Raw airs tonight (June 27) with a live show from Sames Auto Arena in Laredo, Texas. This is the final Raw episode during the four week build towards Money in the Bank, coming up this Saturday night (July 2).
John Cena is back in WWE
John Cena finally returns to WWE tonight on Raw! The face that used to run the place hasn’t appeared live on WWE television since last year’s loss at SummerSlam against Roman Reigns.
Cena is one of the most successful wrestlers in WWE history, and there’s a celebration planned tonight to mark 20 years since he debuted with the company. But it can’t be that simple, right? There are plenty of douchebag heels in the locker room who would love to make a name for themselves at the expense of this WWE legend. For example, Finn Balor has a gripe with John going back to last year when John stole his title match against Reigns at SummerSlam.
It’s not clear how long part-time Cena will be sticking around in WWE this time. Will it be for only one night? Or will he be back for a full month like last year? The rumor mill suggests Cena could be lined up for a match against Theory at SummerSlam, and the two men have certainly been teasing it on social media. Could there be anything else planned for John during this return? I hear there are still a few openings in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match...
In today’s pro wrestling landscape where it’s often difficult to identify which wrestlers truly move the needle, Cena is still a reliable draw for WWE whenever he is around. So don’t be surprised if WWE keeps up their ratings success from last week with the return of John Cena tonight.
The title scene
Bianca Belair will defend the Raw women’s championship against Carmella at Money in the Bank. Carmella is a late replacement for Rhea Ripley, who is not medically cleared to compete. Carmella ambushed Belair with a superkick last week, so the champ has a good reason to try getting her hands on the challenger tonight.
Bob Lashley has his sights set on winning the United States title from Theory at Money in the Bank. To that end, he successfully ran the gauntlet last week over Chad Gable, Otis, and the champ himself. It’s pretty clear that Theory doesn’t stand a chance in a fair fight against Bob, so let’s see how he tries to gain an unfair advantage going into the fight.
The Usos and the Street Profits will battle over the WWE tag team titles at Money in the Bank. Both teams have been appearing on Raw and SmackDown to keep their issues going, and tonight should be no different.
The 24/7 title changed hands multiple times last week, but Dana Brooke was still the champ when the dust settled. Will the jobber division find a new approach for taking and keeping the title away from her tonight?
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar don’t work Monday nights and aren’t booked for Money in the Bank, so you shouldn’t expect to see either of them on the broadcast tonight.
Other stuff to keep an eye on
- Ezekiel and Elias both appeared on Raw last week, proving once and for all that they are not the same person. Kevin Owens still doesn’t believe it, so he challenged either of them (or their other brother Elrod) to a match tonight.
- Matt Riddle failed to qualify for Money in the Bank when he easily lost in four minutes against Omos last week. Seth Rollins beat the hell out of Riddle after the match, so a feud between these two wrestlers is likely on the way.
- Asuka has been a huge thorn in the side of Becky Lynch. The Empress beat Lynch last week in a Money in the Bank qualifying match, which means The Man has no obvious path towards winning back the Raw women’s championship. Will Lynch be able to find a way into the ladder match this weekend, or is it too late?
- Ciampa is a jabroni who might be a lackey for The Miz? Yeah, okay. This is good news for AJ Styles, who got back in the winner’s column in a match against Ciampa last week.
- Will there be any follow-up to the angle between Dolph Ziggler / Robert Roode and Omos / MVP from a few weeks ago?
- The Judgment Day and The Mysterios were dumped onto Main Event last week. There’s no way this would have happened to The Judgment Day if Edge was still their leader. Sorry, Finn Balor.
- There are multiple spots left to fill in both Money in the Bank ladder matches, so we will hopefully learn some new names tonight to join the field that currently includes Rollins, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Omos, Sami Zayn, Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, Shotzi, Lacey Evans, Raquel Rodriguez, and Asuka.
What will you be looking for on Raw tonight?
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