Posted on 6/09/126 by Bob Magee
Welcome to WWE Raw, or as the French might say “Le RAW du
WWE.”
I don’t know if they’d actually say that.
Any way, todays show comes to us live from Paris, France,
location of last year’s apropriately named Clash In Paris.
Today, we’re getting a double dose of Intercontinental
Championship matches and a set of Fatal 4-Way King/Queen of
the Ring qualifying matches. Plus, the usual amount of
talking, entrances and ads.
After some glory shots of Paris and the crowd, Penta, Rey
Mysterio, Sol Ruca, Alexa Bliss, and Je’Von Evans were all
show arriving to work. Some via walking, others via bus.
Then we got a quick recap of the first set of King and Queen
of the Ring qualifiers from RAW and Smackdown last week.
Then the lights flickered and the Ruler himself, Oba Femi
came sauntering down to the ring as only he can. During
this, I got a good look at Oba’s shoes and damn, that guy
makes Sideshow Bob’s look like a size 7.
A smiling Femi grabbed a mic and offered up a spoiler for
the King of The Ring Tournament: He’s going to win it. After
all, a Ruler needs a crown. He then turned his attention to
Brock Lesnar. Femi noted that they are 1-1 in their meetings
and that’s because Brock cheats!
Femi called Lesnar a “big, bad, bitch” and said that he
plans to settle the score with Brock when he sees him. That
conjured AAA Mega Champion Dominic Mysterio, who will meet
Femi in the Semi-Finals of the King of The Ring.
The crowd booed Dom so loudly that it was honestly hard to
hear him, which was awesome. Dom called Femi a “rookie” and
said that he’s ruler of nothing. Dom claimed to be a 20 year
veteran and King of The Luchadores and once he’s King of The
Ring, he will rule over the Ruler.
Dom then asked Femi to “bend the knee and respect the
‘stache.” While he was doing that, JD McDonough tried to hit
Femi with a chair from behind, but Femi barely felt it. Dom
tried to attack Femi, but got thrown across the rign for his
trouble.
McDonough pulled Mysterio out of the ring and Femi told him
that he messed up tonight. Femi says he knows Rey Mysterio
is Dom’s father, but next week Femi will become his Daddy!
-Next up, after a recap of last week’s match against Bron
Breakker, Seth Rollins was asked if he was done with The
Vision. Rollins welcomed the French crowd to Monday Night
Rollins and said that the Vision is in the past and the King
of the Ring (which he will win) is the future.
Rollins then teased a future confrontation with Roman
Reigns. Rollins said that Roman can’t beat him or win a
title without help. Rollins said that the World Heavyweight
Title belongs to Seth “Freakin” Rollins.
Queen of the Ring Opening Round Match: Becky Lynch vs Liv
Morgan vs Alexa Bliss vs Chelsea Green
So, Alexa Bliss came out, then they went to commercial (a
clip from Undertaker’s Six Feet Under podcast with R-Truth).
Then Chelsea Green (who should win this match, but probably
won’t because we can’t have nice things) came out, followed
by Becky Lynch and then Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan,
who you may have noted is in this tournament for a chance to
fight herself for the title.
The bell rang and Lynch tried to form a brief alliance with
Green, but then immediately turned on her. Lynch sent Green
the outside and faced Bliss. Lynch tried to get Bliss with a
baseball slide but managed to hit Morgan. That left all
three vulnerable to a crossbody from Green from the ring
post.
Lynch and Bliss moved back into the ring where Lynch dropped
a leg on her for a two count. Lynch jawed at the ref
(Jessica Carr, who she’s had issues with for a while now)
and clubbed Bliss to the mat. Bliss came back with a
jawbreaker, but fell victim to a backstabber from Morgan.
Green threw some hands at Morgan who countered with a set of
3 Amigos suplexes. Then Green and Bliss came back and hit a
double suplex on Morgan and Lynch. Bliss threw some
shoulders and dropkicks to Lynch and Morgan. Green went for
a double bulldog and Bliss hit a double senton.
Green fired up and spammed some knees, but Lynch and Morgan
turned the tables on her. Bliss shrigged off a Manhandle
Slam attempt and Green sent a missile dropkick into Lynch’s
midsection. Morgan hit a powerbomb on Green, but Bliss broke
up the pin with a Twisted Bliss. Then Lynch broke up her pin
attempt.
