July 03, 2023 / By mobanmarket
Date: June 12, 2023
Location: Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, KS
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Show Recap —
Rhea Ripley entered alone to start the show. Adam Pearce wasted no time in introducing her as the new Women’s World Champion. He unveiled a new title belt and its design is similar to the men’s world title belt but with a white strap. Ripley was pumped to raise the new belt and the crowd applauded her.
Dominik Mysterio excitedly jogged out to place the belt around Ripley’s waist. The crowd booed as Dom put over Ripley.
Cody Rhodes interrupted. Rhodes had nothing but respect for Ripley but what he actually wanted to talk about was Dom. He showed a replay of Dom slapping him last week.
Rhodes wished we were hearing Brock Lesnar accept his challenge but Lesnar didn’t have the balls to do that. Instead, Rhodes challenged Dom to a match at Money in the Bank.
Dom said he wasn’t afraid of anyone in the world. He embarrassed Rhodes just like he would anyone else. The crowd chanted “You suck” and Rhodes encouraged them to continue. Rhodes wanted an answer.
Ripley said her Latino Heat was more of a man than anyone in the arena and certainly more than Rhodes. Rhodes again asked for an answer.
Miz tried to attack Rhodes from behind but Rhodes saw it coming and knocked him out of the ring. This allowed Dom to get in another cheapshot before he bailed from the ring. Ripley laughed and accepted Rhodes’ challenge on Dom’s behalf.
Cody Rhodes defeated The Miz (10:43)
Rhodes wrestled with his arm in a cast and Miz took control by driving him arm-first into the steel steps. Rhodes fought back after a break and hit a Side Effect, clothesline, powerslam, and Disaster Kick for two. Miz kicked his leg out of his leg, hit It Kicks and a DDT for two.
Rhodes blocked a Skull Crushing Finale for a second time and hit a Cody Cutter and Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win. Rhodes signed an autograph for a young fan as he left.
(Not sure where it happened but Rhodes had blood on the back of his head.)
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Becky Lynch walked through the back past Alpha Academy as Chad Gable and Otis appeared to be showing Maxxine Dupri some holds.
Lynch entered to cut a promo before her match. Lynch said she was lucky to do a lot of things in her career but winning the MITB ladder match has alluded her. She had a good feeling about this year.
She said we’ve all been conditioned to believe that the best person is the person who holds the championship. The irony of it was that the number one person was the person who held the power and that was the person who held the briefcase.
They had a power to make the champion scared and that scared people did dangerous things. She liked it when people did dangerous things because it made her better. You didn’t have to look any further than Trish Stratus as an example. Stratus was so scared that she got herself an insurance policy in Zoey Stark.
Stark interrupted. Stark said Lynch had a lot of accomplishments but she’ll never be able to say that she beat Trish Stratus. Losing to Stark at MITB would be her next failure.
Lynch knew that Stark was a pit bull but she had no personality. Stark told Lynch to look in the mirror because the only reason she only got popular was because someone else broke her face. Lynch was desperately holding onto her fame and was now using Stratus to stay relevant. Stark threatened to break her face at MITB and make her famous.
Stratus invited her to the ring but Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville entered. (Stark tried to psych them out by stepping toward them but they didn’t flinch. They told her to relax and moved on.) They made excuses for Deville’s loss last week before Lynch cut them off and told Green to get in the ring.
Becky Lynch defeated Chelsea Green (w/Sonya Deville) (7:17)
A distraction from Deville allowed Green to take control during a break but Lynch fought back and repeatedly drove her into the barricade. Lynch applied a Disarmer moments later and Green tapped out.
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There was a recap of Seth Rollins beating Damian Priest to retain the world title.
In the back, Priest, Ripley and Dom were all in a good mood but Finn Bálor was not. Ripley asked if Bálor was alright and he said he had a lot on his mind. Priest said he would beat Matt Riddle in his MITB qualifier and would go to the ring alone. Bálor didn’t look pleased.
[SECOND HOUR]
Money in the Bank qualifier: Damian Priest defeated Matt Riddle (14:20)
There was a spot where Riddle ducked a charge and Priest flew onto the announce desk. Riddle grabbed him and yelled “Stupid!” which was perhaps a reference to Randy Orton.
Riddle held control for the first part of the match. After a Riddle German suplex, they traded strikes until Priest cut him off with a falcon arrow.
