WWE‘s latest edition of Monday Night RAW took place on (2/20/23) from the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada! Austin Theory successfully retained the United States Championship against Edge in the evening’s main event!
Live Coverage
The show begins and we see a video recap of Roman Reigns victory over Sami Zayn from this past Saturday night’s Elimination Chamber premium live event.
We then head to the arena where the aforementioned Sami Zayn’s music hits and out comes the former title challenger. The crowd is still white hot for Sami and they chant along with his theme song and begin the customary ‘Ole, ole ole ole, Ole, Ole!’ chants and continue the ovation with chanting his name. Sami finally gets the Ottawa, Ontario, Canada crowd to calm down a bit and says he’s feeling a lot of feelings tonight but the main feeling he has is gratitude. Sami thanks the crowd for their support during his run with and against The Bloodline and the crowd meets him with ‘you deserve it!’ chants, which gets Sami a bit emotional. Sami says while he feels thankful, he feels a lot of guilt for coming up short when he was so close to finishing the story agains Roman Reigns. Sami says around WWE, the story is NEVER over, but we are entering the final chapter. Sami says the final chapter isn’t just about him…but he needs to talk to Kevin Owens, whom Sami calls out to come down to the ring. Owens’ music hits and out comes the former Universal Champion.
Sami tells Kevin that he has so much to say to him but doesn’t know where to start. Sami thanks Kevin for his help on Saturday night and also apologizes to him for their past. Sami says he and Kevin are past the point of words and he doesn’t know if there’s anyway they can get back to being best friends again. Sami says he knows Kevin’s main goal is to take down The Bloodline and he says he (Sami) won’t sleep until Roman Reigns and The Bloodline are taken down once and for all. Sami says Kevin can’t do it alone and neither can he, but they may be able to do it…together. The crowd is going ballistic and Kevin says he doesn’t need an apology from Sami or for Sami to thank him because him attacking The Bloodline on Saturday wasn’t for Sami, it was for his (Kevin’s) family. Kevin said he did it for Sami’s family too, so Sami’s wife, kids, and parents didn’t have to see Sami get beaten down like his (Kevin’s) family did. Kevin said at Survivor Series he told Sami that he was done with him and that stands ’til this day…but if Sami needs any help taking down The Bloodline, to just ask ‘his buddy’ Jey Uso. Kevin slams down the microphone and exits.
Our commentary team of Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves then run down tonight’s action, which includes Austin Theory defending the United States Championship against Edge, and an episode of ‘Ding Dong, Hello!’ with Bayley welcoming her Damage CTRL stablemates, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions IYO SKY and Dakota Kai. Seth Rollins will face The Miz, and Cody Rhodes will address Roman Reigns and their WrestleMania 39 title match now that it’s official following Reigns’ victory over Sami Zayn at Elimination Chamber. We then cut back to the ring where Sami Zayn is waving to the crowd before exiting and Baron Corbin comes down and attacks Zayn out of no where and we head to a commercial break.
Back from the break and Adam Pearce, along other WWE officials are holding Sami back from rushing Corbin, who’s back in the ring with a microphone. Corbin says he tried to tell everyone, last week, that Sami Zayn wasn’t capable of competing with Roman Reigns, and he would especially know since he was the last one who defeated Roman Reigns. Adam Pearce continues to hold Sami back but Corbin says Sami is an embarrassment to his friends, his fans, his family, and the country of Canada. Pearce steps aside and tells Sami to go attack Corbin, and Sami flies down to the ring and have an impromptu match!
Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin
A brawl around the ringside area goes down as commentary announces that Adam Pearce has said this one is officially official and here we go! Corbin lays into Sami with some forearms to a cut and bruised back of Sami, who was mangled by Reigns with a steel chair just 48 hours ago. Sami trips Corbin to the mat and lays into him with a bevy of strikes. Sami goes up top and dives down but Corbin catches him with a choke-slam and plants Sami before going for the cover but Sami kicks out and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Sami is battling back and spikes Corbin face-first into the mat with a tornado DDT and goes for the cover but Corbin kicks out. Sami dumps Corbin to the outside and comes flying over the top rope and lays Corbin out on the outside!
Sami tosses Corbin back into the ring and lines him up for the Helluva Kick but Corbin wallops Canada’s favorite son with a lariat. Corbin scoops and plants Sami with a Deep Six and goes for the cover but Sami kicks out at two-and-a-half! Corbin tosses Sami to the corner, lands a splash, and goes rushing back to the opposite corner to regain momentum for another one but Sami follows him and cracks him with the Helluva Kick for the 1-2-3!
