WWE Bad Blood
Saturday -- Week 3 -- June 2023
LIVE! from Calgary, Alberta, Canada
WWE UNIVERSAL TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: THE REVIVAL (C) |VS| THE VIKING RAIDERS
The PLE opens with a match that didn't have a ton of heat to start. But all four guys in the match worked hard and got the crowd into the match as it progressed. The Revival continually outworked and outsmarted the Viking Raiders. Dax and Dash kept Ivar isolated in their corner for the opening minutes of the match but Ivar eventually makes a comeback and gets a tag to Erik. Erik clotheslines Dash out of the ring and then throws Dax out on top of him. Jim Cornette complains to the referee but Valhalla sets her sights on Cornette and he freaks out as she gets close to him. The Revival regroups and the match resets and now it's much more back-and-forth. Ivar whips Dash across the ring and Erik is about to charge from the near corner but Cornette grabs his foot and trips him. Valhalla runs at Cornette and the dastardly heel takes off running and Valhalla chases him up the entrance way. While Valhalla is chasing Cornette she misses that Cornette's trip causes Erik to stumble forward into the Shatter Machine. Dash covers Erik for the pinfall victory.
WINNERS by pinfall and STILL WWE Universal Tag Team Champions: The Revival (11:52) | 75
WWE UNIVERSAL WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: SASHA BANKS (C) |VS| PIPER NIVEN
After the opening match we get a quick video recapping the Sasha/Piper feud and then we go right back to the ring for this match. Piper charges Sasha at the bell and Sasha dodges her. Sasha kicks at Piper's left leg and works on the leg for the early moments of the match. Sasha doesn't let Piper get close but eventually she goes for a dropkick to Piper's leg and Piper sees it coming, steps backward and then stomps on Sasha when she fails to hit the dropkick. Piper picks Sasha up and throws her into the corner. Piper squashes Sasha in the corner. Piper hits a bulldog out of the corner and gets a near fall. Piper keeps control of the match and gets a couple more near falls but Sasha keeps fighting. Piper whips Sasha into the corner and charges. Sasha dives out of the way and Piper slams into the corner chest-first and staggers backwards out of the corner. Sasha hops up onto the second turnbuckle and hits a blockbuster. Sasha pops up onto her feet and as Piper gets to her feet Sasha charges and hits a running knee to Piper's head. Sasha tries for a snap suplex but Piper blocks it and lifts Sasha up. Piper drops Sasha down onto the top rope and then slingshots her backwards for a suplex. Piper goes up to the second turnbuckle and leaps off but Sasha moves. Piper hits the mat and Sasha immediately locks her in a crossface. Sasha keeps the hold on but Piper gets to her feet and runs Sasha into the turnbuckles. Sasha breaks the hold and Piper hits a belly-to-belly suplex and then stands up and hits a running senton and covers Sasha for a two count. Piper picks Sasha up by the hair and shoves her into the ropes. Piper drives a knee into Sasha's midsection and goes to whip her across the ring but Sasha reverses it and Piper turns it into a short-arm lariat that sends Sasha flipping through the air. Piper grabs Sasha and sets her up for a powerbomb but Sasha fights out of it and slides down Piper's back and onto the ring apron. Piper turns around and swings at Sasha but Sasha grabs Piper's arm and hops down off the apron, driving Piper's arm down onto the top rope. Piper holds her arm and yells in pain. Sasha pops back up onto the apron and then climbs to the top rope. Sasha leaps off the top rope and hits a Codebreaker on Piper but Piper falls straight down onto Sasha and the referee counts the pinfall, 1----2----Sasha kicks out! Sasha crawls out from under Piper and stands up. Piper staggers over to Sasha and she goes for another Codebreaker but Piper powerbombs her and gets a near fall. Piper picks Sasha up and shoves her into the corner. Piper walks over and picks Sasha up and sets her on the top turnbuckle. Piper begins climbing up the turnbuckles and she goes to grab Sasha for a superplex but Sasha headbutts her and kicks her down. Piper lands on her feet and Sasha leaps off for a crossbody but Piper catches her and goes for a powerslam but Sasha slides down Piper's back and hits the back stabber and then rolls it back into the Bank Statement and Piper Niven taps out!
