WWE Raw Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights After Night of Champions
On the heels of a chaotic conclusion to Night of Champions that saw Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, and Paul Heyman interfere in the Undisputed WWE Championship Match between John Cena and CM Punk, the top heel faction on Monday nights returned stateside for Raw, live from Pittsburgh.
What did Rollins and Co. have to say about their actions, what retaliation did they meet, and how did WWE continue the build to both Saturday Night's Main Event on July 12 and Evolution on July 13?
Find out with this recap of the June 30 episode of WWE's flagship show.
Match Card
1 of 8
Announced in advance of the June 30 broadcast were:
* Penta and Sami Zayn vs. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed
* World Tag Team Championship Match: New Day (c) vs. The Judgment Day
* Rhea Ripley promo
* Gunther promo
* An announcement from Raw general manager Adam Pearce and SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis
Rhea Ripley Kicked Off Raw
2 of 8
After a hard-fought victory over Raquel Rodriguez in a street fight, Rhea Ripley kicked off Monday's show to a thunderous ovation from the fans in Pittsburgh.
Before Mami could talk about her Evolution plans, women's world champion Iyo Sky interrupted, joining the former titleholder in the squared circle.
The Genius of the Sky informed Ripley that Raw general manager Adam Pearce gave her the right to choose who she defended against on July 13. She chose Ripley and The Eradicator warned her that what happens at Evolution, it is what Sky chose.
The two stared down to close out a fairly straight-forward segment set the stage for the Evolution main event and hinted that this may be the most physical and demanding match between them yet as Ripley and Sky stop at nothing to leave Atlanta with the gold.
The match will likely be better than this segment was, which was passable, if nothing more.
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* "You are wrong about one thing: you are not on top," Sky told Ripley, pointing to her title as evidence.
* Ripley slipped up and nearly uttered the same line twice but recovered well enough to nail the final line.
* Backstage, Dominik Mysterio flashed a doctor's note and told AJ Styles that Pearce ruled The Phenomenal One cannot touch the intercontinental champion until he is cleared to compete.
World Tag Team Championship Match: New Day vs. The Judgment Day
3 of 8
Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh are world tag team champions for the second time after defeating New Day's Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods in a fantastic match to kick off the in-ring portion of Monday's show.
New Day dominated early and often, working over McDonagh until a hot tag to Bálor that nearly blew the roof off the building. The action intensified, with near-falls and false finishes, including a Spanish Fly from the top rope by The Iron Lung that Woods narrowly broke up for his team.
Moments later, Bálor delivered a Coup de Grace to Woods and secured the win and titles for The Judgment Day, drawing an enormous pop from fans.
This was excellent and highlighted the potential Babyface appeal of The Judgment Day, who have been heels for so long that there may very well be a portion of the audience ready to throw their support behind the workhorses of the Raw brand.
Bálor, McDonagh, and Mysterio stood tall with all of their gold to close things out as pyro exploded at the top of the ramp.
Result
Judgment Day defeated New Day to win the tag team titles
Grade
A
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Woods is in the best shape of his career. He is absolutely jacked.
* "Bálor has more abs than I have fingers," Corey Graves said on commentary after Woods presented the former universal champion with a piece of bread, as if to say he needed to eat some carbs.
* Hot tag for Bálor, who received one of his most positive reactions in years from the Pittsburgh fans.
.jpg?w=256)
Sheamus vs. Rusev
4 of 8
Adam Pearce made a match between Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria for later tonight, an excellent video package (set to Three Days Grace's "Dominate") hyped up the legendary Goldberg ahead of his Saturday Night's Main Event match against Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship, and an injured Chad Gable told the Creed Brothers to "listen to Ivy."
Back in the arena, Rusev and Sheamus added a chapter to their budding rivalry as they squared off in singles competition.
The showdown was a punishing, physical match that tested the toughness of both men, their bodies marked with bruises and welts. Neither man took much of a sustained advantage, with each answering their opponent's best.
Late in the match, the former teammates in the League of Nations unloaded on each other, with Sheamus rocking The Redeemer with a jumping knee to the face that Rusev just narrowly kicked out of.
The action spilled to the outside, where Sheamus delivered a Brogue Kick but could not follow up on it. Back in the ring, a barely recovered Rusev caught his opponent with an eye poke and drove him throat-first into an exposed turnbuckle before delivering a Machka Kick for the win.
A strong match that took some time to get going but when it did, the result was an absolute banger with an ending that all but ensures the rivalry is only getting started.
Result
Rusev defeated Sheamus
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* For the second week in a row, Ludwig Kaiser hovered in the area of American Made, potentially looking to make a run at taking over the group in Gable's absence.
* Backstage, Bálor talked Pearce and Nick Aldis into letting Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez defend the women's tag titles, only for the general managers to reveal a four-way match against a team from Raw, SmackDown, and NXT at Evolution.
* This was Sheamus and Rusev's first singles match since a March 11, 2014 showdown, which is somewhat amazing given how frequently they were associated otherwise on WWE TV.
Backstage Shenanigans and Gunther Promo
5 of 8
Backstage, El Grande Americano appeared to grow a few inches and carried himself oddly like Ludwig Kaiser.
Elsewhere, Karrion Kross brutally attacked Sami Zayn, demanding he say his name.
