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Mitchell’s WWE Raw Results & Report! (10/31/22)

Raw goes bump in the night!

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WWE Raw 2022

Things get spooky before Crown Jewel!

With Crown Jewel just days away, Raw has The Beast, The Tribal Chief, and a Trick or Street Fight between a Bro and a Tree Trunk! This could be the scariEST Raw yet!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • Bianca Belair VS Nikki Cross; Bianca wins.
  • Seth Rollins VS Austin Theory; Rollins wins.
  • Damian Priest w/ The Judgement Day VS Karl Anderson w/ The OC; Anderson wins.
  • Trick or Street Fight: Matt Riddle VS Otis w/ Chad Gable; Riddle wins.
  • The Miz VS Mustafa Ali; Ali wins.
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Damage Control VS Asuka & Alexa Bliss; Asuka & Alexa win and become the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.

PLAY BY PLAY

Bianca Belair VS Nikki Cross!

Dallas fires up for the RawEST Women’s Champion, and she’s ready for some payback! The Almost SuperHero stopped being a hero and she ran wild on everyone last week, will Nikki be stopped before she gets started? Or will Nikki be a speedbump ahead of Bianca’s Last Woman Standing Match?

The bell rings and Bianca is wary of Nikki. Nikki rushes in, Bianca sends her to a corner and RAMS into her! And again! And again! Nikki hammers Bianca but Bianca lifts her up! Nikki sunset flips but Bianca stays up to drag Nikki up, but Nikki gets around to shove. Bianca runs Nikki over! Bianca says, “You think you crazy?” Things speed up. Bianca handsprings and says kiss this. Fans rally but Nikki shouts at Bianca, “LET’S GO!” Things speed up, Bianca hurdles but Nikki CROSSBODIES! Nikki rains down fists and fans boo, but Bianca gets to a corner. Nikki stomps away on Bianca, lets off as the ref counts, then stands Bianca up.

Nikki RAMS into Bianca at the ropes, then stalks her as she staggers away. Nikki storms up, bumps Bianca off buckles, and again, but then Bianca blocks. Bianca elbows Nikki away and runs her over! And dropkicks her down! Fans fire up as Bianca kips up! Bianca runs in but Nikki BOOTS back! Nikki goes up and leaps, but Bianca catches her! Bianca hits a FALL AWAY SLAM! Bianca dares Nikki to bring it but Nikki bails out. Bianca pursues but Nikki trips her! Bianca gets hung up a second, and then Nikki SLAMS that leg on the apron! And again! Bianca kicks but Nikki CLUBS the bad leg, before she traps Bianca in the apron skirt!

Nikki HAMMERS away, the ref counts, but Nikki lets off just a moment before throwing more forearms! Nikki is fired up but Dallas boos as Raw goes to break.

Raw returns and Bianca snapmares Nikki then gets to a corner. Nikki runs in but Bianca puts her on the apron. Nikki ducks the haymaker to HOTSHOT! Then Nikki speeds things up, only to run into a BACKBREAKER! Bianca scoops and SLAMS Nikki, then scoop SLAMS her again! And again! Fans fire up as Bianca suplexes and holds Nikki up! Bianca holds then SLAMS then kips up! The bad knee bothers her but she still HANDSPRING MOONSAULTS onto knees! Nikki turns things around, gets to a corner, but Bianca storms over. Nikki YANKS Bianca into buckles! Fans rally but Nikki hops on with a SLEEPER!

Bianca staggers around with Nikki as a backpack, and they tumble out to the floor! Nikki hurries after Bianca to jump on again! SLEEPER, but Bianca fights to BACKPACK SENTON! But then here come Damage Control’s Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai! The fans boo and the ref tells them to leave since they have nothing to do with this match! But in this distraction, Bayley POSTS Bianca! Nikki CLOBBERS Bayley! Nikki gets in the ring and she DECKS Sky! Kai hurries over to that side but Nikki THRWOS Sky into barriers! Nikki CROSSBODIES Kai! Fans fire up with Nikki now and she gets back in the ring.

Nikki drags Bianca up but Bianca slips around to torture rack! KISS OF DEATH! Cover, Bianca wins!

Winner: Bianca Belair, by pinfall

DMG CTRL tried to do damage to the EST, but she ends up winning! Bayley gets in the ring to fire forearms on Bianca, and then Kai & Sky get in the ring with her. They all stomp Bianca, but ASUKA is back!! AND ALEXA BLISS!! They get in the ring, GERMAN SUPLEX for Kai, DDT for Sky! Bianca fires off on Bayley and then dropkicks her away! Bianca manages another kip up, and Asuka HIP ATTACKS Bayley from the apron! Alexa goes outside to CANNONBALL all of DMG CTRL down! Fans fire up as the Empress and the Five Foot Fury help the EST stand tall! But will Bianca be the Last Woman Standing at Crown Jewel?

 

Bianca regroups with Alexa and Asuka backstage.

She’s glad to have them back, and then Cathy Kelly walks over to say that both Asuka and Alexa battled back from injuries, but is Bianca finished with Nikki Cross headed into Crown Jewel? Bianca says things are settled for now, but she and Bayley are far from over. Last Woman Standing at Crown Jewel, Bayley talks about pinning Bianca. But come that match, only one of them is walking out. But just because one of them is walking out doesn’t mean Bianca’s going in there alone. Alexa says they’ve been on Bianca’s side since this started, and they’ll be there Saturday. Alexa and Asuka remember the injuries, and they’re not waiting. They’re settling this tonight!

Alexa also knows DMG CTRL is listening, so Iyo, Dakota, they want a Women’s Tag Team Championship match TONIGHT! Asuka says DMG CTRL is NOT ready for Alexa & Asuka!! Will there be new champions here in Dallas?

 

Raw holds a dual interview with Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar.

