It may be some time before Alexa Bliss returns to WWE TV as a new report out Thursday has she and WWE in a dispute over a new contract.
PWInsider reported that Bliss was expected back in a surprise appearance at the January 13th Raw from San Jose to rejoin the brand, but Bliss’ team then wanted to negotiate a new contract “with enhanced perks” vs. continuing under the extension of her existing deal of which she referenced in a May 2023 interview.
WWE refused to do that, leaving the two sides at a standstill and Bliss out of any future creative plans. It was expected she would be part of The Wyatt Sicks storyline but the group was moved to SmackDown, announced on the same Raw where Bliss was set to return.
On the Wednesday Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer had reported Bliss and WWE were trying to work out a new contract, but had yet to agree to terms.
The 33-year-old last appeared at the 2023 Royal Rumble, unsuccessfully challenging then-Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair. She and her husband, singer Ryan Cabrera, welcomed a baby girl in November 2023.
As recently as two months ago, she was teasing a return but said it wasn’t up to her. She recently has been doing voice work for a pair of Netflix shows.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including RAW this Monday with apparently maybe Goldberg, Alexa Bliss update, Chris Daniels and Hangman, AEW’s upcoming schedule, TNA and Full Sail, ratings, AEW Dynamite and NXT show reports and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: Status of Goldberg & Jesse Ventura, WWE Raw lineup, Alexa Bliss update 5:27: Christopher Daniels’ status, AEW’s upcoming schedule, other AEW issues 24:45: Mistico reforms Sky Team in CMLL 29:08: Ratings 39:48: GFL Draft 42:36: AEW Dynamite recap 1:02:43: WWE NXT recap 1:11:44: TNA heading to Full Sail, more on WWE partnership
WWE star Alexa Bliss is continuing to pick up voice acting roles.
After being part of the English voice cast for Netflix’s “Queen of Villains” series, Bliss now has a role in “Sakamoto Days.” The show — which is based on a popular manga series — premieres on Netflix tomorrow (January 11) with new episodes to follow every Saturday. The show is airing on TV Tokyo in Japan and has been licensed by Netflix globally.
Bliss voices the character Obiguro in the English dub. She is billed under her real name Lexi Cabrera.
“Such an honor to voice ‘Obiguro’ in SAKAMOTO DAYS!,” she wrote. “Can’t wait for this!!!”
The trailer and synopsis for the series can be seen below:
An ex-hitman turned shopkeeper juggles dad duties while dodging bullets like a pro.
Once the greatest hitman of all, Taro Sakamoto retired in the name of love. But when his past catches up, he must fight to protect his beloved family.
Bliss has been away from WWE programming for nearly two years and has not wrestled since giving birth to her daughter Hendrix — but that is expected to change soon. She’s been training for her return, with WrestleVotes reporting this week that WWE creative is working Bliss into future plans and merchandise/promotional materials are already in development.
The end of Raw on cable television and a look back at the show, Prime Time Wrestling, where it stands among the longest running wrestling shows on television, what to expect from the Netflix audience, the first show, how much WWE was getting for Raw at its ratings peak plus the year that USA nearly canceled Raw.
2024 live attendance numbers for WWE and AEW and comparisons with this past year and historical.
Full coverage of Worlds End, including historical notes on aspects of the show, questions on the show, the decision to cut back on matches and what was left on the cutting floor, the best multiple match days in history, best openers in history, returns, PPV numbers and other business notes.
A look at both Tokyo Dome shows
A look at the career of Sweet Daddy Siki
President Jimmy Carter and he and his family’s connections with pro wrestling and Jim Barnett
Pro Wrestling NOAH Budokan Hall coverage and attempt to make a superstar in one night
Stardom’s big year-end show with one of the best women’s bouts of the year
Janel Grant’s attorneys looking at rewriting the lawsuit against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE and the key reason why
2024 Observer Awards ballot, detailed descriptions of the categories, the criteria and who placed top three in each category last year
Notes from the funeral of Rey Misterio Sr.
The most detailed look at the ratings from the past week
International TV ratings
Advanced ticket sales for all the major upcoming U.S. events including All In Texas, WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and more
CMLL huge business week
What promotion is spending January rematching the best matches as voted by fans for 2024
Major Japanese title changes as the year ends and starts
Two major companies losing U.S. TV this week and details of what happened
Shooting at independent wrestling arena
Deaths of two British stars of the ITV era, Tally Ho Kaye and their version of Blackjack Mulligan
Lots of notes on discussion points of Tony Khan’s press conferences this past week
What AEW idea got bounced because NXT did it first
Debut of Sakuraba’s son
Updates on WrestleMania
Updates of archival content on Netflix internationally and MAX in the U.S.
