Chris King’s WWE Monday Night Raw Takeaways (6/1/2026)

This week’s Monday Night Raw was a special edition after Clash in Italy, and Chris King brings you his biggest takeaways from a loaded episode!

How will Becky respond to losing the Women’s Intercontinental Championship to Sol Ruca? The King of the Ring Tournament begins with two fatal four-way opening rounds, and how will Jacob Fatu fall in line with The Bloodline after losing Tribal Combat yesterday? 

Roman Reigns/Jacob Fatu Acknowledgement 

Ceremony 

After a quick recap from Clash in Italy, ‘The OTC’ World Heavyweight Champion, flanked by The Usos, came out for his acknowledgement ceremony in front of a wild Italian crowd who were serenading their tribal chief by singing his theme song. Jey Uso cuts off Roman and calls Jacob Fatu out like he’s a student missing from class. 

‘The Samoan Werewolf’ acknowledged the importance of their tribal combat match and the consequences of his loss. Fatu then gets in Jey’s face, saying he didn’t lose to him. Ultimately, Fatu is a man of his word and reluctantly acknowledges his OTC throwing the ones to the sky! 

• Fatu acknowledged his tribal chief after some obvious hesitation. Fatu doesn’t seem pleased with Jey barking orders at him and almost signals a match between them in the future. A solidified bloodline is a scary thought for the whole WWE roster. What destruction will The Bloodline cause next, and most importantly, who will step up to Roman next?

King of the Ring (Fatal 4-Way Opening Round): Penta vs. Oba Femi vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Carmelo Hayes 

All three superstars went right after ‘The Ruler’ to start the match. Solo Sikoa angered Oba Femi as Penta and Hayes battle in the ring. Femi hit a double chokeslam on the intercontinental champion and Hayes as we head to commercial break. Sikoa took out both superstars as Femi is taking a breather. Non-stop action between all three superstars as Sikoa broke up a pinfall after a Penta Driver to Hayes. 

Femi, who was taken out by Talla Tonga, rose up from the ashes and annihilated his competitors. The Ruler delivered Fall From Grace to move on in the next round of the

King of the Ring tournament! Femi grabbed the mic to proclaim he took Brock Lesnar’s best, including seven F5s, and he came back to win. He’s going to become King of the Ring, and he’ll see Lesnar down the road. 

• This was exactly what I needed to be. Femi needed to make a declarative statement after his loss to Lesnar. The potential of a Femi vs. Tonga match is enticing, and maybe down the line we will see that massive match. I love that WWE kept Penta and Hayes out of the pinfall to keep them looking strong. The red-hot crowd celebrated The Ruler’s victory.

Sol Ruca Intercontinental Championship In-Ring Interview 

Cathy Kelly introduced the new women’s intercontinental champion Sol Ruca to the ring. Ruca thanked Becky Lynch for doubting her being ready after being on the main roster for less than a month. She will steal all her challengers’ “SOL.” Pyro went off to celebrate her big win at Clash in Italy. 

• This crowd has been insane today, and they loved Ruca. I’m genuinely shocked they didn’t have Lynch come out to ruin the celebration. Perhaps she is going to allow the new intercontinental champion to feel safe and then strike. I wonder who will stand up to Ruca next.

Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. Ethan Page & Rusev 

Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee are making their entrance before commercial break. We return as Ethan Page and Rusev are in the ring as this tag team match begins. The heels tried to outsmart Lee, but a wrecking ball dropkick in the corner gave Lee a near-fall. ‘The Bulgarian Brute’ made a bling tag and took out his opponent. ‘All-Ego’ knocked. Mysterio off the ring to prevent a tag. 

Rusev and Page are working as a well-oiled machine and keeping Lee isolated from his partner. Lee drilled The Brute with a superkick, which allowed the Hall of Famer to make the hot tag. Mysterio came in firing on all cylinders with high-octane offense until Page blasted him with a clothesline. A miscommunication caused Page to gain a pinfall

attempt on Mysterio. The finish saw Page get knocked into his partner and Mysterio hit a 619 and Dropping the Dime for the victory. 

• Page has “IT.” He’s so intelligent in the ring, he’s charismatic, and he’s got all the tools to be a world champion one day. The timing of knocking Mysterio off the apron was heel 101. He deserves another crack at the Intercontinental Championship in the near future.
• Mysterio gaining the victory gives him momentum heading into his future intercontinental championship title shot against Penta. It’s crazy to believe Mysterio has competed in multiple decades, and he’s still one of the best superstars in WWE history.

