Rowdy Recap: Week of June 3, 2019
With so much weekly content on WWE TV, it can be difficult to keep track of everything.
That’s where Rowdy Recaps come in, looking back at the week in WWE TV and narrowing down the highlights of the big three shows (and sometimes more). (205 Live and NXT UK will certainly get some more love and appreciation in the future, but baby steps.)
So: Let’s take a look back at the past week in WWE!
Monday Night RAW (June 3, 2019)
Quick & Dirty Results:
- Drew McIntyre & The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) def. Roman Reigns & The Usos (Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso)
- Charlotte Flair def. Lacey Evans, via Disqualification
- Braun Strowman def. Bobby Lashley, in an Arm Wrestling “match”
- Nikki Cross def. Peyton Royce
- Ricochet def. Cesaro
The Highlights:
Due to a shoulder injury, Rey Mysterio had to relinquish his newly-won United States Championship (that he won at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view). But adding insult to injury, he relinquished it back to the former champion, Samoa Joe, as Rey’s win at Money in the Bank was pretty iffy—Samoa Joe’s shoulder was very much up for the entirety of the winning 3-count.
Then adding more injury to insult (and injury), Joe choked Rey out with a Coquina Clutch after receiving his title, raising it high as he left the former champ to be tended to by medics.
Alright, alright, alright. Matthew McConaughey was in attendance at this past week’s RAW, and while he had interactions with plenty of WWE Superstars, there was perhaps no interaction more important than the one he had with The IIconics, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce (who lost her singles match but still won in this situation).
McConaughey got the official IIconic stamp of approval from the longest reigning—and defending—WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions of all time, which is good, because it would have been awkward had he not.
(Oh, Lance Armstrong was also at RAW, right next to McConaughey. I don’t know that he got the IIconic stamp of approval. See what I mean about the awkwardness?)
I’ve probably cursed every Rowdy One who reads this by addressing the Firefly Funhouse, but maybe the IIconic power of Matthew McConaughey can protect us. Because, yowie wowie, this is one doozy of an episode, dammit.
Actually, you know what? I don’t know about you, but I kind of feel like we all should just let Bray Wyatt in…
WWE 24 Revolutionary: The Year of Ronda Rousey (June 3, 2019)
“I feel like it’s kind of unfair that I get to enjoy this more than anyone else. … It’s just so much fun.”
Last Monday also featured the premiere of the latest WWE 24 special, on Ronda Rousey. Revolutionary: The Year of Ronda Rousey aired immediately after Monday night RAW. You may have already seen the sneak peek from the ring in Ronda’s backyard at Browsey Acres, but the whole special is definitely worth a look.
In the special, Ronda talks about her love of professional wrestling growing up (and becoming reacquainted with that love), how “Rowdy” Roddy Piper inspired her in her MMA career, that WrestleMania 31 moment, and of course, her incomparable rookie year in WWE.
And coming soon: Stay tuned for Ronda: Year One, an even more in-depth behind-the-scenes look at Ronda’s journey through the WWE. From day one, all the way to WrestleMania 35.
SmackDown! LIVE (June 4, 2019)
Quick & Dirty Results:
- The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) def. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
- Elias def. R-Truth (c), for the WWE 24/7 Championship
- R-Truth def. Elias (c), for the WWE 24/7 Championship
- Alexis Bliss def. Carmella & Charlotte Flair, in a Triple Threat match for the #1 Contendership to the SmackDown Women’s Championship
The Highlights:
They keep mentioning it during this feud, but there was a time—for years—when Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler would constantly wrestle each other. Usually for a midcard title and usually with Ziggler looking up at the lights during the 3-count. Even when it comes to the tedium of WWE having the same wrestlers fight each other again and again and again—no offense to Ricochet vs. Cesaro on RAW right now—these matches were always great, athletic displays from two hungry Superstars who had everything to prove.