Winner – Sami Zayn
We then see a video package highlighting the feud between Edge, Beth Phoenix, and The Judgment Day. Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio are shown getting mic’d up backstage and they’ll be interviewed after the break.
Back from the break and Byron Saxton is backstage sitting down with Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio. Byron asks Rhea about her and Finn coming up short against Edge and Beth Phoenix this past Saturday at Elimination Chamber. Rhea says she’s not worried about the past, she’s looking toward the future and her SmackDown Women’s Championship match against Charlotte Flair. Byron starts to ask another question about Beth Phoenix but Dominik tells Byron to stop right there and if he asks another question about Edge or Beth Phoenix, he (Byron) is going to find out what he (Dominik) did when people annoyed him in prison. Rhea says she’s going to put Charlotte in her place at WrestleMania 39 and become the new SmackDown Women’s Champion. Byron asks Rhea what’s going to happen when she and Charlotte come face-to-face this Friday night on SmackDown and Rhea says you’ll have to tune in to find out. Dominik notes that his father, Rey Mysterio has a match this Friday night, so he’ll tag along with Rhea and make his way to SmackDown this Friday night. Rhea tells Byron that this interview is over and she and Dominik get up and leave.
We then see a video package highlighting Logan Paul’s interference and attack of Seth Rollins from this past Saturday’s elimination chamber match. The United States Champion Austin Theory is then shown backstage with Cathy Kelley. Cathy asks Austin how he feels just 48 hours removed from retaining his title against five of the best superstars on the WWE roster inside of an elimination chamber. Austin says he’s beat up and doesn’t feel 100% but he’ll do what he always does and that’s beat everyone in front of him, and that’ll continue tonight when he defeats Edge in his home country of ‘crappy Canada’. Theory then says nobody cares about John Cena’s return to RAW in a few weeks and says he’s focused on tonight and then he’s on the road to WrestleMania where he’ll solidify his legacy once and for all.
Mustafa Ali vs. Dolph Ziggler
Ziggler cradles Ali and goes for a quick cover but Ali kicks out. Ziggler cracks Ali with a drop-kick then sends Ali to the corner and plants him with a swinging neck-breaker. Ziggler looks for a super-kick, Ali rolls to the outside and Ziggler drags him right back onto the apron but Ali uses the top rope and nails Ziggler with a neck-breaker. Ali applies a head-lock and starts yelling at Ziggler before going for a suplex but Ziggler slides out but walks into a Pele kick from Ali. Ziggler catches Ali and plants him with a DDT and goes for the cover but Ali kicks out. Ziggler plants Ali with the Famouser but Ali ducked under and uses the crucifix to roll Ziggler up for the 1-2-3!
Winner – Mustafa Ali
After the match, we see The Miz and Maryse kissing backstage and Cathy Kelley steps in and asks for a word with the former WWE Grand Slam winner. Maryse shows The Miz his anniversary gift and The Miz says this gift is bigger than his half-court shot during this past weekend’s NBA Celebrity All-Star game. Cathy asks Miz how he feels before his match against Seth Rollins and Miz says he’s just happy that Rollins was ‘brought down to earth’ by his (The Miz’s) former protege, Logan Paul. The Miz says he’ll reveal what Maryse gifted him, next week on Miz TV.
We then see Cody Rhodes walking through the backstage area and we’ll hear from the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble Match winner after the break.
Back from the break and ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes is making his way down to the ring. Cody grabs a microphone and is about to ask everyone what they want to talk about but Paul Heyman pops up on the titantron and interrupts. Cody asks Paul where he is and Paul says he’s backstage and Cody asks Paul to make his way down to the ring. Paul says he was attacked this past Saturday night and now he’s stuck in a neck brace and not able to come down to the ring. Paul says what happened to him on Saturday night was a tragedy but it pales in comparison to the real tragedy which is what’s going to happen to Cody at WrestleMania 39. Paul tells Cody flat-out that he can’t beat Roman Reigns. Paul says it’s time to get hypothetical and pretend that Cody beats Roman at WrestleMania, and asks Cody what his life will be like should that happen. Paul says Roman Reigns has special counsel, the wiseman, Paul Heyman. Paul says if Cody beats Roman, he won’t have Paul Heyman.
