Monday Night Raw Review - June 5, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

​The Judgment Day Confronted World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins

Rollins vs. Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship was already made official for the night's main event a few days ago, but this existed to add some context, build hype for it and interestingly tease tension between Priest and Finn Balor. Priest insisted that he go at it alone against Rollins, which Balor didn't appear to be too keen on. I appreciated that they acknowledged the history Rollins and Balor have from 2016 over the Universal Championship.

Becky Lynch def. Sonya Deville to Qualify for the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

I have no idea what Deville did to earn herself a spot in a Money in the Bank qualifier, so even if with all of the outside factors (Chelsea Green, Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark), Lynch winning was never in doubt. This was well wrestled, but I was surprised how much time this got with Deville not feeling like a threat at all. Lynch brings star power to the women's Ladder match, but I have no desire to see her win. Stark costing her the briefcase would be the best course of action.

Intercontinental Champion Gunther def. Kevin Owens (Non-Title)

This came together on a whim in a backstage segment. Normally, I'd prefer to see a match of this caliber advertised in advance, and it probably should have been, but it didn't bother me because it did give the show more of a spontaneous, anything-can-happen feel for a change. This was just fantastic. It went a while and I was never bored. Their in-ring chemistry was as excellent as you'd expect and that final stretch was white-hot. Rematch, please!

WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler def. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter (Non-Title)

This marked the in-ring Raw debut for Chance and Carter, and if you didn't follow their run in NXT, they've turned into a terrific team. I was worried this would be booked as a straight-up squash, but it was actually quite competitive and an enjoyable outing. Chance and Carter scored enough offense where they were made to look credible in defeat. The women's tag team division needs more of this in order for fans to care because this was very well done.

Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura Ended in a No Conteest

Bronson Reed expressed frustration toward Ricochet before this bout about how he feels he belongs in the men's Money in the Bank Ladder match over him and Nakamura, so it made sense for him to crash this contest and attack both men. It gave Reed more heat than he's gotten in at least or two, so that was a plus as well. Ricochet vs. Nakamura was fun while it lasted before the non-finish.

The Judgment Day Interrupted Cody Rhodes on Miz TV Hosted by The Miz

Balor and Priest were featured at the beginning and ending of the episode, and Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio were able to represent Judgment Day here as well. Rhodes made a comment to Miz about how Brock Lesnar is "hibernating" at the moment (or something along those lines), so I assume that means we won't get Rhodes vs. Lesnar III until SummerSlam. Instead, it looks like we'll be getting Rhodes vs. Dominik at Money in the Bank with Dominik slapping Rhodes at the end of this segment before running off. This was solid and I like the dynamic of Rhodes and Dominik having a mini feud given how over both guys are in their current roles.

Zoey Stark def. Natalya to Qualify for the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

With Lynch already qualifying earlier in the evening, there was no way Stark wasn't winning here, especially considering who her opponent was. Stark isn't over yet based on the reaction she got during her entrance and during the match, but the crowd did pop for her cool finisher. This was a decent match while it lasted with the right outcome. I just find it difficult to care about anything Natalya is involved in at this point.

Indus Sher vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin Went to a No Contest

Indus Sher attacked Alexander and Benjamin before the bell rang, so the match never got started. Instead, this was a straight-up beatdown of Alexander and Benjamin. I assume this is what the match was going to be anyway, so I'm not sure why they didn't just make it an official match. I assume this was a victim of time constraints. Either way, WWE is doing everything right with Indus Sher so far and I hope they can get over as a monster heel team.

World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins def. Damian Priest

I believe this was the first-ever one-on-one televised match these two have had in WWE and it was great stuff. No, I didn't think for a single second that Priest was winning the title, but he deserved the spotlight here and he made the most of the opportunity. Despite Priest not wanting Judgment Day at ringside, Balor interfered anyway and it backfired. It looks like Rollins vs. Balor will go down at Money in the Bank with more Judgment Day dissension happening in the meantime. I hope this doesn't mean the end of Judgment Day as we know it because I love the group as is, but we'll see where this goes and what they have in mind.

Overall Show

I thought I might have been biased because I was there live (and had a fun time), but this was in fact one of the stronger editions of Raw WWE has produced in recent memory. Hartford was largely energetic throughout (again, I'm probably biased) and we got a number of significant developments and really good matches. Money in the Bank isn't for another month, so hopefully WWE can continue filling the time until then with quality shows such as this one.

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