WWE RAW Nashville, Tennessee
The commentators are Michael Cole and Wade Barrett.
– Tonight is WWE RAW, the red show begins with a video of the events at last Saturday’s Survivor Series (show recap here).
– Then the intro from RAW comes with the new song and the commentators welcome us.
– The music of Randy Orton begins and he enters the ring to a standing ovation from the fans. Orton asks if he missed us. Orton says he’s back. He’ll be back if he can stay here. Welcome to Monday Night RAW! He’s been gone for a while. It gave him a lot of time to think about his record. He had never had the opportunity to participate in WarGames. When his good friend Cody Rhodes proposed to him, he immediately said yes. He also wanted to participate because the stipulation was invented by Dusty Rhodes. To be a part of this fight is to be a part of professional wrestling history. He also wanted to come back for Bloodline. Every member of the bloodline must foot the bill. The addition that comes with WWE’s three most dangerous letters: RKO! Rhea Ripley’s music begins.
Ripley welcomes Randy. It was a great performance at Survivor Series. But how did it feel when the spotlight was stolen from him for his big comeback after a year and a half away? Ripley says Judgment Day has been the most dominant force in WWE since his injury. For WarGames, it was just a bump in the road. Judgment Day dominated everything and without Randy Damian Priest would be our world champion. By doing what he did, Randy made enemies that could make his life hell. Because unlike the bloodline, they will finally take him out of circulation. Orton says he sees mommy trying to force herself every week, but now daddy is back!
Orton says Ripley mentioned a lot has changed since she left, that’s true. Orton says one thing that will never change as long as he’s here is that no one tells Randy Orton what to do. Ripley laughs. She says she tried to warn Randy that he was now her enemy. Judgment Day comes from the other side to attack Randy. Orton manages to push back the members of Judgment Day and RKO’s JD McDonagh. Orton tells Dominik not to go too far because he will find Adam Pearce to set up a match against him.
– In a video today, the teams discuss Tag Team Turmoil behind the scenes. Jelly Roll, the town singer, comes to greet everyone. Tozawa does his little dance.
Tag Team Turmoil – Emerging Tag Team Titles
Alpha Academy (Otis and Akira Tozawa) accompanied by Chad Gable and Maxxine Dupri vs. DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa)
At the end of the round, DIY manages to get Otis out of the ring. They then perform their double superkick on Tozawa to end the countdown.
DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) against Indus Sher (Veer and Sanga), accompanied by Jinder Mahal
At the end of the round, Indus Sher dominates the round, but Gargano surprises Veer with a roll up for three.
DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) vs. Creed Brothers (Julius and Brutus Creed), accompanied by Ivy Nile
At the end of the round, DIY prepares for his double superkick, but Julius blocks Gargano with a powerbomb while Brutus knocks Ciampa out of the ring. Brutus grabs the tag to hit his Brutus Ball on Gargano for the three count.
Creed Brothers (Julius and Brutus Creed), accompanied by Ivy Nile vs. New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)
At the end of the round, Woods is thrown out of the ring and the Creeds use their Brutus Ball on Kofi for a three count.
Creed Brothers (Julius and Brutus Creed), accompanied by Ivy Nile vs. Empire (Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci)
At the end of the fight, the Creeds prepare for their finisher, but Vinci pushes Brutus into the corner. Kaiser throws Julius shoulder first into the corner and clotheslines Brutus. Kaiser takes the tag and they prepare for their finisher, but Julius dives into the corner and gives Kaiser a superplex. Julius puts Vinci on his shoulders and Brutus does the Brutus Ball and counts to three.
Winner: Creed Brothers
– Behind the scenes we find the Day of Judgment. Finn Balor says the creeds are strong, they can’t take them lightly. Damian Priest says he is not happy about losing the WarGames match. Ripley says they’re all staying together. Balor says it’s just a loss, they are still champions, everything is fine. Ripley says just because Priest was the leader of this loss doesn’t mean it’s a problem. The priest says it is appreciated. Speaking of family, how is McDonagh? Balor says he is still being examined by the doctor.
– Back after the break, the music from Cody Rhodes begins and he enters the ring. Cody asks Nashville what they want to talk about. Cody says he’s grateful for his team’s win over the weekend. He would like to thank Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, their RAW Champion Seth Rollins and Randy Orton for coming especially for him. Orton was a mentor to him in his early days and continues to be one today. Orton gave him a new memory when he gave him the chance to do his Cross Rhodes and secure victory in his father’s match. Now let’s talk about the other story, the return of CM Punk. Nobody knew this would happen. This is why everyone will read the results on Catch-Newz. Here’s what I have to say about CM Punk: Welcome back. With this novelty comes all these stories. So he would like to do his own Newz and he would like to do it here.
