Tag: raw results

WWE Raw live results: CM Punk returns in Chicago

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: March 24, 2024
Location: Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL 

**********

Show Recap —

CM Punk was shown arriving at the arena at 12:51 pm earlier today.

There was a recap of the dull Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns segment from Smackdown.

Cody Rhodes and The Rock segment

Rhodes entered to a big reaction and asked what we’d like to talk about. Rhodes said he could come out here and say nothing because they were in that awkward two-week period before WrestleMania where the time for talking was over. (Rhodes had the crowd acknowledge Pat McAfee and Michael Cole and they both got strong reactions.)

Rhodes spoke about Roman Reigns who referred to him as a politician. (The crowd chanted “Roman sucks.”) Rhodes said people should know that when he made a promise, he kept it.

A fan asked if he would be the best man at his wedding. Rhodes had to explain to his wife that not only did he agree to it but he was also paying for the bachelor party. He also agreed to be at a five-year-old’s birthday party and the kids in the wrestling club would attend both nights of Mania thanks to him. He did these things and asked for nothing in return.

The reason he did these things were lost on Reigns. Rhodes dressed and spoke the way he did for a reason. He acted like the champion because the champion wasn’t there.

Rhodes respected Reigns but he was also the man who screwed him out of his biggest dream last year. Rhodes said to Reigns: “I hate your guts.” Rhodes said it was his fault that Reigns and his cousin couldn’t have their wank-fest at WrestleMania. It was his “fault” because he won the Royal Rumble.

Rhodes admitted he couldn’t do it alone. He asked for nothing back except this time. He asked the fans if they would ride with him — and Seth Rollins — at WrestleMania. They cheered. Rhodes asked the fans to point at the Mania sign so they did.

The Rock interrupted and the crowd exploded. Rock received a mixed reaction once the music stopped. Booing turned into “holy sh*t” and “this is awesome” chants as Rock and Rhodes stared each other down for a long time. (There were also random “CM Punk” chants which meant it was time for the staredown to end.)

Rock leaned in and whispered something to Rhodes, who was taken aback by whatever he said.

Rock left. The crowd booed and chanted “Rocky sucks.”

******** 

Jackie Redmond caught up to The Rock backstage and asked what he said to Rhodes in the ring. Rock told her to go ask Rhodes.

******** 

Judgment Day were in the back. Rhea Ripley told Dominik that he should’ve asked for her help when he went to Smackdown. He acknowledged that and said it wouldn’t happen again.

Damian Priest and Finn Bálor told JD McDonagh to take care of Ricochet. Priest had a plan to get the odds in their favour before WrestleMania. McDonagh said he would handle Ricochet. Ripley was less than impressed and told him to just win the match.

(They aired a replay of Dom costing Rey Mysterio his match against Santos Escobar on Smackdown.)

Ricochet defeated JD McDonagh (w/Dominik Mysterio) (14:23)

Ricochet hit a dive which led to break 70 seconds into the match. McDonagh was in control when they returned. Ricochet came back with a handspring elbow, springboard clothesline, and standing shooting star for two. McDonagh responded with a Spanish Fly for two and a brainbuster for two.

Ricochet nailed an avalanche poisonrana (McDonagh landed safely) and hit a Recoil but Dom placed McDonagh’s leg on the rope to break up the cover. Ricochet tried a springboard 450 but McDonagh got his knees up and applied a cradle for a nearfall.

McDonagh was back in control after another break and he hit a sit-out powerbomb for two. Ricochet hit a Canadian Destroyer (which popped the crowd) and went to the top but Dom hopped on the apron as a distraction as the ref just watched. Dom hopped off but incidentally caused Ricochet to trip and get crotched on the top turnbuckle.

The ref finally tossed Dom and Ricochet hit McDonagh with a shooting star press for the pinfall win.

This was really good and the crowd was into Ricochet.

******** 

CM Punk was shown in the back holding a Chicago Cubs championship belt. He’s up next. 

Jey Uso was shown arriving earlier today.

Cole announced a sell-out crowd of 15,810 and said this was their 11th straight televised sell-out.

********

CM Punk segment 

(This was a long but very entertaining segment. It went about 20 minutes and crossed into the second hour.)

Punk wore a heavy-duty brace on his right arm. He shook hands with Samantha Irvin before grabbing a microphone.

Punk said it felt great to be alive in Chicago on a Monday night. Everyone was asking him if he would be at WrestleMania and the short answer was, “Yes.” Punk felt great but was not medically cleared. His mouth still worked.

People asked if he would host WrestleMania. If you asked him that ten years ago he would’ve thought hosting was beneath him but right now he’d love to just be there. He mentioned commentary as another option, or maybe even a special referee for a particular title match.

There were a lot of people who felt the need to talk about him. Punk said that Reigns called him out on McAfee’s show. Punk said he would see Reigns pretty soon as she climbed his way back to the top of the mountain while Reigns fell down that mountain.

Another guy who talked about him was Seth Rollins. Rollins laughed at him for paying the price of being a professional wrestler. He thought that was funny coming from a guy with bad knees.

Someone who hasn’t talked about him was The Rock. Perhaps that was because ten years ago Rock came face-to-face with Punk and realized his arms were too short to box with god.

There was also Drew McIntyre. Punk hasn’t responded to McIntyre because he isn’t terminally online and wants to handle things live.

McIntyre entered to his music. Punk told them to cut his stupid song. He told McIntyre to get his bitch-ass in the ring. The crowd chanted for Punk.

McIntyre reminded Punk what happened the last time they were in the ring. Punk asked if he was a Scottish Warrior or an internet troll and demanded he get in the ring. McIntyre showed off his t-shirt bragging about injuring Punk. Punk said he never had to put another man’s name on his shirts to sell them.

McIntyre thought it was funny that Punk spent so much time in rehab for a guy who was Straight Edge. McIntyre said Punk completed him. When he felt like he couldn’t push it anymore in the gym he thought about Punk. Punk again told him to get in the ring but McIntyre said Punk was from Chicago and probably had a weapon.

McIntyre said everyone was realizing what he’s known all along, that he was the chosen one.

Punk responded: “Chosen one? Who chose you? Who? What was his name? What paragon of good virtue chose you?”

McIntyre told him to enjoy this moment because he’d be out for months. He suggested Punk watch his Mania match from commentary so he could witness him becoming champion.

Seth Rollins entered. Rollins faced off with Punk and the crowd chanted for Punk. Rollins said Punk and McIntyre were morons. He told Punk he couldn’t make decisions about a WrestleMania match if he wasn’t in it.

Rollins polled the fans instead. He asked if Punk should be on commentary. They cheered but it wasn’t loud. They chanted “referee” and Punk laughed. Rollins pointed at the large brace on Punk’s counting arm. Punk got on the mat and counted to three with his left hand. Punk admitted he couldn’t be impartial with these two “dipsh*ts.”

Rollins told Punk he didn’t think about him at all. He didn’t give a damn about Punk because he was a non-factor. He could be a commentator or a referee, Rollins didn’t care. Rollins said Punk needed him to get a moment at WrestleMania. Rollins did like the idea of Punk calling his finest hour at Mania. Rollins told Punk he only wanted one thing: stay out of his way.

Punk decided he would indeed do commentary for their match at Mania. Punk said he would do something that McIntyre, Rollins, or Rollins’ wife couldn’t do: make Seth Rollins interesting.

Punk started to leave to his music but McIntyre interrupted because he wanted the last word. McIntyre mocked Punk until Rollins dropped him with a superkick and curb stomp.

******** 

Shinsuke Nakamura cut a promo on Jey Uso.

Meek Mill will be at Mania in Philadelphia.

There was a Snickers commercial with Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods.

********

Candice LeRae (w/Indi Hartwell) defeated Ivy Nile (w/Maxxine Dupri) (1:53)

They did that stupid thing again where LeRae feigned a leg injury so the referee stopped Nile from continuing the match. The referee literally pulled her out of the way and his direct action led to LeRae stacking up Nile in a cover with her feet on the ropes for the pinfall win. (The ref also didn’t see LeRae’s feet on the ropes.)

LeRae gleefully pranced to the back in celebration. Hartwell was not pleased.

******** 

New Day and DIY had a not-so-friendly exchange backstage about the ladder match. R-Truth and Miz entered for some Truth comedy.

(McIntyre could be seen in the background speaking to Paul Heyman.)

Truth and Miz joined commentary for the next match.  

Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa ended in a disqualification (6:32)

This went through a break and Judgment Day interfered for the DQ. (There wasn’t an announcement but Gargano was technically attacked first.)

Judgment Day laid out everyone, including Miz who tried to help. Truth remained on commentary and tried to cut to a commercial break to avoid getting beat up. Judgment Day chucked Truth into the ring and he fought them off until Priest cut him off and hit a Razor’s Edge. Bálor finished him off with a Coup de Grace. Judgment Day posed.

******** 

Redmond asked Rhodes what the Rock told him in the ring. Rhodes apologized to Redmond and the fans because what Rock told him was something he did not want to repeat. Rhodes did say it was a promise that Rock could not keep. 

********

Cathy Kelley interviewed Gunther about Sami Zayn. Gunther didn’t have much to say about Zayn whose words were empty. He said Chicago was filled with schlubby nerds just like Zayn and even they did not think Zayn could win. Gunther didn’t even think Zayn could beat Bronson Reed tonight.

********

Andrade defeated Giovanni Vinci (7:11)

Andrade hit a couple of moonsaults and a running boot but Vinci cut him off with a clothesline and this actually went to a break. Shortly after the break, Andrade hit a back elbow and a twisting double underhook DDT (which they’re calling “The Message”) for the pinfall win.

(Cole acknowledged that Andrade was supposed to face Ivar but he was not medically cleared.)

********

[THIRD HOUR] 

Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch segment

Ripley entered with Dom. Ripley didn’t think she was getting Becky Lynch’s full attention as Lynch continued to wrestle week after week. Ripley could’ve attacked Lynch after one of her matches but she wanted to be respectful. Ripley wanted Lynch’s attention and was getting impatient. Dom tried to speak but was booed. That brought out Lynch.

Lynch said she couldn’t come out after one of Ripley’s matches because Ripley didn’t seem to wrestle on Raw anymore. Ripley said there was no reason for her to fight ahead of WrestleMania. She didn’t need the attention of the fans. If she wanted their attention, she could just post a video on social media (a reference to a recent house show clip from this weekend).

Lynch also brought up the video of Ripley showing her ass. While Ripley was posting videos, Lynch was busy busting her ass every week to prove herself.

Lynch said there would always be someone newer and younger and hotter but the long game in this business was about skill, merit and survival. It was about how you responded when the chips were down and you weren’t the chosen one anymore. Ripley hasn’t experienced that yet but Lynch would make her experience that at WrestleMania.

Ripley called Lynch a survivor. She was also a cockroach. She was hard to kill but it was not impossible. Ripley wanted Lynch alive after WrestleMania to watch Ripley do what she does. Ripley wanted Lynch to sit on her couch with her daughter and listen to her call her “Mami.”

Lynch gave her a pass but told her not to mention her daughter again or it would be the last word she ever spoke. That wasn’t just a funny line she could just throw out.

Lynch said her father never got to meet her daughter. He was proud of everything she had done in the ring but the thing he’d be most proud of was the mother she had become. It may be a joke to Ripley but it was not a joke to her.

Lynch said there was nothing respectful about Ripley. The reason Ripley never attacked her after her matches was because she knew there would be no going back once she threw the first punch. Lynch told Ripley that neither of them would be the same again after Mania.

Dom got in between them and eventually stepped up to Lynch so Lynch dropped him with a right hand (and Dom took a great bump).

Lynch and Ripley brawled but Ripley got the better of it and shoved Lynch shoulder-first into the post.

Ripley checked on Dom and Lynch attacked Ripley from behind. Officials tried to break it up but Lynch broke free and decked Dom again before going after Ripley. Officials finally did break things up.

Lynch was very good here.

******** 

Chad Gable spoke to Dupri in the back but met with Zayn upon seeing him walk by. Zayn wasn’t particularly interested in hearing from Gable. Zayn knew Gable didn’t think he could beat Gunther and noted that Gunther didn’t think he could beat Reed. Zayn wanted Gunther to eat his words tonight.

Gable told Zayn that this was exactly what Gunther wanted. Gunther was ruining his focus. Gable told him to get his head out of his ass and focus on Reed. Zayn appreciated the words and shook his hand.

Bronson Reed defeated Sami Zayn (9:31)

Reed hit a shoulder tackle off the apron and remained in control after a break. Zayn came back with a clothesline but became distracted upon seeing Gunther enter on the stage. Zayn fought back with a tornado DDT.

Zayn set up for the Helluva Kick but hesitated again to look over at Gunther. Reed dropped him with a clothesline, senton and Tsunami for the pinfall win. Huh.

(Caitlin Clark and Iowa beat West Virginia in the NCAA Women’s Basketball game during the second half of this match.)

******** 

Jey Uso cut a promo on Shinsuke Nakamura. Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso suddenly appeared next to him. Jimmy said, “No Yeet” and left with Sikoa.

********

Zayn was pissed for letting Gunther get in his head. He wondered how he could let this happen. Gable told him that this is exactly what Gunther did. He planted seeds of doubt. Gunther’s game was mental and he would beat you down until you gave into those doubts. If Zayn wanted to win at Mania, he needed a different approach. Gable offered to help.

******** 

Rollins told Jey that he and Rhodes had his back tonight.

(Earlier there was a graphic showing that Jey Uso is the third-most-played wrestler in WWE 2K24. Rhodes and Reigns were ahead of him. Ripley is fourth and Randy Orton is fifth.)

Jey Uso defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (7:36)

They went to break 90 seconds into the match. Jimmy and Sikoa entered through the crowd after the break but they were quickly cut off by Rhodes and Rollins. McIntyre took the opportunity to drop Rollins with a Future Shock DDT outside the ring.

When the dust settled, Jey hit Nakamura with a superkick and a spear for the pinfall win.

Closing angle

They cut to the back where Rhodes fought off Jimmy and Sikoa but he was attacked from behind by The Rock.

Rock tossed him around and shoved him out of the arena through the exit doors. It was raining outside as Rock continued to put the boots to Rhodes. Rock yelled into the camera and said “sh*t” two more times. (Censored every time tonight.)

Rock tossed Rhodes into the side of his travel bus and Rhodes came up bleeding. Rock wiped his blood onto a white weight-lifting belt that read “Mama Rhodes.” Rock held Rhodes’ bloody face into the camera and told Mama Rhodes to look at her boy. Rock said Dusty spoke about hard times and Cody was about to know all about hard times.

“This is what happens when you f*ck with the final boss.”

Rock shoved Rhodes into the bus one more time and kneeled over his lifeless body.

“Look at your son, Mama Rhodes. It didn’t have to be this way but now, this is the only way.” 

WWE Raw live results: Last Woman Standing match

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: March 18, 2024
Location: PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC 

**********

Show Recap —

Cody Rhodes was shown arriving earlier today with his dog Pharaoh. DIY and the Creed Brothers were also shown arriving.

Michael Cole mentioned that Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso would be just the third-ever brother vs. brother match at WrestleMania. He mentioned “Bret vs. Owen” and “Matt vs. Jeff” as the others. He also announced a sold-out crowd of over 14,000 tonight.

Jey Uso promo 

Jey Uso entered to a big reaction. Jey said he knew the Bloodline were in the building because he knew how they rolled so he called out Jimmy.

Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa entered through the crowd. Jey and Jimmy stared each other down in the ring, which eventually got an “Uso” chant.

Jey told Jimmy that, despite everything that’s happened, “I miss you. I do.” Jey said they don’t see each other anymore and he asked Jimmy to come back to him.

Jimmy said he never left him. He protected Jey and it was Jey’s idea to leave the Bloodline. Jimmy said Jey went on to become the hottest star on Raw, the top merchandise seller, and a tag team champion — without him. Jey was able to do all of that because Jimmy protected him. The biggest moment of Jey’s career came because of Jimmy.

Jey said no. The biggest moment of his career would be his dream match at WrestleMania 40. “Me versus you, when I knock the Yeet out your ass.” Jey dropped Jimmy with a right hand but a distraction by Sikoa allowed Jimmy to knock down Jey with a superkick.

Cody Rhodes ran out (without music) to make the save. He nailed Sikoa with a Cody Cutter while wearing his fancy clothes and shoes. Rhodes helped Jey to his feet and Jey’s music played.

********

There was a video package for Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax which is tonight’s main event. 

Adam Pearce was having a heated conversation on the phone when he was approached by Paul Heyman. Heyman assured him that what happened with Jimmy and Sikoa earlier was not authorized by him or anyone else in the Bloodline. Heyman assured Pearce that, on Roman Reigns’ word, Jimmy and Sikoa were gone from the building.

Heyman also assured Pearce that he was only there on official business (which Pearce knew) and that he would leave once that business was over. He also hinted that everyone would get caught off guard by what happens later tonight.

********

Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa defeated The Creed Brothers to qualify for the WrestleMania 6-pack ladder match (18:28)

DIY hit dives which led to a commercial break. Brutus tossed around DIY before Julius joined him to double-team Ciampa. Julius did a very impressive spot where he got Ciampa up in vertical suplex position from his knees and hit a delayed suplex. Brutus hit Gargano with a vertical suplex too and both men hit standing moonsaults which led to a two count on Ciampa. Gargano saved Ciampa from a Brutus Ball but Brutus slammed Gargano before tackling Ciampa over the announce desk.

After a break, Ciampa hit a reverse DDT and made the tag to Gargano who ran wild on the Creeds. Ciampa hit Julius with a second rope air raid crash for a nearfall. Julius and Ciampa exchanged strikes until Julius put him in an ankle lock. Gargano tried to make a save but Julius somehow powerbombed him with one arm.

The Creeds both put each opponent in ankle locks but Gargano and Ciampa reversed into their versions of the crossface. The Creeds fought out, picked up each member of DIY and literally chucked them at each other mid-air.

Julius and Brutus each hit Ciampa with moonsaults which led to a nearfall. They set up for Brutus Ball but Ciampa slipped out and applied a cradle. Brutus broke that up so Gargano chucked him from the ring. Julius had a cradle applied but Gargano superkicked him and Ciampa reversed into a cradle of his own for the pinfall win.

(This was really good and it felt like DIY earned their Mania spot by winning this sort of match.)

******** 

Andrade met with Judgment Day (minus Damian Priest). They noted Andrade had a match next week and they’d be watching him closely. Andrade crossed paths with Priest as he left.

Priest admonished JD McDonagh for losing last week. Rhea Ripley said Ricochet made a fool out of McDonagh. Ripley said Dom would make an example of Ricochet. Dominik was caught off guard by this but Dom acted tough and said he would go to Pearce to make it official.

********

They announced Thunderbolt Patterson for the 2024 Hall of Fame.

Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell defeated Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (2:01)

Katana fell awkwardly and sold a leg injury. They did that thing where the referee checked on Katana while telling Hartwell to back off (instead of just stopping the match or letting Hartwell continue the wrestling match).

LeRae tagged herself in and took out Carter with a baseball slide. She slammed Katana’s leg into the post and applied a deep single-leg crab for the submission win. LeRae actually did get some heat here.

*******

They aired clips of The Rock’s segment from Smackdown. Cody Rhodes is up next.

[SECOND HOUR] 

They announced a Bray Wyatt documentary on Peacock. (Bo Dallas, JoJo Offerman, John Cena, Alexa Bliss and Seth Rollins were among those interviewed for it.)

Cody Rhodes segment 

Rhodes said he would have a conversation of sorts with Roman Reigns on Smackdown. He moved on to The Rock.

Rhodes talked about Rock’s Instagram post where he called himself our favourite heel. Rhodes said we knew what that meant — Rock was the bad guy. Rhodes said he’s known some heels. Bobby Heenan, Billy Graham, Arn Anderson, Michael Hayes, and Ric Flair were all heels. Rhodes said, “Rock, I don’t think you’re a heel. I think you’re an asshole.”

Rhodes didn’t want Rock and his Seven Bucks team to get upset. Rock mocked him for getting emotional last week but Rock was the one crying behind the scenes this entire time. Rock cried to his buddies on the TKO board. Rock thought he would be great PR for WWE — until he wasn’t. The board was filled with yes people which is why they initially agreed with Rock. They weren’t going to tell Rock the truth but Rhodes would.

Rhodes admitted he had tennis shoes with Rock’s logo on them and Rock was on his wrestling Mount Rushmore. But Rock was now a succubus and if you didn’t know what that meant — Rock was a whiny bitch.

He said Rock brought up his mother which made it fair game. Rhodes knew Rock’s mom. He had nothing but respect for her — she even helped him chop Kevin Owens on a house show. Rock threatened Rhodes’ mom with what he would do to him but his mom wouldn’t be afraid of the Rock. She beat up an undercover cop at a Willie Nelson concert and would not be afraid of The Rock.

Rhodes said Rock should respect Seth Rollins because he carried Rock’s company. Rhodes had no idea if their tag match would be a fair fight and he didn’t know if he would finish the story. But Rhodes wondered how Rock could be so sure of himself. He hasn’t been in the ring in years. What would happen when the bell rang? Would Rock bring the Big Dwayne Energy or would it be LDS — Little Dick Syndrome. (The crowd chanted “LDS.”)

Rhodes said Rock called himself the “final boss” and credited Brian Gewirtz for coming up with the line. Rock wouldn’t be the final boss at WrestleMania, he was just Reigns’ side chick.

Heyman interrupted. Heyman apologized for his admittedly dumb plan to use off-duty NYPD officers on Rhodes. Rhodes said he didn’t ask for an apology and invited Heyman to enter the ring. Heyman chose to remain on the apron.

Heyman had a message from Reigns. Heyman admitted to not being a trustworthy person but Reigns was a man of his word. Heyman assured Rhodes that when he goes face-to-face with Reigns on Smackdown, there would be no other member of the Bloodline aside from himself.

Rhodes was good with that. Heyman said he forgot to mention one thing. Heyman was hesitating so Rhodes threatened to rip his throat out like Homelander unless he got to the point. Heyman told Rhodes he needed to show up to Smackdown alone too. Rhodes agreed and shook Heyman’s hand. Heyman was pleased and he left.

******** 

Nia Jax said Becky Lynch has never beaten her and never will. Jax would break her face again and take her spot at WrestleMania before finishing her business with Ripley. Jax planned on becoming the champion.

********

Jey approached Rhodes in the back. Jey advised Rhodes that Reigns would not be alone and he would be there for Rhodes if he needed him.

Ricochet defeated Dominik Mysterio (w/JD McDonagh) (7:21)

Dom was in control after a break (Cole said it was thanks to McDonagh but we never saw why) and hit Ricochet with an X-factor for two. Dom tried three amigos but Ricochet reversed the second suplex into a suplex of his own. Dom avoided a splash but Ricochet superkicked him and knocked McDonagh off the apron.

Dom tried to use the distraction to hit a 619 but Ricochet ducked it and hit a Recoil for the pinfall win. McDonagh tried to attack Ricochet after the match but he escaped.

******** 

Sami Zayn approached Chad Gable in the back. Zayn called last week’s match an honour. He hasn’t been pushed like that in a long time (a weird comment considering he’s lost to Shinsuke Nakamura and Drew McIntyre recently) and it could’ve gone either way. Gable dismissively told him “Yeah, yeah, it was great.”

Zayn knew something was bugging him and asked what it was. Gable resisted but admitted last week’s match meant more to him. Zayn said that was unfair. Zayn had a family at home too and his kid cried when he lost too. Gable couldn’t tell him what this meant to him because Gable didn’t know what it meant to him.

Gable said he knew all of that but his issue wasn’t about that. Zayn wanted to know what it was about and Gable flatly told him, “You can’t beat Gunther.”

This was good.

********

Intercontinental Championship contract signing 

Adam Pearce introduced Sami Zayn and Gunther (who wore a suit). Gunther put over the importance of this contract signing and wondered why Zayn showed up dressed like a bum in the audience.

Zayn said Gunther’s smug smile was starting to piss him off. Zayn knew Gunther didn’t think he could beat him. Zayn said people didn’t think he would even make it to WWE let alone win championships or main event WrestleMania. He ended the longest tag title reign in history last year and would end the longest IC title reign this year. Zayn signed the contract and the crowd chanted for him.

Gunther told Zayn he should listen to Gable. The fans might love Zayn but they know he can’t beat him. Gunther didn’t think Zayn believed it himself either. Zayn would receive the beating of a lifetime on the grandest stage of them all and his dreams would meet reality. Gunther signed.

Zayn got in Gunther’s face and told him to look in his eyes. He was looking into the eyes of the man who would take him down at WrestleMania. Gunther smirked as Zayn marched out.

The camera stayed on Zayn as he stormed through the back. He marched right past  Miz, R-Truth and DIY. Miz told Truth they needed that same mentality in their match tonight. Indus Sher walked by and Truth said he felt sorry for whoever had to fight them.

