The John Report: WWE Raw Deal 05/27/24 Review
It’s WWE Raw featuring a Liv Morgan-Becky Lynch Steel Cage Match, a King GUNTHER celebration, and more.
The WWE King and Queen of the Ring PLE was on Saturday. I liked the show quite a bit and congrats to Liv Morgan on being the new Women’s World Champion.
This week’s Raw is also the 15-year anniversary of when I started doing the WWE Raw Deal review going back to May 2009 for that infamous Lakers-Nuggets tag team match main event. I started writing about wrestling about a decade before that, May 2009 timeline is when I went after writing about wrestling as a career. Later that same year I started a blog, then we launched TJRWrestling as a website using a couple of different names and since 2015 it’s been the TJRWrestling.net site that we continue to grow today.
I’m so proud of where we are now as one of the biggest wrestling sites there is. Some of you don’t know this, but I actually sold TJRWrestling three years ago and now I’m just a writer while we have a team behind the scenes that runs it. There’s also a news writing team led by my buddy Lyle along with James and myself. It’s pretty cool thinking about the journey we have been on. Thanks also to my good friend Steve aka Melo Man for the graphics on every review that I did. He’s gifted and I appreciate his help for nearly all of those 15 years.
Writing is a thankless job a lot of the time. It’s a lot of hours sitting in a room by yourself and trying to stay motivated. The reality is that 98% of the people reading the 20,000+ words that I put out every week will never comment on it. And I get it. I’m not complaining about it. I consume a lot myself and I don’t reach out to the writers either. That’s just the world we’re living in. I’m just saying there are certainly times when I did question the process, but when I look back 10 years, 15 years and beyond, I’m glad I am where I am as a dude in his early 40s who still enjoys doing what I do.
I’ll wrap this part up by saying thank you for your support no matter how long it’s been. When I went to WrestleMania I met a guy who told me he was reading me since he was about 12 years old, now he’s married with a kid and in his late 20s. He’s still reading, so that’s cool. I’m sure there are a lot of you with stories like that. Anyway, I’ll keep on writing and I hope you continue to read and support us at TJRWrestling. I’m truly grateful for your support. Thank you for the support no matter how long it has been. And now I have another show to review.
This is the Raw Deal for episode #1618 of Monday Night Raw. It’s taking place at the Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.
There was a video package showing highlights of WWE King and Queen of the Ring PLE.
They showed some arrivals earlier in the day showing Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan and also former champion Becky Lynch.
It was Michael Cole and Pat McAfee on commentary as usual.
Let’s Celebrate King GUNTHER
Ludwig Kaiser was in the ring with a spotlight on him. Kaiser did a spectacular as the 2024 WWE King of the Ring, the “Ring General” GUNTHER. That led to Gunther walking out in dress clothes with the King of the Ring crown in his hands. The win by Gunther means that he’ll challenge the World Heavyweight Champion on Raw at SummerSlam. Gunther joined Kaiser in the ring and held the King’s crown above his head.
Gunther said on Saturday, he beat Randy Orton and he is now the rightful King of the Ring. Gunther said he also earned the opportunity to challenge the World Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam. Gunther said that Damian Priest has really stepped up and taken responsibility since Rhea Ripley has been out. Gunther said that the Intercontinental Championship lacked prestige and it was up to Gunther to step up to give it prestige as the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. Gunther said he raised the King of the Ring tournament to levels and heights never seen before. Gunther said that the World Heavyweight Championship is lacking prestige because the champion won it by taking a shortcut – that’s a reference to Priest using Money in the Bank to win the title.
Damian Priest walked out with the World Heavyweight Title and he had Finn Balor and JD McDonagh with him, but he told them to stay on the floor. Kaiser left the ring as Priest stood in the ring with Gunther.
