The John Report: WWE Raw Deal 10/14/24 Review
It’s WWE Raw featuring Cody Rhodes face to face with Gunther, Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill defending the gold against Damage CTRL, and more.
This week’s episode of Raw was taped after last week’s Raw in St. Louis. That’s because wrestlers on Raw and Smackdown are on a four-day European tour this week.
This is the Raw Deal for episode #1638 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.
The Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill were shown walking backstage. They also showed Damage CTRL walking around. Gunther drove up to the arena with Ludwig Kaiser with Gunther driving a sports car. Cody Rhodes was shown leaving his bus.
Let’s Hear from Rhea Ripley
Rhea Ripley was shown walking backstage for a show opening promo segment. Rhea was wearing a “Rhea Bloody Ripley” shirt. Ripley said that she’s done with Liv Morgan or Rhea Ripley because this doesn’t end until Ripley wins the Women’s World Championship, which she never lost. Ripley told them to get out there so she can whip their asses.
It’s Tiffy Time because here comes Miss Money in the Bank Tiffany Stratton with her pink briefcase. It’s never a bad thing to see Tiffany Stratton, in my opinion. Stratton said she was there because she had a very important from the WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax. Stratton told Ripley to stay out of her business or else you’re going to have a problem…a big problem.
Ripley said she didn’t have time for this. Ripley said that either she gets her hands on Liv or Raquel or she’ll welcome back Tiffany to Raw in the Rhea Ripley way. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez showed up for an attack from behind. Raquel slammed down Stratton and Raquel pulled Ripley off Liv and Raquel kicked Ripley to knock her down. Morgan hit Stratton in the back with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Liv and Raquel posed to end it with Liv holding up her Women’s World Title.
Analysis: That was a way to set up a tag team match for later. Even though this was taped before Smackdown, they obviously coordinated well because Stratton’s message was a follow up from Smackdown when Morgan, Rodriguez & Ripley showed up on Smackdown, which Jax was not happy about. Anyway, I thought Ripley did a nice job of showing intensity, which she is good at.
The Raw commentary team of Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett were shown at ringside welcoming us to the show.
A video aired setting up the Women’s Tag Team Title match.
The team of Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill entered for their Women’s Tag Team Title defense.
(Commercial)
Rhea Ripley was shown backstage talking to Raw GM Adam Pearce. Ripley said she wanted Liv & Raquel in a match. Pearce told Ripley she can have a tag team match. Ripley complained about having a partner, Tiffany Stratton walked up to complain about what happened and Pearce asked Ripley: “What about her?” Ripley: “Fine.” Stratton didn’t know what that was about and Pearce told her she would find out.
The NXT team of Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson were at ringside watching this match. Belair & Cargill beat Legend & Jackson on Smackdown last Friday in a short match.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs. Damage CTRL – Iyo Sky & Kairi Sane
The team of Belair & Cargill are 12-1 as a team, thanks Joe for the info. That one loss was a triple threat match where they didn’t get pinned.
Sky hit a dropkick on Jade, who bounced off the ropes and hit a shoulder tackle. Belair & Jade hit a double team slam on Sky. Sane made the tag against Belair leading to a trip and then Sky/Sane hit a double dropkick on Belair. Jade superkicked Sky on the floor. Sane jumped off the top with a cross body block on Jade on the floor.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Sky hitting Belair with a few uppercuts followed by a roll through and a stomp on the stomach. Belair bounced off the ropes leading to a Spear. Jade got the tag against Sane, who jumped on Jade’s back going for a sleeper. Jade did a snapmare to get out of it. Jade caught a leaping Sane and hit a backbreaker. Jade hit a Powerbomb on Sane because Sky made the save. Belair was back in as Jade attempted to slam her partner and Sane avoided it, so Belair hit the mat. Sky got the tag followed by a missile dropkick on Belair. Sky tossed Sane into the air leading to a Sane elbow drop on Belair for two. Sky went up top for a moonsault, but Jade saved Belair by pulling Belair out of the ring. Jade and Belair swung Sane into the barricade. Belair and Jade trash talked Legend & Jackson on the floor, so Sky hit a moonsault onto both champions. Sky was yelling at Legend & Jackson so Legend hit Sky with a cheap shot to the jaw when the referee wasn’t looking. Belair picked up Sky and hit her with the KOD for the pinfall win. It went about ten minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill
Analysis: *** A good match with a predictable result with the champions retaining as expected. I am a bit surprised that it was a cheap win because Legend did the cheap shot on Sky, which wasn’t seen by the referee. Normally Belair & Cargill win clean, so it’s a change to see them win in a cheap manner. Sky is so talented in the ring while Sane is very good too. Everybody worked well in this match. It should set up Damage CTRL showing up at NXT to get revenge against Legend & Jackson as well.
