Reviews

The John Report: WWE Raw Deal 09/09/24 Review

By John Canton • Published 9th September 2024
WWE Raw Deal September 9

It’s WWE Raw featuring Bret Hart on the show as well as a fatal 4-way match between Jey Uso, Ilja Dragunov, Pete Dunne & Braun Strowman for a shot at the Intercontinental Title.

This is the “Season Premiere” of Raw as WWE likes to call it every year even though every episode is new except the clip show around the holidays. It’s also the first Raw going against the NFL Monday Night Football, which will be on for the rest of the year on Mondays. It also means that my Raw review will not be live most Mondays. They will be a Tuesday morning post perhaps the rest of September, but we found out Raw is dropping to two hours starting October 7th, so that means I can probably get it posted on Monday nights for the rest of the year. It might even be live some weeks too. Once January comes, it will be live most weeks again.

Anyway, this episode of Raw is also commercial-free in the first hour as announced by WWE.

This is the Raw Deal for episode #1634 of Monday Night Raw. It’s taking place at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.

Drew McIntyre was shown walking around in the arena earlier in the day. They also showed Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker arriving earlier in the day. The Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill were also shown and their opponents Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn were backstage too. Meanwhile, a graphic of Bret “The Hitman” Hart was shown. Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett were on camera welcoming us to the show. As mentioned above, it’s a commercial-free first hour of Raw.

A video package aired to set up the Wyatt Sicks group against Chad Gable’s American Made group.

The American Made group had an American flag with them, which drew boos from the fans in Calgary. That was followed by the ominous entrance of the Wyatt Sicks group.

Street Fight: Wyatt Sicks – Erick Rowan, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy & Nikki Cross (w/Uncle Howdy) vs. American Made – Chad Gable, Julius Creed, Brutus Creed & Ivy Nile

It has been a long time since Nikki Cross was in a match, but she is in action here so she can get involved with Ivy Nile on the American Made team.

Cross tackled Nile and they exchanged punches. The eight wrestlers quickly fought outside the ring. Cross gave Nile a sitout front suplex on the floor. Cross put a trash can on Nile and Cross used a kendo stick to hit the trash can that Nile was under. Cross sent Nile into barricade followed by a dropkick. Rowan slammed Julius into the ring apron and into the barricade. Brutus suplexed Gacy on the apron. Lumis hit a full nelson slam on Gable. Cross cleared the commentary table, but Nile tripped her up on the table. Nile tossed Cross over the commentary table. Gable hit Rowan with repeated kendo stick shots to the back of Lumis. Gable hit Gacy with the kendo stick as well. Brutus sent Gacy into the steel steps. Rowan no sold a kendo stick attack and headbutted Gable down. Rowan suplexed The Creeds on the floor. Rowan ran over Gable on the floor with a shoulder tackle. Rowan set up a table on the floor. Julius saved Gable from going through a table and Nile sprayed some fire extinguisher spray into Rowan’s face. Rowan was hit with a chair to the back followed by the Creeds hitting a double spinebuster through the table. American Made put chairs and other objects onto Rowan to keep him buried under debris. Gable gave Lumis a drop toe hold into a chair in the ring. Lumis avoided a chair shot followed by a belly-to-back suplex. The Creeds tried to attack Gacy in the ring, but Gacy hit his upside down double clothesline to knock them down. Lumis set up Gable on a table on the floor. The fans were chanting “this is awesome” for the action. Julius knocked Lumis off the apron to save Gable. Julius hit Gacy with a chair to the back. Gable’s team took turns using kendo sticks to hit a trash can that was on Gacy’s head. Cross appeared from under the ring to go after Nile again. Cross hit Nile with a kendo stick repeatedly. Cross hit a cross body block on Nile on the floor and they went over the commentary table. Julius sent Gacy crashing into the turnbuckle.

