5 things WWE RAW got right this week: Former Universal Champion destroyed; new challenges for Seth Rollins
Brock Lesnar was advertised to appear on WWE RAW this week after making a surprise return last Monday to attack Bobby Lashley. The All Mighty was ready for the former Universal Champion this time and wanted to exact some revenge.
Meanwhile, Damage CTRL continued to attack Bianca Belair and her friends on RAW. The team took out Belair and Candice LeRae this week to march ahead as the most dominant female faction on the brand.
Cora Jade picked Rhea Ripley as Roxanne Perez’s opponent for WWE NXT. Seth Rollins was also prepared to defend his United States Championship against Matt Riddle on the show.
The show had several solid storylines and matches as it helped build toward the upcoming Crown Jewel premium live event. Look at the five things WWE RAW got right on this week’s show.
#5. Bobby Lashley got the better of Brock Lesnar to kick off WWE RAW
Brock Lesnar’s return to WWE RAW last week stunned Bobby Lashley and the WWE Universe. The Beast Incarnate beat down Lashley and left him in a heap before Seth Rollins took advantage, defeating him for the United States Championship.
The All Mighty opened this week’s RAW and immediately called out Lesnar. The Beast Incarnate wasted little time and walked out before Lashley rushed him.
The two men brawled around the ring before Lashley slammed him through the announce table. WWE officials rushed to pull the men apart as the show went on.
It was an excellent way to start the show and get to business. The opening segment was impactful and had exactly what fans were looking for.
Lashley being the one to come out on top was the right call. He took the fall last week but came back looking stronger and better this week.
The All Mighty is as tough on-screen as Lesnar, and it was great to see him get back at The Beast Incarnate right away. The build-up to their match at Crown Jewel didn’t need much more to get interesting.
#4. The O.C. picked up an impactful win over Alpha Academy
The O.C. shocked Finn Balor and the rest of Judgment Day with their return last week on WWE RAW. This week, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson took on Alpha Academy in a tag team match.
Chad Gable squared off against Anderson early and took him with some good moves. After they tangoed for some time before Gallows and Otis tagged in. The two big men exchanged heavy strikes before the latter sent Anderson into the ring post.
The O.C. continued to keep control of the contest but missed the Magic Killer on Gable. A brawl broke out at ringside, and Gable took a spinebuster from Anderson. The O.C. finally hit the Magic Killer on Gable to pick up the win.
The match was exciting and gave The O.C. enough time to showcase their tag team skills. However, it was unfortunate to see Alpha Academy take the loss again.
Later, Cameron Grimes picked Anderson and Gallows as his tag team partners for his match against The Schism on WWE NXT. The team will help boost the brand's ratings against AEW Dynamite.
#3. JBL brought out a new version of Baron Corbin this week
WWE legend JBL came out on RAW and mocked the Oklahoma fans immediately. He said that Dominik did the right thing by betraying his father before introducing Baron Corbin as the newest member of the red brand's roster.
JBL hyped Corbin while making fun of Dolph Ziggler, who was Corbin’s opponent for the show. The match got underway, and Ziggler took control early on.
Corbin used his explosive power to slam Ziggler around and hit an inverted vertical suplex to knock the wind out of his opponent. The two men exchanged good moves, but Dolph could not keep control of the contest for long.
Ziggler hit a big slam for a near fall before eating the Deep Six from Corbin. The former struck a ZigZag but missed a Superkick, allowing Corbin to hit the End of Days for the win.
It was good to see RAW exchange Rey Mysterio for Baron Corbin immediately. His heel work will help the babyfaces on the roster grow in the coming weeks. He has been repackaged again, and hopefully, the creative team will finally take him to the top of the roster this time.
#2. Dominik Mysterio stole a win over AJ Styles
The Judgment Day confronted AJ Styles and The O.C. on WWE RAW. Finn Balor reminded them that he played a major role in forming the faction and challenged them to a match at Crown Jewel.
Styles mocked the faction, and Dominik Mysterio taunted The O.C. The Phenomenal One challenged Dom to a match, and Rhea Ripley quickly accepted the challenge on his behalf.
In the bout, Styles treated Dominik to some big strikes. Ripley distracted him outside the ring, allowing Dom to hit a dive from the top rope. The young Mysterio took control of the contest for some time before A.J. bounced back and dumped him over the barricades.
The two men continued to put on a good show while The O.C. and The Judgment Day got in each other’s faces outside the ring. A.J. took control once again. However, Rhea grabbed his foot from between the ropes, and Dominik took advantage by rolling him up for the win.
Dom was great in the contest and put on a good show with Styles. He is turning into the perfect heel kid we want to see on television. The match helped Judgment Day pick up the advantage, while Dominik picked up one of the biggest victories of his career.
#1. The United States Championship picture heated up on WWE RAW
Newly-crowned United States Champion Seth Rollins came out on WWE RAW to talk about his loss at Extreme Rules and title defense against Matt Riddle. Mustafa Ali interrupted him to challenge him to a title match.
The two men exchanged some hot words before Ali attacked the champion. However, Rollins got the upper hand and laid Ali out before the latter struck him again to end the segment.
Later in the night, Elias returned to RAW and spoke about how his brother’s career ended abruptly. He held a short performance with Riddle before the match between The Original Bro and Seth Rollins got underway.
The Visionary kept control of the match even though Elias interfered to help Riddle. Rollins took the Floating Bro and Bro Derek but kicked out both the finishers. Riddle locked in the triangle lock before Seth slammed him down a few times.
Elias got involved many times, and the distraction helped Rollins hit the Stomp on Riddle to retain his United States Championship. After the match, Rollins stomped down Elias, too, and turned his attention to Riddle again.
Mustafa Ali came out and attacked the champion before sending him running through the crowd as RAW went off the air. All the segments combined lifted the U.S. Championship scene.
Rollins has been involved in multiple rivalries at the same time for over a year now. It looks like Riddle, Elias, and Ali all have their eyes on his title. It will likely lead to a great storyline and a potential title match between Ali and Rollins at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.