There’s an air of mystery tonight as WWE Raw heads to CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore.
It might be due to the fact that Money in the Bank was Saturday evening in London, meaning talent had to fly all the way back to the U.S. and be ready for Raw in short order. Don’t want to promote what you can’t deliver in case there are travel delays.
That might be why WWE has officially announced just one match ahead of time for this show. Rhea Ripley, who was at Money in the Bank to support Dominik Mysterio but didn’t have a match of her own, will defend the Women’s World Championship against Natalya. Considering Nattie’s storyline is that she’s having an identity/confidence crisis, anything other than Rhea dominating her would rank as a surprise.
Perhaps there’s more intrigue to be had throughout the rest of The Judgment Day. Both Mysterio and Finn Balor came up short in their matches, and will definitely not be in good moods as a result. In contrast, Damian Priest had one of the best nights of his career in London, and is now “Señor Money in the Bank.” Will that increase the growing tension between him and Balor?
Seth Rollins and Gunther both held onto their respective titles and will need new challenges, though the Ring General looks like he already has one in Drew McIntyre. And perhaps the tag team champions will be on hand to offer their services in some storyline or another as well.
In any case, we’re curious as to what the rest of the night will hold, so let’s check it out together.
WWE Raw results from Baltimore:
World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins hits the ring to his usual singalong and runs everyone through a recap of Money in the Bank. He’s already looking ahead to SummerSlam, however, but he doesn’t get to tell us what’s on his mind for Detroit as Cody Rhodes makes his way down the ramp.
But before Rhodes can even ask everyone what they want to talk about, Brock Lesnar comes out and brawls to the ring with Cody as Rollins hits the old dusty trail. A Cody Cutter has Rhodes standing tall and Lesnar licking his wounds, for now.
Rollins returns to the ring, this time interrupted by The Judgment Day (sans Finn Balor). Rhea Ripley tells Rollins not to worry about what Balor is doing, while Damian Priest warns him about the prospect of cashing in the briefcase on him.
When Rollins reminds Priest that the cash-in only works when the champ is beaten down or tired, the heels suggest he take on Dominik Mysterio tonight. Rollins thinks it’s probably a trap but wants to smack Dom anyway, so he lets the fans choose his own adventure. The cheers say it’s on.
Damian Priest def. Shinsuke Nakamura by pinfall
While the announcers discuss how much momentum Priest has at the moment, Shinsuke is doing well and being urged on by the crowd until he is sent into the barricade and a rare picture-in-picture stretch commences.
The crowd enjoys Shinsuke shaking his hips at Ripley, which … hey, why not? Shoot your shot, Nak. Alas, Priest eventually gets things going his way, and the South of Heaven is more than Shinsuke can take.
Fresh off her betrayal at Money in the Bank, Ronda Rousey hits the ring, though Shayna Baszler quickly joins her and mocks her mic skills. Baszler also says she owes people an apology for bringing Rousey into WWE, then accuses Ronda of ruining her love of pro wrestling.
In response, Rousey kicks her former BFF off the apron, then tries to put her to sleep. Baszler escapes and applies an ankle lock, and though Rousey finally frees herself, one big knee shot ends it … despite Rousey yelling for Baszler to come back and keep fighting.
Alpha Academy asks Maxxine Dupri if she’s ready for her first match tonight, and she certainly is. Chad Gable is ready to smack the Viking Raiders with a huge dose of patriotism too.
Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville win a Women’s Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contenders Tag Team Turmoil match
Freshly re-crowned champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez grab a ringside seat for this. The teams involved here are Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville, Emma and Nikki Cross, Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter and Dana Brooke and Tegan Nox. Similar to a gauntlet match, two teams start out, with another randomly joining in at every elimination.
Green and Deville send LeRae and Hartwell packing first, then pin Emma and Cross as well. Brooke and Nox are defeated during picture-in-picture action, so Carter and Chance have an opportunity now. Or so it seems, as Green is able to finish them off as well. Nice way to build Green and Deville as real threats as they beat every team.
