Raw: The Poison Mist

Joseph Casciaro

Raw: The Poison Mist

After last week’s Raw ended with Drew McIntyre putting Jey Uso through the announce table, tonight’s show opened with Uso.

He said last week we lost a real one in Sami Zayn, he wished him well and a speedy recovery, but the fact it was McIntyre that injured him doesn’t sit well with him. McIntyre attacked Zayn, Seth Rollins and himself, but tonight it’s just them two face-to-face and he’s going to get McIntyre. That bold statement brought McIntyre out from the back, he said Rollins deserved the beating, but he has a point about Zayn.

McIntyre said Zayn ran his mouth and he did leave him with one good leg, but he still said he was sorry to Zayn at home. He wanted Uso to hear what an apology was since he never apologized to him and he believes he has every reason to want revenge. Uso took everything from him in front of his family last year and thinks that can just be forgotten. McIntyre wanted to keep going, but Uso was tired of all the talking he just wanted to give McIntyre a “Yeet-down.”

Jey Uso vs. Drew McIntyre

Uso started the match by drilling McIntyre with some punches, a kick to the face and a diving crossbody. However, McIntyre then caught Uso with a kick to the midsection and then laid into him with some ground and pound. He followed that with a suplex before stomping on Uso and he then attempted a Claymore on the outside, but Uso moved and he crashed onto the announce table. Uso then ran into the ring and dove back to the outside into McIntyre with a suicide dive.

After a commercial break, both Uso and McIntyre were up on the top rope, McIntyre seemed to fall back, but he used his core to lift himself back up and throw Uso off the ropes to the mat. McIntyre then delivered a Glasgow Kiss and went to the top rope, but Uso moved out of the way of his dive. Uso super kicked McIntyre in the stomach and then hit a Samoan drop, he now wanted a running hip attack, but McIntyre moved and hit a neck breaker to Uso.

McIntyre went for a Claymore, but he instead ran into two superkicks from Uso. With McIntyre down Uso went to the top rope and dove with a Uso Splash, however, McIntyre got his knees up. McIntyre now hit Uso with a Future Shock DDT and while the referee checked on Uso McIntyre removed a turnbuckle pad. Then while the referee went to repair the turnbuckle, McIntyre dug his thumbs into Uso’s eyes to blind him. So with Uso struggling to see, McIntyre connected with a Claymore to steal the win.

Winner: Drew McIntyre

McIntyre gets the win. Credit: WWE

Ahead of their match later tonight, Shinsuke Nakamura offered a warning to Cody Rhodes. He said Cody saying he doesn’t respect him is Cody’s weakness because he cares what others think of him. Nakamura got rid of that burden years ago and now wants to put an end to Cody’s story because he said Cody asked for this.

The Judgement Day was chatting backstage, Finn Bálor and Rhea Ripley were not too happy with JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio. Last week with Bálor and Ripley away, JD and Dom lost to The Creed Brothers and Dom lost his NXT North American Championship over the weekend.

Priest said people losing is just as bad as people not showing up to Raw, Ripley didn’t take that statement lightly. She said Priest says he is a leader, but he clearly cannot act as one. She followed that by saying she was talking to the whole family and that J-Day needed to get back on track with their mission to run Raw.

Rhea Ripley vs. Maxxine Dupri w/Ivy Nile

This is just Dupri’s second singles match ever and it is against the Women’s World Champion. Ripley wasted no time laying into Dupri with a number of clotheslines and she then went for a power bomb, but Dupri reversed into a hurricanrana. Dupri was a little too excited about that and Ripley then drove a big boot through Dupri. She followed that with a Riptide, but instead of pinning her, she locked in a Prizm Trap to get the victory. Ripley didn’t want to release the hold, so Nile got in the ring and it seemed like she will be next to compete against Ripley.

Winner: Rhea Ripley

Ripley vs. Nile. Credit: WWE

Prior to a commercial break, Adam Pearce was now walking backstage with a Raw contract and he walked into CM Punk’s locker room.

Following that break, Pearce was now in the ring and called CM Punk out to the ring to decide which brand he would sign with. Punk said he has been concerned with his choice because he loves the people, but this specific building has not always been kind to CM Punk. This is the building he debuted in and that debut got him sent to OVW, but he then returned to this building to defend his World Heavyweight Championship and Randy Orton kicked him in the skull so he couldn’t compete.

