Posted on 8/13/124 by Bob Magee
Date: August 12, 2024
Location: Moody Center in Austin, TX
**********
Show Recap —
There was a long video recapping recent events involving
Judgment Day. The new version of the stable was shown
arriving at the arena, as were Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, and
Bron Breakker.
Rhea Ripley segment
Ripley entered to a big reaction. She said she had a lot of
time to consider what happened at SummerSlam. She’s felt
every emotion you can in a situation like this. She felt
embarrassment and heartbreak, but really, she was just
pissed the hell off.
Dominik Mysterio stabbed her in the back but “it just wasn’t
deep enough” — and he’s probably heard that before. (The
crowd enjoyed that line.) Ripley warned Liv Morgan that she
couldn’t run away forever because she was Rhea bloody Ripley
and it was time to remind them of that.
Morgan and Dom appeared in the top row of the arena’s lower
level. Morgan handed the mic to Dom who was loudly booed.
Ripley enjoyed the booing but wanted to hear what he had to
say. Dom said he was a man and deserved to be treated like
one. The crowd told him that he sucked.
Dom said Ripley tried to change him instead of letting him
be him. He was embarrassed being bossed around, forced to
call her, “Mami,” but now he had a girl who called him
Daddy. She gave him chicken tendies and let him play video
games whenever he wanted. She also helped him beat his
deadbeat dad, something Ripley never did.
Ripley had words for Dom that he hadn’t heard in a while:
“I’m proud of you.” Watching Dom grow into the man he is
today was one of her biggest accomplishments. He finally did
something for himself and won gold. However, Ripley always
wanted Dom to beat Rey on his own. Now Dom was making his
own decisions but the most recent one would be his last.
Morgan told Ripley that she had nothing left. Her real
family was miles away and Morgan took Judgment Day away from
her. Dom was hers, the world title was hers and the women’s
division was hers.
Ripley told Morgan she made a mistake by leaving her
standing and that she would have to kill her to stop her.
Ripley was glad Morgan liked the sound of her own voice
because it gave them time to find her.
Damian Priest appeared behind them and he attacked Dom in
the concourse area. Morgan tried to help but Ripley chased
her away as Priest chased Dom down to ringside. Carlito
tried to help but Priest sent him out of the ring.
(This segment was fine but you didn’t miss anything if you
didn’t see it. The show was 8 minutes old by the time Ripley
spoke and 19 minutes old by the time this segment was done.)
Damian Priest defeated Carlito (9:20)
Carlito had control through a break (and probably got more
offence than he should have) but Priest came back with a
falcon arrow, clothesline, and South of Heaven for the
pinfall win.
— Judgment Day attacked Priest after the match but Ripley’s
music hit (even though she was just out there) and she ran
out to make the save. She kicked Carlito low and confronted
Finn Bálor. JD McDonagh took a superkick for Bálor who
managed to escape. Priest gave McDonagh a chokeslam.
Priest and Ripley hugged. Dom actually tried to attack them
off the top as they hugged but Priest caught him by the
throat, which was funny. Priest handed Dom to Ripley who
tried Rip-tide but Morgan pulled him out of the ring.
********
Ivy Nile told Maxxine Dupri she probably shouldn’t be at
ringside for the tag match later. Nile was sincere but Dupri
said she wasn’t leaving her family (Otis and Tozawa) behind.
Nile figured Dupri might say that. She left.
********
Bo Dallas video
There was a new Wyatt Sicks VHS featuring Bo Dallas. He said
everything was coming full circle. It’s been heavy lately
with lots of emotions. The Wyatt Sicks debuted in Baltimore
last week, just as the original Wyatt family did. He (Bray)
was there (in spirit). Something big was happening but the
work wasn’t done. He repeated the phrase, “My life, for
you,” as shots of Uncle Howdy spliced in.
********
Xavier Woods approached Kofi Kingston and Odyssey Jones.
Woods said he’d been looking for Kingston everywhere because
he wanted to talk about tonight. Kingston was excited and
also wanted to talk about tonight. Jones had their back last
week so they’d be in his corner for his debut match. Woods
was on board but was obviously not thrilled with how this
played out.
