Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE Raw Results & Report! (5/25/20)
Drew McIntyre is a VIP!
Raw will determine a challenger for the new champion!
While MVP welcomes Drew McIntyre to the lounge, Nia Jax, Natalya and Charlotte Flair will battle to challenge the Raw Women’s Champion, ASUKA!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- WWE United States Championship: Andrade Almas w/ Zelina Vega VS Apollo Crews; Crews wins and becomes the new WWE United States Champion.
- Kevin Owens VS Angel Garza w/ Zelina Vega; Garza wins.
- Golf: The Street Profits VS The Viking Raiders; The Profits win.
- Aleister Black & Humberto Carrillo VS Austin Theory & Buddy Murphy w/ Seth Rollins; Theory & Murphy win.
- Raw Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Triple Threat: Charlotte Flair VS Natalya VS Nia Jax; Jax wins and will challenge Asuka for the title at Backlash.
- The Street Profits VS Bobby Lashley & MVP; The Profits win, by disqualification.
PLAY BY PLAY
WWE celebrates Memorial Day, and remembers those who gave all for our freedoms.
“What does it mean to be selfless?” To have the courage to put all else first for a greater cause. In every generation, there are those who do just that. This weekend, we honor them. “The brave men and women who fought for our freedom,” from WWI to Desert Storm. From Normandy to Afghanistan. Remember the moments and the events that defined our history. Remember those that made the ultimate sacrifice. As Ronald Reagan once said, as we honor their memory today, let us pledge that their lives, their sacrifices, their valor shall be justified and remembered for as long as God gives life to this nation. Show gratitude to those that shaped us, guided us, and ensured our values would live forever. Show reverence and respect, and say, “Thank you” to them.
WWE Superstars from NXT and the Performance Center are in the crowd!
Keeping social distancing guidelines and Plexiglas windows, young prospects watch the superstars of Raw they want to be like in their own careers.
Raw presents The Kevin Owens Show!
And this time, his set is intact. The crowd cheers as he welcomes us and the future of the WWE to Raw. And more importantly, he welcomes us all to the Kevin Owens Show. They’re in for a treat, because later on tonight, KO takes on Angel Garza. Aren’t you excited? Yes! But before all that, KO wants to discuss the Women’s Triple Threat for a shot at the Raw Women’s Championship. Who better to discuss that with than THE champion, ASUKA?! The Empress of Tomorrow brings back the original gear as she walks out with mic and belt. Asuka gets everyone cheering for “Becky! Becky!” because she deserves cheers, too. Becky is going from The Man to The Mom, and the new merch is available on WWE Shop.
Kevin congrats Asuka and she is very thankful. Before getting into the Triple Threat, KO wants Asuka’s reaction to everything last week. Asuka’s celebration with Kairi Sane was rudely interrupted by Nia Jax, and it was also insulted. Nia says Asuka is in the “greatest temp job ever,” only to be replaced. Asuka beat up and kicked out Nia, only for Nia to get revenge on Kairi! So Asuka gave Nia some more! Back in the present, Asuka is still angry with Nia. She is sure Kevin understands with why she did all that. Kairi is so cute and is Asuka’s friend! But before she can say more, here comes the NXT Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair! The Queen is another of the contenders in tonight’s Triple Threat, but she joins Asuka as a guest of the KO Show.
Charlotte has a mic and tells Asuka, “I need to get this off my chest.” That title should’ve been handed to Charlotte. Does Charlotte need to remind us what happens when she and Asuka have a match? Asuka’s never beaten Charlotte. Manage your expectations, Empress. But wait! Here comes the Queen of Harts! Kevin gets his show signs out of the way so Natty doesn’t go after them. Natty gets herself a mic as she joins Charlotte and Asuka in the ring. Natty says she isn’t here to cause trouble, but to apologize. She apologizes to Kevin and his show crew for her “temper tantrum.” The crowd applauds this, but Charlotte laughs. Not even sucking up to Kevin will help Natty win tonight? That wasn’t sucking up, that was being nice. Oh, silly Kevin. But maybe Charlotte was being rude in telling Natty she’s irrelevant.
And naturally, here comes Nia Jax! Nia stays on stage as she asks all of this to stop. Everyone knows she’ll be champion, so everyone might as well just stay out. Kevin clears out of the ring as Nia joins the others. Nia wants Asuka to remember what happened to Kairi. That will be a fraction of what happens at Backlash. Kevin wants Asuka to keep her calm. Just don’t hit Nia in the face. BAKC HAND TO THE FACE! And then Natty goes after Charlotte! Asuka runs but Nia bails out while Queen and Queen fall out of the ring! It’s clear Asuka wants Nia to win just so she can go after her at Backlash. But will she get her wish when Charlotte and Natty both join the mix?
Backstage interview with Apollo Crews.
Tonight is a second chance. Is Crews ready both physically and mentally for this? Tonight is the greatest night of Crews’ career, because he will defeat Andrade Almas to finally become the NEW WWE United States Champion! Crews heads out, because that match is next! Will tonight be the night it all changes for Crews?
WWE United States Championship: Andrade Almas w/ Zelina Vega VS Apollo Crews!
Raw returns as Crews makes his entrance. The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and Crews’ chance at redemption begins!
Almas backs away to a corner and the ref keeps Crews back. Almas comes out and ties up with Crews, but Crews waistlocks and slams. Crews then gets Almas to a corner, but must back off. Angel Garza is watching backstage as Almas and Crews tie up. Crews pushes Almas to a corner and fires off hands! The ref counts and Crews lets up to whip. Crews runs Almas over with an elbow and covers, ONE! Crews is on Almas with a suplex and holds him up for a count of 10! Cover, ONE! Crews looms over Almas and drags him up for haymakers. Crews scoops but Almas slips out to boot feint and ELBOW! Cover, TWO!! Crews survives but Almas says he is still champion. Almas brings Crews up, reels him in, but Crews resists the hammerlock to power up and TOSS Almas!
Crews has the crowd behind him as he trophy lifts! But Vega gets on the apron. Crews lets Almas down, dodges Almas, and enziguris him into Vega! La Muneca is down and Almas hurries out to check on her. Raw goes picture in picture as Almas panics.
Almas wants time to make sure Vega is okay, and the ref keeps Crews in the ring. Medics are called for Vega’s sake and they go to check on her. They tell Almas to go back to his match while they help her, and a ring count begins. Almas wants more time but even Vega tells him to go back. Crews steps closer but Almas stays back. Almas then suckers Crews in and goes after the recovered leg! Almas CHOPS and RAMS Crews into barriers! The count continues but Almas grabs the title belt. “This is MINE!” Almas storms over to Crews as the count climbs. Almas puts Crews in at 8 and covers, TWO! El Idolo stomps Crews and clamps on with an armlock. Crews endures and the crowd rallies up. Crews fights to his feet and throws body shots! He throws haymakers but Almas knees low.
Almas headlocks but Crews back suplexes out. Crews ROCKS Almas with a right, then another! And another, and another! And then Crews rallies! He tackles Almas into a corner, rams his shoulders in over and over, then whips corner to corner! Crews runs in to hit a splash! The crowd fires up with Crews as he goes back to Almas. Almas boots back then hops up, but Crews enziguris back! Vega is wincing and not just from her fall. Crews has Almas and climbs up top. But Almas trips Crews into a Tree of Woe! And hits WOE STOMPS!! Cover, TWO!! Vega is furious as Crews survives! Almas runs corner to corner, but Crews dodges! Crews lifts for the Olympic Slam but Almas arm-drags out! Crews baits Almas into a corner for an OVERHEAD suplex! Cover, TWO!
Garza is cheering but Kayla Braxton comes by to interview him. What are his thoughts? The secret to a good match is like making love. First, there is eye contact that sends a clear message. Second, there is the moment between the two bodies where they come together. Sometimes it’s gentle, sometimes it’s crashing. The tension builds as you’re thrown onto the mat. The passion of conquering the other is exhausted bliss. Then you do it all over again. Garza turns back to the screen to see his ally in Vega’s stable is in trouble!
Crews drags Almas up and in to lift, but Almas huricarnanas back! Crews hits buckles and Almas goes corner to corner! CIEN SHADOWS! Cover, TOW!?! Crews survives again and Vega is freaking out! Almas kicks Crews’ bad leg over and over. Crews slowly gets up and Almas Fisherman hooks the leg. But Crews enziguris with the good leg! Crews trophy lifts and drops Almas, to hit the standing moonsault! And standing shooting star! Cover, CREWS WINS!!
Winner: Apollo Crews, by pinfall (NEW WWE United States Champion)
Incredible! Crews shocks Vega and perhaps the world as he finally realizes his potential! Is this just the beginning of Apollo’s legend?
In-ring interview with Apollo.
Congratulations are in order. What does it feel to finally win his first title in the WWE? Crews says when he first started on his journey, people closest to him told him he couldn’t do it. But he never gave up. 11 years of sacrifice, hard work and dedication, and he is finally a champion! Crews knows when his body gave out last time, people were thinking, “That’s it. He blew his chance.” But Crews never gave up. Crews has always believed in himself. He can finally say to the whole world that he is the NEW WWE United States Champion! It feels so good!
Meanwhile, Almas is throwing a tantrum, smashing up whatever he can backstage! Will El Idolo’s rage only be quelled by another rematch? Or is Crews on to a new challenge?
Seth Rollins has one of Rey Mysterio’s masks.
The Monday Night Messiah looks upon it in reflection. What does Rollins have left to say about the legend of lucha libre?
Raw returns to hear from Seth Rollins.
“Tonight is a night for celebration! Because the Monday Night Messiah is here, and I am better than I have ever been.” And that is all thanks to Rey Mysterio. We relive through footage just what happened. Rollins took offense to Mysterio’s hit, and then took Mysterio to dig his eye into the corner of the steel steps! Back in the present, Rollins speaks on that “dark, dark place” he was in. Mysterio presented himself in a time of need as a chosen sacrifice. Mysterio fulfilled his duty to the greater good. Rollins can’t imagine the pain Mysterio went through. He can’t begin to imagine how painful it was for Mysterio’s family, especially Dominic, who couldn’t be there for his father. Rollins doesn’t know what the future holds for Mysterio. But if that was truly Mysterio’s final act as a WWE superstar, then it was a courageous one. “Because it allows us to move forward into the future.”
Theory and Murphy stand with Rollins, and it is official that Theory is the newest disciple. Just as Rollins was discarded by the WWE Universe, both Murphy and Theory understand what it is to be underappreciated. With Rollins’ guidance, their ceilings are limitless. Murphy says his career faced obstacle upon obstacle and he needed guidance. He needed a mentor and a leader. He needed the Monday Night Messiah to lead him into the future. For that, Murphy thanks Rollins. Theory says that he came to Raw with who he thought were friends. But when they abandoned him, the Monday Night Messiah found him. And for that, Theory thanks Rollins. You’re welcome.
But this is just the beginning of a wonderful night. Because later tonight, they will show Mysterio “the goodness he has brought to Monday Night Raw,” when they make examples of Humberto Carrillo and Aleister Black. They will see what happens when they stand in the way of the Monday Night Messiah. Will the disciples carry out Rollins’ will? Or will they both simply #FadeToBlack?
Backstage interview with Charlotte Flair.
The Queen winning tonight would mean a chance at becoming a Double Champion. Has she thought what this means for her legacy? Charlotte has been the most consistent and prolific women’s champion in WWE History. It doesn’t matter how many titles she has, those are just metal. She is raising the bar for every woman in this division! And no one else compares. But Asuka comes in, showing off her title. Asuka mocks Charlotte in Japanese, and says, “Red is not your color.” Asuka heads off, dancing again. Will Charlotte be seeing red when she enters the Triple Threat?
The IIconics are here!
Billie Kay and Peyton Royce let their tempers get the better of them last week. They have seemingly calmed down, but what are they planning on saying and doing this week? We find out, after the break.
Raw returns and the IIconics have mics. Peyton apologizes to Billie for costing them the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. Billie says she needs to apologize for slapping Peyton after. It makes Billie sick to her stomach. She doesn’t want there to be any animosity. They’ve come so far together. Peyton appreciates that, and agrees. They grew up together, signed to the WWE together, and won the Women’s Tag Team titles at WrestleMania together! They never even had a chance to defend their titles! They had things stripped and thrown into the trash! They should still be champions! So over their dead bodies will a crazy lady and “the office’s favorite blonde” going to hold what is rightfully theirs!
But speaking of, here comes Bliss-Cross! Alexa “laughs” at that last line. The IIconics had their opportunities. They’ve complained, taken cheap shots and shortcuts to get back, but they still blew their shot. Nikki starts but Peyton interrupts her. The crowd is loving the drama as Billie tells Nikki to stand there and look grateful. Grateful? The IIconics are telling Nikki to stand here and be grateful? Every step she and Alexa took to these titles, they took together! Nikki left her home of Glasgow with nothing in her pocket, and she got here! But the IIconics had each other! Nikki scratched, clawed and fought for everything! And then Lexi came along, gave her the time of day and the respect she deserves! Nikki was the misfit outcast IIconics laughed at.
But what’s funny is how the IIconics want to talk about friendship. But Bliss-Cross are the Women’s Tag Team Champions! Why? Because Lexi stops Nikki from bouncing off the walls, and Nikki has taught her something about friendship. And nothing is more iconic than that! And a fight breaks out! The IIconics beat Bliss-Cross down, then coordinate on Nikki. The crowd boos but Nikki gets the spinning heel kick! Then the IIconics POST Bliss and yank her back down! The crowd boos as Nikki reaches for Alexa, but she gets the INVERTED MAGIC KILLER! Will this battle of dynamic duos only heat up from here?
Lana confronts MVP backstage.
She glares at him while he checks his phone. Is there something she needs? They need to talk. No, they don’t. Bye. Will Lana be able to do anything about her “hawt, hawt husband” joining up with Montel Vontavius Porter?
WWE mourns the loss of Shad Gaspard.
Raw returns to the VIP Lounge!
