Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE Raw Results & Report! (4/11/22)
The American Nightmare VS Hollywood A-Lister!
It’s a battle of Downstait theme songs!
Cody Rhodes has his first match on Monday Night Raw in six years! But will The Miz ruin the American Nightmare’s homecoming already?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Veer Mahaan VS Dominik Mysterio; Veer wins.
- AJ Styles VS Damian Priest; No Contest.
- Cody Rhodes VS The Miz; Cody wins.
- Liv Morgan VS Naomi w/ Sasha Banks; Naomi wins.
- Bianca Belair VS Queen Zelina Vega; Belair wins.
- WWE 24/7 Championship Bachelorette Bonanza: Dana Brooke retains the title.
- RKBRO VS The Alpha Academy; RKBRO wins.
- The Street Profits VS The Usos; The Usos win.
PLAY BY PLAY
Jerry “The King” Lawler is on commentary!
While the happy couple, Carmella & Corey Graves, are on their honeymoon, The King is back on Raw commentary!
The Miz heads to the ring!
Detroit boos as the Hollywood A-Lister makes his way out. He welcomes us back to the Most Must-See WWE Talk Show, MizTV, and his guest is an extraordinary superstar, one who has been the talk of every town all over the world after his shocking return to the WWE at WrestleMania and defeated Seth Rollins! But can he beat The Miz tonight? Fans sure think so. But they don’t matter, they cheer for the Lions. Rollins is very, very good, but The Miz is that much better. But ladies and gentlemen, please welcome The American Nightmare, CODY RHODES! “Wrestling has more than one royal family.”
Detroit fires up as Cody appears behind pyro! Cody makes his way to the ring, has even more pyro, and is fired up as he gets in the ring. Cody then picks up a mic and sits with Miz. Miz says, “Now that we broke our pyro budget and you took 45 minutes to celebrate yourself, are you trying to upstage me on my own show? Is that the type of guy you are now? An egomaniac who doesn’t care about anyone but himself?” Cody says, “Don’t get hot. Don’t begrudge me. This moment, it has been a long time since I was in front of a crowd like this, baby!” Detroit cheers and Cody soaks up the adulation to Miz’s annoyance.
Miz asks if we can get started now. Last week, Cody made an emotional explanation on why he returned to the WWE. Cody wants to make his father proud, one of the greatest of all time, Dusty Rhodes! Admirable. But Miz has to be honest, the reality is, if not for that family name, Cody wouldn’t be the Grandson of a Plumber, he’d be a plumber. Well, that’s clever. Wow! Miz After Dark, huh? Wow. But y’know why being a plumber would be a good thing right now? Because Miz is full of… Well, Cody will stop there but everyone got it, right? Miz hasn’t changed a day. He really hasn’t. Miz is still arrogant, obnoxious, and full-blown carny.
And the fact that Miz embraces it so bravely makes him reliable. Good ol’ Mike. But Cody wants to ask him something. Does Cody look the same? What does Miz think Cody’s been doing for six years? And every piece of that road provides Cody crystal clarity on not what he wants but what he needs to do. And that is to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship belt! Uh, it’s a title. Belts hold up your pants. But lofty goals! That’s good. Anyone who can beat Rollins at Mania definitely deserves to be in title contention. But that’s a long ways away, and a little birdie told Miz that Rollins wants a rematch.
So while Cody surprised Rollins before, Rollins can strategize. And we all know Rollins is the Architect, the Visionary, and Miz doesn’t like Cody’s chances. To be really honest, Miz doesn’t like Cody’s chances against Miz tonight. Fans boo that but Miz says out of all the things that happened at Mania, more people talked about Cody online an din the world. But Miz didn’t hide, didn’t sneak, didn’t surprise anyone. And would Detroit shut up!? Miz raises his hand and says when that goes up, their mouths go shut! But as Miz was saying, he single-handedly destroyed the Mysterios and he embarrassed mega star Logan Paul!
But everyone was talking about Cody Rhodes! Miz knows where Cody’s been! We ALL know. But maybe Cody forgot what THIS is! This is MIZ’S show! So you don’t come here and embarrass Miz on his show! Miz will not stand for- Cody has Miz calm down again. Cody will tell Miz something he’s probably never heard on his show: Cody respects The Miz, and all that The Miz has done. Cody gets the sense that this hostility is because Miz feels threatened by Cody. Cody’s opponent at Mania, Rollins, he has zero issues with. If he wants a rematch, Cody will be more than happy. But Miz? Things are getting personal.
Cody was not surprised that there would be criticism and doubt, but he’s mature enough to handle it all. He is here to beat the very best wrestlers in all of the WWE. Miz says they’re superstars. Sure, sure, superstars, wrestlers, whatever they say. Cody’s enjoyed this chat, but y’know what he’s really looking forward to? His first match on Raw in six years! Fans cheer Cody on again, and he tells Miz, “May the best man win.” Cody drops the mic, pats Miz on the shoulder, and fans cheer, but Miz rushes Cody! Cody tosses Miz out! And then gets ready to throw a chair! Will Miz be living an American Nightmare when he and Cody have it out in the ring?
Veer Mahaan VS Dominik Mysterio!
The Lion of India went after both father and son last week, and this was meant to be Veer’s in-ring return against Rey. But instead, Dom is stepping up for the family name! Will Dom be able to defend the honor of the Mysterios against a very hungry Veer Mahaan?
Raw returns and Veer makes his entrance. The bell rings and Veer circles with Dom. Dom dodges Veer, fires off hands and CHOPS, but Veer ROCKS Dom! Then Veer runs Dom over! Veer drags Dom back up, CLUBS him back down, then paces around Dom. Veer drags Dom up again, whips him to ropes, and hits a THESZ PRESS! Veer looms over Dom again, drags him back up to whip again. Dom kicks back this time, then SUPERKICKS! Veer stays up, comes back but Dom sends him out! Dom then WRECKS Veer with a dropkick, and PLANCHAS! Veer manages to catch Dom, and SLAM him into barriers!
Fans boo but Veer takes aim, MILLION DOLLAR LARIAT! Veer drags Dom into the ring at the count of 7 outta 10, then he stalks Dom to center. Veer drags Dom up again, sets him up, another MILLION DOLLAR LARIAT! Veer isn’t done, he hip drops, then puts on the TWISTING CAMEL CLUTCH! Dom taps, Veer wins!
Winner: Veer Mahaan, by submission
Veer lets Dom go when he is satisfied, but it seems that’s still not enough! TWISTING CAMEL CLUTCH! Dom taps but it won’t matter now! The fans boo, the ref tries to get Veer to stop, but it takes officials to come out and make Veer stop! This lion is bloodthirsty, and he gets through to get after Dom again! MORE TWISTING CAMEL CLUTCH! Veer finally lets go and medics hurry out to help Dom. Will Veer tear through the rest of the Raw roster with this same ferocity?
Raw returns as Dom is stretchered to the back.
The officials clear the way as the medics wheel Dom around, and they arrive at the ambulance.
Backstage interview with Veer Mahaan.
Kevin Patrick asks Veer why he kept attacking Dom. “I strike fear into the heart of any man!” Will all of Raw come to fear Veer?
Backstage interview with AJ Styles.
What is his mindset going into the match with Damian Priest? Styles is afraid. Of what he is going to do to Priest! It wasn’t smart to go 2v1, but Edge brought up Styles’ family. And when you do that, they gotta throw hands. Styles spots Priest getting ready, so he goes right after him! Styles throws Priest into trunks, but officials tell him to stop! Priest hits back and gets the edge, but Styles tackles him into boxes! The refs and officials pull these two apart, will they even make it to the ring to settle this?
AJ Styles VS Damian Priest!
The Phenomenal One would’ve beat The Iconoclast, but the Archer of Infamy tipped the scales. Things are starting 1v1, continuing from that brawl we just saw, but will the Rated R Superstar look to give Priest the edge?
The bell rings and Styles dodges Priest to fire off on him! Priest TOSSES Styles to a corner, but Styles dodges again to fire off more shots! Styles CHOPs, Priest shoves, then Priest ROCKS Styles with an uppercut! Priest KICKS and KICKS and ROLLING ELBOWS, but Styles ROCKS Priest! styles clotheslines Priest out of the ring! Priest gets to his feet but staggers, and Styles is on the apron! SLIDING KNEE and Priest hits post, too! Styles then leaps for a FLYING FOREARM! Priest gets sent over the barriers! Detroit fires up with Styles and he fetches Priest to SMACK him off the announce desk!
Styles SMACKS Priest off the apron, and fans fire up behind him. The ring count is climbing, Priest still staggers around, but Styles slingshots! FLYING FOREARM again! Down goes Damian and Raw goes to break!
Raw returns and Styles blocks a forearm to give a forearm! Priest knees low, ROCKS Styles with a haymaker, but Styles goes to a corner. Priest ROCKS Styles again, then whips corner to corner. Styles stops himself, elbows back, then goes up to QUEBRADA, DDT! Styles has a cut on his forehead that’s starting to bleed, but he shrugs it off as he slowly gets up. Priest stands, Styles blocks to fire off the Phenomenal Blitz! Then SLIDING FOREARM! Fans fire up with Styles and Priest gets to a corner. Styles runs in to clothesline, then fireman’s carry! But Priest elbows his way free! But Styles just fireman’s carries again, USHIGOROSHI! Cover, TWO!
Priest shakes the stars out, but Styles has the fans rallying. Styles brings Priest up, reels him in, but Priest RAMS him into the corner! Styles BOOTS back, hops up and leaps, but Priest dodges to BELL CLAP! And then LIFTING COMPLETE SHOT! Cover, TWO! Styles survives and Priest grows frustrated! Priest looms over Styles, drags him up by an arm, and KICKS him in the chest. And KICKS him again! And then knuckle locks to twist the wrist before he KICKS Styles down! Priest talks trash, kicks away on Styles, then drags Styles up. Scoop and dragon sleeper, but Styles slips out of the Reckoning to PELE!
Fans fire up as both men go down! Priest gets up and flounders to a corner, and Styles runs in. Priest puts Styles on the apron but Styles ROCKS him with a forearm! Styles springboards, into a ROUNDHOUSE! Styles tumbles down to the floor and Priest catches his breath. Priest kneels, and the lights start going down! Edge’s purple spotlight is on Priest, and it seems to give him power! What is going on here? We’ll find out, after the break!
Raw returns again and the match has been called off?! Styles is backstage and Sarah asks him what he thinks just happened. He asks, “What is this BS?” Styles wasn’t done! Edge wants to be on his mountain of omnipotence or whatever! Edge can do whatever, it won’t stop Styles from getting after him!
Cody Rhodes VS The Miz!
Cody may have been right earlier, saying the Hollywood A-Lister is threatened by the returning star. But will Miz prove he’s not afraid of the American Nightmare? Or will Cody be that much closer to his dream of winning the top title?
The bell rings and the two circle, but here comes Seth Rollins! The Visionary swaggers his way out and even confuses Miz. Detroit sings Rollins’ theme and Rollins is all smiles as he goes to ringside. Miz rushes Cody, Cody gets around to waistlock, but Miz elbows free! Miz CLUBS Cody, whips him, but Cody reverses. Miz kicks the back drop away, then runs, but into a POWERSLAM! Cody sees Miz goes to the apron, Cody springboards to DISASTER KICK him down! Cody then builds speed, but Miz moves to force Cody to stop the dive. Cody pursues, Miz leads him into the ring but Cody dodges the elbow drop!
Cody springboards again, but into a full nelson! Cody arm-drags free, kicks low, and suplexes Miz to hold him up! Fans cheer the showing of strength before the GOURD BUSTER! Cover, TWO! Rollins is on commentary and he applauds, but Cody shows off by doing some push-ups. Cody stomps Miz then cravats for a neck wrench. Miz fights up, fans rally behind Cody, but Miz pulls on Cody’s nose! Cody bumps Miz off buckles, throws hands, then whips corner to corner. Miz reverses, Cody goes, only for Miz to KICK him out of the air! Miz then runs to basement BOOT Cody down! Fans boo but Miz jams his knee into Cody’s back.
Miz then runs to basement BOOT again! Miz paces around, hip drops on Cody, then claws at Cody’s face! The ref counts, Miz stops at 4 to focus on a chinlock. Cody endures but Miz wrangles him down to the mat. Cody fights back up, fans rally, Rollins seems unamused, but Cody throws body shots. Cody counter punches Miz, ROCKS Miz, then CHOPS him! Cody whips, Miz reverses, but Cody tumbles up and to the apron, but Miz BOOTS him down! Cody flounders on the floor while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns and Miz CLUBS Cody down. Miz stomps Cody’s hands, then throws more haymakers. Rollins is amused now but fans still rally for Cody. Miz toys with Cody, throws hands, but Cody eggs Miz on! “Hit me! Hit me!” Miz kicks but Cody blocks to spin him around and LARIAT! Cody rallies, then scoops Miz, carries him around, for a SLAM! Cover, TWO! Cody fires himself up as Miz bails out. Fans rally behind Cody as he builds speed, and he DIVES! Direct hit and down goes Miz! Fans fire up with Cody, he drags Miz up and into the ring. Cody climbs a corner, leaps, but Miz moves!
Cody’s leg jams, so Miz dropkicks the leg out! Miz then steps through, FIGURE FOUR! Cody endures as Miz pushes up to add pressure! Cody falls back, it’s a cover, TWO! Cody keeps his shoulders up, reaches out, drags Miz along, but Miz drags Cody away from ropes! Rollins has a sinister smile, Cody’s shoulders are down again, TWO as Cody sits back up. Cody SLAPS Miz, Miz SLAPS Cody! They SLAP, Cody gets the edge, and then Cody turns the hold over! Miz endures now and fans fire up! Miz crawls, reaches out, grits his teeth, and with a last gasp, ROPEBREAK! The hold is undone and Rollins looks disappointed.
Cody hobbles around as Miz stands. Miz hobbles, Cody kicks him and drops for the Rhodes Uppercut! Cody springboards, CODY CUTTER! Fans fire up with Cody as he wants Miz to get back up! Dragon sleeper, CROSS RHODES! Cover, Cody wins!
Winner: Cody Rhodes, by pinfall
Rollins smiles as Cody has his first win on Raw in six years! Cody says he’s going for that title, but then Rollins gets in the ring. Rollins waves hi and he has a mic. “Coooodyyy~, hahahaha! Cooooodyyy~. I heard all the kind things you had to say about me earlier. I heard you even throw out the word, ‘rematch.’ But what I want you to remember about WrestleMania, Cody, sit hat you were a surprise opponent. So going into WrestleMania, you had every single advantage. And now that I see what I’m working with… HAHAHAHAHA!”
So here’s what Rollins is thinking. Rollins VS Rhodes PART 2! What does “Mr. Nightmare” say? Cody says yes. Rollins laughs and is excited now! Will the Visionary envision a path where Cody does not accomplish his world title dream?
Backstage interview with Tommaso Ciampa.
Ciampa is here full time, but “Ezekiel” walks over to welcome him here. Oh, well, thanks, Ezekiel. But Kevin Owens walks in to say this is a lie. That is Elias! He used to have a beard and guitar. Those are gone but don’t be folled. Stop lying, Elias! Kevin hates liars! What’s he pulling here? Ezekiel says Kevin is mistaken, then he leaves. Kevin tries to tell Ciampa what’s going on but Ciampa also says that’s Ezekiel. What? Is Kevin the only one still sane around here?! That IS Elias! Grow up! Ciampa doesn’t seem to get why Kevin’s upset. But what is the truth when it comes to Elias’ younger brother?
Liv Morgan VS Naomi w/ Sasha Banks!
The Living End beat The Boss all by herself on SmackDown, and unfortunately, Rhea is in COVID protocol. Will Liv be able to sweep the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions all on her own? Or will she #FeelTheGlow instead?
Raw returns and the champions make their entrance. The bell rings and Liv circles with Naomi. They tie up, go around, and Naomi headlocks. Liv powers out, Naomi runs Liv over, then drops it low. Naomi runs, Liv drops under, but things speed up again. Liv handsprings through the hip toss, but Naomi lands out of the back suplex! Liv ducks one roundhouse, then another, then whips, but Naomi kicks her away! Liv ends up in a corner, Naomi runs in but Liv goes up and over! Naomi goes up, and twerk attacks! Liv returns to RANA Naomi, and now Naomi is in a corner! Liv runs in, Naomi slips around her to roll her up and BOOT her down! Cover, TWO!
