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WWE RAW TV REPORT
JULY 24, 2023
TAMPA, FLA. AT AMALIE ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON USA
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Samantha Irvin
[HOUR ONE]
-The “Then, Now, Forever, Together” brand stamp aired.
-They went to a wide shot of the arena and Samantha Irvin introduced The Judgment Day who, except for Dominik Mysterio, were already standing mid-ring. Damian Priest told everyone to rise for The Judgement Day. Rhea Ripley said they not only run Raw, they now run all of WWE. Finn Balor said they have the unbeatable Women’s World Champion, Mr. Money in the Bank, the next WWE World Hvt. Champion, and also new champion Dominik. They threw to a video recap of Dominik’s win on NXT last Tuesday night. Then back live in the ring, Ripley introduced Dominik who carried his new NXT North American Title belt with him.
When Dom began speaking, fans exploded with boos. He said he is their “new fighting” NXT North American Champion. He threw to a brief video package on Dominik’s history in The Judgment Day. Back live in the ring, as Dom was about to speak again, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn walked out to KO’s theme. Owens pretended he wasn’t sure of the name of “the one with the mullet.” Owens yelled that Dom should have realized by now that nobody wants to hear what he has to say. “The best thing you could ever do is shut your mouth forever!” Dom said he is a champion now and he stand for being disrespected.
Sami said it’s true he is being disrespected, but that’s because nobody there respects him. Sami said he has a way he could win respect. He suggested he wrestled him one-on-one tonight. Dom smiled and said if he wants some of Dirty Dom, “come get some.” Sami said last week when he had a tag team match, they made a whole stink about how their titles weren’t won the line. The crowd oooh’d. Sami said if he’s the fighting champion he says he is, he’ll put the title on the line tonight. Ripley accepted on behalf of Dom. Dom nodded and gave off a vibe of guarded confidence. Owens laughed as Sami nodded and smiled.
-They went to Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick at ringside. Graves said it’s potentially a landmark night for The Judgment Day. Patrick hyped the Seth-Balor contract signing. Graves hyped the return of Logan Paul to Raw. Patrick said Cody Rhodes was there tonight, too.
-Becky Lynch made her ring entrance. Graves noted that if Becky comes up short, she’ll have to tattoo “Thank you Trish” on her body. He said, “This is nuts and it’s next!” [c]
-Patrick announced that “that smooth talking and spirited Sami Zayn may have just maneuvered his way into becoming a double-champion.” He said the match became official.
(Keller’s Analysis: I like the attention to detail that just because two wrestlers agree to a title match, it still has to go through official channels.)
(1) BECKY LYNCH vs. ZOEY STARK (w/Trish Stratus)
The bell rang 19 minutes into the hour. Becky’s music was finishing up after the break. Stark charged at Becky at the bell. Becky side-stepped her and pummeled her in the corner with a barrage of punches. They brawled at ringside a minute in as fans chanted “Let’s Go, Becky!” Back in the ring, Stark snapped Becky’s neck over the top rope and then landed a twisting springboard splash for a two count. They cut to an early break at 2:00. [c]
Back from the break, Becky had taken control and landed a top rope legdrop for a two count. Trish paced nervously at ringside as fans chanted for Becky. Trish headbutted Becky with her protective face guard. She threw Becky back into the ring where Stark superkicked her and scored a near fall. They battled back and forth for several minutes, exchanging near falls. Stark snapped Becky’s neck over the top rope again, but when she springboarded at her, Becky turned it into a Manhandle Slam for the win.
WINNER: Lynch in 10:00 to avoid a tatoo and earn a match against Trish at Summerslam.
-They aired a video package on the Cody Rhodes-Brock Lesnar saga. [c]
-They showed Vo Williams, the artist behind “Greatness,” the official Raw theme, standing and cheering in the front row.
-Cody Rhodes made his ring entrance. Patrick hyped the Cody vs. Lesnar match at Summerslam. Cody said everybody has seen the clip of Lesnar beating him up with a chair in front of his mother. Fans ooooh’d. Cody said Lesnar, who has never played football before, somehow made his way onto an NFL team (the Viking’s practice squad, technically). He said his mom watched Terry Funk throw fireballs at his dad’s face and the same woman who down the street drank with Gordon Solie at The Columbia (cheers for the local reference). He said his mom knows that what Brock did in front of her was a mistake.
He said the mistake wasn’t that he beat him up, but rather that he left him breathing. Cody took a deep breath. He said he’s not poking the bear, he’s slapping the bear and telling him to “come get it.” He said he doesn’t just want to beat him at Summerslam because he broke his arm. He said he wants to beat him at Summerslam because it’s what he deserves. He said when he’s old and gray and smoking a cigar, he will know his chapter on Lesnar wasn’t pretty but it ended with him pinning him. “I end this,” he said.
