Date: August 12, 2024
Location: Moody Center in Austin, TX
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Show Recap —
There was a long video recapping recent events involving Judgment Day. The new version of the stable was shown arriving at the arena, as were Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, and Bron Breakker.
Rhea Ripley segment
Ripley entered to a big reaction. She said she had a lot of time to consider what happened at SummerSlam. She’s felt every emotion you can in a situation like this. She felt embarrassment and heartbreak, but really, she was just pissed the hell off.
Dominik Mysterio stabbed her in the back but “it just wasn’t deep enough” — and he’s probably heard that before. (The crowd enjoyed that line.) Ripley warned Liv Morgan that she couldn’t run away forever because she was Rhea bloody Ripley and it was time to remind them of that.
Morgan and Dom appeared in the top row of the arena’s lower level. Morgan handed the mic to Dom who was loudly booed. Ripley enjoyed the booing but wanted to hear what he had to say. Dom said he was a man and deserved to be treated like one. The crowd told him that he sucked.
Dom said Ripley tried to change him instead of letting him be him. He was embarrassed being bossed around, forced to call her, “Mami,” but now he had a girl who called him Daddy. She gave him chicken tendies and let him play video games whenever he wanted. She also helped him beat his deadbeat dad, something Ripley never did.
Ripley had words for Dom that he hadn’t heard in a while: “I’m proud of you.” Watching Dom grow into the man he is today was one of her biggest accomplishments. He finally did something for himself and won gold. However, Ripley always wanted Dom to beat Rey on his own. Now Dom was making his own decisions but the most recent one would be his last.
Morgan told Ripley that she had nothing left. Her real family was miles away and Morgan took Judgment Day away from her. Dom was hers, the world title was hers and the women’s division was hers.
Ripley told Morgan she made a mistake by leaving her standing and that she would have to kill her to stop her. Ripley was glad Morgan liked the sound of her own voice because it gave them time to find her.
Damian Priest appeared behind them and he attacked Dom in the concourse area. Morgan tried to help but Ripley chased her away as Priest chased Dom down to ringside. Carlito tried to help but Priest sent him out of the ring.
(This segment was fine but you didn’t miss anything if you didn’t see it. The show was 8 minutes old by the time Ripley spoke and 19 minutes old by the time this segment was done.)
Damian Priest defeated Carlito (9:20)
Carlito had control through a break (and probably got more offence than he should have) but Priest came back with a falcon arrow, clothesline, and South of Heaven for the pinfall win.
— Judgment Day attacked Priest after the match but Ripley’s music hit (even though she was just out there) and she ran out to make the save. She kicked Carlito low and confronted Finn Bálor. JD McDonagh took a superkick for Bálor who managed to escape. Priest gave McDonagh a chokeslam.
Priest and Ripley hugged. Dom actually tried to attack them off the top as they hugged but Priest caught him by the throat, which was funny. Priest handed Dom to Ripley who tried Rip-tide but Morgan pulled him out of the ring.
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Ivy Nile told Maxxine Dupri she probably shouldn’t be at ringside for the tag match later. Nile was sincere but Dupri said she wasn’t leaving her family (Otis and Tozawa) behind. Nile figured Dupri might say that. She left.
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Bo Dallas video
There was a new Wyatt Sicks VHS featuring Bo Dallas. He said everything was coming full circle. It’s been heavy lately with lots of emotions. The Wyatt Sicks debuted in Baltimore last week, just as the original Wyatt family did. He (Bray) was there (in spirit). Something big was happening but the work wasn’t done. He repeated the phrase, “My life, for you,” as shots of Uncle Howdy spliced in.
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Xavier Woods approached Kofi Kingston and Odyssey Jones. Woods said he’d been looking for Kingston everywhere because he wanted to talk about tonight. Kingston was excited and also wanted to talk about tonight. Jones had their back last week so they’d be in his corner for his debut match. Woods was on board but was obviously not thrilled with how this played out.
