WWE Raw preview (Aug. 14, 2023): Becky Lynch finally gets what she wants

Raw airs tonight (Aug. 14) with a live show from the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This is the second episode of Raw during the four week build towards Payback, which takes place on September 2.

WWE finally gives Becky Lynch what she wants

After her long-awaited rematch with Trish Stratus didn’t make the cut for SummerSlam, Becky Lynch finally gets her hands on Stratus tonight in a grudge match.

Trish beat Becky at Night of Champions in May due to interference from Zoey Stark, and Becky has been waiting all summer long for revenge. Stark is banned from ringside, so it will theoretically be a fair fight, unless Trish has recruited a new ally.

This could be the end of Trish’s run in WWE this year, as it seemingly caps off her story. Becky gets to say “Thank you, Trish” by whopping her ass from pillar to post and forcing her to tap out to the disarm-her.

Does the WWE Hall of Famer have one last trick up her sleeve to prevent the inevitable from happening? You’ll have to tune into Raw tonight to find out what happens when Becky and Trish go one-on-one.

The rest of the title scene

World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins was taken out last week by a Kinshasa from Shinsuke Nakamura. We’re going to hear from The King of Strong Style tonight, presumably to explain his actions. Will Nakamura automatically be granted a title match against The Visionary, or will Cody Rhodes argue that he deserves the first shot at Seth after beating Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam?

Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER has a future date for a title defense against Chad Gable. Alpha Academy may very well be the final hurdle in the Ring General’s way on his path towards becoming the longest reigning Intercontinental champion of all-time.

I think Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville are still the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions even though Deville had surgery for a torn ACL. WWE has had plenty of time to think about what to do with the belts, but maybe they can’t figure out a solution due to the lack of actual teams in the women’s tag division.

Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley will defend her belt against Raquel Rodriguez whenever Raquel is medically cleared. In the meantime, Rhea is trying to keep the peace between Finn Balor and Damian Priest, while helping Dominik Mysterio retain his NXT North American championship.

WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are both dealing with short-term injuries that are putting their belts on ice for the moment.

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- JD McDonagh has inserted himself into Judgment Day business, potentially furthering the rift between Damian Priest and Finn Balor. What steps will JD take tonight in order to move closer to becoming an official member of the group? How will Balor react after Priest’s Money in the Bank briefcase once again played a role in the end of his match last week?

- Shayna Baszler has a long hit list, and Becky Lynch’s name is on it. But who else will she target first before going after The Man?

- LA Knight crashed Raw last week to turn The Miz into a stepping stone. Will The Miz try to sneak attack the megastar if he shows up on Raw again tonight?

- New Day returned to Raw with a win over the Viking Raiders. It shouldn’t be that much longer until Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston are gunning for championship gold.

- What’s the deal with free agent Omos?

- We don’t know what the future looks like for Drew McIntyre after losing at SummerSlam. Is it time for him to finally turn heel again?

What will you be looking for on Raw?