Punk is Raw. Credit: WWE

Punk continued on and he actually apologized to the fans for walking out on WWE all those years ago. He said Nick Aldis, Shawn Michaels and Pearce made offers to him, but Pearce’s offer was levels above the rest. Punk said his decision was made from the moment he signed because he saw Cleveland on the calendar. 10 years ago he walked out of the WWE in Cleveland and tonight he signed with Monday Night Raw in Cleveland. CM Punk is Raw’s newest superstar!

As Punk was celebrating signing his contract he was interrupted by the World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, who has been vocally upset that Punk is back. Punk and Rollins were standing face-to-face in a WWE ring for the first time in a long time. Rollins said he hopes Punk knows how fortunate he is to be standing in this ring and he then asked Punk for one favour, that he does not dare to call this place his home.

Chills. Credit: WWE

Punk abandoned this place 10 years ago and tried to tear it down, he spent time slandering Rollins and multiple people in the locker room. This place isn’t Punk’s home, it’s Rollins’ home and he will do everything in his power to protect it from people like Punk. Rollins then simply told Punk, “I hate you, but if you’re going to be a part of WWE again then I want you on Monday Night Raw.”

This seemed like a nice statement, but Rollins said the truth always comes out and this is Punk’s last chance. He will either self-destruct and Rollins can shut the door on his legacy, or if Punk really has changed he can maybe one day challenge Rollins for his title, then Rollins can expose Punk. He said he would wrestle circles around him and show him what it really means to be the best in the world.

Punk said that was Rollins’ one pass for being disrespectful to him, and he has never asked for any handouts. He likes to do things the hard way and he then announced he is entering the Royal Rumble. Punk said when he wins the Rumble maybe it will be Rollins he comes after at WrestleMania!

For Part Two of Raw: The Poison Mist click on the link below:

Bronson Reed vs. Ivar w/Valhalla

These two behemoths faced off a few weeks ago, but the match ended in a double countout and no winner was crowned. As for tonight, they were quickly trading shots, Reed took Ivar down with a running body check and then turned him inside out with an Irish whip into the corner. Both men then had the same idea, they both went for a running crossbody and collided in mid-air.

Ivar now hit Reed with a sit-out spine buster and followed that by diving from the top rope with a cannonball onto Reed. Both men then ended up on the top rope and Reed superplexed Ivar to the mat! 600 plus pounds crashing to the mat and that was enough to get Reed the victory.

Winner: Bronson Reed

CM Punk was now walking backstage when he bumped into The Judgement Day, he asked them where Rhea was. Priest laughed and then welcomed Punk to Raw, he said he hopes Punk finishes his story because he will then be right there waiting. He then held up his Money in the Bank briefcase in Punk’s face.

The men of J-Day now made their way to the ring, they had a simple message for the locker room. That it does not matter if you’re old, returning or new like The Creed Brothers, you will be dealt with. They were then interrupted by R-Truth, who seems to think he is a member of J-Day. Truth said he has a lot of ideas for J-Day, first, he wants to kick JD out and he wants Priest to stop calling himself the boss because it makes Mami mad.

Priest then said everyone loves R-Truth, except him and J-Day then attacked him. It was a four-on-one attack, but The Creed Brothers rushed the ring to make the save. Julius hit JD and Dom with a double belly-to-belly suplex and he sent Bálor flying. Then with Brutus, they dropped Priest with a double spine buster. J-Day needs to realize that The Creed Brothers are quite the challengers.

CM Punk’s busy night continued, he bumped into Drew McIntyre, who was just let know by Adam Pearce that at the Day 1 edition of Raw, he will be challenging Rollins for the World title. McIntyre told Punk he doesn’t care about his story, he only cares about finishing his own.

Punk and Drew meet backstage. Credit: WWE

He then ran into Kofi Kingston, Chad Gable and Ricochet; he shook all their hands but said he had to run. Pearce then invited all three of those men into his office to discuss what is next when it comes to Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship.