(Keller’s Analysis: Another strong babyface promo using a timeless formula of skipping any meta-nonsense and just framing the feud as good vs. bad with an unflinching confidence. A disciplined, reigned in, focused Cody in WWE continues to be world’s better than the Cody mic work in AEW.)
-A video package aired on the Logan Paul-Ricochet exchange two weeks ago on Raw.
-Jackie Redmond interviewed Ricochet backstage about Logan returning to Raw tonight. Ricochet said apparently being a YouTube star gives him the right to just show up whenever he wants. He said what he has to say to Logan he’ll say to his face.
(Keller’s Analysis: Another good Ricochet promo! Who knew he had this in him? And where has this Ricochet been all these years?)
-Sami made his ring entrance. [c]
(2) DOMINIK MYSTERIO (w/Rhea Ripley, Damien Priest) vs. SAMI ZAYN (w/Kevin Owens) – NXT North American Title match
The bell rang 55 minutes into the hour. Sami leapfrogged and arm-dragged Dominik. Sami clotheslined Dominik over the top rope and then landed a running flip dive onto Dom at ringside. They cut to a very early break at 1:00. [c]
Sami was punching away at Dominik in the corner after the break. When Priest shoved Sami off the top rope, KO went after him. The ref scolded Owens for standing on the ring apron and then booted him from ringside. Priest and Ripley smiled and waved good bye. The ref then ordered them to return to the back, too. Graves said the referee was drunk with power.
[HOUR TWO]
Sami, meanwhile, landed a Michinoku Driver for a near fall. A minute later Sami hit a charging Dom with a clothesline and scored a near fall. Graves made his first reference to “X,” the new name for Twitter as of today, saying Dom was trending. Dom caught a leaping Sami with a dropkick for a two count.
Sami landed another Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall at 9:00. At 10:00 Dom made a comeback and landed the Three Amigos series of vertical suplexes. He followed with a top rope splash attempt, but Sami raised his knees. Sami set up a Helluva Kick, but he turned to the entrance stage and saw Priest and Ripley rolled KO’s body out. Dom rolled up Sami for a three count.
Sami ran to the stage to check on KO along with Adam Pearce and a medic. Dom retreated through the crowd.
WINNER: Mysterio in 12:00 to retain the NXT North American Title.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good action. Sami lost after caring about his partner, but in the process gave Dom a win he can gloat about forever.) [c]
-Graves and Patrick commented on a clip of Owens being beat up. Then they cut backstage to Owens being tended to. He gasped for air and winced in pain and said he had a broken rib.
-Back to ringside, Graves said Owens learned not to mess with The Judgment Day. Patrick threw to a two minute video package on the Bloodline segment on Smackdown last Friday.
-The announcers hyped Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso at Summerslam.
-Backstage, Ricochet approached Shinsuke Nakamura and asked if he’s seen Logan. Nakamura said he hasn’t. Ricochet asked him to let him know if he does. Nakamura sorta nodded, but also gave off a vibe that he not bother. Tommaso Ciampa then approached Nakamura and said he wants to face Bronson Reed one-on-one, so if Nakamura shows up, that indicates they have a problem.
-Reed made his ring entrance. Patrick said Reed is furious over Ciampa’s “intervention” from Ciampa in his match last week and wants revenge. [c]
-The Judgment Day were shown walking backstage. Dom was bragging about giving Sami a whoopin’. They crossed paths with Apollo Crews and Akira Tozawa. Dom asked Apollo to show some respect. Priest got in Apollo’s face. Ripley asked Tozawa if he has an issue with them. Tozawa said no and ran off. Apollo challenged Priest to a match. Priest accepted and said he going to receive his punishment. Tozawa patted Apollo on the shoulder and said, “You got this!” Apollo shot him a look.
(3) BRONSON REED vs. TOMMASO CIAMPA
The bell rang 24 minutes into the hour. Reed threw Ciampa to the floor early. Ciampa took over back in the ring a minute later. When Reed leaped off the ring apron at Ciampa at 3:00, Ciampa dropkicked him out of mid-air. They cut to a break. [c]
Back from the break, Reed landed his Cyclone Slam. Ciampa came back with an inverted DDT. Ciampa leaped onto Reed’s back and landed a modified Fameasser for a near fall at 9:00. He then set up a Fairy Tale Ending, but Reed sat down on it and seemed confident he’d get the three count. Ciampa powered out. Reed followed up with a senton splash. Ciampa countered Reed with an Air Raid Crash for a believable near fall.