MVP is already in the ring with his couches and champagne, and he extends a special welcome to the NXT superstars and PC trainees. Their tabs are on him. But while the VIP Lounge won’t be the exclusively open club for long, but it will be the club with the star power! Especially with his guest, the future former WWE World Champion, Drew McIntyre! The crowd cheers the Scottish Stud as he heads down the ramp and through the velvet ropes. McIntyre dumps the champagne and tosses the furniture around! “Now that we got that bit of business out of the way…” McIntyre wants MVP to bring “him” out. Who? MVP knows. Where is Lashley? Oh, no, McIntyre doesn’t have to worry about an ambush. No contract, no contact. The physicality won’t be this week or next week. It’ll be at Backlash.
But MVP wants McIntyre to remember the last time MVP graciously welcomed McIntyre to the lounge. He selflessly offered McIntyre his guidance to the very top of the WWE mountain and navigate the chaos. Does McIntyre remember? MVP does. MVP remembers trying to be a friend ,only to be repaid with a Claymore kick to the face. But after finding himself down and out, he had two thoughts: 1) McIntyre is definitely going to become WWE Champion; 2) When McIntyre loses, MVP will personally play a role in that outcome. It took Lashley 13 years, and now Lashley has his opportunity, because of MVP. Wow, 13 years. It took McIntyre 19 years! And guess what happened? McIntyre was in the main event of WrestleMania, and he beat BROCK LESNAR in five minutes! Lashley won’t be so lucky.
But yes, McIntyre remembers what he said in VIP Lounge last time. He’ll refresh our memories tonight. McIntyre doesn’t need someone else thinking for him. He doesn’t need someone else talking for him. And he sure as hell doesn’t want someone kissing his ass. Lashley said something that got McIntyre’s attention: The only way he will take this title will be by prying it from McIntyre’s cold, dead hands. MVP says that can be arranged. Because now Lashley heads to the ring! MVP welcomes him as the future NEW WWE Champion! But then MVP gets a CLAYMORE! McIntyre kips up as Lashley drags MVP out of the ring. McIntyre wants to settle this now but MVP tells Lashley to wait. The stud and the All Mighty will have this out soon enough
Backstage interview with Natalya.
Natty has a lot on her mind, but she also gets a call. It’s from TJ. Natty explains to him about her apology for her meltdown. She doesn’t need him on her case, she has her match to worry about. Natty hangs up and goes back to the interview, but their time is up. Will this only add to Natty’s problems?
Kevin Owens VS Angel Garza w/ Zelina Vega!
The Prizefighter heads back out for the match he plugged earlier in the night. Will he add on to the problems of Zelina Vega’s stable?
But as KO makes his entrance, Garza attacks from behind with a sliding chop block! El Latino es en la casa and he SLAMS Kevin’s leg on the ramp! Garza gets to the ring, but can Kevin still fight after this? We’ll see after the break.
Raw returns and Kevin has made it into the ring. Kevin wants this fight and the bell rings! Garza runs and dropkicks the leg out! Then he cranks on it with a toehold and puts it on the ropes. Garza stomps but the ref counts. Garza lets up at four to wrap the legs around the rope! He stops at 4 again to club away on Kevin. Garza pulls on the leg in a modified toehold but Kevin gets the ropebreak. Garza is on Kevin right away but Kevin throws hands! Garza hits back and wraps the leg on the ropes again! The ref counts, Garza stops but KICKS the knee! Garza turns Kevin over, drags him around, and stands on the leg as he pulls on the ankle! Kevin endures and the crowd rallies up. Kevin crawls, and again gets the ropebreak!
Garza lets go fast and kicks at the arms now. Garza drags Kevin up but Kevin spins through to DDT! Vega is shocked at Garza getting spiked! Kevin staggers up on one good leg and CHOPS Garza down! Kevin rallies and elbows Garza down, to then drop a back senton! The crowd rallies for Kevin while Vega coaches Garza. Kevin runs corner to corner but his leg gives out! Garza SUPERKICKS Kevin down! Cover, TWO!! Kevin will not go down but Garza won’t let up. Garza headlocks and brings Kevin to a corner. Garza hoists Kevin up top backwards then climbs up behind him. Kevin fights back and even headbutts Garza down! Kevin adjusts and SWANTONS! But he can’t cover because of the bad leg bothering him!
The crowd rallies up as Kevin stands. Kevin grabs Garza and CHOPS him against ropes! And then he whips and pops Garza up, but the bad leg gives out! Garza gets Kevin for the WING CLIPPER!! Cover, Garza wins!
Winner: Angel Garza, by pinfall
The former NXT Cruiserweight Champion beats a Triple Crown Champion in Kevin, but he isn’t done! He kicks the bad leg out and gloats about it on his way out. Will Kevin still be able to fight in order to get payback?
The Street Profits and Viking Raiders meet on the golf course.
We are ready~, ready~ to try the gentlemen’s game. Erik and Ivar bring a cooler, but not full of drinks. It’s mutton! Sorry, guys, no food on the course. They go over the rules and begin. A great couple of drives from Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford, but Erik misunderstands and throws the club like a javelin! After things get sorted, Erik ends up in the sand trap and really struggles. Dawkins gets one in the hole, but Ivar struggles to get one off the pin. He sure makes a good divot, though. Ford somehow lucks out that his pinball shot goes in the hole!Ivar finally gets one off the pin but forgets to give warning. So of course, someone gets hit. And then their golf cart breaks down! The course manager is furious! They get kicked out!
So instead of golf, they go to mini-golf! Time to get their Caddyshack on! Much easier holes here. Just look out for the baby gators. Ford even goes Happy Gilmore with that pool shot. Ivar forgets this is mini-golf, but Erik likes the pond shot. But once again, Ivar helps them out by being “cute” to the manager lady. But Ivar has one last putt and the game is finally finished! But who won? The final scores are… Viking Raiders: 144, Street Profits: 28. High score! No, guys, no. Golf is lowest score. The Profits win and they’re 2-1 on the series! Aw man… Ivar still wants the game ball. Wait, is that someone’s wallet? Someone’s red Solo cup? Mutton? Ivar, don’t eat it, that’s against the five second rule. The gator wants some. Well anything that gator can do, Ivar can do better. No no no.
Lana finds MVP and Lashley backstage.
She offers MVP an ice pack after what happened. Seriously, what a monster McIntyre is for kicking him. MVP accepts the ice pack but not the apologies. Does Lana think this is a joke? No, of course it is a joke! Everything’s a joke to her! McIntyre did something to Lashley, not Lana or MVP. Lashley has his first title opportunity in 13 YEARS. So what needs to happen is they need to send a message back. So if Lana will excuse them, they have work to do. Well that didn’t work. Lana is furious again, but are things beyond the point of no return?
Aleister Black & Humberto Carrillo VS Austin Theory & Buddy Murphy w/ Seth Rollins!
The Embodiment of the End and Ultimo Ninja want revenge for what The Architect did to the King of Lucha! But first they must go through his disciples. Will Aleister and Carrillo be able to avenge the living legend and derail Rollins’ vision for Raw’s future?
The teams sort out and Theory starts against Carrillo. They circle, tie up, and Carrillo waistlocks. Theory elbows out hard then pushes Carrillo. Carrillo CHOPS but Theory fires off! Theory stomps then tags in Murphy, and Murphy adds more stomps. The ref counts and Murphy lets up, but tags in Theory. The disciples double back suplex but Carrillo escapes! Carrillo runs at Theory and springboards to arm-drag Murphy! Carrillo sends Theory out onto Murphy! Rollins coaches his followers but Aleister tags in. Aleister runs but fakes the disciples out. Carrillo FLIES to topple Murphy and Theory over! Rollins keeps his space as Carrillo puts Theory in the ring.
Aleister is all over Theory with strikes in the corner, then whips corner to corner. Theory reverses but Aleister gets him with an STO! And basement calf kick! Cover, TWO! Aleister is right on Theory with an armlock, and he tags in Carrillo. Aleister wrenches, Carrillo climbs and drops down on the arm. Rollins is frustrated as Carrillo wrenches and wristlocks. Theory breaks free to DECK Carrillo! Carrillo BOOTS Back then elbows Murphy! Carrillo elbows Theory, kicks Murphy away, but Theory torture racks and throws Carrillo into buckles! Theory hits a back suplex and covers, TWO! Rollins holds onto Mysterio’s mask as Carrillo tags in Murphy. The disciples mug Carrillo, Murphy fires off the strike fest, but Carrillo dodges. Carrillo kicks, Murphy ducks but the enziguri hits!
The crowd rallies as both men crawl for their corners. Hot tags to Theory and Aleister! Aleister rallies on Theory with forearms and elbows! Murphy gets spun into Theory! Aleister fires off on Murphy, then sends Theory’s BOOT into Murphy! Aleister sweeps the leg then thrusts the knee! He kips up and dodges Murphy to QUEBRADA both disciples! Murphy stands up to get a ROUNDHOUSE! Theory rolls Aleister, TWO! Theory walks into a rush and a back elbow! Kick and KNEE! Carrillo wants in and Aleister obliges. Tag and Carrillo goes up while Aleister aims at Murphy. But Murphy sends him down! Carrillo moonsaults over Theory to enziguri Murphy! But he turns into the ATL!! Cover, the disciples win!
Winners: Austin Theory & Buddy Murphy, by pinfall
Things were fast and furious, but it only gets worse now that Rollins’ side has won! Aleister is sent FLYING into the timekeeper’s area! Theory fetches a mic for his Monday Night Messiah, and Rollins coordinates. “He needs to learn!” Carrillo is sent out, and brought to the steps!! They want to do to him what they did to Mysterio! Rollins warns Aleister to stay where he is with that chair or else! Now shut up and listen! Rollins knows what they’re doing. They’re fighting for Mysterio, but Mysterio was sacrificed for the greater good! If they keep standing in Rollins’ way, Mysterio’s sacrifice will be in vain! Put the chair down! Aleister has no choice and does as told. Rollins does not want to sacrifice them the way he did Mysterio. Carrillo is spared but Mysterio’s mask is still Rollins’ trophy. Will things only get darker for those who oppose Rollins’ will?
Raw hears from Edge.
“Randy, a few weeks ago on Raw, you caught me flat-footed. Tongue tied.” Edge was basking in the glow of WrestleMania, but it doesn’t happen often, so congrats. Orton chose the date and the match, and now Edge finds himself doubting himself. Edge will be transparent about this. “Can I hang?” Edge was retired for 3012 days. And in those same days, Orton was in 1126 matches. Yes, Edge did the research. And now, Edge is looking at those numbers and realizes he has to prove himself to himself. So strangely, Edge wants to thank Orton for making him think about things he had buried very, very deep inside. Edge watched The Last Ride. He watched himself on there talking about when it’s time to hang up the boots. Edge was still retired back then. And here he is now. Edge understands what Taker is going through.
But to Orton, if he’s going to doubt Edge’s ability, remember that Edge has gone toe-to-toe with Taker, HBK, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Christian, William Regal, Owen Hart, the list goes on and on. Every style, Edge adapted. When it was Edge’s job, he pulled others up to his level. Edge taught others how to get to the next level because that was Edge’s job and he was damn good at it. A five-tool workhorse for the WWE. If Orton is paying attention, and we know he is, he’ll notice Edge said all that in the past tense. Because Edge doesn’t know if he can do any of that again. But at Backlash, Edge will dig through the very depths of his soul to try. It’s all a man can do. Is this really going to be the greatest wrestling match ever?
Asuka returns!
The Empress wants to keep a close eye on her contenders after the scuffle during the Kevin Owens Show! Will she be ready for the winner of tonight’s Triple Threat?
The Street Profits and Viking Raiders talk backstage.
Ford and Dawkins can’t believe Erik & Ivar are supposedly letting them win. Just like at basketball, the Raiders let the Profits win at golf? Pause button. Bruh, Ivar had more turkey legs than balls towards the hole. Yes, many birdies. Well whatever, the Raiders choose next and they’ll go for it. Ivar wants gator wrestling, but Dawkins said that was off the table. Okay then. Do the Profits bowl? Bowling is next? Of all the things to do next.
But then MVP and Lashley come along. “Another case of extraordinary talent that will inevitably be flushed down the toilet because they’d rather golf than act like champions.” Got a problem, fam? No, no, MVP and Lashley don’t. They were just leaving, because they don’t respect clowns. They have the WWE Champion to worry about. Oh really? How is MVP’s face? Better ice up, son. MVP doesn’t need ice. The Claymore is devastating, but do you see Lashley? How about the Profits take MVP and Lashley on later tonight. If you’re up for it, bring the smoke. Things just got serious for the Raw Tag Team Champions. Will the Profits be up or down after going up against MVP and the Rocky Mountain Machine?
Raw Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Triple Threat: Charlotte Flair VS Natalya VS Nia Jax!
The Queen of Flair, the Queen of Harts, and the ace that is the Irresistible Force. Only one challenges for the title at Backlash! Who at least thinks they’re ready for Asuka?
Raw returns as the contenders make their entrance, in that order. Asuka talks trash in Japanese to each of them and the bell rings. Charlotte, Natty and Nia circle and then Charlotte DECKS Natty! Nia tackles Charlotte to a corner and rams her shoulder in! Natty pulls Nia away but Nia pushes her down., Charlotte BOOTS Nia but Nia stays up., Nia scoops to slam Charlotte, then scoops Natty to slam her on Charlotte! Nia makes a Queen Sandwich for herself, but misses the leg drop! Charlotte stomps Nia down then Natty joins in. The two work together to whip Nia hard into the POST! Asuka laughs at Nia but now Charlotte and Natty are alone. Charlotte kicks Natty low and headlocks to grind Natty down.
Charlotte taunts the NXT members of the crowd because she’s their champion. Natty headscissors but Charlotte pops out. Charlotte drops down but Natty boots her down! Charlotte headcissors but Natty pops out! The crowd applauds that as the two circle again. Natty kicks, headlocks and grinds, but Charlotte pulls hair to power out! Charlotte runs Natty over and then ROCKS Nia off the apron! Natty rolls Charlotte, ONE! Charlotte kicks low then cheers herself. Charlotte whips but Natty reverses. Charlotte tumbles up and out and shoulders back in. But Nia trips Charlotte off the apron and CLOBBERS her! Asuka talks trash but Nia clears off the desk. But Charlotte bumps Nia off the desk first! Natty tries to baseball slide but gets caught!
