Monday Night Raw
Date: December 2, 2024
Location: Angel Of The Winds Arena, Everett, Washington
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Joe Tessitore

We’re done with Survivor Series and on the way to Saturday Night’s Main Event in less than two weeks. Gunther is still the World Heavyweight Champion and that means he is going to need a new challenger for the title. Other than that, it’s the ten year anniversary of the New Day but things are not going well. Let’s get to it.

Here is Survivor Series if you need a recap.

We open with a Survivor Series recap.

CM Punk is on his way to the ring but stops to shake hands with Jey Uso and Sami Zayn. With that out of the way, here is Punk for a chat. Punk left WWE for a bit after Bad Blood but now he’s back and knows where he wants to go. Maybe he gets there through the Royal Rumble or Elimination Chamber…but here is Seth Rollins to interrupt. They stare each other down until Rollins says he should have knocked Punk out the day Punk came back.

A lot has happened in the year since Punk came back but the last time they saw each other, Rollins had pity on him. Now it’s time to rectify those problems and there is nothing between them but air and hatred. Punk says he is long past running races he didn’t know he was in. Six months ago, Rollins was champ but now he has nothing Punk wants. Rollins thinks about Punk for six months while Punk never thinks about him at all.

That’s enough for Rollins, who shoves him down but here are Zayn and Uso to break it up. Uso and Punk leave, with Rollins asking Zayn why he teamed with Reigns when they aren’t even family. Zayn cuts him off and says he asked Rollins to be on the team, but Rollins is too stubborn. Rollins says Zayn wanted to help Reigns get back to power, but Zayn says Rollins created the monster by hitting Reigns in the back with a chair ten years ago. Rollins: “You did the same d*** thing!”

Reigns hasn’t changed and Zayn is being really stupid. Zayn challenges him for tonight and Rollins is down. This was the latest big dramatic moment and the important part is they did a great job of explaining the motivations. It’s a story that weaves through years and impacts a lot of people and you can see how it is coming together. That’s hard to do and WWE is making it work really well.

After Survivor Series, Damian Priest and Finn Balor got in a fight in the parking lot. More of Judgment Day came in and beat Priest down.

Balor isn’t happy with Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan for not getting their jobs done. He’s taken care of things and they better do it too, including Morgan defending her title against Iyo Sky at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Damage CTRL vs. Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez

Morgan has a bad back and Rodriguez has a banged up elbow. Sky gets sent to the floor to start but Sane is back with a flipping neckbreaker out of the corner. That lets Sky come back in for a German suplex to Morgan and a headscissors to Rodriguez. A missile dropkick sets up the Insane Elbow for two and there’s a dive to Morgan. Rodriguez kicks Sane in the face and the Tejana Bomb finishes at 3:59.

Rating: C+. They kept this fast and to the point and that is a good thing, as it made for a more exciting match. Damage CTRL can do that kind of match very well and Rodriguez was good for the power game. It was a fun sprint of a match with Rodriguez getting to show that she can still run through people if given the chance.

Post match Rodriguez goes after Damage CTRL again but Rhea Ripley (no mask) comes in for the brawl. Morgan gets up again though and Ripley is sent eye first into the announcers’ table.

Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio interrupt Gunther, with Balor saying Gunther owes him a title shot because that’s two times he’s helped him beat Damian Priest. Gunther isn’t convinced, but he’d be glad to beat up Dominik tonight.

Women’s Intercontinental Title Tournament First Round: Dakota Kai vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Katana Chance

Kai kicks Baszler out to the floor to start and follows her out, only to be taken out by Carter. We take a break and come back with Kai kicking Baszler down for two. Chance is back up with a hurricanrana to pull Kai off the top and onto Baszler for two each. A DDT sends Chance outside but Baszler knees Kai for her own near fall. Baszler knees Chance to the floor, only for her to come back in with a 450. Kai grabs a fireman’s carry kick to the head to pin Baszler at 7:40.

Rating: C+. Another fast paced match here with everyone moving around and something of a surprise winner in Kai. Baszler winning would have made sense but it was nice to see Kai getting a chance for a change. Chance was flying around as well and did well, but Kai going forward is good stuff.

We get a long video on the New Day’s history, though things aren’t going great these days.

Here is Adam Pearce to host the New Day’s ten year anniversary, complete with some New Day memorabilia, including the giant Booty-O’s box from Wrestlemania XXXII. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods come to the ring and we get a NEW DAY ROCKS chant. Woods talks about how this is more than they could ever dream of and thanks the fans. Kingston says he never believed this would happen and it couldn’t have happened without the fans.

Woods says that they’re about to tell you isn’t the fans’ fault. Kingston teases the break up but here is Big E. to interrupt. You can see how emotional it is for him to be back but he wishes he was here under different circumstances. Seeing Kingston and Woods arguing has troubled him deep. Ten years ago, Kingston was considering retirement and Woods was frustrated. Then the two of them were there when he was in a neck brace making sure it was ok.

Big E. was the first person to be there when Woods won King of the Ring and left tears on his shoulder. That’s why Big E. is going to be here every week to remind them who they are by serving as their manager. Woods: “Now? Now you want to come back?” Where was Big E. when they were fighting for months. Woods: “E, you left us.” Big E.: “I broke my neck!” Kingston: “YOU LEFT US! You broke your neck. So what?”

Steve Austin, Kurt Angle and Edge broke their necks and came back without even having family to come back to. As big and strong as Big E. is, he could have been back here sooner. Big E. pleads his case about everything he’s been doing with the doctors but Woods says he was back in nine months after tearing his Achilles. If Big E. cared, he would have been back a long time ago, but Big E. chose his new life and girlfriend over him. Woods calls Big E. a burden because everyone says they miss him so much.

Kingston says it’s always been “we before me” but Big E. is all about himself. He’s never going to be medically cleared so get back to your desk where you belong. They’ll call if they need him. Big E. isn’t throwing this away and says they can fix this but the two of them won’t do it. Big E. slowly leaves and Kingston says it’s just them.

Well that was heartbreaking, as I didn’t think they would ever actually do it. I’m not sure how long this is going to last, but if they ever do a reunion, it could be one heck of a reaction. For now though, I just kind of want to be sad. I know a lot of people are sick of New Day or never liked them in the first place and I get that, but dang that’s a long time to be together and then split up.

Karrion Kross talks about how the Wyatt Sicks went too far last week when they went Nikki Cross after Scarlett. They started this fire and he’s going to end it.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Gunther

Non-title. Gunther puts him onto the apron for a pat on the head and a big boot to the floor. Dominik switches places though and hits a dive as we take a break. Back with Gunther holding a Boston crab, with Dominik going straight to the ropes. Gunther’s sleeper is broken up with a low blow and a 619 into the frog splash gets two. The fans are behind Dominik but it’s cut off with a bit boot into the powerbomb for the pin at 6:29. Not enough shown to rate but Gunther shrugging off Dominik’s offense and pinning him made sense.

Post match Finn Balor runs in to jump Gunther for three Coup de Grace’s.

Pete Dunne is ready to hurt R-Truth over calling him Butch, but we run over to see Jey Uso having been attacked.

Pete Dunne vs. R-Truth

Dunne knocks him down to start and goes after the arm before slowly kicking away. The fans chant BUTCH, with the distraction letting R-Truth grab a rollup for the pin at 1:53. Barrett thinks R-Truth is a master manipulator and…maybe?

Ludwig Kaiser interrupts Bron Breakker, saying he’s coming for the Intercontinental Title. Breakker likes a challenge and after a heck of a match on Saturday, he’ll talk to Adam Pearce. Just get out of Gunther’s shadow sooner, because Gunther’s stock is going down. That makes Kaiser think.

Adam Pearce won’t say who attacked Jey Uso but Sami Zayn seems to think it was Seth Rollins (without saying his name).

Finn Balor wants to know when he’s getting a World Title match so Adam Pearce makes it for Saturday Night’s Main Event. First though, Balor has another title match next week, opponent to be named.

Seth Rollins vs. Sami Zayn

Zayn sends him to the floor to start and does his bounce back into the middle as we take an early break. Back with Zayn hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb for two but the Helluva Kick is cut off with a superkick. Zayn is knocked to the floor, where he says he knows it was Rollins. That earns him a ram into the steps but Zayn is back with a kick to the face. Zayn grabs a chair and says Rollins did it but Rollins says it wasn’t him. Rollins suggests that it was Punk, which makes Zayn throw down the chair and get rolled up for the pin at 9:20.

Rating: B-. They didn’t have much time here but it was more about the story than anything else. As usual, Zayn tries to be the peacemaker in the whole thing and gets distracted, causing him to lose. That’s about all you can expect from Zayn these days, but it would be nice to see him turn it on and make a serious run for a change.

Rollins leaves but Drew McIntyre is back to kick Zayn in the face. In theory, there’s your attacker.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling was pretty mediocre this week but the storytelling was more than enough to make up for it. Between some matches being set up for Saturday Night’s Main Event and the pretty gut wrenching New Day segment, I want to see where these things are going and it could make for some good stuff going forward. You can see where a lot of these stories are going and that’s a great thing to see as we’re gearing up for the big season.

Results
Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez b. Damage CTRL – Tejana Bomb to Sane
Dakota Kai b. Shayna Baszler and Katana Chance – Fireman’s carry kick to Baszler
Gunther b. Dominik Mysterio – Powerbomb
R-Truth b. Pete Dunne – Rollup
Seth Rollins b. Sami Zayn – Small package

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

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AND

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Survivor Series 2024
Date: November 30, 2024
Location: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

It’s WarGames night and that should be enough to carry the evening. In this case we have the men’s and women’s version, but there are also three title matches to fill out the card. That should be more than enough, as the card is looking rather excellent all things considered. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks a the two WarGames matches, with the other matches not really being important enough to warrant much time.

Since we’re going to have two of them, here are the WarGames rules:

• Two wrestlers start and fight for five minutes.

• After five minutes, the team with the advantage (as determined before the match) gets a three minute advantage.

• The teams alternate until all ten are in and then it’s first pin/submission to win.

The cage is lowered.

Women’s WarGames

Naomi, Iyo Sky, Bayley, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair
Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Nia Jax, Tiffany Stratton, Candice LeRae

Bayley is a last second replacement for the possibly injured Jade Cargill. Jax and Bayley start things off with Bayley bouncing off of her but being smart enough to avoid a charge. They go between the ring where Bayley loudly calls for an elbow and is then elbowed in the face. Bayley takes her into the other ring and goes up for a super hurricanrana before taking off some weird shoulder pad to whip Jax.

That gets taken away and a running hip attack sends Bayley back into the first ring. Jax runs her over and it’s Naomi, wearing a freaking birthday hat, is in, albeit after grabbing some weapons (including a toilet seat). Naomi steps on her in the back then slides under a clothesline and helps double team Jax down. Jax gets the kendo stick but is knocked into the corner, where the toilet seat is put on her face for the Stinkface.

