Monday Night Raw
Date: July 24, 2023
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

Summerslam is right around the corner and thankfully the card is all but set. You should have a good idea of what to expect from the show after the last few weeks but there is always time for one more push towards Detroit. Odds are that means more Judgment Day this week so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here is Judgment Day, minus Dominik Mysterio, to open things up. They brag about everything they have been doing as of late and we see a clip of Dominik winning the North American Title last week. Cue Dominik to quite the negative reaction and we see a package on him and Rhea Ripley. Now it’s Kevin Owens (to a huge reaction) and Sami Zayn to interrupt, with Owens saying we did this last week. It drives Owens crazy when people don’t learn their lesson and now we have Dominik who can’t learn a lesson and now the best thing he can do for this business is shut his mouth forever.

After that amazing one sentence rant, Dominik says he will not be disrespected like this, which Zayn thinks is a good point. The thing is no one respects him in the first place so it doesn’t matter! Zayn remembers Judgment Day complaining about last week not being a title match, so how about Zayn vs. Dominik in a North American Title match tonight? Ripley accepts for Dominik, with Balor giving her a “well…..ok then” look.

Zoey Stark vs. Becky Lynch

If Becky wins, she gets to face Trish Stratus (ringside) again, but if she loses, she has to get a THANK YOU TRISH tattoo. Becky starts fast and knocks her down before taking the beating to the floor. Zoey gets in a shot of her own though and a springboard hilo hits Becky for two as we take a break.

Back with Becky being knocked outside, where the face masked Stratus gets in a headbutt. Zoey’s superkick gets two but Becky pulls her into a cross armbreaker. That’s reversed into a powerbomb for two but Becky reverses a rollup into the Disarm-Her. Trish throws the mask in for a distraction though and Zoey gets two off a rollup. The Manhandle Slam finishes Zoey at 9:40.

Rating: B-. This match did something rather difficult as it had some false finishes in a match that shouldn’t have had the slightest bit of drama. Trish vs. Lynch is tailor made for a big blow off at Summerslam and the tattoo stipulation felt like something out of 1999, but some of those near falls made me jump a bit. Good stuff here, even as they got to what should have been a completely obvious ending.

We look at Brock Lesnar taking out Cody Rhodes last week.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. He talks about how Brock Lesnar beat him down last month and that wasn’t on his bucket list. Cody brings up Lesnar getting everything handed to him so fast, from the UFC to the NFL, but now he did this in front of Cody’s mother. That’s the same mother who watched Terry Funk throw fireballs at Dusty Rhodes and then went drinking with Gordon Solie. Now Cody is slapping the bear in the face and wants Brock to bring it at Summerslam. This was a bit rambly, but there is only so much that you can do when the story has been set for months.

We look at Logan Paul going after Ricochet in recent weeks.

Ricochet will say what he thinks of Paul to his face.

NXT North American Title: Sami Zayn vs. Dominik Mysterio

Dominik, with Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest, is defending and Kevin Owens is here with Zayn. A clothesline puts Dominik on the floor to start and there’s the big flip dive as we take a break. Back with Priest shoving Zayn off the top so Owens decks him as well. Owens is out….and so are Priest and Ripley. Zayn gets the Michinoku Driver for two and hits a clothesline to cut off a 619 attempt.

Dominik dropkicks him out of the air but Zayn is right back with the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Another 619 attempt gives Dominik two and Three Amigos put Zayn down again. Back up and Zayn suplexes him into the corner but here are Priest and Ripley to jump Owens on the stage. Dominik rolls Zayn up (with tights) for the pin at 11:55.

Rating: C+. They were starting to roll at the end and the question became how would Dominik cheat to win here rather than would he at all. He’s basically the Honky Tonk Man at the moment and there is nothing wrong with that as it is an idea that works. Good enough match here as Dominik gets another win that he doesn’t deserve.

Post break, Owens’ ribs are pretty banged up.

We look at Jey Uso and Roman Reigns agreeing to Tribal Combat at Summerslam.

Ricochet asks Shinsuke Nakamura if he has seen Logan Paul. Nakamura says he’ll tell Ricochet if he sees him before turning around to see Tommaso Ciampa. Last week Nakamura got in a shot on Ciampa and that’s his only free one. If Nakamura gets involved again, they’ve got a problem.

Judgment Day runs into Apollo Crews and Akira Tozawa and demand some respect. Crews doesn’t like that and gets a match with Damian Priest tonight.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bronson Reed

Ciampa charges right at him and it doesn’t go so well. Some knees to the head get Ciampa out of a suplex but Reed tosses him outside without much trouble. Reed powers him around until Ciampa slips out of a fireman’s carry into a chinlock. That earns him a big crash back from Reed, giving us a great “OW!” look from Ciampa. Reed sends him outside but Ciampa knees him out of the air and we take a break.

Back with Reed running him over for two more but Ciampa fires off some running forearms. The discus forearm sets up a running Fameasser from behind but Reed isn’t having this being whipped thing. Instead he drops a backsplash on Ciampa and fires off chops, which just seem to wake Ciampa up. Ciampa hits a jumping knee and an Air Raid Crash of all things for two. Cue Shinsuke Nakamura for a distraction, allowing Reed to run Ciampa over again. The Tsunami finishes Ciampa at 12:44.

Rating: C+. Reed getting another win is nice to see but it’s rather depressing to see Ciampa lose, even with a screwy finish. Odds are this is setting up a big showdown with Nakamura (and possibly Reed), which is again more or less the same feud we just finished. For now though, at least Reed is looking like a monster.

We look back at Rhea Ripley attacking Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan, leading to them losing the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Morgan is ready to beat up Ripley tonight. Maybe she gets taken out, but maybe she doesn’t. With Morgan gone, Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville come in to ask why they aren’t being interviewed. That would be because they don’t have a match tonight, but here is Rhea Ripley to stare them off.

Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley

Non-title and Morgan gets jumped during her entrance as the destruction is on outside. Morgan’s arm gets Pillmanized and, despite a medic and referee being there, Ripley does it a second time. No match.

The Alpha Academy want an Academy Rules match with the Viking Raiders. Maxxine Dupri is ready to face Valhalla in her first singles match.

Here is Ricochet to call out Logan Paul, even if Paul doesn’t belong here. Ricochet calls Paul an arrogant little pr***, who does not deserve to be here. The people who are here every week have sacrificed to get to this spot, but Paul just does whatever he wants. The challenge is on for Summerslam and here is Paul to jump him from behind and accept said challenge. As Paul talks to his phone, Ricochet is up with a superkick before taking his own picture.

Shayna Baszler is sick of Ronda Rousey so they’re going to FIGHT at Summerslam.

Logan Paul says that was unprofessional and he’s coming for Ricochet next week.

Damian Priest vs. Apollo Crews

Crews starts fast and hits a dropkick into a high crossbody. Priest is right back with a shot to the head and the big discus forearm drops Crews. A hammerlock lariat sets up South Of Heaven to finish Crews at 3:09.

Rating: C. Pretty much just a squash here for Priest. It’s nice to have him in the ring to keep looking dominant, though there can be such a thing as having someone on television too much in a week. This show has been very heavy on the Judgment Day stuff and I’m not sure this really needed to be on the sow.

Becky Lynch says it isn’t over with Trish Stratus until she wins.

Valhalla and the Viking Raiders are in against the Alpha Academy and Maxxine Dupri.

Here is Imperium for a face to face showdown with Drew McIntyre. The challenge is on for an Intercontinental Title match tonight but Gunther says he’ll humiliate McIntyre at Summerslam instead. Gunther brings up their Summerslam match, with Drew talking about how he and Sheamus have known each other for years (Drew: “I was 19 and Sheamus was about 42.”) and their dream was to face each other at Wrestlemania. That is what they did this year, but Gunther snuck in and stole the win. At Summerslam it’s one on one but Ludwig Kaiser interrupts. Gunther thinks Kaiser should lead Imperium but he’ll settle for a match.

Drew McIntyre vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Kaiser grabs a headlock to start as Graves goes into a Kaiser impression. McIntyre fights back and knocks him to the floor for a chop and a posting. There’s a ram into the barricade and some loud chops but Kaiser manages to post him as well to take over. Back from a break with McIntyre hitting an Air Raid Crash and nipping up, only to have the Claymore cut off by a kick in the general vicinity of his head. Not that it matters as the Claymore finishes Kaiser at 9:34.

Rating: B-. These two beat the fire out of each other for a little while until McIntyre finished him off. Kaiser is a great character and awesome at all of his talking, but he got to show off some in-ring abilities here. It was a pretty nice match and I got into seeing these two beating each other up rather well.

Post match the triple teaming is on, with Matt Riddle coming in for a failed save attempt. McIntyre fights back though and powerbombs Gunther through the announcers’ table.

Ronda Rousey is down to fight Shayna Baszler at Summerslam.

Here is Finn Balor to sign the contract with Seth Rollins. He believes the two of them can handle this like gentlemen with no Adam Pearce so here is Rollins to quite the serenade. Rollins says they can just sign and maybe Balor wins, but Damian Priest is going to cash in on him immediately anyway. Balor hesitates before signing, saying Rollins must think he has all of this figured out.

Cue Judgment Day, with Balor talking about how he has felt helpless for seven years. It’s like an itch you can’t scratch….a seven year itch. At Summerslam, Rollins becomes the seven year b****. Rollins turns the table over but gets beaten down, with Sami Zayn making a failed save attempt. The big beatdown wraps up the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The problem right now is that Summerslam is all but set, and that doesn’t leave much to cover over multiple hours a week. There was some stuff here that got a nice push towards the pay per view, but what we saw was either stuff being confirmed after being all but guaranteed or a slight stronger push or matches already set. That makes for only a pretty ok show, and that’s what we had here.

Results
Becky Lynch b. Zoey Stark – Manhandle Slam
Dominik Mysterio b. Sami Zayn – Rollup with tights
Bronson Reed b. Tommaso Ciampa – Tsunami
Damian Priest b. Apollo Crews – South Of Heaven
Drew McIntyre b. Ludwig Kaiser – Claymore

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 19, 2023
Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We are about two weeks away from Money In The Bank and we now have a World Title match for the show. Finn Balor will be challenging Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Title in London and that should be good enough to carry a lot of things this this week. Logan Paul is back too so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here is Seth Rollins for the open challenge title match but Finn Balor jumps him from behind. The beatdown is on outside, with referees and agents holding Balor back. That doesn’t matter, as he manages three Coup de Graces off the steps to crush Rollins as we take an early break.

Post break Balor jumps Rollins again in the back and has to be held back again.

Here is the Miz to say he’s mad about not getting to accept Rollins’ open challenge. Instead, he’s issuing his own open challenge….and we have someone to accept.

The Miz vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Ciampa jumps Miz to start fast and takes the beating outside. Ciampa drops him onto the cover of the announcers’ table and says he was out nine months and didn’t hear from Miz once (there’s a fast explanation. Back in and some corner clotheslines sets up a missed running knee, allowing Miz to grab a short DDT for two. Miz kicks away in the corner and goes up but gets kneed out of the air. The Fairy Tale Ending gives Ciampa the pin at 4:15.

Rating: C. Get Ciampa out there, let him run through someone, have the fans go nuts, get him out of there. This was about Ciampa making an impact and wrapping up a not so great story with Miz. I could go for more of this version of Ciampa, though unfortunately it wouldn’t shock me to see him back with Johnny Gargano sooner than later. That’s not a bad thing, but this would be better.

Here is Judgment Day for a chat. Finn Balor says Seth Rollins’ open challenge is canceled because of him. If the fans like to sing that song so much, they can sing it at Rollins’ funeral. Rhea Ripley promises Judgment Day domination at Money In The Bank and Damian Priest says Cody Rhodes needs to keep Dominik Mysterio’s name out of his mouth. After getting booed out of the building, Dominik gets out a challenge for a six man tag to Cody and anyone he can find.

We recap the Usos turning on Roman Reigns and the Bloodline.

Sami Zayn tells Kevin Owens that he has an anger problem and makes him a bet: if Owens can go the rest of the night without snapping once, Zayn will leave it alone. If Owens blows up, he has to admit he has a problem. Deal.

Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance

Before the match, we get a Tiktok reel of Chelsea Green going nuts on a lot of people. Chance knocks Green down into the corner to start so it’s quickly off to Carter to beat up both villains. Deville gets dropped quickly and it’s a springboard moonsault/springboard spinning legdrop combination for two. With Green send outside, the Afterparty (450/neckbreaker combination) finishes Deville 2:00.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat on the stage. He accepts Dominik’s challenge. And that’s that.

Indus Sher vs. Cedric Alexander/Shelton Benjamin

Cedric and Shelton start fast and send Sanga outside. A slingshot dive doesn’t work for Alexander so Shelton adds a Blockbuster off the apron to take them down. Alexander gets dropped onto the barricade, leaving Benjamin to get caught with a side slam/middle rope elbow combination for the pin at 2:05.

In the back, Kevin Owens gets doused with some very cold water but manages to keep himself calm. Owens says he has an idiot problem….and runs into Matt Riddle. As Owens bites through his hand because he knows he’s in trouble, Riddle asks if he has seen Honey I Shrunk The Kids. Owens somehow manages to only lose it for a few seconds before wishing Riddle good luck and leaving.

Here is the returning Logan Paul, sitting on a ladder under the Money In The Bank briefcases. Paul talks about how great people come from Cleveland and then they leave. He came back and it still smells like industrial steel and the Browns are still terrible. He and his brother lost their last fights and Miz lost earlier tonight. Now though it is time to put some respect on Cleveland’s name, because he is getting a special invitation into the Money In The Bank ladder match.

Cue Ricochet to interrupt, saying he made Paul go viral at the Royal Rumble. Not that it matters, as he says he’ll win the briefcase anyway. Shinsuke Nakamura, LA Knight and Santos Escobar all interrupt until Butch comes out to start the fight. Paul knocks them to the floor and hits the big flip dive to take them down. Paul gets to climb the ladder, as is custom.

