WWE has reportedly been discussing an overhaul of the tag team division following recent talent cuts, seemingly intensified after the departures of the Motor City Machine Guns and the New Day, two instrumental tag teams in the last decade+.
Their exits, particularly Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, left noticeable gaps in star power in the tag team division.
WWE already has several potential tag teams in place that could help re-shape both the men’s and women’s tag divisions. Let’s take a look.
Lainey Reid & Fallon Henley
Fatal Influence made a statement debut on the April 24 edition of WWE SmackDown. Led by Jacy Jayne, the stable attacked during Brie Bella and Paige’s Women’s Tag Team Title defense against Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair.
Jayne confronted Rhea Ripley later that same night and they squared off in an impromptu singles match. Her extensive time on the NXT roster has familiarized her with fans. Meanwhile, Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley’s pairing has the potential to take over the division as their presentation and chemistry as a team could evolve to strengthen themselves as challengers for tag team gold.
Additionally, it would prove beneficial especially at a time when the division is in need of newer, long-term teams beyond temporary and outdated pairings.
Rey Mysterio & Rey Fenix
While not an official tag team, Mysterio and Fenix’s union has proven to be entertaining and charismatic in previous matches. The two share and complement each other’s wrestling styles.
Following Mysterio’s injury earlier this year, he participated in the ladder match at WrestleMania for the Intercontinental Title. Despite still showcasing in-ring agility that defined his early years, the new AAA general manager could benefit from a tag team alliance with Fenix.
Fenix recently teased the pursuit of the Intercontinental Championship, currently held by his brother Penta. He remains a fan favorite, but has yet to win a title in the company. WWE could utilize the tag team momentum to give him his first championship win. Simultaneously teaming up with someone of Mysterio’s stature would permit the veteran to take fewer bumps and still continue a prominent on-screen presence.
The Creed Brothers
Brutus and Julian Creed were dominant and athletically impressive on NXT. They joined the Raw roster in 2023 and shortly after, won a tag team turmoil match to contend for the undisputed Tag Team Titles.
Barely a year later, they joined forces with Chad Gable but ultimately lost their identity as a tag team. Earlier this month, they were introduced as Bruto Credo and Julio Credo (Los Americanos Hermanos), joining the Original El Grande Americano in his battle against Los Americanos.
If the main roster audience is introduced to their former versions portrayed on NXT, they have potential to establish themselves as one of WWE’s finest tag teams. Their combination of amateur wrestling with intense in-ring athleticism already has sturdy credibility already built in.
Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
Bayley’s hard fought battle to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles has not been fruitful for more than a year now. Becky Lynch replaced her to team up with Lyra Valkyria at WrestleMania 41 to win the championship.
This year, Bayley and Valkyria competed in a fatal four-way match for the titles again, but came up short. Despite the losses, the pairing has showcased a balanced chemistry with Bayley’s veteran leadership and Valkyria’s rising star momentum.
Bayley’s influence on women’s wrestling has extended beyond WWE, particularly through the Lodestone Wrestling Seminars.
WWE has lacked consistent tag teams in the women’s division. Most have stemmed from mutual convenience or short-term storylines, case in point, Paige’s return to replace Nikki Bella.
Fans on the May 2, 2026, episode of AAA on Fox were treated to the arrival of The Creed Brothers.
Julius and Brutus Creed, a part of Chad Gable’s American Made, appeared on the May 2, 2026, episode of AAA on Fox and attacked El Grande Americano.
El Grande Americano and OG El Grande Americano are scheduled to be in a mask vs. mask match at Noche de Los Grandes on May 30th. During their contract signing on Saturday, the original El Grande Americano (Chad Gable) presented a new contract with his terms that needed to be put in place.
The new contract provisions noted that if any physicality takes place before their match, El Grande Americano 2 (Ludwig Kaiser) will automatically lose his mask. The second provision asked that the AAA backstage interviewer, Andrea Bazarte, be removed from AAA. Interestingly, Bazarte is the real-life partner of Kaiser.
After Bazarte agreed to the terms and asked Grande Americano 2 to defeat Gable’s Americano, the original El Grande Americano signed the contract.
However, as the original one exited the ring, Kaiser’s Americano was ambushed by The Creed Brothers (Julius Creed & Brutus Creed). They slammed El Grande Americano 2 through a table, before Rayo and Bravo Americano (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate) appeared in time to make the save.
AAA Noche de Los Grandes updated lineup
El Grande Americano vs. “The Original” El Grande Americano in a Mask vs. Mask match
El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. (c) vs. El Hijo del Vikingo for the AAA Latin American Championship
OH NO! 🤯
Andrea Bazarte was just told to leave AAA by the Original El Grande Americano!! pic.twitter.com/2BUrzPlmlL
Three matches have been added to the lineup for tomorrow’s WWE Raw.
