This week’s episode of RAW aired from the Performance Center in Orlando. It was the final episode of RAW before WWE Money in the Bank this Sunday night.
WWE RAW Results (5/4)
- AJ Styles qualified for the MITB Ladder match by winning a Gauntlet match
- Shane Thorne & Brendan Vink def. Ricochet & Cedric Alexander
- Viking Raiders def. Street Profits
- Charlotte def. Liv Morgan
- Drew McIntyre def. Murphy
Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Asuka & Shayna Baszler Attacked Nia Jax
MVP hosted another episode of the VIP Lounge tonight on RAW. Shayna Baszler, Asuka, and Nia Jax were tonight’s guests. MVP referred to Nia Jax as the most dominant force in the match and then wondered if she has the skill set to win the Money in the Bank match two seconds later.
Nia boasted about her dominating last week on RAW and vowed to win the match. Shayna stated that she does all her talking with her actions and that is what separates her. Asuka got pissed off and the two had a stare down. They both turned their attention to Nia Jax and booted her in the face. MVP then separated Asuka and Shayna to end the segment.
Opinion: This was flat out terrible. It didn’t provide any excitement for the match on Sunday.
AJ Styles Qualified For The MITB Ladder Match
A Last Chance Gauntlet Match occurred tonight to determine which superstar will replace Bobby Lashley in the MITB match.
Match Recap: Bobby Lashley defeated Titus O’Neil to start things off. Lashley squashed Akira Tozawa next and then faced Shelton Benjamin. Shelton hit Bobby with a Blockbuster and then knocked him to the outside. Bobby battled back and slammed Shelton into the barricade a few times. Back in the ring, Lashley leveled Benjamin with a Spear for another quick win.
Humberto Carrillo squared off against Lashley next. Humberto got in some offense early but Bobby quickly beat him down in the corner. Lashley wouldn’t stop and he was disqualified from the match after putting his hands on the referee. . Bobby hit Carrillo with a Spear and beat him down before officials broke it up.
Angel Garza was the next superstar and beat down Humberto in the corner of the ring. Garza connected with a Superkick and went for the cover but Humberto kicked out at two. Angel followed it up with a Moonsault for another near fall. Garza went for the Wing Clipper but Humberto countered into a roll-up for the victory.
Austin Theory was next up and rushed the ring as RAW went to a break. When RAW returned, Theory dominated the action early but Carrillo wouldn’t stay down. Theory hit a Superplex but Carrillo once again countered into a roll-up to eliminate Austin.
AJ Styles made his return from being buried alive and entered the match next. Carrillo hit Styles with a Dropkick and stomped him down in the corner of the ring. AJ focused his attack on Humberto’s knee and went for a Moonsault but Humberto countered into another roll-up for a near fall. AJ then locked in the Calf Crusher for the submission victory. Styles qualified for the MITB match with the win. After the match, Styles slammed Humberto’s knee into the ring post several times.
Styles then cut a promo and said that there is no Undertaker to try and steal his spotlight. AJ claimed that he didn’t lose anything by being buried by The Undertaker in the Boneyard match. Styles vowed to do anything to win the MITB contract, including throwing Rey Mysterio or Aleister Black off the roof of WWE Headquarters.
Rollins Vowed To Become WWE Champion
Seth Rollins was interviewed by Charly Caruso tonight in the ring. Charly asked Rollins for any last minute predictions and Seth said “whatever is meant to be, will be” and added that he has confidence in Murphy tonight against McIntyre.
Rollins once again claimed that McIntyre is not a leader and that it his destiny to be champion. Seth said that Drew is going to put up a hell of a fight but he is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good.
Seth noted that being a champion is more than what you do the ring, the champion is a leader that represents an entire industry. He claimed that Drew isn’t ready for that and he is simply trying to take the weight off of McIntyre’s shoulders.
Charlotte Defeated Liv Morgan
NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair came down to the ring during the final hour of this week’s RAW. Charlotte boasted about being the hardest working superstar because she has been appearing on both RAW and NXT.
Charlotte brought up defending her title against Io Shirai this Wednesday and how she said Flair was her dream opponent. Flair said she was going to make Io’s dream come true and give her the privilege of bowing down to the Queen.
Liv Morgan interrupted and told Charlotte that not all of us were born with silver spoons shoved up their ass. Flair said yes she was born with a silver sporn and she is damn proud of it. Flair noted that she has been hearing that insult for years now and that she can also bow down to the Queen.
Match Recap: Charlotte hit Liv with a shoulder tackle and followed it up with a boot to the face. Morgan battled back with a Hurricanrana and a Splash in the corner. Charlotte leveled Flair with a Dropkick but Flair shrugged it off and sent Liv into the turnbuckle. Morgan hit a Jawbreaker and followed it up with Double Knees to Charlotte’s face. Flair planted Liv with a Powerbomb and went for the cover but Liv kicked out at two. Charlotte then locked in the Figure Four and bridged into the Figure Eight for the submission victory.
Opinion: Charlotte and Liv had a solid match tonight. Morgan put up a good fight but ultimately fell short. The announcers made sure to point that out and hopefully WWE follows through in the coming weeks and continues to build Liv up.
McIntyre Sent Rollins A Message Heading Into Money In The Bank
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre battled Murphy in the main event of tonight’s RAW. Seth Rollins stood on the top of the entrance ramp for the match.
Match Recap: McIntyre slammed Murphy onto the steel entrance ramp and then the barricade several times as Rollins looked away. Drew sent Murphy over the barricade before rolling back into the ring to break the count. McIntyre hit Murphy with a chop to the chest and rolled him back into the ring.
Drew took a moment to stare at Rollins and it cost him. Murphy hit a Dropkick through the ropes and returned the favor by slamming McIntyre into the ring post. Back in the ring, Murphy climbed to the top rope and hit a Meteora for a one count.
McIntyre took back control of the action and Murphy into the barricade once again. McIntyre climbed to the top rope and hit a massive Clothesline. Rollins made his way to the middle of the ramp as Drew lifted Murphy onto his shoulders. Murphy escaped and hit McIntyre with a Superkick and then a Powerbomb for another one count. Murphy tried to mock McIntyre by doing the Claymore countdown but it backfired. McIntyre leveled Murphy with the Claymore for the pinfall victory.
Seth hopped on the ring apron and McIntyre asked for a fight. Seth elected to hop off the apron and made his way backstage. Rollins then ran back to the ring as McIntyre wasn’t looking. Rollins hit McIntyre with a Superkick and shouted “this isn’t about you!”. Rollins grabbed the WWE Championship and stared at it. Seth went for The Stomp but McIntyre caught him with a headbutt. McIntyre went for a Claymore but Rollins retreated out of the ring to end the show.
Opinion: Overall, this week’s RAW was much better than last week’s show. I’m looking forward to Rollins versus McIntyre at Money in the Bank. It seems like creative has already given up on Ricochet & Alexander as the suffered a loss to Vink and Thorne tonight. The VIP Lounge segment to start the show was atrocious but the rest of the show was entertaining.