WWE Raw live results: Cody Rhodes speaks

Date: April 10, 2023
Location: Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA

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Show Recap —

Corey Graves announced that several WWE superstars were having travel issues and are late arriving to the arena. Graves and Kevin Patrick ran down the Raw card as Rey Mysterio entered.

Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio segment

Rey Mysterio said he should be celebrating the Hall of Fame (and got plenty of “you deserve chants”) and competing at the biggest WrestleMania of all-time but he lamented having to fight his own son, Dominik.

Dominik interrupted and got a ton of heat. He called Judgment Day his real family and said he would have won at Mania if not for Bad Bunny. Dom cut to unnecessarily long replays of Bad Bunny’s recent involvement at Mania and last week’s Raw. Dom said Bad Bunny made a lot of good music but Damian Priest putting him through a table was music to his ears.

Rey warned Dom that he spoke to Bad Bunny on the phone and he said he would be back soon.

Rey told Dom to be a man. He didn’t want to fight Dom at Mania but was very much willing to have a rematch tonight in Seattle. Dom responded, “I don’t want to fight my own father — but I know who will.” Finn Bálor entered.

[On Sportsnet in Canada, the next two Raw shows on April 17 and 24 will be available on OLN and SN Now due to NHL playoffs. The same goes for tomorrow’s NXT and Smackdown on April 21.]

Finn Bálor (w/Dominik Mysterio) defeated Rey Mysterio (approx. 15 min.)

Rey made a comeback following a commercial break but his 619 attempt was cut off by a Bálor clothesline. Bálor followed with a shotgun dropkick but Rey brought him down from the top with a hurricanrana for two.

Rey hit the 619 but Bálor got his knees up on a frog splash attempt and transitioned into a small package for a nearfall. As Bálor distracted the referee, Dom tried to hit Rey with a steel chain but Rey ducked it. He chucked Bálor to the outside and hit both men with a suicide dive.

As the ref checked on Bálor, Dom decked Rey with the steel chain and Bálor followed with Coup de Grace for the pinfall win.

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Earlier today, Maxxine Dupri interrupted Cathy Kelley’s interview with Alpha Academy when the cameraperson suddenly scrambled in the direction of some nearby screaming.

Lita was down, apparently attacked, as Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez checked on her. Adam Pearce, Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch ran in to check on her as well. Morgan said they just found her like that and Lynch was skeptical given their upcoming title match tonight. 

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There was a video package of Cody Rhodes losing at Mania before getting attacked by Brock Lesnar on Raw. Graves said WWE has reached out to Lesnar and Lesnar’s camp for comment but they haven’t heard anything. Graves speculated that maybe Lesnar was upset about the placement of his match at Mania.

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Becky Lynch told Byron Saxton that Lita was at a “local medical facility” and when Lynch found out who attacked her, she planned on smacking their heads off. Lynch promised the people a title defence and planned on defending the tag title belts alone but someone came up with a better idea. Pearce showed up with Trish Stratus who was taking Lita’s place. 

There was a Seth Rollins video package.

Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defeated Becky Lynch & Trish Stratus to win the Women’s Tag Team Champions (15:25)

(You could see the ref say something to Lynch as they did the in-ring introductions.)

[SECOND HOUR]

After a break, Morgan made a hot tag to Rodriguez who hit Lynch with a fallaway slam and diving twisting senton for two. Lynch came back with a missile dropkick for two. Lynch repeatedly headbutted Rodriguez and Stratus brought her down with a hurricanrana off the top. Lynch followed with a leg drop for two.

Rodriguez gave Lynch consecutive backbreakers before assisting Morgan in hitting a tornado DDT for two. Lynch drove Morgan face-first into the turnbuckle which led to a tower of doom spot where Rodriguez brought all three other women down with a powerbomb. The crowd popped for that.

There was a clunky spot where Lynch gave Rodriguez a Diamond Dust while also landing on Morgan with a leg drop. (Stratus was trying to get involved but it seemed like the ref was telling her not to and eventually Rodriguez shoved her aside.) The crowd went silent here.

