Cook’s WWE Raw Review 6.29.26

Hey kids! Steve Cook here with you for the latest edition of WWE Raw on Netflix! It’s a double taping night in Philadelphia so everyone can go home for the American holiday weekend. That’s why we’re here at 6 PM tonight instead of eating dinner! Honestly, I probably could eat dinner while reviewing this particular show, but I’ll wait anyway. A late lunch at KFC means I should be good for awhile as long as I stay close to the bathroom. Good times!

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Cook’s WWE Raw Review 6.29.26

Then. Now. Forever. Together!

We’re in Atlantic City! Boardwalk Hall is sold out! We look back at Saturday’s Night of Champions, where IYO SKY & Oba Femi won crowns. Trick Williams & Tiffany Stratton retained their United States Championships. Seth Rollins beat Bron Breakker in a steel cage. Sami Zayn defeated Cody Rhodes & Gunther to win the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Oba Femi’s music hits! The fans chant Oba’s name & bark as he struts down to the ring with the King of the Ring crown. Oba is wearing a WWEShop t-shirt instead of a fancy shirt tonight, I can only assume that he didn’t pack enough for the trip. I ran into this problem once a few years back and had to buy a WrestleMania VI t-shirt at Target for the bus ride home. People loved it. Oba says it’s good & fine. It’s a reception befitting of a ruler. Now he needs a reception befitting of a king. He introduces himself and the fans cheer. He told Jey Uso that destiny was on his side. Jey didn’t believe until he stepped into the ring, now he’s a believer. Destiny isn’t finished with Oba. A choice has to be made.

Before any choices can be made, Brock Lesnar’s music hits. The Beast & Paul Heyman walk down to the ring. Brock introduces Oba and sticks his hand out. Oba ain’t shaking it. Brock hasn’t been watching the show, everyone knows that, but congratulations anyway. Brock was King of the Ring a long time ago. Mr. Heyman tells him that Oba has a big decision to make. Maybe Brock can help. Apparently Oba’s really good at calling Brock names like “coward”, “bitch”, and cuts a great promo, which he never really could which is why he has Mr. Heyman. Brock reminds Oba of the phrase “talk shit, get hit”, and kicks Oba in the balls! F-5 to Oba! Brock exits the ring, and Paul says it was a great promo. They shake hands and walk off.

Oba gets up and gets the microphone. This is exactly what Brock always does, show up, F-5 & leaves. Oba says that Brock is still a bitch. They can play cats & rats forever, or they can settle the score. He issues the challenge for SummerSlam! Brock accepts, on one condition: Hell in a Cell! Brock’s music plays as he leaves.

Michael Cole & Corey Graves are our hosts, and they wonder if Hell in a Cell can contain Oba & Brock. IYO SKY is WALKING! Judgment Day is WALKING! The Street Profits are DOING A PHOTOSHOOT WITH JOE HENDRY! LA Knight is WALKING! Roman Reigns will be here tonight!

We return to a replay of Brock’s interaction with Oba. Paul Heyman tells Adam Pearce to make a t-shirt of Brock’s new catchphrase and hypes up the idea of Brock & Oba in Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam. Before Pearce can reply, Austin Theory walks up and says he didn’t know Paul was here. Paul says now he does, and walks off. Pearce walks up to Oba. Oba says he’ll take the championships when he wants them and is sure about facing Brock at SummerSlam. Oba tells Pearce to make it happen and will forego his championship opportunity.

Rey Mysterio vs. “All Ego” Ethan Page: Dragon Lee couldn’t get the job done last week, so now it’s Rey’s turn. Page with a headlock, Rey sends him off the ropes and gets shoulder blocked down. Kick by Page, Rey hits the flying headscissors off the ropes, but Page drops him head-first on the top turnbuckle. Page works Rey over in the corner. Rey trips Page into 619 position, Ego avoids it but gets kicked and bounced off the turnbuckle. Rey gets crotched and ends up in the Tree of Woe. After some kicks, Ego follows Rey up top and goes for the mask! That doesn’t work, but Page hits a backbreaker off the top turnbuckle that sends Rey to the floor. We go to commercial!

