Latest news with #MoneyIntheBank
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
WWE Raw results, highlights (June 2): El Grande Americano beats CM Punk, AJ Styles
The WWE Money In the Bank matches are set — and folks, CM Punk will not be involved. "WWE Raw" in Tulsa, Oklahoma delivered a shock ending with the men's triple-threat main event to decide the final entrant in the men's Money In The Bank ladder match. Things are getting out of hand, because El Grande Americano defeated Punk and AJ Styles to round out the participants. 😱 Swerve of the Night I'm not even sure how to start this one. Chad Gable's luchador gimmick has been pushed far beyond what anyone could've expected. We all love a good swerve, but this just felt wrong, especially after how "WWE Raw" opened. Advertisement Punk laid down the gauntlet with a promo that was simple but to the point, claiming he was coming after both world champions, starting with Jey Uso and then John Cena. The callbacks were solid, and Cena feels like the type of direction Punk should be heading toward at the end of all this. If he's the one to dethrone Cena, it would be beautifully poetic. Everyone remembers Punk walking out with the title after that historic moment they shared back in 2011. The reversal in 2025 would be Punk taking the belt with Cena on his way out. Hopefully we get there, but for now it's just a continuous loop of the Seth Rollins forever feud. That's fine, but WWE needs to find ways to keep it fast and fresh. Sami Zayn came out to tell Punk he needed to win the Money In the Bank ladder match, otherwise Rollins would ruin everything. It was hilarious to hear Zayn say that because Cena is the one literally trying to ruin wrestling. In the end, Zayn promised that he and Punk will meet again when Punk is the champion. Well, it's not looking so good at this rate, bud. There were some nice wrinkles to everything around this match throughout the night, like Paul Heyman's attempt to persuade Styles to go for the Intercontinental title instead. Sadly, "The Phenomenal One" arguably looked like the biggest bozo of the night. Advertisement Regarding the match, first and foremost, Styles is one of the greatest triple-threat match wrestlers of all time. If you know, you know. And seeing him and Punk together in a match again was pretty insane. It was nice to see them tell the referee to check Americano for the steel plate in his mask. The match had plenty of unsurprisingly awesome sequences, then Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed prevented Punk's pin of Americano off a GTS, prompting the arrival of Zayn and Uso. Here's where it was particularly silly. Still in the ring as the non-match chaos unfolded on the outside, Styles just decided to jump off the top rope onto the pile of bodies, excluding Americano. My guy, how many years have you been in the business? The booking of that spot makes Styles look so incredibly dumb. Ultimately, it set up his attempt at the Phenomenal Forearm on Americano, who was still in the ring, only to be countered with a headbutt that earned Americano the pin. Advertisement This is nuts, and I'm unsure how to feel about it. If anything, there's now no chance Rollins wins the ladder match for as long as Punk is still breathing. And like I said last week, his boys should literally just help him try to win from the beginning of the match because they can. There are a lot of holes in all of the logic around this storyline at this point, but I'll tell you what, I won't even be surprised if Americano actually wins it now. This might be Triple H's comedy replacement for R-Truth and Carlito. I wish I were joking. Maximum unpredictability Perhaps my investment is just deeper than I realize, but the women's Money In the Bank ladder match realistically could — and should — have anyone but Rhea Ripley win. That's no knock on Ripley; she simply could use it the least of any other five options, and any of them makes sense — choosing the right person feels impossible. That's a good problem to have because of how any can be good. Advertisement However, no one right is looking better than this show's... 👑 Uncrowned Gem of the Night 👑 Let's lay a little foundation for the final qualifier match that happened on "WWE Raw." It was Liv Morgan vs. Ivy Nile vs. Stephanie Vaquer, the last of whom is now officially a member of the "WWE Raw" roster after recently dropping her NXT Women's Championship to Jacy Jayne. Spoiler alert: She won. This woman is a megastar in the making and should be treated as such, so push her beyond the moon. Her presentation should automatically lead viewers to think she'll win the briefcase. It's been the definition of investment in "La Primera" and rightfully so. She's so damn good. ♻️ Repeat of the Night Regarding one of the Women's Tag Team Champs Morgan, this was another case of WWE devaluing titles by putting them in qualifier matches. WWE did it with both U.S. Champions participating — and losing — in Money In the Bank qualifiers this year. It's so, so dumb, and it hurts the already hurting Women's Tag Team titles more than the others. 