Sheamus vs. Bronson Reed, Xavier Woods vs. Karrion Kross, and The Creed Brothers vs. Akira Tozawa & Otis are now scheduled for the show.
“First, the battle of bruisers, Sheamus will go one-on-one with Big Bronson Reed. And in a tag team match with unfinished business, The Creed Brothers will oppose Akira Tozawa and Otis,” Pearce says in the video below.
🚨 🚨 🚨 #WWERaw General Manager @ScrapDaddyAP has some BIG announcements regarding tomorrow night's #WWERaw! 👀
Later on Sunday, WWE announced Woods vs. Kross via social media. Woods defeated Kross on the July 1 episode of Raw and the Final Testament defeated Woods, Tozawa, and Otis last week.
Chad Gable and the Creeds attacked Tozawa & Otis on last week’s show after Otis again turned down Gable’s offer to rejoin his team. The attack was eventually thwarted when the Wyatt Sicks came out.
Sheamus and Reed have been building an angle recently that also includes Pete Dunne. Reed vs. Dunne was scheduled for last week’s show but Sheamus hit the ring before it could begin and delivered a knee to Reed. The match was called off and Dunne and Sheamus had a staredown to end the segment.
This week’s episode of WWE Raw will air on the SyFy network rather than USA due to ongoing Olympic coverage.
WWE Raw announced lineup for Monday, July 29, 2024 —
Seth Rollins gives his referee instructions to CM Punk & Drew McIntyre
Gunther vs. Finn Balor
Lyra Valkyria, Katana Chance & Kayden Carter vs. Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark
Chad Gable has two new allies in Julius Creed & Brutus Creed following Monday’s WWE Raw.
The Creed Brothers provided backup for Gabe in a segment where he called out Bo Dallas/Uncle Howdy on Monday’s WWE Raw, ending months of speculation as to if and when The Creeds and Gable would form a new faction.
Reports as early as April speculated that The Creeds & Ivy Nile would align with Gable as a new heel group after Gable turned on Sami Zayn.
Nile was not part of the presentation on Monday’s Raw, where Gable called Dallas out, only to have The Creeds ambush him. The lights in the arena went down as Dallas was attacked by the new faction, and The Wyatt Sicks made their way to the ring to save Dallas. The segment ended with Dallas and his group laughing as Gable and The Creed Brothers ran off.
Prior to aligning with The Creeds on Monday’s Raw, Gable teased a reconciliation with his Alpha Academy group of Tozawa, Otis, and Maxxine Dupri, only for that trio to rebuff him.
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts before Monday’s episode of Raw.
Pete Dunne w/Tyler Bate defeated Akira Tozawa (4:55)
This was a fun sprint that could easily have gone longer and topped the show.
Dunne and Bate have had a lot of appearances on Main Event recently, but they went with a solo bout here for Dunne. It seems kind of a waste when you could have a really hot tag match to kick things off, but they clearly wanted the Creeds to go up against LWO later on.
Tozawa and Dunne went to the mat early as Dunne used his slow methodical approach to counteract Tozawa’s desire to fly all over.
Dunne was pretty heelish here and the crowd could sense that and so started to back Tozawa even more. Tozawa is very likable anyway, but they rallied behind him as he used a snapmare, shining wizard and dropkick off the second rope to take Dunne down.
Tozawa ducked a clothesline and used a German for a near fall before he tore his shirt and went wild.
Tozawa nailed Dunne with an enzuigiri and then went up top and hit his senton, but Dunne put his knees up to block it and so, instead, the finish was Dunne using the Bitter End to get his arm raised.
This was a good, solid tag match that saw The Creed Brothers lose yet again. It seems odd to be beating them at all, but Wilde and Lee looked good here.
Joaquin Wilde had made his Main Event debut last week in a loss to Tozawa, but he was back this week on the winning team with his tag partner Dragon Lee. It was Lee’s turn to be the debutant this week and he looked excellent.
The early going was slow, but just before the break, Julius hit Wilde with three overhead belly-to-bellies that the crowd rightly went nuts for. His athleticism really is something else.
After the ads, it was all the Creeds. They cut the ring in half and beat up Wilde before Brutus slapped on the dreaded chin lock to bring the tempo down and rest.
Wilde got out and eventually got the hot tag to Lee who came in all guns blazing. He got Julius in the tree of woe and stomped him, before taking out Brutus off the apron with a tope. Wilde was then the one to get the win, coming off the top with a 450 splash to get it done.
The Creeds are now finding the wins to be few and far between. They are being booked as entertaining jobbers at this point, as they have had only two wins since early March.
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana before Monday’s episode of Raw.
Akira Tozawa defeated Joaquin Wilde (5:25)
This was a high energy sprint that was a lot of fun to watch and marked Wilde’s Main Event debut.
Tozawa is both a safe pair of hands and also the ideal opponent for someone trying to make a mark. He was giving here and allowed Wilde plenty of time to dominate and show off his skill.
