WWE Raw Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From May 20

The WWE Raw representatives for Saturday's King and Queen of the Ring tournament finals would be decided Monday as Jey Uso battled Gunther in the men's semifinals and Lyra Valkyria looked to continue her excellent run on the main roster against Iyo Sky in the women's bracket.

Those two matches headlined a broadcast that also featured the latest in intercontinental champion Sami Zayn's intensely personal rivalry with Chad Gable as they battled in singles competition just five days before a Triple Threat match for the title also involving "Big" Bronson Reed.

Who built momentum on the road to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and which competitors moved one step closer to claiming the coveted crown as royalty in WWE?

Find out with this recap of Monday's show from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Announced in advance of Monday's show were:

• King of the Ring Semifinal: Jey Uso vs. Gunther
• Queen of the Ring Semifinal: Lyra Valkyria vs. Iyo Sky
• World Tag Team Championship: Awesome Truth (c) vs. Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh
• Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable
  

Sami Zayn kicked off the evening's broadcast by addressing his defense of the Intercontinental Championship against Chad Gable and "Big" Bronson Reed on Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at King and Queen of the Ring.

Gable interrupted, berated his Alpha Academy lackeys, and the advertised match between the Olympian and the intercontinental champ got underway.

Zayn and Gable had an unsurprisingly back-and-forth match that saw Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri tease interference, only to think better of it.

After they were tossed from ringside by their leader, an emotionally torn Otis stayed loyal to his longtime tag team partner, blasting Zayn with a clothesline and allowing Gable to score the tainted victory.

There will come a time when Otis finally has enough of Gable and unleashes a beatdown on him that will result in the big man again becoming one of the most popular guys on the show. Until then, the slow build should be fun as fans await that moment.

Given the talent involved, the stories at play, the difference in styles and how well they mesh, Saturday's Triple Threat match may be a legitimate show-stealer.

Result

Gable defeated Zayn

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• "Make no mistake about it, Chad: You've got an ass-kicking coming," Zayn said after Gable attacked him in front of his family in Montreal a month ago.
• "I'm not just taking your title. I'm taking your soul," Gable warned the IC champ.
• Otis, Tozawa and Dupri checked on Gable only to be brushed back by the irate heel.
• Dupri is a great character. Her facial expressions and body language tell the story without her having to say a word. No matter how she develops as an in-ring performer, she has a place on this show as a potential star of the future. 

Bron Breakker entered Raw with pent-up anger after being left out of the King of the Ring Tournament. His opponent, Kale Dixon, was the unfortunate recipient of that fury.

Breakker destroyed Dixon with a Spear and added another on the arena floor.

When referee Rod Zapata called the match off, the former NXT champion took the beating to the next level, delivering a third Spear before placing Dixon head-first in the ring steps and blasting him with a steel chair.

The execution of this was interesting in that it appeared the idea was to present Breakker as a heel, but the crowd barked in approval of the second-generation star, suggesting it had the opposite effect.

It will be interesting to see over the next month or so if the fans continue to voice their support of the NXT export or if he catches on as a villain.

Result

Breakker defeated Dixon via referee stoppage

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Cameras caught Breakker voicing his frustration at being left out of the King of the Ring to himself in the corner before obliterating Dixon with a Spear.
• Spray tans and high definition do not agree.
• Backstage, Breakker explained his actions to general manager Adam Pearce: "You didn't put me in King of the Ring. That's on you."

Former NXT women's champion Lyra Valkyria cashed her ticket to the finals of the Queen of the Ring Tournament with a win over Iyo Sky.

The match was an extraordinary, hard-fought affair that saw Sky dominate for the first half, only for Valkyria to fight her way back into the match.

Counters, reversals and near-falls defined the second half, culminating with the babyface evading the Over the Moonsault and catching her with the Nightwing for the come-from-behind victory.

Triple H and the creative team have done a fantastic job of introducing Valkyria and instantly making her feel like a threat in the women's division, without overpushing her. It feels natural and her in-ring skills are those of someone who can conceivably beat any opponent.

Add in the relationship she has forged with Becky Lynch, and you have a star of the future who is being set up to succeed now.

Result

Valkyria defeated Sky

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Lynch gave Valkyria a great pep talk prior to the match, further establishing their on-screen friendship.
• Sky appeared in a pre-taped video package that saw her cut a promo while submerged under water. Very cool.

• Valkyria did a great job of firing up and playing to the crowd, trying to wake the audience up on a night when it was not nearly as lively as it should have been.
• Sky seamlessly floats into and out of the crossface submission. A great addition to her arsenal of late.

The rivalry between Awesome Truth and The Judgment Day was rekindled Monday night as The Miz and R-Truth defended their WWE World Tag Team Championship against Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh.

A competitive match gave way to a noteworthy finish as Carlito interfered late, looking to get further in the good graces of The Judgment Day.

Braun Strowman made his way into the arena, tossing the second-generation star aside and chasing McDonagh right into the waiting arms of Truth, who delivered an Attitude Adjustment for the win.

The match itself was perfectly acceptable wrestling from four guys who have worked with each other quite a bit this year. The story developments helped elevate the segment, with The Monster Among Men remaining a threat to The Judgment Day and Carlito failing to hold up his end of the bargain by making sure the right team went over.

