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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NXT
Date: November 28, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re in the final week of the Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches with Jerry Lawler as the guest picker this week. In addition to that, with about a week and a half to go before Deadline and the rest of the card could use some more firming up. That should come this week with the NXT Title match hopefully getting some extra attention. Let’s get to it.

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

Tag Team Titles: Tony D’Angelo/Stacks vs. Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza

D’Angelo and Stacks are defending and it’s a brawl in the aisle to start. We settle down with D’Angelo beating up Carrillo, including a belly to belly for two. Garza gets in a cheap shot though, allowing Carrillo to hit a springboard spinning kick to the head. A tackle gets D’Angelo out of trouble though and Stacks comes charging in, only to get caught in the wrong corner. Stacks fights out and hits an uppercut into a German suplex from D’Angelo. The PowerPlex is cut off though and a double slam off the top rope drops Stacks as we take a break.

Back with Stacks fighting out of trouble and handing it off to D’Angelo as everything breaks down. Everything breaks down and a spinebuster gives D’Angelo two on Carrillo. A distracted referee lets Garza hit Stacks low, setting up a Jay Driller for two, with the kickout hitting Garza low as well. D’Angelo comes back in with the Bada Bing Bada Boom to retain at 12:25.

Rating: B-. It’s nice to see the champs get a win, though Garza and Carrillo felt like they could have gotten the title shot at Deadline, or at least been more than challengers of the week. I’m not sure who is up next for the champs but they looked good enough here. The tag division has a lot of teams but I’m not sure how many of them I can imagine being serious threats to the belts right now.

Some wrestlers aren’t sure if Ilja Dragunov’s success equal up to all the things Baron Corbin has. Dragunov comes in and doesn’t seem to appreciate Nathan Frazer’s take on things. Dragunov knows how to fix this.

Jerry Lawler picks Eddy Thorpe vs. Bron Breakker and Kelani (which sounds like it was dubbed in) Jordan vs. Kiana James for Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches.

Video on Johnny Gargano.

Josh Briggs is fired up for the Iron Survivor Challenge but Lexis King comes in to take some credit for his success and, after slightly hitting on Fallon Henley, mocks Brooks Jensen. King vs. Jensen is set for later.

Nikkita Lyons is back in training and is here tonight.

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Kiana James vs. Kelani Jordan

James stomps away in the corner to start but Jordan dropkicks her way out of trouble. A headlock slows James down on the mat until she grabs the hair to escape. They head outside where Jordan is dropped onto the announcers’ table and we take a break. Back with James snapping off a spinebuster but Jordan grabs a Playmaker for two. James hits a quick 401k….but Roxanne Perez pops in to ring the bell. That’s enough of a distraction for Jordan to knock James down and hit the split legged moonsault for the pin at 10:15.

Rating: C+. I’m still not entirely sure why James vs. Perez is continuing but that’s what we’re getting out of this one. Jordan continues to feel like a long term project for NXT and that is not a bad idea. She’s athletic and can do well enough in the ring but is lacking experience. Get that through to her and they could have something.

Video on Cameron Grimes.

The Alpha Academy isn’t happy with what happened in the Heritage Cup match last week and now they want revenge. That can come in a six person tag next week.

NXT Anonymous has released a video showing Lexis King following Trick Williams on the night of Williams’ attack. We don’t see King do anything physical though.

We get a press conference from Chase U, with Andre Chase talking about the ongoing investigation. There are allegations of gambling and misusing funds, leaving the university in debt. Chase says it’s all true and he’ll do whatever he can to get things back on track. He takes some questions but won’t say how much he owes. It’s all his fault and he’ll address the student body at the next assembly. Well that’s rather specific and again I’m not sure how smart it is to have Chase get in trouble when the team was as popular as they have been.

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Eddy Thorpe vs. Bron Breakker

Thorpe has taped up ribs. Breakker slams him down to start and grabs a quick gator roll. Something like a powerslam puts Thorpe on the floor, where Breakker sends him into the barricade. A fireman’s carry gutbuster has Thorpe in more trouble and we take a break. Back with Thorpe slipping out of a torture rack and striking away but getting whipped hard into the corner. Thorpe fights back with some suplexes but Breakker spears him down for the pin at 10:13.

Rating: C+. It’s not much of a surprise that Breakker, one of the most successful stars in the history of NXT, was able to get into the big #1 contenders match. This was actually a bit better than I was expecting, as Breakker had a target with the ribs and focused on it. Sometimes it’s fine to go as basic as you can and that’s what they did here.

Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes are ready for revenge on Lexis King but Williams says they can wait for after the Iron Survivor Challenge.

The women’s locker room breaks into a fight over next week’s Last Chance matches to qualify for the Iron Survival Challenge.

Video on Bronson Reed.

Ilja Dragunov vs. Nathan Frazer

Non-title and Dragunov explodes on him to start. Frazer gets knocked hard into the corner to start before Dragunov grabs a waistlock. Frazer is back up with a hard shot of his own into a springboard missile dropkick to put Dragunov down for a change. The phoenix splash misses though and Dragunov hits a powerbomb into the H Bomb…but pulls up at two. Another H Bomb finishes Frazer at 5:26.

Rating: C+. That was a bit weird as Dragunov more or less squashed him. Frazer isn’t a major star but he’s big enough that he should be able to make Dragunov work a bit. That being said, it takes Dragunov look like more of a killer to run through Frazer like this so well done on boosting up the champion.

Post match Baron Corbin pops up on screen to mock Dragunov, who he will meet face to face next week.

Lyra Valkyira knows all of the challenges that could come out of the Iron Survivor Challenge. Fallon Henley pops in to say she’s going to win but someone (Tatum Paxley maybe?) appears from behind the curtains to say Valkyria would beat Henley anyway.

Karmen Petrovic talks about how martial arts teach you to trust your instincts. Her instincts tells her to beat up Arianna Grace.

Meta Four is in for the match with Alpha Academy.

Joe Gacy is underneath the ring because he’s beneath us and wants our attention.

Karmen Petrovic vs. Arianna Grace

Grace powers her into the corner to start and offers to let Petrovic kiss the ring. Petrovic is right back and offers to let Grace do the same. A rollup gives Petrovic two….but here is Joe Gacy from underneath the ring to steal the ring bell. We take a break and come back with Grace bouncing Petrovic’s head off the mat, setting up a chinlock. Petrovic fights up and grabs a choke but Grace goes to the eye. A fireman’s carry slam finishes Petrovic at 9:06 (without a bell because Gacy has to be a thing).

Rating: C. Grace needed to win here as she has been presented as someone who could become a player but hasn’t really gotten much momentum going yet. Beating Petrovic only has so much value but it’s better than not winning. I’m still not wild on Grace as the pageant queen as it isn’t a great idea, though it should do for now.

Gacy rings the bell in the crowd.

Wes Lee is ready for all of his opponents tonight because he needs to go to Deadline and get the North American Title back.

Brooks Jensen vs. Lexis King

Jensen starts fast with a rolling kick to the head and they’re already on the floor for a slugout. We take a break and come back with King hammering away as Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes watch in the back. Hayes goes to deal with something as King grabs the chinlock. Jensen powers him into the corner and grabs a suplex or the break. A missile dropkick gets two on King but here is Hayes to go after King. The distraction lets King grab the Coronation fr the pin at 8:13.

Rating: C. This felt like one of those random house show matches you get from time to time in NXT, as Jensen has had almost no singles success. What mattered here was getting King a win, as he seems to be ready to become something pretty big around here. They’re still polishing the details, but what matters here is getting him another win.

Video on the Iron Survivor Challenges.

Bronson Reed vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Wes Lee

If Lee wins, he gets a North American Title shot at Deadline (against Dominik Mysterio, on commentary) but if he doesn’t, he never gets another shot. Reed cleans house to start and we take a break less than a minute in. Back with Reed getting triple teamed out to the floor, followed by Grimes being sent outside as well.

Lee gets the better of things but Reed is back in to wreck them both. Grimes can’t sunset flip Reed but Gargano catapults Grimes head first into a low blow to put Reed down. Everyone is back up until Lee sends Reed outside. Gargano sends Grimes outside for a knockdown of his own and the fans approve.

The slingshot spear gets two on Grimes but Lee is back in to take over. Reed is back in as well and a Death Valley Driver gets two on Lee. Grimes’ high crossbody gets two on Reed, who is right back up to pick all three of them up for something like a triple Samoan drop (geez). The other three are able to powerbomb Reed out of the corner, leaving Grimes to grab his flipping powerslam for two on Lee.