******** 

R-Truth & The Miz defeated Indus Sher (w/Jinder Mahal) to qualify for the WrestleMania 6-pack ladder match (3:11)

Truth was going to start the match but immediately tagged out when Sanga flexed at him. They beat up Miz for a bit until he made a quick hot tag to Truth who did Cena’s comeback sequence on Veer. Truth but Veer in the STF but Sanga broke it up. Miz and Truth hit Sanga with a double dropkick before giving Veer a combo Skull Crushing Finale/Flatliner.

Sanga shoved Miz to the ropes and Miz dropped Mahal with a dropkick. Truth tried going after Sanga but Sanga elbowed him. Truth fell backwards onto Veer (who was down from the combo finisher) for the accidental pinfall win. Truth and Miz qualify for the ladder match.

(It felt like DIY earned their Mania spot with the effort in their win. This was the opposite of that.)

******** 

[THIRD HOUR]

Zayn confronted Gable in the back. He wanted to know why Gable thought he couldn’t beat Gunther.

Gable said it wasn’t just a physical game with Gunther, it was mental. Zayn made a career out of being the underdog that crawls his way out of any hole that he’s in. He finds the window of opportunity but that doesn’t happen with Gunther. Gunther was a different animal than Zayn has ever faced and if he didn’t change his mentality, he wouldn’t win.

********

Drew McIntyre / Seth Rollins segment 

McIntyre entered for his scheduled segment but his entrance was interrupted by Seth Rollins making his own entrance. Rollins pranced down to the ring and ignored McIntyre on the way. Rollins apologized to McIntyre and claimed he didn’t see him. Rollins said he was busy soaking up the spotlight. McIntyre wanted him to enjoy it because the spotlight would be his after Mania.

Rollins thought McIntyre was stupid and has said a lot of dumb things over the last few weeks but he had to admit that something McIntyre said was correct. Rollins raised his arm in the air and said, “My name is Seth freakin’ Rollins and I’m a spotlight junkie.” McIntyre called himself a parody of himself. The only thing McIntyre cared about was their match and the punchline would come when he beat Rollins at Mania.

Rollins said it wasn’t a joke when he called himself a spotlight junkie. He’s been doing this for 20 years but the feeling when he comes through the stage felt better every single time. The crowd sang his song and he said that was the fix he craved. Rollins said he would make the Bloodline his bitches on night one and the spotlight would be on them on night two.

McIntyre was almost glad to see this side of Rollins but he made a mistake making the spotlight about the Bloodline. McIntyre said Rollins worked hard to make his belt the workhorse title and the spotlight should be about that. McIntyre said he wouldn’t get the moment he deserved at Mania, he would get the moment he earned.

Rollins said McIntyre was a spotlight junkie too. McIntyre wanted the spotlight and wanted his moment because when he won at WrestleMania years ago, it was in an empty warehouse. McIntyre fumbled the ball when he got the chance again. Rollins shined brightest when the lights were on and at WrestleMania McIntyre would find out he wasn’t as good as he thought.

******** 

Becky Lynch said she was just weeks away from Mania but she was risking it all tonight because that’s what she did. All she knew was taking risks and fighting. She would be the last woman standing tonight.

The Rock was announced for Raw on April 1st in Brooklyn.

********

Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods defeated Otis & Akira Tozawa to qualify for the WrestleMania 6-pack ladder match (9:32)

Otis and Kingston tagged in after a break. Otis hit Kingston with a back elbow and knocked down Woods with a clothesline. He slammed Kingston and hit a Caterpillar for two. Otis missed a splash but Tozawa made a tag and hit Kingston with a flying crossbody for two. Woods tagged in and hit a tornado DDT for two.

Tozawa brought Woods down off the top with a hurricanrana and followed with a diving senton but Kingston broke up the cover. Kingston gave Otis a tornado DDT outside the ring. Tozawa tried a hurricanrana but Woods blocked it and hit a spinning sit-out powerbomb. Woods followed with a flying elbow drop for the pinfall win.

********

Liv Morgan approached Lynch in the back. Lynch wondered if she had to watch out for Morgan tonight. Morgan said tonight was hers and told her to kick Jax’s ass. Lynch nodded.

(Morgan was hard to hear because she spoke softly and Woods could be heard yelling in the background. He was bragging about his powerbomb and elbow drop.)

******** 

Rollins and Rhodes crossed paths in the back. They acknowledged that Rhodes would be going to Smackdown alone.

********

Next week on Raw in Chicago, IL:

  • CM Punk appears
  • Ricochet vs. JD McDonagh

******** 

They acknowledged Lynch’s visit to the White House and said she passed her test to become a United States citizen. 

Last Woman Standing match: Becky Lynch defeated Nia Jax (18:33)

The match started with a full 20 minutes remaining in the show but they went to break a minute into the match. Pat McAfee said various weapons were used during a break including a kendo stick and a book.

Lynch was setting up a table following the break. She had trouble setting up the table, but it’s possible she was delaying because Jax came over to knock her down. Jax set up the table but the legs on one side gave out.

Jax chucked a bunch of chairs in the ring and gave Lynch a Samoan drop onto the pile but Lynch got up well before the referee’s ten count. Lynch followed with a bulldog onto a chair. Lynch tried something off the top but Jax hit her in the gut with a chair. Jax attacked with a kendo stick and bodyslammed Lynch onto a chair before hitting a leg drop.

Jax positioned a chair over Lynch’s body and sat down on it but Lynch fought out by attacking her repeatedly with the kendo stick. Jax responded by smashing the steel steps in Lynch’s face. Jax missed a leg drop on the apron and Lynch gave her a DDT onto the steps. The crowd cheered as Lynch slid a table into the ring and they went to break.

Jax placed Lynch on a table outside the ring and began climbing a ladder but Lynch rolled off the table and sprayed a fire extinguisher in her face. Lynch tried a spear through a corner table but Jax caught her and hit a Samoan drop through the table. Jax didn’t wait for the ref’s count and instead hit an Annihilator. Lynch beat the count by rolling to the outside and landing on her feet.

Jax set up for a Samoan drop off the apron but Lynch fought out and hit a Man-handle Slam off the apron and through a table, which looked terrific. The crowd popped big for that. Jax got up a nine count.

This was followed by another spectacular spot. Jax was dazed by the previous spot and leaned over onto the announce table. Lynch was standing near the top of a ladder and hit a diving leg drop through the table. The ref counted to ten and Lynch got the win. The replay looked devastating, particularly for Jax.

— Ripley entered as Lynch sat in the ring. Lynch stood up when Ripley hit the ring and they had a staredown as the show ended. 

WWE Raw live results: IC title contender’s gauntlet match

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: March 11, 2024
Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX 

**********

Show Recap —

Rapper Travis Scott (wearing an old-school Steve Austin DTA shirt) was shown arriving at the arena and embracing Jey Uso. (Gunther was also shown.) 

Drew McIntyre/Seth Rollins segment

Drew McIntyre entered. He called Seth Rollins a selfish, delusional, hypocritical junkie for giving himself two main events at WrestleMania. Drew was getting “What” chants so he told the crowd to say “What” if they were glad he took out CM Punk and they did. The crowd chanted for Punk and McIntyre said he was the only one keeping Punk relevant.

McIntyre spoke briefly about The Rock before he was interrupted by Rollins. Rollins dared McIntyre to attack him again with another Claymore Kick. Rollins got on his knees and dared him again but McIntyre didn’t bite. Rollins called him a coward so he turned his back but McIntyre still didn’t bite.

McIntyre just wanted Rollins to listen to him. McIntyre said Rollins was right when he said he had to get over the Bloodline. He wanted to drop Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa when they got involved in his business again but he didn’t because he was focused on the World title.

McIntyre urged Rollins to take his own advice but he didn’t because the only person Rollins cared about was himself. (McIntyre did a funny impression of Rollins in here. Not because it was totally accurate, but because he mocked his stupid laugh.)

Rollins said McIntyre was starting to remind him of Punk. Rollins thought Punk was the biggest hypocrite in the world until he met McIntyre. Rollins said McIntyre might as well have been an honorary member of the Bloodline at this point. Rollins thought McIntyre would gladly take their help if it meant beating him and standing tall with The Rock.

Rollins said that wouldn’t happen because he and Cody Rhodes would take down the Bloodline on night one. On night two, Rollins would beat McIntyre once again and the only thing he would hear was the people singing his song.

McIntyre figured Rollins wanted him to put him out of his misery right now but he wouldn’t do it because he wanted to beat him at WrestleMania instead. Rollins said McIntyre was upset because out of everything going on right now (the Bloodline, his knee injury), McIntyre was the least of his worries. McIntyre didn’t take the bait and he went to the back instead.

********

Damage CTRL was shown arriving at the area.

WWE congratulated themselves on reaching 100 million subscribers.

There was a good Chad Gable video package focusing on tonight’s gauntlet match.

********

Becky Lynch defeated Liv Morgan (15:27)

Lynch entered before a break and stood around for a while before the match started. They still went to break less than two minutes into the match after Morgan hit a rough-looking suicide dive. Lynch came back with exploder suplexes but as she came off the middle rope, Morgan nailed her with a Codebreaker. They exchanged strikes until Lynch hit another Codebreaker for two.

They battled on the apron which led to Morgan hitting a sunset flip powerbomb to the outside. Morgan rolled Lynch into the ring but only got a two count. Lynch countered an Oblivion with a Man-handle Slam but Morgan rolled out of the before she could make a cover and just in time for another commercial break.

Lynch applied an armbar but Morgan countered and hit a tornado DDT. Morgan hit Oblivion but Lynch rolled out of the ring. Morgan tried something off the top but Lynch caught her and hit a Man-handle Slam for the pinfall win.

(The crowd was quiet when this started but they got into it the more it went, particularly after the sunset flip powerbomb.)

Lynch’s demeanour here was all business, including during her entrance and after she won.

— Rhea Ripley entered to confront Lynch. Morgan had some words for Ripley as she left.

The crowd chanted “Mami” as she congratulated Lynch on the win. Ripley asked if it was worth it and Lynch nodded. Ripley said Lynch kept getting into fights and leaving it all in the ring. We were getting closer to WrestleMania but Lynch kept fighting no matter what.

Ripley knew Lynch wanted to prove that she was still the best but deep down, she knew Ripley was better. Lynch kept picking fights so she would have an excuse when she lost at Mania. Lynch wouldn’t be The Man but would be a disappointment.

Lynch said she planted a seed of doubt weeks ago when she said Ripley might be better. That seed grew into a tree with roots and vines that wrapped around the whole world. Ripley had to remember that when people believed in her, she was good, but when people doubted her, she was great. Lynch said if it was her against the world, the world didn’t stand a chance.

******** 

Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis announcement

They announced that Damian Priest and Finn Bálor would defend their tag titles in a six-pack ladder match at WrestleMania. Teams would have to qualify for the match over the coming weeks.

Judgment Day were shown in the back and they were not happy about this announcement. They left to find Pearce and Aldis.

******** 

They showed pictures of The Rock, Bad Bunny and (naked) John Cena at the Oscars last night.

Travis Scott was shown in the front row.

Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell defeated Ivy Nile & Maxxine Dupri (2:03)

Dupri went for her version of the Caterpillar on Hartwell but LeRae got in her way. LeRae confronted Dupri and told her that she shouldn’t be doing the Caterpillar and the fans were booing her because she didn’t belong here. LeRae said the internet comments were nothing compared to what the other women in the locker room were saying about her.

LeRae also said that Dupri should be glad her dead brother wasn’t there to see what a disappointment she was.

An upset Dupri went to leave but a confused Hartwell booted her. LeRae knocked Nile off the apron and told Hartwell to pin Dupri, which she did to pick up the win.

(The referee just stood there instead of counting out LeRae who was not the legal wrestler.)

********

[SECOND HOUR] 

Bálor, Priest and JD McDonagh confronted Pearce and Aldis. Bálor hated ladders and they hated this idea. Pearce said they could cement their legacy by winning but Damian Priest said they’ve already proven they were the best. Priest wanted to know whose idea this was. Pearce and Aldis resisted but Pearce admitted the idea came from R-Truth and The Miz.

Priest thought that was stupid and wanted them in a match tonight. Pearce said they were out doing media. Truth barged in at that moment and Pearce was stunned. Truth acted like he didn’t know what day it was. Priest told Pearce to put them in a match.

******** 

Cody Rhodes sit-down interview

Michael Cole showed a video package of the closing segment from Smackdown before introducing Rhodes.

Rhodes said he wasn’t sure if The Rock actually was his boss but, either way, it sure did feel good to slap your boss. Rhodes said Rock was one of his favourite wrestlers in the past and Rock knew exactly what the slap was — a receipt.

Cole asked why Rhodes would risk so much before his match against Roman Reigns. Cole mentioned that Rollins was the last man to beat Reigns but by disqualification. Cole wondered if Rollins wanted to prove he was the top guy by finally beating Reigns. Cole asked Rhodes if he could trust Rollins.

Rhodes said people change. He left WWE and smashed the throne only to return and work with the man who sat on that throne. He even teamed with Jey Uso. Rhodes was glad to team with Rollins and called it his only chance to get a fair shot at Reigns on night two.

Rhodes recalled Cole asking him before if his story ended with him coming up short. Rhodes asked Cole if he looked nervous or frightened. Rhodes admitted that he was nervous and afraid. But the story was no longer about Reigns and himself. The story was about everyone who followed him through to the absolute end.

The story was about a fan named Hannah who was blind but went to the show and cheered for him just so she could feel it. It was about his friend Harley who went through spinal fusion surgery but still sat in the front row so he could get the weight belt.

It was about fans like that and fans from his own family. Like the sister that The Rock didn’t mention who was the original shotgun rider with their dad.

The story was about his mother — the only parent he had left. He couldn’t hand the title to Dusty but he could hand it to Michelle. (Cody got very emotional here and the crowd chanted for him.)

The story was about his number one fan, his wife Brandi Rhodes. She took a chance on him when he wore a goofy mask and took RKOs every night. If anyone deserved this it was her.

The story was beyond him. But it was up to him.

Rhodes said we were in the last inning. Rhodes told Cole that for the first time, he would be able to say that a Rhodes was the Undisputed Universal Champion and that Cody Rhodes finished the story. Rhodes hugged Cole before leaving the ring. 

(Rhodes was terrific here.) 

******** 

There was a video package for Ricochet and JD McDonagh.

Lynch and Morgan shook hands in the back. They were attacked from behind by Nia Jax who also put Lynch through a table.

********

(I wonder if this is the first time Raw has started with three straight women’s matches.)

Asuka & Kairi Sane (w/Dakota Kai & WWE Women’s Champion Iyo Sky) defeated Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships (10:23)

Asuka set up Stark for Sane’s elbow drop but she slipped out and superkicked Asuka. Stark gave Sane a Z-360 and Baszler hit a running knee strike but Asuka broke up the cover. Asuka took out Stark while Baszler put Sane in the Kirifuda Clutch. Dakota Kai grabbed Baszler’s leg from outside the ring and Baszler let go for some reason.

The distraction allowed Sane to hit Baszler with a back fist and Asuka followed with a kick to the head. Sane finished her off with an Insane Elbow for the pinfall win. 

********

Andrade approached Ripley and Judgment Day. Ripley said Dominik Mysterio wasn’t there tonight but he did speak highly of Andrade. Ripley invited him to talk business when Dom returned. Andrade was on board because he was all about business. After he left, Bálor said he agreed with Dom about Andrade. Priest was fine with that but wanted them to focus on Mania. Priest said he would handle Truth tonight.

********

There was a video package for Shinsuke Nakamura and Bronson Reed. They showed pictures of previous Intercontinental Champions and Chris Jericho was among them.

Damian Priest defeated R-Truth (8:02)

Priest decked an unsuspecting Truth with a right hand as he entered the ring with his music still playing. It was so unexpected Cole didn’t even seem to notice because he was in the middle of an ad-read. (The ref then did the dumb thing where she started the match anyway even though one guy was down.)

Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano entered to cheer on Truth who avoided a Razor’s Edge outside the ring and followed with a running clothesline off the apron. Priest hit Truth with a flatliner after a break for two. Truth followed with John Cena’s comeback sequence including an AA for a nearfall. The crowd actually thought Truth might win there.

They also cheered loudly as Truth put Priest in an STF. Truth let go upon seeing McDonagh and Bálor attack DIY. (Second time tonight a wrestler let go of a hold for no good reason.)

Truth went to the top and took out everyone with a dive. However, it was one of those dives where he basically split the group of bodies and planted hard against the mats. The ref checked on him and he continued but Priest hit a clothesline and South of Heaven chokeslam for the pinfall win. (Hopefully, Truth is alright.)

— Bálor and McDonagh laid out DIY after the match.

******** 

[THIRD HOUR]

They showed a picture of Logan Paul with KSI and MrBeast at UFC 299.

Oddly, they also showed Rhea Ripley with Buddy Matthews at the event too.

(Not only did they show an AEW wrestler, but we’re supposed to think Ripley is with Dom and, earlier tonight, they made sure not to mention that Dom was away because of his wedding.)

********

Becky Lynch challenged Nia Jax to a last woman standing match next week. 

Jey Uso promo

Jey entered to a big reaction. Jey said he came to Raw for a fresh start but the Bloodline wouldn’t let him go. Jimmy wouldn’t let him go. Jey proposed brother vs. brother, twin vs. twin, blood vs. blood, Jey vs. Jimmy at WrestleMania. Jey told Jimmy to accept his challenge so he can knock the Yeet out his ass.

(Jey cuts a promo unlike anyone in WWE and the crowd was into it. He got straight to the point and it was also way shorter than the usual in-ring promo, which is another plus.)

******** 

There was a Gunther video package.

Jackie Redmond interviewed Gunther. She said some think he’s become overconfident and was underestimating tonight’s contenders. Gunther didn’t care if anyone thought that. He was focused on his legacy. He beat Ricochet 640 days ago to become champion and has elevated the title to new levels. The best of the best would lay it all out there tonight just to face him at Mania and that was an affirmation of the work that he’s put in. It took a lot to be in his position and wished good luck to tonight’s winner.

******** 

They announced Muhammad Ali for this year’s Hall of Fame.

Next week on Raw in Raleigh, NC:

  • Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax in a last woman standing match
  • New Day vs. Otis & Akira Tozawa – WM40 ladder match qualifier
  • DIY vs. The Creed Brothers – WM40 ladder match qualifier
  • R-Truth & The Miz vs. Idus Sher – WM40 ladder match qualifier

They also plugged CM Punk’s return to Raw in Chicago in two weeks.

********

Sami Zayn won a Gauntlet Match to earn an Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania 40 (41:36)

– Ricochet defeated JD McDonagh

Ricochet tried a flying crossbody but McDonagh caught him mid-air with a gutbuster. Ricochet tried a comeback minutes later but McDonagh got his knees up on a lionsault attempt. McDonagh followed with a brainbuster for two. Ricochet fired back and hit a poisonrana but McDonagh followed with a Spanish Fly for two.

Ricochet hit a DVD onto the apron following commercials. McDonagh slid into the ring to break the ten count but Ricochet hit him with a lionsault. Ricochet followed that with a Northern Lights Suplex and floated over into a vertical suplex for two. McDonagh raked Ricochet’s eyes and chucked him into the ring post for two.

Ricochet shoved McDonagh off the top and hit a shooting star press for the pinfall elimination.

(They gave these guys a lot and they had a fun first match as a result.)

– Bronson Reed defeated Ricochet

Ricochet took the fight to Reed and instantly attacked with consecutive dives. Ricochet tried something fancy but Reed slammed him and hit a senton. Reed followed with a Tsunami for the pinfall elimination.

– Sami Zayn defeated Bronson Reed

Zayn hit a moonsault off the barricade which led to break but Reed was in control after the break. Reed had Zayn on his shoulders while standing on the middle rope but Zayn slipped out and hit a sunset flip powerbomb for the pinfall elimination.

As Nakamura entered for the next match, Reed decked Zayn from behind and hit a Tsunami.

– Sami Zayn defeated Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura tried to take advantage and immediately went for Kinshasa but Zayn countered into a cradle for two. Nakamura used kicks to take over and kicked Zayn over the announce table. Nakamura was in control after a break but Zayn hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Nakamura went for something off the ropes but Zayn ducked and immediately hit a Helluva Kick for the pinfall elimination.

– Sami Zayn defeated Chad Gable

Zayn was down as Gable entered but Gable stopped himself from taking advantage. He urged Zayn to get up and helped him to his feet. Zayn fired up and they went at it but Gable immediately hit consecutive German suplexes. Gable applied an ankle lock outside the ring but Zayn kicked him into the steel steps and he sold it like he was dead.

After a break, Gable hit an exploder suplex off the top for two. Gable went for a moonsault but Zayn got his knees up and caught him in a rollup for two. Gable hit forearms and a slap so Zayn slapped him back. They traded slaps and forearms until Zayn booted Gable. Gable reversed a Blue Thunder Bomb into an ankle lock but Zayn got a rope break.

Zayn blocked a Chaos Theory attempt and hit an exploder. He limped (because of his bad ankle) while trying the Helluva Kick so Gable was able to avoid the kick and apply the ankle lock again. Zayn couldn’t get a rope break because Gable pulled him to the middle of the ring. Zayn tried kicking him off but Gable held on. Zayn tried getting to his feet so Gable hit a German suplex.

Gable went for a moonsault but Zayn dodged it and hit a Helluva Kick (while limping). Zayn took too long to make a cover which allowed Gable to reverse his cover into a crucifix pin for a nearfall.

Gable dropped his straps and hit a bridging German suplex for two. As soon as Zayn kicked out, Gable applied the ankle lock again but Zayn reversed into a cradle for the pinfall win.

Zayn wins the gauntlet and will face Gunther for the IC title at Mania. This was really good. Gable sold the loss well.

The ref raised the hand of Zayn who couldn’t even get to his feet. Gable helped Zayn to his feet and was about to leave but Zayn hugged him.

Gunther walked out to pose on the stage as the show ended. 

WWE Raw live results: Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: March 4, 2024
Location: Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, TX 

********** 

Show Recap —

Jey Uso and Nia Jax were shown arriving at the arena.

There was a recap of the Bloodline segment from Smackdown.

Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins segment

Cody Rhodes entered to a big reaction. Rhodes said he would face the greatest champion in company history Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. But there was a distraction that “stings” quite a bit. That distraction was The Rock.

Rhodes mentioned that The Rock posted, then deleted, a 16-minute video before posting a 21-minute video. Rock called the fans crackheads and spoke about Rhodes’ dog. Rhodes warned him not to speak about his dog.

Rhodes noted that Rock did not accept his challenge but he spun it like a master politician. Rock told him that the people didn’t want to see Rhodes face Reigns, they wanted Rock against Reigns. But the fans spoke up (the fans chanted “We want Cody”) and Rhodes appreciated it.

Rhodes called out his friend Seth Rollins. Rhodes recalled Rollins having his back several times already. There was a moment when Rhodes didn’t think he would be on WrestleMania. That was until he saw the stupid PowerPoint slide that suggested Rock and Roman’s family was better than all of theirs. Rhodes changed his mind because he won the Royal Rumble and it was his right to wrestle for the title.

Rhodes said Rollins, despite having an injury, would have to defend his title against Drew McIntyre — the only other guy to pin him since returning other than Reigns. Rhodes understood if Rollins would not have his back.

Rollins said last week that there were things bigger than them and taking down the Bloodline was the biggest thing they could do. It wasn’t just Rhodes’ story, it was Rollins’ story too. Rollins debuted with Reigns and they tried to take the power from the top and give it back to the people. But now Reigns wanted to keep the power for himself.

Rollins was tired of The Rock. He hasn’t been “The Rock” or the “People’s Champion” in a long time. Rollins had a new name for him: Diarrhea Dwayne. Everything The Rock said came out like wet baby poop. The crowd chanted “Diarrhea.” Rollins referenced Rock’s suggestion that he could use his power to take Rollins’ title away. Rollins took offence to Rock saying he made wrestling cool again because he hasn’t been cool in 20 years. (This part of Rollins’ promo was no good.)

Rollins announced that he was 100% cleared and he would be on Friday’s Smackdown to confront the Bloodline. Rollins told Rhodes he had his back and asked Rhodes if he had his. The crowd chanted, “Yes.”

Rhodes said he was going with Rollins to Smackdown to give the Rock his very obvious answer straight to his face. 

********

As the match started, Michael Cole congratulated Sting on his retirement and thanked him for the memories. Pat McAfee said he had an epic match last night.

Intercontinental Champion Gunther defeated Dominik Mysterio (w/JD McDonagh) in a non-title match (9:13)

Dom slapped Gunther and tried to play cat and mouse but Gunther chopped him down ahead of a break. Gunther ripped off Dom’s shirt and chopped him off his feet repeatedly. A McDonagh distraction allowed Dom to take down Gunther with a springboard dive. Dom set up for a 619 but Gunther nailed a clothesline. Gunther had it won but he pulled Dom off the mat at a two count.

Dom countered a powerbomb into a sunset flip cradle for a nearfall. Dom followed with a 619 but Gunther dodged a frog splash and hit a dropkick. Gunther hit a powerbomb and applied a Boston Crab for the pinfall win (Dom tapped immediately).

This was fun.

