Monday Night RAW 18/05/2020
- LDR
- May 19, 2020
- 8 min read
This week's RAW promised us the first match of the Brand-to-Brand invitation as WWE Champion Drew McIntyre took on SmackDown's King Corbin. We also had a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match between champions Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross and The IIconics, the follow up to Asuka's ascent to RAW Women's Champion last week and an axe throwing competition between the Viking Raiders and the Street Profits. What hit the bullseye and what was wide of the mark? Read on to find out.
Source: wwe.com
Randy Orton continues to mock Edge
To open the show, we had an interview from Charly Caruso speaking with The Viper, speaking on how Edge hadn't accepted Orton's challenge last week. Orton claimed that Edge had a fear of taking on the best in the business, but Edge swiftly interrupted, storming the ring. Edge told Orton he was done with his games, accepting the challenge, and claimed that he would show what the difference between someone who had taken the path laid out in front of them and someone who had carved their own. Orton, satisfied at having an answer, left Edge in the ring, clearly seething with emotion. This could be a great match and - if this is a way to ease Edge back into a more full time schedule - there could not be a better opponent than Orton. The history and hatred is there between the men, but Orton is also one of the safest men in the ring who is also a big enough name to carry intrigue.
Murphy v Humberto Carrillo
Seth Rollins hit the ring next, alongside The Disciple Murphy, to speak on what had happened with Rey Mysterio last week. With Seth's brutal attack having left Rey out for the foreseeable, The Monday Night Messiah spoke directly to his victim, claiming that he had blessed Mysterio with his actions and that he would say what he wanted to Mysterio now, so he didn't need to upon the luchador's return; "You're welcome". This brought Humberto Carrillo down to the ring to defend his friend's honour, but Seth - dressed in a very sharp suit - was not ready for action. He offered up Murphy in his place and, as we returned from the break, the action had begun. The match was fairly straightforward, with Carrillo fighting hard against the odds, but a Rollins distraction was enough to lead to a Murphy's Law and a win for The Disciple. Seth joined Murphy in the ring and the two continued to beat down Carrillo until Aleister Black - Murphy's opponent for later in the night - hit the ring and chased the heels off.
Source: wwe.com
Charlotte Flair v Ruby Riott
Charlotte claimed to be the All Star of the entire WWE Women's divisions, as she was a RAW superstar holding the NXT Championship and appearing on SmackDown. She then turned her attention to SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley, her opponent this coming Friday, laying in some insults and shots at Sasha Banks for allowing herself to live in Bayley's shadow, then to Ruby Riott, who she was facing on RAW. Ruby came down to the ring wanting to get the fight started right off the bat. Ruby managed to focus a lot of her offence on the Queen's hand, trying to create a soft spot to work but Charlotte eventually took control and managed to put away Ruby with the Figure-Eight submission. This match was short and a little rough around the edges, but Charlotte continues to look strong in her featured role. The fact that the Queen is being used across three shows is going to rub quite a few people the wrong way, but for now we can only watch where this goes.
Asuka's Championship Celebration
After last week's reveal that Asuka had actually won the RAW Women's Championship at Money in the Bank, Kairi Sane welcomed the new champ down to the ring to celebrate. Asuka congratulated Becky Lynch again before Kairi began to run down Asuka's accomplishments, declaring her a Grand Slam Champion (only the second woman to achieve this in WWE - 10 house points for the first person to tell me the other) having claimed the RAW, SmackDown and NXT Women's Championships and the Women's Tag Team Championship. Nia Jax had clearly heard enough, interrupting the celebrations and claiming that Asuka was not deserving of the championship and that it would be Jax who took it from her and soon. The Empress managed to fight Nia Jax off and cause her to retreat, but Nia wasn't finished there. Later in the night, Kairi Sane was backstage practising her recorder playing when Nia jumped her from behind, taking revenge for the assault here. Nia hasn't had a straight up match since her return from injury, so someone as solid and confident in the ring as Asuka will be a great opponent for her as she returns to full time in-ring work.
Source: wwe.com
Bobby Lashely v R-Truth
After R-Truth pinned MVP in the six-man tag last week, he was taken out by Lashley, who had continued to build on his relationship with MVP last week and this. MVP had offered his help yet again earlier in the night, clearly firing up Lashley with his words about how long it had been since Lashley's last oppotunity at the WWE Championship and the failures that he had been going through recently. Lashely headed to the ring full of the intesity and fire that MVP had instilled in him and, after Truth managed to draw him to the outside for a brief brawl, took complete control and locked in the Full Nelson again for the win. As MVP clapped from the stage, the backstage cameras saw Lana having a full breakdown, throwing things around and screaming. This breakdown in Lana's psyche could lead to something interesting but, for now, Lashley is looking good and his pairing with MVP is clearly paying off.