The Gargano Escape goes on but Lee saves Grimes for a change. That doesn’t work for Reed, who buckle bombs Lee and backsplashes the other two. Reed takes Lee to the middle rope and gorilla presses him onto the other two. Cue Ivar to jump Reed though and they fight to the back, leaving the other three in the ring. Grimes hits the Cave In on Gargano but the Cardiac Kick gives Lee the pin at 17:19.

Rating: B+. Now this was more like it as they had almost nonstop action for a pretty long TV match. Reed came off like an absolute star here and they even had a logical and productive way to get rid of him. Lee winning is hardly a surprise but he feels like he earned the win. That should help him a lot on the way to Deadline, but he almost has to win there.

Roxanne Perez and Kiana James are brawling in the parking lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was another show that got things done and helped build up Deadline, plus some other things not for the show. The qualifying matches were to the point and the main event was very good. Throw in King and Dragunov both looking strong, plus Chase U’s story getting a pretty big step forward and this was another good show. That has been a theme for NXT as of late and I could go for a lot more of it.

Results
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks b. Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza – Bada Bing Bada Boom to Garza
Kelani Jordan b. Kiana James – Split legged moonsault
Bron Breakker b. Eddy Thorpe – Spear
Ilja Dragunov b. Nathan Frazer – H Bomb
Arianna Grace b. Karmen Petrovic – Fireman’s carry slam
Lexis King b Brooks Jensen – Coronation
Wes Lee b. Johnny Gargano, Bronson Reed and Cameron Grimes – Cardiac Kick to Grimes

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

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

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: 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

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 13, 2023
Location: Capital One Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are juts over a week away from Survivor Series and the big story on the Raw side is a WarGames match between Judgment Day/JD McDonagh vs. Cody Rhodes and Pals. There is always the chance of having another person added on either side and we very well could be getting another match or two thrown onto the card. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the setup for WarGames and last week’s announcement.

Opening sequence.

Here is Cody Rhodes to get things going. Rhodes wants to talk about getting the Tag Team Titles back tonight, but we also have WarGames at Survivor Series. He brings out the rest of his team, with Jey Uso, Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins joining us. Cody greets all of them, but brings up some past issues with Rollins. Cue Judgment Day to interrupt, with Finn Balor bringing up that Rollins can’t beat Rhodes. Oh and Uso can never win anything on his own and Zayn is a loser.

Dominik Mysterio tries to bring up Uso’s time with the Bloodline but Zayn says the truth is no one likes Mysterio. Zayn asks how the team got out here without Rhea Ripley, with Cody poking fun about the team not having a leader. Priest: “I AM THE LEADER!” Rollins wants a fight so a tag match is made.

Seth Rollins/Sami Zayn vs. JD McDonagh/Dominik Mysterio

An early cheap shot to Rollins slows him down but he’s right back up to take Dominik into the corner. Rollins gets stomped back down but reverses Three Amigos to put Dominik down. The villains try to leave but get cut off, allowing Zayn to exploder suplex Dominik into the corner.

Stereo dives put McDonagh and Mysterio down and we take a break. Back with Zayn catapulting McDonagh into the corner, allowing stereo catapults to bring in Rollins and Mysterio. The Pedigree is blocked so Rollins settles for a superkick and Buckle Bomb. Cue the rest of Judgment Day for the DQ at 10:35.

Rating: C+. With WarGames coming up, the DQ was all but a guarantee here as you don’t wan either side taking a clean loss. Rollins and Zayn beat them up pretty well here, which makes sense as they were fighting the lower level Judgment Day contingent. This was how the match should have gone and they didn’t bother wasting time with this one.

Post match the beatdown is on until Uso and Rhodes run in for the save. Adam Pearce comes out to say everyone involved in WarGames has to be out of the building by tonight’s Tag Team Title match.

Post break Rhea Ripley yells at Pearce, who says get over it. Ripley is…well he can’t get to saying she’s banned but here is Zoey Stark to interrupt. Stark talks about how many things Ripley has to worry about, but Ripley talks about her success and how she can handle all of this. She is always on top and can handle herself, Dominik and the fans because she is RHEA BLOODY RIPLEY! The fight is teased with Zoey sending her outside but not being able to launch the dive.

Shinsuke Nakamura is tired of someone having so much handed to him and how he is willing to wait on someone. Whomever that may be.

Seth Rollins runs into Cody Rhodes, who says they can hate each other 364 days a year but he needs Rollins for one night. Works for Rollins.

Otis vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

The rest of the Alpha Academy is here too. Nakamura strikes away to start but Otis easily slams him down. The running splash in the corner sends Nakamura outside, where Otis clotheslines him down. We take a break and come back with Otis fighting out o trouble and hitting a running elbow in the corner. A hard clothesline drops Nakamura and the Caterpillar gets two. Kinshasa is countered into a World’s Strongest Slam for two more. Nakamura strikes away and hits a middle rope knee. Two more Kinshasas finish Otis at 8:58.

Rating: C+. They kept Otis looking strong here but ultimately Nakamura is looking like he is in for a big showdown with whomever he is talking about this time. A match with Chad Gable wouldn’t be surprising either as that could do both of them some good. For now though, Nakamura gets an impressive enough win and he could use a few more of them.

Nakamura glares at Chad Gable post match.

Video on WarGames.

Seth Rollins runs into Drew McIntyre in the back, who shakes his hand after the loss at Crown Jewel. Rollins limps off.

Video on Tegan Nox returning from injury and her career taking off on the main roster.

Piper Niven vs. Tegan Nox

Chelsea Green and Natalya are here too. Nox strikes away to start but gets knocked down, setting up a backsplash for two. The chinlock keeps Nox in trouble and there’s a clothesline to put her back down. A shoulderbreaker gets two (and a Papa Shango reference from Barrett) but Nox kicks her in the head for the same.

The basement crossbody misses for Niven and Nox hits the Shiniest Wizard for two, thanks to a leg on the rope. Niven misses a sitdown splash and Nox crucifixes her for the pin at 4:48. I’m wondering if that Shiniest Wizard was supposed to be the pin but they were too close to the ropes and had to improvise.

Rating: C. It seems like WWE has been wanting to push Nox for a long time now and maybe they are trying again here. If she can stay healthy, it wouldn’t be shocking to see her move up the ladder a bit. Other than that, it’s almost strange to see Niven lose, though Green has lost enough already.

We look at Miz becoming #1 contender to the Intercontinental Title but getting decked by Ivar after the match.

Miz mocks Gunther but Ivar and Bronson Reed come in to threaten violence. Reed and Ivar threaten each other and Ivar walks off.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Johnny Gargano and Giovanni Vinci are here too. Ciampa knees him outside to start but Kaiser stomps away back inside. A clothesline gives Ciampa two, only to have Vinci grab the leg for a distraction. That’s good for an ejection as we take a break. Back with Ciampa fighting out of a chinlock and blocking the wind up DDT. They strike it out until Kaiser goes up, only to get kneed out of the air. Cue Vinci to jump Gargano and the distraction lets Kaiser grab a rollup (with tights) for the pin at 10:00.

Rating: C+. DIY is in a weird place here as they’re freshly on Raw but keep losing. Even though there was some interference here, it is more than a little annoying to see them lose time after time. Ciampa is more than good hand, though it would be nice to see he and Gargano move on from this Imperium feud already.

Damian Priest apologizes for the leader comment but is appointed leader for WarGames. As for JD McDonagh, he’s on the team.

Xia Li vs. Indi Hartwell

Candice LeRae is here with Hartwell. Li kicks her into the corner to start and hammers away, followed by a running knee. Hartwell hits a clothesline into a spinebuster but Li kicks her silly for the stoppage at 2:38.

Post match here is Becky Lynch (who Li kicked out last week) to say we’ll do this on her time. She’s looking for a fight but Li bails from the threat of a Manhandle Slam. Lynch says Li has seven days to run because their match is official for next week.

Gunther comes up to Miz and says it’s time for the beating. Miz tells Gunther to watch his match tonight to see what he can do. At Survivor Series, Gunther is learning the difference between longest reigning and greatest of all time. Gunther says good luck for tonight, but it won’t be anything like Survivor Series.

We look back at Zoey Stark winning a battle royal to become #1 contender.

Shayna Baszler praises Stark, as does Raquel Rodriguez. Nia Jax comes in to mock all of them but Rodriguez challenges her for a fight.

Ivar vs. Miz

Valhalla is here with Ivar, who elbows him into the corner to start. A middle rope hurricanrana takes Ivar down but he runs Miz over on the floor. Back in and Miz strikes away but it’s too early for the Skull Crushing Finale. Cue Bronson Reed as Miz hits a bulldog out of the corner. The ans are actually behind Miz, even as Ivar hits a sitdown splash out of the corner. Reed grabs a chair as we take a break.

