Monday Night Raw Review - July 20, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Seth Rollins def. Aleister Black

The quicker we can move on from this dumb angle with Rey Mysterio "losing an eye," the better. Rollins has been feuding with Black lately as well and actually lost to him about a month or so ago on Raw, so I had no problem with him avenging that loss here, especially with Black looking good in defeat. They worked well together once again and it was an entertaining opener. I don't think the point of Rollins' post-match attack on Black was to write him off the show, but it is absurd that no one came out to save him. He's been saving Mysterio for weeks, yet no one could bother to return the favor for Black?

Mustafa Ali, Ricochet and Cedric Alexander def. MVP, Bobby Lashley and 24/7 Champion Shelton Benjamin

I'm convinced Apollo Crews has COVID-19 considering he hasn't appeared on WWE TV in close to a month and didn't return here. Regardless of the reason, here's hoping he's okay and is back soon. Meanwhile, Ali has been gone all year long (simply because Creative had nothing for him) and it was great to see him return on the Raw brand. Time will tell if he'll get lost in the shuffle, though. This was a fun six-man tag team match and I'm all for Benjamin aligning with MVP and Lashley permanently.

Ruby Riott def. Peyton Royce

Billie Kay was not at ringside and, unless I missed something, it wasn't said where she was. I'm not complaining, but I thought it was interesting. The match itself was along the same levels as their encounter from a few weeks ago, except this time Riott won. It marked her first televised victory since February...of 2019. Yikes, indeed. That said, I'm happy WWE has finally found direction for her and it's awesome she's winning again. The Riott Squad reunion is inevitable once Liv Morgan returns from wherever she's been.

Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits def. Andrade and Angel Garza (Non-Title)

Similar to Crews, Street Profits have been off the show since last month, but I assume that's because Angelo Dawkins' wife just had a child. At any rate, this was a fast-paced affair and was enjoyable from bell to bell. I fully expected the heels to win to set up a future Raw Tag Team Championship match, but no such luck. Hey, I'm happy a pair of champions didn't lose in non-title action, but viewers are left wondering who's left for Street Profits to defend against after already beating everyone else in the division.

Stephanie McMahon Announced Asuka vs. Sasha Banks for the Raw Women's Championship Next Week

Even during a pandemic, we're still subjected to seeing Stephanie on our television screens. Granted, it's been a while since we last saw her (her quick cameo at Money in the Bank aside), but it still feels like it hasn't been long enough. In all seriousness, this played out pretty much exactly how most of us expected it to. Bayley and Banks celebrated Banks' fake title victory before The Kabuki Warriors interrupted and Stephanie announced a rematch to determine the rightful champion next week on Raw. WWE is desperate for ratings, so this development makes total sense.

Kairi Sane def. SmackDown Women's Champion and WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Bayley (Non-Title)

It was heavily rumored and reported coming into this show that this would be Sane's final night with the company (for now) before returning to Japan, but considering she won here and wasn't attacked afterward, I'm going to take a guess and say those reports weren't true. She could be leaving in the near future, but she'll definitely be appearing on at least a few more shows. It was an excellent match and I appreciated that the interference was kept to a minimum.

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre Accepted Dolph Ziggler's Challenge to a Rematch

It couldn't be more obvious that Randy Orton will be McIntyre's SummerSlam opponent, but with Orton vs. Big Show taking place on this same show, I'm not shocked WWE is continuing this feud for one more week. McIntyre was absolutely correct when he said Ziggler didn't deserve another opportunity and I honestly didn't have an issue with McIntyre accepting the challenge since Ziggler gave him the option to choose the stipulation. If it isn't that Ziggler is fired if he loses, then I don't care.

Randy Orton def. Big Show in an Unsanctioned Match

Needless to say, I have sub-zero desire to see Big Show wrestle in the main event of Raw in 2020, but between this feud being a focal point on Raw for about a month now and the fact it was advertised a week in advance, I understood why this went on last. It was far from an instant classic and I'm not exactly sure why it had to be unsanctioned if Orton didn't punt Show in the head until afterward, but on the whole, it was exactly what it needed to be with Orton dominating Show for a majority of the match and winning in decisive fashion. Next up: WWE Champion Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam.

Overall Show

The big hook coming into this show following Extreme Rules was what would happen with a few of the championships. Well, we don't yet know what's in store for McIntyre at SummerSlam (though we can assume it's Orton), Asuka vs. Banks for the Raw Women's Championship was announced for next week, and Crews is still missing in action. On the bright side, Ali is finally back, Benjamin won the 24/7 Championship (for whatever the hell that's worth), and the main event didn't overstay its welcome. Throw in the tremendous promos from Orton, Show and Christian throughout the night as well as the above-average wrestling and I'm confident in calling this a thumbs-up edition of Raw.