Priest credited Gunther for being King of the Ring and he does get a shot at SummerSlam. Priest said that we all saw Gunther didn’t pin Randy Orton. Priest told Gunther to take credit for costing Orton a shot. Priest said he cashed in because he earned a briefcase in a Ladder Match. Priest said he cashed in like a lot of others cashed in before him. Priest wondered if Gunther knew how business worked around here.
Gunther said that he focuses on the facts and he is the King of the Ring. Gunther said that if Priest is still the champion at SummerSlam, then he’ll challenge him there. Gunther said that he can’t teach you about business, but he can teach you about this great sport. Gunther told Priest to give him a stupid business lecture and address Gunther as King or give him the speech after as World Heavyweight Champion.
Priest told Gunther he respects him in the ring and he respected him as Intercontinental Champion. Priest wondered what Gunther could teach him that he didn’t already know. Priest mentioned SummerSlam, so here’s Drew McIntyre – who faces Priest at Clash at the Castle on June 15th.
Drew McIntyre made his entrance in street clothes with a lot of confidence on his face. Drew got in the ring to trash CM Punk since there were Punk chants. Drew said that if he didn’t hurt Punk then Punk would have gotten hurt or been fired anyway. Drew told Gunther and Priest that he’ll be champion in less than three weeks. Gunther left the ring.
Priest said he’s not looking past Drew because he knows what is going to happen. Drew said that Priest is spreading himself too thin. Drew said that The Judgment Day keeps screwing up. Drew said that “Dum Dum” aka Dominik went to Saudi Arabia to screw up. Drew told Priest he needs to focus on the World Heavyweight Title. Drew mentioned some European WWE wrestlers that haven’t won the World Title and said that he was the only World Champion from Europe and he has done it three times. Drew mentioned the vocal crowd at Clash at the Castle in Wales when the fans cheered him a lot. Drew said that they’re going to be in Scotland, which is his country. Drew did a geography lesson saying that Scottish people are wild and those fans are going to break Priest’s spirit. Drew said that he just got cleared and he’s about to take Priest’s bloody title.
Priest said that’s your best shot at him? Priest said he’s made a living of proving people wrong. Priest asked Drew if his wife would be there and what’s her name? Drew threatened him after that. Priest said he couldn’t care less if she was going to be there. Drew said that he wondered if Drew was man enough to do something about it when Priest got under his skin. Braun Strowman’s music hit for the interruption.
Braun Strowman walked down to the ring and had a staredown with Priest while Drew left the ring. It was JD McDonagh in action against Braun up next.
Analysis: That was a long opening segment since it went over 20 minutes. It showed that Raw is heel heavy at the top since Gunther, Priest and McIntyre are all heels. I think all of them are very good performers too, so it’s nice to see that Raw has a lot of depth at the top. I’m not sure if Priest is going to get by McIntyre at Clash at the Castle because I think Drew should probably win that, but if that happens then it means Priest only has a short two-month title reign. Anyway, there were good lines by everybody, but it wasn’t an epic promo exchange or anything like that.
(Commercial)
Braun Strowman vs. JD McDonagh (w/Finn Balor)
Braun picked up JD for a spinning slam almost like a Powerbomb. JD left the ring for a break. Back in the ring, Braun hit a headbutt along with a forearm to the chest. Braun tossed JD across the ring. Pat called Braun a “big son of a bitch” several times. Braun charged, JD moved and Braun decked him with an uppercut to the jaw. Braun gave JD a body slam. Braun chopped JD hard in the chest. Braun hit a running splash against the turnbuckle. JD managed to send Braun shoulder first into the ring post. JD left the ring and did a chop block to Braun’s left knee on the floor. I didn’t think this would be a two segment match, but they went to a break.
