WWE RAW on Netflix: Bill Goldberg Returns & Challenges Gunther For the WWE HW Title

Liv Morgan continues to outmaneuver the women’s roster by gaining all of the attention. After interrupting a returning Nikki Bella as she attempted to put over the 2 ^nd upcoming all-women’s PLE, “EVOLUTION,” the co-tag team titlist got exactly what she wanted—opening RAW with the kind of heat in the locker room that forced the champion to come to her. It is quite brilliant, though it is just as unfortunate, if not, more so, that current women’s world champ Iyo Sky remains without any actual booking and is treated more like an accessory with an accessory.

Sky eventually came out to finger-wag at Liv for ‘disrespecting’ Nikki, a woman that she says paved the way for the entire field. But the egregiousness she felt towards Sky felt misdirected while simultaneously feeling spot on as she’s been kept on ice for the majority of her title run. The segment ended with Sky putting down Liv, and it is unclear how the three players in this program will intertwine—but it must be said that Liv-Nikki does not need the title at EVO II.

GOLD…BERG, GOLD…BERG, GOLD…BERG., GOLD…BERG

In tonight’s ‘worst kept secret in wrestling’ segment, we got ‘gold.’ The powers that be sent Gunther out there in the worst possible position, trying to slow play the match we have all known about for months. Fans began chanting his name, which WWE should have expected, and Gunther did his best to downplay Goldberg’s presence by suggesting that he had embarrassed the Hall of Famer so badly in front of his own family that he would never be a problem.

The music hit, not soon enough for Gunther, and the crowd ate it up as expected. However, the problem with ‘expected pops’ for returning legends is that they do not always go as expected—sometimes they are worse than the worst-case scenario (SEE: HOGAN, RAW on NETFLIX debut).

There was no promo battle, and the story was not presented as a layered feud meant to get over certain themes—but if that’s what you expected, then that’s shame on you. The segment served its intended purpose, and Goldberg successfully executed his role while Gunther did his best to ‘swim with ankle weights.’ The match was booked for SNME in Atlanta on July 12^th.

Women’s Queen of The Ring Qualifiers

Asuka vs. Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Ivy Nile

The returning Asuka took the victory in this one despite the ‘hard push’ on Vaquer’s most recent booking. In an attempt to build Asuka back up and thus add another “main eventer” to the women’s roster, she was given the pinfall victory over Raquel, but it didn’t come without some assistance as Rhea Ripley prevented Raquel from a potential win—a bit of payback for ‘Mammi.’

It was awesome seeing Asuka and Vaquer pair up, possibly teasing a tag run at some point, but Auska’s return would have ‘hit harder’ had she been booked as the mystery entrant as opposed to Jey. Asuka will now face Alexa Bliss in a battle of women attempting to build momentum coming off hiatus—the semi-final match will take place on SmackDown this Friday.

Men’s King of the Ring Qualifiers

Jey Uso vs. Sheamus vs. ‘Big’ Bronson Reed vs. Rusev

The focus on Jey Uso earlier in the program gave him the momentum heading into the match, but you don’t have to be a “booker man” to know that, as the main event of RAW, this match was going to utilize ‘send-outs’ considering Reed’s faction ties and the many enemies they have created up and down the roster.

However, nobody could have expected the number of run-ins that this match would utilize, as Breakker was the first to make his presence felt by assisting Reed against Jey. That is when Sami Zayn came out to even the odds for his friend, but he was quickly neutralized by Breakker. Of course, that left an opening for Penta to enter the ring only to flip to the outside and onto Breakker (Penta mostly missed Breakker and took a nasty-looking bump straight to the thin outside mat.

It seemed like Reed was positioned to win the match as he stood on the top turnbuckle, ready to deliver a Tsunami on Jey, but then LA Knight came out and pushed Reed off the top for Jey to hit the superkick/spear combo and into the USO Splash. He landed a second USO Splash and pinned Reed for the qualifying win.

The (potentially overbooked) booking was not over as Seth Rollins B-Lined to the ring post-match in a blue suit that he stripped away as he stared at Jey Uso lying hurt in the center of the ring. By the time Seth made his way into the ring, Cody Rhodes’s music had hit, and the place went nuts as RAW ended with a stare-down between the two before Seth exited the ring.

Before RAW faded to black, though, a graphic was shown promoting the KOTR semi-final match between Cody and Jey, the only two in the ring at this point, next Monday. The two shook hands after a contentious stare-down as next week’s RAW is heavily booked with quality in-ring action planned.

Liv Morgan Injury

Liv Morgan was in singles action against Kari Sane when a ‘corkscrew leg takedown’ caused Liv to land awkwardly on her right elbow. Liv immediately rolled out of the ring and grabbed her arm, signifying a potential shoulder injury. It was an unfortunate set of events, but it is difficult to assess the potential of a work, considering the commentary team was awfully quick to come back with a ‘dislocated shoulder’ diagnosis.

FightsATW.com will continue to update on the status of Morgan.

Other Tidbits/In-Ring Action

• AJ Styles vs. JD McDonagh

AJ was in singles action with McDonagh, a superstar enjoying a significant profile raise since returning from injury—a viral moment that has built a reserve of good grace from the fans for any past heelish behavior. AJ, on the other hand, has been in a weird limbo since calling for an IC title shot (not to mention the release of his “Good Brothers”).

The match was terrific, some of the best action on the card, but it was all to set up the long booking between AJ and Dom Mysterio. After AJ won the match, Finn Balor came out, and the three Judgement Day members started to surround their food. But AJ outsmarted them all and managed to escape with the IC title in hand (a callback to the IC title feud between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin).

AJ eventually returned the title to GM Nic Aldis, subbing for GM Pearce, and Aldis decided to reward AJ for returning the title promptly by giving him an IC title match next week.

• Bayley Back In Her Hug Bubble?

For the past several years, Bayley has attempted to lay down the foundation for an epic heel run. It was terrific work overall, but her character has been hard to pin down (so to speak), and after Mania weekend, headlines sold the idea that Bayley had either been pulled or pulled herself from the tag team title match because of ‘booking issues.’ Whether those reports were kayfabe or shoot is not fully known, but Bayley is clearly attempting to use the storyline to come back as a full-blown face.

She called out Becky Lynch, the woman she attacked upon her return to TV last week, and “The Man” made her way to the ring with the IC title in hand and held proudly above her head. The title was missing legitimacy based on legacy. Though Lyra embodies the talented workhorse worker that the IC title is known for, but Becky gives it prestige. This is a major feud for the IC title with a rich history to pull from between Becky and Bayley, necessary to launch a memorable program.

The two will have what is likely to be the first match in a running rivalry for the IC title on next week’s RAW.