WWE Raw is set to take place on May 4, 2020, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT live on USA with no audience in attendance.
The following will preview and predict the major matches and segments that will occur on the longest weekly running episodic television show in history, which is featuring a gauntlet match to determine who replaces the injured Apollo Crews in the Men’s MITB Ladder Match.
On this week’s episode of WWE Raw, there are five officially scheduled matches: (1) Drew McIntyre vs. Buddy Murphy, (2) Nia Jax vs. Asuka vs. Shayna Baszler, (3) Street Profits (c) vs. Viking Raiders for the Raw Tag Team Championships, and (4) Ricochet and Cedric Alexander vs. Shane Thorne and Brandon Vink, and (5) Last Chance Gauntlet Match to determine who will replace Apollo Crews and be the last qualifier for the Men’s MITB Ladder Match.
WWE Money In The Bank 2020 is approaching and there is only one Raw match that has already been announced for the event: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship. Based on the rivalries that have been teased on the last three weeks of Raw, another Raw match that could take place at WWE MITB 2020 is Street Profits (c) vs. Viking Raiders for the Raw Tag Team Championships.
With that being said, it’s now time to preview and predict this week’s WWE Raw, which happens to be the go-home show for WWE MITB 2020. To start things off, let’s predict who will win the scheduled tag team matches that could take the Raw Tag Team Division by storm: (1) Street Profits (c) vs. Viking Raiders for the Raw Tag Team Championships, and (2) Ricochet and Cedric Alexander vs. Shane Thorne and Brandon Vink.
5.) Street Profits (c) vs. Viking Raiders [Raw Tag Team Championships]
In a backstage interview three weeks ago on Raw, Bianca Belair mentioned that Street Profits have never defeated the Viking Raiders and need to do so next. Last week on Raw, Viking Raiders declared that they want the smoke and Street Profits accepted the challenge.
When the Viking Raiders were Raw Tag Team Champions, they retained the championships against The Street Profits. Thanks to 50:50 booking, the Street Profits should get a win back and retain their Raw Tag Team Championships now that the roles are reversed.
Thanks to their NXT history, it has been noted that Street Profits never win when Viking Raiders are around. Henceforth, that needs to change come this Monday on Raw if Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins plan on holding the fort as champions in the Raw Tag Team Division.
Prediction: Street Profits
4.) Ricochet and Cedric Alexander vs. Shane Thorne and Brandon Vink [Tag Match]
On last week’s Raw, Ricochet and Cedric Alexander picked up a victory against a jobber tag team. However, their post-match celebration was interrupted by MVP, who is now the manager for the new tag team of Shane Thorne and Brandon Vink.
MVP challenged Ricochet and Cedric Alexander to a tag team match for this week’s Raw. It seems that Thorne and Vink were called up from NXT to break out in the Raw Tag Team Division, but their names are not big enough to warrant a victory against the ‘2 Fly Crew.’
Prediction: Ricochet and Cedric Alexander
3.) Asuka vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Nia Jax [Triple Threat Match]
This match was originally scheduled for last week’s Raw, but it instead turned into a pure-fist brawl before the bell even rang. Henceforth, it is likely that WWE booked this brawl in order to stall this match for the go-home show this week.
Since Asuka had no chance at winning this match and Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax both had to be booked strong, it seems that Nia Jax bulldozing Asuka and Baszler with a ladder on last week’s Raw was a way to protect her before she loses the triple threat match on this week’s Raw. Evidently, she will be losing this match to Baszler.
To protect Jax in defeat, Baszler will win this triple threat match by making Asuka pass out with the Kirifuda Clutch. Since she is the betting favorite to win the Women’s MITB Ladder Match, she should win this triple threat match to maintain her dominance and get the momentum she needs en route to WWE MITB 2020.
Prediction: Shayna Baszler
2.) Drew McIntyre vs. Buddy Murphy [Grudge Match]
On last week’s Raw, Drew McIntyre exposed Seth Rollins in their WWE Championship contract signing for their upcoming championship match at WWE MITB 2020. Before McIntyre could Claymore Rollins, Buddy Murphy ran to the ring to save his leader and unfortunately became the sacrificial lamb who ate the Claymore instead.
This led the WWE to book a match between McIntyre and Rollins’ disciple, Buddy Murphy, in a match for this week’s Raw. Without a shadow of a doubt, McIntyre will simply defeat Murphy to gain momentum for his upcoming championship match with Rollins at WWE MITB 2020. Don’t be surprised if he gets Curb Stomped by Rollins after he defeats Murphy.
Prediction: Drew McIntyre
1.) Andrade vs. Angel Garza vs. Austin Theory vs. MVP vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Bobby Lashley vs. AJ Styles [Last Chance Gauntlet Match: Winner Replaces Apollo Crews in the Men’s MITB Ladder Match]
From a storyline standpoint, Andrade winning the Last Chance Gauntlet Match would make the most storyline sense out of any possible alternatives because he was the superstar who injured Apollo Crews in the first place. If Andrade replaces him, it would be a spit in the face of Crews, leave a sour taste in the WWE Universe’s mouths, and elicit the heel heat he needs as a heel United States Champion.
From a momentum standpoint, the dominant Jinder Mahal and/or Bobby Lashley would be suitable replacements because they have been defeating jobbers left and right and would need to keep their momentum going. If Mahal is the replacement, he could earn himself a WWE Championship match against his former 3MB comrade; if Lashley is the replacement, he could earn a WWE Championship match against the superstar who defeated Brock Lesnar before he did.
From a popularity standpoint, AJ Styles would be the ideal replacement for Apollo Crews in the Men’s MITB Ladder Match. Now that Styles is the new Deadman, he now has the power to dig holes and take souls, which he is justified to do in this gauntlet match if he makes a phenomenal return from his grave to WWE Raw this week.
His storyline has nothing to do with Apollo Crews but he was stuck in the mid-card before battling The Undertaker and he should remain in the main event scene after battling The Undertaker in what was a show-stealing Boneyard Match in the main event of WrestleMania: Night 1. By winning this gauntlet match, he will then earn a shot at winning the MITB contract, which would keep him in contention for main card championships in the main event scene where he belongs.
Prediction: AJ Styles