(Commercial)
The match continued with JD attacking Braun’s left knee some more, but Braun came back with a running forearm. Braun gave JD a back body drop that had a lot of height. JD regrouped on the floor. Braun was limping a bit as he left the ring, but then he ran over JD on the floor with a shoulder tackle. Braun picked up JD in the ring. Balor was on the apron, so Braun tossed him into the ring. Carlito went down to the ring, he punched Braun while the referee was looking at Balor and Braun punched Carlito down. JD hit Braun with his massive head for a headbutt. JD charged, but Braun hit a tilt-a-whirl powerslam for the pinfall win after nine minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Braun Strowman
Analysis: **1/2 A decent match that gave JD more offense than I thought he would get. Braun did a decent job of selling the knee injury during the match before making the big comeback. A powerslam isn’t a huge finisher for Braun, but it works as a finish on a smaller guy like JD as his opponent.
After the match, Carlito and Balor tried to attack Braun, but it didn’t work that well. Braun tossed both guys from the ring. JD hit Braun in the back with a chair shot. Braun barely sold it and JD took off before Braun could grab him. Braun slowly went after the J-Day guys.
Analysis: It looks like Braun Strowman will continue to have to deal with The Judgment Day. I don’t mind it. I think Braun is being booked well as a babyface.
Liv Morgan, the new Women’s World Champion, was interviewed by Cathy Kelley. Liv bragged about being the new champion while saying she didn’t know that Dominik Mysterio would do what he did. Liv said if she’s going to hold this title she needs to beat Beck straight up. That’s why she’s defending the title in a Steel Cage Match. Liv said that she’s going to beat Becky Lynch in her first Steel Cage match and the Liv Morgan Revenge Tour is just getting started. Watch her.
Analysis: I don’t know if we can say Liv has fully embraced the heel life, but she’s certainly acting like a cocky heel champion. She should do well as the champion.
(Commercial)
The Judgment Day was shown backstage where Finn Balor was talking to Carlito about what happened. They mentioned JD McDonagh was gone because Braun Strowman was chasing after them. Damian Priest walked up to them telling them to find JD McDonagh and bring him back to the clubhouse so they could regroup.
A video package aired about the destruction caused by Bron Breakker last week. The destruction saw Bron beat up his opponent and then he hit Ricochet with a Spear in the backstage area.
There was a scene from earlier today. Ricochet was shown getting his ribs checked by the WWE Trainer, who cleared Ricochet to compete Raw GM Adam Pearce was there telling Ricochet that Bron Breakker wasn’t there because he was fined and suspended because of what happened last week. Ilja Dragunov walked in and thanked Ricochet for what he did last week since Ricochet pushed Ilja out of the way of Bron’s attack. Ricochet wanted a match with Dragunov tonight. Ilja said he didn’t want to fight a man that was broken. Ricochet said that medical cleared him, so Pearce booked the match.
Analysis: I like how they are booking Bron Breakker as a threat. It’s going to give him a special aura when he has a match.
Ricochet made his entrance for singles action.
(Commercial)
Ilja Dragunov made his entrance for the match. The QR Code appeared on the screen at that moment.
Ricochet vs. Ilja Dragunov
These guys had a great match in the King of the Ring tournament that Ilja won so it’s a rematch. Ricochet had heavy tape on the right side of his ribs. Ilja hit some chops. Ilja hit two German Suplexes. Ilja picked up Ricochet for an overhead suplex. Ilja hit a jumping enziguri kick. Ilja flipped Ricochet over followed by Ilja hitting Ricochet with a knee to knock Ricochet out of the ring.
(Commercial)
Ilja worked over Ricochet with forearms and a kick to the head. Ilja hit a German Suplex. Ricochet came back with a jumping knee to the head. Ricochet hit a suicide dive onto Ilja on the floor. Ricochet jumped with a suicide dive, but Ilja caught him and sent Ricochet into the side of the apron. Ricochet kicked Ilja to knock him down. Ricochet hit an impressive moonsault off the middle turnbuckle onto standing Ilja on the floor. Back in the ring, Ricochet jumped off the top, Ilja moved and Ilja hit a clothesline. Ilja hit his Constantin Special clothesline for a two count. Ilja chopped Ricochet repeatedly. Ilja hit a Powerbomb. Ilja went for a top rope attack, but Ricochet stopped that with a superkick. Ricochet hit the Recoil jumping knee for two. Ilja got his left shoulder up after the two count. Ricochet went up top, but Ilja stopped that with a hard slap to the face. Ricochet headbutted Ilja off the turnbuckle to the mat. Ricochet went up top and hit a Shooting Star Press. That’s when Bron Breakker showed up and hit Ricochet with a Spear. The fans booed. It went about ten minutes.
