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WWE RAW had some big matches scheduled for Monday night. Charlotte Flair lost a non-title bout against Nia Jax on last week’s show. The Irresistible Force was rewarded with a RAW Women’s Championship match this week.
Meanwhile, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre were scheduled to go head-to-head in the ring once again. A No.1 contender’s match for the United States Championship was booked between the two men.
A massive Tag Team Turmoil match was also set to take place on RAW to determine who would challenge Randy Orton and Riddle for their titles. Drake Maverick made his return to RAW to target the 24/7 champion and his title.
Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley teamed up once again for a match against Natalya and Tamina. The duo defeated the WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champions in a non-title match.
Will Tegan Nox and Shotzi get a shot at the titles first, or will the company book a Triple Threat Match for WWE Extreme Rules?
Take a look at the five things WWE got right on RAW this week.
#5. Sheamus and Drew McIntyre put on a good contest early on WWE RAW
Damian Priest defended his United States Championship in a Triple Threat Match on WWE RAW last week. Priest pinned Drew McIntyre to retain his title and earn the respect of the former WWE Champion.
RAW booked a United States Championship No.1 contender’s match on this week’s show. Sheamus offered McIntyre a handshake before the match took off, but McIntyre offered him a different hand gesture in response.
The two big men locked up and traded some holds and strikes before Sheamus attempted the 10 Beats of the Bodhran. McIntyre countered by chopping The Celtic Warrior’s chest instead.
The two former best friends tried to hit each other’s moves but could only pick up near falls. Late in the match, McIntyre hit Sheamus with the White Noise and then ripped his protective mask off.
The Scottish Warrior tried to nail him with the Claymore, but the former Unites States Champion rolled him up with a handful of tights for the win.
The contest was good and allowed both men to compete in a big match in front of the WWE Universe. The Scottish Warrior nailed Sheamus with a Claymore after the match to end things on a high.
It looks like WWE is ready to take McIntyre out of the title picture for some time.
Sheamus played a good villain in the contest and picked up the victory the right way. The outcome protects McIntyre and will give Sheamus another shot at the United States Championship at WWE Extreme Rules.
#4. Karrion Kross finally got to dominate a bigger opponent on WWE RAW
Karrion Kross appeared as a special guest on Moist TV this week on WWE RAW, which was hosted by John Morrison.
A tense exchange between the two RAW Superstars led to an impromptu match. Kross ran through his opponent and nearly picked up a quick victory with the Kross Jacket before Morrison made it to the bottom rope.
America’s Moist Wanted was unsure how to deal with The Herald of Doomsday and made the mistake of spraying him with a drip stick. The move ticked off Kross even more, and he threw JoMo outside with a suplex that saw the former Intercontinental Champion hit his back on the steel post. He brought JoMo back in the ring and ended his misery with the Kross Jacket for a dominant victory.
The match was quick and effective. Karrion Kross needed to take down a top superstar to make a point on RAW. Even though the former NXT Champion has already defeated Ricochet and Humberto Carrillo in recent weeks, WWE needs to give him some bigger opponents to make a point.
Unfortunately, JoMo is back in his role as an enhancement talent, and his storyline with The Miz seems to be on hold. However, he proved to be the perfect opponent for Kross on Monday Night RAW.
#3. Charlotte Flair defeated one challenger before coming across the next one on WWE RAW
Charlotte Flair was set to defend her RAW Women’s Championship against Nia Jax on this Monday's RAW.
Shayna Baszler taunted her partner before the match, giving Flair a chance to attack her from behind. The two women started trading strikes and made the match look extremely personal.
Flair decided to roll out of the ring and walk off with the RAW Women’s Championship. Jax grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back in for the contest. The Queen started to target Jax’s knee and set up for the Figure-Eight leg lock.
The fight then spilled over to the floor. Jax tried to hit her with a forearm, but The Queen moved out of the way, and Jax nearly hit Baszler.
Late in the match, The Queen of Spades got on the apron to distract Jax. Subsequently, Charlotte Flair hit Natural Selection from the middle rope for the win.
After the match, Alexa Bliss invited the RAW Women’s Champion to her playground. After Flair turned down the invitation, Bliss appeared in the ring, holding Lilly. The Queen asked what Bliss wanted, and she pointed to the title on her shoulder.
The match between Flair and Jax wasn’t bad, even though the ending was predictable. Bliss is finally in the RAW Women’s Championship picture, and the creative team will need to book her properly now. She’s playing her character extremely well and deserves to get the right bookings to get ahead.
#2. The New Day put on a great show during the Tag Team Turmoil on WWE RAW
WWE RAW hosted a massive Tag Team Turmoil match to determine who will challenge RK-Bro for their titles. The Viking Raiders came out as the first team followed by New Day.
The two teams put on a good show until an inside cradle from Xavier Woods eliminated The Viking Raiders. Veer and Jinder Mahal came out next to take a shot at New Day.
Kofi Kingston and Woods attacked the two men before they got in the ring, but could not match their power during the contest. However, New Day used their experience to hit the Midnight Hour for the win.
Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado were the next men out to face Kingston and Woods. The two teams hit some good moves to keep the action ticking. New Day's impressive run continued by scoring another pinfall, this coming more than 40 minutes into the show.
T-Bar and Mace came out next and used their power to dominate the former RAW Tag Team Champions. After New Day eliminated them, Mace and T-Bar took out their frustrations on both men before Mustafa Ali and Mansoor made their entrance.
Mace and T-Bar laid waste to all four men and Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce came out to announce that all four men would be given time to recover and the match would continue later in the show.
Kingston and Woods returned to pick up the victory over Mansoor and Ali before AJ Styles and Omos came out. Styles hit the Style Clash to finally eliminate New Day from the match on RAW.
New Day was phenomenal on RAW and showed once again that they are the glue holding the WWE tag team division together. Woods, Big E, and Kingston have put on some great performances in the past. This was another one of those performances that proved them to be the number one team in WWE today.
#1. The Hurt Business took down AJ Styles and Omos to challenge RK-Bro on WWE RAW
Early on WWE RAW, Randy Orton and Riddle came to the ring and were soon confronted by Bobby Lashley and MVP.
Orton said he wanted a shot at Lashley’s WWE Championship. The two men then agreed to face each other for the title at Extreme Rules. The Hurt Business also promised to take part in the Tag-team turmoil and become RK-Bro’s next challengers.
After AJ Styles and Omos eliminated New Day from the Tag Team Turmoil match, MVP and Bobby Lashley made their way out on RAW. Fans finally got to witness a face-off between Lashley and Omos in the ring. The WWE Champion tried to suplex Omos, but the big man reversed it and dropped him on his face.
Lashley and Orton had a confrontation outside the ring that was broken up by AJ Styles. Meanwhile, Omos threw Riddle into the barricades.
Back in the ring, The All Mighty finished off Styles with a big spear to pick up the win. After the match, The Viper once again nailed Lashley with an RKO to prove a point.
The match between the two teams was decent, and the ending was done well. WWE has managed to build two good championship storylines in one go.
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