'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The final episode of WWE RAW before WrestleMania was set to be a big one. RAW has worked hard to build the WWE Championship picture over the past few weeks, and the focus was once again on the top title.
Bobby Lashley was set to compete against Cedric Alexander after defeating Shelton Benjamin last week. Drew McIntyre took on King Corbin in the final match of the night in a surprisingly entertaining match.
Rhea Ripley and Asuka were scheduled to team up for a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match just a few nights before their WWE RAW Women’s Championship match. Braun Strowman pinned Elias and Jaxson Ryker during a 2-on-1 Handicap Match before his Steel Cage match against Shane McMahon at The Show of Shows.
Trending
Riddle competed in a non-title match against Mustafa Ali before his title defense against Sheamus. WWE also announced a Tag Team Turmoil match for night one of WrestleMania that will determine who will challenge Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler on night two of the event.
The match between Bad Bunny and The Miz for Mania also ended up becoming even bigger just nights before the contest. Let’s take a look at five things WWE got right on the RAW before WrestleMania.
#5 Riddle took down Mustafa Ali on WWE RAW before his title defense at WrestleMania
Mustafa Ali blamed Riddle for RETRIBUTION’s break-up on WWE RAW. He had an exchange with Sheamus backstage who told him that he would be ringside for Ali’s match against Riddle.
Ali tried to pin Riddle early but was unable to keep him down for the three-count. Riddle replied with a submission hold that did significant damage to Ali. Riddle sent Ali out of the ring before taking him out with a dive.
The Bro mocked Sheamus outside the ring and stole his hat from the commentary table. This allowed Ali a chance to attack him and gain control. The Original Bro exploded back into the match to hit a Broton and then some elbows on Ali.
The former leader of RETRIBUTION locked in the Lights Out submission before Riddle countered a top rope move and hit the Bro Derek to pick up the victory. The match between these two superstars was solid once again.
The rivalry between Sheamus and Riddle on WWE RAW has been simple yet effective. It will offer Sheamus a chance to win a singles title in WWE once again after several years. He has been great on WWE RAW and has had a fun rivalry against Drew McIntyre.
Riddle may have won against Ali once again this week, but The Celtic Warrior could be the favorite to take home the United States Championship at WrestleMania.
#4 Xavier Woods defeated AJ Styles on WWE RAW before WrestleMania
AJ Styles will team up with Omos to challenge The New Day for the WWE RAW Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania. Even though the pairing of Omos and Styles has been a little odd, WWE RAW has given this rivalry enough time to grow.
Xavier Woods took on Styles in singles competition on the final episode of WWE RAW before the big match at WrestleMania. Styles started strong and locked in the Calf Crusher early. But an exchange between Omos and Kofi Kingston distracted The Phenomenal One.
Omos tried to keep calm, but Kofi kept trying to get under his skin. Styles was livid and focused on Kofi, who fled the ring. Woods found an opening thanks to the distractions and rolled up Styles for the three-count.
The match wasn’t too great but it was good enough to carry this rivalry through to the weekend. Styles seems to be on his way to becoming a Grand Slam Champion at WrestleMania 37. Meanwhile, Omos is looking forward to his big debut on The Show of Shows.
WWE RAW’s tag team division hasn’t been too strong, especially since The Hurt Business split up. Therefore, the creatives will likely have to rely on Styles to win the tag team title at WrestleMania and increase the title's value over the next few months.
#3 Bad Bunny’s match for WrestleMania gets even bigger on WWE RAW
“Hey Hey, Ho Ho” on WWE RAW!
The Miz and John Morrison continued to get under Bad Bunny’s skin on WWE RAW just before WrestleMania. The two superstars were seen backstage vandalizing Bunny’s Bugatti. The duo used paint to draw and write all over the white car to make the rivalry even more bitter.
Bunny got to his car backstage and was furious before Miz and Morrison attacked him. The two heels tossed him over some cars before beating him up some more and running away.
Later in the night on WWE RAW, Bunny came out with Damian Priest and spoke about how he has been a WWE fan all his life. He spoke about Miz and Morrison’s attack on him earlier in the night and claimed that the duo had crossed the line.
Bunny then added Priest to his match at WrestleMania and challenged Miz and Morrison to a tag team match for The Show of Shows. Miz and Morrison appeared on the big screen to accept the challenge before speeding away in their limo.
The match has now been officially turned into a tag team match. This is a good thing considering the fact Bunny would have required some help from Priest to win against The Miz anyway. Having him as a part of the match was the right call as it makes things more interesting and gives The Archer a chance to compete at WrestleMania.
#2 Rhea Ripley turned heel on WWE RAW before WrestleMania
Rhea Ripley had a good stay in NXT before heading to WWE RAW. The Nightmare challenged Asuka for the RAW Women’s Championship straight after arriving on the Red brand.
Last week, Ripley flipped the table on Asuka after their contract signing. She then accepted a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match challenge on behalf of herself and The Empress. The two WrestleMania opponents geared up to compete against Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler on this week’s WWE RAW.
Asuka and Baszler got their hands on each other early, with Asuka managing to gain the advantage. Jax and Ripley were in next, and Ripley managed to avoid a big move from Jax before tagging Asuka back in.
Reginald tried to interfere, leading Ripley to go after him. This gave Jax and Baszler and opportunity to take her off the apron. Asuka came back into the match soon after and took down both the heels. Just when she was preparing to hit a big move from the top rope, Ripley wiped her out.
The Nightmare took out Asuka outside the ring and then tossed her back into the ring to be pinned by Baszler. While Ripley has had the feel of a heel since her arrival, she showed her true colors during this contest on WWE RAW.
WWE has used the method of putting opponents in tag teams for big matches too many times now. However, it seems to have worked better in this rivalry than it did for Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair.
#1 The Championship scene got more heated on WWE RAW right before WrestleMania
Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin caught up with MVP backstage on WWE RAW. They called MVP a fraud and blamed him for the split of The Hurt Business, before saying they were waiting for Drew McIntyre to defeat Bobby Lashley.
Alexander came in for his match against Lashley with Benjamin by his side. The two men attacked Lashley before the opening bell, but the WWE Champion powered through them. After the bell, Lashley took out his anger on Alexander and kept him down for a while.
Alexander impressed the WWE Universe with a few big dropkicks and the neutralizer but could not survive the Hurt Lock. After the match, Benjamin tried to attack Lashley, but he too fell to the Hurt Lock.
Drew McIntyre and King Corbin competed in the main event of WWE RAW. Corbin was looking to take out McIntyre en-route to WrestleMania. However, The Scottish Warrior was ready for Corbin and kept him down with some big strikes.
Corbin countered a Future Shock DDT attempt and made his way out of the ring. After the two men brawled outside for some time, Corbin came close to victory with a Chokeslam. A Glasgow Kiss followed by the Future Shock DDT almost helped McIntyre pick up the victory.
MVP tried to help Corbin out and handed him his cane to use against the former WWE Champion. However, McIntyre delivered the Claymore just in time to pick up another big victory on WWE RAW.
It’s unfortunate that Corbin is being used like this on WWE RAW. However, the build-up for the WWE Championship match for WrestleMania seems to be going well. Lashley and McIntyre were both dominant in their respective matches, and both men will likely have the hardest-hitting match at The Grandest Stage of Them All.
