Show Recap --

There was a recap of Backlash that very much played up the
crowd in France. Perhaps because this aired on Raw, Damian
Priest’s win over Jey Uso was shown last (instead of Cody
Rhodes and AJ Styles).


Michin vs. Arianna Grace added to WWE NXT

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Michael Cole said that three first round matches would take
place tonight for the King of the Ring and Queen of the Ring
tournaments (instead of all four). The fourth for each will
take place at a “live event” over the weekend. Cole also
announced that Drew McIntyre was out of the tournament
because he was not medically cleared.

Judgment Day entered to start the show. Priest said everyone
loved Jey Uso but it didn’t matter because he was still el
campeón. Priest wanted to address what happened after his
match with Judgment Day. Finn Bálor apologized but Priest
said he was the one that needed to apologize. Priest
appreciated their help and he was still champion thanks to
them.


Priest said he appreciated JD McDonagh and he called Bálor
his brother. He hugged them. Dominik Mysterio was just
standing there so he joined the hug.

Priest said Bálor would be the next King of the Ring. Bálor
said he got a first round bye because McIntyre wasn’t
cleared and this was the first step toward the Prince
becoming a King. Bálor wanted Samantha Irvin to announce it
now.

Before she could, Adam Pearce entered to inform Bálor that
he was not getting a bye. His opponent was Jey Uso.


********

King of the Ring - First Round: Jey Uso defeated Finn Bálor
(13:36)

Bálor cut off Jey’s comeback attempts before and after a
break. Jey fought back with right hands and a flying
crossbody for two. Bálor cut him off again with a
clothesline but Jey came back with strikes and a superkick.
Bálor dodged a splash and hit a dropkick. Jey dodged a Coup
de Grace and hit a spear for a nearfall.

Drew McIntyre marched through the crowd which distracted
Jey. Bálor applied a schoolboy for two before hitting a
slingblade. Jey cut him off with another spear for the
pinfall win.


— McIntyre (who got “CM Punk” chants) entered the ring but
Jey bailed and celebrated with the fans.

This was an ordinary match where each guy did their
signature moves until one guy won.

********

Ivy Nile and Zoey Stark were shown warming up. Becky Lynch
was shown arriving. She has an interview with Cole tonight.

There was a video package of Gunther’s win over Sheamus at
Clash at the Castle in 2022.


********

CM Punk segment

In the back, McIntyre complained to Pearce about being
replaced by Jey Uso of all people. Pearce said this wasn’t
about Jey, this was about McIntyre’s arm. Nobody knew
McIntyre was hurt until he said something, so he had medical
check him out and he wasn’t cleared. McIntyre was pissed and
he left in a black Corvette. (The screen glitched as he
left.)

As soon as McIntyre’s car disappeared out of the garage, CM
Punk pulled up in a 1980 Camaro. Punk asked Pearce where
McIntyre was and Pearce said he just missed him. Punk was
disappointed but asked Pearce to play his music.

The camera followed Punk as he made his way through the
back. He took a dig at Jackie Redmond over the Toronto Maple
Leafs losing. Chad Gable was nearby berating Alpha Academy.

Punk entered the ring. He mentioned being stuck at WWE
headquarters and said he was let out just a few hours ago.
He planned on picking a fight with McIntyre tonight. Punk
cut a quick promo last week but he was willing to stick
around to give McIntyre enough time to turn his car around.

He asked everyone to Tweet at McIntyre to let him know that
Punk was waiting. Punk wanted to fight McIntyre on top of
the same ice that Gordie Howe skated on for the Hartford
Whalers.

Punk said McIntyre didn’t end his WrestleMania dreams, he
only postponed them. Punk called himself a five-tool player
but McIntyre was just a tool. McIntyre picked a fight with
the pettiest man on the roster. Maybe even on earth.
McIntyre was a hater who hated everything about Punk. But
all McIntyre did was talk about him. Punk wondered if
McIntyre hated him or if he hated himself.

Punk broke McIntyre’s elbow and the next time he showed up,
Punk would break his face. He would also break his heart.
Punk kept looking at his watch as he awaited McIntyre who
never showed and Punk said McIntyre must be afraid of him.

(Punk is a great promo but this was just ok. The point of
this promo was that Punk was killing time for McIntyre to
return. Unfortunately, it really felt like Punk was killing
time.)

********

Cathy Kelley interviewed Ricochet about KOTR. Ricochet was
ready to define a legacy for himself. Braun Strowman showed
up to embrace Ricochet. Strowman wanted him to remind
everyone why he was called King Ricochet.

Queen of the Ring - First Round: Iyo Sky (w/Dakota Kai &
Kairi Sane) defeated Natalya (10:24)

Pat McAfee mentioned that tomorrow would have been Owen
Hart’s birthday.

