Monday Night Raw
Date: July 27, 2026
Location: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the last Raw before Summerslam and that means it is time for the final push to the red half of the card. In this case that means an official weigh-in between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi, along with something else between Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. The Alpha Academy get to face the Vision as well so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The Cell is lowered and Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman), flanked by police, come to the ring for the weigh-in. HHH and Adam Pearce are in the ring waiting as Femi comes in first. Femi weighs 302lbs and here are Heyman and Lesnar, but the Cell is locked with the two of them outside. Heyman says it’s a bad idea for Lesnar to be inside that Cell and lists off Lesnar’s resume.

We hear about how great Lesnar is in the Cell and Femi is promised a beating. Oh and Lesnar weighs 303lbs. Femi is ready to fight anyway but Lesnar will see him at Summerslam. Femi says Saturday is coming and he’ll be ready for Lesnar. With Lesnar and Heyman leaving, Femi wrecks security. Unless I missed it, HHH didn’t say anything here. This wasn’t a great segment, but it’s also a story where there is nothing left to say.

We look at Seth Rollins beating Roman Reigns via DQ at the 2022 Royal Rumble (hey I was there).

Vision vs. Alpha Academy

Non-title. Theory runs from Otis to start and it’s Breakker coming in to circle Otis instead. A big shoulder drops Breakker and it’s off to Tozawa, who gets sent into the wrong corner. Maxxine Dupri grabs Tozawa’s foot and a big boot knocks him outside as we take a break. We come back with Breakker’s gorilla press gutbuster dropping Tozawa for two. Tozawa flips away from Theory though and it’s Otis coming in to clean house. The Caterpillar hits Breakker and Tozawa’s suicide dive takes Theory out on the floor. Otis gets posted though and the Super Spear finishes Tozawa at 8:30.

Rating: C+. Hopefully this wraps things up for the Academy as a serious threat as it’s pretty much the only match they needed to have. Otis probably has something else to do and that makes sense as the fans are behind him. At least Tozawa took the fall here, which is how the thing should go as he’s just kind of along for the ride.

Post match the Vision stays on them but Otis is back up. Dupri offers a distraction though and it’s a double powerbomb out of the corner to plant Otis. Theory cracks Otis with a chair to leave him laying.

LA Knight has been accused of being paranoid but look at how things have been going with the Bloodline. The goal is to put them in a hole at Summerslam and the BFT is just a fact of life.

Raquel Rodriguez and Sol Ruca are both ready for the title match tonight. I have no idea why they’re looking off to the side as they talk about the other, as they’re in different rooms.

Various celebrities are here, including Jimmy Hart.

We get a video of Chad Gable in Minnesota, where he promises to win the Intercontinental Title. He spent a long time doing everything he could to gain success and it didn’t work, but then he lost himself as El Grande Americano. Now though, he needs to win the title because he’s ready to represent himself, his friends, his family and his state as he did in the Olympics, but he’s doing it as the man he was always supposed to be. Heck of a vignette here, as Gable is on fire here and pretty much has to win.

Iyo Sky is ready to prove Liv Morgan wrong again by taking the title at Summerslam.

Je’Von Evans vs. Rusev

Rusev drives shoulders into the ribs to start and then drops him with a clothesline. Back up and Evans kicks him in the head, setting up a springboard hurricanrana. That earns Evans a fall away slam out to the floor, where he kicks Rusev in the face. A charging crossbody is tossed over the barricade but Evans is right back with a shot of his own. That’s enough for Evans to send us to a break (“We’ll be right back!”) and we come back with Evans fighting out of a chinlock.

Rusev drops him with a shot to the face but Evans unloads with right hands in the corner. The big no hands dive takes Rusev down again so they go back inside, where Rusev gets in a Machka Kick. The Accolade is escaped but the OG Cutter is reversed into the Accolade, with Evans diving over to the rope. A Stunner staggers Rusev though and the OG Cutter finishes him off at 10:55.

Rating: B-. This was a back and forth match and Evans bounced off of Rusev rather well. That’s about all you can expect from Rusev these days, as it’s not like he’s doing much of anything else. At the same time, Evans got to survive the Accolade and beat Rusev clean. He’s getting something out of this and I want to see how far he can go, as he’s won me over in recent months.

We look at Seth Rollins costing Roman Reigns the World Title at Wrestlemania XL.

Here are Joe Hendry and Danhausen for a concert, starting with a song about Judgment Day wanting Danhausen’s human monies. Then they sing about believing that you are cursed and here are the Minihausens as well, followed by a bunch of dancing girls. The dancing girls start a conga line and boxer Ryan Garcia jumps the barricade to sing with them.

Then he guitars Hendry in the back and Judgment Day runs in for the big beatdown. The Minihausens get beaten up too and Judgment Day clears out the ring. I actually fell asleep watching the show and woke up during the concert with the Minihausens dancing. It was clear that more sleep was needed.

Various celebrities are here, including Ashton Kutcher (the Farm Hand), who is holding an NXT Tag Team Title of all things.

Big Cass is back next week.

Rey Mysterio vs. Ethan Page

They go technical to start until Page runs him over with a shoulder. A quick hurricanrana looks to set up the 619 but Page is back up with a pull into the corner. Page powerbombs him onto the apron and we take a break. We come back with Page going for the mask but Mysterio fights out and hits a top rope moonsault. Page boots him in the face but gets sent into the post, allowing Mysterio to hit some right hands in the corner.

The Eddie Dance looks to set up…something off the top, only for Page to reverse it into a powerslam. Page is sent outside for a top rope hurricanrana, sending Page hard into the announcers’ table (OUCH). Back in and the 619 is loaded up but Page grabs the ring skirt of all things to block it. Page posts him and gets the Egoplex for the pin at 11:43.

Rating: B-. This was another nice win for someone on the way up as Page gets what is probably the biggest win of his main roster career. He’s not someone who is coming up with anything amazing or new but he does his thing rather efficiently. It’s similar to Robert Roode and that’s not a bad place to be.

Liv Morgan thinks Iyo Sky doesn’t know who she’s facing at Summerslam. Morgan is the girl who worked so hard to make it through NXT and now she’s here, as champion. She cares about Sky, who already beat her once, but Sky isn’t in her head. Morgan is so much stronger than Sky and now it’s time to remind everyone who she is. Good, to the point promo here.

Danhausen and the Minihausens are banged up so Adam Pearce comes in to say give Judgment Day the money back. Danhausen has an idea (uh oh): Human Monies On A Pole! Pearce: “HUMAN MONIES ON A POLE???” Danhausen: “Haven’t you ever watched wrestling?” It’s official for Summerslam and Pearce needs a drink.

Here are the Usos for a chat, albeit after running it back. They issue a warning shot to LA Knight/Solo Sikoa/Royce Keys at Summerslam but here is Sikoa, through the crowd, to say they don’t have a chance at Summerslam. Jimmy mocks Sikoa for suggesting he doesn’t want to come back to the Bloodline because it was the best thing that ever happened to his career. Sikoa: “Or what, you’re going to YEET for thirty minutes?”

Sikoa isn’t worried about Roman Reigns and here is Knight to join things. Knight wants things fixed up after Summerslam because it’s time to pay penance. He’ll see them this weekend…..or we can do this right now, LA style. The brawl is on so here is Jacob Fatu, who wrecks both of them until Keys it on for the save. Sikoa breaks up the Tongan Death Grip and Fatu gets dropped with a trio of finishes. Perfectly fine brawl to preview the match.

Video on the violence of the Cell.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Sol Ruca vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Ruca is defending and spins around her into an X Factor to start. A sunset flip is blocked but Rodriguez avoids an elbow drop as Lyra Valkyria is watching backstage. Rodriguez strikes away but gets sent outside for a heck of a moonsault. Back in and Rodriguez pulls a high crossbody out of the air for a reverse suplex. A slam gives Rodriguez two and she teases an armbar but just punches her in the head instead. We hit the chinlock, allowing the referee to wipe some blood off of Rodriguez’s face.

Back up and Ruca hits a Backstabber (albeit with feet), followed by Sliced Bread for two. Ruca’s running knee gets two, followed by a top rope cartwheel DDT for the same. Cue Roxanne Perez for a distraction so Liv Morgan can trip Ruca, meaning it’s a big boot to give Rodriguez another near fall. Cue Iyo Sky to brawl with Morgan and Ruca gives Rodriguez a Codebreaker. Perez breaks up the Sol Snatcher though and the Tejana Bomb gives Rodriguez the title at 10:23.

Rating: C+. There was a lot going on here with Sky vs. Morgan feeling like the bigger story than the title match going on here. That being said, Rodriguez needed to win something of her own at some point and this worked. Ruca seems to have gotten around some of her yips in the ring and that is great to see, as she can be outstanding when she is hitting on all cylinders. Not a classic here, but I like the title change.

And Rodriguez is very emotional over her win. Fair enough.

Video on CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes.

Summerslam rundown.

We look at Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns (vs. CM Punk) last year at Wrestlemania.

Here is Reigns for the big wrap up. After standing around for a bit, Reigns loads up the catchphrase but here is Rollins to interrupt. Rollins wants to be acknowledged so Reigns calls him an a******. Rollins: “Guilty!” He’s fine with being the bad guy between the two of them because he wasn’t born on third base. Reigns has a lot of advantages over Rollins but the one thing he will never be better at is pro wrestling.

No matter how Reigns looks at it, Rollins owns him. How is Reigns getting out of it this time? Get disqualified? Maybe call in the Bloodline? Reigns may need to beat him but Reigns doesn’t have a chance. Reigns calls himself the only real superstar and true champion around here. The whole industry needs Reigns to win, which has Rollins talking about what they need.

Reigns needs the redemption, so Rollins says Reigns needed his family there to see it. This has Rollins thinking back to Wrestlemania XXXI, when Rollins cashed in and sent Reigns’ family home in tears. Rollins wants to see them cry again on Sunday, including Reigns’ children. The fight is on and Reigns beats him up, including the spear. Reigns goes outside and grabs the chair (oooh) and goes for the big shot but gets Stomped onto the chair to end the show.

This was a good example of someone just not having the same presence as their opponent. What Rollins was saying was fine, but there is a gravitas to the way Reigns speaks that makes him feel so much bigger. It’s been hanging over Rollins the entire time, so playing up their record against each other is about all he has. Teasing Reigns finally getting the chair shot to pay Rollins back is a big thing too, as they really have turned it into something that feels monumental and started setting so many things in motion over the years. Good segment here, and it makes sense that this will be the big Summerslam headliner.

Overall Rating: B. This was the show designed to get them ready for Summerslam and yeah it worked. Reigns vs. Rollins feels a lot bigger and the six man tag got a nice push. I’m more interested in Summerslam than I was coming in and it would be great to see them pay that off this weekend. You need a show like this and if nothing else, maybe it can get them to break 30,000 tickets a night. You know, in that 60,000+ seat stadium they’re in for back to back nights. Anyway, solid effort here.

Results
Vision b. Alpha Academy – Super Spear to Tozawa
Je’Von Evans b. Rusev – OG Cutter
Ethan Page b. Rey Mysterio – Egoplex
Raquel Rodriguez b. Sol Ruca – Tejana Bomb

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 20, 2026
Location: Little Caesar’s Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re done with Saturday Night’s Main Event, meaning we have less than two weeks to go before Summerslam. The big stories here continue to be Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns, with the latter getting quite the focus on Saturday. We have some more building to do though so let’s get to it.

Here is Saturday Night’s Main Event if you need a recap.

Long Saturday Night’s Main Event recap.

Je’Von Evans/Dragon Lee vs. Vision

Non-title and the rest of the Vision is here too. Lee and Evans hit dives before the bell, with Lee taking over on Theory to officially start. Evans comes in for a great looking slingshot hurricanrana to Theory but Breakker is in for a double faceplant. It’s back to Lee to dropkick Theory off the apron and then superkick Breakker. Lee rolls up Breakker into a DDT for two but Breakker World’s Strongest Slams him out of the air.

We take a break and come back with Lee kicking Theory out to the floor, allowing Evans to come back in. That means the big dive to take Theory out. Evans talks to the camera and avoids a spear from Breakker, who crashes into the timekeeper’s area. Another dive cuts Breakker off and a big springboard clothesline takes Theory down. Lee gets in his top rope double stomp but Maxxine Dupri grabs the leg, allowing Breakker to hit a clothesline. Theory’s brainbuster onto the knee gets two and Breakker’s Super Spear finishes Lee at 9:42.

Rating: B. This was a rather hot opener with Evans and Lee getting to throw everything they could at the Vision but coming up short. There is a lot to be gained out of having a match like this every so often, with the fans getting the chance to enjoy a fast paced match while the champs get to win in the end. Good opener.

Post match the beatdown stays on but the Alpha Academy come in for the save. Dupri slaps Otis in the face (Logan Paul’s jaw drops in a good visual) but Otis wrecks the Vision anyway. The announcers’ table is loaded up but Breakker spears the heck out of Otis. Another Super Spear drops Otis again. Commentary again tries to make Dupri the villainess in all of this and….yeah I’m not minding seeing the Academy getting wrecked again.

We look at Fanatics Fest.

The Judgment Day jumps Danhausen, who want their money back. He has thirty seconds to go find it.

Big Cass is still coming back. Playing up that he was mostly a bust in his previous run is an interesting way to go. Now just have it be him and not Enzo Amore tagging along.

We look at Danhausen’s uncursing parade over the weekend, plus his match with JD McDonagh. This included New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns.

Here is Danhausen, with a briefcase, for a chat. This money is driving him crazy and he’s sick of it but he doesn’t want the Judgment Day to have it, so let’s give it to the Fanhausens. Cue the Judgment Day (with JD McDonagh in an old Scott Hall shirt) to say the fans aren’t getting their money so Danhausen curses them all. Joe Hendry runs in for the save but Judgment Day gets the (still closed) briefcase.

We continue the Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins history with the Wrestlemania Money In The Bank cash-in.

In the back, Joe Hendry and Danhausen yell at Judgment Day, who open the briefcase and find….fake money. JD McDonagh throws the briefcase but accidentally hits Oba Femi. McDonagh knows he screwed up, with Femi saying “you know I should kill you for this.” The match is made for right now. Dominik Mysterio protests and gets a match with Hendry later tonight as a result.