We come back with Ivar slamming Miz out of the corner for two but missing a Bronco Buster. The YES Kicks hit Ivar but he counters a super Skull Crushing Finale into a World’s Strongest Slam for two. Ivar loads up the moonsault but Reed offers a distraction, allowing Miz to grab a rollup (with feet on the ropes) for the pin at 11:11.

Rating: C+. This was similar to Lex Luger (as Miz so often is) fighting one giant/monster after another on his way to a match against the Giant in WCW back in the day. That being said, he needed help to beat Ivar and that isn’t going to bode well for him against a real monster like Gunther. For now though, they’re at least setting things up well, even if Miz couldn’t feel much more like an underdog.

Post match Reed drops Ivar and hits the Tsunami.

Another video on WarGames.

Damian Priest goes up to JD McDonagh (It took him that long to find him?) and officially puts him on the team. Finn Balor comes in and tells McDonagh to find Dominik Mysterio and get out (as per Adam Pearce’s orders).

Gunther praises Giovanni Vinci for getting Imperium a win, making sure to ignore Ludwig Kaiser in the process. Indus Sher (egads they’re back) pop in to tell Kaiser to pick his next move wisely.

Otis is upset by his loss but the Creeds come in to say maybe he needs a new training method. Chad Gable isn’t impressed but the Creeds say they want the Tag Team Titles. New Day pops in and arguing ensues while Ivy Nile and Maxxine Dupri chat. Akira Tozawa comes in to dance with one of the NFL titles and everyone approves.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Tag Team Titles: Judgment Day vs. Cody Rhodes/Jey Uso

Rhodes and Uso are challenging. Jey knocks Balor down to start and it’s a big slugout with Rhodes and Priest fighting to the floor. Cody comes in to work on Balor’s arm before it’s back to Uso, who gets kicked down by the champs. The fight heads outside again and we take a break.

Back with Balor raking the eyes to escape a fireman’s carry so Priest can slug away. Balor pulls Cody into an abdominal stretch before handing it back to Priest for something similar to Matt Riddle’s Bro Derek. Cody is right back up and handing it off to Uso to clean house. Balor cuts Uso off though and a clothesline puts him on the floor as we take another break.

Back again with Uso enziguring his way to freedom and handing it back to Cody. For some reason it’s already off to Uso again, meaning it’s a Superfly Splash for two on Priest. South Of Heaven is broken up and Cody gives Priest Cross Rhodes. The spear hits Balor and the Cody 1D connects with Priest making the save. Uso dives onto Priest but here is Drew McIntyre to hit Uso with a Claymore. Balor gets the pin to retain at 22:41.

Rating: B-. This got a lot of time, though McIntyre’s segment earlier felt like a bit of a warning sign for the ending. That isn’t a bad thing at all as there is a good chance that he will be added to WarGames in one way or another. For now though, they had the best match on the show and teased a title change before going with the more logical ending.

Rhea Ripley comes out to shake McIntyre’s hand to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. To say this show was only focused on a few things would be an understatement as this was mainly about WarGames and a few other things (the Women’s Title match and Gunther vs. Miz). There were other stories being touched on, but they were nothing compared to what really got the focus here. WarGames is pretty much all that matters for Raw on Survivor Series though and that’s what this show focused on. Next week can look at some other things, but for now, this was the WarGames’ show and not much else.

Results
Seth Rollins/Sami Zayn b. JD McDonagh/Dominik Mysterio via DQ when Judgment Day interfered
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Otis – Kinshasa
Tegan Nox b. Piper Niven – Crucifix
Ludwig Kaiser b. Tommaso Ciampa – Rollup with tights
Xia Li b. Indi Hartwell via referee stoppage
Miz b. Ivar – Rollup with feet on the ropes
Judgment Day b. Cody Rhodes/Jey Uso – Claymore to Uso from Drew McIntyre

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 6, 2023
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are done with Crown Jewel and that means we have less than three weeks to go before Survivor Series. There were only so many major changes at Crown Jewel, but the biggest on the Raw side might be Sami Zayn stealing Damian Priest’s Money In The Bank briefcase before the cash-in could take place. Priest won’t be happy with that and we might have some fallout to deal with tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Crown Jewel if you need a recap.

Crown Jewel recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Seth Rollins to get things going. Rollins is very glad to still be the World Heavyweight Champion and he has some people to thank. First of all, he thanks Drew McIntyre for a great match and making him a bit better than he was before. McIntyre said that he was not in league with the Judgment Day and that was proven on Saturday. Other than that, Sami Zayn helped him cut off a cash-in attempt so if Sami is listening, get on out here.

Cue Sami, minus the briefcase, which Adam Pearce made him return. Rollins thinks he owes Sami something but Sami cuts him off, saying he was there to help prevent Judgment Day from becoming the Bloodline 2.0 because they hold all but one title around here (Gunther anyone?).

He will fight to prevent Judgment Day from taking over but Rollins says the reality is he runs Raw. Rollins appreciates that but he has gotten Sami a little thank you: a title shot anytime he wants. Sami says he wants to beat a champion at 100% but Rollins knows Sami isn’t at 100% either. Rollins tells him to just say when so let’s do it tonight. They shake hands and Rollins is in.

Judgment Day is NOT pleased.

New Day vs. Judgment Day

Non-title. Kofi jumps over Balor to start and sicks the landing on a monkey flip to up the early frustration levels. Everything breaks down and some stereo running flip dives take out Judgment Day in a big crash. Back in and Woods’ honor Roll gets two on Priest as we take a break. We come back with Woods hitting a missile dropkick and the double tag bringing in Kingston and Priest to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and a superplex into a top rope elbow gets two on Balor with Priest making the save. Balor Sling Blades Woods and the South Of Heaven into the Coup de Grace finishes Woods at 9:10.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure why you would burn through a match like this on Raw as it could easily be a major pay per view title match. Like them or not, New Day is one of the most successful tag teams in WWE history and can still hang with anyone around here. That could have been a big match and probably will be again at some point, but this is a weird way to use the first match.

Earlier, Drew McIntyre arrived and left.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Akira Tozawa

Nakamura strikes away to start but goes up and gets super hurricanranaed back down. The top rope backsplash hits knees but Tozawa snaps off another hurricanrana. Then Kinshasa cuts Tozawa in half for the pin at 2:31.

Post match Otis gets in Nakamura’s face, sending Nakamura bailing.

Video on Natalya.

Adam Pearce hypes up tonight’s four way Intercontinental Title #1 contenders match between the Miz, Bronson Reed, Ivar and Ricochet.

Seth Rollins assures Adam Pearce that he is ready for Sami Zayn tonight.

Miz vs. Bronson Reed vs. Ivar vs. Ricochet

The winner gets an Intercontinental Title shot at Survivor Series. Miz and Ricochet dropkick the monsters to start until Ricochet flips away and dropkicks Miz to the floor. Ivar is back up with a spinning kick to Ricochet but Miz is back in to break it up. Ricochet is draped over the ropes as Reed uses it as a springboard, which is enough to launch Ricochet into a hurricanrana to send Ivar back outside. The monsters crush the other two on the floor and then slam into each other as we take a break.

Back with Reed crushing Ivar in the back and going up, only to have Miz and Ricochet powerbomb both of them down. Miz is back in with a springboard crossbody and spinning DDT to plant Reed for two. Ricochet drops Miz for two but it’s Ivar coming back in with a splash for the save. The monsters drop Ricochet and Miz again before going up (gulp). Ivar’s moonsault hits Ricochet but Miz avoids Reed’s Tsunami, allowing Ivar and Miz to get the double pin at 13:43.

Rating: B-. They didn’t hide the fact that Miz was the likely winner here and that is ok. There is something funny about Miz being able to turn it up like he did here, as he was moving and working harder than usual. While I can’t imagine Miz taking the title from Gunther, he is a fresh challenger with a history of winning matches no one would expect him to win before.

Apparently Ricochet kicked out in time so only Miz wins and gets the title shot. Ivar drops Miz and gives him the moonsault anyway.

The Alpha Academy give Akira Tozawa a pep talk before his NXT Heritage Cup shot tomorrow. They’ll even be there live! Maxxine Dupri comes in and she’s ready to become #1 contender as well.

We look back at the Creed Brothers’ debut last week.

The Creeds and Ivy Nile officially signed with Raw earlier today when DIY came in to set up their match tonight.

Creed Brothers vs. DIY

Julius wrestles Ciampa down to start but Gargano comes in off a blind tag to double team Julius and take over. The Creeds are sent outside where they cut off stereo dives. DIY slips out of the counters but get dropped again as we take a break. Back with Ciampa cleaning house, setting up running kicks to the head in the corner.

