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This week’s episode of Raw comes to us from the Target Center in Minneapolis Minnesota.
It’s the fallout from SummerSlam, what will happen after the dust has settled? Will we start setting up feuds for our next Premium Live Event (which I believe is PayBack)?
We see a recap of what happened at SummerSlam.
In Ring Segment:
Cody Rhodes comes out to the ring, he asks Minneapolis what they would like to talk about. Cody wants to talk about one of Minneapolis’ own. Cody wants to talk about “the Beast” Brock Lesnar. Cody says that he has had the privilege, honour and misery of standing across from the Beast and surviving. An image is then shown on the titantron of both men shaking hands after their match at SummerSlam. Cody says that he never imagined this happening. Cody says that he spoke with his mother this morning about the situation. He told his mother that he was shocked. His mother said that Brock Lesnar had acknowledged him. (Gimmick infringement haha). Cody says that after SummerSlam, he feels on top of the world and he feels like he could beat anybody.
Seth Rollins’ music hits! Seth makes his way to the ring (what are those boots?). The two men stand face to face in the ring. Seth gets a microphone. He welcomes the crowd to Monday Night Rollins. Seth says that the last time he came out to address the future of the World Heavyweight Championship, Cody was the first man to walk to the ring and get in his face. This is Seth now returning the favour. Seth asks Cody if he heard him right, that Cody thinks he can beat anyone in the world. Seth says why don’t they put that feeling to the test.
The Judgement Day’s music hits. Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley come out. Damian says that Cody and Seth think they run Monday Night Raw, but it's not. The Judgement Day runs Monday Night Raw. Damian says that Judgement Day dictates what happens with Championships around here, more specifically, Damian Priest does as he holds the Money in the Bank contract. He says that we already have the most dominant World Champion in Rhea Ripley, we have the NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio. Damian says that Cody might be done with “the Beast”, but Dominik isn’t done with him. He says that Dominik is the workhorse. Dominik will be defending his title on NXT, but what will Cody and Seth be doing?
Dominik gets in Cody’s face. Dominik goes to speak, but he is booed loudly by the crowd. All of a sudden, Finn Balor attacks Seth Rollins from behind. Dominik begins attacking Cody. Sami Zayn runs out to make the save. Sami clotheslines Damian out of the ring, Cody hits Dominik with a Cody Cutter. Finn gets punched by both Sami and Cody. Seth then boots Finn out of the ring with those silly yellow boots (seriously, what in the world are those boots?)
Cody stands on the turnbuckle and challenges the Judgement Day. COdy says he has a solution for all of this. There are three of them, and three men in the ring. Tonight, in Minneapolis, Cody, Sami and Seth will face Judgement Day.
We see a recap of what happened in the Intercontinental Championship match between Drew McIntyre and Gunther at SummerSlam.
Backstage Segment - Earlier tonight:
Ricochet is complaining to Adam Pearce about Logan Paul using brass knuckles at SummerSlam. Chad Gable, Matt Riddle and Tommaso Ciampa walk up to them. Adam Pearce says that he is going to make a Fatal 4 Way match for tonight, to determine Gunther’s next challenger. Chad Gable says that he is in his home territory tonight, and he will teach Gunther a lesson he will never forget.
Match 1: #1 Contenders Fatal 4 Way Match - Ricochet vs Chad Gable vs Matt Riddle vs Tommaso Ciampa
The match begins, and the men all cautiously approach each other. Ricochet dropkicks Gable. They all trade pins for one-counts before winding up in a stalemate. Ricochet takes Gable down. Ciampa and Riddle go at it. Riddle and Gable then apply ankle locks to Ciampa and Gable, respectively. Ciampa and Gable pull themselves out of the ring to get out of the hold. Gable and Riddle are then left in the ring. Gable picks the leg, but Riddle quickly twists out. They tussle around before getting into a stalemate. Ciampa knocks the skulls of Gable and Riddle. Ciampa gets Gable out of the ring and turns into a springboard clothesline from Ricochet. Ricochet hits a standing moonsault for a two-count. Ricochet lifts up Ciampa, but he slides off. Riddle hits Ricochet with a fisherman’s buster, but Gable breaks up the pin attempt. Gable hits a hangman DDT, but Ciampa breaks up that pin attempt. Ciampa hits Gable with a reverse DDT, but Ricochet breaks up that pin attempt. Ciampa stuns Ricochet with a forearm. Ricochet gets out of a Fairy Tale Ending and hits a snap kick to the face for a two-count. Ricochet sets Ciampa up and goes to the top rope. Riddle quickly cuts him off and stands on the top rope. Ciampa climbs up after them. Gable then comes up and suplexes Ciampa, who suplexes Riddle, who turns Ricochet inside out with a backflip slam.