Oba Femi vs. JD McDonagh

Danhausen and Joe Hendry throw Judgment Day inside, with Femi throwing Dominik Mysterio outside. McDonagh chops Femi, earning one of the biggest backdrops I’ve seen in a long time. Some running uppercuts knock McDonagh silly and it’s a toss powerbomb into the Fall From Grace to finish McDonagh at 54 seconds.

We look at Jalen Brunson at Fanatics Fest.

Commentary is interrupted by Solo Sikoa, who says he isn’t supposed to be here but wants to talk to Seth Rollins. This brings out Rollins to welcome him to the show, but Rollins gets in the important question: are they here to talk or to fight? Sikoa says he’s just here to talk and says that Summerslam is going to be Rollins vs. the entire Bloodline. Rollins seems to accept this but Sikoa says it doesn’t have to be that way. Sikoa can have his back at Summerslam, with Rollins saying he’ll think about it.

That doesn’t work for Sikoa, who says he can be for Rollins what Rollins was for Cody Rhodes. That has Rollins thinking but here is Jacob Fatu to interrupt, with Sikoa bailing out into the crowd. Rollins drops Fatu with a superkick and leaves him in the corner. This was the dramatics portion and Rollins seems interested in Sikoa’s help. I’m mostly expecting Sikoa to join the Bloodline at Summerslam, but it’s not a lock.

We look at Chad Gable and Penta having a staredown at the Summerslam Kickoff.

Ethan Page/Rusev vs. Penta/Chad Gable

Rusev jumps Penta to start fast and a double suplex gets two. Everything breaks down and Rusev backdrops Penta onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Penta hitting a high crossbody. That’s enough for Gable to come in and roll some German suplexes on Page. The moonsault misses though and Rusev plants Gable for two, with Penta making the save. Everything breaks down and Gable gets caught in the Accolade, which is reversed into an ankle lock. Penta uses them as a launch pad for a Mexican Destroyer to Page, leaving Rusev to tap at 8:38.

Rating: B-. This was a good back and forth match and Penta getting the win gets him even closer to winning the title at Summerslam. I’m not sold on him doing it while staying completely on the side of good, though that very well may be where it goes. At least they’re making it feel important, which isn’t surprising given how well Gable has gotten over lately.

Video on Seth Rollins beating Roman Reigns at Money In The Bank 2016.

Rollins taunts Jacob Fatu in an effort to get him to break Roman Reigns’ orders. Fatu says what happened earlier tonight won’t happen again and violence is promised for after Summerslam.

Yet even more from Fanatics Fest.

Paul Heyman sits down to talk about being the advocate for Brock Lesnar. He has been asked to not use the word violence but how does he sell the Cell without it? Heyman hypes up Lesnar being undefeated in the Cell and how many people think it’s ending at Summerslam. Femi has had the greatest rookie year in WWE since Lesnar, but it comes to an end at the hands of Lesnar himself.

Then Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns got back together for a bit.

We look at Gunther vs. Nick Aldis being set up at yesterday’s Summerslam Kickoff.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Joe Hendry

Mysterio, with Liv Morgan, isn’t defending his AAA Mega Title here. Hendry gets stomped down in the corner to start but comes right back with a rather delayed vertical suplex. Back up and Mysterio sends him outside, only for Hendry to pull a dive out of the air. That earns Mysterio a quick toss but Morgan posts Hendry. Cue Danhausen to load up the Curse but Morgan hits him in the face.

We take a break and come back with Hendry muscling him up for another suplex. A discus lariat gives Hendry two but Mysterio is back with a springboard tornado DDT. Cue the Danhausenmobile with Iyo Sky, who brawls with Morgan. They go inside and Danhausen gives Mysterio a Triple D to give an appreciative Hendry the pin at 10:21.

Rating: C+. This was quite the messy situation with Danhausen showing up twice, but the good thing is that Hendry actually got a win. He has something going on and that’s more than you could really say about a lot of his time on the main roster thus far. The match wasn’t exactly outstanding, but they were focusing on almost everything but the wrestling anyway.

We look at Cody Rhodes and CM Punk getting into it at the Summerslam Kickoff event and having to be held apart.

We look at Roman Reigns and Jalen Brunson fending off Seth Rollins and Tyrese Haliburton at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio is confirmed for Summerslam.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu

Before the match, Knight isn’t sure how Solo Sikoa can be out here offering to help Seth Rollins because it’s making him sick. The fans chant for Reigns, with Knight saying he can’t even blame them for that because Reigns has begged for acceptance for years. Knight is everything WWE wanted Reigns to be for years. Now though, Sikoa is wanting to help a cross eyed goof like Rollins. The idea should have been destroying the Bloodline for good but Fatu is not going to be able to beat him, even with the Mortal Kombat music and the shaking.

Cue Fatu and we’re ready to go, shockingly with Fatu hammering away in the corner to start. It’s too early for the running Umaga Attack though and Knight wraps the leg around the post. That just earns him a suicide dive but Fatu is sent knees first into the steps. A Samoan drop onto the apron cuts Knight off again, only to have him come back with a dropkick through the ropes. Knight gets in a clothesline off the apron and we take a break. We come back with Knight’s neckbreaker getting two but Fatu catches him up top.

That lets Fatu go up, with Knight running the corner for the top rope superplex. They’re both down so here is Jimmy Uso, with Solo Sikoa showing up to go after him. Fatu hits the suicide dive to cut Sikoa off but he walks into the BFT. Uso distracts the referee but here is Royce Keys to cut him off. Jey Uso runs through the crowd and fires off some superkicks to Keys until Knight is back up with a dive. Back in and Fatu gives Knight a pop up Samoan drop. The triple jump moonsault finishes for Fatu at 11:55.

Rating: B-. This was the rather wild main event to wrap up the show and that’s a good way to build up the Summerslam six man. Knight losing again isn’t the best look but he seems to be in for something a bit bigger at the moment. That being said, Fatu is still a monster and the fact that he has such a good looking moonsault makes it that much better.

Post match Sikoa runs in but gets taken out by the Usos. Keys is back in to slug it out with Fatu, with the USB putting Fatu down. The Usos superkick and 1D Keys but Knight is back up as well. That earns him a Tongan Death Grip from Fatu and a string of running Umaga Attacks. The Bloodline stands tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The important thing here is that it felt like they were trying, as you could tell the vast majority of the show was built around setting up Summerslam. The two top matches are both pretty much made for Summerslam so this was about almost everything else. I’d call that a success, as you could feel the energy and effort here to make things that much better. Rather good show here, and Summerslam gets a needed push forward.

Results
Vision b. Dragon Lee/Je’Von Evans – Super Spear to Lee
Oba Femi b. JD McDonagh – Fall From Grace
Chad Gable/Penta b. Rusev/Ethan Page – Ankle lock to Rusev
Joe Hendry b. Dominik Mysterio – Triple D
Jacob Fatu b. LA Knight – Triple Jump moonsault

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Saturday Night’s Main Event XLV
Date: July 18, 2026
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett
Hosts: Stephanie McMahon, Joe Tessitore

We’re in the Garden and naturally that means the focus is on Danhausen, who may or may not have caused the New York Knicks to win the NBA Championship last month. Not only are we in the Knicks’ home arena, but their star Jalen Brunson is here as well. The main event is CM Punk/Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther/Sami Zayn with the latter being added to the Summerslam World Title match if they win. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Laredo Kid vs. Trick Williams

Non-title and this isn’t something you see very often these days. Williams (sans Lil Yachty) shoulders him down to start and knocks Kid into the corner. Kid is right back with some kicks to the ribs and what appears to be dancing. That’s shrugged off so Williams can hammer away in the corner and point to his own chest. Kid tries to reverse a suplex into a small package for two, which is reversed into said suplex.

Williams is dropped onto the top turnbuckle though and it’s a superkick into a moonsault for two. Back up and Williams gets in a neckbreaker to start the comeback, with some right hands leaving Kid in trouble. There’s the flapjack and Williams takes down his hair, allowing him to stomp away in the corner (something something Lemon Pepper Steppers). Kid is able to low bridge him to the floor though and there’s the big step up flip dive. Another moonsault misses for Kid, who gets Trick Shotted for the pin at 7:17.

Rating: C+. The fans are going to like anything Williams does right now so putting him out there to warm up the crowd is a fine way to start the night. I’m not sure how Kid got this spot as he’s the most random opponent in the world though at least it wasn’t some big, important title match. Nice action heavy match here with Williams getting a basic win.

The opening video look sat the history of the venue and…yeah that’s where the focus needed to be.

Stephanie McMahon and Joe Tessitore are rather happy to be here.

Women’s Tag Team Titles; Fatal Influence vs. Brie Bella/Paige

Bella and Paige are defending. Reid jumps Paige to start but Paige is right back with a Thesz press and right hands of her own. Bella comes in to take Henley into the corner, with the champs getting to go with the alternate beatings. A blind tag brings Reid back in though and Paige gets taken into the wrong corner. That doesn’t last long as Paige fights up and brings in Bella to fire off the kicks.

A missile dropkick gets two on Henley but she gets the foot on the rope to break the YES Lock. Everything breaks down and Henley is sent crashing out to the floor. Paige kicks Reid down so Jacy Jayne offers a distraction, allowing Henley to get back in for a cheap shot. Reid misses a charge into the post though and Bella cuts Henley off. Paige’s rollup….is reversed by Jayne into a rollup with Reid grabbing the trunks to win the titles at 7:15.

Rating: C+. Thank goodness. I haven’t been a fan of Bella and Paige as their Cinderella story run hasn’t come off as interesting. Unfortunately it feels like we’re just going to be waiting around for Nikki Bella’s big comeback so the Bellas can win. That’s felt like it’s been the case since the initial Wrestlemania title win, but I’ll definitely take Fatal Influence winning, as I still think they could be something now that they’re actually having some success.

Sami Zayn is not happy about how badly things have been going for him lately because the whole situation has been unfair. Gunther comes in to say stay out of his way and don’t ruin Summerslam.

We get a video called The Cursefather, with Danhausen uncursing New York City and helping the New York Knicks win the NBA Championship. This cost Judgment Day money and they stole his special Knicks jersey. Curses ensued and now it is time for some revenge and…well you never know with Danhausen involved.

Judgment Day isn’t worried about Danhausen and his curses.

Danhausen vs. JD McDonagh

No DQ and Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio are here with McDonagh. Naturally Danhausen is in the Danhausenmobile and is in New York Knicks colors. And he even got a blimp! Mysterio distracts Danhausen with the jersey to start and the cheap shot sends Danhausen out to the floor. Back in and a middle rope elbow gives McDonagh two as Mysterio is using the jersey to wipe his boots.

Danhausen fights up and hammers away in the corner, which doesn’t last long as McDonagh knocks him back down. The jersey is laid on Danhausen but he avoids a moonsault. Danhausen gets the jersey back and fires off some right hands, followed by a Stundog Millionaire. Mysterio comes in and helps beat Danhausen down, with the jersey being stolen again.

Danhausen goes up the ramp so it’s time to get a table…and the Mini Hausens are back! Judgment Day fights them off as Danhausen clones the jersey….and gets Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns. The 7ft Towns (in a Knicks Danhausen shirt) gets in the ring for some chokeslams, with Mysterio going through the table. Danhausen’s Triple D finishes McDonagh at 11:35.

Rating: B-. This was pretty much entirely for the live crowd with Towns getting to show up and save Danhausen. It helps when he’s an actual giant and can make a quick impact like that, with the chokeslams looking good. Danhausen wasn’t going to lose to anyone here so they hardly tried anything more than a goofy match for the sake of the jersey.

Lyra Valkyria, looking more and more like Nikki Cross every day, is ready to end Bayley for good.

Video on Fanatics Fest, with all kinds of sports stars and a bunch of wrestlers doing…a lot of stuff. This is what Axxess feels like it should be.

Bayley is ready to finish Lyra Valkyria.

Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria

Bayley slaps her to start and grabs a double leg to fire off the right hands. A big elbow to the face seems to break Valkyria’s nose, as there is suddenly blood everywhere. The referee gets in a quick pause for the sake of a towel but Valkyria is right back in to hammer away. We pause again for more toweling but Valkyria is sent back in where she takes over. Valkyria sends her into the corner for a boot to the face but Bayley gets in a backdrop.

A Boston crab has Valkyria in more trouble until she slips out and grabs a neckbreaker over the corner. One heck of a top rope Fameasser in the top rope gets two on Bayley, who is fine enough to hit a sunset bomb into the corner. A Crossface lets Bayley rip at the damaged nose, with Valkyria flipping out in a hurry. The Bayley To Belly is countered as well, with Valkyria flipping her into a bulldog choke for the win at 10:30.

Rating: B. This was a hard hitting fight though I’m wondering how much of a difference the nose made. Bayley caught her pretty early on and there was only so much they could do if Valkyria was having trouble. The good thing here though is Valkyria gets her big win and can hopefully move on, though I’m not sure what is next for her from here.

Post match Valkyria chokes her out again and plants her onto the steps. So that’s what Valkyria is going to do next.

There will be NXT and AAA events in New York over Wrestlemania weekend.

We recap the main event. Sami Zayn won the World Title, Gunther attacked Cody Rhodes before his rematch, CM Punk stepped in and won the title, Rhodes vs. Punk is set, Gunther and Zayn both want rematches and receive them if they win here. Got all that? You should as it isn’t that complicated.

Rhodes and Punk are ready to team tonight but they’re ready to fight at Summerslam.

CM Punk/Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther/Sami Zayn

It’s a brawl to start with Punk taking over on Zayn, with Rhodes coming in to work on the arm. It’s back to Punk, who gets sent outside for a chop from Gunther, who whips him into the barricade for a bonus. Back in and Zayn hammers away on the mat and in the corner but Punk manages a quick high crossbody. Rhodes comes back in to strike away on Zayn and flip away from Gunther.

The Cody Cutter puts Gunther down for two but he breaks up Cross Rhodes. Zayn is back in with the same rollup he used to beat Rhodes for the title, followed by the Blue Thunder Bomb for two more. It’s back to Punk for a running knee and bulldog to Zayn, followed by the Anaconda Vice. Rhodes gets the Figure Four on Gunther, who leans over and rakes Punk’s eyes for the break.

Zayn is out as well and Helluva Kicks Punk but gets caught with Cross Rhodes. Gunther clotheslines Rhodes but walks into the GTS and everyone is down. Back up and Gunther sends Punk into Rhodes before grabbing the sleeper on Punk. That’s reversed but Punk can’t get the GTS. Instead Rhodes is back in for the Cross Rhodes, with Zayn pushing Punk into the cover for the save.