Julius brought another table in the ring. Rowan got back up to save Gacy from an attack. Rowan was aggressive with a boot and a clothesline on the floor. Rowan picked up a piece of the barricade to knock both Creeds and Gable down. Back in the ring, Rowan clotheslined Brutus multiple times. Rowan dropkicked Brutus and a spin kick for Julius. Rowan hit a lifting sidewalk slam on Brutus for two because Gable made the save. Gable tripped up Rowan into a chair against the turnbuckle. The Creeds clotheslined Rowan out of the ring and Gable gave Rowan a German Suplex into the barricade. Brutus jumped off the top with a Brutus Ball on Rowan on the floor. Gace and Lumis each hit dives onto the guys onto the guys on the floor. Gacy and Lumis hit uranage slams on the Creed boys. Gacy gave Lumis a Powerbomb onto Julius. Lumis jumped off the top and hit a double leg drop on Brutus through the table on the floor. Gacy was upside down against the turnbuckle and hit a clothesline on Gable. Gacy went up top, Gable went after him, there was a table in the ring and Gable gave Gacy an Angle Slam through the table. Gable covered Gacy for a two count. Gable applied an Ankle Lock on Gacy, Cross made the save with a German Suplex on Gable. Cross gave Nile a neckbreaker onto steel chairs on the floor. Rowan hit a cross body block on Gable on the floor because Gable was looking at Howdy. Rowan hit an Iron Claw Slam on Gable on the bottom half of the steel steps. Uncle Howdy hit a Sister Abigail on Julius, who sold it great. Lumis jumped off the top for a Superfly Splash on Gable (with Rowan pushing for more momentum) and Lumis covered Gable for the win. It went 18 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Wyatt Sicks – Erick Rowan, Dexter Lumis, Joe Gacy & Nikki Cross

Analysis: ***3/4 This was a wild match full of action. I enjoyed it a lot. Uncle Howdy getting involved was a bit cheap from the babyface side, but it’s also a Street Fight where anything goes, so it’s not illegal for Howdy to be involved in the match. Everybody in the match busted their asses with some great moves throughout the match. I liked the weapon usage with the kendo sticks along with the tables being broken. The Wyatt Sicks continue their winning ways and this looks like the end of this rivalry.

They aired a WWEShop video. There was also a video about Raw, NXT & Smackdown all on USA Network with limited commercial action on all three shows for the next three weeks.

It was mentioned by Joe Tessitore that starting October 7th until the end of the year, Raw goes to two hours from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET so they are cutting the third hour. The WWE social media team also posted about it.

Analysis: I like that a lot. Good. Raw is the best of the WWE brands this year, but I am fine with it losing an hour even if the match quality will go down a bit. I write so much every single week about pro wrestling so if I have one hour less to write about then that’s certainly not a bad thing for me. Just so we’re clear, it was USA Network wanting to pay WWE for the third hour of Raw starting in July 2012. I don’t think WWE necessarily pushed for it, but USA Network was paying them a lot of money to do it and WWE was okay with it. Raw moves to Netflix in January and then at that time it will probably be a two-hour show without commercials for a lot of us although there might still be some countries airing it on TV that will have commercials. We’ll find out how that works in January when we get there. Let’s finish 2024 first, my friends.

It has been officially confirmed that at WWE Bad Blood on October 5th, Liv Morgan will defend the Women’s World Title against Rhea Ripley.

Analysis: That was expected. Fine with me. I’ll go with Liv finding a way to retain.

Let’s Hear from Finn Balor

Finn Balor, who is one-half of the World Tag Team Champions, entered for an in-ring promo. Balor said that it didn’t have to be this way, Damian Priest, but you made it this way. Balor claimed that Priest held him down even though Priest was his brother and Balor had his back. Balor said that he was the guy who made sure that Priest remained the champion. Balor claimed that every time he came close to the championship, it was Priest who screwed Balor. Balor called out Priest so he can say some things to his face.

Damian Priest got into the ring quickly. Balor told Priest that he turned Balor into a sidekick and Finn is no sidekick. Balor said that he wants to face Priest one-on-one at Bad Blood. Priest quickly accepted the challenge. Balor asked Priest if he forgot about The Judgment Day playbook, so that led to the rest of the group going to the ring.

Finn Balor was joined by Carlito, JD McDonagh & Dominik Mysterio as they worked together to attack Priest. They punched and stomped on Priest. Rhea Ripley made the save with a crutch to help her left knee injury. Liv Morgan ran out there, Ripley knocked Liv down and Ripley hit Dominik with the crutch. Morgan did a chop block to the back of Ripley’s left knee. Morgan beat on Ripley with the crutch and Priest covered Ripley as well. Jey Uso ran out there with a chair so The Judgment Day retreated.

