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The RAW after Money in the Bank PPV had its fair share of shocking moments that had the entire WWE Universe buzzing with excitement. This week's episode kick-started with Becky Lynch announcing that she is pregnant. As a result, The Man will be stepping away from the business for a while, and hence, she had to relinquish her title. That led to Asuka becoming the new RAW Women's Champion, who will be leading the brand in the absence of Becky Lynch.
This week's episode also teased a growing conflict in Zelina Vega's faction. It appears that Austin Theory and Angel Garza are not on the same page, and Andrade also seems to be siding with Garza while Vega was struggling to restore peace. We also saw the former Women's Tag Team Champions, The IIconics, return to action after six months as they picked a win over Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross.
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The closing moments of RAW confirmed a rematch between Edge and Randy Orton at Backlash. There's a lot that transpired over the 3-hour show that saw a few Superstars deliver while others appeared to be struggling.
In this article, we will take a look at three Superstars who flopped on this week's RAW and three Superstars who impressed. So, without further ado, let's begin.
#3 Impressed on RAW: Bobby Lashley
In the first match of RAW, we saw Bobby Lashley take on Humberto Carrillo. Following his win at Money in the Bank over R-Truth, Lashley looked to continue with the same momentum and picked an easy win over Carrillo. The Mexican high-flying Superstar made a name for himself on the main roster with the help of his in-ring skills. However, he fell short against the 'Almighty' Bobby Lashley.
It appears that WWE are finally booking Lashley in storylines that will help elevate his position on the roster. He has spent a lot of time on the sidelines on RAW, but that seems to be changing in the last few weeks. We no longer see him with Lana. Instead, he has found a new friend in MVP who has formed an interesting alliance with this RAW Superstar.
After his match, it was MVP who suggested that Lashley should be the one challenging Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. It appears that Lashley will be the one who will set hai sights on the Scottish Psychopath's title reign. Even if Lashley fails in that conquest, it will help boost his confidence, and hopefully, we will see him involved in compelling storylines more often.
Next week, the top champion of RAW will be facing Baron Corbin after the SmackDown Superstar accepted his invitation. We can expect Lashley to attack McIntyre after the match to lay the groundwork of a title feud with the WWE Champion. This rivalry could just be what Lashley needed to establish himself as a dominant force on RAW.
#3 Flopped on RAW: The Viking Raiders
The former RAW Tag Team Champions, The Viking Raiders, are rightfully agitated with the reigning champions, The Street Profits. Erik and Ivar claim that everything that Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford can do, they can do it better. Now, one would normally expect that they are talking about the in-ring dominance, but that perception is far from reality.
Tonight's episode of RAW saw the Viking Raiders meet the Street Profits for a basketball match. Yes, you read that right -- a basketball match. This game saw Dawkins and Ford dominate the encounter until the very end. Towards the end of the segment, the Viking Raiders said that they were letting their opponents win before they went on to show their actual skills.
Now, don't get me wrong. I understand why this segment might have been entertaining, but it is also responsible for taking away the seriousness of the tag team division. The funny elements of a storyline are supposed to keep the feuds from turning monotonous, and not invite questions upon the credibility of the Superstars involved. Unfortunately, that's exactly what is happening on RAW.
Somehow, the creative team feel that this is the best way to keep the fans invested in this feud. While it may work for a few weeks, the lack of in-ring action will eventually affect the credibility of the RAW Tag Team title feud in the coming weeks. Hopefully, the creative team put a plan in place to restore the Viking Raiders' former glory in order to ensure that they don't turn into a joke.
#2 Impressed on RAW: Seth Rollins
While the entire WWE Universe celebrated the news of Becky Lynch's pregnancy, her partner and the baby's father, Seth Rollins, acted quite strange throughout the entire episode of this week's RAW. He didn't even say anything when Rey Mysterio congratulated him. Instead, the 'Monday Night Messiah' walked away from the backstage interview.
Later that night, Rollins teamed up with Buddy Murphy and took on the team of Rey Mysterio and Aleister Black. The Monday Night Messiah stood motionless for the initial part of the match while Murphy battled against Black and Mysterio. Rollins' strange behavior on RAW had everyone talking, but no one had a clue about what was coming next.
