Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE Raw Results & Report! (11/30/20)
Who is headed for the world title?
Raw is Phenomenal and Limitless, Bro!
Drew McIntyre sits down for an exclusive interview while Keith Lee, AJ Styles and (Matt) Riddle battle for the right to challenge him! Who becomes the WWE World Championship’s #1 contender?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Symphony of Destruction: Jeff Hardy VS Elias; Hardy wins.
- Ricochet VS Slapjack w/ Retribution; Slapjack wins.
- Asuka & Lana VS Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler; Asuka & Lana win.
- Xavier Woods w/ Kofi Kingston VS Cedric Alexander w/ The Hurt Business; Alexander wins.
- WWE World Championship #1 Contender’s Triple Threat: Keith Lee VS Matt Riddle VS AJ Styles w/ Jordan Omogbehin; Styles wins and will challenge Drew McIntyre for the title at TLC.
- Dana Brooke VS Reckoning w/ Retribution; Dana wins.
- Drew McIntyre & Sheamus VS The Miz & John Morrison; McIntyre & Sheamus win, by disqualification.
PLAY BY PLAY
Raw opens with A Moment of Bliss!
Alexa has her new set all set up, with a doll trapped inside a cage…? Alexa says her guest needs no introduction, but she’ll give him one anyway! This is the 14-time world champion, the Viper, the Legend Killer, “and my favorite superstar,” Randy Orton! Orton makes his entrance and goes to the ring, despite his last Moment of Bliss not going so well for him. Orton picks up the mic from the chair but doesn’t sit. “Somebody’s in a foul mood.” But Alexa gets it. She wouldn’t feel so phenomenal if this happened to her last week. Footage replays of The Fiend making his presence known and making sure Orton didn’t beat AJ Styles in their contender qualifier match.
In the present, Alexa giggles before she says, “I cannot believe he did that to you.” But has Orton ever asked himself why Bray’s doing this? Alexa doesn’t know Bray as well as Orton does, but maybe just ask yourself, “Self, why would The Fiend do that to me?” Orton tells her that he’s known Bray a long time and knows him very, very well. But The Fiend has not formally introduced himself. But Alexa has. Fiend is one of her best friends. Well the truth is, Orton and The Fiend have a lot in common. The one difference, though, is that Fiend’s pain and suffering, he wears it on his exterior. Orton has all his pain and suffering bottled up, tucked away deep down, so that he can blend in.
“Now the voices. I hear voices. And the Fiend hears voices, too.” But the voices The Fiend hears are Orton’s. Well that’s not what Fiend told Alexa. Well he didn’t tell her everything. He didn’t tell her how years ago, Orton had to make a choice. Orton had to figure out what Bray’s weakness was. Orton found it, and burned it to the ground. “So now, I know what I need to do. I need to find The Fiend’s weakness.” And y’know what? Orton’s looking at her. Alexa chuckles, and asks if that’s what the voices in Orton’s head are telling him. Is that what he hears? Or are they lying to him? Alexa gets serious as she asks, “Who’s manipulating who?”
The lights start to go out, and Orton says, “See what I mean?” Alexa says, “See what I mean?” Either way, The FIEND appears, as Orton has Alexa in his arms! It’s a stand off as Fiend approaches slowly. Fiend holds his arms out, and Orton hands Alexa over, then bails out! Orton asks The Fiend, “Who’s laughing now?” The Viper is playing a dangerous game with Bray, but does he have what it takes to win it?
Symphony of Destruction: Jeff Hardy VS Elias!
This is an extreme encore of the back and forth between the Charismatic Enigma and the Drifter! Elias still thinks Hardy was the man behind the hit ‘n’ run, but will he finally open his ears to the truth as these two make painful music together?
Raw returns and Hardy makes his entrance, followed by Elias’. The bell rings and Hardy circles with Elias. Elias runs in and kicks but Hardy hits back! They brawl with haymakers and body shots, Elias knees low. Elias whips, Hardy kicks him back then clotheslines Elias out! Hardy swings to dropkick Elias to the ramp, then goes out to fetch a fiddle. Hardy gets some space to run and leap, but into Elias’ KNEE! Elias drags Hardy up to bump him off the apron, then Electric Chair lift, for a TOSS to the apron! Hardy crashes and burns but Elias drags him up to bump him off the grand piano! Wait, the piano is doing something on it’s own? Elias knocks and opens it up, it’s R-Truth!?
Truth kicks free of the piano, his hiding spot has been ruined! Erik, Akira Tozawa and Drew Gulak run down! Hardy back drops Gulak, Gran Metalik runs in and Elias CLOBBERS him! The 24/7 Championship chase has moved on as Lince Dorado comes by, but Elias SMACKS Lince with a guitar anyway! Hardy SMACKS Gulak for good measure! Hardy and Elias stare down after that Fender bender and Raw goes to break!
Raw returns and Elias drags Hardy up to throw forearms in the ring. Hardy counter punches, backs Elias down and whips, but Elias reveres, only for Hardy to run him over! Atomic drop, leg splitting leg drop, basement dropkick! Then a splash! Cover, TWO! Hardy fires up and claps to rally fans. Hardy kicks but no Twist just yet! Elias gets the dragon sleeper but Hardy slips out! Elias switches out of the waistlock to RAM Hardy into a guitar wedged in the corner! Hardy goes down, Elias drags him to a cover, TWO! Hardy survives that power chord but Elias keeps his cool.
Elias brings out guitar picks, and puts them in between his fingers like claws! Hardy sits up, Elias drags him up to PICK PUNCH him! And again! Hardy flounders while fans give thumbs down, but Elias digs the picks into Hardy’s face! Hardy goes reeling but Elias stomps him out. Elias follows after and brings Hardy around to bump off the drums! And again, and then he plays a quick rim shot to BASH Hardy off the cymbals! Elias stalks Hardy to the announce desk but POSTS Hardy first! Elias watches Hardy flounder, and then he runs in, but Hardy moves! Elias’ knee gets the GONG!
Hardy clubs Elias to the desk, then throws him into the drum set! Hardy stomps Elias into the barriers, drags him up and puts him in the ring. Hardy sees there’s one more guitar and picks it up. Elias gets up and kicks Hardy first! Elias POSTS Hardy, then reels him into another Electric Chair! Hardy spins around to huricanrana Elias away! But Elias has the guitar! Hardy boots Elias, WHISPER IN THE- GUITAR!! Cover, ROPEBREAK!! Elias tries again, TWO!! Hardy flounders out of the ring, Elias takes the rest of the guitar apart, and has just the neck. Elias shouts, “You wanna try and end my career? That’s exactly what I’m gonna do to you!” Elias has the splintered end aimed, but Hardy moves, Elias JAMS into the speakers! Elias gets a bit of a shock!
Hardy gets up, grabs the CELLO and SMASHES Elias down! Hardy then bumps Elias off steel steps, puts him on the table as he clears off instruments, and then makes sure Elias has a few fiddles. Hardy then goes up the steps, up the corner, and onto the post! SUPER SWANTON THROUGH THE STRINGS!! Cover, Hardy wins!!
Winner: Jeff Hardy, by pinfall
Hardy has the tambourine to shake it out, and he heads on to leave Elias singing the blues! Will Hardy be on to bigger and better now?
Matt Riddle finds Keith Lee backstage.
Sup, bro? How excited is he for tonight’s Triple Threat? One of them faces Drew McIntyre for THE WWE Championship! Riddle is nervous. He barfed up breakfast! But imagine if one of them became champion! It’d be a dream come true. Keith had his chance but Riddle hasn’t faced McIntyre at all. “But bro, he seems like such a chill dude,” and Riddle wants McIntyre to say that line from Austin Powers. “I’m dead sexay~!” Okay, bad accent. How’s Keith’s Scottish- Oh, he’s gone. Riddle shrugs it off, but will it be him, Keith, or AJ Styles that faces the champion after tonight?
Mustafa Ali speaks.
“Ricochet, why can’t you see what I see? Why can’t you see that you’ve been pushing the same boulder up the same mountain, only to fall back down to the ground week after week?” Why can’t Ricochet see what is happening to him has already happened to each member of Retribution? Why can’t Ricochet see that the promises are turned into lies, and then everyone is discarded and forgotten? Why can’t Ricochet see that he should be with them? Slapjack used to be blind, but Ali saw the corruption. Ali showed Slapjack was “left a husk of a man.” While the world rejected Slapjack as a joke, Ali saw him as a weapon.
Ali says Ricochet has made his decision not to join. So tonight, Slapjack makes Ricochet face the consequences. Maybe, just maybe, Ricochet will see what they see.
Ricochet VS Slapjack w/ Mustafa Ali!
The One and Only was definitely all alone against Mustafa Ali, and because the Beacon had his cohorts ringside, he caught Ricochet in the Koji Klutch. But will Ricochet be the one to make Retribution see that they’re the ones seeing things the wrong way?
Raw returns as Retribution makes their entrance. Slapjack gets in the ring, but conspicuous by their absence are the other members, Mace, T-Bar and Reckoning. Perhaps Ali wants to show Ricochet it won’t take numbers this time. The bell rings, Ricochet rushes Slapjack, gets around and springboards to crossbody! Ricochet throws haymakers, throws body shots, then CHOPS! Ricochet keeps Slapjack cornered, whip shim corner to corner, then runs in for an elbow! Ricochet throws more forearms, tells Ali to back off, but Slapjack ROCKS him with a right! Slapjack puts Ricochet in the corner but Ricochet BOOTS him! And rocks him with an elbow!
Ricochet goes up, but Slapjack yanks him down! And then runs to CANNONBALL! Ali grins as Slapjack covers, TWO! Slapjack seethes as he stomps Ricochet then digs him into the mat. Slapjack digs his fingers into Ricochet’s head as he wrenches the neck. Ricochet endures, powers up, and throws body shots. Ricochet forearms but Slapjack RAMS him into a corner! Ricochet boots Slapjack away, somersaults and shotgun dropkicks! Both men are down but Ricochet is up. Ali shots at Slapjack but Ricochet throws more haymakers. Ricochet whips, Slapjack reverses but Ricochet clobbers him with forearms! Ricochet fires off fast hands and knees to put Slapjack in a corner.
Ricochet rams in, goes out and springboards to flying clothesline! STANDING SHOOTING STAR! Cover, TWO! Ali calls in reinforcements! Now T-Bar and Mace appear, but Ricochet sends Slapjack out at them! Ricochet builds speed and FLIES to bowl everyone over! Ricochet drags Slapjack back up, put shim in the ring at 5, then follows. Ricochet aims from the corner, Slapjack slowly rises and Ali warns him. But Dana Brooke shows up? She SLAPS Ali! Dana wants to know where Reckoning is! Slapjack rolls Ricochet, TWO! Ricochet ROUNDHOUSES Slapjack, triangle dropkicks T-Bar and enziguris Mace!
Ali distracts Ricochet, avoids Ricochet’s swipes, and Slapjack reels Ricochet in for a TORNADO SAIDO!? Cover, Slapjack wins!
Winner: Slapjack, by pinfall
What a unique move! About as unique as Slapjack. Will Retribution keep piling it on until Ricochet cracks under the pressure?
Raw presents Miz TV!
The Hollywood A-Lister and Guru of Greatness welcome us back to the Most Must-See Talk Show in WWE. As the star of his own reality show on USA Network, Thursdays, and the #FaceofUSA, Miz was able to make some phone calls and get an exclusive interview with one of their opponents. “He’s big, he’s Irish, he loves fighting and hates tanning,” and before he teams with McIntyre tonight, he’s here! It’s the Celtic Warrior, SHEAMUS! Sheamus makes his way out and joins them in the ring. Miz welcomes Sheamus and asks about Thanksgiving. Is he a turkey guy? Or does he go straight for sides? How about Sheamus hit them up-side their heads if they don’t get to the point?
Whoa, now, Fella! They’re opponents tonight, but this is a friendly interview. This is about getting to know Sheamus. “Know thine enemy, know thyself.” Are they done wasting time? Look, Sheamus. This isn’t about Sheamus, this is about McIntyre. And there it is. What do they want to know about him? Well… Two weeks ago, Sheamus made one of the most heartfelt gestures by helping return McIntyre’s family chest from Scotland. Major feels. But what has Sheamus gotten in return? No sword? Sheamus got shafted. Miz says there’s more than meets the eye. “Hey, John.” “Yeah?” “Why do you think Drew forgot about Sheamus?” “He had something better to do?” Correct! And success has gone to his head. CORRECT. Or maybe that Sheamus would be #BeJealous of McIntyre! COOOOOOOOOORRECT!
Just from him to them, Sheamus doesn’t give someone a gift expecting something. They were McIntyre’s heirlooms. They’re like brothers, they go way back. Oh how nice. Save the sappy stuff. McIntyre has something Miz wants, and something Sheamus wants: The WWE Championship. And if they’re really brothers, or friends, or whatever, then McIntyre would give Sheamus a title shot. As soon as Miz cashes in his Mr. Money in the Bank contract, becomes WWE Champion once again, Morrison is first in line. That is what real friends do. So how about this, Fella? Sheamus cashes in years of resentment and Miz cashes in the MITB contract!
Sheamus laughs. People don’t think much of Miz but he has his moments. That was hilarious. Miz asks how it feels to be an afterthought. To know that McIntyre is up top and Sheamus is at the bottom. When was the last time Sheamus even tasted world championship gold? Five years ago? And for what? Two months? Sheamus was the top of the heap, but now his best friend is there and he let it happen! If Sheamus wants to laugh, laugh at his career, because that’s the joke! Sheamus gets up and so do Miz and Morrison. Sheamus takes off the jacket, sets it aside, and tells Miz “that’s the difference between me and you.” Miz talks his mouth, but Sheamus will just use his hands. And the fight is on!
Sheamus DECKS Morrison, tosses Miz, but Morrison jumps on! Sheamus throws him off, stomps him down and throws more hands! Miz returns to SMASH Sheamus with the briefcase! And again! And again! Miz and Morrison have fired the first shot, but will McIntyre make sure to fire back harder when they have their tag match?
Asuka & Lana VS Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler!
Before making their entrance, the Empress of Tomorrow and Ravishing Russian discuss backstage. It’s mostly in Japanese from Asuka but Lana just nods and agrees. They fire up and Asuka heads out first! Sarah asks Lana about that strategy talk, but Lana says we wouldn’t understand. Just know that they’re about to beat the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions again! Will they find a way to do that twice in two weeks against two angry and powerful opponents?