Gable goes for Chaos Theory on Ciampa, but Ciampa gets out of it. Gable then applies an ankle lock to Ciampa. Ciampa gets to the bottom rope, but there are no rope breaks or disqualifications. Riddle wipes Gable out with a knee to the face. Riddle powerbombs Gable and knees him in the face. Riddle covers but lets it go. Ricochet hits Gable with a standing shooting star press. Riddle hits Ricochet with an exploder. Riddle then takes Ciampa out with a Final Flash Knee. Ciampa stumbles to the corner. Riddle puts Ciampa on the top rope and climbs up. Riddle hits Ciampa with a superplex. All of a sudden, Ricochet and Gable hit them with a shooting star press and a splash, respectively, however, Riddle and Ciampa get the knees up and pin them for near falls.
The crowd chants, “This is awesome.” The crowd is not wrong, this one is awesome. All four men are down. They all trade punches and chops from their knees. Riddle kicks Ciampa, but Ciampa blocks it, he bends Riddle’s toes, and stomps his foot. Gable then clotheslines Ricochet out of the ring. Gable hits the ropes, but he falls out after the top rope is pulled down. Riddle hits Gable with a springboard Floating Bro. Riddle goes to get in the ring, but Ciampa hits Willow’s Bell. Ricochet then hits Gable with a somersault senton. Ricochet goes to the apron and does a springboard, but Ciampa knees him out of midair. Ciampa follows up with Project Ciampa on Ricochet. Ricochet manages to kick out just before the 3.
Riddle grabs Ciampa in the ring and hits Bro Derek. Gable breaks up the pin with a diving head-butt. All four men are down again. A “Gable” chant picks up. Gable gets to his feet and trades punches with Riddle. Gable ducks a kick and goes for Chaos Theory, but Ricochet counters and hits Riddle with a Recoil. Gable goes for Chaos Theory on Ricochet, but Ciampa hits Ricochet with a Famouser. Gable then hits Ciampa with Chaos Theory for the win.
That was an amazing opening match! So much action and plenty of chaos. Happy to see Chad Gable win this one, he really showed that he can be elevated further than just a tag team the last time he faced Gunther. These four men put the roster on notice with this one, let's see if the rest of the card can live up to this one. Grade B+
After the match, Gunther is shown watching the match backstage, smirking at the result. Chad Gable is celebrating his victory, he grabs his son and runs around ringside with him.
We are shown a recap of Cody Rhodes defeating Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.
Backstage Segment:
Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn are talking backstage. A very angry looking Seth Rollins approaches them. Seth says that he wants this match to happen, but he doesn’t want to be on a team with Cody. Sami says that he knows there are a lot of issues here, but they can take it all out on the Judgement Day tonight. Sami says that Judgement Day put his partner, and their friend, Kevin Owens on the shelf. So they can deal with Judgement Day once and for all. He asks if Seth and Cody can get past all their issues. Cody says that he is cool, Seth puts his head down and thinks for a moment, before replying that he is also cool. Seth and Cody then walk off in separate directions, Sami says that didn’t feel cool.
We see a replay of Jimmy Uso costing his brother Jey the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam.
Backstage Segment:
The Miz is shown to be waiting for a photoshoot backstage. The photographer tells him that he will have to wait. LA Knight is then shown to be having lots of photos taken of him. The Miz is not happy with this.
