For three weeks, Sami Zayn has made it his life purpose to insult the moral fiber of the WWE Universe, but if we’re being honest, it was only a matter of time before someone decided to shut him up. To Zayn’s great detriment, that someone turned out to be Braun Strowman, and while “The Critic of the Critics’” catlike agility didn’t diminish a bit during his time on the shelf, The Monster Among Men has wheels of his own. Strowman pursued Zayn relentlessly through the bowels of the arena, quickly gaining ground despite taking bundles of paper towels and other assorted backstage detritus to the face. When Strowman finally got his hands on Zayn, he promptly dumped the former NXT Champion in a dumpster … moments before a garbage truck dumped the contents of the container in its bed. Adding to the surrealistic nature of the chase, The Lucha House Party dispatched a trio of locals seconds after the chase had concluded; clearly Strowman isn’t the only one who likes to let his actions do the talking.

Nobody much raised an eyebrow when Ricochet was named to the Men’s Money in the Bank Match on merit — after all, it’s pretty much a tailor-made contest to the former NXT North American Champion’s skills, and it’s a near-guarantee he’s going to do something nuts. But it’s hard to argue against Robert Roode’s frustration with being passed over, given that he’s the only man to pin Ricochet in WWE. At least, the McMahon family seemed to think so, granting Roode a win-and-you’re in match against his rival after some backstage wheeling-and-dealing, but the outcome of that contest left little doubt as to who deserved to go to WWE Money in the Bank.

In short, they got it right the first time, as Ricochet withstood an aggressive full-court press from The Glorious One to retain his “Money” berth via 630. It was a firm reminder of not just his athleticism but his perseverance — the win was come-from-behind by any measure — and he’ll need both of those skills if he wants to win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. As for Robert Roode? He’ll surely politick his way to another opportunity eventually. As far as WWE Money in the Bank is concerned, however, he'll go no further.

There is a difference between being a champion and a locker room leader. Lacey Evans, we’re finding out, may well have it in her to become the former at WWE Money in the Bank at the expense of Becky Lynch. The latter, however, is a different story. For all the dominance she showed in her rout of a local competitor named Allie Catrina on Raw, The Lady of WWE did nothing to endear herself to her fellow Superstars when she sent out formal-attire ringside invitations to the Raw Women’s Money in the Bank competitors.

While Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Dana Brooke and Natalya did indeed surround the ring per Lacey’s request, they were subject to a round of insults from The Lady and made their displeasure known by standing aside when Lynch appeared to brawl with her challenger. Evans briefly traded haymakers with Becky before heading for higher ground, though being forced into retreat did little to dim her confidence — again, she has more than a fighting chance and may well turn The Man into Becky One Belt when all is said and done. The respect of her peers? That might be a little harder to obtain, win or lose.

Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins have managed to avoid The Viking Raiders ever since losing to them in their Raw debut, which is good news for the fan-favorites’ fledgling Raw Tag Team Title reign. But the champs got a good look at what the future might hold when they squared up with Erik & Ivar in a non-title match and found themselves steamrolled by the Raiders, despite an impressive opening sequence that saw them force Ivar against the ropes with quick tags and teamwork.

Even after Erik entered the fray, Ryder & Hawkins stuck to their strategy and seemed like they might pull off the win … until an overzealous Hawkins found himself kneed into oblivion by Erik, leaving The Ultimate Broski alone to suffer The Viking Experience, and a reality check with it: As impressive as Ryder & Hawkins have been since winning the titles, they’ve definitely been the recipients of some good luck and better timing along the way. If there's a takeaway from this match, it's that luck didn’t save them, and time may be running out.

The trio’s down to two on “Firefly Fun House,” as Bray Wyatt entered his humble abode to find that Mercy the Buzzard had torn Rambling Rabbit to pieces — he’d apparently tried to force the bird to “adhere to his bohemian worldview and ideologies.” But as we learned last week, self-expression is important, and as far as Bray was concerned, ripping the bunny apart was just Mercy’s way of conveying his feelings. That was worth a reward: “Picnic time” with a gaggle of dead-eyed children who stared blankly at the camera while Wyatt waved giddily at the audience. The slightly unsettling image made his jovial sign-off somewhat ominous in context: “See you next week!”

The Usos’ prank war against The Revival continues to be a one-sided affair, as Jimmy & Jey followed up their shower-cam footage from last week by filling Dash & Dawson’s trunks with sweat-activated “Ucey Hot” cream that fired up just moments before the “Top Guys” were scheduled to face Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson. It turned out exactly like you might imagine, as The Revival frantically ran about the stage and eventually exited before their match began.

Less jovial was the arrival of No Way Jose moments later, as The Dominican Dancing Machine was interrupted by a wild-eyed Lars Sullivan, who took advantage of the “Wild Card Rule” to wreak havoc on Raw. The Freak made short work of Jose and his conga line, leaving beads and human burgers and one particularly unfortunate human hot dog in his wake as he forged a one-man path of destruction. A brief rally by Jose was summarily snuffed out, and The Freak finished his business with a running sit-out powerbomb.

You will note that Lars Sullivan is the fifth SmackDown Superstar to appear on Raw, despite Mr. McMahon setting a very clear cap at three. But as The Chairman explained backstage on a telephone call, Elias doesn’t count because he accompanied Shane McMahon, and as for Lars … after a wordless confrontation with The Freak in which Sullivan simply stared down The Chairman, Mr. McMahon decided to change it to four Superstars apiece. Clearly, even among wild cards, Lars Sullivan stands alone.