WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Mar. 20, 2023) from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming WrestleMania 39 extravaganza scheduled for Sat., April 1 and Sun., April 2 in Inglewood, California.
Advertised for tonight: Roman Reigns makes his return to the red brand to confront Cody Rhodes over the events of the past couple weeks, Logan Paul will “present a live episode of ‘Impaulsive TV,’” Montez Ford takes on United States Champion Austin Theory in a non-title singles match, presumably we’ll get an update on Bobby Lashley’s plans for the big show, and more!
Come right back here at 8 pm ET when the Raw live blog will kick off once the show starts on USA Network. It will be below this line here. Reminder: GIFs and pics allowed, but no links to illegal streams, please.
WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR MAR. 20
Conceived in a hell beyond your depth of perception, chaotic case of conquering domination. Psychopath snaps fired chains of imprisonment, a bludgeoning force that’s undermining the government, but me? I’m just here to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn making their entrance together, united in friendship once again.
They get in the ring and on the mic, and Kevin Owens says he thinks they like Sami Zayn, which gets him chants and lets Sami return the favor. Zayn says it feels really good to be out here on the same page again and he didn’t get a chance to say it last week, he gets it.
He totally gets why Kev turned him down again and again, because he was approaching it wrong, he was looking at it like a business transaction and that’s never been how they operated, whether as friends or enemies. They used each other to get to the next level as friends and enemies, but they’ve always been brothers.
Owens says he’s always been Sami’s biggest fan, always said that he’s the best guy he’s been in the ring with, so for the last six months under Roman’s thumb when he’s better than any of ‘em, that hurt. He just couldn’t take it, and last week KO finally realized it was time to get over everything and take the Bloodline down together.
Sami says they both know what comes next and looks meaningfully at the WrestleMania sign.
Enter the Usos, mics in hand and titles over their shoulders.
Jey Uso starts, asking Jimmy if he sees what he sees, a backstabber, and says they’re the kind of family that cuts each other’s throats, and Sami laughs it off, saying it’s Jey’s biggest dream to backstage Roman Reigns. Jimmy accuses Zayn of being in dreamworld, thinking something’s gonna happen at WrestleMania, but nothing’s gonna happen.
Owens wants to get to the chase, because we all know where this is going, and there’s only one way to settle it and one place to do it, Jimmy and his brother against Kevin and his brother for the undisputed tag team championship at WrestleMania!
Jimmy says they’re the greatest team in the world and Sami and Kev don’t deserve a shot because they’ve been on the same page for all of three minutes now. Jey interrupts and says to be honest though, this might be their one shot to put this Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens problem in the dirt.
Brother vs. Brother at WrestleMania, they accept, but the Usos don’t want to wait and they rush the ring and a brawl breaks out! Back inisde, a superkick staggers Jey and Sami charges in but Jimmy pulls his brother out of the way of the Helluva Kick!
Usos with chairs now, referees swarm the ringside area and we see Solo Sikoa, Paul Heyman, and Roman Reigns arrive at the arena.
Austin Theory makes his entrance and we go to break.
Austin Theory vs. Montez Ford
Circling, taking in “we want the smoke!” chants, collar and elbow, Theory with a side headlock, block the shoot-off, second try works but Austin drops him with a shoulder block and taunts! Off the ropes, drop down, shoulder block, Montez with a “You can’t see me!” but Theory puts him on the back foot and chokes him over the ropes!
Ford gets around and puts boots to him in the corner, clothesline to the floor and Montez poses in the crowd as we go to break!
Back from commercial, jockeying for position in the turnbuckles, Ford off the top with a crossbody and both men are down and out! Montez following it up with lariats, big uppercut, back suplex, standing moonsault… THEORY KICKS OUT! Uppercut for kick, enzuigiri connects but Austin gets under him, A-Town Down reversed and Ford hits a DDT!
Theory to the floor, Montez off the ropes… TOPE CON GIRO! Up top, nobody home on the frog splash and Austin hits the rolling thunder dropkick! Fireman’s carry…
Austin Theory wins by pinfall with A-Town Down.
Post-match, Theory, weeping bloody tears from one eye like some kind of haunted saint gets on the mic and says Ford didn’t believe in him, but now he does. John Cena doesn’t believe in him, but at WrestleMania, he will.
Backstage the Usos meet with Roman Reigns and the Bloodline.
Jimmy Uso says nothing hits him harder than being torn from his brother and then sitting here and having to answer for it like it’s his fault, and he’ll never forgive Sami Zayn for this. At WrestleMania, he’s got him. Reigns says he hopes so and calls for Paul Heyman.
He tells everyone to leave him but Jey, and we cut to break before he gives out whatever tongue-lashing he’s got planned.
Back from commercial, we return to Jey Uso and Roman Reigns, still alone in the dressing room.