Nakamura walked out. Ciampa dropped to the floor to confront him. Reed attacked Ciampa from behind. Reed then landed a top rope Tsunami for the win. Graves said Ciampa took his eye off the ball and got squashed for it.
WINNER: Reed in 12:00.
-A clip aired of Ripley injuring Raquel Rodriguez’s leg last week.
-Byron Saxton interviewed Liv Morgan and asked about Rodriguez’s knee injury. Liv said she’s hurting, but she’ll be back later. She said Ripley is all hers tonight, though. She said she’s the last person to defeat Ripley. She said she won’t back down and then she uttered a weird giggle and said, “Watch me.” Chelsea Green and Deville then approached Saxton and asked why he’s interviewing Liv instead of them. Saxton said Liv has a match tonight with Ripley. Green bemoaned the world revolving around Ripley. Ripley walked up to them and looked at them sternly. They buttered her up and left. Ripley said she warned Rodriguez to stay out of her business, and when she didn’t, she took her out. She said Liv is next. [c]
-They showed Seth Rollins looking at the contract in Adam Pearce’s hands backstage.
-Liv made her ring entrance. Ripley attacked Liv from the side as soon as she arrived at ringside. She tossed her into the ringpost and into the ringside barricade. “It’s as if Oppenheimer took place in Barbie Land,” said Graves. She picked up a chair and slid it into the ring. Then she charged at Liv and headbutted her. She put the chair around her arm and stomped on it. Liv yelled out in pain. A medic checked on Liv as Ripley trash-talked her and yelled, “You mean nothing to me! Have fun in rehab!” It seemed as if Ripley was going to leave, but she returned and stomped on Liv’s arm again while it was in the chair.
(Keller’s Analysis: They’re going hard with Ripley as a heel. Liv did a nice job selling the pain from the attack.) [c]
-Graves commented on replays of the Ripley attack on Liv.
-They went backstage to Liv crying as a medic said he was going to try to stabilize her arm. She was sobbing.
-They went to Patrick and Graves who commented on a replay of the Viking Raiders winning last week.
-Backstage, Chad Gable was pacing in front of Otis and Maxxinne Dupri. Gable said they won their Viking Rules match last week, so they should have an Academy Rules match where he puts their heads through a chalkboard. Maxxine said she’s been embarrassing Valhala week after week, and she welcomes her first singles match ever next week against her.
-Ricochet made his ring entrance. He stood mid-ring and asked where Logan Paul was. He called him a “home boy” and told him to show his “stupid face.” After no response, he said he knows he’s not in the back hanging out because there’s a locker room full of guys who know he doesn’t belong there. He said they’re in Tampa in an arena full of people who know he doesn’t belong there. He said Logan is good and has put in the work, and some would say he’s not just good, but special. He said he is Ricochet, though, and he is special every time he gets into the ring. He called him a disrespectful, arrogant little prick. He challenged him to a match at Summerslam.
[HOUR THREE]
Logan attacked Ricochet from behind. He began to take selfies in the ring and accepted his challenge to a match at Summerslam when Ricochet recovered and superkicked him in the chin. Logan went down. Ricochet then landed a standing shooting star press. Graves said, “How humiliating.”
(Keller’s Analysis: That was a lot of hype for Logan appearing on Raw for that to be the only thing that happened.)
-Jackie Redmond interviewed Shayna Baszler about Ronda Rousey. Baszler said she’s sick of hearing that name in reference to everything she does. She said a match isn’t going to settle it. She said she’ll settle it at Summerslam in a language Rousey knows best. She said she’ll “fight” Rousey. Graves said they can only guess what Baszler meant by that.
-Preist made his ring entrance. [c]
-Saxton approached Logan backstage. Logan said Ricochet was unprofessional “and, quite frankly, I feel victimized.” He said he’s coming for Ricochet next week on Raw and he’s going to “pop his stupid bald head.” He apologized to Saxton when he realized Saxton was bald, too.
(4) DAMIAN PRIEST vs. APOLLO CREWS
The bell rang 10 minutes into the hour. Crews got in a little offense early, but Priest easily finished him with a South of Heaven.
WINNER: Priest in 3:00.
-Redmond interviewed Lynch backstage who said now that she has her rematch against Trish, it ain’t over until she wins.
-Imperium walked to the ring. [c]
-A vignette aired with Valhalla and the Raiders talking about the match next week with Maxxine. Valhalla said it is with a glad heart she accepts her challenge because the gods smile upon brave women. She offered her a piece of advice: “Consult the gods because you’re going to need them.”
