WWE Raw live results: Logan Paul returns
Date: June 19, 2023
Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, OH
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Show Recap —
No intro this week. Seth Rollins entered for a world title open challenge. (Corey Graves plugged his scheduled title defence against Bron Breakker on tomorrow’s NXT.)
However, Finn Bálor decked Rollins from behind as he basked in the fans singing his song. The crowd chanted “You suck” as Bálor put the boots to Rollins before officials backed him off.
Bálor evaded the officials and leaped off the steel steps to hit a Coup de Grace. Bálor followed with another off the announce table and yet another off the steps. (Bálor running and leaping off the steps for the stomp looked great.)
Officials backed him off again as they went to break just five minutes into the show.
— After a break, Rollins walked gingerly through the back looking for Bálor. Bálor decked him from behind again and chucked him into an equipment box. Bálor held the title in Rollins’ face and said he’s been waiting seven years for this.
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The Miz was in the ring and complained because he planned on accepting Rollins’ challenge title. Miz knew he was a hero in this depressing town and wanted to give them something to remember. Miz issued his own open challenge to impress the losers of Cleveland.
Tommaso Ciampa entered. Graves reminded us that Ciampa was buddies with Miz (before he left) and Miz seemed happy to see him.
Tommaso Ciampa defeated The Miz (4:17)
Ciampa was on fire until Miz kicked his leg out of his leg and hit a DDT for two. Miz came off the top for a double axe handle but Ciampa caught him mid-air with a knee strike. Ciampa followed with a Fairytale Ending for the pinfall win.
(Ciampa got a decent crowd reaction for his return and they popped for his win. Based on something he said to the announcers, he seemed pissed that Miz never contacted him during the nine months that he was gone.)
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Judgment Day segment
Judgment Day entered the stage and remained there through a commercial break.
Bálor stated that Rollins’ open challenge was cancelled because the only one who was taking the title was him. Bálor said the fans could sing Rollins’ song at his funeral. The crowd began singing so Rhea Ripley told them to shut up.
Ripley said Bálor would bring the world title to Judgment Day, while Ripley herself already had the women’s division on lockdown. Ripley said Damian Priest would win Money in the Bank while her Latino Heat Dominik Mysterio would put down our favourite wrestler Cody Rhodes.
Priest reiterated that he would win MITB. Priest warned Rhodes to keep Dom’s name out of his mouth or else Judgment Day would ensure he never fought again.
Dom put the mic to his face and the crowd loudly booed. Dom powered through it to say he’d beat Rhodes at MITB. Dom also challenged Rhodes to a six-man tag match (presumably tonight) if he could find two partners.
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There was a dramatic video package of the Bloodline storyline from Smackdown.
Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa against Jimmy and Jey Uso at MITB was made official. They’re calling it the Bloodline Civil War.
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Byron Saxton interviewed Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and, of course, asked about the Bloodline. Owens was annoyed and asked, “Why are you asking about the Bloodline again?” Zayn said it was a fair question but Owens said he didn’t care. Owens was getting angry but Zayn wanted him to calm down.
Zayn didn’t want to say what he was thinking in front of everyone but Owens told him to go ahead because it was just the two of them and Saxton. Zayn said Owens was a rage-a-holic. Owens loudly said, “What?!”
Zayn said he had a rage problem and challenged him to keep it together. Zayn said that if Owens didn’t throw another tantrum tonight, he would never bring it up again. Owens asked what would happen next. Zayn said, “I’ll shut up,” and Owens responded, “Forever?”
Owens agreed to the challenge.
This was very good.
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They aired TikTok videos of Chelsea Green being annoying and they made it seem like videos of her being a Karen were going viral.
Kayden Carter & Katana Chance defeated Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville (2:00)
Carter and Chance won quickly with their Afterparty finisher on Deville.
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Cody Rhodes interview
Instead of the usual top-of-the-hour promo segment, Rhodes did a quick interview on the stage with Cathy Kelley. She asked about Judgment Day’s challenge for a six-man tag.
Rhodes said Ripley was dominating, Priest was a few steps on a ladder away from making history, Bálor could be the next champion, “and then there’s Dom.” Rhodes said finding two partners wouldn’t be a problem and accepted Dom’s challenge.
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Indus Sher (w/Jinder Mahal) defeated Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander (2:09)
Benjamin and Alexander took the fight to Veer and Sanga as soon as the match started in response to the beating they received two weeks ago. It didn’t last long, though. Veer tackled Benjamin while Sanga dropped Alexander on the barricade. They hit Benjamin with a double-team move for the win.
These guys were not on the same page so this was no good.
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Owens and Zayn walked through the back and some guy spilled coffee on Owens’ shirt. Owens curbed his rage and brushed it off. The annoyances continued as they bumped into Matt Riddle. Zayn encouraged Riddle to tell them everything he’s been up to this summer (to try to piss off Owens).