Odyssey Jones (w/The New Day) defeated Vincent Winey (1:45)
Winey is a former football player working at the Performance
Center. Jones beat him quickly with a spinning sidewalk
slam.
— Karrion Kross entered with Final Testament after the
match. Kross warned Woods that Jones would be his
replacement. Woods asked if Kross was tired of doing this
every week. Woods was about to challenge one of them to a
singles match but Kingston grabbed the mic. Kingston knew
everyone would just get involved anyway so he challenged
them to a six-man match. Kross accepted. Kingston “misspoke”
and called them “Final Testicle.”
********
Drew McIntyre approached Adam Pearce. Pearce told him that
CM Punk wasn’t there due to travel issues. McIntyre didn’t
care about Punk and wanted to know why Smackdown’s Randy
Orton was getting a title shot. Orton got screwed three
months ago and sat around like a snake waiting for an
opportunity. Orton got screwed once but McIntyre has been
screwed over repeatedly.
McIntyre planned on taking care of this himself. Pearce
didn’t like the sound of that but McIntyre assured him that
he would be on his best behaviour.
********
Otis and Tozawa entered for their match. Oba Femi was
ringside with his NXT North American Championship belt in
hand. He had a staredown with Otis who blew him off. The
announcers noted that Femi has an open challenge scheduled
on NXT tomorrow.
[SECOND HOUR]
They aired a video of Chad Gable who wasn’t with the Creeds
because he was in Paris, France. Gable said he needed to get
away but was also there to watch the Olympic gold medal
matches to do some scouting. Gable knew he had to get back
home to take care of unfinished business with the Wyatts.
The announcers congratulated Masai Russell on winning gold
in the 100m hurdles. They mentioned she was part of WWE’s
NIL program and could be a WWE superstar one day.
Tornado tag team match: Julius & Brutus Creed defeated Otis
& Akira Tozawa (w/Maxxine Dupri) (11:58)
Otis press slammed Tozawa onto the Creeds ahead of a break.
The Creeds were in control after the break until Tozawa
dropped them with a double DDT. Otis ran them over and
slammed Julius before hitting a Caterpillar but Brutus broke
up the cover. The Creeds double-teamed Otis but Tozawa broke
up the cover.
Brutus tried to powerbomb Tozawa off the ropes but Tozawa
brought him down with a hurricanrana. Tozawa fired up on the
Creeds and went for a suicide dive but his leg caught the
rope and he fell awkwardly (Julius did his best to catch
him).
Julius got Otis on his shoulders and did an electric chair
drop as Otis simultaneously brought down Brutus with a
superplex. Tozawa immediately followed with a flying senton
on Julius. The crowd went nuts for all of this and chanted,
“Holy sh*t.”
Ivy Nile suddenly appeared at ringside and attacked Dupri.
Nile planted Dupri on the table and locked her in a dragon
sleeper.
The distraction allowed the Creeds to knock Otis out of the
ring. They stacked up Tozawa in a rollup for the pinfall
win. This was pretty fun.
********
Pete Dunne interview
Jackie Redmond interviewed Pete Dunne in the empty arena
earlier today. Redmond said Sheamus took Dunne under his
wing when he came up from NXT but he cut her off. Dunne said
Sheamus held him down while Dunne elevated Sheamus.
Sheamus went on the run of a lifetime because of him. All
Dunne got out of it was a terrible nickname and a front-row
seat to the Sheamus show. If Sheamus really had the Brutes
under his wing, then where was Ridge Holland?
Redmond acknowledged the Butch name and Dunne said he never
wanted to hear that name again. Dunne had to swallow his
pride for two years. He wasn’t Butch, he was the
Bruiserweight and an 18-year vet. If he had to shut Sheamus
up to never hear that name again, then that’s what he’d do.
(I’m glad they gave Dunne a chance to talk and this was
good. Although I fear his promo will just lead to the fans
chanting Butch at him.)
*********
There was a silly “WWE Physics” video meant to analyze the
destruction Bronson Reed handed out to Seth Rollins last
week.
Pearce admonished Reed and told him he was lucky he only had
to pay a fine. Reed said he warned Pearce last week but
would give him a second chance tonight. Pearce could find
him an opponent tonight or he’d find his next victim.
