The John Report: The WWE Raw Deal 06/27/22 Review


This week’s WWE Raw featured John Cena celebrating 20 years since he started his WWE career. Plus, it was the last Raw before Saturday’s Money in the Bank event.

To begin this week, just a note saying I will be on vacation starting next Monday, July 4th. I know it’s a holiday in the US that day. Here in Canada, it’s July 1 as our birthday. Anyway, I’m going to be off for a week. That means no reviews of Raw, NXT, Smackdown, Dynamite or Rampage next week. I’ll be back ready to write for the July 11th edition of Raw. I will most likely do condensed reviews for the shows I miss because I want to get them all done. Anyway, I haven’t really taken a full week off in a few years, so I look forward to a wrestling break. I know our news and feature writing team will keep the content coming on TJRWrestling without me, so keep supporting the site and we will continue to cover the wacky world of pro wrestling as best we can.

The show started with John Cena shown walking backstage wearing a shirt celebrating his 20 years in WWE. It was from “Earlier Today” Cena was walking in the backstage area where he was greeted by wrestlers, behind the scenes people, announcers and others. They were all greeting Cena with hugs, handshakes and applause. That was a cool way to start the show.

Battle Royal for Money in the Bank Ladder Match Qualification

There were Raw and Smackdown wrestlers in the ring. The winner gets to be in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

They didn’t state how many people were in there, but it was around 20 guys including some of them that lost MITB qualifying matches. Veer tried eliminating Riddle, but Riddle held on. Veer got a hold of Akira Tozawa and tossed Tozawa out. Veer also dumped Shelton Benjamin out of the ring. Mustafa Ali dropkicked Veer in the back leading to Rey and Dominik doing the 619 on Veer. That led to both Mysterios and Ali dumping Veer over the top to the floor. R-Truth was dancing with Shanky in the middle of the ring until Jinder Mahal attacked Truth and then Jinder/Shanky eliminated Truth. Mahal followed that up by eliminating his former friend Shanky. AJ Styles with a clothesline that eliminated Mahal. T-Bar launched Reggie over the top to the floor to eliminate him. That led to a break.

The action continued as they showed Ciampa eliminating Mustafa Ali during the break. Jimmy Smith stated that they started with 20 guys, so my guess was right. Styles kicked Ciampa, then brought him to the apron and shoved Ciampa into the turnbuckle to eliminate Ciampa. Rey wanted 619 on Miz, but Miz avoided it and Miz hit a DDT. Rey held on to avoid elimination. Dominik was eliminated by Ziggler, who managed to hang on. Rey tried getting rid of Ziggler with a headscissors takedown, but Ziggler held on. Rey with a headscissors knocking Miz to the apron and Ziggler/Miz eliminated Rey together. The fans booed. Riddle held onto the ropes to avoid an elimination. T-Bar battled Ricochet on the apron, Ricochet landed on a ladder that was at ringside and Ricochet managed to do a headscissors on T-Bar to eliminate him. There were about five guys left and they went to break again.

There were six guys left: The Miz, Riddle, Dolph Ziggler, Rey Mysterio, Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles. The Miz jumped off the ropes with a double axhandle and then was selling/faking a knee injury. Ziggler was on the top rope, so Nakamura kicked Ziggler off the top to the floor. Riddle sent Nakamura to the floor and Riddle hit a jumping kick to knock Nakamura out of the match.

The final four were Riddle, Ricochet, Styles and Miz. When Ricochet went for a springboard attack on Riddle, Styles was there and kneed Ricochet in the ribs. Styles tossed Ricochet out. Styles faced off with Riddle with Styles hitting a forearm, but then when Styles went for the Phenomenal Forearm, Miz tripped him. Styles went over the top there, so he was eliminated. Miz was faking the knee injury and he tossed Riddle to the apron, but Riddle held on. Riddle got a hold of Miz and hit a draping DDT like Riddle’s buddy Randy Orton Riddle wanted an RKO, but Miz caught him and Miz hit a Skull Crushing Finale. Miz charged, Riddle used his legs to pull Miz over the top to the apron and both guys stayed on the apron instead of going into the ring. Miz charged into an RKO by Riddle, so Miz fell to the floor and Riddle won. It went about 18 minutes.

Winner: Riddle

Analysis: *** Good battle royal. I like how it was booked with Miz trying to be the sneaky heel, but Riddle was able to overcome him and find a way to win. They had some good eliminations in the match along with some brief alliances. Riddle certainly has a shot to win MITB on Saturday night.

That means the guys that have qualified for the Men’s Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match are Seth “Freakin” Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Omos, Sami Zayn and Riddle.

The Raw commentary team of Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton said that another MITB Qualifying Match between Kevin Owens and Ezekiel had to be reschedule. Why? We don’t know.

The Street Profits did a promo talking to the camera with John Cena joining them. Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins asked Cena for some advice going ahead of their match against The Usos. Dawkins said they haven’t been able to break through. Cena said that they are NXT Champions, Raw Champions, Smackdown Champions and more energy than a bolt of lightning. Cena told them to never forget how good they are. Ford read Cena’s shirt saying “never give up.” The Profits were fired up after that because they want the smoke.