New WWE TV or streaming show being talked about
Survivor Series PPV number makes significant change and why
Notes on the must-read Inside the Ropes story on the late Axl Rotten’s days backstage regarding WWE and Mel Phillips
New WWE business deal
Full coverage of WWE holiday tour and how it compared with those the past few years
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue
During his appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Seth Rollins was asked if he’s thought about how much longer he’s going to wrestle:
I think about it all the time. I am 38, I will be 39 in May. I think I’ve got more than a couple years left in me. The dynamic of the industry has shifted so much. I’m not wrestling 200 times a year anymore. I’m not on the road 300 days a year anymore. Live events, non-televised events have kind of dissipated, which for me, guys like me, I’ve wrestled over 2,000 matches in my career, that’s nice for me. It’s just like riding a bike for me. We’ll see how it is for people coming up who need that experience, we’ll see what that looks like in a few years. But with that schedule, I feel like I’ll be able to extend my career probably longer than I thought I was going to, and then it just depends on where I want to go from there, what I want to do next and how much time I’d like to spend at home with my daughter, taking her to do things that are important to her, that are a lot more important than making towns.
The highly anticipated return of Alexa Bliss is on the horizon, according to a well placed source. Creative is reportedly working her into future plans, with merchandise and promotional materials already in development.
In an interview with TMZ Sports, Mark Henry reacted to Hulk Hogan getting booed on Raw’s Netflix premiere. Henry said Hogan never wanted to fix things after his racism scandal and thought that it was just going to go away:
He never wanted to go forward and fix it. That’s what happens when you think everything is gonna go away. It’s not gonna go away.
You know, I offered to say, ‘Hey, let’s do a tour of the Black colleges, law schools, and explain what happened.’ And he didn’t want to do that.
Taya Valkyrie said that she and her husband Johnny TV are safe but have been evacuated due to the California wildfires: “We’ve been evacuated, but are safe. Holy sh*t this is bad. Pray for LA”
In this week’s Mone Mag, Mercedes Mone opened up about how nervous and excited she was for her Wrestle Dynasty match at the Tokyo Dome:
One of the lines Advocate Kev [Keven Undergaro] says to Team-Moné on our various trips is: ‘We’re gonna make history…AGAIN!’ Though I have nerves and butterflies for all my big matches, my match at the Tokyo Dome against Mina was somehow different. From the moment I landed in Japan, where I actually bawled my eyes out with both disbelief and gratitude, to the morning of the event, where I had an actual panic attack, making history was the last thing on my mind. Kev could see my condition on the bus ride and asked: ‘Are you nervous or just excited?’ I replied, ‘Both.’ Truly, it was my lifelong dream to have a match at this level at the Tokyo Dome, so I was beyond excited. Along with the rich wrestling history, I feel as though, in some strange way, Japan, like Mexico, is another home. Yet, for all my joy, I was likewise petrified. I didn’t want to let the promoters down. I didn’t want to let the fans down. I didn’t want to let Mina down. I especially, and as always, didn’t want to let the women wrestlers of today AND tomorrow down. I want New Japan, and all promotions, globally, for that matter, to know that we female athletes deserve prominent recognition and a prominent place on the card.
Mone also had plenty of praise for her Wrestle Dynasty opponent Mina Shirakawa:
Mina came at me with full force, and let me tell you, I’m still feeling the impact days later. But I have to admit, there’s something I love about pro wrestling when it’s done right—like how Mina executed everything flawlessly, managing to keep it safe even when it stings.
And let me tell you why else I love Mina. I remember meeting her a few years back when she was in her early 30s. At that time, she was new to our craft and shared her great passion for wrestling with me and wanting to wrestle in the U.S., but she had concerns about her age. She honestly seemed to feel like it was too late for her. I do remember assuring her nothing could be further from the truth. Side note and lesson for all of you, your friends, and your children: it’s never too late for any of us, as Mina proved. And you heard it here from the CEO: you have not seen the last of this girl. She is another superstar on the rise, and I couldn’t be prouder to know her and to have competed against her.
MLW announced that Fightland 2025 will be held at the NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills, Texas on Saturday, September 13. Tickets are going on sale next Tuesday (January 14).
NJPW’s YouTube channel uploaded the full Battle in the Valley event from 2023 for free to YouTube. It was headlined by a double main event of Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Mercedes Mone vs. Kairi.
Ricky Starks will face Charles Mason at House of Glory Wrestling’s show in Queens, New York on Saturday, January 25.
Kurt Angle commented on his induction into the International Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame last night: “It was an honor to be inducted into the international professional wrestling HOF today in Albany,NY. Thank you to all who attended.”
With a cryptic social media post on Monday, Alexa Bliss built up anticipation for her WWE return.
Bliss tweeted out a gif this morning with the caption “Where’s Alexa…” But when a fan responded asking for answers on when she’ll be returning, Bliss responded: “Unfortunately, not up to me.”
Bliss has been away from the ring for nearly two years now. During her time out of action, she gave birth to her daughter Hendrix in November 2023. Bliss has seemingly been teasing her WWE return on social media as of late including sharing footage this summer of her training in the ring.
