Winners, News And Notes On June 20, 2022

WWE Raw featured a live appearance from Vince McMahon for the second time in three days after his brief appearance to kick off WWE SmackDown. Similar to his SmackDown appearance, Vince McMahon did not directly address his allegations. McMahon simply thanked the WWE Universe, reminded fans that WWE Raw has been on the air for 30 years and thousands of episodes and announced the imminent return of John Cena on June 27.

WWE Raw also advertised the return of Elias for a live concert and a Fatal 5-Way as Rhea Ripley will not be medically cleared to compete at WWE Money in the Bank. The Fatal 5-Way featured Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Liv Morgan and Carmella in a match to determine the No. 1 Contender for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship.

Last week’s broadcast of WWE Raw garnered 1.695 million viewers.

• June 13, 2022 | 1.695 million
• June 6, 2022 | 1.872 million
• May 30, 2022 | 1.497 million
• May 23, 2022 | 1.732 million
• May 16, 2022 | 1.736 million

• WWE Raw Venue: Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Neb.)
• WWE Raw Tickets Distributed: 5,990
• WWE Raw Tickets Available: 406

WWE Raw Results| June 20, 2022

Rhea Ripley Out Of WWE MITB

Bianca Belair was a welcomed sight to open the Juneteenth (observed) broadcast of WWE Raw, but unfortunately she came bearing bad news as Rhea Ripley will not be medically cleared to compete at WWE SummerSlam.

Of all the competitors who were announced, Carmella easily got the most heat.

Liv Morgan walked out in an attempt to trade her Money in the Bank eligibility for a chance to compete in a Fatal 5-Way, which makes sense because ladders are more dangerous and there are more than five competitors in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

This segment was your typical WWE Raw opener with one entrance after another as the promos got progressively catty.

Alexa Bliss had a slick reference to James Ellsworth, who famously helped Carmella win Money in the Bank five years ago.

Carmella Wins Fatal 5-Way

In typical WWE fashion, Liv Morgan and Alexa Bliss went against each other to begin the match, despite teases of a tag team between the two.

Bliss and Live Morgan milked the hell out of a series of rollups that constantly received a one count. Sadly, the crowd didn’t seem as invested as they were.

Corey Graves noted that he took out a very expensive insurance policy on Carmella’s face, and that’s why she stopped wearing a mask.

On paper, Carmella winning this match feels like an underwhelming choice, especially because of potential matchups between Belair and Bliss, Lynch or Asuka. But Carmella felt like the biggest heel in this match, although crowd sweetening may have played a role.

Vince McMahon Talks John Cena

Vince McMahon had another short-but-sweet appearance as he reminded fans that John Cena will be returning to WWE Raw next week. This appearance wasn’t even advertised, which feels like a waste after WWE SmackDown popped a big number for McMahon’s appearance on Friday.

I wonder if these empty Vince McMahon appearances will become a weekly thing, just to keep up appearances. Either way, fans continue to shower McMahon with cheers and affection during these trying times.

Omos def. Riddle

MVP named Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa and Smoke DZA to illustrate how high he thought Riddle was.

Riddle is shining in his role as a hard-luck, lovable loser that fans are rallying behind. Unfortunately, I feel like this will all lead to Randy Orton turning on Riddle when he gets back.

Seth Rollins attacked Riddle following his loss—and after Riddle called out Rollins in his promo. With Rollins occupied for Money in the Bank, Rollins vs. Riddle is trending to become a SummerSlam matchup.

Bobby Lashley Spears Theory

Theory cut his promo from a platform, like a true heel, and actually did a good job generating crowd heat for himself.

Theory’s one-man posedown was predictably crashed by Bobby Lashley, who impressively speared him off the podium.

Bobby Lashley paraded around with the WWE Championship after he beat Omos, but from the looks of this segment, it appears as if Lashley has lowered his expectations and would like to go after the United States Championship.

Angelo Dawkins def. Jey Uso

The Street Profits continue to rock Jerseys similar to the Chicago Bulls, but there’s a merchandising opportunity to wear jerseys fitting of the town they’re in. Unfortunately, there is no NBA team in Nebraska.

This was the classic “building momentum” match, which is typically where WWE books the champion to lose, but losses for the Usos have been few and far between.

When Byron Saxton made sure to note that the Street Profits have yet to score a pinfall victory over the Usos, I thought they may have had a chance. They did, as Dawkins beat Jey Dawkins clean in the middle.

Elias Appears Live

Elias appeared live, fake beard and all, and he didn’t miss a beat. He also appeared in a backstage segments alongside Ezekiel so, in canon, Elias and Ezekiel are two different people.

Of course, Kevin Owens didn’t fall for any of this, calling out Elias for editing the backstage video and wearing a fake beard. Elias got fans to chant “KO is a liar” before Owens snapped.

Elias got the better of a physical exchange with Owens, and he had no opportunity to go for Elias’ beard.

Ezekiel appeared backstage after the Elias segment, but if Owens really wants to prove that Elias and Ezekiel are the same person, why doesn’t he just challenge them to a handicap match?

In addition to Elias and Ezekiel, WWE also teased an appearance from “Elrod.”

Bobby Lashley Wins Gauntlet

Bobby Lashley defeated Chad Gable, Otis and Theory en route to earning a shot at the United States Championship.

The way Bobby Lashley beasted through three consecutive opponents, including Theory, to earn a US Title shot is the exact opposite of how Mustafa Ali was booked. WWE protects whom they want to protect.

AJ Styles def. Ciampa

After one heel after another took shots at Nebraska, AJ Styles got the elusive opportunity to shout out the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and it led to a huge reaction.

For a third week in a row, The Miz’s tiny balls were referenced, officially making it “a thing” in WWE. I really hope there isn’t a payoff to this storyline.

The Miz was trying to get AJ Styles to lose his cool, but no reason was given as to why. It’s not like there’s a stipulation that says AJ Styles can’t attack The Miz, and that’s exactly how this segment ended.

Ciampa’s whole entrance is basically attacking babyfaces from behind.

This entire segment felt like a commercial for Miz and Mrs.

While on commentary, Miz remarked he has to “sit a certain way” due to the “massiveness” of his balls.

Veer Mahaan appeared in an interview where he said nobody can stop me because “I can’t stopped [sic].” I love Veer, but I think I’d rather see him compete in squash matches.

Asuka def. Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch vs. Asuka was already advertised as a qualifying match, but the two ended up pulling double duty. I don’t see why WWE couldn’t have just made the opening match a Triple Threat match.

Becky Lynch lost yet again, but there are still two spots left in the women’s money in the Bank Ladder Match. Not only do I think Lynch will occupy one of those spots, I think she very well may win.