******** 

Adam Pearce confronted Damage CTRL as they walked through the back. Dakota Kai said they had every right to be there since Kairi Sane and Asuka were tag champions. Pearce said they caused havoc the last time they were on Raw and wanted to know why they were there. Kai said they were only there to scout Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark. Nothing insidious.

Shinsuke Nakamura approached Pearce. He wanted to discuss the IC title. Kai left with Damage CTRL and assured Pearce he had nothing to worry about. Pearce told Nakamura to meet him in his office.

******** 

Andrade was shown arriving at the arena.

Before the upcoming match, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance told Cathy Kelley that they were planning on getting back in title contention.

(The opening segment might’ve gone long because Dom didn’t get a full entrance and neither did Baszler/Stark.)

Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark defeated Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (6:47)

Damage CTRL watched the match while sitting on the announce desk, effectively blocking the view of the announcers.

They went to break a minute into the match. After the break, Chance and Carter gave Stark a double Spanish Fly for two. Cole called it a superplex and McAfee quickly corrected him. Chance and Carter hit their Afterparty move but Baszler yanked Carter out of the ring and put her in the Kirifuda Clutch. Stark used the distraction to roll up Katana for the win.

— Dakota Kai announced that Asuka and Sane would retain their titles on tomorrow’s NXT and would give Baszler and Stark their tag title shot next week where Damage CTRL would win again. The two teams got in each other’s faces and Baszler said it was about time.

*******

[SECOND HOUR] 

Judgment Day was with Dom in the trainer’s room. Damian Priest told Finn Bálor that they would take care of Imperium while McDonagh would take care of Gunther. McDonagh didn’t seem on board with this.

Andrade approached to seemingly say hi to Dom and wish them luck. After Andrade left, Priest seemed skeptical but Dom told him that Andrade could be important for them. (McDonagh was still worried about Gunther.)

********

Nia Jax defeated Becky Lynch via disqualification (10:59)

Jax completely dominated for about three minutes until Lynch chop-blocked her and (sort of) hit a missile dropkick. Lynch tried a dive off the apron but Jax caught her and hit a Samoan drop. After a break, Lynch tried a superplex but Jax dropped her face-first. Jax followed with a middle rope diving leg drop for two.

Jax went for a punch but Lynch ducked and hit a Molly-Go-Round for two. Jax followed with a Samoan drop but Lynch dodged an Annihilator. Lynch applied a Disarmer before transitioning into an armbar but Jax rolled them out of the ring and drove her into the barricade.

The crowd buzzed and you could tell what was coming. Liv Morgan appeared on the barricade and attacked Jax — just as Lynch did last week — for the DQ.

Morgan and Lynch argued which allowed Jax to knock them both down.

(I don’t know if he was a plant or not, but Jax took some guy’s hat off his head and hit him with it before chucking it into the crowd.)

******** 

Ricochet confronted Pearce in his office. Ricochet said he’s kept quiet but closed mouths don’t get fed around here. Pearce hasn’t forgotten about him and has a plan that will satisfy Gunther, Ricochet and anyone else looking for an IC title shot.

Pearce, Bálor and McDonagh confronted Pearce. They said McDonagh wanted Gunther for the title. They abruptly cut to commercial as McDonagh made his case to Pearce.

********

Lynch confronted Morgan in the back. Lynch was fired up. Lynch said she apologized to her already. She understood why Morgan did what she did but when Lynch attacked Jax it was to get back at her, not Morgan. Morgan said The Man could dish it out but she couldn’t take it. Lynch challenged Morgan to a match next week and she accepted.

Rhea Ripley walked by (the crowd popped) and she laughed at Lynch.

******** 

Pearce announced that Sami Zayn, Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bronson Reed, JD McDonagh, and Chad Gable would compete next week on Raw in a gauntlet match to determine Gunther’s challenger for WrestleMania.

********

Andrade defeated Apollo Crews (3:24)

Crews hit a superplex and tried to roll through but Andrade countered into the three amigos for two. Andrade hit a back elbow for two and followed with the La Sombra DDT for the pinfall win. The crowd politely applauded.

******** 

Jackie Redmond interviewed Sami Zayn. Zayn wanted to be a champion and do something historic. The gauntlet match was the only thing standing in the way of facing perhaps the most dominant champion ever. This match was do-or-die and was now the most important match of his career.

Valhalla and Ivar confronted Zayn. Valhalla couldn’t understand why Zayn would get an opportunity over a man like Ivar. Ivar knew that he could beat Gunther. He also knew that Zayn knew he couldn’t beat Gunther. Zayn knew he could be Ivar and challenged him to a match tonight. Ivar said he wouldn’t even make it to next week.

******** 

There was a memorial graphic for Paul “Butcher” Vachon.

********

In the locker room, Natalya was condensing to Tegan Nox and said they needed to get hungry and forget their manners. Natalya pulled Nox away and they left. Candice LeRae was annoyed too that they (LeRae and Indi Hartwell) were being complacent. Hartwell tried to be reasonable but LeRae wasn’t having it.

Maxxine Dupri and Ivy Nile showed up and Dupri tried to give words of assurance to LeRae. LeRae told her off because she didn’t want advice from someone who only had three matches and couldn’t lace her boots. LeRae left.

********

Tag Team Champions Damian Priest & Finn Bálor defeated Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci in a non-title match (14:14)

Judgment Day played the babyface role as Imperium worked over Bálor after a break. Bálor fought back with a Pelé kick and made the hot tag to Priest. Kaiser couldn’t tag out because Bálor had knocked Vinci off the apron. Priest gave Kaiser a flatliner and handed out running back elbows to both opponents before chucking Vinci from the ring. Priest gave Kaiser a falcon arrow for two.

Priest missed a corner splash but Bálor made a hot tag and hit Kaiser with a slingblade. Vinci blocked Bálor’s dropkick attempt and Kaiser hit a Finlay Roll. Bálor fought back with a slingblade, dropkick and Coup de Grace on Vinci but Kaiser broke up the cover. Priest chucked Kaiser from the ring and Bálor wiped him out with a flip dive.

Vinci tried a schoolboy but Priest kicked out and followed with a clothesline and South of Heaven chokeslam for the pinfall win.

******** 

They announced that Paul Heyman would be inducted into the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame.

Cole said he wouldn’t be there after 27 years without Heyman. Cole told a story about sitting in the editing booth with Taz in Stamford and Heyman would drill them for hours on how to do commentary while teaching him a passion for the industry. Cole said that was minuscule compared to Heyman’s other contributions to the business.

******* 

Redmond interviewed Drew McIntyre. McIntyre said Rollins obviously didn’t listen to him last week. He called Rollins a spotlight junkie. Rollins kept getting involved when people returned whether it be Rhodes, CM Punk or The Rock.

McIntyre didn’t care anymore what Rollins did as long as she showed up to Mania. McIntyre would put him down because the title deserved so much better than Rollins. It also deserved better than Jey Uso.

All McIntyre wanted from Jey this entire time was an apology. Instead, McIntyre wanted to be the bigger man and he apologized to Jey because he knew how much Jey needed this victory but there wasn’t a chance in hell he was winning.

(McIntyre continues to be very good with these interviews.)

********

Ripley confronted Iyo Sky (and Damage CTRL) in the back. Ripley told her to stay out of her territory. Sky chuckled and left.

********

Sami Zayn defeated Ivar (w/Valhalla) (10:10)

Zayn hit a flip drive but Ivar blocked a tornado DDT and hit a rolling senton off the apron. After a break, Ivar tried a super back suplex but Zayn countered into a crossbody for two. Zayn went for the Helluva Kick but Ivar dropped him with a spinning kick and sit-out powerbomb for two. (It looked like Ivar’s boot caught Zayn right in the forehead on the spinning kick.)

Zayn hit a sunset flip powerbomb for two. Zayn followed with an impressive exploder into the corner but Ivar blocked the Helluva Kick again, this time with a seated senton. Zayn dodged Ivar’s moonsault attempt and hit the Helluva Kick for the pinfall win.

— Bronson Reed attacked Zayn after the match and laid him out with Tsunami.

******** 

Kelley interviewed Gunther. Gunther gave Dom credit for stepping up tonight but the outcome was never in doubt. Gunther said the gauntlet was stacked because it should be. But all the winner would earn was a chance to get outclassed at WrestleMania.

Chad Gable interrupted. Gable was sick of Gunther’s condensing smile. Gable could look past that, but he couldn’t look past what Gunther did to him after their match. The tears in his daughter’s eyes and insulting him as a father.

Gable said this was his path to redemption which meant delivering on what he swore back in September, that he would take the title from Gunther and put it on his waist — and taking that smile from Gunther and putting one on his daughter’s face.

Gunther chuckled and left.

******* 

Jey Uso cut a promo on McIntyre in the back. Jey said he was sorry for what he was going to do to McIntyre tonight. McIntyre would find out that Jey don’t play.

******** 

Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano and R-Truth played WWE 2K24 in the back. Miz wondered how they were playing it early and Xavier Woods said he had a hookup with 2K.

Miz heard their ideas on how to get revenge on Judgment Day and was baffled at suggestions of dropping slime or feeding them bread. Truth said one of them may have a problem with gluten. Miz said they should take the tag titles.

They (Ciampa, Gargano and Truth) called themselves Regeneration-X like dweebs and Woods pretended to like it.

******** 

Next week on Raw in Houston, TX:

  • Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan
  • Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark for the tag titles
  • Gauntlet match with Ricochet, Chad Gable, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, JD McDonagh and Bronson Reed — winner faces Gunther at WrestleMania

********

Drew McIntyre defeated Jey Uso (16:41)

They went to break 50 seconds into the match after McIntyre chucked Jey over the announce desk. McIntyre remained in control after a break until Jey blocked a White Noise and hit a sit-out powerbomb for two. McIntyre got his knees up on a splash and hit a spinebuster for two. McIntyre suplexed Jey on the outside leading to a second commercial break less than nine minutes into the match.

McIntyre repeatedly drove Jey into the barricade and the side of the ring. Jey fought back with right hands, a thrust kick, an uppercut and a Samoan drop for two. Jey followed with a running hip attack and suicide dive.

Jey went to the top as Solo Sikoa appeared at ringside. Jey missed a splash and McIntyre hit a Future Shock DDT for two.

Rhodes entered (to his music) to take out Sikoa through the crowd. McIntyre went for a Claymore kick but Jey caught him with three consecutive superkicks and a spear. Jey was distracted by Jimmy Uso appearing at ringside and stopped what he was doing. That allowed McIntyre to hit Claymore for the pinfall win.

— Jimmy grabbed a chair but Rollins sprinted out (not showing signs of a limp) and superkicked the chair in his face. Rollins turned around and was levelled by a McIntyre Claymore Kick. McIntyre encouraged Rollins to do the right thing and stop getting involved with the Bloodline. 

WWE Raw live results: Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: February 19, 2024
Location: Honda Center in Anaheim, CA 

********** 

Show Recap — 

Jey Uso and Judgment Day (minus Rhea Ripley) were each shown arriving at the arena earlier today. 

There was a quick video package hyping the opening match.  

They announced that Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins would be on the Grayson Waller Effect at Elimination Chamber and said Roman Reigns has given marching orders to Waller. 

Drew McIntyre defeated Cody Rhodes (19:40)

Rhodes got a big ovation. They aired the wrestlers’ ratings from WWE 2K24 and Michael Cole said they’d be doing this throughout the night. (Rhodes’ rating is 93, McIntyre is 89.)  

Rhodes used a dragon screw and applied a figure four early in the match but McIntyre reversed it. Rhodes rolled out of the ring and they went to break with Cole saying Rhodes was “in trouble” even though he was just on offence moments earlier.

McIntyre was on offence after the break and used his boot to squeeze Rhodes’ head into the ring post. McIntyre used chops but Rhodes fired up and demanded more. McIntyre kicked his leg out of his leg to regain control but Rhodes came back with a bulldog, forearm, powerslam and Disaster Kick for two, followed by a Cody Cutter for two. McIntyre blocked a Cross Rhodes but Rhodes sent them both over the top with a clothesline, leading to a second break.

Rhodes hit jabs and a bionic elbow but McIntyre hit a spinebuster for two and a sit-out powerbomb for two. McIntyre went for the Claymore but Rhodes hit a superkick and Pedigree. McIntyre headbutted Rhodes out of mid-air and hit a Future Shock DDT for two. Rhodes came back with a superplex and a Cody Cutter off the top rope for a nearfall.

Jimmy Uso ran out but Rhodes knocked him off the apron. As the referee got rid of Jimmy, Rhodes set up McIntyre for a Cross Rhodes but Solo Sikoa caught him from behind with the Samoan Spike. McIntyre followed with Claymore Kick for the pinfall win. (The Bloodline and the finish got a lot of heat.)

McIntyre looked somewhat conflicted upon celebrating, likely because, as Cole noted, he benefited from the help of the Bloodline, whom he blamed for his past failures. 

******** 

There was a video package for Gunther vs. Jey Uso.

There was a video package for Andrade El Idolo. He controls his destiny.

A trainer and Adam Pearce checked on Rhodes in the back. Pearce assured him that Jimmy and Solo were gone and they’d be given a huge fine. Pearce asked if he needed anything and Rhodes said he was fine. Seth Rollins appeared and they gave each other a knowing look.

There was another (quick) video package, this time highlighting the women who have already qualified for the Chamber match.

And there was another (sponsored) video after a break, recapping the angle between Judgment Day and R-Truth last week. 

******** 

Raquel Rodriguez won the Last Chance Battle Royal to qualify for the Women’s Elimination Chamber (13:58)

Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark, Zelina Vega, Chelsea Green, Natalya, and the returning Raquel Rodriguez got televised entrances.

Maxxine Dupri almost eliminated Green but Valhalla eliminated Dupri first. Rodriguez quickly dumped Valhalla before also eliminating Xia Li and Isla Dawn.

They went to break just two and a half minutes into this battle royal. Four women got eliminated in the first two and a half minutes but conveniently, nobody got eliminated during the three-and-a-half-minute commercial break.

Tegan Nox tried to surprise Natalya by eliminating her but Natalya countered and chucked out Nox. Stark and Baszler eliminated B-Fab. Green avoided elimination once again which led to Elektra Lopez eliminating Vega. Michin eliminated Lopez as she celebrated. Vega chased Lopez to the back.

Green eliminated Candice LeRae and Baszler eliminated Indi Hartwell. Baszler, with an assist from Stark, also eliminated Katana Chance. Rodriguez eliminated Alba Fyre and Ivy Nile eliminated Natalya.

The “final four” were Baszler, Stark, Michin and Rodriguez. Baszler and Stark eliminated Michin. Rodriguez fought off Stark and Baszler and managed to eliminate both women.

Rodriguez thought she won but, of course, Green reappeared from under the ring. Green tried the surprise elimination but Rodriguez countered and tossed her out to win the match.

The crowd was fairly quiet for the match but popped for the last bit.

(They crossed into the second hour during the last portion of the battle royal.)

********

Jey Uso cut a quick promo saying he would bring down an empire and win the Intercontinental Championship. 

********

Rhea Ripley and Nia Jax interview

Ripley and Jax sat in separate rooms for an interview hosted by Cole. I think he just asked one question and they took it from there.

Ripley said she didn’t have butterflies. This was what she had been working for. When she got to WWE, all she wanted to do was fit in and please people but she wasn’t comfortable in her own skin. There were times she wanted to quit. But she reminded herself just who the hell she was. She was Rhea Bloody Ripley and was the most dominant woman in WWE.

Nia Jax thought that was cute. She was twice Ripley’s size and had three times the talent. Jax would squash Ripley again and she would go crying to her mommy. Ripley said Jax would crumble when she heard everyone chanting for Mami. Jax would lose all her momentum and would realize she was just not good enough.

Ripley ripped off her mic as Jax put on a mean face.

******** 

There was a comedy segment — an exposé hosted by Jackie Redmond where she interviewed Truth and tried to determine whether or not he was ever actually a member of Judgment Day. The crowd chanted for Truth when it was over.

********

Cole put over the corporate synergy between WWE and UFC which led to Michael Chandler cutting a promo in the front row. He called himself the most entertaining UFC fighter on the planet. He called out Conor McGregor.

********

Chad Gable cut a serious promo in the back. He was tired of Ivar trying to tear down Alpha Academy. He said he would leave his crew in the back and invited Ivar to do the same. Ivar accepted and said his path went through Gable.

******** 

Eight-man tag team match: Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh & Tag Team Champions Damian Priest & Finn Bálor defeated R-Truth, The Miz, Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa (15:31)

Based on the length of entrances, you could tell they’d be going to break quickly, and they did — about 50 seconds into the match. All the babyfaces did crotch chops based on Truth thinking they were part of DX.

The crowd popped big for Truth getting the hot tag and he did John Cena’s comeback sequence on McDonagh. Priest tagged himself in before Truth could go for an AA. McDonagh headbutted him and Truth sent him into the ring post leading to another break (just three minutes after the last one).

The crowd was less enthused when Ciampa made a hot tag after the break. They got into him though as he fired up and took out two guys with a double clothesline. Ciampa hit McDonagh with a draping DDT before wiping out Priest with a corkscrew dive.

Ciampa hit Bálor with a reverse DDT but McDonagh broke up the cover. That led to everyone trading moves until Ciampa and Bálor knocked each other down with running crossbody attempts. (Pat McAfee said 16 abs just collided.)

The crowd chanted “This is awesome” and got louder for Truth as he ran wild on Priest and hit a scissors kick. Truth knocked Dom off the apron and gave Priest a flatliner for two. Miz and DIY hit dives to take out the rest of Judgment Day.

Truth countered a chokeslam into a cradle for a nearfall. (The crowd would’ve gone nuts if he won.) Priest came right back with the chokeslam for the pinfall win.

******** 

There was a video package showing Rock’s promo from Smackdown. They really turned up the booing and took out any cheers. 

Becky Lynch was shown walking through the back. (She saw a Raw banner with a few wrestlers on it, including herself, and she blew herself a kiss, which was funny.)

********

Jackie Redmond interviewed Sami Zayn in the back. Zayn has made a difficult decision. Zayn has hit the pause button on his issues with McIntyre because it’s become an obsession. He’s gotten this way before but he needed to focus on his path to WrestleMania. He needed to trust the feeling in his gut that not only was there a path to WrestleMania but a chance to do something historic. “I will be a champion.”

********

[THIRD HOUR]

Becky Lynch segment 

Lynch said she’s done so many great things in her career that there weren’t many new things to do. But for the first time in her career, she would be inside the Elimination Chamber with the need to win. Lynch said it was inevitable that she and Ripley would collide and it would be the fight of their lives.

Ripley has been the talk of the town the last year but she’s been propped up by her band of merry men, the Judgment Day. Lynch was the biggest threat to Ripley and, as of this very moment, “I’m the best I’ve ever been.”

Lynch was the best she’s ever been but so was everyone else. Five of WWE’s most promising stars would also be in the Chamber. Lynch didn’t have anything against the other women — except maybe Tiffany Stratton who was kind of annoying. They were all fighting with a spot at WrestleMania hanging in the balance.

Liv Morgan interrupted. Morgan was tired of hearing Lynch explain why she should be the one to face Ripley. Morgan didn’t care who the best was, this was about her revenge. Ripley used to be her partner but Ripley injured her shoulder and took her out for months. Morgan reminded Lynch that she was the last one to beat Ripley.

Rodriguez entered. She reminded them that Jax could be the champion after Saturday. She knew she was the only woman big enough and strong enough to take out either woman.

Naomi entered next. Lynch welcomed her back. Naomi said she didn’t return just to return. She returned to climb her way to the top because that’s where she belonged.

Stratton entered next. Stratton said Naomi left an empty space when she left and the only space Stratton wanted was to be the centre of the universe. She didn’t care about the past and that’s what she saw when she looked at the rest of them.

Bianca Belair entered (to a good reaction). Belair said they would never be her and reminded them that she was the only one out of them who has won the Chamber. She planned on continuing her undefeated streak and would beat them all because you can’t spell WrestleMania without “E.S.T.” They bickered for a bit until a brawl broke out.

Jax appeared and took out everyone single-handedly.

******** 

Gunther cut a promo. He wanted Jey Uso to know he was the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. Gunther would make Jey understand that he did not belong in the main event and he would have to keep dreaming.

Shinsuke Nakamura cut a promo on Zayn. He accused Zayn of whining and if Zayn wanted to be the underdog, Nakamura would ensure he stayed that way. Nakamura wanted to beat him again and Zayn could bask in everyone’s sympathies.

******** 

Boxer Callum Walsh was shown in the crowd.

Chad Gable defeated Ivar (8:20)

Ivar slammed Gable onto the barricade and they went to break a minute into the match. After the break, Ivar hit a sit-out powerbomb for two. Gable ducked a kick and chop-blocked Ivar’s leg. Gable failed to hit a German suplex but applied a sunset flip cradle for two. Gable tried an ankle lock but Ivar kicked out of it.

Gable drove Ivar out of the ring but Ivar shoved him into the side of the ring. Gable tried a German again but Ivar blocked it again and hit a spinning kick. Ivar followed with a crazy seated senton for a nearfall.

Gable avoided a moonsault and hit an impressive German suplex. Gable hit a moonsault of his own for two. Gable transitioned immediately into an ankle lock and Ivar tapped out.

Otis, Dupri and Akira Tozawa entered to celebrate with Gable. (I’m glad Gable finally got a win but the finish felt a bit abrupt.)

******** 

The announcers ran down the Elimination Chamber card.

Cathy Kelley interviewed McIntyre. He said Rhodes has been on a hell of a run the past year and only one person had beaten him until tonight. McIntyre was now the second. McIntyre knew people were calling him a hypocrite (for winning tonight thanks in part to the Bloodline) but he had no issue with what happened.

Of course he wanted to attack Sikoa and Jimmy on the spot but he couldn’t think like that anymore. He was thinking big picture. He was doing this for the world title, doing this for Raw and doing this for the fans. He just beat Rhodes and would face LA Knight on Friday before winning the Chamber on Saturday. He was the true workhorse of WWE and the future champion.

******* 

New Day cut a serious promo in the back. Xavier Woods said Jey Uso would beat Gunther tonight and their turn would come next week. Kofi Kingston said Imperium tried to end his career and take his head but they didn’t get the job done.

New Day were the industry standard which is why everyone came for them. There was nobody better than them. Imperium might’ve thought it was over but it wasn’t over until New Day said it was. Woods announced their tag match next week would be a street fight. (Kingston tapped a kendo stick to the tune of “New Day rocks” and Woods couldn’t help but smile.)

********

Professional bull rider John Crimber was shown in the crowd.

Next week on Raw in San Jose, CA:

  • New Day vs. Imperium in a street fight
  • Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

********

Gunther defeated Jey Uso to retain the Intercontinental Championship (18:58)

Like the previous match, Gunther slammed Jey into the barricade and they went to break about a minute into it. Jey fought back after the break but Gunther chopped him out of mid-air. Gunther also did the neck twist spot and hit a backbreaker. Gunther tried a powerbomb on the announce table but Jey hit a backdrop and a Samoan drop onto the table.

Jey set up for a running up attack but Gunther hit a running dropkick and powerbomb for two. Gunther blocked a superkick and hit a clothesline for two. Gunther applied a Boston Crab but Jey got a rope break. Gunther hit an uppercut but Jey knocked him out of the ring and hit a suicide dive, leading to a break.

They traded strikes until Gunther dropped Jey with a chop. Gunther followed with three more hard chops before he began mocking Jey. Jey slipped out of a powerbomb and hit a spear for two. Jey went to the top but Gunther slammed him down and hit a splash for two.

Jey fought back and hit another spear. Gunter rolled to the apron but Jey ran around and speared him on the apron (which was cool) before spearing him again outside the ring. Jey hit one more spear in the ring and an Uso splash.

Jey seemed to have it won but as he made the cover, the bell randomly started ringing too early. It was Jimmy Uso in a hood. Jey superkicked Gunther anyway as security tried dealing with Jimmy. Jimmy wasn’t leaving so Jey wiped him (and security) out with a suicide dive.

With the fans on their feet, Jey went for another splash but Gunther got his knees up and applied rollup for the pinfall win.

— Jimmy attacked Jey after the match and laid him out with an Uso Splash. They showed some replays and Jimmy hit one more splash and posed as the show went off the air. (Jimmy got a lot of heat.) 

(They showed a replay of the finish and it looked pretty ridiculous that the referee abruptly stopped his count at two when he heard the bell ring.) 

WWE Raw live results: Jey Uso & New Day vs. Gunther & Imperium

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: February 12, 2024
Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY 

********** 

Show Recap —

Cody Rhodes was shown arriving at the arena earlier today as they announced he will indeed face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.

A rare occurrence: Raw is starting with a wrestling match.

Six-man tag team match: Jey Uso, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods defeated Intercontinental Champion Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci (19:44)

Gunther avoided getting physical with Jey Uso until he was sure his team was in control — or until he could get in a cheap shot. Jey tagged out after a break and New Day ran wild on Vinci until a distraction allowed Kaiser to drive Kingston into the ring steps. Gunther put Kingston in a Boston Crab, so Jey straight-up slapped him in the face. The referee separated them ahead of another break.