Wilde was able to get in snap suplexes, head scissors takes downs and even a suicide dive. As always, Tozawa sold really well and this meant that as he was in peril, the crowd rallied behind him.
I’m never a fan of the rest hold in these short matches, but it served its purpose here as Tozawa was able to come from behind and fight his way out. They did a false finish as Wilde got in a DDT, but once Tozawa kicked out he hulked up, tore the shirt and they went home.
Tozawa nailed Wilde with an enzuigiri and then went up top and hit his senton to get his arm raised.
The Authors of Pain w/Paul Ellering defeated The Creed Brothers (6:13)
While The Creed Brothers are a huge highlight every week on this show, it felt like a backward step to beat them here and, equally, to humble them against such stiff opposition at this stage in their run wasn’t ideal.
In the first few minutes, it was all quick tags as Julius and Brutus took early control, eventually dumping Rezar and then Akam. Julius dived over the top rope with a cross body, much to the crowd’s joy and we went to a very early break.
It was then all about the hot tag after the ads. Julius was in trouble for a long time here as they cut the ring in half and wore him down with a series of power moves and basic, slow ground and pound.
Akam eventually got too cocky, missing a charge to the corner so that Julius could use an enzuigiri before finally giving the hot tag to his brother. Brutus ran wild, finishing with a standing moonsault on Akam but Rezar had to come in and break up the pin and make the save.
Rezar quickly nailed Julius off the apron and after hitting Brutus with a Rock Bottom, he and Akam combined to use the Last Chapter to get the win.
The Authors of Pain angrily refused to let the ref raise their hands and insisted on Paul Ellering doing it for them instead. They mounted the ropes at either corner in front of the hard cam and Ellering stood between them in a perfectly shot, dominant pose to finish the match.
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri before Monday’s episode of Raw.
Katana Chance & Kayden Carter defeated Chelsea Green & Piper Niven (5:14)
This was fine, but a tepid crowd throughout made for a tag match that ended up being pretty much what you would expect.
Green and Niven double-teamed Carter in the early going, as they cut the ring in half, talked trash, and got their shots in.
Niven missed a cannonball to the corner so that Chance could get a hot tag and then the match got pretty good.
They went back and forth with both teams having to break up pins, first Niven and then Chance. When Carter ducked, Niven caught Green with a running clothesline and so Carter followed it up with a superkick.
Chance and Carter then combined to hit the After Party on Green who is now joining the SmackDown touring roster and so you would think won’t be doing too many Main Event shows for a while now.
The Creed Brothers defeated Legardo Del Fantasma (5:57)
You would be forgiven for expecting a little more out of a tag match between these four, but the Creeds were entertaining once again. Surely it is only a matter of time before they get some main roster television work.
You have to go back a long time to find episodes of Main Event with Carrillo and Garza in action together. It was November 2021 when they were last working on the Raw crew and the pair had a run of excellent performances on the show.
Much like their bouts over previous weeks, the match was built around a hot tag after the break. The Creeds took the early going until the heels used a blind tag so that Garza could nail Julius with a high knee to clear the ring and send us to the ads.
After Julius was briefly in peril, hung in the tree of woe, they got the hot tag to Brutus. This is what most of their matches are like on this show, sort of exhibition pieces that get the pre-Raw crowd pepped up for the main show.
We had suplexes galore, including a Northern Lights, and then two Brutus Bombs got it done – one to Garza outside and the one to defeat Carillo on the mat.
Fun while it lasted, but I had hoped for something a little more spicy.
Date: December 18, 2023 Location: Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA
Show Recap —
The entire Judgment Day entered to start the show. There was a funny moment on commentary right away as Wade Barrett mistakenly referred to Micahel Cole as “Saxton.” Barrett had to stop himself from laughing, and Cole told him he was fired.
Finn Bálor congratulated the Creed Brothers on getting this far and said tonight might be the biggest night of their lives, but it was just another day at the office for him and his man Damian Priest.
Rhea Ripley warned Ivy Nile not to talk about her again and said Judgment Day would make 2024 their year, just like 2023. Dominik Mysterio said they ran all of WWE (as the crowd booed).
R-Truth entered. He said they forgot to tell him that they were opening the show. Truth figured the beatdown they gave him was just his initiation but they went a little too far because they hurt him physically and emotionally. Truth knew Priest really liked him.
Truth thought they should squash their beef by having a Miracle on 34th Street Fight and JD McDonagh told him that the match had already been signed and advertised. Truth thought they should make it a loser-leave-Judgment Day match and not only was Priest amused, but he thought it was a good idea. The crowd cheered it too. Ripley wasn’t having it.
(They let Truth go on for a bit with his usual comedy but none of it really stuck until that last bit.)
Miracle on 34th Street fight: R-Truth defeated JD McDonagh (w/Dominik Mysterio) (9:49)
(Cole tried to convince Barrett all match that the loser-leave-Judgment Day stip was legit.)
