Becky Lynch Wins The Battle Royal & Earns WWE Women’s World Title

Battle Royals are the toughest things to book in the biz, and any ‘booker’ will tell you so, but, for fans, the match can produce drama and memorable moments out of sequences that receive little reaction in a singles match. The match was designed to take Lynch out of action, and for her, the match nearly ended on a table laid out next to Piper Niven after she was power-bombed through that table.

When the final four came, it looked like the new champ would be either Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark, Nia Jax, or Liv Morgan. However, just as it seemed like Nia would go on to dominate her way to final two with Liv, Becky Lynch came back to the ring against officials’ recommendations.

Lynch and Morgan, currently embroiled in a feud, worked together to eliminate Nia off the Code Breaker and leg drop off the middle turnbuckle. Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan started things off by brawling, but eventually, they found their way to the apron. Becky hit the Manhandle Slam after blocking Liv’s attempt at oblivion. Becky Lynch is the new women’s world champ, but her feud with Morgan is clearly not over, and she will likely have to beat Morgan again sometime soon to remain champ.

Jey Uso & Damien Priest Kickoff RAW

Jey Uso was the show’s first segment, not counting the announcement from Michael Cole and Pat McAfee regarding the women’s Battle Royal announcement. His Backlash opponent and WWE Heavyweight Champion, Damion Priest, eventually made his way out to deliver a soul-crushing promo.

Priest had rumors swirling around him back in 2022 that he was in store for a huge push. One that could possibly result in a world title win down the line. He would eventually side with Edge, and those aspirations would be realized when he won the Money in the Bank briefcase, which guaranteed him a title shot at his most opportune moment.

Fast forward to around this time last year, when Jay Uso was receiving the same sentiments, and rumors of “big pushes” and title runs emerged in a similar fashion.

So, with Priest’s big push fully realized and Jey’s single run finally beginning outside the shadow of the legendary tag team to which he belongs, their paths collide head-on with a heavyweight title at stake. The logical booking suggests that Priest will successfully defend while Jey is given a big-fight boost, making it easier for fans to see him as the champ on his route to an IC or US title. But Priest said the quiet part out loud in his promo, straight up telling Jey they are serving him up on a platter to strengthen his reign. It was brilliant. Priest just said the truth, and it felt like checkmate.

Jey called Priest back to the ring as he was stepping out, and he said things and hyped the crowd, and it was all good and well, but it all fell flat after the truth bomb that dropped—though Jey did drop a line about Rhea being the real leader of Judgement Day. JD from The Judgment Day came out to fumble the interference so that the superkick from Jey meant for JD landed on Priest.

Awesome Truth (c) vs DIY (WWE Tag Team Championship)

The Miz and R-Truth made the first defense of their newly won tag team championship against DIY (Gargano and Ciampa) after they were successful in a number one contender match last week on RAW before Awesome Truth received their tag team titles with a new design.

It was a great match as the vets attempted to slow down the new-gen contenders, but DIY kept the pace fast and managed a couple of very near falls. However, with neither team working a clear ‘heel’ role, it was difficult for the audience to become invested. Awesome Truth managed to retain on a night where RAW had two title matches scheduled, but DIY can only come up short so many times before the fans no longer believe.

All Hail Gunther, The Returner

Gunther returned after losing his IC title to Sami Zayn at Mania. He announced his intention to compete in and win the upcoming King of the Ring before setting his sights on a new or old title, as he announced the potential for regaining the IC title against Zayn.

The New Day eventually came out, and Xavier Woods made it known to Gunther that he was looking to become a two-time King of the Ring winner, a feat only accomplished once previously by Bret Hart (’91 and ’93). The segment ended with an impromptu tag match between New Day and Imperium’s Kaiser and Vinci.

Last year’s KOTR Woods and Kofi Kingston were successful against the ‘foreign heels’ in a match we’ve seen many times on TV and live shows. What was new about this encounter was that Kaiser would turn on Vinci as a consequence for the loss. As WWE officials escorted Kaiser to the back, he sprinted from midway up the ramp and around the ring to drop-kick Vinci, who lay hunched over the steel entrance stairs.

The order of events for this tag partner ‘turn’ was similar to that of the most famous ‘turn’ on a tag partner in WWE/WWF history when Shawn Michaels put Marty Jannetty through the “Barbershop window.” You had an early bait with Kaiser attempting to comfort Vinci, but then a turn with one big move. In this case, it was Vinci who was thrown into the ringside apron monitor. Lastly, a final move that puts said tag partner on the shelf, allowing the new ‘heel’ to go for single’s glory.

Kaiser and Gunther were seen backstage and seemed to still be on good terms, especially after his disciplinary actions against Vinci.

Sheamus’ Body Shame Continues

Drew McIntyre came out to give a promo for anyone who forgot, even for a second, that he is currently the best mic worker in the company. His focus was on CM Punk, but that was certainly not the focus of this segment. His longtime tag team partner and friend of twenty years, Sheamus, came out to show Drew some tough love. Sheamus came out and attempted to put into context the events of WrestleMania and allowing a meaningless feud to cost him his title to Priest.

McIntyre, who sat cross-legged in a Punk-esc manner, eventually got up and finished listening to his old friend. Then, he decided to drop a flash bomb, which is similar to a Punk pipe bomb, but the difference is McIntyre’s ‘flash bomb’ affects anyone watching and not just those within the proximity of the intended target. McIntyre reminisces about their days as a tag team and the ‘fighting brute’ theme of it all, producing “banger after banger after banger,” but the wordplay was all a setup for his next line.

Sheamus, who had one of the best shapes in the company, pound for pound, and his fitness level allowed him to produce a very successful fitness channel on YouTube. However, he was noticeably flat upon his return. Fans noticed his fitness change on TikTok and X, but it wasn’t all negative. McIntyre then accused Sheamus of eating “burger after burger after burger” in his time out of the ring. The crowd reacted with a visceral groan of discomfort. He then told Sheamus that the ‘boys in the back’ were ridiculing Sheamus.

To Sheamus’ credit, he handled it well and acknowledged his ability to lose it, but it brings to question whether body shaming in this era is acceptable. Once upon a time, things like weight, sexual orientation, and gender were used to poke fun at a ‘face’ and ‘heel.’

Today, though, things are different, and if a woman were being criticized for her weight after returning to action, there would be backlash. Sheamus likely greenlit the promo and is perfectly fine with his current shape—he is actually really jacked still, and most people are holding him to the ridiculous standard he set for himself—and knows that all he needs is time.

Regardless of the ethics, the direction only intensified interest in this developing feud.