Monday Night Raw Review - May 27, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Gunther, World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre Interrupted Each Other

It was interesting that the crowd chanted "We want Randy!" yet Gunther made no mention of the "controversial" finish to his match with Randy Orton from King and Queen of the Ring. Triple H acknowledged it in a video that WWE put up on their social media channels, so perhaps there will be some follow-up on SmackDown (though I'm not holding my breath). At any rate, this was a solid segment with really good mic work from all three men as they hyped the World Heavyweight Championship match at Clash at the Castle as well as at SummerSlam.

Braun Strowman def. JD McDonagh

This stemmed from Strowman costing The Judgment Day the World Tag Team Championship on last week's show. It played out exactly as you'd expect with it being a basic squash, but McDonagh deserves credit for selling Strowman's offense as well as he did. I'm surprised it lasted through a commercial break, but crowd was never bored as they were super into Strowman, who continued to chase McDonagh in the arena throughout the night (including at the end of the main event).

Ilja Dragunov vs. Ricochet Ended in a No Contest

Their original encounter earlier this month was one of the best bouts I've seen in person in recent memory. This didn't reach those same heights (literally and figuratively), but it was still very fun while it lasted. Having Bron Breakker (despite being "suspended") interfere and attack both men was a smart way of protecting both guys. I thought for a second that Breakker might attack Adam Pearce, too, but no such luck.

Authors of Pain def. The Creed Brothers

This was a rematch from last week's Main Event. They had a decent match on that show, but I was hoping for more from them. Well, we got a rematch here, but this was even shorter than that. Be careful what you wish for, I guess. I was fine with it not being all that competitive because AOP will be facing The New Day on next week's show and this gave them a dominant win before then. Plus, the Creeds should be headed for a heel turn and alliance with Chad Gable soon.

Sheamus and Ludwig Kaiser Brawled

Kaiser has been making comments about Sheamus for weeks, so you had to know they would face off eventually. I'm glad they actually bothered to build up the match with this segment so Kaiser was made to look like an equal to Sheamus before he loses to him. It was basic albeit effective stuff. By the way, whatever happened to the renewed rivalry between Sheamus and McIntyre? Their interactions last month went nowhere.

Lyra Valkyria def. Kairi Sane

This was a far cry from Valkyria's matches in the Queen of the Ring tournament (which were a lot longer), but this was a nice little match for what it was. I wish we could see more of what Sane's capable of, but I realize this is the role they have her slotted in for right now. This was designed to be a rebound win for Valkyria following her loss at King and Queen of the Ring and to further tease frustration within Damage CTRL's ranks.

Rey Mysterio def. Carlito

Carlito betrayed The LWO over a month ago and only now are we seeing Mysterio wanting to exact revenge on him. We've seen Carlito on Raw with Judgment Day since then, but not Rey. Strange. The commentators noted that it's been 20 years since the last singles match between these two on WWE TV and that's an insane stat. They had a quality contest here, and although Rey picked up the clean win, he and the rest of LWO were left laying afterward by Judgment Day, so we're getting Rey vs. Priest next week.

Bronson Reed def. Otis; Chad Gable Attacked Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn

Reed vs. Otis was nothing out of the ordinary, but it accomplished what it needed to with Reed winning and Gable doing nothing to help him. The post-match angle was the highlight of the night with Gable nearly "disciplining" Otis with a belt before Maxxine Dupri intervened followed by Zayn. Everyone played their roles remarkably well and it was a fantastic way to progress the story. I still want Gable as Intercontinental Champion, but the question is if we get Gable vs. Otis first or they save that for a little later on.

Women's World Champion Liv Morgan def. Becky Lynch in a Steel Cage Match

I've always enjoyed the chemistry that Lynch and Morgan have as opponents and their matches tend to deliver, but this was easily the weakest encounter I can recall them having. It wasn't given much time, they didn't click as well as they usually do, and the finish was overbooked. If this was indeed Lynch's last match for a while (though I'm not convinced she's going anywhere other than possibly taking time off), she unfortunately didn't go out on a high note. At least Morgan was able to beat her twice, even if both wins were tainted. The best part of the whole segment was Morgan kissing Dominik Mysterio, which didn't make the air in most U.S. markets (including mine). It's egregious that they missed that, but it is a cool development of the story.

Overall Show

This edition of Raw lacked the energy that we've gotten from some of the recent editions, potentially due to it being a holiday show, but I still found it to be a thumbs-up effort. The main event was weak, but I'm really intrigued by where they go next with Morgan and Dominik. The Alpha Academy stuff was strong and everything else was serviceable. I also appreciated that they announced as many matches as they did for next week's show.

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