WWE‘s latest edition of Monday Night RAW went down on(3/6/23) from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts! 16-time World Champion John Cena returned to WWE in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, and more!
Live Coverage
The show begins and we see a truck pulling up to the arena. Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa, and Paul Heyman exit the vehicle and Heyman says that they didn’t solve the ‘Sami Zayn problem’ and tonight, Solo Sikoa solves the ‘Kevin Owens problem’, while Jimmy does the same to Sami Zayn.
In the arena, our commentary team of Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves welcomes us to tonight’s show and it’s time for our opening contest of the evening.
Solo Sikoa (with Jimmy Uso) vs. Kevin Owens
Owens attacks Solo during the latter’s entrance and here we go! Solo takes control on the outside of the ring and fires Owens into the ring post before sending the former WWE Universal Champion into the ring and the bell rings to officially start this one. Solo chokes Owens with the middle rope and crushes him with a spinning back kick. Solo lights Owens up with some heavy punches and goes for the cover but Owens kicks out. Solo delivers several stomps to a downed and cornered Owens and lands a standing splash on Owens before going for the cover but Owens kicks out once more. Solo applies a head lock, Owens powers out, and lands a pair of clotheslines on Solo. Owens stomps on Solo’s foot, kicks him in the mid section, and wallops him with a senton. Owens sets Solo up in the corner and looks for the cannonball, Solo rolls to the outside, and Owens surprises him with a clothesline around the corner. Owens sends Solo back into the ring and goes up top, but Jimmy Uso gets on the apron and distracts Owens. Solo sends Owens to the corner and cracks him with a running hip attack and we head to a commercial break.
Back from the break and Solo has Owens on the top turnbuckle. Owens trips Solo to the mat but Solo plants Owens with Samoan Drop and goes for the cover but Owens kicks out. Solo tosses Owens to the corner and looks for a corner splash but Owens evades and both competitors are down. Both Owens and Solo struggle to their feet and when they do, they exchange heavy strikes. Owens looks for a stunner, Jimmy Uso gets on the apron, Owens clotheslines him off, sends Solo to the corner, and nails him with a cannonball. Owens goes up top and crushes Solo with a swanton bomb and goes for the cover but Jimmy comes in and breaks it up but Solo gets disqualified!
Winner – Kevin Owens (via DQ)
After the match, Jimmy and Solo attack Owens. Solo clears off the announce table and Jimmy puts Owens on top of it and delivers a number of strikes. Solo jumps on the barricade and is lining Owens up for a splash through the table but Sami Zayn comes out of nowhere ad makes the save! Sami fires Solo into steel steps and grabs a steel chair and starts swinging at both Solo and Jimmy but both members of The Bloodline escape through the crowd. Sami gets in the ring to a raucous ovation and the Boston, Massachusetts crowd is white hot for Zayn and Owens. Sami looks at Owens and offers his hand to help Owens to his feet but Owens slides out of the ring instead.
It’s announced that we’ll hear from Bobby Lashley after the break.
Back from the break and we see a video recap of the interaction between Bobby Lashley and Uncle Howdy from SmackDown this past Friday night. Lashley is shown backstage and he says Bray Wyatt isn’t a man as we see a Bray Wyatt logo pop up on the monitor behind him (Lashley). The former WWE Champion ponders what it will take for Bray to ‘face him like a man’ and the segment ends.
We then see Byron Saxton backstage with Carmella. The former SmackDown Women’s Champion says Adam Pearce inadvertently set up RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair to ’embarrass herself’ before her WrestleMania match against Asuka. Chelsea Green appears and says it’s nice to see someone agree that Adam Pearce doesn’t know what he’s doing running RAW. Green says after Carmella defeats Bianca tonight, she’ll help Carmella get into the RAW Women’s Title match at WrestleMania. Carmella asks Chelsea to be in her corner against Bianca, Chelsea says she’d be honored to do so, and they both tell Byron to stop listening to their ‘private conversation’ and to leave, which he does.
RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair makes her way down to the ring and she’ll face Carmella after the break.
