Monday Night Raw Review - May 10, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Asuka, Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke def. Charlotte Flair and WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler

Please, enough with the multi-person tag team matches! That goes for both the men and the women. It doesn't get anyone over and only emphasizes how much of a mess these divisions are. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this match and Alexa Bliss interrupting it halfway through was bizarre. At least it got her back on the show in some fashion, but I have no clue where her storyline is going. Meanwhile, Jax and Baszler losing yet again should surprise absolutely nobody given how frequently they lose despite being champions. Baszer eating the pinfall wasn't surprising, either, but it was sad. At this point, I don't care if Natalya and Tamina take the titles from them; I just want to see Baszler back on her own. She needs a hard reset in the worst way.

Jinder Mahal def. Jeff Hardy

For those wondering why WWE did this exact same angle on Main Event last week, I assume it was to test the waters with Mahal's new faction. I still don't understand why WWE put Shanky with Veer instead of Veer's original partner in Indus Sher considering how green Shanky is from what I saw of him at Superstar Spectacle. This was as dull as their encounter on Main Event because Mahal is a dreadfully boring performer. The last thing Raw needs at this point is more Jinder Mahal. Hardy has far more to offer and is booked to look like a loser. I don't get it.

Randy Orton, Riddle and The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) def. Elias, Jaxson Ryker and Raw Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Omos

Behold, another multi-person tag team match. Ugh. On the bright side, Raw is growing its tag team division, so there's that. This was fun for what it was and I continue to dig the chemistry that Riddle and Orton have together. I assume Orton attacking New Day afterward means we're getting Orton and Riddle against them next week. I could see them getting a shot at the Raw Tag Team Championship soon only for Orton to turn on Riddle as we all expect him to.

United States Champion Sheamus def. Humberto Carrillo by Referee Stoppage (Non-Title)

This wasn't for the title, but I assume Carrillo would have gotten a title shot had he won. I've enjoyed his mini-push in recent weeks, but I knew it wasn't meant to last. I think fans forget that Carrillo is really good and I was happy he had the chance to showcase his skills before the finish. Carrillo was definitely hurt on that sunset flip, so hopefully he's okay. It looked rough. I wouldn't be opposed to them running this back at some point because they were just picking up the pace when it ended abruptly.

Shelton Benjamin def. Cedric Alexander

Alexander dumped Benjamin as his partner last week and Benjamin cut a great promo backstage afterward. I figured that was it for him, so the fact he won here was pleasantly surprising. Granted, it was over Alexander and not a huge name, so it's still possible they'll wind up on Main Event within a month. Either way, this was a fun sprint. I hope we see more matches from them as they have strong chemistry together.

Raw Women's Champion Rhea Ripley def. Asuka (Non-Title)

I hate when people pull double duty on the show for no reason. Either pull Asuka from the six-woman tag team match earlier or don't do this match. That said, this was quite good and much better than their WrestleMania match on the post-WrestleMania Raw. Asuka had the excuse of wrestling at the start of the show, so I was happy that she lost clean here. Flair's presence at ringside was distracting, but this was a quality contest otherwise.

Damian Priest def. John Morrison

Didn't Priest just beat Morrison last week? I guess the idea is that The Miz accidentally cost him that win, so Morrison had another here. Okay then. The stipulation was that the winner would get to pick the stipulation for Miz vs. Priest at WrestleMania Backlash (why are we running that back again?!). It was a well-wrestled affair, but I've reached a point where I'm ready to see Miz and Morrison split up. They've been so badly booked that nothing can be gained from them staying a team. As for Priest, it's high time he move on to bigger and better things.

Drew McIntyre def. WWE Champion Bobby Lashley by Disqualification (Non-Title)

These two have worked well together over the years and have had above-average matches every single time. I was worried that Lashley would lose by pinfall here because of how this was built up throughout the night, so I actually wasn't disappointed by the non-finish. The match itself was enjoyable and they had plenty of time to work with. Strowman standing tall to close the show was crucial considering how he's the least likely to walk away with the title on Sunday. It was smart to make him look like a threat now because I can almost guarantee he's eating the pin in that Triple Threat.

Overall Show

This was far from a great show, but it was a slight improvement over recent weeks. It feels like they're at least making an attempt to switch things up by bringing people back (Eva Marie, Jinder Mahal) or up from NXT (Mansoor, Sheer and Vanky). At the end of the day, it all comes down to the creative as it's still struggling in almost every division. I will say that Riddle and Orton have had my attention and Sheamus as U.S. champ has potential. We're seeing a lot of the same matches and few characters actually matter, but there were at least some quality matches on this edition of Raw. We can only hope the quality of the show can continue to improve post-WrestleMania Backlash, but seeing is believing.