The former Bray Wyatt is expected to join All Elite Wrestling.
On today’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that while it is not one hundred percent, Windham Rotunda (Bray Wyatt) is expected to join the company.
“It’s most likely happening,” Meltzer said. “It’s at the same stage as Aleister Black long before it happened. I don’t think there’s pen to paper or anything like that but the expectation is pretty strong, put it that way.”
Wyatt was released from WWE on July 31 after being off television since the Raw following WrestleMania. It was said at the time that budget cuts were the reason for his release. He had been off television due to a medical issue, but was set to return to the company at any time.
Since his release from WWE, Wyatt has been cryptic on social media. On August 9, he wrote “You can’t kill it”. On August 20, he wrote “Rock Stars come and go. Musicians play until they die”, attributing the quote to Eddie Van Halen.
Robert Lee Eaton, one of the nicest guys and best performers inside the ropes in pro wrestling history, passed away on 8/4 at the age of 62.
Best known as Beautiful Bobby Eaton of the Midnight Express, Eaton was noted as a tag team specialist, but he was just as adept at singles wrestling when his number was called.
Eaton was one of the most complete and versatile performers inside the ring in history. His bumps, selling and carrying a match was equal to the best world champions. His offense was flawless, with some of the best timing, flying, high spots and punches that you would ever see. The Midnight Express versions with both Dennis Condrey and Stan Lane would have to rank near the top of any reputable list of the greatest tag teams of all-time.
His weaknesses were all outside the ring. He had the long bleached blond hair and wore nice ring jackets, so he did present himself like a star. But he was otherwise normal looking. He didn’t appear to be much into weight training or steroids in an area when that was a major part of the business, so his body, while he had enough size to be credible against all but the biggest guys, was below par for the time. He was very nice, but also shy, which didn’t translate well to interviews.
JoJo Offerman is reportedly no longer under WWE contract.
PWInsider reported this morning that Offerman departed from WWE ‘six to eight months ago’. A specific timeframe regarding her release wasn’t given.
Offerman signed with WWE in 2013, immediately joining the first season of Total Divas along with Eva Marie. She started out as a wrestler, with her most high profile appearance being at Survivor Series 2013, where she and the rest of the Total Divas cast defeated AJ Lee, Kaitlyn, Rosa Mendes, Tamina Snuka, and Summer Rae in a Survivor Series elimination match, where she pinned and eliminated Tamina.
Although she worked a few matches as part of the reality TV series, she soon shifted to becoming a ring announcer once she left the show following the first season.
Bray Wyatt, who was released from WWE on Saturday, is the husband of Offerman, and together they have two children. Budget cuts were cited as the reason for Wyatt’s release.
Dave Meltzer reported that Wyatt was told by John Laurinaitis that his release was due to budget cuts. He was preparing to return in August and was booked on some shows.
Wyatt made his final appearance as part of a Firefly Fun House segment on the post-WrestleMania Raw in April. At WrestleMania, Randy Orton defeated him in his first match back after Orton lit him on fire at last December’s TLC. Wyatt (Windham Rotunda) was distracted by Alexa Bliss who, after being aligned with Wyatt in a storyline, said she no longer needed him.
The 34-year-old had been in the WWE system since 2009. The son of Mike Rotunda, he first came to prominence as Husky Harris in NXT and was part of The Nexus angle in WWE. He was sent back to then-FCW and eventually rebranded himself as Wyatt, a charismatic cult-like leader of the Wyatt Family. He, Erick Rowan and Luke Harper were eventually called up to the main roster in 2013. In 2019, Wyatt debuted The Fiend character.
In his run, Wyatt held the WWE title once, the Universal title twice, and both the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team titles once.
He is married to WWE ring announcer JoJo Offerman and the couple have two children together. His brother, Bo Dallas, was also released earlier this year.
Three months after losing a Firefly Inferno match to Randy Orton, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt re-emerged with a new look at Fastlane.
The Fiend returned to WWE programming by helping Alexa Bliss defeat Orton at Fastlane tonight. The Fiend broke through the ring during the match and stared Orton down. With Orton’s attention turned to The Fiend, Bliss jumped off the middle rope and pushed Orton into a Sister Abigail from The Fiend. Bliss then pinned Orton to get the win.
