Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE Raw Results & Report! (3/1/21)
Will the world champion still be awesome?
Raw puts gold on the Road to WrestleMania!
The Miz made a deal and Bobby Lashley is here to collect! Will Lashley take the WWE World Championship from Miz and keep him from WrestleMania?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Drew McIntyre VS Sheamus; McIntyre wins.
- Naomi w/ Lana VS Nia Jax w/ Shayna Baszler; Jax wins.
- WWE World Championship: The Miz w/ John Morrison VS Bobby Lashley w/ MVP; postponed until later tonight.
- Braun Strowman & ??? VS The Hurt Business; changed to…
- Raw Tag Team Championships: The Hurt Business VS Braun Strowman & Adam Pearce; The Hurt Business wins and retains the titles.
- Damian Priest w/ Bad Bunny VS Elias w/ Jaxson Ryker; Priest wins.
- WWE World Championship (Take 2): The Miz w/ John Morrison VS Bobby Lashley w/ MVP; Lashley wins by count-out, Miz retains the title.
- Charlotte Flair VS Shayna Baszler w/ Nia Jax; Charlotte wins.
- Six Man Tag: Matt Riddle & Lucha House Party VS Retribution; Riddle & LHP win.
- Matt Riddle w/ Lucha House Party VS Mustafa Ali w/ Retribution; Ali wins.
- WWE World Championship Lumberjack Match: The Miz w/ John Morrison VS Bobby Lashley w/ MVP; Lashley wins and is the new WWE World Champion.
PLAY BY PLAY
Drew McIntyre goes to the ring!
Not only is the Scottish Warrior back, he and the Celtic Warrior are finally having it out 1v1! It would’ve been for the world title if WWE management didn’t throw in the Elimination Chamber, but it can still be decisive! But first, McIntyre gets a mic and says, “It’s been a real bitch of a month for ol’ Drew McIntyre.” Where to begin? How about Sheamus, his former friend? 20 YEARS of friendship, severed by Sheamus stabbing McIntyre in the back. McIntyre still doesn’t get why, but stay tuned as they beat each other in an absolute war!
Then, Elimination Chamber. McIntyre went in WWE Champion, odds stacked against him, but he outlasted 5 former champions and won! But he didn’t see what came next coming: Lashley struck and kicked McIntyre’s ass. Then the resident roach, The Miz, cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. “The frickin’ Miz is WWE Champion…” WrestleMania is 40 days and 40 nights away. Something about that is appropriate.
But McIntyre’s mission is simple: get back to the WWE Championship and main event WrestleMania! McIntyre didn’t win the title in the PC, charge into the ThunderDome, defend the title again and again and make it THE championship in the WWE again to get screwed a the finish line! Whoever wins tonight has the biggest target on their back, trust McIntyre on that. As for “buddy Sheamus,” let’s get to it! What else is left to say? But here comes The Miz first! McIntyre admits he could use some last minute motivation.
John Morrison and Miz are here, and Miz wants the introduction to remember! He needs official introduction as… “The current WWE Champion~! THEEEE MIIIZ~!” And pyro, too! A lot of it! Now that’s more like it! Miz overheard McIntyre just now and he admires how McIntyre’s dignity and class. Just like a true former champion! Everything that happened was out of McIntyre’s control. Once “the greatest superstar of his generation,” the Miz became Mr. MITB, it was only a matter of time before he cashed in and became champion! McIntyre “congratulates” Miz and wants a “big hug.” Miz says no thanks, he knows he isn’t McIntyre’s favorite person.
But thinking about it, why is McIntyre upset with Miz? Would you be upset with an eagle flying in the sky? Or a dolphin swimming in the sea? No! Then why be upset with Mr. MITB cashing in at the right time? That’s just what they’re going to do! Blame the one and only person that is at fault: Bobby Lashley! Miz may be a master manipulator but it won’t work on McIntyre. Miz can handle Lashley alone. And if Miz survives somehow, then he’s McIntyre’s problem.
How dare you, Drew? Miz claims he didn’t want help from Lashley. He’s the real victim! Miz is a husband and father with two little baby girls. Lashley threatened Miz’s well-being! He had to make a deal! And because of that, Lashley now has his title match! Think about this: Why would someone like Lashley get the first opportunity at the title, and not someone more deserving like former champion, McIntyre? Because of Lashley! So let’s all work together! Miz, Morrison & McIntyre, the 3 M-migos! They have endless potential and- Here comes MVP.
Is this the beginning of a new, beautiful business relationship? Or the pathetically ramblings of a desperate man? Is McIntyre taking this seriously? MVP knows McIntyre well enough that just like how McIntyre rejected MVP’s help, he doesn’t want nor need anyone’s help. McIntyre says that now, but nothing changes the fact that Miz and Lashley step in the ring, and Lashley becomes WWE World Champion. Oh, and MVP almost forgot the real reason he’s out here: Miz VS Lashley for the title will begin promptly at 9 PM Eastern time. In less than one hour, Lashley will absolutely destroy the Miz. Miz says Lashley is a menace! McIntyre needs to help them put an end to this!
But here comes Sheamus! Miz is wasting his breath because McIntyre only cares about himself! And that’s okay, because after Sheamus is through with him, McIntyre can’t help anyone else! Well the time for talk is over, let’s fight! McIntyre and Sheamus rush each other at the ramp! They brawl back to ringside, the refs hurry out to stop this! This has to be a match, not a brawl! This is not so easy to stop, though! McIntyre CLOBBERS Sheamus over barriers then goes back to the ring! Sheamus doesn’t stay down long but refs keep him back so he can cool off! This match will begin, after the break!
