Raw Deal - Raw recap for May 6, 2024

The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh) head to the ring to start tonight's show. It is announced that Drew McIntyre is not medically cleared to face Finn Balor in the King of the Ring Tournament and will be replaced. Damian Priest addresses "Main Event" Jey Uso, saying that while everybody loved him, he still retained the World Heavyweight Championship against him. Finn Balor tells Damian Priest that he is sorry on behalf of the rest of the group, then Priest admits that he lost his cool after the match and apologizes to the rest of The Judgment Day before thanking them. After a group hug, Priest says he is still champion and that The Judgment Day is still the most dominant faction, and that Finn Balor will be the next King of the Ring. Finn Balor says that he gets a bye in the tournament now that Drew McIntyre is not medically cleared, and that this is the first step in "The Prince" becoming a king. General Manager Adam Pearce tells Finn Balor that he is not getting a first-round bye, and if Finn Balor is going to win the tournament, he will earn it. He then announces that Finn Balor's match is next, and that his opponent is Jey Uso.

"Main Event" Jey Uso beats Finn Balor despite the distraction from Drew McIntyre to advance in the King of the Ring Tournament.

We look back at Sheamus vs. Gunther for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Clash At The Castle.

Backstage, General Manager Adam Pearce reiterates to Drew McIntyre that he is not medically cleared to compete. McIntyre angrily drives away in a sports car. A QR code suddenly pops up on screen as McIntyre leaves and CM Punk arrives. After Pearce tells Punk that he just missed McIntyre, Punk tells Pearce he is heading to the ring. On the way, he passes by Alpha Academy (Chad Gable, Otis, Maxxine Dupri, Akira Tozawa). In the ring, Punk apologizes for arriving late and being locked in WWE Headquarters all the while, and says that while he was here to fight Drew McIntyre, McIntyre has left the building. Punk then proposes staying in the ring long enough for McIntyre to come back, and dares Pat McAfee to tweet McIntyre. He says that if McIntyre is not a coward, he will come back and catch the beating he deserves. As he waits, Punk tells a story about how he thought McIntyre ruined his WrestleMania dreams only to realize he only delayed them, as he is a five-tool player and he can do anything while McIntyre is "just a tool." He then says that McIntyre picked a fight with "the pettiest man on the roster" and that he plans to make his life a living hell, and that his whining went from "I injured CM Punk" to "CM Punk ruined everything" as he began to be like him. Punk asks McIntyre if he hates him or he hates himself before calling him a "choke artist," then talks about how McIntyre prayed for this only to get his elbow broken, and he plans to break his face and his heart next time. He admits he does not know if McIntyre is a god-fearing man, but he can tell he fears CM Punk.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Ricochet, who says that while he is aware of Ilja Dragunov and his accomplishments, tonight is his chance to make a legacy. He is soon met by Braun Strowman, who says that he will always stick up for the little guy before saying tonight is about Ricochet.

Iyo Sky beats Natalya after rolling out of the Sharpshooter in the corner to hit Over The Moonsault to advance in the Queen of the Ring Tournament. After the match, Dakota Kai talked about how Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Asuka, Kairi Sane) took over two years ago when they took out Becky Lynch, and says they are back and putting everyone on notice with the Queen of the Ring Tournament. She warns Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair to enjoy the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships while they have them, and after Becky Lynch is done with Liv Morgan, they will be back to take everything whether Becky likes it or not.

We see a vignette for Ilja Dragunov.

Ilja Dragunov beats Ricochet to advance in the King of the Ring Tournament. Both Dragunov and Ricochet shake hands after the match.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Sheamus. Sheamus says he has undergone medical procedure upon medical procedure to get back in the ring, then admits that he does not like Gunther despite having banger after banger, and tonight, he plans to beat him and become a two-time King of the Ring.

Zoey Stark beats Ivy Nile to advance in the Queen of the Ring Tournament.

Backstage, R-Truth proposes a World Tag Team title match against the UConn basketball team to General Manager Adam Pearce, even bringing in basketball Dan Hurley. The Miz cannot believe what is going on, as does Pearce. After Awesome Truth leaves, Bron Breakker shows up wanting to know why he is not in the King of the Ring Tournament. Pearce asks Bron Breakker to meet with him in his office.

