Reviews

The John Report: WWE Raw Deal 10/28/24 Review

By John Canton • Published 28th October 2024
WWE Raw Deal October 28

It’s WWE Raw featuring Jey Uso talking with brother Jimmy Uso, Damian Priest facing Dominik Mysterio, a big triple threat tag team match and more.

This is the final Raw before WWE Crown Jewel takes place on Saturday.

This is the Raw Deal for episode #1640 of Monday Night Raw. It’s taking place at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.

There were arrivals shown from earlier in the day. It was Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett on commentary as usual.

They had a video package that showed highlights of The Bloodline costing Jey Uso the Intercontinental Title against Bron Breakker last week on Raw. On Smackdown last week, Jey Uso showed up to cost The Bloodline’s Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa the WWE Tag Team Titles against the Motor City Machine Guns. At the end of the show, Jey hugged his twin brother Jimmy in what was a very happy moment to end the show.

Let’s Hear from Jey Uso…and Jimmy Uso

Jey Uso made his entrance from the back part of the arena with the fans doing the arm swinging and shouting “Yeet” a lot. When Jey got into the ring, he let us know that “Main Event” Jey Uso is now in your city…Yet.

Jey said that a lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. Jey mentioned losing his Intercontinental Title, so then he went to Smackdown and cost them the Tag Team Titles. Jey said there is only one Uce who he wants to talk to and he knows who he is. Here comes Jimmy Uso, who is from Smackdown and here he is on Raw.

Jimmy Uso joined his twin brother Jey in the ring. Jimmy thanked his brother Jey for what he did last Friday on Smackdown. Jimmy said that they need to be together to take down Solo and his Bloodline because they are not the ones. Jey said that they aren’t the ones either. Jey said that the last time he saw him was half a year ago at WrestleMania when they were fighting eachother. Jey said a lot has happened since then. Jey said that they know Jimmy now and they know Jey now. Jey said that they know “Yeet” now. Jey said he became Intercontinental Champion by himself. Jey said that none of those titles tops being Jimmy’s twin brother. Jimmy wanted a handshake or hug, but Jey stopped that saying they had to fix this. Jey said that this go around, if we do this they are not nobody’s “do boys” or “sidepiece.” Jey said they aren’t “yes men” because they are grown men. Jey said if they do it together then you be Jimmy and he’ll be Jey and they’ll be The Usos. The fans chanted “Uso” for the brothers.

Jimmy said that OTC (Roman Reigns) will be there Friday night on Smackdown so how about Jey comes through and squashes this beef. Jimmy said that Roman needed to hear this from Jey. That led to Jey saying he would be there.

The Bloodline’s Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa arrived for a cheap attack, so The Usos beat them up. Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu were there, which led to Fatu going into the ring. Fatu superkicked Jey and headbutted Jimmy. Tama hit a running splash on Jey. The fans were chanting “OTC” for Roman Reigns. Solo sent a chair into the ring. Fatu put the chair around Jey’s neck while Jimmy was held by the Tongans, but Jey threw the chair at Fatu’s head. Jey and Jimmy hit superkicks to knock the Tongans out of the ring. Jey with a superkick on Fatu and then both Uso superkicked Fatu out of the ring.

Raw GM Adam Pearce showed up with security and Pearce got The Bloodline guys to back off.

Analysis: It was cool to see The Usos fighting together again. It’s been a while and the chemistry is still there obviously. I like what Jey said about how if they do this again then they are going to be helpers for Roman Reigns because they’re grown men and they’ll be individuals. That’s progress for the group if they reunite as a babyface Bloodline where they are equals rather than doing what Roman wants them to do. The part about Jimmy saying Roman will be there on Smackdown is a way to keep viewers tuned in. In reality, WWE already taped this Friday’s Smackdown so a lot of us already know what happened. Anyway, it was a good opening segment to further the story by having Jey say that they still need to fix this, but he’s willing to give it a shot.

(Commercial)

They showed some clips from WrestleMania 40 Saturday’s main event featuring some of the comments that the wrestlers said while in the ring. There’s a video that will be on YouTube on Friday.

