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WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (July 17, 2023) from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming SummerSlam Premium Live Event scheduled for early next month in Detroit.
Advertised for tonight: Brock Lesnar is back, possibly with an answer to Cody Rhodes challenge for a rubber match at SummerSlam. Elsewhere, The Judgment Day take on Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a non-title match, Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend the women’s tag team titles against Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green, a VIKING RULES match, and a whole lot more.
Come right back here at 8 pm ET when the Raw live blog will kick off once the show starts on USA Network. It will be below this line here. Reminder: GIFs and pics allowed, but no links to illegal streams, please.
WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR JULY 17
Bloodied angels fast descending, moving on a never-bending light. Phantom figures free forever, out of shadows, shining ever-bright, but me? I’m just here to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with commentary hyping tonight’s show up.
“American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes makes his entrance and gets on the mic.
He asks what his home of Atlanta wants to talk about, before saying they don’t really have to talk with the large shadow looming over the arena tonight. Of course, he means Brock Lesnar, and there’s one thing for sure, and that’s when Brock is called to the ring, he shows up, so he should be coming to the ring to accept his challenge right now.
He’ll wait here all night if he has to, but after a moment of posturing he moves on to tell us that this isn’t just the city that built him, but the woman that built him is in the front row. The camera shows Michelle Rhodes to us, and Cody says there’s a reason his catchphrase isn’t “funky like a monkey”, and that’s because his mother made him who he is.
There’s two words to describe his relationship with Brock, the only two words he can think of, are hard times. But that’s okay, because tonight it won’t be hard times for him, not in front of his people, it’ll be hard times for Lesnar.
Cody pops to the floor and hugs his mom and family who are present—
BROCK LESNAR’S MUSIC PLAYS BUT IT GOES SILENT WHEN CODY WALKS TO THE RAMP TO CONFRONT HIM.
He starts walking to the stage and Brock’s music hits again, this time he strides right back into the entry towards Gorilla! A chair comes flying onto the stage, followed by Cody’s body and a raging Brock Lesnar, walloping him with a chair over and over!
BROCK DROPS HIM WITH AN F-5 RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS MOM! HE PUTS CODY IN THE KIMURA LOCK AND WRENCHES IT IN! He puts Cody in the ring and bends over him to accept his challenge and tell him he’ll see him at SummerSlam and call him a bitch!
Brock leaves while Rhodes lies in agony clutching his arm and screaming to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get a recap of what we just saw, because Raw is three hours long. (Three hours long.)
GUNTHER vs. Matt Riddle
Circling, GUNTHER traps him in the corner and hammers him with chops! Looking for a slam, Riddle floats over into a sleeper, slammed out of it, the Ring General falls back into the Gojira Clutch but Matt reverses to a cross armbar! Fold into a pin, cover for two, duck a roundhouse kick, back suplex, Riddle lands on his feet!
Flying triangle, deadlift, Matt Frankensteiners him over the ropes and to the floor! Penalty Kick sets up a diving knee but GUNTHER swats him away and slams him on the floor to send us to break!
Back from commercial, Riddle throwing palm strikes, GUNTHER returning his heavy chops, toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring! Kick gets a chop gets a Pele kick and the Ring General staggers into the corner! Charging forearms, big exploder suplex, GUNTHER catches a kick and throws a huge chop!
Chops for kicks, thundering out across the arena, German suplex from the Ring General followed up by a huge falling lariat... SO CLOSE! Riddle with knees to chop him down, running knee to the back of the head... NOT ENOUGH! Matt off the top, corkscrew moonsault... THE KNEES WERE UP!
Shotgun dropkick...
GUNTHER wins by pinfall with a Tenryu Powerbomb.
Post-match, GUNTHER gets on the mic and says you can boo all you want but the fact is tonight is the greatest night of our sad lives because we get to see the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. He says Riddle is done and he’s building a legacy, and if Drew McIntyre wants to ride on his coattails, be his guest, but Drew will fall to the Ring General like everyone else.
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez are interviewed backstage.
They say they’re prepared for anything and the tougher the battle, the sweeter the victory, and they’re not backing down from anybody.
Rhea Ripley rolls up to get in Raquel’s face. Rhea headbutts Liv and Rodriguez unloads on her and they brawl until road agents and referees show up to pull them apart.
Judgment Day make their entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Judgment Day are in the ring.
Rhea Rhipley says they’re juist better than everyone and now that no one can stop them, they not only run Monday Night Raw, but they absolutely dominate it. She’s the most dominant woman in the division, and tomorrow night, her Latino Heat will become the NXT North American Champion.
