Monday Night Raw
Date: January 15, 2024
Location: Simmons Bank Arena, North Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

The slow build towards the Royal Rumble continues and that means we’re likely to get some more names added to the show’s namesake matches. In addition, we have Seth Rollins defending the Raw World Title against Jinder Mahal in a match that might just be crazy enough for WWE to do something off the wall. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day video. That’s a nice thing to bring back from the Vince days.

Seth Rollins, with daughter, arrived earlier, as did Jinder Mahal.

Here is Cody Rhodes to get things going. Rhodes brings up a song about Little Rock but isn’t sure if that’s what the fans want to talk about. Instead, let’s talk about why he’s back in WWE. The Royal Rumble is just around the corner, but here is Drew McIntyre to interrupt. McIntyre asks Rhodes what he wants to talk about and brings up their time as Tag Team Champions (Rhodes: “The Dashing Ones.”). He brings up their time on the indies, which was good enough that got WWE to call them back.

McIntyre’s last match on the indies was with Rhodes, who told him he would be a World Champion one day. Rhodes needs to keep doing what he has been doing and he’ll be the first member of his family to hold up that title. Rhodes will finish his story…but McIntyre is finishing his first. We hear about some people who could win the Royal Rumble but McIntyre wants him to step up.

Rhodes talks about how thankful and grateful he is while McIntyre is complaining about his second chance. McIntyre brings up the people Rhodes has brought to Raw or endorsed when he could have just left it alone. Rhodes calls him out for his complaints and says the way to do this is look at yourself and to the fans. Yes McIntyre’s last match on the indies was against McIntyre, but who won? It’s great to see all these personal feuds being built up on the way to the Rumble, as they could well indeed go beyond and into Wrestlemania.

Damian Priest yells at R-Truth for selling bootleg Judgment Day merchandise….until Truth hands him his cut, which is a pile of hundreds. Priest says ok but just don’t talk about selling the merch. Oh and in the tag match tonight: Truth doesn’t tag in.

JD McDonagh/Dominik Mysterio vs. DIY

Gargano and McDonagh get things going and head to the mat for some front facelocks. A hurricanrana sends McDonagh outside but Mysterio knocks Gargano outside as well. Ciampa drops Mysterio and DIY is happy as we take a break. Back with Ciampa blasting McDonagh with a clothesline but another Mysterio cheap shot cuts Gargano off.

The chinlock goes on to keep Gargano down but he’s back up with the slingshot spear. McDonagh pulls Ciampa off the apron before the tag though and we take another break. Back with Ciampa coming back in to clean house again. The Fairy Tale Ending is escaped but a powerbomb/belly to back suplex combination gets two on Mysterio.

We get the big exchange of strikes to the face and everyone is down. Mysterio is back up to dropkick Gargano into a 619 position but Ciampa makes the save as everything stays broken down. A slightly different kind of DDT sets up Meet In The Middle to finish McDonagh at 18:12.

Rating: B-. This match got some time and it’s nice to see DIY getting a win. They could very easily be slotted into the title picture as they are building up some quick momentum. Then again, it has felt like they were ready to move up the ladder more than once so I’ll believe it when I see it. On the other hand, it’s nice to see Mysterio and McDonagh fitting in well as the Judgment Day jobbers.

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven met with Adam Pearce, along with Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae. A tag match is made for later tonight.

Chelsea Green/Piper Niven vs. Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae

Green goes after LeRae to start and it’s quickly of to Niven to hammer away. An early Vader Bomb misses though and it’s LeRae coming in for some step up backsplashes. Everything breaks down and Niven misses the basement crossbody. That leaves Green to get hung in the ropes for a Lionsault from LeRae for the pin at 3:30.

Rating: C. This wasn’t much of a match as they were flying through everything to get to the pin. Hartwell and LeRae are the next team up it seems, which is pretty typical for the division. There’s only so much to get excited about when the division has such a revolving door of teams, but maybe they can do something given their history together.

Video on Nia Jax.

Judgment Day isn’t happy with R-Truth being around, but Damian Priest whips out the stack of cash to change their mind. Oh and JD McDonagh doesn’t get any because his name isn’t on the shirt.

Ludwig Kaiser introduces the returning Gunther. The fans seem happy to have him back, which almost has Gunther a bit confused. Gunther says he can smell the desperation around here, but that might just be Arkansas. Last year, Gunther entered the Royal Rumble at #1 and was one elimination away from winning. This year, he’s entering again and he’s going to win.

For now though, he wants to focus on Kaiser. We look at Kaiser injuring Kofi Kingston last week, which Gunther loved. Cue the returning Xavier Woods, who says that was too far last week. Woods is here to get revenge on Kaiser, but maybe Kaiser has to ask daddy for permission. Gunther approves so let’s do this, with Woods winning the pre-match fight.

Xavier Woods vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Joined in progress with Woods hammering away but getting kicked in the face. Kaiser stomps away until Woods gets in a shot to the face of his own. Woods goes up top, only to get pulled back down in a nasty crash. Kaiser is right back on him with more shots to the head, plus a kick to the chest for two.

Back up and Woods manages a kick to the head, only to get dropped again with a hard clothesline. A whip sends Woods shoulder first into the post and a running dropkick puts him on the floor as we take a break. Back with Woods hitting another kick to the head, setting up a chop off. Woods unloads with stomps in the corner and hits a dropkick through the ropes for a bonus. The beating is on outside, with Woods eventually hitting him with a chair for the DQ at 10:10.

Rating: C+. This was a different side of Woods and it wound up working well. Right now it seems that we’re waiting to see the partners return for what should be a big showdown tag match. If that means we have to wait and see a more intense Woods, which made him stand out for the first time in awhile, so be it.

With the match over, Woods grabs the chair again, only to have Kaiser kick it into his face. Kaiser loads up the dropkick into the steps but Woods gets up and throws the stairs at his head. Kaiser ducks away and it’s time to run through the crowd as Woods is still looking angry.

Bronson Reed promises to win some unspecified title.

Ludwig Kaiser jumps Xavier Woods in the back but Jey Uso makes the save.

We look at how Jinder Mahal got a World Title shot against Seth Rollins tonight.

Akira Tozawa vs. Ivar

Maxxine Dupri and Valhalla are here too. Ivar runs him over to start but Tozawa is back up with a spinning kick to the head. Tozawa drops him again and rips the shirt off, only to get caught with a spinning slam. Dupri offers a distraction though and Tozawa grabs a sunset bomb for the pin at 1:58.

Post match Valhalla and Ivar jump Maxxine and Tozawa to leave them laying.

Here is Rhea Ripley for a chat and she gets right to the point: she is going to be waiting on whomever wins the Royal Rumble because Mami always comes out on top. Cue Becky Lynch to interrupt, Becky talks about their similarities, which include going from nothing to the top and making a big splash at Wrestlemania.

The difference is Becky has actually won the Royal Rumble. Here they stand though, with Lynch wondering if this entire thing has been worth it. Lynch thinks Ripley is better than her, but she needs to beat Ripley to prove herself wrong. She needs to win the Rumble and point at the sign, which sounds good to Ripley. She’ll see Lynch at Wrestlemania. There’s your big tease and yeah I’m in.

Seth Rollins knows he’s up against Jinder Mahal tonight and we’ve been here before. This is a different Mahal though, and Seth is ready.

Miz/R-Truth vs. Judgment Day

Non-title and most of Judgment Day is here with Damian Priest and Finn Balor. To make it more complicated, Truth comes out with Judgment Day and hands Balor his cut of the merch money. Ruth starts for the team and takes Balor into the corner, which has Balor annoyed. Balor stomps away and we take an early break.

We come back with Truth fighting out of a chinlock and kicking Balor in the head. The diving tag brings Miz in and Priest is thrown over the announcers’ table. Back in and the corner clothesline hits Balor but Truth tags himself in for the ax kick. Priest yells at Truth, who kicks Balor in the face, earning himself the South Of Heaven. Balor gets the pin at 8:00.

Rating: C+. WWE has something with Truth and Judgment Day and they seem to know it. I could certainly go for more from them and it wouldn’t shock me to see a rematch for the titles at the Royal Rumble. Whatever keeps Truth on TV, as he has struck gold yet again, which is hardly even a surprise at this point.

Jinder Mahal is ready to get his title back because this is twelve years in the making in one night.

Shinsuke Nakamura is mad at his loss to Cody Rhodes but he’s entering the Royal Rumble.

Tegan Nox/Natalya vs. Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark

Stark takes Nox into the corner to start and it’s off to Baszler for a stomp to the chest. Nox fights out of said corner but Baszler sends her right back into the corner. The comeback doesn’t take much longer as Nox gets over to Natalya for the necessary tag. Everything breaks down and Stark comes in but Baszler makes a blind tag. That’s fine with Natalya, who hits a discus lariat but Stark breaks up the Hart Attack. Baszler chokes Natalya for the tap at 5:23.

Rating: C. This is the lower level of the least interesting division in WWE and another match like this doesn’t make things much more interesting. It feels like these four have been feuding for a few weeks now without getting anywhere. Odds are that’s all we’ll be seeing from them until one of them gets a Women’s Tag Team Title shot and loses. Then a new team will take their place and it starts all over again.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Raw World Title: Jinder Mahal vs. Seth Rollins

Mahal is challenging and has Indus Sher with him. Sher offers an early distraction and the beating is on to start. It’s too early for the Khallas, Stomp and Pedigree as Rollins is backdropped out to the floor. Rollins fights up….and here is Damian Priest to watch. We take a break and come back with Mahal dropping some knees and grabbing an abdominal stretch. Rollins fights out and hits some forearms of his own.

A crossbody gives Rollins two and it’s a springboard Swanton into a Lionsault for two more. Rollins comes up favoring his knee but he’s fine enough to grab a Falcon Arrow. The Pedigree is loaded up but his knee gives out, meaning Mahal is up at two. Rollins misses another high crossbody….and Priest stands up. Cue Drew McIntyre to brawl with Priest to the back, leaving Mahal to hit a fireman’s carry gutbuster for two. Veer gets in a briefcase shot into the Khallas for two, only to have Rollins come back with the Stomp to retain at 13:03.

Rating: B-. That’s about all I was expecting it to be and it was not bad at all. Mahal was just enough of a minor threat to believe a long shot title change was possible, as WWE did a nice job of setting him up. Indus Sher and Priest made things even better and it was a perfectly good, one off match. Mahal as the former champion who wants to prove he wasn’t a fluke is a way to go and he’s done rather well in the last few weeks, including here.

Overall Rating: B-. I had fun with the show, as they built things up towards the Rumble while also covering some things this week. Rollins gets a win under his belt on the way to the Rumble and we have the hilarity of R-Truth and Judgment Day. These shows have the task of not making a major mistake before we get a better picture of WrestleMania at the Rumble and they had a pretty good one this week.

Results
DIY b. Dominik Mysterio/JD McDonagh – Meet In The Middle to McDonagh
Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae b. Piper Niven/Chelsea Green – Assisted Lionsault to Green
Ludwig Kaiser b. Xavier Woods via DQ when Woods used a chair
Akira Tozawa b. Ivar – Sunset bomb
Judgment Day b. Miz/R-Truth – South Of Heaven to R-Truth
Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark b. Natalya/Tegan Nox – Kirifuda Clutch to Natalya
Seth Rollins b. Jinder Mahal – Stomp

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: January 8, 2024
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We are less than three weeks away from the Royal Rumble and while there is still a lot to cover, some of the show is starting to come together. This includes some names being announced for the Royal Rumble matches, including CM Punk. As luck would have it, Punk is here tonight, and he might have something to say. Let’s get to it.

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

Cody Rhodes arrived earlier today but he’s cut off by Drew McIntyre in the ring. McIntyre says he had the title won last week but he overdid it with the cover. Maybe Seth Rollins is right and McIntyre is the problem. If that is the case, maybe he needs to step away from WWE for a bit. But wait, that can’t be it because Damian Priest cashed in during the match and the distraction cost McIntyre. You have all these people around here, including CM Punk, so maybe McIntyre should just leave for nine years so he can come back to a hero’s welcome.

Cue Punk, who says we are in Piper Country, but McIntyre didn’t wear a kilt. Piper was known for talking, just like Punk, but that’s not the case with McIntyre. Since Punk has been back though, all he’s done is see McIntyre talking. McIntyre says Punk has been back for more than a month without self destructing. We hear about Punk declaring himself as the “locker room leader” back in the day but no one helped McIntyre. Randy Orton couldn’t help either because he had his own demons, but Punk is straight edge so he doesn’t have demons.

Now McIntyre is back and he’s Punk’s leader. With McIntyre laying over the top, Punk says he has always led by example. Has McIntyre ever watched him? Does he know who walked out of WWE about ten years ago? He has all kinds of demons and when he’s pushed, he’s the devil himself.

Punk saw McIntyre come back bigger than ever so Punk is following his lead. McIntyre brings up how unlike Punk, he has main evented Wrestlemania, but those title wins he had were because someone needed to step up. Punk says it’s getting heated here so he’s going to lead by example and leave now, but he’ll throw McIntyre out of the Royal Rumble. Interesting showdown here, with Punk’s past being brought up again.

Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Damian Priest is here with Balor. We see Ciampa walking to the ring (with Johnny Gargano) where he talks about how his new year’s resolution is for DIY to win the Tag Team Titles. Ciampa starts fast with an elbow to the face but Balor rolls through a sunset flip and hits a basement dropkick. Back up and a Thesz press with right hands has Balor in more trouble but a Priest distraction lets Balor knock Ciampa into the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Ciampa hitting a running clothesline into the reverse DDT for two. A knee to the face and Project Ciampa get two as Ciampa has gotten in quite the run of offense here. Balor knocks him down again but the Coup de Grace misses, allowing Ciampa to grab a crucifix for two. The seconds get in a fight on the floor so Ciampa knees Priest off the apron. Back in and Balor kicks the middle rope into Ciampa and loads up a suplex, only to have Gargano sweep the leg so Ciampa can fall on top for the pin at 8:16.

Rating: C+. Ciampa can still go with just about anyone and that was on display here, as part of DIY gets a win to move the team forward to a likely Royal Rumble Tag Team Title shot. The ending was more evening the odds as it’s nice to see Judgment Day get what’s coming to them for a change. Nice stuff here and I can go for more of DIY getting a chance.

Becky Lynch talks about how Nia Jax hit her hard last week but she’s back up. Now she’s entering the Royal Rumble and maybe it’s not over with Jax.

