WWE Monday Night Raw 9/11/2023

WWE Monday Night Raw 9/11/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/09/wwe-monday-night-raw-942023.html

Jey Uso comes out to talk. He said it feels good to be out of The Bloodline and feels good to be on Raw. Kevin Owens then comes out. Kevin gives him a weird look and doesn't seem pleased. Kevin said, "I think what you meant to say there is Jey Uso is on the Kevin Owens Show". Kevin says he's been where Jey is and said he did a lot of bad things to good people. He said it took a long time to earn people's trust back and some people still don't trust him. He said Riddle and McIntyre don't want him here and said people are coming up to him and saying they don't want Jey here.

He says he has a long way to go to earn his trust and respect. Judgment Day come out and say nobody speaks to Jey like that. Finn asks why Jey has to prove himself to Kevin. He says Jey doesn't have to prove himself to the Judgment Day. Priest tells Kevin he doesn't speak for the locker room and doesn't speak for Judgment Day. Priest says he knows Jey needs to time to make up his mind, but the Judgment Day's door is always open. Priest said Dom said no a thousand times but now is his best version.

Dom tries to speak but is booed too loud to hear. Priest said they came out to fight and asked where Sami is. Kevin says Sami isn't here and Kevin says he will fight all of them. Jey says don't worry about Sami because he's here too. Jey then says they should do a match against Judgment Day. Owens agrees then Jey superkicks Dom. Judgment Day are thrown out and we go to break.

Jey Uso and Kevin Owens vs Judgment Day (Finn Balor and Damian Priest)

Priest clean breaks Jey and says it's out of respect. Finn offers his hand to Jey and Jey slaps under it. Finn side headlocks Jey and Jey uppercuts him. Kevin sentons Finn then hits punches out of the corner. Kevin ddt's Finn then Finn clips Kevin. Priest hits a shot on Kevin in the corner then takes a step up enzugiri.

Jey top rope crossbodies Priest then Jey does a bad samoan drop. Jey throws both opponents out and suicide dives both. Dom hits Kevin in the knee and we go to break. We return and Priest is in control. Finn headlocks and facelocks Kevin. Finn misses an elbow and Jey gets the hot tag in. Jey hits punches on Finn then spinning enzugiri's him. Finn stomps him then Jey hits a backdrop into a neckbreaker and superkicks Finn.

Jey comes off the top and Finn gets his knees up on the splash. Kevin and Priest get in and Kevin punches and stomps him. Kevin hits a tornado ddt on Priest for 2. Kevin goes up top and hits a twisting fisherman's buster on Finn off the 2nd rope. Priest nails Jey with a forearm. Jey nails Kevin with a superkick on accident then Jey and Priest go over the top. Finn top rope double stomps Kevin and wins it. Kevin and Jey stare down after.

This was fine and continued the story of the issues between Kevin and Jey. Not great or memorable, but it worked.

Raquel Rodriguez and Natalaya talk in the back, though it's muted.

Jey says he's sorry and that was an accident. Kevin said he heard everything he had to hear and tells him to find his new Bloodline. He then tells him to dye his hair purple with Judgment Day in the locker room.

We get a recap of Gunther and Gable from last week.

Imperium arrive in suits.

The Miz vs Tozawa

Miz misses a facekick to start. Tozawa hits leg kicks and punches then is popped up into a hurricanrana. Tozawa dropkicks him and flips for a chest kick. Miz leg lariats him on the 2nd rope then kicks him. Mizz hits a buzzsaw kick and sends him to the apron. Tozawa enzugiri's him from the apron then takes a codebreaker over the 2nd rope. Miz hits three skull crushing finales then steals LA Knight's taunt. Miz wins.

This was just a squash.

Raquel Rodriguez is interviewed. She says Rhea may be the most dominant woman and said people lose to fear before they face her. Raquel said reality is worse than a nightmare and says Rhea won't be the biggest or tallest tonight. She says Rhea will get a taste of her own medicine.

Shayna Baszler is interviewed. She said Zoey surprised her. Chelsea Green walks in and says she needs a new tag partner since her tag partner is not cleared. Green says they are both champions and basically peers. Shayna takes offense to this and says she will show her limb by limb how large the gap is between them being peers. Piper Niven then walks in and says she is medically cleared, grabbing the belt off of her.

Ludwig Kaiser introduces Gunther for his Intercontinental Championship Celebration. Gunther stands on a pedestal and fireworks goes off. Gunther says he has re-written history and is officially the longest reigning and greatest Intercontinental Champion in history. Gunther says he i running out of competition here and is only competing against himself. Chad Gable then comes out.

