WWE Raw Results - June 28, 2021
A mostly entertaining show
Jun 29, 2021
For the second week in a row, Monday Night Raw wasn't terrible. From Ricochet's amazing Springboard Crossbody to the very good main event, there were multiple segments worth watching. The show featured the usual less than stellar moments as well, but Raw was a definite improvement when compared to recent months. Check out what happened below:
This week's Raw opened up with a short announcement from Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville. They revealed Randy Orton would not be able to compete due to circumstances outside of their control. As a result, Raw would begin with a Battle Royal and the winner would take Orton's place in the Last-Chance Triple Threat Match later in the show.
A breathless Riddle suddenly zoomed into the meeting on his scooter with a hastily written letter from 'The Legend Killer' about his RK-Bro tag team partner taking his place. The WWE officials knew instantly that the letter was written by Riddle, but they agreed to let The Original Bro wrestle in the Battle Royal on Orton's behalf.
Riddle won the Battle Royal to earn a spot in the Last-Chance Triple Threat Match
The match was your standard WWE Battle Royal, but multiple storylines were advanced throughout.
Drew Gulak and Shelton Benjamin were eliminated in the early moments and Mansoor was almost sent crashing to the floor by Angel Garza. Mustafa Ali dumped The Lethal Lothario over the top rope instead, though, saving Mansoor in the process. Ali then pointed out that he saved Mansoor and proceeded to throw him out of the match as well before he told the Saudi Arabian not to trust anybody.
A 24/7 Title exchange followed after Akira Tozawa and R-Truth were eliminated by Jinder Mahal. Drew Gulak, Truth and Tozawa all passed around the title, with Tozawa walking away with the belt after it was all said and done.
Omos then marched to the ring and pulled both Ivar and Erik over the top rope, with an assist from Jinder Mahal. The former basketball player then decimated The Viking Raiders as Raw went to a commercial break.
After the broadcast returned, the ring was noticeably more empty as Humberto Carrillo and Mustafa Ali eliminated each other during the break. This left the field as Riddle, Jeff Hardy, Jinder Mahal, Damian Priest and Cedric Alexander.
The Archer Of Infamy quickly dumped out Mahal before Cedric blocked a Twist Of Fate attempt from Jeff Hardy and dumped him over the top rope.
Alexander then jawed at Hardy which only resulted in Priest decking the former Hurt Business man with Hit The Lights before he flung him over the top rope.
This left Riddle and Priest as the final two men and the former NXT Superstars fought back and forth for three minutes before Riddle managed to score the elimination with a Jumping Knee while Priest was on the apron.
Riddle then celebrated with Randy Orton's music and he performed The Viper's trademark pose on the top turnbuckle.
Following the match, it was revealed Shayna Baszler would face Nikki Cross later in the show. Reginald and Nia Jax caught up with The Queen Of Spades backstage and Baszler blamed Alexa Bliss for last week's loss.
A backstage interview with Omos and AJ Styles followed. After some moaning from Styles about Riddle being in the Triple Threat Match, Omos claimed he was just "scouting the competition" when he eliminated The Viking Raiders from the Battle Royal.
Nikki Cross was then interviewed by Sarah Schreiber. Nikki promised to be almost a superhero and she declared her new name was Nikki Ash. She was billed as "Almost A Superhero" Nikki Cross before the next match too.
Nikki Cross def. Shayna Baszler
Cross and Baszler wrestled back and forth in a fine match, but shenanigans came into play after Alexa Bliss headed to ringside.
Down the stretch, Bliss took out both Nia Jax and Reginald on the outside. This distracted Baszler, and although she wasn't pinned immediately, the former NXT Women's Champion failed to focus and Cross rolled her up for the 1-2-3.
Kofi Kingston and MVP Face To Face
Kofi Kingston headed to the ring for the next segment. The New Day man reflected on his inability to save Xavier Woods from Bobby Lashley's attack and he said Woods screaming had been playing over and over in his head all week. As a result, Kingston plans to make Bobby Lashley pay at Money In The Bank.
This brought out MVP with Lashley's ladies and Porter laughed off Kingston's claims about being able to beat Lashley. MVP even noted that Lashley and him are already looking past Kofi because Kingston isn't a threat to the WWE Champion.
MVP then passed on Lashley's message that he enjoyed every second of decimating Woods and he promised to make what Lesnar did to Kofi in 2019 look like child's play.
MVP and Kingston then jawed back and forth some more, with Kofi displaying excellent emotion throughout, until Kingston revealed that Xavier Woods will be back next week.
The former WWE Champion then claimed MVP was milking the knee injury, which led to a greatly offended MVP mentioning that he wasn't cleared for in-ring action. Kingston immediately put his claim to the rest, though, as he rolled out of the ring and charged at MVP. Porter miraculously broke into a sprint and tried to deck Kofi with his cane, but Kingston ducked and caught him with Trouble In Paradise to leave the former United States Champion down and out. An infuriated Kofi then screamed that MVP wasn't hurt before, but he is now to end the segment.