🫨 Contrast of the Night After mentioning the Women's U.S. Championship, we have to talk about the difference between how WWE is treating that title and its Intercontinental counterpart. It's stunning. Zelina Vega and Chelsea Green are in a perpetual loop of nonsense with the U.S. strap, while Lyra Valkyria is doing the best work of her career on the mic with Becky Lynch — a main event caliber dance partner. Advertisement Lynch delivered a solid video promo before she was called out by the almost unnecessarily angry Valkyria in the ring. She justified it quickly and dug into the former world champ with great barbs. Lynch's focus on the hand-raising from Valkyria after their match is pretty silly, and this program really should've continued after WWE Backlash, but as long as Valkyria hangs onto the title, it will have been a win for her. 🚫 DQ of the Night There's no point to some of these matches in WWE under Triple H, other than to highlight how dumb they can be. Jey Uso and Sami Zayn defeated Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker by DQ when Seth Rollins attacked Uso. So why bother? Advertisement The match didn't even progress the storyline between everyone, as Punk arrived to even the numbers, and that was that. 👍 MONDAY NIGHT MONEY 👍 1. Michael Cole made good on his bet after the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers in the NBA playoffs, which meant he had to wear a Pacers jersey for the whole show. That was just good wholesome fun. 2. WWE probably wasn't thrilled about it, but there were several "Bring back Truth" and "We want Truth" chants in honor of the recently released R-Truth throughout "WWE Raw." It's pretty wild to hear that type of support, but you love to hear the crowd let their voices be heard. 3. Kairi Sane defeated Raquel Rodriguez in their match thanks to the aid of Iyo Sky, who stopped Morgan's interference. The positive here is Sane staying strong since she returned and picking up wins, somewhat single-handedly embarrassing the Women's Tag Team Champions. However, WWE is clearly going to inject Morgan somehow back into the Women's World title picture, as evidenced by these Sky interactions. Advertisement Ideally, the Roxanne Perez Judgment Day involvement will steer her from that path. 4. Karrion Kross continued his attempts to persuade the "real" Zayn to come out backstage after his match against Reed and Breakker. This has to build to something, whether that's a team with Kross or turning heel on his own to pursue a world title, either works. 👎 RAW DEAL 👎 1. The backstage Rusev video packages continued. When he popped on screen tonight, I legit thought to myself: "Miro!" Rusev is WWE Miro now, and it's pretty disheartening, especially when Miro was so good and could've been great if utilized effectively. The callbacks to his history with Sheamus were good, but to do it with the same old style is lame. Give this guy something new. I'm begging you, Triple H. Advertisement 2. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and JD McDonagh) defeated The War Raiders — with the help of Perez, because The Judgment Day might literally not be allowed to win without an interference. The match was fine, but a rehash of something we've seen before. Outside of The Judgment Day story progression, which was very minimal with this, there's zero reason to care about this tag-team division. 3. WWE showed a hype video for Uso and Gunther's rematch next Monday, which was loaded mainly with footage of everything before WrestleMania 41. You know. Because nothing new has happened between them since — and for Gunther specifically, he's only had one match, and it was against a commentator. 👑Despite that wild booking choice that closed out this "WWE Raw," there was more good than bad, and it was an enjoyable show. I give it a Crown score of: 7.5/10.👑
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
WWE Raw results, highlights (June 2): El Grande Americano beats CM Punk, AJ Styles
The WWE Money In the Bank matches are set — and folks, CM Punk will not be involved. "WWE Raw" in Tulsa, Oklahoma delivered a shock ending with the men's triple-threat main event to decide the last entrant in the men's Money In the Bank ladder match. Things are getting out of hand because El Grande Americano defeated Punk and AJ Styles to round out the participants. 