Chad said they had a match for the ages and he is still feeling it. He says it's a week later and Gunther is still celebrating. He congratulates him. Gunther tells him to come in the ring and say what he wants to say. Chad said he saw the look in his eyes and said nobody came as close to beating him as he did. He said he also saw the look on his family's face in the front row. He said he saw his daughter crying and said Gunther caused the tears.

Chad says he lit a fire in him. Chad says the fire won't burn out until he makes this right. He says he beat him once and will beat him again. Chad says he doesn't know when, where or how but will get another shot at the title. He says he will win it for himself, his family and his career and swears he will win the championship. He says he swears that his daughter will walk out with a smile on his face.

Gunther asks if he wants another shot and asks for what? So he can see him get the biggest beating of his life? He says he is using his children as bait to get some spotlight. He said Chad pushed him to his limit but is a disgusting and terrible father. Chad hits him and then takes a 3v1. Gunther chops him down then Otis comes out to make the save. Otis backdrops Kaiser and Vinci over the top at the same time.

Otis hits nice bolo punches on Gunther then Chad hits Gunther. Gunther chops Chad down and Alpha Academy is beaten. Tomasso Ciampa then makes the save with a chair.

This was a good segment. 

We see clips of Drew McIntyre and Xavier Woods talking. He wants to know why Drew is talking trash about Kofi. Drew said he said what he said and Kofi should man up, grow a set and talk to him himself. Woods takes offense to this and says he's jealous, because Kofi won the title in front of fans and Drew won it in an empty Performance Center. Drew says he knows what's he trying to do but he doesn't want to hurt him. Woods asks if Drew's going to run through him, and Drew says he said it, not him. Drew says he got his match and said what happens tonight will not be an accident. 

Alpha Academy are interviewed in the back. Ciampa said he was told by Adam Pearce to see his moment. He says Gunther being the longest IC champ of all time was that moment. Chad says he hates Imperium. Otis says they should do Alpha Academy and Ciampa vs Imperium in a "carnage match".

Drew McIntyre vs Xavier Woods

Cole asks if he believes that we are getting to see this match and it's like, these guys fight all the time, what's the big deal? Woods dropkicks Drew and hits punches on him. Drew headbutts him then throws him on a suplex. Woods spinning forearms him and Drew drops him with a lariat. Woods dropkicks him through the ropes and tries to plancha him but is caught. Drew then swinging slams him on the announcer's table.

We go to break and return. They are fighting up top and Woods hits a sunset bomb. Woods top rope legdrops him for 2. Woods headflips into a belly to belly then takes another belly to belly. Woods superkicks Drew. Drew goes for a reverse alabama slam but Woods rolls him up and kicks him. Woods running knees him for 2. They hockey fight and Drew does a claymore to the head.

It was okay. I think Drew should have roughed him up a little and the finish could have been better. 

Rhea's taping up in the back. 

Cody Rhodes comes out. He brings up Jey Uso and is interrupted. Dominik Mysterio and JD Drake come out and Dom is drowned out by boos like usual. Dom says Jey will join Judgment Day and make him look like a fool. Dom says there's nothing Cody can do about it. Dom whips Cody's tie in his face htne Cody nails him. JD takes a back body drop to the floor then Cody hits a cody cutter and cross rhodes on Dom. Cody then hits Dom with cross rhodes again. 

Jey Uso is walking around in the back for some reason and Drew McIntyre interrupts him. Drew says he has one last bit of business for him and doesn't trust him one bit. Jey says it's cool and Drew says Jey can't stand on his own two feet. Jey says it sounds like Drew wants to right some wrongs and challenges him to a match next week. 

Chelsea Green vs Shayna Baszler

Shayna backdrops Green then stomps the elbow. Shayna goes for an armbar and Piper helps Green get out. Piper and Shayna have words outside and Shayna piefaces her. Green rolls up Shayna hits her swinging samoan drop called the "exterminatus" and wins it.

 

Shayna and Piper fight after. Zoey Stark comes down and superkicks Piper. Piper is told to get out and does.

Shinsuke Nakamura does a promo on Seth. He talks about standing tall over him and says the road to his success left a lot of bodies on the path. He says he's a liar and a deceiver who brings shame to his family. He says he will strip him of the title and expose his lies. 

