WWE Raw Preview: US Title Match, Women’s Tag Tournament, and Riddle

As the McMahon/Helmsley Era II continues, WWE Raw has been by widely agreed upon as being less bad than normal. Yes, it’s still way too long at three hours and there are still many Vince McMahonisms that haven’t been thoroughly purged from the product, but people are allowed to say “wrestling” again, nobody is yelling in the commentators’ ears, and most importantly, there have been some good wrestling matches and storylines that actually seem to be going somewhere.

There are three segments advertised for WWE Raw tonight, starting with a United States Champi0nship match between champion Bobby Lashley and challenger AJ Styles. Here’s what WWE.com has to say about Lashley vs. Styles:

True to his word, The All Mighty is a fighting champion, and he looks to defend his United States Title in a momentous showdown with AJ Styles.

A three-time United States Champion, Bobby Lashley has already thrilled the WWE Universe with must-see title defenses against Theory and Ciampa, but he now faces one of his biggest challenges as he squares off with The Phenomenal One for the first time.

Don’t miss a second of the action as these two future WWE Hall of Famers face off tonight on Raw at 8/7 C on USA!

Unfortunately for AJ Styles, the likely outcome of this match would seem to be not a United States Championship win, but interference from The Miz and Ciampa, which will probably lead to more matches with The Miz in the future.

One match where we can expect a decisive outcome on WWE Raw this week, however, is in the next match of the Women’s Tag Team Championship tournament. Alexa Bliss and Asuka will take on Nikki ASH and Doudrop in that match, and we’d be quite shocked if Bliss and Asuka don’t pick up the win here. The end goal of this tournament is to crown a new set of women’s tag team champions… and then, probably, immediately bring back the former champs, Sasha Banks and Naomi, to a Vince McMahon-free environment for a built-in title feud.

Here’s what WWE.com has to say about that one:

The WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament continues on Raw when Alexa Bliss and Asuka seek to take out Nikki A.S.H. and Doudrop.

Bliss, Asuka and Nikki A.S.H. have all been Women’s Tag Team Champions, and Bliss and Nikki even captured the tandem titles together on two occasions.

Can Bliss and Asuka progress in the tournament, or will Nikki A.S.H. and Doudrop crush their dreams? Find out tonight on Raw at 8/7 C on USA!

Finally, the third advertised segment for WWE Raw is an enigma. No, sorry, scratch that, it’s a promo by Riddle. Riddle has been nursing a kayfabe injury since Seth Rollins attacked him before SummerSlam, reportedly due to a desire to push back their match to a better venue, like, I dunno, a stadium in Cardiff, perhaps? So expect Riddle’s promo, whatever he says, to lead to that match getting added to the card at Clash at the Castle.

From WWE.com:

Riddle has not had luck on his side as of late.

Earlier in the year, his RK-Bro brother Randy Orton was taken out by The Bloodline. Then, he lost to Roman Reigns in an intense Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match. Following that, Seth “Freakin” Rollins brutally assaulted The Original Bro at SummerSlam.

Now with his future unclear due to his injuries, Riddle will have an exclusive interview on Monday Night Raw.

What will The Original bro say, and how will it affect his future? Find out tonight on Raw at 8/7 C on USA!

All that, and you never know what ex-WWE stars Triple H will add to the roster this week. At this point, WWE is bringing in more ex-WWE stars than AEW! Or even TNA during its heyday! WWE Raw airs at 8 Eastern on USA.