😱 Swerve of the Night I'm not even sure how to start this one. Chad Gable's luchador gimmick has been pushed far beyond what anyone could have expected. We all love a good swerve, but this just felt wrong, especially after how "WWE Raw" opened. Advertisement Punk laid down the gauntlet with a promo that was simple but to the point, claiming he was coming after both world champions, starting with Jey Uso and then John Cena. The callbacks were solid when Punk mentioned Cena, and that feels like the type of direction Punk should be heading at the end of all this. If he's the one to dethrone Cena, it would be beautifully poetic. Everyone remembers Punk walking out with the title after that historic moment they shared back in the day. The reversal in 2025 would be Punk taking the belt with Cena on his way out. Hopefully, we get there, but for now, it's just a continuous loop of the Seth Rollins forever feud. That's fine, but WWE needs to find ways to keep it fresh and fast. Sami Zayn came out to tell Punk he needed to win the Money In the Bank ladder match, otherwise, Rollins would ruin everything. Circling back to Cena, it was hilarious to hear Zayn say that because Cena is the one literally saying he's trying to ruin wrestling. Meanwhile, this story is being portrayed as Rollins trying to ruin it. Not from him, but his rivals. In a way, he really has been somewhat of the good guy in all of his storylines for roughly the past year now. In the end, Zayn promised he and Punk would meet again when Punk is the champion. Well, it's not looking so good at this rate, bud. There were some nice wrinkles to everything around this match throughout the night, like Paul Heyman's attempt to persuade Styles to go for the Intercontinental title instead. Sadly, "The Phenomenal One" arguably looked like the biggest bozo of the night. Advertisement Regarding the match, first and foremost, Styles is one of the greatest triple-threat match wrestlers of all time. If you know, you know. And seeing him and Punk together in a match again was pretty insane. It was nice to see them tell the referee to check Americano for the steel plate in his mask. The match had plenty of unsurprisingly awesome sequences, then Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed prevented Punk's pin of Americano off a GTS, prompting the arrival of Zayn and Uso. Here's where it was particularly silly. Still in the ring as the chaos unfolded away from the match on the outside, Styles just decides to jump off the top rope onto the pile of bodies, excluding Americano. My guy, how many years have you been in the business? The booking of that spot makes Styles look so incredibly dumb. Ultimately, it set up his attempt at the Phenomenal Forearm on Americano, who was still in the ring, only to be countered with a headbutt that earned him the pin. Advertisement This is nuts, and I'm unsure how to feel about it. If anything, there's now no chance Rollins wins the ladder match for as long as Punk is still breathing. And like I said last week, his boys should literally just help him try to win from the beginning of the match because they can. There are a lot of holes in all of the logic around this storyline at this point, but I'll tell you what, I won't even be surprised if Americano actually wins it now. This might be Triple H's comedy replacement for R-Truth and Carlito. I wish I were joking. Maximum unpredictability Perhaps my investment is just deeper than I realize, but the women's Money In the Bank ladder match realistically could — and should — have anyone but Rhea Ripley win. That's no knock on Ripley; she simply could use it the least of any other five options, and any of them makes sense, and choosing the right person feels impossible. That's a good problem to have because of how any can be good. Advertisement However, no one right is looking better than this show's... 👑 Uncrowned Gem of the Night 👑 Let's lay a little foundation for the final qualifier match that happened on "WWE Raw." It was Liv Morgan vs. Ivy Nile vs. Stephanie Vaquer. The latter of which is now officially a member of the "WWE Raw" roster after she recently dropped her NXT Women's Championship to Jacy Jayne. Spoiler alert: She won. That woman is a megastar in the making and should be treated as such, so push her beyond the moon. Her presentation should automatically lead viewers to think she'll win the briefcase. It's been the definition of investment in "La Primera" and rightfully so. She's so damn good. ♻️Repeat of the Night Regarding one of the Women's Tag Team Champs Morgan, this was another case of WWE devaluing titles by putting them in qualifier matches. WWE did it with both U.S. Champions participating in — and losing — Money In the Bank qualifiers this year. It's so, so dumb, and it hurts the already absolutely pointless Women's Tag Team titles more than the others. One could argue that it doesn't really matter because of its non-existent value. On top of it, something is already getting teased between Morgan and the Women's World Champion Iyo Sky, which I can't imagine many people have an interest in. I certainly don't. 