Truth was in control until Dom posted him. Truth grabbed a table after a break to the delight of the crowd but McDonagh cut him off before he could use it. Dom tripped Truth as he came off the ropes but Truth’s head landed in McDonagh’s crotch.
Truth launched Dom into the steel steps and sprayed a fire extinguisher in McDonagh’s face. Truth did John Cena’s comeback spots before hitting McDonagh with a Christmas tree.
They battled on the top with a table behind them in the ring. McDonagh headbutted Truth and yanked Truth towards him but they just sort of collided and fell through the table. Truth happened to be on top of McDonagh so the ref counted the fall and Truth picked up the win.
(I’m not sure what the spot was supposed to be, but either way, it was a fluke win for Truth. They didn’t bother showing a replay.)
********
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance cut a backstage promo on Chelsea Green and Piper Niven. They planned on winning the tag titles and partying.
Nia Jax/Becky Lynch segment
Nia Jax entered ahead of a commercial break. After returning from break, Jax had a microphone but before she could speak, Becky Lynch interrupted. Lynch marched into the ring but Jax bailed. Lynch invited her to speak to her face. Jax said she’d love to break Lynch’s face again but she had more important things to deal with.
Jax announced she was entering the Royal Rumble. Lynch said the fans didn’t care (the fans agreed with Lynch). The crowd was happy to see Lynch who was looking for a fight. Jax said they’ve never fought because “they” (she pointed to the back) were afraid of what she would do to Lynch because Lynch was the money-maker. Jax said she would break Lynch.
Lynch said she was indeed their money-maker because she was willing to fight anyone, anytime. It wasn’t “them” who was afraid, it was Jax. Lynch said Jax’s entire existence there was based on someone else’s name: first it was her cousin’s and now it was Lynch’s.
Jax’s only claim to fame was being the one who broke the nose of the greatest to ever do it. That’s why Jax doesn’t want the fight because losing to Lynch would negate that. Lynch invited her to a fight right now and Jax called out a ref. Jax teased entering the ring but backed off again.
Jax saw how badly Lynch wanted this so she said this would only happen on her terms. Jax announced the match would happen in her hometown of San Diego on January 1. Jax said Lynch would end up in the hospital with her daughter asking her why she was uglier than usual.
Jax turned her back on Lynch while saying she would break her face over and over. Lynch went after her but officials quickly separated them. That allowed Jax to knock down Lynch from behind by hitting her in the back of the head.
********
Kofi Claus approached Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa in the back. They said they wanted the tag titles for Christmas. Kingston gave Gargano a Yeet shirt instead. Gargano was happy because his son loved Jey Uso.
DIY found Miz nearby. Gargano said they’ve had their issues but last week’s match was great. They shook hands. Ciampa said it wasn’t great — it was awesome.
Jackie Redmond approached Miz for an interview. Miz said Imperium was cracking and he’s the one who rattled Gunther. Miz planned on finishing what he started by becoming a nine-time Intercontinental Champion.
********
Gunther defeated The Miz to retain the Intercontinental Championship (21:22)
Gunther swatted Miz down with a chop but he was being too cocky and Miz caught him in an Indian Deathlock. Gunther got a rope break, chopped Miz outside the ring and powerbombed him onto the apron. (Miz didn’t go up properly so Gunther had to readjust before hitting the powerbomb.)
Miz fired back after a break but Gunther booted him. Gunther mocked Miz before cutting off another comeback attempt with a chop. Miz fought back and tried a springboard crossbody but Gunther caught him. Gunther placed Miz on the top rope, drove his boot into his face and chopped him. Miz ducked a chop outside the ring and Gunther chopped the ring post which led to a second break.
[SECOND HOUR]
Gunther sold his hand but managed to apply a cravat. Miz fought out and hit a low DDT, regular DDT and a tilt-a-whirl DDT for a nearfall. Miz ran out of the corner but Gunther nailed a dropkick and hit a powerbomb for two. Gunther applied a Boston Crab but Miz got a rope break, thanks in part to Gunther’s injured hand giving out.
Gunther chopped Miz so Miz invited him to hit him again. Gunther applied a sleeper but Miz transitioned into a cradle for a close nearfall. Miz booted Gunther’s injured hand and hit a Skull Crushing Finale for another nearfall. The crowd chanted “One more time.”
Miz tried a few kicks but Gunther clobbered him with a clothesline. Gunther went to the top but Miz kicked the rope into his hand and hit a Skull Crushing Finale off the middle rope. Miz went for a cover but Gunther rolled out of the ring and the crowd booed.
Miz rolled Gunther back into the ring but when Miz entered the ring, Gunther immediately hit him with a powerbomb. Gunther followed with a clothesline and another powerbomb for the pinfall win.
(This was really good, particularly the stuff after the final break, and the crowd was really into the nearfalls.)