Drew McIntyre VS Sheamus!
Raw returns and the bell rings, with these two scrapping again! The ref backs McIntyre off but Sheamus goes after him in the other corner! The ref has to back Sheamus off, but McIntyre puts Sheamus in the corner to CHOP! McIntyre throws haymakers and CHOPS, then whips him to ropes. McIntyre elbows Sheamus down, covers, ONE, but McIntyre stomps Sheamus in a corner. Sheamus kicks and clubs McIntyre back, reels him in and LARIATS! Sheamus hops up the corner and leaps for a BIG knee drop! Cover, ONE! Sheamus clamps onto McIntyre’s arm and grinds an elbow into McIntyre’s neck.
McIntyre endures, fights up, and throws body shots. McIntyre kicks, snap suplexes, then drags Sheamus up to BOP him in the face! McIntyre stomps Sheamus, drags him up in a corner and throws more haymakers. McIntyre whips Sheamus corner to corner, hauls him up, but Sheamus gets a leg to trip McIntyre. Sheamus stomps McIntyre hard in the stomach and again! Sheamus drops a knee right on McIntyre’s ear! Sheamus clamps on with a chinbar and armlock but McIntyre endures. Sheamus grinds his forearms into McIntyre’s face, throws his elbow in over and over, and wants to re-fracture the jaw! Cover, TWO!
Sheamus looms over McIntyre and KICKS him in the chest! Sheamus headlocks, McIntyre powers Sheamus to ropes and has him stuck in the ropes to throw haymakers! McIntyre turns Sheamus around to steal the Beats of the Bodhrain! McIntyre finally lets off of Sheamus but has to clutch his jaw. Sheamus throws McIntyre out through ropes! McIntyre gets on the apron but Sheamus kicks him low! They brawl with the ropes between them but Sheamus ROCKS McIntyre, and gives him clubbing forearms to the lower back! Then Sheamus stands McIntyre up, but McIntyre elbows free of the Bodhrain!
Sheamus KICKS McIntyre low, then BROGUES him off the apron! McIntyre goes down and Raw goes to break!
Raw returns again and Sheamus elbows away on McIntyre’s head and shoulders! Sheamus digs his knee in and clamps onto the arm again. McIntyre endures, fights free, and throws body shots. McIntyre CHOPS, CHOPS, and swings, into an IRISH CURSE BACKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Sheamus looms over McIntyre again, stomps him on the back, then pulls him back against a knee with fish hooks! The ref reprimands and counts, Sheamus lets go but smirks as he watches McIntyre crawl. Sheamus stomps McIntyre, kicks him around, and has McIntyre on ropes. Sheamus chokes McIntyre but lets off at the ref’s count, to then KICK McIntyre down!
Sheamus drops knees at the rope, and then digs the knee into the jaw! The ref counts, Sheamus lets off again, but he kicks McIntyre to the apron. Sheamus stands McIntyre for Beats of the Bodhrain! He lets off at the ref’s count and McIntyre flops back in. McIntyre sits up to SLAP Sheamus, so Sheamus SLAPS him! They SLAP each other back and forth, Sheamus kicks low and whips him corner to corner! McIntyre comes back to CLOBBER Sheamus! McIntyre starts to rally, whips Sheamus again, and OVERHEAD SUPLEXES! Sheamus staggers up into another clinch but he grabs a rope! The ref counts, McIntyre lets off to clothesline Sheamus out!
McIntyre hurries after Sheamus but Sheamus trips him on the apron! Sheamus pushes McIntyre but McIntyre POSTS Sheamus! And then OVERHEAD SUPLEXES Sheamus at the announce desk! That was not the best landing but McIntyre doesn’t care for mercy! A ring count starts, McIntyre is back in 5 of 10 but goes out to fetch Sheamus. McIntyre drags Sheamus over and gives him a FALCON ARROW to the announce desk! Technically a better landing, but McIntyre puts Sheamus in the ring. McIntyre climbs, aims, and leaps to FLYING CLOTHESLINE! Cover, TWO!! Sheamus survives all of that but McIntyre keeps his focus.
McIntyre drags Sheamus up, underhooks the arms, but Sheamus fights that off to CLOBBER McIntyre! Sheamus goes to a corner, catches his breath, and skins the cat up to the top rope. But McIntyre kips up!? And hits a FLYING GLASGOW KISS! Sheamus wobbles, McIntyre climbs up, SUPER OVERHEAD SUPLEX!! Cover, TWO!?? Sheamus survives, both men are down, and Raw goes to break!
Raw returns again and the two are brawling on their knees! They CHOP, haymaker, CHOP again, and repeat! McIntyre gets the edge with CHOPS, but Sheamus reverses the whip to fireman’s carry! McIntyre manages to sunset flip, TWO! McIntyre SPINEBUSTERS Sheamus down! Jackknife cover, TWO! Both men head for each other again, but McIntyre gets the underhooks. Sheamus RAMS McIntyre into a corner, McIntyre elbows him back, but Sheamus KNEES McIntyre down! Cover, TWO!! Sheamus fireman’s carries for WHITE NOISE! Cover, TWO!?! Sheamus doesn’t stop, he goes for legs! McIntyre cradle counters, TWO! Kick and FUTURE SHOCK!! Cover, TWO?!?
