HEYDORN’S RAW RECEIPT 6/13: Strong opening and very weak closing bookend this week’s show

This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.

-Riddle once again showed range and a credible fire for his character this week. So important. When he achieves the right balance with goofy Riddle and serious Riddle, you can see the centerpiece babyface act in a major way.

-Speaking of Riddle, WWE did a really nice job hyping the Riddle vs. Reigns Undisputed Universal Championship match on Friday night. Heyman, The Miz, and Riddle all played their role in driving that and it likely will draw a strong number.

-And how about Paul Heyman? He’s so good at helping accentuate the personalities he’s working with and did so this week with Riddle. Excellent stuff. Just a master at his craft.

-Montez Ford vs. Jimmy Uso was a good match. The Street Profits are excellent opponents for The Usos right now and the chemistry these two showed is a big reason why.

-Another stellar sizzle video for the Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes stuff. Prominent featuring of Rhodes and a piece of work that made Rollins look as sinister as ever on WWE Raw.

-A paint by numbers Seth Rollins interview after last week’s Cody attack. He hit the right notes, but left things alone after that. Rollins beat A.J. Styles in a very good Money in the Bank qualifying match. Rollins around that briefcase makes this year’s match intriguing given his history with it, connection to Reigns, and what they may want Cody to do once he’s able to return.

-Poor Dana Brooke. Right? I mean she gets the big win last week an- ahh. Even I can sell that. Brooke’s win last week shouldn’t have ever taken place, so this week’s complete massacre by Becky Lynch was a good way to reestablish Lynch’s dominance.

-The Lynch downward spiral story continues and after a bad chapter last week, it’s back on track once again. Her look this week was extra on point and conveyed unhinged really successfully.

-Alexa Bliss and Liv Morgan are in the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match? No surprise there as the match needed babyfaces. Now they have some, though, neither seem in line to win it at this point in time.

-It was me! I called Ezekiel getting the win back over Kevin Owens. Yay me! Or my fault, I guess. This was what it was. Elias returning? I mean call me intrigued in terms of how they’ll do this, but still searching to find a reasonable endgame. Also, Zeke’s Freaks? No. Please, now.

-With Bobby Lashley having moved on to Theory, Omos and MVP are left behind in the dust and a lost. Yeah, MVP took out Cedric Alexander this week on the show, but honestly, what is the value in doing that at this point. Tough times ahead for the Omos act.

-Bianca Belair checked the boxes in her interview segment on all things Rhea Ripley, but we need to see a little more personality and character there. Did she say the right things? Yes. That’s not the full picture, though. The words need to create an investment for the fans to latch on with and Belair’s haven’t in quite some time.

-Good follow-up on the Judgement Day pivot from last week. The group articulated why they did what they did and also established what the new iteration would be. This squad needs suitable opponents and it’s not easy to see who they would be at this point given the lack of depth on the Raw roster.

-Is the main event of WWE Raw going to happen at some point? Wait, what? It did? It was the pose down segment? That’s it? Just not a good show closing segment. Nobody uses baby oil anymore and even if you take the segment at face value as something that can help a story, this didn’t. Theory is no hotter as a heel than when he started this week. A miss and not the type of material you want to become synonymous with your Raw main events.

CATCH-UP: HEYDORN’S SMACKDOWN RECEIPT 6/10: Riddle momentum should lead to good business with Reigns