And now Kofi Kingston is the WWE Champion, beloved by all, and Dolph Ziggler… seems to just come and go as he pleases in WWE and no one cares. One is the perfect example of hunger paying off, and the other is Dolph Ziggler. I can kind of see why he’s so upset.
Anyway, roll that beautiful bean footage.
We have a new #1 Contender to the SmackDown Women’s Championship, and it is… RAW Superstar Alexa Bliss. Thanks, Wild Card Rule! But this is a big deal, considering Bayley’s challenger situation has kind of been in flux since she became champion at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, but now she finally has someone to focus on—especially after Biss called her an undeserving champion earlier in the night. Now let’s just hope things don’t go the way they did last time… (I’d have linked to the actual video of the segment, but WWE scrubbed that from its official social media sites.)
By my calculations, this is the first time Goldberg has ever been on SmackDown (LIVE or otherwise). (It is. He was always a RAW guy.) And what does he get for his troubles? The Undertaker’s spooky appearing and disappearing act.
NXT (June 5, 2019)
Post-TakeOver weekly NXTs are more about the highlights and aftermath of TakeOver than the actual weekly show, as evidenced by the fact that there are only two shows on this card… and they’ve definitely already happened before. (Though, one is at least part of a larger feud, one which was highlighted in last week’s Rowdy Recap.)
Quick & Dirty Results:
- Keith Lee def. Kona Reeves
- Mia Yim def. Bianca Belair
The Highlights:
Damian Priest is coming to NXT. You may know him from his time on the independent scene as “Punishment Martinez,” but based on this promo video, he might as well start coming out to “You Think You Know Me.” (Needs more subways and fighting random guys on the street though.)
This show featured the rubber match between Mia Yim and Bianca Belair, with Mia Yim getting the deciding win over the “EST of NXT.”
Now, what’s next for these women? Surely Mia will be in contention for the NXT Women’s Championship sooner rather than later—although, Io Shirai has promised she’s not done with Shayna Baszler yet after what happened at NXT TakeOver: XXV—but Bianca Belair? Losing this feud has got to shake her in some way.
WWE Super ShowDown (June 7, 2019)
Quick & Dirty Results:
- The Usos (Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso) def. The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) (Super ShowDown Kickoff Show)
- Seth Rollins (c) def. Baron Corbin, for the Universal Championship
- “The Demon” Finn Balor (c) def. Andrade, for the Intercontinental Championship
- Shane McMahon def. Roman Reigns
- Lars Sullivan def. Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik), via Disqualification
- Randy Orton def. Triple H
- Braun Strowman def. Bobby Lashley
- Kofi Kingston (c) def. Dolph Ziggler, for the WWE Championship
- Mansoor won the first-ever Super ShowDown 50-Man Battle Royal
- The Undertaker def. Goldberg
The Highlights:
Well, a funny thing happened on the way to Jeddah. R-Truth lost the 24/7 Championship—to Jinder Mahal, making him a two-time 24/7 Champion—and then won it back during the flight there, “39,000 feet above the Red Sea”—to become a five-time 24/7 Champion himself.
Anything is possible in WWE, and that was 100% proven during Super ShowDown’s battle royal—featuring 50 men, making it the largest battle royal in WWE history—when Saudi Arabian NXT Superstar Mansoor won the whole thing, defeating WWE and NXT Superstars alike.
Prior to the show, Mansoor told Byron Saxton he planned to make history, and make history he did, as he eliminated Elias to be the last man standing in the ring to win it all.
If there’s any chance of there ever being a true “Once in a Lifetime” match in WWE, I feel like it would have to be the Super ShowDown main event of The Undertaker vs. Goldberg. Maybe it’s not exactly what anyone expected—or maybe that’s exactly what it is—but it was certainly a history-making match.
You can watch last week’s RAW and SmackDown on Hulu and NXT on the WWE Network. WWE 24’s Revolutionary: The Year of Ronda Rousey and Super ShowDown are also available on the WWE Network.