WWE Raw Fallout: Company Fails to Deliver Emphatic Response to AEW and More

All eyes were on WWE Monday night, waiting to see how Vince McMahon and his creative team would answer what was a blow-away show from All Elite Wrestling Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Would McMahon take necessary steps to improve his show, bring about more unpredictability, let the wrestlers shine without the safety net of scripted promos or screwy finishes?

The answer to all of that was an emphatic "no."

That takeaway is just one of the notable talking points from Monday's show.

Relive the Memorial Day episode of WWE's flagship show and find out what else was buzz-worthy with this recap of the May 27 broadcast.

More of the Same Old, Same Old from WWE in the Face of a Successful AEW Debut

Saturday night, All Elite Wrestling left the wrestling world buzzing with excitement over the first real competition to Vince McMahon's sports-entertainment empire in nearly two decades.

Many were eager to see what Vinnie Mac and Co. had in store for fans, how they would answer the excitement and fervor surrounding Double or Nothing.

As it turned out, they would not.

Monday's Raw felt like any other episode of Raw, with the exception of the first 30 minutes of the show, which were dedicated to the Kofi Kingston-Dolph Ziggler story ahead of their battle at Super ShowDown.

The rest of the broadcast struck the same tone as every other recent show, and the result was a nothing-happening broadcast that had one claim to fame: Sami Zayn mentioning AEW by name. There was no followup, there was nothing to it. It was a once-and-done thing that meant nothing in the long run.

Instead, there was more 24/7 Championship nonsense, Baron Corbin was named No. 1 contender after winning a Fatal 4-Way match over The Miz, Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley, and women's tag team champions The IIconics lost another match because management was not quite sure if those new titles had been devalued enough yet. 

On a night when the company needed an emphatic response and a reason for fans to be excited about its company, the defiant McMahon answered with the same old song and dance that fans have been mostly unreceptive to for the last six months.

A Reinvigorated Dolph Ziggler Fuels WWE Championship Feud

Dolph Ziggler needed time away from WWE. That much is clear when you watch his two performances since his return last Tuesday on SmackDown Live.

Reinvigorated, he has delivered some extraordinary mic work and appears more motivated and intense than fans have seen him in a long time.

Of course, the likelihood that The Showoff topples Kofi Kingston for the WWE championship in Saudi Arabia at Super ShowDown on June 7 is very low. Kingston's story feels unfinished and beating him at this point feels like a misstep that would damage all involved.

With that said, if Ziggler can continue to build momentum for himself with performances like his last two, the likelihood that he does put an exclamation point on his return with a WWE Championship reign at some point in the near future becomes greater.

The Unfortunate Case of Sami Zayn

When it comes to Sami Zayn, one thing has become readily apparent since his return from injury: WWE officials really like giving him a microphone but do not like booking him to go over anyone.

Zayn has been extraordinary on the mic, voicing frustrations with the fans and causing controversy by dropping names like AEW, as he did Monday night. He has been spot-on as a vocal antagonist but when he gets in the ring, it is another story.

Yes, he has had the opportunity to mix it up with both Kofi Kingston and Seth Rollins, suggesting WWE sees potential in him as a main event foil for the top babyfaces. Yet, his credibility is shot a bit more each time with every passing defeat.

And Zayn loses a lot.

The Montreal native had his shoulders pinned to the mat again Monday night, by the aforementioned Rollins, just moments after making the audience gasp after dropping the competition's name.

It was yet another instance of WWE officials not knowing what to do with a guy who has surpassed even the loftiest of expectations other than feed him to its babyfaces.