Matt Riddle vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Gunther is here too. Riddle goes for the leg to start but Kaiser takes him into the corner for a right hand. Some chops put Kaiser on the floor but Riddle stops to glare at Gunther, allowing Kaiser to suplex Riddle off the apron to the floor. We take a break and come back with Riddle hitting a top rope superplex for a double knockdown. Riddle strikes away, including a kick to the face. Kaiser is sent outside for a springboard Floating Bro but he comes back with a suplex for two back inside. The middle rope elbow is pulled out of the air, setting up the Bro Derek to give Riddle the pin at 9:09.

Rating: C+. This is why someone like Gunther has lackeys, as Riddle can beat someone with a bit of credibility and build momentum for his eventual title shot. While I can’t imagine Riddle wins the title, it is nice to see someone built up to come after Gunther. The match has potential, and this went well as a way to make Riddle look like a threat.

Post match Gunther goes after Riddle and sweeps the leg without much trouble. Gunther and Kaiser take out Riddle’s knee and leave him laying.

Post break, Riddle is helped to the back.

Imperium interrupts Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, with the latter getting rather annoyed. Zayn gets a message though and they have to leave.

We see an Alpha Academy training session, with Maxxine Dupri being taught the power of hip abilities.

Alpha Academy vs. Viking Raiders

Maxxine Dupri and Valhalla are here too. Gable suplexes Erik down to start so it’s quickly off to Ivar vs. Otis. A corner splash crushes Ivar but the Caterpillar is broken up with a spinning kick. Otis suplexes his way out of trouble though and it’s right back to Gable to strike away at Erik. Gable clotheslines Erik to the floor and moonsaults onto both Vikings. A top rope headbutt gives Gable two back inside and Maxxine suplexes Valhalla. In the melee, Erik hits a knee to Gable for the pin at 4:09.

Rating: C. That ending is certainly a choice as they had the feel good moment with Maxxine using the training to do the suplex and then the Academy, in particular the coach, takes the pin. It’s a weird way to go but for some reason that is the best they have for a match with no stakes. Maxxine feels like a star in the making though and the reactions are getting stronger, so maybe they have something with her.

Damian Priest and Finn Balor are cool with each other but Rhea Ripley has to go deal with Natalya.

Natalya says tonight is another chance to show she still belongs here.

Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya

Ripley jumps her before the bell and the beatdown is on outside. Natalya is whipped into various things and hit with Riptide inside. No match.

Raquel Rodriguez is ready to get into Money In The Bank and runs into Rhea Ripley. Rodriguez says Ripley isn’t ready for her so hope that she doesn’t win.

Akira Tozawa offers to be Cody Rhodes’ partner so he’ll keep that in mind. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn come in, with Zayn saying he got Cody’s text. They’re in.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Raquel Rodriguez vs. Trish Stratus

Zoey Stark is here with Trish. Rodriguez grabs a bearhug to start and throws her down with ease. A missed charge sends Rodriguez into the post though and Trish gets in some strikes to the head to take over. Rodriguez misses a kick in the corner and Trish gets to slug away some more. A camel clutch is broken up and Rodriguez hits a running splash in the corner. Stark’s interference takes Rodriguez down so here is Becky Lynch to go after her. Lynch gets too fired up though and sends Trish into the barricade, drawing the DQ at 5:49.

Rating: C+. These two worked well together, but the match felt like more of a storyline advancement than anything else. Becky knows she screwed up and is going to have to head into Money In The Bank outnumbered by Stratus and Stark. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Rodriguez get in there somehow either, as there might be a spot left in the match if they want to keep even with the men. For now though, we get Trish in a ladder match, which is almost hard to imagine.

The fight continues post match.

Bron Breakker (NXT star facing Seth Rollins for the title tomorrow on NXT) isn’t happy that Rollins might be too hurt to face him. What happened to Rollins tonight is nothing compared to what is coming tomorrow. Maybe the doctors can prescribe him some courage. Either way, get used to seeing Breakker around here.

Becky Lynch is mad at herself, but thinks that having a match with Trish involving ladders could be a lot of fun. She’s either winning, or going down in a blaze of glory and bringing Zoey Stark and Stratus with her.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bronson Reed

Nakamura strikes away to start and does it again in the corner until Reed drops him with one shot. Back up and Nakamura hits the sliding German suplex but here is Ricochet to yell at him as we take a break. We come back with Reed slugging away and hitting a powerslam for two.

Nakamura grabs a choke but Reed powerbombs his way out of trouble. A forearm puts Nakamura on the floor and one heck of a running shoulder drops him again. Hold on though as Reed goes after Ricochet, allowing Nakamura to kick Reed in the head. Nakamura’s charge hits Ricochet though and Reed drops Nakamura fast. The Tsunami gives Reed the pin at 8:28.

Rating: C+. These two work well together and that was on display again here. What matters is having a match that keeps both of them looking strong, though you can probably pencil in the triple threat match with these two and Ricochet for next week. Reed winning gets him some steam back, though it’s a bit strange to have him go over the person actually in Money In The Bank.

Seth Rollins doesn’t care what the doctors say. He’ll defend against Bron Breakker tomorrow night, but as for Finn Balor, Money In The Bank can’t come soon enough.

Cody Rhodes/Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. Judgment Day

Balor works on Rhodes’ arm to start but gets caught in a headlock. Some shoulders in the corner have Rhode sin trouble though and it’s Dominik coming in for a slap to the back. Rhodes scares Dominik away and it’s off to Priest to kick Zayn in the corner. A middle rope elbow to the head gets Zayn out of trouble and it’s Dominik coming back in. Zayn kicks him in the face but Rhea Ripley gets in a cheap shot to put Zayn down as we take a break.

Back with Priest missing a charge into the post but Dominik cuts off the hot tag bid. Zayn fights out of trouble again though and the hot tag brings in Owens to clean house (with the fans going fairly nuts). Dominik tries to run off but gets pulled back inside for the Cannonball. Cody comes back in and powerslams Priest, followed by the Disaster Kick for two.

A Ripley distraction lets Priest hit South of Heaven for two, with Zayn making the save. Hold on as we get a Zayn vs. Ripley staredown, with Ripley having to drop down so Zayn’s dive can hit Dominik. The Cody Cutter gets two on Priest so it’s a Helluva Kick into a Stunner to Dominik. Cross Rhodes finishes Priest at 13:33.

Rating: B. The crowd was on FIRE for this and it made the match that much more entertaining. Priest taking the fall was a little bit odd but Balor is the #1 contender and Dominik is such a heat magnet that I guess they want to protect him. What mattered here was giving the fans a red hot match to end the show and the crowd elevated it to that point, which made for a heck of a closing act. That being said, no payoff to the Owens anger deal? They built that up for most of the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Other than the main event and maybe Paul/Ciampa’s returns, there wasn’t much to be seen this week. What mattered here though was they didn’t do anything stupid and haven’t spent weeks focusing a bunch of time on “building momentum” towards the ladder matches. It felt like a circling the field show before they go to London next week and it did well enough to keep me entertained for three hours. Not a show you need to see, but it could have been a lot worse.

Results
Tommaso Ciampa b. The Miz – Fairy Tale Ending
Kayden Carter/Katana Chance b. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville – Afterparty to Deville
Indus Sher b. Shelton Benjamin/Cedric Alexander – Side slam/middle rope elbow combination to Benjamin
Matt Riddle b. Ludwig Kaiser – Bro Derek
Viking Raiders b. Alpha Academy – Knee to Gable
Bronson Reed b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Tsunami
Cody Rhodes/Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn b. Judgment Day – Cross Rhodes to Priest

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 12, 2023
Location: Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We’re less than three weeks away from Money in the Bank and tonight we have another qualifying match. We also have Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn getting to deal with Imperium, but the bigger story might be Finn Balor coming after Seth Rollins and the World Heavyweight Championship. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here is Rhea Ripley, who is quickly presented with the Women’s World Title (which looks like the World Heavyweight Title but with a white strap). The fans cheer, but here is Dominik Mysterio to put the title around here waist. He calls the booing disrespectful but here is Cody Rhodes to interrupt.

Cody could talk about his match with the Miz, but we look at Dominik calling him a deadbeat dad last week. Dominik slapped him last week but Cody was hoping that Brock Lesnar was coming out here this week. Instead, how about he faces Dominik at Money In The Bank? Rhea accepts for him but cue Miz to jump Cody from behind. Cody drops him but gets jumped by Dominik.

Cody Rhodes vs. The Miz

Miz flips out of an early belly to back suplex but it’s way too early for the Skull Crushing Finale. Instead Cody sends him outside for a Disaster Kick off the apron. The suicide dive connects and Cody grabs an armbar back inside. Cody misses a charge into the post though and Miz sends him into the post as we take a break.

Back with Cody fighting back and hitting a powerslam as Cody vs. Dominik is officially confirmed for Money in the Bank. Another Disaster Kick gives Cody two but Miz kicks him in the arm and gets two off a DDT. The Cody Cutter connects though and Cross Rhodes finishes for Cody at 10:38.

Rating: C+. Cody gets another win as he keeps getting ready for his third showdown with Brock Lesnar, even if that might not take place for a good while. As usual, Miz can be there to take a loss to anyone and look good in defeat. The arm work was a fine enough story here and they had a perfectly watchable match.

Becky Lynch passes the Alpha Academy and Maxxine Dupri working out on her way to the ring.

Here is Lynch in the ring for a chat. She talks about how we have been conditioned to think that the champion is the most important person. Instead, it should be the person with the most power, and who has more power than the person holding that briefcase? That should make the champ scared, but it should make Trish Stratus scared too.

Cue Zoey Stark to interrupt, saying Lynch can’t beat Trish. Lynch says learning from her failures is what made her great, but we haven’t learned much about Stark. She knows Stark is good, but she has no personality. Stark is ready to take Lynch out at Money in the Bank. Lynch says we can do this right now but cue Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville to say they’ll handle this. Zoey did well in her first major promo on the main roster and held her own against a star like Lynch. We’ll also ignore Lynch saying that having a title shot is more important than having the title itself.

Chelsea Green vs. Becky Lynch

Sonya Deville is here with Green, who gets shouldered down to start. We take a break and come back with Lynch fighting out of a chinlock but getting sent face first into the corner. Lynch isn’t having that and counters I’m Prettier. A rollup is countered as well and it’s the Disarm-Her for the tap at 6:28.

Rating: C. Not much to this one as it’s hard to imagine that Lynch is going to be in any kind of danger against Green. Despite coming back to some fanfare, Green hasn’t done much of note so far. That being said, she can still be out there driving people crazy and lose over and over without missing a beat. That’s a good person to have around and Green plays the role well.

We recap last week’s main event, with Seth Rollins retaining the World Title over Damian Priest.

The Judgment Day is in the back and Finn Balor says he has a lot on his mind. Priest does too, like qualifying for the Money in the Bank ladder match. Alone.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Matt Riddle vs. Damian Priest

Riddle goes straight to a Kimura before having to switch to a sleeper. Priest is sent outside where the kick from the apron is cut off, allowing Priest to send him face first into the apron. A huge dive misses for Priest, who goes flying over the announcers’ table. Back inside and Priest hits a lifting Downward Spiral, followed by the knee between Riddle’s shoulders.

Back up and Riddle kicks him in the head, setting up a backsplash to send Priest outside. The springboard Floating Bro takes Priest down and Riddle grabs a bridging German suplex for two back inside. Priest is right back with the Broken Arrow and they’re both down as we take a break.

Back with Riddle pulling him into an ankle lock before switching into another sleeper. Priest drops backwards for the escape and blasts him with a clothesline. Riddle’s springboard is broken up and a hanging headlock driver gives Priest two more. Priest catches him up top but is reversed into a fisherman’s superplex for two. Back up and Priest catches him on the ropes and hits a Razor’s Edge for the pin at 14:20.

Rating: B. This was a hard hitting back and forth fight with Priest winning in the end, which was a bit of a surprise. That being said, Riddle hasn’t exactly had the best success since his return but at least he is doing well in the ring. The fans are reacting to him as well, which means he is probably going to be pretty high up on the card for the time being. If he can have matches like this on a regular basis, I can go for that.

Post match Gunther and Ludvig Kaiser come out to stare down Priest. After a quick look at Priest, Gunther and Kaiser go inside and beat down Riddle.

Cody Rhodes is ready to face Dominik Mysterio at Money in the Bank because it’s a step on the path to finishing the story, just like beating Brock Lesnar again.

Natalya says maybe changing is a good thing because she doesn’t know how to be herself anymore.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are ready to face Imperium, who interrupt them. Owens is ready to get annoyed, to the point where he agrees to make their previously scheduled match for the titles. Gunther chuckles but Sami holds up the titles. Adam Pearce isn’t sure if the match will be for the titles.

We recap the Bloodline issues from Smackdown.

Indus Shera and Jinder Mahal want to hurt Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander again.

Ricochet vs. Bronson Reed

Reed knocks him into the corner to start and here is Shinsuke Nakamura. Ricochet fights back but a tornado DDT is countered into a drop over the top rope. A hard crash off of said ropes leaves Ricochet in trouble as we take a break. Back with Ricochet slipping out of a powerbomb and hitting a jumping kick to the shoulder. Reed gets kicked to the floor for a suicide dive, followed by the springboard crossbody back inside. A Lionsault gives Ricochet two but another moonsault is pulled out of the air, with Reed throwing him at Nakamura. Back in and Nakamura jumps Reed for the DQ at 7:35.

Rating: B-. That is the kind of storyline ending that keeps things going and you might even be able to pencil in a triple threat match after Nakamura faces Reed next week. As for the match itself, it was a rather decent power vs. speed match, as Ricochet is on a nice little roll as of late. Reed is a good monster too, and seeing him run people over is a nice thing to see on a regular basis.

Post match Ricochet is mad at Nakamura for costing him a match, which is a rather fair criticism. Reed runs them over and goes up, only to be pulled back down in a double superplex.