Riddle applied an ankle lock following a break and transitioned into a sleeper hold. Priest countered it and dropped him with a clothesline. Priest charged at Riddle in the corner but Riddle grabbed him in a triangle between the ropes. Priest came back with a headlock driver for two.
Priest set up for a top rope Razor’s Edge but Riddle slipped out and hit an avalanche fisherman suplex for a nearfall. Priest grabbed Riddle off the middle rope and hit a Razor’s Edge for the (somewhat abrupt) pinfall win. Priest qualifies for the final men’s MITB slot.
This was really good and Riddle looked particularly impressive.
— Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser marched out after the match. Priest faced off with Gunther before telling him to go pick the bones. Gunther smacked around Riddle and dropped him with a chop. (This was payback for Riddle beating up Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci last week.)
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Cathy Kelley interviewed Rhodes. Rhodes said Dom was getting gassed up by Ripley and Judgment Day and that would eventually get Dom hurt. He spoke passionately about finishing the story and said Lesnar and Dom were not knocking him off the path. He wished “Dom-Dom” luck at MITB.
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Byron Saxton interviewed Natalya. Saxton said people are suggesting that Natalya hasn’t been the same since losing to Ripley. Natalya said maybe that wasn’t a bad thing considering being her hasn’t worked out well lately. She said she may not even know how to be herself anymore. She marched off.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn walked by so Saxton interviewed them too. Owens (who wore a Gene Okerlund t-shirt) looked forward to getting payback after coming so close against Gunther last week. Saxton left as Imperium approached.
Kaiser reminded Owens that he lost to Gunther. Zayn asked Owens to calm down before he could freak out again. Zayn said it took three of them to beat Owens last week and he wondered where their bald friend was this week.
Pearce showed up and wanted everyone to settle down. Kaiser challenged them to put the tag titles on the line tonight. Owens freaked out and accepted. He said he needed to change his t-shirt and shorts into a different t-shirt and shorts. He left.
Kaiser and Gunther were amused by Owens’ antics so Zayn confidently reminded them that they were the undisputed tag champs. Gunther told Pearce to make the title match official. Pearce said he’d think about it.
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Jinder Mahal said Indus Sher were not satisfied because Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander were still standing so the job was not done. He offered them a proper match.
Bronson Reed defeated Ricochet via disqualification (7:39)
Shinsuke Nakamura sauntered out to watch at ringside.
Ricochet fought back after a break with a dropkick, suicide dive, springboard crossbody and lionsault for two. Reed caught Ricochet and lawn-darted him into Nakamura, so Nakamura attacked Reed for the DQ. (Samantha Irvin, Ricochet’s partner, very excitedly announced Reed as the winner via DQ.)
— Ricochet argued with Nakamura until Reed ran them both over. Ricochet saved Nakamura from a Reed Tsunami and they worked together to bring Reed down with a superplex. Ricochet and Nakamura stared each other down as the segment ended.
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Zayn asked Owens about his constant blow-ups lately. Owens admitted there’s been months of stress dealing with the Bloodline and now Imperium were constantly showing up around them. Owens spoke frantically until Zayn asked if he’d be ok in the ring. Owens settled down and said he’d be just fine.
Elsewhere, Pearce was on the phone with someone and made the tag title match official for tonight. Ricochet approached him and requested a rematch against Reed next week. Pearce said Reed already had a match scheduled against Nakamura next week.
Nakamura showed up and Ricochet wanted to know what his problem was. Ricochet warned him not to get involved again. Nakamura said he would succeed where Ricochet failed and Ricochet could have Reed when he was done with him.
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Finn Bálor / Seth Rollins segment
Bálor entered and called out Seth Rollins. He didn’t want any jokes or singalongs. He wanted Rollins now.
Rollins entered. Despite Bálor’s request, the crowd sang Rollins’ theme. Bálor said, “I’ve been waiting seven years to say this and I’m not waiting another second so you people better shut up.” The crowd kept singing.
Bálor recalled being the first draft pick on Raw seven years ago, beating Roman Reigns on his first night and beating Rollins to become the first ever Universal Champion. The crowd kept singing. Rollins spoke which stopped the crowd’s singing for a moment but they started again once Bálor spoke again. Rollins wanted to hear what Bálor had to say after seven years.
Bálor said it should have been the highest of highs for him seven years ago but it was the lowest of lows because of Rollins. Bálor ran down the list of injuries he suffered because of him.
Bálor wouldn’t complain about the injuries because that happens in this industry. The crowd was still singing. The injuries didn’t bother him and said the fans can sing along all they want but they didn’t really know Seth Rollins.