Odyssey Jones (w/The New Day) defeated Vincent Winey (1:45)
Winey is a former football player working at the Performance Center. Jones beat him quickly with a spinning sidewalk slam.
— Karrion Kross entered with Final Testament after the match. Kross warned Woods that Jones would be his replacement. Woods asked if Kross was tired of doing this every week. Woods was about to challenge one of them to a singles match but Kingston grabbed the mic. Kingston knew everyone would just get involved anyway so he challenged them to a six-man match. Kross accepted. Kingston “misspoke” and called them “Final Testicle.”
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Drew McIntyre approached Adam Pearce. Pearce told him that CM Punk wasn’t there due to travel issues. McIntyre didn’t care about Punk and wanted to know why Smackdown’s Randy Orton was getting a title shot. Orton got screwed three months ago and sat around like a snake waiting for an opportunity. Orton got screwed once but McIntyre has been screwed over repeatedly.
McIntyre planned on taking care of this himself. Pearce didn’t like the sound of that but McIntyre assured him that he would be on his best behaviour.
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Otis and Tozawa entered for their match. Oba Femi was ringside with his NXT North American Championship belt in hand. He had a staredown with Otis who blew him off. The announcers noted that Femi has an open challenge scheduled on NXT tomorrow.
[SECOND HOUR]
They aired a video of Chad Gable who wasn’t with the Creeds because he was in Paris, France. Gable said he needed to get away but was also there to watch the Olympic gold medal matches to do some scouting. Gable knew he had to get back home to take care of unfinished business with the Wyatts.
The announcers congratulated Masai Russell on winning gold in the 100m hurdles. They mentioned she was part of WWE’s NIL program and could be a WWE superstar one day.
Tornado tag team match: Julius & Brutus Creed defeated Otis & Akira Tozawa (w/Maxxine Dupri) (11:58)
Otis press slammed Tozawa onto the Creeds ahead of a break. The Creeds were in control after the break until Tozawa dropped them with a double DDT. Otis ran them over and slammed Julius before hitting a Caterpillar but Brutus broke up the cover. The Creeds double-teamed Otis but Tozawa broke up the cover.
Brutus tried to powerbomb Tozawa off the ropes but Tozawa brought him down with a hurricanrana. Tozawa fired up on the Creeds and went for a suicide dive but his leg caught the rope and he fell awkwardly (Julius did his best to catch him).
Julius got Otis on his shoulders and did an electric chair drop as Otis simultaneously brought down Brutus with a superplex. Tozawa immediately followed with a flying senton on Julius. The crowd went nuts for all of this and chanted, “Holy sh*t.”
Ivy Nile suddenly appeared at ringside and attacked Dupri. Nile planted Dupri on the table and locked her in a dragon sleeper.
The distraction allowed the Creeds to knock Otis out of the ring. They stacked up Tozawa in a rollup for the pinfall win. This was pretty fun.
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Pete Dunne interview
Jackie Redmond interviewed Pete Dunne in the empty arena earlier today. Redmond said Sheamus took Dunne under his wing when he came up from NXT but he cut her off. Dunne said Sheamus held him down while Dunne elevated Sheamus.
Sheamus went on the run of a lifetime because of him. All Dunne got out of it was a terrible nickname and a front-row seat to the Sheamus show. If Sheamus really had the Brutes under his wing, then where was Ridge Holland?
Redmond acknowledged the Butch name and Dunne said he never wanted to hear that name again. Dunne had to swallow his pride for two years. He wasn’t Butch, he was the Bruiserweight and an 18-year vet. If he had to shut Sheamus up to never hear that name again, then that’s what he’d do.
(I’m glad they gave Dunne a chance to talk and this was good. Although I fear his promo will just lead to the fans chanting Butch at him.)
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There was a silly “WWE Physics” video meant to analyze the destruction Bronson Reed handed out to Seth Rollins last week.
Pearce admonished Reed and told him he was lucky he only had to pay a fine. Reed said he warned Pearce last week but would give him a second chance tonight. Pearce could find him an opponent tonight or he’d find his next victim.
