After an amazing SmackDown and Money In The Bank, it was time for Monday Night RAW to return to live crowds once again, with the show having a big job in following up SmackDown and Money In The Bank as RAW somewhat delivered in some parts and dropped the ball in other parts in what was a very weird show with lots of ups and down, making it feel like a roller coaster ride at some points, with Karrion Kross’s strange RAW debut being a big example of this. However, as always I am here to look at the good and ignore the bad and the ugly as I once again bring you the top 5 moments from Monday Night RAW this week.

5. Drew McIntyre sends a message to Jinder Mahal and destroys Shanky with a steel chair  

After Jinder Mahal cost Drew McIntyre the Money In The Bank ladder match, revenge would be on the mind of Drew McIntyre. Jinder Mahal would explain his actions at Money In The Bank talking about how Drew McIntyre destroyed his motorcycle, Jinder then talked about the fact that Drew McIntyre can no longer challenge for the WWE Championship as long as Bobby Lashley is the WWE Champion. Jinder asked Shanky to sing happy birthday to him with Shanky following Jinder’s order only for a furious Drew McIntyre to appear behind the trio with a steel chair.

Drew then took out Jinder Mahal from behind with the steel chair and then took out Veer with a steel chair, forcing both men to retreat. Drew would become unhinged as he took out Shanky and then began to hit Shanky with numerous chair shots as the crowd counted with Drew hitting over 20 chair shots on Shanky and then throwing the steel chair outside the ring, nearly taking out the commentators in the process as he stared down Jinder Mahal, sending him a message in a great segment.

While this segment was basic, it did a great job in making Drew unhinged, hopefully, we see more of this side from McIntyre as his recent storytime promos have felt off and as a result of his recent booking he has started to feel like a generic babyface forcing fans to turn away from Drew. If WWE continues to show the unhinged side of Drew like they did in 2020 it may allow fans to support McIntyre once again especially if they don’t force him in the main event picture too soon.

4. Sheamus take on Humberto Carrillo in a United States Championship rematch 

Humberto Carrillo would get one last chance at Sheamus this week on RAW as both men battled yet again for The United States Championship. Despite the match feeling dull due to it being another generic rematch, both men managed to put on a great match in front of the Texas crowd and just did enough to earn a place on the top 5 list this week. Humberto Carrillo caught Sheamus off guard early in the match, hitting the Celtic Warrior with a crossbody early in the match for a nearfall. However, Sheamus was able to regain the upper hand over Humberto Carrillo using his brutal strikes to take down the challenger.

Late in the match, Humberto Carrillo hit a dropkick from the top rope to take out Sheamus and get a close nearfall. Both men traded strikes in the middle of the ring but things would go downhill for Humberto Carrillo as he tried to hit the United States Champion in the face, only to hurt his hand after he hit the mask of Sheamus. Sheamus then moved back and hit the Brogue Kick to finally put down Humberto Carrillo.

While this match was hurt by it, being another rematch both men did a great job in delivering in front of a live crowd. With Damian Priest most likely next in line for a shot at the United States Championship, hopefully, we see a decent build towards SummerSlam if we see a match between Sheamus and Priest.

3. Riddle and The Viking Raiders face off against Omos, John Morrison and AJ Styles  

The Viking Raiders would get a chance for payback against the Raw Tag Team Champions, Omos and AJ Styles, as both teams took on each other with John Morrison and Riddle joining in to make it a 6 man tag team match. Early in the match, both teams went back and forth as the match started in chaos with things escalating, until Omos helped AJ Styles take out everyone when he helped launch AJ out of the ring and into the wrestlers below.

The 3 heels would control The Viking Raiders and Riddle throughout the match, however, things would go downhill for the heels when Morrison missed Starship Pain on Ivar. As Morrison tried to recover, Riddle sprayed the back of Omos with the drip stick and made Miz look guilty. Miz tried backing away from Omos, allowing The Viking Raiders to capitalize on the distraction, hitting John Morrison with The Viking Experience for the win.

This was a fun little opening match, while it was nothing special it was still fun to watch and a great way to follow up John Cena’s opening promo. With Randy Orton, most likely returning before SummerSlam there is a good chance we will see RK-Bro take on AJ Styles and Omos for the RAW Tag Team Titles at SummerSlam in what is sure to be a great match. Honestly, I would love to see Riddle and Orton win tag team gold down the line as they have been entertaining to watch thus far and will defiantly be helped with the return of live crowds.