Bianca Belair vs. Carmella (with Chelsea Green)
Bianca starts things off with a hip toss. Carmella rolls out of the ring and baits Bianca to the outside and Carmella shoves Bianca into the announce table before rushing back into the ring. Carmella meets Bianca with a kick to the mid section but the champion tosses her to the corner and back flips over Carmella before drilling her with a drop kick to the mid section. Bianca sends Carmella to the corner and looks for a splash, Carmella evades, but Bianca rolls her up but Carmella kicks out. Carmella drop kicks Bianca and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Carmella has a head lock applied on the champion in the center of the ring. Bianca looks for a slam but Carmella slides behind the champion and uses Bianca’s braid to slam her to the mat.
Carmella grabs Bianca’s braid but Bianca catches her and nails her with a sidewalk slam over her (Bianca’s) knee and goes for the cover but Chelsea Green slides in the ring to distract the referee. Bianca drags Chelsea into the ring but Carmella spins her around and nails her with a super kick and goes for the cover but Bianca lifts the shoulders after a two count. Bianca sends Carmella to the corner and lands a few short spears before going up top and delivers some heavy hammer fists before back flipping herself to the mat. Chelsea rushes the ring, Bianca dumps her out of the ring and sends her over the barricade. Bianca gets back into the ring, Carmella rolls her up with her feet on the ropes, Bianca kicks out, and plants Carmella with the K.O.D. for the 1-2-3!
Winner – Bianca Belair
After the match, Chelsea Green rushes the ring and attacks Bianca. Carmella joins the attack and Asuka’s music hit and out comes Bianca’s WrestleMania 39 opponent. Carmella and Chelsea look terrified as Asuka approaches them, Asuka spits her mist out, Carmella ducks and it goes directly into Chelsea’s eyes. Carmella and Chelsea exit, Asuka stares Bianca down and the crowd is white hot for these two WrestleMania competitors. Both Bianca and Asuka look at the WrestleMania sign and we see replays from Asuka misting Chelsea.
We then see Sami Zayn walking through the backstage area. Sami finds Kevin Owens and says he doesn’t know what else to say or do and says The Bloodline is too much for he or Owens to take on alone. Sami says he and Owens don’t need to be friends or to even be a team but the only way to talk out The Bloodline is to do it together. Owens says he remembers everything that Sami did to him and says maybe together he and Sami could take down The Bloodline but he doesn’t want to do anything with Sami. Owens tells Sami that maybe Sami should go back with The Bloodline and says he doesn’t care what Sami does but to leave him alone. Sami exits and it’s announced that Seth Rollins and Logan Paul will go face-to-face after the break.
Back from the break and we see a video package hyping up Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 39.
We then see The Miz, who’s in the ring for a special episode of Miz TV. We see highlights from last week’s show where Seth Rollins attacked The Miz before using Miz’s phone to FaceTime Logan Paul to invite him to tonight’s show. Miz says he’s here to moderate Seth Rollins and Logan Paul’s confrontation tonight to prepare for his ‘hosting duties’ at WrestleMania 39. Miz introduces Logan Paul, who makes his way down to the ring. Seth Rollins wastes no time in following Paul and out comes the former WWE Universal Champion. The crowd won’t stop singing Rollins’ theme song and Miz is not happy about it and Paul tells the Boston crowd to ‘shutup’. Rollins screams ‘Boston’ to a massive ovation and says it’s so nice that the ‘social media superstar’ Logan Paul has ‘graced us with his presence’. Rollins says he and Logan have never been formally introduced and he runs down his accolades to Paul, who says he’s very familiar with who Rollins is.
Paul says Rollins is a ‘clown’ and points out that he eliminated Rollins at the Royal Rumble and ’embarrassed’ him at the Elimination Chamber and says he accomplished in one year what it took Rollins over twenty years to do. Paul says if he were Rollins, he wouldn’t like him either. Miz says Paul made a few good points and Rollins looks annoyed and removes his glasses as the Boston crowd leads a ‘f*** you Logan!’ chant. Rollins agrees that Paul made a few good points but says none of those points are the reason that he (Rollins) and the fans don’t like him (Paul), and says that they don’t like him because he’s the ‘scum of the earth’. Rollins says he and the fans don’t want Paul in ‘their house’. Rollins says Boston didn’t come there tonight to see he and Paul talk, they came to see him (Rollins) get his ‘pound of flesh’. Rollins says the talking is over and says it’s time to fight. Rollins takes off his jacket but The Miz says it’s his job to make sure that Rollins and Paul don’t fight tonight. Paul stops Miz and says if he wants to fight Rollins tonight, he will because he does what he wants…but he doesn’t want to fight Rollins tonight because he doesn’t ‘fight for free’…especially in Boston.
