Here are the highlights from last night’s Raw:
Ludwig Kaiser introduced the new King of the Ring, Gunther, who won the title after beating Randy Orton at this past Saturday’s King and Queen of the Ring.
With this victory, Gunther also earned the opportunity to challenge the World Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam. He commended the current champion, Damian Priest, for his leadership in The Judgment Day, but complained that the World Heavyweight Championship lacks prestige because Priest won it by taking a shortcut.
Priest would not let that slide. He and his Judgment Day teammates, Finn Balor and JD McDonagh, interrupted the new King immediately to refute his claims.
Priest pointed out the hypocrisy of accusing someone of taking a shortcut when Gunther won the King of the Ring match via pinfall without actually pinning Orton’s shoulders to the mat. Additionally, the “shortcut” in question was cashing in the Money in the Bank contract, which was earned in a ladder match that Priest won cleanly. Priest threatened to teach Gunther a lesson, and Gunther welcomed him to try, as he has not felt challenged by an opponent in a long time. The two alluded to Gunther’s World Heavyweight Championship match at SummerSlam, and were interrupted by Drew McIntyre.
The Scottish Warrior was not happy about Gunther and Priest assuming that Priest would still be champion by SummerSlam. Priest will defend his title against McIntyre at Clash at the Castle next month, and will only face Gunther at SummerSlam if he can first make it past this battle. McIntyre called them out for acting like Priest being champion by SummerSlam was a foregone conclusion, and Gunther took this as his cue to leave. McIntyre addressed the champion directly, explaining that with the Glasgow crowd on his side at Clash at the Castle, and the current disjointed state of The Judgment Day, Priest’s chances of retaining the title were slim. McIntyre’s attempts to get under Priest’s skin were in vain, as Priest saw right through it and turned the tables, successfully getting a reaction out of McIntyre. He continued to poke the bear, but before McIntyre could strike, the conversation was interrupted once again by Braun Strowman.
Strowman had been causing problems for The Judgment Day over the past few weeks, and McDonagh was tasked with fixing the Strowman problem in a one-on-one match. Prior to the beginning of the match, Strowman asserted his dominance by cutting off the leader of The Judgment Day mid-sentence, and stared him down.
9.) Braun Strowman plows through JD McDonagh and The Judgment Day
JD McDonagh was forced to bite off more than he could chew when ordered to take down Braun Strowman.
Throughout the match, Strowman manhandled McDonagh. The Irish Ace struggled to gain any sort of traction, despite the presence of Finn Balor at ringside. Nevertheless, he was resilient enough to keep the match going, something many of Strowman’s opponents have failed to do. McDonagh did finally manage to use Strowman’s momentum against him, diving out of the way and clipping his knee as Strowman charged towards McDonagh in the corner. McDonagh continued targeting Strowman’s knee, but it still wasn’t enough to keep the big man down. Balor attempted to distract the referee, but strowman picked him up and tossed him. Carlito also ran in to help McDonagh, but was quickly neutralized.
Strowman won the match, but Carlito and Balor immediately descended on him and attacked. While Strowman was outnumbered, he was far from outmatched, and effortlessly threw the two off of him. McDonagh attempted to hit Strowman with a chair, but it did not have any effect besides making Strowman angrier. Strowman chased McDonagh backstage, and continued to hunt him down for the rest of the night.
After his conversation with Ilja Dragunov about a rematch was interrupted by a spear from Bron Breakker, Ricochet was finally medically cleared to compete. He told Raw General Manager Adam Pearce that he wanted to face Breakker that night, but Pearce informed him that Breakker was suspended for his actions. However, Ricochet was granted the rematch he requested against Dragunov.
Though Ricochet was medically cleared, his ribs were clearly still in rough shape and held him back. The injury did not stop him from delivering an exciting performance, by any means, and he still put up a great fight against Dragunov. Dragunov had previously beaten Ricochet in an exhilarating match during the first round of the King of the Ring tournament. This was the reason Breakker attacked Ricochet in the first place, as he was upset they were selected for the tournament and he wasn’t. It was also why Breakker ignored his suspension and attacked Ricochet last night, interrupting the match with a spear and causing it to end in disqualification.