At least, that’s what’s supposed to happen. The Beast is still not in his seat. Corey Graves starts with Lashley for his thoughts on the rematch with Lesnar at Crown Jewel. Lashley says he’s not surprised by this. Lesnar’s been ducking him for 20 years now. If they fought 20 years ago, he would’ve exposed Lesnar like he did at the previous Royal Rumble when Lashley beat Lesnar. Or like two weeks ago when Lesnar came at Lashley but got Speared and put through the announce table. At Crown Jewel, it’ll be no different. Lashley will expose Lesnar for who he really is: a Bobby Lashley wannabe.

But wait! Lesnar is going to the ring!! The Beast is all smiles as he waves his cowboy hat to Dallas. Lashley is even less amused than he was a minute ago seeing this. Lesnar gets a mic as Dallas cheers him on, and Lesnar says, “Good evening, Texas! Now Brock Lesnar didn’t come to Texas to have a sit-down interview with Bobby Lashley. When Brock Lesnar visits these good folks in Texas, he wants to do what these folks of Texas would normally do, and that’s to fight! Bobby, you obviously didn’t get the memo. And even if you did, I know you can’t read it. So Bobby, get your ass out here for an ass beating!”

Lashley takes off the lapel mic, rushes off his set, and makes his own way to the stage! Fans fire up as The All Mighty throws off his jacket, and then Lesnar meets him at the ramp! Lesnar TACKLES Lashley, refs rush out as they brawl into the barriers, and now even security, management, and other superstars rush out to stop this! There is already about 30 people trying to stop this, and even TRIPLE H is shouting to keep the peace! HHH warns Lesnar but Lesnar doesn’t even listen! He gets loose and finds Lashley! They just manage to throw hands but then they get pulled apart again! HHH tells everyone else to throw these guys out. If they touch again, their match is OFF!

Fans want to “Let Them Fight!” but we know this has to wait until Saturday! Will anything be left standing when the All Mighty and the Beast Incarnate collide at Crown Jewel?

 

Seth Rollins VS Austin Theory!

Once upon a time, they were the Messiah of Raw and his disciple, but now they’re nothing more than opponents. The Visionary thinks he’s untouchable, but will the Youngest Mr. Money in the Bank prove he can do it even better than “The King of Cash-Ins?”

The bell rings and Rollins talks old times with Theory. Is Theory sure about this match-up? Theory says yes, but fans sing, “OH~ OHH~ OHHHH~!” Rollins and Theory approach, but then Rollins avoids Theory to hear the fans cheer. Rollins makes sure Theory hears Dallas loud and clear. Fans chant for “SETH! SETH! SETH!” and he ties up with Theory. Theory pulls hair, puts Rollins in the corner, but lets off at the ref’s count. Rollins avoids the chop and CHOPS Theory! Theory snarls but Rollins conducts the fans. Theory mocks it, but Rollins blocks his kick! Rollins taunts Theory, spins to sweep the leg and cover, ONE!

Rollins headlocks and laughs but Theory fights up and out. Theory hurdles, but Rollins turns his back drop into underhooks! Theory escapes the Pedigree and the ring and fans boo, but Rollins goes out after Theory. They go around, Rollins avoids the elbow drop and fans laugh at Theory. Theory is upset, he chases Rollins now, and then Theory avoids the elbow drop, except Rollins never dropped one! Rollins WRECKS Theory with a dropkick! Fans cheer as Theory staggers and flops! Rollins goes out to CHOP Theory against the barriers! And then Rollins brings Theory around to hang him out to dry! The front row cheers as Rollins goes to the desk!

Rollins hops up, leaps, FLYING KNEE! Down goes Theory and Dallas high-fives Rollins. Rollins drags Theory up, puts him in the ring, and then shoulders in. Rollins jumps but Theory trips him up! Rollins tumbles to the floor, Theory goes out after him, FLAPJACK to the desk! Fans chant “Theory Sucks!” but he RAMS Rollins into steel steps! Rollins writhe and Theory shouts, “I’m on top! ALL DAY!” as Raw goes to break.

Raw returns and Rollins throws body shots and a CHOP! And another CHOP! Rollins whips, Theory reverses and clotheslines in a corner! Theory then scoops to FALL AWAY SLAM! Cover, TWO! Fans rally up but Theory smirks. Theory talks trash on Rollins, “I’M the future now!” Theory throws a haymaker but Rollins snarls as he gets up. Theory throws another and now Rollins is seething! Rollins counter punches, and again! Theory throws haymakers, Rollins CHOPS! Theory CHOPS, Rollins ROCKS! Theory, Rollins, and then Rollins gets the edge! Fans fire up with the flurry, and Rollins SOBATS to KICK and run! Into an ELBOW!

Theory runs, but Rollins kitchen sink knees! Rollins fakes Theory out and clotheslines Theory out of the ring! Fans fire up and sing again, “OH~ OHH~ OHHHH~!” Rollins DIVES and takes out Theory! Rollins hurries back in, he builds speed again, and he DIVES! Another direct hit at the ramp! Fans continue to sing and Rollins is feeling it! Rollins builds speed again but he has to doge Theory! Theory elbows Rollins, fisherman’s a leg, but Rollins turns things around to FALCON ARROW! Cover, TWO! Fans fire up while both men are down, and Rollins sits up first. “This is Awesome!” “OH~ OHH~ OHHH~!” Rollins runs in but Theory avoids the stomp!

Theory is in a corner, he puts Rollins on the corner but Rollins HEADBUTTS back! And FLYING KNEES! And SUPERKICKS! Cover, TWO!! Theory is still in this but Rollins grins. Rollins says Theory can give up, it’s okay. Theory slowly rises, Rollins kicks him, reels him in and underhooks the arms! But Theory back drops! Rollins sunset flips but Theory sits on it! TWO and Rollins sunsets! TWO, Theory pushes to stack, TWO! Rollins has the sunset again, TWO! Theory has a cradle! TWO and Rollins has a ghost pin! TWO, ROLLING ELBOW from Theory! Into AOI SHODOU! Cover, TWO!! Rollins survives and fans are thunderous!