The GTS sends Zayn to the floor but the Disaster Kick misses Gunther and hits Punk by mistake. The referee is bumped somewhere in there and the belt shot knocks Rhodes silly. Gunther plants Rhodes with the powerbomb as another referee comes down. Cue Nick Aldis to pull the referee out (and yeah he knows where this is going) and send hit Gunther with the belt. Aldis throws the referee back inside and the GTS finishes Gunther at 14:08.

Rating: A-. That might be a bit high but this was almost non-stop action from start to finish and they accomplished a few things in the middle. It felt like a main event and it was rather good stuff, with the energy carrying everything to a higher level. Heck of a match here and a lot better than I was expecting in the first place.

Summerslam rundown.

We get a video on New York sports, as narrated by former Giants quarterback Eli Manning, with a focus on Jalen Brunson as the new top star for winning the New York Knicks a championship.

The Knicks blimp is here and the fans go nuts, as expected.

Jalen Brunson gets a full introduction from his Knicks locker and takes a Travis Scott length of time to get to the entrance. As he comes through the entrance, he is joined by Roman Reigns and does indeed strike the pose. The fans go even nuttier for Brunson, with Reigns talking about how this is the WWE’s home.

Reigns talks about how much of a team sport this is and introduces Brunson as the King Of New York. Every champion deserves a title and hands Brunson a customized World Heavyweight Title, which he says Brunson earned. Reigns says ACKNOWLEDGE THEM but here is Seth Rollins……’ music, as Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton (the Knicks fans don’t like him) comes out with a chair.

Cue Rollins from behind and load up the Stomp but Brunson cuts him off (without getting physical, partially as he’s recovering from wrist surgery), allowing Reigns to hit a Superman Punch. Haliburton and Rollins leave, with Reigns putting the title on Brunson as he holds up the real thing. As a bonus, Reigns gets to hold up the Larry O’Brien Trophy (the NBA Championship trophy) and a lot of posing ends the show.

This was a long angle, but Brunson is a big WWE fan and he’s the biggest basketball player in the world right now. It’s a guaranteed way to get the fans absolutely losing their minds over the whole thing because Brunson is basically a divine creature in New York at the moment. It’s also designed to get the WWE on the bigger sports shows and for once, the sports star was actually a major deal. If WWE has this perfect of a chance, they would have been crazy to pass it up.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a rare show that got better as it went along, with the main event being quite the success and the big angle at the end (and it had to go at the end because nothing was topping that for the live crowd) working well enough. I liked Valkyria vs. Bayley well enough too and the rest of the matches were pretty good, so call this a success. Normally it would have felt like it was just wedged in too close to Summerslam, but the setup with Brunson and the Knicks in this venue in front of this audience was too good to pass up.

Results
Trick Williams b. Laredo Kid – Trick Shot
Fatal Influence b. Brie Bella/Paige – Rollup with trunks to Paige
Danhausen b. JD McDonagh – Triple D
Lyra Valkyria b. Bayley – Bulldog choke
Cody Rhodes/CM Punk b. Gunther/Sami Zayn – GTS to Gunther

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 6, 2026
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re ready for a big World Title match, as Cody Rhodes challenges Sami Zayn for the Smackdown World Title. GM Adam Pearce has said that we’re seeing some Smackdown stars over here for something of a super show, which is code for “PLEASE WATCH US INSTEAD OF THE WORLD CUP!”. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Sami Zayn winning the Smackdown World Title at Night Of Champions from Cody Rhodes, with Rhodes winning the #1 contenders match on the following Smackdown. They face off tonight.

Zayn arrives with the title (unlike Roman Reigns, who has the title handed to him) and is greeted by some adoring fans, only to run into Rhodes. Zayn says he’s going to win and here is Gunther to put Rhodes through a table. Referees tell Gunther to get out of here so he tells Zayn, who is just standing by watching this happen, that he’s coming for the title. Gunther slams a door on Rhodes’ head and the main event gets a lot more interesting.

Here is Seth Rollins for a chat. He hits his catchphrases and says he loves this building, which draws the CM PUNK chants. Rollins tells them to get it out of their systems because he doesn’t care about Punk right now. That’s not his business, because his business is the World Title and beating Roman Reigns at Summerslam. The fans chant for Reigns but Rollins says that Reigns isn’t here tonight because he can get away with anything.

The Shield debuted as a trio but it was clear that Reigns was going to be the guy. He was going to be on the marquee and headlining events, whether or not he could cut a promo or wrestle his way out of a paper bag. Rollins points out a nine year old in the front row and another kid near him. He remembers being that age and wanting to be in the main events himself.

That’s why he broke up the Shield and stole Reigns’ Wrestlemania main event: to stay close to Reigns. He believed that he and Reigns were running the same race and he could keep up with Reigns through hard work and skill but he was wrong. A few years ago, Reigns said something that changed everything for Rollins: Reigns works one tenth of the time for ten times the work and he was so proud of it that it made Rollins sick. Rollins never did this for the money because the work was the reward.

Reigns needs to beat Rollins so Reigns can prove that he isn’t a fraud. At the same time, Rollins needs to win to prove to himself that you can still achieve greatness through hard work…and here is LA Knight to interrupt. Knight isn’t happy with how boring it has been with Reigns and Rollins because all Rollins had to do was talk nice about Reigns and get a title shot. He remembers when you had to win something to get title shots and Knight is sick about hearing about how Reigns and Rollins are best friends and can get matching haircuts.

Knight is never going to have as many title shots as Rollins but he remembers the fans chanting LA KNIGHT until the Bloodline and Rollins cut him off. They tried to bury Knight because they’re great at manipulating people to hold them down. Knight will rise because he must rise. Rollins: “You done?”

Rollins doesn’t like Knight but he respects him, so Knight can be the first person put in the dirt after Rollins wins the title at Summerslam. We’re still not done though as Rollins leaves, but Jimmy Uso shows up to superkick Knight before leaving. This was two big moments in one, with Rollins giving a bit of a shaky reason for the match happening (because Rollins saying he did EVERYTHING to keep up with Reigns is quite the stretch) and Knight still trying to get into the title picture, which he’s been trying to do for months.

Gunther is being escorted out but here is Nick Aldis to yell at him. Adam Pearce yells at Aldis, who blames Pearce for Cody Rhodes getting hurt.

The Vision is on the way to the ring for their shot at the Tag Team Titles but Paul Heyman shows up to yell at them for their recent failings. Either come back with the titles or don’t come back at all.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. The Vision

The Profits are defending and Logan Paul is with the Vision. Theory sends Ford into the corner to start as the fans are distracted by something. Ford flips away from Theory and brings in Dawkins for a running shoulder. A running shoulder drops Theory for two and it’s off to Breakker, who is staggered with a dropkick. Theory offers a distraction though and a very fast running clothesline puts Dawkins down as we take a break.

We come back with Ford getting the tag and hitting some running clotheslines to Ford. A jumping enziguri and a high crossbody gives Ford two but Breakker plants him with a powerslam. That’s shrugged off and Dawkins comes back in for the Doomsday Blockbuster for two on Theory. The double underhook spinning neckbreaker drops Theory again so Paul slips in the brass knuckles. Those are caught so Paul gives Breakker another set, with Ford cutting Breakker off with the big running flip dive. Dawkins loads up the knuckles but here is Maxxine Dupri to hit Dawkins low, giving Theory the pin and the titles at 8:46.

Rating: B-. That’s something of a surprise, though I’m glad that we finally got to the point with the Dupri/Theory thing. They’ve been teasing it for a long time and it’s nice to see them finally pull the trigger. At the same time, if the Vision is going to be sticking around, they absolutely needed the title win to stop their ridiculous bleeding, at least a little bit. I’m just not sure where they go as champions, as we’ve pretty much covered a lot of this already.

Post match Dupri jumps into Theory’s arm to kiss him as Graves says love tops all.

Cody Rhodes is banged up and the doctor says he can’t sign off on him wrestling tonight without more scans.

Paul Heyman meets the Vision again and says that was a first step, but it’s only a first step. At least someone got something accomplished tonight. Austin Theory thanks Heyman, but Heyman was talking to Maxxine Dupri. The team leaves together, with Heyman staying behind. The Alpha Academy comes up and looks crushed.

We look at the Judgment Day beating up Iyo Sky last week.

Judgment Day fires up Raquel Rodriguez before her shot against Sol Ruca.

Next week there is a gauntlet match for the Intercontinental Title shot at Summerslam.

Intercontinental Champion Penta is ready for the gauntlet match, when Ethan Page and Rusev (both in the gauntlet match) come in to interrupt. They mock Rey Mysterio for being hurt again but Dragon Lee and Chad Gable come up to defend lucha’s honor. A tag match is set up for tonight.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Raquel Rodriguez vs. Sol Ruca

Ruca is defending and gets backed into the corner to start. Rodriguez powers her to the mat and cuts Ruca off for some elbows in the corner. Back up and Ruca sends her to the floor for a missed middle rope moonsault. Instead Ruca cartwheels away on the apron and busts out a springboard corkscrew dive. Back in and Rodriguez absolutely nails a clothesline to take Ruca’s head off as we go to a break.

We come back with Ruca getting in a crossbody and firing off the strikes so Roxanne Perez offers a distraction. Liv Morgan breaks up the Sol Snatcher so Rodriguez grabs the spinning side slam for two. Cue Iyo Sky to moonsault onto the interferers, leaving Ruca to grab the Sol Snatcher and retain at 10:17.

Rating: B-. The good thing is that Ruca didn’t miss a bunch of stuff here and it was one of her better performances on the main roster. The bigger issue though is the women of the Judgment Day, as the team is hardly doing very well. Liv Morgan is pushing things about as far as she can and now we get to see where that goes, though I’m not sure I can picture it ending well around Summerslam.

Video on Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar from last week, setting up their match in the Cell at Summerslam.

Here is Paul Heyman to talk about Lesnar being inspired by Femi. That’s why Lesnar attacked Femi last week because Lesnar is ready to fight. There is no way Femi is coming out of the Cell because Lesnar will destroy him. Cue Femi and Heyman knows this isn’t good. Heyman says that he’s here to prevent people from making mistakes.

Lesnar and Femi have shown that the other is beatable so now it is time to see who goes forward. Femi did not just agree to a cage match, because Lesnar is that much different inside the Cell. Heyman goes over some of the things Lesnar has done in the “Brocktagon” and only Lesnar will walk out of the Cell at Summerslam. Femi says Lesnar finally showed up last week so he knows every single word got to him. He knows Lesnar watches the show and here is Heyman to write checks that Lesnar cannot cash.

All Heyman is today is a mouth, but how can you feed a mouth if you have no head? It’s true that Lesnar has beaten some men in a cage but they aren’t Oba Femi. Heyman is here as damage control and this is the end of Femi vs. Lesnar inside the Cell. Femi will beat Lesnar in front of his friends, family, wife and children. He’ll see Lesnar in Hell and a shaken Heyman bails. Femi is making this sound legitimate and I want to see Femi survive and beat Lesnar in the Cell, as it leaves him with all kinds of options.

Sami Zayn is told that Cody Rhodes cannot wrestle tonight and Zayn thinks it’s terrible. Well I think he does at least as the CM PUNK chants drown him out a bit. Zayn says he was looking forward to facing Rhodes but he never quite understood why he was defending on Raw. Adam Pearce comes in to say there is going to be a title match tonight. No opponent is given. Most interesting indeed and they’re not being subtle about where this is going.

El Grande Americano was at the World Cup match in Mexico last night.

Chad Gable/Dragon Lee vs. Rusev/Ethan Page

The villains jump them to start fast until we settle down to Page stomping Lee down, naturally with some insults thrown in for good measure. Rusev hits a suplex but misses a charge, allowing Gable to come in for the rolling German suplexes. Everything breaks down and Rusev has to save Page, with Gable launching Lee over the top onto both of them as we take a break. We come back with Gable fighting out of trouble, allowing the tag to Lee. A tornado DDT (with Lee’s feet missing the rope) drops Page and everything breaks down. Lee kicks at Rusev but gets pulled into the Accolade for the tap at 9:11.

Rating: C+. It feels like we’re on the way to Gable FINALLY winning the Intercontinental Title at Summerslam and he was getting quite the star reception here. Have him win the gauntlet match next week and everything is fine. At the same time, Rusev and Page have looked like a rather nice team, which is something WWE could use. While I like Page going on his own, why not see if there is any juice to having them together?

Post match Rusev won’t let go so Gable tries for the save, only to get Accoladed as well. Joe Hendry runs in for the save. That earns him the same treatment and the villains pose.

We look at LA Knight’s issues with the Bloodline, both last week and earlier tonight.

Jimmy Uso is going to leave and promises to deal with Solo Sikoa on Smackdown. LA Knight comes up to go after him but Jacob Fatu cuts it off and drops Knight.

An emotional Bayley talks about her history with Lyra Valkyria. She met Valkyria at a signing where Bayley made time to talk about Valkyria’s career, but apparently that means nothing. Bayley was there for her, just like Valkyria was there for Bayley, but they couldn’t have a real talk about what happened. Bayley wants to see her next week, face to face.

Nick Aldis tells Adam Pearce that he has a replacement for Cody Rhodes and he’s in the building. All Pearce has to do is thank him.

Video on Danhausen vs. Judgment Day, with JD McDonagh being ready to face him at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Smackdown World Title: Sami Zayn vs. ???

Zayn is defending against, say it with me, CM Punk, who returns to the hero’s welcome you knew he would receive. After a VERY long entrance from Punk, he gives his shirt to a fan in the front row and then drops Zayn with a running shoulder. An atomic drop out of the corner lets Punk rain down some right hands but Zayn gets in a shot of his own. Punk pulls him to the floor and hits a suicide dive as we take an early break.

We come back with Zayn firing off some crossface shots to the head, followed by a middle rope ax handle for two. The chinlock goes on but Punk is back up with the running knee in the corner and a swinging neckbreaker for two. The GTS and Blue Thunder Bomb are both countered and a big clothesline gives Punk two more. Zayn catches him with a superplex though and they’re both down as we take another break.

We come back again with the two of them on their knees and then on their feet in a slugout. The GTS is countered again so Punk kicks him in the head, setting up another knee in the corner. This time Zayn reverses the bulldog into the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Punk drops him again. A middle rope elbow misses so Punk switches to the Anaconda Vice, with Zayn using his legs to power out.

