Monday Night Raw sees Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar under the same roof before their collision at Night Of Champions. As well, announced on Social Media, Matt Riddle teams with Kevin and Sami to take on all of Imperium. Zoey Stark faces Candice LeRae. We see the second half of Seth Rollins’ interview with Corey Graves heading into the Inaugural championship match. Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch look to sign their contract ahead of their match this Saturday.
Cody Rhodes was being shown as arriving at the building before Brock attacked him. Brock laid out Rhodes including hitting the
GOOD Paul Heyman Then Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens Promo:
Heyman’s portion was very short but basically revealed that the tag team championship would be the main event. Saying that the night of champions event is capped off with the match. Heyman states that the Usos’ will be proudly watching from home. Heyman leaves as Kevin and Sami enter.
Sami then says he said all he needed to say about the match last week in Roman’s face. Kevin would bring up Roman dedicating the match to Afa and Sika, before saying they will dedicate the win to The Usos. Imperium shows up and before they could attack and use the numbers game, Matt Riddle evens things up. Imperium then run down after a fake out for retreating before Riddle and the champs stand tall in the ring. Gunther possessively grabs the IC title as Matt mocks the imperium pose.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
Before Reed’s entrance, Pearce was leaving the trainers room before being hush hush regarding Cody Rhodes’ status.
GOOD Ricochet Vs Bronson Reed:
This match overall was Bronson’s match to dominate and he did. Ricochet did get a good amount of offense including a number of spin kicks and running shooting stars. Reed powered out before a one count. Bronson went for the apron running shoulder block but got caught with a big knee but Bronson was too strong for Ricochet. The Tsunami ended the match in a match that made Ricochet look good in defeat. And Bronson Reed looked great in being a powerhouse.
Results: Bronson Reed by Pinfall via Tsunami
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
Rhea Ripley interrupts Cathy Kelley’s interview with Apollo Crews. Announcing that Natalya will have a title shot at Night Of Champions. Crews will proceed to interrupt Rhea Ripley before Rhea states that Dom Dom will prove to Apollo who runs Monday Night Raw.
Seth says to Corey Graves that Roman has been poisoned by his own ego. Wants to be the champion so that people can forget about Roman Reigns being a part time champion. Seth says that Aj Styles would be the one person to argue that Rollins was a once in a generation talent.
Bryon Saxton interrupts Balor and Priest talking before Finn’s match with Shinsuke. Finn promises that Shinsuke will pay for costing Damian his shot at the world heavyweight title.
SQUASH Candice LeRae Vs Zoey Stark:
Before Zoey Stark would enter, she got a promo package saying that she is clear, calculated and vicious. Claiming she will tear apart all of the fans’ idols. Fairly short match, Nikki Cross was ringside for LeRae, but also could be considered the reason Candice lost. Zoey pushed Candice into the steps as Nikki held her. Too short of a match to get something other than a squash rating.
Results: Zoey Stark by Pinfall via Z360
GREAT Brock Lesnar Promo:
Brock Lesnar interrupts Bryon Saxton with Mustafa Ali. Telling Ali to get a life before Brock goes to the ring. Lesnar steals the what do you wanna talk about line. Brock says that Cody wont wrestle him at the premium live event as he went to issue an open challenge. Rhodes would come out to no music with his arm in a sling. Entering the ring and removing the sling and ice before engaging in a brawl with Brock. Brock would quickly get the kimura locked in as commentary would say that Brock broke Cody’s arm. Lesnar would leave after stomping on Cody’s arm.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.50 Stars
ABOVE AVERAGE Alpha Academy with Maxxine Dupri Vs Viking Raiders with Valhalla:
Erik would shut down Chad’s attempt at early offense, the crowd starting to chant we want Otis. Basic tag team psychology with Gable going for the hot tag. Otis got the hot tag and this time was encouraged to hit the caterpillar by both Chad and Miss Dupri. It was interesting to see Maxxine get in the face of Valhalla before Gable fought out of the tag finish and got the victory.
Results: Chad Gable by Pinfall via O’Connor Roll and Bridge Roll Up.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
Cody Rhodes would chase out Adam Pearce as he was denying medical attention.
GREAT Shinsuke Nakamura Vs Finn Balor with Damian Priest:
Finn would be in control in the early bit of the match as Shinsuke started to fight back. Nakamura gets a sliding dropkick to send Balor out of the ring. Finn was thrown into the ring before a suplex to the outside was teased. The ref pulls Balor back as Priest lays out Nakamura before the commercial.