We see a replay of three weeks ago when Tommaso Ciampa attacked Bronson Reed, which cost Shinsuke Nakamura the match by disqualification.
Match 2: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Bronson Reed
The men lock up, and Reed backs Nakamura into the ropes before giving a clean break. Nakamura stomps the mat and walks around. Reed backs Nakamura into the corner and lets him go without doing anything to him. Reed applies a side headlock. Nakamura whips him off, but Reed easily runs him over. Nakamura strikes away at Reed and takes him down to the mat. Reed ducks a spin kick, but Nakamura gets away from him. Reed connects with a back elbow. Nakamura pops up and fights back, but Reed still takes him down. Reed lifts Nakamura up, but Nakamura slides off. Nakamura goes for a sunset flip, but Reed stays standing. Reed goes for a cannonball, but Nakamura moves. Nakamura catches him with a sliding kick and digs his boot into his chest with some good vibrations. Nakamura then tells Reed, “Come on!” Reed charges, but Nakamura knocks him out of the ring. Nakamura knocks Reed into the commentary table. Reed shoves him away and gets in the ring. Nakamura follows him into the ring and hits the ropes, but Reed lifts him. Nakamura slides out and hits the ropes, but Reed avalanches him down. Reed then crushes Nakamura with a leaping elbow drop.
Nakamura rolls to the apron to try to catch his breath. Nakamura kicks him in the head, but Reed responds with an avalanche off the apron as we go to a break.
We return from the break to see Nakamura kick his way out of the chin lock. Reed elbows him back and charges, but Nakamura boots him back. Nakamura then comes off the second rope with a diving kick to the chest. Nakamura kicks and punches away at Reed, stunning the big man. Reed puts the brakes on a whip and sends Nakamura into the ropes. Nakamura rebounds with a running kick for a two-count. Nakamura goes to the second rope and dives, but Reed grabs him. Reed hits a snap powerslam on Nakamura. Reed hits a running sit-out powerbomb for a near fall.
Reed goes to the top rope, but Nakamura lays him out for a knee to the ribs. Nakamura signals for a Kinshasa, but Reed scoops him up and hits a Death Valley Driver for a near fall. Reed signals for another powerbomb, but Nakamura gets out. Nakamura goes for a rebound kick, but Reed clotheslines him down. Reed heads to the top rope for a Tsunami, but Nakamura moves out of the way. Nakamura follows up with a Kinshasa to the back of the head. Nakamura goes to the corner and hits a second Kinshasa for the win.
A good match, but I honestly don’t understand or see the point in this feud. I especially don’t understand Nakamura getting the win if you are trying to show Bronson Reed as a big monster type of character but he keeps losing. I also don’t understand where Nakamura’s heel turn has gone? He seemed to be showing heel traits in the past few weeks but this seems to have disappeared? Or is that just me not noticing it? I hope this feud is done with now, and we can actually focus on trying to elevate Bronson Reed to being a dominant monster (if that’s what the WWE are wanting to portray him as). Grade C
We see a replay of three weeks ago, when Rhea Ripley cost Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez the Women’s Tag Team Championship. We then see a replay of last week when Raquel returned, but Rhea managed to hurt Raquel’s knee again.
Backstage Segment - Earlier Today:
We see a WWE medical official tell Adam Pearce that Raquel Rodriguez is still not ready to compete. Raquel is listening to this news with Candice LaRae and Indi Hartwell.
Backstage Segment:
We see Maxxine Durpi talking on the phone backstage. Ludwig Kaiser walks up to her. Kaiser says that he wants to congratulate Chad Gable on his victory and to inform him that Gunther is looking forward to wiping the ring with him. Maxxine tells Kaiser to get out of their locker room. Kaiser then tells Maxxine that she has all the potential in the world, but some people are just better than others. Kaiser says that he is an A+ for everything, but the people she is running around with aren’t. Kaiser calls Otis a “big, disgusting freak” so Maxxine slaps him. Otis then gets in Kaiser’s face and challenges him to a match tonight. Kaiser agrees to the match, he says that he looks forward to seeing Maxxine as well.
