WWE Raw - 6/1/2026: 3 Things We Hated And 3 We Loved

"WWE Raw" had a special afternoon broadcast in North America, thanks to WWE still being in Turin, Italy, following the Clash In Italy PLE on Sunday. The show was something of a coda to Sunday's event, headlined by Seth Rollins getting a victory over Bron Breakker. If you need to read more, may I direct you to the "WWE Raw 6/1/2026" results page?

Now, it's time for the staff to break down what they loved and what they hated. Roman Reigns's family drama takes center stage, as it divided the staff on its merits, while some matches were loved and others were simply not enjoyed. It was a muted show, but as always, there was plenty to talk about. If you would like to continue the conversation, I direct you to the comments section.

Without further ado, the best and the worst from Monday's show.

Much of Monday's show was spent hyping up the replay of El Grande Americano vs. OG El Grande Americano from Saturday's AAA event. The match was so good, WWE felt it deserved Netflix airtime, right after "Raw." But they also spoiled the match at every opportunity.

I can forgive spoiling some of the big moments, as those have already been clipped into GIFs on Twitter, but they played the majority of Chad Gable's speech, following his unmasking on Saturday night, and quite frankly that is the part that elevates the entire thing to art. Going into the match, I had no idea that I would be coming out of it with respect for Chad Gable, but his post-match reclamation was the stuff of wrestling legend, and I feel so bad for the people for whom it was spoiled before they could even take the rollercoaster ride that was Saturday's Mask vs. Mask Match.

WWE replaying that match could've made a serious case for getting AAA into the Netflix fold, and it feels like the company did whatever they could to neuter the impact of the match, and negate any upswing that AAA could've really received from it.

Ah well, at least I had an excuse to watch the match again.

Written by Ross W Berman IV

Oba Femi desperately needed a win after taking a loss to Brock Lesnar last night at Clash in Italy for WWE to keep the door open to do a third match between the duo. I was a little concerned that they were going to have him take a loss here to keep his storyline with Lesnar going in the imminent future, but I was very pleasantly surprised and happy to see that he ended up emerging as the victor of the First Round Fatal Four-Way King of the Ring match against Carmelo Hayes, Solo Sikoa, and Penta.

Fatal four-way matches often tend to follow a very basic formula of everyone brawling with one another at various stages, as two competitors typically take center stage in the ring to make things feel a little more structured. Well, that formula was completely thrown out in this Fatal Four-Way, and I absolutely loved it. The in-ring psychology at play here with Hayes, Sikoa, and Penta triple teaming on Femi as they brawled with one another in between everyone and received a little help from Talla Tonga on the outside was absolutely spot on here. It created a fantastic tone of the match, making for something that was totally chaotic, intense, action-packed, and fast-paced in the best way possible. It may have been a little hard to follow at times, but I think that only added to the atmosphere of everything to make it that much better.

To add the extra cherry on top of everything, I quite liked Femi calling out Lesnar after the match. Beyond being quite good, like all promos from Femi are, it keeps the door open for a match between the three of them while emphasizing that Femi's focus will be on the 2026 Men's King of the Ring Tournament throughout the month of June. It also plants the idea of the possibility of a match between Femi and Lesnar for a World Championship at SummerSlam if Femi were to win the 2026 Men's King of the Ring Tournament and Lesnar were to win a World Championship between now and then. All in all, I was a fan of all of this, and it turned out to be the one thing on this show for me that stood above all the rest.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

Since being called up to the main roster, and even despite two reigns with the Women's United States Championship, there has been an inexplicable lack of care given to Giulia. And while there are plenty of talented wrestlers on the roster, both female and male, she remains one of the best of the bunch. Even still, she appears to be playing second fiddle to the prospect brought back as her manager, Kiana James, and effectively 99th fiddle to everyone else as a result.

Out of 12 matches, aside from the Royal Rumble in January, on TV this year, she has won just four bouts. She hasn't wrestled on a Premium Live Event this year aside from the Rumble, where it would be harder not to get booked. And that particularly stuck out this past weekend with Clash in Italy, considering Giulia is half-Italian. That seemed to be something addressed on Monday's show as Giulia wrestled against Lash Legend, Iyo Sky, and Roxanne Perez in a stacked starter to the Queen of the Ring tournament.

As one could imagine, she was quite over with the crowd, representing the Italian flag alongside the Japanese on her entrance attire. But when all was said and done, it was actually her taking the pin so that Sky could advance to the semi-finals. Now, there cannot be a reasonable expectation that every single time WWE hits a place someone has ties to, they should put that person over. There cannot even be a reasonable expectation that they should even get booked in their hometown/nation/etc.

But at the same time, tonight felt like a stark reminder of Giulia's standing within the company. Sky is obviously a star, and quite rightly one of the most popular names on the roster. Legend and Perez are heavily backed top prospects who seem like sure-fire shouts to hold Women's gold sooner rather than later.

The one name that really could have used a win or a great showing would have been Giulia, someone who, despite possessing all of the talent, has yet to be given a truly sustained role on the main roster aside from someone to take losses to the bigger names. This was the time to do it. And that trigger not being pulled just confirms what has been simmering in the mind for a while now: the company has no idea what it's doing with her.

At a time when the company is so creatively bankrupt and outright boring in many regards, constantly going to the well of stars who have been at the top for years in lieu of trying to platform new stars just feels like a waste of good talent.

