Posted on 10/07/125 by Bob Magee
Show Recap —
(There’s an updated Raw thumbnail on Netflix. The old one
had Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and Bianca Belair, three
people who are frequently not on Raw. The new one has Rhea
Ripley, Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, CM Punk, Jey Uso, Dominik
Mysterio and Penta.)
Roman Reigns opens Raw
Reigns entered after a recap of his return last week. The
crowd sang his name and chanted “OTC.” He told the Dallas
crowd to acknowledge him, and they did, but he was quickly
interrupted by Bronson Reed and Paul Heyman.
Nothing happened for a while (because they stood around
waiting for crowd chants), so Reigns asked them if they were
just there to stare or to say something. Heyman told the
crowd to acknowledge their Tribal Thief. They booed. Heyman
wanted Reigns to acknowledge the one man he feared in his
heart—Bronson Reed.
Heyman said Reigns has never been beaten so badly that he
needed to be taken out on a stretcher. Reed (who was booed
as he spoke) said Afa and Sika never got stretchered out in
their careers. Reed wondered how they would feel looking
down at Reigns getting stretchered out at his hands.
Reigns said Reed didn’t know his dad or his uncle, but the
dumbass Heyman did, so Heyman knew what they would tell
Reigns: fight him now. Reigns challenged Reed to a fight
right now. Reed was ready, but Heyman talked him down.
Reigns knew Heyman was delaying it, so he said he would be
ready whenever they were.
Heyman issued the challenge for Crown Jewel on Saturday in
Australia in a match Reed has never lost, an Australian
street fight. (This got a lukewarm reaction.) Reigns
accepted.
As Heyman began to leave, Reigns said they had shown up
ready to fight, but now they were leaving like a couple of
bitches. Reed marched to the ring to brawl with Reigns.
Reigns got the better of Reed until security and officials
got between them. Reigns broke through and gave Reed a
second Superman punch. Reigns posed for the crowd as Reed
looked on from the stands.
(The crowd had an understandably underwhelming reaction to
the announcement of a street fight between these two. We
just saw Reigns wrestle Reed, and Heyman teased the match
type like it would be something big, but it’s something we
see all the time, including on Raw.)
********
CM Punk (wearing a Chicago Cubs cap), Lyra Valkyria, and Iyo
Sky were shown arriving.
Backstage, Asuka demanded that Adam Pearce make a match
between Kairi Sane and Sky tonight. Pearce said he had to
make sure there was enough room in the show first. (He also
mentioned that Rhea Ripley was already in Australia doing
media.)
Pearce left as Sane arrived. Asuka was riled up while
speaking to Pearce, but she wore a smile upon seeing Sane.
Asuka told her that she’d be facing Sky tonight. Sane wasn’t
happy about fighting her friend, but Asuka slapped her in
the face and told her the match was happening.
********
Non-title match: Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky
Lynch vs. Maxxine Dupri
Dupri went for a simple dropkick but missed the target and
dropkicked Lynch in the knee. It was meant to hit Lynch up
high. Lynch reacted by hunching over, but because the spot
was meant to hit her in the head and send her out of the
ring, Lynch went from being hunched over to doing a back
bump and rolling out of the ring.
Dupri hit a cannonball off the apron, but Lynch suplexed her
into the barricade to take over ahead of a break. Dupri
fired back after the break and applied an ankle lock (after
dropping her straps like Chad Gable or Kurt Angle). Lynch
broke out of it, but Dupri hit a sit-out powerbomb (which
didn’t look great) for two.
Lynch hit a superplex for two and applied a Disarmer, but
Dupri countered into a cradle for a nearfall. Dupri
countered a Man-handle Slam and hit a German suplex.
Dupri followed with a roundhouse kick for a very close
nearfall that had the crowd going. (It was one of those
nearfalls that probably should have been three, as Lynch
barely kicked out at the absolute last millisecond.) They
traded a few more cradles, and Dupri even tried a schoolboy
with her feet on the ropes, but they all ended in nearfalls.
