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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on RAW. It was the go-home episode of RAW to Hell in a Cell 2021, and it wasn't the best one. Still, WWE did enough to progress storylines and set up the pay-per-view well.
It will be interesting to see how the matches play out, and the next edition of RAW will begin the build to Money in the Bank 2021. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's start with tonight's show.
#6 Did WWE spoil the WWE Championship match at HIAC on RAW?
Drew McIntyre vs Bobby Lashley could be the main event of Hell In A Cell. If Roman Reigns vs Rey Mysterio opens the pay-per-view, then the match will be the one closing the show on Sunday.
This week on RAW, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre looked to wrap up their rivalry for good. The main event was originally McIntyre vs AJ Styles, and it ended after chaotic interjections at ringside including Bobby Lashley, The Viking Raiders, and Omos.
It predictably turned into a tag team match on RAW, where the three-man team of AJ Styles, Omos, and WWE Champion Bobby Lashley took on Drew McIntyre and The Viking Raiders.
It wasn't a notable match, but the result certainly was. Now, if you recall, the stipulation of the Hell in a Cell WWE Title match is that if Drew McIntyre loses, he doesn't get another title shot as long as Bobby Lashley is the WWE Champion.
In the main event of RAW, Drew McIntyre pinned Bobby Lashley clean after hitting a Claymore Kick. We're not big fans of the WWE champion getting pinned like that, but it's an obvious answer as to who is winning on Sunday.
Bobby Lashley was expected to win at Hell in a Cell anyway, but the latest result from RAW indicates that WWE has no plans for him to drop the World Championship anytime soon.
For Drew McIntyre, Sunday will finally be a step back from the Title picture.
#5 Riddle is stronger with Randy Orton on RAW, MVP continues to tease Kofi Kingston
RK-Bro has been on fire since teaming up on RAW. It's a bit unexpected to think that Riddle and Randy Orton have the chemistry that they do. While Riddle has lost on RAW to Kofi Kingston recently, Randy Orton has been protected.
Riddle had an interesting interaction with Jeff Hardy, who told him to listen to a veteran like Randy Orton. The duo would go on to have an excellent match against The New Day - one that feels more like a RAW Tag Team title feud than anything AJ Styles and Omos have done lately.
It was another great showing for RK-Bro, who have had an unexpected rise to the top. Xavier Woods was the man who was pinned, and that would later play into an interesting segment that Kingston had with MVP.
In a segment backstage on RAW, MVP confronted Kofi Kingston, who told him off. Despite taking a jab at Xavier Woods, there was a shot where the latter was behind Kofi Kingston and it seemed all too tense.
We're not sure what the endgame here is, but don't be surprised to see Xavier Woods be the one to turn on Kofi Kingston instead.
#4 The rumors about Eva Marie's RAW return were true
WWE announced that Eva Marie's return to RAW would be in a match against Naomi. Given that she feuded with Naomi on SmackDown before her Wellness Policy Violation in 2016, it made a lot of storyline sense.
However, there was some confusion, since rumors indicated that Eva Marie would be a manager and not much of an in-ring performer. She finally came out on RAW, and with her was NXT UK superstar, Piper Niven.
Niven was presented differently on RAW. Over there, she was perceived and presented as a more serious character, while on the red brand, she looked to be a bit goofy and was happy to be on the show.
Nevertheless, she looked great on RAW and crushed a former Women's Champion Naomi with complete ease. The rumors are indeed true, and Eva Marie will be Niven's manager going forward.
What we don't understand, however, is why the commentators pretended to have no idea who she was.
#3 Nikki Cross has been quietly accumulating a winning streak on RAW
That's four weeks in a row for Nikki Cross on RAW and four straight victories. Cross, who struggled to find screen time on the red brand before WrestleMania 37, is now one of the central pieces in the RAW Women's title picture.
Although she isn't going to be added to the title match between Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair, she has gotten around to all sorts of odd victories. Many would argue that they weren't legitimate wins, but they happened nonetheless.
This week on RAW, Nikki Cross faced Charlotte Flair with Rhea Ripley at ringside. Seeing how well Charlotte and Ripley get along, it should come as no surprise that it played a role in the match on RAW. This time, Nikki Cross managed to defeat Charlotte Flair via countout.
It was a fourth straight win for Nikki Cross, who is quietly picking up some steam on RAW. Last week, she pinned the RAW Women's Champion Rhea Ripley. Speaking of Ripley, she faced and defeated Asuka again, further pushing The Empress down the card.
#2 Alexa Bliss sets her sights on a new target on RAW
Alexa Bliss had a WrestleMania 34 rematch against Nia Jax on RAW. By this point, it was already announced that Alexa Bliss vs Shayna Baszler would take place at Hell in a Cell after all that's happened between the two.
This was an interesting match, but it wasn't as great as WWE hoped it would have turned out. The match ended in controversy after Reginald stopped Alexa Bliss from pinning Nia Jax after she hit the Twisted Bliss.
It was a bit of a bizarre scene as Bliss stared at Reginald and moved her head sideways, compelling him to do the same thing. It seems like Reggie will soon be taken over by Alexa Bliss, and we could see that at Hell in a Cell this Sunday.
The alliance that Reginald has with the 2-time Women's Tag Team Champions may come to an end, and it will be interesting to see. Other than that, there wasn't anything notable about it on RAW.
#1 Jeff Hardy's retirement tease on RAW
After advising Riddle backstage on RAW, Jeff Hardy proceeded to the ring to face another veteran in John Morrison. It was a good but quick match that ended in another Hardy defeat.
In what seemed to be a continuation of a week before, a bitter Cedric Alexander came out to berate the legend. Jeff Hardy challenged him to an immediate rematch on RAW, stating that if he lost, The Charismatic Enigma would retire.
It was odd to see such a high-stakes match-up on short notice, but it was probably done to grab some attention. The feud may continue after Hell in a Cell, but for now, Jeff Hardy isn't retiring.
Hopefully, the rivalry helps to get Cedric Alexander over without harming Jeff Hardy too much. In the last half a year or so, the former WWE Champion has essentially been used as an enhancement on RAW. While it's normal for the older guard to get younger stars over, there's a lot that WWE can do with a legend like Jeff Hardy on RAW.
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