Analysis: It was yet another numbers game attack advantage for The Judgment Day group. We have seen that many times over the last couple of years. I like the Priest-Balor match taking place at Bad Blood instead of being a Raw match. They should be in a PLE match. I like that idea.

Braun Strowman was interviewed backstage by Jackie Redmond. Strowman said that last week’s match didn’t help his injuries. Strowman said it takes a lot more than that to keep the monster down. Strowman said that a wounded monster makes him even more dangerous. Bron Breakker walked up to him with the Intercontinental Title. Bron said that he’s here to prove you don’t have to be 7-foot tall to be a monster because he’s a dog. Bron said he hopes Strowman wins and said he’ll see him around.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs. Unholy Union – Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn

Belair was in control wit ha suplex on Fyre. Jade tagged in leading to double team shoulder tackles. Belair & Jade sent their opponents out of the ring. Jade hit body slams on both opponents. Jade missed corner splashes on both opponents. Fyre made a blind tag leading to a cheap shot to the knee as the heels took control briefly. Belair managed to get the tag leading to a dropkick on Dawn and a vertical suplex on Fyre. Belair unloaded on Dawn with punches. Belair hit a double cross body block on both women. Belair hit a cartwheel off the ropes into a moonsault on Dawn for two. Fyre tagged in, but Belair shoved Dawn into the turnbuckle to knock Fyre down on the turnbuckle. Fyre and Dawn hit a double team Powerbomb on Belair leading to Dawn covering Belair for two. Jade saved Belair from a double team attack. Fyre came back with a superkick on Jade. Belair got a rollup on Fyre for two. Dawn was back in leading to the double team Gory Special facebuster on Belair, but Jade made the save for a two count. Jade sent Dawn into the ring post. Fyre superkicked Belair, who tagged in Jade. Jade hit a jumping pump kick or maybe it was a knee. Belair hit double knees leading to Jade hitting a German Suplex and Jade covered Fyre for the pinfall win. It went about seven minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill

Analysis: **3/4 A solid match to put over Belair & Cargill as the Women’s Tag Team Champions as they continue their reign. Fyre and Dawn were given plenty of offense in the match while also hitting their finisher, but obviously, they weren’t going to win here since Belair & Cargill just got the titles back. It’s probably the end of Fyre & Dawn as title contenders while WWE tries to build up other teams to challenge the champions.

The announcers gave an update with Joe telling us that Priest & Ridley went to a local medical facility since WWE still hates saying “hospital” apparently.

The LWO group was interviewed backstage by Jackie Redmond. Dragon Lee said he’s ready for Dominik Mysterio and he has backup. The Judgment Day confronted the LWO. Finn Balor said if you stand in the way of The Judgment Day then it will be you up next. Dominik called Rey a deadbeat. Rey challenged Balor to a match tonight and Balor told Rey he was on, but he made a huge mistake.

Analysis: That’s an easy way to set up a match tonight.

The legendary Bret “The Hitman” Hart was shown walking backstage for his segment up next. That’s the first commercial of the night.

(Commercial)

Bret Hart Returns To WWE Raw

The two-time WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart was introduced by Joe Tessitore & Wade Barrett, who were in the ring. Bret got a massive ovation in his hometown. Bret is in his 60s now so he does look older of course, but he looks fine to me. I know he has a wife, a lot of kids, and a lot of grandkids.

Bret spoke about how he took pride in being a champion and he had pride in being a Canadian champion. Bret said that he proved himself every night for 20 years that he was the best there is, best there was, and the best that there ever will be.

Gunther interrupted with the World Heavyweight Title around his waist. Gunther was booed as he joined Bret in the ring. Gunther said he was about to pour his heart out to one of his childhood heroes and the fans booed Gunther for the interruption. Gunther repeated Bret’s catchphrase. Gunther said this feels like a passing the torch moment because Bret was the best there was, but Gunther is the best there is and the best there ever will be. Gunther said he wanted to express something from the bottom of his heart. Gunther called Wade Barrett “Stu” by mistake since that is Wade’s real name. Gunther spoke about Bret was a childhood favorite to a lot of the wrestlers in the company. Gunther said that Bret is a close second to his all time favorite Bill Goldberg. That was funny. Bret didn’t say anything to reply to that.

