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The build to SummerSlam on RAW is officially over. Some of the biggest matches of the year are booked for the pay-per-view. This week on the Red brand, we saw an incredible 24/7 Championship defense from Reginald.
We also saw a Champion get pinned for the second time in a month. Tag Team reunions, controversial moments, squash matches, and eerie segments made up for an interesting final RAW before SummerSlam 2021.
The biggest event of the year is this Saturday! Here's what WWE subtly told us on RAW this week:
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
#7. An underwhelming finish to RAW with a potentially great outcome?
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Bobby Lashley and Goldberg have come face to face every alternate week on RAW. Given the latter's part-time status, it makes sense that he would only appear once every two weeks.
The crowd's reaction when he returned to the Red brand is exactly why WWE keeps bringing him back. Some fans are worried that he will dethrone Lashley, while the more casual fanbase would love to see their idol and legend become a world champion once again.
The segment between Goldberg and Bobby Lashley lasted for only a few minutes. Ultimately, it was Lashley who took the fall in the end with a rather weak spear from the Hall of Famer.
This was supposed to be the moment and one of the defining conclusions before a big pay-per-view match. Unfortunately, it was a bit of an underwhelming finish, but fans seemed happy to see Goldberg stand tall.
But is he going to win the WWE Championship? As of now, the answer seems to be no, most likely. There are a couple of key reasons for this. For one, him standing tall on the go-home RAW before SummerSlam is an indicator that Lashley is retaining.
Secondly, Goldberg admitted himself that he is contracted to WWE until 2023 and the deal is for him to wrestle only twice a year. Since he already faced Drew McIntyre this year, The Biggest Party of the Summer could very well be his last 2021 appearance.
This would be bad news for Goldberg, but great news for Bobby Lashley fans.
#6. RK-Bro to achieve RAW Tag Team title glory at SummerSlam?
Randy Orton let Riddle know on RAW that his RKO on him last week wasn't endearing. It seemed like everybody got it wrong and there seemed to be no plans for him to reunite with The Original Bro and reform RK-Bro.
AJ Styles came out with Omos and it led to a match between Styles and Riddle. The Phenomenal One won on RAW, with Orton having walked out as the match started. It was heartbreak for Riddle, but the night wasn't done.
Omos faced Randy Orton and was unsurprisingly decimating the veteran. There was no doubt that he was on course for a big victory, but Styles attacked Orton outside the ring and caused a DQ.
This set up the post-match beatdown and the save from Riddle, who came running in and attacked both Styles and Omos. By the end, AJ Styles was taken out and the 7'3" giant chose to save his partner instead of going for Riddle.
Randy Orton told the latter that he earned his respect and that RK-Bro is back together. Riddle challenged AJ Styles and Omos for the RAW Tag Team title match and it was made official.
RK-Bro seems destined for a big SummerSlam moment. Will they finally capture the tag team titles?
#5. Is Jinder Mahal's win at SummerSlam certain after RAW?
The entire Drew McIntyre-Jinder Mahal feud on RAW has been to elevate the former. It's been the perfect feud for McIntyre to build himself back up after losing opportunities at the WWE championship.
This week on the Red brand, Drew McIntyre took on Veer and Shanky in a handicap match and won with relative ease. The thing is, McIntyre has looked good the entire feud on RAW. We've even seen his lighter side, which has admittedly been entertaining to watch.
But here's what fans may not like - the way things have been going, it seems as though a Jinder Mahal win at SummerSlam is certain. Obviously, the result can change at any time, but it would damage Mahal's credibility in a big way since he has hardly had the upper hand over McIntyre on RAW.
We assume that a Jinder Mahal win will lead to the feud continuing post-Summerslam. However, the biggest case for The Modern Day Maharaja not winning is the fact that Veer and Shanky have been banned from ringside. But it doesn't mean that he can't win.
#4. How much faith does WWE have in RAW Women's Champion Nikki A.S.H.?
Nikki A.S.H.'s RAW Women's title reign has been a mixed one. While she has been popular as the Champion, the handling of her title reign hasn't been so good.
Only a week after she became RAW Women's Champion, she lost to Charlotte Flair. This week, she lost to Rhea Ripley. If this is the rate that she's going at, then she could very well lose the title at SummerSlam.
Flair has been the central figure of the Triple Threat feud while Ripley has been a bit sidelined. Nikki and The Nightmare had a match last week without a conclusive finish.
This wasn't the case this week as Rhea Ripley beat the RAW Women's Champion clean. The question has to come up about how much faith WWE has in Nikki A.S.H. as the Women's Champion.
It's a big position to be in, but either the company is planning a shock win for Nikki at SummerSlam, or her title reign will come to a crashing halt.
Later in the night, a tag team match was booked, with Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax taking on Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. The Queen won the match for her team after a natural selection on Ripley. The feud has been chaotic, to say the least.
#3. Karrion Kross begins his dominance on RAW?
Karrion Kross officially won his trilogy vs. Jeff Hardy on RAW. After losing on the first week to Hardy, he defeated Keith Lee before losing to him the following week.
He then evened the odds with The Charismatic Enigma and now beat him. However, he did attack him backstage beforehand, making it a squash match. While we expect Kross to have wins and losses mixed, this could be the start of a dominant RAW run, unless NXT superstars are intentionally booked to lose.
#2. Alexa Bliss, Doudrop, and Eva Marie's story
Eva Marie sent Doudrop to Alexa Bliss' Playground to get Lilly. While it seemed like a simple task on RAW, it wasn't. She confronted Bliss, who knew that she was coming.
She stared into Lilly's eyes and walked away, unable to get the job done. Backstage later on the show, Eva Marie berated and slapped Doudrop. Marie vs. Bliss is official for SummerSlam. But the big question is as to whether Doudrop will finally turn on Eva Marie.
That seems to be the objective of the story, but the rest is unclear. Either way, Alexa Bliss winning at SummerSlam seems to be a safe bet.
#1. A continuous break-up tease on RAW
John Morrison got his own show on RAW named "Moist TV" - a parody of Miz TV. It made sense that The Miz was the first guest. During The Moist TV segment, dissent between The A-Lister and Morrison could be seen.
Damian Priest then came out and interfered in the segment, adding more fuel to the fire between the two men. We're not sure what the endgame was, but it was John Morrison who made The Miz wrestle on RAW after the latter revealed that he was cleared a few weeks before.
The former WWE Champion didn't want to wrestle but ended up getting squashed by US Title challenger Damian Priest. The latter sent a message to Sheamus, who was ringside at the commentary table.
We're not even sure why The Miz and Morrison are involved with Priest, but we can only assume that it will lead to a Fatal-Four-Way title match post-SummerSlam. That should be an entertaining direction as well.
Overall, Damian Priest has been great on the Red brand and his feud with Sheamus has been too.
Check out this week's edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW in the video embedded above.