Kevin Owens goes off on Sami Zayn about all of the stress they have been having recently. But don’t worry, because he’s good for out there.

Adam Pearce makes the main event a Tag Team Title match when Ricochet comes in. He wants Bronson Reed next week, but Reed already has Shinsuke Nakamura, who pops in, next week instead. Ricochet asks Nakamura what was up out there and threatens violence if it happens again. Nakamura doesn’t seem threatened.

Here is Finn Balor for a chat. He wants Seth Rollins out here, minus the singalong and jokes, so here is Rollins, complete with singalong. Balor tells everyone to shut up and mentions what he was doing in 2016 before Rollins hurt him. Rollins asks the fans if they’re having fun tonight and they cut Balor off again.

Balor goes over the injuries Rollins gave him in 2016 and now it’s time Balor takes it all back at Money in the Bank. That makes Rollins laugh because he’s glad to see the Balor he has been wanting for seven years. Rollins has changed over the years and is the best version of himself. So which Balor is coming to London? The one who beat him in 2016 has a shot, but this guy is a joke. Balor looks serious to wrap it up. Balor as the challenger of the month at a show filled with ladder matches works just fine, especially with their history.

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shayna Baszler

Ronda Rousey is here too. Baszler grabs a fall away slam to start and powers Baszler into the corner. That’s broken up and Baszler pulls her down, only to have Rousey offer a distraction. Baszler grabs a rollup with an assist from Rousey for the pin at 2:13.

Iron Sheik tribute video.

Erik vs. Chad Gable

Their respective partner/manager are here too. Erik takes him down to start but we pause for Maxxine to armdrag Valhalla on the floor. Maxxine celebrates like nuts and the distraction lets Gable get a sunset flip for the pin at 1:48.

Video on Rhea Ripley.

Finn Balor is talking to JD McDonagh when Damian Priest comes in. They’re both happy with each other’s success but Priest wouldn’t cash in on Balor. Priest says make it work and end this at Money in the Bank.

Seth Rollins is ready for Balor at Money in the Bank and seems to think Priest isn’t happy. He’s so happy that we can just do another open challenge for a title match next week.

Tag Team Titles: Gunther/Ludvig Kaiser vs. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

Gunther and Kaiser are challenging and Gunther powers Sami into the corner to start. Sami manages to knock him outside though and there’s the big running flip dive to take Gunther down. We take a break and come back with Zayn taking Kaiser down into a quickly broken armbar. Sami knocks him down again but it’s off to Gunther off a blind tag. The big boot gives Gunther two and it’s Sami in trouble in the corner. Zayn is draped over the top and kicked down to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Owens getting the tag to clean house, including a t-bone suplex to Gunther. A superkick sets up the Cannonball to Gunther and the Swanton gets two. The Stunner is cut off though and Gunther boots Owens down. The double tag brings in Sami to suplex Kaiser into the corner but Gunther pulls Sami outside.

Gunther’s chop only hits the post though, leaving Kaiser to Death Valley Driver Zayn. Back in and Gunther hits a rather hard lariat for two and the Imperium Bomb gets the same, with Owens having to make the save. Cue Matt Riddle, with the distraction letting Owens take Gunther down on the floor. The Blue Thunder Bomb retains the titles at 18:43.

Rating: B. This was a longer match and it made the titles feel that much more important. Gunther has that aura to him that makes whatever he does seem important and Kaiser is a rather suitable partner. The ending also keeps Riddle vs. Imperium going and actually made the Blue Thunder Bomb feel like a finisher, which has been the case maybe twice ever for Zayn. Good main event here, as Owens and Zayn get another nice title defense.

Overall Rating: B. This was kind of a strange show as it set up some things for Money in the Bank but it didn’t exactly feel important. Maybe that’s because neither match exactly comes off as big, but the ladder matches are going to carry the show anyway. Other than that, you had solid action here though and a lot of stuff did happen. It might not have been great, but it was efficient, and that’s not a bad night.

Results
Cody Rhodes b. The Miz – Cross Rhodes
Becky Lynch b. Chelsea Green – Disarm-Her
Damian Priest b. Matt Riddle – Razor’s Edge
Bronson Reed b. Ricochet via DQ when Shinsuke Nakamura interfered
Shayna Baszler b. Raquel Rodriguez – Rollup with assist from Ronda Rousey
Chad Gable b. Erik – Sunset flip
Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn b. Gunther/Ludvig Kaiser – Blue Thunder Bomb to Kaiser

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 5, 2023
Location: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We’re near WWE’s home this week and it’s a big night as Seth Rollins is defending the World Heavyweight Title against Damian Priest. Other than that, we’ll have some more Money In The Bank qualifying matches and more from Imperium and Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here is Seth Rollins to get things going. It has been a party since he won the title but tonight, he has Damian Priest. Judgment Day is good, but they’re not as good as him. Cue Priest and Finn Balor, with Rollins wondering where Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio are. Priest brags about how awesome he is so Rollins challenges him to make it one on one tonight, with Judgment Day in the back.

Rollins also brings up how things go badly for Finn Balor when they square off, including a poke to the shoulder, which is a rather cruel line given how badly Balor was hurt in their first match. Anyway, Priest say deal and promises to win the title while Rollins can go down in history with one of the shortest reigns ever. Actually it’s already the longest in the history of the title but that’s not the point Priest is going for.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Becky Lynch vs. Sonya Deville

Chelsea Green is here with Deville, who knocks Becky into the corner to start. Some forearms in the corner and against the rope have Becky in trouble but she’s right back with the Bexploder. A middle rope crossbody gives Becky two but cue Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark to watch. The distraction rollup gets two and we take a break.

Back with Deville hitting a superplex for two, followed by the forearm off. Becky starts slugging back but Green offers a distraction, earning herself a heck of a beating on the floor. Deville goes to help and gets sent into the barricade as well (with some hair extensions coming out). Deville’s rollup with feet on the ropes gets two back inside but Becky has had it with this, setting up the Manhandle Slam for the pin at 11:24.

Rating: C+. The interference was needed to help make this match competitive as Deville has never been a big deal in the singles ranks. Winning the Money in the Bank briefcase is about all that there is left for Becky to do in her career so giving her the win here was the way to go. Green and Deville need something to do, but beating Lynch isn’t it.

We look at the Bloodline split on Smackdown.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn won’t say they told you so about the Bloodline, but you get the idea. Imperium pops up, sending Owens into a rant about how no one said their name. Gunther comes in to say Owens is undisciplined so Owens wants to go to the ring right now.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance are ready to party. And wrestle.

Gunther vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title. They go right to the slugout to start with Owens hitting him in the face and knocking Gunther into the corner. Gunther is back with a German suplex and we take a break. We come back with Gunther working on a neck crank and hitting a big boot for two. Another big boot sets up a Boston crab but Owens is back up with a failed suplex attempt.

Instead Gunther blasts him with a clothesline, but Owens is back with some clothesline of his own. They trade German suplexes and both of them are down for a breather. Owens knocks him into the corner for the Cannonball and another near fall. Gunther blasts him with the shotgun dropkick but Owens’ fisherman’s buster gets two.

Back up and Gunther takes him to the top for a single underhook superplex, only to have the big splash hit raised knees. Owens’ Swanton hits Gunther for two but Imperium and Zayn get in a fight on the floor. Kaiser comes inside and gets Stunned, allowing Gunther to roll Owens up for the pin at 17:10.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the fire out of each other and it was a heck of a lot of fun to watch them out there. Gunther can go with anyone and those chops are still great. At the same time, Owens is going to be out there swinging away against anyone and he did thing rather well here. The ending made sense too, as you don’t want Owens taking a clean pin and Gunther rolled him up for a pin rather than hitting him low or something like that. Makes sense, and it suited him well.

Post break, Imperium interrupts Matt Riddle’s interview so Riddle takes Vinci down and hurts his leg before being pulled off. That’s a different Riddle and that’s what he needs to do.

Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler want competition and Kayden Carter/Katana Chance (both about six inches shorter than the champs) come in to ask about a title shot. The champs laugh but sure.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Katana Chance/Kayden Carter vs. Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler

Rousey and Baszler are defending. Baszler takes Chance into the corner to start and it’s off to Rousey, who wants Carter. That’s exactly what she gets as everything breaks down, with Carter and Chance hitting dives out to the floor. Back in and Rousey works on Chance’s arms but Chance fights up and brings Carter in. Carter hits a low superkick to Baszler and a hanging Pedigree, only to get elbowed in the face. Rousey comes back in but gets caught in the neckbreaker/450 combination (Carter/Chance’s finisher) for two, with Baszler making the save. Baszler has had enough and chokes out Carter to retain at 6:42.

Rating: C+. This was a weird one as you had the newcomers trying to get their start but being up against a couple of monsters in Rousey/Baszler. Carter and Chance did look good in defeat, but having a loss in their main roster debut isn’t the best look. Rousey and Baszler are likely going to be the champs for at least a bit as not only are they dominant, but there is no one out there to give them a serious challenge at the moment. Maybe there is some kind of a big twist coming, but for now, we could be seeing Baszler and Rousey with the titles for a long time.

Bronson Reed isn’t happy that Ricochet is in the Money in the Bank ladder match instead of him. Ricochet said he earned his shot and Reed lost his, but Reed says he was dominating until….and here is Nakamura to interrupt. Reed leaves, saying next time would be different.

Video on Johnny Gargano’s rise through NXT and road here, despite being told he had no place in WWE. This Gargano is more interesting than whatever else he’s been doing lately.

Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Ricochet grabs a headlock to start but gets his leg kicked out. Nakamura kicks him down again but gets knocked off the top and out to the floor in a crash. Ricochet’s big running flip dive connects and Nakamura is down as we take a break. Back with Ricochet knocking Nakamura down and hitting the running shooting star press for two. Nakamura takes him into the corner for Good Vibrations but Kinshasa is countered with the Recoil. Ricochet gets caught up top but here is Bronson Reed to jump Nakamura for the DQ at 8:07.

Rating: C+. They were both talented stars in the ring and got to show themselves off a bit here, but there is only so much you can do in an eight minute match with about four minutes of that being in a break. Throw in that this is the first of the still idiotic “building momentum to Money in the Bank” (because getting a pinfall or submission somehow makes it easier to climb a ladder) matches and they did rather well with a good number of factors making it harder.

Post match the destruction is on, with Ricochet getting crushed with the Tsunami. Fans: “ONE MORE TIME!” Reed: Nah.

We look at Maxxine Dupri being chased off by Valhalla last week.

Maxxine Dupri and Chad gable aren’t sure what to do about the Viking Raiders, but Otis seems to have a plan. Dupri is ready to train and has the perfect outfit in her locker.

It’s time for MizTV with Miz wasting no time in bringing out Cody Rhodes. Miz: “You look dashing tonight.” Miz brings up Rhodes challenging Brock Lesnar to a fight anytime, which Miz thinks is rather stupid. Cody: “Mike….” Miz: “In this ring, it’s the Miz. First name The, second name Miz.” Instead, Cody has been told it was brave, not that Miz would know anything about large testicles.

Miz talks about how we love surprises around here, so here are Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley. After Ripley shushes Miz (Miz: “Yes ma’am”.), Dominik deals with quite the chorus of booing to get to his point: Cody is a bad father. Dom compared him to Rey Mysterio, but Cody says that Dominik was in jail for about 15 minutes. Cody: “You even have a worse prison tattoo than mine.”

Then Dominik got a public spanking at Wrestlemania. Dominik slaps Cody and then hides behind Ripley when Cody comes after him. Cody drops Miz with a cast shot to blow off some steam. Funny stuff here, and Cody needs something to do until Lesnar gets back. If nothing else, Dominik going against another high level opponent is a good thing, as it tells me WWE has faith in him.

We look back at the opening sequence.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Zoey Stark vs. Natalya

Trish Stratus is here with Stark. Natalya takes her down by the arm to start but Stark fights up and goes after the knee. Stark stomps on said knee as Trish seems to think this is rather intelligent. Some knees to the ribs have Natalya in more trouble but she armdrags her way out. A German suplex drops Stark for two and the Sharpshooter goes on. Stark makes the ropes so Natalya yells at Trish, who kicks her in the knee. The Z36 finishes Natalya at 3:45.

Rating: C. It’s a Natalya match without much time so I think you know what you’re getting here. As has been the case for….oh the last five years or so, Natalya is as smooth of an in-ring worker as you can get and there is very little reason to get interested in anything she is doing. She’s there to put people over and make them look good, which she often does, but the lack of excitement over her being in the ring doesn’t help things whatsoever.

Paul Heyman invites us to hear Jey Uso’s decision this week on Smackdown. This week, Jey will choose to stand by his brother Solo, because he can share a womb with Jimmy, but he’ll never be closer to him than he will be to Roman Reigns.

Indus Sher vs. Cedric Alexander/Shelton Benjamin

Indus Sher jumps them before the bell and lays Cedric out. No match.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Damian Priest

Rollins is defending and takes Priest down fast to start, meaning we go to a break in less than a minute. Back with Rollins taking him to the floor but being sent into the timekeeper’s area. Rollins dive is punched out of the air, followed by a superkick back inside. We hit the chinlock for a bit, followed by a double arm crank to keep Rollins in trouble. Rollins fights up and hits a few shots, followed by a backbreaker.

The frog splash misses though and Priest kicks Rollins in the head. Rollins knocks him to the floor but the suicide dive is countered into a Downward Spiral onto the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Rollins hitting the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two. Three straight suicide dives send Priest over the announcers’ table and the frog splash gives Rollins two back inside.

Priest is back up with a headlock driver for the same and a spinning kick to the head catches Rollins on top. A super hurricanrana brings Rollins down for two but he’s back with a Pedigree for the same. They go to the floor and a barricade powerbomb hits Priest, followed by a superkick to cut off an interfering Finn Balor. Priest hits South of Heaven for a slightly delayed two back inside. Rollins is back with a superkick though and the Stomp retains the title at 21:53.

