Posted on 5/20/125 by Bob Magee
– Michael Cole welcomed everyone into the show as an
exterior shot of Greenville, South Carolina, was shown.
– A video recap of last week’s Sami Zayn/Jey Uso/CM
Punk/Paul Heyman Group developments aired.
– Rollins, Breakker, Heyman, Uso, Styles, Penta and The
Judgment Day members were all shown walking in various parts
of the venue and outside of it.
The Logan Paul/Gunther segment
Paul entered the ring, was given a microphone and said,
“Welcome to Monday Night Raw.” Paul said it is a fact that
he will beat Jey Uso on Saturday. Paul said he will be the
new World Heavyweight Champion by the time next week’s Raw
rolls around. Paul listed a bunch of facts – Jey Uso tapped
out Gunther was one. Jey Uso is the World Heavyweight
Champion was another. The crowd erupted with Yeets. Paul
said Jey Uso has eyes on everyone in the company except
Paul. Paul noted how he has knocked out Jey Uso three times
and he will do it again on Saturday. Paul reminded everyone
he will become the new Heavyweight Champion and in the
middle of that, Gunther’s music hit and Gunther walked to
the ring.
The crowd chanted “You tapped out!” at Gunther. Paul smiled
and kind of joined in the chanting. Gunther said he assumes
Paul believes he’s better than Gunther because Paul was
saying he was going to beat a guy who beat Gunther. The
dialogue turned to confidence and Gunther said the fans
should show Paul more respect than they do. Gunther said
Paul is a self-made social media megastar. The crowd booed.
Gunther said if he’s honest, there are things he could learn
from Paul. Gunther said he needs help with social media and
marketing and the more he thinks about it, the more he
believes Logan Paul as world champion would be best for
business.
Paul smiled and kept repeating, “This guy knows business.”
Gunther responded by saying to Paul, it’s business, but to
Gunther, it’s personal. Beating Jey Uso for the World
Heavyweight Championship is personal for Gunther, Gunther
said, and if Paul takes that away from Gunther then Gunther
will feel disrespected. Gunther said he doesn’t see heart in
Paul. Gunther told Paul if Paul squares off with Gunther,
all of Paul’s accolades mean nothing and Gunther will eat
Paul alive. Gunther slammed down the microphone and left the
ring.
As Gunther walked away, Jey Uso appeared out of nowhere and
super-kicked Paul inside the ring. Uso picked up the
microphone and said he’d see Paul on Saturday. Uso then said
he’d see Gunther in Phoenix. Uso’s music hit to end the
segment.
Paul is such a caricature these days that his promos have
become less and less interesting the more he leans into
being that caricature. That said, thank God for Gunther, who
carried the segment, even if he gave Paul a few too many
flowers for my taste – but that’s just me. The former world
champ had to stick the landing because his message was
running of steam, but he got there and showed really good
fire to wrap things up. The notion that winning the title
back from Uso because it’s personal to Gunther is a nice
touch and one that makes me mildly more interested in a
potential Uso/Gunther rematch and I can’t say I was all that
interested in it to begin with. But Gunther kind of/sort of
sold me on it here. The surprise Uso appearance leaves me
thinking Paul will be involved in Uso business later in the
show. Time will tell.
**********
– A recap of last week’s women’s tag team main event aired.
Footage of Roxanne Perez signing her Raw contract earlier in
the day followed that.
– Jey Uso was walking backstage and he ran into Paul Heyman,
who told Uso that to betray someone, you have to stab them
in the back, and as such, Heyman wanted to make sure he
can’t be portrayed as betraying Uso. That in mind, Heyman
told Jey Bron Breakker wasn’t looking for Jey’s title, and
instead, he was looking to slow down Uso’s momentum. Heyman
said if it’s Uso, Gunther or Paul, it doesn’t matter because
they are all short-term. Instead, the long-term plan for a
champion, Heyman said, is Seth Rollins.
The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & JD McDonagh) vs. Penta & AJ
Styles
Styles and McDonagh started the match. Styles got the best
of McDonagh early until McDonagh worked his way back and
thwarted an attempted dropkick. Styles connected with a
dropkick after that and tagged Penta into the match. Penta
gave McDonagh a backbreaker. Ditto for Balor. Styles and
Penta through Balor and McDonagh to the outside and
connected with stereo splashes. The show then went to a
commercial break for those of us who have Netflix
commercials.