🫨Contrast of the Night After mentioning the Women's U.S. Championship, we have to talk about the difference between how WWE is treating that title and its Intercontinental counterpart. It's stunning. Zelina Vega and Chelsea Green are in a perpetual loop of nonsense with the U.S. strap, while Lyra Valkyria is doing the best work of her career on the mic with Becky Lynch — a main event caliber dance partner. Advertisement Lynch delivered a solid video promo before she was called out by the almost unnecessarily angry Valkyria in the ring. She justified it quickly and dug into the former world champ with great barbs. Lynch's focus on the hand-raising from Valkyria after their match is pretty silly, and this program really should have continued after WWE Backlash, but as long as Valkyria hangs onto the title, it will have been a win for her. 🚫DQ of the Night There's no point to some of these matches in WWE under Triple H, other than to highlight how dumb they can be. Jey Uso and Sami Zayn defeated Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker by DQ when Seth Rollins attacked Uso. So why bother? Advertisement The match didn't even progress the storyline between everyone, as Punk arrived to even the numbers, and that was that. 👍MONDAY NIGHT MONEY👍 1. Michael Cole made good on his bet after the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers in the NBA playoffs, which meant he had to wear a Pacers jersey for the whole show. That was just good wholesome fun. 2. WWE probably wasn't thrilled about it, but there were several "Bring back Truth" and "We want Truth" chants in honor of the recently released R-Truth throughout "WWE Raw." It's pretty wild to hear that type of support, but you love to hear the crowd let their voices be heard. 3. Kairi Sane defeated Raquel Rodriguez in their match thanks to the aid of Sky, who stopped Morgan's interference. The positive here is Sane staying strong since she returned and picking up wins, somewhat single-handedly embarrassing the Women's Tag Team Champions. However, WWE is clearly going to inject Morgan somehow back into the Women's World title picture, as evidenced by these Sky interactions. Advertisement Ideally, the Roxanne Perez Judgment Day involvement will steer her from that path. 4. Karrion Kross continued his attempts to persuade the "real" Zayn to come out backstage after his match against Reed and Breakker. This has to build to something, whether that's a team with Kross or turning heel on his own to pursue a world title, either works. 👎RAW DEAL👎 1. The backstage Rusev video packages continued. When he popped on screen tonight, I legit thought to myself: "Miro!" Rusev is WWE Miro now, and it's pretty disheartening, especially when Miro was so good and could have been great if utilized effectively. The callbacks to his and Sheamus' history were good, but to do it with the same old style is lame. Give this guy something new. I'm begging you, Triple H. Advertisement 2. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and JD McDonagh) defeated The War Raiders — with the help of Perez, because The Judgment Day might literally not be allowed to win without an interference. The match was fine, but a rehash of something we've seen before. Outside of The Judgment Day story progression, which was very minimal with this, there's zero reason to care about this tag team division. 3. WWE showed a hype video for Uso and Gunther's rematch next Monday, which was loaded mainly with footage of everything before WrestleMania 41. You know. Because nothing new has happened between them since, and for Gunther specifically, he's only had one match, and it was against a commentator. 👑Despite that wild booking choice that closed out this "WWE Raw," there was more good than bad, and it was an enjoyable show. I give it a Crown score of: 7.5/10.👑
Metro
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
'Elite' wrestling star quits WWE rivals days before Money In The Bank
WWE are honing in on a major free agent who appears to have quit rivals All Elite Wrestling. Former AEW Women's World Champion Mariah May has been removed from the company's online roster page amid reports she is jumping ship to the sports entertainment giant. The 26-year-old English wrestler, who built her reputation in Japan before reaching new heights in Tony Khan's promotion, seems to be on the move. Usually, a wrestler's removal from the AEW website suggests they're leaving, as fans have seen in recent months with the likes of Aleister Black, Penta, Rey Fenix, Rusev and more. Now, Mariah appears to be the next name, as PWInsider cited WWE sources who expected her to 'start there in the near future'. According to Fightful, management for Mariah – who hasn't appeared since losing her Hollywood Ending match to Toni Storm in March – claim she is still under contract. It's believed to be simply a matter of time before her two-year deal with AEW expires and she signs with WWE. While it's not clear exactly when she becomes a free agent, it's hard to imagine WWE wasting any time putting pen to paper and bringing her on board. Money In the Bank is just days away on June 7, but it could be that her big moment is saved for WWE's all-women's PLE Evolution on July 13, one night after AEW All In. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Another possibility is NXT Great American Bash one night earlier on July 12, which is running against AEW's massive Texas show. London-born Mariah made her in-ring debut in February 2019, before having an unsuccessful try out with WWE a few months later. After the pandemic, she made the jump to Japan with Stardom in 2022, where she crossed paths with Mina Shirakawa, and continued to develop her skills. The following year, she signed with AEW and debuted as a 'super fan' of then-world champion Toni Storm. Their two-year story arch – which was inspired by Hollywood classic All About Eve – saw her go from protege to rival in one of modern wrestling's best feuds, including a match at Wembley Stadium. 'The reason I chose AEW was because of this story,' Mariah exclusively told Metro in London last summer. 'I didn't know that I would take it to the lengths I did, I never knew how far it would go. But to be a part of a storyline is always enticing – that's why I got into wrestling.' Meanwhile, fans are excited to see Mariah get to do her thing in WWE after her incredible body of work in AEW. More Trending 'Mariah May is one of AEW's best success stories. A unique debut, layered character, and an all-time memorable feud,' broadcaster Jon Alba said on X. 'She will thrive in WWE. I suspect it won't take long for her to become a top star.' Fan @ChandranTheMan agreed: 'Mariah May is only 26 and already checks every box. Elite facial expressions, a 5-star match under her belt, strong storytelling skills, and a standout look. She's a total star in the making.' View More » And @VisionarySev went one further, predicting: 'Mariah May will be WWE's best signing this decade.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Rosie O'Donnell reveals hit show she was meant to star in before fleeing America MORE: Amazon Prime fans rush to save 'incredible' axed series as 70,000 sign petition MORE: Security drags ex WWE star off daytime TV show after physical clash
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
WWE Raw results, highlights (May 19): Seth Rollins, Gunther set sights on Jey Uso vs. Logan Paul winner
"WWE Raw" in Greenville, North Carolina, continued the road to Money In the Bank with triple-threat qualifier matches Monday while also gearing up the WWE Universe for Saturday Night's Main Event. The World Heavyweight Championship was the primary focus of this show, which is always nice to see. All the big storylines are beginning to intertwine nicely. Now it's just a matter of whether or not Jey Uso hangs onto the strap with all these challengers coming after him. Advertisement Let's break it down. World title turmoil The more WWE progresses with the World Heavyweight title situation, the more I want to see Logan Paul beat Jey Uso at Saturday Night's Main Event this weekend. Talk about a sentence I never thought I'd write. Aside from the appeal having a heel champion with mega heat like Paul, I have zero interest in running back Uso vs. Gunther so soon, which appears to be the plan. "The Ring General" is officially next, awaiting the winner, and he confronted Paul to start the show. Paul's "fact" promo was partially actual facts mixed in with opinions meant to insult Uso. It was a promo devoid of substance until Gunther arrived and sold me a ticket on a fresh rivalry. Paul came off fearful while the former champ hyped him up, stating how good for business Paul as champion would be. It was an overall nice touch to see Paul buy into it all before Gunther twisted the differences between them to business vs. personal, promising he'll destroy him in their match if Paul wins. Advertisement It ended with a tease and a surprise Uso super kick. That part was whatever, but I'll (partially) forgive the silly booking of a Gunther title shot off a Pat McAfee win if it's against a fresh face like Paul. Seeds were continuously planted on each side when Paul Heyman confronted Uso backstage, with Seth Rollins confronting Paul and Gunther separately. To end the night, there was the typical DQ predictability. Uso beat Breakker in a solid match until Rollins attacked Uso, and then, of course, Paul punched him again once everyone scattered. For a brief moment, it felt like we'd get the Sami Zayn turn once everything broke down, and CM Punk aided him in making the save for Uso. But WWE's creativity in 2025 really feels like it's hinging purely on those big viral moments. Obviously, The Rock's involvement with the John Cena heel turn comes immediately to mind. Qualifier Chaos As much as I miss the Money In the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania, I love qualifier season. The more triple threats the merrier, and after "WWE SmackDown" we got two more for the women's match, starting with Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. the new official main roster member, Roxanne Perez. Advertisement It's hard to shake the image of the Natalya we recently saw outside the WWE, especially when Michael Cole mentions it on commentary. Why can't she be that version in WWE? I wish we knew. She