Theory is frustrated, he stands up and he watches Rollins stand. Theory fireman’s carries but Rollins slips free. Shove, but Theory blocks the superkick! But the DRAGON WHIP comes around! But Theory comes back, SOMERSAULT BLOCKBUSTER! Cover, TWO!! Theory is furious but Dallas is loving this! Fans rally behind Rollins but Theory says it’s time to go down! Theory fireman’s carries, but Rollins fights with elbows! Theory drops to a knee, but he lifts Rollins again! Rollins throws even more elbows and Theory falls! Rollins runs, but Theory fireman’s carries! Rollins slips off to ROLLING ELBOW! Then turn, DREAM-

NO, Theory ducks the elbow to SUPERKICK! And he CLOBBERS Rollins with a forearm! Both men are down and fans fire up again! Theory snarls and gets himself to the ropes. Fans rally as he goes over to Rollins and says, “King of the Cash-In? I’M the King! You wanna see why? I’m about to show you!” Theory reels Rollins in and underhooks the arms! Fans boo, but Rollins FLAPJACKS the Pedigree, into the CURB STOMP!! Cover, Rollins wins!

Winner: Seth Rollins, by pinfall

Gold belt, gold tights, and even gold in his hair, the Visionary shines through! But will someone come for that US Championship soon enough?

 

Roman Reigns arrives!

He and Paul Heyman pull in backstage, and they alone head to gorilla. No Bloodline with him, will the Tribal Chief take care of business all by himself?

 

BREAKING NEWS for Crown Jewel!

Bray Wyatt is back and he’s making the trip! But what will happen when this new form of Bray takes Crown Jewel down the rabbit hole?

 

Roman Reigns heads to the ring!

Dallas is already raising the fingers as The Tribal Chief raises the titles for the pyro. Roman then continues to the ring, and he raises the belts again for more pyro. Fans chant, “UCEY! UCEY!” in reference to everything that happened on Friday. Roman smiles, and then Heyman hands over the mic for Roman to say, “Dallas, Texas! ACKNOWLEDGE ME!” Fans cheer and put up the ones again. And then “UCEY! UCEY!” returns. Roman says,
“Don’t worry, I got Sami and Jey out there in the world, working on becoming a little more Ucey. So by the time we’re done in Saudi Arabia, you should be seeing a new man. An Ucey Right Hand Man, Jey Uso.”

Roman says enough about that, though. Let’s be real right quick. “For over two years now, I’ve been hyping opponents. And the only thing that happens is we get to the match and they get smashed! And I don’t want y’all to think I’m dishonest. I’m not up here lying to you, no. So, I had to think about this, and… Let’s be honest: I’m the greatest of all time.” Fans cheer that, and Roman says he’s going up against a guy who has had two matches! “So there’s no way that I’m gonna sit up here and I’m gonna hype up a match with an outsider like Logan Paul.” The Tribal Chief will not do that. But the Wise Man will!

Heyman gets the mic back and he feels the pressure. “Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman. And as the Special Counsel and the Wise Man to the Tribal Chief, the GOAT, the Greatest of All Time, the Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion, Roman… Reigns…! Well, it’s incumbent upon me to at least mention the fact that Logan Paul has these steel screws inserted into the hand that he is determined to throw that ‘one lucky punch’ with. And that Logan Paul has been training with HBK, Shawn Michaels. And yet, with all this on Logan Paul’s side, this Saturday at Crown Jewel, he’s gonna get SMASHED by the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns!

“Because if there’s one thing in this world on the Island of Relevancy that Roman Reigns cannot tolerate, is an outsider. So, this Saturday-” The Miz is showing up? The Hollywood A-Lister struts his way to the ring with a smirk on his face and both Roman and Heyman are confused. Miz has a mic to say, “First and foremost, my Tribal Chief, I acknowledge you.,” A good start. Miz says he’s not here to antagonize but to help. No one knows Logan Paul better than Miz. Miz brought Logan Paul into the EWWE, trained him, taught him everything he knows in the ring, but there is one thing he couldn’t teach. That right hand is real.

Those steel pins in his hand give Logan Paul real knockout power. If you don’t believe Miz, ask Jey! Jey got knocked out! Miz is just sorry that he couldn’t show up quicker. Being a celebrity superstar philanthropist, he has been having to deal with a deranged stalker. But Roman, maybe they can help each other. Miz knows Logan Paul’s strengths and weaknesses. So maybe Roman helps with He Who Shall Not Be Named before Miz’s match with Mustafa Ali and Miz will help Roman neutralize Logan Paul. Roman takes the mic from Heyman back, and Roman says, “You’re just trying to cut a deal? Like, I scratch your back, you scratch mine?”

That’s not so bad. Roman is up for that. But before getting to the deal, Roman wants to ask Miz a question. Absolutely, Tribal Chief! This is your ring. Heyman says it is! Roman’s starting to like Miz. But then, why does everyone keep talking about Logan Paul knocking Roman out? SUPERMAN PUNCH for Miz! “When they should be talking about me knocking Logan Paul out? And then you’re not going to have any other choice but to ACKNOWLEDGE ME!” The Tribal Chief proves his fist is just as dangerous without steel pins. Will Roman prove this is HIS WWE? Or will Logan Paul just need luck on his side?

 

Miz is backstage in the trainer’s room.

He has an icepack on his jaw, and Cathy Kelly walks in to ask him about it. Miz says not now, he’ sin a lot of pain. But she just wanted to be sure that he knew Johnny Gargano sat down with Byron Saxton for an exclusive tell-all for later tonight. Miz says he honestly hasn’t thought about it, because he’s more concerned about getting his match with Ali cancelled for tonight. Also, all Gargano has is gotcha journalism, and Cathy should know that a story should never air or be publicized until it is verified by multiple and legitimate sources. Gargano’s source doesn’t even speak!

