Happy Monday everyone, it’s time for the season premiere of Monday Night Raw! Tonight’s edition of Raw is kicking off with Sami Zayn, who is rocking a Kevin Owens shirt. Owens was traded to Smackdown this past Friday, so Sami is now without his friend and teammate.
Zayn said it feels weird coming out alone and he is very sad that his partnership with KO has come to an end. However, he is very excited about what KO can do and to show the world what he can do standing on his own two feet. He wants to prove to everyone that he is a world champion-level superstar.
He said the last year of his career, was the best of his career and that is all thanks to the fans. He was then interrupted by The Judgement Day, and Finn Bálor was very upset that they weren’t the ones kicking off the season premiere of Raw. Damian Priest said he is happy one of the thorns in their side is gone, and he wishes they could get rid of all the thorns.
Rhea Ripley said Sami is looking kind of lost, and J-Day is hoping to get rid of him permanently. They then surrounded Sami, but out from the back came Jey Uso and he had two chairs in his hands. With Sami and Jey holding chairs, J-Day retreated to the back, but once they were gone Sami walked on Jey too.
Following a commercial break, Jey tries to catch up with Sami backstage, but Sami wants his space. He appreciates his help, but it shouldn’t be Jey helping him it should be Kevin and the reason Kevin’s gone is him. Everything is going right for Jey and everything is going wrong for him, and Sami blames Jey for that.
Jey stormed off on Sami after that, but Sami chased after him saying it’s been a tough week and apologizing. Even with all the blame, Jey still forgave Sami as if nothing happened.
Falls Count Anywhere Match — Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
This match has been brewing for quite some time and tonight Ricochet didn’t even let Nakamura get through his entrance before attacking him. Ricochet used the early advantage to stay on the attack and hit Nakamura with a twisting tope. The match eventually ended up backstage and Ricochet continued to shine, he hit a standing moonsault at the top of the stage.
RICOCHET IS WILD 😱
(via @WWE)pic.twitter.com/E320p1awl9
— B/R Wrestling (@BRWrestling) October 17, 2023
Following a commercial break, the match was in the stands and Ricochet jumped from the bleachers with a shooting star press onto Nakamura. This was an unreal moment and Ricochet really flew through the sky. However, Nakamura got to a set of nunchucks to get back into the match. Even with the weapons, Nakamura couldn’t keep Ricochet down and he hit Nakamura with a springboard 450 splash.
Ricochet then went to the top, but Nakamura kicked him to the outside and through a table that was set up on the outside. Nakamura followed that by hitting Ricohcet with a Kinshasa on the outside and getting the victory.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
Piper Niven w/Chelsea Green vs. Natalya
Chelsea Green got up the apron and collided with Natalya, this led to Niven being able to hit her jumping crossbody for the win.
Winner: Piper Niven
Following the match, Niven and Green began a two-on-one attack on Natalya, but out to make the save came Tegan Nox! The two of them were able to fight off the tag champs and I think Natalya and Nox may be coming for the tag titles.
Judgement Day was now backstage and Priest and Bálor were talking about getting revenge on Drew McIntyre, but Dom-Dom quickly said they had to leave Drew alone. Rhea then walked in saying she was handling more business just like she handled Drew. I feel like Rhea reached some sort of agreement with Drew that nobody, including Priest and Bálor, knows about.
We were now blessed with the presence of the World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins! He wanted to talk about everything that happened last week with Drew McIntyre and J-Day, so he called Drew out to the ring. Drew made his way out and Rollins wanted to know why he helped him last week. Drew called it babysitting, but Rollins said he’s proved many times he can hold his own.
Rollins then questioned if Drew has aligned himself with Rhea Ripley because last week he was chatting with Rhea backstage. Drew said Rhea came to him and Rollins should focus on his own business, like Drew taking his title. Rollins said nobody is taking his title and Drew is scared of failing again that’s why he’s looking for J-Day’s help. Drew said he did not fail anything because The Bloodline always interfered in his big matches.
Rollins said what everyone was thinking, Drew needs to get over The Bloodline and move on from them. Drew said he had caught lightning in a bottle before and The Bloodline ruined his second chance, but the third chance will be when he dethrones Rollins at Crown Jewel. Rollins has had to crawl his way back to the top the same way Drew has, but he is tired of Drew’s excuses. He finally said he will beat Drew at Crown Jewel and it will be the best thing for Drew because he will finally have nobody to blame but himself.
Ludwig Kaiser w/Giovanni Vinci vs. Johnny Gargano
This was Gargano’s first match back on Raw in months and he wanted revenge against Kaiser. He tried to start the match aggressively, but the ring rust was showing. Kaiser launched Gargano from the ring apron face-first into the barricade. Gargano did make his comeback hitting a slingshot spear and a diving facebuster.
Neither man would stay down, Kaiser hit a rolling fireman’s carry and a PK on Gargano. However, Kaiser got into an argument with Vinci and Gargano hit a Willow’s Bell and a slingshot DDT. It seemed like the match was over, but Vinci got involved and Gargano went after him. With the distraction, Kaiser hit an enzigiri and then his twisting DDT to steal a win.
