June 27th 2023.
Carmelo Hayes made a real impression on the last Raw before Money In The Bank. The NXT Champion, who is set to defend his gold against Baron Corbin tomorrow night at NXT Gold Rush, made his presence felt for the first time on the red brand on a busy night for The Judgment Day.
Finn Balor appeared in a pre-taped promo, insisting that he's not the same man who beat Seth Rollins for the Undisputed Title seven years ago before having to relinquish the gold. Rollins hyped up Carmelo at ringside before turning his attention to Balor. He said the best version of Rollins will always be better than the best version of Balor. Balor then launched a sneak attack before Carmelo stepped in to stop it. It was announced that Carmelo and Balor would face each other later in the night.
The two stars delivered a great match as expected, with the fans getting behind the NXT champ as he showed off his skills as a high flyer and overall entertainer. In the end, Balor picked up the win with a Coup de Gras, continuing to stay on a roll before his title match at Money In The Bank in London this weekend. Carmelo still looked strong in his Raw debut.
Cody Rhodes also had a big night on Raw. He was met with an amazing ovation as he came out to face off with Dom Mysterio, who was met with a chorus of boos. Dom immediately moved to the apron as Rhea Ripley stood up to the American Nightmare. The first match of the night was a fantastic clash between Ricochet and Shinsuke Nakamura, with Bronson Reed getting involved early on.
Backstage, GUNTHER and Ludwig Kaiser accepted Matt Riddle's challenge for an Intercontinental Championship match at Money In The Bank. Ronda Rousey scored a quick but competitive win over Raquel Rodriguez. Tommaso Ciampa explained his issues with The Miz before the A-Lister launched a brutal attack on him as he came out for his first match back. Dominik Mysterio beat Akira Tozawa before the Women's Money In The Bank Summit, where Bayley, Zelina Vega, Trish Stratus, Zoey Stark, Iyo Sky and Becky Lynch traded verbal jabs before a brawl broke out.
Sami Zayn fought GUNTHER in a great match between two talented veterans, with a returning Giovanni Vinci cracking Sami with a crutch to help the Ring General to victory. Kevin Owens took the fight to Imperium after the bell, with Riddle running down to even the odds and build to this weekend’s IC Title match.
The night ended with Cody Rhodes taking on Damian Priest in a strong main event, getting a sensible win before Dom slipped in a cheap shot before Raw went off the air. WWE Raw airs Monday nights at 1am on BT Sport 1.
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