By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw (Episode 1,519)
Live from San Diego, California at Pechanga Arena
Aired July 4, 2022 on USA Network
[Hour One] The show opened with a video that touted the Independence Day edition of Raw… Corey Graves welcomed viewers to Raw. He noted that Jimmy Smith was on vacation and introduced Byron Saxton and Smith’s replacement Kevin Patrick.
The broadcast team hyped Asuka vs. Becky Lynch in a No Holds Barred match, Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor and Damian Priest, an appearance by new Smackdown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan, and Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits vs. Theory and Alpha Academy…
Ring announcer Mike Rome introduced Lashley as the new U.S. Champion. Lashley made his entrance and once in the ring he welcomed viewers to Raw. Lashley said American’s Independence Day holds a special place in all of our hearts. He said he couldn’t be more proud to be standing in front of the fans as the new U.S. Champion.
Lashley spoke about how it’s not the title that makes the man, it’s the man that makes the title. He said there’s not another man in another division or another promotion who can beat him for the U.S. Championship.
Money in the Bank winner Theory made his entrance and questioned why Lashley gets to kick off Raw. Theory said Lashley got the U.S. Title victory, but everyone is talking about the youngest MITB winner in history. A loud “you suck” chant broke out.
Theory entered the ring and compared himself to Tom Brady and Michael Jordan in terms of being clutch. Lashley asked Theory if he considered that he was given a chance he didn’t deserve after Lashley took his title and shattered his ego into a million pieces.
Theory boasted that he’s always making it happen. He said he’s going straight to the top with the MITB contact. He said he was informed today that he’s getting a rematch for the U.S. Championship at SummerSlam. He also spoke about how Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar will beat the hell out of each other that night and he will cash in on the winner.
Lashley said Theory forgot to mention the “if” part of his plan. He said everything Theory spoke about hinged on “if” he would make it to SummerSlam. Theory tossed the briefcase at Lashley and then attacked him once he caught it. Lashley eventually put Theory down with a spinebuster that caused Theory to leave the ring…
Powell’s POV: Lashley was over big with the live crowd while Theory had good heat. Theory felt a little more serious than usual so hopefully they are starting to make him more of a serious character. If Theory is challenging Lashley at SummerSlam, that would seem to indicate that Theory’s planned match with John Cena is off.
Backstage, Megan Morant interviewed Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio and asked them about Finn Balor’s inflammatory comments. Dom said the comments were disrespectful and there’s no one he’d rather learn from than his father. They were all smiles. Rey said they were the first-ever father and son tag team champions so he must be doing something right. Rey also noted that San Diego is their home turf and added that it was Dom’s first time working in San Diego.
The Mysterios made their entrance. The Judgment Day entrance started. Finn Balor and Damian Priest entered the ring behind the Mysterios and attacked them. Balor and Priest cleared the Mysterios from the ring heading into a PIP break… [C]
1. Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor and Damian Priest. The match started during the PIP break. Graves said Dom went to school roughly 15 minutes away from the host venue. A graphic listed AJ Styles vs. The Miz for later in the show. Priest tossed Dom against the barricade heading into another PIP break. [C]
Rey performed an awkward tornado DDT on Priest, and the broadcast team did their best to cover for it. Rey picked up a few near falls on Priest. The Mysterios hit a double 619 on Balor and Priest. Rey went up top and did the Eddie Guerrero shimmy before going for a frogsplash, but Balor put his knees up and covered him for a near fall.
Priest slid a chair inside the ring and the distracted the referee. Balor picked up the chair and Dom failed to take it away. Rey took a back bump and acted like Balor hit him with the chair. The referee turned around and disqualified Balor and Priest…
Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio beat Finn Balor and Damian Priest by DQ in 11:30.
Powell’s POV: Way to teach your son how to cheat, Rey. Okay, so it was the latest Eddie Guerrero tribute. I’m know I’m in the minority, but I’m not a fan of finishes that go against the rule that referees can only call what they see.
Logan Paul signing with WWE was recapped…
The Miz was interviewed by Megan Morant in the backstage area. Miz said Logan Paul is surrounded by yes men. Miz said he doesn’t want Paul to make the same mistakes that he did when he joined WWE. Miz told Paul to retract his statement and accept his offer and then they will become tag team champions.