The show returned and McDonagh was working over Penta,
complete with a snapmare and the obligatory attempt to rip
the mask off Penta. Balor tagged in and went for the mask as
well. McDonagh tagged back in, but Penta suplexed him. Balor
cut Penta off when it initially came to a hot tag. Balor
followed that up with a suplex on Penta. Ultimately, Penta
got a knee to Balor’s face and hit a Slingblade before
tagging in Styles as the crowd erupted.
Styles lifted Balor, but Balor raked Styles’s eyes and
McDonagh tagged in. McDonagh went for a splash on Styles,
but Styles moved and McDonagh hit Balor instead. Styles took
advantage and slammed McDonagh for a nice near-fall. “This
is awesome!” chants broke out. With McDonagh on the outside,
Styles hit a reverse DDT on McDonagh and rolled McDonagh
back into the ring, but Carlito interfered and ran Styles
into the ring post as the referee checked on McDonagh. From
there, the show went to a commercial break again.
Back to the action, Balor worked over Styles in the ring.
The two clotheslined each other at the same time and the
match reset. McDonagh and Penta tagged in and Penta landed a
cross-body from the top on McDonagh. With McDonagh in a
headstand position, Penta kicked McDonagh in the head. Penta
ran at McDonagh and McDonagh hit a standing Spanish Fly.
Balor tagged in and went to the top, but missed the Coup De
Gras. Penta capitalized on that and hit the Sacrifice on
Balor. Balor rolled up Penta for a two-count and followed
that up with a Slingblade. Balor ran into a kick from Penta
and Penta went to the top. McDonagh distracted the referee
and Carlito cut Penta off, so things broke down between
everyone at ringside.
Penta hit a Destroyer on McDonagh on the outside of the
ring. Penta was leaning on the crowd barricade and El Grande
Americano appeared in the crowd to headbutt Penta in the
back of the head. Balor too advantage of that, rolled Penta
back into the ring and hit the Coup De Gras on Penta for the
win.
Match result: The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & JD McDonagh)
defeated Penta & AJ Styles (17:05)
This was really pretty good. Plus, it was a pleasant
surprise to see it go through two commercial breaks. For a
makeshift tag match that only really existed to further the
story between Penta and Americano, these four brought a lot
of heart to what could have been a throwaway bout (covering
SmackDown really acclimates you to “a throwaway bout” after
so long these days). I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Penta
taking these losses these days because he really came in on
fire and still kind of/sort of remains on fire, but that
fire can flame out easier and quicker than it should in WWE
Land (with the exception of LA Knight), so it’d be nice to
give him a win or two, even if this is all just building to
him eventually unmasking Americano. Either way, this was a
quality television tag team match.
**********
– Cathy Kelley interviewed IYO SKY in the backstage area.
Kelley asked SKY about how she might be targeted for her
title. SKY said she’d be ready for anyone and Becky Lynch
walked into the frame. Lynch said SKY hadn’t been in there
with Lynch yet and Lynch said she was going to put SKY down.
Lynch’s music hit and Lynch made her way to the ring for the
next match.
– Logan Paul was shown talking on his phone backstage and
Seth Rollins walked up. Rollins told Paul that Jey Uso will
get hurt tonight because Uso stuck his nose in Seth’s
business. Seth said come Saturday, Uso won’t be 100% so the
odds will be in Paul’s favor. Seth said if Paul can get past
Jey Uso and Gunther, Seth will be waiting on the other side
for Paul. Seth said Paul will know who to thank if he wins
this weekend. Seth said they could run it back from
WrestleMania a couple years ago, but this time, with the
world title on the line.
Natalya vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Becky Lynch in a Money In The
Bank qualifier match
Lynch convinced Perez to attack Natalya, but Lynch quickly
turned on Perez, who threw Lynch to the outside. Lynch
pulled Natalya out of the ring and a Lynch vs. Perez singles
match broke out. Lynch attempted a Dis-Arm-Her, but Perez
worked out of it and the two traded pin attempts. Perez had
the upper hand and Natalya dropkicked Perez out of the ring
before going to work on Lynch with a series of suplexes.
Natayla worked a Surfboard on Lynch. Natalya half-went for a
Sharpshooter, but Lynch turned that into a Dis-Arm-Her.
