7 Things WWE got right on RAW before Elimination Chamber 

RAW picked up the pieces from last week’s Super ShowDown and built towards Elimination Chamber as the next pay-per-view is only a few days away.

Ricochet returned on the show after an embarrassing squash match at the hands of ‘The Beast’ Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship and seemingly got even more embarrassed on this week’s show.

Shayna Baszler made his in-ring debut on RAW against Kairi Sane instead of Asuka, while Aleister Black looked to get his hands on AJ Styles and The O.C.

Apart from that, the RAW Tag Team Championship match and Beth Pheonix’s appearance were among the highlights of a show that delivered pretty well.

In this article, we will look at the 7 things WWE got right on RAW this week.

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#7 The Rioting Squad

There was once a time when the team of Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan worked like a well-oiled machine in WWE. However, that all changed with a single Superstar Shakeup.

This week, Ruby Riott took on Liv Morgan after the differences between the two women had been made clear on and off for the past several weeks. What was interesting was the fact that Sarah Logan was put in as the Special Guest Referee for the match.

All three women will be part of the Elimination Chamber match this Sunday which will also include Asuka, Natalya, and Shayna Baszler.

Riott and Morgan gave a decent performance until an accidental headbutt to Logan from Riott infuriated the Superstar. She slow-counted the pin from Riott on Morgan and then fast-counted a roll-up from Morgan to take the surprise pinfall victory.

After Morgan was announced the winner, Logan turned on her too and took her out with a cheap shot.

While we all know that the chances for any of these three women coming out victoriously on Sunday are very slim, the segment did well to highlight the other talent that will take to the Elimination Chamber.

Morgan had been at the forefront of a storyline that seems to be going on without her, while Riott needs to get back into the game after her surgeries. Logan has always played the weak link on RAW and her standing tall at the end of the segment helped her get some attention from the fans.

#6 The babyfaces set the record straight

Angel Garza has been RAW’s premier mid-card heel in the absence of Andrade, and El Idolo returned to the show this week to team up with the man who’d replaced him.

The villainous duo took on the team of Humberto Carrillo and the man who’s suffered a lot at the hands of both the heels, Rey Mysterio.

The heels did a good job of isolating Mysterio and working on Carrillo for an extended period before the babyface was able to fight out and make the hot tag to The Master of the 619. The two faces then continued to push on and set the face for the match, making the entire bout really entertaining to watch.

Mysterio went on to hit both men with a 619, and Carrillo picked up the pieces by hitting a moonsault on Andrade for the win. This was an incredible match which will hopefully be the first of many to come.

It seems like Garza or Carrillo will be taking the United States Championship away from Andrade sooner than later, while Mysterio will stay in the role of helping the newer talent get a push on the Red brand.

#5 Aleister Black's first loss

Last week on RAW, Aleister Black was attacked by AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson before his match against Erick Rowan.

Black was visibly hurt after the attack but decided to still compete in the match which he won after a lot of struggle. Afterward, he issued a challenge to Styles for a match this week.

This week's RAW saw Styles play his good old heel role and claim that he'd only fight Black if he could defeat the Toughest Man in the Building, Karl Anderson.

Black ran through Anderson soon and then defeated him with a Black Mass. The Phenomenal One then threw in Gallows to fight The Dutch Destroyer, and the big man beat Black down before the opening bell and continued to do so during the match which forced the referee to call for a disqualification.

All three men stomped down on Black, after which Gallows and Anderson laid him out with the Magic Killer. Styles then felt he was ready to take on the undefeated man on RAW.

Black refused to give up but fell prey to the Phenomenal Forearm that handed Black his first loss on RAW. Even though it was something WWE could have done differently, it was the right decision to sacrifice Black to one of the best wrestlers in the world.

Styles doing what heels do and mocking The Undertaker in the clash quietly builds towards their program for WrestleMania, while Black now does not have the undefeated tag to carry forward which could help him in future storylines.