Kofi Kingston vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Kaiser stars fast and hits an early clothesline and takes him into the corner for some right hands. Kingston fights back but gets sent into the buckle to shut that right own. A ram into the corner has Kingston in more trouble but he fights right back to send them both outside. Kingston gets whipped into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Kaiser stomping away in the corner but Kingston sends him outside again. There’s the top rope trust fall and they brawl is on outside for the double countout at 8:56.

Rating: C. This was more about Kaiser wanting revenge for his injured friend, which is a logical story even if it is coming from an evil team. We can get to the big rematch with the teams when Vinci is back to full health but for now, his keeps things going in a bit of a surprising way, which is nice to see.

Post match the brawl stays on, with Kaiser throwing one of the announcers’ chairs at Kofi. A running dropkick slams Kingston’s head into the steps to leave him laying. Sounds like something Gunther will approve of rather strongly.

Post match Kaiser says that Kingston brought it on himself for taking out Giovanni Vinci last week.

Here is Nia Jax for a chat. Last week was no shock and she threatens to do something shocking by breaking Michael Cole’s face. No one can stop her…but here is Rhea Ripley to interrupt. Ripley talks about eliminating Jax from the Rumble last year, but now Jax is laughing about beating Becky Lynch. Well Lynch isn’t Rhea Bloody Ripley. Jax promises to win the Rumble and come after Ripley, who isn’t the unstoppable one anymore. That’s probably Elimination Chamber.

We look at the Rock’s return last week.

Cody Rhodes says it should be over with Shinsuke Nakamura, who jumps him from behind to start a brawl.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Kayden Carter/Katana Chance vs. Chelsea Green/Piper Niven

Green and Niven are challenging. Green kicks Carter to the floor to start but they get back in, where Carter kicks her in the face. It’s off to Chance, who gets sent into the corner for a Cannonball from Niven and we take a break. Back with Chance kicking her way to freedom and handing it back to Carter to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and Niven hits a backsplash for two. A release Rock Bottom out of the corner plants Carter but a quick replacement means the Vader Bomb hits Green. Niven gets dropped with a top rope Codebreaker and it’s the Keg Stand to retain the titles at 9:53.

Rating: C+. They kept this one relatively short and that makes sense, as the new champs get a win under their belts to help establish them a bit more. At the same time, the win clears out a good chunk of the division, as it isn’t like there is depth to the thing. Nice enough match with Niven being the monster the champs have to overcome using teamwork and athleticism.

R-Truth gives us a special look at his childhood dream of joining the Judgment Day. Then he did it, especially now that JD McDonagh is out. Quite a bit of altered photography ensues here.

JD McDonagh vs. Miz

Dominik Mysterio and R-Truth are both here too. Miz sends him outside to start and poses a bit, with the fans being rather happy. Back in and McDonagh kicks away a bit, with a Dominik distraction making it even worse. We take a break and come back with Miz jawbreaking his way out of a chinlock. McDonagh knocks him back down and hits a slingshot corkscrew splash for two.

A suplex gets the same as Truth is playing cheerleader. Miz fights up and hits a clothesline for two, followed by the YES Kicks. Some shots to the knee set up the Figure Four but McDonagh is straight into the ropes. A Truth distraction lets Miz send McDonagh into Mysterio though and the Skull Crushing Finale gives Miz the pin at 12:01.

Rating: C. The build towards what seems to be Awesome Truth vs. Judgment Day continues and I’m not opposed to the idea. It gives us a simple title program for the Royal Rumble until someone else can come along and get the real challenge going later. Either that or just change the belts so Priest can use his briefcase. For now though, not exactly a great match but it did what it needed to do.

The rest of Judgment Day is in the back and says this has to end.

Here is Seth Rollins for a chat. Rollins lets the fans sing the song before saying it’s time to get ready for the Royal Rumble. He has done a lot of things at Wrestlemania but he has never walked into the show as a World Champion. Rollins asks who he is going to have to beat at the Royal Rumble to get to Wrestlemania….and here is Jinder Mahal to interrupt (Rollins is stunned too).

Mahal says he was a bigger revolutionary last week than Rollins has been in years. He talks about how Rollins does some horrible things, including throwing tantrums after the show goes off the air. Yet he disrespects Mahal, but now Mahal has his attention. Rollins agrees that Mahal has been overlooked, but it has been by design. He appreciates Mahal coming back out here but tells Mahal to take a swing. A cheap shot from behind lets Mahal beat him down but Rollins clears the ring without much trouble.

Otis vs. Ivar

Maxxine Dupri, Akira Tozawa and Valhalla are here too. Otis hits a running elbow to start but Ivar knocks him into the corner. A quick World’s Strongest Slam gives Otis two and the Caterpillar gets the same. Ivar kicks him in the face though and finishes with the moonsault at 3:48.

Rating: C+. You’ve seen this kind of match more than once recently and it still works very well. It’s two big, strong guys hitting each other with cool looking power moves and WWE knows just how to present it. I could have gone for this one going a bit longer, but someone powering Ivar around like that was impressive.

Jey Uso is ready to win his first singles title but Bronson Reed comes in to say not so fast.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Cody Rhodes

Street fight and Nakamura tries to make him wait, only to have Cody hammer away. They fight towards the entrance with Cody sending him into the barricade. Back in and Nakamura rolls away, allowing him to grab a kendo stick for some hard shots. We take a break and come back with Nakamura missing a knee drop.

That’s enough for Cody to get a breather, including some stick shots of his own. Nakamura knocks him down again though and some kicks to the chest have Cody in more trouble. Rhodes is back with a powerslam and grabs a table but Nakamura takes him outside. The mist is loaded up but hits the timekeeper, allowing Nakamura to deck a concerned Cody as we take a break.

Back with Nakamura chairing him down and hitting a middle rope knee to the face to rock Cody again. The Kinshasa is loaded up but Cody cuts it off with a superkick. The Pedigree gets two so Cody sends him through the table in the corner. That and the Cross Rhodes are enough to finish Nakamura at 24:08.

Rating: B. This felt like a big time house show main event and that has probably been the case more than once. It gives Cody the big conquering hero win over a dangerous threat going into the Rumble and that should be enough momentum. Nakamura is still really good in this kind of role, but it would be nice to see him actually win a big match once in awhile.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event was good but the rest of the in-ring action was only ok for the most part. The Punk vs. McIntyre situation was interesting, but it did feel like they kind of punted again due to the big college football title game. That might have been a smart move, though they can only do that so many times. Not a bad show here, but they need another big one at some point before the Rumble.

Results
Tommaso Ciampa b. Finn Balor – Ciampa landed on Balor
Kofi Kingston vs. Ludwig Kaiser went to a double countout
Kayden Carter/Katana Chance b. Piper Niven/Chelsea Green – Keg Stand to Green
Miz b. JD McDonagh – Skull Crushing Finale
Ivar b. Otis – Moonsault
Cody Rhodes b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Cross Rhodes

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: January 1, 2024
Location: Pechanga Arena, San Diego, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

It’s the first show of the new year and despite this show being against the College Football Playoffs, we’re getting a stacked show. Drew McIntyre is getting a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship and there are rumors of a former champion making a special appearance. Let’s get to it.

Michael Cole and Wade Barrett are in the ring to open things up and run down the card, which is certainly a different way to go. The former WWE Champion is confirmed to be returning tonight as well.

We recap Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax, which started over five years ago when Jax blasted Lynch with a right hand and hurt her. Then they didn’t do anything about it for years and now we’re having a showdown.

Nia Jax vs. Becky Lynch

Jax powers her around to start and shrugs off Becky’s right hands. A bearhug doesn’t work long for Jax but she easily blocks the Bexploder. Lynch is back up with a missile dropkick for two and we take a break. Back with Lynch getting two off a Molly Go Round but Jax runs her over. The legdrop misses though and they head outside, where Jax punches the post by mistake.

Becky avoids a cannonball against the barricade but Jax beats the count back in. The guillotine legdrop gives Lynch two so she goes for the armbar. That’s countered into a heck of a powerbomb for two so the Annihilator is loaded up. Lynch realizes that might hurt and goes up top, only to have a super Manhandle Slam countered into the super Samoan Drop for two. The crowd is VERY interested in the kickout so Jax sends her face first into the mat, followed by the Annihilator for the pin at 11:53.

Rating: C+. It’s one of Jax’s best matches ever and the fans were way into the near falls near the end. Lynch losing is a rare sight to see and in theory sets up Jax as the big challenger to Rhea Ripley in Australia at Elimination Chamber. That being said, I’m not sure where this leaves Lynch, save for a rematch where she gets her revenge down the line.

Lynch is bleeding from the mouth.

We recap Shinsuke Nakamura’s American Nightmare Before Christmas from a few weeks ago, leading to a brawl with Cody Rhodes.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. Rhodes talks about how it’s a new year but he is stuck on Shinsuke Nakamura. It’s not because of the poem or the poison mist, but rather because this should be over. Rhodes wants to finish this now, so here is Nakamura on the screen. He’d rather wait a week so he can finish Rhodes’ story and then close the book. Nakamura mists the camera for added evil effect. That should do fine for a main event next week.

Kofi Kingston/Jey Uso vs. Imperium

Kofi is in shorts and sneakers, making me think he had a luggage issue. Kofi flips out of Vinci’s armbar to start but Vinci takes him into the corner anyway. Kaiser comes in and hammers away, including sending Kofi into the corner as we take a break. Back with Kofi dropkicking Vinci out of the air…and the match is stopped at 6:18 as Vinci is hurt. Not enough shown to rate due to the break and the injury but that crash was nasty.

Vinci does walk out after the match so that’s a big relief.

Video on the holiday tour.

Video on Ivy Nile.

Here is Miz for MizTV, featuring the Judgment Day as special guests. Actually never mind as here is R-Truth instead. Truth insists that the team was behind him but they slipped away. Miz asks if Truth is seeing invisible people again, which gets us a Little Jimmy reference. Truth sits down (in the one guest chair despite the whole team being scheduled) so Miz can ask him what exactly he does for the team. It turns out Truth does a lot of things, like trying to make the team more popular.

Cue JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio to say this is over, but Truth brings up McDonagh losing to be thrown off the team. Dominik gets booed out of the building over and over until he eventually asks Miz how bad his 2023 went. Miz talks about the moments he made, while Dominik’s lone moment was being spanked by Rey Mysterio. Then he got whipped by CM Punk over the holidays! Dominik issues the challenge for the tag match, but Truth isn’t sure which team he’s on. He thinks he’s teaming with Miz to turn on him, but then ducks McDonagh’s clothesline. The villains are cleared out and we take a break.

Miz/R-Truth vs. Judgment Day

Joined in progress with Miz taking Dominik down. Truth comes in for the twisting forearm to Mysterio as we talk about Awesome Truth for a change. A cheap shot puts Truth on the floor though and we take a break. Back with Truth getting on the apron next to Judgment Day and Miz sending Mysterio outside. McDonagh gets in a headbutt….and tags in Truth. Judgment Day isn’t sure what’s going on but they go with it anyway. Truth accidentally hits McDonagh though, allowing the Skull Crushing Finale (after Truth says “I’m sorry Miz. I love you.”) to finish for Miz at 7:23.

Rating: C. The match was goofy comedy and they aren’t hiding what they’re doing here. That’s a perfectly fine way to go as well, as Mysterio and McDonagh are hardly serious stars and beating them isn’t going to hurt them in any significant way. I could go for more of Truth and Miz, as the two of them have some very funny moments together.

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven invade the club and want a rematch with Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. Instead they get drinks thrown in their faces, because this week is about dancing.

Rhea Ripley is ready to hurt Ivy Nile.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Ivy Nile

Ripley is defending but has to slip out of an early fireman’s carry attempt. That’s not cool with Ripley, who powers out and sends Nile face first into the mat. Nile is back up with a toss out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Nile striking away and hitting a leg lariat for two. Nile slips out of a belly to back suplex but gets caught with a heck of a headbutt.

A missile dropkick gives Ripley two but Nile’s suplex gets the same. Ripley drops her with a facebuster and clothesline, followed by a belly to back faceplant for two. Nile catches her on top though and, after pulling Ripley face first into the turnbuckle, grabs a bottom rope German superplex for two. Nile goes up but gets headbutted out of the air for a nasty crash. Riptide retains the title at 11:54.

Rating: C+. The problem for Ripley is she has so few serious challengers. Nile was trying here but clearly not ready for this level and that made an already obvious result a bit more obvious. The good thing here was Ripley sold for Nile and made her look a lot better than she would have otherwise. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Ripley back in the ring as that isn’t something that takes place very often these days.

It’s time for the return of a former WWE Champion and it’s…..Jinder Mahal. Even he acknowledges the disappointment before bragging about his success. Mahal rants about how divided the UNITED States are right now and goes into Punjabi. He’s happy because everyone is united in booing….their own National Anthem in Punjabi. Mahal talks about how he’s different than foreigners like the Iron Sheik, who exposed America for what it is. We get some more Punjabi but here’s THE ROCK for the big interruption.

After taking some time to get to the ring, Rock says Mahal is in trouble now. Mahal is right about one thing: he isn’t the Iron Sheik. We get a Sheik impression from Rock, before Rock tells Mahal why he sucks. Well hang on though as Sheik talks to Rock and tells him what to say: Mahal is the biggest as***** on God’s green earth. Also, no one likes him and he’s not funny. Rock: “If you were one of the Rock’s movies, it would be Baywatch.” Mahal: “I’ve never seen Baywatch.” Rock: “Well nobody else did either. Shut your mouth when the Rock is talking to you.”

Rock goes on about why America is great and doesn’t want to hear Mahal call himself the Modern Day Maharajah. Instead he calls Mahal the Day 1 Douchebag and gets the fans chanting it for him, bringing back the “this side says this and this side says that”. We get a version of the National Anthem, complete with what sounds like a steroids joke about Mahal, which is enough to trigger the fight. The Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow leave Mahal running off so Rock talks about going to get something to eat after the show. When he goes out, should he sit in a booth, at the bar, or…..at the head of the table?

Well. That happened. This was a long segment that is going to be remembered for six words at the end and that’s just fine. I’m not sure what the Rock is going to do or when he’s going to get in the ring (assuming he does), but there are a lot of interesting options out there for multiple shows coming up and this just made it better. I’m not the biggest Rock fan, but you can feel the energy when he is out there and he makes things seem bigger. Also: Rock’s stuff hasn’t aged well, but Mahal handled himself better than I would have expected here, even if he was little more than a means to an end.

Tegan Nox/Natalya vs. Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark

Baszler runs Natalya over to start and we take a break less than a minute in. Back with Nox hitting a Molly Go Round for two but Baszler runs her over. The Z360 finishes for Stark at 5:29. Another match without enough shown to rate, but this was the death spot of death spots.

Natalya does not seem pleased.