Miz said that if Paul doesn’t accept his offer, he will be relentless and will make him earn everything. Miz said Paul would be humbled. Miz also said he would show AJ Styles that he has American supersized balls…
AJ Styles made his entrance… An ad for Smackdown questioned how Ronda Rousey would respond to Liv Morgan beating her for the Smackdown Women’s Championship, and also hyped the return of Roman Reigns… [C]
Graves touted that a photo of Logan Paul signing was the most liked photo in WWE’s Instagram history…
“The Street Profits” Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins threw a July 4 party “earlier today” for wrestlers and others. Chad Gable and Otis showed up. The teams bickered. Dawkins pointed out that Ford served in the U.S. Marines and then claimed that is a hot dog eating champion. They set up a hot dog eating contest for later…
The Mysterios were walking backstage when they were attacked by Balor and Priest. The Mysterios were left lying…
The broadcast team hyped NXT 2.0’s Great American Bashed themed episode for Tuesday… The Miz made his entrance while the broadcast team recapped his battle royal performance and then walking out on a match with Styles last week…
2. AJ Styles vs. The Miz. Styles took offensive control and held it heading into a PIP break a little over a minute into the match. [C] Late in the match, Miz DDT’d Styles for a two count. Miz set up for a figure four, but Styles kicked him away. Styles followed up with a Phenomenal Forearm moments later and scored the clean pin.
AJ Styles defeated The Miz in 6:25.
Styles celebrated his win afterward until he was attacked from behind by Ciampa. Styles avoided a running knee and then hit a Pele Kick. Styles set up Ciampa for a Styles Clash, but Miz returned and dropped Styles with a Skull Crushing Finale. Miz and Ciampa stood over Styles and shook hands…
Liv Morgan’s appearance was hyped… [C]
Powell’s POV: Let’s go all the way with this by having Miz & Mrs. & Ciampa. How about The Marine 14 with Ciampa playing Miz’s buddy from bootcamp?
San Diego imagery was shown…
[Hour Two] A video package chronicled Liv Morgan winning Money in the Bank and then successfully cashing in on Ronda Rousey to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship at MITB…
New Smackdown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan made her entrance. Morgan stood in the ring and soaked up the obligatory “you deserve it” chant. She thanked the crowd and then corrected them by screaming, “We deserve it.”
Morgan said she was proud to be standing in the ring as the new Smackdown Women’s Champion. She said all of her dreams finally came true thanks to one unbelievable night at Money in the Bank.
Morgan credited the fans with getting her through the MITB match and said they have been with her ever step of the way. She said the fans have believed in her even at times when she felt she didn’t give them anything to believe in.
Morgan jumped up and down in the ring a few times and then told the fans that they gave her the confidence she needed to win MITB and cash in her contract the same night. Morgan held up the title and said it’s not just for her, “this is for all of us.” Morgan kissed the belt.
Natalya made her entrance and said that Morgan should be thanking her. Natalya said she’s the only reason that Morgan was able to cash in her MITB contract. Natalya said she destroyed Ronda Rousey’s knee with the Sharpshooter.
Natalya entered the ring and said that while she would take a thank you, she’d much rather take the Smackdown Women’s Championship. Morgan said Natalya seemed to be having a hard time accepting that she lost to Rousey. Morgan said it made sense that Natalya came after the giant target on her back. Morgan said that she and Natalya will be sharing a locker room on Smackdown and said Natalya will know exactly where to find her.
Carmella made her entrance and told Morgan and Natalya that this is Raw and suggested they go back to Smackdown. Carmella told Natalya to take her business with Morgan to Smackdown and leave the ring so that the next Raw Women’s Champion could have the spotlight.
Morgan said all eyes were on Carmella when she lost to Belair at Money in the Bank. Morgan said that if Carmella wanted her to leave the ring, she should make her get out. Carmella and Natalya indicated that they would work together. Morgan threw the first punches and was outnumbered quickly.
Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair made her entrance and attacked Carmella. Morgan fought off Natalya and dumped her to ringside, then Belair tossed Carmella to the floor.
Adam Pearce came out and announced Morgan and Belair vs. Carmella and Natalya in an immediate match. The show cut to another PIP break… [C]
3. Bianca Belair and Liv Morgan vs. Natalya and Carmella. The match started during the PIP break. Natalya caught Morgan in the Sharpshooter. Belair tossed her braid under the ropes and Morgan used it to pull her way to the corner to tag out. Graves had a fit while questioning the legality of the move. Belair performed a vertical suplex on Natalya, who crawled to her corner. Belair followed and was booted by Carmella. [C]
Belair made a hot tag coming out of a standard commercial break. Morgan worked over Natalya and hit her with a step-up knee in the corner. She followed up with a springboard Codebreaker and covered Natalya, but Carmella broke it up. Morgan put Carmella down with a Codebreaker.
Belair and Carmella ended up at ringside where Carmella shoved Belair into the ring post. Morgan knocked Carmella off the apron with a knee to the head. Natalya went for the Sharpshooter, but Morgan kicked her off. Morgan put Natalya down with her Oblivion finisher and pinned her…
Bianca Belair and Liv Morgan defeated Natalya and Carmella in 13:25.
Powell’s POV: Morgan’s promo was underwhelming. She was energetic, but it felt like the crowd seemed to peak early and she she seemed to be losing them a bit by the end. It was fun to see the women’s champions team together and apparently this was Morgan’s sendoff to Smackdown.