Lynch tossed Green and Morgan to the floor and went for a
Manhandle on Bliss who countered it with a blockbuster.
Morgan went for Oblivion, but Bliss countered it into Sister
Abigail. Lynch then hit the Manhandle, but Green hit an
Unpretty-her on her. Morgan then rolled up Green and got the
pin to win the match and advance in the tournament.
Match Result: Live Morgan defeated Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss
and Chelsea Green
-Next a hype video for tonights Intercontinental Title Match
between Penta and Rey Mysterio aired. After it was done,
Penta was shown in the back being approached by the former
El Grande Americano, Chad Gable.
Gable apologized to Penta for how he’s been acting towards
Lucha Libre the last couple of years. Penta told him that he
knows who he neds to talk to if he wants to really set
things right with the world of Lucha Libre.
-Byron Saxton then interviewed Ethan Page at ringside. Page
said that he’s only been here two months and has already had
a PLE match for the Intercontinental Title. Page said he’s
owed a rematch from that encounter and asked Adam Pearce to
make the match for him vs whoever wins tonight.
-They then announced that Atlanta will host a special
“Sunday Night’s Main Event” in September.
-Set Rollins was shown in the locker room with new pal
Montez Ford. they thanked each other for being cool and then
the Usos arrived (with Sad Jacob Fatu in tow). Jey told
Rollins that he’s going to win the King of The Ring to take
Cody’s WWE Title.
Rollins said that earlier, he was talking about Roman
Reigns, not his family. He’s not mad at them, just
disappointed at the Usos for going back to Reigns. Jey told
Jacob to get Rollins, but Jacob sulked away instead. Montez
Ford continued to stare off into the middle distance.
-Backstage, Lyra Valkyria was warming up when Bayley swung
by. She bigged up Valkyria and sent her to the ring.
WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship Match: Sol Ruca
(c) vs Lyra Valkyria
After an extended clip of Matt Cardona on Cody Rhodes’
podcast (it seems podcasts are the new commercials tonight),
we were back and Ruca and Valkyria made their way down to
the ring.
Off the top, Valkyria grabbed a wristlock that Ruca flipped
into a wristlock of her own. Valkyria hit an armdrag, but
whiffed on a spin kick, giving Ruca a chance to whip her
into the corner. Valkyria went for a lariat and Ruca matrix-
dodged it and hit an x-factor for a two count.
Ruca went for a spingboard lariat, but Valkyria caught her
and sent her over the top rope to the outside. Valkyria
pulled Ruca back in for a cover, but only got two. Ruca came
back with some stomach shots, but Valkyria caught her in an
inverted Boston Crab.
Valkyria mocked Ruca a bit which let to a rollup attempt by
Ruca. The two met in a double clothesline in the center of
the ring, with Valkyria getting her wits about her first and
throwing some forearms. Ruca cam back and they traded shots
until she got a back elbow in.
Ruca sent Valkyria reeling with a missile driopkick and then
a high knee for a two count. Valkyria dropped a leg and then
went for a tornado DDT, but Ruca countered it. Valkyria got
Ruca up for night wing, but Ruca countered it into a Sol
Snatcher attempt.
Valkyria got caught in the ropes (kinda) which allowed Ruca
to land a Sol Snatcher and get a quick pin to retain the
title.
Match Result: Sol Ruca defeated Lyra Valkyria
-Next a recap package of Sad Jacob Fatu acknowledging Roman
Reigns last week was shown. Then Jacob was showin the back
getting yelled at by Jey and Jimmy Uso. Jacob reminded them
that he works for Roman, not the Usos. He then changed the
subject to LA Knight. Jacob said that Knight was probably
out there talking trash about the family while they did
nothing about it. Jacob and Jey then left in opposite
directions.
-Byron Saxton then interviewed Ricky Saints abou this
upcoming King of The Ring qualifier. Saints said that he is
absolute and there is no one else like him. Saints said that
he is a star and tonight will be the beginning when he
proves it.
-LA Knight’s ears must have been burning from the earlier
segment as he came strutting down to the ring to have a
hotly contested match. HA! Just kidding, he grabbed a mic
and started to talk. Knight’s first round Fatal 4 Way is on
Smackdown on Friday, and he has catchphrases to say about
it.
