Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE Raw Results & Report! (7/29/24)
Time to lay down the law!
He is a Visionary, he is a Revolutionary, he is the Special Guest Referee!
Before SummerSlam sees the grudge match of McIntyre VS Punk, Seth Rollins is going to give his official referee instructions tonight on Raw! Will they respect his authority?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- The Creed Brothers w/ Chad Gable VS Otis & Akira Tozawa w/ Maxxine Dupri; The Creed Brothers win.
- Sheamus VS Bronson Reed; Bronson wins.
- Carlito VS Jey Uso; Jey wins.
- Xavier Woods VS Karrion Kross w/ The Final Testament; Kross wins.
- Dominik Mysterio VS Sami Zayn; Sami wins, by disqualification.
- Six Woman Tag: Lyra Valkyria, Kayden Carter & Katana Chance VS Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark; Sonya, Shayna & Zoey win.
- Finn Balor VS GUNTHER; Gunther wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
Seth Rollins is here!
St. Paul, Minnesota fires up as The Visionary struts his way out in a very unique referee uniform. Are those puffy shoulders? Well, either way, Rollins goes to the ring while fans sing “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” Rollins tells St. Paul, “Welcome to Monday… Night… Rollins!” St. Paul cheers, and Rollins says he is our host for this evening’s events. Oh, St. Paul, HAHAHAHA! “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” Rollins says he is a Visionary, he is a Revolutionary, and he is Seth FREAKIN’ Rollins! The fans cheer, and Rollins says SummerSlam is just FIVE days away. Five days from the highly anticipated contest of Drew McIntyre VS CM Punk.
“And we are here tonight to lay out some rules and regulations for that contest. So without further ado, St. Paul, let’s bring out these two morons. How ’bout it? HAHAHAHA!” First is the Second City Saint, the Best in the World, CM Punk! Punk goes to stage left and high-fives the front row. Punk then goes to stage right and gets up on the road cases so he can see the fans over there. Punk blows a kiss, hops down, and finally tells us, “It’s CLOBBERIN’ time!” Punk goes down the ramp, high-fiving fans as he goes, and even high-fives the front row all along ringside. Then he steps into the ring with referee Rollins.
And now the Scottish Terminator makes his entrance! The fans boo as McIntyre takes his time walking down the ramp and into the ring. Punk keeps his eyes on McIntyre while they both get mics. St. Paul chants for “C M PUNK! C M PUNK!” Rollins says alright, alright, alright. There is a lot of tension here, and we’re talking rules and regulations, but we gotta get something out of the way first. This comes directly from Adam Pearce, and he says these two are NOT to even lay a finger on one another or the match for SummerSlam is off. One step further, if they touch Rollins at all, the match for SummerSlam is off.
Punk goes out of the ring to sit at commentary but Rollins tells him hey! McIntyre says he has self-control, Punk doesn’t need to be a coward. Punk isn’t scared of McIntyre or Rollins. Punk is worried about what he’ll do himself, so he’ll just be calm, cool and collected over here. Rollins say she knows Punk likes calling the shots, acting like he’s in charge, getting his way, but that is not how this is going to work, and it is not how SummerSlam will work. Rollins didn’t have to be the ref, but he volunteered since these two idiots scared off every other official back there. But hey, Rollins can go back there, take off the ref shirt, hand it to Pearce, and the whole thing’s off!
The fans boo, they want to see the match. Rollins tells Punk that he does want to see these two fight! The fans cheer that! Rollins knows McIntyre wants it, and he knows St. Paul wants it! So if Punk wants this fight, he better get his ass back in Rollins’ ring. Oh there he is, the boot-licking office boy! Punk is sure Rollins loves that he can lord this over him so enjoy it while he can. McIntyre says Rollins shouldn’t listen to Punk. Just listen to McIntyre. They don’t always like each other, but their relationship is a professional rivalry. Sometimes McIntyre’s an arse, sometimes it’s Rollins. But they just want what is best for the future of the WWE.
But Punk is not what is best! Rollins said it himself, Punk is a cancer! “Corporate Man Punk” is poisoning the minds of NXT after all the hard work of the true workhorses. And Punk is gonna screw it all up. Remember that on Saturday, Punk is the real enemy. Rollins says McIntyre is an idiot, has said a lot wrong in his life, but if there’s one thing he’s right about, is that if anyone hates Punk as much as McIntyre, it is Rollins. The thing McIntyre is overlooking is that if there’s anyone that hates McIntyre as much as Punk, it’s also Rollins. So if these two wouldn’t mind shutting up, he will get to the rules for what will be a violent masterpiece at SummerSlam!
The fans cheer, and Rollins says there is only one rule for this match. There is only one regulation! McIntyre and Punk will listen to EVERYTHING Rollins has to say! He calls the shots, he is the boss, he is the law. He counts to three when he wants. They tap out when he says they tapped out. If there’s a ring count to be done, who knows? There might not be a count, there might be a 10 count, there might be a 20 count, there might be a MILLION count! Disqualifications? Eh. Referee’s discretion. The bottom line is, if either of them get out of line, they’ve got a problem with Rollins or his rules, he’s not someone they can push around.
No, Rollins is a spiteful little bastard, and he will put their heads in the dirt! Punk says this is a hat on a hat. The way Rollins dresses, he probably likes that. Hopefully, Rollins officiates better than he dresses. Punk doesn’t believe a word of this, he thinks Rollins will be biased. If he does call it down the line, fine. If Rollins screws Punk, fine, Punk will deal with that Saturday. But one think Punk doesn’t want Rollins to do, hating each of them equally, then don’t help Punk. Punk has never needed Rollins’ help, doesn’t want it, and will never listen to Rollins.
McIntyre says Punk is worried about the wrong guy right now. Worry more about the 6’5″, 280 pound man he’s screwed over and over again! The fans cheer that! McIntyre says he hates Punk, can’t stand him, he’s like a Charles Manson type who has poisoned even the fans! They chant Punk’s name at McIntyre even at the supermarket! McIntyre has spent 7 MONTHS saying what he’s had to say. McIntyre just wanted to rough Punk up a bit at the Royal Rumble, and ended up injuring him. That was for seven months without even trying. Punk screwed McIntyre at WrestleMania, then in Scotland.
So what’s happening on Saturday? Right now, McIntyre is chill. The real enemy is the bell. When it sounds, McIntyre will violently assault Punk. McIntyre will blacken both eyes, break his jaw, and McIntyre says Rollins will have to find compassion in his soul because McIntyre isn’t stopping until Punk’s heart does. In Cleveland, that’s a stadium. McIntyre will make so much money doing something he’d do for free. Punk smirks while the fans still cheer him on. Punk says for 10 YEARS, he was absent from WWE, and the fans chanted his name. They sing Rollins’ song, they chant Punk’s name, McIntyre is the third wheel here!
The one positive from “Punk Derangement Syndrome” is that they are in his orbit. They breathe the air that Punk produces. Hopefully, McIntyre enjoyed the last 7 months. Because hurting Punk was the best thing to happen to McIntyre, but it was also the worst thing to happen to him. For all McIntyre’s accomplishments, for how big and tall he is, for how mean and strong he is, he’s STUPID, and he dumbs himself out of positions! Punk may be an enemy, but not his worst. McIntyre is his own worst enemy! And he’ll just dumb himself out of this again. Punk isn’t as big, as tall, or as fast, but he has MORE HEART!
You know what else Punk has? Punk also has the people! What does McIntyre got? McIntyre shows off the bracelet. The very one he stole from Punk. And Punk storms right up to McIntyre, but he can’t touch him. McIntyre tells Punk he has no idea what’s coming on Saturday. But could that be the same for McIntyre?
Someone trashed the Judgment Day clubhouse!
JD McDonagh says this is worse than R-Truth and jelly rolls. Carlito says they broke the PS5! Dominik asks who did this, but Rhea says duh! Read the literal writing on the wall! Liv Morgan is pissed! But hey, they can rebuild all this. But Liv can’t undo the damage Rhea’s gonna do, especially after this. Carlito asks if they are getting a new PS5. Dom says not the time. Dom and Carlito leave and Rhea asks why Carlito’s still coming around. JD says Carlito does leave a certain smell, and Rhea tells him she will end him if he jokes around. But will there be no laughing when Mami finally gets her hands on Liv?
Raw returns and…
Judgment Day is still cleaning up the mess. Dom found one black rose not all smashed. Damian Priest walks in and figures it was Liv who did this. Priest then tells Finn that while they talked before, Priest still feels he should be out there when Finn faces Gunther. Finn says no, Priest needs to focus on SummerSlam. Gunther didn’t just insult Priest last week, he insulted everyone in The Judgment Day. While they fix up the clubhouse, Finn will take care of Gunther, alone. They can also take care of Sami & Jey, right? Priest says they already took care of Sami & Jey. They’re going backwards, dealing with issues they don’t need to.
Rhea says she’s been saying the same. Well, okay, then let the others handle it. JD will handle it right now! Priest says fine, go ahead. Dom says it should be Carlito and Sami. Carlito says way ahead of you. He’ll go talk with Adam Pearce. Caribbean Cool heads out, but will he be able to take down the Intercontinental Champion?
The Creed Brothers w/ Chad Gable VS Otis & Akira Tozawa w/ Maxxine Dupri!
Julius & Brutus rather surprisingly replaced the tree trunk and the Stamina Monster in “Master Gable’s” Alpha Academy, but now they’ll have it out in the ring! Will Gable’s new students make an example out of the old? Or will Otis & Tozawa prove they no longer need Gable’s drama?
We return to the ring as Gable leads The Creeds to the ring for their entrance. The teams sort out and Otis starts against Julius. The bell rings and Julius runs up to ROCK Otis! Julius fires off, puts Otis in the corner, but Otis fights back! Julius CLUBS Otis, Brutus tags in, and the brothers mug Otis. The fans rally for Otis but Brutus tags Julius back in. They double whip but Otis breaks the double clothesline to CLOBBER both Creeds! Brutus tumbles out, Otis tags Tozawa. Tozawa climbs, Otis ROCKET LAUNCHES him at Julius! Cover, TWO! Maxxine cheers Tozawa, but Julius suplexes Tozawa while sitting down!
Julius tags Brutus, and Julius GUT WRENCH SLAMS Brutus onto Tozawa! Cover, TWO! Brutus drags Tozawa, suplexes, but Tozawa kicks free! Tozawa SOBATS, spins, slides under, then SCREW KICKS! The fans fire up, Tozawa runs in, but Brutus puts him outside! Tozawa GAMANGIRIS, goes up and MISSILE DROPKICKS! Brutus tumbles out. Tozawa builds speed to DIVE! Direct hit and down goes Brutus! Tozawa hurries to put Brutus back in! Tozawa climbs, but Julius drags Brutus out! Tozawa drops down, but Brutus gets in to LARIAT! The fans boo, Gable fist bumps The Creeds, and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns and Brutus hoist Tozawa up. Tozawa fights the fireman’s carry, but Brutus keeps him from the corner Brutus whips, but Tozawa SATELLITE DDTS! The fans are thunderous as Otis rises up! Hot tags to Julius and Otis! #FreeOtis rallies on Julius with LARIAT after LARIAT! Then he rolls past Julius to BLINDSIDE LARIAT! Otis ELBOWS Julius in a corner, then POSTS him! Otis says “SUCK IT!” then he revs up the- NO, Gable gets on the apron! Otis swipes at Gable, Julius runs up, but Otis catches him! POWERSLAM, and off comes the shirt! Free souvenir for a fan, and then the CATERPILLAR ELBOW hits!
Otis isn’t done, he goes up the corner! But Brutus CLUBS him first! Brutus climbs, the fans boo, but Otis TOSSES Brutus away! Gable gets up but Otis DECKS him! The Creeds mug Otis and go up top together! The fans boo but they hit a DOUBLE BACK SUPLEX! Cover, The Creeds win!
Winners: The Creed Brothers, by pinfall
Gable’s new number one guys come through for him, but now they sit Otis up! Gable gets in Otis’ face and says GABLE is the only reason Otis was ever anything! Tozawa gets in, Brutus DECKS him! Gable has an ANKLE LOCK on Otis! Maxxine JUMPS on Gable! Gable shrugs Maxxine off, and says Maxxine should’ve also listened. But then Maxxine SLAPS Gable! The fans fire up and Maxxine stands her ground! Gable storms up on her, but then the lights start turning off! Maxxine gets the boys outta there, because the fireflies are out! The piano starts playing and Gable’s group is on the defensive!
The fog rolls in, the light shines, and here come the Wyatt Sick6! Ramblin’ Rabbit, Mercy the Buzzard, Huskus the Pig Boy, they all storm down to ringside. They get up on the apron, they stare Gable & The Creeds down, and the fans fire up again! Masks off, and reveal! It’s Erick Rowan, Dexter Lumis & Joe Gacy! Gable turns around, NIKKI CROSSBODY! Down goes Gable, and then Gacy & Lumis DOUBLE CHOKE SLAM the Creeds! Lumis runs, gets a boost from Gacy, POP-UP BOMB SENTON COMBO! The fans are losing their minds as now Rowan has a go! DOUBLE CROSSBODY from the Wyatt OG!
And then, as Gable stumbles his way up the ramp, trying to run away, “There you are~!” Uncle Howdy, or rather Bo Dallas, stands in his way! Gable runs away through the backside of the stage, and Bo laughs into the night. They’re here, who have they to fear?
Carlito returns to the clubhouse.
So did he get the match? Yes, it is official. When is Carlito’s match with Sami then? What? No, the match is Dom VS Sami. What?! No, Carlito was supposed to handle Sami! Oh, Carlito thought Dom… Oops. Rhea says fine, Dom can handle Sami. And now that Carlito is free, he can take Jey, right? Carlito says he’d have to oil up but- Rhea says this is Carlito’s mess, time to clean it up. Carlito sighs and says he’ll go back to Pearce. Rhea says good. And Carlito has to handle Jey alone. Carlito sighs again then leaves. Is Carlito ever gonna catch a break?
Sheamus VS Bronson Reed!
The Celtic Warrior already had a run-in with the Colossal Aussie, but clearly the fighting is far from over! Will Sheamus be able to deliver another banger against Big Bad Bronson? Or will this be when he’s washed away by a Tsunami?
The bell rings and the fans rally for the big meaty men! They RAM and RAM then fire haymakers back and forth! Sheamus gets the edge, whips corner to corner, but Bronson reverses. Bronson runs in, Sheamus dodges and Bronson hits buckles! Sheamus jumps on for a SLEEPER! Bronson RAMS him into buckles, then ROCKS him! And CHOPS him! And CHOPS again! Sheamus dodges the next chop to body shot and UPPERCUT! And UPPERCUT! Sheamus reels Bronson in but Bronson HEADBUTTS! Bronson whips, Sheamus KICKS then runs, to LARIAT Bronson up and out! The fans fire up with The Fella!
Sheamus goes out to then climb up! SUPER FLYING LARIAT takes down Bronson! The Fella is even more fired up, and then he runs up, but Bronson SAMOAN DROPS him onto the desk! Bronson roars, the fans boo, but Raw goes to break.
Raw returns and Sheamus fights up while in a chinlock. Sheamus fires body shots then UPPERCUTS! Sheamus runs, but Bronson LARIATS him down! Bronson looms over Sheamus, talks trash on him, then stands him up. Bronson says Sheamus ain’t got it anymore. But Sheamus gets mad! Sheamus blocks Bronson’s lariat to LARIAT, LARIAT, and LARIAT again! Sheamus winds up, short arm LARIAT! Bronson drops to a knee, but now Bronson roars! Fireman’s carry, but Sheamus slips free! Sheamus KNEES Bronson down! Cover, TWO! Bronson stays in this but Sheamus stays on him, with a fireman’s carry!
Bronson fights that off, then shoves Sheamus to a corner. Bronson runs in but into a BOOT! Sheamus skins the cat to the top rope! Sheamus then aims to FLYING- NO, Bronson dodges the lariat to fireman’s carry! DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! Cover, TWO!! Sheamus survives and the fans fire up! Bronson snarls, thinks on what he has to do, and he drags Sheamus to a drop zone. Bronson climbs, the fans rally for Sheamus, and Sheamus rises! Sheamus fires haymakers on Bronson! Sheamus climbs, brings Bronson up, and that feat of strength alone is wild! But now, SUPER WHITE NOISE!! Cover, TWO?!?
