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From Edge & Christian's reunion ahead of WWE Backlash to a Decathlon contest between The Viking Raiders and Street Profits, this week's edition of WWE RAW featured many contrasting moments.
Monday Night RAW did a decent job in building feuds for this Sunday's Backlash Pay-Per-View. However, it shouldn't come as a surprise that this week's show was not a smooth 3-hour ride from start-to-finish.
This has been the case for WWE RAW several times in recent memory. Apart from the length, RAW ends up being a less newsworthy show when compared to WWE SmackDown.
Let us know what you thought about this particular episode in the comments section below.
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Here are the five biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE RAW (June 8, 2020).
#5: Street Profits and The Viking Raiders tied as equals in a Decathlon contest this time around
In continuation to Street Profits and The Viking Raiders' “Anything You Can Do, We Can Do Better” series, both teams faced-off in a Decathlon contest this week.
Instead of actual sports, most athletic events were replaced by silly competitions like a dance-off, sword fight, and a flip cup.
Say what you want about the RAW Tag Team Divison's biggest highlight being replaced by these skits, but Street Profits and The Viking Raiders' have managed to separate themselves apart from others, to say the least.
Not all of these skits have been the best, but this week's Decathlon segment certainly ranks among the better ones.
What comes across as problematic though, is that both of these teams served as a backdrop for Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre's program later in the night. Although they did a fine job in that role, we all know that WWE's RAW Tag Team Divison needs to stand on its own at the end of the day.
#4: Charlotte Flair proved herself as WWE's main-event prospect for two consecutive nights in a row
In case you missed WWE NXT's latest Pay-Per-View, Charlotte Flair wrestled Io Shirai and Rhea Ripley in a great main event that saw Shirai being crowned as the new NXT Women's Champion.
Whether you like it or not, Charlotte has proved to be too valuable in any Women's Division, and if you thought she would take a backseat anytime soon, that was certainly not the case on this week's episode of WWE RAW.
Just a few several hours after wrestling in a TakeOver main event, Charlotte teamed alongside Asuka against The IIconics and the Women's Tag Team Champions, Bayley and Sasha Banks at the beginning of last night's show.
Not only that, but The Queen and Asuka would later main-event WWE RAW against each other. Nia Jax's distraction allowed Flair to pick up the victory and maintain her stellar win record against the RAW Women's Champion.
This was a bold booking decision on WWE's part. Because after the episode, it seemed like all the odds were stacked against Asuka, which is a good conflict for the Champion heading into WWE Backlash.
But all things aside, Charlotte Flair delivered as a workhorse for two consecutive nights, and it will be interesting to see where she goes from this point onwards.
#3: Drew McIntyre rescued Ivar by hitting Bobby Lashley with a Claymore
The WWE Championship feud continued on this week's RAW, where Drew McIntyre crashed the VIP Lounge to set things in motion.
Bobby Lashley and MVP couldn't outpower the WWE Champion this time around, as The Viking Raiders provided some essential backup and proceeded with their scheduled matchup against MVP and Lashley.
Lashley's dominant streak has been a welcome change to his character, and his power came into play when Erik of The Viking Raiders failed to escape Lashley's Full Nelson hold.
After the match, The Street Profits attempted to break up the same hold when Lashley applied it, but it was Drew McIntyre's Claymore that did the trick.
This back-and-forth display of power between Bobby Lashley and McIntyre has been the best part of their feud that will go down in a title match at WWE Backlash. But as I mentioned before, WWE's RAW Tag Team Division took a step back on this week's RAW.
Not only were The Viking Raiders and Street Profits relegated to background roles here, but is there really a feud between them when both babyface teams don't have any serious animosity against each other?
#2: Andrade earned a shot at the U.S. Title as WWE teased a breakup between Andrade and Angel Garza
Kevin Owens, Andrade, and Angel Garza wrestled in a triple threat match to determine a #1 contender for Apollo Crews' United States Title at WWE Backlash.
As expected, Angel Garza and Andrade exercised their numbers advantage over Kevin Owens at the beginning of the bout. But Zelina Vega's crew began to show cracks as the match proceeded further.
Vega took a bump as Garza and Andrade kept arguing against each other. After all, this was inevitable when there can only be one #1 contender for the U.S. title.
Andrade even pinned Garza to secure a title match against Apollo Crews at WWE Backlash.
Austin Theory was kicked out from Zelina's group on WWE RAW a few weeks ago. But that event might have kickstarted the eventual downfall of Zelina Vega's crew.
Andrade and Garza's breakup may not be a fruitful decision for WWE's RAW Tag Team Division as a whole. The Viking Raiders and Street Profits had a feud before, but now they co-exist better as friendly competitors than actual rivals. WWE management must keep in mind that Andrade and Angel Garza may be one of the only few legitimate heel tag teams left on the Red brand.
#1: Christian motivated Edge via reverse psychology ahead of "The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever" at WWE Backlash
The only thing bringing down Edge vs. Randy Orton at this point is the fact that WWE insisted on calling it "The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever" even before the match has happened (the bout has reportedly been taped recently).
Apart from that, Edge and Randy Orton's Backlash showdown was hyped through an excellent segment on this week's episode of WWE RAW.
Edge displayed his acting chops in the best way possible, and it was clever of Christian to bring out the old Edge by applying reverse psychology on his former tag team partner.
During the segment's peak, Randy Orton interrupted this unusual reunion by saying that he will put a definite end to Edge's redemption story. Apparently, Christian's motivation got under The Viper's skin. Even though Orton attempted at sowing doubt in Edge once again, The Rated-R Superstar finally looked like he believed in himself ahead of WWE Backlash.
As a whole, this was good storytelling that mixed kayfabe with reality at the same time. "The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever" tagline has not only prompted WWE fans to question Edge and Randy Orton's ability to pull this off, but we also got to know that Edge's onscreen character (as well as the real Edge) may have doubted himself to accomplish the same.
Meet Randy Orton's lovely wife HERE