A video package reminds us all that Bronson Reed is inescapable.
Becky Lynch says she can move on from failing to win Money in the Bank, but she can’t get past the thorn in her side that is Trish Stratus. The Man erupts in laughter when Stratus comes out in a mask of the type that protects broken noses. She says she’s not medically cleared because “you broke my face,” so Lynch asks to fight Zoey Stark instead.
After some more verbal jousting, Stratus says Stark can fight Lynch next week.
Now back in his suit, Rhodes joins new member of the broadcast team Jackie Redmond to say he promised he would be waiting for Lesnar. He wants another shot at Brock, anywhere, any time.
Alpha Academy and Maxxine Dupri def. Viking Raiders and Valhalla by pinfall
There’s a lot of Chad Gable in this one, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Dupri has to wait her turn for the spotlight, but she finally gets a hot tag from Gable and gets to show off some of what she’s learned.
Her attempt at the Caterpillar goes awry, but after a moonault to the floor by Gable takes out both Raiders, Dupri is able to pull off a nifty rollup and pin Valhalla.
Ricochet says he respects Logan Paul for his ability but isn’t crazy about Paul getting in his face afterward. With that in mind, he challenges Logan to a meting in the ring next week on Raw.
Rhea Ripley def. Natalya by pinfall to retain the Women’s World Championship
Is this really a new Nattie? She’s trying to show that she is, attacking Rhea on the ramp before the match even begins. The ref asks if Ripley still wants to fight; she naturally says yes but immediately finds herself on the back foot again and seeks refuge on the floor.
As expected, Ripley’s power helps her gradually tilt things in her favor, but Natalya continues to hang tough even after a massive headbutt. Forced to dig deeper than usual into her arsenal, Rhea tries a frog splash and catches nothing but knees.
Nattie applies the Sharpshooter, and the fans are behind her now. Rhea manages to make it to the ropes to break the hold, barely. Ripley manages to powerbomb Natalya and stacks her up to finally get the three count.
After the bell, Ripley assaults Natalya even more, but Morgan and Rodriguez hustle down to put a stop to that.
Tommaso Ciampa says the difference between him and The Miz is that he’ll say things straight to your face instead of attacking someone from behind. He also claims he lit the spark that Miz used to have with their brawl, but that Miz has no idea the hand he’s holding.
The Miz continues the card analogy by saying he’s the full house, and that anyone he’s taken under his wing and betrayed him is gone. He tells Ciampa to bring the chip on his shoulder to their No DQ match next week as Tommaso will be facing the best version of Miz.
A highlight package shows the best moments from the Bloodline Civil War at Money in the Bank.
Ripley runs into IYO SKY and says if she cashes in the briefcase on her, it’ll be the biggest mistake of her life. When Mysterio and Priest arrive, Rhea says the tag team champs will regret it if they mess with her business again.
Also Dom says he’ll make Seth regret getting in the ring with him tonight, but, you know, it’s harder to take him seriously.
Matt Riddle def. Giovanni Vinci by pinfall
After a very quick match, Imperium tries to attack Riddle and make him pat for his victory. That brings Drew McIntyre to the rescue, and he easily walks through Ludwig Kaiser and sends Gunther a message with a Claymore for Vinci.
Riddle thanks McIntyre for the save, and Byron Saxton stops by to ask him about it. Riddle says they should team up against Imperium next week, but McIntyre thinks they should party it up in Baltimore tonight.
Seth Rollins def. Dominik Mysterio by DQ, which turns into an internal Judgment Day squabble
The game plan for Mysterio seems to be attacking Rollins’ already injured ribs. But the goal was never to win a match, it seems, as Priest attacks Rollins and ends the match by DQ.
Priest continues his assault after the bell, aided by his teammates when things go awry by the announce table. Dominik encourages Priest to cash in now while Rollins is hurt, and he makes his way toward the ring … only to be cut off by the arrival of Finn Balor, who has been absent all night.
As Priest and Balor bicker, Mysterio tries to calm them down, but gets a Pedigree from Rollins on his way to the safety of the stage.