Back in the arena, world heavyweight champion Gunther made his way to the ring to discuss his July 12 title defense against Goldberg on Saturday Night's Main Event.
After some scathing insults directed at his opponent, The Ring General asked the appropriate question: who's next. Seth "Freakin" Rollins responded, making his way to the ring alongside Paul Heyman.
The Visionary revealed he did not go to Saudi Arabia to cash in Money in the Bank but, rather, to cost CM Punk the Undisputed WWE Championship. He reiterated that his Money in the Bank briefcase is an all-out assault on both champions and ominously hinted that Gunther could be next.
Punk hit the ring, seeking revenge, and nearly getting it had it not been for Rollins' eye rake and sprinting through the crowd. An angry Punk shoved Gunther to the mat, leaving the champion dismayed.
Rollins, thrilled with his actions, found himself on the receiving end of a beatdown from LA Knight. Another attack on his rival's eyes allowed him to escape.
With one segment, four different stories were presented, with a potential fifth introduced in the form of Punk-Gunther. This is how you maximize minutes and bring top-tier feuds to the forefront without committing too much time to overly long promo segments.
This was excellent, even without earth-shattering advancements.
Grade
A
Top Moments and Takeaways
* "Just like his matches, summed up in three minutes for you," Gunther said of the video package dedicated to Goldberg's Hall of Fame earlier in the show.
* "I heard Goldberg say he doesn't like bullies. Well Bill, too bad you bumped into the biggest bully around here!"
* "Now we're left to wonder if you've still got it. I'm going to expose that you never had it."
Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria
6 of 8
Backstage, The Judgment Day officially voted to induct Roxanne Perez into the group as its newest member.
In the arena, Bayley and Lyra Valkyria sought to settle their recent issues as they squared off in one-on-one competition.
The friends-turned-enemies, much like Sheamus and Rusev earlier in the night, turned weeks of frustration into a grueling match. Neither woman sustained an advantage, each throwing all of their signature stuff at each other.
The back-and-forth action appropriately concluded with an exchange of roll ups that concluded with a referee's three count, with both of the combatant's shoulders pinned to the mat.
Referee Jessika Carr announced the match as a draw, which further infuriated the competitors and led to a pull-apart brawl in the stands.
Considering the match was for a shot at Becky Lynch's Women's Intercontinental Championship, the lack of a conclusion created more questions and infuriated the crowd. With that said, this is WWE so the answer is an inevitable Triple Threat Match at Evolution, where Bayley and Valkyria will each have a shot at dethroning Lynch.
That match will likely rule, even if we had to endure that unsatisfying finish to get there.
Result
Draw
Grade
B-
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Mysterio looked like a puppy who knew it had messed up after he cast his vote for Perez in the Judgment Day. Great facial expressions from the IC champion.
* The crowd let Bayley and Valkyria down for most of their match but by the time the forearms flew late, it came alive.
Sami Zayn and Penta vs. Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker
7 of 8
Sami Zayn, the purest babyface in pro wrestling, refused to let Karrion Kross' attack from earlier in the show prevent him from competing. Despite clear damage to his ribs, he stood alongside Penta as they battled Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker in tag team action.
The heels answered an early onslaught from the babyfaces by downing Zayn and working him over for a large portion of the match. Anytime the Underdog from the Underground mounted a comeback, they ramped up the intensity and further punished him.
A hot tag to Penta drew a huge pop from the fans and the luchador exploded into the ring, delivering a picture-perfect DDT counter to a gorilla press slam attempt by Breakker.
The action broke down from there, culminating with Zayn mustering enough strength to send Reed to the mat with a suplex, only to have Breakker destroy him with a spear for the win.
After the match, the heels attempted to further punish Zayn, only for a steel chair-toting Jey Uso to make the save. The former world champion laid into Breakker, then ended Reed's night by throwing a chair at his face.
The babyfaces stood tall to close the show.
A quality main event tag match put over the seemingly unstoppable heel tandem while also highlighting Zayn's toughness and affirming that Penta is a top-tier star on Raw.
Uso getting the megastar entrance was effective, sent the crowd home happy, and firmly introduced him as a foil for the heel faction. Strong stuff to end the show.
Result
Breakker and Reed defeated Zayn and Penta
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
* Graves made a reference to Alex, Hall of Famer Rick Steiner's old hand puppet. Call of the night. For the unfamiliar, Google it.
* Sami Zayn, smooth operator:
* The finish was the ultimate roller coaster ride for the fans. Zayn with an extraordinary suplex to Reed, only to turn right around and have his ribs obliterated via Breakker's trademark spear.
Overall Grade
8 of 8
This was a banger episode of Raw that was much needed after a so-so Night of Champions show in Riyadh.
Monday's show did everything it needed to, hyping Evolution and introducing new matches for the card while hyping Ripley vs. Sky as a potential main event.
It also looked to Saturday Night's Main Event and Goldberg vs. Gunther, while hinting at the world title picture for the foreseeable future, with Punk, Rollins, and Knight all serving as potential challengers in months to come.
The in-ring action was stellar, especially in the case of the tag team title match at the start of the show, and the main event was a ton of fun.
Stories were furthered, feuds advanced, and Ludwig Kaiser is apparently a luchador now.
Big thumbs way up.
Grade: B+
.jpg?w=480)
