Raw's go-home show to Money in the Bank finalized all the competitors for the Ladder Match, including adding an unexpected competitor. With that said, there's likely a new favorite to win it all.
The red brand kicked off with the show with women of MITB, moved into a hectic gauntlet match and offered more PPV updates from there. Rollins vowed to ease the burden for the champion and tag teams vowed to get revenge.
Here are your winners and losers for Raw, May 4, 2020:
Loser: MVP Lounge
The opening of the show focused on the women from Raw talking about their ladder match. After last week when things never officially got under way, would things be a bit less chaotic tonight? Nope. After speaking in near tongues, and multiple languages, Asuka and Shayna Baszler kicked Nia Jax out of the ring to see the segment end.
This opening was supposed to build anticipation for the ladder match but it felt like time-filler. It was kind of hard to figure out what the point of it was. Fortunately, the show got better from there.
Winner: Last Chance Gauntlet Match
Bobby Lashley started the gauntlet match against Titus O'Neil and WWE didn't announce how many or who the competitors were going to be in the match. That immediately made things interesting. Lashley dominated early taking out O'Neil, Akira Tozawa and Shelton Benjamin. Humberto Carillo was next up and advanced because Lashley got disqualified.
After Lashley was ushered out by officials, Angel Garza came down to take try and take advantage of a beaten and bruised Carillo. Pulling off what was likely deemed an upset, Carillo advanced and Austin Theory tried to do what Garza couldn't. A reversal on a superplex allowed Carillo to get another upset win. But, as the final competitor came out, Carillo was in tough.
AJ Styles returned after being buried alive by The Undertaker. Styles gets the win and moves on to Money in the Bank, likely becoming one of the favorites to win the briefcase.
As predictable as it was to figure out who would win each match-up, this was a strong showing of wrestlers doing their thing in the ring, and in a short amount of time. Lashley looked strong and didn't suffer by taking a pin, Carillo returned and looked good and Styles comes in for the surprise return and the after-match beat-down.
Styles' promo after the match dismissed his loss at WrestleMania and he went on to say that he would do anything it took to win, including throw someone off the roof of the WWE offices. Foreshadowing?
Winner: Seth Rollins Talks Main Event
Rollins was set for an exclusive interview on Raw and he sat down with Charly Caruso to talk his match with Drew McIntyre. Rollins reiterated that McIntyre's destiny was not to lead WWE into the future. That responsibility belonged to the Monday Night Messiah. Rollins said he wasn't trying to take from his opponent, he was trying to ease his burden of being the champion.
This is an interesting idea. That Rollins believes he's doing favors for the people he destroys is something that WWE hasn't really done before. This isn't your ordinary heel but exactly the what the leader of a cult might do to justify his/her actions.
Losers: Shayne Thorne and Brendan Vink
No one probably expected Thorne and Vink to get the win against an on-fire tag team in Richochet and Cedric Alexander. That's exactly what happened though as the underdogs picked up the win. It's a decision that is hard to wrap one's head around.
"Color me surprised boys!" said Samoa Joe. That's probably the best way to describe this result. The announcers played up the idea that MVP played a big part in all of this so it will be interesting to see if he sticks with them long-term.
For Ricochet and Alexander, let's hope one loss doesn't hurt them overall. It shouldn't, but it might be a slippery slope.
Winners: Viking Raiders
The Raid got a big win over the Tag Team Champions in a non-title match. Proving their point that the Street Profits are the second-best team on Raw, a Viking Experience showed they have the number of the champs.
This was a strong match that showcased both teams. It's also a good way to keep the Viking Raiders near or at the top of the tag team division and hopefully signifies their carpool karaoke days are over. Keep them mean and stay away from veering off a path that works.
Winner: Charlotte vs. Liv Morgan
Charlotte came to the ring to talk her NXT match next week against Io Shirai. A clear attempt to get some viewers over to Wednesday night as the brand struggles with their ratings, Flair was interrupted by Liv Morgan who reminded Flair about their brief verbal battle last year.
While it was hard to imagine Morgan getting the win here, this could be another step in her journey to find herself, she'll be in a spot to challenge Flair again down the line and she gets an opportunity in the ring with WWE's go-to female competitor. Flair's job was to prove Liv was nothing more than a hurdle. Liv's job was to prove otherwise. This match offered a little bit of column A and column B.
This was a very good match.
Winner/Loser: Murphy Loses and Rollins Retreats
There was nothing wrong with the segment because it serve its purpose, but poor Murphy. He was essentially a way to provide Rollins a glimpse into his future. Murphy got some offense in but there was never really a chance for the Rollins' disciple as McIntyre no-sold a handful of moves before finishing off his opponent.
Murphy tried to get creative after finding an opening and counted down his own version of the Claymore before McIntyre caught him with the finisher. To end the show, Drew begged Rollins to enter the ring to fight him and Rollins retreated. That is, until he found his way back in to cheap shot the champion and suggest this was bigger than Drew. An attempted Stomp didn't quite work as McIntyre got the last laugh.