Liv Morgan has chosen her WWE WrestleMania 42 opponent.
This year’s Royal Rumble winner called out both Jade Cargill and Stephanie Vaquer on Raw to officially make her decision. She told Vaquer that she was right, she didn’t realize how selfish or privileged she was and apologized for judging her. Morgan then turned to face Cargill, but it was a ruse as she blasted Vaquer with the microphone. She posed with the Women’s World title before laying out Vaquer with the Oblivion, her mind clearly made for WrestleMania. The segment ended with Morgan dumping the title on Vaquer before leaving with Dominik Mysterio.
Since winning the Royal Rumble last month, Morgan had been holding back regarding her decision on a WrestleMania opponent, looking to take her time while teasing both champions on Raw and SmackDown. On last week’s show, Vaquer responded by tearing into Morgan in a sit-down interview to the point that when she finished, Morgan left the room in tears.
With Morgan’s decision, it is now official that the winner of the women’s Elimination Chamber this Saturday will challenge Jade Cargill at WrestleMania.
Here is the updated lineup for WrestleMania 42:
WWE WrestleMania 42 (April 18 & 19)
World Championship: CM Punk defends against Roman Reigns
WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre defends against men’s Elimination Chamber winner
Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer defends against Liv Morgan
WWE Women’s Championship: Jade Cargill vs. women’s Elimination Chamber winner
Stephanie Vaquer is now in possession of her first WWE main roster gold.
In the biggest moment of her WWE career so far, Vaquer defeated IYO SKY at Wrestlepalooza to become the new Women’s World Champion. A beautiful-looking Spiral Tap from the top rope won Vaquer the belt, which had been vacant after Naomi had to relinquish the title last month due to her pregnancy.
The story of the Vaquer vs. SKY match centered around SKY sustaining knee damage from multiple dragon screws by Vaquer. When SKY missed a moonsault near the finish, she landed knee-first before taking the Spiral Tap from Vaquer.
Vaquer and SKY showed respect to each other after the pinfall. Along with that, Vaquer got to share a special moment with her father at ringside. He traveled from Chile to Indianapolis to watch his daughter become champion.
Two of the best in the world just put on a CLASSIC at #Wrestlepalooza.
Stephanie Vaquer sits atop the Women's Division in WWE!!!
WWE chose Vaquer and SKY as the two competitors for tonight’s match because both were owed title shots prior to Naomi being forced out of action. Vaquer earned her title shot by winning a battle royal at WWE Evolution this summer.
Before signing with WWE in 2024, Vaquer was a star in Mexico as the CMLL Women’s World Champion. She held the NXT Women’s Championship and NXT North American Championship earlier this year prior to being called up.
WWE confirmed during Wrestlepalooza that Vaquer will face the WWE Women’s Champion at Crown Jewel: Perth on October 11. Neither of their belts will be on the line, but the winner will become the Women’s Crown Jewel Champion for 2025.
Tiffany Stratton — the current WWE Women’s Champion — is defending her title against Nia Jax and Jade Cargill in a triple threat match on SmackDown this coming Friday.
As expected, the Women’s World title match at WWE WrestleMania will indeed be a triple threat bout.
WWE Raw general manager Adam Pearce announced in Raw’s opening segment that IYO SKY will defend her Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 41 against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley.
Belair earned the World title shot by winning the women’s Elimination Chamber match at the EC PLE in March, while Ripley forced her way into the title picture by simply declaring for the match.
A SKY vs. Ripley title match on last week’s Raw with Belair as guest referee was meant to settle the matter, but the bout ended in a no contest, so Pearce made the originally scheduled SKY vs. Belair match a triple threat also involving Ripley.
The updated WWE WrestleMania 41 lineup:
WWE WrestleMania 41 night one, Saturday, April 19 —
Main event: Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Seth Rollins
WWE WrestleMania 41 night two, Sunday, April 20 —
Main event: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena
WWE WrestleMania 41, Saturday, April 19 & Sunday, April 20 —
World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso
WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat
WWE United States Champion LA Knight defends against Jacob Fatu
WWE Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker defends against Penta, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio in a four-way
Naomi vs. Jade Cargill
AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against TBD
The contract signing for the Women’s World title match at WrestleMania didn’t go as smoothly as expected.
