WWE RAW 5/6/2024: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved
Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE Raw," the show that almost had eight tournament matches on one episode until suddenly it didn't! There were a few wrenches thrown in gears of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments on Monday night, most notably the injury-related absences of Drew McIntyre and Asuka, but we still got six tournament matches, plus a very brief bonus match. That's something, right? As a whole, the Wrestling Inc. staff did not love this episode, and we'll get into the reasons why — but there were some pretty massive high points, too! That's kind of what we're all about here: the high points and the low points. The best and the worst. We don't cover everything that happened on "Raw" in this column (you need our "Raw" results page for that) but we do cover the stuff that made us the most upset, or kept us the most enthralled.
So, with the rosters locked and the tournaments wide open, on a show where everything we thought we knew was changing in real time, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 5/6/24 episode of "WWE Raw."
Hated: Raw's pacing falls flat amid tournament bouts
I went in to "Raw" assuming that it would be entirely based around the King and Queen of the Ring round one matches. I was mostly right, outside of the fact Kofi Kingston vs. Rey Mysterio and Zelina Vega vs. Shayna Baszler were completely cut from the show. Both matches being moved to a live event over the weekend meant there was more time to fill on "Raw," and instead of giving some more time to matches I really enjoyed, like IYO SKY and Natalya or Ricochet and Ilja Dragunov, the powers-that-be decided to add some odd segment choices in between tournament matches.
We started off "Raw" strong with four tournament matches across both brackets. There was a terrible CM Punk promo mixed in there that did nothing to further his feud with McIntyre, followed by a random Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed rematch that threw all of us for a loop. While I didn't like that at first, it did make sense — I'll explain why later on. But WWE then just kept rolling with the segments that weren't tournament matches, from a comedy sketch with the Awesome Truth to Dominik Mysterio bringing Carlito to The Judgment Day's locker room for no apparent reason to a sit-down interview with Becky Lynch and Michael Cole in the ring, which was then interrupted by Liv Morgan. Personally I thought that last one could have been set up in a backstage segment, as Dakota Kai, SKY, and Kairi Sane coming out spoilin' for a fight, right before Kai was set for her tournament match, didn't make much sense, both from a pacing standpoint and in terms of kayfabe ring strategy.
The show finally got back on the rails with the final qualifying matches, but even with two matches pushed from the show, they still almost ran out of time. The broadcast audience didn't get to see GUNTHER relish in his victory over Sheamus, as the show ended abruptly, which was par for the course, pacing-wise. The way "Raw" presented the first round of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments make me interested to see what "SmackDown" has in store with one fewer hour — maybe on Friday we'll get an entire show dedicated to the tournament, without as much filler as we saw Monday night.
Written by Daisy Ruth
Loved: If Natalya vs. IYO SKY is a dream match, I will kill the man who wakes me
Ricochet/Dragunov and GUNTHER/Sheamus are gonna get all the positive attention from this week's "Raw," but don't sleep on IYO SKY vs. Natalya, which was just a full 10 minutes of Professional Wrestling from two of the best to ever do it. This match had never happened before, and I never knew how much I needed it until it was in front of me, and every match after that left me vaguely disappointed that it wasn't just another match between IYO SKY and Natalya. Yes, even those two.
Nobody would look at these two women and say "well they clearly have the same wrestling style." They don't. But they both have a knack for combining grace with brutality, as displayed in a match structured primarily around roll-through counters that also had bone-crunching spots like Nattie's picture-perfect sit-out powerbomb on SKY. The match was actually most compelling when Natalya was on offense — off the top of my head, she also nailed SKY with a vicious kick to the apron on the outside, a gorgeous Michinoku Driver, and superplex that basically came straight out of a wrestling textbook. But SKY came out on top after the final sequence that culminated in SKY rolling through the Sharpshooter to send the back of Nattie's head into the bottom turnbuckle — the ultimate combination of grace and brutality — where she was perfectly position for SKY's meteora/moonsault combination finisher, which is also that.
It was just really beautiful to watch. Everything was so fluid and the two have unexpectedly fantastic chemistry — my only complaint about this match is that it wasn't longer. Or the main event. Or the main event of WrestleMania. Honestly I don't even care when or where, can we just get more of this combination, please?
Written by Miles Schneiderman
Hated: Is there really a need for speed?
I'm all for new ideas in any creative environment, but when I first heard of "WWE Speed," I thought, "No. I do not have time for any more wrestling." Now that's an irresponsible proclamation for a guy who gets a check a couple of times a month to write about pro wrestling, but it's also the truth: I don't have any more time to give — no, not even three minutes. However, with a little more thought, I figured, sure, there's nothing wrong with trying these quick-hitting matches to be broadcasted on X, to showcase some different talents and just give the people something new. But then I heard there would be an actual "WWE Speed Championship," which Ricochet won by defeating Johnny Gargano late last week. Ok, fine, now you have a champion crowned here in this new effort, so maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it'll be cool.
But then, said champion shows up Monday night on "Raw" for his King of the Ring Tournament match, the announcers mention him as "WWE Speed Champion," but he doesn't even bother wearing the title to the ring? Sooooo ... basically, we're saying it doesn't matter? Already, it sounds like I made the right move in not even giving this new thing three minutes. But then I hear something along the lines of "WWE Speed, Season 2: coming soon!" and it dawns on me that, perhaps, they're going to win these titles and, what? Just take them home and throw them on the bookshelf? Sounds quite a bit like Braun Strowman's weird green "Greatest Royal Rumble" title from a few years back.