They traded spots until Stratus gave Rodriguez a Stratusfaction. Morgan gave Lynch a codebreaker but Lynch countered an Oblivion into a Man-hand Slam and Rodriguez broke up the cover. Lynch wiped out Rodriguez outside the ring.

Stratus went for a Chick Kick but Morgan ducked it and applied a schoolboy for the pinfall win. Morgan and Rodriguez are the new tag champs. (The crowd was up and down for this match but they popped for the title change.)

— Lynch helped Stratus to her feet after the match. The crowd could tell an angle was coming and they were right. Stratus decked Lynch from behind and dropped her with a Chick Kick. 

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Kelley asked Paul Heyman if he had any insight as to why Lesnar attacked Rhodes last week. Heyman had an answer for Kelley: “Yes.” He told her to ask another question. He then mockingly asked a question on her behalf about tonight’s match between Solo Sikoa and Kevin Owens.

Heyman noted that Sami Zayn wasn’t here tonight due to travel issues — likely because he was hanging out with Matt Riddle at the airport and they thought better of showing up. Heyman called Owens a problem and called Sikoa a problem solver. Heyman also noted that the Usos were here tonight.

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Saxton tried interviewing Stratus but she blew him off.

They showed Triple H’s announcement of the WWE Draft.

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Dakota Kai and IYO SKY waited outside of Pearce’s office. Bayley emerged and informed them that she tried getting them a tag title match but they would have to wait. She wanted to ensure that Pearce at least kept them together as a team after the draft.

Bayley did have news, though. She would be in a triple threat tonight against Michin and Piper Niven with the winner getting a Women’s Championship match. SKY was upset by this news and said something sternly in Japanese. Kai knew how she felt and thought it was time that one of them got a shot. Bayley said she would talk to Pearce.

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Bobby Lashley vs. Bronson Reed ended in a double count-out (10:31)

Reed took control ahead of a break using a shoulder tackle off the apron. Reed cut off Lashley with a boot after the break and they immediately cut to a 15-second movie spot. (On SN Now, you could only hear the ad, so Reed just paced around as the audio of the ad was playing.)

Lashley came back with a neckbreaker and an impressive vertical suplex. Lashley couldn’t apply the Hurt Lock, however, because Reed was just too damn thick. As Lashley tried to apply the hold, Reed fell backward onto Lashley to break it.

Reed went to the top and Lashley avoided the Tsunami but Reed knocked him down with a diving body block instead. Lashley came back later with a big spinebuster which popped the crowd.

The crowd chanted for Lashley as he tried the Hurt Lock again but Reed used his momentum to drop Lashley outside the ring. Reed fought off Lashley and posted him which led to a count-out. The crowd booed.

— The two men continued to brawl after the match as the crowd cheered but it was broken up by officials.

Finish aside, this wound up being quite fun.

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(Cody Rhodes came out for the 9:40 pm segment.)

Cody Rhodes promo

Rhodes entered to a strong reaction.

Rhodes normally entered to speak with a particular focus: whether that be Seth Rollins, his torn pec, the Royal Rumble, or finishing his story at WrestleMania. Things were foggy so he wanted to clear things up.

In the main event of WrestleMania 39, Rhodes lost to the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns. The crowd booed. Rhodes said there were a lot of fingers being pointed but he wanted the fan to look no further than him. “I lost and I’m sorry.”

Rhodes said his friend “Matt” said being in the main event was a win by itself. Rhodes said wins and losses still mattered and main eventing wasn’t enough. Hall of Famers knew that wins and losses mattered — they finished their stories.

Rhodes also heard Heyman say that if he were to ever challenge for the title ever again, he would have to “earn” it. Rhodes thought that dismissed his journey. “Earn it? I am it.”

Rhodes’ story now had a new wrinkle: Brock Lesnar. More embarrassing than laying in the ring with a rubber chicken next to your head instead of the Universal Championship was being laid out by Lesnar after offering a partnership.

Rhodes heard the theories as to why Lesnar attacked him. Rhodes had his own theory. Maybe Lesnar was uncertain of the American Nightmare, maybe Lesnar was uncertain of the change that was coming in WWE. Why else would Lesnar wait until his back was turned?

