“I’m Better Than You, And You Know It”

"Every Man Has A Price For The Million Dollar Man"

"The Best There Is, The Best There Was, And The Best There Ever Will Be"

"Whatcha Gonna Do, When Hulkamania Runs Wild On You"

"And That's The Bottom Line Because Stone Cold Said So"

<h3><strong>Preview</strong></h3>
<p>Sami Zayn claims that Bobby Lashley hasn&#8217;t been completely truthful about his past. In order to expose The Dominator to the WWE Universe, Sami is inviting Lashley&#8217;s three older sisters to the show. Read the detailed WWE Monday Night Raw Results &amp; Review below.</p>
<p><strong>Date:</strong> May 21, 2018</p>
<p><strong>Location:</strong> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Union_Center" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Times Union Center, Albany, NY</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Clash of Company Cornerstones</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em>(Roman Reigns def. Kevin Owens via DQ after Jinder Mahal attacked Roman)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em>(Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins def. Kevin Owens and Jinder Mahal)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">RAW was off to a great start. A talking opening segment that was business throughout, followed by two great matches that happened for a reason – all we ever needed for a show-opener, but oh so rare do we get it.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">As much as we are slowly taking Kurt Angle on RAW for granted, it is still a welcoming sight to see him talking, because you know he is not one to ramble. Tonight, he went straight to the announcements, doing his job as a General Manager. It might be a tad boring, but keeping things short and sweet for him saves precious TV time for other wrestlers. Or Stephanie McMahon, of course. She returned tonight and right away emasculated our lovely Kurt, continuing a worrying trend that everyone has been complaining about – running down regular on-screen talent. See, we are already calling Olympic-winner Kurt Angle “lovely”.</p>
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<p style="text-align: left;">With the authoritative figures being slightly sub-par tonight, the 3 segments would not have worked without the wrestlers. The Maharaja continued to display his vicious streak tonight, and Seth Rollins was still running hot. Roman Reigns held himself well in this segment, staying anti-authority without turning himself into a whiny pug. And seeing Kevin Owens in a segment involving Stephanie McMahon proved to dispel the rumors of KO being ordered to lose weight to keep his spot.</p>
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<p style="text-align: left;">But hell, if Kevin’s performances tonight were any indication, he really does not have to lose weight at all. He looked great in both matches, and the fact that he finished TWO matches in a row should be more than telling about his cardio.</p>
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<h3></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>This Is Your Cringe</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;">WWE, you have failed miserably with Alexa Bliss’ attempt to recreate Mick Foley’s attempt to recreate the famous “This Is Your Life” trope. Why, why, WHY do you feel the need to recreate it again tonight? Writers, you really gave your wrestlers a tough week.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Sami Zayn is usually very funny. Unorthodoxly funny, but funny. Here, however, he was just lame. He probably died inside a bit doing this.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Lashley’s reactions to all this was just as cringeworthy as the segment itself, but we understand. Poor him, going from an absolute destroyer to whipping his “sister” with a towel (ew). TNA BOOKED HIM BETTER THAN WWE DID. There, we said it. Change our minds.</p>
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<h3></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>When Mickie Failed to Help</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em>(Ember Moon def. Alexa Bliss)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">A pretty standard match between Ember and Alexa, with the former using the Eclipse to finish the latter, extinguishing hopes of a tainted win for Five Feet of Fury. It was worth noting that Alexa could not win, even with the interference from Mickie. This could potentially be another crack in the Bliss-James “friendship”, but we will have to wait and see. As for now, congratulations on a big win for Ember Moon, establishing her legitimacy as a competitor in the MITB match.</p>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Erm…Okay.</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em>(Baron Corbin def. No Way Jose)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Baron very decisively defeated No Way Jose. Wow such strong, very dominance. Now what?</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">This rubber feud has dragged on for waaaay too long.</p>
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<h3></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>THE STREAK CONTINUES</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em>(B-Team def. Breezango, extending the streak to 2-0)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">This match was more entertaining than the one preceding it. Dallas and Axel are definitely getting over, and it will not be too outrageous to predict they will walk out of Summerslam as the RAW Tag Team champions. Okay, that was a bit too outrageous, but it is undeniable that these guys are growing in popularity, and you never know what is going on in WWE’s creative meetings. So for now, we will jump on the bandwagon and buy their team T-shirt.</p>