Raw returns as Lana makes her entrance. Sarah interviews Nia and Shayna now, asking about that loss last week, their first as a team. How confident are they in this rematch? Nia says, “First of all, ew. Second of all, last week was a fluke.” They made a mistake, Lana and Asuka got lucky. Shayna says she did her part. Nia was busy not putting Lana through a table! So this is Nia’s fault?! This is what Shayna has to deal with. “As an athlete, losing to Asuka, that’s one thing. But Lana? Are you serious?!” Nia says no mistakes. Tonight is their A Game, bringing Asuka to her knees and smashing Lana through the table again. The tag champions make their entrance and this second try begins!
Shayna starts with Lana and they tie up. Shayna sweeps the legs and tells her to get up. Lana does, Shayna waistlocks and slams her down. Lana gets away, Shayna waistlocks again but Lana blocks the lift to drop toehold, and facelock! Lana holds on as Shayna rolls, then Lana Oklahoma Rolls, ONE! Shayna CLOBBERS Lana, then tells Nia she’s got this. Lana kicks Shayna then tags Asuka! Asuka dropkicks Shayna down, Nia runs in but Asuka baits her in and Lana dumps her out! Lana and Asuka run to double baseball slide, but they get caught! The tag champs double SWING them into the barriers, and again, and again! Shayna and Nia dump Lana and Asuka down, and Raw goes to break!
Raw returns and Nia scoops Asuka, but Asuka slips out to tag Lana! Lana gets in, fires off kicks and hands, but Nia fireman’s carries. But Lana shifts to a sleeper hold! Nia throws Lana off, but Lana is up again! Nia blocks the slap and ELBOWS Lana down! Nia kicks Lana around, drags her up and shouts, “Who do you think you are?!” Nia chokes Lana on the ropes until the ref counts 4, and then throws her away! Nia drags Lana back up, TOSSES her across the way, and Lana flounders to the corner. Nia runs in and corner splashes! Lana is down, Asuka shouts for her to get up and Nia dares Lana to try. “You’re pathetic!”
Lana hits back but Nia pushes her down to tag in Shayna. The champs mug Lana and Nia shoves Lana down. Shayna gets a leg and pulls on it with the toehold. Lana endures, reaches for Asuka, clubs Shayna but Shayna just turns her over to isolate the ankle! Shayna STOMPS Lana’s foot! Lana crawls but Shayna drags Lana up to whip her out of the ring! Lana tumbles down, Nia tags in and slaps Lana around. She throws Lana into barriers! “You think you can hang with us?!” Nia drags Lana up and scoops her to then aim for a post. Lana slips off to POST Nia!! The ring count is 7, Lana gets in! Nia gets in at 9.9 and tags in Shayna!
Shayna grabs Lana, but Lana still tags Asuka! CODE BREAKER for Nia! Hip attack for Nia! Shayna runs into an elbow, and then a boot! Asuka goes up, missile dropkicks Shayna down, then adds a hip attack! Cover, TWO! Asuka fires up to fire off kicks! Asuka runs but Shayna dodges! DOUBLJE ROUNDHOUSES take both women down! But Lana tags in! Lana goes up top, bad leg and all, to LEAP, for a crossbody! But Shayna rolls through! And pops Lana into the KIRAFUDA KLUTCH! Nia yanks Asuka down, Shayna drags Lana away, but Asuka fights Nia off and gets in to save Lana! Lana covers, Lana and Asuka win!!
Winners: Lana & Asuka, by pinfall
Nia can’t believe it! The Raw Women’s Champion and Ravishing Russian have beaten the tag team champions again! They get out of there as fast as Lana can limp, will there be a third time around, with gold on the line?
Drew McIntyre finds Sheamus backstage.
McIntyre asks if it’s alright. Oh is it somehow funny? Miz using that briefcase? Well a little. But Miz was right: that was must-see TV. Sheamus admits there was some fun in that. But thanks for (not) coming out there to help him. If the roles were reversed, Sheamus would do the same. See? This is why they get along so well. Now is he ready to knock the heads off those two muppets? Of course! That was the appetizer. The match will be the main course!
Xavier Woods w/ Kofi Kingston VS Cedric Alexander w/ The Hurt Business!
With the controversy in the Raw Tag Team Championships match, things continued, and ended up going the New Day’s way anyway! Will Alexander help the Hurt Business make up for those losses?
Raw returns and Kofi says that just because Thanksgiving has moved on doesn’t mean they stopped being thankful! In fact, they’re very thankful that Xavier Woods, aka Austin Creed, is a pivotal part in the revival of the greatest video game television network, G4! Woods says being in the WWE is great, being the future King of the Ring, oh it’s happening, that’s great. But this is also great, because video games are his happy place. They’re where he comes from, it’s where his people are, so he wants to thank everyone who has ever even been in an UpUpDownDown video, ever watched an UpUpDownDown video or even bought something from UUDD Shop! If you’ve supported him in any way, thank you and it means more to him than you’ll ever know. #CreedForG4!
But to practice the new hosting responsibilities, Woods will give us a recap of how the Hurt Business failed to take the W, W, E, Raw, Tag, Team, Championships~! Not once, not twice, but TREE TIMES, brotha! And it all started just two weeks ago! Flashback transition for the footage. Alexander took the Daybreak in part one, then there was some cheating in “part deux.” It cost Hurt Business because of the count-out! And in that same night, part three was the restarted match, Woods sunset flips Benjamin! Hurt Business must be hurting! But speaking of Hurt Business, they make their entrance to interrupt!
“You clowns are in desperate need of a wake-up call from this ridiculous dream sequence that your in.” MVP says the math is off. It is 2-2, because the referees raised their hands when New Day got counted out. But that’s okay! Next time the New Day puts the titles up, their historic reign will all seem like a distant memory. Because Hurt Business just won’t take the titles, they will hurt the New Day. This ends with the New Day sent into the next dream sequence. Alexander says it was “pure, dumb luck” that helped Woods pin Benjamin. That luck runs out against Alexander! Alexander will show them why they’re the Hurt Business! Woods better make that G4 job a dream come true, because Alexander’s going to be his nightmare!
Woods hands Kofi his trombone, and Alexander attacks! He pulls the title belt off Woods and says this is going to be his whether we like it or not! The ref tries to restore order as Raw goes to break.
Raw returns and Woods fires off furious fists on Alexander! Woods then CHOPS Alexander, bumps him off buckles, and throws body shots and more CHOPS! Woods wrenches, clubs the arm, then wrenches again. Alexander ROCKS Woods back and knocks him down! Alexander runs, Woods stays down then clobbers Alexander with an elbow! Alexander bails out, Woods WRECKS him with a dropkick! Woods puts Alexander in, GET OVER HERE gets blocked! Alexander hangs Woods out to dry on the ropes! Alexander KICKS Woods down, finally takes his shirt off, and SMOTHERS Woods with it! The ref reprimands and Alexander stops, to then club away on Woods’ back!
Alexander wraps on a rear bearhug, digs his elbows then pulls on a leg. Woods endures, Alexander drags him into a chinlock. Woods fights up, throws body shots, and throws Alexander away. Alexander comes back but misses in the corner, and Woods CHOPS! Alexander just grits his teeth and headlocks again. Woods arm-drags free, CHOPS again, then CHOPS again! Alexander throws body shots and clamps on another chinlock. Woods uses a jawbreaker to get free! Both men slowly rise, Kofi rallies for Woods while MVP coaches Alexander. Woods CHOPS, CHOPS and CHOPS! And chops chops chops chops! Woods whips, Alexander reverses but Woods slides under to ROLLING ELBOW!
Woods rallies, LEG LARIATS, and fires up as Alexander flounders! Mule kick and Woods puts Alexander on the ropes, for the running slide attack! Kofi is fired up for Woods as he gets in, HONOR ROLL! Cover, TWO! MVP coaches Alexander as Woods drags him up and reels him in. Alexander resists the lift but Woods clubs him. Woods gets Alexander up, Alexander slips out to BRAIN BUSTER! Cover, TWO!! Alexander grits his teeth while Kofi keeps clapping and MVP keeps shouting. Alexander kicks Woods at the ropes, and again, and again, and again! The ref counts, Alexander stops at 4, but he has Woods on the apron. Alexander brings Woods up, Woods resists and the two fight for suplex control.
Alexander mule kicks and shoves Woods to barriers, then he DIVES! But Woods sends Alexander into barriers! The ring count climbs again, Woods puts Alexander in at 6! Woods gets in at 8, clutches that back, but Alexander hits LUMBAR CHECK!! Cover, Alexander wins!!
Winner: Cedric Alexander, by pinfall
MVP and Benjamin are relieved that their young associate just scored big! He is a bit too fired up though as he goes up the ramp without them. Is Alexander going into business for himself?
AJ Styles talks with Jordan Omogbehin backstage.
Styles is considering a gold chain of his own, but then Riddle comes by to talk with “Skipper.” What does he want? Big match tonight, y’know. The “Sudden Death” Triple Threat. This is serious. Yeah it is! The winner gets a title match! Riddle’s never had the world title. Styles had the title, but he lost it, and hasn’t had it back since. Well that will change when Styles wins tonight’s match. Well hop out of the way, Skipper, this stallion is getting the carrot tonight. Omogbehin laughs, and Styles asks why. Because Skipper is also the name of Riddle’s pet bunny. How does he know that?
Never mind! It doesn’t matter about that. Plus, rabbits don’t skip, they hop. Name your rabbit “Hoppy.” Can’t, that’s his turtle’s name. Also, Styles reminds Riddle about Skipper the rabbit: he’s got great ups; is very furry; and is pretty cute. Styles shoves Riddle. Is that cute?! Whoa, what’d he do? Styles has no time for this! He and Jordan heads out but Riddle says he’ll get them back. Because that match is NEXT!
WWE World Championship #1 Contender’s Triple Threat: Keith Lee VS Matt Riddle VS AJ Styles w/ Jordan Omogbehin!
The Limitless One beat Bobby Lashley, the Original Bro beat the Fella, and though he had help from The Fiend, the Phenomenal One did beat The Viper. But who wins this star-studded match to take on Drew McIntyre at TLC?
Raw returns as Styles and “Omos” head to the ring, followed by Riddle’s entrance. The bell rings and Riddle runs at Styles! Style avoids the knee but drags Riddle out. Riddle throws Styles into barriers, but goes up for Keith to DECK him! Styles gets up, Keith knocks him off the apron, then Keith builds speed! Keith sees Riddle and Styles run away, so Keith goes out to pursue Styles. They go around the way, get back in and Styles stomps Keith down. Riddle returns to throw forearms on Styles! And kicks! Riddle throws more forearms, whips Styles but Styles reverses to throat chop! Styles stomps Riddle, Keith grabs Styles! Keith also grabs Riddle, and shoves them both to then HURDLE them both!? Riddle KICKS Styles, Keith CROSSBODIES Riddle! Cover, TWO!
Keith looms over Riddle, drags him up and CLUBS him to ropes! Keith drags Riddle back up to put him in a corner and throw body shots! Keith sees Styles coming, kicks him first and then RAMS him into Riddle! Keith whips Styles and pops him up for a BIG back drop! Styles flounders, Keith ROCKS Riddle with a running forearm! Riddle flounders, Keith brings Riddle around but Riddle fires off CHOP after CHOP! Keith knees low, CLUBS Riddle down, and Riddle writhes! Keith looms over Riddle, stands on a hand, and then lets off to bring Riddle up. Riddle fires off body shots and forearms! Keith DECKS Riddle with a left!
Riddle sits up, Keith drags him up again, and then Keith throws more heavy hands! Keith swings again but Riddle gets around to boot Keith to the apron! Riddle runs into a choke grip and Keith bumps Riddle off buckles! Keith DECKS Riddle, but Styles bumps Keith off the apron! Keith shoves Styles at Omos, and Omos pops Styles up to the apron to KNEE Styles! Riddle triangle enziguris Styles! Riddle goes to the apron, SPRINGBOARD FLOATING BRO! Riddle has bowled both opponents over and is fired up as Raw goes to break!
Raw returns and Riddle KICKS Styles, KICKS Keith, BROTONS Styles then KICKS Keith down! And drops a BROTON! And another! Cover, ONE!? Styles gets up but Riddle gut wrench suplexes him! And drops a Broton onto boots! Riddle goes flying and now Styles and Keith get up. Styles throws forearms but Keith throws Styles! Keith whips Styles corner to corner, Styles tries to slide but he still clips the post! Riddle is in a corner and Keith runs in to corner splash! Keith TOSSES Riddle across the way! Riddle ends up in the other corner, for another corner splash from Keith! And another TOSS, too!
Keith keeps his focus as he looms over Riddle. Keith drags Riddle up, but Riddle throws more strikes! Keith HEADBUTTS! Riddle wobbles, Keith pops him up, but Riddle fights off the bomb! Riddle has an arm, tries to drag Keith down, but Keith stays up! Styles gets in and Keith swings Riddle into him! Riddle still has the arm but he can’t pull Keith down! Keith uses that one arm to pull Riddle up, but Riddle keeps trying! Keith gets Riddle up and off, Riddle ROUNDHOUSES! Riddle forearms Styles, runs to forearm Keith, and back to Styles! BROSPLODER! Riddle runs at Keith, but Keith POUNCES him!
Keith wobbles, Styles and Riddle both flounder, Keith covers Riddle, TWO! Keith grabs Styles, throws knees then scoops. Styles slips off, fires off the Phenomenal Blitz, and an enziguri! FLYING FOREARM! Cover, TWO!! Styles keeps his cool as he drags Keith to a drop zone. That alone takes a lot, but Styles goes to the corner. Styles goes up top, but Keith rises to HEADBUTT! Keith climbs up to join Styles, but Riddle adds on! Riddle clubs Keith, gets underneath, and has him for a powerbomb, but the back gives out! Keith TOSSES Riddle, Styles crossbodies! Cover, TWO and Styles lands on Riddle for a cover! TWO!!
