Date: June 3, 2024
Location: GIANT Center in Hershey, PA
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Show Recap —
The show opened with a camera shot following some fans to their seats. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, Bron Breakker, and Judgment Day were shown arriving at the arena. Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre could be seen watching Belair and Cargill in the background. Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh wore dark shades and McDonagh whispered something to Bálor.
Michael Cole said he was joined by the “always controversial” Pat McAfee (which is one way to brush over what happened today).
There was a recap of Liv Morgan beating Becky Lynch last week thanks to Dominik Mysterio.
Liv Morgan/Dominik Mysterio segment
Morgan entered to open the show. She welcomed us to the Liv Morgan Revenge Tour. She said she took out Rhea Ripley, something no one else could do, became Women’s World Champion, and put Becky Lynch into early retirement.
The cherry on top was kissing Dominik. She boasted about how many social media views the video received.
Dom entered and the crowd booed as he spoke. Dom didn’t know what game Morgan was playing and warned her that Ripley would kill her when she returned. Morgan said Ripley would kill Dom too.
Morgan told Dom she could make it all worth it. Morgan stepped close to Dom as he backed into the corner. Morgan wanted to take everything from Ripley and that included Dom.
Morgan put her hands on Dom as he resisted until Finn Bálor ran out to get between them. Bálor said Dom and the Judgment Day wanted nothing to do with her. Morgan wasn’t sure about that but she agreed to depart. She tousled Dom’s hair as she left.
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Sheamus told Jackie Redmond he was pumped to get into the ring with Ludwig Kaiser. He used to think Kaiser was simply Gunther’s announcer and coat rack but he realized that maybe he was holding Kaiser back. Maybe there was more to Kaiser’s bark.
Sheamus was on the cusp of 15 years in WWE and has faced the best of the best. There was only one way to gain his respect: to put on banger after banger.
Sheamus entered through Gorilla but he was chop-blocked from behind by Kaiser. Kaiser attacked Sheamus until officials broke it up.
Ludwig Kaiser defeated Sheamus (13:44)
Kaiser targeted Sheamus’ leg and spat on him while he was down. The crowd booed that but Sheamus actually smiled. Kaiser cut off Sheamus’ comeback attempt and drove him into the ring post. Sheamus wound up seated on the steel steps so Kaiser round around ringside and dropkicked his leg into the steps.
After a break, Kaiser went for ten beats of the Bodhrán but Sheamus blocked it and came back with clotheslines and a powerslam. Sheamus missed a knee strike and Kaiser drove his injured knee into the mat. The referee checked on Sheamus and was about to call the match over but Sheamus stopped him.
Sheamus screamed at Kaiser, “Is that all ya got?” Kaiser hammered away at him in the corner so Sheamus responded with chops. Sheamus hit a knee strike (his knee was exposed because Kaiser dropped his kneepad) and went for a Brogue Kick but his leg gave out and Kaiser tried a schoolboy for two. Sheamus responded with ten beats of the Bodhrán.
Sheamus went for a White Noise off the middle rope but Kaiser slipped away and kicked his leg out of his leg. Kaiser rolled him up near the ropes for the somewhat abrupt pinfall win.
This was a good, physical match. They put this over as a big win for Kaiser.
— A QR code appeared post-match with the word “Prepare.”
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Damian Priest approached Dom and Judgment Day in the back. Bálor assured him the situation was already taken care of. Priest asked about Ripley and Dom said everything was fine. Priest suggested they settle some scores tonight and remind everyone that they run Raw.
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A trainer checked on Ricochet and Ilja Dragunov approached him. Dragunov could tell Ricochet was not 100% but Ricochet didn’t care. Dragunov wasn’t there to stop him because he knew guys like them needed to live unhealthily close to the limit.
Ricochet told him that if he could walk, he could fight. Dragunov warned him to be cautious because Bron Breakker was wired differently. Ricochet told him that he was wired differently, as was Ilja. That’s why they were there. Ricochet said he would smack the fake tan off of Bron. (Cole dismissively wished him luck.)
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There was a quick Dragon Lee video promo.
Finn Bálor (w/JD McDonagh) defeated Dragon Lee (8:34)
The opening match started after a break and they gave it time before going to commercial. This match started with the usual pattern. Dragon Lee hit a suicide dive and they went to break two minutes in. Bálor was in control after a break and Cole said it was due to a McDonagh distraction.
