WWE Raw results, highlights (June 23): Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton in the King of the Ring finals

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4 days ago

The "go-home" edition of "WWE Raw" before WWE Night of Champions stopped through Columbus, Ohio on Monday, and determined the finals matches in the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments. A few additional matches were added to the show, and from top to bottom, it was a pretty solid night.
Finalized
The King and Queen of the Ring finals were set at "WWE Raw," starting with the women's side as Jade Cargill got past Roxanne Perez to book a showdown with Asuka for the (literal) crown.
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Cargill and Perez's match was weird. It was a slow burn that started with a lot of running around from Perez before it got somewhat sloppy, as Perez targeted the leg. It was fine in the end, and another clean finish will continue to get celebrated by me, so props for that. Cargill ultimately hit a Jaded after a big powerbomb, and that was that.
Asuka came out afterward to have their staredown — and my God, she just exudes swagger. How missed she's been.
In the main event, Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso were determined to put on a show — and they did exactly that, with Rhodes coming out on top.
The match was somewhat of another slow burn, but once they neared the finish line, some awesome spots were delivered. Uso, in particular, actually looked strong with the number of big moves he pulled off in succession. On Rhodes' end, it was a cutter-fest, teasing the impending Randy Orton match — but his patented Cross Rhodes finish got it done, seriously spiking Uso into the mat.
I'm happy my prediction was wrong about Uso going on to win this and eventually recapturing the World Heavyweight title. That'll probably still happen in some roundabout way, because I don't know where else he could be taken now, but after Orton won his match on "WWE SmackDown," it always had to be Orton and Rhodes. This one has been brewing for a long time.
🙄 DQ of the Night
Things were going so smoothly on this "WWE Raw." It looked like we might actually make it through an entire episode without a DQ or interference. But nope. Lyra Valkyria ruined what was an excellent Women's Intercontinental title defense for the champion Becky Lynch against Bayley.
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These finishes get more and more frustrating by the week.
It looked like the match was setting up for a very creative finish, unlike the typical B.S. interference we got when Valkyria attacked Lynch to give her the win. The action spilled outside the ring after some great exchanges that ended with Bayley using the Manhandle Slam on Lynch. The champion then got the upper hand by throwing Bayley into the announce table and starting to bury her under a bunch of chairs to secure a countout.
Realistically, more heel champions should try and score countout wins — or losses — because they retain no matter what. That's exactly what Lynch pursued until Valkyria came out to uncover Bayley. Lynch then wanted Valkyria to attack her, so that Bayley did get DQ'd. Again, a smart thing that she should want in her position. In the end, there was a big three-way confusion scuffle, and Valkyria caved in to attack Lynch right when Bayley appeared to have the match won.
Everything before Valkyria appeared was great. The only good thing that looks like it will come from this is another excellent trio to compete in a triple-threat match. We could've gotten there without another ruined match.
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But before all of this, we were — thankfully — treated to the...
👑 Uncrowned Gem of the Night 👑
The first match of the night kicked off with Bron Breakker beating Penta — and it was awesome. Is that a surprise? Not at all. Was it a surprise to see how it played out? Yep.
Seeing Breakker hit with a Mexican Destroyer was something I didn't know I needed, but it ruled — almost as much as the Breakker's spear counter to a springboard attack from Penta to get the pin. Good, clean, epic action. More matches like this one on the weekly shows, Triple H. Please and thank you.
Gone missing
Women's World Champion Iyo Sky is just nowhere to be seen after the Liv Morgan injury on last week's "WWE Raw." How the hell WWE has lost a creative direction for a champion who is (was) so red-hot with the fans is an absolute travesty.
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OK, Sky did approach Asuka backstage during the Netflix commercial. But those are just filler spots, so it barely counts. GIVE SKY ANYTHING TO DO.
Stephanie Vaquer was also absent from "WWE Raw." Her presence should also be mandatory at this juncture. Overall, it definitely felt like WWE is still scrambling to readjust storylines after Morgan's injury.
👍 MONDAY NIGHT MONEY 👍
1. OK, I thought the pre-recorded Michael Cole interview with Goldberg was pretty solid and his explanations were reasonable — plus, the "I'm going to beat the f*** out of Gunther" line received a big laugh. However, the match doesn't at all need the title on line, and his promo reinforced that by not even mentioning it. It appears to be nothing more than a crutch to hold the unpredictability on whether or not it's actually Goldberg's retirement match, especially because Cole noted afterward that Goldberg said that would change things if he won.
Gunther followed this up later in the night with a promo of his own, classically digging into Goldberg like he does to all his rivals. It was quick and to the point, and truthful as ever.
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2. Sheamus and Rusev had a brief confrontation backstage that resulted in Rusev getting brutally burned when Sheamus called him "the most embarrassing member" of their old League of Nations stable. That is a freaking wild insult, considering Wade Barrett and Alberto Del Rio were the other two in that group. Sheesh. Let's get this feud going properly in the ring, shall we?
3. Karrion Kross and Sami Zayn are officially going to have their match at WWE Night of Champions after Zayn's loss to Randy Orton on "WWE SmackDown." Kross boasted about how correctly he predicted that Orton would win and that Zayn would never be a world champion. So, Zayn socked him in the mouth — and Kross, alongside his wife, Scarlett Bordeaux, laughed, as Kross muttered, "Got 'em."
This has all been great, so hopefully it's the actual start of that much-desired Kross push.
4. Raquel Rodriguez stood tall over Rhea Ripley, getting some revenge after last week's Fatal 4-Way loss. She had some help from Perez, setting up an eventual Liv Morgan split. It was a quick scuffle of a scene, resulting in Ripley going through a table. As I've been saying for months, I'm all for Rodriguez looking strong on her own again. Hopefully, the Morgan injury can be turned into a positive to lead her into the best booking of her career.
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The pair is now set to have a match at an undetermined date.
🤷 IT HAPPENED 🤷
1. Seth Rollins opened the show with a relatively nothing promo, running down his status from past to present, and then ending with "the future." Rollins' mic work was good, as usual, but he and his henchmen Breakker and Bronson Reed feel like they've fallen into somewhat stagnant waters with the Money in the Bank briefcase in Rollins' possession.
👎 RAW DEAL 👎
1. "WWE Raw" general manager Adam Pearce announced that the Intercontinental title match between the champion Dominick Mysterio and challenger AJ Styles at Night of Champions is off. Pearce claimed that Mysterio has an injury, and Styles will be first in line when the champion is ready. Whether it's kayfabe or not is unknown, but either way, it's a bummer.
👑 I give this show a Crown score of: 8.5/10. 👑