Roman says it’s been a minute, and he hasn’t seen or heard from him and now he’s back making decisions? He asks if he’s Bloodline, if he’s standing with the family, and Jey says he is. A long tense pause ensues and Reigns says he’ll see him later. When Uso goes to get up, he grabs his hand and tells Jey he loves him.
Paul Heyman kneels beside his Tribal Chief and asks if he found the answers he was looking for, and Roman says he did.
Adam Pearce is interviewed about the WrestleMania showcase matches and Chelsea Green rolls up to beg for attention.
She says she had matching gear made up for her and Carmella, but Mella is nowhere to be found, so she wants to team with a new partner tonight, Piper Niven. Pearce says he’s the one that makes the decisions and she demands a spot in the match. He says he’s still finalizing the teams and she pulls a “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!”
She threatens to go onto social media and put him on blast or, worse, block him.
We see Omos walking backstage and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get a Tale of the Tape style video package for Brock Lesnar vs. Omos that makes it finally click that Omos is TWO WHOLE FEET taller than I am, that’s wild.
Mustafa Ali vs. Omos
Ali says he believes nothing is impossible and he’s gonna beat Omos with a smile on his face, and instead he gets shoved into the corner and then bowled over with an elbow while Dolph Ziggler watches. He gets Mustafa up…
Omos wins by pinfall with the chokebomb.
Post-match, Montel Vontavious Porter gets on the mic and talks about how Brock Lesnar is going to learn to fear the Nigerian Giant.
We see security knock on Logan Paul’s door and he and his entourage step out.
The Miz interrupts asking him to go over some questions for tonight, assuming he wants him as his first guest on his show tonight, but Logan tells him it’s a hard pass and keeps moving to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Logan Paul makes his entrance to host Impaulsive TV.
He welcomes us to the show and tells the crowd to boo all they want, the reality is he doesn’t have to be here. He’s made his millions and he does this because he loves it, and he loves us, but sadly we don’t love him. There’s probably two people in this arena that love him, his dad and the kid in the front row with the “Drink Prime” sign.
No matter what he does, let’s be honest, we’ll never respect him, but he doesn’t care. He’s a 360 degree entertainer, there’s nothing he can do, no seat he can’t fill, no person on this roster that he can’t compete with, and yes, he’s that good. In fact that’s why no one is his guest tonight, because frankly he can do it all.
He taunts the locals about a sports team moving and says he’s looking forward to beating Seth Rollins on his 28th birthday. The match is gonna be great, Seth is one of the top three in this business and he’s honored to share the ring, and his brother brought up a point— it’s hard to be afraid of a Seth, they’re all great guys.
Hey maybe if Rollins hadn’t started this beef they could have been friends, but now he just wants to see him get knocked out again. He plays the video again and again, spicing it up with sound effects and such before comparing it to a Picasso, and his mic mysteriously goes dead.
He tries some percussive maintenance but it doesn’t help and he gets a fresh mic from production. Seth Rollins appears, head-to-toe in leopard print in the production truck, mock-apologizing before he breaks down laughing. He asks how to save this terrible episode of Impaulsive TV and hits a button that plays his entrance music before walking off to ringside.
Enter Seth Rollins.
Logan tells him his outfit is stupid and Seth makes like he’s gonna reply verbally before just rushing in for a double leg and pulling him to the floor for a brawl! Referees and road agents swarm to break them up but they fair and Paul and Rollins tumble over the announce desk!
Seth off the top with a plancha but Logan lays him out with a right hand after, leaving him knocked out!
Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio are shown walking backstage to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get a musical bumper for WrestleMania starring hte Miz and Maryse.
Dominik Mysterio vs. Johnny Gargano
Damian Priest is at ringside for this one.
Arm wringer, Gargano puts Mysterio on his ass, back to the wristlock, side headlock, shot off, drop down, leapfrog, drop down, elbow smash connects! Johnny up in the turnbuckles, mounted punches, to the floor and Gargano dives on him! Dom turns things around and hangs Gargano over the barricade to send us to break!
Back from commercial, Mysterio in control with the Three Amigos while Dexter Lumis looks on! Gargano with the Superman Spear and Dom begs off after the nearfall but it’s a ruse to sling him in the corner and try to steal one with feet on the ropes! Referee Danilo Anfibio catches him, Johnny with a superkick… ONLY TWO!
Drop toehoeld sets Gargano up, 619 ducked, discus lariat connects, following it with the Lawn Dart! Basement superkick… NOPE! Mounted punches in the corner follow, jockeying for position, Mysterio off the top…
Dominik Mysterio wins by pinfall with the frog splash.
Post-match, Mysterio gets on the mic and says his good-for-nothing father denied his challenge to a match at WrestleMania but he’s not gonna stop until he gets what he wants, and at the end of the day he knows that the entire family will be at SmackDown this week.