Riddle said he’s been watching movies and asked Owens if he’s seen ‘Honey I Shrunk the Kids’ and ‘Little Giants’. Owens was about to freak out on him but settled down and told him those were great movies. Owens wished him luck on his match.
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[SECOND HOUR]
Logan Paul segment
They introduced Logan Paul who sat on top of a ladder. He was booed. The lights were dimmed but the spotlight was on him and the MITB briefcases.
Paul mentioned some of the great people that were from Cleveland like LeBron James (who received a mixed reaction) and Jerry “The King” Lawler (who was cheered). Paul thought about the moments that made him great and what made him great was leaving Cleveland. He came back and the Browns still suck.
Paul was still the best they got because Cleveland people kept losing. His brother lost his most recent fight, he himself lost at WrestleMania, and Miz even lost tonight. Paul wanted to put respect back on Cleveland’s name.
Paul reached out to WWE executives and received a special invitation: he would be competing in the MITB ladder match in London. Paul said he would win the briefcase, cash in on whoever he wanted, and celebrate at Barley House in Cleveland.
Ricochet interrupted. He mentioned that he made Paul viral at the Royal Rumble. Shinsuke Nakamura entered next to say he had even more reasons to win MITB. LA Knight came out and called them as useless as basketball cleats. Knight told Paul to shove Prime bottles up his ass. (The crowd was very into Knight.) Santos Escobar entered next and welcomed Paul to the party.
Butch entered next and Paul said, “I don’t even know who that is,” as he entered. Butch did not have a microphone and instead of talking, he decked Paul upon entering the ring. A brawl broke out which led to Paul taking out Escobar and Ricochet with a flip dive.
With everyone down, Paul climbed the ladder and posed with the briefcase. (I think the crowd chanted for LA Knight but he didn’t reappear.)
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Matt Riddle defeated Ludwig Kaiser (w/Intercontinental Champion Gunther) (9:17)
Riddle was all over Kaiser but he distracted himself by yelling at Gunther so Kaiser tripped him and suplexed him off the apron. After a break, Riddle fought back with a fisherman suplex, strikes, a running forearm, an exploder suplex, a dive, and a fisherman buster for two.
Riddle tried something off the middle rope but Kaiser caught him with a rolling fireman’s carry. Kaiser tried a back elbow off the middle turnbuckle but Riddle countered into a German suplex which looked awesome. Riddle followed with a Bro Derek for the pinfall win.
There was some great action here and this wound up being a great showcase for Riddle.
— Gunther tried a cheap shot after the match but Riddle ducked it and fought back. They got the better of him though and Gunther repeatedly stomped his leg as Kaiser held him down.
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Rollins will be a guest on the Pat McAfee Show tomorrow. (The announcers wished Rollins well and hoped he could recover in time for the interview.)
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Medical staff helped Riddle walk through the back. He couldn’t put weight on his ankle.
Imperium approached Owens and Zayn in the back. Kaiser hoped that they saw what they just did to Riddle. Owens flipped out on Kaiser and asked why he was so long-winded. He told Kaiser to just get to the point. Zayn saw a notification on his phone and told Imperium that they had to go deal with something. Zayn and Owens basically brushed Imperium aside and left.
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There was a clip of Alpha Academy training Maxxine Dupri. Chad Gable gave some guy a vertical suplex and the guy sold it like he injured his back. Gable said it was all in the hips and Otis showed her by thrusting his hips. They brought someone in to take a suplex by Dupri but they deliberately ended the video before showing her executing the move.
The Viking Raiders (w/Valhalla) defeated Alpha Academy (w/Maxxine Dupri) (4:13)
The crowd is getting into Gable and they popped when he handed out overhead suplexes to his bigger opponents. Valhalla tried to distract Gable so Dupri yanked her from the apron and gave her a vertical suplex, which the crowd also popped big for.
However, Gable was so excited that it was a distraction. Erik dropped Gable onto his knee (with what looked a bit like a reverse GTS) for the pinfall win. The finish looked brutal for Gable.
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Natalya told Kelley this was her chance to prove to herself that she still belonged.
Non-title match: Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya
The match didn’t happen. Ripley attacked Natalya during her entrance, tossed her around and hit Rip-tide. Officials ran down to check on Natalya.
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Kelley interviewed Raquel Rodriguez. She looked forward to facing a legend in Trish Stratus but she was pissed seeing what Ripley just did to Natalya. Ripley walked through the curtain and got in her face. Rodriguez stood face-to-face with Ripley and said she wasn’t ready for her. (This was a good little exchange.)
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[THIRD HOUR]
Zayn and Owens met with Rhodes in the back. Zayn said they had his back anytime they wanted his help. Rhodes said Tozawa already offered to be his partner.
Owens was very upset because he’s been holding his temper all night and really wanted to punch someone in the face. Rhodes said he didn’t accept Tozawa’s offer and would be thrilled to have the champs as his partners. Owens was very happy and said, “Let’s go punch people!”
