Date: September 23, 2024
Location: Toyota Arena in Ontario, CA
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Show Recap —
Raw opened with a shot of fans waiting in line to buy merchandise. Bron Breakker, Jey Uso and Drew McIntyre were shown arriving at the arena. Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan drove up in a red lowrider.
As Morgan and Dom entered through the arena’s loading dock, Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman crashed through a nearby merchandise stand, and officials scampered in after them. (Not sure why there was a merch stand in the loading dock which is inaccessible to the public.)
Morgan and Dom kept walking and made their entrance to the ring. Morgan was booed as she gladly took a victory lap because her revenge tour was going according to plan. Morgan took everything from Rhea Ripley just like she promised she would. The world title, the Judgment Day and Dom were all hers.
Rhea Ripley entered to a big reaction. She told Morgan to shut up. Ripley entered the ring and assured Morgan she wouldn’t hit her. Dom tried to stand up to her but she told him to get out of her face.
Morgan said Dom might still be with her if she showed him half as much attention as Damian Priest. Morgan figured Ripley was out here to announce that her injured leg would keep her out of their title match. Morgan said Ripley wasn’t getting out of their match. Morgan wasn’t bigger or stronger than Ripley but she would win because she was smarter.
Ripley announced that she was fully cleared. Not only that but Dom would be where he belonged—behind bars. Dom would be locked in a shark cage (hanging above the ring). Ripley planned on winning back the one thing she never lost. Ripley headbutted Morgan.
(A version of the Chevrolet Impala lowrider Liv and Dom used is being sold as a toy by Mattel. It comes with a Rey Mysterio figure.)
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Sami Zayn defeated Ludwig Kaiser (12:18)
They went to break after Kaiser shoved Zayn off the barricade into the timekeeper’s area and onto Samantha Irvin’s leather chair. Zayn fought back and hit a sunset flip powerbomb for two. Zayn went for Helluva Kick but Kaiser slipped out of the ring and drove Zayn into the steel steps. Kaiser ran around the ring and dropkicked Zayn into the steps.
Zayn barely beat the referee’s ten count so Kaiser hammered away at him. Zayn fought back but Kaiser raked his eyes and applied a cradle with his feet on the middle rope but the ref caught him. Kaiser argued with the ref so Zayn grabbed him and hit an exploder in the corner. Zayn went for Helluva Kick again but Kaiser caught him with an enziguri for a nearfall.
Zayn countered a DDT into a German suplex and finally hit the Helluva Kick for the pinfall win. This was good and the crowd was into Zayn.
— Gunther (in his gear) marched out after the match. Gunther teased giving Zayn a world title match right now in Ontario but it was a swerve. Gunther’s answer was still “no.” Gunther chuckled and left.
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New Day segment
Kofi Kingston approached Xavier Woods in the back. Woods was happy to see him and took responsibility for last week. Kingston told him it was all water under the bridge. They agreed it was time to get New Day back on track as they approached their tenth anniversary.
Kingston went into the archives and found boxes of Booty O’s and Franchesca the trombone. (The crowd actually cheered upon seeing the Booty O’s.) Woods said all that stuff was fine when you were on top but they haven’t been champions in three years.
Kingston understood and said it didn’t make sense to go backwards. He admitted to not making great decisions lately. Kingston said Woods should call the shots and be the QB over the next few weeks. They shook hands.
American Made showed up and laughed at them. Chad Gable called them has-beens who were trying to reignite a dead spark. Kingston acted like Uncle Howdy was behind them and they freaked out until they realized no one was behind them. (That was funny.)
Gable settled down and said they were done with the Wyatts and wanted real competition. Woods challenged them to a match and Gable accepted. American Made left.
With Woods’ back turned, some guy showed up behind him wearing a unicorn hat and holding a plate full of pancakes but Kingston quickly and discreetly motioned for him to leave (before Woods noticed). The crowd popped for that.
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Liv and Dom argued with Adam Pearce about the shark cage. He told them Dom was going in the cage and that was final. Pearce left. Carlito and JD McDonagh showed up. Carlito assured Morgan that he would beat Dragon Lee tonight and Morgan said Dom and McDonagh would be ringside with him.
They bumped into Ilja Dragunov who knew McDonagh would do nothing to him without Finn Bálor by his side. McDonagh said Dragunov was lucky they were busy. Dragunov told them to keep walking.
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Dragon Lee (w/Zelina Vega, Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde) defeated Carlito (w/Dominik Mysterio & Tag Team Champion JD McDonagh) (2:14)
Dom and McDonagh took out Del Toro and Wilde so Rey Mysterio suddenly appeared and wiped them out with a dive off the barricade. Dragon Lee used the distraction to apply a schoolboy but Carlito kicked out. Dragon Lee hit his version of Destino moments later for the pinfall win.
