Preview: WWE Raw (08/14/23) – Trish Stratus Take On Becky Lynch In Canada

World Wrestling Entertainment has its own Canadian tour going after SmackDown stopped at the Scotiabank Saddledome last Friday. Tonight, WWEMonday Night Raw stops in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Sans local heroes Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho and Don Callis, of course. WWE’s first visit to the Canada Life Centre was for the February 24th, 2020 edition of WWE Raw.

Not long after Randy Orton had betrayed Edge following his return at the Royal Rumble. Where Kevin Owens tried to stand up for the Hall Of Famer and faced Randy Orton in a losing effort at the show’s main event.

Why @ShinsukeN Why?!https://t.co/NWso7scG05

— WWE (@WWE) August 13, 2023

Legend vs. Icon

The match that was supposed to take place at SummerSlam between Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus is set to take place tonight. The feud that started just after WrestleMania this year has been a major part of the Monday Night Raw brand for the past 4 months and seems to have had a whole new layer to the legendary career of Trish Stratus.

If there was ever any doubt that the former fitness instructor that was brought into WWE as eye candy but did her best to stand out in the ring could hold her own as a personality against a female that from day one dedicated her life to pro wrestling and wound up breaking through to headline WrestleMania, shattering many misconceptions regarding women in this company’s history, they were certainly shattered from a storytelling point of view.

Now it’s time to see if the same can be said from an in-ring perspective. While, Trish may have a good amount of rust on herself, being 13 years removed from her full-time prime, she’s clearly still not lost her mentality for wrestling.

It’s unfortunate the match was cut from a stadium-level event. However, that does not take away from what the two have been able to do. And just because this is a major match, doesn’t exactly mean it might be the definitive end of this rivalry. After all, they’ve only had one match. If Becky Lynch emerges victorious, would Trish Stratus not long for a rubber match?

Explanation Needed

Shinsuke Nakamura for the past few weeks has been expressing his frustrations. When Tommaso Ciampa cost him a match against Bronson Reed, “I’m sick of people getting in my business” he screamed. And would later take said frustration out on the fellow 2 time former NXT Champion.

When Nakamura opted to team up with Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes last week, things did not go as planned. And The King Of Strong Style did not take well to it. Attacking Seth Rollins with the Kinshasa.

As announced, Seth Rollins wants answers and Shisuke Nakamura is scheduled to deliver them. “I’m sick of people getting in my business” seemed pretty self-explanatory. But given Seth Rollins is obviously the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, there might be an air of Championship desire behind his motivation.

Hopefully we don’t get the ol’ “I don’t owe you one” bit. As a major match between the former Ring Of Honor World Champion and one of the 2000’s era Three Musketeers of New Japan Pro Wrestling can be quite interesting. Their previous major match being at the 2018 Survivor Series. Where Seth was WWE Raw’s Intercontinental Champion while Nakamura represented SmackDown as their United States Champion.

When Is The Match Happening?

Last week saw Chad Gable win a Fatal Four Way match to win an opportunity at Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship. We already saw the two battle a couple of weeks ago on Raw. However, after a fantastic reception towards the multi-time Tag Team Champion Chad Gable, we now await a titular rematch between the two.

We just don’t know when. Will it be on WWE Raw? Perhaps at Payback? At that point, Gunther would just be five days away from breaking Honky Tonk Man’s record as Champion.

The Struggles Of The Judgment Day

Last week saw JD McDonagh being re-introduced as Finn Balor’s protege. As Balor and Damian Priest continue to have struggles in the communication, McDonagh suggested the Money In The Bank briefcase was tearing the duo apart and was probably best being discarded. Priest clearly did not take kindly to the suggestion.

Though, despite how the briefcase can now be used to challenge for any title, no one seems to throw the idea of using it for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships.

Perhaps a sign of how deep down, this group of friends are ultimately just selfish. Meanwhile, Rhea Ripley continues to antagonize Raquel Rodriguez at every turn. Injuring her. Costing her the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. Injuring her partner Liv Morgan. And so forth. At some point, that match just has to finally take place, right?

All that, plus what might be next for Cody Rhodes. Can Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn return from injury successfully? The future of the also injured Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green’s Tag Team title. All that and more, tonight on WWE Raw.

More From LWOS Pro Wrestling

Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.