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Welcome to the first edition of things WWE subtly told us on RAW! It was RAW legends night, which primarily comprised of legends in backstage segments. Let's start off with the most noteworthy part - the ending of RAW:
#7 Goldberg's return on RAW and what awaits at Royal Rumble 2021
The main event of RAW saw Drew McIntyre defend the WWE Championship against Keith Lee. It was a hard-hitting match contest, and as expected, even the winner didn't leave unscathed.
Drew McIntyre walked out of the match on RAW victorious and gave a show of respect to his opponent Keith Lee. After the legends gave an ovation, Goldberg's music hit. Because, of course, it's Goldberg season, and with declining ratings, WWE wants the best way to pop it.
With all due respect to Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, they aren't names that are drawing attention anymore. Goldberg, on the other hand, does. The legend went up to Drew McIntyre and deemed him a worthy holder of the WWE Championship.
He went on to challenge him and accused Drew McIntyre of thinking that he's better than all the legends were in their prime. Whether it's true or not is up for debate. What is true, however, is the fact that Drew McIntyre vs Goldberg is official for the Royal Rumble.
Now that's a WWE title match to get excited about. However, there is a negative side to it. We all know how Goldberg matches have been recent. Short, but effective.
What may come as bad news for fans is that not only is the match at Royal Rumble unlikely to go even five minutes, but the chances of Drew McIntyre walking out as WWE Champion are slim.
Goldberg helps pop the ratings, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him win the WWE title in time for WrestleMania season.
#6 Riddle's entry into the US title picture on RAW
After weeks of teasing it, we finally got to see Bobby Lashley vs [Matt] Riddle in a non-title match. It seems that these days on RAW, the way to get to a Champion is by beating them in a match.
It was interesting that there was no involvement from Jeff Hardy - who faced Randy Orton later in the night. It was a good match on RAW, and Bobby Lashley dominated, seemingly set to win yet again.
Instead, Riddle escaped despite tapping and countered it into a pinfall, gaining the victory. It was controversial but at the end of the day, a win is a win. With that victory, Riddle has presumably entered himself into the United States title picture.
It's an interesting feud that will take place on RAW. Since Bobby Lashley has already entered himself into the Royal Rumble match, he is unlikely to defend the title at the event.
It will be a fun title match to watch. Is Riddle ready for the big opportunity? Guess we will have to wait and watch.
#5 A bad night in the office for The Hurt Business
If Bobby Lashley losing to Riddle on RAW was bad enough, it only got worse for the rest of The Hurt Business. After having a brief interaction with the returning Melina, they went out and defeated Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin in a non-title match.
It was a decent match and the RAW Tag Team Champions weren't on the same page. This allowed The Lucha House Party to take advantage and pick up the victory. After that, the duo got an earful from MVP as he wasn't happy with what went down on RAW.
#4 The Women's Tag Team title picture takes a new turn on RAW
While Asuka and Charlotte Flair's first successful Tag Team title defense on RAW post-TLC was against Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce. This week, they lost to them in a non-title match due to a bit of distraction from Ric Flair, who was flirting with Lacey Evans.
Charlotte Flair was livid with her father, telling him not to get involved. In another match in the Women's Tag Team division on RAW, Dana Brooke got one over Shayna Baszler in a quick fashion after losing last week.
The Women's Tag Team title picture seems to be all over the place. Who is next in line for a title shot on RAW?
#3 Omos: The insurance policy
AJ Styles faced Elias once again on RAW and walked out victorious for the second week in a row. Jaxson Ryker and Omos have been two side characters in it, and after the match, Ryker was on the verge of smashing Styles with a guitar. He ended up failing, as the guitar was kicked away by Omos mid-air.
AJ Styles has Omos as his insurance policy on RAW, and despite not getting as heavily featured, the pairing has worked out surprisingly well.
#2 The Miz and John Morrison have a new feud on RAW
A new feud started on RAW. The Miz was celebrating the fact that he regained the Money in the Bank briefcase, and with The New Day as guests, a feud had begun. Teddy Long even came out and said that there would be a match against The Undertaker, after which it was pointed out that he retired.
Instead, we got a tag team match won by The New Day. What is the objective of having The Miz hold the MITB briefcase? Is he going to continue to lose?
#1 What's with Randy Orton on RAW?
Randy Orton revealed that he didn't burn Alexa Bliss last week on RAW, regretting the compassion that he showed. With many legends present on RAW, Randy Orton seemed to be in his Legend Killer mood.
Except, he did nothing. He only made threats and berated the legends verbally. He faced Jeff Hardy in a rematch from their feud a couple of years ago, and he won. We wonder why Jeff Hardy has been losing week after week on RAW, but it has only been to top superstars.
Either way, the focus isn't on Jeff Hardy - it's on Randy Orton. It was a bit odd that the first episode of RAW didn't do much to answer the cliffhanger from last week. There was no Alexa Bliss, and certainly no Bray Wyatt.
Perhaps this was just a week to make him look good. It's also interesting to note that he declared himself as an entrant to the 2021 Men's Royal Rumble match. Will the rumored Firefly Fun House match take place at Royal Rumble? Or will the feud play out only on RAW?
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
