WWE Raw on August 7 provided some fresh faces and directions. JD McDonagh once again being involved with Finn Balor’s business, including attacking Sami Zayn. Indi and Candice backing and supporting Raquel while also wanting to get their shot against Rhea as well. LA Knight truly got the chance to tell his story surrounding his career as he made it personal with the miz. While some things were fresh, the judgment day aside from JD’s reappearance, is still a thorn in Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins’ side. Shinsuke Nakamura attacked Seth so hopefully Seth is done with the judgment day. Shayna Baszler hinted at going after Becky Lynch again, which should be a better feud this time around. Chad Gable is getting a singles push, YES. And not to mention, the New Day is back. A very entertaining Raw that had a hot Minnesota crowd.
WWE Raw on August 7 bears the aftermath of the biggest party of the summer, WWE Summerslam! What does Becky Lynch have to say one week before her Trish Stratus rematch? What happens after Finn Balor failed Damian Priest’s plan to win the World Heavyweight title? How does Cody Rhodes react to both beating the Beast, and earning Brock Lesnar’s respect? With Ronda Rousey out of the company, what does Shayna Baszler have planned for the Raw women’s division?
AMAZING Cody Rhodes Promo: WWE Raw August 7 2023 Opening Promo
Cody starts the promo off the way he always does. Talking about all of the self reflection he was able to do with his mother. Specifically mentioning how Brock “Acknowledged him”. He addresses what’s next before Seth Rollins comes out. Seth wearing the yellow crocs X mischief boots. Judgment Day shows up with Damian, Dom and Rhea. Damian tries to accuse Seth and Cody of thinking they run Monday Night Raw. Finn Balor attacks Seth from behind and a brawl is engaged. Sami Zayn runs down and evens the odds. Cody then challenges the Judgment Day to a six man tag match. Seth clearly not thrilled about teaming with his former rival.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 4.00 Stars
AMAZING Matt Riddle Vs Tommaso Ciampa Vs Chad Gable Vs Ricochet – Intercontinental Championship Number One Contendership Match: WWE Raw August 7 2023 Opening Match
With Raw being ad free for the first hour, this match was shown in full. There is not more than you can ask for yourself. Great action with an amazing crowd that was behind Gable. Everyone got great spots and great moments. There were great sequences as well. The finish includes Gable doing the roll for the chaos theory on everyone but Ricochet hitting a code breaker on Riddle. Ciampa hitting a famouser on Ricochet before Gable officially got the chaos theory on Tommaso for the win.
Results: Chad Gable By Pinfall via Chaos Theory on Ciampa.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 4.25 Stars
GREAT Shinsuke Nakamura Vs Bronson Reed:
This match was the best or second best match that they had in their run of matches. Very enjoyable with a good finish. There was one kinda rough spot but its definitely not a dark spot on this match. This was WWE showing that there is a simple way to make a rivalry that has a number of matches meaningful. Unlike the way they have done meaningless rematches before.
Results: Shinsuke Nakamura by Pinfall via Kinshasa
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.50 Stars
GREAT Becky Lynch Promo:
This was a fine promo that Becky cut. It gave that extra build to the eventual match between her and trish. Zoey Stark came out and was getting booed saying that Becky was mad Trish replaced her. Stark tries to claim that she was the new baddest in the locker room before Shayna came out to a pop while having a black eye, wrist brace and wrapping on her opposite elbow. Baszler brought up that she ran Ronda out of the company, getting thank you shayna chants. Becky becomes an instigator and brings Adam Pearce out who makes this a match.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
GOOD Zoey Stark Vs Shayna Baszler:
Zoey and Shayna had a fun match that included Zoey being distracted by Becky a number of times. Becky drinking Lemonade ringside at the commentary table. Enjoyable spots between the two of them. Nothing tremendous but it was a good bit of action.
Results: Shayna Baszler by Pinfall via Pipers Pit
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.00 Stars
SQUASH Otis Vs Ludwig Kaiser:
Ludwig taunted Maxxine at ringside. Imperium used the numbers game with Gunther hitting Otis with a big boot. Ludwig got the win. Gable ran down to save Otis from an imperium beat down.
Results: Ludwig Kaiser by Pinfall via Running Enzuigiri
MUST WATCH Miz Promo:
Miz comes out and talks about how he was disrespected earlier. LA won the battle royal and was taking up the photographer. He then calls out LA Knight. LA Knight and The Miz had a phenomenal back and forth acknowledging both of their pasts. There was a line that Knight messed up but said the line anyway. The other thing that was odd is LA Knight came into the promo getting a hot reaction and by the end of it the crowd didn’t care too much. Miz attacked LA but Knight got the BFT to stand tall. Aside from the line mess up and the odd crowd thing. This was a really good promo that got a lot of people including me invested.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 4.50 Stars
ABOVE AVERAGE Viking Raiders Vs New Day:
Viking Raiders started off in control of the New Day. Ivar got a big splash and a nearfall on Xavier Woods. Short but rateable match though. New Day get the win in their return to tag team action.
Results: New Day by Pinfall via Xavier Woods’ Elbow Drop On Ivar
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
Women’s Tag Titles?: Well WWE acknowledged Sonya’s injury. But didn’t announce anything else expect needing to find new champions.
GREAT Cody Rhodes, Shinsuke Nakamura, Seth Rollins Vs The Judgment Day with Rhea Ripley: WWE Raw August 7 2023 Main Event
During the entrances, Rhea Ripley got attacked By Raquel Rodriguez. While refs pulled them apart, Candice and Indi were also there. LeRae got physical by attacking Rhea as well. Rhea screaming bring it as she was being held.
This was a fine match, not the best six man tag that’s main evented raw within the past two months. The judgment day were able to work together well and nearly got the win with Priest using the briefcase on Cody. Sami Zayn ran down after being attacked by Finn Balor’s friend JD McDonagh. Cody gets the win.
As all men celebrate the win, Shinsuke is the one person to not stand on the corner ropes before hitting a running Kinshasa to Seth Rollins. Leaving the ring as Cody and Sami attend to him.
Results: Cody Rhodes By Pinfall via Cross Rhodes on Finn Balor
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.50 Stars
Overall…
WWE Raw on August 7 provided some fresh faces and directions. JD McDonagh once again being involved with Finn Balor’s business, including attacking Sami Zayn. Indi and Candice backing and supporting Raquel while also wanting to get their shot against Rhea as well. LA Knight truly got the chance to tell his story surrounding his career as he made it personal with The Miz. While some things were fresh, the judgment day aside from JD’s reappearance, is still a thorn in Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins’ side. Shinsuke Nakamura attacked Seth so hopefully Seth is done with the judgment day. Shayna Baszler hinted at going after Becky Lynch again, which should be a better feud this time around. Chad Gable is getting a singles push, YES. And not to mention, the New Day is back. A very entertaining Raw that had a hot Minnesota crowd.
Matches: 0.50/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere…: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 1/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 3.75/5 Stars
Photo Credit: WWE – August 7 2023
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