********
There was a Creed Brothers video package that focused heavily on how hard they train. Funny enough, the video was sponsored by Modelo.
********
Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci congratulated Gunther on his win. Gunther said they had no reason to be jolly and celebrating. Gunther was the only one contributing to their group because the last year had been a write-off for them. Gunther said he would step away for a couple of weeks to recharge but they had to stay behind to grind, work hard and finally impress him. Gunther left.
Kofi Claus approached Kaiser and Vinci. Ludwig told him to leave. Kingston gave him a gift. It was coal. Kingston laughed and said, “It’s coal!” (which was funny). Kingston said they should’ve expected that because they’ve been naughty all year.
********
Shinsuke Nakamura read to us, “The American Nightmare Before Christmas.” And here it is:
‘Twas the week before Christmas, and out from my mouth came a warning to Cody that Shinsuke would pounce. While your daughter is nestled all snug in her bed, And visions of championships dance through your head. Shinsuke is plotting to live out your story To ruin your plans and extinguish your glory The Nightmare is over, The Nightmare is through. The mist burns its eyes, For the Nightmare is You! You Bastard, you Cancer, you Prancer, you Nitwit You’re Vomit, you’re Stupid, you’re Father was Inbred! My goal is to see that you’re living in fright. Merry Christmas to you, I will be your last fight.
— Cody Rhodes barged in and attacked Nakamura. At least he let him finish. Rhodes attacked Nakamura through the crowd toward ringside.
Rhodes setup Nakamura for something on the announce table but a security guard ran in and pulled Nakamura away. (Security normally just gets between them but this guy flat-out saved Nakamura.) As more security arrived, Nakamura backed off and the crowd chanted “Let them fight.”
********
Chelsea Green and Piper Niven tried to weasel their way out of their title defence but Adam Pearce said no.
Bronson Reed approached Pearce because he wanted to talk about Gunther.
********
The announcers wished Trish Stratus a happy birthday.
Kayden Carter & Kananta Chance defeated Chelsea Green & Piper Niven to become Women’s Tag Team Champions (9:43)
Niven hit both opponents with a Vader Bomb ahead of a break. Carter fought back after a break and made a cover on Green. Piper tried to break it up with a splash but Carter moved and Green got splashed instead. Carter followed with a springboard leg drop for two. Green hit Carter with a Codebreaker and held her in place on her knees as Niven hit a senton but Katana broke up the cover.
Carter and Chance teamed up and hit Niven with “the Keg Stand” but Green (barely) broke up the cover. Chance reversed an Unprettier into a Codebreaker before Carter and Chance hit Green with Afterparty (combo neckbreaker/450 splash) for the pinfall win. New champs. The crowd gave them a round of applause.
********
Alpha Academy was with Ivy Nile as she trained in the back. Nile said she asked Pearce for a match against Ripley after hearing what she said earlier. Nile said her goal was to become champion in 2024. Akira Tozawa showed up and announced he also got himself a match — against Ivar. Ivar and Valhalla showed up right on cue. Chad Gable and Otis didn’t like this idea.
(Chad Gable has only had two singles matches on Raw since losing to Gunther and has lost them both. The most recent was a month ago. He hasn’t won a match on Raw since September.)
********
Various women on the roster applauded Katanta and Kayden in the back. Kofi Claus congratulated them and asked what they wanted for Christmas. They said they got exactly what they wanted. Kayden and Katana dragged Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell to go party with them. Natalya (with Tegan Nox) told Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark that they’d need new challengers and the teams faced off.
********
Ivar (w/Valhalla) defeated Akira Tozawa (w/Maxxine Dupri) (4:08)
Tozawa got some stuff in before Ivar won with a World’s Strongest Slam off the middle rope.
********
[THIRD HOUR]
The announcers wished Steve Austin a happy birthday.
Seth Rollins/Drew McIntyre segment
Rollins got a good reaction in his home state. He said he was more motivated than ever to be the best champion in the entire industry. He was excited for 2024 and it started with Day 1 when he defends his world title against Drew McIntyre.
McIntyre interrupted. Rollins said he hadn’t forgotten about McIntyre headbutting him a few weeks ago and warned him to tread lightly. McIntyre said he wasn’t there to fight because they had a match scheduled already. McIntyre wanted to tell Rollins he was proud of him. Everyone was kissing CM Punk’s ass but Rollins told him the truth to his face because he was a true leader.
McIntyre said Rollins was on top of the world and it must feel good knowing he’d get to spend some time with his family. McIntyre went home recently and began to feel guilt. He saw his dad getting older and for the first time in 16 years, he began to wonder if it was all worth it.
McIntyre knew Rollins could relate. Rollins’ wife was in the same boat as McIntyre, sacrificing every day away from their family. They’ve had plenty of difficult conversations about missing family moments for the benefit of the business. Their families would tell them not to come home and to keep chasing their dreams but suddenly those family members weren’t around anymore.