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Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane cut a pre-taped promo (in English and Japanese). They were still in control and Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark would pay for what they did to Dakota Kai.
There was a response video by Sonya Deville, Baszler and Stark. Their new stable name is “Pure Fusion Collective.” They said they’ve ripped through the tag division before and had no problem doing it again.
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There was a memorial graphic for Kevin Sullivan.
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Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre (the tag team champions) entered to watch this match from ringside.
“WWE legend” Candice Michelle was shown in the audience.
IYO SKY & Kairi Sane defeated Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark (w/Sonya Deville) via disqualification (8:30)
They went to break after 90 seconds, wrestled for a bit after the break, then it ended in a DQ.
Sky was in control but a distraction by Deville got in the way. Stark tried to superkick Sky outside the ring but Sky ducked and Stark superkicked Fyre. Sky had it won after hitting a moonsault in the ring but Dawn and Fyre attacked for the DQ. Dawn and Fyre laid out Sky and Sane after the match.
This was a number one contender’s match so we’ll have to wait to find out what the decision is. Damage CTRL technically won but they never make official announcements after the match when it ends in a dumb DQ.
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R-Truth approached The Miz who was not in a good mood. Truth wanted to cheer him up so he got him a title match against “Bron.” Miz was excited until he realized Bron Breakker already had a match against Sami Zayn tonight and freaked out upon realizing his match was actually against Bronson Reed.
Randy Orton appeared to give Miz a pep talk. Orton ran down Miz’s accomplishments that he always repeats himself (leaving out the time Miz cashed in MITB on him) and told him he could do it. This hyped up Miz who ran off in excitement. Truth asked Orton if he really thought Miz had a chance and Orton scoffed.
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[THIRD HOUR]
Randy Orton and Gunther segment, Drew McIntyre and CM Punk interrupt
Orton entered to a big reaction. Orton said he won the world title 20 years ago this month and he became the youngest world champion in history. History would repeat itself at Bash in Berlin and he would become a 15-time champion.
Gunther interrupted. Orton wanted the fans to remember this moment because in a few weeks, Gunther would no longer be champion and Monday nights would be Orton’s new home. Gunther also wanted the fans to remember this moment because they got to see Orton who was one of the greatest of all time.
Gunther said Orton should be the greatest of all time. Orton was the most talented man this business has seen but he took all of that talent and wasted it. This was a new era, the era of the Ring General, and in his era, there was no room for people who wasted their potential. In the future of his era, Orton wouldn’t play a role anymore.
Orton said he never claimed to be perfect. He has made a lot of mistakes. More than anyone in the locker room. But he owned up to those mistakes and changed course. Orton wanted to remind him of something: he was the most unpredictable, violent, controversial and successful superstar in history. This wasn’t a curse, it was a gift.
Orton always did things his way. The American way. He had five beautiful kids at home, a hot-ass smoke-show of a wife, and was a soon-to-be 15-time champion. Orton appreciated Gunther’s opinion but thought he’s done pretty good for himself. (Of course, fans chanted, “USA.”)
Gunther didn’t think Orton was unpredictable. He was very predictable. Gunther had a few predictions himself. Orton would get a beating of a lifetime in Berlin and would never be champion again. When it really mattered, Orton always screwed up. Screwing up came naturally to him. Orton’s grandfather and father were both screwups and Randy was the biggest screwup of them all.
The crowd waited for Orton to hit an RKO but McIntyre interrupted instead. Gunther turned to look at McIntyre but Orton turned him around and hit an RKO.
McIntyre was about to hit the ring but was attacked by CM Punk. McIntyre shoved him aside and tried to attack with his belt but Punk grabbed the belt and attacked McIntyre with it. Punk whipped McIntyre with the belt until he escaped through the crowd.
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Redmond interviewed Sheamus. He still didn’t understand what Dunne’s issue was even after hearing his interview. Ludwig Kaiser interrupted and warned Sheamus that it wasn’t over between them. Kaiser wanted to put an end to Sheamus once and for all.
