Posted on 9/09/125 by Bob Magee
AJ Lee and CM Punk will team against Becky Lynch and Seth
Rollins at Wrestlepalooza because Lee wouldn’t give back
Lynch’s IC title belt. The setup for the match was silly,
but Lee’s return promo was worth watching.
The rest of Raw was not. All five matches tonight had some
sort of distraction or interference, and outside of maybe
one match, the in-ring action didn’t exactly make up for it.
**********
Show Recap —
There was a video package of AJ Lee’s return on SmackDown.
Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins were shown arriving at the
arena in Milwaukee. Lynch was without her Intercontinental
title belt after AJ Lee retrieved it.
Tonight’s announcers are Joe Tessitore and Corey Graves.
They said Wade Barrett was on vacation. Graves joked that
the internet said Barrett was exiled.
Jimmy & Jey Uso kick off Raw
Jey and Jimmy Uso entered together through the crowd to
Jey’s music. The fans asked them to run it back as usual, so
they did.
Jey spoke briefly about Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed
before they quickly interrupted. Breakker told Jimmy (a
SmackDown wrestler) he must be lost because the Vision ran
Raw. Breakker got flustered in his promo, so he suddenly
snapped like he wanted to hit the ring, but Reed held him
back.
All Reed wanted was for Roman Reigns’ family to acknowledge
their Tribal Thief. (The crowd sang for Reigns.) Reed said
they dealt with Reigns already, and Jimmy would be next.
Jimmy told him to watch his mouth. Jimmy made some crack
comparing them to J&J Security. The Usos also made quips
about Paul Heyman, calling him an orca (instead of an
oracle, because he looks like a whale) and quoted Hangman
Page Reigns by calling him a dumbass.
The Usos challenged them to a tag match and were ready to do
it right now. Reed said they can wait until Wrestlepalooza.
They were suddenly interrupted by LA Knight, who attacked
the Brons from behind. The Usos helped him out, but some
miscommunication between Knight and Jey led to Jey getting
squashed by Reed in the corner. Jimmy got rid of Reed with a
superkick. Jey and Knight argued as the segment ended.
********
They announced that Raw will start at 7 pm ET/4 pm ET next
week (they did not mention anything about the following
weeks).
AJ Styles and LA Knight promos
AJ Styles cut a promo during a break, and they tried to make
it more interesting than the usual off-screen promo. Styles
said he didn’t have anyone at his side for the first time in
his career. He put up the Too Sweet sign before putting it
down.
He said Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson weren’t there. Michin
was on SmackDown. It almost felt like someone orchestrated a
way for him not to get help. He would take things out on El
Grande Americano tonight so the person who didn’t want him
there could feel his pain.
After a break, Knight said he didn’t care about The Usos’
reunion or their match at Wrestlepalooza. If Jey Uso had a
problem with him, they could deal with it face-to-face.
Knight wanted one of the Brons in a match tonight. It could
be Bronson Reed, Bron Breakker, LeBron James, Little Bronny,
or Charles Bronson. He just wanted to beat the piss out of
someone named Bron.
********
AJ Styles vs. El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser)
Styles attacked Kaiser during his entrance and beat the crap
out of him until the referee decided to start the match
after Styles clotheslined him out of the ring. Styles
continued to beat him up and seemed on the verge of a quick
win, but as he set up for the Phenomenal Forearm, a second
man dressed like El Grande Americano (in a track suit) ran
out to grab him by the leg (while Kaiser distracted the
referee).
Kaiser took control, so it was time for commercials. Styles
made his comeback when they returned and hit a rack bomb for
two. Kaiser begged off as he backed into the corner. Styles
fell for it, so Kaiser dropped him over the top turnbuckle
and hit a blockbuster for two.
Styles was about to go for a Styles Clash, but stopped what
he was doing as the other masked man jumped on the apron.
Dragon Lee ran out to take him out, and Styles gave
Americano/Kaiser a Styles Clash for the pinfall win.
The crowd certainly liked Styles, and they popped big for
his win.
Match result: AJ Styles defeated El Grande Americano (9:00)
********
Adam Pearce informed Iyo Sky that Stephanie Vaquer couldn’t
make it to Raw, so the contract signing was off. However, he
still anticipated her being ready for their title match at
Wrestlepalooza. Sky was relieved. Nikki Bella approached Sky
and put her over, but Asuka and Kairi Sane barged in.
Asuka told Nikki to leave. Nikki told Asuka to show some
respect. Asuka laughed at that and offered to beat some
respect into her tonight. Nikki accepted.
Sane tried to apologize to Sky, but Asuka called her away.
(Asuka is great in this role.)
********
They claimed that the clip of AJ Lee’s return received 178
million “social views.” They aired a video package for her,
highlighting her career and run as a multi-time Divas
Champion.
Lyra Valkyria vs. Raquel Rodriguez (w/Roxanne Perez)
Rodriguez took control after catching Valkyria’s flying
crossbody attempt and hitting a fallaway slam. Rodriguez
wrenched Valkyria back-first against the ring post before
hitting consecutive corkscrew elbow drops to the back.