How that all plays out remains to be seen, but this was another example of Triple H and the creative team taking what could have been a retread match and intertwining threads to make it more important than it otherwise would have been.

Result

Awesome Truth defeated The Judgment Day to retain the titles

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Backstage, Bron Breakker interrupted an interaction between Ricochet and Ilja Dragunov as he continued his path of rage.
• Gunther cut a promo in an empty Greensboro Coliseum ahead of his King of the Ring semifinal match against Jey Uso. "It's not about who is the more exciting act on his way to the ring. It is about who is the better wrestler in that ring."
• Backstage, Damian Priest commended Carlito for attacking Cruz Del Toro but refused to let him hang tight in the Judgment Day's lair, complete with an APA reference for the Attitude Era aficionados. 
• Sonya Deville made her long-awaited return, introducing herself to Zoey Stark and saying hello to former tag team partner Shayna Baszler ahead of the tag team contenders match later in the show.

Ahead of Saturday's Women's World Championship match between Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan, The Man hit the ring for a promo.

She put over the upcoming showdown but was quickly interrupted by her forthcoming opponent.

Morgan hurled insults and accusations at Lynch, including that she only cares about herself, before appearing to accept a challenge for a fight right then and there. Instead, she backed down, drawing heat and telling her rival to "cry about it."

This was a fine back and forth, with Morgan embracing the heel persona at this point, but it did not advance the story or do much to convince fans to be any more or less excited about what should be a fun title match, if nothing else.

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Backstage, Liv Morgan confronted Lyra Valkyria and slapped her, continuing her not-so-subtle heel turn.
• Elsewhere, Bronson Reed approached Sami Zayn and vowed to win the intercontinental title. Otis entered the scene next and apologized to Zayn. Sami urged the big man to stop listening to Gable and start listening to the fans. After all, he has experience in a similar situation.

• "Of all the times we have fought each other, not once has she ever beaten me," Lynch said of Morgan, laying the groundwork for another story thread beyond the obvious.
• "I don't care about these other women. I barely care about you. My only purpose, the only thing I care about, is the Liv Morgan Revenge Tour," Morgan said.

Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark earned a shot at the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with a victory in a Fatal 4-Way that also featured Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, Maxxine Dupri and Ivy Nile, and Damage CTRL's Kairi Sane and Dakota Kai.

The star of the bout was Dupri, who had fans chanting her name at one point, eager to see the underdog finally succeed. For a moment, it looked like she may do that late in the match.

Then, the victors struck, with Stark hoisting her up in the powerbomb position and sending her into the knee of Baszler.

There was a lot of action but too much going on, leading to a few disjointed spots and sequences. The effort was there, but this probably would have been better as a straight tag match.

Result

Baszler and Stark defeated Dupri and Nile, Damage CTRL and Chance and Carter to become No. 1 contenders

Grade

C

Top Moments and Takeaways

• The Dupri character work is effective. The crowd openly chanted "Maxxine" in support of the underdog.
• Carter and Chance have an uber-athletic move set, but some of it takes so long to set up that it ultimately loses its effect.

Gunther is headed to Jeddah to compete in the finals of the King of the Ring tournament following his victory over Jey Uso in the main event of Raw.

The Ring General battered Uso with a barrage of chops, strikes and power moves that drove the fight away from the popular babyface.

Uso fought back and appeared to have momentum on his side more than once but Gunther, as he has throughout his main roster run, proved the ability to cut him down with a single chop.

Ultimately, Uso failed to capitalize on his last-gasp attempt to put his opponent away, thanks to damage done to his right arm throughout the match and found himself choked out in the closing seconds of the show.

This was a great match, the second between the two in the last year. Gunther threw everything he had at Uso, who proved resilient until he could not take any more. The Ring General choked him out when faced with no other option in his arsenal.

It worked, setting up a showdown with either Randy Orton or Tama Tonga, two competitors he has never worked with.

Result

Gunther defeated Uso

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• The discourse surrounding Uso online has not spilled into the arenas. He remains the most over guy on the Raw roster and it's not even close.
• Gunther targeted Uso's shoulder, capitalizing on a missed bling charge by his opponent and laying the groundwork for the heat portion of the match.
• Uso delivered a big Samoan Drop from the top rope to turn the tide in his favor.
• Uso delivered a Spear that flattened The Ring General and the referee. An Uso splash from the top rope failed to put Gunther away, with the momentary hesitation caused by the injured arm enough to prevent the victory.

WWE introduced a bevy of new stories on this week's show while continuing others.

We saw the emergence of Bron Breakker as the most dangerous man on the roster, as evidenced by the brutal assault of his enhancement opponent and the backstage attack on Ricochet. He is a force of nature who figures to be a major player on Monday nights.

We saw the return of Sonya Deville, who looks like a potential candidate to manage the team of Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark.

There was the plight of Otis, who will inevitably have to choose between staying loyal to Chad Gable or standing up for himself.

Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan continued their rivalry, Braun Strowman remained a headache for The Judgment Day, which also sees itself dealing with Carlito and the LWO, and Lyra Valkyria's meteoric rise reached new heights with her win over Iyo Sky in the semifinals of the Queen of the Ring tournament.

Following what appeared to be a lackluster WWE draft, Raw has maximized the talent at its disposal and crafted some intriguing stories to track moving forward.

Overall Grade: B+