We look back on Sheamus' match with Gunther for the WWE Intercontinental Championship on SmackDown from October 7, 2022.

Backstage, The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, JD McDonagh) are concerned with Braun Strowman, and Damian Priest has JD McDonagh deal with him. "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio shows up and brings in Carlito, who says that he needs help with The Latino World Order and offers to help them in return. Priest reluctantly agrees.

Chad Gable vs. "Big" Bronson Reed ends with Sami Zayn sliding into the ring and attacking Gable before beating up Bronson Reed. Gable gets back in the ring and suplexes Sami, but Sami grabs him and hits the Exploder Suplex. He goes for the Helluva Kick, but he gets caught and slammed by Bronson Reed, who proceeds to do the same to Gable. Backstage, Bronson Reed tells General Manager Adam Pearce that he does not care about Gable or Sami, and that all he cares about is the Intercontinental Championship. He tells Pearce that if he wants control, he knows what to do.

We see a vignette for Lyra Valkyria.

Backstage, Gunther says he is facing Sheamus in the King of the Ring Tournament tonight and is concerned about putting out banger after banger. He says that he does not care about bangers or pleasing fans, and that he will go through him to become King of the Ring.

Michael Cole interviews Becky Lynch in the ring. Becky talks about her outfit from the Kentucky Derby this weekend, then talks about the WWE Draft and welcoming the new competition. She says she looks forward to facing Alba Fyre, Isla Dawn, Zelina Vega and Lyra Valkyria. She says the better woman won at WrestleMania, and that it will haunt her even after it helped her become a better fighter and Women's World Champion. Suddenly, Liv Morgan shows up. Liv takes offense to not being mentioned, saying she is being overlooked and underestimated. After listing off her accomplishments and taking out Rhea Ripley, she says it blows her mind that Becky refuses to respect her. Liv asks about her title shot, and Becky tells her that she not only has it in three weeks at King and Queen of the Ring, but that she has never beaten her. Liv says she realizes she has been missing purpose as of late, and now that she has purpose, she knows she can beat her and get revenge of Rhea Ripley to become Women's World Champion. Suddenly, Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane) shows up, and Dakota Kai says Liv Morgan did nothing to get that title shot, then tells Liv and Becky to fight it out while they have the Queen of the Ring Tournament on lock. Damage CTRL soon surrounds the ring, and Liv Morgan rolls out of the ring, leaving Becky on her own. As Damage CTRL gang up on Becky, Lyra Valkyria shows up, briefly confronts Liv, then fights off Damage CTRL alongside Becky Lynch.

It is announced that WrestleMania 41 will be in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 19 and 20, 2025.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews Sami Zayn. Sami says that this has been personal between himself and Chad Gable and that should have been over weeks ago, but now he is having to deal with "Big" Bronson Reed, who wants the Intercontinental Championship. He proposes a Triple Threat Match against Gable and Bronson for the Intercontinental Championship at King and Queen of the Ring, and when the pressure is on, that is when he is at his best, and he will walk out champion.

Lyra Valkyria beats Dakota Kai to advance in the Queen of the Ring Tournament.

We hear from Kofi Kingston, who says that this year's tournament was supposed to be the one where Xavier Woods would run it back and become King of the Ring again until Gunther took it from him. He says that if Gunther advances, he cannot wait to face him and give him what he deserves. However, he must first get past Rey Mysterio in the first round, and while he respects him, he has to put him down like if he was Kendrick Lamar or Drake. He says that he must do this for Xavier Woods, as The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) still rocks.

We see footage of "Main Event" Jey Uso's theme playing in yesterday's Cleveland Cavaliers playoff game.

Gunther beats Sheamus with a single leg crab to advance in the King of the Ring Tournament. During the match, Ludwig Kaiser gets ejected from ringside after getting caught by the referee attacking Sheamus' right knee. Later on in the match, Gunther keeps Sheamus in the ring with a single leg crab after dragging Sheamus to the middle of the ring, and Sheamus is forced to tap out before he can reach the ropes.

This week on Raw Talk: Zoey Stark and "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler! Lyra Valkyria! The Latino World Order (Rey Mysterio, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz del Toro, Zelina Vega, Dragon Lee)!

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