Rodriguez continued to work over her back during a break,
but Valkyria made a comeback with a spinning heel kick, some
sort of bulldog/jawbreaker, and tornado DDT. Rodriguez
followed with a rope-assisted vertical suplex for two.
Valkyria went for a sunset flip powerbomb, but Rodriguez
held onto the ropes. Valkyria hung on to Rodriguez, sat up,
powered her down, hitting the powerbomb for a nearfall.
(Graves put over Rodriguez’s strength here, but it was
really Valkyria with the impressive showing.)
Valkyria tried going for Nightwing but dropped Rodriguez,
partially because her back was hurt and because Perez hopped
on the apron (which we also saw in the last match).
Valkyria and Rodriguez traded counters until Valkyria
applied a deep cradle for two. Valkyria went to the top, but
Rodriguez brought her down with a Tejana Bomb for the
pinfall win.
Match result: Raquel Rodriguez defeated Lyra Valkyria
(12:41)
This was a pretty good match despite some weak spots. The
crowd seemed more into Valkyria than they had been in recent
weeks or months.
********
The War Raiders met with Penta backstage before Penta met
with Pearce. Penta said everybody loved Penta when he got to
WWE, but he wondered why Pearce didn’t love him. Pearce
wondered what he meant, so Penta told him that his
Intercontinental Champion was a pendejo. Penta wanted a
title match.
Rusev interrupted them. He reminded Pearce that his plan was
for him to return, crush Sheamus, and get a title match.
Penta got in his face, so Pearce made a match between the
two for tonight. (They had so little planned for tonight
that we’ve had two impromptu matches.)
********
New Day (with Grayson Waller) cut a promo during
commercials, the only time they seem to talk.
AJ Styles thanked Dragon Lee for having his back. Jimmy Uso
approached them to say hi and ask where Jey was.
Jimmy saw Jey nearby. Jey had his bag and was leaving. Jimmy
said they had a play to run by helping Knight against Reed.
Jey didn’t care about that. Jey didn’t appreciate what
happened earlier. Helping Knight wasn’t going to help the
Usos or help him get the world title back. Jey was pissed
and said they should all acknowledge the Usos, or they would
smash them all. Jimmy said Jey was starting to sound like
Reigns.
********
AJ Lee segment
AJ Lee entered to a big reaction, wearing Lynch’s
Intercontinental title belt. She wanted to introduce herself
to the fans who weren’t around ten years ago and explain why
their millennial parents were so excited on Friday. She was
your favourite wrestler’s favourite wrestler.
She retired ten years ago because she thought she had
accomplished everything she wanted in wrestling. She didn’t
plan on getting in the ring again wearing jean shorts that
were two sizes too small. So she went on another journey to
accomplish other dreams she had in life. And she did it.
She also went on a mental health journey. She wasn’t healthy
and needed to take care of herself and get right. She went
for therapy (and was happy to hear the fans cheer therapy).
She took all the mental chaos and turned it into her
superpower. Every day was a fight, but that fight was worth
it. You are worth it.
She felt really good for a long time. And then she watched
Raw. Healing wasn’t linear. It was one thing to watch your
husband face Drew McIntyre or Seth Rollins or John Cena, but
it was another seeing him in there with Becky Lynch.
AJ Lee wanted to like Lynch. They had so much in common.
Lynch was a leader, a rebel, and a New York Times best-
selling author. (Lee added that she did that first.) Then
she saw Lynch motorboat her husband. She put her hands on
him and defamed him.
Lynch interrupted. She said this was not about AJ’s stank-
ass husband. She thought everyone was insane and pointed out
Lee wearing her title. Lynch informed Lee that they were
nothing alike. Lynch got in a fan’s face before telling
everyone was the greatest women’s wrestler of all time.
The crowd told Lynch that she sucked, and Lynch said she’ll
need to go to therapy after this. The crowd chanted,
“Therapy.” Lee told her that therapy worked.
Lee claimed she forgot she was even wearing the IC title
belt. She’s been skipping around the house with it, and she
slept with it. Things even got a little awkward with it this
morning. Before she explained further, she noted Lynch’s
black eye (hidden by Lynch’s large sunglasses).
Lee said Lynch was the greatest of all time, so if she
wanted her belt, she should come get it.
Lynch wondered where CM Punk was and wondered what kind of
man hid behind his wife. This had nothing to do with AJ Lee.
She stuck her neck where it didn’t belong. Lynch called out
Rollins so Lee could see what a real man and champion looked
like. Rollins entered and told Lee to give back the title so
they could leave this dump of a city.
Lee offered Lynch a chance to get her belt right now so she
could give her another black eye. Or, they could agree to a
tag match: AJ Lee and CM Punk against Becky Lynch and Seth
Rollins.
Rollins explained that he was the champion, and he called
the shots. He was going to get in the ring and get the title
back for his wife. Lee thanked him for mansplaining. Rollins
stepped into the ring, but Lee stepped between him and the
title and got in his face.
