On the first Raw in about a year that wasn't under the direction of Paul Heyman, Raw went a different direction and really delivered in a lot of respects.
The show opened as Randy Orton took cheap shots at Edge who wasn't there. That said, Christian was. Challenged to an unsanctioned match, Christian accepted, but what was the plan? Randy Orton was up to something.
The Raw Women's Title was up for grabs again and Nia Jax found herself on the wrong side of the official. There was a winner take all match and the ninjas were back!
Here are your winners and losers for Raw, June 15, 2020:
Winner: Orton and Christian Opening
Raw started off with a bang as Randy Orton came out and bragged about taking out Edge, suggesting he'll see him again in July... July of 2029. After saying he was happy to send Edge back home, Edge's best friend Christian came out and tried to defend his friend. Orton cut him off and challenged him to a match.
Christian said no way, knowing he wasn't medically cleared. Orton said he had a way around it and made an offer that would expire at the end of the night. He could get one shot at Orton in an unsanctioned match. The segment closed as Christian looked shocked but the foreshadowing was there.
Winner: Angel Garza vs. Kevin Owens
Garza was backstage before his match suggesting he wasn't trying to get in Andrade's way and was already over his disappointment for not winning the Triple Threat Match that would have given him a shot at the United States Championship. But, he was ready to take on Kevin Owens in the next match. Andrade showed up to wish him luck but said should Garza not win, hopefully he could get over the disappointment.
Within minutes of the Owens and Garza match getting underway, Andrade came out to ringside and it was clear Garza and Zelina Vega weren't completely comfortable. At the first opportunity to help Garza, he and Andrade began to bicker and that was enough to say she was sick of it and Vega left the ringside area.
Garza ended up losing, which didn't seem to make Andrade too sad and Vega came back to the ring after the match to give both an earful, suggesting they better get on the same page.
The segment was simple yet effective. WWE is definitely teasing the idea that these two will go their separate ways.
Loser: Lashley Asks For Divorce
When this segment finally came about -- and we all knew it would -- it was about as painful as anyone could have imagined. MVP was the lone bright spot of the segment, blaming Lana for getting involved in Lashley's title match and costing him the win. He certainly is the right advocate for Lashley moving forward.
Lana rambled on about her rights as a woman and how it was Lashley's fault, saying before MVP they were on a hot streak. Lashley called her out for only being concerned with social media likes and Lana claimed that if that was all she cared about, she'd have slept with someone more famous. Lashley then demanded a divorce and walked off.
As long as this leads to the end of this terrible idea of putting Lashley with Lana, we can forgive these awful segments. Just pull the band-aid off and get it over with.
Winner: Big Helps The Viking Profits
The Viking Raiders and Street Profits chatted backstage about their crazy match at Backlash and were confronted by Akira Tozawa and his ninjas. An eight-man tag match was scheduled, which ended up being a total squash for the Viking Profits. When the giant ninja got in the ring, the Viking Profits huddled together and called out the Big Show who cleared the ring.
This wasn't much more than a fun little segment that may bring about the end of the the ninjas, but may also see Tozawa try to get the better of his foes. Either way, it probably won't last long. The Viking Raiders and Street Profits being friends is actually becoming entertaining. What we do know is that The Raid will meet The Smoke next week for the Raw Tag Team titles.
Winner: Dominick Evades Seth Rolins And His Disciples
Seth Rollins came out to the ring to say he was looking forward to speaking Dominick to which Rey Mysertio interrupted via satellite, warning Rollins not to lay a hand on his son. Rollins said he didn't want to hurt Dominick, he wanted Dominick to join his group.
Rey said that would never happen and Rollins responded that if he didn't he was then part of the problem. Dominick crept into the ring from behind Rollins and attacked him before Murphy and Theory came to their messiah's aid. Dominick was able to evade the disciples with some slick moves and wound up on the other side of the glass, hightailing it out the arena.
This was a strong segment and Dominick looked right at home, agile and comfortably effective. Rey doesn't play angry terribly well, but his concern for his son came through.
Loser: Liv Morgan and Natalya
In a way, Liv Morgan was protected as the Iiconics had to bend the rules to beat Morgan and Natalya. Maybe it's too early to suggest as much, but this might be the first example where a Paul Heyman liked performer could be in trouble now that he's gone.
It was a short match to push the Iiconics towards a title bout. That was pretty much the entire point of the segment and it was hard for the competitors to do much with so little time. In saying that, Morgan was the big loser of the four, and Peyton Royce and Billie Kay did the most with the least.
After the bout, Natalya verbally berated Morgan in some of the worst acting a performer has given in a long time, blaming Liv for making rookie mistakes when it was Natalya who messed up. Nattie then got sympathy from Lana, which isn't a great sign for anyone.
Winner: MVP Recruiting Crews
Before Apollo's match with Shelton Benjamin, MVP was seen backstage trying to recruit the United States Champion. It didn't work, but that doesn't mean the seeds haven't been planted. It would be interesting to see where this goes.
The match between Benjamin and Crews was too short, but it was effective in the limited time it was given. Could we see a faction with Lashley, Crews and MVP? Yes please!
Loser: Winner Takes All Match
Next up it was R-Truth and Drew McIntyre vs. MVP and Lashley. The outcome of the match was fairly predictable once the stipulation of "Winner Takes All" was added, but the buildup to the match was entertaining. And, that it wasn't even the main event on the night shows how well the show did to build up some important contests.
The match itself was fine, but it feels like there was a bit of a missed opportunity here. Lana could have interfered or Truth could have accidentally cost McIntyre the title.
Winner: Bayley Birthday Celebration
Sasha Banks and Bayley are the new workhorses in WWE. They showed up at Backlash, were on Raw tonight, confirmed they'll be at NXT on Wednesday, SmackDown on Friday, and then were booked for a match next week on Raw for the tag team titles against the Iiconics.
This promo was strong as all four women did well with the short time they were given and kept up the quick pace to the program overall.
Winner/Loser: Ref Fast Counts Nia Jax
Fans will have varied takes on the segment that was Nia Jax getting a rematch versus Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship. Some will say this was a great way to screw over Jax who seems to have angered everyone, now even an official. The other take might be that WWE is dragging this feud out too long and protecting Jax for unknown reasons.
It was definitely different and opens up the door to a number of storyline options. It's going to be hard for the official to claim he didn't deliver a fast count. He was going to disqualify Jax until he saw an opportunity to have her take the pin for her actions.
We'll have to see where this goes before really grading it.
Winner: Christian Screwed By Ric Flair
With so little time left for the unsanctioned match, a twist was bound to come. And while it was clear Christian wasn't going to get terribly physical, it was hard to envision Ric Flair being that twist. After pretending to care for Christian's well-being, Flair hit Christian with a low blow and Orton punted Christian to knock him out cold and get the pin.
The show closed as Orton talked to Christian who was being loaded on a stretcher. Even as Raw Talk began, Orton spent a few good minutes verbally attacking Christian who probably should have known better.
This is the ultimate Randy Orton heel character. It was a calculated and premeditated attack which immediately puts him at the top of the bad guy totem pole.