I like how TNT’s NASCAR commercial shows a sign for “Benny Parsons Grandstand”. A nice tribute to an integral part of TNT’s NASCAR coverage during the 2000s.

We return and Ego is still in control of the Hall of Famer. Rey tries a head scissors but gets side slammed for two. Rey’s sunset flip attempt leads to Page missing a punch and gent getting dumped outside. Rey hits the baseball slide into a splash on the floor. Rey hits the seated senton, then a springboard crossbody for two. Rey punches away in the corner. Rey with a back elbow in the corner, but then he gets wheelbarrow face planted for two. Rey with an enziguri, which puts Page in position for the 619. Instead, Rey runs into a big boot and gets slammed for two. Ego lifts Rey on his shoulders and climbs the turnbuckle. Rey fights back and turns it into a top rope rana! 619, then Rey goes up top and hits a frog splash for three!

Winner: Rey Mysterio (7:41 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
Good action here, though I gotta wonder about having Page lose to Rey after taking care of Dragon Lee last week. Not the best result for the young up & coming Lee in comparison to Rey, who could lose the rest of his matches and have the same level of respect with the people. A minor gripe, but these are things I wonder about.

Dom & JD enter Danhausen’s lab looking for their money. Dom finds a present for Danhausen from the Knicks and decides to steal it. I’m sure this will end well.

LA Knight tapes up in preparation for his match with Jimmy Uso later tonight.

Joe Hendry is in the ring for a concert! Cole is overly excited. Joe introduces his special guests: the Street Profits! The new World Tag Team Champions make their way to the ring. Montez Ford looks like he borrowed one of Seth Rollins’ crazy suits from last year. Angelo Dawkins is more laid back with his attire choice. Ford says he looks good in a suit, and they’re so overwhelmed with the support & love they’ve been shown for the last week. The fans say that they deserve it. They have a few people to thank. First & foremost, the WWE Universe! I think the wrestlers have gotten used to the louder European crowds. Second, the visionary & revolutionary, the greatest of all time, Seth Freaking Rollins! The fans start singing Seth’s song. Last, they thank Joe Hendry for his appearance last week. It was a beautiful song that sounded like this:

We’ve got new tag champs, everyone make some noise.
We’re in Atlantic City, a celebration with all the boys.
There will be no Bron Breakker and we won’t hear Logan talk.
There will be no Paul Heyman because he’s occupied with Brock.
Austin Theory cries himself to sleep since John Cena embarrassed him on the mike…

Before we can continue, Theory’s music plays and he sees the thieves that took his championship. He mentions beating Cena at WrestleMania (who didn’t?). Theory says thre will be a rematch next week for the Tag Team Championship. Dawkins asks if the dog will be healthy enough, and if he gets hurt again it’ll be on Theory’s hands. Theory says next week the dog will be off the leash, and he’ll destroy Hendry in the ring tonight. Joe says no, and since he interrupted his concert, they can wait until later or do this right here & now. I’m guessing we’ll see it next!

Austin Theory vs. Joe Hendry: The match has started as we return. Theory hits a backbreaker and pulls Hendry up for some punches. Rear chinlock by Theory. Hendry chinbusts his way out of it and then hits a DDT. Running elbow by Hendry, a smack in the corner, then he catches Theory for a fallaway slam. He hits the pose, then a spinning clothesline gets two. Theory hits a spinning strike on his own for two, then a neckbreaker gets two. Corey seems to be confused as to how announcing works, the idea of naming moves is breaking his brain. They exchange strikes, Hendry gets the upper hand and hits a Side Effect for the three count!

Winner: Joe Hendry (3:46 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/4
Nice to see Hendry back in action, the fans enjoy his work and he’s got good charisma. Theory is still a dude that’s just kinda there to me. He’s not bad, but he hasn’t shown anything real special just yet. It could happen for him eventually, I’m not counting him out or anything, but we’re still waiting.

