RAW: Becky is still The Man

Joseph Casciaro

RAW: Becky is still The Man

WWE continues to mourn the loss of Terry Funk and Bray Wyatt, starting the show by honouring them.

We then got straight to the action.

Sami Zayn vs. Damian Priest

We are just days away from Payback, where Zayn and Kevin Owens will be defending their tag titles against Priest and Finn Bálor of Judgement Day. Both Zayn and Priest were looking to gain some momentum for their team heading into Saturday.

Zayn started the match quite hot hitting an Arabian press, but the high-flying came back to bite him. He went for a plancha to the outside, but he was caught by Priest and dropped with a flat liner onto the announce table. The back-and-forth action continued until Zayn seemed to be closing in on the victory. He hit Priest with an exploder suplex into the corner and was calling for the Helluva Kick, but JD McDonagh then grabbed his ankle. The distraction allowed Priest to hit Zayn with South of Heaven and steal the win.

Winner: Damian Priest

Following the match, McDonagh tried to celebrate with Mr. Money in the Bank, but Priest shoved him onto his ass and told him to stay out of his business. Priest then walked out on McDonagh and left him to get a beating from Zayn and Owens.

Drew McIntyre was now backstage looking at a picture Matt Riddle edited for him, it was McIntrye in Riddle’s trunks LOL. Riddle then convinced McIntyre to join him ringside to watch New Day versus Viking Raiders later tonight.

We then got a video package hyping up Raquel Rodriguez ahead of her World Championship opportunity against Rhea Ripley at Payback. They are really making it seem like Raquel could be the one to dethrone Ripley.

YEAH…no.

The crowd erupted when LA Knight’s music hit, but it was not the megastar, instead, it was a megastar rip-off. The Miz came out dressed up as Knight, even going as far as drawing on a beard. He then gave a terrible impersonation of Knight screaming YEAH over and over. Miz said people need to earn the fans’ support and then said he was going to throw away free LA Knight shirts, still impersonating Knight by the way.

Miz then began throwing the shirts on the floor and switched back to himself, he said anyone can be LA Knight and he is very vanilla. People cheer for anything, but they don’t cheer losers and that is exactly what LA Knight will be after Payback according to Miz. The Megastar against the A-Lister, this Saturday at Payback.

The New Day vs. The Viking Raiders w/Valhalla

As said earlier, McIntyre and Riddle were at ringside for this match following all the shenanigans involving these tag teams last week. Erik and Ivar were able to overpower Xavier Woods, but once Kofi Kingston got the tag he was all over them. He hit Ivar with a crossbody from the top rope, a Boom Drop and then crushed him on the outside with a dive over the top.

Despite the burst of energy from Kofi, it was not long before the Vikings were back in control and beating down The New Day. Ivar then decided to involve McIntyre and Riddle, he picked up Kofi and drove him into the two men at ringside. This led to McIntyre trying to retaliate, but he accidentally hit Woods with his attack. This allowed Erik and Ivar to hit Kofi with Ragnarok and get the victory.

Winners: The Viking Raiders

The Judgement Day’s issues were now on display again, Bálor and Priest still cannot get on the same page. McDonagh is really causing a divide in the faction, but Ripley wants nothing to do with it. She said they all need to get on the same page and at the end of Payback if J-Day doesn’t all have gold there will be some changes to be made.

WWE then aired a video package honoring Bray Wyatt following his tragic passing at the age of 36 last Thursday.

Rest in Paradise Bray.

Imperium was now out and Gunther stood atop the announce table to address the crowd. He said Chad Gable made history last week by being the first person to beat him in over 500 days, but it was by countout and that means he won nothing to Gunther. He said he still stands here as Intercontinental Champion, but Gable did achieve one thing and that was pissing him off.

Gable now has Gunther’s focus and if he is the last thing in the way of him achieving his legacy, so be it. Next week on Raw, Gable will be getting another opportunity for Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship!

Out from the back now came Gable and he was bragging that he handed Gunther his first loss on the main roster. He then guaranteed that next week he would take Gunther’s title in 1…2…3!

Chad Gable vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Gable looked quite impressive to start this match, out-maneuvering Kaiser and using his wrestling expertise. He then attempted the ankle lock, but Kaiser was able to block and hit a discus clothesline on Gable. Kaiser then slapped Gable off the top rope sending him to the outside, and he followed that by hitting a running European uppercut.

Kaiser was in full control, he hit Gable with a rolling fireman’s carry followed by a PK. Gable was able to get himself back into the match hitting Kaiser with an exploder suplex and he then hit both Kaiser and Vinci with a moonsault. Gable now brought Kaiser back in the ring to hit an O’Connor Roll German Suplex, but just as the referee was about to count three he was attacked by Vinci to cause a disqualification.

