LIVing in Morgan's World

12,269 fans were in attendance for the June 24, 2024 edition of Monday Night Raw. The show kicked off with Michael Cole and The Miz on commentary. The Miz is filling in for Pat McAfee. It wasn’t announced on-air, but according to PWTorch, McAfee had to deal with a last-minute family emergency. Best wishes to Pat and his family.

 

As the show began, Drew Mcintyre came into the ring, bragging about taking a bracelet that a fan had made for CM Punk. The Bracelet may be worth 50 cents, but to Punk it is priceless, because it is Punk’s way of having AJ (his wife) and Larry (his dog) with him when he is away from home. A “Larry” chant starts from the crowd. Drew states that he is entering the Money in the Bank match and will win and cash in the same night, to reclaim the title that he was screwed out of. 

 

We then see a recap of the Wyatt Sick6 path of destruction from last week, as Chad Gable enters the arena, flanked by security who stand guard at his dressing room. Gable is clearly shaken up from the attack last Monday.

 

BRON BREAKKER VS LUDWIG KAISER

 

The opening match features the rapidly rising Bron Breakker vs Ludwig Kaiser. Kaiser has been entrenched in a feud with Sheamus and last week, interfered in Sheamus’ match against Breakker, allowing Sheamus to get the DQ victory. This week, the match is remarkably competitive, as Kaiser gets in way more offense than expected. Ultimately, Breakker takes control of the match, hitting a series of big suplexes and an impressive Frankensteiner off of the top rope. The action spills to the outside, and as Kaiser is gearing up for a running attack, Sheamus comes out of nowhere and hits Kaiser with a Brogue Kick, causing the disqualification. When Sheamus goes to powerbomb Kaiser through the announce table, Bron hits them with a spear. He’s clearly upset with taking another DQ loss.

 

Backstage, Damian Priest is upset with the Judgment Day slacking off and playing video games, a gift from Liv Morgan, instead of dealing with Braun Strowman, who has been terrorizing the group for weeks. Apparently thats not the only gift Liv has been giving out. It is implied that she’s sending nudes to Dirty Dom, which, in the words of Carlito, is pretty “cool.”

 

Still upset with the outcome of the match, Bron Breakker goes to Adam Pierce’s office to demand justice. Sami Zayn shows up and Breakker challenges him for the IC title at Money in the Bank. Sami agrees and Pierce makes it official. 

 

LYRA VALKYRIA VS SHAYNA BASZLER VS KAIRI SANE

 

The triple threat qualifying matches for the Money in the Bank ladder match have been a lot of fun and are a great way of showcasing more talent for the men’s and women’s roster. 

 

This match saw all three women in control at different parts of the match. Kairi Sane delivered a gnarly looking DDT to Baszler on the ring apron. Not to be outdone, Lyra hit an impressive stalled fisherman’s suplex inside the ring. Meanwhile, Baszler’s strikes and suplexes were absolutely brutal throughout the match. The story of this match was definitely “all three of these women are equal.” The conclusion saw Baszler lock in the Kirifuda Clutch on Lyra, who got out just in time for Kairi to hit an InSane elbow on Shayna. With Baszler taken out, Lyra delivered her Nightwing driver on Kairi for the pin. Valkyria joins Iyo Skye and Chelsea Green in the Women’s Money in the Bank match.

 

Backstage, Adam Pierce confronts Drew McIntyre, saying he doesn’t get to just declare for the MitB match, he needs to earn his way in like everybody else. This obviously irks Drew, who continues his narrative of constantly getting screwed out of everything. This whole thing is giving serious Bret Hart 1997 vibes, and it’s great. 

 

It is then announced that Indianapolis will get the 2025 Royal Rumble, which is great news for midwesterners like myself. 

 

LIV MORGAN DRAMA CONTINUES

 

Next, Liv Morgan comes out in a “daddy’s girl” shirt, a play off of the fact that she wished “Daddy Dom” a happy Father’s Day on social media. Liv begs “Daddy Dom, pretty pretty please come out here so you can thank me for the gifts I got you, and so I can give you one more gift in front of all these people.”

 

Dom doesn’t show, but instead Zelina Vega appears. She challenges Liv to a match tonight for the title, but Liv blows her off. Finally, Dom comes out to a sea of boos. He tells Liv he didn’t like the gifts she got him and is only here to tell Zelina he wants to help her defeat Liv because she shouldn’t be holding “Mami’s title.” Liv and Zelina break out into a brawl as Dom watches on. Eventually, Rey Mysterio comes out to break things up and help his LWO partner. Dom shoves Rey down and takes off, with a giddy Liv following him. 

 

Meanwhile, Cathay Kelly interviews Adam Pierce outside of Chad Gable’s dressing room. Pierce says Gable is medically cleared to compete in tonight’s MitB qualifier. 

 

We then cut to Liv Morgan talking with R-Truth. Truth is thoroughly enjoying the Liv/Dom “Rom-Com” story as he calls it. Morgan convinces Truth to agree to a tag team title match against JD McDonagh and Finn Balor as another “gift” to Dom and his friends. An irate Miz storms away from the commentary desk, leaving Michael Cole to do commentary on his own for the rest of the night. 

 

BRAUN STROWMAN VS CHAD GABLE VS BRONSON REED

 

The Men’s MitB qualifying match involves two guys who are involved in major storylines, and Bronson Reed, whose sole job in WWE appears to be taking the pin in triple threat matches. 