McIntyre didn’t want Rollins’ title — he needed it. He needed to know the sacrifices were worth it and he was willing to hurt Rollins to take it.
Rollins wanted to believe McIntyre but his actions lately don’t align with his words. Rollins did respect McIntyre for earning another shot but wondered why he thought the outcome would be different this time.
Rollins saw that McIntyre was willing to lie and cheat and take shortcuts but he wasn’t willing to do the one thing he needed to and that was take responsibility for his actions. McIntyre had to look himself in the mirror and face the reality that the only person keeping him from being champion was himself.
Rollins told another man last week that he hated him and he meant what he said. He didn’t hate McIntyre though, he pitied him. Rollins wished him a Merry Christmas and he’d see him in a few weeks.
McIntyre tried to attack Rollins as he left but Rollins saw it coming. Rollins went after him outside the ring but McIntyre shoved him into the barricade and gave him a reverse Alabama Slam onto the steel steps. (Rollins really sold his arm.)
********
Rhodes thanked the Creed Brothers for their help last week. He wanted them to beat Judgment Day for the titles. Julius and Brutus marked out for Rhodes after he left.
*******
Kofi Claus tossed WWE merch into the crowd but he was attacked by Kaiser and Vinci.
Jey Uso ran out to his music to make the save. The crowd said Yeet as he handed out right hands. Jey wiped out Imperium with a dive before helping Kingston to his feet. Jey challenged Kaiser to a match (which was made official during a break).
(Jey wore a new “Yeet” shirt that was purposely blurred out.)
Jey Uso defeated Ludwig Kaiser (w/Giovanni Vinci) (10:19)
Vinci got involved a couple of times so Kingston reappeared to take him out with Trouble in Paradise. Jey hit Kaiser with a spear and Uso Splash for the pinfall win.
— Kingston (in his Santa outfit) and Jey celebrated together.
********
Priest mocked McDonagh for losing to Truth (two hours after the conclusion of his match). Ripley wasn’t happy with that because his loss was a reflection on all of them. Priest said McDonagh was out of the Judgment Day as per the stip but McDonagh protested. Priest didn’t appreciate that McDonagh thought he could decide stipulations so McDonagh pleaded and asked not to kick him out of Judgment Day. Priest said he was not out of Judgment Day — yet.
Ripley wanted them to get serious and said she would defend her title against Ivy Nile on Day 1. Bálor said they would deal with the Creed Brothers tonight. (McDonagh was about to go with them but Ripley shoved him back into his seat.)
********
Raw Day 1 on January 1, 2024:
Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax
Natalya & Tegan Nox vs. Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark
Rhea Ripley vs. Ivy Nile – Women’s World Title match
Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre – World Heavyweight Title match
********
Finn Bálor & Damian Priest (w/Rhea Ripley) defeated The Creed Brothers (w/Ivy Nile) to retain the Undisputed Tag Team Championships (16:13)
They had an entertaining match but the talk of this match will likely be the finish.
They went to break a minute into the match and the Creed Brothers worked over Bálor after the break. Priest made a blind tag, knocked Julius out of the ring and hit a clothesline. Brutus tagged in, ran wild on Bálor and hit a gutwrench slam. Priest tagged himself in again and used a running charge to send Brutus over the announce table.
Brutus fought back after a break and made the tag to Julius to hit Bálor and Priest with overhead belly-to-belly suplexes. Julius fired up the crowd (which was dead before the break) and hit a standing shooting star for two.
Ripley attacked Nile but Nile got Ripley on her shoulders and slammed her on the apron.
The Creeds hit Bálor with Brutus Ball but Priest broke up the cover. Julius countered a Priest chokeslam with a dropkick and hit a flip dive. Bálor set up Brutus for a Coup de Grace but Julius broke it up. The Creeds gave Priest a Brutus Ball but Bálor broke up the cover by hitting a Coup de Grace. Brutus wiped out Bálor with a dive.
Priest gave Julius a South of Heaven chokeslam for the pinfall win.
Julius seemed to kick out at three and Priest acted annoyed after the match.
Priest chucked Julius out of the ring. Ripley was happy they retained but Priest looked angry. (Priest might have also been pissed that Brutus landed right on his head on the Brutus Ball earlier.)
The Creed Brothers are the new number one contenders to the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship.
Julius Creed & Brutus Creed won a Tag Team Turmoil gauntlet match on Monday’s Raw to claim the number one contendership, outlasting five other teams to earn the next shot at Finn Balor & Damian Priest’s Undisputed Tag titles.
No date has been announced to this point for the Balor & Priest vs. The Creeds Tag Team title bout.
