The John Report: WWE Raw Deal 10/07/24 Review
It’s WWE Raw featuring Gunther defending the World Heavyweight Title against Sami Zayn, Jey Uso’s Intercontinental Title defense versus Xavier Woods, and more.
The two-hour Raw era is back starting this week and lasting until the end of the year. We don’t know for sure yet if it will be two hours on Netflix in January or maybe three hours. I think something in between two and three hours is ideal, but it’s not up to me. We’ll find out when we find out.
Next week’s Raw episode will be taped after Raw tonight since a lot of the WWE crew is going to Europe for a four day tour next week starting on Sunday, October 13th so it makes sense why they would tape ahead.
This is the Raw Deal for episode #1637 of Monday Night Raw. It’s taking place at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.
Sami Zayn was shown hanging out with fans before the show. The “Ring General” Gunther was shown walking around earlier in the day on the same night he defends the World Heavyweight Title against Zayn. They showed Pete Dunne walking backstage alone along with a shot of Sheamus walking around. The New Day’s Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods were backstage while the Intercontinental Champion Jey Uso was shown arriving earlier in the day.
Rapper Sexyy Red (two Y’s in the name) was in the ring welcoming us to Raw. She is from St. Louis, so she got a nice pop from the crowd.
A video package aired about the WWE Bad Blood PLE from this past Saturday in Atlanta. CM Punk and Drew McIntyre easily had the best match on the show. I rated it five stars out of five (my scale stops at five so it’s as high as it gets) and I thought it was excellent. It’s a Match of the Year contender while I also think they had the best WWE Feud of the Year as well.
Let’s Hear from CM Punk
CM Punk made his entrance with a limp in his walk, a bandage on his right arm around the elbow, tape around his right hand and a bandage on his forehead. Punk said that he was in no condition to be here and in no condition to get to the ring, so he’ll address the fans from there in the aisle. Punk said it hurts to smile, but he had to come here to see the fans.
Punk said he is alive, but he doesn’t feel like it. Punk said he’s a winner, but it doesn’t feel like he won. Punk said he wanted to be here to say it felt tremendous. Punk said that the way that match made him feel left him with a lot of questions. Punk spoke about how he said he had no Hell in a Cell matches left and he was right because he doesn’t know what he has left in him. Punk told the fans he loves them while adding that he doesn’t know how much he has left.
Punk spoke about how he had to thank three groups of people and the first one was the fans. Punk mentioned the fans who made the signs that chanted his name and he thanked them for waiting seven years for his wrestling return and his WWE return “home” as well. Punk thanked his peers who he feels privileged to be able to walk the hallways with. Punk mentioned the people he sees on a weekly basis, it’s been a joy and his life’s pleasure. Punk also wanted to thank the people who didn’t like him at all. Punk mentioned there’s a thin line of love and hate and he’s turned their hate into cash, so he thanks them. Punk said he doesn’t know why you keep doubting him, but keep doubting him. Punk said he had to go see his wife since he hadn’t seen her in about five weeks and he had a lot of flowers to buy. Punk wanted to say he’ll see you soon, but he just doesn’t know. The fans cheered.
Analysis: Good speech by Punk. He was honest in talking about how he felt while playing this role as a grizzled veteran who is easy to like.
Seth “Freakin” Rollins made his entrance to his catchy theme song for a staredown with Punk. Seth stared Punk in the eyes. Seth brushed by Punk by hitting him in the shoulder a bit and Seth went down to the ring.
Analysis: That Rollins-Punk match will be a big deal when it happens. Do they save it for WrestleMania or do it before that? It could be saved for WrestleMania, I think.
Let’s Hear from Seth “Freakin” Rollins
Seth Rollins told CM Punk to get well soon. Rollins said that the sooner that Punk gets back, the sooner that means Rollins can kick his ass and retire Punk for good. Rollins laughed about it. The fans even popped for it. Rollins welcomed us to Monday Night Rollins.