Both warriors are down, but McIntyre sits up while Sheamus goes to a corner. Both men slowly stand, fans rally on the ThunderDome screens, and McIntyre runs, but Sheamus bails out! McIntyre gets Sheamus at the apron but Sheamus hotshots and then reverse hotshots! McIntyre falls but Sheamus climbs. Sheamus drags McIntyre up, throws some hands, then clubs McIntyre on the back over and over. McIntyre throws body shots back and then another headbutt! McIntyre fireman’s carries Sheamus, shifts him around, and McIntyre hits a SUPER WHITE NOISE!! Cover, TWO!?!? McIntyre stealing and upgrading Sheamus’ move didn’t finish this!?!
McIntyre sits up first, but Sheamus follows. McIntyre shakes his head as he brings Sheamus around. He reels his old friend in, underhooks again, but Sheamus fights it! Sheamus spins through, shoves McIntyre at a corner, but McIntyre goes up! Sheamus catches him, KICKS him, and hits an ALABAMA SLAM! Sheamus covers, TWO!!! McIntyre survives Sheamus stealing one of his favorites! Sheamus goes to another corner, drags himself up, and McIntyre slowly rises. Sheamus aims, runs in, but into a CLAYMORE!?!? Cover, McIntyre wins!!
Winner: Drew McIntyre, by pinfall
It was a split second, but the Scottish Warrior outdraws the Celtic! Will this settle things between these now bitter rivals? Will McIntyre make his way back up the mountain on the Road to WrestleMania?
Naomi crosses paths with Nia Jax backstage.
Tonight, these two will battle before their teams have it out for the tag titles, and that is up after the break!
Naomi w/ Lana VS Nia Jax w/ Shayna Baszler!
The #RavishingGlow is waiting on a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match, but they might not even be facing the Irresistible Force & Queen of Spades for them! This Wednesday, Nia & Shayna defend against the inaugural Women’s Dusty Cup winners, Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez! Will Nia use Naomi to build momentum towards that match?
The bell rings and Naomi rushes Nia, Nia pops her up but Naomi throws hands! Naomi runs but gets run over! Nia toys with Naomi, then TOSSES her! Naomi gets to a corner, Nia is on her and wants her to feel Nia’s glow! Nia pulls hair, the ref reprimands, but Naomi SLAPS Nia! Nia shoves Naomi, but Naomi boots back! Naomi pushes Nia into buckles then hits a RUNNING JAWBREAKER! Naomi fires off, Nia shoves her and elbows her! Nia whips, elbows her again, then brings Naomi up for a bearhug! Naomi endures the squeeze, Lana rallies for her, and Naomi throws elbows. Naomi slips up and around to sunset but Nia drags her up for a headbutt!
Nia drags Naomi back up, fireman’s carries, and hits a SAMOAN DROP! Nia glares at Lana and taunts her about what’s happening to her tag partner. Nia drags Naomi back up, lifts, choke grips, and CHOKE BOMBS! Cover, Nia wins!
Winner: Nia Jax, by pinfall
A dominant win, and perhaps a message to #CobraKai & #BigMamiCool. But will Nia be able to slam Raquel the same way? Will Shayna be able to bully Dakota like she did in the past? Or will the Women’s Dusty Cup winners change the whole landscape?
WWE World Champion: The Miz w/ John Morrison VS Bobby Lashley w/ MVP!
This is the moment of truth! The Hollywood A-Lister needs to put up or shut up! Will 16 years of waiting finally all pay off for the Chief Hurt Officer? Or will Miz have another way out of this?
Miz does make us wait on his entrance. Is he chickening out? The music finally hits, Lashley is chomping at the bit, but Miz does not walk out onto the stage. MVP asks what’s going on. Miz is backstage and is claiming his stomach hurts! Adam Pearce asks what’s going on, but Miz says he has stomach cramps. Miz claims he can’t even walk. Morrison says something could be wrong! Pearce says Miz is champion, he has an obligation! And Lashley rushes back up the ramp! Miz claims he’s endured so much pain in the past, but he just needs more time. TOO LATE! Lashley grabs Miz! They’re going to have this match, and Lashley will beat Miz’s ass to take the title!
Lashley throws Miz down and Morrison shouts for towels. Pearce says excuses or not, Miz is having this match, even if someone has to drag him out to the ring! Miz has one more hour now, but will nothing change for Miz’s lack of intestinal fortitude?
Braun Strowman goes to the ring!
The Monster Among Men is seething, but he has a battle with the Hurt Business’ Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander! But who is joining Braun in that battle? We’ll see, after the break!
Braun Strowman & ??? VS The Hurt Business!
Raw returns and Braun wants to address something that’s blatantly obvious. Pearce and Shane O’Mac have something against Braun! He gets suspended for a headbutt, then is kept out of the Elimination Chamber just for not being a world champion. But watching the PPV at home, the PPV sucked without him! Now he has to be part of a match and has no idea who his partner is! Shane is having a laugh at Braun! But they don’t understand how pissed off Braun is! If things keep going this way, things will be really, really-
Shane O’Mac is here! Pearce and Shane both go to the ring as Braun seethes, and they tell him to relax. Shane isn’t laughing at Braun. But clearly, Braun’s inability to reach his own personal goals is, well, messing him up. Braun is angry and upset, so Shane is going to help him. Shane likes helping people. Shane’s helping himself by taking an MBA course. One subject that is interesting is conflict management. According to the class, which is above Braun’s reading level- Relax, Shane is joking! But the key to conflict resolution is communication. That is what this match tonight is about. If Braun thinks it was Pearce who made this match, he’s wrong. It was Shane.
