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The May 21 edition of WWE Raw wasn’t the most exciting Raw of all-time, but it did feature a few important Money In The Bank pay-per-view developments.
Last night’s WWE Raw saw another member of the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match determined as well as a couple other matches at Money In The Bank made official.
With still four weeks until the pay-per-view, the red brand can continue to build up its storylines and hopefully improve several of them moving forward. With that being said, let’s take a look at five key takeaways from the May 21 edition of WWE Raw.
5. Bobby Lashley’s Sisters Segment Lives Down To Expectations
A recent new feud that has started has been between Sami Zayn and the recently returned Bobby Lashley. It started in a spontaneous way, but last night’s segment featuring both superstars was anything but spontaneous and it did nothing for either individual.
Lashley was interviewed a couple weeks ago and he talked about his family and life while talking quite a bit about his sisters. Zayn decided to focus on that last night when he brought out Lashley’s “sisters” to tell the “truth” about their relationship with Lashley and how it isn’t like he said it was.
Zayn brought out three men dressed as women to pose as Lashley’s sisters and it was as bad or cringe-worthy as you might have imagined going in. The live crowd couldn’t have cared less and nothing worked throughout this entire segment. The only thing that even remotely saved it was when Lashley came out and ended up beating up everybody.
The WWE’s attempts at forced humor haven’t gone well in recent memory and unfortunately, this segment continued that trend. A feud between Zayn and Lashley can work, but it can’t work if segments like this dominate their airtime. It wasn’t as bad as Alexa Bliss’s This Is Your Life segment from last year, but it was bad in its own right.
Simply put, this segment lived down to its low expectations heading into it and hopefully is just a small detour in the middle of what could be a solid feud.
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4. Ember Moon Building Money In The Bank Momentum
The main roster debut of Ember Moon following WrestleMania 34 has already been a big help to the women’s division on Monday nights. Moon is unlike any woman on the roster and she brings something different to an already stellar women’s division.
And next month at Money In The Bank, Moon will get a chance at a career breakthrough when she participates in the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match. She earned that right a couple weeks ago, but last night was all about building momentum towards that match when she went one-on-one with Alexa Bliss.
Moon and Bliss had a solid match and after things started breaking down towards the end, Moon took control. Bliss’s friend Mickie James was thrown out of the ringside area by the ref and shortly after that, Moon hit Bliss with a huge eclipse to get the win. This is a win that could go a long way in Moon’s chances to win the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match.
There are several strong possibilities for potential winners, but Moon seems to have a real chance to win. She’s exciting, fresh, and different and can make great use out of the briefcase if she is to win. Getting a win over a former Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion in Bliss was a big win and could set up her potential upset win at Money In The Bank.
The women’s Money in the Bank ladder match should be exciting and arguably the most exciting participant in that match could walk out with the briefcase in hand.
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3. Roman Reigns And Seth Rollins Bring Out The Best In Each Other
It’s always a treat to see any of The Shield members interacting with each other, especially when it’s in-ring action. Fans were able to see that last night when Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins teamed up for an impromptu tag team match.
The show began with Reigns getting a match with Kevin Owens after an in-ring segment between those two along with Kurt Angle and Stephanie McMahon. The match between Reigns and Owens was solid, as expected, but it never finished after Jinder Mahal got involved and he, along with Owens, double teamed Reigns.
That all changed when Rollins hit the ring and helped fend off Mahal and Owens. An impromptu tag team match was then made between Reigns and Rollins against Mahal and Owens. The match was solid as well before Rollins ended up getting the win for his team, but Mahal got the last laugh when he attacked both Rollins and Reigns with a steel chair on the top of the ramp.
Storyline developments aside, last night only made it clearer how much Reigns and Rollins bring out the best in each other. No matter if it’s against each other or on the same team, The Shield members have great chemistry. It showed big time last night in the tag team match and it especially showed how on fire Rollins has been lately.
The Shield might not be a faction right now, but two of the three members showed last night how great they still are when teamed together.
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2. Both Braun Strowman And Finn Balor Impress In Singles Match
David vs. Goliath is a familiar storyline in the WWE and it has been for many years. Last night saw a version of that with the WWE’s biggest and baddest superstar going up against one of the WWE’s best smaller, underdog type of superstars.
Braun Strowman and Finn Balor teamed up the previous week to battle Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, and after losing to Ziggler and McIntyre, the two wanted a rematch with them last night when they approached Kurt Angle backstage. However, that rematch wouldn’t come to light and instead, Strowman was booked to battle Balor one-on-one.
This match was the main event of the show last night and despite it seeming like a match that wouldn’t be much, it more than exceeded expectations. Strowman had major control of the match, but the underdog Balor kept chipping away and eventually got back into the match. The storytelling was outstanding in this match with Balor outsmarting Strowman from time to time.
It even seemed like Balor would get the win at one point, but Strowman eventually gained control back and won the match. Not many probably imagined this match would have turned out like it did, but it was a very good match. The storytelling was on point from start to finish and these two have a noticeable chemistry together.
They will both compete to win the Money in the Bank briefcase, but last night’s battle between The Monster Among Men and The Demon King made both superstars look impressive in the long run.
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1. Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax Feeling Bigger As Time Progresses
The WWE is already dubbing the upcoming Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey match at Money In The Bank the biggest Raw Women’s Championship match of all-time. And that premise is ringing true more and more as time goes on, especially after last night.
Jax said she wants the challenge from Rousey and even though she believes there are more deserving superstars to challenge Jax for her title, Rousey obliged. Last night was all about the contract signing between the two with Stephanie McMahon presiding over the signing. Stephanie tried getting under the skin of both women, and it kind of worked.
The Irresistible Force got more intense towards the end and she said she would defeat Rousey in her first one-on-one match in the WWE. The Rowdy One responded by saying she will take Jax’s title from her and make her tap out in the process. Seeing these two face-to-face was awesome and it helped grow anticipation for their upcoming match.
Anything Rousey has been involved in over the past few months has been big, but this feels like the biggest yet. Seeing her go up against the dominant Raw Women’s Champion is intriguing and the match has a lot of potential to be something memorable. It’s honestly hard to call who will win this match, which helps anticipation out in its own right.
Next: WWE Raw Review For May 21 Show
The Rowdy One’s first one-on-one match in the WWE will come against the most dominant women’s force on Monday nights and it feels bigger every time it’s being focused on.