This was Dragon Lee’s first TV win since June and first singles win since March.
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Karrion Kross approached Miz as he warmed up for his match against Reed. Basically, Kross tried to talk up Miz without Miz realizing he was being played.
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[SECOND HOUR]
Netflix staff were in the front row and they were given a shout-out.
Cathy Kelley interviewed Sheamus. He kept referring to Pete Dunne as “Butch.” He had a score to settle and as his ancestors always said, there was nothing more dangerous than an Irishman with a score to settle.
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The Miz vs. Bronson Reed
The match didn’t happen. Strowman leaped off the barricade and knocked down Reed during his entrance. Miz got in Strowman’s face so Reed knocked them both down with a suicide dive. Security ran down but Reed stacked two guys up and hit them both with a Tsunami (the guy on the bottom got crunched). Strowman gave two guards a double chokeslam.
They teased a superplex (and perhaps the ring-breaking spot) but security got in the way. Dozens of security kept running out and kept getting killed. Strowman set up for a dive onto Reed and security but Reed escaped.
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Mark Sanchez (former NFL QB) and Adam Jones (Tool guitarist, not the baseball player) were shown ringside.
Drew McIntyre segment
McIntyre started by repeating CM Punk’s final words from his promo last week when he said he was prepared for this to be the end. He’s been thinking about Punk’s words and the look in his eyes all week. He knew Punk meant every word. For once, Punk was real. Punk was ready to sacrifice it all for this to end and so was McIntyre.
McIntyre was always honest, especially when it came to Punk. McIntyre admitted he did not want to go back inside Hell in a Cell. He’s been in the cell before and it’s broken things inside of him that still have not been fixed. McIntyre’s family has begged him not to do this match just like Punk’s. McIntyre’s wife has begged him for months to get away from Punk because she could see what it was doing to him mentally. (The crowd chanted for Punk.)
It didn’t matter what anyone thought because this match was happening at Bad Blood. McIntyre promised to make Punk bleed—a lot. Punk would suffer and feel more pain than he has ever felt. It was appropriate that Punk compared himself to the devil because this was always about good versus evil. Punk compared himself to a supernatural being because he saw himself as a god-like figure but he was just a man. A man that McIntyre has easily broken in the past and a man he will break permanently inside Hell in a Cell.
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Jackie Redmond asked Pearce about the chaos involving Reed and Strowman. Pearce wanted things to stop between them and knew a regular match wouldn’t end it so he announced a “last monster standing” match.
Pearce ran off toward another nearby commotion. Sheamus was down and Dunne was choking him with a cricket bat. Dunne stopped upon seeing Pearce but hit him in the back with the bat. Officials carried Dunne away as he told Sheamus not to call him Butch.
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Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill approached Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane. Belair looked forward to facing Sky again because the result would be different next time. Sky looked forward to it because the next time they fought, it would be as teams for the tag titles. Cargill and Belair assured them the titles were not going anywhere.
IYO SKY & Kairi Sane defeated Unholy Union (9:45)
Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn took control and worked over Sane through a break. After the break, Sky made a hot tag and knocked down both women with a double springboard dropkick. Dawn gave Sky a cheapshot and Fyre applied a cradle for two.
Sane wiped out Fyre with an Insane Elbow outside the ring and Sky hit Dawn with a moonsault for the pinfall win. The crowd popped for the win. They seem particularly into Sky.
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Kelley interviewed Bron Breakker. Bron said it was game day which meant the dogs were barking in Ontario (the fans barked). It also meant there would be a winner and a loser. The championship deserved the right ‘superstar’ to carry it over their shoulder and it wouldn’t be Jey Uso.
Bron said somebody was getting their ass kicked and it wasn’t going to be him. Bron was willing to offer Jey another shot at the title down the road when he worked his way back up the ladder because Bron was going to be champion for a long time.
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There was a quick teaser video. A fiery logo appeared on the screen as a voiceover said, “Fate is woven.”
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Joe Tessitore announced tonight’s Raw was the 40th TV sellout of 2024.
They aired the entire Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns segment from Smackdown.
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[THIRD HOUR]
Sami Zayn approached Jey Uso. Zayn said the IC title meant the world to him and he wanted Jey to make it his tonight. They shook hands.
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The Creed Brothers (w/Chad Gable & Ivy Nile) defeated Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods (15:13)
Woods once again wore black while Kingston wore green.