Jey made a hot tag after a break and hit Vinci with strikes as the crowd chanted “Yeet.” Gunther looked on in disgust. Jey handed out running hip attacks and superkicks Kaiser and Vinci. Gunther finally did tag in and chopped Jey down but Jey came back with an enziguri and flying crossbody for two. Jey tried a spear but Gunther blocked it and chopped him before also knocking New Day off the apron. Gunther hit Jey with a Rainmaker for a nearfall.

Gunther mocked Jey’s pose and tried a splash off the ropes but Jey got his knees up. Jey speared Gunther but Kaiser broke up the cover. Vinci tagged in but New Day and Jey laid him out with a 3D. New Day wiped out Kaiser with dives while Jey hit Vinci with an Uso Splash for the pinfall win.

This was what it needed to be.

******** 

There was a video package recapping the WrestleMania press conference. 

There was an Andrade video package. He spoke about winning the NXT and United States Champions when he arrived in WWE. Titles weren’t enough and he had to leave to remember who he was. Now his direction was clear.

********

B-Fab and the Street Profits accompanied Lashley to the stage but returned to the back for the match. 

Elimination Chamber qualifier: Bobby Lashley defeated Bronson Reed (8:41)

Lashley entered and waited almost ten minutes for the match to start. When it finally did start, they went to break 90 seconds later after Reed drove him over the barricade.

Lashley fought back after the break and hit an impressive vertical suplex for two. Reed hit a Death Valley Driver for two and Lashley hit a spinebuster for two. Reed blocked a spear and hit a uranage and senton. He went up for the Tsunami but Lashley brought him down with a slam and followed with a spear for the pinfall win.

This was fine. The crowd liked Lashley.

******** 

Sami Zayn/Shinsuke Nakamura segment

Like last week, Jackie Redmond interviewed Sami Zayn in the stands before the show. Zayn said there was a feeling of embarrassment in sports when you say you’re going to do something but fail. He’s had that feeling many times in his career but the difference now was that he had an overwhelming feeling of self-belief. His belief last year is what drove him to WrestleMania. He planned on becoming champion and that was a promise.

In the middle of this sit-down interview, Shinsuke Nakamura appeared on the screen with a (pre-taped) promo. Nakamura compared him to Cody Rhodes and said he was swindling people by trying to gain their sympathy to stay in the spotlight. Zayn’s chance was over and Nakamura would continue on his warpath.

********

[SECOND HOUR] 

They aired the WrestleMania “trailer.”

Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins segment

(This went more than 18 minutes. Long story short, Rhodes has unfinished business with The Rock and Seth Rollins offered to help.)

Rhodes entered to a big reaction. He said he was facing Roman Reigns in the main event at WrestleMania. It took him a while to be able to say that but the reason he could say it now was because of the fans. He spoke about the social media reaction last week and, right on cue, the crowd chanted, “We want Cody.”

Rhodes wasn’t sure how he could repay them, but maybe there was one way (he looked at the sign). Rhodes admitted he was getting emotional because of how much he cared. He didn’t want to get too emotional though because maybe he’d be a “crybaby.” The crowd booed and chanted “Rocky sucks.”

There was one man who did not want Cody and that man was perhaps the most famous person alive, a potential presidential candidate and the original people’s champion. Rhodes played a clip of Rock on Pat McAfee’s show cutting a promo on Rhodes and his fans. (There was a line where Rock said the fans ate chicken nuggets and shoved them up their ass while complaining online.)

Rhodes said promos were different now than when The Rock was first around and mocked Rock’s line about chicken nuggets. Rhodes said he was a fan of the Rock but one thing Rock did not do well was listen. Rhodes said nothing to defile his ancestors but Rock still took his words personally and slapped him in the face. Rhodes saw malevolence in Rock’s face. Rock put his hands on him and that meant, “I’m going to hit you back.”

Seth Rollins interrupted. Rhodes thanked him for coming to his aid at the press conference. Rollins was looking forward to defending his title against Rhodes at WrestleMania but he understood his decision. Rollins knew that Rhodes and millions of fans wanted him to finish his story.

Rollins told Rhodes that he needed to finish his story. For himself, for his dad, and the fans. If Rhodes does not beat Reigns, the landscape after WrestleMania will be very dark. Reigns would get more power and would defend his title even less. The glass ceiling would get even thicker. This was probably their last chance to get that title back and give it to the people.

Rollins wanted to know what Rhodes’ plan was. Rhodes got screwed last year thanks to the Usos, Solo Sikoa, and Paul Heyman. The deck was stacked again and now he had to deal with the most influential man in the industry, The Rock.

Rollins told him: “You do not have to fight this battle alone.” Rollins really felt it when Rhodes said he wanted to take everything from Reigns. Rollins was sick of people like Reigns always getting away with what they wanted.

Part of who Reigns has become was partially his fault. Rollins spoke about their debut together but said he couldn’t imagine the monster that Reigns would become. Now that monster had two heads because Reigns found the one man who was as entitled and selfish as him.

When it comes to fighting the Bloodline and Roman Reigns, there was only one man on earth who was uniquely suited to be Rhodes’ shield.

(Rollins went on for too long and his dialogue about Reigns was really over the top.)

******** 

Cathy Kelley informed Jey Uso and the New Day that Jey would be getting an IC title match against Gunther next week. Jey and New Day were all pumped to hear the news.

********

There were pre-taped by Liv Morgan and Zoey Stark ahead of the next match.

Elimination Chamber qualifier: Liv Morgan defeated Zoey Stark (9:12)

Morgan fought back after a break with a Codebreaker off the ropes but Stark kicked out and responded with a powerbomb for two, followed by a missile dropkick for two. Morgan went for Oblivion but Stark hit a superkick for two. Stark tried a Phoenix Splash but Morgan dodged it and hit a Codebreaker and Oblivion for the pinfall win.

******** 

Backstage, R-Truth tried to accompany Judgment Day to the ring (for his match against JD McDonagh) but Damian Priest made a very clear statement to him: Truth was not a member of Judgment Day and never was. Every beating he received was a beating and not an initiation. Tonight would be his execution. 

After a break, Truth was in Gorilla trying to convince The Miz over the phone to get on a plane from LA to Lexington right now. Adam Pearce was there trying to get him to go to the ring. 

JD McDonagh (w/Damian Priest, Finn Bálor & Dominik Mysterio) defeated R-Truth (6:53) 

Truth hit an Attitude Adjustment but Dom helped McDonagh out of the ring ahead of a break 90 seconds into the match. Truth did John Cena’s comeback sequence and set up for another AA but he stopped what he was doing upon seeing Priest ringside and McDonagh applied a cradle for two.

Truth set up for a Scissors Kick but McDonagh kicked his leg out of his leg and hit the Devil Inside (backdrop driver) for the pinfall win. (I’m not sure McDonagh has ever won with that move on the main roster so the crowd seemed surprised that was the finish.)

— Everyone aside from Priest tried to attack Truth after the match but Truth fought them off. Priest decked Truth and all of Judgment Day put the boots to him. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano ran out with chairs and Judgment Day bailed.

******** 

Rhodes approached Zayn backstage. Rhodes thanked him for coming to his aid last week. Rhodes said he believed in Zayn and the fans did too. Rhodes offered a handshake so Zayn hugged him.

[THIRD HOUR] 

Becky Lynch segment 

Lynch entered. She pointed out a sign from a young fan who wanted to be her prom date in 2034. Lynch said the road to WrestleMania has been confusing and unpredictable and she loved it. She has loved the business since she stepped into a wrestling ring for the first time at 15 years old.

She has been obsessed with it and that obsession has been great at times. She has traveled the world and that obsession was why a girl who once failed gym class main evented WrestleMania. The obsession is how she met her husband and why she has a daughter.

However, the obsession is also why she has missed birthdays, weddings and her own father’s funeral (she choked up there). Her daughter was only three years old but she already had to explain to her why her mother’s face was busted open, explain that she couldn’t pick her up because she had a separated shoulder, and explain why her dad wanted to fight Maui.

Lynch was going to the Elimination Chamber and her daughter would see her body bruised by steel but she would also see the brutality that her mother was capable of. Lynch was obsessed with getting her title back for the first time in two years and that started with the Chamber. That meant facing the most dominant champion we’ve seen.

Lynch knew the fans loved Mami and that they didn’t think anyone could beat her. But Lynch wasn’t just anyone and Rhea Ripley hasn’t faced anyone like her. Lynch grabbed a drink and had the fans raise their drinks in the air. She toasted to Ripley and suggested she enjoy her last few weeks as champion.

Nia Jax interrupted. The crowd told her that she sucked. Jax tried to act sincere and told Lynch that she respected her. Jax would’ve been lucky if her mom was half the mother that Lynch was. Jax “choked up” and said she wanted to be a mother like Lynch one day. The crowd booed as she spoke. Jax knew that nothing would stop Lynch from winning the Chamber.

Jax got serious and said nothing would stop her from beating Ripley to win the title and Lynch would have to face her at Mania.

Ripley stormed out and tackled Jax. With Lynch leaning against the corner, Jax squashed Ripley into Lynch. Jax dropped Ripley with a right hand before Lynch sent Jax out of the ring with a missile dropkick. Jax tried to get back in but Ripley booted her. Ripley told Jax she’d have to kill her.

Ripley and Lynch looked at each other as the segment ended.

******** 

Redmond interviewed Drew McIntyre. McIntyre said he has only tried to give the fans what they wanted. McIntyre pushing Rhodes in the right direction was the real reason he was going after Reigns. McIntyre called Rollins selfish, while Rhodes should be thanking him.

McIntyre called himself the underdog. He had to beat AJ Styles, one of the best in the world, just to qualify for the Chamber. Now he had to win one of the most dangerous matches in WWE but he was trying to do things the right way, the Drew way.

McIntyre implored Rhodes to get out of their match next week because Rhodes didn’t need this right now. McIntyre warned Rhodes he may not make it to WrestleMania, just like CM Punk.

********

Truth thanked DIY for saving him earlier. They mentioned that Miz called them and asked for their help. Truth never imagined being saved by “DX.” He made some DX references and thanked them.

Elimination Chamber qualifier: LA Knight defeated Ivar (w/Valhalla) (8:37)

They went to break 90 seconds into the match after Ivar squished Knight into the barricade. With Ivar on the top, Knight leaped to the top and hit an impressive superplex. Ivar responded with a powerslam for two, followed by a sit-out powerbomb for two. Knight hit a knee strike, body slam and elbow drop for two.

Knight was distracted by Valhalla which allowed Ivar to hit a spinning kick. Ivar went for the moonsault but Knight ducked and hit BFT for the pinfall win. Knight blew a kiss to Valhalla.

******** 

Zayn walked through the back and bumped into McIntyre. McIntyre warned Zayn to keep his name out of his mouth and his nose out of his business. Zayn responded, “You’re in my way.” (A line meant more ways than one.) McIntyre politely stepped aside.

********

Raw next week in Anaheim, CA:

  • Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Gunther vs. Jey Uso for the Intercontinental Championship
  • DIY, R-Truth & Miz vs. Judgment Day
  • Last chance battle royal to qualify for the Women’s Chamber

******** 

Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell met with Pearce but were interrupted by Chelsea Green who wanted in the Chamber. Hartwell wanted in so she could get a chance to compete in front of her family. Green wanted a singles match to qualify and not a “loser battle royal.” Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark appeared. Baszler looked forward to tearing Green apart next week.

********

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Sami Zayn (17:06)

They went to break 90 seconds into the match after Zayn chucked Nakamura out of the ring. Zayn was on offence after the break but Nakamura took control with strikes. Zayn countered a reverse exploder and hit a Michinoku Driver for two. Zayn hit a flip dive and they went to break again, less than nine minutes into the match.

Nakamura was in control after the break but they didn’t show us how that happened. The crowd got into it as they exchanged strikes and the match picked up from here. Nakamura blocked Zayn’s Blue Thunder Bomb for a second time and hit an enziguri. Zayn ducked a Kinshasa and hit the Blue Thunder Bomb for two.

Nakamura went outside to avoid a Helluva Kick. Zayn went for his dive-through-the-ropes tornado DDT but Nakamura saw it coming and kicked him in the face. Nakamura responded with a stomp off the ropes for two, followed by a knee off the ropes for two. Zayn fired back with a clothesline and smacked Nakamura repeatedly before hitting an exploder in the corner.

Zayn set up for Helluva Kick but decided to turn his back on his opponent upon seeing McIntyre run down to ringside. Nakamura kicked Zayn in the back of the leg and hit a Kinshasa from behind for the pinfall win.

— McIntyre and Nakamura attacked Zayn so Rhodes ran out to make the save. Rhodes gave McIntyre a Cody Cutter and laid out Nakamura with a Cross Rhodes.

(I really don’t think Zayn has to lose every match to tell a story that he needs to come from behind and he certainly didn’t need to lose to Nakamura here.) 

WWE Raw live results: Cody Rhodes vs. Nakamura bull rope match

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: February 5, 2024
Location: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO 

********** 

Show Recap —

(In the poor timing department, the show that aired before Raw on Sportsnet in Canada had Vince McMahon all over it. Mick Foley surprised him in his office in character as Mankind along with Stephanie. They both spoke very highly of Vince throughout.) 

********

There was a recap of the Cody Rhodes, Rock, and Roman Reigns segment on Smackdown.

Seth Rollins entered to a strong reaction. Michael Cole noted that he was still not medically cleared to compete.

Rollins was in a good mood. He mentioned what happened on Smackdown and the crowd chanted for Cody Rhodes.

Rolins called out Rhodes and Rhodes entered. There were “We Want Cody” signs and Cole mentioned the online reaction since Friday.

Rhodes asked what they wanted to talk about and there was a “Rocky sucks” chant (not overwhelmingly loud). Cole asked if it was 1996 again and Rollins acted surprised by the chant.

Rollins understood what Rhodes was going through but he needed an answer. Rollins called his belt the most prestigious in the industry and that drew some boos. Rollins said he needed the match against Rhodes as much as Rhodes did.

Rollins wanted to know that he was better than he was the last time they wrestled. Rollins wanted to know if he was the best and needed to test himself against the best and that was Rhodes. Rollins asked if he would fight him at WrestleMania. People booed.

Drew McIntyre interrupted. McIntyre wondered how they screwed everything up. He said he and Rollins were supposed to have a segment tonight setting up a title match at WrestleMania. McIntyre sarcastically told Rhodes that he needed to finish his story. McIntyre told Rhodes not to let down his family and fans. McIntyre told him not to let his dad down.

Rollins told McIntyre not to be a prick. Rollins also said there was no reason for McIntyre to think he’d be his challenger if Rhodes didn’t accept because he already beat him. McIntyre reminded Rollins how many times he lost to Rhodes.

McIntyre said nobody wanted to fight Roman Reigns anymore because we already knew the finish — his family would interfere to help him.

McIntyre put over the work Rollins has done as champion but said it was someone to take the title from him. McIntyre headbutted Rollins so Rhodes chucked McIntyre from the ring.

The segment ended without Rhodes giving an answer. 

********

Fatal four-way tag team match: Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa defeated Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods and The Creed Brothers (17:36)

The match picked up after a break once Woods made a hot tag and ran wild until Gargano cut him off with a slingshot spear. DIY hit dives on the Creed Brothers before Gargano hit Imperium with a suicide dive. Julius Creed wiped out a bunch of guys with a flip dive. As everyone brawled outside the ring, Ciampa gave Woods an insane White Noise off the ropes into everyone. (This led to a second commercial break just nine minutes into the match.)

There was a tower of doom spot where New Day brought down Imperium and Ciampa with powerbombs. Brutus hit Kaiser with a moonsault but the cover was broken up. Everyone traded moves (including Kingston using the fameasser) until Brutus put Vinci in an ankle lock. Julius handed out suplexes to everyone who tried breaking up the hold and did a double Northern Lights. DIY finally did break up the ankle lock.

Brutus wiped out a bunch of guys with a Brutus ball before hitting one on Vinci in the ring. DIY broke up the cover and hit Vinci with Meet in the Middle for the pinfall win. (Gargano initially made the cover but Ciampa quickly shoved him off and made the cover instead because Gargano wasn’t the legal man.)

Gargano and Ciampa will face Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate.

This was a fun match.

******** 

Shayna Baszler said she would tear Becky Lynch apart limb by limb.

Lynch said she would beat Baszler tonight because her future was on the line.

Elimination Chamber qualifier: Becky Lynch defeated Shayna Baszler (12:42)

Baszler stomped Lynch’s hand into the steel steps and they went to break. Lynch fought back after the break (while still selling her hand) but Baszler caught her with a German suplex and sliding knee for two. Lynch responded with a missile dropkick for two.

[SECOND HOUR]

Baszler blocked a Disarmer and hit a knee strike for two. Baszler blocked a Man-handle Slam and applied an ankle lock. Lynch got out of it but Baszler went back after the arm. Lynch fought back and hit a superplex. Lynch tried transitioning into an armbar but Baszler blocked it and hit a gutwrench slam for two.

They slapped each other back and forth until Baszler tried the Kirifuda Clutch. They traded counters until Lynch hit the Man-handle Slam for the pinfall win. (The crowd liked Lynch but was relatively quiet for the match.)

Cole said Lynch would be in the Elimination Chamber for the first time.

******** 

Cathy Kelley interviewed Liv Morgan. Morgan said she had almost a year taken away from her and that was a very long time. Morgan said next week would be about her revenge on Rhea Ripley.

They showed the clip of Shinsuke Nakamura spraying (spitting) mist in Rhodes’ face at a house show over the weekend.

******** 

Backstage, Adam Pearce admonished McIntyre for attacking CM Punk (last week) and Rollins who were both already injured. Pearce fined him.

It seemed like Pearce had more to say but Rhea Ripley’s music hit and she entered the ring. McIntyre called her a real leader and told Pearce he should probably go do his job.

Rhea Ripley segment

Ripley was pissed and didn’t care about Elimination Chamber because she wanted Nia Jax right now so she could rip her bloody head off. Pearce marched out and said this was not the time. Pearce booked her in a title match against Jax at Elimination Chamber. The crowd booed but Ripley was happy.

Pearce asked her to leave but Jax marched out. Jax shoved Pearce out of the way and brawled with Ripley until security ran out to separate them. As they held back Ripley, Jax knocked her down and tossed aside security. Jax hit Ripley with the Annihilator.

******** 

They showed some media reactions to the Rock’s Smackdown segment. 

Mixed tag match: Ivar & Valhalla defeated Akira Tozawa & Maxxine Dupri (2:03)

Tozawa tried a sunset flip powerbomb but Ivar blocked it. Ivar hoisted him up easily with one hand and hit the World’s Strongest Slam from the middle rope for the pinfall win.

It’s not her fault of course but they gave Dupri too much to do and she couldn’t pull it off. The crowd used to pop when she said “Thank you” but she did it here after botching a move and they were silent.

(Dupri and Tozawa spent more time standing in the ring before the match than they did wrestling.)

******** 

Finn Bálor and Damain Priest agreed that it didn’t matter who they were facing next for the tag titles. Priest told JD McDonagh that he should handle Miz tonight.

Truth showed up and acted friendly as if nothing happened last week. He figured the beatdown was just an initiation (again). McDonagh said Truth was lucky he had a match right now. McDonagh left with Dominik. Bálor was frustrated so he left too. Priest shrugged it off and told Truth to make himself at home. The crowd cheered for that.

********

The Miz defeated JD McDonagh (w/Dominik Mysterio) (9:47)

McDonagh took control with help from Dom ahead of a break. Truth entered after the break to wake up the crowd. He tossed Judgment Day t-shirts into the crowd which distracted McDonagh. The fans were all watching Truth as Miz made his comeback in the ring.

As Dom leaned against the barricade, Truth popped up behind him and put a shirt over him. Dom couldn’t move his arms in the shirt so Miz booted him.

Truth handed McDonagh a wad of cash and McDonagh gladly accepted. Miz used the distraction to hit Skull Crushing Finale (and the cash went flying) for the pinfall win. (Miz made sure to turn McDonagh to face the hard cam as he did his finisher but, funny enough, they weren’t even using that camera angle. )

Truth collected as much of the money as he could and posed with Miz on the stage.

******** 

Vinci and Kaiser (now wearing suits) pestered Pearce because they wanted Gunther’s celebration to be perfect. He assured him that it would be.

Bron Breakker appeared and the crowd popped. Imperium left. Pearce explained his contract offer to Bron as they went to break.

******** 

There was video of Punk following his surgery. He said his comeback would be the greatest of all time.

[THIRD HOUR]

Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship Celebration 

Kaiser introduced Gunther. The ring was dressed in a black carpet with four pillars. All three men wore all-black suits.

Gunther appreciated the celebration but he didn’t want celebrations anymore. It was a given that he would get to 700 and 800 and 900 days and he would go down as the greatest IC champion ever. Gunther said there was no more competition.

Jey Uso entered to a big reaction. Gunther mocked the fans doing his pose and called it a simple gesture for a simple audience. Gunther said he eliminated Jey from the Royal Rumble match and was sensing some disrespect from him now.

Jey meant no disrespect. Jey put over Gunther as the crowd yelled “Yeet.” Gunther appreciated the kind words and put over Jey as one of the greatest tag team wrestlers ever. The Usos were the longest-reigning tag champions ever and Jey only had to put in 50% of the work for it. Gunther achieved his accomplishment on his own.

Jey said Gunther was about to get 100% of this work. Jey said he would win singles gold in 2024 and told the crowd to say “Yeet” if they wanted him to be the next IC champion. They said Yeet.

Gunther said it only took Jey 15 years to develop the guts to step up on his own. Jey wasn’t the first to try to ride his coattails. Gunther would beat him worse than his family ever could and Jey would go back to the days of people not being able to tell him and his brother apart.

Gunther shoved Jey so Jey tackled Gunther. Kaiser and VInci swarmed Jey so New Day ran out to make the save.

******** 

There was a Shinsuke Nakamura video promo. He said he would beat Rhodes in the match his family made famous.

(It was hard to take this seriously after he’s already lost repeatedly to Rhodes.) 

There was a WrestleMania commercial. The video ended with a clip of Rhodes pointing at the sign followed by the face-off with Rock and Reigns. 

********

Asuka & Kairi Sane defeated Kayden Carter & Katana Chance to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships (9:50)

Chance wiped out the champs with a dive before a break but Cole let us know that Asuka and Sane dominated through the break. Sane went for some sort of splash off the top but Carter was never in position and Sane completely missed. Chance tagged in and hit a double foot stomp for two.

Carter and Chance hit Asuka with After Party but Sane (barely) broke up the cover. They set up for Keg Stand but Sane tripped Carter and shoved her into the steps. Asuka kicked Chance in the head and Sane hit the Insane Elbow for the pinfall.

(This wasn’t much of a match and the crowd was dead silent for it.)

********* 

Redmond sat down with Sami Zayn for an interview before the show. Zayn spoke about coming up short against Roman Reigns in Montreal. Triple H pulled him aside and told him he had nothing to be ashamed of. Triple H compared him to Rocky and Zayn said he would give it everything in the ring. He wasn’t an underdog anymore, he was a contender and a contender who would be champion.

Zayn did still have something to prove but he wanted to prove it to the fans. He wanted to prove them right.

******** 

Next week on Raw:

  • Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci vs. Jey Uso, Kofi Kingsotn & Xavier Woods
  • R-Truth vs. JD McDonagh
  • Liv Morgan vs. Zoey Stark (Elimination Chamber qualifier)

********

(They repeatedly plugged the WrestleMania press conference on Thursday and Pat McAfee teased there would be big news.)

Bull Rope Match: Cody Rhodes defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (16:50)

They went to break 50 seconds into the match. Rhodes used the rope to yank Nakamura repeatedly into the ring post. Rhodes went for a springboard move but Nakamura yanked him down with the rope. Nakamura was in control until Rhodes kicked his leg out of his leg and applied a figure four but Nakamura hit him with the rope’s cowbell to break it up.

After another break (nine minutes into the match), Rhodes hit a powerslam and Disaster kick for two. Nakamura hit a sliding German suplex but Rhodes came back with a Cody Cutter. Rhodes hit jabs and a bionic elbow but Nakamura hit a spinning kick and inverted exploder. Rhodes responded with a Pedigree for two.

Rhodes went to hit Nakamura with the cowbell but Nakamura misted him. Rhodes fought him off anyway and hit a Cross Rhodes but Nakamura kicked out.

Nakamura used the cowbell as a weapon but Rhodes blocked a Kinshasa and used the rope to low blow Nakamura. Rhodes emphatically hit another Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win. The last few moments were good.

— McIntyre attacked Rhodes from behind and laid him out with a Claymore Kick. 

WWE Raw live results: Royal Rumble fallout

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: January 29, 2024
Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, FA 

********** 

Show Recap —

I don’t know if this happened to everyone, but they were having technical difficulties for the first few minutes. The feed was a still shot of Tampa as Michael Cole ran things down. The live crowd reacted to graphics and shots of various wrestlers but, on TV, you couldn’t see any of it. You could only hear it. They aired a video package for the Royal Rumble, but again, you could only hear it. The feed eventually started working again as the package played.

Cody Rhodes was shown entering earlier today and Cole said it was obvious who he was going after at WrestleMania.