Paul says if the stage was bigger, the money was bigger, and if they were somewhere with more star power, he’d consider it. Miz tells Paul that he’s the host of WrestleMania, so he has the authority to make Seth Freakin’ Rollins versus Logan Paul official for WrestleMania 39. Rollins tells Miz to go backstage and make it official and tosses Miz out of the ring. Paul attacks Rollins from behind but Rollins takes control and stops an attacking Miz. Paul clocks Rollins with a big right hook and tells Rollins to let him know about WrestleMania when he wakes up and mocks Rollins from last week and says ‘bye bye bitch!’ before tossing the microphone at Rollins and exiting.
Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves on commentary hype up John Cena’s appearance for later tonight and we see a video replay of Brock Lesnar and MVP’s interaction in the VIP Lounge form last week’s show.
Omos makes his way down to the ring, alongside MVP and Brock Lesnar’s WrestleMania 39 opponent will face Dolph Ziggler after the break.
Omos (with MVP) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Mustafa Ali is watching this one from behind the barricade. Omos scoops and slams Ziggler, hoists him back up and plants him with a two-handed choke slam for the 1-2-3!
Winner – Omos
We then see Maxine Dupri, Mace, and Mansoor of Maximum Male Models backstage. Baron Corbin approaches them and asks for a spot in the group but Mace screams ‘EW!’. Maxine says if Corbin can help her dispatch of Chad Gable that way Otis isn’t distracted and joins MMM, there may be a spot for Corbin in the group. Corbin tells Maxine that she won’t regret her decision and exits.
Finn Balor, alongside Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, and Dominik Mysterio of The Judgment Day make their way down to the ring and Balor will face Johnny Gargano after the break.
Finn Balor (with Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, and Dominik Mysterio) vs. Johnny Gargano (with Dexter Lumis)
Gargano nails Balor with a hurricanrana, dumps Balor out of the ring, and crushes him with a dive through the ropes on the outside as we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Balor is in control back inside of the ring. Gargano takes Balor down with a big chop to the chest and drop kicks him out of the ring. Gargano goes for a flip over the ropes, Balor dives back into the ring, Gargano stops himself on the apron, and flips back into the ring and lays Balor out with a cross body. Balor trips Gargano to the mat and unloads some ground and pound as he yells in Gargano’s face but Gargano rolls him up but Balor kicks out. Dominik Mysterio gets on the apron, Gargano knocks him to the outside, but Balor takes advantage and drop kicks Gargano. Balor goes up top, looking for the Coup de Grace and Edge’s music hits! Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley rush to the stage to stop Edge but the WWE Hall of Famer comes in from the crowd and shoves Balor off the top rope. Gargano plants Balor with ‘The Final Beat’ and gets the 1-2-3!
Winner – Johnny Gargano
After the match, Dexter Lumis takes out Damian Priest and Edge flattens Balor with a massive spear.
We then see a highlight package of the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and his WrestleMania 39 opponent Cody Rhodes’ interaction from this past Friday’s episode of SmackDown.
Nikki Cross makes her way to the ring and she’ll face Piper Niven after the break.
Nikki Cross vs. Piper Niven
Cross leaps on Niven’s back before the bell and Niven tells the referee to ring the bell and begin the matchup. Cross goes up top and nails Niven with a cross body and Niven rolls to the outside. Niven gets back in the ring and cracks Cross with a head butt but Cross lands a drop kick and a chop to the chest. Niven grabs and plants Cross with a swinging side slam and gets the 1-2-3!
Winner – Piper Niven
Backstage, we see Rick Boogs and Elias. Boogs is pumping iron as always and tells Elias that it would be smart for Boogs to tell Bronson Reed (who’s standing nearby) that he should go up to him and tell him that he wants to fight him. Boogs tells Reed something and Reed comes back and tells Elias that he and Elias will fight next week, but notes that it’ll be Elias’ funeral. Boogs comes back over and Elias tells Boogs that he meant Boogs should’ve told Reed that he (Boogs) wants to fight him (Reed), not Elias. Boogs looks confused, Elias tells him that he (Boogs) still has a lot to learn and we see Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens talking way off in the background as the segment ends.
It’s then announced that John Cena is up after the break!
