Welcome one and all to the RAW RECAP presented by THE REVELLEUTION! The King and Queen of the ring event is fast approaching, and we’ll have the Semi-Finals this week to decide who goes to the PLE to represent Raw when Iyo Sky takes on fast rising starlet Lyra Valkyria. Who will punch their ticket for a chance to become the first Queen of the Ring? And what’s next between Liv Morgan and Becky Lynch ahead of their title clash? Let’s get into it, and find out…
Raw started with ‘earlier today’ vids showing IYO SKY arriving, met by DAKOTA KAI and KAIRI SANE before a separate vid showed LYRA VALKYRIA arriving at the arena. During these vids and ones for male Superstars, in the background it appeared that LIV MORGAN had left the same car that The Judgement Day’s Finn Balor had also been in. That only gives more fuel to the speculation that as part of Morgan’s Revenge Tour she’s also trying to take away the whole group from Rhea Ripley to take everything from her and not just the Women’s title.
MAXXINE DUPRI and The Alpha Academy accompanied Chad Gable when he interrupted Sami Zayn. Gable of course mocked them all and called Dupri a failure for losing in the Queen of the Ring tournament. During the match between Gable and Zayn that followed, at one point Gable hid behind Dupri to catch a break. At another, Gable distracted the ref while Zayn was on the ropes to leave him open for a cheap shot but a conflicted Dupri couldn’t bring herself to hit Zayn. That got her another earful of abuse from Gable and later he’d order her and Tozawa away from ringside for being failures.
Iyo Sky got a cool hype video, speaking in Japanese with English subtitles while underwater.
JACKIE REDMOND handled interview duties. She tried to interview The Alpha Academy but was interrupted when The LWO including ZELINA VEGA rushed by as Cruz Del Toro had been attacked.
Queen of the Ring Tournament Semi-Final Match
LYRA VALKYRIA defeated IYO SKY w/h DAKOTA KAI & KAIRI SANE
Before the match, BECKY LYNCH gave Valkyria a pep-talk. While Kai and Sane only accompanied Sky to the stage. Sky hit an Arm Drag off of a lock-up and then did a couple of flips to flex. Sky applied a Headlock but Valkyria managed to grab Sky arm when she went to flip over a drop down. A La Magistral Cradle got Valkyria a near fall, and soon after did a vault from the corner then a Cartwheel before a Roll-up got her a two count. As did a second rope Crossbody from the corner.
After a commercial break, Sky did her vault out through the ropes spot to drive Valkyria into the middle rope. Valkyria avoided the Drive-by Dropkick that followed by Sky then caught her with a Hot Shot. Valkyria got roughed up, stomped, choked in a corner and then hit with a vault-style Meteora for a two count. After a rope choke, not long after Sky hit a Double Underhook Backbreaker for a near fall.
Valkyria would eventually mount a comeback, blocking a kick then hitting a slap before she hit an Asuka-style Leg-Trap Release German Suplex. Valkyria went into House on Fire mode with Clotheslines then a round of strikes finished with an Enzigiri. Valkyria hit a Dropkick through the ropes to Sky on the floor but sent Sky straight into the ring to take a Top Rope Crossbody. Valkyria hit a Fisherwoman’s Buster for a near fall.
Sky escaped a Nightwing attempt and used a hair pull to slam Valkyria down. A short-range Meteora to a seated Valkyria got Sky a near fall. Valkyria turned a roll-up pin into a Pendulum submission and tried for a Eurpean Clutch pin afterwards. Sky kicked out and countered into the Crossface but Valkyria countered that into a pin for a near fall. Sky hit the Shotei and appeared to have a busted nose with blood in one nostril. Sky hit a Springboard Missle Dropkick, then a Meteora to Valkyria’s back when she was on the ropes.
Sky went up top but Valkyria hauled her down, and then Sky countered a Tornado DDT attempt to put Valkyria over the ropes to the apron. That led to a Moonsault off the middle rope to the floor to take out Valkyria before another commercial break aired. Back from it, there was a strike exchange and moments later Sky used a Samon Clutch before she hit a Double Stomp for a two count. Sky went for a corner Meteora but Valkyria dodged and then hit a Tornado DDT. Another Fisherwoman’s Buster got Valkyria a near fall.
Sky escaped a Nightwing attempt and hit a Release German Suplex. The corner Meteora followed but again when Sky went up top Valkyria was there to grab the leg. It led to Sky escaping from up top with a Sunset Flip to hit a Powerbomb. Sky finally went for Over the Moonsault but had to land on her feet with Valkyria rolled away. Sky yet again countered Nightwing and tried for a Sunset Flip but Valkyria dropped down for a pinhold and got the victory.
After the match Jackie Redmond tried to interview Valkyria but a furious Sky grabbed the mic and snapped at Valkyria in her native tongue. Valkyria put over that she just beat a former Champion and said she was one Nightwing away from being Queen of the Ring.
Smackdown’s KAYLA BRAXTON also handled interview duties.
SONYA DEVILLE made her return to the WWE in a backstage segment with SHAYNA BASZLER and ZOEY STARK. Deville tried to talk with the two but Baszler shot her down and claimed the two weren’t interested in whatever she had to sell.
