The Judgment Day start the show, Becky Lynch VS Zoey Stark
The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor, Senor Money in the Bank Damian Priest, and Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley were all in the ring as they bragged about all of their accomplishments. They then welcomed out the new NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio who got booed because of course he did. We then got a video package showcasing Dom’s run in The Judgment Day before the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn arrived without their name being said so KO’s now a hypocrite. Owens was clearly angry at the Judgment Day and particularly Dominik Mysterio and it led to his partner Sami Zayn challenging Mysterio to a match for the North American Championship which Rhea Ripley accepted on Dom’s behalf. This was all totally fine and I’m realising that I say this about pretty much every Raw opening segment.
Grade: C+
The first match of the night saw Becky Lynch take on Zoey Stark with huge implications on the line. If Becky wins, she gets another match with Trish Stratus, but if Zoey wins, Lynch would have to get “Thankyou Trish” tattooed on her chest. Zoey Stark came out of the blocks firing, but Becky was able to use her experience to gain an edge over her younger opponent. I thought this match was alright, Becky Lynch is one of the biggest stars in the entire company whilst Zoey Stark continues to show why she’s so highly rated. Trish Stratus also got involved a few times to try and help her young protégé, but in the end, it wasn’t enough as Big Time Becks hit the Manhandle Slam to get the victory to the disgust of the WWE Hall of Famer. Whilst it’s a shame that Zoey’s unbeaten run has come to an end, Lynch had to win this match and I expect this storyline to end with the Man beating Stratus at Summerslam.
Grade: C+
Cody Rhodes Promo, Dominik Mysterio VS Sami Zayn: NXT North American Championship
Cody Rhodes arrived to a big pop before the American Nightmare talked about what happened in Atlanta last week. Rhodes talked about how angry he was that Brock Lesnar beat him up in front of his mother, but he also said that Brock made a mistake in keeping him breathing. Cody said that he’s going to look back at his career in the future and know that the end of his feud with the Beast has him coming out on top at Summerslam. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, Cody Rhodes is a really good promo, but he does kind of say the same thing every week. I feel like Cody’s promos would come across better if he only did them once in a while (or certainly not every week).
Grade: C+
Jackie Redmond tried to speak to Ricochet backstage and whilst the One and Only spoke, he also said he wanted to say what he has to say to Logan Paul’s face. It was then time for Dominik Mysterio to put his NXT North American Championship on the line when he faced one-half of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, Sami Zayn. Sami started off firing with an amazing dive over the top rope, but when we came back from the ad break, Dominik was on top due to interference from Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley. The referee then caught Kevin Owens on the ring apron after KO was dealing with Damian Priest which resulted in the Prizefighter being booted from ringside. After that, Priest and Ripley mockingly waved Owens goodbye which resulted in them also getting thrown out which didn’t make much sense, but ok. There was a really cool moment in this match where Dominik reversed Sami’s attempt at the Blue Thunderbomb with a hurricanrana before Zayn hit a monster BTB for a close near-fall. Rhea Ripley and Senor Money in the Bank Damian Priest then reappeared on the entranceway and they were also beating up Kevin Owens in the process which distracted Sami Zayn and allowed Evil Mysterio to steal the victory with a roll-up. I had fun with this match, I thought both Sami and Dom did well and the ending was a smart way to protect Zayn whilst also furthering the storyline between the tag champs and The Judgment Day.
Grade: B-
Bronson Reed VS Tommaso Ciampa, Rhea Ripley VS Liv Morgan, Ricochet calls out Logan Paul
Adam Pearce and a trainer were checking on Kevin Owens backstage and Owens claimed that “something was broken”. Ricochet then found Shinsuke Nakamura and asked him to be on the lookout for Logan Paul before Tommaso Ciampa walked in and told Shin that whilst he’ll let last week’s boot to the face go, he doesn’t want to see him out there tonight during the Blackheart’s match with Bronson Reed. Shin didn’t respond. The Judgment Day were then walking backstage before Apollo Crews stepped up to Dominik Mysterio. Damian Priest then stood up for his JD brother whilst Rhea Ripley scared off Akira Tozawa. Tozawa is amazing! This also set up a match for later between Priest and Crews. The Colossal Bronson Reed then headed for the ring as he was about to go one-on-one with Tommaso Ciampa. I enjoyed this, it started off with Bronson in control, but it ended up turning into a bit of a slugfest. There was a brilliant bit in the match where Reed dropped Ciampa with a clothesline only for the Blackheart to get straight back up in a way only Tommaso Ciampa is able to do. Ciampa also dropped Reed with the Air-Raid Crash which was awesome whilst the Big Aussie just sitting on Mr. NXT was way funnier than it probably should’ve been. In the end, Shinsuke Nakamura did show up and this distracted Tommaso Ciampa immensely, allowing Bronson to take his opponent out before Mr. Nice Guy hit the Tsunami to get the victory. I’m still not sure about Ciampa losing again, but it’s better that he was protected in defeat rather than the match just ending in a DQ.