Back from the break and the famous horns hit and out comes the 16-time World Champion John Cena in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts! Before Cena can even say a word, United States Champion Austin Theory’s music hits and Theory makes his way down to the ring. Theory says like the Boston crowd, he has all the respect in the world for Cena. Theory says Cena is the reason Theory became a professional wrestler and thanks Cena for inspiring him. Theory tells Cena that he brought him a gift that’s from the bottom of his heart, something that’s bigger than any movie role Cena will ever have…a one on one match for the United States Title at WrestleMania 39. The crowd is on fire and chants ‘YES! YES! YES!’. Cena says no and says he took a second to think about it and the answer is no because Theory hasn’t earned it. Cena says he’s been watching RAW and sees Theory but he doesn’t care…and neither does the fans, because he (Cena) and they don’t believe him (Theory). Cena says Theory doesn’t even believe Theory and points out a sign that says Austin Theory is a John Cena wannabe and says that he (Cena) is Theory’s ghost of Christmas future. Cena says Theory is in his ruthless aggression era but notes that when he (Cena) was in his ruthless aggression era, everyone could see that he (Cena) didn’t believe himself.
Cena says Theory has no heart and says the fans are there because they respect him (Cena) and because for the past 20 years, they’ve believed Cena and they’ve seen him do everything. Cena says now he’ll give Theory a compliment and says that Austin Theory is the best name in WWE history because that’s exactly what Austin is…a theory. Cena says in theory, Austin should be great because he’s everything a WWE executive looks for, and in theory, everybody in the crowd should be there to see him (Theory) but nobody cares and he’s (Theory) wasting our time. Cena says he and Boston would like to give Theory a gift…to shutup, turn around, and leave the ring, and he and Boston will allow him (Theory) to leave in peace. Theory says he’s not going anywhere, just like the bald spot on his (Cena’s) head isn’t going anywhere. Theory says he looks around and he sees all the Cena shirts in the crowd that say ‘Never Give Up’ but it looks like Cena is giving up by declining his (Theory) WrestleMania challenge. Theory points out that Cena’s hat says ‘Respect’ and says Cena has no respect for the fans by declining to have a match at WrestleMania.
Theory says that he’s realized that it’s true that you don’t want to meet your hero, because now that he’s met his (Cena), he can see that all they do is disappoint. Cena says he’d rather be bald than have WWE pipe in fake crowd noise during his matches because nobody cares. Cena says he can by cream to fix his hair but Theory still sucks. Cena says he said no to save Theory because Theory isn’t ready and if Cena fought him and beats him at WrestleMania, Theory is done. Cena says if Theory beat him, Theory would still lose everything because now he’d have follow up that performance every single night and the crowd will eat him alive…because he’s ‘full of crap’. Cena says Theory’s left him no choice because Theory brought the fans into it…so now he has to ask them (the fans) what they want. Cena thanks his family for being here tonight and says it means a lot to him and now he needs his family and the fans’ help. Cena asks the crowd if they want to see John Cena versus Austin Theory at WrestleMania. The crowd is absolutely ballistic and pour down the ‘YES! YES! YES!’ chants and Cena asks them once more…and the chants get even louder. Cena says he doesn’t care about Theory but he’ll always listen to ‘them’ (the fans). Cena tells Theory he made the biggest mistake of his life because at WrestleMania 39…it’ll be John Cena versus Austin Theory!
Cena says Theory doesn’t have it all up there (his head), he doesn’t have it in here (his heart), and he certainly doesn’t have it down here (his man parts) and Cena pokes Theory below the belt and walks out. Cena stops before he leaves the ring and says Theory really needs to work on (down there) and makes his way out. Cena stops at the top fo the stage and says Theory doesn’t deserve to be at WrestleMania but it’s time Boston sees someone who does…and Cena introduces ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes! Roman Reigns’ WrestleMania 39 opponent’s music hits and out comes Rhodes to a raucous ovation!
Backstage, we see Cathy Kelley, who approaches Sami Zayn. Cathy asks Sami about him not being able to get Owens on his side. Sami says he won’t stop until he sees the end of Roman Reigns and The Bloodline and tells says that tonight will NOT be Jimmy Uso’s night.
We head back to the ring and John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and Austin Theory are all gone and Chad Gable makes his way down to the ring alongside Otis and Gable will face Baron Corbin after the break!
