Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (1/3/23)
NXT enters the New Year!
The countdown is on!
Ahead of New Year’s Evil, Grayson Waller and Bron Breakker sign on the dotted line for their NXT Championship match, on Waller’s talk show!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Apollo Crews VS Carmelo Hayes w/ Trick Williams; Melo wins.
- Trick Williams w/ Carmelo Hayes VS Axiom; Axiom wins.
- DIJAK VS Channing Lorenzo w/ Tony D’Angelo; Dijak wins.
- Extreme Resolutions: Alba Fyre VS Isla Dawn; Fyre wins.
- Oro Mensah VS Javier Bernal; Oro wins.
- Andre Chase w/ Chase U VS Drew Gulak w/ Hank Walker; Gulak wins.
- Kofi Kingston w/ Xavier Woods VS Joe Gacy w/ The Schism; Kofi wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
Apollo Crews VS Carmelo Hayes w/ Trick Williams!
While neither man is champion leaving 2022, both men still have all of 2023 ahead of them! But will Apollo make the future he sees a reality? Or will Melo prove that he is that man?
The bell rings and the two circle. Fans rally and duel, the two tie up, and Apollo headlocks. Melo powers out but Apollo runs him over! And then runs him over again! Things keep moving, Apollo handsprings over Melo’s dropdown! Then he hurdles, drops, and dropkicks! Fans are torn but Trick coaches Melo up. Apollo brings Melo up into a headlock but Melo powers out. Apollo reverses the whip, Melo ducks to SPRINGBOARD LARIAT! Fans rally, Apollo staggers, and Mello runs in, but he blocks boots! Melo puts Apollo in the ropes to ENZIGURI, then FADE AWAY! Trick dribbles while Melo covers, TWO!
Melo keeps focus and he brings Apollo up. Melo CHOPS and shoots his free throw. Seems he made his shot, then he ROCKS Apollo in the corner! And CHOPS him! Apollo CHOPS back! And CHOPS again! And CHOPS again! Melo mule kicks, reels Apollo in, but Apollo suplexes first! Apollo holds Melo up for TEN before the SLAM! Apollo goes out, slingshots in and SENTONS! Fans rally, Apollo runs in at the corner to SPLASH! Apollo whips Melo, scoops and hits a BACKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Apollo keeps cool while Melo crawls to ropes. Apollo is on Melo, CHOPS him again, then has Melo in a corner.
Melo headlocks, the ref counts, Melo lets off to ROCK Apollo with a sucker punch! Melo CLUBS Apollo down, brings him up and back suplexes. Apollo lands out of it, waistlocks and hits a GERMAN SUPLEX! Apollo holds on for another GERMAN SUPLEX! Melo fights the third, slips his arms in and snapmares free, but Apollo clinches! OVERHEAD Belly2Belly! Fans fire up, Apollo clotheslines Melo up and out of the ring! Then Apollo goes to the apron to ASAI MOONSAULT! Fans fire up as Melo goes down, and NXT goes picture in picture.
Apollo waits for Melo in the ring while Trick coaches Melo up. Apollo goes out after Melo, stares Trick down, and he bumps Melo off the apron. Apollo CHOPS Melo against the apron, but Melo fires back! They brawl, Apollo throws Melo into the ring, and Apollo drags Melo back up. Apollo ROCKS Melo, throws body shots, and snapmares. Apollo runs to hit a BIG elbow drop! Cover, TWO! Apollo clams onto a chinlock and he grinds Melo down. Melo endures, fights up, and claws at Apollo. Melo fights up to his feet, pries the hold open, but Apollo hits a headlock takeover! Apollo grinds Melo down but Melo fights around.
Melo headscissors and now he has Apollo down. Melo CLUBS Apollo in the chest, pulls on an arm, but Apollo endures. Apollo pries at the armlock, moves around and pops out of the headscissors to get the headlock back! Melo endures all over again, fights up to his feet, and he throws body shots. Apollo CLUBS Melo down, then stands him up to clinch into a bearhug! Melo endures as Apollo thrashes him around! Melo huffs and puffs and pushes Apollo but Apollo just wraps on tighter. Melo throws elbows, Apollo puts on the squeeze, and NXT returns to single picture. Fans rally and duel as Melo wraps on a facelock to fight back.
Apollo powers Melo to the corner, the ref counts, and both men let off. Melo pie faces Apollo! Apollo rushes in but Melo puts him on the apron! Trick takes a swipe but Apollo avoids it! Apollo boots at Melo but Melo blocks! Melo BOOTS the other leg! Apollo falls to the floor while Melo dribbles the ball. Melo goes out after Apollo, drags him up, and he RAMS Apollo into the steel steps! Apollo hobbles, Melo puts him in the ring and covers, ONE!! Melo is annoyed but he has Apollo on the ropes. Melo RAMS Apollo into the corner, wraps the bad leg around ropes and pulls! The ref counts, Melo lets off at 4, then he kicks the bad leg!
The ref counts as Melo stomps a mudhole in, but Melo lets off at 4 again. Melo says he is him, and he drags Apollo up. Melo whips but Apollo reverses. Melo is in the corner, but he dropkicks Apollo’s leg out! Melo brings Apollo up, reel shim in, POWERBOMB! Cover, TWO! But into the HALF CRAB! Melo pulls on the bad leg and fans duel as Apollo endures! Apollo powers up and Melo can’t believe it! Melo hurries to sit deep on the hold! Apollo still endures, but he still powers his way and turns over to throw Melo! Melo holds on but Apollo BOOTS him away! Fans fire up as both men rise, and Melo hurries after the bad leg! Apollo ENZIGURIS Melo down!
Both men are down and fans duel again. Melo sits up in a daze and shakes out the cobwebs. Apollo gets to ropes and drags himself up. Melo swings but Apollo counter punches! Apollo LARIATS, ELBOWS, and ROCKS Apollo to LARIAT again! Melo staggers around, Apollo whips him to ropes. Melo rolls off the back but Apollo avoids the kick to BACKSTABBER! Apollo whips again, LEAPING LARIAT! Fans fire up as Melo goes to a corner. Apollo gets the bad leg working, and he storms up on Melo. Apollo blocks a boot to GAMANGIRI! Melo flops to the apron, Apollo goes up the corner! Melo anchors a leg but Apollo deadlift SUPERPLEXES!!
Fans are thunderous and Apollo crawls to a cover, TWO! Melo is still in this and Trick is relieved. “This is Awesome!” and it’s just the first match of the night! Apollo hauls Melo up, OLYMPI- ARM-DRAG! BOOT! Apollo roars! And then BOOTS Melo! Apollo reels Melo in, but Melo suplexes for the CUTTER! Melo hurries to the corner and climbs up! Apollo stands, and avoids Melo’s Three Pointer! Apollo BOOTS Melo, goes up, and BLOCKBUSTER DDTS!! Cover, TWO!?! Melo survives but Apollo is too tired to be upset! Fans cheer “NXT! NXT!” for giving them this opener! Melo goes to a corner, Trick is on the apron! He pulls Melo to safety!
Apollo CLOBBERS Trick! And JUMP KNEES Melo!! GERMAN SUPLEX! Melo is right up, but into the trophy lift! DROP and STANDING- NO! Melo avoids the moonsault! CODE BREAKER!! Melo hurries up top, NOTHING BUT NET!! Cover, Melo wins!!
Winner: Carmelo Hayes, by pinfall
Trick with the assist again, he’s the real MVP! But either way, Melo gets another big win to continue things from 2022! But AXIOM DOUBLE CROSSBODIES Trick Melo Gang! He is going to face Trick up next, so he aims again, ARIHARA MOONSAULT to the outside!! Axiom puts Trick in the ring, will Trick have to win the second half on his own? We find out, after the break!
Trick Williams w/ Carmelo Hayes VS Axiom!
NXT returns with this match underway, and Axiom fights up out of an armlock chinbar combo. Trick wrangles him back down and keeps on that double hold. Fans rally while Axiom endures, and Axiom claws at the chinbar. Axion fights back up to his feet, pries free and ROCKS Trick! And CHOPS! Trick ROCKS Axiom back! Trick CHOPS Axiom in the corner! Fans “WOO~!” and Trick says he’s gonna do that one more time. Trick puts some stank on it, but Axiom dodges! Axiom CHOPS back! Trick staggers away, Axiom swings, but Trick uses the ropes as defense. The ref backs Axiom down, and Trick then BOOTS Axiom, and LEAPING LARIATS!
Trick whips Axiom to ropes, but Axiom flapjack DROPKICKS! Both men are down and Melo coaches Trick. Fans rally, both men stand, Axiom ROCKS and CHOPS and ROCKS! Axiom whips, and DROPKICKS Trick again! Fans fire up and Axiom runs in to GAMANGIRI Trick! Trick flounders, Axiom goes to the apron and climbs up. Axiom CROSSBODIES! Cover, TWO! ARMBAR! Axiom has the arm but Trick clasps hands! Trick kicks around, fights his way over, but Axiom pulls the arm back! Trick’s leg gets the ROPEBREAK! Axiom lets off quickly, and he avoids a leg sweep, but not the EDDY GORDO! SWINGING NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO!!
Trick is shocked, and even Melo can’t believe it! Trick goes to a corner, he runs in, but spins into a HAYMAKER! Axiom aims now, for the GOLDEN RATIO!! Cover, Axiom wins!
Winner: Axiom, by pinfall
The Undeniable Truth gets payback, but Trick anchors his feet for Melo to CLOBBER him! Melo and Trick mug Axiom! But here comes Apollo! Apollo is still hurting, but he isn’t going to let Trick Melo Gang do what they want anymore! Will Apollo’s vision and Axiom’s mind come up with a way to shut down Melo and his main man in the New Year?
The New Day gives Pretty Deadly another shopping list.
Xavier Woods tells Kit Wilson & Elton Prince that the New Day needs Big Boss Man’s nightstick, AND The Rock’s eyebrow. The whole eyebrow. Pretty Deadly heads off, but The Schism barges in. Rip Fowler tells Woods & Kofi that they’ve talked to every tag team except The Schism, and they were wondering why. But now The Schism understands, looking in their eyes. The New Day knows The Schism is the biggest threat to the tag title reign! Uh, no. The New Day doesn’t talk to y’all cuz you look like extras from Texas Chainsaw Massacre. #NoCap. In fact, the New Day thought Rip & Reed would need a permission slip signed by daddy Gacy first! Chain of command and all that.
Joe Gacy tells “Mr. Kingston” that there is no chain of command. They are four roots, one tree. And from time to time, they look to Gacy for guidance, the same as how Big E & Woods leaned on Kofi for years. Whoa, okay, hold on. They lean on each other. E is here in spirit, too. They’re one pair of hips, five cheeks. Wait… Gacy says that sadly, Kofi thinks he knows family. But what he sees here is a real family. Oh, wow~! And here the New Day thought there was gonna be a problem with Rip & Jagger. But lo and behold, the problem is with Gacy. Kofi and Gacy can solve that problem, in the ring.
Gacy says knocking off a former WWE World Champion and perhaps the greatest WWE Tag Team Champion of all time will only make The Schism stronger. Guess that’s a yes. Will The Schism learn why everyone loves Kofimania?
NXT has footage of last Wednesday morning.
It was 2 AM, and Channing Lorenzo woke up cuffed to a chair in a room. Dijak walked over and put a cassette in the recorder. “Lorenzo, I know you’re probably starting to really regret the way you walked into my locker room and talked to me.” Stacks says he does what ever The Don needs him to do. Well, that’s great. But loyalty has consequences, and disrespecting Dijak will never go unpunished. Tony D’Angelo and Stacks have their way of doing things, but so does Dijak. Tony says he’s The Don of NXT? When it comes to fear, you’re looking at the face of fear! Dijak then punches Stacks right in the stomach!
Dijak takes off his sunglasses to look Stacks in the eyes. Stacks says Dijak should man up, uncuff him, and settle this in the ring. Dijak plans on it. This is just the beginning. Recording session over, and Dijak drops the key on the table. Will Stacks feel #HardJustice be served tonight in the ring?
Andre Chase finds his students at Drew Gulak’s class!
Gulak is showing them the proper collar ‘n’ elbow tie-up, and how to transition to a headlock takeover. Chase wonders WTF is this. Duke Hudson says they were all just getting in some extra ring time while Chase was grading papers. Gulak didn’t mean to encroach on anyone’s territory, but he is an equal opportunity teacher. Chase says he understands. Seeing as how Charlie Dempsey is not medically cleared, his match with Hank Walker is off. Gulak doesn’t buy that, and Chase says neither does he. But either way, Gulak can’t be putting Chase’s students in the ring without permission.
Well, maybe Gulak was just trying to figure out what Dempsey meant when he said Chase U was soft. Oh, okay. And Gulak’s assessment is…? Mixed results. Chase gets fired up but Thea Hail stops him, and Duke steps up! On behalf of Chase U, he takes exception! Hank steps up to say that Gulak didn’t mean any offense. It was just what he believes. Chase says he’ll give Hank something to believe, “you [censored]!” Nobody who wears Chase U red ‘n’ black is soft! Chase is shutting this down, and taking his students back. Duke supports that and they exit. Is this the beginning of a school rivalry?
DIJAK VS Channing Lorenzo w/ Tony D’Angelo!
The Don is with Stacks, and they’re both heated over what Dijak did. But will they both get a taste of #HardJustice? Or will Stacks make Dijak #fogedaboutit?
The bell rings and Stacks ROCKS Dijak with big haymakers! Stacks then ducks a shot to knee low and fire off more hands! Dijak pushes Stacks away, but Stacks blocks the boot! Stacks avoids haymakers to wrench and knee away on Dijak’s face! But Dijak choke grips in return! Stacks kicks free, but Dijak mule kicks him down! Dijak whips Stacks to ropes then kitchen sink knees! Cover, TWO! Dijak rains down fists on Stacks and Tony wants Stacks to get outta there! Cover, TWO! Dijak hammerlocks Stacks and HAMMERS away on that arm! Cover, TWO! Dijak smirks, he seems to enjoy Stacks’ toughness.
Dijak anchors Stacks’ leg as fans rally. Stacks kicks away with the free leg but Dijak stomps him down! And again and again and again! Stacks sputters, clutching his battered ribs. Dijak drags Stacks up to scoop him, and throws knees into him! Then Dijak swings and TOSSES Stacks away! Cover, TWO! Stacks continues to show his toughness and Tony coaches him up. Stacks crawls to a corner, Dijak runs in but Stacks dodges! Dijak hits POST! Fans rally, Stacks runs in and UPPERCUTS! Stacks keeps moving, for another UPPERCUT! And then another! And then- CYCLONE BOOT!! Stacks is dazed as Dijak covers, TWO!?!
Dijak is furious with Stacks now and he drags him up! Fans rally for Stacks, Dijak throws another knee! Dijak swings but Stacks rolls him up! TWO!! Dijak KICKS Stacks, drags him up, slingshots suplex into the FEAST YOUR EYES! Cover, Dijak wins!