Styles drags Riddle up, reel shim in, but Keith disrupts the Clash! Styles elbows free, Riddle ROUNDHOUSES Keith! Styles hits Riddle with the Blitz but ducks a roundhouse! Riddle spins Styles for his PELE! Riddle gets Styles for a GERMAN SUPLEX! Bridging cover, TWO! Keith waistlocks Riddle, GERMANS, but Riddle lands on his feet! Riddle runs into a fireman’s carry but slips off, Keith ROCKS him with a forearm! Riddle SLAPS back! Keith Grizzly Magnums! Riddle FINAL FLASH! Riddle hits another FINAL FLASH! PHENOMENAL FOREARM!! Cover, Styles wins!!
Winner: AJ Styles, by pinfall (NEWÂ #1 Contender to the WWE World Championship)
The Phenomenal One found a phenomenal window of opportunity, and now HE has the golden opportunity at TLC! Will Styles make sure he has the most phenomenal end to the year by becoming a three-time world champion?
Backstage interview with The Miz & Morrison.
They just saw Styles become #1 contender, but Charly Caruso wants to ask them about earlier tonight on MizTV. They like watching that again, but Charly says their plan to stir the pot only backfired. Do they have a new strategy? Is that a real question? Do they look like idiots? Of course they have a plan! They set their eyes on Orton, and boom! The title is now on McIntyre. We just saw a new #1 contender be named in Styles, so McIntyre will have to worry about that. And then there’s tonight’s tag match, with Sheamus, who you can’t trust. And of course, Miz has THE MITB briefcase. CHA-CHING!
Charly is hearing all this, but it sounds like a bunch of facts and no real plan. Wait, Morrison has an idea! Let’s leave! They go, but will they be able to cook up a strategy for Sheamus and McIntyre?
Dana Brooke VS Reckoning w/ Retribution!
The Flex Appeal was blindsided by Retribution’s lone female superstar and it kept Dana from being part of Survivor Series! Dana wants revenge, will she get it by ruining Reckoning’s Raw in-ring debut?
Raw returns and Reckoning is in the ring. The bell rings and Reckoning shotgun dropkicks Dana! Then she runs in, but Dana dodges the boot to fire off haymakers! The mask comes off and Dana CLOBBERS Reckoning! Dana rains down hands, covers, TWO! Another cover, ONE! Dana drags Reckoning up, puts her in the corner to whip corner to corner, but Reckoning comes back to CLOBBER Dana! Reckoning shoves Dana to a corner and CHOPS her! And CHOPS her! Reckoning CHOPS and JABS and CHOPS and JABS over and over! The ref counts, Reckoning stops at 4 to snapmare and KICK Dana!
Reckoning clamps onto Dana with a chinbar, then a motorcycle stretch. Dana endures the knee in her back but Reckoning goes back to the chinbar. Dana fights her way up, throws body shots and then jawbreakers free! Dana is back in the corner, and she BOOTS Reckoning away! Reckoning runs into an elbow, then Dana rallies with clotheslines! Dana runs in at the corner, handspring back elbow and a snapmare! Dana stays fired up but Ali distracts! Ali gets away, Dana sees the boot coming and rolls Reckoning up! Dana wins!!
Winner: Dana Brooke, by pinfall
The Retribution tactics didn’t work out and Ali is furious! Ali says Reckoning is embarrassing him! There is NO failure in Retribution! Will Reckoning take that to heart and make sure Dana pays for this?
Styles and Omos talk more backstage.
Miz and Morrison come by and applaud that “phenomenal performance.” What better way to celebrate than with pie? It’s peach because Styles is from Georgia. Okay cut the crap, you two. Styles knows how hard it’ll beat to beat McIntyre cashing in, so they want Styles’ help. And he’ll do it! Wow, really? They didn’t think he’d be so willing. Wait, why is he so willing? They haven’t figured it out? Styles would have an easier time beating Miz at TLC than McIntyre. Morrison agrees. Sorry. But Styles says, “I’ll see you out there, champ.” Oh, and he’ll accept the pie after all. Look at that pie, baby! Peach pie is good pie. Omos says that’s not a pie, that’s a cupcake. Is it just cuz he’s so big? Anyway, will Styles get an even easier time at the PPV when Mr. MITB becomes THE WWE World Champion?
MVP finds Riddle backstage.
What happened, bro? His opportunity died a sudden death. Well losing sucks. But at least Riddle had the opportunity, unlike Lashley because MVP cost him. What did he say? Hey, c’mon, they now have a bunch of free time for his business shoots. So he wants to pitch MVP now? No, Riddle’s not really a baseball fan. But Riddle does love gardening. And y’know what’s hard about gardening? Weeding. You can hire Lawn Bros to make your place weed-less! Then if you and your bros get the munchies from all the weed, Riddle can team up with Dunkin’ to form “Bronuts!”
MVP is already tired. These ideas are dumb, Riddle is ridiculous, and MVP is glad Riddle lost. MVP pie faces Riddle and Riddle gets riled up! But then Lashley shows up to ram Riddle into trunks and put him in the HURT LOCK! Riddle flails but fades and Lashley throws him down. “Pleasure doing business with you, bro.” The Hurt Business CEO just put the hurt on Riddle, but will he come to pay for it?
Sheamus and Keith Lee meet backstage.
What does Keith want? Keith says it’s none of his business, but some of the fellas think Sheamus is going to turn on his friend. Well they’re right: it’s none of their business. Sheamus is going to go out there and “turn” on his tag partner.
Charly Caruso is in the ring.
She welcomes her special guest, Drew McIntyre! The Scottish Warrior makes his entrance, complete with kilt, claymore sword and pyro! Charly says McIntyre has been very busy lately, but just take us back to when he beat Orton to become a two-time world champion, and his all-out war with Roman Reigns. McIntyre says it feels “damn good” to once again be WWE Champion. And sometimes, you have to get knocked on your arse to figure out who you are. McIntyre said he’d Claymore Orton’s head off, pin him and get the title back. What happened? He Claymore’d Orton’s head off, pinned him, and got the title back. McIntyre is a man of his word.
McIntyre also told Roman he’d humble him, knock him off his pedestal, and bring that “arrogant bastard” down to Earth. It did happen, too. You can tell a lot looking in a man’s eyes. Roman started the match confident as could be. And why not? Roman is great as he says he is, 99% of the time. But then things turned to confusion and frustration after McIntyre kicked out of every Spear! Then the part that upsets McIntyre, cousin Jey had to interfere and Roman won! “Roman, you know what I’m about now. Our paths, they’re gonna cross again.” Roman won the battle but McIntyre will win the war, #BelieveThat. But let’s look to the future and TLC!
Charly agrees, and we know tonight that the title will be defended against AJ Styles. How does McIntyre keeps his eyes on that while worrying about Miz and the MITB contract? There’s no beef with Styles. Everyone wants the title. And that match is a treat for the fans because it will be phenomenal. But the only thing keeping Miz relevant IS that briefcase, so Miz shouldn’t cash it in. If he does, McIntyre will have to take Morrison, fold him up, shove him inside the briefcase, and then stick that “where the sun don’t shine.” Get it? Got it? GOOD! Time for the tag match!
Drew McIntyre & Sheamus VS The Miz & John Morrison!
The Celtic Warrior joins the Scottish Warrior, and it’s time to go to war with the Greatest Tag Team of the 21st Century! *stare off into the distance* But will McIntyre be able to keep his eyes on the prize when even Styles wants Miz to cash in tonight?
Raw returns and speaking of Styles, he and Omos have appeared on commentary! Miz and Morrison make their entrance, the teams sort out, and Miz starts with Sheamus. Sheamus tackles Miz into the corner, fires off hands then hits Morrison, too! Sheamus brings Miz up for a Fall Away Salm! Miz gets out., McIntyre puts him back in and Sheamus CLOBBERS Miz! Sheamus throws Miz to the corner and dares Morrison to tag in. Morrison does, he spins to kick, but goes Matrix to avoid the clothesline! Morrison kips up, but Sheamus comes back to clobber him! Sheamus puts Morrison in the corner, stomps a mudhole in, McIntyre tags in. Sheamus says he wasn’t ready but McIntyre says it’s fine.
McIntyre TOSSES Morrison to a corner, but Morrison blocks the chop to spin and get a headlock. McIntyre powers out, and then BLASTS Morrison with a shoulder! Morrison goes flying, staggers up and gets run over again! Tag to Sheamus, the warriors double whip, McIntyre body shots and Sheamus knee lifts! Morrison tumbles out, Sheamus drags Morrison up on the apron for beats of the Bodhrain! Miz swings but Sheamus catches him for some beats! Sheamus gives Miz all 10, then turns around to pick Morrison up! Fireman’s carry and ROLLING SENTON! Sheamus sees Miz stagger up, scoops him, ROLLING SENTON onto Morrison!
Sheamus taunts Styles to join in on the fun, or is he too scared? Is that why he hides behind Omos? Styles gets off commentary to talk trash back and Sheamus goes out to get up close. Miz runs up, Sheamus DECKS him! Sheamus turns around to see Omos and thinks better of it. Sheamus is on the apron, Morrison dropkicks him onto the announce desk! Styles taunts Sheamus as Raw goes to break!
Raw returns and Sheamus throws body shots on Morrison. Sheamus whips, Morrison reverses but Sheamus kicks back. Morrison kicks him back, tags Miz in, and they drag Sheamus up for the basement DDT! Cover, TWO! Miz taunts McIntyre, drags Sheamus up and rams knees in. Sheamus endures the chinbar but Miz claws at his face! The ref reprimands and counts, Miz stops at 4 and tags in Morrison. Morrison runs to SHINING WIZARD! Miz runs to BOOT! STANDING SHOOTING STAR! Cover, TWO! Morrison keeps Sheamus down and kicks him around then clubs him to the corner. Morrison keeps Sheamus down with body scissors as Sheamus tries to reach McIntyre!
Sheamus fights and McIntyre reaches while fans clap on their screens. Sheamus fights up, fights out with body shots, but Morrison hits low! Morrison kicks, Sheamus ducks and KNEES Morrison down! Both men are down and McIntyre shouts to Sheamus! Miz shouts at Morrison, too, hot tags to Miz and McIntyre! McIntyre rallies with big clotheslines, and a whip to an OVERHEAD SUPLEX! And another! Morrison springboards but McIntyre catches him, for an OVERHEAD SUPLEX of his own! Miz swings, into McIntyre’s neckbreaker! McIntyre kips up and says it’s time for some fun!
McIntyre aims from the corner but Sheamus wants in! McIntyre goes over but Morrison drags Sheamus down to POST him, and TOSS him over barriers! Styles springboards in to PHENOMENAL FOREARM McIntyre!!
Winners: Drew McIntyre & Sheamus, by disqualification
The plan is coming together! Styles sets McIntyre up for the cash-in! Miz is too angry about the tag match but Morrison says he’ll add on! STARSHIP PAIN!! Miz and Morrison drag McIntyre up, SKULL CRUSHING FINALE! Omos fetches the briefcase for Styles, and he hands it to the ref. The Miz snatches the case from the ref, this is not Styles’ case! But Morrison and Styles both convince Miz to do this! Miz says cash in, but McIntyre throws Morrison out! CLAYMORE to Miz! No cash-in this time, and McIntyre glares at Styles. Styles says he can explain. But instead, Styles bails out and has Omos get him out of there!
Styles says this is Omos is saving McIntyre. Styles says McIntyre won’t survive when these two face off! “You’re the luckiest man alive!” McIntyre says Styles can go ahead and piss him off. Who cares about “Jackass the Beanstalk?” But will Styles continue to conspire with Miz and Morrison to create openings for the MITB briefcase?
My Thoughts:
A really good episode of Raw with a lot of great action. The opening with the new twisted Moment of Bliss was a quick way of escalating things for Orton VS Fiend. Orton teased the moment he RKO’D Stacy Kiebler back in the day by subtly threatening Alexa, and that’s obviously the point of him holding onto Alexa when The Fiend showed up. The Fiend didn’t want Orton hitting Alexa with a powerslam or somehow getting her into an RKO, and it seems to show that is the one sliver of good inside Fiend. I don’t know how this will affect the match they will end up having, but maybe if it turns into a Firefly Fun House, they actually do bring up the Kiebler RKO to make a point of how dangerous Orton can be.
Retribution returning turned out alright, it didn’t really drag anything down because they kept it all pretty concise. Slapjack wins because of a numbers like Ali did before, but I already love that sidewinding back suplex! But then on the flipside, Ali tries to help Reckoning and Dana still manages to win, not sure if that’s how they should’ve done that. The mask fell off pretty easy, too, Mia Yim may have to reassess what she wears for her character. Too bad no one on commentary just quickly said, “Wait, doesn’t she look familiar? I swear I’ve seen her somewhere before.” Maybe there’s an alliance of Ricochet, Dana and someone else against Retribution?
The Symphony of Destruction was pretty fun, until Jeff Hardy almost did himself like Matt Hardy did at AEW All Out. Do the Hardy boys just not think the math through on their high risk spots? Move the steel steps out of the way before doing that insane Swanton off the corner to the table! Hardy winning might finally end this story, but who knows. We got amazing stuff from New Day and Hurt Business tonight. Alexander was on fire, he gets a huge win, and that detail of him praising himself while leaving the others behind could be a sign of ego and dysfunction in the group already. I suppose that’s fine, but hopefully there’s no breaking up already because this group has been strong.
The Triple Threat being given a nickname is dumb, and you could tell they justified it by making jokes about it tonight. The Triple Threat itself was amazing, and it makes sense for Styles to win. Riddle has stuff with Hurt Business now as Lashley went after him and this will clearly set up a title match of Lashley VS Riddle at TLC. I’m both amused and disappointed that Riddle’s new character trait is being that overly talkative kind of annoying. He annoyed Keith into leaving, and obviously he annoyed Styles, and it’s part of why MVP didn’t want to do actual business with Riddle. Lashley VS Riddle is definitely a great match because both men are legit, and is a match where they won’t need any of the TLC related stipulations to make it better. Those guys just need a solid 20 minutes to do whatever they want.
Asuka & Lana VS Nia & Shayna was a good segment, and it made it more obvious that instead of a Raw Women’s Championship match, we’re getting a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match like last year. I have a feeling that with titles on the line, and perhaps a stipulation added on, that could at least make it seem like Lana has a chance of finally having a title, only for the champs to retain. Because while it’s great for Lana to be winning things out of good fortune, I don’t think she and Asuka need to be connected by the belts, even if only for a little bit.