The Fiend was wearing a new mask and gear tonight that had supposedly been burnt when Orton lit him on fire in their Firefly Inferno match at December’s TLC pay-per-view.
In the months since TLC, Bliss has been tormenting Orton in storyline. Bliss said that if Orton wanted her out of his life, he’d have to take her out of it at Fastlane. Orton wasn’t able to get his hands on Bliss in tonight’s match. Bliss used fire during the match and made a piece of lighting equipment fall, almost hitting Orton. As part of him being tormented by Bliss, Orton was also coughing up black liquid before the match started.
Alexa Bliss resurfaced tonight on Raw, warning Randy Orton that The Fiend could someday come back.
The end of last night’s TLC event had Orton defeat The Fiend after initially setting him on fire on the outside of the ring. While he was still on fire, Orton RKO’d The Fiend, then poured gasoline on him. He then took a match and lit The Fiend on fire as the show abruptly went off the air.
Orton came out on tonight’s Raw and explained that he liked what he did the previous night. He said that a normal man would have regrets over setting a man on fire, but The Fiend was not a man, and Orton was not normal.
After Orton declared that The Fiend was no more, the lights went out in a manner similar to when The Fiend appears ringisde. Instead, it was Alexa Bliss, swinging on a swing set inside the ring. She joked that The Fiend could be at the beach as he looked a little pale, or could be at his favorite restaurant eating barbeque.
The end of the segment had Bliss warn Orton that if The Fiend did come back, he would be unlike anything he had ever seen before.
Bliss had not been on Raw in recent weeks as she was filming scenes for the upcoming Punky Brewster reboot that will air on the Peacock streaming service. Charlotte Flair will also appear on the show, and D-Von Dudley is serving as a producer.
The first-ever “Firefly Inferno match” will take place at Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view.
Following the angle where Randy Orton lit Bray Wyatt on fire on Monday’s episode of Raw, WWE has announced that Orton vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt at TLC will now be a Firefly Inferno match.
There was a segment on this week’s Raw where Wyatt brought his Firefly Fun House characters on a field trip to the WWE ThunderDome. Orton appeared on the video screen and challenged Wyatt to a game of hide-and-seek. It ended with Orton attacking Wyatt and putting him inside of a box. Orton lit the box on fire, but The Fiend emerged from it and put Orton in the Mandible Claw.
Randy Orton and The Fiend are set to turn up the heat at WWE TLC in the first-ever Firefly Inferno Match.
Orton and Wyatt are no stranger to the destructive flames, as The Viper once sadistically burned down The Wyatt Family Compound. Last week, The Viper trapped Wyatt inside a burning box, but The Fiend emerged unscathed to punish Orton for his brutality. Now Orton will have to step inside The Fiend’s twisted inferno, and HE never forgets.
After The Fiend’s mind games cost Randy Orton an opportunity to once again compete for the WWE Championship, The Viper fired right back by taking hold of Alexa Bliss in attempt to coax The Fiend during a tense installment of “A Moment of Bliss.”
The Fiend has changed every man to step into the ring with him, but Orton has proven time and again to be a different breed of Superstar. Can The Legend Killer walk through the fire or will The Fiend burn Orton for his past transgressions?
Don’t miss WWE TLC on Sunday, Dec. 20, streaming at 7 ET/4 PT on the award-winning WWE Network.
Here’s the updated card for TLC:
Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends his title against Kevin Owens in a tables, ladders, and chairs match
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defends his title against AJ Styles in a tables, ladders, and chairs match
Randy Orton vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Inferno match
SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks defends her title against Carmella
Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax defend their titles against Asuka and a partner of her choosing
Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) defend their titles against The Hurt Business (Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander)
WWE finished building to Drew McIntyre vs. AJ Styles, Randy Orton vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, and more on last night’s TLC go-home edition of Raw.
The closing segment of last night’s show was a WWE Championship ascension ceremony building up McIntyre and Styles’ tables, ladders, and chairs match at TLC. As the title was being raised and McIntyre and Styles were finishing addressing each other, Styles said he isn’t the only person McIntyre will be facing on Sunday. The Miz and John Morrison then ambushed McIntyre.