Sasha coaches Naomi, she drags Liv up but Liv goes for a cradle! TWO, and Naomi runs in. Liv ducks, things keep moving, but Naomi slides under! DOUBLE ENZIGURIS take both women down! Sasha rallies and the fans join in. Naomi and Liv slowly get up, and Liv rushes Naomi at the ropes! But Naomi avoids ObLIVion, but Liv denies the O’Conner! Liv elbows Naomi away, hops up, and leaps! But seated senton becomes POWERBOMB! Naomi high stacks, TWO and Liv pops her to a cover, TWO! Naomi sits on a prawn hold, Naomi wins!
Winner: Naomi, by pinfall
That was a fast and furious match and it ended in the blink of an eye! Liv’s 1-1 in 1v1, but will Rhea be ready so she and Liv can take the champs on 2v2?
Bobby Lashley is here!
The All Mighty is already a force to be reckoned with, but MVP betraying him to join Omos has surely angered him like never before. Will he crash the VIP Lounge and then topple the traitor and the titan he’s sided with?
Raw returns and Lashley sees the VIP Lounge is set up. He knows he wasn’t invited, but because of what Omos and MVP did to him, he decided to just invite himself. Last week should’ve been a celebration because Lashley went to hell and back against Omos at WrestleMania. He gives credit where credit is due: Omos is big and strong and scary, and Lashley barely made it out of that match. But then on Raw, he felt that power once again. This time, it was from being stabbed in the back by the one man Lashley thought he could trust in MVP. So without wasting time, Lashley wants MVP to bring his punk ass to the ring and explain to us all why!
But as Lashley waits, no one comes out. Well alright, then maybe Lashley should turn this lounge into something more suitable for him. He never liked this table, but this fresh leather couch is nice. But now Omos makes his entrance! And thanks to MVP, he is in a colossal suit! MVP says, “Bobby, Bobby, Bobby. Stop embarrassing yourself like this. You’re so emotional. And if you should destroy any of my property, our- er, my lawyers will be sending you a bill for the damages.” Lashley says to shove that bill up his ass while he and Omos get in the lounge to explain why MVP did what he did!
MVP would love for Omos to teach Lashley a lesson, but MVP is teaching him how to be a businessman. Omos will wait for the time, and the money, to be right. Now put some respect on MVP’s name! In fact, Lashley and all his fans should be collectively thanking MVP! Fans boo instead, but MVP says if they want an explanation, fine. They deserve that much. “When I came back to the WWE, YOU WERE FLOUNDERING! You were letting some sawed off runt and some wannabe TikTok star lead your career astray! You couldn’t even sniff a WWE championship, despite all of your accomplishments, until I resurrected you!”
MVP takes credit for all of Lashley’s greatness! And yet Lashley acts like he doesn’t need MVP, after everything he’s done for Lashley?! Lashley doesn’t want to share his WrestleMania spotlight? MVP MADE LASHLEY! Before MVP returned, he was just Bobby. It was MVP who made Lashley ALL MIGHTY! Lashley says MVP came down for a farewell tour, wanted to call it an end, but then he did what he does best: latched on to his next meal ticket! He saw where Lashley was going, and he even went up to the top and defeated Lesnar for the title! Yes, but who was with him every step of the way? MVP!
But Lashley doesn’t need MVP anymore, right? So that’s fine. That’s the past. This is the present, and Omos is the future. Omos is bigger, stronger, meaner, and he will take Lashley’s place atop the mountain. Because Omos is also smart enough to know he needs MVP . Lashley barely survived that first match, so MVP guarantees… No, MVP promises Lashley he will NOT survive the second. Lashley says the one not surviving is MVP! MVP think s he’s tough cuz he has a giant. Lashley will chop Omos down like he did at WrestleMania! And then after he finishes Omos, Lashley is coming to get MVP! And then Lashley SMASHES the table!
Lashley also TOSSES the sofas! And SMASHES the champagne! The Rocky Mountain Machine doesn’t care about bills or damages, he just wants to damage Omos! Will he destroy the brawn and the brain of this new alliance?
R-Truth, Reggie and Akira Tozawa exit the Players Club.
Looks like Truth threw our husbands-to-be the best bachelor party ever. They had poker, cigars and manly stories! Did they all see what jumped outta that cake? That’s what’s up! Reggie says yes, this was the best party ever! Wait, Reggie’s still here? What about Truth’s 24/7- er, Reggie’s- er, where’s Dana? Reggie tells Truth that it’s okay. Dana and Tamina are having their bachelorette party. No one’s going after the 24/7 title there. Truth says Reggie is just asking for trouble! You can’t leave that title alone at some wild party with a bunch of conniving, scheming superstars! They gotta go find it and save it!
Austin Theory talks with Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville.
Vince McMahon has told Theory he has a US Championship opportunity soon, and they both know that. Pearce tells Austin- No, no, just call him Theory. He and Vince decided that “Austin” doesn’t suit him anymore. Probably because Steve Austin gave them hellacious Stunners at WrestleMania. But Pearce says he and Sonya are giving Theory what he’s promised, and next week, he will face Finn Balor for the US title. Theory thanks them then takes his leave, and Kevin barges in. Kevin asks what kind of ship they’re running here. First, Stone Cold goads Kevin into a match while he’s hurt, and now Elias is Ezekiel?!
Kevin can prove that’s still Elias, but he just needs some form of documentation! Birth certificate, driver’s license, hell, a library card! Pearce says that’s all confidential. Well these two don’t care about the truth but Kevin does! So next week, Kevin will put Ezekiel through a lie detector test. Y’know what, fine. Do that. Kevin thanks them for this, and Sonya finally gets to more pressing matters. Bianca Belair is going to have a match with Zelina Vega next, but Bianca wants to know who her first challenger will be. Sonya has a deal right here on paper, and says it’ll be great. Wait, what? What did she put on that contract? Sonya has no time to read Pearce in, gotta go.
Bianca Belair VS Queen Zelina Vega!
The strongEST, the fastEST, the roughEST, the toughEST and the newEST Raw Women’s Champion is going up against the Queen of the Ring! Will Bianca test Vega and see if this is a title worthy showdown?
Raw returns and Vega makes her entrance. The bel rings, Bianca claps along with the fans chanting, “E S T!” but Vega rushes in. Vega can’t roll Bianca up, Bianca handsprings back then runs Vega over! Bianca then whips Vega corner to corner, but Vega stops herself to go up and over. Vega reels Bianca into a BACKSTABBER! Cover, TWO! Vega facelocks to keep Bianca down, and then bridges through to headstand! Bianca endures, Vega finishes bridging to have a Chancery! Vega then floats to make this a chinlock stretch! Bianca endures, fans rally up, and Bianca stands up to throw Vega off!
Bianca knees low, scoops Vega, and FALL AWAY SLAMS! Vega tumbles and Bianca kips up! Fans fire up as Bianca stomps Vega, then hoists her up top. Bianca trophy lifts Vega and carries her around to do squats! Then she DUMPS Vega down! Bianca drags Vega back up, torture rack, KISS OF DEATH! Cover, Bianca wins!
Winner: Bianca Belair, by pinfall
Well, check the Queen of the Ring off the list! Sonya makes her entrance now, the contract in hand. But just what are the details? We’ll find out after the break!
Raw returns and Sonya has a mic.
Bianca sustained an eye injury at WrestleMania but she hasn’t been slowed down. So congratulations on both tonight and last week’s historic win. Sonya officially welcomes the new Raw Women’s Champion and fans cheer. Sonya says that was truly impressive, but it’s time for business. Sonya put it upon herself to find Bianca’s challenger. It was a hard task, as there are many great women in the WWE. Becky Lynch would surely love a rematch. Rhea Ripley and Carmella are also there, when they’re both back to compete. And speaking of, there’s Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, Doudrop, Dana Brooke. The options are endless and any one of them would love a title opportunity.
Bianca says she would be happy to take on any of those women Sonya just named. But at the end of the day, no matter who it is, Bianca vows to walk out the champion like she did at WrestleMania. Because Bianca is the strongEST, the roughEST and the braveEST. So whoever it is, let’s do it! Sonya is so glad Bianca said that. This is an open contract for a Raw Women’s Championship match. If Bianca wants to take on anyone, she can just sign right here and now to solidify why she IS the EST of the WWE! Oh, okay, Bianca sees what Sonya is doing. But she said what she said, so sure.
Bianca signs her part of the title, and Sonya thanks her. Now to bring out her opponent so they can sign this and we can make it official. This is a generational superstar who defies gender barriers, social norms, and has grace and style. A star who one year ago promised to come back for her shot! Please welcome… Then Sonya CHOP BLOCKS Bianca! And KNEES her down! Sonya then puts Bianca in a DRAGON SLEEPER, for an ELBOW DROP DDT! Sonya was of course talking about herself! Sonya signs the challenger’s part of the contract, and the WWE official has officially become the challenger! Sonya holds up the belt, but will this abuse of power stand?
Dana and Tamina enjoy their party.
Dana thanks their guests for being here, and for Tamina agreeing on the truce so they can all enjoy themselves. Tamina says of course. But after their honeymoons, it is open season. Well, easy now. But then Los Lotharios show up. What’re they doing here? They want to spice this up with a Los Lotharios Kiss Cam! They kiss Dana and Tamina no the cheeks. Then Nikki A.S.H shows up? She has a special something for them! DANCERS! Wait, one is a ref! This is a trap! Nikki rolls Dana, but Tamina breaks it! Tamina and Nikki brawl, Reggie comes here to make the rescue while Tamina TOSSES Nikki onto the bar! And slides Nikki from end to end!
Tozawa and Truth end up having to save Nikki from Tamina! Truth wants the madness to stop! Y’all should be ashamed! This backstabbing, greed! All y’all to blame! No one loves that title like Truth! No one does! But it isn’t the title that keeps them together. It’s love. Aww… Can Truth get an amen? AMEN! So in the spirit of love, and as the only officially certified “marriaging guy,” he orders all attacks on Dana Brooke to stop! Only until Truth can gloriously matrimonialize these two beautiful couples! Double wedding, NEXT WEEK! If y’all down with that, give him a what’s up? WHAT’S UP! Now let’s get this party started!
Adam Pearce confronts Sonya backstage.
Naming herself as the challenger is a complete and total abuse of power! Who the hell does she think she is? Uh, she’s the first official to answer an open challenge, and to become Raw Women’s Champion. She thinks she’s getting away with this?! There’s nothing to get away with. She’s a WWE official, and he can’t stop her. Don’t be jealous that she’s still in her prime. Sonya leaves, but is there something Pearce can do? Or is it all on Bianca to stop Sonya the tyrant from becoming Sonya the champion?
RKBRO VS The Alpha Academy!
The Tribal Chief announced on SmackDown that his cousins, The Usos, are coming for the Raw Tag Team Championships to unify them the same way he did World and Universal titles. But will it still be the Viper & Stallion holding onto these belts? Or will Chad Gable & Otis change things up #ForTheAcademy?
Raw returns and “SHOOOOSH~!” The Academy make their entrance, and Gable says Detroit is where he first declared his genius and announced that he’d earned his Master’s Degree with an immaculate 4.0 GPA! A-Thank-Yew~! Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like his genius rubbed off on the idiots. They all look and sound dumber than the last time Gable was here. SHOOSH. Shoosh, please. But we all heard what the Usos said. They have another thing coming if a SmackDown team is going to take Raw’s titles and leave! What’re you, crazy? The only reason the titles aren’t on the Academy is because Mania was full of distractions. Not least of which, the egomaniac, Gable Steveson!
Yeah, Steveson has a gold medal, but Chad has a gold brain! He might be the smartest man on the planet! A-thank-yew~! And look at Otis! Look at that face! Is this a face that’s worried? NO! This is a confident tree trunk who will beat RKBRO and inch the Academy closer to getting the titles back! A-thank-yew~! Gable & Otis get in the ring, and the match begins with Riddle and Gable. The two approach but Gable throat chops! Then CHOPS, then whips corner to corner. Riddle goes up and over and KICKS Gable down! Riddle then gut wrench suplexes Gable KICKS him down, and tags in Orton! ASSISTED FLOATING BRO!
Orton stomps Gable around, tags Riddle back in, and RKBRO mugs Gable with a KICK! Orton stomps a hand, Riddle brings Gable up. Gable and Riddle trade forearms, but Riddle fireman’s carries! Gable slips off, Otis tags in, Gable shoves Riddle to then waistlock! LARIAT GERMAN SUPLEX COMBO! The Academy soak up the heat, then Otis stands on Riddle in the corner! The ref counts, Otis steps off and Riddle flops out of the ring. Orton checks on Riddle, Otis goes out to put Riddle back in. Otis whips Riddle to ropes, then CLOBBERS him on the rebound! The Academy has control while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Gable wrenches Riddle’s arm with a mounted armlock. Fans rally as Riddle endures, and Riddle fights up. Riddle reaches out but Gable keeps him back. Riddle throws forearms, breaks free, and fires off palm strikes! Otis tags in, Gable chicken wings for a TIGER SUPLEX! Otis adds a SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Riddle survives but Otis kicks him to the corner. Tag to Gable, Otis Electric Chair Lifts, but Riddle fights off! Riddle shoves Otis, Gable leaps over, into a KNEE! Fans fire up but Otis keeps Riddle from Orton! Riddle KNEES Otis away! Otis falls out of the ring!
Gable grabs at Riddle’s foot, but Riddle kicks him away! Hot tag to Orton! The Viper rallies and fans fire up! Orton ducks to POWERSLAM Gable! Fans fire up more and Orton is feeling it! Orton puts Gable through ropes, drags him out, for the DRAPING DDT! Fans are thunderous but Orton hears those voices in his head! Gable turns RKO into backslide, TWO!! RKO after all!! Cover, Riddle intercepts Otis, RKBRO wins!
Winners: RKBRO, by pinfall
Gable and Otis still can’t crack the riddle that is RKBRO! But wait, who’s this pulling into the back? It’s the USOS! Jimmy & Jey have arrived on behalf of The Bloodline, and they want to complete the mission. Usos want RKBRO to know they’re coming, will we see SmackDown and Raw Tag Team Champions confront each other? We’ll see, after the break!
Raw returns and the Usos make their entrance!
Jimmy & Jey go right to the ring, RKBRO get mics, and Orton says he was beginning to wonder if these two were gonna show up. But apparently Big Dog let the bitches off the leash, and here they are live and in living color. Oh, wow, like they never heard that before. But Orton knows why they’re here, Uce! TO issue a challenge! The Usos are already the longest reigning SmackDown Tag Team Champions ever, so they wanna do that on Raw, too! So check it! USos here on Raw, they’re challenging RKBRO to a championship unification match to become UNDISPUTED WWE World Tag Team Champions!
Whoa, like in the Avengers when Thanos tried to get all those crystals? Yeah, Riddle, just like that. They got blue ones, they want red ones now! So let’s get this right. Usos are coming to RKBRO’s show, RKBRO’s ring and are going after RKBRO’s titles? Listen, Uce- But wait! Here come the Street Profits! Montez Ford 7 Angelo Dawkins have mics, and Ford says, “What’s happenin’, Motor City?” But does his eyes deceive him? Dawkins says he sees it but last time he checked, Profits were the ones who challenged RKBRO and Alpha Academy came in to make it a Triple Threat. The same Academy that the Profits whooped last week? YESSIR!
The Profits approach the ring and Dawkins says, they’re the ones next in line for a tag title shot. Is that right? But just look what we have here. All the way from SmackDown, it’s the UUUSOS~! Once again, they’re using their bloodline privilege to cut to the front. Jey says there ain’t no line except the BLOODLINE! Well guess what, Uce! The Profits will be happy to face the Double J’s after they take the titles from RKBRO. That way the Profits and the Usos can be the ones to unify this! The Profits are up, #WeWantTheSmoke! Usos and Profits argue, Orton tells them all to shut the hell up! No one wants to see them talking, they want a fight!
