In case you missed the show, the following is the WWE Monday Night Raw results, highlights and headlines from the show on June 13th.
WWE RAW Results, highlights and headlines from last week’s show
WWE RAW Results 6/13
Riddle confronts Paul Heyman on Miz TV, will challenge Roman Reigns for the title on SmackDown, will be last opportunity if he loses.
Jimmy Uso def. Montez Ford.
Seth Rollins Promo: He takes pride in putting Cody Rhodes on the shelf, and threatens to do the same to AJ Styles tonight.
Becky Lynch attacks Dana Brooke, is stopped and confronted by Asuka.
Liv Morgan & Alexa Bliss def. Doudrop & Nikki A.S.H. to qualify for the Women’s Money in the Bank Match.
Ezekiel def. Elias via count out, promises that Elias will return next week to serenade the WWE Universe.
MVP w/Omos def. Cedric Alexander.
Seth Rollins def. AJ Styles to qualify for the Men’s MitB Ladder Match.
Riddle def. Ciampa.
Bianca Belair claims to not be intimidated by Rhea Ripley, but Rhea and Judgement Day promise to dethrone Belair at MitB.
Chad Gable def. Mustafa Ali.
Veer Mahan def. Rey Mysterio.
Theory and Lashley compete in a Muscle Man-style pose off, which Lashley wins before being laid out by Theory to close the show.
WWE RAW Highlights From 6/13
Riddle Puts the Company on his Back
If you’re looking for star-level babyfaces in WWE right now, you’ll have a hard time finding someone. Randy Orton is taking time off, Cody Rhodes is hurt, Brock Lesnar’s out to pasture, and other stars like Edge and Seth Rollins aren’t in a storyline place right now to take on that mantle. And while that gap can still be felt on WWE RAW, Riddle has tried his damn best to answer the call.
Since Randy’s injury, the revenge story of Riddle has been the best in the company. It’s allowed Riddle to be more of a badass than his goofy persona usually allows, and promos like he had tonight make the crowd want him to succeed so bad. The shame is that there’s no way this story allows for Roman to lose on a random SmackDown, but despite the clear outcome, I hope the match creates a star in Riddle that remains this compelling for his eventual main event push when it comes.
The Return of Elias
The Ezekiel and Kevin Owens storyline has been running a bit stale, but we finally had some awesome developments. First, we saw Ezekiel get a win (by count out, but still) and most importantly, a chance to talk afterward. He’s obviously a great talker, and he needs more chances to cut promos like this one.
He’s becoming more of a cartoon each week and I love it, calling his fans the Zeke Freaks and talking about getting all Zeked up for Money in the Bank. He then announced that his older brother Elias was so excited for him that he would return next week to greet the crowd. I love that we’re hyping this up, and think this is where this character could have real potential if they can find ways to use both brothers in storylines.
In-Ring Bright-Spots
While a lot of this WWE RAW was missable story-wise, this show continues to overperform every week when it comes to putting on really good matches. The Ford vs. Uso, Women’s tag, Riddle vs. Ciampa, and especially Rollins vs. Styles matches were all great times in the ring. The stories may not have been up to par in some cases on these, but I think it’s easy to overlook how good the matches on RAW usually are.
Really, there wasn’t much for duds when it came to the matches tonight. If you want something fun to watch, the Styles and Rollins match was good enough to be on any WWE Premium Live Event and told a good enough story between the ropes to get the crowd as engaged as they were all night. A “this is awesome” chant underlined the talent on display, and overall it makes RAW worth watching if the wrestling is going to be this good.
WWE RAW Lowlights From 6/13
Stuck in Neutral
With a focus on the Roman Reigns title match against Riddle and building to Money in the Bank, a few storylines felt really second fiddle here. Namely, the Street Profits continue to lose to the Usos as we’re supposed to believe they’re legit contenders to the tag titles, and Nikki A.S.H. and Doudrop can’t buy a win since becoming a team. The Street Profits are super over, and put on great matches, but because the Bloodline is so omnipotent right now, there’s no room for the Profits to overcome their foes. And there’s real potential in both Nikki A.S.H. and Doudrop, but all they’ve been used for so far is people to be pinned in different matches.
I think both of these acts are in store for actual stories later in the summer, but why keep them just idling here if we’re going to pretend to care about them later?
What’s the Plan with Mustafa Ali?
Another week, another loss for Mustafa Ali. It’s been mentioned on commentary, it seems like they’re trying to tell a story here, but I’m very worried that Mustafa Ali agreed to come back to lose a bunch just to get out of his contract. To be clear, all power to Ali to do what he wants, it would just be a shame if that’s what a guy as talented as him would have to do to get out of a deal. It’s also just a huge waste of someone as talented as Ali.
WWE Headlines
Jeff Hardy was arrested for multiple charges, including driving without a license and DUI earlier today, Monday the 13th. Hardy has a history of substance abuse, including three DUI’s in the last 10 years. It was also reported that his departure from WWE was in part due to his refusal to enter rehab, though Hardy has contested the need for rehab prior to this incident.
Apollo Crews returns to WWE’s NXT 2.0 after more than five years on the main roster.
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Dominion Pay Per View this last weekend had major implications for their upcoming joint PPV with AEW. Most notably, Jay White defeated Okada for the IWGP World Championship, Hiroshi Tanahashi won the right to challenge for the AEW Interim Title, and Zack Sabre Jr. called out Bryan Danielson for a dream match 20 years in the making.
With reports coming out that Money in the Bank is having issues selling tickets due to a lack of star power currently on the card, WWE needs to start ramping up the storylines for the show. Tonight was fine, but it seems like WWE is stalling until they can properly build to SummerSlam.