They had a back-and-forth match for the first five minutes. Julius Creed gave Kingston a superplex while Woods gave Brutus Creed a superplex ahead of a break. The Creeds seemed to get the heat during the break although we never saw any replays. Woods made a hot tag but the ref didn’t see it so he forced Kingston back to the apron as the Creeds double-teamed Woods.
Woods eventually hit Brutus with a missile dropkick and made the hot tag to Kingston who hit Julius with chops and a dropkick. Kington wiped out both Creeds with a trust fall dive and hit Julius with a flying crossbody in the ring for two.
Julius ducked Trouble in Paradise but Kingston countered his counter and hit Trouble in Paradise anyway. Kingston tagged in Woods before wiping out Brutus with a flip dive.
Woods went to the top for his finisher but distracted himself by going after Gable who appeared on the apron. Woods yanked Gable into the ring. Woods lost his cool and aggressively stomped him in the corner.
When Woods finally stopped, Julius clocked him with a knee. Kingston tried to assist but Julius knocked him out of the ring. The Creeds hit Woods with Brutus Ball for the pinfall win.
This loss was Woods’ own fault.
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Damian Priest video promo
Growing up, there was a saying Priest liked to use: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” On the streets, they knew better, because someone was always willing to take what you had. Life can take you to some unexpected places. Life brought him to Judgment Day. A crew that became a family. A family that gave him a brother to keep: Finn Bálor. They talked about running WWE and that’s exactly what they did but Bálor always wanted it to be about him.
When Ripley became champ, Priest was happy but Bálor was envious. Priest became champ and Bálor had the same face of envy. Priest should have seen it coming. Bálor was not his brother and Priest would rip his heart out at Bad Blood. (His final line was in Spanish but I believe that’s what he said.)
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Uncle Howdy video
There was a new VHS tape with the following words (no voice):
I am but dust
A worm
A rebel
You cast your light of countenance upon me
And said I shall live
The words of the red
You speak, we follow
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There was yet another non-wrestling segment, this time a Pure Fusion Collective video. They are the future of the women’s division. If you want to step up, shoot your shot.
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Woods and Kingston were backstage and seemed to be on the same page. Rey Mysterio and LWO approached. Rey apologized for what happened last week but Woods dismissed it. Rey knew they could get through this because they were the New Day. Woods said this type of advice would be better suited for his son, Dom.
Rey said he didn’t have time for this because he had to deal with Bálor next week. Woods was offended that Rey thought Bálor was more important than him because he was a former world champion, while Woods wasn’t. Kingston tried to calm down Woods who was pissed.
Rey had enough and said Bálor could wait. He challenged Woods to a match next week and he accepted. LWO left. Kingston, understandably, didn’t understand why Woods was so upset but of course, Woods thought he was in the right.
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Next week on Raw in Evansville, IN
- Last “monster” standing match: Bronson Reed vs. Braun Strowman
- Kofi Kingston vs. Chad Gable
- Xavier Woods vs. Rey Mysterio
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Jey’s entrance started on the concourse surrounded by fans. The camera followed as he entered through the crowd.
Jey Uso defeated Bon Breakker to win the Intercontinental Championship (20:21)
Jey hit a suicide dive which led to a break 90 seconds into the match. Wade Barrett let us know Jey has been dominating from the get-go but Bron hit a powerslam after the break to take control. Bron whipped Jey into the corner and hit an overhead suplex. They took turns trying a vertical suplex until Bron dropped Jey over the top rope.
Bron hit a backbreaker and let go of his cover at one to do pushups. He taunted Jey who came back with a kick and tried a suicide dive but Bron knocked him down. Bron smashed his head against the announce table. Bron leaped off the apron and tackled Jey over the table.
Jey came back with strikes to the sound of “Yeet,” and a running hip attack for two. Bron avoided a splash and hit a gut-buster for two. Jey hit a pop-up Samoan drop for two. Bron hit a Frankensteiner for two. The crowd chanted, “This is awesome.” Bron got the better of a strike exchange and hit a powerslam for two.
Jey slipped out of the ring so Bron cut him down with a running spear. Bron dropped his straps and went for a spear in the ring but Jey hit a spear of his own. Jey hit an Uso splash and the crowd for sure thought it was over but Bron kicked out. The crowd chanted, “Ref you suck.”
Bron went for another spear outside the ring but Jey cut him off with a superkick and speared him through the barricade. Jey hit another spear and an Uso splash for the pinfall win.
Jey Uso is the new IC champion. The crowd exploded. Fireworks went off as Jey celebrated in the crowd.
(This was great. Some people may be upset that Bron lost but the crowd reaction here tells you all you need to know.)
