The combination of the 25th anniversary of DX, a post-Extreme Rules bump, and the expectation of Bray Wyatt appearing led to Raw doing by far its best numbers since football season started.
Last night’s Raw averaged 1.82 million viewers overall and drew a 0.55 rating in 18-49. As is usual for the bringing back nostalgia acts, it’s actually the younger audience not the older audience that increases the most.
The audience was up 14 percent in viewers from last week, but up 37 percent in 18-49 and up 48 percent in 18-34.
Raw finished fifth behind the Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs NFL game that did 15.79 million viewers and a 4.65 in 18-49 on ESPN, which is a great rating and makes the Raw number even more impressive. Raw also finished behind the postgame show, the kickoff show, and SportsCenter after the postgame show.
Raw finished fifth behind the same shows in women 18-49, sixth (also behind the NFL Countdown show) in men 18-49, fifth in 18-34, fifth in women 12-34, and fifth in men 12-34. It finished 13th in total viewers behind only NFL and news related shows.
As compared to last year, Raw was up 15 percent in viewers, up 32 percent in 18-49, and up 42 percent in 18-34. If you factor in cable losing homes over the last year, the real ratings percentage increases figured internally by the station would be up 20 percent in viewers, up 40 percent in 18-49, and up 48 percent in 18-34.
Because DX was kept for last, and no live Wyatt stuff was in the first two hours, the third hour drop was less than usual. Women 18-49 dropped seven percent from the first to third hour. Men 18-49 also dropped seven percent. Females 12-34 stayed even and males 12-34 dropped five percent, while people over 50 dropped nine percent.
WWE was at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York for last night’s season premiere edition of Raw.
Multiple returns took place on the episode. The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) made their return to WWE, reuniting with AJ Styles and helping him even the odds against The Judgment Day. Brock Lesnar also came back to WWE television and cost Bobby Lashley the United States title.
An attack by Lesnar left Lashley in no condition to compete, but Lashley chose to still go on with his title match against Seth Rollins after Rollins provoked him. Rollins won the United States title with a pair of stomps.
Also on last night’s Raw, D-Generation X appeared for their 25th anniversary celebration, a new message from Bray Wyatt aired, and more.
Date: October 25, 2021 Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX
The Big Takeaway —
A four-way ladder match was by far the highlight of Raw. Seth Rollins won the match over Kevin Owens, Finn Bálor and Rey Mysterio to earn a title shot against Big E.
It seemed like they would have a hot crowd but they got quiet very quickly and only got up for RK-Bro and the main event.
Becky Lynch defends her title against Bianca Belair next week.
Show Recap —
Raw kicked off with the intro video, which now includes the host city name, and a big fireworks display.
WWE Champion Big E came out to start the show. Big E was excited to have the season premiere of Raw in Houston — a place that gave us DJ Screw, Mitchell & Ness Oilers throwbacks and a Pappadeaux on every corner. The crowd cheered and chanted, “let’s go Astros.” Big E wished them luck. (They don’t need luck.)
Big E gave a shout-out to Xavier Woods for winning King of the Ring. Big E also gave credit to Drew McIntyre for making him a better champion. He wondered who was next. Seth Rollins interrupted. Rollins danced to his own music and Big E did the same.
Rollins was in a good mood and said Big E knew why he was out there. Big E laughed and said he lost to Edge. Rollins’ mood changed. He wanted the title. Big E again reminded him that he lost to Edge. Rollins said he went through hell and wondered if Big E wanted to be like Roman Reigns or be a fighting champion.
Rey Mysterio interrupted. Mysterio said Rollins must not be seeing right after Edge bashed his head in. He and Rollins have never seen “eye-to-eye” but it was him who deserved a title match instead. Mysterio ran down his accomplishments and said he would do whatever it takes to win the title one more time.
Finn Bálor came out next. Bálor had nothing but love for Mysterio but ran down his own accomplishments while also reminding Rollins that he was the first-ever Universal title. Bálor has never held the WWE Championship and he wants it.
Kevin Owens entered next. Owens wanted to play along and ran down his accomplishments too, including winning the Universal title right here in Houston over Rollins. Rollins attacked Owens but they fought him off and Rollins bailed before Owens could give him a stunner.
Sonya Deville entered (and was booed) and made a fatal four-way match to determine Big E’s next challenger. She remembered it was the season premiere and decided to make it a ladder match. Rollins was displeased.
This was the usual WWE opening segment but the crowd enjoyed it.
********
The winner of the next match earns a tag title shot against RK-Bro tonight.
Triple threat match: Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler defeated The Street Profits and Alpha Academy (10:27)
They went to break less than three minutes into the match after Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins cleared the ring. With no explanation, Roode was in control over Ford after the break. Ziggler tried a Fameasser but Ford countered into a sit-out powerbomb. Otis pulled Ziggler into his corner and tagged himself in, but Ford dodged a charge and Otis went into the post.
Dawkins tagged in and ran wild on everyone. He gave Gable the Silencer (double-underhook neckbreaker) but Roode broke up the cover. Otis and Gable did a combo clothesline/German suplex but Ford broke up the cover with a frog splash on Gable before wiping out Otis with a dive.
Omos marched out so Ford tried a dive for some reason but Omos caught him and chucked him into the barricade. Roode and Ziggler gave Dawkins a combo spinebuster/Zig-Zag for the pinfall win.
Roode and Ziggler will face Randy Orton and Riddle for the titles tonight. (Riddle was shown clapping at the result but Orton gave him a look so Riddle tried to act serious.)
********
Queen’s Crown coronation
Queen Zelina wasn’t happy with Mike Rome’s introduction so she made him do it again. She bragged about winning and said we should have seen this coming. She continued to brag and ended by saying, all hail Queen Zelina. The crowd didn’t care about this. (Vega used an English accent for some of her promo but not the whole thing, which was distracting.)
Queen Zelina defeated Doudrop (2:32)
Vega only got a nearfall after a Codebreaker so she resorted to removing the turnbuckle pad. As the referee tried fixing it, Vega hit Doudrop with the sceptre for the pinfall win.