Fans are fired up for that! Profits VS Usos, right here and now, Orton wants it! Detroit wants it, too! Then let’s have that! Profits VS Usos, will this go a long way in determining who faces RKBRO?
The Street Profits VS The Usos!
Raw returns and RKBRO is watching this from commentary as Ford and Jimmy start. They slowly circle, fans rally up and duel, and the two tie up. Jimmy wrenches to a wristlock, but Ford rolls, handsprings and wrenches back. Jimmy headlocks, Ford powers out, but Jimmy runs Ford over. The Usos point at RKBRO and say #WeTheOnes, but Orton says to focus on Ford. Jimmy turns around into a dropkick! Ford wrenches then CHOPS Jimmy, then he ROCKS Jimmy with a right. Ford wrenches Jimmy, tags Dawkins, and they whip Jimmy to double shoulder him down! Then back suplex SPLASH! Cover, ONE!
Dawkins keeps on Jimmy but Jimmy ROCKS him with an uppercut! Jimmy CHOPS Dawkins, bumps him off buckles, then whips him corner to corner. Dawkins reverses, runs in, CYCLONE SPLASH! Jimmy staggers, Dawkins pushes him to a cover, ONE! Dawkins facelocks but Jimmy powers him back. Jey tags in, runs Around the World to forearm smash! Jey CLUBS Dawkins, runs, but into a FLYING ELBOW! Cover, TWO! Dawkins drags Jey up, whips him to ropes, but Jimmy tags. Jey reverses the whip, Dawkins dodges band hurdles, but runs into a DOUBLE SPINEBUSTER! Jimmy snatches Dawkins’ headband and flings it at Ford!
Jimmy stands on Dawkins at the ropes, the ref counts, but Jimmy lets off. Jey gets a cheap shot in! RKBRO protests but the Usos get away with one. Tag to Jey, and Jimmy scoops Dawkins, BACKBREAKER AX HANDLE COMBO! Jey stays between Dawkins and Ford while he soaks up the heat. Jey stands right over Dawkins, then he clamps on a chinlock stretch! Dawkins endures as Jey thrashes him around but the fans rally up. Dawkins fights up, Jey facelocks, but Dawkins reaches! Jey THROWS Dawkins down by his head! Jey tags Jimmy and the Usos split the wishbone! Jey even pie faces Dawkins on his way out.
Jimmy dares Dawkins to reach for Ford, then ROCKS him with a haymaker! Jimmy brings Dawkins up, CHOPS him, but Dawkins hits back with forearms! Dawkins backs Jimmy down but Jimmy kicks. Dawkins blocks and spins Jimmy, but Jimmy DRAGON WHIPS! Cover, TWO! Jimmy drops a knee on Dawkins, then tags Jey. The Usos talk more smack while they mug Dawkins. Jey drags Dawkins up and whips him into the corner. Dawkins ROCKS Jimmy! Then tosses Jey up and out! Jey manages to get up and he drags Dawkins out, but Dawkins ROCKS Jey! And ROCKS Jimmy! But Jey CLOBBERS Dawkins!
Jey brings Dawkins up, and he throws him into RKBRO! Orton and Riddle get up but the Usos say they can’t do anything! But then Ford FLIES!! Direct hit on the Usos, and Ford shimmies his shoulders while even RKBRO applauds! The Profits are back in this as Raw goes to break!
Raw returns once more and Jimmy has Dawkins in a chinlock. Dawkins endures and Detroit rallies up. Dawkins fights up, reaches out, but Jimmy holds him back. Dawkins throws elbows and gets free, but Jimmy gets around to fireman’s carry! Dawkins fights that off to hit the SILENCER! Fans fire up while both men are down, and Dawkins crawls for his corner! Hot tags to Jey and Ford! Fans fire up as Ford goes up and CROSSBODIES! Then he DECKS Jimmy, but Jey whips. Ford doges to then LARIAT! Jimmy back suplexes, Ford lands on his feet to mule kick, front kick and ENZIGURI!
Jey whips Ford, but Ford goes up and over and handsprings to then speed up and BLOCKBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Ford keeps his cool and he brings Jey up. Ford whips, Jey reverses, but Ford goes up again. Jey stays clear and then shoves Ford into buckles! Back suplex NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Ford is still in this but Jey goes to his corner. Tag to Jimmy, the Usos wait on Ford. But Dawkins drags Jey out to DECK him! Ford rolls Jimmy up in the distraction, TWO!! Dawkins tags in, Jimmy runs in but Ford doges! Dawkins ROCKS Jimmy, then Electric Chair Lifts! Ford goes up, “SUCK IT!” BLOCKBUSTER DOOMSDAY!! Cover, TWO!!
RKBRO, mostly Riddle, is shocked! Dawkins hurries but Jimmy escapes to the outside. Dawkins refocuses, builds speed, but Jimmy ROCKS him with an uppercut! SUPERKICK! Dawkins is down, tag to Jey and he goes up top! USO SPLASH onto knees! Dawkins was ready, hot tag back to Ford! Ford’s up top, FROM THE HEAVENS!! Ford flounders but gets to the cover, Jimmy breaks it!! Detroit says, “This is Awesome!” and the teams regroup. Dawkins gets Jimmy with underhooks, but Jimmy wrenches out to POST Dawkins! Ford TOSSES Jimmy, but Jey runs in. Ford ducks the leg lariat to BACK HAND!
Jimmy tags in, Ford whips but Jey reverses! Flapjack for ONE D!! Cover, Usos win!!
Winners: The Usos, by pinfall
One and DONE, the Usos just won! But RKBRO gest in the ring to stare them down. Both teams hold up their title belts, but the Usos back off first. But then Dawkins goes after Riddle! Riddle takes him out of the ring with a headscissors, and Orton sees Ford getting up. RKO!! But the Usos then DOUBLE SUPERKICK Orton! The Usos scoop up the Raw Tag titles, and they hold up all four belts! Will this be the future of the WWE? Or will the Viper & the Stallion turn the tables #outtanowhere?
My Thoughts:
A very good Raw here to follow a rather flat post-Mania week. MizTV with Cody to open the night was pretty good stuff, it poked a little fun at the differences between WWE and, well, literally every other company but mostly AEW (superstars = wrestlers, titles and belts), and it hyped up their match. Their match was great stuff, too, and Rollins showing up to watch was a good touch. Rollins and Cody of course establish their rematch, that’ll be on WrestleMania Backlash for sure. There’s a chance Rollins wins the rematch, and we get a tiebreaker on the way to Extreme Rules or Money in the Bank, whatever the next PPV is.
Veer VS Dom turned out to be one of a couple changes to tonight, it seems Rey Mysterio and Rhea Ripley were both out in COVID protocol. But Veer destroying Dom and “hospitalizing” him is a great way to add heat to Veer VS Rey, which can now be part of WM Backlash. Liv VS Naomi was also a change, but next week will give us the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match. Naomi beating Liv in a quick match is par for the course on Raw, but it was still a fast paced and good match. Still confident Naomi & Sasha retain and then sadly, Rhea turns on Liv. Then Sasha & Naomi will feud with a SmackDown team like Natty & Shayna.
AJ Styles VS Damian Priest was some BS for sure. Good brawl backstage, really good match until Raw ran into the schedule they stupidly gave themselves. They insisted Cody VS Miz started at 9 PM Eastern or thereabouts, so I suspect the spooky light show was just to give them an out if Styles VS Priest started going long. Dumb as hell but whatever, it extends things so WM Backlash can have Edge VS Styles II. A silver lining was Ciampa’s call-up didn’t give him a dumb new name. And him ending up part of the “Elias IS Ezekiel” story was interesting. Kevin putting Ezekiel through a lie detector test actually sounds like an amusing segment.
Okay, so Theory ditched his first name of his own will since he and Vince talked it over. Don’t worry, everyone, this is obviously a gag because of Steve Austin giving everyone stunners. But sadly, Theory is getting his US Championship match with Finn Balor, aka he’s winning the US Championship next week. Lashley had a decent segment with MVP and Omos. Not one of Lashley’s sharpest promos but obviously this is leading to Lashley VS Omos for WM Backlash. Pretty sure MVP will be why Omos wins that and then they can have a tiebreaker at another PPV.
Bianca of course squashes Vega, but it was quite the twist for Sonya to make herself Bianca’s challenger. This has to be the next step to transition Sonya out of management and back to fulltime competitor. She’ll give Bianca a really good match, and it’ll be a good first defense for Bianca. Just wondering when Asuka is going to return and if Alexa will ever be used again. Maybe Asuka wins the Ms. MITB briefcase to do what she was supposed to back during Empty Arena Era and before Becky was pregnant. Then we got very entertaining bits from the WWE 24/7 Division, and of course this officially sets up the double wedding. I can’t wait to see what kind of chaos we get outta that.
And of course, we got great stuff out of the WWE Tag Division tonight to get that unification story going. RKBRO VS Alpha Academy was a great match, RKBRO had a great interaction with The Usos and the Profits, and then we got another great match with Usos VS Profits. Naturally, the champions of each brand win, and the Usos standing tall was a good close to tonight and a good start to this story. RKBRO can respond on Friday, the teams can go back and forth, and the tag title unification match at WM Backlash can go either way. I would love if RKBRO were undisputed tag champs first so that Orton & Riddle can have that distinction on their resumes.
My Score: 8.3/10
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Time to defy the odds!
A tag team gauntlet and a Fatal 4 Way determine contenders that will challenge for NXT gold this Saturday at Stand & Deliver: Las Vegas!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- NXT North American Championship #1 Contender’s Fatal 4 Way: Eddy Thorpe VS Lexis King VS Wes Lee VS Ethan Page; Ethan wins and will challenge Ricky Saints for the title at Stand & Deliver.
- NXT Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: Tatum Paxley w/ Gigi Dolin VS Lola Vice; Lola wins and advances to Stand & Deliver.
- NXT Tag Team Championships #1 Contenders Gauntlet: Hank ‘n’ Tank win and will challenge Fraxiom for the titles at Stand & Deliver.
- NXT Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: Karmen Petrovic w/ Ashante THEE Adonis VS Thea Hail; Thea wins and advances to Stand & Deliver.
PLAY BY PLAY
NXT North American Championship #1 Contender’s Fatal 4 Way: Eddy Thorpe VS Lexis King VS Wes Lee VS Ethan Page!
The Absolute holds what many want, but only one gets their shot. Will the Alpha Wolf be one step closer to his “birthright?” Will the Drama King look to go for another crown? Will the Wes Side return to former glory? Or will it be All Ego that meets Saints in Sin City?
But speaking of Saints, Ricky makes his entrance after everyone else is already in the ring! The fans fire up as the champion decides to join commentary. The bell rings and Eddy kicks at Ethan but Ethan blocks, only for Lexis to DECK Ethan! Wes then rolls Eddy up, but Lexis shoves Wes away! Lexis basement SUPERKICKS Eddy! Wes and Lexis stare down, things speed up, and Lexis hurdles, but Wes leaps over. Wes dodges Lexis, but Lexis steps on Wes’s dropdown! The fans are torn, but Eddy is up. Lexis wants Eddy to calm down, but then Ethan is also up. Lexis tells them both to calm down, but now Wes is up.
Lexis finds himself surrounded, and Wes feeds Lexis to Eddy’s KICK, and Ethan’s HAYMAKER! Wes adds a HAYMAKER, then Eddy KIKS again! Ethan HAYMAKERS, Wes ENZIGIRIS, and Lexis wobbles. Eddy TOSSES Lexis, the fans fire up, but then Ethan DECKS Wes! Eddy ROCKS and KICKS, KICKS, and SOBATS on Ethan! Wes runs up, Eddy gets around to GERMAN SUPLEX! Wes tumbles to a corner, Eddy BOOTS Ethan! Eddy runs and BOOTS Wes! Lexis is back, but Eddy dodges to BUSAIKU KNEE! Cover, Ethan breaks it! Ethan ROCKS Eddy, but Wes ROCKS Ethan! Eddy spins Wes, but Wes BODY BLOWS!
Wes KICKS, KICKS, and ENZIGIRIS Eddy, to then DOUBLE STOMP him down! Wes runs to ELBOW Ethan in a corner, mule kick, and AX KICKS! Wes then runs at Lexis, but Lexis dodges! Lexis dodges Eddy so Eddy runs into Wes! Lexis dodges Ethan, Ethan runs into Wes & Eddy! Lexis then SUPERKICKS Ethan into them both! Lexis runs corner to corner, but everyone clears out! Lexis POSTS himself! Wes BOOTS Ethan, Eddy kicks Wes, then Eddy reels Wes in. Wes wrenches out, slips around, but Eddy elbows free. Eddy runs, Wes dodges, and Ethan holds the ropes down! Eddy tumbles up and out and to the floor!
Wes runs up, Ethan puts him on the apron, but Wes RAMS into Ethan! Eddy grabs at Wes, Wes kicks him away, but Ethan ROCKS Wes! Wes is stuck in the ropes, so Ethan hits a DRAPING CODE BREAKER! Cover, TWO! Wes survives, Ethan drags Wes up, but then he sees Lexis climbing a corner. Ethan pushes Wes aside to ROCK Lexis! Ethan then climbs up to join Lexis, reels him in, but they both fire body shots! Lexis CLUBS Ethan, Eddy UPPERCUTS Lexis! Eddy climbs up to work with Ethan, but then Wes throws hands on the legs! Wes gets under all of this, and the fans fire up for the TOWER OF DOOM!!
All four men are down while the fans cheer on “NXT! NXT!” for making this the opener! Lexis flops out of the ring, Ethan and Eddy flounder, but Wes runs, SHOOTING STAR on Ethan! Cover, Eddy breaks it! The fans fire up as Wes and Eddy stand to trade forearms! Wes fires a body shot then a forearm, but Eddy fires a forearm, an UPPERCUT, and a KICK! Eddy snarls, but Ethan waistlocks! Eddy fires elbows to get free, but Wes BOOTS Eddy! Ethan DUMPS Eddy out, Wes DECKS Ethan! Wes builds speed and he DIVES into Lexis! Ethan let Lexis take that shot while he grabs Eddy. Eddy blocks the apron bump to elbow Ethan!
Eddy runs up, Ethan dodges, and Eddy almost hits Ricky! Ricky says watch it, but then Ethan SHOVES Eddy into Ricky! The fans go nuts, Ricky is pissed, and he THROWS Eddy aside to get at Ethan! The ref tries to stop this, but Ricky is too heated, so the ref EJECTS Ricky from ringside! The fans boo but Ethan just mockingly waves bye-bye. Ricky warns Ethan, the fans chant, “Ref, You Suck!” but NXT goes to break.
NXT returns and Lexis ROCKS Wes. Lexis reels Wes in, but Ethan BOOTS Lexis down! Ethan then scoops Wes to SLAM him onto Lexis! Ethan then THROWS Lexis into Eddy! Ethan drags Lexis up, but Lexis slips free of the Canadian Rack! Lexis grabs the arms, crosses them, then reels Ethan in, but Ethan trips Lexis up! Ethan turns Lexis over, BOSTON CRAB! The fans are torn as Lexis endures, and Lexis claws at the mat! Lexis crawls forward, but Ethan drags him back from the ropes! Wes runs up, Ethan ducks the lariat, but then Eddy YANKS Wes outta the ring! Eddy clamps onto Lexis with a CROSSFACE!!
Lexis endures double submissions, but then Wes STOPS Lexis from tapping!! The fans are thunderous, but Eddy is furious! Eddy lets go of Lexis to STOMP Wes down! Eddy then BOOTS Ethan down! Eddy goes up a corner as the fans duel, and Lexis UPPERCUTS Eddy! Lexis climbs, fires forearms on Eddy, and Eddy falls to the apron! Ethan CLUBS Lexis! Ethan has an Electric Chair, then he has Eddy in a facelock! But Wes goes up, up, and CANNONBALLS onto a DOOMSDAY DDT COMBO!! The fans are going nuts all over again while all four men are down! But then Ethan crawls to cover Eddy while Wes crawls to cover Lexis! Double covers, TWO!!
