Firstly, Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians! Let’s hope Raw doesn’t put us to sleep the same way the turkey does.
The show was kicking off with the World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, he retained his championship in a last-man-standing match against Shinsuke Nakamura this past weekend at Fastlane. Rollins was nursing some injuries from the match and he said Nakamura pushed him to his absolute limits in their match. He said he felt on top of the world, but once the adrenaline wore off he realized his back is still very broken.
He swerved everyone making it seem like he was done in the ring, but after a brief pause, he let us all know that he is just getting started! He was hoping to have a chill evening and not have to fight for his life, but he was then interrupted by Drew McIntyre. Rollins did not waste any time and simply asked if Drew wanted a title shot, Drew responded by nodding yes.
Drew said he wants that title shot, but he wants Rollins at 100% and he wants his title match at Crown Jewel on November 4th. Rollins happily accepted and Drew left to the back with a grin on his face.
With Rollins watching Drew leave he was attacked from behind by Senor Money in the Bank, Damian Priest! Drew watched on while Rollins was getting beat down and then out from the back came Dominik Mysterio holding Priest’s briefcase and he had a referee with him.
Drew stopped Dom halfway, and Dom pleaded to get by as he said he was trying to help Priest cash in, but he instead got a Glasgow Kiss headbutt. With Dom out on the ramp, Drew launched the briefcase up the ramp and did not allow Priest to cash in. Rollins was then able to fight back and Judgement Day had no choice but to give up on this attempt.
Kofi Kingston vs. Ivar — Viking Rules Match
Kofi was utilizing his speed from the opening bell, but he could not keep Ivar down and Ivar launched Kofi into a pile of Viking shields. Ivar hit Kofi with a splash onto the apron and Kofi responded by splashing onto Ivar’s back from the second rope. Kofi then used a flag to hit Ivar with a Russian leg sweep from the second rope and he then broke his body onto a shield. Later in the match, Ivar went to the top rope hoping to leap onto Kofi, but Kofi grabbed Ivar’s beard and threw him by his beard through a table on the outside.
Kofi was then attacked from behind by Valhalla who came through the crowd, this allowed Ivar to slam Kofi through a table in the ring. Ivar then went to the top rope and was able to hit Kofi with a moonsault to get the victory.
Winner: Ivar
Shinsuke Nakamura was now given interview time backstage after coming up short on the weekend, but he refused to say anything. He was then attacked by Ricochet and these men had to be separated backstage, there is some serious unfinished business between these two.
Judgement Day was now backstage and Priest had a serious bone to pick with JD McDonagh following this weekend. JD was the reason J-Day lost their tag titles, but Finn Bálor and Rhea Ripley stopped Priest. Rhea calmed Priest down by telling him she talked to Pearce and got them a rematch for their tag titles against Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso next week. The attention was then turned to JD and Rhea said he had to prove himself tonight by getting back at Drew McIntyre for stopping the cash-in attempt earlier.
Raquel Rodriguez vs. Nia Jax
This match has been brewing since Nia Jax screwed Raquel Rodriguez out of the Women’s World Championship when she returned. Both women were looking to use their power and Jax was looking more violent than ever. Rodriguez continued to try and lift up the much larger Jax, but she just could not seem to make it happen. That was until Rodriguez lifted Jax off the second rope and power-bombed her into the middle of the ring.
With both women down out from the back came the Women’s World Champion, Rhea Ripley and she attacked both women. The match ended in DQ as Ripley took both women out and then Shayna Baszler emerged from the back to get some shots in on Jax as well. Ripley was not happy to see Baszler, so Baszler German suplexed her and then kneed her in the face. These four women continue to brawl every week and it feels like a fatal-four-way match is inevitable at this point.
Winner: No Contest
The New Undisputed Tag Team Champions have arrived, Cody Rhodes and ‘Main Event’ Jey Uso! They were being interviewed by Michael Cole and he asked Cody how winning the tag titles could help him “Finish the story”? He also asked if he is scared to try again at the WWE Championship because he could let some people down.
Rhodes said he was simply excited to be a tag team champion, but Cole was persistent in getting an answer and wanted to know if he would try to finish the story. Before Cody even had the chance to answer, out came the former tag champs, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
Zayn said everyone’s talking about Cody finishing the story, but they should talk about how they knocked off Judgement Day at Fastlane. He said he was just simply there to congratulate them in person, but he also said he believes it should be him and KO holding those titles. KO on the other hand is simply not happy to see them with the titles and he wants those titles back.
He then said he wanted to challenge them to a title match tonight, but he knows they’ll decline because Jey can’t stand the idea of losing the titles to them again. Cody then interjected and said KO has it all wrong because they are happy to accept and they can have that match tonight!
Intercontinental Champion No.1 Contender’s Match: Ricochet vs. Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed
As Richochet was making his way to the ring for this match he was attacked from behind by Shinsuke Nakamura who left him out on the ramp after hitting him with a G.T.S. (Hey CM Punk) Despite that attack Ricochet was still able to go in this triple threat match. Reed was definitely the favourite heading into this match, but he was taken out with a knee from Ricochet and Gable then hit Ricochet with a full-nelson suplex.