The most recent match Bliss had was against Bianca Belair at Royal Rumble 2023. The 2025 Royal Rumble is being held in Indianapolis on February 1.
Bliss tweeted today that, since that Royal Rumble 2023 match, she’s been recovering from “skin cancer removal, pregnancy, preeclampsia [a blood pressure condition during pregnancy], and postpartum health complications back to back.”
The New York Times published an article this week documenting the story of Alfred Mancinelli, a man who was scammed out of nearly $1 million by at least one con artist impersonating WWE star Alexa Bliss.
Mancinelli became “completely smitten” with an impostor after being targeted online and was convinced he was in a romantic relationship with Bliss, the New York Times writes. He drained his retirement savings and his granddaughter’s college fund before passing away at 79 years old.
“His chat messages with the sham Alexa read like a soap opera,” the New York Times writes. “There were the battles with his son, whom he disowned, after [his son] tried to safeguard his money; other ‘evil’ meddlers trying to spoil their relationship; and ongoing references to Vince McMahon, the former wrestling promoter, whom the fake Alexa accused of humiliating her after she refused his advances. But Alfred was always there, ready to extend emotional and financial support.
“The Alexa impersonator often claimed to be hospitalized for bad menstrual periods, and would plead with Alfred to send money so the hospital could begin treating her. ‘Tell me how much do you have left baby,’ the impostor said in a chat.”
Mancinelli and the impostor never spoke by audio or video, but the impostor sent him trinkets in the mail and once sent him pizza for his birthday. Mancinelli’s son tried to step in and protect what was left of his father’s money, but Mancinelli was loyal to the fake Bliss.
Bliss (real name Lexi Cabrera) has repeatedly warned fans about scammers impersonating her. Other WWE stars — including Liv Morgan — have also warned fans about similar scam operations.
Mancinelli also sent money to two other scammers (not impersonating Bliss) who claimed to have sick children or be caring for sick children.
“Alfred’s involvement in scams dated back to 2018, but worsened during the isolating days of the pandemic,” the New York Times wrote. “By the spring of 2021, his once $900,000 nest egg had dropped to $128,000. [His son] estimates that most of his father’s money went to one or more Alexa Bliss impostors.”
Mancinelli’s son tried to protect his father’s last $100,000 but eventually gave it back after being sued. Once the money was returned to Mancinelli (who passed cognitive tests), he lost that to scammers as well. Mancinelli died last summer after failing to recover from neck surgery after a fall.
The real Alexa Bliss and her husband Ryan Cabrera welcomed their daughter Hendrix into the world last November. Bliss has not wrestled since January 2023 but plans to return to WWE in the future.
WWE star Alexa Bliss played a role in Netflix’s new pro wrestling-inspired series “The Queen of Villains.”
Based on Japanese pro wrestling legend Dump Matsumoto, all five episodes of the scripted drama are available to stream on Netflix starting today. Bliss revealed in an Instagram post that she was part of the English voice cast for the show, voicing wrestler Maki Ueda.
Bliss said she was honored to be part of the series and had a lot of fun with her first voiceover role.
“I am BEYOND thankful and honored for this amazing experience. I had THE BEST time working with [director Timmy Red] on my first voiceover project! You were so helpful & patient with me (especially with the singing) – I’m just so honored to have voiced for Maki Ueda on this incredible series,” Bliss wrote.
“Thank you so much @netflix – this was truly so fun. I LOVED every second of ‘The Queen of [Villains]’ And I know you will too.”
Bliss has been away from the WWE ring since January 2023. She gave birth to her daughter Hendrix last November. In July of this year, Bliss shared a photo of her working out in the ring and performing her first back handspring since giving birth.
Here’s the synopsis for the “Queen of Villains” series:
Dump Matsumoto overcomes conflicts to become one of the most famous heels in Japanese history as she tries to prove her own worth as a wrestler in a world filled with gender inequality.
Netflix’s next pro wrestling-related project is its “Mr. McMahon” docuseries that premieres next Wednesday (September 25). Starting in January 2025, Netflix will be the new home of WWE Raw.
Alexa Bliss and Ryan Cabera have welcomed the birth of a baby girl.
Bliss and Cabrera shared a video on Instagram Wednesday, writing “Breakin Hearts since 11.27.23!!!,” officially announcing the birth of their daughter Hendrix. Bliss had announced her pregnancy back in May via Instagram. She and Cabrera married back on April 9 of last year.
Bliss last competed in a WWE ring back on the January 28 edition of WWE Raw, where she lost to Bianca Belair in a match that had been for the Raw Women’s Championship. There had been an ongoing storyline where it was teased she may rejoin Bray Wyatt after their previous association together. However, the story was put on hold after Bliss announced her pregnancy and Wyatt was taken off TV due to health issues. Wyatt passed away in August following heart complications.
