Monday night’s edition of Raw saw significant developments in the status of champions and the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view.
The World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, now has a challenger for Money in the Bank. After Finn Balor interfered in Damian Priest’s title match with Rollins the previous week, Balor officially announced that he will challenge for the belt at the July 1 event in London.
The match between Rollins and Balor draws on their history, including Rollins accidentally injuring Balor in their 2016 match to crown the first Universal Champion. Balor had to relinquish the title due to the injury. Balor cited this incident as Rollins robbing him of his momentum when he had just reached the top.
Another significant development on Raw involved Rhea Ripley. Despite being on Raw, Ripley held the SmackDown Women’s Championship after using her Royal Rumble victory to target then-SmackDown champ Charlotte Flair.
On Monday, Ripley was awarded a new championship, the Women’s World Championship. This change aligns with Asuka’s Raw Women’s Championship recently being renamed as the WWE Women’s Championship, removing the show branding and establishing both titles as world championships.
What else happened on WWE Raw?
- Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio is now official for Money in the Bank. After multiple confrontations between the two, a formal challenge was made to open the show. The Miz appeared during the segment and attacked Rhodes, leading to their match.
- Cody Rhodes defeated The Miz via pinfall using the Cross Rhodes. The match started immediately after The Miz’s attack. Dominik Mysterio hit Rhodes with a cheap shot and left ringside.
- Becky Lynch defeated Chelsea Green via submission with the Dis-arm-her. Before the match, Lynch was confronted by Zoey Stark, who claimed that Lynch couldn’t beat Trish Stratus and wouldn’t be able to win Money in the Bank.
- Money in the Bank Qualifying Match – Damian Priest defeated Matt Riddle via pinfall with a Razor’s Edge. After the match, Gunther and Imperium attacked Riddle.
- Indus Sher was interviewed and challenged Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin to a “real match” after attacking them last week.
- Bronson Reed defeated Ricochet via disqualification due to interference by Shinsuke Nakamura.
- Shayna Baszler defeated Raquel Rodriguez via pinfall with a roll-up after Ronda Rousey distracted Rodriguez.
- Chad Gable defeated Erik via pinfall with a sunset flip. During the match, Valhalla attacked Maxxine Dupri, who countered with an arm drag move that Gable had taught her earlier in the night.
- WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship – Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (c) defeated Imperium (Gunther & Ludwig Kaiser) via pinfall after Zayn executed a blue thunder driver on Kaiser. The match was the result of a backstage confrontation between the groups. Riddle’s interference drew Gunther’s attention, leading to the finish.