Shane knows that Braun needs to work with WWE management. And the only way to do that is to be forced to work with management. That is why Braun is teamed up in a match with WWE management. Wait, what does that mean? Is Shane his partner? Well let’s not get ridiculous here. Shane says that, as far as he is concerned, the only person Braun has a conflict with is his partner tonight, and that’s Adam Pearce. Looks like that’s news to Pearce. Braun actually HATES that idea. Oh don’t be so close-minded! Pearce is a skilled wrestler! He and Braun can do great things working together!
But part of conflict resolution is the reward. They will team up and fight for the RAW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS! Braun says that is good. But he promises Shane if Pearce screws up, he’ll #GetTheseHands! And then Braun grabs Pearce to make sure he understands! Shane says Braun needs to calm down! The advertised match now has higher stakes! Will Braun and Scrap Daddy work together long enough to win gold together?
Raw Tag Team Championships: The Hurt Business VS Braun Strowman & Adam Pearce!
Raw returns and the Hurt Business make their entrances. They don’t look happy about this sudden change at their expense, but will they get the literally biggest win in their reign yet?
The introductions are made, the belts are raised, and this last minute defense begins!
Braun starts and he BULLDOZES the Hurt Business! Strowman clotheslines Benjamin out then runs Alexander over! Strowman TOSSES Alexander out and he crashes into Benjamin! Braun goes out and starts down the track! The Strowman Express BLASTS the Hurt Business! Braun puts Alexander in, storms over and whips him out only to return him HARD into the corner! Braun drags Alexander out to reel him in and LARIAT! Alexander writhes but Braun stomps Alexander down! Braun stands on Alexander’s body for a cocky cover, ONE. Braun stomps Alexander more, puts him in a corner, and then TOSSES him across the way!
Braun glares at his reluctant tag team partner, and then he goes after Alexander to TOSS him back the other way! Braun takes aim, Alexander gets up, and Braun runs in, only for Benjamin to make the save! Braun POSTS himself! Benjamin tags in, Alexander runs and dropkicks the legs out! Benjamin runs to STEP-UP KNEE! The Hurt Business mugs Braun but he explodes out! Braun DECKS Alexander, and scoops Benjamin for the MONSTER SLAM!! Shane says Braun should tag Pearce!? Both Pearce and Braun are confused, but Braun tags Pearce in anyway! Pearce covers, but Benjamin cradles, the Hurt Business wins!!
Winners: The Hurt Business, by pinfall (still Raw Tag Team Champions)
Shane insisting on teamwork screwed Braun over! Braun is furious with “puppet master” Shane and promises to wreck the ThunderDome! Shane keeps quiet, will he stop trying to meddle in the Monster’s life?
Damian Priest and Bad Bunny talk backstage.
But Elias and Jaxson Ryker walk over. Just the two guys they were looking for! The Drifter knows he has a match with Priest, but there is mutual respect here. Elias has a proposal for Bunny. Bunny is listening. Well only a handful of people know what it’s like to be at the top of the music charts and change the world. Not just change, but inspire! Yes, Ryker is just one of millions! Now, Elias doesn’t expect anyone to touch the dominance of Universal Truth, but Bunny is on his way to the musical pinnacle. Bunny has so much potential, and that is where Elias comes in. Picture a duet single and turn the music industry upside! If you thought people cried tears for the Beatles, just wait and see what happens for Elias & Bunny!
Well, his people will call Bunny’s people, and it’ll be great. Bunny whispers to Priest that Elias is loco. Priest tells Elias that Bunny said no. Will Elias handle this rejection well? Or will he try to make Priest #DriftAway?
Ladies and Gentlemen: Elias.
The Drifter introduces himself, and has Ryker in the ring with him as he plays his guitar. Elias introduces Ryker, and says before the match with Priest, Elias wants to enlighten the WWE Universe about the “biggest travesty in the music industry today.” Universal Truth was SNUBBED from the Grammy’s! Elias is outraged! It’s like if Tom Brady was excluded from the ESPY’s! But right now is a great time to remind everyone, especially Bad Bunny, that WWE stands for, “WALK WITH ELIAS!” But Elias is interrupted by Bad Bunny!
Damian Priest w/ Bad Bunny VS Elias w/ Jaxson Ryker!
The WWE 24/7 Champion accompanies the Archer of Infamy again and have been a hard hitting duo as of late! Will they drop another hit as Priest hits Elias? Or will Elias leave Priest and Bunny singing the blues?
The bell rings, the two circle, and Priest ties up with Elias. Priest powers Elias to ropes but Elias turns it around. They end up in a corner, Priest turns it around on Elias but the ref counts. Priest backs off at 4, Elias checks his face, and the two reset. They tie up again, Elias goes after an arm but Priest resists. Priest chinbars, Elias wrenches through, but Priest spins to wrench and wrench and wristlocks back. Elias gets the ropebreak, the ref counts, and Elias gets to the apron. Priest waits for Elias and Elias returns, to tie up with Priest again. Priest gets Elias’ arm, cranks on it, but Elias reaches for a leg. Priest cranks on the hold but Elias fights up, so Priest goes back after the arm.