McIntyre fought back against Styles, Miz, and Morrison, but Styles’ associate Omos then distracted McIntyre. With McIntyre’s attention turned away, Styles chop blocked McIntyre and hit the Phenomenal Forearm on him. Omos handed Styles a ladder and a chair to attack McIntyre with, then Styles gave McIntyre an elbow drop from a ladder through a table. The show ended with Styles climbing the ladder and unhooking McIntyre’s WWE Championship.
Styles had also defeated Sheamus earlier in the night. After the match, Styles beat Sheamus down with steel chair shots.
Wyatt brought his Firefly Fun House characters to the WWE ThunderDome for a field trip on last night’s show. Orton challenged Wyatt to a game of hide-and-seek, which led to Orton attacking Wyatt, putting him inside of a box, and lighting it on fire. But The Fiend then emerged from the box and put Orton in the Mandible Claw.
A segment featuring Bray Wyatt has been announced for Monday’s TLC go-home episode of Raw.
A commercial that aired during SmackDown on Friday night hyped that Wyatt will be taking his Firefly Fun House characters on a field trip to the WWE ThunderDome on Monday’s Raw. The segment will be part of the final build to The Fiend vs. Randy Orton at TLC. The pay-per-view is taking place on Sunday, December 20.
Orton and Wyatt faced off in the main event of Raw this past Monday, with Orton saying he wanted to face Wyatt instead of The Fiend. The match ended in a no contest when The Fiend appeared. The lights started to go out as Orton was getting ready to hit an RKO on Wyatt. After Orton gave Wyatt the RKO, the lights fully went out when the referee went to count the pin. When they came back on, The Fiend had replaced the Firefly Fun House version of Wyatt. The Fiend put Orton in the Mandible Claw to close the show.
Lana vs. Nia Jax has also been announced for Monday’s Raw. Jax & Shayna Baszler are defending their Women’s Tag Team titles against Lana & Raw Women’s Champion Asuka at TLC.
Randy Orton and The Fiend know each other very well, and they are set to collide at WWE TLC.
After The Fiend’s mind games cost Randy Orton an opportunity to once again compete for the WWE Championship, The Viper fired right back by taking hold of Alexa Bliss in attempt to coax The Fiend during a tense installment of ‘A Moment of Bliss.’
Orton has upstaged Wyatt in the past by burning down The Wyatt Family Compound and defeating him for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 33, but this time, The Legend Killer will be face to face with a whole different animal in the form of The Fiend. And he… doesn’t forget.
The build to Orton vs. Wyatt will continue with a segment that’s been announced for Monday’s episode of Raw. WWE is hyping for Monday’s show that Orton has invited himself to Wyatt’s Firefly Fun House.
TLC is taking place on Sunday, December 20. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defends his title against AJ Styles
Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax defend their titles against Asuka & Lana
A three-on-two handicap match has been announced for Monday’s episode of Raw.
AJ Styles, The Miz & John Morrison will team against WWE Champion Drew McIntyre & Sheamus on Monday’s Raw. Styles is challenging for McIntyre’s WWE Championship at TLC on Sunday, December 20.
Styles defeated Riddle and Keith Lee in a triple threat match last week to become the number one contender to McIntyre’s title. Styles then agreed to help Miz cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, saying it would be easier to defeat Miz at TLC instead of McIntyre.
McIntyre & Sheamus faced Miz & Morrison in last week’s main event. Styles was on commentary for the match and hit McIntyre with a Phenomenal Forearm to cause a disqualification. Morrison hit Starship Pain on McIntyre and Miz gave McIntyre the Skull Crushing Finale. But an argument between Miz and Styles delayed Miz’s attempt to cash in his briefcase. McIntyre sent Morrison out of the ring, laid out Miz with the Claymore, and was about to go face-to-face with Styles before Styles was carried away by his associate Omos.
WWE has also announced that the feud between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt will continue with Orton inviting himself to the Firefly Fun House on Monday’s Raw.
Randy Orton will be Alexa Bliss’ next guest on A Moment of Bliss.
During a commercial that aired during SmackDown tonight, WWE announced that there will be a Moment of Bliss segment with Orton as the guest on Monday’s Raw. The segment comes after a distraction by “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt led to Orton losing to AJ Styles in the main event of Raw this past Monday.