WINNER by submission and STILL WWE Universal Women's Champion: Sasha Banks (15:48) | 75
ORTON VS KROSS MUSIC VIDEO
Up next is a hype video for the Randy Orton/Karrion Kross match. | 63
RANDY ORTON |VS| KARRION KROSS
These two beat the hell out of each other in an absolutely hellacious brawl. Orton and Kross open the match by trading punches and kicks. Orton clotheslines Kross to the outside and then goes out there and immediately begins brawling with him. Kross and Orton throw each other around the ring into the barricades and steel steps. Kross drops Orton onto the announce table and chokes him with a random cord. The referee tries to force them back into the ring but they ignore him and keep brawling. Orton returns the favor and chokes Kross with the same cord. Eventually Orton rolls back into the ring. Kross tries to get in but Orton kicks him and hits a rope hang ddt for a near fall. Orton gets to his feet and goes for a punt but Scarlett grabs his foot. Orton bends down and grabs Scarlett by the hair. She gets to her feet and Orton stares at her. She slaps him and he laughs. He feigns like he's going for the RKO and Scarlett screams. Orton laughs but eats a boot to the face by Kross. Kross hits a belly-to-belly suplex and then a Doomsday Saito Suplex. Orton lands on his head/neck and the referee checks on him. He tries to get the medics to come check on Orton but Kross refuses to allow it and starts kicking Orton in the head and upper back. Kross stomps on Orton and then grabs him for a Camel Clutch and locks it in. The medical staff hit the ring and demand Kross gets up so he does. They check on Orton and look like they're going to stop the match when Orton rolls over to the ropes and uses them to pull himself up. Kross charges but Orton back drops him to the floor. Orton goes out to join him but Kross headbutts him and then throws him into the steel steps. Kross rolls Orton back into the ring and climbs in. Kross bends down and picks Orton up. Kross lifts Orton up into a fireman's carry position and then drapes him over the top turnbuckle, over both sets of ropes. Kross hammerfists Orton in the midsection and then backs up. He charges and hits a running knee to Orton's side. Orton falls back into the ring. Kross charges for a boot but Orton rolls out of the way. Kross hits the corner and Orton pops up. Orton goes for an RKO but thinks better of it and lets Kross go. Kross grabs Orton and hits another Doomsday Saito Suplex and Orton again lands on his head and neck and the ringside medic leans into the ring to yell at the referee who calls for the match to be stopped.
WINNER by referee stoppage: Karrion Kross (13:10) | 78
POST-MATCH
After the match Karrion Kross and Scarlett head to the back, celebrating their victory. But in the ring, Randy Orton is pissed that he lost due to medical stoppage. He shoves the medical staff and grabs the referee by his shirt. Orton thinks better of punching the referee and instead storms off to the back in a visible rage. | 72
TRIPLE THREAT TRIOS EXPLOSION: THE WYATT FAMILY |VS| AJ STYLES, KARL ANDERSON & LUKE GALLOWS |VS| JUDGMENT DAY
This was more of a brawling segment than a match. Styles and the Good Brothers show up dressed like they're competing in a Bunkhouse Stampede. The nine men in the match break off into three three-way brawls. Bray Wyatt, AJ Styles & Damian Priest. Solomon Kriss, Karl Anderson & JD McDonagh. Clayton Lord, Luke Gallows & Dom Mysterio. The camera cuts back to all three brawls. Eventually all nine men converge on the ring. Damian Priest calls McDonagh and Mysterio over to him and they bail on the match. In the ring, AJ Styles is about to hit the Phenomenal Forearm on Bray but Solomon Kriss steps in front and takes the move instead. Bray immediately grabs AJ and hits Sister Abigail on him. But Gallows boots Bray in the face and Bray staggers to the ropes. Lord turns Gallows around and hits a short-arm lariat. Karl Anderson slides in the ring and dumps Lord out but turns around into a Sister Abigail from Bray. Bray covers him and AJ goes to break it up but Solomon Kriss pulls AJ out of the ring and Bray gets the win.