This was as quiet as a crowd has been for something on Raw since they returned to live fans.
[Second Hour]
Becky Lynch promo
As Lynch entered, Jimmy Smith mentioned the “contentious” title exchange on Smackdown.
Lynch received a strong reaction. She was happy to be Raw Women’s Champion again and said nobody ever beat her for the title. She also overcame the odds in her triple threat match over Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair.
Lynch didn’t think anyone wanted to see Belair anywhere near her title. It was time for some of the other women, like Rhea Ripley or Liv Morgan. She said the fans hated Ripley so they must want Lynch to beat her.
Belair interrupted. She said she wasn’t the one who lost the triple threat match and Lynch had to resort to cheating to win. Belair has beaten Banks, Bayley, and Charlotte Flair (last week via DQ) and wanted Lynch next. Belair wanted to be the face of Raw.
Lynch figured Belair might say that so she showed pictures of their faces following their match on Thursday. Lynch said Belair’s sad face was the face of a loser. She said Belair has had a straight ride to the top because she wasn’t there to stop her, but now that she’s back, Belair hasn’t had much success.
Belair said it bothered Lynch that the fans were cheering for her because Lynch was still seeking validation. Lynch was nothing without the title and they both knew it. Belair wanted a match but Lynch told her, “get to the back of the line, bitch.”
Belair attacked Lynch. Lynch tried attacking with a kendo stick but Belair simply caught it and attacked her with it. Lynch escaped a KOD and gave Belair a Russian leg sweep using the kendo stick. Lynch accepted the match — just not for tonight.
The crowd seemed to like both women but they got quiet once Lynch started acting like a heel.
********
Owens approached Bálor in the back. Owens said he respected few people as much as Bálor but he was going to do whatever it took to win. Bálor said it was every man for himself and was perfectly fine with that.
********
They announced that WrestleMania would be two nights once again.
There was a graphic during the next match letting us know that Bearcat Lee was clawing his way to Raw tonight.
Non-title match: US Champion Damian Priest defeated T-Bar via DQ (2:39)
Priest has a new entrance, which is not an improvement.
They were having a competitive match until T-Bar chucked a leather chair at Priest for the DQ. This pissed off Priest who clotheslined T-Bar, dropped the chair on him and clobbered away until finishing him off with the Reckoning.
********
Carmella called herself the diamond of WWE and talked about how good-looking she is.
Carmella defeated Liv Morgan (3:06)
Carmella wrestled in her mask. The crowd lightly chanted for Morgan who planted Carmella face-first into the announce desk but only got a two count with a roll-up in the ring. Carmella came right back with a facebuster for the pinfall win.
********
Keith “Bearcat” Lee defeated Cedric Alexander (w/Shelton Benjamin) (2:27)
This was a squash match and Lee won with the Big Bang Catastrophe.
Lee has new music which starts with the roar of a bear. Lee also roars before entering the ring. The announcers are still calling him “Keith,” so his first name hasn’t been eliminated.
After the match, Benjamin sized up Lee as his back was turned but backed off once he turned around.
********
Earlier tonight, Dominik approached Rey in the locker room. Rey said it’s been a while since he had a ladder match. Dominik was confident he could win.
Austin Theory approached and asked for a selfie with Rey before asking Dominik to take the picture. Dominik got in his face and said he wasn’t a photographer and this wasn’t Theory’s locker room. Theory challenged him to a match and he accepted.
Austin Theory defeated Dominik Mysterio (2:57)
Theory mocked Eddie Guerrero’s pose after some quick offense. Dominik fought back briefly but Theory took him down with a backbreaker for two. Dominik used a small package for two followed by a bulldog. Theory cut him off and hit his new version of the ATL for the pinfall win.
(Dominik towers over his dad but looked very small next to Theory.)
********
Riddle ran over Halloween costume ideas with Orton who wasn’t interested in talking about Halloween until after they won tonight. He warned Riddle about how dangerous Roode and Ziggler were. Riddle agreed that they should focus and clean up those dirty dogs. Orton didn’t appreciate the humour.
[Third Hour]
There was a video package informing us that Veer is coming to Raw. He was on Raw last week.
Randy Orton & Riddle defeated Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships (11:39)
The crowd had been quiet all night since the opening segment but they woke up for Orton and Riddle.
The heels took over before a break after Roode dropped Riddle on the apron. Riddle dodged a charge after the break and made the hot tag to Orton who gave Roode clotheslines and a powerslam. Orton set up for a draping DDT but got distracted by Ziggler who was just yelling at him and this allowed Roode to launch him into the barricade.
Roode held a chin lock but Orton hit a back suplex and tagged in Riddle who handed out kicks and suplexes and sentons to both opponents. Riddle covered Ziggler but Roode broke up the cover. Orton gave Roode an RKO but Ziggler superkicked Orton.
Riddle and Ziggler traded cradles until Riddle caught him in a small package for the pinfall win.
********
Kevin Patrick asked Rollins if he thought he had a target on his back. Rollins said of course he did because he was the biggest threat to Big E and everybody knew it. Rollins said none of that mattered because he was a revolutionary and visionary and would tonight before becoming the next champion.
********
There was a recap of Goldberg beating Bobby Lashley on Thursday.
Lynch will defend her title against Belair next week.
********
Owens was pumped before the match and bashed his own head against a ladder during his entrance (cutting his forehead in the process). Rollins, the only heel, entered last.
Fatal 4-way ladder match: Seth Rollins defeated Kevin Owens, Finn Bálor and Rey Mysterio (approx. 22 min.)
Big E was shown watching this in the back, with his back completely turned to the TV, which was a funny visual.
Owens was the dominant man early on using ladders to his advantage. However, Rollins dodged a senton and Owens crashed onto a ladder which sent us to break.
Rollins stood tall following the break, using the ladder on all three opponents until Bálor stomped a ladder on him. Bálor also gave Owens a back body drop on the same ladder, crushing Rollins in the process. Bálor and Mysterio battled atop the ladder until Owens pushed it over. Rollins gave Owens a buckle bomb but Owens superkicked him before falling over.
