Last night’s “ Raw Reunion” episode of Monday Night Raw wasn’t just notable for the many legendary wrestlers who appeared on the special show and took part in segments with the present generation of WWE superstars. It also saw several of these well-known names from WWE’s past fight for — and win — the 24/7 Championship, including three women who became the first female champs in the title’s short history.
As recapped by Cageside Seats , the segments involving the 24/7 title on “ Raw Reunion” started with one where Drake Maverick’s wife, Renee Michelle, interrupted erstwhile champion R-Truth’s interview and accused him of “ruining her life.” This led to an argument between Michelle and Truth’s onscreen partner, Carmella, and allowed Maverick to run in and roll up a distracted Truth to become a three-time 24/7 Champion.
Minutes after this segment, Maverick had a confrontation with The Boogeyman, which caused him to trip while trying to get away from the horror-themed former WWE superstar. At this point, inaugural WWE Intercontinental Champion Pat Patterson — who is arguably best-known to modern fans as one-half of Vince McMahon’s “Stooges” during the latter’s early years as an onscreen authority figure — pinned Maverick with his foot to become the new 24/7 Champion.
A subsequent segment showed both Stooges — Patterson and Gerald Brisco — arguing after the latter had apparently beaten the former for the 24/7 title. Brisco then ran into former Divas Champion Kelly Kelly, who hit the former wrestler and backstage producer with a low blow, then pinned him to become the very first woman to win the 24/7 Championship since its launch in May.
As noted in a recap from CBS Sports , more female WWE legends got involved in the fight for the 24/7 Championship as the “ Raw Reunion” episode continued, as Candice Michelle took the title from Kelly, with Melina making the three-count after she revealed that she had become a referee in her post-WWE days. Next, WWE Hall of Famer Alundra Blayze made Michelle tap out to a chokehold to become the third woman to hold the 24/7 Championship on Monday night. She did, however, hint that she didn’t have plans of holding on to the title for long.
The first female 24/7 Champion has been crowned — former WWE star Kelly Kelly. https://t.co/3foJSIqyOL
— Wrestling Resource – The Sportster (@WrestlingSheet) July 23, 2019
After yet another WWE Hall of Famer — Ted DiBiase — bought the title from Blayze and was shown entering a limousine, Maverick somehow won the belt from the “Million Dollar Man.” However, he lost it a second time on the same night when R-Truth, with the help of Carmella, became an 11-time champion via a surprise roll-up and — adding insult to injury — drove away from the arena with Maverick’s wife in tow.
So far, fan reactions to Monday night’s 24/7 Championship storyline have largely been positive, and consistent with how the title has been a big hit with WWE fans since it debuted two months ago. One fan opined on Twitter that the “ Raw Reunion” special was mostly “garbage” except for the aforementioned storyline, while another tweeted a GIF of a cat typing furiously to symbolize WWE’s media team “updating the 24/7 title page tonight.”
Likewise, CBS Sports ‘ recap mostly gave good grades to the 24/7 Championship segments, including the final one with R-Truth, Carmella, Drake Maverick, and Renee Michelle, which got a B+ grade from the publication.