5 things WWE RAW got right (August 15, 2022)

A loaded episode of WWE RAW kicked off with a great segment involving The Judgment Day. The creative team gave Rhea Ripley another enthralling spot, and she is being built as a dominant force.

Riddle made his return to RAW as Seth Rollins expected him to announce his retirement. Instead, The Original Bro challenged Rollins to a match at Clash at the Castle before beating him down in the ring.

Veer Mahan continued to bulldoze through some local competitors to prove himself to the WWE Universe. The creative team will need to look for a new formula to make the superstar look more threatening.

Meanwhile, Alexa Bliss and Asuka picked up a win to progress in the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship tournament. It was another great episode of RAW that kept fans entertained from start to finish.

Look at the five things WWE RAW got right on this week's show.

#5. Rhea Ripley and co. laid waste to Rey Mysterio on WWE RAW

The Judgment Day kicked off WWE RAW this week. Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, and Finn Balor entered the ring to send a warning to The Mysterios and Edge.

Ripley said that the trio were currently running RAW and that she was Dominik Mysterio's "Papi." Priest and Balor joined in and took shots at the babyfaces. Priest said that he is ready to take out The Rated R Superstar on next week's show.

Rey Mysterio showed up and beat down Priest and Balor, sending them out of the ring. He came face-to-face with Rhea before getting a chair to take out The Archer of Infamy and The Prince.

Ripley got in the way, and the heels overpowered the veteran. The Nightmare ended the segment by dropping Rey on a steel chair with a DDT. Rey also got a Coup de Grace from Balor.

WWE did an incredible job with the first segment. Ripley is being built as a top star and The Judgment Day looks complete with the return of The Nightmare.

#4. Ciampa and Mustafa Ali stood out in the tag team match on the show

The A-Lister was all fired up on WWE RAW

Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander finally got a match on WWE RAW after performing on Main Event regularly. The two men took on Ciampa and The Miz in a tag team match.

Ciampa took control of the contest early and pushed Alexander around. The latter hit a dropkick and tagged in Ali, who hit a few good moves.

The former Hurt Business member got a near fall on the former NXT Champion before The Miz tagged in. The two teams traded a few pin attempts to keep fans on the edge of their seats. Ali tried to hit a 450 Splash but was kicked in mid-air by The Blackheart.

A Fairytale Ending followed, allowing Ciampa to pin Ali and pick up the win for his team. It was arguably one of the more exciting contests of the night. Despite the obvious result from the start, Cedric and Mustafa did very well to give Ciampa and Miz a good fight.

Ali and Ciampa were especially impressive in the bout and pulled on some good spots. WWE should look to push Mustafa Ali up the card again.

#3. Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens put on a solid match

An entertaining backstage segment showed Ezekiel being visited by his family members in the hospital. Every single member of his family looked the same.

Following this, Drew McIntyre came out on WWE RAW next and spoke about how he was the backbone of the company.

He talked down his opponent for Clash at the Castle, Roman Reigns, before Kevin Owens came out to interrupt him. The two men had an entertaining exchange in the middle of the ring. Owens said he was back to his ruthless old self and was ready to aim for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship after Clash at the Castle.

This led to a match between the two men right away. McIntyre had the early advantage, but some heel tactics by KO helped him make a comeback.

The match turned out to be great as Owens had an answer for everything McIntyre threw at him. He hit some wonderful moves and kept The Scottish Warrior at bay.

The Scottish Warrior blocked a Stunner before the two men took each other out. The Usos interfered in the contest and caused a disqualification. KO hit a distracted McIntyre with a Stunner before The Usos tried to lay him out. However, he got rid of both heels to end the segment.

The match between McIntyre and KO was arguably top-notch. The creatives did well to end it in disqualification and save the result for another day. Meanwhile, it was good to see Owens back to his usual heel self. He still has some unfinished business with Ezekiel to take care of.

#2. Bobby Lashley retained his United States Championship on WWE RAW

AJ Styles challenged Bobby Lashley for the United States Championship on WWE RAW. Styles started on the right foot and hit the champion with some good moves.

He dodged a ring post slam from Lashley and continued to beat down the big man. The All Mighty bounced back and hit a Spear before throwing Styles into the turnbuckles.

The Miz and Ciampa came out to watch the match up close. They were about to attack Styles, but a fan jumped the barricades and was hurled away by security guards. The fan was perhaps former NXT star Dexter Lumis.

The match continued as the two top men traded strikes. Lashley survived a forearm and hit a running powerslam for a near fall. Styles stayed on top and dodged a Spear before locking in the Calf Crusher.

He missed the forearm and ate a Spear before taking a pinfall. The match was electric and allowed The All Mighty to retain his title. He will likely have a long reign before moving back into the top title picture.

It will be interesting to see what Lumis has in store for fans. He could team up with Styles down the line to help him take out The Miz and Ciampa.

#1. Theory picked up a clean win over the veteran Dolph Ziggler

Theory and Dolph Ziggler squared off in the main event of WWE RAW. After weeks of teasing, the two men finally got a chance to go head-to-head.

The Showoff started well and unloaded on Theory right off the bat. The latter countered a few moves and smashed Ziggler's head into the turnbuckles.

Ziggler used his experience to regain the upper hand and hit some big moves. The young superstar nearly fell prey to a spinning powerbomb followed by the Famouser. Ziggler was furious as he tried his best to take out the young superstar.

He got the Zig Zag before Theory recovered and hit the A-Town Down for a clean win. It was great to see Theory get a clean win over a two-time world champion. This was also arguably the young star's best match in WWE to date.

What did you make of RAW this week? Let us know in the comments section below.

Suggested: Listen to what Dr. Chris Featherstone and Vince Russo had to say about this week's RAW