Katana Chance & Kayden Carter vs. Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell

Chance and Carter have been on quite the run recently and they were hoping to continue that tonight. They started the match well, using their fast-paced and innovative offence on Hartwell. LeRae and Hartwell did briefly battle back, but Carter super-kicked Hartwell and with Chance, they hit LeRae with the After Party to get the win.

Winners: Katana Chance & Kayden Carter

Becky Lynch now made her way to the ring and she has a bone to pick with Nia Jax. She said they have never gone one-on-one, but for the last five years, they have been linked to each other because Jax broke her nose. From that moment they both went their separate ways, but now they are both finally here at the same time.

Jax interrupted her and said she is now standing in front of her better than ever. She said the punch that broke Lynch’s nose was a lucky shot and if she tried to punch her Lynch would not have been able to get up. Lynch said everyone knows how dangerous Jax is and how she injures so many people, but Jax said the punch made Lynch’s career. However, Lynch said that punch represents so much more, it’s about getting back up, dusting yourself off and fighting like hell.

Jax replied by saying Lynch needs her so she can prove that her career is not a fluke, otherwise, Jax will always be the woman that made the man. Lynch was done talking at that point and said she came for a fight. She dropped her microphone and told Jax to hit her, giving her a free shot at her face, but instead of swinging Jax said you need this a lot more than I do. Jax then walked out and continued her mind games with Lynch.

Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci) vs. #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) & The Miz

#DIY was tasked with finding a tag partner for this match and they found…The Miz. Imperium was in control to begin this match, but Kaiser and Vinci were having a hard time working together and this allowed #DIY to gain control. After those disagreements, Gunther stepped in and hit Ciampa with a boot to the skull.

He then knocked Miz off the apron and kept Ciampa trapped on Imperium’s side of the ring, but when Vinci was tagged in Ciampa finally tagged in Gargano. He entered the ring with a slingshot spear and super-kicked Kaiser in the jaw. Now Miz and Gunther were both tagged in, and Miz was teeing off on Gunther before hitting a springboard crossbody. Miz then hit the It Kicks, but Gunther blocked the last one and locked in a Boston crab.

Ciampa broke up that hold, and Gargano and Miz hit Vinci and Kaiser with tilt-a-whirl DDTs. Miz then locked Gunther into a figure-four, but to break the hold Gunther tagged in Vinci who ran into a Skull Crushing Finale from Miz. This got them the victory and Imperium has been handed another loss.

Winners: #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) & The Miz

Quite the team. Credit: WWE

Following the match, Gunther finally agreed to give Miz one more shot at his title, but if Miz wins he will never be allowed to challenge for the title again!

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Cody Rhodes

Nakamura has been stalking Rhodes for months and he finally attacked him a few weeks ago, so tonight is Rhodes looking for revenge. Rhodes began the match with a dropkick and 10 punches to Nakamura, but he was then caught with a knee from Nakamura and kicked to the floor outside the ring.

Rhodes did try to make a comeback on Nakamura and attempted a Cody Cutter, but Nakamura caught him in mid-air with an arm bar. The hold was eventually broken and Nakamura delivered a sliding German suplex to Rhodes before hitting a diving knee strike. He then went for a Kinshasa, however, Rhodes cut him off halfway with a dropkick to the knee. Rhodes followed that with a dragon screw to Nakamura and a face-buster before locking in a single-leg crab. Nakamura did make it to the ropes and pulled himself outside the ring, so Rhodes dove through the ropes with a suicide dive.

A blinded Cody. Credit: WWE

Now back in the ring, both men took each other down when they went for a clothesline at the same time. Rhodes got the upper hand once they were both up, he hit a snap-power slam and a disaster kick. That was followed by a Bionic Elbow and a Cody Cutter. Rhodes then went for a Cross Rhodes, but Nakamura slipped out and spit the red mist into Rhodes’ face causing a disqualification.

Winner: Cody Rhodes via disqualification

With Rhodes blinded Nakamura delivered some knees to Rhodes before hitting a Kinshasa to the back of his head. Nakamura then grabbed a steel chair, but before he could strike The Creed Brothers came to his aid and Nakamura retreated to the back with a smile on his face.

The Creed Brothers stood back as Rhodes was being helped to the back, so Nakamura charged down the ramp and hit Rhodes with another Kinshasa!

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