Monday Night Raw – September 12, 2022: They’re Only Hurting Themselves

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 12, 2022
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Jimmy Smith

We are less than a month away from Extreme Rules and Raw could use some matches on the card. There are already some feuds going here and we should have a few things ready to go sooner than later. As for tonight though, this is all about the Edge/Rey Mysterio vs. the Judgment Day, because this story is still going. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here is Seth Rollins to get things going and the fans seem to approve. Rollins dubs himself the host for the evening and talks about how he is in Riddle’s head. Now Riddle wants a rematch, but since Rollins isn’t interested, it’s time to move on. Rollins hasn’t been a champion in far too long, but here is Riddle to start the fight fast. They fight into the crowd with Rollins managing a rake to the eyes and run off.

Riddle gives chase but here is Judgment Day to interrupt. Damian Priest says he, Rhea Ripley and Riddle go way back. They talk about how Riddle has never gotten his chance before and think he would fit in well on the team. Riddle appreciates the offer but passes, earning a threat from Balor. The fight is on and we’ll do this after the break.

Finn Balor vs. Riddle

Joined in progress with Riddle rolling some gutwrench suplexes and hitting a Broton. Balor starts going after the knee, including pulling it off the middle rope to send Riddle’s head into the buckle. The chinlock doesn’t last long but Balor neckbreakers him right back down to cut off the comeback. They fight to the apron with the reverse DDT planning Riddle as we take a break. Back with Riddle hitting a release fisherman’s suplex for a much needed breather. Riddle sends him outside and hits the kick to Balor’s chest, setting up the springboard Floating Bro onto Balor and Priest.

Back in and Priest offers a distraction so Balor can hit the Nightmare On Helm Street. Cue Rey Mysterio to post Priest and fight with him into the crowd so things are even again. A Bro To Sleep into a German suplex gives Riddle two but the Floating Bro hits knees. Balor misses the Coup de Grace and Riddle is back with the hanging DDT. Cue Rollins for a distraction, allowing Balor to hit 1916 and the Coup de Grace for the pin at 13:33.

Rating: C+. There was some interference, but Riddle needs to win a match of note sometime soon before he falls even further. The good thing is that very well could be at Extreme Rules, as you can all but pencil in Riddle vs. Rollins II in some kind of a big violent match. Other than that, Balor is probably heading for a showdown with Edge and that should work well when we finally get there.

Post match Rollins comes in for a Stomp to leave Riddle laying.

Bayley and Damage Ctrl aren’t happy with Bianca Belair, Raquel Rodriquez and Aliyah, but all will be made right tonight.

Dominik Mysterio is tired of just being Re Mysterio’s son and says Edge got what he deserved. Tonight, he’ll finish Edge for good, because he’s tired of living in Rey’s shadow. Rhea Ripley pops up to whisper in his ear, causing Dominik to say he isn’t a little boy anymore, but rather a man. Ripley smiles.

Video on Johnny Gargano.

Austin Theory doesn’t think much of Gargano and is looking forward to Chad Gable beating Gargano tonight. Gable comes in to say after tonight, it’s Johnny SHUSH!

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Damage Ctrl vs. Aliyah/Raquel Rodriguez

Aliyah/Rodriguez are defending and Bayley is here too. Rodriguez and Kai start things off with Rodriguez using the power to take over. Aliyah comes in for a clothesline and splash in the corner before it’s back to Rodriguez to run Kai over for two. Rodriguez launches Aliyah over the top and onto both champs as we take a break.

Back with Aliyah coming in and hiptossing Sky as Bayley isn’t pleased at ringside. Aliyah gets sent into the corner for the running boot to the face and seems to be favoring her arm. Kai comes back in to pull on both arms as Bayley says stick to the plan. Aliyah fights up and hits a double neckbreaker to get herself out of trouble.

The hot tag brings in Rodriguez to clean house but Aliyah is right back in. Sky hurricanranas Rodriguez outside, leaving Aliyah to hit a springboard X Factor for two on Kai, with Bayley putting the foot on the ropes. Rodriguez goes after Bayley, leaving Sky to moonsault down onto her. The Kairppractor finishes Aliyah for the pin and the titles at 12:09.

Rating: C. They more or less telegraphed this ending the second Aliyah and Rodriguez won the titles in the first place. Rodriguez more or less was the team as Aliyah can’t do much of anything on her own, so getting rid of Rodriguez pretty much guaranteed new champions. Damage Ctrl should have been the champions in the first place but at least we only had to wait for two weeks.