Then, with Styles winning the Triple Threat, I like how he’s immediately agreed to help Miz and Morrison because of the obvious logic that yes, McIntyre is tougher than Miz. Them trying to turn Sheamus on McIntyre is also a smart detail, because it’s what some fans even expected. I honestly hope Sheamus stays a friend of McIntyre’s and he works to keep Miz from cashing in, but chances are if a betrayal is what we’re expecting, that’s what Vince is going to do. I do like Styles acting like “Omos” getting him out of there is them sparing McIntyre. I feel like the cash-in should happen at TLC, after McIntyre and Styles are deep into a TLC match.
My Score: 8.4/10
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Time to burn it down!
Ahead of entering the Royal Rumble, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre go one more round in a rematch from WrestleMania 40!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Kofi Kingston w/ Xavier Woods VS Rey Mysterio; Rey wins.
- Bayley VS Nia Jax; Nia wins.
- PENTA VS Pete Dunne; Penta wins.
- Damage CTRL VS Pure Fusion Collective; DMG CTRL wins.
- Seth Rollins VS Drew McIntyre; Rollins wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
Nia Jax ambushes Rhea Ripley!
The Irresistible Force is here on Raw to face Bayley, but she’s getting her payback on Mami for last week! She dribbles Rhea into the steel chain link fencing again and again, even as security and Adam Pearce rush in! They get Nia to stop, but Rhea is pissed! Will Nia regret riling up Rhea Bloody Ripley?
Jey Uso is here!
Dallas fires up and bounces along as it’s time to YEET! Michael Cole does his best to keep up with the beat as Main Event Jey makes his way down the bleachers. Wade Barrett is subbing in for Pat McAfee (the NCAA College Football Championship is also tonight), and Wade says Maggle looks like a “drunk grandpa” doing the YEET. Jey makes it to ringside, he high fives Maggle, then goes to the ring. But the YEET doesn’t slow down, it just keeps going! Jey grabs a mic and tells Dallas, “Main Event Jey Uso is now in your citaaaaaa~!” The fans cheer and join in with a “YEET!” Jey says this weekend, “YEET!” Saturday Night’s Main Event, “YEET!” Jey takes home the big one!
But then before Jey can continue, GUNTHER makes his way out here! Der Ring General, World Heavyweight Championship around his waist, makes his way right to the ring. Gunther grabs himself a mic while the fans boo. Jey paces but Gunther tells him, “Lemme guess, the next thing you were about to say is you were going to win the World Heavyweight title.” Jey confirms, he is gonna beat Gunther, then hang the title up in his room. Gunther says Jey really is “a funny little man.” But let’s not act like we both know it won’t happen. Last week, Jey was right here in front of Gunther, and he said every morning, he looks in the mirror and bets on himself.
The thing is, Gunther believes Jey. Gunther was looking forward to Saturday to square off with Main Event Jey Uso. Until today, when he saw Jey walking in here acting like that conversation last week never happened. Not after seeing Jey act like a complete DORK! Like he’s the company mascot for the fans! At this point, Gunther doesn’t even care. He could jsut as well get challenged by Jimmy Uso. Jey tells Gunther to not say something about his brother. Gunther says it doesn’t matter what Jey says, he never follows up with his actions! The fans are the only ones naive enough to believe everything Jey says. Gunther does not.
Bet on yourself? Until when? Until Roman Reigns whistles for him? Until Sami Zayn needs him? Until Jimmy needs him? Even Cody needed Jey and Jey showed up! All that makes Jey is a useful idiot, and Jey doesn’t even see it! Jey, your words and your actions do not align. Gunther’s always do! So on Saturday, when the bell rings, Gunther exposes Jey for the flash in the pan that has NO business being even this close to the World Heavyweight Championship. The fans boo but Gunther tells Jey to go. The fans “YEET! YEET! YEET!” but Jey says Gunther’s right again. Everything Gunther just said is true again.
Jey is the mascot of the WWE. And the fans here are his team. The fans are his squad. They ride with him! “YEET!” Slide with him! “YEET!” And they will be with him when he beats Gunther for the world championship! “YEET!” Jey reminds us he respects Gunther. But Gunther will respect Jey, too. Because only one of them in this ring main-evented a WrestleMania, and it ain’t Gunther. But then Gunther DECKS Jey! Gunther stomps Jey, the fans boo, but then Gunther DECKS Jey again! Gunther stands Jey up, but Jey TACKLES Gunther! Jey rains down fists and teh fans fire up! Gunther gets up, but Jey fires more hands!
Jey has Gunther’s shirt over his head for a hockey scrum! Gunther gets free, but Jey SUPERKICKS him down! The fans all “YEET!” while Der Ring General retreats! Jey has the belt and he dares Gunther to come get it! Jey drops it at the ropes, Gunther storms up to the apron, but Gunther stays back. Gunther leaves Dallas with the belt tonight, but will Jey leave San Antonio with it this Saturday?
The New Day walks the halls.
And then they spot someone. “Finally, somebody who understands!” JBL is here! They all shake hands, and JBL loves seeing them. Kofi Kingston says JBL is not just a champion and a Hall of Famer, but he’ll be on commentary tonight for The New Day’s match with that “hypocrite of a locker room leader,” Rey Mysterio. JBL should let New Day know they are the victims of a disgusting smear campaign! Kofi even sweetens the deal with a whole $2. Kofi says JBL understands being in a tag team but having to cut the deadweight to get ahead. And when he did, what happened? He had the greatest success of his career!
Not as great as The New Day, but please, be an acolyte for ya bois! JBL says yes, he does “get it.” Big E, all the muscles and charisma and personality, everywhere they go, the fans love Big E. Everyone chants for New Day, for Big E. You get rid of him, the fans have to pay attention to Kofi & Woods! Wow, okay. Backhanded compliments? Be that way. The New Day heads out, JBL asks if he can keep the two bucks. Will Kofi & Woods finally see who’s really in the wrong? Or will they continue to have a bad day here on Raw?
Backstage interview with Bayley.
Cathy Kelley is with the “busiest superstar” in WWE right now, as Bayley was on Raw, NXTÂ and SmackDown all last week. And she has an announcement to make, so for those who ahven’t heard, could she share? Yes, cat is out of the bag, Bayley is back on Raw officially via the Transfer Window! She started here after her NXT call-up, so it just feels right. But also, she is declaring for the 2025 Women’s Royal Rumble! And if you remember, she won the 2024 Rumble, so going back to back sounds really good. She could choose Tiffany Stratton, she could choose Rhea Ripley, or- Nia Jax interrupts.
Nia says Bayley can have Rhea, Nia gets Tiffy. Also, Nia is going to win the Women’s Rumble, not Bayley. Oh, yeah, Bayley did see what Nia did to Rhea earlier. If Nia wants to try that, Bayley dares her. Nia says she’ll see Bayley out there. Nia leaves, but will the Irresistible Force rough Bayley up the same way she did Rhea? Or will Bayley continue to be the Role Model, even after changing brands?
Kofi Kingston w/ Xavier Woods VS Rey Mysterio!
Raw returns and JBL is out there with Wade and Maggle already. The New Day makes their entrance, and they hate their song! They have it turn off, they get the tron to stop, and Woods says they already told the idiots in production that they’re no longer using that stuff! It’s ya bois, the NEW~ DAY~, and Dallas is starting to piss Kofi off! They have been doing this for too long and too well to be disrespected like this. They are walking Hall of Famers, unlike this FRAUD, JBL! JBL, give him that money back! Kofi snatches it out of JBL’s lapel pocket. Woods says Rey’s getting the brakes beat off him by the one and only Kofi Kingston~! BECAUSE NEW! DAY- “SUCKS!”
The fans chant “NEW! DAY SUCKS!” and the bell rings. Kofi and Rey circle, feel things out, and Kofi waistlocks to then headlock, waistlock, and he shoves Rey to a corner. The fans boo but Kofi soaks up that heat. JBL says this is the only time he’ll cheer a “deadbeat dad” like Rey. Rey and Kofi tie up, Rey waistlocks but Kofi switches to SLAM Rey down! Kofi slaps Rey around, and the fans boo as Kofi & Woods soak up the heat. Kofi taunts Rey, Rey and Kofi reset, and they tie up. Rey wrenches, hammerlocks, but Kofi wrenches out. Kofi wristlocks, Rey rolls and kips up, then Rey wrenches to headlock.
Kofi powers up and out, drops down then CLOBBERS Rey! The fans boo but Kofi keeps moving. Rey drops down, blows past Kofi, then tilt-o-whirls to RANA! Kofi staggers up, Rey dropkicks the legs out! Kofi is on ropes, Rey dials it up, but Kofi ducks the 619! Rey then PLANCHAS, but Kofi moves! Rey is on the apron, Kofi YANKS him down! The fans tell Kofi off but he drags Rey up and into the ring. Kofi then fires UPPERCUTS on Kofi, CHOKES him in the corner, then stomps a mudhole in! The ref counts, Kofi steps off, and then Kofi whips corner to corner. Rey reverses, runs up, but Kofi SWING KICKS! Rey GAMANGIRIS in return!
Rey RAMS Kofi, slingshots and SUNSET- NO, Kofi holds on, and he CLUBS Rey down! The fans boo but Kofi brings Rey in! Woods says watch this, “Hall of Famer!” Kofi lifts Rey, Rey pops free, but Kofi stomps away on him! Kofi glares at JBL, then he drags Rey up. The fans boo but Kofi SMACKS Rey off the apron. Kofi then reels Rey in, but Rey RANAS Kofi into the steel steps! The fans fire up as Rey rises, and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns and Kofi has Rey down with an armlock. Rey fights to his feet, the fans fire up, and the forearms go back and forth! Kofi ROCKS Rey, Rey ROCKS Kofi, but then Kofi kicks low! Kofi whips, Rey ducks ‘n’ dodges, then Rey leaps to FLYING FOREARM! Both men are down and the fans fire up again. Woods coaches Kofi while Rey goes to the apron. Rey then goes to the corner, but Kofi hurries over that way. Kofi fires body shots, then he climbs up after Rey. Kofi brings Rey up but Rey fires body shots in return! Rey BENDS Kofi’s fingers, then he HEADBUTTS Kofi! Kofi staggers up, Rey hits the SEATED SENTON!
Rey gets moving, but Kofi ducks the springboard crossbody! Kofi sunset flip, but Rey rolls through, basement DROPKICK! Cover, TWO! Kofi goes to a corner, Rey CLUBS him, and the fans rally. The ref gets between them, but Kofi pokes Rey in the eyes! Kofi leaps, CROSSBODY SPLASH to the back! Cover, TWO! The fans rally for Rey as he stays in this. The fans chant “NEW! DAY SUCKS!” Woods argues with a fan, Kofi aims, TROUBLE IN- NO, Rey dodges, then comes back to RANA! Kofi is on ropes, Rey dials it up! But Woods trips Rey! The ref saw that clear as day! Woods argues with the ref, but the ref EJECTS Woods!
The fans fire up while Woods throws a fit! Rey DECKS Woods! But Kofi CLOBBERS Rey! The fans boo, but Kofi hauls Rey up! Rey victory rolls Kofi onto ropes! Rey redials, 619!! And then the springboard, but onto knees! Kofi covers, TWO!! Rey survives, the fans fire up, but Kofi seethes. Kofi hauls Rey up, clinches, S O- NO! Rey makes the SOS a cover, REY WINS!
Winner: Rey Mysterio, by pinfall
But Woods CLBOBERS Rey from behind! The New Day mugs Rey, the fans boo more, but here comes the LWO! Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro run The New Day off! The fans boo, Cruz & Wilde check Rey, but then the New Day sneak back in! They drag Wilde out to POST him! Cruz hurries but now New Day retreats for real! Insult to injury here, but will Kofi & Woods continue to be blinded by their own arrogance?
Backstage interview with Team American Made.
Cathy Kelley waits as Chad Gable is arguing with his own people, then says okay, sorry, he was inspiring the team. But yeah, he’s the talk of the whole freakin’ wrestling world the past week, but he is man enough to admit he has a problem. And it all started with losing to Penta last week! It was Dragon Lee before that, and Rey Mysterio before that. Gable asks, “What’re we gonna do her?” But he’s figured it out! He found a man who knows a thing or two about lucha libre, and that man is intelligent with a mustache to match. That man is Dominik Mysterio! While Dom helps Gable with his lucha problem, the team has their marching order.
Ivy Nile says there’s a Women’s Intercontinental Championship with her name all over it. Brutus says those tag titles should’ve already had their names on them, HAHA~! Julius mocks how War Raiders cry about “One more injury~ and we’re done forever~!” Like that’s something to be proud of? No more asking, they’re just taking! They’ll take those tag titles from a team near the end of their career and put them on a team that’s entering their prime. Gable says this team that bleeds red, white ‘n’ blue will have waists wrapped in gold, and it will be glorious. Team American Made heads out, but can Dirty Dom really help Gable clean up his act?
Sami Zayn is here!
Dallas sings his song, and the Underdog from the Underground goes right to the ring. He grabs a mic and thanks Dallas for that, that never gets old. But he wont’ beat around the bush, he’ll just get right to business. Sami spoke with Adam Pearce, and Sami is now officially entered into the 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble match! The fans like the sound of that! Sami says Rollins told him he’s already helped a lot of others, so time to help himself. Well, Sami thought about that, and thought about what he wants. When he thought about that, it opened a whole bunch of thoughts. Sami pictured what 14-year-old Sami wanted.
Sami thought about what the millions around the world who dream of becoming pro-wrestlers, and the thousands who actually live the dream and get to do it. And then the even smaller group lucky enough to call themselves WWE Superstars. And then the smallest group of all, the hardest to crack into at all, is the upper echelon, the top tier, and that is where Sami is now! The fans cheer, and Sami firmly believes he is as good as everyone else in that group. That group is all in the Royal Rumble, and the only difference between Sami and the others, aka Roman, McIntyre, Rollins, and so on, is that they all have a world title to their name… and Sami doesn’t.
Sami has said it before, he’ll say it again, he’s had a great life, a great career. He doesn’t need the world title to complete him. The fans have supported Sami throughout the years, and believe it or not, that support means more to him than any world title could ever mean! So no, Sami does not need that world title, but DAMMIT, he WANTS it!! The fans love that! Sami says 14-year-old Sami wants that title, and he’s still with Sami! That kid sets foot in this ring every time Sami does. So Sami doesn’t need it, he wants it, so he will TAKE IT! WAIT, Kevin Owens is here!? The fans boo and Sami is certainly stunned seeing SmackDown’s Prizefighter back on Raw.
