WWE Raw Results (7/3): Keller’s report on Money in the Bank fallout, Ripley defending against Natalya

WWE RAW TV REPORT
JULY 3, 2023
BALTIMORE, MD. AT CFG BANK ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON USA

Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

Ring Announcer: Mike Rome

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[HOUR ONE]

-The show opened with a lengthy highlight video package on the Money in the Bank event on Saturday, including the Ricochet and Logan Paul springboard spot where Logan barely tucked in time before crashing through the table, lacerating and bloodying his shoulder.

-Kevin Patrick introduced the show as Seth Rollins’s entrance theme began. Seth danced onto the stage. Seth hit some catch phrases and then celebrated Roman Reigns being pinned for the first time in years and his victory over Finn Balor. Cody Rhodes’s music then played and fans exploded with cheers. Cody entered the ring and was about to ask what people wanted to talk about when Brock Lesnar’s music interrupted.

Cody turned and charged when he saw Lesnar walk onto the stage. They brawled to the ring where Cody gave Lesnar a Cody Cutter. Graves said, “No one saw this coming tonight?”

(Keller’s Analysis: There was not much to Seth’s promo. It was just a chance for fans to sing his song. Cody coming out indicated he’s interested in Seth’s title, not just Roman’s. Cody attacking Brock reignited their feud. The crowd reaction for Cody was great.) [c]

-They replayed a clip of the Lesnar-Cody brawl.

-Seth remained in the ring and was going to keep speaking when The Judgment Day’s Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, and Dominik Mysterio walked out. Ripley said that’s enough from Seth because everyone was there to see them take over. Seth noted that Finn Balor wasn’t there. Priest said he should be worried about him and his MITB briefcase. He said when he’s done beating Shinsuke Nakamura later, he’ll see his way to going from Mr. MITB to the champion. Seth said to cash it in, the champion has to be down and out. “I’m fresh as a daisy right now,” he said. “And I don’t really have a match on the card tonight.” He said when he was done talking, he was going to go party in Baltimore and let the fans sing his song in the street.

Priest said he’ll make sure he’s useless. He said Seth is supposed to be the guy who loves giving opportunities. Priest suggested Seth face Dominik. Dom chomped his gum and seemed okay with it. Dom took the mic. Boos rang out. Seth accepted the challenge.

(Keller’s Analysis: Priest, Ripley, and Dom were all good in their roles here.)  [c]

(1) SHINSUKE NAKAMURA vs. DAMIAN PRIEST

The bell rang 30 minutes into the hour. Graves touted the resilience and fortitude of wrestlers who competed at Money in the Bank in the ladder matches who could also wrestle two days later after traveling back to the United States. They fought back and forth for three minutes before taking the battle to ringside. Priest reversed a Nakamura suplex and dropped him over the ringside barricade. They cut to a split-screen break. [c/ss]

Priest controlled Nakamura during the break, largely with matwork. Back from the break, Nakamura made a comeback. Nakamura delivered his slide-under back suplex at 7:00 and then gyrated in front of Ripley. Back in the ring, he delivered a boot to Priest’s head and scored a two count. He leaped off the second rope, but Priest punched him out of mid-air. Priest finished Nakamura a minute later with South of Heaven.

WINNER: Priest in 10:00.

(Keller’s Analysis: Solid match and about what you’d expect with those two in a ten minute match.)

-Clips aired from Money in the Bank. Then they plugged Ripley vs. Natalya later on Raw. [c]

-The announcers commented over headlines from corporate media entities that covered Money in the Bank. Then they showed Shayna Baszler attacking Ronda Rousey out of nowhere and costing herself and her teammate the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

-Rousey made her ring entrance and was about to speak when Baszler’s music played and she walked out. Baszler said, “I’m pretty confident that I speak for everyone when I say we are pretty sick and tried of trying to hear you speak on a microphone.” Lots of cheers. Rousey asked for an explanation. Baszler said she doesn’t owe her and she called her narcissistic. She said the only apology she owes anyone is to everyone else for bringing her into pro wrestling. Rousey said they worked hard together. Baszler interrupted and said Rousey wasn’t there building rings like she had to. She said she, unlike Rousey, paid her dues and scratched and clawed to get there. She said Rousey waltzed her way in the back door straight to WrestleMania. Baszler said she loves this and she has ruined it for her. Rousey looked pouty and hurt. She said she is the one who can finally shut her up. More cheers. Rousey charged and knocked Baszler off the ring apron. Rousey put Baszler in a sleeper mid-ring. Baszler flipped her over and applied an anklelock. Rousey crawled under the bottom rope, so Baszler let go, but then nailed Rousey with a running knee to the side of her head.