2. Keith Lee and Goldberg return to shock the All-Mighty WWE Champion, Bobby Lashley  

During the night, MVP and the All-Mighty WWE Champion, Bobby Lashley came out and addressed Lashley’s dominating win over Kofi Kingston at Money In The Bank, with MVP explaining that Kofi saying that Lashley became soft, lit a fire under inside the All-Mighty WWE Champion, with MVP getting heel heat during the promo by poking fun at the Dallas Cowboys. Lashley would then call out anyone on the roster in an open challenge. While the fans in the audience started a “Goldberg” chant, due to the recent rumours about Goldberg returning yet again to take on Lashley at SummerSlam for the WWE Championship, these chants would be silenced as Keith Lee’s theme music hit with Lee making his big return, answering Bobby Lashley’s open challenge.

Keith Lee waste no time in showcasing his well-known agility hitting a crossbody on the All-Mighty early in the match. Lee attempted to follow it up with a Spirt bomb but Lashey managed to escape and takedown Lee. In a surprising turn of events, Lashley began to dominate Lee throughout the match, with Lee getting little offence in against the WWE Champion. While late in the match, Lee was able to escape the Hurt Lock due to his sheer size, Lashley dropped the big man and then got into position to hit a spear on Lashley defeating Lee with relative ease which felt surprising and somewhat disappointing. After the match, the rumour of Goldberg returning would be true as the WWE Hall Of Famer’s music hit as Goldberg made his entrance. Goldberg wasted no time in making his intentions known to the fans and Bobby Lashley as he laughed in the WWE Champion’s face telling Lashley he was next. Lashley looked ready for the challenge as he wanted to fight Goldberg but MVP would hold back the All-Mighty. Later in the night MVP and Bobby Lashley would be asked about Goldberg’s appearance and challenge to Bobby Lashley, but MVP would shut things down telling the interviewer, Kevin Patrick that what Goldberg did was disrespectful and he was not going to dignify Goldberg’s actions with a response.

This was a perfect example of 1 step forward, 2 steps back and one step in no direction. While it was great to see Keith Lee return, with Lee getting a massive pop the excitement felt short-lived when Lashley beat Lee with relative ease. Hopefully, this isn’t a sign of things to come and WWE have a plan for Lee now that he is back. As for Goldberg returning, I have mixed feelings. While I would love to see a newer talent take on Lashley for the WWE Championship, I honestly really enjoyed Goldberg’s match with Drew Mcintyre at the Royal Rumble earlier this year, mainly because I had my heart in my mouth, hoping Drew Mcintyre would beat Goldberg and I was really excited when Goldberg lost to Mcintyre. While it did hurt to see Lee lose in the manner he did, it was still great to see Lee return after being gone for months and Goldberg returning got a good pop, despite all the online criticism.

1. John Cena opens RAW and makes his future intentions known  

Love him or hate him, there is no denying that John Cena can work a live crowd, with his opening promo on RAW this week, being yet another example of Cena’s live promo work. After Cena made his entrance for huge pop, he would address how excited he was to be back, hyping up the live crowd as he talked about his return at Money In The Bank on Sunday. Cena told fans that they were a part of the reason why he was back but also told fans that he was back because of one man, Roman Reigns, calling out the Universal Champion for a match at SummerSlam for the Universal Championship.

Cena told fans, that he was not interested in the prestige of a SummerSlam main event or because of a record-breaking 17-time championship win, he wanted Roman because Roman is an a–hole. Cena stated that the Roman Reigns experience has dragged on for far enough as he told fans that Reigns was arrogant, self-absorbed, over-hyped, over-protected, over-exposed gimmick who’s not as over as he says he is with Cena telling the fans and Roman Reigns that he was going to be on SmackDown to confront The Head Of The Table. Just as Cena was about to make his exit, Riddle came out and both men had an odd but fun little moment saying bro to each other as Riddle got ready for his 6-man tag match against Omos, AJ Styles and John Morrison.

This was a great opening segment, proving that RAW is capable of putting together promos to open the show that doesn’t make fans lose interest. Putting Cena on RAW was a cheap but effective way in boosting ratings and did a great job in hyping fans for SmackDown when Roman Reigns and Cena finally come face to face.

These were my Top 5 moments from this week’s edition of Monday Night RAW. What were your top 5 moments and what did you think of the strange debut of the NXT Champion Karrion Kross, losing to Jeff Hardy? Let us know in the comment section down below.