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Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (9/20/22)

NXT’s ready to shine!

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Can the Big Strong Boy trump the Irish Ace?

Both Tyler Bate and JD McDonagh have faced Bron Breakker before, and they both want another shot! Who will be the NEW #1 Contender to the NXT Championship?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • Best of 3 Series, Part 2: Nathan Frazer VS Axiom, Axiom leads 1-0; Frazer wins and ties the series.
  • Toxic Attraction VS Ivy Nile & Tatum Paxley; Toxic Attraction wins.
  • Malik Blade & Edris Enofe VS The Dyad w/ Joe Gacy; The Dyad wins.
  • Wendy Choo VS Cora Jade; Cora wins.
  • Andre Chase & Bodhi Hayward w/ Thea Hail VS Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams; Chase & Bodhi win.
  • Sanga VS Von Wagner; Wagner wins.
  • North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: Oro Mensah VS Grayson Waller; Mensah wins and advances to Halloween Havoc.
  • NXT Championship #1 Contender’s Match: JD McDonagh VS Tyler Bate; McDonagh wins and will challenge Bron Breakker for the title.

PLAY BY PLAY

Carmelo Hayes and Solo Sikoa end up in the same interview.

And Melo ain’t happy about it. Solo says the title looks better on him. Melo shot and missed. But Shawn Michaels says they’re not doing this right now. They’re both meeting here because of how their match ended. HBK commends Solo stepping up but he wasn’t sanctioned to be in that match. Therefore, that match result cannot stand. Solo must vacate the North American Championship. HBK is sorry, but he’s been there. It sucks. Solo understands, rules are rules. Solo has unfinished business then. HBK wants Solo to know something. What he did here over the last year is staggering, so good luck on SmackDown, Raw and wherever his WWE career takes him.

Solo told Melo he had next. Melo says Solo had next. Now beat it. And HBK, thank you for making the right decision. What? He expects to get this handed back to him? Melo tried to outsmart the system and got burned. HBK doesn’t care if Melo is cocky, he even respects that. But as soon as you think you’re bigger than the business, the business slaps you in the face. And that’s what happened. Melo will get his chance to get this belt back, in six weeks at Halloween Havoc! Melo and four others who qualify over the next few weeks will compete for the North American title, in a LADDER MATCH!

Melo accepts that and heads out. Who will join him in that massive match to crown a NEW North American Champion?

 

Best of 3 Series, Part 2: Nathan Frazer VS Axiom!

The British Prodigy lost the all important first round to the Undeniable Truth, but now he gets a chance to start again! Will Frazer tie this series up and push it to a third? Or will Axiom keep this from becoming a trilogy?

The bell rings and fans rally as the two circle. They tie up, Axiom waistlocks but Frazer arm-drags Axiom. Axiom headscissors, fans duel, and Frazer kips free. They circle again, tie up, and Axiom wrenches an arm. Axiom stands Frazer up, whips him to ropes, but Frazer rolls Axiom! TWO, but Frazer hurries to backslide! Axiom slips off to La Magistrol! But Frazer counters! TWO!! Axiom waistlocks, Frazer slips under, O’Conner Rolls, ONE! SLEEPER!! Frazer flails, rolls back to a cover, TWO!! Axiom lets go in time and fans cheer the standoff. The two reset and circle again as fans continue to duel.

They knuckle lock, Axiom rolls back, wrenches, trips Frazer and has the toehold. Frazer endures, pushes up to roll but Axiom handsprings through! Fans fire up as the two go again. They tie up, Frazer headlocks but axiom powers out. Frazer runs him over, covers, ONE! Frazer runs Axiom over again! Cover, ONE! Frazer headlocks for a takeover and he grinds Axiom down! Axiom rolls to a cover, TWO! Frazer holds on, Axiom fights up to his feet, but Frazer spins and waistlocks to drag Axiom down. Axiom switches, fans rally, and Frazer fights up. Axiom shifts to a headlock then hits a takeover.

Frazer endures, headscissors, and he holds tight! Frazer pushes up for pressure but Axiom moves around. Axiom heastands, turns Frazer over and bridges to get the legs tied up! Axiom shifts to get the arms and he has a headstand into the CATTLE MUTILATION! Frazer moves, Axiom has the arms but Frazer flips and arm-drags free! Axiom ducks ‘n’ dodges and springboards to arm-drag! Then a kip up and DROPKICK! Frazer scrambles, he denies the O’Conner but runs into a BIG NORTHERN LIGHTS! Bridging cover, TWO! Axiom looms over Frazer, whips him to a corner, but Frazer goes up and over!

Axiom catches Frazer but Frazer headscissors him out! Frazer builds speed but Axiom ROCKS him! Axiom climbs up the corner, leaps, but Frazer DROPKICKS him out of the sky! Axiom scrambles to get away to the outside! Frazer is frustrated as NXT goes picture in picture.

Frazer goes out after Axiom, drags him up, and RAMS him into the apron! Frazer puts Axiom in the ring, ELBOWS him down, then covers, TWO! Frazer is frustrated again, and he drags Axiom. Frazer hangs Axiom out to dry on the ropes, then DECKs him! Axiom flops to the apron but he holds on to the ropes. Frazer drags Axiom up and through the ropes, but Axiom kicks at Frazer! Frazer still drags Axiom in, YANKS him from the ropes, and SPLASHES down! Cover, TWO! Frazer drags Axiom back up, puts him in a corner and whips him corner to corner hard! Axiom hits buckles chest first and falls back.