The fans cannot believe it! Bronson survives that landing, and both men are down! Bronson rolls away, Sheamus pushes himself up. Sheamus sees Bronson on the apron, and Sheamus storms up on him! Sheamus clamps on for BEATS OF THE BODHRAIN! Sheamus goes all the way to TEN, then goes past that for SIXTEEN before the ref backs him off! Bronson flounders, gets stuck in ropes, but the ref manages to free that leg. Sheamus powers up, but here comes Pete Dunne! SHILLELAGH SHOT?!?! The ref missed it all but the fans saw it! The fans boo but Bronson grins as he goes to the corner!
Bronson climbs, Dunne is hiding, and the TSUNAMI hits!! Cover, Bronson wins!
Winner: Bronson Reed, by pinfall
The Bruiserweight gives Bronson the assist, then just shrugs. Dunne’s starting trouble wherever he’s going, will it all catch up to him soon enough?
Damian Priest speaks.
“There’s been a lot of talk about my past. How I was raised, how I lived on the street. And all this talk is coming from the one guy who has no understand, has no idea of what that’s like. Here’s a guy, Gunther, who grew up with ‘Here you go’s.'” You want the best training? Here you go. A group of people to tell you how great you are? Here you go. But what Gunther doesn’t have is what could never be handed to him: heart. Gunther says Priest is street trash? That translates to him being a Puerto Rican badass, so yes, he is! To Priest, Gunther is just some feat of European ingenuity. AKA, Gunther’s an a-hole!
The WWE ring is about salvation, for people to forget about their past. But this Saturday, it becomes the streets, and Gunther’s ass is gonna get mugged. Priest will rob Gunther of this idea that he can take the world title from Priest. Priest lived to fight for everything he got, and now he’s willing to die for everything he has. Is Gunther? Welcome to Priest’s neighborhood, “General.” El Campeon is ready to bring out The Punisher, will the King of the Ring survive?
Bron Breakker speaks.
“I don’t care to talk down on Sami Zayn. Hell, I don’t even dislike Sami Zayn. He’s at the top of his game, at the top of his profession: stand-up comedy. See, at Money in the Bank, I didn’t take him seriously. I thought I was fighting a stand-up comic, I put my hands behind my back. I didn’t take him seriously, and y’know what? That’s on me. Rookie mistake. But it made me realize the difference between me and Sami Zayn. See, Sami Zayn has already accepted the fact that he’s going to lose at SummerSlam. There’s nowhere for Sami to run any longer, because he’s preparing for a life after WWE. Preparing for a life after Bron Breakker.
“Sami Zayn and Friends? Hahaha… You’ve seen it. They promote it every single week here on Monday Night Raw. And while you, Sami, tell jokes for your preparation, I’ve been in the gym, hungry, training, like a dog. Redefining the words effort, attitude, and toughness. And it’ll be on full display this Saturday at SummerSlam, when the joke is on you, and the Intercontinental Championship will be on me.” Cleveland is all about the Dog Pound, will Bron leave Sami black ‘n’ blue in the home of the Browns?
Carlito VS Jey Uso!
Finn Balor says there’s a mess to be cleaned up, so Caribbean Cool has to do his part. Will he spit in the face of Main Event Jey? Or will Jey just YEET Carlito right back to the clubhouse?
Raw returns and Carlito makes his entrance. The bell rings and Carlito runs up on Jey! Jey dodges to SUPERKICK! Cover, TWO! Carlito is still in this but also in a daze. The fans rally while Jey bails out. Fans “YEET!” with Jey and he builds speed to DIVE! Down goes Carlito, the fans “YEET!” more and Jey drags Carlito up. Jey puts Carlito in the ring, brings him back up, and ROCKS him with a right hand. Jey fires more hands, the fans “YEET!” and Carlito sits down. Jey lets off to “YEET!” Jey storms back up but Carlito POSTS him! Jey flops to the apron, Carlito drags him up and onto ropes, for a DRAPING NECKBREAKER!
Jey flounders, Carlito soaks up the heat, then covers, TWO! Jey is still in this, and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Carlito has Jey down with a motorcycle stretch. Jey fights up, stomps Carlito’s foot, then mule kicks! And UPPERCUTS! Jey runs, but into a fireman’s carry! T K O! Cover, TWO! The fans rally up, Jey goes to a corner, and Carlito frowns. Carlito runs in corner to corner, but Jey dodges the splash! Jey ROCKS Carlito again and again, “YEET! YEET! YEET!” Jey pops, locks ‘n’ puts some stank on the HAYMAKER! Carlito staggers, into a kick! Carlito blocks, spins Jey, but the DRAGON WHIP hits! Carlito flops to a corner, Jey throws off the armband, then says “UCE! SO! UCE! SO!” Jey runs in, Carlito puts him on the apron!
Jey GAMANGIRIS Carlito, goes up, and leaps, but Carlito dodges! Jey keeps moving, but Carlito SPINEBUSTERS! Cover, TWO! Carlito rains down fists on Jey, but lets off while the fans boo. Carlito goes to a corner, and he grabs his green apple! The fans are torn as Carlito takes a big bite. Carlito chews it up, but Jey rolls Carlito up! TWO!! Jey dodges Carlito, then SPEARS! The apples go flying, Jey covers, Jey wins!
Winner: Jey Uso, by pinfall
Carlito just makes more of a mess with those chunks of apple everywhere! But will Dom at least do better against Sami? Or will this problem the Judgment Day has only grow bigger and bigger?
Backstage interview with Zelina Vega.
Jackie Redmond is with La Muneca, and notes that Zelina won big over Zoey Stark, despite the bad arm. Jackie has to ask, how is the arm? Zelina feels better now. But she was lucky to have Lyra, Katana & Kayden backing her up. But at the same time, “Team Forehead” had to stack the deck against Zelina. Zelina needed that, though. What was done to Zelina created her, and reminded her of just who the hell she is. Zelina Vega is a threat in this division, and they know it. But then Shayna, Zoey & Sonya walk over. A threat, huh? Well, it took three women to beat Zoey so… Where are they now?
Sonya says let’s se who is a threat. But Zelina fires first! That only gets her mugged, and then Shayna grabs the bad arm! Shayna BOOTS the arm against the wall! Producers and refs hurry over, did Shayna just reinjure Zelina’s arm back to zero percent? Will The Morrigan & KC Squared make Sonya’s squad pay for it?
Raw returns as Zelina is checked by medical.
Lyra, Kayden & Katana are also there, and they promise they’ll get payback. Will Zelina be out of action much longer this time?
Backstage interview with The Miz.
Cathy Kelley is with The Hollywood A-Lister, and he has a very special announcement regarding SummerSlam. The Miz says that’s right! Live from Cleveland, SummerSlam will be hosted by The Miz! That’s right, he is hosting in his house of Cleveland, Ohio! R-Truth walks in and asks what’s up. WWE brought back In Your House? That’s what’s up! No, Miz is just saying Cleveland is “his house,” it’s just a saying. Doesn’t Miz live in LA, though? Yes, but he grew up in Cleveland. Then how is he going to host SummerSlam in his house, in Cleveland? No, he just is hosting SummerSlam. Whachu talkin’ bout, Miz?
Miz is in Cleveland, hosting SummerSlam, simple as that. Okay, then he has to have party favors, hors d’oeuvres, and Truth will bring ice. No, Miz isn’t doing any of that. Then he’s a bad host. Miz isn’t a bad host! Truth says he’s got this, #SayLess. So no hors d’oeuvres? NO! There are not hors d’oeuvres. Who even wants hors d’oeuvres? Truth and Cathy do. Okay fine, Miz will bring hors d’oeuvres. Is Miz going to be in over his head trying to host SummerSlam in his hometown?
Xavier Woods VS Karrion Kross w/ The Final Testament!
The New Day has been through quite a lot, but Woods is still standing! Will he use all that Power of Positivity to hold it down? Or will Doomsday make him #FallAndPray?
But as Kross steps in the ring, he also grabs a mic. Kross says he has something he wants to address. Kross was just notified that Kofi Kingston reinjured his shoulder during the Japan tour, and that’s why he’s not here tonight. Does anyone really believe that? Kross thinks Kofi’s skipping town because one: the whole world isn’t revolving around him anymore, it’s revolving around Woods, and Kofi can’t stand that; and two: no one wants to be in the hellhole of Minnesota. The fans boo but Kross says he’ll give Woods a way out of this beating. Just a couple things. One: Woods needs to join The Final Testament! And two: Tell the kids at home that the Power of Positivity was always a lie.
The fans boo but Kross says one more thing, it is important to Kross. Woods needs to tell Kofi that he should’ve retired after losing the WWE Championship after just six seconds. Woods DECKS Kross! The bell rings and Woods rains down fists! Kross pushes free, Woods runs up to LARIAT Kross up and out! Woods builds speed, and he WRECKS Kross with a dropkick! The fans fire up with Woods as he storms up on Kross, and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns and Kross has Woods down with a SLEEPER! The fans rally, Woods fights up and fires body shots! Woods CLUBS Kross, CLUBs him more, but Kross knees low! Kross whips Woods to a corner, runs in, and LARIATS, ELBOWS and ROLLING ELBOWS! Kross says Woods is dead! Kross brings Woods up for an EXPLODER! Woods flounders, Kross soaks up the heat, and then he covers, TWO! Kross says Woods should’ve just joined him. He says New Day is dead, and Woods is the worst King of the Ring ever! Kross is trying to help Woods, “you piece of trash!” But Woods fires haymakers and CHOPS!
Woods CHOPS, JABS, and repeat! The fans fire up as Woods just keep son firing shots! Woods whips, Kross reverses but Woods ducks ‘n’ dodges to slide and ROLLING ELBOW! The fans fire up, Woods runs in at the corner, forearm SMASH! Woods then brings Kross out, but Kross wrenches and fireman’s carries! Woods slips free, O’Conner Rolls, TWO! Woods ends up in ropes, Akam gets a cheap shot! The fans boo but Kross pump handles for a scoop, only for Woods to slip free! SUPERKICK! Kross staggers, swings, but Woods dodges to DIVE onto Akam! Woods gets payback, then he baits Rezar in! Rezar runs up, but is sent into POST!
Woods hurries back up, he GAMANGIRIS Kross down! Woods goes up, and MACHO- FLOPS! Kross laughs as he avoids the elbow. Then FINAL PRAYER! Cover, Kross wins!
Winner: Karrion Kross, by pinfall
Scarlett celebrates with Kross, and the rest of The Final Testament steps inside. They all stand over Woods, but will they ever convince him to stand with them?
Backstage interview with Sami Zayn.
Jackie is with the Great Liberator, noting that while he’s moments away from facing Dominik Mysterio, he is also just days away from defending the Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker. What is his reaction to Bron’s comments from earlier tonight? Sami says it’s funny Bron thinks Sami is going to lose this match just because he’s got a comedy show the night before. But if Sami remembers correctly, he did that in Toronto and he still beat Bron. Bron even said it himself that Bron lost because he took it as a forgone conclusion that he was just gonna destroy Sami and get the title, just like that. Bron underestimated Sami.
And clearly, Bron isn’t doing that anymore. Sami knows Bron will take every chance to jump him from behind. Even last week, when Sami finally gets a moment, shares a moment with his Uce, his dawg, Jey Uso. Reunited in the ring, and yet again, a cheap shot from Bron. So spear after spear, fine. Bron’s young and hungry, that’s fine. But this time around, Sami’s attitude is different, too. This isn’t about teaching the young guy about respect, or teaching him some lesson. This is about kicking his ass at SummerSlam! And as far as Judgment Day goes, Sami will handle business right now. Sami heads out, will he be rolling into his next defense?
Liv Morgan speaks.
“Do you know how it feels to have your heart ripped out? It takes your breath away. It feels like you can barely even breathe. I would’ve done anything for you, Dominik. I put you on a pedestal. I treated you like the man I thought that you were. But you’re not a man.” Liv burns the pictures of them together (mostly just screenshots from Monday Night Raw). Liv says Dom is just Rhea’s little b*tch. She wants to take back every tear that she wasted on Dom, but she can’t. So all she can do now is make his and Rhea’s lives a living hell. At SummerSlam, Liv will complete her revenge tour when she beats Rhea and leaves Dom with whatever’s left of Mami.
Meanwhile, Liv will be standing in the ring, with her arm raised as she hears those three little words: “Women’s World Champion. Watch me.” Hell hath now fury like a woman scorned, is Dom going to regret choosing Rhea’s side?
Dominik Mysterio VS Sami Zayn!
Raw returns and Dom makes his entrance alone. The bell rings and the two step forward. Dom sidesteps the tie-up to soak up heat on the corner. The ref has Sami stay back, Dom hops down, and the two feel things out. Dom kicks low, wrenches to wristlock, but Sami spins and wrenches to WRING Dom out! Sami clamps onto the arm, drags Dom up, but Dom powers Sami to a corner. Dom throws hands, stomps away, but Sami hits back with haymakers! Sami whips, Dom holds ropes then bails out. The fans boo but Dom wants a timeout. There are no timeouts, and Sami chases Dom! They go around the ring, into the ring, then Sami hurdles to TOSS Dom out!
The fans fire up as Sami mule kicks from the apron. Then Sami ARABIAN PRESS SAULTS! Down goes Dom and the fans fire up while Raw goes to break!
Raw returns again and the fans rally, but Dom stomps away on Sami! The fans chant “DOM, YOU SUCK!” but he CLUBS away on Sami. Dom wraps on a chinlock, leans on the hold, but Sami fights up. The fans rally, Sami RAMS Dom into a corner, then RAMS him again and again. Sami is free of the chinock, btu Dom elbows him back. Dom then hops up to TORNADO DDT! Cover, TWO! The fans rally, Sami goes to ropes, but Dom fires hands. Sami shakes his head, Dom throws body shots then another haymaker. Dom whips, Sami goes up and over, then LARIATS! The fans fire up as Sami goes to a corner.
Dom rises up, runs in, but into an ELBOW! Sami goes up, FALLING AX HANDLE! The fans fire up again and Sami waits on Dom. Dom swings, into a BLUE THUNDER- NO, Dom fights that with elbows! Dom suplexes, Uno Amigo! Dom drags Sami up to suplex again, Dos Amigos! The fans boo but Dom brings Sami up again, THREE AMIGOS! Dom then goes to a corner, climbs up, and FROG SPL- NO, Sami moves! Dom rolls through, runs back up, but into a CORNER EXPLODER! Sami goes to the far corner and the fans fire up! But wait, here comes Carlito & JD McDonagh! Sami has them stay back, but DOm rolls Sami uP! TWO!!
Sami escapes but Dom CLUBS him! Dom reels Sami in, but Sami back drops free before any amigos! Carlito gets up, Sami DECKS him! JD gets up, Sami DECKS him, too! Dom DROPKICKS Sami onto ropes! Dom dials it up, but Sami LARIATS first! The call disconnected, and Sami hits the BLUE THUDNER BOMB! Cover, JD & Carlito attack!!
Winner: Sami Zayn, by disqualification
The fans boo but Judgment Day mugs Sami! They stomp away on Sami at the ropes, but here comes Jey! Jey baits Carlito in, DUMPS him out, then he runs to SPEAR JD! The fans fire up, Dom runs up, but Jey TOSSES him! Jey builds speed and he FLIES! Down goes Judgment Day! Sami rises, nods, but then BRON CLOBBERS SAMI! The fans boo but the Big Bad Booty Nephew is doing just as Sami knew he would! Bron builds speed, but Sami BOOTS him first!! Sami and Bron goes to corners, Bron runs up, into a CORNER EXPLODER! Sami storms to the other corner and takes aim! But Bron bails out!
The fans boo but Sami dares Bron to get back in! Bron snarls, storms in, but then Sami BOOTS him back out! Sami stands tall in St. Paul, but will he pull off another underdog victory in Cleveland?
The Wyatt Sick6 share another video.
This week’s “session” has Dexter Lumis in the chair. “A man just looking for mercy. They built their empire next to the sea, and laughed as they watched you drown. But there’s freedom in sinking. Look at what you’ve become! Tell me, brother… Tell me. What should they do when the buzzards start circling? What should they do?” Lumis looks at the camera, and says “RUN!” Will there be no mercy for those Lumis and the Wyatts now target?
Chad Gable & The Creeds talk with Adam Pearce.
Gable says once again, he is doing everyone’s jobs. He figured out the identities of the other members of the Wyatt 6. Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis, and Erick Rowan. Pearce says he knows that, they’re all still under WWE contract. Oh, okay, so then they can compete? Generally, that’s how that works. What is Gable’s point? His point is that next week, on Raw, he and the Creeds VS “those three freaks” in a Six Man Tag. Pearce hopes they’re sure that’s what they want. It is. Make it happen. Then consider it official. Gable & The Creeds head out, and Pearce says, “Be careful what you wish for.” The Wyatts may be disturbing, but is Gable the one that’s crazy wanting this fight?