Rey Mysterio tries to talk Dominik Mysterio out of his match with Edge because it is a point of no return. They can still be family and fox all of this but Dominik won’t say anything. Rhea Ripley pops up to say Dominik is a man and doing what he wants, leaving Rey distraught.

Johnny Gargano vs. Chad Gable

Otis is in Gable’s corner. They go to the mat to start with a grapple off going nowhere. Gable takes him down by the arm but gets reversed into a headlock. Back up and a running hurricanrana into a crucifix gives Gargano two, setting up a front facelock. Gable gets up and hits Gargano in the face to take over, setting up a waistlock. Gargano knocks him to the floor though and hits the running dive to take Gable down again as we take a break.

Back with Gable working on the leg, which he banged up during the break. Gargano manages to send him to the corner though and the slingshot spear gets two. Gable is fine enough to pull him into the ankle lock though, followed by something like a Razor’s Edge Dominator for two. The moonsault misses so Gable settles for a nasty wheelbarrow suplex for two more.

What looked to be a top rope headbutt misses though and Gargano pulls him into the Gargano Escape. That’s reversed into another ankle lock, which Gargano breaks up as well. The American Automatic gets two and Gargano is back up with a discus lariat to leave them both down. Gargano sends him outside for a dive onto Gable and Otis, setting up One Final Beat (slingshot DDT) for the pin at 13:50.

Rating: B-. Gargano is back and that’s a good thing, though he wasn’t quite as sharp as he was at his best in NXT. That being said, he’s going to be fine as he has the Theory match all but guaranteed for down the road. Then you have Gable, and my goodness he better be grateful that he is this good in the ring. The SHUSH thing has turned him into another joke character, but it does get better when he’s in the ring and gets to show what he can do. And it’s still better than being called Shorty G.

Post match Otis goes after Gargano, who hits two superkicks and runs off. Theory pops up with a briefcase shot to drop Gargano though, meaning it’s selfie time.

Post break Theory is in the ring to ask if he disappointed the fans. Gargano needed someone to show him how this works but here is Kevin Owens to interrupt. Before Owens can say anything, Theory cuts him off and says he is sick of people interrupting him. He is too good to have this keep happening and he is going to take over this entire industry. Theory says he has done more in a few months than Owens has done in five years, but that’s too far for Owens.

That doesn’t work for Owens, who points out that Theory has had everything handed to him. Sure Owens’ Universal Title was handed to him, but that’s the only similarity between them and thank goodness for that. Owens says there have been a lot of guys like Theory to come along and a lot of them have failed. Then you have people like Owens and Gargano who have come along and you can count their success on one hand. They are the heart and soul of this business but people like Theory are the appendix of this business: completely disposable.

Owens doesn’t see it in Theory but begs him to prove him wrong. Theory needs to let his passion loose and get better every time he is in front of these people. That is how you prove him wrong and become the face of WWE. Theory says he’s just better than Owens, who decides to hit him in the face to get the point across. The brawl is on and referees/agents have to fail at keeping them apart. Theory, with his forehead and nose busted, gets away, with Owens saying that was just the beginning. This was a heck of a segment with Owens speaking from the heart as only he can.

Here is Bianca Belair for an open challenge. She announces said challenge, even though it was made clear before the break. Cue Sonya Deville to say she remembers what Belair did to her and that is why she isn’t Raw Women’s Champion. Belair: “This is an open challenge, not an open mic.” She wants a referee down here.

Raw Women’s Title: Sonya Deville vs. Bianca Belair

Belair is defending. They go with the grappling to start until Deville takes her into the corner and fires off the kicks to the ribs. A clothesline out of the corner gets Belair out of trouble and a suplex into a handspring moonsault gives her two. Sonya is sent outside and avoids a moonsault, setting up a heck of a clothesline as we take a break.

Back with Deville being sent into the corner, setting up the chinlock. Belair is sent outside and into the announcers’ table, setting up another chinlock back inside. A rollup gives Belair two but Sonya is back up with I think a middle rope knee for two of her own. Belair powers up and uses the corner to flip out of a dragon sleeper. The KOD retains the title at 12:07.