Frazer storms up on Axiom but Axiom CHOPS him! Frazer DECKS Axiom and stomps away! Frazer puts Axiom in another corner, RAMS into him, then RAMS in again! Frazer gets the leg and trips Axiom for a jackknife bridge! TWO, and Axiom scrambles away. Frazer grows further frustrated but he storms up on Axiom again. Frazer drags Axiom up, and fisherman’s for a GUTBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Axiom is showing his toughness, and fans rally up. Frazer whips Axiom to ropes, then kitchen sink KNEES him down! Cover, TWO! Frazer is really frustrated now, and he clamps on with a rear bearhug.

Axiom endures, reaches out and crawls for ropes as NXT returns to single picture. Fans rally and duel, Frazer KNEES Axiom in the back, and then squeezes tighter on the bearhug. Axiom fights up to his feet but Frazer CLUBS him on the back! Frazer whips, Axiom reverses and reels him in for an IRON OCTOPUS! But Frazer slips out to get a COBRA TWIST! Axiom hip tosses free! Frazer staggers up, Axiom fires off forearms and counter punches! Axiom headbutts low, fires off palm strikes then whips! And DROPKICKS! Fans fire up as Axiom runs, to HOTSHOT Frazer! And then springboard, FLYING LARIAT! Cover, TWO!

Frazer is still in this, and perhaps Axiom is growing frustrated. Hard to say with that mask on. Fans rally and Axiom aims to KICK! Frazer sits up and Axiom KICKS him again! And again, but Frazer blocks! Axiom avoids the leg sweep to ENZIGURI! But Frazer ENZIGURIS back! Frazer goes to roll up but Axiom sits on it! TWO!! Fans are thunderous, Axiom dodges Frazer to PELE! Axiom fires up and takes aim from the corner! GOLDEN- SUPERKICK from Frazer!! Cover, TWO!!! Axiom survives and Frazer can’t believe it! But the fans are loving “NXT! NXT!” for this one! Frazer hurries to a corner and climbs up top! Axiom gets up to GAMANGIRI first!

Axiom climbs up after Frazer now, and hits a SUPER ARM-DRAG! Cover, TWO!! Frazer survives and Axiom is beside himself! Fans rally, “This is Awesome!” as Axiom waistlocks. Frazer holds ropes, Axiom has the SLEEPER! Frazer elbows free, then elbows from the corner! QUEBRADA, into the SLEEPER! Axiom has the body scissors but Frazer fights up to his feet! But Axiom shifts to a GUILLOTINE! And then to an omoplata! Frazer gets the ROPEBREAK! Fans fire up but Axiom lets off, to STOMP Frazer down! Fans boo the savagery but Axiom goes up top. Axiom aims but Frazer springs up top! SUPERPLEX!

Roll through a la Rollins, for ANARCHY!! Frazer hurries up top again, for the PHOENIX SPLASH!! Cover, Frazer wins!!

Winner: Nathan Frazer, by pinfall (series is now tied 1-1)

The British Prodigy finds his opening and hits the mark! Now it’ll all come down to the final round, who will take the series and rise in the ranks?

 

Alba Fyre speaks.

“Mandy Rose. Your reign as Women’s Champion has been historic. You’ve blazed through opponent after opponent. But last week, when we locked eyes, I smelled your soul. I’ve seen the fear building up inside you. And in your heart, you know that I’m going to be the one to take that woman’s title away from you and burn your empire to the ground.”

Mandy Rose sees that.

Gigi & Jacy ask if she’s okay. Yeah, why? She’s not impressed by Fyre. Mandy will take out Fallon Henley next week, and then she’ll do the same thing to Alba Fyre. Now tonight, Gigi & Jacy has to show us why there’s Toxic Attraction, and then everyone else. The trio heads out, will Gigi & Jacy prove they’re ready to get the tag titles back?

 

Damon Kemp speaks.

He throws down the Diamond Mine singlet and sprays a red X on it. “Did you see the Creeds’ faces when I cost them the tag team titles last week? It was priceless. It’s the same dumb look they had on their faces when they were trying to figure out if it was Roddy that was on the take from Tony D. Roddy didn’t take any money, I did. It was all set up so Tony & Stacks could win the tag team titles. But Santos came back and ruined it. IT was only a matter of time before Julius and Roddy were gonna clash.

“Then Roddy said he pulled the security footage to help clear his name. I thought I was dead in the water, I knew I had to get ride of the footage. So, I destroyed Roddy’s phone, then I destroyed Roddy. Did you know he’s still in this hospital? Maybe. I just sent him flowers. The Creed Brothers were pissed at me before, I can only imagine how they’re feeling right now. They’re probably in the gym right now, pacing. Listen, I am a world class athlete, but I am not gonna fight the Creed Brothers two on one. That’s not fair. One on one, any time, any place. One in the ring, and one back in the locker room. They can pick who gets this work first. That’s all you get today.”

 

Ivy Nile & Tatum Paxley hear about this.

The Diamond Pitbull is pissed! It was Damon all along?! Tatum wants Ivy to calm down but she can’t! Damon’s all but destroyed Diamond Mine! Tatum says there’s nothing they can do about that now. Julius & Brutus will handle Damon while they have business with Toxic Attraction. Focus. Ivy IS focused! Let’s go! But did Damon do more damage than to just Roderick and the Creeds with his betrayal?

Toxic Attraction VS Ivy Nile & Tatum Paxley!

KC Squared have the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions, and in many ways, Gigi & Jacy kept them safe against their other challengers. But now, Gigi & Jacy want the gold back around their waists. Will they get their rematch with Kayden & Katana? Or will Diamond Mine get some gold of their own again?