Rating: B. The match was the good stuff you would expect in this spot, but they are hammering in the “workhorse title” concept like something that is hammed in rather quickly and often. Rollins beating Roman Reigns by DQ about a year and a half ago doesn’t make him feel like the other World Champion, but rather trying to make the Intercontinental Title feel like a big deal when Brock Lesnar wasn’t around. I’ll certainly take Rollins having one good match after another, but this “it’s the other World Title” stuff is going to feel lame until Reigns gets beaten, which could take a very long time.

Rollins and Balor have a staredown to end the show. Because Rollins is going to have to defend against him next, because it’s the WORKHORSE TITLE you see.

Overall Rating: B. All in all, this was a rather good Raw, as they took care of some stuff for Money in the Bank with the qualifiers, gave us a pair of very strong matches and didn’t do anything overly stupid. Cody even made fun of his own tattoo to throw in some comedy. This show worked, and I’ll absolutely take it as the offering from one of WWE’s brands for a weekly show.

Results
Becky Lynch b. Sonya Deville – Manhandle Slam
Gunther b. Kevin Owens – Rollup
Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler b. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance – Kirifuda Clutch to Carter
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Ricochet via DQ when Bronson Reed interfered
Zoey Stark b. Natalya – Z360
Seth Rollins b. Damian Priest – Stomp

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 22, 2023
Location: Giant Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

It’s the go home Raw for Night Of Champions and that means it is time for the final push towards the show. That might be a little tricky since there are three main events, all of which are only half Raw stars. Maybe they have a way to draw in some interest tonight otherwise so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open in the back with Brock Lesnar beating down Cody Rhodes. The beating goes on for a bit and Rhodes is left laying, including his arm being crushed against a door with a keg (similar to what he did to Undertaker about 20 years ago).

Here is Paul Heyman in the ring to say he had nothing to do with that beating. That’s just the kind of thing you can expect to see at Night Of Champions (Note that Heyman said the show is on Saturday at 1pm. That’s more detail than you often get from WWE and I have no idea why it’s that much to ask. You want people to watch the show. Let us know when we can do so.), where there will be three main events.

This includes the Bloodline taking the Tag Team Titles from Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, who come to the ring as Heyman leaves. Zayn: “Where did Heyman go?” Sami talks about their title defense on Saturday but he has already said everything he has to say to Reigns’ face. Tonight they have a six man tag match and here is Imperium to interrupt. Matt Riddle runs in to even things up and Gunther calls the troops off. Imperium charges back in and are promptly kicked out to fight another day. Or probably later tonight.

Ricochet vs. Bronson Reed

Earlier today, Reed blamed Ricochet for losing the battle royal last week. Suffering is promised. Reed misses a charge into the corner to start so Ricochet kicks the knee out to stagger him. Ricochet scores with an enziguri but gets run over, setting up the rolling splash to crush Ricochet down.

We take a break and come back with Ricochet slipping out of a suplex to hammer away at the head. The standing moonsault gets two but Ricochet gets knocked to the floor. Reed’s dive off the apron misses though and they head back inside, where Ricochet’s springboard is broken up. That’s enough to set up the Tsunami for the pin at 8:29.

Rating: C+. There’s always room for a big man vs. little man match and that’s what we had here. These two worked well together and had a nice match, as Ricochet tried to keep the pace up but ultimately got crushed by Reed. There is some serious potential for a monster with Reed’s athleticism and we very well may be seeing him get a heck of a push sooner rather than later.

Apollo Crews is back but gets cut off by Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley. Dominik isn’t happy that Crews is getting this time, but Ripley is apparently scheduled next. Dominik: “Apollo who?” Crews isn’t impressed, only to have Ripley talk about how she is going to beat Natalya at Night Of Champions. Crews still isn’t cool with this and seems to get a match with Dominik tonight.

We get part three of the Seth Rollins interview. Rollins loves Roman Reigns but doesn’t like him. We see some clips of the Shield days (or at least 2/3 of them) but that’s not the Reigns that we’re seeing today. Rollins has no respect for this Reigns, who has been poisoned by his own ego. Raw can be a different place with Rollins on top. Someone has to take his place when he’s gone or when Reigns is gone and that’s who he wants to rise up. He’s ready for AJ Styles at Night Of Champions. He also sounds like he’s ready for some major showdown with Reigns down the line. Maybe even after Reigns costs him the title?

We look at Shinsuke Nakamura arguing with Judgment Day last week on Raw Talk.

Damian Priest yells in Spanish about Nakamura.

Video on Zoey Stark, who trains a lot and is ready to end our heroes.

Zoey Stark vs. Candice LeRae

Stark drives her into the corner to start and hammers away on the mat. The chinlock goes on but here is Nikki Cross to cheer LeRae on. LeRae knocks her to the floor and hits a springboard dive, only to have Nikki celebrate with her (against LeRae’s will). The distraction lets Stark send them both into the steps. Back in and the Z360 (Stark picks her up and backflips her into a knee to the chest) finishes LeRae at 2:29. Solid squash for Stark.

Mustafa Ali can’t bring himself to say anything positive about Night Of Champions. He has always tried but only come close over and over. No one believes he can do it….and Brock Lesnar walks past him on the way to the ring. Lesnar: “Get a life kid.” And with that, Lesnar heads into the arena, as Ali should probably hope he has a shovel to get out of the grave Lesnar just buried him inside.

Lesnar asks what we want to talk about. The thing is, Cody Rhodes is not going to be able to wrestle at Night Of Champions, but don’t worry. Lesnar is going to issue an open challenge for Night Of Champions, and all you have to do is step up right now. Cue Cody Rhodes with his arm in a sling and a big bag of ice under it but referees and Adam Pearce beg him not to do it. Cody gets in anyway, but Brock quickly Kimuras him and seems to break the arm. Lesnar steps on the arm to make it worse before leaving (and drops his hat on the way out).

Alpha Academy vs. Viking Raiders

Maxxine Dupri and Valhalla are here too. Erik blocks Gable’s flying headscissors (complete with a THANK YOU) to start but gets armdragged into an armbar. The Vikings be clubbering on Gable as the fans want Otis. Instead they get Gable taking another beating from both Vikings until he rolls over for the hot tag to bring in Otis. House is quickly wrecked and the Caterpillar hits Erik. Gable gets kneed in the face but knocks Ivar off the top as Valhalla chases Dupri off. A bridging rollup finishes Erik at 4:54.

Rating: C. So I guess Otis is just going to be with both Gable and Dupri, which is better than picking a side….I think? Either way, it’s more of the best thing they can do with Otis as he’s really only succeeded at oddball comedy. Other than that, this was another run of the mill Academy match, which they have perfected by being on TV pretty much every week for what feels like the last ninety four years.

Cody Rhodes refuses medical attention and still wants to fight Brock Lesnar.

Indus Sher is menacing and threatening.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Finn Balor

Damian Priest is here with Balor. Feeling out process to start with Balor taking him down and working on the wristlock. A headscissors keeps Nakamura in trouble and Balor slams his leg down onto Nakamura’s face. Back up and Nakamura hits the running knee to the ribs in the corner but Priest gets in a clothesline on the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Nakamura fighting out of a chinlock and screaming at Balor a bit. Nakamura sends him into the corner for the sliding German suplex and then tells Priest to COME ON. Priest chases him back inside, where Nakamura hits a spinning kick to the head for two.

The Sling Blade looks to set up Kinshasa but Balor reverses with the standing double stomp. It’s too early for the Coup de Grace though and they’re both down for a breather. Priest pulls Balor away from Kinshasa though, earning himself a clothesline into the timekeeper’s area. Balor scores with a quick dropkick and now the Coup de Grace finishes Nakamura at 11:21.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of “well, what were you expecting?”. Was there any doubt that Balor and Nakamura were going to have a good match together? I’m not wild on Nakamura losing again, but there are certain things you just get used to in wrestling. Balor gets a boost back up the ladder, but there is little reason to believe that anything he does is going to stick these days. For now, I’ll settle for just having a nice match.

We look at Liv Morgan’s shoulder injury, which forced the Women’s Tag Team Titles to be vacated.

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Sonya Deville

Chelsea Green is here with Deville and offers a quick distraction so Deville can jump Rodriguez from behind to start. A middle rope knee to the face drops Rodriguez for two but she runs Deville over. The corkscrew Vader Bomb connects and the Texana Bomb finishes for Rodriguez at 1:48.

Post match the double team beatdown is on but Shotzi runs in for the save.

Trish Stratus is here for the contract signing and suggests that Adam Pearce put a no touch clause in effect for her contract signing with Becky Lynch. That’s a negative actually.

Video on Matt Riddle.

It’s time for the contract signing between Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch. Becky, in some odd sunglasses (they look like hands covering her eyes), signs before Trish comes out and then tells her to get out here. Cue Trish to say Becky was a lot more eager to sign than it was to come back to Raw after she kicked Becky in the head.

This is Trish’s first contract signing and she wants to savor it here….wherever we are. Trish is back to be the biggest star again and she won’t need a broken nose to do it (Becky is still sitting still and not looking at Trish whatsoever). We’re not done as Trish talks about how Becky’s worst enemy was herself. Trish signs, saying that this is going to be Becky’s last contract signing. Becky says Trish is scared of time passing her by, because the fans remember her being better than she is.

If Trish wants her flowers, Becky says “Thank You Trish”, for being everything Becky doesn’t want to be. Trish can stab people in the back and Becky will hit them in the face. Becky has had a career that Trish can only dream of, while Trish has done things that would embarrass Becky horrible. If she thinks barking like a dog was embarrassing, just wait for what Becky does at Night Of Champions. Trish turns the table over and leaves. This made it feel a lot more personal and that is what the feud needed.

We look at Brock Lesnar beating Cody Rhodes down earlier tonight (twice).

Adam Pearce is on the phone with someone and reiterates that Cody Rhodes will not accept any medical attention.

Shotzi and Raquel Rodriguez are a team and they’ll win the Tag Team Titles next week.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Apollo Crews

Rhea Ripley is here with Dominik. Crews starts fast with a suplex into a delayed gorilla press for two. Dominik catches him on top though and takes Crews down for the stomping. A suplex gives Dominik two and we’re off to the chinlock. Crews fights up and hits something close to a Blockbuster, followed by a middle rope crossbody for two of his own. They head to the floor where a clothesline hits Dominik but Ripley offers a distraction. Dominik trips him into the steps for a nine count, followed by the frog splash to give Dominik the pin at 4:56.

Rating: C. This is the kind of match that makes me wonder how far Dominik can go. While he’s not his dad in the ring, he’s certainly able to wrestle a competent match and is far from some joke that was turned into a heat magnet. Dominik gets amazing reactions from the crowd and does well enough in the ring to back it up. You don’t get that kind of a combination very often and he is making it work.

Video on AJ Styles.

We get the final part of the Seth Rollins interview. As Rollins said when he started, he but he wants to change things around here and this is his moment to do something special. He’s going all in for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Night Of Champions rundown. Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya is official.

Imperium vs. Matt Riddle/Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

Kaiser strikes Zayn into the corner to start but Zayn takes him over for the tag to Riddle. Vinci comes in as well and strikes away at Riddle, who sends him flying with a gutwrench suplex. It’s off to Gunther, who blocks Riddle’s double leg but can’t block the kicks to the chest. We take a break and come back with Gunther blasting Riddle for two before hitting a heck of a clothesline. Riddle enziguris his way to freedom though and the tag brings Owens in.

House is cleaned, including a Cannonball to Vinci, but Owens is knocked off the apron for a crash as we take a break. Back with Owens hitting a frog splash to Vinci, setting up the desperation tag to Zayn. The Helluva Kick is blocked though and Gunther chops the heck out of Zayn. A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Zayn two on Gunther as everything breaks down again. Owens Stuns Vinci but Gunther cuts off the Helluva Kick with a sleeper. Riddle breaks it up with the Floating Bro before throwing Gunther over the announcers’ table. That leaves Zayn to Helluva Kick Vinci, setting up Owens’ Swanton for the pin at 15:18.

Rating: B. I could have gone for a more complete version of this without losing so much time due to the two breaks. Owens and Zayn get some momentum heading into Night Of Champions, Gunther still looks like a monster and the match was good as a bonus. Not a bad use of a main event match and everyone did what they needed to do.

HHH comes in to see Cody Rhodes, who still refuses medical attention. They both know Cody’s arm is broken but he is NOT afraid. No one is questioning Cody’s bravery but he brings up what HHH has done before. Cody is going to Night Of Champions to fight Brock Lesnar. HHH finally accepts it and leaves to end the show. They’re pushing this Cody match hard but him winning on another fluke sounds pretty insane.

Overall Rating: B-. The show wasn’t bad at all but there were some dull stretches that dragged it out. In other words, it’s what I once dubbed the Raw Special: a solid two hour show that was stretched out to three hours and lost a lot of steam as a result. Night Of Champions should be a good show, but there are some matches that haven’t quite made it to must see, or even want to see, territory. This Raw didn’t exactly help that and while the action was good, it needed something else to really make it a smash.

Results
Bronson Reed b. Ricochet – Tsunami
Zoey Stark b. Candice LeRae – Z360
Alpha Academy b. Viking Raiders – Bridging rollup to Erik
Finn Balor b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Coup de Grace
Raquel Rodriguez b. Sonya Deville – Tejana Bomb
Dominik Mysterio b. Apollo Crews – Frog splash
Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn/Matt Riddle b. Imperium – Swanton Bomb to Vinci

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 8, 2023
Location: Vystar Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

It’s tournament time as we are getting at least two matches in the tournament to crown a new World Heavyweight Champion. In addition, we have the new Raw roster after the Draft so everything needs to settle in. On top of that, it’s also the first show after Backlash so we could be in for a very busy night. Let’s get to it.

Here is Backlash if you need a recap.

