The road to WWE Payback 2023 continues tonight.
WWE Monday Night Raw returns from the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada this evening at 8/7c on the USA Network.
On tap for tonight’s show is GUNTHER vs. Chad Gable for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, The New Day vs. Drew McIntyre & Matt Riddle, as well as Shinsuke Nakamura revealing what he whispered into the ear of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin'” Rollins on last week’s show.
Featured below are complete WWE Monday Night Raw results from Monday, August 21, 2023 at the Centre Videotron, Quebec City, Canada. The following report was written by PWMania.com reporter Matt Boone (@MattBoone0709) as the show aired live on the USA Network from 8-11pm EST.
WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW RESULTS (8/21/2023)
The “WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together.” opening signature narrated by John Cena airs, followed by a highlight package showing the issues within The Judgment Day from last week and how everything played out.
Sami Zayn Kicks Off This Week’s Show, Kevin Owens Returns
From there, we shoot inside the arena in Quebec City as the camera pans the crowd and Michael Cole welcomes us to the show. We then head down to the ring for opening action.
With that said, Sami Zayn’s theme hits and out comes one-half of the Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champions. The place goes nuts singing loudly along with his theme in his home country of Canada.
The theme dies down and the loud “Sami! Sami!” chants break out, followed by a sustained roar from the Canadian crowd. Zayn soaks in the atmosphere and loud “Ole! Ole!” chants spread throughout the building. Zayn hulks up like Hulk Hogan and the roar grows.
A fired up Zayn says his first words, in French Canadian, at 10 minutes past the hour. After saying one sentence, the theme for The Judgment Day hits and the crowd boos. We’re nearly a quarter of an hour deep and literally nothing has happened yet. Yikes!
The Judgment Day surrounds the ring and try and intimidate Zayn, but he informs them that he didn’t come alone. The theme for Kevin Owens hits and the crowd goes bonkers as “The Prize Fighter” comes out and hits Stunners on anything that moves. The tag-team champions of WWE are back in force with Owens’ return.
Owens gets on the mic and says it’s been far too long since he’s had a match on Raw. He challenges any two members of The Judgment Day to face he and Zayn in tag-team action later on tonight. The crowd likes the idea. The opening segment ends on that note.
The New Day vs. Drew McIntyre & Matt Riddle
From there, the sounds of the theme song for the 12-time WWE Tag-Team Champions The New Day hits. Out comes Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods for scheduled tag-team action. As they settle in the ring, we head to a pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, Matt Riddle’s theme hits and out comes “The Original BRO.” He settles in the ring and then the entrance tune for Drew McIntyre hits. Out comes “The Scottish Warrior” with his massive sword in-hand.
The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with our first match of the evening here on Monday Night Raw in Quebec City. Riddle and Woods kick things off for their respective teams. Woods beats Riddle down early on and taunts him for not being part of a “real tag-team.”
Kingston tags in and hits a big splash after a double-team spot on Riddle with Woods. Riddle fights back and buys himself enough time to make the tag to McIntyre. The fans pop as Drew comes in and starts mixing it up with Kofi. The former pair of WWE Champions fight to a stalemate until Kingston blasts him with a drop kick and a leaping forearm in the corner.
McIntyre catches Kingston after that and launches him half way across the ring with an overhead suplex. Woods tries running in but he suffers the same fate. Riddle and McIntyre celebrate with a hug. Riddle hugs McIntyre, who stops him, but then pulls him in for a tight hug, and then launches him overhead, where he splashes onto both New Day members on the floor.
On that note, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as this match continues. When we return from the break, we see Woods working over Riddle. He tags in Kingston, who hits a splash to the spine of Riddle off the top-rope for a close near fall.
Riddle buys himself some time and nearly makes the tag, but Woods tags in and stops him at the last second. Riddle takes him to the top-rope and connects with an insane super-Perfect-plex off the top-rope. Woods holds onto Riddle’s foot as Erik of The Viking Raiders knocks McIntyre off the ring apron. Kingston tags in and hits a Trouble in Paradise for the pin fall seconds later.