The teams sort out and Gigi starts against Tatum. Fans rally as Gigi and Tatum tie up. Gigi wrenches, wristlocks, and whips, but Tatum reverses. Things speed up, Tatum hurdles but Gigi leaps over. Tatum goes Matrix then DROPKICKS Gigi down! Gigi gets up, Tatum facelocks but Gigi keeps her from Ivy! Gigi blocks a kick, flips Tatum but she lands on her feet! Gigi CLOBBERS Tatum and tags in Jacy! Toxic Attraction double wrench, double KICK, then BUZZSAW and SENTON! Cover, TWO! Jacy smirks and she KICKS Tatum in the back. Jacy taunts “muscles” Ivy, but Tatum O’Conner Rolls! TWO, and Tatum ROCKS Jacy! Jacy reverses the whip to CLOBBER Tatum!

Jacy tags Gigi, then feeds Tatum to the BOOT! Gigi hurries to cover, TWO! Gigi drags Tatum around, CLUBS her down, then pulls the arms back to keep Tatum from Ivy. Fans rally as Tatum endures a top wristlock. Gigi JAMS the arm, Tatum still fights up, but Gigi knees low. Gigi whips Tatum and ROCKS her at the ropes! But Tatum rolls Gigi up! TWO, and both women run, DOUBLE FACEBUSTERS take them down! Fans fire up as Gigi and Tatum crawl, hot tags to Jacy and Ivy! The Female Titan rallies on Toxic Attraction with big forearms! Ivy KICKS, KICKS and ENZIGURIS! Jacy flops down, Ivy runs in at the corner to CALF KICK!

Fans fire up with Ivy and she deadlift Half Hatch suplexes! Cover, Gigi breaks it! Tatum runs in, but into Gigi’s SAIDO! Ivy hurries after Jacy but Jacy ROLLING ELBOWS her! Tag to Gigi and Jacy hits a CODE BREAKER! But Ivy avoids the lariat to ROCK Gigi! And ENZIGURI Jacy! Ivy has Jacy but Gigi YANKS her out of the ring! Fans boo as Gigi puts Ivy back in. Tag to Jacy, TOXIC ANNIHILATION! Cover, Toxic Attraction wins!

Winners: Toxic Attraction, by pinfall

Gigi & Jacy blow kisses to everyone, happily moving on down the road towards the titles! Will Kayden & Katana have to be ready for a toxic showdown?

 

NXT returns to The Schism in the ring.

Jagger Reed says, “Last week signified the end of opportunities for those who are on the fence about The Schism. The time has come for you to pick a side!” No longer will The Schism turn the other cheek. And to anyone not sitting in the shade of their tree, you’ve been warned! Rip Fowler says to those enlightened few brave enough to break the status quo and sit with them under their tree, “you have nothing to fear. We will never abandon you. In fact, we will hold you tighter in our arms.” Jagger says the road to peace and inclusivity is a bumpy one. But they will make the world a better place and accept that mission.

Joe Gacy says we’ve brought this upon ourselves. “Change can be scary, but we have given you ample time to accept the change. Now, whether you accept us or not, you will see the world through our eyes. Cameron Grimes, you have had multiple chances, and I have been more than patient. I have tried reasoning, I have tried compassion, but it seems that this world only responds to a firm hand. Cameron Grimes, you have made a life altering decision. And to you and anyone else that refuses to listen, the wrath of The Schism is imminent.” But wait! Here come Edris & Malik! They fire off on The Dyad for that brawl last week!

Edris & Malik DECK Jagger & Rip, then DOUBLE PLANCHA! Fans fire up and we have a match! Will The Schism learn what happens to hypocrites?

Malik Blade & Edris Enofe VS The Dyad w/ Joe Gacy!

The bell rings, Malik goes after Rip but Rip throws haymakers! And CHOPS! And forearms! Rip whips but Malik reverses to hurdle and dropkick! Fans fire up with Malik and he brings Rip up. Malik scoops, Rip slips off to wrench and RAM shoulders. Rip whips but Edris tags in. Malik reverses, he and Edris trip Rip up to BOOT and LARIAT! Cover, TWO! Edris wrenches Rip, Rip pulls hair and the ref reprimands. Rip puts Edris in the corner, tags Jagger, and the Dyad traps Edris to mug him! Jagger reels Edris in for a short arm LARIAT! Cover, ONE!! Jagger is annoyed, he ROCKS Edris with a haymaker!

Tag to Rip, but Edris fights back! The Dyad mugs Edris again but Edris BOOTS Rip away! Edris ducks the double clothesline to hot tag Malik! Springboard CROSSBODY! Edris DOUBLE LARIATS the Dyad out, then holds the ropes down for Malik to FLY! Direct hit and Gacy is furious while NXT goes to break.

NXT returns and Jagger ROCKS Malik with a right, but Malik ROCKS Jagger with haymakers of his own! Jagger powers Malik back, Rip tags in, then Jagger whips Malik. Rip grabs at Malik’s sweater vest, Malik swings on Rip but Jagger CLOBBERS Malik! Fans boo but Jagger throws Malik out. Rip then gets Malik up, PLANCHA BACKBREAKER COMBO! Fans boo more but The Schism soak up the heat while hugging it out! Fans boo more but Rip puts Malik in the ring. Rip drags Malik up, ROCKS him, then tags Jagger. The Dyad mug Malik, Jagger snapmares and stomps Malik down!

Fans rally up and Malik throws body shots! But Jagger ROCKS Malik with forearms! Jagger drags Malik by his sweater vest then ROCKS him again. Tag to Rip, The Dyad double whip Malik to ropes, but Malik holds ropes to rally back on The Dyad! Hot tag to Edris and he fires off on The Dyad! SPLASH for Jagger in a corner! SPLASH for Rip in a corner! Edris fires off haymakers on Rip but Jagger rushes over. Edris just fires haymakers on Jagger! Fans fire up with Edris, he dodges Jagger to UPPERCUT Rip! Then he SHOTGUNS Jagger! Rip reverses a whip but Edris trips him up! SLING-DOG! Edris fires up and brings Rip up.

