WWE Raw live results: Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker
One week after Bron Breakker left WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso lying, Breakker will receive a non-title match against the champion tonight on Raw.
Uso is five days away from defending his title against Logan Paul on Saturday Night’s Main Event. Paul, for his part, is also slated to make an appearance tonight.
Two women’s Money In The Bank qualifying matches will take place tonight as well. In one bout, it will be Rhea Ripley vs. Kairi Sane vs. Zoey Stark for a spot in the MITB Ladder match next month. In the other, it will be Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Roxanne Perez.
Also on tap, Grayson Waller will take on Sheamus, who returned last week to defeat Waller’s running mate, Austin Theory.
Plus, in tag action, AJ Styles will team with Penta to face The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & JD McDonagh).
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
**********
– Michael Cole welcomed everyone into the show as an exterior shot of Greenville, South Carolina, was shown.
– A video recap of last week’s Sami Zayn/Jey Uso/CM Punk/Paul Heyman Group developments aired.
– Rollins, Breakker, Heyman, Uso, Styles, Penta and The Judgment Day members were all shown walking in various parts of the venue and outside of it.
The Logan Paul/Gunther segment
Paul entered the ring, was given a microphone and said, “Welcome to Monday Night Raw.” Paul said it is a fact that he will beat Jey Uso on Saturday. Paul said he will be the new World Heavyweight Champion by the time next week’s Raw rolls around. Paul listed a bunch of facts – Jey Uso tapped out Gunther was one. Jey Uso is the World Heavyweight Champion was another. The crowd erupted with Yeets. Paul said Jey Uso has eyes on everyone in the company except Paul. Paul noted how he has knocked out Jey Uso three times and he will do it again on Saturday. Paul reminded everyone he will become the new Heavyweight Champion and in the middle of that, Gunther’s music hit and Gunther walked to the ring.
The crowd chanted “You tapped out!” at Gunther. Paul smiled and kind of joined in the chanting. Gunther said he assumes Paul believes he’s better than Gunther because Paul was saying he was going to beat a guy who beat Gunther. The dialogue turned to confidence and Gunther said the fans should show Paul more respect than they do. Gunther said Paul is a self-made social media megastar. The crowd booed. Gunther said if he’s honest, there are things he could learn from Paul. Gunther said he needs help with social media and marketing and the more he thinks about it, the more he believes Logan Paul as world champion would be best for business.
Paul smiled and kept repeating, “This guy knows business.” Gunther responded by saying to Paul, it’s business, but to Gunther, it’s personal. Beating Jey Uso for the World Heavyweight Championship is personal for Gunther, Gunther said, and if Paul takes that away from Gunther then Gunther will feel disrespected. Gunther said he doesn’t see heart in Paul. Gunther told Paul if Paul squares off with Gunther, all of Paul’s accolades mean nothing and Gunther will eat Paul alive. Gunther slammed down the microphone and left the ring.
As Gunther walked away, Jey Uso appeared out of nowhere and super-kicked Paul inside the ring. Uso picked up the microphone and said he’d see Paul on Saturday. Uso then said he’d see Gunther in Phoenix. Uso’s music hit to end the segment.
Paul is such a caricature these days that his promos have become less and less interesting the more he leans into being that caricature. That said, thank God for Gunther, who carried the segment, even if he gave Paul a few too many flowers for my taste – but that’s just me. The former world champ had to stick the landing because his message was running of steam, but he got there and showed really good fire to wrap things up. The notion that winning the title back from Uso because it’s personal to Gunther is a nice touch and one that makes me mildly more interested in a potential Uso/Gunther rematch and I can’t say I was all that interested in it to begin with. But Gunther kind of/sort of sold me on it here. The surprise Uso appearance leaves me thinking Paul will be involved in Uso business later in the show. Time will tell.
**********
– A recap of last week’s women’s tag team main event aired. Footage of Roxanne Perez signing her Raw contract earlier in the day followed that.
– Jey Uso was walking backstage and he ran into Paul Heyman, who told Uso that to betray someone, you have to stab them in the back, and as such, Heyman wanted to make sure he can’t be portrayed as betraying Uso. That in mind, Heyman told Jey Bron Breakker wasn’t looking for Jey’s title, and instead, he was looking to slow down Uso’s momentum. Heyman said if it’s Uso, Gunther or Paul, it doesn’t matter because they are all short-term. Instead, the long-term plan for a champion, Heyman said, is Seth Rollins.