Brutus Samoan drops Gargano so Julius can hit a standing shooting star, followed by Brutus’ standing moonsault for two. Gargano fights his way out of trouble and brings Ciampa back in to pick up the pace. Brutus breaks up Meet In The Middle though and cue Ludvig Kaiser to deck Gargano, allowing the Brutus Ball to connect for the pin at 9:39.

Rating: B. It might not have been quite as good as last week’s match against Alpha Academy but the Creeds seem to have proven themselves in two matches. DIY being kept somewhat protected is a good thing as well and now I’m curious to see where they go. While Judgment Day is tied up with the main event scene, if the Creeds run through another team or two, there won’t be anything left for them but going after the titles.

We look at Sami Zayn getting a title shot against Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber in Montreal earlier this year. Jey Uso cost him the match and Zayn wasn’t happy.

Jey comes in to see Sami and apologizes for what happened at Elimination Chamber. Sami says that was then and this is now so Jey gives him a pep talk. As for Jey, he and Cody Rhodes have a Tag Team Title shot next week.

Becky Lynch is ready to fight anyone at Survivor Series after she wins the #1 contenders battle royal tonight. Nia Jax comes in to say no one is throwing her out tonight, which will make her as happy as she has been since she broke Lynch’s face. Lynch laughs that off and says that after that, she went on to headline Wrestlemania while Jax got fired.

Chelsea Green, Piper Niven, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark seem ready to win the battle royal.

Battle Royal

Nia Jax, Becky Lynch, Piper Niven, Chelsea Green, Shayna Baszler, Becky Lynch, Kayden Carter, Katana Chance, Natalya, Indi Hartwell, Nikki Cross, Zoey Stark, Ivy Nile, Tegan Nox, Raquel Rodriguez, Maxxine Dupri

Hold on though as Xia Li comes in to jump Lynch during her entrance, meaning Li isn’t going to be allowed to compete. After a break, Becky is out as well due to having no memory of what happened. Cross stands in the middle of the ring again as the bell rings, meaning she is tossed pretty quickly. Everyone else fights on the floor as Cross keeps blankly staring. Nox and Maxxine get together and dump Niven but the distraction lets Nia get rid of Maxxine.

Carter and Chance start double teaming Nia but can’t get her out so they switch to Rodriguez instead. That’s broken up as well so Carter, Nile and Chance all go to the apron, with Nile getting rid of both of them. We take a break and come back with Rodriguez and Natalya being sent to the apron but Green can’t get in a double noggin knocker. Instead Green and Natalya switch places, leaving Green to slap both of them. Rodriguez puts Green out and Natalya does the same to Hartwell. Nile dropkicks Natalya out as her nice debut continues. Jax is back in to run a bunch of people over and Nox is out.

Everyone gets together and goes after Jax for the big elimination (and a ROAR from the crowd). We’re down to Stark, Nile, Baszler and Rodriguez…but Jax pulls Nile out to blow off some steam. Baszler and Stark get rid of Rodriguez, leaving them to fight on the apron. The Kirifuda Clutch goes on but Baszler lets go before Stark can flip her to the floor. That leaves Stark to hit a DDT and knock Baszler out for the win at 15:57.

Rating: C. This went long but the relief when Jax was eliminated helped quite a bit. Stark getting a singles match is a fresh way to go and I could go for seeing what she can do in the spot. Other than that, Nile had a very nice debut and seems to be someone WWE wants to push. They could have cut the time down a bit here but what matters the most is getting Ripley a challenger and that was well covered.

Rhea Ripley is ready to face Zoey Stark at Survivor Series but Stark comes in to say she had Rhea beaten at Crown Jewel. Ripley hasn’t forgotten about her and says that while Zoey couldn’t beat one person, Ripley beat four at once.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

We look at John Cena getting beaten by Solo Sikoa and teasing retirement after.

Raw World Title: Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins

Zayn is challenging. Feeling out process to start before they go with the grappling. Zayn teases a shot to Rollins’ bad back but just taps it instead to play some mind games. Rollins is sent outside but avoids the dive, leaving them to go toe to toe. We take a break and come back with Rolling chopping away until Zayn hits a middle rope elbow for two.

Rollins fights up again and knocks him outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Rollins fires away with some running forearms in the corner, followed by a Swanton into a Lionsault for two. They head to the apron where Zayn can’t hit a Blue Thunder Bomb, but he can hit a backdrop to send Rollins crashing to the floor.

We take another break and come back again with the Stomp being countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Zayn suplexes him into the corner but the Helluva Kick is countered into a Pedigree for two more. The Stomp is countered into a Liontamer of all things, followed by a regular Boston crab. That’s reversed as well and Rollins small packages him to retain at 20:20.

Rating: B. This was a rather good V main event and they even got in a few teases of a title change. Zayn coming after the title is certainly interesting and seeing him going on a long road to FINALLY winning a World Title could make for a heck of a story. Rollins moving forward to whomever is next is a good way to go, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the two of them involved in WarGames, likely against Judgment Day.

Post match Judgment Day runs in to jump Zayn from behind and Rollins takes a beating of his own. Jey Uso runs in for the save but gets beaten down as well until Cody Rhodes makes the save. Referees and Adam Pearce come in to break it up, with Pearce saying they can play games if they want. IN WARGAMES! The brawl is on again and Rhodes jumps onto the pile to put Judgment Day down to end the show. They didn’t have much time to set up Survivor Series but this is the match that has been all but ready for months now anyway.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a heck of a show with one good match after another. They covered a bunch of stuff for Survivor Series, with two title matches plus WarGames being set. Raw has to do a lot of things to keep interest going for three hours but they pulled it off here. Pretty awesome show this week and if they can keep up that momentum going into Survivor Series, we could be in for an outstanding show.

Results
Judgment Day b. New Day – Coup de Grace to Woods
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Akira Tozawa – Kinshasa
Miz b. Bronson Reed, Ivar and Ricochet – Rollup to Reed
Creed Brothers b. DIY – Brutus Ball to Gargano
Zoey Stark won a battle royal last eliminating Shayna Baszler
Seth Rollins b. Sami Zayn – Small package

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: October 23, 2023
Location: American Airlines Arena, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are closing in on Crown Jewel and a good chunk of the Raw side is covered. Seth Rollins is ready to defend the World Heavyweight Title against Drew McIntyre, who is still acting a little strange. Other than that, Judgment Day will likely have something to say and that should be important. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Judgment Day regaining the Tag Team Titles from Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso last week, thanks to an assist from Jimmy Uso.

Opening sequence.

Here are Finn Balor and Damian Priest to get things going. Priest say Judgment Day has a lot for us tonight but here is Cody Rhodes to interrupt. Cody says he’s here to talk to the leader of the Judgment Day….but he doesn’t see Rhea Ripley. Priest laughs at him and says there are people involved in Cody’s story who are here right now.

The story is that Cody failed, which has him ready to fight. Priest has a match with Jey Uso tonight, but he’ll fight Cody at Crown Jewel. Cody is down but cue the rest of Judgment Day. Jey Uso runs in to even things up a bit and the fight is on but JD McDonagh comes in to take out Rhodes’ knee. Priest slams the leg against the steps with a chair and Rhodes is left writhing in pain.

Post break, Cody is in trouble.

New Day vs. Alpha Academy

Gable wrestles Woods to the mat to start so it’s quickly off to Kofi. The pace picks up but Gable pulls him out of the air (that was nifty) and sends him outside. Otis wrecks New Day and we take a break. Back with Kofi bringing Woods in to pick up the pace. A nice twisting powerslam gives Woods two on Gable but the Honor Roll is pulled into some German suplexes.

Otis comes in for a bulldog and Kofi has to make the save as everything breaks down. The Caterpillar hits Kofi but Woods is back up. Woods tries a reverse Worm (that’s different) but Gable pulls him into the ankle lock. That’s broken up though and Kofi hits Trouble In Paradise on Otis. Gable is taken out and the Limit Breaker gives Woods the pin at 10:17.

Rating: B-. This was another good example of taking two teams and giving them some time to show what they can do. The Academy is best known or their comedy stuff but they can have a solid match if given the chance. New Day is still one of the best teams around and it’s nice to see them getting to go out there and do their thing at a pretty high level.

Becky Lynch is ready for Indi Hartwell tonight and Lyra Valkyria tomorrow night.

We look back at Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins’ argument last week.

