This week’s episode of RAW, emanating from the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK, acted as the ‘go-home’ episode for two different shows on Saturday night—Money in the Bank and Worlds Collide. And while the show started off with “Cole’s Gone Wild” (see tidbits), it was always going to be an uphill battle for creative to devote enough time to thoroughly promote both by getting over individual storylines.
On top of all that, WWE fans are still reeling from the shocking announcement of R-Truth’s company departure. While many incorrectly circulated the narrative he was cut, Truth, real name Ron Killings, was informed this past weekend that his contract would not be renewed a week following his main event match against John Cena and subsequent SmackDown loss.
@infightingexchange Going live on R-Truth release… tap in to show, link in bio #RTruth #WWE #WWErelease #RonKillings #ThankYouRTruth #WWEuniverse #wrestling #prowrestling #WWEnews #WWESuperstars ♬ original sound – infightingFX
On a show where a ladder match was meant to elevate the winner to the moon, the promotional efforts will likely play second fiddle to the departure news, as Truth was so loved both backstage and by fans. Yet, WWE gave the story an even brighter spotlight by informing Carlito that he too, would not have his contract renewed—reportedly set to expire in a couple of weeks.
With the incredible card set to debut the WWE-owned era of AAA and a show that could arguably be described as the “Summer Royal Rumble,” the company will create enough in-ring buzz that the show will steal the headlines; they only need to get to Saturday. But it would not hurt if RAW was used to deepen the stakes for MITB.
Sami Needs Punk… To Win
CM Punk came out to deliver his usual schtick of reminding the crowd it’s ‘great to be alive’ while getting the cheap OKC Thunder pop (congrats, but FINALS would have been better with Knicks in it). He reminded the crowd that he had won two previous MITB matches and successfully “cashed in” both briefcases. Still, he found the time to call Rock a “bald fraud” and John Cena a “b***h” before hinting at ‘unfinished business.’
Sami Zayn received a full entrance that showed his current standing as a fan favorite, slowly building toward the heartbreaking moment when he ‘turns.’ The crowd sang along to his theme music, and Punk admitted he was a fan of the crowd-participated tune. However, Sami had a mixed message for Punk, telling him that when it comes to Heyman, Seth, Breakker, and Reed, he should ‘think about not thinking about them.’
This, according to Zayn, is because the stakes are too high to allow them to break his concentration as the importance of who holds the title is as big as ever—going as far as to claim that Seth winning MITB and the title would ‘change WWE’ in a way that neither man would care for very much. Over and over, Sami exclaimed to Punk that “he must” win his qualifier to disrupt “The Architect’s” plans. Meanwhile, John Cena is threatening to take the world title away forever with zero urgency on the part of the roster as a whole. How Seth presents a bigger problem with the mere potential of winning the briefcase that grants you a title shot compared to Cena actively holding the title he plans to retire is baffling.
Jey Uso & Sami Zayn vs. Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker
The faces ended up taking on 2/3 of the nameless Rollins faction (they needed a name weeks ago; now it is just hurting the “group’s” legitimacy). The tag match was fought in front of a white-hot crowd, and it felt like they helped fuel the performances. The match predictably ended in a schmoz involving the competitors of the match plus Punk and Rollins. Punk was the last out, and he was almost too late as Reed set up to deliver his ‘career shortening’ Tsunami finisher onto a table that just so happened to have Sami spread over it like Hibachi.
Don’t Kross Sami
For all the incredible work that Karrion Kross has done over the course of 12 months, he gets little credit (and TV time) for it and has never been allowed to capitalize off of the successful bookings he helped to launch. Kross orchestrated the New Day’s heel resurgence, and the things he did to Miz are better left unsaid, all that, and he led the charge to hand Wyatt Sicks their first loss (Kross himself pinned Uncle Howdy).
Kross has gotten over huge with fans, too, after his non-Mania Mania promo, but on TV, he is still forced to play his ‘dripping creative faucet slowly.’ After weeks of bugging Sami, he finally took a more direct approach by telling Sami he is a ‘bad guy,’ not a ‘good guy.’
“I know you’re capable of doing very terrible things to people,” Kross said. “Sami, you’re not a good guy. You’re a bad guy, just like the rest of us.” Sami said he was wrong, and Kross admitted he might be before acknowledging he ‘might now.’
Liv Morgan To Fight Another Day
Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez butted heads after last week’s ‘misunderstanding’ between Perez and Raquel Rodriguez that led to her return loss last week. Morgan made it clear that she held Perez responsible for last week despite personally blaming Raquel in the backstage area post-match.
With Liv’s MITB qualifier, any storyline with Perez will have to wait, but the drama continued. After Liv refused Perez’s help, she decided, against Finn’s suggestion, to corner Raquel in her match with Kari Sane. Finn suggested that Roxanne help out by being ringside, but Liv told him to babysit her while she went out with her “bestie.” The plan backfired when Iyo Sky helped to neutralize the numbers game that led to Sane’s victory over Raquel.
