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WWE RAW had some big matches and segments scheduled for this week. A Tag Team Battle Royal was set to determine the next challengers for the RAW Tag Team Championships.
Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley met in the ring for a contract signing segment. No brawls erupted during the contract signing, but the Scottish Warrior did split the table in half with his sword.
Mansoor returned to take on Drew Gulak in a match on RAW. Meanwhile, Jeffy Hardy defeated Cedric Alexander after a decent bout.
Humberto Carrillo and Ricochet competed for a chance to challenge the injured United States Champion Seamus at a later date. Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley also found themselves in a match on this week’s RAW.
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Take a look at the five things WWE got right on Monday Night RAW.
#5 The Viking Raiders won the Tag Team Battle Royal on WWE RAW
Five tag teams were picked to compete in a Battle Royal on WWE RAW to determine who’d take on AJ Styles and Omos for the RAW Tag Team Championships next. Before the match, Styles was cutting a promo when The Miz and John Morrison interrupted him.
Morrison decided to enter the match by himself for his team, increasing the number of teams in the match to six.
Randy Orton and Riddle hit RKOs to Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods early on to make a statement. The match took off as all six teams went at each other from the opening bell.
Lince Dorado competed alone on behalf of The Lucha House Party as Gran Metalik was out with an injury. Morrison and Dorado had a brief exchange, after which Johnny Drip Drip threw him out of the ring.
MACE and T-BAR eliminated Morrison moments later. The Viking Raiders, New Day, and The R-K-Bros joined forces to eliminate the former members of RETRIBUTION from the match.
After some quick eliminations, The Viking Raiders were left alone in the ring and were announced the winners of the contest. It was a fun match early on RAW that allowed the brand to show that their tag team division is not too weak.
RAW could have allowed Morrison or Dorado to fight till the end of the match before getting eliminated. Having them exit early after walking in alone did not make much sense. The Viking Raiders are finally back in contention for the RAW Tag Team Championships.
Even though it looks like Styles and Omos won’t be losing the titles any time soon, Eric and Ivar could prove to be tough challengers for the champions.
#4 Humberto Carrillo and Ricochet put on a good match on WWE RAW
Last week, a stiff strike from Humberto Carrillo busted Sheamus open on WWE RAW. It was later revealed that The Celtic Warrior had suffered a broken nose. But that did not stop the tough superstar from showing up for work this week.
Sheamus came out to watch the match between Carrillo and Ricochet on RAW. Both men had targeted the United States Champion recently, and WWE decided to book them in a match against each other.
The two high-flyers put on a great show even though both were playing babyface characters. They showed off their agility and athleticism to keep the action ticking during the contest.
Late in the match, Carrillo hit Ricochet with a Spanish Fly on the ring-apron. Both men were laid out by the move and could not make it back to the ring before the 10-count.
While babyface vs babyface matches usually fall flat on their face, this match was surprisingly fun. Both men could end up getting a shot at Sheamus for the United States Championship at WWE Hell in a Cell.
#3 Kofi Kingston got a push on WWE RAW
Kofi Kingston and his team lost early in the opening Battle Royal on WWE RAW. However, the former WWE Champion was set to compete in another match later in the night against Riddle.
MVP caught up with Kingston backstage and praised him and his rise during KofiMania. However, he told the veteran that he let himself down by shaking Drew McIntyre’s hand after their match last week.
Kingston took on Riddle while Randy Orton decided to stay backstage during the contest. However, The Viper made his way out after the match got underway.
Orton took took Woods out on the outside the ring while Riddle continued to try and impress The Viper inside. He hit some of Orton’s signature moves as the veteran watched on.
Kingston gained some momentum, but the Original Bro cut him off and unloaded with a flurry of strikes. He spiked Kingston with Orton’s signature draping DDT and tried to hit the RKO.
However, Kingston countered the RKO and Bro Derek and hit Trouble in Paradise to pick up the win.
Kingston is one of the most active and beloved characters on RAW. WWE did well to get him into a backstage segment with MVP that could lead to something bigger for the veteran.
The victory will allow him to carry on the rivalry with The R-K-Bros on RAW after Woods picked up a loss against both men over the past couple of weeks.
#2 Nikki Cross pinned the WWE RAW Women’s Champion once again
Sonya Deville decided to book a big tag team match on WWE RAW this week. She announced that Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair would team up to take on Nikki Cross and a partner of her choice.
Cross had defeated both Ripley and Flair over the past couple of weeks. Even though her victories came in two-minute Beat the Clock challenges, WWE decided to make the entire thing seem like a big deal on RAW.
Cross picked Asuka to be her partner for the match. Flair took Cross down early and tried to show off her dominance. However, tensions between the RAW Women’s Champion and The Queen started to affect their teamwork.
Both women continued to exchange some words and then started resorting to using unconventional methods to tag each other in. They tried to one-up each other and started losing their focus.
A brawl broke out between Flair and Ripley, and The Queen ended up hitting the champion with Natural Selection. Cross took advantage and pinned the RAW Women’s Champion to pick up the victory for her team.
The match wasn’t too great but the tensions between Ripley and Flair definitely elevated the contest. Cross pinned the champion to move forward in her quest to win the title for the first time in her career.
Will RAW decide to put her into the match between Ripley and Flair for Hell in a Cell?
#1 Shayna Baszler and Alexa Bliss had a confusing segment at the end of WWE RAW
Shayna Baszler was not too happy with her loss to Reginald on WWE RAW last week. The Queen of Spades looked to confront Alexa Bliss and Lilly this Monday night.
Baszler walked into Alexa’s Playground not knowing what was waiting for her. She seemed unimpressed and knocked over a rocking horse before taking a seat next to The Goddess.
Bliss asked Baszler to apologize to Lilly, but the former NXT Women’s Champion had some plans of her own. After delivering some words, Baszler took Lilly from Bliss’s hands and called her a stupid doll before stomping on it.
The arena began to glitch, and The Queen of Spades decided to leave. However, flames started erupting around the stage as Baszler made her way out. The camera followed her as everything started to flicker before she locked herself in a room.
She spotted Lilly in a mirror, but when she turned, the doll was gone. She saw the doll again in the mirror and broke it with a kick.
While there’s not much that can be understood from the segment, it looks like Baszler will finally be getting a bigger role on RAW. She didn't really get ahead as the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion, but Bliss could help her get into the main event picture.
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