With a little under two weeks to go until Money in the Bank, The Miz is hosting a special edition of Miz TV with the ladder match competitors Riddle, John Morrison, Drew McIntyre, and Ricochet as his guests. That’s unlikely to end well, but Ricochet and John Morrison have a rematch from last week’s double count-out, so at least they get to work their issues out. Charlotte Flair will provide a medical update following Rhea Ripley’s chop-block last week. And The New Day face Bobby Lashley & MVP.

I’m Amanda and this is the RAW review.

Match Results

John Morrison def. Ricochet

Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Eva Marie, & Doudrop def. Nikki A.S.H., Asuka, Naomi, & Alexa Bliss

Mustafa Ali def. Mansoor

Drew McIntyre def. Jinder Mahal (DQ)

Lucha House Party def. MACE & T-BAR

Riddle def. AJ Styles

The New Day def. The Hurt Business

The Show

♦ Miz TV opened the show. The Miz’ first prediction was that his first guest, John Morrison, was going to win the Money in the Bank briefcase. Drew McIntyre was out next, the person Miz cashed in on earlier in the year. Miz brought that up. McIntyre added the context of Miz’ successful cash-in, that he’d won the Elimination Chamber match and been attacked by Bobby Lashley before Miz cashed in. As ever McIntyre had a little battle-related story, but it just a way of making ‘I’m going to win’ sound more interesting. He also threatened to shove Morrison’s head up Miz’ ass if Miz interferes on the night.

Ricochet didn’t wait for an introduction, which Miz called him rude for. Of course, they played Ricochet crossbodying Morrison off the barricade and Ricochet said that’s what he wanted to talk about. He’s still a little shook and he knows Morrison is too. But that’s just a taste of what he’s prepared to do to win. He threatened to use Miz’ wheelchair as a battering ram.

Riddle didn’t wait for an introduction either, or maybe he forgot he was supposed to. His foot was all bandaged up from kicking the steps, but he managed his leap over the ropes and flip-flop flick and climbed the ladder to say his piece. He’s dedicating his performance at MITB to Randy Orton and he’s sad he let Orton down last week.

Miz told Riddle to shut up and asked why Orton hasn’t kicked him in the skull yet – Miz asking the questions we’re all asking for once – but Riddle was confused as to why his best friend would do that. McIntyre said he respects Riddle being a good friend to Orton. Miz accused him of enabling Riddle’s idiocy.

AJ Styles and Omos arrived, uninvited. Styles thinks he was robbed of his place. Orton dropped out of the qualifier so it shouldn’t have been a triple-threat. He wasn’t pinned, so he should be in the match.

Riddle got chatty. Omos tipped him off the ladder onto his bad foot, then threw the ladder out ready for it to kick off. Styles kicked Riddle’s leg. Ricochet shoved Styles then check on Riddle. Morrison attacked Ricochet, but a reversed throw dumped him on his ass at ringside. McIntyre clotheslined Omos over the ropes as he tried to get back into the ring. Morrison got dropkicked off the apron by Ricochet. Everyone left Miz alone, except for Ricochet stealing a Dripstick and breaking it.

John Morrison vs Ricochet started after the break with Miz at ringside. Everyone else cleared out during the ads. Miz managed to get himself caught in the middle of the match when things went to the outside. Morrison fired a Dripstick past him at Ricochet but missed. Ricochet somersaulted over Miz but Morrison caught him and powerbombed him into the barricade. Miz tried to interfere later in the match with a Dripstick, but that didn’t come to anything. They both came crashing to the floor courtesy of Ricochet and I’m not entirely sure what the hell that was but it looked grim. Morrison got back in the ring, but Miz wheeled himself between Ricochet and the ring and delayed him just enough to get him counted out.

♦ Jinder Mahal arrived at the arena on a pretty red motorbike. Kevin Patrick asked him for a comment about Drew McIntyre. Mahal said they used to be close, but McIntyre is too busy for him, and he felt disrespected by him the last time he called him.

♦ Reginald spotted Alexa Bliss listening to Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax talk, but by the time he got Baszler and Jax to look, she wasn’t there. Baszler chastised him, but she was there again by the time they left for their ridiculous and pointless feud-mashup eight-woman tag match. Did they give whoever’s responsible for writing for the women’s division another week off?