Elias uses forearms to push Priest but Priest cranks the arm. Priest wrenches again, has the wristlock, but Elias throws another forearm. Priest twists the wrist again, but Elias hits low and hard. Elias is after Priest on the ropes, whips him but Priest kicks Elias away! Priest dodges and leaping elbows! And windmill kicks! Elias staggers, Priest clotheslines him out! Elias bumps into the announce desk, Bunny gives him a look, and the ring count climbs. Elias gets back up as he clutches the arm, takes his time to talk trash to Bunny, and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns and Elias and Priest go around the ropes again. Elias headlocks, Priest endures the grind, and Priest powers up to power out. Elias runs Priest over, things speed up, and Priest hurdles to arm-drag Elias down! Priest clamps onto Elias with an armlock and digs a knee into Elias’ head. Elias endures, fights up, and Priest cranks on the arm. Elias pulls hair, CHOPS free, then kicks. Priest kicks, headbutts but Elias throws forearms. Priest knees, Elias CHOPS, kicks and whips! Priest dodges the knee to arm-drag again! Priest is back to the cording hold and he grinds Elias down! Elias endures, fights his way up, and gets the ropebreak.
Priest lets go at the ref’s count, but Elias turns things around! Elias has Priest in the ropes and YANKS him into a hotshot! Priest scrambles to a corner but Elias fires off with stomps and body shots! The ref counts, Elias lets off at 4, but comes back to BOOT Priest down! Priest sputters as Elias drags him to the apron and SLAMS him on the edge! Bunny grows worried as Elias dribbles Priest on the apron! And KNEES him into the corner! Priest staggers, Elias gets in and CLOBBERS him! Cover, TWO! Bunny is relieved and he coaches Priest, but Elias has Priest in a corner again. Elias BOOT WASHES Priest again! Ryker is there to taunt Priest as Elias digs his boot in, but the ref counts.
Elias lets off at 4, drags Priest up and throws forearms. Elias taunts Bunny and Ryker gets a cheap shot in! Cover, ONE!! Elias grows annoyed with Priest, but Ryker is confident in Elias. Elias drags Priest up but Priest grabs at Elias. Elias knees Priest in the back and wraps on a thrashing chinlock! Priest endures as Elias grinds him down, and Priest fights his way up. Elias wrangles Priest back down, covers, TWO! Elias clamps right back on with the chinlock and he grinds Priest again. Priest grits his teeth as he endures, but Elias claws at Priest’s face! The ref reprimands, Elias sticks to the chinlock, but fans and Bunny rally up for Priest!
Priest fights up, pries the hold apart, and he arm-drags Elias to a corner! UPPERCUT! Elias staggers, Priest seethes, and Priest deflects punches with forearms! Elias runs into a kick, kick and ROLLING ELBOW! Then the LARIAT! Bunny fires up and Priest stomps the mat. Priest runs corner to corner for the LEAPING BACK ELBOW! Priest brings Elias up, BROKEN ARROW! Cover, TWO!! Elias lives but Bunny tells Priest to finish this! Priest agrees, but Ryker hops up on the apron. The ref tells Ryker to get down, but Elias rolls Priest up! TWO, and Priest drags Elias into a body scissor! Cover, TWO! Priest is sent to the apron, but he aims at Elias, to ROUNDHOUSE!
Priest climbs the ropes and leaps, into Elias’ KNEE! Cover, TWO!! Priest survives and Elias can’t believe it! Bunny paces as Elias drags Priest back up. Elias reels Priest in, but Priest spins out to kick! Elisa ducks, drags Priest back but Priest turns it around to waistlock! Elias switches and RAMS Priest into buckles! Elias fires off on Priest’s lower back! The ref counts, Elias Electric Chair lifts, but Priest fights free! BELL CLAP! ROUNDHOUSE! Then the dragon sleeper, HIT THE LIGHTS!! Cover, Priest wins!
Winner: Damian Priest, by pinfall
Bunny is fired up that Priest silences Elias! Ryker helps get Elias away, will Elias have inspiration for a new sad song?
Miz and Morrison head back to gorilla.
Miz takes deep breaths more from both his nerves and his “stomach problems.” But will Miz have the nerve to stand Lashley up again? Or will he have the guts to go out there and face the Rocky Mountain Machine?
Backstage interview with Randy Orton.
The Viper has been having increasingly disturbing experiences since facing The Fiend. Orton isn’t sure what that was last week, but he knows Alexa Bliss is to blame for the black ink in his mouth. Orton relives that moment by watching the replay package, and says that unless Alexa want to end up like The Fiend, he suggests she move on with her life and stay out of Orton’s. Otherwise, there won’t be any compassion. Wait, Alexa is on the screen and she has a very scary jack-n-the-box. She says Orton is being so silly. And then she plays with the jack-in-the-box, whispering, “Bring him back.”
Well, before they can, there’s something Orton should know. She laughs, and we cut to a very dark hallway… A hooded figure walks up, and it’s RANDY ORTON!? But Orton’s right here!! “Randy… This doesn’t end on your terms. Soon, you will come face to face with everything that you have ever done.” Fiend Orton laughs, and the real Orton coughs and chokes again! What is happening to The Viper?!
WWE World Championship: The Miz w/ John Morrison VS Bobby Lashley w/ MVP!
It’s time again, and this time the Miz is sent out first! Will the Most Must-See WWE Champion be able to relax as he faces a brutal beating from Lashley? Or will his stomach turn and cause him to turn tail anyway?
The introductions are made, but Miz wants a mic! Miz says Lashley is a professional, Miz is a professional, they can talk about this! MVP gets riled up but Miz says if MVP is a businessman, they can talk business! Lashley has waited almost 17 YEARS to be WWE World Champion! But this isn’t the stage! This isn’t the place for that moment! Lashley needs to do it at the Grandest Stage of Them All! Think about it! Miz VS Lashley in the main event! They weeks that fans will want this match! What do they say? MVP says Miz is getting his ass kicked now. The introductions finish, the belt is raised, and whether Miz likes it or not, this match finally begins!