Winner: Dijak, by pinfall
The judge, jury and executioner has passed his judgment! But he isn’t done, he drags Stacks back up! Tony rushes in and fires off on Dijak! Tony clotheslines Dijak up and out! “You think you’re tough, Dijak, huh!?” The Don says Dijak wishes he had half the heart Stacks had! If Dijak is talking about justice, then New Year’s Evil will teach you street justice, the Tony D way! Dijak says challenge accepted! Who will personify justice in NXT after next week?
Backstage interview with Oro Mensah.
McKenzie Mitchell says Oro joined NXT in 2022, but what are we to expect from him in 2023? Oro says that in 2022, he got his feet wet. In 2023, he’s diving in headfirst! But then Javier Bernal walks in. He is sorry not sorry for interrupting, but he says that 2023 is gonna be the Year of Big Body Javi! And what better way than by releasing a Christmas album! Uh, isn’t it a little late for Christmas? Uh, anyone can release a Christmas album during Christmastime. But Javi is not just anybody. He’s Big Body Javi! FIFTEEN classics, such as the 12 Days of Javi, We Wish You a Big Body Christmas, and of course, the title track: Feliz Javidad!
Oro says that’s cringe. But hey, when they’re done in the ring tonight, Javi won’t have much of a singing voice left. See you then. Oro heads out, will Javi have to shift from Christmas to the blues?
Toxic Attraction heads to the ring!
Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne may only be a duo now, but they’re not letting that hurt their mood. What will they have to say about their Toxic 2023 plans? We find out, after the break.
NXT returns and Toxic Attraction has the mics. Gigi starts by saying, “Toxic Attraction was, is and forever will be the most dominant female faction this brand has ever seen. And now it’s 2023. It’s time we leave 2022 where it belongs: in the past. Now, all eyes are on Jacy and I, and those eyes will watch in remorse. Watch as we push the envelope further than we ever did in these last 18 months. Watch as we cut through this roster with reckless abandon.” Jacy says, “Bonded by our battle scars, this year, Gigi and I will be the ones calling all the shots. And we don’t do stupid new year’s resolutions. We do revenge!
“While the entire world watches our every single move, we only watch and care about one woman. One woman, one target, Roxanne Perez. You wanna take down our Toxic Empire? Oh, well we’re gonna rebuild it brick by brick.” Gigi says Roxie’s broken body will be the foundation! But wait! Here comes Indi Hartwell! She is SO sick of hearing about Toxic attraction! When Roxie won the title, she thought that was the last of Toxic Attraction. But she doesn’t mind finishing what Roxie started. It is time for new blood at the top of this division, and that starts with-
Cora speaks up with “AHEM! Surprise, surprise, it’s Tuesday, and Indi Hartwell’s complaining once again. What’s new?” Cora makes her way from the crowd as she insults Indi’s “lifeless personality.” It’s no wonder everyone in Indi’s life has left her. And it’s a wonder why no one wants her to be champion. Everyone wants CORA as champion! She already beat Roxie- But then Nikkita Lyons speaks up, also from the crowd! She’s surprised Cora’s ego even still fits inside the building! Cora claims she deserves the world, but all she deserves is a kick to the face. And y’know what? Indi has a point: there needs to be new blood! And Lyons will throw hands-
But then Zoey Stark interrupts! She knew she smelled bad TikTok and future regret. Why is Lyons even here? Doesn’t she have more important things to do? Like showing off her assets on Instagram? Stark says to get back to reality, Roxie’s attempt at a title reign will be oh so short. But then WENDY CHOO interrupts! She’s wearing Little Mermaid pajamas as she says Zoey is always so angy! Honestly, no one wants an angry champion. And while Stark and Lyons don’t like each other, they don’t have to insult each other. Wendy doesn’t like Cora, but you don’t see her calling Cora an egotistical, self-centered, self-entitled BI-
WHOA! HEY! Cora has had enough! O M G! Thea can’t believe how many female superstars are here! GIRL FIGHT~! Thea rushes to the ring, as do the others, and that’s exactly what we get! Toxic Attraction, Lyons, Stark, Indi, Cora, Wendy and Thea are all fighting al over the place! But here comes ALBA FYRE! She wants a piece, but then ISLA DAWN ambushes her! The Wicked Witch and the Fire Keeper are going to have their own fight soon enough, but now the rest of the NXT Women’s Division is spilling out to ringside! Fans are loving all of this chaos! Kiana and Fallon, Isla and Fyre, Lash Legend is in there somewhere, and refs rush out!
Fans want to “LET THEM FIGHT!” but only two should be, and those two are headed outside! Fyre and Dawn are just fighting in the parking lot, but here comes the champ! Roxie has everyone calm down. They don’t need to fight each other yet. Roxie was just informed that next week on New Year’s Evil, there will be a TWENTY WOMAN BATTLE ROYAL! The winner will be the #1 contender to Roxie’s title, and they fight at Vengeance Day! Good luck to you all! But then the brawling is back on! Fyre and Dawn are still brawling and Dawn is sent into a dumpster! And then again! And again! And again!! Fyre then throws Dawn into a garage door!
Dawn kicks back, then she throws Fyre against the dumpster! Dawn hurries off into the shadows, but Fyre pursues! The first-ever Extreme Resolutions match is going to happen, but where will it end?
Extreme Resolutions: Alba Fyre VS Isla Dawn!
NXT returns and Dawn is choking Fyre against spare railing. The ref wants this to go to ringside but Fyre gets a Gory Especial! Dawn fights free, the forearms fly, and then Fyre sends Dawn into a road case! But Dawn sends Fyre into ladders! Dawn grabs a shelf rack and shoves it at Fyre! Fyre dodges, the shelves hit the ladders! Dawn throws forearms, and she keeps saying she knows “it” is inside Fyre! She wants Fyre to let it out! Dawn throws Fyre into the big X Bron Breakker once broke! Then she scoops! Fyre fires off elbows, then scoops to POWERSLAM Dawn on the X! More refs rush in, insisting this has to go to ringside!
Fyre and Dawn keep brawling, not listening to anyone. Fyre throws Dawn into a bin! Fyre tells the refs to shut up, but then Dawn SMACKS Fyre with spare signage! Fyre smacks Dawn off the road case, then she grabs a pipe! Dawn dodges before the pipe SMASHES the case! Dawn CHUCKS a trash can at Fyre’s head! Dawn grabs that pipe, she stalks Fyre, and she says she knows “it” is inside Fyre. But Fyre just JAMS Dawn with the pipe! Then DECKS her with a forearm! Fyre grabs a ladder, and throws it down! Dawn moves in time before being crushed! Dawn scurries back, HEADBUTTS low, but Fyre keeps pushing forward!
Dawn crawls to where spare ring mats are. She kicks Fyre away, climbs up, but Fyre is after her! They brawl up on top of the props! Dawn CLAWS Fyre’s eyes! Dawn then stands Fyre up but Fyre fires off forearms! Dawn wobbles, but she grabs hold of Fyre! Fyre HEADBUTTS Dawn! Dawn falls onto a pallet of chairs!! The refs say to stop this, now they need to get Dawn to medical. But Fyre doesn’t care, she drags Dawn up from the wreckage! Fyre drags Dawn over, sits her into an armchair, and wheels her towards gorilla! Dawn stops the chair but Fyre spins her around to DECK her out of the chair! Fyre grabs a trash can lid to SMACK Fyre on the back!
Dawn crawls, Fyre drags her up and makes her sit in a wheelbarrow! Fyre wheels Dawn the rest of the way, but they go around to the back end of ringside! Fyre DUMPS Dawn out in front of commentary! And then POSTS her! And then SMACKS her off the desk! Dawn sputters and fans fire up as this finally gets in the ring! Fyre grabs a chair! The bell rings to truly make this a match, and the two tug-o-war over the chair. Fyre RAMS Dawn into the corner, JAMS her again, then puts the chair down. Fyre drags Dawn up, but Dawn fights the suplex! Dawn throws body shots, to snap suplex Fyre into the corner! Fans boo Dawn as she crawls after Fyre. Cover, TWO!
Dawn drags Fyre around, SLAMS the arm down, then looms over her. Dawn pulls on Fyre’s arm, stands on the hand, and she grinds the fingers before she STOMPS them! Fyre shakes out her hand while fans boo. Dawn grabs the chair, and she JAMS Fyre in the stomach! Fans rally for Fyre but Dawn swings. Fyre BOOTS the chair away! Then SLAPS Dawn! But that’s the bad hand! Dawn eggs Fyre on, so Fyre CHOPS and CHOPS and CHOPS! Fyre whips Dawn to ropes, COHPS her again, then looms over her. Fyre drags Dawn up, fireman’s carries, but Dawn slips off to dragon sleeper! Fyre snapmares free to SUPERKICK!
Fyre Gory Especials, GORY BOMB! Cover, TWO!! Dawn survives but Fyre doesn’t even hesitate. She fetches the chair, brings it back over, and she SMACKS Dawn on the back! Dawn snarls but Fyre pushes the chair down into her. Fyre goes to a corner and climbs up top. Fans fire up as Fyre aims, but Dawn CHUCKS the chair into Fyre’s face!! Fyre falls to the floor as NXT goes picture in picture.
Dawn snarls and crawls her way tot he apron. Dawn drags herself up as Fyre staggers to her feet. Dawn METEORAS Fyre to the floor! Dawn is laughing even as she clutches her leg! The spirits are talking to Dawn, and she drags Fyre around. Dawn stomps Fyre, then goes looking under the ring. Dawn brings out a toolbox! Dawn opens it up, looks inside, and brings out a wrench! She grabs Fyre’s arm, wraps it around the ropes, and goes after the fingers! Dawn PULLS on the fingers! But Fyre SMACKS Dawn with her free hand! Fyre gets away but Dawn knees her down! Dawn grabs the bad hand again, and uses the wrench to TWIST a finger!!
Fyre endures as Dawn tortures her hand! Dawn lets off the index finger to go after the middle finger! Dawn grins as she bends that finger back more! NXT returns to single picture as fans rally for Fyre. Fyre fights against Dawn’s twisted twisting! Fyre fights up to her feet, arm-drags Dawn away, and ducks the tool shot to ROCK her! And ROCK her again! But Dawn ROCKS Fyre! Fyre ROCKS Dawn! The forearms go back and forth, but Dawn RAMS into Fyre! Dawn whips, Fyre reverses and reels Dawn in, GOURD BUSTER! Then PENALTY KICK! But Dawn ducks the second! Dawn rolls Fyre up, TWO! Fyre SUPERKICKS Dawn out of teh ring!
Fyre then DIVES to take Dawn out at the ramp! Fans fire up for “NXT! NXT!” Fyre snarls and fans are on her side as she stands again. Fyre goes looking under the ring now, and she brings out a TABLE! Fans love seeing that! Fyre sets the table up as best she can with one hand, and then she goes back to Dawn. Dawn throws body shots but Fyre CLUBS her down! Dawn fights the Gory Especial! She whips Fyre into steel steps! Fyre staggers away but Dawn is on her! Dawn puts the bad hand in the toolbox, to SHUT IT CLOSED!!! The fans lose their minds while Fyre’s hand is caught! Dawn has the hammer! Fyre gets her hand out in time!
Fyre SHOVES the box into Dawn! Dawn fights the suplex, wrenches the bad hand, and reels Fyre in. Dragon sleeper, but Fyre slips free! HEADBUTT!! Dawn wobbles, Fyre pushes her onto the table! Fans fire up again as Fyre climbs up. Fyre goes to the very top! But Dawn is smiling!? Dawn wants Fyre to do this! SUPER SWANTON BOMB!! Fyre clips Dawn, the table stays standing! Fans are freaking out, so Fyre GORY BOMBS Dawn through the table!! Fyre puts Dawn into the ring, covers, and wins!
Winner: Alba Fyre, by pinfall
“Extreme” almost doesn’t even cover this! Fyre and Dawn went far beyond their limits, and it was the Firekeeper who stands tall! Will Fyre rise up in 2023 to have gold once again?
Backstage interview with Grayson Waller.
McKenzie points out that Waller has Bron Breakker as his guest tonight, with their contract signing just one week away from New Year’s Evil. Waller wonders how many times she practiced that in the mirror. But he just spent the last ten days at home in Australia on holiday, “manifesting the inevitable.” His mind and body are aligned, and next week, Waller becomes NXT Champion! So make sure to tune in for another can’t miss episode of the Grayson Waller Effect! McKenzie doesn’t get how he’s so confident when he’s about to be in the ring with a man who wants to rip his head off. Oh, well that’s why he has a talk show and she doesn’t.
The last few weeks, Waller has outsmarted Bron “and turned him back into the HULK SMASH guy.” That is when Bron is his most vulnerable. Pay attention now, because Waller is gonna finish the job and make New Year’s Evil a cake walk. Waller then talks to “Bronovan,” and says he has Bron’s number. Bron may have that dog in him, but that doesn’t make him immune to the Grayson Waller Effect. Waller mocks the dog bark then hurries off, but will he be the one getting bit tonight?
NXT looks closer at Indus Sher VS The Creed Brothers.
Sanga says, “Back home, we have the respect and admiration of an entire nation. 1.4 million people cheer us.” Veer says in India, they are celebrities. Veer is India’s very first MLB baseball player while Sanga is a television star of two series. They are global figures whose minor appearance on NXT gets millions of views in India. But here in America, no one cares. They respect the Creed Brothers, despite the fans not respecting them. So the only way they can get respect is by destroying the Creeds, so that is what they will do!
Julius Creed brings up Indus Sher claiming this is all about respect. But that’s BS! They’ve never been stepping stones for anyone. Veer says the Creeds were the best tag team of NXT in 2022. But it won’t be the same in 2023. Julius says Indus Sher chose the wrong ones. They aren’t making a name off the Creeds. But Veer says the Creeds should listen to Ivy Nile. Sanga says Indus Sher has waited for the perfect moment. They could’ve beaten down the Creeds when they were less than 100%, but they didn’t want any excuses. Not from the Creeds, and not from the fans.
Julius says that while Indus Sher wants respect, all they’re getting at New Year’s Evil is body blows and body slams. Brutus says respect is earned, not given, and they’re not giving a single inch! Indus Sher promises a mauling, but will it take more than they have to crush the Diamond Mine?
Oro Mensah VS Javier Bernal!
The Hottest Superstar Under the Sun loves music and the club scene, but he wouldn’t be caught dead dancing to Feliz Javidad. Will Oro take the lead as NXT enters 2023?
Wait! Javi attacks Oro during his entrance! Javi fires off haymakers but Oro fires off hands in return! Oro CLUBS Javi, puts him in the corner, and fans rally for Oro as the bell rings. Javi runs in to LARIAT! Javi rains down fists, digs his forearm into Oro’s face, but the fans chant “JAVI SUCKS!” Javi snarls as he drags Oro up to CLUB him! But Oro ROCKS Javi back! Javi kicks low, back suplexes, then covers, TWO! Javi whips Oro to the corner, then runs to BULLDOG! Javi keeps moving, LARIAT! Cover, TWO! Javi is annoyed but he stomps Oro around. Fans boo but Javi drags Oro up to ROCK him!