The news comes as AEW stars Tay Melo and Sammy Guevara welcomed a baby girl, Luna Melo Guevara, on November 28. WWE stars Carmella and Corey Graves welcomed the birth of their son, Dimitri Paul Polinsky, on November 8.
On next week’s Raw, Tegan Nox & Natalya are getting their WWE Women’s Tag Team title shot.
Nox & Natalya will challenge for Chelsea Green & Piper Niven’s championships on Raw next Monday (November 27). The announcement of the match was made on Raw Talk last night.
Nox & Natalya earned the title shot by winning a fatal four-way number one contender’s match on last night’s Raw. They defeated Ivy Nile & Maxxine Dupri, Kayden Carter & Katana Chance, and Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell.
To win the number one contender’s match, Nox rolled through on a crossbody and pinned Dupri for the victory.
Niven became Green’s new Tag Team title partner this August, taking over for Sonya Deville after Deville was forced out of action due to a torn ACL.
Raw is taking place from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville next Monday. The following matches have been announced for the show:
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green & Piper Niven defend against Tegan Nox & Natalya
Tag Team Turmoil match for Undisputed WWE Tag Team title shot: New Day vs. Alpha Academy vs. The Creed Brothers vs. DIY vs. Imperium vs. Indus Sher
WWE has announced two new additions to the lineup for Monday’s episode of Raw.
On Saturday morning, Raw general manager Adam Pearce revealed that Xia Li vs. Indi Hartwell and Tommaso Ciampa vs. Ludwig Kaiser are both set for this Monday (November 13). The episode is taking place from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
🚨🚨🚨
BREAKING: I’ve just finalized two big attractions for #WWERaw this Monday.
Li is currently feuding with Becky Lynch. On Raw last Monday, Li attacked Lynch before a Women’s World Championship number one contender’s battle royal. Lynch wasn’t able to compete following the attack. Pearce wouldn’t allow Li to participate in the battle royal after what she did to Lynch.
Li then showed up on Tuesday’s NXT and confronted NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria. Li said she plans to take the NXT Women’s title from Valkyria.
Ciampa & Johnny Gargano defeated Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci on the October 30 episode of Raw. Interference by Kaiser then caused Ciampa & Gargano to lose a match against The Creed Brothers last Monday.
The updated card for Monday’s Raw is listed below:
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Finn Balor & Damian Priest defend against Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso
WWE star Alexa Bliss and her husband Ryan Cabrera are expecting a baby girl.
The couple announced the news with a gender reveal that aired on Tuesday’s edition of Entertainment Tonight. Cabrera smashed a pink and blue guitar to reveal that the baby would be a girl.
The 31-year-old Bliss (Lexi Cabrera) and 41-year-old Cabrera have been married since April 2022. This will be their first child.
In an interview with E! News in May, Bliss said her pregnancy was a “total surprise” because they weren’t actively trying to have a baby. Bliss and Cabrera said they couldn’t have been more excited about the news.
Cabrera is a musician who is famous for the 2004 hit song “On the Way Down.”
Bliss hasn’t wrestled since January, when Bianca Belair defeated her in a Raw Women’s Championship match at the Royal Rumble.
Bliss wasn’t included in this year’s WWE Draft due to her pregnancy.
WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley will defend her title against Natalya as Raw emanates from Baltimore, Maryland’s CFG Bank Arena tonight.
This will be a rematch from May’s Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia when Ripley defended the then-SmackDown Women’s title against Natalya in just 70 seconds. The two have been working against each other on house shows since then.
Natalya’s last appearance on Raw came on June 5 as she lost a Money in the Bank qualifying match to Zoey Stark. Ripley, meanwhile, accompanied Dominik Mysterio to the ring at Saturday’s pay-per-view in London but wasn’t in action. Her last Raw match was a quick victory over Dana Brooke in early May.
Tonight’s Raw is expected to feature more fallout from Saturday’s Money in the Bank after Damian Priest and IYO SKY won the men’s and women’s briefcases in London, respectively.
Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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– An “In memory of” graphic aired for Droz to begin the show.
– A video package recapping Money In The Bank aired.
The Seth “Freakin” Rollins segment
Seth welcomed everyone into “Monday Night Rollins.” The crowd continued to sing his theme sound consistently throughout the first few minutes. Rollins brought up Jey Uso pinning Roman Reigns and the crowd cheered. Rollins reminded everyone that he also beat Finn Balor at MITB. Rollins said SummerSlam is five weeks away and he was interrupted by Cody Rhodes’s music. Cody made his entrance in his wrestling gear. The two stood in the ring as the crowd chanted. Cody started to say, “So …” but Brock Lesnar’s music hit and Cody ran up the ramp to brawl with Lesnar. The two brawled into the ring and Cody landed a Cody Cutter on Lesnar. Lesnar retreated to end the segment.