Jax gets double backdropped and it’s…well it was going to be Tiffany Stratton but Candice LeRae comes out of the cage instead. Some chair shots put Bayley and Naomi down and the slow beating begins. LeRae lays Bayley over some open chairs for a Lionsault and it’s Belair coming in (after getting a trashcan, a fire extinguisher, a table and a chair) to even things up. Belair drops LeRae onto the turnbuckle and puts Jax into the corner.

A dropkick sends a chair into Jax’s face in the corner (she was nice enough to hold it) and Tiffany Stratton is in to give the villains the advantage again. A handspring elbow connects and a middle rope G9 hits Belair. Naomi takes a chair from Jax and knocks her down with some not so great chair shots. Sky is in next and grabs a painted trashcan, which she uses a string to tie around her back. That’s broken up though with LeRae cutting her off, leaving the trashcan on top of the cage.

Sky and Stratton take turns flipping around until Sky chairs her down. Jax is back up to run Sky over and it’s Raquel Rodriguez coming in to a limited reaction. After taking her required time to bring in weapons, Bayley and Belair jump Rodriguez. Jax breaks that up and the villains wreck everyone until Ripley (in red for once, plus a horned mask) is in to complete her team. Naomi is back up with a double Rear View and almost everyone lays around a lot.

Rodriguez and Jax get beaten up in the corner and Ripley headbutts Jax down, leaving her as the only person standing. Morgan is in to complete the field and brings in a baseball bat, with Ripley taking the mask off, revealing black eye paint. Morgan’s big swing misses and the beatdown is on but Jax makes the save. Ripley is held for a bunch of bat shots to the ribs and the handcuffs are brought out, with Ripley managing to fight them off.

Sky and Bayley make the save and it’s a parade of shots to the face to put people down. Bayley gets caught with a Samoan drop as Sky and Stratton climb to the top of the cage. They both do flip dives (Sky with the trashcan) and everyone is down. Stratton pulls out the briefcase and teases a cash in but Sky makes the save with a fire extinguisher. Rodriguez is handcuffed in the corner and Belair drops LeRae face first onto the turnbuckle.

A legdrop gets two on Belair but Jax gets powerbombed through a table. Morgan grabs a baseball bat for some shots but Belair takes it away. A quick Oblivion onto a chair hits Bayley but Rodriguez saves Morgan from Riptide. Morgan’s Codebreaker sends a chair into Ripley’s face before they go up top. Ripley powers her up into a super Riptide through the table and Morgan is done at 38:03.

Rating: C-. They had some moments which worked, but my goodness this did not work very well. It was a mixture of a lot of blown spots, people standing around waiting for their spots, too many weapons, and just too much time overall. This is a match that would have been far better as a run of the mill Survivor Series elimination match, if nothing else as it would suit the styles better. Just way too long here and too much standing around waiting or screwing up stuff that didn’t need to be so complicated. This was possibly the weakest WWE WarGames match yet and that’s not nice to see.

We recap LA Knight defending the US Title against Shinsuke Nakamura, who returned and attacked Knight to jump back into the title picture. Mist was blown too and Knight was partially blinded.

US Title: LA Knight vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Knight is defending and Nakamura has a very Samurai style entrance. Nakamura strikes away to start but Knight is back up with the stomping in the corner. A middle rope elbow to the back gives Knight two but Nakamura elbows him in the face. Nakamura’s basement dropkick rocks Knight but he ducks a spinning kick to the face.

The torture rack slam plants Nakamura and Knight puts him up top, where it’s an overhead belly to back superplex to drop Knight on his face. Knight knocks him back down though and hits the jumping top rope elbow…for no cover. Instead Nakamura rolls between the rings and grabs a reverse DDT onto the steel plate. Kinshasa gives Nakamura the title back at 9:52.

Rating: B-. I can go with the result, as either of them coming out with the title would have gone well enough. Nakamura coming back to lose wouldn’t have made a ton of sense, but it’s still a bit surprising that Knight lost the title so soon. For now though, it’s the right way to go and odds are the feud isn’t over yet.

Alpha Academy sell t-shirts, but Otis has forgotten his pants.

We recap the Intercontinental Title triple threat. Sheamus wants the one title he’s never had, Ludwig Kaiser wants to prove himself, and Bron Breakker wants to fight everyone.

Intercontinental Title: Bron Breakker vs. Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Breakker is defending. Kaiser is sent outside fast to start and grabs a chair but Breakker knocks him down. Breakker gets in a shot to Sheamus’ knee but Kaiser is back up to put the chair in the corner. Sheamus and Breakker hammer away on Kaiser in the corner but he cuts off both of them with running dropkicks on the floor. Breakker flies in with a shoulder to drop Kaiser though and then runs Sheamus over for a bonus.

Sheamus gets hammered down as well and Breakker does the Scott Steiner pushups back inside. Back up and Sheamus knocks him down but Kaiser is right there to take Sheamus to the floor. A powerbomb is broken up and Breakker hits a huge clothesline from the apron onto the announcers’ table to take both of them out. Breakker sends Sheamus over the barricade, where he rises up for some forearms to their chests.

The double clothesline off the barricade has Sheamus in control but Kaiser grabs the shillelagh. Sheamus drops him with ease and goes inside to slug it out with Breakker. The Celtic Cross gives Sheamus two but Breakker is back with the Frankensteiner. Sheamus avoids a charge into the chair in the corner though and the Brogue Kick connects, only for Kaiser to pull the referee out.

Kaiser unloads on him with the shillelagh but Sheamus is back with the knee to the face for two. Kaiser hits a Regal Roll on Sheamus and hits him in the bad ribs, setting up the wind up DDT. Breakker spears the heck out of Kaiser and does it again to Sheamus for the pin at 14:22.

Rating: B+. This was what I wanted out of a match like this, with Breakker looking like an absolute freak of nature. I could have seen any of them leaving with the title here and that is a great feeling to have on the way in. Sheamus almost has to win the title one day just to pay off the buildup, but for now it’s Breakker’s time and that’s what it should be. Heck of a match here.

We recap Gunther defending the Raw World Title against Damian Priest. This is more about the wrestler vs. the brawler, with Priest getting inside of Gunther’s had by messing with his confidence.

Raw World Title: Damian Priest vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending. They go technical to start with Priest grabbing an armbar and knocking him outside. Back in and Priest fires off some kicks, followed by a faceplant but Priest’s shoulder gives out on him so Gunther can have an opening. Gunther starts in on on the arm and takes it outside for some rams into various things. Back in and Gunther slowly starts kicking away at the arm, seemingly being happy that he is getting to take the fans out of this.

The double arm crank has Priest screaming but he fights up and scores with a kick to he head. Back up and Priest hits the running elbow in the corner into the lifting Downward Spiral for two with just the one arm. The arm gives out on the Razor’s Edge attempt though and Gunther grabs a sleeper. That’s broken up so Priest hits a super hurricanrana into the Razor’s Edge for two.

South Of Heaven is loaded up but the arm gives out, allowing Gunther to grab a Kimura. Priest gets over to the rope for the save but Gunther knows Priest is in trouble. Gunther takes his time going after him, allowing Priest to come back with a clothesline for a delayed two. Priest goes up top but has to shove Gunther down, only to crash out to the floor. Cue Finn Balor with a Coup de Grace off the steps to crush Priest, allowing Gunther to grab the sleeper for the win at 19:13.

Rating: B-. It was good enough but the ending being almost the same as the one from Summerslam didn’t help things. You can only get so much out of doing something so similar, but this does at least get Gunther past Priest and on to whomever is next. That’s a good thing to accomplish, as Priest can have his big blowoff with Balor once and for all.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

We get NFL style intros for the participants in the main event.

We recap the men’s WarGames match. The new Bloodline is running roughshod over Smackdown so Roman Reigns, the Usos and Sami Zayn have risen up to fight them. The Bloodline got Bronson Reed to help them, so Reigns called Paul Heyman to get CM Punk’s help. The idea is that if the Bloodline isn’t stopped here, they can’t be stopped.

Men’s WarGames

Bloodline/Bronson Reed
Roman Reigns, Usos, CM Punk, Sami Zayn,

Jey and Tama start things off and they take their time going after each other. Jey starts swinging away but misses an enziguri, allowing Tama to hit a sliding lariat into a powerslam. The slingshot hilo connects and Tama hits a splash before going for a cover out of instinct. Another basement lariat misses and Jey hits the running Umaga Attack in the corner. Bronson Reed is in next and he grabs a bunch of chairs, with Jey throwing them at Reed.

Some of them stagger Reed but he knocks another out of the air. Tama is back up and Jey gets dropped, with Reed hitting a big backsplash. Jey gets crushed again but it’s Jimmy Uso coming in to even things up. Jimmy doesn’t even bother with weapons but starts striking away and runs both of them over. Tama is sent into the cage and the Usos hammer away in the corner. Reed is sent into the cage as well and it’s….Jacob Fatu in on Solo Sikoa’s orders.

As he tends to do, Fatu wrecks everything in sight (well everything not on his team at least), including running Jimmy over. Jey is held up and taken down with a flipping slam and it’s all Bloodline. CM Punk is ready to enter, but Roman Reigns cuts him off and has Sami Zayn go in instead. Zayn hammers on Reed in the corner and stomps on him in between the rings. Fatu pulls a high crossbody out of the air but Jimmy hits a superkick to make the save, setting up the big hug with Zayn.

Fatu’s implant DDT plants Jimmy though and the Bloodline is in control as Tonga Loa comes in. Some tables are thrown in and the Bloodline slowly hammers away as the pace lowers a lot. Fatu hits a springboard moonsault and Jimmy is sent into the cage. Roman Reigns is ready to come in but CM Punk walks in front of him to even the score again. Punk looks back at Reigns, who shakes his head, before Punk grabs a toolbox. A bunch of toolbox shots to the head stagger the Bloodline and Fatu is dropped onto the toolbox…but he pops up and hits the Samoan drop to plant Punk.

Zayn is beaten in the corner and it’s Solo Sikoa in to complete the Bloodline. Sikoa slams the door onto Zayn’s head and then does the same thing to the Usos. A chain is brought in and the Usos are stacked up for Fatu’s double springboard moonsault. The Tsunami crushes Zayn as Sikoa is rather pleased. Punk tries to get up but gets beaten down, leaving Sikoa to use the chain to lock the door (Sikoa: “HEY ROMAN! YOU AIN’T GETTING IN HERE!”).

Reigns comes to the cage but can’t get in through the door so he climbs the wall and punches away to get inside, even diving onto all five at once. All ten get up and Reigns goes to glare at Punk. Cue Paul Heyman to say work together…and sure we’ll do that. We get the ten way slugout between the rings with the Bloodline getting beaten down. The Usos hit stereo Superfly Splashes on the Tongas.

Fatu and Sikoa wreck the Usos and go to slug it out with Reigns and Punk. Reigns ducks the Samoan Spike and spears Punk by mistake, allowing Sikoa to hit the Samoan Spike for two. Reed hits the Death Valley Driver but Fatu messes up the springboard moonsault and hurts his knee. Reigns is back up with a low blow to Fatu and a spear to Sikoa but Reed hits a superkick. Reed puts him on the table and climbs the cage (uh oh) but Punk makes the save, leaving Reed to crash through the table (which exploded).