Rhea Ripley speaks.
“Liv Morgan. You wanna burn and break things that don’t belong to you. You so badly, so badly wanna be the victim in your little revenge tour fantasy. But that’s all it is: a fantasy. The reality is, that this Saturday at SummerSlam, your little revenge tour, it comes to an end. There’s no more running, there’s no more hiding, there’s no more manipulating. You thought that I was brutal the last time I attacked your shoulder? But that’s what happened after I warned you multiple times to stay out of my business. Now, now you’ve not only taken three months of my career by injuring my shoulder, touché by the way, but you’ve taken my championship.
“You’ve tried to manipulate my family, MY Latino Heat. You so badly want me to be the demon in your little fantasy dream. But at SummerSlam, it’s time that I get MY revenge.” Mami has spoken, will she demolish what is left of Liv’s broken heart?
Six Woman Tag: Lyra Valkyria, Kayden Carter & Katana Chance VS Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark!
Lyra’s learning how to let loose thanks to the party girls, but this isn’t about having fun. The Morrigan & KC Squared want to humble the newest bullies on the block. But will they avenge Zelina Vega? Or will Deville and her dangerous new crew ruin everyone’s good time?
Raw returns and Sonya’s squad makes their entrance. The trios sort out, Sonya starts against Lyra, and the two tie up. They go around, Sonya pulls hair but the ref reprimands. Lyra chinbars, but so does Sonya. Lyra powers Sonya into a headlock, but Sonya powers up and out. Lyra slides under to RAM Sonya, then she reels Sonya in, Sonya wrenches out, then ROCKS Lyra! Sonya KNEES Lyra, whips her to the corner, then tags Shayna. They mug Lyra, then Zoey tags in. Shayna wrenches to hold Lyra up, and Zoey MISSILE DROPKICKS! Cover, TWO! Zoey drags Lyra up, scoops but Lyra slips free.
Lyra sends Zoey into buckles, then wrenches to WRING her out! Lyra clamp onto the arm, brings Zoey over, and tags in Katana. Katana tags Kayden, Lyra sends Zoey into the corner, then sends Kayden. Kayden SPLASHES, then she and Lyra set up so Katana can run up, PARTY IN MOTION! Zoey flops out of the ring, Katana helps Kayden go up and out to the apron! Lyra tags in, Kayden dodges Zoey to SUPERKICK! Then Lyra runs to WRECK Zoey with a dropkick! The fans cheer as Lyra, Kayden & Katana are vibing, and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Lyra fights out of a chinlock. But Sonya RAMS her into the corner! Sonya fires hands, tags in Shayna, and they mug Lyra. Shayna stomps away, Sonya tags back in. Sonya drags Lyra up to fire body shots again and again, then lets off as the ref counts. Sonya runs up but Lyra BOOTS her! Lyra ELBOWS Shayna, ELBOWS Zoey, then goes up and over Sonya as she returns! Lyra hurries but Sonya grabs her legs! Sonya drags Lyra back, Lyra BOOTS her away, hot tag to Kayden! Kayden runs up dodges Shayna, and DECKS Kayden! ROUNDHOUSE for Sonya, leg trip for Shayna! BUZZSAW!
Kayden CLOBBERS Shayna again and again, and the fans fire up! Kayden brings Shayna up for fast hands but Shayna shoves her back. Kayden runs back up to ROCK Shayna! Kayden whips Shayna, Shayna reverses, but Kayden wheelbarrows. Victory roll, and SUPERKICK! The fans fire up as Kayden storms up on Shayna. Kayden springboard LEG DROPS! Cover, TWO! Kayden runs side to side, but Shayna dodges! Shayna KNEES Kayden down, and she tags in Zoey! Zoey reels Kayden in, ALLEY- RANA! Kayden then baits Shayna and TOSSES her! Zoey SUPERKICKS but Katana tags in! Kayden ELBOWS Zoey while Katana tags Lyra.
Kayden gives Katana a lift, then a TOSS, CODE BREAKER! Lyra is there to gut wrench and POWERBOMB! Cover, Shayna breaks it! Sonya adds a KNEE! Zoey covers, Kayden SUPERKICKS her! Katana jumps in, KC Squared TOSS Shayna & Sonya! They drag Lyra to safety, then Kayden tags in. Kayden drags Zoey up, tags Katana back in. Katana goes up, but Sonya trips Kayden! No After Party yet, and Shayna gets on the apron. Katana BOOTS her away, but then Zoey gets up! Zoey grabs at Katana, but Katana turns toss into victory roll! TWO!! Zoey KNEES Katana, then drags her up! Z 360!! Cover, Deville’s crew wins!
Winners: Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark, by pinfall
A dangerous trios indeed, but wait! Damage CTRL is back! The Japan tour has reinvigorated them, and now Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane & Dakota Kai storm the ring! DMG CTRL dodges Deville and her team, to then BOOT, DROPKICK and DECK them all! The fans fire up, and Iyo goes up top! ARIHARA MOONSAULT onto them all!! Iyo then joins Kairi & Dakota in the ring to stand tall. Just who runs Raw? Perhaps these trios will have to fight it out and find out!
Gunther speaks.
Sometime before the show, Der Ring General went to the empty bleachers to say, “Last week, I offered Damian Priest the easy way out for the second time in a row. And his reaction was a reaction of a weak man. A reaction of a man who doesn’t have control over his own emotions. But that’s okay. Damian Priest doesn’t have to pretend anymore, because I exposed him for what he is: an emotional wannabe that abuses this great business as a cure for his childhood trauma.” Gunther says as far as tonight, Finn Balor is someone he used to look up to. Finn used to be one of the greatest pro-wrestlers in the world. And he still is, as he is World Tag Team Champion.
But let’s be honest. They both know Finn was destined for much greater things. But ever since he decided to surround himself with “those Judgment Day weirdos,” Finn became just like them: street trash. It will be Gunther’s pleasure tonight to find out how much of that old Finn Balor is still left. And as for Priest, know this: Gunther will never forgive Priest for abusing this great sport to cover up his pathetic existence. After SummerSlam, Priest and the rest of the world will forever remember the day when Der Ring General “saved this great sport and the World Heavyweight Championship.”
Backstage interview with Damage CTRL.
Cathy catches Iyo, Kairi & Dakota as they return backstage, and brings up that quick brawl out there with “the group that claims to be in control of Raw” while they were away. Iyo gets upset and says in Japanese that DMG CTRL are the ones who run Raw! Kairi adds her own comments in Japanese, and that WWE belongs to DMG CTRL. Dakota says the only reason Sonya and them have been “running the place” is because DMG CTRL was gone. Now that they’re back, it is time to reestablish a certain order of things. In fact, how about this? Dakota calls out Sonya for a match next week! Let’s see how long that little social club lasts after Dakota cuts the head off the snake.
DMG CTRL heads out, is #CobraKai going to leave Deville snakebit when Raw rolls into Baltimore?
Judgment Day regroups in the clubhouse.
Between Carlito and Dom each taking a loss, Rhea says, “What did you expect?” Carlito wants to point out that he was left alone out there but then they helped Dom. Rhea says she said this was gonna happen. JD says they can’t let Jey & Sami walk all over them. Finn says hold on, Rhea is right. They got themselves into this mess together. Let’s wait until after SummerSlam to get out of the mess together. Rhea says yeah, time to focus. And she’ll just put it out there… If Finn does need help with Gunther, they’ve got him. Just say the word.
Finn asks how many times they gotta go over this. At SummerSlam, Rhea is going it alone against Liv, and Priest is going it alone against Gunther. So tonight, he’s gotta step up and go it alone. Unless they don’t think he’s good enough. No, it’s not like that. Their problem is Gunther. They don’t trust that Gunther won’t try something stupid. But as his brother in arms, Priest knows Finn can handle Gunther. Go out there and show him who Finn Balor is. Finn says as Priest’s brother, he’ll soften up Gunther for Priest on Saturday.
They fist bump, JD helps Finn prepare, and the team is confident. But will the Prince be able to put a dent in the King of the Ring? Or will he be made into an example?
Finn Balor VS GUNTHER!
Raw returns and the two circle. They feel things out, tie up, and Gunther hits a headlock takeover. Finn headscissors, Gunther kips free but Finn goes for the headlock. Gunther blocks the takeover, lifts Finn, but Finn hits a flying takeover! Gunther scrambles up, powers up but can’t power out as Finn holds tight. Gunther puts Finn in a corner, the ref counts, and Finn lets go. Gunther swings, misses, and Finn CHOPS! Gunther snarls, so Finn CHOPS! Gunther eggs him on so Finn CHOPS! Gunther CHOPS and Finn falls! Gunther hauls Finn up, but Finn fights the bomb! Finn powers up and back drops! Gunther sunset flips, but Finn rolls through to basement dropkicks!
Finn fires up, the fans are with him, and he runs to KICK Gunther in the side! Finn then stomps at the ropes, the ref counts, and Finn stops at 4. Gunther stands, Finn runs back in but into a BOOT! The fans boo but Gunther paces around while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Gunther looms over Finn. Gunther brings Finn up to scoop and SLAM! Finn grits his teeth while writhing, and Gunther says he’s gong to become champion. But Finn CHOPS, and CHOPS and CHOPS! But Gunther CHOPS Finn down again! Gunther hauls Finn up to hit a BIG back suplex! Cover, TWO! Finn stays in this but Gunther stays on him with a CHOP! Gunther turns Finn over into a BOSTON CRAB! Finn endures, the fans rally, and Finn fights his way over! Finn has the ROPEBREAK! Gunther lets go quickly, and he drags Finn up into a corner. Gunther CLUBS Finn, then puts him up top.
Gunther SLAPS Finn on the back, but Finn throws elbows! Gunther CHOPS Finn on the back, then climbs up behind him! Gunther brings Finn up for a SUPER- CROSSBODY! Finn turns things around in time and both men are down! The fans fire up while Gunther sputters. Gunther slowly rises, as does Finn. They both stand, and Finn BOOTS Gunther! Finn ducks a chop to CHOP back! Finn fires forearms and body shots, but Gunther scoops! Finn slips free, into the EYE OF THE HURRICANE! Cover, TWO! The fans rally as Finn aims from a corner. Gunther rises, but he dodge the slingblade to have a SLEEPER!
Finn endures, Gunther drags him back up but Finn arm-drags free! Gunther CHOPS! SLEEPER!! Finn flails, fans rally, and Gunn leans on the hold! Finn fades, Gunther spins him around and POWER- SATELLITE DDT! Finn turns things around, runs and LARIATS, but Gunther stays up! Finn keeps moving, Gunther LARIATS back! Cover, TWO! Finn survives but both men are down. The fans rally up more as the two men stir. Finn and Gunther slowly rise, but Gunther stands first. Gunther kicks Finn, Finn CHOPS! Gunther CHOPS! Finn staggers, but he SLAPS! Gunther CHOPS, Finn SLAPS, back and forth!
The shots keep going, Finn CHOPS, Gunther UPPERCUTS! Gunther reels Finn in to POWER- NO, Finn slips free, duck sunder and comes back, SLINGBLADE! Gunther falls and Finn takes aim! The fans fire up as Finn runs in, but into a SLEEPER! REAR NAKED- NO, Finn rolls out of the body scissors to DOUBLE STOMP! Finn trips Gunther, and DOUBLE STOMPS again! Gunther sputters, Finn hurries to DOUBLE STOMP again! Finn aims from a corner, runs in, SHOTGUN! Gunther hits buckles then falls! Finn hurries up the corner while fans fire up! COUP DE- NO, Gunther moves! SLEEPER!! Finn flails but Gunther squeezes tight!
Finn is fading, but he finds a second wind! So Gunther reels him in and lifts, POWERBOMB! High stack, TWO!! Finn survives so it’s back to the SLEEPER!! Finn flails, reaches out, but he’s fading again! Gunther leans on the hold, Finn gets a third wind! The fans rally as Finn rises up, and he pries at Gunther’s arms! Finn ELBOW BREAKERS one, but Gunther just clamps on with the other! Finn is back down, the ref checks him! Finn is OUT, Gunther wins!!
Winner: Gunther, by submission
The King of the Ring got a fight out of The Prince, but then he CLAMPS THE SLEEPER BACK ON!! Gunther wants to humiliate and hurt Finn as a message to Priest! But here comes El Campeon! The fans fire up as Priest runs in, and he fires off hands on Gunther! They brawl, the fans fire up, and Priest DECKS Gunther! Gunther bails out but Priest pursues to fire off more hands! Gunther RAMS Priest into barriers, Priest pushes him back and ROCKS him with haymaker after haymaker! They go around ringside, Priest CHUCKS Gunther over the desk! The fans are thunderous as Priest rains down fists on the desk!
Gunther can only guard as Priest stomps at him! Gunther staggers, Priest LEAPS onto him! Priest stomps away against the barriers, this is that street mugging he promised! He throws Gunther into the Prime hydration station! Gunther and cart tumble, Gunther tries to get away, but Priest HAMMERS him on the barriers! The Punisher is giving Gunther what he deserves already, but will Gunther still get what he wants at SummerSlam?
My Thoughts:
A great Raw as the go-home for SummerSlam here, but with quite a bit more prepared for next week’s aftermath episode. Great tag match of Otis & Tozawa VS The Creeds, with Gable of course cheating to help the now Heel Creeds. At the same time, great appearance by Wyatt Sick6, great team combo from Lumis and Gacy, and I again enjoyed Gable being arrogant, thinking he figured out some secret that the Wyatts gave up willingly. As I figured, a Six Man Tag is happening and it’ll be next week, not at SummerSlam. That is fine, as being a kickoff show match doesn’t seem big enough for the in-ring return of Gacy, Lumis & Rowan.
Good match from Kross with Woods but of course Final Testament had to interfere. I want the blowoff, the match that determines if Woods joins Final Testament or stops them, to be a pure 1v1 match but that probably isn’t happening, given they might want to give Kofi a triumphant return. Though, perhaps such a return ends up exactly why Woods joins Kross, because on some level, it proves Kross is right. I do feel like it’d be the more intriguing story if, after all this time, New Day stopped being a team. Woods doesn’t even have to join Kross, he just has to see he doesn’t need Kofi anymore.
While Sonya’s group hurting Zelina seems a bit unnecessary, we got a very good Six Woman Tag. Good win for Sonya’s group which really needs a name, but also great return for DMG CTRL, with a look that hearkens back to Lucha Underground’s Black Lotus Triad, aka the one-off of Iyo & Kairi teaming with Mayu Iwatani to beat up on Pentagon Jr. Dakota VS Sonya will be good stuff, and really, should be Dakota’s win so DMG CTRL’s return is even stronger. Then we can do other singles matches, some tag matches, and of course the eventual Six Woman Tag. Though I wonder if Lyra & KC Squared get involved for a triple trios thing.
Sheamus VS Bronson was a great rematch, but I was just wondering when Dunne would show up. I didn’t think he’d use a shillelagh, though. Great win for Bronson, he could use this to go after whoever wins the Intercontinental Championship after SummerSlam. As for Dunne, he and Sheamus might end up having a Donnybrook match. It’ll hearken back to when The Brawling Brutes were a thing, it’d help bring out Dunne’s motivations in this feud, and it’d just be a lot of fun seeing them go all out, smashing up a tiny bar or some wood barrels.
As for SummerSlam build, a very good though rather long opening promo segment. Rollins didn’t go as crazy with his ref outfit as I was expecting, but the leather pants, zebra stripe boots and puffy shoulder shirt is still good stuff. And I do like that his rules will be very lax, bordering on No Holds Barred because he just wants to see McIntyre and Punk beat each other to a pulp. Now, it’d be rather cliche if like, Punk upsets Rollins somehow and Rollins screws him out of this, but it would be fitting of the story. Punk warned Rollins, that felt like foreshadowing, and what a great way to transition feuds than for Punk to want after Rollins now.
Judgment Day was of course a great throughline on the night. Liv bashing up the clubhouse, and the PS5, while also having her promo with the trash can fire, was good stuff. Rhea’s response was also good, can’t wait to see how their title match goes down. Very good promos from Priest and Gunther to call each other out, and it is intriguing how Finn seems to be the one insisting on “Stand on your own, handle the business,” even though they in no way had to have Carlito lose to Jey or Dom lose to Sami. I’m still hoping to see that Judgment Day Civil War type break-up, Finn bringing JD & Carlito with him to join Liv, so that the real business they need to handle is, “Who is better Judgment Day?”
