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

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: September 25, 2023
Location: Toyota Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

Things are getting interesting around here again as we are almost up to Fastlane, and this week might actually see something added to the card. Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura should be announced this week, though I think I’ve been saying that for the better part of a month now. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Cody Rhodes to get things going. After a clip of last week, with Cody saving Jey Uso from the Judgment Day as Drew McIntyre stood and watched, Cody talks about how someone is going to have to go to Smackdown in return for Uso. It also means a disgruntled locker room who wanted to watch Uso sink. He and Uso are not best friends but something tells him “we’re not in the third inning anymore boys” (a reference to Paul Heyman saying the Bloodline story was only in the third inning a few weeks back).

Rhodes say Uso make the right decision by turning down the Judgment Day, but cue Judgment Day (again minus Rhea Ripley) to interrupt. Dominik is booed out of the building, so Rhodes points out that no one likes him. Rhodes mentions Ripley so the fight is teased, only to have Uso run in to even things up a bit.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens come in as well and the Judgment Day backs off. Cue JD McDonagh with some chairs so everyone but Priest go inside. Priest realizes this is a bad idea and everyone but Priest gets beaten down. Priest goes in as well and gets beaten down four on one, with Rhodes getting in a loud chair shot to the back to send him running.

Otis vs. Bronson Reed

Maxxine Dupri is here with Otis. They fight over a lockup to start with neither going anywhere. An exchange of clotheslines goes nowhere but another double clothesline sends them both to the floor. Otis hits a running clothesline of his own for a knockdown but Reed hits his own clothesline for his own knockdown. Back in and a Samoan drop hits Otis, setting up the neck crank to slow things down a bit. Otis fights up and they both hit crossbodies to leave them both down. Something close to an Angle Slam drops Reed but Otis misses the Vader Bomb. A backsplash sets up the Tsunami to finish Otis at 4:22.

Rating: C+. This was a match where they didn’t hide what they were going for and there is nothing wrong with that. Commentary described this as big meaty men slapping meat and that Big E. would be happy. It worked well in that regard and Reed wins, as he should be doing on his way (hopefully) back up the ladder.

Becky Lynch is shining her title when Tegan Nox comes in. Lynch wanted Nox to answer last week’s open challenge but Nox says she deferred to the veteran Natalya. Lynch says you need to step on some toes so she’ll see Nox in the ring one day.

Post break Nox comes up to Adam Pearce and asks for the winner of the NXT Women’s Title match. Shouldn’t she be asking Shawn Michaels? Anyway Natalya comes in and says you have to earn title shots, so Pearce makes the #1 contenders match.

Ludwig Kaiser vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Giovanni Vinci is here with Kaiser and this is the result of a backstage argument between Kaiser and Ciampa. Kaiser grabs a headlock to start but Ciampa is back up with some right hands. That doesn’t last long as Kaiser sends him outside and we take a break. Back with Ciampa being sent into the corner but managing a backdrop to the floor.

Ciampa sends him into the steps and grabs the Willow’s Bell for two. The Fairy Tale Ending is broken up so Ciampa settles for a reverse DDT. Vinci offers a distraction though and Kaiser drops Ciampa, only for the referee to be distracted. Ciampa scores with a jumping knee for the pin at 8:18.

Rating: B-. WWE needs to build up new challengers for Gunther and Ciampa is one of the best choices they have at the moment. With Gunther now holding the record, there is more of a reason to believe that the title could change hands and that opens some doors. Beating the minions to get to the big guy is a good way to go and it’s what they’re doing here.

Post match Ciampa says he wants Gunther, who isn’t happy in the back.

Video on Dragon Lee.

Tegan Nox vs. Natalya

Becky Lynch is on commentary and the winner gets the winner of the NXT Women’s Title match at No Mercy. Nox elbows her in the ace to start and hits a sitout gordbuster, followed by the reverse Cannonball in the corner for two. Natalya grabs a suplex but it’s too early for the Sharpshooter. Instead Nox hits the Shiniest Wizard for the pin at 2:36. That’s a good way to bring Nox back.

Damian Priest storms into the Judgment Day’s locker room, where he finds JD McDonagh. Yelling ensues, with Priest saying McDonagh will never be one of them and blaming him for the beating earlier. McDonagh is promptly thrown out.

Here is Seth Rollins for a chat. Rollins says the fans are tired of Shinsuke Nakamura attacking him and asks them to sing his song if they agree. Rollins says he’s challenged Nakamura to fight him in a rematch so if Nakamura isn’t out here right now, he’s moving on. Nakamura pops up on screen to say (in Japanese) that Rollins’ body is failing him, but he wants one last change. At Fastlane. In a Last Man Standing match.

Rollins looks a big unsure but recaps what Nakamura just said. His broken back is a strength and his family will only be ashamed of him if he doesn’t give it everything he has. His family knows he loves them but they know he loves this. Rollins’ 100% makes him the best in the world, so they can get crazy at Fastlane, Last Man Standing.

Ricochet, on crutches after last week’s attack, isn’t done with Shinsuke Nakamura and wants him no matter what happens at Fastlane.

We look at the Judgment Day defeating Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at Payback to win the Tag Team Titles.

NXT North American Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee

Dominik, on his own, is defending. They start fast with Lee sending him to the floor and hitting a big running flip dive. Back in and Dominik rolls him into a half crab, with Lee going straight to the rope. A DDT on the apron drops Lee again and we take a break. We come back with Dominik’s frog splash hitting raised knees. Some running dropkicks in the corner have Dominik in trouble as Cole goes over the top in his praise of Lee.

Back up and they trade knees to the face until Dominik gets two off a Michinoku Driver. The 619 misses so Lee hits another knee for two. Lee hits a snappy running hurricanrana off the apron, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two back inside. Dominik manages to counter a running DDT by crotching him on top, setting up the frog splash to retain the title at 10:06.

Rating: B. This was all about making Lee and NXT as a whole look good and they did both of those things rather well. Lee was flying all over the place and looked awesome more than once, though Dominik needed to win a match on his own just to show what he can do. That was even more important after last week’s loss to Cody Rhodes and this worked well on all levels.

We look at Nia Jax’s path of destruction.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are ready to win their Tag Team Titles back. Note that Owens is wearing a Rey Mysterio/Eddie Guerrero shirt. If that’s a very subtle hint at a team having success and then splitting (which it very well may not be), WWE has upgraded their foreshadowing game.

Here is Nia Jax for a chat. She introduces herself as the baddest human in all of WWE. Everyone thought Rhea Ripley would be the big star but Nia squashed her. Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark, Raquel Rodriguez, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven got squashed too. Anyone else would get that treatment, so cue Stark to go after Jax. Referees break it up rather quickly.

Zoey Stark vs. Nia Jax

Jax runs her over with an elbow to start and hits the running splash in the corner. Stark avoid a charge though and Jax goes shoulder first into the post. Some kicks to the head rock Jax and a springboard missile dropkick knocks Jax into the ropes. Stark tries a fireman’s carry but Jax falls hard onto her instead. A legdrop sends Stark throat first onto the bottom rope and the Annihilator finishes for Jax at 2:42.

Jey Uso didn’t join the Judgment Day because he didn’t want anything to do with any groups. He’ll be watching the Tag Team Title match tonight and will be there if Judgment Day is up to their normal stuff.

Finn Balor congratulates Dominik Mysterio on his win but says Damian Priest isn’t in the best place. Dominik will have their backs in the main event.

Here is Miz for MizTV, with special guest Drew McIntyre. Miz says he would have left Jey Uso to get beaten up last week but McIntyre says they’re nothing alike. That sends Miz into a speech about how they’ve both been the backbone of the company, with McIntyre being the WWE Champion. Then he lost, but had another chance at Clash At The Castle. The Bloodline cost him the title, with Uso being the one to lead a lot of the beatdowns. Then the Judgment Day beat up Uso and…..McIntyre: “Karma’s a b****.” Miz calls McIntyre the Batman of WWE, with Cody Rhodes being the Superman.

Cue New Day (including McIntyre’s scheduled opponent for tonight, Kofi Kingston) to interrupt and they don’t know this McIntyre. The one they know isn’t a coward because the one they know is Big D. But now there seems to have been a bit of shrinkage, as that big sword might not be enough to do the job. Miz gets cut off, with McIntyre saying he was expected to save the day as always.

Rhodes didn’t make a save out of the goodness of his heart, but rather because it was his mess. Kofi says McIntyre should have saved Uso, but McIntyre brings up all of the beatings the Bloodline, including Uso, gave Xavier Woods. Miz gets cut off (McIntyre says “Shut up Miz!” for the third time), leaving Kofi to talk about how McIntyre will always do what’s right. After the fourth SHUT UP MIZ (which the fans chant), McIntyre finally headbutts him down and we’re ready to fight.

Chad Gable gives Otis a pep talk after the loss when Ludwig Kaiser interrupts. They don’t want Kaiser there so Gable sends him off to get brow beaten by Gunther again. And remember: Gable is still coming for Gunther’s Intercontinental Title.

Drew McIntyre vs. Kofi Kingston

Xavier Woods is at ringside and Cole says this was made official during the break, despite Miz saying he wanted McIntyre to beat Kingston up tonight before New Day came out. McIntyre wastes no time in running Kofi over but Kofi is back with the double leapfrogs. The second is pulled out of the air but Kofi is fine enough to hit a running dropkick to the floor. The big dive to the floor takes McIntyre down again and there’s a high crossbody to do it one more time.

We take a break and come back with McIntyre sending him flying off an overhead belly to belly. Kingston manages a quick Fameasser for two and the Boom Drop connects as well. McIntyre grabs the Futureshock but Kingston sidesteps a charge to send him outside. The suicide dive connects but McIntyre gives him a nasty looking Alabama Slam onto the apron. The Claymore misses though and Kingston grabs the SOS for two. Cue Ivar, with Valhalla, to take Woods out, including a running crossbody against the barricade. McIntyre hits the Claymore on the distracted Kingston for the pin at 12:32.

Rating: B-. So that’s more or less the confirmation of McIntyre’s heel turn and it’s pretty overdue at this point. McIntyre has been needing to do something different for a long time now and letting him go evil again isn’t the worst idea in the world. He might not be all the way there yet, but it’s an idea that could have some legs.

Post match Ivar unloads on Kingston as McIntyre looks back, shrugs, and walks away. Ivar hits the moonsault to leave Kingston laying.

Gunther yells at Giovanni Vinci until Ludwig Kaiser interrupts to tell him what Chad Gable said. Gunther isn’t happy with either of them and says Vinci is Kaiser’s responsibility. If either of them screw up, they have a problem. Now Gunther is going to deal with Tommaso Ciampa himself.

Ivar says he took out Xavier Woods because New Day took out Erick. Eye for an eye.

Tag Team Titles: Judgment Day vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn

Judgment Day (Damian Priest/Finn Balor) are defending. It’s a brawl at the bell until Sami snaps off some armdrags to Balor. We take an early break and come back with Sami being taken into champs’ corner so Balor can send him into the buckle. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Sami fights over to the corner for the tag off to Owens. Instead of going after Balor though, Owens goes after the illegal Priest and gets knocked down by Balor.

Priest comes in for the kicks to the chest but Owens comes back with the hockey fight punches. A DDT plants Priest and it’s Sami coming back for some right hands in the corner. The champs are knocked to the floor and there’s a big dive to the floor. We take another break and come back with Sami running the ropes for the tornado DDT on Priest. Owens comes back in to unload on Balor, including the Cannonball. With Priest knocked outside, Owens hits the frog splash for two on Balor as the fans declare this AWESOME.

Balor catches Owens on top but it’s a super Regal Roll to give Owens two more. The Swanton hits Balor’s raised knees and it’s the Sling Blade into the Coup de Grace with Sami having to make the save. South of Heaven is broken up and the hot tag brings in Sami but Dominik Mysterio runs in to break up the Coup de Grace.

Instead it’s a Blue Thunder Bomb for two on Priest as Balor and Owens fight to the floor. Cue Jey Uso to take out Dominik but JD McDonagh runs in to go after Uso. Cody Rhodes runs in as well and the brawl is on in the aisle. A Stunner hits Balor but McDonagh belts Sami in the face so Priest can get the pin to retain the titles at 20:13.

Rating: B. They were getting somewhere in the end with all of the run-ins and craziness and that made you think that something nutty might happen. At the same time, they had McDonagh come in and to redeem himself from earlier and that is a good way to go. There is a strong chance that this is going to set up WarGames in November and that is about as smart of an option as there is for that match at the moment.