Winner: Ludwig Kaiser
Drew McIntyre caught Sami Zayn backstage to thank him for getting between him and Jey Uso last week. He then questioned why Sami is so quick to forgive Jey when he was the right-hand man of The Bloodline for so long. Sami said everyone sees the good in Jey except Drew, and he needs to put The Bloodline behind him. He tried to say he understood it can be hard to put them behind, but Drew said Sami could not understand because he’s never been a world champion. Sami took offence to that dig from Drew and challenged him to a match next week!
Rhea Ripley was now in the ring saying everyone wants a shot at Mami and everyone thinks they’re the baddest woman in the business. However, Rhea said in reality this is her division and nobody is better than Mami.
Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler
Baszler began this match by showcasing her MMA background targeting the limbs of Ripley, but Ripley quickly responded with some strikes to Baszler’s face. Both women were now trading shots and Baszler caught Ripley with a knee to the jaw. Rhea did then come back with a missile dropkick from the top rope and she then went for a Riptide, but Baszler reversed it into an armbar.
Ripley broke the hold with a powerbomb, but with both women down out from the back came Nia Jax. Just as Jax was about to get in the ring, she was attacked from behind by Raquel Rodriguez and as they were brawling Zoey Stark jumped Jax as well. Somehow Stark ended up in the ring causing a disqualification, but Ripley took her out and then called Jax into the ring. While Ripley and Jax were going at it Stark took both of them out and she ended this match standing tall.
Winner: No Contest
Becky Lynch was now in Adam Pearce’s office making her title defence against Indi Hartwell next week official. She was then interrupted by Xia Li who said she is also coming after Lynch’s title, but she wants a match on her own time.
Lynch then went to leave Pearce’s office, but when she turned around WWE’s newest star, Jade Cargill was standing behind her. Seeing Jade face-to-face with The Man is insane and just the thought of that dream match is wild.
Intercontinental Championship Match — Gunther (c) vs. Bronson Reed
This was a battle of big meaty men and they were throwing their weight around early, Gunther was laying chops into Reed’s chest. Gunther then locked Reed into a sleeper hold, but Reed broke the hold by simply falling back and dropping his weight on Gunther’s chest. Both men then ended up on the ring apron and Reed dropped Gunther with a back-body drop on the apron before leaping off the apron onto Gunther.
Following a commercial break, both men were now trading chops, but Reed hit a headbutt, superkick and power slam. Gunther then got some brutal chops in, however, Reed responded once again, this time hitting a Death Valley driver. Reed then went for a running senton, but Gunther got his knees up and then hit a brutal clothesline. Gunther then went to the top rope and Reed met him up there, Reed then proceeded to hit an amazing superplex. Reed now went for the Tsunami, but Gunther rolled out of the way and hit a big lariat. Gunther went back to the top rope and hit a diving splash, he followed that by power bombing the superheavyweight Reed to retain his title.
Winner: Still Intercontinental Champion, Gunther
Jackie Redmond was now interviewing The Miz, who was complaining that he was being showcased so late in the show. He was interrupted by Nia Jax, who said everyone has hit her with their best shot, but she is still standing. If she even gives anyone a shot, they stay down and on Mondays, she does the squashing.
Rhea Ripley now barged into Adam Pearce’s office to complain about people interrupting her matches. Pearce then said Rhea has got to stop demanding things and she’ll now be defending her title in a fatal five-way at Crown Jewel. She will have to defend against Nia Jax, Raquel Rodriguez, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark!
Once Rhea stormed out, Jinder Mahal and Indus Sher walked in asking Pearce to talk. So I guess they’re back.
Undisputed Tag Team Championship Match — Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso (c) vs. The Judgement Day (Damian Priest & Finn Bálor)
Priest and Bálor were looking good to begin this match, showcasing their double-team work and isolating Jey Uso. Cody finally got into the match after Jey hit Priest with an enzigiri, and he was on fire hitting Priest with a disaster kick. Out from the back then came Dirty Dom, and this caused some mayhem, but Cody ended up hitting a Cross Rhodes. It looked like the champs made quick work of their challengers, but Dom put Priest’s foot on the ropes.
Following Dom’s interference, Priest and Bálor were able to gain some momentum, but Cody was able to hit Priest with a Pedigree and tag in Jey. Bálor was tagged in at the same time, but Jey was getting the better of him. Jey was able to hit a Samoan drop and a diving crossbody, he then hit a superkick and with Cody, they hit the Cody-1D. Everyone thought the match was over, but somehow Bálor kicked out at two!
Priest then chokeslammed Cody on the apron, and while Jey was going for the Uso Splash Dom distracted him. Sami Zayn ran out to take out Dom, but the match was a mess now and both Dom and Sami ended up down and out. While the referee was focusing on Jey and Bálor in the ring, Priest hit Cody with a low blow on the outside and then put him through the announce table with a Razor’s Edge.
Jey was on his own against the former champs, and he took a page out of Roman Reign’s book hitting two spears. However, the referee was then distracted and Jimmy Uso emerged through the crowd to superkick his brother in the face! Bálor followed the attack from Jimmy with a Coup de Grace and Judgement Day are the tag champions once again thanks to Jimmy Uso!
