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From a merciless beatdown at the beginning of the show to another masterclass of a segment involving Randy Orton, this week's edition of WWE RAW featured many contrasting moments.
Following a bizarre week of WWE content, the company toned down several volatile aspects of their shows and delivered an emotional episode of Monday Night RAW this week.
The Road to SummerSlam has been highly erratic in terms of tone, but it has certainly been an interesting ride because of WWE's wildly fluctuating creativity in recent memory.
Let us know what you thought about this particular episode in the comments section below.
Here are the five biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE RAW (August 10, 2020).
#5: Dominik Mysterio got the bitter end of a brutal beating at the hands of Seth Rollins and Murphy
Well, I don't know if you can solely factor in TV viewership to determine how successful a WWE Superstar is at the moment, but based on social media numbers, Dominik Mysterio is already a big draw on Monday Night RAW.
This week, Dominik officially became a WWE Superstar and also signed a contract for his match against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam.
Rollins faced Humberto Carrillo shortly thereafter, and The Monday Night Messiah picked up an expected victory on the Road to SummerSlam 2020.
What happened next was certainly not a gratifying experience for WWE fans who can't stomach beatdowns that cross a line. There are pictures all over Twitter that show how brutally Rollins and Murphy beat up Rey Mysterio's son.
I also liked how Samoa Joe got some verbal jabs against The Monday Night Messiah, but he couldn't get physically involved because a commentary job essentially binds you to the announcer's desk for the rest of the show.
Although Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio's feud has had its own ups and downs, the road to Dominik's first WWE match has been quite enthralling to watch.
#4: Shayna Baszler invaded RAW Underground this week
Shane McMahon's RAW Underground debuted to a mixed reception on last week's edition of WWE RAW. However, the whole idea did feel a bit different this time around.
The dancers weren't a part of RAW Underground's presentation, for starters. While they may add a certain entertainment value for some WWE fans, one of the major criticisms against this idea has been that the company initially strayed away from what makes this idea quite exciting, which is an MMA-like approach in a Fight Club scenario.
So WWE's brand of "entertainment" might not fit into the overall scheme of things, so they kept it a bit grounded this week.
Dabba Kato made a comeback, and former Olympic wrestler turned NXT Superstar, Arturo Ruas had an impressive showing on WWE's RAW Underground. But the rumors came true in the form of Shayna Baszler's appearance, who wiped out several women during this segment.
I still think that this concept hasn't peaked yet, and WWE has a long way to go, but last night's episode showed that the company made a minor step in the right direction with their RAW Underground idea.
#3: Apollo Crews suffered a defeat before his U.S. Title defense against MVP at WWE SummerSlam
The Hurt Business has been on a roll in recent times, but MVP wanted to address his loss to Apollo Crews from last week's episode of WWE RAW.
It was funny how despite being surrounded by two strong athletes, MVP chose to opt for the "whining heel" route to explain his loss. He blamed flickering lights and an "unsafe working environment" for not having the U.S. Title belt strapped around his waist.
After Apollo Crews interrupted the trio, Shelton Benjamin took on WWE's United States Champion in singles competition.
Although Benjamin deserves a push in his own right, it doesn't look good that Crews lost to a WWE Superstar who wasn't even booked on the show several weeks ago.
On top of that, Bobby Lashley is in a different league than all the other Superstars who are currently fighting to become the U.S. Champion. He could have easily injured Crews for good this week until MVP chose to show mercy for his SummerSlam opponent.
Apollo Crews managed to get a small comeback against MVP, but the current U.S. titleholder definitely looks weak heading into WWE's Biggest Party of the Summer.
#2: Asuka defeated Bayley to secure a title match against Sasha Banks at WWE SummerSlam
Everything about WWE's Golden Role Models has been great in recent weeks, and last night's RAW wasn't any exception at all.
Thanks to Sasha Banks, Bayley was forced to wrestle Asuka in a one-on-one match. The bout itself turned out to be quite engaging, and as many have said, it was the best in-ring competition from this week's WWE RAW.
As expected, Asuka prevailed as the victor, which ensured that she would get a chance to win back the RAW Women's Title from Sasha Banks at WWE SummerSlam.
While Shayna Baszler and Asuka vs. Bayley are examples of how far the Women's Division has come, Lana and Natalya's segment with a returning Mickie James wasn't the best part of the night.
After all, it's a huge contrast when amidst a night filled with exciting action, TikTok and silly hashtags become the topic of conversation when the focal point should have been the return of a veteran like Mickie James.
Natalya and Mickie James will face each other next week, but I seriously hope that cringeworthy segments won't dilute Mickie's comeback in WWE.
#1: Randy Orton brutalized Ric Flair during one of the most emotional WWE segments of 2020
Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton was supposed to be the last part of this week's WWE RAW, but what we got was a highly emotional segment to close out the show.
After Orton defeated Owens in a good match, he told Ric Flair to stay in the ring for something important.
Apparently, the fact that Orton had to unnecessarily face Owens this week was Ric Flair's fault. And after labeling the WWE legend as a liability, Orton dug deeper and stated that he knew he was the son Flair always wanted.
Flair did an excellent job of displaying his emotions, as The Nature Boy cut a heart-wrenching promo on why he still comes out and supports Randy Orton at this stage of his life.
Seriously, go watch this segment if you haven't done so yet. At the end of the day, Ric Flair got punted and low-blowed, which further solidified Randy Orton's position as the most despicable heel right now.
On a side note, I liked how the flickering lights amidst other production "issues" factored into this segment, which further displayed how RETRIBUTION's actions have affected RAW and SmackDown.
Drew McIntyre came out too late, but the staredown between both of these WWE Superstars brought an end to another amazing pitstop on the road to Orton and McIntyre's inevitable contest at SummerSlam.
How did Ric Flair spend $1500 at a pizza place? More details here