The fans fire up while Wes and Ethan grow frustrated. They stare down, then they throw hands! Wes fires a flurry, but Ethan ROCKS Wes with one! Wes PELES in return! Wes hurries to go up a corner! But Lexis SHOVES him down! Wes hits apron, Lexis climbs, SWANTON BOMB on Ethan! But Eddy is up top! He MACHO ELBOWS the cover apart! Eddy then drags Lexis up, but Wes rises! METEORA for Eddy!! Cover, Lexis YANKS Wes up! CORONATION!! But Ethan has Lexis! TWISTED GRIN!! Cover, ETHAN WINS!
Winner: Ethan Page, by pinfall (NEW #1 Contender to the NXT North American Championship)
Ethan smirks as he takes advantage of this golden opportunity. Ethan grabs a mic to say, “Well, I guess that makes me the man then, huh?” The fans are torn but Ethan says he is the #1 contender. Ethan knows he isn’t the guy Ricky wanted to win, and he has every right to believe that. Because everyone remembers their first. And the first championship in WWE for Ricky was ruined by Ethan Page! At Stand & Deliver, Ricky’s first title defense will also be ruined by- RICKY SPEARS ETHAN!! No more ringside ban, and the champ gets some payback! But will Las Vegas be absolute? Or will All Ego’s ego only expand exponentially this Saturday?
Jordynne Grace speaks.
“What you see today as The Juggernaut, multiple time TNA Knockouts Champion, this wasn’t how I started. I wasn’t scouted, I never had ‘star power,’ never really been a beauty queen. If it were possible to have negative aura, that is who I was. I was just a little girl wrestling in half-empty gyms, trying to find a place to fit in a world that didn’t seem built for me. I knew what people saw, or really rather what they didn’t see. But something I did have that not a lot of people in wrestling do, is self-awareness. So I finally stopped wishing that I had what I was supposed to have, and started building what I could become.
“I turned insecurity into intensity, doubt into discipline, and that was the day The Juggernaut was born. I fell in love with getting stronger. I became laser focused into building my body into an atomic bomb. Waking up at 3AM to train, jumping into a car to drive 8 hours to wrestle, hit another gym session after that, then sleep two hours and do it all over again the next day. And as hard as that was, I was obsessed with it. It was a way that I could stand out against all the other women. And to me, it was the only way. I wanted the WWE Universe to say, ‘Yeah, the WWE women are killing it, but have you seen Jordynne Grace over in TNA? That’s Jordynne Grace!?’
“I’ve put in the work so that no one could ignore me. I forced my way into the conversation and made people believe in The Juggernaut the way I believed in myself. Now, the biggest hurdle of my career is right in front of me this Saturday, when I have the opportunity to become NXT Women’s Champion. And just like I’ve been my entire career, I’m aware of exactly what I’m gonna have to do to leave Vegas with my first WWE championship.” Jordynne is ready, but will Grace survive in Sin City?
The NXT Women’s Division holds another watch party.
Sol Ruca asks Zaria who she thinks will take the last two spots in the Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match. Zaria isn’t sure, but it won’t matter when the outcome will be the same. Sol agrees there, because it’ll be one of them as the champ. Oh, really? Doesn’t Sol mean Zaria? Kelani Jordan hears this and takes offense. She thought #ZaRuca was fine. Uh, they are. New shirts and everything, thanks for asking. Well, it won’t be either of them, because Kelani’s going to be a TWO-TIME Women’s North American Champion. And she’ll show everyone why no one can do it like Lan- Izzi Dame interjects.
Izzi says good one, idiots. But y’know who Izzi misses these days? The old Kelani. She was way more likeable. Old Kelani, new Kelani, it won’t matter when Izzi’s the one on top of the ladder, holding the title, and bringing it home to The Culling. Keep dreaming, Izzi, it’ll never happen. Those two both head out, and Sol says it’s just like she said, either her or Zaria will walk out as champion. Zaria says sure, something like that. But to the point, who will get the remaining spots and fill out the six pack?
NXT Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: Tatum Paxley w/ Gigi Dolin VS Lola Vice!
The weird girls are hungry for some gold, but so is the MMA Mamacita! Will Tatum take over? Or will there be a Vice in Sin City?
The bell rings and the two tie up. Tatum rolls Lola, TWO, and Tatum narrowly avoids the roundhouse! The fans rally as the two reset and tie up. Tatum waistlocks, Lola switches, and Lola SLAMS Tatum down. Lola holds on as Tatum fights around, and Gigi coaches Tatum up. Tatum pries free, backflips up and over to then Oklahoma Roll, TWO! Lola has Tatum in a modified CROSSFACE! Tatum endures, fights to stack Lola, TWO! Lola runs up but Tatum kicks her away. Tatum wrenches, UPPERCUTS, then CLUBS the arm. Tatum grinds Lola down, the fans duel, and Lola endures. Tatum hits a BRIDGING FUJIWARA!
The fans rally, Lola fights around and reels Tatum into a TRIANGLE HOLD! Tatum high stacks, TWO! Lola lets Tatum go, but then BODY BLOWS! Tatum drops to her knees, Lola clamps on with a headlock, and Lola hits a takeover. Tatum fights around, but Lola puts on the pressure. Tatum fights up, Lola thrashes, but Tatum powers up and out. Lola ducks ‘n’ dodges to then whip Tatum, and Lola catches Tatum to a SLEEPER! The fans rally, Tatum powers out fast, but then Lola hits a SPINEBUSTER! Tatum bails out, Lola rushes after her! Tatum crawls under the ring? Lola grabs at Tatum but Tatum kicks her away!
Tatum scurries under the ring, Gigi taunts Lola, but Lola tells Gigi she’s estupida. Lola goes looking for Tatum, but Tatum YANKS her into the ring frame! Tatum laughs, Gigi says that’s what Lola gets, and NXT goes picture in picture.
Tatum taunts Lola, brings her up and into the ring, then drags Lola up to KNEE the arm again and again! Tatum wrenches and WRINGS the arm, then JUMPING ELBOW DROPS! Cover, TWO! Tatum grabs Lola’s arm, stomps it, then twists the wrist! Lola endures, but Tatum SLAMS the arm off the mat! Tatum bends the fingers, mockingly high-fives the hand, but Lola kicks her away! Tatum comes back and wrenches again, but Lola wrenches and WRINGS it in return! Lola SOBATS Tatum, whips and KNEES her low, and Tatum is in the ropes. Lola goes to the apron to AX KICK Tatum down! Tatum flounders into the ring but Lola pursues.
Lola whips and KICKS Tatum, then drags her up to reel her in. Lola snap suplexes! That’s Una Amiga as Lola gets up, for Dos Amigas! Lola drags Tatum up again, gives some Latina Heat, and hits THREE AMIGAS! Cover, TWO! Tatum stays in this and Lola grows frustrated. Lola stalks Tatum to the ropes, stands her up, and whips her to KNEE- NO, Tatum rolls Lola up! TWO, and Lola KICKS Tatum back down! Lola drags Tatum around, then clamps on with a chinlock. Tatum endures, even as Lola thrashes her around. Tatum fights up, RAMS Lola into a corner, but Lola holds on! Tatum RAMS Lola into another corner, but Lola clamps on again!
Tatum pries at the hold, RAMS Lola into the corner again, and now she’s free. Only to run up into headscissors! Tatum brings Lola off the corner to POWERBOMB! NXT returns to single picture as both women rise. Tatum dodges a kick, and she CLOBBERS Lola! And CLOBBERS her again! And ENZIGIRIS! Tatum wrenches Lola for a NECKBREAKER! The fans fire up while Tatum runs corner to corner and CROSSBODIES Lola in the corner! Tatum whips corner to corner to CROSSBODY again! Tatum goes for a third, but Lola KNEES the crossbody down! The fans rally, Gigi coaches Tatum, but Lola AX KICKS again!
Lola fires LIGHTNING KICKS and she backs Tatum up into the corner! The fans fire up for Lola as she reminds us, “I’m a Latina~!” HIP ATTACK! Lola drags Tatum out of the corner, covers, TWO!! Tatum survives and the fans fire up! Lola drags Tatum up, lifts her up, but Tatum sunset flips! TWO, and Tatum hurries to a corner. Lola runs in, but Tatum dodges! Lola gets stuck in ropes, Tatum CROSSBODIES again! Tatum brings Lola around to hoist her up top, and the fans duel even harder! Tatum climbs, Lola fires body shots, and Lola shoves Tatum down! Tatum comes back to GAMANGIRI! Tatum then climbs up, brings Lola up, and SUPERPLEXES!
The fans fire up, Tatum crawls to the cover, TWO!! Lola survives, but Tatum doesn’t stop! She hooks Lola up, but Lola pops free! SLEEPER!! Lola drags Tatum down, but Tatum rolls back to a cover! TWO!! Lola lets go in time, but Tatum throat chops! Tatum goes up the ropes, springboards, but into a SUPERKICK! And then the BUENAS NOCHES BACKHAND!! Cover, Lola wins!
Winner: Lola Vice, by pinfall (advances to Stand & Deliver)
Lola got the knockout, and now she’s punched her ticket to Las Vegas! Will everything come up LV this Saturday?
Giulia speaks.
“For the past few weeks, I watched Stephanie bask in the glory of being a double champion. I waited and waited for her to give me a rematch, but it never happened. Friendships only go so far when it comes to the NXT Women’s Championship. Last week, I reminded Stephanie of what Beautiful Madness is. Jaida Parker? I don’t know her, but I can tell she is very confident. She likes to dish out punishment, but she doesn’t like to take it. Jordynne Grace is strong, but on Saturday, I will introduce her to Strong Style. Jordynne and Jaida are obstacles in my way to Stephanie. My goal was to win the NXT Women’s Championship. Losing it only made me more dangerous.
“Last year at Stand & Deliver, I introduced myself. This year, I leave as the NXT Women’s Champion.” Giulia is ready, will all succumb to the Beautiful Madness?
A car pulls up real fast.
And out steps Trick Williams! #CrashOutTrick looks ready for a fight, will he find one this close to his NXT Championship Triple Threat?
Ava Raine is arguing with The Fatal Influence and Meta Four!
The NXT General Manager is trying to get Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne, Jazmyn Nyx, Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson to all listen to her, but then Gigi & Tatum stumble in. Gigi brings up this other opportunity Ava talked about last week, and Ava says yes, that’s what this is about. But Jacy says it won’t be an opportunity for Gigi & Tatum. Ava says hold on, hold on. Everyone will get their opportunity at Stand & Deliver. There will be a Triple Threat Tag Team match, and after talking it over with Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis, the winners will get a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match for the NXT after WrestleMania.
Tatum & Gigi are fired up, as are the Meta Girls and Fatal Influence, but then Roxie storms in and says she just knew Ava would do this. Every single woman is going to be on Stand & Deliver except for Roxie, the woman who made this division the best Women’s Division in the WORLD! Ava says yes, hi, how are you, Roxie? Good job losing to Tiffany on SmackDown last Friday. But clearly she didn’t get enough because she’s back here bothering Ava. But hey, if Roxie can charm herself a tag partner, then Ava will happily make this a Fatal 4 Way. The others chuckle and Roxie says Ava has always had it out for her,
Roxie storms off and the others sarcastically wish her luck. Will Roxie be able to salvage one of the many bridges she’s burned around here? Or will the Prodigy be out of luck this close to Stand & Deliver?
NXT Tag Team Championships #1 Contenders Gauntlet!
Speaking of luck, the luck of the draw is going to be tested, and the team that survives the odds will battle Nathan Frazer & Axiom for the titles! But who do we have first? It’s Hank ‘n’ Tank! The Street Profits told them to just be themselves and it’ll be alright, but will Hank ‘n’ Tank be able to run the table?
Starting with them are Tyriek Igwe & Tyson Dupont! Will Ty & Ty represent for the Wes Side?
Hank ‘n’ Tank VS Tyriek Igwe & Tyson Dupont!
The teams sort out and Tank starts against Tyson. They circle, tie up, and are in a deadlock. They break, circle again, then tie back up. Tyson waistlocks, full nelsons, but Tank powers up. Tyson spins Tank to KNEE him in the face! Tyson runs and UPPERCUTS Tank down! Cover, TWO! Tyson storms up but Tank fires a body shot. Tyson ROCKS Tank, SPLASHES in the corner, then tags Tyriek. Tyson feeds Tank to Tyriek for a kitchen sink knee! Tyriek UPPERCUTS, then KICKS a leg out, to then BLINDSIDE LARIAT! Cover, TWO! Tank is toughing it out, but Tyriek bumps him off buckles. Tyriek runs, but Tank BOOTS him back!
Tank storms up, Tyriek headlocks, but Hank tags in as Tank powers up and out! Tank blows past Tyriek, Tyriek gets distracted, and Hank CLOBBERS him! Tank dodges Tyson’s sucker punch to triangle jump LARIAT! Hank ‘n’ Tank take the corners, and as Tyriek stands up, “HONK! HONK!” BIG BELLY SANDWICH! Hank scoops, Tank runs up, GRIDIRON! Cover, Hank ‘n’ Tank ELIMINATE Ty & Ty! The fans fire up while Wes is freaking out! But no time to rest, here comes Niko Vance & Brooks Jensen! Will Hank ‘n’ Tank be victims of The Culling?
Hank ‘n’ Tank VS Niko Vance & Brooks Jensen!
Jensen keeps Vance back, they have to do this the right way. Vance does start against Hank, and the two tie up. Niko RAMS Hank into the corner, then Jensen throws hands! Jensen tags in, and he ROCKS Hank! Jensen whips corner to corner but Hank reverses. Hank runs up and SPLASHES, then he runs side to side! Tank tags in, Hank LARIATS again! Tank adds a LARIAT! Niko runs up, Hank hits him with an atomic drop! Niko hobbles to a corner, Tank runs up to LARIAT! Hank LARIATS Jensen, then Hank ‘n’ Tank switch, more LARIATS for Jensen & Niko! And then more LARIATS! HONK HONK, BIG BELLY SANDWICH for Niko!!
Jensen staggers up, Tank gives Hank the boost into the SEATED SENTON! Cover, TWO! Jensen survives but Tank clamps on, and NXT goes picture in picture.
Jensen endures, fights up, and he bumps Tank off buckles. Jensen gives Tank more buckle bumps, but then Tank stops that! Tank keeps Jensen from running away to give him buckle bumps of his own! Shoutout to Matt Hardy with these “DELETE!” bumps, and then he SLAM DUNKS Jensen off the corner! Tag to Hank, and Tank puts Jensen up top. Hank ‘n’ Tank coordinate, and they DOUBLE HEADBUTT Jensen in the ribs! Hank pushes Jensen down, covers, TWO! Jensen stays in this but Hank stays on him. Hank whips Jensen to a corner, runs up, but Jensen BOOTS him! Jensen brings Hank over, tags Niko, but Hank gets loose!
Hank ROCKS Jensen, DECKS Niko, then dodges Jensen, only for Jensen to DUMP Hank to the apron! Jensen ROCKS Hank, and Niko Electric Chair Lifts Hank! Jensen lines up the shot, DOOMSDAY BULLDOG to the desk!! Hank goes down in a heap while The Culling stands tall! Niko then drags Hank up, bumps him off the apron, and Hank sputters around the way. Niko puts Hank in the ring, stomps him around, then drags him from his corner. Niko bumps Hank off buckles, then CHOKES him! The ref counts, Niko lets off, and he stalks Hank to a corner. Niko whips Hank corner to corner hard!
Niko tags Jensen, Jensen throws hands on Hank, then JABS, JABS, JABS! Jensen DECKS Hank, covers, TWO! Hank stays in this, even with blood in his mouth, but Jensen ELBOWS him in the head. NXT returns to single picture as Jensen whips and CLOBBERS Hank! Cover, TWO! Tank coaches Hank, the fans rally up, but Jensen clamps onto Hank with a chinlock. The fans rally harder, Hank fights up to his feet, and Hank fires body shots! The fans cheer, but Jensen turns Hank! Hank turns that to a backslide! TWO, and we see Fraxiom watching backstage as Jensen grabs Hank’s leg! Jensen drags Hank back, tag to Niko.
