Top 10 Moments from Raw
Becky Lynch walked away with gold on an eventful night of Raw
10.) Jey Uso talks with Damian Priest ahead of their Backlash match
Jey Uso took to the ring to talk about his upcoming match against world heavyweight champion Damian Priest at Backlash.
Damian Priest and Jey Uso
Courtesy WWE
Before he could say much, Priest interrupted–with some kind words. He told a heartwarming story about how Uso once approached him after beating him in a match and told him that Priest had earned his respect. Priest replied by offering to take him out for drinks. That night, Uso told Priest, “We’re next,” predicting that the two of them would be the next top stars in WWE. Priest admitted that Uso was half right. As the champion, Priest is becoming one of the biggest stars in the company, while Uso, according to Priest, is just fodder to add another victory to his title reign and legitimize him as champ.
Uso didn’t let Priest have the last word. He said Priest was only the de facto leader of The Judgment Day because Rhea Ripley was injured, then flirtatiously asked how Mami was doing. Uso kept pushing until Priest was sufficiently riled up, and JD McDonagh emerged to sneak-attack Uso. Uso sensed it coming, ducking out of the way before superkicking Priest in an attempt to hit McDonagh.
9.) Re-Generation X Civil War
DIY challenged Awesome Truth for the brand-new World Tag Team Championships.
Tommaso Ciampa and The Miz
Courtesy WWE
Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa could have been assumed to hold an advantage over The Miz and R-Truth, especially with R-Truth still confused about their identity (believing them to be Shawn Michaels and Triple H of DX).
Though DIY put up an impressive fight, as usual, it was not enough to dethrone the champions, and Awesome Truth retained their titles with a Truth Crushing Finale.
After failing to capture the titles, Ciampa was in no mood to be a good sportsman, refusing to shake hands with The Miz and R-Truth.
8.) Gunther speaks for the first time since losing his title to Sami Zayn at WrestleMania
Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser
Courtesy WWE
The longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time finally returned to WWE television after the conclusion of his historic reign. He entered with Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser, but, for the first time in nearly two years, without the Intercontinental title. He thanked Sami Zayn for taking the title off of him, and with it, the expectations of a champion. He was happy to no longer be the hunted, but rather the hunter. He officially declared for the King of the Ring tournament, becoming the first to do so, and warned everyone that he may hunt down anyone with a title in WWE.
The New Day, Kofi Kingston, and former King of the Ring Xavier Woods entered as Imperium was about to leave. They called out Gunther for assuming he would win the tournament, and the two traded insults with Gunther, leading to Gunther ordering Vinci and Kaiser to face The New Day.
7.) Ludwig Kaiser betrays Giovanni Vinci
The New Day and Imperium have a long history, and last night they met in the ring once again. This time, The New Day came out on top, with Xavier Woods pinning Giovanni Vinci to pick up the win.
The New Day
Courtesy WWE
Gunther expressed his displeasure by throwing his chair into the barricade in frustration, then stared down Ludwig Kaiser before storming off.
Gunther and Kaiser
Courtesy WWE
Kaiser comforted Vinci, planting the kiss of death on his head before escorting him out of the ring. He then slammed Vinci against the ring apron, and continued brutalizing him until a flock of officials came out to stop him. Kaiser complied, but then faked out the officials to run back and nearly decapitate Vinci.
When Kaiser finally walked backstage, he met Gunther, who was pleased with Kaiser’s work.
6.) Sheamus tries to talk sense into Drew McIntyre
When Drew McIntyre showed up to speak after losing the opportunity to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash, he was met with chants of “CM Punk”, the name of the man who cost him that match.
Sheamus and Drew McIntyre
Courtesy WWE
McIntyre continued to complain about losing the title at WrestleMania and the match to determine the next challenger, calling CM Punk, Damian Priest, and Jey Uso all cowards. He declared his name for King of the Ring–and was immediately interrupted by Sheamus. The recently returned Celtic Warrior called out McIntyre for not taking responsibility for his own mistakes.
As the two have been friends for twenty years, Sheamus made several compelling points. He pointed out that McIntyre could have kept his title had he left after winning it, but chose to rub it in CM Punk’s face, and ultimately lost it because he let a silly little war of words cloud his judgment. But the stubborn Scotsman dug his heels in. He retorted by bringing up comments made about Sheamus’s weight. McIntyre told Sheamus that he stuck up for him when he heard that because he was Sheamus’ only friend, and that fighting his friend wasn’t worthwhile. Rather, he would watch his back.
5.) Sheamus defeats Shinsuke Nakamura
Sheamus took on Shinsuke Nakamura, with Drew McIntyre watching from ringside. Though McIntyre told Sheamus that he would have his back, the Celtic Warrior didn’t seem to need it.
