Hey there! Did you remember to set your clock back? No, not your clocks around the house like when Daylight Saving Time is ending, but rather your internal wrestling fan clock to reflect the fact that WWE Raw is on two hours earlier tonight.
Guess we can’t even say “tonight” when the show kicks off at 6 p.m. ET from Pittsburgh. Why the change? Well, thanks to the U.S. holiday on Friday (something about the country’s birthday, we hear), this week’s episode of SmackDown is going to be taped after Raw.
WWE could have had Raw at its normal time and just did the SmackDown taping right after that, but it would have made for a long night in the Iron City. This is a better solution, one made possible by having Netflix as a broadcast partner who likely cares little about when the show airs live.
So dinner and some wrestling it is. Or afternoon snack break out west, we suppose. Either way, we’ll get to see some tag team matches, including one for the gold, as well as the “Big Meaty Men Slapping Meat” match of the month with Sheamus and Rusev colliding. Gunther will also be on hand, but will Goldberg?
We’ll find out together shortly. Be sure to bookmark us here and refresh regularly for WWE Raw results live as they happen.
The show begins with a recap of what you saw or missed, depending, at Night of Champions. Also reaction shots from fans so excited you’d wonder if this was their first WWE PLE. Several wrestlers involved in the main event on Saturday are shown entering the arena, as are The New Day and Sheamus.
Rhea Ripley finds out what’s next, and it’s a golden opportunity
Sending Rhea Ripley to welcome everyone to “Monday Night Mami” is a popular way to start things in earnest. Now that The Judgment Day is behind her, hopefully for good, Ripley wonders what’s next for her, particularly with Evolution right around the corner.
As if on cue, Iyo Sky appears (with her Women’s World Championship) and joins her in the ring. Sky suggests Ripley can’t be on top without the title, but since Adam Pearce told Iyo she can defend the belt against anyone she wants, she actually wants to face Rhea.
“I just want you to know, Iyo, that what happens at Evolution, that’s what you wanted,” says Ripley, before telling Sky she’s on.
Dominik Mysterio shows his doctor’s note to AJ Styles to prove he’s still not cleared to return to action. Styles seems willing to bide his time, though Pearce says he can’t touch Mysterio for now.
The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and JD McDonagh) vs. The New Day – World Tag Team Championship Match
Michael Cole quips that it’s surprising to see Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods actually defend their titles, something they’ve done only twice since winning them. Kofi is wrestling in Harden Volume 9s, a solid choice for actual athletic endeavors that also just look cool.
This is an unusual heel vs. heel matchup, though the fans have to side with someone and appear to be backing the challengers, or at least Balor. We also learn that you shouldn’t lay on the mat and hold an opponent above you while Finn is attempting the Coup de Grace, lest you end up taking the double stomp yourself by accident.
Both teams cheat but find it insufficient to wrap this one up. What does is a moonsault by McDonagh, followed by a Coup de Grace by Balor. New champs everyone, and now Balor has some gold to lend his machinations a little more gravitas.
At least one viewer doesn’t seem too upset about this title change.
Winners … and new World Tag Team Champions: The New Day (Finn Balor and JD McDonagh by pinfall)
Bayley won’t get Lyra Valkyria’s name out of her mouth, which brings Valkyria to debate whether this is personal, whether Lyra intentionally tried to sabotage Bayley, and things of that nature. Pearce finally has enough and tells them they can settle this in the ring, with the winner becoming No. 1 contender.
Talk about a walk down memory lane. An extended video package takes us all the way back through Goldberg’s rise to become a phenomenon in WCW and some of more notable WWE bouts before ending with his current feud with Gunther. Less than two weeks until Gunther retires him. We think.
It takes much less of a flashback to rewind a week to see Penta objecting to Chad Gable’s mouth by injuring his left arm. Back in the present, Pearce wishes Gable luck in his surgery and recovery while also cracking that we might not be seeing El Grande Americano for a while. What about American Made? Gable seemingly leaves Ivy Nile in charge while he’s out.
Balor and McDonagh drop in on Pearce and Nick Aldis to suggest that they allow Roxanne Perez be allowed to defend the women’s tag titles with Raquel Rodriguez. They confer shortly and say they will allow it under one condition: If they can prove it by taking on a team from Raw, a team from SmackDown and a team from NXT at Evolution.
“Look at us — on the same page,” says Aldis.
“For now,” replies Pearce ominously before he exits stage left.
Rusev vs. Sheamus
You want your 30-minute classics? Sorry, couldn’t help myself.
This match figures to be exactly what it appears on the label, and it does not disappoint in terms of serving up power vs. power. Oooohhhh but what if superplex? That’s a big boom.
Both men end up on their knees just slugging it out with each other before doing the same on their feet. The 10 Beats of the Bodhran are also sounded, followed by a nasty knee shot, but Rusev kicks out to keep the match going. Cole and Corey Graves say this reminds them of a late 1970s match in the best way possible.
Rusev locks in the Accolade, but Sheamus is able to rise to his feet and back Rusev into the turnbuckles to break the hold. They end up tumbling to the floor, where both men barely beat the 10-count from the ref.
