Monday Night Raw Review - May 24, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Drew McIntyre and The New Day Interrupted WWE Champion Bobby Lashley and MVP; McIntyre vs. Kofi Kingston in a WWE Championship No. 1 Contender's Match Ended in a No Contest

When I saw Lashley walk out with the women to start the show, I honestly thought I was watching a rerun of last week's Raw. I don't know if that part of the segment was necessary, but it was solid otherwise in setting up the subsequent number one contender's match between McIntyre and Kingston, which was very good. They killed a ton of time, but the non-finish was lousy. Obviously, the idea was to keep viewers hanging and make them want to see what the decision would be, but I don't blame anyone for being bothered by it. We found out later there will be a rematch next week to determine Lashley's Hell in a Cell opponent and if Lashley or MVP interfere, Lashley will suspended for 90 days.

Nikki Cross def. Raw Women's Champion Rhea Ripley in a Beat the Clock Challenge (Non-Title)

Cross originally challenged Charlotte, but Charlotte said she couldn't because she was already facing Asuka on this show, and even if she wasn't, she claimed she could beat her in under two minutes. That led to Ripely taking up Cross on her challenge instead, hence why this was a Beat the Clock Challenge match. It was almost impossible for this to be what it could have been due to being only two minutes long, but they told the story that Ripley couldn't get the job done in the allotted time. I don't see how this does much to benefit Cross, but hey, at least she got television time for once and wasn't quickly squashed.

Charlotte Flair def. Asuka

Although I'd put their match last week slightly above this encounter, this was still the usual quality work from Flair and Asuka. Asuka did a nice job of selling the knee and, like McIntyre and Kingston, they did an effective job of filling a bunch of television time, but they've had so many matches against each other that it's difficult to get invested at this point. Flair avenged her loss to Asuka last week as we all expected her to and now she'll likely be next in line for a one-on-one shot at Ripley's Raw Women's Championship.

Cedric Alexander def. Shelton Benjamin

The video package that preceded the match recapping their rivalry dating back to when Alexander joined The Hurt Business back in September was a pleasant surprise. Alexander getting some mic time beforehand was also appreciated, even though his promo wasn't very good. They had an energetic sprint that was given the time it deserved. Alexander winning probably puts this rivalry to rest, which means back to Main Event duty for Shelton Benjamin most likely. 

Riddle def. Xavier Woods

This followed the theme on this show of matches getting more time than I'd expect them to, and I'm not complaining because this was very well-wrestled. I think of lot of people tend to either forget or just don't know that Woods is as talented as he is. He's not the "third wheel" of New Day people paint him out to be. He and Riddle had terrific chemistry together, and although the outcome was never in doubt for me, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Riddle winning with an RKO was a nice touch and I appreciated that they went at it alone without Kingston and Randy Orton at ringside.

Jaxson Ryker def. Raw Tag Team Champion AJ Styles

I guess Styles and Omos are the babyfaces by default in this feud with Elias and Ryker. There was no official turn, mind you, much like with Natalya and Tamina. That's just lazy writing. I couldn't care less about Elias and Ryker, and Ryker beating Styles here (which is blasphemous) did nothing to change that. Styles attempted to carry Ryker here, but the match was whatever. The most impressive part of this entire segment was Omos chasing after Elias and Ryker afterward. The guy's got speed!

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

The last match these guys had two weeks ago on Raw had to be stopped due to an injury sustained by Carrillo, so I'm glad they had a chance to run it back here and that their feud wasn't forgotten about. Multiple matches got an ample amount of time on this show and I wish this was one of them as it was fairly brief. What we got was fun and fast-paced, but I was hoping they'd go all out here. On the bright side, Sheamus cheating to win and Carrillo getting one over on Sheamus means their rivalry isn't over yet. Ricochet went after Sheamus also, which makes less sense because Sheamus defeated him decisively twice last week. Ricochet just comes off like a sore loser who doesn't deserve another opportunity.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Natalya and Tamina def. Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler

I was stunned (and feared the worst) when I realized this was going on last. I haven't particularly cared about any of the matches these teams have had against each other, but to their credit, this was perfectly passable. There was nothing wrong with the match itself, but the ongoing drama with Baszler and Reginald isn't entertaining or interesting to me. Maybe it'll lead to Baszler becoming a destroyer again starting next week when she faces Reginald, but seeing is believing because she has been booked terribly on the main roster so far. If nothing else, the Alexa Bliss and Lily shenanigans were kept to a minimum this week with only fire blasting up from the stage when Reginald was walking to the back. We didn't see or hear from them otherwise.

Overall Show

I understand this isn't saying much, but this was definitely one of the better edition of Raw I've seen in 2021. It was very wrestling-heavy with plenty of above-average matches. Of course, you can't do that every week, but it worked for this week as I found it to be a refreshing change of pace. There weren't many backstage segments or any stupid silliness at all (Reginald crap aside), so that instantly added to my enjoyment of the episode. The ending was anticlimactic, but mostly everything else served a purpose and filled the three hours better than usual. Time will tell if WWE will follow this formula more often and they'll actually make the necessary changes to improve the show, or if this was merely a one-off.