Sami and Jey got great momentum off those matches, but we also got a good promo from Sami and Bron. Bron going after Sami but being run off, that go-home math has to mean Sami loses. I’m still a little surprised Sami won at MITB, so I think this is when Bron wins. Bron’s promo does have a point about “life after Bron,” because Sami and Jey could move over to go after the tag titles since this thing with Judgment Day is heating up. And then, if Survivor Series brings back Brand VS Brand, Sami & Jey are champs on Raw but Bloodline’s Tama & Jacob Fatu are champs on SmackDown… It isn’t quite a WarGames of Bloodline Civil War, but it’d be pretty good all the same.
My Score: 8.8/10
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The end is so close, we can almost taste it!
Half of A Block at 3-2, half at 2-3, and only two rounds left! Who will break away from the pack to lead this World Tag League?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Kickoff – Shoma Kato VS Daiki Nagai; Kato wins.
- Six Man Tag: The United Empire VS Bullet Club; The United Empire wins.
- Six Man Tag: Taichi, Taka Michinoku & DOUKI VS TMDK; Taichi, Taka & Douki win.
- Six Man Tag: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jado & Katsuya Murashima VS Toru Yano, Boltin Oleg & Tiger Mask; Yano, Oleg & Tiger Mask win.
- Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS The House of Torture; LIJ wins.
- World Tag League 2024 A Block: Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma VS KENTA & Chase Owens; Kenta & Chase win.
- World Tag League 2024 A Block: Alex Zayne & Ryusuke Taguchi VS Gabe Kidd & SANADA; Gabe & Sanada win.
- World Tag League 2024 A Block: Bishamon VS Jeff Cobb & Callum Neman; Bishamon wins.
- World Tag League 2024 A Block: Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa VS Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji; Takagi & Tsuji win.
PLAY BY PLAY
Here are the current A Block standings!
Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji: 3-2, 6 points
Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman: 3-2, 6 points
Bishamon: 3-2, 6 points
Gabe Kidd & Sanada: 3-2, 6 points
Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma: 2-3, 4 points
Kenta & Chase Owens: 2-3, 4 points
Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa: 2-3, 4 points
Alex Zayne & Ryusuke Taguchi: 2-3, 4 points
World Tag League 2024 A Block: Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma VS KENTA & Chase Owens!
The Roughneck almost didn’t make it to this round with how he hurt his foot last round, but he’s good to go! But will he and Honma be able to make it through the sixth? Or will The Fang Revived & The Crown Jewel make them #Go2Sleep?
OH NO, Kenta & Chase attack as Shota & Honma make their entrance! Bullet Club takes advantage of Shota & Honma going out into the crowd, and now they’re beating Shota & Honma down! The ref reprimands but Chase uses Shota’s own glowstick to JAM him in the head! Kenta drags Honma up for haymakers and Chase JAMS Shota again! The ref reprimands more but this isn’t a match so Bullet Club keeps beating up on Shota & Honma! Kenta POSTS Honma, and Chase drags Shota over. But Shota fires forearms in return! The fans fire up and Shota saves Honma from Kenta! Shota fires forearms on Kenta & Chase again and again!
Kenta ducks Shota’s forearm to full nelson, and Chase kicks the bad leg! Shota drops to the floor as he clutches the knee, and Kenta stomps Honma. Chase grabs a chair and he pushes the ref aside. Kenta holds the leg out! Honma covers the leg to shield it! So Chase SMACKS Honma instead! Kenta drags Honma up, Chase brings Shota around, and Chase puts Shota in the corner. Chase pulls the leg against the post, and then he grabs the chair! CON-CHAIR-TO on the leg against the post! The fans are stunned as Shota falls to the floor and shouts in pain! Kenta drags Honma up and puts him in the ring, and Chase wants the bell!
Kenta storms in, the bell rings, and now we’re on record as Kenta stands Honma up. Kenta KICKS, and KICKS, and KICKS, but Honma blocks! Honma CLUBS the leg, but then Kenta CLAWS Honma’s face! Kenta brings Honma over to bump off Chase’s boot. Tag to Chase and Bullet Club mugs Honma. Chase then traps Honma’s head for the NECK TWEAK! Cover, TWO! The fans rally up but Chase tags Kenta. Bullet Club continues to mug Honma, then Kenta covers. TWO, but Kenta drops a knee on Honma’s head! And another! Kenta tags Chase and Chase stomps Honma. Chase grinds his forearm into Honma’s face!
Chase drags Honma up, headlocks and punches! Chase bumps Honma off Kenta’s boot, tags Kenta back in, but Honma fights back! The fans rally as Honma fires CHOPS and SLAPS, but Bullet Club mugs him again! They double whip Honma to a corner, then Kenta runs in. Honma dodges Kenta, then dodges Chase! Honma kicks Chase, catches Kenta, DDT COMPLETE SHOT COMBO! The fans fire up but Shota is still down! Honma is in an unofficial 2v1 handicap match at this point! Shota crawls, but he’s still so far from the corner. Kenta CLUBS Honma, then brings him around. Chase adds on, and they double whip again.
Honma grabs ropes, BOOTS Kenta, then DUMPS Chase! The fans fire up as Honma hurries to his feet. Honma SHOULDER TACKLES Kenta! The fans fire up as Shota is back up! But then Chase CHOP BLOCKS him! Shota falls and tumbles into railing! Honma CHOPS Kenta! And CHOPS! And CHOPS! Honma whips Kenta corner to corner, then runs up to ELBOW! And BULLDOG! The fans fire up and Honma fires up! FALLING KOKESHI FLOPS as Kenta moves! Tag to Chase and Bullet Club storms up on Honma. SOBAT! KICK! ROUNDHOUSE! Chase mocks the Kokeshi call to KNEE Honma down! Cover, TWO!
Chase calls to end this, and Kenta goes up a corner. Chase brings Honma in, but Shota gets up to SHOVE Kenta down! Kenta hits apron then floor! Shota shoves Chase into a cradle! TWO!! Chase escapes, runs up but Honma shoves Chase into Shota’s ELBOW! Chase staggers and Honma rolls him up! TWO!! Chase escapes again, but Honma runs up. Chase swats the lariat, fires a strike fest, but Honma roars! Honma HEADBUTTS, runs, KOKESHI- C-TRIGGER!! Chase tucks Honma in, hoists him up, PACKAGE PILEDRIVER!! Cover, Bullet Club wins!!
Winners: Kenta & Chase Owens, by pinfall (gain 2 points; Shota & Honma earn 0)
Bullet Club struck first and they struck last, and they’re still in the running! Can they find an outside shot at the finals and hit the mark? As for Shota & Honma, they’re mathematically ELIMINATED from the finals! Will Shota even have a leg to stand on when it comes time for his world title match?
World Tag League 2024 A Block: Alex Zayne & Ryusuke Taguchi VS Gabe Kidd & SANADA!
The Funky Sauce is on the bubble at 2-3 but they seem to be getting hot at just the right time. Can Zayne & Taguchi cook up a great comeback? Or will the heat die down after facing the Mad Man & Cold Blooded?
The teams sort out and then the War Dogs attack! It’s the Bullet Club way! Gabe is after Zayne, Sanada is after Taguchi, and the bell rings to get this on record! Sanada TOSSES Taguchi while Gabe UPPERCUTS Zayne! Sanada helps drag Zayne up, and they War Dogs DOUBLE SUPLEX! Cover, TWO! The fans rally up but Gabe reels Zayne in. Zayne fights the driver, shoves Gabe at Sanada at the corner, but Gabe narrowly avoids running into him. Zayne then SUPERKICKS Gabe, and he dodges Sanada to then IMPLODER KNEE DROP! STANDING MARIPOSA! The fans fire up but Gabe waistlocks! Zayne fights, switches, but Gabe backs him down!
Zayne keeps hold of Gabe and Taguchi tags in. Taguchi CLUBS Gabe, Zayne kicks, and Funky Sauce double whip. They blow past Gabe to then BULLDOG and basement DROPKICK! Taguchi covers, TWO! The fans rally as Funky Sauce HIP ATTACK back and forth! Gabe sputters, and he gets a HIP ATTACK SANDWICH! The fans cheer again and Zayne drags Gabe up. Taguchi goes to a corner, Zayne sends him in, and Taguchi BOOTS! Taguchi goes up for DEADLY HIPS! Taguchi then hops up, Zayne tilt-o-whirl RANAS, but Gabe stops from running into cheeks! Gabe SHOVES Taguchi to the floor, then he dodges Zayne to CHOP!
Zayne falls then flounders away while the fans rally up. Sanada brings Taguchi out into the crowd and SMACKS him off chairs! Gabe does the same with Zayne on the other side! Young Lions make sure fans get to a safe distance while Sanada SMACKS Taguchi off more chairs. Gabe sends Zayne into the back wall! Gabe fires forearms, then THROWS Zayne into the wall again! Sanada drags Taguchi up and moves through the crowd while Gabe SMACKS Zayne with spare railing! Gabe has a wild grin as he storms around. The ring count starts, so Sanada brings Taguchi back to ringside. Taguchi resists but Sanada CLAWS his face!
Gabe has fans clear out, then he BOWLS Zayne into the chairs! Zayne tumbles up and over multiple rows! That was a strike, maybe even a turkey! Gabe then goes back for Taguchi to put him in the ring at 15 of 20. Gabe flexes and mockingly asks where Zayne went. Gabe drags Taguchi up, and he CHOPS! Taguchi goes to a corner while the fans rally up. Gabe bumps Taguchi off buckles, tags Sanada, and Sanada stomps Taguchi down. Sanada stomps away, and Gabe intercepts Zayne at the gate! The ref counts, Sanada lets off, and Gabe grins as Zayne is down in the crowd again. Sanada drags Taguchi back up to bump off buckles.
Sanada whips corner to corner, runs in, and ELBOWS! Taguchi sputters but Sanada tags Gabe. Gabe eggs Taguchi on. Taguchi rises up to CHOP! Gabe eggs Taguchi on more, so Taguchi CHOPS, CHOPS, and CHOPS! Gabe BITES Taguchi’s forehead! Then he bumps Taguchi off buckles! The ref reprimands but Gabe tags Sanada. Sanada stands Taguchi up and ROCKS him with a right hand! Taguchi drops to his knees, so Sanada stands him up to ROCK him again! Taguchi wobbles, Sanada ROCKS him again, but Taguchi comes back with CHOPS! The fans rally, but Sanada CLAWS Taguchi’s eyes! Sanada whips, Taguchi HIP ATTACKS!
The fans fire up as Taguchi reaches out, and Zayne has returned! Taguchi crawls over but Gabe runs over to YANK Zayne down! And it’s back out to the crowd! Zayne fights the driver to BOWL Gabe into chairs! STRIKE! The fans fire up as Zayne hurries back, but Sanada drags Taguchi away. BIG atomic drop! Taguchi hobbles, reaches out, but Sanada reels him back in! Taguchi fires elbows, runs, but he fakes Sanada out! HIP ATTACK! The fans fire up again as Taguchi crawls! Hot tag to Zayne! Zayne dodges Sanada, fires hands and forearms, then whips. Zayne HIP TOSSES Sanada to then MARIPOSA!
Zayne drags Sanada up, suplexes, but Sanada fights it to suplex! Zayne fights that, and it’s a battle for control! Zayne suplexes up and over! The fans fire up and Zayne rises! Zayne stands Sanada up to fire forearms and ELBOWS! Then a mule kick! Zayne runs but Gabe trips him up! Gabe drags Zayne out and suplexes, but Zayne fights it! Zayne hangs Gabe out to dry on railing! Then ROLLING AX KICK! Gabe flops down, Zayne runs in and he dodges Sanada! BOOT! ENZIGIRI! Sanada ends up in a corner, tag to Taguchi! Funky Sauce whips Sanada corner to corner, then Taguchi HIP ATTACKS! Feed to Zayne, tilt-o-whirl RANA into the HIPS!
The fans fire up as Zayne backslides Sanada, but Sanada rolls through! KETSUYE! Cover, Gabe breaks it! Gabe runs up to kick Zayne and brings him around. Gabe suplexes, but Zayne slips free! Feed to the HIP- NO, Atomic Drop! Wait, Gabe’s knee is what hurts? Taguchi wags his fingers, did he activate his buns of steel?! Zayne ENZIGIRIS, and then HIP ATTACK! The fans fire up again and Taguchi goes for Sanada. Funky Sauce double whip, but Sanada grabs ropes. Sanada TOSSES Zayne, then dodges Taguchi to spin and suplex, MAGIC- NO, Taguchi slips free! Sanada fights the suplex to dragon sleeper! But Zayne BLOCKBUSTERS!!
The fans are thunderous but Gabe UPPERCUTS Zayne! Zayne hits back, and the two fire heavy shots! The fans rally, Zayne blocks a boot to KNEE, but Gabe LARIATS! Gabe kicks Taguchi, suplexes, but Taguchi fights it! Taguchi wrenches to ENZIGIRI! Gabe falls but Sanada rises, so Taguchi runs up, to whiff on the hip attack! Dragon sleeper, but Taguchi drops down! OH MY GAH ANKLE!! Sanada flails and reaches out, Gabe and Zayne intercept each other! Gabe reels Zayne in, but Zayne fights the lift to have OH MY GAH ANKLE 2!! The fans are thunderous as the War Dogs are enduring! Zayne shouts, “ITADAKIMASU~!” And he BITES Gabe’s leg!!
The fans are thunderous but then Gabe rolls and sends Zayne into Taguchi! All four men are down, and Zayne continues tumbling out to the floor. Gabe bails out to the apron, but Taguchi runs at Sanada. Sanada BOOTS Taguchi, SANADA QUEBRADA! Taguchi dodges! Sanada’s leg jams! KETSU- NO! Sanada dodges the hips! Sanada comes back to SHINING WIZARD!! Sanada roars, the fans fire up, and Sanada clinches for DEAD- NO, Taguchi trips Sanada up, steps over, LA MAGISTROL!!! TWO!! Gabe beats up on Zayne while Sanada catches Taguchi! Taguchi switches but Sanada shoves the ref, LOW BLOW MULE KICK!!
The fans boo but Sanada reels Taguchi in! DEADFALL!! Cover, War Dogs win!
Winners: Gabe Kidd & Sanada, by pinfall (gain 2 points; Zayne & Taguchi earn 0)
Another first strike, last strike match for Bullet Club, and the Funky Sauce is ELIMINATED from the finals! Gabe & Sanada now moving up the ranks, will they be the ones taking those trophies?
World Tag League 2024 A Block: Bishamon VS Jeff Cobb & Callum Neman!
The four-peat is still alive, but at 3-2, who knows for how much longer. Can the Fierce Warrior & Headhunter defy the United Empire? Or will the Imperial Unit & Prince of Pace make sure Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi won’t #GetBackUp?
The teams sort out and Callum pushes Goto. Goto steps up and the fans cheer with the bell. Goto and Callum stare down while the fans rally up more, then they circle. They tie up, are in a deadlock, but Goto uses size to power Callum backwards to ropes. The ref counts, Goto lets off with pats on the shoulder, and the fans applaud. Callum brushes that off literally and the two go again. They tie up but Callum kicks low! Callum fires a forearm, whips, but Goto reverses. Callum ducks ‘n’ dodges and BOOTS Goto down! The fans fire up and Callum waits on Goto to sit up. Callum stomps Goto, then stands him up to fire forearms.
Goto CHOPS, Callum fires a forearm, repeat! Callum knees low, whips, but Goto grabs ropes! Hashi tags in and Goto BOOTS Callum! Bishamon CLOBBERS Callum! Cobb runs up, but Bishamon drop toeholds him onto Callum! Callum sputters while Goto & Hashi bring Cobb up. “SE~ NO!” DRUM BEAT! The fans fire up as Bishamon CLUBS Cobb back down onto Callum! Goto steps out while Cobb rolls away, and Callum coughs and sputters his way to ropes. Hashi brings Callum around to cover, ONE!! Callum is still toughing it out and the fans rally up. Hashi drags Callum up to CLUB him on the neck!
