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Liv Morgan Takes Over ‘Raw’

Morgan played a critical role throughout this week’s Raw, including helping Judgment Day regain gold

Noelle Perry

Here are the highlights from last night’s Raw, where Liv Morgan played a starring role:

10.) Drew McIntyre continues attack on CM Punk

Drew McIntyre was back on Raw after “quitting” last week and then quickly returning on SmackDown to attack CM Punk.

McIntyre interrupted commentators Michael Cole and The Miz (who was filling in for Pat McAfee) to gloat about the assault. McIntyre spoke directly to Punk through the camera, and told him he hoped he was miserable as he recovered. He then held up the friendship bracelet he had removed from Punk’s wrist before he was stretchered out on SmackDown. The bracelet bore the names of Punk’s wife and dog, and he wore it to keep them close even while he was away from home before McIntyre took it. McIntyre wore the bracelet himself, symbolically stealing Punk’s family from him, and announced his plan to win Money in the Bank and finally win the world heavyweight championship, this time with Punk’s family on his side.

9.) Intercontinental Championship match set for Money in the Bank

After Ludwig Kaiser interrupted Bron Breakker’s match last week, the two squared off in their own match.

Kaiser was in control for much of the match, utilizing his methodical technical ability to combat Breakker’s explosive style. Breakker was far from outmatched, however. Whenever he did gain the upper hand, he made the most of it with quick yet powerful offense. A decision would not be made in the match as Sheamus showed up to interfere, exactly as Kaiser did to him last week. Sheamus continued his assault on Kaiser by lifting him up to slam him on the commentary desk, but Breakker speared Sheamus, sending them both tumbling.

Breakker headed to Raw General Manager Adam Pearce’s office, enraged that people keep interfering in his business. He demanded a match against Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship, but Pearce said he couldn’t make any decisions just yet. Zayn overheard the conversation, and told Breakker that if he wanted a shot at the title, all he had to do was name a time and place. Breakker named Money in the Bank, and Pearce made it official.

8.) Liv Morgan stirs up trouble for The Judgment Day

World heavyweight champion Damian Priest entered the Judgment Day clubhouse, and he was met with the sight of the rest of the faction playing video games on a brand-new television. He seemed confused about where all of the new stuff came from, and Dominik Mysterio explained that they were all gifts from women’s world champion Liv Morgan. The rest of the group clearly enjoyed the gifts, as well as her help in winning their match last week, but Priest was not happy. He believed they were just another distraction that Morgan was using to plot against the group.

Mysterio was not fully paying attention to Priest, as he had just received a racy text from Morgan. He insisted that she was crazy and that he didn’t know how to get her to stop, but Priest advised him to figure it out by the end of the night. Priest also suggested the rest of the group try to solve their Braun Strowman problem instead of playing games.

7.) Lyra Valkyria qualifies for Money in the Bank

In a triple threat match, Lyra Valkyria, Kairi Sane, and Shayna Baszler battled to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match.

There has been some bad blood between Valkyria and Damage CTRL, but neither Valkyria nor Sane let that distract them from the task at hand. Baszler could not be overlooked either, and nearly won the match by choking out Valkyria.

In the end, however, Valkyria came out on top. She qualified for the Money in the Bank match by pinning Sane, surely adding fuel to the fire of their feud.

6.) Zelina Vega issues challenge for women’s world championship

Liv Morgan went to the ring with a mic to get the attention of Dominik Mysterio, as he’d been avoiding her backstage.

She beckoned him to come out and stop “playing hard to get”, but he did not respond. Instead, Zelina Vega showed up to challenge Morgan for the women’s world championship. Vega accused Morgan of caring more about Dom than the title, and wanted to challenge for it that night. But Morgan brushed her off, telling her that she’d do it next week, but at the moment she was busy with Mysterio. Vega tried to insist on the match happening this week, but was interrupted by Mysterio making his entrance.

Mysterio told Vega that, despite their past differences, he would support her in challenging for the title, as he’d rather see anyone but Morgan with the title. Vega rejected his offer, and Morgan attacked her. Rey Mysterio, Vega’s mentor and Dom Mysterio’s estranged father, rushed in to pull the two women apart. Dom pushed his father over, simply because he hates him, but Morgan thought it was in her defense. She looked at Dom with a glowing stare before following him backstage.

5.) Chad Gable beats the odds to qualify for Money in the Bank

Despite being a victim of the Wyatt 6’s massacre last Monday, Chad Gable arrived at the arena ready to compete, albeit flanked by extra security guards. After being evaluated by the medical team, Gable was cleared to compete in a triple threat against Braun Strowman and Bronson Reed to qualify for the Money in the Back ladder match.

While Strowman was dominant throughout the match and looked poised to win, he was interrupted by The Judgment Day, who were following Damian Priest’s advice from earlier. Strowman abandoned the match and chased The Judgment Day to the back, leaving Reed and Gable in the ring. Reed was already down after brawling with Strowman, but Gable still had some fight in him.