Rip wrenches to JAWBREAKER! Malik sneaks a tag, Edris KNEES Rip! Malik runs in, LEAP FROG LEG DROP SPINEBUSTER! Cover, TWO!! Rip survives and fans argue the count but Malik stays focused and fired up! Tag to Edris, they get Rip up in a fireman’s carry, but Jagger dumps Malik out! Rip rolls Edris up, TWO and Edris has a cradle! TWO!!! Rip escapes and throat chops! Tag to Jagger, MAYHEM DESTROYER!! Fans are losing their minds over that one, but then there’s the TICKET TO RIDE!! Cover, The Dyad wins!

Winners: The Dyad, by pinfall

Gacy joins his men in celebrating, having showed Edris & Malik what happens to the opposition. Will there be zero tolerance for those who incur the wrath of The Schism?

 

Roxanne Perez speaks.

“Meiko Satomura is a legend, and in my opinion, the true measuring stick of women in this business. I challenged Meiko because I wanted to find out where I stood. I was very nervous, it was pretty obvious. I’m sure everyone saw me slip during my entrance because I knew I was in for a battle. I’ve never been hit harder in my life. I still have bruises on my back two weeks later. I hit her with everything I had, but she proved why she’s Meiko. I may have lost the match, but I gained Meiko’s respect.” Meiko says Roxie was super tough. Meiko was hard on her but she still stood up to her. Roxie has fighting sprit, and will be a great women’s champion one day.

Roxie found the toughness and grit she never knew she had. She can never thank Meiko enough. And that is what Roxie will use on Cora Jade! The next time they face off, Cora is going to face a tougher, rougher Roxie! When and where will the former friends have it out?

 

Wendy Choo VS Cora Jade!

The Queen of Comfy didn’t appreciate what was said by #GenerationJade. Will Wendy prove to Cora that Cora’s the one in her own little world? Or will Cora make Wendy go night-night tonight?

NXT returns as Cora makes her entrance. The bell rings, the two circle, and fans duel. The two tie up, Cora puts Wendy in a corner but the ref counts. Cora lets off and pats Wendy on the head. Wendy SHOVES Cora down! Cora gets up, Wendy gets around and headlocks! Wendy hits a takeover, but Cora headscissors free. Cora holds on as Wendy tries to kip free, so Wendy moves around. Wendy headstands, pops free and mocks Cora before getting her own headlock. Fans fire up but Cora pushes with forearms. Wendy holds on, they stand up and Cora powers out. Wendy runs Cora over, things speed up, and Wendy body scissors to a cover, TWO!

Wendy SHOTGUNS Cora down! Cora goes to a corner, Wendy runs side to side to YAKUZA KCIK! Cora flounders out of the ring, so Wendy builds speed to slide! Cora blocks that, spins Wendy and ROCKS her! Cora snarls, stomps Wendy down, and CLUBS her. Cora CHOKES Wendy on the ropes, lets off as the ref counts, and Cora mocks Wendy as she sputters. Cora ROCKS Wendy with forearms then whips her to ropes, only to send her into ropes and ELBOW her down! Cover, TWO! Fans duel, Cora stomps Wendy, and then Cora runs to springboard DOUBLE STOMP! Cover, TWO! Cora pulls Wendy back into a straitjacket stretch!

Fans rally and Wendy endures but Cora thrashes her around. Fans rally as Cora pulls o the arms. Wendy fights up, arm-drags free, and then throws a body shot! And a KICK! And a LARIAT! Wendy fires up, whips Cora to ropes and OVERHEAD Belly2Belly suplexes! Cora staggers to a corner, Wendy handspring FOREARMS her! Cora holds ropes to deny the suplex, but Wendy yanks her away! GERMAN SUPLEX! Cora goes back to the corner, Wendy runs in, but Cora trips her into the buckles! DDT! Cover, Cora wins!

Winner: Cora Jade, by pinfall

Cora turns things around on Wendy at the last second, then “kicks dirt” at her. Cora heads out, will she be headed for the top of NXT? And then Lash Legend gets in the ring! She BOOTS Wendy down! Fans boo Lash as she talks trash on Wendy, will Wendy have another ego to deal with?

 

Backstage interview with Bron Breakker.

McKenzie asks the NXT Champion about Bate VS McDonagh in tonight’s main event. Bron first wants to thank the fans for voting him as the NXT Superstar of the Year. Now, tonight. Bate has a great mix of strength, speed and agility while JD picks a body part and dissects it. It is main event worthy for sure. But who does he think will win? It could go either way, but Bron picks Bate. They had a banger at Worlds Collide, Bron would love to do that again. Bron heads out, will the Big Strong Boy come through for him? Or will Bron regret betting against the Irish Ace?

 

Trick Williams talks with Carmelo Hayes backstage.

Trick says what happened last week is the past. Today is a new day. Melo IS the man. Carmelo says yes he is! They head for gorilla, what will the former A Champion have to say about the coming ladder match?

 

Backstage interview with Oro Mensah.

Kelly Kingcaid says what a unique name and what an exciting night. We know what Oro can do from NXT UK, but what does he say to his match with Grayson Waller being a North American Championship Ladder Match qualifier? Oro says he came to NXT to face the best, Waller is one of the best, as he will tell you himself. He even tweets about it! But the uniqueness of his name, he’ll explain what it means. “Oro” means “Gold,” and Ghana is known as the Country of Gold. Now tonight, Oro will make sure he qualifies for that ladder match! Then good luck! Oro thanks Kelly and is all fired up. Will the Freshest Flavor on the Brand have one sweet debut?

