Posted on 5/06/125 by Bob Magee
Show Recap —
Following a recap of last week’s show-long storyline, Iyo
Sky, Roxanne Perez, Alpha Academy, Rusev, and Gunther were
shown arriving at the arena in Omaha.
Jey Uso and Paul Heyman segment
Jey Uso entered through the crowd to kick off Raw. Pat
McAfee got on the table to Yeet, and Cole told him that’s
what got them in trouble with Gunther in the first place.
Cole spoke about Jey, who told him that he’s busier than
he’s ever been but is loving every moment. After Jey hit the
ring, the crowd wanted an encore, so as is the new pattern,
Jey started his music again and Yeeted some more.
Jey immediately called out Logan Paul, but he got Paul
Heyman instead. Heyman said he wasn’t there to disrespect
Jey Uso, but he dragged himself to Omaha because he had
something to say to the world champion.
Jey told him he had a lot of balls to come out here after
doing what he just did to his family. Jey said he warned
Roman Reigns and CM Punk about Heyman. Heyman said somebody
should’ve warned him about Punk. Nobody lived through what
Heyman has lived through. (The crowd loudly chanted for
Punk.)
Heyman said Punk put him in a position guaranteed to
sabotage his relationship with Reigns. (The crowd chanted,
“OTC” next.) Heyman knew Punk way back when Reigns was still
playing football, but Reigns should have known he wouldn’t
tell Punk any of his secrets. Heyman stood by Reigns’ side
for years, even after he got beat by Cody Rhodes after
getting distracted by Seth Rollins.
Reigns disappeared to lick his wounds and left him alone
with the new Bloodline, who put him through a table. Reigns
only returned to get his Ula Fala, not to avenge him. All
Heyman wanted to do was help his friend main event
WrestleMania. Heyman went on a crazy rant, saying people
always blamed him, but he was right. The crowd called Heyman
an asshole.
Jey quipped, “Are you ok?” and the crowd laughed. Jey wanted
to know what any of this had to do with him.
Heyman said Jey won the title, and the title was all about
power and control. Jey didn’t know how to yield that power
and control. The title wasn’t about putting on his best
performance every night. While Jey might want to be
champion, Rollins had to be champion. Rollins had to have
the power and control. Bron Breakker was stage one of their
plan, and stage two was the title.
Heyman wanted to allow Jey to sign his own death warrant and
pick the night he lost the title because Rollins was
officially challenging him to a title match. Rollins
deserved to be the number one contender after beating Punk
and Reigns. Rollins could beat Jey any time, any place.
Jey fired up and made the match for tonight as the crowd
popped.
********
Heyman approached Rollins and Breakker in the back. Heyman
said Jey fell for it. (Heyman acted frightened in the ring
when Jey made the match, but he was delighted here.) Rollins
was happy and said, “I told you so.”
After Rollins left, Heyman asked Breakker if he understood
the significance of tonight’s match, to which he responded,
“I think so.” Heyman explained it to the meathead.
Heyman put over how dangerous Jey was when he was prepared.
He made Gunther tap out, but was now focused on Logan Paul.
Rollins was a sniper who had Jey in his sights. The keys
would be in their kingdom when the referee handed the world
title belt to Rollins.
The match was made official for tonight: Jey defends the
world title against Rollins. (The first men’s world title
match on Raw in seven months.)
********
Penta vs. JD McDonagh (w/Finn Bálor & Carlito)
Penta won despite tons of interference.
They went to break after McDonagh gave Penta a DVD onto the
ring apron. Penta fought back after the break and hit a
slingblade for two, and a backbreaker for two.
Bálor distracted the referee while Carlito tried to
interfere, but Penta shoved him off and sent McDonagh to the
outside before wiping out both men with a diving crossbody.
Bálor attacked Penta himself, but the ref saw it and tossed
him and Carlito from ringside. Bálor tried to apologize, to
no avail.
Chad Gable interfered next while the referee was still
distracted, but Penta wiped him out with a flip dive.
McDonagh used the distraction to hit a jawbreaker, but Penta
avoided a moonsault and hit a Canadian Destroyer for the
pinfall win. (I’m glad he won with the Destroyer.) The crowd
popped for the win.
