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WWE faced a massive setback this week as just before the start of Monday Night RAW, it was announced that WWE Champion Drew McIntyre had tested positive for COVID-19 and was kept in isolation. This last-minute mishap would've surely spoiled several plans, but the company managed to pull off a decent episode of RAW.
As for SmackDown, there were several storyline advances and some great matches. The return of Shinsuke Nakamura's old theme song and a full-blown face turn has fans excited as to what plans WWE has for him.
In this article, let's take a look at three mistakes WWE made this week on RAW and SmackDown and three things they got right.
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#3 Mistake WWE made: Not using multiple top Superstars on RAW
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A lot of top names were missing from Monday Night RAW this week and many Superstars pulled off double duty. It was assumed that the reason behind this would have been the COVID-19 outbreak with WWE keeping some Superstars in isolation as a precaution.
However, a report from PWInsider stated that six top Superstars were backstage on RAW and were just not utilized on TV. These include RAW Women's Champion Asuka, RAW Tag Team Champions Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander, Nikki Cross, Ricochet, and Humberto Carillo. It seems a little baffling as to why WWE would not use them and make multiple other Superstars pull off double duty.
#3 WWE got right: Triple H returns to save the day
WWE Hall of Famer Triple H has multiple hats in the company. While he is one of the top authorities backstage, he remains a fan-favorite and one of WWE's biggest attractions - one that they can use anytime on occasions like these to save the day. We saw this happen last year on the first-ever empty-arena episode of SmackDown, and this week Triple H did the same on RAW.
WWE announced the return of Triple H merely hours before the show began and many fans surely tuned-in to see The Game. He was interrupted by Randy Orton, setting up a 'street fight' for the main event, and WWE did a commendable job of hyping it up. While the match in itself was a little too short, what happened at the end made up for it. More on that later.
#2 Mistake WWE made: Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens again
WWE built SmackDown this week around Roman Reigns trying to teach Adam Pearce a lesson. However, the final segment of the night, the contract signing, saw a major twist as Adam Pearce tricked Roman Reigns by making him sign the contract, only to reveal that he won't be medically cleared to compete at WWE Royal Rumble 2021. He went on to announce Kevin Owens as his replacement in the match.
Now, nothing to take away from KO, who is one of the best talents on the brand. But he has already been feuding with Reigns for quite some time now. Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing Match would be great for sure, but we have already witnessed the story. Hopefully, WWE adds some interesting twists to this in the coming weeks.
#2 WWE got right: New alliance teased for Roman Reigns
The Universal Champion Roman Reigns is undoubtedly the single biggest Superstar on WWE's current roster. Thanks to him, Jey Uso has become a top name on the Blue brand. This week, we saw another big tease of former United States Champion Apollo Crews joining hands with The Tribal Chief.
Crews was seen taking advice from Roman Reigns in a backstage segment. Later in the night, he cheated to win his match against Sami Zayn, seemingly completing his heel turn. Apollo is all set to challenge Big E for the Intercontinental Championship next week, and it will be interesting to see whether Roman Reigns help him win the title in some way. This could be the perfect to set-up a clash between Roman Reigns and Big E, possibly at WrestleMania 37.
#1 Mistake WWE made: Does no one want a shot at Asuka's RAW Women's title?
WWE often brings up the rule that every champion has to defend his/her title at least once every month or so. However, they tend to ignore it on many occasions as per their convenience. A recent example of this is RAW Women's Champion Asuka, who hasn't defended her title for nearly two months, and no female Superstar on RAW seems to want a shot at her.
Asuka also is the WWE Women's Tag Team Champion with Charlotte Flair, something which has further taken away the spotlight from the RAW Women's title. Hopefully, this situation will improve soon. WWE has announced that Alexa Bliss will take on Asuka in a non-title match on RAW next week. Could this be the feud that the title needs to jump back to relevance? Let's hope so.
#1 WWE got right: The thrilling return of Alexa Bliss on RAW
One of the biggest headlines of Monday Night RAW this week was the return of Alexa Bliss, who interrupted the main-event match between Randy Orton and Triple H. The sight of Triple H's burning sledgehammer was something fans would remember for a long time.
Two weeks ago, Randy Orton and Alexa Bliss had a massive segment where Orton teased that he burnt her alive, the same way he burnt The Fiend at WWE TLC 2020. Bliss missed RAW last week, and fans were excited to see what happens when she returns. Well, she made her sinister return this week and went on to attack Orton with a fireball to close the show. The Fiend might be returning very soon.