Video on Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

Rollins is defending and they go outside fast, with Rollins hitting a forearm off the steps. McIntyre can’t get an Alabama Slam but can hit a belly to belly on the floor as we take a break. Back with McIntyre still hammering away but McIntyre misses a charge into the post to put him outside again.

A suicide dive drops McIntyre again and they get back in. This time McIntyre heads up and gets superplexed back down, only to reverse Rollins’ Falcon Arrow into one of his own as we take a break. Back again with McIntyre hitting a super White Noise, followed by a neckbreaker. The Claymore is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two, followed by a low superkick. The Pedigree gives Rollins two and they both need a breather.

Cue Damian Priest with the briefcase and he blasts Rollins in the face! McIntyre Claymores Priest and drops Dominik Mysterio, followed by a Claymore to Rollins….but the cover pulls Rollins’ foot onto the rope. McIntyre can’t believe it so they go outside, with Rollins hitting a Pedigree onto the announcers’ table. Back in and the Stomp retains the title at 18:03.

Rating: B. I was getting into this one and they had me wondering where it was going with the Priest appearance. At the same time, McIntyre has no one to blame but himself here, which should push him further over the edge. Rollins gets another win to clear out McIntyre and we should be on the way to his showdown with Punk, which could very well headline one night of Wrestlemania. Good main event here, with the match getting some time to develop.

Priest is mad to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show that was more engaging/entertaining than good, as the main event was the only match that really delivered. The opener was good enough, two matches were really short (granted one was stopped early) and Ripley won a match without much drama. The thing is, there was one big moment on here and that is what will be remembered. WWE wanted to start the year off with a bang and that is what they did, delivering a show that might not have been great but did what it was supposed to do, which is more important.

Results
Nia Jax b. Becky Lynch – Annihilator
Jey Uso/Kofi Kingston b. Imperium via referee stoppage
Miz/R-Truth b. Judgment Day – Skull Crushing Finale to McDonagh
Rhea Ripley b. Ivy Nile – Riptide
Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark b. Tegan Nox/Natalya – Z360 to Nox
Seth Rollins b. Drew McIntyre – Stomp

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 25, 2023
Hosts: Jackie Redmond, Peter Rosenberg

Since it’s Christmas night, we have the Best Of 2023, which could cover all kinds of things. There have been some rather good things taking place this year and that means we should have a nice set of options. There’s a good chance that we’ll be getting stuff from both main roster shows and pay per views so let’s get to it.

Note that I’ll be posting the full versions of matches rather than the clipped versions that air on the broadcast.

The Miz welcomes us to the show and says he was supposed to host the Oscars but was too busy hosting Wrestlemania instead. We run down some of the best matches of the year in what is probably a preview of what we’re seeing tonight.

We go to the studio with Jackie and Peter, who run down the special guests we’ll be hearing from tonight. For now though, our first match.

From Night Of Champions.

World Heavyweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins

For the inaugural title and they’re starting big here. They take their time to start with Styles sending him to the apron but it’s too early for the Phenomenal Forearm. Styles rolls out of a headlock but Rollins is right back with a kick to the head to take over. Back up and Styles drives him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Rollins is back with a Downward Spiral into the middle turnbuckle.

Styles is right back with a suplex into the corner and the Phenomenal Blitz. The middle rope moonsault into a reverse DDT plants Rollins again but he’s right back up with a buckle bomb. The frog splash gives Rollins two but the Pedigree is reversed into an enziguri. With nothing else working, Styles loads up the super Styles Clash but Rollins slips out to avoid quite a bit of pain.

Instead, Rollins puts him on top for a reverse superplex into a reverse sitout suplex for two. The Phoenix splash misses and they fight to the apron, where Styles hits a brainbuster to knock Rollins silly. Back in and Styles tries the Phenomenal Forearm (instead of covering) but Rollins breaks it up and sends him back to the floor. The suicide dive hits Styles but Rollins comes up favoring his knee.

Back in again and Styles grabs the Calf Crusher but Rollins grabs a choke for the escape. Styles kicks away until he has to duck the Pele. Rollins’ Pedigree is countered into one from Styles for two as Styles is bleeding a bit from the head. The Phenomenal Forearm is superkicked out of the air but the knee gives out on the Stomp attempt. The knee is fine enough to hit a Pedigree, followed by the Stomp to give Rollins the pin and the title at 20:37.

Rating: B. This was a different kind of match as there was no personal issue and they were just out there fighting for the title. It worked well as the two are both incredibly talented and know how to work the main event style match. The knee injury was a nice way to go and gave the match some drama, but it was hard to imagine Styles having a real chance here. Rather awesome opener though and Rollins is the best choice possible for the first champion.

Rollins joins us to talk about what it means to be the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion and to give opportunities to so many people. CM Punk is brought up, with Rollins talking about the lack of respect between them and it would be almost impossible for Punk to gain his respect. We move on to Drew McIntyre, who makes a lot of good points, but it’s the way McIntyre is explaining them. If McIntyre wants the title, he has to beat him, so may the best man win.

The Alpha Academy shills WWE Shop.

We talk about Jade Cargill signing with WWE. Oh yeah that was a thing.

From Wrestlemania XXXIX Night One.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley

Ripley is challenging. They hit shoulders to start with Charlotte going down, allowing Rhea to tell her to suck it. Back in and they slug it out, with Ripley knocking her into the corner. Ripley bodyscissors her, followed by a German suplex to cut off the comeback. Charlotte gets in a shot and goes after the knee, as is her custom, but Ripley isn’t having that. Riptide is blocked and they trade big boots to leave them both down.

They slug it out until Charlotte snaps off a fall away slam and goes up top. That takes too long though and Ripley catches her with a release German superplex for two, leaving Ripley stunned. Charlotte goes to the knee again and Natural Selection gets two. They go outside with Charlotte missing a charge into the steps, allowing Ripley to hit a belly to back faceplant for two.

Charlotte rolls some German suplexes but Ripley gets one of her own (with Charlotte almost landing on her head). Charlotte is fine enough to hit a big boot and Ripley is sent outside, where the moonsault connects. The Figure Four is blocked and Charlotte almost runs into the referee, leaving Ripley to hit Riptide for…two (yeah you knew Charlotte would get to kick out of that at least once).

The stunned Ripley gets small packaged for two and the Prism Trap goes on instead. Charlotte makes the ropes and the referee is almost bumped, meaning a spear can give Charlotte two. They slug it out until Charlotte hits another big boot into the Figure Four but Ripley is right next to the ropes. Ripley goes to the apron and they both go up, with Charlotte being dropped face first onto the post. Charlotte is out and the super Riptide gives Ripley the pin and the title at 23:32.

Rating: B+. This started slowly but once they got into the big falls they had me wondering where it was going. While it would have been hard to imagine Ripley losing, there is always that chance with Charlotte in there. What matters is Ripley gets the win that matters and becomes the new star. Charlotte needs to go away from Ripley for a bit (it feels like she hasn’t been on Raw in a long time) and let her be the big deal. For now they, I’ll take Ripley getting the title that she has earned and getting it by pinning Charlotte at Wrestlemania.

Ripley talks about how dominant a year Judgment Day had and promises to eradicate Ivy Nile.

We take a quick look at Logan Paul beating Ricochet at Summerslam.

From Backlash.

Damian Priest vs. Bad Bunny

Street fight and Bunny is the hometown boy to a major reaction. Bunny brings the kendo stick but whips out a shopping cart full of weapons. Priest powers him into the corner to start but gets slapped in the face, with Bunny hitting a Michinoku Driver for two. Bunny grabs the kendo sticks but Priest knocks him down and breaks one of them. Back up and Bunny hammers away in the corner, only to get taken down again.

South Of Heaven connects but Priest pulls him up at two. It’s time to bring in an ax handle (single this time) but instead Priest loads up the springboard dive…which is cut off by a chair being thrown into his face. Bunny hits a big dive and drops him with a bunch of trashcan lid shots, giving us a Flair Flop on the floor. Back in and another Michinoku Driver gives Bunny two more but it’s time to head back outside.

Priest gets the better of things this time and smashes the Puerto Rico kendo stick across Bunny’s back. They head into the crowd and over to the tech area, where a Falcon Arrow sends Bunny crashing HARD through some tables. Adam Pearce comes out to say this needs to stop but Priest carries Bunny back to ringside. Priest misses a kick to the post and can barely stand, so Bunny blasts said leg with a kendo stick.

Bunny hits something like a Stunner to the leg out of the corner and the leg is wrapped around the post. A chain is wrapped around the leg to send it into the post again (with Priest begging him not to do it). Priest begs off from a chair shot and gets in a kick of his own, only to get hit low for his efforts. Cue Judgment Day to go after Bunny, with Rey Mysterio making the save.

With Rey beaten down, Carlito makes the save to an explosion, including the Backstabber and apple spit. Judgment Day gets back up but here is Savio Vega, who brings out the LWO to keep up the fight. With everyone else gone, Priest’s leg gives out on a kick to the head attempt, allowing Bunny to grab a Figure Four. Priest gets out so it’s a Sliced Bread for two (with Bunny almost landing on his head). A Canadian Destroyer finishes Priest at 25:05.

Rating: A. Yeah this was a total blast and played to the live crowd as well as anything else was going to. Bunny is as over as free beer in a frat house around here and they brought in the legends/current stars to make it feel that much bigger. It was fun and Bunny put in an all time celebrity performance, but Priest deserves all kinds of credit for holding it all together. Great stuff here, but egads how is anything supposed to follow this?

New Day joins us to give their take on everything this year, ranging from big meaty men, the women’s division, people who kick you in the head, the tag division and the Alpha Academy.

From the September 4 Raw.

Intercontinental Title: Chad Gable vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending and after the Big Match Intros, a headlock takeover puts Gable down. Back up and Gable dropkicks him to the floor as we take a break. We come back with Gable cranking on the leg over the ropes. The leg is fine enough for a big boot and the hand is fine enough for a chop but Gable is right back up. Gable unloads in the corner but Gunther kicks him out to the floor as we take another break.

Back again with Gable reversing a powerbomb into a hurricanrana to the floor. Gunther kicks him down and goes up, only to have Gable run the corner for a superplex. The ankle lock is broken up but Gable suplexes his way out of a sleeper. Rolling Chaos Theory gets two and the grapevined ankle lock goes on. That’s broken up as well and Gunther gets the sleeper. With that broken up, Gunther hits a sleeper suplex into the powerbomb into the hard clothesline to retain at 16:03.

Rating: B. They were rolling by the end and made the most out of a rough situation. Gunther has gone over a year as champion and will break the record for longest reign ever later this week. There is no reason to take the title off of him here, so Gable was tasked with making the most out of a rough situation. It was a heck of a fight here near the end, but this was the only way it should have gone.

Paul Heyman joins us to talk about Roman Reigns’ dominance over the year. We look at some of Reigns’ victims, along with those who came up against the Bloodline. As a bonus, 2024 is a leap year, so we get one extra day to acknowledge Reigns!

Cody Rhodes joins us and talks about how much he and his family loves Christmas. He talks about how his dad wasn’t around much on Christmas because it was a huge show day, but now it’s the day after Christmas so he’s ready to be in Madison Square Garden tomorrow. As for Shinsuke Nakamura, Cody is ready to settle things no matter how long it takes. As for Brock Lesnar, Rhodes never wants to go back to Suplex City, but he does have a soft spot or the post-Fastlane press conference. The fact that he and Jey Uso were a bit tipsy might have something to do with it.

From Summerslam.

Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar

Cody jumps him before the bell but gets caught with a quick suplex. A neck snap across the top staggers Brock and a pair of Disaster Kicks make it worse. Cody tries it again though and this time gets rammed into the corner for his efforts. Brock is knocked to the floor for a hard suicide dive though and Cody has an opening. Back in and Brock hits a trio of suplexes to send Cody down and it’s time to bounce a bit.

Another German suplex sets up another suplex and Cody falls out to the floor. Brock knocks him off the apron and tells Cody to save himself but Cody beats the count again. That means an overhead belly to belly and Brock clotheslines him outside again. An F5 on the floor gets nine and Brock is mad. Another F5 through the announcers’ table gets nine and now Lesnar looks more confused than angry.

More suplexes wake Cody up for some reason and he heads outside, where some postings slow Brock down and a steps shot (DQ anyone?) makes it worse. The Disaster Kick and Cody Cutter drop Lesnar back inside and a double springboard Cody Cutter gets two. Lesnar pulls him into the Kimura but Cody makes the rope. Back up and Lesnar is sent into an exposed buckle, setting up Cody’s Kimura. That’s broken up so Cody hits three Cross Rhodes for the pin at 17:32.

Rating: B. They were trying for an epic match here and it just didn’t get that far. Cody surviving and surviving was a rather Lesnar style story and it worked well enough, but I still can’t buy Lesnar losing to the Cross Rhodes, which just isn’t a very good finisher. This was the way the feud had to end though as Cody gets a huge win to defeat Lesnar for good and should be on his way back to the title picture sooner than later.

Post match Lesnar actually shows respect and even high fives some fans as he walks away.

We look at Becky Lynch winning the NXT Women’s Title.

Lynch talks about how she does the buying and shopping for Christmas but Seth Rollins does all of the putting together. She went back to NXT to show what he has become and to help others get a chance they hadn’t had yet. Becky is ready for Nia Jax in a match five years in the making. As for this year though, she was a team with Lita and got to feud with Trish Stratus, which is where we’re going next.

From Payback.

Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch

In a cage with pinfall, submission or escape to win and NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton is here watching again. Becky starts fast with the Bexploders but gets elbowed in the face for her efforts. Trish sends her into the cage and grabs a spinebuster to cut off a comeback attempt. The double fishhook keeps Becky in trouble (Trish: “CHEESE!”) but Becky manages to ram her into the cage a few times.

It’s too early for the Disarm-Her so Becky is sent into the cage two more times. Trish Matrixes her way out of a clothesline, only to have Becky drop a double legdrop onto the stomach in a clever counter. Some rapid fire rams into the cage have Trish in more trouble and Becky goes up top for the Fameasser in the ropes for two. Trish is back up and hammers away in the corner but Becky slips out and hits a powerbomb for two more.

Back up and Becky is sent into the cage again, setting up a Widow’s Peak (including the Victoria hair pulling) for two. Becky misses something off the top and gets caught with Stratusfaction for another near fall. They go up top with Trish hitting a super bulldog for two, allowing her to stare at the camera and show off a NASTY welt on her forehead. Both of them head up top with Trish knocking her down, only to have Becky climb back up for a top rope superplex and a huge crash for two more. Becky goes up as Trish goes for the door so Becky climbs down for the save.