#4 The first impact

Shayna Baszler is too big a Superstar in WWE now to go unnoticed, and that’s why her first match on RAW was scheduled against The Empress of Tomorrow, Asuka.

However, Asuka was pulled out of the match due to an injury and her Tag Team Championship partner Kairi Sane replaced her for the match. Baszler and Sane are no strangers to each other, and this helped them give a good fight on the show.

Sane kept The Queen of Spades down for the initial stages of the match, keeping the contest balanced for the most part. RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch then arrived to join the commentary team and watch the match.

She spoke about how good Baszler was, and did everything in her power to put the two-time NXT Women’s Champion over. After Baszler worked on the joints of Sane, especially her knee, she put her away with the Kirifuda Clutch for the submission victory.

This was a good match overall that showed the strengths of Baszler without allowing her to squash her opponent on the first go. Pulling Asuka out of the match was also the right call as Baszler vs. Asuka is too big a match to have this soon.

The set up for Baszler vs Lynch for the RAW Women’s Championship seems to be going smoothly for now, and the company should keep these two women away from each other until the actual match.

#3 Street Profits' win

The Street Profits wanted all the smoke at Super ShowDown, but they got none of it down there. They decided to return to their native land and demand some of the smoke where it truly belongs.

Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins got their rematch for the RAW Tag Team Championships against Seth Rollins and Murphy this week. As expected, The Authors of Pain tried to help their leader retain the titles, but the referee was more aware this time around.

However, the chaos allowed Kevin Owens to slip into the ring and hit a Stunner on Seth Rollins, giving Ford a chance to hit the frog splash on Rollins to pick up a huge victory.

Taking the titles off Rollins and Murphy was the right thing to do at this point as it will help the company focus on building towards the real rivalry between Rollins and KO with WrestleMania insight.

The Street Profits are an entertaining duo, and it seems like a good decision to give them the titles so early even though The Viking Raiders deserved them more. Hopefully, it will open the doors to a huge RAW Tag Team Championships match between Authors of Pain and The Street Profits or The Viking Raiders at WrestleMania 36.

#2 Claymore City

Paul Heyman loves to build up Brock Lesnar’s opponents on the mic before the latter tears them down to show just how good Lesnar is as compared to his opponents.

However, he was going to do none of that for the man who eliminated Lesnar from the Royal Rumble and went on to win the 30-man battle. Heyman and Lesnar came out this week and The Beast’s Advocate immediately refused to see The Scottish Psychopath as a threat to the WWE Champion.

This called for Drew McIntyre to make a timely entry stand face to face with Lesnar in the ring. Lesnar laughed him off and proceeded to exit the ring before turning back and possibly coming to attack McIntyre. However, The Scottish Superstar was ready for Lesnar and flattened him out with a Claymore Kick.

Later on in the segment, McIntyre hit Lesnar with another Claymore Kick as he made his way up the ramp to exit the arena, and then followed it up with yet another one of the devastating finishers.

This was an excellent way to build up McIntyre and his clash with The Beast, and finally, it feels like all the wait to see McIntyre become a top Champion was worth it.

#1 The RKO

This was one of the most intense segments we’ve seen on RAW in weeks. Since the RAW after the Royal Rumble, Randy Orton has singlehandedly been building one of the greatest rivalries of the year that will unfold at WrestleMania 36.

After his attacks on Edge, he went on to take out one of Edge’s greatest friends, Matt Hardy who won’t be in WWE for a long time.

This week, Edge’s wife Beth Phoenix appeared on RAW and came face to face with the man who’s potentially ended his career. Orton spoke about why he did what he did, and Pheonix was not buying any of that.

After a to and fro on the mic, Phoenix kicked Orton in the mid-section which prompted The Viper to RKO to legendary Superstar.

This was one of the greatest segments of all time, and even though many would claim it was predictable, it was still something that no one could have fully envisioned.

This will possibly be the final nail in Orton’s coffin, and we will likely see The Rated-R Superstar return in time for WrestleMania and try to end Orton’s career.