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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on Monday Night RAW. It was quite an intense episode with one of the best endings we've seen all year. We'll get back to that part at the very end, simply because it was that good. However, it was a happening episode of RAW and there are many things for us to jump right into.
Since RETRIBUTION had created a lot of buzz last week, let's jump right into that.
#7. What was the meaning behind the RETRIBUTION appearance on RAW?
While the episode of RAW as a whole was quite good, we must admit that we were a bit underwhelmed by the RETRIBUTION segments. They were featured only a couple of times - one of which saw them throw a cinder block through the glass door of the WWE Performance Center and the second of which saw a car flipped upside down and destroyed.
The breaking of the WWE Performance Center glass was a bit odd since they didn't even enter the building - they just continued to run away. Had they entered the building, things would have gotten more interesting.
However, this episode of RAW featured them in a different light than a few days ago on SmackDown. They simply looked like a bunch of bored teenagers who vandalized property and got hyped because they thought it was cool.
With SummerSlam looming around, we can only hope that they have a bigger role to play in the PPV. However, we anticipate that WWE will be holding off on the big angle until the actual show or after it.
If they want to build anticipation for RETRIBUTION on RAW, they need to portray them better - not as an edgy Antifa-like group.
#6. What was that Lana-Natalya-Mickie James segment on RAW all about?
"How are you going to lead the Women's locker room if you don't have a TikTok" - Lana to 6-time Women's Champion Mickie James following her return to RAW. That was an actual quote.
Mickie James made her official return to WWE television after over a year. She was out for 9 months with an ACL tear and made her presence known backstage. She declared that if the women's locker room thought she wasn't coming after the RAW Women's Championship, they were mistaken.
Lana, who recently aligned with Natalya, interrupted James. Interestingly enough, Natalya has now quietly turned heel. Next week on RAW, we'll be getting a battle of two veterans when Mickie James makes her return to the ring to take on the "winning-est" superstar and self-proclaimed BOAT (Best of all time) in Natalya.
It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out. We're all for having multiple women's feuds on the show (especially non-title feuds).
#5. Apollo Crews vs The Hurt Business continues on RAW - adding a new layer
Apollo Crews has had been a busy man in the pandemic era of the WWE - having the best run of his career following a move to RAW post-WrestleMania 36. His momentum led him to a United States Championship and he's been in the crosshairs of The Hurt Business - who he's defeated and been defeated by.
While he's set to face MVP at SummerSlam, he faced Shelton Benjamin in a non-title match on RAW and was defeated by Benjamin - a man who rarely ever wins on RAW.
Bobby Lashley was about to begin the immediate post-match attack, but MVP urged him to stop as he wanted Apollo Crews to be fit for SummerSlam and not have their match canceled like it was at Extreme Rules 2020. However, Apollo Crews still got the last laugh with an enziguri to MVP.
The story essentially seems to be that Apollo Crews has all the odds stacked against him. While we hope it results in a SummerSlam win, we can't guarantee that. We hope that Bobby Lashley steps up to face Apollo Crews eventually.
#4. Asuka is SummerSlam-bound after a big win on RAW
This was a solid match - just as we expected. Last week on RAW, Bayley was taken by surprise when Sasha Banks declared (without her consent) that Asuka would need to get through Bayley to earn a RAW Women's title shot.
Asuka had already beaten the SmackDown Women's Champion before, but this time, the stakes were much higher. She managed to get through Bayley after a long struggle and submitted her - continuing to have her number, dating back to 2016 in NXT.
It seems like Bayley simply can't get one over Asuka and it could take her longer than Becky Lynch to get one over the former RAW Women's Champion. Either way, Asuka vs Sasha Banks is now official for WWE SummerSlam and we expect to see them have their best match yet.
While The Golden Role Models have been dominating the entire women's division in the pandemic era, we fully expect Asuka to regain the RAW Women's Championship at SummerSlam 2020. Otherwise, it'll cause more creative disarray.
#3. Dominik's first day as a WWE superstar on RAW
Dominik is now officially a WWE Superstar. He signed a contract and he's now on the WWE RAW roster. As you know, he'll be taking on Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2020 in his debut match - something that many felt was a bad idea.
Either way, it was Dominik who made the challenge, and his attacks on Seth Rollins meant that The Monday Night Messiah felt provoked into accepting the challenge and teaching the 23-year-old Dominik a lesson.
Now among the youngest members on the entire RAW and WWE roster, Dominik will look to make a big impact. But, this week, he had to suffer a vicious beatdown in the hands of Rollins and Murphy.
One interesting addition to their SummerSlam match is the fact that Seth Rollins told Dominik that he's free to use weapons. However, there's an ulterior motive, as Rollins wants to end Dominik's career before it even begins. We can't help but feel that this is all eventually foreshadowing the return of Rey Mysterio.
#2. Bianca Belair and Zelina Vega's feud spills on to RAW
Every time Bianca Belair competes on WWE RAW, we can't help but wonder "Why isn't she competing more often?". There were a few months in between the time she made her debut and when she was absent.
While the rumor mill suggested that it was simply due to a lack of storylines planned for her, we feel that WWE should have been utilizing more at that time. She finally returned to help assist Ruby Riott but that brief alliance is already done and she's now back with The Street Profits.
Last week, Montez Ford of The Street Profits was poisoned and Zelina Vega was the prime suspect. The feud even spilled onto Zelina Vega's Twitch stream - which we quite like.
They faced off this week on RAW, and as expected, it was Bianca Belair who came out on top - along with Angelo Dawkins - who defeated former United States Champion, Andrade. It's going to be fun to see how this rivalry plays out as we have just one more episode of RAW before SummerSlam. How will the two women impact the RAW Tag Team title match?
#1. That brutal ending to RAW
That was one of the best endings to WWE RAW we've seen all year. While we've always advocated pushing newer and current stars, there's a reason why the old guard is as highly-regarded as they are. When it comes to promos and the impact of it alone, there's little doubt that the current generation can't match them.
This was seen in the final segment on RAW between Randy Orton and Ric Flair. Orton defeated Kevin Owens, but post-match, he explained how furious he felt at Flair over setting up an "unnecessary" match against Owens. He proceeded to verbally tear the 16-time World Champion apart, telling him that he lost his love and respect for him.
Ric Flair, who struggled to hold back his tears, cut a passionate promo about wanting to be in Randy Orton's life and explained how big an achievement it was for him to even be on RAW. Randy Orton embraced him, but that embrace turned into a low blow and when the lights briefly flickered, he punted Ric Flair, writing him out of WWE TV.
Drew McIntyre came out and was absolutely disgusted at Randy Orton, vowing to give him what's coming at SummerSlam. That ending of RAW was nothing short of stunning and both Orton and Flair played their roles to perfection. It was subtle storytelling at its best on RAW.
How did Ric Flair spend $1500 at a pizza place? More details here