The same rollup Zayn used to beat Rhodes gets two and they need a double breather. Back up and Zayn hits a GTS of his own for two and Zayn can’t believe the kickout. Punk is able to exploder Zayn into the corner but a Helluva Kick is countered into another GTS. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Zayn two but Punk is back up with a Helluva Kick of his own. The real GTS gives Punk the pin and the title at 20:38.

Rating: B+. Yeah this wound up working very well, with Punk getting the big heroic moment to win the title in front of his hometown fans. They’re pretty clearly going with Punk vs. Rhodes at Summerslam (like it or not) and I’m really not sure where that leaves Zayn. Maybe he gets his rematch on the way to Summerslam, but I can’t picture him being in the title match.

At the same time, there are going to be some issues with Zayn losing the title only nine days after winning it, but I’m not sold on that being a terrible thing. Zayn feels like he’s in the Mick Foley camp, where the big moment of him actually winning the title is what really matters, with the reign being a pure bonus. As Zayn said, he will always be a former champion, and he won the title clean over the reigning champion. While I could have gone with him getting a longer reign, Zayn got his big moment and that’s what is going to matter.

Punk celebrates in the crowd for a good while to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Well you can’t call it boring. There was really no hiding what they were setting up for the main event as the fans would have burned the place down if Punk hadn’t shown up given the circumstances. That’s quite the push towards Summerslam, which now seemingly has a triple main event and it should be fun to see how they get played out. The problem is getting everything else set up as there are two nights to cover, though I’m wondering what they have planned for the Smackdown side. Good show here, as it not only felt important but got the huge moment in the end.

Results
The Vision b. Street Profits – Low blow to Dawkins
Sol Ruca b. Raquel Rodriguez – Sol Snatcher
Ethan Page/Rusev b. Chad Gable/Dragon Lee – Accolade to Lee
CM Punk b. Sami Zayn – GTS

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 22, 2026
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Commentators: Michael, Corey Graves

It’s the last Raw before Night Of Champions and the two tournament finals are set. That means we’re going to be seeing something in the way of the last push towards the finals, which could make for some interesting showdowns. We also have some titles on the line and that should make for a hot crowd. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a video on the King and Queen Of The Ring and what winning the tournaments mean.

Here is Oba Femi to get things going. He loves hearing the fans chant his name but moves on to destiny having his back for years. Lady destiny has been very kind to him over the years and it will continue to do so this Saturday. But who should he come after? The fans seem more interested in Femi vs. Roman Reigns, which brings out Jey Uso to interrupt. This means the full, and very long entrance as Femi just kind of glares at him.

The fans want him to run it back and Femi says he’s putting an end to that, so of course Uso does it anyway. With that out of the way, Uso talks about how people are saying he can’t win King Of The Ring, but he knows how to overcome mountains. On Saturday, he’s winning the crown and then at Summerslam, he’s taking Cody Rhodes’ title.

Femi tells him that if he shoots, he better not miss because if he does, Femi will destroy him. Femi: “And if you don’t miss, I will still destroy you.” The thing is Uso isn’t the member of the family he is worried about, so give Roman Reigns the bullets. Teasing Femi getting into the main event scene, especially against Reigns, is a big deal but that Brock Lesnar shaped shadow is an even bigger roadblock

We look back at Jacob Fatu attacking Eric Andre last week.

Adam Pearce is on the phone and runs into LA Knight, who thinks Pearce is on the phone with the Bloodline so they can give him orders. Jimmy Uso comes in to complain about Knight hitting him with a chair last week. Pearce tries to break it up but knight tells him to shut up. Pearce makes the match between them tonight. Knight says that’s a terrible idea and suggests…himself vs. Jimmy tonight. Uso: “THAT’S WHAT HE SAID!” Knight doesn’t care because he didn’t listen to Pearce so the match is on. Pearce’s confused face at Knight made this whole thing worth it.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Lyra Valkyria/Bayley vs. Paige/Brie Bella

Valkyria and Bayley are challenging and we hear from them in the back, with Valkyria saying this is the time after all of their losses. Everything breaks down rather quickly and Paige hits the knees to Valkyria on the apron. Bayley’s hanging twisting Stunner drops Bella with Paige having to make a save.

We take an early break and come back with Paige having to save Bella again and firing off the suplexes. Valkyria gets in the Nightwing but Bella makes the save this time. Paige rolls Valkyria up for two but gets planted with a fisherman’s buster. Valkyria tries another instead of covering though and gets reversed into Rampaige to retain at 8:01.

Rating: C. The title reign continues as we get one step further away from the Bellas eventual big crowning moment. I’m still not sure how I’m supposed to believe that Paige and Brie are this good together but these titles have always been a bit weird. Bayley and Valkyria need something else to do, though I’m not sure if that is going to include them being together.

Post match Valkyria is ticked off so Bayley hugs her and get jumped as a result. Valkyria slaps her in the face a few times and sends her throat first into the middle rope. Some agents come in but Valkyria hits Nightwing anyway. Yeah that kind of had to happen.

Post break Valkyria has nothing to say.

Here is Chad Gable for a chat. Gable talks about how everything has been going crazy for him lately with the loss of his mask in Mexico. There are some people he needs to apologize to face to face though so he asks for the Alpha Academy to come out here. All three of them come to the ring, with Gable praising Maxxine Dupri for winning a singles title, which Gable has not done. He apologizes for how he treated her and it is all his fault.

Akira Tozawa is the definition of fighting spirit with the heart of a lion and Tozawa didn’t deserve that either. That leaves Otis and, after a heavy sigh, Gable says Otis was the most loyal friend he could ever have. Gable threw all of that away for a chance at singles gold and after all of that, he owes them all an apology.

We get the formal I’m sorry and Gable extends his hand. Otis isn’t sure what to do but goes to shake Gable’s hand, only for Dupri to get in between them. Dupri says everything Gable has said and done is a lie. She knows Otis and Tozawa have the biggest hearts and want to give him a second chance but she doesn’t.

Dupri goes on a rant about all of the things Gable did to them because it has always been about him. Now they’re going to leave him like he left them: alone. Dupri and Tozawa leave, with Otis eventually joining them. They’re doing a heck of a job with getting the fans behind Gable. If he sticks with this, it could be a huge moment for him. Or if he eventually goes evil again, it could be all the bigger.

Dragon Lee gets some encouragement from Rey Mysterio and Penta before his match tonight.

Dragon Lee vs. Ethan Page

Lee starts fast by firing off the kicks, including a hard one to knock Page down in the corner. The running dropkick in the corner gets two but Page turns the mask around and kicks him out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Lee getting two off a tornado DDT. Page gets two off a boot to the face but Lee is back with a hard elbow to the head. Page is knocked outside for a heck of a flip dive onto the announcers’ table and they head back inside. The Styles Clash is broken up with what looked to be an intentional low blow (Graves isn’t convinced) and the Egoplex gives Page the win at 9:58.

Rating: C+. Page continues to get over mainly on attitude and mannerisms, as his in-ring style is still rather basic. That’s not a bad thing though, as there is nothing wrong with a basic style if it is well executed, which his certainly has been. He could be on his way to something around here and I’m interested in where it’s going.

Video on the Vision vs. the Street Profits for the Tag Team Titles tonight.

The Vision are in the back (with only Theory in wrestling gear) and Logan Paul talks about how he is healing faster than any human in history (Bron Breakker pops out of camera, presumably due to laughing too hard). They’re ready to win tonight, with Breakker being ready to crush Seth Rollins on Saturday.

Video on Sol Ruca, who is a thrill seeker.

Here is Iyo Sky for a chat. She is so grateful to have gotten here and she can’t wait to face Liv Morgan for the crown. This brings out Morgan to interrupt, saying she’s going to win on Saturday to crush Sky’s dreams for good. Sky asks if the crown can fit on Morgan’s big head and rants in Japanese. Morgan is cleared out without much trouble. This wasn’t much, but the tournament is screwy anyway.

The Usos are ready in the back when Jacob Fatu interrupts. Jey asks where Fatu has been all night or why he was on Smackdown. Fatu says he doesn’t answer to Jey and the Usos can sit and wait to find out what is happening next. This doesn’t sit well with the twins.

The Judgment Day comes up to see Danhausen, who want their money back after he didn’t curse Oba Femi. He has already spent the $100,000 on experiments, so they threaten violence. That earns JD McDonagh a cruse and he electrocutes himself on some of Danhausen’s equipment, allowing Danhausen to escape. Oh that wacky…whatever Danhausen is.

LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso

They start slugging it out early, with Uso knocking him to the floor for a ram into the steps. Knight is back up with his usual collection of face first plantings into the announcers’ table. Back in and Uso hits a Whisper In The Wind for two and they’re right back to the floor. This time Knight is sent hard into the barricade and we take a break.

We come back with Knight dropping him onto the apron to bang up Uso’s ribs. They head back inside with Knight slowly working on the back, at least until Uso gets in a suplex. Knight’s torture rack neckbreaker is broken up and Uso superkicks him for two. Knight takes Uso up top but here is Solo Sikoa to Samoan Spike…Uso. The confused Knight (who saw what Sikoa did) grabs the BFT for the pin at 12:25.

Rating: B-. This was another instance of the Bloodline doing whatever, as Sikoa is now here from Smackdown to cause issues for Roman Reigns and company. At the same time, Knight getting a win is good to see, as he almost has to get at least a title match at some point in this whole big story. Either way, there is something going on here, though I have no idea where it is leading. Unfortunately I’m not sure how much I care either.

Bayley is getting medical treatment but has nothing to say.

Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez are happy for Liv Morgan but want something of their own to celebrate. Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh come in, with McDonagh not recognizing them. Morgan comes in to rant about how unfair that was to her, with Rodriguez having to put her in her place. Morgan tries to calm things down but has nothing for Perez as they take McDonagh to the medical area.

Earlier today, Corey Graves sat down with Seth Rollins, who says things have not been going his way but they would be even worse without the Street Profits having his back. Rollins knows the risks of getting inside a cage with Bron Breakker but he has to prove he can still do this. Then he can get back to regaining the title that he never lost.

Chad Gable talks to Adam Pearce about a possible match with Penta but Judgment Day comes in. Dominik Mysterio says he’s facing Penta first but he also wants his apology from Gable as well. Gable says Mysterio sent him to Mexico in the first place and he doesn’t just hand out apologies. If Mysterio wants an apology, he can try to beat it out of him. Mysterio says Gable can face JD McDonagh next week but Pearce wants the doctor to clear McDonagh first. McDonagh thinks Pearce is the doctor and he’s off to medical.

Night Of Champions rundown.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. The Vision

The Vision, with Logan Paul, is defending and jump the Profits to start fast. Dawkins comes in for a dropkick to Theory and it’s back to Ford for a shoulder. Dawkins suplexes Ford onto Theory for two as the fans are rather mocking of the champion. It’s off to Breakker for the really big running clothesline though and a suplex drops Dawkins.

We take a break and come back with Ford still in trouble. Breakker knocks Ford down again and it’s back to Theory for a chinlock. Ford flips out of a suplex though and it’s off to Dawkins to clean house. A spinning Stinger Splash and enziguri put Breakker down in the corner and the Silencer hits Theory. The Doomsday Blockbuster gets two on Theory, with Paul putting the boot on the rope.

That’s enough for an ejection and the distraction lets Ford bring Dawkins back in. Breakker cuts off another Doomsday Blockbuster and hits the diving clothesline to the announcers’ table as we take a break. We come back again with Breakker cutting of a tag attempt and Theory getting to grab a chinlock.

A wishbone has Dawkins down again and Breakker mocks Ford, with Cole saying Breakker has a screw loose but Cole won’t be explaining that to him. Dawkins strikes back but it’s a double clothesline to leave both of them down. Ford comes back in to clean house, at least until Breakker knocks him down. A powerslam sets up the Steiner Bulldog for two, with Dawkins having to make the save.

Paul tries to come back in with the brass knuckles but here is Joe Hendry to chase him off, sending the fans straight into song in the process. Theory goes to get the knuckles and of course here comes Seth Rollins to use said Knuckles to knock Theory cold. Breakker gives chase (jumping the barricade in a scary impressive display) and Ford hits the frog splash for the pin and the titles at 19:38.

Rating: B. It felt like a pretty safe bet that one of the titles were changing hands this week and this is a good enough way to go. We were pretty much at the breaking point for the Profits, as they had to win or there wasn’t much left for them to do otherwise. At the same time, the champions were a replacement team anyway so it isn’t like this is some big lost opportunity. It’s a good match too, with the Profits hopefully getting to be built up for some fresh set of challengers.

Overall Rating: B. The hot crowd helped as always, with the Femi vs. Uso segment standing out as well. I’ve gotten more interested in Night Of Champions in the last week so at least the final push has been good. This show was up and down at times, but I liked the Valkyria turn and the Profits getting the titles back is a good choice. There were quite a few positives here, with stories advancing and solid action so I’ll call it a pretty strong show.

Results
Brie Bella/Paige b. Lyra Valkyria/Bayley – Rampaige to Valkyria
Ethan Page b. Dragon Lee – Egoplex
LA Knight b. Jimmy Uso – BFT
Street Profits b. The Vision – Frog splash to Theory

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Hey everyone.  I apologize for this being far later than usual.  I’m on the road for my mom’s birthday for the first half of this week and the drive took a bit out of me yesterday so I was in no way able to do the show.  I’ll be back home Wednesday and I’ll be getting back up to speed as soon as possible.  Tuesday’s shows will be a bit delayed but hopefully not as badly.  I’m sorry again and thank you for your patience.- KB
Monday Night Raw
Date: June 15, 2026
Location: CFG Bank Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Corey Graves

We’re back in America for Raw and the big story this week is the Of The Ring tournaments, with a pair of semifinal matches. The finals are coming up in less than two weeks so the Raw sides will be wrapped up here. In addition, I’m sure that rascally Bloodline will be up to something. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a look at Jey Uso advancing in the King Of The Ring on Smackdown.

The Bloodline arrives and does the walk from their cars into the arena. After hitting the catchphrase, Roman Reigns talks about how there is a lot to be grateful for around here. That starts with Jey Uso making it to the next round of the King Of The Ring. The thing is, Jimmy Uso never gets much credit, but without Jimmy, there would be no Right Hand Man or Tribal Chief so acknowledge him for a change.