The first hour of Raw is commercial-free.

Pat McAfee entered. Cole announced that he and McAfee would be the regular team on Raw.

CM Punk segment

CM Punk entered with his right arm in a sling. He initially had a serious look on his face but couldn’t help but smile upon seeing a young fan asking for an autograph. The crowd chanted Punk’s name.

Punk said he came really close to winning on Saturday. He wasn’t mad at anyone and he wasn’t mad at Cody Rhodes. In fact, he wanted to congratulate Rhodes. It’s not about what you deserve, it’s what you’ve earned, and Rhodes has earned it. Punk wanted to see him finish his story at Mania. Punk said winning the Rumble in back-to-back years was a great accomplishment, not unlike the Tampa Bay Lightning winning back-to-back Stanley Cups.

Punk didn’t believe in luck but he did feel a bit unlucky. He tore his right triceps in the Rumble. He thought maybe he could wrap it up and compete in Elimination Chamber but he couldn’t. He didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him. He said his dream since he was a kid was to main event WrestleMania but maybe that just wasn’t going to happen.

Punk spoke about a friend named Chad Gilbert who had cancer. Chad had a wife and a daughter and he was never in a bad mood. That was real life. Punk’s injury was just a flesh wound. He wasn’t the best in the world because he always won. He lost more than he won. He pointed out his not-so-great record in UFC. He fought in UFC because it was his dream and it scared the crap out of him. The crowd chanted for Punk.

It scared him as much as coming back after ten years to a place he never wanted to leave. The dream of WrestleMania will continue to haunt him. But ‘best in the world’ was a moniker that belonged to those who fight cancer. Those who fight fires.

Punk promised to keep going until the wheels fell off. This was just adversity. He did not focus on those who were negative. None of the criticisms he heard mattered. The fans woke up every day and they kept going to put food on their tables and he planned on doing the same.

Punk said WrestleMania 40 wasn’t in the cards. But he was a Chicago Cubs fan and he repeated a familiar phrase: “There’s always next year.”

Drew McIntyre interrupted before Punk could finish. McIntyre said some terrible things about Punk but could identify with the words he spoke now. McIntyre has never been much of a spiritual person but: “I prayed for this and it happened.” (That was funny.) The crowd booed.

McIntyre assaulted him in the Rumble because he could not let him win. McIntyre couldn’t sleep knowing Punk eliminated him but he slept like a baby last night after hearing of Punk’s injury. McIntyre exercised the demon that was CM Punk. McIntyre would find a way to Mania and live Punk’s dream — again.

Punk said his heart hurt more than his tricep does. Punk said he would come back and main event WrestleMania but he would go through McIntyre first.

McIntyre went to take a cheap shot but Punk ducked and kicked him. Punk tried to use his injured arm but McIntyre headbutted him. McIntyre stomped at Punk’s injured arm until Sami Zayn made the. McIntyre bailed. The crowd chanted for Zayn.

Officials checked on Punk and Zayn helped him to his feet.

(Punk and McIntyre were both very good here.) 

******** 

Rhea Ripley told the rest of Judgment Day they should send a message tonight, a message that they couldn’t send at the Rumble. Ripley asked if Damian Priest and Finn Bálor were ready. Priest was completely on board and Bálor said they would show everyone how viscous they were.

DIY cut a promo while walking through the back. Johnny Gargano said DIY was born two hours away from Tampa and Tommaso Ciampa said they would achieve their dreams tonight.

Finn Bálor & Damian Priest defeated Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano to retain the Tag Team Championships (12:53)

Bálor tagged himself in but Gargano took out Priest with a slingshot DDT and Ciampa hit Bálor with an air raid crash for a close nearfall. (The crowd really got into it from here.) DIY hit Bálor with Meet in the Middle but Priest put Bálor’s leg rope under the ropes for a rope break.

Bálor hit Gargano with a slingshot and dropkick but Gargano avoided the Coup de Grace and applied a Gargano Escape. Ciampa also put Priest in a Gargano Escape but Priest hoisted him up and dropped him on Gargano to break up the submission.

Everyone traded strikes until Priest dropped Ciampa with a thrust kick. Priest dropped Gargano onto the announce table with a flatliner before Ciampa caught Priest in a small package for two.

With Gargano out, Priest hit Ciampa with a Razor’s Edge and Bálor finished him off with Coup de Grace for the pinfall win. This was fun. 

— Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh ran out to celebrate. Priest thought they owed R-Truth an apology and called him out. Priest promised Truth that he wouldn’t attack him. (You knew what that meant.)

Truth claimed he traded Priest’s money for cryptocurrency, did his taxes, and liquidated his assets, so he was taken care of. Priest said there was no way he knew what any of that meant. Truth said they were like a family — Priest was like his older brother, Bálor was like their creepy uncle, and JD was like the step-brother they didn’t want to acknowledge.

Priest said Judgment Day was a family, but Truth wasn’t in it. Priest liked Truth which is why he wouldn’t be the one to do this. Priest called for Dom but it was McDonagh who decked Truth. McDonagh hammered away on Truth until Miz ran out. Judgment Day cut off Miz and Dom laid him out with a frog splash. Judgment Day stood tall.

******** 

Adam Pearce met with Punk in the back.

Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre was announced for tonight.

Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark defeated Chelsea Green & Piper Niven (2:05)

Stark got the pin on Green after hitting Z-360.

******** 

There was a Royal Rumble recap video. Rhodes is up next. 

The commercial-free first hour ended at 8:53 pm.

********

[SECOND HOUR] 

Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins segment

Rhodes entered to a big reaction and “you deserve it” chants. On the way out, Rhodes heard something for the first time so he asked Samantha Irvin to say it one more time. She announced him as the winner of the 2023 and 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble match. Rhodes was pumped to hear it again.

Rhodes knew that the fans came to their shows to expect the best action and to escape any worries they may have. Sometimes, the wrestlers needed to escape too. The last 48 hours of his life have been quite challenging. He assured us that all was well. Rhodes teared up as he said the fans would never know how much he needed them on Saturday. He was grateful for that.

Rhodes wanted to make his announcement official for WrestleMania 40. Seth Rollins interrupted.

Rollins agreed with the fans that Rhodes deserved it. They didn’t always see eye-to-eye but they’ve developed a mutual respect. Rollins congratulated him on winning back-to-back Rumbles. They shook hands.

However, Rollins thought Rhodes was making a mistake if he fought Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. “I think you should fight me instead.” There was a mix of “yes” and “no” chants.

Rollins heard Rhodes call himself the guy at the press conference. “You’re not the guy. Roman Reigns is not even the guy anymore. I’m the guy.” Rollins said the World Heavyweight Championship was the title in WWE.

Rollins said it made sense to go after Reigns last year but the landscape has changed. Rollins knew that Rhodes has thought of nothing but Roman the last year. But Rhodes has been on the ride with him during this past year. He and Rollins both traveled the towns and worked all of the shows.

Rollins main-evented those shows as the world champion, while Reigns was at home. Rollins said his world title came to be because everyone was sick of Reigns. Rollins said they didn’t need to pretend that Reigns was an untouchable god. They didn’t need Reigns at all.

Rollins asked which title Rhodes wanted. Rollins referred to Reigns’ belt as the Hollywood title and the Hulk Hogan title. The title meant that for posers who used politics to get to the top. But Rollins held the Dusty Rhodes title. The one that represented the workhorse. Rollins wondered what kind of man Rhodes wanted to be.

Rhodes said he had an insane amount of respect for Rollins. Rhodes admitted that this was the last thing he figured he’d be thinking about, but he promised Rollins he’d think about it. Rhodes left as Rollins smiled.

(This all felt like a big stretch and an attempt to kill time before WrestleMania.)

******** 

Kofi Kingston (with Xavier Woods) cut a promo about his match against Gunther. He said winning championships is what they did and he would beat Gunther for the Intercontinental title tonight.

There was a video of Bron Breakker’s performance at the Rumble.

********

Jey Uso defeated Bronson Reed (9:22)

Jey fought back after a break and hit a flying crossbody but barely got a two count. Reed blocked an enziguri and hit a senton for two. Reed no-sold a superkick so Jey hit two more for a two count. Reed avoided an Uso splash and hit a Death Valley Driver for two.

Jey avoided Reed’s Tsunami attempt and hit a superkick, spear and Uso splash for the pinfall win.

******** 

Andrade signed a Raw contract with Adam Pearce in the back. Nick Aldis entered. Aldis said Smackdown had a great offer for Andrade so Pearce told him they should’ve been quicker. Andrade shook their hands and left. (Before he left, I believe Andrade told Pearce to say hi to Zelina Vega for him.)

Aldis seemed annoyed that Pearce was doing business this way, especially after he loaned Bayley to Raw tonight.

Their meeting ended after Aldis got a call from Bron Breakker. Aldis left to take the call. (The crowd buzzed when he said Breakker’s name.)

******** 

Gunther said Kingston was fighting for his legacy and was in for the fight of his life. But Gunther would forget about him after tonight. Nobody would be thinking about Kingston after tonight, while Gunther would continue on as the greatest IC champion of all time.

********

There was a video recapping the highlights from the Women’s Rumble match.

Becky Lynch interview

Jackie Redmond interviewed Becky Lynch. Lynch said she let a lot of people down including herself but it wasn’t in her nature to stay down. She would train a little harder, think a little smarter, and fight a little dirtier. She would stop at nothing until she was back at the top and main eventing with the title.

********

Gunther defeated Kofi Kingston to retain the Intercontinental Championship (15:44)

Gunther applied a Boston Crab and they abruptly went to break 47 seconds into the match. Gunther dominated for a while until Kingston fired back with a forearm but Gunther cut him off with a neckbreaker. Gunther applied the Boston Crab again and again they went to break with the move still applied.

Kingston went for a dive but Gunther caught him and shoved him hard into the side of the ring. Kingston managed to drive Gunther into the ring post and followed with consecutive suicide dives. Gunther popped back in the ring and Kingston caught him with Trouble in Paradise but Gunther rolled out of the ring before Kingston could make the cover.

With Gunther draped over the steel steps, Kingston hit an elbow drop off the barricade followed by a diving leg drop off the top for two. Gunther blocked a Trouble and Paradise and tried the Boston Crab but Kingston countered into a cradle for two. Gunther hit a clothesline but Kingston reversed another clothesline into an SOS for a nearfall.

A “this is awesome” chant was cut off by Gunther hitting a clothesline, dropkick and powerbomb for the pinfall win.

— Woods checked on Kingston post-match but they were attacked and laid out by Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci. Gunther was very pleased.

******** 

Redmond interviewed Zayn. Zayn said he couldn’t stay on the sidelines after McIntyre targetted not only himself but CM Punk and others. McIntyre pointed the finger at everyone and Zayn planned on giving him a reality check.

There was a recap video of Jade Cargill’s performance at the Rumble.

********

Non-title match: Women’s Tag Team Champions Asuka & Kairi Sane defeated Natalya & Tegan Nox (9:49)

Asuka and Sane worked over Nox until Natalya made the tag and hit Asuka with a German suplex and discus clothesline. Sane saved Asuka from a Sharpshooter and took out Nox. Natalya used a baseball slide to take out Sane but Asuka knocked her down with a kick. Asuka set up Natalya and Sane dropped her with the Insane Elbow for the pinfall win.

The crowd was exceptionally quiet for this.

In the back, Redmond interviewed Kayden Carter and Katana Chance and they informed her that they were getting a tag title rematch next week.

******** 

Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky joined Asuka and Sane in the ring ahead of Bayley’s entrance.

Bayley/Damage CTRL segment 

Bayley advised the fans they should take a picture of them considering it was the first time you’ve seen the Women’s Tag Champs, WWE Women’s Champion and Rumble winner in the ring at the same time. They had her to thank for that.

Everyone claimed Bayley wasn’t as good as she used to be but she didn’t listen to anybody’s opinion. She wasn’t even on the Rumble poster but she was the 2024 winner. They have the most stacked women’s roster ever and she came out on top. She also beat Rhea Ripley’s record by lasting over 63 minutes.

Ripley interrupted but her promo was quickly cut off when Nia Jax attacked her from behind. Ripley tried to fight back but Jax cut her off and hit three consecutive leg drops in the ring. Jax hit the Annihilator as Damage CTRL looked on. They all cautiously left the ring leaving Bayley on her own.

Jax warned Bayley that Ripley wasn’t making it to WrestleMania. Bayley nervously said she would make her decision on Friday.

******** 

McIntyre told Redmond that all he has done was tell the truth. McIntyre has wrestled Zayn many times but Zayn has won zero times and that wasn’t changing tonight. McIntyre said, “Hit my music” as he walked through the curtain.

Drew McIntyre defeated Sami Zayn (12:57)

McIntyre chucked Zayn over the announce desk just 30 seconds into the match. McIntyre tossed him back in the ring before warning McAfee not to talk trash about him. Zayn used the distraction to hit a suicide dive ahead of a break.

McIntyre was in control but Zayn fought back and hit a sunset flip sit-out powerbomb for two, followed by a tornado DDT for two. McIntyre followed with a spinebuster for two and sit-out powerbomb for two. Zayn’s arm was hurt so he couldn’t get McIntyre up for a suplex and McIntyre responded with a headbutt.

McIntyre went to the top but Zayn brought him down with a superplex. Zayn went for Helluva Kick but McIntyre dropped him with a clothesline. McIntyre went for a Claymore Kick but Zayn countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. McIntyre followed with a big overhead suplex and a White Noise off the middle rope for two.

McIntyre shoved Zayn while telling him that some people were just out of his league. Zayn fired back and went for Helluva Kick but McIntyre blocked it by getting his hands up. McIntyre just so happened to hit Zayn in the crotch as he blocked the move. It was ‘inadvertent’ so the ref allowed it to continue and McIntyre immediately hit a Claymore Kick for the pinfall win. 

WWE Raw live results: CM Punk & Cody Rhodes face-to-face

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: January 22, 2024
Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA 

******** 

Show Recap —

Tonight is episode number 1600 of Monday Night Raw.

CM Punk (wearing a Patrick Roy t-shirt) was shown arriving at the arena at 4:22 pm local time and Cody Rhodes (wearing a grey suit) was shown arriving 9 minutes later.

Seth Rollins segment 

Seth Rollins (wearing a bright lime green suit and black dress shirt) limped down the aisle wearing a knee brace over his left leg. He received a big ovation. Rollins began tearing up as the crowd chanted, “Thank you, Seth.” Rollins said it’s been a long week, so he appreciated the reaction.

Rollins spoke about beating Jinder Mahal last week, but he felt his knee go in a direction it wasn’t supposed to after hitting a springboard moonsault. He realized upon going to the back that he might be out for a long time. He mentioned in the past that he only gets stronger after every successful title defence, but after sitting there not able to bend his knee, he felt like a liar.

Last week, Rollins felt like he might have to miss WrestleMania. The crowd chanted, “No.” Rollins said he had a grade 2 tear of his MCL and a partially torn meniscus and the doctors told him he’d be out 3 to 4 months with surgery.

If it were up to him, he’d still come out next week and stomp people’s heads in. But it wasn’t just up to him. We didn’t know what the future held and he was going to take it day by day, week by week.

Gunther and Imperium interrupted. Rollins figured they were there to take him out so he told them to not waste his time and to get it over with.

Gunther told him not to worry about Imperium and instead concentrate on him. Gunther said he and Rollins have been avoiding each other for a while now but Gunther wanted to tell Rollins what he thought of him.

Gunther told him not to be on edge. He said Rollins was placed in a tough spot being labelled a fighting champion from the get-go. Rollins had to bring honour and dignity to the championship. Rollins was a champion everyone could be proud of — “just like me.” Gunther admitted it pulled on his heartstrings to see Rollins like this and he was sad to find out he may not make it to Mania.

Rollins said Gunther should have let him finish speaking. Rollins fired up and said he didn’t give a damn what the doctors told him or how hard he’d have to rehab, he will take the title into WrestleMania and walk out as World Heavyweight Champion. The crowd cheered.

Gunther was happy to hear it. He admired and respected Rollins because he would do the same thing. Gunther said he would win the Royal Rumble and face Rollins at Mania. He would target Rollins’ knee, his back and any part of him that wasn’t 100% to become champion.

Rollins warned Gunther to remember who he was coming after. Gunther told him to remember who was coming after him. They shook hands. 

New Day jumped Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser at ringside (as Rollins carefully left the ring) to set up their match up next.

(Gunther said the Rumble was on Sunday so they instantly flashed a graphic letting you know it’s actually on Saturday. When they finished speaking, Michael Cole repeatedly said that the Rumble was this Saturday.)

********

Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci ended in a double count-out (8:49+)

This started during a break and the match itself went through another break before it ended in a double count-out.

Kingston made a hot tag and wiped out each opponent with suicide dives. Imperium teamed up on him moments later until Woods made the save. They kept brawling outside until both teams were counted out.

— The brawl continued and they fought in the crowd. There were multiple times when Imperium was about to take out a member of New Day before the other member made the save. This led to Woods and Kingston spearing Kaiser and Vinci off some equipment boxes through tables.

(The crowd was into Kingston’s hot tag and very into the post-match brawl. Tables were involved so they were forgiving of the count-out.)

********

They aired the WWE 2K24 commercial. 

********

There was a video package hyping tonight’s match between Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre.

Judgment Day backstage segment

Rhea Ripley accused Priest of trying to pick fights with everyone. She informed him that he and Finn Bálor would have to defend the tag titles next week against DIY. Priest was just hearing of this now and said he had no intention of picking fights with everyone. Priest said he would handle McIntyre tonight.

Priest accused her of having a big head because she’s on the cover of the video game. He also suggested she stop going into Adam Pearce’s office and getting matches made for Judgment Day. Priest left.

Ripley told JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio that they should’ve taken care of DIY a long time ago. Bálor seemed amused by all of this but Ripley didn’t appreciate that. Ripley said Priest would take on McIntyre alone, while Bálor would accompany Dom for his match. She said it’s been too long since she’s seen his vicious side. Bálor said if she wanted viscous, she’d get it.

******** 

Ivy Nile (with Maxxine Dupri) did a quick interview with Jackie Redmond ahead of her match. The Creed Brothers showed up for support but she said she had it covered and went to the ring with Dupri.

Nita Strauss was shown watching in the front row.

Ivy Nile (w/Maxxine Dupri) vs. Valhalla (2:47)

Valhalla hit a pop-up headbutt and put her feet on the rope for the cover. She did it too quickly so the referee saw it immediately — before the planned spot of Dupri catching her first.

Nile bounced Valhalla’s head off the post and hit a top rope bulldog (called “The Pitbull”) for the pinfall win.

******** 

Jey Uso embraced New Day backstage. Redmond approached them for an interview. Woods said they were the best tag team going and have been for a decade. Kingston said people knew about New Day’s fun and games but what you saw tonight was what happened when you pushed them too far. Kington said Jey Uso wasn’t the only one going for championships. He challenged Gunther to an Intercontinental title match next week.

As they left, Jey looked into the camera and said “Yeet” to the delight of the crowd.

[SECOND HOUR]

Nia Jax/Becky Lynch/Bayley segment

Nia Jax entered. She said she squashed both Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch the first time she encountered them. She mocked their promo encounter last week. She wasn’t surprised they wanted to face each other because they didn’t want to face her. She planned on ruining their dreams by winning the Rumble herself.

Lynch interrupted. She congratulated Jax on beating her and giving her something else to talk about for the next five years.

Lynch knew she had a target on her back in the Rumble but Jax had the largest target on her back. It wasn’t because Jax was bigger, it was because nobody liked her. Jax threw her weight around and probably injured half the locker room. Lynch said she wasn’t sure what she would enjoy more: winning the Rumble for the second time or watching Jax lose.

Bayley interrupted. She said she would win the Rumble and attacked Lynch. Jax went after Bayley, then Lynch went after Jax. Bayley tried getting involved so Lynch dropped her with a Man-handle Slam. Jax chucked Lynch over the top rope and gave Bayley a leg drop.

********

There was a Royal Rumble numbers video. 

Lynch bumped into Ripley backstage. I had to rewind it to hear what Ripely said as she spoke quietly and was drowned out by the crowd. It seemed like she advised Lynch to make alternate plans for WrestleMania.

********

Dominik Mysterio (w/Finn Bálor & JD McDonagh) defeated The Miz (9:27)

Bálor gave Miz a cheap shot and Dom took control after hitting a suicide dive and slingshot senton. Miz fought back after a break and dropkicked Bálor into the announce table. He also wiped out McDonagh before hitting Dom with a springboard crossbody for two.

(An excited Cole wondered when was the last time we saw Miz do a springboard move as if it’s been years, but he’s used it several times over the past few months.)

Miz avoided a 619 but a ref distraction by McDonagh allowed Bálor to kick Miz in the head. Dom followed with a 619 and frog splash for the pinfall win.

— Bálor attacked Miz post-match but he was saved by DIY. Dom saved McDonagh from eating a Skull Crushing Finale.

******** 

Redmond interviewed Priest. Priest congratulated Dom on his win which he was fully expecting. R-Truth showed up with more cash from their counterfeit t-shirt sales. Priest was amused but told Truth now was not the time. Truth kindly agreed to leave and take care of this later.

Priest moved on to McIntyre. He said McIntyre was the man when everyone was struggling. But when everyone got back to 100, he couldn’t beat Roman Reigns, Gunther or Seth Rollins. Now out of jealousy, he was trying to prevent Priest from cashing in. Priest would give McIntyre his punishment tonight.

******** 

Bronson Reed warned Jey Uso that nothing would stand in his way of becoming a champion. Reed challenged Jey to a match next week.

Ivar defeated Chad Gable (11:01)

This was really great until the finish.

Ivar suplexed Gable out of the ring and hit a splash off the apron. Immediately after a break, Gable hit an exploder suplex off the top rope, which was insane. Ivar responded later with a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall.

Gable applied an ankle lock but Ivar rolled over and kicked him off. Ivar followed with a diving leg drop off the middle rope. Ivar tried a spin kick but Gable countered into an ankle lock but Ivar got a rope break. Ivar came right back with a sit-out spinebuster for two.

Ivar went for the moonsault but Gable rolled out of the way and hit a bridging German suplex into a cover for a nearfall. (The crowd thought that was it.)

There was another insane spot where Ivar set up Gable for a superplex but Gable slipped behind and hit a German suplex off the middle rope.

Gable went up for a moonsault but Valhalla suddenly appeared and screamed in his face. This was distraction enough for Ivar to slam Gable and hit a moonsault.

This would have been a great moment for Gable if he got the win. 

********

Cody Rhodes and CM Punk face-to-face

(This started before the top of the hour, perhaps because they knew it would go long.)

Rhodes entered and received his customary reaction, but before he could speak, CM Punk’s music hit. Punk received a very big reaction.

Rhodes and Punk shook hands.

[THIRD HOUR]

Chants for Punk were followed by chants for Cody. Punk thought they should take time to enjoy this moment. They’ve both taken very different paths to get here and still hoped they were friends on Sunday morning.

Rhodes asked Punk what he wanted to talk about. Punk wanted to talk about Cody’s dad.

In 2007, Dusty called Punk and told him he was sending his youngest son Cody to OVW to start his journey as a professional wrestler and Dusty wanted Punk to keep an eye on him. Punk didn’t know if he was the right guy for the job but when the American Dream asked you for a favour, you said yes.

Punk said it wasn’t a hard job. Rhodes stayed out of his own way and didn’t fall into the same vices many others had. Rhodes went from being an opening match wrestler to a main event caliber one. It may sound condescending coming from him, but he was proud of Cody.

However, at the Rumble, it might feel like Punk is breaking that promise. He wouldn’t be looking out for Rhodes, he would be looking for Rhodes. He would throw Rhodes out of the ring and go on to main event WrestleMania.

Rhodes said Punk wasn’t alone in this feeling. This feeling that when people saw him, they saw Dusty Rhodes. Cody said it was a very large shadow but he wanted to be the light in that shadow. He wanted to subvert expectations and be his own man.

Rhodes showed up to OVW as a complete nepotism hire with no experience. Punk wrestled on the Indies for ten years and could’ve treated him poorly but he didn’t. Punk treated him like a peer and they became friends. That’s what made this bittersweet because there were no friends in the Rumble.

Punk responded, “What about Sunday morning, Cody?” Punk knew there were no friends in the Rumble. He’s been in more of them than Cody. “I can separate business from personal. Can you?” Punk said Rhodes grew up in his business. Personal to him was this business.

Punk’s dad wasn’t famous, while Cody started his career standing on third base. But Punk knew that would be a burden for Cody to overcome — and he has done that with flying colours.

Punk’s dad was just a regular, blue-collar guy. An electrician. Which was ironic. Punk said: “I’m more of an American Dream than you are.”

Rhodes wanted to talk about the pipe bomb. Rhodes said Punk rattled off the formula of a revolution. Many entered the business because of that promo. Rhodes himself was inspired by it. But then Punk left. Punk didn’t pass the torch, he dropped it on the way out.

Rhodes said he picked up that torch. “Everything you spoke about, I literally did. Where you talked, I walked.” Rhodes continued, “That makes me more CM Punk than you.” Punk smirked and removed his hoodie.

