Happy Victoria Day to my fellow Canadians; however, for the wrestling world, it’s still a regular night of the greatest entertainment show created. With the weekend coming up, one-half of The King and Queen finals will be set tonight.
We start off tonight’s WWE Monday Night Raw with a preview of tonight’s matchups.
Then comes the entrance of WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn.
The Canadian talks about his beef with Chad Gable and how he feels betrayed. He also talks about his other opponent at King & Queen of The Ring, Bronson Reed. He says that it is now personal to him. He continues to ramble on and says he will remain WWE Intercontinental Champion.
The leader of Alpha Academy comes with his pupils. He mentions selflessly coaching Zayn against Gunther, and then he continues his monologue, going off on Maxxine Dupri, Otis, and Akira Tozawa.
Zayn stops the harassment, asking Alpha Academy when they will stop listening to Gable.
The former challenger then tells the current WWE Intercontinental Champion that he will take his soul.
That is when it is revealed the two will have a showdown right then.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable
The match gets underway with Gable trying to use his strength to an advantage, but Zayn gets control of the driver’s seat. The champion clotheslines Gable out of the ring. Alpha Academy then tries to help up their leader, but he brushes them off.
Back into the ring, The former U.S Olympian is having his way with Zayn.
Gable strangles Zayn into the ropes and then gives a signal to Dupri to slap Zayn while he distracts the referee. This leaves Dupri conflicted and ultimately doesn’t do it. She leaves Gable disappointed.
The leader of Alpha Academy tries getting his pupils involved again; this time, it’s Tozawa, but he refuses. After a quick back-and-forth between the rivals, Gable demands Dupri and Tozawa leave and calls them losers — how ironic.
Zayn then takes advantage of the distracted contender and completes a Blue Thunder Bomb. Gable kicks out.
Gable then hits the WWE Intercontinental Champion with back-to-back German suplexes, and Zayn pays him back with two of his own.
Zayn tried for another Blue Thunder Bomb, but it was unsuccessful again. He then tries to set up for a Helluva kick but is caught and put in an ankle lock.
After the hurt, Zayn escapes outside the ring, and Gable demands Otis to do what the other members didn’t. However, he doesn’t. Gable then puts Zayn back into the ring but has a conversation with Otis. He then smacks the crap out of Otis.
Zayn then tries to set up a Helluva Kick but then comes Otis. He clotheslines Zayn while the referee is checking on Gable. This leads Gable to win through a Chaos Suplex.
Winner: Chad Gable via pinfall
Gable then taunts, saying, “I did it,” — couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Bron Breakker vs. Kale Dixon
Once the bell rings, Bron Breakker speaks to the crowd, complaining that he wasn’t in the King of The Ring Tournament. He then spears the former Bachelorette contestant, tosses him out of the ring, and basically spears Dixon in half.
The referee then sees that Dixon can no longer continue the match and calls it.
Winner: Bron Breakker via decision
Even after the match was over, the young man was not finished. As the official was helping Dixon up, Bron Breakker charged up again and hit him with another spear.
Breakker continues his assault by almost hitting the steel staircase. However, he changes his mind and uses a chair to smash Dixon’s head on it.
This leads to Raw General Manager Adam Pearce appearing and confronting Bron Breakker. Dixon exits on the stretcher — scary stuff right there.
After Dixon is put into the ambulance, Pearce confronts Bron Breakker again. He tells Pearce that he doesn’t control him and that this incident is on Pearce.
Queen of The Ring Semifinals: Iyo Sky vs. Lyra Valkyria
Before Lyra Valkyria enters the ring, the WWE Women’s World Champion Becky Lynch tells her that it’s her time.
‘The Genius of The Sky’ shows off her experience as she takes quick control; however, Valkyria matches her energy and gets her own momentum.
The former WWE Women’s Champion continues to control the match. Sky tortures Valkyria, attempting to break every single body part. Sky tries to end the match many times but hasn’t been able to get a two-count.