Nia rams Natty on the apron then yanks her off, but Charlotte uses the desk hood to JAM Nia! Nia and Charlotte fight over the hood, and this ends up with Charlotte rammed into the apron. Charlotte gets on the apron but Nia stalks after her. They brawl on the edge and Charlotte CHOPS away! Asuka likes what she sees as the CHOPS ring out! “WOO~!” Charlotte goes to boot but Nia counters. Nia fireman’s carries but Natty goes after Nia’s ankles. Charlotte helps out, and they DOUBLE POWERBOMB Nia through the desk!! Asuka is speechless as Raw goes to break!
Raw returns as Charlotte has Natty down with a rear bearhug. The crowd rallies up as Natty moves around and gets to her feet. Natty breaks free, staidness switches, but Charlotte elbows back! Charlotte runs but Natty dodges, and double crossbodies cancel out! Asuka puts Nia in to help Natty get an easy win! Natty drags Nia up but Nia shoves. Natty dodges, Nia scoops, but Natty tilt-o-whirls through to get Nia down for ground ‘n’ pound! ARMBAR! Nia fights her way up to cover but then dead lifts to POWERBOMB Natty down! But Charlotte BOOTS Nia down! Cover on Natty, TWO!! Charlotte grins and the crowd cheers. Charlotte throws Natty out and stalks Nia. Charlotte drops a knee on Nia’s head! Asuka is angry now but she wants Nia to lose either way. Charltote climbs up top and MOONSAULTS! Cover, TWO!!
Asuka is liking what she sees, even though the match continues. Charlotte drags Nia around by her leg to drop knees on it. But Natty climbs up and leaps! Crossbody hits but Natty bounces off! Cover, TWO!! Nia clobbers Natty, then clobbers Charlotte. Charlotte flounders away so Nia brings Natty up. Nia whips Natty into Charlotte and gets the Queen Sandwich splash! Nia hoists them both up in a fireman’s carry but Natty and Charlotte fight Nia off. Natty shoves Nia then pushes Charlotte. Charlotte throws Natty down by her hair then dodges Nia. Charlotte fires off forearms on Nia, then drops a knee on the knee! Asuka likes that Nia screams in pain as Charlotte has the leg. Figure Four is on! FIGURE EIGHT, but Natty dropkicks it apart!
Natty trips Charlotte and wants the Sharpshooter! She gets it and the crowd goes wild! Charlotte endures and Asuka shouts for Charlotte to quit! Natty keeps Charlotte from ropes but Charlotte refuses to quit! Nia returns to drag Natty up, for a fireman’s carry. Natty gets free but gets run over! Nia glares at Asuka and Asuka shouts back. Nia drags Natty up, fireman’s carries, but Charlotte BOOTS! Cover on Nia, but Natty breaks it in time! Natty drags Charlotte up but Charlotte throws Natty out. Charlotte goes back to Nia but Nia kicks back. Charlotte BOOTS Nia down then goes up top again. But Natty comes over so Charlotte fights her off. Charlotte keeps climbing but Nia SWATS Charlotte down! Nia headbutts but Charlotte clubs back. Nia positions Charlotte but the brawling continues.
Asuka is tense as Nia reaches the top. Natty adds on for a TOWER OF DOOM!! POWERBOMB SUPERPLEX!! All three women are down and Asuka rallies for Natty! Natty covers Nia, TWO! Natty covers Charlotte, TWO! Natty throws Charlotte out and focuses on Nia. Nia resists the Sharpshooter and Charlotte rolls Natty up, TWO! Charlotte has the legs, Figure Four but Nia drops a LEG! No Figure Eight this time and Asuka is shocked! Nia has Natty to herself, brings her up, and hits the SAMOAN DROP! Cover, Nia wins!
Winner: Nia Jax, by pinfall (NEW #1 Contender to the Raw Women’s Championship)
Asuka says, “Okay, okay!” The Empress gets her chance to make Nia pay in full for what she did to the Pirate Princess! Will Asuka make sure no one ever questions
Backstage interview with Drew McIntyre.
Well he didn’t plan on this interview but he has a statement prepared. He did not plan on giving MVP a Claymore, but MVP was basically asking for it. Kayla wasn’t going to question that. She asks if he knew about the Profits taking on MVP and Lashley tonight. Oh, well, he did not know that. McIntyre thinks he forgot something in the locker room, but isn’t going to find it until Lashley’s match is over. Will McIntyre respond to the Rocky Mountain Machine’s message with one of his own?
Raw hears from R-Truth.
“It has come to my attention the current WWE 24/7 Champion is NOT Tom Brady but one Robert James Gronkowski, aka Rob Gronkowski, aka Gronk.” Be nice to Brady, y’all. Losing the title hurts with an S. And it hurts worse losing to a friend. Shame on Gronk! Truth is coming for Gronk! He’ll tackle anyone he has to in order to get his baby back! This is a warning to all football men out there! “Especially to you, Robin Gronk!” Truth puts on the pads and is ready to go!
Gronk responds!
“R-Truth. More like R-Lies.” Gornk can’t thank Truth enough for his public declaration that he’ll be coming after the title. Bring it on! Gronk is a nice guy, so he’ll give Truth all the intel he needs. Gronk was WrestleMania 36’s host with the most, and reigning WWE 24/7 Champion. He knows Truth has a lot of memories with this title, but that was the past. Gronk is the present and future! Playing 16 years of football and growing up with four brothers has prepared him to fight any time, any place. So this is the 24/7, 7-11, I-95 South, #W9Y, The Whole 9 Yards Champion, and the title stays with him! Gronk will see Truth coming, because he has eyes on the back of his head.
Backstage interview with MVP and Lashley.
After being hit with that Claymore, why are they competing against the Raw Tag Team Champions? Lashley is why. They finish discussing the game plan, but do they have a plan if McIntyre shows up again?
Raw hears from Ric Flair!
A man that has been in more greatest matches of all time than anyone, the WWE needs the Nature Boy’s opinion on the outcome of what many are already considering the greatest ever, Edge VS Orton. Well ever since Flair gave up limousine riding, jet flying, kiss stealing, wheeling and dealing, the greatest in-ring performer is Orton! The Nature Boy’s main man will be the man that beats Edge at Backlash! WOO~!
Raw looks at The Last Ride, Part 3.
The Deadman and HBK had an incredible match at WrestleMania 26, in what would be a retirement match for Shawn Michaels. Taker’s Streak would conquer Mr. WrestleMania’s career. Many are shocked that HBK stayed retired, but that speaks to the closure between these two all-time greats in that match. Perhaps the ultimate Mania Moment also had an emotional moment backstage. Taker is envious that HBK was able to walk away and be good with it. Does Taker wish he had that clarity? Absolutely. HBK had that clarity before the match. Taker hopes that when he gets the match he’s looking for, he’ll have that clarity. Steve Austin knows Taker is struggling with giving up what he loves so much. Edge wants Taker to have that proper moment. When and if he gets it, Edge hopes Taker knows to take that opportunity to finally close the door. Watch all of this yourself on the WWE Network!
Liv Morgan speaks.
“What might surprise you about me is, my biggest stumbling block in life has been my own self-worth.” Liv can’t remember a time where she felt good enough. But she does remember being 6 years old and wondering what life had in store for her. For a long time, she felt like she was floating through life, either going to hit the sun or crash ‘n’ burn. But she found what she was missing when she got into wrestling. She may not know all the answers, because life just keeps changing all the questions. But what she does know is that she is a live and will fulfill who she was always destined to be. In the end, she’s LIV-ing her best life.
Raw has breaking news!
After everything that has been said and done over the last few weeks, and perhaps even longer than that, Rey Mysterio will have a RETIREMENT CEREMONY next week! Is this true? Is the King of Lucha hanging up the boots and mask?!
The Street Profits VS Bobby Lashley & MVP!
Whether or not the Viking Raiders keep hustling them at basketball and golf, there will be no playing around here. Will Ford & Dawkins be able to bring that smoke to the main event?
Raw returns as MVP and Lashley make their entrance. The teams sort out and Ford is fired up as he starts against Lashley. They circle and Ford dodges Lashley. Ford shows off his somersaults as he circles with Lashley again. Ford gets around, headlocks, but Lashley powers out. Lashley runs Ford over and flexes. The crowd boos as things speed up, and Ford hurdles and hurdles. Lashely goes low, Ford jumps over, but Lashley powers Ford to a corner! Lashley rams his shoulder in over and over, then brings Ford out for a COMPLETE SHOT! Cover, TWO! Lashley brings Ford over to bump off buckles and tag in MVP.
MVP throws body shots on Ford then rams in his shoulder. He lets up at 4 to ram Ford in again. Ford fights back and ROCKS MVP! MVP hits back and tags in Lashley. Lashley runs and RAMS his shoulder into Ford’s stomach! The crowd rallies for Ford but Lashley looms over him. Lashley drags Ford up and suplexes him, to hold him up! Ford escapes and tags in Dawkins! The Profits dodge and dropkick Lashley down! Lashley bails out and regroups with MVP but Ford builds speed and FLIES! But MVP and Lashley move so Ford handsprings to his feet. MVP swipes, Ford dodges, but Lashley BLASTS Ford to barriers! Lashley goes out and fireman’s carries Ford around the way, to POST him! Ford is down as Raw goes to break.
Raw returns once more and MVP grinds Ford down with an armlock. The crowd rallies up and Ford fights to his feet, but MVP knees low and throws hands. MVP keeps on Ford in the corner but the ref counts. Lashley tags in and he throws elbows on Ford over and over. Lashley clubs Ford down and then punches him down further. He taunts Ford to tag Dawkins, but Ford flails haymakers at Lashley. Lashley avoids those, to DECK Dawkins! Dawkins gets up in a huff but Lashley scoops and sidewalk slams Ford! Cover, TWO! Lashley throws Ford out then tags MVP. MVP fetches Ford and whips him at the steel steps! Ford crashes down and MVP taunts him. MVP drags Ford up and into the ring at the ref’s count of 7. Cover, TWO! Another try, TWO! MVP grinds Ford down with a chinbar and armlock in frustration.
The crowd rallies again and Ford endures. Ford fights his way up and pries the chinbar away. But MVP ROCKS him with a right! MVP whips Ford hard to buckles, then runs in. Ford drops down and the boot gets caught up! Ford flounders up but MVP is on him. Ford ROCKS MVP back! Hot tag to Dawkins! Dawkins unleashes the Curse of Greatness with those big lariats! And the flying back elbow! Dawkins picks MVP up for a FLAPJACK! Dawkins keeps on MVP with a whip to a corner, and the CYCLONE SPLASH! Then the BULLDOG! Dawkins fires up and the crowd is with him! Dawkins DECKS Lashley for earlier! Ford RAMS Lashley into barriers! Dawkins brings MVP up and tags in Ford. The Profits coordinate, SPINE BUSTER and FROM THE HEAVENS! Cover, but Lashley barrels through Dawkins to drag Ford up! FULL NELSON!
The ref tells Lashley to stop, but Lashley refuses! The count reaches 5, Lashley is disqualified!
Winners: The Street Profits, by disqualification
But Lashley still holds on! So here comes McIntyre! Lashley lets go of Ford now, and the crowd is thunderous for this one! McIntyre storms the ring and HEADBUTTS Lashley! Lashley tackles McIntyre back and the two scrap on the mat! McIntyre powers Lashley off and dumps him out! They fight against the barriers like a hockey fight! McIntyre hammers but Lashley shoves! They go against the boards and then the POST! McIntyre puts Lashley in the ring and grabs legs for a takedown. McIntyre grounds ‘n’ pounds and the ref calls for reinforcements. He tells the NXT superstars and trainees to be security, so a few come out and around. They try to stop McIntyre, but he bucks them off and HEADBUTTS them! They get Glasgow Kisses, but Lashley SPEARS McIntyre!
More superstars are enlisted to stop this fight, but McIntyre and Lashley shake them off, too! McIntyre throws his out, and Lashley decks his! The brawl continues, so the floodgates are open! More superstars hurry in, and some very big ones. Not even Lashley and McIntyre can break through this much. Raw goes off the air and this fight will have to wait! Who becomes not just the WWE World Champion, but the true alpha male of Monday Night Raw?
My Thoughts:
This was a really good episode! For one, I am happy to see the WWE is letting other wrestlers be the crowd for the show. However, I will say that they were behaving how I’m sure Vince wants them to: boo Heels, cheer Faces, regardless of where each individual talent’s character lands. Seeing Dexter Lumis applaud is not how he should be. He should just be staring eerily at everyone in that ring. But maybe things loosen up as the days go by. And while I can’t be sure if it was all the crowd’s doing, but the energy and pace of this episode definitely felt better. The Kevin Owens Show was a great opening segment, and we got a lot out of Asuka, Charlotte, Natty and Nia. And while the Triple Threat’s outcome was predictable, it was an incredible match that really helps Nia. It’s still a shame Shayna isn’t being pushed like she should be because of Vince’s whims, but maybe after Asuka deals with Nia, we get Asuka VS Shayna for Extreme Rules or SummerSlam.
I liked the segment with The IIconics and Bliss-Cross. There was a lot of passion, and that actually was helped by the crowd reacting to it. I’m looking forward to these two teams getting a rematch for the tag titles, and I think after a program like this, I’d be more accepting of The IIconics having another reign as champions. But speaking of champions, Crews winning tonight was a brilliant move! Crews has finally reached that level and I hope he gets to run with the United States Championship for a long time. Kevin VS Garza was a great match, and naturally Vega’s stable breaks even. Garza’s interview during the US title match was odd, both on the timing and the material. But maybe Garza challenges Crews for that title to raise Crews’ stock even higher.
