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This week's episode of RAW was a good one. Now, there are only two episodes of RAW until Hell in a Cell 2021. A lot was happening, with some directly impacting Hell in a Cell, and the rest, not so much.
Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke established themselves as the next potential Tag Team title challengers on RAW in some interesting but relatively unimportant moments. Cedric Alexander shocked Shelton Benjamin by beating him in a minute, while Mace and T-Bar decimated The Lucha House Party on RAW. Mansoor also had an interesting interaction with Mustafa Ali.
The main event, of course, featured Drew McIntyre vs Kofi Kingston to determine Bobby Lashley's WWE title opponent at Hell in a Cell 2021. Let's begin with the most important match of the night.
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#6 Drew McIntyre secures his spot at Hell in a Cell on RAW
The decision to book the rematch between Drew McIntyre and Kofi Kingston paid off. While it opened the show last time around, the bout headlined the episode, and almost all of this week's RAW centered around the build to the match.
As mentioned last week, Bobby Lashley was banned from having any ringside involvement on RAW. Had he interfered, The All Mighty would have been slapped with a 90-day suspension without pay.
What ensued was an incredible main event on RAW between two worthy superstars. It's not often in WWE that we see such clean finishes, but that's what we got this week.
It was a straightforward singles match between two veteran superstars on RAW, and for the most part, Drew McIntyre dominated. Kofi Kingston seemed to be gaining momentum at the time, but once he jumped from the top turnbuckle, McIntyre hit an unexpected upwards facing Claymore Kick out of nowhere.
The impact of it was instant, and he pinned Kofi Kingston before shaking his hand. Bobby Lashley, who was enjoying backstage throughout RAW, came out to lift his title.
Drew McIntyre vs Bobby Lashley is now official for Hell in a Cell 2021.
But this could very well be McIntyre's last opportunity at the title for a long time. If Bobby Lashley retains at Hell in a Cell, which we expect him to, McIntyre will be booted out of the WWE Title picture for a long period.
#5 Is Alexa Bliss finally in her first post-WrestleMania feud on RAW?
This week on RAW, we saw the much-advertised match between Shayna Baszler and Reginald. While Reggie ideally should have been used to get Baszler over, we got the exact opposite.
Shayna Baszler had complete control, but a flame shot out of the ring post and Reginald quickly took advantage to get the pinfall, much to the happiness of Nia Jax.
Reggie was later invited to Alexa's Playground by Alexa Bliss, and Jax warned him that everything could go wrong.
Reginald didn't seem convinced and went anyway. But it was only a small part of a bigger story. Shayna Baszler barged into Alexa's Playground and assaulted Reginald, writing him off for now.
Shayna Baszler said she would see Alexa Bliss next week on RAW before calling Lilly a stupid doll and leaving.
Alexa Bliss is returning next week, and there's no way that Shayna Baszler walks out victorious. Her return feud will be a squash match and that might be it for The Queen Of Spades for a while.
#4 Nikki Cross is slyly entering the RAW Women's Championship picture
The Miz hosted his first episode of Miz TV in a while on RAW, returning from his supposed injury at WrestleMania Backlash.
He hosted RAW Women's Champion Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair, but it was the latter who came out first.
Surprisingly, Nikki Cross made her presence known. If you recall, it was last week when Nikki Cross faced Rhea Ripley, with the RAW Women's Champion having a two-minute time limit to win. Since Cross wasn't defeated, she technically "beat" the RAW Women's Champion.
She came out with the same objective in mind, and Charlotte Flair claimed she could beat Cross in under a minute. She had double that time but failed to do so as well, as the former Women's Tag Team Champion made calculated moves to avoid a potential pinfall.
The crux of this story is that Nikki Cross is asking for a title shot against the winner of the Hell in a Cell title match rather than asking to enter the main bout itself. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, but Cross slyly finds herself in the RAW Women's Championship conversation.
#3 R-K-Bro continues making strides on RAW...but where are they heading?
Last week on RAW, Riddle defeated Xavier Woods in an excellent match. He used the RKO as a tribute to his tag team partner and won the match. This week, Randy Orton came back to face Xavier Woods, and he didn't seem as enthusiastic.
What followed was a standard RAW match, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. The highlight of the bout came when Randy Orton used Riddle's finisher Bro-Derek to win the match.
It speaks volumes of how far they've come as a tag team in just over a month, and one could argue that they're the best part of RAW. They've certainly been the most consistent ones on TV, and it will be interesting to see what direction they go in from here.
The duo will inevitably challenge the tag team titles. But will it be as babyfaces? Or as heels? They seem to be going in a babyface direction, but it's hard to tell at this
#2 The United States Championship picture on RAW
The United States Championship picture hasn't had an active feud on RAW per se, but that hasn't stopped it from being one of the best parts of the show. Sheamus has had a great run this year, and his United States Championship run is an extension of that.
His two primary targets on RAW have been Ricochet and Humberto Carrillo, both of whom he has defeated.
This week, however, his luck wasn't the same. He faced Ricochet, and thanks to a little help from the interfering Humberto Carrillo, the United States Champion was pinned.
This immediately spun into a Sheamus vs Carrillo match, with Ricochet at ringside. The outcome was the same, and The Celtic Warrior found himself bewildered on RAW. While it was bizarre to see him get pinned by two relative mid-carders, this is actually a great move.
It helps establish two young superstars, both of whom will be expected to challenge for the United States Championship at some point, whether it's on RAW or at Hell in a Cell 2021.
#1 Elias dumps Jaxson Ryker on RAW, but why?
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Tag Team Championship in WWE, RAW, NXT, and SmackDown had tag team title matches booked. On the red brand, AJ Styles and Omos defended the titles against Elias and Jaxson Ryker.
Ryker didn't say much leading up to the match, instead choosing to remain silent. During the match, Jaxson Ryker was going to tag Elias in, but the latter moved away, indicating towards the end of their partnership.
Omos finished Ryker off with ease, and backstage, Elias was asked about his decision in the RAW Tag Team title match. The Drifter said that Ryker is unhinged and that the idea of traveling with him when WWE hits the road again makes him sick.
He wanted nothing to do with Ryker, which means that a feud between the two is coming. The sole purpose of their partnership was to create opponents for AJ Styles and Omos.
Now that the purpose has been served, the controversial Jaxson Ryker will now enter a non-title feud against his former partner Elias.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