Cody says we know him well, so there’s only one target for him. For this reason, thanks to Adam Pearce, he is the first to announce himself for the 2024 Royal Rumble match. The lights go out and we find Shinsuke Nakamura on the TitanTron. Nakamua says they must continue their story. He needs Cody to develop and grow. The wait is finally over. He will throw Cody into chaos ! The video ends and Nakamura is behind Cody, he throws a Red Mist in his face.
– Back, Reed comes first.
Single game
Bronson Reed vs. Ivar, accompanied by Valhalla
At the end of the fight, Reed dodges Ivar’s moonsault. Reed goes to the corner for his Tsunami but gets distracted by Valhalla and comes down out of the corner. The referee throws Valhalla backstage. The two will fight at ringside. Reed throws him into the barricade. Reed follows up with a slam into the barricade and the referee counts to ten.
Winner: None – Double Count Out
– After the fight, the two continue the confrontation at ringside. Security tries to arrest them, but Reed throws a guard at Ivar! Reed poses for the fans, but Ivar gets on a box and does a flip. The officers finally manage to separate the two.
– Shayna Baszler reassures Zoey Stark in a video today by saying she will have another shot at the title. Nia Jax comes in and says Zoey gave it her all, but Zoey lost. She was the one who should have won the match at Survivor Series and she would be the winner today. But it’s okay, she’ll destroy everyone. Baszler tells Nia to close her hole if she doesn’t want her arm broken. Zoey says she can handle her business. She challenges Jax to a match tonight.
-Back, backstage, Judgment Day returns to his dressing room and R-Truth is eating cake on the sofa. McDonagh says there’s sugar everywhere, which is shameful. Truth said he wanted to talk to them. He heard that the JD is looking for a fifth member for the WarGames, so he’s here. Priest says WarGames was two days ago. Truth asks if he won. Judgment Day can’t stand him any longer and throws him out of his dressing room. McDonagh says he will take on Truth.
Single game
Nia Jax vs Zoey Stark
At the end of the fight, Nia goes to the corner to perform her finisher, but Stark gets up and knocks her down with a kick. Stark covers him, but Nia fights back for two. Stark punches Nia and goes to the corner, but Nia gets back up and takes her down. Nia then uses a Samoan Drop on Stark and hits him with a back senton. Nia continues her Banzai Drop until three.
Winner: Nia Jax
– Behind the scenes, Kaiser and Vinci are talking to each other. Gunther arrives and says he expects the two of them to speak to Adam Pearce to resolve the DIY issue. Kaiser says he promises to do it. Kaiser and Vinci leave. The Miz comes out and says he saw Gunther’s press conference where he said his next opponent needs to challenge him personally, so here he is. Gunther asks if Miz is safe. Miz agrees and says he knows he can beat Gunther for the title. Gunther says he knows Miz is not a threat to his legendary reign. But Miz came like a man who asked for it, he deserved it.
– Seth Rollins enters the ring. Back, Seth Rollins welcomes us to Monday Night Rollins. He’s the visionary, he’s the revolutionary, he’s Seth Freakin Rollins. The audience sings “CM Punk” and not its theme song. Rollins tells fans to chant “CM Punk” if they want. He doesn’t want to waste another second with this hypocrite. So instead of talking about someone who doesn’t matter at all, why not talk about something that really matters: the title he has earned over the last six months as the most important championship in the industry.
Rollins says he’s not feeling very well two days after WarGames, but he’s starting to get excited about defending his title again. He visited Adam Pearce this afternoon to discuss his next opponent. Drew McIntyre’s music starts and he comes to the ring. Drew says it’s been a crazy 48 hours here, hasn’t it? People talk about a lot of things, even outside the ring. But the most important thing is what happens in the ring. That’s why he would like to congratulate him on his victory at WarGames. The two shake hands. Drew says his plan was to attack Jey Uso. But he realized he had to put Jey behind him and focus on what was most important, which was the WWE World Title. Does Rollins remember what he said to him before their match at Crown Jewel? Rollins says he told him that McIntyre would be at fault if he hit him and that it would be the best thing that could happen to McIntyre. McIntyre says Rollins was 100% right. There was a moment in the match where he saw it was over for Rollins when he hit his back on the apron and did his claymore. But he began to feel compassion.