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<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Once In A Blue Moon</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;">Wow. A contract-signing segment that did not devolve into violence? We just witnessed history tonight, mesdames et messieurs.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">On a more serious note, it was surprising to see Ronda carrying herself exceptionally well. We know by now that she is a fast learner, but it is almost astounding how she has improved so drastically. She nailed every line and became the star of the segment, out-shining Stephanie McMahon’s worn-out gimmick of running everyone down.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Ronda really is the fresh breathe of air the women’s division desperately needs right now.</p>
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<h3></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Setting the Stage</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em>(Dolph Ziggler def. Chad Gable)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">After an encounter earlier, Gable and Ziggler ended up on opposite corners of the ring, and Ziggler handily defeated Gable. Not too surprising. But the Ziggler and McIntyre beatdown that happened afterwards was what made speculations of an American Alpha reunion run wild. And for good reasons, too. Jason Jordan was recently announced to return, but no sign of him so far. Both Chad and Gable are going nowhere. On top of that, they are back on the same brand. All the pieces look to click, and they better click sooner than later.</p>
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<h3></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Short but Sweet</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em>(Women’s MITB Qualifying Match: Natalya def. Dana Brooke, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">As indicated by the title, we feel the match could have been gone on for a bit more. It was a Fatal-4-Way, after all, and the ladies were fighting for something substantial. But, the match was acceptable, for what it was. Natalya fought like a babyface against the Liv-Sarah duo, and there was the mandatory “stablemates face-off” spot – all typical stuff, but well-executed by the women.</p>
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<h3></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>A Real Bathroom Break</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em>(Elias def. Bobby Roode)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Just like Baron Corbin vs No Way Jose, this was a feud that had gone for waaaay too long. Look, it was great to see Elias emerge victorious in a match, but a feud could not really carry itself week in, week out by using the “Guy A sings, guy B interrupts with just an entrance, leading to A vs B right afterwards” formula every time. It has become so predictable that we could use the bathroom as soon as we see Elias, come back in the next segment, and know what happened after Elias started singing.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> Either add a new twist, or call it quits. We do not accept Bobby Roode being turned into a charisma vacuum.</p>
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<h3></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Size Matters</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;"><em>(Braun Strowman def. Finn Balor)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">That might be what she says, but it really pierced through tonight. Finn Balor tried chopping Braun Strowman down, but in the end, Braun proved to be, quite literally, too big of an obstacle for Finn. It was an entertaining match, nonetheless. When Finn was still alive, he gave Strowman a decent fight.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Moreover, Strowman standing tall to finish a show is never a bad idea.</p>
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<h3></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Other Attention Grabbing Moments On RAW</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;">BRAUN STROWMAN CRUSHED AN APPLE WITH ONE HAND. Tim Cook might not want him to test out products.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Did Michael Cole just say “biggest fight ever” on Rousey vs Nia Jax? Rude!</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">RIP Elias, being pounced on by Braun. The saga continues.</p>
<h3></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Overall Review</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;">Tonight’s highlight was, far and away, Ronda Rousey. She pretty much carried that contract-signing segment, and she was the counter-balance to a God-awful Lashley-Zayn segment. Besides that, it was a very run-of-the-mill show. Rubber feuds dragged on, women being given little time to work their wonders, and Strowman stood tall to end the show. Let us see what Smackdown Live has to offer. Hope Hardy vs Bryan turns out amazing.</p>

WWE Monday Night RAW Results & Review: May 21st, 2018

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