Owens had his hands on the contract but Mysterio stopped him. Owens fought off Mysterio before attacking Bálor and Rollins with a ladder. Owens set up a table but he and Bálor were wiped out by a Rollins suicide dive. Mysterio gave Rollins a bulldog but Rollins prevented him from trying a 619 on Owens.
Mysterio managed to use a 619 to kick a ladder into Owens’ face before doing a senton with the ladder. Mysterio and Rollins were then wiped out by a Bálor flip dive which led to break.
Mysterio climbed the ladder as Rollins gave Owens a DDT but Rollins also managed to knock the ladder over. Bálor gave Rollins a slingblade before dropkicking him into a ladder. Everyone traded moves until Owens dropped Mysterio.
A ladder bridge was set up outside the ring as Mysterio once again tried to climb but Bálor cut him off. Owens yanked Bálor down and gave him a stunner. Mysterio went after Owens but Owens powerbombed him through a table.
Owens again had his hands on the contract but Rollins stopped him. Owens tried to powerbomb Rollins out of the ring but Rollins gave him a back body drop through the ladder bridge.
Rollins gave Bálor a curb stomp, climbed the ladder and grabbed the contract. Rollins earns a title match against Big E.
Very fun match.
Big E entered and had a face off with Rollins before Rollins left. Rollins was greeted by Sarah Schreiber in the back. He basically said that this was his show and he would be the next champion.
With opposition from a strong NFL number, Raw’s season premiere did 1.78 million viewers and a 0.52 in 18-49, down four percent in viewers and nine percent in 18-49 from last week’s draft show.
The decline is probably less than would be expected, particularly since the Dallas Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals NFL game did 11.32 million viewers and 3.57 in 18-49.
Raw was 30th overall, but beat all entertainment shows, trailing only ESPN football related telecasts and news channels. It was fourth in 18-49, beating everything but NFL related programming on cable.
The first-to-third hour drop of six percent was much lower than usual, so the audience that tuned in stayed longer than usual,which is a good sign for how the audience saw the quality of the show. Another factor is that the second hour beat the first hour, meaning a lot of people tuned in late, perhaps due to the early football game on FOX that did 12.16 million viewers and a 3.5 in 18-49. That meant the length wouldn’t affect them as much in hour three.
As compared to the same week last year, the show was down 24 percent in viewers, 31 percent in 18-49, and 42 percent in 18-34.
Date: October 19, 2020 Location: Amway Center in Orlando, FL
The Big Takeaway —
Raw was bad but with a few different wrestlers this time.
Show Recap —
Raw kicked off with a new theme song: “The Search” by NF.
The announcers ran down tonight’s show which includes “The Viper’s Message from Hell.”
Alexa Bliss appeared in the ring covered in red lighting. She announced, “He here. Let him in.”
The Fiend entered. They held hands when the lights came back on and different music played. It was the song for Retribution. All five members, including Mustafa Ali, surrounded Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss.
Ali raised his hand and the lights went out. That appeared to be a signal for an attack but when the lights turned on, Wyatt and Bliss were gone.
That cued the music for Hurt Business who entered next. (Mia Yim left the ring.) Hurt Business cleared the ring and Cedric Alexander wiped out Retribution with a dive and they abruptly went to break (9 minutes into the show).
There was a Matt Riddle video package.
8-man tag match: The Hurt Business defeated Retribution (10:57)
Hurt Business were in control of Slapjack until Alexander was distracted by T-Bar and Mace outside the ring. Slapjack yanked him off the top and tagged in Ali who took over.
There was a face-off between the two teams on the outside when the Fiend suddenly appeared on the screen with his creepy music playing. He stuck out his tongue. Nobody looked at the screen. They went to break.
Tom Phillips said the two teams have been fighting throughout the break, which is normally what happens during a wrestling match, and Byron Saxton said it’s a sign of the disdain between the two teams.
Shelton Benjamin gave Mace a German suplex and step-up knee strike. Lashley followed with a spinebuster before spearing T-Bar but Ali broke up the cover.
Lashley put T-Bar in the Hurt Lock and he tapped out. Retribution lost.
The lights turned red and the Fiend appeared on the apron. He took out each member of Retribution. T-Bar saved Ali from a Sister Abigail. Wyatt gave T-Bar a Sister Abigail instead.
Bliss appeared on the screen and said, “let me in” in Wyatt’s voice. I laughed.
AJ Styles (w/Jordan Omogbehin) defeated Matt Riddle (11:23)
AJ Styles entered with Jordan Omogbehin. Jordan looks especially gigantic next to Syles. Styles commended Raw for finally drafting a real leader. He bragged about beating Seth Rollins and Jeff Hardy. He said this was never Monday Night Rollins and called this a new era that belongs to him.
Matt Riddle entered. Fireworks went off when he kicked off his sandals and they showed a slow-motion replay.
They rang the bell to start the match but Omogbehin wouldn’t leave the ring. The referee told him to leave before a five-count or else Styles would be disqualified. Omogbehin stopped him from counting. The ref pleaded with him to leave the ring. Styles thought this was amusing. Omogbehin left the ring.
Riddle sent Styles to the outside and was about to attempt something but Omogbehin stepped in his way which caused him to frantically scamper back into the ring.
Styles was in control after a break. Riddle came back with strikes and a t-bone suplex but Styles got his feet up on a senton attempt. They exchanged strikes until Riddle hit a German suplex. Styles followed with a fireman’s carry neckbreaker for a nearfall. Riddle came back with a fisherman buster for two.
They fought while standing on the top rope until Styles fell into the ring and riddle fell out of it. Omogbehin walked up to Riddle and clenched his fist. Riddle slipped back in the ring where Styles gave him an enziguri and a Styles Clash for the pinfall win.
(The match itself felt short with a mid-match commercial break and 90 seconds of stalling at the beginning.)
There was a Drew McIntyre/Randy Orton video package.