Rhodes wondered why Lesnar would ever be uncertain. Rhodes ran down Lesnar’s many accolades and victims. Lesnar looked at The Rock, John Cena, Randy Couture and Undertaker as victims. Rhodes wondered if that’s how Lesnar looked at him.

Rhodes admitted he was scared of Lesnar because you’d be crazy not to be, but “I still want to fight Brock Lesnar.” Rhodes said he wants Lesnar to look in the mirror and not see the predator, but see prey. Lesnar would be Rhodes’ victim.

Rhodes knew Lesnar wasn’t here tonight so he challenged him to a match at Backlash. “Answer the call.”

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The Usos entered ahead of a break.

[THIRD HOUR]

The Usos defeated Alpha Academy (13:05)

They did comedy early with Jey Usos’ offence having no effect on Otis who did a little strut to get out of Jey’s cradle attempt. Chad Gable caught Jimmy Uso in the ropes with an armbar before hitting a flying clothesline for two.

The Usos worked together to take down Gable and they knocked Otis off the apron with superkicks. (They were on offence for 20 seconds and Patrick said they were “dominating” as they went to break.)

Otis made a hot tag and had his way with the Usos. He gave each man a World Strongest Slam and covered Jimmy for two and followed with a caterpillar to the delight of the crowd. Alpha Academy followed with a Steinerizer but Jey broke up the cover with a superkick on Gable.

The Usos couldn’t knock down Otis with dives so they superkicked him over the announce desk. Gable wiped out the Usos with a moonsault to the outside and he followed with a diving headbutt on Jimmy for a close nearfall. The crowd really wanted three there.

Jey tagged in and saved Jimmy from a Chaos Theory suplex. The Usos superkicked Gable and gave him 1D for the pinfall win.

This was a fun match and the crowd really got into it.

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Triple Threat Match: IYO SKY (w/Bayley & Dakota Kai) defeated Michin and Piper Niven (8:17)

SKY wiped out her opponents with an Asai moonsault leading to break 90 seconds in. Niven used her power to take over and she knocked down both women with a crossbody. SKY brought Michin down with a middle rope hurricanrana and followed with a springboard dropkick on Niven.

Michin used kicks and a dragon suplex on SKY. Piper went for an elbow drop but Michin moved and she hit SKY instead. Michin hit Niven with Eat Defeat but SKY broke up the cover with a moonsault and she pinned Michin for the win.

SKY earns a future title shot. The crowd seemed happy with the result.

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Saxton interviewed Owens. Owens knew what he was going to ask. Owens knew it wasn’t “wise” to take this match tonight but his heart told him he had to beat the hell out of Sikoa for what he did to him on Friday. Owens knew that Zayn and Riddle weren’t there but he didn’t care. Owens suggested Saxton read the back of his shirt and he did: “just keep fighting.” Owens acted impressed.

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Solo Sikoa (w/The Usos) defeated Tag Team Champion Kevin Owens (13:33)

Owens was effectively on one leg thanks to the attack on Friday. He managed to punch Jey Uso before driving Sikoa into the steel steps but his leg gave out and Sikoa hit a running hip attack.

Owens fought back after a break with a DDT. They traded fists until Owens hit a superkick but he couldn’t go for the cannonball because of his leg so Sikoa dropped him with a superkick for two. Owens knocked Sikoa off the turnbuckle and hit a frog splash for two. Sikoa blocked a stunner and hit a Samoan Drop.

Owens brought Sikoa down from the top as Jimmy distracted the referee. Owens fended off Jey and hit Sikoa with a senton bomb for a nearfall.

Sikoa booted Owens but Owens still managed to hit a pop-up powerbomb. Sikoa blocked a stunner as Jimmy distracted the ref again and Jey superkicked Owens. Sikoa nailed Owens with Samoan Spike for the pinfall win.

— The Bloodline put the boots to Owens after the match. A camera showed Zayn and Riddle outside sprinting into the arena at this exact moment. Zayn and Riddle ran out (to Zayn’s music) and they helped Owens clear the ring. Owens gave Jimmy a stunner but Sikoa saved Jey from a Helluva Kick.

Owens, Zayn and Riddle stood tall as the Bloodline backed away.