Dragon Lee fought back and chased McDonagh off the apron (1). Bálor went for a slingblade but Lee used a great reversal into a sit-out powerbomb. Lee once again chased McDonagh off the apron (2). If that wasn’t enough, McDonagh went back on the apron (3) and instead of tossing him from ringside, the referee just yelled at him while Carlito crotched Lee.
Lee fought off Bálor anyway before wiping out Carlito with a dive. Lee hammered away on Carlito and McDonagh tried to blindside him but Lee superkicked him. The stupid referee just stood by and watched.
Lee re-entered the ring but Bálor dropkicked him into the corner and hit a Coup de Grace for the pinfall win.
— Bálor and Carlito attacked Lee after the match until Braun Strowman and Rey Mysterio entered (to Strowman’s music). Strowman knocked the heels out of the ring but they escaped through the crowd before he could run them over.
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Sami Zayn walked through the back. (Sonya Deville spoke to Natalya in the background.)
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Priest had an idea for Carlito if he wanted to run with Judgment Day. He told Carlito to ask Adam Pearce for a match against Strowman — tonight. Bálor and McDonagh were amused with this idea. Carlito didn’t think this was cool.
R-Truth appeared and told Carlito that being part of Judgment Day was tough. When you were down, they kicked you, and when you were up, they still kicked you. Truth said those were the best days of his life.
The camera panned out to reveal Miz who was baffled. He reminded Truth that they were currently the tag champs and that Judgment Day stole his TV. Truth told Miz he was obsessed with Judgment Day and to move on.
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[SECOND HOUR]
Sami Zayn/Alpha Academy segment
Zayn entered to a strong reaction. He was happy to be back in Pennsylvania where he won the Intercontinental title. He hasn’t really been able to enjoy it because he’s had a thorn in his side in Chad Gable. It’s gone on for too long and he invited Gable to the ring alone so they could end it right now.
The Alpha Academy music hit but it was Maxxine Dupri, Otis and Akira Tozawa. Dupri apologized to Zayn because Gable wanted him to know he didn’t deserve his time tonight. Dupri had a message from Gable. Zayn told her that she didn’t have to do this.
Dupri read the prepared statement from Gable. The statement referred to Tozawa as a failure who pretended to be a ninja, Otis as a child who lost his MITB briefcase, and Dupri as a knockoff Barbie nobody wanted. The only way this ended was for Gable to get an IC title shot. The crowd chanted for Otis.
Zayn agreed to defend his title against Gable at Clash at the Castle if that meant ending this.
Zayn dropped his belt because he wanted to speak to them directly. He told Dupri, Otis and Tozawa that they didn’t have to take Gable’s crap and they were better than that. Zayn had been in their shoes before and knew they needed to separate themselves from Gable.
Gable attacked Zayn from behind. Gable hammered away at Zayn as the crowd chanted for Otis, who paced around. Gable held up Zayn and told Otis to hit him. Otis didn’t budge so Gable smacked him in the face.
Tozawa got between them so Gable shoved him. Dupri pulled Gable away and Gable mocked her. He demanded she get on her knees and beg him to stop, so she did. Gable told them to get out of the ring. Tozawa and Dupri got on the apron and Gable loudly admonished them.
Otis stepped up to Gable and got in his face. The crowd popped big for Otis. Zayn attacked Gable and inadvertently tossed him into Otis — knocking Dupri and Gable off the apron.
Otis was unsure what to do but he dropped Zayn with a World Strongest Slam. Otis left the ring and Gable posed with the IC title belt.
Otis hoisted Tozawa onto his shoulders and placed Dupri in his arms and easily carried them both to the back. The crowd told Gable that he sucked.
(I still think this is being stretched out too long but this was a strong segment and the crowd ate it up.)
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Bron Breakker approached Pearce as he watched the previous segment on his TV. Bron laughed at Zayn and said he would break him in half. Pearce wanted to know what he wanted.
Bron congratulated Pearce on finally putting him in a match with real competition. Pearce said he didn’t deserve it and the only reason he got it was because Ricochet asked for it. Ricochet, unlike Bron, knew about respect. Bron planned on teaching Pearce about “respect.” Pearce didn’t put him in the King of the Ring tournament and nobody was holding him back now.
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Gable approached Alpha Academy in the back. Gable was thrilled over Dupri’s performance and gave her credit for faking an injury. Dupri said she was really hurt. Gable loved that she stayed in character and didn’t care that Tozawa might be hurt too. Gable was proud of Otis and looked forward to them winning the IC title as a team.
