Money in the Bank is over and the briefcases were won by Asuka and Otis (you can read the full review here). The preview for tonight’s show has little to do with PPV fallout though. Becky Lynch was set to confront the winner of the briefcase tonight but, while that is still on the preview, she is now set to make a ‘major announcement’. The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders will be continuing their rivalry in some unspecified way. And Edge will be hunting RAW for Randy Orton, so presumably, Orton will be around as well.

I’m Amanda and this is the RAW review.

Match Results

Bobby Lashley def. Humberto Carrillo

Angel Garza def. Akira Tozawa

Drew McIntyre def. Andrade

The IIconics def. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross

R-Truth, Cedric Alexander & Ricochet def. MVP, Shane Thorne & Brendan Vink

Rey Mysterio & Aleister Black def. Seth Rollins & Murphy (DQ)

Shayna Baszler def. Natalya

The Show

The show began with highlights of the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Commentary reassured us that Rey Mysterio and Aleister Black survived being thrown off the roof, and they’re in action tonight, teaming against Seth Rollins & Murphy. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross are visiting as well, hosting A Moment of Bliss.

♦ Becky Lynch opened the show proper, carrying a Money in the Bank Briefcase, but not her title. She was crying before she started talking and said she’s torn between joy and sadness because she’s in a place in her life where things are about to change, and she needed to do something about it. She asked the decision-makers to raise the stakes for the ladder match and they did just that, but she had other things to say before she got to why. She talked about her journey in WWE since 2013, the support of the fans and how much it means to her.

She said she has to go away for a while, but that was as far as she got before Asuka came to join her and yelled at her for having the briefcase. Lynch said the briefcase is Asuka’s, that’s true. Asuka has beaten her when no one else could and been the best wrestler in the world for a long time, and that’s why she’s so glad this is happening to her. The match last night wasn’t for an opportunity it was for so much more. She knows Asuka hasn’t been able to get into the briefcase but she has the combination, and opened the case to reveal the title belt inside it. Asuka is the RAW Women’s Champion.

Asuka took the belt and ran off to celebrate on the commentary desk, while Becky Lynch sobbed in the ring until she started laughing at Asuka’s antics. She came back to the ring for Lynch to tell her that as happy as Asuka was to be champion, she might just be a little bit happier, ‘You go and be a Warrior ‘cause I’m going to go and be a mother.’ Asuka got really excited for her, which made her cry again. They hugged and she left in tears so Asuka could celebrate.

Huge congratulations to Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins.

Becky Lynch had her backstage interview hijacked so she could be congratulated by about half the locker room. Seth Rollins was not there. It obviously doesn’t fit with his current character, but they could have given us one quick out of character moment.

♦ Bobby Lashley vs Humberto Carrillo was the first match. It was a no disqualification match, which suits Bobby Lashley’s recent ruthlessness. Not a bad match to get things underway. Lashley made Carrillo tap to get the win.

♦ Street Profits challenged The Viking Raiders to 2 on 2 basketball. Ford and Dawkins made the challenge after Erik said anything they could do he and Ivar could do better. The Viking Raiders were baffled by the choice of activity, but it will happen later in the show.

♦ Asuka had a very smiley backstage interview. Kairi Sane came to celebrate with her, but not a lot was actually said.

♦ There is tension in Zelina Vega’s stable. Andrade, Angel Garza, and Austin Theory were shown arguing backstage before Angel Garza vs Akira Tozawa. It seems that Garza and Andrade have a problem with Theory. Anyway, Garza won the match with a Wing Clipper without too much trouble and paused while he had Tozawa in position to get a little dig in at Theory.

Vega’s trio started arguing again after the match. Drew McIntyre came to the ring, which briefly united them, until McIntyre Claymored Theory and the other two laughed. The laughter stopped when Garza took a Claymore as well, and McIntyre challenged Andrade to a match.

Drew McIntyre vs Andrade happened after a break. Andrade got sneaky by crawling under the ring then grabbing McIntyre’s hand and pulling him into the apron when he tried to pull him out. They spent a lot of the match on the outside, making use of the barricades and edge of the ring, but it finished in the ring with a Claymore.

After the match, McIntyre said he hadn’t come out to have a match, he wanted to say a few things. First, he talked about his title defence. Rollins brought it but he’s still the champion. Second, the Brand to Brand Invitation. RAW invited a SmackDown superstar, and they accepted and chose McIntyre as their opponent. He gave a few clues as to who it might be then revealed that next week it will be Drew McIntyre versus King Corbin. McIntyre will have a Claymore fit for a king, ready and waiting.

♦ MVP spoke to Bobby Lashley backstage. He asked Lashley why he’s fighting Humberto Carrillo instead of going for a title and pointing out that Lashley’s career is stalled. He’s looking for a management opportunity. That became clearer when he passed Lana and called her ‘another cage keeping Lashley locked down’. Unsurprisingly she screamed at him. A lot.

♦ A Moment of Bliss started with talking about Becky Lynch and with Nikki Cross wishing all the mothers a happy belated Mothers’ day. The IIconics arrived before they could be introduced. Bliss got on their bad side immediately by pointing out their big return had been upstaged by an unborn baby. Peyton Royce and Billie Kay got upset and demanded a title match. Bliss and Cross told them that wasn’t how it worked, so they downgraded it to a non-title match.

Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs The IIconics was fun. Commentary mentioned that Royce and Kay have been gone seven months, but not why. They’re back now though, I guess that’s what matters. They won this one after Kay punched Bliss in the throat when the ref wasn’t looking, allowing her and Royce to double team her for the win.

It was later announced that Bliss and Cross will defend their titles against The IIconics next week.