After the match, The Viking Raiders hit the ring and attack The New Day as well as Riddle. McIntyre comes in to make the save, beating down Erik and Ivar and sending them retreating with Valhalla.
Winners: The New Day
Rhea Ripley Has Judgment Day-Only Business To Discuss
We shoot backstage after the match where we see Jackie Redmond standing by with JD McDonagh and Finn Balor. She asks McDonagh about potentially causing a rift in The Judgment Day. He says he hopes not because he’s been friends with Finn Balor and only wants to help them.
Balor gives JD props for helping them lay out Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn last week. Up walks Rhea Ripey and Dominik Mysterio, who tells Balor they’ve got Judgment Day business to discuss. Balor and McDonagh go to walk off with her but Rhea stops JD and tells him it’s Judgment Day business only. On that note, we head to another commercial break.
Shayna Baszler Is Not Here To Be Our Hero
Shayna Baszler is here to do her thing. Her way. She’s not here to be our hero. This is the message she delivers in a vignette that airs when we return. She concludes by saying “Let the world burn.”
WWE Intercontinental Championship
GUNTHER (C) vs. Chad Gable
We then we an “earlier today” message from GUNTHER, who boasts being the WWE Intercontinental Champion and saying he respects Chad Gable, but refuses to allow him to make a name on him.
From there, we shoot backstage where we see Otis, Maxxine Dupri and Chad Gable. The Alpha Academy trio talk about Chad Gable’s upcoming title shot against “The Ring General.”
After that wraps up, we return inside the arena where the Alpha Academy theme hits and out comes Chad Gable for what Michael Cole and Wade Barrett are touting as the biggest match of his WWE career thus far. As he settles into the ring, we head to a pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, GUNTHER’s theme hits and “The Ring General” makes his way to the ring. WWE ring announcer Samantha Irvin handles the formal pre-match ring introductions for the champion and the challenger, and then the bell sounds to get this championship contest officially off-and-running.
The fans are strongly behind Gable coming out of the gate, but it is GUNTHER who jumps into the early offensive lead, grounding the Alpha Academy member and working him over with mat-based action. The Imperium leader launches him out to the floor and greets him with a massive chop upon returning to the ring.
On that note, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as this title tilt continues. When we return, we see GUNTHER remain in a comfortable offensive lead for several minutes.
Eventually Gable fires up and muscles up the massive I-C champ for a German suplex. He also gets him in the ankle lock for a near match-ending spot. In the end, they brawl on the floor and after Gable suplexes GUNTHER at ringside, he rolls back into the ring and wins via count out.
Winner via Count Out: Chad Gable
The Judgment Day Meet About Tonight’s Main Event
We shoot backstage where we see The Judgment Day trying to decide which two members will represent the group against the Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn later tonight.
Finn Balor thinks it should be he and Dominik Mysterio. Damian Priest thinks he should be in the match. Rhea Ripley tells them to decide among themselves by the time she and Dom-Dom get back, or she’s deciding for them.
We shoot to Cody Rhodes standing backstage with Byron Saxton and then head to another commercial break.
GUNTHER Isn’t Happy, Ludwig Kaiser Has An Idea
When we return from the break, we see GUNTHER flipping out backstage after coming up short against Chad Gable. Ludwig Kaiser says he’s gonna do something to make it up to him. He asks Giovanni Vinci what he’s gonna do and he walks off.
Cody Rhodes Will Be Watching Tonight’s Main Event Closely
Now we shoot to Byron Saxton standing by with Cody Rhodes. Byron asks him about how things ended last week on Raw with JD McDonagh and The Judgment Day. Cody mocks JD for having a big head on a little body like a Funko Pop.
Cody tells Byron this is the wrong setting and asks him to take a walk with him. He says he’s got some friends to introduce him to. They walk through the back of the arena out to the entrance way in front of the crowd and conduct the interview out there.
Rhodes begins by saying his “So, Quebec City, what do you want to talk about?” in French Canadian. The crowd pops. He then talks about how he’s gonna be watching closely during tonight’s main event after welcoming Michael Cole and Wade Barrett as the new commentary team on Raw.
