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The latest episode of WWE RAW was intriguing for most parts as the build-up towards TLC 2020 reached its crescendo. Randy Orton and The Fiend contributed to the best segment on the whole show, while Lana withdrew from her tag title match after registering a monumental upset
On the other hand, the WWE Championship picture turned more interesting, with questions now being raised on the friendship between Sheamus and Drew Mcintyre. Mr. Money in the Bank The Miz once again showed that you cannot turn his back on him.
The rumors of Keith Lee being pushed down the card seem to be true after his loss to The Miz and John Morrison in a handicap match. Apart from this, Riddle seems all set to challenge Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship after registering a win over MVP. And most importantly, a major return is sure to bring a much-needed heft that the women's division required after stagnating for quite some while now.
So without any delays, let us dive into the major points that have gotten the people talking post this episode of RAW.
#1 Drew Mcintyre doesn't come to the rescue of Sheamus on RAW
The first match of this week's RAW saw Sheamus take on the #1 contender for the WWE Championship, AJ Styles. While The Phenomenal One managed to sneak a victory after a great match-up, the post-match beatdown of Sheamus raised a lot of questions. Both Styles and Omos were relentless in their attack. Everyone waited for Drew McIntyre to come to the aid of his best friend, but that did not happen.
McIntyre's absence is bound to get a lot of people talking. Even though he had a misunderstanding with the Celtic Warrior on the last week’s episode of WWE RAW, it was rather surprising that he left his buddy high and dry.
Later in the main event of RAW, after exchanging a few barbs, the champion and challenger got into a scuffle. Styles was supported by Omos and Miz-Morrison, all while Sheamus stayed away from the action and was nowhere to be seen.
How all of this will come into play during the WWE Championship match at TLC 2020 is to be seen. Will Sheamus be at ringside for his buddy, or considering today’s developments on RAW, would rather sit out?
With the always looming danger of the MITB holder The Miz cashing in, the odds are certainly stacked against the reigning WWE Champion come December 20.
#4 Lana beats Nia Jax in under two minutes on RAW to possibly end the feud
Lana beat Nia Jax in just under 2 minutes by stomping her onto the mat in a massive upset. Yes, a feud spanning over two months possibly culminated with a two-minute match on this week's episode of RAW. The post-match angle saw Jax Shayna Baszler beat down Lana, who had already taken down Asuka backstage. Later, Mandy Rose made her return and tried her best to take down the duo of Jax and Baszler.
It was a head-scratching decision by the WWE creative, with the upcoming match at TLC now becoming even more needless. Anyone who understands WWE’s booking pattern can guess that the current champions would be retaining their titles at TLC.
With Dana Brooke or Mandy Rose now possibly replacing Lana, the result now seems even more in favor of the reigning champions.
If we are heading in this direction, it would be smart of the WWE creative to use the match to build-up a potential RAW Women’s Championship rivalry between Asuka and Shayna Baszler. It’s a sure-shot money match.
#3 Early signs of Keith Lee’s demotion on RAW
A report emerged last week that Vince McMahon had instructed RAW Superstar Keith Lee and a few other wrestlers to attend special classes at the Performance Center to get accustomed to the wrestling style of the main roster.
The news baffled fans across the board as they believed someone of Keith Lee’s stature and talents should be the last person to be asked to attend classes at the PC.
The developments on RAW this week suggested that Lee is indeed no longer a commodity that the creative is looking to push anytime soon, as he lost a seemingly inconsequential 2-on-1 handicap match to The Miz and John Morrison.
While losing a handicap match is not a sign of burial by any margin, in Lee’s case, it makes it clear that he will not be in the kind of spotlight everyone expected him to receive. It will be interesting to see if The Limitless One finds himself further falling down the card or keeps floundering around in the mid-card scene.
#4 RAW Superstar Riddle right on the course to receive a US Title match
It was quite surprising to see Jeff Hardy going down to US Champion Bobby Lashley for the second week in the row on RAW, this time in a tag match between The Hurt Business and the team of Hardy and The New Day.
While the loss won't damage Hardy in the long run, it yet again reiterated WWE’s belief in Lashley as a prominent star.
However, this development coupled with Riddle’s win over MVP later on RAW made it abundantly clear that The Original Bro is now all set to challenge Lashley for the title, probably at TLC.
Yes, Riddle is still involved in some random gimmicks like BroNutts and BroNouns, but a Superstar of his reputation can quickly tweak himself into a serious contender. The result of the match notwithstanding, it would surely be a fun encounter between the two.
While the match is yet to be officially announced, we could expect a confirmation of the United States Championship match between now and TLC.
#5 Randy Orton's mind games on RAW go in vain; still no sign of Alexa Bliss
In what was easily the best segment of this week's RAW, Randy Orton seemed to have gotten the better of Bray Wyatt after successfully luring the latter into his trap.
Orton beat down Wyatt backstage and put him in a wooden crate. Orton lit the box on fire, thinking he has successfully managed to win this psychological warfare over Wyatt. Unfortunately for Orton, The Fiend emerged out of the blazing crate and choked him with a Mandible Claw. WWE did an excellent job in making both men look quite sinister in their attempts to win the psychological warfare ahead of their highly-awaited clash at TLC.
However, the absence of Alexa Bliss from RAW this week certainly raises a few questions and it will be interesting to see if she will be involved in their match at TLC.
While a lot of detractors of this rivalry would term this segment as cartoonish, it was successful in creating hype around the clash, which was initially written off for being pointless.
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