The May 11 episode of WWE Raw was filled with memorable moments, but who were the show’s biggest winners?
There hasn’t been a more action-packed WWE Raw in quite some time, as the May 11 iteration of the promotion’s flagship show featured several headline-grabbing items.
But nothing mattered more than Becky Lynch’s announcement that she’s stepping away from wrestling to be a mother, relinquishing the Raw Women’s Championship to her great rival Asuka.
Elsewhere, the IIconics returned, a SmackDown star will have a title opportunity on WWE Raw, and Randy Orton laid down a challenge for Backlash.
Here were the show’s five biggest winners.
Asuka
Becky Lynch will be the biggest winner from a non-wrestling perspective, but solely focusing on the show, nobody emerged from WWE Raw this week in a better situation than Asuka.
The Empress of Tomorrow’s Money in the Bank victory was incredibly well-received by wrestling fans, and she is now fully a babyface after her heartwarming reaction to Becky revealing she will be a mother. (Unlike Shayna Baszler’s awful, heartless comments about Becky and even Natalya.)
Watching Asuka run around with the championship in celebration was a sight to behold, and it was only topped by watching her and a returning Kairi Sane rejoice together backstage. It’s going to be great watching Asuka as a champion, as much as we’ll miss Becky owning Monday nights.
Drew McIntyre
Not but 24 hours after defeating Seth Rollins in an incredible WWE Title defense at Money in the Bank, Drew McIntyre decided to step into the ring with an old rival in Andrade. Recall that Andrade not only defeated McIntyre for the NXT Championship in 2017, but he also injured McIntyre in that same match.
McIntyre took issue with how Andrade and Angel Garza were bullying the babyfaces and making a mockery of WWE Raw. So he decided to step in and challenge Andrade to get physical with him.
The United States Champion earned an absolute beating for his actions. McIntyre may have been worn down from his excellent match with Rollins, but he still bossed around Andrade in what was a strong match.
I particularly enjoyed watching Zelina Vega’s fearful reactions whenever McIntyre started throwing around her top client. McIntyre is an absolute menace right now as WWE Champion, and I mean that in the best way possible. We are watching the beginnings of a special reign.
And next week, he gets to destroy former “teammate” King Corbin. Who won’t love watching that? Nobody particularly likes the King, and he’s definitely earned a beating after attempting to murder Aleister Black and Rey Mysterio at Money in the Bank.
Seth Rollins
Where do we begin with this one? If Becky Lynch made the biggest announcement on the show and Randy Orton and Edge took the main event slot, Seth Rollins had the most eventful night in terms of what’s next.
Rollins received congratulations from Rey Mysterio, who gave Seth some kind words about the meaningfulness of fatherhood and offered to shake his hand. Instead of shaking Rey’s hand, Rollins stood there angrily, staring forward and snubbing the WWE legend.
The handshake snub was significant, because Rollins surprised fans when he shook Drew McIntyre’s hand after their grueling match at Money in the Bank.
But instead of becoming more respectful or being changed by fatherhood – as The Miz once claimed to be – Rollins absolutely lost his mind. In his tag match with Murphy, he did nothing. He stood there looking deranged, his hair all out of place as he did not even react to Murphy asking for help.
Suddenly, when Rollins was struck, he sprung into. action and committed an incredibly heinous act, stabbing Rey Mysterio in the freaking eye with the steel steps. And he did this for a good 30 seconds, relishing in Mysterio’s agony.
Afterward, Rollins seemed to want to apologize to Mysterio, but how can he act like he didn’t know what he did? Is he possessed? Has false prophethood fully turned him into a lost soul?
We’re eager to find out what’s next for Seth Rollins on WWE Raw, because he is in an emotional crisis after another big loss, Becky’s announcement, and his own general delusions of grandeur. He needs to come back to earth fast, but will that happen?
The IIconics
We hadn’t seen The IIconics, Peyton Royce and Billie Kay, on WWE television since November when they lost in a tag team match to Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. We were all wondering when they would reappear, and there were rumors of either a repackaging or a move back to NXT a la Finn Balor.
However, the IIconics made their return on the episode of WWE Raw after Money in the Bank and did so in as annoying of a manner as possible. And that’s great.
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, who won the Women’s Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 36 against Kairi Sane and Asuka, were giving their congratulations to Becky Lynch. Cross’ comments, of course, sounded a lot more heartfelt.
But the IIconics interrupted, said motherhood was no big deal, and immediately made it clear they were going after the Women’s Tag Titles after being away for several months.
This interaction led to a match that Kay and Royce won, with an impassioned Samoa Joe on commentary declaring that they should be the champions. But this was a “non-title” match, even if WWE doesn’t want to use that exact phrase.
It’s great to see the IIconics back, and they can help bring some more momentum to the Women’s Tag Team Division, which can become the best thing about a show in a moment’s notice. Since the titles can still be defended on all brands, there are so many possibilities for WWE to take advantage of.
Randy Orton
Although Edge was the one announced to address fans after his big win over Randy Orton at WrestleMania 36, it was The Viper who made the more significant announcement.
At first, Orton came out to congratulate Edge on his victory and state that he was the better man. But as Orton walked back up the ramp after delivering that surprising message, something was clearly eating at him. He dashed back into the ring and angrily told The Rated R Superstar that he owed his former tag team partner the truth.
Orton doesn’t think Edge can wrestle. That’s basically it. He believes Edge skated by in the Royal Rumble. And while he did admit Edge was the better man at WrestleMania, he noted that a Last Man Standing match isn’t a wrestling match.
After nearly a decade away, Orton wants to see Edge wrestle. He doesn’t think he still has it.
And now, they have a “wrestling” match set for Backlash on June 14.
Forget Charly Caruso’s line about this being potentially the best wrestling match of all-time. It won’t be, unless you are a chinlock enthusiast.
But it should be excellent in its own way, given the history between these two men.
Orton got exactly what he wanted with this challenge, too. Once again, he found the right way to get under someone else’s skin and found a weakness to coerce Edge into giving him one more match. Their rivalry should have been done with at WrestleMania with that all-out Last Man Standing match, but, now, Orton has one more shot to prove he’s better than Edge.
Unfortunately for him, he’s only setting himself up for disappointment. For now, though, he’s a winner for getting this challenge off to close the show.