In Ring Segment:
We see a replay of “the match” from last week with Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus with Zoey Stark causing the DQ as soon as the bell rang. Adam Pearce then informed Trish and Zoey that Trish would face Becky in Canada and Zoey would be banned from ringside. This match takes place next week.
Becky Lynch is in the ring. She says that she is so close to the end. She says that it has been months of doing everything in her power. She has been fighting, talking, scratching, clawing, winning, losing, overcoming odds, and failing again. Becky says that she is tired and weary, but she is also hopeful and ready to put an end to this saga and charade when she finally gets a rematch next week against Trish Stratus. Becky says it is the greatest of that generation versus the greatest of this generation until infinity. There will be no interference from Zoey Stark.
Zoey Stark interrupts and stands on the stage. Zoey says that Trish has already beaten Becky, as has she. Zoey says that Becky is afraid of her. Becky asks what Zoey is doing. Becky knows how good Zoey is. Maybe Zoey is too good for her own good. Becky says that Zoey just wanted it easy, so she hitched herself to Trish for an easy ride. Becky says that Zoey is too stupid to see that Trish is just dragging her down. Becky says that Zoey is just playing second fiddle to someone that won’t be here after next week when Becky beats her. Zoey says that she doesn’t play second fiddle to anyone. Zoey says that Becky is right when she says that Zoey is good. Zoey says that Lynch is just jealous that Trish kicked her to the side and picked Zoey up instead. Zoey says that she has mastered this game.
Shayna Baszler then interrupts. Becky says that Shayna looks rough. Shayna says that she should see what Ronda looks like, only you can’t because she beat her and drove her out of the WWE. This gets a massive cheer from the crowd and a “Thank you Shayna” chant. Shayna says that she knows she was not originally invited to this party, but she couldn’t help but feel like she was referenced when Zoey said that she was the baddest. Zoey says that Shayna is the baddest punching bag of all time. Zoey then says that she will send Shayna home with her bags if she steps up to her. Becky says that those sound like fighting words. They should fight in Minneapolis. Becky then calls out to Adam Pearce to make this official.
Adam Pearce walks out onto the stage, he asks for a referee and makes Shayna vs Zoey official.
We see a replay of Seth Rollins defeating Finn Balor to retain the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. We see that there was a lot of miscommunications from Judgement Day and Finn Balor, particularly Damian Priest.
Backstage Segment:
We see Finn Balor backstage talking to JD McDonagh. Damian Priest walks up and tells McDonagh to go away because this is Judgement Day business. Finn says that McDonagh can stay. Damian asks what is going on with Finn and asks where he was earlier tonight. Finn didn’t tell Judgement Day that he was going to jump Seth Rollins. Damian says that everyone knew that he came out at SummerSlam to help, but even with his help, Finn still lost. Finn blames Damian for his loss at SummerSlam. The men get in each other's faces until Rhea Ripley gets in between them. She is able to calm them down. McDonagh says that it is not his place, but it seems that the briefcase is getting between them and maybe Damian should get rid of it. Finn and McDonagh then walk away. Damian is not happy, but Rhea holds him back.
Match 3: Shayna Baszler vs Zoey Stark
Shayna quickly hits a waistlock takeover. Zoey fights up, but Shayna takes her down again. Becky Lynch is seated at ringside. Zoey gets Shayna in the corner. Zoey hits a snapmare and stomps the bruised eye of Shayna. Zoey applies a chin lock, but Shayna quickly gets out. Shayna is holding her eye in pain. Zoey digs the eye into the ropes and stomps Shayna. Zoey hits another snapmare for a one-count. Zoey applies a modified chin lock with her forearm squeezing on the black eye. Shayna elbows Zoey, but Zoey takes her down. Zoey applies a chin lock and drives her elbow into Shayna’s eye. Shayna fights out, kicks away at Zoey, and hits a Saito Suplex. Shayna then clotheslines Zoey out of the ring.