Niko stomps Hank again and again, then talks trash. Hank fires body shots in return, but Niko CLUBS him down! Niko taunts Tank, Tank warns Niko, and Hank LARIATS Niko down! The fans fire up, but Niko grabs Hank’s leg! Hank still crawls, but Jensen distracts the ref! The ref misses Hank’s hot tag! The fans boo as Tank has to go back! Niko scoops Hank, Jensen goes up, ASSISTED POWERSLAM! Cover, TWO!! Hank survives and the fans are thunderous! Jensen & Niko have no idea how this is possibly, but Niko facelocks Hank. Hank fights up, fights forward, but Niko CLUBS him down!
Niko tries to suplex but Hank blocks it! Hank suplexes Niko, but Jensen reaches out to push it down! The ref reprimands, but Niko suplexes! Hank slips free, shoves Niko away, Jensen tags in, but Hank hot tags Tank! The fans fire up as Tank rallies on The Culling! Tank LARIATS Niko up and out! Then he dodges Jensen to OVERHEAD SUPLEX! Tank dodges Niko to ROCK him! Tank runs to BLAST Niko off the apron! Jensen runs up, Tank cartwheels and LARIATS! A shoutout to the War Raiders, perhaps? Tank covers, Niko breaks it! The fans boo, but Hank is back! Hank and Niko grapple, Niko TOSSES Hank, but Tank TOSSES Niko!
But Jensen rolls Tank up! TWO, and Jensen runs! Tank ducks under the leg lariat, goes up, up, but leaps into a WHEEL KICK! Niko tags in, then he tags Jensen back! They hoist Tank up to the Electric Chair, and Jensen goes up, DOOMSDAY BELLY2BELLY!? Tank turns things around on Jensen, and Hank trips Niko! Tank covers, HANK ‘N’ TANK ELIMINATE THE CULLING!! Blink and you might’ve missed it! But Hank ‘n’ Tank have to regroup quickly, because here comes the No Quarter Catch Crew! Will Myles Borne & Tavion Heights be the ones to go the distance?
Hank ‘n’ Tank VS Myles Borne & Tavion Heights!
Myles & Heights rush in, they dodge Hank ‘n’ Tank, and Myles DROPKICKS Hank! Tavion fireman’s carries Tank for the DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! Cover, TWO!! Tank survives but Tavion knows he has Tank where he wants him! Tavion ROCKS Tank, whips Tank, and LARIATS Tank! Tag to Myles, the NQCC double whip to then DROPKICK! Cover, TWO! Tank is still in this, but Myles drags him up. Myles ROCKS Tank, ROCKS him again, and then tags Tavion. Feed to the fireman’s carry throw! Cover, TWO! The fans duel while Tavion rains down forearms! Tavion clamps on a chinlock but Tank endures the squeeze.
Tank fights up, the fans rally harder, and Tank fights up to his feet. Tank fights around, and JAWBREAKERS free! Myles tags in, but Tank tags Hank! Hank DUMPS Tavion, then fires haymakers on Myles! The fans fire up as Hank swings away, then fires fast hands from all sides! Hank whips, ELBOWS and then DECKS Myles! Myles staggers to a corner, Hank runs corner to corner, SPLASH and BULLDOG! The fans fire up as Hank goes to the outside, and he gets on the tracks! He uses the steps to FLYING BODY ATTACK on Tavion! The fans are thunderous as Tank is up, too! HONK HONK, BIG BELLY SANDWICH for Tavion!!
Wait, Myles FLIES?! Down goes Hank ‘n’ Tank and the fans are thunderous as NXT goes picture in picture!
Myles drags Hank up, puts him in the ring, and pushes him to a cover, TWO! Hank is still in this, but Myles KNEES him in the back. Myles drags Hank up, ROCKS him, then UPPERCUTS him! Hank flops against the ropes, Myles stomps away, but then stops as the ref counts. Tag to Tavion, and Tavion stomps away on Hank on the apron! Tavion steps in, kicks Hank to the floor, then takes a bow. Tavion goes out to fetch Hank for an APRON BACK SUPLEX! Hank writhes, Tavion pushes him in and covers, TWO! Hank is showing true grit, but Tavion fires forearms! Tavion whisp Hank to ropes, then LARIATS him down! Cover, TWO!
Tavion drags Hank up, whips him into a corner, then tags Myles. Tavion stands Hank up to feed him to the SNAP POWERSLAM! Cover, TWO! Myles is frustrated, but he sits Hank up to KNEE him int he back! Myles CLUBS Hank, ROCKS him, then fires body shots! Hank fires hands in return but Myles kicks low. Myles reels Hank in but Hank blocks the suplex! Hank cradles Myles, TWO! Myles stomps Hank down, then drags him up to ROCK him with a right! Hank flops over, Myles stomps him and taunts him, then ROCKS him again! Hank fires a body shot in return! Myles fires another haymaker! Myles stalks Hank, but Hank ROCKS Myles!
Myles comes back to ROCK Hank, but Hank ROCKS Myles! NXT returns to single picture as the hands keep going! Hank ROCKS Myles, both men flounder to their corners, hot tags to Tavion and Tank! Tank and Tavion fire fast ‘n’ furious fists and the fans fire up! Tavion RIPOS Tank’s shirt off! Tank ROCKS Tavion again and again! Tank whips, Tavion reverses to LARIAT! Tavion runs, but Tank ELBOWS him! Then Tank hits a BIG back suplex! Tavion is up!? Tavion hits a BIG back suplex! But Tank is up!? The fans are thunderous as these two run up, LARIAT from Tavion again! Cover, Hank just breaks it in time!
Myles storms in and TOSSES Hank! NQCC get Tank up, fireman’s carry, but then Hank drags Myles out! Tank shoves Tavion, rolls him up, HANK ‘N’ TANK ELIMINATE NQCC!! What a hot streak! But now, the final team is none other than Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura! Will Hank ‘n’ Tank get past the Bullhead Brawler & Great Rush? Or will being themselves only get them this far?
Hank ‘n’ Tank VS Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura!
Tank steps outside, but Briggs just goes after him! Briggs THROWS Tank into the steel steps while Inamura runs up on Hank! Inamura wrenches Hank to fire those fast hands! Then Inamura hits a BIG suplex! Cover, TWO!! Hank still has something but Briggs tags in. Briggs CLUBS Hank, talks trash, but Hank fires a haymaker! Briggs likes the fighting spirit and eggs Hank on. Hank fires more hands, but there’s not a lot of mustard. Briggs BOOTS Hank, whips him, then scoops him, SIDEWALK SLAM and a SPLASH! Cover, TWO!! Hank still has something left, and Fraxiom likes where this is going. Briggs tags Inamura and Inamura CHOPS Hank!
Inamura CHOPS and JABS on hyper speed! Tag to Briggs, he runs side to side and BOOTS Hank! Briggs brings Hank around, tags Inamura, CHOP into the CHOKE SLAM BACKBREKER COMBO!! Cover, TANK BREAKS IT! The fans cheer and Tank coaches Hank. The fans rally as hard as they can, but then Inamura runs up! Tank takes the CHOP for Hank! Briggs BOOTS Tank down, then he and Inamura double whip Hank! Hank ducks Briggs, shoves him into Inamura, then cradle for Briggs!! Inamura leaps but Tank anchors him! HANK ‘N’ TANK WIN!?!?
Winners: Hank ‘n’ Tank, by pinfall (NEW #1 Contenders to the NXT Tag Team Championships)
Incredible! Hank ‘n’ Tank start and finish this gauntlet, and now they’re headed to Las Vegas! Fraxiom may #NeverSlowDown, but Hank ‘n’ Tank never give up. What happens when irresistible forces meet immovable objects at Stand & Deliver?
Stevie Turner talks with Kali Armstrong.
The Evolve General Manager, and Ava’s assistant NXT GM, is very impressed with Kali, which is why she’s in the Fatal 4 Way main event of tomorrow night’s Evolve! Kali will take on Brinley Reece, Kendal Grey, and Chantel Monroe. Kali likes that, and says thanks for the opportunity, Stevie. Kali heads out, and Ava is there to say Kali’s gonna be a big star one day. Robert Stone agrees. But how stoked are we that Hank ‘n’ Tank just won the tag team gauntlet? He is so happy for those guys. Stevie agrees, the tag title match is set. But alas, there’s one last spot in the Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match to fill.
Ava says yes, but she found a last minute entry for that match. Oh? Who? Ava says don’t worry, you’ll know when the music hits. Ava teases something big, who will make a surprise entry? And will that certain someone soon Stand & Deliver?
A truck pulls into the parking lot.
And it’s Oba Femi! The Ruler brings his NXT Championship with him, but wait! Is that Dark State sneaking up behind him!? Are they going to go after the champ and ruin Stand & Deliver?
Jaida Parker speaks.
“When you see Jaida Parker, you’ve already made your mind up. Because of my old life, people have already made assumptions about me. And to be honest, I don’t care, because I never fit in anywhere anyways. People think just because you look the part that it’s easy. But just because I carry something with ease don’t mean that it ain’t heavy. See, this path to Stand & Deliver started right here, in Port St. Lucie. I laughed in these streets, I cried in these streets, and I started making a damn name for myself in these streets. And Stephanie, Jordynne, and Giulia, they all come from somewhere. I’m the only homegrown talent in this match.
“And yeah, other women might be intimidated by that. Hell, the entire world IS intimidated by that. But I learned right here in Port St. Lucie that if I can hang with the boys, then I can hang with anybody. Because baby, I am pressure. And I ain’t talking about the pressure that burst pipes. I’m talking about the pressure that creates diamonds! Because growing up, if you didn’t apply it, it was damn sure applied to you. See, my dad’s a coach, and he would never let me play football like my brother did. So I decided to go for the next best thing: Soccer. And that physicality, what? Man, I loved it.
“But with my dad also being my coach, people already made the assumption about me. I’ve been in a women’s locker room my whole life, so I know exactly how vicious it can be. All women wanna do is try and cut you down. And out here in NXT, we have the best division in the world. But I know deep down, none of them want me to succeed before they do. And that’s not my problem. My best friend is actually my uncle. Man, you talk about a support system, You wanna talk about keeping a smile on my face. That’s exactly what he did to me. And when I lost him, I learned real early on that I couldn’t trust nobody. Because if I could lose my best friend, who else can I trust?
“See, people assume I have an attitude. Nah, I’m just the way that I am because that’s what happens when you don’t fit other people’s agendas. That’s what happens when you lose the purpose of this all. Life made me hard. So nah, I don’t need no damn friends in no damn locker room. All I need is that big game situation. The moments that make or break you. And ain’t nobody been able to break me. And come this Saturday in Las Vegas, I’m gonna show the entire world that Jaida Parker don’t play. And I’m taking that NXT championship with me.” Miss Parker got #OutTheMud, but will she get that gold?
The D’Angelo Family arrives!
Stacks, Rizzo, Luca, and a few other cousins are here, but where’s Tony? Where’s The Don? Stacks says T ain’t coming. This was Stacks’ call. Wait, Stacks didn’t run this by Tony? Stacks tells Luca that he doesn’t need to justify his decisions, he’s the Underboss, this is his call. Are they with him or not? Luca says they’ve never backed down from a fight before, they sure won’t do that tonight. Dark State is already waiting, so it’s go time! Stacks has Rizzo move aside, and the boys get the crowbars out! Rizzo hurries to call Tony, but the fight is on! The crowbars hit first and they hit hard! The random cousins get taken out, but Stacks & Luca stand their ground!
Luca’s got Dion, Stacks has Saquon, they drag those two inside, but then Dion & Saquon fight free! They brawl around backstage, knocking into ladders and walls. Luca CHUCKS a trash can at Dion! Saquon SMACKS Luca with the trash can’s lid, then throws it into Stacks! Saquon grabs a chair, but Stacks grabs it from him! Luca SMACKS Saquon with another chair! But now Cutler & Osiris have caught up! They’re throwing off the other cousins, as well as security, and Cutler CLOBBERS Luca! Security still tries, but Cutler ELBOWS one, and CHOKE SLAMS another through a table! But then Stacks & Luca get Cutler with a DOUBLE BACK SUPLEX through a table!
Osiris shakes free of security to run up on Luca with a crowbar! Stacks gets Luca outta the way, and that crowbar goes into the wall! Then Luca & Stacks DOUBLE SPEAR Osiris through that wall!! Security drags Luca & Stacks up, Saquon and Dion are back, this brawl moves down some other hallway! They’re in the storage area, they crash into spare pipes, and Dion THROWS Stacks up against some spare lockers! And then Dion SLAMS the lockers down! Stacks avoids disaster, Luca SMACKS Dion off the lockers! Saquon comes back, armed with a fire extinguisher! Cutler & Osiris are back up, they brawl with the D’Angelos, but Saquon just BLASTS everybody!
Saquon is going wild, but then he JAMS Luca up with the extinguisher itself! Cutler THROWS Stacks against someone’s car! Security steps in, but one of them is sent into the car! Stacks CHUCKS a cinderblock! Cutler dodges, the block shatters on the ground, and Cutler scoops Stacks to LAWN DART him into the garage door! Saquon SMACKS Luca off the side of the car, then Dark State gets him up. DOUBLE URENAGE onto the hood! Another car pulls up, and it’s TON! CROWBAR SHOTS FOR EVERYBODY! Dark State is going into retreat as the cops get involved! Tony helps Stacks up, and he says HE called the police.
Tony now asks what the hell Stacks is doing! Going over his head?! Risking the family for something Tony didn’t sign off on?! Stacks says Dark State disrespected the family! Tony says yeah, but Tony had a plan. Stacks says he got caught up, and Tony says yeah, and Stacks should’ve listened instead. Because while Stacks got caught up in whatever the hell this was, Tony was handling business the way it’s supposed to be handled. They all want Dark State, okay? But not in some street, in some parking lot. They’ll do it in front of the entire world, on the biggest stage: Stand & Deliver! Because that’s what they do.
Tony knows what is best for the family. Stacks, do NOT question him again. Understood? Understood. Tony hugs it out with Stacks, but will the D’Angelos be able to end Dark State the right way?
Stephanie Vaquer speaks.
La Primera went home to Chile, and not only does she get to see family and friends again, but she’s also part of Chilean TV specials on this Road to WrestleMania. She is very happy to represent Chile at Stand & Deliver as well as all of WrestleMania Week, the most important week of the year. She reviews how she is not only the first woman to hold both the NXT Women’s & NXT Women’s North American Championships at the same time, but she’s the first Chilean women’s champion.
She then goes to her hometown of San Fernando to have a media moment with the mayor, Pablo Silva Perez, who is very proud that one of their own is now a world class professional wrestler. Vaquer tells the story of when, years ago, she told her father she wanted to be a wrestler. He was of course worried, but she told him she would one day be a champion in the WWE. During her career, she was winning titles all over the world, but he never got to see that because she couldn’t come home. But now, she gets to give him a big surprise, because she brought home replicas of the titles she won in NXT.
Vaquer feels so blessed to be home to have all the love and support of her people in Chile. And at Stand & Deliver, she promises to continue representing them with pride, passion and courage, always keeping Chile’s name high. Vaquer is ready, but will La Primera still be THE champion here in NXT?
Backstage interview with Hank ‘n’ Tank.
Kelly Kincaid is with tonight’s big gauntlet winners, and says they’re going to Stand & Deliver! Yeah, baby! Here we come! These past few weeks, they’ve gotten tons of advice from teams on Raw, SmackDown, and beyond. Some was good, some not so good. But tonight, Hank ‘n’ Tank stayed true to who they are, and they pulled it off! They learned who they are! But they also learned who they’re not. They didn’t change who they are, and they left it all in the ring! They took the gauntlet and gave it a bodacious belly boy booming twice! And now… They’ve got a chance at the titles at Stand & Deliver!
But in steps Frazer & Axiom. Axiom loves it! Hank ‘n’ Tank found themselves and they did it! Now they’re ready to put themselves to the test on the biggest stage, against the best tag team in NXT. Axiom looks forward to it. Frazer says he knew they could do it! He knew the entire time. Uh, no, Frazer gave them the worst advice possible. Oh, did he? They ran the entire gauntlet, but it’s just a shame they did it for nothing. Axiom is annoyed by Frazer, but Tank says agree to disagree. See you at Stand & Deliver. Hank ‘n’ Tank offer handshakes, Frazer says, “We most certainly will,” and then heads out? Axiom shakes hands, so at least one champion is respectful.
