Happy Memorial Day. No jokes here; today is a sacred holiday, regardless of your moral or ethical stance on military forces. Thank God Hulk Hogan bridges the gap and provides some non-controversial content for all of us wrestling “fans”! Hopefully he returns to RAW soon.
This is a weekend of gratitude and respect for the men and women in the armed forces that served and sacrificed to protect our country!! Only love and respect HH pic.twitter.com/0JllpEef1S
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) May 27, 2020
Last week’s RAW was a disasterous mess. Even the return of Stephanie McMahon did little to salvage a garbage show, although a few positive nuggets did show up. Do I look forward to this week’s RAW? Not particularly, though contractual obligations have me writing a weekly article about it. With that in mind, here is this week’s preview!
A Quick Recap
- Roman Reign def. Kevin Owens via DQ - Jinder Mahal interferes.
- Roman Reign & Seth Rollins def. Kevin Owens & Jinder Mahal
- Ember Moon def. Alexa Bliss
- Baron Corbin def. No Way Jose
- The B-Team (Axel and Dallas) def. Breezango
- Dolph Ziggler def. Chad Gable
- Natalya def. Dana Brooke, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan - qualifies for Women’s MITB Match
- ELIAS def. Bob Roode
- Braun Strowman def. Finn Balor
This Week’s Preview
Last week’s RAW saw Natalya qualify for the Women’s MITB, leaving one spot to be contested tonight in a 7 woman gauntlet match. I’m turning off my TV for this one. Bayley is going to go full 6 Million Dollar man and go the distance, only to be eliminated by Sasha Banks, or vice versa. No clue on what the situation is between these two “frenemies” at this point. To be perfectly honest, whoever coined the phrase frenemies deserves a merciless slap. Bayley is my early pick, though it won’t be easy for the Hugger - she must defeat The Riott Squad, Dana Brooke, and Mickie James. Best of luck, Bayley!
The opposite side of the gender spectrum is in the same situation. Only one spot remains in the Men’s MITB, but under threat of being put in the Iron Maiden I cannot discuss anything Smackdown related.
Even with a final participant yet to be decided, a clear favourite has presented himself in BRAUN STROWMAN. Who is going to beat this guy? Surprisingly, Drew McIntyre stacks up, but the Scot is not participating in the Money in the Bank ladder match (in an official capacity). Glenn Jacobs is embroiled in a mayoral feud, Mark Henry is AWOL, Brock Lesnar has pissed off, and so on and so forth. In fact, it seems as if nobody in the match can stack up to the Monster Among Men - last week’s RAW saw Strowman pick apart another favourite, Finn Balor.
The Rest of the Roster
With picking apart in mind, one has got to wonder what “The Destroyer” Bobby Lashley has in store for Sami Zayn. The Underdog from the Underground recruited three men in women’s clothing to impersonate Bobby’s abusive sisters, which admittedly is a smart play on Zayn’s part. Moreover, it’s an attempt to add character depth to Lashley, although admittedly poorly done. The inaugural edition of RAW Thoughts covers this in greater depth. Lashley has floundered since his triumphant return to RAW, padding around the walls of RAW like the blind guy I knew in elementary school - going nowhere. Count on this match being made official for Money in the Bank tonight.
Jason Jordan is rumoured to return imminently - though a reintroduction following Money in the Bank may be the best idea. Every division has a story. No sense in shoehorning him in.
The Champion’s Corner
Tonight, Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defends his title against the Modern Day Maharaja, Jinder Mahal. Looking forward to this match. In fact, it could be an early Match of the Year contender. On the other hand, it could end up being dogshit. It is hard to tell with Jinder. Though I don’t expect Mahal to win the title, a disqualification victory for Jinder is the most likely course.
RAW Tag Team Champions The Deleter of Worlds still have yet to find worthy opponents. Weeks of squash matches have become tiresome. With a tag team title match at Money in the Bank yet unannounced, the field is open for either The Authors of Pain or - hopefully! - the B Team to step up.
Lastly, RAW Women’s Champion The Nia Jax made official her match with Ronda Rousey last week. RAW General Manager Stephanie McMahon returned to the Red Brand, acting as a mediator during the contract signing. Honestly, my reaction was trivial, probably because I was watching The Sopranos while this segment was on. I do look forward to this match, though! Rock and roll.
That’s it for this article; but what are your thoughts? Let us know. See you next week, and as always, thanks for reading!
WWE Last 5:
- Fry and the Guy | Lance Romance Returns
- RAW Thoughts: Why is Bobby Lashley Back, and Why Do I Care?
- Smackdown Live Preview: May 22
- Monday Night Hayden: Preview of the 21/05/18 RAW
- Over the Top Rope: Episode X | All In Edition