If the WWE airs this slanderous puff piece, then Miz will have no choice but to file a defamation suit that’ll make Johnny Depp and Amber Heard wince. But Ali walks in and says that is unfortunate. Ali was really looking forward to competing tonight. Everything is bigger in Texas! Well, almost everything. Don’t you dare. What? Don’t you dare…! What? OH! No, he wasn’t gonna say Miz has tiny balls! Miz vows to beat Ali, even with a broken jaw! Ali looks forward to it. Will this prove to Miz he needs to learn to keep his mouth shut?

 

Damian Priest w/ The Judgement Day VS Karl Anderson w/ The OC!

The Punisher takes his turn tonight, and of course the rest of his “family” are ringside. But will all the Machine Gun need to win is his Good Brothers watching his back?

The bell rings, Priest rushes in but Karl dodges to ROCK and UPPERCUT! But Priest TOSSES Karl to a corner! Karl dodges to CHOP, ROCK and ROCK Priest again. Karl whips, Priest reverses and ELBOWS Karl down! The Judgement Day cheers and Priest stands Karl up to ROCK him with a right. Priest whips, Karl KICKS back, then Karl runs in to clothesline Priest out of the ring! Priest lands on his feet, he drags Karl out, but Karl POSTS Priest! Karl claps at Judgement Day and he tells Dominik to watch himself. Dom says he wouldn’t, but then creeps up! Karl DECKS Dom, but Priest BOOTS Karl down! Fans boo and Priest dares Styles to do something while Raw goes to break.

Raw returns and Priest has Karl with a motorcycle stretch. Karl fights up, throws hands, but Priest knees low. Karl throws more forearms, but Priest BELL CLAPS! And ROLLING ELBOWS! Karl staggers to a corner, Priest runs in to jumping back elbow! Priest then hits the BROKEN ARROW! Cover, TWO! Rhea argues the count but Priest taunts Karl that he wants more pain. Priest KICKS Karl, drags him up, and says, “This is where you’re gonna learn.” But Karl hits a JAWBREAKER! Priest staggers, runs in but gets a BOOT! Karl dodges the elbow to JUMP KICK! Priest staggers, Karl CHOPS! And ROCKS! And UPPERCUTS!

Priest choke grips but Karl slips free! Mule kick! Karl dodges the boot to run and run Priest over! Karl runs to SENTON! Fans fire up with Karl and he whips. Priest reveres but Karl ducks and hits a SPINEBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Judgement Day coaches Priest but Karl goes up the corner! Fans fire up but Rhea distracts from the apron. The ref reprimands, Karl leaps, but into Priest’s arms! COMPLETE SHOT! Priest grins and the Judgement Day fires up while fans boo. Priest roars, drags Karl up, but Karl slips through to backslide! KARL WINS!

Winner: Karl Anderson

But the Judgement Day attack! The OC get in the ring, it is a wild brawl! Finn sends Karl out but Styles and Gallows have Dom and Priest! Finn stomps Karl, Dom wants mercy from Big LG, but Rhea LOW BLOWS him! Fans boo as the Eradicator defends Dom. But then Rhea dares Karl and Styles to fight her! She doesn’t give a damn! But then Priest and Finn attack Karl and Styles! Rhea smirks as she continues to be an indefensible X-factor. She feeds Styles to Priest for the RAZOR’S EDGE! Finn goes up and he aims at Karl as Dom stretches Karl out! COUP DE GRACE!! The Judgement Day then set Styles up for Dom as he climbs up!

Fans boo but Dom gives us some Latino Heat! FROG SPLASH!! The OC is down, but will they find a way to get back up at Crown Jewel?

 

MVP speaks.

“Braun Strowman, Friday night on SmackDown, you said that there is no giant in the world big enough for the Monster of All Monsters. And I thought when you said that, that perhaps when the Nigerian Giant tossed you out of the ring, perhaps you landed on your head. I’m gonna shoot straight with you: you can flip over all the trucks and snatch off all the car doors that you want, but you will never, ever, measure up to the 7’3″, 403 lbs. Nigerian Giant, Omos. You need to get that through your Neanderthal like skull. Because once and for all, you will find out Saturday at Crown Jewel.

“Or, perhaps, you’ll find out a little sooner. Because I’m coming to SmackDown on Friday, and I’ve arranged a little surprise for you.” Maxwell Vontavius Porter chuckles, will that surprise be anything but little?

 

JBL heads to the ring!

John Bradshaw Layfield is in Dallas and Dallas is happy to see him! But will JBL be in better spirits being in Texas? We’ll find out, after the break.

Raw returns and JBL says it is so good to be home in the Lonestar State of God Bless Texas! December 29th, 1845, “the rest of the colonies were allowed by Texas to join us, and the United States was formed with Texas at the center. You are welcome, America. And since before that time, Texas has always been defined by its legends. The whole state chanting for the Tyler Rose, yelling, ‘Run, Earl, Run!’ To the boy from Alvin, Texas throwing 100 mile per hour heat, telling Ron Ventura, ‘You’re welcome to come out here to join me.'” Stalback to Aikman to HOW ‘BOUT THEM COWBOYS?! The Von Ericks to STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN!

“The greatness of Texas has been immeasurable, until you Snowflakes came along and ruined it. You Gen Z’ers, Millennials, and all you people who have enabled them have turned Texas into an embarrassment. I mean, today’s your day, right? Halloween? Where you teach your young children to go door to door begging for food. That is exactly what this young, entitled, lazy, safe-space-seeking generation does NOT need. So from a Texas legend, I wanna tell you that not one of you, not a single one, should be allowed to call yourselves a Texan. You disgust me.” Fans boo JBL, but JBL says he’ll still introduce greatness to this state!

JBL says this is the man who will save this business! So get up on your snowflake feet and clap your chubby hands to welcome the MODERN DAY WRESTLING GOD, BARON! CORBIN!! Corbin makes his way out, in the craziest looking tracksuit, and he leaves fans hanging on the high-fives. Are those tigers and flowers on that outfit? Corbin has the mic to say, “Ladies and gentlemen, you are welcome. Look, I know it made every single one of your nights to be in the presence of a Modern Day Wrestling God. You sit out there and you look up at me and go, ‘Man, that guy’s got it all.’ Let me tell you, you are right, I have it all. And all of you have very, very little.”