Sami Zayn made his entrance wearing a Calgary Flames jersey of the late, great Johnny Gaudreau, who sadly passed away recently and is a former member of the Flames. Zayn is Canadian and beloved obviously by the fans, so he got a huge ovation.

Zayn said that you have a lot of nerve standing in the ring in this city talking to this man the way you did. Zayn said that it’s not a joke because Bret Hart is a Canadian hero. Zayn spoke about how Bret was a hero to this city and is still a hero to the wrestlers in the back who are still studying his matches to this day. Zayn said that Bret is a hero to him. Zayn said that Bret is the one who set the tone for what it means to be a champion. Zayn said that Gunther ran away when Zayn challenged him to a match. Zayn said if you think you’re the best there is, then prove it. Zayn said that he wanted to face Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Gunther told Bret that he wasn’t in his league. Gunther said that as much as Zayn said Bret is his hero, Zayn is not in the same league as Bret Hart. Gunther said that his answer remains no. Gunther dropped the microphone and left. Bret called Gunther a dirty, gutless, yellow coward. Gunther took off his jacket while in the aisle and Zayn confronted him on the floor. Zayn told him to leave. Gunther tried to throw a punch, but Zayn blocked it and Zayn opened up on Gunther with punches. Zayn sent Gunther into the ring post. Two referees showed up to break it up. Bret shook hands with Sami and Sami raised Bret’s hand. Sami and Bret hugged.

Analysis: It was a good segment with one of my wrestling heroes Bret Hart getting the big ovation that he deserved. Bret is absolutely a Canadian hero to those of us in my country and I know Bret is a hero to a lot of wrestling fans around the world as well. Gunther confronting Bret was a good choice since Gunther is the current World Heavyweight Champion and having Gunther get in Bret’s face was a smart way to get heat on Gunther. It’s obviously going to lead to Sami Zayn challenging Gunther, but for now, Gunther is saying no to it, so it will be interesting to see how they set the match up. Also, the Goldberg line by Gunther was hilarious considering how much Bret Hart has complained about Goldberg. Well played. I laughed at that.

Pete Dunne was standing around backstage when Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker walked up to him for a chat. Dunne said he’ll get one step closer to that IC Title and beat Trick Williams on NXT to get closer to the NXT Title as well. Pete said he’ll be a double champ. Bron told Pete he can’t beat Bron in a fight while mocking his stupid shrug. Bron wished Pete good luck. When Dunne turned around, Sheamus attacked him with a jumping knee to the face. Sheamus tried to attack with a shillelagh, but Dunne got away and WWE Officials showed up to stop Sheamus from doing more.

Dominik Mysterio made his entrance for singles action joined by the rest of The Judgment Day group.

(Commercial)

Dragon Lee (w/Rey Mysterio, Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro) vs. Dominik Mysterio (w/Carlito, JD McDonagh, Finn Balor & Liv Morgan)

Lee was in control early and went for a cross body block off the top, but Dominik hit a dropkick to stop that. Dominik sent Lee out of the ring as the show went to break.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Lee in control with a running dropkick against the turnbuckle. Dominik hit a Michinoku Driver for a two count. Lee rolled up Dominik for two and then Dominik hit a sitout Powerbomb for two. They battled by the turnbuckle where Lee set up Dom upside down and Lee jumped off the top with a double foot stomp where JD put Dom’s foot on the bottom rope and the referee saw the foot on the rope for a two count. That led to a fight between LWO and J-Day, so the referee ejected the male wrestlers from ringside. Morgan went into the ring with a chop block on Lee. Dominik hit a 619 kick on Lee. Dominik went up top and hit a Frog Splash on Lee for the pinfall win after about eight minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Dominik Mysterio

Analysis: **3/4 A cheap win for Dominik Mysterio thanks to Liv Morgan getting involved in the match. We have seen Liv get involved in Dominik’s matches before. I like how it was booked since the male wrestlers were ejected from ringside, which led to Liv doing the cheap shot when the referee wasn’t looking. Lee hasn’t been booked that well on the Raw brand, so hopefully things get better for him in the future.

The Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill walked up to Damage CTRL’s Iyo Sky & Kairi Sane. Sky warned them by saying don’t get used to having those tiles. Belair & Cargill didn’t know how to respond to that so they just shined up their titles a bit.

The Pure Fusion Collective trio entered for women’s tag team action.

It was mentioned by Tessitore that NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a drunk driver on August 29th. Johnny was a beloved member of the Flames for many years. Johnny and his brother had a funeral earlier in the day in New Jersey where they were from. Jackie Redmond, who also works for NHL Network, was outside the Saddledome showing the tributes by fans for Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau. Jackie spoke about how Johnny was magical to watch and a pleasure to interview. A graphic was shown “In Loving Memory” of the Gaudreau boys.

Analysis: That was very touching by WWE to do that. The accident happened in New Jersey, but the people of Calgary were hit hard by it since Johnny played in Calgary for many years. Drive safe. Don’t drink and drive. That’s the most important message of all.

(Commercial)

The team of Lyra Valkyria & Zelina Vega were the babyface team that had a mystery partner after dropping a major clue last week that basically told the audience who it was. Sonya Deville trash talked the “surprise” partner with a warning about being in this match. That led to Natalya making her Raw return after a few months away. Big pop for her.

Analysis: Natalya is from the famous Hart family in Calgary and a niece of Bret Hart, so of course she got a big ovation. I’m happy to see Natalya back in action.

Natalya, Lyra Valkyria & Zelina Vega vs. Pure Fusion Collective – Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark & Sonya Deville

Vega got a headscissors early. However, the PFC women took over with three moves in a row on Vega leading to Stark going over the top rope onto Vega on the floor.

(Commercial)

Stark was in control of Vega with a suplex. Vega managed to break free and tagged in Natalya, who got a big pop. Natalya nailed Stark with multiple punches. Natalya avoided a charging Stark followed by a suplex and a basement dropkick. Natalya wanted the Sharpshooter, but Stark’s friends helped her. Lyra and Vega kicked the heels down on the floor. Natalya and Stark exchanged pin attempts. Natalya applied a Sharpshooter on Stark, who tapped out. While Natalya did the Sharpshooter, Lyra did a half crab and Vega did a Boston Crab submission. This went about seven minutes.

Winners by submission: Natalya, Lyra Valkyria & Zelina Vega

Analysis: **1/4 It was okay for a short tag team match. They only got about seven minutes and since there was a commercial there was only about four minutes of the action shown. They built up to Natalya getting the hot tag and finishing off the heels for the win. I don’t know if this will lead to any kind of push for Natalya, but I’d love to see it since she signed a new deal with WWE and maybe they are going to use her better in the future.

Drew McIntyre was shown walking backstage for a promo up next. Drew stared at Alpha Academy’s Otis (with Calgary Flames WWE Title), Akira & Maxxine Dupri and Drew kept on walking. That was the end of the second hour.

(Commercial)

A commercial aired for Survivor Series: War Games in Vancouver on November 30th. Tickets go on sale this coming week.

Natalya was backstage talking to Lyra and Zelina saying it was surreal out there because it was a long time coming. Bret Hart walked up to his niece Natalya and hugged her. Bret said that this was a Nattie moment, not a Bret moment. That’s cool.

Let’s Hear from Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre made his entrance with a big smirk on his face since he beat up CM Punk last week on Raw. Drew laughed at a Punk fan in the aisle. When Drew got in the ring, he was greeted by “CM Punk” chants.

Drew encouraged the crowd to chant his name while Drew joined in to chant “CM Punk” with the fans. Drew said whenever that name is chanted, it doesn’t upset or frustrate him. Drew said that name is “in memory of” Punk now. Drew said that last week, Punk bragged about beating Drew and Punk wanted to go fight for the World Title. Drew said that Punk screwed Drew out of the World Title three times this year. Drew said that he pinned Punk at SummerSlam and just because Punk touched four corners doesn’t mean they are down while calling Punk an “arrogant prick.” Drew said that he’s been talking about Punk since January and now he’s the one that ended Punk’s career.