Written by Max Everett

I'll start out by saying I also hate the fact that Giulia, who has been criminally misused on the main roster, took a freaking pin in Italy, but at least it was IYO SKY who advanced in the tournament. SKY is someone who I think could use the victory to go on to challenge for a top title at SummerSlam, and it could potentially put her back in the path of bestie WWE Women's Champion Rhea Ripley. I love SKY, and seeing her shine, especially in front of international crowds, will never get old.

I thought this was a solid match, though maybe not as fast-paced as the men's four-way match earlier in the night, and all of the women looked strong throughout and got their own spots in. WWE is booking Lash Legend as a great "monster," for lack of a better term, and she had quite a few spots in the match to prove her strength. Roxanne Perez always looks great, and it was nice to see her in a different match type than a tag team bout, and she's always a solid hand.

Despite her loss, it was nice to at least see Giulia on the show in Italy, and I'm sure that meant a lot to her. Between Giulia's connection to the country, Legend still being newer to the main roster and needing to establish herself, Perez seemingly going into (or continuing?) a Judgment Day breakup angle, and SKY being the most likely to get the win here, there really wasn't a good woman to take the pin.

While I initially thought SKY winning would give her something important to do in WWE after her team-up with "Mami," the more I think about it, the more I'd love to see her in a SummerSlam match with Ripley, and that would likely be a draw. Ripley has never defeated SKY, and while I'd hate to see SKY lose, I think I'd like to see Ripley finish that story a little more. Fantasy booking aside, while I really dislike the fact that Giulia ate the pin, at least it was SKY to pin her, and I'm happy she's moving on. I don't think there's any doubt she'll beat whoever is next up between Raquel Rodriguez, Jacy Jayne, Kiana James, and Bayley.

Written by Daisy Ruth

I don't know why I thought Jacob Fatu would put up a little more of a fight during the Tribal Chief acknowledgement ceremony that opened the show, but, sadly, he didn't, and he quickly fell in line, in an angle that really didn't have much else going on throughout the rest of the show. From what I've seen on various forms of social media over the last 24 hours, as well, I don't think I'm the only one who is tired of, and kind of confused by, the fact that WWE is running a lot of the old Bloodline story back. I suppose it all boils down to the fact that WWE is creatively bankrupt and there is just nothing interesting going on at the moment.

Sure, it worked, but the angle ended in 2024 when Cody Rhodes finished his story. I think live crowds have Paul Levesque, and whoever else has a say in creative at this point, probably the powers that be in TKO, as well, that it will work all over again. This is what I was worried about when Roman Reigns won the World Heavyweight Championship and recruited the Usos to be back by his side. Now, we're going right back to someone begrudgingly, a la 2021, I believe, joining the Bloodline in Fatu, and even after five or so years, it still just seems too soon to replay it.

Fatu also wasn't a factor in the rest of the episode, and he was noticeably missing from a backstage segment with Reigns, Jimmy, and Jey Uso. I figured that his joining and acknowledging Reigns meant that he'd be around for everything, even if that just involves him scowling in the background.

Reigns also rehashed another angle, a more recent one, telling Jey Uso he needs to go off on his own, win King of the Ring, and take Rhodes' Undisputed WWE Championship. While I don't think he'll win, if there's one thing we don't need right now, it's another Jey run at a top title. When he loses, Reigns' disappointment in him is also going to feel like an old beat, as will a potential sibling rivalry with Jimmy.

The one thing I can say, for now at least, but it probably won't last too long, is that Solo Sikoa and the MFTs weren't involved with Reigns tonight, after appearing in the crowd to end Clash in Italy. We're headed toward some kind of Bloodline vs. MFT/the former "New Bloodline" story, and I just want no part in it. I want something different, and honestly, it feels like Fatu as World Heavyweight Champion was the only shot that some of us grumpy fans had for that.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Monday's show kicked off with the fallout of the Tribal Combat clash between Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu, with the "Samoan Werewolf" losing to ensure he had to acknowledge his "Tribal Chief" and serve as part of the Bloodline. There's an understandable ire that, after years, the company has reverted back to its default storyline of Reigns as World Champion flanked by a handful of his family members. Especially given that WWE has hoovered up much of the world's best talent just to stage half-a**ed plots and interference-marred matches featuring them.

But, despite that reasonable disillusion, the Bloodline does remain the most compelling thing the company has at its disposal right now. Adding Fatu, another compelling act, not only reinforces the group as the top stable but promises a little more further down the line. Fatu acknowledged Reigns and put his finger in the sky like he was supposed to do. But as Reigns' "Right Hand Man" Jey Uso was jawing at him, he made clear that he might have lost to Reigns but he certainly didn't lose to him.

So there's clearly going to be some conflict between the singles stars in the group. Later on in the show, Reigns made clear he was sending Jey to win the King of the Ring and challenge perennial thorn in his side, Cody Rhodes, as Undisputed WWE Champion.

Given the fact that it would take a miracle for Jey to win King of the Ring with the bracket – or brackets, since WWE cannot make its mind up – there will undoubtedly be some tension to explore when he does eventually crash out of it. Unless he does win, which is curious enough on its own. Point being, it's looking like it will be a Bloodline summer. And as someone who thoroughly enjoys much of the Bloodline stuff, that's only a positive for me.

The segment itself didn't offer much outside the teaser for things to come, but Fatu brings a sense of unpredictability to the dynamic that can be explored further. Especially when Reigns takes the extended leave of absence sooner or later.

Written by Max Everett