That leaves Jacob Fatu, with Jey saying Fatu is the one person who hasn’t acknowledged them. Reigns thinks that sounds like a problem and Fatu makes it clear that he doesn’t listen to the Usos, The only person he listens to is Reigns himself, but Reigns says we don’t need yes men around here. Reigns pulls out another necklace and talks about how everyone is scared of the Bloodline taking over again.

Well, the Bloodline has always been around, from the Wild Samoans today and it will continue to be the same when Fatu’s kids are teaming with Reigns’ kids. Reigns officially welcomes him to the Bloodline and puts the necklace on him. The pose ensues and the team leaves, with Reigns and Jimmy shaking hands with actor Eric Andre.

Jey isn’t interested and Andre slaps Fatu on the back, earning himself a heck of a beating. Reigns has to cut Fatu off from the Superfly Splash…but Fatu does it anyway. This seems to make Reigns happy as he leaves, to the point where he tells Fatu to do it again. The Andre thing helped, as otherwise this was a lot of time spent to not really say much.

Queen Of The Ring Semifinals: Iyo Sky vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Sky jumps her to start fast but Rodriguez is back with a crossbody. They head outside with Rodriguez dropping her onto the barricade before taking it back inside. Sky knocks her back outside but a dive is cut off and Sky gets planted as we take a break. We come back with Sky getting two off a rollup and stomping her in the ribs.

Sky dropkicks her into the corner but a sunset bomb to the floor is broken up. A double stomp onto the announcers’ table is broken up as well as Rodriguez trips Sky down. Back in and the spinning Vader Bomb misses, allowing Sky to hit a powerbomb out of the corner. Over The Moonsault finishes Rodriguez at 10:13.

Rating: C+. Sky getting back into the title picture is a smart move as she’s one of the best overall stars in all of WWE. This was a good example of her getting past a monster opponent and looking impressive in the process. Rodriguez will be fine going forward as Sky gets the spot she should have.

We look at Judgment Day’s cheap shot on Oba Femi failing miserably last week.

Liv Morgan tells Roxanne Perez that the focus should be on Morgan and Dominik Mysterio now that they’re the only ones left in the tournaments. Morgan goes in to see Danhausen, revealing a Danhausen shirt (Danhausen: “I hope you paid for that.”). She seems to offer something in exchange for him cursing people but he wants so many “human monies” that she just leaves, with Danhausen calling her Olivia.

We get a look at the trailer for a new Danhausen documentary on his cursing the New York Knicks, sending them onto a losing streak. Then he uncursed them and they went on a huge winning streak and won the NBA Title. Danhausen has become a thing with this and sure why not. WWE would be insane to not milk this for all it’s worth.

Seth Rollins is ready to end things with Bron Breakker for good at Night Of Champions. In a cage.

Adam Pearce has done something for Lyra Valkyria, who can’t wait to tell Bayley. With Valkyria gone, LA Knight comes in and points out that everything on Smackdown went as he said it would. Knight is going to fix things his own way.

We look at Penta beating Rey Mysterio last week, with Rusev attacking Mysterio after the match. Chad Gable made the save.

Gable says he realizes he’s been wrong for a long time in the last year. Tonight he’s going to take care of Rusev but there are some other people he needs to apologize to. As he leaves, he runs into Maxxine Dupri and Austin Theory.

Chad Gable vs. Rusev

Ethan Page is here with Rusev, who throws Gable down to start. Gable is back up with a waistlock and some armdrags, followed by a rather nice belly to belly. A dragon screw legwhip has Rusev down and they’re out on the floor. Rusev sends him into the steps and grabs a suplex, followed by a toss over the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Gable slugging away and rolling some German suplexes. A superplex drops Rusev and sets up the ankle lock, which is broken up rather quickly. Gable can’t get the rolling Chaos Theory but can get the ankle lock again. This time Page offers a distraction though and the Machka Kick gets two. The Accolade is broken up and Gable Angle Slams him into the ankle lock for the win at 10:34.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of stuff Gable needs to do to reestablish himself as a star, as he’s been a goof for so long now. The good thing is that the fans are accepting him and at least for now, he’s just Chad Gable. That’s what he’s needed to be for a long time, though I’m curious about what WWE has next for him, as it could go a lot of different ways.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee making the save.

Roman Reigns tells the Usos that he called an audible with Jacob Fatu because sometimes you need to change the play. Reigns doesn’t like LA Knight either so Jey Uso is ready to deal with him. Jimmy Uso has this though.

Bron Breakker is ready to hurt Seth Rollins. The cage match is set for Night Of Champions.

Here is LA Knight for a chat and he lays down in the ring, saying this is how things ended for him on Smackdown. He could have laid there all night but he had to get to Baltimore. No he isn’t the King Of The Ring or a champion, but what matters is that he is home. He’s used to being against the odds because that’s what he does, just like he’s doing against the Bloodline.

That’s what happened on Friday and here is Jimmy Uso to interrupt. Uso knows Knight has issues with the Bloodline but that was years ago. Knight thinks Solo Sikoa is back with the Bloodline but Uso says that’s not what’s going on. Cue Jey Uso to interrupt, saying that Jimmy is right: Sikoa isn’t part of the Bloodline.

Knight thinks Jey wants him to acknowledge Roman Reigns but the reality is that Jey wants Knight to acknowledge Jey himself. That’s not what Knight expected but he acknowledges Jey…can kiss his a**. The brawl is on with Jimmy trying to play peacekeeper. Jey grabs a chair but Knight takes it away and drops both of them. Cue Jacob Fatu to Tongan Death Grip Knight and leave him laying.

Post break Fatu says that was him doing this his way because the Usos’ ways didn’t work.

We get an NXT Origins video on Alexa Bliss.

Charlotte vs. Roxanne Perez

Alexa Bliss and Liv Morgan are here too. Charlotte blocks a knee to start and strikes away, with Perez being knocked outside. Charlotte’s chop hits the post though and Perez goes after it as we take a break. We come back with Perez staying on the arm until Charlotte gives her a sitout powerbomb for the escape. A spinning faceplant gives Perez two and it’s right back to the arm.

Charlotte gets up a boot in the corner though and fires off the fall away slam. The flipping lariat drops Perez again and a big boot gives Charlotte two. Morgan offers a distraction to break up the moonsault though and Perez’s split legged moonsault gives her two of her own. Charlotte fights back and tried the Figure Eight, only for Morgan to offer a distraction. Bliss cuts that off and the Figure Eight makes Perez tap at 10:09.

Rating: C+. There wasn’t much to this one and that’s fine as Charlotte beating anyone makes sense. Perez put up a good fight and Bliss/Morgan were able to cancel each other out. The action was fine and Charlotte gets a win as she’s on a push in the Queen Of The Ring, as she should be.

Here is Je’Von Evans for a chat. He knows Jey Uso has the experience advantage but he’s going to Yeet Uso out of the King Of The Ring. This brings out the returning Logan Paul (with his arm in a big brace) and Austin Theory to interrupt. Paul praises Evans as a huge star and offers him a spot in the Vision. Evans emphatically turns it down but apparently that wasn’t a question. The threat of violence has Evans wanting a referee out here so let’s do this.

Je’Von Evans vs. Austin Theory

We’re joined in progress with Evans snapping off a hurricanrana to send Theory outside. The suicide dive connects and Evans gives him a standing moonsault for two back inside. Evans misses something from the top rope though and Theory hits a rolling clothesline. Theory starts hammering away but Evans is back with some left hands in the corner. A big shot puts Evans on the floor though and we take a break.

We come back with Evans hitting a springboard clothesline but Theory plants him with Ataxia. Back up and Evans sends him outside for a run around the ring and a huge dive to knock Theory into the timekeeper’s area. They go back inside with the OG Cutter being loaded up but here is Bron Breakker to spear Evans out of the air for the DQ at 13:15.

Rating: B-. As usual, Evans’ abilities to get into the air are incredibly impressive and some of the best things going on Raw today. I do like Theory avoiding another pinfall loss, as Evans getting a win isn’t a bad thing but Theory has lost enough. Evans vs. Jey Uso should be good as well and that’s a sign that Evans’ career is going well thus far.

Post match the beatdown is on but here are the Street Profits for the save to clear the ring.

We look back to Jacob Fatu attacking Eric Andre earlier tonight.

Fatu tells Roman Reigns that he took care of LA Knight but the Usos weren’t happy. Reigns knew that would be the case and he gets what Fatu while they don’t. He needs Fatu to do one more thing though and whispers it in his ear. Fatu seems to get it.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

King Of The Ring Semifinals: Dominik Mysterio vs. Oba Femi

Mysterio’s AAA Mega Title isn’t on the line and he has JD McDonagh with him. Mysterio immediately bails out to the floor for a good while. Back in and Femi gets caught with a dropkick, only to chase Mysterio outside for a tackle over the announcers’ table. McDonagh’s distraction lets Mysterio load up the hammer into his boot and it’s a low blow to put Femi down. The 619 and frog splash connect….with the kickout sending Mysterio flying. McDonagh comes in but it’s a double chokeslam, with both of them getting nailed with running uppercuts. The Fall From Grace finishes Mysterio at 4:36.

Rating: C+. This was a good way to go as it wasn’t could Femi crush Mysterio but rather how would he get through the nonsense to get his hands on him. Femi feels more and more like a force every single day but he has Brock Lesnar waiting for him at least one more time. For now though, he probably has Jey Uso up next and that should be enough.

Post match Femi says he’s a win away from his crown. He’ll face whomever he has to, including Brock Lesnar. Femi used to look up to Lesnar but now he isn’t even sure if Lesnar is a man. He invites Lesnar to come face him again and hopes Lesnar will man up instead of running again.

Overall Rating: C+. There was only so much good on this show, with the best parts focusing on the tournament semifinals. Those worked as usual, but they only got this show so far. Rollins vs. Breakker in a cage is fine in theory, but I’m really not that interested in seeing it as things have cooled off a bit. This wasn’t a bad show overall, though it’s firmly in the mediocre range.

Results
Iyo Sky b. Raquel Rodriguez – Over The Moonsault
Chad Gable b. Rusev – Ankle lock
Charlotte b. Roxanne Perez – Figure Eight
Je’Von Evans b. Austin Theory via DQ when Bron Breakker interfered
Oba Femi b. Dominik Mysterio – Fall From Grace

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Smackdown
Date: June 5, 2026
Location: Unipol Arena, Bologna, Italy
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re still in Italy after last Sunday’s Clash In Italy and there is some controversy around the World Title. Cody Rhodes did retain the title over Gunther but Gunther’s foot was underneath the rope on the pin. That is going to have some issues going forward and Gunther has a big time complaint. Other than that, the King and Queen Of The Ring tournaments are on and get to continue here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Clash In Italy if you need a recap.

Clash In Italy recap.

Commentators welcome us to the show and here is Gunther to wreck the announcers’ table. He wants justice for what happened, because he is the Ring General and put his foot underneath the rope on purpose. Gunther calls out Cody Rhodes and here he is to answer. Rhodes says Gunther is absolutely right but Gunther is also a pro. Has he never had a finish go against him before?

Anyway, Rhodes only needs to make one phone call so let’s do the rematch right here tonight. Gunther is ready to go but Sami Zayn interrupts to say this is nonsense. Gunther doesn’t want to hear this but Zayn says he knows what it’s like to beat Gunther for a title. Rhodes says he’s kind of busy right now, with Zayn thinking Rhodes is ducking him. Last week, Rhodes said if he beat Gunther, he would teach Zayn a lesson, so when is Zayn getting his lesson? Gunther gets in and jumps Rhodes but he and Zayn clear Gunther out. Zayn isn’t interested in a handshake though.

Miz follows some cables into Danhausen’s laboratory. Danhausen tells him not to touch stuff but Miz touches it anyway…and gets electrocuted.

Gunther yells at Nick Aldis to fix this situation and threatens lawsuits.

Queen Of The Ring First Round: Raquel Rodriguez vs. Bayley vs. Jacy Jayne vs. Kiana James

Everyone else goes for Rodriguez to start and she gets knocked outside. The Bayley To Belly gets two on James, who backslides her for the same. Jayne is back in for a rollup of her own but Rodriguez crossbodies everyone. We take a break and come back with Jayne in control and grabbing a running neckbreaker for two on Bayley. A backsplash gives Jayne two more and she adds a cannonball in the corner.

Rodriguez is back up with a Pounce though and a double spinning Vader Bomb elbow gets two. A powerbomb sends Bayley crashing into Jayne, followed by a double chokeslam and James making the save. We take another break and come back again with James flipping out of Rodriguez’s chokeslam. Rodriguez clotheslines James down instead but Jayne makes the save.

Bayley’s top rope elbow gets two on Jayne with James making a save of her own. The Dealbreaker into a standing moonsault gives James two so she rolls Bayley up, with Jayne making a save. Giulia takes Jayne out but James thinks Giulia broke up the cover. Rodriguez Tejana Bombs James for the pin at 15:41.

Rating: B-. This was a fast enough paced match and it wound up going well, as I wasn’t sure who was going to win until the ending. That’s a good feeling to have, even if I’m really not big on the whole four way stuff. Rodriguez is a good choice to move on and while I don’t think she’s winning, at least she can serve as a solid monster for someone to beat.

Post match Giulia helps James up and James shoves her away, earning a beating from Giulia. If you want to give Giulia a big moment, this makes as much sense as anything else.

Sami Zayn rants to Johnny Gargano until Nick Aldis comes in. Aldis tells Zayn to stay out of Gunther and Cody Rhodes’ business. Aldis has someone else to talk to, in the form of the returning Chad Gable (who gets a ROAR).

Royce Keys vs. Talla Tonga

The rest of the MFT’s are here with Tonga. Keys slugs away to start but can’t get in the slam. Some running clotheslines put Tonga on the floor though and we take a break. We come back with Keys avoiding a running boot in the corner and firing off some clotheslines to the front and back. Keys still can’t slam him so he goes with a pounce instead, followed by the running powerslam (that’s how you build to the slam working). He has to go after the MFT’s though and Tonga hits a chokeslam for the fast pin at 8:01.

Rating: C+. This was pretty to the point with Keys fighting back against the monster and managing to hit the big slam. That was a simple story that worked perfectly well, as did the interference to cost Keys the win. I’m not sure if I’d have Keys losing again, but it seems like this is part of a feud that will keep going.