(Keller’s Analysis: Was that designed for Rousey to be booed? If so, then success. If not, oops. Baszler was good there. Maybe a little too “yelly” but she made her points and seemed genuine in her animosity toward Rousey. We didn’t get an explanation what triggered the timing of her turning on Rousey, though? Was her plan to catch her with her guard down? Was it something that Rousey said or did after they won their unification match? Or did she always resent and hate Rousey and just faked it for a while?)

-Backstage, Maxxinne was practicing a headlock on Otis. Chad Gable blew his whistle and asked if she was ready for her first match. She said she’s tired of people underestimating her and Gable’s coaching abilities. She said there will be early fireworks tonight. Gable took offense to the notion people would underestimate them. He promised the biggest dose of patriotism anyone has ever seen.

-Samantha Irvin stood mid-ring and introduced Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan. They cut to a split-screen break as they made their ring entrance. [c/ss]

[HOUR TWO]

-A clip aired from earlier where Nikki approached Candice LeRae about being her partner. Candice apologized nervously but said she already promised Indy Hartwell she’d team with her. Emma then approached Nikki and said she’d team with her. Nikki stared blankly at her, still selling the shock of Candice not choosing her.

(2) CANDICE LERAE & INDY HARTWELL vs. CHELSEA GREEN & SONYA DEVILLE vs. EMMA & NIKKI CROSS vs. KAYDEN CARTER & KATANA CHANCE vs. TEGAN NOX & DANA BROOKE – No. 1 Contendership Tag Team match

The bell rang two minutes into the hour with Rodriguez & Morgan watching at ringside. Graves noted this is Hartwell’s first appearance on Raw since being drafted to Raw. The other teams were at ringside. The announcers explained the rules of this match. Green pinned Candice less than two minutes in. As Hartwell helped LeRae to the back, Nikki creepily crawled toward her and asked if she was okay. Next in were Emma & Cross. Emma had to fight alone and succumbed quickly to Green and Sonya. They cut to a break as Nox & Brooke entered. [c/ss]

Sonya finished Nox during the break with a flying knee. They replayed the finish after the break. Chance & Carter entered next. Chance and Carter took Green out of the corner off their shoulders with a head scissors. Deville punched Chance as she hit the ropes and then Green gave Carter an Unprettier for the win. Graves said they bent the rules to advance, but “ultimately it’s about the result.” After the match, Rodriguez & Morgan entered the ring with their tag titles and eyed the winners celebrating at ringside.

WINNER: Deville & Green in 12:00.

(Keller’s Analysis: There has to be a better way to determine no. 1 contenders than these rapid-fire multi-team matches where the depth chart is decimated by the quick losses of several teams, right?)

-Patrick and Graves commented on clips of the women’s MITB match. [c]

-A vignette aired on Bronson Reed. He said he has gotten to where he is based on instilling fear. He said anyone who disrespects him gets hurt.

-Becky Lynch made her ring entrance and said this would be a great place to end her issues with Trish Stratus. Trish and Zoey Stark walked out to Trish’s music. Trish had a face mask on and said Becky should wear one too in order to hide her face. She said she’d like to wrestle Becky, but she’s not medically cleared “because you broke my face.” Becky told Trish to send Stark to the ring instead. Trish said no one is better than her, but she’s training Stark to be the best some day. She said she is the greatest of all time. Trish said the irony isn’t lost on her that she tried to break the face of the actual Face of the Women’s Division. She sent Stark to the ring, but then stopped her and said she has a medical appointment and they have to get to that. She told Becky to leave her calendar open next week for Stark. “Who has a medical appointment at 9:30 at night on Monday?” asked Patrick.

-Patrick and Graves commented on clips of the Cody-Lesnar brawl earlier in the show.