Paul says 200 days a year, Cody will have to be on the road defending the titles, he’ll spend 50 days a year doing charity appearances and red carpet events, then 30 days overseas doing promotional work, another 20 days promoting every premium live event, which is now over 300 days on the road. Paul says the remaining 60-or-so-days, Cody will be at home still working, doing Zoom calls, etc. Paul says Cody’s brother said that their father Dusty was on the road all the time and even when he was home…he wasn’t home. Paul asks Cody if that’s what he wants for his wife and daughter should he win at WrestleMania. Paul says he wouldn’t ever say something disrespectful to Cody, like Roman would keep Cody’s wife warm should Cody beat Roman and spend all his time on the road…but Roman’s a happily married man…but he’s not (Paul)…and when Roman beats Cody at WrestleMania…his lifelong dreams are going to become his own, personal, nightmare.
Cody is visibly irritated and says Roman’s great but he’s seen this before. Cody says he’s not face-to-face with Roman right now but he probably will be soon enough and when they are in the same ring, he’ll say this to his face. Cody says Roman is undoubtedly the greatest Undisputed WWE Universal Champion of all-time but he’s going to finish his story and beat him at WrestleMania. Cody slams the microphone and exits the ring.
Asuka then makes her way down to the ring and she’ll face Nikki Cross after the break. Before the break, Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick say that the last time WWE had WrestleMania in Hollywood, WWE superstars starred in spin-offs of major movie trailers and they’re doing the same this year. We then see Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch’s Joker-like trailer that debuted during the Elimination Chamber premium live event this past Saturday night and we then head to a commercial break before our next matchup.
Asuka vs. Nikki Cross
Before the match begins, RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair makes her way down to the ring to keep a closer eye on her WrestleMania 39 opponent, Asuka. Nikki slams Asuka with an inverted DDT on the apron and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Asuka goes up top and drills Nikki with a missile drop-kick and goes for the cover but Nikki kicks out. Asuka goes for a super-kick but Nikki ducks under and dumps Asuka to the outside. Nikki tosses Asuka right back into the ring and now both competitors are on the top turnbuckle. Asuka plants Nikki with a diving DDT and goes for the cover but Nikki lifts the shoulders. Both competitors are exchanging strikes while they struggle to their feet, Asuka gets the better of it, Nikki asks for Asuka to kick her once more, and she eats a kick to the face. Asuka wallops Nikki with a super-kick and looks for the Asuka Lock but Nikki slides out and plants Asuka with an inverted DDT and goes for the cover but Asuka kicks out. Asuka trips Nikki to the mat, applies the arm-bar and Nikki has no choice but to tap out!
Winner – Asuka
After the match, Bianca Belair gets in the ring and the two WrestleMania opponents come face-to-face. Bianca lifts her title, Asuka points at the WrestleMania 39 sign and Asuka starts coughing up this blue goo and Bianca looks horrified as Asuka laughs maniacally and exits.
Backstage we see Cathy Kelley, who’s with Carmella. Cathy asks Carmella how she’s feeling about this past Saturday’s elimination chamber match. Carmella says she isn’t worried about the past and is going to deliver a receipt to Asuka because ‘Mella is Money!’. Carmella exits and Cathy Kelley catches up with Seth Rollins, who was walking nearby. Cathy asks Seth why he’s in such a good mood considering what happened this past Saturday at Elimination Chamber. Seth says he’s laughing because this is the second-time Logan Paul has attacked him, so he’ll make sure to deal with Logan once the time is right. Seth says since Logan isn’t around tonight, the man who takes credit for Logan’s success, The Miz, is going to suffer for Logan’s actions, tonight. Seth laughs and it’s announced that Seth Rollins will face The Miz after the break.
Back from the break and we see the highlights from the Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley match from Elimination Chamber this past weekend. MVP is shown backstage and MVP calls Brock Lesnar a coward and Omos walks in. MVP says Omos is officially challenging Lesnar to a match at WrestleMania 39. MVP calls for Lesnar to show up next Monday night on RAW to accept the challenge, if he has ‘the intestinal fortitude’.
Seth Rollins vs. The Miz
Rollins attacks Miz right as the bell sounds. Rollins dumps Miz out of the ring and launches the former WWE Grand Slam Champion into the announce table and the barricade before sending The Miz back into the ring. Rollins clotheslines Miz right back to the outside and dives through the ropes and drills Miz with a drop-kick into the announce table. Miz tricks Rollins into thinking he’s hurt and trips Rollins and tosses him back into the ring where he plants Rollins with a DDT and goes for the cover but Rollins kicks out and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Miz sends Rollins to the corner and looks for a splash but Rollins cracks him with a running clothesline. Rollins lights Miz up with a bevy of strikes and lays Miz out with a pair of clotheslines, then a super-kick, and a spinning back elbow.