Raw GM Adam Pearce was on the phone complaining to SmackDown GM Nick Aldis about how he can’t control his roster. The Judgment Day walked up to Adam Pearce wondering what World Champion Dominik would face later tonight. Pearce said he doesn’t have time for this so he said it will be Damian Priest. Pearce left. Dominik was confident that he’s got this. Finn Balor warned Dominik to be careful. Dominik wanted them to believe in him and said he’d prove it by himself. Liv assured Dominik that they believed in him. Dominik told them to stay back here for the match.

Ludwig Kaiser vs. Sheamus

It was mentioned by Joe that Sheamus has 252 televised wins in his WWE career. That’s an impressive number. These guys have wrestled many times before, so here we go again.

Sheamus and Kaiser exchanged punches to start the match. Sheamus slapped Kaiser in the chest followed by a clothesline. Sheamus hit a rolling senton. Kaiser came back with a kick followed by a clothesline. Kaiser hit a running basement dropkick to knock Sheamus off the apron to the floor. Kaiser sent Sheamus into the ring post. Kaiser pulled Sheamus’s arm so his shoulder hit the ring post a few times. Sheamus blocked Kaiser and Sheamus pulled Kaiser’s left arm into the ring post a few times. They were battling on the floor where Kaiser countered Sheamus with a guillotine choke, but Sheamus countered by tackling Kaiser into the steel steps. Both guys got back into the ring as the show went to break.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Sheamus hitting forearms to knock Kaiser down. Sheamus went for a kick, but Kaiser pulled the rope down and Sheamus went out of the ring. Kaiser charged, but Sheamus hit a pump knee smash. Sheamus got a hold of Kaiser by the ropes leading to the ten beats forearms to the chest. Sheamus went up top and connected with a clothesline for two. Sheamus went for a move by the turnbuckle, but Kaiser got out of it and Kaiser hit a Powerbomb. Kaiser hit a running kick for two. Kaiser slapped Sheamus in the head repeatedly, so Sheamus fired up and Sheamus hit chops to the chest. Kaiser hit an enziguri kick, but Sheamus came back with a knee smash. Sheamus followed with a Brogue Kick for the pinfall win after about 10 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Sheamus

Analysis: ***1/4 It was the usual good match from Sheamus and Kaiser, who have great chemistry together. They aren’t afraid to hit hard. I don’t know if it reached “banger” status, but I did enjoy it. Kaiser didn’t have enough offense in terms of looking like a threat to win. This was about giving Sheamus a quality win. I think they might build up Sheamus to have him go after Bron Breakker for the Intercontinental Title since it’s a new rivalry that would produce some good matches. Plus, Sheamus has never won the IC Title in his illustrious career, so that’s a good story too.

Rhea Ripley was featured in a video talking about how Raquel Rodriguez deserved the beatings that Ripley gave her. Ripley admitted she’s made mistakes in the past, but right now it seems like Raquel and Liv Morgan want to cry about it. Ripley said she only wants her Women’s World Championship and you’re going to have to kill her to stop her.

Analysis: Rhea and Raquel had some very good matches in their NXT days. I think they’ll be able to do it again on the main roster too.

The Usos were shown walking around backstage where they saw Sami Zayn. Jey hugged Sami while Jimmy stared at Sami. That led to Sami saying he wanted to talk to Jimmy alone. Jey told Jimmy to give them a minute. Zayn wondered if everything was fine now. Jey said he thinks Solo is worse. Zayn said that Reigns is the one that got in Jey’s head for years. Zayn said he’s not on anybody’s side. Zayn told Jey he can not get involved. Zayn told Jey he is his own man now and he said he doesn’t understand why Jey would go back. Jey said that Zayn wouldn’t understand because he’s not family…uce. Zayn said nothing in return while Jey left.

Analysis: It was a logical discussion because Zayn was there with Jey when the original version of The Bloodline fell apart, so Zayn trying to talk some sense to Jey makes a lot of sense. If it’s 4-on-4 at Survivor Series WarGames then Sami Zayn makes sense as the partner for Roman Reigns and The Usos, but it’s possible they go in another direction for it.