McIntyre says he pulled Rollins up and…Rollins punched him in the face. He deserved the slap, it made him realize that he had to become a shark. Stop empathizing, he wants his world title rematch. Rollins says he always liked Drew’s honesty. He believes Drew deserves a rematch, but the problem is he believes other people deserve a chance too. That’s why he came here to announce that he will defend his world title next week on RAW. Drew says Rollins is the champion, Rollins decides, but who is his opponent? Rollins says he will defend his title against Jey Uso ! McIntyre headbutts him! Drew starts beating up Rollins and says he beat Jey, so theoretically he’s ahead of Jey! Jey Uso’s music starts and he comes to the ring. Rollins and Jey team up to get Drew out of the ring.
– Back, backstage, Sami Zayn stops Drew McIntyre. Sami says he doesn’t know what’s happening to Drew. Drew can’t beat Rollins on his own, so he has to headbutt him without warning? …Drew says Sami doesn’t understand what he’s going through. Sami says Drew isn’t the only one who failed. He also lost to Roman Reigns in front of his family and almost beat Seth Rollins. The difference, however, is that he keeps getting up and fighting for his ultimate goal of becoming world champion. Drew has already been world champion twice, Drew has everything in him. Drew is better than that. Drew says maybe Sami is right, maybe he should listen to him… He’ll go to Adam Pearce and set up a match against Sami!
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – Tag Team Match
Natalya and Tegan Nox vs. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven (c)
At the end of the fight, Natalya and Nox Suplex Green stand in front of a barricade. Niven fires a cannonball from the apron at Natalya and Nox. Niven brings Nox back into the ring and hits him with a cross body for a three count.
Winners: Chelsea Green and Piper Niven
– The commentators announce for next Monday: Jey Uso vs. Seth Rollins for the world title and Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre.
– Backstage, Randy Orton gets ready and Jey Uso arrives. Jey says he just wanted to thank Orton for WarGames. He heard Orton and his comments at the start of the show and he’s sorry for how it went. When he came to RAW, he wanted to put the past behind him. Orton says he understands. He’s seen Jey helping Cody and the others over the past few months. The trust he sees represents something, so he too is a thing of the past. But the rest of the bloodline isn’t finished yet.
– Back backstage, Jackie is with Becky Lynch to get her comments on the WarGames. Lynch says it was an epic battle. She feels very good. But for tonight, The Man is in Nashville. The fight is on the horizon.
Single game
Dominik Mysterio accompanied by JD McDonagh against Randy Orton
At the end of the match, Orton prepares for his RKO, but McDonagh knocks him out of the ring. Singer Jelly Roll intervenes and pushes McDonagh and Dominik. Orton throws Dominik onto the announce table. Orton brings Dominik back into the ring. McDonagh tries to follow, but Orton hits him with a DDT from the second rope. Dominik takes the opportunity to hit Orton with a 619 and goes for a splash, but Orton avoids it. Orton continues his RKO and counts to three.
Winner: Randy Orton
– Back, the music from Cm Punk begins and he enters the ring. CM Punk says he’s standing in a WWE ring on RAW live with a microphone. Since Saturday he has been feeling more like himself. He found two words to express how he feels. The truth hurts, it won’t sound like CM Punk, but he has changed. We must speak from the heart because it is the truth. The truth is that he is home.
Punk says he came back ten years later and we never forgot him. Punk says people never stopped chanting my name. He is back because he loves us. He loves us and missed us. He wanted to say that he never had to leave. But he had to go and come back to get what he deserved, the “wise man” was right. Punk says he came back for us because we are his home. Saturday was a great time, Monday was a great time. It’s just love behind the camera, like a family reunion. Everyone is happy to see him backstage. And everyone asks him how AJ is doing, AJ is doing very well and he takes the opportunity to greet us. Everyone welcomed him with open arms, well, almost. People are afraid of the truth. He understands that the competition for the best in the world is fierce, but the best in the world hasn’t been here for ten years.
Punk says they’re afraid he’ll set the bar too high, they’re afraid he’ll control the game, they’re afraid the controversial man he is will take control. People are afraid of waking up tomorrow and realizing that their best performance in the ring and on the microphone is not enough because the best in the world is back. The best is here and his name is CM Punk. Punk adds that he’s not here to make friends, but to make money.
Photo credit: WWE