WINNERS by pinfall: The Wyatt Family (11:45) | 70
GUNTHER PROMO
Up next is a backstage promo from Intercontinental Champion Gunther. Gunther cuts his entire promo in German first. Then he says, in English, that tonight he will prove to the world that Lashley is not on his level. Lashley wanted a match free from any outside interference and he is getting it tonight. Gunther has nothing to prove but Lashley dared to call him out anyway. So tonight, when Lashley is pummeled to the point of being unrecognizable -- he will only have himself to blame. | 68
WWE WORLD WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: RHEA RIPLEY (C) |VS| TEGAN NOX
The announcers put over Tegan Nox as a last minute replacement for the injured Bianca BelAir and mention how she's been on a bit of a roll lately with various wins across WWE programming. The bell rings and Tegan goes on offense immediately. She charges Rhea and throws chops and kicks and has Rhea backing off to start. Rhea backs into the corner and leans her upper body back onto the top turnbuckle and ropes and then lifts her legs up and crushes Tegan with a huge double kick to the chest. Tegan goes flying backward and Rhea takes over. Rhea beats Tegan all around the ring. She collapses Tegan with a heavy spear and covers her for a near fall. Rhea picks Tegan up by the hair and throws her into the corner. She drives her shoulder over and over into Tegan's midsection. Rhea grabs Tegan's arm and whips her across the ring. Tegan hits hard and bounds out of the corner. Rhea goes for a charging lariat but Tegan ducks. Rhea turns around and Tegan hits a Pele Kick and knocks Rhea into the corner. Tegan charges and goes and hits a European uppercut on Rhea in the corner. Tegan climbs up to the second turnbuckle and fires some right hands to Rhea's head but Rhea grabs Tegan and hits an inverted atomic drop and then a running boot to the face. Tegan falls to the mat and Rhea drives her knee into the back of Tegan's neck. Rhea picks Tegan up and whips her across the ring into the ropes. Rhea levels Tegan with a clothesline that sends Tegan flipping through the air. Rhea covers Tegan but she kicks out at two again. Rhea bends down to pick Tegan up but Tegan hits a chinbuster. Rhea staggers backward into the ropes. Tegan gets to her feet and runs at Rhea. She leaps up the ropes and hits Rhea with a knee to the face. Rhea is rocked by the move and falls to her knees. Tegan kicks her in the stomach and hits a ddt. Tegan rolls Rhea over and covers her, 1---2---Rhea kicks out! Tegan gets to her feet. She waits for Rhea to get up onto her knees. Tegan goes for a Shining Wizard but Rhea ducks it and schoolgirls Tegan for another two count. Both women get to their feet and Tegan ducks a clothesline and goes for a backslide for a near fall. Rhea rolls over onto her knees and Tegan hits a running knee to the head out of nowhere. Rhea is down and Tegan covers her, and hooks the leg, 1----2-----Rhea kicks out! Tegan can't believe it. She stands up and grabs Rhea to lift her to her feet but Rhea grabs Tegan by the midsection and lifts her up in the air in position for an inverted atomic drop but then drops down backwards, sending Tegan crashing into the top turnbuckle throat-first. Tegan bounces backwards and grabs her throat. Rhea hits a charging boot to Tegan's face. She grabs Tegan and lifts her up and hits the Riptide and covers her for the pinfall.
WINNER by pinfall and STILL WWE World Women's Champion: Rhea Ripley (13:30) | 75
WWE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP: GUNTHER (C) |VS| BOBBY LASHLEY
These two had another hard-hitting encounter. From the opening bell until the finish these guys worked stiff and snug. Gunther controlled the match from the beginning as he rocked Lashley with a headbutt early on. Gunther and Lashley brawled around the ring. Lashley absolutely lit Gunther up with a lariat and then made Gunther's chest red with some clubbing forearms. They then went into a section where they exchanged big move after big move. Lashley tried to lift Gunther up for a Dominator but Gunther slid down Lashley's back, backed into the ropes and charged for a running boot to the face. Lashley was knocked into the ropes and Gunther clotheslined him over the top rope. Gunther exited the ring and he and Lashley brawled on the outside. Lashley eventually threw Gunther into the barricade over by the time keeper and then speared him through it. Both men were down and getting counted out but Lashley gets up and beats the count to break it. The referee starts counting again and Lashley grabs Gunther and rolls him back into the ring. Lashley climbs in and goes to spear Gunther but Gunther raises a knee and catches Lashley in the head. Lashley is stunned. Gunther grabs Lashley by the wrist and pulls him in close and headbutts him. He kicks Lashley in the stomach and hits a powerbomb. Gunther covers but Lashley kicks out! Gunther picks Lashley up and shoves him back into the corner and hits a running corner clothesline. Gunther then hits him with three more clotheslines in the corner. Gunther backs up and goes for a running boot but Lashley spears him. Lashley covers him for a two count. Lashley stands up and starts shaking his head and trying to shake out the cobwebs. Gunther starts to get to his feet and Lashley grabs him for a gutwrench powerbomb. Lashley hits it but staggers backwards into the ropes. Gunther stands up and Lashley charges. They each clothesline each other and go down. But this time Gunther is the first to his feet. He grabs Lashley and powerbombs him. Gunther stomps Lashley in the midsection and then grabs him again and picks him up. Gunther hits another powerbomb and then locks Lashley's arms and dead lifts him up and powerbombs him again. Gunther hits a third powerbomb. And then a fourth. After the fourth powerbomb Gunther collapses on top of Lashley and gets the pinfall victory.