Nikki Cross is now officially Nikki A.S.H but was still announced as Nikki Cross.  Naomi and Asuka were so encouraging and affirming to her… until she talked about winning the ladder match, which they’re both in. Naomi told her not to get her hopes up because she’ll be winning. Asuka said she’s going to win for the second year in a row. It got a little bit tense before Nikki heard her theme music and ran off. It got a lot tenser when Alexa Bliss arrived and said they might all want to lower their expectations of winning at Money in the Bank.

Nikki A.S.H., Alexa Bliss, Naomi, & Asuka vs Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Eva Marie, & Doudrop (I’m never going to be ok with that name. It needs to be gone) was interesting. Eva Marie tagged herself in and voluntarily faced Naomi to start things off. She smacked Naomi in the face and tagged Doudrop before Naomi could retaliate. Naomi kicked Doudrop out of the ring then launched herself onto Jax and Baszler on the outside. Doudrop took a flying hip-attack from Asuka and a flying crossbody from Nikki A.S.H. Eva Marie posed alone in the ring until Bliss appeared behind her and screamed.

Asuka found herself in the middle of a Doudrop/Jax sandwich and was in trouble for quite a while after that. Eva Marie came in for another ten-second stint when Asuka was very beaten down, but soon handed off to Jax. Jax knocked A.S.H. off the apron to reduce Asuka’s tag options, but Missed Naomi and didn’t try for Bliss. She got distracted when Bliss stared at Reginald and hypnotised him again. Baszler sorted that out, pulling Bliss off the apron and slapping Reginald.

Jax accidentally knocked Baszler off the apron and Asuka knocked Doudrop down, so Eva Marie was Jax’ only option when Jax needed a tag after her shoulder hit the post. She resisted Asuka for around twenty seconds this time before running for Baszler. Doudrop had to make the save after Baszler took a double team. Nikki A.S.H. would have pinned Baszler again Eva Marie hadn’t made one save and Jax hadn’t tagged herself in before the second attempt. Jax pulled A.S.H. away and pinned her off a Samoan drop.

Eva Marie claimed the victory under her own name. Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler looked like they were going to kill her. Reginald had to hold Jax back and Doudrop looked like she wasn’t inclined to get involved.

MVP yelled at Kevin Patrick again for entering their dressing room, then told him he changed Lashley’s rematch against Xavier Woods to a tag match because Woods doesn’t deserve to be in the ring with Lashley, and because Kofi Kingston assaulted him and disrespected Lashley. Lashley said he’s sending The New Day on a permanent vacation because he heard Kofi Kingston call him soft. They’re going to hurt him because they’re The Hurt Business and that’s what they do.

♦ Mustafa Ali vs Mansoor was framed as tough love by commentary. After throwing Mansoor out of the Battle Royal last week, Ali told him he keeps getting on at him because he doesn’t want Mansoor to end up like him. It was a good match, not long enough to be a great match. Ali got tied up in the ropes and Mansoor helped him get free. When he went to check on him, Ali rolled him up. Ali yelled at him from the ramp to stop thinking with his heart and start using his mind.

♦ Drew McIntyre told Sarah Schreiber he didn’t take Jinder Mahal’s opportunity because opportunities are earned not given. He also claimed his sword was made from a tooth of the Loch Ness Monster, retrieved via a Claymore. The monster wasn’t killed, it was her idea to make it into a sword and she predicted McIntyre winning at MITB. I think McIntyre might have been hanging out with Riddle…

Drew McIntyre vs Jinder Mahal, with Shanky and Veer, was distinctly less whimsical. They’ve come a long way since 3MB. Mahal’s boys got in McIntyre’s way on the outside, which led to McIntyre being suplexed onto the announce desk going into a break. It ended in a DQ when Veer and Shanky invaded the ring to save Mahal from a Claymore. There was a three on one beatdown including a superkick from Mahal, a ring post to the shoulder, and a Khallas to finish.

Jinder Mahal stole McIntyre’s sword on his way out.

♦ Kofi Kingston told Kevin Patrick he thinks Lashley and MVP are overcompensating for the truth bombs Kingston dropped on them last week. Xavier Woods pointed out that MVP was wrong about him not showing up for work, and he’s wrong about Kingston not defeating Bobby Lashley at Money in the Bank. Kingston said anything is possible and he’s going to prove it again at Money in the Bank.