Fatu breaks up the big handshake but gets Superman Punches. Sikoa hits a pair of Samoan Spikes but Jey makes the save, suddenly remembering that he’s in the match. The Usos superkick Fatu and give him the 1D, followed by Zayn’s Blue Thunder Bomb to Tama. Jimmy goes all the way to the top of the cage and, eventually, hits a Superfly Splash to drive Fatu through the table. Sikoa is left alone, leaving him t turn down the chance of acknowledging Reigns. A parade of finishers into the spear gives Reigns the pin at 41:55.

Rating: B. As usual, this match was far longer than it needed to be, but they didn’t rely on the weapons nearly as much as they did in the opener. At the same time, there was way too much laying around waiting to get something else going. That meant making the match go longer than it needed to and that is the case with almost every WarGames match. The ending felt like a pretty strong closing of the door on Sikoa, but there is a very good chance that the story could keep going. For now though, the good guys needed a win and then got one.

Post match Reigns and Punk show respect and Punk hugs Heyman, saying he’ll ask for the favor one day. Works for Heyman. The winners pose together to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, this show was built around two matches but in this case only one of them worked. The main event was rather good while the opener was pretty weak. The good thing is the three matches in between boosted up the rest of the card, making a good show that was done in about three and a half hours. The heroes won in the two major matches, which is a nice feeling at a bigger show. Good stuff here, with the main event working as well as it could have given the circumstances.

Results
Naomi, Iyo Sky, Bayley, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair b. Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Nia Jax, Tiffany Stratton, Candice LeRae – Super Riptide through a table to Morgan
Shinsuke Nakamura b. LA Knight – Kinshasa
Bron Breakker b. Sheamus and Ludwig Kaiser – Spear to Sheamus
Gunther b. Damian Priest – Sleeper
Roman Reigns/Usos/Sami Zayn/CM Punk b. Bloodline/Bronson Reed – Spear to Sikoa

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.

It’s time to go north of the border as we’re in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for the match and as has been the case for a few years now, the show is centered around WarGames. We have a men’s and women’s edition, with the men’s centered around the Bloodline civil war, with CM Punk and Paul Heyman being added in to really spice things up. That should be enough to make the show work so let’s get to it.

Intercontinental Title: Bron Breakker(c) vs. Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser

This is the continuing saga of Sheamus trying to finally win the Intercontinental Title, which has been set up for years now before WWE actually pulls the trigger. That opens up the possibility of WWE going there this time around, though I’m not sure if that is what they’re going to do. Breakker holding onto the title is certainly a possibility, but Kaiser has been ding some very nice work recently as well.

I think I’ll go with Breakker retaining here as you don’t want him losing the title again so soon, but at the same time, I wouldn’t be stunned to see Kaiser steal the belt. Sheamus almost has to win the title at some point, which could make for a heck of a WrestleMania moment if that is where they want to go. For now though, I’ll take Breakker to retain, as it’s the best option at the moment.

United States Title: LA Knight(c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Here we have the other midcard title match, which is a bit less complicated, as Nakamura returned and went after the title, even misting Knight in the eyes. Knight isn’t happy and is ready to fight, as is Nakamura most of the time. Knight is in a weird place as he’s a fighting champion but this feud was just kind of dropped into place out of nowhere with little connection between them. On the other hand, Nakamura has been gone for months so he needs something to do.

I’m not sure what to do here but I’ll go with Knight retaining the title, possibly via DQ, as I don’t think this is it for the two of them. Knight shouldn’t be losing the title so soon but Nakamura shouldn’t be losing his first big match back. We’ll say Nakamura mists Knight again for the DQ to set up a rematch where Knight can go over clean, but for now they do something to extend the story.

Raw World Title: Gunther(c) vs. Damian Priest

This is a rematch from Summerslam where Gunther beat Priest for the title, albeit with help from Finn Balor. This time around it should be a bit more of a straight up match, though in this case Priest is getting inside Gunther’s head. Gunther seems to be questioning whether he can actually beat Priest, who has shown that he is capable of winning a fight rather than a match.

That being said, I can’t imagine the title changes here, as Gunther seems poised for some major matches going forward. We’ve already seen Priest having a major run with the belt so he can lose here to give Gunther the clean (well likely cleaner) win that he didn’t get at Summerslam. I’m not sure what is next for Priest at the moment, but he doesn’t need to get the title back. Yet.

Women’s WarGames

Now we get to the focal point of the show, as a pair of ragtag groups come together in the biggest team match that WWE has all year. Bayley is a last minute replacement for the (possibly) injured Jade Cargill and that has the radar going up. Someone attacked Cargill and there is a good chance that the attacker will be revealed during the match. That very well may cost the team, and odds are that’s where this goes.

I’ll take Team Jax to win here, likely through some kind of betrayal when the attacker reveals themselves. Bianca Belair herself would be a likely way to go (likely, not necessarily logical), with Naomi possibly taking the fall. Either way, this is going to be about what happened to Cargill and odds are we find out a big piece of that puzzle this week, especially with the last minute change having to take place.

Men’s WarGames

This is the big one though, as CM Punk and Paul Heyman are back to help cut off the Bloodline once and for all. I’m not sure how that is going to go, but at the end of the day it is going to be the latest chapter in the big drama. Heyman very well could turn on Reigns or they could fight off the Bloodline again. Either way, we could be in for something rather big, which is the point of the whole thing.

I think I’ll go with Reigns and company winning here, just because the team has been beaten down so many times lately. At some point they have to win something back and beating the Bloodline in WarGames would be a good place to start. I’m not sure where it goes from here, but for now, the Bloodline takes a loss, likely with one of the Tongas getting pinned to help preserve Sikoa’s status.

Overall Thoughts

This show is absolutely stacked, with three title matches and a pair of WarGames matches. That’s a pretty good lineup for one night and I want to see how it goes. We’re getting into the interesting time in WWE’s calendar as we have this, then two weeks before Saturday Night’s Main Event and then it is time to get ready for the Royal Rumble. This show is both part of the end and part of the beginning and the pieces are there for a rather awesome show if everything goes as planned.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: November 25, 2024
Location: Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Joe Tessitore

We are less than a week away from Survivor Series and as of now, we have three matches officially set for the show. That means we are probably going to need some new matches announced, but World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defending against Damian Priest will likely get some attention of its own. Let’s get to it.

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

We get a quick preview of the night.

Here is Gunther for an in-ring chat. After a look back at Damian Priest taking him out backstage last week, Gunther is asked about Priest’s claims that Gunther’s confidence is slipping lately. Before Gunther can reply, cue Priest to interrupt, saying it’s time for Gunther to brag about how he can do anything. Priest says that he is Gunther’s problem and now the problem is taking the title. What happens to the Ring General when he loses to a street guy?

Gunther hits him with the microphone and the fight is on, but they go outside where Priest takes over. The Razor’s Edge sends Gunther through the announcers’ table as Gunther is taken out again. They’re making Priest look like a threat to Gunther and that’s how the buildup needs to go.

Jade Cargill is officially out of WarGames due to her injuries.

Bianca Belair and Naomi aren’t sure who can replace Cargill. Iyo Sky suggests Kairi Sane but the two of them want Bayley. Rhea Ripley comes in to say she doesn’t care, as long as they stay away from Liv Morgan. Belair isn’t impressed with the “leadership” on Team Ripley.

LWO vs. American Made

Tornado tag. Mysterio gets knocked down to start so the Creeds can take over on Lee in the corner. Back up and Mysterio helps take Julius out so a springboard moonsault can get two on Brutus. Lee and Brutus go to the corner, with Julius running the corner to superplex Lee back down. Mysterio’s attempt at a 619 is cut off with a clothesline and we take an early break.

Back with Julius running Mysterio over again and hitting a 450 for two with Lee making the save. Operation Dragon gets two with Brutus making a save of his own. A double superplex is loaded up but Mysterio cuts it off with a 619 to the legs, setting up a double top rope double stomp from Lee. The referee almost gets crushed in the corner but here is Chad Gable to twist Mysterio’s mask around. Julius grabs a rollup for the pin at 10:46.

Rating: C+. They were smart to have the match be all action as it plays to the LWO’s strengths, though this feud hasn’t played to many strengths at all. It’s just kind of been there over the last few weeks and that isn’t making me want to see them stay at it. The ending at least gives the Creeds a win for a change, but it’s only going to get them so far.

We look at the social media impact of CM Punk and Paul Heyman returning on Smackdown.

R-Truth comes in to the Judgment Day’s clubhouse and says they’re not a family anymore. Finn Balor throws him out, but R-Truth says Thanksgiving is off (that was funny). With R-Truth gone, Balor rants about the team’s recent issues but they can turn it around. They don’t have any leaders, but if they listen to him, it will be ok.

Bron Breakker vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Non-title. Breakker powers him into the corner and then runs Kaiser over with the clothesline. The big run around the ring to set up the spear only hitting the announcers’ table though and we take a break. Back with Kaiser working on the banged up ribs with a seated abdominal stretch. Breakker fights out and hits a powerslam into the super Frankensteiner. The spear is cut off with a kick to the face though…and here is Sheamus to jump Kaiser for the DQ at 8:52.

Rating: C+. Yeah that was the most logical way to go here and you can probably pencil in a triple threat for the Intercontinental Title sooner than later. While I would rather have the title match be one on one, there is at least a story here and all three have a reason to want the match. As for this one, Kaiser continues to look good when he is given the chance, as he is better than the average lackey. Breakker on the other hand is an athletic freak, with the explosiveness on that spear looking great.

Post match Breakker and Sheamus have to be held apart.

Post break, all three have to be held apart. The triple threat for the title is confirmed for Survivor Series.

Long recap of Paul Heyman bringing back CM Punk to be the final member of Team Reigns at Survivor Series.

Sami Zayn and the Usos are in the back and they think they can trust Punk, who will sit down with Roman Reigns on Smackdown.

Tag Team Titles: War Raiders vs. Judgment Day

The Raiders are challenging and Erik runs the Judgment Day early without much trouble. The champs get knocked down again and we take an early break. Back with Balor working on Ivar’s neck with a front facelock as Ivar is rather energetic on the apron. McDonagh comes in with a slingshot moonsault and it’s back to Balor for the stomping.

A missed charge allows the tag off to Ivar though and house is quickly cleaned. The spinning kick drops McDonagh but here is the rest o Judgment Day for a distraction. The War Machine connects but Dominik Mysterio puts the foot on the rope. Balor grabs a rollup to retain the titles at 9:52.

Rating: C+. Pretty standard tag match here though it was nice to see the champions actually defending the belts for a change. They almost never do that, which commentary pointed out. At the same time, the Raiders already lose their big shot, but at least they had some nice wins on the way here. They should be fine with that kind of power offense.

We look at New Day’s ten years together.

New Day is ready to get back to where they need to be.

New Day vs. Alpha Academy

New Day can’t even agree on who should start and it’s Woods being knocked into the corner for the Caterpillar. The top rope backsplash gives Tozawa the pin on Woods at 1:46. The team is hitting rock bottom and that’s what needs to happen.