New champion IYO SKY and Bianca Belair both signed the contract for their upcoming match at WrestleMania during Raw. After Pearce thanked them both for being professional, former champion Rhea Ripley came down and said she was just here to watch. However, Ripley and Belair soon started exchanging words, which upset SKY. Ripley ended up headbutting Belair then took SKY and powerbombed her onto Belair, sending them both through a table.
The segment ended with Ripley putting her name on the WrestleMania contract and took it with her to the back as the announcers explained that her signing the contract wasn’t official.
Later backstage, Ripley handed back the contract to Pearce but demanded to be put in the match at WrestleMania. Belair and SKY then arrived and the three brawled again before it was broken up by security.
Two weeks ago on Raw, SKY scored a surprise win over Ripley to win the Women’s World Championship after Ripley argued with Belair, who was at ringside. On last week’s show, Belair and SKY were in the ring when Ripley came down to argue with Belair again. Feeling disrespected, SKY ended up laying out both women.
SKY defeated Rhea Ripley in the main event of Monday’s WWE Raw to win the Women’s World title, and is set to defend the title at WrestleMania 41 next month.
Women’s Elimination Chamber winner Bianca Belair was ringside for the Raw main event, and as things stand today, will challenge SKY for the title at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas.
With her win, SKY becomes a Grand Slam Champion in WWE, holding three different singles titles (WWE Women’s, Women’s World, NXT Women’s) plus a tag title (WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship), joining Ripley, Asuka, and The Four Horsewomen (Becky Lynch, Bayley, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks) in accomplishing the feat.
Without an obvious path to a WrestleMania match outside the Women’s World title picture, it seems likely that Ripley will be added to SKY vs. Belair in a triple threat, but that is purely speculation.
The current WWE WrestleMania 41 lineup:
WWE WrestleMania 41, Saturday, April 19 & Sunday, April 20 —
Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against John Cena
WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Charlotte Flair
World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Jey Uso
Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Bianca Belair
Liv Morgan will defend the Women’s World title, plus the final MITB qualifiers will take place on the July 1 WWE Raw.
Morgan vs. Zelina Vega for the Women’s World Championship is official for next week’s Raw following an in-ring brawl between the two on this week’s episode. Stemming from the same angle where Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio broke up the brawl, Rey vs. Dominik is also set for next week’s show.
The final Money in the Bank qualifying bouts are also set for the July 1 Raw.
Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, and Ilja Dragunov will square off in a triple threat to determine the last entrant in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match next week.
In the final women’s MITB qualifier, Zoey Stark vs. Dakota Kai vs. Ivy Nile will face off in a triple threat.
The announced card for the Monday, July 1 WWE Raw:
Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan defends against Zelina Vega
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio
Men’s Money in the Bank qualifying match: Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. Ilja Dargunov
Women’s Money in the Bank qualifying match: Zoey Stark vs. Dakota Kai vs. Ivy Nile
Two title matches are now official for King & Queen of the Ring later this month.
Becky Lynch will defend the Women’s World Championship against Liv Morgan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 25. Meanwhile, Sami Zayn will defend the Intercontinental title against Bronson Reed and Chad Gable in a triple threat match.
Zayn interfered in a match on Raw between Reed and Gable, laying out both men, seeking revenge after being targeted in recent weeks. In an interview backstage, Zayn agreed to a three-way match.
Liv Morgan confronted Lynch on Monday, asking when she would get the title match Lynch had promised last week after Morgan defeated Nia Jax. Lynch said she’d get it in Saudi Arabia while also pointing out Morgan had never beaten her. In response, Morgan said that this time she had purpose and knew she could beat Lynch.
Here is the updated card for King and Queen of the Ring:
Women’s World title: Becky Lynch defends against Liv Morgan
Triple threat match for WWE Intercontinental title: Sami Zayn defends against Bronson Reed and Chad Gable
Becky Lynch is the new WWE Women’s World Champion.
Lynch won a battle royal on Monday’s WWE Raw show to fill the Women’s World title vacated by Rhea Ripley on last week’s episode.
The battle royal came down to Lynch, Liv Morgan, and Nia Jax, with Lynch and Morgan teaming up to eliminate Jax. Earlier in the contest, Jax put Lynch through the announce table with a powerbomb.