Match result: Penta defeated JD McDonagh (10:55)
********
Last week, Grayson Waller was excited to announce he was
requesting a singles match this week. However, he complained
to Adam Pearce backstage after learning who his opponent
was.
Austin Theory showed up, and Waller acted like he never
wanted a singles match in the first place. Waller told
Pearce that Theory should do the match instead. Theory was
happy to do it, so Pearce accepted. Theory asked Waller who
his opponent was, but Waller said it was a surprise.
********
Cathy Kelley interviewed Karrion Kross (with Scarlett)
during a break. There wasn’t much to it. Kross got a decent
reaction and made a reference to his “killer” nickname.
Anthony Smith was shown ringside.
Sheamus vs. Austin Theory (w/Grayson Waller)
Theory was not happy with Waller after learning his opponent
was the returning Sheamus. The crowd was happy to see him.
Sheamus was in control until Theory took over during the
break after hitting a draping neckbreaker off the apron.
Theory avoided ten beats of the Bodhrán and slingshotted
back into the ring, but right into a Sheamus knee strike.
Theory hit a rolling blockbuster, but Sheamus responded with
an avalanche White Noise. Sheamus hit ten fourteen beats of
the Bodhrán as the crowd loudly chanted along, followed by a
Brogue Kick for the pinfall win.
Match result: Sheamus defeated Austin Theory (9:39)
********
A new match was announced for Backlash: Dominik Mysterio
defends the Intercontinental Championship against Penta.
McDonagh approached Judgment Day backstage. He was pissed
and wondered why Gable got involved earlier.
AJ Styles, who just lost to Logan Paul, entered and said he
was coming for the Intercontinental title after Backlash.
(Styles misspoke when trying to say, “Intercontinental,” so
he had to redo the line.) Styles left.
Dom wasn’t happy with this and asked Bálor to talk to Styles
since they had a history. Bálor acted annoyed that he had to
clean up Dom’s mess again, but he was just screwing with
Dom. Bálor smiled and said he would take care of it.
********
The New Day approached Gable backstage. Kofi Kingston said
it was awful what just happened to Gable. Xavier Woods said
American Made should start seeing more opportunities
(instead of the War Raiders). They were all on the same
page.
Becky Lynch barged through them and made her way to the
stage.
Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria segment
Lynch entered. She was confused over why the fans treated
her like the bad guy, because she was the victim. When she
returned at WrestleMania, everyone lost their minds. A woman
in the crowd cried tears of joy. Nobody cared where Bayley
was because she was garbage.
Lynch took out the garbage, and now everyone was mad that
she did. That’s not how you react when someone takes out the
garbage; you thank them for it. She also took out the
recycling (referring to Lyra Valkyria). Valkyria was less
offensive than regular garbage, but she was still garbage.
What was garbage about Valkyria was her attitude. She didn’t
have a dream or a title if not for Lynch. She wouldn’t even
have her fiancé if not for her.
Valkyria interrupted. She called Lynch the queen of
recycling because she’s been recycling the same moves and
tired old act for years. Valkyria didn’t care about that.
She had a problem with Lynch claiming any credit for her
success.
Valkyria said Lynch went on holiday, and everyone else got
better. Valkyria made history. Not only that, she’s already
defended the belt more times than Lynch has shown up for
work this year. Valkyria said Lynch had no intention of
taking anyone else to the top with her.
Lynch said Valkyria was right that everyone had the best
year of their career while she was gone, but that was
because she wasn’t around to compare themselves to. It
wasn’t Lynch’s job to help anybody. It was her job to beat
everybody, and she was the greatest to ever do it. That
wasn’t just her talking—Sports Illustrated called her the
best to ever do it.
Valkyria said Lynch must hate it that she was the first-ever
Women’s Intercontinental Champion. Valkyria said Lynch
better enjoy second place.
Lynch tried a cheap shot, but Valkyria saw it coming and
tackled her. They brawled until officials pulled Valkyria
away, but she broke through and laid out Lynch with
Nightwing.