Callum goes to another end of the ring but Hashi storms up. Hashi CLUBS Callum again, then keeps him from Cobb. Hashi ROCKS Callum with a forearm, then whips him to ropes. Callum reverses and HIP TOSS NECKBREAKERS! Cobb runs up to BLAST Goto! Cobb goes out to stomp Goto down, then he stands on Goto’s chest! The fans cheer, and Cobb pretends he didn’t see Goto there as he steps off. Callum drags Hashi up to ROCK him with a forearm! Callum then CHOPS Hashi off his feet! The fans cheer and Callum brings Hashi over. Callum bumps Hashi off buckles, then he tags in Cobb.
Cobb HEADBUTTS Hashi in the back! And HEADBUTTS him again! Cobb whips and RUNS Hashi over! Cobb then carefully covers, TWO! Another cover, TWO! A third cover, TWO! Hashi stays in this and the fans rally up again. Cobb stalks Hashi to ropes, stomps him, then drags Hashi up. Cobb CLUBS Hashi down, pushes him around, and then steps on Hashi’s back! Cobb stands on Hashi to use him as a surfboard! Cobb mocks Goto’s pose, then steps away to tell Goto to go back to his corner. Cobb bumps Hashi off buckles then tags Callum. Callum CHOPS Hashi, kicks him, but Hashi fires forearms!
Callum and Hashi go back and forth, and Hashi has the edge! But Callum CHOPS Hashi off his feet! Callum stands Hashi up, tags Cobb, and the Empire mugs Hashi in the corner. The fans rally but Cobb scoops Hashi and holds him with one arm! Then Cobb SLAMS Hashi down! Cobb again mocks Goto’s pose to power up, GACHIMUCHI MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO! Hashi survives and the fans fire up, but Cobb brings Hashi around. Hashi fires body shots and forearms! Cobb JABS! Cobb whips, but Hashi dropkicks the legs out! The fans fire up and Hashi crawls over, hot tag to Goto! Goto runs to RAM Cobb!
Cobb stays up so Goto RAMS him again! Cobb tells Goto nice try! Cobb kicks low, whips, but Goto reverses. Goto then blows past Cobb to LARIAT! Callum runs in but Goto kicks him, and snap suplexes him onto Cobb! The fans fire up and Goto brings Cobb around. Goto fires a flurry of forearms, then whips corner to corner. Goto runs up to MURAMASA, and then BULLDOG! Cover, TWO! Cobb stays in this and the fans rally up more. Goto drags Cobb up but Cobb’s too much to fireman’s carry! Cobb CLUBS Goto, but Goto fires forearms! Cobb fires back and the forearms go back and forth!
The fans rally as Goto and Cobb throw shots, but then Cobb gets the edge! Cobb pumps up, swings, but into a dragon sleeper! But Cobb fights free! Goto ROCKS Cobb, runs, but Cobb blows past Goto now to “JOHN CENA!” SHOULDER TACKLE! Goto is down and the fans fire up! Cobb rolls his way to the corner, Goto crawls, hot tags to Callum and Hashi! Hashi dodges to fire a strike fest! Hashi CHOPS and Callum goes to the corner. Hashi storms up to CHOP again! Hashi turns Callum, Callum slips free to shove, trip, and DOUBLE STOMP! The fans fire up, Callum huffs ‘n’ puffs and rises again.
Callum drags Hashi up, but Hashi suplexes! Callum slips free, waistlocks, but Hashi RAMS him into a corner! Goto runs up and LARIATS! Hashi CLUBS Cobb off the apron! Hashi whips Callum but Callum BOOTS Goto! And then Callum jumps Hashi’s basement dropkick to DOUBLE STOMP! Cobb storms in and he deadlift suplexes Hashi! Callum adds a PENALTY KICK! Cover, Goto breaks it! The fans fire up but Cobb TOSSES Goto! Cobb goes out after Goto again while Callum brings Hashi up. Cobb runs up but someone crashes into railing! Hashi avoids Callum’s Oscutter, then blocks a kick to fire a forearm!
Callum fires back and the fans rally as the shots go back and forth! Callum wobbles, Hashi fires a flurry! Hashi spins to COHP! Callum falls, kips up and ENZIGIRIS! Callum runs, but Goto is back, and he LARIATS Callum! Bishamon stands Callum up! Fireman’s carry, USHIGOROSHI! They call their shot and get Callum back up! Dragon sleeper, leg lift, but Callum kicks free! Goto suplexes, Callum knees free! Goto waistlocks, spins Callum around, and Hashi LARIATS at the ropes! Then full nelson, but Callum BOOTS Goto and STUNNRES Hashi! Victory roll, TWO!! Cobb drags Goto out to send him into railing!
Hashi ducks a roundhouse to SNAP DRAGON SUPLEX! Hashi sees Callum tumble to a corner but Cobb runs up to ROCK Hashi! Goto gets in, Cobb ROCKS him, too! Cobb fires more shots, but gets caught into an URA GTR! Hashi LARIATS Cobb down! The fans fire up and Hashi roars! Callum SUPERKICKS Hashi! And DREAMCAST KICKS Goto! Hashi runs up, into a JUMP KNEE! Callum springboards, OSCU- NO, Goto catches him! Hashi has the legs! SHOTO!! Cover, BISHAMON WINS!
Winners: Bishamon, by pinfall (gain 2 points; Cobb & Callum earn 0)
A fast and furious finish, and it was certainly lights out for Callum! The United Empire’s dream of facing each other in the finals is in jeopardy, but is the dream of the four-peat about to come true for Goto & Hashi?
World Tag League 2024 A Block: Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa VS Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji!
TMDK is on the ropes in both blocks, their hopes of a mighty battle in Kumamoto is no longer possible. But can The Front Man & Mullet stay strong until the end? Or will the Rampaging Dragon & Gene Blast keep World Tag League tranquilo?
The teams sort out, LIJ fist bumps, and the fans rally up as Oiwa steps up to Yota. Yota grins, the bell rings, and the fans rally up. Yota and Oiwa circle, feel things out, then circle. They tie up, Oiwa spins to hammerlock, but Yota reaches back to headlock. Oiwa powers out and wrangles Yota into a headlock. Yota fights up, fires body shots, then hammerlocks in return. Oiwa slips around to switch the hammerlock onto Yota, but Yota switches and full nelsons. Oiwa fights that, so Yota spins him to a snapmare. Yota chinlocks but Oiwa slips right out to hammerlock! Oiwa then hooks the other arm and brings Yota into a cover, TWO!
Oiwa keeps on Yota with a double wristlock but Yota fights up to headlock. Yota hits a takeover, Oiwa headscissors, and Oiwa holds on tight! Yota fights around, pops out and has Oiwa’s legs trapped! Oiwa endures, Yota floats to a headlock but Oiwa again headscissors. Yota kips free this time but Oiwa goes up and hits a headscissor takedown! The fans fire up while Oiwa pushes up to put on the pressure. Yota fights around, ROPEBREAK! Oiwa lets go of Yota to stomp him down, then he brings Yota up to CHOP! Oiwa CHOPS Yota at the ropes, then runs, but Takagi jumps in! LIJ DOUBLE SHOULDER TACKLE Oiwa down!
The fans fire up and Takagi SENTONS! Yota BODY PRESSES! Cover, TWO! Oiwa stays in this but Yota brings him up. Yota CHOPS Oiwa, but Oiwa comes back for more. Yota CHOPS again, but Oiwa shakes his head. Oiwa CHOPS, ROCKS, and fires more forearms! But Yota CHOPS Oiwa down! The fans fire up and Yota runs, but Oiwa dropkicks the legs out! The fans fire up again as Oiwa hurries, tag to ZSJ! ZSJ drags Yota around by a leg, has a standing toehold, and he twists and tweaks that foot! ZSJ turns Yota over and hooks up the legs. Yota resists as ZSJ goes for the arms, so ZSJ STOMPS the legs!
The fans fire up while Yota writhes, and ZSJ tags Oiwa. Oiwa storms up and grabs a leg for his own standing toehold. Yota endures, fights, but Oiwa YANKS the leg! Oiwa drags Yota around to YANK the leg again! Oiwa then tags ZSJ back in and ZSJ goes right after the leg, SPINNING TOEHOLD! ZSJ scissors the leg but Yota kicks with the free leg. But ZSJ grabs that and adds it on, DEATHLOCK! ZSJ pulls way back on it, and even has a headscissors! ZSJ again innovates with this modified Bow ‘n’ Arrow, but Yota endures and reaches out! Yota rolls over to have the ROPEBREAK! The fans cheer and ZSJ lets go to tag Oiwa.
Oiwa drags Yota up to dropkick the legs! Oiwa brings Yota up again, has a leg, but Yota fights the lift! Yota CLUBS away but Oiwa DRAGON SCREWS the leg instead! Tag back to ZSJ and ZSJ stalks Yota to a corner. ZSJ UPPERCUTS Yota, UPPERCUTS again, and then UPPERCUTS again! Yota falls over, ZSJ drags him around, and he stands on the leg before dropping into another DEATHLOCK! Yota endures as ZSJ stands up to put on the pressure! Takagi storms up to CHOP ZSJ! ZSJ stays standing but Takagi JABS, JABS and CHOPS, but ZSJ catches him! COBRA TWIST! The fans are thunderous as ZSJ has both LIJ behemoths!
Red Shoes counts, ZSJ lets Takagi go, and then he drags Yota back by just walking! Tag to Oiwa, and Oiwa stomps Yota down. The fans rally up while Oiwa drags Yota up, and he RAMS Yota into an open corner. The fans rally and duel while Oiwa pulls the leg around ropes! Oiwa then KNEES the knee! Red Shoes reprimands but Oiwa whips corner to corner. Yota manages to reach the other side, and Oiwa runs up. Oiwa blocks a boot, but Yota reels him in to then DOUBLE STOMP! Both men are down, the fans rally up, and Yota hot tags Takagi! Takagi CLOBBERS Oiwa, BLASTS ZSJ, and shouts, “Mada mada! <Not done yet!>”
Takagi runs in at the corner, blocks a boot, and LARIATS through! The fans fire up with Takagi and he JABS, CHOPS, and repeat! Red Shoes counts, Takagi JABS, JABS, JABS, but ZSJ storms in! ZSJ wrenches the arm, CLUBS it, then he and Oiwa double whip. Takagi grabs ropes, comes back, but into DOUBLE BOOTS! Takagi stays up, clinches Oiwa and kicks ZSJ! DDT COMPLETE SHOT COMBO! The fans fire up again as Takagi suplexes Oiwa high and hard! Cover, TWO! Takagi tells Kochi, “TOKI GA KITA!” The fans fire up and join in on “OI! OI! OI!” Takagi rises, brings Oiwa up, but Oiwa fires a forearm!
Takagi shakes that off and comes back to ROCK Oiwa! Oiwa fires another forearm, but Takagi fires back! The forearms go back and forth and the fans rally up again! Takagi JABS, JABS, and JABS! Oiwa LARIATS! Oiwa roars, runs, but Takagi LARIAT at the ropes! Takagi runs, DOUBLE LARIATS collide! Oiwa comes back into an ELBOW! JAB! YUKON feint and DDT! Yota runs in to BLAST ZSJ off the apron! LIJ brings Oiwa up and they double whip. Oiwa breaks the double chops to DECK Yota and DROPKICK Takagi! The fans fire up as everyone is down! Oiwa crawls over, ZSJ is back, and ZSJ tags in!
ZSJ storms up to UPPERCUT Takagi, then UPPERCUT again! And again! Takagi eggs ZSJ on, then blocks a boot! But ZSJ steps through the dragon screw to NECK TWIST! And basement DROPKICK! Takagi flounders to a corner, and ZSJ almost parodies Takagi. ZSJ runs up to UPPERCUT, then NORTHERN LIGHTS! Bridging cover, TWO! Takagi stays in this but ZSJ stays focused. The fans fire up as ZSJ aims, and KICKS! Takagi blocks! Takagi puts ZSJ’s leg in the ropes, fires JAB after JAB, then DRAPING DRAGON SCREWS! ZSJ flops over and clutches that leg but fans cheer as Takagi rises again.
Takagi grabs a leg, has a standing toehold, then steps through. ZSJ boots Takagi away, Takagi comes back, but ZSJ avoids the sliding lariat to grab that arm! ZSJ hammerlocks, traps, and TWISTS! The fans fire up while ZSJ sits back to clutch his leg and Takagi clutches that elbow. ZSJ clamps back onto the arm, twists the wrist and SNAPS fingers! Red Shoes reprimands but ZSJ digs elbows into Takagi’s back. ZSJ then drags Takagi up to UPPERCUT the arm again and again! Takagi fights the takedown to ELBOW! YUKON- NO, ZSJ blocks to PELE the arm! ZSJ BOOTS Takagi, then catches Takagi on the rebound!
ZSJ isolates the arm and STOMPS! Then he scoops, but Takagi slips free! Takagi suplexes, ZSJ fights it, so Takagi hits a SWINGING NECKBREAKER! Both men are down and the fans fire up again! ZSJ and Takagi crawl, hot tags to Oiwa and Yota! Oiwa dodges to headlock but Yota powers right out. They RAM shoulders, and both men fire up! They fire forearms back and forth, faster and faster, and the fans rally up! Yota gets the edge and ROCKS Oiwa! Yota runs, but into a ROLLING ELBOW! Oiwa runs to SPINNING UPPERCUT! Cover, TWO! The fans fire up again and Oiwa grabs a leg! SHIN BREAKER!
Oiwa trips Yota, steps through, FIGURE FOUR! Oiwa thrashes the hold as Yota endures! Yota pushes at the main leg, but Oiwa pulls on Yota’s legs! Yota endures, reaches out, but Oiwa pushes up for more pressure! Yota fights, crawls, and manages the ROPEBREAK! The fans cheer and Oiwa lets go of the hold. Takagi coaches Yota but Oiwa SPLASHES down on the leg! And then drops knee after knee onto it! Red shoes reprimands as Yota again has ropes, so Oiwa stands Yota up. Oiwa whips, Yota reverses, and Yota kitchen sink knees! And then basement DROPKCIKS! Takagi runs up to BLAST ZSJ down!
Takagi checks on Yota, and the fans rally up. Yota stands and Takagi runs in, to ELBOW Oiwa! Takagi feeds Oiwa to Yota’s BOOT, then Takagi BLINDSIDE LARIATS! Oiwa staggers and Yota brings him in. LIJ hits a DOUBLE BACK SUPLEX! Cover, TWO! Oiwa stays in this and the fans fire up again. Yota drags Oiwa up, Takagi wheelbarrows, but ZSJ CLOBBERS Yota! Takagi KNEES and TOSSES ZSJ out hard! LIJ double whip Oiwa, then duck Oiwa’s counter lariats! Takagi fireman’s carries Oiwa to TOSS him to Yota’s KICK! That was like the Aussie Open Dental Plan! The fans fire up as Yota hauls Oiwa up to the top rope!
Yota climbs up after Oiwa and fires up! The fans fire up with him, and Yota SUPERPLEXES Oiwa! Oiwa sits up, into a SLIDING PUMPING BOMBER! Yota covers, ZSJ BREAKS IT! Takagi TOSSES ZSJ out again! Takagi goes out to stomp away on ZSJ, and Yota grins as he rises up again. Yota powers up, aims at Oiwa, GENE- NO, Oiwa hurdles over, and ZSJ catches Yota into a GUILLOTINE FACELOCK! ZSJ then suplexes, but Yota slips free! ZSJ switches to have the COBRA TWIST! Red Shoes reprimands, but Yota HIP TOSSES free! ZSJ UP KICKS, Oiwa UPPERCUTS! ZSJ UPPERCUTS, Oiwa DAIGOSHIKIPLEXES! Cover, Takagi breaks it!
ZSJ BOOTS Takagi back out, then pursues. Oiwa fires up, and he clamps on a SLEEPER! Yota endures and the fans rally up! Someone is sent into railing right as Oiwa spins Yota! Yota ducks The Grip, and PUMPING BOMBER hits! But ZSJ runs in at Takagi to BOOT! Takagi comes back, ZSJ BOOTS the lariat! Takagi ELBOWS! JABS! YUKON feint and DDT- NO, ZSJ slips free! PENALTY KICK! But Takagi’s right back up! PUMPING BOMBER!! Oiwa is up to LARIAT Takagi! GENE- LARIAT?!? Oiwa takes Yota down first, but he also falls over! The fans are thunderous as ALL FOUR MEN are on the mat!