Footage aired of Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander stealing food from Veer Mahaan, who got up and chased them. MVP spoke about Omos about staying the course after MITB. Dana Brooke was chased by some of the usual suspects. Reggie ran into Omos and fell down. Omos picked up Reggie and tossed him.
Ezekiel spoke with the Profits about having pie-eating contests with Elias and Elrod when he was a kid. Ezekiel tried to put ketchup on a hotdog, but he accidentally squirted the ketchup onto Seth Rollins and then tried to clean him up with using the bun. Rollins shot the mean face and then burst out laughing maniacally. Rollins stood and glared at Ezekiel while licking some of the ketchup off his finger. Ezekiel looked concerned after Rollins stormed away…
Seth Rollins made his entrance for a match against Ezekiel. Patrick set up a trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder… [C]
Powell’s POV: What a crazy coincidence. I believe the villain in the Thor movie tries to destroy the world because Thor accidentally squirted ketchup on him at a BBQ, but don’t quote me on that.
The eerie video that debuted at MITB was replayed with gold medals, a Latino Heat license plate, and other imagery… Ezekiel made his entrance…
4. Seth Rollins vs. Ezekiel. Rollins went on the offensive early. Ezekiel battled back and dumped him to ringside and followed. Ezekiel pressed Rollins over his head and tossed him into the timekeepers area heading into a PIP break. [C]
Ezekiel caught Rollins leaping from the middle rope with a leaping knee to the face and then covered him for a two count. A short time later, Ezekiel caught Rollins in Electric Chair position. Ezekiel ended up powerbombing Rollins for another two count. Ezekiel went for a backslide and got another two count. Rollins shot up and put Ezekiel away with The Stomp…
Seth Rollins defeated Ezekiel in 10:15.
After the match, Rollins started to walk toward the back, but he opted to return to the ring to dish out more punishment. Rollins set up for a Stomp, but Riddle appeared and hit him with an RKO out of nowhere…
Powell’s POV: The match went on longer than I anticipated. My guess is that this is more about filling time on a holiday show than it is about establishing Ezekiel as being near the same level as Rollins. Meanwhile, AEW wrestlers Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson, and Paul “Big Show” Wight delivered in pre-taped testimonials for John Cena’s anniversary on Raw last week, and now AEW has apparently lent Raw their PIP breaks. At this rate, I expect Raw have two entrances tunnels by next week.
Otis and Angelo Dawkins were having a hotdog eating contest. Otis was ahead 23-22 when the whistle blew. However, the winner was named Akira Tozawa, and a graphic listed him as having eaten 48 hot dogs. Theory showed up and reminded Otis and Chad Gable about their six-man tag match…
U.S. Champion Bobby Lashley made his entrance. The graphic for the previous match was shown, and then they switched to the listing of the six-man tag match. Saxton questioned whether Otis would even be able to compete…
A SummerSlam video was shown. We are 26 days away… [C] The Street Profits made their entrances while footage was shown of their match with The Usos at MITB.
[Hour Three] Footage aired of Bobby Lashley beating Theory to win the U.S. Title, followed by Theory winning the MITB match. Theory made his entrance. A video package aired on Alpha Academy playing cards while backstage at MITB. Okay, that footage actually did not air, but they did make their entrance…
5. Bobby Lashley, Montez Ford, and Angelo Dawkins vs. Theory, Chad Gable, and Otis. Theory kept his MITB briefcase under the ropes in his team’s corner. Dawkins and Lashley held up two opponents for vertical suplexes. Dawkins ran the ropes, leapfrogged Lashley, and then performed a flip dive onto their opponents on the floor before another PIP break. [C]
Dawkins shoulder blocked Theory at ringside and sent him flying over the broadcast table. In the ring, Lashley powerslammed Gable and had him pinned, but Otis broke it up. Otis held his stomach to sell abdominal issues from the hotdog eating contest.
Lashley speared Otis and then Ford hit him with a top rope frogsplash. Gable suplexed Lashley and then hit him with a top rope moonsault and got a two count. Lashley came right back with a spear and pinned Gable.
Bobby Lashley, Montez Ford, and Angelo Dawkins beat Theory, Chad Gable, and Otis in 10:05.
After the babyfaces left the ring, Otis threw up all over the ring…
Powell’s POV: Vince McMahon is in his barf joke glory right now.