(Lynch was good here, and this was a decent enough exchange.
However, Valkyria’s promo sounded like something that could
have been written for anybody to say.)
********
Perez cut a very generic heel promo during a break.
Non-title match: Women’s World Champion IYO SKY vs. Roxanne
Perez
Sky went for a dive, but Perez slipped back into the ring
and kicked her leg out of her leg. Perez followed with a
dive of her own. Perez took too much time looking around, so
Sky wiped her out with a suicide dive. Sky set up for a
springboard move, but Perez knocked her down and targeted
her leg again.
Perez targeted Sky’s leg through a break, but Sky hit an arm
drag off the second rope as they returned from break. Sky
fired up the crowd after hitting a missile dropkick, but she
couldn’t follow up because of her knee. Perez tried to take
advantage, but Sky hit a double foot stomp. Sky hit a German
suplex and rolled through for another, but Perez countered
with a back suplex. Sky responded with a backbreaker.
Perez avoided a moonsault, and Sky sold her injured leg upon
landing. Perez followed with a double knee drop for two.
They traded cradles for a series of two counts until Sky
captured her in one final cradle for the pinfall win.
— Perez shook Sky’s hand after the match, but it was a
swerve. Giulia decked Sky from behind, and Perez joined the
assault. They double-teamed her as the crowd chanted for
Rhea Ripley, but as the announcers noted, Ripley is in
Australia. Giulia and Perez stood tall.
Match result: IYO SKY defeated Roxanne Perez (10:08)
********
Pearce met with the War Raiders backstage during a break,
which led to an argument involving the Raiders, Gable and
The New Day. Pearce put the War Raiders in a match with the
Creed Brothers, with the winner getting the next shot at New
Day.
Everyone left, and as Gable was about to leave, Pearce said,
“Hey, Americano.” Gable turned around to acknowledge him,
but immediately realized his mistake. They both chuckled.
Pearce wished Gable a happy Cinco de Mayo, and Gable said,
“Gracious.”
The crowd got a kick out of this. It’s too bad this was
during a break.
********
Rusev vs. Otis (w/Maxxine Dupri & Akira Tozawa)
Rusev hit a spinning heel kick ahead of an early break. Otis
had some offence during the break, but Rusev sent him out of
the ring with a dropkick as they returned. Rusev went after
Otis, but Otis easily suplexed him over the announce desk.
Rusev ducked a strike by Otis, causing Otis to slam his arm
against the ring post. Otis ducked a kick, causing Rusev to
kick the ring post. They found their way back in the ring,
and Otis went for a corner charge, but Rusev hit a
superkick. Rusev responded with an Accolade, and Otis tapped
out.
— Rusev wouldn’t let go of the hold after the match, but did
once Tozawa hit the ring. Tozawa challenged him to a fight
right now, but Rusev couldn’t be bothered, so he left. Of
course, as Tozawa checked on Otis, Rusev ran back down to
attack them.
Rusev powerbombed Tozawa onto Otis before putting Otis in
the Accolade again until officials broke it up. (Natalya ran
down to check on Dupri.)
Rusev looked good in the post-match.
Match result: Rusev defeated Otis (6:27)
********
Pat McAfee and Gunther segment
Pearce called McAfee and Gunther to the ring and told them
to keep it professional until Saturday.
Gunther informed McAfee he wouldn’t do anything to him
tonight because he didn’t want to spoil Saturday. And,
unlike McAfee and Cole, he was a professional. The crowd
chanted, “You tapped out,” so Gunther told them to shut up.
McAfee called Cole a GOAT. People cheered and chanted for
Cole. (This is still so weird to me.) McAfee said Cole has
dedicated his time to this company for 28 years straight,
minus just three days. Cole earned the right to have an
opinion, yet it bothered Gunher so much that it caused him
to attack a 60-year-old man.
McAfee said it was appropriate that they were in Omaha,
Nebraska. Being in Nebraska made him think of the
Cornhuskers. It made him think of steak, because nobody
beats this town’s meat. It made him think of the annual
College Baseball World Series held in this town. This city
was a symbol of dreams coming true.