Raquel tells Adam Pearce she’s bigger & stronger than all the women on the roster and deserves a title shot. Pearce says everyone else is asking him for one too, including Maxxine. Raquel is unimpressed with the bombshell Barbie, and Pearce says she can wrestle her later tonight. After Pearce leaves, Liv & Roxanne appear so Liv can talk about her problems. Raquel says the boys will take care of Danhausen, and they’ll handle IYO SKY.

Speaking of IYO, she’s WALKING with her crown and we’ll hear from her next!

IYO SKY walks out, and the Queen of the Ring crown works well with her entrance and matches her shirt. It’s a good presentation. She is super duper grateful to come back to the US as the Queeeeeeeeeeen. She thanks everyone in Japanese. She beat Liv Morgan, and will beat her again at SummerSlam to become Women’s World Champion again.

Liv comes out to her song and asks if IYO is proud of herself. It’s making her sick. IYO got lucky, the only reason she won is Liv got cursed by Danhausen. Things will be different at SummerSlam because she doesn’t respect IYO. She’s pissed off, when you get on her bad side you end up like Finn Balor & Stephanie Vaquer. Rhea Ripley got everything taken from her and she hasn’t been the same since. Liv will absolutely destroy IYO at SummerSlam and remain the greatest Women’s World Champion of all time. Until then, IYO will be in for a whole lot of trouble.

Raquel & Roxanne appear on the apron. Roxanne gets kicked off, Raquel tumbles over the top rope and Liv enters the ring. Raquel distracts, Liv goes for Oblivion and gets German suplexed instead. Big kick to Liv! IYO goes for the moonsault and Raquel gets her in the Tree of Woe. Roxanne pulls her down and they stomp away on IYO’s knee. Liv hits the Oblivion this time. Liv locks in the Haas of Pain and IYO taps out while referees & officials come in to break it up. The Judgment Day girls leave while IYO is checked on by the referees & officials.

Cole & Graves talk about our next match: LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso. Last week, Solo Sikoa helped LA get the win on Raw, then on SmackDown asked LA to join him against his family. He hates the Bloodline and wants to finish them. LA doesn’t buy it, he’s seen it before and tells Solo thanks but no thanks.

LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso (w/Jey Uso): Jey joins Cole & Graves on commentary. Jey claims Oba tapped out, and LA tells him to sit in his seat. Tieup into the corner. LA with a headlock takeover. LA with a wristlock, Jimmy headbutts out and puts LA in a cobra clutch. LA hits an elbow strike. LA stomps Jimmy down in the corner. LA hits a running hip attack for two. Jimmy hits some kicks and sends LA into the corner so he can back it up. Jimmy goes up top, hits a crossbody for two. Jimmy clotheslines LA over the top rope, hits the yeet and then the tope suicida. We go to commercial!

We return and Jimmy & LA are trading strikes. LA with some Yeah punches. Jimmy responds with a Samoan drop. Jimmy misses in the corner this time, LA gets back to his feet and hits the Yeah punches until Jimmy responds with a right. Flying clothesline by LA, then a side New Jersey legsweep. Neckbreaker in the corner by LA. Jimmy avoids the springboard elbow and hits a superkick & spear for two. Jimmy goes up top, LA meets him. LA jumps up top and hits the superplex for two. LA kicks Jimmy to the floor and Jey accuses him of cheating. LA teases tossing Jimmy into Jey, then rolls him in the ring before kicking Jey down to the floor! The fans don’t love that. Back in the ring, a reverse DDT takes Jimmy down. LA hits the springboard elbowdrop. Jey is up on the apron for the distraction, and Jimmy rolls LA up for the three count.

Winner: Jimmy Uso (8:15 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
These guys have a lot of experience working with each other by now. Apparently Jey was originally advertised for this match, but we got a rematch from last week instead and Jey was on commentary. Kinda curious.

Jey attacks LA after the bell. While he’s doing that, Solo Sikoa comes out of the crowd and spikes Jimmy! Solo goes back into the crowd and is proud of himself, Jey ends up getting a BFT from LA! LA watches Solo as he walks off through the crowd.

Cole & Graves plug the next season of WWE Unreal, then show us what happened after Night of Champions.

