By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. Ilja Dragunov in a Triple Threat qualifier for the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: A hot main event. McIntyre going over seemed like the most likely outcome, but Sheamus and Dragunov both looked good in defeat. The veterans gave Dragunov a lot of offense and he made the most of it.
Sami Zayn and Bron Breakker: A great segment that somehow managed to increase my already high level of interest in the Intercontinental Title match at Money in the Bank. It’s interesting that Zayn spoke about being underestimated and yet did not make the obvious comparison to beating Gunther at WrestleMania. I wonder if they are simply ignoring that for now with Gunther about to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. Breakker spearing Zayn came off well and this would have been a fine segment had that been the end. But they made it better by having Breakker return to dish out more punishment. And just when it looked like Zayn would stand tall after leapfrogging a spear that sent Breakker into the ring steps, Breakker got the last laugh with another big spear back inside the ring. This was all highly effective and I am looking forward to this match as much any on the MITB card.
Damian Priest, Seth Rollins, and Finn Balor: Rollins delivered solid mic work before the surprise interruption by Balor rather than Priest. One can only assume that Balor will be playing a role in World Heavyweight Championship match on Saturday given the way he has butted heads with Priest in recent weeks. Priest continues to display babyface tendencies and it feels like there’s a chance that he could end up losing his title belt and his faction soon, though probably not as soon as Saturday.
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio: A Hit for this being an enjoyable television match. Even so, it felt like the company should have gotten more out of a Rey vs. Dom match. The Morgan and Vega involvement was nicely done and could set the table for a mixed tag match if Morgan can somehow get Dom’s character to team with her.
Liv Morgan vs. Zelina Vega for the Women’s World Championship: It was fun to watch the live crowd go from giving Vega a flat reaction to really getting behind her as the match went on. The involvement of Dominik Mysterio and Rey Mysterio set up their match for later in the show. Dom sliding the chair inside the ring and it once again working to Morgan’s benefit was well done.
Uncle Howdy/Bo Dallas: Another compelling video with a strong performance from Dallas playing both roles. Dallas’s line about how “false prophets are berating and belittling their own family for their own gain” made it clear that the attack on Chad Gable was not random. Are the Wyatt Sicks going to be babyfaces?
WWE Raw Misses
Xavier Woods vs. Karrion Kross: Woods stole the pin with an inside cradle to avenge Kofi Kingston’s loss to Kross on last week’s show. I’m not sure where this feud is going, but it’s not very interesting thus far.
Zoey Stark vs. Dakota Kai vs. Ivy Nile in a Triple Threat qualifier for the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: A Hit from a match quality standpoint. The problem is that the fans seemed to be more invested in rooting for moves rather than cheering for or against the personalities involved. In other words, these characters are not over. Stark winning was a logical choice of the three involved. Here’s hoping that whatever Stark is doing with Sonya Deville will somehow lead to Stark connecting as a character.
I’d love to see Ricochet come back and cost Bron the IC strap. Is there even a 1% chance?
Perfectly fine with how Zayn/Breakker ended, but how cool would it have been if Sami, after the leapfrog, had just jumped on the announcers desk, grabbed a mic and said “Do you want to know how I managed to do that? I managed to do that because I’ve studied YOU.”
I think the crowd would have popped big, and would have put more mystery into the match.