Punk said Rhodes has carried his company on his back for a soul-crushing two years. He was so close to the finish line again but there in his way was a superstar who hasn’t been around in a long time to take it away. Punk made it clear he was talking about himself. (Not the Rock, for example.)

Rhodes said he only had one direction to go through and that was forward. And that was through CM Punk at the Rumble.

As Rhodes left, he bumped shoulders with Punk so Punk grabbed him and they went face-to-face.

(They eventually backed off and left. Punk told Wade Barrett he would win the Rumble.)

This was really good.

******** 

There was a video with Hulk Hogan discussing the success of WrestleMania and Hulkamania. There was another Hogan video after a break plugging some new merch.

********

Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark defeated Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell (6:38)

This went through an early break. Stark knocked Hartwell out of the ring and made a blind tag. LeRae reversed Baszler’s Kirifuda Clutch into a cradle but didn’t realize a tag had been made, so Stark hit her with Z-360 for the pinfall win.

— Stark and Baszler faced off with the champs Kayden Carter and Katana Chance after the match. Stark and Baszler could see what was coming so they started backing off as Kairi Sane, Asuka and Dakota Kai attacked Carter and Chance from behind.

******** 

Redmond interviewed McIntyre. She asked about Punk and Cody. He didn’t really care about what they said. He moved on to Priest. He reminded Priest that he beat Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, and AJ Styles when he was champion. That was the most proud he’s been in his career because they were the one constant in people’s lives.

McIntyre was tired of everyone saying they had a destiny or a story. Everyone was saying the same thing, but there could only be one chosen one.

******** 

Natalya (and Tegan Nox) confronted Bayley and friends in the back. They screamed at each other until Adam Pearce broke it up and told them to save it for the Rumble.

Pearce admonished Bayley for going into business for herself. Kai told him to talk to Nick Aldis if he had a problem. Pearce said he would if he could pry Aldis away from staring at himself in the mirror. Bayley said Asuka and Sane would win the tag titles and she would win the Rumble, so Pearce would be seeing a lot more of them soon.

After they left, Pearce was approached by Jinder Mahal and Indus Sher. Mahal called himself the most talked-about superstar in 2024 and was responsible for injuring Rollins. Mahal wanted a word with Pearce.

********

There was a second Royal Rumble numbers video that was different from the one that aired earlier. I didn’t pay enough attention to the first one to tell you why there needed to be a second one.

The announcers ran down the Rumble card.

******** 

Next week on Raw:

  • Finn Bálor & Damian Priest vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa – Tag Team title match
  • Gunther vs. Kofi Kingston – Intercontinental title match
  • Jey Uso vs. Bronson Reed

********

Drew McIntyre defeated Damian Priest (13:04)

Priest was the aggressor early on but he tried leaping off the steel steps and McIntyre caught him with a suplex. McIntyre tried another suplex outside the ring but Priest shoved him into the ring post and hit a falcon arrow onto the announce desk. Priest remained on offence after a break until they dropped each other with boots.

McIntyre fired back with clotheslines, an overhead suplex, and a neckbreaker. Priest avoided a Claymore Kick but McIntyre followed with a spinebuster for two. Priest hit a flatliner for two. They traded counters until Priest hit a falcon arrow for two. McIntyre went outside while selling his ribs and Priest dropped him with a flip dive.

Truth showed up and wanted to give Priest his cut of the money. Priest shoved him down and the crowd booed. The distraction allowed McIntyre to hit a Future Shock DDT.

Truth tried putting the cash in the MITB briefcase but he didn’t know the lock combination so he leaped on the apron to ask Priest for the “password.”

McIntyre was setting up for Claymore at this moment so he decked Truth and the cash went flying. As the ref tried handling Truth, Priest hit McIntyre with a South of Heaven chokeslam. Priest had it won but the ref was nowhere to be found.

Priest chucked Truth from the ring but that distraction allowed McIntyre to hit a Claymore Kick for the pinfall win.

(The Truth stuff is beyond silly and I certainly didn’t want or expect it to lead to the finish of the main event.) 

WWE Raw live results: Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal World title match

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: January 15, 2024
Location: Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock, AR

******** 

Show Recap —

There was a Martin Luther King Jr. tribute video.

Seth Rollins and Jinder Mahal were shown arriving at the arena earlier today. Rollins arrived with his daughter (presumably) in hand.

Cody Rhodes/Drew McIntyre segment

Cody Rhodes entered to a strong reaction in Little Rock. Rhodes said there was a Collin Raye song about Little Rock that his wife really liked. He said they could talk about that or talk about him beating Shinsuke Nakamura. He said the Royal Rumble was right around the corner and they could talk about what he really came back to WWE for.

Drew McIntyre interrupted. McIntyre said they grew up together in WWE and he was proud of Rhodes. They were even WWE Tag Team Champions. That didn’t get much of a reaction and McIntyre admitted that you’d probably have to look it up. Rhodes mentioned that their team name was the Dashing Ones.

McIntyre said they both redefined what it meant to be a wrestler outside of WWE. They laid the blueprint to become so undeniable that WWE would call them back. Before McIntyre returned to WWE, his last match was against Cody and Cody told him at the time that he would be a future world champion.

McIntyre felt that Cody would be the first member of his family to win that championship. McIntyre said Rhodes would finish his story — but not before he finished his. Rhodes said that each of them could win. Jey Uso could win. CM Punk could win. But Rhodes didn’t plan on that.

McIntyre advised Rhodes to be himself. He didn’t have to wear a suit, he didn’t have to smile all the time, and he wasn’t running for office. McIntyre knew what that was like and he assured Rhodes he didn’t have to be that way.

Rhodes assured him that this wasn’t an act. Rhodes smiled because he loved this. He appreciated the opportunities because he made them for himself. He relished his second chance while McIntyre just complained about his.

McIntyre wasn’t sure this was the real Cody Rhodes. Otherwise, why would he bring back Jey Uso or endorse CM Punk? McIntyre said he would be the world champion if not for that idiot Damian Priest. Rhodes was standing in his way just like Punk was. McIntyre said the story belonged to him at WrestleMania.

Rhodes said he would give McIntyre something to complain about at the Rumble. Rhodes said McIntyre brought up his final match before returning to WWE but he didn’t mention who won (Rhodes did). Rhodes dropped the mic and left.

******** 

Damian Priest confronted R-Truth about selling Judgment Day merchandise outside the arena (at below cost, apparently). Truth handed Priest a wad of cash, which he kept. Priest told Truth not to tag in during their tag match (against each other) tonight. Truth winked and said he understood.

Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa defeated Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh (18:21)

Shortly after a break, Gargano made a hot tag, but the referee didn’t see it because McDonagh distracted the referee. Gargano went for another hot tag, but McDonagh yanked Ciampa off the apron. After all that build-up to the hot tag, Ciampa made the tag moments before they came back from a second break.

Ciampa hit McDonagh with a knee strike, McDonagh headbutted Ciampa, Gargano superkicked McDonagh and Dom superkicked Gargano. Everyone went down so that led to a modest “this is awesome” chant. McDonagh hit Ciampa with a standing Spanish Fly and a moonsault but Gargano broke up the cover with a superkick.

Dom dropkicked Gargano but Gargano blocked a 619 and Ciampa knocked Dom out of the ring. Ciampa spiked McDonagh with a DDT and DIY hit him with Meet in the Middle for the pinfall win.

******** 

Earlier today, Chelsea Green (and Piper Niven) complained to Adam Pearce because she had Kayden Carter pinned last week but the referee blew it. Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae were already in Pearce’s office at that moment so he put them in a tag match. Hartwell told Green that the ref counted to two but Green couldn’t count.

There was a quick video package for LeRae and Hartwell.

Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae defeated Chelsea Green & Piper Niven (3:30)

Hartwell blocked Green’s Unprettier and draped her over the middle rope so LeRae could hit an assisted Lionsault (which didn’t look great) for the pinfall win.

********

[SECOND HOUR] 

There was a quick Nia Jax video package focusing on the Rumble match. Rhea Ripley was backstage with Judgment Day, minus Priest, but she quickly left after seeing the video. Priest showed up as Ripley left. McDonagh and crew wondered why they weren’t taking out Truth right now. Priest presented the wad of cash that Truth gave him. McDonagh wondered if he would get a cut but Priest said he wasn’t on their merch. Jokes aside, Finn Bálor and Priest were focused on their upcoming match.

Gunther segment 

Ludwig Kaiser introduced Gunther. Gunther received some cheers before it turned to a mixed reaction. Imperium acted surprised by the cheers.

Gunther said they were close to the Rumble and he could feel and smell the desperation around this place. Since they were in Arkansas, he could smell excrement, too. Since he’s been gone, he saw his peers bickering over who would win the Rumble.

He wanted to remind them of one thing: he entered the Rumble at number one last year and lasted until the end. He was one elimination away from winning. The crowd chanted for Cody. This year he would win the Rumble as Intercontinental Champion and main event WrestleMania.

Gunther turned his attention to Kaiser. He played a replay of Kaiser taking out Kofi Kingston. He said Kaiser showed a side that he always wanted to see. He showed grit, confidence and courage. Gunther hugged him.

Xavier Woods interrupted. A serious Woods said he had a problem with Kaiser, who took it too far last week by taking out Kofi Kingston. Woods challenged Kaiser to a match and wondered if he’d have to ask his daddy Gunther for permission. Gunther handed Kaiser the mic and left the ring.

Kaiser accepted and said he would take Woods’ head as well. Kaiser tried to attack but Woods dumped him from the ring. Woods hammered away on Kaiser until a referee stopped him.

Ludwig Kaiser defeated Xavier Woods via disqualification (10:24+)

Woods, whose mouth was busted open, fought back after a break. Kaiser tried launching the chair at him (as he did to Kingston) but Woods used it on Kaiser instead for the DQ. (As this match trudged along, Michael Cole reminded us that Jinder Mahal was in tonight’s main event.)

— A frustrated Woods grabbed a steel chair but Kaiser kicked it into his face. Kaiser tried a running dropkick into the steel steps as he did last week but Woods caught him with a dropkick. Woods tried launching the steps at Kaiser but Kaiser bailed through the crowd.

******** 

Bronson Reed cut a one-line promo saying, “There is a man right now who holds a championship in WWE who doesn’t realize that sooner than later, it will belong to big Bronson Reed.” 

Byron Saxton interviewed a pissed-off Woods in the back. He was immediately attacked by Kaiser but was saved by Jey Uso. Kaiser backed off upon seeing Jey and officials stepped in. Jey checked on Woods.

There was a Jinder Mahal video package. 

******** 

They boldly went to commercial letting us know that the following match was next.

Akira Tozawa (w/Maxxine Dupri) defeated Ivar (w/Valhalla) (1:59)

Tozawa had a brief flash of offence before Ivar hit a spinning powerslam and a running crossbody. Ivar went to the top but was distracted by Dupri on the apron. Tozawa kicked Ivar and hit a sunset flip powerbomb into a stacked-up cover for the (surprise) pinfall win.

— Valhalla decked Dupri after the match while Ivar dropped Tozawa with a spin kick. Valhalla headbutted Dupri out of the ring before Ivar squished Tozawa with a moonsault.

********

CM Punk on Instagram teased a face-to-face confrontation with Cody Rhodes next week. 

********

Alpha Academy and the Creed Brothers checked on Tozawa in the back. Ivy Nile said she’d talk to Pearce about Valhalla. Gable said he was proud of Tozawa. Gable called Ivar a coward and an idiot and Gable would teach him a lesson next week. (This will be Gable’s first Raw match since November 20th.)

[THIRD HOUR]

Rhea Ripley/Becky Lynch segment 

Rhea Ripley entered to a strong reaction. Ripley was sick of people like Nia Jax claiming that this was their division when the division belonged to her. She warned the Royal Rumble winner that they’d be wasting their opportunity by picking her because Mami was always on top (she initially flubbed her line but recovered).

Becky Lynch interrupted. They circled each other as Lynch cut her promo. Lynch said they were two very different people with similar stories. Two people coming from foreign lands becoming the best to ever do it. Two people who were afterthoughts at WrestleMania one year who became faces of the industry the next.

Lynch said there were differences. One of them won the main event of WrestleMania, while the other didn’t. One had the strength of a bear while the other had the heart of a lion.

Here they stood, the two of the very best to ever do it. But there was a voice in Lynch’s head telling her that, maybe, Ripley was better. Lynch needed to prove that she wasn’t and she needed to take the title from her. She needed to win the Rumble, point to the sign and declare that it would be Mami versus The Man at WrestleMania.

Ripley said, “There’s only one other person that wants you to win the Royal Rumble match more than yourself, and that’s me. I’ll see you at WrestleMania.”

******** 

Jackie Redmond interviewed Seth Rollins in the back. Rollins was cold and you could somehow see his breath backstage as he spoke. Rollins said he’s been champion for over 200 days and he gets stronger after every title defence. That’s why he wanted to keep being a fighting champion heading into WrestleMania.

Rollins said this wasn’t the same Mahal he beat to become the first NXT Champion. This was the best version of Mahal and a deserving version of Mahal (what?). Rollins did his catchphrase and the crowd sang along.

********

Non-title match: Tag Team Champions Finn Bálor & Damian Priest (w/Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh) defeated R-Truth & The Miz (8:00)

Before the match started, Truth gave Bálor a big handful of cash. Dom got a small share too. McDonagh put his hand out but Truth told him he wasn’t in Judgment Day.

After some ‘comedy’, the match eventually started with Truth confused that Bálor was attacking him and they went to break after 60 seconds.

Truth acted dumb momentarily before it finally seemed like he would attack Priest. Bálor stepped in but Truth fought him off. Priest reluctantly chokeslammed Truth and Bálor covered him for the win.

(They played up that Priest liked Truth and didn’t really want to do this. I guess we’re supposed to ignore a few weeks ago when Priest specifically said he was the one person who didn’t like Truth and attacked him.)

******** 

Mahal was meditating in the back when he was approached by Redmond for an interview. Mahal said he’s been in a seven-year drought but he was the most talked-about star of 2024. It was years in the making and everyone would be unified when he became World Heavyweight Champion.

Shinsuke Nakamura was angry that he didn’t put away Cody Rhodes. He warned Rhodes to keep an eye open because he was turning his attention to the Rumble match. A hungry Shinsuke was a dangerous one and he would feist on the dreams of 29 other men.

********

Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark defeated Tegan Nox & Natalya (5:21)

Natalya set up for Hart Attack but Stark took out Nox and Baszler taped out Natalya with Kirifuda Clutch.

(For the first time in a while, I think, Natlaya did not wear pink but instead wore white/silver and black.)

********

Next week on Raw in New Orleans:

  • CM Punk and Cody Rhodes go face-to-face
  • Ivy Nile vs. Valhalla
  • Chad Gable vs. Ivar
  • Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest

********

Seth Rollins defeated Jinder Mahal (w/Indus Sher) to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (12:58)

They decided to add some intrigue by having Priest walk out with his briefcase two minutes into the match. After a break, Mahal held an abdominal stretch as Priest was forced to watch at ringside.

Rollins got the better of a strike exchange and hit a flying crossbody for two, followed by a springboard senton and Lionsault for two. Rollins sold his knee on the landing as Priest looked on.

Mahal tried a vertical suplex but Rollins countered with a falcon arrow. Rollins followed later with a Pedigree, landing awkwardly on his knee. Rollins slowly made a cover but Veer put Mahal’s leg on the rope (sort of) for the rope break. Rollins went after Veer but missed a frog splash on Mahal.

Priest thought about cashing in but McIntyre suddenly appeared at ringside. They exchanged blows and fought up the ramp. The distraction allowed Mahal to hit a gutbuster for two.

Veer distracted the referee while Sanga handed a chair to Mahal. Rollins avoided the chair but as the ref chucked it away, Veer hit Rollins with the briefcase. Mahal followed with a Khallas for a nearfall. The ref tossed Veer and Sanga from ringside.

Rollins blocked another Khallas attempt and nailed a curb stomp for the pinfall win.

(They were up against the clock and quickly went off the air after Rollins retained.) 

They’ve mostly done what they’re going to do to build the Rumble show already and boy did this ever feel like a place-holder show. 

WWE Raw live results: CM Punk appears

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: January 8, 2024
Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR 

Show Recap —

The show opened with a shot of Cody Rhodes entering through the arena. The announcers began plugging his match but were interrupted by Drew McIntyre, who was already in the ring. (His promo started way earlier than the in-ring stuff usually starts on Raw.)

McIntyre said last week was all or nothing for him against Seth Rollins and, as we can all see, he doesn’t have the title. He had it won but he cost himself the match with his overzealous pin allowing Rollins to get a rope break.

Maybe everyone was right in suggesting that he was holding himself back. He thought he might need to step away from WWE for a while to get his head straight and it wasn’t easy thinking this way.

However, he’s been replaying the match repeatedly in his head and realized he didn’t lose straight up, he was cost the match by Damian Priest. McIntyre wondered why Priest didn’t wait until after the match — after he’d won the title — to take advantage. Instead, Priest was an idiot and he cost them both.

McIntyre took a shot at CM Punk for being gone for nine years and being welcomed back with open arms and wondered if he should do the same.

Punk interrupted and got a big pop. Punk said, “We are in Piper country,” and was a little disappointed that McIntyre didn’t wear a kilt. Punk said Roddy Piper was known for talking and Punk was known for talking. McIntyre wasn’t known for talking but that’s all he’s done since Punk came back. If McIntyre had something to say to him he wanted to hear it in person.

McIntyre congratulated Punk on still being around after a month. A bunch of guys had a bet on how long he’d last and he was costing them money. McIntyre didn’t care what Punk said outside the company, he cared about what Punk did to him personally. McIntyre was one of the few people left who travelled with Punk and knew the real Punk.

McIntyre recalled when Punk was the champion and called himself a locker room leader. McIntyre needed a leader because he was in a dark place back then. But Punk saw him as a threat and he wasn’t there to help.

McIntyre spoke to Randy Orton who told him he (Orton) couldn’t help because he had his own demons. But Punk was straight edge and didn’t have any demons — he was the demon. McIntyre called Punk a succubus and said he didn’t need a leader anymore because he was the leader.

Punk said he’s called himself a lot of things but he never called himself a leader. He leads by example. Punk said McIntyre watched him walk away from the company just like he did. McIntyre came back and main-evented WrestleMania. Now Punk was back to win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania too.

Punk said he wasn’t a demon. When pushed — he was Satan himself. Punk said, “I’m a real, real nice guy — until it’s time not to be.” Punk said he was not here to be a nice guy, he was here to win the Rumble and main-event WrestleMania.

McIntyre said he has already main event Mania while Punk hasn’t. McIntyre stepped up during the pandemic but if Punk were in his shoes he would have left because Punk leaves when the going gets tough. McIntyre said he would eliminate Punk to win the Rumble but this time he’d be doing it for himself, not the fans.

Punk said it was getting spicy so he would set an example by leaving instead of knocking McIntyre’s teeth down his throat. Punk said nobody would stop him from winning the Rumble, not McIntyre, not Rollins and not Cody. Punk finished with: “Because I’m such a nice guy, in the Royal Rumble, I’m gonna throw you out last.”

********

Tommaso Ciampa cut a promo while walking through the back on his way to Gorilla position, another example of a small change in presentation. Ciampa called this a must-win and DIY had a resolution to win the tag titles in 2024.

Tommaso Ciampa (w/Johnny Gargano) defeated Tag Team Champion Finn Bálor (w/Damian Priest) (8:14)

Ciampa avoided a Coup de Grace and applied a crucifix pin for two. Ciampa set up for his finisher but was distracted when Priest hit the apron. Ciampa hit Priest with a forearm but it had no effect so Gargano went after him. Priest fought him off and went for a powerbomb on the table (which the crowd was very excited for) but Ciampa saved him.

As Ciampa re-entered the ring, Bálor kicked the middle rope into his crotch. Bálor went for a vertical suplex but Gargano tripped him and Ciampa landed on him and got the pinfall win.

Gargano was a little late on the spot but the crowd was into this and Ciampa’s win got a pop. Bálor acted shocked at the loss.

******** 

Jackie Redmond interviewed Becky Lynch about her loss to Nia Jax. Before their match happened, Lynch knew that if Jax hit her as hard as she could, she could end up in hospital with broken bones.

However, Jax did hit her as hard as she could and while she did lose and get her mouth busted open, she dusted herself off, got up and declared herself for the Rumble. The last time she declared for the Rumble she main evented WrestleMania. Lynch didn’t end Jax the way she wanted to but Jax didn’t end her either. Maybe this wasn’t the end, but the beginning.

(They plugged Redmond’s NHL YouTube talk show as she will have Punk on as a guest this week.)

******** 

They showed a replay of Kofi Kingston’s kick on Giovanni Vinci and said Vinci would be out for a few weeks.

Kofi Kingston vs. Ludwig Kaiser ended in a double count-out (8:47)

Kaiser deliberately struck Kingston as revenge but Kingston fired back before Kaiser dropped him over the top turnbuckle. Kingston fought back with a springboard crossbody but Kaiser blocked a suicide dive, drove Kingston into the barricade and hit a PK.

Kingston hit a trust fall dive after a break but Kaiser posted him moments later. Kaiser tried a running uppercut into the barricade but Kingston avoided it. Kingston tried making it back in the ring before a ten count but Kaiser stopped him and they were both counted out.

— After the match, Kingston hit a suicide dive but Kaiser responded by shoving his thumb in Kingston’s eye. Kingston fought back but was pulled off by officials as the crowd chanted, “Let them fight.” Kingston went after Kaiser who launched the wheel side of a big leather chair in Kingston’s face (which looked great).

Officials implored Kaiser to leave. He was about to leave but he ran around ringside and dropkicked Kingston’s head into the steel steps.

(The double count-out was whatever but the post-match was really good. The crowd liked Kingston so Kaiser got a lot of heat.)

******** 

Redmond caught up with a pissed-off Kaiser in the back. Kaiser said this was all Kingston’s fault. Because of Kingston, Kaiser was the only one there carrying the weight of Imperium. “He took Vinci’s head, so tonight, I took his.”

[SECOND HOUR] 

Nia Jax/Rhea Ripley segment

Michael Cole interviewed Nia Jax in the ring. He said she shocked the world last week when she beat Lynch. Jax said it wasn’t shocking. She threatened to break Cole’s face but said she was more focused on the Rumble and referenced both Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky.

Ripley interrupted. She got a big ovation. She said Jax liked to talk a big game and was acting like she already won the Rumble. Ripley reminded Jax that she threw her out of the Rumble last year. She said Jax did beat Becky Lynch but Lynch wasn’t Rhea bloody Ripley.

Ripley advised Jax to stop acting like she owned the division until she was ready to step to her. Ripley warned Jax that if she did win the Rumble, it would be best to keep her name out of her mouth.

Jax gave Ripley credit for being perhaps the most dominant champion in history but Jax also dropped her on her ass when she returned. Jax said she would win the Rumble and choose Ripley. “See you soon, unstoppable champ.”

******** 

They showed clips of The Rock’s promo last week.

Redmond interviewed Cody Rhodes. Or at least she tried to. Nakamura immediately attacked him from behind and they brawled very briefly until they were separated by officials.

********

Kayden Carter & Katana Chance defeated Chelsea Green & Piper Niven to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships (9:55)

It seemed like the champs would run right through Green but Niven saved her and took control over Chance ahead of a break. Carter made a hot tag and hit a leg drop on Green for two. Carter had Green on her shoulders while sitting on the turnbuckle and Chance brought her down with a hurricanrana for a nearfall.

Carter blocked an Unprettier but Green followed with a Rough Ryder for two. The ref was late counting the fall because he was checking on Chance. Niven tagged in and hit a senton while Carter was draped over Green’s knees but Chance broke up the cover.

Niven sent up for a Vader Bomb but Chance pulled Carter out of the ring. Niven didn’t realize that they put Green in her place so she hit the Vader Bomb on her teammate by accident. Chance hit Niven with a lungblower and they finished off Green with Kegstand for the pinfall win.

(This wound up being better than expected and the crowd got into it.) 

********

There was a comedy feature on R-Truth. He claimed that when he was a newborn he told the doctor that he would join Judgment Day one day. There were a lot of AI and Photoshopped pictures to show Truth alongside Judgment Day over the years, as well as being on a Judgment Day PPV poster from decades ago.

********

Judgment Day spoke in the back. Priest admitted he was amused by the video but told Ripley that he would deal with Truth. Bálor was pissed about DIY and said they would need CPR and MRIs and EMTs. Priest calmed him down and said they should be going after McIntyre.

Ripley said McIntyre wasn’t their enemy. Priest called him a joke and asked Ripley if it was smart to make an enemy of Jax. Ripley said she would take care of Jax. Ripley turned to JD McDonagh who said he’d take care of Miz tonight.

********

The Miz defeated JD McDonagh (w/Dominik Mysterio) (12:05)

Truth showed up at ringside and the crowd was happy to see him. McDonagh took control before a break thanks to interference by Dom.