ZSJ and Takagi roll out to the aprons, and the fans rally as hard as they can as Oiwa drags himself up! Yota crawls to the corner, and Oiwa runs in! Oiwa LARIATS, then he suplexes! Yota fights that, wrenches and swings, but Oiwa catches him and spins him! But Yota suplexes first! Oiwa fights that, slips around to waistlock, but Yota fights the lift! Yota switches, Oiwa fights, and then Oiwa switches to have a SLEEPER! Yota snapmares free, and SUPERKICKS! Oiwa staggers, Yota roars and runs, but Oiwa gets around! SNAP GERMAN! The fans fire up as we hit 20 minutes! Yota runs up again, but Oiwa gets back around, SNAP GERMAN! Bridging cover, TWO!!
The fans are thunderous as Yota escapes! Oiwa hurries to his feet, and he storms over to a corner. The fans fire up with Oiwa, ZSJ keeps Takagi from getting to the corner, and Oiwa DIVING BODY PRESSES! Cover, TWO!! Yota survives that simple yet effective splash, but Oiwa roars! Oiwa gut wrenches, DOCTOR- RANA from Yota! SUPERKICK! Oiwa roars, but Yota’s GENE TRIGGER hits! Oiwa falls back and now Yota roars! The fans are thunderous again and Yota goes to the corner. Yota goes up and up, to MAROON CRUSH! Cover, ZSJ drags Yota back with an ANKLE LOCK! Takagi CLUBS ZSJ and has a STANDING CROSSFACE!
ZSJ lets Yota go to slip free of Takagi! ZSJ fires UPPERCUT after UPPERCUT on Takagi, but then Yota catches ZSJ! Spin and wheelbarrow, then BOOSTED WHEELBARROW GERMAN!! ZSJ flounders out and the fans fire up with LIJ! “OI! OI! OI!” Yota sets up in the corner, Takagi stands Oiwa up, PUMP- NO, Oiwa shoves Takagi away and rolls Yota up! TWO!!! Yota escapes with nanoseconds to spare! Takagi CLUBS away on Oiwa, he and Yota double whip, but Oiwa DOUBLE LARIATS! The fans are thunderous again and Oiwa roars! Oiwa rises, brings Yota up, DOCTOR BOMB!! Cover, TWO?!?! Yota survives and shocks Oiwa!
The fans are electric as Oiwa rises again. Oiwa sits Yota up into the SLEEPER! Yota endures and the fans rally up! Someone is sent into railing as Yota fights up, but here comes Takagi! Oiwa ducks, ZSJ catches Takagi into a SLEEPER! ZSJ tells Oiwa now’s the time! IRON OCTOPUS on Takagi, and THE- GENE BLASTER POINT BLANK!! DEATH VALLEY DRIVER for ZSJ!! The fans are thunderous again while ZSJ flops out of the ring! Takagi shouts that they’re not done! Takagi runs to PUMPING BOMBER!! Takagi roars, Yota rises, and Oiwa is set up for the PUMPING BLASTER!!! Cover, LIJ WINS!!
Winners: Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji, by pinfall (gain 2 points; ZSJ & Oiwa earn 0)
Another fast ‘n’ furious fight that Oiwa just could not win out! And now, Oiwa & ZSJ are ELIMINATED from the finals! The Mighty Don’t Kneel, but will they simply have to fall back on other plans for WrestleKingdom?
As for LIJ, Yota shows Oiwa respect by standing him up and raising his hand. Oiwa shakes free, not wanting Yota’s pity, so Yota BOOTS him down! ZSJ lets it be while he and Takagi raise their titles at each other. The IWGP World Heavyweight Champion helps his young teammate out of there while the NEVER Openweight Champion stays in the ring. Yota then grabs the mic to say, “Oi, Kochi. Finally…” Takagi says, “Our time has come!” The fans cheer that! Takagi repeats to Yota that their time has come. Yota recaps that they are now 4-2, and on top of the block! The fans cheer that!
Yota asks, “Hey, Takagi-san, you’re ready, right?” Takagi says, “Of course I’m ready! I’m totally ready! Now it’s time to make this really interesting. There’s no time like the present and no team like us to win this! We’re rampage to the end of this league.” The fans cheer that, and Yota tells Kochi and everyone watching to “keep your eye on us as we win this thing!” The fans cheer again, and Yota says, “Oi, Kochi, are you ready?!” The fans cheer because yes they are! Yota simply ends with, “We are winning this World Tag League.” Mic drop and LIJ heads out, but will they be headed to Kumamoto?
Here are the NEW A Block standings!
Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji: 4-2, 8 points
Bishamon: 4-2, 8 points
Gabe Kidd & Sanada: 4-2, 8 points
Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman: 3-3, 6 points [ELIMINATED]
Kenta & Chase Owens: 3-3, 6 points [ELIMINATED]
Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma: 2-4, 4 points [ELIMINATED]
Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa: 2-4, 4 points [ELIMINATED]
Alex Zayne & Ryusuke Taguchi: 2-4, 4 points [ELIMINATED]
My Thoughts:
Another great round for World Tag League, and A Block is dropping like flies compared to B Block. With three teams at 4-2, so many teams get wiped out here, despite the great matches everyone had. Kenta & Chase finish off Shota & Honma, but then Kenta & Chase are still out because Gabe & Sanada won. Bishamon of course stays in the running, their four-peat is a big story for them, and they take Cobb & Callum out of the running to cross off any chances of a United Empire finals. And as I said when this all started, WTL was not the real goal of ZSJ and Shota, they were just setting up their world title match at Tokyo Dome.
Though, ZSJ & Oiwa VS Takagi & Tsuji was an awesome main event with a lot riding on it because had ZSJ & Oiwa won, they might’ve eliminated LIJ from the running. Hard to tell say, given LIJ lost to Bishamon and to Kenta & Chase but beat everyone else. But I guess if Takagi VS Konosuke is a WrestleDynasty thing, then maybe he and Yota can battle for the tag titles at WrestleKingdom. Though, that might telegraph Khan & Henare winning since Takagi would be bringing the tag titles along to a match with Konosuke Takeshita. Maybe? NJPW’s plans could be up in the air even now for all I know.
My Score: 8.9/10
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OHHH Monday Night Raw! Don’t you DARE be sour!
At least, we hope things won’t be sour given last week’s tense moment between Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. Can the Power of Positivity prevail on this night, the TENTH ANNIVERSARY of ya bois, the New Day?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez VS Damage CTRL; Liv & Raquel win.
- WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship Tournament Opening Round Triple Threat: Dakota Kai VS Katana Chance VS Shayna Baszler; Dakota wins and advances to the next round.
- Gunther VS Dominik Mysterio; Gunther wins.
- R-Truth VS Pete Dunne; Truth wins.
- Seth Rollins VS Sami Zayn; Rollins wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
CM Punk arrives backstage!
And as he heads to gorilla, he says hey to Jey Uso & Sami Zayn. They feel great after their win at WarGames, and even Sami shakes Punk’s hand. Punk continues on as his music begins, and while Everett, Washington may not be Seattle, they go supersonic for The Best in the World! And yes, “IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIME!” Punk signs autographs before he goes to the ring, and fans cheer more as Punk does a quick lap before grabbing a mic. Punk takes a moment as the fans chant his name, and he says, “Is it good to be alive in Everett, Washington on a Monday night or what?!” The fans cheer that!
Punk says to those at home, it is SOLD OUT here in Everett! And the last time you saw Punk, he stood on that ramp, fresh from a possible career ending Hell in a Cell match, and he said he wasn’t sure what the future held for CM Punk. He had a lot of things to consider. And now some deja vu, here he is, life and in living color, fresh from a possibly career ending WarGames, and now Punk knows exactly where he’s going. He’s less beat up than he was after Hell in a Cell. We can all tell, Punk put the personal issues aside, handled business with Drew McIntyre, then handled some personal business for his friend, Paul Heyman.
The fans cheer that, and Punk gets up on the corner to tell us that he knows what the future holds. Punk points to where a sign would be, and he wants us to imagine it with him. He can see it. For his entire career, everyone said it wasn’t there. They couldn’t see the vision. The sign isn’t hanging in Everett, but oh, ladies and gentlemen, Punk sees it. Punk knows what the future holds. There are many roads you can take to get there, different ways you can finish your story, and the Royal Rumble’s around the corner. That could be the road he takes, or maybe it’s Elimination Chamber. All roads Punk’s taken have been dead-ends, but he has a favor to call upon to get where he needs to go!
Punk invites all of us to come on the journey with him! And- “BURN IT DOWN!” Here comes Seth Rollins! Punk sighs as the Visionary struts out in a very shiny pewter colored suit, or maybe more clay, and then he heads to the ring. Rollins takes off his amber colored sunglasses before he goes into the ring, and the fans sing for him, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” Rollins has a mic of his own now, and now the suit appears a bit more the color of hot cocoa. The fans fire up seeing both Rollins and Punk in the ring, and the dueling chants are on! Punk and Rollins stare down from opposite corners, and Rollins speaks first.
“You know, I’ve been thinking a lot. I really shoulda knocked your ass out the same day you came back to the WWE.” The fans are torn on that, but Rollins says he has regretted that every single day of the past year. And over this past year, a lot has gotten in the way. Punk got hurt, Rollins had titles to defend, Rollins had a Bloodline to take down… And the last time Rollins saw Punk, Rollins was this close to taking his shot. But Rollins had pity on Punk, because Punk had just come out of Hell in a Cell and was hanging on by a thread. Rollins showed pity, and that was Rollins’ mistake.
After Saturday, seeing Punk there triumphant next to Roman Reigns, it all became clear that it was time to rectify Rollins’ mistakes. The fans are again torn, but Rollins says that as we stand here right now… Rollins takes off his jacket and says there is nothing in the way. There is only air and hatred, and Rollins has a feeling in his gut that TONIGHT is the night he knocks CM Punk on his ass!! The fans are again torn but Punk just smirks. Punk finally says, “You talk too much, and you don’t listen enough. I just came out here and I said I put all the personal stuff aside. I’m long past running races with people I didn’t even know I was running.
Six months ago, Rollins was a champion, he had something Punk wanted. But now, Rollins has nothing! The fans are torn on that one, but Punk says he knows where he’s going, and what’s in his future. Rollins, kid, you ain’t it. Rollins has been thinking about Punk for six months? Punk doesn’t think about Rollins at all! Punk has things to do in this business, so just stay out of his business. The fans fire up and they wanna see this fight! Rollins tells Punk, “You talk too much, and you don’t listen enough! This is MY business!” Rollins DECKS Punk! The fans fire up, Punk gets up, and the brawl is on! But Sami & Jey hurry out here!
Sami & Jey separate Rollins and Punk, the fans “YEET! YEET! YEET!” but both Punk and Rollins want more! The fans want more, too! Rollins dares Punk to bring it, but Punk listens to level heads and hops out of the ring. Adam Pearce is there, as are producers, but Rollins grabs his mic again. “C’mon! Am I your business now? C’mon now!” Punk rushes in! Rollins stomps at Punk, the producers pull Punk back and Rollins says fine, get him outta here. Yeah, yeah, go on, Punk! Go on, Jey! Run along to Roman! Sami grabs a mic to tell Rollins hey, no! Sami gets Rollins is angry, but he doesn’t get to talk to Jey that way.
The fans cheer and Rollins tells Sami yeah, fine, Sami’s right. That was family, that’s fine, Rollins is just pissed, he shouldn’t have gone there. But Jey is Roman’s family, what’s Sami’s excuse? Sami ain’t family. Sami stares at Rollins, and fans chant “Sami Uso!” Rollin says oh, ha-ha, yeah, Rollins loves Sami Uso. But if Sami’s family with Roman, then he should really be family with Rollins! Rollins and Sami have known each other way longer than they’ve known Jey or Roman. They came up int he business together, up and down the roads for over 20 YEARS together! They’re family, and yet Sami stabbed Rollins in the back when Sami teamed with Punk!
Sami stops Rollins there to bring up how Sami didn’t ask for Punk. Did Rollins think Sami wanted Punk as a partner in WarGames? No, he didn’t. But Punk was willing to help when the OGs were down a man! Sami didn’t want to take his help, he wanted Rollins! Sami asked Rollins, TWICE, and he’ll remind Rollins that Rollins said no TWICE. The OG Bloodline wouldn’t have needed Punk if Rollins had teamed with them, but Rollins is just too damn stubborn! The fans really fire up hearing that one. Rollins gets a headache, and he asks if he’s losing his mind. Can Sami remind Rollins what Sami even wanted him to team with them to do?
What did Sami want Rollins to team with them for? Oh yeah, to help Roman Reigns! To help that monster to regain their power! Sami says “that monster” was created by Rollins! Rollins created that monster when he put the chair in Roman’s back TEN YEARS AGO! So don’t act like Rollins’ hands are clean in this. Rollins says he is in no way acting innocent. He understands completely what he has done. He understands the sins he committed. Rollins understands that the chair shot to Roman’s back was the motivation for “The Tribal Chief.” Rollins has apologized and atoned for that.
But if we’re pointing fingers for stabbing people in the back, then Sami needs to look in the mirror and see he did the same damn thing! And Rollins doesn’t fault Sami for it, because Sami did it for the right reasons! Roman is the scum of the earth! He treated Sami like crap, he treated Jey like crap, every single person was supposed to bow down to Roman. Rollins understands why Sami did what he did, why they ALL did what they did at WrestleMania 40, what they sacrificed in order to take down The Bloodline! Does Sami not remember this? Get it through your head: Roman Reigns has NOT changed!
Has Roman apologized to Sami? To Jey? To ANYONE? Even a shred of remorse? No. Roman hasn’t changed, and “that snake” CM Punk sure hasn’t! Stubbornness is NOT the issue here. Sami’s naivety is! He’s gullible! That’s the issue. And really, Sami’s just being stupid. The fans aren’t so sure about that, and Sami says that Rollins is really angry, with a lot of frustration. If Rollins wants to blow off some steam, then Sami has no problem meeting him in this ring tonight! The fans fire up for that! Rollins says fine by him. Rollins drops the mic and pushes past Sami, but who pays for Rollins simply lashing out?
The Judgment Day is in their clubhouse.
Finn Balor tells everyone that he warned Damian Priest months ago: Finn would be lying in wait for the moment Priest thinks he’s finally done with Finn, and then- Liv Morgan interrupts. Didn’t they agree that Finn was going to leave Priest alone? Finn says oh, well, yeah, but that’s when Dominik was going to handle it. But seeing as lil’ Dom Dom couldn’t get the job done, Finn handled it himself. And now instead of Priest walking around here with the World Heavyweight Championship on his arm, he’s walking around with an arm in a sling.
And Liv, maybe if they’d all listened to Finn, her team might not have lost at WarGames. And now, Liv has to worry about Iyo Sky facing her for the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event! Sis, she’s got a lot to worry about. Liv says yes, that is right. She and Raquel have Damage CTRL to focus on, so that’s what they’ll do. She just hopes Finn knows what he’s doing. Oh, Finn knows. See? He and JD are still WWE World Tag Team Champions. And when everyone listens to Finn, Judgment Day wins. Carlito likes that rhyme. Finn heads out, but Raquel asks what Finn means by that. Liv isn’t sure. But Liv wants Dom to keep an eye on Finn while Liv & Raquel have their match.
Dirty Dom says no problem, and he heads out after The Prince. Liv & Raquel head to gorilla, and JD goes back to WWE 2K. Is everything (not) fine with Judgment Day?
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez VS Damage CTRL!
Well, as Finn just said, the Women’s World Championship is now set to be on the line on December 14th, Saturday Night’s Main Event! Will Lil’ Liv & Big Mami Cool be rolling towards Long Island? Or will The Evil Genius & Pirate Princess start to take control?
The teams sort out, and Raquel BOOTS Kairi down at the bell! Then she BLASTS Iyo! The fans boo but Raquel drags Kairi up. Raquel TOSSES Kairi to the Judgment Day corner, then tags Liv. The fans boo as Raquel scoops and SLAMS Kairi, then Liv becomes her weapon! POWERBOMB SENTON! Cover, Iyo breaks it! The afns fire up but Raquel TOSSES Iyo out! Raquel tells Iyo to stay out, but Liv runs at Kairi. Kairi BOOTS Liv, then runs up to BLOCKBUSTER! Kairi crawls, Liv drags her back, but Kairi ENZIGIRIS! Th efans fire up while both women are down, and Kairi crawls again! Hot tag to Iyo!