What Did Shinsuke Nakamura Whisper To Seth Rollins Last Week?
Now we shoot to a very cool video package featuring Shinsuke Nakamura talking in Japanese and revealing what he whispered into Seth Rollins’ ear that “filled him with fear” last week on Raw.
“I know about your back,” Nakamura said. “Seth’s back has been broken for many years. He lives in pain and this pain creates a void inside of him that nothing can fill. Now matter how successful he is, he is still in pain. Whether with his wife or child, he is in pain. He is a World Champion, yet every day of his life is filled with pain.”
‘The King of Strong Style’ continued, “And now his worst fears are coming true. He knows that I can break him once and for all. You see Seth and I are not so different. I have a void too. We live by a code that others do not. In fact that code is displayed on his back (as we see a photo of that tattoo on his back). The very same back that is failing to hold him together just like he is failing to live by that code. His body has crumbled under the pressure of his own vanity. Are you satisfied, Seth? With what you have done with your life? Because I will not be satisfied until I take this burden from you. When I break you once and for all.”
“Watch your back,” he says in English to close out an awesome, awesome video package segment. Very good stuff.
Rhea Ripley vs. Candice LeRae
The familiar sounds of Rhea Ripley’s theme hits and out comes the WWE Women’s World Champion from The Judgment Day for our next match of the evening here on Raw. As she settles in the ring, we head to a pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, a video airs promoting John Cena’s return to SmackDown in just over a week’s time. We return live in the arena and out comes Candice LeRae, accompanied by Indi Hartwell, for this scheduled women’s singles bout.
The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. We see Ripley dominating straight out of the gate. LeRae gets in one shot and climbs to the top but is caught by Ripley after leaping off. She is Donkey Kong’d into the mat and submitted by Ripley moments later.
Winner: Rhea Ripley
Raquel Rodriguez Attacks Rhea Ripley Once Again
After the match, Rhea Ripley celebrates with Dominik Mysterio and the two begin heading to the back when her music dies down and the familiar sounds of Raquel Rodriguez’s theme hits.
Out comes the former Undisputed WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champion hobbling on a crutch, which she reveals to be a hoax as she throws the crutch at Ripley and begins beating her down with it.
The two brawl into the ring where Rodriguez gets the better of things. Ripley is retreating with Dom when Rodriguez tells her not to go anywhere. She says she is medically cleared to return to the ring and Adam Pearce has already confirmed they will square off at Payback for the title.
The Miz vs. Akira Tozawa
We see a video recap of the ongoing rivalry between Raw Superstar The Miz and SmackDown Superstar LA Knight. We return live and The Miz makes his way to the ring with Michael Cole touting that he will face someone as a demonstration to Knight. On that note, we head to a pre-match commercial break.
When we return, we see a Undertaker 1 DEAD man show plug and then a video package with Tommaso Ciampa talking about his recent woes on Raw. He mentions how people he’s been wrestling are challenging for major titles, such as Nakamura. He claims he’s fed up and he’s here to take over the game.
Back live, we see The Miz in the ring with a mic. He talks about how he isn’t a trend, because trends come and go. He says 20 years from now people will remember him as a two-time Grand Slam Champion and a WrestleMania main eventer. He says 20 years from now you’ll remember LA Knight as a blip on the radar. A human fidget spinner. The Hoobastank of WWE.
Miz says he’s gonna prove LA Knight is not on his level. He says Adam Pearce told him he could hand-pick his opponent tonight. So he picked someone faster, stronger and better than anyone LA Knight has ever faced in his entire career.
Akira Tozawa’s theme hits and out comes the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion as Miz’s opponent. Michael Cole mocks Tozawa’s recent win-loss record and says Miz hand-picked someone easy. Miz touts him a former 24/7 Champion, a perfect title for Knight he says, as it’s a watered down version of something from the Attitude Era like him.
Tozawa keeps cutting Miz off with “YEAH!” like LA Knight. Miz loses his cool and argues with Tozawa and the fans help egg it on. Miz cheap-shots him and then beats him down. The bell sounds and the match is officially off-and-running.