 

Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams head to the ring!

Fans chant “SOLO~!” at them as they get the mics. Trick has the music cut and tells everyone to shut their mouths. “Y’all saw what happened last week. Solo musta lost his mind! Melo needs to get something off his chest, now talk your talk, dawg.” Melo says first off, he says vote or no vote, he IS the biggest superstar in NXT! PERIOD. Fans boo in disagreement but Solo says everyone’s preying on his downfall, and last week proves it. So what Melo wants now is the person that played the music and rang the bell and even the referee that counted the pinfall, they should ALL lose their jobs! Sign up for unemployment!

Fans boo but Melo tells Solo, “I don’t care what bloodline you come from, You came into my house and you stole something that belongs to me. So it doesn’t matter which way you flip it, I am still THE A Champion!” Wait, here comes CHASE U! Fans fire up for Andre Chase, Bodhi Hayward & Thea Hail, and Chase has the mic. “Carmelo Hayes, I saw what happened last week. And I think what we have right now-” NO! NO! Melo will stop Chase right there! Any other time, but now’s not the time. This is serious business! Chase says Melo may not want to hear this, but last week, we had-

Trick says to stop there! He doesn’t care if Chase is backed by all of Chase U, Thea Hail, Bodhi, Brody, Jabronies, it don’t matter! Don’t you finish that line! “What we have right now…” Don’t do it…! “IS A TEACHABLE MOMENT!!” And the brawl is on! Melo & Trick bail out, fans fire up, and a ref hurries out! We’ve got ourselves a tag match, playa!

Andre Chase & Bodhi Hayward w/ Thea Hail VS Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams!

The bell rings, Chase and Trick start and Chase gets a headlock. Trick powers out, things speed up, and Trick hurdles. Chase blocks the hip toss to give a hip toss! Fans fire up but Trick ROCKS Chase! Trick bumps Chase off buckles, tags in Melo, and they double whip Chase. Trick DROPKICKS Chase down, Melo talks trash and covers, ONE! Melo drags Chase up to CHOP! And ROCK! Fans rally but Melo snapmares Chase. Chase gets up to wrench and wristlock! Tag to Bodhi, they double whip and double ELBOW Melo! Bodhi wrenches, but Melo ROCKS Bodhi! And CHOPS! Tag to Trick, they mug Bodhi but fans rally up.

Trick suplexes Bodhi, then mocks Chase U. Trick CLUBS Bodhi, but Bodhi turns things around into an arm-drag! Three-point stance, FLYING TACKLE! Fans fire up and Bodhi tags Chase! Chase CHOPS Trick, clinches, but Trick ROCKS Chase! Trick whips, Chase reverses and hits a RUSISAN LEG SWEEP! Fans fire up and they spell along with the stomps, “CHASE U!” Tag to Bodhi and he drags Trick up. Bodhi facelocks, torture racks, but Melo tags in! Melo drags Trick off and they DOUBLE LARIAT Bodhi! Fans duel, Melo SPRINGBOARD LARIATS! Melo shoots his three then SUPERKICKS Bodhi down! Cover, TWO!

Melo is frustrated but he brings Bodhi around. Tag to Trick, they mug Bodhi more, but fans chant, “Whoop That Trick!” Trick stomps away on Bodhi, then throws a hard body shot! And an UPPERCUT! Trick runs, but Bodhi ducks the flying shoulder! Hot tag to Chase! Chase JABS Trick, JABS, DECKS Melo, CHOPS Trick, and atomic drops! Trick hobbles into a scoop SLAM! Fans fire up with Chase and he goes up a corner! But Trick gets under the leap! Pop-up UPPERCUT! Hot tag to Melo and he runs in to BOOT Chase down! SUPERKICK for Bodhi! Melo runs, springboards, but into a roll and cradle! CHASE U WINS!!!

Winner: Andre Chase & Bodhi Hayward, by pinfall

WHOA!! The Professor just taught the A Champion something! NEVER underestimate your opponent, no matter who they are! Will this help Chase get a spot in that ladder match?

 

Gallus is having a good time backstage.

Joe Coffey throws darts while the boys play cards. The good ol’ boys & Fallon Henley walk in and Josh Briggs asks what the big X is for. That’s the Scottish flag… But anyway, the country trio thought Gallus was on their way outta here after losing the tag title match. No, they thought they’d stick it out. They kinda like it here. And this is a closed game. The kids games are down the block. Go Fish. Oh, be careful now. Brooks Jensen might put you boys under the table. Better yet, let’s put Gallus through a table! But then security rushes in to stop this from breaking down into a brawl. Briggs tells Gallus it’ll take more than a bit of chaos to scare them off!

Wolfgang says if they want a fight, they’ll get a fight! More security rushes in and they have Briggs & Jensen stand down. Will we see a showdown between these two teams soon enough?

 

Sanga VS Von Wagner w/ Robert Stone!

The Giant Gentlemen didn’t like how Vicious Von talks around the ladies, and now he’s going toe to toe, behemoth against behemoth! Will Sanga humble the hulking brute? Or will even Sanga see that this is Wagner’s World, and he’s just living in it?

The bell rings and fans rally as the two circle. They tie up, Von dodges and RAMS Sanga, but Sanga rebounds to run Von over! Sanga storms up but into an elbow! Von throws hands and kicks then whips, but Sanga blocks to reverse. Von holds ropes, he elbows Sanga away, but Sanga CLOBBERS Von! Fans fire up and Sanga scoops Von! Von slips off to RAM Sanga into a corner. Von fires off with hands and stomps and point-blank clotheslines! Fans boo, the ref counts, but Sanga counter punches Von! Sanga ROCKS Von, Von knees low! Von CLUBS Sanga, KNEES him and CLUBS him more! Von clamps on for a neck wrench but Sanga endures.