A fun way to start Raw. The callback to Seth and Cody was especially intriguing considering how Cody ostensibly said in the post MITB press conference that he could give a hoot about Seth’s title and the only way he’ll finish his story is if he gets Roman’s Universal title(s). We all suspected Brock and Cody would kick off their march to SummerSlam tonight and it was an interesting choice for WWE to get that out of the way first because there was little else actually announced for this show prior to the start of it.
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– Back from commercial break, Seth Rollins was back in the ring with a microphone in hand. The crowd was again singing his theme song. As Rollins was talking, he was interrupted by Judgement Day’s theme music. Rhea Ripley told Seth that everyone was there to see the Judgement Day take over. Ripley was joined by Damien Priest and Dom Mysterio. Seth asked where Finn Balor was and Ripley said Finn was fine and where he was, was none of Seth’s concern. Priest chimed in and said Seth needs to concern himself with Priest’s MITB briefcase.
Priest teased cashing in at SummerSlam, Survivor Series, the Royal Rumble or tonight. Seth said for Priest to cash in, the champ needs to be down and out and as it turned out, Seth didn’t have a match on the card, so Seth said he was ready to go party in Baltimore. Ripley said she’s already defending her title tonight, so she suggested Seth defend his title against Dom, who again got wild heat from the live crowd. The crowd chanted “You suck!” at Dom. Ripley made the challenge to Seth on behalf of Dom. Seth said this seemed like a trap, but he wanted nothing more than to “slap the mustache off” Dom’s face. Ultimately, after the crowd cheered him on, Seth accepted Dom’s challenge for the night’s main event.
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Damien Priest defeated Shinsuke Nakamura [11:00]
The only thing this match suffered from was the predictable outcome. Priest wasn’t going to win the MITB briefcase only to lose to Nakamura two days later (by the way, WWE sent out an email a few minutes before Raw went live saying that Priest was going to face Ricochet, but …?). If you can get past that, the match itself was pretty good. Nakamura showed good fire and continues to work hard despite never really coming up on the winning side of things in WWE. Priest looks good as the MITB holder, all LA Knight disappointments be damned. It’ll be interesting to see how long he holds onto it before WWE pulls the trigger on what’s next. It kind of feels like he’s either going to try to cash in soon, or we could be in for an awfully long story as Priest’s run as MITB briefcase holder plays out.
Priest had control early and worked Nakamura’s arm. Nakamura fired up and blasted Priest with some shots to his midsection. Nakamura choked Priest with his boot until Priest cut him off with a leaping elbow for a one-count. Priest kept control with a series of stomps. Priest jumped at Nakamura, but Nakamura caught him and landed a knee to Priest’s midsection. The action spilled outside, where Nakamura was dropped on his back across the top of the guardrail. The show went to a picture-in-picture.
Back from break, Nakamura landed a series of strikes on Priest. Nakamura slammed Priest and rolled to the outside, where he blew a kiss at Ripley. Back inside the ring, Nakamura took Priest down for a two-count. Nakamura came off the second rope and ran into an uppercut from Priest. Nakamura rolled Priest up out of nowhere for a two-count and then went for an arm-bar, but Priest blocked it. Priest hit a spinning front kick for a two-count. Priest lifted Nakamura, but Nakamura wiggled out of it and rolled Priest up for a two-count. Nakamura kicked Priest and got a two-count out of it. Nakamura landed a knee from the second rope and fired up, but Priest caught Nakamura with a short-arm clothesline. Priest then hit South of Heaven for the win.
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– The commentary team spoke over highlights of Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler breaking up at MITB. Rousey’s music hit in the arena and Rousey walked to the ring with purpose. The crowd didn’t react particularly enticed. Before Rousey could speak, Baszler’s music hit and Baszler said everyone’s tired of hearing Rousey try to talk on a microphone. Rousey asked for an explanation. Baszler said she doesn’t owe Rousey anything – and if anything, she owes fans for bringing Rousey into the wrestling business.
Baszler talked about how Rousey didn’t help Baszler try out or build rings. Baszler said she paid her dues and Rousey didn’t. Baszler said Rousey waltzed her way into WrestleMania. Baszler said Rousey ruined pro wrestling for her. Baszler said she’s going to finally shut Rousey up. Rousey kicked Baszler and clotheslined Baszler on the outside. Rousey looked to choke Baszler out, but Baszler countered and worked an ankle lock. Rousey got to the ropes and worked her way out of it, only to be the recipient of a running knee.
I liked this. Who knows what crowd noise is real on WWE broadcasts, but on TV, the crowd here seemed excited that Baszler essentially said all the things the Internet Wrestling Community has been saying about Rousey for a little while now. Baszler is a lot better than what WWE has been giving her and it looks like she might have found a way into the upper end of the card if she can keep the fire up.