And Miz bails out! Miz wants to run away with his belt! Champion’s Advantage, after all! Miz sprints up the ramp! Lashley is conflicted, but he doesn’t chase after! The count is 10, Miz loses!
Winner: Bobby Lashley, by Count-Out (Miz retains the WWE World Championship)
MVP and Lashley are furious that Miz pulled another fast one on them! The Hurt Business heads to the back, will they put a hurting on Miz for that one?
Lashley and MVP complain to Shane!
Shane says he his mad, but technically the match happened and Lashley didn’t really get a win. But there WILL be a proper match tonight. MVP says this is BULLSHIT! Is this how Shane runs things? Shane says MVP he is considering his options. If Miz backs out again, Miz will be stripped of the title, and maybe the title will be handed over to Lashley. Lashley just wants to find Miz so he can beat the piss out of him. Shane says they’re searching. Will Miz even stay in the building? Or will Shane’s considerate threat be enough to force Miz’s hand?
Charlotte Flair goes to the ring!
The #QueensOfTomorrow fell apart and didn’t get their redemption on the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. But Charlotte told her father how she felt, and has hopefully put everything behind her. Will she stand tall against the Queen of Spades tonight?
But first, Charlotte gets a mic. “I’m gonna be honest. The last few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster.” Charlotte comes back from injury to be a tag team partner. She didn’t want to be around the Raw Women’s Championship because Asuka busted her ass these last six to seven months. Charlotte just wanted to kick ass alongside someone she respects. But then she got tangled up with Ric Flair and Lacey Evans, and now Charlotte thinks, “We are six weeks away from WrestleMania!” The biggest show of the year! Bianca Belair is challenging Sasha Banks for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, which is exciting!
But Charlotte is wondering, who is facing Asuka? Who will challenge for the Raw Women’s Championship? Charlotte thought and thought, and her true colors are gold! She wants the title and Asuka at Mania! But sadly, Asuka is home with an injury. That was from getting a kick to the face and a tooth flying out because of Shayna! No one knows Asuka like Charlotte does, and Asuka will come back stronger because that’s who she is as a fighting champion! And when Asuka comes back, Charlotte will… be interrupted by Shayna.
Shayna tells Charlotte that, “All this talk about focusing on yourself, what else is new?” Charlotte may be “The Queen,” but she is fighting an uphill battle as an army of one. Shayna suggests Charlotte just remain partners with Asuka, but again Shayna is the reason Asuka no longer has teeth. And unfortunately for Charlotte, Shayna and Nia are the most dominant force in the WWE! This is now the Road to WrestleMania Charlotte is accustomed to. Charlotte could benefit from some help! Nia says it’s a shame Charlotte sent daddy home, since the locker room wishes Charlotte went home instead. No one here likes her!
And what makes Charlotte thinks she gets to walk the yellow brick road paved with poppies, titles and Asuka? Nia hates to break this to Charlotte- No, wait, she LOVES to break this to her: The power in the division has shifted. Get it in your head that it will be Shayna, or more likely Nia, that challenges Asuka when and if she returns. Charlotte has a pretty smile, does she want to have this match? Highly doubtful she’ll be back on Punky Brewster after this. Nia is probably right, the roster probably doesn’t want Charlotte around. But here she is! But Charlotte doesn’t have to talk about how she’s dominant and the best. No one calls her the greatest or the best, but simply “Charlotte Flair.”
Nia storms up to the ring, and Shayna gets in. Queen and queen stand face to face, and Charlotte throws haymakers! Nia CLOBBERS Charlotte, drags her around, and Shayna helps stomp Charlotte down! They pull Charlotte’s robe away and they mug Charlotte more! Nia DROPS THE LEG! Is this match even going to happen? We find out after the break!
Charlotte Flair VS Shayna Baszler w/ Nia Jax!
Raw returns and the match is underway! Shayna fires off on Charlotte in the corner, CLUBS her down then kicks her legs! Shayna gut wrenches and SLAMS Charlotte down! Cover, TWO! Shayna drags Charlotte up, twists the wrist and bends the arm around, but Charlotte endures. Charlotte throws forearms but Shayna twists the arm more! Lana and Naomi watch backstage as Shayna chicken wings Charlotte’s arm in the double wristlock! Charlottes fights back, and FLAPJACKS Shayna down! Charlotte and Shayna stand and start throwing forearms and kicks! Shayna fires off and then gut wrenches again, only for Charlotte to get under and back drop Shayna over!
Charlotte waits for Shayna to stand and she CHOPS away in the corner! Charlotte CHOPS, forearms, and repeats, to then scoop and EXPLODER! And kip up! Shayna stands but gets more CHOPS! Charlotte has Shayna in a corner, puts the leg up and JAMS it! Then CHOP BLOCKS it! KNEE JAMMER! Nia distracts but Charlotte DECKS her! Shayna tries to roll Charlotte but Charlotte stomps her down instead! Charlotte has the leg, but Shayna kicks her out! Shayna distracts the ref, Nia runs in, but Charlotte sends Nia into steel steps! Charlotte gets in but Shayna KICKS her! KIRAFUDA KLUTCH!!
Charlotte reaches, gets around, and slips out to STOMP the bad leg! NATURAL SELECTION! Cover, Charlotte wins!!
Winner: Charlotte Flair, by pinfall
The Queen survives and perhaps hurts Shayna’s and Nia’s chances of retaining their tag titles!
Shane and Pearce talk in Shane’s office.