Oro throws body shots but Javi CLUBS Oro again! Javi whips Oro to ropes, and he ELBOWS Oro down! Javi smirks as he covers, TWO! Javi is annoyed again, and he drags Oro up to reel him into a facelock. Oro wrenches out to CHOP! Javi staggers, but Oro CHOPS, UPPERCUTS, and LEG SWEEPS! Javi flounders, but he fights the clinch with elbows. Javi uses Oro’s hair to reel him in for a LARIAT! And then a DDT! Cover, TWO!! Oro survives, fans again chant “JAVI SUCKS!” but Javi drags Oro up. Javi talks trash, then fireman’s carries. Oro fights free with elbows, and fires off more elbows! Javi reels Oro in but Oro back drops free!
Fans fire up as Oro rises again. Oro waits for Javi to stand, to CLOBBER him! And again! Javi staggers into more forearms! Oro whips Javi to ropes but Javi reverses. Oro QUEBRADAS! Fans fire up again, Oro runs, but Javi blocks the boot! Javi flips Oro but Oro ROLLING AX KICKS! Oro runs, Javi tosses him out but Oro lands on the apron! Oro hops on, REAR NAKED CHOKE in the ropes! The ref counts, Oro lets off and clinches Javi, for an EXPLODER! Oro kips up and fans fire up! Oro aims from the corner and says he’s calling his shot. Oro runs in to MURAMASA in the corner! Cover, Oro wins!
Winner: Oro Mensah, by pinfall
And the new year is off to a great start for Oro! Will the Freshest Flavor be heading for some gold soon enough?
Fallon Henley, Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen talk backstage.
There was good music, good food, good everything, but how about Fallon fighting like an animal? BOOM! 2023 is gonna be their year! Hell yeah! And now that the bar business is squared away, Fallon’s gonna win that battle royal, go on to Vengeance Day, and win that title! But then Kiana James walks in. Kiana says she isn’t here to fight, just to congratulate Fallon on the win. That was all fair and square. And while Kiana still thinks her condos would look great there, she’ll honor the deal. So good luck and see you in the battle royal. Jensen tells Briggs he was right about Kiana. And then Kiana tells Jensen she’ll see him later tonight. Oh, yes, he will. Since when…? What?!
Katana Chance & Kayden Carter meet with NXT Medical.
However, it seems someone is sharing this without their permission! “@NXT_Anonymous” filmed this, and both Katana & Kayden got at them on Twitter with “Why would you film a private conversation with medical?” “WTF??? #CREEPER” Just who is behind this anonymous account? And what was the medical meeting even about?
Andre Chase w/ Chase U VS Drew Gulak w/ Hank Walker!
It’s teacher VS teacher, professor VS professor! Will Chase U win big to start the new term? Or will “Gulak Tech” be giving Chase the #TeachableMoment?
NXT returns and Gulak makes his entrance. The bell rings and the two circle. Fans rally for Chase U as the two tie up. Chase wrenches Gulak’s arm, YANKS it, then wristlocks. Gulak powers Chase to ropes but Chase slips around to hammerlock. The ref counts, Chase lets off, and the two shake hands to show there is sportsmanship here. They go again, Gulak hits a headlock takeover, then shifts right to a toehold! Chase moves around, stands up, but Gulak clinches. Gulak gets around, hammerlocks an arm, then chinbars! Chase hurries to the ropes! The ref counts the break, Gulak lets off, and again they shake hands.
Gulak and Chase reset, feel things out, knuckle lock, and Gulak wrenches to wrangle Chase down. Chase kips up but Gulak wrangles him again! Chase kips up again, slips around, headlocks, but Gulak powers out. Chase goes up and over, then arm-drags! Gulak is surprised and fans fire up! Chase says that was a TEACHABLE MOMENT! Gulak smirks as he shakes out his arms. They circle again, tie up, and Chase wrenches. Gulak wrenches to hit a BIG back suplex! Gulak clamps onto Chase’s arm and has a chinbar. Dempsey watches backstage, and he throws off his sling?! Dempsey storms off, but where to?
Gulak drags Chase up, reels him in, but Chase fights the suplex. Gulak powers through, bridging cover, TWO! Gulak hopes Hank took notes there. Gulak cravats, Chase endures and slips through to headlock. Gulak powers out, things speed up but Chase dropkicks the legs out! Chase whips, Gulak reverses but Chase reverses back, RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP! Fans fire up and Chase says to spell it out! C! H! A! S! E! U! What’s that spell? CHASE U! Chase ties up the legs for a FIGURE FOUR! Gulak endures the legendary leg lock! Gulak drags himself over, ROPEBREAK! The ref counts, Chase lets off quickly, and he waits on Gulak.
Chase wants a handshake, but Gulak SLAPS Chase! And then fires off forearms and knees and a HEADBUTT! Gulak fires off haymakers, he whips, then he CLOBBERS Chase! No more sportsmanship, the Philly Stretcher is back! Gulak scoops Chase to SLAM him into ropes! Chase flounders, Gulak slashes his throat! The GU-LOCK!! Chase taps, Gulak wins!
Winner: Drew Gulak, by submission
But Gulak doesn’t let go! He’s breaking his own rule! But he does let go, and he is fired up! He tells Hank that is how it is done! Hank still tries to point out the little detail, but does bending the rules matter when you win?
Backstage interview with Wes Lee.
McKenzie says 2022 was a whirlwind of a year for him, to say the least. He likes that metaphor. McKenzie says Tony D and Dijak aren’t going anywhere. Right? Wes says Tony’s flapping his gums about Dijak being why Tony isn’t champion, and Dijak is here building a strong case of his own. But, even though they say they want this title, they seem to want to fight each other even more. Wes can’t wait to see them beat the hell outta each other.
In fact, he’ll get a front row seat. He’ll be with Booker T and Vic, have some popcorn, and then whoever wins gets their shot at his North American Championship. McKenzie says that’s a great idea. Happy New Year! Who wins the fight of “Hard justice” VS “street justice” to take on the Must-See Champion?
Kofi Kingston w/ Xavier Woods VS Joe Gacy w/ The Schism!
The New Day has only just begun their Triple Crown reign, but Mr. Inclusion wants to rain on their parade of positivity. Will #GrandSlamKofi humble the head honcho of the Schism? Or will the four roots of this one tree trip up one half of the NXT Tag Team Champions?
NXT returns and The Schism makes their entrance. Woods joins commentary as the bell rings. Woods confirms that because of the Freebird Rule, Big E is also an NXT Tag Team Champion. Kofi and Gacy circle, Kofi shoots in to waistlock but Gacy elbows free. Gacy runs to run Kofi over! Things speed up, Kofi hurdles and hurdles to then ELBOW Gacy down! Kofi pushes Gacy to a cover, ONE! Kofi keeps on Gacy, wrenches the arm, but Gacy kicks low. Gacy whips Kofi to the corner, Kofio goes up and up to CROSSBODY! Cover, TWO! Kofi clinches, whips Gacy but Gacy reverses. Gacy runs in but Kofi slips out to SWING KICK!
Fans fire up and Kofi climbs but Rip Fowler distracts the ref! This allows Ava Raine to trip Kofi up! Fans boo but Gacy hurries over to climb up. Gacy brings Kofi up for a SUPERPLEX! Cover, TWO! Gacy is annoyed and he stomps Kofi down. Gacy sits Kofi up to ELBOW him in the head! The Schism talks trash, Gacy stomps Kofi, and Gacy says, “Is this what you wanted?!” Gacy CLUBS Kofi, fans rally with “NEW! DAY ROCKS!” Gacy CLUBS Kofi to the corner, whips him corner to corner, but Kofi goes up and up to MISSILE DROPKICK! Gacy staggers to a corner, Kofi runs in but into a BACKBREAKER!
Booker T runs down The New Day for showing up in NXT when they should be on SmackDown. Kofi is a FIFTEEN-TIME Tag Team Champion, on top of being a Grand Slam Champion, while Gacy is still comparatively new to this. But Woods says Gacy was the one man in the Iron Survivor Challenge to not be pinned, so Gacy isn’t some scrub. As such, Gacy drags Kofi up to scoop and hits another BACKBREAKER! Gacy CLUBS away on Kofi, then drags Kofi into a CAMEL CLUTCH! Fans rally as Kofi endures. Kofi fights up, throws elbows, and then arm-drags free. Gacy runs in but into a HEEL KICK! Both men are down and fans rally up!
Woods says this is what The New Day is here for. They’re here to make sure the NXT roster is rising to the occasion and becoming as good as we all know they can be. Kofi rallies on Gacy with chops and a DROPKICK! Gacy is back up, he dodges Kofi to swing, but into an S- NO, Gacy powers out of the SOS, pushes Kofi to the corner, but Kofi BOOTS back! Kofi goes up to SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Fans rally up, Kofi runs to PENALTY KICK! Kofi runs again, for the NEW~ DAY~ BOOM DROP! Fans fire up and clap along, “NEW! DAY ROCKS!” Kofi aims, spins, but Gacy avoids Trouble in Paradise to knee low and DDT! Cover, TWO!
The Schism coaches Gacy, Gacy drags Kofi up. Gacy fireman’s carries but Kofi fights free! Kofi mule kicks, reels Gacy in, LIGHTNING SPIRAL! Cover, TWO!! Gacy survives as Kofi busts out something different! Kofi goes back to a corner, he climbs up, but Jagger AND Rip distract! Kofi swipes at Reed and he runs off while Woods storms off commentary to get at Rip! Gacy ROCKS Kofi! Woods dares The Schism to do something, but Gacy drags Kofi up. Kofi dodges, to FLY! Down goes The Dyad! Fans fire up but Gacy drags Kofi in to whip and clinch! URE- NO, Kofi arm-drags free! TROUBLE IN PARADISE!! Cover, Kofi wins!
Winner: Kofi Kingston, by pinfall
The New Day defies the numbers game! Woods says that The Schism is good, but they’re not better than the New Day! Will Woods & Kofi prove these four roots, one tree is not big enough to get past them?
Gulak is still fired up backstage.
He again says that’s what Chase gets. Hank points out Gulak holding on, but Gulak says a win is a win is a win! Dempsey shows up and Gulak says, “Oh, Flower~! How’s the arm? Where’s your sling?” Dempsey says injured or not, it is on next week! Gulak says yeah it’s on! Hank will be ready. Dempsey better rest that arm, because Hank’s gonna rip it out of the socket! Yea- what? Hank is a bit stunned, but will he be able to stand up to Dempsey’s technical savagery?
Pretty Deadly is going over the list again.
Elton says they’re never going to pull this off. The New Day walks in, and is confused as to why Elton & Kit are still here. Kit says this list is impossible. Well, whether you can or you can’t, you’re right. Elton loses his cool! Enough talk, enough jumping through hoops! Pretty Deadly are the best tag team and the New Day knows it! Kofi wants him to calm down. Because the titles say the New Day are the best. As for second best, well, they don’t really worry about that. Kit tells Elton they need this. Kit says they’ll do it in the ring. They’ll run the gauntlet, taking on three of the best tag teams in NXT! And then Pretty Deadly will earn their title shot!
Woods says no one loves a gauntlet more than ya bois the NEW~ DAY~! But did they say three? Yes, three! Next week! Okay, then if they win, Pretty Deadly will be #1 contenders to the tag titles. Deal! Now go git! This is the New Day’s room.
The countdown is almost over.
And “the best way to predict the future is to create it. This will be my year.” But who is this that’s showing up at New Year’s Evil? We’ll just have to wait and see.
NXT presents an all new episode of the Grayson Waller Effect.
Waller himself welcomes us to this special edition of his talk show. It will be a night no one ever forgets, because it will be “the last public appearance of Bron Breakker as NXT Champion.” And what better way to celebrate than with live chat on Instagram? Keep that GWE Cam on him! He’s looking fresh! “In one week, I save NXT. I fulfill living that championship life when I claim the richest prize on this brand at New Year’s Evil.” But enough about him, put your “paws” together for the future former champion, Bron Breakker! But Bron interrupts the introduction with his entrance, and Waller takes his seat at the desk.
Bron enters the ring, Waller smiles and waves, and says this is the last time Bron raises that belt. Bron joins Waller at the desk and Waller says, “Look at this guy, interrupting me before I give him a big introduction.” But careful, “Bron-Bron.” Don’t break the TV like you did last week. Bron is oddly enthusiastic as he thanks Waller for having him on. Waller says Bron wants to rip his head off. Bron says we’ll see. But hey! Questions are coming in! So many people talking about this. But here’s one from, well, Grayson Waller! “What’s it like to play your hero, Goldberg, in the sequel to The Spear Seen Around the World?”
Bron must’ve felt so dumb! Why would Waller wear fur in Florida? Has Bron even watched Goldberg before? Bron says Waller did outsmart him there. Outsmarted? Waller turned Bron into a meme! He could watch that over and over and over! Yeah, Bron has seen some memes, that’s a point for Waller. A point? Well, alright. But if we’re talking points, it is Waller: two MILLION; Bron: ZERO. Yeah, that’s a lot of points. Waller is annoyed. What is Bron doing? Where’s angry Bron that wants to rip his head off and spear him out of his body? Is that Bron even still in there? If not, next week won’t be a contest, just a coronation of the NEW NXT Champoin!
Hold on, hold on, Waller is smarter than this. He knows what Bron is up to. Bron says Waller is good, he’s smart, he’s crafty, but Waller says okay, keep going. Bron gets to the good part. Okay, then. Everyone can shut up so that the former champ can say stuff about Waller. Bron says what separates Waller from everyone is that he knows how to get under anyone’s skin. Better than anyone else! Right. So, if you think about it, the best possible compliment Bron can give Waller is admit that Waller is outsmarting everyone else. It’s what he does. He is just better than everyone. All he does is go viral. That’s his thing.
But let’s talk about those viral moments. How about WarGames? Waller jumping off the cage: viral moment. Waller hitting Gargano in the back with a chair: viral moment. Waller jumping off that super tall ladder at Stand & Deliver: viral moment. Waller gets hyped, and says yeah, that’s what he does! He makes viral moment after viral moment! Bron must be jealous. Yeah, and what about blinding Apollo’s vision? But to Bron, those are just distractions. Bron knows at New Year’s Evil, Waller gives it his all. Some might even leave talking about Waller that night. But Bron leaves still NXT Champion. Oh, Bron thinks so? Yeah, and that, friend, in a nutshell, IS the Grayson-
Don’t you dare do that! That’s Waller’s thing! Waller…! STOP! NO!! This is Waller’s show, don’t you disrespect him! Effect. That’s pretty big, coming from an overrated champion whose only real accomplishment is stealing his dad’s gimmick. Uh oh… Bron was leaving, but now he turns around to get in Waller’s face. Waller wants Bron to get mad and do something to him, but Bron just laughs it off. Bron tells Waller, “I don’t give a damn what you say, I love my father. So see you next week.” But now Waller gets mad, repeating what he said, so Bron DECKS him!! Waller flounders up and staggers around, into the trophy lift! BREAKKER SLAM!!