Kevin, who is still carrying the “Winged Eagle” title, while wearing a Bret Hart merchandise jacket, makes his way to the ring. Kevin grabs the mic, and while fans boo, he looks to Sami. Sami says he knew it was a matter of time before Kevin showed up. How does Kevin wanna do this? Kevin asks what Sami means. Sami knows Kevin. We all saw what Kevin did to Cody over teaming with Roman, so how’s this going down? Aw, is that why Sami thinks Kevin is here? No, Kevin admits, he was upset at first. But he realizes now that Sami teaming with Roman isn’t the same as Cody teaming with Roman.
Sami and Roman had a lot of history, the same as Sami and Kevin. And Roman did terrible things to Sami that Sami overlooked, just as Kevin did to Sami that Sami has overlooked. Or rather, Sami forgave Kevin for those things. Same as him forgiving Roman! Because that is who Sami is: Sami is a good person. And Rollins is right, Sami does a lot for others, especially his friends. And well, Sami is still Kevin’s best friend. A brother even! Kevin is here to tell his brother that he whole heartedly believes Sami can and will win the Royal Rumble. Kevin knows that the Sami he’s known for 20 YEARS will win the Royal Rumble!
And why? Because Sami deserves it! Sami deserves to go to WrestleMania and fight for the WWE Championship, and Kevin knows Sami will do it! Then Kevin and Sami can accomplish one more thing together. Think of everything they’ve done and seen each other do in this business. They main-evented WrestleMania to become tag team champions. But there’s one more thing they haven’t done: main event WrestleMania for THE WWE Championship. And when Sami wins the Rumble, they can do that, so long as Kevin walks away THE WWE Champion. But Kevin knows both of those things are going to happen.
Kevin knows Sami will win the Rumble because Kevin has his back. He does. And Kevin knows he’ll be THE WWE Champion because just like Sami had Roman’s back, he’s got Kevin’s back. Right? Kevin just knows it. Sami is his best friend, his brother, and if Kevin needs him, Sami will be there. Kevin drops his mic and heads out, but Sami is rather confused. Is Kevin suggesting Sami do what it sounds like? What will Sami do on this Road to WrestleMania?
Backstage interview with Sheamus.
Cathy is with The Fella and brings up his Intercontinental Championship match he has this Saturday against Bron Breakker. Why is this title so important to him? Sheamus says many would look at his career, and say he has the perfect backwards WWE career. He was only six months into his career, and he beat one of the biggest names this business has ever seen in John Cena to become WWE Champion. Ironically, the Intercontinental Champioship is what drew Sheamus to the WWE. That title has become an obsession for the past five years, but guess what? The stars are aligned! Saturday Night’s Main Event, Sheamus will bust Bron aside and fulfill destiny!
Sheamus will win the last championship he has yet to win! And for everyone who is watching, Let’s Go, Irish! A quick shoutout to Notre Dame, but then Sheamus spots Bron Breakker. Bron tells Sheamus that this title is Bron’s. This is as close as Sheamus will ever get to winning it. Because on Saturday, Bron beats him and BREAKS him like an old man! So just do us all a favor and retire. Sheamus shoves Bron, but Bron laughs it off and takes his leave. Will the Celtic Warrior finally have his WWE Bingo in another banger? Or will this title still belong to Bron Breakker?
Bayley VS Nia Jax!
The Role Model and the Irresistible Force were just on SmackDown but they’re bringing their beef over to Raw! Will Bayley make her official transfer back a successful one? Or will Nia be rolling towards the Royal Rumble?
Well, well, well, Roxanne Perez seems to be stalking Bayley. She was in the crowd for SmackDown last Friday, and now she’s here in the crowd tonight. The bell rings, Nia runs up, but Bayley dodges! Nia hits buckles, Bayley fires hands, then runs to ELBOW her! Bayley climbs up to rain down fists! The fans count, Bayley ges to 6 before Nia brings her off the corner! Bayley still fights, but Nia stops the rana! Nia brings Bayley up to a fireman’s carry, but Bayley kicks off ropes! TORNADO DDT! Cover, TWO! Nia sits up but Bayley fires hands! Bayley runs, but into a POP-UP HEADBUTT! Bayley sputters, Nia covers, ONE!!
Bayley scrambles away but Nia stalks her. Nia puts Bayley on the ropes, CHOKES her, but the ref counts. Nia lets off at 4, she soaks up some heat, then she HEADBUTTS Bayley again. Bayley goes to a corner, Nia digs her boot in, but the ref counts. Nia stops at 4, the fans boo some more, and Bayley crawls. Nia drags Bayley up, pushes her down, then runs, only for Bayley to avoid the elbow drop! Bayley fires forearms, then whips. Nia takes a swing but Bayley gets around to hit a back suplex! Cover, TWO! Nia is tougher than that but she’s also dazed. Bayley rises, runs in, but Nia URENAGES Bayley down! Now Nia climbs the corner!
The fans fire up as Bayley SHOVES Nia to the apron! Bayley BOOTS Nia to the floor, then builds speed! Bayley DIVES, down goes Nia! The fans fire up and Bayley gets in Roxie’s face! Roxie takes a swing, but Bayley blocks! Bayley DECKS Roxie! The fans go wild, security stops Roxie from getting at Bayley! Bayley mocks the little idiot, then goes back for Nia while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns and Nia drags Bayley up. Nia drops a LEG on the arm! Cover, TWO!! Bayley survives and Nia grows frustrated. Nia taunts Bayley, the fans boo Nia, and Bayley sits up. Nia drags Bayley by her hair, then runs, but Bayley avoids the leg drop! Bayley hurries to ELBOW Nia in the back! And then SLIDING LARIAT! Bayley keeps moving, and drops an ELBOW! Cover, TWO! Nia survives the onslaught but the fans rally for Bayley. Both women slowly rise up, and Bayley runs up to KNEE Nia out to the apron! Bayley then drags Nia in through the ropes, but Nia HOTSHOTS the bad arm!
Bayley writhes, Nia taunts the fans, then Nia goes back to the apron. Nia stands on Bayley’s bad arm! But Bayley avoids another leg drop! Nia clutches her lower back while she and Bayley both rise up again. Bayley runs in to SUNSET FLIP BUCKLE BOMB! Nia flops to the floor and the fans fire up! Bayley leaves Nia behind for the count to handle this. Nia is still down at 5 of 10, and at 7! Nia springs up and in at 8! But Bayley goes up, up, and she hits a BANZAI DROP! Cover, TWO! Bayley didn’t quite A-Nia-Late Nia, but she goes up to ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Nia survives again but if only barely!
The fans rally as Bayley brings Nia up. Nia shoves Bayley away, then scoops her, SHOULDER BUSTER! Cover, TWO! Bayley stays in this and the fans rally up again. Bayley goes to a corner, Nia runs in, and Nia SPLASHES Bayley! Bayley flounders against the ropes, then Nia runs in. Bayley TOSSES Nia to the apron, but Nia ROCKS Bayley! Nia drags Bayley up, and POSTS her! Bayley dangles in the ropes, and Nia snarls. Nia runs to HIP ATTACK Bayley against the post! Bayley flounders back in, the fans boo, and Nia climbs up! But Bayley is up to YANK Nia down! The fans fire up as Bayley runs, and she KNEES Nia down! Cover, TWO!!
Nia survives yet again but the fans continue to rally behind Bayley. Bayley goes up a corner, but now Nia is up! Nia ROCKS Bayley, then climbs up after her. Nia fireman’s carries, but Bayley squirms around! SUPER SUNSET FLIP BOMB!! Cover, TWO?!?! Nia survives that wild fall but Bayley goes right back up! MACHO ELBOW!! Cover, TWO!!! Nia survives again and Bayley is beside herself! Nia and Bayley rise, and the fans fire up again. Bayley reels Nia in, but the bad arm won’t let her clinch! Nia fireman’s carries, but Bayley fights free! Bayley runs, CHOP BLOCKS a leg, then hurries to run again. Nia POP-UP SAMOAN DROPS!!
Nia hurries to SENTON! Then she drags Bayley to a drop zone! Nia goes up, to A-NIA-LATE Bayley! Cover, Nia wins!!
Winner: Nia Jax, by pinfall
A powerful battle between two former champions, but the Irresistible Force crushes Bayley on her return to Raw! But wait! RHEA RIPLEY makes her way out here! Mami wants revenge, and Nia says bring it! They brawl in the ring, the fans fire up, and Rhea HEADBUTTS Nia! Rhea RAMS Nia into the corner again and again, but here comes security! The fans want to “LET THEM FIGHT!” but the two are separated! But then Nia breaks free to SPLASH Rhea and whoever else was in the way! Nia CLUBS away on Rhea, producers and refs rush out here to stop this, but Rhea is up! She LEAPS at Nia for more!
The fans are thunderous as Rhea shoves everyone out of the way to ROUNDHOUSE Nia! Nia falls out of the ring, but rhea isn’t done! Rhea goes to the apron, but Nia trips her up! Nia DRIBBLES Rhea off the announce desk! Nia now clears the desk, and Adam Pearce is shouting that this is enough! Nia puts Rhea on the desk, but security swarms her! Wait, Rhea is back up! CANNONBALL!! Rhea takes Nia and the security guards out! The fans fire up but producers have to drag Rhea away from Nia! Dallas cheers on “MAMI! MAMI!” and she grabs a mic. Rhea gets on the desk to shout, “YOU! ME! SATURDAY NIGHT’S MAIN EVENT!!”
The fans are all fired up, because now things are going to get wild in San Antonio! But will the Queen of the Ring A-Nia-Late Rhea? Or will Nia get eradicated?
Judgment Day meets with American Made.
The others aren’t so sure about this, but Chad Gable says Dom said he could help with Gable’s luchador problem. Does he have some info? C’mon! Help him out! Okay, okay. Dom has someone who can help Gable. Dom hands him a piece of paper, and Gable asks, “This is the guy?” Dom says it sure is. Gable tells Judgment Day and “JD McDouche” that he’s off to master the dark arts of lucha libre. The others ask Dom what this is all about. Dom says it’s a long story but he and Gable go way back. Okay, fine, but how does this help Judgment Day? Next week is the tag title rematch but Finn is still out of action from last week’s Street Fight!
Liv Morgan says listening to Finn hasn’t really helped them win, has it? C’mon, Liv, this is serious. They’re gonna have to forfeit! Dom says maybe he could sub in. Finn shouldn’t care so long as they get the titles back, right? JD says yeah, that’s a good point. They’ll get this. Liv says yeah, Finn should be fine. And Dom is quite the mastermind now, huh? Liv just hopes this plan goes better than the one he had for her match with Rhea. Hey, didn’t she say she was over that? Yes, she did. Can Dom not take a joke? Okay, okay. Dom does have a plan for Liv, though. And even though she’s not mad, he’ll make it up to her, okay? Oh, he will. Now, let’s go.
Liv & Dom head out, Raquel tells Carlito to stop staring. Will Judgment Day (not) keep it together?
Lyra Valkyria speaks.
“Last week, I walked into Raw ready to become a history maker. And that meant spreading my wings and shedding any dead feathers that made me doubt the heights I knew I was capable of reaching. I took fear, I took doubt, and I used them to become something more. And now that I have this, it’s about what comes next. And what comes next is building a legacy as a valiant, fighting Women’s Intercontinental Champion.” The Morrigan is ready for more, just how high will she soar?
WWE celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.
He had a dream, and that dream lives on in us. May we keep that dream alive so that it may come true every day.
Seth Rollins warms up backstage.
Sami checks with him and knows the match with McIntyre is coming up. But Sami just wants Rollins to know that as a friend, he appreciated the talk they had last week. Rollins knows, and he heard Sami out there. Rollins respects Sami’s choice. It’s about time we got that Sami back. And Sami is almost rooting for that Sami. But push comes to shove int he Rumble, Rollins will throw Sami right over the top rope. Sami says, “Not if I throw you out first.” Sami again wishes Rollins luck, then heads out. Rollins finishes his preparations, but Karrion Kross is watching from afar! Could Mr. Doomsday have his next target in mind?
PENTA VS Pete Dunne!
#CeroMiedo made its debut in the WWE just last week, and it was a massive hit! But now he’s up against a man who feels disrespected left, right, front and back! Will the Bruiserweight take out all his frustrations on the new kid in class? Or will Penta continue to blow the roof off the arenas?
The bell rings and the fans already chant, “CERO! MIEDO!” Penta tells Dunne to listen, but Dunne grabs the hand! Penta KICKS Dunne, but Dunne CHOPS! Penta CHOPS, Dunne CHOPS, then the forearms start flying! Dunne headlocks, Penta fires body shots, and Penta powers out. Penta hurdles then mule kicks Dunne, and Dunne sputters away. Penta swaggers, but Dunne CLOBBERS him! The fans boo but Dunne grabs an arm. Dunne hammerlocks that arm, pulls on the other, and he bends the fingers back! Dunne STOMPS Penta’s arm! The fans tell Dunne off while Penta writhes, but Dunne drags Penta up again.
Dunne wrenches and whips, but Penta reverses. Then Penta runs up to GAMANGIRI! Penta whips again, Dunne reverses and he GAMANGIRIS! Penta sputters, Dunne brings him up, and Dunne whips. Penta reverses. Dunne goes up and flips and SUPERKICK from Penta! Penta hits Dunne outta the sky and Dunne bails out of the ring! The fans fire up and Penta says, “CERO! MIEDO!” Penta runs and DIVES into a forearm! Dunne gives back that anti-air, then he reels Penta in. APRON X-PLEX! Penta writhes again while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns, Dunne runs up to SLIDING FOREARM Penta down! The fans boo while Penta sputters, but Dunne runs up to SLIDINGN FOREARM again! Dunne paces, the fans chant, “Butch Sucks!” but Dunne just runs up on Penta. Penta dodges, mule kicks, and he runs to SLING-DOG! Dunne flounders to a corner, Penta runs and headstands on the corner! SWINGING DROPKICK! Dunne sputters more but Penta fireman’s carries. The fans fire up for the SWINGINGN DEATH VALLEY! Cover, TWO! Penta is frustrated, but the fans rally up again. Penta and Dunne rise up, and Penta goes after Dunne. Dunne ENZIGIRIS first!