Knight said that he expects someone from the Bloodline to
interfere and help Jey win that 4-Way, but in this
neighbourhood (?) LA Knight is the chief. He then referenced
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, whch the crowd loved for
some reason.
Knight suggested that GM Adam Pearce is in the pocket of the
Bloodline, but the fans love him so he will make them a
promise that he will never quit or be stopped. He then
wished Jey luck in winning the match without calling for
backup.
That brought the Yeet-man himself out to the ring. His
entrance was shortened from 15 minutes to a reasonable 4 and
he grabbed a mic to talk to Knight. After running back his
entrance of course!!
After that, he breathlessly told Knight to stay in his own
lane. Jey doesn’t need help and said that this was Knight’s
warning shot. Then his music started again and Jey went to
leave, but Knight cut him off. He said that Jey has it all
wrong. He respects Jey and his family and how protective
they are of each other.
He then said “screw your family,” and Jey stomped back to
the ring to fight him about it. Before he could get there,
Jimmy ran out and prevented the exciting confrontation from
happening. Thanks, Jim.
-backstage, Chad Gable approached AAA GM Rey Mysterio and
Dragon Lee. Lee said that he and Gable were good now as
Gable has shown Lucha a lot of respect. Rey added that at
one point, he wanted to take out Gable, but his Mask-Vs-Mask
match was true Lucha Libre, so they are all good.
Rey mentioned that Gable may want to look back a little
further for things that he needs to apogize for and Gable
seemed to take that under advisment.
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Penta (c) vs Rey
Mysterio Jr.
Off the bell and some showing of respect, Penta hit a
headscissor takedown and Rey responded with one of his own.
They traded moves, neither getting the upper hand until Rey
dodged a baseball slide and then hit a moonsault from the
apron onto Penta.
Penta sent Rey into the ringpost on the outside, then
chopped him hard around the ringposts. Rey dodged it though
and Penta hit his hand on the LED screen. Rey sent him back
into the ring where Penta hit him with a tilt-o-whirl
backbreaker.
Penta hit a superkick off the ropes for a two count and went
back to the chops, shushing the crowd so they could hear the
impact. Penta hit a kick to the face and then did his
headstand dropkick onto Mysterlo who rolled to the outside
to get caught by a suicide dive.
Back in the ring, Rey got up and threw a kick, but Penta was
able to counter with a backstabber. Penta went back to the
chops, but Rey managed to counter it into a tornado DDT. Rey
hit a sunset flip powerbomb into the barricade on the
outside and then came over to have a look at the title belt.
Rey led Penta into the steel steps and Penta tried to get
away, luring Rey into a superkick. He hoisted Rey up into a
military press and then dropped him onto the apron (the
Frenchest part of the ring!). Back inside the ropes, Penta
went for a cover, but Rey kicked out at two.
They started trading chops until Penta kicked Rey’s legs out
from under him. Penta went for a Penta driver, but Rey got
out of it and walked into a superkick. Penta managed to land
a Penta Driver, but Rey kicked out at two.
Rey hit a poisonrana out of nowhere and then hit a 619 and a
crossbody. He went for the cover, but Penta kicked out at
two. Rey ate a superkick and Penta went for another Driver,
but Rey countered and set him up for another 619. Rey went
for a frog splash, but Penta got the knees up.
Penta got to his feet and grabbed Rey to nail him with a
Mexican Destroyer. He covered Rey and got the three count to
retain the title.
Match Result: Penta defeated Rey Mysterio Jr.
After the match, Penta and Rey were showing respect when
Rusev and Ethan Page jumped them from behind. Dragon Lee
came down to make the save and dispatched Rusev and Page out
of the ring. He went for a dive onto Rusev, but Page grabbed
his ankle and dumped him over the outside barricade.
Rusev then ripped the mask off of Ray! That brought out Chad
Gable who suplexed Rusev and Page, saving the luchadores. He
put Page in an ankle lock, but Rusev dragged him to safety.
Lee brought in a towel to cover Rey’s face and Gable stared
at Rey’s mask lying in the ring.
Slowly he picked it up and handed it to Penta to return to
Mysterio. The luchadores thanked him as the segment came to
an end.