The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & JD McDonagh) vs. Penta & AJ Styles
Styles and McDonagh started the match. Styles got the best of McDonagh early until McDonagh worked his way back and thwarted an attempted dropkick. Styles connected with a dropkick after that and tagged Penta into the match. Penta gave McDonagh a backbreaker. Ditto for Balor. Styles and Penta through Balor and McDonagh to the outside and connected with stereo splashes. The show then went to a commercial break for those of us who have Netflix commercials.
The show returned and McDonagh was working over Penta, complete with a snapmare and the obligatory attempt to rip the mask off Penta. Balor tagged in and went for the mask as well. McDonagh tagged back in, but Penta suplexed him. Balor cut Penta off when it initially came to a hot tag. Balor followed that up with a suplex on Penta. Ultimately, Penta got a knee to Balor’s face and hit a Slingblade before tagging in Styles as the crowd erupted.
Styles lifted Balor, but Balor raked Styles’s eyes and McDonagh tagged in. McDonagh went for a splash on Styles, but Styles moved and McDonagh hit Balor instead. Styles took advantage and slammed McDonagh for a nice near-fall. “This is awesome!” chants broke out. With McDonagh on the outside, Styles hit a reverse DDT on McDonagh and rolled McDonagh back into the ring, but Carlito interfered and ran Styles into the ring post as the referee checked on McDonagh. From there, the show went to a commercial break again.
Back to the action, Balor worked over Styles in the ring. The two clotheslined each other at the same time and the match reset. McDonagh and Penta tagged in and Penta landed a cross-body from the top on McDonagh. With McDonagh in a headstand position, Penta kicked McDonagh in the head. Penta ran at McDonagh and McDonagh hit a standing Spanish Fly. Balor tagged in and went to the top, but missed the Coup De Gras. Penta capitalized on that and hit the Sacrifice on Balor. Balor rolled up Penta for a two-count and followed that up with a Slingblade. Balor ran into a kick from Penta and Penta went to the top. McDonagh distracted the referee and Carlito cut Penta off, so things broke down between everyone at ringside.
Penta hit a Destroyer on McDonagh on the outside of the ring. Penta was leaning on the crowd barricade and El Grande Americano appeared in the crowd to headbutt Penta in the back of the head. Balor too advantage of that, rolled Penta back into the ring and hit the Coup De Gras on Penta for the win.
Match result: The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & JD McDonagh) defeated Penta & AJ Styles (17:05)
This was really pretty good. Plus, it was a pleasant surprise to see it go through two commercial breaks. For a makeshift tag match that only really existed to further the story between Penta and Americano, these four brought a lot of heart to what could have been a throwaway bout (covering SmackDown really acclimates you to “a throwaway bout” after so long these days). I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Penta taking these losses these days because he really came in on fire and still kind of/sort of remains on fire, but that fire can flame out easier and quicker than it should in WWE Land (with the exception of LA Knight), so it’d be nice to give him a win or two, even if this is all just building to him eventually unmasking Americano. Either way, this was a quality television tag team match.
**********
– Cathy Kelley interviewed IYO SKY in the backstage area. Kelley asked SKY about how she might be targeted for her title. SKY said she’d be ready for anyone and Becky Lynch walked into the frame. Lynch said SKY hadn’t been in there with Lynch yet and Lynch said she was going to put SKY down. Lynch’s music hit and Lynch made her way to the ring for the next match.
– Logan Paul was shown talking on his phone backstage and Seth Rollins walked up. Rollins told Paul that Jey Uso will get hurt tonight because Uso stuck his nose in Seth’s business. Seth said come Saturday, Uso won’t be 100% so the odds will be in Paul’s favor. Seth said if Paul can get past Jey Uso and Gunther, Seth will be waiting on the other side for Paul. Seth said Paul will know who to thank if he wins this weekend. Seth said they could run it back from WrestleMania a couple years ago, but this time, with the world title on the line.
Natalya vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Becky Lynch in a Money In The Bank qualifier match
Lynch convinced Perez to attack Natalya, but Lynch quickly turned on Perez, who threw Lynch to the outside. Lynch pulled Natalya out of the ring and a Lynch vs. Perez singles match broke out. Lynch attempted a Dis-Arm-Her, but Perez worked out of it and the two traded pin attempts. Perez had the upper hand and Natalya dropkicked Perez out of the ring before going to work on Lynch with a series of suplexes.