Something extra is needed to seal the deal, and Rusev finds it by exposing the top turnbuckle, hurling Sheamus into it and kicking him in the head to get the victory. Cole calls it “the biggest win since his return to WWE,” which, yeah, is probably true.
Winner: Rusev by pinfall
Pearce and Aldis explain that Evolution will feature a battle royal with the winner claiming a title shot at Clash in Paris.
Jackie Redmond speaks with American Made, who is surprised to see El Grande Americano walk by. It’s definitely not Gable, too tall.
Redmond tries to get a word with Sami Zayn next, but Karrion Kross interrupts in violent fashion, using both his hands and a metal pipe to make his point until officials finally arrive to end his assault.
A few of the Pittsburgh Steelers are in attendance. Before you ask, no, Aaron Rodgers isn’t one of them.
Gunther has Goldberg on his mind, but others are circling his title … and each other
Maybe backhanded compliments are Gunther’s true superpower. His words are saying that the Goldberg highlights earlier were impressive, but he eventually gets to the point, accusing the now-58-year-old Goldberg of riding his coattails. Gunther says he could beat Bill in three minutes, but he plans to take his time, take him apart and embarrass Goldberg in front of “everything and everyone that is near and dear to him.”
Gunther goes on to say that he will bully Goldberg and treat him like a piece of crap … and there’s nothing Bill can do about it. After he does, who’s next for the Ring General?
Hold that thought, because that’s Seth Rollins’ music. Gunther mocks Rollins for “traveling very, vary far to accomplish absolutely nothing,” but Seth says he has it wrong. It wasn’t the plan to cash in the Money in the Bank contract (now in a very spiffy custom gold and black case) on John Cena, but rather his whole goal was to prevent CM Punk from becoming a world champion again. They flew “all the way across the world to stand on that business.”
Rollins goes on to say that when he won the briefcase, it was going to be an all-out assault on both world titles. He offers a semi-sarcastic congratulations before Punk’s music hits. The Best in the World rushes to the ring to attack his bitter rival, eventually causing Rollins to flee through the crowd. Gunther tries grabbing Punk but gets knocked to the canvas for his troubles.
Just as Rollins is gloating up high in the stands, he learns he isn’t safe when LA Knight ambushes him from behind. They fight out into the concourse until Seth can make a second escape.
A joyous Judgment Day gathering is brought down slightly when Rodriguez arrives to object about the plan to install Perez as her new partner. Balor suggests they put it to a vote, which ends up unanimous despite some misgivings from both Dirty Dom and Raquel. Perez is delighted and says she will repay that confidence by going after the person who took out Liv, something that appeases Rodriguez at least a little.
Speaking of Kairi Sane, a vignette shows her vowing to take all the gold. Appropriate for the Pirate Princess.
Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria
Something here feels like hijinks that will give both women a title shot. WWE loves a Triple Threat match when it can find a reason to do one, and honestly sometimes even when it makes no sense. Let’s see.
The announcers play up the experience vs. youth angle, suggesting that Bayley would prefer a more deliberate pace while Valkyria might want to crank it up. And then it happens: Both women end up pinning each other’s shoulders to the mat at the same time, and the ref calls it a draw.
Called it! Bayley and Lyra keep battling after the bell, fighting into the timekeeper’s area and then out into the crowd where additional referees and officials have to deal with them.
Winner: No one, match is ruled a draw
Cole and Graves tell us it’s official: Knight and Rollins will face off at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Atlanta.
Redmond grabs a moment with Punk, who says he has receipts for Rollins, Paul Heyman, Bron Breakker and even Gunther. Punk spots Knight and demands he wait in line to get ay Rollins. The Megastar says that as far as he’s concerned, Punk can have Rollins six days a week. But for Saturday Night’s Main Event, he is the line. Yeah!
Sami Zayn and Penta vs. Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed
Zayn is sporting taped up ribs after his run-in with Kross earlier, though it certainly doesn’t appear he’s going to do anything but go for it as usual. Amusingly, he shows off his own version of Penta’s strut before they both head to the skies simultaneously for one of the better pre-commercial spots of the night.
Another sweet moment comes when Breakker does his jump from the apron to the announce table deal. Dude is just an absolute beast.
But Penta gets a hot tag and a sequence to show his stuff too, including a nice DDT counter when Breakker has him up in a military press. He also rolls away from a Tsunami, always a good idea.
This match feels like it could end any number of ways. Zayn ambitiously thinks Blue Thunder Bomb on Reed before settling for a slightly less speculative but still ambitious suplex. Alas, Breakker is still lurking, and his spear flattens Sami and wins the match.
Winners: Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed by pinfall
With Breakker and Reed thinking more punishment after the bell, the question becomes who might save Penta and Zayn. The answer is Jey Uso … along with a steel chair. Uso drops Breakker with steel chair shots on his way to the ring, then throws the chair in Reed’s face when he gets there. Rollins’ troops are left to lick their wounds as this early edition of WWE Raw fades out. ‘Til next time!