Judgment Day celebrates but Rhodes, Uso, Owens and Zayn jump them for the big brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show covered a lot of ground, set things up for the future and had some strong action throughout at the same time. That’s a rather nice way to go for three hours and even though Fastlane has a lot more that needs to be done in the next week and a half, at least they have a big Raw match set up. I liked this show a good bit and I want to see where some of these stories are going, so we’ll call this a strong success.

Results
Bronson Reed b. Otis – Tsunami
Tommaso Ciampa b. Ludwig Kaiser – Jumping knee
Tegan Nox b. Natalya – Shiniest Wizard
Dominik Mysterio b. Dragon Lee – Frog splash
Nia Jax b. Zoey Stark – Annihilator
Drew McIntyre b. Kofi Kingston – Claymore
Judgment Day b. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens – Belt shot to Zayn

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: September 18, 2023
Location: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re less than three weeks out from Fastlane and that means it might be time to start announcing something for the show. So far there are no matches officially announced, though you should be able to figure out a few of them without much trouble. Other than that, Becky Lynch is he new NXT Women’s Champion and we’ll likely hear something about that. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Cody Rhodes to get things going. Before he can get very far though, here is Dominik Mysterio (Cody’s scheduled opponent) to interrupt. Dominik talks about how Jey Uso is going to join the Judgment Day and mentions that Rhea Ripley is out tonight after the attack at the hands of Nia Jax last week.

Cody asks if the fans heard that and thinks that the Dominik/Rhea relationship has some Steve Urkel/Laura Winslow vibes, because Rhea isn’t that into him (he must not have seen the last few seasons). Besides, if you watched last week, it seems that Rhea has eyes for Jey Uso. Cue Finn Balor and Damian Priest to join Dominik before the match.

Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio

Non-title. Cody starts fast and suplexes Dominik and grabs a quickly broken Figure Four. Dominik gets in a few shots of his own but walks into the Cody Cutter. Cross Rhodes finishes Dominik at 2:10. That’s a fast lost for Dominik, even against Cody.

Post match Judgment Day stares down Cody but Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn run down to even things up. Judgment Day backs off and leaves. Please not another six man main event. Cody goes to leave again but Owens says cut the music. Owens asks him to get back in the ring because they need to talk about something.

Post break Owens says that Jey Uso is back on Raw because of Cody, which Cody says is correct. Owens talks about everything Jey did to a lot of people, so why is Cody willing to bring him back? Cody says there are people in the back who need to hear this but there are people here who probably already know this. His job is to make these people happy and Jey deserves a second chance. And besides: now the Bloodline is down a member.

Sami tries to play peacekeeper and asks Owens to give Cody and Jey a chance. Owens says he sees where this is going and says sure, he’ll pretend Jey didn’t cost them all the Universal Title and is just one shade of eye liner away from joining the Judgment Day. He won’t trust Jey, but he’ll trust them and they better be right. This is getting interesting and I can always go for that.

We look at Rhea Ripley retaining the Women’s Title over Raquel Rodriguez but getting crushed by Nia Jax after the match was over.

Ripley has bruised ribs and is day to day, the same as Rodriguez, who has whiplash.

Kofi Kingston vs. Ivar

This was going to be a tag match but Erik is out so we’ll do it solo. Kofi can’t headlock Ivar (with Valhalla) down to start so Ivar runs him over with a clothesline. Back up and Kofi hits the jumping elbow, only to get crushed with a seated senton out of the corner. Elbows and right hands get Kofi out of the corner and a top rope shot to the head staggers Ivar.

There’s a running clothesline but it’s too early for the Boom Drop. Instead Kofi kicks him in the head for two but Ivar hits a backdrop to the floor. The big splash off the apron crushes Kofi again and we take a break. Back with Ivar hitting a powerslam and a crossbody drops Kofi for the third time. The top rope splash misses though and Kofi runs the corner for a spinning high crossbody.

The SOS gets two but Ivar tiger bombs him down for the same. Ivar nails a spinwheel kick and hits a Bronco Buster so he goes up top. The top rope splash is loaded up but Valhalla tells him to go bigger, meaning it’s a moonsault (not a bad one either) for two. Kofi fights up and hits a sunset bomb out of the corner, setting up Trouble In Paradise for the pin at 13:04.

Rating: B. That was a heck of a match as Kofi is still good for a pretty awesome performance when he is given the chance. Ivar was more than holding his own here though as the power vs. speed was rolling. Sometimes you find two guys who have surprising chemistry and that was absolute the case here. Rather good stuff.

We look back at Shinsuke Nakamura attacking Ricochet.

Ricochet says he’s the cheat code for Nakamura and tonight it’s game over.

Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Hold o though as here is Seth Rollins to charge at Nakamura and the chase is on, with agents and security breaking it up. Back with the bell ringing and Ricochet backing him into the corner. Nakamura gets in a cheap shot to take over but the kick to the chest is blocked. Instead Nakamura hits a running knee for two and we hit the seated abdominal stretch.

Ricochet fights up but gets kicked back into the corner for a choke. The sliding German suplex is blocked though and Ricochet hits the middle rope moonsault to the floor as we take a break. Back with Ricochet kicking a charging Nakamura down and a handspring elbow does it again. The running shooting star press gets two on Nakamura and a springboard high crossbody does it a second time. Nakamura knocks him outside and Ricochet hits an enziguri before chairing Nakamura down for the DQ at 12:58.

Rating: B-. Well at least Ricochet didn’t get pinned, though having him beat Nakamura down like that at the end was a little weird. Either way, Nakamura is all but guaranteed to go to Fastlane for a rematch with Rollins while Ricochet can continue to be the star of the future, as he has been for years now. It’s kind of his thing and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

Post match Ricochet yells at the referee but Nakamura takes his knee out. Ricochet’s knee is destroyed with a chair and the post until Rollins runs in for the save. Nakamura backdrops his way out of a Pedigree attempt though and security breaks it up. Well they do for a bit at least as Nakamura gets in another cheap shot to the bad back to leave Rollins laying.

Post break Rollins needs help getting into the trainer’s room.

Piper Niven and Chelsea Green are ready for Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark because they’re friends. Niven doesn’t buy that, as Green doesn’t even know where she’s from.

Piper Niven/Chelsea Green vs. Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark

Non-title. Stark and Green start things off with Stark slugging away and hitting a basement clothesline. A slingshot hilo connects and it’s Baszler coming in for a reverse DDT backbreaker. Stark comes back in, though things seem a bit testy between her and Baszler. A missed charge in the corner staggers Stark though and Niven comes in to plant her for two. Stark gets up and hands it back to Baszler, who takes Niven outside. Cue Nia Jax to send Niven into the steps for the DQ at 3:52.

Rating: C. This was short and more about Jax than anything else. That may be here or there, but it is interesting to have her go after a bunch of different women rather than focusing in on just one to start. Other than that, good for not having the champs lose so soon, as they aren’t exactly the most firmly established in the first place.

Jax wrecks everyone post match and puts the division on notice.

Chad Gable comes up to Adam Pearce and asks for one more shot at Gunther but Pearce says he has to earn it. Bronson Reed comes in and says he’ll be glad to help. The match is on.

We look back at the Rock and Pat McAfee’s surprise cameos on Smackdown.

Damien Priest tries to talk Jey Uso into joining the Judgment Day, which is family instead of relatives. Priest wants an answer tonight.

Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed

Otis and Maxxine Dupri are here with Gable. Some forearms stagger Reed to start and a missile dropkick does it again. It’s too early for the German suplex so Reed is right back with a powerslam. Reed catches him on top for a gorilla press toss onto the turnbuckle. We take a break and come back with Gable going after the knee. Reed blasts him with a clothesline but Gable grabs the cross armbreaker over the top. Reed’s backsplash only hits knees though and Gable can’t follow up. Gable grabs a sleeper so Reed drops backwards onto him, setting up the Tsunami for the pin at 9:35.

Rating: C+. That’s more than a bit surprising as you wouldn’t expect Gable to lose again so soon. That being said, it’s nice to have Reed get a win, as he is someone who has been in need of that kind of a moment for a good while now. I don’t know if he’s going to get a big showdown moment with Gunther, but I’ll take him getting an important win like this one.

Tommaso Ciampa is done with waiting and is ready to take out Imperium to get what he wants.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens still don’t see eye to eye about Jey Uso. Cue Jey, which has Owens walking off but Sami knows he has a big decision to make about Judgment Day.

Here is Becky Lynch to brag about winning the NXT Women’s Title. She wants to be champion that matters though and that means it is time to test herself tonight. Therefore the open challenge is on so here is Natalya to answer. This isn’t what Becky had in mind but Natalya says she deserves it and shoves her down. Ring the bell.

NXT Women’s Title: Natalya vs. Becky Lynch

Lynch is defending and gets sent outside hard to start as we take an early break. Back with Becky hitting a running forearm into the Bexploder for two. Natalya snaps off a release German suplex but the Sharpshooter is countered into a small package. A superplex gives Natalya two more but another Sharpshooter attempt is broken up. Becky hits the missile dropkick, only to have Natalya come back with a discus lariat. The Disarm-Her is countered into a rollup for two but Lynch reverses into a rollup of her own for the pin at 6:14.

Rating: B-. That’s about as Natalya of a match as you’re going to get: she comes in, she isn’t the most thrilling choice, she has a completely fine if not better than that match and then loses again. While she’s the perfect choice to guarantee at least a passable match. On the other hand, it doesn’t matter all that much as the fans don’t seem interested in her no matter what she is able to do in the ring. For a one off match, it high quality, but rather low on the interest levels.

Dragon Lee is in Adam Pearce’s office when Dominik Mysterio comes in to yell at both of them. Lee promises to win the North American Title next week.

Giovanni Vinci vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Ludwig Kaiser is here too as Vinci uppercuts Ciampa into the corner. A clothesline puts Ciampa down again as we see Gunther watching in the back. Vinci gets two off a belly to back suplex but Ciampa strikes away. Ciampa comes back with a Thesz press and a reverse DDT but Kaiser offers a distraction. That doesn’t work for Vinci as Ciampa pulls him into the Sicilian Stretch for the tap at 3:28.

Rating: C. As has been the case with LA Knight in weeks past, what mattered here was that Ciampa got another win. That is how you make someone feel like a bigger deal and they are making it work with him. He’ll have to move up the ladder sooner than later if he is going to, but at least he has a place to start.

Seth Rollins says he’s tired and in a lot of pain but he’s trying to keep it together. He’s tired of these games though and he’s willing to do anything to get Nakamura in the ring. Nakamura can name the time, the place and even the stipulation if he wants. Now Nakamura needs to decide who defines his legacy.

Video on Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso.

Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso

They talk trash to each other to start until McIntyre shoves him into the corner and asks if this is all he has. Jey ducks a shot in the corner and strikes away but McIntyre is right back with the chops. A snap suplex gives McIntyre two but Jey sends him outside, setting up the dive. Another dive hits McIntyre and here is the Judgment Day as we take a break.

Back with McIntyre hitting the top rope superplex, followed by the Glasgow Kiss. Jey manages a quick Samoan drop for two but the suicide dive is cut off. Back in and McIntyre’s spinebuster gets two, only to have Damien Priest offer a distraction on the floor. Jey get in a hard shot of his own for two but kicks all of Judgment Day down. The distraction lets McIntyre hit the Claymore for the pin at 14:12.

Rating: B-. This was all about the angle rather than the match and McIntyre gets a nice rub with a pin in Raw’s main event. He hasn’t had many such wins for a bit so maybe things are turning around now. On the other hand you have Jey loses, but he should have his hands full with Judgment Day for the time being. Not a great match, but the kind that opens up a lot of doors in a variety of directions.

Post match McIntyre leaves and Uso gets beaten down. McIntyre thinks about making the save but stands still until Cody Rhodes runs in for the real save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show felt more like the NXT of old and that is a good thing. You could almost feel the list of things that they wanted to accomplish being checked off one by one. There were some things set up for the future, but none of those were set up for Fastlane. They still have two Raw’s left before the pay per view, but I’m getting tired of the matches being announced so late in the show’s buildup. Either way, good enough show here, as they got a lot done.