Orton faced Styles on this week’s Raw in a match that determined one of the participants for next week’s triple threat number one contender’s match. The Fiend played mind games with Orton and appeared twice during his match against Styles. Orton was about to go for the RKO before The Fiend appeared the second time. With Orton distracted, Styles hit the Phenomenal Forearm to get the win.
Bliss was in action on Raw this week and defeated her former tag team partner Nikki Cross. In storyline, Cross has been trying to save Bliss from the spell that Wyatt has over her.
The triple threat number one contender’s match on Monday’s Raw will be Styles vs. Keith Lee vs. Riddle. The winner will challenge for Drew McIntyre’s WWE Championship at TLC on Sunday, December 20.
Orton was WWE Champion prior to losing the title to McIntyre on Raw last week.
Potential challengers for Randy Orton’s WWE Championship continued to position themselves on last night’s episode of Raw.
In his promo at the start of the show, Orton dared anyone to try and take his title from him. Alexa Bliss then came out and told Orton that “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt could be here. But instead of The Fiend appearing, Orton was dropped by a Claymore from Drew McIntyre. The Miz tried to capitalize and cash in his Money in the Bank contract, but McIntyre stopped Miz and John Morrison before Miz could cash in. McIntyre said no one is going to take the WWE Championship from Orton except for him.
McIntyre defeated Miz & Morrison in a handicap match in last night’s main event. After the match, Orton struck McIntyre with an RKO that Orton had promised he was going to deliver. Orton held his title up in the air, but The Fiend’s laugh played to close the show.
A Firefly Fun House segment is the latest addition to the lineup for Raw’s season premiere episode.
During a commercial that aired on SmackDown tonight, WWE announced that Bray Wyatt will host a new edition of the Firefly Fun House on this coming Monday’s episode of Raw. Wyatt was drafted to Raw during night two of the WWE Draft earlier this week.
Wyatt was Raw’s first overall pick in night two of the draft. Alexa Bliss also moved over from SmackDown and is now on Raw with Wyatt. The Fiend and Bliss laid out Andrade and Zelina Vega with stereo Sister Abigails on Raw this week. Vega has joined the SmackDown roster as a free agent signing, while Andrade went undrafted and hasn’t been assigned to a brand yet.
The Fiend defeated Kevin Owens in the main event of SmackDown last week. It was the first time Wyatt has wrestled as The Fiend on weekly WWE television. Owens was selected by SmackDown in the draft.
Asuka vs. Lana for the Raw Women’s Championship, Keith Lee vs. Braun Strowman, and an Elias concert are set for Raw’s season premiere as well. The show is also Raw’s go-home show for Hell in a Cell and will feature the final build to WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton’s Hell in a Cell match.
Date: October 5, 2020 Location: Amway Center in Orlando, FL
The Big Takeaway —
Mustafa Ali is in Retribution.
As expected, Randy Orton will face Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship in a Hell in a Cell match. Orton handed McIntyre a rare loss in the main event, pinning him after an RKO in a six-man tag match.
Murphy turned on Seth Rollins but Rollins ultimately got the better of him. Rollins attacked until Aalyah begged him to stop.
Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler successfully defended the tag titles against Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan.
Show Recap —
Randy Orton sat in a dimly lit room in the back (the one where he attacked everyone last week). Orton doesn’t remember a lot about his ambulance ride after Clash of Champions but he does remember the match. He remembers being ambushed by Big Show, Christian and Shawn Michaels.
He remembers Drew McIntyre punting him in the head and being driven off in an ambulance by Ric Flair. Orton felt nothing but darkness and pain in that moment. Twenty-four hours after that, McIntyre celebrated with those legends with a title he didn’t deserve and that made him sick. Those legends even played poker and toasted two of his opponents tonight.
Orton decided to repay the legends last week. He made them feel the darkness and pain that he felt at COC. Orton ran down what he did to each guy in great detail, including whispering to Christian to say to Edge for him.
Orton wished that McIntyre was there to witness it. McIntyre’s bill was not yet paid and wouldn’t be until Orton was the WWE Champion. Orton said McIntyre could attain the legacy he sought if he could survive Hell in a Cell against him.
At the precise moment that Orton issued the challenge, McIntyre barged into the room and attacked him until officials ran in to break it up.