The World Tag Team Champions Finn Balor & JD McDonagh walked up to GM Pearce. Balor wanted a rematch with Damian Priest. Pearce said they had obligations to defend those titles. Pearce told them he was setting up a tournament to find challengers for those titles. JD asked if it looked like they cared and Pearce told them they better care. The rest of The Judgment Day (Liv Morgan, Dominik Mysterio & Carlito) wondered about Finn’s rematch with Balor, so Finn left angrily while JD informed the group there was no rematch. Liv told JD & Carlito to meet Raquel Rodriguez. Carlito had a smile on his face, so it looked like Carlito had a crush on Raquel or something like that.
Analysis: A tournament to find World Tag Team Title challengers sounds good to me. They need to give more attention to Raw’s tag team division and that’s a good way to do it.
(Commercial)
There was a video featuring the American Made group led by Chad Gable with The Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile. They spoke about how great they are. Julius was sick of degenerates looking for handouts. Gable said that you are looking for heroes and Gable said they will be that for you. Gable told us to sit back and watch.
A video aired about Bron Breakker saying that people want to know why he turned his back on Jey Uso. Bron said that Jey won the lottery by beating Bron for the Intercontinental Title. Bron spoke about how he showed respect. Bron said that not once did Jey respect Bron as a champion. Bron said we know Jey won’t be a great champion like Bron was. Bron said he didn’t need his family’s help and he didn’t need the name. Bron said that the family will give him the same amount of respect that he has for them. Bron said that Jey has been riding on his family’s legacy for 14 years and now Jey wants to do it on his own. Bron said he wants to do it on his own too because he’s coming back for the International Championship. Bron said that Jey’s family can’t save Jey from Bron.
Analysis: Those video packages are better for Bron Breakker than having him do an in-ring promo. It makes him look tougher with the way it’s shot and the clips that they showed. I wonder if Jey Uso has a short Intercontinental Title reign because maybe he’ll defend the title against Bron and The Bloodline guys could cost Jey Uso the IC Title, which would then lead to Jey wanting revenge on them, so it would give Jey a reason to re-join Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso.
A sitdown discussion aired of Raw GM Adam Pearce talking to “Big” Bronson Reed from last Saturday. Pearce said he can’t have what Reed did in a Last Monster Standing Match. Reed said if it wasn’t for Seth Rollins, he would be the Last Monster Standing. Reed said he wanted to know when the match was going to happen. Reed said he did what he did to get him to the main event. Reed said he wanted the match with Seth and there would be no trouble because Reed wanted the chance to show he’s a main event guy. Pearce said he would talk to Seth. Reed told Pearce he was a smarter businessman than he thought and Pearce said “imagine that.” Pearce left. Reed told Pearce to not keep him waiting too long.
Analysis: That’s an effective way to further a story in a way that we don’t see very often. They could have had Reed go talk to Pearce in his office, but instead, they did a sitdown chat where they made their points and Reed told Pearce what he wanted. I like trying different things to set up matches like that. Reed made it clear he attacked Seth Rollins so he can be a bigger star and it makes sense from Reed’s perspective.
The Alpha Academy team of Otis and Akira Tozawa with Maxxine Dupri entered for tag team action.
(Commercial)
The War Raiders made their return to the ring after being known as the Viking Raiders in the past. Erik was out for a long time with major neck surgery and Ivar had an injury in the last few months as well.
#1 Contender’s Tournament: The War Raiders – Erik & Ivar vs. Alpha Academy – Otis & Akira Tozawa (w/Maxxine Dupri)
Otis knocked down Ivar with a shoulder tackle. Tozawa tagged in, Ivar slammed him down and Erik tagged in to body slam Ivar onto Tozawa. Ivar hit Tozawa with a knee followed by Erik hitting a knee lift with a loud leg slap. Ivar splashed Tozawa and Erik hit Tozawa with a running forearm. Otis made the save on a pin attempt. Otis went for a Caterpillar, but Ivar stopped it and knocked Otis down. Erik tossed up Tozawa and Ivar hit a popup powerslam. Ivar hit a cannonball splash on Otis against the turnbuckle. Erik hit a running knee on Tozawa. Erik tossed Tozawa and legal man Ivar jumped off the top with a splash for the pinfall win after about three minutes. Wade said they call that the Fallout.