Fans rally, Sanga fights up and he throws body shots! Fans cheer Sanga and he SPLASHES in the corner! Sanga scoops for a SIDEWALK SLAM! Von bails out and Sanga BOOTS him off the apron! Fans fire up but the ref keeps Sanga back to start the ring count. Sanga goes out the side and he storms up on Von to CLOBBER him! Fans fire up with Sanga, and Stone leaps in!? Sanga catches Stone, but Von POSTS Sanga! Fans boo as Von POSTS Sanga again! And then RAMS him into the steel steps! Von puts Sanga in the ring, Von runs, and he BOOTS Sanga! Sanga rebounds, but into the fireman’s carry!! Von powers up to TKO!! Cover, Von wins!

Winner: Von Wagner, by pinfall

Fans boo but Von roars! Will this insane display of power prove Von is ready for a title opportunity?

 

Wes Lee speaks.

“Trick and Melo really did a number on me. But not good enough. The medical team says I’m cleared for action, so I’m more than ready to qualifier for this North American title ladder match.” There’s a rumor going around that Wes doesn’t even need to qualify, and it’s true. But Wes won’t accept special treatment. The fans entursted him to walk out with the title last week, but he let them down. There is no bye week, Wes is gonna EARN his shot! Will he make the ladder match must-see?

Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo responds to this.

What a touching story from our guy, Wes Lee. “But he must have rocks for brains! What a stunad! You always take the free ride.” But that’s Wes’s decision. He’s taking on The Don, Tony D’Angelo, in that qualifier! Will Tony D ruin Wes’s redemption?

 

Cameron Grimes speaks.

“Joe Gacy, you target the vulnerable and feast on the weak. But Cameron Grimes is neither of them! You preach about peace and compassion, but next week, you won’t find either of them! Cuz I’m gonna chop down that Schism tree, throw it in the woodchipper, and use it as fuel to go TO! THE! MOON!!” Grimes is all fired up, will he burn down Gacy’s tree of woe once and for all?

 

North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: Oro Mensah VS Grayson Waller!

The Hottest Superstar Under the Sun is a former NXT UK Tag Team Champion, but he’s made the jump to NXT prime to heat back up! Will he be the first of four to qualifier for the coming title match? Or will the Grayson Waller Effect ruin Oro’s debut for his own success?

NXT returns as Oro makes his entrance. The bell rings and Waller talks trash before he JABS Oro! Waller whips, Oro reverses and hurdles, then he goes to hip toss. Waller blocks to CLOBBER Oro, then he shows off with drop steps. Waller kicks Oro around, wrenches his arm and wristlocks, but Oro rolls and handsprings. Waller throws Oro by his hair! Waller grinds the armlock but Oro kips up! Waller pulls hair again to throw Oro back down! Oro kips up again, but Waller throws him down again! Fans rally and duel, oddly, and Oro kips up. Waller arm-drags but Oro arm-drags back! Waller freaks out as his move backfires!

Oro CLUBS Waller’s arm, wrenches it, but Waller pulls hair again. Waller whips, Oro reverses and runs in to Tiger Wall Kick! Oro mocks the drop steps and shoots a three to then arm-drag Waller around! Oro body shots and PELES! Fans fire up but Waller SLAPS Oro! Waller won’t be disrespected! Oro fires off hands in return! Oro CLUBS Waller to a corner, CHOPS and ROCKS him, but lets off as the ref counts. Waller storms up but Oro knees low. Waller avoids the scissor kick to Electric Chair SLAM DUNK! Waller KNEES Oro in the back with his drop steps! Waller then drops an elbow and covers, TWO!

Fans chant “WALLER UCKS!” “NO!” as Waller stomps Oro down. Waller stands on Oro’s head but the ref counts. Oro gets up to throw body shots but Waller hits back. Waller whips, Oro ducks ‘n’ dodges, then sunset flips! Waller stays up, drags Oro around and drops another elbow! Waller rains down forearms on the back of Oro’s head! Fans boo and call Waller names, but Waller just clamps onto Oro for hammering elbows! He even takes off his elbow pad to throw more! Cover, TWO! Waller is frustrated but he taunts Oro. Waller fireman’s carries, but Oro fights free! Oro CLUBS Waller, ROCKS him, then ROCKS him again!

Waller kicks low, whips but Oro slides under and rallies on Waller! Oro whips, Waller reverses but Oro QUEBRADAS! Fans fire up and Oro clinches. Waller fires elbows, blocks a boot and flips Oro, but Oro AX KICKS Waller! Fans fire up as Waller goes to the apron and Oro storms over. Waller HOTSHOTS Oro, gets some space, and Waller runs to0 APOLLO CREWS!? Apollo’s bloody red eye scares Waller! And Oro DIVES onto him! Oro puts Waller in, Waller flounders around to a corner, and Oro run sin to WHEEL KICK! Cover, Oro wins!

Winner: Oro Mensah, by pinfall (qualifies for the North American Championship Ladder match)

Apollo looks like Halloween come early, and now the Hottest Superstar Under the Sun is headed to Halloween Havoc! Will Oro live up to his name and have gold around his waist again? Who else joins him and Melo in that match?

 

The Creed Brothers talk and train in the Diamond Dojo.

Brutus knows Julius got cuffed to the cage, but to be honest, he wants to beat Damon’s ass. Julius says that’s good, but Julius is the one who got hit with a backbreaker and a chair. Julius says he’s first. No, Damon cost them both those tag titles. Brutus is first. No, Julius was cuffed to the cage, it’s gonna be him. No, look what Damon did to Brutus’ face! It’s gonna be him! It NEEDS to be Brutus. Julius says fine. He wants Brutus to forget about it being a match. Go out there and END Damon’s career! Deal. The Creeds are out for blood, will they get their pound of flesh from the Golden Gopher?