We open with a look at the people involved in the tournament, all of whom could be the first World Champion.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. He is happy to be back in Jacksonville, where he helped make a lot of memories during the pandemic. In addition, after Backlash, Cody knows what Brock Lesnar is made of. How you ask? It was all over his hands, but he won anyway. With Lesnar in the rear view mirror, it’s time for the tournament, which will not end until Rhodes is announced as the new champion. We see the brackets, and now, LET THE TOURNAMENT BEGIN!

World Heavyweight Championship Tournament First Round: Damian Priest vs. Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Before the match, we get a look at Bad Bunny beating Damian Priest at Backlash. As a result, Priest is ready to win the match because either he or Finn Balor is going to be the next champion. Priest starts fast and knocks both of them into a corner. Some running shoulders connect but Nakamura is back with a kick to the head. Rollins knocks Priest outside and a quick double teaming puts him down again as we take a break.

Back with Priest and Rollins slugging it out until Nakamura comes back in. Rollins knocks both of them outside and the suicide dives are on. They get back in and Priest misses a charge in the corner, allowing Nakamura to hit his running knee in the corner. Priest punches Nakamura down though and hits a lifting Downward Spiral for two on Rollins. Nakamura kicks both of them down but can’t followup and we get a breather.

Some kicks drop Priest and Rollins knocks Nakamura down as well. Priest is back up to crotch Rollins on top but seems to be favoring his knee a bit. Rollins is fine enough to Stomp Priest for two, with Nakamura making the save. Priest clotheslines Nakamura down and sends Rollins outside, only to get pulled into a kneebar from Nakamura. Rollins breaks that up and Pedigrees Nakamura to advance at 13:14.

Rating: B. It was a match that has been done better before, but what matters is that it felt like a match that mattered. There was an atmosphere to this one and it made the match that much more interesting. I’m not sure how much sense it makes for Nakamura to get pinned on his debut, but at least they got the most logical winner.

Imperium warns everyone that Gunther will arrive next week before running into Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens. They aren’t interested, but Imperium doesn’t like the disrespect. Sami says they can come back in five minutes but gets a finger in his face. Imperium says they can take the titles but Owens wants to know what is up with these people having henchmen and the challenge is on for tonight.

Otis vs. Mustafa Ali

Maxxine Dupri and Chad Gable are here with Otis, who shoulders Ali down without much effort. Ali fights back up but gets crushed in the corner again. Otis loads up the Caterpillar but Gable and Dupri argue over whether or not he should. Instead Otis misses a charge into the post, allowing Ali to hit the 450 for the pin at 2:16. We seem to get one step closer to Otis having to decide and that could make for an interesting moment.

The Miz promises to win the tournament and the title.

World Heavyweight Championship Tournament First Round: The Miz vs. Finn Balor vs. Cody Rhodes

They start fast with Balor clotheslining Rhodes, allowing Miz to get two off a rollup. Cody sends both of them outside for the big suicide dive and we take a break. Back with Rhodes dropkicking both of them down, setting up a double Cody Cutter (almost Cody Stunner). There’s the Disaster Kick for two on Balor but Miz is back in to take them both down.

The Skull Crushing Finale doesn’t work on Cody, who clotheslines Miz to the floor. Balor takes Cody down but misses the Coup de Grace, allowing Miz to hit the Finale for two. Rhodes breaks that up and hits the series of Cross Rhodes on Miz….but here is Brock Lesnar to pull Cody out. The F5 drops Rhodes, leaving Balor to hit the Coup de Grace on Miz to advance at 9:34.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t quite as good as the opener, but Balor vs. Rollins should make for a fine showdown. Miz was there to take the fall and Lesnar was there to take out Cody, which makes sense for him after Backlash. This was more about getting Rollins an opponent than anything else, but it worked well for what they could do.

Post match Lesnar grabs the mic and says look at this face (complete with stitches on the forehead) before asking what Cody wants to talk about. Lesnar wants to talk about ME ME ME because he wants a fight with Cody at Night of Champions. Lesnar leaves as Cody is tended to. That’s about par for the course from Lesnar, who is somehow one of the more logical people in WWE.

Rhea Ripley vs. Dana Brooke

Non-title. Ripley knocks her down to start and shrugs off a quick comeback attempt. The Riptide into the Prism Trap finishes Brooke at 1:39.

Post match Ripley hits another Riptide into the Prism Trap and…..Natalya makes the save. I have no idea who thinks Ripley having to face Natalya is a good thing, but that’s what we seem to be getting now, because Natalya must be around no matter what.

Video on the NXT stars coming up to the main roster via the Draft.

Zoey Stark doesn’t seem impressed by Nikki Cross’ general existence, setting up a match for later.

We look at last week’s European tour.

Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. Imperium

Non-title. Sami works on Kaiser’s arm to start but it’s off to Vinci. A clothesline takes him down but Vinci hits one of his own to take over. We take a break and come back with Zayn kicking Vinci away, allowing the tag to Owens to clean house. The Swanton gets two with Vinci making a save, setting up a clothesline/legsweep combination for two on Owens. A double clotheslines allows….almost a double tag as Vinci knocks Sami off the apron just in time. The Imperial Bomb is blocked and Owens Stuns Kaiser to the floor. A superkick to Vinci sets up the Helluva Kick for the pin at 9:50.

Rating: B-. Another loss for newcomers, albeit to bigger stars. You don’t want Owens and Zayn losing, but it might not have been the brightest idea to have them facing Imperium in their first week on the new roster. Owens and Zayn need challengers and Imperium isn’t likely to be part of that list at the moment. Why burn someone off that fast?

Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green have a petition to get a Women’s Tag Team Title shot but Indi Hartwell, Dexter Lumis, Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano (all previously part of The Way in NXT) aren’t convinced.

We look at the Bloodline defeating Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn/Matt Riddle at Backlash.

Zoey Stark vs. Nikki Cross

Stark starts fast with a hard clothesline and a springboard flip dive makes it worse. A chinlock doesn’t last long for Stark but she superkicks Cross back down. The Z360 (a flip into a knee to the face) finishes Cross at 2:20.

Rhea Ripley, with Dominik Mysterio, is asked about feeling pressure but Xavier Woods and Akira Tozawa interrupt. Dominik vs. Woods is made for later, with Rhea accepting on “Dom Dom’s” behalf.

Here is Trish Stratus (with a Becky Lynch missing person shirt on) to say she is concerned about how Lynch is missing. Everyone should be saying “Thank You Trish” for trying to find her, but at the end of it all, she is going to be found in some corner of Iowa, crying again. No one is going to steal Trish’s spotlight but here is Becky……’s music for a fake out. Trish talks about her daughter wanting a doll that she was going to call Becky Lynch, because she was pretty and….now the real Becky comes out to wreck Trish in a hurry.

Cody Rhodes is getting checked on in the trainer’s room with Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens staying with him.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Xavier Woods

Rhea Ripley is here too. Woods grabs a headlock to slow Mysterio down to start, followed by a dropkick to make it better. Dominik sends him into the corner and blows a kiss to Ripley, only to have Woods break up the 619. Woods’ running knees to the back set up a high crossbody but Dominik sends him over the top and down onto the steps as we take a break.

Back with Woods fighting back and hitting the Honor Roll to drop Mysterio. A springboard tornado DDT plants Mysterio again but Woods gets elbowed in the face. Woods manages to drape him over the top for a middle rope dropkick to the back. The Limit Breaker misses though and Dominik grabs a rollup (with tights) for the pin at 10:36.

Rating: C. Not much to see here as it was a thrown together way to get Dominik a win. That’s not a bad thing either, as he has to have something other than his feud with Rey to do around here. You also have to give him some wins over some credible opponents, such as here or the one over Johnny Gargano a few weeks ago. It might not have been the most exciting, but it can pay some dividends.

Jinder Mahal and Indus Shera are all menacing and evil.

Miz yells at Shinsuke Nakamura for not having his back. Nakamura sets up a match between them for next week, promising that it will be awesome.

Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville continue looking for signatures but run into Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. They two of them would be happy to sign, which has the villains rather happy. Apparently the petition is for a match with Damage Ctrl. Ok then.

Cody Rhodes is all upset but now Brock Lesnar has attacked him from behind twice for no reason. Is it because he’s all upset about not being the star anymore? That’s why Brock is attacking him, so let’s fight.

World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinals: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins grabs a hammerlock to start as commentary talks about their Summerslam 2016 Universal Title match. Balor fights back and takes him to the floor, where a powerbomb against the barricade (how Rollins hurt Balor in 2016) drops Rollins and we take a break. Back with Rollins getting in a shot of his own but the frog splash (while favoring the arm) only hits raised knees.

Balor goes to the Fujiwara armbar but Rollins slips out and hits a superkick for two. They head back to the floor and ram each other into the apron, with Rollins getting the better of things. Back in and an exchange of kicks to the head gives us a double knockdown but Balor rolls through for the double stomp to take over. The Coup de Grace is broken up with a superplex but the Falcon Arrow is countered into 1916 for two more. Rollins pulls him down and hits a one armed Pedigree for two, followed by the Stomp for the pin at 13:45.

Rating: B. These two having a good match isn’t shocking in the slightest as they’re both that talented. Rollins continues to feel like the logical choice to win the whole thing, if nothing else because of the resume that he already has. It would give the title some instant credibility, if nothing else because he is the one guy that Reigns hasn’t beaten during the title run. For now though, at least he had a heck of a match here with Balor, who can make almost anyone look good.

Overall Rating: B. This was a rather strange show as it was focused around the tournament, which was quite good, but everything else felt like they were hitting the reset button. Some new stars were introduced and a lot of them lost, while some of them were thrown into matches which were made earlier in the day. It felt like the setup for this show was “it’s tournament night” and the rest of the details were just kind of thrown together. The action carried this show well, but I’m not exactly thrilled with where everything else might be going in the next few weeks.

Results
Seth Rollins b. Shinsuke Nakamura and Damian Priest – Pedigree to Nakamura
Mustafa Ali b. Otis – 450
Finn Balor b. The Miz and Cody Rhodes – Coup de Grace to Miz
Rhea Ripley b. Dana Brooke – Prism Trap
Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn b. Imperium – Helluva Kick to Vinci
Zoey Stark b. Nikki Cross – Z360
Dominik Mysterio b. Xavier Woods – Rollup with tights
Seth Rollins b. Finn Balor – Stomp

WWE, 2023, Monday Night Raw, Otis, Chad Gable, Maxxine Dupri, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Imperium, Cody Rhodes, Damian Priest, Seth Rollins, Shinsuke Nakamura, Mustafa Ali, The Miz, Finn Balor, Rhea Ripley, Dana Brooke, Natalya, Zoey Stark, Nikki Cross, Chelsea Green Sonya Deville, Xia Li, Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell, Dexter Lumis, Trish Stratus, Dominik Mysterio, Xavier Woods, Akira Tozawa, Indus Sher, Jinder Mahal, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez,

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 24, 2023
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We’re less than two weeks away from Backlash but more importantly (maybe) we are only a few days away from the Draft. That means things could be all over the place this week, as Smackdown didn’t exactly feel like the most important show. Bad Bunny is back too and that probably means a match needs to be set up. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Cody Rhodes to get things going. Rhodes asks what we want to talk about, first suggesting the Draft, before moving on to talking about Brock Lesnar and Backlash. Lesnar is one of the most decorated combat sports athlete of all time, which is why he waited for Rhodes’ back to be turned before attacking him.

We see some stills of the attack before Rhodes takes off his shirt to reveal the scar from his torn pectoral muscle. We’re in the same building where he beat Seth Rollins inside the Cell with that injury and no he has not watched the match back. Rhodes tells Lesnar to pick another spot on him to put the next scar because Rhodes can overcome that one too. That night, he had a sold out arena carry him to the finish line on their shoulders. If he never gets another chance to say it, thank you to the fans who were there that night.

Cue Finn Balor of all people to interrupt to talk about how everyone has scars. Rhodes went into a fight with Lesnar without backup but Rhodes says he isn’t buying anything Balor is selling. Balor asks Rhodes to hear him out and says joining the Judgment Day would be great. The fans are NOT pleased and Rhodes, respectfully, declines the offer. Balor tells Rhodes to watch his own match because you’re either with them or against them. The threat to knock the bleach out of Rhodes’ head has Rhodes chuckling and the challenge is on for tonight. We seem to have a main event as Balor leaves.

Bloodline vs. LWO

That would be the Usos/Solo Sikoa vs. Joaquin Wilde/Cruz del Toro/Santos Escobar. Wilde gets taken into the wrong corner to start and it’s quickly off to Sikoa to run them over. The Usos are cleared out rather quickly though and the non-Escobar LWO hit running flip dives, followed by Escobar’s non-flip dive to take Sikoa down.

We take a break and come back with Wilde hitting a desperation tornado DDT on Sikoa. Escobar comes back in to clean house, including a jumping knee to Jimmy. A high crossbody gets two on Jimmy and del Toro adds a rope walk dropkick for two. Everything breaks down and Sikoa plants del Toro on the apron. Back in and Jimmy gets knocked into the corner but Sikoa runs in to Spike Del Toro out of the air in a great crash. The 1D finishes Del Toro at 8:34.

Rating: B-. The ending alone (with the Spike landing more around the jaw) made this worth it but there is always room for some talented luchadors to go out there and do their thing. That is what we had here and I could go for more of it, or at least the LWO not losing so often. Sikoa gets another highlight reel moment though and Escobar didn’t get pinned, so maybe the LWO isn’t falling as fast as they seem to be.

Post match the Usos say Wrestlemania was one bad night but they’re taking the titles back on Smackdown.

Bianca Belair is ready for Iyo Sky at Backlash but Damage Ctrl comes in so Bayley can laugh at her. Sky eventually cuts them off and yells at Belair, which is apparently a challenge for a six woman tag.