Valkyria then counters Sky, getting a run started. She hits Sky with a combination of kicks. Valkyria then displays her own expertise in the realm of the sky. She takes flight with a flying crossbody and drops Sky on her back.
1-2-NO!
Valkyria continues her run until Sky is given space. The two go back and forth with pin and submission attempts, but neither gets the job done yet. Sky’s nose begins to bleed, which leads her to show off why she’s called ‘The Genius of The Sky.’
Valkyria loses her momentum, and Sky takes advantage. In what looks like the end, Sky sets up her famous Moonsault. Valkyria stops it but gets powerbombed, trying to perform her own move. Sky goes for a Moonsault once more, but no one is home.
Iyo tries to escape an Attitude adjustment maneuver with a pin attempt, but it is reversed to a pin attempt by Valkyria.
1-2-3!
A major upset in the tournament has concluded.
Winner: Lyra Valkyria via pinfall
Jackie Redmond joins the centre of the squared circle to interview Valyria, but before any questions can happen, Iyo Sky takes the microphone and shouts at the winner in Japanese — caught me off guard haha.
Backstage, we visit R-Truth and The Miz talking about concentration. R-Truth says that he spoke to Andre The Giant for help but The Miz tries to explain that he passed. It was a pretty funny segment — like many R-Truth moments.
In another part of the arena. Ricochet gets speared by Bron Breakker; he continues to send a message to WWE management and roster that he shouldn’t be messed with.
Gunther also tells Jey Uso that although he is the greatest showman on Raw, he will be the greater man in the ring.
WWE World Tag Team Championship: Awesome Truth vs. Finn Balor and JD McDonagh
Before the match, Carlito and Judgement Day are speaking backstage. Finn Balor then tells WWE World Heavyweight Champion Damien Priest that it feels weird that they aren’t the tag team anymore — which it really does. Another funny moment was when Carlito asked Priest if he watched the New York Knicks game and said, ‘Tough break,’ which, for many basketball fans, was indeed a tough thing to watch — sorry Knicks fans.
Awesome Truth then did their signature entrance, in which the bars in the song went a lot smoother than previous ones.
Something else happens backstage prior to the match. Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark are with one another until Sonya Deville shows up to speak to them, but Baszler has none of it and forces Stark to leave as well.
The match finally gets started with Balor vs. The Miz.
To begin, each side gets a turn to give the other an onslaught; however, Awesome Truth’s momentum continues to ride the wave a little longer. The run is stopped through the work of ‘Dirty’ Dominik Mysterio as he gets The Miz blindsided to a counter.
Balor and McDonagh continue to have their way. The Miz breaks free and takes out both Judgement Day members. Both R-Truth and Balor get tagged in.
R-Truth then continues to use John Cena’s move set as he sets up a five-knuckle shuffle into an STFU.
Balor breaks it up, but it gets him and McDonagh caught in a synchronized five-knuckle shuffle. Carlito comes in and distracts the referee, saving a pin attempt.
Then comes what R-Truth thought was Andre, The Giant; Braun Strowman comes to help. He takes out Carlito and chases McDonagh into the ring.
That leads to R-Truth, giving McDonagh an Attitude Adjustment and retaining the titles.
Winners: Awesome Truth via pinfall
The show returns backstage to see Lynch congratulating Valkyria. As Lynch leaves, Liv Morgan enters. The two get into an argument, leading to Morgan adjusting Valkyria’s jaw.
Fatal Four Way Tag Team Contender Match: Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai & Kairi Sane) vs. Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark vs. Ivy Nile & Maxxine Dupri vs. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
Sami Zayn and Bronson Reed have a chat backstage. Reed threatens to take the belt from Zayn this weekend and says it will lead to his biggest paycheque yet. After Reed leaves, Otis comes to apologize to Zayn. The WWE Intercontinental Champion tells Otis to no longer listen to Chad Gable, but to listen to the fans.
