Shayna Baszler & Bianca Belair Return On WWE Raw

A huge boost for the WWE Raw women's division.

Bianca Belair Shayna Baszler
WWE

The WWE Raw women's division was given a much-needed shot in the arm with the returns of Shayna Baszler and Bianca Belair on last night's show, as both performers made their presence felt on a strong night for the scene.

Belair's comeback went down first. A backstage segment saw her introduced as Ruby Riott's tag team partner versus The IIconics before they progressed to earn a quick, decisive victory over Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, with Belair scoring the pinfall. The duo embraced in the ring afterwards.

Baszler, meanwhile, was reintroduced as part of an angle involving R-Truth, Akira Tozawa, and the army of ninjas. Truth as in the ring with Tozawa's crew when 'The Queen of Spades' hit the ring, sent a couple of ninjas to the shadow realm, then used intimidation to ward Tozawa and Truth out of the ring. A quick promo saw her throw barbs at WWE's "weak-minded women's champions," promising to "shatter the illusion that they are in control with a hard dose of reality."

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Belair hadn't wrestled on Raw since 20 April prior to last night, while Baszler's last match went down on 18 May. It was recently reported that Vince McMahon had soured on the latter - hence her televised absence.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.