Post match, arguing ensues and Kofi talks about how he’s done everything for Woods. That’s why Woods didn’t get to call the shots: he’s too reckless. Woods takes credit for Kofi becoming World Champion but Kofi says the reason Woods has never won the World Title is he isn’t good enough. They’re about to fight but agree to see each other at the reunion next week. Dang it’s weird to see these guys doing this and dang I’m not sure what’s going to happen at that reunion.

Miz sends the Final Testament off to find the Wyatt Sicks. They all leave, and Nikki Cross pops up to scare Scarlett.

Post break the Final Testament and Miz are back, with Scarlett freaking out. Karrion Kross will deal with it.

Before the show started, General Manager Adam Pearce announced the Women’s Intercontinental Title, with a tournament starting up next week.

Survivor Series rundown, with LA Knight defending the US Title against Shinsuke Nakamura also added.

Nia Jax is ready to squash Bianca Belair.

The Bloodline is impressed by Roman Reigns scoring CM Punk, but that’s the last one they’re getting. On Smackdown, Jacob Fatu will smash Jey Uso to get the WarGames advantage.

Nia Jax vs. Bianca Belair

Non-title WarGames advantage match. Jax starts fast and hits a running splash in the corner to take over. Belair fights up and flips over her though, setting up a dropkick out to the floor. Jax sends her into the barricade though and we take a break. Back with Jax missing a sitdown splash in the corner and missing a charge into the past. A legdrop works a good bit better though and a middle rope version gets two.

The Annihilator is broken up so Jax heads to the top, where Belair gorilla presses her own (geez). A Samoan drop sets up another failed Annihilator attempt (with a turnbuckle pad being exposed somewhere in there) so they head outside. Jax drops her onto the announcers’ table and opts for the countout but cue Bayley to send Jax into the exposed buckle. Belair adds a 450 for the win at 11:08.

Rating: B-. Jax’s dominance was on display here and it made for a solid enough main event. The Bayley part at the end is interesting, as it makes me wonder if she might have had something to do with Cargill being attacked in the first place. The assist also protects Jax from taking a clean fall so this was well put together all around.

Overall Rating: B-. None of the matches were worth going out of your way to see here, but what mattered the most was having Survivor Series get a big push. The women’s WarGames has its advantage, Gunther vs. Priest got a nice boost and two more title matches were set. That’s an efficient two hours and the show is looking better as a result, Solid work here and Survivor Series has some potential.

Results
American Made b. LWO – Rollup to Mysterio
Ludwig Kaiser b. Bron Breakker via DQ when Sheamus interfered
Judgment Day b. War Raiders – Rollup to Ivar
Alpha Academy b. New Day – Top rope backsplash to Woods
Bianca Belair b. Nia Jax – 450

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Monday Night Raw
Date: November 18, 2024
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We’re taped from the same venue as last week and the big story continues to be the build towards Survivor Series. The Raw side seems to be heading towards a women’s WarGames match and the lineup should be firmed up a bit more this week. Other than that, the men’s side is likely approaching its final form as well, with only one star left to be added. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez to get things going. Morgan knows Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill are gunning for her, so she has backup in the form of Nia Jax, Candice LeRae and Tiffany Stratton. Jax gets right to the point: she doesn’t think anything of Morgan and Rodriguez, but she thinks about Belair, Cargill and Naomi a lot.

Cue the trio, with Iyo Sky joining them. They need a fifth member…and here is the returning Rhea Ripley (in a protective mask), to shout WARGAMES and deck Morgan. Sky’s moonsault clears out some villains and the villains are dispatched. That got to the point and if Ripley is available, she was the only possible choice for the fifth spot.

We look back at the big Bloodline vs. Roman Reigns and company brawl on Smackdown, with Bronson Reed seemingly joining the Bloodline’s WarGames team.

LWO vs. American Made

That would be Zelina Vega/Rey Mysterio vs. Ivy Nile/Chad Gable with the women brawling out to the floor to start. That leaves Gable to whip Mysterio chest first into the buckle for two but Mysterio headscissors him out to the floor. Vega comes back in to kick Nile down into the corner but Three Amigos are broken up and we take a break.

Back with Vega still in trouble but fighting out of a chinlock. The comeback allows the tag off to Mysterio to pick up the pace on Gable. That’s broken up as well though and Gable plants Mysterio with a DDT. Vega comes in for a pop up hurricanrana to Gable though, leaving Mysterio to hit the 619. The springboard splash finishes for Mysterio at 9:59.

Rating: C+. The LWO actually gets a win for a change and American Made takes a loss, as some things never change. It seems that Gable and company are not exactly doing well at the moment and I’m not sure how much longer they’ll be around. At the same time, it might be a good idea for Gable to get away from teams for a bit, as he’s kind of done the same thing for a long time now.

Post match Gable yells at American Made, who pose with him.

Finn Balor calms Liv Morgan down and sends Carlito and Dominik Mysterio after the War Raiders. JD McDonagh needs to talk to Balor.

Miz brags about fooling the Wyatt Sicks last week, leading to the Final Testament’s beatdown. It could relaunch the Marine franchise!

We recap Damian Priest getting in Gunther’s head and taking out Ludwig Kaiser.

Gunther tells Kaiser to go make a name for himself. Then Gunther goes after Priest with a pipe but Priest lays him out, saying Gunther may be the Ring General, but Priest is king in the streets.

Intercontinental Title: Sheamus vs. Bron Breakker

Breakker is defending. They stare each other down to start and slug it out to the floor, with Breakker taking over. Back in and a quick Irish Curse gets Sheamus out of trouble but Breakker knocks him outside again. The jumping clothesline from the apron onto the announcers’ table connects and we take a break.

Back with Breakker knocking him to the floor and hitting a top rope shoulder to drop him again. Breakker tells him to quit while he has a chance but Sheamus tells him to bring it on and gets in a knockdown of his own. A backdrop sends Sheamus to the apron, where he gets in the ten forearms to the chest.

Breakker knocks him down again and goes up, only to get pulled down with a super White Noise or two more. This time it’s Sheamus going up, with Breakker Frankensteinering him back down. Sheamus’ knee cuts the spear off for two but another spear attempt connects, with Sheamus rolling outside. Breakker tries another one…but here is Ludwig Kaiser to deck him for the DQ at 13:33.

Rating: B. This was right in Sheamus’ wheelhouse as he is at his best when it’s about beating the fire out of each other. Breakker is more than capable of holding his own in that kind of a power match and it worked well here. The Kaiser interference does tie into Sheamus telling him to do his own thing and three way match could be interesting.

Post match Kaiser lays both of them out again.

Sami Zayn and the Usos again try to get Seth Rollins to join WarGames, but it’s a no from Rollins due to the Roman Reigns problem. Tonight, he’s going to take out Bronson Reed.

Video on Dakota Kai, who returned from her latest injury last week.

The women’s WarGames match is official.

Judgment Day vs. War Raiders

Ivar slams Carlito to start and Erik slams Ivar onto him for two. Ivar has to fight out of the wrong corner and hands it back to Erik, who is knocked outside. Mysterio hits a dive to drop Erik and we take an early break. Back with Mysterio hitting the slingshot hilo but Erik fights up and hands it back to Ivar. House is quickly cleaned, including the Bronco Buster to crush Mysterio. Ivar tosses Mysterio at Carlito (that’s effective) and the War Machine finishes Carlito at 9:38.

Rating: C+. That’s a classic way to set up the already established title match and it worked well here. The Raiders get to run through the lower level Judgment Day team and look like a threat to the champs. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Raiders get the belts back when they get the chance and this was a good way to help set it up.

Post match Finn Balor and JD McDonagh jump the Raiders and leave them laying.

The Wyatt Sicks hack the feed and promise revenge on Miz for not accepting their offer of help out of the pit.

Video on Lyra Valkyria.

Kofi Kingston isn’t sure what is going on with Xavier Woods, who comes up and talks about what Karrion Kross said (that the team is dead and New Day is the only ones who don’t know it). Otis (who had been talking to Kingston) tries to calm him down but Woods snaps at him and a tag match is set for next week.

Seth Rollins vs. Bronson Reed

The bell rings so here is the Bloodline, with Sami Zayn and the Usos popping up to brawl them into the crowd. Reed is knocked to the floor and Rollins hits a dive as we take an early break. Back with Reed knocking him around ringside and getting in a whip over the barricade. They get back inside where Reed knocks him right back to the floor, setting up the flip dive off the apron.

This time Rollins is able to ram him head first into the steps a few times, setting up a springboard knee to the head. Reed grabs a quick powerbomb for two and we take another break. Back again with Rollins powerbombing him out of the corner to leave them both down.

A Lionsault and springboard Swanton get one on Reed so Rollins gets in a low superkick. The frog splash gets two but Reed is back with a brainbuster for two of his own. Rollins is ok enough to roll away from a Tsunami attempt and now a superkick into the Pedigree gets two. The Stomp connects and Rollins goes up but cue Solo Sikoa for a distraction. Reed hits a Death Valley Driver and the Tsunami for the pin at 17:38.

Rating: B. Reed needed this win and continues his rather strong push, even after losing to Rollins at Crown Jewel. Rollins threw a lot at Reed here but couldn’t put him away, which is a simple way to make a monster look strong. At the same time, this could set up Rollins as the last member of WarGames, even if he isn’t thrilled with being on the team. I’m no sure who else it could be, so for now at least it’s going well.

Overall Rating: B. This was the show that got a focus on what is either already locked in for Survivor Series or is all but set. The WarGames matches are all but set and Priest vs. Gunther should be good for a featured match. They’re doing a nice job of making me want to see what they have at Survivor Series and this made for solid stepping stone there. The show could use another match or two and that can be set up in the next few days, but the big stuff is ready.

Results
LWO b. American Made – Springboard splash to Gable
Bron Breakker b. Sheamus via DQ when Ludwig Kaiser interfered
War Raiders b. Judgment Day – War Machine to Carlito
Bronson Reed b. Seth Rollins – Tsunami

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

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Monday Night Raw
Date: November 11, 2024
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

We’re back stateside and there are less than three weeks to go before Survivor Series. After last week’s main event, Damian Priest is the new #1 contender to Gunther’s World Heavyweight Championship. There is a good chance that match is announced sooner than later, maybe even tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Gunther for a chat, with commentary confirming that he will defend against Damian Priest at Survivor Series. After reminding us that he is still the champion, Gunther wants and receives Priest in the ring. Priest wants him to say these things to his face, guessing that it’s not going to be so nice.

Gunther doesn’t think much of this but Priest says he knows he can beat Gunther, because Finn Balor won’t be there to help him again. Priest reminds Gunther of the loss to Cody Rhodes and Gunther is not looking happy. Cue Ludwig Kaiser to remind us that Gunther has beaten Priest before. Priest drops Kaiser but Gunther bails. The match was ready to go and having it at Survivor Series is a fine way to go.

Damage CTRL is ready to fight…and it helps that Dakota Kai is back.

Veterans Day video.

Kofi Kingston apologizes to R-Truth for not having his back last week and kind of blames Xavier Woods. Cue Woods, but R-Truth mentions Pete Dunne by his old name, which brings Dunne in. The result is Dunne vs. Kingston later tonight.

