Welcome one and all to the RAW RECAP presented by THE REVELLEUTION!
The Queen of the Ring Tournament is well underway with Iyo Sky and Raquel Rodriguez advancing to the Semi Finals Round. This week wraps up the First Round with two more Fatal Four-Way Matches on both Raw and Smackdown, with the red brand having Alexa Bliss, Chelsea Green, Becky Lynch and Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan in the mix. Who will advance and get a step closer to the crown? And who will leave as the Women’s Intercontinental Champion when Sol Ruca defends against Lyra Valkyria? Let’s get into it, and find out…
This week’s ‘Arrived Earlier Today’ videos featured Women’s IC Champion SOL RUCA. During which, we got our weekly dose of MAXXINE DUPRI being seen talking with Austin Theory to continue that storyline. Dupri would also be seen briefly again backstage in another video talking to Alpha Academy who didn’t seem happy. Also in an arrived video was ALEXA BLISS.
JACKIE REDMOND handled interview duties.
Queen of the Ring Tournament First Round Match – Fatal Four-Way Match
Women’s World Champion LIV MORGAN defeated ALEXA BLISS, BECKY LYNCH & CHELSEA GREEN
Morgan bailed from the ring instantly once the bell rang. Lynch faked forming an alliance with Green, going for a Man-Handle Slam but Green escaped, and Bliss hit a Forearm to Lynch. Green tried to play nice with Bliss, and was pulled into Sister Abigail position but Green escaped, sending Bliss off to take a shot from Lynch. Green and Lynch exchanged counters at a corner, leading to Green being sent over the ropes and knocked from the apron. Bliss used a Drop Toe Hold on Lynch, followed by a short-range Knee Strike then a Dropkick. Lynch avoided a Meteora against the ropes, and Liv tried to pounce to hit ObLIVion on Bliss at the ropes but Bliss dodged, sending Morgan through the cables and open to take a Forearm to knock her down.
Bliss went to the apron and hopped up to avoid a Lynch Baseball Slide that ended up taking out Morgan, before Bliss hit a Con Hiro to take out Bliss. Green hit a Crossbody off the top to take out Bliss and Morgan on the floor but took too long taunting as Lynch sent her into the ringpost as the show went to a ‘commercial break’. Lynch slammed Morgan head-first into the announce desk and did the same to Bliss but into the ring steps. Back inside, Lynch hit the Legdrop off the middle rope to Bliss for a near fall and mouthed off at the ref about it. Lynch hit a Running corner Forearm then the Bex-Ploder for a two count.
Bliss hit a Chinbuster, missed a corner charge but countered Lynch’s Springboard Kick spot to dump Lynch to the floor. Morgan hit a Backstabber to Bliss for a near fall and then tossed Bliss out of the ring. Green went after Morgan, running the ropes and knocking Lynch off the apron during her run but got hit with a shot from Morgan at the cables, only to give Morgan the same shot back. Morgan went for Three Amigos but Bliss kicked her in the back to stop the third. It led to a duel as Morgan and Lynch fought Bliss and Green to see who could hit a Double Team Suplex on the other duo, and it was Bliss and Green winning the back-and-forth as the show went back to ‘live action’.
Bliss hit Shoulder Knockdowns on Morgan then Lynch, a Dropkick to Lynch then a Dragon Screw on Morgan. Green slid in for a less-than-impactful Double Complete Shot to both Morgan and Lynch, setting up Bliss to hit a Senton on both women. Green and Bliss hit Meteoras to the back of Lynch and Morgan respectively, and Bliss landed a Dropkick to Morgan. Green hit a Pump Kick to Bliss, then Running Knees to Morgan and Lynch. Morgan avoided a second running charge, hitting her Back Elbow to Green and in the roll-out, she ended up ducking a Lynch charge as she hit the Running Forearm to Green, and took the Back Elbow from Morgan with Green stacked behind her. With the second roll-out, Morgan got hit with slaps from Bliss, a Knee Strike then a Basement Dropkick.
Bliss fought out of a Man-Handle Slam grip by Lynch, before Lynch was hit by a Missile Dropkick from Green. Bliss nailed a DDT on Green for a near fall and went up top, but was cut off by Lynch. Green would yank Lynch down, but Morgan leapt up for a Sunset Flip Powerbomb. The stacked pin by Morgan was broken up with a form of Twisted Bliss more hitting the sides than the back, and Lynch would break up Bliss’ pin attempt. Lynch roughed up all opponents with strikes, tossing Morgan and Green out and managing to toss Bliss away when she went for a Tornado DDT. Bliss countered a Man-Handle Slam into a pin hold for a two count, and moments later hit a Running Blockbuster.
Morgan tried for ObLIVion but Bliss hauled her from the ropes, hitting the Sister Abigail DDT. Lynch pulled Bliss off the pin and hit a Man-Handle Slam, only for Green to yank Lynch off her pin and hit I’m Prettier. Green went for a pin, but Morgan pounced with a Jackknife Pin and stole the win to advance in the tournament, despite already being the Women’s World Champion.
Morgan will face the winner of this week’s final Fatal Four-Way Match on Smackdown between Charlotte Flair, Jade Cargill, Lyra Valkyria and Sol Ruca. Next week on Raw, Iyo Sky will face Raquel Rodriguez in a Semi Final Match.
Backstage, BAYLEY attempted to hype up LYRA VALKYRIA about her upcoming title match, but Valkyria seemed to act quite dismissive and uncaring about the words of praise from her so-called tag team partner.