********
Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane cut a pre-taped promo (in English and
Japanese). They were still in control and Shayna Baszler and
Zoey Stark would pay for what they did to Dakota Kai.
There was a response video by Sonya Deville, Baszler and
Stark. Their new stable name is “Pure Fusion Collective.”
They said they’ve ripped through the tag division before and
had no problem doing it again.
********
There was a memorial graphic for Kevin Sullivan.
********
Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre (the tag team champions) entered to
watch this match from ringside.
“WWE legend” Candice Michelle was shown in the audience.
IYO SKY & Kairi Sane defeated Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark
(w/Sonya Deville) via disqualification (8:30)
They went to break after 90 seconds, wrestled for a bit
after the break, then it ended in a DQ.
Sky was in control but a distraction by Deville got in the
way. Stark tried to superkick Sky outside the ring but Sky
ducked and Stark superkicked Fyre. Sky had it won after
hitting a moonsault in the ring but Dawn and Fyre attacked
for the DQ. Dawn and Fyre laid out Sky and Sane after the
match.
This was a number one contender’s match so we’ll have to
wait to find out what the decision is. Damage CTRL
technically won but they never make official announcements
after the match when it ends in a dumb DQ.
********
R-Truth approached The Miz who was not in a good mood. Truth
wanted to cheer him up so he got him a title match against
“Bron.” Miz was excited until he realized Bron Breakker
already had a match against Sami Zayn tonight and freaked
out upon realizing his match was actually against Bronson
Reed.
Randy Orton appeared to give Miz a pep talk. Orton ran down
Miz’s accomplishments that he always repeats himself
(leaving out the time Miz cashed in MITB on him) and told
him he could do it. This hyped up Miz who ran off in
excitement. Truth asked Orton if he really thought Miz had a
chance and Orton scoffed.
********
[THIRD HOUR]
Randy Orton and Gunther segment, Drew McIntyre and CM Punk
interrupt
Orton entered to a big reaction. Orton said he won the world
title 20 years ago this month and he became the youngest
world champion in history. History would repeat itself at
Bash in Berlin and he would become a 15-time champion.
Gunther interrupted. Orton wanted the fans to remember this
moment because in a few weeks, Gunther would no longer be
champion and Monday nights would be Orton’s new home.
Gunther also wanted the fans to remember this moment because
they got to see Orton who was one of the greatest of all
time.
Gunther said Orton should be the greatest of all time. Orton
was the most talented man this business has seen but he took
all of that talent and wasted it. This was a new era, the
era of the Ring General, and in his era, there was no room
for people who wasted their potential. In the future of his
era, Orton wouldn’t play a role anymore.
Orton said he never claimed to be perfect. He has made a lot
of mistakes. More than anyone in the locker room. But he
owned up to those mistakes and changed course. Orton wanted
to remind him of something: he was the most unpredictable,
violent, controversial and successful superstar in history.
This wasn’t a curse, it was a gift.
Orton always did things his way. The American way. He had
five beautiful kids at home, a hot-ass smoke-show of a wife,
and was a soon-to-be 15-time champion. Orton appreciated
Gunther’s opinion but thought he’s done pretty good for
himself. (Of course, fans chanted, “USA.”)
Gunther didn’t think Orton was unpredictable. He was very
predictable. Gunther had a few predictions himself. Orton
would get a beating of a lifetime in Berlin and would never
be champion again. When it really mattered, Orton always
screwed up. Screwing up came naturally to him. Orton’s
grandfather and father were both screwups and Randy was the
biggest screwup of them all.
The crowd waited for Orton to hit an RKO but McIntyre
interrupted instead. Gunther turned to look at McIntyre but
Orton turned him around and hit an RKO.
McIntyre was about to hit the ring but was attacked by CM
Punk. McIntyre shoved him aside and tried to attack with his
belt but Punk grabbed the belt and attacked McIntyre with
it. Punk whipped McIntyre with the belt until he escaped
through the crowd.
********
Redmond interviewed Sheamus. He still didn’t understand what
Dunne’s issue was even after hearing his interview. Ludwig
Kaiser interrupted and warned Sheamus that it wasn’t over
between them. Kaiser wanted to put an end to Sheamus once
and for all.