was a great foil to this matchup, allowing many fun triple spots like a double Pop-Rox and double sharpshooter. But it was all about seeing Perez and Lynch go at it — before Lyra Valkyria prevented the Lynch win. Perez eventually got the pin on Natalya, and the big push begins. As for the other match, it was Rhea Ripley vs. Kairi Sane vs. Zoey Stark before it effectively became a singles match because of a horrific injury to Stark. The former Pure Fusion Collective member landed terribly when going for the sniper missile drop kick that bent her knee in the wrong direction. I'll warn you now, don't watch if you're squeamish. We wish Stark a speedy recovery. This was the official return of Sane, which was great to see despite WWE completely downplaying it like nothing, and revealing on social media earlier in the day that she was back. The former tag team champion didn't miss a beat and hit some fun kick spots with Ripley before ultimately falling short to the Riptide. Advertisement There was zero chance that Ripley was losing the match, but I had a similar feeling to when Rey Fenix lost on "WWE SmackDown." Sane in the ladder match could have created a lot of wild moments. However, the long game here is clearly to get back to Ripley vs. Iyo Sky, and Ripley beating Sky's friend along the way is a good little wrinkle. It's currently Alexa Bliss, Perez and Ripley in the ladder match. Just with those three, I'm hyped for it. Bliss and Perez are the frontrunners of the three, as Ripley doesn't at all need the briefcase. Bliss or Perez would be phenomenal winners, but the Charlotte Flair thing continues to play out with Bliss. She's also a past winner. So Perez is easily the best candidate as the new kid on the block, and arguably will end up being the best option regardless of the final three additions. Interestingly enough, Finn Bálor recruited Perez into The Judgment Day after Ripley's win. If you needed any reinforcement in believing that Perez had a good chance of winning, there it is. 👍MONDAY NIGHT MONEY👍 1. Sheamus beat Grayson Waller in a surprisingly long but fun match. There were some pretty poor botches from Waller toward the end, but it was a good showcase for both. 👎RAW DEAL👎 1. Sorry, WWE. I couldn't care less about the NBA, and don't have a clue who Tyrese Haliburton is. Stop, please. Advertisement As for the announcement, Haliburton is getting added to the WWE 2K game. What a waste of airtime. 2. Another week without Rusev on "WWE Raw." Instead, he'll take on ... Akira Tozawa next week. There is no need to slow-build someone like Rusev. WWE has flopped the start of Rusev's return outside of the great Otis match. 👑 Uncrowned Gem of the Night 👑 The Greenville crowd was hot for Penta and AJ Styles vs. The Judgment Day, and rightfully so. All four of these guys meshed together greatly, which wasn't surprising. But JD McDonagh, in particular, has really won me over since his injury in The War Raiders match. I don't mean that because of the injury, but because he's felt like he's been treated like a more serious wrestler and is delivering in the ring. This match was no different. Advertisement Ultimately, your typical shenanigans cost a Judgment Day opponent a win when El Grande Americano headbutted Penta outside the ring. That led to a Bálor Coup de Grace. These recurring elements feel never-ending, but the match was solid, and McDonagh was the real star. 👑 I give this show a Crown score of: 7/10. 👑
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
WWE Raw results, highlights (May 19): Seth Rollins, Gunther set sights on Jey Uso vs. Logan Paul winner
"WWE Raw" in Greenville, North Carolina, continued the road to Money In the Bank with triple-threat qualifier matches while also gearing up the WWE Universe for Saturday Night's Main Event. The World Heavyweight Championship was the primary focus of this show, which is always nice to see. All the big storylines are beginning to intertwine nicely. Now it's just a matter of whether or not Jey Uso hangs onto the strap with all these challengers coming after him. Advertisement Let's break it down. World title turmoil The more WWE progresses with the World Heavyweight title situation, the more I want to see Logan Paul beat Jey Uso at Saturday Night's Main Event this weekend. Talk about a sentence I never thought I'd write. Aside from the appeal having a heel champion with mega heat like Paul, I have zero interest in running back Uso vs. Gunther so soon, which appears to be the plan. "The Ring General" is officially next, awaiting the winner, and he confronted Paul to start the show. Paul's "fact" promo was partially actual facts mixed in with opinions meant to insult Uso. It was a promo devoid of substance until Gunther arrived and sold me a ticket on a fresh rivalry. Paul came off fearful while the former champ hyped him up, stating how good for business Paul as champion would be. It was an overall nice touch to see Paul buy into it all before Gunther twisted the differences