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Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green won a tag team turmoil match to become No. 1 contenders for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship [11:54]
I can’t say I’m a fan of tag team turmoil matches that have absolutely no build and features wrestlers some fans might not even realize had already been called to the main roster, but I digress. Chance and Carter have some fairly visually appealing offense, but when you’re given two minutes out of a 12-minute, five-team match, that visually appealing offense will forever appear marginalized. Deville and Green running the gamut makes sense if you’re trying to heat up a program on short notice, but here’s hoping they don’t just feed Deville and Green as the Challengers Du Jour for the next couple weeks before Morgan and Rodriguez move onto another set of challengers that will feel meaningless to no fault of whomever they turn out to be. The booking is the booking.
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez sat at ringside throughout the match. Indi Hartwell started the match and took out Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green. Candice LeRae tagged in and kept control in her team’s favor until she went for a moonsault, but Green moved. It wasn’t long before Deville knee’d LeRae to get the cover on LeRae and eliminate LeRae and Hartwell.
Nikki Cross and Emma were the next team in the match, but Cross was too infatuated with LeRae and Emma was on her own for a little bit. And by “a little bit,” I mean, “Cross left Emma to fend for herself as Cross appeared to cry because LeRae shunned her.” As such, Deville covered Emma to eliminate that team.
Next in the match was Dana Brooke and Tegan Nox. Green tried to take a timeout on the outside, but Brooke and Nox hit a slide to take Deville and Green out. The show went to a picture-in-picture from there. By the time the show returned, Nox and Brooke were eliminated. From there, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance was the final team to enter the match. Green and Deville double-suplexed Chance for a two-count. Green toyed with Chance until Carter got a blind tag and took control. Chance tagged in and landed a Frankensteiner from the top rope on Green, who sold the hell out of it. Chance and Carter went for the After Party, but Deville broke it up. Green landed the Un-Pretty-Her for the win.
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– A Bronson Reed vignette aired. Reed talked about fear and respect. Reed said he’s inescapable.
The Becky Lynch/Trish Stratus segment
Lynch said The Man has come around to Baltimore and the crowd seemed happy about that. Lynch brought up Trish Stratus. Lynch said she wanted to end the feud “right here and right now,” and called Stratus out. Stratus’s music hit and Stratus made her way to the ring with both Zoey Stark and a face/nose guard. Stratus said Lynch broke her face. Stratus said she’s still prettier than everyone in the building. Stratus said she isn’t medically cleared because Lynch broke her face. Lynch countered by saying she’d be happy to fight Stark. Stratus said nobody is better than Stratus because Stratus is the greatest of all time.
Lynch responded by saying Stratus couldn’t beat her on her own. Lynch referenced Stark interfering in their match before. Lynch said everyone knows Stratus won’t be sticking around and Stratus was only there to promote her “crappy talent show.” Lynch wondered aloud what will happen with Stark when Stratus leaves. Stratus said she’s there because she’s the face of the women’s division. Stratus said she built the women’s division. Stratus said Lynch hated when people would come up to Stratus backstage and thank Stratus. Stark walked to the ring after Stratus said Stark will break Lynch’s face. Stratus stopped Stark and called Baltimore “Balti-less,” before saying next week, Stark will battle Lynch.
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– Jackie Redmond welcomed Cody Rhodes in for an interview near the ramp to the ring in front of the crowd. Cody made his second entrance of the night, this time with a suit on and can you believe it – the crowd did the “Whoa!” again. Cody noted how it was Jackie’s first night on Raw. Cody said he’s not done with Brock yet. Cody said Brock broke Cody’s arm and there’s no way the two can continue to coexist on Raw. Cody said he’d fight Brock any night and every night. Cody’s music hit and that was the end of the segment.
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Alpha Academy (Maxxine Dupri, Chade Gable & Otis) defeated The Viking Raiders (Ivar & Erik & Valhalla) [7:57]
Gable looked great here. Especially for what could be argued as a throwaway TV match in the second hour of a Monday Night Raw, Gable might have even looked better than great. The story, though, was Dupri wrestling her first match and ultimately getting the win. Alpha Academy is a lot of fun. There’s no doubt about that. It’s just getting increasingly hard to invest in the idea that they should be a comedy act. Chad Gable is a hell of a wrestler and Otis has proven himself inside the squared circle, too. The Viking Raiders, for that matter, continue to spin their wheels, too. Both factions need a freshening up sooner than later. Until then, some variation of this match will presumably continue to show up on television.
Gable and Erik began the match and had control with a series of forearms. Otis tagged in and cleaned house by slamming Ivar and splashing into Erik. Otis did the worm and hit an elbow drop. Alpha Academy posed as the show went to picture-in-picture.