Results
Cody Rhodes b. Dominik Mysterio – Cross Rhodes
Kofi Kingston b. Ivar – Trouble In Paradise
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Ricochet via DQ when Ricochet used a chair
Piper Niven/Chelsea Green b. Shayna Baszler/Zoey Stark via DQ when Nia Jax interfered
Bronson Reed b. Chad Gable – Tsunami
Becky Lynch b. Natalya – Rollup
Tommaso Ciampa b. Giovanni Vinci – Sicilian Stretch
Drew McIntyre b. Jey Uso – Claymore

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

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AND

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Monday Night Raw
Date: September 11, 2023
Location: Scope, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We have less than a month to go before Fastlane and there isn’t much set for the show so far. In a bit of a confusing way to go, there is a Women’s Title match this week, along with the return of Cody Rhodes. There is something a bit more historic to this show though, as it is the last WWE event before Endeavor officially takes over the company tomorrow. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Here is Jey Uso to get things going and my goodness that’s a star’s reaction. Jey says it feels good to be here on Raw but here is Kevin Owens to interrupt. Owens says Uso should be saying he’s on the Kevin Owens Show. There are a bunch of people backstage who do not trust Owens, but a lot of people are saying not to trust Jey. Sami Zayn trusts him but that’s about it, and it’s going to take time to earn Owens’ trust.

Cue the Judgment Day, with Finn Balor saying no one talks to him like that. They respect Jey and Owens doesn’t speak for the locker room. Jey has said no to their offers to join and that’s ok, as Dominik Mysterio said no time after time but here he is. Damian Priest said he thought they were facing Owens and Sami Zayn tonight, but Owens says Sami isn’t here tonight. Owens is ready to fight them all himself, even if it’s one on three. Jey: “Hey Kevin. I’m here too.” Owens is in and Judgment Day is cleared out.

Judgment Day vs. Jey Uso/Kevin Owens

Non-title and Dominik Mysterio is here too. Jey takes Balor down to start and hands it off to Owens for two off a DDT. Priest comes in and stomps away in the corner but it’s right back to Jey with a high crossbody. Jey sends them outside for the dive but Dominik takes out Owens’ bad knee as we take a break.

Back with Owens fighting out of trouble and bringing Jey back in for an enziguri. The running Umaga Attack misses though and Balor kicks him down. Jey grabs his pop up neckbreaker on Balor and fires off superkicks but the Superfly Splash hits raised knees. Owens comes back in with a tornado DDT for two and the spinning brainbuster gets the same on Balor. Jey accidentally superkicks Owens and fights to the floor with Priest, leaving Balor to Coup de Grace Owens for the pin at 12:28.

Rating: B-. The action worked but as you might have expected, this was more about the storytelling elements. Owens doesn’t trust Jey and even though Jey did something nice, he got burned in the end. This feels like another step in a long story, and the good thing so far is Jey feels like a big star who isn’t in over his head.

Post match Owens doesn’t trust Jey at all and limps off on his own.

We look at Raquel Rodriguez vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women’s Title later tonight.

Post break, Kevin Owens doesn’t want to hear from Jey Uso. Of note: Wade Barrett implies that Cody Rhodes had Jey brought to the show.

We look back at last week’s Gunther vs. Chad Gable Intercontinental Title match.

Video on September 11.

Miz vs. Akira Tozawa

Tozawa snaps off a hurricanrana to start but charges into a big boot to cut him off. Miz kicks him down again and sneers, setting up a running knee. Three straight Skull Crushing Finales finish Tozawa at 3:02.

Rating: C. This was what it needed to be as Miz got to wreck Tozawa to get his win back while also looking like a bigger threat to LA Knight this week. That’s part of the serious Miz and it makes for a good moment, as that version of Miz can be rather effective. Now just make it work this Friday.

Raquel Rodriguez is ready to win the Women’s Title because she’s bigger, stronger and angrier than Rhea Ripley.

Shayna Baszler is praising Zoe Stark for her effort last week when Chelsea Green comes in. Green offers her a spot as the new partner since Piper Niven isn’t medically cleared. Baszler offers to hurt her tonight but Green promises to find a new partner. Baszler leaves and here is Niven to say she’s back and cleared.

Here is Imperium for Gunther’s championship celebration. Cue Gunther, in one heck of a suit, to say that to the shock of no one, he is now the longest reigning and greatest champion in history. It means a lot to him, even if the legends who held the title before him contributed nothing. He is running out of competition and from now on he is only competing against himself.

Cue Chad Gable to interrupt and say they had a classic last week. After Gunther won, Gable saw the realization in Gunther’s eyes that he just had the toughest title defense of his career. Gable promises to get the title after having to see his family cried last week. Gunther praises Gable’s abilities but calls him a bad father. The fight is on with Otis’ interference not getting him very far. Tommaso Ciampa chases the three off.

We recap the New Day/Drew McIntyre/Riddle/Viking Raiders ordeal.

Drew McIntyre apologizes to Xavier Woods for throwing the chair at him but Woods is cool with it. Woods brings up the insults to Kofi Kingston from last week and thinks it’s jealousy. Kofi got his big Wrestlemania moment in front of tens of thousands of people, while McIntyre was in front of no one. McIntyre promises pain tonight.

Tommaso Ciampa says he doesn’t like Gunther and Imperium using their numbers advantage, so Otis suggests a six man carnage tonight. Ciampa doesn’t say anything.

Drew McIntyre vs. Xavier Woods

McIntyre starts fast and Glasgow Kisses Woods down. Woods tries to pick up the pace but gets knocked down again, only to send McIntyre to the floor. The dropkick through the ropes connects but the slingshot dive is pulled out of the air. McIntyre throws him over the announcers’ table and we take a break.

Back with Woods slipping out of what might have been a superplex and hitting a powerbomb. A guillotine legdrop gets two on McIntyre but he snaps off the belly to belly. McIntyre neckbreakers him down but walks into a kick to the face for two. The reverse Alabama Slam is countered into a victory roll to give Woods two, followed by a penalty kick for the same. They slug it out and run the ropes until McIntyre nails a heck of a Claymore for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. This was a much edgier McIntyre and that is a good thing. McIntyre has been kind of stale for a long time now and shifting towards a heel turn could be exactly what he needs. At the end of the day, he has the background and abilities to make it work and I’m curious to see how it could go. For now though, I’ll settle for a pretty awesome looking Claymore for the pin.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. Cody wants to talk about Jey Uso but here are Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh to interrupt. Dominik says Jey is going to join the team and there isn’t a thing Cody can do about it. The fight is on and Cody cleans house without much trouble.

In the back, Drew McIntyre runs into Jey Uso and says they have unfinished business. McIntyre doesn’t trust him. Jey says cool, but McIntyre says Jey can’t stand on his own two feet. A match is set for next week.

Chelsea Green vs. Shayna Baszler

Piper Niven is here with Green. Baszler wastes no time in taking her down and going after the arm, only to get kicked in the head. The threat of a cross armbreaker sends Green outside but some damage has been done. Back in and the Kirifuda Clutch is countered into a victory roll for two but Baszler Pipers Pit’s her for the pin at 1:50.

Post match Niven goes after Baszler but Zoe Stark comes in for the save.

Shinsuke Nakamura says Seth Rollins isn’t honorable and brings up some of he horrible things Rollins has done. Nakamura will challenge him when he feels like it.

Here is Seth Rollins for a chat. Rollins agrees with all of the bad things Shinsuke Nakamura has said about him and is ready to fight for the title right now. Nakamura’s music plays but we cut to the back where Nakamura is beating up Ricochet. Nakamura will be around.

Finn Balor comes up to Jey Uso in the back and says he likes what he’s been seeing tonight. Jey isn’t sure what to think about this but the Judgment Day’s doors are always open.

Imperium vs. Alpha Academy/Tommaso Ciampa

Maxxine Dupri is here with the Academy and Ciampa. A Thesz press takes Vinci down to start and it’s off to Gable vs. Kaiser. Gable gets the better of things so it’s back to Vinci, with Kaiser low bridging Gable to the floor. Gable gets sent into the corner for the triple kick and we take a break.

Back with Gable not being able to dive over for a tag as Gunther knocks his partners to the floor. Gable finally takes Gunther down and brings Ciampa back in to pick up the pace. A reverse DDT gets two on Vinci, who is back up with a heck of a clothesline. Otis comes in and gets to clean house, including the Caterpillar to Kaiser. A missed charge sends Otis into the post though and it’s a double tag to bring in Gable and Gunther for the showdown.

Gunther snaps off a German suplex but the powerbomb is rolled through into an ankle lock. Vinci comes in and gets ankle locked as well, setting up Chaos Theory for two. With everyone else fighting on the floor, Gable ankle locks Vinci. Gunther tries to dive in for the save but Ciampa grabs the Sicilian Stretch to slow Gunther down and make him watch Vinci tap at 13:06.

Rating: B. This was a fast paced almost non-stop action match, especially after they went nuts after the break. Otis continues to have that weird charisma to him that makes even his goofy stuff look good, but this was again about Gunther vs. Gable. They’re likely to have another match at Fastlane and Gable almost has to win the title after this much hype.

Judgment Day is ready for the main event.

NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton is in the back to complain about how Becky Lynch isn’t here. Cue Lynch, so Adam Pearce wants to get the contract signed. First though, Stratton says she has been nothing but nice to Lynch, who is coming after the title anyway. Lynch says she sees all of the potential in Stratton so it’s time to bring her to the big time. Lynch signs as Stratton says she’s ready to prove she’s the best. Stratton signs as well and walks off.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Ripley is defending and they take turns showing off the power to start. A powerslam gives Rodriguez two and we hit the bearhug. Ripley slips out and sends her outside for a dive off the steps, followed by some right hands back inside. Ripley misses a charge into the corner though and Rodriguez hits a big boot as we take a break.

Back with Ripley tying up the leg while hammering away at the same time. With that broken up, Ripley drops her in the corner, setting up a headscissors choke. Rodriguez powers up and drops Ripley on the corner for the break. They trade running forearms until stereo big boots put them both down.

Back up and they slug it out until Ripley gets two off a northern lights suplex. Riptide is blocked though and Rodriguez plants her down for two. Ripley knocks her down again and hits a frog splash for two and they head outside again. This time Ripley’s cannonball is countered into a swing into the announcers’ table, followed by an apron powerbomb. Ripley is thrown back in…..and Nia Jax returns to take out Rodriguez. Back in and Riptide retains the title at 15:43.

Rating: B-. They were having the hoss fight here and Rodriguez was going step for step with Ripley but then the ending happened. It’s a big shock to have Jax return, but unless she has improved a good bit since the end of her last run, it might not be the best addition. If she can move out there well enough and is a good bit safer then cool, but otherwise I’m not sure about this.

Post match Jax hits a Banzai Drop on Ripley to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. There was enough good action on this show to make the three hours go by pretty quickly and that’s the best thing that can be said about most Raw’s. The ending is the big moment of the show, along with what feels like a Drew McIntyre heel turn. I’m curious about where some of these things are going and Jey Uso feels like an actual high level star as he is sprinkled throughout the show. This week was more about setting things up for later and on that front, it was a good success.

Results
Judgment Day b. Kevin Owens/Jey Uso – Coup de Grace to Owens
Miz b. Akira Tozawa – Skull Crushing Finale
Drew McIntyre b. Cody Rhodes – Claymore
Shayna Baszler b. Chelsea Green – Piper’s Pit
Alpha Academy/Tommaso Ciampa b. Imperium – Ankle lock to Vinci
Rhea Ripley b. Raquel Rodriguez – Riptide

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.

Payback 2023
Date: September 2, 2023
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

We’re back to the big shows here but this one isn’t exactly looking like the most thrilling. There are six matches announced, plus Cody Rhodes appearing on the Grayson Waller Effect. The main event will likely be Seth Rollins defending the Raw World Title against Shinsuke Nakamura and John Cena hosting should spice things up a bit. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about how this was started a long time ago but now it’s time for payback. The matches all get a quick look.

We recap Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch in a cage. Trish claims she paved the way for everyone today and wants recognition. Becky points out that she got further than Trish ever did on her own. Trish was the best of her generation, but this is a new generation. Now it’s time to end a rather long running feud.

Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch

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

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

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

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

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

Post match Stark gets up but Trish tells her to get out. That earns her a Z360, which should write Trish off TV.

Long video on Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins while they get rid of the cage.