Jey and Jimmy Uso entered for Jey’s singles match.

They showed comments from Shawn Michaels congratulating John Cena on 20 years in WWE. They also had comments from Big Show, Booker T, Daniel Bryan, Trish Stratus and Triple H.

Analysis: That’s cool that they would include Big Show and Daniel Bryan, who both currently work for AEW these days. They were both guys that wrestled Cena a lot in his career.

Riddle was interviewed by Kevin Patrick. Riddle talked about how that win was for Randy Orton. Riddle said that John Cena told him to “never give up” and now he’s going to Money in the Bank. Riddle: “The Bro is going to Vegas.” True that.

Montez Ford entered with Angelo Dawkins with Ford wrestling in this match. These teams have had a few singles matches over the last few weeks and now we get another. The Usos vs. The Street Profits is set for the Undisputed Tag Team Titles at Money in the Bank on Saturday.

Montez Ford (w/Angelo Dawkins) vs. Jey Uso (w/Jimmy Uso)

Ford with a shoulder tackle followed by a “one” in the air. Jey came back with a forearm to the face. Ford jumped over a charging Jey and Ford applied an armbar. Jey ran the ropes, Ford with two leapfrogs and another armdrag takedown leading to an armbar while taunting Jimmy at ringside. Ford hit a dropkick on Jey to send Jey out of the ring. Ford went for a kick, but Jey tripped him up on the apron. Jey whipped Ford into the steel steps leading to a break.

Jey was in control as he stomped on Ford in the corner. Ford came back with a clothesline. Ford ran the ropes with another clothesline, then a kick to the gut and a jumping kick. Jey with a couple of kicks, but Ford hit a clothesline and a standing moonsault for two. Jey came back with a shove into the turnbuckle followed by a popup neckbreaker for a two count. Jey charged right into a superkick and Ford hit a standing Blockbuster neckbreaker for two. Ford climbed up top, Jimmy with a distraction and Dawkins ran over Jimmy on the floor. Jey jumped onto Dawkins on the floor and Ford jumped onto Jey on the floor with a suicide dive. Back in the ring, Ford jumped off the top with a Frog Splash for the pinfall win after ten minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Montez Ford

Analysis: *** Good match with Ford picking up the clean win. Ford always impresses me when he’s in singles matches. Jey is also very talented in singles matches. I like how Jimmy tried to distract, Dawkins took him out and they went to the finish soon after. I expect The Usos to keep the titles at Money in the Bank.

Rey and Dominik Mysterio were shown walking backstage with Finn Balor and Damien Priest going up to him. Finn noted that Rey’s 20 years is coming up soon too. Finn wondered what is it that Rey is not teaching Dominik. Priest said that their door is always open. Balor said maybe they aren’t having bad luck, maybe Rey is a bad father. Rey challenged them to a tag team match next Monday in San Diego.

A closer look at John Cena’s career is next.

They showed images from John Cena’s 20 years in WWE.

A John Cena tribute video aired. It was posted on WWE’s Youtube channel a few days ago, so I’ll include it below. It ran over five minutes covering his start in the company, his rise to the top, his many title wins against the biggest names in WWE history, that great Royal Rumble 2008 surprise and other things like his work with Make A Wish kids as well as honoring the trips. They also showed Cena appearing on talk shows along with his acting work that’s his focus in life now. Vince called Cena a “real life superhero.” They ended it with a comment from Cena saying he was just a kid that was living the dream.

Analysis: It’s an excellent video. I’ve always been a Cena fan and always will be. Here’s that video.

Interview with The Miz

Kevin Patrick was in the ring and he introduced The Miz for some reason. Patrick noted that Logan Paul was plotting a return to the ring. They showed images of Logan Paul training in the ring. The Miz said that he set that up while adding that he’ll team up with Paul at SummerSlam and they will continue their winning ways like they did at WrestleMania. Patrick noted that after the win at WrestleMania, The Miz gave Paul a Skull Crushing Finale. Miz explained that he’s the biggest full-time superstar in WWE and this Friday he’ll be on the Today show. Miz plugged Miz & Mrs. after Raw. Miz said that celebrities want to use Miz’s notoriety and knowledge to be an even bigger star. Miz said that he told Paul it was a teaching lesson, he understood and they are on the same page. Miz said that one day they will become the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. Miz ripped on AJ Styles saying his career has been on a downward spiral, then Patrick reminded us that Styles mentioned the “tiny balls” and Miz said that they are not making that a thing. Miz said he had gigantic, stupendous, huge…and so on. Here comes AJ Styles.

AJ Styles got into the ring and punched Miz in the face. They went to break there.

Analysis: It was a way to further the Miz-Styles storyline. Bringing back Logan Paul for SummerSlam isn’t a surprise since he did well at WrestleMania and has a big following. I don’t know about Miz thinking Paul is going to team with him again because they could have Paul in the face role and put him against Miz at SummerSlam. I guess we’ll find out as we get closer to that show.