Dunne attacked Sheamus from behind with the shillelagh and clobbered his hand with it.
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Cathy Kelley interviewed Punk in the back. (A pissed-off Gunther marched off in the background.) Kelley mentioned Punk’s supposed travel issues but noted they were on the same flight to Austin and she had no such travel issues.
Punk admitted to telling a little white lie. He knew McIntyre wouldn’t show up if he did. He told a lie to get his hands on McIntyre because he was still running around with his bracelet. Punk didn’t care about the actual bracelet and said McIntyre could keep it.
Punk wanted McIntyre to keep his wife’s name and his dog’s name out of his mouth. Punk travelled a long way to get his hands on McIntyre. McIntyre would call him a hypocrite for telling a lie but McIntyre ran from a fight he claimed he wanted. Punk held up the belt and said he had a great idea.
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Bronson Reed defeated The Miz (w/R-Truth) (6:35)
Miz made a comeback after a break, including a tornado DDT for just a one count. Miz hit It Kicks which Reed no-sold. Miz tried a springboard crossbody but Reed caught him and hit a DVD. Reed followed with a DVD and Tsunami for the pinfall win.
— Reed went for another Tsunami but Truth saved Miz so Reed gave him consecutive Tsunamis instead. (Miz vanished.) Pearce and officials ran out but Reed continued with two more until officials dragged Truth away. They stupidly dragged him to another corner so Reed just went over there and hit another one. Pearce yelled at Reed as he left but he returned to the ring and hit one more Tsunami. The crowd was into this.
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Jey Uso hyped up Sami Zayn backstage. Jey said Zayn would beat Bron and beat him again, and the two of them would beat Judgment Day again to win the tag titles. Zayn was pumped and they did their fancy handshake.
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Announced for Bash in Berlin: Rhea Ripley & Damian Priest vs. Liv Morgan & Dominik Mysterio in a mixed tag match.
There was a quick Judgment Day video promo. Morgan and Dom said they would beat Ripley and Priest. Finn warned Priest to watch out for “Backstabber Bálor.”
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Next week on Raw:
- Triple threat for the women’s tag titles: Fyre & Dawn vs. Sky & Sane vs. Baszler & Stark
- Sheamus vs. Pete Dunne
- Six-man tag match: New Day & Odyssey Jones vs. Final Testament
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2-out-of-3 falls match: Bron Breakker defeated Sami Zayn to retain the Intercontinental Championship (17:32)
They went to break 50 seconds into the match after Zayn hit a flip dive and Bron was in control after the break. Bron hit a spinebuster for two and Zayn responded with a tornado DDT for two. Bron hit a German suplex but Zayn suddenly caught him moments later with a Helluva Kick to win the first fall (7:00 into the match).
Zayn tried a moonsault off the barricade but Bron caught him, ran toward the other side and chucked him into the timekeeper’s area. (The cameraperson ran behind Bron to get a continuous action shot, but Bron’s foot rose up and knocked the camera back slightly so we missed Zayn going over the barricade. It was a cool idea but the full replay looked way better because Zayn actually bounced off a leather chair upon landing.)
There were duelling chants of “Let’s go Sami” and “Let’s go Breakker” following another break. Bron hit a Frankensteiner for a nearfall. Bron followed with a press slam and consecutive spears to win the second fall (12:34 into the match).
Zayn tried to surprise Bron with a crucifix cover but Bron kicked out at two. Bron leaned Zayn against the announce table and hit a flying clothesline off the apron. Bron was willing to take a count-out win but Zayn made it back in at nine. Bron went after him but Zayn hit a sunset flip sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall.
Bron blocked an exploder and hit an overhead suplex. Zayn leaped over a spear attempt and applied a schoolboy for a nearfall. Bron followed with a dropkick and went for a spear but Zayn booted him for a nearfall.
Zayn tried something off the top but Bron speared him out of the air for the pinfall win.