Here is John Cena, who praises the opening match. He’s done a lot of things over the years but he’s never been a host. It’s his job to make the night special, so how about he guest referees LA Knight vs. the Miz! Cue the Miz to say he isn’t happy with this because Cena sucks as a host. Miz wants Cena to stay out of his match but Cena says that was his one idea. Does Miz have any other ideas? Sure: When the people making the Barbie movie call you, don’t say you’ll be a Merman! Miz suggests he take more initiative, so Cena says he’ll be the guest referee. He even has a shirt and we’re ready to go.

Miz vs. LA Knight

John Cena is guest referee. Miz stalls to start and walks up the aisle but Knight brings him back in and they slug it out on the mat. It’s Miz taking over and hitting the top rope ax handle for two. Knight is back up with a powerslam for two and Miz bails to the floor, where Knight hits a dropkick through the ropes. Knight sends him into a few things but goes inside to break the count, allowing Miz to manage a ram into the announcers’ table.

That doesn’t last long as Knight jumps onto the barricade for a clothesline to take over again. Back in and Knight hits a running clothesline before stomping away in the corner. That doesn’t work for Cena, who yells at Knight, allowing Miz to get in a cheap shot. A Codebreaker out of the corner gives Miz two and we hit the chinlock. The YES Kicks keeps Knight in trouble but he suplexes his way out of trouble.

The jumping neckbreaker and a middle rope bulldog drop Miz again and a running boot gets two. Miz’s DDT gets the same but a spinning DDT out of the corner gives Knight two more. Miz grabs a rollup with the rope for two and they both almost hit Cena. The Skull Crushing Finale gives Miz two more but Miz tries his own Five Knuckle Shuffle. The delay lets Knight come back with the powerslam and spelling elbow. Blunt Force Trauma finishes Miz at 15:41.

Rating: C+. This was a good bit longer than it needed to be but it wasn’t bad, with the important point being Knight’s win. It’s one of the bigger matches of his career and he beats a former World Champion, which is about all you could hope for here. Cena was there to pick things up a bit, but thankfully didn’t play a role in the ending. Good stuff, with the right result.

Post match Cena offers a handshake but Knight says Cena almost cost him the match. Knight does shake his hand.

We recap Austin Theory vs. Rey Mysterio for the US Title. Theory attacked Santos Escobar before Escobar’s US Title shot so Rey took the spot and won the title. Now it’s time for a rematch.

US Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Austin Theory

Rey is defending. They start fast with Rey taking him into the corner for some right hands as Cole is still listing off Rey’s career accomplishments. A clothesline cuts Rey off and a running version in the corner makes it worse. Theory grabs a suplex but another attempt is countered into a small package for two. A swinging sleeper drop sets up a chinlock on Rey, with Theory whispering something to him. Back up and Rey is sent chest first into the buckle before Theory starts going after the mask.

With that broken up, Rey hits a top rope moonsault to drop Theory again and they’re both down for a bit. Rey sends him outside for a sliding tornado DDT. Back in and the top rope seated senton gives Rey two more but Theory grabs a torture rack powerbomb for the same. A Town Down misses so Theory goes with the rolling dropkick. Rey is right back with the basement dropkick and they’re both down. The 619 connects for Rey but the slingshot splash hits knees. Theory tries A Town Down again but this time it’s reversed into a victory roll to retain the title at 9:49.

Rating: B-. This felt like a Smackdown main event and was a good bit better match than their original version. Mysterio can still go with anyone and seems likely to be ready for a showdown with Santos Escobar down the line. For now though, they had a good enough match and now Theory can move on to anything else.

Becky Lynch is interrupted by Tiffany Stratton, who forgot that Becky was never the NXT Women’s Title. Becky suggests that Stratton focus on her title defense, but maybe she’ll see Stratton soon. Stratton doesn’t seem worried.

We recap Judgment Day coming after Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens’ Tag Team Titles. They’ve been coming for the belts for awhile now, despite bickering a lot. Therefore, let’s have a street fight.

Tag Team Titles: Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. Judgment Day

Finn Balor and Damian Priest are challenging in a street fight. The weapons are pulled out fast, with Balor not being pleased at the sight of a Terrible Towel. Owens gets a kendo stick knocked out of his hands but it’s Zayn hitting a big running flip dive to take the villains down. Trashcan shots rock Priest and Balor has a trashcan put on his head. The kendo stick shots put Balor down again so the fans request, and receive, tables.

Priest is back up for the save and Zayn gets stomped down in the corner. Owens fights back on Priest and unloads on him with stomping, plus a chair shot. Balor chairs Owens down but Zayn is back up to chair Balor down as well. The fight goes into the crowd and here is Dominik Mysterio to help take the champs down. We get a Judgment Day huddle but Owens (bleeding) and Zayn come back with Pittsburgh Penguins jerseys and hockey sticks.

Cole think they’re the Pittsburgh Steelers as the champs unload on Dominik. Back in and Owens pulls Priest off the apron for a ram into the steps, leaving Zayn to Blue Thunder Bomb Balor onto a pile of chairs. A bunch of chairs are set up inside but Priest Broken Arrows Zayn onto the chairs for two, with Owens throwing a chair at the cover for the save. They head back into the crowd with Owens having to fight out of a double teaming.

Zayn comes back in for the save and dives off the Kickoff Show desk to take them both down. Owens is back up to put Dominik on a table and there’s the Swanton off of a balcony. In the ring, Sami suplexes Balor into the corner but Priest throws a trashcan at Zayn’s head for two. Zayn fights back up and suplexes Priest into the corner and knocks Balor through a table at ringside.

Owens is back in to Stun Priest into the Helluva Kick but JD McDonagh pulls Zayn out at two. That earns McDonagh a powerbomb onto the announcers’ table but cue Rhea Ripley to spear Owens through the barricade. Back in and Balor shotgun dropkicks Zayn into the corner, only to miss the Coup de Grace. Zayn suplexes him into the corner again and the Helluva Kick gets two as Dominik makes the save with the briefcase to give Balor the pin and the titles at 20:43.

Rating: A-. This was ALL about the insanity and violence and that worked incredibly well. There were multiple times where I would have believed it was over and then it kept going, without ever feeling like it was going too long. It took five people, but Zayn and Owens finally lost the titles after a huge win earlier this year. The big thing here was that they changed the titles when there was almost no realistic way for Owens and Zayn to retain. That’s how it should have gone and my goodness this was a heck of a fight.

Here is Grayson Waller for the Grayson Waller Effect. Waller says his guest is a lot like Pittsburgh, in that neither of them can ever finish a story. Cue Cody Rhodes to talk about….nothing actually, as Waller cuts him off. Cody talks about how new Waller is at this and sums up how this is going to go, with the big ending being a Cross Rhodes to Waller.

Instead, Cody talks about the stars of NXT and of Smackdown, the latter of which included a recent issue that needs to be solved. Cody gets up and introduces the newest member of the Raw roster: Main Event Jey Uso. Jey comes in to pose but Waller cuts him off, only to get superkicked for his efforts. Well that’s a big moment.

We recap Rhea Ripley defending the Women’s World Title against Raquel Rodriguez. Ripley has taken out her knee a few times, but now Rodriguez is back and healthy, meaning it’s time to fight.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez

Ripley is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. They trade the power shoves to start with neither getting very far. Rodriguez picks her up or a trip to the floor, where Ripley gets in a quick neck snap. Back in and Rodriguez is sent into the corner, where she blocks a whip with straight power. Rodriguez gets her up for a slam but Ripley is back with a running clothesline and some right hands.

Ripley slowly stomps away before snapmaring her into a seated abdominal stretch. A front facelock keeps Rodriguez down but she manages to power Ripley off. Back up and some clotheslines rock Ripley and there’s the fall away slam. The middle rope spinning elbow is broken up though and Ripley goes up top for some headbutts. Rodriguez knocks her down again though and now the middle rope corkscrew elbow connects.

Back up and Ripley gets in a faceplant, setting up a running knee for two. Riptide is blocked though and Rodriguez drops her throat first onto the top rope. Ripley goes back to the bad knee and gets the Prism Trap, which is broken up as well. A powerslam gives Rodriguez two but Ripley is back to the knee. They head outside with Rodriguez hitting a powerbomb against the post (ouch) but cue Dominik Mysterio. That’s fine with Rodriguez, who gives him a running powerslam. Ripley kicks the knee out again though and Riptide retains the title at 17:18.

Rating: C. This was another match that went longer than it needed to and that really held it down. Rodriguez felt like one of the first people who could hang in the ring physically with Ripley but that is only going to take things so far. Rodriguez having that kind of size negates one of the biggest advantages that Ripley has but it was hard to fathom Rodriguez actually winning the title. Not an awful match, but keeping this as an eight minute hoss fight would have been WAY more entertaining.

John Cena, in a jacket that doesn’t fit and in a pink bow tie, talks to Judgment Day about their win. There is no trouble in the ranks and insist that they are stronger than ever.

We recap Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the World Heavyweight Title. Nakamura turned on him and revealed that Rollins had a bad back. Then Nakamura mentioned Rollins’ family, which was too far for Rollins to go.

Raw World Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins

Nakamura is challenging and has a special video in Japanese (with animation), talking about how he’ll remove the burden of being champion from Rollins’ back. As a bonus, the Great Muta of all people is here to watch the match. Nakamura goes after the arm to start but Rollins reverses into a hammerlock. Rollins takes him to the mat and grabs a quickly broken STF.

Back up and Nakamura tells him to COME ON so Rollins strikes away. With Nakamura knocked outside, Rollins hits the required suicide dive, followed by a springboard Swanton back inside. Another suicide dive connects but Nakamura is fine enough to drop Rollins onto the announcers’ table. Nakamura hits the running knee in the corner and then drops another to put Rollins on the floor again.

The half crab doesn’t last long as Rollins fights up and grabs a super hurricanrana. The back is too hurt to follow up though and they’re both down for a bit. A Sling Blade into a frog splash gives Rollins two so he yells about his family being brought into this. The Stomp misses and Nakamura hits the middle rope knee to the chest for another near fall. The sliding German suplex gives Nakamura two more but the Kinshasa is cut off with a superkick.

Nakamura gets the triangle choke, which is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two. They slug it out until Nakamura connects with a kick to the head. Both of them go up top with a super Landslide giving Nakamura two. Kinshasa to the back of the head connects but Rollins collapses before the regular version can connect. Rollins is knocked to the apron but comes back with a Pedigree for two. The stomp from out of nowhere finishes Nakamura at 25:56.

Rating: B. Remember how I’ve taken issue with matches going too long almost all night long? That was the case again here as the match was very good but often felt like they were trying to fill in the long run time. Nakamura did his usual good match, but it wasn’t like there was much of a reason to believe Nakamura was anything more than the challenger of the month.

Rollins kneels in the ring due to his back as Nakamura walks around ringside for a long time….and that’s it.

Overall Rating: B. From a quality standpoint, this show was quite good with only the Women’s Title match not being pretty good at worst. That being said, they really needed another match or two on here so that the already existing matches didn’t have to be dragged out so long. Six matches does not make for much of a pay per view card and that was a glaring issue all night. It also was only so eventful of a show, with Jey Uso jumping to Raw and the Tag Team Title change being the only important parts. Good show if you’re looking for quality wrestling, but not as much for big time forward movements.

Results
Becky Lynch b. Trish Stratus – Super Manhandle Slam
LA Knight b. The Miz – BFT
Rey Mysterio b. Austin Theory – Victory roll
Judgment Day b. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens – Briefcase shot to Zayn
Rhea Ripley b. Raquel Rodriguez – Riptide
Seth Rollins b. Shinsuke Nakamura – 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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So WWE has brought another of its shows out of mothballs and in a way, I like the idea of there not being a major theme. There is no big signature match or concept to the show, instead leaving it as just a show with matches. Now that being said, this show has not had the strongest build, with part of that being due to last week’s Smackdown being thrown off the rails after Bray Wyatt passed away. There isn’t much of a card to go over so far but let’s get to it.

Women’s World Title: Rhea Ripley(c) vs. Raquel Rodriguez

We’ll start out with the hoss fight as these two are going to be able to hit each other really hard. They aren’t exactly hiding about what this is supposed to be and that is a fine way to go. Sometimes you need to just present two powerhouses doing powerhouse things and that is exactly what we’re getting here. Ripley is a star but Rodriguez has risen to the occasion before so we should be in for some fun with this one.