Morgan and Lynch battled on the apron as the final two competitors, with Lynch avoiding Morgan’s Oblivion finisher and winning the match after a Manhandle Slam forced Morgan to the floor.
The title victory is the seventh World title win for Lynch in WWE after holding the SmackDown Women’s title on four occasions, and the Raw Women’s title twice. The Women’s World title shares a lineage with the SmackDown title, but was renamed in 2023.
Lynch also has an NXT Women’s Championship reign on her resume, but WWE is currently not recognizing the NXT titles as World Championships.
Date: April 22, 2024 Location: Schottenstein Center in Columbus, OH
**********
Show Recap —
Michael Cole and Pat McAfee stood in the ring and welcomed us to Raw. McAfee said tonight’s match to determine a new Women’s Champion would be just the fourth time a world champion would be crowned in a battle royal and called it one of the biggest matches in company history.
There was a Rhea Ripley video package. Liv Morgan and Becky Lynch were shown arriving earlier today.
********
Jey Uso and Damian Priest segment
Jey Uso entered. He said Backlash was in two weeks and he had a lot to prove. He had to prove he was Main Event Jey Uso. He had to beat Damian Priest to make everything he went through worth it.
Priest entered. Jey was ready for a fight but Priest told him to relax. Priest put him over and said he’s earned this spot. Priest told a story about a match they had in the past where Jey whooped his ass so bad that Priest approached him in the locker room to tell him he earned his respect. That’s why he wanted him in Judgment Day. They went out for drinks that night and Priest paid the bill. Jey said he took an Uber home.
Priest also remembered Jey telling him that they were next. Priest was proud to stand there with him and tell him that he was right. But Jey was only half right because Priest was the champion. Priest called Jey the first on a list of people that the machine would feed him to make the belt look good. Jey could then lead the fans to rise for their campeón.
Jey was offended that Priest only thought of him as a tag team guy (even though he didn’t say that) and thought that was rich coming from someone in a stable. Jey told Priest the only reason he was the leader of Judgment Day was because Ripley was hurt. Jey wanted Priest to tell Ripley he said hi. He also said Priest was just Dominik’s bitch. Jey said Priest was the one being fed to him because he was the next champion.
JD McDonagh tried to jump Jey from behind but Jey saw it coming. Jey went to superkick McDonagh but McDonagh ducked and Jey hit Priest. Jey had a slight moment of regret but he brushed it off and left. Priest got up and was pissed at McDonagh.
********
Chad Gable and Gunther were shown arriving earlier today.
They plugged King and Queen of the Ring.
R-Truth & The Miz defeated Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano to retain the World Tag Team Championships (10:07)
It seemed like Ciampa hurt his knee early in the match but he appeared fine after a commercial break. Miz tried a springboard move but Ciampa nailed him with a mid-air knee strike. Truth tagged in and performed John Cena’s moves but Gargano cut him off with a superkick. Ciampa followed with a Pedigree for a nearfall. Gargano took out Miz with a suicide dive while Truth cradled Ciampa for two.
DIY hit Truth with Meet in the Middle but Miz yanked Gargano out of the ring as he made the cover. Miz chucked Ciampa over the barricade and tagged in. Miz and Truth hit Gargano with their combo Skull Crushing Finale/Flatliner for the pinfall win.
— Truth and Miz embraced Gargano after the match. Miz offered a handshake to Ciampa but Ciampa left the ring instead. The crowd booed.
********
Priest admonished McDonagh in the back. They were approached by Dom (and his mustache) and Santos Escobar. Dom was supposed to team with McDonagh tonight but his arm was in a sling. He told Priest that he was banged up so he brought in Escobar as his replacement tonight. (Dom cleared it with Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce.) Priest was annoyed and told Escobar to handle things tonight. Escobar told him not to worry.
********
Gunther segment
Gunther entered with Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser. Gunther said he wasn’t here to talk about WrestleMania or take shots at Sami Zayn. He elevated the Intercontinental Championship over his 666-day reign to heights it had never seen and he became the greatest IC Champion in history.