♦ MACE & T-BAR vs Lucha House Party looked like a mismatch, and it kind of was. Lince Dorado was doing ok until T-BAR caught him and tossed him out of the ring then knocked Gran Metalik off the apron. It was all pain for Dorado after that until Metalik interrupted the double team finisher with a dropkick to MACE. He took MACE down at ringside when T-BAR threw him out of the ring. Dorado delivered a hurricanrana to T-BAR before MACE could recover and got the pin.

♦ Riddle’s foot is messed up, judging by the grimaces as he was trying to bend his toes. Damian Priest tried to warn him to be cautious in his match against Styles, so he didn’t damage his chances in the Money in the Bank match. Riddle didn’t take it in. He’s going to do what he does and finish Styles with an RKO.

Riddle couldn’t manage his normal entrance for Riddle vs AJ Styles, with Omos. The birds flew but only one flip-flop did, and he yelled in pain when he jumped over the ropes. Styles, of course, targeted Riddle’s injured leg, trying to add as much injury as possible and working the right knee as well as the foot. Riddle’s kicks form a lot of his offence, and he wasn’t stable enough to do them. He started using it anyway once the adrenaline kicked in and went with a Karate Kid approach.

Omos swept Riddle’s legs out from under him while Styles argued with the ref about being backed off from the corner. Riddle cut himself a break, grabbing the ropes as Styles went for the Phenomenal Forearm, knocking him into position for Orton’s draping DDT. He tried to follow up with Floating Bro, but Styles moved and Riddle was left in agony. He still kicked out of Styles’ next pin attempt though.

Erik and Ivar appeared on either side of Omos on the other side of the barricade. Styles got distracted for a couple of seconds and Riddle rolled him up for the win.

♦ Charlotte Flair was using a crutch to help her walk when she arrived at the ring to give a medical update. She was injured by a Rhea Ripley chop-block after last week’s match. Flair said she knows it was shocking to see her like that (damn right, that crutch looks too short) after Ripley took her out with her own move. She might miss Money in the Bank because Ripley is so scared to face her she had to try to take her out completely. She seemed most outraged that it was her playbook, but she gave Ripley credit for the strategy. It’s exactly what she would do if someone was better than her. But no one is better than her.

Ripley came out then, also with a crutch, and taking forever to get into the ring, obviously mocking Flair, but doing a decent acting job. Flair accused her of taking her entrance too when Ripley got someone to hold the ropes open. When she eventually got a mic, she said Flair’s right, she did exactly what Flair would have done and that’s what she’s doing now. She sees through her and knows she’s just being a drama queen.

They kicked each other’s crutches away. Flair took her heels off and Ripley removed the title belt and they had a crutch fight. Flair disarmed Ripley, then Ripley disarmed Flair, but Charlotte Flair rolled out of the ring before Ripley could bring a crutch down hard on her head.

♦ I would ask for an explanation of how Elias & Cedric Alexander vs Jaxson Ryker & R-Truth came about, but what would be the point. R-Truth is endlessly entertaining and he nearly got the 24/7 title back before the match. Akira Tozawa ran into the ring but kicked out of Truth’s pin. The rest of the chasing pack arrived and R-Truth ran off with them, leaving Ryker alone. That should have been it for Ryker, but Elias backed off up the ramp when Ryker demanded he tag in and Ryker pinned Alexander without taking his eyes off him.

♦ Bobby Lashley did some pull-ups before his match and stared at the camera like it stole his candy. MVP asked if that looked like a man who’d lost his edge. It looked like a man who needs a cookie.

The Hurt Business vs The New Day was the main event of the evening. Xavier Woods got to work on MVP’s knee early on and they exploited the weakness at every opportunity. Lashley came in for a while, but tagged MVP back in, who was almost immediately in trouble again. MVP had to take a moment at ringside. Lashley took a dropkick from Woods and a dive from Kingston when he came around to check on him.

Kingston kept knocking Lashley off the apron to stop him from interfering in the destruction of MVP, but the third time he did it, the distraction cost him control of the match, and MVP got to tag Lashley in. Woods had to make a save. Lashley threw him out then tagged MVP and took a Trouble in Paradise before he left the ring. Woods took him down on the outside when he did.

Before Lashley could get up, Kofi Kingston nailed MVP with Trouble in Paradise and pinned him.

Next week Ricochet and John Morrison have a Falls Count Anywhere Match. Sheamus is cleared and will defend the United States Championship against Humberto Carrillo. Erik gets Omos’ single’s debut and Ivar faces AJ Styles. NXT is hosting The Great American Bash tomorrow night. Chances are it will be excellent.