Shane wants him tot ell Lashley that it’s official: if Miz doesn’t show for the third try, Miz is STRIPPED of the title, and it will be awarded to Lashley. Pearce heads out, will this ultimatum be what ultimately makes Miz man up?
Six Man Tag: Matt Riddle & Lucha House Party VS Retribution!
The brochachos ride again, but they’re up against Mustafa Ali’s menacing minions! Will Slapjack, Mace and T-Bar put a stop to the fiesta once and for all?
The trios sort out and T-Bar starts against the United States Champion. They tie up and T-Bar choke grips to CHOKE BREAKER already!! Cover, TWO!! Riddle survives but that was still a shocker! Tag to Slapjack and Retribution mugs Riddle. Slapjack rams into Riddle over and over but Riddle kicks back. Riddle hops up but Slapjack uppercuts then super snapmares! Cover, TWO! Slapjack drags Riddle away with a cravat, tags in Mace, and Retribution mugs Riddle more. Mace knees Riddle, whips him and scoops him for a BIG sidewalk slam! Cover, TWO! Tag to T-Bar and they mug Riddle, then Mace feeds Riddle to T-Bar’s BACKBREAKER!
T-Bar presses Riddle against the knee but Riddle fights out with fists. T-Bar choke grips again, but Riddle KNEES free! Mace runs in but is sent out! Hot tag to Lince Dorado and he climbs up. Riddle PLANCHAS Mace, Lince CROSSBODIES Slapjack! Dropkick for Slapjack, big forearm for T-Bar! Slapjack dodges but Lince rebounds and SUPERKICKS! Tag to Gran Metalik, and Metalik gets a boost for the ELBOW DROP! Cover, LHP & Riddle win!!
Winners: Matt Riddle & Lucha House Party
Ali is FURIOUS!! Another failure and Ali demands he and Riddle have a match right now! Riddle is up for a fight any time, bro! Will Ali be the one getting shut down tonight?
Matt Riddle w/ Lucha House Party VS Mustafa Ali w/ Retribution!
Raw returns, the bell rings and these two tie up! Ali headlocks, Riddle rolls him and gets the arm! Ali scrambles around, ends up in a triangle but makes it a cover, TWO! Riddle catches Ali running in for a SNAP gut wrench! Ali bails out in anger, gets back in, but Riddle DECKS him! Ali goes to a corner but he BOOTS back! Ali then dropkicks Riddle’s arm! Riddle clutches the elbow and Ali says that’s how it’s done! Ali drops elbows over and over and Riddle’s arm, then drags him up. Ali WRINGS Riddle out into the mat, then brings him up to whip him to a corner. Riddle bounces off buckles and into Ali’s leaping neckbreaker! Cover, TWO!
Ali is after the arm, drops down on the shoulder, and he wants his henchmen to watch closely! Riddle fights up, throws body shots, but Ali clubs the arm. Ali whips Riddle to a corner again, but Riddle is ready for the leap and catches Ali to a REAR NAKED CHOKE! Ali pries the arm, gets free to a prawn hold, TWO! Riddle ROCKS Ali, fires off palm strikes and a boot! Ali comes back but Riddle spins him for the PELE! Riddle kips up, fires up, and runs in to forearm smash! Riddle goes side to side to forearm smash again! Then he hits a BROSPLODER! Ali dodges the Penalty Kick and the moonsault but not the BROTON! PENALTY KICK! Cover, TWO!
Riddle keeps his focus on Ali and he stalks behind him. Riddle waistlocks, drags Ali up and ripcords to FINAL FLASH! Ali is in a drop zone, but Slapjack distracts Riddle! Reckoning is up to something, too, and she gets in the ring! Mace glares at Riddle, Ali CLUBS Riddle, then climbs up! SUPER FALLING NECKBREAKER!! Cover, Ali wins!!
Winner: Mustafa Ali, by pinfall
Retribution works together to screw over the United States Champion! Does this mean they’re finally going to take over Raw?
Pearce reports back to Shane.
The message has been sent, and Miz shows up! Miz can’t believe Shane is really going to strip him of the title! Miz defended the title, and did what any great champion would do: retain by any means necessary! That was a legitimate match stomach ache and all! So what kind of match will it be? No Disqualifications? Miz will find that out soon, but he will have a legitimate match with Lashley. But Miz asks Shane what that would do to Raw! Sure, everyone “wants” a monster of a champion, but this brand NEEDS Miz as champion! Miz is the one you can revolve a show around! Need a host? A reality star? A commentator? Someone for 6 AM media calls? Do you think anyone else will do all that? Miz is THE WWE Champion, he deserves to go to WrestleMania and be respected!!
All day, Miz has been humiliated, when he should be protected. He IS a main-event caliber champion. What kind of champion does Shane think Lashley will be? Who knows? But we’re about to find out. Miz better get ready, because his match is on again, after the break.
WWE World Championship: The Miz w/ John Morrison VS Bobby Lashley w/ MVP!
The third time is the charm, right? Miz is here, he is backed into a corner so to speak, and he MUST defend his title against Lashley, or lose it by forfeit! But Shane makes sure to tell Miz that he does have a stipulation in mind to make sure this is a fair match. Let him introduce Miz to… LUMBERJACKS! The ring is surrounded so there is no running or hiding! Does Miz stand a chance of standing tall with the title?