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Money in the Bank qualifier: Trish Stratus (w/Zoey Stark) defeated Raquel Rodriguez via disqualification (5:53)
Kevin Patrick said this was Stratus’ first singles match on Raw in 12 years. (She lost a no-DQ match to Vickie Guerrero in 2011. Before that, she beat Mickie James in a 2006 Raw match.) Graves said there should’ve been more pomp and circumstance for this.
They were having a pretty good match until the finish. (Stratus applied a Camel Clutch at one point which might’ve been a nod to Iron Sheik.)
Stark interfered with the ref distracted which led to Becky Lynch running out. Lynch attacked both Stark and Stratus for the DQ. That meant that Stratus technically won and qualified for MITB.
Lynch acted shocked like she didn’t know this would happen and tried to reason with a justifiably upset Rodriguez.
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Bron Breakker interview
Kelley interviewed Bron Breakker. Bron wondered if Rollins would use tonight’s attack as an excuse, especially since he talks such a big game. What Bálor did was nothing compared to what he would do because he would hurt Seth freakin’ Rollins really freakin’ bad.
Bron hoped the doctors would prescribe Rollins enough courage to show up to NXT. He told us to get used to seeing his face on Raw because he planned on becoming the new world champion.
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Saxton caught up to Lynch for an interview. She basically tried to make it seem like the odds were against her because the likes of Stratus, Stark, Bayley and IYO SKY were all in the ladder match. Lynch said she would either come out victorious or take Stratus and Stark down with her.
(Lynch didn’t acknowledge Rodriguez at all or show any remorse for her. She was only upset because, as she put it, she might have screwed herself.)
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Bronson Reed defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (8:17)
They went to break after Ricochet entered to watch the match while sitting ringside.
Nakamura hit a spinning heel kick off the ropes for two. Reed followed with a powerslam for two. Nakamura tried a triangle choke but Reed hoisted him up into a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall.
Reed tried to shove Nakamura into Ricochet but Ricochet popped up and Nakamura landed in his chair. Ricochet then kicked the chair and Nakamura into Reed, which was a well-timed spot. Nakamura stared down Ricochet so Reed attacked Nakamura and rolled him back into the ring. Ricochet turned his back on Reed so Reed shoved him into the steel steps.
Ricochet leaped onto the apron as Nakamura set up Reed for Kinshasa. However, Reed moved and Nakamura knocked Ricochet off the apron. Reed followed with a back suplex and Tsunami for the pinfall win. The crowd really got up for the Tsunami.
(Graves reminded us that Reed is the one of these three who is not in MITB.)
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There was a clip of Rollins who appeared to be at the hospital. Rollins said they took him from the arena to get X-rays on his ribs. Rollins didn’t care what the doctors said he would see the “badass” Bron Breakker at NXT and he wasn’t going all the way there to lose.
Rollins was happy to see the Bálor who beat him seven years ago and said MITB can’t come soon enough.
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Six-man tag team match: Cody Rhodes & Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn defeated Finn Bálor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio (w/Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley) (13:41)
Boy, was this ever a hot main event.
Rhodes wanted Dom who tagged in to a chorus of boos but he immediately tagged out to Bálor. Dom tagged back in when they had Rhodes held in the corner and smacked him in the back. Dom quickly scampered out of the ring before tagging in Priest. The crowd chanted, “Dom’s a pussy.”
Dom set up for the three amigos but Zayn countered into a vertical suplex. As Dom and Bálor distracted the ref, Ripley dropped Zayn with a clothesline which led to a break.
Zayn avoided a corner splash by Priest but Dom tagged himself in, knocked Rhodes off the apron, and pulled Zayn into Judgment Day’s corner. Dom quickly tagged out again and the crowd chanted, “Dom’s a pussy” again. Zayn dropped Bálor with a clothesline and made a hot tag to Owens.
Owens stomped away on Dom to the delight of the crowd. Dom tried to escape so Owens brought him back into the ring to hit a superkick and cannonball for two. Bálor made a blind tag and hit a headlock elbow drop and slingblade but Owens caught him with a superkick.
Rhodes made a hot tag and he hit Priest with a clothesline, uppercut, powerslam, and Disaster Kick for two. Rhodes went to the top but stepped back down after Ripley jumped on the apron. The distraction allowed Priest to give Rhodes a chokeslam but Zayn broke up the cover. Dom went after Zayn so Zayn knocked him off the apron into the arms of Ripley (who put him down nicely).
Ripley dared Zayn to hit her. Zayn ran at her as if he would but she ducked, so Zayn hit Dom with a flip dive. Rhodes gave Priest a Cody Cutter for a nearfall as Owens and Bálor brawled around ringside.
Rhodes knocked Priest out of mid-air with a forearm but Dom broke up the cover. Dom went to give Rhodes the 619 but Zayn clotheslined him and hit Helluva Kick.
Owens gave Dom a stunner and Rhodes hit Priest with a Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win.
Rhodes posed with Owens and Zayn as the show ended.
This was really fun and the crowd loved it.