6 Ups & 6 Downs from WWE Raw (23 June - Results & Review)

4. Why Lyra, Why?

There’s telegraphing, and then there’s erecting a giant billboard with flashing neon letters. The moment the Women’s Intercontinental Championship match was announced last week, it was obvious that Lyra Valkyria was going to cause a disqualification, which invariably will lead to a triple threat between her, Becky Lynch, and Bayley.

Sure enough, Bayley and Becky had a pretty decent little match going until Lyra made her way to ringside to help Bayley after Lynch had buried her under a pile of chairs. Becky tried to goad Lyra into hitting her for the DQ, but Valkyria resisted… until an errant Becky baseball slide dropkick hit her.

Rather than Lyra just immediately popping up and emotionally responding – which would have been understandable in the moment – she sold on the ground for a full minute while Becky and Bayley continued to fight, with Lynch in trouble on the mat and Bayley ascending to the top rope. That’s when Lyra stormed the ring and attacked a prone Becky for the DQ.

Just to be clear here, Lyra entered the ring when her friend and former tag partner was in control during a title match and jumped a knocked-out Becky. If you’re Bayley, there’s no way you can accept an apology afterward. It’s a poorly constructed, contrived way to arrive at a triple threat. Unfortunately, the Bianca Belair special guest referee situation was worse and yielded an all-timer WrestleMania opener, so it’s difficult to just dismiss it entirely.

Regardless, it’s lazy booking to arrive at this point and doesn’t do anyone any favors.