This week on Smackdown; All of the participants in the men’s and women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Matches will be on the show.

AJ Styles vs. The Miz

Styles worked over Miz with punches and chops. Styles with a leapfrog followed by a dropkick. Styles with a dropkick, then Miz came back with a knee to the ribs and a running kick. Miz hit a running splash on Styles against the ropes. Styles blocked a Miz punch, then Miz came back with a corner clothesline and Miz jumped off the top with a double axhandle for two. Miz grabbed a side headlock, Styles got out of it with a chop and Styles tossed Miz out of the ring. Styles went for an attack off the apron, Miz moved and sent Styles into the apron. Miz whipped Styles into the barricade. That led to a break.

I missed a bit coming back from break. Styles got a nearfall after a slam onto the knee for a two count. Styles rocked Miz with a punch to the face. Styles wanted a Phenomenal Forearm, Miz moved out of the way and when Styles was against the turnbuckle, Miz did a double knee attack for a two count. Miz wanted a superplex, Styles slipped out of it and sent Miz into the turnbuckle. Miz with a couple of kicks followed by a running knee for a two count. Styles countered a SCF into a pin attempt for two. Styles with a Pele Kick to the head followed by a brainbuster. Styles set up for the forearm again, but Miz bailed and went up the aisle to the back. Miz lost by countout.

Winner by countout: AJ Styles

Analysis: *** A competitive match that was very even the whole way, but then they did the lame heel finish with Miz walking away. It should lead to another match between them as this feud apparently must continue. I liked how aggressive Styles was. I think AJ should have won the match clean. Instead, the feud will continue after the countout finish.

John Cena was shown in the locker room talking to Ezekiel, who said it was an honor to meet Cena. Ezekiel said he wants to make sure the whole world wants to Speak with Zeke. Cena told him to never forget who he is. Theory walked up to him saying that they should be celebrating him because he’s on Raw every week. Theory said that he’s 24 years old, the youngest US Champion in WWE history and said that Cena wasn’t even in WWE at that age. Theory said he’s a hand picked superstar of the future by MR. McMahon, that he can’t be touched while Cena is a grown ass man wearing jorts in 2022. Theory wanted to take a selfie, but Cena left so there was no photo.

Analysis: There’s the Cena/Theory confrontation that was expected. There could be more to it in the future as well.

Bianca Belair made her entrance as the Raw Women’s Champion for a promo segment.

There were more messages celebrating 20 years of John Cena from Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, John Bradshaw Layfield (he called him the “greatest of all time), Chris Jericho called Cena one of his favorite opponents, Stephanie McMahon and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as well.

Analysis: There’s another big name AEW guy Chris Jericho with a message. He wrestled Cena a lot, so that’s cool that he was included.

Let’s Hear from Bianca Belair

Bianca Belair was interviewed in-ring by Kevin Patrick, who asked her about facing Carmella at Money in the Bank. Belair said she was hoping Carmella would be out there so she can talk to her face. Belair said that Carmella always resorts to dirty tricks because that’s what she has to do. Belair said that she knows that Carmella can be great, but she’s so insecure. Belair said that Carmella has “it” and she better bring “it” at Money in the Bank. Belair called out Carmella to show that she can step to Belair face to face.

Carmella made her entrance with Graves getting excited about his wife. Carmella said she’s not insecure at all because she’s smart. Carmella said she’s got beauty and brains. Carmella said that she won’t apologize for being the total package. Carmella said that she’s a two-time Money in the Bank winner, a former Tag Team and Smackdown Women’s Champion. Carmella said she’ll take the respect she is deserved just like she’ll take the Raw Women’s Championship this Saturday because Mella is Money. Patrick tried asking Belair a question, Carmella tried a cheap shot kick, but Belair blocked it and punched Carmella out of the ring. Belair celebrated in the ring with Carmella on the floor.

Analysis: A very basic segment with a bit of trash talk from both women. I don’t think it was very interesting. Belair should easily beat Carmella at Money in the Bank. Hopefully Rhea Ripley heals up soon so she gets her title shot at Belair in the near future as well.

Liv Morgan and Alexa Bliss were interviewed by Sarah Schreiber. Bliss said that she likes Morgan, but Liv won’t win Money in the Bank because Bliss has won MITB before and she’ll win again. Liv said she will be champ one day. Liv said she’s going to knock Bliss off the ladder and climbing up to get the ladder to get the contract. Liv busted out a John Cena catchphrase saying “my time is now.” Morgan said she’ll beat Bliss tonight, Bliss said that’s not going to happen and Liv said “watch me” which is her catchphrase.

Liv Morgan made her entrance.

The next WWE Premium Live Event is Money in the Bank from Las Vegas on Saturday, July 2nd. Here’s what we know so far.

* Men’s Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match: Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. Omos vs. Sami Zayn vs. Riddle

* Women’s Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match: Lacey Evans vs. Liv Morgan vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Asuka vs. Shotzi and one more woman.

* Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Carmella

* Smackdown Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Natalya

* Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships: The Usos (c) vs. The Street Profits

* United States Championship: Theory (c) vs. Bobby Lashley


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