Rollins looks for a suplex, Miz rolls Rollins up, but Rollins spins out and drills Miz with a super-kick. Rollins lines Miz up for a stomp, Miz rolls out, Rollins looks for the pedigree, but Miz rolls him back, but Rollins counters into a pin of his own but Miz kicks out. Miz stuns Rollins with a codebreaker and goes for the cover but Rollins kicks out. Miz looks for the Skull Crushing Finale but Rollins shoves Miz back but Miz wallops Rollins with a running knee to the face and goes for the cover but Rollins lifts the shoulders at two-and-a-half! Miz unloads some kicks to Rollins’ chest and goes for one more but Rollins catches it and starts hammering Miz with forearms to the face. Rollins sends Miz to the mat with an elbow to the back of the head and plants Miz with a stomp! The crowd urges Rollins for another stomp, Rollins obliges. The crowd wants a third stomp, the referee tries to stop him but Rollins obliges and crushes Miz with a third stomp! The referee calls for the bell and Rollins is the winner by referee stoppage!
Winner – Seth Rollins
Backstage, Adam Pearce is with Carmella and Adam tells Carmella since she’s been so appreciative, she can consider her request for a match against Asuka, official for next week. Carmella exits and Pearce answers a phone call and it’s Chelsea Green. Chelsea says she was went to Ottawa, Illinois and she demands Pearce to fix it. Pearce says RAW is in Grand Rapids, Michigan, next week and she can just make the sort travel there for next week’s show and he’ll handle it with the travel team. Pearce acts like the phone reception is bad and hangs up on Green as we see Chad Gable and Otis looking into the mirror. Bronson Reed walks up to Alpha Academy and says they better be careful or they won’t be able to recognize themselves the next time they look into a mirror.
We then see the ring crew setting up for ‘Ding Dong, Hello!’ and Bayley will host her show alongside the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, IYO SKY and Dakota Kai of Damage CTRL after the break.
Back from the break and Bayley is in the ring with the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions IYO SKY and Dakota Kai, her fellow Damage CTRL stablemates. Bayley says she didn’t feel like coming to Canada since she wasn’t in the women’s elimination chamber match this past Saturday night but since it’s family day in Canada, she wanted to spend the day with her family, Damage CTRL. Bayley says IYO and Dakota are under-appreciated that way everyone can hear their ‘beautiful voices’. Bayley asks Dakota and IYO how it feels to be the greatest women’s tag champions of all-time. Dakota says she and IYO wouldn’t be there without their ‘beloved role model’ Bayley. Dakota says Damage CTRL has been on every show and defeated the likes of Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, and Becky Lynch. Dakota says she and IYO will surpass these 100 days as champions with another 100 days, and another 100 days…but Becky Lynch’s music hits and out comes ‘The Man’!.
Becky says they’ve only hit 100 days as champions because they never defend the titles and says the titles are probably full of cobwebs. Bayley says Becky has no friends and asks Becky if she’s going to bring her baby daughter Roux to challenge for the titles but Becky says she’s been thinking of one person…and out comes WWE Hall of Famer Lita! Becky and Lita make their way down to the ring and Bayley says they need to use the door before she talks to them. Becky and Lita oblige and knock on the door before walking through. Bayley tells Lita she doesn’t even work in WWE and says Becky is desperate for bringing Lita here tonight. The crowd loudly chants for Lita and Bayley asks Lita if she can even trust Becky. Lita says she’s down to walk into WrestleMania with Becky Lynch as tag champions and lays out the official challenge for IYO and Dakota. Bayley says they haven’t earned a shot and Becky runs down she and Lita’s accolades and says that should be enough to warrant a title shot. Lita says if IYO and Dakota are the greatest tag champions of all-time, they should want to prove it. Becky and Lita say IYO and Dakota are scared and Bayley says the challenge is accepted! Becky and Lita rip the titles off of IYO and Dakota and hold them up in the air before tossing them back to Damage CTRL.
We head backstage and Candice LeRae is with Byron Saxton. Byron asks Candice how Johnny Gargano is feeling after the elimination chamber match from this past Saturday night and but Nikki Cross is walking by and Candice stops her and tells Nikki that she’s been looking for her. Candice asks Nikki why she’s been stalking her as of late. Nikki whispers something into Candice’s ear and we can’t hear it but Candice looks confused as Byron Saxton walks in. Byron asks Candice what Nikki told her and Candice says that Nikki said all of her friends left her and she feels alone. Candice says Johnny will be back soon and says she needs to go.
