Shinsuke Nakamura Must Win, Becky Lynch Is Women's MVP Once Again, More WWE Raw Takes

WWE Raw began to build an exciting Fastlane card on its September 25 episode, particularly the likely main event.

Shinsuke Nakamura challenged Seth Rollins to a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship at the October 7 pay-per-view.

Becky Lynch prepared for her next NXT Women's Championship defense against Tiffany Stratton by motivating a new challenger, Tegan Nox. The Welsh wrestler picked up her first-ever win on the red brand in a dominant showing against Natalya.

Dragon Lee pushed "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio to the best singles match of his career, and The Judgment Day member emerged victorious even without Rhea Ripley in his corner. Mami was certainly missed throughout the night.

Finn Bálor and Damian Priest also won for the stable in the main event title match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, but they needed help from JD McDonagh.

Monday's show pushed forward the key stories on Raw while also setting up some new names to watch in the coming weeks.

Shinsuke Nakamura Must Beat Seth 'Freakin' Rollins

Shinsuke Nakamura has finally set the date for his rematch with Seth Rollins. He will fight The Visionary in a Last Man Standing match at Fastlane.

While WWE has a chance to prolong this story going into Survivor Series, this match should main-event Fastlane, giving The Artist a second chance to prove himself as a top name.

If he loses again, though, even a good performance will not be enough to keep Nakamura credible. He will always be a good performer but unlikely to be a World Heavyweight Championship contender again.

Even during this feud, Rollins and Nakamura have been overshadowed by The Judgment Day seemingly always taking the main event spot on Raw. WWE has struggled to sell this as more than a filler rivalry despite the best efforts of both competitors.

Rollins can afford a loss as a five-time world champion in WWE, and he's also the rare figure credible enough to dethrone Roman Reigns. But Nakamura is left in an all-or-nothing situation where his legacy could rest on the outcome of his challenge at Fastlane.

Becky Lynch Is Most Important Woman in Wrestling Once Again

Becky Lynch has only been NXT women's champion for two weeks, and she has already had a bigger impact on Raw and the gold brand than any other female titleholder in 2023.

The Man is pushing the importance of her title, appearing on both shows weekly. She has given Natalya a rare featured match on television and set up Lyra Valkyria to win her first main event.

Most impressively, she has now made Tegan Nox a featured name again. The Welsh wrestler has barely appeared on TV since featuring on the December 2, 2022 episode of SmackDown, and it seemed she might be facing a second release from the company.

Instead—perhaps only by Lynch's request—Nox appeared on TV, won her match and was hyped up for a title bout next week against The Man or Tiffany Stratton pending their result at No Mercy on Saturday.

It's likely Lynch will retain her title at the weekend, continuing her run as the top women's champion in WWE. Rhea Ripley will need to elevate herself again to challenge The Man for that honor.

Dragon Lee Proves Ready for Main Roster in First Raw Match

Dragon Lee may not have won the NXT North American Championship, but he looked like a future champion in his first main roster appearance.

The luchador pushed Dominik Mysterio to his best singles match to date and got the entire crowd at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California behind him without any other build on Raw.

Dom and Lee have proved their chemistry together in NXT already, but both worked extra hard to make this second match matter. Everyone in attendance was certain that Mysterio was going to lose without Rhea Ripley in his corner.

All of this set the stage for Lee to regroup in NXT and come back even stronger. There isn't much more that the 28-year-old Mexican needs to be for the gold brand, though, and he would be better served heading to Raw or SmackDown.

The future is bright for Lee, who is one of the best signings by WWE in recent years. He has yet to show anyone his best work, but that will come against top names in the future.

The Judgment Day Lacks Main Event Appeal Without Rhea Ripley

Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are all main event acts, and they have proved that time and again. Jey Uso has quickly risen to that level as well, working with them following his move away from The Bloodline.

So, why hasn't the WWE Universe consistently bought into their feud with The Judgment Day? That may come down to the fact that Finn Bálor, Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio have yet to prove their main event status.

Despite the red brand putting all three in the final match on Raw week after week, the hype for The Judgment Day has begun to wane. But it has not helped that the one top name in the stable has not been around.

Rhea Ripley is a clear main event act. She is one of the most popular women in the business. Even if Becky Lynch has temporarily taken over Raw from her, the Australian can believably defeat anyone at any time, including The Man.

Her loyalty to The Judgment Day elevates the group by association. Even though Dirty Dom had a great performance on Raw, he still feels lesser without Mami in his corner. And Bálor and Priest are just like any other heels without their enforcer.

A stable without its top star is not the same, as The Bloodline found out without Roman Reigns. Hopefully, the plan is for Ripley to return soon.