Ricochet’s speed continued to benefit him against Reed and he seemed to always be one step ahead of his opponents. He even caught Reed with a super kick and Gable then German suplexed the massive Reed. Gable then seemed to be closing in on the victory, but Reed was back in the ring and he landed on both of his opponents with a senton. He then went to the top rope and hit Ricochet with the Tsunami and got the victory. Reed now goes on to next week to face Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship!
Winner: Bronson Reed
Becky Lynch was delivering a promo backstage about her title defence against Tegan Nox tonight, but she was interrupted by Xia Li. She told Becky she wants a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship after Nox.
Drew McIntyre vs. JD McDonagh
McDonagh had a job to do tonight and he was hoping to prove himself to J-Day against the much more experienced McIntyre. Drew was all over JD from the opening bell but after some interference from Dirty Dom, JD was able to get some shots in. He repeatedly attacked Drew’s left knee and even hit him with a springboard moonsault on the outside. Even with the number’s advantage and Drew’s damaged knee, it was McIntyre getting the win following a Claymore.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Following the loss we saw Priest and Ripley watching backstage, and Ripley told Priest that she has an idea. I wonder what this idea could be.
#DIY is back and they were being interviewed by Wade Barrett, they said this has been seven years in the making since their days in NXT. They have been wondering what #DIY could do on Raw for a long time and they were about to let us know if they were here to stay as a team when they were attacked by Imperium. Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser left both Ciampa and Gargano out in the locker room.
DAMN! 😳pic.twitter.com/tWkQWGnIsAhttps://t.co/MViuHxETkx
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) October 10, 2023
Ricochet was now backstage looking for Nakamura, but he instead found Adam Pearce who told him that next week he would be facing Nakamura in a falls count anywhere match!
Ricochet was meant to be the focus of the segment, but the real focus was in the background you could see Rhea Ripley talking with Drew McIntyre. Could this be the idea she was talking about, is she recruiting McIntyre to J-Day?
NXT Women’s Championship Match: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Tegan Nox
This match began quite slow with both women exchanging roll-ups and different pin combinations. Things got going when Nox hit Lynch in her previously injured right arm with a stiff kick, following the focus on the arm Nox was able to hit Lynch with a diving senton. Following a commercial break, Lynch was getting herself back into the match by hitting an exploder suplex, but Nox came right back with a diving crossbody.
Nox then hit her perfect corner senton before getting Lynch in a tree of woe position to hit another running senton. She then locked Lynch into an arm-bar, but Lynch broke the hold and hit Nox with a missile dropkick. Not long after, Lynch was able to lock Nox into the Dis-Arm-Her and Nox was forced to submit. Lynch’s NXT title reign continues, but Nox had a very impressive showing and she earned the respect of The Man.
Winner: Still NXT Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch
Rhea Ripley continued her night of taking care of business, she stormed into Adam Pearce’s office and demanded a match against Shayna Baszler next week.
Jey Uso was preparing for his title defence backstage when he was approached by Drew McIntyre who said he is waiting for Jey to show his true colours, so he can drop his ass when he does. Jey said Drew seems to still be feeling some type of way and said he has five minutes for him right now. It seemed like there was about to be a brawl when Sami Zayn got in the middle. I can’t help but think Drew approaching Jey had something to do with his conversation with Rhea Ripley earlier.
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso (c) vs. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
This match began with some basic chain wrestling, but Sami and KO were showcasing their tag experience. Sami and Jey were then going head-to-head and the former friends were trading blows, but KO was then tagged in. KO has been wanting to get his hands on Jey and that showed tonight as they brawled onto the floor. Their brawling led to Cody and Sami getting into it, and all four men were on the announce table throwing their best shots.
The referee was finally able to get the match under control and back in the ring where KO landed on Jey’s chest with a senton. He followed that with a Swanton Bomb from the top rope, and then both men began trading superkicks until they were both down and out. Sami and Cody were now both tagged in and Cody came in on fire hitting a beautiful Cody Cutter.
Cody now went for the Cross Rhodes, but Zayn was able to reverse into a Blue Thunder Bomb. Sami then hit an exploder into the corner and wanted the Helluva Kick, but Cody cut him off halfway and hit the Cross Rhodes. It seemed like the match was over, but somehow KO jumped into the ring to break up the pin. Jey and KO were now tagged back in, and both men were trading superkicks once again. KO was then able to move out of the way of a Uso Splash and he hit Jey with a stunner. It seemed like the match was over again, but this time it was Cody breaking up the pin.
KO then went for another Swanton, but Jey got the knees up and he was then hit with a double superkick from Jey and Cody. They then worked together to hit KO with the Cody-1D to retain their championships!
Winners: Still Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso
Following the match, all four men showed their respect for one another and KO finally embraced Jey Uso!
