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This week's episode of RAW had its fair share of ups and downs - or mostly downs. The show started off on a high note as the opening match between Seth Rollins and Aleister Black was absolutely brilliant. But the rest of the show was not as good as one would expect after such a promising start.
One of the highlights of RAW this week was R-Truth winning the WWE 24/7 Championship for the 36th time. He pinned Rob Gronkowski to win back his title and put an end to the latter's title reign.
We also saw WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michales make an appearance as he commented on the 'Greatest Wrestling Match' which will see Edge and Randy Orton lock horns at the upcoming WWE PPV, Backlash. Overall, the show was average, but there are a lot of things that WWE subtly told us.
In this article, we will discuss six such details that we learned on RAW. So, without further ado, let's begin.
#1 Apollo Crews' next feud on RAW
After spending many years on the sidelines, Apollo Crews is finally getting the attention he needed. He came back from an injury (kayfabe) and won the United States Championship by defeating Andrade. This storyline was booked well which saw Crews standing tall - an ending that he rightfully deserved on RAW.
On this week's episode of RAW, we saw him team up with Kevin Owens and take on Andrade and Angel Garza. It is important to note that Garza used unethical measures to pick a win over Owens last week. Hence, both KO and Crews wanted to seek their revenge and ultimately walked out as winners after today's match.
Even though Crews and Owens have formed an alliance, tonight we witnessed few subtle moments that instead hinted towards an imminent rivalry between the two. Owens is most likely expected to turn heel and engage in a Championship feud with Crews in the coming months. Both Superstars have good chemistry which leaves room for a promising rivalry with the United States title on the line.
Having said that, the creative is focusing mainly on their alliance to build a feud between them and Zelina Vega's prospects - Andrade and Garza. We might see these four Superstars engage in an extended feud before KO or Andrade are moved to the WWE title picture on RAW.
Hopefully, the creative will make the best use of this opportunity and book compelling storylines from this ongoing feud.
#2 The inevitable conclusion of the Lana-MVP clash on RAW
In the last few weeks, we have seen MVP take an interest in Bobby Lashley as he believes that the latter deserves to challenge for the top title on RAW. He has been successful with his intentions as Lashley has now finally received his opportunity to enter the WWE Championship picture. He will be facing Drew McIntyre for the title at Backlash.
While Lashley has finally started to find a deserving place for himself on the roster, things aren't going quite well between him and Lana. The latter is skeptical of MVP's intentions and evidently feels that she is losing control over Lashley. This has led to a lot of frustration for Lana, and this week, she finally snapped.
During a backstage segment, we saw a brief interaction between Lana and MVP which ended with Lana slapping MVP. The tension between them will inevitably play an important role in Lashley's upcoming match at Backlash.
It can be expected that Lana will interfere during Lashley's Championship bout which will ultimately cost him his rare Championship opportunity at the next WWE PPV.
#3 Seth Rollins' new role - putting over RAW Superstars like Aleister Black
In the opening match of this week's RAW, we saw Seth Rollins engage in an excellent match with Aleister Black. The Monday Night Messiah kickstarted the show with a retirement ceremony for Rey Mysterio, but Black wasn't having any of it. He marched down the ramp and attacked Rollins, which led to their match.
Their match was well-balanced inside the ring and we saw great action complement good story-telling. It looked as though despite Rollins' position on the roster, the WWE creative wanted Black to have an equal opportunity at showcasing his dominance. In the end, he emerged victorious and left Rollins in shock.
Following that, Austin Theory and Murphy attacked Black and Humberto Carrilo, who was present at the ring-side during the match. It was a great way to use someone like Rollins to further push Black, who has been excellent on RAW this year. He has finally gained the momentum he needed and is now slowly becoming a dominant Superstar with his eyes set on the most prominent names of the brand.
It also appears that we might be headed towards a feud between Rollins and Black and we could see them locking horns at a PPV in the coming months. This would turn out perfectly for Black who has previously spent a lot of time being involved in aimless story-telling on RAW.
As a heel, it is the perfect opportunity for Rollins to put over other talents and WWE are doing that quite well.
#4 The 'IIconics' title chase on RAW
Former Women's Tag Team Champions, The IIconics, recently returned to WWE. Soon after that, they made it clear that they will be going after the titles that they lost, which are currently held by Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. The IIconics did have a Championship opportunity but they lost after Peyton Royce got them disqualified.
This then led to Billie Kay slapping her best friend which gave rise to speculation about their plausible break-up. Luckily for them, Kay apologized for her actions and the two Superstars quickly put the incident behind them. This week, Kay defeated Nikki Cross in a Single's match and it is fair to assume that they will soon have a title match against the team of Bliss and Cross.
The IIconics have been decent in the Women's tag team division and can help the creative in booking compelling feuds to keep this title picture interesting. This feud looks promising on paper, and hopefully, it will be a chase that will eventually lead to an extended rivalry between both the teams.
#5 New developments in Rey Mysterio's feud with Seth Rollins on RAW
Seth Rollins brutalized Rey Mysterio and hurt the latter's eye by rubbing it against the steel stairs previously on RAW. The Monday Night Messiah justified his actions by stating that he needed to make a 'sacrifice' for the well-being of RAW and even arranged for a retirement ceremony for Mysterio.
But the high-flying legend of WWE has had enough of it. In a video, Mysterio was seen calling out Rollins for his actions, and this segment also featured his son, Dominick. It is obvious that Mysterio is done with Rollins' actions on the Red brand and he will seek his revenge against the Monday Night Messiah.
It appears that the WWE creative are inclined towards booking a feud between these two Superstars, and it would undoubtedly be an intense one. This storyline also leaves enough room to involve the likes of Murphy, Aleister Black, Austin Theory, Humberto Carrilo, and Dominick. It will be interesting to see how WWE will proceed with this promising feud.
#6 Nia Jax made to look like a threat on RAW but won't be winning the title
Ever since Asuka became the RAW Women's Champion, Nia Jax has been vocal about her displeasure with the decision. She feels that Asuka doesn't deserve to be the Champion and wants to bring the latter's reign to an end. The two Superstars will square off at Backlash with the title on the line.
This week, WWE booked Jax strongly as she once again defeated Kairi Sane and then dialed it up a notch by mocking Asuka during her match with Charlotte Flair. Ever since her return, Jax has been booked strongly and today's episode further helped the creative in showcasing a more brutal side of Jax.
Despite that, it is fair to expect that she won't become the RAW Women's Champion at the upcoming PPV. She might appear to be a strong force on the Red brand but she is still far from carrying the Championship. Therefore, we will most likely see Asuka repeat history and pick yet another win over Jax at Backlash.