Natayla worked a Surfboard on Lynch. Natalya half-went for a Sharpshooter, but Lynch turned that into a Dis-Arm-Her. Perez reappeared and all three women exchanged offense. Natalya kicked Perez to the outside and before long all three wound up on the outside. This happened after some apparent miscommunication between Lynch and Perez and Lynch waited for Perez to get into place. Regardless. Perez stood tall as the show went to a commercial break.
Back from break, Perez had control back inside the ring, hitting a series of running elbows on both opponents. Natalya landed a discuss clothesline on both women and stacked them up for a double Sharpshooter, but Perez and Lynch kicked out of it. Perez came back with a moonsault on both Lynch and Natalya for a two-count on Natalya. Perez set up for PopRox, but Lynch countered into a Manhandle Slam. Natalya reappeared and took out Lynch and al three women were down.
Perez rolled to the outside and Lynch and Natalya traded blows inside the ring. Lynch and Natalya were struggling in a corner and Perez went to the top to German Suplex (PopRox?) both women at once. Perez covered Natalya but Lynch broke it up with a knee to Perez’s head. On their feet, Perez and Lynch traded slaps and elbows. Perez threw Lynch and went to the top, but Lynch cut off Perez. The two battled on the second rope until Natalya ran in and hit Perez with Lynch. Natalya powerbombed Lynch for a two-count. Natalya super-plexed Perez for a two-count.
Natalya locked in a Sharpshooter until Lynch bulldogged Natalya. Natalya clotheslined Lynch and went back to Perez. Natalya then worked a double Sharpshooter on Lynch and Perez at the same time. Lynch got out of it and rolled to the outside. Lynch came back and hit a Manhandle Slam on Natalya and it looked like Lynch would win, but Lyra Valkyria appeared and attacked Lynch. Perez took advantage and gave Natalya a PopRox to win the match as Becky and Lyra continued to brawl in the entranceway.
Match result: Roxanne Perez defeated Becky Lynch & Natalya to qualify for the women’s Money In The Bank ladder match (14:35)
A very good MITB qualifier match. All women worked really hard and while we don’t see Natalya on TV that much these days, she made the best of her time here. Lynch and Perez were very giving to her, too, which was a nice touch and one that reiterates how liked Natalya seems to be by all her colleagues. I like Perez going over here, even if Becky is leaning into all of the Internet Chatter about her sharing some traits with the Hulkster, among other things. Roxanne was the right choice. A new face to some viewers. She’s finally out of NXT/Main Roster purgatory. Let’s see what she can do with some proper booking attention on Monday nights. I also like the continuation of Becky and Lyra and they had a pretty nice brawl that led to the end of the match. Good stuff all around.
**********
– Jey Uso was shown in the locker room and Sami Zayn showed up. Zayn told Uso that he didn’t need to deal with Heyman and his group because Zayn would take care of it this weekend. Zayn and Uso shared in their secret handshake.
– Adam Pearce was talking to Alpha Academy backstage and asked Tazawa if he really wanted what he asked for. Tozawa said yes and Pearce made the match for next week – Tozawa vs. Rusev. Chad Gable walked into the frame and argued for MITB qualifying matches for himself and Ivy Nile. The New Day showed up and talked about how next week, American Made will be involved in a tag title shot. It will be a triple threat, including the War Raiders.
Sheamus vs. Grayson Waller
Waller had control early. The crowd chanted “Let’s go Sheamus!” The two grappled a bit until Waller kicked Sheamus in the leg. Sheamus blocked a hip-toss and slapped Waller to the ground. Sheamus followed up with a back-breaker and threw Waller across the ring repeatedly. Sheamus clotheslined Waller over the top rope and played to the crowd. Sheamus stepped outside and Austin Theory distracted Sheamus. Waller made the best of it and threw Sheamus into the commentary table before clotheslining Sheamus to the ground. The show then went to a commercial break.
The show returned and the crowd offered loud “Austin Theory!” chants. Inside the ring, Waller slapped, punched and chopped Sheamus, who fired up and returned all of the favors. Waller took back control with a stomp on Shaemus’s back and a rolling Flatliner for a two-count. Waller went to the second rope and jumped into a tough knee from Sheamus. That was followed up weird tilt-a-whirl half-slam? Something happened. Sheamus ran into a spinning elbow from Waller and with Sheamus on the arpon, Waller went for 10 Beats, but Sheamus wasn’t having that. Instead, Sheamus lifted Waller and dropped him from the apron on down. That, of course, led to Sheamus setting up for 10 Beats, but Waller snuck away.
