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WWE set its sights on WrestleMania Backlash last week on WWE RAW. This week, the creatives started to build up some existing rivalries while planting the seeds for a few new ones.
Drew McIntyre was looking for answers after Mace and T-Bar dropped him with a double chokeslam last week on WWE RAW. Charlotte Flair was booked in a match against Asuka after she attacked The Empress and Rhea Ripley last week.
Lana and Naomi picked up a big victory after they defeated Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler in a non-title match. One wonders why the creatives keep finding ways to make the dominant Baszler lose her value week after week?
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Damian Priest picked up a victory over The Miz after delivering Hit the Lights. Will The Archer of Infamy get into another rivalry after already competing against The Miz a few times?
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Sheamus brutalized Humberto Carrillo after issuing an Open Challenge, while Elias defeated Kofi Kingston. Alexa Bliss also returned with another edition of Alexa’s Playground this week.
Let’s take a look at the five things the company got right on WWE RAW this week.
#5 The Viking Raiders continued to rebuild on WWE RAW
The Viking Raiders made an impressive return to WWE RAW following WrestleMania last week. Erik and Ivar ran over Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin after a good match. This week on WWE RAW, the two teams came face to face once again.
Benjamin did well early on and took control of the match for his team. Both Benjamin and Alexander made quick tags to keep the pressure on The Viking Raiders.
Erik tried to break free from their hold and delivered a big right hand before tagging in Ivar. Ivar went on a roll, but a missed splash allowed Alexander and Benjamin to take back control soon after.
Erik and Ivar worked together late in the match and kept both Alexander and Benjamin down. Alexander tasted The Viking Experience soon after to award Erik and Ivar the victory.
This was another good match between the two former RAW Tag Team Champions. WWE creatives did well to keep Benjamin and Alexander alive in the contest rather than having them pick up a squash loss.
However, if WWE RAW is looking to build The Viking Raiders quickly again, they will need to have them go up against teams who they can squash in a few short minutes. Surprisingly, the new RAW Tag Team Champions did not show up once again after winning the titles at WrestleMania.
#4 Riddle picked up one of his biggest victories on WWE RAW
Riddle’s backstage antics are getting him in a lot of trouble on WWE RAW. He first entered into a rivalry with Sheamus that cost him his United States Championship and then bagged himself a non-title match against Bobby Lashley last week.
This week on WWE RAW, Riddle interrupted an interview with Randy Orton. Riddle was hopeful that Orton would join him to create a new tag team called RKBro. Orton immediately went to Adam Pearce and demanded a match against The Original Bro.
The Viper used his experience well throughout the match and tooK Riddle down early. The two men delivered some signature moves to each other to keep the match ticking.
The match spilled over outside the ring when Orton tripped Riddle and then dropped him onto the announce table. The former WWE Champion used his patented moves to keep Riddle down, before Riddle sparked a comeback.
Late in the match, Riddle avoided the RKO from Orton and rolled him up to pick up a huge upset victory. This was one of the most entertaining matches on WWE RAW this week. The Viper carried the momentum very well, while Riddle’s comebacks made it a treat to watch.
Riddle has been picking up way too many victories through roll-ups rather than by hitting his finishers and that’s something the creatives may need to change sooner than later.
#3 Mace and T-Bar got a big match on WWE RAW
Mace and T-Bar caught Drew McIntyre by surprise last week on WWE RAW. The two men delivered a double chokeslam to the former WWE Champion after he was distracted by MVP.
This week on WWE RAW, McIntyre came to the ring and called out MVP for being the mastermind behind the attack by Mace and T-Bar. MVP appeared and told McIntyre that Mace and T-Bar were not associated with The Hurt Business.
The Scottish Warrior was soon attacked by the two former members of RETRIBUTION once again. The duo walked right past MVP after they delivered a double chokeslam to McIntyre.
McIntyre booked himself a handicap match against the two men later in the night. The Scot had the upper hand early, but T-Bar and Mace made a good comeback. They started to beat down the former WWE Champion and the referee called for a disqualification.
Surprisingly, Braun Strowman’s music hit, and the superstar came out to make the save. This led to a tag team match after McIntyre and Strowman teamed up. Mace and T-Bar did well to hold their own against the other two big men of WWE RAW.
McIntyre ripped Mace’s mask off and used it against him, getting himself disqualified in the process. Strowman ripped off T-Bar’s mask, and the two former RETRIBUTION members finally revealed their faces.
The matches weren’t too great, but they allowed Mace and T-Bar a chance to prove themselves against two top superstars. WWE RAW can do much more with them now that their masks are off.
While ending both matches in disqualifications wasn’t the best way to go, the outcome could allow T-Bar and Mace to alter their names and characters.
#2 Alexa Bliss revealed a little more of Lily on WWE RAW
Last week on WWE RAW, Alexa Bliss hosted Alexa’s Playground the night after costing ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt his match at WrestleMania. Bliss introduced a brand new character to the WWE Universe, Lily.
This week, Bliss once again hosted Alexa’s Playground on RAW. Lily was more involved in this week’s show as Bliss explained the history of the creepy-looking doll. The Goddess revealed that she’s had the doll her entire life and that Lily is the reason why she does some evil things.
Bliss made the shocking revelation that Lily never liked The Fiend. This explains why The Goddess decided to turn on The Fiend at WrestleMania and cost him his match against Randy Orton.
WWE RAW has done extremely well with Bliss’s character to this point. Bliss has been an excellent actress and has pulled many fans away from The Fiend character, drawing them to her own.
It looks like Bliss will be targeting some women on WWE RAW sooner than later, and she could even get into a rivalry with The Fiend herself. This could turn out to be a great storyline for the WWE Universe.
#1 Rhea Ripley cost Charlotte Flair on WWE RAW
Charlotte Flair and Asuka were booked to compete on WWE RAW this week. Flair came out to cut a promo early in the night and claimed that the women backstage did not like each other. She said she was able to beat both Asuka and Rhea Ripley on the same night.
Asuka and Ripley came out soon after, and The Nightmare claimed that Asuka would beat Flair later in the night.
The Queen came out to take on Asuka in the main event of WWE RAW. Asuka tried to take advantage early on, but Flair got back into the game with a boot to the face. Ripley watched from ringside as both women tried to build towards their submission holds.
Flair avoided the Asuka Lock late in the match and applied the Figure-Eight. However, Ripley caused her to break the hold while the referee was busy checking on Asuka.
The distraction allowed The Empress to finish off Flair by locking in the Crucifix Pin. After the match, Flair lost all control.
She attacked the referee and delivered some serious blows to the official before others arrived to stop her. The match was decent and built towards the inevitable Triple Threat Match between Flair, Asuka, and the RAW Women’s Champion.
Flair is a natural heel and will help this rivalry get even better. While there wasn’t much build between Asuka and Ripley before WrestleMania, the WWE RAW creatives are doing well by slowly building this rivalry.
