-Is anyone else over the stop and start routine regarding the eventual breakup of The Judgement Day? It's one thing to tease a turn or breakup for a while in order to build suspense and drama. It's an entirely different thing to put a turn or breakup in motion and then seemingly pull back. The latter is what we got from Damian Priest. He essentially forgave JD McDonagh and Finn Balor for interfering in his title match at Backlash, thanked them for their help, and then moved right along? A far cry from what we saw during the Backlash match itself. Look, the back and forth makes it nearly impossible for Priest to gain traction as champion. Something is (or was) afoot.
-Finn Balor vs. Jey Uso was a good match -- not great. Jey winning was a surprise given he was added into the King of the Ring tournament mix at the last second. That said, it's the right call to 1) give him credibility in the tournament and 2) throw fans off the scent that he really should be an afterthought in how the KOTR plays out.
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-I liked the Drew McIntyre and Adam Pearce interaction backstage regarding Drew's injured arm. It felt like a conversation a star player would have with a coach who just told the player they were benched for a big game. This was believable.
-CM Punk was on the show this week and while his entrance was one of the tremendous long shots WWE has become known for in the new Triple H era, his work was subpar at best. Punk cut a promo on McIntyre, but meandered around before getting to the meat. Punk was lackadaisicalto start and even threw down a silly and coy line about Jack Perry. What are we doing?! Nobody reacted to the Perry line, so hopefully that's the end of veiled shots at AEW. The bottom line is, Punk is on these shows because the shows need star power. Right now, Punk isn't delivering as the star he's presented as.
-Iyo Sky and Natalya had a really nice match together. Nattie is a jack of all trades wrestler and can really shine when she's not working to just carry a wrestler that isn't on her level. Sky was a perfect opponent in that regard. With Sky winning this match, she's high on the list of likely Queen of the Ring winners.
Ilja Dragunov is here
-Ilja Dragunov has arrived. Not only did Dragunov get a well thought out and well executed video package to introduce him to the Raw audience, but he followed that video with a strong performance and victory over Ricochet. Dragunov is going to get over because of his intensity and ring work. Like a fine wine, it'll take some time to bring out the brilliance. That said, WWE leaned into both key elements this week, which was smart.
-Stakes, stakes, and more stakes! The King of the Ring concept has been watered down, meaningless, and harmful to winners for the last decade. It lost its shine long ago. Triple H is clearly working to bring back the notoriety of the tournament and he did a lot this week that will help achieve that goal. The combatants each cutting promos about winning helped and the historical context did too. This tournament needs stakes. In order to give it new meaning and impact, having a major prize at the end would be beneficial.
-Ivy Nile and Zoey Stark was pretty much "eh" all around, but served the purpose of showcasing Stark a bit.
-Folks, the Awesome Truth bits get worse and worse each week. They were awful.
-It's not a great strategy to present a lovable babyface like Sami Zayn as a guy who will ignore all rules. Like, that's not him -- well, I guess this week it was. Zayn has been hampered by Bronson Reed and Chad Gable for the last few weeks and took it upon himself to interfere in their KOTR match causing it to be a no contest. I get Zayn standing up for himself and wanting some vengeance, but c'mon. The KOTR matches need finishes and the angle was something that easily could have happened the exact same way, but just after the pin. Still, Bronson Reed feels like a third wheel when it comes to this program. At this point, there isn't much they can do to change that.
-So, Michael Cole sure was obsessed with the hat Becky Lynch wore at the Kentucky Derby over the weekend wasn't he? Awkward! Honestly, the entire segment with Becky was. She seemed to feel awkward because the crowd was dead and the audience felt awkward because the segment was bad. Lynch giving the state of the state on the women's division in a post-WWE Draft world is fine, but the messaging was bogged down by corporate WWE billboard headlines.
-Not a very big reaction for Lyra Valkyria. WWE did right by her in attaching her to Becky Lynch by featuring Valkyria as a friend saved her from an attack by Damage CNTRL, but she didn't seem to have the momentum that Dragunov did on his first official main roster night. She's got some work to do.
Serious Kofi
-Serious Kofi Kingston is the best Kofi Kingston! How many times does this have to be said? Kingston was very effective in his backstage promo this week on King of the RIng. He helped provide the tournament with direction because of his personal story about it concerning Xavier Woods. Now, I don't see Kofi winning, but he did enough to establish why he'd want to so badly.
-Once again, Gunther and Sheamus provided a match full of glorious violence. They have incredible chemistry together and their matches are must-see. Gunther is likely going to win the KOTR tournament, so a win here was obvious. Necessary, but obvious nonetheless.
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