Corbin is here to say thanks from the bottom of his heart that the fans scraped together their last few dollars to get a ticket to see Corbin in the flesh tonight. JBL applauds but fans boo. Corbin knows it wasn’t easy. They probably had to put in an extra few hours at the factory, or whatever farm they work at, but that just shows Corbin how much they truly, truly love him. Fans boo even more, but Corbin says that’s just to look cool. He knows it’s hard to admit, but they all know the truth. And the truth is- R-TRUTH! Fans fire up as Truth gallops to the ring as a cowboy! Truth joins JBL and Corbin and he pets his little pony.

JBL says, “Hey! Buffoon! What’re you doing? You look ridiculous.” Truth says he just wanted to come out here to wish Dallas a Happy Halloween! But he especially wants to come out here and tell JBL & Corbin that he really, really, really really really really… likes their costumes. JBL says they’re not in costumes, “you idiot.” Oh, those are definitely costumes. JBL is like a mean, hostile, steaming mad, angry angry angry, outta touch old man. And Corbin, well, he’s just the world’s biggest- Corbin swings on Truth! Truth dodges and throws haymakers back! Corbin shoves Truth but gets a CALF KICK for it! And a low kick! But then JBL SMACKS Truth!

JBL and Truth argue and Corbin BLINDSIDES Truth! END OF DAYS! Fans boo but JBL shouts, “Good night!” JBL and Corbin laugh at Truth, but will someone come along and humble these so-called wrestling gods?

 

Damage Control talks with Nikki Cross backstage.

Bayley is trying to tell Nikki something but Nikki seems to be in her own little world. Nikki then glares at Bayley, before storming off. Is Bayley trying to get Nikki on her side?

 

Trick or Street Fight: Matt Riddle w/ Elias VS Otis w/ Chad Gable!

Bro, the Original Bro was just trying to be a good bro to the Drifter, and the Alpha Academy had to go and harsh their buzz. But Riddle did come to Elias’ aid when he needed it, so Elias is willing to return the favor. Riddle is dressed as Ezekiel to honor Zeke, but will Riddle be able to #ZekeOut? Or will Gable’s number one guy SHOOOOSH him?

Speaking of, Gable shouts, “SHOOOOOSH! Shoosh, please! Sure, I could’ve dressed up like Socrates or any great philosopher tonight, and it would’ve made perfect sense. But then I realized no one here would’ve got the joke, because I’m in front of a bunch of Dallas dimwits! Lucky for you, Halloween’s my favorite holiday, so I’m gonna make it easy for you. I dressed up as a personal hero, a modern day Hercules, Patrick Swayze himself, as the legendary dancer, Chip! A THANK YEW~! And allow me to introduce my luxurious partner, a man who’s gonna do some dirty dancing all over Mr. Matt Riddle, DALE~!”

Otis walks out, and together, the Academy reveals they’re shirtless! They strut, flex, and swivel all the way to the ring. No one is sure what to make of this, but will the tree trunk take all the treats for himself tonight? The bell rings and Riddle runs in, but Otis scoops! Riddle slips off, baits Otis to a corner and POSTS him into a SKELETON! Riddle goes up and out and PENALTY KICKS Gable! Then he FLOATING BRO ATTACKS The Academy! Fans fire up and Elias high-fives Riddle as Raw goes to break.

Raw returns and Otis has Riddle in a head vice! And looking around the ring, we missed a lot of madness during the break. Riddle endures, fights up, and he throws body shots. Otis knees low, CLUBS him, but Riddle counter punches! And again! And then he fires off palm strikes and KICKS! Otis blocks one but gets a KNEE in return! Riddle runs to forearm smash! He goes side to side to forearm smash again! Riddle goes the other way, but Otis CLOBBERS him! Gable cheers as Otis thrusts those hips. Otis puts Riddle in a corner, then clears some space. Otis runs in to SPLASH! Riddle drops and Gable signals to Otis.

Fans chant “We Want Tables!” but Gable says one night only and tonight is that night! Otis fires up, he does the CATERPILLAR! And the ELBOW! Otis drags Riddle up, scoops him, and pops him up but Riddle slips free! Riddle dodges, and Otis POSTS himself into a chair!! Elias throws a candy corn kendo stick to Riddle and Riddle SMACKS away on Otis! Fans fire up with Riddle and he pounds the mat! Riddle is hearing those voices, bro! But Gable CLOBBERS Riddle from the apron! “A THANK YEW~!” But then Elias KNEES Gable off the apron, and he falls through a table! Riddle leaps at Otis, but into a WORLD’S STRONGEST SLAM!

Otis snarls and goes to the corner. Otis climbs up, shimmies and shakes, and DOZER BOMBS onto nothing! Riddle dodges in time, and then Elias puts a pumpkin on Otis’ head! RKO with the pumpkin!! Cover, Riddle wins!

Winner: Matt Riddle, by pinfall

The Academy got wrecked tonight as the Bro and the Drifter combine forces! Will things be much sweeter for them from now on?

 

Damage Control talks backstage.

Kai is flipping out a bit about why this is happening! Why are Asuka & Alexa getting a title match when all they did was scream about how Kai & Sky aren’t ready? They’re just lucky DMG CTRL doesn’t back down from a challenge! The real question is: will Asuka & Alexa be able to compete after all the damage Kai & Sky inflict upon them? Sky says, “We are going to embarrass Asuka and Alexa!” Bayley agrees, and she will embarrass Bianca this Saturday. But they can’t get riled up like this. Sky has done way too much in her career to be overlooked, and Kai has been left behind too many times for anyone to think they can walk all over her.

Bayley vows that DMG CTRL will take over this division! Saturday, Bayley beats Bianca, and tonight, Kai & Sky beat Asuka & Alexa, and they will be the last women standing by this time next week. Kai calms down, will she and the Evil Genius deny the Empress and Lil’ Miss Bliss their thrones?