(Commercial)

The World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER was featured in a video calling Cody Rhodes a gutless champion. Gunther said that this match is for the newly established Crown Jewel Championship because this time it’s your good friend Randy Orton. Gunther said that Cody is envious of Randy Orton’s career. Gunther wanted Cody to ask Randy how it felt to get choked out by the Ring General. Gunther told Cody that it was going to happen to him because Cody would realize he was the secondary champion to Gunther.

Analysis: The Cody-Gunther match at Crown Jewel really could go either way. I think I’m leaning towards Cody Rhodes winning.

Zelina Vega (w/Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde) vs. Ivy Nile (w/Julius & Brutus Creed)

Vega and Ivy are two of the shorter women on the roster. Nile has a lot of power and she used it by tackling Vega in the corner. Vega avoided a charging Nile and sent Nile out of the ring. Vega hit a double knee attack on Nile from the apron to the floor.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Nile going for a suplex, but Vega countered with a Stunner-like move. Vega went up top and jumped off with a moonsault that barely touched Nile except for her head. Nile came back with a bridging German Suplex for two. Vega slipped out of a power move attempt and hit a running knee. Brutus was on the apron and Julius helped Nile avoid a move. The LWO guys on the floor got into a fight with the Creeds. Julius and Brutus overpowered their smaller rivals. Nile hit a swinging uranage slam for the pinfall win after about seven minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Ivy Nile

Analysis: ** It was okay. The ending was a bit cheap because Julius helped Nile when Vega tried a move by the ropes and that allowed Nile to regain control for the win. I liked that finisher that Nile did.

Jimmy Uso was in the locker room when Jey Uso showed up to talk to him. Jey said that he told Sami he wasn’t family and Jimmy said that it’s true. Jey said that Sami stepped up for him. Jimmy said he’ll go talk to Sami, Jey wasn’t sure about that and Jimmy said he’s just going to talk. Jimmy left.

Seth “Freakin” Rollins was shown walking backstage for a segment up next at the midway part of the show.

(Commercial)

Let’s Hear from Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Bronson Reed

Seth “Freakin” Rollins made his entrance to a big pop and the crowd was singing his song as usual. Rollins said that he was on the hunt for a monster. Rollins said make no mistake about it because Bronson Reed is a monster, but so is Rollins. Seth said he forgot that side of him, but Reed woke something up in Seth’s soul. Rollins said that Reed reminded him of what he’s capable of and Rollins kinda likes it.

Bronson Reed interrupted Rollins by appearing on the video screen. Reed said that he promised Adam Pearce that they would not have a repeat of last week and said he would not go into the arena to cause chaos. Reed challenged Rollins to a fight in the parking lot. Rollins told Reed not to move and Rollins left.

Seth Rollins walked out to the parking lot area while Adam Pearce tried to stop Rollins, but it didn’t work. Reed tossed Rollins on the hood of a car. Rollins slammed a tractor-trailer door into Reed’s head. Rollins jumped off an equipment crate and Rollins gave Reed The Stomp onto the hood of a car. Reed got back up after a few moments and Rollins superkicked him. Rollins hit Reed with a crate to the head. Reed threw a trash can at Rollins. They were fighting in a truck and then Reed jumped off the truck and gave Rollins a Death Valley Driver through some tables that had a lot of padding around. Reed got up while Pearce called for medical attention for Rollins, who sold it by coughing.

Analysis: That was a good angle to continue this rivalry. Even though Rollins hit The Stomp on the hood of a car, Reed got right back up and came back to get the advantage. That Death Valley Driver off the truck and onto the tables with padding was a cool spot that also was likely safe due to all the padding around.

(Commercial)

There was a replay of the Rollins-Reed fight before the break.

A replay was shown of last week when the Wyatt Sicks attacked Final Testament and The Miz.

R-Truth was backstage with Alpha Academy. The Miz walked up to Truth saying he was sorry for what he did and said that Final Testament got in his head. Maxxine Dupri told Truth not to listen to him. Truth shook hands with Miz and then Truth hit an uppercut to knock Miz down. Truth told Miz good luck to the Wyatt because you’re gonna die. Truth walked up to Pete Dunne: “What’s up, Butch? You seen Pete?” Truth kept on walking.