[Second hour]
Charly Caruso attempted to interview McIntyre in the back but he asked her for the mic so he could speak directly to Orton. He said throughout his career, especially over the past few months, Orton has been the most evil, sadistic, entitled and selfish person in WWE.
McIntyre knew he should have left Orton his the past when he beat him at Clash of Champions. Orton was intelligent knew how he’d react when he attacked the legends on Raw. McIntyre knew that Orton thrived inside Hell in a Cell, a match he’s never been in himself.
McIntyre said he’s been in more hell in life than you can imagine and would put Orton through hell on Sunday. McIntyre warned Orton not to be surprised if he shows up for Orton’s scheduled speech tonight.
Asuka defeated Lana to retain the Raw Women’s Championship (2:20)
Lana got some brief offense and a two count but Asuka won easily with the Asuka Lock. (If you’re curious, they played fake booing for Lana when she was introduced.)
Nia Jax’s music hit as soon as the match ended. Jax and Shayna Baszler entered. They knocked down Asuka before Jax put Lana through the announce table for the fifth time.
Baszler went after Asuka but Asuka fought her off with a kick and knocked her out of the ring with a running hip attack. Asuka escaped and posed with her belt as Jax and Baszler looked on.
Jax and Baszler cut a promo after a break. Jax noted how well they worked as a team despite not being the type to braid each others’ hair and follow each other on Instagram. Baszler called them the dominant team on both brands. Jax dared anyone to challenge them.
Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke entered. Saxton wasn’t sure this was the right time to step up to the champions and Samoa Joe let him know this was exactly the right time to step up.
Lacey Evans entered and was followed by Peyton Royce. They walked down together but Evans kept stepping in front of her so she could be on camera.
Smackdown’s Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan entered next. The bell rang and I guess a match is starting.
Non-title fatal four-way tag match: Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler defeated Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce and Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan (8:29)
As Jax/Baszler and Rose/Brooke brawled on the outside, Royce knocked everyone down with a dive. Evans followed with a dive herself (which barely connected). Ruby and Morgan also hit dives on the pile which led to a break.
Everyone traded moves a few minutes later. The Riott Squad almost had Evans beat after a Codebreaker/Riott Kick combo but Baszler broke up the cover. Baszler choked out Ruby as Jax gave Evans a Samoan drop for the pinfall win.
Elias concert
Elias had a full band with him. He plugged his album which comes out next week. He played a song called “Amen” and said he hoped Hardy was listening.
Elias played the full song. They cut to fans on screens, many of whom held up their cell phone flashlights while swaying or nodding their heads. Elias played a short song called “Lead Me Home.” He thanked the audience before saying, “I love none of you.” He was about to leave but came back because he assumed the fans wanted an encore.
A mystery guitar man under a hood began playing on his own. Elias demanded he stopped. It was Hardy. Hardy swung the guitar at Elias who ducked and rolled away. Hardy told him that he didn’t hit him with the car. Hardy’s music played.
The Miz and John Morrison spoke in the back about Otis and Mandy Rose. Tucker interrupted them. He claimed Miz used his influence with the USA Network to get him and Rose drafted away from Otis. Tucker said he would find a partner and ruin them tonight. Miz and Morrison accepted. They laughed maniacally at the idea that Tucker could find a partner.
Caruso caught up to an upset Elias backstage. He couldn’t believe people were still interrupting him. He challenged Hardy to a match at HIAC.
New Day promo
Kofi Kingston said New Day were the Raw tag champs for the first time in nearly four years. Xavier Woods said he got injured last year and 2020 has been a garbage year and he returned just for them to get drafted away from Big E. Kingston got him to calm down.
Sheamus interrupted. He called their segment on Smackdown embarrassing and threatened to Brogue Kick Kingston. He also said they were only two-thirds of New Day. Kingston said New Day wasn’t done. Big E could hold things down on the blue side while they do their thing on the red side. They said they would spread their seeds all over WWE.
Sheamus told them to shut up before they reminded him that he got beat up by Big E. Woods told him to come to the ring to get beat up by Kingston.
Sheamus dropped Kingston over the edge of the ring and they went to break less than 2 minutes into the match.
[Third hour]
Sheamus was in control after the break. A shirtless Big E was shown watching on one of the screens and Woods let Kingston know E was there to help encourage him. Kingston came back with a foot stomp, chops, dropkick, clothesline, leg drop and flying crossbody for two. Sheamus caught him off the ropes and hit a swinging side slam for two.
Kingston tried a dropkick but Sheamus caught him and applied a Texas Cloverleaf. Kingston countered into a small package for two. Sheamus ducked a Trouble in Paradise and hit an Alabama Slam for two. (Joe wondered how much Kingston had left. Woods yelled, “He’s got a lot left, Joe!” which was funny because Woods wasn’t standing that close to the announce table.)
Sheamus went to the top but Kingston brought him down with a side Russian leg sweep for two. Woods yelled, “New moves! New moves!” They exchanged cradles for two counts before Kingston caught Sheamus with Trouble in Paradise for the pinfall win.
They replayed Retribution losing and getting beat up by Bray Wyatt.
Mustafa Ali promo
Ali cut a backstage promo with Retribution standing behind him. Ali said Hurt Business and Wyatt made a mistake thinking his only strength was strength in numbers. His real strength was causing chaos. All he needed was a laptop or a cell phone or a secret. With one click he can make anyone’s world come crumbling down.
Ali sat at home over the summer because this corrupt company couldn’t figure out how to make money with a guy named Mustafa Ali. But he didn’t just sit at home watching. He watched all of the spineless wrestlers backstab each other just to get ahead while he learned their secrets.
Ali admitted to being the hacker on Smackdown. He figured out that this sick place is infecting everyone with greed and corruption. Good individuals were being forgotten and their dreams were being left behind. But he found them and united them. He promised them that their truth would be heard. He didn’t care who tried to stop them. “We will shut you down.”
Ali was very good here.
Hurt Business stood shoulder-to-shoulder-to-shoulder backstage, happy with their work earlier. Titus O’Neil congratulated them and said he would love to join and said he could bring something to the group. MVP faked discussing it with the group. O’Neil thought they wanted him to join. He was wrong. They beat him up.
