Raw Deal - Raw recap for May 27, 2024

Ludwig Kaiser is in the ring to start tonight's show and introduce Gunther as 2024 King of the Ring. Gunther then makes his way to the ring. Gunther is still carrying the crown in one hand as he holds the microphone in the other as he talks about how he beat Randy Orton to become King of the Ring and face the World Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam. He also talks about his Intercontinental Championship reign and how it lacked prestige until he held it, and says that the King of the Ring Tournament lacked prestige until he took it to heights never seen before. He then says that the United States Championship lacks prestige because its current champion won it by taking a shortcut, then The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, JD McDonagh) shows up. Priest gets in the ring, then says that Gunther did not Randy Orton (due to only one of Orton's shoulders being on the mat), then tells him how the Money In The Bank Contract works before saying he can teach him a lesson. Gunther says he is still King of the Ring and that he will challenge Priest for his title if he still can, then says he is waiting for Priest to teach him a lesson as business is not his forté and nobody can teach him anything after the bell has rung. He says that he cannot teach Priest about business, but he can teach him about the great sport of wrestling that he protects and loves, and says Priest can give his business lecture before their match or after he becomes World Heavyweight Champion. Priest says he respects what Gunther has done as Intercontinental Champion, but Gunther cannot teach him anything he already knows. As he talks about how they will go to war, Drew McIntyre shows up and heads to the ring. McIntyre has a brief staredown with Gunther, then takes a microphone and says CM Punk has been back for six months yet he has been the highlight of his time back, and says that if it were not for him, CM Punk would be fired and gone again. McIntyre then says he is the current #1 contender and that he will be World Heavyweight Champion in less than three weeks before Gunther leaves the ring. Priest says he is not looking past McIntyre, as he knows what will happen when they are done. McIntyre says he wants the best Damian Priest possible, but he is spreading himself too thin and The Judgment Day are messing things up, and says that the whole group has "gone to Hell" since Rhea Ripley left. He tells Priest to focus on the World Heavyweight Championship, as he is the only three-time World Champion from the UK and could have won it a year ago had it not been for Solo Sikoa. McIntyre says Scotland has some of the most passionate fans in the wrestling world and that they will break his spirit like he will break him mentally and physically, and Priest laughs at Drew saying his plan is to get under his skin. Priest says he has made a living out of proving people wrong, then asks McIntyre if his wife is going to be at Clash at the Castle before Drew warns him not to mention his family. Priest says he wanted to see if he could get under Drew's skin and if Drew was man enough to do something about it before Braun Strowman shows up and heads to the ring. Strowman has a brief staredown with Priest, then Priest and Finn Balor leave the ring for JD McDonagh's match with Strowman.

Braun Strowman beats JD McDonagh despite the distraction and interference by Finn Balor and Carlito and despite JD McDonagh targeting Strowman's knee throughout the match. After the match, Carlito and Finn Balor attack Strowman, but Strowman overpowers them both and tosses them out of the ring. JD McDonagh hits Strowman in the back with a metal folding chair, but it has no effect, and Strowman slaps it out of his hands, forcing him to run away.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Liv Morgan. Liv says she has no remorse over how she won the World Women's Championship and did not know Dominik Mysterio would be there, and that she needs to beat Becky Lynch straight up in a steel cage to prove herself.

Backstage, Finn Balor and Carlito met by Damian Priest, who is looking for JD McDonagh. He says Braun Strowman is still a problem, and tells them to find JD so they can regroup.

In backstage footage from earlier today, Ricochet finds out he is cleared for competition, but finds out from General Manager Adam Pearce that Bron Breakker is not here and is at home, suspended with a fine for his actions. Ilja Dragunov shows up to thanks Ricochet for what happened last week, and wants to go another round. Ricochet says he owes him one, but Dragunov says he does not fight people, he breaks then, and he does not fight "broken" people. Ricochet says he is cleared to compete, and the match is made official.

Before the next match, it is announced that Kale Dixon is seriously injured after last week and will not be back for a while. Also, another QR code is seen before the next match, along with the words "BECAUSE WE BELIEVED."

Ricochet vs. Ilja Dragunov ends in a no-contest with Bron Breakker showing up out of nowhere and hitting Ricochet with a Spear. After the match, Dragunov fights Bron Breakker, but Bron Breakker hits him with a Spear. Referees show up alongside General Manager Adam Pearce, and Bronson refuses to even look at Pearce as he leaves until he is halfway up the ramp.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley is reporting as General Manager Adam Pearce yells at Bron Breakker, then Kiana James shows up. Adam Pearce says he and Kiana will go to his office, as he needs a drink.

We see footage from earlier today of The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) with a Memorial Day ice cream truck when The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) show up wanting to know about the Memorial Day raffle. R-Truth says they are closed, then he and The Miz leave and hand Xavier Woods some ice cream. Karrion Kross then shows up and tells Xavier Woods that he believes in him, but that he cannot do anything for him until he ditches Kofi Kingston. Woods refuses, and Kross asks Kofi is he is going to wait until he retires to let Woods shine, then threatens to forcefully retire Kofi. This leads to a tag team match between The New Day and The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar).

The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) beat The Creed Brothers (Julius and Brutus Creed) after Scarlett attacks Ivy Nile on the outside.

Backstage, we hear from Rey Mysterio, who says that Carlito was welcomed with open arms to The Latino World Order (Rey, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz del Toro, Zelina Vega, Dragon Lee) and would still be his brother were it not for the path that he chose. He then his jealousy towards Dragon Lee made him better and that attacking Cruz del Toro was a big mistake. After entertaining the idea that The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh) might welcome Carlito with open arms, he says that tonight, he will not meet an old friend, and he will find out what happens he crosses him and the LWO.

