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Welcome to a very special edition of things WWE subtly told us on RAW! It was the first RAW post-Money in the Bank and it's safe to assume that this was by far the best episode in the last two months.
Stacked from start to finish, the show saw a lot of storyline progression and the end of one historic and legendary Championship reign. Emotions were at an all-time high throughout the show and words were exchanged, battles were fought, and there's a lot to look forward to.
Without dragging it on much further, let's jump right into the action-packed episode of Monday Night RAW.
#8. Drew McIntyre's next challenger
Drew McIntyre has the makings of one of the most exciting WWE Champions in years. A fighting Champion at heart, he once again found himself tangled in a mess involving Zelina Vega and Andrade.
As you probably know by now, Andrade is the man who dethroned Drew McIntyre in late 2017 to become the NXT Champion, but a lot of things have changed since then. While McIntyre faced and defeated Andrade yet again, what was more interesting was the name who he called out post-match.
At first, we expected him to call out Jinder Mahal, but instead, he chose to call out SmackDown's King Corbin - who will appear on RAW next week to challenge for the WWE Championship.
It seems to be a filler match for WWE to get him through to Backlash. It's not a bad way to go about and Corbin has little to no chance of winning, so it should be fun to watch. As for why he's facing a SmackDown Superstar, we'll address that in a few points down.
#7. An IIconic return to the title picture
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross were interrupted by The IIconics Peyton Royce and Billie Kay - who made their return to WWE after six months away. The last time we saw them was at the end of October and it was post their Tag Team title reign before they were out of action.
After a well-deserved rest, the two Superstars who won the Tag Team titles at WrestleMania 35 went on to challenge the team that won them at WrestleMania 36. It led to a non-title match, where Royce and Kay managed to pin the Champions and secure a future title shot.
As it turns out, that title shot will be next week as Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross will defend the Women's Tag Team Championships against The IIconics. It's going to be fun to watch and it'll be interesting to see what WWE's decision is. They could easily put the titles on Royce and Kay, but Bliss and Cross had just won it back, so it doesn't make sense to have a short title reign.
#6. The state of the RAW Women's division and the new Champion
Since this was the biggest talking point of RAW, let's not delay it much further. Becky Lynch came out on RAW, with the Money in the Bank briefcase on the table. She announced that she's going to be away for a long time and revealed that she's relinquishing the RAW Women's Championship.
She called Asuka out and told her that the Money in the Bank match wasn't just to decide who would hold the briefcase - it was to decide the next RAW Women's Champion. Asuka was then handed the title, with her Money in the Bank briefcase essentially cashed-in.
With that win, Asuka is now among the most accomplished women in WWE history, having won every possible title there is to win and having a Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank victory.
It appears as though she might be a face as well after embracing Becky Lynch. The top heel role has already gone to Shayna Baszler, who trashed Becky Lynch for getting "knocked up" while being the Champion. We expect her to clash with Asuka very soon.
#5. Bobby Lashley is entering a new zone
It appears as though Bobby Lashley is getting a serious push again. Ever since his loss to Aleister Black at WrestleMania 36, Lashley has been on a bit of a roll, picking up victory after victory.
He defeated Humberto Carrillo on RAW, but MVP confronted him and asked him when he's going to "let Bobby Lashley out". It was a valid question and one that Lashley needed to ask himself.
Lana wasn't happy about MVP giving him advice, but Lashley seemed to take it to heart. We're happy to see him getting pushed as a serious competitor again. Tom Colohue said that Lashley is being pushed as Brock Lesnar's next potential opponent. To have the dream match, they need a few more months of re-building Lashley into the dominant Superstar that he is.
But this could be a very important period for Lashley's career in the long run. Will he join MVP and his faction? Or did MVP just light a fire under the 2-time Intercontinental Champion?
#4. The redemption of Jinder Mahal?
Jinder Mahal hasn't gotten a solid push in over two years. It was 2017 when he had the best year of his career, winning the WWE Championship and holding on to it for half a year. He was out for an extensive period in 2019 after getting knee surgery and he's now back in the mix, ready to pick up where he left off.
Jinder Mahal is reportedly in for a big push, but all we hope is that WWE can handle it better this time. It's going to require a steady ascent in the card, similar to how Drew McIntyre did it. Mahal is undoubtedly RAW main event material and we fully expect him to be a title challenger to McIntyre in the coming month or two.
Jinder Mahal claimed that his rise to the top will be a "hero's journey". While that might indicate a face turn, Mahal will only be a hero in the mind of his character. Perhaps he can be a delusional heel.
#3. The controversial Wild Card rule returns?
This was perhaps the worst takeaway from the entire show. If you ignore the fact that The Viking Raiders and The Street Profits had a basketball game. It appears as though whenever there are falling ratings, WWE resorts to all sorts of different moves to combat it.
Last year, we saw the very unpopular Wild Card rule take shape post-WrestleMania, with six months of programming featuring no actual brand split or exclusivity. King Corbin coming to RAW to challenge for the WWE Championship might indicate an overall lack of opponents for Drew McIntyre,
However, NXT Women's Champion Charlotte Flair is scheduled to appear on SmackDown this week despite being a RAW Superstar who's holding an NXT title. From the look of things, WWE is going to bring back the Wild Card rule, albeit with a lot more restriction.
Last year proved that brand exclusivity was needed for the roster, which is why they ended the Wild Card rule on the SmackDown on FOX show in early October. We hope that it doesn't return.
#2. Rey Mysterio possibly written out; Big plans for Aleister Black
Seth Rollins didn't seem too happy about the fact that Becky Lynch is pregnant, which is a bit surprising since he is the father of the child. However, it appears as though his loss to Drew McIntyre had a far bigger impact than first anticipated.
He gave Rey Mysterio an ugly look when he was congratulated and during the match, things only got weirder. Aleister Black teamed up with Mysterio to take on Rollins and Murphy - a match where Murphy did all the work himself.
Rollins stood distraught the entire time, refusing to tag in and showing that he was in a different mental space. All that changed when one strike from Mysterio triggered him to assault the legend. He didn't remove his mask, but he lifted it and shoved his eye against the edge of the ring post - a brutal sight.
Rey Mysterio was seen in the medical room, seemingly written out of TV. A furious Aleister Black tried to get in Seth Rollins' face, but The Monday Night Messiah seemed apologetic about it. Black didn't buy it and assaulted Murphy instead. It looks as though we're headed for a Rollins-Aleister Black feud.
#1. The greatest wrestling match in the world?
Edge returned to RAW as advertised and seemed to indicate that Randy Orton is behind him after beating him at WrestleMania 36. Orton didn't take too long to come out and confront his last WrestleMania opponent, first congratulating him and telling him that the better man won.
He walked out right after but stopped in his tracks and returned. He once again said that the better man won, but the better wrestler didn't. He didn't exactly give an excuse, but he challenged Edge to a straightforward singles match at Backlash next month.
We're not sure why exactly the feud is continuing, but the show ended with Charly Caruso hilariously declaring that it'll be the "greatest wrestling match in the world". Either way, it's good to see Edge back and his return may have mostly had to do with the lower ratings on TV.
The Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania 36 was good, but it went on for far too long. Hopefully, the two men can redeem themselves at Backlash.
Teddy Long snaps when Swerve Strickland's race is brought up HERE