Waller flounders out of the ring as Bron rips off his shirt. Bron gets Waller’s shirt and says here’s a viral moment. Bron FLIES to take out Waller! Fans fire up while Waller sputters at ringside. Bron has the fans barking as he holds up the belt and drops the phone. That is a viral moment right there, but will there be even more of them for New Year’s Evil?
My Thoughts:
A really good NXT as the go-home to New Year’s Evil, but I think one of NXT’s resolution for 2023 should be to somehow trim down on promos. I know that these new stars need to get their talking reps in, that’s one of the ways you build your character, but it feels like there’s just too many of them for just two hours. And why are we having “@NXT_Anonymous” on top of Scrypts being mysterious and targeting stars? I already foresee a “SmackDown hacker” level of disappointment where the person behind it isn’t even on paper yet. Why not have it be NXT Media being paparazzi-ish and upsetting KC Squared that way?
The Toxic Attraction promo turning into a cascade of promos was odd, but then it was rather comical how many superstars were showing up ringside. And Thea Hail being so over the moon about the impending brawl was great. Roxie is still a bit too sugary sweet in her promos, but it makes sense for the champion to announce a huge contender’s match like the battle royal. That match is going to be a lot of fun, and honestly, I can’t be sure who wins. It would make the most sense for either Gigi or Jacy to win, but it’d be great if someone unexpected rises up. This could be the fast track for Lyra Valkyria to get to the title, but it’d be a shame to pit her push against Roxie’s.
Great opening match from Apollo VS Melo, but of course Trick gets involved. Though with that, it was also great for Axiom to go after Trick & Melo, and then for Axiom to win really quickly. I sense a tag match brewing, and perhaps Trick Melo Gang loses, but that could really go either way. Dijak having Stacks in his mysterious interrogation room was very much an 80s to 90s action movie thing, which is totally what Dijak should be going for. Dijak VS Stacks was good stuff but I was surprised Stacks did so well. Tony D of course stood up for Stacks to set up the match I knew they’d have, and I like that in Wes’ promo, he makes it into a contender’s match. I would think Dijak wins, though, as he and Wes haven’t had a match yet.
Good promo from Oro and Javi, as Javi continues to be a great comedic Heel. Oro VS Javi was good stuff, but it makes sense for Oro to win. Good promo from Fallon, Briggs, Jensen and Kiana, with the best part of it being that Jensen and Kiana seem to be dating after all. Again, Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday, I hope we get something big with that story. And who is this showing up next week? I thought it was Tiffany Stratton but the voice didn’t sound anything like her, unless she’s been putting on a voice this entire time. Actually, what would be big is if it IS Tiffany, she takes out someone before they enter the 20 Woman Battle Royal, and then she wins to challenge Roxie.
Really good stuff out of Chase U and Gulak. Of course, Chase is always great. Chase VS Gulak instead of Dempsey VS Hank was a nice substitute, and y’know what? I think they did what I expected. Last week, I said they should’ve given Hank more time to prepare, and because of Dempsey’s “injury,” they have! Gulak winning made sense, and I like that they’re playing on how Gulak is being rougher than the others expect. Dempsey VS Hank might even give us Gulak and Dempsey teaming up in Catch Point 2.0. Honestly, that’d be a great move, they’d be a very technical wrestling duo and I’d love to see them make a run at the tag titles.
Good promo from Indus Sher and the Creed Brothers, and their match is going to be awesome. Though, the winner of that won’t be the #1 contenders to the tag titles because of the great stuff out of Pretty Deadly, The New Day and The Schism. I do like the twist that Kofi himself pointed out, where Gacy was getting on his case. They had a great main event match, and it was a great move for Kofi to win. I like that Pretty Deadly defied the scavenger hunt, and that gauntlet match is going to be wild stuff. I suppose Pretty Deadly has to win that match, though. But at the same time, I want to see Dyad (Grizzled Young Veterans) VS New Day, that can also be a banger of a match.
And good stuff from the Grayson Waller Effect talk show. Though, despite them saying it was supposed to be a contract signing segment, I saw no contract or anyone representing NXT management. It just turned into the usual talk show segment of the Heel host egging on his Face guest and getting clobbered for it. But I do like that Bron was trolling Waller back by not getting upset. Then Waller still gets what he deserved and was asking for with Bron hitting him. Bron stands tall, but I feel like he’s going to defy go-home math and retain the title. I still feel like Melo will face Bron at Vengeance Day, and finally, on the road in front of a fresh audience, we see Bron lose and Melo begins a new era in NXT.
My Score: 8.6/10
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Will The Man be the Last Woman Standing?
Becky Lynch and Nia Jax want to finally put this to an end, so tonight on Raw, it will be a Big Time Last Woman Standing match! Will the Irresistible Force force the WrestleMania 40 match to change?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: #DIY VS The Creed Brothers; DIY wins and advances to WrestleMania.
- Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell VS Kayden Carter & Katana Chance; Candice & Indi win.
- Dominik Mysterio w/ JD McDonagh VS Ricochet; Ricochet wins.
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The Awesome Truth VS Indus Sher; The Awesome Truth wins and advances to WrestleMania.
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The New Day VS The Alpha Academy; The New Day wins and advances to WrestleMania.
- Last Woman Standing: Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax; Becky wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
Jey Uso is here!
North Carolina State University fires up and bounces along with Main Event Jey, and Pat McAfee plays a dangerous game standing on the armchairs! From Bret VS Owen to Matt VS Jeff, we’re about to get Jey VS Jimmy in the third-ever Brother VS Brother WrestleMania grudge match! Jey gets the mic as fans chant “YEET! YEET! YEET!” Jey welcomes us to Monday Night Raw, and wants us to check this out. He knows his brothers are somewhere in the building. He knows The Bloodline’s in the building. He knows how the Bloodline rolls! SO Big Brother Jimmy, where you at?! Where you at, Uce!?
Jey waits for someone to show up somewhere, and the crowd spots them first! Fans boo as Jimmy & Solo make their way from the back of the stands. Jimmy gets a mic and goes to the apron while Solo paces around the outside. Fans chant “YEET! YEET! YEET!” again as Jey puts the sunglasses aside. The Usos stare each other down, the fans now chant “UCE! OH! UCE! OH!” Jey wants to say something, hesitates, but then says these two would always get to it but they always knew how to shake right back to this. But now it’s different. Regardless of what happened, the bad blood between them, Jey misses his brother. He does.
Jey knows Jimmy will say what he wants, but Jey doesn’t talk to him no more, doesn’t ride with him no more, doesn’t even see him no more! Jimmy can just come back. Jimmy says he never left! He protected Jey! Jey’s so dumb, he can’t see it! Jimmy is protecting Jey! It was Jey’s idea to leave The Bloodline, but Jimmy helped because he is Jey’s brother. So yeah, Jey leaves, and what happens? Lil’ Bro becomes the BIGGEST star on the Raw roster! Lil’ Bro becomes the top merch seller! Lil’ Bro goes off to become a tag team champion without Jimmy, but with CODY RHODES!? Who left who, Uce?
Jey forgot Jimmy! Everything Jey did that was big was cuz of Big Bro Jimmy! Everything! So listen loud and clear. The biggest moment in Jey’s career, the BIGGEST moment, is because of Jimmy! Jimmy stares Jey down, but Jey says no. Jey’s biggest moment in his career is going to be his dream match at WrestleMania 40: Jey VS Jimmy, and Jey knocks the yeet out Jimmy’s ass! Jey DECKS Jimmy, DECKS Solo off the apron, but then Jimmy SUPERKICKS Jey down! The fans boo but now Solo storms in and looms over Jey. Solo drags Jey up so Jimmy can look him in the face and tell him that Jey needs to get it right! JIMMY made Jey!
But here comes Cody Rhodes! The fans fire up as Cody DECKS Jimmy, then gets in to springboard and CODY CUTTER Solo!! The American Nightmare said he was gonna be a Bloodline Hunter, and he made sure they didn’t take out Jey! Cody tells The Bloodline it is only a matter of time before they lose it all at WrestleMania! Will Jey prove that younger or older doesn’t matter when he is the BETTER brother?
Adam Pearce is on the phone.
He’s telling Nick Aldis to stop being a hypocrite, telling Pearce to keep his roster in check when this is happening. But then Paul Heyman walks over and Pearce says he’ll call Aldis back. Pearce then asks Heyman what was all that, and Heyman says he owes Pearce an apology. He is sorry. That was not authorized by The Final Boss nor The Tribal Chief, and certainly not by Heyman. Jimmy & Solo went into business for themselves so Heyman apologizes. But listen, Pearce knows that there have been flight delays all day. Even private jets like theirs. Heyman is barely even dressed for TV, let alone has his make-up!
Pearce says those two were ready. Yeah, well, they got in on a different flight. But Roman Reigns is a chief of his word. Those two are already gone, out of the arena, and Pearce has Roman’s word. Call his bluff, put out a search party. Pearce knows Heyman is here on official business, which Heyman will handle, and then be gone. That is it. But when Heyman does his official business… everyone will be caught off guard. “And Mr. Pearce, sir, that’s not a prediction. That’s a spoiler.” The Wise Man heads out and calls Roman, but just what is Heyman teasing?
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: #DIY VS The Creed Brothers!
Unlike SmackDown’s mini-tournament, Raw and Adam Pearce say it’s win and you’re in! Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano want one more shot at Judgment Day, but so do Julius & Brutus! Will the Sicilian Psycho & Johnny Wrestling prove that when it comes to Mania Moments, you gotta do it yourself? Or will the Creeds be bringing golden tickets to the Diamond Mine?
Raw returns as The Creeds make their entrance. The teams fist bump to show respect, then the teams sort out. Julius starts against Ciampa, they circle and tie up. They’re in a deadlock, Ciampa goes for a waistlock but Julius facelocks. Julius wrangles Ciampa to the mat, flips him over, ONE, and Ciampa keeps moving. They trade facelocks, gator roll, and Julius gets another lateral press. ONE, but Julius gator rolls Ciampa around. Ciampa fights up, puts Julius on ropes, and the ref counts. Ciampa lets off, then CHOPS! Julius shoots in for the takedown! Julius has a leg, Ciampa fights but Julius turns him for the ANKLE LOCK!
Ciampa scrambles to the ROPEBREAK, and Julius lets off cleanly. Ciampa bails out, shakes it off, and he gets back in. They go again, Julius hits a fireman’s carry takeover! Tag to Brutus, and Julius feeds Ciampa to another fireman’s carry takeover! Brutus cording holds but Ciampa endures. Ciampa fights up, but Brutus facelocks. The fans rally as Brutus switches and rolls Ciampa. Ciampa fights up, headlocks, then ROCKS Brutus! Brutus DECKS Ciampa, then whips him to ropes. Ciampa ducks ‘n’ dodges, tag to Gargano! Ciampa slides, CHOPS, Gargano LARIATS and Ciampa JAWBREAKERS! Wrench and LARIAT!
Julius runs in, Gargano kicks and Ciampa gives him the boost for SLICED BREAD! The Creeds bail out, but DIY DOUBLE PLANCHA! Down go the Creeds, and DIY applaud and pat themselves on the back. The fans fire up and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Ciampa has Julius in a chinlock. The fans rally, Julius fights up to throw body shots, but Ciampa hits a back suplex! Julius lands out of it, but Ciampa elbows him away. Ciampa drop toeholds Julius, gets legs, but Julius BOOTS Ciampa away! Hot tags to Gargano and Brutus! Brutus rallies on DIY, TOSSES Gargano, then blocks Ciampa’s kick to get under and POWERBOMB him! Brutus sees DIY regroup, then he runs in to SPLASH them both! O’Conner on Ciampa, but Gargano runs up! NORTHERN LIGHTS! Brutus has a DOUBLE BRIDGE, TWO!! Tag to Julius and he gut wrench SLAMS Brutus on Ciampa!
Brutus helps Julius flip up and over to SPLASH onto Ciampa! Cover, TWO! The fans rally up as Julius drags Ciampa up. Ciampa throat chops! A bit dirty but Ciampa wants that win! Ciampa storms up on Julius, but Julius basement stalling suplexes!! The fans are thunderous, Gargano runs in, but Brutus intercepts! Brutus suplexes Gargano now, stalls, and then the Creeds SLAM and kip up! Then they both STANDING MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO! Ciampa stays in this for DIY but the Creeds keep cool. Julius stomps Ciampa, tags Brutus, and they KNEE Ciampa around! Then they DOUBLE GUTBUSTER! Ciampa sputters but Brutus tags Julius in.
Julius drags Ciampa up, tags Brutus back in, and Brutus climbs. Julius Electric Chair Lifts, but Gargano makes the save! Gargano ROCKS Julius, Brutus ROCKS Gargano! Ciampa BOOTS Brutus, Gargano swings on Julius but is sent into Ciampa! Ciampa pushes Gargano back so he can ELBOW Julius! DIY set up again but Brutus stops the Sliced Bread! Julius DECKS Ciampa, KNEE into the WIDOWMAKER! Julius scrapes Gargano out, Brutus POUNCES Ciampa over the desk! Pat fires up with Brutus and so do the fans! The Creeds say they run this now, and then Brutus drags Ciampa up while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Julius has Ciampa in a chinlock. Ciampa fights up, and he JAWBREAKERS free! Ciampa ELBOWS Brutus down, BOOTS Julius, then runs up, only for Julius to catch him and toss him back! But then Ciampa catches Julius for a REVERSE DDT! The fans fire up while both men are down and crawling! Hot tag to Gargano! Gargano slingshots to KICK Julius, then he CLOBBERS Brutus! ENZIGIRI for Julius, then he runs to DOUBLE KNEE Brutus! BULLDOG LARIAT COMBO! The fans fire up with Gargano while Julius ends up in another corner. Gargano runs in but is put on the apron!
Gargano GAMANGIRIS Julius, SUPERKICKS Brutus, then SLINGSHOT SPEARS Julius! Cover, TWO! Julius survives but Gargano puts him in a corner. Gargano CHOPS, then hoists Julius up top. Tag to Ciampa, Ciampa CHOPS Julius while Gargano DIVES onto Brutus! Ciampa CHOPS Julius again, goes up top, and fireman’s carries! Ciampa then tucks Julius in for the SUPER AIR RAID CRASH! Cover, TWO!! Julius survives again and shocks Ciampa! The fans are just as stunned, but Ciampa and Julius sit up. Ciampa stands, and he CHOPS! And CHOPS! Julius sits back up as Ciampa puts some stank on the CHOP!