Shayna puts Zoey in the ring and connects with a kick to the midsection. Zoey soon boots her back and hits a springboard missile dropkick as we go to the break.
We come back from the break to see Zoey applying a chin lock. Shayna fights up and elbows Zoey, but Zoey knees Shayna in the midsection. Zoey sends Shayna to the corner, but she misses an avalanche. Shayna hits a pair of clotheslines before hitting a bicycle knee in the corner. Shayna connects with a German Suplex followed by a running kick for a near fall. Shayna sizes Zoey up for a knee, but Zoey avoids it and hits a kick to the face for a near fall. Zoey stomps Shayna and applies an armbar. Zoey then lets the hold go and stomps the arm. Zoey rips Shayna’s elbow guard off, but Shayna avoids a stomp. Shayna takes Zoey down, but Zoey quickly stuns Shayna with a superkick. Shayna turns Zoey inside out with an inverted gutwrench suplex for a two-count.
Zoey knocks Shayna back and jumps, but Shayna goes for a Kirifuda Clutch. Zoey fights it and sends Shayna out of the ring. Zoey takes Shayna down with a plancha and then gets in Becky’s face. Zoey puts Shayna back in the ring and yells at Becky. Shayna applies a Kirifuda Clutch on the ropes. Shayna lets it go before being disqualified. Zoey snaps the arm off the top rope. Zoey gets in the ring, but Shayna catches her with the World’s Baddest Slam (Ronda Rousey’s Piper’s Pit) for the win.
A good match, it was nice to see that Zoey didn’t just get squashed by Shayna if they are going with the idea that Shayna is a legitimate threat now. They are possibly going to use the excuse that Shayna was in this match injured from her MMA fight with Rousey at SummerSlam, so she wasn’t able to put Zoey away as quickly as she would have liked to. Hopefully, Shayna will now be taken seriously as a legitimate threat and will actually have better opportunities. Zoey needs to be showcased better as well. She came up from NXT as a really big thing, and she is just a sidekick at the minute. Once this Trish Stratus/Becky Lynch feud is over, Zoey can go out on her own and make a name for herself on Raw. Grade C.
Backstage Interview:
Byron Saxton is backstage with Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura says that he is tired of people getting in his way, but now that he has beaten Bronson Reed, he can carve his own path. We then hear the sound of pipes being knocked over, the camera pans out and we see JD McDonagh attacking Sami Zayn. WWE officials manage to separate McDonagh from Sami, but his arm looks damaged.
Match 4: Otis w/Maxxine Dupri vs Ludwig Kaiser w/Giovanni Vinci
Otis quickly backs Kaiser to the corner. Kaiser fights out and punches at the midsection, but Otis dances and shakes it off. Otis gets fired up, so Kaiser hooks the head. Otis whips him off and hits a shoulder tackle. Otis connects with a scoop slam before charging, but he hits the ring post shoulder-first when Kaiser moves. Kaiser quickly kicks Otis in the face. Kaiser clubs away at Otis’ head and looks at Maxxine Dupri. Kaiser rips Otis’ face and approaches Maxxine. She gets on the apron and yells at him. Otis turns Kaiser around and punches away at him. Otis hits a deadlift exploder and avalanches him in the corner. Kaiser drops down, and Otis rips his shirt off. Giovanni Vinci jumps to the apron, so Otis suplexes him into the ring. All of a sudden, WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther gets in the ring and boots Otis in the head. Kaiser kicks Otis in the face and pins him for the victory.
A short match. This could have been a lot better than it was. I’m assuming we are going to have a long feud of Alpha Academy vs Imperium, which I’m not mad about, as long as it is done well. As I said, this one could have been better, but if it is just the set up to the feud, we should hopefully see better matches in the future. Grade D
After the match, Kaiser and Vinci double team Otis as Gunther looks on. Chad Gable runs down to make the save, but Imperium clears out of the ring. Gunther stands on the apron and smiles at Gable before walking away.
We see a replay of JD McDonagh attacking Sami Zayn backstage.