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Bron Breakker defeated Ricochet (8:00)
Ricochet initially caught Bron off guard until Bron ran him over with a clothesline. (Cole said Bron ran the ropes at 23 mph.) Bron dropped Ricochet over the barricade ahead of a break.
Bron whipped Ricochet into the corner and looked over at Samantha Irvin, who was unamused. Ricochet came back with a springboard clothesline and Lionsault for two. Ricochet avoided Bron’s running attack and hit a superkick and Recoil.
Ricochet went to the top but Bron easily scaled the ropes and brought him down with a Frankensteiner. Bron followed with a spear for the pinfall win. (The crowd was into Bron’s offence.)
— Bron was going to kill Ricochet with the steel steps but officials ran down to stop him. Bron was going to smash him anyway but Dragunov ran down and knocked him into the crowd. Dragunov checked on Ricochet and Bron said he wasn’t done with them.
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Rey Mysterio and Zelina Vega approached Dragon Lee. Rey said Lee would have won if not for Carlito. Lee would get his payback soon but they needed to take out his protection first, that’s why Rey was going straight for the head in Damian Priest. Judgment Day might think they ran Raw but that didn’t include LWO. Rey would personally deliver that message to Priest tonight.
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Redmond interviewed Kiana James who was making her Raw debut against Natalya. James called Natalya one of the most accomplished stars in WWE history. James took some time to get acclimated under Pearce but she was ready to compete and specifically asked for a match against Natalya. She called tonight step one on her way to the top.
Kiana James defeated Natalya (2:56)
Natalya hit a German suplex and went for the Sharpshooter but James blocked it and hit her finisher the 401k (some sort of reverse STO or flatliner variation) for the pinfall win. Not only is her move named the 401k but Cole said she represents the 1%.
This wasn’t good and they quickly moved on.
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Cathy Kelley interviewed New Day about AOP and Karrion Kross. Xavier Woods said Kross’ plan wasn’t going to work. Kofi Kingston said they were the best to ever do it. A lot of teams have tried to get between them but they all failed and AOP would be next.
They were about to yell “New Day rocks” but Kross cut them off. Kross said the power of positivity was dead. Kingston warned Kross they still hit hard and AOP would find that out tonight. As they left, Kross told Woods he wouldn’t have to follow Kingston around anymore. Woods did listen to him before leaving.
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Deville approached a disappointed Natalya, who was open to speaking with her. Natalya used the Owen Hart line, “Enough is enough, it’s time for a change.” Deville was happy to hear it but went to speak with Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler who she saw nearby.
Stark didn’t want to hear from her. They planned on showing Belair and Cargill why they were the best team in WWE. Baszler told Deville to leave them alone.
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Braun Strowman defeated Carlito (1:25)
This was another nothing match. Bálor and McDonagh tried to get involved but it didn’t work. Carlito tried to use the distraction to hit a backstabber but Strowman brushed him off and slammed him face-first for the pinfall win.
— The heels attacked Strowman after the match. Strowman fought them off until he was chop-blocked by Dom. Dom grabbed a chair but Strowman punched it out of his hand.
Strowman lurched after Dom as he crawled away backward up the aisle but Liv Morgan entered to act as Dom’s shield.
Strowman turned his attention back to the other heels but they overwhelmed him and attacked him repeatedly with chairs.
Morgan tried to get close to Dom again but Bálor again got between them.
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Belair and Cargill walked through the back (in their gear).
(Gable spoke with the Creed Brothers in the background.)
[THIRD HOUR]
Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill entered to a good reaction. Stark acted surprised they accepted their invitation and suggested the champs were avoiding them. Belair and Cargill mocked this so Baszler said they would prove they were the top team in WWE. Cargill invited them to do it right now.
Pearce entered. He asked everyone if they wanted the tag title match now. The teams agreed and the fans cheered so he made the match.
Tag Team Championship match: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill defeated Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark via disqualification (9:10)
Two nothing matches followed by a title match ending in a DQ.
Belair and Cargill each hit delayed vertical suplexes ahead of a break. Baszler and Stark gained control during the break (there was no explanation or replay) but Cargill gave Baszler a fallaway slam and made the hot tag to Belair.
Belair gave Stark a spinebuster and standing moonsault but Baszler broke up the cover. They tried to double-team Belair but Cargill yanked Baszler out of the ring. Baszler avoided a charge and Cargill crashed into the steel steps.
Belair hit Stark with a KOD but Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn attacked Belair for the DQ.
Cargill tried to make the save but she was overwhelmed. Baszler, Stark, Fyre and Dawn teamed up and laid out the champs. Baszler and Stark stared down Fyre and Dawn for a moment before leaving the ring.