Monday’s Tag Team Turmoil gauntlet began with DIY’s Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa defeating Otis & Akira Tozawa of Alpha Academy. DIY also eliminated Indus Sher’s Veer Mahaan & Sanga from the match. The Creeds then eliminated DIY, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods of The New Day, and finally Imperium’s Giovanni Vinci & Ludwig Kaiser to win the contest.
Alongside Ivy Nile, The Creeds officially joined the WWE Raw roster on the November 6 episode with a contract signing segment backstage. Prior to that, the Diamond Mine unit won both the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and the NXT Tag Team titles on that brand.
The Creed Brothers & Ivy Nile have officially been called up to WWE’s main roster.
It was revealed during Monday’s Raw episode that NXT’s Diamond Mine trio of Brutus Creed, Julius Creed, and Ivy Nile had been added to the roster after signing storyline contracts with the brand earlier in the day. Raw general manager Adam Pearce congratulated the group on signing with Raw rather than SmackDown.
On their first night as official members of the roster, The Creed Brothers defeated DIY’s Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano in tag team action, while Nile participated in a Women’s World Championship number one contender’s battle royal where she was eliminated from the bout by Nia Jax after Jax had been thrown out of the match.
As the Creed Brothers, Brutus & Julius won both the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and the NXT Tag Team Championship during their time with the brand.
It was reported last week that the group was tentatively set to be called up, with a tag match on last week’s Raw serving as something of a final audition.
Julius Creed was signed by WWE in October 2020, with Brutus then signed in February 2021. Both had high-level amateur wrestling backgrounds with Julius competing at Duke University and Brutus wrestling at Otterbein University.
Nile’s signing was announced in 2020 after she had competed on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Titan Games show on NBC. Nile also competed in one amateur MMA fight prior to signing with the company.
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
Monday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering Raw as well as the latest pro wrestling news.
Regarding the story earlier today by Justin Barasso of Sports Illustrated that the injury to Bryan Danielson actually took place against Andrade on Collision and not in the tag match last Wednesday, we’ve been told that is accurate. That would mean he actually worked a match on Wednesday with the injury and his selling at the end was planned to use the injury in storyline to involve Orange Cassidy and Kazuchika Okada. No word on how long Danielson will be out of action. But they were originally hopeful that the injury wouldn’t require surgery.
Raw tonight is from Greenville, SC and this would be on paper the toughest night of competition with both game three of the World Series and the NFL, which has the Las Vegas Raiders vs. Detroit Lions . But WWE programming has held up well last week against the baseball playoffs. It’s the Raw go-home show for Crown Jewel with Seth Rollins vs. JD McDonagh in a non-title match, Chelsea Green vs. Natalya in a Trick or Street fight match, Chad Gable & Otis vs. The Creeds making their debut, Dominik Mysterio vs. Ricochet in a non-title match, the first Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa tag match in three years against Giovanni Vinci & Ludvig Kaiser and Candice LeRae vs. Xia Li. There were about 7,500 tickets out as of earlier today for the show.
As noted as of yesterday the plan was for the Creeds to be brought up to the main roster and today’s show being their debut, which means it’s very important they look good.
Both NXT tomorrow and AEW on Wednesday also go against games four and five of the World Series. If a game six is necessary, it would go against both Smackdown and Rampage. That would also mean Smackdown would be on FS 1. A game seven would go Saturday against Collision.
NXT has one of its biggest lineups of the year on Halloween night. NXT is unique of all the shows in the sense that competition usually doesn’t hurt it as bad. But Halloween is traditionally a bad night for WWE ratings for the obvious reasons so we’ll see if that hurts the show or not. Ilja Dragunov vs. Carmelo Hayes for the NXT title headlines, Dominik Mysterio vs. Nathan Frazer for the North American title, Piper Niven & Chelsea Green defend the WWE women’s tag titles against Jacy Jayne & Thea Hail, Kelani Jordan faces Lola Vice in the Breakout tournament finals, The Creeds face Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo in a Tables, Ladders and Scares match (which is set to open the show), Bron Breakker vs. Robert Stone and Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley. Breakker vs. Stone is obviously set up to lead to Breakker vs. Von Wagner.
We’re looking for reports from Raw with anything, such as Main Event bouts or post-show activities not on the TV show, as well as from today’s house show in Nottingham, England. The Smackdown crew arrived for the show yesterday and runs today and then finishes up tomorrow in Glasgow. Then some of the crew goes home and others go to Saudi Arabia. The top Raw stars like Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes worked Saturday in Berlin, flew to Greenville tonight and then fly out to Saudi Arabia after tonight’s show.
Jon Moxley returned to action over the weekend with matches for OTT in Wolverhampton, England against Trent Seven, and in Dublin, Ireland, against B. Cool. We heard he really liked wrestling at Dublin National Stadium.