Lynch was frustrated, so she tossed Dupri around ringside,
driving her into the announce table and barricade.
Lynch taunted the crowd while standing on the announce
table, but she stopped paying attention to Dupri, who rolled
back into the ring to beat the ten-count. The ref counted
out Lynch, and Dupri was declared the winner.
Dupri celebrated while quickly scampering up the ramp away
from Lynch.
Match result: Maxxine Dupri defeated Women’s
Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch via count-out in a
non-title match (13:34)
This was the biggest mixed bag of a match. It started
poorly, and Dupri’s offence didn’t look good, but the
counters and nearfalls were laid out well, so the crowd
really got into Dupri almost pinning Lynch. Wade Barrett was
too over-the-top trying to emphasize Dupri’s supposed
improvements, and even called the match a banger before all
the nearfalls happened.
********
Reigns met with Jimmy and Jey Uso backstage. Jimmy was about
to tell Reigns that they had his back at Crown Jewel, but
Jey cut him off to say, “I got you.” Reigns didn’t want
their help, especially not Jey. Reigns already told Jey to
focus on himself. Reigns mentioned that it was CM Punk—not
Jey Uso—speaking at the top of the hour. Jey didn’t like
that, so he left.
Reigns told Jimmy that he knew everything that was going on
around here. He asked Jimmy why there would be a problem
with Jey seeking his advice. (Referring to Jimmy’s obvious
discontent.) Reigns left.
********
Lyra Valkyria (w/ Bayley) vs. Roxanne Perez (w/ Raquel
Rodriguez)
(The opening match was a rematch from August 11th, and this
was a rematch from September 15th.)
Perez worked over Valkyria’s arm through a break, enough
that Valkyria had trouble hitting her finisher.
It was time for a distraction, so Rodriguez distracted the
referee, which also distracted Valkyria as she went to the
top rope. Valkyria stopped what she was doing upon seeing
Rodriguez on the apron, so Perez tried a move off the ropes,
but Bayley held Valkyria’s arm down to prevent that from
happening. Valkyria gave Bayley a thumbs up before hitting
Perez with a moonsault for two.
Rodriguez booted Bayley, so Valkyria dropkicked Rodriguez.
Perez threw through the ropes and laid out Valkyria with a
tornado DDT. Perez followed with Pop Rox in the ring for the
pinfall win.
— Bayley was not happy, so she encouraged Valkyria to storm
to the back with her.
Match result: Roxanne Perez defeated Lyra Valkyria (9:24)
********
There was a video package for John Cena vs. AJ Styles. They
really want you to think this match is happening because of
the fans.
Jackie Redmond tried to interview Styles about his upcoming
match against Cena, but he was interrupted by the male
members of Judgment Day. Dominik wondered why Styles thought
he could beat Cena when Styles couldn’t even beat him. (Dom
wore a t-shirt with the picture of himself as a kid playing
PSP.)
Finn Bálor heard a rumour that Styles and Dragon Lee wanted
to challenge for the tag titles. Bálor warned Styles that
would be a mistake.
Styles said they were acting tough because it was three on
one. Styles said he would find Dragon Lee and a partner, and
they would have a six-man match tonight. (Hopefully, there’s
enough room on the show.)
After a break, Styles and Dragon Lee met with Penta. The
meeting ended before Penta could answer their request
because Bayley and Valkyria were beating the crap out of
Perez and Rodriguez nearby. Pearce and officials stormed in
to break it up.
********
Some professional bull riders and Dallas Cowboys
cheerleaders were in the crowd.
CM Punk, LA Knight and Jey Uso segment
(Long story short, the three guys who most recently wrestled
for the world title still want to be world champion.)
Punk was glad to be back after being gone for two weeks. He
thanked the fans for their warm welcome back of AJ Lee.
