This week’s Raw began with an early attack by Finn Balor on Seth Rollins and then the return of Tommaso Ciampa. From there, WWE offered some tag matches, a new look at Chelsea Green’s “Karen” character, more Money in the Bank qualifying action, the return of Logan Paul, and a six-man tag match with Judgment Day vs. Cody. Rhodes and partners of your choice.
Here are their winners and losers from Raw, June 19, 2023:
Winner: Balor attacks Rollins
Monday Night Raw began with an electrifying atmosphere as Seth Rollins made his way to the ring, receiving a thunderous ovation from the crowd who enthusiastically sang his entrance music. The Architect was immersed in worship, enjoying the chants that echoed throughout the arena. It was short lived as Balor launched a surprise attack from behind. The two fierce competitors fought fiercely at ringside, unleashing a flurry of punches and grappling moves. The intensity escalated until a swarm of officials rushed to intervene and restore order.
This was a good way to prevent fans from singing along to Rollins’ song, ruining what could have been an iconic Balor promo last week. This gave the fans a chance to sing along, but the attack cut the fans off, prompting immediate action. He continued to attack Rollins after the commercial break and then said that his mission was to ruin Rollins’ open challenge.
Winner: Returns Tomasso Ciampa
Returning to the ring, The Miz expressed his frustration at not being able to answer Rollins’ open challenge due to the earlier attack. A-Lister’s complaints were immediately met with the unexpected arrival of Tommaso Ciampa, who wasted no time in dealing a devastating blow to the self-proclaimed Hollywood superstar. The Miz got into a little offense, but it was a pretty one-sided match that Ciampa won. Fans were clearly excited to have him back on Raw. Ciampa hit the Fairytale Ending to win and also came out with his old theme song.
Winner/Loser: Katana Chance and Kayden Carter win
Before a women’s division tag match, WWE showed a hilarious montage of fake TikTok videos featuring Chelsea Green. While another win for the new tag team was great and both teams officially looked like tag teams, this match was too short. Chance and Carter ended up getting the win in less than three minutes. This match had the ability to really be a solid match in a division that could use more wrestling. WWE could have easily given it double the time and made it memorable.
Loser: Indus Sheer with another pumpkin
Two matches that lasted less than three minutes is not the right formula for WWE Raw, which takes three hours to complete. Indus Sheer facing off against Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin was also a bust as they only fought and easily defeated them last week. Demonstrating what kind of action WWE was going to deliver on Monday night, the first hour of Raw had less than 15 minutes of legitimate in-ring action.
Winner: Money in the Bank Chaos
Logan Paul was introduced and was in the ring, sitting on top of a ladder with a spotlight on him. He talked about being from Cleveland and then ran over everyone who lived in the city that he volunteered to leave for bigger and better things. He then announced that he had been officially added to the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. That attracted other competitors already set for the fight. He started with Ricochet, then was followed by Shinsuke Nakamura, LA Knight, Santos Escobar, and Butch.
Chaos ensued as a heated fight broke out, culminating in a climactic scene in which Paul ascended the ladder, triumphantly grabbing the coveted briefcases. This gripping segment effectively achieved its goal of securing Paul’s inclusion in the match. However, it was the interaction involving Butch that undoubtedly stole the spotlight, becoming the standout highlight of the entire sequence.
Logan Paul’s presence at the game will add another element of athleticism and marquee star power to the game. That he didn’t have to qualify will be a point of contention for fans. But, as a badass character, he works.
Winner: Riddle vs. Ludwig Kaiser
The first long game of the night was good. Riddle defeated Kaiser but lost the war in a post-match attack by Gunther and his faction mate. They focused her attack on Riddle’s leg and it was shown that he couldn’t put any weight on her backstage. Giovani Vinci was not at ringside, probably selling the injury he sustained to Riddle’s hand last week.
Loser: Chad Gable
Gable is not a loser this week because of the work he did on Raw. He is a loser because of the way he turned out in his match. Alpha Academy lost to The Viking Raiders when Maxxine Durpi suplexed Valhalla outside the ring and Otis was so excited that he looked away from the ball and Erik hit Gable with a backbreaker for the win. Gable was terrific in the match up to that point, but he ate a pin at the expense of a story featuring Dupri in training.
Following this, Rhea Ripley attacked Natalya before their scheduled match. The bell never rang, so the match was never official. Raquel RodrÃguez objected to the beating and before her qualifying match with Trish Stratus she vowed to take advantage of Ripley.
Winner: Trish Stratus
In a Money in the Bank qualifying match, Trish was victorious after Becky Lynch went down and attacked Zoey Stark. She then targeted Trish, but in doing so she cost Rodriguez the match. Lynch knew immediately that she had been wrong and seemed to show regret, but only up to a point. Meanwhile, Trish and Stark will laugh at Money in the Bank.
The match wasn’t perfect, but Trish looked really solid. She sold herself like crazy for the biggest baby face, including ragdolling in a bear hug and eating a nasty clothesline. It’s easy to forget how good Trish is because she doesn’t fight that often. It will be interesting to see how she fares in a ladder match.
Winner/Loser: Bronson Reed defeats Nakamura
In a singles match that featured a pair of competitors from the Money in the Bank match, Reed took the win with a huge splash off the top rope. But it was Ricochet’s involvement on the outside of the ring that ultimately cost Nakamura. The One and Only was a distraction and Reed nailed a back suplex after Ricochet and Shinsuke collided on the edge of the ring. He hits and then hits the splash to win.
Winner: Cody, Owens and Zayn defeat Judgment Day
In a main event worth calling it that, the fans went home happy after a night of short matches and fast-paced booking decisions. Cody found Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn as partners to answer the Judgment Day challenge and Cody landed the pin on Damian Priest. Cody proves every week that he is becoming a bigger and bigger star, while Owens and Zayn have finished big as the tag team champions.
This was a solid match with six competitors in the ring who know how to put on a good show. It was a good fight to close the show.