Dunne STMOPS the hands, then he BUZZSAWS! Penta goes to a corner, Dunne runs up, but Penta SUPERKICKS! Penta runs up, DESTROYER!! Dunne tumbles out of the ring! The fans fire up with Penta and he builds speed again! Penta FLIES and down goes Dunne! The fans are thunderous while both men are out at the ramp! Penta and Dunne stir, the ring count climbs, and Dunne is in at 5 of 10. Penta rises at 6, and he slaps some sense into himself. Penta is back in at 7, DES- NO, Dunne stops the second shot and tucks Penta in! CRUNCHY DRIVER!! Cover, TWO!! Penta survives and the fans fire up!
Penta shakes out the bad arm, but he and Dunne sit up. They go forehead to forehead, then forearm for forearm! Dunne CHOPS, but Penta CHOPS! The fans cheer Penta on and he tells Dunne to listen! “CERO! MIEDO!” But Dunne bends the fingers, SNAPS them, then wraps Penta into a TRIANGLE HOLD! Penta endures, fights up, and he deadlifts Dunne, for a POWER BREAKER!! Dunne writhes, Penta grabs Dunne’s arm and traps it! Penta CLUBS Dunne, then grabs the other arm, SACRIFICE!! Dunne writhes in even more pain, but Penta brings him around. Pump handle, PENTA DRIVER!! Cover, Penta wins!
Winner: Penta, by pinfall
The luchador proved he could do power on top of punishing submissions, and he is 2-0 here on Raw! Will the Penta Era take over the WWE?
Logan Paul speaks.
“Man, it must suck to be a Logan Paul hater. For years, all of you have wanted me to fail. But you know why it’s never happened, and it never will? Because when I do something, I become the best at it. I became the King of the Internet. I was the only man in history to beat Floyd Mayweather. So what makes you think the WWE will be any different? Look around, dummies. This is my life now. And I will eat, sleep and breathe wrestling until I become the greatest superstar to step into that ring. You can quote me on that. You’re looking at the GOAT, ladies and gentlemen.” The Maverick makes his return next week in Atlanta, will he receive a “warm welcome?”
CM Punk is here!
The Voice of the Voiceless, the Second City Saint, the Best in the World, takes a page out of Jey Uso’s playbook by entering through the concourse and then the bleachers! Dallas fires up as he joins Jackie Redmond in the perch for an interview. Jackie says the fans love chanting Punk’s name, and thanks him for coming out here for this in-arena interview. Punk says before any questions, he has a question for us: “Is it great to be alive on a Monday night in Dallas, Texas or what?!” The fans cheer that, and Jackie says of course it is.
But to the question: There are only so many ways to get to the main event of WrestleMania, something Punk wants to do for the first time in his career. The Royal Rumble is certainly one way, but that is a match he’s never won. And it is shaping to become one of the most stacked fields ever. Punk, Roman, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, and more. So, the question is, what makes this Rumble different for Punk? Punk says, “History.” And he is a maker of history! Just three weeks ago, he main-evented the first Raw live on Netflix, and he beat Rollins, a man favored to win this year’s Rumble.
This business is a fickle one, constantly asking, “What have you down for me lately?” Punk says he makes history! And he’ll do it in two weeks when he walks in, throws 29 other superstars over the top rope. The stakes are much too high, the lights are much too bright, and the pressure is on! And that is when Punk feels alive and when he thrives. No one can beat Punk when he’s at his best and with the people behind him. Jackie brought up Cena, but Punk can’t see Cena throwing him out. Roman Reigns? Roman needed Punk’s help to settle family business at WarGames. And in the Rumble, there are no friends!
Punk has put McIntyre in the dirt, and don’t ask him about Sami. You put HOGAN in the rumble, Punk will throw his old ass out and kill Hulkamania once and for all! February 1st, 60 THOUSAND strong, on the Peacock, live and in living color, Indianapolis, Indiana, Punk will settle scores and cash in debts. He’ll even call in a favor or two if he needs to. On that night, 29 other men are going night-night, and ONE MAN gets his hand raised. One name, three syllables: C, M, PUNK! “CM” might stand for “Confident Man” right about now, but will Punk be unstoppable on this road not just to WrestleMania, but also the road to his dream?
Damage CTRL VS Pure Fusion Collective!
This rivalry went back and forth all over 2024, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down just because it is a New Year. Will Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky finally kick PFC to the curb for what they did to Kairi Sane? Or will Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark put them on the shelf right beside the Pirate Princess?
The teams sort out, the bell rings, and Kai starts against Shayna. Shayna opens with a KICK to the leg, but Kai walks that off. Shayna KCIKS again, Kai gets mad, and the two go again. Kai blocks one kick but not the second KCIK! Shayna runs up, fakes Kai out, then trips her up! Shayna scuffs Kai, then soaks up the heat. Shayna runs back in, but Kai goes up and over to roll her up! TWO, and Kai slips past Shayna to DROPKICK her down! The fans fire up for Kai, but Shayna stops the arm-drag! Shayna whips, Kai stops herself and BOOTS Shayna away. Kai runs up, Zoey tags in before the flying mare!
Things speed up, Shayna drops down and Zoey springboards to MISSILE DORPKICK Kai down! Sonya wants everyone to take notes! Zoey clamps onto Kai with a chinlock and she grinds Kai down. The fans rally, Kai fights up, and Kai fires body shots. Zoey CLUBS Kai, CLUBS her again and again, then soaks up heat. Zoey puts Kai in the corner, tags Shayna back in, and then Zoey whips Shayna in for a KNEE! Shayna scoops Kai, BACKBREAKER and LARIAT! Shayna covers, TWO! Kai stays in this, but Sonya says her team’s got this. Kai crawls, but Shayna clamps onto the leg for a toehold.
Kai endures, kicks at Shayna with her free leg, but Shayna still bends the trapped leg! The fans rally, Kai kicks and kicks, but Shayna drops an ELBOW on the leg! Shayna tells Dallas to shut it, then she drags Kai around to bend the leg in another direction! Kai endures, reaches out for Iyo, but Shayna pulls the leg. Kai kicks at Shayna again, then BOOTS her away! Kai and Shayna crawl, hot tag to Zoey! Zoey brings Kai up but Kai ENZIGIRIS! Shayna runs back in, but Kai TOSSES her out! Hot tag to Iyo! The Genius of the Sky fires SHOTEI after SHOTEI on Zoey! Iyo ROCKS Shayna, then runs! PFC avoids the handsprings, but Iyo blocks a kick!
Iyo sends the foot at Zoey, but she ducks! Iyo SHOTEIS Zoey again! Then she dodges Shayna to GERMAN SUPLEX her away! The fans fire up as Iyo whips Zoey. Zoey reverses but Iyo uses that to DIVE onto Shayna! Iyo hurries up, blocks a shot, then ROUDNHOUSES Zoey! The fans fire up as Iyo climbs, and Iyo MISSILE DROPKICKS Zoey! Iyo handsprings up and the fans are thunderous! Iyo aims from the corner, runs in and SHINKANSEN! Iyo drags Zoey to a cover, TWO! Zoey survives but Iyo goes up. Sonya storms up, but Kai YANKS Sonya down! The fans fire up as Iyo climbs, but Shayna LARIATS Kai!
Zoey YANKS Iyo down, SUPERKICKS her, and then reels her in! ATAXIA!! Cover, TWO!! Zoey is furious, but she tags in Shayna. PFC gets Iyo up, ROLLING DEATH VALLEY, then a SLIDING KNEE! Cover, Kai breaks it! The fans fire up but Zoey TOSSES Kai! Zoey then PLANCHAS, but Kai dodges! Kai goes up to the apron to PENALTY KICK Zoey! Shayna BOOTS Kai, then dodges Iyo! KIRAFUDA KLUTCH!! Iyo flails, but she runs to the ropes! HOTSHOT and Shayna falls back! Iyo hurries up top, the fans fire up, OVER THE MOONSAULT! Cover, DMG CTRL wins!
Winners: Damage CTRL, by pinfall
PFC tried to use the numbers, but Iyo & Kai just used their skills! Will DMG CTRL still take control of Raw? Or will Sonya, Shayna & Zoey figure out a winning formula?
Seth Rollins VS Drew McIntyre!
With the Royal Rumble just down the road, it is this WrestleMania 40 rematch that could determine how WrestleMania 41 looks. The Visionary and the Scottish Terminator look to run it back, but who will be in pole position for Indianapolis?
Raw returns and McIntyre makes his entrance. The bell rings, the fans fire up, and the two stare down. The fans sing Rollins’ song, and Rollins says he’s got two good knees now. No Bloodline, no CM Punk, just them! The two circle, tie up, and McIntyre pushes Rollins to the corner. The ref counts but McIntyre talks smack as he lets off. Rollins shoves McIntyre, McIntyre shoves Rollins! They stare down again, Rollins talks a bit more smack, and McIntyre grins. McIntyre CHOPS, and Rollins likes that! Rollins CHOPS, McIntyre CHOPS, repeat! The fans “WOO~” but then McIntyre headlocks. Rollins powers up and out, but McIntyre runs him over!
McIntyre looms over Rollins, then brings him up. But Rollins CHOPS, CHOPS, and CHOPS! McIntyre headlocks, Rollins powers up and out, drops down, hurdles over, then redirects McIntyre to SHOULDER TACKLE! McIntyre rebounds to SHOULDER TACKLE Rollins! The fans fire up again while Rollins goes to ropes. McIntyre stomps Rollins, ROCKS him, then stalks him to ropes. McIntyre CHOPS Rollins against the ropes, then whips. Rollins ducks ‘n’ dodges, to then SLINGBLADE! Rollins keeps moving, and he LARAITS McIntyre up and out! The fans fire up as Rollins builds speed, to WRECK McIntyre with a dropkick!
McIntyre is at the desk. Rollins builds sped, and Rollins DIVES! McIntyre hits desk, but Rollins keeps going! Rollins DIVES again, but McIntyre stops that to TOSS Rollins up and over the desk! Rollins is down between the armchairs and McIntyre snarls, but Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and both men slowly rise in the ring. McIntyre looms over Rollins, saying Rollins is still too damn selfish. But Rollins fires hands! McIntyre hits back, they go back and forth! McIntyre kicks low, whips Rollins toa corner, but Rollins BOOTS him away! McIntyre returns, and he pushes through the boot to ELBOW Rollins! McIntyre has Rollins in the Inverted Alabama Lift, ALABAMA- VICTORY ROLL! TWO!! Rollins goes back to the corner, and he BOOTS McIntyre again! The fans fire up while both men are down! Rollins feeds off that energy and rises up. Rollins ROCKS McIntyre, then counter punches him!
Rollins CHOPS and ROCKS McIntyre again and again, then CHOPS, CHOPS, CHOPS! The fans fire up, the ref counts as they’re on ropes, but Rollins roars! Rollins whips, McIntyre reveres, Rollins leaps, but into McIntyre’s arms! McIntyre pops Rollins up, but Rollins slips out of the suplex to then POST McIntyre! McIntyre staggers back, so Rollins POSTS him again! McIntyre sputters, Rollins brings him around and POSTS him a third time! McIntyre is stuck in the corner now, but Rollins SLAMS the arm against the post! Rollins aims as McIntyre staggers away. Springboard, FLYING KNEE! McIntyre says up, Rollins hits a RUNNING KNEE! Cover, TWO!
Rollins takes a breath as the fans rally up. McIntyre is down so Rollins goes to the apron. Springboard SWANTON! Cover, TWO! McIntyre survives but Rollins snarls. Rollins stalks McIntyre, grabs the arm, and he goes to wrangle McIntyre. McIntyre rolls free, fireman’s carries, but Rollins fights free! Rollins goes to a corner again, puts McIntyre on the apron, but McIntyre ROCKS Rollins! McIntyre climbs, but Rollins springs up to join him! SUPER DUPER PLEX! Roll through, but MCINTYRE hits the FALCON ARROW! Cover, TWO!! The fans fire up as both men are down! “This is Awesome!” as McIntyre kips up!
McIntyre still wobbles a bit, but he makes his way to a corner. McIntyre tells Rollins to get up. Rollins rises, McIntyre runs in, but Rollins ducks the Claymore! Now Rollins aims, and he runs up, but McIntyre hits a SPINEBUSTER! Jackknife bridge, TWO! Rollins survives, but McIntyre brings him in! Deadlift and- RANA! Rollins then SUPERKICKS McIntyre, runs, tilt-o-whirls, and FALCON ARROWS! The fans fire up as Rollins manages a cover, TWO!! The pin wasn’t much but neither was that kick-out, both men are running on fumes. The fans sing Rollins’ song, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!”
Rollins runs, CURB- NO, McIntyre avoids the stomp! Underhooks and FUTURE- NO, Rollins fights the DDT to underhook! PED- NO, McIntyre wrenches out to short arm LARIAT! McIntyre rolls away to go to the apron, then he drags himself up the corner. McIntyre reaches the top, Rollins stands, FLYING- NO, Rollins blocks the lariat to try and wrangle McIntyre. McIntyre scoops Rollins, Rollins slips free, and Rollins still wants the arm! McIntyre fights the takedown again so Rollins CLUBS away on the arm! Rollins brings McIntyre down, into a CROSSFACE!! McIntyre endures, reaches out, but Rollins pulls him back!
McIntyre fights, claws his way over, and he manages the ROPEBREAK! Rollins holds until the ref counts 4, and now Rollins tells McIntyre to get up and fight. “You question me? You question my integrity!?” Rollins gets in McIntyre’s face, the ref backs him off, but now McIntyre CLAWS Rollins’ face! Rollins staggers, McIntyre reels him in, underhook and FUTURE SHOCK!! Cover, TWO?!? Rollins survives and now McIntyre is pissed. McIntyre rises, and he tells Rollins that his words and actions don’t line up. Short arm LARIAT! McIntyre drags Rollins up again, short arm LARIAT! The fans rally and McIntyre shakes his head.
McIntyre tells Rollins to get up, and Rollins sputters as he slowly sits up. McIntyre reels Rollins in for a short arm- NO, Rollins slips up and around, and a jackknife bridge! ROLLINS WINS!!