Winners by pinfall: The War Raiders – Erik & Ivar
Analysis: *1/2 Easy win for the returning War Raiders, which is not a surprise since it makes sense to book them strong in their return. I had almost forgotten that Erik had the loudest leg slap in WWE when he does those knee strikes, but he reminded us of it in this match.
Seth “Freakin” Rollins was in the locker room when Adam Pearce walked up to him saying that Rollins has had six matches this year and he hasn’t been healthy for any of them. Rollins said he knows injuries are part of the game. Rollins said in this business you fight to get to the top. Rollins knows guys like Bronson Reed will try to make his name off Seth’s name and Seth knows it because he did it while Pearce did it. Rollins said there’s a reason he runs this place. Rollins said he needs this fight because he needs people like Reed to push him. Rollins said he needed this fight and Pearce needed the best version of Rollins, so he told Pearce to think about it. Rollins left.
Analysis: It was an effective segment to get Seth Rollins’ perspective and have him make it clear to Pearce that Seth wants the match with Reed just like Reed wants the match. It’s just a matter of finding out when the match will take place. They have built it up well.
Cody Rhodes was up next.
(Commercial)
Cody Rhodes & Gunther: Face to Face
The Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes made his entrance to a good ovation as usual. Cody was in a blue suit with a red tie since we know he’s a big suit guy.
Cody was in the ring for a promo saying hello to the fans all over the building. Cody said that he has his eyes on the future, but he’s also a pro wrestling historian. Cody spoke about being proud to be in a city that has a rich wrestling history. Cody mentioned some wrestling history in St. Louis. Cody talked about how something special happened in this building not too long ago and it changed his life for the better. Cody said that St. Louis was the first time we heard “We Want Cody” and Cody thanked the fans for that. Cody got around to his question: “What do you wanna talk about?”
The World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER made his entrance in dress clothes of his own. Gunther got in the ring and said he would usually speak about his opponent’s uncomfortable truth. Gunther said there isn’t much negative to say about Cody. Gunther said that this company is in a boom period and it’s built on Cody’s back. Gunther called Cody the quarterback of this operation. The fans chanted “Thank You Cody” for that. Gunther told Cody he had a lot of respect for him. Gunther said that Cody loves to be everybody’s darling and because of that he’s in that mess with his old friend Kevin. Gunther said he expects Cody to sort that out because he expects the best version of Cody in Saudi Arabia.
Cody said that he’s not surrounded by friends, which you can see on every show. Cody said that he has seen what happens when Gunther throws everything at his opponent and they keep coming back. Cody spoke about how Gunther breaks like he did at WrestleMania. Cody talked about how he had immense respect for Gunther, but he’s never been in the ring one on one with Cody.
Gunther told Cody it was a fair assessment and said it was spoken like a true secondary champion. Cody said he was expecting that dig. Cody said that Gunther has really become a frightening beast. Cody said that he defeated the most dominating champion in company history as a reference to Roman Reigns. Cody said that he has already slain a frightening beast, which was a reference to Brock Lesnar. Cody tried a handshake and Gunther shook the hand. Gunther to Cody: “Good luck to me, the champion.” Gunther left.
Analysis: The segment was okay. I really like both guys and I’m sure it will be a great match, but I wouldn’t call this some great segment or anything like that. Gunther usually trashes his opponents in a personal way, but as he said in the promo, he didn’t see many issues with Cody. Gunther did call Cody the “secondary champion” to annoy Cody. Other than that, it was a respect thing. As I said, it should be an awesome match when it takes place. I am looking forward to the match. I just hope they have more interesting segments together on the road to their Crown Jewel match.
Kofi Kingston made his entrance for singles action.
(Commercial)
There was a video about Dragon Lee talking about being a champion in WWE (former NXT North American Champion) and joining the LWO. Lee said it hasn’t been easy, but he knows he is capable of exceeding his expectations. Lee said that he was destined to fly.
