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WWE Backlash is approaching quickly on June 14, so management is working hard to make sure every feud is set for the pay-per-view.
This week's show featured WWE champion Drew McIntyre appearing on "The VIP Lounge" with MVP to discuss his new feud with Bobby Lashley.
We also saw Andrade defend the United States Championship against Apollo Crews, and a No. 1 Contender's match was held with Nia Jax, Natalya and Charlotte Flair fighting for a shot at Asuka's Raw women's title.
Rob Gronkowski returned to Raw this week for a special interview, and Ric Flair previewed the match between Randy Orton and Edge.
Let's look at what went down on Monday's show.
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The show opened with a Memorial Day video package before we saw several NXT Superstars around the ring where the crowd would usually be. Many of them were Performance Center recruits who have yet to debut on television like Simone Johnson, daughter of Dwayne Johnson.
Kevin Owens came to the ring for "The KO Show" and welcomed all of the NXT stars who he said are the future of WWE, especially those wearing his shirt.
He welcomed Asuka to the ring as his guest, and she chanted Becky Lynch's name as she made her entrance. KO eventually played a clip of Jax destroying The Kabuki Warriors last week.
Charlotte came down and said she should have been handed the Raw women's title because she has beaten Asuka every time they have ever fought. This is when Natalya joined the party. She apologized for wrecking KO's set last week.
Owens was smart to leave the ring before this turned into a huge brawl with all four women. Asuka ended up being the last one standing.
Grade: C+
Analysis
WWE finally took AEW's lead and put some wrestlers around the ring to make some noise, and it completely changed the atmosphere of the show.
The rest of the segment was a series of entrances and short promos. We all knew this was going to turn into a brawl before it even started. It was a standard hype segment for a match happening later in the show.
Predictability aside, everyone played their part. Owens is always funny, and having a small crowd helped him by offering reactions to everything he said.
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Crews gave a quick interview before coming out to challenge Andrade for the United States Championship. Zelina Vega was there but Angel Garza was watching from the back.
They started with a quick pace as Crews took the early lead and kept Andrade on the defensive. He picked up the first near fall with a nice vertical suplex.
El Idolo leveled him with a spinning elbow to turn the tables. Crews nailed a kick that ended up sending Andrade into Vega on the apron, sending her crashing to the floor as the show cut to a break.
We returned to see Andrade back in the driver’s seat. He dished out as much punishment as he could, but Crews kept finding ways to kick out.
After a press slam, a standing moonsault and a standing shooting star press, Crews covered him for the win to become the new U.S. champion.
Grade: A-
Analysis
This was a great match from two of the best athletes on the roster. Andrade looked just as good as he always does, but it was Crews who really stood out.
He came into this knowing he had to impress everyone to win his first singles title in WWE. He did not disappoint one bit. This was the performance he needed to have in order to prove to himself that he belongs here.
His post-match interview was filled with genuine emotion as he celebrated his 11-year journey to this point in his career.
Having wrestlers around the ring to cheer his win helped make the moment a little more special.
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Billie Kay and Peyton Royce came to the ring to apologize to each other for what happened last week. They talked about how far they have come together and how they should still be the women's tag team champions.
This brought out Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross to respond. The Scottish Superstars ripped into Kay and Royce for thinking she hadn't made the same sacrifices they have in this business.
The IIconics were the first to physical. They took out both champions with a few double team moves to leave them lying in the ring with their belts.
Grade: B+
Analysis
This was a fantastic segment for Kay, Cross and Royce. Bliss has had many opportunities to shine, so she stood back while the other three women in the ring carried this interaction.
The IIconics and Cross appeared more passionate and aggressive than we have ever seen. It led to all three of them giving some of the best promos of their WWE careers.
This feud started slow but it is quickly becoming one of the more entertaining storylines on Raw. Let's just hope this feud does not lead to one of these teams breaking up. The division can't afford to get any smaller.
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Drew McIntyre came out after the break for an interview with MVP in the VIP Lounge. The WWE champion immediately tore apart the set to get it out of the way before the eventual fight.
MVP assured him there would be no ambush and reminded McIntyre about how he tried to be a friend during their last VIP Lounge segment before WrestleMania.
He said McIntyre hitting him with a Claymore made him realize The Scottish Psychopath would become champion and he wanted to play a role in him losing it to Lashley.
Before The All Mighty could come to the ring, McIntyre took MVP down with a Claymore to end the interview.
Grade: C
Analysis
McIntyre has grown into a confident babyface champion, but this segment helped highlight why he needs to be a heel champion at some point.
It's easier to hate the biggest and toughest guy in the room than it is to like him, especially when that person can back up all of their trash talking.
This was an average interview segment. McIntyre and MVP have good chemistry but this was too short to be anything more than what it was.
Lashley showing up just to watch MVP get kicked in the face was an odd choice.
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Garza attacked Owens during his entrance. He took out KO's knee as the show went to a commercial. When we returned, the match had started and Garza was punishing his leg.