Post match the beatdown stays on but R-Truth runs in for the failed save attempt. Damian Priest has to save R-Truth and Keys is left laying.

Judgment Day praises Raquel Rodriguez on her win but Liv Morgan makes it all about herself again.

Video on Finn Balor, who is making his debut next week.

Damian Priest isn’t happy with the injured R-Truth getting involved, especially since he doesn’t trust Royce Keys. R-Truth insists that he’s ok and his brother, a doctor, told him. Priest says R-Truth doesn’t have a brother but R-Truth says he does, and said brother is a Doctor Of Thuganomics. That makes Priest walk off so here are the War Raiders (the new AAA Tag Team Champions), who seem to want a title shot. R-Truth has no idea who they are and walks off.

Here is Rhea Ripley, with her knee wrapped up and clearly limping, for a chat. She’s glad to put the Jade Cargill chapter behind her, but her knee is a bit banged up. The reality is Cargill blew her chance thanks to, I guess we’ll say a friend, helping Ripley. This brings out Charlotte (to quite the reaction) to say she’s had fun teaming with Ripley. The Queen Of The Ring is starting up though and she’s a competitor, so she’s coming for the title. Ripley doesn’t seem to mind but here is Tiffany Stratton to interrupt.

Charlotte thinks Stratton is here to apologize but Stratton is here to talk about Ripley’s title. This brings out Jade Cargill and company, who says Charlotte is next for her. Cargill doesn’t think much of Stratton either and the fight seems imminent. Cue Nick Aldis to say not so fast, if nothing else because Ripley isn’t cleared to compete. Charlotte suggests a tag match instead and we seem good to go.

Charlotte/Tiffany Stratton vs. Michin/Jade Cargill

Charlotte powers Michin into the corner to start but an O’Connor roll is blocked. The Figure Four necklock works a bit better and Michin gets rolled around. Stratton comes in with a basement dropkick but Cargill sends her flying with a fall away slam. A blind tag brings Charlotte back in though and a high crossbody takes Michin down again. Another crossbody from the apron hits B-Fab and Cargill but Michin is back up with a suicide dive to Charlotte as we take a break.

We come back with Charlotte dropping Michin but getting cheap shotted by Cargill. That means Michin can Styles Clash Charlotte, who is able to avoid a charge into the post. Stratton comes back in to a heck of a reaction and cleans house, with a Swanton getting two on Michin. Cargill is back in with a sitout powerbomb to Stratton and Charlotte posts Michin. Back in and Jaded is reversed into a rollup for two but a second attempt finishes Stratton at 12:20.

Rating: B. The crowd was on fire for this one and it made for a rather awesome atmosphere around a rather good match. Cargill gets some momentum back and you can see some pretty big matches coming up for the women’s division. It’s smart to give Cargill a win back, though it’s not a great sign to see a champion get pinned, even in a tag match.

Jacy Jayne rants to Fatal Influence about her loss and they take out some anger by jumping Brie Bella and Paige. They also hold up the Women’s Tag Team Titles. I’ll absolutely take that as a way to save us from this reign already.

Royce Keys thanks R-Truth for his help. R-Truth suggests that Damian Priest can help against the MFT’s, but Keys doesn’t think that’s going to work.

Ricky Saints vs. Carmelo Hayes

Saints jumps him before the bell but gets sent outside. That means a big running dive and frog splash for two on Saints before Hayes can even take his jacket off. Hayes clotheslines him out to the floor and we take a break. We come back with Saints hammering away and grabbing a bulldog for two.

Hayes reverses a northern lights suplex into a DDT though and they’re both down for a bit. They strike it out until Dirty Diana gives Hayes two more. Saints’ tornado DDT out of the corner gets the same but he gets caught in the First 48. Hayes loads up Nothing But Net and gets crotched down, followed by a crash out to the floor. That’s good for a nine and a half and Hayes hits a superkick, only to get rolled up for the pin (with tights) at 10:10.

Rating: B. Hayes is someone who can wrestle that fast paced style and make it look effortless, which is quite the talent. He’s incredibly smooth in the ring and that isn’t something you can just manufacture. Saints continues to find himself around here and a win over a former champion is a good step in the right direction.

Trick Williams says he is concerned with himself only and he isn’t worried who is coming after his title. Then he wants to win the King Of The Ring and he starts tonight. Bron Breakker comes in for a staredown.

Chelsea Green asks Tiffany Stratton why she didn’t ask for help tonight. Stratton said it was ok and has to go to the trainers instead of being in Green’s corner. Green’s disappointed face is great, as her one sided enthusiasm is working very well.

Blake Monroe is still coming and seems interested in Tiffany Stratton. Tiffy Time is about to run on Monroe Minutes.

Chelsea Green vs. Lash Legend

Nia Jax is here with legend. Green chops away to start and immediately has to run from a chasing Legend. Back in and Legend stomps her down for a splash with Jax getting in a cheap shot. Green’s sunset flip is blocked and a pump kick gives Legend two. Green fights up and seemingly accidentally takes Jax out before hitting a big dive onto both of them. Back in and a missile dropkick puts Legend down for two but the Unprettier is countered into the Lash Extension for the pin at 4:26.

Rating: C+. Green held her own in there for a bit but it would have been too far for her to be able to beat a monster like Legend, especially with Jax out there. The match showed what Green can do when she is allowed to actually open it up in the ring a bit and that’s a rare sight. The good thing is that the fans are already behind her and it’s easy to see why when she’s that talented.

We look at Jacob Fatu acknowledging Roman Reigns on Raw.

Solo Sikoa comes up to Royce Keys and says Keys needs some support. Sikoa talks about how he’s the only one to call Keys and they need to get ready for war. This seems to have Keys thinking, though Sikoa says to stop making this difficult or Sikoa will make it difficult.

Video on the mask vs. mask match from last weekend’s AAA. It’s worth seeing if you haven’t yet.

Rey Fenix is talking to Fraxiom when Chad Gable comes up. Gable talks about how he and Fenix had a match last year at Wrestlemania but Gable was doing it to mock lucha libre. He has since learned how great the Mexican culture is and wants to apologize. Fenix says he forgives Gable, but he’s not the only person Gable has to apologize to. The fans applauding Gable for what he said shows this thing is working well so far.

Cody Rhodes runs into Nick Aldis, who asks if the offer for a rematch with Gunther is still good. Rhodes says it absolutely is and he wanted to do it tonight but Gunther is already gone. Aldis has been talking to Gunther’s legal team (“They’re no fun.”) and Gunther wants a stipulation, which he’ll announce next week. That’s fine with Rhodes, but he doesn’t want to wait much longer, so the title match is two weeks from tonight. Works for Aldis. This was a rare case of a backstage conversation that actually sounded natural.

King Of The Ring First Round: Damian Priest vs. Trick Williams vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Bron Breakker

Non-title. Breakker immediately suplexes Williams to start fast and Mysterio bails out to the floor. Another suplex drops Priest and Breakker gives him a running clothesline. The big flying shoulder drops Mysterio on the floor and Breakker shows off by jumping from the floor onto the announcers’ table as we take a break.

We come back with everyone but Breakker fighting in the ring until Williams is knocked to the floor as well. Priest hammers on Mysterio and cuts off Breakker as he gets back inside. Williams and Breakker are sent to the floor again but Mysterio manages to kick away at Priest. Breakker is back in to super Frankensteiner Priest and gorilla press powerslam Mysterio.

Williams makes a save and slugs it out with Breakker with the former getting the better of things. A neckbreaker drops Priest and dang the fans like Williams. The Rock Bottom gives Williams two on Breakker with Priest making the save and taking over. Priest goes up top and gets double superplexed down and we take another break.

We come back with Breakker missing a charge into the post and Priest Razor’s Edges Mysterio. Liv Morgan offers a distraction though and Breakker is back up to wreck people. The spear hits Priest and Mysterio sends Breakker outside, with Williams getting two as Mysterio pulls the referee. Breakker clotheslines Williams through the announcers’ table and cue JD McDonagh to distract Priest. Morgan gets in a low blow and Mysterio’s 619 into the frog splash are enough to pin Priest at 16:53.

Rating: B-. I like Mysterio stealing the win, as it means he gets to face Oba Femi in the next round and that could be quite the situation. Priest losing again isn’t a great sign for him, as it’s kind of his designated role in these spots. At the same time, they might have something down the line with Williams vs. Breakker, which definitely had an aura to it that could go somewhere.

Overall Rating: B. The tournament stuff is giving the show a nice focus and I liked what the women were doing here too. Smackdown has turned around a good bit since Wrestlemania and that is a great sign, as those shows around that time were getting very hard to watch. You can’t do the tournament stuff forever, but it’s working well enough at the moment, with Rhodes vs. Gunther II looking like it has some major potential in a few weeks.

Results
Raquel Rodriguez b. Kiana James, Bayley and Jacy Jayne – Tejana Bomb to James
Talla Tonga b. Royce Keys – Chokeslam
Jade Cargill/Michin b. Charlotte/Tiffany Stratton – Jaded to Stratton
Ricky Saints b. Carmelo Hayes – Rollup with tights
Lash Legend b. Chelsea Green – Lash Extension
Dominik Mysterio b. Damian Priest, Trick Williams and Bron Breakker – Frog splash to Priest

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 1, 2026
Location: Inalpi Arena, Turin, Italy
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re still in Italy for an afternoon show in the eastern United States. Clash In Italy took place yesterday and Roman Reigns is still the World Champion, albeit now with Jacob Fatu under his thumb. That should help him as he could have an upcoming challenger via the King Of The Ring, which gets started this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Clash In Italy if you need a recap.

Clash In Italy recap.

Roman Reigns and the Usos arrive, minus Jacob Fatu. We pause for the fans to serenade them and yeah that’s a pretty cool moment. Reigns seems impressed as this goes on for at least a few minutes before he gets in the catchphrase. Reigns is happy that it’s acknowledgment daybut there’s no Fatu. Jey: “His first day on the job and he’s already late!”

Cue Fatu, in far more casual than usual clothes, with Reigns and Jey mocking him for taking too long. Fatu glares at Jey and then takes the microphone away, saying he’s taken a lot of losses over his career. Last night was another one and he knows there are consequences. His children saw their father take a loss last night but he’s going to be a man and keep his word. Last night he lost to his Tribal Chief, but he didn’t lose to Jey’s punk a**.

Fatu goes back to Reigns and officially acknowledges him, even taking a knee in front of him. Reigns takes Fatu’s hand and pulls him up, saying that Fatu might not understand this right now, but Reigns loves him. Jimmy says Fatu is with them now and they’re the ones, with the four of them doing the pose. It could take a bit, but this setting up the other three turning on Reigns, which could do well for everyone involved.

Video on King and Queen Of The Ring. The tournaments will be four four ways, with the winners going on to regular four person elimination brackets.

King Of The Ring First Round: Penta vs. Oba Femi vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Carmelo Hayes

Non-title and the MFT’s are here with Sikoa. Femi clears the ring to start and knocks Sikoa outside with a straight right hand. Femi follows him and dropkicks Hayes into the face. They switch places and Hayes hits the Fadewaway, only to dive into a superkick. Femi and Talla Talla Tonga have the big staredown on the floor and before Femi chokeslams Penta and Hayes.

We take a break and come back with Sikoa cleaning house until Femi drops him with a clothesline. Femi gets hit with the First 48 and is sent into the post, with Sikoa and the MFT’s taking him out on the floor. Penta and Hayes hit a dive each until Sikoa clotheslines Penta back inside. The Penta Driver gets two on Hayes and everyone is down. Femi is back up though and starts cleaning house, including a spinebuster to Penta. Talla Tonga is tossed onto the announcers’ table and the Fall From Grace finishes Sikoa at 8:57.

Rating: B. The ending was OBA SMASH and that’s all it needed to be. Femi needed a dominant win after what happened at Clash In Italy and while I don’t know if he wins the whole tournament, he was treated like a huge deal here. It didn’t feel like Femi got lucky, as much as he just ran through everyone to win.

Post match Femi talks about Brock Lesnar asking if he could take a beating. Well here he is after 7 F5’s and now he’s going to be King Of The Ring. Lesnar needs to remember that they’re 1-1 so they’ll see each other again.

Video on Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker, which takes place again tonight.

Here is new Women’s Intercontinental Champion Sol Ruca for a chat. Ruca is asked if she believed she would get here and thanks the fans for believing in her. She also thanks Becky Lynch for giving her a chance, but then she proved Lynch wrong. And it’s not just hear saying it either! She’ll be a fighting champion and you shouldn’t underestimate her because she’ll snatch your soul. She even gets some pyro to wrap it up.

After last night’s show, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns had a silent staredown.

Reigns wants the Usos to keep an eye on Rhodes. For now though, he wants Jey Uso to go be King Of The Ring and go on to Summerslam to get the other World Title. Jimmy is staying with Reigns though because Jey has to do this on his own.

Rey Mysterio/Dragon Lee vs. Ethan Page/Rusev

Rusev stomps Lee down into the corner to start and it’s off to Page, who gets sent into the corner. Lee’s wrecking ball dropkick hits Lee in the corner, setting up a running dropkick for two. Rusev comes back in and gets rolled up for two before Lee looks over to Mysterio for quite the reaction. Page breaks up the tag though (that was a great evil thing to do) and Lee gets planted as we take a break.

We come back with Page breaking up Lee’s tag attempt. That doesn’t last long though as Lee gets over to Mysterio for the big tag so house can be cleaned. Everything breaks down and Page sends Mysterio into Lee, allowing him to grab a rollup for two. Page’s Boston crab has to be broken up and Lee suicide dives Rusev. That leaves Mysterio to 619 Page into the slingshot splash for the pin at 11:34.

Rating: B-. This was just a way to get Mysterio in the ring in front of the international crowd and they more than seemed to appreciate it. That was how the match should have gone and while I could have gone with Rusev taking the pin over Page, this was pretty nice stuff. If nothing else, Mysterio can still more than go in the ring and it’s more impressive every week.

Adam Pearce talks to Penta and gives him the Intercontinental Title match against Rey Mysterio. Penta approves and leaves when LA Knight comes in. Knight isn’t happy with how much attention Pearce has been giving to Roman Reigns, so maybe we need to get Pearce his own Honorary Uce shirt.

