Two WWE Hall of Famers helped open and close the Aug. 22 episode of Raw.
Trish Stratus helped kick off with a battle of words with Bayley while Beth Phoenix ended the show with a steel chair in hand fending off Rhea Ripley and the rest of the Judgment Day.
First, Stratus helps open the show with a thunderous applause in her hometown of Toronto, Canada. After the crowd chanted “one more match,” the Damage CTRL trio would come out and interrupt her. Bayley confirms that all three of them don’t like her and don’t understand why she needs to ride their coattails. Bayley asks Stratus who the hell does she think she is as she is in the past and they are the now.
The Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair would come out to back up Stratus. Belair says that Stratus is a trailblazer and a legend and orders Bayley to stop being disrespectful. Stratus teased a fight saying that she can go real quick from being retired to she was retired. The lines were drawn with a three-on-two disadvantage. That was before Asuka and Alexa Bliss joined Stratus and Belair making the numbers advantage for the seven-time Women’s Champion.
The women’s tag team match for the semi-finals of the tournament came next. IYO SKY and Dakota Kai won that match and you can read more on that here.
Stratus did a WWE Exclusive that can be seen below –
Later in the night, the trio was in a backstage segment during an interview with SmackDown’s Aliyah. Bayley would return to the ring on television for the first time since returning from injury in a battle with Aliyah. During the match, Aliyah paid homage to Stratus with a matrix move while Bayley gave a nod to Sasha Banks with double knees in the corner.
The result would see Bayley winning her first match back. She delivered Rose Plant for the victory.
Rhea Ripley was ringside and even was the catalyst in the match between Finn Balor and Dolph Ziggler. Balor picked up the win with the assist. In the main event of Raw, Edge would face Damian Priest. Ripley and Balor would not be at ringside for the match but Beth Phoenix would be in the front row to watch the match.
Edge would win the match and followed up the bout by targeting Priest with a steel chair. Ripley emerged and delivered a low blow. With all three members of Judgment Day in the ring, Phoenix knew she had to help and grabbed a steel chair. Despite Ripley looking like she was ready to go, she was held back by her stablemates to end this week’s Raw.
Check back in with Diva Dirt for further news and results from the women of Raw.