WINNER by pinfall and STILL WWE Intercontinental Champion: Gunther (17:35) | 79
WHO DOES OWENS WANT TO WIN?
Backstage Kayla Braxton is standing by with Kevin Owens. She mentions to KO that Sami accidentally cost Owens the chance to be competing in the Universal Championship match tonight. She asks Owens if he has a preference for who comes out on top as Universal Champion tonight. Owens says that honestly, Sami is still his best friend and so he wants Sami to win. Kayla asks if the mistake Sami made has damaged their friendship and Owens says no. He's rooting for Sami to retain and he's already texted Sami to tell him that he wants to be next in line after Sami retains. | 71
UNIVERSAL TITLE MATCH HYPE
Next up is a hype video for the Universal Championship match. It highlights Sami's reign so far and Jay White's WWE run so far. | 66
WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: SAMI ZAYN (C) |VS| JAY WHITE
These two have a really good match. It's fast-paced for the most part with each man getting in some high powered offensive moves. Jay White gets a near fall with a sick looking brain buster. Sami returns the favor with a spike brainbuster of his own and gets a near fall as well. At this point my internet dropped and I lost the feed. When it came back up a few minutes later both men were down on the outside, the apparent result of Jay White hitting a dive through the ropes. Jay White gets to his feet first and tries to climb into the ring to break the referee's count but Sami Zayn grabs his leg and holds him in place as the referee counts to 10.
OFFICIAL RESULT: DOUBLE COUNTOUT (23:26) | 68
SOLO SHOWS THE FOOTAGE
Solo Sikoa is out next. He calls his brothers, the Usos, as well as Trinity and Ona Leaga down to the ring. He says that he got the security camera footage sent to him late last night and he's been unable to sleep ever since. He says that even though he knows what happened he's still struggling with the WHY. Solo introduces the footage and we see a shot of the hallway in front of the Bloodline locker room. Suddenly PAUL HEYMAN enters the frame and knocks on the door to the locker room. The door opens and we see Ona Leaga speak with Paul briefly. The door closes and Paul waits outside. A few seconds later it opens again and Heyman walks in. A few seconds later Heyman sticks his head out, looks around, and then leaves. The Usos are shocked that Paul Heyman laid out both Rikishi and Ona. But Solo says that's not happened. He then introduces footage from inside the room. When Heyman enters he starts talking to Rikishi and while they're talking Ona attacks Rikishi from behind. He brutally attacks Rikishi and then when Heyman leaves Ona lays down and pretends to be hurt too. The Usos are fuming and immediately get in Ona's face and begin shoving him. Solo holds them back and says that first he wants to know why. Solo asks Ona why he did it. Ona rips the microphone out of Solo's hand and is about to speak when ROMAN REIGNS' music hits. The Bloodline looks to the entrance way and doesn't see two men entering the ring behind them with chairs. One man slams Jimmy Uso with the chair, the other hits Jey Uso. Solo turns to see what's happening and Ona grabs him and hits a Samoan Drop. Roman finally appears in the entrance way and slowly makes his way down to the ring. He gets in the ring, walks over to Jey Uso, who is down on the mat, and bends down and takes the ula fala from around Jey's neck and places it back on his own, signifying that he is once again the Tribal Chief. Roman motions for Ona, Heyman, and the two unnamed men (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) to follow him. The four men walk up the aisle and to the back as Trinity Fatu checks on her husband and her brothers-in-law. | 72
STREET FIGHT: BECKY LYNCH |VS| TESSA BLANCHARD
A crazy weapon-filled brawl that goes all over the arena and even outside. Reminiscent of late 90s hardcore division match these two left no stone unturned in an effort to do crazy shit. Most of this was a walk-and-brawl so I'll recap the big spots. Tessa threw Becky down some steps and then climbed onto the barricade and leapt off for an elbow drop but Becky moved. Becky suplexed Tessa through some gimmicked production equipment causing sparks and pyro to fly. Becky and Tessa brawled in the rotunda of the arena and Becky slammed Tessa into a Pepsi cooler and dumped drinks over her head. They brawled into the women's room and Tessa slammed Becky head-first into the tampon dispenser and then tried to slam a stall door on her head but Becky blocked it and ran Tessa back-first into the sink. Tessa bent backwards and it looked