Backstage Segment:
Jackie Redmond is backstage, standing outside the trainer’s room. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins walk out of the trainer’s room. Jackie asks if Sami is able to compete. Cody and Seth both go to talk at the same time. Cody allows Seth to take the interview and walks away. Seth tells Jackie that the doctors won’t let Sami compete tonight. Seth says he doesn’t know if he can trust Cody, so this might be a 3-on-1 or worse. Shinsuke Nakamura walks up to Seth and says that he saw what happened before and offers Seth his services tonight. Seth says that he respects Shinsuke and allows him to join the team for tonight's match.
We see replays of the Slim Jim SummerSlam Battle Royal. We see LA Knight eliminating the Miz before finally eliminating Sheamus to win the match.
In Ring Segment:
The Miz is in the ring. He asks if he is missing something, is there something going on in his head. He asks what happened to showing industry leaders like him proper respect. Miz says that he is a veteran and a locker room leader, and when he first came to the WWE a long time ago, he was taught respect. Miz says that when you come into the locker room, you introduce yourself and shake hands with those who have paved the way for you. Miz says that LA Knight didn’t just throw him over the top rope, he didn’t introduce himself to the Miz or shake the Miz’s hand. Miz says that he is sick and tired of the lack of respect.
LA Knight then comes out to a huge pop from the crowd. LA Knight says he thought that they had a great introduction at SummerSlam, but if that didn’t work, he’ll introduce himself now with the crowd shouting “LA Knight, YEAH!”. Knight extends his hand to the Miz, but Miz says no. Miz says that Knight doesn’t deserve to shake his hand. Miz says that he has seen superstars like LA Knight come to the WWE, trying to ride his coattails. Miz says that if you take everything away from the Miz that makes him Miz, then you get LA Knight. He says that LA Knight is a flash in the pan, the flavour of the month. He says the people love him now, and will for the next few months because he is it. Miz says that Knight is just an Attitude Era fanboy who is playing cosplay in the ring.
Knight then surmises that there will be no handshake, and tells the Miz not to take this personally. Miz says that he has taken everything personally since the beginning of his career when he was kicked out of the locker room. Miz says he has been doing this for 20 years. Miz asks what has Knight done. Knight surmises that this is personal. Knight says that he has been making himself a dangerous man for 20 years. He has been clawing and scratching, doing all the right things from the outside looking in as the company put their money behind the wrong horses, Miz included. Knight says he waited for the right opening. Here is Miz with a 20 year head start. He says that Miz got that head start because he is safe. They knew that they could smack him around and kick him out of the locker room and Miz would take it. They weren’t ready to take a chance on Knight, because he is a dangerous man. They knew that they couldn’t smack him around or kick him out of the locker room, because it wouldn’t work. That is the difference between them. Still, Miz managed to become a champion many times over and that’s good for him. Knight says that now Miz’s career is in the toilet, Knight is on the climb. Knight says if Miz wants to make this personal, Knight doesn’t mind making Miz a stepping stone.
Knight says that he will walk over Miz to the main event, where he belongs. Miz says that he is the main event and Knight is not on his level. Knight says that if he is not on Miz’s level, then he can prove him wrong. Miz takes off his jacket and Knight prepares for a fight. Miz throws his jacket in Knight’s face. Miz then attacks Knight and goes for a Skull Crushing Finale, but Knight counters into Blunt Force Trauma. While Miz is out on the mat, Knight shakes his hand. Knight walks away.
Match 5: The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) w/Valhalla vs The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
Xavier Woods starts the match against Erik. Xavier chops and uppercuts Erik before clotheslining him in the corner. Kofi Kingston tags in and kicks Erik in the face. Xavier hits Erik with a back suplex. Kofi splashes him for a two-count. Kofi and Xavier hit some tandem offence, and Xavier picks up a two-count. Erik shoves Xavier back, but Xavier kicks him. Valhalla distracts Xavier. Xavier jumps over Erik, and Erik takes Xavier down. Ivar tags in. They pull Kofi into the ring, and Ivar hits him with a spin kick. Xavier is slammed, and Ivar splashes him off the top rope for a near fall. Ivar knocks Xavier to the corner and tags Erik in. The Viking Raiders club Xavier down and taunt the crowd. Ivar tags in and takes Xavier down before digging his forearm into his face. Erik tags back in, and they turn Xavier inside out with a knee to the midsection. Erik knees Xavier in the face for a two-count. Erik applies a chin lock, but Xavier fights up and pulls him off. Erik puts Xavier on the apron. Xavier knocks Ivar off and hits Erik with a tornado DDT.