Punk spoke about the upcoming match between Cody Rhodes and
Seth Rollins. He called it title vs. title, but quickly
noted no titles were on the line and didn’t want anyone in
the back getting mad at him (for calling it title vs.
title).
Punk hasn’t been around because he didn’t want to get
involved in their match. But he noted that he kicked off the
year by beating Rollins on the Netflix premiere. He wanted
to end the year by beating Rollins for the title. He had
Rollins’ number. He always won when it was one-on-one and
man-to-man. Punk was better than Rollins, and Rollins knew
it.
LA Knight interrupted. Knight said he deserved and earned a
reign as world champion. Knight said Punk was known for his
pipe bomb, but lately, he’s been known for being a husband.
That wasn’t meant to be an insult. Everybody needed love—it
was a beautiful thing. But as good a husband Punk seemed to
be, he was a trash champion.
Knight said Punk was champion for five minutes before
Rollins pinned him in the ring. Rollins pinned him again at
Clash in Paris. Knight called himself the guy who had never
been pinned by Rollins. Punk said he’s also the guy who has
never been world champion.
Knight called Punk a two-time loser against Rollins, while
Knight was the last to pin Rollins. Knight would be the next
to pin Rollins and become champion.
Jey Uso interrupted. Jey was finally thinking clearly. He
was the one. The one who never got his singles rematch for
the world title. He was up next.
Knight said this was déjà vu. It was the three of them again
(after they wrestled Rollins in Paris). Knight said Jey’s
time came and went. Knight knew Jey thought he lost because
he wasn’t quite Roman enough. Knight said that was a good
thing, but Jey should probably focus on being a tag champion
right now. But given The Usos’ recent history, Jey should
probably stop sucking at being a tag team first.
Jimmy marched out after hearing that comment. Knight kept
rambling, so thankfully, Jey superkicked him to shut him up.
Punk (whose hair now looks like Beavis or Butt-head) told
Jey that Knight had a point. Maybe Jey should focus on being
a tag team. Punk liked Jey Uso—but he didn’t like Little
Roman.
Punk and Jey argued, but Jimmy got between them. Jey was
about to superkick Punk, but Jimmy pulled him away. Punk saw
the attempt, so he decked Jey. Jimmy didn’t like that, so he
superkicked Punk.
********
There was an Iyo Sky video package outlining her recent
history with Asuka.
A tag match was made official for tonight with CM Punk and
LA Knight facing The Usos. There will also be a six-man
match with AJ Styles, Dragon Lee and Penta facing Judgment
Day. (It’s hilarious that Pearce even suggested there may
not be room on the show for one impromptu match, given that
there are now three of them.)
IYO SKY vs. Kairi Sane (w/ Asuka)
Sky wiped out Asuka with a dive before the match officially
began, although it didn’t really matter. There was a
terrifying spot moments later.
Sky went after Sane while outside the ring, but a
distraction by Asuka allowed Sane to shove her into the side
of the ring. Sane followed by giving Sky an Alabama Slam
onto the edge of the ring, and boy did it look like Sky’s
head slammed right against the ring. Her arms were up, too,
so hopefully they caught the brunt of it. (Even worse, this
happened during commercials.) Sky continued the match.
Later on, Sane went for an Insane Elbow, but Sky got her
feet up and followed with a corner meteora.
As in the previous match, the heel outside the ring jumped
on the apron, which distracted the babyface. This allowed
Sane to cradle Sky—as Asuka held down Sane’s arms for
leverage—for the pinfall win.
— After the match, Asuka held down Sky while Sane hit an
Insane Elbow. (Ripley is in Australia, so there was no
save.)
Match result: Kairi Sane defeated IYO SKY (9:51)
********
They aired part two of the three-part video package for
Rhodes vs. Rollins.
Lynch ranted to Rollins backstage about losing to Dupri. She
was pissed at the way she was treated and left to tell
Pearce she wasn’t going to Australia until they got better
referees.