Winner: Seth Rollins, by pinfall
Rollins snatches this one away, and McIntyre CLOBBERS Rollins for it! The fans boo but McIntyre scares the ref off. But Rollins fires hands in return! McIntyre CLAYMORES outta nowhere!! McIntyre is still seething, and he drags Rollins over to the corner. McIntyre pulls Rollins’ hair to put him up against the post! The fans boo, the ref says don’t, but SAMI ZAYN to the rescue! Sami fires hands, then he POSTS McIntyre! Sami makes sure Rollins is alright, and then Sami goes back for Drew. But he gets a GLASGOW KISS HEADBUTT for it! McIntyre stands Sami up to THROW him into barriers!
McIntyre snarls as he looks to Rollins again. McIntyre gets in the ring, and he tells Rollins they should be on the same team, but Rollins is just so selfish! But here comes Sami! McIntyre moves, HELLUVA KICK to Rollins!! The fans can’t believe it and neither can Sami! Sami apologizes to Rollins, but McIntyre grins, this all worked out for the better! Will McIntyre use everyone else against each other to ensure he is the one going to WrestleMania?
My Thoughts:
Another great episode coming in at just two hours and 35 minutes or so. I don’t mind things “ending early” compared to the usual three hour run, but I am curious as to how they’re only using two-and-a-half hours. I suppose they have their plan and just go with it. That way, if things go long, they have breathing room for it. But they really could’ve added like one more thing to this and it would’ve been fine, I think. That said, good go-home stuff for Saturday Night’s Main Event, such as a good promo from Jey and Gunther. Though, they didn’t really add more to what last week had, other than that brawl. Jey stood tall, go-home math would suggest he loses.
Sheamus and Bron had a good promo to put the final touches on their build, but as I said last week, this is a rather interesting one. Sheamus really should win that Intercontinental Championship already, but I don’t know if Saturday Night’s Main Event is a “big enough stage” for such a moment. Great stuff with Bayley, Nia and Rhea tonight, especially that match. It seems the Transfer Window is finally putting some actual transfers in, what with Wyatt Sick6 on SmackDown and now Bayley on Raw. Rhea VS Nia on Saturday Night’s Main Event is going to be an awesome title match, but it feels like Rhea will retain to solidify her as champion past the Royal Rumble.
And speaking of the Rumble, Bayley is certainly a top choice to win. For one, it’d be historic for Bayley to not just win back-to-back, but to also be the first woman to have won two Rumbles at all. Very good promo from Punk to hype himself up for the Rumble, and he did mention a favor… Though, it’d be rather Heel of Punk to use a favor from Heyman to basically rig the Rumble or give him protection during it, but it’d also be great continuity as The Shield was to shield Punk. Sami of course declared for the Rumble, but Kevin showing up was a great surprise. And Kevin clearly implies that if Sami helps Kevin cheat the ladder match, Kevin will help Sami cheat the Rumble. Or rather, if Kevin does help Sami win the Rumble, Sami better help Kevin win the ladder match.
Sami also had a good promo with Rollins backstage, with the real fun part being Kross watching from the background. Kross needs a new feud with the Wyatts going to SmackDown, and moving on to names like Rollins and Sami would be some big stuff for him and The Final Testament. Rollins VS McIntyre was a great main event, and classic move having the quick pin win this so that McIntyre is still strong even in defeat. Sami making the save was also a nice touch, as was the Helluva Kick accidentally hitting Rollins. The Rumble has a lot of feuds crossing over, and Kross can add onto what happened here, we’ll get some really good chaos in that match.
Great promo between New Day and JBL to where even JBL, notorious as one of the meanest, most obnoxious Heels of his time, is on Big E’s side. And we finally got New Day back in the ring, but it’s a little disappointing that it wasn’t a tag match. Dragon Lee hasn’t gotten to do much, and he’s doing even less now. It was still a great match from Kofi VS Rey, with Rey getting his own quick pin win. New Day beating Rey up of course brought out the LWO, and I’m sure we’ll get New Day VS Cruz & Wilde next. We can only hope for Dragon Lee’s sake that he gets to be part of the blowoff for this feud. Actually, better yet would be him in the Intercontinental Championship scene.
Penta might also make a great choice for the Intercontinental Championship scene. Penta had another awesome match, as Pete Dunne is always a great opponent. Maybe Penta gets in on the Rumble so he can check that off his bucket list. He doesn’t need to win, he can just have a great showing, and rivalries can spark from those interactions. Lyra had a very good promo but I was hoping for a little more after her winning the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. DMG CTRL VS PFC was a great tag match, and a great win for DMG CTRL. Dakota and Iyo could each make a case for a match with Lyra, but clearly Ivy will be up first. She would make a solid first defense for Lyra, and then Lyra can have rematches from the tournament with Kai and Iyo.
At the same time, PFC might already be thinking about changing up the team with Zoey taking the loss. Good stuff with Judgment Day. Dom and Liv plotting and scheming while being passive aggressive is a fun phase for them. They’re probably plotting on how Liv can win the Women’s Rumble, but it’ll likely backfire and that’ll push the Liv x Dom break-up. Also, you can bet Finn won’t like Dom taking his spot against the War Raiders, especially if they win. That said, I don’t see them winning, Erik & Ivar should definitely be able to handle Dom & JD. It certainly feels more likely the Creeds can take the tag titles than Judgment Day.
I do wonder who Dom recommended to Gable, though. It’d be cool if WWE brought in some other lucha legends, as WWE seems to be expanding their partnerships. WWE is working more closely with TNA now, and I believe TNA still has a working relationship with AAA, especially after AEW moved over to working with CMLL because of the relationship with NJPW. Also a super crossover like NXTNAAA would be a lot of fun to see for WrestleMania weekend.
My Score: 8.8/10
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Coverage
Andrew’s TNA Genesis Results & Match Ratings: 1.19.25
Does TNA Believe in Joe Hendry more than Mokuba Nemeth believes in his big brother?
Hot off the heels of the TNA and WWE working relationship announcement, the Kickoff show already has the first sprinkle of NXT talent with Ashante “Thee” Adonis coming out after Ariana Grace tries to take all of the credit for the partnership. Jake something runs over Ashante, but it’s a good quick nod on free YouTube. Oh it also looks like the ring announcer is McKenzie Mitchel again. I did like her first run in TNA in what was that… like 2016-2018 or 19? She’s got personality, she’s cute and a solid announcer, so nice to see her back.
I’m not gonna run down any predictions on who I think will win, because honestly, I just feel like Hendry needs to win today or it’s been an entire waste of momentum. So lets get to the main show!
Ratings:
- X Division Championship: Moose (c) vs Ace Austin: Moose retains via Lights Out – *** 1/4
- The System vs Maniac Marines: Marines win via K.I.A. – ***
- Knockouts Tag Titles: Elegance Clique (Heather & Ash) w/Personal Concierge vs Spitfire (Dani Luna & Jody Threat) (c): Spitfire retain via Pressure Drop – **
- Jordynne Grace vs Tessa Blanchard: Tessa wins via Magnum – ****
- I Quit Match: Josh Alexander vs Mike Santana: Santana wins! – ***
- TNA Tag Team Championships: The Hardyz (c) vs The Rascalz: Hardyz retain via Swanton Bomb – *** 1/2
- Raven’s Clockwork Orange House of Fun Match: TNA Knockouts World Championship: Masha Slamovich (c) vs Rosemary: Masha wins via Avalanche Requiem – ** 3/4
- TNA World Championship: Nic Nemeth (c) vs Joe Hendry: Hendry wins via Standing Ovation – *** 3/4 – TITLE CHANGE!!!!!!!
Results:
X Division Championship: Moose (c) vs Ace Austin
As soon as the bell rings, Ace jumps on him, forces him into the corner and stomps on him. Moose tries to fight out but Ace stays relentless. Ace has a counter for everything Moose is trying to counter in the early goings. Even when Moose catches him during the apron Handstand Dodge, Ace still has a counter for his counter. It’s not until a rake to the eyes from Moose that finally gives him a moment to start dictating the pace. A huge Irish Whip on the outside through the barricade is what Ace feels…twice. Ace tries to fight back from Moose continuing the momentum, Ace eats a Pump Kick, but blocks Moose’s attempt at a Suplex and counters with his own Vertical Suplex on Moose! JDC gets in the proximity of Ace so Ace kicks him, which delays his springboard, so Moose catches him and bounces him off the apron like a super ball.
Moose lets the count go, Ace barely gets in at 9, Moose throws him corner to corner, is slowing things down and being very deliberate. Ace starts powering through the pain, catches a Pump Kick, dodges a Spear into the corner and puts together a few strikes, Double Stomp, Triangle Kick, wants The Fold but Moose puts the brakes on there. Ace tries to spring off the ropes but Moose grabs him and hits Go To Hell for two! Fighting Spirit spot, Ace starts winning the trade, a Headbutt from Moose stops Ace, Moose flips him over the ropes to the apron, tries a few more things, Ace looks for a Springboard, Moose catches him but Ace slips it for a Frankensteiner. Moose powders to the opposite apron and Ace hits his Inside Out Headscissors sending Moose crashing to the floor. Alisha and JDC try to help up Moose, and while the referee is distracted JDC posts Ace. Moose goes for the Around the World Lights Out, but Ace moves and Moose kills JDC! Ace hits The Fold on the floor!
Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers run down the ramp, Ace sees them so he hits the Fosbury Flop to take them out. Ace is rolling, he goes for the Triangle Kick but Moose counters with Lights Out! 1-2- KICK OUT? Moose sets up for another Lights Out, Ace sidesteps it for the Cradle, kickout, Uranage, Cradle counter, Art of Finesse from Ace but Lights Out to the Spine from Moose! Moose sets up another and lands the Lights Out to retain!
Post Match the System looks to beat down on Ace, but Maniac Marines music hits and they go after Myers and Edwards. Guess the match is now!Â
The System vs Maniac Marines
Steve and Eric beat the hell out of the System members while the referee tries to set the match, it still hasn’t started but we get stereo 10 count punches in the corner, big fists causing Myers and Edwards to powder. This is essentially a Tornado Tag right now because the match hasn’t even started. Okay it eventually starts and Maclin hits the Backbreaker on Edwards and Busaiku Knee on Myers. He looks for a SCUD but Lish grabs the foot which is just enough! Maclin tries to charge anyway but gets caught in the Blue Thunder Bomb and now the match slows down and Eddie is in control.
Maclin absorbs some Chops from Eddie in the corner, no sells a little and fires, Eddie tags out Myers tries to slow things down with a Russian Leg Sweep but Maclin continues to try and rally. Eddie’s back in, shortarm Gowan Lariat into a cocky cover for two. Eddie tries to keep moving but Maclin hits the Vertical Suplex. Maclin is too slow to tag out so Eddie tags out and Myers cuts off Maclin. After a few more quick tags from System members, Maclin finally lands a Lariat to get the simultaneous tag and EY comes in hot. EY does the Flair corner flip, knocks Eddie off the apron, Myers eats a Macho Elbow but only two. Eddie knocks Maclin off the apron, Tandem Tiger Driver for two, EY fights back to level Eddie, Tree of Woe Myers Caught in Crosshairs but Lish gets in the ring! Eddie grabs Eric and distracts the ref, Lish clocks Maclin with either knuckles or a full hand of rings, Spear from Myers is only a two!
System Overload attempt, it’s thwarted by EY, Myers gets crotched in like a Reverse Tree of Woe, so Maclin hits the Caught in the Crosshairs on the back, EY with a Plancha to the outside to take Edwards out and K.I.A. from Maclin means Maniac Marines win!
Knockouts Tag Titles: Elegance Clique (Heather & Ash) w/Personal Concierge vs Spitfire (Dani Luna & Jody Threat) (c)
Elegance duo comes out dressed like Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. They do a Go Eagles chant right before the bell rings to a chorus of Boos.
Even though Elegance Clique throws their pompoms and try a cheap shot, Spitfire just plow through them, literally. Quick tags, some assisted moves, Ash gets away from Spitfire, tags in Heather and shoves her forward trying to take them off guard, but they turn around…grab Heather and a long Tandem Stalling Suplex with a Deep Squat for two. Concierge distracts the referee, looks for a low Dive onto Heather but Ash just kicks Dani in the face, and the referee sees nothing. Heather rolls her back in, Kawada Kicks, Forearm Shiver, trip into a Dropkick to the face! Ash hangs Dani off the apron and Heather hits the Double Stomp from the apron to the floor.
Ash starts choking Dani on the ropes, distracts the referee and Heather paintbrushes Dani with pompoms as Ash goes for a series of pinfall attempts. Quick tags, Dani is in their corner, Cartwheel Back Handspring Elbow from Ash into a Seated Dropkick from Heather. Dani has been getting smacked around for the last 4 or 5 minutes. Ash leans on Dani for a while, but Dani gets a head of steam, comes off the ropes and Shotgun Dropkick gives her space. Jody gets a hot tag, she Sack of Shits them both, Vader Hammers in the corner into a Michinoku Driver, which Ash breaks up with a Meteora. Heather and Ash have a nice tandem move for a two count. Jody tries to fight back, but Elegance stops it, blind tag from Dani, Senton takes out both Elegance Clique members and Dani stalks her prey. Snap Suplex two times on Ash, but Heather stops the third and Jody just tosses Heather out of the ring in a rough way. Jody tries her Double Knees German Suplex spot but Ash moves. Dani with the Shinsuke Nakamura Inside Out German, Pressure Drop and Spitfire retains.
Boo…
Jordynne Grace vs Tessa Blanchard
Grace charges Tessa immediately, and the ref needs to pull her off, but Tessa gets thrown around the ring literally, the crowd is chanting “Fuck You Tessa”, Tessa powders, eats a Dive and then a Jackhammer on the outside! Grace puts Tessa on her shoulders up to the ring, but Tessa finally fights off and flips off the crowd, revels in it for a second, tries the Frankensteiner, but Grace holds on, smashes Tessa into the guardrail twice, looks for the Reverse Bomb on the apron, but Tessa gets out, stomps on Jordynne a few times, hooks Jordynne’s face with the crook of her leg and drives Jordynne’s face into the apron. Unique looking and decent.
Tessa has the correct intensity, pushes into two quick pinfall attempts and starts getting deliberate. Drags Jordynne’s face across the rope, throats Grace, kicks her in the face and Slingshot Elbow is another near fall. Tessa with the Front Facelock, Grace tries to fight out but Tessa holds on and drops her with a Scorpion Death Drop for another near fall. Jordynne fights Tessa off with a few elbows, looks for a Superplex, but Tessa fights off, wants the Avalanche Sunset Bomb, but Jordynne stops it, Tessa kicks Grace’s feet, looks for a Rope Hung Death Drop but Jordynne fights it off and smashes Tessa’s face into the turnbuckles but Tessa hits the Rope Hung Backstabber for two. Tessa looks for Magnum, but Jordynne cuts her off, they fight at the top, Avalanche Sack of Shit! They both sell the exhaustion of the match so far.