Becky Lynch was interviewed by Megan Morant on the backstage ring set. Lynch said her body is broken to bits and she is mad as hell. She said that anything that could go wrong has gone wrong since Asuka returned. Lynch said Asuka could try to ruin her life, but tonight is no holds barred, so nothing will hold her back when they meet. Lynch said she’s ready for Asuka, who isn’t ready for No Holds Barred Becky…
R-Truth came out dressed as Uncle Sam and shook hands. A graphic listed Uncle Sam’s Fourth of July Celebration as coming up after the break… [C]
The broadcast team narrated slow motion highlights of Otis puking, then hyped Bron Breakker vs. Cameron Grimes for the NXT Championship on Tuesday’s Great American Bash themed edition of NXT 2.0…
R-Truth, who was dressed as Uncle Sam, had the crowd chant USA. He introduced himself as the one and only Uncle Sam. He said it Independence Day is his favorite holiday. He said they were there to honor the brave American heroes who saved Earth from an alien invasion back in 1996.
Ludwig Kaiser interrupted Truth and introduced Intercontinental Champion Gunther, who entered the ring and slapped Truth’s wig. A referee asked Truth if he was okay. Truth said yes. The ref asked if Truth was ready. Truth said no. The bell rang…
6. Intercontinental Champion Gunther (w/Ludwig Kaiser) vs. R-Truth in a non-title match. Gunther hit Truth with a big boot to start. Truth threw a few punches, but Gunther ended up powerbombing and pinning him…
Intercontinental Champion Gunther beat R-Truth in 0:55 in a non-title match.
Powell’s POV: Why do they want me to cheer against my own country on Independence Day?
Sarah Schreiber approached Alexa Bliss backstage and asked her about Liv Morgan cashing in. Bliss said she’s happy for her, but she said it’s been too long since she’s held something other than Lilly. Asuka showed up and said she would beat Becky Lynch and go on to become the next Raw Women’s Champion…
Patrick hyped a look back at the rivalry between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar… [C] The eerie video package was shown again… The Reigns and Lesnar video package aired… Mike Rome stood in the ring and introduced Becky Lynch, who made her entrance and then set up a table at ringside… [C] Asuka made her entrance with a garbage can over her shoulder…
7. Becky Lynch vs. Asuka in a No Holds Barred match. Lynch brought a chair in the ring and Asuka started with the trashcan. Asuka took offensive control and gave Lynch a light chair to the back. Asuka rolled to ringside and brought back another chair.
Lynch got the chair and struggled to wedge it in the corner. Asuka bulldogged Lynch onto the other chair that was set up in the ring. Lynch went to the apron where Asuka set up for a suplex, which Lynch avoided. Lynch dumped Asuka onto a pile of chairs that Lynch created prior to the match. Asuka performed a Hip Attack on Lynch and drove her through the timekeepers barricade. [C]
Asuka superplexed Lynch onto a pile of chairs inside the ring. Asuka put a trashcan over Lynch and hit it with a series of strikes. Asuka went up top and missile dropkicked Lynch while she was still wearing the trashcan. Asuka covered Lynch for a near fall.
Asuka went to ringside and pulled out a table. Lynch cut off Asuka and ran her into the ring steps. Lynch set up a table inside the ring, but Asuka returned and hit her from behind. Lynch regrouped and hit Asuka with a chair.
A short time later, Asuka sent Lynch to ringside and then followed and immediately threw her back inside the ring. Asuka went underneath the ring and pulled out an umbrella. Asuka returned to the ring and hit Lynch with the umbrella. Asuka tried to spray mist at Lynch, but she held up the umbrella.
Asuka placed Lynch on the table and went up top, but Lynch cut her off. Lynch performed a uranage slam that drove Asuka through the table and then pinned her.
Becky Lynch defeated Asuka in 11:40 in a No Holds Barred match.
Lynch celebrated her win and Graves welcomed her back to the big time on commentary to close the show…
Powell’s POV: Lynch vs. Asuka is an overexposed feud. They worked hard and the crowd was into the gimmickry, but I hope this is the end of the road for their program. No one is really to blame either, as they were forced to call multiple audibles due to injuries and the Sasha Banks and Naomi walkouts, which led to creative going with variations of Lynch and Asuka more than they likely intended.
Overall, it was definitely a holiday edition complete with a BBQ and Uncle Sam. Even so, we’ve definitely seen campier episodes in the past. They gave viewers who watched just enough, and those who didn’t watch due to holiday plans shouldn’t feel like they missed much. I will be back with my audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of Raw by grading it below.
The Judgement Day is already dead and buried. That’s what happens when Finn Balor replaces someone like Edge who is actually over.
That’s also what happens when Finn Balor doesn’t possess the strong and compelling promotional skills like Christian Cage where he can ignite and carry a story-line over the long haul.
A video package chronicled Liv Morgan winning Money in the Bank and then successfully cashing in on Ronda Rousey to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship at MITB…
What was the song called? I can’t find it anywhere!
I have to say that I have never liked the presentation of Imperium. It feels very white supremacist. Just me. I could be wrong. Gunther is a great wrestler, though!