-Gunther stood center ring, flanked by Ludwig Kaiser and Gionvani Vinci. Drew told Gunther that he heard what he had to say last week when he wasn’t there. He said he’s there and he’s dressed, “so why don’t we do this right now?” he asked. Gunther said after all that has happened, he apparently wants him to put his title on the line tonight. Drew dared him. Gunther said he has put prestige on the title and raised it to a level it has never seen before. He said he won’t put it on the line in front of the degenerates of Tampa. He told Drew that like those fans, he doesn’t get anything accomplished in life. He said he failed at Clash at the Castle and he humiliated him at WrestleMania. He told Drew that if he wants to ride on his coattail, he accepts his challenge and the match will be at Summerslam.
Drew talked about beating Gunther. Kaiser asked how he dares speak like that. Drew told Kaiser he likes him and he should be the leader of Imperium. Kaiser said he won’t stand there and let him disrespect Imperium. Drew smiled and said since Gunther won’t wrestle, how about they wrestle right now. Kaiser got in Drew’s face. Drew said, “I think we need a referee.” [c]
(5) DREW MCINTYRE vs. LUDWIG KAISER (w/Gunther, Giovanni Vinci)
The bell rang 31 minutes into the hour. Graves mocked Kaiser’s speaking style as he called the match for a while. Drew took it to Kaiser at ringside and chopped him in front of Gunther at 3:00. Kaiser rammed Drew into the ringpost after Drew took a few seconds to yell at Gunther. Kaiser raked Drew’s eyes and threw him shoulder-first into the ringpost. Kaiser dropkicked Drew to the floor. They cut to a break at 4:00. [c]
Kaiser was still in control after the break until Drew surprised a charging Kaiser with a sudden Claymore for the win.
WINNER: McIntyre in 8:00.
-Gunther attacked Drew from behind after the match. Giovanni held him as Gunther stomped away at him. Matt Riddle ran out for the save. He took Vinci down, but Gunther then powerbombed him. Gunther then kicked Drew in the head at ringside, laying him out. He stood over him and trash-talked him. Fans chanted, “We want tables!” Gunther yanked the lid off the announce desk and set up a powerbomb. Drew backdropped out of it and then powerbombed Gunther onto the announce desk. Gunther took a nasty fall on the back of his head and neck when the table collapsed. Drew then stood over Gunther as Gunther held his head in pain. Drew held up the Intercontinental Title belt as his music played. He then threw the belt onto Gunther’s chest.
-Redmond interviewed Rousey backstage. She asked for her response to Baszler’s challenge to a fight. Rousey said anytime she fights, it’s not “a fight,” it’s “thee fight.” She accepted the challenge.
-Balor made his ring entrance. [c]
-Balor stood mid-ring and smiled. He said it appears Seth has his hands full due to the chaos Judgment Day have caused. He said he’s a professional and Seth is a professional. Fans sang Seth’s song. Balor said they both want the match so they can sign the contract like gentleman. He sat down and asked Seth to join him so they can make the match official. Seth made his entrance.
Seth sat down with the WWE Hvt. Title belt over his shoulder. He kicked his feet up. Balor held the contract first as fans continued to sing Seth’s song. Seth said miracles happen every day and if he wins the WWE Title, his reign will shorter than his Universal Title reign because his boy Priest will cash in on him right then, right there. He said Balor knows it’s true because he’d do the exact same thing to him. He told Balor to keep chasing the ghost because Summerslam won’t be the coronation of The Judgment Day, it’ll be the end of The Judgment Day. Balor smiled and signed the contract.
Balor told Seth he thinks he has it all figured out. He told Seth that he thinks he’s so smart. He said he thinks he runs the place, but he doesn’t. He said The Judgment Day runs Raw now. Priest and Dominik walked to ringside through the crowd. Ripley made her way down the aisle to ringside. Balor said losing the last few years has been driving him insane, “and it’s all because of you, Seth.” He said that insanity feels like an itch you just can’t scratch. He said it feels like a seven year itch. He said at Summerslam, he’s going to make him his “seven year bitch.”
Seth tipped the table over and knocked it into Priest as he was entering the ring. He threw Dom out of the ring. He turned around, but Priest hit him with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Seth went down hard. Priest and Balor eyed each other. That was interrupted by Sami running to the ring with a chair. He ducked past Ripley on his way. He jabbed Priest with the chair, then was about to bash Dom in the back with the chair when Ripley yanked it away from him. The Judgment Day then ganged up on Sami. Priest gave him a South of Heaven. Sami rolled to the floor. The Judgment Day swarmed Seth. Priest gave him a Razor’s Edge. Dom then leaped off the top rope with a frog splash. Balor landed a Coup de Grace off the top rope. All four stood over Seth as Balor said at Summerslam, his seven years is over.
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