Jey Uso is on the phone about how big of a win they just had when Sami Zayn pops in. Zayn laughs off the idea of the title match being dedicated to Roman Reigns, because it should be for the Usos. So what happens if the Usos lose after putting Reigns’ name on the match? It won’t be good, and Jey doesn’t deserve that. Jey wants to know why Zayn is saying that, with Zayn saying it’s because he feels bad. Jey doesn’t want to hear that because they have both made their choice.

We recap Trish Stratus’ big evil explanation from last week.

Stratus talks about how Becky Lynch isn’t here tonight because she is cracking underneath the pressures of being a star and a mom. While Stratus knows what it’s like to do that and thrives under it, Lynch needed a break. She also needs to say “thank you Trish”.

Street Profits vs. Cedric Alexander/Shelton Benjamin

Ford punches away at Benjamin to start and gets powerbombed for his efforts. Alexander comes in to hammer away but Ford is back with a jumping enziguri to drop Benjamin. The diving tag (a minute and ten seconds in) brings Dawkins in to pick up the pace, including the spinning splash to Alexander in the corner. Everything breaks down and a spinebuster into the Cash Out gives Ford the pin at 2:17.

Post match the Profits get to pose a bit more, which feels a bit like a farewell (or like what we are supposed to believe is a farewell).

Here is HHH for a major announcement. HHH talks about how he got to wrestle at a high level in front of these people, including at Wrestlemania XXII, where he defended the WWE Title (no he didn’t) against John Cena. Tonight, he is here to talk about Roman Reigns, who is coming up on 1,000 days as Universal Champion. Reigns has defended the title against all comers and after thirty years, HHH has seen very few who can hang with him.

Sometime along that 1,000 days, Reigns dis something very smart: he negotiated himself into a position where he did not have to defend the title as frequently. While that is great for Reigns, it is not great for WWE. The people deserve and needs more than that, which is why he said the Draft would shake to its very core. That is why when Reigns is drafted to one show, he is taking the Undisputed WWE Universal Title with him, but the other brand will determine a new champion.

At Night Of Champions on May 27, we will crown a new World Heavyweight Champion. HHH pulls off a sheet to reveal the new title, which is a smaller belt with the WWE logo in the middle, though nowhere near the size of Reigns’ titles. The new champion will be able to defend the title around the world and will not have to demand your acknowledgment, but rather earn it. No word on who will be participating or how.

That certainly opens up a bunch of doors and now there are a lot of questions to be answered. WWE can go with the safe and easy picks or take the chance to make someone new, which could be a lot of fun. Either way, this is something that WWE probably should have done a bit ago, but having Reigns as the sole World Champion is only so interesting for so long. For now though, the have options and I’m curious to see where it goes so they have my interest. The smaller title is going to take some getting used to, but I do like it so far.

Damien Priest is ready for Bad Bunny for getting in his way.

Video on Bronson Reed.

Jimmy Uso is ready for Smackdown but Jey is clearly distracted. Jey asks what happens if they don’t win the titles back, but the mention of Sami Zayn sends Jimmy over the edge. Jimmy assures him they’ll win.

Damage Ctrl vs. Bianca Belair/Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez

Rodriguez takes over on Kai to start and Morgan adds a splash. Morgan hits a Codebreaker but gets sent outside as we take a break. Back with Morgan sending Sky outside and clotheslining Kai, allowing the hot tag to Rodriguez. Everything breaks down and it’s off to Belair, who can’t hit the KOD on Sky. She can hit it on Bayley though, which is enough for the pin at 9:34.

Rating: C. I think you know what you’re getting with a match like this one and that isn’t a bad thing. They did their stuff, pinned the right person and kept the champions looking strong. Damage Ctrl continues to sink and it doesn’t seem like they have the strongest future. Without winning the Women’s Title, not much else they are going to do matters, and I don’t see Belair losing anytime soon.

We look back at Bronson Reed costing Bobby Lashley the US Title last week.

Here is US Champion Austin Theory for a chat. Theory isn’t happy with the disrespect being shown to him by having to defend his title in a triple threat match. He sees the World Heavyweight Title on the floor and thinks it belongs around his waist. Cue Bobby Lashley to interrupt, wondering if Theory is lazy or scared. Lashley says the triple threat was his idea, but Theory asks where Lashley’s Wrestlemania match was. The fight is on but here is Bronson Reed for the fight. Lashley gets beaten down but Reed turns on Theory and gives him the Tsunami. Perfectly fine segment that did what it needed to do.

Rick Boogs, Elias, the Alpha Academy and Maxxine Dupri are worried about the Draft. Mustafa Ali comes in and says chill.

Mustafa Ali vs. Chad Gable

Otis and Maxxine are here with Gable. Ali gets wrestled down to start and a fast dragon suplex gives Gable two. The tornado DDT sets up a missed 450 but the rolling Chaos Theory is reversed into a cradle to give Ali the pin at 1:48. That’s nice for the hometown boy.

Jimmy Uso yells at Sami Zayn and promises to get the titles back. Zayn needs to worry about his own brother turning on him.

Finn Balor vs. Cody Rhodes

Balor grabs a headlock to start but gets taken into the corner for the break. A headlock takeover works a bit better for Rhodes but Balor shoves him off. Rhodes is dropped into the corner as we take a break. Back with Rhodes hitting the Disaster Kick but having the Cross Rhodes broken up.

There’s a Sling Blade to make it worse, but Rhodes hits a Cody Cutter for a breather. Balor gets in a shot to the bad ribs and scores with the shotgun dropkick but it’s too early for the Coup de Grace. A Pedigree knocks Balor silly and sets up Cross Rhodes to give Rhodes the pin at 11:28.

Rating: B-. It was what you would expect from these two in this kind of setup as Rhodes gets another win to help move him back up the ladder. That is something he has needed to do after the Reigns loss, but all that matters for him at the moment is Backlash. As for Balor, he is in need of some kind of nice win and I’m not sure where that is going to come from anytime soon.

Here is Seth Rollins for a chat. He is happy to see the fans but has his eyes on the new World Heavyweight Championship. We need a World Champion that the fans can believe in with no politics or anything else, but here are MVP and Omos to interrupt. MVP praises Rollins but promises pain at Backlash. Rollins knows that Omos is huge because he was born that way, but Rollins is great because he became that way. At Backlash, Rollins is bouncing Omos’ head off that mat and beating him in the match of Omos’ life because that is what he does. Well, I guess that’s something of a reason for this random match.

Matt Riddle is pitching ideas to Kevin Owens when Sami Zayn comes in. Owens wants to know where Zayn is and isn’t happy when he hears about talking to the Usos. They have to beat the Usos on Friday and that is what Zayn needs to focus on. Owens leaves and Riddle talks about how he and Randy Orton were always supposed to split up but they stayed together, just like Owens and Zayn will do too.

Backlash rundown.

Rey Mysterio vs. Damien Priest

Rey slugs away to start and gets kicked in the face for his efforts. There’s a gutbuster to drop Rey again but we cut to the back where Bad Bunny has arrived. The distraction lets Rey get in a fast two but Priest is back up with a shot to the face. Mysterio gets knocked outside and we take a break.

Back with Priest missing a hard charge into the post and getting dropped again with an Asai moonsault. The 619 is cut off with another big boot but Rey slips out of a Razor’s Edge. Instead Priest hits the lifting Downward Spiral for two and it’s time to grab a chair. Rey manages to cut him off and hits a 619, earning himself a chair to the face for the DQ at 11:20.

Rating: C+. This was all about the Bad Bunny stuff and sweet goodness he has some nice timing to show up with about ten minutes left in the show. Other than that, it was smart to have the DQ ending so neither of them took a loss. Not a great match or anything like that, but it did its job of setting up whatever the Backlash match is supposed to be.

Post match Priest gives Rey the South of Heaven but here is Bad Bunny for the save with a kendo stick. Bunny says he’s not going to be the host of Backlash, because he’s going to face Priest in a street fight. I would have bet on the tag match with the Mysterios but this works too. It sounds better than a host as well.

Overall Rating: C+. This show wasn’t all that great, but its action was good enough to get by. The big announcement and the Bad Bunny appearance were the main draws, which is more than I would have expected for what is basically a lame duck show before the Draft. That is going to change everything again and next week will see where everything shakes out after the big switch. It wasn’t a must see show, but that title announcement will be quite move.

Results
Bloodline b. LWO – 1D to Del Toro
Street Profits b. Cedric Alexander/Shelton Benjamin – Cash Out to Alexander
Bianca Belair/Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez b. Damage Ctrl – KOD to Bayley
Mustafa Ali b. Chad Gable – Rollup
Cody Rhodes b. Finn Balor – Cross Rhodes
Rey Mysterio b. Damien Priest via DQ when Priest used a chair

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 17, 2023
Location: Simmons Bank Arena, North Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We are just a few weeks away from Backlash and you can probably guess the show’s big matches from here. There is a good chance that at least one of them will be announced this week, as Brock Lesnar is scheduled to be here to address what he did to Cody Rhodes two weeks ago. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here is the Bloodline for a chat. Jey Uso says the Bloodline is here and Paul Heyman explains his role as advisor to Roman Reigns (not here). Cue Judgment Day of all people to interrupt and we get a big staredown between the two sides. Apparently Reigns has put together a short term deal with the teams, which has the non Heyman Bloodline surprised.

Reigns didn’t want anyone but Heyman and Solo (Heyman: “Because there are no sudden movements.”) knowing and apparently Finn Balor isn’t happy with the whole thing. Sikoa is going to help deal with the Bad Bunny situation…but Rhea Ripley switches places to stare at him. Heyman asks if everything is ok and Ripley says “for now”. While Solo deals with the Bad Bunny problem, the Bloodline needs to deal with their Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Matt Riddle problems.

Since the Bloodline is facing those three at Backlash, the Judgment Day will take care of them tonight. As for right now, we have a Sikoa showdown. This was a nice creative way to go and it very well could be a one night change of pace, which is cool to see for a change. Solo having Reigns’ trust but not so much with the Usos makes it all the more interesting.

Rey Mysterio vs. Solo Sikoa

Everyone else has left ringside. Mysterio jumps over Sikoa to start but gets taken down by straight power. Sikoa starts hammering away at his usual slow pace and Rey is in early trouble. We hit the nerve hold to keep Rey down, which only works so well as a headscissors sends both of them crashing down to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Rey caught in a neck crank before being sent into the corner. The running Umaga Attack misses and Rey scores with a basement dropkick. A springboard moonsault is countered into the Samoan drop for two though and Rey is right back with a frog splash for the same. Cue the Usos to break up the 619 though but here is the LWO to cut them off. After Sikoa breaks up a 619 attempt, a second version connects, only for Rey to miss a top rope splash. The Samoan Spike finishes Rey at 12:41.

Rating: C. This wasn’t the most interesting match, as it was more about the Usos coming out for a distraction so Solo could hang in there. Sikoa continues to feel like a monster and that Spike is getting over as a big time move. Piling up one win after another is the best way to get Sikoa over and they did it again here. Rey is firmly at this point where he doesn’t need to win very often to stay a star and the Wrestlemania win will carry him for a long time. Sikoa got something out of this, even if it was just an ok match.

Post match Solo and the Usos take out Mysterio and the LWO.

Earlier today, Chad Gable and Maxxine Durpi argue over Otis’ future. A SHUSH off ensues so Adam Pearce throws them out.

We recap Iyo Sky earning a Women’s Title match last week.

Bianca Belair vs. Dakota Kai

Non-title and the rest of Damage Ctrl is here too. Belair can’t quite get a slam to start but she manages to block a rollup out of the corner. A dropkick into a nipup sets up the standing moonsault for two on Kai. Belair is sent outside though and we take a break. Back with Belair hitting a running Blockbuster and some rolling suplexes.

The handspring moonsault gets two but a victory roll faceplant drops Belair for a change. Belair is back up and tries for the KOD but Kai grabs the hair. Another victory roll sends Belair into the corner but the running knee in the corner misses. Now the KOD can finish Kai at 9:10.

Rating: C+. They kept things moving here and Kai got to show off what she is capable of doing. It also felt like a fresh match and that is a good thing in a division that Belair has dominated for over a year now. Belair beating the rest of Damage Ctrl before she faces Iyo Sky should work well enough and at least it is off to a good start.

We look back at Brock Lesnar taking out Cody Rhodes two weeks ago.

Video on Bronson Reed.

The Judgment Day is happy with what Solo Sikoa did, with Paul Heyman coming in to make sure they are satisfied. Now it is time for Judgment Day to get rid of the Bloodlines’ problems. Rhea Ripley scares Heyman off, leaving him to call Roman Reigns.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. He wants to talk about Brock Lesnar but Adam Pearce comes out and asks him not to do this. Rhodes teases leaving but grabs a chair and gets back in the ring. Security comes out to break it up but here is Brock Lesnar (in a cowboy hat and a trench coat) to interrupt.

Pearce begs Rhodes not to do it and makes Lesnar vs. Rhodes for Backlash to calm Rhodes down. Rhodes goes after security, who manages to get the chair away but they hold him back from a laughing Lesnar. That’s enough for Lesnar, who walks away as Rhodes beats up the rest of security. Rhodes grabs the mic and calls Lesnar a coward.

Seth Rollins vs. The Miz

Miz jumps Rollins during his entrance but Rollins says he can go. A clothesline takes Rollins down again but he’s right back up with a clothesline. There’s the suicide dive to Miz, followed by the suicide dive and then the suicide dive, setting up a yell at the camera. Miz manages to shove him into the barricade though and we take a break.

Back with the fans singing for Rollins, who scores with a Sling Blade for two. There’s a buckle bomb to rock Miz again but he gets the knees up to block a frog splash. The Figure Four goes on but Rollins slips out, setting up the hard forearm to the back of the head. Miz goes to the knee and hits a pair of DDTs for two. A super Skull Crushing Finale is blocked and Rollins hits a superplex into the Falcon Arrow, setting up the Stomp to finish Miz at 12:03.