Gunther walked around with a target on his back for two years but now that weight has been lifted. Gunther said “thank you” to Zayn for lifting that weight. He could now be the hunter instead of the hunted. He declared himself for the King of the Ring tournament. After he won KOTR, he could decide which championship he wanted to go after. He warned every champion that they would be hunted by the general of the ring and the soon-to-be King of the Ring.
New Day interrupted. Xavier Woods noted he was the defending King of the Ring and called Gunther a usurper to his throne. Woods would cement his legacy by becoming a two-time King of the Ring. Gunther called him a clown king. Gunther said he would win the tournament and reestablish the prestige of KOTR. Gunther said Woods won the tournament, covered himself and gold and pretended to be a champion. New Day mocked Gunther for being a former champion.
Gunther wanted Imperium to take care of New Day. Woods was annoyed because they’ve already wrestled them so many times. New Day accepted the match anyway and Woods said he would take care of Gunther in KOTR.
********
Piper Niven, Chelsea Green and Nia Jax were shown arriving earlier.
Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods defeated Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci (8:38)
[SECOND HOUR]
(Kaiser turned on Vinci after the match.)
Imperium were in control after a break but Woods made a hot tag and hit Vinci with a tornado DDT for two. Kingston tagged in but Vinci turned him inside out with a clothesline. Imperium tried a double-team move but Woods intercepted and Kingston was able to counter. New Day hit Vinci with UpUpDownDown (backbreaker/foot stomp combo) for the pinfall win.
— Gunther was pissed and he stared a hole through Kaiser before leaving.
Kaiser helped Vinci to his feet but drove him into the side of the ring. Kaiser tossed Vinci around ringside and drove him into the steel steps. Kaiser placed Vinci face-first on the steps and was about to kill him but officials ran down to stop Kaiser.
Officials escorted Kaiser away but he sprinted around the ring and dropkicked Vinci’s head as he dangled over the steel steps. This got “holy sh*t” chants.
Kaiser marched to the back where Gunther awaited. Gunther was pleased.
*******
There was an Andrade video package where he targeted Judgment Day. He said he was not their fool or their servant. He was now their biggest problem.
Drew McIntyre and Sheamus segment
McIntyre entered and was greeted with “CM Punk” chants. He sat cross-legged in the ring and asked the crowd why they insisted on chanting for Punk every time he came out. McIntyre informed the fans that Punk hated them and the only person he hated more than the fans was himself. There was one “What” chant so McIntyre told them to say it again if they French-kiss their cousins. A few people did.
McIntyre called Punk a coward and said Priest could never beat him one-on-one. McIntyre didn’t get a title rematch like everyone else, he had to compete in a fatal four-way instead. Punk got involved and Jey Uso took advantage like a coward. McIntyre wasn’t going to complain and would instead come out swinging. His next prize was King of the Ring.
Sheamus interrupted. Sheamus wondered what was going on with McIntyre. Sheamus said McIntyre wasn’t taking responsibility for his own mistakes. Sheamus said McIntyre got his moment at WrestleMania 40 in front of his family but he blew it. He blew it over some social media spat (with Punk). McIntyre threw it all away over a meme and a t-shirt.
Sheamus said they were friends who had banger after banger after banger together. As McIntyre’s friend, Sheamus wanted him to know that a one-armed Punk kicked his ass. McIntyre said Sheamus should know better than anyone what Punk has done to him and did to him when he was younger. Sheamus called him obsessed.
McIntyre said they might have had banger after banger after banger but it looked like Sheamus has had burger after burger after burger. Sheamus laughed and responded, “I can lose the weight but you can’t lose stupid.”
McIntyre said guys in the back were mocking Sheamus’ weight during his match but McIntyre stood up for him. Sheamus didn’t care what they said because it didn’t bother him. McIntyre did care because Sheamus was his friend. McIntyre told the truth and he was Sheamus’ only friend here.
McIntyre said they’ve always been able to fight and have pints after. McIntyre was past that now. He only fought if it was worthwhile and this wasn’t worthwhile. McIntyre was still Sheamus’ friend and said he would remain at ringside for his match to “watch your back.” (McIntyre’s tone changed when he said that, leaving it ambiguous what he really meant.)
These guys were good here.
