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Last night's RAW came off the heels of a unique Money in the Bank pay-per-view and was easily the most consequential edition of the Red brand of 2020, empty arena or not. The show began with a stunning announcement from the RAW Women's Champion. From there, it began to slowly build up the rivalries that we would see in the coming weeks.
This is truly a unique era in WWE, empty arenas and all, but the company once again did an admirable job in making the most of it, arguably showing that they're best when their backs are against the wall, just as in the Monday Night Wars.
Who got the most and least out of the show last night? Let's take a look.
Winner: Asuka
In an extraordinary moment, Becky Lynch announced that she was expecting a child and that the Money in the Bank match hadn't just been for a title shot, but for the RAW Women's Championship itself. With bittersweet tears in her eyes, Becky Lynch relinquished the championship to her longtime rival, Asuka, putting her over in the process by reminding us that she remains the only woman who has beaten her since she became The Man.
For her part, Asuka embraced her rivaly in a joyous moment. It was a way for them to call a truce on their rivalry that an epic storyteller would have thought of, such was the energy involved in that shining segment which will be hard to top as 2020's best.
In a bleak period, both for WWE and the world, there was nothing more welcome than this.
Of course, Asuka now has a tough task ahead of her. As she did in NXT, she will now be tasked with carrying a thin division on RAW, and could be tasked with doing so for the foreseeable future. But Vince McMahon has been impressed with her in this empty arena era. If anyone's most capable of it, it's Asuka, and her win this past Sunday makes far more sense now.
Loser: Andrade
This was a great match, as you would expect between these two, but there was never any doubt that Andrade was going to wind up losing the match. If the task was to simply warm up the WWE Champion, why not have Drew McIntyre face Austin Theory or Angel Garza instead, while Andrade begins to prepare himself for a new challenger?
This is the reason why so many titles in WWE feel worthless.
Alas, Andrade once again found himself in a position where he can compete with the names at the top of the card but never beat them.
Losers: Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross took a loss to the The IIconics last night. It seems like we have one of these kinds of matches every week, especially in the tag team division, where the champions get pinned in non-title matches to set up the most pointless, heatless programs possible. Such appeared to be the case last night.
Expect to see some kind of program where Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss get their win back in the most predictable fashion. One wonders why WWE doesn't temporarily bring in a duo from NXT, like Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez, to shake things up in the women's tag team division?
Losers: Ricochet, Cedric Alexander, Shane Thorne, and Brendan Vink
For all four of the men in the tag team program from last week, this was a huge relegation, as they took a backseat to R-Truth and MVP, in essentially a comedy segment. For Ricochet, in particular, the decline is stunningly steep. Why was WWE promoting him and his "superhuman" abilities during a transition to a commercial break if they were just going to treat him like this?
It's puzzling. One still gets the impression that a return to NXT would be the best career move for Ricochet given his treatment this year. It's not like Adam Cole has a lot of challengers right now.
Winner: Jinder Mahal
Jinder Mahal is back and he made sure to congratulate his former 3MB buddy and now fellow WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre. Jinder's infamous 2017 reign at the top is one he consciously brought up in his association with McIntyre.
Rumors are that the former bandmates will have a program with one another. It looks like this segment was the first plank of that coming feud. It's one that speaks to the times, of course, but even in this strange era, it will only be filler. Still, it puts Jinder Mahal ahead.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Because Becky Lynch made the stunning announcement to kick off the show, it's easy to forget that it pertains to Seth Rollins as much as her, as he's about to become a father. Yet, Seth Rollins wasn't overjoyed. He slapped Rey Mysterio's hand away and then acted like a confused devil in this match.
His impending fatherhood, his big loss to McIntyre the previous evening, all of the drama of the past year, everything seems to be coming at Seth Rollins at once now, full force, and he isn't sure how to deal with it.
That's what it looked like. It's great character development if WWE executes it properly.
Winner: Shayna Baszler
Shayna Baszler tossed Natalya aside last night, after callously mocking Becky Lynch for surrendering her title at the height of her career to carry a "parasite."
Though she can get tedious, last night was Baszler at her best. It's very likely she will emerge as Asuka's first challenger, paving the way for a battle between the two longest reigning NXT Women's Champions that many black and yellow fans have wanted for years.
We'll see how it all goes.
Winners: Randy Orton and Edge
Edge returned for the first time since WrestleMania, and though he beat Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match there, Orton challenged him to a straight-up one on one competition, claiming that his former Rated RKO partner didn't have what it took anymore, pointing out the doubt in his eyes (which Edge did a great job in telegraphing).
At Backlash, they'll have their straight-up wrestling match to see if indeed, Edge can actually go in the ring, rather than a chaotic, anything-goes environment.
Orton really made sense of continuing the rivalry beyond the kind of match that traditionally ends it. He has been doing some of his best work in recent years playing off of Edge, who for his part, doesn't look like he's missed a beat.
Usually, these kinds of part-time rivalries make for glorified filler, but the Randy Orton vs. Edge feud is going to be remembered as one of 2020's best. Let's see what they make of it at Backlash in a few more weeks.
