WWE Raw results: New challengers, new champions and more returns

The latest episode of WWE Raw came to fans live from Dallas, Texas and would feature the fall-out from the previous day’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view. There was plenty of intrigue coming into the show, not least because two superstars could be crowned champion on this show itself. But there’s also the fact that SummerSlam, a traditional ‘Big Four’ PPV, is the next big show. SummerSlam, like WrestleMania, is often a stage where the company pulls out the big guns. Given fans have now started attending events, it makes even more sense to bring in new or big names. Indeed, that is exactly what happened.

So without further ado, let’s get straight to the best bits.

John Cena is coming for Roman Reigns

This was pretty much a given, since Cena made his return at MITB’s close and interrupted Reigns. However, Cena set up the match for the universal title at SummerSlam with a Cena-esque promo. He praised the fans, said he was happy to be back… and promised to take Reigns down a peg or two.

What’s more, he promised to be at SmackDown to confront Reigns himself. This is what should be really intriguing for the feud.

So far, Cena has had the upper hand. He’s interrupted the Tribal Chief on one show and talked him down on the other. Fans who witnessed their 2017 feud will doubtless remember how Cena eviscerated Reigns on the mic.

However, this is a different Reigns. The Head of the Table is a fully formed heel character, unlike the Cena-lite babyface Reigns portrayed until two years ago. What’s more, he has a master promo in Paul Heyman by his side.

The build for this is about to go up several notches.

Nikki ASH – new WWE Raw women’s champion

Well well well. That’s one of two MITB briefcases cashed in – and successfully so too! Nikki ASH, formerly Nikki Cross, cashed in on a prone Charlotte and is now the champion.

The reason Charlotte was prone was because she cheated to win a title rematch against Rhea Ripley. Ripley, incensed at having to take another L, laid out the Queen. And that laid the groundwork for Nikki.

NIKKI A.S.H. CASHED IN HER #MITB CONTRACT TO BECOME THE NEW #WWERAW WOMEN’S CHAMPION!!!!@NikkiCrossWWE pic.twitter.com/4oD7K8soAi

— WWE (@WWE) July 20, 2021

The superhero stuff still seems a bit comical but kudos for Cross getting a title win. She’s been an underrated worker for years now and it’s nice to see her get her moment.

The best part of this? It opens new rivalry opportunities. Charlotte and Nikki hasn’t been done much, neither hs Ripley and Nikki. This should be fun.

WWE Raw – best of the rest

• Riddle and the Viking Raiders beat AJ Styles, Omos and John Morrison. The match was fine for what it was but felt like a way to squeeze multiple feuds in at once. Also where’s Randy Orton?
• Natalya and Tamina beat Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax when Reginald distracted Baszler and Natalya rolled her up for the win. Stop me if you’ve heard that one before. Good thing is Jax finally kicked Reggie to the curb.
• Sheamus beat Humberto Carrillo in a non-title match. The match was excellent and Carrillo showed some aggression. Shame he didn’t win and get a shot at the US title.
• Jaxson Ryker beat Elias in another match. Cool.
• Jinder Mahal taunted Drew McIntyre in the ring, which led McIntyre to come out and lay a chair-assisted beating on his flunky Shanky. Interesting.
• Jeff Hardy defeated Karrion Kross – the NXT champion who was, till this point, undefeated. Then WWE wonders why no new stars are made. Also where’s Scarlett?
• Goldberg is back and will challenge Bobby Lashley for the WWE championship at SummerSlam. After Lashley beat a returning Keith Lee, Goldberg marched to the ring and screamed “I’m next!”. The former WCW star has two matches a year and both are title matches. For a huge chunk of cash. Amazing.

Grade: C