Julius brings the straps down! Julius fires a forearm, Ciampa hits back, and the fans fire up as the shots keep going! They go faster and faster, harder and harder, meaner and meaner! The fans fire up as this just turns into a brawl of haymakers and SLAPS! Ciampa then gets around, ripcord and HAYMAKER! ROLLING- TACKLE from Julius! And then the ANKLE LOCK!! Ciampa reaches out, moves around, but Gargano runs up! Julius kicks him, then gets him up with one arm to POWERBOMB! Then it’s back to the ANKLE LOCK on Ciampa! Brutus gets in to get Gargano for an ANKLE LOCK of his own!
The fans are thunderous as DIY endures! Ciampa and Gargano fight, turn things over, SICILIAN CROSSFACE and GargaNO Escape!! The fans are thunderous as The Creeds power up and lift both DIY! They fireman’s carry, then TOSS DIY into each other!! The fans are thunderous as Julius goes up to MOONSAULT onto Ciampa! Brutus MOONSAULTS, too! Cover, TWO?!?! Ciampa survives and the fans are loving this! Julius tags back in, Brutus climbs up! “This is Awesome!” as Julius Electric Chair Lifts Ciampa! But Ciampa VICTORY ROLLS to get under the Brutus Ball!! Cover, Brutus tips it! Gargano TOSSES Brutus then SUPERKICKS Julius!! Ciampa has the cover, DIY WINS!!
Winners: DIY, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)
Julius can’t believe it! He kicked out at 3.1, but a loss is a loss! And for the first time ever, DIY is going to Mania! Will Philadelphia soon be historic for a DIY championship victory?
Judgment Day meets backstage.
Rhea Ripley is with Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor & JD McDonagh, but also Andrade. Dom says he’s always liked Andrade’s style, but things have changed since the last time he was in the WWE. The Judgment Day runs Raw now. Rhea says yeah, and they don’t extend invitations to just anyone. Judgment Day is very exclusive. JD says very exclusive. But if Andrade continues to impress them, they’ll see about making things happen. And Finn says he just heard that Andrade has a match next week, so the Judgment Day will be watching him. Sounds good. See you next week. But then in steps Damian Priest.
The Punisher says hello to El Idolo, and El Idolo says hello to Senor Dinero. Andrade heads out, will he quite literally win his way into the club? But as for Priest, Finn asks him what he was up to. Priest was getting a closer look at that DIY VS Creeds match. DIY won, but whatever, they can handle those guys. But JD, they thought he could handle Ricochet last week, and run the gauntlet, and then go to WrestleMania to bring even more gold back to Judgment Day. JD says he did he belonged in there. But also, he battered Ricochet, who got lucky at the end there. Right, Finn? Finn hesitates, and Rhea says Priest is right on this one.
Ricochet made a fool out of JD! A fool? Yes. A fool? Yes. That’s why tonight, Dom will make it right. Right, Dom? Yeah, Mami. Let’s go talk to Pearce to make it official. Dom & JD head out, and the others are confident Dom’s got this. But does he, though? Or will the One and Only have two wins over Judgment Day in as many weeks?
Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell VS Kayden Carter & Katana Chance!
The Poison Pixie certainly lived up to that name last week when she bullied Maxxine Dupri as part of beating her and Ivy Nile last week. Will Candice’s toxic tongue strike again? Or will the party not be stopped by her harsh vibes?
The teams sort out and Candice starts against Kayden. Candice rushes up, Kayden gets around and O’Conner Rolls, TWO! Kayden springboards to basement dropkick! Cover, TWO! Kayden stalks Candice, Candice ELBOWS her away then tags Indi. Kayden dodges Candice to SUPERKICK, but Indi BOOTS Kayden! Cover, TWO! Indi drags Kayden up, tags Candice back in, and they mug Kayden. Candice CLUBS away on Kayden, fires off furious fists, then covers. TWO, and Candice grows frustrated already. The fans rally, Candice steps up but Kayden avoids the senton! Tags to Katana and Indi! Katana blasts past Indi, comes back and BULLDOGS!
Katana keeps moving, ducks ‘n’ dodges, then SHOTGUNS Indi to a corner! The fans fire up as Katana stomps away on Indi! Indi shoves Katana, Katana runs corner to corner to A-LIST LARIAT! Katana shoves Indi down, runs up, but into a back suplex! Katana lands out, but her leg jams! The ref and Kayden check, then the ref keeps Indi back. Indi says okay, and she stays by Candice. But Candice tags in to WRECK Kayden! And she SLAMS Katana’s leg into the post!! HALF CRAB and DEEP! Katana taps, Candice & Indi win!
Winners: Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell, by submission
Candice smiles and celebrates with Indi, but Indi doesn’t want to. Candice says a win is a win, but just what is going on in her toxic mind?
Cody Rhodes makes his way to the ring.
NC State fires up again as The American Nightmare walks down the ramp, and this time the fans can sing along with the song, “WHOA~ OH~!” Cody gets his pyro then gets the mic. “In less than three weeks time, I will stand opposed for the second year in a row, in the main event, with the lights on brightest, I will challenge for the WWE Undisputed Championship, against the greatest champion in all of sports, The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. And this Friday on SmackDown, Roman and I are going to have a little conversation, if you will. But there are… complications. Factors, elements, combustible elements, namely… The Rock.”
Fans boo but Cody says The Rock took to Instagram on Friday, and followed it up with “extremely entertaining” concert. Too bad The Rock didn’t wanna be here tonight. Something Cody took from the Instagram post: The Rock referred to himself as “Our Favorite Heel.” A bit of an inside term, but we’re not dumb, we know that means he’s the “bad guy.” Cody has known Heels. Bobby Heenan, Arn Anderson, Michael Hayes, “Superstar” Billy Graham, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair! Fans “WOO~” and Cody says he doesn’t think The Rock is a Heel. He’s just an assh*le. The fans go nuts hearing that!
Cody doesn’t want Rock getting upset, he doesn’t want the “seven bucks team” to get upset, he doesn’t want anyone getting emotional. Cody knows how Rock feels about emotions, he poked fun at Cody tearing up at discussing “finishing the story” with good friend, Michael Cole. There’s no crying in pro-wrestling, Jimmy Dugan, we get it. But hasn’t The Rock been crying behind the scenes this whole time? Once that hashtag came out, once fans chanted something else, The Rock cried to his buddies on the TKO board and said “Hey, this is gonna be some good PR for The Rock! I need to save WWE!” God knows, look at this house. They sure needed “saving,” huh?
The fans cheer but Cody says Rock wanted great PR. Until it wasn’t. TKO said OMG yes, put on the Gucci shirt, get those muscles looking big. It’s because they are Yes People, they are enablers, they won’t dare tell The Rock like it is, so Cody’s going to. Cody tells The Rock, “You’re a lot of things. You’re a lot of wonderful things. You are the Braham Bull, you are The Great One.” Cody still has shoes with The Rock’s logo on it! The Rock is the only guy Cody honestly feels is a Mount Rushmore wrestler. But he is also a terrible salesman, a carny succubus, and for those who don’t get what that means, The Rock is “a whiny b*tch!”
Fans lose their minds again but Cody says The Rock has been convinced otherwise. But don’t think that for two seconds this locker room needs The Rock more than The Rock needs it! That’s a rule of wrestling, nobody is bigger than the business! And sure, Cody brought up his mom, so it is fair game for The Rock to use that. But Cody knows The Rock’s mom. Here’s what Cody will tell us about The Rock’s mom. She is a wonderful lady, salt of the earth, she helped Cody chop Kevin in a dark match. Cody has nothing but respect for The Rock’s mom, something The Rock should’ve echoed back towards Cody’s mom.
But see, The Rock was talking about whipping Cody, handing a bloody weight belt to Cody’s mom, and normally someone as powerful as The Rock, Mama Rhodes would tremble. But The Rock doesn’t know Cody’s mom. Cody was more scared than she was, because she ain’t scared of nothing. This is the same woman who once jumped out of her chair at a Willie Nelson concert and beat up an undercover cop! She ain’t afraid of The Rock! Cody has been asked, April 6th, biggest tag match of all time, Rock & Roman VS Cody & Seth. Seth Rollins, the World Heavyweight Champion, a man The Rock should respect because that man has carried The Rock’s company!
How will Cody get past that match? How will April 7th look? Will it be a fair fight? Cody can tell us honestly… He doesn’t know. Cody does not know if it will be Bloodline Rules or not. Hell, he might not #FinishTheStory. “But Dwayne… What do you know? How can you be so sure of your own self, right?” The Rock hasn’t been in the ring in real action in years! April 6th, the bell is gonna ring, and what happens then? Is The Rock gonna bring The Great One, the hero we all had growing up? Is he bringing that #BigDwayneEnergy? Or is it gonna be LDS, Little D*ck Syndrome?! The fans chant “L D S! L D S!”
Cody says The Rock has referred to himself as The Final Boss. Kudos for that nickname, maybe he really is that. Maybe Cody is too naive to see it. But at WrestleMania, Cody doesn’t think The Rock will be The Final Boss. At WrestleMania, he’s just Roman’s side chick. But then ladies and gentlemen, his name is Paul Heyman, and he serves as The Wise Man to Your Tribal Chief, the reigning! Defending! Undisputed! WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion, Roman… Reigns! And as Special Counsel to the Bloodline, Heyman is here to say to Cody that the ideals that Cody and Heyman share are far greater than the interests on which they conflict.
By example, don’t you hate it when someone comes out to demand an apology? Not that Cody’s done that, but Heyman is still going to do that. Heyman came out here with some “friends” of his, and he apologized. For a Wise Man, that was pretty freakin’ stupid. One: because it didn’t work. Two: because it was just dumb. And for that, Cody, to you and the fans, Heyman humbly apologizes. Cody says whoa, whoa, whoa. He didn’t ask for an apology, and he certainly knows Heyman wants permission to be in the ring. Heyman is a Hall of Famer starting this year, if he wants into the ring, be Cody’s guest.
Heyman thanks Cody for that but he’s fine on the apron. He carries with him a message from The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. Talk about Heels… You may think of Heyman anything negative you want, and that might be understanding the obvious. Heyman is not trustworthy, but Roman is a chief of his word. Heyman assures that this Friday on SmackDown, Roman will be face to face with Cody. American Nightmare, Tribal Chief, challenger and champion. And when they are face to face, there will not be a single other member of The Bloodline in sight. Except for Heyman, but he is no physical threat.
Heyman holds the title belt, the beads, whispers things in Roman’s ear, such as his love and respect. But Cody has Roman’s word that if he shows up on SmackDown, Roman will show up alone. Cody says Roman shows up alone, no Bloodline outside of Heyman, it’s a deal. They good? Heyman has some jet lag, he forgot one little point. And don’t boo him, he’s talking to Cody! Cody says yes they’re booing, and he’s about to go full Homelander and rip Heyman’s throat out if he doesn’t get to the point. Fans like the reference. Heyman composes himself and says if Roman Reigns shows up alone this Friday on SmackDown, then Cody must show up to SmackDown alone, too.
Cody steps closer to Heyman and Heyman is a bit nervous. Cody tells Heyman, “Deal!” They shake hands, and Heyman smiles. The Wise Man negotiated a purely one-on-one meeting between his Tribal Chief and American Nightmare, but can we trust Heyman was telling the truth about Roman telling the truth?
Nia Jax speaks.
“You know what I’ve realized? Becky Lynch has never beaten me. And after tonight, she never will. Because after I break her face again, I will be taking her spot at WrestleMania. I will finish business with Rhea Ripley, and not only will I walk out the Last Woman Standing, but I will become Women’s World Champion.” The Irresistible Force is ready for the Big Time, but will she A-Nia-late her?
Cody Rhodes returns backstage.
And Jey says there he go! But real quick, Cody can’t be going to SmackDown alone. Cody says he gave them his word. But The Bloodline isn’t gonna play fair! They’re all gonna be there! If Cody needs Jey, Jeys’ got him. Cody hears that, but he knows what he’s dealing with. They shake hands and Jey heads out. Will Cody be able to have that fair, one-on-one meeting? Or does Jey have a point about The Bloodline?
Dominik Mysterio w/ JD McDonagh VS Ricochet!
It seems Pearce agreed to the idea that Dirty Dom should try and clean up The Irish Ace’s mess. Will Dom be able to get revenge on Ricochet? Or will Ricochet be the One and Only person holding their head high tonight?
Raw returns and Dom has made his entrance. The bell rings, Dom and Ricochet circle, and they tie up. Ricochet waistlocks, Dom fights the lift and grabs ropes. The ref counts, Ricochet lets off, but Dom ELBOWS him away! Dom fires hands, soaks up the heat, then storms up, but into haymakers! Ricochet CHOPS, kicks then flexes on Dom. Ricochet whips, Dom reverses, but Ricochet goes up and over. Ricochet ducks ‘n’ dodges to then handspring back elbow! The fans fire up while Dom bails out! JD is there to coach Dom up, but Ricochet runs in! JD gets Dom to safety, but Ricochet handsprings to hero land!
The fans fire up, Ricochet then goes to ropes to TORNILLO PLANCHA! Direct hit on Dom and Ricochet tells JD to back off. Ricochet puts Dom in, Dom distracts the ref, but JD grabs Ricochet’s leg! Ricochet kicks JD away, but then Dom WRECKS Ricochet with a dropkick! Dom soaks up the heat and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Dom has Ricochet up top. Dom climbs but Ricochet throws body shots! The fans rally behind Ricochet as he sends Dom staggering. Ricochet hops down as Dom comes running back, and Ricochet GAMANGIRIS him away! Ricochet then springboards, but Dom trips him up! Ricochet flops to the mat, then Dom kicks and FACEBUSTERS! Cover, TWO! Ricochet is still in this and JD argues the count. Dom looms over Ricochet, scuffs him around, then mockingly cheers him on. Fans boo but Dom brings Ricochet up. Dom gives some Latino Heat, then suplexes! Uno Amigo, but fans boo.
Dom gets Ricochet up but Ricochet suplexes Dom instead! And then fireman’s carry, DYNAMITE KICK! Cover, TWO! Dom is still in this and JD coaches him but the fans rally for Ricochet. Ricochet stands, storms up on Dom, but Dom shoots around to roll him up! With tights! TWO, Ricochet blocks a kick and KICKS Dom down! Ricochet hurries up top, the fans fire up, but Ricochet has to bail out of the 450 as Dom moves! Dom runs in again, but into a SUPERKICK! JD gets on the apron, so Ricochet triangle jump DROPKICKS! But then Dom DROPKICKS Ricochet onto ropes! Dom dials it up but Ricochet ducks!
Dom spins around, into the RECOIL!! Cover, Ricochet wins!
Winner: Ricochet, by pinfall
But then JD runs in! Ricochet dodges, goes up and around, BOOTS JD away, then BOOTS him again! Ricochet even flips up and out of the ring at the same time! Ricochet gets the better of Judgment Day again, just how disappointed is Mami going to be in her Latino Heat this time?
Sami Zayn is backstage.