Waller went to walk to the back, but Theory stopped him. As a result, Sheamus actually did execute the 10 Beats. Theory laughed and Sheamus played to the crowd. Sheamus, from there, hit the Brogue Kick and got the win. Theory, meanwhile, kept laughing outside the ring.
Match result: Sheamus defeated Grayson Waller (11:48)
The long, slow, unreasonably stretched out breakup of Grayson Waller and Austin Theory continues. Who knows if the development during this match will actually lead to anything regarding the saga between the two, but time will tell. Meanwhile, Sheamus looked great here, even if there were a couple odd, not-Sheamus-match-like moments. Sheamus has settled into this really good gatekeeper roll – a roll in which he seems both happy and comfortable, which is nice to see. Give him the Grand Slam, WWE Writers. He’s earned it. Company man. Quality matches. Happy to work, no matter the job. Give Sheamus his flowers before he decides to call it a day.
**********
– Michael Cole and Pat McAfee interviewed Tyrese Haliburton and it turns out, Hali is going to be a character in the WWE 2K video game. Cole and McAfee have a bet riding on the upcoming Knicks/Pacers series. Haliburton also has his own WWE merch. So, there’s that. Cole asked Hali for a prediction for Paul vs. Uso on Saturday. He said he’d love to say Paul, but his heart lies with Jey Uso.
– Kelley interviewed Gunther backstage. She asked Gunther if his gameplan was different heading into June 9. Before Gunther could answer, Seth Rollins walked in and said he was there to let Gunther know that the work Gunther did with Seth’s World Heavyweight Championship was “pretty good stuff, man.” Gunther said he heard about the “long-term plan” and said Seth was short-sighted for a visionary, which was funny. Gunther said he was the future. Rollins was annoyed and said he was there as a courtesy. Rollins said if Gunther finds that title around his waist again, he will be treated no different than anyone else and Gunther will be a target. Gunther said he couldn’t wait and in fact, he was eagerly awaiting for all of this to happen.
Rhea Ripley vs. Kairi Sane vs. Zoey Stark in a Money In The Bank Qualifier Match
Sane’s entrance now features her throwing coins into the crowd, which was kind of fun. Sane’ presentation felt far less Damage CTRL and far more NXT Kairi Sane. Either way, things got off to a hot start as the women traded a handful of moves. The opening sequence had Stark stand tall over Ripley briefly. Ripley came back and took Stark out. Sane returned to the action and went for a dropkick, but Stark cut off Sane and hurt herself. Stark was yelling in agony, holding her knee as WWE doctors checked on Stark. The show cut to a commercial while it looked as though the match might be stopped due to Stark’s injury.
The show returned and Stark was gone. Cole announced it as a one-on-one match between Ripley and Sane. Ripley slammed Sane and covered her for a two-count. Ripley stretched Sane until Sane worked out and went to the top rope. Sane leapt at Ripley, but Ripley dropkicked Sane out of midair. That was good enough to earn Ripley a two-count. Ripley set up for RipTide, but Sane worked out of it and gave Ripley a back elbow. Sane went to the top and went for the InSane Elbow, but Ripley got a boot up to counter everything.
The two reset the match and battled while on their knees. Ripley and Sane traded elbows and forearms. Sane went for a spinning elbow, but Ripley avoided it and got Sane up for the RipTide. Ripley connected with it and got the win.
Match result: Rhea Ripley defeated Kairi Sane and Zoey Stark to qualify for the women’s Money In The Bank ladder match (9:53)
How sad can it get for Zoey Stark? Her faction dissolves in front of her because her stablemates were let go. She gets a chance to at least perform in a high stakes match like this and no less than two minutes into the thing, she suffers another knee injury that looks like it’ll take her out for a significant amount of time. Here’s hoping it’s not as serious as it looked and here’s hoping for a quick recovery. As for the match itself, it was fine, though I’ll say what I said about the other MITB qualifier: I would have preferred Sane winning, if only for the freshness of it. This does make me wonder if Ripley will win the ladder match (because why put her in there if she’s not?), but there is always something to be said for star power and Ripley certainly brings star power to whatever she does. Outside of that … what’s next for Sane?
**********
– On next week’s Raw, Tozawa will face Rusev. Cole made the official announcement and then a Rusev vignette aired.