As soon as the match begins, LA Knight’s theme hits and the crowd explodes. Miz is distracted and gets dropkicked out of the ring. Miz is again distracted by Knight at ringside, and falls victim to a suicide dive from Tozawa. LA Knight leans down and yells “YEAH!” in his face as we head into a mid-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see Miz is now in control of the action, as he’s taking it to Tozawa in the ring. LA Knight has joined Cole and Barrett on commentary. They talk a lot about how LA Knight is a “rip-off” of Steve Austin and The Rock from WWE’s Attitude Era.
Once again we see Miz end up distracted by LA Knight, who says he looks like if Biff Tannen from Back to the Future banged a frog and pushed him down the stairs. Whatever that means. While this is happening, Tozawa rolls Miz up and pins him. LA Knight hits the ring and connects with Blunt Force Trauma on Miz for good measure.
Winner: Akira Tozawa
The New Day Encourages McRiddle To Stay Together
We head backstage and we see Matt Riddle bro’ing it up with Drew McIntyre. McIntyre tells him to listen and doesn’t seem interested in being a team. Up walks The New Day who tell him not to give up on it so easy.
They say they even came up with a name for them. McRiddle. They say “I’m lovin’ it!” to add to the McDonald’s humor. The New Day thank them for having their back with The Viking Raiders earlier and mention how they’d like a rematch.
Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus Hype Steel Cage Showdown
Now we return inside the arena where the familiar sounds of Becky Lynch’s theme hits. She makes her way down to the ring to a huge pop. We then shoot to a quick commercial break.
When we return, Trish Stratus comes out with Zoey Stark and pretends to get some cheap pops from her home country of Canada, only to give them the ole’ swerve and get cheap heat instead.
In the ring, Trish talks about how she’s never been in a cage match before. She says she was scared when she was 24 and thrown into a WWE ring in front of the world with no experience. She says but she killed it.
She was scared when she was the first woman to ever headline Raw. But she killed it. She says she’s scared to be in a cage too, but she’ll kill it. She tells Lynch she should be, too, because “you’re not getting out of this one, b*tch.”
Lynch then tells Trish it’ll be a cage bout between them at Payback, but next week it’ll be a Falls Count Anywhere match between Lynch and Stark. “Welcome to the big time” she tells Stark to end the segment.
WWE Women’s Tag-Team Championships
Chelsea Green & Piper Niven (C) vs. Kayden Carter & Katana Chance
We see highlights of Piper Niven forcing herself into being Chelsea Green’s tag-team partner to continue her reign as the WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champions with Sonya Deville being out of action due to injury.
Back live, we see the new WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champions Green and Niven backstage. Green seems to think they’ve got great chemistry already, but we see it is obvious that Niven is bossing her around.
After the quick backstage interview segment, the tag champs head to the ring as we shift gears and head into a pre-match commercial break. When we return, a Piper Niven vignette airs to remind fans about her dominance in the ring.
Now we shoot back inside the arena where the challengers of Kayden Carter and Katana Chance make their way out to the ring. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this women’s tag-team title bout.
Kicking things off for their respective teams are Chelsea Green and Kayden Carter. We see some good back-and-forth action and then Green takes over. Niven tags in but doesn’t come in.
Green gets double-teamed but then Niven does come in and hits a flying cross body for the win. She carries Green to the back after the win. We head to another commercial break after the match wraps up.
Winners and STILL WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champions: Chelsea Green & Piper Niven
Seth “Freakin” Rollins Responds To Shinsuke Nakamura
When we return from the break, we see Jackie Redmond backstage being joined by her guest at this time, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin'” Rollins.
Rollins says the fans have been waiting all night to do this, so please give them a minute to let them sing. They start to sing like his music was playing. After that, he gets down to the business at hand.
The WWE World Heavyweight Champion mentions how Shinsuke Nakamura may have told the truth about his back, but he made things personal by bringing his wife and child into the discussion.
He says Shinsuke isn’t even here. He says next week he’ll give him the chance to prove that he is an honorable warrior. He says he’ll repeat to him what he said last week, which is that he’s not hard to find.
