Raw Recap: Randy Orton Strikes Again

With both SummerSlam and Payback now in the rear-view mirror, big things are on the horizon for Monday Night Raw — and for WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.

While the big Scotsman found out who his dance partner will be for the upcoming Clash of Champions, another duo was forced to call it quits thanks to a big loss.

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Here are the 3 biggest takeaways from Monday Night Raw on August 31, 2020.

1. An iconic farewell

For over 5 years, Peyton Royce and Billie Kay have been the quintessential team. They've belittled backstage reporters, made their way from NXT to Raw and SmackDown, won the Women's Tag Team Championship ... and through it all, they did it together. Everything they did was for one another (and no one else).

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Unfortunately, that iconic pairing seemingly came to an end on Monday, as Kay and Royce squared off with the Riott Squad, Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott, in a Payback rematch.

This time, the winner would earn a shot at those tag team titles, while the losing team would be disbanded. Forever. And, well ...

Congratulations to the Riott Squad, of course, but suffice it to say that the breakup overshadowed their win.

The IIconics weren't the only ones to have a hard time taking the news, judging by the reaction on Twitter.

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And perhaps worst of all, the night ended for the ex-IIconics with Royce sacrificing Kay to Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke in Raw Underground.

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Kay did take the pin against the Riott Squad, but that's still just rude.

On a more serious note, Royce and Kay reflected on their journey together after the show in an incredible outpouring of emotion, love, and tears.

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2. Retribution is a mystery (still)

Security had been doing such a good job of late, you know? The shadowy, chaotic group hadn't been seen at either Payback or this past week's Friday Night SmackDown, but there Retribution was again on Monday night.

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The group made its presence known during a back-and-forth tag affair between The Street Profits and Andrade and Angel Garza. Shortly after Montez Ford gained the upper hand for the Profits, the lights flickered, and Garza got out of town (along with his guest for the evening).

Seconds later, Retribution appeared and put a beatdown on the Profits, Andrade and Zelina Vega.

What's next for this crew? More chaos, almost certainly.

3. The Viper earns another shot at Drew McIntyre

Let's put a little extra emphasis on the word "earns" in that sentence, as Randy Orton first had to go through Kevin Owens then knock off both Keith Lee and Seth Rollins in a main event triple threat to stake his claim as the No. 1 contender to the WWE title.

Sure, he had a little help from Aleister Black, who attacked Owens from behind and practically kicked his head off before that first match:

But Orton took care of business in an absolutely epic main event that saw Rollins take a ride on a Spirit Bomb from Lee ...

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Before The Viper immediately struck, landing an RKO on an unsuspecting Lee for the 1-2-3.

Now, Orton will look to avenge his SummerSlam loss to McIntyre in just under 4 weeks — and, potentially, claim his 14th heavyweight championship reign..

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