Rating: C. Well, at least it wasn’t a returning Carmella. Belair vs. Bayley is another match that is all but locked in already so there isn’t much of a reason to get worried about Belair possibly losing her title. Bayley should be all but ready to win the thing as Belair has gotten her two big Wrestlemania wins and is pretty much set for the rest of her career. Let the best woman in WWE get back to the top where she belongs.

Post match here is Bayley to say Belair has a big fat ego. Bayley says the match can happen later, but here are Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai to surround Belair. The brawl is on but Alexa Bliss and Asuka run in for the save. Well good thing Damage Ctrl got to win earlier, because they looked pretty lame here.

Omos vs. Cash Morazi/Ryan Tombs

Graves wants to call them Thing 1 and Thing 2 as the destruction is on. A double shoulder drops them and something like a cobra clutch has Morazi flailing. For some reason Tombs makes the save so Omos beats them up again. Two chokeslams set up the double pin at 1:38. It’s as good as any other way to keep Omos on TV.

Rey Mysterio tries to talk Edge out of the match but Edge says this has to happen.

We look back at Seth Rollins and Riddle earlier tonight.

Rollins declares himself the face of the show but Bobby Lashley comes in to say not so fast. Lashley mocks Rollins’ colorful gear but doesn’t see any gold, which determines the power around here. The title match is set for next week. Now there’s a fresh match that feels big and hasn’t been run into the ground before.

We get a special interview with Miz and Maryse at their home, with the kids running in for a cameo. Maryse comes in and mocks Miz for being scared about Dexter Lumis, who she guarantees will never be here. With Maryse gone, Miz refuses to talk about Lumis and refuses to talk about what Lumis did to him. Miz and Maryse leave to go to a premiere and Lumis is in their house, where he draws a picture of Miz and Maryse with their daughters. And Lumis is the good guy in this right?

Dominik Mysterio vs. Edge

Rhea Ripley is here with Dominik. Edge knocks him into the corner to start and this a headbutt as Dominik is in early trouble. Dominik is sent outside for a pep talk with Ripley, which goes badly for him as well. Some forearms do nothing for Dominik as Edge throws him back inside, only to have Ripley trip Edge down. Dominik sends him into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Dominik working on the knee, setting up the Three Amigos (which do not go very well. Dominik goes up top, does the Eddie dance, knocks Edge off, and hits the frog splash for two. Edge sends him shoulder/head first into the post and the comeback is on, including the Edge-O-Matic for two. The spear is loaded up but gets reversed into the half crab. That’s broken up and Edge ties him in the ropes and hammers away, only to have Rey run in and cut off the spear attempt. Edge shoves him away so here is Damian Priest to pull Rey outside. With Rey thrown over the announcers’ table, Finn Balor runs in for the DQ at 15:03.

Rating: D+. This was a rough sit and it made me feel sorry for Dominik all over again. Dominik is far from some colossal disaster in the ring and he can do his moves (well most of them at least) decently enough. The problem is that is the end of his talents. He doesn’t have charisma, he doesn’t show much fire, and most of what he does in the ring is flat out copying Rey or Eddie. I don’t want to see him in the ring and I have no interest in his issues with Rey and Edge. Making this the main event was a rough watch and odds are it is going to continue for whatever reason.

Dominik isn’t horrible at what he does, but he needs to get FAR away from Rey and wrestle on a show where he can get experience at a lower level. Throwing him straight into the WWE fire didn’t help him and while the Tag Team Title win with Rey was a genuinely nice moment, there is nothing there for him to make something like this work. Let him go somewhere else and find his own way, because this is crippling his career.

Post match the big beatdown is on, with a bunch of chair shots to Edge’s leg and the Coup de Grace to make it worse. Judgment Day poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not sure what to make of this show, as WAY too much of it was focusing on Edge/Rey vs. Judgment Day, which hasn’t been interesting in a long time. Rollins vs. Riddle seems set for Extreme Rules and odds are Riddle costs him the match with Lashley next week. Other than that, there wasn’t much to see here and some of the momentum is starting to slip. Certainly better than the Vince shows, but they need to move on from this Dominik obsession fast because it’s dragging everything else down.

Results
Finn Balor b. Riddle – Coup de Grace
Damage Ctrl b. Raquel Rodriguez/Aliyah – Kairopractor to Aliyah
Johnny Gargano b. Chad Gable – One Final Beat
Bianca Belair b. Sonya Deville – KOD
Omos b. Cash Morazi/Ryan Tombs – Double pin
Edge b. Dominik Mysterio via DQ when Finn Balor interfered

 

 

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