Cody Rhodes calls out Brock Lesnar.
WWE Raw advertised a Cody Rhodes-Brock Lesnar confrontation, which kicked off the show as Lesnar mauled Rhodes in front of his family and accepted Cody’s challenge. Raw also advertised Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez vs. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, GUNTHER vs. Riddle and a Viking Rules match between the Viking Raiders and Alpha Academy.
Last week’s broadcast of WWE Raw garnered 1.809 million viewers.
WWE Raw Results on July 17, 2023
- GUNTHER def. Matt Riddle
- Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville def. Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan | WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
- The Viking Raiders def. Alpha Academy | Viking Rules Match
- Bronson Reed def. Shinsuke Nakamura by DQ
- Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens def. Judgment Day | WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship
WWE Raw Ratings
- July 10, 2023 | 1.809 million
- July 3, 2023 | 1.828 million
- June 26, 2023 | 1.973 million
- June 19, 2023 | 1.821 million
- June 12, 2023 | 1.595 million
- WWE Raw Venue: State Farm Arena (Atlanta, Ga.)
- WWE Raw Tickets Distributed: 12,012
- WWE Raw Tickets Available: 2
WWE Raw Winners And Grades
Brock Lesnar Destroys Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes received an LA Knight-like reaction in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.
Brock Lesnar’s music hit just as Corey Graves was about to name-drop Rhodes’ sister Tiel, and the man didn’t even show up.
After his music hit a second time, Brock Lesnar finally showed up when he attacked Rhodes off camera backstage and sent him flying through the entrance.
Brock Lesnar received immense heat for his beatdown of Rhodes in Atlanta. The moment WWE showed Rhodes’ family sitting ringside, you knew it wasn’t going to end well for him.
Opening Segment Grade: B
GUNTHER Def. Matt Riddle
Matt Riddle and GUNTHER had the match they should have had on pay-per-view earlier this month at Money in the Bank.
GUNTHER was booed vociferously as a heel, and cut a heated promo while standing on the announce table calling out Drew McIntyre.
As Roman Reigns has taught us, long title reigns are overrated, but GUNTHER called himself the greatest Intercontinental champion of all time. In addition to his long reign, GUNTHER has never been pined or submitted on the main roster, and when it happens and the title changes, it’ll elevate the belt. GUNTHER may have a point.
Drew McIntyre is a SmackDown guy. Should McIntyre win, has it been made clear if the Intercontinental Title goes to SmackDown or if Drew goes to Raw?
GUNTHER vs. Riddle Grade: B+
Sami Zayn And Kevin Owens Challenge Judgment Day
Backstage, Raquel Rodriguez (kayfabe) injured her leg during a brawl with Raquel Rodriguez.)
Dominik Mysterio gets so much heat these days, the rest of the Judgment Day has to take turns cutting his promos for him.
Finn Balor told Damian Priest that he loved him as the temporary honeymoon period for the Bloodline continues.
Sami Zayn received another massive reaction, but fans also popped when Kevin Owens was given free reign to cut a tirade promo on the Judgment Day.
Zayn-Owens and Judgment Day Segment Grade: B-
Deville and Green Def. Morgan and Rodriguez
If Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan drop these women’s tag team titles, the belts will officially become a parody if they haven’t already.
With WWE building toward Raquel Rodriguez and Rhea Ripley, poor Liv Morgan might be the odd woman out, win or lose.
To the credit of Rodriguez’s knee injury, fans really got behind Rodriguez when she was trapped in a half crab from Deville.
Though Chelsea Green has a great character, the woman can bump her ass off.
Sonya Deville broke up a nearfall with an awesome-looking flying knee to Liv Morgan.
Women’s Tag Title Match Grade: B
The Viking Raiders Def. Alpha Academy
There was a very serious sit-down segment between Seth Rollins and Finn Balor that I couldn’t take seriously because Rollins was wearing sunglasses and a fishnet shirt. In fact, the seriousness made it seem even more ridiculous.
Titus O’Neil was on commentary for this one due to this experience in Viking Rules matches. He was more of a cheerleader, but boy was he entertaining.
The pageantry of this match was amazing, with Vikings Shields and flags all around the ring.
Fans were into this match, particularly when Maxxine Dupri finally got to put on her letterman’s jacket. She was promptly put through a table by Valhalla and it was all downhill from there.
Viking Rules Match Grade: B+
Shayna Baszler Def. Nikki Cross
Shayna Baszler, who’s back to being a heel, made quick work of Nikki Cross. Fans didn’t react, and right on cue, Ronda Rousey began her promo by saying “and the crowd goes mild!”
Rousey (accurately) called Shayna out for being the reason Baszler is in WWE, and eclipsing Baszler in half the time.
Fans cheered Rousey when she called herself the greatest combat sports athlete of all time, but cheered Baszler even louder when Baszler said she’s a better Ronda Rousey in WWE than Ronda will ever be. Now I can’t tell who the heel is.
Baszler vs. Ronda Segment Grade: C+
MizTV with Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus
Becky Lynch started off at an 11 in this promo, out of 10, and by the end she was up to nearly a 20.
Becky Lynch, who looks like she wore pajamas to the ring, cut a very spirited promo on Trish Stratus in light of claims that The Man was in a slump.
Trish Stratus will accept a match against Becky Lynch if
- Becky faces Zoey Stark
- If Becky Loses to Zoey Stark, Becks has to get on her knees and say “thank you Trish”
- Becky Lynch will also have to tattoo “thank you Trish” on her chest if Becky loses
Becky removed Trish Stratus’ mask by the end of this segment.
Becky-Trish Segment Grade: B-
Bronson Reed Def. Shinsuke Nakamura By DQ
Kevin Patrick and WWE are really trying to get “Braggadocious Bully” over to describe Bronson Reed. I hate it. I prefer Mr. Nice Guy.
Shinsuke Nakamura took a DQ loss when Tommaso Ciampa crashed the match and attacked Bronson Reed. Understandably, Nakamura kicked Ciampa in the chest and was booed for it. So, let me get this straight, Ciampa costs Nakamura a match, Nakamura takes matters into his own hands and Shinsuke is the heel?
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bronson Reed Grade: B-
Kevin Owens And Sami Zayn Def. The Judgment Day
The Judgment Day tag team was Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest, who wore a tanktop that looked like a bra.
This match was dominated with chants of “Dom, you suck!”
At one point, Kevin Patrick inexplicably said “Kevin Owens: never perturbed,” and of course Corey Graves jumped down his throat like it was a waterslide.
This crowd was great throughout the night, and the main event was no different as they chanted “this is awesome” during the final moments.
Liv Morgan crashed the match and attacked Rhea Ripley, providing the distraction for Mysterio, who took the losing fall.