Rollins had a good promo, and his “disciples” had a great match with Aleister and Carrillo. Rollins being a factor works out, and it was a strong, natural move for Rollins to threaten Carrillo’s well-being. This is really raising the level of this story, and I wonder if the Mysterio retirement ceremony has a part to play in it. There’s no way this is real, it must be bait for Rollins to show up so Mysterio can get his revenge. Edge had a great promo and it had a good tie-in to Taker’s Last Ride documentary series. Ric Flair having that promo was alright, but I swear they’re going so hard on the “Greatest Wrestling Match Ever” that it has to be anything but. I will say that McIntyre and Lashley is the greatest thing on Raw right now, largely thanks to MVP. Yes, we got another Lana tantrum that’s a bit awkward, as was her tan job tonight, but everything else is perfect. MVP stirring things up, the match with the Street Profits, the brawl at the end, Lashley and McIntyre are going to tear it up at Backlash and that will be the highlight of the PPV.
My Score: 8.5/10
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Will The Man be the Last Woman Standing?
Becky Lynch and Nia Jax want to finally put this to an end, so tonight on Raw, it will be a Big Time Last Woman Standing match! Will the Irresistible Force force the WrestleMania 40 match to change?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: #DIY VS The Creed Brothers; DIY wins and advances to WrestleMania.
- Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell VS Kayden Carter & Katana Chance; Candice & Indi win.
- Dominik Mysterio w/ JD McDonagh VS Ricochet; Ricochet wins.
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The Awesome Truth VS Indus Sher; The Awesome Truth wins and advances to WrestleMania.
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The New Day VS The Alpha Academy; The New Day wins and advances to WrestleMania.
- Last Woman Standing: Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax; Becky wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
Jey Uso is here!
North Carolina State University fires up and bounces along with Main Event Jey, and Pat McAfee plays a dangerous game standing on the armchairs! From Bret VS Owen to Matt VS Jeff, we’re about to get Jey VS Jimmy in the third-ever Brother VS Brother WrestleMania grudge match! Jey gets the mic as fans chant “YEET! YEET! YEET!” Jey welcomes us to Monday Night Raw, and wants us to check this out. He knows his brothers are somewhere in the building. He knows The Bloodline’s in the building. He knows how the Bloodline rolls! SO Big Brother Jimmy, where you at?! Where you at, Uce!?
Jey waits for someone to show up somewhere, and the crowd spots them first! Fans boo as Jimmy & Solo make their way from the back of the stands. Jimmy gets a mic and goes to the apron while Solo paces around the outside. Fans chant “YEET! YEET! YEET!” again as Jey puts the sunglasses aside. The Usos stare each other down, the fans now chant “UCE! OH! UCE! OH!” Jey wants to say something, hesitates, but then says these two would always get to it but they always knew how to shake right back to this. But now it’s different. Regardless of what happened, the bad blood between them, Jey misses his brother. He does.
Jey knows Jimmy will say what he wants, but Jey doesn’t talk to him no more, doesn’t ride with him no more, doesn’t even see him no more! Jimmy can just come back. Jimmy says he never left! He protected Jey! Jey’s so dumb, he can’t see it! Jimmy is protecting Jey! It was Jey’s idea to leave The Bloodline, but Jimmy helped because he is Jey’s brother. So yeah, Jey leaves, and what happens? Lil’ Bro becomes the BIGGEST star on the Raw roster! Lil’ Bro becomes the top merch seller! Lil’ Bro goes off to become a tag team champion without Jimmy, but with CODY RHODES!? Who left who, Uce?
Jey forgot Jimmy! Everything Jey did that was big was cuz of Big Bro Jimmy! Everything! So listen loud and clear. The biggest moment in Jey’s career, the BIGGEST moment, is because of Jimmy! Jimmy stares Jey down, but Jey says no. Jey’s biggest moment in his career is going to be his dream match at WrestleMania 40: Jey VS Jimmy, and Jey knocks the yeet out Jimmy’s ass! Jey DECKS Jimmy, DECKS Solo off the apron, but then Jimmy SUPERKICKS Jey down! The fans boo but now Solo storms in and looms over Jey. Solo drags Jey up so Jimmy can look him in the face and tell him that Jey needs to get it right! JIMMY made Jey!
But here comes Cody Rhodes! The fans fire up as Cody DECKS Jimmy, then gets in to springboard and CODY CUTTER Solo!! The American Nightmare said he was gonna be a Bloodline Hunter, and he made sure they didn’t take out Jey! Cody tells The Bloodline it is only a matter of time before they lose it all at WrestleMania! Will Jey prove that younger or older doesn’t matter when he is the BETTER brother?
Adam Pearce is on the phone.
He’s telling Nick Aldis to stop being a hypocrite, telling Pearce to keep his roster in check when this is happening. But then Paul Heyman walks over and Pearce says he’ll call Aldis back. Pearce then asks Heyman what was all that, and Heyman says he owes Pearce an apology. He is sorry. That was not authorized by The Final Boss nor The Tribal Chief, and certainly not by Heyman. Jimmy & Solo went into business for themselves so Heyman apologizes. But listen, Pearce knows that there have been flight delays all day. Even private jets like theirs. Heyman is barely even dressed for TV, let alone has his make-up!
Pearce says those two were ready. Yeah, well, they got in on a different flight. But Roman Reigns is a chief of his word. Those two are already gone, out of the arena, and Pearce has Roman’s word. Call his bluff, put out a search party. Pearce knows Heyman is here on official business, which Heyman will handle, and then be gone. That is it. But when Heyman does his official business… everyone will be caught off guard. “And Mr. Pearce, sir, that’s not a prediction. That’s a spoiler.” The Wise Man heads out and calls Roman, but just what is Heyman teasing?
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: #DIY VS The Creed Brothers!
Unlike SmackDown’s mini-tournament, Raw and Adam Pearce say it’s win and you’re in! Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano want one more shot at Judgment Day, but so do Julius & Brutus! Will the Sicilian Psycho & Johnny Wrestling prove that when it comes to Mania Moments, you gotta do it yourself? Or will the Creeds be bringing golden tickets to the Diamond Mine?
Raw returns as The Creeds make their entrance. The teams fist bump to show respect, then the teams sort out. Julius starts against Ciampa, they circle and tie up. They’re in a deadlock, Ciampa goes for a waistlock but Julius facelocks. Julius wrangles Ciampa to the mat, flips him over, ONE, and Ciampa keeps moving. They trade facelocks, gator roll, and Julius gets another lateral press. ONE, but Julius gator rolls Ciampa around. Ciampa fights up, puts Julius on ropes, and the ref counts. Ciampa lets off, then CHOPS! Julius shoots in for the takedown! Julius has a leg, Ciampa fights but Julius turns him for the ANKLE LOCK!
Ciampa scrambles to the ROPEBREAK, and Julius lets off cleanly. Ciampa bails out, shakes it off, and he gets back in. They go again, Julius hits a fireman’s carry takeover! Tag to Brutus, and Julius feeds Ciampa to another fireman’s carry takeover! Brutus cording holds but Ciampa endures. Ciampa fights up, but Brutus facelocks. The fans rally as Brutus switches and rolls Ciampa. Ciampa fights up, headlocks, then ROCKS Brutus! Brutus DECKS Ciampa, then whips him to ropes. Ciampa ducks ‘n’ dodges, tag to Gargano! Ciampa slides, CHOPS, Gargano LARIATS and Ciampa JAWBREAKERS! Wrench and LARIAT!
Julius runs in, Gargano kicks and Ciampa gives him the boost for SLICED BREAD! The Creeds bail out, but DIY DOUBLE PLANCHA! Down go the Creeds, and DIY applaud and pat themselves on the back. The fans fire up and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Ciampa has Julius in a chinlock. The fans rally, Julius fights up to throw body shots, but Ciampa hits a back suplex! Julius lands out of it, but Ciampa elbows him away. Ciampa drop toeholds Julius, gets legs, but Julius BOOTS Ciampa away! Hot tags to Gargano and Brutus! Brutus rallies on DIY, TOSSES Gargano, then blocks Ciampa’s kick to get under and POWERBOMB him! Brutus sees DIY regroup, then he runs in to SPLASH them both! O’Conner on Ciampa, but Gargano runs up! NORTHERN LIGHTS! Brutus has a DOUBLE BRIDGE, TWO!! Tag to Julius and he gut wrench SLAMS Brutus on Ciampa!
Brutus helps Julius flip up and over to SPLASH onto Ciampa! Cover, TWO! The fans rally up as Julius drags Ciampa up. Ciampa throat chops! A bit dirty but Ciampa wants that win! Ciampa storms up on Julius, but Julius basement stalling suplexes!! The fans are thunderous, Gargano runs in, but Brutus intercepts! Brutus suplexes Gargano now, stalls, and then the Creeds SLAM and kip up! Then they both STANDING MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO! Ciampa stays in this for DIY but the Creeds keep cool. Julius stomps Ciampa, tags Brutus, and they KNEE Ciampa around! Then they DOUBLE GUTBUSTER! Ciampa sputters but Brutus tags Julius in.
Julius drags Ciampa up, tags Brutus back in, and Brutus climbs. Julius Electric Chair Lifts, but Gargano makes the save! Gargano ROCKS Julius, Brutus ROCKS Gargano! Ciampa BOOTS Brutus, Gargano swings on Julius but is sent into Ciampa! Ciampa pushes Gargano back so he can ELBOW Julius! DIY set up again but Brutus stops the Sliced Bread! Julius DECKS Ciampa, KNEE into the WIDOWMAKER! Julius scrapes Gargano out, Brutus POUNCES Ciampa over the desk! Pat fires up with Brutus and so do the fans! The Creeds say they run this now, and then Brutus drags Ciampa up while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Julius has Ciampa in a chinlock. Ciampa fights up, and he JAWBREAKERS free! Ciampa ELBOWS Brutus down, BOOTS Julius, then runs up, only for Julius to catch him and toss him back! But then Ciampa catches Julius for a REVERSE DDT! The fans fire up while both men are down and crawling! Hot tag to Gargano! Gargano slingshots to KICK Julius, then he CLOBBERS Brutus! ENZIGIRI for Julius, then he runs to DOUBLE KNEE Brutus! BULLDOG LARIAT COMBO! The fans fire up with Gargano while Julius ends up in another corner. Gargano runs in but is put on the apron!
Gargano GAMANGIRIS Julius, SUPERKICKS Brutus, then SLINGSHOT SPEARS Julius! Cover, TWO! Julius survives but Gargano puts him in a corner. Gargano CHOPS, then hoists Julius up top. Tag to Ciampa, Ciampa CHOPS Julius while Gargano DIVES onto Brutus! Ciampa CHOPS Julius again, goes up top, and fireman’s carries! Ciampa then tucks Julius in for the SUPER AIR RAID CRASH! Cover, TWO!! Julius survives again and shocks Ciampa! The fans are just as stunned, but Ciampa and Julius sit up. Ciampa stands, and he CHOPS! And CHOPS! Julius sits back up as Ciampa puts some stank on the CHOP!
Julius brings the straps down! Julius fires a forearm, Ciampa hits back, and the fans fire up as the shots keep going! They go faster and faster, harder and harder, meaner and meaner! The fans fire up as this just turns into a brawl of haymakers and SLAPS! Ciampa then gets around, ripcord and HAYMAKER! ROLLING- TACKLE from Julius! And then the ANKLE LOCK!! Ciampa reaches out, moves around, but Gargano runs up! Julius kicks him, then gets him up with one arm to POWERBOMB! Then it’s back to the ANKLE LOCK on Ciampa! Brutus gets in to get Gargano for an ANKLE LOCK of his own!
The fans are thunderous as DIY endures! Ciampa and Gargano fight, turn things over, SICILIAN CROSSFACE and GargaNO Escape!! The fans are thunderous as The Creeds power up and lift both DIY! They fireman’s carry, then TOSS DIY into each other!! The fans are thunderous as Julius goes up to MOONSAULT onto Ciampa! Brutus MOONSAULTS, too! Cover, TWO?!?! Ciampa survives and the fans are loving this! Julius tags back in, Brutus climbs up! “This is Awesome!” as Julius Electric Chair Lifts Ciampa! But Ciampa VICTORY ROLLS to get under the Brutus Ball!! Cover, Brutus tips it! Gargano TOSSES Brutus then SUPERKICKS Julius!! Ciampa has the cover, DIY WINS!!
Winners: DIY, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)
Julius can’t believe it! He kicked out at 3.1, but a loss is a loss! And for the first time ever, DIY is going to Mania! Will Philadelphia soon be historic for a DIY championship victory?
Judgment Day meets backstage.
Rhea Ripley is with Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor & JD McDonagh, but also Andrade. Dom says he’s always liked Andrade’s style, but things have changed since the last time he was in the WWE. The Judgment Day runs Raw now. Rhea says yeah, and they don’t extend invitations to just anyone. Judgment Day is very exclusive. JD says very exclusive. But if Andrade continues to impress them, they’ll see about making things happen. And Finn says he just heard that Andrade has a match next week, so the Judgment Day will be watching him. Sounds good. See you next week. But then in steps Damian Priest.
The Punisher says hello to El Idolo, and El Idolo says hello to Senor Dinero. Andrade heads out, will he quite literally win his way into the club? But as for Priest, Finn asks him what he was up to. Priest was getting a closer look at that DIY VS Creeds match. DIY won, but whatever, they can handle those guys. But JD, they thought he could handle Ricochet last week, and run the gauntlet, and then go to WrestleMania to bring even more gold back to Judgment Day. JD says he did he belonged in there. But also, he battered Ricochet, who got lucky at the end there. Right, Finn? Finn hesitates, and Rhea says Priest is right on this one.
Ricochet made a fool out of JD! A fool? Yes. A fool? Yes. That’s why tonight, Dom will make it right. Right, Dom? Yeah, Mami. Let’s go talk to Pearce to make it official. Dom & JD head out, and the others are confident Dom’s got this. But does he, though? Or will the One and Only have two wins over Judgment Day in as many weeks?
Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell VS Kayden Carter & Katana Chance!
The Poison Pixie certainly lived up to that name last week when she bullied Maxxine Dupri as part of beating her and Ivy Nile last week. Will Candice’s toxic tongue strike again? Or will the party not be stopped by her harsh vibes?