Drew said what matters around here is him. Drew spoke about the World Title he’s been chasing after. Drew mentioned that his first Hollywood movie The Killer’s Game comes out starring him and “The Animal” Dave Bautista. Drew said he’s afraid he has some bad news that involves Wade Barrett.

Drew told Wade that he was one of his oldest friends, they have known each other for 20 years, they lived together and they even got arrested together. Drew said that Barrett is the only one who has been by Drew’s side. Drew asked Wade why did he step in Drew’s way when Drew was about to end Punk? Drew said he’s not angry with Wade, he’s just disappointed. Drew told Wade if he does it again, he’s not going to be disappointed because he’s going to be angry and he’ll do something about it. Wade took off his headset and stood up to Drew on the floor.

Adam Pearce, the Raw General Manager, interrupted the promo wondering if Drew lost the plot so much that he wants to fight with his friend like Wade Barrett. Pearce said that Drew and Wade don’t want to fight eachother. Pearce told Drew he had some information he needed to hear. Drew called Pearce a corporate suit who Punk kisses the arse of. Pearce said he spoke to Drew saying that Punk is not done with Drew. That led to Drew saying he didn’t believe him. Drew asked the fans if they wanted him to fight CM Punk one more time, so of course the fans cheered.

Pearce said that it has to end. Pearce said that the fight will end at Bad Blood. Pearce told Drew he’s going to find peace because he’ll know it’s going to be over. Pearce said that at Bad Blood it will be CM Punk, it will be Drew McIntyre and it will be (Pearce took glasses off) Hell in a Cell. Pearce left while Drew was left in the ring to think about it.

The announcers mentioned the Hell in a Cell match with Tessitore noting the history of the match going back to Bad Blood in October 1997 when Shawn Michaels beat The Undertaker thanks to a debuting Kane. Barrett pointed out that McIntyre has a bad record inside Hell in a Cell matches so it might not be good for him.

Analysis: That’s the announcement we were all expecting with Drew and Punk having this long rivalry all year leading to the Hell in a Cell match. Both guys had a win at a PLE show, so it makes a lot of sense to break the tie by having a Hell in a Cell match that will likely be the main event of the show. I think it will be an incredible match and my early prediction is a win for CM Punk. Anyway, Drew did a good job here as always, but it dragged on a bit too long before Pearce got out there.

The Miz was backstage where Karrion Kross was there telling Miz he was in a rut. Xavier Woods (who is dressed like Bret Hart in a way) walked up to them while Kross left. Woods told Miz not to listen to him. Miz complained about where his place is in WWE right now while Woods tried to cheer him up. Kofi Kingston walked up to Woods saying he got them a World Tag Team Title match for next week. Woods said they can walk into their tenth anniversary this November as the best there is, best there was, and the best that there will ever be.

Analysis: A simple segment to get four wrestlers on the show. The New Day getting a shot at the titles is fine with me. Those titles are not being defended that often.

Rey Mysterio entered for singles action.

(Commercial)

Finn Balor vs. Rey Mysterio

The Judgment Day and the LWO are banned from ringside. Balor is also a World Tag Team Champion.

Balor hit a jumping elbow smash on a running Rey. Balor choked Rey across the middle rope. Balor stomped on Rey’s chest repeatedly. Rey tried to fight back with punches, but Balor hit Rey with shoulder tackles to the ribs. Balor worked over Rey with punches until Rey broke free and hit a headscissors. Rey sent Balor to the floor followed by Rey hitting a slingshot dive over the top onto Balor.

(Commercial)

Rey tossed a charging Balor out of the ring. Balor was on the apron, so Rey kicked Balor to the floor. Rey slid under the bottom rope for a splash on Balor. Rey jumped off the top with a senton splash and a cross body springboard splash. Rey hit a 619 kick to the ribs. Rey set up Balor against the ropes leading to a 619 kick attempt, but Balor caught Rey to block it. Balor did a catapult that sent Rey throat-first into the top rope. Balor applied a half crab on Rey against the ropes. The referee Shawn Bennett counted Balor, he reached a five count and called for the bell for the DQ finish. It went about eight minutes.

