WWE Raw results, grades: Randy Orton betrays Riddle with huge RKO after big return

Why, Randy, why?! (Picture: WWE)

WWE has left just enough intrigued with the situation between Randy Orton and Riddle as the veteran left his on/off tag team partner laid out on Raw.

The Viper made his comeback on Monday night after a few weeks off screen and received a heroes welcome from the fans in Orlando as he came down to the ring to start the show.

Riddle quickly interrupted him, clearly so excited to see his best friend back and hopefully ready team up together again – although Orton questioned why he’d let that happen.

The almost-reunion was interrupted by AJ Styles and Omos as the Phenomenal One mocked the Original Bro for being too sad, which led to Orton telling him to shut up and Styles laying down a challenge for tonight.

Randy and Riddle both failed with their RKO attempts on Omos, who left the latter lying with a huge chokeslam and the Legend Killer leaving disappointed.

All this set the stage for a huge main event, with Orton and Styles delivering the goods as you’d expect.

The action was worthy of the headlining slot, with both veterans putting on a show for the fans in attendance and watching at home, right up to an amazing ending which saw Randy hit an RKO to counter the Phenomenal Forearm.

After the bell, Riddle – who had come down to ringside during the bout to keep Omos at bay – jumped in the ring and wanted a hug, which Orton eventually obliged.

However, the united front was short lived as the Viper struck with an RKO outta nowhere, leaving the team’s status up in the air and giving WWE a couple of directions for SummerSlam on August 21.

Will we see RK-Bro come together for a Raw Tag Team Championship match against Styles and Omos, or could they be on a collision course of their own in Las Vegas? Only time will tell.

Elias burns his guitar, Damian Priest challenges Sheamus at SummerSlam and Lilly winks at Doudrop

In the opening match, Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin met in the ring after the latter explained that Jinder Mahal had offered him money to face his rival.

The Scottish Warrior didn’t show much sympathy for his opponent’s financial woes, instead taking the fight to the former king with Mahal, Veer and Shanky watching backstage.

Eventually, McIntyre asked Corbin how much he needed to help him ($100k, apparently) – but the goodwill didn’t last lost as a Claymore put him away for the three count.

This is how Kross’ debut should have ended (Photo: WWE)

Karrion Kross, who is sadly not getting much of a reaction from the Raw crowd, saw a change in fortunes at least as he beat Jeff Hardy in a good match which really should have been how the company handled his red brand debut a couple of weeks ago.

After getting a submission win with the Krossjacket, he then hit another big suplex on the Charismatic Enigma and choked him out – but he needs Scarlett with him to complete the act.

The ‘We want Wyatt’ chants were back as Alexa Bliss faced off with Doudrop in a bizarre match that ended when Lilly the doll winked at Eva Marie’s associate and left her open to a roll-up from Bliss.

The One and Only shone in defeat to Sheamus (Photo: WWE)

The in-ring action went up a notch with Ricochet and Sheamus in a match that we’ve seen before but still managed to find another level en route to the United States Champion winning with a Brogue Kick.

Damian Priest came out and got in his face after the bell, before The Miz and John Morrison came out for the latter to face the Archer of Infamy.

It was a brief but entertaining bout (Johnny Drip Drip can do no wrong in between the ropes) with Priest winning, although Miz accidentally revealed he’s been ‘faking’ his injury as he stood up after the bell and ran away from his rival.

The Miz exposed his ruse on Raw (Picture: WWE)

Sheamus came out, and Priest laid down the challenge for SummerSlam – which was quickly accepted.

Elsewhere, Mansoor gave Mustafa Ali a special jacket to make up for their loss last week and Ali told his protégé to ‘watch and learn’, although he ended up losing to former RETRIBUTION teammate T-Bar in a short match.

However, Mansoor seemed to help his case for a tag team run after the bell when he saved his pal from a potential beatdown from T-Bar and Mace.

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Reggie showed his athleticism as the 24/7 Title nonsense at least has a bit of purpose now, while Bobby Lashley and MPV issued a warning to Goldberg and promised to end him at SummerSlam.

We also saw Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. in action and they put on a good showing before Charlotte Flair pushed the Raw Women’s Champion off the top rope, ending the match in a DQ before the Queen laid out both stars.

Elias also appeared in a pre-taped segment as he insisted his persona is ‘dead’.

*WWE Raw airs Monday nights at 1am on BT Sport 1.

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