The fans fire up as Iyo SHOTEIS Liv! And SHOTEIS again! DROPKICK! Liv tumbles and Iyo kips up! Iyo runs up to ELBOW Liv, then brings her around, only for Liv to throw Iyo at ropes! Iyo BOOTS in return, then goes out to the aprno. Raquel sings, Iyo blocks to SHOTEI! And JAWBREAKER! Iyo KICKS Raquel into ropes, then slingshots to DROPKICK Raquel down! Not the cleanest hit, but Liv waistlocks! Iyo switches and GERMAN SUPLEXES! Liv tumbles to a corner and Iyo fires up! The fans fire up as Iyo runs in, SHINKANSEN! Iyo has Liv in the drop zone and climbs up! Th efans fire up again, but Liv trips Iyo up!
Iyo is in a Tree of Woe and Liv hurries away. Tag to Raquel and Raquel hoists Iyo right up! TEXANA- RAAN!! Raquel avoids hitting buckles, and grins, but Kairi tags in! Raquel runs up, Iyo POSTS her! Kairi AX KICKS and shoves Raquel down! Iyo goes up again, to MISSILE DROPKICK! Raquel is down, and Kairi is up top! The fans fire up for the IN-SANE ELBOW! Cover, LIV BREAKS IT! Liv saves it with nanoseconds to spare, but Iyo TOSSES Liv back out! The fans fire up as Iyo DIVES! Direct hit at the ramp! Kairi brings Raquel up, but has to dodge a lairat! Kairi fires fast hands, an URAKEN, and another URAKEN!
The fans fire up as Kairi roars, but Raquel BOOTS her down! Raquel deadlifts Kairi for the TEXANA BOMB!! Cover, Raquel & Liv win!
Winners: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez, by pinfall
But they’re not done as Raquel stomps away on Iyo! Liv joins in, but HERE COMES RHEA! The fans fire up as Mami runs in, but Liv runs away! Rhea and Raquel throw hands! Rhea HEADBUTTS Raquel, then pump handles! RIP- NO, Raquel fights free, and she CLUBS Rhea in the bad eyebrow! But Rhea UP KICKS! And she LARIATS Raquel up and out! The fans fire up and Rhea goes out to DRIBBLE Raquel off the desk! Liv attacks Rhea! Rhea has Liv as a backpack, and she POSTS her! Liv crumbles, but Raquel BOOTS Rhea! And THROWS her into the desk! Rhea hits the edge!! The fans boo and security rushes out while Rhea clutches her face!
Rhea rises up but Liv laughs as she and Raquel fall back. Rhea wants more, but security keeps her back for her own safety. When and where will Mami Rhea have her revenge?
Backstage interview with Gunther.
Cathy Kelley is with Der Ring General, only to be interrupted by Finn & Dom. Finn tells Gunther, “Hey, Champ. I think you owe me a title match. It was the second time that you faced Damian for the title, and it was the second time that you walked out as champion. And it was the second time because of me! So instead of kicking me in the face, you should’ve been shaking my hand! So, for the second time, I think you owe me a title match.” Gunther says he doesn’t owe Finn anything. He didn’t want Finn’s help, he never needed Finn’s help, and while Finn was plotting this all along, Gunther had a terrible time leading up to Survivor Series.
Gunther needed to win this by himself, and for himself. And that is what Finn took away from him. Oh, well, does he want to face him then? Dom keeps putting up the two fingers and Gunther slaps them down. Why’s Dom so cocky, huh? Oh, right, Gunther knows why. Because unlike Finn, Dom scored a win over Priest. And y’know what? Gunther thinks Dom deserves something for that. Gunther’s feeling rather generous right now. As World Heavyweight Champion, Gunther has leverage around here. Gunther will talk with Adam Pearce. Dom smiles, but then he stops as Finn looks at him. Will Dirty Dom of all people get a title match with Gunther?
WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship Tournament Opening Round Triple Threat: Dakota Kai VS Katana Chance VS Shayna Baszler!
Speaking of title matches, everyone in this tournament is deserving, but only those who win will get what they want! To parallel SmackDown’s Women’s United States Championship Tournament, we hold a round of Triple Threats that boil down to singles matches. Tonight, it is #CobraKai, one half of KC Squared, and the Queen of Spades, who defies the odds to head for gold?
The bell rings and Shayna goes right at Dakota! Katana jumps on Shayna, but Shayna throws her off! Dakota DROPKICKS Shayna, BOOTS Katana, then runs up to GAMANGIRI Shayan to the floor! The fans fire up and Dakota builds speed, to DIVE into a HAYMAKER! Shayna drags Dakota up to THROW her into the desk! But Katana PLANCHAS Shayna! The fans fire up with the American Ninja as she says it’s finally her time! Katana stands over Shayna while Raw goes picture in picture.
The ref checks Dakota, she’s okay, and Katana gets Shayna in the ring. Katana then rolls her to a sunset flip, TWO! Katan whips, Shayna reverses, but Katan goes up and up and LEAPS, but Shayan catches her! Shayan pops Katana up to a suplex! Cover, TWO! Katana sputters but Shayna drags her into a wristlock. Shayna twists the wrist and pulls on the arm. Dakota crawls in, Shayna twists Katana’s arm more, but Katana fights up! Shayna CLUBS Katan, then gut wrench SLAMS her! Cover, Dakota breaks it! Dakota then drags Shayna up, but Shayna fights the suplex! Shayan wrenches, Dakota fires forearms and an ENZIGIRI!
Shayna staggers to a corner, Dakota runs in for a BOOT WASH! Katana rolls Dakota up! TWO, and Dakota kicks Katana. Dakota TOSSES Katana out, then goes Around the World! Shayna dodges the boot to hit a BIG back suplex! Cover, Katana breaks it! Katana SPIN KICKS, LEG SWEEPS, and then runs, but Shayna blows past her! Katana runs back in but into a FLAPJACK HOTSHOT! Katana sputters and flounders, but Shayna brings her up. Shayna wrenches the arm and has a top wristlock! Katana endures being bent around, and she fights up, but Shayna wrangles her down. Shayna isolates the arm, but Dakota runs up!
Shayna catches Dakota, wrangles her arm, and then STOMPS Katana! Dakota flails, but Shayna- NO, Dakota avoids that stomp, which she knows too well! Raw returns to single picture as Dakota fires shots! Shayan shoves Dakota but Dakota comes back to FLYING MARE! Shayna ends up in a corner, Dakota runs in, to BOOT! Shayna flops to the apron, Dakota puts her in ropes! JUMP STOMP! Cover, TWO!! Shayna survives and Dakota grows frustrated. Dakota drags Shayna into a drop zone and goes up the corner. The fans fire up but Shayna GAMANGIRIS Dakota! Shayna climbs up after Dakota now, but Katana joins in!
The fans fire up as Katana pulls Shayna from the corner! Dakota HEADBUTTS Shayna, but Shayan ROCKS Dakota! Shayna ROCKS Katana, then has Dakota back up! Dakota fires body shots and Shayna falls back! Dakota adjusts, and she STOMPS Shayna down! But then Katana ROCKS Dakota! Katana goes up to SUPER STEINER Dakota onto Shayna! Cover, TWO!! Shayna survives so Katana covers Dakota! TWO!! The fans fire up while Katana is beside herself! Katana drags Dakota up, whips, but Dakota reverses. Shayna waistlocks Dakota, Dakota elbows free! But Katana BOOTS Dakota! Katana then uses Dakota as a step to FLYING RAN- NO, Shayna blocks!
Shayna swings Katana up, fireman’s carries, but Katana slips free! O’Conner Roll, Dakota DDTS Katana! Shayna KNEES Dakota! Cover, TWO!! Dakota survives and the fans fire up! Shayna is seething but she goes to a corner. Shayna aims at Dakota, runs back up, but she has to KNEE Katana away first! Dakota victory rolls Shayna! TWO!! Shayna escapes, but Dakota dodges to SCORPION KICK! And then fireman’s carry, for the DETONATION- NO, Shayna has the leg! Shayna yanks Dakota up, KIRAFUDA KLUTCH!! Body scissors, but Katana is up top! Dakota rolls free, 450 SPLASH on Shayna!!
Dakota fireman’s carries Katana! DETONATION KICK!! Cover, Dakota wins!!
Winner: Dakota Kai, by pinfall (advances to the next round)
Fast and furious to say the least, but Dakota is now moving on! The brackets show that either Zoey Stark, Kayden Carter or Raquel Rodriguez is next, will someone come back to avenge their teammate? Or will former teammates in Dakota and Raquel have it out in the semifinals?
Adam Pearce is in the ring.
The Raw General Manager says, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are here tonight in commemoration and celebration of the incredible ten-year anniversary of the most decorated tag team in WWE History! Without any further ado, please join me in welcoming Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston, The NEW~ DAY~!” The fans fire up as Woods & Kofi make their way out. The ring and stage are decorated with balloons, as well as props representing the best moments of the team’s career. Kofi shakes hands with Pearce, then starts passing out pancakes. Woods also shakes hands with Pearce, and the fans cheer as Woods throws more pancakes.
Pearce says, “Gentlemen, congratulations. This ring and this moment, this night is yours. But if I may be so bold, to speak on behalf of the WWE Universe, I think we all would love to let you know how much we think New Day Rocks.” The fans join in, “NEW! DAY ROCKS! NEW! DAY ROCKS!” Woods & Kofi grab mics, the cheering gets louder, and they’re a bit emotional. Woods says, “IT’S YA BOIS, THE NEW~ DAY~!” Woods wanted to come out here and say that being a part of the WWE, and being successful in the WWE for ten years… Getting to this point is so much than they could ever dreamed when they started.
So Woods wants to thank each and every one out here. Kofi says yes, it’s been one hell of a ride. Never in Kofi’s wildest dreams would he have thought they’d achieve so many accolades and accomplishments. And have so much fun while doing it! They could not have done it without each other, and you know who else? Who? Who, who? Yes, that’s right, each and every one of the fans! The fans cheer for “EEE~! E! E! E!” Woods says yes, they miss him, too. But with all this said, Woods & Kofi wanted to be face-to-face with the fans to say “what we’re about to tell you… Is not your fault.” What?
Woods says the New Day has nothing but love for each and every one of the fans. Kofi says that he and Woods, they’ve talked. And especially in light of last week… They both feel that when it comes to “The New Day” going forward… WAIT! BIG E IS HERE?!? The fans are all fired up, and both Woods & Kofi are excited to see the man himself! Big E walks his way out to the ring, finally on Raw again after almost four years! Big E joins his boys in the ring, the fans cheer on “E! E! E!” and Big E takes it all in. Big E says he can’t thank us all enough. But he wishes he was here under different circumstances.
Because to see Woods & Kofi argue and bicker and say some of the most hurtful things they could to each other… That troubled Big E’s soul something deep. When they started The New Day ten years ago, they were all they had! Kofi, ten years ago, you were mulling over retirement because your passion was beaten out of you! Woods, ten years ago, you and Big E were each this close to getting fired! And on one of the worst days of Big E’s life, the scariest moment of his career, Woods and Kofi were at his hospital bedside making sure he was good! The fans cheer that!
Big E wants Kofi to remember, that Big E was in a neck brace just a few months after Kofi’s daughter was born, and yet Kofi, his wife, and baby Lotus were in Big E’s home so Big E could hold Lotus. When Woods got back after winning King of the Ring, Big E was one of the first to greet him, tears spilling out of Woods’ eyes! The fans cheer those moments, too. Big E says what they built here means something to a lot of people. The fans also cheer that, and Big E says for damn sure, it means a lot to him. “So, until I am medically cleared to return to this ring… I am going to remind the two of you exactly who you are.”
The fans fire up as Big E says he will be here to cheer for them, root for them, uplift then, EVERY SINGLE WEEK! Big E will serve as the team’s manager! The fans cheer Big E on while Woods and Kofi both look a little guilty. The fans cheer on, “NEW! DAY ROCKS! NEW! DAY ROCKS!” Woods lifts his mic and says, “Now? Now you wanna come back? After you watched us fight for months? After you watched us argue to the edge of the cliff, and the last thing left to do was jump!? NOW you wanna come back? E, you left us.” The fans boo as Woods is being so negative! Big E says he broke his NECK! What is he saying, “left them?!”
But now KOFI says it, too! “YOU LEFT US!!” Yeah, Big E broke his neck. SO WHAT!? WHAT?!? Stone Cold Steve Austin broke his neck and came back! Kurt Angle broke his neck and came back! Edge broke his neck and came back! They didn’t even have people here waiting for them! Big E had family who kept the lights on, so he’d have something familiar to walk back into. And what’d Big E do with that? NOTHING! Woods & Kofi didn’t change, they didn’t evolve, at their own deficit, for Big E.
Kofi stops Big E from saying anything, and he says that as BIG as E is, as STRONG as E is, and the fact he never even needed surgery for it, he’s trying to say he couldn’t have been back here sooner if he wanted to? Big E says he was meeting with doctors, getting scans, MRIs and- Yeah, they heard it all before. Woods tore his Achilles off the bone, had surgery, and was back in nine months, for Big E. If Big E really, truly cared about The New Day, he would’ve been back a long time ago! He would’ve been by their side, encouraging and cheering them on this entire time, galvanizing them! But NO, he chose his new life over them!
Big E chose his projects and his GIRLFRIEND over them! Big E chose his DESK JOB over The New Day! In fact, listen up: Does Big E even realize the burden he’s become? No matter where New Day goes, the fans always say, “We Miss E!” As if Kofi & Woods didn’t! But obviously Big E didn’t miss them. The fans boo but Kofi says their philosophy since day one has been about brotherhood over anything else! We Before Me! But E… Broken neck or not, Big E chose Big E over The New Day! The fans boo but Woods keeps going: Let’s stop teasing all these fans. Let’s tell them the truth: BIG E WILL NEVER BE MEDICALLY CLEARED!
And since that’s the case… Why doesn’t Big E just get the hell out of this ring and get back to his desk where he belongs? And then they’ll call him, if they need him. The fans boo even more and Big E is as stunned as anyone that The New Day would say these things. Big E says he is not letting them throw this away like that! Not after a decade! They can fix this! Big E wants to hug it out, but Kofi keeps him at a distance. Woods doesn’t even look at Big E. Big E can’t believe it. Just like that, the group is over? Big E asks if they mean this. The fans chant “BIG! E ROCKS!” but he has no choice but to exit the ring.
With Big E gone, Kofi & Woods look at each other now. They say it’s just them now? They united over treating their other friend like nothing, and the fans boo as hard as they can! New Day is now just Two Day, did they just kill the Power of Positivity?
Karrion Kross speaks.
“Throughout my life, I have done some really terrible things to people. Which I’m actually quite proud of. So I have a tolerance for when people wanna do something back to me. But last week… He sent that creature after MY WIFE. And words are not gonna get me what I want, which is exactly each and every one of them in the arena next week. He used Scarlett to get to me. CONGRATULATIONS, because it worked! But just remember: You started this fire, and now I am going to make sure you burn in it. Tick-tock.” The Wyatts have escalated things with the Final Testament, who survives when these forces of nature clash?
Gunther VS Dominik Mysterio!
Der Ring General didn’t appreciate The Prince interfering with his match at Survivor Series, nor did he for SummerSlam, but perhaps as passive aggressive payback, he’s letting Dirty Dom face him 1v1. And furthermore, Dom is telling Carlito & JD McDonagh to stay in the back? Does Dom really think he can handle Gunther all on his own? Or will Gunther use Dom to send a warning to everyone about pissing him off?
The bell rings, and Dom SHOVES Gunther! Gunther scowls but Dom eggs him on. The fans fire up as the two circle, and they tie up. Dom facelocks, but Gunther lifts Dom right up and puts him on the apron. The ref counts, Dom lets go, and Gunther pats Dom on the head. Dom SLAPS Gunther! Gunther BOOTS Dom! The fans fire up more as Gunther goes out, brings Dom up, but Dom RANAS Gunther into POST! Dom hurries into the ring, builds speed, and he WRECKS Gunther with a dropkick! Then Dom DIVES! Down goes Gunther and Dom flexes! The fans boo but Dom is standing tall while Raw goes picture in picture.
Dom waits on Gunther, and Gunther settles down before storming back into the ring. They circle, feel things out, and Gunther powers Dom into a corner. The ref counts, Gunther lets off slowly, but Dom avoids a chop! Dom CHOPS, but Gunther just glares. Dom backs up as Gunther steps forward, and Gunther grabs Dom again! Gunther TOSES Dom, but Dom avoids the chop to CHOP! Gunther is just getting angrier, but Dom keeps his distance. Dom then slides under, only for Gunther to turn on a dime! Gunther kicks low, whips, but Dom ducks ‘n’ dodges, only for Gunther to scoop! Gunther pops Dom up to SLAM!