Damian Priest says all the boos change nothing and he’s guarantee to be world champion and as agreed upon, Finn Balor gets first crack at Seth Rollins. Finn says whatever Seth has to say later, he’ll be listening, but remember— the issues they have will never end until his arm is raised as the new world heavyweight champion.
Enter Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.
Sami says he usually has a good handle on where the WWE Universe is but he wants to ask to doublecheck— did the fine people of Atlanta come here to listen to Dominik Mysterio talk?
Damian challenges them to put their titles on the line tonight, Sami is receptive to the idea but he wants to hear from Kevin Owens first. Kev screams that he doesn’t care as long as he can put his boot through Dom’s face, the titles are on the line!
Adam Pearce meets with the trainer backstage who says Raquel is technically good to go but he’d prefer to cancel the match and get some scans done.
Raquel protests and Adam says if she says she’s good to go and if the trainer is willing to sign off it, he’ll allow the match to proceed.
And so we go to break.
Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez (c) (WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship)
Deville and Morgan to start, Sonya getting Liv in the corner to beat her down and quick tags ensue. Morgan gets away, tag to Raquel, Deville has her bad knee trapped in a half-crab, wrenching far back on it! Rodriguez crawling for the ropes but Sonya pulls her back in!
Liv tags in, big diving Codebreaker on Chelsea sets Oblivion up... SONYA BREAKS IT UP WITH A RUNNING KNEE! Morgan gets an O’Connor roll for two, big right hand from Deville, Chelsea has the Killswitch... LIV KICKS OUT! Big folding press for two, another Killswitch, Sonya cracks her head in...
Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville win by pinfall with a Knee Trembler from Deville on Liv Morgan, winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
Commentary recaps Brock Lesnar attacking Cody Rhodes again before hyping up a Seth Rollins interview to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get a recap of the title change we just saw.
Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville are interviewed backstage. Chelsea is hyper and excited and Sonya is all business, saying they’re gonna run the division.
We get a recap of Bloodline business, featuring Jey Uso.
Byron Saxton has a sitdown interview with Seth Rollins.
Rollins says the World Heavyweight Championship deserves a marquee moment at SummerSlam and it’s a very short list but Finn Balor is on it. So is Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre and GUNTHER—
Finn Balor rolls up and pulls up a chair. He says he wants his rematch and he doesn’t care how many other contenders there are, the line starts with him. Do what you gotta do, talk to Pearce, and make the match. Seth considers him for a moment and says he understands where Balor is coming from but he has to stop living in the past.
Finn denies living in the past and says he’s living in chaos and he’ll take the title there and do what was done to him to Seth. He’ll hurt him, he’ll laugh in his face, and he’ll take his career and alter it forever. Rollins says the title is bigger than Finn, hell it’s bigger than he is, and if Balor just wants to settle a score, they don’t need a match, they can do that here and now.
He tells Balor to take his shot or get out of his face, and Finn stands up and knocks his chair aside before turning and walking away. Seth apologizes to the crew and takes his mic off— FINN WINGS A CHAIR AT HIS HEAD AND PUTS BOOTS TO HIM!
Alpha Academy make their entrance and we go to break.
Alpha Academy (Chad Gable, Maxxine Dupri, & Otis Dozovic) vs. Viking Raiders (Erik, Ivar, & Valhalla) (Viking Rules Match)
Titus O’Neil is on commentary for this one for some reason.
He talks about how Valhalla has about a hundred gods and he heard her talking to Odin, but he only serves Jesus Christ, and maybe she does too. Thanks, Titus.
Chaos to start, the ringside area filled with smoke for some reason. In the ring, Otis counters a springboard from Ivar into a slam and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Otis with another nearfall off a slam, Ivar bowls him over with a kick, big moonsault... CHAD BREAKS IT UP WITH A MOONSAULT OF HIS OWN AND FOLLOWS IT WITH AN EVEREST GERMAN SUPLEX BUT ERIK BREAKS THAT ONE UP! Gable with a diving headbutt, Valhalla breaks it up and Maxxine neutralizes her with a crossbody!
Chad gives her a letter jacket again, Valhalla spears her through a table and Gable gets put through shields in the ropes! Dozer running hot, slamming Vikings left and right, but Valhalla runs interference with him up top and the Vikings have it...
Viking Raiders win by pinfall with a double powerbomb on Otis Dozovic.
Shayna Baszler makes her entrance and we go to break.
Nikki Cross vs. Shayna Baszler
Cross jumping Baszler, windmill punches, sidestep, Shayna gets the Kirifuda Clutch and it’s over that fast...
Shayna Baszler wins by submission with the Kirifuda Clutch.