Out of the break, the Raiders had control and we were working over Otis until Otis landed a double clothesline and got the hot tag to Gable. Gable worked over Ivar, complete with a Blockbuster. Gable hit Erik with an Exploder. Ivar cut Gable off and the two fought on the second rope, where Gable hit a bulldog on Ivar. Gable took Erik to the outside and then landed a diving headbutt on Ivar from the top rope. Ivar came back quickly with a roundhouse kick to slow Gable down. From there, Dupri got the super hot tag and Dupri landed a series of arm-drags on Valhalla. Dupri did the worm and was cut off by Valhalla, but Gable hit a pretty moonsault onto all the men on the outside. Inside the ring, Dupri rolled up Valhalla for the win.
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– A video of the Ricochet/Logan Paul spot from MITB aired. After the match, it turns out, the two brawled backstage as well. Redmond welcomed Ricochet into the interview area. Ricochet said Paul can hang and Ricochet respects that. Ricochet challenged Paul to come face to face with him next week on Raw.
Rhea Ripley defeated Natalya to retain the WWE Women’s Championship [13:08]
This was the match of the night to this point. Nobody bought into Natalya winning, but damn it if they didn’t try to change that perception. It’s been a while since Natalya had this much time and showed this much passion in a match. Ripley, for her part, did the job quite well, selling for Natalya and doing all she could to create at least some false hope for those watching. Good stuff from both women. I wonder if this means Raquel or Liv will be next up for Ripley as she continues to find opponents.
Natalya attacked Ripley as Ripley made her entrance. After the bell rang, Natalya went for the Sharpshooter and Ripley rolled to the outside. Natalya followed Ripley and ran into a punch. Ripley repeatedly slammed Natalya’s head onto the commentary table and rolled Natalya back into the ring. Natalya hit a German Suplex and got control back until Ripley landed a strike to the back of Natalya. Natalya tried to fire up but Ripley cut her off with a headbutt.
Ripley slapped Natalya and drove Natalya into the mat repeatedly. Ripley kicked Natalya in the midsection and then to the chest. Natalya tried to fire up again, but Ripley quickly put an end to that. The two battled on the top rope until Natalya landed a headbutt of her own. Natalya followed up with a cross-body block from the top and the two stayed down to regroup. Ripley quickly gained control and dropkicked Natalya’s face before the show cut to another picture-in-picture.
When the show returned, Natalya had control and went for a Sharpshooter, but Ripley countered with a kick to reset things again. Natalya hit a Discus Lariat for a two-count. Ripley kicked Natalya and went to the top to hit a missile dropkick for a two-count. Ripley landed a kick to the head and worked the Prison Lock until Natalya rolled through to get out of it.
Natalya went for a Sharpshooter, but Ripley ran Natalya into the turnbuckle. Ripley went to the top and did the Eddie Guerrero pose before jumping off and Natalya catching her for a counter. Natalya hit a running power-slam and finally sunk in a Sharpshooter. Ripley made it to the ropes for a break. With Ripley on the outside, Natalya went for something, but Ripley countered it with a kick and a headbutt. Ripley then hit the Riptide for the win.
After the match, Ripley attacked Natalya, but Liv and Raquel ran in for the save.
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Ciampa cut a promo backstage saying he finally saw a look in the Miz’s eye that he liked last week. Ciampa said the Miz got his ruthless aggression back. Ciampa said the next time he sees the Miz, he wants the Miz to bring the same type of energy. The Mix then spoke from backstage, too. Miz said he doesn’t care what cards Ciampa has. Miz said the last person who called him a coward is gone (Hi, Bryan Danielson!). Miz said next week, he’ll have a no DQ match with Ciampa. Miz closed by saying he’s the Miz, and of course, he’s awesome.
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– Rhea Ripley was shown walking backstage and IYO SKY showed up. Ripley told SKY to try her because it’d be the biggest mistake of her life. The rest of Judgement Day showed up and Ripley complained about Raquel and Liv. Ripley said Liv and Raquel will regret getting involved.
Matt Riddle defeated Giovanni Vinci [1:37]
This was more an angle than a match. My guess is we get Riddle/McIntyre vs. Vinci/Kaiser before anything else. But there’s plenty of time until we hit SummerSlam, so let the predictions run wild (brother). Vinci looked inspired, so good for him. Riddle, meanwhile, got a cheap win, and man, doesn’t it feel like it was at least 45 years ago when he was as hot as he was when he was with Randy Orton? The guy might be in no-man’s land at this point.
Vinci jumpstarted the match and slammed Riddle. Vinci landed a cross-body and worked on the ankle that Gunther softened up at MITB. Vinci landed a rolling senton into a moonsault off the second rope for a two-count. Vinci went for an ankle lock, but Riddle rolled through and pinned Vinci.
Imperium attacked Riddle after the match until Drew McIntyre’s music hit and Drew made the save by taking out Kaiser and Vinci. McIntyre stared down Gunther and invited Gunther into the ring before landed a Claymore on Vinci. McIntyre went back to engage in a stare down with Gunther.