Kofi tags in and Ivar tags in. Kofi hits a springboard clothesline followed by some chops. Kofi dropkicks Ivar and hits a leaping clothesline. Kofi splashes Ivar in the corner before hitting a cross-body block. Kofi hits the ropes and hits the Boom Drop. Ivar ducks Trouble in Paradise. Kofi avoids the Spin Kick of Doom and hits Ivar with the SOS for a near fall. Kofi charges, but Ivar counters with a seated senton. Erik tags in and knees Kofi in the face for a near fall. Erik goes for a powerbomb, but Kofi counters with a hurricanrana. Kofi then kicks Ivar down. Xavier tags in. Kofi hits Ivar with a Trouble in Paradise before hitting Erik with a somersault senton. Xavier then hits Ivar with the Limit Break for the win.
A good tag team match. It's great to see New Day back and just as good as before Kofi had ankle surgery. It’s not a great tag division for them to come back to, but hopefully now they are back, the tag division might be treated properly again. The WWE has plenty of amazing tag teams at their disposal, and the New Day coming back could be the kick the WWE needs to make it mean something again. Grade C
Backstage Interview:
Byron Saxton is backstage with Becky Lynch, but they are interrupted by Shayna Baszler. Shayna says that she didn’t need Becky’s help. Shayna says that she has scores to settle and she will be coming for Becky. Becky replies that she is looking forward to it.
We see a replay of the New Day’s return and their victory over the Viking Raiders.
Backstage Segment:
The New Day are celebrating their victory before being approached by Jackie Redmond, they are confused by her presence because they do not know who she is. The New Day says that they know what she is going to ask and it feels great to be back. They says that they are Gods in this tag team division and are back because New Day Rocks!
As previously reported by TMZ, Sonya Deville has torn her ACL and she will be out indefinitely. Due to this, new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions will need to be crowned.
Main Event: The Judgement Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio) w/Rhea Ripley vs Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes & Shinsuke Nakamura
The Judgement Day make their way to the ring, seemingly with a lot of tension as Damian Priest walks ahead of Finn Balor. They do show some solidarity by fist bumping.
Rhea Ripley whispers something into Dominik Mysterio’s ear. Out of nowhere, Raquel Rodriguez attacks Rhea from behind. Raquel sends Rhea into the barricade and punches away at Rhea until officials pull her away. Rhea goes to attack Raquel, but she is pulled back. Candice LaRae and Indi Hartwell run down to help, but Rhea just throws them away. Rhea boots Raquel, taking her down, and continues on the attack. Candice and Indi get back up and attack Rhea. Referees and other officials come down to restore some kind of order. Rhea is very angry as we go to a break.
We are shown a replay of the WWE Women’s Championship match at SummerSlam where Bianca Belair won, but after the match, IYO Sky cashed in her Money in the Bank contract and became the new WWE Women’s Champion.
Main Event Continued: The Judgement Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio) w/Rhea Ripley vs Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes & Shinsuke Nakamura
Finn Balor will start against Shinsuke Nakamura, but Damian Priest tags himself in before anything happens. Finn and Damian angrily stare at each other. Dominik Mysterio tags in off Damian and steps between them. Nakamura takes Dominik down and drops a knee for a two-count. Nakamura sends Dominik into the ropes, but Dominik puts the brakes on and gets out of the ring. Nakamura gets in position and shouts, “Come on!” The Judgment Day stands at ringside and stares at him as we go to the break.
