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Welcome to this week's edition of things WWE subtly told us on RAW! It was the second-last RAW before Money in the Bank 2021 as well as the penultimate episode of the red brand in the ThunderDome.
It was an interesting episode featuring a lot of developments. John Morrison defeated Ricochet by countout, T-BAR and Mace lost to The Lucha House Party, Jaxson Ryker continued to get a big push and more.
The main build, of course, was for both the men and women's Money in the Bank ladder matches. While the women's side only saw an eight-woman tag team match, the male participants found themselves competing on the show.
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Next week on RAW, there are quite a few matches including the first defense for a Champion.
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Here's what went down in this week's episode of RAW.
#5 Riddle presented as one of RAW's most important babyfaces
Riddle has had an important role in RAW for a while now, but he feels even bigger as of late. While The Original Bro upset Drew McIntyre to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match, Randy Orton couldn't make it.
Randy Orton had a "Last Chance" qualifying match on RAW last week against Drew McIntyre and AJ Styles, but he didn't appear. Riddle took his place but fell short to McIntyre - who got some measure of revenge from the previous week.
This week on RAW, Riddle was at the forefront once again in the opening segment. Despite The Miz TV segment featuring the likes of McIntyre, Ricochet, John Morrison, and AJ Styles, Riddle felt like the most important superstar in the ring.
Ricochet faced (and lost to) John Morrison while Drew McIntyre was involved with an old ally. Riddle, on the other hand, was booked against AJ Styles in a singles match.
He faced and defeated AJ Styles in another top performance. This time, however, The Viking Raiders were partially responsible. The RAW Tag Team title contenders were hiding before they took out Omos. The distraction allowed Riddle to get a pin.
For a superstar with a bit of a "goofy" character, Riddle seems to be getting quite a big babyface push on RAW. While The Viking Raiders are set to challenge AJ Styles & Omos for the RAW Tag Team titles in two weeks, we expect RK-Bro to enter title contention by SummerSlam.
But it seems like WWE is setting Riddle up for something big. Perhaps due to the lack of top-tier babyfaces on RAW, The Original Bro is benefiting by getting the spotlight. The fact that he gets more screentime than his partner Randy Orton says a lot.
#4 A canceled 2020 feud gets teased on RAW
In a surprising move, WWE booked a match between Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal on RAW. We were surprised that it wasn't saved for a pay-per-view, but we now understand why.
If you recall, a couple of weeks ago on RAW, Jinder Mahal (along with Jeff Hardy, Cedric Alexander, and Sheamus) went to Adam Pearce and asked why he wasn't even allowed a qualifying match for the Men's Money in the Bank ladder match.
On the latest episode of RAW, Mahal once again alluded to the missed opportunity and it would eventually play into their match. While Drew McIntyre was in control, Veer and Shanky got involved and attacked him, causing a disqualification.
It was a move to protect Jinder Mahal on RAW and potentially set up a feud post-Money in the Bank. Hopefully, this also means that Drew McIntyre won't win the MITB briefcase.
It was rumored that McIntyre was set to have a WWE Championship feud with Mahal last year. However, it was canceled because of the Modern Day Maharaja's long-term injury. Hopefully, this finally culminates at SummerSlam. Drew McIntyre is long overdue for a non-title feud, and this is it.
#3 A RAW Women's title feud based on the best injury faker?
The RAW Women's Championship feud between Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair hasn't exactly set the WWE Universe on fire. Charlotte Flair has been involved in the RAW Women's title picture post-WrestleMania and there seems to be no sign of her stepping back.
After the controversial finish at Hell in a Cell, Sonya Deville announced that Charlotte Flair would get a rematch for the RAW Women's title at Money in the Bank 2021. The WWE Universe then let out a collective groan. That only grew this week.
On the last episode of RAW, Rhea Ripley attacked Charlotte Flair's legs from behind and The Queen appeared this week in a crutch.
Exaggerating an injury, Charlotte Flair said she may not even be able to wrestle at Money in the Bank 2021. After sarcastically praising Rhea Ripley for finding her way out of their RAW Women's title match, the Australian came out.
Ripley was in a crutch as well and stomped hard on the ramp to mock Charlotte Flair. She was pretending to be injured as well and both women eventually kicked their crutch down to fight.
We're not sure what the point of this segment was or what it accomplished. The only thing we can hope is that Charlotte Flair will be out of the RAW Women's title picture by the time Money in the Bank is over.
#2 Is a new alliance brewing on RAW?
Mustafa Ali has been involved with RAW newcomer Mansoor for a while now. We've seen numerous segments where Mustafa Ali was seen trying to advise Mansoor.
This week on RAW, the two men faced off in the ring. Before that, however, Ali told Mansoor that he didn't want the latter to "become like him". Mustafa Ali has undoubtedly struggled to find his footing in WWE, both on RAW and SmackDown.
Ali took on the 25-year old and there was a moment when he was caught in the ropes. Rather than taking advantage of the situation, Mansoor assisted the referee in getting Ali out. This, of course, would backfire on him as Ali got a quick pinfall victory.
The result on RAW, while somewhat predictable, was the right one. Ali hasn't been doing much on RAW since RETRIBUTION's break-up and an alliance with Mansoor would probably be the best course of action. The Saudi Arabian star needs a lot of work to polish his skills on RAW, and Ali could help him.
Perhaps a heel turn for Mansoor and a long-term partnership with Ali could bolster the tag team division and elevate the young star on RAW.
#1 Kofi Kingston gets some comeuppance on RAW...for now
The main event of RAW saw the returning Xavier Woods team up with Kofi Kingston to take on Bobby Lashley and MVP. The latter hadn't been cleared for a while but in the storyline, he was far from 100%.
Still, it was an exciting main event for RAW. The cameras went back and forth from Bobby Lashley's locker room throughout the episode. While it seemed like The All Mighty was close to picking up the victory for his team, one Trouble in Paradise changed the course of the match.
It sent Bobby Lashley away, with MVP trying to pick up the pieces. Unfortunately for the former US Champion, he was hit with the Trouble in Paradise as well and took the pin. Kingston and Xavier Woods emerged victorious on RAW, giving the former WWE Champion the psychological edge.
It will all culminate at Money in the Bank, but there is still one episode of RAW left. Naturally, WWE has to make Kofi Kingston look as legitimate as possible against Bobby Lashley. However, it's hard to see him in a position where he dethrones The All Mighty WWE Champion, even with crowds returning for Money in the Bank.