Perez reappeared and all three women exchanged offense.
Natalya kicked Perez to the outside and before long all
three wound up on the outside. This happened after some
apparent miscommunication between Lynch and Perez and Lynch
waited for Perez to get into place. Regardless. Perez stood
tall as the show went to a commercial break.
Back from break, Perez had control back inside the ring,
hitting a series of running elbows on both opponents.
Natalya landed a discuss clothesline on both women and
stacked them up for a double Sharpshooter, but Perez and
Lynch kicked out of it. Perez came back with a moonsault on
both Lynch and Natalya for a two-count on Natalya. Perez set
up for PopRox, but Lynch countered into a Manhandle Slam.
Natalya reappeared and took out Lynch and al three women
were down.
Perez rolled to the outside and Lynch and Natalya traded
blows inside the ring. Lynch and Natalya were struggling in
a corner and Perez went to the top to German Suplex
(PopRox?) both women at once. Perez covered Natalya but
Lynch broke it up with a knee to Perez’s head. On their
feet, Perez and Lynch traded slaps and elbows. Perez threw
Lynch and went to the top, but Lynch cut off Perez. The two
battled on the second rope until Natalya ran in and hit
Perez with Lynch. Natalya powerbombed Lynch for a two-count.
Natalya super-plexed Perez for a two-count.
Natalya locked in a Sharpshooter until Lynch bulldogged
Natalya. Natalya clotheslined Lynch and went back to Perez.
Natalya then worked a double Sharpshooter on Lynch and Perez
at the same time. Lynch got out of it and rolled to the
outside. Lynch came back and hit a Manhandle Slam on Natalya
and it looked like Lynch would win, but Lyra Valkyria
appeared and attacked Lynch. Perez took advantage and gave
Natalya a PopRox to win the match as Becky and Lyra
continued to brawl in the entranceway.
Match result: Roxanne Perez defeated Becky Lynch & Natalya
to qualify for the women’s Money In The Bank ladder match
(14:35)
A very good MITB qualifier match. All women worked really
hard and while we don’t see Natalya on TV that much these
days, she made the best of her time here. Lynch and Perez
were very giving to her, too, which was a nice touch and one
that reiterates how liked Natalya seems to be by all her
colleagues. I like Perez going over here, even if Becky is
leaning into all of the Internet Chatter about her sharing
some traits with the Hulkster, among other things. Roxanne
was the right choice. A new face to some viewers. She’s
finally out of NXT/Main Roster purgatory. Let’s see what she
can do with some proper booking attention on Monday nights.
I also like the continuation of Becky and Lyra and they had
a pretty nice brawl that led to the end of the match. Good
stuff all around.
**********
– Jey Uso was shown in the locker room and Sami Zayn showed
up. Zayn told Uso that he didn’t need to deal with Heyman
and his group because Zayn would take care of it this
weekend. Zayn and Uso shared in their secret handshake.
– Adam Pearce was talking to Alpha Academy backstage and
asked Tazawa if he really wanted what he asked for. Tozawa
said yes and Pearce made the match for next week – Tozawa
vs. Rusev. Chad Gable walked into the frame and argued for
MITB qualifying matches for himself and Ivy Nile. The New
Day showed up and talked about how next week, American Made
will be involved in a tag title shot. It will be a triple
threat, including the War Raiders.
Sheamus vs. Grayson Waller
Waller had control early. The crowd chanted “Let’s go
Sheamus!” The two grappled a bit until Waller kicked Sheamus
in the leg. Sheamus blocked a hip-toss and slapped Waller to
the ground. Sheamus followed up with a back-breaker and
threw Waller across the ring repeatedly. Sheamus
clotheslined Waller over the top rope and played to the
crowd. Sheamus stepped outside and Austin Theory distracted
Sheamus. Waller made the best of it and threw Sheamus into
the commentary table before clotheslining Sheamus to the
ground. The show then went to a commercial break.
The show returned and the crowd offered loud “Austin
Theory!” chants. Inside the ring, Waller slapped, punched
and chopped Sheamus, who fired up and returned all of the
favors. Waller took back control with a stomp on Shaemus’s
back and a rolling Flatliner for a two-count. Waller went to
the second rope and jumped into a tough knee from Sheamus.