♦ Rey Mysterio said he saw his life flash before his eyes when Baron Corbin threw him off the roof, but he only fell about six feet. Rollins interrupted the interview after Mysterio had finished talking about Money in the Bank. Mysterio said ‘May the best team win’ and congratulated Rollins on his impending fatherhood. Rollins just looked at him and walked away.

♦ R-Truth, Cedric Alexander & Ricochet vs Shane Thorne, Brendan Vink & MVP was entertaining. Truth has an alter-ego now, his ‘cross-eyed, wild-toothed, cousin pretty Ricky’, who joined the match. Honestly, there is very little that wouldn’t be made more entertaining by the addition of R-Truth, but he didn’t stop Cedric Alexander getting his ass kicked for much of the match. Eventually, Truth got his hands on MVP and picked up the win for his team.

Post-match, Bobby Lashley stormed to the ring and speared R-Truth then helped MVP knock him out. They left together.

♦ Jinder Mahal spoke to Charly Caruso backstage. Mahal is glad to be back and glad to see Drew McIntyre as Champion. He wants to be celebrated by the WWE Universe, just like McIntyre, so his journey back to the top will be a hero’s journey.

♦ Shayna Baszler had a slightly different take on Becky Lynch’s pregnancy. She asked how stupid you have to be to get knocked up when you’re the champion and accused her of throwing her career away. She also said the kid is going to suck, citing the father’s identity as evidence.

♦ The Undertaker has a five-part documentary out on WWE Network. The second part is out on Sunday. I caught some of the first part last night and it was excellent. Taker has had an incredible career, and from what I saw, it’s going to be an unmissable show.

AJ Styles was watching the trailer with popcorn. When it was over, he threw the popcorn at the screen. Adding that to his reaction to Undertaker themed bits of last night’s ladder match, Styles still has some stuff to work through after being buried alive at WrestleMania.

♦ We got to see Vince McMahon hugging Becky Lynch, and them laughing and chatting. There seems to be a lot of genuine joy about Lynch’s announcement, which speaks volumes about what a lovely person she’s reported to be.

♦ Rey Mysterio & Aleister Black vs Seth Rollins & Murphy was odd. Rollins looks like a broken man after losing to McIntyre last night. Murphy looked worried as Rollins just stood on the apron, hands on the ropes, staring into the middle distance. He ignored Murphy’s request for a tag, so Murphy powered on alone. Several times during the match, Murphy tried to get Rollins’ attention, but to no avail. Rollins’ expression never changed whether Murphy was in control or flat on his back. He looked at Aleister Black when Black ended up a few inches from him, but didn’t move. Rey Mysterio moved him, by elbowing him off the apron.

That was the catalyst. When Mysterio went for the 619 on Murphy, Rollins caught him and slammed him onto the floor, earning himself a surprising disqualification, then started a brutal beatdown including injuring Mysterio’s eye. When Murphy tired to get involved, Rollins ordered him to stay back. Seth Rollins pushed the point of the steel steps into Rey Mysterio’s eye and finally left as medics arrived to tend to him.

In the medics’ office, after a break, Rey Mysterio was being looked at, his eye obviously bloodied. Rollins came in trying to apologise. The medics get him away, Aleister Black brawled with Murphy, and Rollins wandered off in the direction they’d taken Mysterio.

♦ The warm-up for the Street Profits vs Viking Raiders basketball did not look good for the Viking Raiders. Ivar did work out that the ball was supposed to go through the hoop, but making it happen didn’t look likely.

The game itself didn’t go any better, but it was funny. It finished with Erik and Ivar chanting ‘We Won’ after losing 74-2.

After a break The Viking Raiders revealed they let Ford and Dawkins win, then proved it by making basket after basket, flawlessly.

♦ Natalya told Baszler it made he look bad to disrespect the miracle of motherhood. Baszler asked Natalya what she knows about motherhood, because they both know the Hart Dynasty dies with her.

There’s a line with these things. For me, that crossed it.

Shayna Baszler vs Natalya lasted longer than I thought it would, but the result was the inevitable Baszler win. She has to be the most logical challenger for Asuka now Lynch is out of the picture. Natalya had a tantrum in the ring after Baszler left.

♦ King Corbin appeared for an interview with Charly Caruso about the Money in the Bank Ladder match and his upcoming match against Drew McIntyre. He’s taking credit for making McIntyre into a star… we’ll see how that goes for him next week.

♦ Edge said he made his comeback to retire on his terms, but WrestleMania was not the end for Edge. WWE were mistaken about why he’s there this week. He’s not hunting Randy Orton, he got his pound of flesh and he’s ready to move on.

Randy Orton arrived at that point and said he was there to say one thing, ‘Congratulations. At WrestleMania, the better man won’. Then he left, or at least he got halfway up the ramp and came back. He said he tried to be the bigger man but he can’t. ‘It is true that the better man won at WrestleMania, but the better wrestler didn’t’. In a rambling kind of way, he pointed out Edge hasn’t had a traditional wrestling match since his return and suggested he doesn’t have it in him anymore. He goaded and cajoled him into facing him in a straight-up wrestling match at BackLash. Edge didn’t answer, even when prompted to by Charly Caruso. The show went off air with the question unanswered.

Becky Lynch is a big loss for RAW. She’s been arguably the most consistent draw in the company for a long time. How the rest of the women’s division shifts to fill the gap left by her absence will be interesting, but the title is in good hands. Asuka now joins Bayley in having held every title available to her in WWE. Elsewhere in the show, there’s a lot of filler and a sense of treading water while they work with what’s available within the restrictions. I hope the people who have stepped up during this time aren’t overlooked when everything is back on track.