A little later in the match, Rollins snapped and started brutalizing Rey Mysterio. The latter's eye was targeted by the Monday Night Messiah, who unleashed his devillish side. He rammed Mysterio's eyes against the pointed end of the steel stairs and stood there motionless when a bleeding Mysterio was taken backstage for help.
Following the match, Rollins acted as though nothing had happened and went to check on Mysterio, but Aleister Black was having none of it. He attacked both Murphy and an 'apologetic' Rollins, who claimed that be didn't know why he acted the way he did. The Monday Night Messiah seems to be going down the path where he is becoming more and more sadistic with each passing week. And today's episode of RAW saw him nailing that role to perfection.
#2 Flopped on RAW: The Street Profits
It is safe to say that the RAW Tag Team division is far behind the SmackDown tag team division. On the Blue brand, the segments involving the champions and the challengers are entertaining and highly credible, even if we see the same faces week after week. It is difficult to outdo yourself amidst similar challenges, but that is one thing which the SmackDown Tag Team division does every Friday. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for RAW.
The reigning RAW Tag Team Champion, the Street Profits, started off really well and deserved this title reign. But ever since they started feuding with the Viking Raiders, the rivalry has been more about who's funnier and not who is a better tag team. Yes, they put on entertaining segments, but the credibility of the tag team gold on the Red brand will be lost if WWE focus on everything but a compelling in-ring bout.
It is possible that WWE want to save this match for the PPV. And they are using the current booking decisions to delay their in-ring encounter as much as they can. While that may seem justified, it is important to understand that it can't be done at the cost of harming The Street Profits' position as the Champions.
Both these teams can be funny and entertaining and don't need special segments to showcase their comedic timing. Hopefully, WWE will soon add more intensity to this RAW Tag Team Championship rivalry before fans start losing interest.
#2 Impressed on RAW: Drew McIntyre
When WWE Champion Drew McIntyre promised that he wanted to be a fighting champion, no one expected him to deliver on his words so well. Less than 24 hours after defending his title against Seth Rollins in a brutal match at Money in the Bank, McIntyre stepped inside the ring once again and squared off against the United States Champion, Andrade, on this week's episode of RAW.
Given the talent of both these Superstars, the fans had high hopes from this match. Naturally, they both worked well together to deliver an incredible Champion vs. Champion match, which ultimately saw McIntyre coming out on top. But that was not enough for the biggest babyface on RAW.
Right after the match ended, McIntyre announced that he extended an invitation to SmackDown Superstar Baron Corbin, claiming that the WWE Universe will love watching him demolish the most 'hated' person on the WWE roster.
A champion as active as McIntyre is a welcome sight in WWE, and he has been working very hard to live up to those expectations. We are excited to see this match unfold on next week's RAW, and it would be pretty epic to see McIntyre put the 'King' back in his place.
#1 Flopped on RAW: Natalya
While most of the roster celebrated Becky Lynch's announcement, Shayna Baszler had other intentions. When asked to comment on The Man's decision to relinquish her RAW Women's Championship in light of recent events, the 'Queen of Spades' had a pretty savage response. However, that didn't sit quite well with Natalya, who wanted to defend Lynch and the "miracle of motherhood".
Natalya's response led to Baszler roasting her with unbelievably brutal statements before the two Superstars locked horns on RAW. Now, we know that the former NXT Women's Champion is known for her dominance, but you would expect a veteran to have better answers for her in an in-ring encounter. However, that wasn't the case with this match.
Instead, Baszler picked a quick win over Natalya, who could barely land any offense on her opponent throughout this encounter. It's true that such booking decisions help in portraying Baszler as an unbeatable heel, but Natalya deserves to be booked in a slightly stronger light.
Her vast experience could be helpful in putting over other talent, but that will stop working when Natalya herself ends up losing every bit of credibility that she has earned. Hopefully, the WWE creative team will allow Natalya to redeem herself on RAW in the coming weeks.