Maybe Knight can bring Pearce out of retirement so he can put him back in it. Knight thinks Pearce is trying to get the Bloodline back together and even mocks the finger point before storming off. The thing that made this work is how natural Knight sounded. It felt like he was told “here’s why you’re mad at Pearce, get this point over, go talk.” That’s a great way to go and it worked here, as Knight can talk with the best of them.

Commentary talks about the Mask vs. Mask match from last weekend’s AAA show, with the match airing again after Raw on Netflix. Watch it if you haven’t seen it.

We get some highlights of the mask vs. mask match.

Queen Of The Ring First Round: Lash Legend vs. Giulia vs. Iyo Sky vs. Roxanne Perez

Legend catches Giulia to start but gets dropkicked down by Sky. Perez is in to go after Sky but Legend picks up Perez and Sky, with Giulia dropkicking everyone down for a change. We take a break and come back with Legend being pulled out to the floor, leaving Sky to Bullet Train Perez and Giulia in the corner.

Legend is back in with a choke to Sky but Giulia breaks it up with the running knee. Perez takes Giulia and Sky down at the same time, followed by the cartwheel knee to Sky’s head for two. Giulia takes Sky up top but Perez breaks it up, only for Legend to double powerbomb not-Sky. A Lash Extension drops Giulia and Perez but Sky makes the save. Over The Moonsault gives Sky the pin on Giulia at 10:36.

Rating: B-. Sky possibly moving back to the title picture is a good way to go as she feels like a major star. At the same time, Giulia continues to just kind of float around aimlessly and Perez will more than likely be going back to tagging. That leaves Legend, who has turned into a pretty decent power monster. I’m rather impressed with her transformation, as she looked more than capable in there this time.

Maxxine Dupri isn’t happy about not being in the Queen Of The Ring but Adam Pearce says she’s the first choice if a spot opens up. The Alpha Academy warn her about hanging out with Austin Theory, because he’s bad news. She insists she’s got this.

We get a video on Danhausen cursing ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and the New York Knicks, who then went on a losing streak, then uncursed them, and then they went on a 7-0 winning streak and went on to the NBA Finals. This is the definition of “let’s run with this” and it’s working.

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria want the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Valkyria goes over to Sol Ruca and praises her for ending the Becky Lynch reign of terror. Valkyria gets a title shot out of this and Bayley isn’t thrilled.

Roxanne Perez rants about her loss when Liv Morgan comes in to brag about how she’s going to win the tournament. Raquel Rodriguez has to help her get the hint and Perez doesn’t seem happy about not getting any help. Morgan says she and Dominik Mysterio are winning the tournaments, seemingly forgetting that Rodriguez and JD McDonagh are entered as well.

Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker

Paul Heyman is here with Breakker. Rollins strikes away to start but gets suplexed down for his efforts. Breakker is sent outside, where’ he’s able to toss Rollins over the barricade as we take an early break. We come back with Breakker continuing to wreck Rollins, including the array of suplexes. They head outside with Breakker sending Rollins into the announcers’ table and clearing both tables off.

Rollins uses the delay to fight up and take over, with a running knee hitting Breakker back inside. Breakker is fine enough to run the corner and snap off a super Frankensteiner for two, leaving the frustration levels high. They go outside again with Rollins going onto the announcers’ table and diving at a diving Breakker for a midair collision.

We take a break and come back again with Breakker hammering Rollins in the corner, only to get reversed into a not great looking powerbomb for two. Rollins superplexes him down but has to reverse Breakker’s suplex into a small package for two more. The spear drops Rollins and they go outside again, with the diving spear being countered into a Pedigree through the announcers’ table.

Back in and cue Austin Theory for a distraction, but Montez Ford runs in to take him out. Another spear gives Breakker another two, as does Rollins’ stomp as Heyman puts the foot on the rope. Rollins goes after Heyman, who accidentally gets speared through the barricade. Breakker knows he screwed up and tries another spear but Rollins has grabbed a title belt, with Breakker knocking himself out. Another Stomp gives Rollins the pin at 22:24.

Rating: B. This got wild near the end and you know it’s a big deal if Heyman takes a bump. That’s likely going to get rid of him for at least a good while and I’m not really sure where that leaves a lot of things. The match was pretty much the traditional post PPV PPV level main event, which caps off the weekend nicely enough. It absolutely could have been on Clash, but then how else would you get in four more ads?

Rollins points at Ford and implies he wants Roman Reigns’ title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was more about setting things up for later, with the opening segment saying “Fatu is with the Bloodline”, the main event being about getting rid of Heyman, and two of the three other matches being starts to tournaments. That’s only so much of a show and while it wasn’t bad, it was a pretty skippable show. Not bad, but you’re better off reading a recap than watching the whole thing.

Results
Oba Femi b. Solo Sikoa, Carmelo Hayes and Penta – Fall From Grace to Sikoa
Rey Mysterio/Dragon Lee b. Rusev/Ethan Page – Slingshot splash to Page
Iyo Sky b. Giulia, Lash Legend and Roxanne Perez – Over The Moonsault to Giulia
Seth Rollins b. Bron Breakker – Stomp

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: May 18, 2026
Location: First Horizon Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

It’s the last show before Saturday Night’s Main Event and that only means so much for Raw. The big story continues to be Roman Reigns dealing with the force that is Jacob Fatu, though they don’t have another match set up just yet. There is still time to add it here, but there is also the option of sending it to Turin for Clash In Italy later this month. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of last week’s brawl between Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu, with Fatu leaving the champ laying.

Adam Pearce stops Reigns as he comes in, saying if Reigns had listened to him last week, none of that would happen. Reigns says that doesn’t matter because he’s calling Fatu out right now. Pearce wants Fatu fired but they’re cut off by Fatu coming to the arena. There were some very loud echoes in this segment for some reason.

Here is Fatu to call out Reigns but he gets the Usos instead. Jey comes out with a chair but Jimmy tries to keep the peace, as is his custom. Jimmy calls out Fatu for not thinking and costing himself last week. Fatu attacked management and now he’s about to get fired. Then what? Is Fatu going to go back to being his old self to help his family then? Jey goes after him but gets knocked down, with Fatu grabbing the Tongan Death Grip on Jimmy. Jey’s chair shot has no effect so he gets Death Gripped as well.

This brings out Reigns and the big fight is on, with Reigns even throwing in a big boot. The Superman Punch is countered into the Tongan Death Grip and the Usos have to make the save. A Superfly Splash and 1D put Fatu down and the Usos tie him in the ropes. Some Superman Punches and the spear leave Fatu out and here is Pearce. Reigns says something to him and Pearce seems ready to fire Fatu….who wants Tribal Combat. Pearce tries to calm things down but Reigns is in. No word on when that takes place but Fatu winning the title wouldn’t be the craziest thing.

Video on Judgment Day turning on Finn Balor, with JD McDonagh wanting revenge on him for turning on him after so many years. This feels a lot like a video they’ve aired between them before.

JD McDonagh vs. Finn Balor

Street fight so they go right outside with Balor whipping him into various things. The kendo sticks and chairs are brought in and McDonagh gets in a few shots of his own to take over. Balor sends him hard into the chair in the corner and it’s time for a table, only for McDonagh to suicide dive him for taking too long. They fight out into the crowd with Balor whipping him into an equipment case. McDonagh drives him right back into it as well and hits a hue moonsault off of the case as we take a break.

We come back with Balor planting McDonagh but walking into a release Rock Bottom onto the chair. A nice looking standing moonsault gives McDonagh two but Balor is back with the Sling Blade. McDonagh is knocked through the table in the corner and Balor goes up. The Coup de Grace misses though and McDonagh knees him down for two. The top rope moonsault hits Balor for two so McDonagh puts him on another table.

That takes way too long though and Balor switches places, only for Dominik Mysterio to run in and break up the Coup de Grace. A top rope superplex sends Balor through the table for two (and a roar on the kickout). Mysterio loads up the 619 but Balor switches places and McDonagh gets kicked in the face instead. Mysterio is knocked outside and it’s a Coup de Grace to a trashcan to McDonagh for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: B. This got a good bit better near the end, with McDonagh fighting hard to hang in there with the much more accomplished star. Mysterio’s interference costing McDonagh and the team in the end is pretty much par for his course these days and I’m not sure how long that can last. At the same time, I’m not sure what the endgame for Balor is supposed to be. He’s already beaten Mysterio, so what is he supposed to finish the feud for good?

We look at Seth Rollins helping the Street Profits last week but they aren’t interested.

Rollins says he has to finish things with the Vision and sometimes the best thing to do is run right at your problem. He hasn’t had a match on Raw in about nine months so we should remedy that tonight. Tonight he has been given the main event slot and he wants to face anyone on the team. He’d like it to be Bron Breakker, who says he can do it on his own, but what is Breakker? A nepo baby or everything that he is supposed to be? Tonight is Breakker’s chance to show Rollins who he really is. This was more intense than usual from Rollins and it worked.

Sol Ruca is excited to have done well in her limited time around here but Becky Lynch interrupts. Lynch doesn’t think much of Ruca’s efforts thus far and she hasn’t even faced the best. Ruca should go back to NXT, which she says she’ll do. Lynch calls her a quitter and here is Ruca in the arena.

Ruca is in the ring and gets right to the point by calling Lynch out. This brings out Lynch, who wants to know what Ruca is trying. Ruca wants to face Lynch right here tonight but gets shot down. Lynch goes into her catchphrase and Ruca is already sick of it, prompting Lynch to start over. After we hear about all of the people Lynch has dealt with already, she agrees to let Ruca face her at Saturday Night’s Main Event, with Ruca making it a title match. That’s too far for Lynch, who says Ruca hasn’t earned a shot yet (fair) so we won’t be doing that yet.

The Vision ask Paul Heyman about Saturday Night’s Main Event but Bron Breakker comes in to say make the match with Seth Rollins for tonight. Heyman says Austin Theory should do it instead so Breakker asks Theory and Logan Paul to leave. Breakker insists he can beat Rollins and while Heyman agrees, he points out that Rollins will be busy tonight and Breakker will know it in advance. Breakker approves.

Original El Grande Americano/Los Hermanos Americanos vs. El Grande Americano/Los Americanos

Tornado rules and in advance: I’m going to get these people mixed up more than once. Julio strikes away at Rayo to start ast he other four brawl on the floor. A fall away slam sends Rayo flying and it’s Grande coming in to slug it out with Original. The ankle lock has Grande in trouble but Rayo comes in for the save.

Los Americanos crotch Original against the post and we pause for some dancing. Bravo walks across some backs for a hurricanrana to Bruto but Julio is back up for a dive. Grande and Original hit dives of their own and everyone is down at ringside. Back in and Original hits Bravo with a top rope superplex for two and we take a break.

We come back with Original suplexing Los Americanos at the same time and then suplexing Grande for two. A top rope headbutt gets two on Bravo but Julio’s 450 misses. That’s enough for Grande and the Americanos to load up their masks but the other three hit stereo German suplexes. Graves: “There are no Germans in the ring Cole. We have six Mexicans!” A triple moonsault gets a triple near fall on Grande and Los Americanos but Bruto gets headbutted down. Grande’s running headbutt, with two more from Los Americanos, gets the pin at 10:38.

Rating: B-. This was another wild match, though I have no idea who the good guys were supposed to be. It’s perfectly clear in Mexico, but here things aren’t as simple. The match was a lot of fun and fairly wild, which made up for trying to figure all of that out. They need to wrap it up though, as this feud is going to start losing steam in a hurry otherwise.

Whataburger delivers to the Alpha Academy. Dang it now I want Whataburger.

We look back at the Bloodline vs. Jacob Fatu brawl earlier. Tribal Combat is set for Clash In Italy.

Video on Tribal Combat.

The Usos know what Tribal Combat is all about but here is LA Knight to interrupt. Jimmy says not now but Knight asks “or what”. Knight calls them out for doing the same things the three of them beat up the Vision for doing at Wrestlemania so what’s the difference? The Usos aren’t happy.

Ethan Page sits down with Michael Cole and brags about himself, including via a pre-written statement. Cole has to praise Page’s jawline but can’t get over Page wanting to rename the Intercontinental Title as the “Ethan Page Championship”. Cole can’t do this anymore and asks why Page acts like this. Cole praises Page’s skills but thinks his ego will cost him on Saturday. Page calls it confidence rather than ego and he’ll prove it at Saturday Night’s Main Event. To say Page is nailing it so far would be a drastic understatement. He’s slid into this role perfectly and it’s working very well.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Paige/Brie Bella vs. Judgment Day

Judgment Day, with Liv Morgan, is challenging. Paige throws Perez down to start and it’s off to Bella, who is knocked down just as fast. Rodriguez takes over and hands it back to Perez, who mocks the YES chant. That just fires Bella up and she fires off the YES Kicks, with Rodriguez breaking them up. Paige’s dive is cut off and she’s swung into the barricade as we take a break.

We come back with Bella getting the tag and cleaning house but Rodriguez cuts her off. The spinning Vader Bomb is cut off and a double powerbomb brings Rodriguez back down. Perez takes Paige out though and Bella goes up, only for Morgan to shove her off. That’s enough for the big ejection so the title is brought in. Bella cuts that off and rolls Perez up to retain at 10:14.

Rating: C. And it continues. I know Paige and Bella are set for the title match against the Irresistible Forces but they continue to drain the life out of me every time they’re on screen. It’s not like they have some big, deep history together and Bella wasn’t exactly good on her best days. Now they’re the best team in a division which is actually getting pretty good? That’s quite a lot to take and it’s not exactly working for me.

Post match the Judgment Day jump the champs but Bayley and Lyra Valkyria make the save.

LA Knight comes up to Seth Rollins and says he can do this himself tonight, but it’s going to go badly. He needs help, so have fun getting stomped out.

Penta is sick of Ethan Page wanting the Intercontinental Title all for himself. He’ll take care of Page on Saturday.

Here is Oba Femi for his open challenge…and BROCK LESNAR RUNS IN to lay him out with four straight F5’s. Well that worked. I wasn’t completely sold on Lesnar being gone, but I didn’t expect him to come back on a pretty random Raw. Nice job.

Post break Adam Pearce is livid and Paul Heyman comes in. Pearce demands to know what happened but Heyman says Lesnar is retired. Heyman pulls out a contract, already signed by Lesnar, to face Femi at Clash In Italy. Pearce seems confused but interested.

Saturday Night’s Main Event rundown.