This was certainly a different way to start the show.
Six-woman tag match: Raw Women’s Champion Asuka, Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke defeated Zelina Vega, Natalya & Lana (4:51)
Rose and Brooke matched this week with primarily blue gear. Rose picked up the pinfall win for her team with a knee strike on Lana.
After the winning team left, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler marched out. They confronted Natalya and Lana outside the ring. (Vega left.) Jax was going to put Natalya through the announce table but Lana saved her. This resulted in Jax putting Lana through the table instead (for the third time over the past few weeks).
During the match, the announcers talked about the draft and Samoa Joe made reference to GMs (who?) and officials working stuff out ahead of Friday. Tom Phillips mentioned that Adam Pearce was probably stressing out in the “war room.” Isn’t he on both shows?
R-Truth had a white board in the back with his mock draft. His picks included ninjas and Bray Wyatt’s puppets. He also had Vince McMahon going 5th to Smackdown. There was a custodian behind him and he thought it was Orton.
The custodian tried to attack with a mop but Truth ducked and ran away until he tripped over a mop bucket. The custodian pinned him to win the 24/7 title. It was Drew Gulak. He ran away.
MVP met with Mustafa Ali, Apollo Crews and Ricochet. MVP downplayed his loss last week and said they can win an occasional match but they never win the fight. He noted the importance of the draft and how much a move to Raw helped Crews.
MVP said he also had an opening in the Hurt Business tonight only and claimed his brand was a bigger opportunity than going Raw or Smackdown. After MVP left, Crews and Ali blew this off but Ricochet appeared to consider it.
Seth Rollins / Murphy segment
Seth Rollins and Murphy entered for their match. There was a long video recap of the Mysterio family angle. Rollins asked Murphy to hand him the mic but he didn’t because he wanted to get something off his chest. Murphy said he has done everything Rollins has asked of him and more but if Rollins wanted him to continue being his disciple, he needed to apologize.
Rollins couldn’t believe it. Murphy didn’t want the apology for him, he wanted Rollins to apologize to Aalyah. Rollins snatched the mic away and yelled at him. Rollins said he was the one who saved Murphy.
Rollins also noted that he could have shown way more DMs between Murphy and Aalyah, including the ones where she states her true feelings about Murphy and about her family. Rollins stressed that he was the messiah and Murphy was the disciple.
Dominik and Humberto Carrillo ran out and attacked. They cleared the ring and they each hit dives which led to break.
The match began during the break and Rollins quickly gained control on Dominik. Rollins and Murphy couldn’t get along. Rollins wasn’t happy about Murphy tagging himself in. Carrillo tagged in as they argued and took them down with a flying crossbody. There was some back-and-forth until Carrillo wiped out both guys with a nice dive.
However, Carrillo came off the top and Murphy caught him with a mid-air V-Trigger for the pinfall win. Murphy marched off without Rollins after the match. (Two straight matches with the same finishing move, basically.) The match was only about five minutes or less.
Braun Strowman confronted Adam Pearce. He knew Raw Underground wasn’t happening but wanted a match tonight. Pearce said he wasn’t on Raw so he couldn’t do that, but he could give him an exhibition.
Strowman didn’t know what that meant. Pearce said if he could find him an opponent, Strowman could have an unsanctioned match. Strowman was happy with that. He left. Keith Lee, who happened to be nearby, told Pearce to sign him up.
[Second hour]
Rollins confronted Murphy in the back. Rollins wanted Murphy to apologize to him. If he doesn’t apologize by 10:00pm tonight, there would be hell to pay.
KO Show
Owens said he was normally excited to interview his guest but that wasn’t the case tonight. He said it was true that you change when you encounter the Fiend. He felt the anger and agony and dread. He knew tonight wouldn’t be about having a chat so he chucked the furniture from the ring. They aired a replay of Wyatt attacking him on Smackdown.
Owens couldn’t describe how bad the mandible claw felt. He also wasn’t sure why these dark souls kept attacking him, between Aleister Black and Wyatt. Owens wondered if the Brood or the Ministry of Darkness would come after him next. He called out Wyatt.
