{"id":124214,"date":"2021-08-02T11:33:57","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T16:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=124214"},"modified":"2021-08-02T11:33:57","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T16:33:57","slug":"wwe-monday-night-raw-primer-8-2-riddle-vs-omos-nikki-vs-charlotte-no-holds-barred-goldberg-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/08\/02\/wwe-monday-night-raw-primer-8-2-riddle-vs-omos-nikki-vs-charlotte-no-holds-barred-goldberg-returns\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER 8\/2: Riddle vs. Omos, Nikki vs. Charlotte No Holds Barred, Goldberg Returns"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2725833607\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER<br \/>\nAUGUST 2, 2021<br \/>\nROSEMONT, ILL. AT THE ALLSTATE ARENA<br \/>\nAIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EDT<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR<\/h3>\n<p><em>Announcers: Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves<\/em><\/p>\n<p>My apologies to the PWTorch.com faithful for not delivering a Raw primer last week. I was in the middle of my annual recurrent training for my day job. Once I\u2019m down there in the \u201cschoolhouse\u201d as we call it, every minute of my time is consumed with studying and spending time in the simulator (or the \u201cbox\u201d as it\u2019s referred to most times). I had a good experience overall except for being delayed five hours getting down and three hours coming back. What can one do!<\/p>\n<h4>Match Results from Last Week and Exclusives<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Raw Women\u2019s Champion Nikki A.S.H. opened the show for the first time as champion. Charlotte Flair interrupted, followed by Rhea Ripley (the last two champions), which led to Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville announcing a triple threat match at SummerSlam for the championship.<\/li>\n<li>Damien Priest defeated U.S. Champion Sheamus in a NON-TITLE MATCH (please with this Championship Contender\u2019s match).<\/li>\n<li>A.J. Styles &amp; Omos defeated the Viking Raiders (Erik &amp; Ivar) to retain the Raw Tag Team Championship.<\/li>\n<li>Veer (w\/Jinder Mahal) defeated Drew McIntyre via DQ when Drew gave a Claymore Kick with Veer holding a chair. Drew then beat up Jinder\u2019s lawyer.<\/li>\n<li>Women\u2019s Tag Team Champions Tamina &amp; Natalya defeated Eva Marie &amp; Doudrop in a non-title match.<\/li>\n<li>NXT Champion Karrion Kross defeated Keith Lee.<\/li>\n<li>Mustafa Ali &amp; Mansoor defeated Mace &amp; T-Bar. (Remember when Ali was the leader of Retribution? Remember Retribution? It was like last year at this time they got introduced. Aren\u2019t you glad I reminded you of that? Oh yeah, and Raw Underground started around this time last year. Wasn\u2019t that a hoot?)<\/li>\n<li>WWE Champion Bobby Lashley said he would not dignify Goldberg\u2019s challenge with a response. He then defeated his former Hurt Business associates Cedric Alexander &amp; Shelton Benjamin in a \u2026 triple threat match? Handicap match?<\/li>\n<li>John Morrison defeated Riddle.<\/li>\n<li>Reginald defeated R-Truth to retain the 24\/7 Championship.<\/li>\n<li>Charlotte Flair defeated Raw Women\u2019s Champion Nikki A.S.H. in a non-title match.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Karrion Kross had a fire lit inside him: Raw Exclusive, July 26, 2021\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ORUzlicLU7g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mustafa Ali credits win with Mansoor to beginner\u2019s luck: Raw Exclusive, July 26, 2021\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/riNlTXImhps?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"24\/7 Champion Reginald makes a quick escape: Raw Exclusive, July 26, 2021\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JobZ-QrDCps?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h4>Arena<\/h4>\n<p>Raw returns to the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. for the first time since November of 2019. WWE has a rich in this building which opened for business back in 1980 and was originally the Rosemont Horizon. It was one of the three settings of WrestleMania 2 in 1986 and who could forget the 2011 edition of Money in the Bank. CM Punk defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship and \u201cleft WWE\u201d in storyline at the end of the show with the title, famously blowing a kiss at Vince McMahon. On a recent edition of the VIP-exclusive show WWE Then and Now, I covered this event with PWTorch.com contributor and host of the Top Rope Nation Podcast Ryan Droste. We had an amazing time reliving this show and sharing our personal memories of watching the program and consuming WWE in general at the time. Go VIP at the Torch to hear this show along with all the great content that comes with a VIP membership. If you are a VIP and haven\u2019t heard the show, check out the WWE Then and Now archives and get my show in your rotation!<\/p>\n<h4>Riddle vs. Omos (Raw Tag Team Championship Co-Holder)<\/h4>\n<p>Riddle suffered defeat at the hands of John Morrison last week. Raw Tag Team Champions A.J. Styles &amp; Omos made their way to ring during the match after having a conversation with Morrison and the Miz backstage. To make a long story short, Omos took Riddle\u2019s scooter and broke it in half to his disappointment. This caused a distraction and allowed Morrison to take down Riddle and hit Starship Pain for the win. They ran a post-match angle where Styles hit Riddle with a Styles clash.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, Riddle goes one-on-one with Omos. He hinted at Randy Orton\u2019s return on Twitter:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/SuperKingofBros\/status\/1421188349738500098?s=20<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: A decent match with a distraction finish last week between Riddle and Morrison and you can pretty much say that about most WWE TV matches. That\u2019s why the matches and wins &amp; losses don\u2019t matter. It\u2019s all about the distractions and angles. That said, this looks to set up Randy Orton\u2019s return and the eventual title match between the two teams seemingly at SummerSlam.