Dragunov tried to fight back against Breakker, but received a spear himself. Pearce ran out to reprimand Breakker, but Breakker did not seem to care.
7.) The Final Testament displays their power
The New Day approached World Tag Team Champions Awesome Truth about a title shot, but The Miz and R-Truth denied them and made a speedy exit. Seeing this, Karrion Kross came over to talk to Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston.
Over the last couple of weeks, Kross has been attempting to drive a wedge between The New Day, to no avail. Kingston asked him to quit the mind games and cut to the chase by challenging them to a match, but he incorrectly assumed Kross’s motive. Kross was not trying to fight The New Day, but help Woods step out of Kingston’s shadow. He invited Woods to watch the Authors of Pain in their upcoming match to see how The Final Testament can benefit his career. Woods not only declined, but laughed in his face, and challenged AOP to a match next week.
In their match, the Authors of Pain made short work of The Creed Brothers. Brutus and Julius could barely get any offense in against Akam and Rezar, and one of their few attempts was thwarted by a distraction at ringside. As they set up for the Brutus Ball, Scarlett attacked Ivy Nile, taking their focus away from the match. This ensured the victory for AOP, but they probably could have gotten the job done without any dirty tactics, albeit a tad bit slower.
Sheamus spoke for the first time since his loss to Gunther in the first round of the King of the Ring tournament.
His loss was due in part to interference from Gunther’s crony, Ludwig Kaiser. Sheamus was at peace with the interference, but he was also injured during the match, and Kaiser continued to insult him while he sat at home nursing the injury. This, Sheamus could not stand for, and he could not wait to get his hands on him.
Kaiser popped up on the titantron to argue that Gunther was the only person responsible for Sheamus’s loss. Sheamus ran backstage to hunt down Kaiser, but Kaiser saw him coming and ambushed him. The two brawled from backstage out to the entrance ramp, and it took a team of officials to separate them.
5.) Lyra Valkyria defeats Kairi Sane
Following her devastating loss to Nia Jax in the final round of the Queen of the Ring tournament this past Saturday, Lyra Valkyria took on Kairi Sane, who was accompanied by her Damage CTRL teammate Dakota Kai. Despite being severely banged up, Valkyria still managed to put up a fight. Her ribs were especially vulnerable after being subjected to Jax’s annihilator on Saturday, and Sane took full advantage of the weakness. Valkyria continued to push through the pain, and successfully took down Sane.
Backstage, Sane and Kai approached Iyo Sky with their tails between their legs. Valkyria eliminated Sky from the Queen of the Ring tournament, making this her second victory over Damage CTRL. Sky was enraged, and tore apart the room, smashing everything she could get her hands on.
Rey Mysterio took on Carlito after he attacked and injured Mysterio’s LWO teammate, Cruz del Toro, last week. Mysterio was accompanied to the ring by Zelina Vega and Dragon Lee. Carlito entered unaccompanied, and was disappointed that the judgment day did not come out with him. He overpowered Mysterio for much of the match, even without the additional support, but struggled to get the job done. Finn Balor did end up making a surprise appearance once Mysterio gained the upper hand, but it was too late to make a difference.
After Mysterio won the match, he grabbed Balor and laid him out on the announcer’s table, setting him up for the high-flying Dragon Lee. Before Lee could jump, Damian Priest showed up to defend Balor, single handedly taking out both Lee and Mysterio. While he was quick to come to Carlito’s and Balor’s aid, Priest was annoyed that he had to pick up their slack because they could not take care of the problem on their own, a recurring theme for The Judgment Day recently.
3.) Otis punished by Chad Gable
Ahead of Otis’s match against Bronson Reed, Chad Gable chewed out Akira Tozawa for not being at King and Queen of the Ring, where Gable lost the triple threat match for the Intercontinental title against Reed and Champion Sami Zayn. Gable also scolded Otis for causing him to lose the match, and said that this match against Reed was his shot at redemption.