Braun Strowman is seen still looking for JD McDonagh backstage as the camera is on Sheamus.

WWE acknowledges Memorial Day.

Sheamus heads to the ring. After stating that King and Queen of the Ring had banger after banger, he says that he was not on the show after Ludwig Kaiser smashed his knee and took him out. He says that while he is not bitter, Kaiser talked crap about him as he waited to get cleared. Sheamus tells Kaiser that he is back and that he cannot wait to get his hands on him, then Kaiser shows up on the TitanTron and says Sheamus should blame Gunther, as Gunther is King of the Ring and nobody else stood a chance. He says that after weeks of being a keyboard warrior at home, Sheamus is telling him what to do, and that nobody tells him what to do. Sheamus tells him to shut up before making up his mind to go find him. Sheamus leaves the ring and heads to the back, and as he looks for Kaiser, Kaiser suddenly ambushes him. Sheamus gets the better of him and takes the brawl back to the stage, where officials have to restore order.

Backstage, Lyra Valkyria is met by Becky Lynch, who says Saturday may not have went their way, but it is all about getting better. Becky tells Lyra she has got this, then leaves.

Lyra Valkyria beats Kairi Sane after getting her feet up to counter the In-Sane Elbow.

Backstage, Finn Balor and Carlito meet with Damian Priest, and Carlito somehow finds JD McDonagh. Priest talks with McDonagh regarding Braun Strowman until Dominik Mysterio shows up. Dominik says that he messed up and that Rhea Ripley knows he was trying to fix things, and Priest and Dominik agree that Dominik needs to fix things again.

Backstage, Iyo Sky is met by Dakota Kai and Kairi Sane, then Iyo Sky screams, throws lamps and destroys tables before leaving the room.

The Savannah Bananas are seen in the front row.

Rey Mysterio beats Carlito despite Finn Balor jumping the barricade and attacking Dragon Lee on the outside. After the match, Rey throws Finn over the announce table, and Damian Priest shows up and attacks Dragon Lee before Carlito spits in Dragon Lee's eye. Rey fights back against Damian Priest, but Damian Priest hits him with a Superkick followed by a choke slam.

Backstage, Chad Gable shows disappointment in Akira Tozawa for not being at Saudi Arabia. Braun Strowman shows up looking for JD McDonagh and leaves, then Otis and Maxxine Dupri show up and tells Maxxine not to accompany him to the ring before giving Otis a chance to redeem himself against "Big" Bronson Reed.

"Big" Bronson Reed beats Otis after Chad Gable refuses to let Otis rip up his shirt and hit the Caterpillar. After the match, Gable demands that the rest of Alpha Academy join him in the ring for a meeting. After the commercial break, Gable chews Otis out for his recent failures, then says that he lacks discipline and that he will show him discipline in front of the fans. He then removes his leather belt, saying Otis made him do this. Gable tells Otis to grab the rope, and tells Tozawa and Maxxine to stand there and watch what happens when shame is brought to Alpha Academy. He then tells Otis that this will hurt him a lot more than it hurts Otis, but when he rears back with the belt, Maxxine stops him. Gable mocks Maxxine and tells him to leave the ring, then demands Tozawa watch. Sami Zayn shows up, and heads into the ring as Gable warns him not to step inside. Sami steps into the ring and calls Gable "a weak little man" who has manipulated his way into Intercontinental Championship opportunities, came up short every time, and blamed everyone but himself when he could not get the job done. Gable says he can get the job done any time he wants, just like when he beat him last week, and blames Otis for his most recent loss before rearing back at Otis. Sami takes the belt from Gable's hand and throws it away before Otis stands between him and Gable. Sami asks Otis how much more he is willing to take before he stops listening to Gable and starts listening to the fans, and as he tells Otis to do the right thing, Gable attacks him. Sami soon fights back, then Otis pulls Sami off Gable. Gable hits Sami with a German suplex as Sami confronts Otis, then proceeds to pummel Sami even further. The fans soon starting "Let's go, Otis!" Gable then demands that Tozawa and Otis follow him to the back, and Otis begrudgingly heads to the back with Gable and Tozawa.

We see a video package chronicling the events of "The Liv Morgan Revenge Tour."

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Zoey Stark and "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler. Baszler says that everyone has the same limbs that all break the same way, and Zoey proposes inviting Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill to Raw to see who they are dealing with. Sonya Deville shows up, saying that they are talking like champions when they aren't, and Zoey and Shayna want nothing to do with Sonya when she says they will not be champions without her help, with Shayna even threatening to break Sonya. Suddenly, The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn) shows up, and Alba Fyre says that Zoey and Shayna have never beaten them. Isla Dawn says that if they were to get in the ring, that fact would not change.

Liv Morgan retains the Women's World Championship against Becky Lynch in a steel cage match. During the match, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio shows up to open the cage door for Becky, who refuses to win it without his help as Finn Balor and JD McDonagh show up to tell Dominik not to do this. This leads to Braun Strowman now knowing where JD McDonagh is, showing up and chasing him and Finn around the ring. As he does this, he runs into Dominik, who inadvertently hits Becky Lynch with the cage door, allowing Liv Morgan to retain. After the match, Dominik is fuming at Liv Morgan, who ends up kissing him on the lips. (The Liv Morgan kiss is cut by USA Network as Race For Survival: New Zealand goes on the air.)

This week on Raw Talk: The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Akam, Rezar, Paul Ellering)! Ludwig Kaiser! Lyra Valkyria!

Here are the top ten moments from tonight's show!