Monday Night Raw Review - June 3, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Judgment Day Confronted Women's World Champion Liv Morgan

It's been a long time since we've seen Morgan as a full-fledged heel and she's already excelling in the role. She stressed that she kissed Dominik Mysterio last week as part of her plan to take everything away from Rhea Ripley, and although Dominik denied wanting anything to do with it, I can certainly see him and Morgan becoming an item before long. Morgan left once Finn Balor came out, but the whole segment was another interesting development.

Ludwig Kaiser def. Sheamus

It's cool to see Kaiser showcased as a singles star and as an equal to Sheamus. It's not too surprising because a majority of his matches were competitive even when he was teaming with Giovanni Vinci, but him beating Sheamus was a surprise and I was happy to see it. They had a quality contest and I appreciated that they were given as much time as they were. The cheap finish obviously creates the need for a rematch.

Finn Balor def. Dragon Lee

We really haven't seen a lot of Lee in the ring in recent months, but I was looking forward to this once it was announced knowing what both guys are capable of. Granted, the commercial ate up what felt like half of its television time, but it was a fun match while it lasted. Lee scored enough offense before being overwhelmed by Judgment Day's interference, so it wasn't as if he was straight-up squashed.

Chad Gable Attacked Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn

The stuff with Zayn and Alpha Academy has been the best thing going on Raw for a few weeks now and this was another strong segment from them. The crowd erupted when Otis stood up to Gable, only to boo when Zayn accidentally caused Maxxine Dupri and Akira Tozawa to fall off the ring apron and Otis laid out Zayn instead of Gable. They're doing a terrific job of stretching out the storyline and making people want to see Otis finally break away from Gable. Gable vs. Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship will happen at Clash at the Castle, and as much as I want Gable to take the title, that is bound to be where Otis costs Gable the win and we get Gable vs. Otis from there.

Bron Breakker def. Ricochet

This lasted about as long as Balor vs. Lee, yet it felt much more like a glorified squash with Breakker dominating most of the match before and after the commercial break. I'd like to see what they could do when Ricochet isn't selling injured ribs. Nonetheless, it was a nice match and a notable win for Breakker. Ilja Dragunov came to Ricochet's aid afterward, so it will be Breakker vs. Dragunov on next week's show.

Kiana James def. Natalya

James interacted with Adam Pearce in a brief backstage segment last month, there may have been a profile package for her at one point, and that's about all it in terms of the presence she's had on Raw since being drafted from NXT. I still feel like her call-up was premature, but we'll see if she can adapt and what plans WWE has for her. This was too quick for fans to get an idea of what can do in the ring, but on the bright side, she beat a notable name in Natalya in her in-ring debut.

Braun Strowman def. Carlito

Okay, I mentioned how it felt like Ricochet was squashed by Breakker earlier, but at least that went around eight minutes. This match was the definition of a squash with Strowman decisively defeating Carlito in under two minutes. Carlito has gotten so television time on Raw alongside The Judgment Day that it hardly matters that he got the jobber treatment here. Plus, he and Judgment Day got their heat back afterward by attacking Strowman with a chair.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill def. Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark by Disqualification

Baszler and Stark earned their title shot two weeks ago, and if they were going to get their opportunity on this show, why not advertise it in advance instead of having it be an impromptu match? I realize it's not a marquee matchup by any means, but announcing Belair and Cargill would appear on Raw may have made a difference. Nonetheless, it was a well-worked match for the time it was given. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn interfered for the disqualification, so they look to get the next shot at the titles at Clash at the Castle in their native Scotland.

Jey Uso Vowed to Win Money in the Bank

Uso cut his promo from the crowd with the lights dimmed so you can see all the "fireflies," which has been customary for his entrance since Backlash in France. It was an awesome visual. Could he have cut this same promo from backstage or in the ring? Sure, but it packed more of a punch this way and it's clearly a part of WWE's attempt to try new stuff production-wise, which I'm all for. I don't see Uso becoming Mr. Money in the Bank, but he should be considered a top contender.

Authors of Pain def. The New Day (Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston)

The story for a few weeks now has been that Karrion Kross is trying to play mind games with New Day and convince them that they're being wasted in their current roles. It's an intriguing approach, but we all know New Day isn't breaking up, so it feels pretty predictable that this is going to end in another loss for The Final Testament. At least AOP managed to pick up the win here in what was a decent match.

World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest def. Rey Mysterio (Non-Title)

We've seen Priest vs. Mysterio a few times before, but they work well together and had a good main event here. I'm glad they went with a straightforward finish as opposed to a disqualification, even if there were some shenanigans at ringside with Judgment Day. Drew McIntyre attempted to attack Priest at ringside but was put through the commentary table to close the show. All of this was needed to put more heat on Priest (who is starting to lean babyface, anyway).

Overall Show

This was a slight step up from last week's Memorial Day edition of Raw. It felt like there was more going on, though your enjoyment of the episode will vary depending on your level of interest in the stuff going on surrounding Judgment Day and Morgan. There were some solid matches, additional build for Clash at the Castle next weekend, and they filled the three hours well. Can't ask for much more than that.

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