 

Bron Breakker heads to the ring!

The NXT Champion is accompanied by Connor’s Cure Thriver, Landon “The Conqueror” Chase! Will you help Connor’s Cure conquer cancer? And who conquers who in the main event to get a title rematch with Bron?

 

Sol Ruca speaks.

She loves to express herself creatively in music, photography and art. But her home is the ocean, where it’s just her and the spirit of the water. No distracts, and absolute peace. “But as the tide rises, it’s time to come ashore.” Next week, Sol leaves the sand to hit the ring! Who will be first up to hang ten with the surfer girl?

 

NXT Championship #1 Contender’s Match: JD McDonagh VS Tyler Bate!

NXT returns as The Big Strong Boy makes his entrance, followed by the Irish Ace. The bell rings and fans rally as the two circle. Everyone is on Bate’s side as he ties up with JD. JD wrenches to a wristlock but Bate rolls and hooks a leg. JD cranks the wristlock to wrangle Bate and he has a top wristlock now. Bate endures, fights up and kips up to headlock back. JD powers out but Bate goes up and under and baits JD into knuckle locks. Bate waistlocks, baits JD again, leap frogs over, then baits JD into a step over and roll-up! TWO, and Bate runs to CROSSBODY! Cover, ONE! JD gets up into an arm-drag and Bate has an armlock!

Fans cheer, Bate pushes to a cover, ONE! Bate keeps on the arm, but JD rolls and fight sup. Bate wrenches, JD pulls hair! JD has Bate in a corner but the ref counts. JD throws body shots, whips Bate corner to corner, then runs in, but Bate blocks with a boot and knees back! Bate goes up and leaps to FLYING UPPERCUT! Fans fire up as Bate watches JD get up. Bate fireman’s carries and starts the AIRPLANE SPIN! JD slips around to a sunset flip, TWO! Bate has a prawn hold, TWO! JD has the sunset, TWO! Bate’s back with the prawn hold, TWO! JD sunsets again, TWO! Bate high stacks now, TWO as JD pops Bate through, TWO!!

The two get up, Bate swings into a full nelson but he breaks free to victory roll! TWO! JD has it now, TWO! Bate body scissors to a clutch, TWO! JD ELBOWS Bate, jackknifes, TWO as Bate bridges up! Bate spins JD around to backslide, TWO! JD gets Bate up but Bate victory rolls again! TWO!! JD escapes but DOUBLE LARIATS knock them both down! Fans fire up and NXT goes picture in picture.

The ref checks both men and they’re okay to continue. Bate drags JD up to fire off EuroUppers! And CHOPS! JD leans against ropes, Bate headlocks and smacks JD with his boot! Then again! Then he hits a headlock takeover. JD headscissors back, but Bate moves around, pops free, but JD turns Bate’s headlock attempt around into a facelock. Bate fights up, throws body shots, and he powers out. Things speed up again, Bate hurdles and MONKEY FLIPS JD! Then DROPKICKS him out of the ring! JD flops to the floor and Bate builds speed, only for JD to return! URENAGE to STANDING MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO!

Bate sputters from how fast JD turned that around on him. JD keeps focused, he drags Bate by a leg, and turns him! Bate kicks back from below but JD just grabs that leg! BOSTON CRAB! Bate endures and powers up to crawl forward! JD holds Bate back and he pulls Bate away from the ropes! NXT returns to single picture as fans rally for Bate. JD sits deep on the hold, Bate still endures and he powers up again! Bate powers his way around as the fans rally, and he actually goes backwards to push JD into the ropes! The ref counts the ropebreak, JD lets go, and Bate sits up. JD looms over Bate, drags Bate up, and KICKS him around!

The fans boo as JD has fun kicking away! JD goes to ripcord but Bate blocks! Bate grits his teeth, and he reels JD into a whip! JD goes up and out of the ring!! Even Bron’s surprised by that one! Bate hurries to build speed, and he FLIES! Direct hit and JD hits the desk! Fans fire up and Bron is shocked to see JD smiling through that! Bate drags JD up but JD SMACKS Bate off the desk! JD tells Bron this is going to be Bron next time. But Bate throws a body shot and puts JD in the ring! JD runs in at Bate but into Bate’s arms! Bate hits an EXPLODER! And a kip up! And a STANDING SHOOTING STAR! Cover, TWO!

Fans fire up behind Bate as he drags JD up. Bate gives JD some of those Kowata Kicks! Bate then EuroUppers JD to a corner. Bate runs in but JD slips out! Bate hits buckles, JD slingshots, but into a torture rack! Bate pops JD around to the AIRPLANE SPIN! Fans fire up and count, Bate goes all the way to 20 before the SLAM! Cover, TWO!! JD survives and both men are down as fans fire back up. “This is Awesome!” as both men slowly sit up. Bate gets an arm and he whips JD to a corner. JD tumbles up and out, Bate runs in but JD dumps him! JD PENALTY KICKS from the apron, then ASAI MOONSAULTS! Direct hit and fans fire up!

JD puts Bate in the ring, goes up the corner and 450 SPLASHES! Cover, TWO!! Bate survives but JD doesn’t stop! He stands Bate up to suplex, SHEER DROP BRAINBUSTER! Cover, TWO!! This is why Bate’s the UK Triple Crown Winner! But JD drags Bate up to throw JABS! Bate JABS back! JD shakes his head and ROCKS Bate with a right. Bate ROCKS JD, JD JABS, Bate JABS, it’s a boxing match in there, that turns into a fast ‘n’ furious brawl! Bop up, but JD blocks Bang! Bate ducks a haymaker to BANG after all! Underhooks, but JD wrenches out! JD kicks a leg out! Ripcord, DEVLIN- NO! Bate goes up for a DDT, but JD back drops him! Bate still lands on his feet!