But will Frazer also learn to respect the bodacious belly boys? Or will Fraxiom, dysfunctional once again, still pull off the win?
Roxie meets with Ava again.
Roxie is so upset! Even Hank ‘n’ Tank get to go to Stand & Deliver and she doesn’t? Stone says those two beat four other teams, they deserve it. Well so does Roxie! Ava asks if Roxie found a tag partner. Actually, yes. Roxie thought about it, and she realized she’s a Prodigy for a reason. She’ll just be her own tag partner. That’s not how that works… And one Roxie is plenty anyway. Ava asks how bad she wants this. Really badly! Oh, is that so? Cora Jade steps in! Does Roxie want it so bad that she’s willing to apologize? Roxie is speechless, but she’s only got 4 days left. Will Roxie swallow her pride to go for glory with an old friend?
BREAKING NEWS for Stand & Deliver!
It seems during commercial, Roxanne did apologize to Cora, and now the mean girls are back in action! The Fatal 4 Way Tag match is now an ELIMINATION MATCH, and set for the Stand & Deliver Countdown Show! Who will start off their WrestleMania Weekend with a big win and head right for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles?
NXT Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: Karmen Petrovic w/ Ashante THEE Adonis VS ???
It’s the main event and there’s one spot left in that six pack challenge! Karmen is ready to represent for Team SHING SHING, but who’s she up against? We find out, after the break.
NXT returns and wait, Andre Chase is talking with Uriah Connors & Kale Dixon. The boys want Mr. Chase to reconsider reopening Chase U, but he tells them that while he’s thankful for everything they’ve done for him, he’s… He’s just scared. What if he ruins their lives like he has everyone else’s? “You didn’t ruin mine.” THEA HAIL!? She’s back! And Thea says Mr. Chase has her blessings. He can reopen Chase U. Does that mean she’s back in? No, but she’ll always be a proud alumni. For now, she’s qualifying for the Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match! Then go get ’em, champ! Thea fist bumps Mr. Chase and fires up!
The music starts, “I’m a grown ass woman!” Thea runs out there, the fans go nuts already, Thea almost licks the title! Will everyone be shouting #HailYeah this Saturday in Las Vegas?
The bell rings, the fans chant “Welcome Back!” and even Karmen is happy to have Thea back. But then Karmen kicks, only for Thea to block! Thea spins Karmen, rolls her up, ONE! Karmen trips and covers, ONE! The two stand off and the fans cheer. Karmen and Thea reset, then things speed up. Thea rolls over the dropdown, then arm-drags! And arm-drags again! The fans fire up with Thea, she runs in and ELBOWS Karmen! Thea clinches for an EXPLODER! Karmen bails out, Adonis coaches her, but Thea builds speed! Thea DIVES, but into a GAMANGIRI! Karmen storms in, runs up, and she SLINGBLADES!
Karmen dares Thea to get up, then whips her, only for Thea to reverse. Karmen goes up to JUMP SOBAT! Thea flounders, Karmen DISCUS LARIATS! Cover, TWO! Karmen is annoyed but she rains down fists! Thea kicks free, but Karmen brings her up for a KICK! And KICK! And KICK, but Thea blocks it! Thea HEADBUTTS Karmen, then dodges a lariat to ELBOW Karmen down! And ELBOW her again! And then wrench and kick to the leg! BASEMENT CLOTHESLINE! The fans fire up and Thea runs, ROLLING NECKBREAKER! Thea hauls Karmen up, scoops and POWERSLAMS! The fans fire up with Thea as she shakes the ropes!
Thea SEANTONS, then TRUST FALLS! The fans fire up and Karmen flounders. Thea runs in, floats over, and underhooks for the BUTTERFLY TWIST! Then KIMURA!! Karmen TAPS, Thea wins!
Winner: Thea Hail, by submission (advances to Stand & Deliver)
Thea makes a return in a big way, and she’s on to perhaps the biggest match in her career! Thea looks around at ringside, we see #ZaRuca up in the perch, while Izzi Dame, Kelani Jordan and Lola Vice have appeared in different parts of the crowd. The six pack is complete, but who will be toasting their victory at Stand & Deliver?
Trick Williams heads to the ring!
The fans fire up and chant “Whoop Dat Trick!” as he makes his way out for what is to be one final faceoff between the NXT Championship Triple Threat competitors. Trick grabs a mic to keep that Booker T energy going, “Huh? I like it!” Trick says he’s been doing a whole lot of thinking lately about who he is. A couple weeks ago, Young OG came out here and said Trick… is the new Carmelo Hayes… But Trick gets it now. Because you either die the hero, or live long enough to become the villain. But Trick Willy still alive! And heavy is the head that wears the crown. Oba, your head may be heavy, but on Saturday, Trick’s coming for that crown, dawg!
And Je’Von, that means better luck next year for you! The fans cheer, but here comes Oba Femi! The Ruler changes the mood as he has belt around his waist and mic in his hand. Oba tells “Mr. Williams, it’s funny how you still talk like you’re the man around here. Well guess what? You’re not the man. What you are is a broken record playing the same hits over and over, and over and over again. And nobody is singing along, because you are the only one who is still whooping dat trick!” The fans disagree as they chant, “Whoop Dat Trick!” Oba says he’ll give Trick a word of advice: The spotlight is moving on, so Trick should do the same.
Trick gets one last chance to stand in the spotlight alongside Oba at Stand & Deliver on Saturday, and that will be Trick’s last time. Because when Oba is done with him, Oba is moving on, as well. Trick wants to ask, do Oba’s ears not work that good? Are those braids too tight? The fans are still chanting Whoop Dat Trick around the world, let’s talk about it! The fans cheer, and they again chant for Trick. But hey, what’s Oba got? He’s still The Ruler? It takes more than a few Black Panther chants to be the man around here, dawg! Trick says he’ll help Oba out, because it looks like Oba is struggling to hold that title up ever since Trick let him have it.
Trick will take that from Oba, that’ll help Oba out, and- Here comes Je’Von Evans! The Young OG has them cut his music, and he tells Trick, “Please, please, PLEASE shut yo’ ass up! Oh, I mean, I dunno, I could be trippin’, gang. But like, I guess the Young OG was right about Trick a few weeks ago. I mean, bruh, you come here week, after week, after week, after week, after week, after week… talking about a match that you deserve. And honestly, I’m gonna speak for some people here, at least for some. We tired of that! Like, if you gon’ talk, talk about something else. But you already know how I feel about you, so Trick Williams, you’re dismissed.
“Let’s talk about the Ruler now! HOO!” Je’Von steps in, fans chant “O~BA! O~BA!” Je’Von says, “I ain’t gonna lie, that’s cool. I ain’t gonna lie. Real recognizes real, OG. You’ve been glued to a championship ever since you got to NXT. Y’know what I mean? It’s like you’re on track to success. You walk into a room, and everybody knows who you are. And honestly, I’m not trying to be a smart ass fool, but those two times I dropped you, I was hype about it. Cuz I didn’t drop a regular wrestler, Oba. I dropped the NXT Champion! You feel me? That’s real talk.” The fans do cheer that. Je’Von asks how many times are we gonna hear, “Oba Femi will main event WrestleMania in a couple of years.”
And that’s not an “if,” it’s a “when” Oba gets drafted. And c’mon, Big O. C’mon, champ. Je’Von pats him on the shoulder and says yeah, he did that. But c’mon! Oba from the University of Alabama! Roll Tide! Roll Tide! The fans here being from Orlando, Florida, they’re not as into that. But Je’Von says bruh, Oba was supposed to get to Raw, SmackDown, and be great! But he walks around this arena, around the Performance Center, and around NXT like all this revolves around here. Deadass right now, bro bro… This kid from North Carolina wasn’t supposed to make it to WWE. But what’d he do? He did that!
And you think Oba is the favorite? But little do you know, that’s how Je’Von likes it. YERRR! Oba chuckles, and says, “Ladies and gentlemen, Je’Von Evans!” The fans cheer, and Oba says, “The Young OG! This is what 20 years looks like. Look at him. 20 years old. You’ve had a phenomenal rookie year. If anybody knows anything about having a phenomenal rookie year, it’s The Ruler, isn’t that right? And you’re the future of this place. But like I said, I’m the present. The future is not here yet. And you’re right about one thing: This place does revolve around me, because I have this!” Oba holds up the NXT Championship.
“Because I have this, that makes me the man! Because I have this, I’m the top dog! And you cannot handle this, because you are a CHILD!” The fans boo that, and Je’Von brushes that off. Trick says he’ll hope both of them out. After they’re done hugging and giving compliments, they’ll talk about what matters, and that’s Trick getting that title back. Belee dat! Je’Von says if they’re gonna talk about Saturday, it’ll be how neither Trick nor Oba can touch Je’Von in this ring. Because we all know Je’Von can wrestle circles around both of them, and that’s facts. The mics drop, but then Trick & Oba SHOVE Je’Von out of the ring!
And now Trick and Oba start throwing hands! The fans fire up, Je’Von returns, but he gets TOSSED out this time! Trick and Oba throw more hands, but Je’Von springboards in! DOUBLE O G CUTTER!! Je’Von stands tall over Trick and Oba, then holds up the title! Is this what we’ll see at the end of Stand & Deliver?
My Thoughts:
A great go-home NXT here, especially with the “last minute” builds to some big matches. I was a little surprised the Fatal 4 Way went first, but I suppose it was the match that needed time to breathe, while also one of the matches they couldn’t adjust on the fly if they needed to cut something for time. That technical stuff aside, it was an awesome opener with all four guys looking strong. Ethan did a great job sniping the finish there, but great stuff with Ricky being ejected just to come back and spear Ethan down. I hope Ricky doesn’t lose given he stood tall, but he and Ethan will have a great match for this title.
Very good stuff in the Women’s North American Championship build. Good promo from Sol, Zaria, Kelani and Izzi, and good stuff in connection. Thea Hail making her TV return was a great move, and a great win over Karmen here. Also, I do appreciate she gave Mr. Chase the encouragement to restart Chase U. Lola VS Tatum was also a very good match, and very good win for Lola. I can’t really be sure who wins the ladder match, but I feel like it’d be boring for Kelani to win again, she has to have a proper feud with someone before she becomes a two-time Women’s North American Champion. It’d be the most fun if Thea finally got a title reign with this match.
Branching off from that, good stuff with building a Fatal 4 Way tag. Roxie having to make amends with Cora is an interesting twist but I figured that would happen. I don’t know their chances when we’re talking an Elimination Fatal 4, but I suppose Roxie & Cora wouldn’t reunite if they weren’t going to have a strong showing. At the same time, it really depends on if Liv & Raquel are meant to win against Lyra & Bayley. Speaking of Lyra & Bayley, I’m surprised Hank ‘n’ Tank ran the table just like they did, but it was done in an awesome way. Hank ‘n’ Tank VS Fraxiom will be awesome, and this really will come down to how Hank ‘n’ Tank are of like minds while Frazer & Axiom keep disagreeing.
The backstage brawl of Stacks & Luca VS Dark State was both a bit cheesy but also really good. Tony making the save was great, and now we’re getting a big Six Man Tag out of it. It feels like this will be the make or break for the D’Angelo Family, as Stacks keeps pushing the boundaries of his authority within the family. Great cameo from Kali Armstrong to help plug Evolve, that’ll be a great Fatal 4 Way over there. Great promos from the women in the NXT Women’s Championship Fatal 4 Way. Jaida’s promo felt like the longest and most in-depth, but Vaquer’s was pretty close. I feel like it’ll be between the two of them for who wins the title. I’m leaning towards Vaquer retaining, but Jaida really does deserve some kind of title reign before her NXT run is over.
And a great promo segment from Trick, Oba & Je’Von to close the show. All three made strong points, but then Je’Von standing tall was quite the surprise but also a great image. The math would now say he doesn’t win, but it’s a Triple Threat so maybe there’s a way for him to still win out. It could even have to do with all these theories of someone leading Dark State, but that’s only if there is someone else leading Dark State. It’d be a great way to kick off a new chapter for NXT if Dark State had the NXT Champion leading them, and their feud with the D’Angelos continued as Tony tried to go after that title to complete his Grand Slam.
My Score: 8.9/10
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It’s a truly star-studded Raw!
Ahead of their WrestleMania 41 Night 1 Main Event, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, CM Punk & Paul Heyman are all here on Monday Night Raw!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Bayley w/ Lyra Valkyria VS Liv Morgan w/ Raquel Rodriguez; Bayley wins.
- Rey Mysterio w/ The LWO VS Julius Creed w/ Team American Made; Rey wins.
- AJ Styles VS Karrion Kross w/ Scarlett Bordeaux; Styles wins.
- PENTA VS Finn Balor; Finn wins, by disqualification.
PLAY BY PLAY
Gunther is here!
Sacramento boos Der Ring General as he storms to the ring. Michael Cole was going to interview the World Heavyweight Champion later tonight, but it seems Gunther wants to get to it. Gunther and Cole meet in the ring, Cole says two weeks ago, he left Jimmy Uso bloodied in this ring. That caused Jey Uso to march out here last week- Gunther cuts Cole off to says that last week, Jey walked out here, looked Gunther in the eyes, and claimed he’s not afraid anymore. The fans boo as Gunther says this week, he is here to look us all in the eyes to tell us that Jey Uso is full of crap! Cole understands the fans are upset, but speaking of that, it seems Gunther is also upset.
We saw last year at WrestleMania, when… The fans “YEET! YEET! YEET!” and Gunther says screw the questions! Screw Jey Uso! Screw everything Jey stands for! And screw everybody who stands with Jey! The fans boo more, and Gunther says ever since he stepped for in the WWE, he is the greatest gift this company has ever received! For 80% of his time in the WWE, he has been a champion! And now, he is the GREATEST World Heavyweight Champion of all time! The fans boo more, but Gunther says he refuses to let somebody like Jey Uso ruin that for him. The fans “YEET!” more and he says fine, do it as much as you want!
Gunther tells Jey to puff his chest out, walk into WrestleMania with the most confidence he’s ever had, because it won’t matter! In the end, the bell has to ring! And when that happens, Jey still can’t lace Gunther’s boots! Gunther will put Jey down for a FOURTRH time! These last two weeks, Gunther has been accused, told he went too far, that he lost control. Jey, trust one thing: In 37 years of LIFE, Gunther has never lost control! The fans chant “You Suck! You Suck!” Gunther says two weeks ago, when he took a bath in Jimmy’s blood, Gunther was in full control, and he LOVED it!
And Jey, go pray to the Lord, thank Him for how Gunther was in control, or else he would’ve drowned them both in Jimmy’s blood! Gunther looks forward to next week, calling his mother and telling her how much he enjoyed beating the living hell out of Jey, and is STILL World Heavyweight Champion! Gunther storms off, having done his part for tonight. Will nothing and no one stop Der Ring General from destroying Jey?
Bianca Belair speaks.
“I’ll be the first to admit that lately, I’ve been in my head. Everything that’s happened with Jade and Naomi, it really messed me up. And now, this whole situation with Iyo and Rhea has brought out a different version of me. But different isn’t wrong. My Road to WrestleMania has filled with nothing but blood, sweat and tears. Not no complaining, no whining, no excuses. No, just straight facts. I’ve been doing nothing but standing up for myself and speaking the truth, something that anybody would do. Something I would hope people are teaching their kids to do. And you don’t have to like the truth, but you can’t deny it.
“Just like I can’t deny now it’s a Triple Threat. Yeah, I’ve been through a lot. But I’m still the best. So I’ma use the bit of everything that I’ve been through to be the Bianca I know I can be. I’m the Bianca that won Elimination Chamber, I’m the Bianca that’s never been pinned at WrestleMania, and I’m the strongest, the fastest, the roughest, the toughest, the quickest, the greatest, the best Bianca that you have ever seen. So it doesn’t matter if it’s a Triple Threat, because there’s nothing that Rhea or Iyo can do to stop me from getting my flowers and walking out of WrestleMania as champion. Because you cannot spell WrestleMania without E S T.”
Bayley w/ Lyra Valkyria VS Liv Morgan w/ Raquel Rodriguez!
The Role Model and the Morrigan ran the table on Friday Night SmackDown’s tag team gauntlet, and now they’re going to WrestleMania! Will they have even more momentum going into that WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match? Or will the leading ladies of Judgment Day refuse to give up the spotlight even now?