Grade: B-
Byron Saxton interviewed Liv Morgan backstage and Liv said that she was the last person to beat Rhea Ripley and she’s also going to get some revenge on behalf of Raquel Rodriguez. What a cool fact. The new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville then walked in and when they asked them why they weren’t the ones being interviewed, Saxton said it’s because “I interviewed you last week”. I’m 100% sure that that’s not how journalism works. Anyway, Chelsea Green then started complaining about Rhea Ripley before the Women’s World Champion walked in and the tag champs quickly walked off. Rhea then said she warned Liv and Raquel not to get in her business which is true. It was then time for Liv Morgan to take on the Women’s World Champion, except the match never took place because Ripley attacked Morgan during her entrance and went on to absolutely destroy her former tag team partner. Rhea attacked Liv with a steel chair and stomped on her hand (whilst wrapped around the chair) multiple times in a vicious attack. I really liked this, I thought this is by far the best that the Eradicator has looked when it comes to being the actual Champion. However, whilst the beatdown was cool, Ripley’s trash-talking afterwards was even better and she delivered it in a way that probably only Roman Reigns could do. Whilst Rhea shouting the words “Your Dead to me” was a little extreme, it also makes sense given the two were once tag team partners.
Grade: B
Liv Morgan was being attended to in the trainers' room and she seemed in absolute agony. Alpha Academy then cut a promo where Maxxine Dupri challenged Valhalla to a singles match for next week before Ricochet arrived to cut a promo. Ricochet called out Logan Paul and told him that nobody wants him here before he challenged the Social Media Megastar to a match at Summerslam. The Maverick then arrived and attacked the One and Only behind before he accepted his Summerslam challenge. Paul then mocked the crowd before he got met with a Superkick from Ricochet before the “Ultimate Midcard Champion” delivered a standing Shooting Star Press to end the segment. Unfortunately, Ricochet isn’t the best at promos, but Logan Paul once again came across well and I’m sure their match at Summerslam will be completely bonkers.
Grade: C
Damian Priest VS Apollo Crews, Drew McIntyre VS Ludwig Kaiser
Shayna Baszler was interviewed backstage and she said that she is sick and tired of hearing Ronda Rousey’s name in association with hers. The Queen of Spades then said at Summerslam, she wants “a fight” with Rousey so I’m assuming it’s going to be a “Fight Pit match” which is something I mentioned when this feud first started. Logan Paul then called Ricochet unprofessional again before he dissed him for being bald whilst talking to Byron Saxton. He then turned to Saxton and said “no offence” which made me laugh. Senor Money in the Bank Damian Priest then made his way down to the ring as he was about to face Apollo Crews in singles action. Damian dominated this match, I think Apollo must have only gotten in about 3-to-4 moves. It sucks for Crews, but that’s just the role he’s in at the moment and it was good to see Mr. Money in the Bank look strong as Priest sealed the victory with South of Heaven. The Judgment Day’s dominance on this show continues!
Grade: C+
Becky Lynch was delighted backstage when she was interviewed by Jackie Redmond before the Viking Raiders cut a “scary” promo about the 9 realms. Valhalla then accepted Maxxine Dupri’s challenge. Imperium then arrived as it was time for the Ring General Gunther to come face-to-face with the Scottish Warrior Drew McIntyre. Drew wanted a shot at Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship right now, but the Champion rejected this request by saying he’d give him the opportunity at Summerslam. Gunther also had a brilliant line about how McIntyre failed at Clash at the Castle last year before the “Scottish Psychopath” (as Ludwig called him) said that Ludwig Kaiser should be the leader of Imperium so he definitely gets how to break factions up. This then led to a match between McIntyre and Kaiser and it was alright, it wasn’t anything special, but it definitely didn’t make the show worse. Drew obviously picked up the win after he delivered an awesome Claymore before Gunther started to beat his rival up. Matt Riddle ran down to make the save and failed miserably (Gunther Powerbombed him), but outside the ring, McIntyre sent the Intercontinental Champion crashing through the announce table before he lifted up the title and everyone knows what that means (except the wrestlers themselves clearly). Gunther-McIntyre should be awesome at Summerslam.
Grade: C+ (Overall)
Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Finn Balor “Sign the Contract”
Ronda Rousey accepted Shayna Baszler’s challenge before Finn Balor was in the ring. Finn said that Adam Pearce couldn’t be out here as he was dealing with all the carnage left by The Judgment Day before Seth “Freakin” Rollins arrived. Seth and Finn went back and forth at one another whilst signing the contract before the rest of The Judgment Day arrived and beat up the World Heavyweight Champion. Sami Zayn then arrived with a Steel Chair and whilst it worked to begin with, the interference from Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley quickly halted Zayn’s attack before Damian Priest delivered South of Heaven. Priest, Mysterio, and Balor all then hit their finishing moves onto Seth Rollins to end the show with The Judgment Day well and truly on top. WWE have made it clear that The Judgment Day are now the big thing in WWE (besides the stuff with Roman Reigns) so it made sense to end this show with Rhea, Finn, Damian, and Dominik standing tall. It’s also really worth mentioning that Priest could’ve easily cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase, but he chose not to which is pretty important.
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