Wyatt appeared on the screen and said, “bonjour.” Wyatt thanked him for having him on his show and said it was always nice to have new friends, whether it was to play catch with or bury bodies together. Wyatt sang a song for Owens about friendship.
Wyatt invited Owens to sing. Owens wasn’t interested. Owens said maybe they could have been friends before he attacked him. Owens wasn’t going to get brainwashed like Alexa Bliss and didn’t want to wait until Friday to fight. Owens called him to the ring.
Wyatt said the situation with Bliss was none of Owens’ business. That was between her and him. Wyatt said Owens had no idea what he’s gotten himself into but on Friday, he’ll find out. Wyatt excitedly said bye and see you later.
Owens wanted a fight so he left the ring and began making his way up the ramp but was attacked from behind by Black. Black laid him out with a Black Mass.
I don’t like the Fiend stuff but Owens and Bray were good here and it helped build the Smackdown match.
Charly Caruso interviewed McIntyre. McIntyre said he beats up Orton every time he’s in the building. He accepted Orton’s HIAC challenge. McIntyre said Orton would be locked in the cage with him and he would send Orton to hell.
“Exhibition” match: Braun Strowman vs. Keith Lee ended in a double countout (1:14)
Phillips said normal rules would apply in this match but the result wouldn’t count toward either man’s win-loss record.
It ended quickly via double countout. Lee tried a shoulder block but Strowman didn’t budge. Lee knocked him back a bit with a second tackle, so Strowman came right back with a “dropkick” which knocked Lee from the ring. Strowman chuckled him into the steel steps and the ref counted to ten for the countount.
Strowman was pissed so he tackled Strowman through the barricade. Officials ran out to stop Strowman from doing more. Lee emerged to his feet like nothing happened so they got into it again. Lee drove Strowman into the video boards before spearing him off the stage. Officials checked on both men as they showed several replays.
It would be nice if Lee could string together some wins, but I thought this segment was just fine.
There was a new Bianca Belair video to show off why she’s the smartest. She rinsed three other women in a trivia game and called herself the new GOAT (over Michael Jordan).
Truth, Akira Tozawa and Drew Gulak fought inside a dumpster. Truth somehow emerged as the new 24/7 champion. This was very dumb.
US Champion Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin (w/MVP) defeated Apollo Crews & Ricochet (w/Mustafa Ali) (9:43)
MVP cut a pre-match promo. He blamed last week’s loss on Retribution and warned “T-Bag” about the Hurt Business. Crews, Ali and Ricochet interrupted. Ali thought it was funny that he blamed the loss on Retribution’s logo appearing on the tron. Ricochet interrupted his buddies because he wanted to address MVP’s offer. Ali and Crews seemed a little worried.
Ricochet acted as though he might accept but gave it a pass and laughed at Hurt Business for believing him. Ali and Crews laughed too. Ricochet said he hasn’t run from them before and wasn’t about to tonight. MVP told Lashley and Benjamin to put a special beating on Ricochet.
They went to break less than two minutes into the match. The good guys were in control before the break and the bad guys were in control after.
Lashley won it for his team by tapping out Crews with the Hurt Lock (full nelson).
(After the match, Ricochet could be heard telling Hurt Business that they were going to keep going after them until they were tired of them. Hurt Business laughed at them.)
No Cedric Alexander again.
Murphy found Aalyah standing in a random area in the back. (There was a “Deadline to Apologize” graphic on the screen with a timer counting down. That made me laugh. He has under 13 minutes left.) Murphy apologized to her. Aalyah said he needed to worry about Rollins, not her. She wondered if he was seriously considering apologizing to Rollins. He wasn’t sure.
Ali approached the Hurt Business. They couldn’t believe he approached them alone. Ali said he would also be alone in the ring later and invited MVP to bring Lashley and Benjamin so he could go after all of them. MVP was amused. Lashley was about to go after Ali but MVP stopped him.
Seth Rollins / Murphy segment
Rollins entered the ring in a better mood and invited Murphy to the ring. Murphy entered. Rollins said he can apologize and they can move forward. Murphy didn’t say anything. Rollins told him that he knows what happens to people when they stand in the way of the greater good. Rollins made Murphy the man he was today and all he needed to do was apologize.
Rollins got angrier the longer Murphy didn’t respond. (It is now 10:00pm) Rollins grabbed him by the beard and demanded that he apologize.