Dom writhes while Gunther looms over him. Dom wants mercy but Gunther just clamps on a facelock! Gunther then stands Dom up to CHOP! Dom sputters but Gunther is on him again. CHOP! Dom falls right over and Gunther paces. Dom sputters, Gunther eggs him on, and Dom CHOPS! And CHOPS! Gunther CHOPS Dom off his feet! Dom writhes while clutching his chest, but Gunther is back on him. Gunther snapmares Dom, to then NECK TWIST! Dom writhes even more, but Gunther stays close. Gunther stalks Dom to a corner while Raw returns to single picture. Gunther eggs Dom on so Dom fires body shots!
Dom kicks, Gunther blocks and DECKS Dom! Gunther then has the legs and flips Dom over, BOSTON CRAB! Dom endures, crawls, but Gunther drags him back to center! Dom fights the other way, ROPEBREAK! The ref counts, Gunther lets go at 4, and fans boo as Dom survives. Gunther storms up, not even upset about the blood trickling from his own chest, and he pie faces Dom around. Gunther mocks Latino Heat and brings Dom up again. Gunther CHOPS Dom, pie faces him, and eggs Dom on. Dom CHOPS again! Gunther CHOPS again! Dom drops to his knees, but stands back up.
Gunther pulls Dom’s hair and eggs him on. Dom CHOPS, and CHOPS, and fires a flurry of forearms! Dom CHOPS, but Gunther grabs him by the face! CHOP, and SLEEPER! Dom grabs the ref, the ref cowers in the corner, Dom LOW BLOW MULE KICKS!! The fans boo but Dom 619s Gunther in the gut! Dom keeps moving, and he dropkicks Gunther onto ropes! Dom redials, 619!! Dom goes up and FROG SPLASHES!! Cover, TWO!! Gunther survives and Dom is shocked! Dom thinks on what he has to do, and somehow Everett has come around on him!? Dom brings Gunther up, but Gunther fights the suplex!
Gunther CHOPS, BOOTS, and he hauls Dom back up! GENERAL BOMB!! Cover, Gunther wins!
Winner: Gunther, by pinfall
Dom put up a bigger fight than anyone expected, but it still wasn’t big enough to stop Gunther! But here comes Finn! Finn dodges Gunther to SLINGBLADE! Finn aims, and he SHOTGUNS Gunther down! Finn hurries up a corner while fans are again torn, but Finn still hits a COUP DE GRACE!! Finn smiles and says, “Watch and learn, kid.” Dom does watch as Finn goes back up, COUP DE GRACE!! The Prince isn’t done, he goes back up! CUOP DE GRACE!!!! Finn gets Gunther in the back, and then he holds up the world title! Finn puts it down on Gunther, and he grins. Finn says that’s how it’s done.
The Prince leaves, but he may have just put a target on his own back here. Will Der Ring General give Finn what he wants so he can also give Finn what he deserves?
Backstage interview with Pete Dunne.
Cathy is with The Bruiserweight, and says that while Dunne knows he has a match with R-Truth, does Truth know that? Or does Truth think he still has a match with- Dunne stops Cathy there. Please do not say that name. And as for that idiot, R-Truth, he doesn’t seem to know so Dunne will make this very clear. Tonight, it is Pete Dunne VS R-Truth. Truth needs to get that in his head. Wait, something is going on behind all this. Producers rush in and the camera follows. Someone just attacked Jey Uso?! But the culprit is long gone! Adam Pearce wants medics to check Main Event Jey, but just whodunnit?
R-Truth VS Pete Dunne!
Raw returns as The Bruiserweight makes his way to the ring, still seething over the misunderstanding Truth has had about names and identities. Will Dunne help Truth #FigureItOut the hard way?
The bell rings, the fans chant “BUTCH! BUTCH! BUTCH!” and that just angers Dunne. Dunne runs up, Truth does the splits then runs! Dunne ENZIGIIRS Truth down! Dunne HAMMERS away on Truth but the fans boo. Dunne stomps Truth, tells the fans off, then he grinds Truth’s arm! STOMP! The fans boo but Dunne waits on Truth to get up. Dunne then just shoves Truth down to stand on Truth’s head! Dunne STOMPS Truth, but the fans still chant “YOU’RE A BUTCH! YOU’RE A BUTCH!” Dunne clamps onto Truths’ face but the ref counts. Dunne stops to stomp Truth down, and he dares fans to keep calling him Butch.
Dutch BOOTS Truth down, then he rains down fists! The ref has Dunne stop so he can check Truth. Truth is still in this but Dunne is still pissed at the fans! The ref keeps Dunne from going after the fans, and Truth rolls Dunne up! TRUTH WINS!!
Winner: R-Truth, by pinfall
Dunne’s anger got the better of him, and now he’s lost the match! Will Dunne absolutely lose his mind at this rate?
Backstage interview with Bron Breakker.
Cathy is now with the Intercontinental Champion, and says that in the Triple Threat, in a match where Sheamus ended up with a broken rib, Bron is still the champion. Was that match his biggest challenge to date? Yes, it was obviously a great challenge. But Bron told both men- Oh, speaking of, Ludwig Kaiser steps in. And Kaiser says Bron sure seems happy with himself. That is a surprise, because of Bron had come in a few seconds later, that title would be Kaiser’s now. But hey, it doesn’t matter. Because Kaiser accomplished what he needed to.
When Sheamus broke one of Kaiser’s ribs, Kaiser vowed to come back and put an end to the Celtic Warrior for good, and that’s what he did. A rib for a rib. And now, there is nothing stopping Kaiser from taking the title and bringing it back to where it belongs in Imperium. Bron asks if that’s a challenge. Because Bron knew Kaiser would come here today with the whole “Bron didn’t pin Kaiser” thing. So yeah, Bron will talk with Pearce, see what can be done. But Bron would love nothing more than to face Kaiser for this title and beat him, so that Kaiser can have that stupid look on his face, knowing he will never, ever hold this title.
BUT… Bron will give Kaiser his props. That was a hell of a match. Kaiser proved to everyone that he is on his way out from under Gunther’s shadow. But if Bron was Kaiser, Bron would try to get out of the shadow a lot faster, because Gunther’s stock is plummeting. Bron leaves, will the Impeccable German make good on a title rematch that is 1v1?
Sami Zayn finds Pearce backstage.
Sami wants to know what happened to Jey and Pearce has him calm down. Medical is still evaluating Jey, they have to wait to know the damage. Sami asks who did it, and Pearce says he doesn’t know, but who does Sami think did it? Sami says he knows exactly who, and he’s about to whip his ass in that ring! Is Sami accusing The Visionary of lashing out against Jey? Will Sami beat a confession out of him? Or is Sami aiming at the wrong man?
Raw returns and Adam Pearce is on a phone call.
He tells whoever that he appreciates them being on the same page, he just needs them to make it official. He thanks them, then promises to call back, because Finn stepped in. Finn knows Pearce saw what happened out there. He did. Then the only thing Finn needs to know is when is he getting a world title match. Oh, that’s rich. It takes an act of Congress to make Finn defend his tag title and yet Finn wants more. Finn’s lucky the War Raiders aren’t here tonight, or- Oh, the War Raiders?! Finn doesn’t care about them! Finn only cares about when Pearce stops letting Gunther duck Finn!
Duck Finn? Funny enough, Pearce talked with Gunther and Gunther wants this match just as badly. Finn gets his wish. Finn VS Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship… SATURDAY NIGHT’S MAIN EVENT! Finn says about time. Finn turns to go but Pearce tells him, “One more thing. Next week, let’s talk about your other title match.” Pearce leaves and Finn doesn’t like how that sounds. Is Finn going to learn that it’s all about give and take?
Seth Rollins VS Sami Zayn!
The Visionary wants to beat the crap out of CM Punk, but he ended up picking a fight with the Honorary Uce. Will Rollins not just #BurnItDown, but burn down the few bridges he has left? Or will he just be red hot in his pursuit of the Best in the World?
The bell rings and the two tie right up. They go around, Rollins puts Sami in a corner, but the ref counts. Sami and Rollins push each other as they let off, then they tie up again. Rollins headlocks, Sami powers up and out, but Rollins runs Sami over! The fans cheer Sami on as things speed up. Sami ducks, hurdles, then TOSSES Rollins out! The fans fire up and Sami builds speed, but Rollins moves! Sami hits the Arabian Press to land back inside, and the fans fire up as Sami waits on Rollins. Rollins paces around the outside while Raw goes picture in picture.
Sami waits, the fans rally up, and Rollins goes to the steps. Rollins takes his time going up to the apron, then steps inside the ropes. Rollins and Sami tie up again, go around in another deadlock, but Sami waistlocks, Rollins wrenches out to hammerlock and he wrangles Sami to the mat. Sami fights up, Rollins pulls on the arm, but Sami ELBOWS free. Sami bumps Rollins off buckles, then fires forearms! Rollins fires back! The forearms go back and forth, harder and faster, but Rollins ROCKS Sami! Rollins bumps Sami off buckles and Sami falls right over! Rollins stands Sami up to CHOP! Sami CHOPS back!
The CHOPS go back and forth, then Rollins whips Sami to ropes. Rollins scoops Sami to a BACKBREAKER! Sami writhes but Rollins walks around him. Rollins drags Sami up and wrenches an arm. Rollins whips Sami hard into a corner, and Sami falls to the mat! Rollins scowls, not happy he has to fight his friend and rival, but he drags Sami up by his hair. Rollins waistlocks and has a rear bearhug squeeze! Sami endures, fights around, and he throws elbows! Sami is free, he ROCKS Rollins, but Rollins CHOPS back! Sami falls and Rollins seethes as he stands over him. Rollins taunts Sami, eggs him on, and Sami rises.
Sami CHOPS, but Rollins nods,. Rollins CHOPS Sami, Sami CHOPS back, and the CHOPS continue! Raw returns to single picture as now the forearms fly! Rollins gets the edge, whips, but Sami goes up and over! Sami LARIATS Rollins down! The fans fire up and Sami goes to a corner. Rollins stands but Sami kicks him! Sami bumps Rollins off buckles, then climbs up to rain down fists! Fans count to TEN but Sami fires a flurry to go all the way to TWENTY! Rollins flounders away but Sami leaps, AX HANDLE! The fans fire up as Sami goes up again! Rollins stands, Sami leaps, but Rollins kicks low!
Rollins underhooks, Sami wrenches out! Sami avoids the lariat to BLUE THUNDER BOMB! Cover, TWO! Rollins survives but Sami is not deterred. The fans rally up and Sami storms over to Rollins. Sami stands Rollins up but Rollins fires elbows! And an ENZIGIRI! Sami goes to a corner, Rollins runs corner to corner, but Sami catches him! BUCKLE EXPLODER! The fans are thunderous as Sami goes corner to corner, and he takes aim again! Rollins stands, Sami runs up, SUPERKICK from Rollins!! Rollins then runs up, but Sami avoids the curb stomp! Sami bails out while Rollins hobbles a bit. Rollins seethes while Sami catches his breath.
Sami rises but Rollins goes out the side. Rollins storms his way over, and he tells Sami that he didn’t want this fight. This fight is with Punk. Sami SLAPS Rollins! Sami says he knows it was Rollins! Sami SLAPS Rollins, but Rollins POSTS Sami! And then POSTS him again! Sami falls and Rollins rolls into the ring. The ring count climbs, but then Rollins goes out to fetch Sami. Rollins stands Sami up, and TOSSES him into the timekeeper’s area! Sami flounders up, the ref reprimands, but Rollins is still seething. Rollins drags Sami up, says it wasn’t him, but Sami BOOTS Rollins away! The fans fire up as Sami storms up on Rollins!
Now Sami POSTS Rollins! Rollins falls back, but Sami gets him in the ring. The fans rally for “SAMI USO!” but then Sami grabs a chair! The fans fire up as Sami wants revenge for Jey! Sami says stop, what’s Sami doing!? Sami says he knows it was Rollins! Rollins doesn’t understand, Sami says it was Rollins who jumped Jey! Rollins says he wouldn’t do that! How about Punk? Maybe it wasn’t Punk, but it sure wasn’t Rollins! Use your head, Sami! The fans are thunderous, but Sami cools off. Sami puts the chair outside, but then Rollins snatches Sami to a cradle! ROLLINS WINS!!
Winner: Seth Rollins, by pinfall
Rollins defended his innocence, but then he takes advantage of Sami’s emotions! Rollins still wants Sami to understand, Rollins loves that Sami has a big heart, but he wants Sami to start using his brain. Either way, there is still the mystery of whodunnit. Wait, who is this getting int he ring!? CLAYMORE!! DREW MCINTYRE IS BACK?!? Wait, did HE attack Jey!? And now he’s hit Sami! Is the Scottish Terminator going to make sure no one survives his wrath?
My Thoughts:
A great Raw, maybe even an awesome one, with another great pivot from one event to the next. Saturday Night’s Main Event is stacking up. We already know of Cody Rhodes VS Kevin Owens for the WWE Championship, and then they snuck in the announcement of Iyo Sky VS Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Championship. Great stuff from Judgment Day up and down the show again, with a great tag match out of Liv & Raquel VS DMG CTRL. Logical move to have Raquel beat Kairi, that keeps the math on Iyo and Liv untouched. Rhea coming out to go after Liv but getting Raquel, it’s a logical move to give us Rhea VS Raquel as a way for Rhea to bide her time. Liv VS Iyo can happen for SNME, Rhea gets the winner at the Royal Rumble.
Finn wanting after Gunther over the unwanted assist was good stuff, as was Gunther giving a match to Dom tonight instead of Finn. Dom got a strong showing, perhaps doing two birds at once: Dom is building his power level to counter his reputation as Judgment Day’s scrub, but also showing Gunther might still have an arrogance problem. Gunther of course won, but Finn attacking afterward was of course happening, as well. Gunther VS Finn for the title at SNME, I wonder if Priest returns the favor and screws Finn over. At the same time, Pearce definitely planted the seeds of Finn having to pull double duty on that night, opening the show with the tag titles but then having to turn right around and go for the world title. That’s probably how Finn & JD even lose the tag titles.
Great Triple Threat from Dakota, Shayna and Katana to start the Women’s Intercontinental Championship tournament, and for just a moment, I thought they were giving this to Shayna. But in the end, Dakota wins out, which I feel is the right choice because Dakota’s been one of the many deserving superstars for a lot longer than a few others. There are a lot of great choices in this tournament, too, but we’ll have to see how this shakes out before I can say Dakota’s getting the title. And speaking of titles, great promo from Bron and Kaiser to set up their own title match, but at this point, if Bron didn’t lose a Triple Threat, he won’t lose 1v1. But I did like Bron getting in Kaiser’s head about leaving Gunther behind, as perhaps Imperium has run its course.
Well, speaking of a team running its course… That New Day anniversary segment was powerful stuff. It was nice seeing some of those old items, and they had a good video package before this segment, but I did NOT see it going this direction. Woods and Kofi talking like it was going to be a faction divorce was already something, but then Big E makes a surprise return and logically tries to patch things up with the group. The shock was Kofi and Woods doubling down by using Big E as some sort of common enemy! They were so callous about Big E’s broken neck that, as the medical diagnosis was years ago, was nearly fatal. It was no less than a miracle Big E wasn’t paralyzed, either, and yet New Day is expelling Big E from the group as Woods & Kofi go Heel together, and that’s nuts!
Very good promo from Kross to put the Wyatts on notice, and that will definitely bring about the 8 Man Tag I’ve been expecting. That will be a great match, can’t wait to see how it goes. Great stuff with Dunne and Truth tonight, especially with how it overlapped a bit with this bigger story of Punk, Rollins, and maybe even McIntyre again. Punk had a good promo to tease his part in the Royal Rumble and maybe even Elimination Chamber if need be, and then Rollins reigniting their issues was good stuff. Sami and Jey made natural mediators, with Rollins lashing out at them. I would think McIntyre attacked Jey as McIntyre still hasn’t gotten over that grudge.
Rollins VS Sami was a great main event, with a very clever win for Rollins. And then McIntyre hits Sami as further revisiting of grudges, and I feel like McIntyre will want to go after Punk, but he’ll be detoured by Sami and/or Jey for some great matches there. The Road to WrestleMania starts a little later this year with the Rumble being a February event, not a January one, but there can be twists and turns that somehow still give us Rollins VS Punk in Vegas, title optional. It’d be bigger if the title was on the line so that Punk can finally have a WrestleMania title match main event, but that would depend on the plan for Gunther’s WrestleMania as well.
My Score: 8.9/10
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