Winner by disqualification: Finn Balor

Analysis: **3/4 There’s a finish you don’t see very often with the heel wrestler Balor intentionally getting disqualified. I know the story is to get heat on Balor as a heel, but I thought he would get a pinfall win to get him some momentum going into Bad Blood against Damian Priest. Rey was great making the comeback as usual. We only got about five minutes full screen, so this was shorter than I expected it to be.

After the match, Balor ran across the apron and dropkicked Rey into the turnbuckle/ring post. Referees made Balor leave while the fans booed Balor for his actions. When Rey got back up Balor dropkicked Rey into the LED boards on the side of the ring.

Analysis: It was a way to get more heat on Balor for the cheap attack.

Ilja Dragunov was interviewed by Jackie Redmond backstage. Ilja said he almost missed this opportunity because of The Judgment, Day, but thanks to Rhea & Damian he had a fair shot. Ilja said that he wants the price at the end of this tournament and a chance to settle unfinished with Bron Breakker. That led to Bron Breakker interrupting the interview. Bron told Ilja he has already beaten him. Bron said Ilja can win and Bron can beat him again. Jey Uso walked into the scene, stared at Bron and Jey called for his music to play.

Analysis: They have done a good job having Bron Breakker get in the face of all potential challengers and try to intimidate them by showing how confident he is.

Jey Uso made his entrance to a huge pop from the crowd as usual. Jey was doing his arm swinging as usual with the fans joining in like they always do. Tessitore had a Calgar-Yeet sign. Nice sign by that fan. That main event match was after a break.

(Commercial)

The Judgment Day was featured in a backstage interview. Finn Balor said that anybody can get it at any time while mentioning the LWO and Terror Twins. Liv Morgan issued a warning to Rhea Ripley. JD McDonagh said that The New Day’s time is over.

This Tuesday NXT will have Nathan Frazer & Axiom defending the NXT Tag Team Titles against The Street Profits.

Analysis: It was supposed to be Frazer & Axiom vs. The Rascalz, but they were replaced for some reason.

Next Monday on Raw in Portland, Oregon.

* World Tag Team Championships: The Judgment Day – Finn Balor & JD McDonagh vs. The New Day – Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods.

* CM Punk returns.

The entrances continued with Ilja Dragunov getting cheered, Pete Dunne didn’t get much of a reaction as the only heel of the match and Braun Strowman got a big pop as a babyface.

WWE Intercontinental Championship Tournament #1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Match: Jey Uso vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. Pete Dunne vs. Bruan Strowman

The first fall wins. Anything goes in a four-way match. The winner gets an Intercontinental Match. Braun had kinesio tape around his upper body after getting splashed by Bronson Reed on top of a car.

Braun was dominant with punches on Ilja and Jey. Dunne kicked Braun in the ribs, then Braun tossed Dunne out of the ring and Braun charged, but that was dumb because Dunne moved. Jey jumped over the top onto Braun on the floor. Ilja gave Dunne a German Suplex across the ring. Ilja hit a running knee followed by a running boot to the face. Jey countered Ilja with an enziguri kick to the head. Dunne dumped Jey over the top to the floor. Dunne tried to snap the fingers, but Braun powered out of that. Braun tossed Dunne over the top onto the two other guys on the floor.

(Commercial)

Braun was in control by taking down Ilja & Dunne, but Jey avoided Braun, who went crashing into the ring post. Jey jumped over Dunne followed by an uppercut punch. Jey hit a jumping kick to Dunne’s head by the turnbuckle. Dunne took down Jey leading to a finger-snapping attempt until Braun grabbed Dunne by the throat. Ilja jumped off the top with a dropkick on Braun followed by Dunne jumping onto Braun on the floor. Jey hit Braun with a superkick. The trio of Jey, Ilja & Dunne shoved Braun into the steel steps. The fans chanted “this is awesome” as Dunne sent Jey into the ring post. Dunne hit his release suplex for a two count. Ilja hit a chop, Dunne with a jumping kick to the head and Ilja connected with a jumping kick to the head as well. Ilja jumped off the top, but Jey was there with a superkick for a two count. Great spot right there. The three guys were down in the ring as the show went to break.