After she left, Rollins repeated to Heyman that he had to
beat Rhodes on Saturday. Rollins asked him what would happen
if he lost to Rhodes. Heyman didn’t take that possibility
seriously, but Rollins wanted him to consider it.
Heyman said Rollins would lose the locker room if he lost.
He would lose the faith of Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed.
He would throw away the fact that the entire Netflix era has
been built around him. Rollins would become a de facto
secondary champion. Heyman told him not to lose.
Rollins wondered what Heyman would do if he lost. Heyman
would have to ask himself why he picked Rollins, and why he
picked him over Reigns. Heyman left.
********
Jey wasn’t happy about Jimmy getting involved and having to
wrestle a tag match while he was focused on getting the
world title. Jey wondered if Jimmy was protecting Punk
earlier, and told him to know what side he’s on tonight. Jey
left.
Jimmy told Reigns that he and Jey were nothing like him.
Reigns told Jimmy that if he wanted to help Jey, he should
just get out of his way.
********
Styles “tried” cutting a promo before the match, and seemed
like he had something to get off his chest, but he was
interrupted by Judgment Day’s music, so he stopped out of
frustration. (I think having a microphone allows people to
hear you despite music being played.)
Six-man tag team match: AJ Styles, Dragon Lee & Penta vs.
Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio & World Tag Team
Champions Finn Bálor & JD McDonagh
They went to break twice in the first 7.5 minutes of the
match, so the first 10 minutes included 5 minutes of
commercials.
Absolutely nothing happened during the second break, and
Dragon Lee made a hot tag to Penta as soon as they returned.
Penta ran wild and went for a Canadian Destroyer, but
McDonagh reversed into a Spanish Fly (Joe Tessitore thought
it was Penta who hit the offensive move).
Styles tagged in next and hit a Dom with a spinning rack
bomb, but McDonagh broke up the cover. Dragon Lee got rid of
McDonagh, and Penta wiped out Bálor with a flip dive.
Dom went for a 619 on Styles, but stopped in his tracks upon
seeing Rusev. Yes, another distraction.
Rusev marched out, and Dom bailed from the ring. Dom grabbed
his belts and tried to escape, but Rusev caught him. Penta
went to superkick Dom, but Dom ducked, and Penta superkicked
Rusev by mistake. Dom bailed through the crowd.
Styles grabbed McDonagh and hit a Styles Clash for the
pinfall win.
— Styles grabbed a mic after the match. He said his match
against Cena didn’t need a story because it wrote itself.
Two men will dance for the last time. They would leave it
all in the ring, and it will kick ass. Styles did Cena’s
salute.
Match result: AJ Styles, Dragon Lee & Penta defeated
Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio & World Tag Team
Champions Finn Bálor & JD McDonagh (14:05)
********
Raw next week (also an 8 am ET start time):
Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. Penta for the Intercontinental
Championship
Bayley & Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez
The announcers said Penta earned the IC title shot with
tonight’s win (Styles pinned McDonagh in the match). We can
probably guess how the match will end, considering what
happened with Penta and Rusev tonight.
********
Punk and Knight agreed that neither of them wanted this
match tonight. Knight had one thing to ask of Punk: don’t
get pinned.
Knight’s entrance was cut short by Punk, who stormed out to
get things started against The Usos.
CM Punk & LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso
Punk and Knight weren’t getting along, and Punk chopped
Knight’s chest to tag him in. Jey aggressively launched
Knight into the steel steps as the Usos held control through
an early break.
Punk made a hot tag and hit Jimmy with a flying elbow drop.
Jimmy slipped out of a GTS attempt and tagged in Jey, who
hit an Uso splash, but Knight broke up the cover. Knight
gave Jimmy a BFT, then Jey superkicked Knight. Jey speared
Punk and went back to the top, but leaped down to knock
Knight off the apron.
Punk gave Jey a GTS, but Knight tagged himself and pinned
Jey for the win.
Match result: LA Knight & CM Punk defeated Jey Uso & Jimmy
Uso (9:30)
A weak finish and match to end a weak show.