Winner by disqualification: Ricochet
Analysis: ***1/4 They were on their way to having a very good match just like the last time, but it ended suddenly because of Breakker. Ilja was relentless on offense while Ricochet sold everything very well and when Ricochet hit a couple of moves, the fans were right there supporting him. A DQ finish will upset some fans, but I think that’s the point with Bron in a heel role.
After the match, Ilja chopped Bron a few times. Bron came back with a running Spear to put Ilja down. Raw GM Adam Pearce got in Bron’s face in the ring yelling at him about what he was dong and Bron walked away from him. Bron was in the aisle as Pearce kept yelling. Bron just stared at Pearce in the face and kept walking. They went to break there.
Analysis: They really are booking Bron like a badass who is going to be tough to beat and tough to control.
A commercial aired for WWE Clash at the Castle on June 15th.
(Commercial)
They showed Bron Breakker getting yelled at by Raw GM Adam Pearce. Bron walked away while Cathy Kelley speculated that maybe Pearce was regretting drafting Bron in the WWE Draft. Kiana James walked up to Pearce and they left to talk in Pearce’s office.
Analysis: I wonder if it’s going to lead to Bron Breakker getting traded to Smackdown since he’s such a terror on Raw. I don’t know where it’s going.
They showed the Awesome Truth duo of The Miz & R-Truth at an ice cream truck. The New Day walked up to them asking if they were doing a raffle for a shot at Awesome Truth’s World Tag Team Titles. Karrion Kross walked up to New Day. Kross told Woods they can help him if he stops this New Day crap. Kofi refused that and Kross said he wondered when Kofi would let Woods shine. Woods told Kross that they want to face AOP next week.
Authors of Pain – Akam & Rezar (w/Karrion Kross, Scarlett & Paul Ellering) vs. The Creed Brothers – Julius & Brutus Creed (w/Ivy Nile)
The AOP guys attacked right away. Brutus fought back with punches. Rezar put Brutus on his shoulders and rammed Brutus into the turnbuckle. Akam walked with a punch to the jaw. Rezar was back in with a knee to the face. Akam tagged in and charged at Brutus, who moved, so Akam hit the turnbuckle. Julius tagged in with a couple of suplexes for Akam and a suplex on Rezar too. Julius jumped off the turnbuckle with a moonsault on Akam. Brutus went up top, but Scarlett sent Nile into the steps. That led to Brutus getting knocked down to the floor when Akam threw Julius into Brutus. Akam hit a uranage slam. Rezar was back in for a double team neckbreaker/powerbomb combo called What a Rush. Rezar covered Julius for the pinfall win after four minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Authors of Pain – Akam & Rezar
Analysis: **1/4 A short match to put over AOP thanks to Scarlett attacking Nile at ringside. That took out Brutus from the top rope and Julius was left to fend for himself against two tough guys. The Creeds losing is fine because they are likely turning heel to side with Chad Gable, so it’s a good call to have them lose.
Rey Mysterio did a promo backstage talking about how Carlito would still be his brother in the LWO, but Carlito’s jealousy made him bitter. Rey told Carlito his attack on Cruz Del Toro was a huge mistake. Rey told Carlito he could hang out with The Judgment Day if he wanted. Rey said tonight, Carlito will find out what happens when you cross the LWO and when you cross Rey Mysterio.
Sheamus was shown walking backstage for a promo up next. Braun Strowman was chasing after JD McDonagh while Liv Morgan was in the background as well.