Bate rebounds, for the- SPANISH FLY!! But BANG rises from the floor!! Fans are thunderous for “NXT! NXT!” and hope these two “FIGHT FOREVER!” But this has to end somehow, and Bate climbs up the corner. JD ROCKS Bate first! JD climbs up but Bate fires off forearms! Bate then climbs up even higher, and he underhooks the arms! JD resists, and slips out to HEADBUTT! Both men wobble up top, but JD climbs up. JD stands Bate up, “This is Awesome!” as the SUPER SPANISH FLY hits!! Ripcord, DEVLINSIDE!! Cover, JD wins!!

Winner: JD McDonagh, by pinfall (NEW #1 Contender to the NXT Championship)

Bron is a bit upset, but the better man won tonight. The Irish Ace is coming back for another try, will he hit the jackpot at Halloween Havoc? Bron joins JD in the ring to stare him down, but wait! No way! YES WAY! ILJA DRAGUNOV has come back to NXT!! JD is in shock seeing the Czar, and Bron is just smiling ear to ear as another heavy hitter joins the roster! Dragunov gets in the ring with the NXT Champion, and a man he is very familiar with in JD. Bron knows JD is up next, but he holds up his title to tell both men he’s ready for whatever. Will Bron be able to break even UNBESIEGBAR? Or will Dragunov take back the throne he never truly lost?


My Thoughts:

An awesome episode that really set up a lot of great stuff for Halloween Havoc. For one, what a surprise with the North American Championship situation. I guess giving up the title confirms that Solo is fully called up to RawDown, but that is a great way to give opportunities to a lot of other guys. Wes Lee had a good promo, and Stacks had a good enough response to set up Wes VS Tony D. I would think Wes beats Tony to get into the ladder match so that Wes can settle things with Melo, and I feel like Wes should be the one that wins the whole thing. We did get a great tag match out of Melo & Trick VS Chase U, though, and what a great surprise for Chase U to win. I hope this also means Andre Chase gets in the ladder match just to establish he’s moving up in the ranks.

Von VS Sanga was a great hoss fight, but I’m a bit bummed Von won this. I guess Von still needs to be seen as a threat, but who knows where he goes next. Oro VS Waller was a great match to introduce Oro (Oliver Carter) to NXT USA, and a great return for Apollo to screw Waller over. I have a feeling Apollo VS Waller will be a Halloween Havoc grudge match with a great Halloween themed Street Fight going on. And with that, I would think Apollo wins to get even from last time so that they can go one more time. And speaking of, Axiom VS Frazer Round 2 was great stuff, and Frazer of course wins so that they’ll have to have the third. As awesome as these last two have been, the third will be just amazing.

Good promo from Alba Fyre to again call out Mandy, and good response promo from Mandy where she did sound just a bit uncertain. I hope Fyre dethrones Mandy at Halloween Havoc, there’s something very full circle about something like that happening. Good promo from Roxie to put Meiko over, as well as Meiko putting Roxie over, too. Wendy VS Cora was really good but I guess Cora needs momentum going into her grudge match with Roxie. That should also happen at Halloween Havoc to throw a really fun stipulation on top of it. Though, I feel like the winner in Cora VS Roxie will have a lot to do with who is champion, sticking to the traditional Face VS Heel dynamic.

Lash also going after Wendy of course sets up their feud. I would love if we saw something from them for Halloween Havoc, too, to really see if Lash can keep up. Gigi & Jacy of course beat Ivy & Tatum, but at least they didn’t make it outright seem like Ivy was unfocused given the Diamond Mine drama. Damon had a great promo, complete with defaming the Diamond Mine gear. And I like that the Creeds almost got into a fight over who gets to destroy Damon. Damon VS Brutus probably won’t be the end of this, though. Damon will find an underhanded way to beat Brutus, and then Damon VS Julius happens to settle this.

Great interaction from Gallus and the good ol’ boys to set up their own match. The winner of that can probably be seen as the contenders to the tag titles to take on Pretty Deadly. No offense to Briggs & Jensen, but I think Gallus should get that one so that American audiences can see Gallus feud with Pretty Deadly and reference a lot of their UK material. Good promo from The Schism, really good tag match from Dyad VS Malik & Edris, but I had a feeling Dyad would win. Grimes has a good promo to set up a match with Gacy, but I am fully expecting this to give us the Six Man Tag of Schism VS Grimes, Edris & Malik.

And of course, great stuff from the main event and the NXT Championship scene. JD winning makes sense, they’ll want the classic Face VS Heel for the title match at Halloween Havoc, but WOW, Dragunov returning tonight was a great little surprise. I know fans were chanting “Triple Threat!” at the end, but I don’t want that. That’s just an excuse for Bron to retain the way Mandy did at Worlds Collide. Let Bron and JD settle their score, and then either way, we get another great match-up where Dragunov takes on the winner. There’s history between Dragunov and JD from NXT UK, but Dragunov VS Bron would be fresh material. And no offense to Bron, but he should NOT defeat Dragunov. Dragunov beat Gunther, then lost the belt to injury, Dragunov needs to be champion.

My Score: 8.8/10


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Coverage

Mitchell’s WWE Raw Results & Report! (3/18/24)

Talk about a Big Time Raw!

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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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Mitchell’s NJPW New Japan Cup Results & Report! (3/18/24)

The semifinals are here!

Published

on

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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