Cue Zoey Stark to grab Trish’s arms but Becky pulls her back in….where Stark slams the door on her face. Not that it matters as the Manhandle Slam gets two, as Stark comes in for the save. Becky is back up and slams the door shut to fight both of them at once. A Manhandle Slam to Stark and a super Manhandle Slam to Trish are enough for the pin at 20:02.

Rating: B+. It was a heck of a fight and what matters is that it felt like the big blow of to the feud. That’s what it needed to be, as this feud has gone on long enough and it’s time for both of them to move on. As usual, Becky looks like a warrior who overcame the odds because very few can hang with her when she is at the top of her game. The Stark interference was a bit much but if that’s the only downside to the match, they did rather well.

Chelsea Green interrupts Adam Pearce over not being on the show so far. He has a highlight package about her though, which as you might expect, is her getting destroyed and humiliated in various ways. Green storms out and R-Truth comes in to say that was better than It’s A Wonderful Life.

Jey Uso talks about how things are a bit different this year because he doesn’t have the family around for the holidays. He got tired of fighting the Bloodline and went to Raw, where Sami Zayn made the transition that much easier. As for 2024, he just wants to be himself.

We look at Judgment Day’s 2023.

From Survivor Series.

Men’s WarGames

Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, Randy Orton
Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh, Drew McIntyre

There’s no Orton to start as they’re milking the heck out of this. Balor and Rollins start fast with Rollins diving right at him to get it going. Balor is sent into the cage a few times but slips out of the Buckle Bomb and hits a clothesline. Rollins is sent into the cage as well but comes right back with a Sling Blade. A running knee to the face puts Balor down as McDonagh comes in to give the villains control.

Kendo sticks are brought in as well and the double beating has Rollins down. McDonagh moonsaults from one ring to another to drop Rollins again and more kendo sticks make it worse. Uso evens things up and hammers away with right hands and kicks to the head. McDonagh manages a running Spanish Fly to Uso but he and Rollins are back up with stereo superkicks. The four of them split off as the clock runs down….and Priest tells McIntyre that he’s going in instead.

Priest comes in and is quickly double teamed but the numbers game gets him out of trouble. Some baton shots have the good guys in trouble, setting up Priest’s flip dive off the top. The beating continues until Zayn comes in, though only after slamming the door on Balor’s head. A table is brought in to clean house, including a Blue Thunder Bomb to Balor. McDonagh catches Zayn going up but gets knocked back down, leaving Zayn to pull out a pipe.

With things slowing down, McIntyre comes in to wreck a variety of people until Uso cuts him off with some right hands. A 1D cuts McIntyre down and it’s Rhodes in to even things up again. Rhodes pulls out a bullrope but Rollins wants to know if Orton is going to be here. Mysterio is in to complete the Judgment Day and loads up Three Amigos on Rhodes. The rest of the other team surrounds Mysterio though and the big beatdown is on fast.

The rest of Judgment Day gets up, with McIntyre and Priest hitting stereo moonsaults. Priest Razor’s Edges Rollins through a table as the clock expires….and here is Rhea Ripley with the Money in the Bank briefcase but heeeeeeeeere’s Randy, meaning WarGames is officially on.

House is quickly cleaned and we get the staredown with McIntyre as the fans are impressed. Orton and company start cleaning house, including the quintuple hanging DDTs. Hold on though as Jey and Orton have a staredown (remember the Bloodline put Orton out in the first place) but Jey takes a shot aimed at Orton. Back up and Judgment Day is beaten down, with McDonagh trying to run. That’s cut off and McDonagh is thrown down into the RKO. Cross Rhodes finishes Priest off at 34:21.

Rating: B+. This was a better match than the first, if nothing else due to the match not feeling like it was trying to stretch out time. The Orton return was the big moment, even if he didn’t exactly do much. There was a better story here and it was a heck of a fight, which is how WarGames is supposed to feel. Best match on the show here, which is a good sign given that it was by far the most important.

The winners pose…..and CM PUNK RETURNS! Punk comes to the entrance and hits IT’S CLOBBERIN TIME before hugging some fans to end the show. Well that’s quite the shock.

We look at the reactions to Punk returning and his appearances on Raw, saying he is home.

The hosts wrap us up.

Overall Rating: B. These shows are always weird to grade as they almost can’t have anything bad by default. It covered a lot of the major points of the Raw side of things for the year and that is kind o hard to do in three hours. For a Christmas night special though, this went rather well and that’s all I could have asked for given the circumstances.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 18, 2023
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We have about five weeks to go before the Royal Rumble and the show’s namesake match is starting to come together. That would be due to CM Punk and Cody Rhodes both declaring for the match, which serves as quite the great start. Other than that, it is time to add some things to the card, which might start tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Judgment Day to get things going. The team is ready to defend the Tag Team Titles against the Creed Brothers, who are in for the biggest night of their lives. For the team, it’s just another night at the office. Rhea Ripley threatens violence against Ivy Nile but here is R-Truth to cut off Dominik Mysterio. He didn’t know the team was opening the show off, even though he’s the newest member of the team.

Truth was hurt by the team both physically and emotionally, with JD McDonagh threatening more pain. Truth is ready to fight, like say in a Miracle On 34th Street Fight! McDonagh points out that the match was already announced, so Truth says we need to get started because 34th Street is a long way off. We’ll even make it a Loser Leaves Judgment Day match! Priest approves so let’s go.

R-Truth vs. JD McDonagh

Street fight so McDonagh grabs the candy cane kendo stick. That’s cut off so they fight to the floor, where Truth hits him with a Christmas tree. They head inside and we take an early break. Back with Truth fighting out of a chinlock and grabbing a table. That takes too long so McDonagh gets in a cheap shot, only to be sprayed with a fire extinguisher. The table is set up inside and Truth kicks him down to set up a Five Knuckle Shuffle. Truth puts him on the table and goes up, only to get caught by McDonagh. That’s broken up as well as Truth…kind of hugs him into something like a spinebuster through the table for the pin at 9:52.

Rating: C. This was the goofy match that you would have expected and there is nothing wrong with that. I could even have gone for more of the shenanigans with a bunch of silly weapons and Christmas decorations. It’s a Christmas tradition but it’s nice to have something important come out of the ending. Good opener here, even if it was the most basic of a street fight.

Dominik Mysterio knows that was bad, with a great “oh dang” face.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance are ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Woop wooping ensues.

Here is Nia Jax for a chat but Becky Lynch interrupts before she can say anything. Jax bails to the floor but Lynch thought she had something to say. Jax says she has more important things to do, though Lynch thinks the fans don’t care. The challenge is laid out, but Jax says no because she would break Lynch, who is the company’s money maker. Lynch calls out Jax being scared because she is always famous for being on someone’s back.

Jax is only famous for hurting Lynch and if they fight, she’s famous for being the one who lost to the best ever. The referee comes out but nah we’ll do this later, with Jax saying Lynch isn’t getting it now. We’ll do it in Jax’s hometown in two weeks at Day One. Lynch’s daughter is going to ask why her mom is uglier than usual so Lynch charges at her to start the quickly broken up fight.

Earlier tonight, Kofi Claus appeared to give fans presents.

Kofi Claus is in the back and asks DIY what they want. That would be the Tag Team Titles, but they’ll settle for a Jey Uso shirt instead. Miz comes in and they’re cool after last week, while Miz is ready to get the Intercontinental Title back.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending and this is Miz’s last shot at him. Miz gets powered down to start but comes up looking rather serious. Gunther gets a bit too cocky and gets pulled into a leglock, with Miz mocking the Imperium pose and cranking back. The rope is grabbed so Gunther heads outside, where he hits a hard chop and apron powerbomb as we take a break.

Back with Gunther hitting a big boot, sending Miz out to the apron. Miz’s comeback is cut off by a hard chop, meaning Gunther can call him a nobody. For some reason Miz tries to chop with Gunther and finds that to be a very bad idea in a hurry. The running corner clothesline works a bit better but Gunther pulls him out of the air. Miz gets dropped onto the top rope and Gunther chokes with a boot to send him outside again. This time the big chop hits post and we take another break.

Back again with Miz working on the hand and arm before grabbing a DDT. A tornado DDT gives Miz two and it’s time to stomp away at the hand. Gunther’s legs are fine enough to hit the shotgun dropkick and it’s the powerbomb into the Boston crab. The bad hand gives out though and Miz is able to make the rope for the save.

A quick Skull Crushing Finale gives Miz two of his own and the fans want one more. Gunther isn’t having that though and kicks him down, only to get caught on top. A middle rope Skull Crushing Finale connects but Gunther rolls out to the floor in a smart/soul crushing escape. Back in and Gunther hits a powerbomb into the hard clothesline into another powerbomb to retain at 21:12.

Rating: B+. We’re firmly at a point where it’s hard to imagine Gunther losing, but at the same time, people are getting closer and closer to taking the title. The good thing is that the matches are still awesome and that means it is going to be a heck of a moment when someone finally slays the beast. Gunther is primed for a main event run and the title has grown so much during his reign. At the same time, Miz is a great choice to put in this spot, as he is a successful enough to be a threat but isn’t going to be hurt by the loss. Awesome match.

Video on the Creed Brothers.

Post break Imperium applauds Gunther on his win but he’s tired of the two of them skating by. He’s going to take a few weeks off and he expects them to step up while he’s gone. With Gunther gone, Kofi Claus comes in with presents for both of them: coal! And it’s not even Michael!

Shinsuke Nakamura is sitting in front of a Christmas tree and reads us a special story: the American Nightmare Before Christmas. He doesn’t seem too fond of Cody Rhodes, calling him (in rhyme): a bastard, a cancer, a prancer a nitwit, vomit, stupid and the son of an inbred father. Merry Christmas to Cody, because Nakamura is his last fight. Then Cody jumps him and they fight into the arena. Cody beats him to ringside and takes out security but they break up a Cross Rhodes through the announcers’ table. Good fight, better rhyming.

Akira Tozawa tells Adam Pearce that he wants an unspecified match. With Tozawa down, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven aren’t happy that they have to defend their titles tonight. They leave, so Bronson Reed comes in to talk about an Intercontinental Title shot.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Kayden Carter/Katana Chance vs. Chelsea Green/Piper Niven

Green and Niven are defending. Carter headscissors Green on the mat to start so it’s off to Chance for a slingshot hilo. Niven comes in to run her over but a dropkick to the knee gives Chance a chance. The After Party is broken up by Green though and Niven runs both of them over as we take a break.

Back with Niven splashing Green by mistake, allowing Carter to hit a springboard spinning legdrop for two. Green’s Rough Ryder gets two and frustration is setting in. Niven crushes Carter but she’s back up with a heck of a superkick. The Keg Stand splash gets two with Green making the save this time. I’m Prettier is countered into a Codebreaker and the After Party gives us new champions at 9:37.

Rating: C+. It’s not the worst idea to change the titles as Chance and Carter are at least a regular team for a change. The titles have been a bit of a mess throughout their history and a lot of that is due to having teams thrown together. Odds are the title reign doesn’t last long, but at least it’s something fresh.

The Alpha Academy is warming up when Akira Tozawa comes in to say he’s facing Ivar. Chad Gable isn’t sure about this but we’re on anyway.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance are happy with their win so here is Kofi Claus to celebrate with them. Various other women think they should be the challengers as I still want to know what kind of cards Shayna Baszler has every week.

Akira Tozawa vs. Ivar

Maxxine Dupri and Valhalla are here too. Tozawa slugs away to start but his middle rope hurricanrana is pulled out of the air. A spike DDT plants Ivar, who crushes Tozawa to cut him off again. Ivar misses the top rope splash though and Tozawa does the Hulk Hogan shirt rip. The women get into it on the floor and Tozawa’s top rope backsplash gets two. Ivar kicks him in the head but the moonsault is broken up. Instead it’s a middle rope World’s Strongest Slam to finish Tozawa at 4:06.

Rating: C. This was better than I was expecting and I’ll take that most of the time. Tozawa can still go in the ring and when he isn’t making it clear that he is the designated comedy guy of the Alpha Academy, he can still be quite sold. Ivar winning is the right way to go, but at least he had to break a sweat for once.

Long video on CM Punk/Seth Rollins’ showdown last week.

Here is Iowa’s own Seth Rollins for a chat. Things have been heating up around here for him lately and now he is motivated to be the best World Champion in this industry. He’s ready to defend the title against Drew McIntyre in two weeks at Day One…so here is McIntyre to interrupt.

McIntyre says he isn’t here to fight because he likes what Rollins said to Punk last week. He got to go home a few weeks ago and it had him questioning if this was all worth it. Rollins, as well as his wife, know what it’s like to have to sacrifice all kinds of things to chase their dreams. McIntyre needs the title to know that the sacrifices, such as not being there when his mom passed away, were all worth it.

Rollins says no one knows how to feel about McIntyre because his words and actions haven’t lined up. He likes McIntyre wanting to do everything to be champion…except take responsibility. Rollins doesn’t hate McIntyre, because he pities him. The fight is on and it’s an Alabama Slam to put Rollins onto the steps. Rollins is holding his elbow as McIntyre leaves. There’s your story for the title match and that should be a good one.

Cody Rhodes gives the Creed Brothers a pep talk and they’re downright giddy.

Kofi Claus is here to give out more presents but Imperium jump him for a beatdown. Barrett: “IT’S NOT SANTA! IT’S KOFI KINGSTON!” Jey Uso runs in for the save and it seems to be a match.

Jey Uso vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Actually not a tag match for once. Joined in progress with Uso working on a headlock until Kaiser takes him down and hammers away. A reverse chinlock keeps Uso down and Giovanni Vinci’s cheap shot gets two. Kaiser knocks him outside and hits a running elbow as we take a break. Back with Uso enziguring his way out of trouble and firing off the dancing right hands. The running Umaga Attack gets two but a Samoan drop is broken up. Kaiser’s wind up DDT is broken up so Vinci gets in a cheap shot, only to have Kofi Kingston cut him off. A spear into the Superfly Splash finishes for Uso at 10:28.

Rating: C. A good chunk of that was cut off by the break but it was a fine middle of the road match with Uso getting a win. The bigger deal here is likely going to be Gunther wanting to deal with Imperium when he gets back and that is going to be a problem. Uso needs something to do though and it might be a bit before that gets to take place if he’s likely to be just another entry in the Royal Rumble.

JD McDonagh is….still in Judgment Day, at least for now, as Damian Priest isn’t allowed to make that kind of a decision. Rhea Ripley is going to deal with Ivy Nile at Day One so the rest of the team better handle their business tonight.

Here’s what’s coming in two weeks.