Gunther stands tall. Credit: WWE

Otis tried to jump in the ring to defend Gable, but Imperium got the upper hand and Gable was left in a three-on-one attack. Gunther dropped Gable with a powerbomb and stood over him holding his championship high.

Winner: Chad Gable via DQ

The World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, was now out to address Shinsuke Nakamura ahead of their championship bout this Saturday. Rollins got straight to the point, he said this Saturday he gets a shot at the title, but tonight he invited him to come talk all his trash right to his face. Nakamura declined to make his way out, but he instead responded with a video.

He made it very personal saying he wants to destroy Rollins the man, and he wants his wife to know he is the reason she has to help him out of bed every morning. Nakamura believes Rollins has no future and he wants to destroy his back. Rollins was not satisfied with the video, he wanted to know what happened to Nakamura who headlined the Tokyo Dome and ran NXT.

He then said his back may be broken in two places, but it has not stopped him in any way. Nakamura will not take his title or his future, but just as he said that he was hit from behind by a Kinshasa from Nakamura.

Nakamura walked out with a smile on his face looking at the down and out Rollins.

Zayn and Owens were now addressing J-Day backstage. They said they could not get rid of them, but this Saturday they want to end this feud once and for all. This Saturday the tag title match will now be a Steel City street fight!

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bronson Reed

As Ciampa was making his way to the ring he was attacked from behind by Reed. The brawl was on, but it would be Ciampa getting the best of Reed, hitting him with two bicycle knees before the bell even sounded.

Ciampa maintained that control once the match officially started, but his offence was stalled by a crossbody from Reed. He then hit Ciampa with a running sit-out powerbomb before throwing him from the apron into the steel steps on the floor. Reed then threw Ciampa back into the ring and this gave Ciampa a chance to recover, he caught Reed with a rope-hung DDT.

The back-and-forth continued, but Ciampa then shocked Reed with a crucifix bomb to steal the win.

Winner: Tommaso Ciampa

Mami time, Rhea Ripley was now out with Dirty Dom to respond to Raquel from earlier tonight. She said she doesn’t need to waste time listing accomplishments because the title around her waist already proves everything. The only accomplishment Raquel has in the eyes of Ripley is that she’s big, but this Saturday Mami will retain her title.

Rodriguez’s music hit and she was headed to the ring, the brawl was now on between the two powerhouses of the women’s division. Raquel hit Ripley with a fallaway slam and even blocked a Riptide before clotheslining Ripley to the outside. Raquel is the one standing tall tonight.

During this segment, it was pointed out that the NXT Women’s Champion, Tiffany Stratton was sitting front row for Raw.

WWE now honored Terry Funk with a video, Funk passed away at the age of 79 last Wednesday.

Becky Lynch vs. Zoey Stark w/Trish Stratus — Falls Count Anywhere Match

Lynch wasted no time starting the violence, attacking Stark with a kendo stick as soon as the bell sounded. However, before we knew it Stratus got involved hitting Lynch from behind with a kendo stick of her own. The two-on-one didn’t seem to bother Lynch as she hit both Stark and Stratus with a diving crossbody from the top rope onto the outside.

A brutal submission. Credit: WWE

Once Trish got her composure back she started to help Stark once again and she was throwing steel chairs into the ring. This led to the very embarrassing moment of Trish throwing a chair into the ring and hitting Stark right on the forehead. The chair to the head really seemed to throw Stark off her game and Lynch hit her with a Manhandle Slam, but Trish broke the count at two. Lynch then took the action to the outside to beat Stratus with a kendo stick, and she hit her so many times that Trish had no choice but to retreat to the locker room.

With this bout now one-on-one as it should be, Lynch hit Stark with the Bexploder into the barricade. Stark then got herself some momentum by landing some steel chair shots to Lynch’s back, she followed that with a twisting senton onto Lynch who had a chair over her chest. Stark now tried to go to the top rope, but she was hit with a steel chair. Lynch then joined her on the top rope and hit her with a superplex onto all the steel chairs that Trish had thrown in the ring earlier.

Both women now ended up on top of the announce table and it looked like Lynch was going to hit a Manhandle Slam through the table, but her legs were swept out by Trish who was back at ringside. All three women were now on a platform in the timekeeper’s area, Trish grabbed Lynch and leaped into the crowd putting Lynch through a table.

Lynch finally getting some shots in on Trish. Credit: WWE

The brawl was now out in the crowd and all three women were on another platform, it was there when Stark went to strike Lynch and missed accidentally hitting Trish. That shot sent Trish crashing through a table and Lynch then grabbed Stark to leap off the platform through a table with a Manhandle Slam to get the victory.

Lynch overcame the odds and this Saturday she will have Trish all to herself in a steel cage.

Winner: Becky Lynch

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