Women’s Intercontinental Championship Match
Women’s Intercontinental Champion SOL RUCA defeated LYRA VALKYRIA to retain.
Valkyria came out alone without Bayley but still acted like a face, slapping hands with fans and encouraging the ‘Wooo’ taunt with her entrance. The announcers tried to put over the old stipulation from last year that stated if Becky Lynch was IC Champ, Valkyria couldn’t challenge but that technically ended when Lynch first lost the title to AJ Lee, not lasting during every Lynch reign. A lock-up led to Ruca getting a Headlock into a Takeover, but Valkyria escaped with a bridge out and controlled the arm, leading to a Wristlock that Ruca would counter with a cartwheel into a Judo-like toss then an arm hold of her own. Valkyria dropped back, using both feet to kick Ruca away before both Superstars kipped up.
Valkyria flipped to her feet to escape a Back Suplex, then hit a Lucha-style Arm Drag off the ropes, kipping up and trying for an Enzigiri but Ruca barely managed to duck, going for a quick pin for a near fall. The first misstep of the match happened when Valkyria did a vault-back from the corner but Ruca was completely out of position at the side, but Valkyria did a cartwheel anyway and right after, Ruca did her handstand walk evasion then a kip up counter. There was a clear pause between the two, Valkyria holding Ruca in a Back Suplex grip for a few seconds before Ruca did the flip back counter and then hit an X-Factor for a near fall.
Valkyria rolled to the floor for a break, and it led to a very awkward spot where Ruca tried stomping Valkyria to get her back out of the ring but Valkyria stayed put for the next spot, so Ruca had to run the ropes and Valkyria got back up, scooping Ruca on the shoulders. Ruca would escape to her feet, shoving Valkyria to a corner before getting sent over the ropes herself, managing to then hit a high Kick to Valkyria’s head. A Springboard nothing by Ruca was caught with a Northern Lights grip, leading to another delayed and bad-looking moment as Valkyria tried lifting Ruca over the ropes but it got paused, eventually sending Ruca over and down.
The show went to a ‘commercial break’. Valkyria brought Ruca back in, hitting a Snapmare into a Crucifix pin for a near fall. Moments later, Valkyria countered a Full Nelson, leading to a Pendulum hold. When Valkyria broke it, she taunted the crowd who had been supporting Ruca and, unsurprisingly, got boo’d for it and acted offended by the crowd’s reaction. Ruca pounced with a Sunset Flip for a two count, but got nailed by an Enzigiri that gave Valkyria a near fall. Ruca took two hard Irish Whips into opposing corners but the third was countered and Ruca would avoid a corner charge and use a Sunset Flip for a near fall. The show returned to ‘live action’.
Both women took each other out with duelling Clotheslines, then exchanged strikes. Valkyria had to grab Ruca’s head at the end of it, telling her the next spot which was Ruca ducking a Roundhouse swing of a kick to run the ropes for a couple of Running Back Elbows. Ruca hit a Release German Suplex out of a corner, then a Missile Dropkick from the middle rope before kipping up. Ruca hit a Running Knee Strike for a near fall. Ruca tried for a Springboard move from the apron inside, but Valkyria kicked the ropes, leaving Ruca hung up and in position to take a Legdrop across the back from the middle rope. Valkyria hit a Spinning Heel Kick for a near fall.
Valkyria went for a Tornado DDT but Ruca managed, barely, to handspring out of it. Valkyria returned the favour with a handspring counter to Ruca’s X-Factor, hitting a Basement Dropkick. Ruca escaped from a Nightwing attempt, and Valkyria blocked a Sol Snatcher attempt by scooping Ruca into an Electric Chair position when Ruca made the leap at the corner. Valkyria tried again for Nightwing and this time countered Ruca’s slide down the back into a Rana pinhold for a two count.
Valkyria went for a Roundhouse Kick but Ruca ducked, leaving Valkyria slightly caught up in the ropes. Ruca pounced with a Sol Snatcher to get the clean win and retained the Women’s IC Championship. Valkyria seemed frustrated by the loss while Ruca celebrated, taunting along with the fans.
Both RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ and IYO SKY got hype videos ahead of their Semi-Final Match next week.
In the clubhouse of The Judgement Day, ROXANNE PEREZ was overly sweet, putting over the family of the group. However, when Perez suggested that Morgan and Rodriguez should face off to keep the Women’s World title in the faction, Morgan was very quick to change the topic and fawned over Dirty Dom. Morgan said she had a ‘plan’ to deal with Mysterio’s future opponent Oba Femi, and when she called on Perez to come with them, Perez claimed she would catch up with them later, flashing a seemingly devious look once the others had left.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
A night of hits and misses. The Fatal Four-Way Match was great, as expected, but there is no way that Morgan should have been in the tournament to begin with. It doesn’t benefit her to be in it and the idea that one champ is in the tourny to challenge the other World Champ is madness. The WWE could easily push another Superstar to challenge Morgan while Stephanie Vaquer is out and it’s just laziness to wait for so long. The Women’s IC title was a major disappointment with a lot of awkward spots and having to pause to confirm spots in the match. It’s not the best sign for Ruca’s run after doing so well in NXT and getting this big push. She’ll need to bounce back quickly with the next title match, whoever she faces. We don’t have any confirmed Women’s Championship matches, singles or tag, yet for Night of Champions either. It would be a big missed chance to only have the Queen of the Ring finals as the only female Match on the card, so hopefully that changes over the short time left before the PLE.
That’s your lot for this week! Be sure to stop by in seven days’ time for the next edition of the RAW RECAP! See you then!
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