Tag Team Titles: Creed Brothers vs. Judgment Day

Judgment Day (Damian Priest/Finn Balor, with Rhea Ripley) are defending and Ivy Nile is here with the Creeds. Julius wrestles Balor down to start but the Creeds clear the ring to start. We take a break and come back with Brutus fireman’s carrying Balor down as Ripley isn’t pleased with any of this.

Priest tags himself in though and Julius is low bridged to the floor. There’s a ram into the steps (Ripley approves) but Julius kicks his way out of trouble back inside. Brutus comes back in to clean house, including a torture rack slam for two on Balor. Priest comes in off a blind tag though and kicks Brutus outside, setting up a heck of a Pounce over the announcers’ table.

We take another break and come back again with Brutus pulling Priest out of the air and eventually suplexing him down. Julius and Balor come in with the former snapping off the suplexes into the nip ups. A running shooting star press hits Balor but Priest breaks up the Brutus Ball. Balor and Julius hit a clothesline each, leaving Ripley and Nile to get in a fight.

The Brutus Ball gets two as Priest makes a last second save. Julius hits a running up the corner flip dive outside onto Priest before taking Balor to the top, only to have Priest make a blind tag. Instead it’s a Brutus Ball to Priest, with Balor making the save off a Coup de Grace. South Of Heaven finishes Julius to retain the titles at 16:13.

Rating: B. I’m fine with the Creeds not winning here as they’re not ready for their big moment just yet. They clearly have the skills to go a long way but putting them over two stars at this level might be a stretch too far. Judgment Day gets a nice win as they go into the new year, though I’m not quite sure who is going to be next for the titles at this point. DIY maybe?

Overall Rating: B. This show was carried by two matches and that is not a bad way to go. The main event and Intercontinental Title match were both very good and there was enough good stuff to get through the rest of the night. What matters the most here is setting things up for Day 1, as next week is a week off (all but announced at this point). That should set the stage for the Royal Rumble later in January and the table has been well set to set the table.

Results
R-Truth b. JD McDonagh – Middle rope slam through a table
Gunther b. The Miz – Powerbomb
Kayden Carter/Katana Chance b. Chelsea Green/Piper Niven – After Party to Green
Ivar b. Akira Tozawa – Super World’s Strongest Slam
Jey Uso b. Ludwig Kaiser – Superfly Splash
Judgment Day b. Creed Brothers – South Of Heaven to Julius

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Monday Night Raw
Date: December 11, 2023
Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

The big question this week is where CM Punk is going to sign, though that might not exactly be a huge surprise given how things have been going lately. Then again, Punk showed up at both Smackdown and NXT Deadline in the last few days so maybe things are a bit more complicated than they seem. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Drew McIntyre beating an injured Sami Zayn and then attacking him after the match. Later in the night, McIntyre attacked Jey Uso after Uso lost to Seth Rollins

Opening sequence.

Here is Jey Uso for a chat before his match with Drew McIntyre. Jey is happy to have YEET back and hopes Sami Zayn gets well soon. Last week, McIntyre showed that he was two faced so here is McIntyre to interrupt. McIntyre wants Nick Aldis to sign CM Punk to Smackdown because Punk will destroy the locker room. As for Zayn, McIntyre owes him an apology, which is something Uso doesn’t know how to give. Imagine if someone hurt your family. Wouldn’t you want revenge on them? Uso hasn’t given McIntyre one, so it’s time to fight.

Jey Uso vs. Drew McIntyre

Uso slugs away and the YEET chants are strong with this one. McIntyre gets knocked to the floor and we take a very early break. Back with Uso favoring his knee and getting knocked down in the corner. McIntyre runs him over again for a trip to the floor, only to miss the Claymore. Uso takes him out with a dive and we take another break.

Back again with Uso sitting on top and hammering away, only for McIntyre to sit up and belly to belly superplex him down. A top rope ax handle misses or McIntyre though and Uso gets two off the Samoan drop. The Claymore attempt is cut off with a superkick but the Superfly Splash hits raised knees.

McIntyre Futureshocks him for two but takes too long loading up another Claymore, allowing Uso to hit a spear for two of his own. A turnbuckle pad is ripped off and the referee goes to fix it, allowing McIntyre to poke Uso in the eye. Now the Claymore can finish for McIntyre at 17:10.

Rating: B-. Good, hard hitting opener here as Uso continues to get close to one of those big wins but comes up short again. McIntyre’s thirst for revenge continues and as usual, there is nothing that is actually going to satisfy him other than winning everything. That is a good way to go and we should be in for a nice run from evil McIntyre going forward.

We look at CM Punk’s trip to Smackdown, where he called out a bunch of people, including Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.

Shinsuke Nakamura says Cody Rhodes will never reach his dream and says Rhodes doesn’t respect him. Tonight, Nakamura will show that he is the real nightmare, which is what Rhodes wanted.

Judgment Day isn’t happy with what has been going on but they’re ready for the Creed Brothers. Rhea Ripley says talking about being the leader is easier than being the leader, which doesn’t sit well with Damian Priest. Tonight, Ripley is wrecking Maxxine Dupri.

The Creeds and Alpha Academy give Maxxine Dupri a pep talk when R-Truth comes in. He has Christmas lights to decorate Judgment Day’s clubhouse and wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Rhea Ripley vs. Maxxine Dupri

Non-title and Ivy Nile is here with Dupri. After we hear some Twitter advice for Dupri, Ripley starts with some clotheslines. Dupri runs away a bit but gets caught with Riptide. Instead of covering, Ripley yells at her a lot before finishing with the Prism Trap at 2:08.

Post match Nile has to save Dupri, with Ripley not seeming very worried.

Video on Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, who want the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Adam Pearce goes into CM Punk’s locker room.

Post break, Pearce brings out Punk for a chat. Punk talks about how happy these people make him but he has a decision to make. This town and this building hasn’t always been nice to him. He debuted in this building with Mickie James on his arm, which is when he got sent to OVW. That’s where he learned to love a lot of things and then he came back here….where Randy Orton kicked him in the head and was stripped of the World Heavyweight Championship.

Then he came here ten years ago and walked out, which hurt people who wanted to see him that night. Now, he has received offers from Nick Aldis and Shawn Michaels, but his mind was made up when he saw this show was in Cleveland. Ten years ago, he walked away in this town and he’s walking back in right here. Punk signs the contract….and here is Seth Rollins to interrupt.

They go face to face and Rollins grabs a mic to welcome Punk to Monday Night Rollins. He’s glad Punk is here, but Punk better not call this place his home. Punk walked out on this company and has spent ten years trying to tear it down. Rollins: “I hate you.” However, if Punk is going to be around, Rollins wants him on Raw.

This is Punk’s last chance so either Punk will self destruct like he always does, or if by some miracle there is some gas left in his tank, Rollins will show him what it means to be the best in the world. Punk: “Are you done?” Punk is here to make things difficult and he is officially entering the Royal Rumble. Once he wins, maybe he’s coming after Rollins. There’s the big step into what is all but guaranteed to be a major title match and they’re off to a good start.

Ivar and Bronson Reed are ready for each other.

Bronson Reed vs. Ivar

Valhalla is here with Ivar. Reed goes right after him to start and sends Ivar hard into the corner. Ivar elbows his way out of trouble and a collision sends them both out to the floor. Another collision on the floor gives us a double knockdown and we take a break. Back with Ivar hitting a spinebuster for two but missing a charge into the corner. Ivar knocks him to the floor for a big flip dive and Reed is down for a change. Back in and the moonsault is broken up, allowing Reed to hit a superplex for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: B-. There is something very fun about a hoss fight and that is what we had here, with a pair of monsters beating the fire out of each other. Reed winning is the right call as he has a brighter future, but Ivar has been right there as a heck of an opponent the whole time. Good stuff here, and points for not ending with a finisher for a surprise.

CM Punk meets Judgment Day, with Damian Priest threatening to use the Money In The Bank briefcase on Punk if he wins the World Heavyweight Championship.

Here is Judgment Day, minus Rhea Ripley, for a chat. Damian Priest, sounding rather angry, doesn’t want to have to remind everyone who they are. Finn Balor says all rise, with Priest putting everyone in the locker room on notice. The fans won’t let Dominik Mysterio talk, but here is R-Truth to interrupt.

Truth doesn’t know why the clubhouse is locked and thinks he hasn’t been invited to their holiday party. It’s ok though because he has some great ideas for the team. First up: kick out JD McDonagh! Second: Priest needs to stop calling himself the boss because Ripley doesn’t like it. Priest knows everyone here likes Truth…except Priest himself. The beatdown is on until the Creeds run in for a save to clear the ring.

CM Punk meets Drew McIntyre, who wants to finish the story. With McIntyre gone, Adam Pearce says McIntyre is getting the title shot against Seth Rollins on New Year’s Day. Some wrestlers come up to meet/greet Punk. Pearce wants to talk to the three of them (Kofi Kingston, Ricochet and Chad Gable) about the Intercontinental Title.

Kayden Carter/Katana Chance vs. Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven are on commentary. Hartwell runs Carter over to start but an assisted headscissors lets Chance take Hartwell down for a change. Everything breaks down and Hartwell spinebusters Chance, who is back with a basement superkick. The After Party finishes for Chance at 2:24.

DIY has a mystery partner to face Imperium, with Gunther coming in to say he doesn’t believe it.

Here is Becky Lynch for a chat about Nia Jax. They have never fought, but we see a clip of Jax breaking Lynch’s nose back in 2018, resulting in the still awesome shot of the bloody Becky posing in the crowd after beating up Ronda Rousey. Becky says it’s petty to bring it up now but she’s a petty person. They have gone on different paths, with Becky going on to main event Wrestlemania and Nia going on to double ACL surgery because Nia is so unlikable that her body won’t stand up for her.

Cue Nia to interrupt and say she is ready to fight. That punch in 2018 was a lucky punch, so imagine what would happen if she was aiming. Nia says Becky should owe her for her entire career, but Becky says it’s about what that night represented. Becky wants to prove that she is more than that but Nia says Becky really needs to prove that her career wasn’t a mistake. Becky is ready to fight so of course Nia walks away, saying Becky needs it more than she does. Nia? Still really bad.

Cody Rhodes understands that he and CM Punk have the same idea but they realize it can’t work at the same time. As for Shinsuke Nakamura, Rhodes knows that he had a heck of a career in Japan, but this is Cleveland. Heck, STARDUST debuted in this building! Rhodes is ready for tonight.

DIY/??? vs. Imperium

The mystery partner is….the Miz. Gargano and Vinci start but let’s go with Gunther instead. Gargano goes to tag Miz but Gunther drops him with a right hand to keep Gargano inside. Vinci comes in and gets clotheslined by Ciampa, only to have Gunther nail a big boot as we take a break.

Back with Vinci coming in for a running crossbody to Ciampa, who is so banged up he rolls to the Imperium corner. Ciampa is fine enough to roll over for the tag to Gargano and house is cleaned. The slingshot spear gets two on Kaiser as everything breaks down. We get the Miz vs. Gunther showdown with Miz getting the better of things and hitting a high crossbody.

Gunther cuts off the YES Kicks and grabs the Boston crab with Ciampa making the save. Gargano and Miz hit stereo tornado DDTs and Miz gets the Figure Four on Gunther. Gargano gets the Gargano Escape on Kaiser at the same time but Gunther, while still in the hold, tags Vinci, who makes the save. The Skull Crushing Finale finishes Vinci at 10:42.

Rating: C+. Miz vs. Gunther II is coming and while I know it might not be the most popular decision, I’m curious about how it could go. At the same time, there is also that group of three wrestlers who were in discussions about the title, which makes me think a big multi-person title match could be coming. That’s about as good of a way as possible to get the title off of Gunther, but for now, we had a nice six man tag to keep a pair of feuds going a bit past their expiration dates.

We look back at CM Punk signing with Raw and having his showdown with Seth Rollins.

Gunther yells at Imperium when Miz comes up, asking for another Intercontinental Title match. Gunther grants it, but this is Miz’s FINAL title shot while Gunther holds the title. Deal.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Cody Rhodes

Feeling out process to start with Nakamura working on a wristlock. That’s broken up and Rhodes knocks him into the corner for some right hands. Nakamura dumps him out to the floor though and we take a break. Back with Nakamura stomping away in the corner before we hit the chinlock.

That’s broken up so Nakamura grabs the cross armbreaker, sending Rhodes over to the ropes. Kinshasa is broken up and Rhodes grabs a half crab, with Nakamura quickly getting away. Rhodes nails a suicide dive to send us to another break and we come back with a double clothesline/knockdown.

They get up and slug it out until Nakamura pulls him into a choke. Rhodes slips out again and scores with the Disaster Kick for two. The Cody Cutter connects and Cross Rhodes is loaded up, only to have Nakamura slip out and spray Rhodes in the face with the mist for the DQ at 17:42.

Rating: B-. This got a lot of time but the ending should set up a rematch. I’m not big on a first match getting this much time and setting up a rematch but they do need something to fill in the next month and a half before the Rumble. For now, Rhodes has something to do and that is a good sign for him before he gets back into the World Title picture.

Post match the beatdown is on until the Creeds run in for the save. Referees check on Rhodes, allowing Nakamura to get in one more cheap shot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. After a week or two where it felt like they were just burning time until we got to something more important, this show set some things up for the future while advancing stories and giving us some good action at the same time. It was a solid use of three hours and the Punk vs. Rollins feud should be a heck of a match when we finally get there. For now though, they gave us good wrestling and enough stories being built to make this a worthwhile night.

Results
Drew McIntyre b. Jey Uso – Claymore
Rhea Ripley b. Maxxine Dupri – Prism Trap
Bronson Reed b. Ivar – Superplex
Kayden Carter/Katana Chance b. Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae – After Party to Hartwell
Miz/DIY b. Imperium – Skull Crushing Finale to Vinci
Cody Rhodes b. Shinsuke Nakamura via DQ when Nakamura used red mist

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: December 4, 2023
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re into the final month of the year and the big story coming out of last week is the return of both Randy Orton and CM Punk. You might be able to guess what is up first for the two of them and there is a chance we’ll find out some of that this week. In addition, Seth Rollins is defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Jey Uso. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Drew McIntyre to get things going. McIntyre calls Raw the land where you can do whatever you want, say whatever you want, leave and come back completely forgiven! Fans: “CM PUNK!” McIntyre: “Oh come on I could be talking about anybody!” McIntyre talks about how Jey Uso apologized to Randy Orton last week before moving on to Sami Zayn, his opponent for tonight.

Cue Zayn to interrupt, because McIntyre apparently has something to say to him. McIntyre says Zayn is the only one who deserved to be screwed over by the Bloodline. Zayn was part of the team and then screwed him over, so what was he expecting to happen? Zayn says he and McIntyre are nothing alike because Zayn turned a loss in front of his family into winning in the main event of Wrestlemania. Is McIntyre making his family proud? McIntyre wants a referee out here right now so here we go.

Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre

McIntyre powers him into the corner to start and fires him off with a belly to belly. Zayn sends him to the floor though and we take a break. Back with McIntyre whipping him towards the barricade, only to have Zayn moonsault off of said barricade for a knockdown. They go back inside where McIntyre runs him over, followed by a hard chop to put Zayn down again.

Zayn fights up and avoids a charge to send McIntyre into the post. Despite favoring something in his leg, Zayn manages a suplex and a tornado DDT gets two. McIntyre gets in a neckbreaker but gets sent outside. That means a slingshot dive from Zayn but McIntyre catches him in the air and sends him over the announcers’ table.

We take another break and come back again with Zayn getting two off a victory roll. McIntyre’s sitout powerbomb gets the same before taking Zayn up top. What looks like a super White Noise is countered into a super sunset bomb to give Zayn two and they’re both down. Stereo kicks to the face let Zayn get two off the Blue Thunder Bomb. The leg is too hurt to follow up though and McIntyre chop blocks him. The Claymore finishes Zayn at 20:06.

Rating: B. These two have had some good matches in recent weeks and that was the case again here. McIntyre didn’t so much cheat here as much as he capitalized on Zayn’s injury and that made for a good story throughout the match. McIntyre gets some momentum back after Survivor Series and you can almost guarantee he’ll be around for the title match tonight.

Shayna Baszler is ready to hurt Nia Jax. Again.

Video on Jey Uso, who wants his first singles title tonight. We look at his entire career, but before all that, it was just him, and now it’s time for him to get his own title.

Sami Zayn is getting his bad ankle looked at but here is Drew McIntyre to jump him again. McIntyre says Zayn brought this on himself and crushes the ankle under an anvil case.

Post break, Adam Pearce, a trainer and Jey Uso check on Zayn.

Nia Jax interrupts a Becky Lynch interview to ask about Becky wanting some fights. That would include Nia, who says she’s all Becky’s after Nia squashes Shayna Baszler.

Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler

Baszler kicks away but gets crushed in the corner. A running knee rocks Jax but she powerbombs her way out of an armbar in the corner. They go outside where Nia is sent into the post, only to come back with the legdrop over the ropes. We take a break and come back with Baszler fighting out of a neck crank but getting sent into the post.

A running hip attack sends Baszler into the post but she strikes away for the next comeback. Jax plants her with a Samoan drop, only to have Baszler come back with a running knee for two. A backsplash gives Jax the same but Baszler grabs a German suplex to break up the Annihilator. The Kirifuda Clutch goes on until Jax drops back onto her for the break. Now the Annihilator can finish Baszler off at 12:13.

Rating: C+. This was about what you would have expected, with Jax doing her power offense and Baszler striking away. It didn’t help that Baszler kept getting cut off every chance she had but at least she didn’t get squashed. The result is pretty much expected with Jax seemingly lined up for Becky Lynch, but this was a competitive match on the way there.

Post match Becky Lynch comes out and Jax bails in short order.

We look back at CM Punk’s return on Survivor Series and follow up on Raw.

Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae fire up DIY when Imperium (facing DIY in a 2/3 falls match tonight) interrupt. Some trash talk ensues and we’re ready to go.

DIY vs. Imperium

2/3 falls. Ciampa and Kaiser start things off and don’t do much of anything before it’s off to Vinci. A very fast running crossbody hits Ciampa and the rather cocky Kaiser can come back in for the armbar. Ciampa hits an enziguri and rolls underneath a clothesline for the tag off to Gargano. The pace picks way up and a slingshot spear to Kaiser looks to set up Meet In The Middle but Vinci makes a save. That’s enough for Kaiser to roll Ciampa up with tights for the pin and the first fall at 4:37.

DIY takes both of them down though and it’s a double clap as we take a break. Back with Kaiser flipping Gargano over for a faceplant, setting up the double running dropkick in the corner. The Imperium Bomb is loaded up but this time it’s Ciampa making a save, allowing Gargano to roll Vinci up at 10:12 overall to even things up.

Gargano rolls over to Ciampa for the tag as everything breaks down. A powerbomb/belly to back suplex combination (that’s a new one) gives Gargano two but Vinci is back in with a backbreaker. Another Imperium Bomb attempt is broken up with a hurricanrana so Vinci goes with a moonsault for two instead. The exchange of strikes to the face and a DDT to Vinci leaves all four down. A super White Noise hits Kaiser and, after taking out Vinci, Meet In The Middle finishes Kaiser for good at 15:09 overall.

Rating: B-. DIY needed this win and it feels like this should be the big blowoff to their feud. There is no reason for it to keep going and hopefully DIY can get somewhere off of the win. If nothing else, we should get Imperium having to explain themselves to Gunther and there is no way that is going to go well.

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven interrupt Tegan Nox and Natalya to mock their loss. Natalya says they’re still coming for the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

We look at the Creed Brothers becoming the new #1 contenders to the Tag Team Titles.

New Day praises the Creed Brothers when the Alpha Academy come in to offer the Creeds some training help. They seem impressed, which becomes even more impressed when Maxxine Dupri squats Akira Tozawa.

Judgment Day throws R-Truth Out and Damian Priest says he’s in charge since Rhea Ripley and Finn Balor aren’t here.

Kayden Carter/Katana Chance vs. Tegan Nox/Natalya

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven are on commentary. Nox spins out of Carter’s wristlock to start before Natalya comes in to run Chance over. It’s too early for the Sharpshooter so Carter suplexes Chance onto Natalya for two. That’s broken up and it’s Nox coming back in to pick up the pace. A Molly Go Round hits the illegal Carter so Chance takes her down. It’s back to Natalya, who powerbombs both of them out of the corner for two. Carter hits a basement suplex to Natalya, setting up an assisted spinning splash to give Chance the pin at 4:43.

Rating: C-. This was a rough sit as they didn’t have the best chemistry and the crowd was almost eerily silent. Chance and Carter tend to be mainly based around whatever fast paced and high lying moves they can do, but those spots have to work. This was more on the sloppy side and while I do like a more established team moving towards the titles, Chance and Carter really didn’t impress here.

Post match an annoyed Green gets on the apron, where a dropkick puts her back down.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. Rhodes doesn’t even hit the catchphrase before moving into a story of the first time he ever saw the poison mist. That was from the Great Muta, and now he has experienced it first hand from Shinsuke Nakamura. Now Nakamura has his attention so he can either explain himself, or they can fight right now.

A spotlight hits Cody and Nakamura pops up on screen to say they are part of the same story. They have both won the Royal Rumble but lost at Wrestlemania, sending them off a cliff. Now Cody is trying to get back there so Nakamura wants to take the story out of his hands. Cody says they aren’t the same and welcomes Nakamura to prove it.

We recap Sami Zayn’s ankle injury and Drew McIntyre attacking it further.

Jey Uso comes in to see Adam Pearce, who has no updates on Zayn. Uso is fired up for his title shot and leaves, with Gunther coming in to chat with Pearce.

Judgment Day vs. Creed Brothers

JD McDonagh/Dominik Mysterio for the team here and Ivy Nile is with the Creeds. Brutus takes Dominik down without much effort to start before grabbing a suplex. Rather than dropping Dominik, Brutus hands him to Julius or the suplex….as R-Truth is here, thinking he’s in Judgment Day. McDonagh comes in and gets taken down by the arm for his efforts. The Creeds take turns kneeing McDonagh in the ribs for two but the heels manage to send the Creeds outside.

McDonagh hits an Asai moonsault and we take a break. Back with Dominik stomping Brutus down in the corner but having his third Amigo blocked. Julius comes in for the suplexes into the nip ups, which always looks awesome. Cole: “I’ve never seen that before. Like, ever!” Last week man, last week. McDonagh’s attempt at a poisonrana is cut off but Dominik breaks up the Brutus Ball. Julius suplexes both of them down and Brutus Pounces Dominik onto the announcers’ table. Now the Brutus Ball can finish McDonagh at 10:49.

Rating: B-. The Creeds are on an absolute roll right now and giving them a win over some of Judgment Day before going after the champs is as logical as it gets. There is always a place for some amateur stars in WWE and having the Creeds out there mixing up their amateur skills with crazy athleticism is making things awesome. Not a great match here, but the Creeds continue to look good.

We look at Randy Orton signing with Smackdown.

Adam Pearce tells Seth Rollins that CM Punk is invited to Raw next week so Pearce can sign him to an exclusive contract. Rollins is fine with that but for now, he’s ready for Jey Uso. Cue Uso, who says he’s winning the title. Uso and Rollins threaten each other but seem to have respect.

Damian Priest yells at Judgment Day, with JD McDonagh blaming R-Truth but Dominik Mysterio saying the Creeds are the real deal.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Jey Uso

Rollins is defending. Feeling out process to start with an exchange of grappling not going to either of them. An early Stomp attempt misses for Rollins and Uso rolls him up for two as we take an early break. Back with Rollins hammering away and hitting a moonsault for two. The fans chant for CM Punk as Rollins gets two off a belly to back suplex. Uso is right back with a pop up neckbreaker for two of his own and they fight to the apron.

Rollins loads up the Buckle Bomb but gets DDTed to send us to a second break. Back again with Rollins hitting a dive, only to have Uso fight back and hit his own dive. They get back inside where stereo crossbodies leave both of them down. Uso wins a slugout but Rollins knocks him into the corner as the Punk chants start up again.

Uso fights back and hits the running Umaga Attack but Rollins hits a Sling Blade. The top rope splash gives Rollins two but Uso’s superkick into the Superfly Splash gets the same. Uso goes up again and takes too long, allowing Rollins to superplex him into the Falcon Arrow for two more. Rollins misses the Stomp though and gets speared down for two. The Buckle Bomb connects for Rollins but Uso is back with another spear into another Superfly Splash for two more. A third spear is countered into the Pedigree though and now Rollins can hit Stomp for the pin to retain at 23:00.

Rating: B. This felt like a big time title match and the two of them beat the heck out of each other. Uso was in over his head against Rollins but he put up a great fight. What mattered was making Uso feel like a major star and give Rollins a good win. Drew McIntyre won’t be happy with any of this and that should this all the way to the new year.

Respect is shown post match but here is Drew McIntyre to Claymore Uso. Rollins tries to make the save but gets dropped as well, allowing McIntyre to put Uso through the announcers’ table to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Other than a tag match that didn’t even last five minutes, there was nothing bad on this show, which was heavily focused on the in-ring aspect. I had a good time with this show, as they had a wrestling week with so much time to go before the Royal Rumble. Enough stories were moved forward this week and now I want to see where some of them go. The Rumble is still a long way off, but WWE didn’t screw anything up here and CM Punk being back next week should make it better.

Results
Drew McIntyre b. Sami Zayn – Claymore
Nia Jax b. Shayna Baszler – Annihilator
DIY b. Imperium 2-1
Kayden Carter/Katana Chance – Assisted spinning splash to Natalya
Creed Brothers b. Judgment Day – Brutus Ball to McDonagh
Seth Rollins b. Jey Uso – Stomp

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Monday Night Raw
Date: November 27, 2023
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

We’re done with Survivor Series and the big story is the return of CM Punk in a heck of a shocker. Punk returned at the end of Survivor Series and, while he didn’t actually do anything, the ans certainly remember who he is. Now the question is where things go from here, but we’ve got almost two months before the Royal Rumble. Let’s get to it.

Here is Survivor Series if you need a recap.

Opening sequence, with a new theme song.

Here is Randy Orton to get things going and yeah the fans still like him. Orton acknowledges that the fans seemed to miss him before talking about how he got into WarGames because of Cody Rhodes. Cody’s dad invented WarGames and he wanted to bring the three most dangerous letters in WWE into that match.

Cue Rhea Ripley to interrupt, with Ripley talking about how Orton doesn’t get that things have changed around here. The Judgment Day has replaced the Bloodline and are on top of the WWE. Orton is the reason Damian Priest didn’t get to cash in Money In The Bank and Orton needs to move away from the Judgment Day.

Orton says he’s been hearing about Mami for a long time now, but Ripley needs to understand that Daddy is back. Ripley says she gave him a chance so here are Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh (in a neck brace) to jump Orton. That goes as well as expected, with Orton saying he’s getting a match with Mysterio tonight.

Some teams in the Tag Team Turmoil are ready when Maxxine Dupri and Ivy Nile brings in country singer Jelly Roll. R-Truth comes in to not be sure who he is, leaving Akira Tozawa to dance a bit.

Tag Team Turmoil

For a future Tag Team Title match. Alpha Academy (Otis/Akira Tozawa) is in at #1 and DIY is in at #2, with Ciampa running Tozawa over to start. Gargano comes in and mocks Tozawa’s dancing, only to have a splash hit raised knees. It’s off to Otis to drop them both with running shoulders. A spinning elbow hits Ciampa and the Academy hit stereo Caterpillars. Otis is sent to the floor though and Meet In The Middle hits Tozawa for the pin at 3:08.

Indus Sher is in at #3 and they take Gargano down without much trouble. A missed charge into the corner lets Gargano grab a rollup for the fluke pin at 5:33 total. The Creed Brothers, with Ivy Nile, are in at #4 with Brutus grabbing a fireman’s carry on Ciampa. Julius comes in and gets caught with a quick shot, allowing the tag off to Gargano. The Creeds are sent outside in a heap before Julius comes back in to get kicked in the face.

Brutus breaks up Meet In The middle though, allowing Julius to lift Gargano into a powerbomb (from his knees, because of course he can do that). The Brutus Ball finishes Gargano at 10:09 total and it’s New Day in at #5. Woods takes Julius into the corner but has to grab a leg to keep him from getting away. That lets Kofi hit a top rope splash to the back but Julius is fine enough to power up with a suplex from the mat.

Brutus hits a standing moonsault into Julius’ standing shooting star press for two. Woods gets over to Kofi for the top rope double stomp/backbreaker combination but Kofi misses Trouble In Paradise. Instead Kofi hits a high crossbody on Julius, only to have him roll through for a fall away slam. Brutus moonsaults off the apron to take Woods down, setting up the Brutus Ball to pin Kofi at 17:23 total.

Imperium is in at #6 (last team) and Julius gets beaten down in a hurry. Kaiser is back up with a springboard spinning crossbody as Brutus is whipped into the announcers’ table. A spinebuster into a PK sets up the Imperium Bomb for two, with Brutus having to make the save. The tag brings Brutus in to clean house but Kaiser gets in a chop block. The nerve hold keeps Brutus in trouble but he fights up for stereo running boots.