Damage CTRL vs. Pure Fusion Collective

Sane flips over Deville to start but gets caught in a suplex. Sky comes in to trip Deville down and Sane kicks her out to the floor, only to get caught with a cheap shot. We take a break and come back with Kai coming in to take over on Baszler. A half crab on the bad leg slows her down but Sane comes in off the top for the save. Everything breaks down and Kai kicks Baszler, setting up Over The Moonsault for the pin at 9:27.

Rating: C+. This match did a nice job with a few things, ranging from bringing Kai back with a nice showing and also letting Sky get a win on the way to her title shot. That’s a nice way to get through a match with about ten minutes and a break in the middle. If nothing else, having Damage CTRL being more than a tag team is a good idea too, as they work better as a trio.

Long recap of the Original Bloodline reunion on Smackdown, with Sami Zayn being back in the fold.

Sami Zayn and the Usos are back but need a fifth member for WarGames. Zayn might know someone, with Jey being a bit unsure.

Kofi Kingston vs. Pete Dunne

Xavier Woods is here with Kingston. Dunne gets sent into the corner to start but Kofi flips over him and hits a dropkick to the floor. The flipping dive to the floor takes Dunne out and we take a break. Back with Dunne slowly hammering away until a kick to the face cuts him off. A top rope splash to the back hits Dunne but he knocks Kingston out of the air. Woods gets in a cheap shot though and Kingston isn’t happy, with the distraction letting Dunne hit the Bitter End for the pin at 8:55.

Rating: B-. As you might have guessed, two talented wrestlers who had the chance to showcase themselves worked well. Kingston and Dunne are the kind of stars who are able to work well with anyone and sometimes you just need a nice wrestling match. In this case there was the Woods aspect as well so it even had some longer term consequences. Much like the opener, that’s a nice use of television time.

Post match Kingston shoves Woods away.

We look at Iyo Sky becoming #1 contender last week.

Finn Balor yells at Dominik Mysterio for letting Damian Priest becoming the new #1 contender. They have to be held back, with more of the team saying they’re ready to teach the War Raiders a lesson.

Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill are ready for their title defense tonight.

Here is Bronson Reed, who acknowledges that Seth Rollins is great but brings up taking Rollins out last week. Cue Rollins and the fight is on, with the start in the ring and the latter heading outside. Reed hits a big dive to take out Rollins and security but it’s not quite broken up as we take a break.

Post break Rollins demands another match and Adam Pearce grants it for next week. Sami Zayn comes in and wants Rollins in WarGames. Zayn brings up Rollins’ history with Roman Reigns, but Rollins thinks Zayn is out of his mind. He knows what Reigns is all about and Rollins isn’t going to help him in any way. The answer is no.

Damian Priest vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Priest hammers away to start but misses a charge, allowing Kaiser to tie him in the corner. The running dropkick rocks Priest again and we take a break. Back with Kaiser forearming away but getting dropped with a quick Broken Arrow. Priest strikes away and hits the lifting Downward Spiral for two but has to fight out of a windup DDT. The ear clap sets up South Of Heaven for the clean pin at 7:33.

Rating: C+. This was about giving Priest a nice win on the way to his match with Gunther and it worked well enough. Beating Kaiser has become a tradition for Gunther’s opponents and that isn’t a bad way to go. Priest doesn’t need much of a build, but this went about as well as it was going to all things considered.

Post match Gunther comes out for a nervous looking staredown.

We look at Sheamus and Bron Breakker going to a draw on Speed.

Breakker doesn’t like Sheamus, who interrupts and wants an Intercontinental Title shot next week. Breakker didn’t understand a word of that but Sheamus can have a title shot next week. With Sheamus gone, Jey Uso comes in to talk to Breakker.

The Miz is back but has no information for the Final Testament. That doesn’t work for Karrion Kross, but Miz says he has seen the error of his way. Kross grabs Miz and the AOP drags him to the ring, where Kross says this doesn’t add up. He wants the Wyatt Sicks so here they are, with Miz chairing Erick Rowan down. The Final Testament cleans house and the Wyatts are left laying. Uncle Howdy laughs.

Seth Rollins is leaving….but Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu are here. Sikoa wants Rollins on his team, with Rollins saying he wants to stomp Roman Reigns’ head down. That being said, he also doesn’t want to team with a wannabe Reigns.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez vs. Bianca Belair/Jade Cargill

Belair and Cargill are defending and Morgan goes to the mat with Belair to start. The fight goes to Belair and she hammers away in the corner, only to get pulled down by the hair. Morgan hits a dropkick off the steps and we take an early break. Back with Cargill getting a tag to clean house and spinning Morgan down with a faceplant for two with Rodriguez making the save. Rodriguez and Cargill kick each other in the face but here are Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton to go after Cargill. That’s enough for Rodriguez to get two as Naomi (Why are these people here?) comes in to go after Jax. The KOD to Morgan retains the titles at 7:28.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on here with a lot of people getting involved. It’s nice to see some of these stories starting to intertwine, though Morgan losing a fall was a bit annoying. Granted a lot of this is due to Rhea Ripley being gone, but her feud with Morgan needed a break.

Post match Jax jumps the champs but Iyo Sky comes in to help fight the villains off. The heroes stand tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. They covered a good amount of stuff on here, with the Gunther vs. Priest match being set up as the big deal. Other than that you had all of the insanity with the Women’s Titles and the teases of who could be the fifth members in WarGames. I’m wanting to see where some of these things are going and that’s a good sign on the way towards the pay per view.

Results
Damage CTRL b. Pure Fusion Collective – Over The Moonsault to Baszler
Pete Dunne b. Kofi Kingston – Bitter End
Damian Priest b. Ludwig Kaiser – South Of Heaven
Bianca Belair/Jade Cargill b. Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez – KOD to Morgan

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: November 1, 2024
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Corey Graves, Michael Cole

We’re taped from last week as tomorrow is Crown Jewel in all of its glory. That means it is time to give us the final hammering home before the pay per view, including the big push towards the Bloodline vs. whatever the other team is called, which was announced earlier this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Nia Jax to get things going. She wants the Crown Jewel Title and she tends to get what she wants. The last time she was in Saudi Arabia, she wanted to become Queen Of The Ring and that’s what happened. She’s going to win the Crown Jewel Title and Morgan will be crying on the floor.

Cue Morgan, with Raquel Rodriguez and Dominik Mysterio, to talk about how she won in Saudi Arabia too. Morgan beat her the last time they fought but here is Tiffany Stratton to interrupt. She promises to cash in, but she’s not sure which one it will be. Maybe something could change her mind though: if she takes Morgan’s title, does Dominik come with it? She could use a little dirty in her life (Dominik shakes his head no). Morgan thinks Stratton has enough dirty in her life and the fight is on, with a call for a referee. Adding some stakes, even if they’re not guaranteed, to the Crown Jewel match helps so much.

Liv Morgan vs. Tiffany Stratton

Non-title and joined in progress with Morgan taking her to the floor for some rams into various things. Back in and a dropkick sends Stratton into the corner so she grabs the briefcase. Nia Jax pops up on the apron but Morgan uses the distraction to grab a rollup (with trunks) for the pin at 2:27 shown.

Post match Nia gives Morgan the Annihilator.

We look back at Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton being made for Crown Jewel.

Owens has sent in a video saying he doesn’t want to fight Orton because he never wanted to hurt him. Now he’s going to hurt Orton like Orton hurt him.

Street Profits vs. Pretty Deadly

B-Fab is here with the Profits. Pretty Deadly has Playbills for their upcoming musical and talk to Lin Manuel Miranda (of Hamilton fame) in a likely smart move. The villains jump the Profits before the bell and it’s Ford getting knocked into the corner, with Prince getting to dance a bit. Wilson comes in for some stomping of his own but Ford slips away and brings in Dawkins to clean house without much trouble. A middle rope Codebreaker cuts Dawkins down but B-Fab cuts off the choking and slams Prince. The Doomsday Blockbuster finishes Wilson at 4:01.

Rating: C. Pretty Deadly has fallen pretty far in the last few months as they have very little to do save for talking about their musical, which doesn’t exactly seem likely for some big payoff. The Profits are stuck in this weird place where they’re good enough to challenge for the titles but have lost so many big matches that it doesn’t seem likely. They need to figure something out though, because this is only going to hold out for so long.

Nia Jax isn’t happy with Tiffany Stratton, who says it’s all part of the plan. Bayley and Naomi aren’t convinced.

Naomi/Bayley vs. Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae

Hartwell pounds Bayley down to start and then punches her in the face for a bonus. LeRae adds a dive off the apron to drop Bayley again and we take a break. Back with Bayley fighting out of a chinlock and hitting some knees to Hartwell in the corner. Naomi comes in to slug away on LeRae, including a middle rope splits splash for two with Hartwell making the save. Everything breaks down and the Bayley To Belly hits Hartwell, but LeRae is back up with the Lionsault to Bayley. That’s not worth a count though as Naomi is legal, meaning she hits the Rear View for the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C. As usual, there is only so much you can get out of a match with so much missing, but they were trying well enough. I’m not sure how much drama there was in the match as Bayley and Naomi are much bigger stars, plus the whole Hartwell is released thing. If nothing else, I’m surprised LeRae took the fall, but it only makes so much of a difference.

We look at the recent Bloodline situations, resulting in the Usos joining forces with Roman Reigns to fight the villains.

Here are Jimmy Uso and Roman Reigns to officially clear the air with Jey Uso. Jimmy says he and his brother made up and it’s time for Roman to make everything ok of they’ll lose at Crown Jewel. Cue Jey Uso, who wastes no time in taking off the sunglasses. He gets right to the point in saying that this is about him getting back at Solo Sikoa. This isn’t ok with all three of them yet because he remembers how Reigns treated him.

There was physical, mental and emotional damage, but now they have to show the next generations that it’s family above all. Reigns isn’t going to be the boss though and they’re all equals right now. Reigns can keep going that way or he can act like Jey’s cousin and they’ll be together at Crown Jewel. Jey looks at him as Reigns thinks about it….and says YEET to quite the reaction. Jimmy and Jey hold up the fingers and Reigns joins the pose to blow the roof off the place.

The Motor City Machine Guns are in the back when A-Town Down Under interrupts them. The villains invite them to be on the Grayson Waller Effect next week and the champs are in.

Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair vs. Lash Legend vs. Piper Niven

Their respective partners are here too. They pair off to start with Belair hammering on Niven and avoiding a charge in the corner. Niven runs Belair over as Legend drops Sky onto the apron. Back in and Legend and Niven hit a double clothesline for a double knockdown. Niven breaks up Sky’s Asai moonsault but gets taken out by Belair. Legend and Niven drop Belair though and we take a break.

Back with Niven hitting a backsplash for two on Sky, with Legend stealing the cover. Belair comes back in with a high crossbody to both of the, followed by a spinebuster to Niven. Legend takes out Belair but Sky is back in to hit both villains in the corner. Niven and Sky go up but get Tower of Doomed back down by Belair.

