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With WWE Night of Champions less than two weeks away, Raw this week was highlighted by the King and Queen of the Ring tournament matches. As three men and three women have already advanced, this week determined who would round up the final four for each. The final women’s first round match saw the return of Asuka for the first time in 13 months. Having to face three other opponents including the newest member of the Raw roster Stephanie Vaquer, her first match back would not be a cake walk. After losing his World Heavyweight Championship last week, Jey Uso took the first step in getting back into the title picture as he was the final participant added to the men’s first round match along with Rusev, Sheamus, and Bronson Reed.
By the end of the night, we had all the semi-final matches for both tournaments set up including a major one to take place on Raw next week. In addition to that, we had new World Heavyweight Champion Gunther confronted by Goldberg, a heated back and forth between Bayley and women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch, and an unfortunate injury to Liv Morgan. While this week’s show had a lot to talk about, it gave us even more to look forward to heading into next week.
Asuka vs. Stephanie Vaquer vs. Ivy Nile vs. Raquel Rodriguez
Latest Developments:
During Money in the Bank, it was revealed that the Queen of the Ring tournament would take place over the next few weeks. With the finals set to happen at Night of Champions, the winner will get a shot at the women’s title of their respective brand at Summerslam. Last week, Roxanne Perez advanced as she defeated Rhea Ripley, Kairi Sane, and Liv Morgan. The following Friday on Smackdown, Alexa Bliss and Jade Cargill picked up wins in separate Four Way matches to advance. The final first round match featuring Asuka, Stephanie Vaquer, Ivy Nile, and Raquel Rodriguez was set for this week.
In Asuka’s first match back since being out with an injury for 13 months, she didn’t miss a beat as she drop kicked Ivy and Vaquer from the top rope as Raquel held up both of them. Asuka and Vaquer later exchanged holds for several moments until Vaquer hit her with a Double-Hook Slam, but Ivy interrupted her pin attempt. Raquel hit Vaquer with a Tahana Bomb and as she was about to get the win, Rhea Ripley pulled her out of the ring. Seeking revenge on Raquel costing her the chance to advance last week, Rhea nailed her with the Riptide on the floor. Rhea then threw Raquel back into the ring, which allowed Asuka to hit her with the Empress Impact to get the win and advance.
Analysis:
Much like the last three, this was another fun first round match involving the women. While Vaquer seemed to be the favorite on paper given her current momentum, there’s nothing wrong with having Asuka win her first match in over a year. Despite not advancing, Vaquer lost nothing here and looked most impressive when she did the Devil’s Kiss to Raquel on the apron. It was also great seeing her and Asuka battle briefly as that will definitely be a PLE worthy match whenever it does happen. With Rhea costing Raquel the match to return the favor from last week, this is clearly leading to a match between the two of them in the next few weeks.
Although Asuka looked great here and is now in the final four of the tournament, it doesn’t really feel like her tournament to win. She could definitely make it past Alexa Bliss with possibly Charlotte costing Bliss the match, but it feels like she’s destined to lose to Jade Cargill or Roxanne Perez. Out of all four women remaining, either Perez or Jade winning makes the most sense. Considering their current standings and the stories that could be told between either Iyo/Perez or Stratton/Jade heading into Summerslam, having anyone win the crown other than the two of them would be a letdown. Until then, there’s still a lot left to enjoy as this tournament progresses.
Grade: B+
Gunther vs. Goldberg
Latest Developments:
Last October at Bad Blood in Goldberg’s hometown of Atlanta, World Heavyweight Champion Gunther insulted him while he sat in the front row with his family. After Gunther told Goldberg’s son that he hopes he’s a better father than a professional wrestler, Goldberg jumped the railing and attempted to confront Gunther in the ring before security stopped him. After losing his title to Jey Uso at WrestleMania, Gunther finally received his rematch last week. In the show’s main event, Gunther trapped Jey in the Sleeper until he eventually passed out. As a result, the referee stopped the match and Gunther regained the title.
Gunther came out to celebrate being the champion again this week and right as he talked about how he was a target, he was interrupted by Goldberg. Goldberg congratulated Gunther and wanted to tell him how proud he was of him for winning the title back. He then reminded him that he started something with him and his family a few months ago in Atlanta, Georgia and that he’s going to make sure that he ends it in Atlanta, Georgia. He then said that Gunther is his at Saturday Night’s Main Event and ended the promo by telling him that he’s next. Later in the night, it was announced that Gunther will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg at Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 12.
Analysis:
After what happened between these two last October, we all knew that they were eventually going to cross paths again. With how long it’s been since their last interaction, it could’ve been played out a lot more creatively than it was in this segment. Gunther could’ve held some form of open challenge for Goldberg to come out to answer or he could’ve taken small shots at Goldberg over the last few weeks to plant the seeds of him returning here. Although this match won’t be a five-star classic by any stretch, having it on a show like Saturday Night’s Main Event is nothing worth complaining about. Considering that the SNME’s are basically house shows with a bigger budget and the fact that it’s going to be in Goldberg’s hometown, it’s the most logical place to have this match as opposed to a bigger show like Summerslam.