– The Judgment Day were shown celebrating backstage. Balor walked into the picture and introduced Roxanne Perez to the group. Balor noted how Dom said they needed more numbers a few weeks ago. Dom said they needed to talk to Liv before any decisions were made. Balor said Perez wasn’t a member, but she could provide help if they need it. Perez said she got them presents and gave Dom a box of chicken nuggets (I thought he was into tendies? Come on, Rok-C. Be better). Carlito received an apple. Raquel told Perez to leave and sternly told Balor that Liv will hear about what happened. Balor said, “I can’t wait,” while flashing that Finn Balor smile of his.
– Next week, men’s MITB qualifying matches will go down. There’s the aforementioned Tozawa vs. Rusev match. And then War Raiders vs. New Day vs. American Made for the World Tag Team Championship will also happen.
– Jey Uso’s entrance through the crowd began for the main event and when you have a match presumably cut short due to injury, boy, you better be thankful for the Jey Uso gimmick these days, WWE, because you can fill at least 10 minutes with his entrance alone if need be.
Bron Breakker vs. Jey Uso in a non-title match
Breakker had the upper hand to begin things. It was brief because Uso battled back and clotheslined Breakker over the top and to the floor. Uso followed that up with a suicide dive through the ropes. The show then went to a commercial break. The show returned and Breakker had the advantage inside the ring. Breakker ran a million miles an hour and clotheslined Uso. In a brief hope spot, Uso went to the middle rope for a splash, but Breakker caught him and slammed him for a two-count. Breakker went for a belly-to-belly suplex and Uso landed awkwardly.
Breakker pulled Uso up by his goatee. Breakker yelled at the crowd and tried to hit Uso, but Uso blocked it and landed a series of strikes on Breakker. Uso followed that up with a hip attack for a two-count. Uso knocked Breakker to the outside and went for a suicide dive, but Breakker caught Uso and ragdolled Uso into everything. Breaker then jumped from the apron and hit somewhat of a flying bulldog onto Uso onto the commentary table. The show then went to its final commercial break.
The show returned and the two were back inside the ring. Uso slapped Breakker and they traded blows. The sequence ended with a wildly high pop-up Samoan Drop from Uso onto Breaker for a nice near-fall. “This is awesome!” chants broke out. Uso went to the top but Breakker cut him off. The two battled on the second rope and ultimately, Breakker hit is jump-up Breakker-Steiner from the top. That was good enough to earn Breakker a two-count.
Breakker ran the ropes and, well, ran into a super-kick from Uso. The crowd collectively turned to somewhere as Uso struggled to get to his feet. Paul Heyman hopped onto the apron as Breakker obtained a chair from outside the ring. Uso kicked the chair out of Breakker’s hand and ran the ropes, but Heyman grabbed Uso’s foot. Uso left the ring and confronted Heyman, but wouldn’t you know it, Seth Rollins appeared and attacked Uso to end the match.
Match result: Jey Uso defeated Bron Breakker via DQ (15:56)
After the match was officially over, Rollins and Breakker put the boots to Uso inside the ring until Sami Zayn’s music hit. Zayn confronted Rollins and Breakker from the apron as the crowd chanted “CM Punk!” Punk’s music then hit and out walked Punk to join Zayn on the apron. All four wrestlers brawled inside the ring. Punk and Zayn got the better of it at first, but the heels didn’t give up. Breakker and Rollins battled Zayn in the crowd until Punk leapt off the crowd barrier and the four wrestlers brawled into the crowd. As all this was happening, Uso had his hand raised in the ring and Logan Paul appeared out of nowhere to punch Uso out. Paul, for some reason, was bleeding from the mouth. Paul smiled as the show went off the air.
This was a nice way to end what ostensibly could be considered “The SNME Go-Home Show,” with the way they went off the air. And good on WWE for that. The difference between Mondays and Fridays is so pronounced, it’s borderline shocking at this point. Raw has such an energy to it and it’s a pro wrestling show. Yeah, you’ll get a 10-15 minute promo segment, but the spotlight is so clearly on the wrestling while SmackDown feels far too much like Vince McMahon is booking it seven years ago and AEW needs to happen to course correct the state of pro wrestling. I digress. The main event was good. Breakker is settling into his top-of-the-card role nicely and Heyman is doing him all the favors he can do for a young up-and-comer. The show-closing brawl was well done and we all knew Paul would have to get his revenge on Jey to send this thing to Saturday. Overall, this was a solid episode of Raw and a good use of the two-and-a-half-hour time slot. If you didn’t like this, you don’t like the best of current WWE. When it’s good, it’s very good. When it’s not, it’s very not. On to Friday.