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Non-Title Match: Raw Women\u2019s Champion Nikki A.S.H. vs. Charlotte Flair<\/h4>\n<p>After the match between Nikki and Charlotte last week, Charlotte was interviewed by Kevin Patrick. She said no one was in her league. Nikki (the champion), said she could almost have won, had the confidence she could beat Charlotte and challenged her to match next week (tonight). Charlotte accepted and went to shake Nikki\u2019s hand but beat her down instead.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-862789654\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Four days ago, the match was announced by WWE as No Hold Barred. It doesn\u2019t appear that the title is on the line. Here\u2019s Nikki on Twitter talking about pizza:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/NikkiCrossWWE\/status\/1421439973220249610?s=20<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: I\u2019m a New Yorker, but I love me my deep-dish pizza. So far, I\u2019ve had Lou Malnati\u2019s and Giordano\u2019s. Anyway, pizza aside, this is another match between people scheduled to wrestle at a PPV. The champion loses on TV in her first match holding the title and how\u2019s that supposed to be a good thing for Nikki? Nothing they have done with Nikki has made her credible and that includes her winning Money in the Bank. It\u2019s a paper win considering every woman was distracted at the top of the ladders and she just waltzed up and grabbed the briefcase. She\u2019s lasted two minutes with Rhea Ripley and Charlotte which proved nothing and logged a couple of distraction wins. Nikki is a paper champion and a small part of what they\u2019re doing with Rhea and Charlotte and potentially Becky Lynch should she return. Once she loses the title, she\u2019ll be down the card doing nothing but silly comedy until they give up on the gimmick.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Goldberg Returns<\/h4>\n<p>WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg returns to Raw after appearing two weeks ago and telling (yelling at) WWE Champion Bobby Lashley, telling him \u201cI\u2019m next!\u201d Last week, Lashley denied Goldberg\u2019s challenge as I mentioned earlier. Here\u2019s some Twitter trash talk by Lashley:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">You don\u2019t belong in the same world as me, let alone the same ring. Get that close again, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/The305MVP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@The305MVP<\/a> won\u2019t be able to hold me back. <\/p>\n<p>No thanks, old man.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WWERaw?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#WWERaw<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WWE<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OcIL2e9j6t\">pic.twitter.com\/OcIL2e9j6t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Bobby Lashley (@fightbobby) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fightbobby\/status\/1417603229932793857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 20, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If intimidation is your game plan, you better find a better one. This is a fight, not football <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Goldberg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Goldberg<\/a>! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AllMightyEra?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AllMightyEra<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WWE<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/29POvTAdJT\">https:\/\/t.co\/29POvTAdJT<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DYBgswNBdr\">pic.twitter.com\/DYBgswNBdr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Bobby Lashley (@fightbobby) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fightbobby\/status\/1418157019652046853?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 22, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: Congratulations to Bill Goldberg on earning a WWE Championship match after losing to Drew McIntyre at the Royal Rumble. Drew subsequently lost to Lashley, has been beaten by Riddle on TV (which isn\u2019t the end of the world, but still), and is embroiled in a low-card feud with Jinder Mahal. Everyone has traded wins anyway, so it\u2019s not like they\u2019ve built anybody up to be a credible challenger, so why not Goldberg? It\u2019s not like they KNEW SummerSlam was on the calendar, right?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Thank you for reading!<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1721466779\"><div id=\"pwtor-3861862623\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER AUGUST 2, 2021 ROSEMONT, ILL. AT THE ALLSTATE ARENA AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EDT BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR Announcers: Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves My <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/08\/02\/wwe-monday-night-raw-primer-8-2-riddle-vs-omos-nikki-vs-charlotte-no-holds-barred-goldberg-returns\/\" title=\"WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER 8\/2: Riddle vs. Omos, Nikki vs. Charlotte No Holds Barred, Goldberg Returns\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":57375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,52,4354,27,5893,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-opnionandanalysis","category-raw-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers","category-news_wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2018\/03\/Goldberg-HistoryChannel_3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124214"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124216,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124214\/revisions\/124216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}