-Jackie Redmond interviewed Cody at ringside. Cody welcomed her to her first night on Raw and asked the crowd to say hi to her. Cody said he isn’t done with Brock yet. He said Lesnar broke his arm and he busted his face, so there’s no way they can continue to co-exist on Raw. He said he wants another shot at Lesnar. He said he’ll fight him any night or every night.

(Keller’s Analysis: Another “short but sweet” ringside interview from Cody that distinguishes him from other wrestlers. Is it too much, though, for him to come out to his music for a one minute interview like that?)

-Patrick plugged the six-person tag match next. [c]

(3) CHAD GABLE & OTIS & MAXXINNE DUPRI vs. THE VIKING RAIDERS (Erik & Ivar) & VALHALLA

Gable and Otis got early advantage on the Raiders. They cut to a split-screen break. [c/ss]

During the break, the Raiders took over. After the break, Gable crawled over and hot-tagged in Maxxine Dupri. Fans popped as she went on a flurry of offense against Valhalla. Otis got Maxxine very worked up as she celebrated. Valhalla recovered and kicked her. Gable leaped off the top turnbuckle with a moonsault press onto the Raiders who were held by Otis at ringside. Maxxine then made a comeback and rolled up Valhalla for the win. The crowd popped.

WINNERS: Gable & Otis & Maxxine in 9:00.

-Clips aired of Ripley beating up Natalya two weeks ago.

-Morgan and Rodriguez were shown giving Natalya a pep-talk backstage. Natalya walked away and her head seemed to be in the clouds somewhere or she was exuding confidence that she didn’t have before.

-Patrick hyped that they’d revisit the men’s MITB next. [c]

-They showed headlines from big corporate brand mainstream media sites covering Money in the Bank. They showed a clip of Logan Paul and Ricochet brawling after their match backstage. Patrick noted that Paul Levesque said in the post-event press conference that Logan has no right to be as good as he is.

-Redmond interviewed Ricochet backstage. He said he’s not a keyboard warrior so he’s issuing a challenge to Logan live on Raw to face him one-on-one next week on Raw.

-Natalya attacked Ripley on her way to the ring. The ref admonished Natalya, then turned to check on Ripley. Graves said Natalya might be costing herself a title match if the ref DQ’d her, but lucky for her, the ref was giving her considerable leeway. Ripley was barely able to stand, but told the ref she was good to go. The ref called for the bell. Natalya attacked her as she was taking her vest off. (The ref could’ve waited a few more seconds before calling for the bell!)

[HOUR THREE]

(4) RHEA RIPLEY vs. NATALYA – Women’s Title match

Ripley took over a minute later at ringside. Back in the ring, she took Natalya down with a headbutt for a believable near fall at 2:00. Ripley continued her attack. Patrick said this is the opportunity Natalya asked for. Natalya blocked a superplex attempt at 4:00 and landed a crossbody. Both were down and slow to get up. They cut to a split-screen break. [c/ss]

They continued to battle back and forth for several minutes. Ripley climbed to the top rope at 11:00 and dedicated her move to Dominik. She leaped off the top rope, but Natalya lifted her boot and caught her in the face. Natalya then delivered a running powerslam. Graves said, “Shades of the Bulldog.” Natalya applied a sharpshooter mid-ring. Ripley crawled over and grabbed the bottom rope to force a break. Ripley kicked Natalya as she chased her down and then hit her Rip Cord for the win.

WINNER: Ripley in 13:00.

(Keller’s Analysis: Good match. The crowd wasn’t sure how to response since Natalya sneak attacked Ripley at the start, but many did side with Natalya throughout. The little multi-week storyline of Natalya digging deep and trying to revive or spark her career helped build this into a match that could justify filling 15 minutes of TV time.)

-Afterward, Ripley kicked Natalya in the head and pounded away at her. Rodriguez and Morgan charged out for the save.

-A clip aired of the Tommaso Ciampa brawling with Miz.

-A soundbite recorded earlier with Ciampa aired. He said he finally saw a spark in Miz’s eyes that has been missing. He said Miz has been losing more and more lately, but the ruthless aggression is back. He said Miz has shown him his cards, but he has no idea what he holds in his hands.