Rollins runs into Rhea Ripley and brings up her meeting with McIntyre two weeks ago. He says he has style and a title so clearly he’s not McIntyre. Ripley brings up the Judgment Day’s history with Rollins but thinks he might need their help. Rollins laughs it off but Ripley says he’ll need their help if he wants to be champion as long as Roman Reigns. Rollins says the last thing he wants to be is like Reigns. Ripley: “That’s not a no.”

Natalya offers Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae advice tonight and wishes Hartwell luck. Also mentioned: Tegan Nox is hurt.

NXT Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Indi Hartwell

Lynch is defending. Hartwell hits an early clothesline but Becky is back with a backslide for two. Snake Eyes and a side slam give Hartwell two and we take an early break. We come back with Hartwell hitting a top rope elbow to the back for two. Lynch’s reverse DDT gets the same but a big boot gives Hartwell two more. Hartwell goes up top but gets superplexed back down, only to have the Disarm-Her blocked. A powerbomb gives Hartwell two and a spinebuster is good for the same, meaning it’s time for frustration to set in. Hartwell pulls her up again but gets pulled into the Disarm-Her to retain the title at 9:16.

Rating: C+. This felt like checking another box on Lynch’s run with the title. She beats another former NXT Women’s Champion while closing the not very large loophole of Hartwell never being pinned for the title. Lynch is on to more important things and fans are around to forgetting that Hartwell was called up from NXT in the first place.

Xia Li jumps Hartwell’s friend Candice LeRae in the back.

Nick Aldis comes in to apologize to Adam Pearce in the back for what happened on Smackdown. All he wants is friendly competition and Pearce can go with that. He offers to let Aldis stay tonight, but once Aldis leaves, Pearce tells a referee to double security.

It’s time for the contract signing for the fatal five way for the Raw Women’s Title. We get entrances for Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Raquel Rodriguez and Zoey Stark, all of whom sign. Champion Rhea Ripley comes out last and complains that Adam Pearce is making her life a nightmare. Not that it matters because she’s retaining the title anyway. Jax doesn’t buy it as Ripley stays on the apron, accusing Ripley of wanting her to beat up the other challengers. Jax insults Rodriguez and the fight is on, with Ripley watching from the floor.

Akira Tozawa, now in Alpha Academy gear, chops Bronson Reed to set up a match. Maxxine Dupri comes in to ask if he’s nuts but Tozawa wants to go through with it.

Johnny Gargano vs. Giovanni Vinci

Ludwig Kaiser is here with Vinci. An early backbreaker puts Gargano down but no worries as we go split screen for a preview for the upcoming movie Friday Night At Freddy’s. Back to full screen and Vinci stays on Gargano until a superkick gets a breather. Kaiser goes for the distraction but cue the returning Tommaso Ciampa to cut him off. One Final Beat gives Gargano the pin at 2:30. At least Gargano got a win.

Shinsuke Nakamura wants a better opponent to set his inner self free.

Here is Logan Paul for a chat. Paul brags about beating up a boxer earlier this month but here is Dominik Mysterio to…..eventually say he can’t wait to see Paul beat up his deadbeat dad. Paul says they have a lot in common because they overcame the odds. The fans boo them out of the building until Paul says he can’t wait to be the new US Champion. For now though, he invites ring announcer Samantha Irvin into the ring to announce him as the new champion. Cue Ricochet to take the villains out.

Natalya/??? vs. Piper Niven/Chelsea Green

Natalya’s partner is….Nikki Cross, who is so serious she almost looks to be in a trance. Natalya rolls Green up to start as Cross stands on the apron, not touching anything and seemingly catatonic. Cross drops to the floor and walks out, even as Natalya fights back. Niven comes in though and hits the basement crossbody for the pin at 3:12.

Rating: C-. This was an angle rather than a match with the focus being on Cross’ new direction. I’m not sure what that is going to be but I’m a bit worried about Nox’s status. She has had so many devastating injuries over the years and hopefully she is back in the ring sooner than later. She didn’t miss much here, but that was kind of the point of the match.

We look back at Sami Zayn and Drew McIntyre not getting along last week.

Miz complains to Adam Pearce about how Nick Aldis might appreciate him more, when Rhea Ripley comes in to sign the contract for Crown Jewel. She keeps the pen and goes to run into Dominik Mysterio, who is banged up from the fight earlier.

Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre

Feeling out process to start with Zayn taking him into the corner and chopping away to start taking over fast. They’re quickly on the floor with Zayn hitting a moonsault off of the barricade as McIntyre can’t get much going early on. Back in and McIntyre takes over with a suplex but Zayn sends him outside again.

The slingshot dive is pulled out of the air though and McIntyre sends him over the announcers’ table as we take a break. Back with Zayn knocking him to the floor for the big running flip dive as the ans stay behind Sami. A sunset bomb gives Zayn two but McIntyre hits him with the Glasgow Kiss.

The Claymore takes too long to load up as McIntyre’s ribs are banged up, allowing Zayn to grab the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Zayn can’t hit the exploder suplex so McIntyre snaps off some belly to belly suplexes. A neckbreaker drops Zayn again but cue a smiling Rhea Ripley, allowing Zayn to get two. Now the exploder can connect but McIntyre offers a distraction and McIntyre hits the Claymore for the pin at 14:55.

Rating: B. I can’t imagine it’s any surprise that these two had chemistry together as they’re both incredibly talented stars. Zayn is trying to find his way on his own again and having him go about fifteen minutes with a former World Champion fits him well. McIntyre needed some momentum on his way to Crown Jewel and that is what he got with his win here. Good stuff, and that shouldn’t be a shock.

Nick Aldis talks to Kayden Carter and Katana Chance, who are both wearing blue. Adam Pearce comes in to take issue, though Aldis says he’ll leave. Nikki Cross slowly walks in front of Pearce, who needs a drink.

Bronson Reed vs. Akira Tozawa

Maxxine Dupri is here with Tozawa. Reed throws him into the corner to start but Tozawa slips out of a slam. For some reason Tozawa tries a waistlock, which goes as well as you would expect. Reed plants him, hits a backsplash, and finishes with the Tsunami at 2:35.

Post break Akira Tozawa is given the Dallas Cowboys belt and New Day/DIY come in to cheer him on as he lifts with it.

Seth Rollins mocks Drew McIntyre for joining the Judgment Day (which he hasn’t done), but both of them say they don’t need the team to win.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Jey Uso vs. Damien Priest

Priest slugs away to start but gets knocked to the floor as we take an early break. Back with Priest hitting a running elbow in the corner and planting Jey with the Broken Arrow for two. Jey slugs his way out of trouble and hits a high crossbody for two. That doesn’t work for Priest who turns him inside out with a clothesline, only to get Samoan dropped to the floor.

The dive doesn’t work though as Priest Downward Spirals him onto the announcers’ table. Back in and a swinging Downward Spiral gives Priest two so he loads up the Razor’s Edge. That’s broken up as well and Uso hits a superkick but cue Finn Balor for a distraction. Priest hits South Of Heaven for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: B-. Another solid performance from Jey, but much like the Zayn vs. McIntyre match, one of the two has a lot more going on at the moment than the other. It wouldn’t have made sense for Priest to lose before his big match with Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel so him going over here was the right call. The fact that it came after a pretty good match helps too.

Post match the beatdown is on but here is a limping Cody Rhodes for the save with a chair.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show that got some stuff done for Crown Jewel but was only so interesting. Things seemed fairly run of the mill with only Cody vs. Priest being set up for the pay per view. It’s not a bad show, but there isn’t anything on here that really stood out, save for McIntyre vs. Zayn (which shouldn’t come as any shock). Good enough show and I’m wanting to see Crown Jewel, but not a week where you needed to watch.

Results
New Day b. Alpha Academy – Limit Breaker to Woods
Becky Lynch b. Indi Hartwell – Disarm-Her
Johnny Gargano b. Giovanni Vinci – One Final Beat
Piper Niven/Chelsea Green b. Natalya/??? – Basement crossbody to Natalya
Drew McIntyre b. Sami Zayn – Claymore
Bronson Reed b. Akira Tozawa – Tsunami
Damian Priest b. Jey Uso – South Of Heaven

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 16, 2023
Location: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Wade Barrett

It’s the season premiere, which comes off of last week’s season finale, as the idea of seasons in wrestling is still weird. One of the big attractions this week is Judgment Day getting their rematch for the Tag Team Titles against Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso, which could be a heck of a showdown. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Sami Zayn to get things going. After welcoming us to the season premiere, Sami says it feels a little weird to be out here by himself. His brother and partner has been moved to Smackdown and he is obviously very sad that their partnership has ended this way. He is excited for Owens though because he knows Owens will do huge things on Smackdown. He’s excited for himself too, because now he gets to stand on his own two feet.

