HEYDORN’S RAW RECEIPT 3/8: Can nobody backstage just cue Shane McMahon?

-Bobby Lashley looks like a million bucks holding that WWE Championship. His quick backstage promo was money too. The championship is the perfect cherry on top of his act at this point in time.

-The definitive win and Lashley retaining the WWE Championship against The Miz was not a surprise. To me, the surprise was that we didn’t see Bad Bunny involve himself in some form or fashion. One, Miz & Morrison vs. Bad Bunny & Damian Priest looks like a WrestleMania match. Two, Bad Bunny has been a draw for WWE. Slotting him next to the new WWE Champion, even for just one segment, would have been a logical choice.

-Another really good match between Drew McIntyre and Sheamus. This was intense like last week’s match, but with an added jolt thanks to the no disqualification stipulation. Both guys took advantage of it and laid in some stiff shots on the other. The end game looks to be Fastlane for these guys with a shot at Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania on the line. That’s the exact right call to make at this point, too.

-Riddle has had a sneaky solid run of decent to good matches the last three weeks. The silly character cripples any momentum he could gain from them. WWE, bro, rethink his presentation immediately.

-And the awkward award from the show gets firmly placed in the hands of Shane McMahon. Is there nobody around that can cue the guy somehow? Shane breathing heavily as he searched the depths of his brain for the promo he was supposed to cut was tough to watch. Clearly he forgot his lines, but I supposed the saving grace of it all is that the angle with Strowman doesn’t make sense to begin with anyway. 10 dollars says that Vince McMahon was cracking up backstage during this and loved seeing Shane squirm out of it. Any takers?

-Reginald is Reginald and nobody is sure what he brings to the table at this point. Regardless, seeing him with Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler instead of around the big WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship main event match with Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair at WrestleMania is a giant and necessary course correction.

-Raw needs Rhea Ripley. Badly. Charlotte’s star power and credibility tower over every other woman on the roster outside of Asuka at this point. You’re not in a good position when Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke are advocating for WrestleMania championship matches. Seeing that happen live on the show simply shines a bright light on the lack of depth Raw has when it comes to top acts in the women’s division. Ripley is the perfect piece to add to that puzzle.

-Randy Orton and A.J. Styles brought it in the main event. Both guys were crisp and smooth with the action, but due to the lack of context around them, it was meaningless. They aren’t feuding and won’t be feuding soon as Orton is embroiled in a program with the Fiend. This match was an avenue to that storyline and everyone knew it.

-As tempting as it might be to do a cinematic match between Orton and Fiend at WrestleMania, my vote is to see a real match in the ring. I’m not sure what Kool-Aid I’m drinking, but for me, the intrigue in this storyline is the return of The Fiend. That’s the payoff. What is his new look? Does he have a new entrance? Will Bliss factor in? You know, what will his return feel like? WWE sacrifices that intrigue if they don’t give the fans those answers live at WrestleMania. The Fiend needs it and the match itself will benefit from it as well.

CATCH-UP: HEYDORN’S SMACKDOWN RECEIPT 3/5: Daniel Bryan shines as championship match between him and Roman Reigns looms