Murphy tackled Rollins and hammered away. The fight spilled out the outside and over the announce desk. Rollins fought back for a moment but Murphy got the better of him. Rollins tried to attack with a kendo stick but Murphy ducked, grabbed the stick, and attacked.
Rollins pleaded with him to stop but Murphy hit him repeatedly with the stick while demanding that he apologize (to Aalyah). Rollins called out for Aalyah (who wasn’t there) and apologized. Rollins was wearing a leather jacket as Murphy attacked him, so he actually took his jacket off as he apologized again to show he was sincere.
Murphy believed him and dropped the stick. Rollins attacked him and gouged him in the eye. Rollins attacked repeatedly with the kendo stick.
Rollins grabbed a chair but Aalyah was in the ring tending to Murphy. She asked him to stop. Dominik ran out to check on Aalyah. Rey and Angie soon followed as Rollins walked to the back. The family wondered why Aalyah would do that. Dominik pointed at Rey’s eye to remind her of what they’ve done.
Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler defeated Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan to retain the Tag Team Championships (10:00)
Baszler did the viscous arm stomp spot to Ruby early in the match. Byron Saxton wondered if the ref should call off the match after that. Baszler continued to work the arm and was still in control after a break. Ruby ducked a kick and used a schoolboy for two.
Morgan made a hot tag and hammered away at Baszler but Jax made a blind tag. Morgan sent her into the buckle with a rana and used running corner strikes on both opponents until Jax cut her off with a clothesline. Ruby tagged back in and gave Baszler a DDT. Morgan blind-tagged in and used a foot stomp for two. Jax ran over Morgan before Ruby knocked down Jax with a kick.
The slight distraction allowed Baszler to catch Ruby with a knee strike. She followed with the Kirifuda Clutch for the submission win. (Morgan tried to save but Jax stopped her.) Baszler held onto the hold after the match until Morgan forced her off.
The Street Profits cut a pretty good backstage promo on Randy Orton. They spoke of their admiration for the legends that Orton took out. They stated that Edge and Christian taught them that they could have fun and still be the champs. They also said that when they go after Orton, it won’t be outta nowhere. McIntyre joined them and they walked off together.
Mustafa Ali vs. MVP (w/US Champion Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin)
MVP was frustrated so he brought Lashley and Benjamin in the ring with him (two minutes into the match). Before they could attack Ali, the lights flickered and the Retribution logo appeared on the screens.
The secondary Retribution members surrounded the ring with Slapjack. T-Bar and Mace watched from the ramp.
MVP asked Ali to join them in fighting Retribution. Ali agreed and got ready to fight.
Ali then left the ring and confronted T-Bar and Mace. MVP was happy to see this.
Ali turned around and smirked at Hurt Business. MVP realized what was happening. Ali sent Retribution after them. Retribution laid out Hurt Business.
Ali posed in the ring with Retribution standing behind him.
The announcers wondered how long Ali was part of this.
Six-man tag match: Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode defeated WWE Champion Drew McIntyre & Raw Tag Champions The Street Profits (10:17)
McIntyre was in control and Montez Ford hit a flip dive and they went to break less than a minute into the match.
Ford tagged in after a break and ran wild on Ziggler until Roode tagged in and cut him off with a spinebuster. Orton tagged in and gave Ford a backdrop on the announce desk. Orton taunted McIntyre so Ford gave him a DDT. They each tagged out and McIntyre tossed Ziggler around with suplexes.
McIntyre attacked Orton, who was not the legal man, until Ziggler and Roode swarmed him. Angelo Dawkins blind-tagged in as McIntyre headbutted Roode. Ziggler superkicked McIntyre before Dawkins cradled Ziggler for two. Ziggler countered a spinebuster into a DDT before tagging Orton.
Orton gave Dawkins a draping DDT. Dawkins came back with a spinebuster before tagging Ford. Ford hit a frog splash and almost pinned Orton but Roode and Ziggler broke up the cover. Everyone traded moves until McIntyre wiped out Ziggler with a Claymore kick.
McIntyre sized up Orton but Roode got in his way so Roode ate a Claymore kick instead. Orton nailed McIntyre with an RKO for the pinfall win. Pretty good match.