Rollins spoke about how things have been crazy around here. Rollins mentioned things at Bad Blood like Dominik hanging upside down, The Final Boss aka The Rock was back and mentioned Cody Rhodes teaming up with Roman Reigns. Rollins mentioned Kevin Owens beating up Cody as well, but he said we can’t talk about it. Rollins said that he was back to destroy Bronson Reed.
Rollins claimed that Reed is not here tonight, which drew boos from the fans. Rollins spoke into the camera that was in the ring saying that Reed tried to ambush him to try to end Seth’s career. Rollins said that six Tsunamis later and Seth knows his damn name. Rollins said if you wanted to get famous then Rollins would give him his 15 minutes. Rollins said that he wanted to face Reed one on one and told Reed to name the time and place. Rollins said this time he’ll be expecting him. That was it with Seth’s song starting to play.
Analysis: Good job by Seth Rollins making his point quickly by telling Bronson Reed that he can have his match.
Jey Uso made his entrance as the Intercontinental Champion while Seth was in the ring. The fans were loud for Jey as usual. Rollins stared at Jey for a moment and Rollins left. It looked like Rollins felt disrespected by that and didn’t greet Jey with a hand gesture of any kind. Jey was hyping up the fans for his match up next.
Analysis: Just because Seth Rollins is a babyface doesn’t mean he has to like Jey Uso. Seth has a problem with guys from The Bloodline in the past so that’s why there is animosity there. I like how that history isn’t forgotten.
(Commercial)
The commentary team of Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett were shown welcoming us to the show.
Xavier Woods was joined by his buddy Kofi Kingston for this title match. During the introductions by Samantha Irvin, there were some boos for Woods even though he’s a babyface. Jey Uso was cheered heavily.
Intercontinental Championship: Jey Uso vs. Xavier Woods (w/Kofi Kingston)
These two guys wrestled a lot in tag team matches in the past. The action spilled to the apron quickly as Woods hit Jey with a knee that knocked Jey off the apron. Woods did a fireman’s carry slam off his shoulders onto the floor.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Jey and Woods trading punches until Jey took control with multiple punches. Woods punched Jey to stagger him. Jey with a forearm and Woods came back with a forearm as well. Jey and Woods each hit forearms again. Woods avoided a Jey attack leading to Woods hitting a superkick for two. Woods jumped off the top, but Jey hit a superkick to stop that move. Jey went up top and hit an Uso Splash for the pinfall win after about eight minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Jey Uso
Analysis: **3/4 A decisive and clean win by Jey Uso, who shut down Woods with that superkick. Xavier Woods did get a lot of offense in the match, but he really didn’t have a shot to win.
After the match, they showed some replays. Jey picked up Woods and Jey shook hands with Kofi. Jey wanted a handshake from Woods, but Woods chose to walk away instead. The fans booed. When they left the ring, Woods was angry about Kofi shaking Jey’s hand after the match.
Analysis: The heelish actions of Xavier Woods continue. Refusing a handshake when you’re a babyface is a sign of disrespect, so it’s an easy way to get booed.
Jey Uso celebrated the win by posing on the turnbuckle. Bron Breakker went into the ring and hit Jey with a Spear. Kofi Kingston went into the ring, he tried to fight Bron, but Bron avoided a Trouble in Paradise kick and Bron hit Kofi with a Spear. Woods pulled Kofi out of the ring. Bron ran around the ring and hit a Spear on Woods on the floor. When Jey got back up, Bron ran the ropes and Bron hit a Spear on Jey. Bron picked up the Intercontinental Title to pose with the title while the fans booed that.
Analysis: Bron Breakker said last week that he wasn’t going to attack Jey and he showed respect to Jey. I thought that meant that Bron would be turning babyface soon. I guess that theory was wrong because it was back to heel Bron mode here. Watching Bron deliver the Spear is always fun to watch although I assume it’s not a fun move to take.
Rhea Ripley was featured in a video saying she should have known that Liv Morgan would weasel her way out of facing Ripley one on one. Ripley said that bringing Raquel Rodriguez in to help her was smart. Ripley said what wasn’t smart was that Liv and Raquel were caught. Ripley said now Liv has guaranteed another beating and delayed the inevitable. Ripley said that Liv needs Raquel so Ripley will have to go through both of them.