It’s time to prove that he is a World Heavyweight Champion level superstar, which the fans seem to find accurate. There is an elephant in the room though and that is due to the arrival of Jey Uso. It took Owens and Zayn years to get to the highest point but then they had to deal with Judgment Day. Now they’re getting a Tag Team Title shot tonight, but Zayn wants to thank the fans for getting him here.

Cue Judgment Day to interrupt, with Damian Priest bragging about who they’ve gotten rid of around here. Rhea Ripley cuts him off and talks about how they would recruit lost wrestlers and give them directions. In Zayn’s case though, they want to get rid of him permanently. The team surrounds him but Jey Uso runs in with a pair of chairs to even things up a lot. Finn Balor calls the team off and Sami leaves, not looking completely pleased with Jey.

We look at Shinsuke Nakamura and Ricochet getting in a fight last week, with Nakamura possibly costing him an Intercontinental Title shot.

Nakamura gives us another subtitled video about how he is going to smash Ricochet like a fly.

Jey Uso catches up with Sami Zayn in the back and asks if they’re cool. Sami says he needs a minute to think because even though Jey made the save, all he was thinking was that it should have been Kevin Owens making the save. Owens isn’t here and it’s because of Jey, even though Zayn wants him to be happy. Jey has the momentum and the titles and Sami has nothing and it’s because Jey is here. Jey says Sami has him and walks off. Sami shoves a ladder over and catches up to Jey, apologizing for what he said. He offers a handshake but Jey hugs him instead.

Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Falls Count Anywhere and Ricochet kicks him to the floor before the bell. They get inside with Nakamura kicking him in the head, setting up the reverse exploder for two. The Recoil gives Ricochet the same and a triangle dropkick puts Nakamura on the floor. That sets up a big twisting flip dive to drop Nakamura for two and they fight up to the stage.

That means a trip to the gorilla position, where Ricochet flips over Nakamura and hits a knee to the face for two. They come back to the stage, where Nakamura gets his knees up to block a standing moonsault. We take a break and come back with Ricochet climbing a balcony (where he half hugs a fan) and then shooting stars onto Nakamura and a bunch of security.

They head back to ringside and it’s time for a table….and nunchucks. Ricochet shrugs that off (because nunchucks) and kicks him down inside, setting up a springboard 450 for two. Nakamura cuts him off on top though and sends him crashing through the table at ringside. Kinshasa finishes Ricochet at 13:43.

Rating: B. This was what it needed to be, as it was a display of violence between two guys who have a reason to be mad at each other. Nakamura gets a nice win to put him back on track, though I could have gone with Ricochet winning to establish him as a bit of a bigger star. Still though, rather hard hitting match though and that’s what it needed to be.

Piper Niven and Chelsea Green interrupt a group of women who are standing around not doing much. Green says she and Nox are best friends, though Nox points out that Niven ordered them to be a team. Green doesn’t want to hear it but Nox threatens her away. Niven seems to threaten Nox on the way.

Video on Imperium.

Piper Niven vs. Natalya

Chelsea Green is here with Niven. Natalya tries an early rollup before going with a basement dropkick for two more. Niven manages a ram into the buckle though and Natalya crashes out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Niven missing a backsplash and getting…not hit with a basement dropkick, which thankfully Niven doesn’t sell. Niven’s basement crossbody misses as well and Natalya hits the discus lariat for two. That’s enough for Niven, who runs Natalya over and hits the basement crossbody for the pin at 6:27. Not enough shown to rate but Natalya worked well trying to fight the monster.

Post match Green comes in for the beatdown but Tegan Nox runs in for the save.

Damian Priest and Finn Balor want to take out Drew McIntyre but Dominik Mysterio doesn’t seem to like the idea. Rhea Ripley comes up after a phone call, saying she was handling Judgment Day business, as usual. She has Shayna Baszler on her own tonight too.

Here is Seth Rollins for a chat. Rollins recaps last week with the Crown Jewel title match against Drew McIntyre being set up, plus McIntyre saving him from a Money In The Bank cash-in. Cue McIntyre, with Rollins asking if McIntyre has been getting himself a little help. We see a clip of McIntyre and Rhea Ripley talking in the background last week.

McIntyre says first of all, he isn’t a thirsty creep like Jey Uso and Ripley came up to him. Second of all, what they were talking about is none of Rollins’ business and he should be worried about McIntyre taking his title. Rollins says no one is doing that to him but McIntyre needs to worry about stepping up in the big moment. McIntyre talks about the Bloodline costing him but Rollins tells him to GET OVER IT.

We hear about McIntyre stepping up during the pandemic when WWE needed it. Then he had his chance again in front of 50,000 people but the Bloodline cost him the title. Rollins says he understands what McIntyre is going though as he spent four years trying to get back to the top of the mountain. McIntyre is pointing fingers and making excuses and it won’t get him anywhere. When Rollins beats him at Crown Jewel, it will be the best thing to happen to him, because McIntyre will have no one to blame but himself. This was a good exchange and got more to the core of McIntyre’s issues, with Rollins calling him out for his whining.

Video on Bronson Reed.

Johnny Gargano vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Giovanni Vinci is here too but Tommaso Ciampa is injured after last week’s Imperium attack. Gargano starts fast but Kaiser kicks the knee out to take over. Kaiser knocks him down again and we take an early break. Back with Gargano fighting out of a chinlock and hitting the rolling kick to the head.

A springboard swinging Downward Spiral gives Gargano two and the Cheeky Nandos Kick connects. The sunset bomb gives Gargano two more and Willow’s Bell rocks Kaiser again. One Final Beat connects but Kaiser pokes Gargano in the eye. Gargano goes after Vinci but the distraction lets Kaiser kick him in the face. A twisting DDT finishes Gargano at 9:51.

Rating: C+. They’re playing up the idea that Gargano needs help to fight Imperium and losing to the numbers game isn’t the worst way to go. DIY vs. Imperium can be a big showdown when they get the chance, though I’m really not sure about having Gargano lose in his first match back. He doesn’t have the strongest reputation in the world on the main roster and this isn’t going to help things, cheating or not.

Indi Hartwell asks Becky Lynch for an NXT Women’s Title shot. Becky is cool with that and says she’ll go get it set up. As Becky leaves, she runs into Rhea Ripley for a staredown. Ripley smiles and walks away, with Becky saying something about being Becky Two Belts.

Drew McIntyre comes up to Sami Zayn and isn’t happy with him instantly forgiving Jey Uso earlier. That’s the right hand man of the Bloodline and Zayn just easily forgave him. Zayn doesn’t like that and we get a match set up between the two of them for next week.

Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler

Non-title. Before the match, Ripley says that no matter what, this is her division and Mami will always be on top. Baszler takes her to the mat with a quickly broken ankle lock but Ripley gets up and unloads in the corner. With that not working, Baszler takes her down by the arm and starts stomping. Ripley is back up with a spinning back elbow for a breather.

They go into the slugout with Baszler snapping off a German suplex. Baszler hits a knee to the face for two but Ripley knocks her back again. A missile dropkick of all things drops Baszler and Ripley loads up Riptide. That’s countered into a cross armbreaker (that was cool) but Ripley powerbombs her way out of trouble. Cue Nia Jax but Raquel Rodriguez and Zoey Stark pop up to take her down. Stark comes in and decks Ripley for the DQ at 5:35.

Rating: C+. This was good while it lasted but then the last minute plus was focusing on everything at ringside. Jax showing up took a lot of the fun out of this one and it didn’t get any better. As usual, Baszler is treated like someone who happens to be there as well and that gets annoying in a hurry.

Post match Ripley calls Jax in for the fight and Stark/Ripley beat Jax down, only for Stark to break up a slam and clear the ring. They’ve got something here

Becky Lynch gets a match with Indi Hartwell next week, per Shawn Michaels’ approval. Xia Li comes in to say she wants a shot too. Becky says say the word, but Li says on her time. Then why did she come in? Anyway here is Jade Cargill, with Becky telling her to get in line. Becky leaves and Cargill calls her funny.

Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso are ready for the main event.

Intercontinental Title: Bronson Reed vs. Gunther

Gunther, with Imperium, is defending. Reed powers out of the corner to start and staggers Gunther with a shoulder. That’s fine with Gunther, who boots him in the face twice in a row. Reed comes back out with a knockdown of his own, setting up a splash in the corner. They head outside with Gunther powering him into the apron, setting up the sleeper back inside. That’s broken up and Reed drops him on the apron, setting up the running shoulder to drop Gunther as we take a break.