That’s enough for the tag to Julius, meaning it’s the suplexes into the nipups to fire the fans up. A rollup with trunks gets two on Julius but he’s right back up. Another Brutus Ball is broken up by Vinci so the Imperial Bomb is loaded up. Julius runs up and steps on Vinci’s back (slipping off in the process) before jumping up top to superplex Kaiser down. Now the Brutus Ball can give the Creeds the pin and the title shot at 25:48.

Rating: B-. This got a lot of time and in this case that might have hurt it a bit. There were times when I was waiting on this to wrap up already and then it just kept going. The good thing is the Creeds won, as they should have, as they are already one of the best teams in WWE. With that kind of athleticism and teamwork, it’s hard to ignore how good they really are. Go with what works here, and give them the shot they deserve. They won over some good teams here and that just makes them feel all the better.

Finn Balor is worried about the Creed Brothers but Damian Priest doesn’t want to hear it right now. He knows they’re thinking about how he cost them WarGames but Balor tells him to relax. Priest and Balor are off to check on the banged up JD McDonagh.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. First up, he thanks every member of his team at WarGames for the win, including Randy Orton, who helped them win in his dad’s match. The other story was the return of CM Punk, which took everyone by surprise. People want to hear what he has to say but Cody wants to say welcome back.

With all of these stories taking place, Cody wants to make his own story….by declaring for the Royal Rumble. The lights go dim though and here is Shinsuke Nakamura, who says he has been patient with Rhodes for far too long. Cue Nakamura to mist Cody down as the target is revealed. That’s an interesting way to go and I could go for seeing where it heads next.

Bronson Reed vs. Ivar

Valhalla is here with Ivar. They trade the big clotheslines to start until Reed uses a running stomach shot to put him down. A seated senton out of the corner drops Reed but he’s right back with a suplex. Valhalla offers a distraction though and it’s a spinning kick to drop Reed as we take a break.

Back with Reed hitting a splash in the corner, setting up the rapid ire chops. They trade kicks to the face until Reed gets two off a backsplash. Ivar grabs a Tour of the Islands for two of his own but misses a moonsault. Valhalla’s distraction breaks up the Tsunami though and that’s good for an ejection. Ivar knocks him to the floor but Reed catches him coming off the apron…and drops him almost immediately. They fight into the timekeeper’s area and it’s a double countout at 8:35.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t wild on the finish but these guys had a big old hoss fight and that is all it was supposed to be. It’s kind of nice to not have one of them take a all here, even if the countout elt somewhat lame at the same time. There’s a good chance they’ll have a rematch where Reed wins, but Ivar did look solid here, as has been the case with him lately.

Post match Reed gives him a Death Valley Driver into the barricade, but Ivar is up in a few seconds for a chair shot to Reed. They keep fighting through security until they’re finally split up.

Shayna Baszler gives Zoey Stark a pep talk after her loss but here is Nia Jax to say she’s getting the Women’s Title. Baszler doesn’t want to hear it but Stark gets the match with Jax for later.

We look at CM Punk’s return, including some fan reaction videos.

R-Truth is in Judgment Day’s club house, eating some jelly rolls. He wants in on the WarGames match but is told it already happened. Truth: “Did you win? How did I do?” The one thing he does remember is that Randy Orton is back so they throw him out. JD McDonagh offers to take care of Truth.

Nia Jax vs. Zoey Stark

Stark strikes away but gets knocked out of the air on a springboard. She manages to knock Jax to the floor though and there’s a springboard dive to the floor. We take a break and come back with Stark fighting out of a torture rack but getting cut off with an elbow to the face. Stark goes after the knee, including crushing it with a Swanton. The Annihilator is broken up and Stark goes up top, only to get caught with a Samoan drop. The backsplash sets up the Annihilator to finish Stark at 9:02.

Rating: C+. That’s about what you would expect, with Stark fighting valiantly but coming up short against the monster that is Jax. You can only do so much against her as Jax is likely coming up on a title shot so for now it’s just racking up wins until they get somewhere with her. In Jax’s defense, she is moving a bit better than she was in her previous run so things could be a lot worse.

We look at Gunther retaining the Intercontinental Title over the Miz at Survivor Series.

Gunther isn’t happy with Imperium and wants them to deal with DIY. With the two of them off to deal with that, Miz pops in to say he heard Gunther say his next opponent needed to challenge him to his face. Well here is that challenger, which has Gunther laughing. Gunther praises Miz for bringing it on Saturday because he proved he belongs in the ring. Just not with Gunther.

Here is Seth Rollins for a chat. After saying that he is a visionary, Rollins wants to hear the CM Punk chants. Rollins isn’t impressed, but that’s all the time he wants to spend on Punk. Instead, we should talk about the title that he has built up for the last six months. Rollins isn’t feeling too good two days out from WarGames but he’s starting to get the itch to be a fighting champion again.

Cue Drew McIntyre to interrupt, saying he wants to shake Rollins’ hand after the match at WarGames. McIntyre bought into Judgment Day’s plan and now he has to put everything else behind him. All that matters is the World Heavyweight Title, but Rollins says beating McIntyre was the best thing that ever happened to McIntyre. That seems to work for McIntyre, who says he deserved the slap that Rollins gave him.

Rollins thinks McIntyre should get a rematch, but there are some people who deserve one more. The title will be on the line next week….against Jey Uso. And that isn’t cool with McIntyre, who drops him with a headbutt (possibly hitting the belt in the process and cutting himself open). McIntyre yells at him a lot but here is Jey for the save.

Post break, Sami Zayn comes up to Drew McIntyre and asks what is going on. Zayn has had his own issues but he keeps getting up instead of whining like McIntyre. Zayn knows the end of his road is winning the World Heavyweight Championship. McIntyre is already a two time champion and a monster. McIntyre doesn’t like the implication and a match is set up for next week.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Natalya/Tegan Nox vs. Chelsea Green/Piper Niven

Green and Niven are defending. Natalya easily takes Green down to start so it’s off to Niven. A missed charge sends Niven shoulder first into the post, allowing Nox to hit a PL. Natalya comes back in with a high crossbody and we take a break. Back with Natalya hitting a sitout powerbomb for two on Green and handing it back to Nox.

A Molly Go Round gets two on Green but Niven tags herself in. Nox doesn’t realize it and Codebreakers Green, allowing Niven to hit her with a backsplash. Everything breaks down and Green’s dive off the apron is cut off. Niven’s flip dive off the apron takes Nox and Natalay down at the same time. Back in and the basement crossbody gives Niven the pin at 8:40.

Rating: C+. They were trying and the match could have been a lot worse, but these belts have never felt valuable and that is still the case here. Would it have made that big of a difference if the titles changed hands here? Not particularly, as Natalya and Nox wouldn’t have had a bunch of challengers anyway. The action worked, but these titles really haven’t meant much in years.

Here’s what’s coming on next week’s show.

Randy Orton gives Jey Uso a pep talk and they seem to bury the hatchet.

Becky Lynch talks about going to war at Survivor Series but it’s time to move forward.

Randy Orton vs. Dominik Mysterio

Non-title and JD McDonagh is here with Mysterio. Orton starts fast and knocks him to the floor, setting up a heck of a backdrop as we take an early break. Back with Orton shrugging off Mysterio’s offense and snapping off a powerslam. The hanging DDT looks to set up the RKO but McDonagh pulls Mysterio outside. Hold on though as Jelly Roll stands up and shoves McDonagh down, allowing Orton to drop Mysterio onto the announcers’ table. Orton does it again before DDTing McDonagh. The distraction lets Mysterio hit a 619 but he takes too long, allowing Orton to come back with the RKO for the pin at 9:26.

Rating: C. Mysterio wasn’t so much a threat to Orton here as the first victim after his return at Survivor Series. Orton looked good in his singles return here, with all of the old signature stuff plus the bulked up frame. I’m not sure what is next for him, but there were worse ways to get his feet wet again.

Here is CM Punk for the big return speech. Punk says it looks like h*** froze over, because a Blackhawks an is being cheered in Nashville. That’s just him being himself but after Saturday, two words have been coming to him and he’s a little scared of how true they are. The truth is that he’s changed and now he’s home. He hasn’t been here in about ten years and the fact that the people who haven’t forgotten him is touching.

The voiceless found their voice and that is why he is back. He missed all of this and he wishes he could say he never should have left, but at one time a wise man told him he would have to leave to get everything he needed out of this place. Everyone has welcomed him back with open arms….well almost everybody. Some people are afraid that the brass ring is in his back pocket and they can’t grab it.

Some people are afraid that their best efforts at being the best in the ring, on the microphone or on commentary isn’t enough. The Best In The World is in this ring on Raw in Nashville and his nae is CM Punk. After the music starts playing, he says he’s here to make money instead of friends…and that’s it to end the show.

This wasn’t a promo with a lot of meat included, but it was more along the lines of “hey, I’m here again and still somewhat the same person”. They didn’t drop anything big here as it’s clear that Seth Rollins already has problems with Punk. They can develop something later, but they took a slower start here and that was kind of nice for a change.

Overall Rating: B. This show was all about having Orton and Punk back, which worked out well. Since they have so much time to go before the Royal Rumble, they were able to set things up slowly and get us ready for what is coming in the next few weeks. At the same time, Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura should be good and the Drew McIntyre issues are going to continue with Jey Uso getting the title shot next week. This wasn’t a great show, but it did what it needed to do at a slower pace.

Results
Creed Brothers won Tag Team Turmoil last eliminating Imperium
Bronson Reed vs. Ivar went to a double countout
Nia Jax b. Zoey Stark – Annihilator
Chelsea Green/Piper Niven b. Tegan Nox/Natalya – Basement crossbody to Nox
Randy Orton b. Dominik Mysterio – RKO

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 7, 2008
Location: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

It’s probably not a good sign that I haven’t done one of these in so long that I barely remember what is going on. The big story is CM Punk cashing in Money In The Bank last week on Edge to win the World Heavyweight Championship, bringing a World Title to Raw. We’re also on the way to the Bash and that is going to need a card. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Punk winning the title and his first title defense against JBL last week. JBL declaring martial law is not exactly the most interesting idea, and John Cena/Cryme Tyme seem to agree.

Stephanie McMahon asks everyone to pull together in Vince McMahon’s absence.

Here is Vickie Guerrero in the ring to get things going. She is here to protest CM Punk being the World Heavyweight Champion and is not leaving until the title is surrendered to her. An apology is demanded and here is Punk to respond. Vickie yells at him and says Edge is so close to falling apart that he has called off their wedding! Punk says he probably did them a favor and explains the Money In The Bank concept. Maybe Vickie can find someone cute on Smackdown, like the Great Khali! Vickie stands up and slaps him, so Punk wheels her into the corner.

Cue JBL in his limo to interrupt and say Punk’s reign is coming to an end. JBL challenges for the title, saying Vince McMahon would give him the shot. Punk brings up that Vince isn’t here, but John Cena certainly is. Cena mocks JBL for blaming a variety of things on not being champion and doesn’t really want to hear about it. Maybe Cena should listen to Punk, who shakes Cena’s hand.

In reality, there is no one in charge around here, so we need to figure out Punk’s next challenger. Cena thinks he and JBL should have some kind of #1 contenders match, but here is Batista who wants in as well. Batista says Punk deserves the title after last week and also says hi to Vickie, who made him miserable on Smackdown. He feels sorry for her…but nah, because he really can’t stand her.

As for the title, Punk cashed in after Batista took Edge out but JBL cuts Batista off instead. Cena calms things down by suggesting a triple threat #1 contenders match tonight. JBL doesn’t like it so Cena says that means JBL is out entirely. That gets JBL in the triple threat, but now it’s Kane interrupting. He wants in too so Punk thinks we have a fatal four way. And that’s finally it!

Rey Mysterio vs. Santino Marella

Rey sends him into the corner to start but a faceplant gives Marella a breather. A camel clutch is broken up but Rey misses a 619, only to knock Santino down without much effort. Rey hits a jumping double stomp of all things and the 619 into the top rope splash gives Rey the fast pin.

CM Punk is…interrupted when a light falls down. Anyway, he’ll face anyone but Snitsky of all people comes in to say he wants a fight. Works for Punk.

John Cena and Mickie James are talking about last night when Kelly Kelly comes up to talk about their tag match. Cena is amazed that Kelly got out of her ECW contract, but apparently it didn’t exist.

Kelly Kelly/Mickie James vs. Jillian Hall/Layla

Jillian grabs Mickie’s arm to start and is quickly pulled into a headlock. Kelly comes in with a sunset flip for two and a hurricanrana gets the same. Layla gets in a cheap shot though and Jillian rams Kelly’s face into the mat over and over. They go to the corner and Kelly manages a victory roll for the fast pin.

Rating: C. This was about all you could expect from this match as Mickie was barely involved. It seems that Kelly might be the next in line to get a push but she is going to need a lot of work in the ring to really make that happen. She has to start somewhere though and the whole gymnast thing can get her at least a few steps forward.

Here is JBL’s limo…with JBL walking beside it. He can’t open the doors….so here is John Cena, holding a crowbar, to pop out instead. Cena says Louisiana has strict laws involving limousines and this one will never pass inspection. Fortunately for JBL, Cena knows two guys who can help get parts quick. We hear about some of those limo laws, with Cryme Tyme (carrying some large bats/pipes) helping to fix the limo up a bit. One more thing though: it needs a custom paint job! Spray painting ensues as a bonus. Cena: “Fine work by the Cryme Tyme Body Shop. It is sure worth the drive.”

We look at the cash-in again.

CM Punk vs. Snitsky

Non-title. Punk strikes away to start but dives into a bearhug, allowing Snitsky to drive him into the corner. Snitsky’s elbow gets two and the bearhug goes on again. More strikes get Punk out of trouble again and the running knee in the corner sets up a bulldog. The GTS gives Punk the pin.

Video on Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho, with Michaels’ eye being heavily damaged.

Here is Michaels to say he accepts Jericho’s challenge for the Great American Bash. Cue Jericho with Lance Cade, with Jericho saying he knew Michaels would accept. Michaels can’t help himself because all of the beatings haven’t taught him anything. Now Michaels is going to get beaten up again, even though he’s just another legend fighting for one more chance. Does Michaels want to be a martyr for all of these people? Are they going to pay for him if he loses everything?

Like every other martyr, Michaels is going to be swept underneath the rug and forgotten. Michaels talks about how he could leave wrestling today and be remembered forever. No matter what he has done, the fans seem to keep giving him a pass. Jericho doesn’t think that’s fair, but Michaels talks about what Jericho has done in his career. In spite of all that though, Jericho will never have peace because he will never be Michaels. And there’s the core of the story and that makes the story so much better.