CM Punk appeared and was about to hit Rollins with a GTS,
but Rollins escaped. Rollins was pissed, so he accepted the
tag match challenge for Wrestlepalooza. Lynch didn’t like
that.
Because the deal was made, Lee tossed the IC title belt out
of the ring so Lynch could have it back.
(This was a very long segment. AJ Lee was great with her re-
introduction promo. But it’s silly that this big tag match
being made came down to who had possession of the physical
IC title belt.)
********
Bayley is still talking to herself.
Rusev vs. Penta
Rusev held control until Penta fought back after a break,
but of course, we need a distraction, so New Day ran out
with Waller. Penta wiped them out with a dive. He was about
to hit another dive, but Rusev blocked it. Back in the ring,
Penta caught Rusev with a Code Red for a nearfall.
(Tessitore called it a Mexican Destroyer, and Graves
corrected him.)
For the third match in a row, somebody hopped on the apron.
Penta kicked Xavier Woods off the apron before flying off
the top rope, but Rusev caught him with a mid-air Machka
kick for the pinfall win.
Match result: Rusev defeated Penta (8:33)
********
During a break, Vic Joseph interviewed Dominik Mysterio
about his AAA Mega Championship match against El Hijo del
Vikingo. The fans sang Dom’s name and cheered him as he
left.
Brock Lesnar will be on Friday’s SmackDown.
Jimmy Uso approached LA Knight. Jimmy said they should be on
the same page against the Vision. Knight wasn’t interested
in anyone’s help anymore. He tried to play nice and got
superkicked in the mouth instead. Knight also recalled being
cost the world title by both Jey and Jimmy on separate
occasions. If Jimmy wanted to help, he should stay out of it
because Knight planned on doing it alone.
********
Nikki Bella vs. Asuka (w/Kairi Sane)
This was a first-time ever match. There were deuling chants
as the match began.
Asuka dodged a baseball slide and hid behind Sane. Nikki
shoved Sane aside (another match with a distraction),
allowing Asuka to kick her in the face and take over ahead
of a break. Asuka held a rest hold as the commercial counter
ran down.
Asuka hit a German suplex following the break, but Nikki
avoided a missile dropkick and fought back with strikes and
a springboard kick for two. Asuka hit strikes of her own,
but Nikki blocked an Asuka Lock and hit an Alabama Slam for
two.
Asuka hit a roundhouse kick, spinning heel kick, and applied
the Asuka Lock for the submission win after Nikki tapped
out.
Match result: Asuka defeated Nikki Bella (10:29)
It was a pleasant surprise that Asuka won, especially
because Nikki just doesn’t look that good in the ring. This
was an uninteresting match, and Nikki seemed hesitant to
take any strikes.
********
Next week on Raw (7 pm ET/4 pm ET start time):
AJ Lee & CM Punk go face-to-face with Becky Lynch & Seth
Rollins
Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez
John Cena appears
********
Judgment Day met backstage. For at least the third week in a
row, Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh wondered where Dom was all
night. Bálor didn’t like Dom hanging out with El Grande
Americano. Dom said it was a lucha thing, and they didn’t
understand. Dom was upset they got tossed from ringside last
week, and he stormed off. Perez left to go talk to him.
********
Asuka confronted Nikki backstage. Asuka said she did to
Nikki what Sky would do to Vaquer. Nikki, who just tapped
out, acted tough and asked if she was ready for round two.
They argued until Nikki shoved Asuka.
The camera panned out to show Rhea Ripley, who magically
appeared beside Nikki. Ripley asked if there was a problem,
and Asuka said she had two (while pointing at them). Asuka
called herself the top woman in WWE, so Ripley reminded
Asuka that Sky, not her, was going for the world title.
Asuka told her to zip it and left. (Sane stood there
awkwardly until Asuka called her away again.)
********
LA Knight vs. Bronson Reed (w/Bron Breakker)
About ten minutes into the match, Knight avoided a charge
outside the ring, and Reed fell into the timekeeper’s area.
Back in the ring, Reed blocked a neckbreaker, but Knight
dodged a senton and hit a diving elbow drop for two.
Knight went for a BFT, but Reed shoved him off, and Knight
bumped Breakker off the apron (so four of five matches
tonight had an outside party hit the apron).
Knight stumbled back into Reed, who hit a DVD for the
surprise pinfall win. The crowd seemed caught off guard by
the DVD being the finish. The move is now called the “Jagged
Edge,” and we know this because Tessitore screamed it
repeatedly.
— The Brons attacked Knight until Jimmy Uso ran out for the
save, but Breakker cut him down with a spear. Jey ran down
next, but Breakker speared him too.
Knight attacked the Brons with a chair and ran them off.
Knight helped Jimmy to his feet.
Jey suddenly speared Knight, which got a mixed reaction. Jey
told him they were even.
Match result: Bronson Reed defeated LA Knight (11:43)
Since “beating” Seth Rollins at SNME, LA Knight has won one
of his last seven matches, and that one win was by DQ in a
tag match.