Analysis: Rhea and Raquel have a long history going back to the NXT days. They are really good friends too. I think putting Raquel with Liv is a good spot for Raquel on the show.
The letters PFR were shown in a fire. It’s likely about the return of the Viking Raiders.
(Commercial)
There was a plug to help the American Red Cross and the relief efforts of those dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in many southeastern US states. Go to WWE.me/Helene for more info. I saw the news that Hurricane Milton is heading to the western part of Florida near Tampa this Wednesday and it’s looking like a big one. Hopefully it’s not as bad as they say. Brutal.
Bron Breakker was shown walking backstage when Jackie Redmond asked him for some comments about what he did. Bron said nothing and walked away.
There was a clip shown of Triple H announcing that at Crown Jewel, the WWE Champion will face the World Champion for the men’s and women’s division. The winner will get a Crown Jewel Championship belt.
Analysis: That belt doesn’t mean that much, but it’s a way to have the top champions of the brands face off. We saw that at Survivor Series for many years in the past so it’s not an original idea by any means.
Wade Barrett was shown trying to talk to Joe Tessitore about Kevin Owens attacking Cody Rhodes after Bad Blood, but Joe didn’t want to talk about it. They showed a tweet from Triple H about how the “matter will be dealt with internally.” I’m sure it will be covered on Smackdown.
The WWE Champion Cody Rhodes was shown walking backstage. There were some technical issues with the show, so I don’t know what’s going on there or if it’s an angle.
A video was shown about the Sheamus rivalry with Pete Dunne leading up to their match.
Sheamus made his entrance for the match with Dunne after the break.
(Commercial)
The Miz was shown in the locker room talking to Karrion Kross. The Miz said he did what he did last week for himself. A QR code was shown on screen along with other graphics so it was likely to do with the Wyatt Sicks group. Miz said he was tired of doing everything and getting nothing in return. R-Truth walked up to The Miz saying that he was texting Miz all week. Truth said that Miz is confused and Truth said he is not in The Judgment Day anymore. Truth mentioned their kids liked to play together. Truth said he forgave him. The Miz said that he wasn’t confused and said Awesome Truth was done. Kross spoke in Miz’s ear saying this is why nobody takes Miz seriously anymore. Truth said he’ll talk to Pearce about a match, so Miz told Truth they could have a match next week. Kross smiled about it as Miz left.
Analysis: It makes sense to do that match next week since he turned on Truth last week. If Raw was still three hours they might have done the match this week, but there’s less time now.
Good Ol’ Fashion Donnybrook Match: Sheamus vs. Pete Dunne
There are no rules in a match like this. You win by pinfall or submission and that’s it. Sheamus used a shillelagh to grind against Dunne’s face. Sheamus hit an Alabama Slam. Sheamus did a catapult to send Dunne out of the ring near the big whiskey barrels. Sheamus went for a kick, but Dunne moved and Sheamus kicked one of the barrels over. Dunne jumped off a barrel and gave Sheamus a DDT on the floor. Dunne worked over Sheamus with kicks on the floor. They went over to a bar area by the ringside area. Dunne sent Sheamus by the front of the bar. Dunne jumped off the bar, Sheamus caught him and Sheamus powerslammed Dunne onto the commentary table. It wasn’t enough to break the table, but it was a good move.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Dunne in control for a few minutes until Sheamus got a shillelagh and Sheamus smashed the shillelagh into the ribs of Dunne. Sheamus went for the forearms, but Dunne countered with a neck snap against the top rope. Sheamus hit the backbreaker as the fans came alive for him. Sheamus charged for a Brogue Kick, Dunne avoided it and Sheamus hit a powerslam for two. Sheamus went up top, so Sheamus hit Dunne with part of the broken shillelagh. Dunne hit a superplex while standing on the middle turnbuckle for a two count. Dunne went onto some barrels that were out on the floor and there were tables beneath them. Sheamus went up to the top of the barrels where he hit Butch with the shillelagh repeatedly. Sheamus hit the ten beats forearms to the chest. Sheamus jumped