The Raw Women’s Championship will be on the line to kick off 2023 as Alexa Bliss will be challenging the champion, Bianca Belair, on the first Raw of the new year.
Bliss won a number one contenders match after first winning a Triple Threat and then a match against Bayley. After defeating Bayley last week, Bliss continued to hint the turn back to her evil side as she put Belair into a Sister Abigail but didn’t execute it.
As a response, Belair sat down with Bliss this week for an interview with Byron Saxton. Belair told Bliss she doesn’t trust her as Bliss explained how she has been lately. Bliss talks about the therapy she had earlier in the year which turned her into a shell of a human being she doesn’t recognize. Teaming up for months with Belair and Asuka has made her realize she is stronger than she thinks. If she has nothing to lose then she has everything to gain which includes the Raw Women’s Championship.
Belair had the right to be concerned as Bliss attacked her at the end of the interview with a flower vase to the head.
To start Raw, The O.C. (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) with Mia Yim, Akira Tozawa, and AJ Styles at ringside took on The Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Balor) with Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio. After the fall of that match, Ripley and Tozawa had an encounter on the ramp which led to an intergender match. Ripley would go on to defeat Tozawa after a dominating performance. The end of the match had Tozawa miss a Senton which allowed Ripley to hit Riptide and pin him for the victory.
The big women’s match of the night had Bayley taking on Becky Lynch. This would be the first singles match between the two women in four years since 2018. In a very competitive back-and-forth match with multiple falls, Bayley would steal the victory.
Right after Lynch gets a near fall with Diamond Dust, Damage CTRL attempts to interfere and help Bayley. The referee tries to eject the tag team champions but Dakota Kai rolls into the ring. This distraction to the referee allowed Bayley to hit Lynch with the monitor from the commentary desk. Bayley hits Rose Plant to get the pin.
Next week’s Raw will be a recap episode of the best moments of 2022.
Check back in with Diva Dirt for more news and results from the women of Raw.