[SECOND HOUR]

Natalya hit a superplex after a break for two. She fought
out of a crossface but Sky followed with a double foot stomp
and dropkick for two. They traded reversals until Natalya
hit a sit-out powerbomb for two.

Natalya applied a Sharpshooter but Sky quickly countered and
drove her into the bottom turnbuckle. Sky followed with a
Meteora in the corner and a moonsault for the pinfall win.
This was pretty good for the TV time they had.

— After the match, Dakota Kai announced she was taking the
place of an injured Asuka against Lyra Valkyria. Kai issued
a warning to Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Becky Lynch
because Damage CTRL were coming for everything.

********

There was a video package for Ilja Dragunov.

King of the Ring - First Round: Ilja Dragunov defeated
Ricochet (16:34)

After a break, Ricochet tried a moonsault off the apron but
Dragunov caught him and hit a release German suplex on the
mats. Dragunov followed with a springboard dropkick for two.
Ricochet hit a hurricanrana off the top, consecutive suicide
dives and a flip dive.

After a second break, Dragunov hit a leaping senton off the
top for two. Dragunov followed with chops but Ricochet hit a
superkick. They traded kicks until Ricochet hit a Finlay
roll and Lionsault for two. Dragunov responded with a
running knee strike but Ricochet hit a poison-rana. Ricochet
tried another Lionsault but Dragunov knocked him out of mid-
air with an uppercut.


Dragunov hit an H-Bomb and went for Torpedo Moscow but
Ricochet countered with a Recoil. Ricochet went to the top
but Dragunov brought him down with a superplex. Dragunov hit
one more H-Bomb for the pinfall win. This was a strong
match.

Dragunov shook hands with Ricochet after the match. He will
face Jey Uso in the next round.

********

Redmond interviewed Sheamus. Sheamus mentioned going through
several medical procedures just to return to the ring. He
didn’t like Gunther. They have had banger after banger but
tonight, he planned on kicking Gunther’s ass.


Queen of the Ring - First Round: Zoey Stark defeated Ivy
Nile (5:19)

Nile hit a delayed vertical suplex early on, which is a good
power spot for someone who happens to be smaller than her
opponent. Stark came back with a springboard dropkick for
two. Nile hit a bulldog off the top for two. Stark hit a
sliding kick for two. Stark knocked Nile off the top, hit a
reverse suplex and Z-360 for the pinfall win.

********

R-Truth did some comedy with Miz and Dan Hurley - head coach
of the UConn Huskies. Truth thought the NCAA was a small
wrestling promotion.


Bron Breakker approached Pearce. Breakker wanted to know why
he wasn’t in KOTR. Pearce said they could speak in his
office.

********

Priest told Bálor he didn’t need to apologize for losing to
Jey Uso. It was only one match. McDonagh said Bálor probably
wasn’t 100% after Strowman attacked them. Priest said
McDonagh could take care of Strowman.

Dom and his mustache entered with Carlito. Priest was pissed
because Carlito cost him his moment at Backlash in Puerto
Rico a year ago. Carlito said if he scratched their back,
maybe they could return the favour. Priest didn’t care what
Carlito had going on and told Dom to get him out of there.


********

Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed ended in a disqualification
(1:42)

They rushed to show off some power moves and you could tell
why they were rushing. Sami Zayn quickly ran in to attack
Gable for the DQ. They traded some spots until Reed laid
them both out.

Pearce confronted Reed in the back. Reed didn’t care about
Gable or Zayn, he only cared about the IC title. Reed said
Pearce knew what he had to do.

This was weak.


********

There was a video package for Lyra Valkyria.

[THIRD HOUR]

Gunther said he didn’t care about putting on bangers. He
wanted to be the greatest of all time. He would have no
problem exposing Sheamus as a weak-minded people-pleaser.
Sheamus would be no obstacle for the Ring General.

********

Becky Lynch sit-down interview

Cole interviewed Lynch in the ring. He first asked Lynch
about the big hat she wore to the Kentucky Derby and they
showed a picture. I think this was meant to bring some
levity to the segment before moving on to the real stuff but
the crowd didn’t care about this at all.


They moved on to the championship. Lynch put over Alba Fyre,
Isla Dawn, Kiana James and Lyra Valkyria. Lynch droned on
about whatever until Liv Morgan interrupted.

Morgan was bored too and was annoyed that Lynch didn’t
mention her. She was tired of being overlooked and
overestimated. Morgan reminded Lynch that she was a former
MITB winner, women’s champion and tag champion. She beat Nia
Jax and took out Rhea Ripley. After all that, Morgan
couldn’t believe Lynch still didn’t respect her.