Sheamus and Shinsuke Nakamura
Courtesy WWE
Any distraction he may have caused Nakamura was canceled out by Sheamus being distracted, as he was wary to trust McIntyre. Perhaps due to McIntyre’s presence at ringside or perhaps in spite of it, Sheamus won the match.
4.) Bronson Reed attacks Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn was interviewed by Cathy Kelley about the savage beating he endured from Chad Gable after their match last week.
The interview was interrupted by Bronson Reed, whose sights were set on Zayn’s Intercontinental Championship. Reed warned him to stop worrying about Gable, and Zayn said that he could challenge for the title whenever and wherever he liked. Reed initially backed off, but ran back at Zayn with full force, slamming him against production equipment boxes.
3.) Chad Gable explains his actions
Alpha Academy
Courtesy WWE
With the rest of Alpha Academy standing uncomfortably behind him in the ring, Chad Gable addressed his attack last week on Sami Zayn after losing their Intercontinental Championship match.
After the conclusion of their match last week, Zayn laid his title in front of Gable in what appeared to be a show of respect. Zayn then left to celebrate his successful title defense with his family. Gable misinterpreted these gestures as malicious, believing they were Zayn’s way of rubbing the victory in Gable’s face. Believing his actions to be completely justified, Gable regretted training Zayn in preparation for his WrestleMania match, and he went on to lambast his other pupils.
Gable condemned Akira Tozawa for not taking his matches seriously, preferring silly dances instead of winning. Gable moved on to Maxxine Dupri. That poor woman can't catch a break. Between Candice LeRae and Gable, she has no shortage of bullies insulting her intelligence and in-ring abilities. Finally, Gable approached Otis, his “number one guy,” and dubbed him the biggest disappointment of them all. The three were clearly upset, but reluctantly agreed to help Gable in his ongoing quest for the Intercontinental title.
2.) Andrade and Ricochet embarrass The Judgment Day once again
Earlier in the night, Damian Priest chewed out JD McDonagh for interrupting him and Jey Uso, leading to Priest taking a superkick to the jaw. Dominik Mysterio delivered more bad news to the already irritated champion; he was not medically cleared to compete in his scheduled match that night, but already got Santos Escobar to take his place. Neither Priest nor McDonagh were happy about it, but with no other options, Priest ordered the three of them to handle business.
Ricochet flies
Courtesy WWE
Andrade and Ricochet teamed up to face Escobar and McDonagh, accompanied by an injured Mysterio. Despite multiple attempts and orders from the rest of Judgment Day, Mysterio and McDonagh have yet to get the best of either Andrade or Ricochet. This match was no different.
Though McDonagh and Escobar had solid chemistry for a pair that had never wrestled as a tag team before, they still lost after Andrade pinned McDonagh. Priest was far from pleased. He showed up after the match ended to finish what McDonagh and Escobar couldn't. Tired of feeling like he carried the weight of The Judgment Day, Priest told McDonagh and Mysterio that he did not need them–but that they needed him.
Damian Priest
Courtesy WWE
1.) Becky Lynch becomes Women’s World Champion
Last week on Monday Night Raw, Rhea Ripley was forced to vacate the Women’s World Championship after suffering a shoulder injury that is going to put her on the bench for several months. This week a new champion was crowned in a battle royal.
Immediately prior to the match, Jackie Redmond interviewed two of the participants, Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae. However, the interview was cut short by a brawl between Liv Morgan and Nia Jax. As several officials attempted to pull the two women off of each other, Becky Lynch walked by very casually and asked to take over from Redmond. She obliged, and Lynch began reporting. She walked past Maxxine Dupri stressing about the match and offered her some words of encouragement, before walking through the curtain and to the ring for the battle royal.
Battle royal to crown the new champion
Courtesy WWE
As soon as the bell rang, everyone immediately targeted either Jax or Piper Niven. As the two most physically imposing competitors, Jax and Niven had a strong advantage in a battle royal. Dupri showed great improvement, having the motivation of Lynch’s advice and something to prove to Chad Gable.
Maxxine Dupri
Courtesy WWE
Dupri eliminated her bullies LeRae and Hartwell, but was eventually eliminated by Jax.
Nia Jax
Courtesy WWE
When only three women remained in the ring, the match came down to Nia Jax, Liv Morgan, and Becky Lynch, a trio that have a history of not getting along. Lynch and Morgan teamed up to eliminate Jax, and then there were two.
Becky Lynch
Courtesy WWE
Lynch, who lost to Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania, and Morgan, who has been on a revenge tour since being injured by Ripley last year, were the two competitors with the most motivation to take the title last held by her. While they both put up a solid fight, Lynch eventually eliminated Morgan, and secured her seventh world title.
The victory celebration for Lynch took place in the crowd
Courtesy WWE
She hopped over the barricade and celebrated amongst the adoring fans, reveling in her championship victory as the Man of the Masses.