A video package aired about Memorial Day and those who sacrificed to give us all a better life. Thank you.
(Commercial)
Let’s Hear from Sheamus
Sheamus made his entrance for a promo and he was in dress clothes. Sheamus said he was amped up just listening to the fans. Sheamus said that King of the Ring was nothing but banger after banger after banger and so on. Sheamus said sadly, he wasn’t in it because that little Ken doll Ludwig smashed his knee and took him out. Sheamus trashed Ludwig Kaiser for talking smack about him. Sheamus said that he is back fella and he can’t wait to get his hands on him.
Ludwig Kaiser appeared on the video screen while standing backstage. Kaiser told Sheamus not to blame Kaiser because Gunther is your King of the Ring and nobody else stood a chance. Kaiser trashed Sheamus for trying to tell Kaiser what to do. Sheamus told him to shut his mouth. Sheamus said should he listen to this garbage or should he go get him? Sheamus walked quickly to the backstage area.
The camera followed Sheamus walking backstage and he was looking for Kaiser. When Sheamus walked into the backstage area near the technical equipment, he was attacked by Kaiser with a cheap attack. Sheamus fought back with punches and then they made their way by the entrance area. They exchanged punches there and it was broken up by officials including Raw GM Adam Pearce. The guys were separated to end it.
Analysis: A lot of backstage fighting and brawling on this week’s show. It’s pushing the idea of Raw being a chaotic show with Raw GM Adam Pearce losing control all the time. They are obviously building to a Sheamus-Kaiser match, which is a nice thing for Kaiser since he is in the background a lot, so at least now there’s some more focus on him.
Lyra Valkyria was in the locker room while Becky Lynch sat down beside her. Lyra had visible bruises on her legs. Lynch talked about how it’s not about winning all the time. Lynch said that it’s about winning or learning until it’s time to walk away. Lynch touched fists with Lyra saying that she’s got this.
Kairi Sane of Damage CTRL made her entrance. New music for Kairi.
(Commercial)
It’s WWE SummerSlam in 2026 in Minneapolis. The 2024 SummerSlam is in Cleveland. We don’t know about 2025 yet.
Kairi Sane (w/Dakota Kai) vs. Lyra Valkyria
Lyra had her ribs taped on both sides. Lyra hit a suplex for a two count. Lyra went to the ropes, so Sane knocked her down and Sane kicked Lyra in the ribs a few times. Sane worked over Lyra with forearm smashes and an elbow. Sane hit a sliding forearm to the body while Lyra was against the ropes. Sane did a double foot stomp to the ribs. Sane went up top, Lyra stopped that with a forearm and then Lyra was hung up by the turnbuckle. Sane jumped off the top with a double foot stomp for just two because Lyra got her left arm up. Sane jumped off the top with the Insane Elbow, but Lyra got her feet up to block. Lyra hooked Sane’s arms and got the rollup with leverage for the pinfall win after five minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Lyra Valkyria
Analysis: **1/4 It was one of those matches where one wrestler is on offense for nearly all of the match and then one counter by Lyra getting her feet up led to the pinfall win. Sane was impressive on offense. They’re trying to feature Lyra more to give her some credibility as a babyface with a lot of heart.
The Judgment Day was in the clubhouse where Damian Priest was with Finn Balor and Carlito. Priest asked Carlito why was he there? Carlito said he was just hanging out and left for his match. JD McDonagh walked in saying he was running away from Braun Strowman. Priest wondered if he had to handle that. Priest mentioned JD talking to Liv Morgan backstage. JD told Priest he told Liv that she won’t be Women’s Champion for long. Dominik walked in so Priest talked to him alone. Priest wondered what Dominik was doing and asked if Dom talked to Ripley. Dominik said he did and Dominik said he told Rhea Ripley he’s going to fix it. Priest told Dominik he better fix it and said he wouldn’t want to be in Dom’s shoes.