Money In The Bank Qualifiers (Men’s)
AJ Styles vs. CM Punk vs. El Grande Americano
Punk was seen prior to the match, and so too was Styles, who was confronted by Paul Heyman in the backstage area imploring him to ‘focus on Dom Mysterio’s IC title’ and leave MITB to Seth Rollins. Americano should have had virtually no chance when compared to the odds in favor of either Punk or Styles winning, but the continuity of the qualifier bookings meant Grande could be considered the favorite because he is the underdog.
The match was terrific, and if we learned anything, it was that Chad Gable belongs in the ‘big match.’ The ‘triple threat’ eventually turned into a multi-man match as Reed, Breakker, Punk, Zane, and Jey all managed to involve themselves before Styles took them out of the equation.
With everyone distracted, Styles turned his attention back to the ring where Grande Americano was waiting to hit AJ with the loaded mask headbutt. The win for Grande means that he will now compete twice on Saturday—once as Gable earlier in the day at Worlds Collide and then again later in the MITB ladder match.
Grande made a quick exit while the top faces battled it out with the heels, who by then grabbed the control in-ring as Rollins had finally joined the fray. Rollins orchestrated a beat down of everyone, none worse than Jey Uso, who was on the bad end of a Tsuanmi from Reed. With another title defense next week on RAW, could Gunther be looking at a second heavyweight title reign?
CURRENTLY QUALIFIED: Penta, LA Knight, Solo Sikoa, Andrade, Seth Rollins, El Grande Americano
Money in the Bank Qualifiers (Women’s)
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan vs. Ivy Nile
Stephanie Vaquer received a video package hyping her ‘callup debut’ after she lost the title on NXT last week to Jacy Jayne. The video package is a typical approach for teasing an upcoming debut, but Vaquer was showcased on WWE TV twice post-Mania and was set to make her actual debut. It was an odd choice, but the video package and presentation were well done—accurately setting a tone that encapsulated the excitement of Vaquer on the main roster.
The video package provided a condensed version of her wrestling story as the Chilean superstar made a name for herself in the Latin and Spanish territories. Vaquer is built for ladder matches and possesses one of the most exciting styles in women’s wrestling today, so her inclusion into MITB should not be surprising. Yet, putting her over on both Nile (the most improved member of the women’s roster post-Mania) and the newly returned Liv felt unlikely.
But if this year’s MITB qualifiers have a centralized theme, then it would have to be the number of underdog winners in both the men’s and women’s triple-threat qualifiers.
If this match provided a taste of what we can expect from Vaquer’s chemistry, then her performance was good enough to win the match and the expectations of fans for a terrific show at MITB. Vaquer was able to pick up the win over Nile, and it was clean as far as triple threats go, but protecting Liv with another ‘internal misunderstanding’ leading to her loss would have hurt nothing. With this victory, the field is now set, barring any unforeseen circumstances, and the teaser post-match with Rhea starring down Vaquer was epic—even if it ended in a friendly face handshake.
CURRENTLY QUALIFIED: Alexa Bliss, Roxanne Perez, Giulia, Rhea Ripley, Naomi, and Stephanie Vaquer
Other Tidbits/In-Ring Action
- War Raiders vs. The Judgement Day (McDonaugh & Balor)
This was a rematch that felt like Deja-vu because we literally just got this booking, complete with The New Day ringside for commentary. However, the team built for battle seemed to be unable to overcome the numbers game, as even with New Day getting booted by the referee, it was Perez who helped Finn and JD pick up the victory.
- WWE released a Tyrese Haliburton shirt following his Indiana Pacers’ successful series win over New York Knicks. Haliburton gave an interview to McAfee and Cole on RAW the night before the Eastern Conference Finals Game 1, and, in that game, Haliburton threw his hands around his neck to signify the ‘choke job’ committed by the Knicks. The gesture was a homage to Pacers’ great Reggie Miller, who jabbed the NY fans many years ago after a very similar game script. Now, fans can go to the WWE Shop and purchase an artist rendition of the now famous “choke job” pose by Haliburton, but simultaneously, you can also buy a shirt from NY Knicks’ guard Jalen Brunson. The two basketball stars had a coincidental encounter last year in a WWE ring during a show in NY as Haliburton played the heel to hometown hero Brunson’s face character. The segment garnered a lot of attention, and its views were among the highest that week. WWE could attempt to get them in the ring in a mixed tag match, similar to what WCW did with Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone.
- Side Note: Cole stripped down at the beginning of RAW to reveal a Pacers’ jersey underneath his suit. Aside from some jacked arms, the dorky look was thanks to Pat McAfee and his wager with Cole regarding the outcome of Pacers-Knicks—McAfee played for Indy during his time as an NFL punter and remains a beloved sports hero in that town, and he is every bit as diehard for the town’s sports teams.
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