Gunther yells at Nick Aldis, claiming that Nick is jealous of him since he’s a failed wrestler. This leads to some shoving and profanity. Aldis has been placed on administrative leave while the situation is reviewed, and Adam Pearce will be GM of both Raw & SmackDown for the time being.

Chad Gable is working out prior to his match when Penta walks by and daps him up.

Jimmy & Jey find Jacob backstage and ask where he’s been all night. Jacob’s still not taking orders from them. The OTC told him to go to SmackDown and handle the business with Solo. Jey says he’ll join him there, Sami Zayn’s Undisputed WWE Champion now and doesn’t have any challengers yet. They can ride together, it’ll get worked out on the group text.

Lyra Valkyria wonders why everyone is on her back about London. It takes two to lose, and Bayley & her both let frustration get the better of them. It’s unfair that she gets frustrated one time and people forget she’s been the bigger person for a year. She’s not proud, but not losing any sleep. She’s sacrificed over and over because she wanted to bring Bayley to the top with her. Everyone knows she can do it by herself. She trusted someone who was supposed to one of the best. There’s a big gap between where she’s at and where she can be. Last week she closed the gap a little bit.

Maxxine meant every word she said last week. She’s still upset about how things went down. Chad Gable tells her she doesn’t owe him anything, so she shouldn’t worry about it and should focus on her upcoming match.

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Maxxine Dupri: The winner here gets a shot at Intercontinental Champion Sol Ruca. Maxxine evades a kick and hits a couple of her own, then headscissors Raquel outside. Raquel yanks her down by the hair and tosses her back in the ring. Slingshot powerslam gets two for Raquel. Raquel with some back elbows in the corner. Raquel gets Maxxine in the torture rack, Maxxine tries to fight out, eventually works into a sunset flip, but Raquel avoids it and hits a clothesline for two. Raquel goes for another slingshot, but Maxxine turns it into a DDT. Boot by Maxxine, she tries to clothesline Raquel down, that doesn’t drop Raquel but the spin kick does. Maxxine pulls her straps down and hits a legdrop for two. Raquel blocks another spin kick and gets Maxxine up for the Tejana Bomb and the three count.

Winner: Raquel Rodriguez (3:32 via pinfall)
Match Rating: **
Raquel should make for an interesting opponent for Sol, as she can provide a good base for her moves. Unless she feels like Nashing it, which could be kind of funny.

Danhausen asks who made the mess in his lab, and notices that his Knicks gift is gone. Liv laughs and tells Danhausen that’s what he gets. Danhausen asks what he did to them. Liv runs down the last couple of weeks, and tells him he needs to make it right or they’ll keep making his life a living hell.

Chad Gable vs. JD McDonagh (w/Dominik Mysterio): Apparently Danhausen’s gift from the Knicks was a jersey, and now Dom is wearing it because that’s the kind of guy he is. Some grappling to start, McDonagh takes Gable over and works the arm. Chad rolls out and trips JD up, cradling him for two. Kick & chop by JD. Back drop by Gable, he chops JD in the corner. A series of near-falls to give the referee a workout. Chad hits a rolling kick and then gets an ankle lock. Dom helps JD get to the ropes and they confer outside. Dom distracts Chad so JD can ram him into the steps. Dom then drops Chad knee-first onto the steps. We go to commercial!

We return and JD gets sent out of the ring. Chad with some rolling German suplexes. The third flips JD ass over tea kettle, a cover gets two. Gable hits a rolling kick in the corner, another one. Chad runs into a standing Spanish Fly by JD that gets two. Chad with a crucifix for two. JD headbutts Chad down. They trade punches. JD hits a powerbomb for two. Brainbuster gets another two count. JD avoids the Chaos Theory, but not the suplex into the corner. Chad goes for a moonsault, JD tries to block but gets ankle locked instead. JD gets out and sends Chad to the apron. Chad up top, Dom with the distraction and JD follows Chad up top. A Spanish Fly off the top gets two! Both men are down after that one, and Danhausen appears at ringside! He’s got Dom’s money, and Dom chases him away. The distraction leads to JD almost getting suplexed, he avoids that but not the ankle lock. JD taps out!