 

Seth Rollins does a promo in the ring. He says's hes a liar, a deceiver and a manipulator. He says he's a father, a fighter and the champ. Rollins said he didn't come here to fight though. He said the match with Nakamura at Payback took more out of him then he let on. He says to come and get the title if he wins it because there is no better time and place than right now.

Nakamura's music hits and we see him being up Ricochet in the back. He said Seth has bad timing. He says he thinks Seth is not medically cleared, so he fought already. He says he will take his title but not today.

I'm still not really getting Nakamura or Rollins' gimmick or why Nakamura wouldn't want a title match. I have no idea what beating up Ricochet was about.

Jey Uso is still walking around in the back. Is he unable to find his car in the parking lot or something? Finn says despite what happened earlier, they are professionals and everything is okay. Finn says Drew may not be a fan, but Judgment Day are fans of his. He says the doors of Judgment Day are always open.

Alpha Academy and Tomasso Ciampa vs Imperium

Ciampa and Vinci start us off. Vinci hits euros on Ciampa then Ciampa hits a Thesz press. Ciampa spinning forearms him then Kaiser hits an open fist shot on Gable. Kaiser amrlocks Gable then Kaiser reverses it on him. Gable is pulled over the top and takes a nice bump for it. Gable tries to deadlift german Kaiser but is lariated. Gable takes a triple team in the corner as we go to break.

We return and Gunther chops Gable. Gunther slaps him around and Gable hits a shoulder throw. Ciampa flying lariats Vinci the knees Gunther off the apron. Ciampa reverse ddt's Vinci for 2. Vinci hits a lariat then Ciampa snapmare throws Kaiser over the shoulder. Otis spinning back elbows Kaiser then slams him.

Otis hits a worm into an elbow drop on Kaiser then rams his own shoulder into the post. Gable and Gunther get in. Gunther hits a high release german then Gable escapes a powerbomb, putting Gunther in an ankle lock. Vinci does a springboard crossbody but Gable rolls into an ankle lock. Gable hits a chaos theory on Vinci. Otis runs over Kaiser with a lariat outside then is facekicked by Gunther. Gable puts Vinci in an ankle lock and taps him out while Ciampa has Walter in a sicilian stretch.

It was okay but they didn't have the time and they had a pretty tame match.

Judgment Day talk in the back. They said the more Jey feels isolated, the more he will need them. Dom says he wishes he could be out there with Rhea. Rhea says just as they will handle this Jey business, she will handle her Raquel business.

Tiffany Stratton is in the back with Adam Pearce. Becky Lynch comes in. Ada msaid he spoke with Shwn Michaels and wants to get the contract signed for their match on NXT tomorrow. Tiff says she's been respectful to her and asks why Becky is coming after her. Becky says when you show up in her matches and drop her name, she has no choice. Becky says she could be the future but is not and says if she wants to be famous, she can make her famous. Tiff says she doesn't need her to make her famous and says she will make her name at her expense. She then says she is the greatest NXT women's champ of all time.

Women's Title - Rhea Ripley (C) vs Raquel Rodriguez

RR = Raquel Rodriguez

RR hits a lariat to start then hits another. RR hits corner spears then bearhugs her. Rhea top rope dropkicks her then flips on her off the steps. Rhea running knees her for 2. Rhea dropkicks her then is back body dropped to the outside. RR running facekicks her into the rails and we go to break.

Rhea ties her legs up then electric chair face drops her on the top buckle. Rhea headscissors her then has her head banged off the top buckle. Rhea running forearms her in the chest. They running face kicks each other at the same time and both go down. They trade shots and Rhea northern lights suplexes her.

Rhea's riptide is blocked and she is hit with snake eyes. RR back body drops her and running facekicks her. Rhea top rope splashes her for 2 Rhea baseball slides her out. Rhea cannonballs off the apron on her, is caught then swung into the table. RR powerbombs her on the apron then Nia Jax samoan drops RR. She's still really fat by the way then Rhea kicks RR as she enters the ring. Rhea hits a riptide and wins it.

It was a slower paced match. They did some nice power moves here and I did somewhat like it. Nia returning was random and she was one of the last people I had expected to return after injuring so many people and being fired.

Overall thoughts: It was a long show but it had a couple decent TV style matches. The main was slower and longer than it needed to be and Nia Jax returning was out of nowhere. It kind of got old seeing Jimmy Uso randomly walk around the building for no reason but I think Imperium/Alpha Academy is headed in a good direction. The Rollins/Nakamura feud still isn't making a lot of sense. I don't recommend watching this on but I would say it was a little above average.