off the stacked whiskey barrels and Sheamus gave Dunne the White Noise slam off the barrels and they went through the two tables on the floor! That was a big bump. It was done about as safely as possible, but it’s still a painful looking move. The fans chanted “this is awesome” for this fight. Back in the ring, Sheamus hit a running knee. Sheamus hit a High Cross move like a Razor’s Edge for a two count. Sheamus was bleeding from his right arm around the elbow area. Sheamus told Dunne he asked for this, Sheamus twisted the fingers of Sheamus and then Dunne hit Sheamus with a cricket bat to the back. That was loud. It got a two count. Dunne got a drawer that was part of the bar and hit Sheamus in the head with it. Dunne grabbed zip ties and hit tied Sheamus’ hands behind his back. Dunne went for a cricket bat attack, Sheamus avoided it and Sheamus hit a jumping knee to the face! Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick and then laid on top (with his hands tied behind him) of Dunne for the pinfall win. It went about 15 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Sheamus
Analysis: ***1/2 That was a fun match. As Sheamus likes to say, it’s banger after banger when he has matches. Dunne won when they had their last match because he used a cricket bat, so this time everything was legal and Sheamus was able to find a way to win even with the zip ties around his wrists. I thought the finish was clever with Sheamus avoiding the cricket bat attack and hitting the knee followed by the Brogue Kick for the win. The fans were into the match and popped loudly for it.
After the match, the referee cut the zip ties to free Sheamus.
Cody Rhodes, the Undisputed WWE Champion, was interviewed by Cathy Kelley backstage. Cody said he can’t speculate about what happened at Bad Blood and you’ll find out more about it on Smackdown. Cody said he was here to see what it takes to be the Crown Jewel Champion.
Cody Rhodes walked up to Sami Zayn, who was standing backstage. Zayn told Cody he plans to be the one that Cody faces at Crown Jewel. Zayn tried to bring up Kevin Owens attacking Cody since Kevin is Zayn’s best friend, but Cody said he didn’t want to do that here (Zayn didn’t mention Owens by name). Cody wanted to see if Zayn could beat Gunther again like he did at WrestleMania. Cody said he’ll be honest, he wants to face Zayn too. Cody wished Zayn good luck and they shook hands.
Analysis: That’s cool to see the Cody-Sami interaction. I would love to see that match some day.
A video package aired about the awesome Braun Strowman-Bronson Reed Last Monster Standing Match from last week. Strowman won because Seth Rollins attacked Reed by giving him The Stomp and Braun was the Last Monster Standing.
The parking lot was shown earlier in the day as Raquel Rodriguez drove up to the arena joined by Dominik Mysterio and Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan. Jackie Redmond showed up for an interview. Morgan said that Ripley technically beat her by disqualification, but Liv still has her Women’s World Title, she still has Dirty Dom, she still has The Judgment Day and she has Raquel Rodriguez. Jackie tried to ask if Raquel was in The Judgment Day now, but Liv didn’t answer. Dominik said let’s just leave, so they went back into the car. Jackie tried to ask Raquel if Raquel was in The Judgment Day and Raquel wouldn’t answer. Raquel drove them off.
Analysis: They should have had Rhea Ripley waiting in the parking lot for them and then had the heels drive away like that to get away from her.
(Commercial)
The Raw General Manager Adam Pearce was talking to NXT GM Ava since NXT is also in St. Louis on Tuesday. Ethan Page from NXT walked in to complain to Pearce about how Raw superstar CM Punk cost him the NXT Title last week against Trick Williams. Pearce said that he didn’t appoint Punk in that role, it was Ava. That led to Ava saying she was off the clock so she didn’t have much to say to Page. Sexyy Red walked in with hugs for Ava and Pearce. Page shook hands with her, but she mentioned Trick Williams beating Page so Page was unimpressed and Page left.
Analysis: I think Ethan Page wanting revenge on CM Punk is a good sign for Page’s future. Page is a guy who has all the tools to be a star as a heel on the main roster. If there’s a Punk-Page match it will probably lead to a Punk win, but it would still be a good thing for Page if the match happens.