Rating: B-. This wound up being a stronger than expected match with Miz getting in a lot of offense. Rollins was able to get the fans into things and it was a heck of a showdown, even if there was no major reason for them to be fighting. If nothing else, it was nice to see Rollins doing something other than conducting the fans without saying a word.

Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Matt Riddle strategize for backlash, with Owens not liking the concept of listening to Riddle’s eyes. Sami says hear him out, with Riddle suggesting that he wrap up his toe and call it the Toe Bro. Owens: “WHAT?’ Sami: “The toe bro….” Owens: “WHAT?” Riddle says that he was kidding and wants to take out the Bloodline for everything they have done to him. Now Owens seems happier, but he walks away without saying anything.

We look back at Trish Stratus turning on Becky Lynch after losing the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

We look back at Bobby Lashley vs. Bronson Reed going to a no countout last week.

Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory

Non-title and Lashley powers him down into a gator roll to start. The delayed vertical suplex drops Theory and there’s a running clothesline to the floor. Some running corner clotheslines don’t do anything for Theory as Lashley knocks him to the floor. Lashley hits the big posting and we take a break.

Back with Theory biting Lashley’s hand to escape a Hurt Lock and sending him into the post twice in a row. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Lashley gets up and avoids a charge into the post. Lashley runs him over but misses the spear. A Town Down is broken up as well and the spinning Dominator gives Lashley two. The threat of a spear sends Theory rolling to the floor but he gets caught in the Hut Lock back inside. Cue Bronson Reed to jump Lashley for the DQ at 12:09.

Rating: C+. They kind of telegraphed the Reed interference, but I’ll absolutely take that over Theory losing a match clean. Reed vs. Lashley has the potential to be something good if they have a hard hitting brawl at Backlash, which very well may be in the cards. If nothing else, having Reed beat up Lashley a time or two could help him a lot.

Post match Reed beats Lashley up but Theory has to save Reed from the Hurt Lock. Reed doesn’t quite like that but hits Lashley with the Samoan drop into the Tsunami.

Here is Trish Stratus and she has a lot of splainin to do. Stratus talks about what a joke women’s wrestling used to be. People talk about how it was her and Lita but they’re only half right. Stratus brought it credibility and single handedly started the Women’s Revolution. People like Becky Lynch would have you believe that everything started with the Four Horsewomen.

Stratus couldn’t believe it and came here to see for herself, and not once did Lynch ever say thank you. She had Lita as her sidekick but Stratus is no one’s sidekick. It was so sad that Stratus had to take Lita out of the picture (Stratus: “Yeah I did that.”) so she could screw Lynch out of her Tag Team Titles. Then Lynch tried to give her the “we’ll get them next time”, so Stratus took her out. She is no nostalgia act and she is no one’s sidekick and she’ll make sure you forget it. This was a heck of a promo and it’s a story that makes perfect sense. Stick with this and they could stretch it out for a long time.

We recap the Cody Rhodes/Brock Lesnar situation from earlier in the night.

Rhodes isn’t really happy with what happened earlier and is ready to fight Lesnar at Backlash.

Candice LeRae/Michin vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez are at ringside. Michin takes Green down into the corner to start and hands it off to Candice in a hurry. Candice slips out of a double suplex and backsplashes Deville for a breather. Cue Nikki Cross in the aisle though and the distraction lets Deville pull Candice off the top. Green misses an elbow though and it’s Michin coming in to clean house. Michin’s kicks set up a Code Blue for two but Deville’s rollup with feet on the ropes is caught by the referee. That’s fine with Green, who hits the Unprettier for the pin on Michin at 2:59.

The Street Profits, Elias, Rick Boogs, Baron Corbin and Akira Tozawa are worried/excited about the Draft.

The Usos are VERY ready about their six man tag at Backlash.

Judgment Day vs. Sami Zayn/Matt Riddle/Kevin Owens

Balor headlocks Zayn to start but Zayn snaps off the armdrags to flabbergast him a bit. Priest and Owens come in with Owens taking him down and hitting a quick backsplash. A right hand drops Owens though and it’s back to Balor to go after Owens’ knee. Ripley turns Owens inside out with a clothesline and the front facelock goes on back inside.

Owens fights up and hits a superkick, allowing the hot tag to Riddle to clean house. A fisherman’s buster drops Balor but the Floating Bro is countered into a chokeslam onto the apron as we take a break. Back with Riddle getting kicked in the head and a backbreaker getting two. Dominik comes in and gets German suplexed, allowing the tag back to Zayn.

A sunset bomb gets two on Dominik but Ripley crotches Zayn on top. Dominik hits the frog splash with Owens having to make the save. Everything breaks down but Ripley breaks up Zayn’s bit flip dive. That’s enough for an ejection and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Dominik as the fans are actually standing. Owens’ Swanton hits raised knees but it’s a Stunner into a Helluva Kick into the Floating Bro for the pin at 12:54.

Rating: B. The fans were into this one and it made the match that much better. They went with the fast paced ending and it turned into a heck of a match by the end. When you actually have the fans on their feet for a six man tag to end Raw, something is going rather right and that’s hard to do after a three hour show. Well done.

Post match the Bloodline runs in but the LWO and Rey Mysterio are here too for a huge brawl. A 619 hits Priest and the good guys stand tall to end the show. That was a hot ending and the fans were WAY into it so nice job.

Overall Rating: B. This was a different kind of show and I liked it more as a result. They didn’t go in the same direction here and it made for a more interesting night. You can only do the same kind of show so often before you really need a break and having Judgment Day and the Bloodline swap feuds for a night was an intriguing concept. WWE shaking up the norm every so often is a very good thing and it worked well here, especially with that main event.

Results
Solo Sikoa b. Rey Mysterio – Samoan Spike
Bianca Belair b. Dakota Kai – KOD
Seth Rollins b. The Miz – Stomp
Bobby Lashley b. Austin Theory via DQ when Bronson Reed interfered
Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville b. Candice LeRae/Michin – Unprettier to Michin
Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens/Matt Riddle b. Judgment Day – Floating Bro to Balor

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 10, 2023
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick

So this show just got a lot more interesting, as we had quite the out of nowhere show last week. That would have been the Vince McMahon version of Raw, but then Smackdown felt much more normal. You can call this one the rubber show I guess, but hopefully last week was just an anomaly. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Commentary welcomes us to the show and says that there have been some travel issues so some wrestlers are late arriving.

Here is Rey Mysterio to talk about how cool it was to go into the Hall of Fame (pause for YOU DESERVE IT) and then wrestle at Wrestlemania. Unfortunately it was against his son and cue Dominik to interrupt. Dominik talks about how Rey has to make everything about himself, just like Bad Bunny, who cost Dominik the match at Wrestlemania.

We see the big angle with Bad Bunny last week, with Dominik calling it music to his ears when Bunny went through the table. Rey says he talked to Bunny last night and he’s coming for revenge. Dominik doesn’t buy it so Rey challenges him to a Wrestlemania rematch. That’s a no, but Dominik knows someone who will.

Rey Mysterio vs. Finn Balor

Dominik is here too as Finn takes Rey into the corner to start. Rey fights out and snaps off a headscissors but Balor stomps him down against the ropes. Balor chokes on the ropes a bit as they’re certainly in a slow pace to start. Some forearms to the neck set up a chinlock but Rey is right back up. A kick to the face sends Balor outside where the sliding splash can connect as we take a break.

Back with Rey hitting the springboard spinning crossbody for two but the 619 is broken up. Rey takes him up top for a super hurricanrana and a near fall. Now the 619 can connect but the frog splash only hits knees. Cue Dominik with the chain but Rey knocks him down, setting up the dive to take them both out. The second chain shot works on the way back in though and the Coup de Grace to the out cold Rey finishes at 14:12.

Rating: B-. This was a way to keep the Rey vs. Dominik stuff going as the likely tag match at Backlash looms. These two can still go in the ring and have a good match with just about anyone so there was no way this couldn’t work. The ending even played into things perfectly and Rey is protected in the loss.

Earlier today Maxxine Dupri wasn’t happy with how Otis was dressed but we find Lita down. Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan are concerned but Trish Stratus and Bayley come in to accuse them of doing it.

We look back at the Cody Rhodes/Brock Lesnar ordeal last week.

Becky Lynch says Lita is at a local medical facility but Trish Stratus will be teaming with her to defend the titles right now.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez vs. Becky Lynch/Trish Stratus

Stratus (substituting for Lita) and Lynch are defending. Rodriguez throws Lynch into the corner to start and it’s Morgan coming in for a running shoulder in the corner. Becky fights back and takes over on the arm, allowing the tag to Trish. Liv’s Matrix is broken up (with Trish getting a laugh) and Becky drops the top rope leg for two as we take a break. Back with Liv fighting out of a chinlock until a double hair takedown means a double knockdown.

Rodriguez comes in to clothesline the also legal Becky, setting up the spinning Vader Bomb for two. Everything breaks down and Becky hits a missile dropkick for two. Rodriguez is sat on top but blocks a double superplex. Instead Trish hurricanranas her down for two but Rodriguez is back to assist Liv with a tornado DDT.

Everyone goes to the corner for the Tower of Doom and they’re all down again. Back up and Rodriguez seems to accidentally slam Becky out of the corner onto Liv for two. Oblivion is countered into the Manhandle Slam but Rodriguez makes the save. Trish comes back in but misses the Chick Kick, allowing Liv to roll her up for the pin and the titles at 15:28.

Rating: B. They were working here and the titles changing hands clean (as clean as you can have with a substitute partner) is a good way to make Rodriguez and Morgan look better. The action did well here and now we can move on to the who jumped Lita story, which probably has quite the details. For now though, the titles are off Lita/Lynch, who never felt like long term champions anyway.

Post match Becky is upset but holds Trish’s arm up, only to have Trish lay her out. They weren’t really hiding that and it’s still the way to go.

Paul Heyman mocks a question about Brock Lesnar attacking Cody Rhodes last week and says Kevin Owens has a problem tonight. Owens has to face Solo Sikoa but Sami Zayn and Matt Riddle aren’t here tonight. Heyman doesn’t buy the travel problems, because they must be scared of Sikoa. Who would take advantage of Owens be on his own? We the ones.

Trish Stratus has nothing to say.

We look back at HHH announcing the Draft.

Damage Ctrl is in the back with Bayley trying to get the team staying together in the Draft. Instead of Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai getting a Women’s Tag Team Title match, Bayley has gotten into a #1 contenders match. That’s not cool with Sky, who goes to talk to Adam Pearce again. Tensions seem present.

Bobby Lashley vs. Bronson Reed

Reed knocks him into the corner to start but walks into a Downward Spiral. Back up and Reed lifts him to the apron where neither can get the better of things. Lashley is knocked to the floor and Reed shoulders him down as we take a break. Back with….a split screen clip from the new movie Renfield. We go full screen again to see Lashley sending him into the corner for a running shoulder to the ribs.

A swinging neckbreaker drops Reed again and there’s a suplex to show off Lashley’s power. The Hurt Lock can’t go on so Reed drops back onto him for the break. Lashley is up before the Tsunami so Reed hits a kind of Thesz press instead. Back up and Lashley grabs the spinebuster but still can’t get the Hurt Lock. They fight to the floor and it’s a double countout at 10:43.

Rating: B. I always appreciate a match where they don’t bother trying to do anything but what they should be doing. Reed and Lashley are two bulls who are going to be able to hit each other really hard and do some cool looking power stuff. That is exactly what we got here and they even kept both of them from taking a loss. Hard hitting match here and I could go for the rematch when they get to do it again.

Post match referees and agents have to break them up.

Here is a banged up Cody Rhodes for a chat. Cody says he usually has one thing to talk about (Seth Rollins, his injury, the Royal Rumble, completing the story) but after last week, things are a little more complicated. He lost at Wrestlemania and there is no one to blame but him. Cody lost to the champion Roman Reigns, which has people giving him some thoughts about what happened. One thing came from Paul Heyman, saying Cody had to earn another shot. Cody has gone from Dashing to Stardust to the EVP to the leader of the pack so there is no earning it because he IS it.

Then you have another factor though and that is Brock Lesnar. The question is why Brock did what he did. Cody heard that Brock was upset about his spot on the Wrestlemania card, but Cody thinks that it was uncertainty about what Cody meant for Brock’s future. We hear about Lesnar’s accolades and yes, Cody is scared of him….but he still wants a fight. Cody wants Lesnar to look in the mirror and see a victim and he’ll fight him anywhere. Say at (Wrestlemania) Backlash? Good stuff here as Cody talked about what happened and still looked to the future.

Usos vs. Alpha Academy

Otis jiggles away from Jey’s waistlock and then easily blocks a sunset flip. Gable armbars Jimmy’s arm over the top and a top rope clotheslines gives Gable two. Jimmy gets taken down and slapped in the back of the head as the Usos are way off to start. A quick Demolition Decapitator hits Gable though and Otis is knocked outside as we take a break.

Back with Gable trying to get over for a tag but there is no Otis. Jimmy chokes on the rope but charges into an exploder suplex. It’s back to Otis for the Caterpillar but Jey makes the save. Jey sends Otis outside but the suicide dive is blocked. Jimmy’s isn’t blocked though and it’s a double superkick to send Otis over the announcers’ table. Gable moonsaults down onto both Usos though and it’s a top rope headbutt for two back inside. The ankle lock is blocked but the Usos get in a blind tag and hit the double superkick. The 1D finishes Gable at 13:02.

Rating: B. Heck of a match here as the Usos sold the idea that they were in serious danger. Alpha Academy are goofs most of the time but they are former champions so this isn’t the biggest stretch. I got into this one and there was even a chance of the big upset. This worked very well and I could go for more of this version of the Academy.

Piper Niven vs. Michin vs. Iyo Sky

The winner gets a shot at Bianca Belair’s Raw Women’s Title. Niven shoves Sky down to start but a double team sends Niven outside. Michin hits a suicide dive but Sky moonsaults onto both of them as we take a break. Back with Niven getting double teamed, including an upside down choke so Michin can hit a dropkick. Sky turns on Michin and takes her down as well, setting up the springboard missile dropkick to Niven. Michin drops Sky and Niven drops the big elbow. A Code Red gives Michin two on Niven but Sky moonsaults in for the pin at 8:15.