McAfee thought he and Gunther had things in common, despite
being from different places. They grew up with the same
dream, wanting to be in this industry. They spent hours
watching wrestling in front of the television, knowing this
was what they were meant to do.
Gunther has been in the business for 20 years. He was a
champion for 80% of his time here. But he’s become jaded. It
was just a job to him now. But McAfee was jacked up every
time he stepped into an arena. McAfee thought about 11-year-
old him, dreaming about getting in the ring to let assholes
like Gunther know that he doesn’t like what they’re about.
McAfee thought about Gunther at this current stage, as
opposed to his Waltering around stage, and he’s become too
comfortable. He didn’t want it anymore. It happened with
Sami Zayn and with Jey Uso. McAfee would show everyone that
Gunther has gone soft.
Gunther asked if McAfee enjoyed his daughter’s 2nd birthday
last week. It must have been special. Saturday was a special
day for Gunther, and McAfee just got him in the mood for it.
It was Gunther’s first match since Mania, and he would show
up sharper and more focused than ever. Gunther would beat
him up and maul him. He would drive McAfee’s head into the
mat and choke him out. Only the grace of God would be able
to lift his arms off McAfee’s throat.
Gunther threw down the mic and marched to the back.
********
There was a video for John Cena vs. Randy Orton. They let us
know that their last singles match was back in 2017.
Next week on Raw:
Finn Bálor vs. AJ Styles
The War Raiders vs. The Creed Brothers
IYO SKY & Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez & Giulia
********
World Heavyweight Championship: Jey Uso vs. Seth Rollins
(w/Paul Heyman & Bron Breakker)
Jey wrestled in black pants and white sneakers. He switched
to black after Gunther attacked Jimmy, but I think he’s safe
to go back to more colourful attire. Black is more serious,
but also looks too generic.
Jey hit with a suicide dive early on. Rollins fell over the
announce table and came up bleeding from the back of his
head. Jey was in control during a break until Rollins
dropped him face-first into the middle turnbuckle.
They knocked each other down with a duel crossbody attempts,
before Jey fired back with strikes, a Samoan Drop, and a
running hip attack for two. Rollins followed with a suicide
dive, but Jey caught him with a mid-air superkick moments
later for a nearfall. Both guys were down, so the crowd
chanted, “This is awesome.”
Rollins hit a buckle bomb but missed a frog splash. Jey went
for a spear, but Rollins countered that into a Pedigree for
two. (A clever spot, since we know Rollins has done this to
Reigns before.) Jey avoided a stomp and applied a sleeper.
(The crowd was into the sleeper since that’s how he beat
Gunther.) Rollins slipped out of it, but Jey hit a spear for
a very close nearfall.
Jey knocked Rollins off the top, and Rollins accidentally-
on-purpose bumped into the referee. Breakker tried to
interfere with the ref distracted, but Jey kicked him off.
With Jey recuperating, Rollins hit a superplex into a falcon
arrow, followed by a curb stomp for a nearfall.
As Rollins spoke with Breakker, Sami Zayn entered to his
music to take out Breakker.
Jey superkicked Rollins, hit a spear and an Uso splash.
Everyone thought that was it, but Rollins kicked out.
Zayn rallied the crowd and fired up Jey, but Breakker
speared Zayn. As Jey checked on Zayn, Breakker speared him
too (Heyman distracted the ref).
Rollins hit a curb stomp and seemed to have the title won,
but CM Punk entered to his music, and the crowd exploded.
Punk attacked Breakker and Rollins with a chair. (The
referee didn’t officially call an end to the match. He just
waved his arms in frustration and left the ring, like in WWF
Raw the video game.)
— Punk attacked Rollins repeatedly with the chair until he
escaped. The show ended with Punk standing tall as Zayn
checked on Jey.
(This was a fun match and the final moments were really well
laid out, with some convincing nearfalls on both sides.
Jey’s two best singles matches have now been against Seth
Rollins. The other was back at the end of 2023 when Rollins
was world champion.)
Match result: Jey Uso vs. Seth Rollins ended in a no contest
or disqualification (approx. 19:20)