WWE Raw preview (July 5, 2021): Charlotte Flair’s ‘condition’ is a big mystery

Raw airs tonight (July 5) live from the ThunderDome in the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida. This is the third Raw episode during the four week build towards the upcoming Money in the Bank 2021 event on July 18.

Charlotte Flair’s ‘condition’ is a big mystery

Charlotte Flair was victorious in a trios match last week, but she was chop blocked afterwards by Raw Women’s champion Rhea Ripley. That leads to tonight’s episode of Raw, where Flair is set to provide an update on her condition. Here is how WWE’s web site describes the situation:

The Nightmare doled out a vicious chop block on The Queen, and as a result, Flair has requested time this Monday on Raw to provide the WWE Universe with a medical update on her condition after the attack.

Flair has had a rollercoaster year so far, beginning in January as a tag team champion, then dealing with Lacey Evans’ nasty secret with her father Ric, watching her fiancé get released by WWE, being medically suspended by WWE for being pregnant even though she wasn’t pregnant, testing positive for COVID-19, and missing WrestleMania 37.

Tonight’s ‘medical update on her condition’ could be as simple as heel Flair defiantly stating that she will make it to her women’s championship rematch versus (also heel?) Ripley at Money in the Bank despite the attack. But considering how wild things have been for Flair in 2021, the line between kayfabe and reality could very well be blurred again tonight. We’ll just have to wait and see exactly what Flair has to say about her health.

The title scene

The WWE championship story will revolve around a tag team match tonight, with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods teaming up to take on Bobby Lashley and MVP. This will be Woods’ return to Raw after missing one episode thanks to a brutal beatdown from the heels inside Hell in a Cell. This will also be MVP’s first match since injuring his knee in a trios match back in February.

We still don’t have an official date for a title match, but the Viking Raiders remain in line for a shot at Raw tag team champions AJ Styles & Omos. Erik and Ivar were both eliminated in a battle royal last week thanks to Omos, so they’ll be looking for payback tonight.

Sheamus’ precious nose has kept the United States championship on the sidelines for a while now. In fact the title has not been defended in nearly three months. The current build to Money in the Bank has given mid-carders a prize to focus on besides Sheamus’ gold, so it’s possible things won’t pick back up for the Celtic Warrior until we move on from the July 18 pay-per-view.

Natalya & Tamina still don’t have much or any viable competition for their Women’s tag team titles. With Mandy Rose losing yet another match last week, the Sexy Muscle Friends will have to come up with a very creative excuse for why they deserve a championship match.

The 24/7 championship still exists. It changed hands three times during a battle royal last week, with Drew Gulak, R-Truth, and Akira Tozawa each winning and losing the jobber gold. Tozawa ran away as the champ. Now that WWE remembers this title is still a thing, it’s only a matter of time until R-Truth gets his baby back and successfully escapes from the jobbers chasing after him.

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- WWE is advertising a MizTV segment featuring all four men on Raw who have qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match - John Morrison, Ricochet, Matt Riddle, and Drew McIntyre. Will Randy Orton return to Raw and have his partner’s back once things inevitably break down into chaos?

- Nikki Cross has a winning streak and possibly a new name. If Charlotte Flair’s medical update takes her out of the Raw women’s championship match at Money in the Bank, it’s at least possible that Nikki A.S.H. could take her place.

- Jaxson Ryker inspired dozens of fans worldwide when he hit himself with a strap over and over again before going on to defeat Elias in a strap match last week. That victory might signify the end of their feud, in which case WWE will have to find a new evildoer for babyface Ryker to overcome tonight.

- Doudrop is so good that she was able to defeat the team of Asuka and Naomi all by herself last week in less than three minutes. Will Eva Marie try to harness Doudrop’s skills to her personal advantage, or is Eva still looking to embarrass Doudrop after Eva was pinned two weeks ago?

- Shayna Baszler gets pinned all the time on Raw because she is a loser who is afraid of a stupid little doll. I wonder who Shayna will be doing the job for tonight.

- Mansoor doesn’t seem too interested in following Mustafa Ali’s advice right now. The former leader of RETRIBUTION is persistent, though, so I don’t expect him to leave Mansoor alone any time soon, even if that means hounding him inside Shane McMahon’s locker room.

What will you be looking for on Raw tonight?