The teams sort out and Candice starts against Kayden. Candice rushes up, Kayden gets around and O’Conner Rolls, TWO! Kayden springboards to basement dropkick! Cover, TWO! Kayden stalks Candice, Candice ELBOWS her away then tags Indi. Kayden dodges Candice to SUPERKICK, but Indi BOOTS Kayden! Cover, TWO! Indi drags Kayden up, tags Candice back in, and they mug Kayden. Candice CLUBS away on Kayden, fires off furious fists, then covers. TWO, and Candice grows frustrated already. The fans rally, Candice steps up but Kayden avoids the senton! Tags to Katana and Indi! Katana blasts past Indi, comes back and BULLDOGS!
Katana keeps moving, ducks ‘n’ dodges, then SHOTGUNS Indi to a corner! The fans fire up as Katana stomps away on Indi! Indi shoves Katana, Katana runs corner to corner to A-LIST LARIAT! Katana shoves Indi down, runs up, but into a back suplex! Katana lands out, but her leg jams! The ref and Kayden check, then the ref keeps Indi back. Indi says okay, and she stays by Candice. But Candice tags in to WRECK Kayden! And she SLAMS Katana’s leg into the post!! HALF CRAB and DEEP! Katana taps, Candice & Indi win!
Winners: Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell, by submission
Candice smiles and celebrates with Indi, but Indi doesn’t want to. Candice says a win is a win, but just what is going on in her toxic mind?
Cody Rhodes makes his way to the ring.
NC State fires up again as The American Nightmare walks down the ramp, and this time the fans can sing along with the song, “WHOA~ OH~!” Cody gets his pyro then gets the mic. “In less than three weeks time, I will stand opposed for the second year in a row, in the main event, with the lights on brightest, I will challenge for the WWE Undisputed Championship, against the greatest champion in all of sports, The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. And this Friday on SmackDown, Roman and I are going to have a little conversation, if you will. But there are… complications. Factors, elements, combustible elements, namely… The Rock.”
Fans boo but Cody says The Rock took to Instagram on Friday, and followed it up with “extremely entertaining” concert. Too bad The Rock didn’t wanna be here tonight. Something Cody took from the Instagram post: The Rock referred to himself as “Our Favorite Heel.” A bit of an inside term, but we’re not dumb, we know that means he’s the “bad guy.” Cody has known Heels. Bobby Heenan, Arn Anderson, Michael Hayes, “Superstar” Billy Graham, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair! Fans “WOO~” and Cody says he doesn’t think The Rock is a Heel. He’s just an assh*le. The fans go nuts hearing that!
Cody doesn’t want Rock getting upset, he doesn’t want the “seven bucks team” to get upset, he doesn’t want anyone getting emotional. Cody knows how Rock feels about emotions, he poked fun at Cody tearing up at discussing “finishing the story” with good friend, Michael Cole. There’s no crying in pro-wrestling, Jimmy Dugan, we get it. But hasn’t The Rock been crying behind the scenes this whole time? Once that hashtag came out, once fans chanted something else, The Rock cried to his buddies on the TKO board and said “Hey, this is gonna be some good PR for The Rock! I need to save WWE!” God knows, look at this house. They sure needed “saving,” huh?
The fans cheer but Cody says Rock wanted great PR. Until it wasn’t. TKO said OMG yes, put on the Gucci shirt, get those muscles looking big. It’s because they are Yes People, they are enablers, they won’t dare tell The Rock like it is, so Cody’s going to. Cody tells The Rock, “You’re a lot of things. You’re a lot of wonderful things. You are the Braham Bull, you are The Great One.” Cody still has shoes with The Rock’s logo on it! The Rock is the only guy Cody honestly feels is a Mount Rushmore wrestler. But he is also a terrible salesman, a carny succubus, and for those who don’t get what that means, The Rock is “a whiny b*tch!”
Fans lose their minds again but Cody says The Rock has been convinced otherwise. But don’t think that for two seconds this locker room needs The Rock more than The Rock needs it! That’s a rule of wrestling, nobody is bigger than the business! And sure, Cody brought up his mom, so it is fair game for The Rock to use that. But Cody knows The Rock’s mom. Here’s what Cody will tell us about The Rock’s mom. She is a wonderful lady, salt of the earth, she helped Cody chop Kevin in a dark match. Cody has nothing but respect for The Rock’s mom, something The Rock should’ve echoed back towards Cody’s mom.
But see, The Rock was talking about whipping Cody, handing a bloody weight belt to Cody’s mom, and normally someone as powerful as The Rock, Mama Rhodes would tremble. But The Rock doesn’t know Cody’s mom. Cody was more scared than she was, because she ain’t scared of nothing. This is the same woman who once jumped out of her chair at a Willie Nelson concert and beat up an undercover cop! She ain’t afraid of The Rock! Cody has been asked, April 6th, biggest tag match of all time, Rock & Roman VS Cody & Seth. Seth Rollins, the World Heavyweight Champion, a man The Rock should respect because that man has carried The Rock’s company!
How will Cody get past that match? How will April 7th look? Will it be a fair fight? Cody can tell us honestly… He doesn’t know. Cody does not know if it will be Bloodline Rules or not. Hell, he might not #FinishTheStory. “But Dwayne… What do you know? How can you be so sure of your own self, right?” The Rock hasn’t been in the ring in real action in years! April 6th, the bell is gonna ring, and what happens then? Is The Rock gonna bring The Great One, the hero we all had growing up? Is he bringing that #BigDwayneEnergy? Or is it gonna be LDS, Little D*ck Syndrome?! The fans chant “L D S! L D S!”
Cody says The Rock has referred to himself as The Final Boss. Kudos for that nickname, maybe he really is that. Maybe Cody is too naive to see it. But at WrestleMania, Cody doesn’t think The Rock will be The Final Boss. At WrestleMania, he’s just Roman’s side chick. But then ladies and gentlemen, his name is Paul Heyman, and he serves as The Wise Man to Your Tribal Chief, the reigning! Defending! Undisputed! WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion, Roman… Reigns! And as Special Counsel to the Bloodline, Heyman is here to say to Cody that the ideals that Cody and Heyman share are far greater than the interests on which they conflict.
By example, don’t you hate it when someone comes out to demand an apology? Not that Cody’s done that, but Heyman is still going to do that. Heyman came out here with some “friends” of his, and he apologized. For a Wise Man, that was pretty freakin’ stupid. One: because it didn’t work. Two: because it was just dumb. And for that, Cody, to you and the fans, Heyman humbly apologizes. Cody says whoa, whoa, whoa. He didn’t ask for an apology, and he certainly knows Heyman wants permission to be in the ring. Heyman is a Hall of Famer starting this year, if he wants into the ring, be Cody’s guest.
Heyman thanks Cody for that but he’s fine on the apron. He carries with him a message from The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. Talk about Heels… You may think of Heyman anything negative you want, and that might be understanding the obvious. Heyman is not trustworthy, but Roman is a chief of his word. Heyman assures that this Friday on SmackDown, Roman will be face to face with Cody. American Nightmare, Tribal Chief, challenger and champion. And when they are face to face, there will not be a single other member of The Bloodline in sight. Except for Heyman, but he is no physical threat.
Heyman holds the title belt, the beads, whispers things in Roman’s ear, such as his love and respect. But Cody has Roman’s word that if he shows up on SmackDown, Roman will show up alone. Cody says Roman shows up alone, no Bloodline outside of Heyman, it’s a deal. They good? Heyman has some jet lag, he forgot one little point. And don’t boo him, he’s talking to Cody! Cody says yes they’re booing, and he’s about to go full Homelander and rip Heyman’s throat out if he doesn’t get to the point. Fans like the reference. Heyman composes himself and says if Roman Reigns shows up alone this Friday on SmackDown, then Cody must show up to SmackDown alone, too.
Cody steps closer to Heyman and Heyman is a bit nervous. Cody tells Heyman, “Deal!” They shake hands, and Heyman smiles. The Wise Man negotiated a purely one-on-one meeting between his Tribal Chief and American Nightmare, but can we trust Heyman was telling the truth about Roman telling the truth?
Nia Jax speaks.
“You know what I’ve realized? Becky Lynch has never beaten me. And after tonight, she never will. Because after I break her face again, I will be taking her spot at WrestleMania. I will finish business with Rhea Ripley, and not only will I walk out the Last Woman Standing, but I will become Women’s World Champion.” The Irresistible Force is ready for the Big Time, but will she A-Nia-late her?
Cody Rhodes returns backstage.
And Jey says there he go! But real quick, Cody can’t be going to SmackDown alone. Cody says he gave them his word. But The Bloodline isn’t gonna play fair! They’re all gonna be there! If Cody needs Jey, Jeys’ got him. Cody hears that, but he knows what he’s dealing with. They shake hands and Jey heads out. Will Cody be able to have that fair, one-on-one meeting? Or does Jey have a point about The Bloodline?
Dominik Mysterio w/ JD McDonagh VS Ricochet!
It seems Pearce agreed to the idea that Dirty Dom should try and clean up The Irish Ace’s mess. Will Dom be able to get revenge on Ricochet? Or will Ricochet be the One and Only person holding their head high tonight?
Raw returns and Dom has made his entrance. The bell rings, Dom and Ricochet circle, and they tie up. Ricochet waistlocks, Dom fights the lift and grabs ropes. The ref counts, Ricochet lets off, but Dom ELBOWS him away! Dom fires hands, soaks up the heat, then storms up, but into haymakers! Ricochet CHOPS, kicks then flexes on Dom. Ricochet whips, Dom reverses, but Ricochet goes up and over. Ricochet ducks ‘n’ dodges to then handspring back elbow! The fans fire up while Dom bails out! JD is there to coach Dom up, but Ricochet runs in! JD gets Dom to safety, but Ricochet handsprings to hero land!
The fans fire up, Ricochet then goes to ropes to TORNILLO PLANCHA! Direct hit on Dom and Ricochet tells JD to back off. Ricochet puts Dom in, Dom distracts the ref, but JD grabs Ricochet’s leg! Ricochet kicks JD away, but then Dom WRECKS Ricochet with a dropkick! Dom soaks up the heat and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Dom has Ricochet up top. Dom climbs but Ricochet throws body shots! The fans rally behind Ricochet as he sends Dom staggering. Ricochet hops down as Dom comes running back, and Ricochet GAMANGIRIS him away! Ricochet then springboards, but Dom trips him up! Ricochet flops to the mat, then Dom kicks and FACEBUSTERS! Cover, TWO! Ricochet is still in this and JD argues the count. Dom looms over Ricochet, scuffs him around, then mockingly cheers him on. Fans boo but Dom brings Ricochet up. Dom gives some Latino Heat, then suplexes! Uno Amigo, but fans boo.
Dom gets Ricochet up but Ricochet suplexes Dom instead! And then fireman’s carry, DYNAMITE KICK! Cover, TWO! Dom is still in this and JD coaches him but the fans rally for Ricochet. Ricochet stands, storms up on Dom, but Dom shoots around to roll him up! With tights! TWO, Ricochet blocks a kick and KICKS Dom down! Ricochet hurries up top, the fans fire up, but Ricochet has to bail out of the 450 as Dom moves! Dom runs in again, but into a SUPERKICK! JD gets on the apron, so Ricochet triangle jump DROPKICKS! But then Dom DROPKICKS Ricochet onto ropes! Dom dials it up but Ricochet ducks!
Dom spins around, into the RECOIL!! Cover, Ricochet wins!
Winner: Ricochet, by pinfall
But then JD runs in! Ricochet dodges, goes up and around, BOOTS JD away, then BOOTS him again! Ricochet even flips up and out of the ring at the same time! Ricochet gets the better of Judgment Day again, just how disappointed is Mami going to be in her Latino Heat this time?
Sami Zayn is backstage.
He finds Chad Gable and wants to talk with him. Last week’s match, that was an honor. Sami hasn’t been pushed like that in a long time, it could’ve gone either way. Gable says yeah, it was great. Thanks. Is Gable alright? Yeah, he’s fine. Kinda feels like not… Gable says he’s fine, so leave it at that. C’mon, man, how many years have they known each other? Sami knows when something’s bothering Gable, so he should just say it. Gable says look, last week, the WrestleMania opportunity, the whole thing, it just meant more to him. Sami says he’s been hearing Gable say that for weeks, and it is really unfair.
Does Gable really think he’s the only one this title opportunity matters to? Sami has a family, too! Sami’s kid cries when Papa loses a match, too. Sami has people he’s let down and is trying to make proud. After all the years put into this, Gable can’t tell Sami what matters more because he doesn’t know Sami like that. Gable has Sami calm down, and says he knows all that. But it isn’t all about that. Then what is all this? Gable says Sami can’t beat Gunther. Gable then leaves, and Sami is at a loss for words. Is this bitter side of Gable only going to get worse as we go down this Road to WrestleMania?
Adam Pearce is in the ring.
Raw returns with the GM by a table, and he welcomes us to a contract signing to make official the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship for WrestleMania! The fans cheer, and Pearce introduces first, the challenger, Sami Zayn! The Great Liberator makes his entrance and the fans sing along with his song. Sami still looks troubled by what Gable said just moments ago, but he still high-fives fans and gets in the ring. Then Pearce introduces the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, Der Ring General, GUNTHER! The fans boo as Gunther walks in, having reached Day 647!
Gunther smiles as Sami watches him make his way down the ramp and into the ring. Pearce says we know how this works, but Gunther says before we proceed, let us call this what it is: the most important contract signing for the most important match in the history of this championship. And why, why, why is the challenger dressed no better than any of the bums in the audience? Fans boo but Sami just shrugs that off. Sami gets a mic to say that Gunther keeps sitting there all smug, and it’s really starting to piss Sami off. Gunther thinks this is just another day at the office, that he’ll steamroll through Sami like any other contender.
But with all respect to Gunther, he really has. He has beaten everyone that has come his way, and has done it on his own. Gunther doesn’t believe Sami can do it. A lot of people didn’t believe Sami at many points in his career. They didn’t believe he’d even make it to WWE, let alone win championships and main event a WrestleMania. And if you ask The Usos, they didn’t believe Sami would be one of the guys to end the longest tag title reign in WWE history, but he did! And one year later, he will make history again by ending the longest Intercontinental title reign in WWE history! Sami signs his part and pushes the contract over to Gunther.