Queen of the Ring (Fatal 4-Way Opening Round): Lash Legend vs. IYO Sky vs. Giulia vs. Roxanne Perez 

Lash Legend started off the match with a stiff right hand to Gulia and tried to gain some advantage. Sky delivered a dropkick for Roxanne Perez and Iyo Sky to face off in the ring. The crowd is red-hot for Gulia given her Italian heritage as she takes control in this QOTR match. Gulia and Perez formed a temporary alliance to take out Legend. Perez blasted Gulia from behind, and now it’s Sky and Perez in the ring. 

‘The Genius of the Sky’ hit a double dropkick to take control in front of this raucous Italy crowd. Gulia delivered Arrivederci, but Perez broke up the pinfall. Legend delivered a double powerbomb and Lash extension to both Perez and Gulia. Sky saved the match and delivered her Over the Moon to secure her spot in the QOTR tournament. 

• All four superstars did a great job with the time they were given. Was it a masterpiece? No, but it was a good showing. I’m not shocked that Sky picked up the win here, but I think the crowd would have lost their minds if Gulia had won.
• I really wish WWE would push Giulia; she hasn’t done anything since losing the Women’s United States Championship to Tiffany Stratton on the SmackDown after Mania. Sky now moves on the second round, and is one step closer to vying for the women’s championship.

Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker: Main Event 

‘The Visionary’ Seth Rollins is out first as this insane crowd is singing his song in unison as ‘The Unpredictable Badass’ Bron Breakker makes his way, flanked by Paul Heyman. Breakker immediately took control over his former leader of The Vision with a German suplex. Rollins bringing out his high-octane offense with some suicide dives to the outside. Breakker caught him and threw him into the crowd as we head to commercial break. 

A series of slaps and strikes from Rollins enraged the young up-and-comer who delivered another German suplex. The red-hot crowd is chanting “Suplex City” as Breakker hit a flying elbow to his opponent. Rollins countered a military press slam into an inverted DDT. A Swanton gave the former world champion a two-count. A Breakkensteiner gave Breakker a near-fall as he tried to win this rubber match. Both superstars wiped each other out with a double collision outside as we head to commercial break. 

A sit-down powerbomb gave Rollins a near-fall as our main event continues. Rollins hit his patented superplex into Falcon Arrow, but Breakker tried to counter it but to no avail. A Stomp was countered into a nasty spear, but the veteran wisely rolled outside. Rollins perfectly executed a pedigree on the announce table, countering a spear attempt. Austin Theory interfered and hit Rollins in the back with the tag team title. Breakker speared the lights out of Montez Ford, who came down to even the odds. 

Rollins hit a Stomp, but Heyman pulled Breakker’s leg onto the rope. An irate Rollins went after Heyman, and Breakker accidentally speared his Oracle through the barricade. The Visionary wisely took the championship belt and used it as a shield. Breakker speared Rollins and knocked himself out. Rollins hit a final Stomp to secure the victory! After the match, Ford and Rollins pointed at each other in a manner of respect. The Visionary signaled that he wants his World Heavyweight Championship back that he never lost! 

• Rollins and Breakker have great in-ring chemistry together, and this match was no exception. Rollins is performing at an elite level even despite the shoulder injury he sustained last year. His precision to counter the spear into a pedigree is unmatched and should be studied. The Unpredictable The Badass continues to prove that he can hang with the main event superstars of WWE. WWE using the Goldberg/Bret Hart spot was brilliant!
• I feel like Rollins/Breakker III needs to be something huge like Hell in a Cell (thanks, Greg) or possibly a falls count anywhere match in the near future. Rollins will do the honors for the young up-and-comer. The Visionary can then set his sights on The OTC and reclaiming his world championship.

Final thoughts: The crowd of Torino was red-hot the entire day. The acknowledgment segment for Fatu and The Bloodline opening up the show was the right call. During a backstage segment we saw Reigns telling Jey to win the KOTR tournament and go after the Undisputed WWE Championship. I would be down for a Cody/Jey matchup down the line. 

We saw two good KOTR and QOTR tournament matches. Femi was booked to look like a beast to bounce back from his loss against Lesnar, and Sky picked up a big win. It seems like LA Knight will be the next to challenge Reigns for the world. championship very soon, as he was seen berating Adam Pearce for encouraging the bloodline drama. Rollins and Breakker in front of this raucous crowd made their rubber match feel special. Overall a solid B- grade for me.