That being said, as entertaining as the match might be, there is no reason to believe that Ripley’s title reign is in any serious danger. Ripley is looking like she could have the kind of record setting title reign that WWE has been using in recent years and while Rodriguez will get her reign one day, it isn’t going to be here. They’ll have a heck of a fight, but it won’t include a title change.

Tag Team Titles: Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens(c) vs. Judgment Day

This is a street fight and that should make for a fun match. Owens and Zayn can work a regular match but they can also do the wild brawling stuff rather well. It also helps that the Judgment Day can work that style as well, with Dominik Mysterio and perhaps JD McDonagh getting involved as well. At the same time though, you have the internal issues for the Judgment Day and things could get rather complicated rather fast.

Again I don’t see much of a reason to believe that the titles are going to change hands here, as Zayn and Owens have cooled off as champions, but I don’t think they’ve cooled off enough to lose. Judgment Day has to win something, but that briefcase Priest is carrying around makes the Tag Team Titles feel like a downgrade. Owens and Zayn retain here, but I’m not sure how much longer they’ll keep the belts.

United States Title: Rey Mysterio(c) vs. Austin Theory

Mysterio is in a more vulnerable place than most champions as he does not feel like anything resembling a long term champion. He is someone who could put someone else over at any time and Theory getting the title back is not completely out of the question. It makes for a more compelling match, but the fact that Mysterio beat him so easily a few weeks ago brings that back down.

I still can’t go with a new champion here though, as Mysterio retains and likely drops the title to Santos Escobar sooner than later. That is the story that has been set up and I don’t see much of a reason for anything else to happen. Theory has held the title for so long that it doesn’t make sense to put the belt back on him, as he is desperately in need of something new. Therefore he doesn’t win here, as Mysterio gets ready for his eventual showdown with Escobar.

LA Knight vs. The Miz

This has been built up on a string of promos and that is where both of them shine. The match gone from what felt like an easy win for Knight into something more personal as Miz has been in serious mode in the last few weeks. That can make for a good Miz feud and he has made it work well enough here. Now they just have to stick the landing and Knight can be well on his way.

So yeah of course there is no reason to believe that Miz wins here, as Knight is one of the hottest stars in WWE at the moment. He can move up the ladder a bit with a win here as he gets into title contention, with this kind of a win helping. What matters most is that Miz has been serious coming into it, which will make the win feel that much more important. This match doesn’t have to be great, but it needs to be good enough with Knight winning, and that should work out.

Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus

They’re inside a cage, which should be the end to this longer than necessary feud. However, that has been the case for a few months now and the thing just keeps going. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt though as a cage match should be a sure fire way to wrap it up. Lynch has already taken out Zoey Stark as well, so they have a way to make this one work out.

Since there is no reason to believe that Stratus is sticking around after this one, I’ll take Lynch to win so she can move on to something else (like Tiffany Stratton for example). Unless they jump start some new feud way faster than necessary, this should be Lynch going over to finish Stratus off or good. The feud has lost steam, but having them get a good, dramatic and violent match here would be enough to get out of it as unscathed as possible. Lynch wins.

World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins(c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

This is the only match that I can imagine headlining the show, but like most World Heavyweight Title matches so far, it feels like a glorified midcard title. Rollins is trying and they have enough of a feud, but this headlining the show doesn’t seem like the easiest move. It’s about all we have for now though and they should be able to have a good match in this slot.

As much as I would love Nakamura to win the title for once, there is no reason to believe that he is anything more than the challenger of the month in between Rollins’ bigger feuds. Rollins does have a bad back and that is going to need to be addressed sooner than later, but for now, Rollins wins. He also doesn’t have to deal with Money In The Bank just yet, as they haven’t ignored it long enough to have Priest cash it in.

Overall Thoughts

And that’s the show for now. It’s a six match card as of the end of Smackdown and that isn’t exactly feeling like something major. There is also Cody Rhodes on the Grayson Waller Effect and John Cena as the guest host, and it wouldn’t shock me to see Cena and Rhodes cross paths. The show needs something else and setting up a potential Rhodes vs. Cena showdown could work. Odds are we get a bonus match somewhere, but there isn’t much that can be done to hide how much of a C-list show this really is.

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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Smackdown
Date: September 1, 2023
Location: Giant Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We are back to normal this week with the go home show for tomorrow night’s Payback. That should be a big enough deal, but we’re also getting the return of John Cena, who is going to be around for a long time to come. At the same time, we have the return of Jimmy Uso so the Bloodline is back. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of Jey Uso laying out the Bloodline and then quitting WWE.

Here is John Cena to get things going and yeah the fans still remember him. Cena is here to say thank you for everything he gets to do, including wrestling in India for the first time ever next week. As for this weekend though, he is going to be the host of Payback. As for tonight though, you saw the video about Jimmy Uso so tonight is about answers. Cena is about to say what he is doing tonight but here is Jimmy Uso to interrupt.

The fans want Jey but Jimmy says he did what he did out of love for his brother. Jimmy again explains that he didn’t want Jey to get corrupted by the power like Roman Reigns….or Cena. Jimmy isn’t pleased with the sky blue shirt but Cena seems to like the look. Apparently Cena and Reigns are exactly alike (Cena: “Nah man.”) because they both take and take but Cena does his with a smile. Cena thinks the pressure is getting to Jimmy and he has one (Cena does the one finger pose) thing to say: the wrong Uso quit. Jimmy tries a superkick but gets caught in the AA.

Grayson Waller and Austin Theory aren’t impressed with John Cena being back. Now go watch them be the best tag team ever.

Jimmy Uso is livid.

Rey Mysterio/Santos Escobar vs. Austin Theory/Grayson Waller

Escobar dropkicks Waller down to start and then launches Rey over the top onto the villains as we take an early break. Back with Mysterio in trouble and Escobar getting tripped off the apron. Rey manages to send Waller outside for a crash and then grab a tornado DDT. That’s enough for the tag off to Escobar so the pace can pick back up. Everything breaks down and Theory takes out Escobar’s leg (after Escobar shoved Rey out of the way). Rey and Theory go to the floor and the rolling Stunner gives Waller the pin on Escobar at 8:05.

Rating: C+. Waller getting the pin on Escobar here is a bit of a surprise as Escobar isn’t on Payback and Waller is hosting a talk show on there. At the same time, I’m glad they didn’t have a champion get pinned, even if it is Rey. For now though, nice opener and at least Waller FINALLY got a pin.

Michin is talking to Adam Pearce when Jimmy Uso interrupts. Pearce tells him off for being rude and that’s that.

Post break Michin talks to the Good Brothers about Jimmy Uso disrespecting her. AJ Styles is going to deal with this.

Here is Bobby Lashley (rocking a suit) for a chat. Lashley acknowledges the fans liking him these days but he is here to talk about the only thing anyone wants to ask him about: what is up with him and the Street Profits? Lashley says that real recognizes real so here are the Profits to join him. The Profits thank Lashley for everything he’s done for them lately and they’ll thank him with success. Lashley says they’re coming for power, control and championship gold. As they’re leaving here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for their match, plus a staredown.

Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. Cruz del Toro/Joaquin Wilde

Non-title. Sami armbars Wilde down to start and hands it off to Owens for a Swanton. Back up and del Toro hits a rolling dropkick to send Owens into the corner. Del Toro misses a springboard dive and it’s a pop up powerbomb to put him down. Del Toro gets kicked off the apron and the Helluva Kick into the Stunner finishes Wilde at 2:28. Total squash.

Post match Sami tells the Judgment Day to bring it tomorrow night.

Jimmy Uso is going to leave when he runs into AJ Styles. Arguing and shoving ensues, with Solo Sikoa running in to jump Styles. Jimmy says no one in the Bloodline can tell Jimmy a thing, then he leaves.

AJ Styles wants to beat up the Bloodline but the OC tries to calm things down. The attempts don’t work out.

Here is the Miz for a chat. Miz talks about how much better he is than LA Knight, as he impersonated him so easily on Raw. Knight isn’t on his level or even half of the star Miz was ten years ago. Cue Knight to interrupt and say Miz has impersonated stars such as the Rock, John Cena and now Knight himself.

Knight has done it all to get here from working nothing jobs to living in the roach infested apartments to cashing his checks at the payday loan place. Now Miz is talking about how Knight isn’t on his level, but it’s Miz who isn’t on his level. Miz brings up Knight’s failure on a reality show and you might not remember it because he was the first eliminated. Miz was in the Marine series and has Miz and Mrs. because he succeeds everywhere he goes. Knight talks about how the star of Miz and Mrs. was Miz’s wife because he just carried the bag that held his giblets.

Speaking of Maryse, he apologizes for sending her a broken husband after Payback, but Knight would be happy to fix her, YEAH. Miz laughs it off and says Knight is different than these people, who will settle for mediocrity. Knight is trying to do something but after Payback, he’s sending Knight back to 2003, where he can cut promos into a hairbrush in his roach infested apartment. Knight says Miz will learn tomorrow and hits the catchphrase, but Miz jumps him with the Skull Crushing Finale. Knight gets up and chases after him but security breaks it up. They were both bringing it here and this was a fiery exchange.

Shotzi vs. Bayley

The rest of Damage CTRL is here with Bayley. Shotzi ducks a big boot to start, as Cole asks “who thinks of shaving panthers.” Bayley hammers her down in the corner but gets sent outside for a flip dive off the apron. We take a break and come back with Bayley tying her in the Tree of Woe for a bottom rope springboard elbow. Shotzi fights up so Bayley wants Iyo Sky’s title. Cue Charlotte to take Sky out and Shotzi hits a DDT for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: C. Not much to this one, but somehow this wound up being more about Charlotte than anyone in the match. Shotzi’s new look might not stand out as much but she did look rather unique with the change of pace. What mattered here was giving Shotzi a win though and hopefully she can go somewhere after years of floundering.

Video on Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura.

Payback rundown.

AJ Styles vs. Solo Sikoa

No Paul Heyman this time. Sikoa runs him over with a shoulder to start but the running headbutt only hits knees. Styles hits his jumping knee and adds a running clothesline in the corner Heyman comes out. Sikoa’s cheap shot doesn’t work as Styles knocks him outside and hits the slingshot forearm as we take a break.

Back with Styles being sent ribs first into the post and a belly to belly gets two. Sikoa backdrops him but Styles is right back with the Pele. The running basement forearm and there’s the corner clothesline to rock Sikoa again. The Phenomenal Blitz is countered into a pop up Samoan drop to give Sikoa two more. Styles knocks him right back down and hits a Lionsault of all things for two. Sikoa grabs the referee though and here is Jimmy Uso to break up the Phenomenal Forearm. Sikoa hits the Spike for the pin at 12:04.

Rating: B-. Kind of a lackluster main event here and you might as well have had a big sign counting down to Jimmy showing up again to interfere. This is the latest issue for the Bloodline as one guy seems to want back in but there is a chance that it’s another big swerve. Styles and the OC going after the Bloodline is at least something fresh, but this wasn’t a great way to bring Jimmy back.

Post match Heyman looks stunned and Jimmy hugging Sikoa makes it even more complicated. Sikoa shoves Jimmy away and goes to the floor, leaving Jimmy to drop Styles and hit the Superfly Splash. Heyman calls (presumably) Roman Reigns to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a kind of all over the place show as they were trying to get Jimmy Uso back while having Cena pop in and give a hard final push towards Payback. It didn’t help that last week was nearly a punt of a show (for good reason) but Payback is looking like a weak show and it isn’t like there was much excitement for the event in the first place. Not a bad show, but fairly skippable, as might be the case with Payback as well.

Results
Austin Theory/Grayson Waller b. Rey Mysterio/Santos Escobar – Rolling Stunner to Escobar
Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens b. Cruz del Toro/Joaquin Wilde – Stunner to Wilde
Shotzi b. Bayley – DDT
Solo Sikoa b. AJ Styles – Samoan Spike

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: August 28, 2023
Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

It’s the go home Raw for Payback and the card is mostly set. There are still a few things that need to be either set up or at least finalized a bit more and hopefully that makes for an entertaining show. Odds are we’ll also be seeing something in the way of tributes to Bray Wyatt and Terry Funk. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory Of Terry Funk and Bray Wyatt.

Sami Zayn vs. Damian Priest

This is a preview of the newly announced Tag Team Title match at Payback, where Sami and Kevin Owens will defend against Priest and Finn Balor. Priest’s headlock doesn’t last long as Zayn sends him out to the floor and hits a springboard moonsault. Back in and Priest blasts him with a clothesline, followed by the Broken Arrow for two.