 

Gable spends much of the match being thrown around by the big men, before delivering a very impressive German suplex on Reed and nearly getting the pin. Strowman then starts to dominate the match until the Judgment Day (minus Damian Priest) comes out to neutralize him. With Strowman out of the picture, Chad Gable hits a Moonsault on Bronson Reed and gets the victory. 

 

After the match, the lights go out and smoke fills the ring as Gable is stuck inside. The wrestler formerly known as Nikki Cross enters the ring and Gable scrambles away. She delivers a package to Michael Cole before walking out through the crowd. Cole opens the package and it’s a VHS tape saying “play me.” 

 

Backstage, Chad Gable tries to apologize and get back in the good graces of Otis, Akira Tazawa, and Maxine. Otis and Tazawa reject him, but Maxine offers Chad a glimmer of hope. When she goes back inside the dressing room, the Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile appear to console Gable. 

 

ALBA FYRE AND ISLA DAWN VS KATANA CHANCE AND KAYDEN CARTER

 

The Women’s tag team champs make their first appearance in a non-title match against Carter and Chance. While they get some impressive double team offense in against the champs, this is ultimately a squash match for Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, who get a quick victory before being attacked by Damage CTRL, who are staking their claim as #1 contender for the tag title. 

 

A SIDE BET IS MADE

 

Back in the Judgment Day’s locker room, Damian enters just as Liv Morgan is leaving. Finn Balor is alone in the dressing room (looking very relaxed, might I say). He insists that nothing was going on, and that Liv was just there to say she got Dom a match against Rey next week, and she secured a tag title match for Finn and JD against Awesome Truth. Priest is happy with the news, but still extremely skeptical. 

 

Priest then makes his way to the ring to have a showdown with Seth Rollins. Rollins points out that Priest has only held on to his title for as long as he has because of interference, first from the Judgment Day, and then CM Punk. Seth offers Priest a side bet to their upcoming title match. He proposes that if Priest wins, Rollins will not get another chance at the belt for as long as Damian is champ. However, if Seth wins, Priest has to leave the Judgment Day. Priest arrogantly asserts that as champ, the Judgment Day needs him a lot more than he needs them, and agrees to the terms. 

 

As the men shake hands, Gunther comes out and wishes them both luck. He wants the better man to win, but warns them both, whoever the better man is between those two, is ultimately the lesser man compared to Gunther. 

 

After a break, Michael Cole lets us know they’ve “tracked down an old vhs player” and the Wyatt Sick6 video airs. It is Bo Dallas talking to himself. Well, he’s talking with Uncle Howdy, but you get the idea. Despite some over-the-top editing to let us know that this is indeed a VHS tape we’re watching, the segment is solid. 

 

Uncle Howdy asks Bo how he felt when his brother died. Bo responds “Like the most important thing in my life was taken away from me. Like nothing was ever going to matter again. We were going to rule this place together…There is no one on this earth who hurts more than me.” He tells Uncle Howdy that he wasn’t going to let everybody forget what Bray stood for and what he believed in. “They wanted to forget all about us. We made them remember.” A pleased Uncle Howdy gives a disturbing smile and the tape cuts out. 

 

KARRION KROSS VS KOFI KINGSTON

 

A fun little storyline going right now is Karrion Kross’s obsession with breaking up the New Day. He’s trying to convince Xavier Woods that the New Day is holding him back. Last week, he seemed to challenge Woods to a match, but Kofi stepped in and accepted instead. Kofi said for this match he wants to do it on his own and that Woods should stay in the back. Not really helping your cause here, Kofi. 

 

The match is quick, as Kofi dominates most of it until Paul Ellering comes on the screen to ask Kofi “was it worth it?” We see AOP beating down Woods. Kofi attempts to leave the ring to help his partner, but Kross pulls him back inside, hits a Final Prayer on Kingston, and gets the win. If I’m Xavier Woods, I’m starting to wonder if this is all worth it, too. It appears the New Day might be on the verge of a split. 

 

MAIN EVENT: AWESOME TRUTH VS FINN BALOR AND JD MCDONAGH FOR THE WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

 

“Chaotic” doesn’t even begin to describe this match. The Champs show great tag team prowess and control the match early. It doesn’t take long for Liv Morgan to come out and cause a bit of a ruckus. Not long after, the rest of the Judgment Day (minus Priest) comes out to help their stable mates. Then, Braun Strowman comes out to exact revenge on the Judgment Day for costing him his match earlier in the night. 

 

Through it all, the Awesome Truth continue to dominate the match. Eventually, Liv Morgan pops up on the ring apron and drapes R-Truth’s neck across the top rope. Finn Balor takes advantage, delivering a Coup de Grace on Truth and getting the pin. Balor and McDonagh are the new tag champs, and celebrate at the top of the ramp with Liv Morgan. 

 

As Raw goes off the air, Michael Cole wonders if Liv Morgan is the “Yoko Ono” of the Judgment day (look it up, kids), and it appears that is exactly what she is. Liv is not only trying to get Dom on her side, but is truly trying to cause the implosion of the Judgment Day as a whole. Between Priest’s comments during his segment with Rollins, and Liv’s efforts paying dividends, it seems clear that once Rhea Ripley returns, it’ll be Ripley and Priest on one side, and Balor, McDonagh, Carlito, and Morgan on the other side, with Dirty Dom stuck in the middle.