He finds Chad Gable and wants to talk with him. Last week’s match, that was an honor. Sami hasn’t been pushed like that in a long time, it could’ve gone either way. Gable says yeah, it was great. Thanks. Is Gable alright? Yeah, he’s fine. Kinda feels like not… Gable says he’s fine, so leave it at that. C’mon, man, how many years have they known each other? Sami knows when something’s bothering Gable, so he should just say it. Gable says look, last week, the WrestleMania opportunity, the whole thing, it just meant more to him. Sami says he’s been hearing Gable say that for weeks, and it is really unfair.
Does Gable really think he’s the only one this title opportunity matters to? Sami has a family, too! Sami’s kid cries when Papa loses a match, too. Sami has people he’s let down and is trying to make proud. After all the years put into this, Gable can’t tell Sami what matters more because he doesn’t know Sami like that. Gable has Sami calm down, and says he knows all that. But it isn’t all about that. Then what is all this? Gable says Sami can’t beat Gunther. Gable then leaves, and Sami is at a loss for words. Is this bitter side of Gable only going to get worse as we go down this Road to WrestleMania?
Adam Pearce is in the ring.
Raw returns with the GM by a table, and he welcomes us to a contract signing to make official the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship for WrestleMania! The fans cheer, and Pearce introduces first, the challenger, Sami Zayn! The Great Liberator makes his entrance and the fans sing along with his song. Sami still looks troubled by what Gable said just moments ago, but he still high-fives fans and gets in the ring. Then Pearce introduces the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, Der Ring General, GUNTHER! The fans boo as Gunther walks in, having reached Day 647!
Gunther smiles as Sami watches him make his way down the ramp and into the ring. Pearce says we know how this works, but Gunther says before we proceed, let us call this what it is: the most important contract signing for the most important match in the history of this championship. And why, why, why is the challenger dressed no better than any of the bums in the audience? Fans boo but Sami just shrugs that off. Sami gets a mic to say that Gunther keeps sitting there all smug, and it’s really starting to piss Sami off. Gunther thinks this is just another day at the office, that he’ll steamroll through Sami like any other contender.
But with all respect to Gunther, he really has. He has beaten everyone that has come his way, and has done it on his own. Gunther doesn’t believe Sami can do it. A lot of people didn’t believe Sami at many points in his career. They didn’t believe he’d even make it to WWE, let alone win championships and main event a WrestleMania. And if you ask The Usos, they didn’t believe Sami would be one of the guys to end the longest tag title reign in WWE history, but he did! And one year later, he will make history again by ending the longest Intercontinental title reign in WWE history! Sami signs his part and pushes the contract over to Gunther.
The fans cheer Sami on but Gunther waits it out. Gunther tells Sami, what Sami should do is listen to his new friend, Gable. Gable doesn’t believe Sami can win. The people here cheer Sami, they probably even love Sami. But even they don’t believe Sami can win. And y’know, when Gunther looks Sami in the eyes, and if Sami was honest with himself, even Sami doesn’t believe he can win. So what Sami is doing right now is standing on Gunther’s doorstep and begging him to get the beating of a lifetime on the Grandest Stage of Them All! So whatever Sami has to do, from training to believing, just keep doing that. Because at WrestleMania, Sami’s dreams will meet reality.
Gunther grins and signs his part, and it is now official! Gunther then stands, title on his shoulder, and takes his leave. The fans boo, but then Sami tells Gunther to wait. Gunther steps back inside to hear Sami as Sami turns around. Gunther looks in Sami’s eyes and believes Sami doesn’t believe? Sami stands to get in Gunther’s face and dares him to look again. Get a good long look, because these are the eyes of the man who will take you down at Mania! The fans fire up, and now Sami leaves first. Gunther still just grins, but will Sami use a Helluva Kick to wipe that smile off his face?
We follow Sami as he storms backstage, right past DIY and The Awesome Truth. Truth asks what’s up with Sami, but The Miz says that is the mindset of WrestleMania right there. That’s what they need. DIY wishes Awesome Truth luck. Awesome Truth knows DIY is into the ladder match, and they are gonna have their own qualifier. Miz & Truth just need to beat… Indus Sher. Jinder Mahal tells Veer & Sanga to warm up for the match. They head out, and Truth says he feels sorry for whoever has to face those guys. Miz stares at Truth, and he has DIY hold off. Miz will explain. The Awesome Truth heads to gorilla, their match is next!
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The Awesome Truth VS Indus Sher w/ Jinder Mahal!
Miz wants a remix of the theme song but Truth says to just follow his lead. NC State knows what’s up, but will the Awesome Truth finally reach the top of the tag division 13 years after they first teamed? We’ll see, after the break!
Raw returns as Indus Sher makes their entrance, the Modern Day Maharaja by their side. The teams sort out and Truth starts against Sanga. The fans echo “WHAT’S UP?!” but Sanga roars! Truth is scared now so he tags Miz. Truth fires Miz up, Miz runs up and dodges Sanga to fire off haymakers! Miz kicks, whips, but Sanga blocks! Sanga whips and CLOBBERS Miz! Jinder nods as Sanga then scoops Miz and brings him over. Veer tags in, Sanga SLAMS Miz, then Veer ELBOW DROPS! Indus Sher say “NAMASTE!” but the fans say “WHAT’S UP!?” with Truth. Veer HIP DROPS Miz, then looms over him.
Veer eggs Miz on, drags him up with shoulder claws, and then steps over Miz for the neck wrench! Miz endures as Veer still digs a claw into his shoulder. The fans rally for Miz, Miz fights up and throws body shots! Miz reaches out but Veer knees low! Veer SHOVES Miz to the corner, runs in, but Miz BOOTS! Miz ELBOWS Sanga, but Veer catches him! Veer puts Miz back int he corner, but Miz ducks the boot to tag Truth! Truth dodges Veer and starts up the shoulder tackles! Truth gets around Veer to SPIN-OUT BOMB! The fans fire up as Truth shouts out Cena with “You Can’t See Me!” Truth runs to Five Knuckle Shuffle!
Jinder is not happy now as Truth fireman’s carries! But Veer slips free! Truth drop toeholds to the STF!! The fans fire up but Sanga stomps Truth! Miz fires off kicks on Sanga, then body shots! Truth joins in, they mug and whip Sanga, to DOUBLE DROPKICK! Sanga staggers around, Veer runs up, but into a full nelson! Truth and Miz combine for a SKULL CRUSHING LIE DETECTOR!! But Sanga whips Miz away! Miz WRECKS Jinder with it, but Sanga runs up! Sanga knocks Miz down, Miz anchors Sanga, Sanga ELBOWS Truth, Truth falls onto Veer for the cover! Awesome Truth wins!!
Winners: The Awesome Truth, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)
The fans fire up, and Truth doesn’t even realize what happened! Miz celebrates with Truth and Truth puts it together! They’re now one of the six in the ladder match! Will this combination of teamwork and luck be just what they need to take those titles from Judgment Day?
Sami confronts Gable now.
Sami tells Gable to tell him why. Why what? Why does Gable think Sami can’t beat Gunther? Well you just saw why! With Gunther, it isn’t just physical, it is mental. Sami made his career out of being the underdog that crawls his way out of any hole he’s in, right? Just like last week! Sami found the window of opportunity to get out of a bad situation any time he can. Gunther’s on a different level! You gonna sit and wait for that window to appear? It doesn’t happen with Gunther! He’s a different beast, a different animal. If Sami doesn’t change his mentality, then he can’t beat Gunther. Gable leaves Sami with a lot to think again. Is there a way Sami can change enough to defeat Der Ring General?
CM Punk speaks.
“Do I plan at being in WrestleMania? WrestleMania is in Philadelphia, what’re the first four letters in Philadelphia? Phil. You can’t have WrestleMania Philadelphia without Phil. Whether I’m invited or uninvited, Punk will be there.” And next week in Chicago, Punk returns to Raw! Will the Second City Saint find a way to be part of the biggest WrestleMania ever?
Drew McIntyre is here!
The Scottish Terminator, or as his new shirt says, “The Savior of WrestleMania,” makes his way to the ring, NC State a bit torn about seeing him. But then Seth Rollins is here, too!? McIntyre is upset but the fans sing along, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” as The Visionary struts his way out. Rollins swaggers right past McIntyre in his green storm pattern suit, and steps into the ring first. McIntyre frowns as he follows Rollins in, and sits in a corner. The fans continue to sing, which Rollins revels in for a moment. Rollins has the mic to then say, “RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA~! Welcome to Monday Night Rollins~!
“And Drew, hah, sorry, I didn’t even see you there. I was too busy, uh, y’know, soaking up the spotlight, right?” McIntyre has a mic to say, “Alright, here we go.” Here goes what, Drew? McIntyre says no, no, get it all out of your system, he knows Rollins has more! McIntyre can stay in the back while Rollins enjoys the spotlight, because after WrestleMania, that spotlight’s all McIntyre’s. Hey, hey, c’mon. Rollins is here with an honest cause. Rollins doesn’t like McIntyre, he thinks he’s stupid, a hypocrite, has said a lot of dumb things lately, but Rollins is here to admit that one thing McIntyre said is absolutely right and he wants to say it to McIntyre’s face, right here in Raleigh, in front of the fine people.
Now, they always say the first step to recovery is the hardest, so bare with Rollins. He has been working on this all week, but… “My name is Seth Freakin’ Rollins, and I’m a spotlight junkie.” The fans chant “Spotlight Junkie!” and also sing, but McIntyre says everything is just a joke to Rollins, isn’t it? Look at Rollins! He’s a parody of himself at this point. But honestly, McIntyre doesn’t care. He tried reasoning, he gave the answers, and now he only cares about their match and the world title. And you wanna know the real punchline, funny man? “What?” McIntyre says they say that because they’re happy McIntyre sidelined Punk, thanks for remembering!
But the punchline is when McIntyre beats Rollins for that title. The fans chant for “C M PUNK!” but McIntyre says don’t be ridiculous. Punk’s waiting until next week to return because he’d never show up in a place like Raleigh. The fans boo but McIntyre says see, they’re booing Punk! Punk is only getting off his couch to be at his local arena. Rollins tells McIntyre to shut up already. Oh, seems McIntyre got Rollins’ attention. Rollins takes off the sunglasses to say yeah, McIntyre has his attention. Because this isn’t a joke! When Rollins says he is a junkie, it isn’t a joke! He’s been doing this for 20 YEARS! Just like McIntyre!
And every time Rollins comes out of the curtain, that’s his fix. And it gets better and better every single time. Rollins comes out here, lays it all on the line, and it just gets better and better! When he hears the fans sing the song so loud, Rollins can barely speak, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” That’s Rollins’ fix! That is the spotlight he craves, and y’know what? Rollins wants the spotlight as bright as it can possibly be. So yeah, McIntyre’s been busy online entertaining people with memes, so he hasn’t been listening to Rollins. So Rollins will get this through McIntyre’s thick skull: Night One, Rollins takes the biggest star in Hollywood and his side chick, and makes them his b*tches!
Then on Night Two, the biggest spotlight possible will be shined down on McIntyre and Rollins and the World Heavyweight Championship! McIntyre says all hail the savior, Seth Rollins! This is what McIntyre wanted! The passion and desire, not the stupid laughing and dancing. Rollins had McIntyre all the way to the finish. Rollins has done this 20 years, just like McIntyre. They’ve given their lives to this industry, and that is what the title is about! The wrestlers’ title, the workhorse championship! Rollins had McIntyre with him until he mentioned the bigger spotlight and how Rollins pins one of the biggest stars in the world.
Why can’t it just be about Rollins’ hard work to make that title, and all of McIntyre’s hard work to get this chance? Why can’t that be the reason they’re getting the biggest spotlight!? Rollins has had his priorities all backwards, McIntyre has been giving him all the answers. McIntyre said he is over the BS, and all he cares about is Rollins making it to the ring on Night Two. And if Rollins can’t walk, then McIntyre will wheel him down. If not, McIntyre will carry Rollins down. At Mania, McIntyre doesn’t get the moment he deserves. He gets the moment he has bloody EARNED. The fans do cheer that!
Rollins smirks and says, “Ah, Drew. There it is. That’s right, you wanna call me a spotlight junkie, but you want the spotlight just as bad as I do, don’t you? You’re an addict, just like I am. And you’ve been begging for spotlight for the past four years, because you won the WrestleMania main event. You did, back in 2020, in an empty warehouse. And all we’ve been hearing from Drew McIntyre for the past four years was how that wasn’t good enough. You’ve been whining and complaining and bitching and moaning that you deserve better, that you deserve more. The problem is, Drew, when everybody came back around, and the lights got bright again, what happened? You fumbled the ball.
“And that’s the difference between you and me. When the lights are the brightest, I shine, baby. I shine bright. And at WrestleMania 40, the lights are gonna be as bright as they have ever been. And you are gonna find out you are not as good as you think you are.” Rollins drops the mic, but this time McIntyre smirks. The verbal battle continues, but who will put their money where their mouth is once this one finally happens?
Becky Lynch speaks.
“I’m a wanted woman, and I don’t even have the title. Yet. But we’re less than three weeks away from WrestleMania, so why would I risk it all? Because I don’t know anything else. All I know is taking risks. All I know is fighting. And all I know is tonight, I’m gonna be the Last Woman Standing.” Becky is fired up to finally do what she hasn’t done in the most extreme way possible. Will she be the immovable object to Nia’s irresistible force?
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The New Day VS The Alpha Academy!
Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods have been W, W, E, World, Tag, Team, CHAMPIONS~, but they’ve never been a part of a title match as big as this Six Pack Ladder challenge! Will they look to be part of history once again? Or will Akira Tozawa & Otis say “A THANK YEW~!” for this golden opportunity?
Raw returns as the Academy makes their entrance. The teams sort out and Woods starts against the tree trunk, Otis. The fans rally for “NEW! DAY ROCKS!” Otis and Woods tie up, but Woods kicks low then headlocks. Otis powers up and out then runs Woods over! Otis storms up on Woods, GUT RAMS him back down, then brings him back up. Otis GUT RAMS Woods again, then runs to CLOBBER Woods! Otis swivels his hips, the fans echo “Oh~ yeah!” Otis tags Tozawa and the Academy mugs Woods. Tozawa brings Woods around but Woods CHOPS! Woods tags Kofi, he and Kofi double whip Tozawa but Tozawa holds ropes!
Tozawa fires hands, dodges Woods then BOOTS Woods down! Kofi kicks low, whips Tozawa to a corner, but Tozawa BOOTS Kofi away! Tozawa goes up to FLYING RANA! The fans fire up as Tozawa sees New Day regroup outside. Tozawa runs to DIVE! Direct hit on both New Day, and Otis joins in for “A THANK YEW~!” The Academy stands tall as Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Tozawa fights a chinlock. Tozawa reaches for Otis but Woods back suplexes. Tozawa lands out to then DROPKICK Woods down! The fans rally as Woods and Tozawa crawl, hot tags to Otis and Kofi! Otis CLOBBERS Kofi, CLOBBERS him again, then whips him to ropes. WRECKER ELBOW! Woods runs in, Otis dodges, to LARIAT! Otis sees Kofi leap off the corner, and catches him for a WORLD’S STRONGEST SLAM! Otis rips the shirt off, winds up the hips, and then starts up the CATERPILLAR! ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Kofi survives but Otis hurries to step on him! Tag to Tozawa, and Otis goes up!