 

The Miz VS Mustafa Ali!

The Most Must-See Superstar was just trying to help the Head of the Table, but he got rejected pretty hard. Will Miz recover from his supposedly broken jaw and take a win? Or will The Beacon simply use Miz’s spotlight to get the opportunities he is fighting for?

Raw returns and Ali makes his entrance. The bell rings, Ali and Miz circle, and fans taunt Miz over his “TINY BALLS!” Miz is annoyed, but he ties up with Ali. Ali headlocks but Miz powers out and complains about the bad jaw. Ali says he barely squeezed. They tie up and Miz puts Ali in a corner. Ali dodges the cheap shot, but then Miz covers up! Ali is annoyed, this is a match! Fans boo, Miz runs in but Ali dodges. Miz narrowly avoids a roundhouse and scrambles to a corner. Ali storms up but Miz yanks him into the buckles! Miz stomps a mudhole in, then mocks Ali now. Miz whips Ali corner to corner hard and Ali drops to his knees.

Ali crawls to another corner and Miz storms up. Miz fishhooks Ali’s face, whips him corner to corner, but Ali goes up and over! Things speed up, Ali ducks ‘n ‘dodges, flips through the hip toss, and then Miz covers up! Ali rolls Miz, TWO! Ali atomic drops, mocks the tiny balls, and then CHOPS! And CHOPS! Ali whips corner to corner, Miz reverses but Ali slips out to slingshot in and NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Miz writhes but Ali hurries to the corner! Ali climbs, fans rally, but Miz moves! Ali bails out of the 450 but runs into a BOOT! Ali is dazed and Miz rips his shirt to show off his muscles!

Fans boo as Miz stalks Ali and fishhooks Ali’s face. Miz then RAMS Ali into the buckles face first! The ref checks Ali while Miz snarls and Raw goes to break.

Raw returns and Miz shakes his head while Ali slowly sits up. Miz KICKS Ali, but Ali sits up again. Miz KICKS, Ali sits up, and Miz KICKS again! And again! And again! And again, again, again, again! Miz powers up and fans boo, but Ali ducks the Buzzsaw to BACKSTABBER! Fans rally up while both men are down, and Ali stands to CHOP! And CHOP! And CHOP! Ali whips, Miz reverses to knee low! Miz suplexes but Ali slips out to O’Conner- NO, Miz bucks that to kick the legs out! BASEMENT DDT! Cover, TWO! Fans boo while Miz seethes. Miz stalks Ali and full nelson, but Ali victory rolls! TWO!

Ali runs, tilt-o-whirls and DDTs!! Miz is down but he flounders out of the ring! Fans boo as Ali misses a chance. But Ali heads up top to SUPER CROSSBODY! Direct hit and fans fire up! Ali huffs and puffs and he brings Miz up. The ring count starts, and Miz SHOVES Ali over the desk! Miz then clears off the desk and he drags Ali up! The count is past 5 of 10 as Miz TOSSES Ali over the desk the other way! But then LUMIS grabs Miz from the crowd!! Miz scrambles free and hurries into the ring! Lumis runs away and security chases after! Miz is still shocked, but he turns around into a SUPERKICK from Ali!

Miz is down, Ali hurries up top! Fans fire up for Ali’s 450 SPLASH! Cover, Ali wins!

Winner: Mustafa Ali, by pinfall

Miz can’t blame the bad jaw, but he can blame Lumis for going after him! Will Johnny Gargano’s tell-all finally explain just what is going on here? As for Ali, he gets a great win, will he head for bigger and better soon enough?

 

WWE Investigates: The True Story of Dexter Lumis & The Miz.

Byron Saxton says that over the past few months, Lumis has stalked Miz “with a series of mental and physical attacks. But recently, someone has come forward claiming to have a bombshell regarding this explosive situation. his name is Johnny Gargano. He was a close friend of Lumis’ at NXT, and now he is a whistleblower with an inside scoop.” Byron sat down with Gargano to uncover what Gargano calls, “The truth.”

“Who is Dexter Lumis?” Gargano says that is a very layered question. Gargano’s known Lumis for years. Lumis has his quirks, like everyone, but Lumis is just a guy trying to make a living. Lumis married into Gargano’s NXT family, so Gargano had to accept him like a son-in-law. Or maybe a pet racoon. One in the same. But after the wedding, the family fell apart. How so? Lumis lost his job and fell on hard times. Gargano made a rather goofy reenactment all by himself, and notes that the firing took a toll on Lumis’ psyche. And in typical fashion, Miz took advantage. In what way? The struggling artist was given an opportunity, by a predator.

Gargano says Miz may not know this, but it’s time to get the truth out there! The whole truth! It was on the night of Gargano’s surprise return to the WWE in Toronto, 8/22/22. Just before Gargano went out there to hear the fans, he overheard Miz and Lumis talking. And since it’s 2022, Gargano recorded it on his phone. Take a listen. Miz told Lumis that he was a little snug with that sleeper, but this is working. People are buying it. Then Miz paid Lumis half of what he promised, and said he’d give Lumis the other half when this is done. Lumis was quiet, of course, but Miz said, “Don’t look at me like that. Take the money and keep your mouth shut. Oh yeah, that shouldn’t be an issue. Am I right? HAHAHA!”

So this has been some kind of arrangement? Gargano says Lumis was being paid to stage these “attacks!” But why would the Miz do this? Why? Because he thinks he’s a celebrity! And celebrities want attention, they fake stories and call the Paparazzi on themselves all the time! Miz wanted a stalker story and exploited Lumis! This is disgusting and vile! These are rather serious accusations Gargano is making. Gargano knows that, but look at the footage. The first time we saw Lumis on Raw, Miz glances and sees Lumis, but there were no physical altercations. And when Lumis dragged Miz away during that tag match, Miz practically walked out with him!