Miz and Morrison entered and wanted to see who Tucker’s partner was. Tucker entered and said he found a great luchador. Out came El Gran Gordo. It was Otis under a mask. Miz immediately noted that it was Otis under a mask and that he was even holding the lunchbox.
Tucker said he was the next Rey Mysterio. Miz cut them off and cut a long promo until he called Otis a pig in a mask. Tucker and Otis attacked and cleared the ring.
Tucker & El Gran Gordo defeated The Miz & John Morrison (4:40)
El Gran Gordo made a hot tag and gave Miz an arm drag before doing a cartwheel. R-Truth showed up and ran through the ring as a few losers ran after him. This distracted Miz. Gordo used to the distraction to hit a Caterpillar and a Vader Bomb for the pinfall win.
New Day, Tucker and El Gran Gordo danced backstage. Mandy Rose handed Gordo a big thing of ham. They all celebrated together.
Firefly Fun House
Wyatt tossed out props from his past including a miniature mallet and black sheep mask. He was sad to leave his friends on Smackdown but was happy to make new friends on Raw.
The rabbit mentioned having a wife and Wyatt was confused. The rabbit was sad that he didn’t know. Wyatt promised to be a better friend. There was a black-and-white montage of the rabbit getting eaten and destroyed throughout the show’s history.
Wyatt said the past was in their heads but the future was in their hands. The rabbit was happy to get a fresh start but was eaten again by the buzzard.
Someone knocked on the door. It was Alexa Bliss (wearing black and red). She said their fun was just getting started. Everyone was happy and they waved goodbye.
Braun Strowman defeated Keith Lee (2:43)
Strowman was in control and ran over Lee on the outside. He tried a powerslam in the ring but collapsed because of the injured ribs at the hands of Roman Reigns on Smackdown. Lee hit a splash for a nearfall.
Strowman took a page out of Reigns’ book by using an “incidental” low-blow. (Lee was trying to pick him up off the mat but Strowman headbutted him low.) Strowman followed with a running big boot for the pinfall win.
As Strowman celebrated, Lee turned him around and kicked him in the nuts. Lee yelled at him for taking a shortcut against the wrong man.
(Ric Flair and JBL were shown watching this match on the screens. Booker T was shown earlier tonight, too.)
Randy Orton promo / main event segment
Orton came out with about 6 minutes left in the show.
The Hell in a Cell cage was lowered and Orton locked himself inside.
Orton noted all of the promos that suggested that those who enter HIAC always leave a piece of themselves behind. Orton has had seven of these matches but only comes out of them with a better understanding of himself.
He recalled his HIAC matches in the past: facing Mark Henry, surviving Sheamus, beating Jeff Hardy and Daniel Bryan, facing John Cena twice, and winning the world title twice. The most important thing he remembered was looking the Dead Man in the eye and earning his respect inside HIAC. He said all of those men were current or future Hall of Famers.
He said the word “legend” gets thrown out a lot these days and called McIntyre’s win over Brock Lesnar legendary. As he spoke, McIntyre interrupted.
McIntyre couldn’t get in the cage because it was locked, so Orton taunted him. McIntyre pulled bolt cutters out from behind a barricade which caused Orton to panic. Orton grabbed a chair as McIntyre cut the chain and entered the cell. As soon as he did, they went off the air.
What the hell?
Raw was bad but I did enjoy the New Day and Ali’s promo.
Ahead of tonight’s Raw going on the air, WWE announced that The Hurt Business (MVP, United States Champion Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander) will face RETRIBUTION (Mustafa Ali, T-Bar, Mace & Slapjack) in an eight-man tag match tonight. AJ Styles vs. Matt Riddle and Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus have also been added to the show.
Ali was revealed as the leader of RETRIBUTION on Raw two weeks ago. It had been announced that last week’s Raw would feature Ali speaking for the first time since that reveal, but the segment ended up not taking place.
Styles, Riddle, Kingston, and Sheamus all moved over to Raw in the WWE Draft after formerly being on SmackDown.
Kingston & Xavier Woods are now the Raw Tag Team Champions after swapping title belts with The Street Profits. With Kingston & Woods moving to Raw and Big E staying on SmackDown, The New Day had their farewell match on SmackDown last Friday and defeated Sheamus, Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro.
Tonight’s Raw is also the brand’s go-home show for Hell in a Cell and will feature the final build to WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton’s Hell in a Cell match.
Here’s the updated lineup for tonight’s show:
Keith Lee vs. Braun Strowman
Raw Women’s Champion Asuka defends against Lana
Elias concert
Bray Wyatt hosts a Firefly Fun House segment
The Hurt Business (MVP, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander) vs. RETRIBUTION (Mustafa Ali, T-Bar, Mace & Slapjack)
A Firefly Fun House segment is the latest addition to the lineup for Raw’s season premiere episode.
During a commercial that aired on SmackDown tonight, WWE announced that Bray Wyatt will host a new edition of the Firefly Fun House on this coming Monday’s episode of Raw. Wyatt was drafted to Raw during night two of the WWE Draft earlier this week.
Wyatt was Raw’s first overall pick in night two of the draft. Alexa Bliss also moved over from SmackDown and is now on Raw with Wyatt. The Fiend and Bliss laid out Andrade and Zelina Vega with stereo Sister Abigails on Raw this week. Vega has joined the SmackDown roster as a free agent signing, while Andrade went undrafted and hasn’t been assigned to a brand yet.
The Fiend defeated Kevin Owens in the main event of SmackDown last week. It was the first time Wyatt has wrestled as The Fiend on weekly WWE television. Owens was selected by SmackDown in the draft.
Asuka vs. Lana for the Raw Women’s Championship, Keith Lee vs. Braun Strowman, and an Elias concert are set for Raw’s season premiere as well. The show is also Raw’s go-home show for Hell in a Cell and will feature the final build to WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton’s Hell in a Cell match.
