20 Years Of John Cena In WWE

Quick Links

This week's Monday Night Raw was all about John Cena and celebrating 20 years of Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect. Cena was everywhere on the show, with the exception of the last two segments which featured the build for Theory vs. Bobby Lashley and Becky Lynch being added to The Money in the Bank Ladder Match. One of the big matches for the show heading into the program didn't take place, but there were other matches that were surprisingly good despite not being advertised.

Here are your winners and losers for Raw, June 27, 2022:

Winner: Celebrating John Cena

From his video highlights to his speech and interactions backstage with current WWE Superstars, there was a different feel about Monday's program. With John Cena in the house, this show felt special, and it was.

Cena thanked the fans and had a lot of fun with talent like The Street Profits, Seth Rollins, Ezekiel, Omos and others. It was good to see him back and his legacy is one that should be celebrated. He did say he'd wrestle again but wasn't sure exactly when that would be. As for him taking on Theory at SummerSlam? Who knows, but the two men did have a bit of a run-in backstage. One of the surprises was active AEW stars like Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan), Paul Wight (Big Show), and Chris Jericho all sending him well wishes.

Loser: Kevin Owens Absent

It wasn't clear why an advertised match between Kevin Owens and The Ezekiel family didn't take place but it was postponed. Owens would only say on social media that he didn't want to come to Texas and to leave him alone. This was the second-biggest piece of business on Raw tonight with a men's qualifying spot in the balance. WWE decided to go with a Battle Royal instead and Riddle got in.

This match was decent, but it reminded everyone that a lot of really talented workers are not in the Ladder Match, and that Riddle, who wouldn't have been had the Owens and Ezekiel match taken place was shockingly omitted up until Monday night.

Winner: Becky Lynch

It was inevitable that WWE would find a way to get Lynch included in the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Her qualifying in an elimination main event closed the show. This was a predictable outcome for a couple of reasons. First, the ladder match is better if Lynch is in it. Second, WWE hasn't taken any time to make us care about the other participants in this match. Why would anyone think Lynch would lose here?

Lynch is one of the best parts of Raw each week and she proves it on a regular basis. She's money and Monday was no different. The match was decent, but she was the standout, landing a Becksploder off the second rope on Doudrop to advance.

Winner: Cody Rhodes Appeared

WWE conducted an exclusive interview with Cody from a gym and he talked about Money in the Bank and how disappointed he is that he won't be taking part. This was a good decision by WWE to keep him in the minds of the WWE Universe and he sold the contestants in the match well. If he is going to be gone for months, WWE will need to let fans miss him, but that time doesn't have to come just yet.

Rhodes looked pretty good considering how he looked the last time fans saw him.

Winner: The Miz vs. AJ Styles

An unadvertised match caught a lot of attention on Monday as The Miz and Styles had a singles match, a spillover of their first appearance in the opening Battle Royal. This was a solid match between two veterans who knew how to fill time and make something out of nothing. Yes, there was some continuation from last week, and the whole "big balls joke" is played out now, but this was a really good singles match. The finish of The Miz getting himself counted out wasn't ideal, but it works for his character.

Loser: Liv Morgan vs. Alexa Bliss

This was ok, but the idea of pitting two buddies against each other didn't create the stage for the best singles match between these two. The upset roll-up win by Morgan almost teased the idea that Bliss was going to be upset by the loss and is that what WWE is going for here? Is she turning heel again?

This is a nice win for Morgan, but we're at a place again where Bliss feels kind of lost in the shuffle. What happens (or doesn't happen) at Money in the Bank on Saturday will be intriguing.

Raw Match Results:

* Riddle wins The Last Chance Money in the Bank Battle Royal qualifier. The entrants were Mustafa Ali, Shanky, R-Truth, Shelton Benjamin, Doph Ziggler, Jinder Mahal, Akira Tozawa, Reggie, Ciampa, The Miz, Ricochet, AJ Styles, T-Bar, Veer Mahaan, the Mysterios, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Riddle. Riddle dropped Miz with an RKO on the apron, and then Miz fell to the floor to give Riddle the win.

* Montez Ford defeated Jey Uso in a singles match in 9:50. Prior to the match, Judgment Day approached Rey and Dom Mysterio backstage and tried to coax Dom into joining the group.

* AJ Styles beat The Miz via count-out after a decent match between the two. Eventually, The Miz didn't want anything else to do with Styles and walked away.

* Liv Morgan defeated Alexa Bliss with a surprise rollup victory.

* Bobby Lashley beat “Alpha Academy” Chad Gable and Otis in a handicap match, despite distractions from special enforcer Theory who was at ringside. Theory attacked Lashley after the match but Lashley was still able to fight back and clear the ring.

* Becky Lynch defeated Xia Li , Doudrop, Nikki ASH, Tamina and Shayna Baszler in a six-way elimination match to qualify for the Money in the Bank Ladder match. It came down to Lynch and Doudrop with Lynch getting the eventual pin.