WWE Monday Night Raw celebrates episode #1,517 tonight. This show emanates from the Sames Auto Arena in Laredo, Texas. The first time WWE came to this arena, it saw Rey Mysterio defeat Tajiri to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship to open the January 1st, 2004 edition of SmackDown. The night also saw John Cena and Chris Benoit defeat Johnny Stamboli, Nunzio, and Chuck Palumbo in a handicap match, the two qualifying for the Royal Rumble in the process. Speaking of John Cena, he will celebrated on this week’s WWE Raw.
As for tonight, we are just one week away from Money in the Bank, just this coming Saturday. Let’s see what’s slated for tonight.
WWE Raw Preview (6/27/22)
What an incredible 2️⃣0️⃣ years it's been for @JohnCena in WWE. #CenaMonth pic.twitter.com/AKRsguCuCl
— WWE (@WWE) June 27, 2022
20 Years of the Champ
John Cena will make his return to WWE. After being last seen at the end of last year’s edition of WWE SummerSlam, the 16-time world champion John Cena makes his return to WWE Raw, ready to celebrate his 20 years in the WWE. An exact 20 years, just like IMPACT Wrestling itself celebrated last week. While Cena’s debut took place on SmackDown, he’s back just in time for Raw for his special commemoration.
While nothing seems to be slated for John Cena outside of this special celebration, it seems pretty clear that The Champ will see some kind of interaction with the new kid on the block: the current WWE United States Champion, Theory. After weeks of interaction and altercation on social media, given how we already have several matches set up for SummerSlam, it’s possible we may see a match between these two announced.
We’ll have to see where Bobby Lashley fits in all this too as he has found himself chasing Theory for a possible opportunity at the WWE United States Championship. Their own match is slated already for Money in the Bank.
Ezekiel, Elias, or Elrod
You have to give credit where it’s due. WWE has managed to get three months of television out of this seeming one-note joke involving Ezekiel and Elias, whether they are truly brothers or just the same person. Kevin Owens and “the brothers” have been knocking the comedy out of the park.
This week sees a potential rematch as Kevin Owens has challenged either Ezekiel or Elias to a match. We might get a Hell in a Cell rematch, the return of Elias… Or the “Third Drifter Brother” whom Owens has self-identified as Elrod. We’ll have to wait and see which face of the “drifter family” confronts Kevin.
The match now offers an opportunity for Kevin Owens to qualify for Money in the Bank if he can win.
TONIGHT: @FightOwensFight will get his chance to qualify for the Men's #MITB Ladder Match!
His opponent could be either Ezekiel, Elias or Elrod (the younger brother of @IAmNotEliasWWE).
Will we be meeting a new member of the family? #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/qpy1Xf1Idm
— WWE (@WWE) June 27, 2022
Money in the Bank Spots Are Still Left
It seems we still have several spots still open for the titular Money in the Bank ladder matches for the women and the men. If 8 is the slated number of participants for the matches, that leaves 3 spots open for the men and one left for the women. There are just 2 more shows, Raw and SmackDown, to fill those spots. We’ll see how WWE manages that tonight. Who else will participate in the annual ladder matches? Will some of the people that failed to qualify find a way in? It seems rather implausible to see this show happen without the likes of AJ Styles or Becky Lynch.
A Hell of a Challenge
With Rhea Ripley out with a head injury, WWE has had to substitute her spot at the Money in the Bank event. Last week, Carmella secured that spot. However, WWE now has to find a way to somehow make her a compelling challenger to Bianca Belair; this after many, many months of her being painted mostly as a joke character. What will WWE do to try and generate interest at the last minute for what is truly a cold match?
All this and more, tonight on Monday Night Raw.
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