Legend plants Belair but Chelsea Green makes the save as the brawl breaks out on the floor. Back in and Niven backsplashes Legend and piledrives Belair. Legend cuts off the basement crossbody as Cargill cleans house on the floor. The KOD hits Legend but Sky comes in with Over The Moonsault to hit Belair and steals the pin on Legend at 12:04.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of formula that tends to work best for these matches as it was a bunch of people going nuts and trying to get in as much stuff as they could. That made for an entertaining match and I had a good time with it, especially when you add in all of the others on the floor. Good stuff here, even if it means almost nothing for the title match.

Cody Rhodes asks Randy Orton to save him a piece of Kevin Owens.

Andrade, Carmelo Hayes and LA Knight are ready for the triple threat for the US Title.

Crown Jewel rundown.

Solo Sikoa isn’t happy with Roman Reigns and the Usos being together again and promises to take them out.

Randy Orton/Cody Rhodes vs. Imperium

Cody and Gunther get things going…and we’ll make that Kaiser instead before anything happens. A gordbuster sends Kaiser outside and Rhodes hits a big dive as we take an early break. Back with Gunther kicking Rhodes down so Kaiser can hammer away. The double kicks in the corner have Rhodes in more trouble and Kaiser grabs the chinlock.

That’s switched into an abdominal stretch until Rhodes hiptosses his way to freedom. A double clothesline leaves both of them own and Rhodes is able to hand it off to Orton. The hanging DDT hits Gunther but he blocks the RKO. Rhodes and Kaiser come back in to slug it out, with a Cody Cutter connecting. The RKO and Cross Rhodes finish Kaiser off at 10:14.

Rating: C+. They could only do so much here as the question was more about which one would pin Kaiser for the win. What matters here is giving us just a taste of Gunther vs. Rhodes, which is what they pulled off, but at the same time, their showdown doesn’t feel that important. This helped the match a bit, but it was facing quite the ceiling.

Post match Kevin Owens runs in with a chair to Orton as Gunther chokes Rhodes out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I am not feeling Crown Jewel in the slightest and this didn’t do much to help things out. The best thing here was the addition of teasing a cash in for the women’s match, as it at least gives the match some bigger stakes. The Bloodline match isn’t that much better, as it’s clearly just a warmup for WarGames. That’s the problem with Crown Jewel in general: it feels like a show that we have to get through to get to the important stuff and that’s not great. This show boosted it a bit, but it could only go so far.

Results
Liv Morgan b. Tiffany Stratton – Rollup with trunks
Street Profits b. Pretty Deadly – Doomsday Blockbuster to Wilson
Bayley/Naomi b. Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae – Rear View to LeRae
Iyo Sky b. Lash Legend, Bianca Belair and Piper Niven – KOD to Legend
Cody Rhodes/Randy Orton b. Imperium – Cross Rhodes to Kaiser

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: October 28, 2024
Location: Giant Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

It’s the last Raw before Crown Jewel and that means we get to hear about the entirely and completely important Crown Jewel Titles. Other than that, the Usos are back together with Roman Reigns after the Bloodline went too far last week. There is a good chance that we’ll hear some more about that this week so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Bloodline and Jey Uso costing each other titles last week.

Here is Jey Uso for a chat. After recapping what he’s done over the last week, Jey brings out Jimmy Uso, as the only person he wants to talk to. Jimmy says he’s here to say thank you because they need to be together to take down the Bloodline. Jey cuts him off though, saying they’re not the ones either.

Jey hasn’t seen him since Wrestlemania but now no one gets them confused because Jey is the former Intercontinental Champion. He’s won titles, but none of them top being Jimmy’s twin brother. They still have things to work out but they can be the USOS. Jimmy invites Jey to Smackdown to make things right with Roman Reigns, which Jey accepts. Cue the Bloodline to interrupt but the Usos fights their way out of a beating and clear the ring. Good reunion here, but it’s the next step in a very long story.

Post break, Adam Pearce is on the phone with Nick Aldis and yells about the Bloodline being here. Judgment Day comes in to ask which former World Champion Dominik Mysterio will be facing. Pearce doesn’t have time for this so it can be Damian Priest. Mysterio says he has this.

Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser

They slug it out to start and fight into the corner with Sheamus getting the better of things. That heads out to the floor, with Kaiser grabbing a guillotine but getting driven into the steps. We take an early break and come back with Sheamus hitting the ten forearms on the apron. Sheamus hammers away in the corner but gets powerbombed down, only to say COME ON when Kaiser starts punching him. Some hard shots from Sheamus set up the Brogue Kick to pin Kaiser at 9:46.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have much time here due to the break and it’s a little strange to see this feud picked up again when it was mainly going back in the early summer. That being said, there is absolutely some value in building up Sheamus to challenge Bron Breakker for the Intercontinental Title in a hoss feud. It has some stories built in and that should be good enough if they go in that direction.

Rhea Ripley is sick of Raquel Rodriguez and her betrayal. All Ripley wants is the title back and nothing can stop her.

Sami Zayn talks to Jey Uso and can’t believe what he’s seeing. Solo Sikoa wasn’t the one who was getting in his head for years and Jey could just be his own may. Jey says Sami wouldn’t understand because he isn’t family. Oh that was harsh.

Gunther doesn’t think much of Cody Rhodes and is ready for a tag match on Smackdown.

Zelina Vega vs. Ivy Nile

The LWO and American Made are both here too. They start fast with Vega sending her outside for a Meteora off the apron as we take an early break. Back with Vega getting two off a moonsault (not much contact there). Nile is back with a German suplex for two but Vega is back with a Code Red. The guys get in a brawl on the floor though and the distraction lets Nile hit a swinging Rock Bottom for the pin at 6:28. Not enough shown to rate but it was short and not exactly great.

Jimmy Uso is ok with Sami Zayn not being family.

Here is Seth Rollins for a chat. He’s ready to go to war with a monster at Crown Jewel because a part of him that has been gone for a long time is back. Bronson Reed pops up on screen to say he promised that he wouldn’t wreck anything in the arena, but he’s out in the parking lot. Rollins comes out for the brawl, where Reed shrugs off a Stomp onto the hood of a car. They go into the back of a truck and Reed hits a Death Valley Driver through some tables to leave Rollins laying. That’s either a way to write the match off of the crowded card or to give Reed a way to injure Rollins again.

We recap Miz and R-Truth brawling, which drew out the Wyatt Six to attack Paul Ellering.

Miz tried to get away from the Final Testament but they weren’t letting that happen.

R-Truth was with the Alpha Academy when Miz came up to try to make amends. That earns him a shot to the face, with R-Truth saying good luck with the Wyatts. R-Truth runs into Pete Dunne, who he calls Butch. It’s rather funny when R-Truth gets it.

Tag Team Title #1 Contenders Tournament Finals: LWO vs. War Raiders vs. New Day

Kofi and Lee dropkick Ivar to start but he crushes Lee in the corner for two. Erik comes in to knee Rey to the floor and the ring is cleared early on as we take a break. Back with Erik crushing Woods but Rey fights up and knocks Erik outside. Woods is back in but refuses to tag Kingston, with commentary talking about Woods being the “quarterback” of the team. Now Kingston comes in and his a Boom Drop. Woods hits a dive to the floor and Kingston dives onto them again as we take a break.

Back again with Rey kicking Kingston in the head and bringing Lee in to pick up the pace. The double stomp out of the Tree of Woe hits Kingston before Lee, Kingston and Erik go up at the same time. That’s broken up and Lee powerbombs Kingston for two with Woods making the save. Kingston loads up Daylight but Woods would rather dive onto Lee. Cue Chad Gable to pull Rey to the floor for an ankle lock, leaving the Raiders to hit the German suplex/springboard clothesline to pin Kingston at 17:34.

Rating: B. I would have bet on the LWO getting the win here but good idea of pulling the trigger with the Raiders. They’re an established team and a pair of monsters so why not see if they can get the gold again. If nothing else, Judgment Day isn’t doing a thing with the belts so moving them on to a more traditional team is a good idea.

Seth Rollins is off getting medical treatment at a facility.

Miz’s advice for the Final Testament regarding the Wyatt Sicks: run. That doesn’t work for Karrion Kross, who wants Miz to take Bo Dallas out.

The Usos are going to leave but see Sami Zayn talking to Solo Sikoa. Jimmy says he told Jey all they had was family, with Jey agreeing. Now usually this isn’t something that winds up being what it seems, but Jimmy is often presented as stupid so it kind of fits.

Damian Priest vs. Dominik Mysterio

Mysterio is here on his own. Priest starts fast and knocks him to the floor without much effort. Dominik manages a posting to take over though and we go to an early break. Back with Priest breaking up the Third Amigo and hitting a hard clothesline for two. Priest gets sent outside though and here is Liv Morgan for a distraction so Carlito and JD McDonagh can come in for some cheap shots. Priest beats them up with a chair but Dominik grabs a rollup with tights for the pin at 8:58.

Rating: C. This felt like a way to keep Priest’s issues with Judgment Day going until he can move on to a feud with Gunther and there are worse ideas. Priest lost because there were three people helping Mysterio, who had to cheat as well. If nothing else, the idea of Mysterio getting built up towards a World Title match could have quite the reactions, as the fans still love to boo him out of every arena.

Post match Priest wrecks Dominik and Carlito to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Maybe it’s the lack of any time left or realizing that it’s not working, but the lack of focus on the Crown Jewel Titles made this so much more enjoyable. WWE might have known that the idea was lame from the beginning but it’s nit to get the focus off of them for a night. Other than that, you had some things st up for the post Crown Jewel shows as Survivor Series is on the way. Not a great show, but it got some things done.

Results
Sheamus b. Ludwig Kaiser – Brogue Kick
Ivy Nile b. Zelina Vega – Swinging Rock Bottom
War Raiders b. New Day and LWO – German suplex/springboard clothesline combination to Kingston
Dominik Mysterio b. Damien Priest – Rollup with tights

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 30, 2024
Location: Ford Center, Evansville, Indiana
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett

It’s the last Raw before Bad Blood and that means we are in for the final push before Saturday’s Cell match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre. Other than that, Jey Uso is the new Intercontinental Champion and that means he is going to need a new challenger. Finally we have a big showdown this week, with Bronson Reed vs. Braun Strowman, Last Man/Monster Standing. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentary is in the ring to welcome us to the show.

We look at Jey Uso beating Bron Breakker last week to become the new Intercontinental Champion.

Uso is in the back and comes to the ring, with his son helping lead the YEET chants for a great moment. After seeming pretty emotional about the title win, Uso talks about how he’ll fight every week to retain the title. He’s always been known as just a twin and part of the team but now he’s here by himself as Intercontinental Champion. Uso has a bunch of fans, but the biggest is his mother, who told him to go out there and show the people who he is. She told him to go get it and that’s what he did, but cue Bron Breakker to interrupt.

Breakker says he respects Uso after last week’s match and how he had said the best man should walk out as champion. On that night, Uso was the better man. Breakker says he isn’t here to attack Uso, and offers a handshake, which Uso accepts. As Breakker goes to leave (in peace), Uso stops him and says there are some dogs around here. That felt like a face turn for Breakker, which could be a rather interesting way to go.