Dunne attacked Sheamus from behind with the shillelagh and
clobbered his hand with it.
********
Cathy Kelley interviewed Punk in the back. (A pissed-off
Gunther marched off in the background.) Kelley mentioned
Punk’s supposed travel issues but noted they were on the
same flight to Austin and she had no such travel issues.
Punk admitted to telling a little white lie. He knew
McIntyre wouldn’t show up if he did. He told a lie to get
his hands on McIntyre because he was still running around
with his bracelet. Punk didn’t care about the actual
bracelet and said McIntyre could keep it.
Punk wanted McIntyre to keep his wife’s name and his dog’s
name out of his mouth. Punk travelled a long way to get his
hands on McIntyre. McIntyre would call him a hypocrite for
telling a lie but McIntyre ran from a fight he claimed he
wanted. Punk held up the belt and said he had a great idea.
********
Bronson Reed defeated The Miz (w/R-Truth) (6:35)
Miz made a comeback after a break, including a tornado DDT
for just a one count. Miz hit It Kicks which Reed no-sold.
Miz tried a springboard crossbody but Reed caught him and
hit a DVD. Reed followed with a DVD and Tsunami for the
pinfall win.
— Reed went for another Tsunami but Truth saved Miz so Reed
gave him consecutive Tsunamis instead. (Miz vanished.)
Pearce and officials ran out but Reed continued with two
more until officials dragged Truth away. They stupidly
dragged him to another corner so Reed just went over there
and hit another one. Pearce yelled at Reed as he left but he
returned to the ring and hit one more Tsunami. The crowd was
into this.
********
Jey Uso hyped up Sami Zayn backstage. Jey said Zayn would
beat Bron and beat him again, and the two of them would beat
Judgment Day again to win the tag titles. Zayn was pumped
and they did their fancy handshake.
********
Announced for Bash in Berlin: Rhea Ripley & Damian Priest
vs. Liv Morgan & Dominik Mysterio in a mixed tag match.
There was a quick Judgment Day video promo. Morgan and Dom
said they would beat Ripley and Priest. Finn warned Priest
to watch out for “Backstabber Bálor.”
********
Next week on Raw:
Triple threat for the women’s tag titles: Fyre & Dawn vs.
Sky & Sane vs. Baszler & Stark
Sheamus vs. Pete Dunne
Six-man tag match: New Day & Odyssey Jones vs. Final
Testament
********
2-out-of-3 falls match: Bron Breakker defeated Sami Zayn to
retain the Intercontinental Championship (17:32)
They went to break 50 seconds into the match after Zayn hit
a flip dive and Bron was in control after the break. Bron
hit a spinebuster for two and Zayn responded with a tornado
DDT for two. Bron hit a German suplex but Zayn suddenly
caught him moments later with a Helluva Kick to win the
first fall (7:00 into the match).
Zayn tried a moonsault off the barricade but Bron caught
him, ran toward the other side and chucked him into the
timekeeper’s area. (The cameraperson ran behind Bron to get
a continuous action shot, but Bron’s foot rose up and
knocked the camera back slightly so we missed Zayn going
over the barricade. It was a cool idea but the full replay
looked way better because Zayn actually bounced off a
leather chair upon landing.)
There were duelling chants of “Let’s go Sami” and “Let’s go
Breakker” following another break. Bron hit a Frankensteiner
for a nearfall. Bron followed with a press slam and
consecutive spears to win the second fall (12:34 into the
match).
Zayn tried to surprise Bron with a crucifix cover but Bron
kicked out at two. Bron leaned Zayn against the announce
table and hit a flying clothesline off the apron. Bron was
willing to take a count-out win but Zayn made it back in at
nine. Bron went after him but Zayn hit a sunset flip sit-out
powerbomb for a nearfall.
Bron blocked an exploder and hit an overhead suplex. Zayn
leaped over a spear attempt and applied a schoolboy for a
nearfall. Bron followed with a dropkick and went for a spear
but Zayn booted him for a nearfall.
Zayn tried something off the top but Bron speared him out of
the air for the pinfall win.