Analysis: R-Truth is terrific as usual.

LWO – Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. The War Raiders – Erik & Ivar vs. The New Day – Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods

The winners will get a shot at the World Tag Team Titles held by Finn Balor & JD McDonagh. Three guys are legal and the other three guys are on the apron.

Kofi and Lee did a double dropkick on Ivar to knock him down. Ivar hit a spin kick on Kofi and Ivar hit a splash on Lee. Ivar hit a running attack against the turnbuckle. Erik went into the ring as the Raiders cleared the ring. The Raiders launched the two New Day guys into eachother. War Raiders tossed Lee over the top onto the other three guys on the floor.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Erik hitting Kofi with an elbow. Rey hit Erik with forearms, but Erik caught Rey and gave Rey a spinebuster onto Woods. Ivar bodyslammed Woods and then Erik slammed Ivar onto Woods for two. Erik sent Rey crashing into Woods. Ivar was back in going for a slam, but Rey countered with a hurricanrana. Rey sent Ivar out of the ring as well. Woods knocked Lee off the apron to block a tag. Woods hit a jumping side kick on Rey. Kofi tagged in with some offense including a leaping clothesline and the Boom Drop leg drop on Ivar and Rey. Kofi went for Trouble in Paradise on Ivar, but he moved and Kofi hit SOS on Rey. Lee made the save for Rey. Kofi sent a few guys out of the ring and Woods hit a dropkick. Kofi kicked Ivar out of the ring. Kofi went up top and hit a Trust Fall dive onto the four opponents on the floor.

(Commercial)

It was back to the action with Lee on fire hitting a jumping kick on Erik and Kofi tried a move by the ropes, but Lee tripped him up. Lee hit a double foot stomp on Kofi. Lee countered Erik leading to a DDT. Lee kicked Woods down and dropkicked Ivar off the apron to the floor. Lee hit a running dropkick on Kofi for two because Erik broke up the pin. The trio of Kofi, Erik and Lee were all by the turnbuckle. Lee went for a Powerbomb on Kofi, but Kofi stopped that with punches. Lee gave Kofi a Powerbomb while Rey hit a hurricanrana on Erik and Woods saved Kofi getting pinned so it was just a two count. The six guys all hit moves while the guys they did moves on were sent out of the ring. Kofi was holding Lee, but Woods went after Rey instead and Woods was sent out of the ring. Lee hit a somersault dive over the top on Woods. Rey went off the ropes, but Chad Gable stopped him. Gable gave an Ankle Lock on Rey on the floor. Erik held Kofi up and Ivar hit a springboard clothesline into a pin by Erik for the pinfall win.

Winners by pinfall: The War Raiders – Erik & Ivar

Analysis: ***1/2 It turned into a great match that got plenty of time and could have gone to any of the teams since they are all babyface teams that could have picked up the win. The story involving Woods continued since he went out of the ring when he was a legal man and he never made it back in for the save. Gable costing Rey with an ankle lock took Rey out as well. That means the War Raiders could get the titles soon. I wouldn’t mind that at all.

It was announced by Tessitore that Rollins had been sent to a local medical facility.

The Miz complained to Raw GM Adam Pearce wondering where is his security and Miz complained about Final Testament stalking him. Pearce was laughing about it. Karrion Kross, AOP and Scarlett approached Miz. Kross told Miz to find Bo Dallas and he wanted Miz to find out why Bo Dallas was coming after them…or Kross would break Miz’s legs. Miz didn’t reply to that.

Damian Priest made his entrance for the main event.

(Commercial)

Jimmy Uso was shown walking outside the building where he was looking for Sami Zayn. Jey Uso approached Jimmy. Sami Zayn was standing in the parking lot talking to Solo Sikoa, who was in a car while Zayn was standing in the parking lot. Jimmy told Jey that family was all they had so Jey, Roman & Jimmy had to do this.

Analysis: It seems like they will go with the story where they make fans wonder if Sami Zayn is going to be with Roman’s trio or if he’ll be reluctant to team with them. The WarGames team will need a fourth guy, so obviously Sami makes the most sense best on the history of the group and Sami has nothing else going on right now.