Rating: C+. They kept the pace going here and all three got in some stuff. Michin looked better than she has in a long time and Niven was playing the wrecking ball role. Sky winning fits the story best as Damage Ctrl’s problems just might grow despite her success. Now can we have Niven get a win somewhere?

Kevin Owens knows he isn’t smart to face Solo Sikoa on his own tonight but that’s what he has done for his entire career.

Kevin Owens vs. Solo Sikoa

The Usos are here too and Owens has a bad leg, which is exactly where Sikoa starts. The stomps to the leg have Owens in trouble and he is sent outside. A superkick drops Jey and Owens sends Sikoa into the steps, only to have the bad leg taken out again. There’s the running Umaga Attack in the corner and we take a break.

Back with Sikoa still on the leg but Owens gets in some shots of his own. The leg gives out again though and Sikoa superkicks him for two. Owens drops him again and goes up for the frog splash, which bangs up the knee even more. The Stunner is blocked and a Samoan drop gives Sikoa two.

Owens catches him on top for some headbutts but the knee gives out again. Instead Owens slams him off the top and hits the Swanton (that’s a stretch on the bad leg) for two. The Pop Up Powerbomb connects but the knee gives out, allowing Sikoa to block the Stunner. Jey gets in a cheap shot superkick and it’s the Samoan Spike to give Sikoa the pin at 13:25.

Rating: B-. Good brawl here, with Owens selling the leg (mostly) throughout. They were playing into the idea of Sikoa having the numbers advantage so Owens losing here isn’t some horrible defeat. This version of Owens is always going to fight and he was trying as much as he could here, with the fans behind him all the way.

Post match the beatdown stays on but here are Sami Zayn and Matt Riddle for the very last second save. The Usos and Sikoa are beaten up and sent to the floor to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This was great. It was a night full of wrestling as the wrestlers who did make the show and there was nothing close to a bad match. I had a great time with the wrestling we got and they kept some stories advancing well enough. Cody Rhodes got in a good, long form promo and set up what was a fairly obvious match with Brock Lesnar at Backlash. There wasn’t a bad thing on this show and to keep things going so well for three hours, it was a smash hit.

Results
Finn Balor b. Rey Mysterio – Coup de Grace
Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez b. Trish Stratus/Becky Lynch – Rollup to Stratus
Bobby Lashley vs. Bronson Reed went to a double countout
Usos b. Alpha Academy – 1D to Gable
Iyo Sky b. Piper Niven and Michin – Moonsault to Niven
Solo Sikoa b. Kevin Owens – Samoan Spike

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Happy Birthday Pop.

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 27, 2023
Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

It’s the go home Raw before Wrestlemania and that means it is time to get the final push for a lot of this show’s weekend matches. In addition, we’ll have Cody Rhodes facing Solo Sikoa before his final showdown with Roman Reigns on Smackdown. We might get one or two more additions to the card but there isn’t much left to do. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here is the Miz to get things going. He is fired up to be here and promises to get to the bottom of a very personal feud. This brings out Trish Stratus, Lita and Becky Lynch for a chat. Becky accuses Miz of having small testicles, with Miz saying his wife disagrees. Becky: “It must be comforting to know that Maryse didn’t get around much before you were married.” Lynch talks about how she respect these two but Miz asks Lita and Trish what it’s like to be Becky’s backup. Lita says she feels like a champion but here is Damage Ctrl to interrupt.

Bayley accuses Lita of meaning something 20 years ago but Trish says that title says she means something now. Bayley talks about how being in the ring with these two would be a dream 20 years ago. Now though, it’s still a dream for people who can’t accomplish anything. They want the titles back, which sends Becky into a rant about how many times Damage Ctrl loses, they keep coming back. The triple staredown ensues.

Becky Lynch vs. Iyo Sky

Lynch starts fast with a suplex to send Sky outside. With Damage Ctrl having a meeting, Becky grabs Bayley by the hair to bring her back in. Sky hits a running dropkick to take over but Becky is back with a running forearm for a double knockdown. With Sky on the floor, Lynch hits a baseball slide, followed by a forearm off the apron.

Back in and a layout reverse DDT gets two on Sky as we take a break. We come back with Lynch getting two off a suplex but Sky catches her on top. That means an Asai moonsault can drop Lynch on the floor for two back inside as the fans approve. Over The Moonsault misses though and the Manhandle Slam finishes Sky at 11:50.

Rating: B-. This was another good example of what happens when you have two talented stars going in there and getting to do their thing. Lynch is able to wrestle a good match when she is given the chance and Sky really can make the high flying work as well as probably any woman in the division. Good match here, and the six woman tag could have a lot of potential.

We look back at Cody Rhodes predicting that the Bloodline would turn on Roman Reigns.

Video on Asuka, with various Hall of Famers and legends talking about how awesome she really is.

We recap Logan Paul knocking out Seth Rollins last week. Then in the back, Paul stole the mic and shouted about getting to do it again at Wrestlemania.

Seth Rollins….is interrupted by Mustafa Ali, who wants Rollins to be more positive. Rollins laughs at the Positive Ali idea and the result is a match later tonight.

Seth Rollins vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali forearms him in the face to start and Rollins seems annoyed. A clothesline turns Ali inside out and the stomping is on in the corner. Ali gets tied in the corner for a running stomp, followed by the regular version to give Rollins the pin at 2:07. The stomp in the corner looked painful.

Post match Rollins says if he can’t beat Logan Paul at Wrestlemania, he’s the joke. The match is on Paul’s anniversary and Rollins wants to take him out, so sing that song!

Earlier today Baron Corbin was asking Adam Pearce what was going on with his losses when Chelsea Green interrupted. She wants to know why she isn’t in the Women’s Showcase at Wrestlemania. Pearce says she doesn’t have a partner, but here is Sonya Deville to say Pearce is just jealous that she didn’t do as well as she did in this role. That’s enough or Pearce, who puts them in a qualifying match for the showcase. Corbin is still there and asks “seriously?” but Pearce leaves.

It’s time for a weigh-in between Omos (with MVP) and Brock Lesnar. Before Lesnar comes out, MVP talks about how Lesnar has done great things at Wrestlemania, including beating people like Kurt Angle, Goldberg, Roman Reigns and even…..the Undertaker. Unlike those men though, Lesnar cannot suplex or F5 Omos. With that, Omos weighs in at 410lbs. Cue Lesnar, who goes right after Omos and even picks up the scale, only to get kicked in the face. That’s enough for Lesnar to bail outside and look a bit scared. This was pretty quick but they got the point across.

Video on Charlotte being awesome over the years.

Finn Balor talks about Edge wanting to be inside the Cell with him and says there is nothing more dangerous than a caged demon.

Street Profits/Braun Strowman/Ricochet vs. Alpha Academy/Viking Raiders

Valhalla is here with the Raiders. Dawkins takes Gable down to start but has to slip out of the ankle lock. Strowman comes in to clean house on the villains until Ford (with his own double bicep pose) comes in for some armdrags. Everything breaks down and we get the Ivar vs. Strowman vs. Otis showdown. Otis plants an invading Ford and the Academy stands tall as we take a break.

Back with Erik chinlocking Ford and handing it off to Otis, as Maxxine Dupri is watching in the back. Maxxine likes the Otis shirt coming off for a running elbow (with Otis telling her he’s here). An enziguri gets Ford out of trouble and it’s Dawkins coming back in to clean house. Strowman comes in to do the train around the ring. Ricochet Swantons off of Strowman’s shoulders to hit Erik, followed by Ford (who tagged in) diving OVER Strowman with the frog splash for the pin at 11:21.

Rating: C+. The ending looked great as Ricochet did his crazy flip and then Ford made it look even better. This was probably a lot more interesting than the showcase is going to be, as I still can’t believe there isn’t even a title shot on the line. For now though, this was a good match with a better finish so maybe they’ll surprise me at Wrestlemania.

Cody Rhodes finds it interesting that he has to face the Bloodline’s enforcer this week. The question has been if he has earned it and Cody says he has always earned it. Tonight he beats Solo Sikoa, and at Wrestlemania, it’s Roman Reigns.

This week’s parody trailer: the Bloodline are Goodfellas. At least that matches up.

Video on Bianca Belair coming up the ranks and becoming a major star. Belair really is one of the only women who has come up with no wrestling background and become part of the top group.

Earlier today, Austin theory was in the empty arena and talked about how John Cena allegedly humiliated him on the microphone a few weeks ago. The only thing Cena can’t see is the future, because Theory is a star. It doesn’t matter if Theory is in an empty ring or in a sold out stadium, because he’ll show Cena what a star really is. Good stuff here, but Theory needs to win in a pretty dominant fashion on Saturday.

Stacy Keibler is going into the Hall of Fame.

Wrestlemania Showcase Qualifying Match: Sonya Deville/Chelsea Green vs. Michin/Candice LeRae

Michin gets taken into the wrong corner to start so Deville and green can take turns hammering on her. A double neckbreaker gets Michin out of trouble as everything breaks down. A quick Unprettier gives Green the pin on Yim at 2:57.

Paul Heyman gives a Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes version of the 23rd Psalm before saying Rhodes isn’t ready. Yes he needs to face Solo Sikoa tonight because Roman Reigns has been guided from being the Big Dog to the Tribal Chief. Rhode isn’t ready for Sunday but needs to be ready to take a beating tonight and then another from Reigns. Be ready for pain, and to acknowledge the Tribal Chief.

Here are Dominik Mysterio and Damien Priest (who have been standing in the ring since before a break and Heyman’s interview) with Dominik talking about what a horrible father Rey Mysterio really is. We see Rey punching Dominik and agreeing to face Dominik at Wrestlemania. He should have told his mother to shut up a long time ago and wishes Eddie Guerrero was his real father.

Damien Priest vs. Rey Mysterio

Dominik Mysterio is here with Priest and we’re joined in progress (19 minutes after Priest’s music started to play) with Rey taking Priest down. Priest plants him with a lifting Downward Spiral for two but misses a big boot. The 619 is broken up with a heck of a clothesline but Rey super hurricanranas him down. Now the 619 can connect but Dominik crotches Rey on top for the DQ at 3:10.

Rating: C. This was about having Dominik screw over Rey before they fight at Wrestlemania so there wasn’t much to expect from the match itself. They did as much as they could with the time they had so this was good enough to fulfill its purpose. Other than that, can we please find something for Priest to do? Or at least a feud of his own? It has been a long time now for him.

Post match the beatdown is on but Legado del Fantasma runs in for the save.

Video on Andre the giant, who has a battle royal named after him on Friday.

The Good Brothers and Johnny Gargano are in the Andre battle royal and go to do something else. Rick Boogs is excited about being in and Elias promises to win. Dexter Lumis and Bronson Reed both scare Elias, as does Bobby Lashley.

We look at the Usos jumping Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn on Smackdown.

Owens and Zayn talk about how this is going to be the biggest Tag Team Title match of all time. They have to win because the Bloodline has to be stopped.

Gunther vs. Dolph Ziggler

Non-title and Imperium is here with Gunther. Ziggler hits a dropkick and the jumping DDT but Gunther gets him in the corner for the boot choke as we take a break. Back with Ziggler getting two off a Fameasser but getting chopped HARD out of the air. A German suplex and the powerbomb set up the Last Symphony to finish Ziggler at 5:43. Not enough shown to rate but Ziggler got in some offense before getting crushed by the monster that is Gunther.

Post match Gunther promises the same thing for Drew McIntyre and Sheamus.

Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa

Paul Heyman is here with Sikoa. A dropkick hits Sikoa to start but he snaps off a Samoan drop for a breather. They head outside with Sikoa being whipped into the steps but he suplexes Rhodes back inside. That’s enough to send Cody outside, where Sikoa can drop him onto the announcers’ table as we take a break. The swinging Rock Bottom onto the table has Cody in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Cody fighting out of a nerve hold but getting clotheslined in the corner. Cod jumps over him in the corner and snaps off the powerslam, followed by the Disaster Kick. The Cody Cutter connects and Cross Rhodes drops Sikoa again for a rather delayed two, with Sikoa getting a foot on the rope.

A moonsault misses for Cody but the Samoan Spike misses. Cody grabs another Cody Cutter but here are the Usos (with music), allowing Sikoa to hit a superkick. Spinning Solo gets two (Heyman is surprised) but here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to brawl with the Usos. Another Samoan Spike is countered into Cross Rhodes to finish Sikoa at 12:53.

Rating: B-. Rhodes winning to shake Heyman (and presumably Reigns) up is a smart move and I don’t think Sikoa is going to be ruined by having his first loss be to someone who very well could be World Champion next week. This was the best way to end Raw, as Rhodes only has Reigns left in front of him. We’ll get a showdown on Friday and a match on Sunday, so nice job on setting things up.

A serious looking Heyman pulls out his phone to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m sure there are going to be a lot of complaints about this show not being the most exciting or the highest quality and those are pretty fair. At the same time though, this is one of the few shows of the year that isn’t about what takes place between the bells. This show is all about getting things ready for Wrestlemania and it went fairly well, with a few good matches thrown in. Good enough show, but none of it is going to matter once the bell rings on Saturday.

Results
Becky Lynch b. Iyo Sky – Manhandle Slam
Seth Rollins b. Mustafa Ali – Stomp
Street Profits/Braun Strowman/Ricochet b. Alpha Academy/Viking Raiders – Frog splash to Erik
Sonya Deville/Chelsea Green b. Michin/Candice LeRae – Unprettier to Green
Rey Mysterio b. Damien Priest via DQ when Dominik Mysterio interfered
Gunther b. Dolph Ziggler – Last Symphony
Cody Rhodes b. Solo Sikoa – Cross Rhodes

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