Back with Reed winning a slugout, setting up a nasty Death Valley Driver for two. Gunther’s big clothesline gets two so he goes up top, only to get superplexed down for the huge crash. The Tsunami misses though and Gunther clotheslines him down. The top rope splash only gives Gunther two and he can’t believe the kickout. With nothing else working, Gunther hits the powerbomb to retain the title at 12:39.

Rating: B. I’ve said this before but there is something about building up a match between two monsters who are going to hit each other really hard. That’s exactly what you go there as it was a question of which one was going to manage to survive, which is how Gunther felt in the end. Reed didn’t feel like a major threat to win the title, but my goodness it was a heck of a fight on the way there.

Miz complains about being put on the third hour of the show and thinks Nick Aldis should take over Raw. Nia Jax comes in and says she’s still taking everyone’s best shot and looking pretty. No one has taken her best shot because she does the squashing around here. Miz isn’t pleased but we’re out of time for him.

Rhea Ripley comes in to see Adam Pearce and tells him to get the women’s division in line. Pearce is tired of threats so it’s a five way match for the title at Crown Jewel. Ripley isn’t happy and says she’ll eradicate them all. With Ripley gone, Jinder Mahal and Indus Sher come in to say they want to talk.

The Alpha Academy, with Akira Tozawa, is doing Pilates, when New Day comes in. Gyrations occur and a match is made for next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Logan Paul.

We look at the opening of Kofi Kingston’s children’s library and digital center in Ghana to help with education. That’s awesome.

Gunther is proud of Ludwig Kaiser for his win tonight. Giovanni Vinci on the other hand, didn’t accomplish his goal. Gunther saw Johnny Gargano walking around tonight, so next week, he wants Gargano stretchered out. It’s Kaiser’s responsibility.

Tag Team Titles: Judgment Day vs. Cody Rhodes/Jey Uso

Rhodes and Uso are defending. We’re joined in progress with Cody working on Balor’s arm and handing it off to Uso to do the same. Uso gets low bridged to the floor and it’s a backbreaker/elbow combination for two back inside. A quick escape allows the tag back to Cody, who hits a pair of powerslams. Cue Dominik Mysterio for a distraction but Uso superkicks Balor to break up 1916.

Cody hits Cross Rhodes on Priest but Dominik puts the foot on the ropes. Balor hits a dropkick on the floor and we take a break. Back with Cody snapping off the leg hands but Priest kicks him in the head. Cody manages to get over to Jey for the tag and the pace picks up. The Cody 1D hits Balor for two but Priest hits a chokeslam to put Cody onto the apron. Dominik shoves Uso off the top so Balor can roll him up for two.

Cue Sami Zayn to jump Dominik so Cody throws Priest over the barricade. Balor breaks up the tag though and it’s a double clothesline to put Uso and Balor down. Priest is back with a low blow to Cody and the toss Razor’s Edge puts Cody through the announcers’ table. Jey dives onto Priest but gets caught by Balor’s Sling Blade. Balor hits the shotgun dropkick but misses the Coup de Grace. Uso spears Balor and gives Priest another one before loading up the Superfly Splash. Cue Jimmy Uso to superkick Jey, allowing Balor to hit the Coup de Grace and win the titles back at 14:00.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t quite as good as the Fastlane match but they got things rolling by the end. There is definitely chemistry between these teams and it was a big time feel with the title change. I’m not sure what this is going to mean for Jimmy vs. Jey going forward, but it would not surprise me to see them getting a showdown at Crown Jewel. For now though, the title change is big enough.

Judgment Day poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show felt like a big deal and it was nice to see a bunch of stories advanced with an important moment at the end. There was nothing bad (save for maybe the ending to Ripley vs. Baszler) on the show and the matches were good to pretty good on the low end. I had a fun time with this show and it was one of the better Raw’s in awhile. WWE is starting to heat up again and that’s great timing as the important season is around the corner.

Results
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Ricochet – Kinshasa
Piper Niven b. Natalya – Basement crossbody
Ludwig Kaiser b. Johnny Gargano – Twisting DDT
Rhea Ripley b. Shayna Baszler via DQ when Zoey Stark interfered
Gunther b. Bronson Reed – Powerbomb
Judgment Day b. Cody Rhodes/Jey Uso – Coup de Grace to Uso

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: October 9, 2023
Location: Chi Health Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re done with Fastlane and that means things are moving on towards Crown Jewel and Survivor Series next month. That should make for some big matches being set up in the coming weeks, though it might take some time for those to come together. For now though, Seth Rollins is still the World Heavyweight Champion. Let’s get to it.

Here is Fastlane if you need a recap.

We open with a Fastlane recap.

Here is Seth Rollins to get things going by bragging about his victory in the Last Man Standing match over Shinsuke Nakamura. He didn’t know if he was going to get back up, but he did. He didn’t know if he was going to keep Nakamura down, but he did. Then he went to the back and the adrenaline wore off, which is when he realized his back was still broken.

Being the World Heavyweight Champion has been one of the best honors of his career…and then he pauses for a good bit. He wants us to know that he is JUST GETTING STARTED. He’ll fight anyone anytime anywhere but maybe he can go one week without having to fight for his life out here. Maybe we could sing and drink a bit, but here is Drew McIntyre to interrupt. Rollins: “You want a World Heavyweight Title shot don’t you?”

McIntyre nods so Rollins says he’s ready to go get his gear on but McIntyre says he’s willing to wait for Rollins to be 100%. Maybe at Crown Jewel? Rollins: “So you’re not out here to jump me?” McIntyre: “Nope.” Rollins: “And you want me at 100%?” McIntyre: “Bingo.” That works for Rollins, so they’re on at Crown Jewel.

McIntyre is fine with that and says if you see him out tonight, buy him a pint and a shot, and then he’s out. Cue Damian Priest from behind to jump Rollins, with McIntyre watching from the aisle. Priest waves out Dominik Mysterio with the briefcase but McIntyre cuts him off. The briefcase is tossed at the Titantron and Rollins is back up to clear the ring.

Kofi Kingston vs. Ivar

Viking Rules match, meaning there are viking shields around the apron. Ivar starts fast and knocks him to the floor, where Kofi hits a big dive (and almost lands on his head). The table is loaded up but Ivar knocks him onto the apron for quite the splash. Kofi kicks him away though and hits a splash onto Ivar’s back for two on the floor. We take a break and come back with Ivar missing a flag shot and being sent through one of the shields. The SOS gives Kofi two but it’s too early for the Boom Drop.

Instead Ivar grabs a Jeff Cobb Tour of the Islands for two, followed by a tiger driver for the same. Ivar kicks him in the face and goes up, only to be thrown down (by the beard) through a table at ringside. Cue Valhalla to dive onto Kofi so here is Xavier Woods to…be scared by Valhalla. Ivar crushes Woods against the barricade but Kofi kicks him in the face. Back in and Ivar counters Trouble In Paradise into a drive through the table, setting up the moonsault to finish Kingston at 11:05.

Rating: B-. Good brawl here with both of them beating the other up well enough. Ivar FINALLY wins a singles match as he’s in the middle of his singles run, which is pretty long overdue. Other than that, this wasn’t as good as their surprisingly awesome match from a few weeks ago, but the right person won.

Shinsuke Nakamura has no comment on the Last Man Standing match but here is Ricochet to jump him for the brawl.

Damian Priest yells at JD McDonagh and the rest of Judgment Day for not having his back out there. Rhea Ripley calms him down because she has gotten Priest and Finn Balor a rematch for the Tag Team Titles next week. And Priest still has the briefcase! Priest backs off, but McDonagh needs to deal with Drew McIntyre.

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Nia Jax

Nia runs her over to start and slams Rodriguez’s head into the mat a few times. Rodriguez fights up and unloads in the corner but can’t manage a slam. Jax throws her outside and into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Rodriguez fighting out of a chinlock and knocking Jax down. A Samoan drop doesn’t work for Rodriguez either but it works just fine for Jax. The Annihilator takes too long though and Rodriguez hits a rather impressive powerbomb. Cue Rhea Ripley to throw Rodriguez outside for the DQ at 7:09 so she can go after Jax.

Rating: C+. The powerbomb looked great but this was a means to set up the ending of the match and that’s perfectly fine. We’re either setting up Ripley vs. Jax (probably the long term goal) or a triple threat match for the title. Either way, Ripley continues to feel like a star and having her slay the giant would work great for her. Rodriguez handled herself well enough here and that’s all you can ask in a situation like this one.

Post match Ripley kicks Jax down but gets jumped by Rodriguez. Shayna Baszler runs in to go after Jax but Ripley breaks that up and yells. Baszler drops Ripley with a German suplex and running knee as Jax bails. This is already more interesting than a lot of what we’ve seen around the women’s division in recent months.