Otis VADER BOMBS but FLOPS as Kofi moves! Tozawa hurries up top while Kofi SUPERKICKS Otis! Kofi turns around into the CROSSBODY from Tozawa! Cover, TWO! Tozawa SUPERKICKS Kofi but Woods tags in! Woods GAMANGIRIS Tozawa, then steps in to TORNADO DDT! Cover, TWO! Tozawa toughs it out but Woods grits his teeth as he goes to the corner. Woods climbs, but Tozawa rises! Tozawa throws body shots, Woods CLUBS Tozawa! Tozawa throws more hands and climbs up! The fans rally as they brawl up top! Tozawa brings Woods up but Woods fights the lift! Woods throws body shots in return!
Woods shifts position to get under Tozawa for a fireman’s carry! But then Tozawa pops up to SUPER STEINER!! Tozawa rips off his shirt, climbs back up top, SUPER SENTON!! Cover, Kofi breaks it! The fans fire up but Otis drags Kofi out! Otis whips Kofi at steps, Kofi goes up and jumps off the steps to TORNADO DDT to the floor! Kofi hurries back up to the apron but Tozawa SCREW HIGH KICKS him down! Tozawa dodges Woods, pop-up, but Woods blocks the rana to then SPINNING POWERBOMB! Woods sees the WrestleMania sign, hurries up the corner, and he tightrope walks! LIMIT BREAK ELBOW!! Cover, New Day wins!
Winners: The New Day, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)
The New Day are the ones saying A THANK YEW~ as they put their names down for the Six Pack Ladder Match! Will they once again climb to the top of the WWE Tag Team Division and bring home those championships?
Liv Morgan confronts Becky Lynch.
Becky asks if she’ll have to watch out for Liv as well. Well, you should always #WatchMe, but no, not tonight. Nia is all Becky’s. Liv just wants Becky to kick Nia’s ass. Liv leaves, will Becky kick ass and then some?
Cody walks with his dog, Pharaoh, backstage.
Rollins finds him and brings up Friday. One on one? One on one. Rollins nods and says he loves Pharaoh’s bandanna. The Visionary trusts the American Nightmare can handle himself, but will we be able to trust The Tribal Chief?
Last Woman Standing: Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax!
From the origins of “The Man” in WWE to the aftermath of Elimination Chamber: Perth, these two have battled, but never as brutally as this! They’re able to go anywhere and do anything, but who will be the Last Woman Standing this close to WrestleMania 40?
The bell rings and the two rush in! Becky DROPKICKS Nia and Nia goes to a corner. Becky runs in but Nia puts Becky on the apron. Becky ROCKS Nia, goes up a corner, then leaps to MISSILE DROPKCIK! Nia stumbles and tumbles out of the ring, so Becky WRECKS her with another dropkick! Becky then goes to the apron for a FLYING FOREARM! Nia stays up, Becky tries again, but Nia dodges! Fireman’s carry and Nia POSTS Becky, to then SAMOAN DROP her into barriers! The ref counts as Becky is down, but she stands at 4 of 10. Nia CLOBBERS Becky and wants the count! The count climbs but Nia is impatient.
Nia clears off the desk, Becky stands at 5 of 10, and she leans against barriers. Becky comes back with body shots and haymakers, but Nia ROCKS her with a forearm! Becky staggers away as Raw goes to break!
Raw returns and Becky is bringing out a table! The fans fire up as Becky sets that up ringside. There’s been a lot of chaos during the break according to commentary, from chairs to kendo sticks to even a copy of Becky’s book, The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl! But Nia storms over to stop Becky and SMACK her off the desk! Nia puts Becky in the ring, takes that table for her own and sets it up. The table doesn’t cooperate and fans boo, but Nia goes for chairs instead. She slides those in the ring, Becky manages to stand at 7 of 10, and she grabs at those chairs. Nia ditches the table, it just doesn’t wanna work.
Nia storms in but Becky JAMS her with a chair, SMACKS her with it, then clinches! Nia fights the slam, fireman’s carries Becky, and FULL METAL SAMOAN DROPS!! Becky writhes from hitting chairs but Nia looms over her. Nia soaks up the heat as she counts along. Becky flounders to ropes and drags herself up at 7! Nia sits a chair up, fans want a table, but Nia scoops Becky. Becky slips around to a SLEEPER! Nia RAMS Becky into buckles again and again until Becky lets go. But then Becky BULLDOGS Nia off the chair! Nia is down for the count now, and Becky leans against ropes to stay up herself.
Nia stirs at 5, stands at 8, but Becky is up top! Becky leaps, into a CHAIR SHOT! Nia SMACKS Becky again and again and again! The fans boo but Nia finally stops. Nia puts that chair aside and goes out to get some kendo sticks! Nia puts those in, but Becky grabs one! Nia snatches it from her to SMACK! And SMACK! And SMACK! Becky sputters and staggers, Nia clinches and scoops! Nia SLAMS Becky onto chairs! Then Nia runs to drop the leg, brother! Nia wants the count and the count begins! Becky sputters as we reach 5 of 10. Becky grabs that kendo stick but Nia SMACKS Becky with a chair! And again!
Nia kicks Becky around, then uses the chair to take a seat on Becky’s body!! The fans boo as the count begins, but Becky SMACKS Nia with the kendo stick! And again and again and again, even in the butt! Nia stands up, into more shots! Becky stands and she fires away until Nia scurries out of the ring! Becky pursues but Nia CLOBBERS her! Nia pulls the steel steps apart now, and takes that top half to RAM Becky down! Becky flounders, Nia hauls her up and puts her in the ring. Becky’s on the apron and Nia takes aim! Nia runs up, APRN LEG DROP only gets apron! Becky avoids disaster, then has Nia by the steps! DDT onto the steel!
Nia is down again and the count begins. Nia stirs at 5 of 10, sits up at 6, but Becky SMACKS her off steps! Nia falls over again and the count resets. Becky hurries to go looking for things while Nia rises again. Becky has a new table! The fans fire up as Becky gets that in the ring. Nia stands at 7, staggers after Becky, and Raw goes back to break.
Raw returns once again and Nia mugs Becky against barriers! Nia puts Becky on a table, and surprise! There’s a ladder set up now! Nia climbs the ladder?! She also demands Pat support the ladder. But Becky gets off the table so now Nia has no reason to be up there. Nia storms after Becky, but gets a FIRE EXTINGUISHER BLAST!! The fans fire up as Becky cools Nia off, then JAMS her with the canister! Becky puts Nia in the ring, and there’s a table waiting in a corner! Becky lines up the shot, and runs in, but Nia SAMOAN DROPS Becky through the table!!! Both women are down in the wreckage and the count begins!
Nia flounders away from the wreckage but she still needs to stand. Nia is up at 5, and she isn’t satisfied with this! She drags Becky all the way to another corner and puts her in the drop zone! Nia climbs up, for the A-NIA-LATOR!! Nia shouts for the count, the count begins, and Nia storms around as she points to the Mania sign. Becky is still down at 5 of 10, only starts stirring at 7, and she slumps out of the ring to stand up! Nia is furious, goes out after Becky, and kicks things aside to keep after her. Nia asks if Becky’s vision is blurry. Nia fireman’s carries Becky up the steel steps and along the apron, aiming for that other table!
The fans freak out but Becky fights with elbows! Becky CLUBS away on Nia and the fans are thunderous! Becky then clinches, for a MANHANDLE SLAM through the table!!! Both women are down int he wreckage again, and the count begins! Becky sits up at 4 while fans are still losing their minds! We pass 5 of 10, then 7! Nia sits up at 8 and stands at 9! But then she slumps back over! The count starts again, Nia flounders around and stands at 5. Becky goes up the ladder! Becky sees Nia approaching the desk, and then SUPER MAN’S LEG DROP through the desk!!! The fans lose their minds again while both men are down in more wreckage!
The count is 5 of 10! Becky flounders and crawls, drags herself up at 9, but Nia is still down! BECKY WINS!!
Winner: Becky Lynch
The Man conquers truly one of the most intense challenges in her career! But then here comes one of the most intense champions! The fans fire up as Rhea Ripley makes her way out, Women’s World Championship in hand. She goes right to the ring and looks at Becky. Rhea “congratulates” Becky for winning, but then Becky gets in Rhea’s face! The fans fire up, and now there are no obstacles in the way of Mami VS The Man! Who will be the champion after WrestleMania 40?
My Thoughts:
A great Raw right here, though the in-ring action kinda dipped down until that awesome Last Woman Standing main event. This is one of the times I wish they’d done picture in picture so we as the TV audience could see even more action. Great win for Becky, of course, but I also like that Becky had a moment with Liv just before, and of course she had a moment with Rhea to close out the night. Great promos with Sami and Gable that also blended into the contract signing from tonight. And I suppose Gable has a point that Sami, the comeback kid, can’t do that when Gunther has an arsenal of moves that would be “finishers” given all the different ways Gunther has won over the years.
And speaking of that contract signing segment, I really liked the segue they did in following Sami so that he’d cross paths with Awesome Truth at gorilla and we’d get their segment going into their match. WWE has been doing some really creative stuff in this newest era where Vince is truly out and apparently even Kevin Dunn has moved on. Awesome Truth had a really fun but also really quick tag match with Indus Sher, and then New Day VS Alpha Academy was solid stuff, but DIY VS Creeds was such an awesome match. For a moment, I thought Creeds were gonna take this one but DIY still found a way, and I like that DIY is in. Honestly, I’m liking that the HHH favorites are getting in, because we also have New Catch Republic on the other side that can still win into the match.
Judgment Day had good stuff tonight, too. Good group promo with Andrade to tease El Idolo possibly joining, but who knows if he does. Depends on how things go for Priest. He was watching the qualifiers, he’s not worried, but maybe he should be. Granted, he still has the MITB briefcase, he could go from losing the tag titles to taking the world title, who knows how the Judgment Day’s story is going to go as we move past Mania. Dom VS Ricochet was a really good match, and Ricochet winning was the right move to keep this feud going. I think there’s going to be Ricochet VS McDonagh next week as a rematch from the gauntlet, that’ll be great stuff, too.
Candice’s Heel turn slow burn continues as she takes advantage of the “hurt” leg. Indi also does a good job of being very conflicted about this. There’s a WWE YouTube exclusive where Ivy Nile confronts Candice so that’ll be a match, and then maybe when Candice again goes too far, Indi steps in and we get a match of Candice VS Indi at some point. Good little update promo from CM Punk, he’ll have a great homecoming moment in Chicago, but also probably McIntyre coming after him. McIntyre had a great promo segment with Rollins, and with all these continued moments where the other person gets the mic drop moment, it feels like McIntyre has to win the title.
And of course, great stuff with the Bloodline story even on Raw. Jey and Jimmy have great promos in their confrontation, and of course it turns into a brawl. Good segue from that to Heyman being here, and Heyman confronting Cody during Cody’s great promo segment. Cody really went off on The Rock, that was some wild stuff. But the supposed promise of “one on one and no one else aside from Heyman” might be kept, and we get a strong promo segment on SmackDown in a foreshadowing of the fair-and-square 1v1 match. Or it is a trap and that’s more a foreshadowing of Bloodline Rules where they can do whatever they want. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
My Score: 8.9/10
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We’re just one step away from the Cup!
Cold Skull faces The Fierce Warrior, and Gene Blast faces The King of Darkness, and when the smoke clears, we will have our New Japan Cup finalists!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Boltin Oleg & Shoma Kato VS Zack Sabre Jr. & Mikey Nicholls; ZSJ & Mikey win.
- Six Man Tag: El Desperado, Tomohiro Ishii & Togi Makabe VS Just5Guys; Just5Guys win.
- Tanga Loa & Ryusuke Taguchi VS Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman; Loa & Taguchi win.
- Six Man Tag: YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Hiroyoshi Tenzan VS Bullet Club; Bullet Club wins.
- 8 Man Tag: Shota Umino, El Phantasmo, Hikuleo & YOH VS The House of Torture; Shota, ELP, Leo & Yoh win.
- Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS The United Empire; LIJ wins.
- 2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: Yota Tsuji VS EVIL; Tsuji wins and advances to the finals.
- 2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: SANADA VS Hirooki Goto; Goto wins and advances to the finals.
PLAY BY PLAY
2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: Yota Tsuji VS EVIL w/ Dick Togo!
The Gene Blast overcame the tricks Ren Narita tried, but that’s because the House of Torture was saving all the good stuff so they could slay the Rampaging Dragon. Will the deck be even more stacked to make sure Everything is Evil’s? Or will Yota be one step away from LIJ VS LIJ at Sakura Genesis?
Well, Dick is making his way out here, but where is Evil? Oh, there he is. No tricks just yet it seems. But then Yota DIVES onto Evil! The fans fire up but Dick attacks Yota! Dick whips, Yota stops himself, and then scoops Dick for a BACKBREAKER! The fans fire up and Yota wants the bell. The ref says yes, ring the bell, and this is on the record! Yota stomps and CLUBS Evil, then whips, but Evil reverses! Yota hits railing, and then Evil whips him into more railing! Evil CHOKES Yota against the railing, Yota fights back, but the ref gets knocked aside! Evil puts Yota in so he and Dick can stomp away!
The fans boo but here comes the rest of the House already! Narita, Yujiro, Kanemaru and Jack all stomp away on Yota, but here come Bushi & Hiromu! It’s a replay of yesterday as LIJ fights off the House, but the numbers are still against them! The ref rushes in to tell everyone to stop! Evil shoves the ref out of the ring, Yota fires off on him, but Evil CLAWS Yota’s eyes! The House CHOKES LIJ, but the ref says stop! The bell rings, but what is the decision!? NO CONTEST!?
No Contest
What does this mean!? Someone has to advance, right? The finals aren’t until the 20th, how can there be a no contest? The House started this, where’re the consequences?! Yota gets up but Evil TOSSES him back out! LIJ regroups and Yota asks for a mic. Yota tells Evil that he’s sick and tired of this! They ARE gonna finish this match! The fans like the sound of that! All the refs come out, including Red Shoes, to discuss how this will be handled. For starters, they tell all the extras to get outta here! LIJ is cool with that, and Hiromu tells the House to come along. Evil says fine, and Jack, Kanemaru, Narita, Yujiro and even Dick reluctantly exit.
The announcement is officially made, and the bell rings! Yota and Evil rush in, Evil kicks low but Yota CLUBS away on Evil! Evil CLAWS the eyes! Evil kicks, runs, RAMS, but Yota rebounds to run Evil over! Then run and SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Yota fires up and the fans are with him! Evil bails out but the fans rally for Yota. Evil wants Yota to stay back, then he slides in, only to slide right out! Yota runs out after Evil, but Evil kicks him! Evil RAMS Yota into the timekeeper! Abe-san and his table go flying! Evil gets the mic to tell Yota that this is what he gets! The fans boo but Evil tells them off, too! Evil stomps Yota then soaks up the heat.