Zayn is sent outside for a Downward Spiral onto the announcers’ table and we take a break. We come back with Zayn hitting a sunset bomb for two and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets the same. Zayn exploders him into the corner but here is JD McDonagh for a distraction so Priest can hit South Of Heaven for the pin at 11:30.

Rating: C+. This is the standard way to build towards a Tag Team Title match in WWE and I would bet on an Owens vs. Balor match later in the night. The McDonagh factor makes it more interesting but we might be waiting to see that one go anywhere. For now though, we got a decent enough match as Priest gets the win while Zayn is protected in a loss.

Post match Priest shoves McDonagh down and leaves, with Kevin Owens coming in to beat McDonagh up again.

Drew McIntyre has a new photo of himself in bright green trunks, which Akira Tozawa finds a bit disturbing. Matt Riddle comes in to suggest they get matching kilts and watch New Day vs. the Viking Raiders tonight.

Video on Raquel Rodriguez wanting to get revenge on Rhea Ripley.

Here is the Miz dressed as LA Knight and we have an impression. Miz mocks the way Knight speaks and switches between YEAH and WHAT. He knows it takes more than a catchphrase to get your support and whips out a bag of LA Knight shirts. If you want a free shirt, give him a H*** YEAH. Miz takes off the gear and talks about how pathetic the fans are. They’ll cheer for anything and the party is over when he beats LA Knight for good. You can cheer for catchphrases and losers and in five days, they’ll be chanting M-I-Z, YEAH! Miz was fired up here and it worked as usual.

We look back at Shinsuke Nakamura talking about Seth Rollins’ back injury.

New Day vs. Viking Raiders

Drew McIntyre and Matt Riddle (taking notes) are at ringside. Woods headlocks Erik to start but it’s off to Ivar to take over without much time. That’s broken up and Kofi comes back in to strike away. The kick in the corner sets up a high crossbody for two on Ivar, who needs a breather. The big no hands dive takes Ivar out again and we take a break.

Back with Kofi having to dropkick his way out of trouble. Commentary references Barbarian of all people as they talk about Valhalla wearing antlers at ringside and Kofi gets dropped with a forearm for two. Ivar forearms Kofi down and Erik adds a boot as the beating continues. Ivar’s chinlock doesn’t last long and he misses a sitdown splash.

Kofi gets over to Woods so the pace can be picked up but Erik grabs a full nelson onto a raised knee. Everything breaks down and Kingston is driven into Riddle and McIntyre. The latter throws a chair inside and another hits Woods HARD in the face (he seemed to be aiming for Erik). Ivar dives onto McIntyre and Ragnarok finishes Kofi at 17:08.

Rating: C+. This got a lot of time (likely too much) and was more about Riddle and McIntyre interfering than anything else. McIntyre throwing the chair at Woods’ head was a nasty looking crash and should set up a triple threat match. Good stuff here, but it went longer than it needed to.

Post match Kofi, McIntyre and Riddle check on Woods.

Finn Balor and Damian Priest argue about JD McDonagh again and Rhea Ripley has to calm things down again. She already has to deal with Raquel Rodriguez and if the team doesn’t walk out of Payback with Gold, there are going to be some changes.

We get the full Bray Wyatt tribute from Smackdown.

Drew McIntyre and Matt Riddle ask Kofi Kingston about Xavier Woods, with Kofi saying he’ll be ok. He knows it was an accident because that’s not what Drew is about. Next week, Drew and Riddle are dealing with the Viking Raiders.

Here is Imperium for a chat. Gunther, standing on the announcers’ table as usual, talks about how Chad Gable defeated him last week….by countout. In reality, Gable won nothing, because Gunther is still the champion. The only thing Gable has achieved is making him mad, and now Gable has his focus. If Gable is the last thing left between him and the longest title reign in history, so be it. Cue the Alpha Academy, with gable saying Gunther is making some good points. Next week, Gable is taking the title away.

Chad Gable vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Gable wrestles him down to start and sends things outside for a flip dive off the apron. We take a break and come back with Gable bridging up from a wristlock and taking him down with a drop toehold. Kaiser shoulders him down as well though, only to have Gable come back with a roll into the ankle lock.

That doesn’t work either as Kaiser blasts him with a clothesline. The armbar over the ropes slows Kaiser down again but he knocks Gable outside with a heck of a slap. We take another break and come back again with Kaiser dropkicking him out to the floor. Back in and Gable goes after the leg but can’t get a German suplex.

Instead Kaiser kicks him in the face for two but gets caught with a neckbreaker. Gable misses the moonsault, only to come back with something like a Gory Stretch into a Dominator for two. A Cactus crossbody puts Kaiser on the floor and Gable moonsaults down onto Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci at the same time. Back in and the ankle lock is broken up so Gable grabs Chaos Theory…but Vinci comes in for the DQ at 18:08.

Rating: C+. Wait what? They had the #1 contender go 18 minutes with the champ’s chief goon and then he can’t even get a pin? Not only should Gable have won this clean after taking out an interfering Vinci, but he should have done it in about ten minutes less. I don’t get this one and it didn’t do Gable any favors at all.

Post match the brawl is on with Gunther coming back in. Gunther’s powerbomb is countered into an ankle lock but Gable is beaten down anyway.

Here is Seth Rollins to call out Shinsuke Nakamura. After taking his time to soak in some singing, Rollins throws in a YOWIE WOWIE before saying who he is. It has been a long week so he’ll get to the point and calls out Nakamura right now. There’s no Nakamura, so Rollins is off to drink.

Cue Nakamura on the screen in a video, as he practices with various weapons as well as grappling. The voiceover (with captions) talks about how he is going to stop Rollins. This doesn’t impress Rollins, who wants the OLD Nakamura back. A year ago, Rollins would have given him the shirt off his back but not anymore. On Saturday, Rollins will lay him out, so Nakamura will know that he is never getting anything else from him. Cue Nakamura to jump him from behind and whisper something else to Rollins.

Sami Zayn is sick of Judgment Day always using the numbers game to win. We’ll do it one more time, but it’s going to be in a Steel City Street Fight.

Bronson Reed vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Reed jumps him downing the entrance but gets kneed down as we take a break before the bell. We come back joined in progress with Reed crossbodying him down to cut off an early comeback. Ciampa avoids a charge and manages an Air Raid Crash but Reed is back with a powerbomb. Reed knocks him off the apron and hits a flying shoulder from said apron for the big crash. Back in and Willow’s Bell into a running knee to the face gives Ciampa two. Ciampa gets back up and grabs a crucifix bomb for the pin (despite barely being able to get the shoulders down) for the pin at 4:38.

Rating: C. Not much to this one and the ending didn’t help things. It feels like these two and a few others have been trading wins for weeks now and no one has really come out looking better. What matters here is Ciampa gets a win for a change, but it doesn’t make much of a difference if there is no follow up.

Becky Lynch is ready for Trish Stratus in a cage and for Zoey Stark in a falls count anywhere match. It’s not the easy way and that’s fine with her.

Here are Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley for a chat (and NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton is in the crow). Ripley doesn’t think much of Raquel Rodriguez, even if she has a resume of her own. Like being tall! Either way, Ripley is keeping the title at Payback. Cue Rodriguez for the brawl with a fall away slam sending Ripley flying. The Riptide is blocked and Ripley gets clotheslined to the floor.

Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark are ready for Becky Lynch.

Payback rundown.

We get the Terry Funk video tribute from Smackdown.

Zoey Stark vs. Becky Lynch

Falls count anywhere and Trish Stratus is here with Zoey. They both grab kendo sticks to start with Becky beating her down. They head outside where a Trish distraction lets Stark get in a cheap shot. A springboard missile dropkick connects so Trish throws in some chairs….one of which hits Stark in the head (meaning commentary is all over Trish).

There is a pile of chairs in the ring but Lynch pulls her off the top. The Z360 is countered into the Manhandle Slam for two, with Trish making the save. Becky gives chase but has to pull a kendo stick away from Trish. The beating sends Trish up the ramp, only to have Zoey get in a chair shot to the ribs as we take a break.

Back with Becky throwing Zoey over the barricade and back to ringside for a suplex into the barricade. They get back inside where Stark chairs her down again as Michael Cole is standing up on commentary for some reason. A slingshot springboard corkscrew dive hits the chair on Lynch so Stark goes up again. Becky catches her with a superplex onto the chairs and we head outside.

This time the Manhandle Slam onto the announcers’ table is loaded up but Stark escapes and kicks her in the face. Trish is back with a bulldog through a well placed table for a rather delayed two. A double bulldog is broken up and Stark accidentally takes Trish out. The Manhandle Slam off a crate and through a table finishes Stark at 16:11.

Rating: B. They were going for the big fight feel here with Becky overcoming the odds, but that only worked so well as it felt like a handicap match instead of a showdown with Stark. At the same time, this didn’t really make me want to see a Lynch vs. Trish cage match, as Trish was mostly vanquished here. This whole feud has been a bit of a mess and I don’t see the blowoff on Saturday going great either.

Lynch holds up a BRAY armband to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was an up and down show with the main event being the best match on the card. At the same time, there wasn’t much added to Payback, save for a Tag Team Title match which was hardly a surprise. Instead they had a wrestling heavy show this week and that is a nice thing to see every so often. They needed a steady show like this after all of the rough news last week, so this was about as good of a choice as they had available. It worked well enough, but save for the main event, there isn’t much you need to see here.

Results
Damian Priest b. Sami Zayn – South Of Heaven
Viking Raiders b. New Day – Ragnarok to Kingston
Chad Gable b. Ludwig Kaiser via DQ when Giovanni Vinci interfered
Tommaso Ciampa b. Bronson Reed – Crucifix bomb
Becky Lynch b. Zoey Stark – Manhandle Slam through a table

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

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AND

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Clash of Champions 2016
Date: September 25, 2016
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 13,467
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

For some reason, this was requested back in the day so we might as well check it off the list. This is the first Raw exclusive pay per view after the Brand Split so the roster is a little limited. In this case, the main event is Kevin Owens defending the Universal Title against Seth Rollins. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Nia Jax vs. Alicia Fox

Jax showed up a few weeks ago and Fox didn’t like it, leading to Fox freaking out. Then Jax beat her up in a match so we’ll do it again. Fox dropkicks her at the bell to start fast and fires off kicks. That earns her some rams into the corner as Jax isn’t having any of that. We’re already in the chinlock for a bit before Jax sends her flying again. Fox slugs away in the corner though and hits a high crossbody. The ax kick gets two but Jax runs Fox over without much effort. The Samoan drop crushes Fox for the pin at 4:54.

Rating: C. This was about what you would expect here, as Jax shrugged off anything Fox threw at her and won pretty decisively. The match wasn’t anything special, with Jax getting a big push as she is new on Raw. Fox is someone who could be destroyed without sacrificing much and keeping it simple and to the point was the right way to go here.

The opening video looks at what it takes to be a champion and how we got to the major matches.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Good Brothers

New Day, meaning Kofi Kingston and Big E. in this case, is defending. Before the match, Kofi talks about how a win here would make them champions for 400 days, but the Good Brothers want to break them up like Brangelina. Anderson and Gallows have never even had a big old bowl of Booty-O’s!

The Brothers finally come out and it’s a clothesline to Big E. on the floor, plus cheap shot to Woods. A Liger Bomb to Kofi for two and the champs are in early trouble. Gallows comes in for a kick to the head and hammers away in the corner. Big E. gets back up but Gallows knocks Kofi right back into the wrong corner. Kofi gets in a shot of his own though and the tag to Anderson takes too long, allowing Big E. to come in for the rapid fire suplexes. The Warrior Splash hits Anderson but he’s able to cut off the spear through the ropes.

Gallows comes in off a blind tag and boots Big E. in the face, setting up the big boot/flapjack combination for two. The tag brings Kofi back in and he is quickly spinebustered for two more. Big E. is dropped again but Kofi breaks up the Magic Killer. Kofi manages Trouble In Paradise and Big E. is back in for the Big Ending but Gallows breaks it up. The referee yells at Gallows, meaning Woods can get in a Francesca shot to Anderson. The Midnight Hour retains the titles at 6:45.

Rating: B-. They crammed a lot into a rather short match here but New Day is always a good choice to open the show. You are going to get the high energy match that the fans will react to and that is a smart way to bring up the energy. The Brothers were viable challengers here and had New Day in a lot of trouble more than once before coming up short. It felt like a hot house show opener and this worked well in pretty much every aspect needed.

