WWE Championship, he could end up winning the United States Championship.
If he does, he should have a long, dominant run with the title.
#1 What's the endgame for the Seth Rollins-Rey Mysterio story?
This was a surprisingly weak segment even though we've enjoyed the overall storyline on WWE TV. Seth Rollins cut a promo in a soft, and slow voice, telling Rey Mysterio that he apologizes - not for what's done, but what he's about to do.
Rey Mysterio apologized to Dominik about what he's going to do to Seth Rollins and we have a full-fledged grudge match for Extreme Rules: The Horror Show. Aleister Black and Humberto Carrillo cut a promo and we're not too happy with the fact that Aleister Black is being treated as an outright babyface.
It's true that he's been a babyface since joining NXT, but he's not the type of character who needs to follow a "typical" babyface arc. He should be in the line between babyface and heel but it all goes down to WWE's presentation of most Superstars.
The night ended for Humberto Carrillo with his face stomped onto the steel steps while wearing Rey Mysterio's mask.
While the two babyfaces are heavily involved, we see this leading to an intense stipulation match between Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins at WWE Extreme Rules 2020.