Evil unties the blue buckle pad himself, then waits in the ring. The ref checks Yota and the fans rally up again. The Young Lions help Abe-san while Yota drags himself up. Yota slides in, the fans cheer, but Evil pulls on Yota’s hair! Evil wrenches the hair, then wrenches it again! And again! Evil CLUBS the hair! The ref reprimands but Evil just dusts off his hands. Evil covers, but the ref refuses to count! Evil is furious but he’s the one up to no good! The ref still says no, so Evil stands on Yota’s head. The fans rally up, Yota rises, and he grins as he winds up to ROCK Evil with a forearm! And ROCK him with another!
Yota ROCKS Evil again, but Evil whips him into the bare buckles! Yota falls and the ref reprimands about the missing buckle pad. Evil stomps Yota, covers, TWO! The fans cheer but Evil is annoyed. Evil scuffs Yota, taunts him, and drags him up. Evil CHOPS, Yota drops to his knees, but Evil stands him back up. Evil CHOPS again and Yota grits his teeth as he drops to his knees! Evil stands Yota up again, to fake the chop to CLAW the eyes! The ref reprimands, Evil lets off, and then Evil stands on Yota in a corner. The ref counts, Evil lets go of the ropes but that’s not the problem! Evil steps away, drags Yota up but claims he’s dead weight.
The ref checks, Evil stands Yota up and wrenches an arm. Evil whips Yota into a corner, runs in, but into a BOOT! Evil runs in again, blocks the boot, but Yota brings Evil in for the STOMP! The fans fire up while Yota rests on the mat. The fans rally up and Yota rises again. Evil’s in the corner, runs out, but into the BACKBREAKER! COMPLETE SHOT! STOMP! The fans fire up again as Yota stands back up. Yota runs, to CURB STOMP!! Yota roars and the fans fire up again! Evil flounders while Yota aims. Yota runs in, but the ref is used as a shield! Evil kicks Yota low, then uses the ref in MAGIC KILLER!
All three men are down while the fans rally up again. Evil stands, he brings Yota up, and the ref also rises. Evil whips Yota into the bare buckles, then clotheslines him in! Then FISHERMAN BUSTER! Cover, but Evil lets off?! Evil wants to torture Yota but it’s hard to say if Yota is still even in this. Yota opens his eyes, rises up, but Evil fireman’s carries! DARKNESS FALLS! Cover, TWO!! Yota survives, the fans fire up, but Evil is furious! Evil slashes his throat and vows to end this now! Evil drags Yota up, spins him around, but Yota fights the STO with elbows! Evil kicks low, whips again, but Yota stops from hitting buckles!
Evil runs in, Yota dodges and Evil hits the buckles! SUPERKICK!! Both men are down again and the fans fire back up! We’re only ten minutes into this new match but this is on top of the madness from earlier. Evil drags Yota up, but Yota ROCKS Evil! Evil fights Yota’s fireman’s carry and CLUBS him, but both men wobble. Evil LARIATS, but Yota stays up! The fans fire up but Evil swings to LARIAT again! Yota drops to a knee, but he grins through the pain! Evil says alright, and he throws off his elbow pad. Evil runs to LARIAT! Yota grits his teeth to stay up! V-TRIGGER! Yota brings Evil in, suplexes, ORANGE CRUSH! Cover, TWO!!
Evil is still in this but the fans rally behind Yota again. Yota rises, drags Evil up, and then goes to the corner. Yota goes up and up and Evil moves the ref into the way! The ref takes the FLYING CURB STOMP!!! And now the House returns! The fans boo as Kanemaru, Dick, Yujiro, Narita & Jack all stomp away on Yota again! The fans tell them to go home, again, but these guys don’t care! They just put one out on Yota. They whip Yota to a corner, then DIck runs in to ELBOW! Kanemaru ELBOWS! Yujiro BOOTS! Jack SPLASHES! Narita ELBOWS! Then they snapmare and set Yota up! Dick climbs for the DICK CHOP!!
The fans boo but the House applauds their own dirtiness. But here come Bushi & Hiromu again! But they just get mugged again! They set Hiromu up for the DICK CHOP, while Bushi gets a JACK CHOP! The House then slithers away before a replacement ref rushes out here. Evil drags Yota up, winds up and runs, to LARIAT!! Cover, TWO!!! Yota survives and the fans are thunderous! Evil is at a loss for words, but he slashes his throat! He vows to end it for real, and he reels Yota in. EVERYTHING IS- Yota flips through!? And HEADBUTTS!! The fans fire up as Yota reels Evil in for a fireman’s carry! 70 CROSS!! Cover, TWO!!
Evil survives the swinging spinebuster and the House cheers! Yota drags himself to a corner, drags himself up with the ropes, and roars as he takes aim! Evil rises, but Yujiro distracts! Dick runs in, but gets a V-TRIGGER! The ref sees Dick, but misses the LOW BLOW! Then Evil RAMS Yota into the ref! That’s the second ref this match! Narita gets his push-up bar! The others set Yota up, but here comes SHINGO TAKAGI! The Rampaging Dragon has seen enough, and he’s still pissed from yesterday as it is! He dodges Narita to PUMPING BOMBER! Kanemaru & Yujiro kick Takagi, double whip, but he DOUBLE PUMPING BOMBERS!!
Jack gets in, but he gets ELBOW, JAB and YUKON LARIAT! Evil runs up but Takagi SWATS Evil’s lariat to JAB! Then feed to Hiromu’s SUPERKICK! Hiromu & Takagi set Evil up for Bushi’s BLACK MIST!! Evil can’t see, the PUMPING BOMBER turns him inside-out!! The fans are thunderous as LIJ helps Yota up! Red Shoes hurries out here, and Yota aims at Evil! GENE BLASTER!!! Cover, Yota wins!!!
Winner: Yota Tsuji, by pinfall (advances to the finals)
The House of Torture ran out of tricks, and now there is light at the end of the tournament! Will Yota do LIJ proud and bring home the Cup?
2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: SANADA VS Hirooki Goto!
One down, one to go. Yota Tsuji has made it through, now we see who joins him in the finals! Will the Cold Skull or Fierce Warrior be the one that steps closer to former glory?
The bell rings and the fans duel between “GO-TO-O!” and “SA-NA-DA!” Red Shoes measures the levels, and it seems to slightly favor Goto. Goto and Sanada circle, tie up, and are in a deadlock. Goto gets some leverage to put Sanada against ropes, but he lets off slowly. Goto pats Sanada on the shoulders and the fans cheer. The two reset, circle again, and tie up again. It’s another deadlock, but again Goto finds a way to put Sanada on ropes. Sanada turns things around, lets off slowly, and also pats Goto on the shoulders. The fans applaud and the two reset again. They feel things out, knuckle lock, then move to a clinch.
They fight for control, Sanada starts pushing Goto towards a corner but Goto slips away. They feel things out, knuckle lock again, then break. They tie up collar ‘n’ elbow, Goto waistlocks, but Sanada wrenches to wristlock. Goto rolls, wrenches, wristlocks, but Sanada spins, wrenches, only for Goto to roll! Goto gets a leg to trip Sanada up, and he has a toehold. Sanada fights back with a chinlock but Goto pulls on the leg. Sanada uses his free leg to hook Goto into an ARMBAR, but Goto clasps hands! Goto moves around, pops free, then headlocks. Sanada fights up, Goto grinds the headlock, but Sanada throws body shots.
Sanada powers up and out, but Goto runs him over! The fans rally as things speed up, and Goto counters hip toss with hip toss! Goto runs and he clotheslines Sanada up and out! The fans fire up and Goto slides out after Sanada. Goto stomps Sanada, drags him up, then CLUBS him on the neck! Sanada staggers, Goto CHOPS him, then kicks him, then CLUBS him! Goto whips but Sanada stops himself from hitting railing! Goto runs in but Sanada drop toeholds him into the railing! Goto goes down in a heap, but Sanada opens the gate. Sanada brings Goto through, then to the crowd! PILEDRIVER to the bare floor!
The fans are stunned but Red Shoes reprimands. Sanada leaves Goto behind and slides into the ring. The fans rally for Goto as the ring count begins. Goto crawls at 5 of 20, finds his way to ringside at 10, but still hobbles and crawls. He stands at 17 to slide in! The fans cheer, but Sanada stomps Goto. Sanada drags Goto up, CLUBS him on the neck, then brings him back up to CLUB him again. Goto CHOPS! And CHOPS! Sanada eggs Goto on so Goto CHOPS again! Goto whips, Sanada reverses to RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP! Cover, TWO! Sanada keeps cool and sits Goto up into a chinlock. Goto endures and the fans rally again.
Goto kicks forward, reaches out, but Sanada cranks on the hold! Goto keeps fighting, and has the ROPEBREAK! Sanada lets go cleanly, but then he stomps Goto while he’s down. Sanada then stands Goto up to CLUB him on the neck. Goto CHOPS in return! And CHOPS, and CHOPS, and has Sanada in a corner! Goto CHOPS again, then whips corner to corner. Goto runs in, but Sanada BOOTS first! Sanada runs, Goto follows, and Goto LARIATS Sanada down! The fans fire up and Goto rises, clutching his neck. Goto stands Sanada up to fire off forearms, then he whips corner to corner. Goto runs in, MURAMASA!
Sanada wobbles, into the SAIDO! Cover, TWO! The fans fire up while Goto grits his teeth. Goto drags Sanada up, fireman’s carries, but Sanada fights free! Sanada waistlocks, Goto throws elbows, then runs. Sanada hurdles, hurdles, and DROPKICKS! Goto tumbles out of the ring, Sanada PLANCHAS him down! The fans fire up and Sanada encourages them to get louder. The fans get louder and Sanada appreciates it. Sanada then goes back for Goto, brings him up and puts him in the ring. Sanada fireman’s carries but Goto throws elbows! Sanada turns around into Goto’s fireman’s carry, but then slips out into the dragon sleeper!
But Goto arm-drags free! Sanada kicks low, runs, but Goto follows! Sanada dodges this time, runs again, but Goto still follows! Sanada sidesteps this time, but Goto holds ropes to avoid the hurdle! Goto runs in, but Sanada fireman’s carries! T K O! Cover, TWO! Goto is still in this and the fans rally up! Sanada goes up the corner, ROUNDING BODY- NO, Sanada has to land out as Goto moves! Sanada runs in, but into the fireman’s carry! USHIGOROSHI! Both men are down and the fans fire up again! They cheer on “GO-TO-O!” but the “SA-NA-DA!” chants are still there. Red Shoes checks them both, and both men slowly rise.
The two crawl towards each other, and Goto fires a forearm! Sanada shakes his head, eggs Goto on, so Goto throws another! Goto eggs Sanada on, so Sanada fires a forearm! Goto fires a forearm back, and the two stand. Sanada UPPERCUTS! Goto comes back to forearm! Sanada UPPERCUTS again, and Goto drops back to a knee! The fans rally, Goto stands again, and he forearms! UPPERCUT, forearm, repeat! Goto growls, fires a flurry of forearms, and he ROCKS Sanada! Sanada drops to his hand and knees but Goto powers up! Goto KICKS but Sanada blocks! Goto fires more forearms, then waistlocks, but Sandaa fights free!
Sanada runs, but Goto fireman’s carries! And he throws Sanada into the dragon sleeper! But Sanada turns around and suplexes, for MAGIC SCREW! Both men are down again and the fans fire back up! Sanada roars as he rises up, and he aims from a corner. Sanada wants Goto to get up, and Goto sits up, into the SHINING WIZARD! Sanada then dragon sleepers, for the SKULL END!! Goto endures, flails, reaches out, but he’s caught in the body scissors! Goto fights around but he’s fading! The fans rally, Goto’s hand drops! Sanada lets him go to then climb! ROUNDING BODY PRESS! Cover, TWO!!
The fans fire up as Goto survives but Sanada storms around. Sanada drags Goto up, reels him in and clinches, but Goto slips free to shove Sanada away! Sanada forearms, ROLLING- HEADBUTT from Goto! The fans fire up and duel, and Goto drags Sanada up. But Sanada breaks free! Goto HEADBUTTS again! Sanada falls back down and Goto steadies himself. Goto roars, the fans are with him, and Goto sits Sanada up. Goto runs to PENALTY KICK! Shoutout to Shibata and the fans fire up more! Sanada grits his teeth as he sits back up but Goto takes aim! BUZZSAW! And then he hauls Sanada up to dragon sleeper! G T- BACKSLIDE COUNTER! TWO!!!
Sanada and Goto hurry up, Sanada dodges to O’Conner BRIDGE!! TWO?!!? Goto escapes and shocks everyone! Sanada resets, runs in, SHINING WIZARD!! The fans are thunderous as Sanada roars and drags Goto back up! Clinch and DEAD- NO, Goto slips around to ripcord and fireman’s carry! G T W!! Cover, TWO?!?!? Sanada survives but Goto is all fired up! The fans are thunderous as Goto dragon sleepers for G T R!!! Cover, GOTO WINS!!!
Winner: Hirooki Goto, by pinfall (advances to the finals)
Don’t call it a comeback, Goto’s been here for years! Sanada’s hopes of being IWGP World Heavyweight Champion again have been delayed, how long must he wait for another chance?
As for Goto, he’s going back to the New Japan Cup Finals for the first time since 2016, and his seventh overall! But before he can get the mic to speak, Yota makes his way back out here. Yota steps into the ring and he gets the mic first. Yota tells Goto, “In order to open the door to a new era, we must do this.” The fans applaud that, and Yota continues by asking Goto, “Are you ready?!” Yota drops the mic at Goto’s feet, and Goto stands up to speak. “I also have something I want to show you. As a three-time New Japan Cup Champion, I will show you my strength.” The fans like the sound of that!
The Fierce Warrior stares down with Gene Blast, a true generational showdown on the horizon! Will Goto return not juts to former glory, but finally ascend to top of NJPW? Or will Yota make it LIJ VS LIJ for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship?
My Thoughts:
A great semifinal round for this tournament, with quite a surprising main event. Sanada VS Goto was great stuff, and while I felt Sanada wasn’t winning the Cup, I didn’t think he’d be out this round. Yota VS Evil was rather creatively put together, too. I did not think the House would get so involved that at first it was a No Contest but then they restart under a ringside ban. Takagi making sure Yota won was good stuff, too, maybe we can get Takagi VS Evil for the NEVER Openweight Championship if they’re not gonna circle back to more Shota Umino VS House of Torture stuff.
Goto VS Yota is going to be great stuff, and Goto is clearly a top utility guy. He’s had so many New Japan Cup finals appearances, certainly among the most ever, but I don’t think he gets a fourth Cup win against Yota, one of the “new era Musketeers” that NJPW clearly loves. Yota VS Naito is definitely the title match for Sakura Genesis.
My Score: 8.9/10
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