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Kelley interviewed Priest. He said Judgment Day has had success tonight and it felt good. He said Rey has been a thorn in their side for a long time and while he respected his fight, Priest would close the door on Dom’s father.
Drew McIntyre approached Priest. (The crowd chanted for CM Punk.) McIntyre said Priest looked happy. Priest was happy because he was the champion. McIntyre told him to enjoy it. This was as high as he would be in his career. McIntyre always believed in Priest but he made things personal. McIntyre would be seeing him soon.
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Jey Uso promo
After a decent stretch of not much happening, Jey Uso’s music hit and the crowd exploded. Jey entered through the crowd and cut his promo while in the stands.
Jey had big plans this year. Last year’s Money in the Bank had the Bloodline Civil War. That was tough on him. He lost his brothers and his cousins. He stayed in the fight, though, because he knew one day he would fight on his own. He wasn’t a right-hand man. He knew he could be Main Event Jey Uso. Jey thanked the fans for Yeeting with him on his journey.
The crowd yelled “Yeet” as Jey announced his intention to win MITB.
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Kelley interviewed Lyra Valkyria. Kelley asked how Becky Lynch was coping with last week’s loss. Lyra said Lynch was disappointed but knew she would come back around and make herself better. That’s how real winning was done. That was something Morgan knew nothing about. Lyra said we wouldn’t have to watch Morgan as champion very long.
Kelley asked how she would do without Lynch by her side. Lyra said she has shown she can stand on her two feet. She heard what Jey Uso said and spoke about MITB when she was suddenly attacked by Iyo Sky.
Sky shoved Lyra into some equipment boxes and stormed off.
(I didn’t expect them to ignore Lynch’s existence at all but it’s notable they openly spoke about her and acknowledged that she was away.)
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Authors of Pain (w/Karrion Kross, Scarlett & Paul Ellering) defeated The New Day (2:28)
AOP worked over Woods. Scarlett distracted the ref and it seemed like Kross would go after Kingston but Kingston left the apron to get in his face. Woods tried to make a tag but Kingston wasn’t there. Kingston did try to get back on the apron but Akam knocked him off. AOP hit Woods with “What a Rush” (combo neckbreaker/sit-out powerbomb) for the pinfall win.
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Long-time wrestling fan Jackie Redmond asked Fyre and Dawn why they would attack the tag team champions. Fyre said they haven’t gotten the same opportunities as everyone else. Dawn didn’t like the sound of Clash at the Castle in Scotland without them. Dawn said Belair and Cargill looked pretty with their title belts but those good looks were about to fade.
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Next week on Raw in Toledo, OH:
- Lyra Valkyria vs. Iyo Sky
- Sami Zayn vs. Otis – non-title
- Ilja Dragunov vs. Bron Breakker (the crowd cheered this announcement)
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World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest defeated Rey Mysterio in a non-title match (13:25)
Rey hit an Asai moonsault and tried a springboard move in the ring but Priest caught him and hit a big flatliner. Priest remained in control through a break. Priest knocked Rey out of the ring and implored him to stay there but he crawled back in. Rey hit a spinning heel kick and enziguri. Priest tried a Stinger splash but Rey ducked and Priest’s face hit the post.
Rey tried going up but Priest kicked him off the ropes. Rey hit a seated senton and springboard crossbody for two. Priest tossed Rey into the corner (and he landed awkwardly) but Rey fought back with a tornado DDT for two. Priest caught Rey off the ropes and hit snake eyes and a clothesline for two.
Priest set up for a Razor’s Edge off the middle rope but Rey blocked it and brought Priest down with a hurricanrana. Rey followed with 619 and a springboard splash for a nearfall.
Carlito entered and got on the apron but Dragon Lee fought him off until he was attacked from behind by McDonagh and Bálor.
Rey wiped out Judgment Day with a corkscrew dive. He went to the top but Priest hit a South of Heaven chokeslam for the pinfall win.
— McIntyre attacked Priest from behind as soon as he got to his feet. The crowd chanted for Punk as McIntyre hit a Future Shock DDT. McIntyre set up for Claymore but Bálor hit the ring. McIntyre chucked aside Bálor, Carlito and McDonagh.
McIntyre cleared the announce table before getting in Cole’s face for calling him a hypocrite. Priest got up and chokeslammed McIntyre through the table.
Priest stood tall with Bálor, McDonagh and Carlito as the show ended. (No Dom.)