Miz targetted McDonagh’s leg and applied a figure four but McDonagh got a rope break. Miz dropkicked McDonagh into Dom and hit a Skull Crushing Finale for the pinfall win. Truth celebrated with Miz.

— The rest of Judgment Day wasn’t happy about this as they watched on in the back.

(This was somehow the longest match of the night so far.)

******** 

They announced earlier that Rhodes vs. Nakamura will now be a street fight. 

********

Seth Rollins segment 

Rollins said he’s had plenty of great moments at WrestleMania but one thing he has never done is take a world title into the show. He’s taken a title that didn’t exist a year ago and made it the most important one in the industry. He did it by doing what he said he would do and that’s be a fighting champion.

Rollins said the work was not done and he wondered who he would face at WrestleMania. There was a light chant for Punk and Rollins said, “In his dreams.”

Jinder Mahal interrupted.

[SECOND HOUR]

Mahal called himself the real revolutionary and said Rollins’ only role was to entertain the clowns. Mahal said Rollins was the champion but he instilled no change and spoke no truth. He sang and danced but he brought no value and threw temper tantrums after the show when things didn’t go his way. He prided himself on being a workhorse who offered opportunities — except to a former champion like Mahal.

Mahal said Rollins overlooked him — a man who beat Randy Orton, the greatest of all time. He’s known Rollins for a long time and saw through his charade. Mahal knew he had Rollins’ attention now for the first time in a long time.

Rollins said Mahal was right. They have been overlooking Mahal. Rollins said that wasn’t an accident. For years they’ve been trying to forget him until last week when Rock put his balls in a vice. Rollins gave him credit for showing up after Rock fried him last week. Rollins didn’t appreciate Mahal ruining his fun and getting in his face.

Rollins offered Mahal a free shot but Mahal didn’t take it. Rollins turned his back so Mahal decked him from behind. Rollins fought him off but Mahal escaped before Rollins could hit a stomp.

(It was a bit odd that the fighting champion Rollins didn’t seem concerned with defending his title at the Rumble.) 

******** 

There was a segment earlier today to set up this match. No Chad Gable tonight.

Ivar (w/Valhalla) defeated Otis (w/Maxxine Dupri & Akira Tozawa) (3:46)

There was a great spot early on where Ivar tried a springboard crossbody but Otis caught him and hit a World’s Strongest Slam for two. Ivar followed with a sit-out powerbomb for two. Otis hit a discus clothesline and caterpillar elbow drop for two. Ivar hit a roundhouse kick and moonsault for the pinfall win.

— Tozawa confronted Ivar but Ivar shoved him out of the ring.

******** 

Redmond interviewed Jey Uso and asked if he had any resolutions. Jey said yeet and that he would get his first singles championship. Bronson Reed interrupted and said he had the same goal. He warned Jey not to get in the way.

******** 

Next week on Raw in Little Rock, AR:

  • Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal for the world title
  • Finn Bálor & Damian Priest vs. R-Truth & Miz
  • DIY vs. Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh
  • Gunther returns

******** 

There was a video package for the main event.

Street Fight: Cody Rhodes defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (23:54)

Nakamura started by smacking Rhodes’ chest (right on his Dream tattoo) so Rhodes took the fight to him. Rhodes attacked him around ringside and in the general vicinity of the announce desk so the crowd chanted, “We want tables.” Nakamura disappeared under the ring and reappeared with a broom. He hit Rhodes with the broom, chucked it aside and continued to attack with a kendo stick.

After a break, Nakamura missed a knee drop and Rhodes attacked him repeatedly with the kendo stick. Nakamura fought back with a series of knee strikes and kicks. Rhodes came back with a forearm, powerslam and Disaster kick for two. Rhodes grabbed a table and the crowd popped but Nakamura attacked him with nunchucks.

Rhodes grabbed a chair and Nakamura went to blow mist in his face but Rhodes ducked and Nakamura misted the timekeeper instead. Rhodes called for help but the distraction allowed Nakamura to attack him with the chair.

(Nakamura whipping Rhodes with the nunchucks led to Wade Barrett saying this wasn’t the first sickening beatdown Rhodes has taken in his career. I initially thought this might’ve been a reference to MJF and the strap but it could’ve just been a reference to his feud with Brock Lesnar.)

Nakamura was in control after a second break but Rhodes drove him into a chair wedged between the ropes, followed by jabs and two bionic elbows. Rhodes set up the table but Nakamura headbutted him and placed him on the table. Nakamura followed with a double knee drop off the top through the table for two.

Nakamura smiled as he pulled out another table (the crowd popped again) and placed it in the corner. Nakamura followed with a sliding German and flying knee strike for two. Nakamura went for Kinshasa but Rhodes hit a superkick and Pedigree for two, followed by a Cody Cutter for two.

Nakamura countered a Cross Rhodes into a cradle for two. Nakamura tried Kinshasa but Rhodes side-stepped and drove him into the corner table. Rhodes followed with Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win. Rhodes posed and the crowd was happy. 

WWE Raw live results: Three title matches

Posted on by Steve Khan

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.) 

WWE Raw live results: CM Punk makes his decision

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: December 11, 2023
Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, OH 

******** 

Show Recap —

There was a recap of Drew McIntyre’s actions last week. Jey Uso entered (wearing a Yeet t-shirt) and the announcers ran down tonight’s card. The crowd chanted, “Yeet.”

Jey said he got “Yeet” back and was excited about that. He was also excited that CM Punk was in the building and Raw would gain a real one if they signed him. However, they lost a real one in Sami Zayn and Jey wished him well. Jey called McIntyre a two-face and he was about to get got.

McIntyre entered. He had enough of Jey’s ass-kicking. He also warned Adam Pearce not to sign Punk because he would destroy this place from the inside out. (He was fine with Smackdown signing Punk.) The crowd chanted for Punk. McIntyre told the fans that, unlike them, he knew what Punk was actually like.

McIntyre said Seth Rollins got what he deserved but he apologized to Zayn for being partially responsible for putting him on the shelf. McIntyre did want a little credit for at least leaving him with one good leg. He told Jey that’s how you apologize. He justified his actions and said everyone would want revenge on someone for wronging their family.

Jey asked the crowd if they were ready to see McIntyre catch a Yeet-down and they yelled Yeet. The referee started the match.

(Michael Cole said Zayn was out indefinitely with a partially torn meniscus.) 

Drew McIntyre defeated Jey Uso (17:14)

They went to break 30 seconds into the match, came back and went to break again 5 minutes later after Jey hit a suicide dive. During the break, McIntyre slingshotted Jey into the steel frame under the ring but Jey fought back after the break with strikes and a Samoan Drop for two. McIntyre dodged a running hip attack and hit a neckbreaker.

McIntyre went for Claymore but Jey caught him with two superkicks. Jey went for an Uso Splash but McIntyre got his knees up and hit a Future Shock DDT for a nearfall. (McIntyre beat Jey with the DDT a few weeks ago.)

McIntyre removed a turnbuckle pad as the ref checked on Jey. McIntyre went for the Claymore again but Jey hit a spear for a nearfall. The ref grabbed the turnbuckle pad and very casually tried to fix it as McIntyre raked Jey’s eyes behind his back. McIntyre followed with Claymore Kick for the pinfall win.

******** 

There was a recap of Punk’s promo on Smackdown. (They included the line about not being able to trust someone who randomly punched people backstage.) 

Shinsuke Nakamura video promo

Nakamura said he has been watching Cody Rhodes talk about finishing his story for weeks and weeks but he is no closer to doing it. He was a dog chasing a car. As great as Rhodes was, it was not enough. Rhodes’ lack of respect for him would be his weakness.

Rhodes strived for the admiration of others but Nakamura freed himself of that burden long ago. Now he would paint his own story and bring Rhodes’ story to an end. Nakamura was the real night. “Always remember, you asked for this.”

This was good.

******** 

There was a Judgment Day meeting in the back. Finn Bálor said he and Rhea Ripley weren’t there for one week and now the wheels were falling off. Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh lost to the Creed Brothers last week and Dom lost his NXT North American title.

Damian Priest said it sucked that Dom lost his title but it also sucked not showing up to Raw (referring to Ripley). Priest said he and Bálor would take care of the Creeds.

Ripley heard Priest calling himself a leader but that was easier than actually being a leader. Ripley got in his face and said she was tired of the disrespect. She planned on making an example of Maxxine Dupri.

******* 

Alpha Academy and the Creeds hyped up Dupri for her match. Ivy Nile said she would join her at ringside just in case. R-Truth showed up with Christmas decorations for Judgment Day. Chad Gable warned him to be careful with Judgment Day and informed him that he wasn’t actually in their group. Truth assured Gable that he was in their group and they were just misunderstood. He wished them all a happy Thanksgiving.

********

Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley defeated Maxxine Dupri (w/Ivy Nile) (2:05)

Dupri landed one clunky-looking move before Ripley booted her and hit Rip-tide (which Dupri barely got up for). Ripley mocked her and applied a Prism Trap for the submission win.

— Ripley didn’t let go right away so Nile hit the ring. They had a staredown and Ripley held up her belt.

********

There was a Kayden Carter and Katana Chance video package.

Adam Pearce walked into CM Punk’s locker room ahead of a break.

******** 

[SECOND HOUR] 

CM Punk/Seth Rollins segment

Adam Pearce was in the ring and said it was time for CM Punk to make a decision. Pearce has known Punk for 25 years and knew he’d make the right decision. Punk entered.

The crowd chanted for Punk. Punk thought he was in a sullen mood until he saw all the signs and heard the fans. Punk has been thinking about this all week. He’s been consumed and worried about it because he loves the fans.

However, this town and this building haven’t been historically kind to him. Punk debuted in this building and he had Mickie James at his side. They immediately sent him to OVW after that. He embraced being uncomfortable and learned how to love it. He returned to Cleveland as World Heavyweight Champion but Randy Orton kicked him in the head backstage and he woke up to learn he was stripped of the title.

Ten years ago he had to take himself off the hamster wheel and make the hardest decision of his life. He always wondered if people in the building were disappointed in him when he left. He just spoke with Indi (Hartwell) backstage and she felt betrayed as a kid. He told her a story of when he saw Roddy Piper appear on WCW and felt the same way as her as a young fan. If anyone watching this was disappointed when he walked out he understood and he apologized.

Punk said Nick Aldis made a substantial offer to go to Smackdown. Shawn Michaels made him an offer to help mould the next generation of superstars. Pearce has made an offer that’s above both of those offers.

Punk had already made up his mind when he saw Cleveland on the calendar. His future starts now. Ten years almost to the day, CM Punk walked out. Now Punk walks right back in. If you’re happy about it, or mad about it, you better learn to love it. The newest Raw superstar is named CM Punk and CM Punk is home.

The crowd chanted for Punk as he signed the contract.

Seth Rollins entered.

Rollins and Punk went face-to-face. They let this sink in as the crowd buzzed with a mixture of Rollins’ song and chants for Punk.

Rollins grabbed a mic. “CM Punk, welcome to Monday Night Rollins.” Punk smirked. Rollins hoped Punk knew how incredibly fortunate he was to be standing in that ring.

Rollins said, “Don’t you dare call this place your home. You abandoned this place ten years ago. Not only did you abandon it, you actively tried to tear it down. You spent ten years slandering me, slandering every single person in that locker room and then you want to walk back in here and call this place your home? This is not your home, this is my home!”

Rollins said everybody in the back were his brothers and sisters. Everyone watching was his family. This was their home and he would do everything to protect it from people like Punk.

Rollins wanted it to be clear: “I hate you.” However, if Punk was going to be in WWE again, he wanted him on Raw because the truth always comes out. Everyone knew this was Punk’s last chance.

One of two things would happen. Punk would expose himself and self-destruct — or if by some miracle he has changed and he had any gas left, maybe he’ll be lucky enough to stand across the ring from him in a world title match and Rollins would expose him for the fraud that he was. Rollins would wrestle circles around him and show him in real-time what it meant to be the best in the world.

Punk grabbed a mic and said, “That’s your one pass for you to speak to me disrespectfully without me coming after you.” Punk said he’s never asked for anything to be handed to him and was willing to do things the hard way. Punk announced he was entering the Royal Rumble and when he won, maybe it’ll be Rollins he comes after. Punk dropped the mic and left. Rollins smiled.

******** 

Bronson Reed defeated Ivar (w/Valhalla) (7:43)

With Reed standing outside the ring, Ivar hit a cannonball off the top which didn’t look fun for either guy. They battled on the top and Reed hit a superplex (which got a big pop) for the pinfall win.

(This finish was cool but about half the match happened during a commercial break.)

********

Punk bumped into Judgment Day backstage and lightheartedly asked them where Ripley was. Priest welcomed him to their show. Priest hoped Punk was the one to finish his story because he’d be waiting when he did. (Priest held up the briefcase.) 

Judgment Day segment

Judgment Day entered (without Ripley) after a break. Priest wanted to remind everyone who they were. Bálor boasted about being tag team champions. Priest had a message for everyone: it didn’t matter if you had been dealt with already by Judgment Day, if you were a returning superstar, or new superstars like the Creeds — everyone was on notice. Dom tried to speak but gave up because of the booing.

Truth entered. He said he tried decorating their clubhouse but the front and back doors were locked. He wondered why they didn’t invite him in the ring for their holiday party. JD McDonagh screamed at Truth so Priest told him to calm down. Priest invited Truth into the ring because he wanted to hear what he had to say. Truth said they should kick out JD because nobody liked him.

Truth also advised Priest to stop calling himself the boss because it made Mami upset. Priest knew why everyone liked Truth and the crowd cheered for him. Priest added, “Everyone likes R-Truth — except me.” Priest clotheslined Truth and they all put the boots to him.

The Creed Brothers ran out to make the save but Judgment Day overwhelmed them at first. Julius fought back and hit Dom and McDonagh with a double Northern Lights. Julius wiped out Bálor before both Julius and Brutus dropped Priest with a double spinebuster.

******** 

Punk approached McIntyre in the back (as he spoke to Pearce). McIntyre said he didn’t care about Punk’s story or Rhodes’ story, he was only interested in finishing his own story. McIntyre left. Punk wondered what he did to make McIntyre upset. Pearce said he did nothing wrong and informed Punk that McIntyre was getting a world title shot against Rollins on the January 1st edition of Raw.

Kofi Kingston, Chad Gable and Ricochet appeared. Punk was pumped to see Kingston and said, “Jamaican me crazy!” Kingston laughed and said, “No no, I don’t do that anymore.” They hugged. Punk shook hands with Gable and Ricochet. He said he’s heard a lot about Gable, and heard that Ricochet was terrible at video games. Punk left.

Pearce brought Kingston, Gable and Ricochet into his office because he wanted to discuss an idea regarding the Intercontinental Championship.

******** 

Kayden Carter & Katana Chance defeated Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell (2:25)

Carter held LeRae for a neckbreaker as Chance hit a 450 splash for the pinfall win. (Cole said the move is called “The Afterparty.”)

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven were on commentary and it appears Kayden and Katana could be next in line for a tag title match.

******** 

Johnny Gargano told Tommaso Ciampa he was pumped to be in action in his hometown tonight. Ciampa asked if he was sure about their partner. Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci showed up. Kaiser was curious about who would actually team with them and asked who their mystery partner was. DIY told him not to worry about it and should instead worry about Gunther. Gunther showed up and also had serious doubts that anyone would want to be seen with them.

********

Becky Lynch walked through the back. (Nikki Cross was standing in the background.)

[THIRD HOUR]

Becky Lynch/Nia Jax segment

Lynch wanted to cut to the chance and call out Nia Jax. They have never gone one-on-one but they’ve been linked together for the past five years. She aired the clip of Jax punching her in the face and breaking her nose.

Lynch said it may be petty to bring it up now, “but damn it, I’m petty!” Lynch said everyone she faces has tried to use that moment as a burn against her but it was time they got to the root of the problem.

Lynch and Jax kept missing each other since it happened. Lynch went on to main event WrestleMania, while Jax had double ACL surgery because she was a woman so unlikeable that even her knees would not stand up for her. (The crowd liked that line.) Lynch had a child, while Jax got fired, but it was 2023 now and they were both there.

Jax entered. Jax admitted her punch was a lucky swing — a lucky swing that almost ended Lynch’s career. Imagine what would happen if she punched her with her full force. Everyone was mad that she broke Lynch’s face but it was a contact sport, so what else did she expect?

Lynch said she didn’t expect anything less. Everyone knew that Jax was the most dangerous woman in the ring. Everyone who has been in the ring with her has been injured or hospitalized or almost had their careers ended.

Jax said that’s why Lynch couldn’t stop talking about her in the two years she’s been gone. Jax almost ended careers while Lynch should be thanking Jax for her career.

Lynch said if it was only about a broken face then the fans would have moved on from her as soon as her blood dried. This was about dusting yourself off and fighting like hell. That’s what she’s done her whole life, what she did that night, and what she’s done ever since.

Lynch said Jax and her minions tried to claim she wasn’t a main event star but she proved them wrong. And now all Jax can claim is that Lynch was only a main event star because of her. That was a lie and if she couldn’t end that lie she needed to end Jax.

Jax said Lynch needed her to prove that she was about more than that one night. Otherwise, Jax would always be the woman who made the Man.

Lynch said she didn’t come to Cleveland to talk she came for a fight. Lynch dropped the mic and offered Jax a free shot. Jax said Lynch needed this more than she did. Jax left.

******** 

Jackie Redmond interviewed Cody Rhodes. Redmond asked about Punk. Rhodes congratulated Pearce on getting it done and was glad Punk and the fans were happy. But the Rumble was right around the corner and you can’t finish two stories at once and they were both aware of that.

Redmond asked about Nakamura. Rhodes would be excited about this encounter if not for Nakamura using the mist. Rhodes learned how vicious he was and that was fine with him. Rhodes said Nakamura claimed he asked for this and, “you’re damn right I did.”

********

Six-man tag team match: The Miz, Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano defeated Giovanni Vinci, Ludwig Kaiser & IC Champion Gunther (10:33)

The announcers explained the history between Miz, Ciampa and Gargano and how odd it was they were teaming together.

Gargano made a hot tag after a break before tagging in Miz who wanted to get his hands on Gunther. Miz hammered away at Gunther and hit a springboard crossbody. Miz hit It Kicks but Gunther blocked one and smashed him with a chop. Gunther applied a Boston Crab but Ciampa broke it up with a knee strike. Kaiser and Vinci took out Ciampa moments before Miz and Gargano each hit Kaiser and Vinci with tilt-a-whirl DDTs.

Miz put Gunther in a figure four while Gargano put Kaiser in a Gargano Escape but Gunther managed to tag out. Vinci hit a springboard elbow drop but Miz fought back and hit Skull Crushing Finale for the pinfall win. The crowd was really into this, particularly once Miz got in.

********

Raw next week in Des Moines, Iowa

  • Damian Priest & Finn Bálor vs. The Creed Brothers for the undisputed tag titles
  • Chelsea Green & Piper Niven vs. Kayden Carter & Katana Chance for the women’s tag titles

******** 

Gunther berated his Imperium teammates in the back before Miz confronted him. Miz wanted an IC title match. Gunther accepted under one condition: if Miz lost he couldn’t challenge for the title again as long as he was champion. Miz accepted.

********

Cody Rhodes defeated Shinsuke Nakamura via disqualification (17:41)

They wrestled for 18 minutes until Nakamura misted Rhodes for the DQ.

Nakamura maintained control before and after an early commercial break. Rhodes’ comeback attempt was quickly cut off when Nakamura countered a Cody Cutter into an armbar, which was a cool spot. Rhodes got a rope break so Nakamura followed with a sliding German suplex and a flying knee strike for two.

Nakamura went for Kinshasa but Rhodes kicked his leg out of his leg and followed with consecutive dragon screws — including one between the ropes. Rhodes hit a reverse vertical suplex and applied a single-leg Boston crab but Nakamura got a rope break. Rhodes hit a suicide dive which led to another break. They traded strikes until Rhodes hit a powerslam. Nakamura applied a sleeper hold but Rhodes broke out of it and hit a Disaster Kick for two.

Rhodes followed with jabs, a bionic elbow and Cody Cutter. Rhodes set up for Cross Rhodes but Nakamura slipped out and sprayed red mist in his face for the DQ.

— Rhodes tried to fight back despite not being able to see but Nakamura kicked his leg out from behind and hit Kinshasa.

Nakamura grabbed a chair and was about to do worse but the Creed Brothers ran out to make the save. Nakamura left.

As officials helped Rhodes to his feet outside the ring, Nakamura ran back down and hit a Kinshasa. The Creeds and officials checked on Rhodes as Nakamura walked away. 

WWE Raw live results: Seth Rollins vs. Jey Uso World title match

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: December 4, 2023
Location: MVP Arena in Albany, New York 

Show Recap —

Drew McIntyre entered. He welcomed everyone to Raw — the land of liars, hypocrites, cowards, and idiots. You can get fired, get released, leave, and do whatever you want just to come back and be instantly forgiven. That led to a CM Punk chant but McIntyre said he could be talking about anybody.

He spoke about Seth Rollins gifting Jey Uso a title opportunity and spoke about Jey actually apologizing to Randy Orton. McIntyre mocked Jey for tucking his tail between his legs and warned him that his time was coming.

Sami Zayn interrupted. Zayn saw that McIntyre had a lot to say and if he had something to say about him, he wanted to hear it face-to-face. McIntyre said Zayn was the one person in the world who deserved to get screwed by the Bloodline. Zayn was part of the Bloodline and joined them to get away from McIntyre himself. Zayn screwed them in the end, so what did he expect would happen?

Zayn said he thought he had a lot in common with McIntyre but he has realized they were nothing alike. McIntyre was pointing the fingers at everyone else. But when Zayn lost in front of his friends and family, he stayed hungry and that led him to victory in the main event of WrestleMania.

Zayn got redemption and got to make his family proud. Zayn asked McIntyre if he thought he was making his family proud. McIntyre didn’t like that comment and called out a referee to get their match started right now.

Drew McIntyre defeated Sami Zayn (20:00)

The babyface hit a dive ahead of an early break, the big heel missed a charge and went into the ring post, and the smaller babyface followed with a show of strength by hitting a vertical suplex.

Zayn followed with a tilt-a-whirl DDT for two. McIntyre responded with consecutive suplexes and a neckbreaker. Zayn tried a slingshot dive but McIntyre caught him and flung him over the announce desk leading to a second break.

McIntyre hit a spinebuster for two and followed immediately with an impressive sit-out powerbomb for two. McIntyre set up for an avalanche White Noise but Zayn countered into a sit-out powerbomb for two.

McIntyre blocked a Blue Thunder Bomb and headbutted Zayn. McIntyre went for Claymore but Zayn booted him first and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. The crowd chanted “This is awesome.”

Zayn tried a leapfrog but he landed awkwardly on his leg (which he “tweaked” earlier). McIntyre noticed the injury so he chop-blocked him which Michael Cole called a compassionless move. As the referee checked on Zayn, McIntyre hit Claymore Kick for the pinfall win. 

(This was a good match but the Zayn injury felt kind of weak. It did play into the story of McIntyre ditching his sympathies.)

******** 

Byron Saxton interviewed Shayna Baszler (who was with Zoey Stark) about facing her former partner Nia Jax. Baszler said she put Jax on the shelf two years ago by breaking her arm and she would remind her of that tonight. (Nikki Cross could be seen standing still in the background.)

******** 

There was a strong Jey Uso video package. He spoke about Jimmy Uso, the man he loved the most, costing him the Universal title. After that, he had to walk away from the business and he convinced himself that he was done — until he got a call from Cody Rhodes. Rhodes told him he couldn’t quit and it was time to start fresh and create his own legacy.

Jey has been fighting for others his entire life but from now on, he was fighting for his legacy. Jey knew what Seth Rollins was all about but Rollins was about to find out just how hungry he was. He would prove to the world, to his family, and to himself why they call him Main Event Jey Uso.

(The word “Yeet” was blurred from Jey’s shirt in the video.)

******** 

McIntyre attacked Zayn as he was being checked on by a trainer. He stomped Zayn’s injured leg before officials jumped in. (In his opening promo, McIntyre said only one of them was walking out of the arena tonight.)

Jey checked on Zayn after a break.

******** 

Saxton tried interviewing Becky Lynch but Jax interrupted. Jax wondered who Lynch was talking about in her promo last week. Lynch said that, in fact, she still owed Jax a receipt. Jax said she would be all hers once she was done squashing Baszler.

Nia Jax defeated Shayna Baszler (12:09)

Baszler targeted Jax’s arm but Jax tripped her on the apron and hit a leg drop. Baszler fought out of a rest hold after a break (as a very large graphic let us know Rhodes would be on later) but Jax squished her head into the ring post with a hip attack. Jax cut off Baszler’s comeback attempt and hit a Samoan Drop.

Baszler avoided a hip attack, drove Jax into the bottom turnbuckle and hit a running knee strike for two. Jax cut her off again and hit a senton for a nearfall. With Jax perched on the second rope, Baszler brought her down with a German suplex (which didn’t get the reaction you’d expect).

[SECOND HOUR]

Baszler applied the Kirifuda Clutch but Jax got to her feet and fell backwards onto Baszler. Jax dragged her to the corner and hit Annihilator for the pinfall win.