The same family that blocked his number, kicked him out of the group chat, and wanted nothing to do with him, but that’s okay because the Judgment Day group chat is better and he thinks he has a way to get Rey to accept his match, which is asking his mom for permission.
Backstage, the Usos are hanging out with Solo Sikoa when Paul Heyman rolls up. He tells them if they’re waiting for the Tribal Chief, he’s waiting for them to get on the jet, full of seafood and ready for them to indulge… except for Solo, who he wants to talk to right now.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Edge cuts a spooky pomor as a floating head in a room full of candles.
He says if pushed, he doesn’t just resist, he’ll throw you through a wall. He’s hostile, and he fits himself into a cage to fit in society, but inside the cage he’s unleashed, and Finn Balor doesn’t know what he’s capable of. He was baptised inside the cell by the Deadman himself, and you can’t become what you must become by remaining what you are.
The scriptures say that yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I’ll fear no evil, and he never has, because he’s the evil that lives in the valley, and he wants Finn to bring his Demon to meet the devil.
Rhea Ripley makes her entrance.
She gets on the mic and says Charlotte Flair said she needed to be a champion and a star and she actually agrees with those statements, but she doesn’t agree with living in the past. Charlotte doesn’t want to accept her future and that’s why she keeps talkinga bout three years ago when they fought one-on-one for the first time.
Flair thinks she’s the leader of the women’s division, but leaders respect people and she doesn’t think Charlotte respects anyone, least of all her, because she makes Flair question the respect she has for herself. She brings out all of Charlotte’s insecurities, because she knows that every time Rhea gets up and keeps going and what Flair does is keep people down.
She has to admit, it’s time, Charlotte’s done and washed, it’s over and she has to go home where she means absolutely nothing, because without WWE Flair is nothing. But Ripley doesn’t care about insecurities or respect, because at WrestleMania she’ll become a champion and the biggest star in WWE, and when Charlotte sees her holding the title, she’ll know all her insecurities are true.
Enter Damage CTRL.
Bayley speaks, saying when Rhea was talking about leaders she was waiting to hear her name. They all respect Ripley because anyone who puts Flair into her place gets their utmost respect, and if she needed tips she could just ask Bayley for help.
Rhea says she doesn’t need any help from the three of them, and Bayley changes gears to talk about how cocky Ripley is and say it’s time Damage CTRL showed them that Raw is their show. Rhea issues a challenge, Bayley accepts and we see Adam Pearce dispatching a referee from Gorilla to officiate the contest and send us to break.
Bayley vs. Rhea Ripley
Bayley goes for an armbar, a shoving match breaks out, piefacing Ripley and she straightens up and backs the Role Model into the corner. Hard whip across, right hands, whip hard, back body drop to the apron and Bayley clobbers her with forearms and a Stunner across the middle rope!
Dropkick sends Rhea to the floor, corner dropkick blocked but the Role Model yanks her by the wrist to put her face into the post, Danielson/McGuinness style! Ripley with a dive to the floor, back inside, cover for two. Kamigoye follows, no dice, Bayley hammering her with chops!
Pumphandle, IYO SKY runs interference and Dakota Kai makes the save, stack pin with feeet on the ropes but Rhea kicks out! Saito Suplex follows, only two!
Enter Becky Lynch, Lita, and Trish Stratus to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Bayley-to-Belly… RHEA KICKS OUT AT ONE! Ripcord Bayley-to-Belly, pulling her right back up but Rhea counter with a back suplex facebuster! Bayley rolls away from a dropkick and follows it with a running knee! Trading forearms, sidestep a pump kick, uppercut, Role Model lying in wait but a little hesitant and Rhea blocks!
Boots up in the corner, Damage CTRL run interference and Rhea goes into the post! Becky Lynch, Lita, and Trish light on Damage CTRL, Becky chases Bayley back into the ring, where Ripley headbutts her! Pumphandle…
Rhea Ripley wins by pinfall with Riptide.
Chad Gable is looking for Otis Dozovic, and finds him having a spa day.
Chad says he knows he’s busy with modeling but he got them a WrestleMania match in the showcase four-way, and he needs his prize pupil in his corner opposite Ricochet tonight.
Maxxine Dupri rolls up to interrupt and sells Otis on going and doing a hand modeling gig and explains that her boys’ match against the Good Brothers has been postponed. She and Gable fight over Dozer and tonight, Otis goes with Chad.
Ricochet makes his entrance and we go to break on a WrestleMania goes Hollywood vignette of Ridge Holland getting his chest waxed.
Back from commercial we get some hype for Andy Kaufman’s induction into this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class.