********
Sheamus defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (11:22)
Nakamura targeted Sheamus’ neck but Sheamus fought back after a break and hit an avalanche White Noise for a close nearfall. Sheamus looked at McIntyre allowing Nakamura to hit him from behind with a knee strike. Sheamus countered a Kinshasa into a power slam. Nakamura avoided a Brogue Kick but Sheamus responded with a knee strike for two. Nakamura hit a few strikes but Sheamus suddenly hit Brogue Kick for the pinfall win.
This was good while it lasted. They’ve wrestled before but this was their first televised singles match.
********
There was a video package of Zayn beating Gable last week and Gable turning on him.
Cathy Kelley interviewed Zayn. Zayn was angry and hurt. He had a lot to say but was biting his tongue. He wanted to hear what Gable had to say tonight because he didn’t know how Gable could defend his actions.
Bronson Reed approached Zayn and said he had bigger problems. Zayn told him they could fight any time, any place. Reed left and Kelley was about to continue the interview but Reed suddenly decked him. Officials pulled Reed away but Reed crushed Zayn into some equipment boxes. Reed said he would be the next IC Champion.
********
Chad Gable segment
Gable entered with Maxxine Dupri, Otis and Akira Tozawa. Dupri, Otis and Tozawa wore their colourful Alpha Academy gear, while Gable wore a suit.
Gable said what he did to Zayn was justified. Zayn winning in Montreal wasn’t enough for him. Zayn rubbed it in his face. Zayn saw him weeping in the corner and placed the belt right in front of him. Gable was the bigger man and he raised Zayn’s hand. That wasn’t enough for Zayn either.
Zayn celebrated with his wife in the front row knowing Gable was standing right there. Zayn knew that was his moment. That should have been Gable celebrating at WrestleMania with his daughter. Instead, he wasted his time training Zayn and he’s been wasting his time training a bunch of losers.
He admonished Tozawa for raking up loss after loss every week. He called Dupri pretty as a princess but dumb as a box of rocks. He wondered what else he had to do for her because he’d gotten nothing in return and it was pathetic. The crowd chanted for Otis as Gable turned his attention to him. Gable called Otis the biggest disappointment of them all.
Gable said this is why they signed up for the Academy. They were getting honest feedback and couldn’t be upset with him for this. They were now going to focus on him and they were all going to win his IC title together — no matter what. The crowd chanted “No.” Gable wanted to hear them say it. Gable put the mic to Otis who hesitated and said, “No matter what.” Gable was pleased and he left on his own.
This was pretty good.
********
Dom approached Ricochet. Ricochet was upset that Dom wasn’t cleared because he looked forward to beating him. Ricochet called McDonagh a bobblehead and he would beat him on Speed too.
After Ricochet left, Liv Morgan approached Dom. The segment ended before either of them spoke.
********
Nia Jax cut a quick promo stating her intention to win the Women’s title.
The heels took control ahead of a break after Dom got involved. Andrade made a hot tag and hit Escobar with dragon screws and a running double knee strike for two. Ricochet tagged back in and hit a springboard clothesline and standing shooting star but McDonagh broke up the cover. Escobar and McDonagh gave Andrade a double vertical suplex. Ricochet tried a springboard clothesline but Escobar caught him with a mid-air knee strike.
Escobar brought Ricochet off the top with a hurricanrana but Ricochet flipped over into a leg drop on McDonagh. Andrade wiped out Escobar with a back elbow and gave McDonagh his finisher for the pinfall win. (It seems they’ve renamed Andrade’s finisher to “The Shadow.”)
— Priest attacked Andrade and Ricochet from behind after the match. He gave Ricochet a Razor’s Edge and planted Andrade with a chokeslam. Priest told Dom and McDonagh that he didn’t need them, they needed him.
(This match was fine and they tried to do some creative stuff at the end. This was also the third tag match of the night and it still felt a bit samey as WWE TV tag matches don’t differ all that much.)
********
There was a Zoey Stark video promo.
Jackie Redmond interviewed Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell. This was quickly interrupted by a loud commotion off-screen. The camera cut to Jax and Morgan trying to fight as officials kept them separate.
Becky Lynch strolled by and took the mic from Redmond. She marched through the back and cut a promo as she made her way to Gorilla. She stopped along the way to give Dupri some words of encouragement.