Chad Gable (with Otis) vs. Baron Corbin
Corbin plants Gable with a slam to start. Gable fights back and nails Corbin with a pair of German suplexes. Gable goes up top and dives down but Corbin catches him and slams him down to the mat. Gable trips Corbin and locks in an ankle lock out of nowhere and Corbin taps out!
Winner – Chad Gable
We then see highlights of Becky Lynch and Lita defeating IYO SKY and Dakota Kai of Damage CTRL last week to become the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. It’s then announced that we’ll hear from Becky Lynch, Lita, and Trish Startus after the break.
Back from the break and it’s announced that Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul has been made official for WrestleMania 39.
Becky Lynch’s music hits and out comes she and Lita to celebrate becoming the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Becky says she and Lita never miss and Lita says when Becky gave her the opportunity to become tag champion, she could’ve either let the opportunity pass her by, or she can do what she did and that’s make history with Becky. Lita says Damage CTRL didn’t make it easy on them, but they did it anyway. The ‘you deserve it!’ chants pour down and Lita says she thanks Becky for giving her this opportunity but says they need to thank someone else for helping them…and Trish Stratus’ music hits and out comes the WWE Hall of Famer! Trish tells Lita that she’ll always have her back and she wouldn’t miss her (Lita) and Becky winning gold for the world. Trish says she warned Bayley that she needed to shit her mouth but Bayley’s music hits and out comes Damage CTRL. Bayley says Trish, Lita, and Becky love sticking their nose in business that doesn’t concern them and while the fans may believe them, she (Bayley) sees right through them (Trish, Lita, and Becky).
Bayley says Trish and Lita are the reasons why she, IYO SKY, and Dakota Kai are in the ring, but Damage CTRL is going to be the reason they won’t be in the ring much longer. Trish says if Bayley keeps talking, she’ll go from she ‘is’ retired to she ‘was’ retired. Trish challenges Damage CTRL to a six woman tag match for WrestleMania 39 and Bayley accepts! Damage CTRL attacks but Trish, Lita, and Becky are ready for it and send IYO and Dakota out of the ring. Bayley and Becky come face-to-face and Becky, Lita, and Trish all knock Bayley to the outside and Damage CTRL scurry off.
Commentary announces that Finn Balor and Edge will come face-to-face, Bronson Reed will face Elias, and Bianca Belair will take on Chelsea Green next week on Monday Night RAW.
We then see Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa walking through the backstage area and Jimmy will face Sami Zayn after the break.
Jimmy Uso (with Solo Sikoa) vs. Sami Zayn
Sami takes Jimmy down with a Thesz Press right as the bell rings. Sami clotheslines Jimmy to the outside and shoves Jimmy over the barricade as we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Jimmy is in control of Sami back in the middle of the ring. Jimmy is yelling at Sami and Sami trips Jimmy to the mat, goes up top, and lands a diving elbow drop and goes for the cover but Jimmy kicks out. Jimmy dumps Sami to the outside and Solo is about to attack Sami but the referee catches him and ejects Solo from ringside. Sami plants Jimmy with a Blue Thunder Bomb and goes for the cover but Jimmy kicks out as we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Sami and Jimmy are brawling on the top turnbuckle. Sami shoves Jimmy down to the mat and looks or a dive but Jimmy cracks him with a super kick. Jey Uso appears in the crowd and runs down the stairs. Jey is cheering on Jimmy at ringside and it appears as if Jey is back with The Bloodline. Sami goes for a Helluva Kick, Jimmy ducks under, but Sami rolls Jimmy up for the 1-2-3!
Winner – Sami Zayn
After the match, Jimmy Uso looks shocked and Jey Uso looks on in disbelief as to what just happened. Jey gets in the ring and gives Jimmy a one armed hug and looks extremely emotional while doing so. Jey walks away from Jimmy and exits the ring. Jey passes by Sami on the stage and tells Sami that he trusts him and hugs Sami! Jey and Sami are pumped up and both look at Jimmy, who’s back in the ring on one knee and looks beyond upset. Jey puts the 1s in the air, Sami does that same, and the crowd is white hot. Sami tells Jimmy that it isn’t too late and the ‘holy sh*t!’ chants ring throughout the TD Garden. Jey super kicks Sami and gets in Sami’s face and asks Sami if he ever thought that he was going to choose Sami over his family. Solo Sikoa rushes down and The Bloodline are on the attack. Cody Rhodes’ music hits and Rhodes rushes down to the ring to make the save as The Bloodline retreat as the show goes off the air!