Chad Gable vs. Ricochet
Wristlock, Ricochet in control at first, Gable turns him around into a front chancery, but Ricky makes the ropes! Side headlock, reversed to a headscissors, repeat the sequence in the other direction, whip reversed, up and over into a sunset flip but the One and Only kicks out!
Back handspring tijeras sets up a dropkick and Ricochet is running hot! Double thrust out of the corner gets an enzuigiri, fireman’s carry slam out of the turnbuckles and Gable perches and hits a diving lariat for two and to send us to break.
Back from commercial, nobody home on a moonsault, Ricochet with boots up, big dropkick takes Chad off his feet! Whip reversed, up and over, uppercut, fired up, shoulder thrust, smashing Gable’s face into the turnbuckles, springboard lariat connects! Running shooting star press… NOT ENOUGH!
Trading pinning predicaments, Gable hits the Cliffhanger… STILL NO! Chad cuts Ricochet out of midair, ankle lock, escaped, superkick and a knee from the One and Only, Gable floats over, Dragon suplex connects for two! Maxxine Dupri takes Otis and his manicure away from ringside!
Ricochet reverses Chaos Theory, Asai DDT follows, he goes up top…
Ricochet wins by pinfall with a shooting star press.
Bianca Belair makes her entrance to send us to break.
Asuka & Bianca Belair vs. Chelsea Green & Piper Niven
Bianca to start, a little feeling out and very quickly Asuka gets in the match and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Green has Asuka in a rear chinlock, clubbing her down, whip to the corner but she hits the hip attack on Piper and a Codebreaker for Chelsea! Niven legal, headbutt, scoop, the Empress floats over, back elbow, tag to Belair! Throwing frearms, off the ropes, dropkick connects!
Brainbuster for Green, kip-up, moonsault up and over, the EST looking for a suplex, Piper reverses, float over, boot up in the corner, diving crossbody for two when Chelsea breaks it up! Match breaks down, Asuka throws her out, almost hip attacks Bianca and they bicker about it!
Sidestep, catching Piper in the corner, backbreaker rack…
Asuka & Bianca Belair win by pinfall with KOD from Belair on Piper Niven.
Post-match, Asuka lays Bianca out with a basement dropkick!
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get some hype for next week’s show.
Roman Reigns makes his entrance, flanked by Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa.
Roman gets on the mic and demands St. Louis acknowledge him.
Enter Cody Rhodes.
He gets on the mic and says normally he’d ask St. Louis what they want to talk about but he knows Roman wants to talk about his warning to not let it get personal and he’s game to talk about that. He’s heard they have a Cody Rhodes problem and he’d love them to define what they mean by “problem.”
Heyman steps up to explain but Cody tells him to take a step back because he’s talking to the Tribal Chief. Reigns says Rhodes isn’t the problem, it’s what he represents. He’s what Roman used to be, like their fathers, a professional wrestler, and you see he’s a fighter, which lets him be a megastar.
You come in here and you say all these things you’re gonna do but we know he’s not gonna do ‘em, look at his track record. He didn’t want to do Stardust so he ran away and started a promotion he couldn’t get over in, so he ran away, and then he came back here and he got over and his body quit on him!
Reigns tells him he’s not cut out for this and he’s not gonna finish this story. April 2 is a moment, a lottery ticket, and the real moment will be when he wakes up on April 3 and has to look in the mirror and confront the adversity. He wants Cody to make a choice that morning that his dad could be proud of, because otherwise he’s gonna do what he always does and run like a little bitch.
Cody admits that what Roman is saying is true, the business broke his heart and he ran away, but what he did while he was away lets 100% of every locker room make a LOT more money than they used to be. He started here and he wanted to be a superstar and maybe he is just a violent professional wrestler who likes the taste of blood in his mouth.
But he’ll make it clear right here and right now that you don’t need to bring up his father again. He’s not gonna swoop in and hit a Bionic Elbow, his brother works elsewhere, and the only one you’re gonna see at Mania is him. You wanna talk about family, he’ll talk about his mean-ass Cuban mother, who’d tell him to knock Roman down and then hit him again.
On April 3, Roman will have to wake up and remember what it means to lose, wake up without the titles, and when that happens, Jey is gonna leave him too. And then Jimmy will go too. No Usos, guess what happens next? Solo, he’ll tell him something he had to learn when he was second generation flanked by the champion— you think you’re ready but you’re not.
Solo will leave too, and then Heyman will be an advocate again, and he’ll be Roman with no more reigns, a chief without a tribe.
Reigns drops his mic and he and Heyman leave without another word. Cody gets in Sikoa’s face and tells him to say when, and Solo backs down too. Rhodes says he knew Solo wasn’t ready, and that gets him to turn back around— AND EAT A KICK FROM THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE!
Fired up, ready to fight, but Roman hits the apron and tells Solo to back down!
That’s the show, folks.
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