But what about the altercations during the United States Championship Cage Match, in which Lumis put Miz to sleep? Gargano knew Byron would ask that. But what better way to play the victim than to orchestrate your own downfall? Miz was never gonna beat Lashley anyway! So Miz found a painful way to keep blame off himself. Smart. But then why did Miz attack Lumis with a chair? Okay, Gargano can’t prove this one, but his theory is that somewhere along the way, Miz stopped paying. Miz lost control, and now Lumis is coming Miz after him to get what he’s owed. Byron says this is a shocking development. He thanks Gargano for his time. Is it true? Is this a scam gone sideways?

 

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Damage Control VS Asuka & Alexa Bliss!

The Role Model helped her new allies get these titles, and they helped her become the #1 contender to the Raw Women’s Championship! But can Bayley help #CobraKai & The Evil Genius keep these titles? Or will the EST be a factor in the Empresses of Bliss taking these titles for their own?

Raw returns as DMG CTRL makes their entrance. The introductions are made, the belts are raised, and we see just who is in control of the WWE Women’s Tag Division!

The teams sort out and Sky starts with Alexa, and they fire forearms already! Alexa kicks Sky, bumps her off buckles, and then stomps a mudhole in! The ref counts, Alexa lets off, but stomps more! Sky kicks back but Alexa SLAMS Sky down! Alexa KICKS Sky in the back, then stands on her at the ropes for skateboard stomps! The ref counts, DMG CTRL protests, but Alexa lets off. Sky avoids the knee drop and then she LARIATS Alexa down! Sky hammers away on Alexa, bumps her off buckles, and she tags Kai in. Sky & Kai stomp Alexa, double whip her to ropes, and then trip her up, BOOT her, and sweep the legs to AX KICK and basement dropkick! Cover, ONE!!

Kai snarls and she CLUBS Alexa. Alexa elbows Kai, Kai CLUBS her again. Kai bumps Alexa off buckles, trips her up, and goes side to side to BOOT WASH! Cover, TWO! Bayley says they should have a replay of that boot. Sky tags in, she CLUBS Alexa but Alexa hits back. Sky stomps Alexa down, digs her boots in and hits a swinging knee drop! Bayley wants another replay but Sky covers, TWO! Sky tags Kai, they mug Alexa, and Kai digs her boots in. Alexa endures, the ref counts, and Kai lets off. Kai brings Alexa around, but Alexa wrenches and choke grips for the STO! Then INSULT2INJURY MK II! Cover, TWO!

Bayley is a little worried but Bianca encourages Alexa. Kai RAMS Alexa into a corner but Alexa elbows her away! Alexa goes up to RANA Kai and hot tag Asuka! Asuka dodges the boot, Kai ducks the roundhouse and grabs hair! Asuka breaks free to throw Kai by her hair! The ref reprimands but Asuka BACK HANDS, BACK HANDS, KICKS and BACK HANDS! Then GERMAN SUPLEXES! Fans fire up with Asuka as she glare at Sky. Asuka drags Kai up, reaches out, but Kai throws Asuka by her hair! Kai drags Asuka away and tags in Sky. Fans rally as Sky and Asuka stare down. They swing, dodge, RAM shoulders, and roar!

They start shoving, then the forearms start flying! Fans fire up as these rivals scrum! Asuka has the strike fest, but she runs into an UPPERCUT! Sky runs but Asuka dodges and LARIATS! Asuka drags Sky up, tags Alexa, and they double whip Sky to trip, ROCK, and BULLDOG! Alexa covers, TWO! Alexa keeps close on Sky and brings her up. Tag to Asuka, Asuka goes up and Alexa whips Sky into the MISSILE DROPKICK! Sky bails out, Asuka HIP ATTACKS Kai! Fans fire up and the challengers both WRECK DMG CTRL with dropkicks! Kay gets up fast to SHOTGUN Alexa! Asuka KICKS away on Sky, then ROCKS her with a haymaker!

Asuka kicks but Kai saves Sky and that foot hits POST! Sky hauls Asuka up to DRAGON SCREW the bad leg! Kai & Sky get in the ring while fans boo, but Raw goes to break.

Raw returns and Asuka ROCKS Sky! But Sky keeps her from Alexa and whips her away! Asuka uses that to DECK Kai! Asuka elbows Sky then LARIATS her down! Fans fire up while Asuka and Sky crawl. Sky anchors Asuka’s foot and drags her back again! Asuka throws elbows, switches with Sky, but Sky mule kicks al eg! But Asuka waistlocks, only for Sky to victory roll! STOMP 18- NO, Asuka avoids the double stomps and rolls Sky! TWO, and Sky SHOTEIS! Sky runs in but Asuka dumps her out! Fans fire up and Asuka crawls, but Bayley puts Sky in! Sky tags Kai, Kai runs over and drags Asuka away!

Asuka kicks Kai away, avoids Kai’s kick, and rolls her up, TWO! Kai swings but into a backslide! TWO!! Kai BOOTS Asuka, checks her teeth, then snarls as she whips Asuka., Asuka reverses and Kai tumbles out! Bayley is freaking out as Asuka crawls, but Sky runs in !Asuka sends Sky back out, hot tag to Alexa! Alexa rallies on Kai with big shoulders, and a THESZ PRESS to fast hands! Kai gets free but Alexa hits another THESZ PRESS! Kai kicks but Alexa blocks to spin, ROCK, CHOP and KNEE! And then SHOTGUN! Kai goes to ropes and fans fire up! Alexa runs in to DOUBLE KNEE Kai down!

Bayley checks on Sky, Kai YANKS Alexa into buckles! Kai runs in but Alexa goes up to SUNSET BOMB! Cover, TWO!! Kai survives and not even Bianca can believe that! Alexa drags Kai up and brings her over to tag Asuka back in. Fans rally as Asuka wrenches and hooks Kai up, SHOTGUN LEG SWEEP COMBO, into a KOJI KLUTCH! Sky breaks it as she hammers Asuka! Alexa gets in but swings into underhooks! TIGER BACKBREAKER! Kai has Asuka’s legs, and hits a LEG DDT! Kai leaves Asuka in a corner, tags in Sky, and Sky runs in with the SHINKANSEN! Asuka is dazed and Sky goes to the apron.