He says he’ll be there dressed to the nines with the title wrapped around his waist and the whole world singing his song. The fans start singing in the background again as the segment wraps up.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. The Judgment Day
It’s main event time!
After the Seth Rollins backstage interview, we see highlights of Chad Gable beating GUNTHER via count out earlier in the show. We then return live where we hear the familiar sounds of Kevin Owens’ theme music.
Out comes “The Prize Fighter,” who stops as his music dies down. The theme for Sami Zayn plays and as the Mighty Mighty Bostones-sounding tune plays, the Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champions head to the ring for our final scheduled match of the evening.
Michael Cole and Wade Barrett question which two members of The Judgment Day they will be facing. On that note, we shift gears and head to a quick pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see the tag champs in the ring when their music dies down. The theme for The Judgment Day plays and out comes Rhea Ripley yelling at Finn Balor and Damian Priest, demanding they get along because she’s sick of the problems. She says they will be representing The Judgment Day in this main event bout.
The duo make their way down to the ringside area, where they brawl with Owens and Zayn immediately. When the dust settles and they end up in the ring, Damian Priest and Sami Zayn kick things off for their respective teams. Things end up with Priest beating down Zayn and tagging in Balor.
Balor picks up where Priest left off, taking it to him until finally they start fighting back. Owens tags in and goes on an offensive rampage, hitting all of his trademark spots until JD McDonagh runs out and stops him from scoring the win with a Money In The Bank briefcase shot. The ref calls for the bell.
Winners via DQ: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. The Judgment Day
It’s main event time!
Part deux!
The brawl sees McDonagh and The Judgment Day beating down Owens and Zayn until the familiar sounds of Cody Rhodes’ theme hits. “The American Nightmare” helps even things up and then gets on the mic. He says Raw isn’t ending like that and says there’s three of them and three of us.
The commentators inform us that Adam Pearce has confirmed the bout between Cody, Zayn & Owens and Priest, Balor and Dominik Mysterio as we head into another commercial break. When we return, we see Cody beating down Dominik Mysterio as the legal man in the ring.
We see things continue this way until finally Rhea Ripley gets involved and the offensive momentum swings into the favor of The Judgment Day. Priest tags in, as does Owens, and Priest immediately takes it to him.
As we see “Senor” Money In The Bank working over “The Prize Fighter” as we head into another mid-match commercial break as part two of our Raw main event for this evening continues.
When we return from the break, we see Balor stomping away at Owens near the ropes. Michael Cole informs us that throughout the match, Rhea Ripley has been shouting “same page!” at The Judgment Day to remind them to get along for the greater good of the group. Owens takes Balor to the floor and suplexes him on the commentary table.
Back in the ring, Balor stops Owens and tags in Priest. Priest works over Owens a bit and then Balor tags back in. The commentators and Ripley focus on how The Judgment Day are currently working well. Wonder if things will stay that way? Hmmm.
Zayn finally tags in. He takes the hot tag and hits the ring like a man possessed, taking it to Priest. He knocks Balor and Dom off the ring apron for good measure and then leaps off the second rope with a big elbow to the face of Priest. Ripley is shown freaking out at ringside. Zayn hits a big DDT off the ropes on Priest for a close near fall.
We see Ripley get involved once again and this leads to The Judgment Day taking over on offense again. Priest hits a South of Heaven chokeslam and nearly scores the pin on Zayn, however Owens hits the ring just in time to break it up. Dom tags in and comes off the top with a frog splash but lands on the knees of Zayn.
Cody finally gets the hot tag and now he comes into the ring like a mad-man, taking out any-and-everyone in sight. He starts hitting his trademark spots, including a double Cody-cutter off the ropes. He hits a big Disaster Kick and then catches Dom with the Cross-Rhodes. He knocks him into the corner and tags in Zayn, who hits his Helluva Kick. He tags in Owens, who hits a Stunner for the win.
After the match, Zayn gets on the mic and tells The Judgment Day, “Better luck next time, eh?” He then says something in French Canadian that pops the crowd. His theme plays and Michael Cole thanks us for tuning it. That’s how this week’s show goes off the air. Thanks for joining us!
Winners: Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