They trade blows, two Scoop Slams from Jordynne, Lawn Dart into the Top Turnbuckle! Package Powerbomb for two! Dragon Suplex attempt from Grace, Tessa breaks it, Headlock Takeover, quick counter wrestling, Tiger Destroyer from Tessa! Only for a two count, but still nice. Buzzsaw attempt is shrugged off, Tessa comes off the ropes and eats the Spinebuster from Jordynne for two quick pinfall attempts. Tessa with the Body Scissors and pulls herself up and fights back, Jordynne slaps her around, looks for the Suplex but Tessa slips it and Neckbreaker Counter for a two count! The brawl to the apron, Grace eats a forearm and Tessa hits the Tornillo on Jordynne! They posture on the steps, Tessa wants a move but Jordynne counters her and Spicolli Driver from the stairs to the floor from Jordynne!
More back and forth in the corner, just positioning and counters, it’s like watching chess. Jordynne grabs Tessa for an Avalanche Air Raid Crash, but Tessa fights it and turns it into an Avalanche Crucifix Bomb! After trying a grounded submission Tessa locks in the Octopus, tries to wrench the fingers but Jordynne counters, Rope Assisted German Suplex into a Capture Suplex for 2! Kudome Valentine attempt from Grace but Tessa gets out, Backfist from Jordynne, Tessa bounces off and Cutter gives her a two count! Tessa calls for Magnum, Jordynne dodges it, Tessa rolls through, tries boots but Grace grabs Tessa and hits the around the world Reverse Alabama Slam! Tessa keeps trying to remove Buckle Pads but they’re on good, Tessa reverses out of the Kinikku Buster, hits the Buzzsaw into the partially exposed buckle but Grace grabs the rope. Tessa removes another pad, Bulldog into exposed buckle, Magnum, and Tessa is still sexy.
The turnbuckle pads being on too well made the finish a little flat, but it was a damn good match. There’s also a joke in the match with Tessa coming out wearing Red and Gold (Yellow), so the racism allegations are never going away if she keeps making it easy.
I Quit Match: Josh Alexander vs Mike Santana
There’s intensity but its all just technical tactics to take each other to the ground and grab a limb. But since we just came off of a pretty good match, things can’t start too hot. Every time Santana throws Josh to the outside, Josh scurries back to the ring, he’s playing scared. There’s a “He’s a bitch” chant that pops up. Santana cuts off Josh’s charge with a few well placed boots which sends Josh outside, Tope con Hilo levels the bald man. Santana throws Josh into a guardrail, Yakuza Kicks back to back rock Josh a bit. Fans call for tables and Santana slides one out to a huge pop. Santana sets it up, plays to the crowd, tries a Powerbomb onto the table but Josh slips it and Overhead Belly to Belly sends Santana crashing. A fan can be heard saying “That look like it hurt” to which Santana replies ” It did asshole”. Now Josh is dissecting Santana’s legs to soften him up for the Ankle Lock. Josh goes for the corner spot with the Figure Four around the post after bouncing the knee off the post a few times.
Josh tries to continue but Santana slides out and counters Josh and bounces his face off the post. Josh walks it off a bit as Santana stalks him and then a quick Chop Block has Santana writhing in pain. Josh decides to be a heel and do the Three Amigos instead of the Kurt Angle Germans. Disrespectful bald jerk. Santana gets throated, dropped to the apron on his ass, Low Crossbody but Santana flattens out and Josh goes flying! Santana tries a Dive, but Josh catches him and just drops him spine first on the apron. After a small resilient flurry of slaps from Santana Josh goes for the Germans. Santana brushes off on the third, goes for the Rolling Buck Fifty, gets caught in the Torture Rack, Santana fights off Josh’s shoulders, kicks him into the corner, Senton into the seated Josh. Perches him up top, points at the table, tries something but Josh fights him off, Moonsault from Josh misses and a Death Valley Driver gives both a moment to breathe.
Santana Spin the-BLOCK-ED! Josh sweeps the leg, Ankle Lock and Santana refuses to quit twice but slips the boot ala Eddie Guerrero. Josh pauses a moment, Santana charges and Josh dumps him over the top rope through the table! Santana says he doesn’t quit, Josh looks surprised, so he goes looking for more plywood. He also grabs the bottom set of stairs and throws them into the ring. Scoop Slams Santana into the broken table and continues looking for weapons, like a chair and zip ties. Santana crawls into the ring, Josh steps on the worked on leg and smashes it repeatedly with the chair. Josh goes into Full Mount, rains down strikes, exposes the elbow for Elbow Strikes and tries to soften him up for the zip ties. C4 Spike but Santana raises up like the Undertaker and fires into beating the piss out of Josh. Frankensteiner on Josh into the Frog Splash, Spin the Block! Josh doesn’t quit. Santana grabs the zip ties that Josh introduced, ties the hands behind Josh’s back, Spin the Block 2! Josh doesn’t quit. Santana sets up the steps as a ramp, table in front of Josh in the corner and Cannonballs through the table into Josh! Josh still doesn’t quit off the Jackass stunt. Santana finds a sock filled with quarters and starts beating Josh like it’s a slapjack. Josh still doesn’t quit. Santana tells Josh to bite the curb and is about to Curb Stomp him into the steps and Josh gets scared and quits.
TNA Tag Team Championships: The Hardyz (c) vs The Rascalz
Fraxiom comes out to watch the match, so this nicely sets up a potential early angle between NXT and TNA for the crossover.Â
Trey and Matt start, but it’s a slow Headlock basic counters and feint spots. Jeff and Wentz want to play, so this is very Japanese in giving each member a free chance to interact before any cutoffs or tandems. The crowd likes both men, so this is interesting but more Stalemate spots. Jeff manages a Polish Hammer to tag in Matt and go for a quick tandem move and keep Wentz in the Hardy Corner bouncing his face off buckles in Delete fashion. Tag from Jeff for another tandem Rocket Launcher into the bottom rope and Leg Drop from Jeff. Wentz counters the Twist with a Jumping Knee so he manages a tag to Trey and then a few quick striking double team spots. Quick tag to Wentz, Matt comes in to break it up, drops Matt and Wishbone. Quick Tag, MCMG ACS Rush homage. Wentz Dives onto Matt on the outside, Matt catches him into the Side Effect on the floor! Jeff gets the best of Trey after he’s a little distracted. Manhattan Drop from Jeff, into a tag to Matt and then some double team strikes for a near fall. Delete Head Smashes again on Trey.
Vertical Suplex from Matt for another 2. Matt tags out and Hardys look for more Tandem attacks, Plot Twist but Wentz recovers and makes the break! Trey flips out of Jeff’s arms, tags in Wentz, and Wentz cleans house on both Hardys. Corner to corner, tags back in Trey they hit the Saki Kashima assisted Dropkick on each Hardy and then they dump the Hardys at the feet of Fraxiom. FIVE HOLE DIVE FROM RASCALZ! Misses the Hardys and hits Fraxiom! This builds heat for The Rascalz and Fraxiom as Hardys attack the Rascalz while distracted. Poetry in Motion off the stairs from Jeff!
Facebuster from Jeff for two! Wentz hits a Busaiku Knee on Jeff to stop him from hitting Trey, Side Effect drops Wentz, Enzuigiri from Trey drops Matt and all four are down to catch their breath a bit. Original Poetry in Motion on Trey! Twist of Fate from Matt but countered and Matt is thrown into Jeff who’s selling a knee. Superkick into Feed Em to the Lions! Wentz Dives on Matt but Trey can’t quite make a clean pinfall. Jeff eats a Cheeky Nandos and Top Rope Tiger Feint, Twist of Fates for everyone and Jeff re-NO Trey kicks out! Another Twist but eats a Superkick from Wentz, tries the UFO Cutter on Matt but Matt just throws him to the outside. A Twist of Fate from each Hardy Boy, Swanton Bomb and the Hardyz retain!
Thursday’s Live Show will have Fraxiom vs The Rascalz for the NXT Titles!Â
Raven’s Clockwork Orange House of Fun Match: TNA Knockouts World Championship: Masha Slamovich (c) vs Rosemary
Do Rosemary’s shorts have Pokemon Gym Badges on em? Masha goes for the Staple Gun, it almost gets countered immediately, but she gets the first few clicks of the Staple gun, it actually doesn’t backfire, but she lets Rosemary powder and starts grabbing a few weapons. Masha finally decides to attack Rosemary with a cane, but Rosemary turns things around with the green mist. Slamovich gets some of the mist out of her eyes, chases her into the ring and eats a Drop Toehold into a Chair. Rosemary sets up the table, panders to the crowd and Masha launches herself over the top with a Crossbody, into Rosemary and then through the table! Masha finds her old chain she used to make Killer Kelly submissive and starts choking and dragging Rosemary around the ring and then Sabus the chair at Rosemary for emphasis.
Masha tries to hit the front flip Senton onto a seated Rosemary, but Rosemary moves and Masha hits the chair weird. Rosemary beats her with a chair a few times, looks under the ring, gets giddy and finds Janice! Rosemary swings Janice, breaks it, and then uses the two pieces to block the cane Masha had and then pressed the nail portion into Masha’s back! Rosemary is talking to Janice and goes to the back to find tacks that she spills out on the stage. Rosemary wants a Chokeslam into tacks, Masha counters, misses a Lariat and then eats the Spear into the tacks! Barbed Wire board is set up in the ring, Spicolli…nope! Russian Death Device into the Barbed Wire! Masha goes to the top, Footstomp into the barbed wire but only for 2 again! Masha goes to the outside and grabs a ladder.
A trash can lid gets thrown at Rosemary for good measure, Masha ascends the ladder and then Rosemary pushes the ladder and Masha goes crashing through one of two tables set up on the outside. Rough spot, rough looking, but Masha manages to move enough to break the pinfall since its falls count anywhere. Rosemary now goes full Kevin Steen and makes some chair art for a spot, drags Masha into the ring, sets he on the chairs and goes to the top. Masha sits up as Rosemary climbs, counters the momentum and Avalanche Requiem through the chairs! Masha retains.
Cora Jade’s music hits and sets up nicely after Masha was on NXT.Â
The Countdown Panel starts off with their main event picks they hinted towards and it’s necessary because they have to clean up the ring. Mark Henry picks Joe Hendry, and he better be correct. Ryan Nemeth interrupts with the “my brootthhheerrr” stuff, and Santino calls him “Fuck Face Guy”. It’s all good stuff, and I’m still a big fan of the Mokuba gimmick, but now they ban Ryan Nemeth.Â
TNA World Championship: Nic Nemeth (c) vs Joe Hendry
Simple chain wrestling start until Nic has a few words and then snaps off a Dropkick, does his show off Dolph stuff so Hendry runs him over with a Shoulder Block and then a Knee Lift. Hendry tries his Stalling Suplex but Nic slips it into a Rear Naked Choke! Hendry spins Nic around, walks around with the Stalling Suplex before finally dropping Nic. Ryan Nemeth shows up with a ticket, so he’s sitting in the crowd now. Joe gets distracted just enough for Nic to jump up and hit a delayed DDT. After Nic tries to stretch Joe a little, Hendry goes into locomotion Cradles but Nic drops Joe to take a breather. Nic does his single Shot to the Heart Elbow and he’s really embracing the old Dolph Ziggler show off ego. Ziggler looks for a Rude Awakening after more arrogant moments, but Joe tries to fight it off, so Nic just snaps off a Jumping Neckbreaker.
Joe manages to hit a Cutter off the ropes to try and get some energy from the crowd. Strike exchange happens here, Uppercuts from Joe and Fists from Nic. Joe blocks one fist, throws a few of his own together and a Lariat levels Nic. Sack of Shit into the Kip Up! Counters galore from both men before Nic gets caught in the Pop-Up Powerbomb! Attitude Adjustment for just a near fall. You see moments of Nic trying to cheat or find an angle but he hasn’t done anything overtly heelish yet. Joe is rocking him with chops, perches Nic on the top, looks for the Superplex but Nic fights back, Hendry gets pushed off, Crossbody but Hendry rolls through, holds on and gets his Powerbomb countered into a FAMEasser for two! Nic crawls to a corner, looks to climb for something big, Hendry cuts him off, Avalanche Sack of Shit! Kaz walks out with the trophy as both men sell, but JBL comes out of the crowd and Clothesline from Hell on Kaz. JBL punches Ryan in the face as he comes out to say something. Then Tuxedo JBL leaves after doing his job. Standing Ovation from HENDRY! 1-2-NO! Nic kicks out!
The crowd chants “One More Time” and it fires up Hendry, he does the heel turn and goes full Queen Stomp, tries again, but Nic slips it. Superkick into Danger Zone and it’s….HENDRY KICKS OUT! Nic is tuning up the band, Hendry catches Nic, Sack of Shit, Kip Up, big fire, Standing Ovation! JOE HENDRY WINS!
Overall Score: 7/10
Even if the match quality wasn’t bonkers, mostly all the matches did what they needed to do, were fairly good and a good number of NXT talent showed up to make the Live iMPACT! and TNA really feel like something special right now. I’m an unabashed Tessa fan, so I’m giddy she won and Hendry finally getting the title is the latest they could’ve really dragged this out to, but at least it stops him from becoming Tetsuya Nai-Joe.
I’m not gonna be a hypocrite from previous complaints I made with too many champions being babyfaces, because that’s still bad and proves the next few title defenses could prove volatile. However, I of course just enjoy most of the current champions. So while it doesn’t erase the fact it’s bad, it makes it more palatable for me personally. Now if only PCO destroyed the Knockouts Tags instead of a different irrelevant belt.
Also let’s be very clear, anyone that believes the PCO stunt was a legit shoot doesn’t know wrestling. Everything is a work until it isn’t and then it still could be turned into a work. Don’t be gullible and just anticipate something to be worked out of it one way or the other.
Still though, good show with a lot of hype for the Live iMPACT, so Thursday should be fun! See you there!
About Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
 MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)Â
THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports PodcastÂ
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)
TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends
Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5
Classic POD is WAR
Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!
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Let the carnage begin!