Backstage Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria shared an awkward fist bump/handshake as Lynch hyped Valkyria up. But when she walked off, Liv Morgan appeared and hit a cheap shot punch to Valkyria as payback for last week’s events.
Becky Lynch went to the ring for a promo. Lynch bragged that her and Morgan had history but Morgan has never beaten her before. Lynch noted Morgan’s attitude change of bailing from fights, but soon enough Morgan herself interrupted. Morgan accused Lynch of ‘gaslighting’ the fans and said that she was the one punched in the face last week but was made to be the bad guy. She claimed she bailed from the fight with Damage CTRL last week because it had nothing to do with her and claimed to not care about the other women, and barely even Lynch.
Lynch mocked Morgan for only figuring out a purpose after 10 years while Lynch had it figured out since the moment she entered a wrestling gym. Lynch put over her best-selling book about her life and mocked Morgan that once she got her ‘revenge’ then what was next? Morgan mocked back, claiming that Lynch was the most selfish person on the roster. Morgan did have a nice line to mock the fans’ What chants saying that they all had their heads so far up Lynch’s ass they couldn’t hear her.
Morgan said what was next was finally being where she deserved to be as the Champion after ten long years. Lynch objected to the fans being mocked and said she put her body on the line for them. Lynch dared Morgan to come fight her, but Morgan faked out coming down and said she’d do the ‘smart thing’ and wait until Saturday. So the segment ended with a stare down as Lynch yelled from the ring.
SCARLETT was beside her man Karrion Kross as the two continued to provoke The New Day.
Fatal Four-Way Tag Team Match – Number One Contendership for the Women’s Tag Team Championships
SHAYNA BASZLER & ZOEY STARK defeated DAMAGE CTRL (DAKOTA KAI & IYO SKY), KAYDEN CARTER & KATANA CHANCE, & IVY NILE & MAXXINE DUPRI
Nile and Sane started off, but only for both Baszler and Stark to tag in off Nile and drag her back while Carter tagged from Sane. Leading to a mass brawl while Baszler choked Carter and Kai hit a Superkick to Stark. Baszler hit a Knee Strike to Kai before a spot led to Dupri hitting a DDT to Baszler as Dupri took a Forearm shot from Sane. Nile held Sane up for a Delayed Suplex and hit the move by force when Double KC hit Superkicks to both her head and Sane’s. Double KC followed up with a twist on the Cake Stand to send Chance from the top down to all the other Superstars on the floor! Stark and Carter were still seen as legal but Carter only got a one count in the ring.
After a commercial break, Kai went for a pin on Nile but Carter broke it up. Nile hit a German Suplex on Kai and was able to tag in Durpi while Kai tagged Sane. Dupri hit some short-range Knees to the gut, a High Knee then a Spin Kick followed by a Fisherwoman’s Buster then a kip up. She made the mistake to send Sane into the Double KC corner so Carter tagged in, and decked Dupri after she’d hit a Facecrusher on Sane. Chance cleared Baszler and Stark off the corner and got briefly sent out but Carter hit Durpi with a Hammerlock Bladerunner.
Kai got a blind tag off of Chance (who wasn’t actually legal) so when Double KC hit The Afterparty on Dupri Kai tossed both Chance and Carter out to try and steal the pin. Baszler and Stark broke it up. Moments later, in one corner a Tower of Doom happened as Nile hit a Powerbomb as Kai and Sane hit a Superplex to Baszler. In another, Chance hit Stark with a Frankenscreamer from off of Chance’s shoulders seated up top and the move (barely) made Stark crash into Baszler on the mat. Nile took out Chance with a Superkick but Carter dumped her out, before Dupri dragged her out and sent her into the barricade.
Dupri hit The Caterpillar Elbow on Kai for a near fall, and turned the kick-out into an Ankle Lock. Sane broke it up with the InSane Elbow and then got a tag from Kai but she spent too long with the theatrics as Baszler from the apron locked in the Kirifuda Clutch to allow Stark to tag in. Dupri got a Roll-up for a near fall on Stark but soon ate a Superkick from Stark. A double team followed of Stark tossing up Dupri with an Alley-Oop to take a Knee Strike from Baszler and that got Baszler and Stark the win.
Backstage, during a segment, Sonya Deville was once again seen talking with Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark but the team and Deville left in different directions.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Two lengthy women’s matches and both were great, which was a nice surprise considering that four-way matches can be a messy cluster. Baszler and Stark could realistically be the only team with the viciousness to be considered legit threats to Belair and Cargill but perhaps the element of having Deville as a manager could give them the extra edge. Interference thanks to Deville would be a nice out to protect Belair and Cargill in a loss.
Elsewhere, Valkyria continues to rocket and make the most out of opportunities but that momentum will come to a squashed halt against two major, and well pushed, names from Smackdown as her opponent will either be Bianca Belair or Nia Jax. It would be a major upset to see Valkyria win over either of those two.
Lastly, the promo between Lynch and Morgan worked fine but it’s hard to see Morgan winning from this clash unless she pulls out some tricks. The threat just hasn’t been there to show Morgan having a real chance in a regular match. Things could swerve of course but it would be a surprise at this point.
That’s your lot for this week! Be sure to stop by in seven days’ time for the post-Queen of the Ring edition of the RAW RECAP! See you then!