PFL Founder Donn Davis was interviewed by Ariel Helwani and talked up the idea of Francis Ngannou vs. Deontay Wilder in a mixed rules match. He said Wilder is open to the idea and it’s a matter of things like availability and money. The problem is the money one would have to pay Wilder unless it’s backed a foreign government doesn’t make the economics make any sense. Ngannou was also on Helwani’s show and brought up Wilder in MMA is something they are talking about. Ngannou said that he didn’t want the two judges, Alan Krebs and Juan Carlos Pelaya, to even judge one of his fights again. Both judges had very fair cards.
Steve Johnson has a story on the beginnings of the Fritz Von Erich character after researching the letters from the Jack Pfefer collection at Notre Dame University.
There is a Super Juniors show tomorrow at 5:30 a.m. from Toyama:
Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney (4-2) vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sho (4-2)
Kevin Knight & Kushida (3-3) vs. Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita (3-3)
Titan & Bushi (3-3) vs. Douki & Taka Michinoku (1-5)
Ryusuke Taguchi & The DKC (2-4) vs. Yoh & Musashi (2-4)
AAW from Saturday night in Berwyn, IL: Gnaris Garvin b Koda Hernandez, Levi Everett b Hartenbower to win the Heritage title, Robert Anthony b Jah-C, Silas Young b Gary Jay, Davey Vega b Calvin Tankman to keep the heavyweight title, Ren Jones won Battle Royal, Sierra b Masha Slamovich in a last woman standing match to take the women’s title (thanks to Leonard Brand)
As of right now, the plan is for The Creed Brothers to be called up to the main roster.
Over the weekend, the brothers accepted an open challenge to meet Alpha Academy on WWE Raw tonight. Should the match be made official, it would be their first time wrestling on an episode of Raw or SmackDown.
Our own Dave Meltzer addressed WWE’s plans for The Creed Brothers on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
“I was told tonight that right now – barring any changes, not like it’s 100 percent – but right now, they’re being called up,” Meltzer said.
“I think it’s about time for them to be called up, honestly,” he continued.
“There was a time where my mentality was, and I’m sure it’s the same as theirs, it’s like these guys have the chance to be really big stars. And they are very, very high on Julius as a singles, but they will probably start as a tag team.”
WWE signed Julius Creed in October 2020 and Brutus was signed the following February. They debuted in NXT that August. The Creed Brothers won the Dusty Rhodes Classic in early 2022, beating MSK in the finals. They then won the NXT tag titles in June 2022 at In Your House before dropping them that September to Pretty Deadly at Worlds Collide.
WWE has announced that a steel cage match will kick off this week’s NXT episode.
The previously announced cage match between The Creed Brothers and The Dyad will begin Tuesday’s WWE NXT episode, the company announced Monday. Brutus Creed & Julius Creed of Diamond Mine will face Rip Fowler & Jagger Reid of The Schism in a tag team cage match where The Creed Brothers will be reinstated to NXT if they win.
A total of seven matches have been announced for this week’s episode, including an NXT Women’s Championship number one contender’s four-way, as well as the first two matches of the Global Heritage Invitational.
Here is everything announced for Tuesday’s episode:
Steel cage match: The Creed Brothers vs. The Dyad (if the Creed Brothers win, they are reinstated in NXT)
NXT Women’s Championship number one contender’s match: Blair Davenport vs. Gigi Dolin vs. Kiana James vs. Roxanne Perez
Global Heritage Invitational match: Butch vs. Charlie Dempsey
Global Heritage Invitational match: Nathan Frazer vs. Joe Coffey
Eddy Thorpe vs. Dijak
Tyler Bate vs. Dabba-Kato
Dana Brooke & Kelani Jordan vs. Elektra Lopez & Lola Vice
A steel cage match for the Tag Team titles will kick off Tuesday’s one-year anniversary episode of WWE NXT 2.0.
The results of a fan vote to determine the stipulation for the Pretty Deadly vs. The Creed Brothers NXT Tag Team Championship match were announced on Monday’s Raw, with the steel cage stipulation winning out over a tornado tag or a no-DQ tag bout. It was also announced that Pretty Deadly vs. The Creeds will open Tuesday’s episode.
A fan vote will also decide NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes’ opponent on Tuesday’s show, with Wes Lee, Von Wagner, and Joe Gacy the potential choices.
Here is the lineup for the anniversary show on Tuesday, Septmeber 13:
Steel cage match: NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson & Elton Prince) defend against The Creed Brothers (Brutus & Julius Creed)
NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes defends against Joe Gacy/Von Wagner/Wes Lee
Tony D’Angelo & Stacks vs. Cameron Grimes & TBA
Nikkita Lyons & Zoey Stark vs. Arianna Grace & Kiana James
Join on-camera personality Denise Salcedo as she breaks down the April 12th edition of WWE NXT 2.0! This show featured a gauntlet to determine the new NXT tag team champions, an NXT Women’s championship match, an NXT North American Championship match, a surprise appearance from Natalya and more! This is the perfect way to stay up-to-date with the current NXT product! This is a very fun and lively podcast!
