-WWE did a very nice job framing the main event Battle Royal for the vacant WWE Women's World Championship right as Raw went on the air. Michael Cole talking about the history of Battle Royal matches in WWE was a nice touch and showing some of the competitors arriving after he did further emphasized the point. Frankly, the Battle Royal is a bit of a cop out in terms of deciding who the new champion will be, but WWE gets a little latitude here because the injury to Rhea Ripley was obviously a curveball.
“Prove it” Jey Uso
-It's fun to see Jey Uso stand alone in a title program and main event without The Bloodline or Cody Rhodes. He talked about being in the "prove it" zone as a character, but he's in the same spot in real life too.
-I'd classify this as a good week for Damian Priest as champion. The first couple weeks out of WrestleMania had been lukewarm, but he looked and talked the part this week. Without Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins on the show, Priest is going to have to step-up and deliver as a top guy. Not just from a performance perspective, but from a perception perspective too. He's not there yet, but this was a step in the right direction.
-Huh. I'm a little surprised WWE didn't pull the trigger and put the World Tag Team Championships on DIY. I'm even more surprised that they teased DIY breaking up due to Ciampa being unhappy with the loss. It's way too soon for a DIY breakup. They're not even fully over as a tag team yet. You play this card if you want Ciampa to go on his own for a singles run of some kind. Otherwise, this is an error in judgement on the part of Triple H.
A perfect pivot
-A wonderful promo from Gunther. Just perfect. After coming off his first major loss since joining the main roster at WrestleMania, Gunther addressed it head on, but then moved on in classifying himself as a hunter instead of the hunted. One of the better pivots that WWE has executed in quite some time. The guy is on another level. The main event is waiting for him.
-Soooooooooooo, The New Day is back again with the silliness? Yawn.
-Well hello Ludwig Kaiser. Kaiser looked great attacking Giovanni Vinci, essentially ending this era of Imperium, but the crowd reaction is what caught me off guard. Yes, there were some boos out there, but there were also cheers. It clearly was a segment designed for Kaiser to get heat, but Vinci is such a cold character that it seemed like the audience was appreciative of Kaiser for doing what he did. Gunther is going to be in the King of the Ring tournament. After tonight, the attack, and then Kaiser's face to face with Gunther backstage, I wouldn't be surprised to see Kaiser in it with him.
-Speaking of King of the Ring, it's refreshing to see actual top stars declaring for the tournament. It's about time and it makes the event much more enjoyable and impactful.
King Drew?
-Drew McIntyre and the microphone are like peanut butter and jelly these days -- made for one another! McIntyre declared for King of the Ring and also had a nice run-in with Sheamus. It's always a good match between those two, so here's to hoping we get another round sooner than later.
-Sheamus and Shinsuke Nakamura had a nice little match. Sheamus is in an interesting spot at the moment. He's on a higher level than Shinsuke Nakamura, but then runs into a crowded upper mid-card picture pretty quick. It's not the same world he left for injury and he doesn't have a clear place in the new one yet.
-Yep, I'm in on the Bronson Reed we saw this week. That's a heel that can do damage on Raw week in and week out. Reed has incredible range as a performer and he's only scratched the surface of his potential in WWE. If there is anyone on the roster that can bring it out of him, it's Sami Zayn.
-Did you buy what Chad Gable was selling? I did. Losing his mind because Sami Zayn got to celebrate winning the Intercontinental Championship with his family is a logical route to a heel turn. Gable explained it well. Here's the thing, they touched on Zayn, but then shifted focus to Gable and his Alpha Academy team pretty quick. Odd. After the big angle last week with Gable, Zayn seems primed for a feud with Reed and Gable is now establishing himself in the new heel spot with Otis, Maxxine, and Akira Tozawa. They will surely cross paths again, but it's not odd to strike while the iron is hot and do the full feud between Gable and Zayn now.
Headed for a break
-Is Judgement Day on the verge of a breakup? It sure seems that way. Damian Priest as the driving force? How will that jive with Rhea Ripley when she returns? It’s a bit of a mess right now because Priest isn't defined well enough as a heel or babyface.
-Becky Lynch is the new WWE Women's World Champion. It was a pretty darn good Battle Royal -- especially when you grade on the curve of it being a Battle Royal to begin with. With only three women (Lynch, Liv Morgan, and Nia Jax) as viable winners, they did enough to make the match interesting for it's entirety. The final chapter of the bout between Lynch, Morgan, and Jax was very well done.
-Lynch as the champion is the safest choice, but is it the best one? What's on the table for her as champion? I'd say a move to Smackdown would be a welcome change in scenery for her. Liv Morgan would have been the other way to go, as she has the direct storyline with Ripley already rolling. Unfortunately for Morgan, the "revenge tour" gimmick is tough to pull off when you're constantly losing big matches.
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