Gable took advantage of the opportunity by hitting Reed with a moonsault and pinning him to qualify for Money in the Bank.

4.) Bo Dallas reveals motivation for massacre

Chad Gable’s celebration was cut short when the lights in the arena began to shut down, just as they had at the end of Raw last week when the Wyatt 6 debuted. When the arena went dark and the ring filled with fog, the woman from the Wyatt 6 crawled towards Gable, chasing him away. She then picked up a box from the floor on the other side of the ring, and slowly brought it to Michael Cole before exiting through the audience.

Cole revealed that the box was addressed to Pat McAfee, but as McAfee was absent that night, he opened it for him. Inside was a VHS tape with “PLAY ME” written on the side. Cole sent it to the production truck so that they could find a way to play the film, baffled at what he’d just witnessed.

When the tape played, it showed Uncle Howdy interviewing Bo Dallas about the death of his brother, Bray Wyatt. Wyatt passed away unexpectedly last year at the age of 36, not long after introducing the world to Uncle Howdy.

When Dallas picked up where Wyatt had left off in telling the story of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt 6, he faced criticism that he was taking advantage of his brother’s death. Howdy echoed these sentiments, asking Dallas if he felt like he was exploiting Wyatt’s legacy. Dallas told Howdy that when he lost his brother, it felt like the most important thing in the world had been taken from him. He idolized his brother, and spent his whole life grinding to reach the top with him. When they finally got there, it was taken away. But he would not let those plans fade away. Dallas refused to let the world forget about him, his brother, and the family they’d put together. The words could describe his rationale in carrying out the creative plans of his late brother, a touching tribute and a way for Wyatt’s storytelling to live on even after his death. But the eerie medium for the message, coupled with Dallas’s crazed delivery, makes it sound more like plans to grab power and control over others, using violence to spread their own twisted beliefs. The interview blurred the lines between fiction/kayfabe and reality, as with the same words Dallas tells the story, he explains why it must be told.

3.) Damage CTRL attack women’s tag champs

In their first match since winning the belts, women’s tag team champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn faced Kayden Carter and Katana Chance on Raw.

The titles were not on the line in this match, but a win for Chance and Carter would go a long way to prove they deserved a championship opportunity. On the other hand, a victory for the Unholy Union would further cement why they are the champions. In the end, Fyre and Dawn were victorious. But they had no time to rest on their laurels as Damage CTRL rushed out to attack everyone in the ring.

Damage CTRL has their sights set on the tag titles
Damage CTRL has their sights set on the tag titles / WWE

The last couple of weeks, Iyo Sky had talked about how Damage CTRL needed to change. It seems the change they made was setting their sights on tag team gold and taking the titles by any means necessary.

2.) Seth Rollins raises the stakes for world heavyweight championship match

Seth Rollins and Damian Priest met face to face ahead of their world heavyweight championship match at Money in the Bank.

Priest said that as long as he’s champion, Rollins would never be on his level. Rollins called him out for being a hypocrite, acting like he’s the big man on Monday nights when he has yet to defend his title without outside interference. Rollins suggested they make a deal in regards to their match. If Priest wins, Rollins would never be able to challenge for the world heavyweight championship so long as Priest holds the title. If Rollins wins, Priest would be forced to leave The Judgment Day. Priest said that as champion, The Judgment Day needed him more than he needed them, and accepted Rollins’ terms.

Once the two shook on it, Gunther joined the conversation. He reminded them that as King of the Ring, whoever won their match at Money in the Bank would have to defend their title against him at SummerSlam.

1.) The Judgment Day become tag team champions

Earlier in the night, Liv Morgan found R-Truth backstage, and talked him into giving Finn Balor and JD McDonagh a shot at the world tag team championships. Truth’s partner, The Miz, wasn’t too pleased with the idea, and The Judgment Day had mixed feelings about accepting more assistance from Morgan, even if it was an opportunity they wanted.

During the match, Morgan stood at ringside to support The Judgment Day. Awesome Truth had the upper hand during much of the match, and as soon as things started to look dire for The Judgment Day, Dominik Mysterio and Carlito came out to support the team. They helped by distracting the referee, putting McDonagh’s foot on the rope to break up a pin, and the match started to turn in The Judgment Day’s favor. It didn’t last long, as Braun Strowman ran through just to chase Mysterio and Carlito out of the arena.

Morgan remained at ringside, and she proved to be a valuable asset. She distracted R-Truth by calling him over to the ropes and hugged him from the other side, only to drop down and fling the ropes back in his face. R-Truth was then ripe for the picking, and Balor quickly delivered a coup de grace to pick up the win.

McDonagh and Balor became the new world tag team champions thanks to Liv Morgan. After this, perhaps they will rethink their resistance to accepting her.

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Noelle Perry

NOELLE PERRY

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