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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on RAW. It was the penultimate RAW to TLC and the episode had its ups and downs. It certainly wasn't the strongest episode of RAW we've seen, but it did enough to add some hype to the next major PPV - TLC.
This episode of RAW was full of TLC consequences and a lot of teases were made, several different announcements, and some solid storyline progression. Without dragging it much further, let's look at what WWE subtly hinted at this episode of RAW and what it could possibly mean for TLC 2020.
#5 Is Lana's dream run on RAW going to come to a grinding halt?
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Lana has had the best few weeks of her WWE career without Rusev recently. After teaming up with RAW Women's Champion Asuka to take on Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, the unlikely duo have had the number of the Tag Team Champions for a while now.
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We had a solid Champion vs Champion match on RAW between Asuka and Shayna Baszler, and Nia Jax was close to putting Lana through a table for the tenth time. Luckily, Lana did brilliantly to counter it and Nia Jax went face-first instead.
This led to Shayna Baszler getting distracted and Asuka pinned her. Lana and Asuka complement each other well despite being two polar opposite superstars. It'll be interesting to see how their tag team title match goes at TLC, but the fact that they've been getting the win after a win could mean that they may lose at TLC.
Ultimately, it depends on next week on RAW when Lana takes on Nia Jax. If the Tag Team Champions stand tall, then it's almost a certainty that Lana and Asuka will win the Tag Team Championship.
#4 The interesting Drew McIntyre-Sheamus dynamic on RAW
As advertised, we saw a 2-on-3 handicap match on RAW featuring Drew McIntyre and Sheamus against AJ Styles, The Miz, and John Morrison. As expected, the numbers game would catch up to the two future Hall of Famers and a miscue saw Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick on Drew McIntyre accidentally before AJ Styles took advantage and pinned The Celtic Warrior with a phenomenal forearm.
It was a good way to get AJ Styles ahead on RAW and make him look good before his WWE title clash at TLC. However, AJ Styles felt like a side character on the show and the primary focus was on the Drew McIntyre-Sheamus dynamic.
Naturally, both men were upset post-match on RAW and they had a tense staredown backstage. When we returned from the break, the officials were trying to separate them. Poor Pat Buck made the decision to step in and he irritated both men, causing them to unite and slam him through a table.
After that, the two men laughed it off and seemingly went for a drink, indicating that all is well. While that was a funny bit, it heavily implied that Sheamus will be a WWE title challenger and will re-enter the World title picture for the first time in over five years.
#3 The present and future of The Hurt Business on RAW and The Hardy Bros
The Hurt Business has been an integral part of RAW for over half a year now. Currently, their feuds are seemingly divided into two. Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander have been focusing on New Day and the RAW Tag Team titles while Bobby Lashley has been focusing on a new challenger.
Shelton Benjamin lost to Kofi Kingston, but Cedric Alexander demanded a new match and defeated a worn-out former WWE Champion all by himself on RAW. Cedric Alexander has been getting big focus while Benjamin has been positioned as the "weak link" of the group.
On the other end, the CEO of The Hurt Business Bobby Lashley had another great night in the office - defeating WWE legend Jeff Hardy. Riddle was around distributing BROnutts and approached Jeff Hardy with the idea of forming "The Hardy Bros" with him.
Jeff Hardy seemed open to the idea and Riddle tried to help him against Lashley, but the United States Champion stood tall. It'll be interesting to see how the tag team direction goes, though we fully expect Riddle to challenge for the US title at TLC.
#2 Another day, another loss on RAW for RETRIBUTION
RETRIBUTION has to go down as the least-intimidating and impactful faction in RAW history. While they created a lot of buzz at first, it died down quickly after Mustafa Ali was revealed to be the mastermind of the group.
After that, it was all downhill. While Reckoning lost to Dana Brooke last week on RAW, this episode saw a mixed tag team match. Ricochet, who has also been in the crosshairs of RETRIBUTION, teamed up with Dana Brooke to take on Slapjack and Reckoning.
As expected, it was Dana Brooke who pinned Reckoning with a simple slam. What does RETRIBUTION do going forward on RAW? It's hard to take them seriously and WWE has given up on them before they could even start.
It's good to see Dana Brooke gaining momentum on RAW, but RETRIBUTION doesn't have a strong case to stay together for long now. Will WWE disband the faction on RAW? Or will they make a comeback and a major impact once again?
#1 Did Randy Orton enter the Firefly Fun House on RAW?
RAW started and ended with Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. While it was advertised that Randy Orton would enter the Firefly Fun House on RAW, no such thing happened. Instead, we saw him challenge Bray Wyatt (and not The Fiend) to the main event on RAW and the two would face off for the first time in three and a half years.
Alexa Bliss was notably absent, but we wouldn't be surprised to see her back by next week, or even TLC. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt had a better match than they did at WrestleMania 33 and it ended in a non-finish.
Randy Orton hit the RKO on Bray Wyatt and the lights went off as the referee was about to make the count. In his place, The Fiend appeared and stuffed Randy Orton's mouth with the Mandible Claw to end RAW.
It'll be interesting to see how it plays out, but it's hard to imagine WWE having Randy Orton defeat The Fiend at TLC. For all we know, this might be Randy Orton's way of paying Bray Wyatt back.