********
Next week on Raw:
Night two of the draft (night one is on Smackdown)
Logan Paul appears
Six-man tag match: Jey Uso, Ricochet & Andrade vs. Priest, McDonagh & Finn Bálor
********
Becky Lynch won a Battle Royal to win the Women’s World Championship (21:44)
Maxxine Dupri eliminated Candice LeRae first. Indi Hartwell booted Dupri but Dupri eliminated her moments later. There were no eliminations during a commercial break.
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance worked together but Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark got the better of them. Baszler dumped Chance onto Carter’s shoulders on the apron and Stark superkicked them off the apron for the elimination.
Nia Jax slammed Ivy Nile into the ring post and Nile fell out for the elimination. Dupri stood up for her friend so Jax shoved her down. Dupri hit Jax with a few kicks and the crowd popped but Jax quickly dumped her out.
Becky Lynch eliminated Piper Niven by kicking her off the apron. Niven dragged Lynch under the bottom rope and shoved her into the steel steps. Niven also hit a cannonball before placing Lynch on the announce table.
Jax was near the rope so Niven grabbed her leg and yanked her out of the ring too for some reason. Jax fought off Niven and chokeslammed her onto Lynch. The table didn’t break so Jax hoisted Niven on her shoulders and gave her a Samoan drop onto Lynch on the table — which still didn’t break. They tried their best to kill Becky Lynch but she appeared to survive. (I have no idea why Niven went after Jax other than to set up a spot.)
Chelsea Green was eliminated as every referee checked to see if Lynch was still alive so Green popped back into the ring to continue. They went to break again and funny enough, there were no eliminations.
During the break, Jax powerbombed Lynch through the table which finally did break.
Stark eliminated Green and Baszler eliminated Natalya. Jax eliminated Stark and Baszler moments later.
That left Jax, Morgan and Lynch who crawled back into the ring. Morgan gave Jax a Codebreaker as Lynch simultaneously brought Morgan down with a neckbreaker. Jax hit each woman with Samoan drops.
Jax tried to eliminate Morgan and Lynch at the same time but they fought her off together. They tried a double suplex but Jax suplexed them both instead. Jax set up for Annihilation but Lynch shoved her over the top rope. Jax tried to get back in but Morgan hit a Codebreaker and Lynch hit a dropkick, knocking Jax out of the ring for the elimination.
Morgan and Lynch were the final two. They battled on the apron until Morgan hit a Codebreaker but Lynch managed to stay on the apron. Morgan tried an Oblivion but Lynch countered and hit a Man-handle Slam, knocking Morgan out of the ring. Lynch wins.
The crowd popped and Lynch is now a 7-time champion.
(When they went to the apron, Lynch actually went over the middle rope, not the top rope, so it wouldn’t have mattered if she got knocked out. A referee tried to tell them to get back in the ring and try again but they didn’t.)
Lynch celebrated in the crowd and one kid managed to get a selfie. They let this go a while and fireworks went off as the show ended.
We now know how WWE’s new Women’s World Champion will be decided.
During a commercial that aired on SmackDown, it was revealed that there will be a battle royal on Raw this Monday to crown a new Women’s World Champion. The title was vacated by Rhea Ripley earlier this week due to a shoulder injury. Ripley said she will be out of action for “quite a few months.”
Images of the following wrestlers were shown in the commercial, indicating them as potential battle royal entrants:
Ripley was champion for more than a year before having to vacate the Women’s World Championship. She had just retained against Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 40. On the Raw after WrestleMania, Ripley injured her AC joint in a “total fluke.”
The injury happened during a brawl between Ripley and Liv Morgan. Ripley has blamed Morgan for her injury in storyline. Officials had to keep Ripley and Morgan from brawling again on Raw this past Monday.
A new Women’s World Champion will be crowned on the April 22 WWE Raw.
After Rhea Ripley was forced to vacate the Women’s World title due to injury on this week’s episode, WWE announced on Raw that a new champion will be crowned on next week’s show.
No further details as to how the new champion will be crowned were given.
The new World Tag Team Championship will also be defended on next week’s Raw, with The Miz & R-Truth defending against DIY’s Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa.
The Miz & R-Truth were presented with new title belts to represent the newly christened World Tag Team Championship on this week’s Raw, and DIY then won a triple threat number one contenders match to earn a title shot.