The fans cheer Sami on but Gunther waits it out. Gunther tells Sami, what Sami should do is listen to his new friend, Gable. Gable doesn’t believe Sami can win. The people here cheer Sami, they probably even love Sami. But even they don’t believe Sami can win. And y’know, when Gunther looks Sami in the eyes, and if Sami was honest with himself, even Sami doesn’t believe he can win. So what Sami is doing right now is standing on Gunther’s doorstep and begging him to get the beating of a lifetime on the Grandest Stage of Them All! So whatever Sami has to do, from training to believing, just keep doing that. Because at WrestleMania, Sami’s dreams will meet reality.
Gunther grins and signs his part, and it is now official! Gunther then stands, title on his shoulder, and takes his leave. The fans boo, but then Sami tells Gunther to wait. Gunther steps back inside to hear Sami as Sami turns around. Gunther looks in Sami’s eyes and believes Sami doesn’t believe? Sami stands to get in Gunther’s face and dares him to look again. Get a good long look, because these are the eyes of the man who will take you down at Mania! The fans fire up, and now Sami leaves first. Gunther still just grins, but will Sami use a Helluva Kick to wipe that smile off his face?
We follow Sami as he storms backstage, right past DIY and The Awesome Truth. Truth asks what’s up with Sami, but The Miz says that is the mindset of WrestleMania right there. That’s what they need. DIY wishes Awesome Truth luck. Awesome Truth knows DIY is into the ladder match, and they are gonna have their own qualifier. Miz & Truth just need to beat… Indus Sher. Jinder Mahal tells Veer & Sanga to warm up for the match. They head out, and Truth says he feels sorry for whoever has to face those guys. Miz stares at Truth, and he has DIY hold off. Miz will explain. The Awesome Truth heads to gorilla, their match is next!
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The Awesome Truth VS Indus Sher w/ Jinder Mahal!
Miz wants a remix of the theme song but Truth says to just follow his lead. NC State knows what’s up, but will the Awesome Truth finally reach the top of the tag division 13 years after they first teamed? We’ll see, after the break!
Raw returns as Indus Sher makes their entrance, the Modern Day Maharaja by their side. The teams sort out and Truth starts against Sanga. The fans echo “WHAT’S UP?!” but Sanga roars! Truth is scared now so he tags Miz. Truth fires Miz up, Miz runs up and dodges Sanga to fire off haymakers! Miz kicks, whips, but Sanga blocks! Sanga whips and CLOBBERS Miz! Jinder nods as Sanga then scoops Miz and brings him over. Veer tags in, Sanga SLAMS Miz, then Veer ELBOW DROPS! Indus Sher say “NAMASTE!” but the fans say “WHAT’S UP!?” with Truth. Veer HIP DROPS Miz, then looms over him.
Veer eggs Miz on, drags him up with shoulder claws, and then steps over Miz for the neck wrench! Miz endures as Veer still digs a claw into his shoulder. The fans rally for Miz, Miz fights up and throws body shots! Miz reaches out but Veer knees low! Veer SHOVES Miz to the corner, runs in, but Miz BOOTS! Miz ELBOWS Sanga, but Veer catches him! Veer puts Miz back int he corner, but Miz ducks the boot to tag Truth! Truth dodges Veer and starts up the shoulder tackles! Truth gets around Veer to SPIN-OUT BOMB! The fans fire up as Truth shouts out Cena with “You Can’t See Me!” Truth runs to Five Knuckle Shuffle!
Jinder is not happy now as Truth fireman’s carries! But Veer slips free! Truth drop toeholds to the STF!! The fans fire up but Sanga stomps Truth! Miz fires off kicks on Sanga, then body shots! Truth joins in, they mug and whip Sanga, to DOUBLE DROPKICK! Sanga staggers around, Veer runs up, but into a full nelson! Truth and Miz combine for a SKULL CRUSHING LIE DETECTOR!! But Sanga whips Miz away! Miz WRECKS Jinder with it, but Sanga runs up! Sanga knocks Miz down, Miz anchors Sanga, Sanga ELBOWS Truth, Truth falls onto Veer for the cover! Awesome Truth wins!!
Winners: The Awesome Truth, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)
The fans fire up, and Truth doesn’t even realize what happened! Miz celebrates with Truth and Truth puts it together! They’re now one of the six in the ladder match! Will this combination of teamwork and luck be just what they need to take those titles from Judgment Day?
Sami confronts Gable now.
Sami tells Gable to tell him why. Why what? Why does Gable think Sami can’t beat Gunther? Well you just saw why! With Gunther, it isn’t just physical, it is mental. Sami made his career out of being the underdog that crawls his way out of any hole he’s in, right? Just like last week! Sami found the window of opportunity to get out of a bad situation any time he can. Gunther’s on a different level! You gonna sit and wait for that window to appear? It doesn’t happen with Gunther! He’s a different beast, a different animal. If Sami doesn’t change his mentality, then he can’t beat Gunther. Gable leaves Sami with a lot to think again. Is there a way Sami can change enough to defeat Der Ring General?
CM Punk speaks.
“Do I plan at being in WrestleMania? WrestleMania is in Philadelphia, what’re the first four letters in Philadelphia? Phil. You can’t have WrestleMania Philadelphia without Phil. Whether I’m invited or uninvited, Punk will be there.” And next week in Chicago, Punk returns to Raw! Will the Second City Saint find a way to be part of the biggest WrestleMania ever?
Drew McIntyre is here!
The Scottish Terminator, or as his new shirt says, “The Savior of WrestleMania,” makes his way to the ring, NC State a bit torn about seeing him. But then Seth Rollins is here, too!? McIntyre is upset but the fans sing along, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” as The Visionary struts his way out. Rollins swaggers right past McIntyre in his green storm pattern suit, and steps into the ring first. McIntyre frowns as he follows Rollins in, and sits in a corner. The fans continue to sing, which Rollins revels in for a moment. Rollins has the mic to then say, “RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA~! Welcome to Monday Night Rollins~!
“And Drew, hah, sorry, I didn’t even see you there. I was too busy, uh, y’know, soaking up the spotlight, right?” McIntyre has a mic to say, “Alright, here we go.” Here goes what, Drew? McIntyre says no, no, get it all out of your system, he knows Rollins has more! McIntyre can stay in the back while Rollins enjoys the spotlight, because after WrestleMania, that spotlight’s all McIntyre’s. Hey, hey, c’mon. Rollins is here with an honest cause. Rollins doesn’t like McIntyre, he thinks he’s stupid, a hypocrite, has said a lot of dumb things lately, but Rollins is here to admit that one thing McIntyre said is absolutely right and he wants to say it to McIntyre’s face, right here in Raleigh, in front of the fine people.
Now, they always say the first step to recovery is the hardest, so bare with Rollins. He has been working on this all week, but… “My name is Seth Freakin’ Rollins, and I’m a spotlight junkie.” The fans chant “Spotlight Junkie!” and also sing, but McIntyre says everything is just a joke to Rollins, isn’t it? Look at Rollins! He’s a parody of himself at this point. But honestly, McIntyre doesn’t care. He tried reasoning, he gave the answers, and now he only cares about their match and the world title. And you wanna know the real punchline, funny man? “What?” McIntyre says they say that because they’re happy McIntyre sidelined Punk, thanks for remembering!
But the punchline is when McIntyre beats Rollins for that title. The fans chant for “C M PUNK!” but McIntyre says don’t be ridiculous. Punk’s waiting until next week to return because he’d never show up in a place like Raleigh. The fans boo but McIntyre says see, they’re booing Punk! Punk is only getting off his couch to be at his local arena. Rollins tells McIntyre to shut up already. Oh, seems McIntyre got Rollins’ attention. Rollins takes off the sunglasses to say yeah, McIntyre has his attention. Because this isn’t a joke! When Rollins says he is a junkie, it isn’t a joke! He’s been doing this for 20 YEARS! Just like McIntyre!
And every time Rollins comes out of the curtain, that’s his fix. And it gets better and better every single time. Rollins comes out here, lays it all on the line, and it just gets better and better! When he hears the fans sing the song so loud, Rollins can barely speak, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” That’s Rollins’ fix! That is the spotlight he craves, and y’know what? Rollins wants the spotlight as bright as it can possibly be. So yeah, McIntyre’s been busy online entertaining people with memes, so he hasn’t been listening to Rollins. So Rollins will get this through McIntyre’s thick skull: Night One, Rollins takes the biggest star in Hollywood and his side chick, and makes them his b*tches!
Then on Night Two, the biggest spotlight possible will be shined down on McIntyre and Rollins and the World Heavyweight Championship! McIntyre says all hail the savior, Seth Rollins! This is what McIntyre wanted! The passion and desire, not the stupid laughing and dancing. Rollins had McIntyre all the way to the finish. Rollins has done this 20 years, just like McIntyre. They’ve given their lives to this industry, and that is what the title is about! The wrestlers’ title, the workhorse championship! Rollins had McIntyre with him until he mentioned the bigger spotlight and how Rollins pins one of the biggest stars in the world.
Why can’t it just be about Rollins’ hard work to make that title, and all of McIntyre’s hard work to get this chance? Why can’t that be the reason they’re getting the biggest spotlight!? Rollins has had his priorities all backwards, McIntyre has been giving him all the answers. McIntyre said he is over the BS, and all he cares about is Rollins making it to the ring on Night Two. And if Rollins can’t walk, then McIntyre will wheel him down. If not, McIntyre will carry Rollins down. At Mania, McIntyre doesn’t get the moment he deserves. He gets the moment he has bloody EARNED. The fans do cheer that!
Rollins smirks and says, “Ah, Drew. There it is. That’s right, you wanna call me a spotlight junkie, but you want the spotlight just as bad as I do, don’t you? You’re an addict, just like I am. And you’ve been begging for spotlight for the past four years, because you won the WrestleMania main event. You did, back in 2020, in an empty warehouse. And all we’ve been hearing from Drew McIntyre for the past four years was how that wasn’t good enough. You’ve been whining and complaining and bitching and moaning that you deserve better, that you deserve more. The problem is, Drew, when everybody came back around, and the lights got bright again, what happened? You fumbled the ball.
“And that’s the difference between you and me. When the lights are the brightest, I shine, baby. I shine bright. And at WrestleMania 40, the lights are gonna be as bright as they have ever been. And you are gonna find out you are not as good as you think you are.” Rollins drops the mic, but this time McIntyre smirks. The verbal battle continues, but who will put their money where their mouth is once this one finally happens?
Becky Lynch speaks.
“I’m a wanted woman, and I don’t even have the title. Yet. But we’re less than three weeks away from WrestleMania, so why would I risk it all? Because I don’t know anything else. All I know is taking risks. All I know is fighting. And all I know is tonight, I’m gonna be the Last Woman Standing.” Becky is fired up to finally do what she hasn’t done in the most extreme way possible. Will she be the immovable object to Nia’s irresistible force?
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The New Day VS The Alpha Academy!
Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods have been W, W, E, World, Tag, Team, CHAMPIONS~, but they’ve never been a part of a title match as big as this Six Pack Ladder challenge! Will they look to be part of history once again? Or will Akira Tozawa & Otis say “A THANK YEW~!” for this golden opportunity?
Raw returns as the Academy makes their entrance. The teams sort out and Woods starts against the tree trunk, Otis. The fans rally for “NEW! DAY ROCKS!” Otis and Woods tie up, but Woods kicks low then headlocks. Otis powers up and out then runs Woods over! Otis storms up on Woods, GUT RAMS him back down, then brings him back up. Otis GUT RAMS Woods again, then runs to CLOBBER Woods! Otis swivels his hips, the fans echo “Oh~ yeah!” Otis tags Tozawa and the Academy mugs Woods. Tozawa brings Woods around but Woods CHOPS! Woods tags Kofi, he and Kofi double whip Tozawa but Tozawa holds ropes!
Tozawa fires hands, dodges Woods then BOOTS Woods down! Kofi kicks low, whips Tozawa to a corner, but Tozawa BOOTS Kofi away! Tozawa goes up to FLYING RANA! The fans fire up as Tozawa sees New Day regroup outside. Tozawa runs to DIVE! Direct hit on both New Day, and Otis joins in for “A THANK YEW~!” The Academy stands tall as Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Tozawa fights a chinlock. Tozawa reaches for Otis but Woods back suplexes. Tozawa lands out to then DROPKICK Woods down! The fans rally as Woods and Tozawa crawl, hot tags to Otis and Kofi! Otis CLOBBERS Kofi, CLOBBERS him again, then whips him to ropes. WRECKER ELBOW! Woods runs in, Otis dodges, to LARIAT! Otis sees Kofi leap off the corner, and catches him for a WORLD’S STRONGEST SLAM! Otis rips the shirt off, winds up the hips, and then starts up the CATERPILLAR! ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Kofi survives but Otis hurries to step on him! Tag to Tozawa, and Otis goes up!
Otis VADER BOMBS but FLOPS as Kofi moves! Tozawa hurries up top while Kofi SUPERKICKS Otis! Kofi turns around into the CROSSBODY from Tozawa! Cover, TWO! Tozawa SUPERKICKS Kofi but Woods tags in! Woods GAMANGIRIS Tozawa, then steps in to TORNADO DDT! Cover, TWO! Tozawa toughs it out but Woods grits his teeth as he goes to the corner. Woods climbs, but Tozawa rises! Tozawa throws body shots, Woods CLUBS Tozawa! Tozawa throws more hands and climbs up! The fans rally as they brawl up top! Tozawa brings Woods up but Woods fights the lift! Woods throws body shots in return!
Woods shifts position to get under Tozawa for a fireman’s carry! But then Tozawa pops up to SUPER STEINER!! Tozawa rips off his shirt, climbs back up top, SUPER SENTON!! Cover, Kofi breaks it! The fans fire up but Otis drags Kofi out! Otis whips Kofi at steps, Kofi goes up and jumps off the steps to TORNADO DDT to the floor! Kofi hurries back up to the apron but Tozawa SCREW HIGH KICKS him down! Tozawa dodges Woods, pop-up, but Woods blocks the rana to then SPINNING POWERBOMB! Woods sees the WrestleMania sign, hurries up the corner, and he tightrope walks! LIMIT BREAK ELBOW!! Cover, New Day wins!