Bálor said Rollins took everything from him. Rollins took his momentum, his title, and a year of his career. “You took everything.” Bálor said it was his turn — he would take Rollins’ momentum, title and a year from his career. Bálor would take it all at Money in the Bank.
Rollins laughed. He said this was the Finn Bálor he’s been waiting to see for the past seven years. Rollins said they went on different paths after that SummerSlam match because one of them got bitter while the other got better.
Rollins admitted he’s done some bad things over those seven years but he’s also made history, memories and moments that the fans will never forget. Rollins did that because he adapted and got better every day and now he was the best version of Seth freakin’ Rollins. The proof was in the World Heavyweight Championship. Rollins accepted Bálor’s challenge at MITB.
Rollins wondered which version of Bálor would show up in London. The bitter shell of a former champion didn’t stand a chance but the Bálor that beat him with one arm had a shot. Rollins wondered if we’d get that Bálor or the one that’s been walking around for seven years acting like a little bitch.
(The match was made official after a break.)
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Tag Team Champion Shayna Baszler (w/Ronda Rousey) defeated Raquel Rodriguez (2:12)
Rodriguez fought off Baszler’s attack and set up for her finisher but she stopped what she was doing to go after Rousey on the apron. Rodriguez grabbed Rousey which allowed Baszler to roll her up for the pinfall win — with Rousey assisting on the cover. This was silly.
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They aired the Iron Sheik tribute video and the crowd gave a big ovation.
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Chad Gable (w/Otis & Maxxine Dupri) defeated Erik (w/Ivar & Valhalla) (1:49)
Gable hit a diving headbutt and Otis was happy to see “coach” using his head.
Valhalla sprinted at Dupri who sidestepped her and brought her down with a hip toss. (This is what Gable was teaching her earlier tonight.) Gable used a sunset flip into a cradle moments later for the pinfall win. The crowd liked Gable.
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Bálor spoke with JD McDonagh in the back. McDonagh left after Priest approached. Priest said Bálor seemed to be in a better mood now that he had his championship opportunity. Bálor congratulated Priest on qualifying for MITB and asked if he would cash the briefcase in on him.
Priest said of course not and seemed surprised that Bálor would ask him that. Priest said there was tension between them and blamed it on Rollins. Priest told Bálor to make it worth it and end it at MITB.
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Kelley interviewed Rollins. She asked if he was prepared for a bitter Finn Bálor. Rollins was as prepared and confident as someone can be. He wondered if Bálor was prepared for him. If Bálor lost, not only would he lose his mind, it seemed like he might lose Priest as well.
Rollins was feeling good so he issued an open challenge for his world title next week on Raw.
(He didn’t acknowledge Bron Breakker or NXT here but there was a commercial teasing that Rollins would appear on NXT tomorrow.)
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Next week on Raw in Cleveland:
Logan Paul returns Seth Rollins world title open challenge Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bronson Reed
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Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn defeated Intercontinental Champion Gunther & Ludwig Kaiser to retain the Tag Team Championships (18:17)
Zayn fought off both opponents but Gunther had tagged himself in and leveled Zayn with a boot before also booting Owens off the apron. Gunther dropped Zayn onto the apron which led to the match’s second commercial break.
Zayn hit a sunset flip sitout powerbomb immediately after the break. (The crowd was red hot now.) Owens made the hot tag and he hammered away on Gunther. Owens dropped him after a few clotheslines and followed with a senton, exploder suplex, superkick, cannonball, and senton bomb for two. Gunther blocked a stunner and hit a big boot.
Each man tagged out and Zayn gave Kaiser an exploder in the corner. Zayn ducked a chop from Gunther outside the ring and Gunther chopped the ring post.
Kaiser blocked a Blue Thunder Bomb and hit a rolling fireman’s carry. Kaiser also wiped out Owens with a suicide dive.
Gunther killed Zayn with a clothesline for a close nearfall. Gunther hit another big clothesline for another nearfall. Imperium hit the Imperial Bomb but Owens broke up the cover by pushing Gunther into Kaiser.
Kaiser posted Owens which led to Riddle marching out. Gunther knocked out Riddle before Owens took out Gunther with a DDT on the ramp.
Zayn nailed Kaiser with Blue Thunder Bomb for the pinfall win. Zayn and Owens retained. They celebrated as the show ended.
The crowd was super into the final moments and popped big for the win.
(The Denver Nuggets won the NBA Championship about a minute or two after Raw went off the air.)
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