The promotion of a loaded Raw with Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Brock Lesnar, led to a 16 percent jump in audience last night with Raw averaging 2.57 million viewers.
It was the best number for the show since August 12, meaning it beat a number of weeks before football season started and easily topped every week against Monday Night Football.
The game itself made no difference in the ratings as compared to last week, as the Bengals vs. Steelers game last night did 10.47 million viewers, actually up from the 10.33 million viewers the week before.
9-1-1 on FOX, which featured Ronda Rousey, was the second highest rated show on television last night with 7.46 million viewers.
Raw was still ninth place for the night on cable, trailing only NFL and news programming, barely beating 90 Day Fiance on TLC at 2.50 million.
Raw did its usual patterns of falling each hour, although the 10.6 percent first-to-third hour drop was less than usual, which is also a good sign.
What was notable is that in the younger demos, 12-34, that women stayed the same in hour three as hour one, and men actually increased, the opposite of usual patterns.
Date: September 30, 2019 Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, AZ
The Big Takeaway —
Brock Lesnar beat up Rey Mysterio and Dominick, so we instead got Seth Rollins defending his Universal title against Rusev. That match ended in a no contest (or whatever) after Bobby Lashley returned to make out with a returning Lana as Rusev looked on. Bray Wyatt then entered to attack Rollins as the show went off the air.
Show Recap —
The signature video that starts the show is the same, but the music is different. Raw started with a new intro video, song and fireworks. The video featured wrestlers from both brands. There’s a new stage as well which is basically a giant video board. Vic Joseph, Dio Maddin and Jerry Lawler are the announcers.
Rey Mysterio entered as the announcers ran down tonight’s card. Dominick was shown at ringside. Mysterio mentioned his match against Seth Rollins and credited Dominick. Mysterio said he would bring home the title tonight, then Brock Lesnar’s music hit. He entered with Paul Heyman.
The crowd booed as Lesnar snatched the mic away from Mysterio and gave it to Heyman. Heyman was about to speak, then Mysterio grabbed the mic back. Before Mysterio could speak, Lesnar gave him an F5. They showed Dominick at ringside as Lesnar gave Mysterio another F5.
Lesnar locked eyes on Dominick and went outside the ring as Dominick slowly sat back down. Lesnar grabbed him pulled him over the barricade and slammed him into the ring post. Lesnar gave Dominick a big German suplex in the ring, then gave Mysterio another F5. The crowd booed as Lesnar left. Heyman acted shocked.
Lesnar returned to the ring as officials ran down. Lesnar handed out vertical suplexes to both men as officials and Heyman pleaded with him to stop. Lesnar was about to leave, then returned to the ring again, attacked two agents and chucked both Mysterio and Dominick from the ring. The crowd booed and chanted “a–hole.” Lesnar smirked, posed for the crowd, then left.
This was good… except for the fact that no other wrestlers tried to help.
During the break, Dominick was taken out on a stretcher. Mysterio was actually back on his feet. He apologized to Dominick and said this was his fault. (Lawler repeatedly referred to Dominick as a teenager, even though I believe he’s in his early 20s.)
Sasha Banks defeated Tag Team Champion Alexa Bliss (4:22)
Bliss had fireworks in her entrance. Becky Lynch joined commentary and her entrance included a weird smoke effect. Lynch said she was glad to have her steam back in her entrance. A minute into the match, Lynch and Banks yelled at each other from across the arena (since the commentary table is still close to the stage) and they took a very brief commercial break.
Lynch watched the rest of the match while standing on the table. Sirens could be heard in the background and the announcers explained that it was the ambulance taking Dominick away. Lawler said Lesnar was being questioned by the authorities.
Bliss was about to go after Banks, when Banks motioned for Bayley to interfere. Of course, Bayley wasn’t there, but Bliss fell for it. Banks kicked her leg out of her leg and rolled her up for the pinfall win.
Lynch attacked Banks afterwards but Banks bailed into the crowd. Lynch said Banks wouldn’t be able to leave Hell in a Cell on Sunday until she wanted her too. She said Banks made things personal, but she would make things painful. Retribution was coming around. The crowd liked Lynch.
They plugged The Rock appearing on SmackDown by showing his Tweet. I feel like there are better ways to announce this.
They aired a recap of the Bray Wyatt stuff from last week, then Charly Caruso interviewed Seth Rollins. Rollins was pissed about what Lesnar did to Mysterio. He admitted he wasn’t sure how to prepare for Bray Wyatt, but he worked too hard for the title and would prevail. Rollins said Mysterio wasn’t able to compete tonight, but he would give him the opportunity when he was ready. Rollins said he would still defend his title tonight against someone else.
Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler defeated Heavy Machinery to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships (11:10)
Otis wrestled shirtless. (So did Ziggler and Roode.) Lawler likened Otis to Fat Bastard from Austin Powers.
Heavy Machinery controlled through a break, but Roode dropped the top rope down on Tucker and attacked him on the outside to gain control. Tucker blocked a Ziggler dropkick and made the hot tag to Otis, who ran wild on both guys. Otis no-sold a Roode chop and followed with a suplex.
The crowd came alive for Otis. He gave Ziggler a spinning slam and squished Roode in the corner. Otis did the Caterpillar elbow drop on both men. Heavy Machinery set up for the Compactor, but Ziggler gave Tucker a Zig-Zag, then they posed Otis. Ziggler gave Tucker a superkick and Roode followed with a Glorious DDT for the pinfall win.
[Second hour]
The announcers plugged Total Divas, NXT with Adam Cole vs. Matt Riddle, SmackDown with Kofi Kingston vs. Brock Lesnar plus an appearance by The Rock, as well as Hell in a Cell.
Miz TV with guests Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan
Miz started by sending his thoughts to Mysterio and Dominick. Miz introduced Ric Flair, who got a big reaction. Flair wore a dark purple suit and was impressed with Miz’s red suit. Miz then introduced Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart. The crowd gave Flair and Hogan a standing ovation.