Winners: The New Day, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)
The New Day are the ones saying A THANK YEW~ as they put their names down for the Six Pack Ladder Match! Will they once again climb to the top of the WWE Tag Team Division and bring home those championships?
Liv Morgan confronts Becky Lynch.
Becky asks if she’ll have to watch out for Liv as well. Well, you should always #WatchMe, but no, not tonight. Nia is all Becky’s. Liv just wants Becky to kick Nia’s ass. Liv leaves, will Becky kick ass and then some?
Cody walks with his dog, Pharaoh, backstage.
Rollins finds him and brings up Friday. One on one? One on one. Rollins nods and says he loves Pharaoh’s bandanna. The Visionary trusts the American Nightmare can handle himself, but will we be able to trust The Tribal Chief?
Last Woman Standing: Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax!
From the origins of “The Man” in WWE to the aftermath of Elimination Chamber: Perth, these two have battled, but never as brutally as this! They’re able to go anywhere and do anything, but who will be the Last Woman Standing this close to WrestleMania 40?
The bell rings and the two rush in! Becky DROPKICKS Nia and Nia goes to a corner. Becky runs in but Nia puts Becky on the apron. Becky ROCKS Nia, goes up a corner, then leaps to MISSILE DROPKCIK! Nia stumbles and tumbles out of the ring, so Becky WRECKS her with another dropkick! Becky then goes to the apron for a FLYING FOREARM! Nia stays up, Becky tries again, but Nia dodges! Fireman’s carry and Nia POSTS Becky, to then SAMOAN DROP her into barriers! The ref counts as Becky is down, but she stands at 4 of 10. Nia CLOBBERS Becky and wants the count! The count climbs but Nia is impatient.
Nia clears off the desk, Becky stands at 5 of 10, and she leans against barriers. Becky comes back with body shots and haymakers, but Nia ROCKS her with a forearm! Becky staggers away as Raw goes to break!
Raw returns and Becky is bringing out a table! The fans fire up as Becky sets that up ringside. There’s been a lot of chaos during the break according to commentary, from chairs to kendo sticks to even a copy of Becky’s book, The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl! But Nia storms over to stop Becky and SMACK her off the desk! Nia puts Becky in the ring, takes that table for her own and sets it up. The table doesn’t cooperate and fans boo, but Nia goes for chairs instead. She slides those in the ring, Becky manages to stand at 7 of 10, and she grabs at those chairs. Nia ditches the table, it just doesn’t wanna work.
Nia storms in but Becky JAMS her with a chair, SMACKS her with it, then clinches! Nia fights the slam, fireman’s carries Becky, and FULL METAL SAMOAN DROPS!! Becky writhes from hitting chairs but Nia looms over her. Nia soaks up the heat as she counts along. Becky flounders to ropes and drags herself up at 7! Nia sits a chair up, fans want a table, but Nia scoops Becky. Becky slips around to a SLEEPER! Nia RAMS Becky into buckles again and again until Becky lets go. But then Becky BULLDOGS Nia off the chair! Nia is down for the count now, and Becky leans against ropes to stay up herself.
Nia stirs at 5, stands at 8, but Becky is up top! Becky leaps, into a CHAIR SHOT! Nia SMACKS Becky again and again and again! The fans boo but Nia finally stops. Nia puts that chair aside and goes out to get some kendo sticks! Nia puts those in, but Becky grabs one! Nia snatches it from her to SMACK! And SMACK! And SMACK! Becky sputters and staggers, Nia clinches and scoops! Nia SLAMS Becky onto chairs! Then Nia runs to drop the leg, brother! Nia wants the count and the count begins! Becky sputters as we reach 5 of 10. Becky grabs that kendo stick but Nia SMACKS Becky with a chair! And again!
Nia kicks Becky around, then uses the chair to take a seat on Becky’s body!! The fans boo as the count begins, but Becky SMACKS Nia with the kendo stick! And again and again and again, even in the butt! Nia stands up, into more shots! Becky stands and she fires away until Nia scurries out of the ring! Becky pursues but Nia CLOBBERS her! Nia pulls the steel steps apart now, and takes that top half to RAM Becky down! Becky flounders, Nia hauls her up and puts her in the ring. Becky’s on the apron and Nia takes aim! Nia runs up, APRN LEG DROP only gets apron! Becky avoids disaster, then has Nia by the steps! DDT onto the steel!
Nia is down again and the count begins. Nia stirs at 5 of 10, sits up at 6, but Becky SMACKS her off steps! Nia falls over again and the count resets. Becky hurries to go looking for things while Nia rises again. Becky has a new table! The fans fire up as Becky gets that in the ring. Nia stands at 7, staggers after Becky, and Raw goes back to break.
Raw returns once again and Nia mugs Becky against barriers! Nia puts Becky on a table, and surprise! There’s a ladder set up now! Nia climbs the ladder?! She also demands Pat support the ladder. But Becky gets off the table so now Nia has no reason to be up there. Nia storms after Becky, but gets a FIRE EXTINGUISHER BLAST!! The fans fire up as Becky cools Nia off, then JAMS her with the canister! Becky puts Nia in the ring, and there’s a table waiting in a corner! Becky lines up the shot, and runs in, but Nia SAMOAN DROPS Becky through the table!!! Both women are down in the wreckage and the count begins!
Nia flounders away from the wreckage but she still needs to stand. Nia is up at 5, and she isn’t satisfied with this! She drags Becky all the way to another corner and puts her in the drop zone! Nia climbs up, for the A-NIA-LATOR!! Nia shouts for the count, the count begins, and Nia storms around as she points to the Mania sign. Becky is still down at 5 of 10, only starts stirring at 7, and she slumps out of the ring to stand up! Nia is furious, goes out after Becky, and kicks things aside to keep after her. Nia asks if Becky’s vision is blurry. Nia fireman’s carries Becky up the steel steps and along the apron, aiming for that other table!
The fans freak out but Becky fights with elbows! Becky CLUBS away on Nia and the fans are thunderous! Becky then clinches, for a MANHANDLE SLAM through the table!!! Both women are down int he wreckage again, and the count begins! Becky sits up at 4 while fans are still losing their minds! We pass 5 of 10, then 7! Nia sits up at 8 and stands at 9! But then she slumps back over! The count starts again, Nia flounders around and stands at 5. Becky goes up the ladder! Becky sees Nia approaching the desk, and then SUPER MAN’S LEG DROP through the desk!!! The fans lose their minds again while both men are down in more wreckage!
The count is 5 of 10! Becky flounders and crawls, drags herself up at 9, but Nia is still down! BECKY WINS!!
Winner: Becky Lynch
The Man conquers truly one of the most intense challenges in her career! But then here comes one of the most intense champions! The fans fire up as Rhea Ripley makes her way out, Women’s World Championship in hand. She goes right to the ring and looks at Becky. Rhea “congratulates” Becky for winning, but then Becky gets in Rhea’s face! The fans fire up, and now there are no obstacles in the way of Mami VS The Man! Who will be the champion after WrestleMania 40?
My Thoughts:
A great Raw right here, though the in-ring action kinda dipped down until that awesome Last Woman Standing main event. This is one of the times I wish they’d done picture in picture so we as the TV audience could see even more action. Great win for Becky, of course, but I also like that Becky had a moment with Liv just before, and of course she had a moment with Rhea to close out the night. Great promos with Sami and Gable that also blended into the contract signing from tonight. And I suppose Gable has a point that Sami, the comeback kid, can’t do that when Gunther has an arsenal of moves that would be “finishers” given all the different ways Gunther has won over the years.
And speaking of that contract signing segment, I really liked the segue they did in following Sami so that he’d cross paths with Awesome Truth at gorilla and we’d get their segment going into their match. WWE has been doing some really creative stuff in this newest era where Vince is truly out and apparently even Kevin Dunn has moved on. Awesome Truth had a really fun but also really quick tag match with Indus Sher, and then New Day VS Alpha Academy was solid stuff, but DIY VS Creeds was such an awesome match. For a moment, I thought Creeds were gonna take this one but DIY still found a way, and I like that DIY is in. Honestly, I’m liking that the HHH favorites are getting in, because we also have New Catch Republic on the other side that can still win into the match.
Judgment Day had good stuff tonight, too. Good group promo with Andrade to tease El Idolo possibly joining, but who knows if he does. Depends on how things go for Priest. He was watching the qualifiers, he’s not worried, but maybe he should be. Granted, he still has the MITB briefcase, he could go from losing the tag titles to taking the world title, who knows how the Judgment Day’s story is going to go as we move past Mania. Dom VS Ricochet was a really good match, and Ricochet winning was the right move to keep this feud going. I think there’s going to be Ricochet VS McDonagh next week as a rematch from the gauntlet, that’ll be great stuff, too.
Candice’s Heel turn slow burn continues as she takes advantage of the “hurt” leg. Indi also does a good job of being very conflicted about this. There’s a WWE YouTube exclusive where Ivy Nile confronts Candice so that’ll be a match, and then maybe when Candice again goes too far, Indi steps in and we get a match of Candice VS Indi at some point. Good little update promo from CM Punk, he’ll have a great homecoming moment in Chicago, but also probably McIntyre coming after him. McIntyre had a great promo segment with Rollins, and with all these continued moments where the other person gets the mic drop moment, it feels like McIntyre has to win the title.
And of course, great stuff with the Bloodline story even on Raw. Jey and Jimmy have great promos in their confrontation, and of course it turns into a brawl. Good segue from that to Heyman being here, and Heyman confronting Cody during Cody’s great promo segment. Cody really went off on The Rock, that was some wild stuff. But the supposed promise of “one on one and no one else aside from Heyman” might be kept, and we get a strong promo segment on SmackDown in a foreshadowing of the fair-and-square 1v1 match. Or it is a trap and that’s more a foreshadowing of Bloodline Rules where they can do whatever they want. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
My Score: 8.9/10
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We’re just one step away from the Cup!
Cold Skull faces The Fierce Warrior, and Gene Blast faces The King of Darkness, and when the smoke clears, we will have our New Japan Cup finalists!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Boltin Oleg & Shoma Kato VS Zack Sabre Jr. & Mikey Nicholls; ZSJ & Mikey win.
- Six Man Tag: El Desperado, Tomohiro Ishii & Togi Makabe VS Just5Guys; Just5Guys win.
- Tanga Loa & Ryusuke Taguchi VS Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman; Loa & Taguchi win.
- Six Man Tag: YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Hiroyoshi Tenzan VS Bullet Club; Bullet Club wins.
- 8 Man Tag: Shota Umino, El Phantasmo, Hikuleo & YOH VS The House of Torture; Shota, ELP, Leo & Yoh win.
- Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS The United Empire; LIJ wins.
- 2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: Yota Tsuji VS EVIL; Tsuji wins and advances to the finals.
- 2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: SANADA VS Hirooki Goto; Goto wins and advances to the finals.
PLAY BY PLAY
2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: Yota Tsuji VS EVIL w/ Dick Togo!
The Gene Blast overcame the tricks Ren Narita tried, but that’s because the House of Torture was saving all the good stuff so they could slay the Rampaging Dragon. Will the deck be even more stacked to make sure Everything is Evil’s? Or will Yota be one step away from LIJ VS LIJ at Sakura Genesis?
Well, Dick is making his way out here, but where is Evil? Oh, there he is. No tricks just yet it seems. But then Yota DIVES onto Evil! The fans fire up but Dick attacks Yota! Dick whips, Yota stops himself, and then scoops Dick for a BACKBREAKER! The fans fire up and Yota wants the bell. The ref says yes, ring the bell, and this is on the record! Yota stomps and CLUBS Evil, then whips, but Evil reverses! Yota hits railing, and then Evil whips him into more railing! Evil CHOKES Yota against the railing, Yota fights back, but the ref gets knocked aside! Evil puts Yota in so he and Dick can stomp away!
The fans boo but here comes the rest of the House already! Narita, Yujiro, Kanemaru and Jack all stomp away on Yota, but here come Bushi & Hiromu! It’s a replay of yesterday as LIJ fights off the House, but the numbers are still against them! The ref rushes in to tell everyone to stop! Evil shoves the ref out of the ring, Yota fires off on him, but Evil CLAWS Yota’s eyes! The House CHOKES LIJ, but the ref says stop! The bell rings, but what is the decision!? NO CONTEST!?
No Contest
What does this mean!? Someone has to advance, right? The finals aren’t until the 20th, how can there be a no contest? The House started this, where’re the consequences?! Yota gets up but Evil TOSSES him back out! LIJ regroups and Yota asks for a mic. Yota tells Evil that he’s sick and tired of this! They ARE gonna finish this match! The fans like the sound of that! All the refs come out, including Red Shoes, to discuss how this will be handled. For starters, they tell all the extras to get outta here! LIJ is cool with that, and Hiromu tells the House to come along. Evil says fine, and Jack, Kanemaru, Narita, Yujiro and even Dick reluctantly exit.
The announcement is officially made, and the bell rings! Yota and Evil rush in, Evil kicks low but Yota CLUBS away on Evil! Evil CLAWS the eyes! Evil kicks, runs, RAMS, but Yota rebounds to run Evil over! Then run and SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Yota fires up and the fans are with him! Evil bails out but the fans rally for Yota. Evil wants Yota to stay back, then he slides in, only to slide right out! Yota runs out after Evil, but Evil kicks him! Evil RAMS Yota into the timekeeper! Abe-san and his table go flying! Evil gets the mic to tell Yota that this is what he gets! The fans boo but Evil tells them off, too! Evil stomps Yota then soaks up the heat.
Evil unties the blue buckle pad himself, then waits in the ring. The ref checks Yota and the fans rally up again. The Young Lions help Abe-san while Yota drags himself up. Yota slides in, the fans cheer, but Evil pulls on Yota’s hair! Evil wrenches the hair, then wrenches it again! And again! Evil CLUBS the hair! The ref reprimands but Evil just dusts off his hands. Evil covers, but the ref refuses to count! Evil is furious but he’s the one up to no good! The ref still says no, so Evil stands on Yota’s head. The fans rally up, Yota rises, and he grins as he winds up to ROCK Evil with a forearm! And ROCK him with another!