Fans boo as Sky springboards, MISSILE DROPKICK! Cover, TWO!! DMD CTRL can’t believe it, but Sky just hurries back up top. Asuka stands, Sky leaps again, but into a CODE BREAKER!! Cover, TWO!! INTO AN ARMBAR!! Sky endures, moves around, stacks Asuka, TWO! Sky is free but Asuka jumps on her! Takedown, into the chicken wing! But Bayley distracts the ref from the ASUKA LOCK! Sky is tapping, but Kai drops a leg! Bianca CLOBBERS Bayley for costing the team! Bianca CROSSBODIES Bayley over the barriers!! Alexa gets in, she has Kai, but Kai wrenches out to HEADBUTT! Kai ducks a roundhouse, Asuka ducks a roundhouse, Asuka’s ROUNDHOUSE hits!

Kai SCORPION KICKS in return! Bayley and Bianca brawl but Bianca puts Bayley up on barriers! Bayley fights free, she and Bianca climb up to the tech area! They’re brawling on the edge, but Bayley holds the braid! Bayley reels Bianca in, SUPER BAYLEY2BELLY through some tables!!! Fans are losing their minds over that! But meanwhile, Kai & Sky drag Asuka up. They double whip, but Asuka reverses to then mule kick Sky and HIP- NO, Kai dodges to BOOT! Alexa drags Kai out to RAM her into steel steps! Sky goes out to PENALTY- NO, Alexa dodges that! But Sky mule kicks her away on the return!

Sky hurries up top and aims at Asuka, OVER THE MOON- NO, Asuka moves! ROUNDHOUSE to Sky! Tag to Alexa and Alexa goes up! TWISTED BLISS!! Cover, ASUKA & ALEXA WIN!!

Winners: Asuka & Alexa Bliss, by pinfall (NEW WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions)

Dallas is thunderous as the Empresses of Bliss DETHRONE Damage Control! There’s even pyro to celebrate! DMG CTRL is without any gold now, will Bayley turn that around when she and Bianca have their biggEST showdown yet?


My Thoughts:

A great go-home Raw here, and such great advancement for just about everything. Great opening with Bianca VS Nikki, and we’re definitely getting to see the Nikki of old in her moveset. And getting a women’s tag title match out of nowhere was a great surprise, and Alexa & Asuka winning was an awesome surprise. I didn’t see that happening, but that made for a great closing moment. And after that great Bayley2Belly through tables, Bayley technically has the momentum, but I don’t know how or if this will affect the go-home math. It’d be fitting that with Kai & Sky losing the tag titles, Bayley takes the Raw Women’s title so that they have something. And then maybe Survivor Series: WarGames, they use the WarGames 3v3 to do Winners Take All.

I really like how they played the segment with Lashley and Lesnar. First, they say “face to face,” but then give us a sit-down interview with them in separate locations. But then, because Lesnar is Lesnar, he dares Lashley to meet him in person, and then that turns into a brawl with a HUGE flood of security and superstars. Also, Von Wagner was among them, so maybe he’s getting a call-up on the way to Survivor Series? Lesnar VS Lashley can still go either way, but honestly, I feel like this should be Lashley’s legit, undeniable win, because where does Lesnar even go? He lost to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, and at SummerSlam, and I don’t think HHH will default to that rivalry the way Vince always did.

Rollins VS Theory was a rather surprising match-up, but a great one. Rollins wins, of course, and there’s not title match for Crown Jewel, so maybe we’re just waiting on Survivor Series giving us either a Triple Threat for the title, Rollins VS Theory VS Ali, or Champion VS Champion, Rollins VS Gunther. And I shouldn’t have been surprised that JBL couldn’t help but be a Heel, even to his favorite state. R-Truth is apparently Beetlejuice, where if you say his name, he’ll appear. Truth would make for a great feud with Corbin, because he is always hilarious and can still go in the ring. And of course MVP calls out Braun again, but I feel like that “surprise” is just Omos.

Bray going to Crown Jewel is a surprise. But I wonder if that means the first big development in his story happens there. Maybe Uncle Howdy appears in person to confront Bray on what is the truth about this new persona. We got a great Trick or Street Fight, though I think the fun stuff all happened during break so that only Dallas got to see it. But in the end, Riddle winning makes sense, as this story is really going to be about Riddle and Elias. Elias didn’t turn on Riddle here because he doesn’t like the Alpha Academy either, but there’s going to come a point where Elias loses his cool on Riddle and they end up feuding.

Great promo from Roman and Heyman to bury Logan Paul, and nice crossover with The Miz and his story. Miz offended Roman by validating the threat that is Logan Paul’s right hand, got a right hand in return, and then lost to Ali in a really good match before having the truth exposed by Gargano. “WWE Investigates” being created out of nowhere and treated as if it’s always been here is really weird, but I do like the plot twist that up until a certain point, Lumis stalking Miz was just for show. Now the match between Miz and Lumis can be both for a WWE contract and whatever amount of money Lumis is owed. And we can still get Indi Hartwell and Maryse involved since this is about their husbands (Indi’s in kayfabe, Maryse’s in real-life).

Judgement Day and The OC had a really good match, but I was surprised that Karl had another match. I would’ve thought this would be Gallows VS Priest but I guess then Karl wouldn’t get a great win out of this. The beatdown was as expected, though. The Six Man Tag is going to be a lot of fun, but I have no idea if we see a superstar like Tamina or Dana Brooke help the OC, or if we see Edge & Beth show up to also set up a Mixed Tag with Rhea & Dom. Either would be fine, but the idea is, I wouldn’t expect Beth to show up without Edge. They’re husband and wife, they’re a package deal in this story after what happened at Extreme Rules.

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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