between them to business vs. personal, promising he'll destroy him in their match if Paul wins. Advertisement It ended with a tease and a surprise Uso super kick. That part was whatever, but I'll (partially) forgive the silly booking of a Gunther title shot off a Pat McAfee win if it's against a fresh face like Paul. Seeds were continuously planted on each side when Paul Heyman confronted Uso backstage, with Seth Rollins confronting Paul and Gunther separately. To end the night, there was the typical DQ predictability. Uso beat Breakker in a solid match until Rollins attacked Uso, and then, of course, Paul punched him again once everyone scattered. For a brief moment, it felt like we'd get the Sami Zayn turn once everything broke down, and CM Punk aided him in making the save for Uso. But WWE's creativity in 2025 really feels like it's hinging purely on those big viral moments. Obviously, The Rock's involvement with the John Cena heel turn comes immediately to mind. Qualifier Chaos As much as I miss the Money In the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania, I love qualifier season. The more triple threats the merrier, and after "WWE SmackDown" we got two more for the women's match, starting with Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. the new official main roster member, Roxanne Perez. Advertisement It's hard to shake the image of the Natalya we recently saw outside the WWE, especially when Michael Cole mentions it on commentary. Why can't she be that version in WWE? I wish we knew. She was a great foil to this matchup, allowing many fun triple spots like a double Pop-Rox and double sharpshooter. But it was all about seeing Perez and Lynch go at it — before Lyra Valkyria prevented the Lynch win. Perez eventually got the pin on Natalya, and the big push begins. As for the other match, it was Rhea Ripley vs. Kairi Sane vs. Zoey Stark before it effectively became a singles match because of a horrific injury to Stark. The former Pure Fusion Collective member landed terribly when going for the sniper missile drop kick that bent her knee in the wrong direction. I'll warn you now, don't watch if you're squeamish. We wish Stark a speedy recovery. This was the official return of Sane, which was great to see despite WWE completely downplaying it like nothing, and revealing on social media earlier in the day that she was back. The former tag team champion didn't miss a beat and hit some fun kick spots with Ripley before ultimately falling short to the Riptide. Advertisement There was zero chance that Ripley was losing the match, but I had a similar feeling to when Rey Fenix lost on "WWE SmackDown." Sane in the ladder match could have created a lot of wild moments. However, the long game here is clearly to get back to Ripley vs. Iyo Sky, and Ripley beating Sky's friend along the way is a good little wrinkle. It's currently Alexa Bliss, Perez and Ripley in the ladder match. Just with those three, I'm hyped for it. Bliss and Perez are the frontrunners of the three, as Ripley doesn't at all need the briefcase. Bliss or Perez would be phenomenal winners, but the Charlotte Flair thing continues to play out with Bliss. She's also a past winner. So Perez is easily the best candidate as the new kid on the block, and arguably will end up being the best option regardless of the final three additions. Interestingly enough, Finn Balor recruited Perez into The Judgment Day after Ripley's win. If you needed any reinforcement in believing that Perez had a good chance of winning, there it is. 👍MONDAY NIGHT MONEY👍 1. Sheamus beat Grayson Waller in a surprisingly long but fun match. There were some pretty poor botches from Waller towards the end, but it was a good showcase for both. 👎RAW DEAL👎 1. Sorry, WWE. I couldn't care less about the NBA, and don't have a clue who Tyrese Haliburton is. Stop, please. Advertisement As for the announcement, Haliburton is getting added to the WWE 2K game. What a waste of airtime. 2. Another week without Rusev on "WWE Raw." Instead, he'll take on ... Akira Tozawa next week. There is no need to slow-build someone like Rusev. WWE has flopped the start of Rusev's return outside of the great Otis match. 👑 Uncrowned Gem of the Night 👑 The Greenville crowd was hot for Penta and AJ Styles vs. The Judgment Day, and rightfully so. All four of these guys meshed together greatly, which wasn't surprising. But JD McDonagh, in particular, has really won me over since his injury in The War Raiders match. I don't mean that because of the injury, but because he's felt like he's been treated like a more serious wrestler and is delivering in the ring. This match was no different. Advertisement Ultimately, your typical shenanigans cost a Judgment Day opponent a win when El Grande Americano headbutted Penta outside the ring. That led to a Balor Coup de Grace. These recurring elements feel never-ending, but the match was solid, and McDonagh was the real star. 👑 I give this show a Crown score of: 7/10. 👑