That was followed up weird tilt-a-whirl half-slam? Something
happened. Sheamus ran into a spinning elbow from Waller and
with Sheamus on the arpon, Waller went for 10 Beats, but
Sheamus wasn’t having that. Instead, Sheamus lifted Waller
and dropped him from the apron on down. That, of course, led
to Sheamus setting up for 10 Beats, but Waller snuck away.
Waller went to walk to the back, but Theory stopped him. As
a result, Sheamus actually did execute the 10 Beats. Theory
laughed and Sheamus played to the crowd. Sheamus, from
there, hit the Brogue Kick and got the win. Theory,
meanwhile, kept laughing outside the ring.
Match result: Sheamus defeated Grayson Waller (11:48)
The long, slow, unreasonably stretched out breakup of
Grayson Waller and Austin Theory continues. Who knows if the
development during this match will actually lead to anything
regarding the saga between the two, but time will tell.
Meanwhile, Sheamus looked great here, even if there were a
couple odd, not-Sheamus-match-like moments. Sheamus has
settled into this really good gatekeeper roll – a roll in
which he seems both happy and comfortable, which is nice to
see. Give him the Grand Slam, WWE Writers. He’s earned it.
Company man. Quality matches. Happy to work, no matter the
job. Give Sheamus his flowers before he decides to call it a
day.
**********
– Michael Cole and Pat McAfee interviewed Tyrese Haliburton
and it turns out, Hali is going to be a character in the WWE
2K video game. Cole and McAfee have a bet riding on the
upcoming Knicks/Pacers series. Haliburton also has his own
WWE merch. So, there’s that. Cole asked Hali for a
prediction for Paul vs. Uso on Saturday. He said he’d love
to say Paul, but his heart lies with Jey Uso.
– Kelley interviewed Gunther backstage. She asked Gunther if
his gameplan was different heading into June 9. Before
Gunther could answer, Seth Rollins walked in and said he was
there to let Gunther know that the work Gunther did with
Seth’s World Heavyweight Championship was “pretty good
stuff, man.” Gunther said he heard about the “long-term
plan” and said Seth was short-sighted for a visionary, which
was funny. Gunther said he was the future. Rollins was
annoyed and said he was there as a courtesy. Rollins said if
Gunther finds that title around his waist again, he will be
treated no different than anyone else and Gunther will be a
target. Gunther said he couldn’t wait and in fact, he was
eagerly awaiting for all of this to happen.
Rhea Ripley vs. Kairi Sane vs. Zoey Stark in a Money In The
Bank Qualifier Match
Sane’s entrance now features her throwing coins into the
crowd, which was kind of fun. Sane’ presentation felt far
less Damage CTRL and far more NXT Kairi Sane. Either way,
things got off to a hot start as the women traded a handful
of moves. The opening sequence had Stark stand tall over
Ripley briefly. Ripley came back and took Stark out. Sane
returned to the action and went for a dropkick, but Stark
cut off Sane and hurt herself. Stark was yelling in agony,
holding her knee as WWE doctors checked on Stark. The show
cut to a commercial while it looked as though the match
might be stopped due to Stark’s injury.
The show returned and Stark was gone. Cole announced it as a
one-on-one match between Ripley and Sane. Ripley slammed
Sane and covered her for a two-count. Ripley stretched Sane
until Sane worked out and went to the top rope. Sane leapt
at Ripley, but Ripley dropkicked Sane out of midair. That
was good enough to earn Ripley a two-count. Ripley set up
for RipTide, but Sane worked out of it and gave Ripley a
back elbow. Sane went to the top and went for the InSane
Elbow, but Ripley got a boot up to counter everything.
The two reset the match and battled while on their knees.
Ripley and Sane traded elbows and forearms. Sane went for a
spinning elbow, but Ripley avoided it and got Sane up for
the RipTide. Ripley connected with it and got the win.
Match result: Rhea Ripley defeated Kairi Sane and Zoey Stark
to qualify for the women’s Money In The Bank ladder match
(9:53)
How sad can it get for Zoey Stark? Her faction dissolves in
front of her because her stablemates were let go. She gets a
chance to at least perform in a high stakes match like this
and no less than two minutes into the thing, she suffers
another knee injury that looks like it’ll take her out for a
significant amount of time. Here’s hoping it’s not as
serious as it looked and here’s hoping for a quick recovery.