(The crowd was really quiet for this and it sounded like they added some booing after the pinfall.)

— Lynch entered post-match but Jax bailed.

******** 

They played clips of CM Punk’s return promo. Triumphant music played over Punk’s words about being a changed man and how much he loved the fans. (They didn’t include the last line he said off-mic as he looked into the camera.)

They said Punk was a free agent and announced that he’d be on Friday’s Smackdown (in Providence, RI).

******** 

Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell wished Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa luck in their match. Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser showed up and called them a lovely couple — of losers. LeRae and Hartwell mocked them and said they better impress Gunther.

After DIY left, Kaiser stressed the importance of this match to Vinci and told him to bring his best. Vinchi slapped him on the back and said he hoped Kaiser did the same.

2-out-of-3 falls match: Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa defeated Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci (15:17)

DIY set up Kaiser for Meet in the Middle but Vinci saved him by yanking Gargano out of the ring. Kaiser schoolboyed Ciampa while holding the tights to win the first fall (4:38 into the match).

Gargano and Ciampa wiped out Vinci and Kaiser with dives moments later. DIY did the thing where they sit on the announce table and give themselves a hand despite having just lost the first fall.

Their celebration ran short because Imperium was back in control following a break. Imperium went for a double-team move but Ciampa blocked Kaiser and the distraction allowed Gargano to roll up Vinci to win the second fall (10:12 into the match).

Kaiser hit Gargano with a Finlay roll and Vinci followed with an impressive double springboard moonsault for two. This led to everyone trading strikes until Gargano planted Vinci with a DDT. The crowd gave them a round of applause.

Ciampa hit Kaiser with an air raid crash and DIY set up for Meet in the Middle again but again Vinci saved Kaiser. Kaiser tried rolling up Gargano while holding the tights again but Gargano kicked out. DIY took turns kicking Kaiser before hitting Meet in the Middle for the pinfall win.

(The crowd got into this towards the end and they were a bit more into DIY this week.)

******** 

Julius and Brutus Creed warmed up by doing squats with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods on their shoulders. The Creed Brothers told New Day they were feeling good about their coming match against Judgment Day.

Alpha Academy showed up and Chad Gable offered to show them some tips. The Creeds politely declined and said they’d stick to their methods. Akira Tozawa was about to do his dance but Maxxine Dupri placed him on her shoulders and she did squats (like Kris Statlander).

******** 

R-Truth was once again in Judgment Day’s locker room. Damian Priest was annoyed and wanted him to leave. Truth thought he was talking to JD McDonagh so he told McDonagh to leave. McDonagh was pissed and demanded Truth leave. (McDonagh was slightly insecure and double-checked with Priest first.) Truth said they should tighten up security and he left.

Priest was sick of McIntyre but Dominik reminded him that Rhea Ripley told them not to touch Drew. Priest didn’t care and noted that Ripley and Finn Bálor weren’t even there tonight. (The crowd loudly groaned when he said Ripley wasn’t there.) Priest said he was in charge tonight and told them to handle the Creed Brothers tonight.

********

Kayden Carter & Katana Chance defeated Natalya & Tegan Nox (4:49)

Natalya tagged and tried a discus clothesline but Chance ducked and hit a Codebreaker. Chance and Carter tried a double-team move but Natalya powerbombed them both off the ropes. Carter blocked a suplex and hit a superkick. Carter and Chance hit their double team “Keg Stand” move for the pinfall win. (Carter cut off Nox before she could break up the cover.)

— Green was irate when Carter and Chance won. Cole was understandably confused and noted that somebody had to win the match. Carter and Chance knocked Green off the apron.

********

[THIRD HOUR]

Cody Rhodes/Shinsuke Nakamura segment

A very focused Cody Rhodes entered (in his gear). He didn’t start with his usual line.

Rhodes said the first time he encountered poison mist was as a child and he was terrified of the man who did it — The Great Muta. After having seen it up close last week, he realized his fears as a child were justified.

However, it was his own fault for not paying attention to the clues being dropped by Shinsuke Nakamura. He was focused on his greater aspirations including the Royal Rumble. Nakamura had his attention and he was ready. Rhodes invited Nakamura to emerge from the shadows and explain himself — or he could march to the ring and they could fight right now.

Nakamura appeared on the screen. Nakamura said he made Rhodes’ eyes burn last week but tonight he would open them. He would show Rhodes what he wasn’t seeing: the path they’ve taken is the same story. Clips aired of both men winning the Rumble match only to fall short at WrestleMania. (Nakamura against AJ Styles, Rhodes against Roman Reigns.)

Nakamura said they suffered the same humiliation and were left with pages unwritten. The devil in Rhodes’ mind was that he would never make it back. Rhodes has awoken Nakamura who would unburden him and take the story off his hands. Nakamura never got to finish his story, so now he would finish Cody’s.

They cut back to Rhodes who said their stories were not the same even if they shared a similar path. Rhodes wouldn’t respect Nakamura unless he faced him in the ring. If Nakamura thought they were the same — he should prove it.

********

Jey Uso asked Adam Pearce for an update on Zayn. Pearce said he was still being evaluated. Jey threatened to go after McIntyre but Pearce reminded him that he had bigger things to focus on tonight. Jey was well aware and was pumped up for his match. Jey left.

Gunther approached Pearce and they agreed to talk over some ideas.

******** 

The Creed Brothers (w/Ivy Nile) defeated JD McDonagh & NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio (10:48)

Brutus did squats with Dom up in a delayed vertical suplex and the crowd began cheering but the cheers were for Truth who made his way down to join Judgment Day at ringside (while holding a Buffalo Bills WWE title belt). Dom shoved Julius off the apron and McDonagh wiped out both Creeds with a dive ahead of a break. (Dom and JD posed while sitting on the apron, not unlike DIY.)

Dom tried three amigos but Brutus countered and hit a suplex of his own. Julius tagged in and handed out several overhead suplexes to both men, kipping up after each one. The crowd got into that. Dom yanked Brutus off the apron as McDonagh dropped Julius on his head with a poisonrana. Dom hit Julius with a 619 for two.

Brutus pounced Dom over the announce table moments before the Creeds hit the combo Brutus Ball on McDonagh for the pinfall win.

(This was pretty good and they brought more life out of the crowd than some third-hour matches we’ve seen lately.)

******** 

Adam Pearce informed Seth Rollins that he has invited CM Punk to Raw next week and planned on signing him to an exclusive Raw contract. Rollins laughed and said he didn’t care. Rollins said Pearce had to do his own business but when this blew up in his face, to stay out of his (Rollins’) business.

Jey approached Rollins. Jey said he’s been waiting 15 years for this and he was looking at the next world champion. Rollins said he would stomp Jey’s head in the first chance he got. Jey said he’d kick his face off the first chance he got. They bumped fists.

******** 

Priest asked McDonagh and Dom what happened in their match. McDonagh blamed it on Truth being out there in a Ripley shirt. Dom warned Priest that the Creeds were legit. McDonagh was confident in Priest and Bálor but agreed with Dom’s sentiment. Priest understood.

(Gunther could be seen admonishing Kaiser in the background.)

******** 

Raw next week in Cleveland:

  • Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
  • CM Punk appears

******** 

Cole said tonight was an emotional one for Jey because it was 14 years ago today since the passing of Umaga and Jey has dedicated the match to him.

Seth Rollins defeated Jey Uso to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (22:55)

This was an excellent WWE-style main event.

After a break, Rollins hit a running knee strike, springboard senton and lionsault for two. Jey came back with a pop-up neckbreaker for two and a backbreaker for two. Rollins set up for a powerbomb into the barricade but Jey blocked it and hit a DDT on the outside.

They exchanged strikes after a break. Rollins hit a suicide dive but Jey fought back and hit one of his own. They both went down after colliding with crossbody attempts. Jey hammered away at Rollins (as the crowd yelled “Yeet”) but Rollins dropped him with a clothesline. There was a modest “CM Punk” chant directed at Rollins.

Jey followed with an enziguri and a running hip attack but Rollins followed with a slingblade and frog splash for two. Rollins hit a superkick but Jey hit two superkicks and hit an Uso splash for a nearfall. Rollins followed with a superplex into a falcon arrow for two. Rollins followed immediately with a Pedigree for a nearfall. Jey followed with a spear for a nearfall.

Jey went for another spear but Rollins kicked him and hit a buckle bomb. Rollins seemed to be going for the stomp but Jey speared him and hit another Uso splash for a very close nearfall. The crowd chanted “Holy shit.”

Jey hit a superkick and tried another spear but Rollins countered that into a Pedigree. Rollins followed with a curb stomp for the pinfall win.

— Jey shook hands with Rollins after the match.

As Jey was hunched over outside the ring, McIntyre (wearing a hood) flew in and dropped him with a Claymore Kick. Rollins tried a dive but McIntyre caught him and suplexed him. McIntyre slammed Jey through the table as the crowd booed. McIntyre grabbed Jey by the head and told him that the truth would set him free.

(This was a good closing angle that Cole tried to ruin by stating, “Drew McIntyre is a bad dude with issues.”) 

WWE Raw live results: CM Punk returns

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: November 27, 2023
Location: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN 

******** 

Show Recap —

There was a recap of the Survivor Series main event and the return of CM Punk.

There’s a new Raw theme song. Michael Cole said this may be the most anticipated episode of Raw ever. Wade Barrett announced that the first hour tonight is commercial-free. Cole said the polarizing and controversial CM Punk will have a live mic tonight.

********

Randy Orton entered to start the show. (He wore a black t-shirt and black pants.)

Orton posed around the ring and really soaked in the moment. He even signed a toy figurine of himself for a young fan in the front row as he entered.

Orton said it sounded like a few people missed him and there was a loud “Welcome back” chant. Orton had plenty of time to think about his accomplishments while he was gone, but he had never done one particular thing and that was to compete at WarGames. When his dear friend Cody Rhodes called him, he said “of course” he was in.

Orton said WarGames was invented by Dusty Rhodes (the crowd cheered) and to be part of that match was to be part of “professional wrestling” history.

Orton also came back because he had unfinished business with the Bloodline. Orton admitted he made a name for himself by putting people on the shelf so he could forgive — but he could not forget. He had receipts for every single member of the Bloodline. And he meant every member. Orton said the receipts would come in the form of an RKO.

Rhea Ripley entered. (She wore all black with a black trench coat.) She noted Orton teamed with someone who tried to end his career and had his big return upstaged. She did think Orton looked more dangerous than ever and that shouldn’t be wasted. The Bloodline has fallen and Judgment Day has risen.

She called WarGames a bump in the road because they were all dripping in gold. That included Damian Priest and Finn Bálor holding the same tag titles that Orton almost gave his career to. If it wasn’t for Orton, Priest would also be the world champion. They could make life hell for Orton and put him out permanently. The crowd chanted “RKO.”

Orton said he’s been paying attention to the show while he was gone and there was a lot of talk about Mami, but guess what — “Daddy’s back.” The crowd enjoyed that. Orton knew things had changed while he was gone but one thing that would never change is that nobody told him what to do.

Ripley laughed. She said she tried to give him an out but he was their enemy now. Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh (wearing a soft neck brace) attacked him from behind. Orton fought them off and planted McDonagh with an RKO.

Orton told Dom not to go too far because he was going to find Adam Pearce and get Dom in a match tonight.

******** 

There was a segment backstage with Alpha Academy, New Day and Creed Brothers. Chad Gable said Otis and Akira Tozawa would represent Alpha Academy tonight. Maxxine Dupri and Ivy Nile showed up and introduced musician Jelly Roll who was excited to be there. R-Truth showed up because he was hungry upon hearing “Jelly Roll.” Tozawa did his dance.

The Creed Brothers won Tag Team Turmoil (25:56)

This was a fairly typical WWE gauntlet match where the individual matches were short so everyone was losing easier/quicker than usual. That said, the Creed Brothers came across very well beating the three top teams in the match in a row. 

Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa defeated Otis & Akira Tozawa (w/Chad Gable & Maxxine Dupri) (3:12)

Tozawa set up for a dive off of Otis’ shoulders but Gargano kicked Otis’ leg out of his leg and Ciampa caught Tozawa with a knee strike. DIY hit Tozawa with Meet in the Middle for the pinfall elimination. 

(The remaining turmoil match times include brief entrances.) 

Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa defeated Indus Sher (2:24)

Indus Sher attacked DIY outside the ring and dominated for a bit but Gargano stacked up Veer in a cradle for the pinfall elimination. The crowd was dead for this portion.

The Creed Brothers defeated Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa (4:44)

The crowd woke up a bit and there were light chants for DIY. They tried Meet in the Middle but Brutus tackled Ciampa. Julius powerbombed Garagno and the Creeds hit the Brutus Bomb for the pinfall elimination.

The Creed Brothers (w/Ivy Nile) vs. Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods (7:15)

New Day entered wearing Nashville Predators jerseys. This was a back-and-forth match and the Creed Brothers came out on top. Julius rolled through on a Kingston high cross and hit a fallaway slam before Brutus wiped out Woods with a moonsault off the apron. The Creeds hit Brutus Bomb for the pinfall elimination.

The Creed Brothers (w/Ivy Nile) defeated Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci (8:21)

The crowd was quiet for this until Julius hit both members of Imperium with a double Northern Lights suplex. They set up for Brutus Bomb but Kaiser raked the eyes of Julius while Vinci shoved Brutus off the top. Imperium set up for something but Julius leaped over Vinci and hit Kaiser with a superplex. (This was technically a botched spot because Julius tried to leap off of Vinci’s back and he slipped, but he recovered and was able to hit a nice superplex anyway.)

The Creeds hit Vinci with the Brutus Bomb for the final elimination. Julius and Brutus earn a title shot.

******** 

Bálor approached Priest in Judgment Day’s clubhouse. Bálor put over the Creed Brothers and said they needed to be ready. Priest was feeling insecure and for sure thought that they were all going to blame him for their loss at Survivor Series.

Bálor, Ripley and Dom assured him everything was fine and they were all family. Priest was relieved. He asked how McDonagh was doing. Bálor said he was in medical and they should go check on him. (Ripley smirked in Priest’s direction after he left.)

They went to break for the first time about 54 minutes into the show.

[SECOND HOUR]

Cody Rhodes promo 

Rhodes came out to a big reception. He wanted to thank his teammates after their win at WarGames and he mentioned each one individually. (The crowd yelled “Yeet” for Jey Uso and sang Seth Rollins’ song.)

Rhodes said Orton was a mentor to him early in his career and is still a mentor now. Orton gave him a lot of memories and gave him another one in WarGames. Orton handed Priest to him so he could hit Cross Rhodes and get the win, not just in any match, but his dad’s match. The crowd chanted for Dusty.

The other story Rhodes wanted to talk about was the return of CM Punk. The crowd chanted for Punk. Nobody knew that was going to happen and nobody knew what was going to happen next. That’s why everyone would tune in to see him speak tonight. Rhodes just wanted to say to Punk: “Welcome back.”

Rhodes said one fisherman always spots the other fisherman from afar and there were a lot of stories happening right now, so Rhodes had an announcement. The fans knew him by now and knew there was only one destination for him. Rhodes announced that he would be the first to declare himself for the 2024 Royal Rumble match.

The lights dimmed and Shinsuke Nakamura appeared on the screen. Nakamura said Rhodes needed to continue his story but Nakamura needed Rhodes to awaken him and set him free. Nakamura was patient for weeks but he was tired of waiting. “I will bring chaos to you.”

Fans started shrieking because Nakamura appeared behind Rhodes. Rhodes turned around and Nakamura sprayed red mist in his face.

******** 

The announcers thanked Living Colour for “Cult of Personality.” Cole called Punk’s return “the most-watched social moment in WWE history.”

Bronson Reed vs. Ivar (w/Valhalla) went to a double count-out (8:41)

Reed hit a vertical suplex early on but Ivar caught him with a spin kick outside the ring (thanks to a Valhalla distraction) and squished him into the ring’s video board. Reed was back on offence after a break and hit machine gun chops in the corner. Ivar responded with repeated back elbows but Reed followed with a senton. Ivar came back with a powerslam for two.

Valhalla told Ivar to go to the top so he tried a moonsault but Reed moved. Reed went to the top and the crowd buzzed but he stopped what he was doing because Valhalla jumped on the apron and threatened to hit him. The ref tossed her out.

They battled in the timekeeper’s area which led to Reed giving Ivar a DVD into the side of the barricade — and they were counted out. This could’ve been better.

— Ivar popped up quickly and hit Reed with a chair. They battled through the crowd which led to a WWE employee getting squished by Reed. Reed also used a security guard as a lawn dart. Ivar hit a cannonball off an equipment box and the crowd chanted “Holy sh*t.” Officials and security finally separated them.

******** 

Nia Jax approached Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler in the back (earlier tonight). Jax sarcastically congratulated Stark on her effort against Ripley. Baszler told Jax to shut up or else. Stark stood up for herself and challenged Jax to a match tonight. Jax agreed.

They showed a bunch of social media videos of people reacting to Punk’s return.

Priest, Bálor and McDonagh returned to their clubhouse only to find Truth with a plate full of desserts on their couch and sugar spilled everywhere. They were pissed and asked what he was doing there. Truth offered to be their partner at WarGames. Priest said the match already happened and Truth asked how they did. They kicked him out. McDonagh said he would take care of Truth.

********

Nia Jax defeated Zoey Stark (9:04)

Stark hit a springboard clothesline off the top to the outside but Jax was in control after a break. Stark avoided a charge and Jax went into the ring post. Stark hit a corkscrew senton onto the leg of Jax. Jax set up for Annihilator but Stark kicked her leg and tried a cradle for two. Stark followed with a springboard dropkick for two.

Stark went to the top but Jax tripped her and followed with a Samoan Drop, senton and Annihilator for the pinfall win.

******** 

Gunther approached Imperium in the back. He wanted them to go to Pearce and sort out the DIY issue. Vinci was about to make a promise but Kaiser cut him off and said he promised to get it done.

Miz approached Gunther. Miz saw Gunther’s press conference and noted Gunther wanted his next opponent to challenge him to his face. Miz challenged him. Gunther asked if he was sure about that. Miz knew he could take the title off his shoulder and said Gunther knew it too. Gunther said Miz was no threat to his legendary title reign. He did give Miz credit for bringing the fight and said he did belong in the ring, just not with him.

********

Seth Rollins entered. 

[THIRD HOUR]

The announcers said Saturday was the most watched Survivor Series ever.

Seth Rollins/Drew McIntyre segment

This started like every Rollins promo where he did his catchphrases and the crowd sang until he held up the mic and a portion of the crowd chanted for CM Punk instead of singing his song. Rollins removed his shades and invited the Punk fans to keep going. He didn’t want to spend one more ounce of energy on that hypocrite.

Rollins instead wanted to talk about the championship he’s made the most important in the industry. Rollins admitted he wasn’t feeling too good days removed from WarGames but he was starting to get the itch to be a fighting champion again.

Drew McIntyre interrupted. McIntyre said it’s been a crazy 48 hours. People were talking about the two of them and things that happened outside the ring. McIntyre wanted to shake Rollins’ hand and congratulate him on the victory. Rollins shook his hand.

McIntyre said Judgment Day had a grand plan but it appears their plan was to lose. He also thought he needed to put Jey Uso on the back burner and focus on the world title. McIntyre admitted that Rollins was right when he said he could only blame himself for losing at Crown Jewel.

McIntyre had a moment of hesitation while feeling sympathy when he saw Rollins down during the match. McIntyre thought about Rollins’ daughter in the moment and told him to stay down but Rollins slapped him in the face. McIntyre said Rollins was right so slap him in the face. McIntyre was done with sympathy and he wanted a damn rematch.

Rollins thought McIntyre did deserve a rematch but there were a couple of people who deserved it a bit more. Rollins announced that he would be defending the title on Raw next week. McIntyre asked who the opponent was.

Rollins said it was Jey Uso. The crowd said Yeet. Rollins was about to reason with McIntyre but McIntyre immediately headbutted him (which drew a splash of blood on McIntyre’s forehead). McIntyre suplexed Rollins and told him he just beat Jey two weeks ago.

Jey Uso entered and hammered away at McIntyre as the crowd said Yeet. Jey and Rollins superkicked him out of the ring.

Jey picked up the belt and deliberately handed it to Rollins.

******** 

Sami Zayn confronted McIntyre in the back about headbutting Rollins. McIntyre said Zayn couldn’t understand what he was going through but Zayn said he knew exactly what he was going through. Every disappointment McIntyre has had in his career, Zayn has had it ten times over. But he kept moving forward because he knew the end game for him was to win the world title.

Zayn said McIntyre was already a two-time champion, 6’6” and full of muscle but he was acting like a spoiled brat. Zayn said, “You’re better than that.” McIntyre acted sincere for a moment before telling Zayn he’d go to Pearce and request a match next week against him.

********

Chelsea Green & Piper Niven defeated Natalya & Tegan Nox to retain the Tag Team Championships (8:42)

After an early commercial, Natalya hit Green with a sit-out powerbomb for two. Nox tagged in and hit Green with a Molly-go-round but Niven broke up the cover. Natalya and Nox suplexed Green into the barricade but Niven knocked them both down with a cannonball off the apron. Niven hit Nox with a running crossbody in the ring for the pinfall win. Green was ecstatic to learn they retained the titles. The crowd was quiet for this too.

******** 

Jey approached Orton in the back. He wanted to find Orton before Orton found him. Jey thanked him for having his back at WarGames. He heard what Orton said earlier about receipts but what happened back in the day was in the past. Rhodes trusted him and brought him and was trying to do what was right. Orton was good with Jey — as long as he was out of the Bloodline. Jey said he was out. They shook hands.

********

Next week on Raw:

  • Seth Rollins vs. Jey Uso for the World Championship
  • Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre

******** 

Jackie Redmond (whose outfit looked like Rollins’ outfit) interviewed Becky Lynch. Lynch felt like she went to war in an epic battle on Saturday — and looked like it (she pointed at scars on her face). It also felt like a night of making amends but there was a thin line between love and hate. Lynch said she had a couple of fights on the horizon and one was more pressing than the other.

********

Cole said Orton has been training differently since his surgery and is focusing on cardio and reps using lighter weights and feels better than he has in years. Cole also suggested Dom get in the gym with Orton (which is certainly an interesting comment).

Randy Orton defeated NXT North American Championship Dominik Mysterio (w/JD McDonagh) in a non-title match (9:23)

After a break, Orton tried a backdrop onto the announce table but Dom landed on his feet and shoved him into the steel steps. Orton sold this great before fighting back with clotheslines, a powerslam and draping DDT.

Orton set up for an RKO but McDonagh pulled Dom out of the ring. Jelly Roll (the musician from earlier) shoved McDonagh. Dom got in his face so Jelly Roll shoved him too. Orton grabbed Dom and launched him way up in the air to hit a backdrop onto the announce desk. The crowd chanted “one more time” so Orton hit another. (All of these things should have been disqualifications.)

Orton dropped McDonagh with a draping DDT but that allowed Dom to hit a dropkick and 619. Dom missed a frog splash and Orton hit an RKO for the pinfall win.

********

CM Punk’s locker room door was shown as they went to break. There will be about 8 minutes left in the show when they come back for the final segment.

******** 

CM Punk promo 

Punk entered wearing his new black WWE-issued t-shirt and black jeans. The crowd chanted his name as he entered.

Punk started with “looks like hell froze over” (which is how Bret Hart started his return promo). Punk said hell froze over because he was standing in a WWE ring with a live mic, not because he was a Blackhawks fan being cheered in the Predators building. He laughed and said he had to be himself.

He’s been thinking of the language to express how he feels. He thought of two words and was afraid of how corny it would sound. Punk said he’s changed and an American Dream once taught him that as long as you speak from the heart you cannot go wrong because it was the truth. The truth was: “I’m home.” The crowd cheered.

Punk didn’t know how he’d react but he knew this was home. He’s been gone for 10 years but in that time, the fans never forgot him even when he maybe wanted to forget himself. People all over the world never stopped chanting his name. The crowd chanted his name.

The voiceless found their voice and he couldn’t be more proud of them. He was back because he loved the fans. He wished he could say that he never had to leave. Once upon a time, a wise man said he’d have to leave and come back. He hated to admit the wise man was right.

Saturday night was an amazing moment. Monday night was an amazing moment. Everybody in the back was happy to see him. It’s been all hugs and even a few kisses on the cheek. People have been asking about AJ and he said she’s doing great. The crowd cheered.

It’s been open arms from everyone. Well, almost everyone. He knew that everyone here competed to be the best in the world but the best in the world hasn’t been there in 10 years.

Punk understood being afraid. They’re afraid that he set the bar too high and the brass ring was in his back pocket. They’re afraid because the most dangerous man just walked into the front door and there’s nothing they can do about it.

Some people will wake up and realize their efforts to be the best in the world in the ring, on this microphone and even commentary was false. Because the best in the world was back in the middle of the ring and his name was CM Punk. Punk dropped the mic as the fans said his name.

Punk looked into the camera and, off mic, said he wasn’t here to make friends and was here to make money.

(They quickly went off the air about 2 minutes after the top of the hour.)