Bron Breakker vs. Kofi Kingston
Kofi was aggressive by hitting a forearm. Kofi ran the ropes, which led to Bron hitting a shoulder tackle. Bron sent Kofi hard into the turnbuckle. Bron sent Kofi into the turnbuckle again. When Bron sent Kofi into the turnbuckle again, Kofi jumped onto the middle turnbuckle and Kofi hit a dropkick. Bron ran the ropes, Kofi with a leapfrog and Bron ran over Kofi with a shoulder tackle.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Bron going for a running shoulder tackle, but Kofi avoided it and Bron hit the ring post. Kofi came back with a springboard cross body block off the top rope. Kofi hit a Boom Drop double leg drop. Bron avoided Trouble in Paradise, Bron tossed Kofi into the air, Kofi landed on his feet and Kofi hit the SOS trip for two. Bron got back up to send Kofi into the turnbuckle with a shoulder tackle. Kofi got boots up to kick Bron in the head. Kofi jumped off the top rope, Bron caught him and Bron hit an overhead belly-to-belly suplex across the ring. Bron ran the ropes leading to a Spear for the pinfall win after about nine minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Bron Breakker
Analysis: **3/4 It was an easy win for Bron Breakker. They got about six minutes without the commercial, so there wasn’t much to the match. More time would be nice, but I also think it’s important to have Bron win decisively, so there’s nothing wrong with that because it makes Bron look good.
After the match, Bron wanted to do more damage to Kofi, so Xavier Woods showed up in the ring. Bron looked like he was leaving, but then Bron hit Woods with a forearm to the back. Jey Uso went down to the ring and hit Bron with a superkick. Jey bounced off the ropes leading to a Spear. Bron rolled out of the ring and left for the back. Jey helped Kofi and Woods back up. Bron went on the apron, so Jey superkicked Bron off the apron.
Analysis: Jey Uso got revenge for Bron Breakker attacking him last week. It was an easy way to continue the story with Jey helping The New Day while also taking care of Bron. It should set up Jey against Bron again soon.
Rhea Ripley was shown backstage getting ready when Damian Priest walked up to her with her jacket. Ripley told Priest he didn’t need him out there tonight. Ripley said that Priest already destroyed all the boys multiple times and he got revenge on Finn Balor. Ripley told Priest to get back his World Title. Priest said as long as she has issues with The Judgment Day then he does too. Priest said it was time for him to be El Campeon again. Priest hugged Ripley and told her to handle these girls. Ripley said she will.
R-Truth made his entrance doing his “What’s Up” song entrance.
(Commercial)
Jey Uso was shown walking backstage in his locker room and his twin brother Jimmy Uso was there. Jimmy: “Got a second?” Jey left the room rather than talk to his brother.
Analysis: We know from Smackdown when Jimmy Uso told Roman Reigns they need Jey Uso with them again, but it doesn’t mean Jey wants to reunite with them.
The Miz vs. R-Truth
Truth wanted a handshake, Miz shook the hand and Miz wanted to have a match. There were some Wyatt Sicks graphics shown on the screen. The Final Testament group walked down the aisle, so Truth rolled up Miz with a ROLLUP OF DEATH~! and Miz couldn’t kick out of it so Truth got the win. It was under one minute.
Winner by pinfall: R-Truth
Analysis: No rating. That ROLLUP OF DEATH~! is so deadly, my friends. That’s why I call it that.
After the match, Truth celebrated the win, left the right right by the Final Testament and Karrion Kross told AOP to get Truth. They tossed Truth back into the ring, so Miz hit Truth with a Skull Crushing Finale. The fans booed.
Analysis: I don’t know if this is leading to The Miz joining The Final Testament or leading them, but it seems like it is going that way. The Miz being in a stable like that or leading a stable like that would be new for him.
Jimmy Uso was shown walking around backstage and he found twin brother Jey Uso with the Intercontinental Title. Jimmy told Jey to hear him out. Jey said no and told Jimmy to get out of his face. Jey walked away.
Analysis: Tough love. For now.
Rhea Ripley made her entrance for the tag team match main event.
(Commercial)
Next week on Raw in Philadelphia:
* Jey Uso defends the Intercontinental Championship vs. Bron Breakker
* #1 Contender’s World Tag Team Title Tournament: The New Day vs. Authors Of Pain
* #1 Contender’s World Tag Team Title Tournament: Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. American Made
Rhea Ripley & Tiffany Stratton vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
This is Stratton’s first match on Raw in her career. I mentioned in the Bad Blood preview that Ripley only had one match on Raw this year and it was on New Year’s Day, so it is only Ripley’s second match on Raw this year.
