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The King and Queen of the Ring tournaments are set to begin on the June 9th episode of WWE Raw. WWE Raw general manager Adam Pearce announced that on the women's side Liv Morgan, Kairi Sane, Roxanne Perez, Rhea Ripley will compete in a fatal four-way bout to see who moves on in the tournament. The men's fatal four-way will see Dominik Mysterio, Sami Zayn, Bron Breakker, and Penta battle. The winners will advance to the semifinals of the tournament. The finals will take place at WWE Night of Champions. You don't want to miss tonight. @ScrapDaddyAP breaks down an absolutely STACKED lineup for #WWERaw live from Phoenix! -- -- 8ET/5PT on @netflix pic.twitter.com/9ucmpc1OG2 — WWE (@WWE) June 9, 2025 Here is the current lineup for Monday's WWE Raw: WWE Raw (6/9) WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Jey Uso (c) vs. Gunther Seth Rollins to appear John Cena to appear Queen of the Ring Tournament Match: Rhea Ripley v Liv Morgan v Roxanne Perez v Kairi Sane King of the Ring Tournament Match: Dominik Mysterio v Sami Zayn v Bron Breakker v Penta Nikki Bella to appear Fightful will have coverage of WWE Raw beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

When WWE made its latest round of releases on May 2nd, fans noticed that many women's tag teams were split as part of the releases. Jakara Jackson (teaming with Lash Legend), Dakota Kai (part of Damage CTRL), Shayna Baszler (part of Pure Fusion Collective), Gigi Dolin (teaming with Tatum Paxley), and Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (teaming together) were all part of the releases. Shotzi Blackheart, who was managing Gigi & Tatum, was informed that her contract wouldn't be renewed, marking her time ending with WWE. "They really released one person from every single tag team. Completely eliminated the tag division. It's wild," Shotzi said while speaking to Daria Berenato (Sonya Deville) and Toni on Unwrapped. She continued, "I feel like tag wrestling doesn't get enough love anywhere, for some reason. Tag team wrestling needs more love, for sure." Shotzi has returned to the independent scene, showing up at Hoodslam and GCW. Elsewhere during the interview, Shotzi commented on being replaced by Alexa Bliss in the 2025 women's Royal Rumble. You can find her full comments here. If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.

Matt Riddle talks CM Punk. Matt Riddle was released from his WWE deal in September 2023, missing CM Punk's WWE return by just two months. However, that has not stopped Riddle from making his judgement about Punk. While speaking to Going Ringside in a new interview, Riddle was asked if he'd like to join AEW, noting that he still would. In his answer, Riddle would also talk about CM Punk, claiming that people in WWE claim "They're still rebuilding. You know, I'm not a big fan of that guy either. That guy sucks. He's a bitch to work with in the back. (why?) Because he just belly aches and complains. This guy complains about getting multiple world title runs. I've heard from my boys that still work there (WWE) that he is a headache, and this isn't a storyline, this is the facts. So, this is what it is." Elsewhere in the same interview, Riddle reflected on getting a 'verbal lashing' from John Cena. You can read more about that here. Riddle has currently been working with MLW, and is their current champion. For the latest results from MLW, you can read them here. If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.

Elijah feels he can draw those types of reactions in arenas around the world. There have been two occasions in 2025 that Elijah f.k.a. Elias appeared for WWE on their weekly NXT show. Elijah was released from WWE in September 2023. His 2025 appearances on the program were discussed while he was on Busted Open. He was asked what it meant to him to return and he said the following: “That was awesome. It was really great. To work out there, talking about the first time when I came out, surprise, in the dark with the strum. The fans’ reaction was awesome and it was very much one of those, like, yeah, they’re for me kind of people and they began chanting ‘welcome home’ and all those things so it was a great feeling, and I love to do that. I am convinced that I can do that in any arena around the world at any point. So I think that kind of put it on notice on a worldwide stage like that too.” At TNA Against All Odds, Elijah challenged Trick Williams for the TNA World Championship. To read the result of that bout, head over to this link. If the quote in this article is used, please credit Busted Open with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription.

Matt Riddle talks about John Cena. During his time in WWE, Matt Riddle would work with several of the companies top stars, including the likes of Randy Orton and Roman Reigns. Once on an episode of WWE Monday Night RAW, Riddle and Cena would share the ring for a segment where they would both say the word 'bro' repeatedly. While speaking to Going Ringside in a new interview, Riddle was asked about working with Cena, with the 'King of Bros' recalling a spat the pair got into. "I've worked with Cena. I like working with Cena. He was a great guy, a nice guy, professional. Yeah, I mean, we've had our little tiffs. The first time I met, I accidentally said I thought he would be bigger. I don't think he likes being called small, which isn't what I said, but I thought he'd be bigger. He kind of gave me a verbal lashing back and forth. He gave me crap for being the king of bros, tried to get me to explain what that was, and no answer was good enough for John Cena." Riddle has currently been working with MLW, and is their current champion. For the latest results from MLW, you can read them here. If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.

Elayna Black says she feels a sense of relief following her WWE release. As part of a larger group of talent were released from WWE in May, Elayna Black was amongst the names let go by the company, with the talent formerly known as Cora Jade already booked for several appearances following her WWE exit. In a new interview with TMZ, Black would comment on her WWE release, noting that she has almost felt a sense of relief following her release. "Amazing. I feel like, obviously, it comes in waves. No one wants to lose their dream job. But I've never felt such a sense of relief, almost. Just that the world is at my exposure to do whatever I want, whether it's I am going to continue wrestling. But whatever other opportunities come after this, I'm really excited and I feel... For the first time in a while, very happy with the present and just how life is right now." Elsewhere in the same interview, Black spoke about a gut feeling she had two weeks before her release. You can read more about that here. If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.