Lynch said Morgan didn’t let her finish. Morgan was getting
her title match at King & Queen of the Ring in three weeks.
Lynch said Morgan has done a lot but she has never beaten
her.


Morgan knew what she had been missing all this time:
purpose. Now that she had her purpose, she knew she could
beat Lynch. Her purpose was taking everything Ripley loved
which meant winning the women’s title.

Damage CTRL interrupted. Kai reiterated what she said
earlier and they surrounded the ring like the Shield.

Lynch and Morgan stood back-to-back ready to fight but
Morgan suddenly bailed from the ring. She laughed and said
this wasn’t her problem. Damage CTRL attacked Lynch until
Valkyria jogged out to make the save.


This was another weak talking segment.

********

Redmond interviewed Sami Zayn. Zayn said his issues with
Gable were personal, while Reed was all business. Zayn
offered a triple threat match at King & Queen of the Ring.
Zayn said he was knocked down tonight just like he has been
many times before. But when the pressure was on, that was
when he was at his best and he would walk out of Saudi
Arabia still the Intercontinental Champion.

********


Queen of the Ring - First Round: Lyra Valkyria defeated
Dakota Kai (8:46)

They aired an ad for a movie 30 seconds into the match and
went to an actual commercial break a minute or two later.

Lyra was on offence after a break, hitting strikes, a flying
crossbody and a fisherman’s suplex for two. With Lyra draped
over the middle rope, Kai hit a stomp for two. Kai followed
with a running corner kick for two. Kai missed a GTK but hit
a scorpion kick. Lyra countered Kai’s next move into
Nightwing for the pinfall win.


********

Kofi Kingston promo

Kingston cut a pre-taped promo in the back. He said this
tournament was supposed to be where Xavier Woods became a
two-time King of the Ring but Gunther took that away.
Kingston didn’t know when Woods would return. If Gunther
advanced, Kingston couldn’t wait to give him what he
deserved.

But first, Kingston would have to beat Rey Mysterio — the
legend and the icon and the man he looked up to growing up.
He respected Rey, but he had to put him down
unapologetically like his name was Kendrick Lamar or Drake.
He had to win this tournament in honour of Woods because,
after all this time, three words still rang true: New Day
rocks.


This was good.

********

King of the Ring - First Round: Gunther (w/Ludwig Kaiser)
defeated Sheamus (21:00)

They repeatedly smacked each other hard on the chest and
Sheamus eventually got the better of Gunther ahead of a
break with a tackle off the apron.

After the break, Gunther chopped Sheamus in the back (and
sweat went flying). As Gunther held a rest hold, they zoomed
in on Sheamus’ back and you could clearly see Gunther’s hand
mark on his skin. Sheamus fought back with a backbreaker but
Gunther responded with a clothesline for two. Sheamus hit
White Noise for two and a powerslam for two.


Sheamus hit ten (seventeen) beats of the Bodhran but Gunther
dodged a Brogue Kick. Gunther distracted the referee while
Kaiser dropkicked Sheamus’ knee. The referee figured out
what happened and tossed Kaiser from ringside. Gunther was
happy because the damage was done. The ref checked on
Sheamus as they went to break.

Gunther smashed Sheamus’ knee against the ring post during
the break and held a leg lock when they returned. Sheamus
fought to his feet but Gunther kicked his leg out of his
leg. Gunther ripped off Sheamus’ knee pad and continued to
target his leg.


Sheamus responded with a clothesline and a great-looking
lifting knee strike for two. Sheamus went for a Brogue Kick
but his knee gave out and Gunther hit a powerbomb for two.
(It often looks fake when a wrestler’s knee suddenly gives
out but Sheamus sold it well.) Gunther applied a half-crab
but Sheamus quickly got a rope break.

Gunther went to the top but Sheamus cut him off and hit a
Celtic Cross for two. Gunther hit a German suplex but
Sheamus no-sold it, popped up and hit a knee strike followed
by a Brogue Kick. Sheamus took too long to make a cover and
Gunther kicked out.


Gunther applied a half-crab and pulled Sheamus to the middle
of the ring. Sheamus tried dragging himself back to the rope
but he tapped out.

They were right up against the clock and the show ended as
Gunther got to his feet to celebrate.

This was excellent.

Next week on Raw:

KOTR quarter-final: Jey Uso vs. Ilja Dragunov
KOTR quarter-final: Gunther vs. Kofi Kingston or Rey
Mysterio
KOTR quarter-final: Lyra Valkyria vs. Zoey Stark
KOTR quarter-final: Iyo Sky vs. Shayna Baszler or Zelina
Vega

********

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