During the match, Gable coached Otis by berating him while he was down. When Otis did begin to pick up momentum, he got Reed in perfect position for the caterpillar, a move which Gable detests. Gable protested from outside the ring, stopping Otis in his tracks. Otis stood as Gable dealt his verbal abuse, giving Reed ample time to collect himself and strike back. Gable’s coaching cost Otis the match, but he blamed Otis for attempting the silly offense in the first place.
After this most recent loss in a string of Alpha Academy disappointments, Gable called the rest of the group out to witness the public shaming of Otis. He took off his belt and instructed Otis to bend over so that he could whip him. Gable raised his arm, but Maxxine Dupri grabbed him, stopping him in his tracks. In response, Gable ejected her from the ring. He forced Tozawa to stay and watch. Before Gable could get back to the matter at hand, Sami Zayn’s music hit. Gable warned Zayn to stay out of Alpha Academy business, but the Intercontinental Champion continued. He called Gable a weak little man, manipulating his way into opportunities but falling short and blaming everyone but himself. Gable dug his heels in, continuing to blame Otis, and raised the belt once again. This time, Zayn intercepted and snatched it away.
Zayn then spoke directly to Otis, telling him once again that he should stop listening to Gable, and start listening to the people in the audience who love and support him. Gable stops Zayn with a barrage of fists. After leaving Zayn beaten in the ring, Gable started to leave. Reluctantly, Tozawa followed, but Otis remained stuck in his place, looking back and forth between his mentor, still hurling insults, and Zayn, who just took a beating in his defense. After contemplating, he slowly followed Gable, but struggled to take his eyes off Zayn.
Cathy Kelley interviewed Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark, the number one contenders for the Women’s Tag Team Championships. Stark suggested inviting the current champions, Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair, to Raw next week so that they could properly introduce themselves ahead of their match. Sonya Deville interrupted to tell them that while they talk as though they’re already champions, they won’t win without her help. Baszler got defensive, but Deville said the issue was not their abilities, but rather that the locker room does not respect them.
They refused to hear anymore and walked away, but were stopped by Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn. Fyre and Dawn pointed out that Baszler and Stark have never beaten them, and made it very clear that they don’t believe they can, proving Deville’s point.
1.) Liv Morgan continues her revenge tour
This past Saturday and King and Queen of the Ring, Liv Morgan challenged Becky Lynch for the Women’s World Championship.
Morgan had previously stated that she was on a revenge tour, seeking to take away everything Rhea Ripley holds dear after Ripley injured her, taking away nine months of Morgan’s career. Morgan had already returned the favor, injuring Ripley’s shoulder in a backstage brawl and forcing her to vacate the Women’s World Championship. However, it was not good enough that Ripley did not hold the title, Morgan needed to have it for herself. Becky Lynch was the woman standing in her way.
In what appeared to be an attempt to avenge his Mami and block Morgan from achieving her goal, Dominik Mysterio interfered in the match on Saturday. He slid a steel chair into the ring towards Lynch, but the challenger took advantage of the weapon instead, and won the match as a result. Lynch was incensed, and invoked her rematch clause immediately. Morgan was fine with this, as she still wanted to prove that she could beat Lynch fair and square, and was deserving of the title.
The rematch was a steel cage match, a stipulation that would limit outside interference like what occurred in the first match. However, this did not stop Mysterio from trying. He opened the door of the steel cage to allow Lynch to escape, which would have won her the match. Finn Balor and JD McDonagh ran out to stop him, but Mysterio insisted that he had to fix the mistake he made on Saturday. Braun Strowman, who had been chasing McDonagh since their match earlier in the night ended, finally caught up to him. He chased McDonagh and Balor around the outside of the cage and out of the arena. In his pursuit, Strowman knocked Mysterio into the door of the steel cage, slamming it shut on an escaping Lynch. The impact of the door to Lynch’s face knocked her out, allowing Morgan to crawl through the door without any hindrance. She retained her championship, once again with Mysterio’s unintentional assist.
In celebration, Morgan grabbed the exasperated Mysterio and planted a forceful kiss on his lips. While he did not appear to reciprocate, Rhea Ripley will still not likely be pleased with the direction Morgan’s revenge tour has taken.