Natalya, Zelina Vega, Lyra Valkyria, Katana Chance & Kayden Carter vs. Pure Fusion Collective – Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark and Unholy Union – Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn
Stark started the match with a running clothesline on Carter. All ten women decided to get into the ring and they got into a brawl all around the ring. Lyra hit a running kick and Chance hit a spinning dive over the top on Stark. Carter hit a cross body block on two women on the floor. Deville pulled Natalya out of the ring and Deville sent Natalya into the steel steps. The show went to break there.
(Commercial)
Natalya hit a double suplex to get out of the heel corner. Vega tagged in with a hurricanrana on Stark. Vega hit a jawbreaker to counter a Stark move. Vega hit a moonsault off the top on Stark, but the referee noted there was a tag by Deville, so Deville hit Vega with a running knee. The other eight women all went into the ring to hit one move and then take a move leading to the ring being cleared. Natalya decked Stark with a discus clothesline. Deville hit a knee on Natalya and a kick to send Natalya out of the ring. Vega jumped on Deville’s back, so Lyra tagged in, Deville got Vega off her back and Lyra went up top where she hit a jumping leg drop to the back. Lyra covered Deville for the pinfall win. It went about eight minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Natalya, Zelina Vega, Lyra Valkyria, Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
Analysis: **1/2 It was a solid match for the time given, but we only got to see about five minutes of action due to the commercial. I thought the finish was well done with Lyra hitting the top rope leg drop to the back while Deville was bent over after dealing with Vega. The babyfaces got the clean here in decisive fashion, but I can see these women in the Raw midcard continuing to have issues moving forward.
A video package was shown to set up the Gunther-Sami Zayn match. Zayn wanted this match for the last month and Gunther finally agreed to it.
Sami Zayn made his entrance for the main event and he got a big ovation as usual.
(Commercial)
The Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill said they can’t wait to defend the titles against Damage CTRL’s Iyo Sky & Kairi Sane. Belair said that Sky got Belair slipping a few weeks ago, but Damage CTRL isn’t going to take over. Cargill said they fought through the trenches to get their titles back. Belair said let’s run it back next week.
Next week on Raw:
* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs. Damage CTRL – Iyo Sky & Kairi Sane
* Kofi Kingston vs. Bron Breakker
* The Miz vs. R-Truth
The World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER made his entrance for his title defense. The excellent ring announcer Samantha Irvin did the in-ring championship introductions for the championship match.
World Heavyweight Championship: GUNTHER vs. Sami Zayn
It started nearly 20 minutes before the top of the hour so there was plenty of time left for this match. Gunther was in control with a side headlock. Zayn managed to avoid a charging Gunther to send Gunther to the floor. Zayn went for a suicide dive, but Gunther avoided it so Zayn did a backflip into the ring.
(Commercial)
The match returned with Zayn running the ropes, so Gunther caught him and Gunther put Zayn on the top turnbuckle. Gunther chopped Zayn followed by Gunther shoving his boot into Zayn’s throat. Gunther decked Zayn with an uppercut to the chest. Zayn jumped off the middle turnbuckle, Gunther hit him with a chop and Gunther did a neck twist with his feet around the head. Gunther nailed Zayn with a hard chop to knock him down. Zayn tried to get some offense going, but Gunther hit another chop. Gunther hit a back elbow to knock a running Zayn down. Zayn came back with a kick, but Zayn couldn’t lift up Gunther to hit a Blue Thunder Bomb. Gunther hit Zayn in the back with a forearm. Gunther went for a sleeper, so this time Zayn managed to hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count.