Flair said he loved Miz, then told Hogan he was tired of hearing his music the past 30 years. Miz opened it up to Hogan, who said it was great to be on Raw, great to be in Phoenix, and great to be in the ring with the greatest of all-time — the Nature Boy.
Flair said Hogan, Austin and Undertaker were recognized as being the biggest draws for this company, but Flair called himself the best in the ring. He said he had no equal in the ring, including Hogan. Hogan got up and asked Flair if he wanted one more shot at the 24-inch pythons.
Flair got up and threw down his jacket and the crowd popped big like we might see a fight. They teased fighting but settled down. Flair said he was just kidding and they laughed. Hogan said they were no spring chickens as the crowd chanted “one more match.”
Flair joked that he wanted his next paycheck to be as big as Hogan’s. Miz had an announcement for Flair: at Crown Jewel, there would be a Team Hogan vs. Team Flair match, where they would each be coaches of a five-on-five match. I guess Hogan knew about this already because he introduced his captain, Seth Rollins.
Rollins was excited to be captain of Team Hogan. Flair was about to introduce his captain but somebody got impatient and Randy Orton’s music hit before he could say anything. Flair was pumped to have Orton on his team. Orton told Rollins to crawl out of Hogan’s ass and challenged him to a match right now. Rollins was happy to oblige.
Stagehands rolled the black carpet out of the ring and the match was about to start but they were interrupted by Baron Corbin. Orton attacked Rollins from behind, then Corbin joined in.
They put the boots to him when Rusev made the save. Rusev attacked Corbin, blocked an RKO and gave Orton a superkick. Rusev gave Corbin a superkick and Rollins took out Orton with a dive. The crowd chanted “Rusev Day.” Hogan’s music hit, then Rollins and Rusev jogged to the top of the stage to pose with him.
Mysterio was shown leaving with Dominick earlier and the announcers confirmed that Rollins would have a mystery opponent later on. (Mysterio took off his mask in the ambulance, but his face wasn’t clear behind the windshield.)
Backstage, Caruso asked Rusev where Lana was. Rusev didn’t answer. She asked what he was hoping to accomplish now. Rusev wasn’t here to talk about his problems at home and would rather talk about Rollins’ problems at work. He said Rollins was getting beat up until he stepped in and figured Rollins owed him one. He challenged Rollins to a Universal title match tonight.
The announcers again plugged the upcoming week’s events, there was an AOP promo, then a commercial plugging The Rock on SmackDown.
Rollins vs. Rusev was made official for tonight.
The Viking Raiders defeated Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (10:27)
For the second straight week, the Viking Raiders beat Gallows and Anderson in 10 minutes. Ivar took out Anderson with a dive and followed with a diving splash on Gallows for the win. The crowd was dead until the very end.
Caruso gave us an update Lesnar. Cesaro interrupted her. He didn’t think Lesnar’s actions were criminal. If anything was criminal, it was that he stole an opportunity to beat up Dominick. Ricochet showed up and told Cesaro that he wasn’t half the man that Mysterio was. Cesaro said he was literally twice Mysterio’s size. Ricochet challenged him to a match.
Ricochet defeated Cesaro (2:46)
Ricochet won fairly quickly with his own version of Mysterio’s West Coast Pop, which was cool. Cesaro wrestled in his pants and sneakers (which makes sense if he wasn’t planning on wrestling). His mouthguard read “UPPERCUT.”
[Third hour]
Firefly Fun House
The puppets all appeared to be afraid of something. The rabbit passed out and died. Bray Wyatt said “Oh well” and chucked it aside. The puppets were afraid of what’s to come at Hell in a Cell. Wyatt was afraid too. He told the pig it was like a world without chocolate, only worse.
Wyatt said it was a place you could enter but never truly leave, and Rollins would be stuck in there with Him. Wyatt said He would always protect them and had a bad feeling that He couldn’t wait to hurt Seth.
(It should be noted that the crowd appeared to pop pretty big every time they plugged the Firefly Fun House earlier in the show.)
AJ Styles defeated Cedric Alexander to retain the U.S. Championship (9:39)
Alexander made a comeback after a break and got a nearfall which led to duelling chants. Styles came back with a reverse DDT for two. Alexander ducked a Phenomenal forearm and hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall.
Alexander tried to flip over Styles but he couldn’t pull it off after a couple of attempts, so Styles just grabbed him and gave him a German suplex, then followed with a facebuster for two. Alexander used a rollup for two then went for the Lumbar Check, but Styles countered into a Styles Clash for the pinfall win. This was enjoyable.
The Street Profits plugged their tag match on NXT and plugged HIAC. Montez Ford warned Angelo Dawkins not to say the Fiend’s name three times or else he’ll appear.
WWE congratulated themselves on having a lot of social media activity.
Lacey Evans defeated Natalya (3:48)
Evans smashed Natalya’s head against the steel steps, which was not a DQ. Evans went to the top but Natalya yanked her off, nailed a few punches and landed a discus clothesline for two.
Evans crawled to the apron and the referee held back Natalya. As he did, Evans raked her eyes and rolled her up for the win. Lame finish. Evans then knocked down Natalya with the “women’s right.” They made it seem like this was the last time we’d see these two wrestle with the draft coming up.
Heyman told Sarah Schrieber that he was sorry for what Lesnar did, but if you wanted to blame someone, you should blame Vince McMahon. He said they should have known better than to schedule Lesnar on Raw while being in fight mode, because Lesnar was prepared for Friday. Heyman gave us a spoiler, that Lesnar would defeat Kingston to become WWE Champion.
Elsewhere, Caruso asked Maria Kanellis about Rusev. Maria said Rusev was not the father of her baby and he has enough going on with Lana. She left. Sasha Banks jumped in and grabbed the mic to issue a warning to Lynch and said she would make her tap-out.
A limo was shown arriving.
Universal Championship match: Seth Rollins vs. Rusev
Corbin and Orton watched from the stage.
Rusev offered a handshake, then immediately tried to go for the Accolade but Rollins slipped out. Rusev followed later with a fallaway slam sending Rollins out of the ring and they went to break one minute into this world title match. Before they did, Wyatt’s face flashed on the screen and he could be heard saying “let me in.”