Chad Gable, alongside Otis makes his way down to the ring and Gable will face Bronson Reed after the break.
Bronson Reed vs. Chad Gable (with Otis)
Reed launches Gable to the outside, gets on the apron, and drills Gable with a running shoulder tackle off of the apron. Reed tosses Gable back into the ring and gets in Otis’ face before getting back into the ring himself. Reed slams Gable to the mat, goes up top, and looks for the Tsunami but Gable rolls out and locks in the ankle lock! Reed kicks Gable back but Gable looks for the German suplex but Reed avoids. Gable knocks Reed to the mat with a running knee, goes up top, and comes crashing down on Reed with a diving head-butt before going for the cover but Reed kicks out at just one. Maxine Dupri shows up at ringside and Otis starts talking with her. Back in the ring, Gable plants Reed with an outrageous German suplex. Gable starts shouting at Otis and Reed slams Gable to the mat, goes up top, and crushes Gable with the Tsunami for the 1-2-3!
Winner – Bronson Reed
After a commercial break, Elias is in the ring. Elias says Rick Boogs better be backstage taking notes because there’s no bigger star in this business than Elias and since it’s WrestleMania season, it’s time for Rick Boogs to learn from a real star. Rick Boogs is shown backstage writing on a notepad. Elias asks who wants to walk with Elias on the road to WrestleMania and Bobby Lashley’s music hits. ‘The Almighty’ makes a beeline for the ring and begins the beatdown on Elias. Lashley launches Elias out of the ring and fires him into the barricade. Lashley sends Elias back into the ring and rattles him with a spear. Lashley locks in the Hurt Lock and dispatches Elias to the outside. Lashley grabs a microphone and said it doesn’t matter who he faces at WrestleMania whether it be Brock Lesnar or Bray Wyatt…they’ll all go down.
Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves announce that IYO SKY and Dakota Kai will defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles against Becky Lynch and Lita next Monday night on RAW!
Austin Theory (C) vs. Edge — United States Championship
Edge dumps Theory out of the ring right as the bell sounds. Edge sends Theory back into the ring and plants the champion with a leg sweep face-first into the mat and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Edge is working over Theory in the center of the ring. Edge dives to the outside and plays possum with Theory and nails him with an overhead slam on the floor. Edge goes to the apron and comes crashing down onto Theory with a diving shoulder tackle on the outside. Edge sends Theory back into the ring and goes for the cover but Theory kicks out. Theory crushes Edge with a huge lariat and starts dropping hammer-fists onto the WWE Hall of Famer. Theory applies a head-lock, Edge powers out, but Theory slams him right back down to the mat and reapplies the hold. Edge fights his way back to his feet and starts unloading strikes on Theory before sending him to the corner, where he looks for a splash but he eats a kick to the face from the champion. Theory drills the challenger with a summersault drop-kick to the face and goes for the cover but Edge kicks out as we head to a commercial break.
Back from the break and Theory has Edge on the top turnbuckle. Edge tosses Theory down to the mat and lands a diving elbow drop from the top rope and both competitors are down! Edge looks for Edgecution but Theory evades and lifts Edge for A-Town Down, but this time, Edge evades and sends Theory to the apron. Theory kicks Edge back and rolls back into the ring but Edge catches him and plants him with a pop-up power-bomb and goes for the cover but Theory lifts the shoulders after a two-count! Edge goes for a spear, Theory leaps over him and launches Edge over his head but Edge lands on his feet, trips Theory to the mat and locks in the cross-face but Theory drags himself to the ropes and gets his feet on the bottom rope to force the referee to break the hold.
Theory rolls Edge up and puts his feet on the middle rope for leverage but the referee sees it and stops counting. Edge rolls Theory back, Theory kicks out, Theory looks for A-Town Down but Edge slips out and plants Theory with the Edgecution and goes for the cover but the champion kicks out at two-and-a-half! Edge lines Theory up for the spear and Finn Balor makes his way down to the ring. Edge knocks Balor off the apron, Theory looks for the roll up but Edge rolls Theory up but Theory kicks out and plants Edge with A-Town Down for the 1-2-3!
Winner – Austin Theory (C)
After the match, Finn Balor rushes the ring and attacks Edge. Balor goes up top and crushes Edge with the Coup de Grace. Balor lands yet another Coup de Grace and the first-ever WWE Universal Champion stands tall over his long-time rival as the show goes off the air!