Nakamura would get his signature COME ONNNN to Damian on the outside of the ring before being chased into the ring. Balor would be caught with a boot as he went for a shotgun dropkick. Finn then reversed the kinshasa with a double stomp. Shinsuke rolls out of the way and gets a knee to the back of Finn’s head. Priest helped Finn out of the ring before Nakamura snapped on Damian. Damian is taken out by Shinsuke before Finn gets a shotgun dropkick into the barricade and the coup de grace for the victory.
Match excelled in the storytelling throughout the match and was overall a solid match.
Results: Finn Balor by Pinfall via Coup De Grade
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
SQUASH Sonya Deville Vs Raquel Rodriguez:
Raquel would stomp out a pair of sunglasses that was worn by Chelsea Green. Sonya took control and would stay in control of Raquel. Raquel got a twisted senton before hitting the tijuana bomb. Chelsea Green entered the ring as Shotzi would run down to make the save for Raquel.
Results: Raquel Rodriguez by Pinfall via Tejuna Bomb
A WWE official tells Adam Pearce that Cody is still kicking people out of his locker room. Trish then tried to get a no contact clause for the contract signing in effect but fails.
Matt Riddle gets a promo package with him saying “If You Doubt Me Bro, That’s Your Mistake”
GOOD Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus Contract signing:
Becky says that man has come to Hershey before signing the contract way before Trish even came out. Stratus reveals its her first contract signing as she says the GOAT has come around to.. Not knowing where they were and asking Corey Graves. The Crowd would start to give Trish what chants as Stratus said they were having a contract signing because of her. Becky was just sitting with her feet up as Trish tells Lynch that she didn’t need a bloody nose to rise to the top of the company. Stratus says that its her first signing but Becky’s last contract signing.
Becky Lynch had the intensity and spoke the truth including bringing up trish barking like a dog. Becky said a lot of stuff and successfully got under the skin of Trish. Trish flips the table but leaves the ring before anything could happen.
I wanna say the crowd disrespected Trish and struggled to say her stuff. Getting one good reaction when she said she didn’t need to be told to sign the contract. Becky Lynch destroyed Trish on the mic and her stuff gave you the reason to care about the match. This was a contract signing that didn’t end in a brawl which was good. Becky did her job well and to me Trish was not as effective.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
SQUASH Apollo Crews Vs Dominik Mysterio:
This match was fairly short that had Apollo Crews fall victim to Rhea Ripley’s shenanigans. Dom pulled Crews into the steps before Rhea pushed Apollo into the led post. Dominik hit a solid frog splash as Apollo beat the count into the ring.
Results: Dominik Mysterio by Pinfall via Frog Splash.
Seth says to Corey Graves, tying it back to saying that there needs to be a change. Wrestling being his first love and that he needs to become the world heavyweight champion.
Shotzi will take the place of Raquel’s partner in next weeks fatal four way. The Money In The Bank Qualifiers will start next week as well.
GREAT Imperium Vs Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Matt Riddle – Check Out The Match HERE:
Imperium would gain control of the makeshift team. Including Kaiser stopping Riddle from tagging Zayn. Getting a double team high low on the apron as they go to commercial break. We also saw some good stuff between Matt and Gunther. Owens gets a frog splash on Vinci as they come back from commercial break. Sami gets the hot tag including getting a michinoku driver on Ludwig. Gunther got the tag in and got some chops on Zayn. Sami would get a blue thunder bomb with Vinci breaking up the pin. Gunther gets a sleeper but Riddle breaks it up with a floating bro. After everyone engages in action. Vinci gets helluva kicked before Kevin gets a swanton bomb for the win.
Results: Kevin Owens by Pinfall via Swanton Bomb on Vince.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.50 Stars
Cody Rhodes is met with Triple H as Triple H tries to get Cody to accept medical attention. Cody would then convince Triple H that he is going to Night Of Champions to face Brock Lesnar.
Overall…
Monday Night Raw had the show revolve around one story, around building importance to Cody Rhodes Vs Brock Lesnar 2. From beginning to end if you started the show and saw the initial attack, events happened throughout the show to keep you invested in Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar. This is what needed to happen, something needed to evolve with Cody getting angrier and more determined and Brock being the stone faced killer he is.
This show had a great overall flow and everything was done to forward something. Every match had a reason it happened and overall they served their purposes. Becky Lynch absolutely destroyed Trish Stratus on the mic and gave you a reason to care about their match. This was a very solid raw.
Matches: 0.50/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere…: 0.50/1 Stars
Storytelling: 1/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 3.50 /5 Stars
Photo Credit: WWE – May 22 2023
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