Raw returns and Bayley has made her entrance, Lyra by her side. The bell rings, the fans rally up, and Bayley circles with Liv. They approach, and Liv SLAPS Bayley! Liv laughs, but Bayley smirks. Liv apologizes, then runs away! Bayley chases Liv around the outside, but then they slip into the ring. Liv stomps away on Bayley, the fans are torn but the ref counts. Liv stops at 4, and Liv bumps Bayley off buckles. Liv stomps a mudhole, but again stops at 4. Liv then stomps another mudhole in, and shouts, “OKAAAY~!” as she lets off. The fans are torn, Liv stands Bayley up, but Bayley fires forearms! The fans fire up, Liv swings, but into a fireman’s carry!
Liv fights free, ducks ‘n’ dodges Bayley, but Bayley hits a THESZ PRESS! The fans fire up and Bayley hits a NECK SNAPPER, then a SLIDING LARIAT! Cover, TWO! Bayley stomps Liv around, glares at Raquel, but Liv kicks from below. Bayley rains down fists on Liv, the fans rally behind her, and Bayley whips. Liv reverses, then avoids the up ‘n’ over to DROPKICK Bayley! Liv runs corner to corner, and BACK BODY BLOCKS! Liv rolls, but Bayley follows to LARIAT! The fans fire up again and Bayley looms over Liv. Bayley glares at Raquel, then bumps Liv off buckles. Bayley ELBOWS Liv, then ELBOWS her again.
Bayley brings Liv around, the fans cheer her on as she bumps Liv off buckles. The fans duel, Bayley brings Liv in and snap suplexes! Cover, TWO! Liv is tougher than that but Bayley stays on her. Bayley brings Liv over but Liv stops the buckle bump to give a buckle bump! Liv runs up, but Bayley ELBOWS her! Bayley goes up to FLYING ARM-DRAG! Then she gest around to SAIDO! Liv bails out, Raquel checks on her, but Bayley smiles. Bayley aims, builds speed, and DIVES, but into a forearm! Liv drags Bayley out to snap suplex to the floor! That’s just Una Amiga as Liv gets Bayley up again! Dos Amigas to the floor!
Liv drags Bayley up again, but Bayley stops that to wrench and KNEE low! Bayley RAMS Liv into steel steps! The fans fire up, Bayley runs up, but Liv dodges! Bayley hits steps, then Liv STMOPS Bayley’s hands! Liv drags Bayley up, THREE AMIGAS to the floor, from OFF the steps! Liv gives some Latina Heat while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Liv has Bayley in the ring. Liv grinds Bayley down with a chinlock but the fans rally up. Bayley fights to her feet, then JAWBREAKERS free! Liv staggers, comes back, but Bayley blocks to fire forearms! Bayley fires forearm after forearm, but Liv KICKS in return! Liv kicks again, but Bayley KNEES her down! Liv flounders, Bayley runs up, but Liv dodges! Bayley is sent into the buckles! The ref checks Bayley and she’s still in this, so Liv basement ENZIGIRIS! Cover, TWO! Bayley is tougher than that but Liv gives her cheap hammer fists. Bayley hits back but Liv stomps her down.
Liv goes up the corner, waits on Bayley to rise, and FLYING- NO, Bayley grabs Liv’s legs! Liv fights the turnover, pops Bayley into the sunset flip, TWO! Bayley runs up, Liv ducks the knee to roll her up, TWO! KNEE!! Liv flounders around again, Bayley runs in, SUNSET FLIP BUCKLE BOMB! The fans fire up as Bayley drags Liv to a cover, TWO! Liv stays in this but Lyra coaches Bayley. Raquel coaches Liv while Liv crawls away. The fans duel and Liv stands. Bayley grabs a leg but Liv kicks at her! Liv BOOTS Bayley away, but Bayley comes back and slides out! But Liv gets her for a CODE BREAKER! Bayley flops down, and Liv snarls as she rises up.
Liv aims and MISSILE DROPKICKS to the floor! A little double-edged given that landing, but Liv hurries to get Bayley up and into the ring. Liv crawls to the cover, TWO! Bayley survives and Lyra is relieved. Liv snarls again and waits on Bayley. Bayley goes to the ropes, Liv runs up, OBLIV- NO, Bayley puts her on the apron! Bayley ROCKS Liv, has her in the ropes, but Liv denies the hotshot! GAMANGIRI! Liv storms in, gets moving, she goes up, up, and FLYING- STUNNER! Bayley turns things around on Liv, and hits a BAYLEY2BELLY!! Bayley crawls to the cover, Raquel gives Liv the ROPEBREAK!
The fans boo, they all saw Raquel do it! Lyra goes after Raquel, Raquel fights her off and BOOTS her down! The fans boo, but Bayley DECKS Raquel, and hits the HOTSHOT in the ropes! The fans fire up but Liv hits Bayley with a BACKSTABBER!! And then OBLIV- NO, Lyra anchors Bayley’s feet! Bayley jackknife bridges, AND WINS!
Winner: Bayley, by pinfall
A huge bit of teamwork leads to a huge win over one-half of the tag champions! Liv is livid, will she and Raquel get their revenge at WrestleMania?
Paul Heyman waits backstage.
And like usual, he’s waiting on The Tribal Chief. Will Roman Reigns even bother with The Wise Man knowing he’ll be in CM Punk’s corner at WrestleMania?
Rhea Ripley speaks.
“Bianca, I can see right through you. You said you were just out there to watch, and then you said you were just out there to call it down the middle. But I can see your true intentions now: You thrive on playing with my emotions, winding me up like I’m some sort of toy to you so you can get what you want and make it seem like I’m the bad guy. The thing that you failed to understand is that when I lose something that I love, I wills top at nothing to get it back. And Iyo, I never had to give you a championship match. But watching you pout and moan, it really pulled on the heartstrings that I had left. So I pulled a page out of your book, and I got what I wanted, too.
“So Iyo, I advise you to cherish every single moment you have with the Women’s World Championship. And Bianca, I can’t wait to make you feel what it’s like when I’m the bad guy. Because at WrestleMania 41, I get back what belongs to me.”
Rey Mysterio w/ The LWO VS Julius Creed w/ Team American Made!
Before going up against the supposed greatest luchador of a generation, El Grande Americano, the King of Lucha will take on one of the Creed Brothers. But is this going to be far more than just a tune-up? Or will Rey speed-dial the 619 here in Sacramento?
Raw returns and American Made has made their entrance. The bell rings, Rey and Julius circle, then Rey waistlocks. Julius backs Rey into a corner, the ref counts, and Rey lets go. Julius elbows Rey down! The fans boo but Julius pushes Rey around. Julius wrenches Rey, wristlocks, but Rey endures. Julius uses a straight arm lever to lift Rey! Then he drops Rey, grinds the arm down, but Rey fires forearms! Rey uses the ropes to flip through, then he KICKS, KICKS, and KICKS! Julius wrenches, hammerlocks, but Rey reaches back! Rey jumps up, FLYING-MARE! Julius runs back up to CLOBBER Rey!
Julius talks trash, American Made soaks up the heat, and Julius whips Rey. Rey reverses, then blows past to tilt-o-whirl and RANA! The fans fire up as Julius tumbles to a corner! Rey fires up, but Julius comes back to CLOBBER him again! Cover, TWO! The fans rally for Rey but Julius clamps on a chinlock. Rey endures, the fans rally up more, and Rey fights up. Rey throws body shots, runs, but Julius kitchen sink knees him down! Julius stands Rey up, whisp him to ropes, but Rey KICKS back! Rey dropkicks the legs and Julius ends up on ropes! Rey dials it up, but Julius dumps Rey out! Rey RAMS into Julius, ROCKS him, then climbs up!
The fans fire up, but Brutus distracts the ref! This lets Gable trip Rey up! The fans boo but Julius is right up top! So now Wilde distracts, and that lets Dragon Lee trip Julius! Turnabout is fair play, but now both teams are protesting! So the ref EJECTS everybody! Things will truly be 1v1, after the break!
Raw returns again and Julius has a neck wrench on Rey. Julius whips Rey hard to a corner, runs up, but Rey ELBOWS him! And BOOTS him! Rey goes up, up, but Julius Electric Chair Lifts! Rey fires hands, then spins to MYSTERIO RANA! Both men fall out of the ring pretty hard, but Rey gets back inside! Rey WRECKS Julius with a dropkick, the fans fire up, and Rey builds speed to SLIDING- NO, Julius stuffs Rey into a deadlift suplex! Julius marches with Rey, and then goes up the steel steps! Julius has Rey at the ropes, but Rey fights free! Julius BOOTS Rey back! Julius runs up, Rey moves, Julius POSTS himself!
The fans fire up while Julius flops into the ring. Rey hurries back up, climbs the corner, and FLYING RANAS! Julius ends up in a corner, Julius climbs up again, and he rains down fists! The fans count all the way to TEN! Rey fires up, the fans are with him, and Rey whips Julius corner to corner. Julius springs right up, goes over, but then Rey QUEBRADAS! But Julius catches him! Rey swings through to DDT! Cover, TWO! The fans fire up while both men are down! “This is Awesome!” as Rey rises, and he brings Julius around. Julius blocks the whip, shakes his head, and he whips Rey. Rey slides under, comes back, but Julius KNEES Rey down!
Julius brings down the straps, runs up, but Rey DUMPS Julius out tot he floor! Wait, El Grande Americano is here! Rey runs up, grabs him by his mask, but then Julius rolls Rey up! TWO!! Julius gets up, swings, but Rey shoves Julius into El Grande! Rey dropkicks Julius onto the ropes! Dial it up, 619!! Slingshot, DROP THE DIME! Cover, Rey wins!
Winner: Rey Mysterio, by pinfall
But then El Grande CLOBBERS Rey! The fans boo, the LWO returns, but Julius holds them off! Grande CLOBBERS Cruz, but Dragon Lee fires off forearms! Dragon Lee whips, but Grande FLYING HEADBUTTS! The fans boo, but now Grande goes up top! DIVING HEADBUTT onto Rey! “UH GRACIAS~!” That mask is definitely loaded like last week, but will Rey be able to overcome that tactic and win for the honor of true lucha libre?
The War Raiders speak.
Ivar says, “Xavier, Kofi, you run your mouths about how the New Day is the greatest tag team of all time.” Erik says, “The fact of the matter is, the War Raiders have blazed a path of world domination for more than a decade. We’ve won gold on multiple continents.” “And last week, we had you beat, dead to rights.” The New Day took the cowardly way out because they knew they couldn’t beat the Raiders. The New Day says this is about the titles, but it has gotten much more personal. Kofi & Woods took this to a whole new level. They didn’t come for these titles, they came for Erik’s neck! They tried to put Erik on the shelf! They tried to end his career!
So at WrestleMania, this won’t be a match! It’ll barely be a fight! This is WAR!
The New Day is backstage.
They’re busy playing the Clash of Clans WWE crossover game, not that they’re in it. But Jackie Redmond walks over to talk with them. The New Day says that is rude, they’re busy playing a game. This lack of respect is audacious. Jackie does apologize, but she brings up the War Raiders saying that this match at Mania is now a war. War? New Day’s been in war from how they’ve been treated this whole time! The whole time! But the warpath stops when they take back what belongs to them, and that’s their WWE World Tag Team Championships! The entire world will see that ya bois, the NEW DAY~, are the best team on the face of Planet Earth!
Last week was just a taste of what they’re willing to do to get those titles back. And after Mania, Erik will wish they took his head off so that he and Ivar wouldn’t have to catch the beating they’re getting this weekend. At WrestleMania, every irrelevant and immature member of the WWE Universe will have no choice but to drop to their knees and THANK GOD for the New Day! Woods & Kofi head out, but will they survive this WrestleMania weekend?
AJ Styles VS Karrion Kross w/ Scarlett Bordeaux!
Before taking on The Maverick, Logan Paul, at WrestleMania, the Phenomenal One is going to prove to Mr. & Mrs. Doomsday that this AJ Styles IS the AJ Styles that can get the job done! Does that mean Raw is going to be Too Sweet? Or will Kross be disappointed?
Raw returns as Kross makes his entrance, his femme fatale by his side. Kross is really taking this mirroring stuff to another level, wearing tights very similar to what Styles would wear. Kross still wants Styles to understand, Styles has to be like the Styles of the past in order to finally humble Logan Paul and save professional wrestling. Styles gets mad, but Kross shoves him! Styles RAMS Kross into the corner, RAMS him again and again, but lets off as the ref counts. Styles storms back up, whips corner to corner, but Kross reverses. Kross runs up, but Styles BOOTS him away. Kross comes back to BOOT Styles down!
The fans boo but Kross stomps Styles around. Kross talks trash, but Styles KICKS Kross! And CHOPS! Kross YANKS Styles into ropes, then CHOKES him! The ref counts, Kross says it doesn’t have to be this way, but he lets off as the ref pulls him back. Scarlett CLAWS at Styles’ face in the distraction! The fans boo but Kross stomps Styles. Kross drags Styles up, but Styles JAWBREAKERS back! Styles runs up, but into a SAIDO! The fans boo, Kross stalks Styles to a corner, then he stomps away. Kross whips corner to corner hard, and Styles clutches his ribs as he falls. Kross laughs at Styles’ pain, then stomps him more.
Kross drags Styles up, but Styles DRPOKICKS Kross down! The fans cheer, Kross bails out, and Styles slides to DROPKICK! Kross hits barriers, then Styles PLANCHAS! Kross moves, Styles lands safe on the apron, but Kross sweeps the legs! Kross then whips Styles hard into barriers! Styles almost falls onto that guy cosplaying the Prime bottle. Kross whips Styles hard into more barriers, and Styles falls into the timekeeper’s area! Scarlett kisses Kross’ hand while he soaks up heat, and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns Kross has a chinlock. Styles fights up, fires body shots, but Kross KNEES low! Kross scoops and hits a BACKBREAKER! Kross scoops again, but Styles slips free! Styles goes for a leg but Kross stifles that and shoves Styles to a cover, TWO! Kross drags Styles up, reels him in, but Styles fights the bomb! Kross stops the rana, fireman’s carries, FINAL PRAYER! Cover, TWO!! Styles survives but Kross asks if Styles is sandbagging. Kross looms over Styles, the fans rally up, and Kross smirks as Styles rises. Kross swings, but Styles counter punches! And counter punches! And CHOPS, CHOPS, KICKS!
Styles KICKS Kross again, then whips. Kross hobbles then falls over, clutching his knee! The fans boo, thinking this is an act. Scarlett checks Kross as he clutches the ankle. Styles asks the ref about this, but then Kross sucker punches Styles! It WAS an act, and the fans boo that Kross got away with it! Kross shimmies and shuffles, then taunts Styles. Styles runs up to CLOBBER Kross! Styles fires off the PHENOMENAL BLITZ! SLIDING FOREARM! The fans fire up, Styles runs in at the corner to LARIAT Kross! Fireman’s carry, but Kross slips free! Kick and DDT! Kross vows to end it, and the fans boo as Kross throws off his elbow pad.
Styles rises as Kross winds the hands of time. KROSS- NO, Styles ducks the hammer and fireman’s carries! USHIGOROSHI! Kross hobbles, Styles runs up, but Kross puts him on the apron! Styles HOTSHOTS Kross, then DECKS him! The fans fire up, Kross rises, PHENOMENAL FOREARM! Cover, Styles wins!
Winner: AJ Styles, by pinfall
Kross put Styles to the test, and that was definitely Styles acing that test! But then Logan Paul appears! Sacramento boos Logan as he walks out with mic in hand. Logan asks what’s up with the hostility. Chill, he’s here to congratulate Styles. No, seriously, good win! He did it! In front of Sacramento, “a bunch of people who weren’t cool enough to live in Los Angeles, or work smart enough to live in San Francisco.” But Styles showed these “generic California losers” why Styles VS Logan is gonna cook! But hey, why not show them why it’ll make money? Here is what Styles is up against. Please enjoy this piece of cinema.