We recap TJ Perkins winning the Cruiserweight Classic to become the new Cruiserweight Champion.

TJ Perkins has been working to get here since 1998 and his confidence is going to get him beyond Brian Kendrick.

Cruiserweight Title: Brian Kendrick vs. TJ Perkins

Perkins is defending and I do miss his video game entrance (and Kendrick’s I’m A Man With A Plan song). Not so much the purpose ropes, which was about all the identity the cruiserweight division had. They go with the grappling to start until TJP gets a headscissors. Kendrick switches that into a headlock but gets reversed into a kneebar, sending him straight to the ropes.

The fans are split as Kendrick ties him in the ring skirt and hammers away as commentary tries to get this division and its wrestlers over as much as possible. TJP is right back with a Muta Lock, sending Kendrick to the ropes again. Kendrick manages to send him outside to bang up TJP’s neck but his own knee is hurt as well. Back in and Kendrick gets in a cross arm choke before missing a charge and crashing out to the floor. TJP fights out of another crank and hits a dropkick into a heel kick.

A jumping neckbreaker doesn’t quite work for TJP but a double chickenwing backbreaker two two. With nothing else working, TJP snaps off a top rope hurricanrana to the floor for a double crash. Back in and Kendrick can’t hit the Sliced Bread so TJP goes up, only to miss the 450. Kendrick can’t get the Captain’s Hook but TJP can’t get the kneebar either. Now Sliced Bread gives Kendrick two but this time the Captain’s Hook is reversed into the Detonation Kick. The kneebar retains the title at 10:33.

Rating: B-. This was turning into a heck of a match but there was no way around the fact that it means absolutely nothing. The Cruiserweight Title was introduced in the Cruiserweight Classic and that worked well enough, but after that it became clear why it was gone again. No matter how good the matches might be, and this was a rather good one, you can only get so far with the purple ropes and a title for smaller wrestlers when Daniel Bryan was the hottest thing in the world just a few years ago.

Post match respect is teased but Kendrick drops him and walks off.

Cesaro, in his white tuxedo, is ready to finish the comeback and beat Sheamus to win their best of seven series. This series is about mental toughness and he is ready to show the Cesaro Section the biggest comeback in history.

We recap the first six matches, with Sheamus going up 3-0 but Cesaro has made a comeback to bring us to a winner take all match. The matches have been good, but egads it was hard to sit through this many matches between anyone.

Cesaro vs. Sheamus

The winner gets an unspecified title shot. Cesaro wastes no time in hitting a dropkick but Sheamus is right back with the forearms to the chest. Those are broken up and Sheamus is knocked to the floor, allowing Cesaro to hit the running seated senton off the apron. Back in and Sheamus knocks him off the top for a crash though, setting up a middle rope knee. Some backbreakers stay on Cesaro’s back and we hit the chinlock.

Back up and Sheamus hits a running spinwheel kick in the corner (that looked good) and a top rope clothesline gets two. Sheamus misses a charge into the post though and Cesaro scores with an uppercut to the back. A tornado DDT gets two on Sheamus and the Swiss One Nine (if that’s not the name, it should be) sets up a high crossbody for two more. The Neutralizer is blocked so Cesaro hits a heck of a springboard corkscrew uppercut for another near fall.

It’s too early for the Swing though and Sheamus gets two more off another backbreaker. Two Irish Curses combine for two (so hit a third one then) but the Cloverleaf is countered into a small package to give Cesaro two of his own. Sheamus gets creative with a Razor’s Edge dropped into a backbreaker (OUCH) but the Brogue Kick is countered into the Swing. Cesaro gets the Sharpshooter (while holding his back), sending Sheamus over to the rope.

The apron superplex is countered so Cesaro kicks him in the face instead, setting up one of those suicide dives which lands so badly that the referee runs out to make sure Cesaro isn’t dead. Back in and a quick Brogue Kick gives Sheamus two (as we see the fourth replay of the dive, which looked TERRIFYING).

Cesaro grabs a Neutralizer for two of his own and they’re both down again. Some uppercuts in the corner have Sheamus in more trouble until he cuts off a charge with a raised boot. Sheamus pulls himself up to the top but gets dropkicked down but Sheamus headbutts him right back off the top. A top rope clothesline to the floor hits Cesaro in the back and Sheamus hits White Noise on the floor. Cesaro clotheslines him into the crowd though and it’s a no contest as they’re both out at 16:30.

Rating: B+. This is a great example of a match where time has been kind. I couldn’t stand this feud at the time and the reveal of them getting a Tag Team Title shot didn’t help (though the Bar wound up being great) but this was an awesome fight. They didn’t stop for almost any time during the match and I wanted to see what they were going to come up with next. Awesome stuff here and if they hadn’t done the match to death, I would have liked it a lot more back in the day.

Post match Cesaro wants to keep going but Sheamus staggers out of the arena.

Bayley, still in the Hugger phase, is interrupted by Charlotte, still in….the only phase she has, who says Bayley cheated to get her title shot tonight. Charlotte insists that Bayley isn’t going to win tonight, with Bayley reminding her of that time she pinned Charlotte a few weeks ago. Charlotte: “You can’t even beat Sasha.”

Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho

I do miss Sami’s jaunty hat. Believe it or not, this is over Kevin Owens, who Sami doesn’t like but is Jericho’s new best friend. Therefore, this is about Jericho protecting his own honor after Sami said he was Owens’ b****. Jericho yells at the fans to start until Sami drives him into the corner and hammers away. The referee breaks it up and Jericho gets in the cheap shot.

Sami isn’t having that and snaps off some armdrags into a leg lariat, meaning Jericho needs a breather. With Jericho on the floor, Sami follows him out and hits the moonsault off the barricade. Back in and the referee distracts Sami, allowing Jericho to hit the triangle dropkick to take over. A top rope elbow to the face gives Jericho two and he crotches Sami on top to cut off a quick comeback bid. Jericho loads up the bulldog but Sami sends him hard into the corner and sends him outside.

There’s the big no hands running flip dive (that always looks great), followed by a Michinoku Driver for two on Jericho back inside. Sami misses a flying something off the top and Jericho is back with a step up enziguri. Jericho starts kicking him in the head but Sami pulls him down into a rollup for two more. The rope walk tornado DDT sets up the Helluva Kick but Jericho bails to the floor just in time.

The diving tornado DDT takes Jericho down again outside, only to have another Helluva Kick miss back inside. Instead Sami suplexes him into the corner but a third Helluva Kick misses, allowing Jericho to grab the Walls. Sami finally reverses into a rollup for two and the Blue Thunder Bomb connects for the same. Then Jericho hits the Codebreaker for the pin at 15:21.

Rating: B. Were you expecting anything else from Jericho vs. Zayn in a fifteen minute pay per view match? Sami was fighting from underneath for most of the match, which is where he excels like few others. There is something about watching him try to survive against a bigger star and even get close to winning multiple times, only to come up short. Awesome match here, as this show has been pretty great so far.

Bosses Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon come up to Raw World Champion Kevin Owens, saying if anyone can live up to the rest of the show, it’s him. Owens isn’t impressed ad is ready to show them why they should have taken him over Seth Rollins with the #1 Draft pick. Rollins is no longer then man, but rather the mistake. Their mistake.

We recap the Raw Women’s Title match with Charlotte defending against Bayley and Sasha Banks. Charlotte beat Banks to win the title at Summerslam when Banks had a bad back. Then Bayley showed up and beat Charlotte in a non-title match, setting up the title match.

Raw Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

Charlotte, with Dana Brooke (that didn’t go very far) is defending. Banks chases Charlotte straight to the floor and starts the fight so Bayley kicks both of them in the face. Back in and Bayley rolls Charlotte up for some near falls but Banks isn’t having that. Instead Bayley rolls her up for two but Charlotte pulls Banks down by the hair. We get the big three way standoff until Banks drops Bayley.

Charlotte grabs a neckbreaker to put Banks down but gets crotched on top. Bayley is back up and kicks Charlotte to the floor, setting up a twisting Stunner over the middle rope to take banks down. Brooke gets in a cheap shot on Bayley though, allowing Charlotte to knee Banks into the corner. There’s a hard whip into the corner and Banks’ back is getting a lot more messed up.

Charlotte stops to deck Bayley again but Banks sends Charlotte into the corner to even things up a bit. The Bank Statement is broken up but Bayley is back in with a double high crossbody. Bayley misses a running knee in the corner though and Banks stacks both of them up, setting up the double knees. Back up and Banks breaks up the Figure Eight and Bayley hits the Bayley To Belly for two on Charlotte, leaving everyone down again.

With nothing else working, Banks and Bayley beat up Charlotte…who of course shrugs it off and sends Bayley into the corner again. If that’s not enough, Charlotte drops Banks off the middle rope before doing the same to Bayley. Charlotte hits the moonsault onto both of them for two on Banks, who is right back up with the Bank Statement.

Brooke makes a save of her own and Bayley is shoved off the top for a crash. The Bank Statement has Charlotte in more trouble but Bayley breaks it up this time. Banks does the same thing with Charlotte and Bayley switching places, allowing Charlotte to send Banks hard into the barricade. Back in and Charlotte boots Bayley into Banks, followed by another big boot to retain the title at 15:28.

Rating: B-. Sweet goodness Charlotte was every bit as dominant back then and it was still not the most appealing thing. She kept shrugging off everything Bayley and Banks threw at her, including both at once, and then won the title by beating them both up without much trouble. Good enough match, but it was a lot of Charlotte, as tends to be the case.

The Kickoff Show panel recaps/previews the show.

Remember Nia Jax crushing Alicia Fox on the Kickoff Show? Here are some highlights, in case you were wondering about a near squash.

We recap Roman Reigns challenging Rusev for the US Title. Reigns, being kind of a jerk, interrupted Rusev and Lana’s celebration and shoved her into a cake. They had been supposed to fight at Summerslam but got in a fight before the match so nothing happened.

United States Title: Rusev vs. Roman Reigns

Rusev is defending and Lana handles his introduction. They fight over a lockup to start until Reigns knocks him outside. Back in and Reigns wins a slugout until Rusev spinwheel kicks him in the face for two. Rusev hammers away and whips him into the corner a few times as the fans are way behind Reigns. The clothesline comeback doesn’t last long as Rusev knocks him outside for some rams into the barricade.

Rusev is sent into the steps for two and we hit the chinlock. That stays on for a good bit before Rusev hits a running headbutt and stops for some Bulgarian style glaring. A dropkick of all things drops Reigns again but he rolls away from a top rope headbutt (he learned from the first headbutt you see). The corner clotheslines rock Rusev, who crashes out to the floor and gets sent into the steps for a bonus.

Back in and the Superman Punch is kicked out of the air, setting up a hot shot for two. Reigns cuts off the Machka Kick and hits the Superman Punch for two of his own. Back up and the Lana distraction lets the Machka Kick connect and Rusev loses it on the referee for a bit. The Accolade (camel clutch) is broken up though and Reigns hits the spear, only to have Lana pull the referee.

That’s good for an ejection and Reigns sends Rusev outside as well. The running dropkick hits Rusev but it’s the Machka Kick to give him two back inside. Now the Accolade goes on but Reigns powers up and hits the spear for the pin and the title at 17:10 (it’s as sudden as it sounds).

Rating: B-. This was the Reigns that does not have the best reputation, as while the wrestling was good enough, it wasn’t exactly exciting stuff and he kept shrugging off everything thrown at him. That doesn’t make for the most interesting matches and the ending came out of absolutely nowhere. Not a bad match at all, but there was no point where I was getting interested or excited.

Seth Rollins runs into Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley but he really doesn’t want to hear anything from Stephanie. They bet on the wrong guy, and tell HHH that he bet against the wrong guy.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Finn Balor won the Universal Title at Summerslam but got hurt, meaning the title was decided in a fatal four way. HHH interfered and cost Seth Rollins the title, siding with Kevin Owens instead in quite the screwjob. Now Rollins wants revenge, as HHH (and Stephanie) bet on the wrong guy (as you might have heard all of a few seconds ago). In other words, it was a bunch of Stephanie getting to be all fierce with people while Owens was just kind of there quite a bit of the while.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens

Owens is defending and they fight to the floor to start with Rollins getting the better of things. Back in and Rollins stomps away in the corner, setting up the running knee to the face for two. Stomping and chopping in the corner have Owens in more trouble and the middle rope Blockbuster gets two. The Pedigree is blocked though and Owens snaps off a DDT for two of his own.