Before the next match, ‘The Man’ makes her way to the middle of the WWE Raw crowd. Lynch talks about the history between her challenger, Liv Morgan. She also mentions that Morgan is different but has never beaten her.
Then comes Morgan to talk about her purpose: to complete the Liv Morgan revenge tour.
Lynch then taunts Morgan to fight right there and now. But Liv avoids it and prefers to save her energy for the title match.
Back to Judgement Day’s lair, Priest is upset and tells them that they have lost their way.
Xavier Woods is cleared from injury in another transition to a different part of the arena. Karrion Kross then appears and tells him that there is always time to turn things around — what a weirdo.
The match officially starts, and chaos breaks loose. Everyone begins to take each other out but it’s Katana Chance and Kayden Carter who get the early momentum.
Dakota Kai almost ended the match when returning from a commercial break, but Ivy Nile showed off her strength. Maxxine Dupri then showed off by taking control and doing a kick-up.
It gets put to the end by Kayden Carter, but then all hell breaks lose once more. A double powerbomb superplex by Ivy Nile is pulled off. Chance and Carter take out Stark and Baszler.
Then Dupri gets Dakota Kai in a leg lock but is saved by Sane using an elbow drop. Stark and Baszler then pick on Dupri. An Alley Oop Knee ends the match.
Winners: Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark via pinfall
Ludwig Kaiser is interviewed by Kayla Braxton. Ludwig says he hopes Jey Uso will take the loss better than Sheamus. He then calls the ‘Celtic Warrior’ a ‘keyboard warrior.’ Kaiser leaves, but an upset Drew McIntyre takes over the interview.
McIntyre goes off on Pearce and Damien Priest. He then says he will one day get a match and beat him.
Chad Gable is seen talking to the Creed Brothers, but Otis comes up. Gable then proceeds to praise Otis, but it’s clear that he only cares about himself. it also confirms that we will be seeing Otis this weekend and hints at a possible betrayal from Otis.
King of The Ring Semifinals: Jey Uso vs. Gunther
Finally comes the final match. Fitting for both ‘Main Event’ Jey Uso and ‘The Ring General.’
The fight starts with both men throwing themselves onto each other. Gunther then chops the living crap out of Jey Uso. This is reversed as Gunther is met with a barrage of punches, even forcing him to exit the ring. Jey Uso controls the rollercoaster.
That was until Gunther took advantage of Jey Uso’s injured arm. He begins to throw Jey Uso everywhere. Outside the ring, into the barricade, into the crowd, it didn’t matter.
‘The Ring General’ continues his clinic and tortures Uso’s arm. ‘Main Event’ Jey tries to get a suplex on the top rope but is armlocked by Gunther, but he manages to pull off a Samoan drop.
Jey goes for the crossbody but cannot complete the pin. Gunther recovers faster and starts punishing him with more chops. The two then go back and forth until Jey pulls an enzigiri on Gunther. Jey holds the momentum once more until ‘The Ring General’ hits Jey with a powerbomb.
Gunther gets the former undisputed tag team champion in an arm lock. Gunther looks to end the fight with a splash from the top rope.
1-2-NO!
Gunther is still looking for answers to end the match. He tortures Jey Uso once more with a chop heard around the arena. He continues his onslaught until Gunther talks to the official.
A spear comes out of nowhere and hits the referee as well. Uso splash! Jey is hurt and fails to get to Gunther right away.
‘The Ring General’ has enough and chokes out ‘Main Event’ Jey Uso.
Winner: Gunther via pinfall
Well, that concludes the night. It wasn’t the worst night of fights, but it wasn’t the best. I really liked the Bron Breakker segments because he seems unstoppable. I’m curious to see the final matchups for the King & Queen of The Ring weekend.
That’s all from me, see you next time.
Bron Breakker speaking with Adam Pearce. Photo Courtesy of WWE.
WWE Monday Night Raw 05/20/2024
It was a nice night of fights, we have seen better.