Earlier today, Finn Balor called Dominik Mysterio, with the rest of Judgment Day not being sure where Balor was. Balor told Dominik that “it’s all taken care of” and he’ll see them soon. Dominik tells the rest of the team that Balor is just stuck somewhere but he’s on his way.

Rey Mysterio vs. Xavier Woods

This is fallout from an argument last week. Woods grabs a rollup to start but Rey sends him to the floor for a seated senton (West Coast Pop according to Tessitore) off the apron. We take an early break and come back with Rey sending him outside for a nice looking Asai moonsault. Back in and the 619 misses so Rey tries a reverse suplex, only for Woods to rip the mask off. Woods is upset at himself but grabs the rollup for the pin at 7:34.

Rating: C+. Oh I think you know where this is going and it’s getting more and more interesting every week. Woods is going closer and closer to the dark side but I’m curious if Big E. is going to come back and reunite the team for good. For now though, it was a quite match and that’s all it needed to be.

Sonya Deville and Shayna Baszler interrupts Lyra Valkyria, who doesn’t have Natalya or Zelina Vega with her tonight. Baszler will be with Deville instead, but Baszler will only bite on Deville’s orders.

Kofi Kingston comes up to Xavier Woods and asks if that was on purpose. Woods says of course he didn’t but notices the lack of congratulations. Kingston does congratulate him but says that Jey Uso has given him (as in Kingston) an Intercontinental Title shot. Woods says of course Kingston will climb the mountain again…but Kingston has said Woods should get the shot instead. That certainly works for Woods, who would love to be ringside with Kingston tonight to help cancel out American Mad. Everything seems ok for now, including Karrion Kross looking on in the background.

Lyra Valkyria vs. Zoey Stark

The rest of the Pure Fusion Collective is here with Stark. Feeling out process to start with Valkyria sending her outside for a dropkick through the ropes. We take an early break and come back with Valkyria hitting a crossbody and striking away, including an enziguri for two. The Z360 is blocked s Valkyria German suplexes her down. The rest of the Collective offers a distraction so Valkyria’s rollup gets a delayed two. Deville adds a running knee to the head though and Stark hits Z360 for the pin at 7:14.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t exactly a smooth match and the Collective continues to feel about as low rent of a stable as you can ask for in the division. What we got here was relatively sloppy as well, with the Collective barely being able to beat one person with the 3-1 advantage. Just not a very good match and this is one of the weaker parts of Raw at the moment.

Post match the beatdown is teased but Kayden Carter and Katana Chance run in for the save, with Carter running around the ring while Chance gets choked. Eventually the villains are taken out.

Video on Bronson Reed vs. Braun Strowman, set up like a monster movie.

Adam Pearce tells security to keep the match in the ring as CM Punk walks by.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance get in an argument with the Unholy Union. The Union absolutely tower over them in a pretty ridiculous visual.

The Cell is lowered, with Adam Pearce and security inside. Pearce talks about how he prides himself on delivering promised matches, so tonight there will be no physicality inside the Cell. There will however be a chance for both men to say their final shot, so here are CM Punk and Drew McIntyre. They both take their time and seem to respect the Cell a bit before getting inside.

Punk appears to say he has nothing to say to McIntyre, who says he’ll go first. McIntyre points out that he’s wearing black, which is out of respect to Punk’s wife. After Saturday, she’s going to have to take care of Punk and will probably just leave him. He’s wearing a tuxedo because it’s going to be a celebration after Punk is gone for good after Saturday. McIntyre has been telling the fans the truth for ten months but they still chant his names.

After all those months, Punk has taught McIntyre how to hate, and the hatred will die at Bad Blood. Punk says people have called him a lot of things over the course of his career, including the Voice Of The Voiceless. Tonight though, he is voiceless because he can’t speak to a piece of garbage like McIntyre. Punk has been living in a hotel for a month because he doesn’t want his wife to see what he has become. McIntyre needs to remember that he prayed for all of this, but on Saturday, he’ll be praying to Punk himself. This was another intense exchange and dang they need to destroy each other.

Braun Strowman is ready for Bronson Reed…but the Miz interrupts. Before he can get anywhere, R-Truth interrupts with Strowman being surprised that he’s back. R-Truth isn’t sure what Strowman is talking about but Strowman is off to get ready. R-Truth isn’t sure why he didn’t tell Miz that he’s back but he’s gotten a match with A-Op. As in the Authors of Pain, though R-Truth isn’t sure what books they have written.

Sami Zayn doesn’t like the disrespect from Gunther and no he isn’t over it despite getting it for his entire career. It doesn’t matter what happens to him because he’s going to keep fighting until he becomes World Heavyweight Champion.

LWO vs. Judgment Day

Del Toro kicks McDonagh in the face to start and hits a high crossbody. Wilde adds a 450 and we take an early break. Back with Wilde hitting a DDT and diving over to Lee for the tag to clean house. Lee’s slingshot dropkick in the corner rocks Carlito and the villains are sent into the corner in a big pile. That means a Coast To Coast dropkick from Del Toro for two on McDonagh and a big dive to the floor makes it worse. Liv Morgan offers a distraction though and here is Finn Balor for a cheap shot to Del Toro. The Devlin Side finishes at 7:10.

Rating: B-. Some of the spots were very entertaining and that shouldn’t be a surprise given who was in there. At the same time, the numbers game being the LWO’s undoing isn’t that shocking. At the same time, it would have been ok if Judgment Day beat this version of the LWO. The good guys aren’t that strong in the first place, especially with Rey Mysterio not involved.

Post break, Balor promises to prove to Damian Priest that Priest needed him rather than the team needing Priest. Liv Morgan promises to prove that she is a home wrecking, man stealing, greatest champion of all time. Cue Rhea Ripley to interrupt and she brings out the shark cage for dramatic effect (her words).

The reality is Dominik Mysterio is scared of confined spaces so he’ll be terrified…and here is Damian Priest to jump Judgment Day. Ripley headbutts Morgan and sends Mysterio into the shark cage. Morgan is back up for the brawl, with Ripley throwing a shoe at her. Priest keeps beating up Judgment Day until Balor hits a Sling Blade. The Coup de Grace leaves Priest laying.

Sheamus talks about how bad it is to get hit in the back of the head by a man who used to be your friend. It’s even worse when that friend used to be named Butch, so now they’re in for a fight. We’ll even make it a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook.

Commentary pays tribute to Pete Rose, complete with some Wrestlemania footage. Simple and short here but anything is better than nothing, especially when the news broke about an hour before the show went on the air.

Damage CTRL want the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Chad Gable vs. Kofi Kingston

American Made and Xavier Woods are here too. Gable takes him to the mat to start but is quickly escaped both times. Kingston backflips out of a German suplex and flips out of a monkey flip as well. They go outside where Gable, with a cut forehead, hits a German suplex and we take a break.

Back with Kingston hitting a middle rope dropkick but coming up favoring his knee. An overhead belly to belly drops Kingston again and they trade rollups for two each. Kingston kicks his way out of the corner but misses a top rope shot to the head,. The ankle lock is countered into a rollup for two but Trouble In Paradise is countered into the ankle lock again. That’s broken up and they fall out to the floor, with Kingston hitting a dive onto American Made. Woods helps take out Julius Creed and trips Gable, which causes Kingston to miss Trouble In Paradise. Rolling Chaos Theory finishes Kingston at 9:30.

Rating: B. This is one of those matches where you knew it was going to be good because of who was involved. At the same time you had some interesting storyline advancement with Woods costing Kingston the win by trying to go evil. Solid match and I could go for seeing more from both of them, which is a nice feeling to have.

We look at WWE stars at various football games over the weekend, including Seth Rollins.

Bronson Reed isn’t worried that Rollins is getting ready to return to the ring, because he’ll take even more time off Rollins’ career. As for tonight, he’ll be the Last Monster Standing.

Adam Pearce is talking to security again when Gunther passes by.

We get another weird Wyatt Sicks video, saying “we see your intent” and talking about anger festering into rage, which will end in your demise. Do not force their hand, heed their admonition. Ok then.

Here is Gunther for a chat, though first we see some clips of his match with Ilja Dragunov over the weekend, where Dragunov tore his ACL and will be out 6-9 months. Gunther talks about how fantastic it is to be World Heavyweight Champion, as it comes with a lot of perks. There is one thing that he hates though, which is dealing with Sami Zayn every single week. Cue Zayn to interrupt, saying that all Gunther has to do is give him a title shot.

Gunther says Zayn isn’t on his level, which Zayn says Gunther knows is nonsense and that’s why Gunther is scared. Zayn beat him before and Gunther knows he can do it again. Gunther says Zayn is scared of his reputation, because losing to a better man would have been no problem, but losing to Zayn is an embarrassment. Gunther wasn’t sure he could win at Wrestlemania but he didn’t parade his worries around for sympathy.

After the match, Gunther had to talk to his father, who flew all the way from Vienna to see him lose to a bum. Zayn wouldn’t understand though because Zayn’s family always sees him fail. On the other hand, Gunther is his family’s golden goose. Zayn says it’s true that Gunther lost, and then he left for weeks because he couldn’t handle it. He never asked for a rematch and didn’t even show up, because his dad thought he was a loser. Now Gunther is showing his father that he is a coward, which is enough for Gunther to beat Zayn down and yell a lot. Gunther lays him out with the powerbomb and the match is on.

Awesome Truth vs. Authors Of Pain

Truth shoulders Rezar to start but gets caught in a quick Dominator. Karrion Kross is yelling at Miz from the floor as the double teaming is on. Truth manages to low bridge Akam to the floor and hands it off to Miz…who kicks Truth in the face and walks out. What A Rush finishes Truth (who wasn’t legal) at 2:58.

Bad Blood rundown.

Gunther, with Ludwig Kaiser, isn’t worried about defending against Sami Zayn next week. Bron Breakker, who beat Gunther in NXT, comes in to look at the World Heavyweight Title. He’ll see Gunther soon. New Day could be seen arguing in the back.

Bronson Reed vs. Braun Strowman

Last Monster (Man) Standing. Strowman hits a clothesline to start but Reed knocks him out to the floor. A missed charge sends Reed into the steps but he’s back up in a few seconds. Strowman hits him with the steps a few times and a chokeslam sends Reed through the announcers’ table. Reed is back up and we have another staredown as we take a break.

Back with Reed knocking him own as a bunch of chairs are set up on the floor. Strowman gets in a shot of his own and limps over for a forearm to send Red through the chairs. Reed is back up again and they fight up to the stage, where Strowman gets in a chair to the back. They climb onto some anvil cases with Reed slamming him through some tables but Strowman gets up again.

We come back from another break with Strowman having crashed through the barricade and beating the count. Another spear puts Strowman through another barricade, with some fans being taken out. Security and agents come out to check on the fans as Reed hits the Tsunami but there’s no referee. That means another Tsunami before Reed throws security inside. The referee is thrown down so Adam Pearce gets in Reed’s face.

The Agents go to make the save but Strowman goes up and dives onto the pile or the huge knockdown. They both beat the count so Strowman goes up, with Reed catching him in the superplex to break the ring (that’s always cool). They’re both getting up again but here is Seth Rollins to Stomp Reed onto the steps so Strowman can win at 19:18.