After the break, Rollins fought out of a bear hug and hit a blockbuster. They traded strikes, which Rollins got the better of, then he hit a slingblade and consecutive suicide dives. Rusev caught him off the top rope, but Rollins countered into a rollup for two. Rusev followed with a side slam for two.
Rollins ducked a kick and hit a kick of his own, then followed with a Falcon Arrow for two. Rollins went for a springboard move but Rusev caught him with a kick to the head.
At this point, Bobby Lashley’s music hit and he entered. He motioned to the back but nobody entered. He motioned to the back again and nobody entered. He motioned to the back again and Lana entered.
Lana hugged Lashley, which looked pretty awkward… and then they made out. The crowd was stunned as Rusev just looked on. Then they kept making out as Lana’s music kept playing.
Her music stopped, then the lights went out as Rollins looked around. Wyatt appeared and put Rollins down with the mandible claw. Wyatt’s laugh played on the speakers as they went off the air.
A third title match is set for Raw’s season premiere.
WWE has announced that Raw Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode will defend their titles against Heavy Machinery on Raw this coming Monday (September 30). Seth Rollins will also defend his Universal Championship against Rey Mysterio on the episode, and Cedric Alexander will challenge for AJ Styles’ United States title.
Ziggler & Roode won the Raw Tag Team titles from Rollins & Braun Strowman at Clash of Champions earlier this month.
Heavy Machinery are currently part of the SmackDown roster. The WWE Draft will take place on SmackDown on Friday, October 11 and Raw on Monday, October 14. The Wild Card rule will no longer exist after the draft.
The Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona is hosting the Raw season premiere. Here’s the updated lineup for the episode:
Universal Champion Seth Rollins defending against Rey Mysterio
United States Champion AJ Styles defending against Cedric Alexander
Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss
Raw Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode defending against Heavy Machinery
Cedric Alexander is getting a second shot at the United States Championship.
WWE has announced that United States Champion AJ Styles will defend his title against Alexander on Raw’s season premiere next Monday (September 30). The episode is taking place at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
After Alexander pinned him in a 10-man tag match to get the title shot, Styles retained against Alexander on the Clash of Champions pre-show earlier this month. The next night, Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson defeated Alexander & The Viking Raiders. Styles countered a top rope hurricanrana into a Styles Clash and pinned Alexander in that match.
The Viking Raiders defeated Gallows & Anderson on Raw this week. Styles was ejected from ringside after causing a distraction. Alexander then attacked Styles on the stage and followed him to the back when Styles tried to run away.
There will also be a Universal Championship match on Raw’s season premiere, with Rey Mysterio set to challenge for Seth Rollins’ title. Here’s the updated lineup for the episode:
Universal Champion Seth Rollins defending against Rey Mysterio
United States Champion AJ Styles defending against Cedric Alexander
Rivals are set to face off on next week’s episode of Raw.
WWE has announced Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss for next Monday’s show, which is being billed as the season premiere of Raw. It’s taking place at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
Banks defeated Nikki Cross on Raw tonight, with Bliss in Cross’ corner and Bayley in Banks’ corner. Bayley distracted the referee during the match before being taken out by Bliss. After the match was over, Bliss tried to make a save for Cross but was put in the Banks Statement.
On last week’s Raw, Banks & Bayley defeated Women’s Tag Team Champions Bliss & Cross in a non-title match. There was an angle where Bliss suffered a storyline injury during the match and had to be taken to the back.
Next week’s Raw and SmackDown are the go-home shows for Hell in a Cell. Banks is challenging for Becky Lynch’s Raw Women’s Championship in a Hell in a Cell match at the pay-per-view.
Here’s the updated lineup for Raw’s season premiere:
Universal Champion Seth Rollins defending against Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio is getting a Universal title shot on Raw’s “season premiere” next week.
Universal Champion Seth Rollins will defend his title against Mysterio next Monday. Mysterio getting the title shot was set up by him winning a fatal five-way number one contender’s elimination match on tonight’s Raw.
The match came down to Mysterio vs. Robert Roode, with Mysterio pinning Roode after hitting the 619 and a frog splash. Ricochet was eliminated first, Shinsuke Nakamura was eliminated second, and AJ Styles was eliminated third.
Before the number one contender’s match, Mysterio dedicated it to his son Dominick. There was a storyline last month where Dominick talked Mysterio out of retiring.
Next week’s Raw and SmackDown are the go-home shows for Hell in a Cell. The Fiend will challenge for the Universal title in a Hell in a Cell match at the pay-per-view.
WWE’s new TV schedule begins next week. Raw will still air on the USA Network on Mondays, and SmackDown will move to airing on FOX on Fridays.
Next week’s Raw season premiere is taking place at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Brock Lesnar will also appear on the show, The Miz will host a Miz TV segment with Hulk Hogan & Ric Flair, and Sasha Banks will face Alexa Bliss.
A Miz TV segment with two Hall of Famers is being advertised for next week’s “season premiere” of WWE Raw.
The Talking Stick Resort in Phoenix, Arizona advertised today that Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair will appear on Miz TV next Monday (September 30). Hogan and Flair both appeared at Raw Reunion in July, and Flair was briefly shown on SmackDown last week.
The Talking Stick Resort Arena has also advertised Brock Lesnar for next Monday’s Raw season premiere. Next week is the beginning of WWE’s new television schedule, with Raw airing on USA Network on Monday and SmackDown airing on FOX on Friday. Lesnar is challenging for Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship on SmackDown’s FOX premiere.
The theme of the SmackDown on FOX premiere is SmackDown’s 20th anniversary celebration. Hogan and Flair are advertised for the show.
Next week’s Raw will also feature a Universal Championship match. Seth Rollins will defend his title against the winner of tonight’s fatal five-way between AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Ricochet, Rey Mysterio, and Robert Roode. That’s in advance of The Fiend challenging for the Universal title in a Hell in a Cell match at WWE’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on October 6.
