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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on the RAW after TLC. It wasn't the best episode by any means, but there were a few highlights that could prove to be vital in the build-up to the Royal Rumble.
A lot of interesting things happened on RAW, so let's jump right into it!
#5. The Women's Tag Team title picture has taken a new direction on RAW
Asuka and Charlotte Flair have seemingly begun a new era of Women's Tag Team wrestling on RAW. But they won't be the ones to take it forward. They opened the show on RAW, and it was only a matter of minutes before Charlotte Flair posed the question to Asuka - "But what about the RAW Women's Championship?".
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We mentioned it before, and we will mention it again. Charlotte Flair is too much of a solo player to care much about the Tag Team Championship. She is looking for Women's title #13, and the person who has what she wants just so happens to be her tag team partner.
What's interesting is how multiple teams have emerged as competitors. For starters, you have Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, and then there is Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose. Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce are a makeshift team as well (losing to Flair and Asuka on RAW), and The Riott Squad will be expected to enter the title picture.
Things will get heated soon, but it's good to have a run of matches around the above-mentioned teams. It's not often that you have 4-5 women's tag teams in the title picture.
With that said, Charlotte Flair's question was a big indicator of her intentions, and we expect them to lose the titles and start a rivalry on time for Royal Rumble 2021.
#4. The surprising WWE Championship direction on RAW
The WWE Championship picture certainly got interesting on RAW. While it appears that AJ Styles could still be sticking around, two surprising names have emerged as contenders - Sheamus and Keith Lee.
It's surprising for a couple of reasons. With Sheamus, it shouldn't come as too big a surprise, but his babyface run on RAW is set to be brief and he showed that in the main event. It appears to be set up to become Drew McIntyre's title challenger.
Keith Lee could also emerge as a WWE title challenger. In the main event of RAW, Keith Lee, Drew McIntyre, and Sheamus teamed up to defeat the trio of AJ Styles, The Miz, and John Morrison.
The main event of RAW was a Street Fight, but they waited until two minutes before the end to start using the weapons outside. After the match, Sheamus Brogue Kicked Keith Lee, and a furious Drew McIntyre asked him why he did that after they won.
The clash of egos is one thing, but Sheamus teased a heel turn again. There are three possibilities in this scenario - either we're headed in a Triple Threat direction, a potential Fatal-4-Way including AJ Styles, or Keith Lee and Sheamus will face each other in a #1 Contender's match on RAW.
It will be interesting, but we hope that Drew McIntyre gets a multi-man match. He hasn't had many multi-man matches in his two WWE title reigns in 2020. TLC was technically that, but only due to a Money in the Bank cash in.
#3. What is Riddle's direction on RAW against The Hurt Business?
While we initially thought that Riddle would be in the United States title picture on RAW, that may not necessarily be the case. It's a bit of an odd situation, especially given that Riddle has been clashing horns with Bobby Lashley
.Riddle and Jeff Hardy, now known as The Hardy Bros, teamed up in a losing effort against MVP and Bobby Lashley on RAW. Unsurprisingly, it was Bobby Lashley who picked up the victory by submitting Jeff Hardy - something he has done multiple times on RAW.
It keeps Riddle in the picture. Since the Hardy Bros are now a tag team, they could be competing for the RAW Tag Team titles. However, there's still a possibility that Riddle will be the one getting a United States title push.
Either way, Lashley vs. Riddle seems inevitable, but there seems to be no clarity about which title he will be competing for. Be that as it may, Riddle's next feud on RAW will most likely be for a title.
#2. RETRIBUTION's recruitment attempts continue on RAW
We haven't been able to make out the head or tail of RETRIBUTION's motives on RAW. In the last few weeks, they've been busy harassing Ricochet and trying to get him to join their faction, but he has refused.
Ricochet faced the wrath of Mace, and this week, he felt the same from T-BAR - who brutalized him on RAW. After the match, T-BAR made it very clear - he wasn't Ricochet's enemy, nor was RETRIBUTION.
He told Ricochet to join them on RAW, and that's all they've been doing. It isn't a very exciting direction, but we would be interested to see if it pays off with Ricochet actually joining the RAW faction.
It hasn't been a fun storyline on RAW, and watching RETRIBUTION fall so often hasn't done them any favors either. They seem to be done with Dana Brooke and completely focused on Ricochet, for some reason.
We expect to see the same thing play out in the next few episodes of RAW.
#1. What does Alexa Bliss' return on RAW mean?
Randy Orton came out on RAW and boasted about how proud he felt about setting The Fiend on fire on TLC. While he has done many sadistic things before, he revealed that he isn't a normal person, and The Fiend is no normal man.
The expression on his face when the lights started to shut out was priceless. He exited the ring anticipating The Fiend being behind him, but it wasn't who he was expecting. It was Alexa Bliss on a swing, making her return to RAW.
She was absent for the build to TLC after being revealed as The Fiend's "weakness", even though nothing played out regarding that. Either way, this was the saving grace segment of the night on RAW, and it's a clear indication that the rivalry with The Fiend is far from over. The three-time World Champion will return sooner rather than later.
Whether or not Bray Wyatt is taking a hiatus, we can't be sure. What we do know, however, is the fact that Alexa Bliss makes things way more interesting.
