This week’s episode of Monday Night RAW would be the go-home episode for the upcoming PLE, Night of Champions. And it surely delivered.
Last night’s RAW featured all the big stars gearing up for their matches at the event. Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes clashed one last time before their upcoming match. Meanwhile, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens got some help from a previous ally against the Imperium. Read on as we cover the latest episode of Monday Night RAW.
Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens brawl with Imperium; Matt Riddle evens the odds
This week’s Monday Night RAW started with Paul Heyman in the ring, hyping up The Tribal Chief’s match at Night of Champions. However, when Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens made their way to the ring, the Wise Man quickly made his escape.
The Tag Champs went on to talk about their upcoming match this Saturday. They were soon interrupted by Imperium’s Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci. Matt Riddle came out to even the odds. A brawl ensued between the six superstars, which ended with the Zayn, Owens and Riddle standing strong. It seems like the tag champs found their mystery partner in Riddle, who has fought with them before, against The Bloodline.
Ricochet vs Bronson Reed
The match between Mr. Nice Guy and The One and Only was surprisingly good. It featured some excellent action from Ricochet, who despite giving it his all, ultimately came up short.
Ricochet hit Reed with a standing shooting star press, only for Reed to kick out at one. The match saw Ricochet firing off against Reed, even countering his apron drive with a knee lift. However, Reed ended the match when he hit Ricochet with the snap powerslam and the Tsunami to pick up the win.
Result: Bronson Reed def. Ricochet
Seth “Freakin” Rollins Interview- Part 2
Seth Rollins has been absent for some time due to filming for the new Captain America movie. Therefore, WWE has been showing pre-taped interviews of Rollins in order to make up for his absence before his big match against AJ Styles at Night of Champions.
Last week on RAW, Rollins talked about his relationship with Roman Reigns and The Shield. This week, he delved into this topic again, talking saying that although he “loves” Roman Reigns, he doesn’t like him. He goes on to question his recent methods of his title reign. He finished the interview by talking about his title match, saying that the crowd was fully behind him.
Zoey Stark vs Candice LeRae
This was a squash match from the beginning and was pretty underwhelming. Candice LeRae didn’t even pose much of a threat to Stark, who picked up the win after finishing her off with a Z360.
Result: Zoey Stark def. Candice LeRae
Brock Lesnar brutally injures Cody Rhodes ahead of their match
Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes being under the same roof meant only one thing: Chaos. In a backstage confrontation earlier in the night, Lesnar injured Rhodes’ left arm in a vicious attack. He later came out to the ring and declared that The American Nightmare will not face him at Night of Champions.
This provoked Cody Rhodes to march to the ring and pick a fight with The Beast. It was a losing battle from the beginning, as Lesnar locked in the Kimura Lock on Rhodes and refused to let go. Later we get to see Triple H trying to talk some sense into Rhodes, who was most certainly injured. Fighting Brock Lesnar at anything less than a 100% is suicide, but Cody Rhodes was persistent.
Alpha Academy vs The Viking Raiders
The storyline of Otis struggling with the advice of Maxxine Dupri and Chad Gable continues, as the team did not work cohesively in the match. It was only after a distraction from Dupri which allowed Gable to get a rollup to steal the win.
Once again, it was not an impressive showing for Erik and Ivar, who WWE seems to have completely given up upon. It remains to be seen where the storyline of the friction in the Alpha Academy leads to.
Result: Alpha Academy def. The Viking Raiders
Finn Balor vs Shinsuke Nakamura
As seen earlier, Damian Priest and Finn Balor were angry at Nakamura’s disrespect from last week. It resulted in a singles match between The Prince and The King of Strong Style. It can be argued that any match involving a member of the Judgement Day cannot be called a singles match, as there is always some form of interference from the group.
Balor was helped by Priest throughout the match, which eventually pushed Nakamura off the edge. He kicked The Archer of Infamy over the barricade. This momentary distraction helped Balor to dropkick Nakamura into the barricade and seal the deal with the Coup De Grace.
Result: Finn Balor def. Shinsuke Nakamura
Raquel Rodriguez vs Sonya Deville
After vacating the tag titles due to Liv Morgan’s injury, this was Raquel Rodriguez’s first showing as a singles competitor. She faced off against Sonya Deville in a pretty underwhelming match.
Deville once again came up short in a match against Rodriguez. Raquel Rodriguez picked up the victory after planting Deville with the Tejana Bomb. After the match, Chelsea Green attacked Rodriguez, who was eventually saved by Shotzi.
Result: Raquel Rodriguez def. Sonya Deville
Becky Lynch shuts down Trish Stratus during contract signing
The buildup to the showdown between Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch has been solid so far. And last night’s segment made the match a must-see.
Becky certainly got in Trish’s mind, as she called her out then refused to look at her. After Trish Stratus ran her mouth and signed the contract, Becky Lynch tossed away her sunglasses and completely shut her down. She promised not to hurt Trish before their match and even said that she would embarrass her worse than the time where she “barked like a dog”.
Dominik Mysterio vs Apollo Crews
The match saw Dominik pile up another win, in his typical fashion of hiding behind his “Mami”. Apollo Crews had control for the majority of the match, until Rhea Ripley interfered.
She pushed Crews into the steel post after Dominik sent him to the steel steps. When The Nigerian Warrior made his way back in the ring, Dominik hit him with the frog splash and picked up the win.
Result: Dominik Mysterio def. Apollo Crews
Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens & Matt Riddle vs Imperium
While Gunther remained the strongman of Imperium, Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser continue to come up short as a team. Imperium had control for most of the match. When Gunther was sent outside, Sami Zayn landed the Helluva Kick on Vinci, which was then followed by Owens’ Pop-up Powerbomb to pick up the win and close out this week’s Monday Night RAW.
Result: Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens & Matt Riddle def. Imperium
Read More: WWE RAW Preview and Match Card: 22 May, 2023