Winner: Chad Gable (8:27 shown via submission)
Match Rating: ***1/4
The crowd wasn’t really sure how to respond to people doing wrestling moves, which is understandable at this point. WWE has not trained their audience for this sort of thing, even if I happen to like it. One of those things that is what it is.

The briefcase is still at ringside, so Dom & JD open it. There’s money, but there’s also an explosion! Danhausen takes the jersey off Dom’s back and runs away! Danhausen celebrates in the entranceway, then Raquel hits him from behind! Raquel gets the jersey back and gives it to Dom.

Austin Theory walks up to Maxxine and asks her why she said what she said to Chad. Maxxine says it’s complicated. Austin says this is simple, but if she wants to go back down that road maybe this won’t work out. Tozawa & Otis appear after Austin leaves, Tozawa asks if she’s ok, Maxxine doesn’t know and leaves.

Roman Reigns makes his way to the ring with Jacob Fatu by his side. After a commercial break, they’re in the ring and the fans sing Roman’s name. Roman tells Atlantic City to acknowledge him. After they chant “OTC”, Seth Rollins’ music hits! Rollins makes his way to the ring while the fans sing. Rollins enters the ring and stares at Reigns & Fatu while getting a microphone. Roman & Seth stare each other down while the crowd chants various things. Seth calls Roman his brother. They’ve been tied together for fourteen years, all the way back to the formation of the Shield. It feels fitting that they’re here in this moment in Atlantic City. Roman is in possession of a championship that belongs to him. It’s time to collect.

Roman says Seth must be confused. Seth is the back of the line, he hasn’t done anything of late to earn a shot at the Tribal Chief. Seth says Roman can play that game with everyone else except him, when it comes to Roman he’s always at the front of the line. For everything that he’s done, Roman owes him. For everything that he’s become, Seth owns him. He owns him in the ring, in the head & heart. He has for the last 14 years. WrestleMania 41, Triple Threat match, he beat Roman and took his Wise Man. WrestleMania 40, he sacrificed himself so Cody Rhodes could end Roman’s reign of terror. For four years, Roman beat everybody except for one person. The greatest cash-in the history of WrestleMania, Seth took his main event and there was nothing he could do about it. He’s owned Roman since the day he put a chair in his back and ended the Shield. He’s not asking Roman for anything, he’s going to give Roman something. Nobody else in the world can give him it. Everything Roman is, he is that great. He’s won every title, main evented every show. His WM main event record will never be broken. There’s one thing Roman hasn’t been able to do: beat him. He’s going to give Roman that opportunity. He’s going to be real with us. This might be Roman’s last chance to close that loop. They came in together. They came through that crowd, knocked down the door, kicked the old generation to the curb and made this place their own. They created the greatest generation in the history of the business. They’re closer to the end than the beginning. There’s a new generation coming to do the same thing to them. This might be their last chance to do this dance. Roman will go down as one of the greatest of all time, he should get his own Hall of Fame show and maybe Seth will induct him. If Roman doesn’t accept this match, he’ll never be able to escape the ghost of Seth Rollins.

Roman says it’s been a long time since he’s heard any truth come out of his little brother’s mouth, but he’s right. He doesn’t want to beat Seth, he needs to beat him. He needs his entire family to witness it. At SummerSlam, that’s what he’s going to do. Roman accepts, brother. Roman holds up the World Championship in front of Seth and exits the ring. Roman tells the camera they’ll close the door on the Shield at SummerSlam. So long for now!

If you’d like to chime in with your own thoughts on tonight’s show, feel free to join your fellow 411 Maniacs down in the comment section! As the legendary Larry Csonka always said: Have fun and don’t be a dick. When I’m not here you can catch me on social media from time to time. To be honest, e-mail is a better option and you can reach me at [email protected]. I’ll be more likely to respond there.

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

This show did a good job of setting up SummerSlam's biggest matches. I figure Reigns vs. Rollins main events one night and Femi vs. Lesnar the other depending on how Brock feels about it. Oba taking the title shot instead would have been fun, but the hype for the most recent Final Confrontation of The Shield should be a good time and worth detouring for.