Something else they failed to do here that they need to start doing for the build to this match is actually marketing it as Goldberg’s last one. With the setting and the fact that we’ve known that this has been coming for a while, they might as well promote it that way to draw more interest. This match needs that element to make it interesting much more than it needs the title. Although having Gunther be the champion isn’t a bad thing, taking the title from Jey Uso just to have this Gunther and Goldberg match be for the title feels unnecessary. Regardless of how short the match at Saturday Night’s Main Event is or how it plays out, the Atlanta setting and it being Goldberg’s retirement match will make for a fun atmosphere that night.
Grade: B-
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Becky Lynch vs. Bayley
Latest Developments:
On the weekend of WrestleMania, Bayley was found attacked backstage and was ruled unable to team with Lyra Valkyria to challenge Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez for the women’s Tag Team Titles. After taking Bayley’s place as Lyra’s partner only to turn on Lyra the night after WrestleMania, Becky Lynch revealed on the May 5 Raw that she was the one who attacked Bayley. At Money in the Bank, Becky pulled Lyra’s tights as she rolled her up to win the women’s Intercontinental Championship. Last week when Becky was cutting a promo in the ring, she was interrupted by Lyra. Before Lyra could confront Becky in the ring, a returning Bayley showed up and attacked Becky from behind before Becky ran away through the crowd.
Bayley was in the ring this week cutting a promo about how what happened to her made her stronger as she then called Becky out to the ring, who then came out and trolled the Green Bay crowd wearing a Chicago Bears jersey. Becky accused Bayley of accepting being second fiddle and how she’d rather have a group of friends than a legacy, while Becky said she always preferred having a legacy than fake ass friends. After Bayley said she’s so secure in her legacy that she doesn’t mind helping others along the way, she accused Becky of being so insecure about whether the people would accept her when she came back that she felt the need to take her and Lyra out. Becky then hit Bayley with a cheap shot, but Bayley hit her back before Becky left the ring. It was announced later that Becky will defend the women’s Intercontinental Championship against Bayley on Raw next week.
Analysis:
While awkward in certain parts, this segment accomplished what it needed to as it set up a match between Becky and Bayley for next week. Admittedly, these two don’t have the same chemistry on the mic as Lyra and Becky do. For whatever reason, Bayley’s comebacks at Becky didn’t hit as hard as Lyra’s have. Hopefully, their chemistry in the ring will make up for whatever lack of chemistry they have in back-and-forth promos like the one we saw here. Even though we’re getting this match next week, this clearly isn’t going to be a one off.
With Lyra still in the picture and considering what she told Bayley backstage after about how she’s going to do what she has to do if Bayley wins, a Triple Threat between these women is inevitable. Considering how this is playing out now, it feels like Lyra is going to interfere in next week’s match and cause a disqualification. That will lead to either a Triple Threat with all three women at Evolution or even Summerslam if they want to stretch this out that long. Although it’ll be entertaining to see Becky and Bayley feud for a while with the roles reversed from their last feud, all of this should ultimately be used to elevate Lyra. No matter how long this plays out or whenever this storyline wraps up, the only ending to ii that should happen is Lyra becoming the champion again.
Grade: B
Liv Morgan vs. Nikki Bella/Iyo Sky/Kairi Sane
Latest Developments:
Three weeks ago when Liv Morgan returned following several weeks off, she had a backstage confrontation with Women’s World Champion Iyo Sky & Kairi Sane. That confrontation led to a match later that night between Liv and Kairi, which Kairi won. After failing to advance in the Queen of the Ring tournament last week, Liv came out to interrupt Nikki Bella’s promo after Nikki failed to mention her as one of the best of the women’s division today. As Liv referred to Nikki as nothing more than a reality show diva as she was about to leave the ring, Nikki re-entered the ring before Liv immediately took her down with the ObLIVion.
This week, Liv and Dominik Mysterio came to the ring as Liv gloated about what she did to Nikki and how she’s now demanding respect as well as the rematch she never got for the Women’s World Title she lost in January. Iyo then came out and after Liv said she’d be ok with Iyo just handing her the title, Iyo told her she has to earn it and that she can’t steal it the same way she did Dirty Dom. Iyo threw the title at Liv, drop kicked her, and then kicked Dominik in the head to end the segment. Liv faced Kairi in a rematch from three weeks ago later in the night but after Liv landed awkwardly in their first exchange, she crawled out of the ring with an injured shoulder and the match was stopped. It was later revealed that she suffered a dislocated shoulder and could be out for up to six months.
