WWE Raw Results - May 24, 2021: Drew McIntyre Vs. Kofi Kingston, Another Women's Tag Team Title Match

While Monday Night Raw built a little bit of momentum after a mostly entertaining show last week, the red brand couldn't make it two weeks in a row. The show featured some good in-ring action in parts, but the opening contest set the tone for a Raw that existed just for the sake of it. 

This week's show opened with an in-ring promo from MVP and Bobby Lashley and The All Mighty was once again flanked by five women. 

After a plug about WWE going back on the road, MVP turned his attention to Drew McIntyre and he described The Scottish Warrior as the perennial dark cloud hanging over the WWE Champion. 

As per usual, this resulted in Drew interrupting proceedings and he questioned if Lashley had any balls before reminding him about Kofi Kingston's win on last week's show.

This, of course, led to Kingston heading to the ring and McIntyre told Kofi he was welcome for the assist last week. Kingston then revealed he accepted Lashley's open challenge because he never got a rematch for the WWE Title while McIntyre has had rematch after rematch after rematch. 

This brought out Adam Pearce for the third interruption of the opening segment and the WWE official announced Drew McIntyre and Kofi Kingston will go one on one next to determine Bobby Lashley's opponent at Hell In A Cell.

Drew McIntyre vs. Kofi Kingston ended in a Double Disqualification 

The match got underway after the commercial break and neither McIntyre nor Kingston could pick up the win after battling back and forth for 20 minutes. 

Drew then turned into a mindless WWE Superstar down the stretch as he couldn't resist staring at Bobby Lashley after Kofi knocked him to the outside. Kingston quickly took advantage with a Splash to the floor and knocked both McIntyre and The All Mighty over.

Kofi then followed up with an SOS back in the squared circle for a near fall but the match came to an end moments later after MVP and an angry Lashley climbed into the ring and attacked both competitors to draw the double disqualification. 

With the first 40 minutes of Raw now done and dusted, WWE turned its attention to another storyline and Nikki Cross, Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair bumped into each other for a backstage segment. This set up a match where the Raw Women's Champion would try and defeat Cross within two minutes.

Nikki Cross def. Rhea Ripley in a Two-Minute Beat The Clock Challenge

That match was next on the show and Cross got in some offence before Ripley fought back with 40 seconds left. All she did was hit Cross with strikes, though, and the Raw Women's Champion was left looking incredibly silly as time expired.

Cross was delighted with her "win" and she charged around ringside in celebration. Flair then headed to the ring and laughed at Ripley before WWE went to break.  

Once the broadcast returned, Drew McIntyre and Kofi Kingston barged into Adam Pearce's office. The WWE official calmed them both down and announced a number one contender's rematch for next week.

Charlotte Flair def. Asuka 

By this point, Charlotte had been standing in the ring for nearly 10 minutes before Asuka finally made her entrance for their scheduled match. 

Both women were given plenty of time but much of the in-ring action featured Flair working over Asuka's leg. The Empress Of Tomorrow eventually managed to fight back, though, and both women enjoyed time on top for the remainder of the contest. 

After 20 minutes, Asuka went for the Asuka Lock but Flair rolled through and pinned The Empress Of Tomorrow for the win. 

It was then announced later in the show that Rhea Ripley will defend the Raw Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair at Hell In A Cell. When WWE wonders why fans don't get behind The Queen, they only need to look here. How can Flair earn a title shot through 50/50 booking yet Asuka is not in contention? 

WWE then turned its attention back to the WWE Title picture after another break and MVP and Bobby Lashley entered Adam Pearce's office. After a brief back and forth, Pearce said if MVP or Lashley head to ringside for next week's rematch between Kingston and McIntyre, The Hurt Business will be suspended for 90 days without pay. 

Cedric Alexander def. Shelton Benjamin

Speaking of Lashley and MVP, their former Hurt Business friends Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin went one on one next.   

Cedric declared before the match that he would put Benjamin away for good and he may well have lived up to that promise as he survived Shelton's onslaught and picked up the win after 11 minutes with a thumb to the eye and the Neuralyzer. 

Riddle def. Xavier Woods

Next up was Riddle vs. Xavier Woods. Neither Randy Orton nor Kofi Kingston were at ringside for this one and Riddle and Woods put together a great 11-minute match.

Riddle went for the Floating Bro in the closing stages but Woods managed to roll out of the way. The 11-time tag team champion then looked to capitalise to no avail and Riddle caught him with an RKO from out of nowhere to pick up the win. 

Jaxson Ryker def. AJ Styles

Following that match, AJ Styles faced off against Jaxson Ryker. The Phenomenal One headed to the ring without Omos for some reason, though, and this meant the two-time WWE Champion was incapable of defeating Ryker.

After 90 seconds, Elias appeared from out of nowhere and decked Styles with a knee while the referee wasn't looking. This allowed Ryker to hit the Black Hole Slam for the win.

Following the match, Omos charged to the ring and chased Elias and Jaxson Ryker up the entrance ramp and he Shoulder Tackled The Drifter into the LED boards. 

Sheamus def. Humberto Carrillo

After a one-week interlude, the rivalry between Sheamus and Humberto Carrillo continued next on the show. 

The United States Champion dominated much of the action during the four-minute match but Carrillo fought back with a Suicide Dive and a Flying Back Elbow for a close near fall. 

Sheamus managed to recover a few moments later, though, and he pinned Carrillo with a handful of tights. 

The Celtic Warrior wasn't finished with his opponent after the match and he locked in the Cloverleaf before Ricochet attacked from out of nowhere and both high flyers left Sheamus lying after several splashes. 

Following that match, WWE turned its attention to the main event. Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax and Reginald were featured in a backstage segment before they headed to the ring and The Queen Of Spades blamed Reggie for their loss last week and told him to stay backstage or she would give him a real reason to have nightmares. 

Just before the entrances, though, WWE slotted in the latest Eva Marie video package. She did lots of exercise to inspire people this week. 

Natalya & Tamina def. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler – Women's Tag Team Championship 

While Baszler may have warned Reginald, he obviously wasn't too concerned about her threat as the sommelier sauntered to the ring after a whole three minutes of in-ring action, distracting the former NXT Women's Champion in the process.

Baszler managed to eventually refocus and the challengers appeared to have the match in hand after Nia Jax caught Tamina with a Samoan Drop over the barricade. This left Baszler and Natalya to battle it out in the ring and The Queen Of Harts was about to lock in the Sharpshooter until Reginald hopped on the apron and distracted the official, allowing Baszler to roll Natalya into a small package. The official remained distracted by Reggie, though, and Natalya kicked out at two when the referee noticed what was happening. 

Baszler couldn't hold in her anger following Reginald's latest piece of interference and she demanded he go backstage. Reggie did what he was told but fire suddenly shot out of the entrance ramp. Baszler looked on with bemusement but she was then caught unawares by Natalya who rolled her up for the victory. 

Baszler's anger then only worsened and she grabbed Reggie as Raw went off the air and announced they will go one on one next week.