Next up was a backstage interview with Eva Marie and Doudrop. Marie claimed Doudrop was simply overwhelmed last week, which is why she dropped off the apron. Marie wanted to teach Doudrop to learn from her mistakes, though, which is why she requested they face Naomi and Asuka in a rematch.
Eva Marie & Doudrop def. Naomi & Asuka
That match was next. Asuka worked over Doudrop in the early going, leaving her looking for a tag, but Eva Marie felt the need to teach the former Piper Niven a lesson and she dropped from the apron. This didn't matter to Doudrop, though, as she proceeded to run roughshod over her opponents and she pinned Asuka after a Crossbody.
The tension between Eva Marie and Doudrop then continued as All Red Everything proclaimed herself the winner, to Niven's dismay.
A backstage interview with The Miz and John Morrison followed, during which Morrison couldn't think of a single positive thing about Miz. Ricochet also switched himself out for Sarah Schreiber during the chat and he sprayed the heels with a stolen drip stick before their upcoming match.
Ricochet vs. John Morrison ended in a Double Count-Out
Similar to before, that bout was also next and John Morrison and Ricochet fought back and forth during a very good match that featured some creative offence.
At one point The Miz blocked Ricochet from attacking Morrison further next to the announce table. All Ricochet did, though, was use Miz's wheelchair to connect with a Hurricanrana. Miz then found himself soaked moments later as Ricochet stole a drip stick and sprayed The A-Lister.
The match continued to be evenly fought after the break, but the best moment was saved for last. Down the final stretch, Ricochet went for a Tope Suicida but Morrison, who was already on the outside, hid behind the barricade. Ricochet simply stopped, though, waited for Morrison to attempt to climb over the barricade before he suddenly hit an amazing Springboard Crossbody.
The move ultimately took both men out and they failed to get back in the ring before the 10 count.
Charlotte Flair, Natalya & Tamina def. Rhea Ripley, Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke
All six women made their way to the ring for the next match, but the action descended into a brawl before the referee could ring the bell.
Order had been restored by the time the broadcast returned from a commercial break, luckily, and both teams had time on top during the short match.
After some near falls, Flair decked Mandy Rose with a Big Boot for the win. A fine match, but one that was difficult to invest in because both teams were filled with heels or wrestlers that have displayed heel tendencies in recent weeks.
Charlotte Flair also wasn't celebrating for long after the match as Rhea Ripley took out The Queen from behind with a Chop Block.
Jaxson Ryker def. Elias - Strap Match
The rivalry between Jaxson Ryker and Elias hopefully concluded next on the show. Babyface Jaxson Ryker took control after an early onslaught with the strap from Elias and the former Forgotten Son picked up the win with the Boss Man Slam.
Damian Priest then caught up with Riddle pretending to be Randy Orton backstage ahead of the main event. Priest asked Riddle if he wanted to go to Burger King before he told The Original Bro that Orton was lucky to have him as a friend.
Kevin Patrick also caught up with Drew McIntyre for an interview and he asked The Scottish Warrior if he could defeat AJ Styles and Riddle. McIntyre told a story of the Scottish vs. the English vs. the Irish which included a Brian Boru reference of all things. McIntyre also claimed to have kicked Bishop Brennan from Father Ted right up his arse to save Christmas, before he, of course, revealed it was just a ridiculous story to get back at Patrick's ridiculous question.
Drew McIntyre def. AJ Styles & Riddle – Last-Chance Triple Threat Match
The main event followed and Riddle, McIntyre and AJ Styles put together a very good Triple Threat Match which featured the usual WWE formula of two men fighting while one remains out of action.
This took form early on as Styles and Riddle put McIntyre through the announce table with a Double Powerslam. This left the former United States Champions to fight back and forth for a little while and Styles repeatedly targeted Riddle's leg.
McIntyre eventually got back into the match after 10 minutes on the outside and it was Riddle's turn to step away from the match after Styles avoided a Penalty Kick, causing The Original Bro to boot the steel steps. Riddle immediately told the official his foot was broken and he was taken backstage for medical attention.
This left McIntyre and Styles to fight alone for a few minutes before Riddle hobbled back to the ring with a taped ankle. The RK-Bro man immediately locked in the Bromission on Styles but McIntyre broke up the move.
Riddle then sent McIntyre tumbling to the outside with a Pele Kick moments later and The Original Bro countered a Phenomenal Forearm attempt into an RKO. Riddle looked to have the match won but Omos pulled his tag team partner to the outside. A distracted Riddle then turned around straight into a Claymore from McIntyre.
The Scottish Warrior proceeded to cover Riddle for the 1-2-3 and McIntyre celebrated as Raw went off the air, having punched his ticket to the Money In The Bank Ladder Match.