Vega cheered on her client as he dominated the former WWE champion. The Prize Fighter hit a DDT out of nowhere to give himself some time to recover.
He mounted what offense he could with only one good leg, but he was unable to hit a cannonball and Garza took advantage with a superkick for a near fall.
In a somewhat surprising result, Garza hit The Wingclipper to get the win without much help from Vega at ringside.
Grade: B-
Analysis
Sometimes, all WWE has to do it pick two names out of a hat to create a good match. Garza and Owens do not have a lot of history but they already have good chemistry.
The young Superstar beating a former world champion is a good sign that WWE sees a bright future in him. He has been given several opportunities since being called up from NXT and he keeps knocking it out of the park.
KO vs. Garza is the kind of feud WWE can use to produce several high-quality matches in the coming weeks.
It is going to be fun to see if his romance with Charly Caruso goes anywhere. It's possible Vega will become jealous or feel like he is distracted by the backstage interviewer.
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After facing each other in basketball and ax-throwing, The Viking Raiders and Street Profits continued their series of challenges with a round of golf.
After upsetting the manager of the golf course with their antics, they were forced to take their game to a mini-golf course. The Street Profits ended up winning by a wide margin.
Grade: C
Analysis
This segment has some decent comedy with references to Caddyshack and Happy Gilmore, but it did not make either team look as good as WWE wanted it to.
Turning Erik and Ivar into more lighthearted characters has been a controversial choice among some fans. We have seen tough guys like The APA be funny before, but The Viking Raiders had a completely different aura until a few weeks ago.
These contests have given both teams a chance to show their personalities, but this was the weakest of the three segments so far.
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Aleister Black and Humberto Carrillo teamed up this week to take on Murphy and Seth Rollins' newest disciple, Austin Theory.
The newcomer quickly took control of Carrillo and backed him to the corner so he and Murphy could attempt to double team him. The high-flyer avoided their attacks and sent them out of the ring.
The Dutch Destroyer continued to keep Rollins' followers at bay with a series of high-impact strikes. Theory was able to pick up the win for his team by hitting Carrillo with the ATL.
Rollins gave a speech after the match about how Mysterio was sacrificed for the greater good and threatened to do the same thing to Carrillo if Black tried to intervene.
Grade: B-
Analysis
This was a fun match that only suffered from not being long enough. The post-match promo from Rollins may have been his best work since creating this character.
Threatening Carrillo with the same injury he inflicted on Mysterio made him appear both dangerous and slightly unhinged. The Monday Night Messiah is done speaking softly.
We have yet to hear from The Master of the 619 since he was injured so this was a nice way to keep that feud going while starting a potential new program with Theory, Murphy, Black and Carrillo.
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Asuka joined the commentary team to watch these three Superstars compete for a shot at her Raw women's title at Backlash.
Jax used her power advantage to take control immediately. She slammed Natalya on top of Charlotte but both women avoided an elbow drop.
They worked together to throw her into the ring post so they could have some time in the ring to themselves. The Queen and The Queen of Harts put some of their technical skills on display with a nice exchange.
Jax tried to get back in the fight but she ended up being powerbombed through the announce table by both of her opponents. After the break, Asuka helped Jax get back into the ring for some reason.
Everybody came close to winning several times before Jax hit Nattie with a Samoan drop for the pin.
Grade: B+
Analysis
One of the reasons this match worked so well was Natalya and Charlotte kept finding ways to keep neutralizing Jax for periods of time so they could fight each other.
They are two of the best technical wrestlers on the roster with a long history of producing great matches. Jax being in the mix added some power to what would have otherwise been a technical clinic. This ended up being the best match Jax has had since she returned a couple of months ago.
It was weird to see Natalya in this match instead of Shayna Baszler since The Queen of Spades holds a couple of victories over her, but WWE never brought that up.
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A backstage encounter led to MVP and Lashley challenging the Raw tag team champions to a match in the main event of the show, which Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford gladly accepted.
Lashley and Ford started for their teams. The All Mighty knocked him down with ease to show off his raw power before cornering him for a few shoulder thrusts.
Ford took a lot of punishment before the commercial break. He finally made the hot tag to Dawkins after we returned. The powerhouse of The Street Profits took it to MVP while Ford managed to drive Lashley into the barricade.
The All Mighty recovered right away and put Ford in a full nelson to get the win. He refused to release the hold until McIntyre's music hit. He ran to the ring and began beating Lashley down.
Several wrestlers tried and failed to separate them before they were forced to opposite corners as the show went off the air.
Grade: B
Analysis
If Lashley wasn't already chasing the WWE champion, it would be awesome to see him and MVP become a regular tag team. They did a great job working together in this bout.
The Street Profits losing clean while feuding with another team was an off booking choice, but WWE is working with limited resources so it may have been the best option it had.
The match was solid and the fight with Lashley and McIntyre helped push their feud a lot more than seeing MVP get hit with a Claymore. This was a good way to end the show.
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