Logan has his own hype video package, “I accomplish more in one weekend than you all will in your entire lives. I didn’t join the WWE to take part, I joined to take over.” Styles grabs a mic to say that’s a cute video, smartass. But let’s start Mania earlier! Get your ass to the ring right now! The fans fire up for that! Logan says okay, and he steps closer. But Kross runs up on Styles! Styles ROCKS Kross, ROCKS Logan, repeat! Styles DECKS Logan, ROCKS him again, btu Kross scoops! Styles slips free, REVERSE DDT! Styles snarls at Kross, but Logan is up! ONE LUCKY RIGHT!! Then the PAUL-VERIZER!! The Maverick is feeling so “humble,” but will he be humbled at Mania?
Paul Heyman is still waiting…
Will he be waiting all night at this rate?
Jey Uso is here!
The fans fire up as Main Event Jey pops right through the curtain to walk down the bleachers. Sacramento bounces for him and they “YEET!” along with the song, but Jey is once again very serious. Jey goes to the ground level, but then stands on the desk for everyone to see him. Jey grabs the mic while the bouncing continues, and the fans cheer as the song dies down. Jey takes a breath, fans “YEET! YEET! YEET!” and chant “One More Time! One More Time!” Jey says okay, and the song starts up again! The bouncing starts up again, and then Jey paces as he waits for the music to die down.
“Aight, check it. I said what I had to say to Gunther last week.” “YEET!” “But I really wanted to come out here and holler at y’all.” “YEET!” Jey says what up, Sac Town! Mama out here somewhere in the crowd. But everyone keeps on asking Jey, “Jey, where your mind at?” Is he crashing out? HELL YEAH he’s crashing out! But he’s locked in! Locked in for him! For his family! And for y’all! Check it out, though. Listen to Gunther out here talking. Y’know what that made Jey feel like? He mad. Nah nah nah… Gunther’s afraid! Yeah, Gunther’s afraid! Afraid that Jey will whoop that ass in front of 60 THOUSAND and the world! See you Saturday, Uce!
Jey says one time for the one time… Hey, Uce, please, PLEASE hit his music! UH UH, YEET!! The fans fire up as the bouncing starts up yet again! Jey has all the confidence, all the fire, all the momentum. But will he have it all when it’s all said and done in Las Vegas?
Backstage interview with Bron Breakker.
Cathy Kelley is with the Badass WWE Intercontinental Champion and brings up this Sunday, the Fatal 4 Way that stacks the odds against him. How is he handling what could be the biggest defense of his career? Bron says obviously, this is the biggest match of his career. And- JUDGMENT DAY ATTACKS! Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio & Carlito mug Bron! They stomp him around, then THROW him onto a road case! They still rain down fists, and Finn says the dog’s bark is worse than his bite! They CHUCK Bron into more road cases! Adam Pearce and producers storm in and stop The Judgment Day, but will Bron be alright in just 6 days?
As for Finn, he has a match to get to! Will The Prince be ready for #CeroMiedo?
PENTA VS Finn Balor!
Raw returns and Finn makes his entrance, only for Penta to DROPKICK him off the apron! Penta then FLIES and takes Finn down! Penta strikes first since Finn did that to Bron, and the fans love it! Penta puts Finn in the ring, then storms in after him. The bell rings, the fans fire up as Penta runs up, but Finn puts him on the apron. Penta GAMANGIRIS, then goes up, up, and CROSSBODIES! Cover, TWO! Finn kicks Penta low, then brings Penta around. Penta WRINGS free, then traps that arm! But Finn trips Penta! Penta BOOTS Finn away, then pump handles! Finn pops free, dragon sleepers, but Penta drops to KICK from below!
Penta runs up to ENZIGIRI in the corner, then he headstands and SWINGING DROPKICKS! Cover, TWO! Finn stays in this, the fans cheer for “CERO! MIEDO!” Penta nods and storms up on Finn to KICK the leg out! Finn flounders, stands back up, but Penta KICKS the leg again! Penta stalks Finn, and KICKS Finn’s leg out again! The fans fire up while Finn flounders around more. Penta has Finn on the ropes, hushes the fans, and he CHOPS! Finn is stinging as he staggers away, and the fans fire up as they want even more of that! Penta whips, Finn reverses, but Penta sunset flips. Finn rolls through to basement DROPKICK! Cover, TWO!
Finn keeps Penta down with an ELBOW, then a chinlock. Finn grinds Penta down, Penta endures, and the fans rally. Penta fights up, but Finn yanks the mask! Finn has Penta down, and he soaks up the heat. Finn drags Penta, then jumps stomps! Finn soaks up more heat, jump stomps again, then argues with the ref. Finn taunts Sacramento, stomps Penta again and again and again! The ref counts, Finn stops, but he soaks up more heat. Finn goes back to Penta and says “Just Too Sweet!” They go to the apron, and Penta scoops! Finn slips free, and APRON EYE OF THE HURRICANE! Both men are down on the outside while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Finn has Penta up top! And then the very top! SUPER DUPER PLEX! Cover, TWO!! Penta stays in this and the fans fire up! Finn grows frustrated, but he clamps onto an arm for a FUJIWARA ARMBAR! The fans rally up, Penta fights to his feet, and Penta fires hands. Penta arm-drags free, then ducks ‘n ‘dodges, for a RANA! Finn flounders up, Penta LARIATS! And LARIATS! The fans fire up again as Penta then SUPERKICKS Finn! Finn wobbles, Penta whips, but Finn reverses, only for Penta to go up and over! BACKSTABBER! Cover, TWO! Finn survives and Penta is frustrated, but the fans fire back up.
Penta stalks Finn, the fans sing, “OLE~ OLE OLE OLE~! CERO~! MIEDO~!” Penta has Finn in the corner, he puts Finn up top, and then he CHOPS! Penta calls his shot and the fans cheer that. Penta climbs up and he goes to the very top! But Finn fires body shots! Penta hops down to the apron and CHOPS again! Then he jumps up to FLYING RANA! Finn staggers back up, Penta BOOTS him! Penta then runs to SLING-DOG! Penta keeps moving, but Finn SLINGBLADES! The fans rally, both men stand, and Finn aims from a corner! SHOT- NO, scoop and BACKBREAKER! Penta has the arm, traps it, and then pulls on the other! “CERO! MIEDO!” SACRIFICE!!
The fans fire up while Finn writhes! Penta stalks Finn, clamps onto him again, “This is Awesome!” as the PENTA- NO, Finn victory rolls the driver! TWO!! DOUBLE LARITS collide! Penta fires body shots, a SOBAT, a KICK, then a SUPERKICK! Finn flops down, but Penta goes to a corner. But then Carlito & Dom rush out here! Penta glares at them, they back off, but Finn rolls Penta up! TWO!! Penta escapes, Finn ducks ‘n’ dodges, SLINGBLADE! Finn aims, SHOTGUN! Penta hits buckles, then ends up in the drop zone, but HERE COMES BRON! You can’t keep a good dog down! Carlito fears for his life after last week…!
Carlito runs away, so Bron runs in and CLOBBERS Finn!! But that lets Finn win!
Winner: Finn Balor, by disqualification
Bron keeps beating up on Finn, so Dom runs in and TACKLES Bron! Carlito joins in now that they have the advantage! They mug Bron 2v1, but Bron fights back! Bron dodges, and he DOUBLE SPEARS!! Sacramento barks for Bron as he aims at Penta! Bron roars, runs up, but Penta KICKS first! And mule kicks! And SUPERKICKS! And then tilt-o-whirl RANA! Bron tumbles out of the ring and the fans fire up! Penta builds speed to go up, up, and SUPER CROSSBODY! Penta wipes out Bron, Dom & Carlito, but where’d Finn go? Finn is already up the ramp! The Prince got handed the win tonight, but will Penta take it all with his #CeroMiedo?
Iyo Sky speaks.
“This message is for Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley. You keep forgetting that I’M the Women’s World Champion. You push me out of the way of your petty squabbles like I mean nothing. But I’m the whole reason you’re fighting in the first place, aren’t I? Because I have the one thing you both want: The Women’s World Championship! So, I’m done being ignored. I’m done being forgotten. Because you have to go through ME to get this title, and I’m not afraid to take you both on to defend it. I’ve beaten both of you before, and I’ll beat you again! At WrestleMania, you will never forget the name Iyo Sky, Women’s World Champion.”
Paul Heyman is still waiting, but CM Punk joins him!
Punk sits down with a coffee and says he’s never seen The Wise Man so stressed. Look in his eyes, what do you see? The Cult of Personality? No, a real friend. A friend who would never do anything to put Heyman in harm’s way. But then a car is pulling up. It’s ROMAN! Roman sees Punk and Heyman being buddy-buddy, and he storms off! Heyman tries to catch up to his Tribal Chief, but Roman won’t even look at him. Will this favor cause the break-up of Roman and Heyman?
Roman goes to the ring!
The fans cheer and put the ones up as The OTC makes his entrance, Wise Man trailing behind. What will happen with Roman, Heyman, Punk, and Seth Rollins, all in the building this close to WrestleMania? We find out, after the break.
Raw returns rather quickly, and Roman is now in the ring. He raises his finger up for the pyro and the fans cheer. Heyman has the mic while the fans chant “O T C! O T C!” Heyman tentatively holds it out for Roman, but Roman doesn’t take it! Roman gets a mic for himself, leaving Heyman a bit dismayed, but the cheering continues. Roman tells, “Sacramento…! ACKNOWLEDGE ME!” The fans cheer and put up the ones as they cheer on “O T C! O T C!” Roman says, “The whole world can feel that. The whole world can hear that you love and acknowledge your Tribal Chief. And now the whole world understands that you would never betray your Tribal Chief.
“But not everybody’s like you. Some people would betray me. Sacramento, you got any guesses on who that might be?” Obviously it’s Heyman that Roman is referring to, but Roman asks The Wise Man, “How could you betray me?” The fans tell Heyman he messed up. Roman says Heyman can’t hear that well, say it louder. The fans get louder with it, and Heyman is a bit surly about that. Heyman goes to talk, but he reconsiders. Roman still asks him why, and Heyman is at a loss for words. The fans boo, but some do chant for “C M PUNK! C M PUNK!” Roman smirks as Heyman finally says, “My Tribal Chief… It was not a betrayal. I paid back a favor that I owed.”
Roman doesn’t seem to like that answer, but he still smirks. Sacramento, maybe Roman’s a little confused here, but the way favors work is, you usually pay it back yourself, correct? The fans say yes. Roman says it feels the only one getting screwed here is him! And if there’s one thing about Roman Reigns, if there’s one thing about The Tribal Chief, it’s that he’d never ask for a favor. No, Roman takes what he wants! So Roman doesn’t owe a favor, because he never asked for any help, for anyone to join him at WarGames, so how is he supposed to cover the tab for Heyman’s dumbass favor? But now, “BURN IT DOWN!”
Seth Rollins makes his way out, and Roman is no longer in any good mood as the fans sing “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” Rollins struts out in a leather vest and black pants that both have a lot of pockets. Rollins steps into the ring, grabs himself a mic, and the fans continue to sing, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” Rollins tells Sacramento, “Let’s give it up for Your Tribal Chief! Because after over a decade, you’re finally getting it, man! You’re finally putting the pieces together all by yourself! You’re almost there, you’re just missing one little piece, and it’s a real shame it’s too little, it’s too late, cuz I still gotta end you at WrestleMania.”
Rollins says it is for the same reason that it always has been: It’s the right thing to do! This Triple Threat at WrestleMania is the BIGGEST, most IMPORTANT one in the history of Mania, of the WWE, of professional wrestling! Because the winner of this match will define the future of this industry. And it can’t be Roman, it can’t be Punk. Because this business is filled with people like Roman, people who show up when it is convenient, expecting everyone else to do all the work. That’s how this business dies! Roman finally sees it can’t be Punk, either.
This business is filled with too many “little Punks” running around who wanna pick up their ball and go home when it gets tough, only to come back and leech off the profits of other people’s success, and that’s how this business dies! The fans chant for Punk but Rollins says okay, they want this business to die? Rollins doesn’t! If there are more people in this business like Rollins, who always sacrifices physical and mental well-being to do what is best for business, then the business not only lives, but it thrives! There can be only one, and it’s gotta be Rollins.
As for that one little piece that Roman hasn’t quite figured out… “Favors don’t happen by chance, Roman. Favors are a choice. I chose not to put Paul Heyman in the hospital last week, and now Paul Heyman can choose whether or not he pays that debt to me. But your Wise Man, he is dishonorable as they come, he is a scumbag, and I expect nothing from him.” The fans boo and Heyman frowns, but Rollins says Heyman is not in CM Punk’s corner by chance. Heyman has made a choice. It isn’t just a betrayal, Roman. What Roman needs to ask himself, what that final piece is, Heyman isn’t just returning a favor, he’s choosing. So why is Heyman choosing Punk over Roman?
Heyman tells Roman he’s not doing that, but Roman seems to be thinking Rollins has a point. Roman tells The Wise Man that Rollins is right, Heyman made his choice. But Roman has made his. LARIAT FOR ROLLINS! The fans fire up as Roman then POSTS Rollins! Rollins flops out of the ring, Heyman is very pleased, and he says he acknowledges his Tribal Chief! Roman nods, but then he PIE FACES Heyman!? Heyman is stunned, but here comes CM Punk! The fans fire up as Punk runs down to the ring, and he dodges Roman to fire hands! The fans fire up as they brawl, and then Punk LARIATS Roman up and out!
The fans are torn as Punk helps Heyman up. Heyman is distraught, but Roman is back! SPEAR for Punk!! Roman HAMMERS away on Punk! Roman shouts at Punk, HEADBUTTS him, but then Rollins returns! And with a chair! SMACK to the back of Roman Reigns, just like the night it all started! Sacramento is all fired up, and Rollins hits a CURB STOMP on Punk! And then CURB STOMP on Roman! Heyman is freaking out as both his guys are down! Rollins stares Heyman down, is Rollins’ favor going to come into play after all?
My Thoughts:
A great Raw, especially for the go-home to WrestleMania. Great promo from Gunther with how he “doesn’t wait” for the proper interview with Michael Cole, and very good response promo from Jey. Gunther definitely sounds a bit on edge, and considering he might lose two WrestleManias in a row as the start of his WrestleMania career, I suppose I would be, too. And very good promos from Bianca, Rhea & Iyo to hype up their match, though I can’t say that changes anything for the go-home math. Iyo stood tall last time, so there’s a chance Rhea or Bianca take the other out to get the win. Rhea and Bianca talking about who’s the bad guy in this, could we see Bianca go Heel?
Good promo from War Raiders and New Day, but unless they add a stipulation, I don’t necessarily see this being “a war” of a match. Well, maybe they can break something like ringside barriers. But I feel like New Day is going to win so that this Heel turn has actual results. Very good match from Bayley VS Liv, but Bayley winning here surely indicates Liv & Raquel retain. Rey VS Julius was really good, but the LWO and American Made all being ejected, that of course meant El Grande Americano would show up. Rey wins here, but then El Grande stands tall, so I would think Rey wins at Mania to expose Grande as Gable.
Very good match from Styles VS Kross, and naturally Styles won. That along with Logan & Kross getting the better of Styles after, this has to mean Styles wins at Mania. I don’t think it’s possible to get anything Bullet Club related, but WWE works with TNA pretty closely now so maybe they can use one of Styles’ themes from TNA to really bring us back to “the Styles that can beat Logan Paul.” Very good stuff with the Men’s Intercontinental Championship build, with Bron being jumped by Judgment Day, then Judgment Day trying to cost Penta, only for Bron to actually cost Penta and give Finn the win. Penta standing tall now sadly might cross him off, but I personally do think Dom pinning Finn or Finn pinning Dom is the better route going forward.
And of course, great stuff with the Punk-Rollins-Reigns story. Heyman finding himself stuck between Roman and Punk, with Roman starting to distance himself from Heyman, that’s also very good stuff going forward. Rollins stands tall again, so not sure if that means he takes the loss or is just not in the decision. No matter who wins, Heyman no longer being Roman’s manager is the best move. Roman needs to do things on his own again, and Heyman can reunite with Punk and perhaps help Punk towards a title. Punk did say that he’d be coming for THE WWE Championship at some point, Heyman by his side for that like 10 years ago would be something.
My Score: 8.8/10
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