5 Takeaways From Monday Night Raw - 6/11/18

This is my series, simply known as "5 Takeaways", where I will share my personal main talking points coming out of Raw and SmackdownLive.

These are all my opinion, so I may miss a nugget or two. If you have something to add to my list, or a list of your own, feel free to share in the comment section below!

Also, please check out The Enzuigiri podcast, Reddit, and Facebook page!

https://m.facebook.com/groups/theenzuigiri

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheEnzuigiriPodcast

https://m.soundcloud.com/theenzuigiri

We are a group of long-time wrestling fans living in the Tri-State area. We have results, news, and so much more!

Well last week's prediction was wrong. Natalya is not only ready for Money in the Bank, but she won a fatal four way involving Sasha Banks, Ember Moon, and Alexa Bliss. She made Bliss submit to the Sharpshooter in a rather surprising victory.

It's safe to say she won't be leaving Sunday night with the briefcase in her possession, but at least Natalya can say she won a match - and a relatively high profile one at that.

I specifically say "male superstar" because I'm a big fan of Becky Lynch and personally feel she should be the face of the Smackdown women's division. Sami Zayn is also high up on that "underused" list, as he's been dragged down in his current feud with Bobby Lashley.

Zayn's heel turn on Smackdown long ago was a breath of fresh air for his character, and made him exciting to watch with his great in-ring work and phenomenal mic skills. Personally, he is among my favorite three current wrestlers today (alongside Shinsuke Nakamura and Seth Rollins).

However, I've heard people say they no longer want to see Zayn on their television, since he's always followed by Lashley. This is by far the worst feud going in the WWE, and it is a shame that he isn't involved in the Money in the Bank match. I'd love to imagine Sami in the ladder match, as a potential dark horse to win it all (I know I'd be rooting for him, anyway).

... to get it over with. Speaking of boring rivalries, this one is pretty bad as well. Unlike many other people, I no longer hate Roman Reigns. He is solid in the ring, and getting better on the mic. This feud with Jinder is very boring to me, however.

I'll admit, the spear on Mahal through the (obviously fake) wall four weeks ago was pretty funny. Seeing Sunil Singh get beat up also has some humor to it, but that's all the credit I'll give to these two. Jinder Mahal is incredibly bland and hated by the crowd so on paper, it looks like success for Roman... if he wasn't hated as well. All I know is I can't wait for this to come to an end so we can all move on.

Upon coming over to Raw, McIntyre and Ziggler ran roughshod over teams for a few weeks and made statement after statement about how the Raw locker room is soft and doesn't "have that fire". With the momentum they have gained, the pair seem like they're destined for greatness on the Monday night show.

These two can have a rivalry with any number of superstars, and easily come out on top. In fact, Dolph is a former world champion, while Drew could be one of the few guys who can stand toe to toe with a guy like Braun Strowman (more on him in a bit). The point is if they're booked correctly, these two can run the show as the top heels around.

Raw has a very good roster of top faces at their disposal. Over the past month or two, Seth Rollins has been their hottest superstar. His mic work, charisma, and in-ring quality have been on fire (pun intended). It is possible that he will be the next challenger for the Universal championship whenever Brock Lesnar returns.

However after last night's main event, it's obvious that Braun Strowman isn't going anywhere either. He was involved in the fatal four way main event last night with Finn Bálor, Kevin Owens, and Bobby Roode while the trio spent the majority of the match triple teaming him.

After receiving a number of finishers, and even a frog splash through the announce table, the "Monster Among Men" still came out victorious with a running powerslam on Kevin Owens onto a ladder. This man looks unstoppable, and Owens was right when he said "if he wins the briefcase and cashes it in on Brock Lesnar and wins, he could hold the title forever" (maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but it's a good point).

Between Strowman and Rollins, we could very easily be looking at the next Universal champion, and maybe even that superstar's first challenger. It's not necessarily a problem for WWE, but hopefully they have their mind made up on who their top star on Raw will be.