The Street Profits are ready for the Vision because they have the vision of winning the Tag Team Titles. Angelo Dawkins is distracted though and Montez Ford tells him to go. Dawkins goes over to Seth Rollins to thank him for last week. Rollins thanks him for that and apologizes for Dawkins getting taken out. For now though, he has a match of his own.

Seth Rollins vs. Austin Theory

Rollins jumps the Vision on the floor to start and hammers on Theory inside to start fast. Back in and Rollins stays on Theory, including a buckle bomb to knock him silly. Theory fights back and manages to send the ankle into the post, which should weaken the Stomp. Paul goes after Rollins and Theory crotches Rollins on the barricade as we take a break.

We come back with Rollins chopping away and countering the rolling dropkick into a sitout powerbomb for two. Rollins knocks him down again and loads up a super Stomp, only for Paul to shove Rollins down. Theory’s Stomp gets two so Paul slips him the knuckles, with Rollins superkicking Theory instead. Now Rollins gets the knuckles, with Paul pointing them out. Rollins grabs a Pedigree for the pin instead at 12:57.

Rating: B-. This was more about keeping the story moving forward than some big match and that’s all it needed to be. The idea was that Rollins was in over his head but at the end of the day, beating Theory in a singles match isn’t that difficult. If nothing else, I do appreciate Rollins mixing it up with the Pedigree for the pin for a change. That made sense and it worked.

Post match Paul comes in for the beatdown so here is Angelo Dawkins, followed by Montez Ford, for the save. Ford hits a big flip dive and tries to talk Dawkins out of this, only for Bron Breakker to run in and give Ford a Super Spear. Rollins makes the save but Paul grabs his leg, allowing Breakker to cut him in half as well. Security comes out but Breakker drops Rollins again before finally being pulled away. Adam Pearce threatens the Vision and they leave smiling to end the show. Kind of a weak ending.

Overall Rating: B-. This was the “oh dang, we’ve got two shows in less than two weeks so we need to hurry up” week and it went pretty well. The ending wasn’t the greatest, but the matches they set up look good enough. The big appeal here was the Lesnar return though, which was a rare genuine shock and that’s a very nice feeling to have. They’re blitzing to Saturday and Italy but I’ll take a rapid fire build over nothing at all.

Results
Finn Balor b. JD McDonagh – Coup de Grace to a trashcan
El Grande Americano/Los Americanos b. Original El Grande Americano/Los Hermanos Americans – Triple headbutt to Bruto
Brie Bella/Paige b. Judgment Day – Rollup to Perez
Seth Rollins b. Austin Theory – Pedigree

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: May 11, 2026
Location: Food City Center, Knoxville, Tennessee
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re done with Backlash and Roman Reigns is still World Champion but he might not be done with Jacob Fatu. While Reigns retained the title, Fatu attacked him again after the match and left him laying. Other than that, we are on the way to Saturday Night’s Main Event in less than two weeks so let’s get to it.

Here is Backlash if you need a recap.

Backlash recap.

Roman Reigns arrives and meets with Adam Pearce, who says Jacob Fatu isn’t here. Reigns asks for his title, which is apparently held for him at the venue. With the title back, Reigns wants Fatu fired, but that won’t be happening. Reigns says he brought Fatu in so he’ll be the one taking him out. With that, Reigns heads into his dressing room.

Here is the Vision for a chat. Paul Heyman insults the “inbred” fans and moves on to Seth Rollins, who was defeated at Backlash. Rollins is never going to be ready for a vision over any of the team. Bron Breakker defeated Rollins, and now we move on to the Tag Team Champions. Austin Theory says the Street Profits need the titles because Bianca Belair can’t pay the bills anymore.

On top of that there is Joe Hendry…and here are the Profits to interrupt. After Montez Ford sucks up to the Knoxville crowd, he makes it clear: they still want the titles. Logan Paul says the only thing Ford has done in the last six months organize a baby shower. Logan says Belair is better than Ford (he nods) and the Vision is ready but as he says his name, here is Hendry to sing about getting him fired. And now, for the scheduled six man.

The Vision vs. Street Profits/Joe Hendry

We’re joined in progress with Dawkins in trouble but he brings in Ford for a change. Breakker comes in as well though and hits a crazy fast clothesline, followed by a suplex for two. Ford gets launched into Paul’s uppercut for two but he’s able to get over to Hendry. That goes just as badly as Breakker takes over on him as we take a break.

We come back with Hendry suplexing his way out of trouble and bringing Ford back in to clean house. The big flip dive connects on the floor but Breakker is back up. Dawkins is sent outside for the big running spear but Seth Rollins pops up to clothesline Breakker. Back in and Dawkins gets the quick rollup pin on Theory at 9:17.

Rating: C+. This was in fact a six man with some interference to wrap it up. I’d bet on the Profits getting the title shot either at Saturday Night’s Main Event or Clash In Italy, though I’m not sure where that leaves Hendry. He seems to be mainly dealing with Paul, which is kind of weird while Paul is in a tag team. Rollins vs. Breakker is clearly not done though, so expect some kind of a big violent rematch and then a third match down the line.

Post match Rollins helps up a skeptical Dawkins, who gets speared by Breakker anyway. Ford isn’t happy at all.

The Original El Grande Americano introduces Bruto and Julio to Adam Pearce but Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan come in. Morgan isn’t impressed and Mysterio says Americano isn’t even a real luchador. Americano isn’t happy but Pearce gives him a AAA Mega Title shot. With that out of the way, Los Garza come in to say they’re looking for an opportunity on Raw. Pearce is interested.

Here is Penta, who heard what Ethan Page has been saying about him. He wants Page to say it to his face so here is Page to interrupt. Page says he would love to say it to his face but there’s a mask and paint covering it up. Instead, Page stands here with nothing hiding his face (save for the glasses of course) and is from the greatest country in the world.

Penta is ready to fight right now but Page points out that he’s not in wrestling gear. Page says that both he and the title both deserve a bigger spotlight, like say at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Penta seems ready to agree but here is Rusev to interrupt instead. Rusev doesn’t like Penta but Page tries to cut him off.

Apparently Page doesn’t want to skip the line, but Je’Von Evans went to see Adam Pearce and asked for a title shot over Rusev. Evans even asked why Rusev can get a title shot when he can’t beat Evans in the first place. This brings out Evans, who denies saying all of that but gets shoved into Rusev. Penta takes out Page on the floor while Evans clears Rusev out and hits a suicide dive. Back in and Page and Penta both do the latter’s strut. You know why this worked? You had four people who all want the same thing and they’re jockeying for it. That’s always going to work in wrestling.

Je’Von Evans vs. Rusev

We’re joined in progress with Rusev firing off some shots to the face and back. Rusev slowly knocks him around and then puts him on top. Evans gets in a shot of his own and a dropkick gets him out of trouble. A springboard hurricanrana has Rusev in trouble but the suicide dive is broken up. Rusev tosses Evans onto the announcers’ table and we take a break.

We come back with Rusev yelling at Evans, who fires off a clothesline. A spinning kick to the head in the corner has Rusev in trouble but he gets in some more forearms to the back. Rusev kicks him down for two but the Accolade is blocked. Evans gets in a kick to the floor for a great looking no hands dive. The OG Cutter finishes Rusev for the clean pin at 10:22.

Rating: B. They had me wondering what was going to happen here, as it was hard to imagine Evans actually beating Rusev. That being said, the match followed a well done story with Evans fighting through the pain and coming from behind to win. They’re going to mess around and turn this guy into a star, which is exactly what should be happening with someone that talented.

Video on the AAA Mega Title.

Asuka comes up to hug Iyo Sky and wants Sky to take her place. They have a big hug and a smiling Asuka leaves, taking her bag with her. So that seems to be it for Asuka for the most part.

Here are Brie Bella and Paige, who are here to answer the challenge from the Judgment Day. Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez come out, with Perez talking about how she was asked to take on the Bellas’ legacy. How dare the Bellas set the bar that low? Bella says the low bar would be Liv Morgan, and the only person who is that disappointed is Perez’s MOM.

Rodriguez calms things down and mocks Paige, who is just waiting for her next disaster. The fight is on, with Liv Morgan running in to help so the villains can stand tall. Well mainly Rodriguez stands tall but her friends stand next to her. Please change the titles, as I do not have the vocabulary to express how uninterested I am in Paige and Bella as a team. Also Bella insulting Perez’s mom? Come on.

Jimmy Uso talks to Roman Reigns about dealing with Jacob Fatu. Reigns says Fatu has to acknowledge him because they had a contract. Uso still isn’t sure about it.

Video on Dominik Mysterio as AAA Mega Champion.

Rhea Ripley NXT Origins video.

Iyo Sky vs. Sol Ruca

Feeling out process to start as commentary explains that they don’t know much about what Asuka is doing but she seems to be stepping away a bit. Ruca slams her down and surfs on Sky’s back but Sky dropkicks her out of a handstand. Sky is sent outside, where she avoids a step up moonsault and hurricanranas Ruca down.

Something like an apron 619 hits Sky though and a springboards corkscrew crossbody connects as we take a break. We come back with Sky hitting a super Spanish Fly for two, leaving both of them down. Ruca is back up with a fireman’s carry swung into a sitout powerbomb for two of her own.

Sky missile dropkicks her into the corner but misses the Bullet Train Attack. Ruca sends her into the corner again, where a cartwheel DDT plants Sky for two more. That leaves Ruca stunned for a change so Sky sends her into the corner for the Bullet Train Attack. Over The Moonsault hits raised knees though and the Sol Snatcher….misses as Sky stops short (on purpose), catching Ruca in a crucifix to give Sky the pin at 12:27.

Rating: B-. That ending was great as I thought they had botched it at first but it was really just well timed. Sky basically caught the younger Ruca going for a big move and pinned her, which is what a veteran should be doing. At the same time, I’m not wild on Ruca taking a fall like this, especially not when she seems to be gearing up to face Becky Lynch.

Post match, respect is shown.

We look at Jacob Fatu attacking Roman Reigns after their match at Backlash.

Jey Uso is waiting on Fatu when Jimmy Uso comes up. Reigns said that was terrible but Fatu has to acknowledge him.

We recap the announcement of the John Cena Classic, which is apparently a fan voted competition where wins and losses might not matter. We still have no details on when or where this will take place.

Saturday Night’s Main Event rundown, with the Street Profits challenging for the Tag Team Titles and Penta defending the Intercontinental Title against Ethan Page.

The Profits are happy with the news but Seth Rollins interrupt. If they want the titles, Rollins thinks they need to talk, but Ford says there is no “we” between the three of them. Rollins apologizes, though Ford doesn’t trust him and says they don’t need his help. Dawkins looks at Rollins and walks off.

Iyo Sky congratulates Sol Ruca and says they’ll meet again. Ruca says she looks forward to it and Sky parts in peace. Becky Lynch comes up to mock Ruca.

Here is Oba Femi for an open challenge but Adam Pearce interrupts….because no one has answered the challenge. Therefore, there is no challenge, which does not sit well with Femi. He goes to the back and kidnaps Los Garza (who were sitting with some random women) to bring them to the ring. They’re in street clothes but we have a referee anyway.

Oba Femi vs. Los Garza

Femi hits some running elbows in the corner and tosses Angel over Berto. With Angel on the floor, Berto gets tossed as well, setting up the Fall From Grace to finish Berto at 50 seconds.

The Original El Grande Americano wants the AAA Mega Title.

JD McDonagh is walking Dominik Mysterio to the ring when Finn Balor jumps McDonagh from behind. Balor says Mysterio has to do this on his own.

AAA Mega Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. Original El Grande Americano

Mysterio is defending. Americano starts fast with a springboard armdrag into a bridging northern lights suplex for two. The armbar keeps Mysterio in trouble but he sends Americano crashing over the top and out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Americano hitting an Angle Slam, followed by a moonsault for two.

Mysterio is right back up with a Michinoku Driver for two of his own but Americano sends him flying into the corner. A dragon suplex gives Americano two more so here are Los Americanos for a distraction. Mysterio’s tornado DDT gets two but Los Hermanos Americanos come out for a distraction. El Grande Americano offers a distraction of his own, allowing Mysterio to hit a 619 into the frog splash to retain at 9:15.

Rating: B. This was how a match between the two of them should have gone, with all kinds of people running in to screw with it. Mysterio’s big matches work best with all of the gaga going around and that’s what we had here. The battle of the Americanos is a huge story in Mexico and while it doesn’t mean as much here, at least they’re getting to do something with all of the talent that they have.

The Vision is sick of Joe Hendry, with Logan Paul threatening to cut his ear off if he has to listen to Hendry’s song about him. And they leave, with a woman in the front seat of their car that might have been Maxxine Dupri.

Here are Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso for the acknowledgment ceremony. After Reigns’ catchphrase, Jacob Fatu arrives, with Jey Uso trying to talk him out of the likely violence. That earns Jey a headbutt, with Fatu saying that Reigns is going to have to beat the acknowledgment out of him. Jimmy tries to calm Fatu down and gets beaten up in the aisle for his efforts.

Fatu hits the ring and the fight is on, with Reigns managing to knock him down and grab a chair. The big beatdown is on but the spear is cut off by a superkick. Fatu gets the Tongan Death Grip and sends Reigns outside for the suicide dive. With Reigns down, Fatu shouts about how Reigns left his family for dead. The announcers’ table is loaded up but Reigns hits a Superman Punch.

A second edition is countered into the Tongan Death Grip, followed by a powerbomb through the table. Fatu holds up the title to…well just tease ending the show actually as he runs back to Umaga Attack Reigns and the Usos through the barricade. Now the show ends with the Bloodline laid out. I’m not wild on the feud continuing after Reigns beat him at Backlash, but that’s a good way to show that Fatu is still a threat.

Overall Rating: B. This was a solid show, though it did show that Backlash was little more than a pit stop and not any kind of a game changer. A lot of the feuds are just continuing forward, which makes me think that Reigns vs. Fatu should have been a double DQ or something. Other than that, I liked the wrestling well enough and Saturday Night’s Main Event is already being set up. They have to do it that fast with just a twelve day turnaround, but at least they’re off to a good start.

Results
Street Profits/Joe Hendry b. The Vision – Theory
Je’Von Evans b. Rusev – OG Cutter
Iyo Sky b. Sol Ruca – Crucifix
Oba Femi b. Los Garza – Fall From Grace to Berto
Dominik Mysterio b. Original El Grande Americano – Frog splash

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