Analysis:
For a summer that was looking so promising for Liv being involved in multiple storylines, it’s heartbreaking to see it end like this. That segment Liv had with Iyo at the start of the show gave us a lot to look forward to among many other things and now all of that is completely out the window. Injuries are an unfortunate part of pro wrestling, but this injury happened at the worst possible time for Liv. She’s been one of the best parts of the entire show over the last year and with her storylines involving Iyo, Nikki, and Roxanne Perez now on ice, it puts everything up in the air now. With her recently being involved in so much, her going down with this shoulder injury also affects multiple people.
As horrible as this all is, there’s something creative that could come out of it. Considering the storyline they did with Liv last summer involving Dominik while Rhea was out with her shoulder injury, something similar can be done here with Roxanne Perez. Since they’ve already started teasing it a little bit with Perez trying to get on Dominik’s good side, they can still go down that route while Liv is gone. In addition to that, Raquel could reluctantly agree to have Perez take Liv’s place as her partner so that she doesn’t have to forfeit the women’s Tag Team Titles. As great as Liv is as a heel, these storylines if they play out that way combined with the sympathy she now has for getting injured are all leading to her being a babyface whenever she does come back.
No Grade Given Due To Liv’s Injury
Jey Uso vs. Rusev vs. Sheamus vs. Bronson Reed
Latest developments:
It was announced during Money in the Bank that the King of the Ring tournament would take place over the next few weeks, with the winner receiving a shot at the title of their respective brand at Summerslam. Last week, Sami Zayn advanced to the semifinals after defeating Bron Breakker, Penta, and Dominik Mysterio. The following Friday on Smackdown, Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton also advanced to the semifinals. This week, another Four Way First Round match was scheduled between Sheamus, Rusev, Bronson Reed, and a mystery opponent. After Jey Uso lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Gunther last week, he was later revealed as the mystery opponent for the match.
In this week’s main event as Jey was about to hit Reed with the Uso Splash, he was pushed off the top rope by Bron Breakker. Sami came out to attack Breakker until Breakker threw him over the announce table. Penta then appeared and leaped over the top rope onto Breakker. As Reed went for a Tsunami onto Jey, LA Knight pushed him off the top rope. This allowed Jey to hit Reed with a Spear and two consecutive Uso Splashes to get the win and advance. Seth Rollins came out immediately after and as he was about to attack Jey, Cody Rhodes came out to stop him. Rollins left the ring after a brief stare down with Cody and then Cody shook hands with Jey to end the show.
Analysis:
This match made for one fun and chaotic main event that served as a prime example of how great this year’s King of the Ring tournament has been so far. Between the four men in the match as well as the involvement of LA Knight, Sami Zayn, Bron Breakker, Penta, and Seth Rollins after the match, they were able to tell multiple stories all at once here. While some may complain that all the other people not in the match getting involved took away from it, this was a scenario where it worked and didn’t make the match any less enjoyable. Coming off losing the title last week, Jey being the one to advance was the obvious choice. Now that he was, that creates an interesting dynamic with him facing Cody next week.
Cody and Jey is a match we haven’t seen one on one and with everything that’s at stake, it’s hard to pick who’s going to win. Considering the brief confrontation Cody and Rollins had here, it feels like Rollins is going to somehow play into the outcome. For all the ways Rollins and his stable have been interfering in these matches lately, seeing them get involved in this match next week shouldn’t be a surprise if it does happen. Between Cody, Jey, Sami and Randy Orton, we have a final four for this year’s tournament where anybody could win. In addition to how good the matches have been, the unpredictability of who could win is what’s made the tournament this year feel so important.
Grade: A
A.J. Styles vs. J.D. McDonagh
A.J. Styles went one on one with J.D. McDonagh this week in a match where J.D. attempted to take advantage of Styles being distracted by Dominik Mysterio, but Styles quickly rebounded from the distraction as he hit J.D. with the Styles Clash for the win. Dominik tried to hit Styles with the Intercontinental Title after the match, but Styles ducked and hit him with a Pele Kick. Styles then went for a Phenomenal Forearm on Dominik before Dominik was pulled away by Finn Balor. Styles then held up the title in the ring and as Dominik, Finn, and J.D. surrounded him, Styles escaped the ring with the title before they could get to him. Later in the night as Styles returned the title backstage to Nick Aldis (who was filling in for Adam Pearce), Aldis announced that Styles will face Dominik for the Intercontinental Title at Night of Champions.
Analysis:
While this was a solid match between Styles and J.D., it was all an afterthought as it was used to set up Styles and Dominik. Styles stealing the title from Dominik is what really stood out from this, and it’s a bit of a shame that they had him return it so quickly as this could’ve easily been stretched this out for another week. For as much as this has been teased recently, it’s a relief to know we’re finally getting this match. As long as the Judgment Day shenanigans can be kept to a minimum, this title defense against Styles could be one of Dominik’s best matches. While no one expects Styles to win the title, having Dominik get a win over someone the caliber of Styles will give more credibility to his title reign.
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