(Updated) WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER 8/9: Charlotte and Lashley Have Something to Say to their SummerSlam Opponents, Orton Returns

WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER
AUGUST 9, 2021
ORLANDO, FL. AT THE AMWAY CENTER
AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EDT
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

Match Results from Last Week and Exclusives

• WWE Champion Bobby Lashley opened the show to address Golberg’s challenge to him at SummerSlam. Goldberg came out and said whether he’s 35, 45, or 105 he lives by the spear and Lashley will die by the spear. He eventually speared MVP when he and Lashley confronted Golberg’s son at ringside. Lashley accepted Goldberg’s challenge later in the show.
• Drew McIntyre defeated Shanky & Veer (w/Jinder Mahal) via DQ. After the match, Drew warded off all three men with his sword, which he called Angela.
• Rhea Ripley defeated Nia Jax (w/Shayna Baszler). Jax yelled at Baszler after the match.
• Mace & T-Bar defeated Mansoor & Mustafa Ali.
• Charlotte Flair cut a promo hyping the non-title match with Raw Women’s Champion Nikki ASH and discussed being cashed in on with Money in the Bank. Nikki attacked Charlotte from behind.
• Tamina (Women’s Tag Team Championship Co-Holder) defeated Doudrop (w/Eva Marie).
• Damian Priest was a guest of the Miz on MizTV which led to match between Priest and John Morrison. Priest defeated Morrison. Following this, U.S. Champion Sheamus attacked Priest. Ricochet made the save, which led to a tag team match (what are the odds?). Ricochet & Priest defeated Sheamus & Morrison.
• Omos (Raw Tag Team Championship co-holder) defeated Riddle.
• Alexa Bliss’s doll Lilly stood up on her own after Doudrop attacked Alexa in her playground.
• Keith Lee defeated NXT Champion Karrion Kross.
• Reggie defeated Akira Tozawa to retain the 24/7 Championship.
• Raw Women’s Champion Nikki ASH defeated Charlotte Flair in a non-title match.

Arena

Raw returns to the Amway Center in Orlando, FL., which was the first home of the Thunderdome starting in August of last year and lasted until December before they moved to Tropicana Field in Tampa, FL. The WWE’s history in the Amway Center, home of the NBA’s Orlando Magic, goes back to 2010 hosting mostly Raw, Smackdown, and NXT tapings. The 2017 WrestleMania weekend NXT Takeover took place here, as well as all WWE PPVs during the Thunderdome tenure.

As of this posting, two talking segments have been advertised. No matches have been announced yet.

Charlotte Flair to Confront Nikki ASH
The “All Mighty” Has Something to Say to Goldberg

After what took place last week, Charlotte Flair apparently has something to say to Nikki ASH, the current Raw Women’s Champion. Charlotte is set to challenge Nikki at SummerSlam in a Triple Threat match that will involve Rhea Ripley. Charlotte defeated Rhea for the championship at Money in the Bank. The following night on Raw, Nikki cashed in her Money in the Bank contract on Charlotte after she retained the title over Rhea Ripley in a rematch.

It should be noted that during Charlotte’s promo, there was a “Becky” chant. Charlotte acknowledged it by saying Becky wasn’t here, but rather she was the reason everyone was there.

Now that the match has been made official for SummerSlam, WWE Champion Bobby Lashley will have something to say to Goldberg.  Here’s some Twitter trash talk:

Unwavering.

Think about your family before you step to me again. They’re the ones that’ll have to deal with what’s left of you. #WWERaw @WWE pic.twitter.com/qfDiNlJCi7

— Bobby Lashley (@fightbobby) August 3, 2021

Frank’s Analysis: Hard to really analyze what’s going to happen in talking segments. I did like Charlotte handling the crowd during the “Becky” chant, and saying she was the reason everyone was there. A heel should believe something like that about themselves. As far as Goldberg goes, I don’t get the involvement of his son, but we’ll see if anything comes of it. Tonight, is just about hyping the SummerSlam matches.

Updated This Afternoon
Randy Orton Returns

Randy Orton tweeted that he will be returning to Raw tonight and will kick off the show. Randy had been teaming with Riddle prior to his “sabbatical” to form RK-Bro.

Been away for a bit, but tonight, I’m back on #WWERaw … and I won’t keep you waiting, I’m kicking off the show. #ViperIsBack https://t.co/doKobmWF4F

— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) August 9, 2021

He failed to qualify for Money in the Bank, and still couldn’t get in when Riddle wrestled for him by proxy in a triple threat qualifying match against Drew McIntyre and A.J. Styles (both former WWE Champions). Riddle has paid tribute to his partner as of late but suffered losses to Omos and John Morrison.

Frank’s Analysis: The logic is he is returning to reform RK-Bro and go after A.J. Styles and Omos for the Raw Tag Team Championship, but the recent time off and announced return has me curious. I don’t know the “alternate,” but something could be up.

Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Thank you for reading!