Analysis: It furthers the story while making viewers wonder what Dominik will try to do later.
Rey Mysterio of the LWO entered for singles action joined by LWO’s Dragon Lee and Zelina Vega.
(Commercial)
They showed IYO SKY in the Damage CTRL locker room. Kairi Sane and Dakota Kai walked into the room. Sky broke some furniture in the room, she ranted in Japanese and left.
Welcome to the Savannah Bananas baseball team at ringside. They’re like the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball.
Carlito vs. Rey Mysterio (w/Dragon Lee & Zelina Vega)
Carlito was in control early on with a hard whip to the turnbuckle along with a backbreaker. Rey came back with a kick to the jaw. Rey went for a moonsault, Carlito caught him and Carlito slammed Rey into the turnbuckle. Carlito charged, Rey avoided him by the turnbuckle and Carlito hit the ring post, which led to Carlito bumping to the floor.
(Commercial)
Rey was running the ropes, but Carlito nailed him with a forearm smash. Rey got a boot up to stop a charging Carlito. Rey charged, but Carlito caught him and tossed him overhead. Carlito hit a superplex from the middle turnbuckle. Carlito remained on offense until Rey dropkicked him into the ropes. Carlito was back up with a dropkick to stop Rey, who was going for a slingshot attack. Carlito went for a lift while on the apron, but Rey slipped out of it and sent Carlito into the ring post. Finn Balor showed up at ringside to attack Lee from behind and sent Lee over the commentary table. Rey responded with a senton bomb on Balor on the floor. Back in the ring, Rey countered a move to send Carlito into the ropes. Rey hit a 619 kick and a slingshot splash aka Dropping The Dime over the top onto Carlito for the pinfall win. It went about 11 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Rey Mysterio
Analysis: *** A good match between two veterans, but it also felt off a bit. I don’t know why. Maybe Carlito is just moving really slow and that’s a factor. The fans aren’t reacting to Carlito much, but he’s doing good work. It took a couple of moves for Rey to pick up win. I figured that would be the result.
Post match, there was a fight between the LWO and Finn Balor along with Carlito. When Dragon Lee was on the top rope, Carlito spit apple in his face. Damian Priest got into the ring and hit a Razor’s Edge on Dragon Lee. Rey Mysterio sent Priest into the ropes going for a 619 kick, but Priest avoided that and Priest hit Rey with a South of Heaven slam. Priest stood tall in the ring.
Analysis: It was about Priest looking strong as the World Heavyweight Champion. It gives him some positive momentum.
Char Gable was shown talking to Akira Tozawa. Braun Strowman was backstage yelling for JD McDonagh. Otis and Maxxine Dupri walked up to Gable. Chad told Dupri to stay in the back since it’s not a fashion show. Gable said that Otis can redeem himself by beating Bronson Reed. Otis said yeah and “no matter what” to end it.
Bronson Reed entered for singles action.
(Commercial)
Otis (w/Chad Gable) vs. Bronson Reed
It’s a meat match special for two guys who combined weigh over 660 pounds. Reed was in control with a running forearm smash. Reed sent Otis into the ring post and out to the floor. Gable yelled at Otis to get up. Back in the ring, Otis made the comeback and hit a running corner splash. Otis went for the Caterpillar, but Gable told him not to do it and the fans were cheering. Otis didn’t care and went for the Caterpillar again. Gable yelled at Otis again. Reed capitalized with a superkick and senton splash. Reed went up top and hit a Tsunami splash for the pinfall win. It went about five minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Bronson Reed
Analysis: ** It furthered the story of Gable and Otis having problems. Reed picking up the win could have been anybody in that spot, but it’s some payback for Reed since Otis attacked him at King and Queen of the Ring.
Otis was leaving the ring, but Chad Gable told him to get into the ring with him. Gable called for Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri to go into the ring too. The show went to break.