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross v The IIconics (WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match)
Last week's A Moment of Bliss and following match led to The IIconics being given a title shot this week. There was a frantic pace to this at first, with Cross taking out Peyton Royce before Bliss hit Billie Kay with a vicious right hand and the Twisted Bliss, but Royce just about recovered to make the save. Royce clearly lost her cool, continuing to attack Bliss - despite not being the legal member of her team - and was disqualified after smashing Bliss' head repeatedly into the turnbuckles. Once she realised what was happening, Royce broke down on the way to the back, before Kay caught up with her and yelled at her, before slapping Royce across the face. Kay apologised, hugging her partner and saying she loved her, but this could be the start of something bigger. Peyton Royce is definitely the more capable in ring, so a singles run isn't out of the question, but personally I think the IIconics still have legs as a doubles act.
Source: wwe.com
The Street Profits v The Viking Raiders (Axe Throwing Competition)
After the basketball game last week, we had a competition chosen by the Viking Raiders this time. These skits went on throughout the night and were very much in a similar vein to last week, just with the roles flipped. The comedy throughout - Montez Ford completely overdoing his shot and Angelo Dawkins accidentally throwing the axe behind him - was pretty dry and this segment didn't really do anything last week's hadn't already done. It even ended the same, with Dawkins making a great shot after not making a single one at any other point. Clearly the point of these skits is to have the tag champs and their challengers look to be equals, but there was little to differentiate between the two and if it continues like this, they will become a very forgettable series.
Natalya v Shayna Baszler (Submission Match)
After Shayna's viciousness in the match between these two last week, Natalya had a chance to play to her strengths in a submission match. Natalya managed to get Shayna into the Sharpshooter, but Shayna managed to escape. The two exchanged holds, with both focusing on the legs of the other. It looked as though Natalya was attempting to lock in a heel hold or knee bar but Shayna managed to roll through and catch the Kirafuda Clutch, leading to Nattie tapping out. After the match, Natalya lost it and threw the sets and chairs being brought into the ring for the KO show set up.
Source: wwe.com
The Kevin Owens Show
Kevin Owens made his return to WWE having been away since Wrestlemania. He introduced his guests - Zelina Vega, Andrade, Angel Garza and Austin Theory - and stood on the apron as he began his interview. Zelina cut in to say that Owen's was disrespecting his guests by not entering the ring. Owen's corrected her, he was on the apron so that the ring wouldn't get crowded as he had another guests. The returning Apollo Cruise sprinted down the ramp, jumping the United States Champion. A brawl broke out, with Owen's taking Apollo's side and, as we returned from the ads, we had a tag match between KO & Apollo and Andrade & Angel Garza. Austin Theory attempted to help his stablemates, but caused enough of a distraction that Crews managed to hit Garza with a powerbomb for the win. Afterwards, Vega set Andrade and Garza on Theory, beating him down and throwing him into the barricade and a pile of chairs. Garza, Andrade and Vega left Theory in a heap as Apollo challenged Andrade to a title match next week in a backstage interview.
Aleister Black v Murphy
After the altercation earlier in the night, Black came out with fire, throwing his jacket at Murphy before peppering him with strikes. He took control and seemed to be well on his way to victory, with Murphy not being able to slow him down. Rollins saw Theory still laid out at ringside and offered the youngster a hand and - seemingly - a place in his stable. Theory took the offer and, as Black was lifting Murphy for the Black Mass, jumped into the ring to save his new team mate. Rollins, Murphy and Theory continued to beat down Black before Rollins embraced Theory as one of his own. There was a possible envious glance from Murphy, but it's too early for the jealousy angle as Theory has literally just joined this group.
Source: wwe.com
Drew McIntyre v King Corbin
As the two big men squared off in the ring, Bobby Lashley's music hit and he and MVP strode out onto the stage. Lashley told the WWE Champion that he had his eye on him and his title. This was a pretty back and fourth affair, with Corbin having some heat segments, but McIntyre fought out of everything he had. McIntyre managed to hit the Future Shock DDT and was lining up Corbin for a Claymore, but Corbin countered into the Deep Six. After some more back and forth action, McIntyre put Corbin down with a Claymore for the win. Lashley looked to head to the ring, but MVP held him back as Drew taunted his potential challenger. This could be an interesting match up, as anyone who has seen Lashley outside of WWE knows what he is capable of in big match situations and that MVP is a great pairing choice for him. Drew is showing that he is a fighting champion and will take on any and all challengers, which is a great change of pace from Brock Lesnar.
What was your favourite part of RAW this week? What did you think of the Axe Throwing Skit? Who was the best performer tonight? Will Zelina Vega replace Austin Theory or will Seth Rollins expand his group of Disciples? Let me know your thoughts on this and more down below.
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