If it counts, cool. Make it count. But if we're doing this stuff just for the hell of it, especially these days when there is already so much pro wrestling to watch, can we just not, please?
Written by Jon Jordan
Loved: No 'backlash' in build for Saudi Arabia title matches
While this episode of "Raw" was not entirely the breath of fresh air I was expecting after Backlash on Saturday, there were certainly a few things I did enjoy on the show, and the build up for two important title matches in Saudi Arabia at King and Queen of the Ring was one. Granted, the build to both of these matches started well before Backlash, but they were solidified Monday night, with three weeks to go until the premium live event. As someone who wasn't thrilled by the lack of build to many matches on the Backlash card, this hit a high note for me. While it could be argued they may be just as predictable as the Backlash title matches, at least Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan for the Women's World Championship and the triple threat match pitting Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn against Chad Gable and Bronson Reed have substance. They're also much more exciting to me than say, AJ Styles trying in vain to take the Undisputed WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes.
When it comes to Lynch and Morgan, I'm actually not so sure that match is predictable. You have Morgan's fans online who have been going crazy wanting to see their girl get her chance to shine once again, and Lynch has been getting Hulk Hogan comps to Hulk Hogan with her championship win after Rhea Ripley was forced to vacate the belt due to injury. I've seen some argue that the company slapping the championship on Lynch after a battle royal win was the wrong thing to do. It could be argued that it's Morgan's time to shine, and Lynch was a transitional champion due to an unfortunate circumstance. I can't remember if and even when a women's championship has traded hands on a show in Saudi Arabia, and the possibility of it happening here is intriguing. I'm glad this match was set in stone tonight, and this is a feud I'm sure is going to get plenty more heat behind it as we move forward in the month.
The other most intriguing storyline on "Raw" is Zayn's ongoing feud with the newly-heel Gable. This has been bubbling since Gable was "training" Zayn before his championship victory over GUNTHER at WrestleMania, and I'm glad it's still going after Gable lost fair and square to Zayn in the champion's home country. The addition of Reed to the title picture wasn't entirely necessary to me, but it's absolutely been growing on me, and I like having a bigger guy who only cares about the championship in this dynamic. I love that this triple threat match was officially made on tonight's "Raw." The segments with Lynch, Morgan, and the ongoing story with the Intercontinental Championship might not have had anything to do with the actual King and Queen of the Ring tournaments, and while it did kind of throw the pacing of the show off, I'm glad things were made official for the upcoming premium live event, and throw-away matches weren't made closer to the event. After a lackluster Backlash, this is absolutely what I wanted to see on tonight's episode of "Raw."
Written by Daisy Ruth
Hated: Filler segments instead of tournament matches
Prior to "Raw", WWE announced there would be eight King/Queen of the Ring Tournament matches taking place. That didn't last long; Zelina Vega vs. Shayna Baszler was moved to a live show this weekend along with Kofi Kingston vs. Rey Mysterio. The reigning Queen of the Ring can't even have her match televised? Kingston is facing a man he hasn't wrestled in 16 years and they can't put that on TV either? But hey, at least we got that Kingston promo for a match most of us won't see.
At one point, CM Punk came to the ring after Drew McIntyre had already left and cut a promo about why he rejoiced in breaking McIntyre's elbow, basically. It went nowhere and McIntyre never returned. This segment could've been a tournament match. Then there was the unannounced match between Chad Gable and Bronson Reed, which didn't even have a finish because Sami Zayn attacked them both, and the Becky Lynch/Liv Morgan segment. They couldn't save these for another week or two?
The tournament itself had some awesome matches (and some solid ones), but the Punk segment, the unannounced match, and the Lynch sit-down interview in place of two matches that had previously been announced made the show feel disjointed and brought back vibes of Vince McMahon changing things on the fly.
Written by Samantha Schipman
Loved: King of the Ring Tournament starts off hot
Despite the hiccups of one of its matches being kicked to the curb (or at least to a live event this weekend) and another featuring a last-minute injury replacement (planned or otherwise), the 2024 King of the Ring Tournament got off to a smashing start, giving us a little bit of everything in the three matches that we did see. While I do feel for Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio getting shifted off of tonight's card, I was able to sink my teeth into all three matches easily, and they all look to set up intriguing second round matchups as well.
"Main Event" Jey Uso stepped up in McIntyre's absence, putting on quite the show against Finn Balor in a winning effort. The presence of an angry Drew McIntyre at ringside played into his history with Jey and helped progress his feud with CM Punk, even though, seemingly, we won't get to see that pay off anytime all that soon.
Ilja Dragunov and Ricochet put on a hell of a match as well, with "The Mad King" prevailing in the end before paying respect to Ricochet and receiving as much in return. Dragunov's ability and intensity will be a refreshing spark to the "Raw" roster, and Monday's performance was a sneak peek. And if you're a longstanding Dragunov fan hoping for a return engagement with GUNTHER, you might be in luck, as the brackets are lining up rather nicely for that as a potential showdown to come before it's all said and done.
Speaking of GUNTHER, his tilt with Sheamus was exactly what you'd expect it to be, an absolute slugfest — a "banger," if you will, but I won't, because that guy lost. Still, Sheamus looks just fine in defeat and can now get back to annoying his buddy McIntyre, or getting involved in the Intercontinental Championship picture, or whatever he wants to do as a made dude. And GUNTHER trudges forward, possibly headed for that showdown with Dragunov so many want to see, the favorite in the minds of many for this year's King of the Ring winner.
Goof stuff. Let's keep it going on Friday.
Written by Jon Jordan