As for the match itself, it was fine, though I’ll say what I
said about the other MITB qualifier: I would have preferred
Sane winning, if only for the freshness of it. This does
make me wonder if Ripley will win the ladder match (because
why put her in there if she’s not?), but there is always
something to be said for star power and Ripley certainly
brings star power to whatever she does. Outside of that …
what’s next for Sane?
**********
– On next week’s Raw, Tozawa will face Rusev. Cole made the
official announcement and then a Rusev vignette aired.
– The Judgment Day were shown celebrating backstage. Balor
walked into the picture and introduced Roxanne Perez to the
group. Balor noted how Dom said they needed more numbers a
few weeks ago. Dom said they needed to talk to Liv before
any decisions were made. Balor said Perez wasn’t a member,
but she could provide help if they need it. Perez said she
got them presents and gave Dom a box of chicken nuggets (I
thought he was into tendies? Come on, Rok-C. Be better).
Carlito received an apple. Raquel told Perez to leave and
sternly told Balor that Liv will hear about what happened.
Balor said, “I can’t wait,” while flashing that Finn Balor
smile of his.
– Next week, men’s MITB qualifying matches will go down.
There’s the aforementioned Tozawa vs. Rusev match. And then
War Raiders vs. New Day vs. American Made for the World Tag
Team Championship will also happen.
– Jey Uso’s entrance through the crowd began for the main
event and when you have a match presumably cut short due to
injury, boy, you better be thankful for the Jey Uso gimmick
these days, WWE, because you can fill at least 10 minutes
with his entrance alone if need be.
Bron Breakker vs. Jey Uso in a non-title match
Breakker had the upper hand to begin things. It was brief
because Uso battled back and clotheslined Breakker over the
top and to the floor. Uso followed that up with a suicide
dive through the ropes. The show then went to a commercial
break. The show returned and Breakker had the advantage
inside the ring. Breakker ran a million miles an hour and
clotheslined Uso. In a brief hope spot, Uso went to the
middle rope for a splash, but Breakker caught him and
slammed him for a two-count. Breakker went for a belly-to-
belly suplex and Uso landed awkwardly.
Breakker pulled Uso up by his goatee. Breakker yelled at the
crowd and tried to hit Uso, but Uso blocked it and landed a
series of strikes on Breakker. Uso followed that up with a
hip attack for a two-count. Uso knocked Breakker to the
outside and went for a suicide dive, but Breakker caught Uso
and ragdolled Uso into everything. Breaker then jumped from
the apron and hit somewhat of a flying bulldog onto Uso onto
the commentary table. The show then went to its final
commercial break.
The show returned and the two were back inside the ring. Uso
slapped Breakker and they traded blows. The sequence ended
with a wildly high pop-up Samoan Drop from Uso onto Breaker
for a nice near-fall. “This is awesome!” chants broke out.
Uso went to the top but Breakker cut him off. The two
battled on the second rope and ultimately, Breakker hit is
jump-up Breakker-Steiner from the top. That was good enough
to earn Breakker a two-count.
Breakker ran the ropes and, well, ran into a super-kick from
Uso. The crowd collectively turned to somewhere as Uso
struggled to get to his feet. Paul Heyman hopped onto the
apron as Breakker obtained a chair from outside the ring.
Uso kicked the chair out of Breakker’s hand and ran the
ropes, but Heyman grabbed Uso’s foot. Uso left the ring and
confronted Heyman, but wouldn’t you know it, Seth Rollins
appeared and attacked Uso to end the match.
Match result: Jey Uso defeated Bron Breakker via DQ (15:56)
After the match was officially over, Rollins and Breakker
put the boots to Uso inside the ring until Sami Zayn’s music
hit. Zayn confronted Rollins and Breakker from the apron as
the crowd chanted “CM Punk!” Punk’s music then hit and out
walked Punk to join Zayn on the apron. All four wrestlers
brawled inside the ring. Punk and Zayn got the better of it
at first, but the heels didn’t give up. Breakker and Rollins
battled Zayn in the crowd until Punk leapt off the crowd
barrier and the four wrestlers brawled into the crowd. As
all this was happening, Uso had his hand raised in the ring
and Logan Paul appeared out of nowhere to punch Uso out.
Paul, for some reason, was bleeding from the mouth. Paul
smiled as the show went off the air.