(Commercial)

The match returned with Jey and Ilja exchanging punches. Ilja hit some chops followed by a running clothesline for two because Dunne made the save. Dunne snapped Ilja’s fingers. Braun was back up to shove Dunne off the top to the floor. Braun was back in with a shoulder tackle and a boot to the face. Braun hit running splashes on Jey and Ilja followed by Jey hitting Ilja with a forearm to the chest. The ring was empty, so Braun ran around the ring with shoulder tackles on Jey, Ilja and Dunne, who got a forearm too. Braun tossed Dunne into the barricade. Braun cleared off the commentary table and then Reed jumped off the barricade to splash Braun through the commentary table! That was a great spot with Reed doing a surprise attack. The referee was talking to Jey and Ilja to likely give them time cues since there were only a few minutes left.

Jey and Ilja exchanged chops. Jey ran the ropes and hit a Spear with no cover because Dunne tossed Jey out of the ring. Dunne pinned Ilja for just a two count. That was a terrific two count while the fans chanted “this is awesome” for the great action. Dunne stomped on Ilja’s fingers and kicked Ilja in the head. Dunne kicked Ilja a few times followed by Dunne hitting Ilja with repeated forearms to the head. Ilja jumped up with a boot to the face. Ilja hit a Powerbomb and then an H-Bomb forearm by Ilja to Dunne. Jey was back in and he superkicked Ilja. Jey went up top for an Uso Splash on Dunne off the top for the pinfall win. This match went around 20 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Jey Uso

Analysis: **** This was an excellent match. It was one of the better WWE TV matches of the year. I’m not surprised by Bronson Reed taking out Strowman due to what happened two weeks ago and then Braun took Reed’s spot in the qualifying match as well. The table spot they did was really well done and it made a lot of noise as well. Jey getting the win made the most sense when this concept was announced, but I wouldn’t have minded it if Ilja got the win too. I’m not surprised by Dunne taking the pin in the match. Going 20 minutes gave them plenty of time to take their time and have some great spots throughout the match. I enjoyed it a lot.

The win means that Jey Uso will get a shot at the Bron Breakker’s Intercontinental Title at some point in the near future.

After the match, Jey Uso was celebrating with the “Yeet” hand motions for the crowd. Bron Breakker went into the ring with the Intercontinental Title, held it up, they had a staredown and that was the end of Raw.

Analysis: I think Bron will beat Jey whenever they wrestle. I don’t see Bron losing that title before year’s end and he’ll probably carry it going into WrestleMania 41 next year too.

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Three Stars of the Show

  1. Jey Uso
  2. Wyatt Sicks
  3. Ilja Dragunov, Bret Hart, Gunther, Sami Zayn

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The Scoreboard

  1. 75 out of 10

Last week: 7. 5

2024 Average: 7.61

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Final Thoughts on WWE Raw

It was a very good Raw as usual. The opening match and main event were the best matches by far. That 8-person Street Fight between Wyatt Sicks and American Made was a chaotic match that was a lot of fun. They were so creative throughout the match. I liked the four-way main event a lot with Jey Uso picking up a big win.

There were some solid promo segments as well. I liked the Bret Hart segment with Gunther insulting him to get some heat since it was in Calgary. Gunther saying Goldberg was his favorite wrestler made me chuckle, so kudos to whoever thought of that idea. I’m also glad it’s official that Drew McIntyre & CM Punk will have a Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood. It should be amazing.

I think Joe Tessitore was better this week than he was in week one. Joe should get more excited at certain times, but that will come as he gets more experience calling WWE action. I think Joe was better at calling moves too, so that’s a positive thing as well. I’m also looking forward to Raw going back to being a two hour show starting in October. While I do think Raw is the best of WWE’s three main shows right now, I have no issues with it losing one hour starting next month. Less writing for me is a good thing.

The next WWE PLE is Bad Blood on October 5th in Atlanta with this lineup announced so far.

Hell in a Cell Match: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre

WWE Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley

Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor

You can watch WWE Bad Blood, streaming live on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.

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Thanks for reading. Please check out my reviews of every WWE PPV ever listed in order. Go Los Angeles Rams. My contact info is below.

John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter/X @johnreport