Ronda Rousey appears in a skybox and gets on the mic.
She says she’s been thinking about Shayna’s complaint about her slipping in the back door, and asks if it’s easier to go in the front and climb your way up the ladder or go in the back and get thrown to the wolves and come out a future hall of famer in less than a year.
You can’t blame privilege or circumstance on the fact that she’s the greatest combat sports athlete of all time and Shayna is just a knockoff of her. Baszler says it’s easy to talk that talk up there and she knows as well as anyone that she’s a better Ronda Rousey than the real one.
So waltz your happy ass down to the ring and settle it here and no! Rousey is not interested and puts her feet up, telling Shayna to make her. Baszler jumps the barricade but security cuts her off and Ronda offers her a favor— she’s finally gonna get her booked at SummerSlam.
We get a recap of last week’s Ricochet/Logan Paul segment.
Ricochet is interviewed backstage.
He talks some trash at Logan Paul.
Becky Lynch is walking backstage and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Miz is in the ring to host MizTV, but first he crows for a moment about how he beat Tommaso Ciampa and is the biggest star in WWE.
Becky Lynch makes her entrance and he introduces her as his guest.
He reminds her she lost to Trish Stratus, lost Money in the Bank, and lost to Zoey Stark, and asks if she’s lost a step. She considers a response before throwing the chairs out of the ring and getting in his face and yelling that she’s lost titles and friends and maybe her damn mind, but she hasn’t lost a step!
She knows how his stupid show works and demands he bring Trish out before he loses his tiny testicles.
Enter Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark.
Trish says Becky is acting like a toddler and asks why she’s so obsessed with her and says she’s not going to fight her because she already fought her and won. In fact, she’s done with her, and she just wants to use this platform to give Becky one last chance to thank her.
Lynch says she brought Trish back and shouldn’t act like she owes her anything, because she’s spent more time in this company than Stratus has, and if she wants to talk about being the best, then fight her one-on-one and prove she’s as good as she says she is.
Trish accepts the challenge but she has a few conditions. First of all, she needs to go through Zoey first, since she hasn’t beaten her yet. Second, she needs her to get on her knees and say “Thank you, Trish.” And one more thing, as a reminder to everyone here, she needs Lynch to tattoo “Thank you, Trish” across her chest.
Lynch agrees to all the terms, the heels jump her and she gets overwhelmed by their numbers at first! She turns the tide, knocks Trish’s protective mask off and sends her out of the ring before putting the mask on and headbutting Zoey with it!
Another recap of Brock attacking Cody follows, just in case you didn’t get the point yet.
Shinsuke Nakamura makes his entrance to send us to break.
Bronson Reed vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Reed hot out the gates, shoulder block and a body avalanche, taking Nakamura to the floor and dropping him with a battering ram shoulder block off the apron! And so we go to break!
Back from commercial, Shinsuke fighting back into it with a dragon screw, a leg kick, cover for two! Falling knees, Bronson hits a Death Valley Driver... NOPE! Nakamura off the second with the diving Kinshasa... NOT ENOUGH! Tommaso Ciampa hits the ring and attacks Reed...
Bronson Reed wins by disqualification.
We see Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens chatting and we go to break.
Back from commercial we’re shown footage of Shinsuke Nakamura attacking Tommaso Ciampa during the break.
Nakamura is interviewed backstage.
He says he’s tired of everybody getting involved in his business, and he shouts it a second time at Byron Saxton when he asks for clarification.
Judgment Day make their entrance and we go to break.
Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (c) (WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship)
Finn Balor and Seth Rollins brawl to the back as the match begins!
Judgment Day in control, working Zayn over, quick tags, Owens gets a tag on Mysterio and now the tables are turned! Judgment Day turn things back around on the floor and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Priest and Zayn trading punches, hot tag to Owens! Cleaning house on the floor, senton on Damian, back inside to break the count, little shimmy and a frog splash on Mysterio! Back inside, Dom tags in, frog splash of his own... SAMI BREAKS IT UP!
Damian runs in, beating Sami up, KO gets the pop-up powerbomb on Mysterio... PRIEST MAKES THE SAVE! Action to the floor, Zayn dives on ‘em, Ripley throws Owens into the steps with the referee distracted, snaps Sami’s neck over the ropes, Dominik with a schoolboy... NOPE!
Liv Morgan runs in and attacks Rhea Ripley, Cactus Clothesline over the timekeeper’s barricade! Sami hits the exploder in the corner, Stunner from Owens...
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn win by pinfall with a Helluva Kick from Zayn on Dominik Mysterio, retaining the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship.
That’s the show, folks.
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