Jey Uso Shocks The WWE Universe & Wins IC Title on RAW

Bad Blood is right around the corner, and tonight’s RAW live from the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California, will attempt to draw that last, but crucial, bit of heat from the storylines on the ‘red brand.’ Aside from CM Punk and Drew McIntyre’s Hell in a Cell match, the RAW women’s title match pitting champion (Liv Morgan) against her biggest rival in, Rhea Ripley, has been one of the hottest storylines in wrestling.

The Shock Heard Around Ontario

The main event had all the feel of a big-time matchup as ‘The Yeet Man’ himself, “Main Event” Jey Uso, delivered on the big stage against one of the most unstoppable forces in recent WWE, Bron Breakker. The match started off very much at Breakker’s pace, but he took a hard shot to the chin that stumbled him before Jey dove to the outside to snatch up the momentum. Breakker was able to take back the offense, and he continued to slow the match to his pace—a very veteran tactic. Jey had the support of Rhea and the fans—everyone understanding the narrative of this match and how Jey has never won single’s gold despite his previous six opportunities.

Breakker hit his spear outside before rolling Jey in the ring to set him up for another, but that is when Jey hit Breakker with the reverse button—landing his own spear in the process. The move was enough for a very close near-fall, and the crowd came alive. It felt, for the first time, that Jey could have a chance to pull off the upset. Jey hit Breakker with the ‘super kick’ before landing another spear through the barricade where the timekeeper sits. Jey hit yet another spear and ascended to the top to hit a big splash as Tessitore called the 1-2-3 pinfall for the new champion. This was an amazing match and one of the most memorable endings of RAW in recent memory.

A Snake In A Shark Cage

Liv Morgan led Judgement Day’s ‘victory lap’ before grabbing the mic for the first promo of the night. It did not take long for Rhea, who was forced to surrender the belt following an injury, to come out and interrupt. Though Liv never beat Rhea for the title, the momentum has certainly been on the side of the champ with her ‘Terror Twin’ Damian Priest perpetually outnumbered.

Rhea Ripley announced she was cleared for action following a different injury suffered, though it felt like a weird announcement considering nobody thought she was ‘questionable for game day.’ The real announcement concerned Rhea’s former beau and Liv’s current ‘Dirty’ arm candy, Dom Mysterio, who will be hoisted above the ring inside a shark cage to prevent the constant interference he’s become in the division. The shark cage adds an interesting wrinkle but does not feel like enough. The latest ‘vibe check’ offers plenty of potential saboteurs, and, as Abe Gonzalez mentioned on the Work in Progress Podcast, keeping tabs on Charlotte Flair’s GPS is worth monitoring.

Big Side Note

One awesome spot was seeing Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman continuing their ‘arena-destroying’ feud as WWE cameras were following Liv and Dom walking into the arena. It was a fun, clever spot. Reed was scheduled to face The Miz, but it was all a setup for Strowman to come out and further the craziness in that program. It was amazingly effective. That is why GM Adam Pierce booked a “Last Monster Standing” between Strowman and Reed next week.

Miz’s Monsterous Heel Turn Incoming?

While Miz did not end up getting the match he asked for, his storyline continues to further in an interesting way. What was weird, at least, was that Karion Kross was the one in Miz’s ear, convincing him that ‘monsters come in all sizes.’ The Miz turn will be awesome, that’s not in doubt, but what about Kross’s intentions in all of this as they relate to his long-term booking with Woods? There is plenty of story here as Kross sold Miz on ‘not being respected.’

New Day Reminiscent of the Old Days

The plot thickened for yet another week as the record-breaking former tag team champs kept their title as the best long-term booking from week to week on RAW. After a brief video package recapping last week’s tense title-losing effort, we caught up with the New Day’s Kofi Kingston walking up on Xavier Woods as they attempted to squash the tensions. Kofi tried bringing back some New Day lore like Booty-O’s and Francesca (Woods’s trusty trombone), but it did not have the effect he hoped for. Woods said those things were from their days on top, but now, they need to dig deep from the bottom.

Kofi agreed with the sentiment by ‘not looking back’ and admitted he had not been the best decision-maker. Then, in an odd exchange, Kofi agreed that Woods should be at the helm of decision-making for the ‘next few weeks.’ Kofi also mentioned the 10th anniversary of the New Day, which could be where the climax of this program takes place. American Made, led by Chad Gable, started ‘going in’ on Woods and Kingston, which ended in a challenge.

New Day vs. American Made

It was a great match, and the kind of magic that New Day has made in the ring these past few weeks, and adding Gable puts it over the top as far as storytelling within a match goes. Woods was isolated (metaphor) while Kofi played face. In the end, Woods loses total control of his emotions and let them out in the form of pummeling Gable (who interfered). Tessitore highlighted this loss of control on commentary because it went directly against Woods’ own words and played directly into Kross’s intentions.

In the back, Woods’ frustrations spilled out onto Rey Mysterio, and a match was booked between the two for next week’s RAW—which is shaping up to be great.

Other Tidbits/In-Ring Action

• Sami Zayn and Kaiser put on a great showing in scheduled action, and Zayn furthered his rep as ‘the guy to work with’ for any superstar needing a boost. Kaiser had some very close near-falls, but ultimately, Zayn was successful off the HelluvaKick. Gunther came out to once again tease giving Zayn a title shot only to deny him, yet again, publicly.
• Punk will bleed. That, at least, was the promise made by McIntyre in his ‘response promo’ to his rival’s from last week. It was an intense promo, but this feud is cooked thoroughly. All that is left is to enjoy it in a cage.

Mario Mungia

Mario Mungia Jr. has a decade worth of experience as a combat sports journalist and correspondent which began with ThaBoxingVoice (TBV) as a podcast co-host, writer and editor-in-chief. Aside from his online resume, Mario spent a fair portion of his early career working for Spanish/English magazine Premier Round and the Mexican website Izquierdo. Mario has also contributed to NYFights while simultaneously working for MIC Sports Network as part of the broadcast crew covering local high school sports. Since then, he has launched his own podcast/live stream (Infighting/Work In Progress) and is covering pro wrestling for FightsATW.

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