WWE Raw results 06/05/23: Rollins still golden, 2 more women in MITB

Get all the details on WWE Raw from Hartford, with Seth Rollins making his first World Heavyweight title defense and a pair of MITB qualifiers.

The Seth Rollins Era begins in earnest tonight on WWE Raw from Hartford, so have your singing voices ready.

Even before winning the World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions, Seth Rollins promised to be the kind of champion we could look up to, one that would inspire others and push pro wrestling forward. That’s lofty talk, and if we’re being honest, not something over which he has full control.

But he also made it clear that a big part of it was simply being available to defend the title on a regular basis, and that begins with his faceoff with Damian Priest tonight. Why Priest? Good question! It’s because of an open challenge, ostensibly, but it’s not like he’s totally undeserving, and as The Judgment Day was the established, self-declared power on Raw, it does track that one member of the group would step up to try to topple Rollins.

And it wasn’t going to be Prison Dom.

The other big focus for tonight is a pair of Money in the Bank qualifying matches in the women’s division. After Becky Lynch battles Sonya Deville and Natalya goes up against Zoey Stark, we’ll have half the field set for the women’s Ladder match.

There’s also a common thread between these bouts, and it’s that Trish Stratus has a vested interest in both: ensuring Lynch loses and Stark wins. It would be surprising indeed if she didn’t show up and try to affect the outcomes in some way.

WWE Raw results from Hartford:

  • Seth Rollins gets his singalong to kick off the show, and says since it’s been nearly two years since there was a world title match on Raw, he wanted one tonight; Rollins says he’s psyched to take on Damian Priest tonight, and he comes out with Finn Balor but says he can take Seth on his own — and Rollins suggests he prove it by leaving The Judgment Day in the back, which Priest accepts though Balor seems unamused by the whole exchange

  • Becky Lynch def. Sonya Deville by pinfall in a Money in the Bank qualifying match, with Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark watching intently from the ramp
  • A video recaps the highlights of the Bloodline drama from this past week’s SmackDown
  • Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens don’t want to say “I told you so” and also say the Bloodline isn’t their problem any more … but their current problem, Imperium arrives, and KO is bothered enough by Gunther vowing to teach him discipline that he wants to fight right now
  • A vignette plays again to promote Kayden Carter and Katana Chance
  • Gunther def. Kevin Owens by pinfall after a wild match that saw KO have to deal with the other members of Imperium and Gunther take advantage by rolling Owens up for the pin
  • Matt Riddle says he’s tired of Gunther cheating week after week, and Ludwig Kaiser gets in his face … but it’s Giovanni Vinci who ends up feeling Riddle’s wrath
  • Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler say it was destiny for them to be tag team champions together and invite anyone to take them on; coincidentally, Carter and Chance step up, and after some ridiculing, the champs accept their challenge

  • Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler def. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance by submission
  • Ricochet and Shinsuke Nakamura trade some trash talk and decide to settle it in the ring; also Bronson Reed says hi
  • A video hypes the return of Johnny Gargano sometime soon

  • Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ends in … a no contest, probably? Reed invades and starts beating up both men, including a Tsunami on Ricochet
  • Alpha Academy tries to get Maxxine Dupri ready to take on Valhalla, but she needs to change into something more suitable for training first

  • Cody Rhodes joins The Miz to trade quips, innuendos and other fun stuff, but they’re soon joined by surprise guest Dominik Mysterio and his mami, Rhea Ripley; Dom insults Cody as a deadbeat dad, but the American Nightmare gives better than he takes, and Dom ends up slapping him and hiding behind Rhea, and Rhodes ends up knocking out The Miz as well

  • Zoey Stark def. Natalya by pinfall in a Money in the Bank qualifying match, with some help from a Stratus cheap shot from th floor
  • Paul Heyman invites viewers to SmackDown to see Jey Uso make his historic choice, which Heyman says will be to stand by his brother, Solo

  • Indus Sher vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin never starts as Indus Sher destroys Benjamin before the bell
  • Seth Rollins def. Damian Priest by pinfall to retain the World Heavyweight Championship, despite some attempted assistance for Priest (who didn’t seem to want it) from Balor
  • Rollins and Balor had a staredown as the show went off the air