Rollins is sent outside and comes up favoring his knee, allowing Owens to stomp away back inside (the fans approve). Owens kicks away at the knee and backdrops a charging Rollins out to the floor. An elbow off the apron crushes Rollins again and the backsplash makes it worse. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Owens whips him hard into the corner to keep Rollins down. Back up and Rollins starts the comeback, including the Downward Spiral into the middle buckle.

A running dropkick sends Owens outside and Rollins uses the chance to set up the announcers’ table. Ever the smart champion, Owens bails back inside before anything can happen, only to get superkicked for two. Rollins misses a charge into the corner though and Owens kicks him in the knee again. The Cannonball gets two but Rollins is back up for an exchange of strikes to leave them both down.

Rollins’ springboard knee is cut off so Owens can hit the pumphandle brainbuster onto the knee for two more. A super gutbuster into the frog splash gives Owens another near fall and they head back to the floor. Owens misses the splash through the announcers’ table and it’s another double down. Back in and Rollins hits a frog splash for two so cue Chris Jericho.

The distraction lets Owens hit the package side slam but Rollins is back with a Pedigree for the same, thanks to Jericho putting the foot on the rope. The referee gets bumped (of course) so there’s no count for Rollins’ Pedigree. Jericho comes in but gets backdropped to the floor, setting up the suicide dive. Stephanie McMahon pops up to send in another referee….so Owens can hit the pop up powerbomb to retain at 25:07.

Rating: B-. This was REALLY long and could have easily had ten minutes shaved off. It was one of those matches where it felt like they were just trying to fill in time rather than winning the match most of the time. On top of that, it also felt like it was a HHH style match of “ok, let’s get everything done before we get to the shenanigans”. That’s not a great feeling, and it never came off like Rollins was going to win the title to make it even worse. Good action, but bad setup and execution.

Overall Rating: B. There’s a lot of good stuff on here, but it does run a bit longer than it needs to. It also doesn’t help that while the match quality is high, the show could not feel more second tier if it tried. Reigns winning the title was a moment that felt flat and other than that, there was nothing on here that came off like a game changing moment. It’s definitely a pick and choose show where some of the matches are worth a look, but you might not want to sit through the whole thing.

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: July 24, 2023
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

Summerslam is right around the corner and thankfully the card is all but set. You should have a good idea of what to expect from the show after the last few weeks but there is always time for one more push towards Detroit. Odds are that means more Judgment Day this week so let’s get to it.

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

Here is Judgment Day, minus Dominik Mysterio, to open things up. They brag about everything they have been doing as of late and we see a clip of Dominik winning the North American Title last week. Cue Dominik to quite the negative reaction and we see a package on him and Rhea Ripley. Now it’s Kevin Owens (to a huge reaction) and Sami Zayn to interrupt, with Owens saying we did this last week. It drives Owens crazy when people don’t learn their lesson and now we have Dominik who can’t learn a lesson and now the best thing he can do for this business is shut his mouth forever.

After that amazing one sentence rant, Dominik says he will not be disrespected like this, which Zayn thinks is a good point. The thing is no one respects him in the first place so it doesn’t matter! Zayn remembers Judgment Day complaining about last week not being a title match, so how about Zayn vs. Dominik in a North American Title match tonight? Ripley accepts for Dominik, with Balor giving her a “well…..ok then” look.

Zoey Stark vs. Becky Lynch

If Becky wins, she gets to face Trish Stratus (ringside) again, but if she loses, she has to get a THANK YOU TRISH tattoo. Becky starts fast and knocks her down before taking the beating to the floor. Zoey gets in a shot of her own though and a springboard hilo hits Becky for two as we take a break.

Back with Becky being knocked outside, where the face masked Stratus gets in a headbutt. Zoey’s superkick gets two but Becky pulls her into a cross armbreaker. That’s reversed into a powerbomb for two but Becky reverses a rollup into the Disarm-Her. Trish throws the mask in for a distraction though and Zoey gets two off a rollup. The Manhandle Slam finishes Zoey at 9:40.

Rating: B-. This match did something rather difficult as it had some false finishes in a match that shouldn’t have had the slightest bit of drama. Trish vs. Lynch is tailor made for a big blow off at Summerslam and the tattoo stipulation felt like something out of 1999, but some of those near falls made me jump a bit. Good stuff here, even as they got to what should have been a completely obvious ending.

We look at Brock Lesnar taking out Cody Rhodes last week.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat. He talks about how Brock Lesnar beat him down last month and that wasn’t on his bucket list. Cody brings up Lesnar getting everything handed to him so fast, from the UFC to the NFL, but now he did this in front of Cody’s mother. That’s the same mother who watched Terry Funk throw fireballs at Dusty Rhodes and then went drinking with Gordon Solie. Now Cody is slapping the bear in the face and wants Brock to bring it at Summerslam. This was a bit rambly, but there is only so much that you can do when the story has been set for months.

We look at Logan Paul going after Ricochet in recent weeks.

Ricochet will say what he thinks of Paul to his face.

NXT North American Title: Sami Zayn vs. Dominik Mysterio

Dominik, with Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest, is defending and Kevin Owens is here with Zayn. A clothesline puts Dominik on the floor to start and there’s the big flip dive as we take a break. Back with Priest shoving Zayn off the top so Owens decks him as well. Owens is out….and so are Priest and Ripley. Zayn gets the Michinoku Driver for two and hits a clothesline to cut off a 619 attempt.

Dominik dropkicks him out of the air but Zayn is right back with the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Another 619 attempt gives Dominik two and Three Amigos put Zayn down again. Back up and Zayn suplexes him into the corner but here are Priest and Ripley to jump Owens on the stage. Dominik rolls Zayn up (with tights) for the pin at 11:55.

Rating: C+. They were starting to roll at the end and the question became how would Dominik cheat to win here rather than would he at all. He’s basically the Honky Tonk Man at the moment and there is nothing wrong with that as it is an idea that works. Good enough match here as Dominik gets another win that he doesn’t deserve.

Post break, Owens’ ribs are pretty banged up.

We look at Jey Uso and Roman Reigns agreeing to Tribal Combat at Summerslam.

Ricochet asks Shinsuke Nakamura if he has seen Logan Paul. Nakamura says he’ll tell Ricochet if he sees him before turning around to see Tommaso Ciampa. Last week Nakamura got in a shot on Ciampa and that’s his only free one. If Nakamura gets involved again, they’ve got a problem.

Judgment Day runs into Apollo Crews and Akira Tozawa and demand some respect. Crews doesn’t like that and gets a match with Damian Priest tonight.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bronson Reed

Ciampa charges right at him and it doesn’t go so well. Some knees to the head get Ciampa out of a suplex but Reed tosses him outside without much trouble. Reed powers him around until Ciampa slips out of a fireman’s carry into a chinlock. That earns him a big crash back from Reed, giving us a great “OW!” look from Ciampa. Reed sends him outside but Ciampa knees him out of the air and we take a break.

Back with Reed running him over for two more but Ciampa fires off some running forearms. The discus forearm sets up a running Fameasser from behind but Reed isn’t having this being whipped thing. Instead he drops a backsplash on Ciampa and fires off chops, which just seem to wake Ciampa up. Ciampa hits a jumping knee and an Air Raid Crash of all things for two. Cue Shinsuke Nakamura for a distraction, allowing Reed to run Ciampa over again. The Tsunami finishes Ciampa at 12:44.

Rating: C+. Reed getting another win is nice to see but it’s rather depressing to see Ciampa lose, even with a screwy finish. Odds are this is setting up a big showdown with Nakamura (and possibly Reed), which is again more or less the same feud we just finished. For now though, at least Reed is looking like a monster.

We look back at Rhea Ripley attacking Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan, leading to them losing the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Morgan is ready to beat up Ripley tonight. Maybe she gets taken out, but maybe she doesn’t. With Morgan gone, Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville come in to ask why they aren’t being interviewed. That would be because they don’t have a match tonight, but here is Rhea Ripley to stare them off.

Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley

Non-title and Morgan gets jumped during her entrance as the destruction is on outside. Morgan’s arm gets Pillmanized and, despite a medic and referee being there, Ripley does it a second time. No match.

The Alpha Academy want an Academy Rules match with the Viking Raiders. Maxxine Dupri is ready to face Valhalla in her first singles match.

Here is Ricochet to call out Logan Paul, even if Paul doesn’t belong here. Ricochet calls Paul an arrogant little pr***, who does not deserve to be here. The people who are here every week have sacrificed to get to this spot, but Paul just does whatever he wants. The challenge is on for Summerslam and here is Paul to jump him from behind and accept said challenge. As Paul talks to his phone, Ricochet is up with a superkick before taking his own picture.

Shayna Baszler is sick of Ronda Rousey so they’re going to FIGHT at Summerslam.

Logan Paul says that was unprofessional and he’s coming for Ricochet next week.

Damian Priest vs. Apollo Crews

Crews starts fast and hits a dropkick into a high crossbody. Priest is right back with a shot to the head and the big discus forearm drops Crews. A hammerlock lariat sets up South Of Heaven to finish Crews at 3:09.

Rating: C. Pretty much just a squash here for Priest. It’s nice to have him in the ring to keep looking dominant, though there can be such a thing as having someone on television too much in a week. This show has been very heavy on the Judgment Day stuff and I’m not sure this really needed to be on the sow.

Becky Lynch says it isn’t over with Trish Stratus until she wins.

Valhalla and the Viking Raiders are in against the Alpha Academy and Maxxine Dupri.

Here is Imperium for a face to face showdown with Drew McIntyre. The challenge is on for an Intercontinental Title match tonight but Gunther says he’ll humiliate McIntyre at Summerslam instead. Gunther brings up their Summerslam match, with Drew talking about how he and Sheamus have known each other for years (Drew: “I was 19 and Sheamus was about 42.”) and their dream was to face each other at Wrestlemania. That is what they did this year, but Gunther snuck in and stole the win. At Summerslam it’s one on one but Ludwig Kaiser interrupts. Gunther thinks Kaiser should lead Imperium but he’ll settle for a match.

Drew McIntyre vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Kaiser grabs a headlock to start as Graves goes into a Kaiser impression. McIntyre fights back and knocks him to the floor for a chop and a posting. There’s a ram into the barricade and some loud chops but Kaiser manages to post him as well to take over. Back from a break with McIntyre hitting an Air Raid Crash and nipping up, only to have the Claymore cut off by a kick in the general vicinity of his head. Not that it matters as the Claymore finishes Kaiser at 9:34.

Rating: B-. These two beat the fire out of each other for a little while until McIntyre finished him off. Kaiser is a great character and awesome at all of his talking, but he got to show off some in-ring abilities here. It was a pretty nice match and I got into seeing these two beating each other up rather well.

Post match the triple teaming is on, with Matt Riddle coming in for a failed save attempt. McIntyre fights back though and powerbombs Gunther through the announcers’ table.

Ronda Rousey is down to fight Shayna Baszler at Summerslam.

Here is Finn Balor to sign the contract with Seth Rollins. He believes the two of them can handle this like gentlemen with no Adam Pearce so here is Rollins to quite the serenade. Rollins says they can just sign and maybe Balor wins, but Damian Priest is going to cash in on him immediately anyway. Balor hesitates before signing, saying Rollins must think he has all of this figured out.

Cue Judgment Day, with Balor talking about how he has felt helpless for seven years. It’s like an itch you can’t scratch….a seven year itch. At Summerslam, Rollins becomes the seven year b****. Rollins turns the table over but gets beaten down, with Sami Zayn making a failed save attempt. The big beatdown wraps up the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The problem right now is that Summerslam is all but set, and that doesn’t leave much to cover over multiple hours a week. There was some stuff here that got a nice push towards the pay per view, but what we saw was either stuff being confirmed after being all but guaranteed or a slight stronger push or matches already set. That makes for only a pretty ok show, and that’s what we had here.

Results
Becky Lynch b. Zoey Stark – Manhandle Slam
Dominik Mysterio b. Sami Zayn – Rollup with tights
Bronson Reed b. Tommaso Ciampa – Tsunami
Damian Priest b. Apollo Crews – South Of Heaven
Drew McIntyre b. Ludwig Kaiser – Claymore

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