Monday Night Raw Review - June 27, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Riddle Won a Last Chance Battle Royal to Qualify for the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

As soon as Riddle made his entrance, you had to know he was winning this thing. By the way, how sad is it that AJ Styles didn't get a televised entrance? I know he lasted until the very end and The Miz eliminated him from the outside, but I maintain that Styles has never felt less important in WWE. This was your average Battle Royal, though there were some fun moments in the final few minutes. Riddle advancing to Money in the Bank made the most sense after his interaction with Seth Rollins last week.

Montez Ford def. Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Jey Uso

This was the third straight week that we've gotten a one-on-one match between a member from each teams. It's not exactly creative, I know, but at least the matches have been well-wrestled and had quality action. This was probably the best of the bunch as Ford is always fun to watch and Jey Uso has shown he's also very good on his own. Honestly, seeing Ford nearly touch the Money in the Bank briefcases made me want to see him as Mr. Money in the Bank. Maybe in 2023?

AJ Styles def. The Miz by Count-Out

Miz was in the ring being interviewed by Kevin Patrick when Styles came out and punched him in the face, leading to an impromptu match being made coming out of the commercial break. These two have had enjoyable matches whenever they've been in the ring together and I enjoyed this as well, but devoting over 10 minutes to a match that ended in a count-out wasn't ideal. I'm slightly surprised this wasn't saved for Money in the Bank because now Styles won't be on the show (at least as of now).

Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair Attacked Carmella

Carmella definitely isn't the most exciting opponent for Belair at Money in the Bank, but as I've said elsewhere in the last week, I'm fine with it being given away on a two-week build. Almost any other match would have needed more time to be built up. That said, they probably should have put heat on Carmella here by having her get the better of Belair going into the pay-per-view. Virtually no one thinks Carmella is taking the title, so now she looks like even less of a threat than she did a week ago. The mic work was serviceable, but the layout of this segment was strange.

Liv Morgan def. Alexa Bliss

Did Morgan come off as a heel talking to Bliss beforehand backstage or was it just me? Morgan is usually very likable, so I thought that was weird. This was a nice match while it lasted and I appreciated that it was something we've never seen before, but I wish they had more time. I'd love to see Morgan become Ms. Money in the Bank, but there's at least two or three women who have a higher chance of winning than her.

John Cena Addressed the Audience

No one captivates a crowd and captures their attention quite like Cena. He said pretty much what you'd expect him to as far as thanking the audience for 20 years and that WWE will always be his home, but it was all good stuff. It's worth noting that he mentioned he doesn't know when his next match would be but that he had more than one left in him, so it's not as if he's on the verge of in-ring retirement. No one interrupted him as I hoped would happen to set up something for SummerSlam or plant the seeds for a storyline down the road, but that's fine. He deserves his flowers for the iconic career he's had and it was cool that he got to share that moment with the audience.

Bobby Lashley def. Alpha Academy in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match (United States Champion Theory Served as Special Guest Enforcer)

Lashley beat Chad Gable and Otis back-to-back in last week's Gauntlet, so the test this week was to see if he could beat them both at the same time as Theory stood at ringside. Sure enough, he did, and it was a solid match. Granted, this didn't make Alpha Academy look too strong, but it's not as if it was a total squash. I'm also glad they've continued to appear on TV despite losing the Raw Tag Team Championship months ago. This was another momentum boost for Lashley heading into his United States Championship match with Theory on Saturday.

Cody Rhodes Offered an Update on His Road to Recovery

This was a pre-taped segment from a gym in Atlanta, though I don't believe it was The Nightmare Factory. We don't see this sort of stuff often from injured stars in WWE, so I thought this was well done. Rhodes has only been off the show for a few weeks, but most people (myself included) have already forgotten he was a part of the program. I say that as a good thing because it will mean more when he returns. He said he isn't rooting for anyone in particular but that he'd be the first one to congratulate Seth Rollins if he won. I don't need another match between the two when Rhodes comes back, but Rhodes eliminating him from the men's Royal Rumble to win it in January would suffice.

Becky Lynch def. Doudrop, Tamina, Shayna Baszler, Nikki A.S.H. and Xia Li in a Last Chance Six-Woman Elimination Match to Qualify for the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

I know Lynch has been down on her luck lately, but I don't think anyone actually thought she was losing this considering who else was involved. The eliminations caused it to go longer than it likely would have otherwise, but it was a straightforward main event. It certainly wasn't main event material, but I understand wanting to close the show with it because it's related to Money in the Bank and the Cena promo was not. Lynch should be considered the new odds-on favorite to win the briefcase, though I personally wish they went with a fresher face (especially if Rollins is winning the men's).

Overall Show

This whole show was built around the Cena celebration on the exact 20-year anniversary of his WWE debut and I thought it was handled perfectly. It started with Cena being shown entering the building and shaking hands with members of the roster in the back, interacting with more Superstars backstage as the night went on, video packages highlighting his career, and shout-outs featuring familiar faces from his past airing (including AEW's Chris Jericho, Paul Wight/Big Show, and Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan). I think we all expected/hoped someone would interrupt him and Theory felt like the top choice, but at least they had their moment in the back and WWE can always go back to that down the road. The Cena stuff delivered and there was also effective last-minute hype for Money in the Bank, so I thought it was an entertaining episode all around.

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