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– McIntyre was interviewed backstage and McIntyre said he’s back. Wouldn’t you know it – Riddle said the two should pair up to face Imperium next week, so someone here had that. Also next week, Ciampa vs. The Miz in a no DQ match and Becky Lynch vs. Zoey Stark. Ricochet and Logan Paul will also come face to face. The show will be in Buffalo, N.Y.
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Seth Rollins defeated Dominik Mysterio via DQ [9:46]
I was all for Priest cashing in. That would have been a fun wrinkle. But apparently, we’re going to get weeks (if not months) of Finn Balor and Damien Priest bitching at each other about who should be champion, when they should have won the championship and why they are unhappy that they are currently not the champion. The match was OK for what we got. Dominik really has grown as a wrestler and that goes unnoticed because of both the star power of Ripley and the pest-heel-ness of Dom. But really. Take a look at that guy two years ago and look at him now. Two different people. The confidence is through the roof. Seth, meanwhile, continues to excel at this weird, off-beat character who loves to listen to people sing his theme music. There were good moments here, but nothing particularly memorable.
The two locked up to begin the match with Seth getting the best of it, working a head-lock. Dominik countered to work a head-lock of his own. Rollins worked out of it and took Dom down with a shoulder-block. Dom was thrown outside and Rollins went to run the ropes, but Ripley got in the way. Rollins kept the upper-hand, though, as he back-dropped Dominik over the top and followed it up with a running knee. The crowd, at this point, was still chanting Rollins’s theme song. The show went to the final picture-in-picture break.
When the show returned, Rollins was in the middle of Three Amigos on Dom. Rollins went to the top and while Ripley distracted, Priest pushed Rollins off the rope. Dom stomped Rollins multiple times and went to the top to hit a frog-splash. Dom went back up for another frog-splash, but Rollins got the knees up to counter. The crowd was still chanting Rollins’ theme and Rollins clotheslined Dom over the top, eventually hitting a tope suicida onto Dom on the outside.
Back inside the ring, Seth set up a stomp, but Priest came into the ring to chokeslam Rollins for the DQ. After the bell rang, Priest beat the hell out of Rollins on the outside of the ring, including a face-first slam onto the commentary desk. The commentary team teased Priest cashing in. Priest set Rollins up for a Razor’s Edge, but Rollins worked out of it. Dom then hit Rollins int he back with the MITB briefcase. Dom tried to convince Priest to cash in. When it looked like Priest was going to cash in, Finn Balor ran down and attacked Rollins, which stopped Priest. Balor and Priest jawed at each other while Dom tried to make peace. Meanwhile, Rollins left ringside and pedigree’d Dom on his way out. Balor and Priest yelled at each other to close the show.
Alexa Bliss talks her WWE contract being extended, as well as plans for a return following her pregnancy.
Bliss spoke to The Messenger, where explained that she had taken time off from WWE to appear on The Masked Singer earlier this year. She also said WWE extended her contract during this time, and will start looking at an in-ring return following her pregnancy, which she announced on Monday.
“WWE gave me time off for [Masked Singer] to kind of fully dive into that experience with rehearsals, vocal lessons, and all that stuff,” she said. “Storyline-wise, I was not on TV anyway, so it really kind of worked out perfectly. [WWE] extended my contract, and so it’s just basically come back when I’m ready. Probably a month after the baby, I’ll start probably getting back into the gym, and getting ready to see what my in-ring return looks like.”
She also revealed that she found out that she was pregnant days before this year’s WrestleMania.
“I was preparing for my return in the ring and I was just having really bad cramping,” Bliss said. “I thought that was weird. So then I just decided to take a test and then I think I said, ‘Oh s—t.'”
Bliss revealed on Instagram that she and husband Ryan Cabrera are expecting their first child, which is expected to arrive this December.
“It was a total surprise, as we weren’t trying at all,” Bliss said.
Bliss and Cabrera said they “couldn’t be more excited” about the baby’s arrival.
The 31-year-old Bliss and 40-year-old Cabrera got married in April 2022. Cabrera is a singer who performed the 2004 hit song “On the Way Down.”
Along with their announcement, Bliss and Cabrera released a comedic YouTube video revealing the news.
Bliss hasn’t been on WWE programming since unsuccessfully challenging Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship at the Royal Rumble this January. She posted a tweet in March clarifying that she wasn’t on a hiatus from WWE: “Tired of seeing these tweets. I am not on a hiatus. They know where to find me. also need to remember – you only see what parts of life I want you to see.”
Bliss announced later that month that she was “all clear” of skin cancer after undergoing a procedure to remove a spot on her face that was found to be basal cell carcinoma.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including AEW Forbidden Door ticket sales, Alexa Bliss update, should AEW bring back CM Punk, Jamie Hayter, New Japan Cup finale and Sakura Genesis line-up, full reviews of AEW and NXT with that amazing Vikingo vs. Kenny Omega match, and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Forbidden Door likely to sell out quickly, Alexa Bliss eliminated from Masked Singer and gets treatment for skin cancer
