6 Things WWE subtly told us on RAW: Big mistake made with 4 top stars, Spoiler on King Of The Ring 2021 winner

Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on RAW. It was the penultimate episode of the red brand before Crown Jewel, and also the second last edition before the WWE Draft comes to full effect.

This week's episode was good and entertaining, but far from perfect. While there was good storyline progression on one end, there was stalling, scrambling, and a bit of mess in one particular angle, which we'll talk about soon.

Other than that, the big character change on this week's episode of RAW was that of Mustafa Ali, who seemingly turned heel after attacking Mansoor following their loss to The Hurt Business.

Let's look at what WWE subtly told us on RAW this week:

---

#6 WWE was desperately scrambling to protect the four top women, and it had negative consequences on RAW

Ever since the WWE Draft, the four top women in WWE have been involved on both RAW and SmackDown. Those superstars are the RAW and SmackDown Women's Champions, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, with Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair involved as well.

Charlotte Flair's overall involvement seems a bit forced since she wasn't involved with any of the women before the WWE Draft. Now that Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch have been drafted to RAW, they've been more involved even before the Draft takes full effect.

There was an advertised tag team match that saw Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks face the two champions, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. Nobody could get along, and a brawl ensued before the match even began.

Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville restarted the bout on RAW, but it ended in a no contest because nobody could get along. WWE has featured the four women in big spots, but they haven't done much to progress any actual storylines.

This week was a clear attempt to scramble and protect all four women as much as possible - since they're obviously the top female stars in the company (and the world) right now. Unfortunately, it didn't translate to good programming on RAW.

Hopefully, the Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks match on the "Super Sized" SmackDown doesn't have the same level of interference.

#5 The unfortunate predictability of the two tournaments following RAW

Even before RAW began, the winners of the King of The Ring and Queen's Crown matches remained obvious. While the semi-finals of both tournaments were already set on the SmackDown side, the first round matches began on RAW this week.

On the men's side, Xavier Woods beat Ricochet, which makes sense since the entire hype behind the tournament started with Woods demanding it back on social media.

His New Day member Kofi Kingston, however, didn't have the same luck against Jinder Mahal. Thanks to external factors, The Modern Day Maharaja beat the former WWE Champion to qualify for the semi-finals, where he will face Xavier Woods.

On the SmackDown side, it's either going to be Finn Balor or Sami Zayn. Given that Sami Zayn doesn't go to Saudi Arabia, Balor's place in the final is essentially confirmed. Jinder Mahal vs Finn Balor seems to be the guaranteed finals.

Unless WWE is planning to go with a babyface King of the Ring winner this year, King Mahal seems to be virtually guaranteed. The King of The Ring tournament has traditionally been for heels to win and progress as characters.

As for The Queen's Crown tournament, Shayna Baszler predictably ran through Dana Brooke, while Doudrop beat Natalya. Baszler is a heavy favorite to win the Queen's Crown tournament.

#4 Business is booming on RAW...but for how long?

Business seems to be booming on RAW, or at least that was the case this week. Ever since Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin rejoined The Hurt Business, things haven't gone that well.

While the two men tried to blindside Goldberg on RAW last week, it backfired, following which they lost to The New Day's Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston. It seemed as though the reunion would turn into a flop, and that could still be the case, but this week was a good one.

Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin picked up a big win against relative newcomers to the Tag Team division - Mustafa Ali and Mansoor. As for Bobby Lashley, he cut an intense promo on RAW.

Not only did Bobby Lashley vow to beat Goldberg in their No Holds Barred match at Crown Jewel, but he said he will end the WWE Hall of Famer's career as well. All in all, it was a good night for The Hurt Business, but there was only so much that WWE could do on RAW without Goldberg.

#3 Austin Theory's push to the top begins on RAW

It was rumored that the two big "future" picks for RAW and SmackDown this WWE Draft were Austin Theory and Ridge Holland - who got sent to the red and blue brand respectively from NXT.

Not only this, but in the recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was reported that Austin Theory and Ridge Holland are both viewed backstage as potential world champions in the future.

That's why it makes sense that Theory picked a fight with Jeff Hardy first - taking him out after pretending to want a selfie with his childhood hero. He made a statement, and on RAW this week, the two had a match.

It was Hardy's second last week on RAW before moving to SmackDown and he faced and lost to the 24-year-old. He was on the verge of victory, but good timing and a handful of tights helped the up-and-comer pick up his first win on RAW since his return to the red brand.

WWE has positioned Austin Theory well to start with, but even a loss wouldn't have harmed him. A defeat to a legend like Hardy may have been even better, as it would have been a story about a young, arrogant star getting put in his place.

With that said, WWE seems to want to push Austin Theory as a heel, at least at first. So the record books will always show that the former NXT star beat Jeff Hardy upon his return to RAW after over a year.

#2 The ever-so-complicated RK-Bro relationship on RAW

RK-Bro have established themselves as an odd couple on RAW for over half a year now. While these kind of teams have always existed in WWE at some point or the other, they eventually get along and become one unit.

RK-Bro still falls into this category, but their relationship seems a bit more complicated. The most famous "odd pairing" tag team on RAW and SmackDown in recent years was The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus). While the two stars were polar opposite, they eventually merged into a single unit over a year together.

On RAW this week, Riddle was scheduled to face the giant Omos. He stalled as much as possible, with Randy Orton not coming out at all. The match went on despite AJ Styles fuming about all the stalling that Riddle was doing.

Omos squashed Riddle, and it was only post-match when Randy Orton came out of nowhere to hit Styles with the RKO. RK-Bro is putting a new meaning to unconventional tag teams on RAW - and this is exactly what might make it work in the long run.

#1 What were The Usos doing on RAW?

The main feud of RAW, as advertised, was between Drew McIntyre and Big E for the WWE Championship. While the face-to-face happened right at the start of the episode, it was the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, The Usos, who made an appearance.

The brothers had a verbal face-off with the two top men on RAW and they brilliantly took them out as well. It was all a set-up for a tag team match that would main event the night. One thing wasn't mentioned until later in the show - this was all a ploy by Roman Reigns.

Either way, Drew McIntyre and Big E didn't get along as well. McIntyre took offense to the New Day member wanting to speak on his behalf, and they both got superkicked by the SmackDown Tag Team Champions.

Soon after on RAW, Big E told Drew McIntyre backstage that they needed to put aside their differences for one night only. The Scotsman reluctantly agreed, but that's not how it played out.

Their tension was evident in the main event of RAW, with WWE attempting to build some heat towards their feud that will culminate in just 10 days. The main event of RAW ended in a count-out win for The Usos after Drew McIntyre and Big E were busy brawling with each other outside the ring.

The fact that there were two such matches on the show left a bad taste in the mouth. However, this didn't feel as "overbooked" as the match featuring the four top women of WWE.

It will be interesting to see if Roman Reigns' motive behind sending The Usos is revealed. Either way, it was a fun one-off for The Usos on RAW. Drew McIntyre ended the night with his head slightly busted open, but he got the Claymore Kick on Big E to stand tall at the end of the show.