WWE Monday Night Raw Review: 16/06

Liv Morgan Starts the Show, Raquel Rodriguez VS Asuka VS Ivy Nile VS Stephanie Vaquer: Queen of the Ring Tournament (Round 1)

Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio made their way down to the ring to start this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw as Liv wanted to celebrate her dropping Nikki Bella last week! Liv also wanted to call out Iyo Sky because she never actually got her rematch for the Women’s World Championship, which Iyo responded too! Morgan then asked Sky to hand over the Title, but Iyo made it clear that she would need to earn it, dropkicking 1/2 of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions to stand tall! Iyo VS Liv would be pretty cool!

Grade: C+

We then headed straight into the first match of the night as Raquel Rodriguez, Ivy Nile, Stephanie Vaquer, and the returning Asuka battled for the final spot in the Semi-Finals of this year’s Queen of the Ring Tournament! This was a decent match, it was great to see Asuka back, she’s definitely been missed, and her interactions here with Stephanie Vaquer were so cool to see! Ivy Nile did well, even though she had no chance of winning here whilst Raquel Rodriguez looked to have had things wrapped up with a Tejada Bomb, only for Rhea Ripley to return the favour from last week by pulling Rodriguez out of the ring! Rhea then dropped Raquel with a Riptide onto the floor, opening the door for Asuka to deliver a hip attack to get the win! Asuka will now face Alexa Bliss in the Semi-Finals, and there’s a lot of history there!

Grade: B-

Gunther Celebrates, AJ Styles VS JD McDonagh

Dominik Mysterio said he wants JD McDonagh to take care of the AJ Styles problem before Finn Balor said he had an idea of how Roxanne Perez can help things! Gunther was then out next to celebrate his victory last week over Jey Uso to recapture his World Heavyweight Championship! Gunther said that he can admit that Jey was the better man at WrestleMania, but only WrestleMania, and that he is the best man on every other night! The Ring General was then about to talk about what’s next for him before Goldberg made a surprise return to WWE, saying he will face Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event next month! Not one part of me is excited for this match, not one!

Credit: WWE

Grade: D

AJ Styles was the next star to make his way down to the ring as he was set to take on JD McDonagh of The Judgment Day! This match was made because Dominik Mysterio doesn’t want to fight AJ, so he’s trying to put obstacles in his way! It’s not turning out to be a very effective plan, but it has meant we’ve got to see good matchups, and AJ VS JD was definitely a battle between two very talented in-ring competitors! Dominik tried his best to help McDonagh via distraction, but it didn’t work as The Phenomenal One delivered a Styles Clash to get the win! After the match was over, Mysterio tried and failed to sneak attack Styles, resulting in AJ leaving with the Intercontinental Championship!

Grade: B-

Bayley Calls Out Becky Lynch, Liv Morgan VS Kairi Sane

Alpha Academy gave some words of support to Sheamus before Bayley cut her first promo since being attacked before WrestleMania 41! Bayley said that Becky Lynch took her moment, an opportunity from her, and that she wants revenge! She called out Becky which Lynch responded to by coming out in a Chicago Bears jacket (this show was in Green Bay), and Lynch cut a promo saying how no one cared that Bayley wasn’t at WrestleMania because they were too busy cheering for the return of The Man! Becky also asked Bayley if she remembers what it’s like to hold a Championship, and she’ll see her next week in a non-Title match! There’s no way that match goes long or clean!

Grade: C+

Jey Uso said it’s 1-1 between him and Gunther, and that if he has to win King of the Ring to get another shot at the World Heavyweight Championship, well that’s exactly what he’s going to do! AJ Styles then handed Nick Aldis back the Intercontinental Championship, but Aldis said AJ will get the opportunity to win it properly when he faces Dominik Mysterio at Night of Champions! Aldis also told Bayley that her match with Becky Lynch next week will be for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship, and that caught the eye of Lyra Valkyria! Liv Morgan was then back out in the ring, this time set to go one-on-one with Kairi Sane! Unfortunately, this match only lasted about 60 seconds (if that) as a hard landing for Liv Morgan saw the match having to be called off! Michael Cole and Corey Graves later confirmed that Liv had suffered a dislocated shoulder, and that’s absolutely horrible! Best wishes to Miss Morgan!

King of the Ring Tournament (Round 1): Jey Uso VS Sheamus VS Rusev VS Bronson Reed

Credit: Wrestling Observer

After Karrion Kross and Sami Zayn exchanged more words backstage, it was Main Event time as Jey Uso looked to bounce back against Sheamus, Rusev, and Bronson Reed in the final First Round matchup of this year’s King of the Ring Tournament! This was a good match, probably the best of the night, all the stuff between Rusev and Sheamus was strong, they work really well together, and Bronson Reed is an absolute machine! Towards the end of the match, Bron Breakker made his presence known as he pushed Jey Uso off the top rope, but this is when Sami Zayn, Penta, and LA Knight all arrived to deal with both Breakker and Reed! This then opened the door for Jey to hit a pair of Uso Splashes onto Bronson to get the win before Seth “Freakin” Rollins arrived in a pretty foul mood! However, Cody Rhodes’ music then hit as The American Nightmare came to Uso’s rescue, facing a tense stare-down with The Visionary! This was a very cool and effective visual!

Credit: WWE

Grade: B-