WWE Monday Night Raw 10/9/2023

WWE Monday Night Raw 10/9/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/10/wwe-monday-night-raw-1022023.html

 

Seth Rollins said Nakamura took him to his limit. He didn't know if he could get up or keep him down, but he did. He said being champ is one of the great honors of his career but said he is just getting started. He said he will take on anyone, anytime, anywhere. He said he wants to go a night without a challenge then Drew McIntyre comes out. He asks if Drew wants a title match and he nods "yes".

Drew says the party is still on. He says he's not here to jump him, but says he wants to tell him face to face that he wants a shot at Crown Jewel, and wants him at 100%. Seth is surprised by this and doesn't believe it. Seth asks the fans what they think. The fans like it and he agrees to the match.

Seth said Drew used to be in a band though and the party is just getitng started. Drew said he has business to do in the back and tells the fans to buy him a pint of beer if they see him.  

Damian Priest then beats up Seth from behind and chokeslams him. Drew watches on and then Domini Mysterio comes down with the MITB briefcase. Drew stops him and headbutts him. Drew then throws the briefcase. Priest asks what his problem is. Seth then beats up Priest and sends him out.

Viking Rules - Kofi Kingston vs Ivar

Ivar facekicks him to start then Kofi 2nd rope twisting crossbodies him. Ivar is sent out and Kofi suicide dives him. Kofi is sent into the shields outside. Kofi crossbodies him off the steps then Ivar splashes him on the apron. Ivar is flipped off the apron to the floor then 2nd rope crossbodies him on the back.

We go to break and return. Kofi russian legsweeps him off the 2nd rope with a flag to the throat. Ivar is sent into a sheild and breaks it then Kofi hits the ranhei/SOS. Kofi PK's him then Ivar spinning slams him for 2. Ivar tiger drivers him for 2. Ivar spinning high kicks him then is hit with a shield while up top. Ivar is thrown by the beard off the top through a table on the floor.

Valhallah jumps off the table onto Ivar. Xavier Woods comes down and stares down with Val. Val goes over the rail when trying to attack him then Ivar crossbodies Woods against the rail. Kofi is slammed through a table. Ivar top rope moonsaults Kofi and wins it.

They did too much here with Ivar going off the top through a table and still coming back to win it, but I did like the match. It was a fun big man vs little man match and shields were cool weapons. I want to know what happened to the viking ship though as that's usually in these matches and provides for cool spots.

Byron interviews Nakamura. Nakamura doesn't say much then Ricochet says, "Hey, you piece of crap" and attacks him. They fight and the refs break it up.

We go to the back and Priest is choking out JD McDonaugh. Priest yells at JD and Finn breaks it up. Rhea says she got a tag title rematch for Priest and says he could use the MITB briefcase too. Rhea then says JD needs to prove himself and needs to take care of Drew. Priest tells JD to handle Drew and says part of him wants to break JD in half.

Raquel Rodriguez vs Nia Jax

Nia bangs RR's head off the mat and then RR hits punches in the corner. RR corner spears her then goes into the post shoulder first. RR goes into the rails head first and we go to break.

We return and Nia side slams her. Nia elbow drops her and RR hits short arm clotheslines. RR backs her up with a lariat then Nia bounces off the ropes and takes a big kick to the chest. Nia knocks her over and samoan drops her. Nia goes on the ropes and RR running powerbombs her. Rhea Ripley then runs down, throws out RR and drops Nia with a kick. Rhea pounds on Nia then RR hits short arm lariats on RR. Rhea headbutts her in the chest. Shayna Baszler comes down to beat up Nia. Rhea pulls her off as she says she wants to beat her off. Shayna then germans and running knees her.

It was a shame what happened to this. RR and Nia were defying all odds and putting out a good heavyweight match. Their stuff was looking good and the crowd was into it. Then there just had to be interference, robbing us of a finish. This may be the only good match either of these two ever had and the bookers ruined it. Don't get me wrong, the fighting at the end was fun, but they should have done it another time.

Drew and Seth talk in the back. Seth says their match for Crown Jewel is official. Seth asks why Drew didn't do anything until Dom came down with the briefcase. Drew said he doesn't get involved in business that isn't his anymore, but says Priest cashing in the briefcase does get in his business. Drew said he doesn't want Judgment Day holding the title for 3 years like Bloodline. Seth said he doesn't have to worry about Judgment Day. He said they couldn't take the title from him and neither will Drew.

Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso are headed to the ring.

Shayna is interviewed. She said she doesn't care if it's Raquel, Rhea or Nia, if she's in the ring, she's the baddest woman in there. She says nobody sneak attacks her in the ring and gets away with it. Tozawa gets near her from behind but walks away.

Michael Cole interivews Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes in the ring. Jey says it feels good to be tag champion and is excited to have Cody as a partner. Cole asks where this leaves Cody's goal of finishing the story and winning the WWE Title. Cole asks if he's scared that he will let people down.

Cody said he's excited to be a tag champ but Cole wants an answer to the question. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens then come out. Sami talks abut him and Owens beating The Uso's for the tag titles. He says the story we are talking about right now is Cody and Jey beating Judgment Day for the tag titles. Sami says he congratulates Cody and says he is happy for both of them.

Sami said he feels like it should be him and Owens holding the tag titles though. He says it is mixed emotions. Owens says he isn't happy to see them with the tag titles, he wants the titles back. He challenges htem to a tag title match tonight. He says Jey won't accept though as he knows Jey can't handle the thought of losing the titles to them twice. Cody said Kevin is wrong and they do accept. Cody said they can do tonight.

This was a good segment that played off the Jey and Owens issues along with Jey's history with Sami.

Chad Gable is having Otis chop him in the back to get ready for the #1 Contenders match. Bronson Reed walks in. He says he's getting nowhere near the IC title as long as he's in the way. He says he's winning the match tonight and tells him to tell his daughter not to watch tonight. Chad then asks Otis to chop him again.

Ricochet is nailed by Shinsuke Nakamura on his way to the ring. He tries to fight back but takes a headbutt to the chest and a GTS before it is broken up.

WWE Intercontinental Title #1 Contendership Triple Threat Match - Ricochet vs. Bronson Reed vs. Chad Gable

Reed is double teamed to start. Reed bodyblocks Ric then is kicked by Ric. Reed takes another 2v1 then pulls both out of the ring. Chad dragon suplexes Ric onto Reed on the floor. We go to PiP break and return.

Chad triangles Reed over the top then Ric is popped up into Chad. Reed splashes both in the corner then samoan drops both. Ric handspring back elbows Reed and has his springboard crossbody caught. Ric springboard dropkicks Reed out. Ric hurricanrana's Chad then running ssp's him for 2.

Ric superkicks Reed into Chad's german suplex. Ric tornillo's over Chad to Reed outside. Ric springboard crossbodies Chad and Chad rolls through into an ankle lock. Ric pumping knees Chad. Ric flips out of a top rope german then Chad hits chaos theory. Reed grabs Ric and throws him onto Chad then Reed top rope splashes Ric.

This was a good three way. It was action packed from start to finish with a good pace. Ric's tornillo dive to the outside was great.

Becky Lynch is interviewed. She said she is not 100% but says a fighting champ is never 100% if they are doing it right. She says her book is a success. She said Tegan Nox better bring everything she has got.

Xia Li walks up to her. She asks when it's her turn. Becky says she's not hard to find and calls her "honey bunches".

Drew McIntyre vs JD McDonaugh

 

They go face to face. JD hits a chest slap and Drew just looks at him. JD makes Drew chase him then takes a high back body drop. Drew belly to belly suplexes him. Drew hits a neckbreaker and kips up. Dom gets on the apron and JD clips him. Drew lariats JD on the floor.

Dom sends Drew in the post. JD kicks Drew form the apron then asai moonsaults him outside. JD does a double knee drop on Drew. Drew hits a future shock ddt on JD then hits a claymore kick for the win.

It was mostly a squash here with JD obviously not standing much of a chance. JD took some nice bumps here though.

Priest is seen watching the match in the back. Rhea tells him that she has an idea before he does anything.

We see clips of Wade Barrett interviewing Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa. Ciampa said DIY is bigger than them. He said they look to what is next. Johnny said he wasn't going to let Imperium jump Tomasso and said this is finlly their moment. Wade asks if we will finally see htem team then Johnny gets nailed with a boot to the face.

Johnny is held by Imperium then has his head banged off the floor. DIY is left laying.

 We get a video package on Tegan Nox.

