WWE Raw preview (Aug. 7, 2023): Cody Rhodes won’t get what he wants

Raw airs tonight (Aug. 7) with a live show from Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is the first episode of Raw during the four week build towards Payback, which takes place on September 2.

WWE won’t give Cody Rhodes what he wants

After Cody Rhodes slayed The Beast at SummerSlam, the big question that WWE needs to answer tonight on Raw is, what’s next for The American Nightmare?

During the SummerSlam post-show press conference, Cody made it clear that the next thing he wants is to challenge Roman Reigns again for the WWE Universal Championship. And while there’s a very good chance that rematch will be booked at some point, it’s not going to be in the coming months. That’s the sort of match that WWE will save for a major event like Royal Rumble or WrestleMania.

Cody isn’t going to get what he wants jut yet, which means it’s probably time for another heel to keep him busy for a couple months. There are quite a few to choose from, between GUNTHER, The Judgment Day, and Omos. Perhaps now is the right time to turn Drew McIntyre heel and have him start a feud with Rhodes.

One other possibility is to book Rhodes against World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. Seth needs a new challenger after defeating Finn Balor on the last two PPVs, and Cody has Seth’s number based on how many times in a row he beat The Visionary in 2022 at shows like WrestleMania and Hell in a Cell.

So, what’s next for Cody Rhodes? You’ll have to tune into Raw tonight to find out.

The rest of the title scene

Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley will defend the gold against Raquel Rodriguez as soon as Raquel is medically cleared. Maybe Rhea will keep attacking her backstage to make sure that never happens.

Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER essentially needs to get through one more PPV cycle to break the record for the longest IC title reign of all-time. Will Drew McIntyre get one more shot to stop that from happening?

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville haven’t won a match since winning the belts. Maybe that will change tonight?

WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens won’t be defending the belts for a bit due to KO’s injury. Whose story will Sami get involved with in the meantime?

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus is happening on next week’s episode of Raw in Winnipeg. If The Man has a mic in her hand tonight to hype up the fight, will she take a shot at WWE for cutting her match at SummerSlam?

- There are major problems that need to be addressed within The Judgment Day after Damian Priest’s interference once again backfired and cost Finn Balor his seven year revenge against Seth Rollins. If the damage done is irreparable time, which wrestler will be booted out of the group?

- Shayna Baszler choked out Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam, and WWE made a big deal about this being the first time Ronda submitted in pro wrestling. Does this signal a big push coming Shayna’s way, or was WWE just going along with what Ronda wanted on her way out the door?

- Ricochet lost a match against YouTube douchebag Logan Paul at SummerSlam thanks to brass knuckles. With that match done with, will Ricochet go back to getting little promo time on Raw, or does WWE trust him to carry more important stories now?

- Omos returned to WWE in the SummerSlam Battle Royal presented by Slim Jim. Will the big man go right back to squashing low carders on Raw, or will WWE find something more interesting for the free agent to do?

- Are the Viking Raiders looking for payback after Tommaso Ciampa eliminated them from the SummerSlam Battle Royal presented by Slim Jim?

- How much longer will it be until the New Day is back on Raw?

What will you be looking for on Raw?