WWE RAW HITS & MISSES (6/2): McAfee-Cole, Valkyria-Lynch, Sami & Jey vs. Breakker & Reed, Punk vs. Styles vs. Americano, Men’s MITB

Cole & McAfee – MISS: I could give these two a Miss every week. I don’t, but I have to point out how bad they were. I get the idea of playing into the NBA Finals. It made sense given Michael Cole’s bet about the Knicks winning and the fact that they were in Oklahoma. But, there was far too much focus on Cole and Pat McAfee at the start of the show. It was a waste of time. Their interaction with New Day when they were doing guest commentary was very annoying, particularly the way that McAfee likes to kiss up to the heels while playing a babyface otherwise. Then, his mocking laugh at New Day before they got kicked out was so grating. Their annoyance was more intense than most weeks, so I had to highlight it this week.

Opening Segment – HIT: Once Raw really got going, it got better with CM Punk coming out to address the fans and talk about his main event triple threat match for the final spot in the men’s Money in the Bank match. Sami Zayn’s interruption was a surprise. They had a good back and forth, with each performing well on the mic. It was interesting to see a respectful verbal encounter like this as opposed to the babyface – heel dynamic we usually see. What will it lead to? Will Sami Zayn prove Carrion Cross right and turn out to be a bad guy in the end?

Morgan vs. Nile vs. Vaquer – HIT: Stephanie Vaquer is a star and deserved a promotion to the main roster. While I disagree with putting the NXT Championship on Jacy Jayne, I am ok with Vaquer losing the Title to move on to Raw. She has already formed a strong connection with the larger audience. It was the right move to have her win this final MITB qualifying match. The match started out poorly with some awkward exchanges between Liv Morgan and Ivy Nile, but it got much better as it proceeded. In the end, it was a good match with the right winner.

Rusev – Sheamus – HIT: This was some simple but good build towards the eventual Sheamus vs. Rusev match. They had a nice vignette with Rusev talking about his history with Sheamus and pointing to their match. Then we got a follow up interview with Sheamus reacting to the video and talking about his own view of their history, and how despite being friends in the past, he likes to bully bullies.

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McDonagh & Balor vs. The War Raiders – HIT: This was a nice match which played into both the feud between The War Raiders and New Day, along with the ongoing story of Roxanne Perez trying to prove her worth to gain membership into Judgment Day. The wrestling action was good throughout as you’d expect with these two talented teams. New Day got their comeuppance which was good despite the above mentioned annoying taunting from McAfee. That allowed for Perez to help cheat in the end to prove her potential value.

Valkyria – Lynch – HIT: This feud against Becky Lynch over the Intercontinental Title has brought out the best in Lyra Valkyria. Their matches are going to be good, but Valkyria has always been missing something in terms of connecting with the fans. But, she’s been improving in that area the last few months as she’s worked against Lynch. While I still disagree with the decision to turn Becky heel, she is good in the role. This was the most fire that we’ve seen from Valkyria which should help continue to strengthen her connection with the fans heading into their IC Title match at the PLE.

Sami & Jey vs. Reed & Breakker – MISS: I am intrigued by the possibility of Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker becoming a regular tag team. Whether they go in that direction or not, I’m sure we will at least see them in occasional tag matches like this. The wrestling action was good here as they took on Sami Zayn & Jey Uso, but the Miss is for the predictable but still disappointing disqualification ending. Seth Rollins caused the DQ by attacking Jey with a stomp right in front of the referee. These crap finishes are too frequent. They have become the norm which is terrible. They make it difficult to enjoy big matches like this. The save from Punk just served as a reminder that Rollins’ group would definitely get involved in his MITB qualifier.

Rodriguez vs. Sane – HIT: This was a short, but good match with Kairi Sane getting her second straight win over one of the Tag Team Champions, this time Raquel Rodriguez. Morgan tried to get involved, but was stopped by Iyo Sky. Are we going to get Sky & Sane vs. Morgan & Rodriguez for the Titles? How will Sky’s World Title play into that? This also continued to play into the story about Perez as she had volunteered to be in Rodriguez’s corner, but was told no. She would have been useful. The ending of the match was also particularly good when Kairi Sane kicked Rodriguez’s head into the post and hit her amazing Insane Elbow for the win.

Punk vs. Styles vs. Americano – MISS: These are three talented workers, but the story of the match and the ending made it a Miss, despite plenty of Hit-worthy action throughout. I was waiting for Rollins’ crew to show up. The ending was poorly executed as Punk realized he was too far away from the ropes, so he positioned himself in an odd position in his pin attempt so that Breakker would be able to reach his legs to pull him out of the ring. It was made worse by the fact that Breakker was late getting there, so the timing was off. I was disappointed that El Grande Americano won. I like the gimmick more than most, but it shouldn’t be near the main event. His story should be ending at World’s Collide, but it will keep going which is disappointing. The aftermath with Zayn and Uso getting involved worked well. Jey got beat up trying to be a good friend, just like Gunther had predicted in their strong locker room encounter earlier in the show.

Men’s MITB Lineup – MISS: I suppose I should give the Women’s MITB lineup a Hit, but I’m leaning into the negative. That lineup looks great. I have no idea who will win. I don’t think it will be Roxanne Perez.Rhea Ripley doesn’t need MITB. But, I cam’t rule her out as a potential winner. If I had to bet, I’d pick Naomi, but I am far from sure. With the men’s, I can pretty much rule out anyone other than Seth Rollins. I firmly believe he will win and cash in successfully on next week’s Raw after Uso vs. Gunther. I’ll be shocked if anything else happens. Maybe they do some type of shenanigans with Americano winning, and someone stealing his mask to cash in, but I don’t think that’ll happen. Punk would have been much more intriguing to win the match, as I could imagine him getting the briefcase. There is no way that Andrade will win, but Jacob Fatu would have been a possible winner. Those two would have added so much to the match which is drama free.

(Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com’s WWE Raw Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw each week. Email him at jmezz_torch@yahoo.com. Follow him on BlueSky @jonmezzera.bsky.social.)