Tegan Nox is interviewed. She said she has been waiting for this for a while and wants to show the world who she is. Natalya comes up to her, says she was born to do it and tells her to knock it out of the park. 

Ricochet is looking for Shinsuke Nakamura in the back. Adam Pearce comes up to him. Adam says Shinsuke has been escorted out of the building. He says Ric gets Shinsuke in a falls count anywhere match next week.

NXT Women's Title - Becky Lynch (c) vs Tegan Nox

Nox tries to roll her up but it is reversed. Becky rolls her up. Nox side headlocks her then Becky rolls her up. They trade armdrags and Becky's head is banged off the buckles. Nox euros her in the back of the neck. Becky has her neck pulled over the top rope then Becky kicks her off the ropes to the floor.

Becky baseball slides her outside and Nox cannonballs her off the apron. We go to break and return. Becky hits forearms and spin kicks her in the gut. Becky flying double chops her and hits an exploder. Nox top rope crossbodies her. Becky goes for an armbar.

Nox cannonballs her in the corner. They fight on the buckles. Becky hangs fromthe top and Nox cannonballs her while she hangs. Becky hits a high kick from the apron then barely hits a top rope dropkick for 2. Becky runs at her and takes a cuty special. Nox crucifixes her then Becky puts a fujiwara armbar on. Nox taps out and Becky wins.

I wasn't a big fan of this. They barely connected on some moves and it was just not a strong match. 

Adam Pearce talks to Indi Hartwell and Dakota Kai in the back. He tells Kai Johnny is banged up but they don't know about Ciampa yet. Rhea Ripley comes in and tells Indi to leave. She tells Pearce she wants Shayna Baszler 1v1 next week and tells him to make it happen.

Tegan Nox is mad about losing in the back. Katana Chance, Kayden Carter, Natalya and then Chelsea Green and Piper Niven come in. Green asks if they are having a pity party and Green threatens Natalya if she gets in her business again. Piper says Natalya has to deal with her if she gets in her business again. Natalya says to name a time and place and Piper says next week.

Drew McIntyre and Jey Uso talk in the back. Drew says he sees through him and says he will drop his @ss when he shows his true colors. Jey said he has 5 minutes for him right now. Sami Zayn comes in and asks if they are all good here. Jey then asks where he came from. Jey thanks him for having his back but says tonight is go time. Sami said you don't have to tell him twice.

Ludwig Kaiser talks about himself. He says he is an A+ specimen and compares himself to european artists.

WWE Undisputed Tag Titles - Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso (c) vs Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

We go to break right as this starts and Sami comes off the buckles onto Cody. Jey hits Sami then tells him to come on. Owens piefaces Jey and they trade shots. They roll out and trade more shots. Cody and Sami then join in and they all fight on the floor. Owens punches Jey on the apron and they fight over the table. Sami and Cody then bang each others heads off the table. Sami goes over it then hits Cody as he stands on it.

We go to break and return. Owens has Jey in a chinlock then sentons him. Owens goes up top and takes a gamengiri from Jey. Owens swantons Jey off the top and hits punches. Owens and Jey trade superkicks. Jey superkicks Owens then both tag out.

Cody hits lariats on Sami then powerslams him. Cody hits a cody cutter for 2 then Sami hits a blue thunder bomb for 2. Cody does a drop down punch on Sami then exploders Cody in the corner. Cody hits a cross rhodes for 2. Sami back body drops Cody. Jey and Owens get in. Jey's superkick is caught then he takes two and gets one in.

Owens stunners Jey for 2. Sami tope con hilos outside then Owens has his top rope swanton blocked by Jey. Jey superkicks him and Sami. Cody hits cross rhodes on Sami then Owens takes a double superkick. Owens is held up in the air by Jey then Cody hits a Cody cutter on him. Cody and Jey pick up the win.

It was a good main. The first half of this had some really good brawling with it truly feeling out of control. The second half had a lot of superkicks but the finishing run was cool and the crowd liked it.

Sami shakes hands with his opponents after. Owens shakes hands with both opponents too.

Overall thoughts: A really good Raw. The main was good. Ivar vs Kofi was good and even Raquel and Nia had a good one here up until the interference. I wouldn't say it's a must see, but a lot of things are clicking for WWE right now and this was a good effort from WWE.