Also set for next week’s Raw, The Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh will face Andrade & Ricochet in tag team action.
The announced lineup for the Monday, April 22 WWE Raw:
A new Women’s World Champion will be crowned
World Tag Team Champions The Miz & R-Truth defend against DIY’s Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa
The Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh vs. Andrade & Ricochet
Rhea Ripley is no longer WWE Women’s World Champion.
Ripley vacated the title at the start of WWE Raw, her arm in a sling as she entered the ring. She said that following Liv Morgan’s attack on last week’s show, she would be on the shelf for “quite a few months.” After she laid the title in the ring, Ripley had a warning for whoever holds the title when she comes back, saying she’ll be coming back for blood.
Liv Morgan came out after the promo but was held back by security. Ripley dared her to attack and left the ring to confront Morgan. Both were kept away from one another as the segment ended.
Last week’s show saw Morgan attack Ripley in a backstage segment. Earlier on Monday, it was reported that Ripley was legit injured during the segment and it was serious enough that she may have to vacate the title. She held the Women’s World Championship for 380 days, defeating Charlotte Flair back at WrestleMania 39.
After her promo, she met with the Judgment Day backstage as they all hugged. Priest wished her well as Ripley told the group to look after Dominik.
A fatal five-way match is now set for Crown Jewel.
On Monday’s Raw, a match between Rhea Ripley and Shayna Baszler ended when Zoey Stark ran in laid out Ripley with a kick for the DQ. Nia Jax and Raquel Rodriguez also got involved, with Jax sending Rodriguez crashing into the ring steps. After Ripley complained to new Raw GM Adam Pearce later in the show, he told Ripley that she had her chance to control the division, and she failed. He then confirmed the match for Crown Jewel on November 4.
The five-way match dates back to last month when Nia Jax made her return to WWE, laying out Ripley and Rodriguez in a match that had been for the Women’s World title. In the weeks since, Jax has also targeted Baszler and Stark.
After Monday’s match, Stark connected with a superkick to Jax that caused her to bump into Ripley, sending Ripley out of the ring. Stark then sent Jax out of the ring, standing tall.
Here is the updated lineup for WWE Crown Jewel next month:
World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins defends against Drew McIntyre
Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley defends against Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark, and Raquel Rodriguez
A Women’s World Championship match, plus the return of Cody Rhodes have been announced for the Monday, September 11 WWE Raw episode.
As revealed during this week’s Raw, Rhea Ripley will defend the Women’s World title against Raquel Rodriguez on next week’s show. Ripley’s Judgment Day cohort Dominik Mysterio will be banned from ringside during the match.
Ripley defended the title against Rodriguez at Saturday’s Payback pay-per-view, retaining after interference from Mysterio.
Also set for next week, Cody Rhodes will return to Raw after two weeks away from the show.
Rhodes did appear on the August 25 SmackDown tribute show to Bray Wyatt and Terry Funk, and also appeared at Payback in a talk show segment with Grayson Waller & Jey Uso where it was portrayed that Rhodes had brokered a deal to move Uso from SmackDown to the Raw brand.
The announced lineup for next week’s Raw in Norfolk, Virginia:
WWE Raw, Monday, September 11 —
Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley defends against Raquel Rodriguez — Dominik Mysterio banned from ringside
A Women’s World Championship match has been added to the lineup for the Saturday, September 2 WWE Payback pay-per-view.
As revealed during Monday’s Raw show, Rhea Ripley will defend the Women’s World title against Raquel Rodriguez at Payback.
Rodriguez attacked Ripley with a crutch on Monday’s show as she announced that she had been medically cleared from a recent knee injury and would be facing Ripley for the title at Payback.
The Women’s World title match joins a lineup that includes a steel cage match with Trish Stratus facing Becky Lynch, plus a World Heavyweight title match that was made official during Raw with Seth Rollins defending against Shinsuke Nakamura.
While not officially announced, an Intercontinental title rematch with Gunther defending against Chad Gable appears to be a future direction either for an upcoming Raw or Payback after Gable defeated Gunther via countout on Monday’s Raw.
The updated card for Payback:
WWE Payback, Saturday, September 2, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock & WWE Network —
World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins defends against Shinsuke Nakamura
Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley defends against Raquel Rodriguez