Yota ROCKS Evil again, but Evil whips him into the bare buckles! Yota falls and the ref reprimands about the missing buckle pad. Evil stomps Yota, covers, TWO! The fans cheer but Evil is annoyed. Evil scuffs Yota, taunts him, and drags him up. Evil CHOPS, Yota drops to his knees, but Evil stands him back up. Evil CHOPS again and Yota grits his teeth as he drops to his knees! Evil stands Yota up again, to fake the chop to CLAW the eyes! The ref reprimands, Evil lets off, and then Evil stands on Yota in a corner. The ref counts, Evil lets go of the ropes but that’s not the problem! Evil steps away, drags Yota up but claims he’s dead weight.
The ref checks, Evil stands Yota up and wrenches an arm. Evil whips Yota into a corner, runs in, but into a BOOT! Evil runs in again, blocks the boot, but Yota brings Evil in for the STOMP! The fans fire up while Yota rests on the mat. The fans rally up and Yota rises again. Evil’s in the corner, runs out, but into the BACKBREAKER! COMPLETE SHOT! STOMP! The fans fire up again as Yota stands back up. Yota runs, to CURB STOMP!! Yota roars and the fans fire up again! Evil flounders while Yota aims. Yota runs in, but the ref is used as a shield! Evil kicks Yota low, then uses the ref in MAGIC KILLER!
All three men are down while the fans rally up again. Evil stands, he brings Yota up, and the ref also rises. Evil whips Yota into the bare buckles, then clotheslines him in! Then FISHERMAN BUSTER! Cover, but Evil lets off?! Evil wants to torture Yota but it’s hard to say if Yota is still even in this. Yota opens his eyes, rises up, but Evil fireman’s carries! DARKNESS FALLS! Cover, TWO!! Yota survives, the fans fire up, but Evil is furious! Evil slashes his throat and vows to end this now! Evil drags Yota up, spins him around, but Yota fights the STO with elbows! Evil kicks low, whips again, but Yota stops from hitting buckles!
Evil runs in, Yota dodges and Evil hits the buckles! SUPERKICK!! Both men are down again and the fans fire back up! We’re only ten minutes into this new match but this is on top of the madness from earlier. Evil drags Yota up, but Yota ROCKS Evil! Evil fights Yota’s fireman’s carry and CLUBS him, but both men wobble. Evil LARIATS, but Yota stays up! The fans fire up but Evil swings to LARIAT again! Yota drops to a knee, but he grins through the pain! Evil says alright, and he throws off his elbow pad. Evil runs to LARIAT! Yota grits his teeth to stay up! V-TRIGGER! Yota brings Evil in, suplexes, ORANGE CRUSH! Cover, TWO!!
Evil is still in this but the fans rally behind Yota again. Yota rises, drags Evil up, and then goes to the corner. Yota goes up and up and Evil moves the ref into the way! The ref takes the FLYING CURB STOMP!!! And now the House returns! The fans boo as Kanemaru, Dick, Yujiro, Narita & Jack all stomp away on Yota again! The fans tell them to go home, again, but these guys don’t care! They just put one out on Yota. They whip Yota to a corner, then DIck runs in to ELBOW! Kanemaru ELBOWS! Yujiro BOOTS! Jack SPLASHES! Narita ELBOWS! Then they snapmare and set Yota up! Dick climbs for the DICK CHOP!!
The fans boo but the House applauds their own dirtiness. But here come Bushi & Hiromu again! But they just get mugged again! They set Hiromu up for the DICK CHOP, while Bushi gets a JACK CHOP! The House then slithers away before a replacement ref rushes out here. Evil drags Yota up, winds up and runs, to LARIAT!! Cover, TWO!!! Yota survives and the fans are thunderous! Evil is at a loss for words, but he slashes his throat! He vows to end it for real, and he reels Yota in. EVERYTHING IS- Yota flips through!? And HEADBUTTS!! The fans fire up as Yota reels Evil in for a fireman’s carry! 70 CROSS!! Cover, TWO!!
Evil survives the swinging spinebuster and the House cheers! Yota drags himself to a corner, drags himself up with the ropes, and roars as he takes aim! Evil rises, but Yujiro distracts! Dick runs in, but gets a V-TRIGGER! The ref sees Dick, but misses the LOW BLOW! Then Evil RAMS Yota into the ref! That’s the second ref this match! Narita gets his push-up bar! The others set Yota up, but here comes SHINGO TAKAGI! The Rampaging Dragon has seen enough, and he’s still pissed from yesterday as it is! He dodges Narita to PUMPING BOMBER! Kanemaru & Yujiro kick Takagi, double whip, but he DOUBLE PUMPING BOMBERS!!
Jack gets in, but he gets ELBOW, JAB and YUKON LARIAT! Evil runs up but Takagi SWATS Evil’s lariat to JAB! Then feed to Hiromu’s SUPERKICK! Hiromu & Takagi set Evil up for Bushi’s BLACK MIST!! Evil can’t see, the PUMPING BOMBER turns him inside-out!! The fans are thunderous as LIJ helps Yota up! Red Shoes hurries out here, and Yota aims at Evil! GENE BLASTER!!! Cover, Yota wins!!!
Winner: Yota Tsuji, by pinfall (advances to the finals)
The House of Torture ran out of tricks, and now there is light at the end of the tournament! Will Yota do LIJ proud and bring home the Cup?
2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: SANADA VS Hirooki Goto!
One down, one to go. Yota Tsuji has made it through, now we see who joins him in the finals! Will the Cold Skull or Fierce Warrior be the one that steps closer to former glory?
The bell rings and the fans duel between “GO-TO-O!” and “SA-NA-DA!” Red Shoes measures the levels, and it seems to slightly favor Goto. Goto and Sanada circle, tie up, and are in a deadlock. Goto gets some leverage to put Sanada against ropes, but he lets off slowly. Goto pats Sanada on the shoulders and the fans cheer. The two reset, circle again, and tie up again. It’s another deadlock, but again Goto finds a way to put Sanada on ropes. Sanada turns things around, lets off slowly, and also pats Goto on the shoulders. The fans applaud and the two reset again. They feel things out, knuckle lock, then move to a clinch.
They fight for control, Sanada starts pushing Goto towards a corner but Goto slips away. They feel things out, knuckle lock again, then break. They tie up collar ‘n’ elbow, Goto waistlocks, but Sanada wrenches to wristlock. Goto rolls, wrenches, wristlocks, but Sanada spins, wrenches, only for Goto to roll! Goto gets a leg to trip Sanada up, and he has a toehold. Sanada fights back with a chinlock but Goto pulls on the leg. Sanada uses his free leg to hook Goto into an ARMBAR, but Goto clasps hands! Goto moves around, pops free, then headlocks. Sanada fights up, Goto grinds the headlock, but Sanada throws body shots.
Sanada powers up and out, but Goto runs him over! The fans rally as things speed up, and Goto counters hip toss with hip toss! Goto runs and he clotheslines Sanada up and out! The fans fire up and Goto slides out after Sanada. Goto stomps Sanada, drags him up, then CLUBS him on the neck! Sanada staggers, Goto CHOPS him, then kicks him, then CLUBS him! Goto whips but Sanada stops himself from hitting railing! Goto runs in but Sanada drop toeholds him into the railing! Goto goes down in a heap, but Sanada opens the gate. Sanada brings Goto through, then to the crowd! PILEDRIVER to the bare floor!
The fans are stunned but Red Shoes reprimands. Sanada leaves Goto behind and slides into the ring. The fans rally for Goto as the ring count begins. Goto crawls at 5 of 20, finds his way to ringside at 10, but still hobbles and crawls. He stands at 17 to slide in! The fans cheer, but Sanada stomps Goto. Sanada drags Goto up, CLUBS him on the neck, then brings him back up to CLUB him again. Goto CHOPS! And CHOPS! Sanada eggs Goto on so Goto CHOPS again! Goto whips, Sanada reverses to RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP! Cover, TWO! Sanada keeps cool and sits Goto up into a chinlock. Goto endures and the fans rally again.
Goto kicks forward, reaches out, but Sanada cranks on the hold! Goto keeps fighting, and has the ROPEBREAK! Sanada lets go cleanly, but then he stomps Goto while he’s down. Sanada then stands Goto up to CLUB him on the neck. Goto CHOPS in return! And CHOPS, and CHOPS, and has Sanada in a corner! Goto CHOPS again, then whips corner to corner. Goto runs in, but Sanada BOOTS first! Sanada runs, Goto follows, and Goto LARIATS Sanada down! The fans fire up and Goto rises, clutching his neck. Goto stands Sanada up to fire off forearms, then he whips corner to corner. Goto runs in, MURAMASA!
Sanada wobbles, into the SAIDO! Cover, TWO! The fans fire up while Goto grits his teeth. Goto drags Sanada up, fireman’s carries, but Sanada fights free! Sanada waistlocks, Goto throws elbows, then runs. Sanada hurdles, hurdles, and DROPKICKS! Goto tumbles out of the ring, Sanada PLANCHAS him down! The fans fire up and Sanada encourages them to get louder. The fans get louder and Sanada appreciates it. Sanada then goes back for Goto, brings him up and puts him in the ring. Sanada fireman’s carries but Goto throws elbows! Sanada turns around into Goto’s fireman’s carry, but then slips out into the dragon sleeper!
But Goto arm-drags free! Sanada kicks low, runs, but Goto follows! Sanada dodges this time, runs again, but Goto still follows! Sanada sidesteps this time, but Goto holds ropes to avoid the hurdle! Goto runs in, but Sanada fireman’s carries! T K O! Cover, TWO! Goto is still in this and the fans rally up! Sanada goes up the corner, ROUNDING BODY- NO, Sanada has to land out as Goto moves! Sanada runs in, but into the fireman’s carry! USHIGOROSHI! Both men are down and the fans fire up again! They cheer on “GO-TO-O!” but the “SA-NA-DA!” chants are still there. Red Shoes checks them both, and both men slowly rise.
The two crawl towards each other, and Goto fires a forearm! Sanada shakes his head, eggs Goto on, so Goto throws another! Goto eggs Sanada on, so Sanada fires a forearm! Goto fires a forearm back, and the two stand. Sanada UPPERCUTS! Goto comes back to forearm! Sanada UPPERCUTS again, and Goto drops back to a knee! The fans rally, Goto stands again, and he forearms! UPPERCUT, forearm, repeat! Goto growls, fires a flurry of forearms, and he ROCKS Sanada! Sanada drops to his hand and knees but Goto powers up! Goto KICKS but Sanada blocks! Goto fires more forearms, then waistlocks, but Sandaa fights free!
Sanada runs, but Goto fireman’s carries! And he throws Sanada into the dragon sleeper! But Sanada turns around and suplexes, for MAGIC SCREW! Both men are down again and the fans fire back up! Sanada roars as he rises up, and he aims from a corner. Sanada wants Goto to get up, and Goto sits up, into the SHINING WIZARD! Sanada then dragon sleepers, for the SKULL END!! Goto endures, flails, reaches out, but he’s caught in the body scissors! Goto fights around but he’s fading! The fans rally, Goto’s hand drops! Sanada lets him go to then climb! ROUNDING BODY PRESS! Cover, TWO!!
The fans fire up as Goto survives but Sanada storms around. Sanada drags Goto up, reels him in and clinches, but Goto slips free to shove Sanada away! Sanada forearms, ROLLING- HEADBUTT from Goto! The fans fire up and duel, and Goto drags Sanada up. But Sanada breaks free! Goto HEADBUTTS again! Sanada falls back down and Goto steadies himself. Goto roars, the fans are with him, and Goto sits Sanada up. Goto runs to PENALTY KICK! Shoutout to Shibata and the fans fire up more! Sanada grits his teeth as he sits back up but Goto takes aim! BUZZSAW! And then he hauls Sanada up to dragon sleeper! G T- BACKSLIDE COUNTER! TWO!!!
Sanada and Goto hurry up, Sanada dodges to O’Conner BRIDGE!! TWO?!!? Goto escapes and shocks everyone! Sanada resets, runs in, SHINING WIZARD!! The fans are thunderous as Sanada roars and drags Goto back up! Clinch and DEAD- NO, Goto slips around to ripcord and fireman’s carry! G T W!! Cover, TWO?!?!? Sanada survives but Goto is all fired up! The fans are thunderous as Goto dragon sleepers for G T R!!! Cover, GOTO WINS!!!
Winner: Hirooki Goto, by pinfall (advances to the finals)
Don’t call it a comeback, Goto’s been here for years! Sanada’s hopes of being IWGP World Heavyweight Champion again have been delayed, how long must he wait for another chance?
As for Goto, he’s going back to the New Japan Cup Finals for the first time since 2016, and his seventh overall! But before he can get the mic to speak, Yota makes his way back out here. Yota steps into the ring and he gets the mic first. Yota tells Goto, “In order to open the door to a new era, we must do this.” The fans applaud that, and Yota continues by asking Goto, “Are you ready?!” Yota drops the mic at Goto’s feet, and Goto stands up to speak. “I also have something I want to show you. As a three-time New Japan Cup Champion, I will show you my strength.” The fans like the sound of that!
The Fierce Warrior stares down with Gene Blast, a true generational showdown on the horizon! Will Goto return not juts to former glory, but finally ascend to top of NJPW? Or will Yota make it LIJ VS LIJ for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship?
My Thoughts:
A great semifinal round for this tournament, with quite a surprising main event. Sanada VS Goto was great stuff, and while I felt Sanada wasn’t winning the Cup, I didn’t think he’d be out this round. Yota VS Evil was rather creatively put together, too. I did not think the House would get so involved that at first it was a No Contest but then they restart under a ringside ban. Takagi making sure Yota won was good stuff, too, maybe we can get Takagi VS Evil for the NEVER Openweight Championship if they’re not gonna circle back to more Shota Umino VS House of Torture stuff.
Goto VS Yota is going to be great stuff, and Goto is clearly a top utility guy. He’s had so many New Japan Cup finals appearances, certainly among the most ever, but I don’t think he gets a fourth Cup win against Yota, one of the “new era Musketeers” that NJPW clearly loves. Yota VS Naito is definitely the title match for Sakura Genesis.
My Score: 8.9/10
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