-A pretaped promo from Raquel Rodriguez aired next.
Rodriguez said that she is going to beat her Queen of The
Ring Semi Final opponent IYO SKY and Judgement Day will take
over the Women’s Division. Then she aggressively chewed her
gum.
-After a “Strut Cam” segment that showed that as great as
the fans in France are, very few have the ability to keep a
beat, an extended clip of Rhea Ripley on Stephanie McMahon’s
podcast aired. It was a story about Rhea’s dog if you were
wondering.
-A taped IYO SKY promo played next, in which she claimed
that Raquel Rodriguez has no honor or heart. She promised to
win their Queen of The Ring semi-final match next week and
put Judgement Day in it’s place.
-Then backstage, Roxanne Perez and Live Morgan were shown
chatting. Perez said that Morgan or Rodriguez facing off in
the Queen of the Ring would be great for Judgement Day. Dom
Mysterio then arrived and Morgan said she had some ideas
about how to handle Oba Femi next week and they left. Perez
remained behind, doing that sly side-eye thing wrestlers do
when they are being suspicious.
King of the Ring Opening Round Match: Seth Rollins vs Je’Von
Evans vs Ricky Saints vs Talla Tonga
The bell rang and everyone was apprehensive. Saints made the
first move, sending Rollins to the outside with a big knee.
Evans and Tonga went at it with Tonga throwing Evans around
the ring. Rollins came back and dispatched Saints, but that
left him face to face with Tonga who turned him around with
a shoulder tackle.
Evans came back in and he and Rollins threw punches at Tonga
until a stereo superkick sent him to the ropes. Evans and
Rollins tried to get him over the top, but Saints arrived to
play spoiler. Saints threw Evans to Tonga for a slam then
held Rollins so Tonga could chop him. He did the same to
Evans and Tonga smacked them both.
Saints then high-fived Tonga who turned around and nailed
him with a big boot. Tonga sent Rollins and Saints out then
threw Evans onto them over the top rope. Tonga went to the
outside, throwing Saints into the barricade. He launched
Evans into the ring post and then threw Rollins back in.
Tonga dropped an elbow on to Rollins who staggered up and
tried to chop him. Tonga no-sold it and smacked Rollins to
the mat. Evans came back in and Tonga threw him right back
out. Same with Saints. Tonga followed them and bounced
Saints head off the barricades.
Tonga picked up Saints and went to run him into the post,
but Saints countered and shoved him face first into it.
Rollins hit Tonga with a dive and sent him unto the ringpost
a second time. Then Rollins dumped Tonga into the
timekeeper’s area. Tonga came right back through and choked
Rollins and Saints. Evans came flying out of nowhere though
taking out Tonga.
Saints and Rollins got back in the ring and traded blows.
Rollins took control with a series of clotheslines and knees
before hitting a falcon arrow. Rollins went for the
Pedigree, but Evans interrupted with an OG Cutter. Evans
went up top, but caught a kick from Rollins on the way down.
Rollins went for a Buckle Bomb, but Evans countered it and
sent Rollins out. That left Evans open for a Revolution DDT
from Saints, but Evans kicked out. Saints went up top, but
Evans met him there and hit a Super Spanish Fly. Rollins cam
in and hit a Pedigree on Evans, but Tonga stopped him.
Rollins pulled down the top rope to sent Tonga out and
Saints dumped Rollins out, but then Evans sent Saints to the
floor. Evans then dove over the top rope to take out the
field.
Back in the ring, Saints cut off Evans from hitting an OG
cutter and Rollins took them both to the top turnbuckle.
Tonga ran in and hit Saints and Rollins with a double
powerbomb. Evan landed on his feet though and Tonga had to
take him down with a slam. Rollins broke up the pin.
Tonga sent Rollins to the floor and followed him to clear
the announce table. Evans then dove at Tonga, but he got
caught and Tonga bounced him off the table. Rollins took
advantage and curb stomped Tonga.
Rollins blocked a Revolution DDT and pinned Saints in the
ring, but before the ref could count three, Austin Theory
pulled him out of the ring. Montez Ford came down to run off
Theory while Bron Breakker speared Rollins in the ring.
Saints tried to take advantage but Evans hit an OG cutter
and 1-2-3 Evans wins the match and advances in the King of
The Ring Tournament!