Kofi Kingston vs. Charlie Haas

Non-title. Haas grabs a headlock to start but can’t get very far as Kofi strikes away. A cravate with knees to the face have Kingston down for two and we hit the chinlock. Kofi fights up with some dropkicks into the Boom Drop and the spinning kick to the face finishes Haas off in a hurry.

Rating: C. Not much to this one as they only had a few minutes. It doesn’t help that Haas hasn’t meant anything in a long time now so there was only so much drama about anything happening. I’m sure Kingston will get an opponent worthy of a title shot soon enough, but that isn’t Haas right now and they didn’t treat him as anything else.

Post match Paul Burchill runs in and lays Kingston out.

Batista is walking….and a fan randomly runs in to do his pose before running off again.

Batista vs. John Bradshaw Layfield vs. John Cena vs. Kane

For the World Title shot at the Great American Bash. The brawl starts fast with JBL booting Cena down for an early two. All four of them slug it out and we take an early break. Back with Kane elbowing Cena in the face and ripping at said face in the corner. Batista hits a spinebuster for two on JBL with Kane making the save and planting Batista with a chokeslam. JBL breaks up the FU to Kane and everyone is left down.

It’s Cena up first to clean house, including an FU to Batista for two. We take another break and come back again with Kane breaking up the Shuffle to JBL. Batista starts cleaning house and kicks a downed Kane in the face. The Clothesline From JBL hits Batista but Cena pulls JBL into the STFU. That’s broken up so Cena and JBL double team Kane down. Everyone but Cena fight to the floor, with Kane knocking JBL over the barricade. Back in and Batista spears Kane for the fast pin and the title shot.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t some kind of a classic or anything but they kept things moving here and it made for an entertaining match as a result. I had fun with this and giving Batista the title shot is an interesting way to go. Punk vs. JBL isn’t interesting, Cena would be an overwhelming favorite over Punk and Kane doesn’t feel like a World Title challenger. That leaves Batista as the just right choice and he got there in an entertaining fight.

Post match Batista leaves so Kane can snap and beat up people working at ringside. Kane yells at commentary and drags Cole inside, telling Cole to ANSWER ME. Jerry Lawler chop blocks Kane to save Cole but gets beaten up to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. They don’t have much time to get ready for the Great American Bash at this point so moving rather quickly like this is a good idea. The World Title match is now set and Michaels vs. Jericho got a nice boost. This show felt like it got some things done in the span of two hours and that is not something you often see with Raw. Good enough show here, as the Bash is coming together rather quickly.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 20, 2023
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

It’s the final Raw before Survivor Series and that means WarGames needs an advantage. As luck would have it, that’s the big featured match this week as a member from each team will face to see who gets the advantage at Survivor Series. Other than that, it’s probably going to be a lot of final pushes towards the show so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s main event, where Drew McIntyre cost Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso the Tag Team Titles as part of an alliance with Judgment Day. Cody and pals are going to need some backup of their own.

Here is Drew McIntyre for a chat, saying he isn’t Dominik Mysterio so the people will listen to him talk. No one is more upset about what he did last week than he is. If you turned on him, you were never a fan in the first place and he doesn’t care about you. Last week he looked Jey Uso in the face and then laid him out, which is more than Jey ever did for him. Yeah Cody Rhodes was caught in the crossfire but Cody brought Jey to Raw. McIntyre rants about Clash At The Castle again before clarifying that he has NOT joined Judgment Day but he’ll team with them at WarGames.

Rhea Ripley let him have Jey in a cage…and here is Jey to interrupt. Jey says McIntyre needs to let it go but here is Judgment Day to back things up. Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn come out to even a lot of this up but Adam Pearce says WarGames is on Saturday. If anyone throws the first punch, their team automatically loses the advantage. Pearce says Cody and company need a fifth team member tonight and by 9:00 (about 50 minutes from now), they need to decide on their participants in the advantage match.

Post break, Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley chat about Drew McIntyre being added to the team. Priest likes the move, but she should have consulted with him because he’s the leader going into WarGames. Ripley gets that and they seem cool. Priest also thinks he should be in the advantage match, but she says they should wait for Drew. Works for Priest as well.

Nia Jax vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Rodriguez charges into the corner and hammers away to start but a release Rock Bottom puts her back down. Jax is knocked outside but manages a posting as we take a break. Back with Jax grabbing a chinlock until Rodriguez powers up. Her back gives out though and Jax hits a backsplash to crush her again. The Annihilator is countered into a powerbomb attempt but the back gives out a second time. Now the Annihilator can finish for Jax at 9:03.

Rating: C. The commercial in the middle hurt this a good bit as we really just saw a bunch of Jax cutting Rodriguez off and then sitting on her chest for the pin. That’s the kind of monster Jax is and in theory it’s setting up a showdown with Ripley for the title. While that might make sense on paper, it doesn’t make for the most interesting match as Jax is….well she’s Jax.

Video on Xia Li.

Judgment Day, now with Drew McIntyre, has a chat about the advantage match. McIntyre and Damian Priest don’t see eye to eye on this, but Priest eventually relents. Priest even tells McIntyre to go show his worth.

We look at how the women’s WarGames match was set up.

Cody Rhodes and company aren’t sure who should face Drew McIntyre but Jey Uso wants to hurt him most and gets the match. With that out of the way, they still need a fifth member and apparently Smackdown guys are NOT off limits. Cody has an old friend he can call as well.

Becky Lynch vs. Xia Li

Lynch takes her down without much trouble to start and snaps off some armdrags. Li gets in a shot in the corner but Lynch sends her outside without much trouble. A kick to the face knocks Lynch off the apron though and we take a break. Back with Lynch unloading with forearms and managing to knock her into the corner.

The Bexploder gets two but Li is back with a spinning kick to the back for two of her own. The Manhandle Slam is blocked so Lynch goes for a cross armbreaker but Li slips out again. Li grabs something like a torture rack airplane spin for a crash and two, followed by some choking in the corner.

Another trip to the top is countered into a superplex to give Lynch two more, with Barrett saying this is a Wrestlemania main event. No. The Manhandle Slam is blocked and Li manages the big spinning kick to send Lynch outside. Lynch is back up and gets in a posting but the both beat the count back in. A quick Manhandle Slam finishes for Lynch at 13:38.

Rating: B-. While I wouldn’t have had a #1 contender to the NXT Women’s Title take a clean loss, Li got in a lot here and made Lynch work for it. There isn’t much shame in losing to Lynch, though it would have been nice to not do it the night before Li challenges for the title. Anyway, good match here and pretty easily the best of Li’s career.

Post match Damage CTRL and the rest of Becky’s team come in for the brawl until referees break it up.

Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci argue in the back, with Kaiser telling him to stay here while Kaiser takes care of Johnny Gargano.

Video on Zoey Stark.

Ludwig Kaiser vs. Johnny Gargano

Tommaso Ciampa is here with Gargano. Kaiser chops away in the corner to start but Gargano snaps off a running hurricanrana. They trade kicks to the head in the corner with Kaiser being knocked outside. Gargano’s big dive is cut off though and we take a break. Back with Kaiser punching One Final Beat out of the air but getting caught with the slingshot spear instead.

Gargano kicks him in the head and grabs a middle rope spinning Downward Spiral for two more. The rolling kick to the head is cut off and a tilt-a-whirl faceplant gives Kaiser his own near fall. A Death Valley Driver connects on Gargano but here is Giovanni Vinci to distract Kaiser. Said distraction lets Gargano hit One Final beat for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C+. The back and forth between these guys continues but the issues for Imperium are making things more interesting. While Gunther doesn’t need them to win, the underlings having their own problems might come back to cause him trouble later on. For now though, I can go with Gargano winning, though unless DIY wins the blowoff match between the teams, it might not matter much.

Earlier today, a bunch of teams argued over the next Women’s Tag Team Title match so it’s a four way #1 contenders match tonight. Chelsea Green is going to call Nick Aldis about this. Adam Pearce: “Tell him I say hi.”

Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio run into Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark, sitting in the Judgment Day’s clubhouse. Stark loves all of the decorations, especially the Women’s Title. Ripley kind of respects the guts it took to do this, but the beating is coming at Survivor Series.

Candice LeRae/Indi Hartwell vs. Tegan Nox/Natalya vs. Maxxine Dupri/Ivy Nile vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven are on commentary. Natalya and Nile start things off as Green things Cole’s first name is Matthew. Nile dropkicks Natalya into the corner and hands it off to Dupri, who actually takes Natalya down. Nile comes back in and gets Russian legsweept but Hartwell tags herself in to take over.

The rapid fire tags continue and everything breaks down, with Chance and Carter taking over. Nox and Natalya are sent outside so Carter can dive onto a bunch of people. Dupri hits her own dive and poses as we take a break. Back with Chance striking away at Natalya, who Michinoku Drivers her for two.

Nile powerbombs Nox and Natalya out of the corner, allowing Carter to flip Chance onto both of them for two more. Maxxine comes in to clean house, setting up a Caterpillar to Nox. A bridging suplex gives Maxxine two so Nile and Maxxine hit a double suplex to drop Nox again. Maxxine goes up top for a high crossbody but Nox rolls through for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: C+. This was pretty much all about Maxxine and she did well enough as the fun star who is playing above her skills. I’m not sure I would have had her take the pin when there were so many others out there, but at least Nox and Natalya have a bit of a history together. The action was what you would expect for a four way tag match, but at least one of the better (I guess?) options won.

Gunther isn’t pleased with Ludwig Kaiser and thinks maybe he should have put Giovanni Vinci in charge instead.

A bunch of tag teams argue over who should get a Tag Team Title shot so Adam Pearce makes Tag Team Turmoil for next week. Akira Tozawa comes in for the comedy. With the teams gone, Nick Aldis pops up to talk with Pearce.

Here is Miz for a chat about Gunther. Miz has been called the underdog…and here is Gunther to interrupt. Gunther doesn’t like him and doesn’t think anything of Miz, but Miz talks about the past Intercontinental Champions he loved as a kid (Savage, Michaels, Rude, Hart). He worked and tried for twenty years to become what they were because they’re memorable and not a one note robot like Gunther.

Miz will do whatever it takes to survive and win because that is what he does. He is tired of the disrespect and is ready to beat a lesson into Gunther. That sounds good to Gunther, but he sees it differently. Miz was a fan who got made fun of because he loved wrestling so he tried to get into the business. Then other wrestlers bullied him because he doesn’t belong in this sport. Instead, he belongs behind the barricade with other weirdos like these people.

The fans chant USA, which Gunther mocks before saying Miz hasn’t been bullied enough. Gunther gets in his face and tells Mike to stand up for himself so Miz slugs away…and is promptly booted down. Gunther mocks him with the title so Miz kicks him low and hits the Skull Crushing Finale. Cole: “DO IT FOR ALL OF US WEIRDOS MIZ!” This was a heck of a promo battle as Miz can still talk with just about anyone. You don’t get that from Gunther very often but he more than held up his end here and sold the story of the match.

Seth Rollins gives Jey Uso a pep talk.

Ivar and Valhalla want revenge on Bronson Reed next week.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Chad Gable

The rest of Alpha Academy is here too. They go with the grappling to start until Nakamura kicks him into the corner. Gable fights back up and dumps him to the floor as we take a break. Back with Nakamura in control and grabbing a chinlock. That’s broken up so Nakamura elbows him into the corner and hits a kick to the face for two.

Kinshasa is countered into Chaos Theory for two and a dragon suplex drops Nakamura again. Gable’s moonsault hits raised boots but he’s able to get the ankle lock. Nakamura makes the rope as Cole says Kurt Angle made the ankle lock famous. Back up and Gable has to stop himself from going into an exposed buckle, allowing Nakamura to roll him up for the pin at 12:22.

Rating: B-. there are instances where you know a match is going to be good if the people involved are given the chance to make it work and that was the case here. Gable as a more serious amateur style wrestler works well and Nakamura’s striking balanced it out nicely. They had a good match as Nakamura’s star continues to rise, though I have no idea where they’re going with him.

Damian Priest tells Drew McIntyre to not blow it.

Bronson Reed is in for next week because Ivar is a cosplayer instead of a true warrior.

Survivor Series rundown.

Video on WarGames.

Sami Zayn couldn’t get anyone from Smackdown, but Cody Rhodes’ friend answered the phone and he’s in. His partners are thrilled.

Jey Uso vs. Drew McIntyre

For the WarGames advantage. They slug it out to start with McIntyre getting the better of things. An elbow to the face gives McIntyre two but Uso fights back and they head outside as we take a break. Back with McIntyre slugging away in the corner but getting kicked in the head for his efforts. A high crossbody gives Uso two and they head outside again, this time with McIntyre ramming him into various things.

Uso’s head gets crushed against the post and McIntyre gets to taunt him a bit. McIntyre tosses him over the announcers’ table and we take a break. Back again with Uso taking McIntyre down as Cole goes over the rules of WarGames. Uso misses a discus lariat though and gets neckbreakered down. The Claymore is cut off by a superkick to give Uso two but McIntyre is back with Futureshock for the clean pin at 18:34.

Rating: B-. Well that was abrupt. The match went long and then just ended with a clean pin. It’s not a bad thing but you see it so rarely that it’s almost hard to process. The villains getting the advantage is WarGames 101 though and thankfully WWE understood that this year. Good main event, though it never really got to a higher level.

Post match Judgment Day comes in for the beatdown but Cody Rhodes and company come in with chairs for the ring clearing save. Cody gets the mic and says they have a fifth member. It’s someone Cody has a LEGACY with (the fans really like that one) and no they’re not prey, because they have the APEX PREDATOR.

You’re not just hearing voices inside your head because the people are right. And…..no one comes out to end the show. I guess that’s about as much of a confirmation as you can get, but Cody never said a name. Granted saying the people are right is about as much of a guarantee as you can get, but that was a really weird ending.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not sure what to think of this show as this was about two parts of the same WarGames match. They covered the advantage, but they only kind of covered the fifth member reveal. I mean, unless there is some huge swerve coming at Survivor Series they’re fine, but it wasn’t exactly a smooth ending. The rest of the show was pretty much right in the middle, without much stuff that really mattered. Miz and Gunther were good, but this was about WarGames and what we got was a bit off. Then again, none of that matters after Saturday and the show is built up well enough.

Results
Nia Jax b. Raquel Rodriguez – Annihilator
Becky Lynch b. Xia Li – Manhandle Slam
Johnny Gargano b. Ludwig Kaiser – One Final Beat
Natalya/Tegan Nox b. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance, Maxxine Dupri/Ivy Nile and Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae – Rollup to Dupri
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Chad Gable – Rollup
Drew McIntyre b. Jey Uso – Futureshock

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