The arrival of Mariah May is delved into by Natalya. The June 3rd edition of NXT on The CW featured Mariah May's WWE debut. She showed up during a segment to put NXT Women's Champion Jacy Jayne on notice. May's arrival to the company was discussed by Natalya during her appearance on Busted Open. She's excited to see the stories May will tell and called her the 'total package.' Natalya is amped to see May in NXT but has been thinking that Mariah could be at the all-women's Evolution PLE on July 13th. “I’m excited for her and I think this is gonna be fun chapter for her and again, going back to -- you know, we were talking about Stephanie (Vaquer) last week and so, Mariah has a similar journey where like, she went out and explored the world before coming to WWE. She was a fan. She loved it. You know and realize, okay, she was a fan, then she wanted to pursue this, then she moved to Japan and she basically became a student of the game and so while she’s very beautiful and some people might go, oh, she was a model that wanted to do this or -- she is beautiful but she also -- I can tell that she really fought for this and that she really worked hard for this… I like the way she tells stories. I like even the way she handles herself on social media and the way that she has told stories in the past. She’s a good, little storyteller and so I’m excited to see the stories that she’s gonna tell with the women at NXT. I’m excited to see her and Jacy Jayne mix up and tear it up with these two different styles because Jacy Jayne, brand-new champion. Mariah May saying I’m gonna take that title from you… I’m excited to see the story they’re gonna create and then watch it go down in a match and see all the elements that are gonna come out but, Mariah has what I think is the total package. She can speak, she looks amazing. She looks the part and she can go in the ring. She’s put the time in, she’s put the work in. Listen, we don’t want the blood but if sometimes, as we know and this happens in what we do, if you get busted open in the ring and she’s shown that she can work through it. I remember Trish Stratus, one of the things that won Trish Stratus over so much with the audience was when she broke her nose. She broke her nose in a match and then she just kept wrestling and she kept going and then she continued to wrestle after that. She put on the faceguard and I think Mariah May has that grit about her where she’s like, f*ck it, I’m beautiful, and I’m gonna work through it. I’m going to show you that I’m not just another pretty face. I just think that people are all of a sudden now going -- and that’s what’s exciting when you get somebody new in the division going, oh, I wanna see Mariah versus Tiffany (Stratton), I wanna see Mariah against this person or that person. I’m excited to see what she’s gonna do at NXT but I’m also like, thinking, mhm, maybe we’ll get Mariah at Evolution.” Further speaking about May, Natalya praised her program with 'Timeless' Toni Storm that unfolded in AEW. “And she has done amazing work in the past. I mean, she wouldn’t be in WWE had she not done great work prior. Her stuff with Toni (Storm) was some of my favorite stuff. It was just so fun. They had a fun story. But I think that it’s all about building, it’s all about growth, it’s all about new challenges…” Fightful Select has additional details about Mariah May's arrival to WWE. She has not been acknowledged by name on WWE TV. If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Busted Open with an H/T to Fightful for the transcriptions.

Kofi Kingston won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35, culminating a 13-year journey that began when he signed a developmental deal in 2006. His reign lasted six months, but was over in six seconds when he faced Brock Lesnar on the WWE SmackDown premiere on Fox. On his latest Markin' Out podcast, MVP and co-host Dwayne Swayze were discussing how wrestlers get a push when Swayze mentioned Kofi's organic rise and Lesnar putting an end to his reign. Swayze asked if there were metrics WWE looked to see that Kofi couldn't lead the company or if it was Vince just saying that he didn't want Kofi as the guy at that time. "I don't know. It would seem that, to me, I thought that was just stupid killing Kofi off. I don't know, I could be completely wrong, I feel there was some measure of disingenuousness with that. I can't say exactly why. I thought there was no need to do that to Kofi. I thought that was ridiculous. A lot of people felt that way," said MVP. Kofi never received a rematch against Lesnar after losing the title. He is currently one-half of the WWE World Tag Team Champions alongside Xavier Woods. MVP manages Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin, the reigning AEW Tag Team Champions. If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.

Ben Askren has been rushed to hospital in critical condition. On June 7th, the former UFC fighter's wife Amy took to Facebook to announce that Askren had been rushed to hospital in critical condition due to a severse case of pneumonia. From Amy Askren: “You may have heard that my husband Ben is going through something. He developed severe pneumonia which came on very suddenly. He’s currently in the hospital and unable to respond to anything at this time. We welcome all prayers for healing and for peace. We are trying to keep life as normal as possible for our children currently and doing our best to support them thoughtfully so please refrain from discussing it with them for now,” As well as fighting in the UFC, Askren previously fought in Bellator and ONE Championship before retiring from mixed martial arts in 2019, before boxing Jake Paul in 2021. Askren is also a former Olympian, competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in wrestling.

Kevin Knight praises his tag team partner. At AEW Double Or Nothing 2025, Speedball Mike Bailey challenged Kazuchika Okada for the AEW Continental Championship, with Okada having to dig deep to knock off Bailey in the bout. During the latest vlog on Speedball's YouTube channel, Kevin Knight would feature and hyped up Speedball's performance against Okada at Double Or Nothing. "You was making Okada work. I saw you. I was watching, you made him work. Made him work. Brought out the the old Okada. Brought out the the Okada that only comes out when he's pushed." Speedball previously noted that he felt like he 'proved himself' against Okada at AEW Double Or Nothing. You can read more about that here. If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.