Damian Priest vs. Dominik Mysterio

Priest attacked with punches. Dom celebrated that, so Priest sent Dom to the turnbuckle. Priest launched Dom hard into the turnbuckle. Dom kicked the knee of Priest to knock him down, but Priest was back up quickly with a jumping kick. Priest sent Dom over the top to the floor. They were out on the floor where Dom shoved Priest into the ring post. Dominik followed up wit ha suicide dive to send both guys crashing into the commentary table. Dom posed as the show went to break.

(Commercial)

Dominik was in control with the rolling vertical suplexes but Priest denied a third one and Priest hit a Broken Arrow slam. Dominik worked over Dominik with kick and forearm smashes. Priest hit a running back elbow followed by a lifting flatliner for two. Priest hit a running clothesline that flipped Dominik around for a two count. Priest set up for South of Heaven, but Dom bailed to the floor to avoid it. Priest ran at Dominik and shoved Dom onto the commentary table. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez showed up at ringside. JD McDonagh & Carlito went after Priest, but Priest fought back with chair shots to the body. Priest hit JD with a steel chair to the back a few times. Priest hit Carlito with three chair shots. Dominik capitalized with ROLLUP OF DEATH~! for the pinfall win after 9 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Dominik Mysterio

Analysis: **3/4 It was a match result that most of us were not expecting because Dom found a way to win thanks to his allies attacking Priest, who lost his focus. Most of the match was Priest on offense. The ROLLUP OF DEATH~! wins another match. Of course it does.

After the match, Priest picked up Dominik and gave him a Razor’s Edge. Dominik was announced as the winner of the match. Priest hit Dominik in the back with a steel chair about five times. The referee wanted Priest to leave, so Priest left. However, Priest stopped himself when he was walking to the back and went back into the ring. Priest gave Carlito the South of Heaven slam. Priest gave Dominik a South of Heaven slam as well.

Analysis: It seemed as though Damian Priest was done with The Judgment Day after beating Finn Balor at Bad Blood, but apparently it’s not over yet. Priest’s post match attack was a reminder of how powerful he is, but Dominik still won the match. Anyway, it likely means that this issue is far from over.

Damian Priest celebrated in the ring while The Judgment Day had Dominik in the aisle and JD McDonagh had Dominik’s hand raised as the winner of the match. Priest applauded Dominik as the winner. That was the end of the show.

After Raw, WWE confirmed the huge six-man tag team match for Crown Jewel on Saturday with Roman Reigns & The Usos teaming up against Solo Sikoa’s version of The Bloodline. This was known because of the Smackdown spoilers last week, but now it’s official.

===

Three Stars of the Show

  1. Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso
  2. The War Raiders
  3. Dominik Mysterio

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The Scoreboard

7.25 out of 10

Last week: 7.25

2024 Average: 7.58

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Final Thoughts on WWE Raw

It was a pretty good show for the most part, but nothing really stood out that much as being an outstanding segment. I did enjoy The Usos segment to start the show and the way they tried to talk to Sami Zayn, but then they wondered if Zayn would be really with them. It builds into Smackdown, which has already been taped as I mentioned earlier.

The matches were okay. The triple threat tag team match and the Sheamus-Kaiser matches were the two best. Dominik beat Priest was a shocker due to the help that Dom got in the match. The women’s match was below average and it’s disappointing that there wasn’t more of a focus on the women’s division this week.

I think the Crown Jewel lineup is solid. They built to some of those matches like Rollins-Reed, which was an excellent segment in the five minutes they were given.

The next WWE PLE is Crown Jewel on November 2nd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Here’s the lineup so far.

WWE Crown Jewel 2024

* 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

* Roman Reigns & The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) vs. 3 Members of The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa)

* Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens

* Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs. Bronson Reed

* United States Championship: LA Knight vs. Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes

* WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill vs. Damage CTRL’s Iyo Sky & Kairi Sane vs. Chelsea Green & Piper Niven vs. Meta-Four’s Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson

You can watch WWE Crown Jewel, streaming live on Saturday, November 2, at 1 p.m. ET/ 10 a.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, Toronto Raptors & Toronto Maple Leafs. My contact info is below.

John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter/X @johnreport