(Commercial)
Chad Gable Addresses Alpha Academy
The Alpha Academy foursome was in the ring with Chad Gable holding a microphone. Gable wondered what it would take to get through to Otis. Gable said he’s going to show Otis discipline. Gable took off his belt. Gable told Otis to grab the rope. Gable told Dupri and Tozawa to watch because this is what happens when you bring shame to the Alpha Academy group. Gable tried to hit Otis with the belt, but Dupri held his arm to stop him. Gable told Dupri to get the hell out of his ring. Gable told Tozawa to watch this.
Sami Zayn walked down to the ring with the Intercontinental Title around his waist. Zayn asked Dupri if she was alright and she walked to the back. Gable told Zayn that this was AA’s business and told Zayn he should stay out of it.
Zayn got into the ring telling Gable he’s not tough and told Gable that he’s a weak little man. Zayn told Gable that he had manipulated his way into opportunities for the IC Title and every time Gable got a shot, he came up short. Zayn said that it is nobody’s fault other than Gable because Gable can’t get the job done. Gable blamed Otis for costing him the match in Saudi. Gable tried to attack Otis, but Zayn grabbed the leather belt and then he threw it on the ground.
Zayn asked Otis how much more of Gable’s crap are you going to take? Zayn told Otis to listen to the fans. The fans were cheering. Zayn tried to talk to Otis more, so Gable attacked Zayn with a punch. Gable worked over Zayn with punches. Zayn tackled Gable leading to punches from both guys. Otis pulled Zayn off of Gable. Chad was back up and hit Zayn with a German Suplex. Gable worked over Zayn with punches. The fans were chanting for Otis to do something. Gable taunted Zayn with the IC Title while the fans chanted “Let’s go Otis” to end it.
Analysis: It continued the Alpha Academy story with Gable as the jerk leader who got a lot of heat for what he did. Otis is so over with the fans and he really didn’t have to do that much. Zayn getting involved should lead to another Gable-Zayn match and maybe Gable will get the title soon.
A video package aired about Liv Morgan’s journey to become the Women’s World Champion.
Liv Morgan was shown backstage getting ready. Becky Lynch was shown backstage preparing for her match up next.
The steel cage was lowered as the show went to break.
(Commercial)
The team of Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark were interviewed backstage by Cathy Kelley. Baszler didn’t care who the champions were. Sonya Deville walked in talking about how she could help them. Baszler & Stark didn’t seem interested. Baszler & Stark walked away while Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn mentioned that they hadn’t been beaten by Baszler & Stark. Deville walked up to Baszler & Stark saying that they weren’t being respected so that’s what Deville meant about helping them.
Next week on Raw:
* Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser
* The New Day vs. Authors of Pain
* Damian Priest vs. Rey Mysterio
Becky Lynch made her entrance to a big pop from the fans. Liv Morgan was up next as the Women’s World Champion with a big smile on her face. It is Liv’s first Steel Cage Match while Lynch has experience inside the cage. The introductions by Samantha Irvin were well done. They went to a break there.
(Commercial)
Women’s World Championship Steel Cage Match: Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch
You can win by pinfall, submission or escaping the cage with both feet touching the floor.
Liv was in control as she worked over Lynch against the cage. Liv said “Hi Rhea” while looking into the camera. Liv tried to climb up to get out, but Lynch stopped her. Lynch got some offense of her own as she rammed Liv’s head into the cage repeatedly. Lynch followed that with a missile dropkick off the top. Lynch hit two straight sliding dropkicks. Lynch worked over Liv with uppercuts and a spin kick. Liv lifted up a charging Lynch into the cage. They went to break there.