Seth Rollins tells Drew McIntyre that they’re officially on for Crown Jewel, but what’s up with him cutting off the cash in? McIntyre says he hasn’t told a single lie because last week he said if it’s not his business, he doesn’t get along. He has a title shot at Crown Jewel and doesn’t want someone messing with it. Rollins says McIntyre isn’t taking the title from him and leaves.

Shayna Baszler says no one jumps her from behind in her ring and gets away with it.

Michael Cole brings out new Tag Team Champions Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes for a chat. Cole puts over their win but asks Rhodes what this means for his original goal of finishing the story. Will defending the Tag Team Titles deter him from winning the WWE Title, or is he scared of trying again after failing in his first attempt? Rhodes says Cole is right that he did bring Uso back to Raw and he’s happy with being a Tag Team Champion. Cole doesn’t let his question go but cue Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens (to different music) to interrupt.

Sami says everyone is talking about finishing the story. One story is the Usos holding the Tag Team Titles longer than anyone in history, but then he and Owens took the titles in the main event of Wrestlemania. The story now though is Cody and Uso winning the titles and Sami is happy for them.

Sami has mixed emotions though as he thinks they should be holding the titles. Owens is a little more to the point, saying he’s not happy that Rhodes and Uso are holding the titles. Owens wants them back so he wants to challenge them for tonight, but he doesn’t think Uso can handle losing to them twice. Cody says they’re on and Uso is in too.

Otis chops Chad Gable to ire him up for his #1 contenders match tonight. Bronson Reed (also in the match tonight) comes in to say Gable isn’t getting near the Intercontinental Title, because Reed is getting the shot tonight. Maybe Gable shouldn’t let his daughter watch tonight because it’s going to be another heartbreaking loss.

Ricochet vs. Bronson Reed vs. Chad Gable

For an Intercontinental Title shot next week. Ricochet comes out first but Shinsuke Nakamura jumps him from behind and bets him down, including a GTS. Maxxine Dupri is here with Gable. Reed starts fast and knocks Ricochet into the corner but Ricochet is fine enough to cut off a suplex attempt. They go outside with Ricochet kneeing Reed out of the air but Gable suplexes Ricochet and we take a break.

Back with Reed breaking up Gable’s sleeper and splashing both of them in the corner. A Samoan drop crushes both Ricochet and Gable but Ricochet manages a kick to Reed’s head. Ricochet’s missile dropkick sends Reed to the floor but Gable is right back up. A springboard spinning crossbody puts Gable down and a running shooting star press gets two.

Gable manages a German suplex to send Reed right back to the floor, where Ricochet hits a running flip dive. Back in and the ankle lock has Ricochet in trouble but he escapes rather quickly. Gable loads up a German superplex but Ricochet flips out, only to hurt his knee again. Gable’s Rolling Chaos Theory hits Ricochet but Reed crushes both of them. The Tsunami crushes Ricochet to give Reed the pin and the title shot at 11:02.

Rating: B-. They kept things moving here and it was an entertaining match throughout. Reed vs. Gunther is certainly a fresh match and has some serious hoss fight potential. If nothing else, it’s not to see Reed getting a move up the ladder, which has been teased for a long time now. Gable not getting pinned gives him an out for later as his obsession can continue. Finally there is Ricochet, who seems primed for a match with Shinsuke Nakamura down the line.

Becky Lynch has 11 stitches in her arm but she’ll be ready to fight tonight because that’s what a fighting champion does. Xia Li of all people comes up to say she wants a shot, with Lynch saying she’s not a hard person to find.

Drew McIntyre vs. JD McDonagh

Dominik Mysterio is here with McDonagh. McIntyre starts fast with one of the highest backdrops I’ve ever seen. Dominik offers a distraction though and McDonagh starts in on the leg. Back up and McIntyre avoids a charge, setting up the Future Shock. The Claymore finishes McDonagh at 3:59.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but what matters is getting McIntyre a win and giving McDonagh another failure. McIntyre is still in a weird place and I’m not sure where it is going to wind up. That makes things more interesting on the way to Crown Jewel and things could get all the more fun on the way there.

Post match Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley are not pleased.

We get a sitdown interview from earlier today with Wade Barrett talking to Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. This reunion was seven years in the making and now they’re looking to the future. Gargano says he has been ready to return for a long time and saw what happened last week. He wasn’t about to let that happen but here is Imperium to jump them. A big beatdown ensues.

Video on Tegan Nox, looking at her history of terrible knee injuries.

Nox is ready for the biggest match of her career. Natalya pops in to wish her luck.

Ricochet is given a match with Shinsuke Nakamura next week, falls count anywhere. Of note, Drew McIntyre and Rhea Ripley appeared to be talking in the background.

NXT Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Tegan Nox

Lynch is defending. Nox takes her down to start but misses an early kick to the face. They trade some rollups with neither getting very far, though Lynch does seem to lose some extensions. Some armdrags have Nox down and they’re back up for a stalemate. Nox kicks her out of the corner and Lynch gets sent into some buckles.

They head outside with Lynch’s arm getting banged up again, allowing Nox to get two back inside. We take a break and come back with Lynch snapping off a suplex for two. Nox’s high crossbody gets the same but Lynch throws her down into a failed cross armbreaker attempt. Nox sends her into the corner for the reverse cannonball, followed b a kick to the head.

Lynch gets tied in the Tree of Woe for a regular Cannonball and another near fall. A cross armbreaker doesn’t work for Nox either and Lynch is up with a missile dropkick for two of her own. The Manhandle Slam and Disarm-Her are blocked and Nox gets a rollup for two. The Disarm-Her goes on this time though and Nox has to tap at 14:29.

Rating: B. They’re doing something interesting here with Lynch being the fighting champion who helps give a bunch of people their best match to date. That’s similar to the John Cena US Open Challenges from back in the date and it’s working well. Lynch is going to drop the title in a big deal but she gave Nox and Tiffany Stratton a nice platform on the way there. Good match here, with Nox getting in a lot.

Post match, respect is shown.

Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae are in Adam Pearce’s office when Rhea Ripley comes in to throw them out. She needs to make an example of Shayna Baszler next week so Pearce needs to make it happen.

Natalya, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance console Tegan Nox after their loss when Piper Niven and Chelsea Green come in to mock her. Green and Natalya go face to face, with Niven doing the threatening. Natalya vs. Niven is made for next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Drew McIntyre gets in Jey Uso’s face and Uso is ready to go. Sami Zayn plays peacemaker again. With McIntyre gone, Uso says he appreciates Zayn having his back but it’s go time tonight. Zayn doesn’t have to be told twice.

Video on Ludwig Kaiser of all people.

Tag Team Titles: Cody Rhodes/Jey Uso vs. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

Zayn/Owens are challenging. Sami and Cody start things off but we get an early four way staredown to take us to a quick break. Back with Sami getting frustrated as Uso comes in, meaning it’s off to Owens. Everything breaks down and the four way brawl is on outside. They break it up before the double DQ/countout but the fight goes outside again and we take another break.

Back again with Owens and Uso trading superkicks until they both make tags. Sami Blue Thunder Bombs Cody for two and they both need a breather. Cross Rhodes gives Cody two with Owens making the save. Owens and Uso come back in to trade superkicks again with Uso getting the better of things. The Superfly Splash misses though and Owens hits the Stunner, with Cody having to make the save this time. Owens drops Uso and goes up but the Swanton hits raised knees. The elevated Cody Cutter drops Owens and the champs retain at 21:09.

Rating: B. This got a lot of time, though a good chunk of that was taken away due to the commercials. What matters here though is having a heck of a showdown and Cody and Uso getting a big win to make it clear that they’re legitimate champions, at least for the time being. Good main event here, and we’re likely going to be in for another big match next week against Judgment Day.

We get another preview of next week’s show.

Sami shakes the champs’ hands and Owens shakes Cody’s hand. He gives Uso an aggressive handshake to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Pretty nice show overall here, with good wrestling up and down and stuff being set up for both next week as well as Crown Jewel. I’m curious to see where some of these things go and that is a good sign at the end of a show. It can be hard to come off of a not so important pay per view but at least they’re off to a strong start on the way to Crown Jewel and then Survivor Series. Nice work this week.

Results
Ivar b. Kofi Kingston – Moonsault
Raquel Rodriguez b. Nia Jax via DQ when Rhea Ripley interfered
Bronson Reed b. Ricochet and Chad Gable – Tsunami to Ricochet
Drew McIntyre b. JD McDonagh – Claymore
Becky Lynch b. Tegan Nox – Disarm-Her
Cody Rhodes/Jey Uso b. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens – Cody 1D to Owens

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