The introductions are made, the bell rings, and Miz snatches his belt back!! Miz swings on Lashley but Lashley blocks and takes the belt from Miz! Lashley glares at Miz for trying to get DQ’d, but the ref takes the belt away and now Miz has to stand up to Lashley. Miz moves around, gets out of the ring, goes around the corner, but lumberjacks are nipping at his heels. Miz gets in as Lashley is distracted, and he sucker punches him! Lashley doesn’t even budge! Miz bails out, and he promises any lumberjacks who help him a free title match. But Drew Gulak just puts Miz in for Lashley to CLOBBER him!
Lashley puts Miz in a corner, he RAMS into him over and over, then fires off haymakers! Morrison coaches Miz but there’s little he can do when Lashley TOSSES him! Miz bails out and begs Retribution for help! But Benjamin and Alexander put Miz in the ring for Lashley! Lashley DECKS Miz! And hits a COMPLETE SHOT! Lashley rains down right hands and the Hurt Business cheers him on! Lashley looms over Miz, drags him back up, but Miz throws body shots! They don’t even bother Lashley! Lashley military presses Miz to TOSS him at Retribution! And the shove him back in! Miz crawls, Lashley stalks him, and then bumps him off buckles for more haymakers!
Lashley whips Miz to ropes, and hits the MILE HIGH SPINEBUSTER!! The lumberjacks are fired up, as are the fans on the ThunderDome screens! Lashley wants Miz to get up, and then he clamps on the HURT LOCK!! Miz is a rag doll!! Miz taps, Lashley wins!!
Winner: Bobby Lashley, by submission (NEW WWE World Champion)
Lashley makes Miz feel the pain before throwing him down! The journey of over 16 YEARS finally leads Lashley to the top of the mountain! Lashley holds up the world title and points to the WrestleMania sign! But he isn’t done with Miz! He drags Miz up, and puts the HURT LOCK back on! Lashley thrashes Miz around again, making him suffer for trying to deny Lashley this for almost three hours tonight! Lashley stands on Miz’s chest as he holds up the belt. Will Lashley be doing the same to whoever it is that comes for him on the Grandest Stage of Them All?
My Thoughts:
This was a great Raw here! For one, it all went rather fast, even with the literally repetitive nature of the main story. It was obvious Miz was going to have a way to delay the first time, and faking stomach problems was an interesting choice. I liked that Morrison tried to keep up the act by shouting for towels after Miz was attacked. And I should’ve figured Miz would run away the second time for the count-out. I’m a little disappointed they didn’t have Lashley chase Miz and try to drag him back, only to still have the count-out affect the end. But threatening the title being stripped, then adding lumberjacks to the mix, was all a pretty good way to “finally have” the match.
Miz still trying to use Champion’s Advantage was smart, but he gets manhandled the entire match so naturally Lashley wins tonight. Lashley winning tonight was only a little surprising, it just felt inevitable that he would at some point before Mania. Now Fastlane can be more about McIntyre earning his rematch and going on to Mania. McIntyre VS Sheamus was a great match opening the night, definitely how their 1v1 title match would’ve gone in my mind, and naturally McIntyre wins. He had a great bit of remorse to the win because he had no problem with Sheamus, but now maybe he moves on for a bit. And I feel that at this point, McIntyre VS Styles is the Fastlane match.
There is something interesting building with Braun and Shane. Shane is trying to put Braun in his place but is also being a bit of a jerk about it, so I think Braun will end up the Face against Shane. Pearce being thrown in as the tag partner was a great little twist, but of course he ends up taking the pin. It just seemed sloppy that Braun would give a damn what Shane says and he could have just won the titles on his own like he did before. And sadly, this is probably leading to Shane getting back on Mania for like Night One, just so he can take a powerslam through something from Braun.
Damian Priest and Bad Bunny had a good segment and then match with Elias and Jaxson Ryker. It’s a matter of opinion if Priest needed to struggle against Elias, but I will say I actually more expected there to be 24/7 Championship antics where maybe Ryker would try to roll up Bunny and Priest had to help Bunny out. I hope that does happen at some point, if this particular match-up is to continue. And it feels like stories are shifting around since Miz and Morrison are busy in the world title scene.
Similarly, it seems Retribution could be moving away from New Day to go after Riddle and the US Championship. The Six Man was obviously just a vehicle to Riddle VS Ali, and of course Retribution helps Ali win, but Ali is really heaping on how HE is the important one and the others are the losers. Ali’s new finisher looked a bit sloppy in execution, maybe he’ll ditch it for something a bit more possible. But I’m definitely sensing Ali challenging for the US Championship at perhaps Fastlane. Retribution might cost Ali that match, he gets mad, and then they kick him out of the group to do things their way, whatever that will be.
We got some fairly strong material from the Women’s Division. Nia VS Naomi was really just filler before the first Miz VS Lashley attempt while Charlotte VS Shayna was more substantial. Charlotte’s promo shifting gears from her cringe story to the title story was the right move, and was probably going to happen down the line if the story was going as intended. I didn’t realize Asuka legit lost a tooth until they showed us in the replay, so wow that was crazy. I hope that alone is something that gets Asuka back to her uber aggressive ways and she tears into whoever is facing her at Mania.
For Nia and Shayna specifically, this was all so they’d be going into their NXT match with 50-50 math so that it could technically go either way. Though I’m pretty sure they retain if they as the Heels are meant to defend against Naomi & Lana, who are the Faces. As much as fans, such as myself, ask for that to stop, it is still a traditional way of operating. Plus, for sake of story, it almost HAS come down to Lana finally getting even with Nia, and then she and Naomi can both stand tall as tag team champions for Lana’s first title ever in the WWE. Otherwise, the almost endless table spots will have been for nothing but Vince McMahon’s own selfish entertainment.
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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