Jax helped Ripley retain but then attacked the champion to close the show
After being cheated out of her shot at Rhea Ripley and the WWE women's world championship thanks to Domink Mysterio's interference at Payback, Raquel Rodriguez had her rematch opportunity on Monday night's edition of Raw. Mysterio was banned from ringside for the match, but it was still outside interference that determined the outcome of the title bout.
Rodriguez appeared firmly in control of the match, but a shocking return by Nia Jax cost her in the end. Jax quickly made clear that her return had nothing to do with Judgment Day, closing the show with an attack on Ripley that may set up the champion's next rivalry.
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Nia Jax returns as Rhea Ripley retains women's world championship
Early in the show, Raquel Rodriguez was interviewed backstage about her women's world title rematch with Rhea Ripley. Rodriguez said that, unlike other women, she is not beaten by Ripley before she steps in the ring. Rodriguez promised to give the champion a taste of her own medicine in the main event.
WWE Women's World Championship -- Rhea Ripley def. Raquel Rodriguez via pinfallafter hitting a Riptide. Rodriguez was largely in charge of the action for the duration of the match, hitting Ripley with all variety of power moves. Late in the match, with the referee distracted, Nia Jax made her WWE return, dropping Rodriguez with a Samoan drop outside the ring. This allowed Ripley to get the finish and retain her championship. Despite the purple on Jax's ring gear, she was not there as a member of Judgment Day, immediately attacking Ripley after the match, thrashing Ripley before hitting a Bonzai Drop to end the show.
I'm not sure that anyone was dying for Jax to return given a lot of things about her personality -- and her tendency to legitimately hurt opponents. But if WWE was just looking to cash in on a surprise, it's hard to say they didn't do exactly that. Jax had only appeared once in WWE since September 2021, appearing as a surprise Royal Rumble entrant in January and not showing up in WWE again. Rodriguez and Ripley don't have great chemistry together, but sometimes that happens when you try to run matches that hinge on power vs. power. It also feels like Rodriguez immediately moves out of the title picture in favor of the returning Jax. We'll see how that goes. Grade: B-
What else happened on WWE Raw?
- The Judgment Day def. Kevin Owens & Jey Uso via pinfall after Finn Balor hit a Coup De Grace on Owens. Kevin Owens interrupted Jey Uso's show opening promo only to be interrupted by The Judgment Day. Owens had been telling Uso he had a long way to go to earn his -- and the locker room's -- trust and respect. Finn Balor told Owens that he didn't have to prove anything to his group and the door was always open for him to join. By the end of the segment, Uso agreed to team with Owens in a match, which started right away. Predictably, Uso accidentally hit Owens with a superkick to continue the storyline of "trust issues." Owens blew up on Uso later and told him to go join Judgment Day as his "new Bloodline."
- The Miz def. Akira Tozawa via pinfall with the Skull-Crushing Finale.
- Chad Gable crashed Gunther's "Intercontinental Championship Celebration." Gunther was celebrating breaking the record for longest-reigning intercontinental champion when Gable interrupted to demand a rematch, pointing out that his children were crying when he lost his previous shot. Gunther called Gable a great athlete but a disgusting father, leading to a brawl that also brought out Otis and Tommaso Ciampa to even the odds before Gable managed to run Gunther off.
- Drew McIntyre def. Xavier Woods via pinfall with a Claymore. The match came about after the two argued over miscommunication between their respective tag teams over the past weeks. Later, McIntyre confronted Jey Uso, leading to the two agreeing to a match next Monday.
- Cody Rhodes ran off Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh after the pair interrupted his promo. Rhodes easily took care of both men, hitting both with Cross Rhodes.
- Shayna Baszler def. Chelsea Green via pinfall after hitting Exterminatus. After the match, Piper Niven tried to help Green jump Baszler but Zoey Stark ran in for the save.
- Seth Rollins called out Shinsuke Nakamura for a world title match but for the second straight week, Nakamura declined. This time, Nakamura instead beat up Ricochet backstage.
- Chad Gable, Otis & Tommaso Ciampa def. Imperium via submission when Gable locked Giovani Vinci in an ankle lock. Ciampa had Gunther in a Sicilian Stretch, forcing Imperium's leader to watch Vinci tap out.
