AJ Styles made a shocking return to WWE (WWE)
WWE Raw Results and Grades: This week’s Raw had one major storyline going which was related to Money in the Bank 2020.
Yes, Drew McIntyre faced off against Murphy ahead of his fight against Seth Rollins. But the WWE Champion’s clash wasn’t the main story with one spot still left in the MITB match.
Apollo Crews’ injury opened the door for a star but that would take place via a gauntlet match.
This was the final Raw episode before the next WWE PPV and here are the results and grades.
MVP hosted the next segment of his VIP Lounge and he brought in three stars ahead of the PPV. Asuka, Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax came out to speak after last week’s actions. It was Jax who came out on top last time around but her rivals did a number on her then.
Jax was thrown out of the ring as MVP had to separate Asuka and Baszler from beating each other up.
Grade B
This was a great segment with MVP doing well. It also showed that Asuka and Baszler won’t be fodder in the match and they could do a number on Jax.
Titus O’Neil and Bobby Lashley started off the Gauntlet match and it was the All Mighty that eliminated O’Neil.
The next to come out was Akira Tozawa but he was no match for Lashley too. Shelton Benjamin also was hit by a spear as the All Mighty looked good to pick up the win.
Humberto Carrillo was next, however, Lashley got DQed and vented his frustration by hitting a spear on the high-flyer.
Angel Garza came out with Zelina Vega but it was Carrillo who picked up the pin. The next challenger was one of Vega’s other stars in Austin Theory, but he was beat by Carrillo too.
Finally, AJ Styles made a shocking return to the ring and it was Styles who got the final pin to reach the Money in the Bank match.
Styles win Gauntlet match
Grade B
Styles returning to the WWE roster is a huge boost, especially after his WrestleMania match against the Undertaker.
However, Lashley was the other star of this match and it was a little weird that he wasn’t allowed to win given how dominant he had been.
The challenger for the WWE title took part in a sit down interview and was unhappy that McIntyre was the current champion.
Rollins promised to win the crown from the Scot, and also stomp his way to the top on Raw.
Grade B
Rollins as the Monday Night Messiah has been incredible and this should be an interesting match on Sunday.
Shane Thorne and Brendan Vink were made a tag team last week by MVP and the pair were up against Ricochet and Cedric Alexander.
Ricochet and Alexander were on a charge in recent weeks, but they were surprisingly beaten by the new team.
Grade B
Vink and Thorne beat Ricochet and Alexander
While WWE brought Ricochet and Alexander down again, the match was a good one. All four men had their moments to shine, and it will be interesting to see what creative does with Vink and Thorne.
The tag champions, the Street Profits, were up against The Viking Raiders. The Raiders are former champions and they took control of the match after an initial flurry from Montez Ford.
Angelo Dawkins then staged a comeback for the Profits but it were the Raiders that got the win after an exchange of pinfalls.
Raiders beat Profits
Grade B
Another fine match on Raw as the Raiders continued to dominate the Profits on Raw. The Raiders should get a shot for the titles in the future too.
The NXT Champion Charlotte was back on Raw as she faced Liv Morgan. Morgan had been on a rise in recent weeks and this was a real test of her new confidence in the ring.
It was Morgan who actually challenged Flair for the match and the challenger actually got a few hits in.
However, Charlotte dominated most of the match and got Morgan to tap out to the figure eight.
Charlotte beats Morgan
Grade B
Morgan was made to look great again and it will be interesting to see what plans WWE has for her. As for Charlotte, she was the dominant champion again but she is doing double duty on Raw and NXT for some reason.
Murphy had spoken a lot about making Rollins proud before facing McIntyre. The Australian got some offence in and even slapped McIntyre at one stage.
However, the champion easily defeated Murphy and pinned him for the win. Rollins, however, wasn’t done for the night as he ambushed McIntyre and super kicked him.
McIntyre almost got Rollins with a Claymore but the Messiah was able to escape.
McIntyre beats Murphy
Grade C
Murphy was wasted in this match and it might have been a better result for Rollins to come out and attack McIntyre and cause a DQ.
However, McIntyre was made to look invincible again, and that doesn’t bode well for Rollins ahead of Money in the Bank.
Raw did not have a great time in terms of TV viewership as they recorded the lowest rating after this week’s show with 1.68million viewers on average.
First hour: 1.81m
Second hour: 1.69m
Third hour: 1.55m
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