WWE Raw advertised Drew McIntyre vs. The Miz, The New Day vs. The Hurt Business for the Raw Tag Team Championships, Riddle vs. Mustafa Ali for the United States Championship and Asuka’s return against Shayna Baszler.

WWE Raw continued its relative hot streak as last week’s broadcast garnered the second-biggest viewership of the year with 1.900 million viewers.

WWE Raw Ratings—Last Five Weeks

• March 1, 2021—1.884 million
• February 22, 2021—1.890 million
• February 15, 2021—1.810 million
• February 8, 2021—1.715 million
• February 1, 2021—1.892 million

WWE Raw—Key Competition

Pro Wrestling Bits—Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso? WrestleMania 37 Match Card Predictions

WWE Raw Total YouTube Viewership Last Week—8,266,164 views (Down from 14,742,944)

• Most-Viewed: Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus—No Disqualification (1,596,970 views) 
• Least-Viewed: Rhea Ripley Coming Soon (165,751 views)
• Median Viewership: 503,547

WWE Raw Results—Monday, March 15, 2021

Opening Segment Featuring Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre

Given how WWE has booked The Miz over the past two weeks alone, the fact that they opened this show with Miz vs. Drew McIntyre—even a hobbled McIntyre—was risky.

How can WWE just announce Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley for WrestleMania when McIntyre has a big showdown match against Sheamus? What if Sheamus wins that match? Then what?

Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley standing in the same ring just felt like a WrestleMania-caliber program between two monsters.

Drew McIntyre def. The Miz

If The Miz’s losing streak lasts any longer, he might not even be beneath his projected celebrity attraction match against Bad Bunny and Damin Priest.

Drew McIntyre beat Miz with The Hurt Lock after Lashley already did it twice. Big whoop.

Braun Strowman Calls out Shane McMahon

WWE tried to cover for last week’s abysmal promo from Shane McMahon by having Braun Strowman insist Shane was scared, and that’s why he “fumbled through [his] promo.”

Braun Strowman insisted Shane McMahon’s dad couldn’t help him get out of this situation, which makes me think Braun Strowman doesn’t understand how pro wrestling works.

Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose def. Naomi and Lana

Byron Saxton was in no mood to take lip from Nia Jax, though their bickering overshadowed the action in the ring at times.

The highlight of this match was the return of Asuka, who attacked Shayna Baszler.

The New Day def. The Hurt Business—WWE Raw Tag Team Championships

This was a fantastic match. In fact, it was so good, it made me think The Hurt Business wasn’t figured into any WrestleMania plans and were giving a WrestleMania-caliber performance just in case.

The New Day vs. AJ Styles and Omos came out of nowhere, but having said that, it actually does feel like as big of a tag team match as WWE can make.

Damian Priest def. Jaxson Ryker by Disqualification

R-Truth won the WWE 24/7 Championship via trade as he gifted Bad Bunny with a Replica Smoking Skull belt. Even as a replica that you can get for $319 on WWEShop.com, I think Bad Bunny won this deal.

The Miz hit Bad Bunny with a guitar and it didn’t break, which is a microcosm of The Miz’s last three weeks.

Braun Strowman def. Shane McMahon by Disqualification

This is a storyline centered around whether or not Braun Strowman is an idiot. Strowman spent this match chasing around Shane McMahon and ended the match covered in green slime. Sounds like Shane was right.

Asuka def. Shayna Baszler

Asuka looked like an absolute badass and this match made me want to see Asuka vs. Shayna Baszler—Tooth for a Tooth.

The finish of this match left the door open for a rematch as Baszler choke out Asuka while getting pin, but Asuka’s post-match curb stomp (which was closer to the actual curb stomp made infamous on American History X) made it seem like this feud might be over before it starts.

Riddle def. Mustafa Ali—WWE United States Championship

As long as Riddle rides a scooter to the ring, he will not be anywhere near the top of the card in WWE, though his custom slides during his entrance were a nice touch.

Mustafa Ali lost this match due to a miscue from RETRIBUTION. WWE is just going to drag this breakup through WrestleMania, aren’t they?

Bobby Lashley def. Sheamus

They may have waited two weeks, but Drew McIntyre had a slick line about AEW’s explosion fiasco when he said “If you make a guarantee and don’t deliver, fans get upset. Sparks fly…”

Prior to this match, I thought “what are the odds this match ends in a clean finish?” Lashley answered with a middair Spear and pinned Sheamus in the middle of the ring. I love to see it.