-A promo aired with Miz, rebutting Ciampa and saying he is the unbeatable royal flush. He said the last person who called him a coward is gone. He said everyone he has taken under his wing and double-crossed him is gone. He said he’s still there. He said he’s feeling better than he’s ever felt before, so next week, bring that chip on his shoulder for a no-DQ match. He said he’ll be getting the best version of him. He said people will put respect on his name. “Because I’m the Miz and I’m awesome!” he said.

(Keller’s Analysis: Aww, it’s so cute when Miz tries to be serious and threatening. But seriously, that was a good promo that made it seem like Ciampa did genuinely spark something in him.) [c]

-Patrick and Graves touted over 40 million views for the Bloodline Civil War across social media. A lengthy recap of the MITB match aired. Then Graves plugged that Roman Reigns will be “on trial” this Friday on Smackdown.

-Matt Riddle made his ring entrance. [c]

-Backstage Iyo Sky approached Ripley and held up her briefcase and said she’d see her around. Ripley said, “Try it and it’ll be the biggest mistake of your life.” Dominik and Priest joined Ripley. She said Rodriguez and Morgan got in her business despite her warnings not to. She said they’ll regret it. Dom said Cody will regret getting in the ring with “Dirty Dom.” Ripley and Priest agreed.

(5) MATT RIDDLE vs. GIOVANI VINCI (w/Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser)

The bell rang 33 minutes into the hour. Patrick said people backstage say Vinci is cocky and rude. Graves disagreed, questioned Patrick’s sources, and said Vinci actually has got a future in politics because he’s so well liked. Vinci countered a Bro Derek, but Riddle rolled up Vinci seconds later for the three count.

WINNER: Riddle in 2:00.

-Vinci and Kaiser attacked Riddle afterward. Drew McIntyre came out for the save. Drew kicked a charging Kaiser in the head, then headbutted Vinci in the ring. Riddle landed a knee. Drew then leaned over the top rope and stared at Gunther. He turned and gave Vinci a Claymore. Gunther stood on the ring apron and stared at him. Drew stared back and trash talked him a bit. Gunther dropped to the floor and walked away.

-Clips aired of Seth vs. Balor at MITB.

-Dominik made his ring entrance. [c]

-Backstage, Riddle thanked Drew for having his back. Byron Saxton approached and interviewed Drew. Drew said he is back. Riddle suggested they team up against Imperium next week. Drew said that’s next week, but how about they go get some pints in Baltimore. Riddle suggested they get some jimmies.

-Patrick and Graves hyped Becky vs. Stark, Ricochet and Logan Paul face to face, Miz vs. Ciampa in a no-DQ match next week on Raw.

(6) SETH ROLLINS vs. DOMINIK MYSTERIO (w/Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest)

As Seth came out, Graves and Patrick talked about the absence of Balor. Graves said they’re hearing that no one in Judgment Day has spoken to Balor recently. The bell rang 46 minutes into the hour. When Seth was going to run the ropes and jump at Dom, Ripley blocked his path. Seth backdropped a charging Dominik and then leaped off the ring apron with a flying knee. He stared at Priest as they cut to a split-screen break. [c/ss]

During the break, Dominik took control after Seth was briefly distracted by Priest and Ripley at ringside. Dom stomped away at Seth. Fans chanted “Dom, you suck!” Seth took over and dove through the ropes onto Dom and Priest. Back in the ring, he set up a Stomp, but Priest intervened and gave him a South of Heaven. The ref DQ’d Seth.

WINNER: Seth via DQ in 10:00.

-As Priest beat up Seth in the ring and then at ringside, the announcers wondered if he’d cash in the briefcase. As Priest about to deliver a Razor’s Edge onto the announce desk, Seth slipped free and took over. Dominik attacked him from behind with the briefcase. Dom handed Priest the briefcase and encouraged him to cash in. “Come on, you’ve got this!” Dom said. Priest paused, and then entered the ring, but then Balor showed up and knocked Seth into Priest.

Balor stomped away at Seth and then climbed to the top rope. Priest yelled at Balor, “What are you doing?” Dom tried to play peacemaker. Seth slipped out of the ring. Dom ran after him. Seth gave him a Pedigree. Graves said Priest was about to cash in and become World Champion “and you can’t convince me otherwise.” He said Balor cost Priest that opportunity. Balor and Priest continued to argue at ringside. Patrick wished viewers a happy Fourth of July as the show ended.