painful as hell. Becky and Tessa then ended up in the backstage area. Tessa went for a piledriver onto the concrete but Becky back body dropped her. Tessa tried to throw Becky off of the loading dock but Becky stopped and kicked Tessa and then ddt'd her onto the dock. They made it back into the arena and Tessa and Becky were exchanging punches near an entrance way. Tessa speared Becky through a pane of glass and both women had some superficial cuts. The match was stopped temporarily for the medical staff to check both women but both women shoved the physicians away and kept brawling. They made it back through gorilla and onto the entrance way. They brawled all the way down to the ring and Becky rolled Tessa into the ring. Becky got in and Tessa went for a hammerlock ddt but Becky elbowed her in the side of the head to break it up and then hit the Manhandle Slam. Becky went to pin Tessa when Charlotte Flair came out from under the ring with a kendo stick and slammed it into Becky's back. Becky turned around and saw Charlotte who cracked her over the head with the kendo stick. Becky fell to her knees and Charlotte hit a running boot to the face. Becky fell to the mat and Tessa got up and hit the Buzzsaw, her lifting hammerlock ddt. Tessa rolled Becky onto her back and covered her for the pinfall.
WINNER by pinfall: Tessa Blanchard (23:02) | 77
AN ALLIANCE?
Charlotte raises Tessa's hand in victory and then the two women hug as they stand over Becky and look down on her with disdain. The announcers talk about the rumors that Charlotte was looking for people to form an alliance with and Corey Graves reminds us of her promo about 2nd generation stars and mentions that Tessa is also a 2nd generation star. | 72
MAIN EVENT -- WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: CODY RHODES (C) |VS| FINN BALOR
These two had a really high impact main event with multiple near falls. Cody looked the most vulnerable to a pinfall we've seen him so far this title reign. They did a great job telling a story during the match as in the early going Cody went for the Cody Cutter but Balor dodged in and when Cody tried to stick the landing he held his knee as if he'd tweaked something. I believe this was just part of the story of the match as he seemed fine after the match (though he did make a point to sell the knee as he walked up the ramp after winning so I don't know for sure). There was a ridiculous spot where Cody had Balor down on the mat and climbed up to the top for a moonsault and Balor got to his feet and ran up the ropes and grabbed Cody for an attempted German suplex from the top turnbuckle but Cody flipped out of it. Balor hit a turning crossbody for a near fall but Cody rolled through for one of his own. After this the Wyatt Family made their presence known at ringside, forcing Rhodes and Balor to team up to fend them off. As soon as the Wyatts were vanquished and sent packing Balor hit a Sling Blade for a two count and then went up to the top rope for a Coup de Grace but Cody rolled out of the way. Balor landed on his feet and did a forward roll and when he popped up he immediately got dropkicked in the back by Cody. Balor hit the corner chest-first and the impact sent him staggering backwards directly into Cody's arms for a Cross Rhodes and the pinfall.
WINNER by pinfall and STILL WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Cody Rhodes (26:31) | 72
OVERALL RATING: 72
From ProWrestlingFlashlght.com...
WWE Bad Blood News And Notes
- Mustafa Ali suffered a bruised eye socket in a pre-show dark match but is expected to be fine and not miss any time. This was the only real injury coming out of the show. A few other wrestlers had minor scrapes and cuts and things but were not listed on any internal medical sheet after the match.
- During the event an NXT preview commercial aired describing a "cataclysmic shift" in the landscape of NXT that will be announced this Tuesday night.
- Roman Reigns' return was kept secret from everyone in the back except the Bloodline. Roman was snuck into the building and immediately went to the ring. Sources tell PWF that when Roman's music played there was a big spike in people looking for a monitor or rushing to peek at the ring through the crowd.
- Charlotte's alliance with Tessa Blanchard is apparently just the beginning as more are expected to join Charlotte's group and there's a possibility that it won't be a women-only group. Charlotte has been talking up 2nd generation superstars for a while now and so it's possible she may add some other 2nd gen superstars to her group, especially ones whose family lineage ties in with her father Ric Flair.