Back from the break, we see Finn dropkick Nakamura in the face for a two-count. Finn applies a front facelock. Damian puts his hand out, and Finn begrudgingly tags him in. Damian kicks Nakamura and Finn attacks. Damian kicks Nakamura in the midsection, and Finn follows up with a bicycle kick. Damian applies a chin lock and takes Nakamura down. Nakamura fights up, but Damian hits him with a punch. Damian hits a leaping elbow and tags Finn in. Finn hits a slingshot stomp. Dominik tags in and hits a slingshot senton. Finn and then Damian tag in. Finn hits a backbreaker, and Damian follows up with a leg drop for a two-count. Nakamura has a kick blocked, but he comes back with an enzuigiri.
Seth Rollins tags in. Seth knocks Finn and Dominik off the apron. Seth jumps over Dominik and hits a Sling Blade. Seth goes for a suplex, but Damian fights it. Seth fights back and hits a falcon arrow for a two-count. Damian rolls out of the ring to recover. Seth hits the ropes and hits Damian with a suicide dive. Seth puts Damian back in the ring and hits Finn with a suicide dive. Seth goes to the apron and goes for a springboard, but Damian punches him out of midair. Damian hits a flatliner and throws Seth out of the ring. Finn tags in and hits a Woo Dropkick into the barricade as we go to the final break.
We come back from the final break of the evening to see Rhea punch Seth in the face as the referee is distracted. Dominik tries for the Three Amigos but stops after two to knock Nakamura off the apron. Seth then turns him inside out with a clothesline.
Cody and Finn tag in. Cody clotheslines Finn and hits Damian. Cody clotheslines Finn and uppercuts him. Cody hits Damian with a Disaster Kick and catches Finn with a snap powerslam. Cody goes for Cross Rhodes, but Finn counters. Cody knees him and goes for a Cody Cutter, but Finn counters into a falling elbow drop for a two-count. Cody kicks him in the face and hits a Cody Cutter. Dominik breaks up the pin. Nakamura runs in and kicks Dominik out of the ring. Damian kicks Nakamura away. Seth then knocks Damian out of the ring. Seth hits the ropes for a suicide dive, but Finn clotheslines him over the top rope. Cody sets up for Cross Rhodes, but Rhea gets on the apron to distract the referee. Damian then hits Cody in the back with the Money in the Bank briefcase.
Damian hands Finn the Money in the Bank briefcase. All of a sudden, Sami Zayn attacks Damian from behind. Sami sends Damian over the commentary table. Sami’s elbow is all taped up. Finn goes to hit Seth with the briefcase, but Seth superkicks it into his face. Cody hits Finn with Cross Rhodes for the victory.
A good 6 man tag match. A lot of chaos before the match even began with Raquel, Rhea, Candice & Indi. At least Candice and Indi got some screen time. The match itself was good, a lot of action and storytelling in this one. Still some uncertainty within the Judgement Day and also having Seth not trusting Cody. Nice to see Sami Zayn come out to assist. The WWE must have completely dropped Nakamura’s heel turn, there were no signs of it earlier tonight in his match and nothing in this match either. Grade B
After the match, Cody, Seth, Nakamura and Sami are standing tall in the ring. Judgement Day is standing at ringside, looking very angry. Cody tries to celebrate with Seth, but Seth still does not trust Cody. Sami steps in the middle of them and raises their arms. Seth pulls away and knocks Cody’s arm down. Cody and Seth shake hands and celebrate the victory.
Out of nowhere, Shinsuke Nakamura attacks Seth Rollins, hitting him with a Kinshasa. Nakamura walks off as Cody and Sami look on confused.
Alright, I might have been wrong about them dropping Nakamura’s heel turn! That came completely out of nowhere attacking the champion, but it instantly threw Nakamura into the main event level.
Overall, this was a really good episode of Raw. Again, way too much filler. There was no need to have as many replays as they did, but this is now what is expected from the WWE. It seems like they have already set up some good rivalries to head into PayBack. I hope the momentum keeps going and we see some more great action in the weeks to come.
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