Ripley headbutted Morgan in the shoulder and then Ripley slammed Morgan into the mat. Ripley hit a running dropkick. Ripley tried a body slam, Liv broke free and Raquel got the tag. Stratton tagged herself in, which Ripley didn’t like. Stratton did a backflip to avoid Raquel, who tossed Stratton into the ropes. Stratton avoided a charging Raquel, so Raquel left the ring. Ripley and Stratton argued, which led to Raquel launching Liv over the top so that Liv went crashing on to both opponents on the floor.
(Commercial)
Liv was in control of Stratton with stomps against the turnbuckle. Raquel tagged in to toss Liv onto Stratton and then Raquel splashed Stratton against the turnbuckle. Raquel hit a vertical suplex for two. Raquel punched Stratton a few times to knock her down followed by Raquel hitting a backbreaker and stretching Stratton across the knee. Stratton broke free so Raquel kicked her to keep Stratton down. Stratton broke free, Ripley got the tag against Morgan and Ripley was in control with clotheslines. Ripley dropkicked Raquel off the apron. Liv hit a jawbreaker. Raquel slammed Liv down followed by a running knee. Ripley hit a Riptide slam on Liv and covered, but Raquel made the save. Stratton got the tag and went for the moonsault off the top, but Liv avoided it. Nia Jax showed up and ran over Ripley & Raquel on the floor. The referee called for the bell. It went about nine minutes.
Match Result: No Contest
Analysis: **3/4 The match was okay. Ripley was on offense for most of it when she was in there. Stratton took a bit of beating and then Ripley nearly had it won until Raquel made the save. That’s when Jax showed up to mess it up for the non-finish.
After the match, Jax shoved Raquel into the ring post. Ripley went after Jax, so Liv hit a chop block on Ripley. Liv kicked Ripley and kicked Ripley out of the ring. Jax headbutted Liv followed by Jax hitting a Samoan Drop. Jax hit a running leg drop on Liv. The fans actually cheered that because Liv is a hated heel. Jax hit an Annihilator splash on Liv to end it. Stratton applauded her friend Jax for her attack. Stratton grabbed the Money in the Bank briefcase to try a cash in on Liv, but Dominik Mysterio showed up to save Liv and carry her away. Jax & Stratton stood in the ring while Liv was in the aisle with Dominik & Raquel. That was the end of Raw.
Analysis: It’s not an ideal storyline because Jax, Stratton, Morgan, Dominik, and Raquel are all heels right now, so we have nobody to root for in theory. They have to do it this way because Jax and Morgan are against eachother at Crown Jewel. Jax got revenge on Morgan after Morgan was on Smackdown last week, so I assume we see more back and forth between them. I wouldn’t call it an exciting storyline at this point, but maybe it will get better in the weeks ahead.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Bron Breakker
- Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill
- Rhea Ripley
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The Scoreboard
7 out of 10
Last week: 7.5
2024 Average: 7.60
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Final Thoughts on WWE Raw
I thought it was a below average Raw this week. That’s below average for this year, which has been a strong year overall. Being a taped show may be part of the reason why it felt below average. The four matches were fine, but nothing really stood out that much. Bron Breakker got some momentum with a win, the first women’s tag was fine with Bianca & Jade getting the victory and welcome back to the War Raiders with an easy win. R-Truth beating Miz in under a minute with one move (the ROLLUP OF DEATH~!) was lame but furthers the story of Miz being a heel with a cheap attack after the match.
That women’s tag team main event with Ripley & Stratton taking on Morgan & Rodriguez really never got going and then Nia Jax ended it abruptly. Nia Jax and Liv Morgan are heels, so it’s hard to root for either of them.
There just isn’t a lot to get excited about with the Crown Jewel PLE. Cody Rhodes and Gunther are awesome wrestlers who will have a great match at Crown Jewel, but I really don’t care who wins the Crown Jewel Championship. I’m sure WWE will try to make us care since the Saudis pay them so much money, but it’s like winning at Survivor Series in the past or the Bragging Rights trophy days. The Cody-Gunther promo was decent but really nothing to get excited about. I just think Raw is lacking a bit in terms of main stories right now. Following the end of the CM Punk-Drew McIntyre story might be a reason why Raw feels like a bit of a downer for at least this week. Hopefully it will be better next week.
The next WWE PLE is Crown Jewel on November 2nd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Here’s the lineup so far.
* Men’s Crown Jewel Championship: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. World Heavyweight Champion Gunther
* Women’s Crown Jewel Championship: WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax vs. Women’s World Champion 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