Rating: B+. While this didn’t quite hit the levels of violence and insanity that I was hoping for, it was still a good fight between two monsters with multiple big moments. Reed vs. Rollins can be a major match down the line (two weeks from now would work fine) and it wouldn’t stun me to see it dragged out a bit. Reed has done well in this role and I could go for more of it, but Rollins almost has to be the endgame one way or another.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a heck of a way to close out the three hours Raw’s, as they had a bunch of storyline developments and some strong action to balance it out. In addition to boosting up Bad Blood, they’ve also made me want to see next week’s pretty stacked show. Awesome stuff this week and one of the better Raw’s in a bit, as it did its own thing and set up matches for the future, which is a very efficient week.

Results
Xavier Woods b. Rey Mysterio – Rollup
Zoey Stark b. Lyra Valkyria – Z360
Judgment Day b. LWO – Devlin Side to del Toro
Chad Gable b. Kofi Kingston – Rolling Chaos Theory
Authors Of Pain b. Awesome Truth – What A Rush to R-Truth
Braun Strowman b. Bronson Reed – Stomp onto the steps

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 23, 2024
Location: Toyota Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Joe Tessitore

We’re getting closer to Bad Blood and the big Raw match will see CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre inside the Cell. That’s for a few weeks away though and this week has a big match of its own. Bron Breakker will be defending the Intercontinental Title against Jey Uso, who is looking for his first singles title. Let’s get to it.

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

Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan arrive at the arena when the fight between Braun Strowman and Bronson Reed goes through a bunch of merchandise. Mysterio and Morgan come to the ring and, after a look at the end of last week’s show where Judgment Day beat down the Terror Twins, Morgan brags about taking everything from the two of them. This includes the most handsome man in the world.

Cue Rhea Ripley (no longer limping) to mock the idea of Mysterio finally finding some testicular fortitude. Morgan laughs it off and says Ripley might still have Mysterio if she paid as much attention as she did to Damian Priest. We get a rant about how Morgan is going to win because she is smarter than Ripley. That makes Ripley laugh, as she is fully medically cleared for Bad Blood, but this message is for the both of them. At Bad Blood, Mysterio is going to be behind bars in a hanging shark cage. A headbutt knocks Morgan silly. That’s a good way to go for the rematch, as it needed something to make it stand out.

We look at Sami Zayn getting beaten down by Imperium but fighting back against Ludwig Kaiser last week.

Sami Zayn vs. Ludwig Kaiser

Zayn sends him into the corner to start and stomps Kaiser out to the floor. That works a bit better for Kaiser, who tosses Zayn into the steps to take over. The running dropkick in the corner rocks Zayn again but he’s right back with a middle rope ax handle. They fight outside again, with Zayn going for his moonsault off of the barricade but getting sent into the timekeeper’s area instead.

We take a break and come back with Kaiser sitting him on top but Zayn snaps off a sunset bomb for two. An exploder into the corner and they go back to the floor, with Kaiser sending him into the steps. The running dropkick sends Zayn hard into the steps for a nine count, leaving Kaiser stunned. Back in and a rollup with feet on the ropes gives Kaiser two but Zayn suplexes him into the corner again. The Helluva Kick is countered with a kick to the face for two so Kaiser tries the wind-up DDT. That’s reversed into a German suplex and now the Helluva Kick can finish Kaiser at 12:18.

Rating: B-. Zayn’s path towards a likely World Heavyweight Championship shot continues as he beats the champion’s minion in a pretty nice match. Zayn knows how to fight back from adversity and he made it work here. This was a logical step forward for Zayn, as Gunther is not likely to be happy about what happened here.

Post match here is an annoyed Gunther to say that Zayn has wanted a title shot for weeks. Now Gunther has seen enough, so this is the right place and the right time…to say no. Barrett thinks this is hilarious.

We look back at the New Day’s issues last week.

Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston talk and say it’s water under the bridge. Kofi has brought back some classic New Day stuff (Booty O’s, Francesca) but Woods thinks it’s time to look forward and be more serious. Kofi gets that and says Woods can make the decisions for the next few weeks (Kofi doesn’t seem annoyed) but American Made interrupts. After some mockery, Woods is ready to call his first play: New Day vs. the Creeds tonight. With American Made gone, a guy comes up with some pancakes but Kofi sends him away without Woods seeing for a funny bit.

Video on Bron Breakker vs. Jey Uso.

Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio protest the new stipulation to Adam Pearce, who doesn’t care. The rest of the Judgment Day comes in to say they’ll take this out on the LWO. Ilja Dragunov comes in and isn’t intimidated by the team.

Dragon Lee vs. Carlito

Lee wastes no time in knocking him outside for the big suicide dive. Back in and Carlito hammers away as the LWO and Judgment Day brawl on the floor. Rey Mysterio returns to take out Judgment Day and Operation Dragon finishes for Lee at 2:11.

Karrion Kross comes in to see Miz, who doesn’t have time for this. Kross wants Miz to be himself and says monsters come in all shapes and sizes.

Sheamus talks about how Pete Dunne attacked him last week. They’re not done, and he can’t wait to hear the people call Dunne “Butch”.

Bronson Reed vs. The Miz

Hold on though as Braun Strowman jumps Reed on the floor. The big fight is on with security not being able to break it up. Strowman loads up what could be a ring breaking superplex but security finally breaks it up. No match.

Here is Drew McIntyre for a chat. McIntyre recaps what CM Punk said last week an everything he promised to do inside the Cell. He knows Punk believed everything he said and McIntyre is worried about getting in the Cell. Their families don’t want these matches to happen because of what it is doing to them. This match is going to happen and McIntyre promises to make Punk bleed and suffer. Punk has always seen himself as a divine figure, but McIntyre is going to break him permanently. We’re kinds of to the point where there is nothing left to say and they just need to go maul each other again.

Adam Pearce makes Braun Strowman vs. Bronson Reed, Last Monster Standing next week. We hear a noise though and Pete Dunne has jumped Sheamus.

Unholy Union vs. Damage CTRL

Before the match, Damage CTRL is in the back and runs into Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill. Belair praises Iyo Sky for last week’s match and would love to run it back. Sky would love to as well, but next time they’re coming for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. The champs say they’ll keep the titles against anyone. Sky flips over Dawn to start and stomps on her foot before Damage CTRL hits a double dropkick.

Sane’s (with her eye bandaged) top rope leg lariat gets two but Fyre offers a distraction so Sane can be sent into the apron. We take a beak and come back with Fyre ripping off the bandage but Sane gets over for the tag anyway. Sky hits a springboard double dropkick, setting up a Meteora for two on Fyre. Sane hits a dive to take Fyre down on the floor and Over The Moonsault finishes Dawn at 9:42.

Rating: B-. Damage CTRL is all but guaranteed to get the next title shot and that very well may be the title match that we see on the Raw before Bad Blood. Beating the former champions is a good way to help set that match up and Damage CTRL looked good on the way there. Now just make the title match work.

We look at Jey Uso and Bron Breakker trading spears last week.

Breakker says it’s game day and someone is going to take a beating, but it won’t be him.

We look at fan signs.

We look at the Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns encounter at Georgia Tech from Smackdown.

Sami Zayn gives Jey Uso a pep talk.

New Day vs. American Made

Woods and Julius trade headlocks to start until Julius hammers away. A powerslam is broken up though and Woods hits a spinning forearm to the face. Kofi comes in to work on the arm but Julius suplexes Brutus onto him. That doesn’t last long as Kofi is back with a shot of his own. Woods comes back in to electric chair Kofi into a moonsault for two on Brutus, who is back up for a chop off. Julius and Woods both hit top rope superplexes and we take a break.

Back with Woods hitting a clothesline but the referee doesn’t see the tag to Kofi. Chad Gable gets in a cheap shot on the floor but Woods fights out of another superplex attempt and his a missile dropkick. Kofi comes in and gets to clean house, including the top rope Trust Fall to take out the Creeds on the floor. Trouble In Paradise misses though and the SOS is countered. Kofi drops Julius but Woods wants the tag, only to go after the interfering Gable instead. The distraction lets Julius hit a running knee, setting up the Brutus Ball for the pin at 15:13.

Rating: B. The downfall of the New Day continues and that could lead to some interesting situations. It still wouldn’t surprise me to see Big E. come back and reunite the team. It would make sense for the team’s tenth anniversary, though there is something intriguing about the team FINALLY splitting and doing something else after all this time.

Damian Priest talks about how he is not his brother’s keeper but he had to keep Finn Balor during their time in Judgment Day. Priest and Rhea Ripley won titles but Balor sat in the corner, all upset. Yes he is his brother’s keeper, but Balor is not his brother.

We get another Wyatt Sicks video, seemingly talking about how someone who was dead will live.

The Pure Fusion Collective declares themselves the future.

The LWO talks to New Day and apologizes for the miscommunication last week. Woods talks about how Rey Mysterio should save the advice for Dominik Mysterio. Rey doesn’t have time for this because he has to face Finn Balor next week. Woods says Rey only has time for former World Champion so Rey says they can fight next week instead.

Video on Braun Strowman vs. Bronson Reed, made up like a monster movie.

Intercontinental Title: Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker

Breakker is defending and shoulders him down with no trouble to start. Uso is up with a right hand to the floor though and there’s a suicide dive as we take a break. Back with Breakker hitting a powerslam and firing off the shoulders in the corner. The overhead belly to belly sends Uso flying and Breakker grabs something like a seated abdominal stretch.

A backbreaker into the pushups gives Breakker a big Steiner reference but Jey superkicks him to the floor (must be an Outsiders fan). Breakker cuts off the dive though and hits a bulldog off the apron onto the announcers’ table as we take another break. Back again with Jey punching him down and hitting the running Umaga Attack for two.

Breakker is right back with a fireman’s carry gutbuster for two of his own but Jey gets two more off a Samoan drop. Breakker is back up with a super Frankensteiner for another near fall and the gorilla press powerslam gets two more. Jey rolls outside and gets speared down but Jey hits his own back inside.

The Superfly Splash connects for a near fall with the fans going nuts on the kickout. They go outside again where the running spear is cut off by Jey’s superkick before he spears Breakker into the timekeeper’s area. Back in and another spear into the Superfly Splash gives Jey the pin and the title at 20:19.

Rating: B-. Well that was something of a surprise. This felt like it was going to be Breakker’s big win over a popular star but the pulled the trigger instead. As much as I would have loved for Breakker to have the big, dominant reign (and he still might in the future), Uso had to win something at some point and this was as good as any other idea.

The celebration ens the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This wasn’t the big show (save for the surprise title change) but it did set things up for later, which is what matters. There are some important matches set for next week, including the Last Man Standing and Rey vs. Woods, so they’re already off to a strong start. This was a passable enough show, but more importantly it got things ready for later.

Results
Sami Zayn b. Ludwig Kaiser – Helluva Kick
Dragon Lee b. Carlito – Operation Dragon
Damage CTRL b. Unholy Union – Over The Moonsault to Fyre
American Made b. New Day – Brutus Ball to Woods
Jey Uso b. Bron Breakker – Superfly Splash

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