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RAW opened up to a huge amount of fanfare, as the WWE Universe was excited for the return of Ric Flair. Flair appeared on RAW to select the final member of his team for the upcoming Crown Jewel pay-per-view.
This wasn’t the only segment fans were interested in seeing, as many in the WWE Universe wanted to see what 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt would have up his sleeves after Seth Rollins burned down the Firefly Fun House to close out last week's show.
Throughout the evening, there were some rather interesting segments and matches that built toward future storylines. There were also several key matches which can once again make RAW a must-watch show.
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In this article, we will look at the five things the company got just right on this week’s RAW.
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#1 Brought out Cain Velasquez once again
Rey Mysterio returned to the ring for the first time since bringing Cain Velasquez to the season premiere of SmackDown to exact revenge from Brock Lesnar. Mysterio claimed that he was training Velasquez to face Lesnar at Crown Jewel, and thanked the fans for their love and support after the beatdown he and his son suffered at the hands of 'The Beast.'
'The Master of the 619' was cut short by Paul Heyman, followed by Shelton Benjamin, who approached the ring and bullied Mysterio for some time. Benjamin asked Mysterio where Velasquez was to save him now.
This brought out the MMA legend once again to a huge pop from the WWE Universe. Velasquez vanquished Benjamin and put him in a sleeper choke, before Benjamin tapped and escaped the ring.
This was a good way to remind fans of the relationship between Lesnar and Benjamin. Bringing out someone close to Lesnar for Velasquez to dominate, in a similar fashion to how Lesnar beat down Dominick, was the right thing to do.
Velasquez's obvious limp also showed that he was still recovering from injury and may not be 100% for Crown Jewel, but is still ready and willing to take on 'The Beast.'
#2 Gave Aleister Black another match
One color that goes extremely well with red is black, and that is exactly what the Red brand needed to spice things up on RAW.
Aleister Black returned for another match on RAW this week and squared off against local competitor Jason Reynolds. It was good to see that the local competitor wasn’t just another skinny kid from around the block, but a man bigger than Black who could deliver a few moves of his own. Black managed to overcome Reynolds and deliver his Black Mass finisher for the win, which gave fans something to cheer about.
Although it isn't always entertaining when Superstars compete against local competitors, it seems like RAW is doing a much better job than SmackDown was. Black was busy in delivering theatrical promos on SmackDown that did not materialize into any meaningful matches or feuds. It’s much better to see him compete in the ring in front of the WWE Universe rather than sit back and wait for someone to knock on his door.
In the coming weeks, WWE may look to give Black some Handicap Matches against lower-ranked tag teams to increase his appeal, just like they did when he took on the Singh Brothers.
#3 Humberto Carrillo got the Mustafa Ali treatment
Humberto Carrillo's comments about Universal Champion Seth Rollins earlier in the night led to the former 205 Live Superstar scoring his biggest match in WWE.
Carrillo took to the ring to back up his words and battled Rollins in a match that he will remember for years to come. What made things interesting was Rollins’ display of arrogance throughout the clash, something fans have been noticing in his Twitter exchanges, interviews, and matches. His arrogance led the Universal Champion to lose control halfway through the match before he was able to deliver The Stomp for the victory.
Fans seemed to be behind Carrillo, and were clamoring for interference from The Fiend, as they were clearly unhappy with their Champion. It was interesting to see how the babyface Rollins had so much heat from the WWE Universe all while holding the Universal Championship.
It will be interesting to see how RAW builds Carrillo in the weeks to come, after getting things started with such a big match.
#4 Rebuilt the Scottish Psychopath
Do you remember a time when every single one of us knew deep down in our hearts that Drew McIntyre was Universal Championship material? Mixed bookings for the Superstar over the past few months saw his stock tumble and the faith of some fans diminish.
This week on RAW, Ric Flair made an appearance to announce the final member of his team for the massive Crown Jewel tag team match. After hyping the match, Flair proved why he was the smartest man in the arena, as he introduced the final and arguably most destructive member of Team Flair: Drew McIntyre.
McIntyre then battled against Ricochet in the segment that followed and the two had a stellar match once again. McIntyre was back to being his absolute best as a heel and manhandled his smaller opponent in a way that made fans forget that he was actually battling a former NXT North American and WWE United States Champion.
After taking the victory, McIntyre did not stop and continued to punish Ricochet post-match. This segment was great in rebuilding McIntyre as the biggest threat on the RAW roster, and the Red brand's most lethal heel.
#5 Monday Night Owens
Is it the Summer of 2017 again?
The Street Profits prepared to make their in-ring debut with a mystery partner against The O.C. in a Six-Man Tag Team Match, and there were many options to pick from.
However, the two men appeared without a partner and the match started with only Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins battling Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows, while United States Champion AJ Styles watched from outside the ring.
At a time when it seemed like Ford and Dawkins were down and out and ready to suffer a debut loss, Kevin Owens’ music hit and the former Universal Champion returned to RAW in grand style. Owens delivered a stunner to AJ Styles on the outside, while The Street Profits managed to pin Anderson to pick up their first main roster victory.
This was an interesting angle that fans were very much looking forward to, and the company delivered what was predicted unpredictably. Fans can now expect Owens to immediately be a part of the United States Championship picture, and battle Styles in the weeks to come. What was even better was that Owens’ entry at the end of the night showed his importance to the Red brand roster.
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