(Commercial)
Gunther nailed Zayn with a chop to knock him down again. Zayn chopped back, so Gunther hit Zayn hard in the chest. Zayn came back by tripping up Gunther and punching the champion a few times. Gunther left the ring, Zayn followed and Zayn gave Gunther a back body drop on the floor. Gunther charged, Zayn caught him on the floor and Zayn gave Gunther an Exploder Suplex into the barricade. Zayn hit a running Helluva Kick on the floor. Nice leg slap that made a lot of noise. The referee Chad Patton was very slow with his count so Zayn broke the count before the referee made it to ten. The referee restarted the count, so Zayn put Gunther back into the ring. Zayn hit a running Helluva Kick to the back of the head. Zayn charged again, but Gunther nailed Zayn with a lariat and Zayn did a great flip bump. Gunther got a two count. Zayn got an inside cradle for two. Gunther hit a dropkick into the turnbuckle. Gunther hit a stiff Powerbomb into a pin for the one…two…no! Just a two count. Gunther hit another running lariat so Zayn took another great bump. Gunther hit a Powerbomb leading into a stack pin, but Zayn kicked out at just one. Zayn was on his knees showing emotion while the crowd came alive. Gunther applied a sleeper while taking Zayn down to the mat. The referee checked on Zayn’s right arm and then Zayn fought it. Zayn tried to get the ropes, but he failed to do so. Gunther pulled Zayn down to the mat again in the sleeper, Zayn’s arm went limp and referee Chad Patton checked the arm, there was no response and that was it. Gunther wins. It went about 17 minutes.
Winner by submission: Gunther
Analysis: ****1/4 It was an excellent match that would have been the second best match at Bad Blood if it was at that show. Instead, it’s the second straight week with a four-star main event level match on Raw, but this time it was a technical wrestling match while last week it was a Strowman-Reed “Monster” brawl. Gunther was on offense for a lot of the match, Zayn took a beating and of course, Zayn came back, but it wasn’t enough in the end. I liked the spot where Zayn kicked out of the Powerbomb after just a one count, but Zayn didn’t get another move after that. Gunther went for the deadly sleeper and that was enough to wear down Zayn so that Gunther could get the win. I didn’t think there would be a title change, but they certainly teased the idea that it could happen. I just think it’s too early in Gunther’s title reign that started just two months ago.
Gunther celebrated with the World Heavyweight Title by the entrance area. Cody Rhodes made his entrance while wearing a suit and Cody had the WWE Title on his shoulder. Cody stared down Gunther in the aisle since that will be the Crown Jewel Championship match at Crown Jewel. That was the end of Raw.
Analysis: When Cody Rhodes and Gunther were the final two men in the 2023 Royal Rumble they had a great sequence together. It made me want to see them in a singles match, so now we’ll finally get it at Crown Jewel in four weeks. I think Cody will probably win, but if he’s going to lose a singles match during his title reign then losing to Gunther is a possibility.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Gunther
- Sami Zayn
- Sheamus/Pete Dunne
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The Scoreboard
7.5 out of 10
Last week: 7.5
2024 Average: 7.62
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Final Thoughts on WWE Raw
It was pretty good for the most part although it’s different from what we were used to from the red brand. Raw is just two hours now (after 12 years of being three hours long) so there’s less of the roster being featured. That means there were a lot fewer backstage segments throughout the show. With that said, there was still a lot of star power throughout the night. I liked CM Punk’s promo questioning his future, which led right into Seth Rollins challenging Bronson Reed and then Jey Uso made his entrance to stare at Rollins, who didn’t seem impressed. It was a nice way to tease future big matches.
Gunther and Sami Zayn had an incredible match as expected from them. As I noted in the review, it’s the second straight week where Raw had a four-star level match although this time it was a lot different than the Braun Strowman-Bronson Reed brawl from last week. Gunther winning wasn’t a surprise to me. I liked how Zayn kept on fighting like usual, but Gunther was able to put him away with the sleeper. Well done as usual by those two guys.
The match quality was hurt by being two hours instead of three hours. I think the Jey Uso-Xavier Woods match was okay for the time given while putting over Woods with a bit of a heelish attitude. Bron Breakker was back in heel mode with an attack on Jey and the New Day guys. The women’s tag was okay, but also kept short. I liked the Sheamus-Dunne Donnybrook match. The fans were really into it too. Sheamus is still so great. I liked the show overall.
There are two matches official for WWE Crown Jewel on November 2nd: Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther and Nia Jax vs. Liv Morgan.
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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