(Commercial)
The show returned with about seven minutes left in the show. Liv went up top and kept climbing, but Lynch was there to stop the climb. Liv kicked Lynch down, so Lynch jumped up to go after Liv again. Lynch hit a superplex for a two count. Lynch went for the Disarm-her, but Liv stopped that and sent Lynch into the cage. Liv hit a springboard Codebreaker for two. Liv climbed up to the top of the cage. Lynch followed live up there and they sat on top of the cage. Lynch knocked Liv down briefly, but then Liv got up and stopped Lynch from getting out. Liv came back with a Powerbomb. Lynch applied the Disarm-her submission on the right arm by the ropes and Liv countered by shoving Lynch into the cage. Liv went up top and Lynch brought her down with a Russian legsweep from the middle turnbuckle. Lynch got a two count. Dominik Mysterio went down to ringside and pulled the pin to open the cage door. Dominik wanted Lynch to get out. Liv got up and Liv hit an enziguri kick on Lynch. Finn Balor and JD McDonagh were at ringside too, so Braun Strowman showed up at ringside. Braun ran around the ring and Braun ran into Dominik, whose momentum slammed the door into Becky Lynch to knock her down. Strowman kept on chasing the J-Day guys. Morgan capitalized by crawling out of the ring to the floor and she won the match by escaping the cage. It went 13 minutes.
Winner by escaping the cage: Liv Morgan
Analysis: ***1/4 It was a pretty good cage match, but I wouldn’t say it was anything that special. It wasn’t at the level of the Lynch cage match with Trish Stratus last year. They had some creative spots in the match and it was even most of the way. The ending was cheap, but also involved the show-long story of Strowman going after the J-Day guys and that led to Strowman accidentally costing Lynch the match due to the door slamming into Lynch. A cheap win for Morgan, who benefits from an assist yet again.
Liv Morgan celebrated with her Women’s World Title. Cole was screaming about Dominik screwing it up again. Liv had a staredown with Dominik in the aisle. That’s when the show went off the air.
However, there was more and I saw it on WWE’s Twitter/X page. That’s when Liv leaned forward, grabbed Dominik by the head and kissed him on the lips. Dominik didn’t really fight it and Liv stopped the kiss. Liv was laughing about it. That’s where it ended.
OH. MY. GOD. 😲😲😲😲😲😲😲#WWERawpic.twitter.com/FVOnLCjtSl
— WWE (@WWE) May 28, 2024
Analysis: Does this mean that Liv manipulated Dominik to help her and that they are going to be together? Or is it just Liv “thanking” Dominik for accidentally helping her again? We don’t know. People will have their theories. It’s a good cliffhanger to keep the audience guessing. I think it’s going to be something like Liv used Dominik to get his help and Dominik was too dumb to realize it. Something like that.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Liv Morgan
- Ricochet
- Rey Mysterio
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The Scoreboard
7.25 out of 10
Last week: 8
2024 Average: 7.64
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Final Thoughts on WWE Raw
It was a solid show overall although I think it was a step down from the last few weeks because those episodes were carried by some incredible King of the Ring tournament matches. The match quality on this episode was okay, but not at the level of the last three weeks. There was still a lot to like since they advanced a lot of stories. I liked the Gunther promo with Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre to start the show. The Bron Breakker stuff is outstanding because it’s going to make him such a big star once he starts having meaningful matches.
The Liv Morgan-Becky Lynch Steel Cage Match had a creative finish with Braun Strowman accidentally costing Lynch due to Braun chasing after The Judgment Day all show long. Dominik Mysterio also got involved again. The end had Liv staring at Dominik, but then right after that was Liv kissing Dominik, which WWE posted on social media. Crazy that the broadcast missed it due to Raw having a hard cut off time. Is Dominik helping Liv “accidentally” or does he like her and that’s why he’s helping her? It will be interesting to see the story develop.
Thanks again for supporting 15 years of my WWE Raw Deal reviews. It’s been quite a journey. Let’s keep it going.
The next WWE PLE is Clash at the Castle on June 15th in Glasgow, Scotland. Here is the lineup so far.
* WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Damian Priest (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
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Thanks for reading. Please check out my reviews of every WWE PPV ever listed in order. Go Toronto Blue Jays. My contact info is below.
John Canton
Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X @johnreport